Before we start, an apology. I know I said I’d aim for a post a day, but yesterday, not even a week in, I slipped up. My broadband is down at home right now, so I’ve been posting in my lunch hour, and yesterday I had to take the car in for its MOT, and plain forgot. I’ll try my best in future though I promise.

My next hobby is railways. Now don’t worry, my interest in railways is fairly casual. I don’t have a notebook listing engine numbers, and I’ve never checked the numebr of rivets on a model train. But from an early age, I’ve had a healthy interest in rail.

I never met my Great Grandad, but I’m sure that it was his miniature railway that circuited his garden that caused my Nana’s interest in trains. And through her I developed my own passion for them.

As a young boy I used to love visiting Steamtown, a railway museum just up the road from me which has sadly long since shut. When I was eight my Nana got a job working in the buffet carriage there, and I whiled away my summer clearing plates away. During the quiet times, I was allowed to wander round the museum, and it was during this time that I got to ride on the footplate of the Sir Nigel Gresley, pictured below.

My next influence was the Boys’ Brigade. For some unknown reason, there has always been a connection between the BB and trains. Up until recently there was even a locomotive named The Boys’ Brigade. At my local company, we had (and still have) a model railway. It is what you might call a work in progresss, but I used to love spending my free time on a Friday night laying track, wiring points, and seeing how far we could get the loco to run before it derailed itself.

Rob, the captain of my BB company, has a strong interest in the old railway lines, many of which we lost in the 60’s. He’s passed much of his knowledge on to me, and I now love to find out about forgotten lines and quietly mourn their loss.

Now, I’ve bought myself a little train and a few short lengths of track, and I’m hoping to build myself a layout once I have my own house. It will be a modern layout based on my local area. I’ve not planned it much more than that for now though.