A damp start didn't dampen the spirits of visitors to the GWR who came to Toddington on Thursday 20th August to see artist and wildlife conservationist David Shepherd, celebrate the 50th birthday of his 9F class 2-10-0 no. 92203, Black Prince.

The icing on cake was, well, a huge birthday cake made by David Shepherd's housekeeper, Lesley. It was shared amongst well-wishers who even sang "Happy Birthday" to the locomotive, which with the help of driver Mark Young, whistled a cheerful response.

Unfortunately, because of high winds in Lincolnshire, home base of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the WW2 Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane were unable to make their scheduled birthday flypast.

"It was very disappointing to learn that they were unable to come," says Dave Boot, the Toddington stationmaster on Thursday. "But that didn't seem to matter to the people packed on the platform, hoping to have a chat with David Shepherd, or have their books or prints signed by him."

During the morning, an N-gauge (2mm to 1 ft) limited-edition model of the 9F was run along a track specially laid along the running board of the real thing, in Toddington platform. The detail in the NMC/Dapol model is incredible, given that it is barely 2cm tall! The 150 models have quickly sold out at over £109 each, with 10 from every sale going to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.

The real locomotive hosted dozens of visitors to the footplate and the crew, Mark Young and Ian Crowder, gave a number of rides within the station limits before departing with the 2.30 train to Cheltenham Racecourse. Says Dave: "The train was packed with well-wishers - it was the busiest weekday I can remember on the railway with a fantastic, happy atmosphere."

BBC Radio Gloucestershire had an outside broadcast unit at the station and conducted a number of interviews with David Shepherd and GWR staff, while a reporter from BBC Radio 5 Live was recording material for a documentary programme.

When Black Prince returned, class 37 diesel 37215 coupled to the opposite end of the train and then took the 16.15 service as scheduled, but with Black Prince still attached to the rear 'top-and-tail' fashion. At Cheltenham, roles were reversed and Black Prince returned with the six-coach 5pm service - plus the dead weight of the diesel, the equivalent of an additional three coaches, at the end of the train.