John Simpson grew up surrounded by and travelling on the New York subway. His passion for trains today is an evolution from his boyhood love of Thomas and Friends that has taken him around the world.
In this Great Rail Tale, John describes how it was a visit to the Golden Spike celebrations in 2019 in Utah that made him make a pilgrimage to Shildon, County Durham in this year of national railway celebrations, joining many others from around the world. He recounts the thrill of witnessing Locomotion No.1 travelling on part of the original Stockton & Darlington Railway, the cradle of the railway worldwide.