Back on Track in 2022 is a story about how one man regained his confidence to travel after the coronavirus restrictions in 2021 by re-acquainting himself with some of the places that were important to him in his younger days.
Published in September 2022 by Michael G Priestley Books and written by Mike Priestley, this paperback book measures around 211 mm x 248 mm, and has 196 pages.
It has a published price of £8.00 and can be purchased from Amazon.
The story began in 1964 when Mike Priestley was exhausted after a long and exciting day travelling from his home in New Brighton via Crewe to Birmingham to catch a special train organised by the Derbyshire Railway Society to visit some engine sheds in South Wales.
Nearly 58 years later, and in response to the relaxing of restrictions after the pandemic, he revisits many places he had visited in his youth, including Doncaster, Worksop, Newark, Nottingham, Loughborough, Tamworth, York, Shrewsbury, Nuneaton, Crewe and Llangollen.
The last chapter in the book, titled “Back Down to Earth”, seems rather strange because it has nothing to do with Mike's travels.
It looks back at the Covid pandemic and at the events of 2022, and the war in Ukraine.
There are mentions of different places Mike would like to visit in the future, but only in his imagination.
It seems that this last chapter is more of a fantasy than a reality, more of what he would like to do in the future but doubts that he could.
After starting with local trips and short journeys, Mike gradually increased the distance and duration of his travels.
As the country was still recovering from the Coronavirus pandemic, to minimise the chance of infection from fellow passengers he often drove to a nearby railway station and took a train to his final destination, enjoying the scenery along the way.
The first place he visited was Doncaster, where the photo below of A1 Class Pacific No. 60128 Bongrace was one of the first he took on his original visit to the station.
In contrast to the scene on his last visit to Doncaster, this time he was greeted by theTransPennine Class 185 No. 185117 on the left below and the Class 66 No. 66150 on the right.
Visiting Nottingham with his daughter, Mike was surprised that the gym she was using was in the former train shed of the city's London Road station of the Great Northern Railway, as seen on the left below.
However, the frontage of the station still exists, as seen on the right, its preservation being helped by its Grade II listing.
Mike's previous visits to Nottingham included collecting train numbers at the Great Central Railway's large engine shed at Colwick.
The shed is now just a memory, but its railway past has not been completely wiped from the map as what was until recently the home of the local London Midland Railway Association, is now the fast-food outlet seen in the left below.
Elsewhere in Nottingham, Mike travelled back in time as a tram route into the city from the south is on the alignment of the Great Central Railway at the site of the former bridge 295, with the view from the driver's cab seen on the right.
Mike's visit to Loughborough on the present Great Central Railway produced a sight that could have greeted him in the 1960s, as Standard Class 5 No. 73156 seen on the left below was at one time allocated to Neasden shed, and must have worked through Loughborough many times until the line's closure.
As at Colwick on his visit to Nottingham, during a visit to Lincoln Mike found that the original engine shed at Lincoln has been re-purposed, this time as part of the Lincoln University campus as seen on the left.
On the right is a view of the former Great Central Railway's goods and grain warehouse, which is now the main library for the university.
Back on Track in 2022 is a memoir of a railway enthusiast who revisits the locations where he used to indulge in his passion for train spotting.
He compares the present-day scenes with his memories of the past and shares some anecdotes from his younger days.
The book is a self-published work, and unfortunately, some of the photos lose their quality and colour in the black-and-white printing.
Many people who love railways may have thought of writing down their experiences, and the author deserves praise for making his stories available to others.
It would have been helpful if the chapters had dates to provide a historical context.
The book is very affordable at £8, and a captivating read. Recommended.
The book is currently only available to purchase from Amazon.
RailAdvent would like to thank Michael G Priestley Books for providing it with a copy of the book for review.
