Baynards Station, 1979

A disused railway station always seems to provide an evocative image. Thoughts turn to the lost promise of travel, to the men who laboured only for their efforts to count for nought and to the triumph of nature over the designs of man.


Fortunately, this station - Baynards in Surrey - was lovingly restored at the time I took this photograph in September, 1979. I hope that it remains so today but I have not revisited since cycling to this remote location from Horsham nearly 30 years ago.



For those with an interest in disused stations I can thoroughly recommend the website http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/ The site contains many images of disused stations throughout Britain.

Attercliffe Road Station, 1985

This photograph was taken in July, 1985, on the northbound platform of the now closed station at Attercliffe Road, Sheffield.

The station was closed in the 1990's as alternative transport facilities were by then being provided by the Sheffield Supertram.


By the 1980's only a few trains stopped at Attercliffe Road and most of these were early morning services. The services were not well used and it was no surprise when the station was closed.

The second photograph (taken on the same day) shows the view southwards from Attercliffe Road towards the city centre. The Hyde Park flats dominated the view southwards in 1985. The flats were partly demolished and partly refurbished for the World Student Games held in Sheffield in 1991.
Today, only the overgrown platforms remain. The shelter on the southbound platform and all the signs and lighting have long since vanished.

"Coincraft" 1/2 Gulden Medal

"COINCRAFT" 1/2 GUILDEN

I acquired this large diameter medal many years ago but have never understood the purpose of it. The date is given as "18--" though clearly this is a late 20th century production. It has an inscription saying "struck for Coincraft from the original dies" but does not explain what dies were used.

I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who knows anything about this item.

The 2006 Nuremberg Station Mark

I acquired this unusual "coin" in Nuremberg station in 2006. It is the size of a standard Euro coin and was valid as a Euro in the shops in the main station complex in Nuremberg.

In order to get one of these "coins" it was necessary to partake in a game of wheel of fortune that was taking place on the station concourse. The minimum prize was one of these "coins" and the maximum was ten. Needless to say, I just won one of them.

If anyone has information about similar issues, I would be pleased to hear from them.

Aggressive Atheists

I have started to read Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion". It makes many valid points but I am struck by how aggressive he is towards religion and religious people. If you wish to "convert" people it is probably not best to refer to them as "faith heads" and "people infected by religion".