who or what got you into railways and what was your first kop/haulage

[westernpunk]

my good mate raymond was a spotter and he talked me into joining him for a days spotting at exeter st davids, 8 jul 72 so we caught the dmu from crediton and there in the banking spur fresh out of swindon, looking magnificent in its new coat of rail blue, was my first kop d1066 western prefect, just one look and i was hooked, spent most of the next 4 and a half years chasing them ,anyhow the following saturday, we went from exeter st davids to paignton , and my first haulage was d1000 on the 1bo5 0718 padd to paig i dont know where raymond is now but its because of him my lifelong love of railways began.
ironically 1066 was the last Western needed for for haulage and only had the once via a negative connection at bridgewater on a sunday
it would be great to hear other members recollections
( bit of a longshot but i would love a photo of 1066 and 1000 on those dates)

 

[jbqfc]

My Dad and Grandad got in into spotting taking me all over the country from a very young age still taking numbers down 50 years on although they has been gaps when i stopped for a bit
The first cop I can remember is 55005 at Doncaster station 17/06/78 having been to the works open day I was 9 at the time I can remember this as if it was yesterday as this classed the deltics for me

 

[Richard Scott]

Always interested I railways, dad used to take me to the station to look at train when I was young, usually peaks hauled most trains. First loco I noted for sight was 50019 and first haulage 50039.

 

[DelW]

My dad was interested in railways and particularly all things Great Western, which preference he didn't entirely manage to pass on to me. The first memory I have which I can date accurately was being taken to Moor Street station in Birmingham, to see City of Truro and Caledonian 123 on display there.

Moor Street Station: Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 (Single) No 123 on display at Moor Street Station on 13th April 1960

Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 (Single) No 123 on display at Moor Street Station on 13th April 1960

Also standing near the line through Perry Barr station to watch the steam hauled "Pines Express" pass by.

 

[6Gman]

Can not remember a time when I wasn't interested.

The earliest railway memory I can date was a visit to Folkestone in 1961 (I was 4).

The earliest haulage I can specify would be 70026 Polar Star Llandudno Junction to Holyhead (1964/5) on The Emerald Isle Express but not my first rail journey by any means!

 

[Trackman]

First number noted was D325, first loco I saw a Western 'Thousand'
Always thought class 40s started off in black livery pre TOPS as they were that dirty.

 

[neilmc]

It was at school i Leeds in 1967, I recall questioning what the comment "Seven Peaks are blue" referred to and was told what a Peak was. That Saturday I joined the lads who first went to the only-just-hanging-on Leeds Central and heard a very determined thrumming noise which turned out to be my first cop, D9015 Tulyar. The boys then explained that to get to see a reasonable number of locos you had to walk down Whitehall Road and bunk Holbeck depot which we did more or less every Saturday unless we had money to go further afield.

Gave up spotting in 1971 when I went to university, all the steam had of course gone and I "needed" about 150 diesels, most of which were shunters in obscure locations and I no longer wanted to spend money on faraway trips where I might not actually see ANYTHING new.

 

[75A]

My Father took me to Woodhorn Crossing - between Barnham & Chichester to see Flying Scotsman haul a special towards Havant in the mid 60's. He spent decades commuting from Sussex to Victoria and after I left working as a Secondman @ Brighton I spent decades commuting from Woking to Waterloo and onwards via The Drain.

 

[Roger1973]

Again, parental influence.

The first trains I saw would have been Southern Region EPB units on the local services in SE London, and probably class 33 and 73 on freight trains. I don't think I particularly recorded the first of anything when I started taking numbers.

Again, first train ride of any sort would almost certainly have been on an EPB but I'd have been too young to remember (I am told I was taken by a combination of train and Alder Valley rail replacement bus to visit grandparents in Reading when I was less than a year old, so think I can be excused for not remembering it...)

First 'haulage' would probably have been a 47 or 50 from Paddington to Reading, but I don't think I ever noted it specifically. Visits to grandparents were often done via Paddington rather than the more obvious change at Waterloo, as it was more interesting from a railway perspective.

 

[Harpo]

As a retired railway grainer and marbler* my grandad took me on a number of his trips including to London. That got me hooked on trains.

My first/last public mainline steam was at 3 years old followed by 15 years of EMUs and vintage red underground trains.

My first diesel haulage was at work. After doing a favour walking urgent supplies to a nearby yard, I was offered a lift back on a main line trip in the cab of an 08.

Mainline diesel haulage started with an unrefurbished 50 from Paddington to Oxford.


* A painter/decorator who created fake wood or stone finishes on other materials.

 

[Falcon1200]

I also cannot recall a time when I was not interested in railways! What I would call proper enthusiasm started in 1971, when I began secondary school which had a Railway Society. Unfortunately I did not keep any records from before 1983, especially annoying as living in Oxford I no doubt travelled behind many Hymeks and Westerns. One vivid memory I do have, from before that time, is seeing Warship D843 Sharpshooter at Oxford, going on a family holiday pre car ownership.

 

[Harpo]

One vivid memory I do have, from before that time, is seeing Warship D843 Sharpshooter at Oxford, going on a family holiday pre car ownership.

Likewise - A family day out to London and coming across D823 Hermes on the blocks at Waterloo. That was the only hydraulic I ever saw in service.

 

[birchesgreen]

I went to school at Hodge Hill on the Bromford in the mid-80s, at lunchtime i started going down to watch the trains go by on the B'ham-Peterborough line. I bought an ABC from WH Smiths and the rest is history... I immediately became a big fan of class 58s. I gained an interest on my own though my Dad had been a spotter a boy, watching the big steam engines at Edge Hill. He took me to Nuneaton once, that was great especially when an 87 screamed through with a motorail train at full pelt. I still remember the Class 20 burbling away on one of the engineer sidings.

I usually spotted at Stechford, so a lot of WCML traffic: 86s mostly plus the odd 87 or 85. Local services were by 310s and 312s.

 

[Western 52]

An aunt bought me a copy of Locospotters Annual 1967 when I was age 4. That was the start, but my grandfather was a train driver, which was also an early motivator! My first haulage was probably behind a Western between Swansea and Cardiff, but I was too young to remember it!

 

[birchesgreen]

I've been told i was taken on a train while a toddler (so no memory of it) from Waterloo to (presumably) Liverpool. What would have been running on the Northern Line back in about 1973? 503s? If so, that is quite a cool first train to be on.

Earliest train i can remember being on was a 47 hauled (only know that because my Dad took a photo of me next to the loco!) service to York not long after the NRM opened.

 

[Western 52]

I've been told i was taken on a train while a toddler (so no memory of it) from Waterloo to (presumably) Liverpool. What would have been running on the Northern Line back in about 1973? 503s? If so, that is quite a cool first train to be on.

Earliest train i can remember being on was a 47 hauled (only know that because my Dad took a photo of me next to the loco!) service to York not long after the NRM opened.

I think it was 502s on the Northern line?

 

[Razorblades]

As a pre-school boy, I was staying with relatives at Worsley, where a neighbour was a driver at Patricroft shed. This enabled a depot visit in June '68 - apparently quite common for young children, so I've read in books about the end of steam in Salford - and getting on the footplate of a Black 5 or Standard 5 is presumably what launched my lifelong obsession with and career (so-called) in the railway. First known cop was Western Druid (D1067) at Birmingham New St in summer '75, which I had to Banbury on a day trip with my mum. I was 9.

 

[Flange Squeal]

My Dad was responsible for my railway interest. Neither of us were ever into spotting, however he enjoyed photography while I was more into just observing the comings and goings and have always been more into timetables/scheduling/operational side more than the actual trains themselves. First 'haulage' (if you can call it that!) was probably a Southern Region CEP/CIG/VEP, as they were the mainstay of my area growing up. Working on the railway for the last couple of decades has without doubt reduced my rail interest though, I guess a risk of mixing hobby and work is that it can dilute that enthusiasm a bit?

 

[SuspectUsual]

My dad directly, and him in turn by his uncle who had worked for the LMS and then BR as a goods train guard. We also had a family friend who worked as a signalman at Abbey Street in Nuneaton, and I’d sometimes be left there for an hour or two for my enjoyment / my parents’ convenience when I was about 8 - 10.

No idea what my first haulage was as we went everywhere by bus / train, but the two early things I do remember is the first loco I can remember seeing was 47555 pulling into platform 3 at Coventry to take us on holiday, and the first time I travelled by train alone was a 31 from Hinckley to Nuneaton

 

[birchesgreen]

I think it was 502s on the Northern line?

Not bad, i'll take that!

 

[Justin Smith]

I can remember when I was about twelve back in the mid 70s going with the school to the National Railway Museum at York. At that time there was a British Railways yard just at the side of the museum and a group of us were sitting watching an engine being worked there. After a short while the driver noticed us sat there and he descended from the cab, walked over to us and asked us if we wanted to go on the footplate! Naturally we all jumped at the chance and followed him up into the loco. It was fantastic as he showed us what everything did and how to start the engine (I think it may have been a class 40 ? ) but it got even better when he asked us if we wanted to drive it! Alright it was only 50 yards or so but it was a wonderful experience for a group of lads, though I’m sure it would be a wonderful experience for pretty much anyone !
That could never happen now, people would be appalled at the very idea and I am certain the driver would get censured or even sacked. I think that's really sad, I don't like the modern world.....

 

[pitdiver]

When I was a youngster I lived across the road from the East Coast Main Line so I was aware of the railway from an early age. I am referring to the 50s & 60s. The days of the A4s. Halcyon days.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

I suppose that my beginnings would have been in the early / mid 1960s, when I was in Junior School in Newport (South Wales).

I got the enthusiasm from my Grandfather, who I think took me to Newport Station. I have no idea what my first "cop" was and as I was never interested in logging haulage, the same applies. An early memory is of standing on Slough station (after a family visit to Windsor Castle) and seeing two Warships going through double headed on a westbound express - although I can't remember to where!

Another early memory led to me having to wear glasses, which I still do. I was at Severn Tunnel Junction on a train to Bristol (another family day out) when my Grandmother saw that I couldn't properly see the numbers, and issued an instruction to my Mother that I needed to go to the optician the following week; this was something that couldn't be ignored, hence 60+ years of wearing glasses!

My major involvement was from the late 1960's to the early 1980's. During this period, I used to travel all over the UK, often using Rail Rovers, and cleared quite a few diesel and electric classes - a very interesting time. My trainspotting days mostly ended in the early / mid 1980s, but I've always retained an interest in railways in different ways; presently, I volunteer at Didcot Railway Centre and am a member of several railway societies. I still travel by train, but I don't keep any records of what I see.

 

[jfollows]

Reddish Depot open day 9/9/73 and subsequent visit to Guide Bridge. Then various signal boxes - Gorton, Godley Junction, Hadfield.

I moved on but the Woodhead route always interested me.

 

[Bevan Price]

When I was young, the now closed line from St. Helens to Rainford ran behind the houses on the other side of the road. There was a farm crossing about 50 yards away, and I became fascinated by trains. No idea what was my first cop - possibly a Webb LNWR 2-4-2T that worked the push-pull passenger service until replaced by Ivatt 2-6-2T.

First haulage - again, no idea - my parents took me on holiday to Blackpool several years when I was very young, though I have very vague memories of one of the few remaining streamlined Duchesses taking us North from Wigan North Western (presumably as far as Preston).

 

[Mag_seven]

I have a vague memory of being hauled by two class 50s out from Glasgow Central on a sleeper train in the early 70s. I was only a young kid at the time though so didn't appreciate the significance.

 

[westernpunk]

we had a similar experience to justinsmith at stj shed aug 74 with d7093 ,back then drivers seemed only too glad
to share the footplate with spotters

 

[John Luxton]

My interest in railways started very very young I regularly visited my maternal great aunt/uncle and my maternal grandmother who lived with them. Their house backed on to the Liverpool to Crewe line just beyond the site of Sefton Park Station. Living close by my mother would take me there almost on a daily basis and thus I was exposed to passing trains from just a few weeks old.

Holidays were in Penzance until I was 7. We stayed in a B&B in Penrose Terrace close to the station or in a rented caravan at Eastern Green camp site where the Tesco store is now. Obviously plenty of opportunity to watch the trains. The first trip I can remember by train was with my great uncle who took me to Birkenhead Market by the Mersey Railway between James Street and Hamilton Square. Yes just one stop in a tunnel. Not the greatest of first train trips. I would have been around three at the time. However, he realised I liked trains and would often take me out for runs from Liverpool.

My parents didn't tend to take me on many rail trips my father was very much a car person - but they did take me to Hatton's Model Railway shop on Smithdown Road. My parents also had a shop on Smithdown Road and Hatton's was about 5 minutes walk away from where we lived.

When our holiday venue changed from Penzance to St Ives around 1966/7 I asked my parents to take me to St Ives Station and they indulged me in a trip to St Erth. Quite a few more trips followed. First trip on a GWR Branch Line and I suppose that is what made me a Great Western man.

My first railtour was the LCGB "Moorlands" featuring FLYING SCOTSMAN Liverpool > Carlisle > S&C . Liverpool October 1968. By now my father was indulging me in rail tour trips as he found he quiet enjoyed them too so did quite a few in the 70s.

I still have a photo of my early spotting at Long Rock near Penzance. Unfortunately my mother photographed me and not the Westerns, Warships and probably the odd Castle which would have been trundling past when I was about 18 months old.

 

[birchesgreen]

Kind of a different world back then, i remember wandering into the Bescot depot office (i was about 12) and asking if someone could show me around the depot.

And being told to sod off.

 

[Cowley]

Kind of a different world back then, i remember wandering into the Bescot depot office (i was about 12) and asking if someone could show me around the depot.

And being told to sod off.

I remember walking into the mess room at Exeter st David’s depot with my stepbrother, we were probably about 14 and asking if we could look around, the guy said “Yeah, just don’t fall down one of the pits.”

I’m another one that’s been interested in railways for as long as I can remember. My father’s into railways too and I remember early trips by rail in the 1970s when I was little.