Western To The Coast

The Great Western Railway polarises enthusiasts’ opinions in a way none of the other Big Four ever does, writes Geoff Courtney.

To its believers it was indeed God’s Wonderful Railway, boasting personalities, locomotives, express names, glorious destinations, and an ethos that had no peers.

To those who don’t share the faith, its locomotives were too similar and their names uninspiring, while its Chief Mechanical Engineers were less innovative and capable of thinking outside the box than those from the other companies.

Savouring the GWR

Few 1950s trainspotters were, on the surface at least, in either camp, especially those living in or near London, who lorded it over termini and depots that were home to engines from all the Big Four. Our hobby was narrow-mindedly based on numbers, and the names of Collett, Bulleid, Stanier and Gresley didn’t feature in our conversation as we dashed from one side of the capital to another.

Thanks to a number of trips to Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Devon, Cornwall and other western destinations as well as when I needed you?), and a majority of the Granges, Halls, and Counties.