|
There is just something magic about railways and of course the nostalgia of British Steam. Once you have got the bug it just doesn't go away.
My start was fairly inauspicious - I was frightened of steam engines! my father worked in newspapers and made periodic trips to London by night sleeper. My mother and I would often see him off on a Sunday evening from Dundee Tay Bridge station where the night sleeper from Aberdeen would sometimes change engines before proceeding. I could not be persuaded to go forward down the platform to see these noisy monsters. (I must have missed some wonderful sights!)
However at age 10, two of my school friends had discovered "trainspotting" and out of idle curiosity I went with them one Saturday morning to Dundee Tay Bridge station to see the 11.47 to Aberdeen which pulled in from Edinburgh behind 60004 William Whitelaw. I was hooked! A 1959 Ian Allan part 4 was promptly acquired for 2/6 and intense spotting ensued. For Christmas a year later my grandfather was persuaded to buy me for 10/6 a 1960/61 Combined Volume which was the envy of all my mates.
The remarkable thing which others have commented on, is the ground we covered at such tender age and with few parental concerns. A one week "Freedom of Scotland" ticket allowed four of us to cover stations and sheds at Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth, Stirling, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Mecca itself - Carlisle. (from Edinburgh Princes Street behind 46226 Duchess of Norfolk and back to Perth behind 46201 Princess Elizabeth - wonderful!) A family holiday that required an overnight stop in Newcastle saw me begging my father to let me visit the station late one evening - "just an hour please Dad" and again for another hour in the morning while mother took in the shops. The first thing I saw on entering the station in the dark of nght was a gleaming 60003 Andrew K McCosh - heaven!
Sadly as with other correspondants my intense interest lasted only from 1959 to around 1962/3 when other interests gradually took over - not least latterly wine (or rather beer) women and song (or so I'd like to think! It meant I missed out on the migration of many steam locomotives to Scotland in the twilight years of 1965/67.
Interest however was never really lost and rekindled in the late 70's since when books have been collected, model railway started (but not finished of course), railwayana acquired, model railway exhibitions attended, preserved railways visited and a footplate experience some 15 years ago driving and firing Flying Scotsman on the GCR (light engine, great footplate crew and certainly not restricted to a sedate pace - I acquired an indelible smile!)
Now just off to watch my Railway Roundabout DVD boxed set which I got for Christmas along with Scottish Byways part 2 which I've already watched several times and I thoroughly recommend it!
A great 2009 to all. Mike
|