It should be clear, from even casual inspection of this blog, that steam railways form an important part of my life. People often ask how I became actively involved. The short answer is 'Lion', the longer answer follows.
I was always interested in railways and engineering. That probably partly derives from my grandfather, who was an engineer and liked nothing better than explaining how things worked with an enthusiasm which was infectious. When I was quite young, I saw the comedy film "The Titfield Thunderbolt" which made quite an impression. I originally hoped to go into railway signal engineering. British Railways offered me a post, but not quite what I was after so I went into industrial electronics with a local company instead and rather turned my back on the railway scene. I could have joined the railway preservation movement then but I chose not to. After a few years, I started my own business and that left little time for hobbies. But I always retained a rather distant interest in railways.
I was already in my mid-40s on one fateful day in 1988 when I went to Manchester on business. The train I took to Manchester was routed via Crewe, instead of by the more usual Stoke-on-Trent line. As we clattered over the pointwork at Crewe North Junction, diverging onto the Manchester line, I glanced across at the site of Crewe Locomotive Works. Part of the largely redundant site had recently been converted into what was then called 'Crewe Heritage Centre' and visible above the fencing was the tall chimney of an ancient locomotive. I recognised it as the locomotive I'd seen 35 years earlier in Ealing Studios film 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', which I remembered was actually called 'Lion' and had survived from the early days of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
I went about my business during the day and eventually returned to Manchester Piccadilly station for the journey home. I made my way onto the platform for the express back home via Stoke on Trent, then I noticed a local train for Crewe on the adjacent platform. "Oh!", I thought, "Shall I get the express and get home quickly, or shall I get the local to Crewe and see if I can look at 'The Titfield Thunderbolt'?".
Well, I went to Crewe, walked to the Heritage Centre and found the 'Lion' supporters group, the Old Locomotive Committee (or simply OLCO) still running 'Lion' up and down the demonstration line. They gave me a ride, let me stand on the footplate and the Chairman said "You seem to be interested. Why don't you join our group?" To my surprise, I found myself saying "Why not?" and the rest, as they say, is history.
I didn't know at the time that they were short of a Secretary, so I served in this role and others for a number of years. But they let me fire the locomotive and occasionally drive before the locomotive was finally 'laid up' so I think myself very fortunate. With no great prospect of 'Lion' steaming again, I'd rather devote my efforts to working steam, so I resigned from my Secretary's role, but resumed it later.
All my posts on 'Lion' and the Old Locomotive Committee can be found here.
All my photographs of 'Lion' and the activities of the Old Locomotive Committee can be found here.
There's quite a collection of technical photographs of the prototype 'Lion' at Lion (Up close & personal).
[Links added: 9-Oct-2016]
