User:Ianbutton1

I am a life-member & shareholder of SVRSevern Valley Railway, now retired from work.

My link with the SVRSevern Valley Railway is via my father: in GWRGreat Western Railway days as a young man from 1938-1941 he worked at a number of stations on the line as a passenger & goods clerk, even briefly rising to temporary Station Master at Highley. After the war, he worked at stations around and then in Worcester, and until 1960 we lived just north of Fernhill Heath. But then his work in the District Commercial Department of BRBritish Rail or British Railways Western Region was moved to Gloucester, so we moved house to Churchdown on the 4-track line between Cheltenham & Gloucester, where I did most of my trainspotting.

Having been born in Crewe, my father was a very keen railway enthusiast & observer, and kept detailed logs. His notebooks cover 1935 (age 20) to 1965, when his rail commuting ended as Churchdown Station closed. Perhaps his wartime observations while in the Severn Valley will be of interest - for example, they include the LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway J25's used on freight services. I will try to find ways of making them available electronically - historical records should be preserved. I have a couple of wartime photos as well.