[Roxy]

At the bottom of our field is a railway line -it goes through the scenic hope valley and on to Sheffield, amongst other places.  Quite often steam trains come along.  I noticed lots of people with cameras at the bottom of the lane, where they can stand on a railway bridge looking down - and getting a facefull of smoke, no doubt!!

It was after 7pm, when I heard the chug, chug, noise as the steam train climbed the steep hill, and could see the smoke, all this long before I actually saw the train.  A magnificent sight to watch, as it went past pulling 11 carriages, good speed too, saying its all uphill.  Sometimes the passengers are dressed in old fashioned costume, and wave hankies out the window!!  I wave back of course - feeling rather like I am appearing in the Railway Children.

Come to think of it, I can still remember steam trains on the railway behind our house when I was young!

[doganjo]

I love trains, steam or otherwise.  I have been known to wave to the passengers and also to wave to the public when a passenger myself.   However, I do NOT like them clanking past my bedroom window four times a night training 23 trucks of coal through the night.  I DO wish they'd stop!

[Roxy]

Hmm .....remember staying at a nice campsite in the Scottish Borders.  Two things stick in my mind - the dreadful midges, and the fact it was close to a busy railway line, which seemed to be carrying cars etc.  all night long, making a dreadful racket.  So I do sympathise.

[doganjo]

Well, at the present moment I am fighting this out with Network Rail, the freight companies, Scottish Power, Clackmannanshire Council and Transport Scotland.  The night trains started 6 months after I moved in and a great many line side residents are justifiably upset so I am spearheading the campaign to get them to stop -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/StopNightTrains/110706728967360?ref=ts
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/petitions/petitionsubmissions/sub-09/09-subIndexForPE1273.htm


Ron Macaulay, head of Network Rail Scotland has already been to visit, also Keith Brown before he became Minister for Transport - and he is coming again tomorrow.  They know I am as thorn in their flesh and I have barbs    They will find it difficult to shake me off 

[robert waddell]

you go for it annie  the only down side is that the coal trains are taking lorry movements of the road which is a plus with the enviormentalists
offer to do a swap with housing for a week bet the buggers will not take you up on listening to the clanking of goods trains rumbling past your house you will have had a noise reading taken at night?

[Sandy]

I feel for you too Anne, its the night stuff thats the problem, I know they are very random when they put the trains on, I think a lot is to do with staffing at both ends of the train line.

I love Steam trains, always have that funny emotional feeling when you see one pass by, we used to go to the steam railway in Leicestershire, they often did re enactments. My dad worked on the railyways when I was young, I since found his uncle did and his family had a shop near Leicester Station. I would love to go on a nice journey up the coast to Oban on a steam train, or even a non steam one, hopefully we will one day!!

[doganjo]

I'm not just fighting the night trains for myself.  There are people with babies that won't sleep, children that wake up with nightmares, youngsters that don't get enough sleep to study, men who have to get up early o-clock to work and don't get enough sleep at normal hours, homes where pictures get rattled off the walls.  I can catch up on sleep if I need to during the day being retired, but others can't. 
As I said I love trains, I wouldn't have bought my house here otherwise, used to live right beside the Royal Deeside line, and getting lorries off the road is a definite priority, but they said when the line was reinstated that there would be day time running only - 13 times in the consultative document.  Only once did it say that there might be an occasional night train in an emergency.  As far as I am concerned that is misleading the public, the government, and the Transport minister, so they'd better watch for that jugular - I'm poised and going for it   I DO NOT TAKE LIARS KINDLY!  Keith Brown is coming here to see me tomorrow morning, I will be interested to hear what he has to say in this run up to the election.