So, what got you interested in railways?

[curtis64]

Started for me at age10/11 when my spotter friends persuaded me to visit our small town station to cop the 9-20 pm train from Blackpool to Manchester.

As soon as I heard her coming up the incline I felt a bit of a tingle. As she accelerated on the straight prior to her run-through I could feel the excitement mounting and then she burst into view from behind the trees on the curve.

A few moments later accompanied by a piercing whistle she thundered through the station and that was it for me - I was hooked.

Her number - 45642. Her name - Boscawen.

Over fifty years ago but I remember it as though it was yesterday.

[JimRBRobinson]

For me it's following in my Dad's footsteps. He and I have always enjoyed looking at motorcycles and trains. Dad's strictly a steam man - he does love his kettles! I'm into both steam and diesel traction - somehow electrics just aren't the same for me. But when it comes to the diesel, old and modern in equal measure - they all have their merits. Hope one day to have the space and finance to get back into model railway building too. My favourite place to get away for a few minutes and find relaxation is the level crossing at Astley Moss. Just to spend an hour or so there, watching the Manchester to Liverpool trains coming back and forth, helping the locals with the gates on the crossing, watching the signallers at work in the signal box. It's a great way to de-stress for me - aided by the pleasant ride on the motorbike to get down there!

[Wakey spotter]

For me it was as a Kid when we used to slide down the Railway bankings on bits of old "Pit Belting". Loved it when the trains came along and we had to scamper to the top of the bankings. Gradually started spotting and loved it

[majorfubar]

I started getting interested in railways after doing research on what the railways used to be like in the steam-age. My father has always been an avid railway-modeler, modeling the era he was brought up in (40s), so I guess that was the root of my research.

I found myself moved by just how much of our railway heritage was wantonly destroyed in such a short time, so-called in the name of progress.

How ironic then that 21st century thinking proves the great pioneers to be correct: it was very obviously more environmentally friendly to use one train rather than 40 or 50 cars vans or lorries to transport the same mass of freight or quantity of people.

[Billieboy]

The Hooter at the Barry Loco works governed the life of the town, an uncle was a main line driver, when getting close to school leaving age there wasn't much choice for me and my school mates five or six went to the Loco works as apprentices, I and a few others went to the docks as apprentices. We all learned heavy engineering, steam engines and boilers, of all types. The boys in the Loco shop were all converted to diesel as BR and Beeching swung their axes, by this time I was well at sea and one day I even got one of my old school friends to come to sea with me.

Steam locos are great machines, but you don't know them until you've taken them to bits, cleaned and reassembled them, cleaning the boiler can be interesting also, before one even thinks of shovelling twenty tons of good Welsh steam coal on the run from Cardiff to Newcastle!

[37057]

My brother got me into the hobby. Most children in my brother's generation (myself too)was into Thomas The Tank Engine. But instead of growing out of it like most kids did, my brother's enthusiasm for the hobby just blossomed!
As for me, I started off spotting in the early 90s and got into the 'bashing' cult around '95, Class 37s did it for me!

My brother is no longer into the hobby as he has settle down with a Wife and Child but the interest is still there.
Of course, I'm still into railways myself!

[40050's ghost]

I always had a bit of an interest in railways because my Dad and Grandad both worked at Newton heath depot as firemen and then drivers all their working lives.

My interest has slowly flared up in recent years... It started when I was delivering a parcel to Eccles Station ticket office and a class 47 "whooshed" through loved the sound... and again at Eccles two Deltic's passed through together light engine and sounded awesome.

After that I used to stand next to class 47's at Manchester Piccadilly while waiting for the football special.

Started going up to The ELR four years ago. Got myself a cheap little camera and started filming last year.

Like steam as well as diesel's... My Dad used to talk about Black 5's and 8f's all the time... and class 40, 45 and 47's.

I like electric loco's and HST's as well.

My recent peaked interest in railway goings on is great but it feels like I've missed the best years.

[Squeaky88]

i like trains cos i use them a lot

[27vet]

We lived in Durban, South Africa until 1969, then Johannesburg. My dad used to take us on the train up and down the coast nearly every weekend on steam trains such as in the video. Eventually they electrified the lines. Once a year we did the overnight to Johannesburg and vice versa. That was electric. South African Railways was great in those days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l62dTW1cvLU

[BROADTRAIN1979]

The north london line and 501 emus, its as simple as that.