Hi Gang,

It has been reported elsewhere that Ian Allan has passed away aged 93.

A full article is posted here....see post #9
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100671-ian-allan/

I suspect many of us owe a little bit of our passion for the hobby to this man.

Later,
Stu from EGDL.

A sad day. Obviously I didn't know him personally, only through his many books, (sadly) but a great loss to the publishing world.
My feelings are with his friends and family.

Very sad to hear of his passing.
So many of us will have been influenced by him and his books.

Quote from: StufromEGDL on June 29, 2015, 06:43:18 PM
Hi Gang,

It has been reported elsewhere that Ian Allan has passed away aged 93.

A full article is posted here....see post #9
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100671-ian-allan/

I suspect many of us owe a little bit of our passion for the hobby to this man.

Later,
Stu from EGDL.

That is sad. I always used Ian Allan books in my train spotting days and even  in recent years. I hope that his legacy can be carried on in some way... :'(

No idea who he is/was other than seeing the name occasionally posted on here, but obviously he was an eminent individual.

RIP


Paul

Quote from: Sprintex on June 29, 2015, 08:00:01 PM
No idea who he is/was other than seeing the name occasionally posted on here, but obviously he was an eminent individual.

RIP


Paul

He had a chain of book shops that sold loads of railway items, including models and ran a successful publishing business, specialising in railway and transport topics. I believe he was also instrumental in reopening the Ffestiniog railway, if my memory serves.

Quote from: Sprintex on June 29, 2015, 08:00:01 PM
No idea who he is/was other than seeing the name occasionally posted on here, but obviously he was an eminent individual.
RIP
Paul

Paul. Your education is sadly lacking. Ian Allan was the inspiration for many trainspotters in the UK and probably resulted in many of them adopting model railways (including N gauge and some of those unmentionable other gauges). A very sad loss.

I really hope that his legacy can continue in some way. He produced an amazing range of trainspotters' books for steam and diesel and even coaching stock.
Every trainspotter in the UK eagerly awaited the next issue of either the regional or the overall UK manual of current locomotives.
Trainspotters, like me, would cross off every 'spot' they made. It was quite a competition between 'spotters' and which locos they had 'copped'. - Happy days.

I think he could be called the "Father of Trainspotting".
I had every Combined Volume from 1959-1970 I believe though some have now gone missing (also a couple of reprints). Plus the invaluable Locoshed Books and LocoShed Directories.
And , of course, we would all eagerly await the yearly Locospotters Annual which would usually be in our Christmas stockings.

Quote from: austinbob on June 29, 2015, 08:22:54 PM
Ian Allan was the inspiration for many trainspotters in the UK . . .

That explains it then, never been into ticking off numbers in a book


Paul

Quote from: Sprintex on June 29, 2015, 08:54:31 PM

Quote from: austinbob on June 29, 2015, 08:22:54 PM
Ian Allan was the inspiration for many trainspotters in the UK . . .

That explains it then, never been into ticking off numbers in a book


Paul

Shame - you missed a load of fun. Still - trainspotting is not for everyone l.

An era passes, though the name and the books live on - hopefully for a long while.  The Ian Allan name appears on a number of books on my shelves.  Though perhaps there is as more OPC and even a number of the old David and Charles labels.  And I frequented the shop near Waterloo from 1983-89 when I worked in that area.

Very sad to hear this news, although Ian had a damned good innings!
I used to take the cheaper Locoshed and Shed Directories books with me when spotting and transfer each outings results to my Combined Volume when I got home.
No self respecting 'gricer' would be without his volumes.
I still have a good few of them and refer to them on a regular basis even now.

This little book (on the left) was a bible to me as a kid. It was one of his publications, and I have it here with me right now.
[smg id=10900 type=preview align=center width=400]
[smg id=26554 type=preview align=center width=400]
Sorry to hear the news, but, as Mick says, he had a good innings!

When I hear of someone passing away after a long and productive life, it's not so much sadness, more a wistful admiration I feel for time well-lived which has brought benefit to others.

For whatever reason my trainspotting days were ruled by Platform 5 publications, but I did inherit a combined volume (I think) from an uncle, which tragically has disappeared somewhere. More recently, my first British N gauge purchases were at the shop in Waterloo.

Quote from: Bealman on June 30, 2015, 02:20:30 AM
This little book (on the left) was a bible to me as a kid. It was one of his publications, and I have it here with me right now.

I wish I'd kept mine, complete with all the underlined locos I'd 'copped'. Sigh...