Needed, train spotters
Here are a couple of sample pages from Iain's diaries and notebooks. Train spotters! Are you able to tell me what these figures mean? The one above is from 1961. On 14th April he wrote, “Up at Stainmore early.” The one below is from 15th August, 1974.
posted by Edera
posted by Iain @ 5:59 am
4 Comments:
Hello Edera...
I'm sure you will be inundated with notes from the train spotters!! I knew there was such a thing, but didn't realise until I corresponded with Iain, that there were so many - and how much time and effort they put into it. I live in Blaydon on Tyne, which train enthusiasts will recognise has a history of trains. The current track is not far from me, at the bottom of the bank.
I remember, as a kid in the early 50's, standing on the bridge, with my grandfather, waiting with baited breath to see the steam on the horizon, and the noise of the engine as it got louder the nearer it got....on it's way from Newcastle Central Station up through Hexham and then across to Carlisle...picking up at a few places at it went.
To watch Poirot nowadays, it's a sentimental journey down memory lane, of times gone by of how great it was to travel by train. Train travel is a distant memory for me, but I suspect todays travel is something to be endured, rather than enjoyed as part of your holiday these days.
There will be a lot of railway memorabilia for you to get through. Hope you are all keeping well
Susan
Hello Susan,
Thanks for your comment. As a matter of fact, I guess all the train spotters are busy train spotting at the moment. Or hopefully they are all rushing to KSE station to see Stainmore 150 event!
I'm really amazed to see his collection...or accumulated heaps of files, magazines, books, maps, paper clips, photos and just the sheer amount of energy spent on trains!
Hope you are well too.
Two of the things about locomotives that trainspotters are interested and record in some detail are the number (like a registration or license number) and how fast (or length of time) it travels over a given section of track.
This top diary (with April 17/18) was recorded as Iain was standing in a fixed location and watching the locomotives pass him. The top diary shows the numbersof individual locomotives that passed through a specific station or other fixed point like a level crossing on those days. A letter “D” in front of the number denotes a diesel locomotive. The rest were most probably electric or diesel electric depending on which year the record relates to.
The second diary was recorded as Iain was riding in a locomotive. The second diary records time traveled over a given section of track. The first column starting with a bridge then has mile markers on the downline going to a major station or terminal going from mile 190 to mile 183/183 a total of 7 miles. The numbers under the 3 digit numbers .3.2.1 are ¼ mile markers usually counted by counting telegraph poles, which are about 100 yards apart. So, every 4th pole is ¼ mile, close enough. The time taken to travel from one marker to the next is recorded using a stop watch – miles per hour can then be calculated since the spotter knows distance and time taken to cover the distance. The last column shown is miles per hour: 83, 55, 45, etc. So the train slows, perhaps for a curve, to go up hill, etc. then picks up a bit of speed to 50-60 mph. Thus the spotter can record the locomotive’s and driver’s performance over a given section of track.
Trainspotters are almost obsessional, very detail oriented, and able to concentrate all their attention to the task. Missing a time or mark could mean a wasted trip!! These notebooks may well have been transcribed into a master log at a later date and the information shared with other enthusiasts.
Hope this is helpful to you.
Dear Bill,
Thank you so much for your information. This is a great help because I had no idea about these numbers. I'll print your reply and study it carefully. I'll keep all of Iain's trainspotting records safe and hopefully copy them into a file for trainspotters - but maybe not in this blog but in his Railway Roundabout!
Thanks again and take care.
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