Participants on the Dromod Diesel Daytripper rail tour in County Leitrim, Ireland, on Saturday, 9th August had a surprise when, halfway through the tour, a steam locomotive backed onto the tour’s carriage.

The tour was organised by Irish rail tour operator Táilte Tours, and was focused on passengers taking trips and enjoying runpasts and demonstrations by locomotives from the Cavan & Leitrim Railway’s diesel fleet.

The diesel highlight of the day was a runpast by newly-restored former Bord na Móna diesel locomotive, Hunslet No. LM384, which has been undergoing extensive restoration since arriving on the railway in 2024.

But the real highlight was when the railway’s operational steam locomotive Nancy was driven out of the engine shed and coupled up to the carriage that earlier in the day had accommodated the tour’s passengers, and had been hauled by the 1950s-vintage Ruston diesel locomotive No.LM114 Joe St Leger.

Nancy was built by Avonside in 1908, and treated the tour passengers to an unexpected extra run down the line.

This was a bonus because the heatwave had forced steam operations in other parts of Ireland, in common with the rest of the UK, to be banned.

However, on the day, conditions around Dromod on 9th August were wet enough to allow Nancy to be steamed.

Táilte Tours often sells enamel badges during its rail tours, with the profits going to fund heritage projects through Ireland.

In 2023, it produced a badge to help raise funds towards the restoration of the Cavan & Leitrim Railway’s Kerr Stuart steam locomotive Dromod.