Did we really look like this when out trainspotting?

[DaveF]

Until I was about 10 I travelled to school by train and never thought of collecting engine numbers, I was more interested in seeing how the railway worked!

 

Once I went to grammar school in 1960, wearing grey shorts for almost 2 years before long trousers were allowed and a plain brown blazer, a group of us often went down to the Great Central at lunchtimes and took numbers. I often went out with Dad when he was taking photos - as I remember I was usually in a sweater and jeans with a mac or duffle coat if it rained.

 

Then I discovered sailing and never really collected numbers again, unless I was on a long train journey, until I started to note the numbers of engines I photographed from when I was about 16.  Even then I wrote them on the back of my prints or on the slide mounts until I catalogued the images much later.  I never really underlined numbers in spotting books on a regular basis.

 

David

[Shedman5]

Omg, balaclavas a trip down memory lane, yes I was subject to a hand knitted one courtesy of my mum god bless her.

 

Took it of though once out of her eyesight!

[Ramrig]

I have a picture of me standing by an EM2 at Sheff Vic wearing a Balaclava (me, not the loco), but I really don't want to upset anyones tea.

 

Go on. Post it. Not for the natty head gear   , but the historical shot of the EM2....... 

[Clive Mortimore]

I am not sure what clothes I was in was important when trainspotting. I remember the blue quilted anorak was replaced by a parka. By the time I was into fashion trainspotting was not on the top of my priorities.

[JeffP]

In the early 60's, if I remember correctly, hardly anyone had jeans. I got my first pair in 1966 at age 14, and they were 30/- off the market. Drainpipes.

First pair of Levis at 16.

We tended to wear school trousers and a mac, or some such, because basically it was what we had. I had that one overcoat, who could afford TWO?

Colours? Dark. Blues, greys, blacks, browns.

 

Our school uniform was rigorously enforced, even to the PE teachers checking you had on the regulation underwear, (boys: white "Y" fronts, girls: thick pale grey knickers, definitely NOT panties.......Boys had to wear a white vest if they wanted a vest and girls were allowed only white bras.)

 

And the deputy head would enter a classroom at random, have all the boys stand by their desks and raise their right trouser leg. Plain grey socks, or you were for it: first offence, school rules to write out. Second offence, one stroke of the cane and home to change. I never knew anyone on a third.....

Your coat was a gabardine mac. None other.

Ties were worn. In summer, in intense heat INSIDE, we were allowed to remove our blazers. Ties, NEVER. Outside, jackets stayed on.

Caught outside school in uniform without tie and cap: one stroke next day........

 

I'm not sure really what it was all FOR, but I DO know that I am now EXTREMELY anti-uniform, dress code etc.

[bbishop]

I started prep school in 1959 - black shoes, grey socks with black tops, grey shorts, white shirt, blue tie, black blazer with school motiv on top pocket.  It's now 2013 and I live a couple of miles from the school.  Boys up to the age of 11 wear exactly the same uniform.  Albam exorna.

 

Bill

[keefer]

never mind the trainspotting, this is actually an interesting insight into the change in fashions in general

 

i think 'bright' colours/patterns probably came in more with the move to artificial fibres through the 60s, which lead into the cheaper mass produced items of the 70s.

of course there were always trends and supposedly trendy items, but a lot of the time, this had nothing to do with what you wore - parents had the final say. often there might be hand-me-downs, anything else was meant to last you for ages ("don't worry, you'll grow into them").

 

cultural change would eventually filter through, e.g. jeans would go from workwear to casual to everyday wear.

but if your parents hadn't a lot of money, it was always cheap'n'cheerful not the brand names.

 

coat wise, i remember having a duffle coat when i was quite young. this then seemed to progress to a parka (which i didn't have, still had an anorak) eventually leading to the legendary 'snorkel' (late 70s?) - as an aside, i don't think any of these were ever waterproof, you still got soaked in a downpour!

 

basically, through the 70s/early 80s, i never had any say in what i wore - if i really wanted something particular it would be a generic version rather than a brand

by that time, you could be marked out as a bit of a div for what you wore, but it wasn't nasty really, you only ever wished you could have better stuff!

 

anything knitwear was usually hand-knitted by mum using the kind of patterns posted already (i'm sure my mum still has them all). if it got too small, it was ripped down and re-knitted from the big bag of wool kept under the stairs.

 

a thing i've noticed is that whatever we wore, we might have taken and expected a ribbing for not being so up-to-date - thank god i'm not growing up these days when often everything has to be the 'right' brand, is out-of-date in 2 wks and if you're not 'there' it can mean serious trouble.

Edited January 27, 2013 by keefer

[45568]

Hi guys,

 

I need your expert trainspotters' assistance!  

 

I want to have trainspotters on my footbridge.  The problem is I've only got black and white references to fashion.

 

Polly

 Polly,

          My local trainspotting bridge was Wharfedale Road, Tyseley, (still there, but track layout much changed). One thing you will need are bicycles. My Dawes Diplomat, present for passing 11+, was successor to a 24" wheel bike of indeterminate origin. However, spotting paraphenalia and food supplies could be stowed in your saddlebag, and one leant nonchalantly, still astride the bike, against the bridge parapet.

 I remember a summer outfit of light grey/beige lightweight shorts, white collared short-sleeve shirt, socks and sandals! 

 Grammar school uniform, (King Edwards Camp Hill), 1962- was Navy blue blazer, red badge on pocket,(only available at Kenneth Hirst tailors, Kings Heath), grey trousers, white or grey shirt, (plain), school tie, maroon and navy, grey socks, black shoes,  navy blue gaberdine mac, and school cap, worn by all boys.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Peter C.

[Martino]

This takes me back.

 

Prep school, '59 - '63, grey shorts and a blue blazer with yellow badge and a blue and yellow cap. The the LVS, overlooking Slough station, so spotting could be done from the playing fields or on the train to Taplow on a Wednesday for games afternoon. - or when collecting for Poppy Day or similar at Slough station, a good excuse to volunteer and miss a season. Brown blazers with grey cord shorts up to 3rd form. My mum insisted on breaking the rules and having me wear 'normal' grey shorts not cords. She didn't have to put up with the prefects! Caps were worn, prefects again, up to 3rd form. After 3rd, long trousers. Grey shirts, blue airtex in summer. Ties, brown and yellow striped in winter, no tie in summer. My mum again a rebel insisted on white shirts from 4th form, with the usual grief from the prefects. She made me a Mac, like PM Harold Wilson's, except mine stuck out and I looked more like a Dalek. Trendy Uni type scarves came out about '68. 6th form wore sports jackets and a different tie.

 

The Combined volume never left the house. Numbers recorded in the loco shed book, or in a notebook.

 

Think I had a balaclava, but would have been very small. My grandmother insisted on me wearing a plastic rain hat if it was raining, and I was with her - again when VERY small.

 

Oh, and pacamacs - flasher macs!

 

Wind cheaters in a fawn color (the whole b***dy world was fawn, including the food!).

 

We're they happy days? Or is this just 50 year sentimentality? Shoes that need breaking in, chapped legs, rain coats that leaked. Did no one think of getting a Barbour or wax jacket?

[br2975]

In 1967 I was overtaken by a sense of foreboding as 'the big school' approached.

.........

 

A trip to the premises of "Donald Knight" in Canton, Cardiff confirmed my fate was sealed as we left with a blazer, cap, short grey trousers and a satchel !

.........

 

What made it worse, the 'big school' was directly across the road from home, so my mother could watch me leave, line up in the yard and traipse into the building.

.........

 

What amazed me were the things she never noticed such as virtually no other child was attired in the same way, or that the most popular playground pastime was playing ‘touch and pass’ using some unfortunates headgear as a rugby ball !.

.........

 

Any protestations were met with "that uniform cost me a lot of money" and was compounded by mothers trait of buying everything too big so that I could "grow into it" !

.........

 

As for what I wore when spotting . . . . . . . Our school covered three sites, with the Lower School, Forms 1 & 2 opposite my home, but the Middle School (Forms 3 & 4) and Upper School (Forms 5 & 6) were about a mile away, and alongside the Cardiff - Radyr freight line which allowed me (by now in only semi-uniform)to record the continual procession of Peaks, occasional Warships, the odd Western, Brushes, "Ingis", "Type 2s" Hymeks and "nine-fivers" travelling to and from Radyr Yard and beyond.

.........

 

For 'trips' to distant spotting locations I was presented with another piece of iconic spotting attire ....... a duffel bag, like most other things - a hand me down, that cramped my style – unfortunately, it was ruined when I left a harvest of conkers in it over the winter one year.

.........

 

And so, armed with some left over Christmas money I bought an "Inter-City" bag from the travel centre at Cardiff Central (it had just been renamed from Cardiff General) . . . . does anyone remember those dark blue shoulder bags ?

This proved just the thing to hold my Heinz Sandwich Spread sandwiches and unflavoured salt 'n' shake crisps, the basic sustenance on journies that always seemed to start on the 07:05 Cardiff-Gloucester, which invariably turned out to be a Swindon Cross-Country unit..

.........

 

My 'combine' remained at home, only a 'Locoshed' accompanied my notebook on awaydays.

.........

 

For notebooks, many of us who frequented Platform 3 7 4 at Cardiff General/Central standardised on a small black 'referees' notebokk with elastic to hold the used pages in place as you moved through the book.

.........

 

Over forty years down the line (yeeeuch, I should be a journo !) I still have all my 'combines' - 'Locosheds' - 'Locoshed Directories' and all the notebooks that never fell apart.

.........

 

I've no doubt a Los Angeles based 'psycho-analyst' could make a fortune out of the treatment he believes I so desperately need !

 

Brian R

[Gruffalo]

This takes me back.

Prep school, '59 - '63, grey shorts and a blue blazer with yellow badge and a blue and yellow cap. The the LVS, overlooking Slough station, so spotting could be done from the playing fields or on the train to Taplow on a Wednesday for games afternoon. - or when collecting for Poppy Day or similar at Slough station, a good excuse to volunteer and miss a season. Brown blazers with grey cord shorts up to 3rd form. My mum insisted on breaking the rules and having me wear 'normal' grey shorts not cords. She didn't have to put up with the prefects! Caps were worn, prefects again, up to 3rd form. After 3rd, long trousers. Grey shirts, blue airtex in summer. Ties, brown and yellow striped in winter, no tie in summer. My mum again a rebel insisted on white shirts from 4th form, with the usual grief from the prefects. She made me a Mac, like PM Harold Wilson's, except mine stuck out and I looked more like a Dalek. Trendy Uni type scarves came out about '68. 6th form wore sports jackets and a different tie.

The Combined volume never left the house. Numbers recorded in the loco shed book, or in a notebook.

Think I had a balaclava, but would have been very small. My grandmother insisted on me wearing a plastic rain hat if it was raining, and I was with her - again when VERY small.

Oh, and pacamacs - flasher macs!

Wind cheaters in a fawn color (the whole b***dy world was fawn, including the food!).

We're they happy days? Or is this just 50 year sentimentality? Shoes that need breaking in, chapped legs, rain coats that leaked. Did no one think of getting a Barbour or wax jacket?

 

I remember that, in the early 60's, Barbours were the preferred wear of people like The Lampkin brothers who were great motorcycle trials riders on their Greeves motorcycles.

Push bikes were almost an essential part of train-spotting as they gave freedom to get to sites without the cost of bus tickets from your carefully husbanded pocket money! I don't remember what bags I carried after the initial leather satchel was handed down to my sister. Caps were the bane of the sartorially elegant 4th formers, we were absolved from wearing them on reaching the 5th year!

[Merfyn Jones]

All this talking of school days and spotting makes me think that school wasn't too bad if you had a woodwork lesson. A super view from the woodwork classroom, you could read loco numbers from the window, I always had a bench that side of the room.  Metalwork, I also enjoyed, but a bit too far to read numbers, however I did cop GT3 during metalwork.

Merf.

[br2975]

My mind drifts back to 14th. May, 1971 and passing the classroom window trundling back and forth to Radyr I noted .......

.

Cl.35:- 7063, 7078, 7087

Cl.37:- 6601, 6603+6998, 6606, 6607, 6879, 6956, 6958, 6977, 6978,

Cl.45:- 80,

Cl.47:- 1712,

.

Funny, my parents always expected more of,academically.

I wonder what went wrong ?

.

Brian R

[aberdare]

During the mid 60s I was sent to school in dark grey shorts and grey jumper with a black blazer, apart from one other boy we were the only ones wearing shorts at that time as we had both returned from the far east (fathers forces posting) and were not aware that fashion had moved on a bit. I did manage to get my long trousers before the other lad though so I wasn't the last in school to wear them, I must admit it was a relief there is a lot of difference between Singapore and Britain as winter draws in.

 

Out of school I remember having a pair of jeans, with holes worn in the knees, a knitted jumper from mum, usually blue and a Duffel coat for winter. Oh! and I mustn't forget the grey knitted balaclava which was usually whipped off when out of site of the house.

 

Never did go trainspotting though as most places we lived didn't have them, this was restricted to our visits to stations between postings.

 

Jim

[Mallard60022]

I still see one of my spotting mates (from the 1950's) usually once a year at Wigan exhibition.

We were both members of the School Transport Society and he usually organised the week end trips (with a willing teachers help)

The best ones I remember being as far as Reading with visits to most of the sheds South of Coventry - all in one day!

Another local one was all the sheds and Gorton works in the Manchester area where we noted over 500 locos in one day.

 

Unfortunately School uniform was de rigeur but school caps were dispensed with.

 

Anyone else remember the other extra to the staple diet of spotters - the Lyons Gala Fruit Pies, An absolute  necessity when your Tizer and sandwiches had all gone.

Hales Individual Fruit Pies as well.........

P

[Danemouth]

And Danemouth is ready for his first day at Fitzalan Technical High School in September 1959

 

 

[Old F@rt Mode On]

 

The picture was taken on a Brownie 127 which was a gift for passing 11+

 

Cost IIRC £1/5/3

 

and when I think of what I've just paid for a Nikon DSLR body!

 

[Old F@rt Mode Off]

 

Dave

[br2975]

".... Fitzalan Technical High School ....."

..........................................

Does that mean it wasn't really a 'high school' just 'technically' a high school ?

..........................................

Brian R

[Oldddudders]

The picture was taken on a Brownie 127 which was a gift for passing 11+

 

Cost IIRC £1/5/3

 

and when I think of what I've just paid for a Nikon DSLR body!

Yeah - and then there's nowhere to put the bloomin' film, is there?

[Danemouth]

Yeah - and then there's nowhere to put the bloomin' film, is there?

True Ian!

 

Mind you the Brownie only had 8 shots on a spool and let's face it the lens is a trifle fuzzy.

 

I look at my current camera with its 24 mb pictures and can shoot 600 pictures between the two card slots. How times have changed!

 

Dave

[Danemouth]

".... Fitzalan Technical High School ....."

..........................................

Does that mean it wasn't really a 'high school' just 'technically' a high school ?

..........................................

Brian R

They dropped the "Technical" bit in the mid sixties,

 

After the first year you could go either:

 

Woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing

 

or

 

Bookkeeping & Accounts, Commerce and Economics

 

As my c@ck handedness was already obvious I chose the latter!

 

Dave

[edward66]

Some great memories!

Remember luminous socks? Absolutely forbidden at Lancaster Royal Grammar School as were visits to the coffee bar in town which had a juke box. One of my mates wore a different pair of non matching luminous socks every day for a week for a bet and got away with it. Wearing of the school cap compulsory and detested.

 

I went on a trip which was organised by the Ian Allan Locospotters Club to Gorton works in 1952 or 53 and the great man was there in person, I still have my 1952 London Midland Region ABC which he autographed. We all posed for a photo around and upon the ex-LNER garrett 69999 but I never got a copy, I wish I had one now, maybe someone on RMWeb was there?

 

Lancaster Castle Station was our chief spotting place but as I got slightly older my cousin and I sometimes ventured to Preston. Our house was on the Little North Western at Caton about 5 miles east of town. Summer Saturdays saw a few ex-LNER locos, B1s, D49s and the occasional pacific. I didn't have an anorak but I did have a duffle coat, my precious ABCs usually stayed home and I carried a notebook for the day's catch.

 

As someone remarked, I don't suppose cabbing would be allowed today, it was always a thrill to be invited aboard, I once got a ride on a Brittania, Lord Hurcombe, from Lancaster Green Ayre shed to Green Ayre station, about 200 yards but what a thrill. Most mornings I had a quick shed visit on the way to school to see what had been on the Heysham boat train the previous day, often an exotic loco, a change from the normal selection.

 

Scary to think it was around 60 years ago!

 

Edward

[unravelled]

scan by unravelled, on Flickr

 

That's me on the left, in about 1964. School railway society trip. Black blazers with red piping, caps probably in pockets for safety. Note daring use of non white shirt on the right.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[Steve Williams]

I was a right miserable looking b****r!



Weymouth 11th. June 1967. Warwickshire Railway Society's 'Farewell to L.S.W.R. Steam' tour.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Steve Williams

[stewartingram]

Adding absolutely nothing to the thread - but I have to say, RMWeb excels itself again with the postings on this thread. Fantastic replies memories and pictures.

 

Stewart

[eastwestdivide]

... Note daring use of non white shirt on the right....

 

We were allowed a darkish grey as an alternative to white (state grammar school, 1970s), but I remember some boys being "done" for non-standard grey one term.