TikTok trainspotting sensation Francis Bourgeois has been spotted at the Carmarthenshire heritage railway with his pals.
The 21-year-old became famous for his infectiously joyful videos which he started making during coronavirus lockdowns.
He and his trainspotting friends, Kyle and Ryan who often join him on his adventures, popped by the Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway which is on the site of the former Cyneidre Colliery.
The railway is completely run by volunteers and is a charity and was opened to the public in September 2017 with a handful of carriages run over 100m of track, then in 2019 the track was extended and visitors have experienced Santa's grotto and train rides since then. In 2022 they wish to extend the railway and develop the site to give visitors and enthusiasts a full day out.
A visit from Francis, who has 2.2 million followers on the social media site, TikTok and 1.3million on Instagram, where he posts behind-the-scenes footage of his visits to railways and reactions to seeing trains and their tooting tones, from across the UK, will share the LMMR far and wide.
Francis' energy and genuine passion which comes across in his videos, has gained him famous fans like Joe Jonas, who accompanied the Nottingham Uni student on his adventures earlier in January. He has even appeared in an advert for North Face x Gucci in which he starred as a train conductor welcoming some fancy skiers aboard a train.
His passion for trains and the railway developed at the station nearest his childhood home in London, Willesden Junction, where he visited when he was younger to watch the trains pass by.
He explained in an interview with This Morning last year: “I was just fixated by these big machines. Ever since, I’ve had a passion for trains, cars, planes.
"I love to show how awesome trains can be as well as trying to make you smile, laugh and just try and bring joy," he added and he hopes to go into railway engineering after graduating.
"I want to contribute my passion for trains and also engineering to make the railway network a better place for everyone."
And in a video in December, Francis posted a heartfelt answer to those who doubted his authenticity, explaining that feelings of loneliness as a teen led him to sell his train set and change his appearance to conform, but he rediscovered his passion for trains and started making the videos in lockdown.
With Francis' videos accumulating millions of views on TikTok and Instagram we're really looking forward to seeing what he, Kyle and Ryan got up to down in Carmarthenshire when he posts videos on his accounts soon, and gives the LMMR a boost ahead of their gala day on Saturday, March 26.
You can find out more about the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway, here.
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