by Mark Collins

The stories about me being a member of this society when I was a boy are absolutely true and I always wished I‘d seen the old Pines Express hurtling through Bitton station on its way to Green Park station in Bath.

It was good to see the extension of the line towards Bath and I wish the AVR all the best in their efforts to extend in both directions towards Bath and Mangotsfield.

By the way those overalls that I wore have prevented me from having any more children.

Many thanks to David Cole for organising our day, to Peter Bell for showing us around and a special mention to Neil Jackson for his excellent website.

trainspotting.steamdrivingcourse

This too was filmed at the Avon Valley Railway and was a great experience even though I was desperate to “open the regulator full tilt and see what this baby would do!”

We only had the one camera so it was a case of lugging equipment up and down the line and through fields but we were again rewarded with another lovely summer’s day. (You wouldn’t have thought we had such an awful summer looking at this series).

A big Bristolian “cheers then” to the driver who taught me all I know, John Miles, and to Roger the fireman for his jokes!

Trainspotting.links (will open in a new window)

www.avonvalleyrailway.co.uk