Nostalgia

I read an article recently suggesting that far from posing a psychological problem, nostalgia actually has positive health benefits as “a powerful tool in the battle against anxiety and depression” [Tim Adams, The Guardian, 9/11/14]. That’s good enough for me.

Here’s my Dad leaning out of the cab of Class A2 No. 60537 Batchelors Button on Carlisle Canal sheds in 1962. Dad had asked permission for us to have a look round, and had been encouraged by one of the staff to pose in the cab while I took the shot. On the next lane is A3 No. 60043 Brown Jack. The Pacifics were used on the Waverley route to Edinburgh and were then moved to Kingmoor for the relatively short period of time between the closure of Canal and the end of the direct route to Edinburgh.