Trains are a fascination for many people, but it is an especially prevalent interest amongst men. One-piece information which is relevant to women is all men are fundamentally eleven years old and for some of these ‘boys’ one emanation is trainspotting. Naturally, whilst they may admit to admiring the engineering feat, they will deny they take note of numbers; they do.
In Edith Nesbit’s book “The Railway Children”, after the father is imprisoned, the family move into a house near a station. This seems to be shown as a problem, but it appears to me to be a blissful opportunity. The children make friends with a man who regularly catches the train, he intercedes, father is absolved, and everyone lives happily ever after. Yippee!
During the Covid lockdown most of us have sought new patterns, ways to get through the days of limited interest. We were allowed to exercise which, especially for those of us with a dog, was invaluable and the morning walk became the highlight of the day. The daily routine included crossing a bridge, unsurprisingly, over a railway. There are three tracks for the Birmingham to the South-West line. It also accommodates the local trains to Bromsgrove and Redditch. It’s very exciting.
Life is even more fascinating than that because the Trainline App provides up to the minute information regarding train punctuality. An additional new aspect of the daily schedule which could not be varied was seeing the Bristol to Edinburgh train which rattled through at 7.36 am. It made sense to synchronise life with this symbol of normality.
However, it gradually took on even more excitement, incredible as that may seem. An occasional wave towards the driver did, sometimes, receive an acknowledgement! By this stage, my friend Ken who walks and walks and walks, had begun to time his arrival to see the express train passing, and was joining in the arm wafting. Not only do some drivers wave back, sometimes we get a toot on the engine horn. A few other souls stop briefly to laugh at us, but I notice some surreptitiously participate in the waving now.
Whilst not all drivers react, many do and, perhaps they recognise us and take pity. We haven’t released any wrongly convicted people yet but who knows what will emerge. Notwithstanding, trains to Plymouth, Great Malvern, Cardiff Central and Lichfield can continue to slowly shake their heads at the antics of the sad Railway Pensioners.
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