Toaschoolboy enthusiast based on the Southern Region’s South Western main line, we were spoilt for steam workings. Despite this, we’d make regular trips to Reading. It was always something of an adventure.
I was fortunate in that it was really easy to get from my home in Farnborough to Reading. Farnborough North was only a short bus ride away or we’d sometimes get a bus direct to Blackwater station, both of which were on the Guildford-Reading line. As Reading wasn’t too far away, our parents would be happy enough to let us go off by ourselves, as long as there was a small group of us.
It’s hard to believe now that Reading once boasted two stations (three if
