Don't worry - I'm not about to burst into a Burt Bacharach number!
Trains
With my mum's family living in Nottingham we often made the trip by train from Sheffield Midland or Victoria station to visit my gran and aunts, and in those days the carriages were pulled by smoke belching steam engines, and I became quite fascinated by these mechanical monsters that almost seemed to be alive.
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| Taken near Canklow in the 1960s |
This led to buying some Ian Allen ABC spotters books and like many young lads in their very early teens in the late 50's and early 60s became a fully fledged train spotter. A highlight was travelling to Doncaster to sit on a disused platform on the edge of the old station at St.James' Bridge (now Hexthorpe Bridge) and see the main line trains speed through Donny with the likes of "Mallard" up front. The same lads would meet up week after week, complete with a bag of sandwiches and a bottle of pop and sit for hours waiting to "cop" a new engine!
As I got older the train spotting stopped but I started photographing what was left of steam on our railways alongside the introduction of diesel and electric traction. I've recently been scanning some of my old b/w negs and sharing them with other steam nuts on my
Flickr pages.
It noticeable that the train spotters and photographers at the end of the platform these days are very rarely youngsters, but I have little interest in modern day railways other than for travelling on. However I still treasure some of my original 50 year old spotters books (2/6d from Smiths) with the numbers of the engines seen underlined and those that met the cutter's torch blacked out.
Thanks mainly to a scrap merchant called Dai Woodham in Barry (South Wales) and many diehard enthusiasts it's still possible to see steam locos at work. There are many main line excursions hauled by restored steam giants, but the best place to visit is one of the host of preserved lines dotted around the country, something I do whenever possible to see and film or photograph the restored steam locos still plying their trade. Nostalgia rules!
By the way, if you've wondered why my blog address is keith45655, it's quite simple. Steam loco number 45655 was named "Keith".
Boats
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| Chesterfield Canal near Shireoaks |
Not all boats, but more specifically narrow boats. I love being around water - the sea, lakes, rivers and streams are all fine by me, but my favourite is the inland waterways. Canals are an ideal place for anyone wanting to relax with the abundance of wildlife and views and history. Canals are ideal for walkers and photographers and anyone interested in their 300+ years contribution to the industrial and transport heritage of our country. If you've never been lucky enough to take a boating holiday on a canal, I would recommend it as one of the most relaxing breaks you've ever had - despite the locks!
Planes
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| (Stock photo) |
Well, the main heading is not really correct as I have no enduring interest in planes. Never been up in one and never intend to. I have visited and enjoyed aircraft museums, notably the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, but I only ever set foot in an operational aircraft once. That was on an open day many years ago at the East Midland Airport. I was halfway down the aisle of whatever plane it was when there was a bomb scare and we had to evacuate. Damn good job we weren't in flight or I'm sure I WOULD have evacuated!
