The best we could do, was to take a ride on the toy train from Ooty to Coonoor, that unfortunately has only a regular diesel engine. Luckily though, around the time we reached the Coonoor railway station, a steam engine in the railway shed was getting ready for a trip down to Mettupalayam. This was my first close encounter with a steam engine that I can remember, although my dad says he's shown me some when I was a kid.
