Train Spotting - Do you still get excited ?

[Malc-c]

I'm in my mid 50's so grew up watching Deltics, 47's, 31's, 25's and DMUs running through Hertfordshire.  I was never into collecting numbers, but used to get excited when something strange came through.  Moving on to today, and I've got back into train spotting, or should that be documenting trains with a video camera !

Whilst being on the ECML we have a fair bit of variety, it tends to be based on five main classes, so things get a bit boring.  I mean there are only so many times you can see a 91 in Virgin livery...  But once in a while something come through that makes you all excited like that little 8 year old I one was...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhO3iWXlj0o&ab_channel=MalcolmCrabbe

I have no idea what it was doing in my neck of the woods, and couldn't identify it on realtime trains (mind you that's not uncommon - I'm still trying to get to grips with that !)

A few weeks back I nabbed the Caledonia sleeper which was diverted due to Euston being closed...

I have this and a few more railway related videos on my channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzAvCOYFZbk&list=PLUKQ5vaCEquw3FBCrw77mAvq3HUqi98rU&ab_channel=MalcolmCrabbe please feel free to pop over and have a look

Thanks

Malcolm

[port perran]

I like to watch trains passing by and still very much enjoy travelling by train.
Down here there is little variety but I still stop and watch when I can.
I grew up in Wiltshire with a regular diet of Halls, Castles, Granges, Counties, panniers, praries and moguls etc along with SR types nearby.
As steam ended I saw (and copped) all of the WR hydraulics.
We shall never see those times again but as I said - I still enjoy watching trains.

[guest311]

not so sure that I still get excited, my childhood was spent in the tail end of steam and PROPER diesels ......
but the grandsons keep dragging granddad up to the nearby bridge to watch the "trains", well I wouldn't describe them as such, they're electric things, but the eldest has started collecting the set numbers, so granddad got him a book of the electric EMUs and a spotters logbook, and he enjoys it.
pity he won't see proper trains, or even diesels, around here, but he doesn't know any better !

[njee20]

No idea which panel I'm supposed to be looking at in your video, far too much going on! 

I still like seeing interesting things, never really 'spotted', but certainly always keep an eye out for things when travelling.

[PLD]

To be honest, I never really saw the attraction of 'train-spotting' at all, and as for ticking off wagon numbers - for me   

I'll take the occasional photo if I chance upon something out of the ordinary but I'd far rather be riding one train for some distance than standing getting the merest fleeting glimpse of a dozen identikit multiple units...

[Malc-c]

No idea which panel I'm supposed to be looking at in your video, far too much going on! 

That's just the intro.....

[daffy]

I love to see all trains, and like to see different or unusual locos, but I've never been a 'spotter' with a log book or list. I do like to note, mentally, those logos I've not seen before, and even keep an eye out for them, and I like to walk up to a loco and touch it.

Simplified view: Steamers are exciting whether in-steam or not, diesels and electrics are interesting and occasionally exciting, some carriages have their charms, and wagons are.... er... wagons.

[njee20]

No idea which panel I'm supposed to be looking at in your video, far too much going on! 

That's just the intro.....

Haha!  seemed to go on for a long time, clearly I have a poor attention span! Even after watching it through (in 10 second chunks) I'm still unsure of what was so interesting, the 66?

and wagons are.... er... wagons.

Wagons are the best bit!

[daffy]

@malc-c  Thanks for the videos. Couldn't remember taking them but when I saw my initials come up at the beginning I guess I must have!

Seriously, I'm not sure what the 'something' was you spotted, the only oddity I noted was the DB loco at the rear of the Virgin train at 6mins 57 secs. Can you tell us the time frame for what you are referring to?

[The Q]

In my Childhood, one train a day didn't do much for encouraging train spotting, then at 13 moving to the outer hebridies didn't encourage it either...
I've never got excited by blue or any other colour boxes, It would have to be middle chrome green.

[Bealman]

Sounds good to me! 

[Malc-c]

@malc-c  Thanks for the videos. Couldn't remember taking them but when I saw my initials come up at the beginning I guess I must have!

Seriously, I'm not sure what the 'something' was you spotted, the only oddity I noted was the DB loco at the rear of the Virgin train at 6mins 57 secs. Can you tell us the time frame for what you are referring to?

Hi,

Glad you liked the videos

The thameslink class 700 was the "oddity".  It's one of the new crossrail trains and not something you would find on the ECML, and yes, the class 90 pushing the Virgin train was also "not normal"

[JBQFC]

yes i still go out spotting about 20 times a year
if it runs on rail i am a fan i take numbers of every thing except wagons and photos of every thing
yesterday i got excite when i cleared all Chiltern railways stock with 165016

John

[njee20]

The thameslink class 700 was the "oddity".  It's one of the new crossrail trains and not something you would find on the ECML, and yes, the class 90 pushing the Virgin train was also "not normal"

Is it? Surely 700s just operate the normal Brighton-Bedford services, and are nothing to do with Crossrail at all, which will be operated by 345 EMUs.

[BlythPower]

700s will soon be normal on the ECML when some services from Peterborough/Cambridge to Kings Cross get diverted into the Thameslink core instead. Imagine a day out from Cambridge to Brighton on those seats...