Photographers arrived under cover of darkness at Didcot Railway Centre with tripods strapped on their backs and every type of gadget.

The centre stayed open late at the weekend for the Great Western Society's annual steam nights when locomotives were 'posed' especially for the benefit of snappers.

With the night lit up by locomotive fire boxes and steam from the funnels, photographers were hoping to capture pictures with a special magic.

Among the engines in steam were Castle Class Earl Bathurst and tank engines.

A group of art students from Finland said they had faced considerable delays in getting to Didcot because of speed restrictions travelling along the main line from Swansea.

Their interpreter said the students were videoing the steam nights for a documentary project to be shown on TV when they returned to Finland.

And Dan Call of Ohio, whose pictures of the event will be published on the Internet, said: "I have photographed steam engines in 28 different countries including Britain, although this was my first visit to Didcot."