Passengers were given a brilliant start to 2024 as they boarded a unique vehicle in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire for the final time.

Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway were loaned a 4144 Great Western from Didcot Railway which was frequently used by buffs and commuters.

And on January 1, many people boarded the steam engine for the final time before it was returned to Oxfordshire town.

It had been lent to a Chinnor-based railway station for an unspecified amount of time.

In a Facebook post that was published on the afternoon of New Year’s Day, they said: “Our trains have stopped.

“Our passengers gone.

“All is quiet.

“So ends another year in the life of the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway.

“Born in 1872 and ironically now carrying far more people than it ever did 150 years ago, our railway goes from strength to strength and that's all thanks to you, our visitors and supporters.

“You may think the volunteers who keep everything running are going to have a rest now, but the opposite is true.

“This is our busy season when we can do all those things we can't do when the trains are running.”

The railway station will reopen on Sunday, March 10, which is Mother’s Day.

They concluded their message by urging people to not ‘wander’ onto the tracks and both Chinnor and Princes Risborough, as both will have active lines.

For more information about the 4144 locomotive, click here.