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 Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners

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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptySun Feb 26, 2017 9:06 pm

Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners Abc10There may be members here who have never considered taking up trainspotting as a hobby – if so - you are missing out on a lovely hobby which can be enjoyed alone or with close friends.

Technology today provides the hobbyist with an easy way of recording the engines they have spotted – especially those who have an Android smartphone - who can download an aptly named app called…wait for it…….”Trainspotter for Android”. Gone are the days when you had to record your latest spot by underlining its number in the Ian Allen ABC Engine Book – you can now do it with a couple of clicks.

You can export your spotting successes as an excel file so you can relish the day’s spotting on your PC in the comfort of your home, where the software will automatically display an image of the engine you have spotted.

The software is not available for Apple users – they are considered nerdy enough.

It is an activity where you can groan without fear of criticism or upsetting anyone. Let’s face it, you will be standing at the end of a lonely station platform or in a field alongside a railway track or even looking down from a bridge, either alone or with a friend. When an engine rushes by and you realise you have already spotted it - a groan is not just permissible - it's an obligation.

I hope I have whetted your appetite and the next time your spouse nags you to take them on a day out – take them train spotting. They are most unlikely to nag you again.


Last edited by AlanHo on Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:44 am; edited 5 times in total
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davo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptySun Feb 26, 2017 10:42 pm

can I come trainspotting 2?
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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 1:39 am

Not with me you can't - I never go myself.
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catgate
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 10:54 am

During the last couple of years of the war, and one or two years following I went to a grammar school in Bradford.
It was situated about a mile out of the city centre, and about a similar distance, in the opposite direction, from a small station and a large engine shed.
Food rationing was still in place and due to the dire quality of school meals, caused by rationing and the carrier bags that went home with the cooks, My friend and I used to go to the baker's shop just down the road, and buy a cornish pasty or a pork pie each.
We would then go down to Exchange Station in town or to Frizinghall station and its shed and do a bit of spotting. We became quite friendly with the personnel at both places, and even on one occasion had a trip out of the station on the footplate of the little tank engine that did the carriage shunting,
The lunch hour(s) were, in some ways, the best bit of my education!!
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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 2:37 pm

I used to train spot when I was at secondary school. We lived about 3 miles from the main LMS line to London and a similar distance from the GWR line to London - Hence I was the proud owner of two Ian Allen engine books.

My mate and I used to spend some of our pocket money on train fares to visit a few far flung places. I recall when I was 12 years old we went to Crewe to visit the large engine sheds there.

I can't see many modern parents letting their 12 year olds have such freedom.

As an aside - my mate Doug - who is still a friend, has kept all his memorabilia from his school days including his train spotting stuff, his Hornby trains, model aeroplanes, butterfly collection etc. His wife is terrified that the attic floor will collapse on them one day he has so much in store up there..
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catgate
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 5:07 pm

Your mention of keeping train spotting stuff reminded me that I kept my old "ABC od LMS LOCOMOTIVES spotter's book.So I rushed of to see if I still had it.....joy of joys I found it at the bottom of a bedroom drawer. I could almost smell the engine smoke as I opened it. (or it might have been socks!)
1946 issue at 2/-. I wonder if my old mate Tony kept his.
I wonder where he is? I have not seen him since 1949/50.era

The notes  on the "Notes" page at the back of the book say
"The Huckle Buck  Tito Burns" and "Blue Ribbon Gal  Harry Gold".

I obviously had a good ear for good music in those days. Streets ahead of some composers who I will not name.
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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 6:48 pm

Wow - I am now friends with two Nerds with a compulsive object retention disorder [CORD]. I will pop in and share spotting experiences with you the next time we are up in Yorkshire...... yes
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catgate
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyMon Feb 27, 2017 10:39 pm

You will be more than welcome. You know where we are....but please let us know before hand,  so that we can clean everything for re-inspection.
The elephant will need its cage cleaning out and the seals like a bath before any old friends arrive.
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andsome
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyTue Feb 28, 2017 7:56 am

I spent many a happy hour train spotting with friend when young. We used to climb a local embankment.
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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyTue Feb 28, 2017 9:27 am

It's all part of the "training"
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D4\/!d
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyTue Feb 28, 2017 4:15 pm

Interest in trains is falling.
Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners Http%3A%2F%2Fa.amz.mshcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F07%2Ftrainwreck-8
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyTue Feb 28, 2017 4:18 pm

I reckon his brakes failed David, either that or he hit the throttle by mistake. drum
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catgate
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyTue Feb 28, 2017 10:44 pm

I like this picture immensely.
I have it in my collection of similar items  and have it named as "Just popping out for a drink".
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andsome
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyWed Mar 01, 2017 7:58 am

D4\\\/!d wrote:
Interest in trains is falling.
Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners Http%3A%2F%2Fa.amz.mshcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F07%2Ftrainwreck-8


O.M.G.  Looks nasty
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AlanHo
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PostSubject: Re: Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners   Train Spotting - The Ideal Hobby for Groaners EmptyWed Mar 01, 2017 9:15 am

Wikipedia

The Gare Montparnasse became famous for the derailment on October 22, 1895, of the Granville–Paris Express, which overran the buffer stop. The engine careered across almost 30 metres (100 ft) of the station concourse, crashed through a 60-centimetre (2 ft) thick wall, shot across a terrace and smashed out of the station, plummeting onto the Place de Rennes 10 metres (33 ft) below, where it stood on its nose. Two of the 131 passengers sustained injuries, along with the fireman and two conductors.

The only fatality was a woman on the street below, Marie-Augustine Aguilard, who was temporarily taking over her husband's work duty while he went out to get the newspapers. She was killed by falling masonry.[3] The railway company later paid for her funeral and provided a pension to look after her two children.

The accident was caused by a faulty Westinghouse brake and the engine driver, who was trying to make up lost time.[4] A conductor was given a 25-franc fine and the engine driver a 50-franc fine
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