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Old 3rd September 2018, 23:10
bramleyman bramleyman is offline  
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 928
I DO apologise friends, I seriously thought I had told you all how I became interested in railways.

I have and always will blame my now late Daddy for my interest, as I was born a few minutes from Laindon Station, on the then LT&SR, at the same time as the Late Joan Sims father Harry was the Station Master and where Joan was also born, a few years before me, yet I never got to meet her.

As I grew-up, so one weekend a month, Mum & Dad took us to London for the day. I must have been about 8 years at the time when, one week where we normally changed on to London Underground at Barking, this particular time, we stayed on until Fenchurch Street, where when we got off, Dad suggested we ask the Driver and Fireman if we could look up on the footplate and were allowed on condition we kept away from the firebox and I said: "We mustn't go near fire, because we could get burnt.' and as we got off minutes later, one of the crew said to me: "I suppose you will want to be a train-driver when you leave school now?" Obviously my answer was "Yes please." I soon pestered mum & dad for a train set and eventually got my first clockwork one.

When I left school, I still wanted to be a train-driver, but the steam was being taken off, as electrics were then being introduced. My Love of steam remained and I went to work in a factory alongside the railway for just over 2 years, with my interest remaining. Oh I had a model railway, but I so wanted to be train driver of steam, but it wasn't to be.

In 1971/2, so I joined a MRC, but due to the ignorance of the Chairman, the club sadly closed down in 1984. I still kept my Love of railways going and travelled on there as much as I could.

In 1989 I was working in a factory in King's Lynn and always made a point of visiting the station on every chance I had, then one day, one of the rail-men there asked if I had applied for one of the Guard jobs advertised? I hadn't, but did do very fast. I was unsuccessful on this application, then a few months later, some more vacancies came up and I was finally offered one, starting as a Guard on 12 March 1990. I know the date so well, as that was my sister's birthday.

I have got to work with some Wonderful colleagues, as well as a couple I tend to forget. My Most memorable passenger was when my then Favourite actress approached me on Cambridge asking for the next train to get her to Manchester. I told her, then placed a very heavy suitcase on the train for her. The lady then asked if I could be sure it will get taken odd at Ely and assured her it would, as I was to be the Guard for that train. As I put it down and turned round, so the lady stood close to me and I said how much she was like my favourite actress and her reply STUNNED me to say the least, because this WAS my favourite actress at the time and now deceased Ms Billie Whitelaw. I had been fond of Billie since seeing her in a regular tv programme. To this day I still have the autograph, but sadly only the memory of the day and getting a Cuddle and Kiss from her.

Now, I am founder and Chairman of Wisbech MRC, having started it 13 years ago, following a meeting of the then Wisbech - March Bramley Line, hence my name on here and Bramleyman. Sadly, I had to resign from the group a few years ago, when my now Late Wife became seriously ill and passed away not only 8 days after we were wed, but less than 36 hours after being diagnosed with Cancer by an 'EXPERT' who claimed she had months not years to live. I have since retired, while my Love of railways NEVER will.
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I wouldn't say I am old, but when I was a youngster, the Dead Sea was still alive.
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