Railfans clubs

[neilmc]

Was anybody a member of a railfans club in the 1970s? I'm not talking about "Rail Riders" but groups of individuals who went on prolonged weekend shed bashes by coach. They used to advertise things like "27 depots in East Anglia" when there were only two or three, as they were prepared to turn up at minor shunting yards and stabling points to help people "clear" a depot's allocation. This was very useful to cover places you couldn't get to and back by train in a day and places which weren't connected by passenger services. They weren't always responsible - I remember coming back from one long-distance trip up the M1 to Leeds and stopping off to "bunk" Tinsley without a permit. The foreman was not best pleased to have around 40 young men swarming over his depot, but we told him we belonged to a rival club! Happy days - wish I'd kept the notebooks!