Arriving late as usual I would like to add my appreciation too of Spaw's piece...sat here in Olde Englande reading it quite misty eyed...very moving.

Although we have a plethora of preserved steam railways here, to a child it gives only an impression of what the golden days of steam must have been like (maybe not so golden for the railway company employees), but for one who does remember I'm extremely grateful to the bands of enthusiats who keep this stuff running.

The man who captured the American railroad scene for me was surely O.Winston Link . His evocative photography is sheer magic and to an Englishman reflects not only the magnificence of steam but also speaks eloquently of the lives of folk in small rural towns grown up beside the railroads. Try checking him out...a remarkable man with a checquered career and a bizarre marriage! There, that should whet your appetite!

Oh!, back on course, I seem to remember Dave Goulder was well known known for his railway songs and think he was a railway man himself. All that was long ago though.