1header.jpg
Panel only seen by widget owner
This Week
2
27/07/2020
2
Total
418,576
 

Guest Book

Thank you very much for keeping this beautiful web site open. David put in a lot of work in collecting and storing an abundance of memories for us to enjoy. Very sad to learn of David's passing - he will be sadly missed by Railway Enthusiasts around the world.
Ian Sterrett Posted:Jul 08, 2020 - 05:58:16

What a wonderful site, and how sad I was to hear of the passing of its creator. Many thanks for preserving it for latecomers like me. It is a priceless archive and resource for the days prior to the culling of the railways in the fifties and sixties.
Domeyhead Posted:Apr 27, 2020 - 19:54:15

loving the website Just a quick note though is there anywhere to find train formations please Thanks Jordan
jordan Wootton Posted:Mar 01, 2020 - 23:28:27

What a wonderful achievement this website is.Many thanks to the late David Heys.
John R Posted:Feb 20, 2020 - 14:18:08

Fabulous archive,brilliantly evocative !!
Richard BRADY Posted:Feb 10, 2020 - 19:58:21

Wonderful just to see the pictures and then the narrative - brilliant.
Lawrence Wright Posted:Jan 23, 2020 - 12:08:05

A wonderful site full of words and images that bring back not only memories but the deep feelings that those distant railways days brought with them. I hope that those will be amongst the very last memories to fade. Thank you to all whose work has contributed to this superb site, which has also demonstrated that I have finally learned how to use the 'bookmark' facility correctly!!
Patrick Posted:Jan 21, 2020 - 20:23:24

Amazing website such a vast amount of information. Thank you
William Naylor Posted:Dec 10, 2019 - 13:55:53

Thanks for such a wonderful collection of steam photos particularly the southern at Guildford from where I sprung forth in 1947. As a youngster I was fascinated by steam engines and used to train spot every chance I had so to my surprise I look at a photo posted of Brookwood with trainspotters and hey the 13 year old in blue "that's me" I showed the picture to my wife identifying the station as I have taken her there on a visit to the UK, she saw the boy in blue and said "that's you" so thank you.
MIke Goulding Posted:Sep 22, 2019 - 04:44:02

So sorry to hear of David's passing. He has brought so much joy and pleasure to myself and I am sure many, many more. Please do consider publishing your father's work just as it stands. I know it is incomplete, but such a tremendous project would have a queue of enthusiasts and interested laymen queuing up. I am sure it would have to be a series of volumes. Again, condolences - and many thanks for your father's perseverance. Sincerely, Mark Turner
mark turner Posted:May 16, 2019 - 23:04:14

I found this site only a few weeks ago and cannot stop looking at it and thinking about my time at Stoke On Trent depot back in the middle to late 60's as a young fireman, I joined in 1965 so only got the last few years of steam, took me 23 years to become a driver and then only one for 12 years until serious ill health forced me to take early retirement, Stoke shut in 1993 and I moved to Crewe for my last 7 years and the hectic times during the sell offs, finally finishing up working for Wales and West until my retirement, great days and the nostalgia on here is overwhelming and I thank the late David Hey for starting this site, I'm almost 71 now and still think of those days fondly. Anyone wishing to chat over those times then please post here and I'll get back to you. Thanks
Keith Lindop Posted:May 02, 2019 - 22:18:02

Wonderful site. I must admit that I was worried that it had gone for ever. Many hours of enjoyment to be had! Well done to all concerned.
Nigel Smith Posted:Feb 20, 2019 - 19:31:33

I am so glad to see this site online again. Since I discovered it last year it has been an absolute joy to browse the huge amount of anecdote and photographs contained within it. It is an important resource. Long may it run.
Andrew King Posted:Feb 20, 2019 - 15:06:09

Hi everybody! I recently came across this wonderful site by chance when searching for LNER locos. The photos bring back many memories. I was sorry to read of David's death last year. I have lived in Leeds for over 40 years and worked in Leeds station travel centre up to retirement in 1995 but never came across David. A sad loss indeed. I was particularly impressed by the shot on page 26 of 70000 Britsnnia leaving York in June 1951. The caption states that it had a 30A shed plate but does not say how a Stratford engine came to be on a York to Kings Cross train. I think I can shed some light on this. The previous week there was a motive power exhibition in York, in the old Station (just inside the city wall) and Britannia, then quite new, was the star of the show. Another interesting visitor was Bo-Bo electric 26014. I was there on Saturday 9th of June but I don't know if the exhibition was on just for the weekend or the whole week. Either way it seems that Britannia stayed in York all the next week and would obviously be making back to her home depot on the following Monday, the date the photo was taken. Hope that clears it up! Another nice shot that caught my eye, on the same page, is the one of a North British loco at Wall in Northumberland. This brought back memories of my first spotting trip to Newcastle with my school pal (we lived in Hull at the time) in October 1950. There was a working from Hawick via Riccarton Junction and Hexham to Newcastle, arriving around mid-day and returning later in the afternoon. It was a great surprise when D30 62440 Wandering Willie came rolling in and an exciting "cop" as we hadn't seen any indigenous Scottish locos before. The name was appropriate too! I don't know if this train was every day or Saturdays only (we were there on a Saturday). Now this photo is obviously much older, at least pre 1946. but my guess is that it would be the same or equivalent working. The caption gives the loco as a D30 but this is incorrect. It looks like a Holmes D31 and on close inspection the number appears to be 9312 which confirms this. The Reid Scotts (D30) and Glens (D34) were larger. The D31s were a class of 50 locos introduced in 1884 and subsequently rebuilt. Most were scrspped in the 1930s with seven surviving up to nationalisation. The last one was withdrawn in 1952 as BR 62281, from Carlisle Canal where I was lucky enough to see it. Hope all that will be of some interest.
Ivor Bulmer Posted:Jan 26, 2019 - 17:36:15

Very sad about your fathers passing my condolences to your family, I am also getting in touch as I bought a D Hey oil painting and I am doing some research it was painted in 1979 Locomotive Train Engine County Bucks 1001 I was wondering if you could kindly email me to confirm if it is an original David Hey Painting
Mike Posted:Jan 19, 2019 - 23:21:18

Sorry to hear about David's passing. This website is a national treasure. Regards Peter
Peter Lane Posted:Jan 19, 2019 - 08:56:43

What an incredible site. Condolences on the loss of your father. He has left an incredible legacy though! Khris
Khris Abuid Posted:Nov 23, 2018 - 08:08:22

So sorry to hear of David Hey's death. This is a fabulous site and needs to be preserved both as a source of information and in memory of him
Tony Woodward Posted:Nov 20, 2018 - 21:18:50

My deepest apologies for not being aware of Mr. Hey's passing. I hope this site will be carried on. There's a gold mine of information here. Sincerely, Roger Letsom
Roger Letsom Posted:Nov 15, 2018 - 19:49:51

Mr. Heys, I'm a "Yank" of Anglo-Scottish ancestry, who visited Britain back 2001 and rode a train from Edinburgh to London. I'm very interested in your railways, particularly the steam era. It's a fantastic site! THANKS!
Roger Letsom Posted:Nov 15, 2018 - 19:46:26

Just a short message to say how sad I was to hear of David's passing. His website has given me hours and hours of endless pleasure and will for some time to come. I am very pleased to note that it is being archived as it should be. Kind regards steve dawson
steven dawson Posted:Oct 05, 2018 - 18:33:30

I can't place exactly what year, maybe Summer 1961 or Summer 1962, late July or August but presumably because of engineering works, a Cardiff to Portsmouth 9-car DMU ran via the S&D of all things. I was aboard this train from Cardiff to Bournemouth and well remember it reversing at Bath and Templecombe. It also stopped a few times presumably to add/ remove a steam banking engine. How unusual a DMU working. I'd love to know exactly what year this was. I was 10 or 11 at the time!
Charles Loft Posted:Sep 22, 2018 - 00:30:59