My two boys, 17 and 15, are railfans – and their passion has rubbed off on me. By Patience Agbabi
‘I love railway stations, the hustle and bustle and possibility of hundreds of destinations’: Patience Agbabi.‘I love railway stations, the hustle and bustle and possibility of hundreds of destinations’: Patience Agbabi.’m a small Black woman wearing a long purple puffer coat over black sequined Dr Martens boots. I don’t look like your stereotypical trainspotter, railfan or ferroequinologist – a white male in an anorak, writing in a notebook, standing at the furthest end of the platform.
Back in the day, trains were trains. They were the fastest route from A to B and a godsend for a nondriver like myself. I’ve visited most major cities in the UK by train for my job. I’m a freelance poet and writer, so I get paid to travel to events. I would spend the journey rehearsing, reading or admiring the view.
Valentine adored the Javelin. My husband, Jeremy, had already made a fleet of trains out of tissue boxes that the boys regularly played with. Valentine insisted Jeremy make a Javelin and, once it was made, Valentine carried this enormous toy everywhere in his pushchair. Trips became fraught because both boys wanted to travel on their favourite train – the Class 465 versus the Javelin. We negotiated with them – we’d take the 465 on the way there, the Javelin back home. Everyone was happy.
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