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Been a railway enthusiast since a very early age (about 6) when my dad's cousin started to take me to various locations - as he was ex LMS and also a died in the wool Stanier man these locations normally were on that former network and were steam MPDs like Dalry Road. As a result, my interests are skewed a bit towards the products of Crewe works (but that's not stopped me from acquiring a Castle, A1, A3, A4, N2, Q1 and 4-CEP!).

Saw some interesting late steam action on the ex GSWR system with the coal traffic round Ayr, and variety of Pacifics (Stanier and Gresley!) on the GSWR main line. Also was at a BB camp in Arbroath beside the line to Aberdeen in the summer of the A4 swan song on the Aberdeen 3 hour services so again was party to some very interesting activity.

I was at school during the last years of Scottish steam, and interrupted my mock O level maths exam to watch one of the last cavalcades of dead steam locos being hauled away for scrap (I think from 67B to Motherwell or Troon). I scraped a pass in the exam -the locos regrettably did not survive! Also visited West of Scotland Shipbreakers at Troon where some of Stanier's greatest achievements were being reduced to bits of metal and my dad's cousin was almost in tears seeing his beloved Duchesses being so treated.

My railway interest has waxed and waned over the years, as I had less interest in anything after the blue diesel/electric era but as retirement starts to loom, I am working on building up my collection of stock and other model railway hardware while I have some money, in the hope of building this collection into a layout once I have time. I still have some of my boyhood Tri-Ang stock, which may find service once it has been fettled with decent wheels etc.