1:24 - oh hey, it's my dad! 😁 Always love seeing this segment, my father (Eugene!) still not only vividly remembers all his trainspotting adventures from around this time, but also remembers giving this very interview! He told me about it years ago, but having never seen it again since it was originally broadcast, we had no idea if the original footage even still existed. Then it finally reappeared a few years ago online thanks to the BBC Archive, and my dad got to see it again - and his son got to see it for the first time! And if anyone's interested, Eugene is doing very well, still loves his trains - especially his beloved Westerns! - and really enjoys seeing all the nice comments about this segment. And yes, he did manage to successfully pass the love of trains on to me. Suppose it was inevitable, really 😊 Thank you BBC Archive for sharing this!

I was a 15 year old spotter in 1975. Happy, innocent times. Travelled all over the country and had a great old time.

Those kids are nice, well spoken, polite clean and calm. I grew up in the 60s and 70s so this was a nice bit of nostalgia.

I was 13 back then , fantastic times growing up , no internet , no mobile phones , just lots of fun being outside and getting up to all sorts .

Now these are good kids, sound well behaved, well mannered and they know their stuff and before the days of smartphones and yet today the kids have all the information they need and they know sod all. Diesel locomotives were the best.

Utterly mesmerising nostalgic nirvana. Those kids are so happy and bright , I hope they're all still healthy and happy now.

I was born in 1991 and love time capsule videos, the fact that a ticket was 0.15p 👁👄👁

What happy days we all had in the 1970’s

Potted paste sandwiches, a bottle of lemonade, a warm coat and freedom to wander. Happy days.

Delightful, I amthe same age as these fellows, I hope they went on to a happylife, with a huge trainset in the garden shed.

Some of the kids of today could learn a lot watching this ie manners and respect .I prefer the old diesel trains over the ones we have now

To genuinely think that trainspotting was seen as cool as what would be the modern craze today makes me proud to be a Train/Bus enthusiast!

Good on them Kids, friendly, polite & have a passion for something rather than being glued to a phone, having attitude & stuck in front of a computer sceeen

My dad was a train spotter in the mid 70s too, he said it was easy because trains would always appear on the rails so you only needed to look there

A lovely little film. It's a great sadness that this harmless hobby has become something to poke fun at by many, I can never really work how how, why and when this change happened. I've always been a railway photographer rather than a numbers man but I still get stick to this day, some of my work colleagues, behind my back never to my face, refer to me as a sad old trainspotter. Why did this harmless pastime become so toxic, very sad.

The days when children had real freedom and parents were not being constantly warned about the terrible dangers that their children would face out there in the real world. But then we had a responsible media and few social workers to frighten us. And as for health and safety...nuff said. Then children were allowed to treat home, especially during school holidays as the place that provided bed, breakfast and evening meal. They were respectful and confident to the interviewer.

My Dad worked for BR in Ipswich. As soon as this video started, I could smell the diesel and the cigarettes from inside the coaches. Even though I don't smoke and find the habit disgusting, my childhood memories are of places like pubs, trains, my nans house where the carpet, wallpaper, and furniture smell like cigarettes. I find it comforting.

This was when people still nourished themselves with the world and environment around them and the people they met and talked to............instead of today's world where people stay indoors and feed on their own fats of depression and anxiety caused by social media.

Platform 5 at Sheffield Midland Station in the 90s was my haunt as a kid.

I once went trainspotting with a school pal and I can't say I cared for it much. But this is truly heartwarming and I hope all those featured are doing OK.

They are like a completely different breed of young people compared to today.

What great kids. The innocence of youth !

How lovely to be reminded of how respectful we kids were in 1975. I was 12 in 1975. Happy times.

Incredibly wholesome; I love this kind of stuff.

Now these are my people!

I started train spotting in 1973 after my dad used to take me in the pushchair to watch the trains in the late 60s. I've never lost interest in railways since, and work voluntary at weekends in the heritage rail sector as well as holding down a responsible non-rail career. We travelled all over the UK, got great geographical knowledge as a result and just had fantastic times riding the rails, 'bunking it' round engine sheds when the foreman wasn't looking and just all enjoying railways in general. We were all 'aware' and it made me a better person, the technical knowledge and operational knowledge I gained has been invaluable to me ever since, its in my blood. There is much more to railways than spotting engine numbers, the interest is still vast and varied among the enthusiast community. You would be surprised how many celebrities are secret rail enthusiasts as well . Great times and I've gained some great friends as well along the way. I wouldn't have changed my hobbies for the world!!

When someone doesn't understand what "simpler times" means, share this video with them. People now, wouldn't let their kids go to the station, by themselves, to hang out all day. The station security wouldn't allow them to sit there and watch, all day. Plus,most kids these days would rather watch anime, instead of seeing how many different train engines they can spot. They wouldn't have the patience to wait to see another train, or just be able to enjoy sitting watching life happen around them.

The train driver let the boy into his cab, today the driver would lose both his job and his reputation. The children had so much charm then.

Train spotting got me into my career. Friend wanted to train spot. We spotted at Bescot then New Street. Only did it twice, got a bit boring. So we caught the bus to Birmingham airport, then became plane spotters for a year. After that old enough to learn to fly. Been flying instructor last 45 years.....all due to train spotting! Never know what past times lead to.

I treat started trainspotting in the 1950s diesels never appealed to me even though I went on to be a driver on the railways but I started off on Steam that is always my love I spent my time at at old oak common and would run into Paddington with empty coaching stock as a young fireman but such a long time ago now

5:14 is a really beautiful shot, with the camera dolly as if we were watching the children watching us from a passing train. Feels massively different compared to the static, never-moving camera of today's documentaries.

Lovely video. I was 10 in 1975 so this takes me right back. The long summer holiday with time to spare. I wasn’t a train spotter but the feeling of being outdoors all day with your mates came flooding back.

Legend says that they are still sitting at Paddington checking off train numbers.

Myself and my best friend who sadly died aged 16 spent many a happy day train spotting in the early 70s. Growlers, Bush, DMUs, Shutters to name a few. Excitedly getting the new hard back book from Smith's to cross off train numbers. We were lucky enough to take rides in engines and shown dead man's brake. We were never cheeky or rude or unruly. Quite the opposite. I miss those days as I miss my friend 😞

This is just amazing. Kids being innocent and adventurous. This present day crop of smartphone addicted kids will never dream of this level of adventure.

People allowed to open the doors and jump off the train before it's stopped. Take me back

More wholesome times..

I love the fact those kids got so much enjoyment from trainspotting. There was such poetry in those Nationwide pieces. Perfectly weighted words and images.

Lovely lads, they seem much more well adjusted, socially and emotionally intelligent than a lot of today's youth.

This is adorable. I remember seeing lots of trainspotters back then.

The 70s were brilliant great to be a kid. Great trains and punk rock!

The good old days. I miss them. Britain will never be as good. And before anyone goes on about the strikes and 3 day week, things were still better!

Choose Life Kids

The reporter said, "Paddington another drab station". Hasn't the reporter heard of IKB. The great man designed Paddington station.

Best comment ... all my money im nearly broke ...😂 you can tell they love it . I dont train spot but i love their enthusiasm for it ha ha 👍

Once again this channel proves to be a gem.

Did he say 21 pence return during peak hours…? 😳

A very British hobby !

Yep. Remember buying a platform ticket for New Street and going to the grail station of Crewe. Deltics were the thing for me in the late 70s. Good, innocent times.

Great trains back then

Before all the video game consoles, computers, and smartphones!! kids spend time outside the house! This channel is great as it takes you back in time! This was a year before I was born!

Happy days. I was a 70s and 80s spotter. I used to get cab rides up the line one station and back. Taken up to the signal box. Would never happen now. Sad. I hope these guys have seen this film recently, and are perhaps even still in touch. Such simple pleasure.

I was doing the same thing in the 1960s. I wasn't so much interested in collecting numbers although I did, I just liked seeing them and feeling the power of 100 ton plus locomotives. Also to see them doing 100 mph was exciting. The boys mention a loco Sir Daniel Gooch,well one Saturday in 1965 I just happened to wander down a platform at Paddington a locomotive was being named. It wasa class 47 loco no D1663, Sir Daniel Gooch. The date was 8th May 1965 and I was 11.

Those kids were very articulate compared to today's kids where you barely get a grunt out of them!

Ahh, I would love to go back to 1975. I was 5 years old, and kids back then had so many freedoms - boys could be boys without all the restrictions placed on today's kids. I love trains but never got into train spotting. Hope these kids are still all well and happy now.

Still a few young lads doing this my local station in sussex

Wow the dressing sense of that time ....simple yet soo beautiful

OH HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

This was made 29 years before I was. I can only imagine what being there would have felt like. To be part of these kids friend group. To breathe freedom and go places with your mates at the age of 12 or so. I can't really complain myself. For instance, I get to travel a few kms from where I live, down to a station where the trains pull off 220km/h (tops in my homeland, Portugal) but, right now and unfortunately, if you like trains after 4th grade that just slaps the "boring introvert" label right in your forehead while these guys are shown as independent and capable explorers.

It's kinda funny how the only two types of people who've ever seemed to have really liked trains are the young and the old. I'm 18 and I hope to live out as much of my life as I can train spotting.

Lovely kids, the 70s was a million times better than now xxxx

Mid 70s; just before the HSTs, but the last few years of the Westerns, and the Deltics still the principal power on the ECML. Yes, there was plenty of interest there for a spotter.

Used to do a lot of train spotting as a kid. It was at Stevenage old station, and the station master just let us stand or sit at the end of the south platform. HOWEVER, it was steam engines then. When diesels came along, interest waned.

And to think those kids are now in their late 50's ! Lovely bit of film.

I went trainspotting with a mate from school about the same time early/mid seventies. Railrover tickets in the North East.

99% of motive power and rolling stock British too. Great times. I was a kid then and can't remember how many thousands of miles I travelled around the country. A week long Railrover was a great idea ! Get on the next train that arrives at Crewe, end up somewhere else exotic and do the same. Everywhere was exotic when you're from the Southern Region !

Plenty of class 50's to be seen. A great slice of motive power on offer in the 5 minute video. Not sure if Hymeks were still around in the summer of 1975.

That was me in 1975 a spotter.

By the look of the boys ages I was probably down the line at Reading General. What a fantastic era with such happy memories.

I still train spot to this day.i used to live in Swindon from 1979 to 1985 and was in heaven there.still got my train spotting books here that I bought in John Menzes .Great times and we made our own hobbies back then.not having stupid social media lol .

You mean to say there were kids that didn't spend the whole day poring over their phones? These kids here in the vid just didn't know what they're missing. Just imagine they could be sitting in their bedroom hunched up over their phones , twiddling their thumbs frantically trying to improve their score. Hmmm...

Oh these were the days 🥰❤ kids enjoying themselves long before kids carrying knifes & machettes around with them to harm each other were the norm ☹️ X

The most innocuous, sociable and cerebral of hobbies. My trainspotting years in the fifties and sixties led me to study railway architecture and regional vernacular buildings, leading to thar great hobby of railway modelling. It's a wonderful world out there. It goes with people watching, another enjoyable pursuit!

There is something really peculiar about the aesthetic of Britain during the 70s.

Roy Croppers of the world unite!

Ahhh, lovely days... I wish I could go back.

I wasn't even born until 1986 but this video is so wholesome. Would love to have been around in the 70s!

Used to be a trainspotter in the earlier part of the ‘70s. Oh, the joy of getting a good catch or even better let into a cab ! Looking back now I see how easy I had it then, now I’m whining as my body if falling apart and my belly is too fat. How the times change !

I was a train spotter and photographer in the late 70s and early 80s. Visited Paddington, Birmingham New Street, Manchester Victoria etc. There was variety in those days unlike today with a reliance on multiple units.

They haven't gone away

Had some great times train spotting in the '70's. Swa the last few Westerns at Exeter,,,,,Crepello was my final Deltic.....But best of all was watching the Class 76's at Penistone station. Happy days!

Aged five and about to start infant school, life was less complicated and Play School was good to watch. Takes me right back!

47 years sense this was filmed. Beyond scary how fast time passes. The kids are in their mid to late fifties.

Began my spotting career in the mid 70’s as a 13 year old schoolboy with friends. Gradually they drifted off until there was only me left. Was deemed unfashionable and weird. Spotters get a bad press

Fantastic!

Great time to be young, today with the influence of other cultures, this particular pastime is long gone...

What a fantastic video with no mobile phone in sight lol 😆 Happy children just enjoying life 👍🏻 I was one of those in Manchester train spotting in the Manchester area. It taught you a lot about life and most train staff were helpful and as that young boy you got to go into cabs 😃 Happy days 🤩

I was doing same in 60s (post steam) but as a young adult still took numbers down. Actually I have that combined volume shown (didn’t use red biro looks messy) still look at it when choosing locos for my ever growing model railway. Didn't travel as much as some of these lads but my elder cousin took me to the same spot end of Paddington - Old Oak Common also - still a lot of steam there when we went - kind of cheating going to engine sheds. Deltics were my favourite watched them from carpark old WGC Station. Peaks on my local line. Sit out all day with lunch calming still write numbers down when see preserved locos in heritage lines!

I was a trainspotter when I was a kid in the 70s. There was a huge railway yard next to the train station, the guys who worked there would let us ride in the engine with them when they moved them round the yard. It would be a health safety nightmare now. It's so sad that adults would be too paranoid to indulge some children like that now, it was all so innocent though. The 70s was a different world.

Yes these were great times. Between the age of 12 to 16 we traveled all over the country from Newcastle at weekends and holidays. The trains always ran and you could travel over night. Met lots of people and great fun.

back when britain was still great

These lucky lads ,Back during simple times,Was only 2 in 1975 ,Love the times of British Rail sounds ❤️Bet being in their Early to late 50s now they will remember the good times ,Watching these iconic Diesels back in the day ,Lucky lads .Wish I had been their age back then doing this ❤️

Powerful stuff. I started trainspotting as a lad in the '80's. Innocent pastime.

Wonderful. I've enjoyed stations like York, Hull and Stalybridge and Irlam up here. great video when kids were kids. These boys about 5 years older than me.

What great kids !

What a sad world the 70s where, when the most exiting thing for kids is watching trains 😅

These kids will be in their 50’s now hope they all succeeded 😊

I went trainspotting once. It's pretty easy, they're massive and make a load of noise

this is mad its so sweet

Husband was a guard in the 70s (when I was a little girl). He used to g bashing when he was off. Said they were the best days of his life. Cheek!!