NEW SITE! Since starting the 'David Hey's Collection' in 2007, more than 1,800 photos have been posted on the Internet and the site is full to bursting! One way of alleviating the congestion is by upgrading the existing mrsite.co.uk package to include additional pages and more MBs of webspace. Another way is to build a new site which will display the photos in the best possible way. This 'Extra' site is planned around a wide page format template and provides a perfect showcase for photos. Click on photo (below) to visit the site. 

 

(Right) NEW PAGE ON THE 'EXTRA' SITE: ‘Fireman Fred & Friends’ – a page of anecdotes and photographs. Railwaymen and enthusiasts reflect on steam days in the North East of England, including memories of the Blyth and Tyne, with contributions from Peter Trinder, Jim Pringle, Chris Boylan, Roy Lambeth and Ed Orwin – plus many more to follow.

As you can see from photo-links (above and right) there are now two websites, both containing personal observations of a gentler, more innocent age - a period from the 'Dowdy Fifties' to the vibrant 'Swinging Sixties', which, for my generation of post-war baby-boomers (brought up on a diet of jam butties and roly-poly pudding) was something of a 'Boy's Own' adventure. 
But how time flies! Fast-forward 50-odd years and my generation is now well past its prime, yet the ageing process does have its advantages - it gives us a chance to draw on feelings that we were unable to express as small boys. That's why I've pitched old memories of train spotting days in a light-hearted fashion. After all, the hobby cuts no ice in today's hard-nosed society, and this is especially the case at the parties I'm invited, since the people I meet are constantly looking over my shoulder in case someone more interesting enters the room. Their behavioural tic becomes more frantic when I do my favourite party trick, a tongue-twister...it works best if you pinch your nose and speak in a high-pitched train announcer's voice; it adds pathos to the drama!

'The train now standing at platform four is the five o' four for Forfar, calling at Fife. The first four coaches are for Forfar...the far five coaches for Fife. The first four coaches reach Forfar at four fifty-four and the far five reach Fife at five forty-five!'

Okay, you're probably thinking there's a village missing an idiot somewhere so I'll stop larking around. After all, there is a serious side to this site too. It is the growing sense that if we lose sight of our past then we may as well say goodbye to the future.
For many ex-spotters the end of steam overshadowed everything in the Sixties, but locking away one's feelings will not dispose of them, rather it evokes a lot more feelings besides. Once you start unearthing childhood memories long lost in the mists of time a much bigger story starts to unfold; you begin to develop an extraordinary affection for old red telephone boxes, Dinky Toys, Hornby Dublo trains, Vespa scooters, frog-eyed Sprites, old bangers with running boards and starting handles - even women PCs in stockings and suspenders. Indeed much of what has disappeared during the past fifty years means something special to someone in one form or other, especially BR steam in everyday service.
Today there are countless thousands of ex-spotters who still bear the emotional scars of abandoning their allegiance to steam during the 1960s. Many abstained from the hobby as a matter of principle, others in reluctant surrender, but whatever the reason the overall feeling was that as steam had outlived its usefulness, then so had our interest in trains - a view in which we managed to persist until the bitter finale came in August 1968, and just five steam locomotives were left: 3 Black 5s Nos 44781, 44871, 45110; a solitary 8F No 48448 and the last working 'Britannia' No 70013 Olver Cromwell...alas, when it was all over, train spotting would never be the same again.

(Above-Right) A warm welcome to the growing band of 'Silver Surfers' new to the Internet. You're never too old to learn. Harking back to the old days before the world wide web (www) was launched in 1989, there was nothing I liked better than browsing through the pages of old issues of 'Railway Magazine' and 'Trains Illustrated'. Odd then, that it took me so long to surf one of the largest railway archives in the world on the Internet. I didn't start until 2007 - and although I found the 'drag and click mouse' jargon a bit baffling at first, once I got going it was great to log on and search through the thousands of railway sites. Trouble is, surfing the 'communications super highway' is a daunting task unless you know what you're doing. Over the years, the world wide web has become a victim of its own success, and the information overload - the sheer volume of material it contains - can take a lot of digesting. I hope this site gives you many happy memories - happy surfing! 

(Below Left-Right) For the first-time silver surfer, the World Wide Web is a fantastic communications tool that allows people from all over the world to keep in touch via the miracle of electronic maill; it provides a wonderful opportunity to meet some really interesting people online…I say meet, you don't actually meet anyone in person, of course, we exist only in one another's hermitically-sealed world of cyberspace and exchange greetings on a keyboard. Indeed there is something liberating about being online, particularly for the elderly whose mental agility might be impaired by advancing years. As you get older the mind can play the daftest tricks, and often when I'm in a conversation it seems as if my mind is a waste paper bin overflowing with unfinished sentences because I've forgotten a particular name or word and can't remember what I am about to say next. In the most severe cases the missing word may take days, even weeks, before I can retrieve it, but by then it's too late - I have no use for a word like 'Steam Cock' when I'm queuing in a supermarket.  However, this lapse in concentration never happens to me online, but even if it did I still have the aid of a spell checker and thesaurus - and a 'save-draft' option - which means I can take as long as I like to communicate without lulling the recipient into a comatose state because my mind is a total blank. But then,  rarely do I get the chance to meet up personally, as David Platt and I did recently at Birch Services on the M62 - just a pair of old geezers gassing about trains, a subject very close to both our hearts. In between infuriating long pauses - I was thinking about something quite different at the time; I was trying to remember if I'd left the immersion heater on at home - it turns out that David is something of an expert on railway jigsaw puzzles and has created a new website dedicated to the subject - click here for link. The site includes an illustration of a painting I did (below left) for the Rocket 150 Celebrations at Rainhill in 1980, which was reproduced as a jigsaw puzzle along with 'Lion at Rainhill' (below right). David is also the author of a book - 'Steam Trains and Jigsaw Puzzles'.    

LINKS TO BRITISH RAILWAYS REGIONS
Click photos below to visit the relevant web page.

Click on photo-links (below) for NOSTALGIA FOR THE OLD DAYS
A Silver Surfer's trip down memory lane...

THE FIRST GENERATION DIESELS

BR's Modernisation Plan didn't effect everyone. The 1960's spotting community was made up of countless thousands of youngsters, who, by virtue of their youth had no way of knowing what had gone before, so with the introduction of charismatic diesels like the 'Peaks', 'Deltics', 'Warships' and 'Westerns', the end of steam mattered little to them - and, if truth be told, even die-hard steam enthusiasts had to admire the performances of the new diesels. At the same time,  BRs decision to name diesel locomotives was a commendable policy. The fitting of bodyside nameplates and, in some cases ornamental regimental crests, upheld a tradition going back donkey's years which added a certain panache to the new diesel fleet.

 

THE SECOND GENERATION DIESELS

By 1965, BR's diesel fleet entered the much-maligned era of the 'Corporate Identity Programme' and the newly-formed British Rail Board (BRB) decreed that everything had to conform to a given standard. The BRB's design panel advised British Rail on the best means of attaining a high level of appearance by introducing a new livery for diesel and electric locomotives, passenger coaches, freightliner rolling stock and ships, along with the use of a new barbed wire logo, based upon the idea of two-way traffic movement. The diesel fleet's unimaginative colour scheme (devoid of a two-tone livery and bodyside lining) wasn't helped by the BRB's strict policy forbidding any concession to livery changes, which deprived depot staff of any incentive to take a pride in their particular traction, and it wasn't until the late 1980's that the BRB finally adopted a more enlightening approach for its newly-launched Regional Services and Sectors.

AROUND THE REGIONS - STEAM DAYS

LOST AND FOUND! This site receives a lot of requests for photos and enquiries from visitors seeking information on trains and railway, but since I can't deal with them all myself I've launched a new 'Help' facility to help broaden your own search to a worldwide audience. Over the years, more and more visitors to this site are using the 'Guest Book' page in their search for information, and I am happy to oblige. If you are seeking assistance in your own search then visit the Guest Book page, but please include your email address in the message and deal with it yourself. I am not in the business of brokering any deals, nor am I an Estate Agent...some wag recently posted a house for sale - cheeky!  But the facility has produced a result! Regular visitors to this site might recall Adam Parker contacting the Guest Book Page seeking information on a number of railway photos that he unwittingly became the custodian of. In fact, had it not been for Adam taking them under his wing the whole lot would have ended up on a bonfire! It was a most interesting story, and one I was happy to feature on the 'BR London Midland Region' page. Click here for link to 'Adam Parker's Album of Found Photos'. Since the appeal went out on the LMR page Adam has been contacted by the photographer, Richard Courtney and the material has been returned to the rightful owner...the wonder of the Internet - and ten out of ten  to Adam for successfully tracking Richard down. It reaffirms one's faith in human nature...

Being a relatively newcomer to the web (better late than never, they say) the whole point of the collection is to try and build the best website possible and give something back to the community. At the same time I was keen to learn something about digitally enhancing old photos, such as 'burning' and 'dodging', sharpening, improving brightness and contrast, and removing spots or other unsightly blemishes. I began by practising in Adobe Photoshop; a powerful graphics tool that is used by cutting-edge designers who work at the sharp point in a studio, but since I have only modest ability, it is more like a computer darkroom that contains all the tools needed to work on old photographs - and, rather like a small boy rummaging in a toy cupboard, it allows me to zoom-in to a single pixel. I'm bound to get up close and personal with all photographers' work!

  

Although this website is still in its infancy, I'll be pleased to include your spotting reminiscences from steam days, but be warned - the seasoned spotter can spot a 'porky' a mile off, so embellishing your story with fictional flourishes is hardly convincing. That's because train spotting captured the hearts of thousands of boys during the less-worldly Fifties, and although most of us are well past our prime (and in all probability forgotten what we did two minutes ago) the ageing process is surprisingly kind in another way. In the glow of memory we only remember the good stuff, so our spotting memories are bound to be mired in sentimentality.  On the other hand, critics would argue that writing a personal account of 'bunking' sheds and chasing 'cops' is seldom illuminating or remarkable because all you are doing is regurgitating old anecdotes, which, by the very nature of the hobby, are exactly the same as everyone else's...RUBBISH! Call me an old-fashioned day dreamer, but any memory of bygone days is better than none. Just send me a favourite old photo accompanied by a meaningful caption and it will give visitors to this site a chance of escaping the grim reality of today's modern world...

DEDICATION  On a final note, the most popular idols back in the Fifties were the comic 'cape crusaders' Spiderman, Batman or Superman, together with the Hollywood cowboy stars: Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger. However, the idols I worshipped above all others did not come from your usual ruck of pop singers, soccer players or film stars - and, unless you were a train spotter, none were household names. They were the railway photographers whose pictures appeared in the 1950-60s monthly magazines - the unsung heroes who helped shape my perception of the railway scene. So when I bumped into Jim Carter in the mid-Eighties, the fear of causing him even the slightest embarrassment deterred me from asking for his autograph. We met on the embankment overlooking Marsden's reverse curves at the Yorkshire end of Standedge Tunnel, a line he regularly worked during his days on the footplate. Mindful of those romantic tales about steam, I asked him - Did he really fry eggs and bacon on a shovel across the firebox? Jim left me in no doubt about his feelings - "Yon shovel is for feeding t'engine, not your gob!" So there you have it - straight from the horse's mouth. This shot of a Class 8F and WD on snow clearing duties at Diggle at the Lancashire end of Standedge Tunnel is a classic. Few photographs - or photographers, for  that matter - can leave such a lasting impression. Thanks Jim, this site is dedicated to you...

PLEASE NOTE - IMAGES FROM THIS SITE SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB WITHOUT THE PRIOR CONSENT OF THE RIGHTFUL COPYRIGHT OWNERS. IF YOU WISH TO USE A PICTURE ON THE WEB THEN YOU MUST ASK FIRST. A GOOD FIRST STEP IS TO MAKE CONTACT VIA THE E-MAIL ADDRESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE. YOU ONLY HAVE TO ASK...PERMISSION IS RARELY REFUSED, A RECIPROCAL LINK TO THIS SITE IS USUALLY THE CASE.

 All text and photographs are protected by copyright and reproduction is prohibited without permission from the © owners. If you wish to discuss the contents of this site the email address is below. Please note - this is not a 'clickable' mail-to link via Outlook Express; you will have to mail manually.

 dheycollection@ntlworld.com