The phrase 'cradle of the industrial revolution' was nowhere more encapsulated than inside a locomotive roundhouse of the former North Eastern Railway, in this case Sunderland. The adjective 'decrepit' hardly seemed an adequate description! Nonetheless, to be in such a place and to soak up the atmosphere was an experience mere words cannot describe. The locomotives were almost 50 years old and it would only be a matter of months before such a sight was consigned to history. It was a privilege to have lived to experience those times.