Wow! Look at this beauty!

I never imagined that I’d ever call a rusty old train beautiful, but my son has brainwashed me. Goobie has been obsessed with trains for most of his 5-year life – and unfortunately for him, Cyprus doesn’t have any railways.

But all is not lost, as we discovered last year. Cyprus did used to have a railway that ran all the way from Famagusta in the east to Evrychou in the west. It closed in 1951. The Cyprus Mining Corporation (CMC) also used trains to transport ore from the mines to the ports. You can still find remnants of Cyprus’s locomotive history dotted across the island, and Goobie’s Great Train Hunt has been trying to find them all.

Goobie’s most recent find is his biggest discovery yet. We were driving into Morphou from Kyrenia and there it was, in a park by the side of the road.

We parked the car and hopped out to have a look. This engine was massive! It was dark red and very rusty; in the poorest condition of the trains we’ve found. Goobie climbed into the cab and had to take care because the wooden floorboards were rotten.

Despite its condition, it was an impressive engine. Goobie loved it. He could work some of the levers and the firebox door could be opened for him to look inside.

The white makers plates on the front of the train showed that this was CMC No. 3, an engine used by the Cyprus Mining Corporation. Goobie named it Hair-Red, ‘because he’s red, Mummy.’

Hair-Red is the fifth engine we’ve found in Cyprus so far. There’s also Port-Yet (CMC No. 5) in a playground in Lefke:

There’s Michelangelo (CMC No. 1), found on the right-hand side of the main road from Nicosia to Kyrenia:

Here’s the Alice Express, an old mine train in a playground outside of Kalavasos:

And finally, Mr No. 1 Train, a Cyprus Government Railways engine, found in Famagusta:

Has anyone found any other engines? If so, comment below!