A vivid and entertaining account of one man’s extraordinary life, guided by a love of steam trains and an unerring vision to be an engine driver in the days when steam ruled the rails. See through the eyes of a small boy the first stirrings of this enduring passion as, in rapt fascination, he watches trains on the Hull & Barnsley main line in the 1940s, and witness the bucolic beauty of rural life, allied with the poverty and shear hard graft of farm work during the war years, when it seems his dream will be crushed by the daily grind and drudgery.Share the author’s exuberance as, having hazarded all, he succeeds in joining the London & North Eastern Railway as a lad porter, before being introduced to the hallowed world of the Locomotive Department, progressing through the ranks to finally fulfil his dream. On this journey share his exhilaration as he thunders down the main line on a locomotive pushed to its limits, spewing fire and brimstone; and witness a host of steam train escapades, adventures, and mishaps, from the farcical to tragic.Finally, travel with him to exotic Tanganyika/Tanzania in the 1960s where, during 12 years with East African Railways, he experiences the challenges of epic journeys through the heart of the sun-baked bush, breakdowns, derailments, flooded tracks, and violent mutiny, as well as the joy of driving the mighty and exemplary 30 Class, ending with the pinnacle of his career: that of becoming Locomotive Inspector.

Eric Blackburn was born in Hull in 1928, and after an elementary education, left school at 13 to become a farmer’s boy. His childhood interest in steam locomotives, however, had a stronger pull than muck, toil, and poverty, and with a little prompting on his part, the Fates determined he should become an engine driver. Not satisfied with that, these fickle mistresses saw him heading off to East Africa in 1955, for more steam-related adventures. In 1965, Eric married Shirley, the love of his life, with whom he lives in a little village at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds.

Customer Reviews

5.0

4 reviews

HJ

It was very much a case of 'who dares wins' when Eric Blackburn, a young teenage farmhand without Goodbye Mr Krupps Memoirs of an Engine Driver to East African Railways ERIC BLACKBURN any prospects, smartened himself up one Sunday and plucked up the courage to knock on the door of the stationmaster at his local station at Cottingham near Hull and ask if there was any work going. The reply was the expected blunt 'no', but as he trudged away, he was summoned back. There had been a change of mind and within a few days Eric was taken on as lad porter. Eric, now almost 98, a little fragile, but still with all his mental faculties, has written his autobiography, recounting a varied career that put him on the footplate. This included a decade in East Africa after British Railways destroyed staff morale during its rundown of steam in the early 1950s, when dieselisation and line closures began to accelerate.. We read how he was promoted to fireman at just 17, and his experiences working at Springhead, the busy Hull & Barnsley shed that once boasted an allocation of around a hundred engines. His opinions of them vary, from the utmost respect for the rugged and reliable North Eastern designs to the dismay of handling Edward Thompson's 'L1' 2-6-4Ts that often shook so violently that the front two passenger coaches had to be locked out of use. National Service and worries about redundancy in 1954 prompted Eric to widen his horizons and seek a new career in Tanganyika, where the pay was three times that of British Railways, but three times the working hours. His reminiscences are a medley of tragic and farcical. Amongst them are the time when he heard about a vicious lion landing on the pile of coal in the tender and was luckily suppressed before it could have the crew for lunch. After 12 years in this warm climate, Eric decided that it was time to come home and what better for someone with the surname Blackburn to set up on his own as a... coal merchant. Recalling a very long life requires a lot of pages, but the time will fly when you get stuck in. By the way, Eric reveals that the famous encounter with the lion might be just a tall tale!
Ruth Hague

Very well written, fascinating and enjoyable. It will interest both railway enthusiasts and social historians. It shows living conditions prior to and during the second world war. Thereafter, a view of life, post war, on East Yorkshire's railways is described. The book culminates in a vivid and detailed account of the author's time with steam locomotives, both as driver and inspector, in East Africa.
John

Very well written, fascinating and enjoyable. It will interest both railway enthusiasts and social historians. It shows living conditions prior to and during the second world war. Thereafter, a view of life, post war, on East Yorkshire's railways is described. The book culminates in a vivid and detailed account of the author's time with steam locomotives, both as driver and inspector, in East Africa.
LesleyJibbs

A marvellous, interesting, insightful read.