A Volunteer's Story - Terry Andrews

I was not in the Broadway Area Group for long when I realised that I was among people who feel utterly passionate about the Railway.  Such passion brings out the best  - determination,  hard work, resilience and above all good humour. I have decided over the coming months to try and tell a few of the stories.  I will inadvertently miss  deserving people out - so please pass your story on or maybe that of a colleague.
Bill

The first post is Terry's story.

I have always had an association with the railway, right from the very start, the fact that my membership is 03/003 - the 03 bit relating to March shows that I was one of the first members.

Libby and I used to turn up at Toddington on Saturdays and Sundays when the likes of Tim Bazeley, Mike & Mary Shorland, & Dave Heathcote were working then. I also remember Andy Goodman, as we were both in the same business at that time (Insurance Brokers). Libby used to cook food for the workers on a BBQ and my daughter would be there in her pushchair, quite happy to see the activity.

Paul (from Tecton) also is a long standing member and I remember a trip to Corby steel works in the very early days, where we went to recover sleepers (hiding a few chairs we hid within the sleepers!) from the closed sidings at the steel works, Paul provided the transport and drove the lorry!. We also worked at Ashford recovering the turn table and at Walls Ice Cream factory recovering a wooden building that they donated to the railway. About a dozen or so of the black bacalite telephones used on the railway (probably at Todington and that signalbox) were supplied by me. My mother worked at BT and they were clearing out their old stores and BT let us have them.

Rod mentioned that he was also working on the night shift of the 24hour track lay. I didn't know him then, which is a pity, cant believe that was 33 years ago, where does time go.

Family life and business got in the way, I am afraid, so a lot of my support was financial for a few years, then I retired and joined the happy bunch at Broadway, Mike and Graham being on the same induction course as me that day.

It is a real pleasure to be involved at Broadway, we have a fantastic bunch of volunteers, its a real tonic to work with them all.

Long may it continue,

So who has WP 1 and 2 and 4-9???