Comments on: Full steam ahead

By: Andew

Andew — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:24:43 +0000

Thanks OS. Phew I’m glad it’s not just me!

By: OS

OS — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:40:36 +0000

A great piece, Andy. Yes, there really is something special about steam locomotives. As you rightly say, they are almost a living entity; each one with it’s own personality and quirks. I remember as an eleven-year-old, I was an avid train spotter and used to go to Whitmore every saturday during the summer with my mate from Longton High School. He lived at Hartshill and I would meet him at Newcastle. We would then catch the bus to Whitmore. It was a great day out culminating, if we were lucky, in seeing some of the great trains of the day. Keep up the good work.

Mick.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:14:08 +0000

Never seen a piece of coal… incredible. You chose a lovely line to take them on, and one of the longest heritage routes. I went to the Severn Valley Railway as a teenager one Christmas holiday. It snowed and there were carols on the stations, warm mulled wine, and raging log fires in the waiting rooms. Add the steam locomotives and it could have been a scene from the 1930s. It got us in the festive spirit. Of course the line has a distinct Great Western Railway feel about it, my favourite of the “Big Four” companies as they tried to make everything a little bit different or special.

I think was born in the wrong era. I should have been 18 in about 1964. I’d have gone on holidays by steam train as a lad, witnessed the 1966 World Cup win, had a Vespa when they first came out, enjoyed the great music firsthand, and marvelled at the new fashions the young ladies were wearing! The cars had a decent look about them too, plenty of chrome and the occasional fin. Plus I’d probably be retired now enjoying my pension!

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.

By: Dallas Cowboy

Dallas Cowboy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:15:58 +0000

An enjoyable piece written from the heart. Who among us does not have fond memories of the days of steam, with the Jubs, Brits and Semis?

When Margaret and her mother came over to England, I took them to Bridgnorth and a trip on the steam railway. That was the first time in their lives that they had ridden on a train and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Equally surprising was the fact that they had never seen a piece of coal.