Living across the big pond I still like to go out and see the trains, not really into the "spot it, jot it, got it" side of it anymore, but I do like the photograph them, unfortunately as we get older the scene seems to get boring, our young uns seem to get excited at some of the stuff that comes through whereas we just look and say another boring modern machine that looks the same as the rest.

I remember exactly this when I used to "spot" back home (BNS, Donny, York, Crewe), the old heads would turn a nose up at the second gen diesels, or the boring sparkies or the HST) now I think I'm that old head!!!

I eventually stopped spotting and replaced it with mileage goals, although I still looked out at the ever changing scene (spin and win rail tours got a lot of my cash, but I wasted trips by only riding for the required loco and not bothering with the rest of the tour), sadly most of the memories of those days are just that now, the railway to me has lost much of its character, windows that don't open, engines that don't clag or make noise, sorry a 66 yinging just doesn't do it after growing up with things like 37s growling along (although they can't pull the skin off a rice pudding)

Thanks for reading and reminding me I'm getting old!!!

From 1975 to 2010 I enjoyed watching trains, noting down numbers and taking photos.  Then I suddenly woke one day, when I was due to go to Doncaster for the day.  And I just couldn't be bothered.  I thought that a diet of 91s and 66s making up 80% of my day was suddenly unappetising.

That day and that lack of appetite has stayed with me ever since.  If I get the chance to see trains when I'm in America, I'll move heaven and earth to do so.  But for the UK?  No, I'm not really interested now.  I don't even get much of a buzz from seeing my old favourites, the Class 50s, the 47s, the 55s, or even Black Fives and Jubilees.

It's like a switch has been flicked off.  Very weird.  I've seen four Class 70s in my entire life, and no Class 68s at all; and I'm not bothered any more.

Depressing stuff.

Andy
UK

I,ve got to agree Malc the excitement of waiting for that ploom of smoke from the big iron horse the sound of the throttle wide open and smell that smoke theres not a site or smell better in the world.We have many days out on preserved railways just soaking up all that history. Wonderful days.

Les (first timer )

I have never been a 'spotter', collecting the numbers has never interested me personally (not knocking anyone who does like it, we all like different things) but I ALWAYS like watching trains, whether going past or just stationary, there is something hugely impressive about seeing a locomotive stationary from close up such a huge amount of potential power. I am fascinated by the engineering of all types of trains and the permanent way too so could wonder round a preserved railway for hours.

I think the saddest thing is that I absolutely love riding on any train, but I never do because it is so expensive. I would love to go to Newport station where I live and just go for a ride, but tickets make that impossible. I have been on the Lydney railway locally a few times and it is a great experience but while I understand the ticket price helps fund the railway and I can't complain about it, if it was cheaper we would go more often. It's an annual visit at the moment.

Is there any way to go travelling cheaply on the main railway network? Any special tickets I don;'t know about? My boys would love it too.

Matt

Matt, the cheapest way without any railcards I know is to pick a date, as far in advance as you can and get the cheapest ticket available, National inquiries lists all available for the selected day, as an example I put in Newport to Reading day trip return for Nov 25th and got a 17.50 outbound and 20 return (37.50 total for the return trip)

For staying local the rail rovers can be decent value depending on where you want to go and how much you want to travel (too many to list but generally valid after rush hour and come in 3 in 7, 7 day and 14 day rovers)

Somethings since I was last there might have changed but cheap options are there, just need to dig around a little

I had an early teens spotting phase ca. 1984 - 1987, which faded away due to the inevitable, but have always maintained an interest in railways. The post-BR British scene is however still alien to me, as I left the country in 1991 and didn't come back all that much. I was however mildly bemused and pleased on a trip a couple of years back to see some BR-era stuff knocking around, sometimes even in BR livery, and even purchased a Platform 5 loco book for old times' sake, but collecting numbers fails to appeal any more. I do however spend a lot of time watching trains, as my son loves them and Tokyo is an excellent place for all kinds of train-related activity (not to mention all the cheap but quality N gauge you can eat  ).

Would I be correct in assuming that actual trainspotting is a very British hobby? I've never heard of it outside the UK, and while both countries I've lived in (Germany and Japan) are not short of enthusiasts, spotters per-se seem non-existent.

Hi all,

I've never been a number collector and living in Surrey near Woking as a boy in the 70s there wasn't really much to see that hadn't been seen the day before, just lots of EMUs. I used to cycle down to the mainline though after school to watch a class 50 pulling the express from Waterloo to Exeter St. Davids which to me was a treat.

I think the only other locos I saw were a class 73 that seemed to be at Woking all the time and a class 33 at Fratton after football matches in Portsmouth pulling the Cardiff train which departed just before the London one.

I think this is why I model Continental as when I traveled by train in Europe with my father, who did freelance travel writing, it was like having lived on Twixes all the time with the occasional Mars Bar, I now had a whole exotic sweet shop to look at.

With regard to the OP, I sort of do get a bit excited as I know nothing of British trains anymore really and don't see them that often so they're all sort of new to me. I have to go to Eastleigh now and again and make a point of having my lunch in my van in a supermarket car park there so I can watch the passenger trains but mainly some interesting freight manoeuvres.

I think living up north in the past (and possibly even now) would have have been much more interesting.

Cheers weave 

Quote from: weave on October 21, 2017, 04:26:17 PM
Hi all,

I've never been a number collector and living in Surrey near Woking as a boy in the 70s there wasn't really much to see that hadn't been seen the day before, just lots of EMUs. I used to cycle down to the mainline though after school to watch a class 50 pulling the express from Waterloo to Exeter St. Davids which to me was a treat.

I think the only other locos I saw were a class 73 that seemed to be at Woking all the time and a class 33 at Fratton after football matches in Portsmouth pulling the Cardiff train which departed just before the London one.

I think this is why I model Continental as when I traveled by train in Europe with my father, who did freelance travel writing, it was like having lived on Twixes all the time with the occasional Mars Bar, I now had a whole exotic sweet shop to look at.

With regard to the OP, I sort of do get a bit excited as I know nothing of British trains anymore really and don't see them that often so they're all sort of new to me. I have to go to Eastleigh now and again and make a point of having my lunch in my van in a supermarket car park there so I can watch the passenger trains but mainly some interesting freight manoeuvres.

I think living up north in the past (and possibly even now) would have have been much more interesting.

Cheers weave 

Compared to that I grew up in paradise... short ride to Birmingham New Street with a wide variety of diesels and AC electrics, and lived within cycling distance of the Lickey Incline... Never did understand the SR with its vast assortment of self-propelling Mk1 variants...

Hi Railsquid,

I'm honestly glad you had a better time. My dad did take me up to Reading to watch the Paddington to the West trains a couple of times and to King's Cross and Euston once which was a massive treat.

He wasn't a train fan at all really so was putting himself out although thinking about it he did let me wander off to do train things saying 'when you're ready or if anything happens you know where I am, I'll be here (THE BAR) so think he was having fun too  .

The thing is I was quite happy just being near railways. My great uncle lived in Fishguard and I could spend all day at the harbour station. Only one train a day and a few wagons but I thought is was great. Waiting for the train and the ferry was fantastic. Another thing was you could wander around on the tracks without anyone saying anything (and you didn't get electrocuted!).

Simple, innocent days.

Cheers weave 

Quote from: weave on October 21, 2017, 05:43:14 PM
Hi Railsquid,

I'm honestly glad you had a better time. My dad did take me up to Reading to watch the Paddington to the West trains a couple of times and to King's Cross and Euston once which was a massive treat.

He wasn't a train fan at all really so was putting himself out although thinking about it he did let me wander off to do train things saying 'when you're ready or if anything happens you know where I am, I'll be here (THE BAR) so think he was having fun too  .

The thing is I was quite happy just being near railways. My great uncle lived in Fishguard and I could spend all day at the harbour station. Only one train a day and a few wagons but I thought is was great. Waiting for the train and the ferry was fantastic. Another thing was you could wander around on the tracks without anyone saying anything (and you didn't get electrocuted!).

Simple, innocent days.

I forget how we stumbled upon the information, but at some point I and my trainspotting comrade became aware that not only could we take the train from New Street to Bescot without being troubled by ticket inspectors, but could access part of the yard from the station with no risk of being eletrocuted unless one of us happened to be holding up a 3-yard long pole (which believe me was never the case).

I think my happiest train times were when I was living in a run down apartment in the former East Berlin overlooking the main east-west line through the city, sitting on the balcony on a warm summer evening watching the trains float through the night, wish I'd been able to take more photos...

Can no one remember the steam age, it was wonderful you actually saw a engine doing something with moving parts And always had a wave from the driver as it thundered past.

Quote from: first timer on October 21, 2017, 06:33:02 PM
Can no one remember the steam age, it was wonderful you actually saw a engine doing something with moving parts And always had a wave from the driver as it thundered past.

I was a trainspotter from the age of 8 or 9 at Wolverton, Bucks..
Steam galore but I didn't get much pocket money then so couldn't afford proper Ian Allan books. All my numbers were written in scrap note books which were all lost in the next house move (we had many :'()
I also used to travel back and forth between Wolverton and Northampton for schooling and lost count of the times I was invited onto the footplate by drivers I came to know. Never got a cab ride, though.
Even aged 12 or 13 (we're talking 1965-66) I was up with the larks and off out for the day. I used to see how many termini and sheds in London I could visit
By then I was getting enough from a paper round to afford the books to keep my numbers in.

Quote from: Intercity on October 21, 2017, 02:55:13 PM
Matt, the cheapest way without any railcards I know is to pick a date, as far in advance as you can and get the cheapest ticket available, National inquiries lists all available for the selected day, as an example I put in Newport to Reading day trip return for Nov 25th and got a 17.50 outbound and 20 return (37.50 total for the return trip)

For staying local the rail rovers can be decent value depending on where you want to go and how much you want to travel (too many to list but generally valid after rush hour and come in 3 in 7, 7 day and 14 day rovers)

Somethings since I was last there might have changed but cheap options are there, just need to dig around a little

Thank you, I appreciate that, but nearly £40 for a ride is still pretty steep, and if I wanted to take the kids? I suppose I could go to Cardiff and back for a few quid but it's not much of a trip.

Birmingham is less than £20 single, get a family railcard and kids are very cheap. Have a look for odd routes which no one wants to do!

Quote from: njee20 on October 21, 2017, 09:12:40 PM
Birmingham is less than £20 single, get a family railcard and kids are very cheap. Have a look for odd routes which no one wants to do!

Thank you, I will have a look round.