WHEN chatting with Ben Williams about his passion for trains you just need to remember one thing — never refer to him as a train spotter.

As Ben is keen to point out he is a loco spotter and not a train spotter and, no doubt, fellow enthusiasts will agree.

This 82-year-old with a zest for life that many much younger do not possess can put most of us to shame with the lengths he went to in order to pursue his hobby.

As a teenager Ben travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain loco spotting and he still has the books to prove it.

Armed with his little British Railway Locomotives books Ben would hop on his bicycle and head for train stations throughout England and Scotland.

Today allowing youngsters out of the street, never mind out of Bolton, would seem a step too far but for a young Ben there was no question about it.

In what was thought to be much safer times Ben's mother, Gladys, would wave him off on his bicycle without concern.

In 1947 the, then, 14-year-old cycled to Grantham, staying in youth hostels and up the A1 to York.

This was an opportunity, he explains, to see the LNER (London and North Eastern Railways) Locos that he did not get to see in the local area (at this time Ben, who now lives in Sharples, was living in Macclesfield).

"I saw locos I had never seen before on York station," says Ben.

Although Ben was supposed to be accompanied by a pal the friend's mother would not allow him to go.

"So I decided to go on my own," says Ben.

It took about five days for Ben to complete about 1,600 miles on his bike. "I can't imagine many young children doing that today," he says.

Ben's passion for locos began at the age of five, in 1938, when he was standing on Preston station and an announcement was made over the tannoy asking "all passengers on platform three to stand well back".

This was because the Coronation Scot was coming through the station.

"It was what we called a streamlined — red with yellow stripes — and we also called it a streamliner or streak.

"When I saw it I was thrilled and it started my interest."

Ben would spot locos at stations and — if he was lucky — in the sheds and here the locos were being built and repaired.

During World War Two Ben recalls being careful not to be seen with his book and pencil loco spotting. "At that time even children could not be seen making notes for fear they might be spying."

It would be 1946 before he started seriously loco spotting and in 1947, when he was aged 14, his hobby really started to take off.

Ben still has books he carried as a youngster with loco numbers and names underlined to show he had spotted them.

These would include the Princess Royal, the City of Bristol, Prince Edward Island and Royal Tank Corps (in the Patriot Class).

Ben and his friends had started a loco spotting society at Middleton Grammar School and he heard a loco was set to be named (City of Salford) at The Exchange Railway Station in Salford.

"The other lads in the society said that as I was chairman I should ask the head if we could go to the naming as it was during school time.

"I asked and when he realised the lesson we were missing was PE he said that as we were going on our bikes to the station that was a sport in itself so we could go.

"So we raced down to the naming ceremony," says Ben, who recalls a curtain being pulled aside by a chord as the loco received its name.

Ben's adventures as a 15-year-old took him to London "down the A6" on his bike and when he was aged 16 he went up to Inverness in Scotland with a cousin who lived in Barrow in Furness.

"Food was still rationed at the time, after the war, so we took our ration books with us."

After his exploits cycling around Britain Ben took up road racing.

With his keen interest in locomotives it seems almost inevitable that Ben would pursue a career in engineering.

But he is probably best known for his youth work in the Bolton and Manchester area and it was, through this, that he met his wife, Jean, who was also a youth worker.

Do you have loco spotting memories you would like to share with our readers?

If so do get in touch with Gayle McBain on 01204 537269 or email gayle.mcbain@nqnw.co.uk