SWISS man Alexander Choremi is clearly loco about steam trains.

He travelled all the way to Bury to fulfil his steam dream by forking out £1,500 to hire the East Lancashire Railway for the day!

It is the fourth time this year the 37-year-old railway engine cleaner has flown 700 miles to board the footplate.

And he will be returning next week to ride another mighty locomotive.

"I love the sound, the dust and the smell of the steam," said Mr Choremi, who is so passionate about his hobby that he even brings his own hat and overalls.

"My friends don't understand, they think I must be mad."

He spent all Wednesday driving the Duchess of Hamilton - the "flagship" locomotive on loan to ELR from the National Railway Museum in York - eight miles along the line to Rawtenstall and back.

It's an expensive hobby for Mr Choremi who, like many little boys, dreamed of being a train driver when he grew up.

He first took a trip on the ELR in 1993 and has visited at least once a year since then.

But, amazingly, he is not the ELR's most exotic visitor.

"We've had people coming from Australia and Japan just to drive a locomotive," said ELR spokesman Mr Graham Vevers.

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