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What a lot of interest this question has raised.
For my part I lived in Market Rasen in the 50's and went to a school in Lincoln every day on a steam hauled engine and back again. I would let my imagination run wild with all the boyish adventures one could muster as the train delivered its power with the gentle rocking to and fro and of course the rythem of the wheels over the track joints. Oh what bliss. My dad worked on the railways and I would often meet him at the sheds by the Brayford Pool in Lincoln and we would ride home together.
I did become a spotter in my teens but left it all behind with the arrival of the diesels. I use to bike to Tuxford on the east coast main line to see the occasional "Streak" fly by or an A1 or other Pacific. Names like William Wordsworth, Kestral and Silver Fox are completely etched in my mind, so too the boat trains we used to catch over to Belgium in the 50's, the green arrow!
Well now I am 60 and have found a revived interest in our wonderful Heritage railways. Yes it takes me back to the "good old days" but more than that our country must have the best of steam anywhere in the world with over three hundred preserved Steam engines and new ones being bulit for the young comming through. Its good to see all the revived stations with all the nostalga attached.
I could go on; it gets in your blood and never goes away.
Long live our heritage lines and all the people involved young and old.
I love it!
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