Steam trainspotter handwritten ledger ... a life's work
Discussion
A huge handwritten ledger, 7.5kg, 780 pages of obsessiveness.
Over 39 years, between 1928 and 1967, the author spotted 13,566 British steam locomotives as they compiled this ledger.
Each spot is recorded with date and location, alongside comprehensive details and notes of, I assume, every steam locomotive made in Britain, including those they didn't spot.
I thought to share a few sample pages ...
Over 39 years, between 1928 and 1967, the author spotted 13,566 British steam locomotives as they compiled this ledger.
Each spot is recorded with date and location, alongside comprehensive details and notes of, I assume, every steam locomotive made in Britain, including those they didn't spot.
I thought to share a few sample pages ...
Edited by impetuous on Thursday 2nd September 21:49
Can you imagine if we ended up getting invaded by the Germans in the second world war, and they seized this. I think they would've been confounded
"Welcher Code ist das? Zeigen Sie mir die Maschine!"
"Herr Günther, it is just trains..."
"Lügenschwein! Niemand würde so viel Zeit und Präzision für eine derartig sinnlose Übung aufwenden!"
"Welcher Code ist das? Zeigen Sie mir die Maschine!"
"Herr Günther, it is just trains..."
"Lügenschwein! Niemand würde so viel Zeit und Präzision für eine derartig sinnlose Übung aufwenden!"
Edited by ReverendCounter on Thursday 2nd September 22:00
OP ( Can you pm me please?)
I have the same from a guy whose records run rom 1921 to 1967, mostly WCML at Northampton and Watford .Apart from some during WW2 when his parents joined the paper drive..he was bloody livid
going slowly through them on an excel sheet
I knew a guy at school back in the mid 60s who did see every one of the BR steam locos, doing 3 or 4 trips to out of the way places as the one he needed form that area wasn't 'on shed' that weekend, and another whose brother worked on the Restaurant Cars between KX and Aberdeen. HEegot hauled by every one of the LNER pacifics ( most of us never saw all of them!)
Back then it was a great day to see a loco from afar 62A and 64B locos were only seen on running in turnes from Doncaster Works tyo KX and The 4 A3s that were shedded at Carlisle Canal were mythical beasts to southerners
Apologies if this doesn't make much sense to non 'spotters', but those ITK back then will understand.
no doubt other regions followers have the same tales
I have the same from a guy whose records run rom 1921 to 1967, mostly WCML at Northampton and Watford .Apart from some during WW2 when his parents joined the paper drive..he was bloody livid
going slowly through them on an excel sheet
I knew a guy at school back in the mid 60s who did see every one of the BR steam locos, doing 3 or 4 trips to out of the way places as the one he needed form that area wasn't 'on shed' that weekend, and another whose brother worked on the Restaurant Cars between KX and Aberdeen. HEegot hauled by every one of the LNER pacifics ( most of us never saw all of them!)
Back then it was a great day to see a loco from afar 62A and 64B locos were only seen on running in turnes from Doncaster Works tyo KX and The 4 A3s that were shedded at Carlisle Canal were mythical beasts to southerners
Apologies if this doesn't make much sense to non 'spotters', but those ITK back then will understand.
no doubt other regions followers have the same tales
Hello silverfoxcc
PM sent as requested.
I believe this ledger covers the whole country, every steam engine, titled "The locomotive stock of the former main line companies of Great Britain", also includes in the 780 pages more niche sections as 'Clayton Steam RC', "Metro District Rly", 'Sentinel Steam Rail Cars', 'Cardiff Dock', etc, etc .... it's tens of thousands of entries.
I'm no expert on the contents, my day job is hunting down lost manuscripts and artworks ... I stumbled over this ledger and acquired it simply to marvel at its obsessiveness, it'll be sold on, but thought to share it here first, given pleasure I get from this forum.
PM sent as requested.
I believe this ledger covers the whole country, every steam engine, titled "The locomotive stock of the former main line companies of Great Britain", also includes in the 780 pages more niche sections as 'Clayton Steam RC', "Metro District Rly", 'Sentinel Steam Rail Cars', 'Cardiff Dock', etc, etc .... it's tens of thousands of entries.
I'm no expert on the contents, my day job is hunting down lost manuscripts and artworks ... I stumbled over this ledger and acquired it simply to marvel at its obsessiveness, it'll be sold on, but thought to share it here first, given pleasure I get from this forum.
That's an extraordinary find OP, let's hope it finds an appreciative buyer. It's reminded me of a similar set that I was lucky to have a look through when I was a secondman at Old Oak Common in the early '80s, one of our roster clerks kept a record of every loco that came on shed (with some help from those on the opposite shifts) from about 1945 to 1965, with small b&w portrait photos of most of them next to each inscription. There were about twenty ledgers in total and I've often wondered what happened to them. Each ledger was full of Pannier tanks, Halls, Manors, Moguls, Collett Goods 22xxs, Granges, Kings, Castles, 47xxs, Prairies, BR Standards, GW Diesel Railcars, Warships, Westerns, Hymeks, North British Type 2s and Brush Type 4s.
I've still got most of my old Ian Allen Locoshed books from 1970 onwards
I've still got most of my old Ian Allen Locoshed books from 1970 onwards
Edited by P5BNij on Friday 3rd September 12:03
When I worked as an Assistant Harbourmaster there was quite similar ledger noting every arrival and departure of every vessel since before the first World War.
Part of my job was to keep it up to date, for which purpose I kept a good fountain pen in the office.
I got a letter one day from a Belgian gentleman whose father had captained a coal carrier throughout the second World War asking if we knew anything of his movements and I was able to send him a record of every visit he had made complete with ports of departure, next port of call and what tonnage he carried during the war years, together with obsolete Admiralty charts showing those ports with courses and distances marked out.
What I liked best about that ledger and the pages the OP has shared was the meticulous and beautiful handwriting.
AFAIK it's still in the harbour office but I doubt that the present Harbourmaster will have maintained it since he is practicallly illiterate.
Part of my job was to keep it up to date, for which purpose I kept a good fountain pen in the office.
I got a letter one day from a Belgian gentleman whose father had captained a coal carrier throughout the second World War asking if we knew anything of his movements and I was able to send him a record of every visit he had made complete with ports of departure, next port of call and what tonnage he carried during the war years, together with obsolete Admiralty charts showing those ports with courses and distances marked out.
What I liked best about that ledger and the pages the OP has shared was the meticulous and beautiful handwriting.
AFAIK it's still in the harbour office but I doubt that the present Harbourmaster will have maintained it since he is practicallly illiterate.
Can someone explain the point of this to me? I appreciate all kinds of mechanical devices from cars to bikes to trains to planes and can easily lose myself for hours in the details of mechanical designs and how it all goes together. But I'm afraid I really don't get it? How does one derive any sort of interest and enjoyment in which particular train went past a particular point and how many cars were attached? It seems just as strange as car spotting. Writing down which makes and models and registrations pass a particular point at the side of the road. What does it actually achieve? I totally get spotting interesting and unusual models and pointing them out, but this seems to be about something else. I'm not taking the Mick out of an oft-maligned hobby - I just don't get it and I really want to understand!
It's OK for you to not 'get it'.
Someone had the passion for recording each and every movement they'd witnessed. Perhaps this is his way of keeping a memento of that moment (maybe he was amazed at the technology he'd witnessed) with an eye towards pride in their work (or institutionalised to hit a high standard of work by education). It clearly takes a considerable amount of effort to go to this extent, but then, there wasn't much on TV back then.
I think this is a fantastic item, even if I'm not interested in the logging of movements (takes all sorts - saw people taking numbers off the coaches that had delivered them to an airshow once). I'm similarly fascinated by pilots log books and squadron diaries/records.
Someone had the passion for recording each and every movement they'd witnessed. Perhaps this is his way of keeping a memento of that moment (maybe he was amazed at the technology he'd witnessed) with an eye towards pride in their work (or institutionalised to hit a high standard of work by education). It clearly takes a considerable amount of effort to go to this extent, but then, there wasn't much on TV back then.
I think this is a fantastic item, even if I'm not interested in the logging of movements (takes all sorts - saw people taking numbers off the coaches that had delivered them to an airshow once). I'm similarly fascinated by pilots log books and squadron diaries/records.
That is a fantastic document!
There's a small sim joy still held in use within my own family: a small, late '30s likely 1st edition of The Observer's Book of trains yellowed linen cover and all - and a / lot / of engine nos neatly ruled-through, esp on Southern Region.
Well, when I was small I thought this ancient thing the work of my dad or his younger brother, growing up in the 40s-50s.But no: actually - it was Nan, my Dad's mother, who was the obsessive trainspotter, and had kept the records! It was a( very old)childhood friend of hers mentioned this at her funeral after which ...much made sense - I can actually remember Nan teaching me White's notation for steam locomotives, and the difference between pannier and saddle tanks; why GWR 0-6-0s should be admired; and similar things when I was very small..!
Simple things - but very, very fondly remembered...
There's a small sim joy still held in use within my own family: a small, late '30s likely 1st edition of The Observer's Book of trains yellowed linen cover and all - and a / lot / of engine nos neatly ruled-through, esp on Southern Region.
Well, when I was small I thought this ancient thing the work of my dad or his younger brother, growing up in the 40s-50s.But no: actually - it was Nan, my Dad's mother, who was the obsessive trainspotter, and had kept the records! It was a( very old)childhood friend of hers mentioned this at her funeral after which ...much made sense - I can actually remember Nan teaching me White's notation for steam locomotives, and the difference between pannier and saddle tanks; why GWR 0-6-0s should be admired; and similar things when I was very small..!
Simple things - but very, very fondly remembered...
Joined BR as a graduate in 1981. One of the intake was a train spotter (Steve)
We were put up in a small hotel in Loughborough for part of the training and one day there was another guest, also a train spotter and we told him he needed to speak to Steve - he has seen everything!
When Steve arrived he was asked if he had really seen everything.
The response, well almost...... almost all the locomotives, all the carriages, all the wagons...
Turns out all Steve hadn’t seen (spotted) was one shunter that operated on a private siding and never came out.
We were put up in a small hotel in Loughborough for part of the training and one day there was another guest, also a train spotter and we told him he needed to speak to Steve - he has seen everything!
When Steve arrived he was asked if he had really seen everything.
The response, well almost...... almost all the locomotives, all the carriages, all the wagons...
Turns out all Steve hadn’t seen (spotted) was one shunter that operated on a private siding and never came out.
impetuous said:
I'm no expert on the contents, my day job is hunting down lost manuscripts and artworks ... I stumbled over this ledger and acquired it simply to marvel at its obsessiveness, it'll be sold on, but thought to share it here first, given pleasure I get from this forum.
I think we need to hear more about your job. Sounds (to me anyway) very interesting!!LunarOne said:
Can someone explain the point of this to me?
I don't understand it either, and I used to do it (though not so obsessively). There was a certain feeling of achievement when "copping" the last loco of a class (D841 Roebuck is an example I remember probably 60 years later).My Father, 80+ still has all his note books (all the same type) going back 60+ years, I've spoken to him about days out we had when I was 10, I'm now 50+ and he reaches the shelf next to his chair, pulls out a book and he can recite the day from start to finish Loco, from / to, what was seen en-route etc (Even the Bus Number home)
What I do with them when he falls off his perch (or Station Platform) who knows......
What I do with them when he falls off his perch (or Station Platform) who knows......
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