Reproduced from The Times 3 November, 1998

Barry Daly, 43, of Crewe, Cheshire, stole locomotives and rolling stock to sell to heritage railway enthusiasts including Pete Waterman, the pop music producer, Chester Crown Court was told.

Daly, who earned his nickname from the Thomas the Tank Engine stories because of his portly appearance and a lifelong fascination for the railways, worked as freight service manager at Crewe station. With control over the buying and selling of locomotives, he was able to "circumnavigate" the correct paperwork.

He worked as a volunteer at the Waterman Rail Heritage Trust centre in Crewe, where historic trains are preserved for public display, and was also a welcome guest at Mr Waterman's home.

The court was told that Daly was using his inside knowledge after the privatisation of BR to carry out a series of thefts. He stole from both his employers and the collectors to whom he promised the stock.

Simon Lubin, of British Transport Police, said: "He was able to fiddle the paperwork without anyone raising an eyebrow. He was in charge of the Crewe sidings and, in that capacity, sold his employers' assets while pocketing the money for himself."

Sergeant Ken Paxton, of BTP, said that Daly sold the stock without authority and then kept the money. "It was not a case of Daly stealing trains and moving them but a white-collar fraud in which he doctored the paperwork."

In court, he admitted stealing three breakdown coaches, a Class 47 locomotive, two Class 31 locomotives, six Mark ll passenger coaches and 30 catfish wagons between January 1996 and January 1998. He also admitted dishonestly obtaining cheques to the value of £42,900 from the Waterman Rail Heritage Trust and £1,000 from Brian O'Hanlon, a member of the public.

Robin Spencer, for the prosecution, said: "He was dishonest in relation to his employers and in relation to the Waterman Rail Heritage Trust who were seeking to buy redundant locomotives and railway stock which Mr Daly was purporting to offer for sale.

"There were two sorts of victims: his employers and those who parted with the money to him which he kept and spent instead of passing it on to the owners."

Mr Spencer said that money was taken from Mr Waterman's trust, which renovates trains from the 1950s and 1960s, and from another man.

The hearing was adjourned until November 27, when Daly, who was remanded on conditional bail, will be sentenced.

Quentin Querrelle, sitting as a recorder, warned him: "The fact you have been granted bail does not necessarily mean that you are going to walk out of court again. It is more than likely you are going to receive a custodial sentence."

Outside the court, Mr Waterman, who helped to make stars out of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, said that he had been very disappointed to discover that a man who worked as a volunteer had cheated the trust.

"He was very well known in Crewe and he is a very nice guy," he said.

"He used to come to my house quite a lot. All the kids knew him down at the station, where he was known as the Fat Controller. Now he has stolen money from us and he has also deprived the public because it has affected our plans for expansion. We will be unable to go ahead with the restoration of two of our steam engines."

The trust began to suspect something had gone wrong about a year ago when stock for which they paid more than £40,000 failed to arrive. "We were absolutely mortified when we found out this stuff was not his to sell," Mr Waterman said. "They were all around Crewe in the works and in the yards but when we came to move them, we found they were not moving as fast as they should have and then we found out what had happened."

Five other charges were left on file.