1:24 - oh hey, it's my dad! 😁 Always love seeing this segment, my father (Eugene!) still not only vividly remembers all his trainspotting adventures from around this time, but also remembers giving this very interview! He told me about it years ago, but having never seen it again since it was originally broadcast, we had no idea if the original footage even still existed. Then it finally reappeared a few years ago online thanks to the BBC Archive, and my dad got to see it again - and his son got to see it for the first time! And if anyone's interested, Eugene is doing very well, still loves his trains - especially his beloved Westerns! - and really enjoys seeing all the nice comments about this segment. And yes, he did manage to successfully pass the love of trains on to me. Suppose it was inevitable, really 😊 Thank you BBC Archive for sharing this!
My Dad worked for BR in Ipswich. As soon as this video started, I could smell the diesel and the cigarettes from inside the coaches. Even though I don't smoke and find the habit disgusting, my childhood memories are of places like pubs, trains, my nans house where the carpet, wallpaper, and furniture smell like cigarettes. I find it comforting.
I once went trainspotting with a school pal and I can't say I cared for it much. But this is truly heartwarming and I hope all those featured are doing OK.
I started train spotting in 1973 after my dad used to take me in the pushchair to watch the trains in the late 60s. I've never lost interest in railways since, and work voluntary at weekends in the heritage rail sector as well as holding down a responsible non-rail career. We travelled all over the UK, got great geographical knowledge as a result and just had fantastic times riding the rails, 'bunking it' round engine sheds when the foreman wasn't looking and just all enjoying railways in general. We were all 'aware' and it made me a better person, the technical knowledge and operational knowledge I gained has been invaluable to me ever since, its in my blood. There is much more to railways than spotting engine numbers, the interest is still vast and varied among the enthusiast community. You would be surprised how many celebrities are secret rail enthusiasts as well . Great times and I've gained some great friends as well along the way. I wouldn't have changed my hobbies for the world!!
@@karhukiviPlenty of children needed counselling, probably more than now, but it just wasn't available. Parenting was ignorant back then compared to now, regarding children's needs. There were far fewer connections between dads and their children. There was a lot of emotional neglect, and more violent disipline. There was more generational trauma, without psychological support for parents. It was much easier for children to be seriously injured, or killed, by accidents, and abused in every way.
Now these are good kids, sound well behaved, well mannered and they know their stuff and before the days of smartphones and yet today the kids have all the information they need and they know sod all. Diesel locomotives were the best.
5:14 is a really beautiful shot, with the camera dolly as if we were watching the children watching us from a passing train. Feels massively different compared to the static, never-moving camera of today's documentaries.
I agree with the shot being beuatiful. But I don't know what kind of documentaries of today you watch? Today's documentaries have just as much dynamic shots, maybe even more thanks to the invention of the drone.
@@marktegrotenhuis That's true, I guess I should be more specific in that I'm referring to documentary portraiture. Sure, nature docs have sweeping vistas, but I'm genuinely curious if people use drones to document a subjective humanity, especially in ways that are non-diagetic as they were at 5:14? If you know of some please share! In short, I found the shot arresting in a sea of films and even RUclips docs where the standard seems to be the Ken Burns effect, i.e. a zoom on a picture, and a narration over the subject.
@@xannaduu I see what you mean and that is true indeed. Any shot of people explaining things today are either fixed shots or just simply following the subject as the walk by or something like that. Unless they want to move away and up from a close up of the person presenting into a wide shot of the area. Then they might use a drone.
@@marktegrotenhuis Really, in truth, these BBC docs are masterclasses on how to make a portrait in time. They should be storyboarded out, and you will have a perfect documentary in 6-15 minutes. Of course, filming, sound, and editing takes longer! Our news may have changed to expecting salaciousness in real-time but I encourage all budding documentarians to look at stuff like this. Thus, we are also dealing with a changed culture that seems like everyone wants to film a Hindenburg and get viral, so to speak, instead of telling an actual story that they document.
I love the fact those kids got so much enjoyment from trainspotting. There was such poetry in those Nationwide pieces. Perfectly weighted words and images.
Lovely video. I was 10 in 1975 so this takes me right back. The long summer holiday with time to spare. I wasn’t a train spotter but the feeling of being outdoors all day with your mates came flooding back.
Train spotting got me into my career. Friend wanted to train spot. We spotted at Bescot then New Street. Only did it twice, got a bit boring. So we caught the bus to Birmingham airport, then became plane spotters for a year. After that old enough to learn to fly. Been flying instructor last 45 years.....all due to train spotting! Never know what past times lead to.
Yay Shiphams meat paste on Mothers Pride bread wrapped in the shiny paper, some penny chews, bottle of pop and all set for the day. Out after breakfast, maybe home at lunchtime but usually teatime, couldn't keep us in the house, even chucking it down. Sadly Beeching destroyed my local railway, all we had left was the ruins of the station to clamber around on/in/under.
A lovely little film. It's a great sadness that this harmless hobby has become something to poke fun at by many, I can never really work how how, why and when this change happened. I've always been a railway photographer rather than a numbers man but I still get stick to this day, some of my work colleagues, behind my back never to my face, refer to me as a sad old trainspotter. Why did this harmless pastime become so toxic, very sad.
@lyonnesse100 Don't let it upset you. Those snide remarks reflect very poorly on your work colleagues. They have no idea what a harmless and pleasant hobby they dismiss so easily. I'm 71 and am clearing out my late mother's house for sale. Guess what I found in the attic? My old trainspotter's book with all those engine numbers. Like this charming video it brought back such wonderful memories of those happy, carefree days when I was a boy. I wouldn't swap those times for anything. Best wishes to you.
Good on them Kids, friendly, polite & have a passion for something rather than being glued to a phone, having attitude & stuck in front of a computer sceeen
This is just amazing. Kids being innocent and adventurous. This present day crop of smartphone addicted kids will never dream of this level of adventure.
The days when children had real freedom and parents were not being constantly warned about the terrible dangers that their children would face out there in the real world. But then we had a responsible media and few social workers to frighten us. And as for health and safety...nuff said. Then children were allowed to treat home, especially during school holidays as the place that provided bed, breakfast and evening meal. They were respectful and confident to the interviewer.
We knew about the dangers, we were aware of the local bullies or paedophiles, and we knew not to mess with gas, electricity or poisons. We were responsible too, I can remember when not having a light on one's bicycle was not only an offence but also downright dangerous. If we had yellow jackets then we would have worn them for our own safety.
It amuses me to hear you older GenXers acting like Boomers complaining about "kids these days" People like you act like it's a conspiracy by the media and the """social workers""" (a ridiculous assertion) to scare you when in fact there were very real-world incidents and decades of research that shows that kids unattended by parents do worse across the board in grades and in emotional and developmental growth. Maybe not these kids in particular but kids like these would have been introduced to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs earlier and God knows what else. Yes yes Peter. I'm sure those "drugs" would have been good for them. Thank god people like you will be dead in the near future and today's generation will hopefully raise better kids than GenX.
@@therexbellator Well, you are entitled to your views of course, but when I was a kid there were no school shootings nor teenage boys raping and murdering girls as has happened often in the last 20 years. Explain how that change has happened?
Myself and my best friend who sadly died aged 16 spent many a happy day train spotting in the early 70s. Growlers, Bush, DMUs, Shutters to name a few. Excitedly getting the new hard back book from Smith's to cross off train numbers. We were lucky enough to take rides in engines and shown dead man's brake. We were never cheeky or rude or unruly. Quite the opposite. I miss those days as I miss my friend 😞
Sorry to hear that. I lost my best childhood friend at a young age, too, although not quite that young. All of the memories I can never share with anyone, anymore.
Yep. Remember buying a platform ticket for New Street and going to the grail station of Crewe. Deltics were the thing for me in the late 70s. Good, innocent times.
yes, a kind of innocence. Has pubescence called ? with alternate interests like Girls and Pop Music, I suspect many lost interest in Trains. I and my brother's didn't have an interest in trains, but on car journey's, we would Jot down Car makes / models, and count how many after a long journey.
I was the same age as these kids in the 70s. Trainspotting and Punk Rock. What a hybrid of interests “ Taking notes under a hot sun. I spot them all, and the trains run. I wanted numbers cos I had none. I spot the trains from platform one.”
I treat started trainspotting in the 1950s diesels never appealed to me even though I went on to be a driver on the railways but I started off on Steam that is always my love I spent my time at at old oak common and would run into Paddington with empty coaching stock as a young fireman but such a long time ago now
Ahh, I would love to go back to 1975. I was 5 years old, and kids back then had so many freedoms - boys could be boys without all the restrictions placed on today's kids. I love trains but never got into train spotting. Hope these kids are still all well and happy now.
Before all the video game consoles, computers, and smartphones!! kids spend time outside the house! This channel is great as it takes you back in time! This was a year before I was born!
Mass communication (from the comfort of behind your very own tiny (screen) window on life), it’s the enemy of intelligence 😂🙈. (He says, sat here tippy tappying on his iPad 😡🙈😂
@@alexandercavendishsimson3962 No it isn't ... Access to the internet makes people more creative and therefore more intelligent and better informed. The problem is when it becomes a substitute for real human interaction and also facilitates confirmation bias. I was going to say something about social media, then I realise how important it has been for motivating my own creativity and getting out in the world to engage with life in intelligent and enquiring ways. If these lads are railway cranks today they will be furnishing the web with images and discussion about their interests which in turn adds a new and meaningful layer to their hobby?
@@alexandercavendishsimson3962 Ok that wasn't the point that OP was making it all. In fact OP didn't say anything about technology So I have no idea where you got this from or how you didn't pull a muscle stretching to that conclusion.
@@OliverWoodphotography If the definition of "creativity" was "copy and paste", perhaps! In those days we played with electric trains, meccano and chemistry sets, electricity and sharp objects and we learned about hazards and reality. Nowadays they play with large coloured lumps of plastic, minecraft, xbox or grand theft auto and learn nothing except indulge in fantasy..
The most innocuous, sociable and cerebral of hobbies. My trainspotting years in the fifties and sixties led me to study railway architecture and regional vernacular buildings, leading to thar great hobby of railway modelling. It's a wonderful world out there. It goes with people watching, another enjoyable pursuit!
Happy days. I was a 70s and 80s spotter. I used to get cab rides up the line one station and back. Taken up to the signal box. Would never happen now. Sad. I hope these guys have seen this film recently, and are perhaps even still in touch. Such simple pleasure.
I still train spot to this day.i used to live in Swindon from 1979 to 1985 and was in heaven there.still got my train spotting books here that I bought in John Menzes .Great times and we made our own hobbies back then.not having stupid social media lol .
I was doing the same thing in the 1960s. I wasn't so much interested in collecting numbers although I did, I just liked seeing them and feeling the power of 100 ton plus locomotives. Also to see them doing 100 mph was exciting. The boys mention a loco Sir Daniel Gooch,well one Saturday in 1965 I just happened to wander down a platform at Paddington a locomotive was being named. It wasa class 47 loco no D1663, Sir Daniel Gooch. The date was 8th May 1965 and I was 11.
Yes these were great times. Between the age of 12 to 16 we traveled all over the country from Newcastle at weekends and holidays. The trains always ran and you could travel over night. Met lots of people and great fun.
@@Barefoot_Joe no era in this system of things has been faultless..that was a terrible chapter and who knows how many sick people have been out there since the end of the garden of Eden ..but overall the world was less messed up as it is today.. children where content with train tracking rather than iphones and crazy youtubers to follow.. everything has lost its values and Kids minds are filled with rubbish..new adults too are much more bad mannered than people back then..lots of swearing in everyday vocabulary .. Kids today have more and are less content..that was my point.
I was a train spotter and photographer in the late 70s and early 80s. Visited Paddington, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria etc. There was variety in those days unlike today with a reliance on multiple units.
Today visiting such places feels like you're entering a prison set in a dystopian film, CCTV cameras everywhere supposedly to "protest" us from those nasty "terrorists" (but they never have the cameras switched on when those things happen or there's hardly any footage release showing the supposed bomber lol), jobsworths everywhere in viz jackets, armed police in some cases, yeah nice places they are now - not. Plus you have to go through those automatic ticket barriers just to get onto the platform.
Began my spotting career in the mid 70’s as a 13 year old schoolboy with friends. Gradually they drifted off until there was only me left. Was deemed unfashionable and weird. Spotters get a bad press
This was made 29 years before I was. I can only imagine what being there would have felt like. To be part of these kids friend group. To breathe freedom and go places with your mates at the age of 12 or so. I can't really complain myself. For instance, I get to travel a few kms from where I live, down to a station where the trains pull off 220km/h (tops in my homeland, Portugal) but, right now and unfortunately, if you like trains after 4th grade that just slaps the "boring introvert" label right in your forehead while these guys are shown as independent and capable explorers.
@@flybobbie1449 as a former 60s kid did you expect things to change in the way that young people would lose a bit of independence but also dangers to become greater
Had some great times train spotting in the '70's. Swa the last few Westerns at Exeter,,,,,Crepello was my final Deltic.....But best of all was watching the Class 76's at Penistone station. Happy days!
That's because those kids had a mother and a father. Those boys who stab each other do not have fathers in the household. It's all from the breakdown of the nuclear family
When someone doesn't understand what "simpler times" means, share this video with them. People now, wouldn't let their kids go to the station, by themselves, to hang out all day. The station security wouldn't allow them to sit there and watch, all day. Plus,most kids these days would rather watch anime, instead of seeing how many different train engines they can spot. They wouldn't have the patience to wait to see another train, or just be able to enjoy sitting watching life happen around them.
99% of motive power and rolling stock British too. Great times. I was a kid then and can't remember how many thousands of miles I travelled around the country. A week long Railrover was a great idea ! Get on the next train that arrives at Crewe, end up somewhere else exotic and do the same. Everywhere was exotic when you're from the Southern Region !
Used to be a trainspotter in the earlier part of the ‘70s. Oh, the joy of getting a good catch or even better let into a cab ! Looking back now I see how easy I had it then, now I’m whining as my body if falling apart and my belly is too fat. How the times change !
These lucky lads ,Back during simple times,Was only 2 in 1975 ,Love the times of British Rail sounds ❤️Bet being in their Early to late 50s now they will remember the good times ,Watching these iconic Diesels back in the day ,Lucky lads .Wish I had been their age back then doing this ❤️
The girls were all adorable too and the dynamic between the sexes was a lot more healthy than it is today. These lads really had it all, or had it all coming and we never realised just how lucky we were!
Plenty of class 50's to be seen. A great slice of motive power on offer in the 5 minute video. Not sure if Hymeks were still around in the summer of 1975.
@@davidspear9790 they were listed in my my first combined volume ( 1975 with the western on the cover)but I only saw the Hymek and the warship down by Huntley and palmers at RDG
Mid 70s; just before the HSTs, but the last few years of the Westerns, and the Deltics still the principal power on the ECML. Yes, there was plenty of interest there for a spotter.
I was a trainspotter when I was a kid in the 70s. There was a huge railway yard next to the train station, the guys who worked there would let us ride in the engine with them when they moved them round the yard. It would be a health safety nightmare now. It's so sad that adults would be too paranoid to indulge some children like that now, it was all so innocent though. The 70s was a different world.
It's kinda funny how the only two types of people who've ever seemed to have really liked trains are the young and the old. I'm 18 and I hope to live out as much of my life as I can train spotting.
Great stuff. Spent many hours as a 'platform ender' in the late 70s early 80s. 'Loco spotting' to be more accurate. Loads of interesting locos and destinations. Its not just the numbers, its the machines themselves, it was the whole scene, also from a historical viewpoint. Still follow the same locos today, but as preserved examples on our many heritage lines. I think there are now more preserved diesels than steam locos. Still a huge following. Just attended a diesel gala on the East Lancs Railway. Most guys over 50!! Says it all. Happy days.
Today they have to drop their Ts, speak with a pseudo-Jamaican lilt, present every statement as a question and bring gay and bisexual rights into every conversation.
Used to do a lot of train spotting as a kid. It was at Stevenage old station, and the station master just let us stand or sit at the end of the south platform. HOWEVER, it was steam engines then. When diesels came along, interest waned.
What a fantastic video with no mobile phone in sight lol 😆 Happy children just enjoying life 👍🏻 I was one of those in Manchester train spotting in the Manchester area. It taught you a lot about life and most train staff were helpful and as that young boy you got to go into cabs 😃 Happy days 🤩
I was 8 at the time, living in the south of England. We rarely made it up to London in the 70s but I do remember a trip to London when Australian relatives came over in about 77. They escaped drab England for Adelaide in 73!
Very high employment. Easy for anyone to walk into and out of a job, health service and education and policing way better than it is now because it was funded. Music was better, lots of things were simpler and much better for it. Casual racism and sexism was endemic of course, some stuff wasn’t better at all but things were moving forward. We’re going backwards rapidly now
It was a much more exciting time to work in media and the broadcasting business. People were more friendly and better adjusted to real world socialisation, mysanthropy was a rare abnormal trait. Nobody was confused about gender and the level of verbal fluency these lads demonstrate was common and normal. Young people had a lot more respect for adults and teachers ... who ruled the classrooms.
I was doing same in 60s (post steam) but as a young adult still took numbers down. Actually I have that combined volume shown (didn’t use red biro looks messy) still look at it when choosing locos for my ever growing model railway. Didn't travel as much as some of these lads but my elder cousin took me to the same spot end of Paddington - Old Oak Common also - still a lot of steam there when we went - kind of cheating going to engine sheds. Deltics were my favourite watched them from carpark old WGC Station. Peaks on my local line. Sit out all day with lunch calming still write numbers down when see preserved locos in heritage lines!
You mean to say there were kids that didn't spend the whole day poring over their phones? These kids here in the vid just didn't know what they're missing. Just imagine they could be sitting in their bedroom hunched up over their phones , twiddling their thumbs frantically trying to improve their score. Hmmm...
Wonderful. I've enjoyed stations like York, Hull and Stalybridge and Irlam up here. great video when kids were kids. These boys about 5 years older than me.
@@davidspear9790 I was 24 at the time, a little younger than Roger Warburton. Assuming he hasn't fallen under a train, he would be in his mid to late 70s now.
I was 11 in 1980, & now 54yo in 2022 so yes late 50s definitely. I would love to see how their lives went after this but it would be a real shame if they haven’t seen this film. I’m sure they have though as some would’ve joined the railway I’d say.
Have seen Train Spotters Bible book in library with original scribblings in it. Very authentic. The author would be about 63 now whose name I've forgotten!
I’m unable to do truckspotting on motorway bridges as the police keep getting called to make sure I’m not planning on jumping off the bridge or to see if I’m throwing stuff at cars. Now I just have to wait until I can go and work with my dad and take photos then or wait until he’s home so he can take me to motorway services
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
1:24 - oh hey, it's my dad! 😁
Always love seeing this segment, my father (Eugene!) still not only vividly remembers all his trainspotting adventures from around this time, but also remembers giving this very interview! He told me about it years ago, but having never seen it again since it was originally broadcast, we had no idea if the original footage even still existed. Then it finally reappeared a few years ago online thanks to the BBC Archive, and my dad got to see it again - and his son got to see it for the first time!
And if anyone's interested, Eugene is doing very well, still loves his trains - especially his beloved Westerns! - and really enjoys seeing all the nice comments about this segment.
And yes, he did manage to successfully pass the love of trains on to me. Suppose it was inevitable, really 😊
Thank you BBC Archive for sharing this!
Thats awesome mate, thanks for commenting. Nice to hear some 'where are they now'. Glad to hear Eugene's still at it!
I was wondering how Eugene is today😁 Were they all close friends? It's wonderful to see them enjoying themselves. I was 9 years of age back then.
Glad to hear Eugene is doing well. ❤😀👍
Aww that’s wonderful!
Wouldn't it be nice to see a follow up of them now.
I was a 15 year old spotter in 1975. Happy, innocent times. Travelled all over the country and had a great old time.
I am therefore ten years younger than you as I was just five. My world was infant school, my toys and kids' TV programmes!
Your 60 years old ☠️ I'm only 11
Snap, in the holidays I'd buy a midland runabout ticket and be off for the day.
My Brother ws in the 60's, he once took me to Doncaster shunting yard where they had a turntable. I was awestruck as a six year old.
Those kids are nice, well spoken, polite clean and calm. I grew up in the 60s and 70s so this was a nice bit of nostalgia.
It depends but this doesn't have any sense
Not anymore
I was 13 back then , fantastic times growing up , no internet , no mobile phones , just lots of fun being outside and getting up to all sorts .
born in '83 im soooooo glad i had a pre-digital childhood, until the GameBoy came out
I was train spotting as a young person in Luton in the U.K and loved it now living in New Zeslsnd
@@terryansell6641 Its not New Zealand anymore. It is either AoTearoa where speaking English is soon to be illegal or New India
And here you are, commenting using the internet.
Just saying how it was back then , what's wrong with that . @@TheMusicalElitist
Utterly mesmerising nostalgic nirvana.
Those kids are so happy and bright , I hope they're all still healthy and happy now.
I was thinking the very same, I bet they all went on to be successful in life.
To genuinely think that trainspotting was seen as cool as what would be the modern craze today makes me proud to be a Train/Bus enthusiast!
What happy days we all had in the 1970’s
Our parents though had to cope with two oil crisis :) But yes, those Matchbox / Airfix / Sweet & Mud / Black Beauty / Enid Blyton days were quite fun.
My Dad worked for BR in Ipswich. As soon as this video started, I could smell the diesel and the cigarettes from inside the coaches. Even though I don't smoke and find the habit disgusting, my childhood memories are of places like pubs, trains, my nans house where the carpet, wallpaper, and furniture smell like cigarettes. I find it comforting.
Those were the days 😂😂
Diesel junkies
I know that one. Secondhand cigarette smoke and roasted chestnuts is the smell of Romford in the winter to me.
Aaah..but did he avoid the cabinet members looking for yung uns for fun ?
@@iainhill492 😱
How lovely to be reminded of how respectful we kids were in 1975. I was 12 in 1975. Happy times.
I once went trainspotting with a school pal and I can't say I cared for it much. But this is truly heartwarming and I hope all those featured are doing OK.
My dad was a train spotter in the mid 70s too, he said it was easy because trains would always appear on the rails so you only needed to look there
where else are they supposed to appear heh
Thanks for the heads up lad I won’t look in the sky next time.
Nowadays I'd however not be too surprised if you looked at rails and no train appears at all.
Was he a professor ?
@@OliverWoodphotography was he q drug taker???.
I started train spotting in 1973 after my dad used to take me in the pushchair to watch the trains in the late 60s. I've never lost interest in railways since, and work voluntary at weekends in the heritage rail sector as well as holding down a responsible non-rail career. We travelled all over the UK, got great geographical knowledge as a result and just had fantastic times riding the rails, 'bunking it' round engine sheds when the foreman wasn't looking and just all enjoying railways in general. We were all 'aware' and it made me a better person, the technical knowledge and operational knowledge I gained has been invaluable to me ever since, its in my blood. There is much more to railways than spotting engine numbers, the interest is still vast and varied among the enthusiast community. You would be surprised how many celebrities are secret rail enthusiasts as well . Great times and I've gained some great friends as well along the way. I wouldn't have changed my hobbies for the world!!
Delightful, I amthe same age as these fellows, I hope they went on to a happylife, with a huge trainset in the garden shed.
What great kids. The innocence of youth !
Yes, nowadays they are naïve and unable to deal with adversity without counselling.
There in there 50s now
@@LA63003 So am I (born 1970 and therefore just five back then!) I remember British Rail a few years later.
@@karhukivi Don't say that you're making me anxious 😟
@@karhukiviPlenty of children needed counselling, probably more than now, but it just wasn't available. Parenting was ignorant back then compared to now, regarding children's needs. There were far fewer connections between dads and their children. There was a lot of emotional neglect, and more violent disipline. There was more generational trauma, without psychological support for parents. It was much easier for children to be seriously injured, or killed, by accidents, and abused in every way.
Now these are good kids, sound well behaved, well mannered and they know their stuff and before the days of smartphones and yet today the kids have all the information they need and they know sod all. Diesel locomotives were the best.
5:14 is a really beautiful shot, with the camera dolly as if we were watching the children watching us from a passing train. Feels massively different compared to the static, never-moving camera of today's documentaries.
I agree with the shot being beuatiful. But I don't know what kind of documentaries of today you watch? Today's documentaries have just as much dynamic shots, maybe even more thanks to the invention of the drone.
@@marktegrotenhuis That's true, I guess I should be more specific in that I'm referring to documentary portraiture. Sure, nature docs have sweeping vistas, but I'm genuinely curious if people use drones to document a subjective humanity, especially in ways that are non-diagetic as they were at 5:14? If you know of some please share! In short, I found the shot arresting in a sea of films and even RUclips docs where the standard seems to be the Ken Burns effect, i.e. a zoom on a picture, and a narration over the subject.
@@xannaduu I see what you mean and that is true indeed. Any shot of people explaining things today are either fixed shots or just simply following the subject as the walk by or something like that. Unless they want to move away and up from a close up of the person presenting into a wide shot of the area. Then they might use a drone.
@@marktegrotenhuis Really, in truth, these BBC docs are masterclasses on how to make a portrait in time. They should be storyboarded out, and you will have a perfect documentary in 6-15 minutes. Of course, filming, sound, and editing takes longer!
Our news may have changed to expecting salaciousness in real-time but I encourage all budding documentarians to look at stuff like this. Thus, we are also dealing with a changed culture that seems like everyone wants to film a Hindenburg and get viral, so to speak, instead of telling an actual story that they document.
Incredibly wholesome; I love this kind of stuff.
Now there's a word that's gone out of fashion, unfortunately.
I mean only if you were white..
@@robin231176 - Which word?
@@jpaxonreyes Wholesome, I guess.
@@jpaxonreyes love 🤣
I love the fact those kids got so much enjoyment from trainspotting. There was such poetry in those Nationwide pieces. Perfectly weighted words and images.
Lovely video. I was 10 in 1975 so this takes me right back. The long summer holiday with time to spare. I wasn’t a train spotter but the feeling of being outdoors all day with your mates came flooding back.
Train spotting got me into my career. Friend wanted to train spot. We spotted at Bescot then New Street. Only did it twice, got a bit boring. So we caught the bus to Birmingham airport, then became plane spotters for a year. After that old enough to learn to fly. Been flying instructor last 45 years.....all due to train spotting! Never know what past times lead to.
This is adorable. I remember seeing lots of trainspotters back then.
The reporter said, "Paddington another drab station". Hasn't the reporter heard of IKB. The great man designed Paddington station.
I think you missed what he was saying
Potted paste sandwiches, a bottle of lemonade, a warm coat and freedom to wander. Happy days.
And on there chopper bike
Yay Shiphams meat paste on Mothers Pride bread wrapped in the shiny paper, some penny chews, bottle of pop and all set for the day. Out after breakfast, maybe home at lunchtime but usually teatime, couldn't keep us in the house, even chucking it down.
Sadly Beeching destroyed my local railway, all we had left was the ruins of the station to clamber around on/in/under.
A lovely little film. It's a great sadness that this harmless hobby has become something to poke fun at by many, I can never really work how how, why and when this change happened. I've always been a railway photographer rather than a numbers man but I still get stick to this day, some of my work colleagues, behind my back never to my face, refer to me as a sad old trainspotter. Why did this harmless pastime become so toxic, very sad.
@lyonnesse100 Don't let it upset you. Those snide remarks reflect very poorly on your work colleagues. They have no idea what a harmless and pleasant hobby they dismiss so easily. I'm 71 and am clearing out my late mother's house for sale. Guess what I found in the attic? My old trainspotter's book with all those engine numbers. Like this charming video it brought back such wonderful memories of those happy, carefree days when I was a boy. I wouldn't swap those times for anything. Best wishes to you.
Good on them Kids, friendly, polite & have a passion for something rather than being glued to a phone, having attitude & stuck in front of a computer sceeen
This is just amazing. Kids being innocent and adventurous. This present day crop of smartphone addicted kids will never dream of this level of adventure.
But it's all deliberate. They don't want kids to be like this, they want them to be glued to technology, material possessions and consumerism.
Once again this channel proves to be a gem.
Legend says that they are still sitting at Paddington checking off train numbers.
If it was still like this, I’d still be there mate. And walking round old oak and Willesden
The days when children had real freedom and parents were not being constantly warned about the terrible dangers that their children would face out there in the real world. But then we had a responsible media and few social workers to frighten us. And as for health and safety...nuff said. Then children were allowed to treat home, especially during school holidays as the place that provided bed, breakfast and evening meal. They were respectful and confident to the interviewer.
We knew about the dangers, we were aware of the local bullies or paedophiles, and we knew not to mess with gas, electricity or poisons. We were responsible too, I can remember when not having a light on one's bicycle was not only an offence but also downright dangerous. If we had yellow jackets then we would have worn them for our own safety.
True although London is a very different place now
It amuses me to hear you older GenXers acting like Boomers complaining about "kids these days" People like you act like it's a conspiracy by the media and the """social workers""" (a ridiculous assertion) to scare you when in fact there were very real-world incidents and decades of research that shows that kids unattended by parents do worse across the board in grades and in emotional and developmental growth. Maybe not these kids in particular but kids like these would have been introduced to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs earlier and God knows what else.
Yes yes Peter. I'm sure those "drugs" would have been good for them. Thank god people like you will be dead in the near future and today's generation will hopefully raise better kids than GenX.
@@therexbellator Well, you are entitled to your views of course, but when I was a kid there were no school shootings nor teenage boys raping and murdering girls as has happened often in the last 20 years. Explain how that change has happened?
@@karhukivi There were, you just didn’t know about it.
Some of the kids of today could learn a lot watching this ie manners and respect .I prefer the old diesel trains over the ones we have now
seats back then were reasonably comfy. now even 1st class on these hitachi trains are vile
Platform 5 at Sheffield Midland Station in the 90s was my haunt as a kid.
Myself and my best friend who sadly died aged 16 spent many a happy day train spotting in the early 70s. Growlers, Bush, DMUs, Shutters to name a few. Excitedly getting the new hard back book from Smith's to cross off train numbers. We were lucky enough to take rides in engines and shown dead man's brake. We were never cheeky or rude or unruly. Quite the opposite. I miss those days as I miss my friend 😞
Me and my best friend, not myself and my best friend. Correct grammar is important.
@@johntate5050 "I'm sorry to hear that your best friend died", would have been a more meaningful response. Empathy is important, even to strangers.
Sorry to hear that. I lost my best childhood friend at a young age, too, although not quite that young. All of the memories I can never share with anyone, anymore.
That is really sad. However it's nice that you have these great memories of your friend.
Poor old friend, fell under a train i suppose? Still died doing what he loved.
Yep. Remember buying a platform ticket for New Street and going to the grail station of Crewe. Deltics were the thing for me in the late 70s. Good, innocent times.
I was born in 1991 and love time capsule videos, the fact that a ticket was 0.15p
👁👄👁
They are like a completely different breed of young people compared to today.
yes, a kind of innocence. Has pubescence called ? with alternate interests like Girls and Pop Music, I suspect many lost interest in Trains. I and my brother's didn't have an interest in trains, but on car journey's, we would Jot down Car makes / models, and count how many after a long journey.
Not really. Kids just aren't allowed out like they used to be. It's no more or less safe now than it was then.
@@MrDaiseymay Interest in trains and girls are not mutually exclusive.
There are still young railfans today.
I see a lot of children like this at work, (I'm a train driver), so they still exist.
The 70s were brilliant great to be a kid. Great trains and punk rock!
I was the same age as these kids in the 70s. Trainspotting and Punk Rock. What a hybrid of interests “ Taking notes under a hot sun. I spot them all, and the trains run. I wanted numbers cos I had none. I spot the trains from platform one.”
@@DasTubemeister A Deltic in the uk. Its coming sometime maybe!
Now these are my people!
I treat started trainspotting in the 1950s diesels never appealed to me even though I went on to be a driver on the railways but I started off on Steam that is always my love I spent my time at at old oak common and would run into Paddington with empty coaching stock as a young fireman but such a long time ago now
People allowed to open the doors and jump off the train before it's stopped. Take me back
There's such a bright spark of pure Energy ( and hope ?) in these wonderful kids, its beautiful to see ❤
Ahh, I would love to go back to 1975. I was 5 years old, and kids back then had so many freedoms - boys could be boys without all the restrictions placed on today's kids. I love trains but never got into train spotting. Hope these kids are still all well and happy now.
Before all the video game consoles, computers, and smartphones!! kids spend time outside the house! This channel is great as it takes you back in time! This was a year before I was born!
Lovely lads, they seem much more well adjusted, socially and emotionally intelligent than a lot of today's youth.
Mass communication (from the comfort of behind your very own tiny (screen) window on life), it’s the enemy of intelligence 😂🙈. (He says, sat here tippy tappying on his iPad 😡🙈😂
@@alexandercavendishsimson3962 No it isn't ... Access to the internet makes people more creative and therefore more intelligent and better informed. The problem is when it becomes a substitute for real human interaction and also facilitates confirmation bias. I was going to say something about social media, then I realise how important it has been for motivating my own creativity and getting out in the world to engage with life in intelligent and enquiring ways. If these lads are railway cranks today they will be furnishing the web with images and discussion about their interests which in turn adds a new and meaningful layer to their hobby?
@@alexandercavendishsimson3962 Ok that wasn't the point that OP was making it all. In fact OP didn't say anything about technology So I have no idea where you got this from or how you didn't pull a muscle stretching to that conclusion.
@@OliverWoodphotography that's the peoples own fault, childrens and adults, they are all careless with the tec and internet
@@OliverWoodphotography If the definition of "creativity" was "copy and paste", perhaps! In those days we played with electric trains, meccano and chemistry sets, electricity and sharp objects and we learned about hazards and reality. Nowadays they play with large coloured lumps of plastic, minecraft, xbox or grand theft auto and learn nothing except indulge in fantasy..
The train driver let the boy into his cab, today the driver would lose both his job and his reputation.
The children had so much charm then.
No thanks to ‘elf an safety’
The most innocuous, sociable and cerebral of hobbies. My trainspotting years in the fifties and sixties led me to study railway architecture and regional vernacular buildings, leading to thar great hobby of railway modelling. It's a wonderful world out there. It goes with people watching, another enjoyable pursuit!
Happy days. I was a 70s and 80s spotter. I used to get cab rides up the line one station and back. Taken up to the signal box. Would never happen now. Sad.
I hope these guys have seen this film recently, and are perhaps even still in touch. Such simple pleasure.
I still train spot to this day.i used to live in Swindon from 1979 to 1985 and was in heaven there.still got my train spotting books here that I bought in John Menzes .Great times and we made our own hobbies back then.not having stupid social media lol .
Wow the dressing sense of that time ....simple yet soo beautiful
I was doing the same thing in the 1960s.
I wasn't so much interested in collecting numbers although I did, I just liked seeing them and feeling the power of 100 ton plus locomotives.
Also to see them doing 100 mph was exciting.
The boys mention a loco Sir Daniel Gooch,well one Saturday in 1965 I just happened to wander down a platform at Paddington a locomotive was being named.
It wasa class 47 loco no D1663, Sir Daniel Gooch.
The date was 8th May 1965 and I was 11.
Yes these were great times. Between the age of 12 to 16 we traveled all over the country from Newcastle at weekends and holidays. The trains always ran and you could travel over night. Met lots of people and great fun.
Still a few young lads doing this my local station in sussex
More wholesome times..
Jim 'l fix that
@@Barefoot_Joe no era in this system of things has been faultless..that was a terrible chapter and who knows how many sick people have been out there since the end of the garden of Eden ..but overall the world was less messed up as it is today.. children where content with train tracking rather than iphones and crazy youtubers to follow.. everything has lost its values and Kids minds are filled with rubbish..new adults too are much more bad mannered than people back then..lots of swearing in everyday vocabulary .. Kids today have more and are less content..that was my point.
@@Aurora-qn2dx Well said.
@@andydixon2980 thankyou
I was a train spotter and photographer in the late 70s and early 80s. Visited Paddington, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria etc. There was variety in those days unlike today with a reliance on multiple units.
Trains and locomotives were so much more impressive and charismatic.
Today visiting such places feels like you're entering a prison set in a dystopian film, CCTV cameras everywhere supposedly to "protest" us from those nasty "terrorists" (but they never have the cameras switched on when those things happen or there's hardly any footage release showing the supposed bomber lol), jobsworths everywhere in viz jackets, armed police in some cases, yeah nice places they are now - not. Plus you have to go through those automatic ticket barriers just to get onto the platform.
Began my spotting career in the mid 70’s as a 13 year old schoolboy with friends. Gradually they drifted off until there was only me left. Was deemed unfashionable and weird. Spotters get a bad press
And to think those kids are now in their late 50's ! Lovely bit of film.
Best comment ... all my money im nearly broke ...😂 you can tell they love it . I dont train spot but i love their enthusiasm for it ha ha 👍
By the look of the boys ages I was probably down the line at Reading General. What a fantastic era with such happy memories.
A very British hobby !
Rail fanning is big in the US too with many popular locations that cater to the hobby. Horseshoe Curve and Natural Tunnels park to name two.
This was made 29 years before I was.
I can only imagine what being there would have felt like. To be part of these kids friend group. To breathe freedom and go places with your mates at the age of 12 or so.
I can't really complain myself. For instance, I get to travel a few kms from where I live, down to a station where the trains pull off 220km/h (tops in my homeland, Portugal) but, right now and unfortunately, if you like trains after 4th grade that just slaps the "boring introvert" label right in your forehead while these guys are shown as independent and capable explorers.
We kids would roam miles in the late 60's, we were all about 8 then, down quarry throwing bricks into water and a like. Disappear for hours.
@@flybobbie1449 as a former 60s kid did you expect things to change in the way that young people would lose a bit of independence but also dangers to become greater
Aged five and about to start infant school, life was less complicated and Play School was good to watch. Takes me right back!
Had some great times train spotting in the '70's. Swa the last few Westerns at Exeter,,,,,Crepello was my final Deltic.....But best of all was watching the Class 76's at Penistone station. Happy days!
I went trainspotting with a mate from school about the same time early/mid seventies. Railrover tickets in the North East.
Choose Life Kids
Oh these were the days 🥰❤ kids enjoying themselves long before kids carrying knifes & machettes around with them to harm each other were the norm ☹️ X
That's because those kids had a mother and a father. Those boys who stab each other do not have fathers in the household. It's all from the breakdown of the nuclear family
When someone doesn't understand what "simpler times" means, share this video with them.
People now, wouldn't let their kids go to the station, by themselves, to hang out all day. The station security wouldn't allow them to sit there and watch, all day. Plus,most kids these days would rather watch anime, instead of seeing how many different train engines they can spot. They wouldn't have the patience to wait to see another train, or just be able to enjoy sitting watching life happen around them.
Great trains back then
Ahhh, lovely days... I wish I could go back.
I’ve got a Time Machine, I’m going back now 👍
Can I come with you?
88mph! here we go!
99% of motive power and rolling stock British too.
Great times.
I was a kid then and can't remember how many thousands of miles I travelled around the country. A week long Railrover was a great idea !
Get on the next train that arrives at Crewe, end up somewhere else exotic and do the same. Everywhere was exotic when you're from the Southern Region !
Aren't the Sulzer engines in the Class 47s Swiss?
Used to be a trainspotter in the earlier part of the ‘70s. Oh, the joy of getting a good catch or even better let into a cab ! Looking back now I see how easy I had it then, now I’m whining as my body if falling apart and my belly is too fat. How the times change !
There is something really peculiar about the aesthetic of Britain during the 70s.
it would have been nice to have seen more of Paddington Station on that day.
What is peculiar exactly?
How so?
@@1258-Eckhart odd, strange, special
@@neogeo1670 I wasn't asking for an excerpt out of Roget's.
I wasn't even born until 1986 but this video is so wholesome. Would love to have been around in the 70s!
These lucky lads ,Back during simple times,Was only 2 in 1975 ,Love the times of British Rail sounds ❤️Bet being in their Early to late 50s now they will remember the good times ,Watching these iconic Diesels back in the day ,Lucky lads .Wish I had been their age back then doing this ❤️
Lovely kids, the 70s was a million times better than now xxxx
Your right there 👍
70s was great era to be young 👍
Looks grey. Looks boring as hell.
The girls were all adorable too and the dynamic between the sexes was a lot more healthy than it is today. These lads really had it all, or had it all coming and we never realised just how lucky we were!
I would have liked to have live in steam days way more interesting than those boxes on wheels
Plenty of class 50's to be seen. A great slice of motive power on offer in the 5 minute video. Not sure if Hymeks were still around in the summer of 1975.
The last four Hymeks were withdrawn in March 1975, so a few months before this was recorded.
@@davidspear9790 Thanks.🙂
@@davidspear9790 they were listed in my my first combined volume ( 1975 with the western on the cover)but I only saw the Hymek and the warship down by Huntley and palmers at RDG
Great time to be young, today with the influence of other cultures, this particular pastime is long gone...
Did he say 21 pence return during peak hours…? 😳
These kids will be in their 50’s now hope they all succeeded 😊
Mid 70s; just before the HSTs, but the last few years of the Westerns, and the Deltics still the principal power on the ECML. Yes, there was plenty of interest there for a spotter.
I was a trainspotter when I was a kid in the 70s. There was a huge railway yard next to the train station, the guys who worked there would let us ride in the engine with them when they moved them round the yard. It would be a health safety nightmare now. It's so sad that adults would be too paranoid to indulge some children like that now, it was all so innocent though. The 70s was a different world.
It's kinda funny how the only two types of people who've ever seemed to have really liked trains are the young and the old. I'm 18 and I hope to live out as much of my life as I can train spotting.
Great stuff. Spent many hours as a 'platform ender' in the late 70s early 80s. 'Loco spotting' to be more accurate. Loads of interesting locos and destinations. Its not just the numbers, its the machines themselves, it was the whole scene, also from a historical viewpoint. Still follow the same locos today, but as preserved examples on our many heritage lines. I think there are now more preserved diesels than steam locos. Still a huge following. Just attended a diesel gala on the East Lancs Railway. Most guys over 50!! Says it all. Happy days.
Those kids were very articulate compared to today's kids where you barely get a grunt out of them!
And polite.
The BBC definitely prefer today's "YOOF" to These polite Lads
Golden days I’d love to go back to!
@@myalfie me too.
Today they have to drop their Ts, speak with a pseudo-Jamaican lilt, present every statement as a question and bring gay and bisexual rights into every conversation.
Used to do a lot of train spotting as a kid. It was at Stevenage old station, and the station master just let us stand or sit at the end of the south platform. HOWEVER, it was steam engines then. When diesels came along, interest waned.
Imagine 10 year old kids doing this these days...I think not.
Fantastic!
What a fantastic video with no mobile phone in sight lol 😆 Happy children just enjoying life 👍🏻 I was one of those in Manchester train spotting in the Manchester area. It taught you a lot about life and most train staff were helpful and as that young boy you got to go into cabs 😃 Happy days 🤩
I was 8 at the time, living in the south of England. We rarely made it up to London in the 70s but I do remember a trip to London when Australian relatives came over in about 77. They escaped drab England for Adelaide in 73!
They left a lush pretty country like England to go and live in a hot, sweaty festering hole for spiders? Crazy.
The good old days. I miss them.
Britain will never be as good.
And before anyone goes on about the strikes and 3 day week,
things were still better!
Not for everyone. There is no utopia, not even in the past. I’m glad it was a good time with good memories for you though.
Very high employment. Easy for anyone to walk into and out of a job, health service and education and policing way better than it is now because it was funded. Music was better, lots of things were simpler and much better for it. Casual racism and sexism was endemic of course, some stuff wasn’t better at all but things were moving forward. We’re going backwards rapidly now
It was a much more exciting time to work in media and the broadcasting business. People were more friendly and better adjusted to real world socialisation, mysanthropy was a rare abnormal trait. Nobody was confused about gender and the level of verbal fluency these lads demonstrate was common and normal. Young people had a lot more respect for adults and teachers ... who ruled the classrooms.
Powerful stuff. I started trainspotting as a lad in the '80's. Innocent pastime.
I was doing same in 60s (post steam) but as a young adult still took numbers down. Actually I have that combined volume shown (didn’t use red biro looks messy) still look at it when choosing locos for my ever growing model railway.
Didn't travel as much as some of these lads but my elder cousin took me to the same spot end of Paddington - Old Oak Common also - still a lot of steam there when we went - kind of cheating going to engine sheds. Deltics were my favourite watched them from carpark old WGC Station. Peaks on my local line. Sit out all day with lunch calming still write numbers down when see preserved locos in heritage lines!
You mean to say there were kids that didn't spend the whole day poring over their phones? These kids here in the vid just didn't know what they're missing. Just imagine they could be sitting in their bedroom hunched up over their phones , twiddling their thumbs frantically trying to improve their score. Hmmm...
Wonderful. I've enjoyed stations like York, Hull and Stalybridge and Irlam up here. great video when kids were kids. These boys about 5 years older than me.
47 years sense this was filmed. Beyond scary how fast time passes. The kids are in their mid to late fifties.
lol before the crazy years....a great 5-minute time-capsule. Filmed in summertime. Great report friom John Stapleton who asks useful questions.
Every kid here is at least past 10 years of age, you can forget about "mid fifties".
@@flybeep1661 Mid to late 50s would be correct. I was 11 at the time.
@@davidspear9790 I was 24 at the time, a little younger than Roger Warburton. Assuming he hasn't fallen under a train, he would be in his mid to late 70s now.
I was 11 in 1980, & now 54yo in 2022 so yes late 50s definitely. I would love to see how their lives went after this but it would be a real shame if they haven’t seen this film. I’m sure they have though as some would’ve joined the railway I’d say.
This is so charming.
I went trainspotting once. It's pretty easy, they're massive and make a load of noise
What great kids !
That was me in 1975 a spotter.
Have seen Train Spotters Bible book in library with original scribblings in it. Very authentic. The author would be about 63 now whose name I've forgotten!
1:11 47076 City of Truro (now 47749) came through my local station the other day
Today, this sort of harmless thing would be seen as suspicious activity, much the way plane spotting is!
True; quite unfortunate for those of us who love spotting various means of transportation, to be seen as a potential threat. :/
in my country you can still see children watching trains they are called "train chasers"
I’m unable to do truckspotting on motorway bridges as the police keep getting called to make sure I’m not planning on jumping off the bridge or to see if I’m throwing stuff at cars. Now I just have to wait until I can go and work with my dad and take photos then or wait until he’s home so he can take me to motorway services