By courtesy of Mick Thornton (text by Ted Polet - 2005)

Many years ago, P.D.Hancock, the pioneer of 009, built a strange-looking locomotive around a chassis fitted with a huge 1950s motor that extended all the way through the cab roof into a tank-like structure usually referred to as the 'cistern'. Despite its unlikely design, an attractive locomotive resulted which he named 'Moira'. The locomotive disappeared from the stage around 1960, but recently it transpired it was given 'on a 99-year lease' to Rod Allcock who brought it to Expong in 2004. The appearance of 'Moira' caused a sensation resulting in one or two people being resolved to build a likeness. Mick Thornton in due course produced a much smaller interpretation which he, of course, named 'WeeMoira'...