very young (<5) watched a shunter in the yard at Scunthorpe when I was in pram going into town over the long concrete footbridge you can see in this google maps satellite view here:-
https://goo.gl/maps/Xy8JQ7VCwv52. My big sister was at the school at the south end of the bridge. Think I saw class 08's shunting. Would I have seen Dowty retarders in 1959-1960?
Might have ridden a DMU to Doncaster - dunno
Then we moved to Leeds in 1961 when I was 5
This was before they rebuilt Leeds station and i remember meeting grandparents off a london train at the old central station. memories of Central are hazy
But I also remember bradford portions coming into Leeds behind a steam loco, and being shunted to make the longer train.
I assume the leeds-London run was class 40,44,45 or 46
A few DMU trips then too
Then we went to Folkestone to see my Grandparents who had retired there. I was fascinated with trains with no locomotive, just carriages! All green! Grandad had an old Southern region timetable which I used to enjoy looking at. I assume Grandad showed me how it worked.
I think the SR timetable changed so little that using an out of date one was OK!
Grandma knew all the stations by heart, and would tell me the next one. I would look out and she was always right! Maybe she cheated with a crib sheet. Westenhanger, Sandling for Hythe, Folkestone West, then Folkestone Central where we got off.
Did a couple of trips on the RH&DR. East Kent bus to Hythe station. And a day out to Dover once. Not sure why.
Sort of railway but loved the cliff lifts. Didnt go often. we had to walk from the East Cliff beach to the Leas up the steep paths.
he explained to me there was a 3rd rail to make the trains electric. I was confused because i thought that would mean the trains had a wider gauge because they worked like a model railway!
Grandparents lived in a flat where we could see the railway between Folkestone East and Central. sometimes a noiser train went past, they explained this was a diesel. may have been a hastings unit, or a loco hauled boat train going to Dover.
We went on the pier and watched the boat trains ease onto the pier to clear the level crossing and the BR packet steamers. One was called Maid of Orleans
We once went to somewhere near Folkestone West Jct and there was a level crossing where the keeper opened and shut the gates by hand. Think it was warren road. This image of Warren Road looks familiar
http://www.warrenpress.net/FolkestoneThenNow/images/WarrenRdLevelCrossinga.jpg
Grandad must have walked miles with us kids. Grandma had difficulty walking so didnt come. Didnt stop him dying of a stroke (1976) - but Grandma cooked with lots of butter, jersey milk etc. people did then. they saw it as good food after a long period of rationing. He always wore a tweed suit, tie and trilby. braces too. but the waistband of his trousers was up to his ribs.
I remember the hustle crossing London. Mum with 2 kids getting from Canon St to Kings Cross in the rush hour.
Leeds station was all new but the locals were withering. It was all DMU very soon. We did go to Durham for the day by way of Harrogate and Ripon and had to change at (I think) at Northallerton. Did trans Pennines go that way then? Mum saw a pigeon basket with an egg and wondered what would become of the orphan!
I had a ladybird book of BR trains. it featured deltics, trans pennine units and the 'special' units for the Calder valley with bigger engines. Other kids referred to DMU as 'Bogs', often with an unpleasant adjective, not worth their attention. Think it was short for bogie, but not sure.
I remember the trans Pennine 124's with their buffets cars. I must have been 16-17 then cos I think I was travelling alone then. spent pocket money on day returns to places like Huddersfield or York, just to ride trains! There was a great hoo-ha about introducing 'paytrains' on the Ilkley and harrogate service.
They used to have an exhibition train that they parked in one of the bays on the south side of the station. Used to go and look, because you could get on the platforms without a platform ticket by just saying 'exhibition train' to the ticket bloke. Used to see the sleeper in one of the bays too. think they dropped 1 carriage off at leeds on the way to Scotland which the pilot 08 shunted.
Went on a school trip to Arran. we went by train. through train Leeds-Carlisle-Glasgow via Dumfries. The G&SW stations had blue station signs which I though odd. Bloke went up the outside of the train at Carlisle and tapped the wheels. And they refilled the toilet tanks from hoses. Probably 1970. Corridor Mk 1
Dad had to go to London for work a bit. He was quite excited when the air conditioned trains came.
Then I saw a Deltic. Wow.....
I lived near Settle many years ago. I went to Morecambe by bike with my stepson. we had a go on the roller coaster, then bunged the bikes in the guards van of the DMU and snoozed our way back to Giggleswick (not via lancaster then) where we had to cycle home! 1984 I think. He was 10.
My parents came by train to Settle. The train was a lot longer than the platforms. People wanting to get off stuck their heads out of the door windows. The stationmaster gave hand signals to the driver so he moved the train on so they could get off. There were movable wooden steps because of the low platforms. MK1 and Cl45/46
More signalboxes then. Settle still had shunting signals but the box seemed to be permanently switched out. Horton, Dent and Ais Gill still were block posts.
About that time I did a short course in Scotland, I got a train north from Settle at about 17;00. in Feb. The Settle Carlisle in the dark in a drably lit Mk 1 was an eerie experience. And a massive culture shock when I got on an air con coach with an electric loco for the trip to Glasgow.
Sorry to ramble on but I miss the railway in the old days.....