UK steam trains whistle off to begin 200th anniversary celebrations

The Manila Times

UK steam trains whistle off to begin 200th anniversary celebrations  Steam trains around the UK sound their whistles in unison at midday on New Year's Day to mark the beginning of a year-long celebration for the 200th anniversary of the first passenger rail service in Britain. Hundreds of train enthusiasts brave the steady rain in order to ride on the Bluebell Railway heritage services from Horsted Keynes station in England.  AFP VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe   Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net   Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #worldnews  #anniversary

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00:00Yeah, very much so.

00:26Very pleased to see the number of people here today.

00:29I mean, you say the weather is typical British weather.

00:32It's the first of January, it's not snow, but it's a howling gale

00:34and it's chucking it down with rain.

00:36What more could you ask for?

00:38But a lot of people have said it's nice to get out and about

00:41no matter what the weather.

00:42I mean, steam railways, they play, well, they play a key role

00:46in the development of this country through the Industrial Revolution.

00:51And the greatest reward we as preservationists get

00:55is when people say thank you, because without us,

00:58this would probably be either, you know, baked bean tins or razor blades.

01:24Well, it's very exciting.

01:25I mean, I've been involved in the Bouvard Railway for over 20 years,

01:28which is quite a short time compared to some of our volunteers.

01:32And I've always been interested in railways.

01:34I mean, I can remember travelling behind steam railways as a child

01:37and as a young man.

01:38So, yes, it's a very special, very special time,

01:41certainly to get us out on weather like this.

01:43Well, it's underinvested in, it suffers from underinvestment.

01:48And I look forward to the future and growing.

01:51It's interesting that it's gone

01:55in my life.

01:56It's gone full circle from when I was a young man in the 60s.

01:59The railways were contracting.

02:01And now, as I had in my 70s, it's expanding again.

02:04It's gone a complete circle in that half century.

02:25Well, because you see people from all walks of life,

02:29you get all sorts of questions about railways, about anything and everything.

02:34So that's always a fascinating part of the job,

02:37which never, you know, never loses its interest, really.

02:42Yeah, there's all sorts of little things that you notice.

02:44There's one guard on the East Coast Main Line.

02:46I'm not sure if he's still there now.

02:48But he said, whenever I go around and check tickets,

02:52if there's kids, I will let them clip the tickets

02:55because that pleases the kids and the parents.

02:58And then if you get any problems on the way, the train is on your side.

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