Cambridge man's model steam traction engine retirement joy

Michael Oakman bought the traction engine as a retirement present to himself - from himself

A lifelong steam train fan has treated himself to a miniature traction engine which he uses to drive himself and friends around.

The fully licensed and roadworthy vehicle is a scale model of a Burrell engine, which were manufactured in the early 1900s in Thetford, Norfolk.

Michael Oakman, from Cambridge, had it made in 2018 ahead of his retirement.

Only recently has he taken it out on the roads. He said: "It's nice to have something to play with."

Mr Oakman has been filmed driving the engine around the roads and to the pubs in Cherry Hinton, south of Cambridge, and has taken it to the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, to a park where "it always brings a smile to people's faces", he said.

There's a lot of upkeep if your hobby is a steam traction engine

Named Henry, after Mr Oakman's father, the engine is powered by steam and needs regular top-ups of coal and water.

"Sometimes my wife has to follow in the car with more - in case it runs out," Mr Oakman, 67, said.

He said he had "always been interested in steam, but if it's a locomotive, you'd be needing a track - and I don't have a track".

His father was a train driver at Cambridge station for 44 years, and his own son, Oliver, has inherited the family's love of steam and engines.

With retirement looming, Mr Oakman had a model-maker construct the scale-model Burrell engine.

It has a trailer on the back so he can take passengers out, which comes in handy for the occasional trip to a nearby pub.

The engine is named Henry, after Mr Oakman's father, who was a train driver

"I wanted a toy to play with," Mr Oakman said.

He said it had taken a while to sort the paperwork out to ensure the vehicle could be driven on roads.

Mr Oakman admitted Henry is never going to be seen travelling along the busy A14 or M11 in Cambridgeshire.

"You've got to be sensible - after all, it goes at a snail's pace," he said.

His toy's top speed is about 3mph (5km/h), and lives in his son's garage.

But when it is taken out, it attracts attention and brings smiles to people's faces as the whistle toots, Mr Oakman added.