Train spotting

I was an avid trainspotter for a few years, roughly 1953-6. I had befriended Anthony in our first day of secondary school. Learning a group from our form went to Station Fields besides Tamworth railway station on a Saturday morning we joined them and were immediately hooked. This was an excellent venue by the West Coast Main Line and by the Birmingham-Derby line crossing on a viaduct.

Frances’s present to me at Christmas was a “Railways, nation, network and people” book  which tells me Tamworth station had banned trainspotters in 1948 which was why Station Fields was the spotters venue.

The West Coast mainline ran quite near our school field but tantalisingly just too far away to make out the engine numbers.

The spotting was simplicity itself although there were a few rules to follow. The engine number was prominently written on the side of the loco cab. The five figure number in our LMS region always began with 4 so it was enough to note the final four digits. The rule was you had to actually see the locomotive yourself,  although someone else could have read the number. Thus you ended the day with a notebook with a range of 4 figure numbers. Then in the evening you transcribed these into underlined numbers in the Ian Allan book which listed all the loco’s in the region plus brief details. Many times you would have spotted the engine on a previous occasion but gradually your book filled with underlined numbers ( called “cops” ).

It would be very unusual to see a locomotive from outside your region which would start with another digit in its five figure number

Locomotives were usually built in classes of closely similar engines. Some important LMS ones included the Patriot class 4-6-0 with many named after British army units, the Jubilee class 4-6-0 with many named after prominent people and the Duchess class 4-6-2 where the  names were of aristocrats. Generally only the larger, more impressive engines were named. The smaller, lessor classes just had their number.

This naming of engines was entirely separate from the naming of trains. The train name carried on the front of the loco usually linked into the nature of the service. Thus the “Red Rose” ran from London to Lancashire. By the mid fifties the practice of naming trains was decreasing and becoming fairly unusual.

By the way those numbers after the class name signified from front to rear the number of leading undriven wheels ( 4 would be on a bogie ) then the number of driven wheels and finally the number of trailing wheels. Thus small goods or shunting engines might be 0-6-0, known to us as a duck-6.

The workhorse type was the black 5, a design of 4-6-0 with none named. These were extremely common hauling freight trains or humble passenger trains. The longer distance “express” trains tended to be hauled by Jubilee, Patriot or Duchess classes. I remember going to London in 1954 pulled by a Patriot, although one sadly unnamed.

Most of my spotting was with Anthony. His parents indulged us by going to Rugby and Crewe where they went into town while we spent a few hours at the station. When we were a little older we made occasional excursions ourselves. I remember going to Dudley just so we could ride on the diesel multiple units then unknown anywhere else in the region.

There was a technique to spotting at a large station. Typically the twin or 4 tracks split into many platforms with often a shunting area nearby. You positioned yourself at the end of a central platform. This meant you were near the loco when stopped and otherwise gave a general good view of all the comings and goings.

Such was my passion that I would often cycle several miles from my home in the evening to the main line just to see a couple of trains through. One of my regular evening spotting places was just across the line from Annette’s home although , of course, I never realised it at the time. Another quick spot was while I was waiting for the school bus at the end of the school day. Our bus stop was mainly to pick up girls from another local secondary. The stop was a couple of hundred yards from the mainline. I would go, keeping one eye out for the bus, then on seeing it pass run back to the stop where hopefully the girls were just boarded and I was in time.

Much has been talked about the romance of steam. I suppose I was as entranced as anyone not realising that Britain had clung to an obsolete technology. Certainly the sounds, smells and sights were distinctive and attractive. The locomotive seemed almost alive and all the complex drive linkage was in full view.

We reached something of a pinnacle one Sunday morning at an obscure branch line in Leicestershire. We didn’t expect to see much but we hoped to see something new ( a “cop” in our jargon ). There was a Duck 6 pulling a few trucks. The driver seeing us watching invited us onto the platform and took us on a short ride to the next station and back. We were enthralled although our account at school the next day was met with some scepticism. Our ride was actually on a part now preserved as a heritage railway, the “Battlefield Line”.