It feels unlikely that he was thinking of a Motor Rail diesel loco as he wrote, but who knows?
42 is very much the Apedale loco of the moment; it is currently making a return trip to Leighton Buzzard, where it worked for much of its existence.
It was one of the “main line” locos on the Leighton Buzzard system, being 40HP and fitted with a three speed gearbox which was to prove its ultimate undoing.
