This statue celebrating the life of Sir Nigel Gresley is
appropriately placed on King’s Cross station concourse - and there is not a
duck in sight. The accompanying plaque says it all, really.
It’s difficult to imagine a world without the Streaks, which
I must have seen first on a Wallasey Grammar School railway society trip by
train from Liverpool Lime Street to York station, in late 1960.
I came back early on my own that day, aged 11, because around
that time I was afraid of the scary, spaced out feeling I often got late in the
afternoon and I wanted to be closer to home if it happened. Retrospectively, I’m
inclined to put it down to a sugar imbalance, but I suppose I’ll never know for
sure what caused it.
Anyway, I’ve been a keen admirer of Sir Nigel’s handiwork
ever since that day. I eventually got to see 20 out of the 34 Streaks, which I
suppose was OK for a west coast lad looking for east coast locos. Here is my
daughter, Alice, underlining Dwight D Eisenhower for me in my Summer 1962 com’
vol’ at the NRM. Dwight was the last one added to my list of 20 and unfortunately
there won’t be any more.
Actually, you may not be entirely surprised to know that
this photo was highly contrived. There was no way anyone else was going to
underline my last Streak for me. I mean, come on, who is the geek round here?
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