TOT as usual: train spotters
 

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old child,
and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the child and
the pushchair from the platform at York station to the museum, a short
walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was quite happy though
because the return fare was £13, but less happy when we got back to the
station to find that the train to Doncaster was running 70 minutes late.
After a day spent admiring the grandeur of the British rail network in
its hay-day this brought us down to earth with a bump.

Bill

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:04:34 +0000, Bill Wright
wrote:

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.

The same types have been there each time we have visited the NRM with
our grandson.


Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old child,
and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the child and
the pushchair from the platform at York station to the museum, a short
walk but with a ridiculous number of steps.

If you arrive by car there are lifts that avoid you having to use the
stairs.

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop

He was quite happy though
because the return fare was £13, but less happy when we got back to the
station to find that the train to Doncaster was running 70 minutes late.
After a day spent admiring the grandeur of the British rail network in
its hay-day this brought us down to earth with a bump.

Bill
--

Martin

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Bill Wright wrote:

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other
visitors were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a
third group was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men
who seemed to want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled,
unshaven, spotty, and dressed the way people in the fifties used to
dress their adult mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras
and notebooks. Some had spectacles that had been repaired with
elastoplast. The cliqued anorak was well represented. Once in a while
I would see an unhappy female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin,
dragging along behind a group of the males. Yes, these were train
spotters. I honestly thought the archetypal train spotter was a
figment of the imagination.

Heheheh, it's not just trains ..

Go down Old bawtry road from Finningley and see them all watching the
'planes .. or Flamborough head when a storm's coming in off the sea for
the Twitchers, waiting in the storm for sight of a wind-blown rare bird
.... I can still remember saving car registration numbers as a very
young child .. they were still relatively rare in our (pit) village in
the early sixties .. ;)

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old
child, and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the
child and the pushchair from the platform at York station to the
museum, a short walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was
quite happy though because the return fare was £13, but less happy
when we got back to the station to find that the train to Doncaster
was running 70 minutes late. After a day spent admiring the
grandeur of the British rail network in its hay-day this brought us
down to earth with a bump.

There seems to have been a number of local (to Doncaster) stoppages and
delays in the last few weeks, not least of which are down to cable
stripping pikeys ..


--
Paul - xxx
"You know, all I wanna do is race .. and all I wanna do is win"
Mark Cavendish, World Champion 2011.

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In article , Brian Gaff
scribeth thus
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.


And some take piccys of electricity pylons and TV masts even;!.....

--
Tony Sayer

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In message , Brian Gaff
wrote
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.


And there are the beer tickers who have an obsession with "ticking off"
all the real ales brewed in the UK despite some breweries cynically
renaming their beers each week just for those who want something
different each time they visit a pub.

The real sad cases are those who turn up with plastic funnels and empty
pop bottles at beer festivals and those who post endlessly to virtually
dead Usenet groups and mailing lists documenting all the beers they've
"tasted" in previous week.

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Paul - xxx wrote...

I can still remember saving car registration numbers as a very
young child .. they were still relatively rare in our (pit) village in
the early sixties .. ;)

Over the summer holidays of 1960 we had a car number collecting
competition at our school:
http://g.co/maps/4nhv8
I think the winner had 22 or thereabouts, but there were accusations
that he had made some of them up:-(
I can imaging our modern equivalent sitting by the M25 with his laptop
and ANPR system, or maybe not.

--
Ken O'Meara
http://www.btinternet.com/~unsteadyken/

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

I used to take pictures of tv masts and even foreign test cards as well.
Still have the latter actually.
What kind of spotter does that make me?

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Brian Gaff
scribeth thus
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they
are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.


And some take piccys of electricity pylons and TV masts even;!.....

--
Tony Sayer

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Do you know there are even people who look at rotting wrecks of trans, or
locomotives and look carefully at rivets, apparently enthralled by the
different types?
Surely this has to be some kind of illness?

Mind you I think most people do go through a phase like that. Its just
unfortunate if they alight on something a bit strange to categorise and
study.

With me when I was young it was radio valves and later on transistors.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Paul - xxx" wrote in message
...
Bill Wright wrote:

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other
visitors were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a
third group was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men
who seemed to want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled,
unshaven, spotty, and dressed the way people in the fifties used to
dress their adult mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras
and notebooks. Some had spectacles that had been repaired with
elastoplast. The cliqued anorak was well represented. Once in a while
I would see an unhappy female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin,
dragging along behind a group of the males. Yes, these were train
spotters. I honestly thought the archetypal train spotter was a
figment of the imagination.

Heheheh, it's not just trains ..

Go down Old bawtry road from Finningley and see them all watching the
'planes .. or Flamborough head when a storm's coming in off the sea for
the Twitchers, waiting in the storm for sight of a wind-blown rare bird
... I can still remember saving car registration numbers as a very
young child .. they were still relatively rare in our (pit) village in
the early sixties .. ;)

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old
child, and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the
child and the pushchair from the platform at York station to the
museum, a short walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was
quite happy though because the return fare was £13, but less happy
when we got back to the station to find that the train to Doncaster
was running 70 minutes late. After a day spent admiring the
grandeur of the British rail network in its hay-day this brought us
down to earth with a bump.

There seems to have been a number of local (to Doncaster) stoppages and
delays in the last few weeks, not least of which are down to cable
stripping pikeys ..


--
Paul - xxx
"You know, all I wanna do is race .. and all I wanna do is win"
Mark Cavendish, World Champion 2011.

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:28:40 +0000, Alan
wrote:

The real sad cases are those who turn up with plastic funnels and empty
pop bottles at beer festivals and those who post endlessly to virtually
dead Usenet groups and mailing lists documenting all the beers they've
"tasted" in previous week.

How can a group be virtually dead if some people are posting endlessly
to them?

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Network Software. www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:08:58 -0000, "Brian Gaff, probably.."
wrote:

I used to take pictures of tv masts and even foreign test cards as well.
Still have the latter actually.
What kind of spotter does that make me?

Brian

A eurocardy? Do you have a copy of the card produced by Rank Cintel
for 625 testing? Now that one is rare.

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Network Software. www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Bill Wright wrote:

They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty, and dressed the way
people in the fifties used to dress their adult mentally-handicapped
sons.

Autism, they call it. I think trainspotters are all some way along the
autistic spectrum.

--
SteveT

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On 10/12/2011 15:14, Brian Gaff, probably.. wrote:

Surely this has to be some kind of illness?

Mind you I think most people do go through a phase like that. Its just
unfortunate if they alight on something a bit strange to categorise and
study.

With me when I was young it was radio valves and later on transistors.
Brian


With me, it was searching for line-input/output sockets on the back of
music centres, or finding Dolby, and expressing dismay if either had
been missed. I don't know what that was about - but I still have the
occasional peek nowadays...

--
Adrian C

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In message , Stephen
Wolstenholme wrote
On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:28:40 +0000, Alan
wrote:

The real sad cases are those who turn up with plastic funnels and empty
pop bottles at beer festivals and those who post endlessly to virtually
dead Usenet groups and mailing lists documenting all the beers they've
"tasted" in previous week.

How can a group be virtually dead if some people are posting endlessly
to them?


Groups that used to have many people posting to them but now are the
sole preserve of one or two beer tickers who just posts lists of beer
and scores.

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:14:12 -0000, Brian Gaff, probably..
wrote:

Do you know there are even people who look at rotting wrecks of trans, or
locomotives and look carefully at rivets, apparently enthralled by the
different types?
Surely this has to be some kind of illness?

Mind you I think most people do go through a phase like that. Its just
unfortunate if they alight on something a bit strange to categorise and
study.

With me when I was young it was radio valves and later on transistors.

And now it's developed into posting pointless boring messages on Usenet.

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Martin wrote:

If you arrive by car there are lifts that avoid you having to use the
stairs.

Oh yes the problem was the stairs at the station.


You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop

There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins into both.

Bill

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Brian Gaff wrote:
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.

Brian

There are even some sad *******s who go round aerial spotting.

Bill

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they
are not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.

Yes they hang around airports with binoculars, cameras, airband radios etc.

Every so often the Special Branch or Anti-Terrorist section get an alert
that Al Qeda are spying on airports and / or have a SAM-7 missile and all
these suckers get arrested and spend a few days in the nick explaining what
they were doing.

Sometimes they fly abroad and do the same thing, but the results can be much
worse: -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/.../...ace-jail-india
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...reek-jail.html
etc.

OTOH if this your bag then at least in Manchester you can do it in some
comfort
http://www.theairporthotel.com/
which has a beer garden with an unobstructed view of the touchdown zone on
the right runway (used for landing).


Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Steve Thackery" wrote in message
...

Bill Wright wrote:

They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty, and dressed the way
people in the fifties used to dress their adult mentally-handicapped sons.

Autism, they call it. I think trainspotters are all some way along the
autistic spectrum.

--
SteveT


Aren't we all?

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

The problem with dolby was its non linearity, dbx was far better but of
course the raw recordings played without it sounded a lot worse.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
On 10/12/2011 15:14, Brian Gaff, probably.. wrote:

Surely this has to be some kind of illness?

Mind you I think most people do go through a phase like that. Its just
unfortunate if they alight on something a bit strange to categorise and
study.

With me when I was young it was radio valves and later on transistors.
Brian


With me, it was searching for line-input/output sockets on the back of
music centres, or finding Dolby, and expressing dismay if either had been
missed. I don't know what that was about - but I still have the
occasional peek nowadays...

--
Adrian C

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On 11/12/2011 09:56, Martin wrote:

and the guy on TV on The One Show this week who had eaten a meat pie
in 96 football grounds in one year.

There are folk who do the ground hopping and deem a ground to be visited
if a match is watched. The pie and tea/bovil are additions to the
match-day experience. By just nabbing a quick pie and scarpering you
could do more grounds in a day...

--
Phil Cook

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:15:37 +0000, Bill Wright
wrote:

Brian Gaff wrote:
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you know.

Brian

There are even some sad *******s who go round aerial spotting.

Bill

I'm a bit like that. Why on Earth does she need such a huge array next
door but two? I think it was the digital aerial rip off!

Steve
--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Network Software. www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In article , Brian Gaff,
probably.. scribeth thus
I used to take pictures of tv masts and even foreign test cards as well.
Still have the latter actually.
What kind of spotter does that make me?

Boringly normal;!....


Brian


--
Tony Sayer

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Doctor D wrote:


Autism, they call it. I think trainspotters are all some way along
the autistic spectrum.

Aren't we all?

I think all males are to a degree. Of course the most popular male obsession
is football.



--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

www.paras.org.uk

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:28:40 +0000, Alan
wrote:

In message , Brian Gaff
wrote
I've never seen them myself but I do recall some years back a Police
spokesperson for a very nasty set of attacks on trains thanking the
trainspotting fraternity for being so observant and these reports of a
person being instrumental in catching a very elusive individual so they
are
not totally useless, just perhaps a little bit odd.
There are unfortunately similar people about who spot aircraft you
know.


And there are the beer tickers who have an obsession with "ticking off"
all the real ales brewed in the UK despite some breweries cynically
renaming their beers each week just for those who want something
different each time they visit a pub.

The real sad cases are those who turn up with plastic funnels and empty
pop bottles at beer festivals and those who post endlessly to virtually
dead Usenet groups and mailing lists documenting all the beers they've
"tasted" in previous week.

and the guy on TV on The One Show this week who had eaten a meat pie
in 96 football grounds in one year.

It must have been a very large meat pie.

--
JohnT

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:29:16 +0000, Mark Carver
wrote:

Doctor D wrote:


Autism, they call it. I think trainspotters are all some way along
the autistic spectrum.

Aren't we all?

I think all males are to a degree. Of course the most popular male obsession
is football.

Joking aside, one of my young relatives suffered from a quite serious
form of autism but was an ace footballer.

Steve

--
Neural network software applications, help and support.

Neural Network Software. www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Martin wrote:

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop
There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins into both.

Us too. At the Yorkshire Air Museum he wanted to spend all his time in
the simulator.

We have to remember that the child's idea of what is great fun often
doesn't fit in with what we have provided, at great expense and
inconvenience! You know the situation. You take then 100 miles to see
something fantastic and when you ask them about the trip afterwards all
they say is, "We played hide and seek in the bushes behind the toilets."

Bill

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Bill Wright wrote:

Martin wrote:

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want"
Thomas the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop
There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins into
both.

Us too. At the Yorkshire Air Museum he wanted to spend all his time
in the simulator.

We have to remember that the child's idea of what is great fun often
doesn't fit in with what we have provided, at great expense and
inconvenience! You know the situation. You take then 100 miles to see
something fantastic and when you ask them about the trip afterwards
all they say is, "We played hide and seek in the bushes behind the
toilets."

... in the same way they prefer to make dens from the carboard boxes at
christmas rather than play with what they contained!

--
Paul - xxx
"You know, all I wanna do is race .. and all I wanna do is win"
Mark Cavendish, World Champion 2011.

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Paul - xxx" wrote in message
...
Bill Wright wrote:

Martin wrote:

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I
want"
Thomas the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop
There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins
into
both.

Us too. At the Yorkshire Air Museum he wanted to spend all
his time
in the simulator.

We have to remember that the child's idea of what is great fun
often
doesn't fit in with what we have provided, at great expense
and
inconvenience! You know the situation. You take then 100 miles
to see
something fantastic and when you ask them about the trip
afterwards
all they say is, "We played hide and seek in the bushes behind
the
toilets."

.. in the same way they prefer to make dens from the carboard
boxes at
christmas rather than play with what they contained!

--


Oh how true that was!


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On 10/12/2011 09:36, Martin wrote:
You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop

Been there.

My wife went off somewhere and left me with the kids by the model set.
Came back a bit later to find them screaming. What's the matter? What
had I done? I'd taken them away from the nice trains, that was what...

Better trained (!) than to do it in the shop though.

Andy

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

Paul - xxx wrote:


.. in the same way they prefer to make dens from the carboard boxes at
christmas rather than play with what they contained!

That's called 'found toys' I think.

Bill

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Mark Carver" wrote in message ...

Doctor D wrote:


Autism, they call it. I think trainspotters are all some way along the
autistic spectrum.

Aren't we all?

I think all males are to a degree. Of course the most popular male
obsession is football.


I did a test to see how far along the autistic spectrum I was with my
slightly obsessive behaviour at times.
Apparently 80% of all people with autism score over 32, I scored 24, my wife
scored 13............

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:06:48 +0000, Bill Wright
wrote:

Martin wrote:

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop
There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins into both.

Us too. At the Yorkshire Air Museum he wanted to spend all his time in
the simulator.

We have to remember that the child's idea of what is great fun often
doesn't fit in with what we have provided, at great expense and
inconvenience! You know the situation. You take then 100 miles to see
something fantastic and when you ask them about the trip afterwards all
they say is, "We played hide and seek in the bushes behind the toilets."

We did a three week tour of California and all my son remembers is
sitting in the back of the car playing with a Nintendo.
--

But he was 25 years old then?

--
JohnT

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In message , JohnT
writes

"Martin" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:06:48 +0000, Bill Wright
wrote:

Martin wrote:

You appear to have missed small kids screaming "I want I want" Thomas
the Tank Engine stuff in the souvenir shop
There are two Thomas the Money Grabber rides. I put coins into both.

Us too. At the Yorkshire Air Museum he wanted to spend all his time in
the simulator.

We have to remember that the child's idea of what is great fun often
doesn't fit in with what we have provided, at great expense and
inconvenience! You know the situation. You take then 100 miles to see
something fantastic and when you ask them about the trip afterwards all
they say is, "We played hide and seek in the bushes behind the toilets."

We did a three week tour of California and all my son remembers is
sitting in the back of the car playing with a Nintendo.
--

But he was 25 years old then?

In the late 1950s, my parents and I went on a B&B driving tour around
Scotland. We were accompanied by our neighbour and his wife, who
followed 100 yards behind us in their own car. When on the move, his
wife spent the whole time, her head down, knitting.
--
Ian

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In article , Bill Wright
scribeth thus
I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.


No there're an endangered species, treat them with care;!..

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old child,
and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the child and
the pushchair from the platform at York station to the museum, a short
walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was quite happy though
because the return fare was £13, but less happy when we got back to the
station to find that the train to Doncaster was running 70 minutes late.
After a day spent admiring the grandeur of the British rail network in
its hay-day this brought us down to earth with a bump.

Bill

Yeabut did you enjoy the place?. Can't think of anyone who wouldn't,
even wifey and Three daughters were very impressed on a visit a few
years ago!..

And no I'm not a spotter more a basher;)..
--
Tony Sayer

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

In article , says...

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.


We must have been lucky on our visits to the NRM, then. Perhaps they'd
found some real trains to watch instead?

Incidentally, having noted several comments recently about Eternal
September behaving in an unusual fashion but not experiencing problems
myself, I'd seen all the answers to this post but not the original,
until it turned up on ES this morning ...

Does everybody with ES problems get their own personal variant?

I have had some problems with seeing previously read messages re-appear
as unread but assumed this was a news reader (Gravity) malfunction. Is
this another ES glitch as well?

--

Terry

train spotters
 

Found on uk.tech.digital-tv:

On Dec 10, 3:04*am, Bill Wright wrote:
I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old child,
and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the child and
the pushchair from the platform at York station to the museum, a short
walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was quite happy though
because the return fare was £13, but less happy when we got back to the
station to find that the train to Doncaster was running 70 minutes late.
* After a day spent admiring the grandeur of the British rail network in
its hay-day this brought us down to earth with a bump.

Bill

train spotters
 

I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons.


Every group in society can boast of more than a few that fit the
stereotype.

I was recently dragged along (screaming) to a fashion show and you've
never seen so many victims.

Then there was the local Labour party quiz night, well if you're ever
in need of a lifetime of disappointment look no further.

P.S It could be worse, in the US 99% fit the stereotype over there
and, if you're a crank, it's obligatory to dress up as Casey Jones.

TOT as usual: train spotters
 

On 10/12/2011 03:04, Bill Wright wrote:
I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks. Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters. I honestly thought
the archetypal train spotter was a figment of the imagination.

Incidentally the person I was with had brought a three year old child,
and had come by rail from Doncaster. I helped him to get the child and
the pushchair from the platform at York station to the museum, a short
walk but with a ridiculous number of steps. He was quite happy though
because the return fare was £13, but less happy when we got back to the
station to find that the train to Doncaster was running 70 minutes late.
After a day spent admiring the grandeur of the British rail network in
its hay-day this brought us down to earth with a bump.

Bill

Like when we parked the car at Howarth and got return tickets for
the steam train to Keighley.

Missed the train on the way back due to a timetable misunderstanding so
has to get a black cab (which was actually white).

Quite an expensive weekend that was, at least I didn't get clamped at
Howarth.

--

Graham.

%Profound_observation%

train spotters
 

allantracy wrote:

Then there was the local Labour party quiz night, well if you're ever
in need of a lifetime of disappointment look no further.

You want to try a Conservative Party function if it's stereotypes you're
after!

Bill

train spotters
 

On 12/12/2011 13:40, alexander.keys1 wrote:
Found on uk.tech.digital-tv:

On Dec 10, 3:04 am, Bill wrote:
I visited the National Railway Museum the other day. The other visitors
were mostly family groups and old age pensioners. However a third group
was noticeably well-represented. These were groups of men who seemed to
want to cling together. They were largely dishevelled, unshaven, spotty,
and dressed the way people in the fifties used to dress their adult
mentally-handicapped sons. They had cheap cameras and notebooks.

"Cheap" cameras doesn't sound right.

Some
had spectacles that had been repaired with elastoplast. The cliqued
anorak was well represented. Once in a while I would see an unhappy
female, mostly either absurdly fat or thin, dragging along behind a
group of the males. Yes, these were train spotters.

With a female? I suspect they were just pretending to be trainspotters.


--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK