I'm going to start this tour round the country close to home.
The railway that I visit most often is the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, only a dozen or so miles from where I live, but this isn't the closest one.
I first visited the Middleton Railway when I was quite young for one of their steam galas back in the 60s long before they started running passenger trains.
More recently I paid the railway a visit during the autumn of 1998 when they were holding an enthusiast event particularly to have a ride behind the L&Y Saddle Tank 51218, a recording of which has already appeared in these pages.
However, In this recording, heard from the lineside are Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST 'Mirvale' and Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST 'Sir Berkeley' double heading a train towards Middleton Park Halt.

Travelling further north still we arrive at the Strathspey Railway.
In November 1993 after travelling to Inverness over the Highland Main Line, steam hauled of course, a further steam hauled train the following day was arranged the following day to take us as far as Aviemore where there was time for a ride to Boat of Garten and back before returning south.
I was particularly pleased to find that the loco in use was the newly restored to traffic Caledonian Railway McIntosh 812 Class 0-6-0 828.
At the start of the return journey 828 makes a fine sound departing from Boat of Garten for Aviemore.

Returning south now our first stop back in England is at the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway.
I have visited this line on quite a few occasions in the hope of getting one of the two Fairburn Tanks and on this visit in 1996 I have to say 42085 looked magnificent in BR black parked outside the shed at Haverthwaite.
However, the service to Lakeside was being worked by the almost compulsory Austerity 0-6-0ST. This one, named 'Repulse', sounded like this leaving Haverthwaite.

South to the Midlands and we reach the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley.
On 30th September 1984 LMS 4F 0-6-0 4027 was in use and is heard in this recording departing from Butterley for Swanwick Jc.

Also in steam that day was the Somerset & Dorset 7F 2-8-0 13809 heard in this recording making a rapid start from Butterley runing light engine.

From a Somerset and Dorset engine we move to Somerset and visit the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore.
On the 1st April 1994 BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76017, normally based on the Mid-Hants Railway, was working trains. In this recording the Standard 4 is heard on this breezy afternoon climbing the 1 in 56 gradient from Mendip Vale heading back to Cranmore.

Further west now to the South Devon Railway which follows the Dart Valley from Totnes to Buckfastleigh.
For the most part the line from Totnes is very easily graded and the gradients only begin to steepen as the line nears its present day terminus at Buckfastleigh.
In this recording the GWR 0-6-0PT 1369 is heard crossing the bridge over the River Dart and climbing the short 1 in 50 gradient just outside the terminus at Buckfastleigh.