Personal Interests

RAILWAYS

From a very early age I have been interested in railways, with a particular passion for the

steam locomotive. I was fortunate in being able to visit many Motive Power

Depots and Workshops in the years leading up to the final demise of steam haulage on

British Railways in the late 1960's. Following this I have travelled many miles by train in the

whole of Great Britain and Ireland including many lines which have since closed and been

dismantled. I have also taken a keen interest in the Railway Preservation Scene and I was

an active volunteer member of the Severn Valley Railway for over 30 years. During this

time I have been (and still am) involved in the preservation of two small industrial steam

which is a fund raising Registered Charity formed to help to help maintain an interest in

industrial steam locomotives for the benefit of future generations. Even more recently I

both of which closed down in mid 1930's and which have now been revived again.

In 1995 I discovered the magic of Gardrn Railways and since then I have built four narrow

gauge steam locomotives (1:19 scale) which I can run in my own garden. As well as

railways I also have a passing interst in Tramways, Canals and Industrial Archaeology.

MOTOR RACING & CYCLING

Since the early 1970's I have been a keen supporter of Formula One and I have followed

the career of fellow Brummie Nigel Mansell from 1980 until his retirement from motor

racing in 1995, and more recently the progress of both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button,

who have all won at least one Drivers World Championships. I also take an interest in in

other forms of motor sport including MotoGP, British Superbikes and Speedway. When I

lived in the Midlands I was a supporter of the Birmingham Brummies Speedway Team

from the mid-1970's until their sad demise in the mid-1980's (The brummies have recently

been revived). One other Sport I follow is Cycling and have watched the Tour De France

for about ten years especially with the rise of British riders such as Sir Bradly Wiggins,

Mark Cavendish and Chris Froome.

PHOTOGRAPY

I began taking black & white photo's in the late 1950's before acquiring a 35mm camera in

1964 when I changed to colour slides (using Agfa CT18 transparency film). I now have a

collection of some 2,000 slides mainly of railway related subjects. In 1976 I changed to

using colour print film, taking much more varied photographs. In 2005 I started to use a

Digital Camera (Kodak DC215) and upon my retirement I acquired a more modern Digital

Camera (Kodak Easyware C813). Some of the pictures I have taken with these cameras

appear on this Website.

CONTACT INFO

Email Address: davidncooke_686@yahoo.co.uk