When you’re travelling along on the train, keep a careful eye on the end of the platforms, especially the London Stations. You’ll usually find a a group of chaps patiently focused on the distant tracks awaiting the next oncoming train.
As soon as one does, the conversations amongst themselves over something they saw last weekend will cease and out will come the notebooks, manuals and cameras.

These are our beloved Trainspotters, known often as an ‘Anorak’ or ‘Geek’ and to many who work on the railway, a GANGY (Green Anorak, No Girlfriend Yet).

Every bloke has a hobby, something they immerse themselves into and trainspotting is just another one of these. Having worked on the railway, I have an understanding of it to a certain degree.
But in my childhood and teen years we had Steam with all the classes and if you were around at the time, you’d have seen me on the end of Sevenoaks Platform logging down ‘The Man of Kent’ or ‘Golden Arrow’ as it powerfully thundered through.

Nowadays though it seems that there are less ‘classes’ and for those just collecting electric train numbers is slightly baffling to me. Some will simply see what ‘unit’ is serving what train and see how many services he can spot it on - follow me!!

I had an Office on Hastings Railway Station for about 8 years and two or three times annually we’d get a ‘Special’, usually the old ‘Green Godess’ the diesel powered train solely built for the Hastings to Tonbridge lines.
As soon as it pulled in, chaos, out they’d all get, take pictures, knock on my door for any souvenirs like the daily ‘Special Stop Notices’ etc.
Half the problem with the Train Companies running these specials is that not many go on them, they prefer to stand at stations or bridges to photograph them!

But pick of them all for me was the chap standing on the end of Ashford Station with a tape recorder and microphone. Along came a train, he pointed the microphone at the train as it passed, held it to his mouth and said “That was the 0745hrs Dover Priory to London Charing Cross service passing through Ashford at 0822hrs on February 18th” (forget the actual times and dates).
Blimey, what does he do in the evenings, play them back? or maybe asks his mates round?

Oh well, takes all sorts and I’m sure we all have our little ’strangies’.

I admit to taking the odd photo of a train and I had a loft train set up to only about ten years ago (for my son of course!!!!), so I do see the romance and imagination of it. It’s where it stops I guess.

I can also boast of being the ‘Manager Representative’ on the first fare paying train to go through the Channel Tunnel, albeit half way, then returning’. There were a few of them on that one.