| Railfest 2004 |
June
2004
|
|
|
|
|
Celebrating 200 years of the railways the National Railway Museum in York is playing host to dozens of railway engines and organisations for a week of special events. This is Railfest 2004. I bought a £5.00 programme from the seller at the main entrance and flashed my FNRM membership card to the counter. I was in. I only had a short time to spend at the museum this afternoon. Most of the festivities and engines in steam are outside. So the rain after only an hour was most unwelcome. Alongside steam locos, modern train sets like the Virgin Pendolinos are on display with no end of other diesel and electric engines and units to fill the gap between steam and the present day. Inside an old shed are the stalls of small organisations that keep hundreds - possibly thousands - of enthusiasts and volunteers busy all year round. Fund raising, organising trips, printing brochures, membership renewals and, the most important job, looking at old bits from the railways of years ago. Sometimes those old bits are assembled into complete railways with engines, rolling stock, stations and track. But in this shed it's the bits and pieces that attract most attention. I wandered around anonymously, despite being a lapsed train spotter and a member of the Friends of the NRM. I suppose I looked much the same as the many other middle aged men who browsed nostalgically among the exhibits.
|
|
 |
||
|
|
Next >> |
