STEVE POOLE
Steve Poole's childhood fascination with locomotives developed into a teenage train-spotting and photography hobby. Aged 17 and living in Wolverhampton, he heard about the efforts to preserve the SVR line at Bridgnorth. He went to a meeting in Kidderminster Town Hall and vividly recalls joining the newly formed 'SVR Society' in September 1965.
He was involved in early work parties as a labourer and reckons that (with a few gaps) he spent 3 out of 4 Sundays volunteering in one way or another for a period of 30 years.
Most of his time has been spent with the Permanent Way team, learning on the job and from experienced track men who volunteered for the SVR at weekends. Steve also did a fair amount of fundraising and publicity with the Wolverhampton Local Supporters' Club, attending traction engine and heritage railway fairs across the country. Whilst never achieving his ambition to drive trains (because of his eye-sight), Steve has been delighted to help out on the footplate on many occasions. Five decades on and he is still volunteering on the SVR.
LISTEN TO STEVE POOLE
(TALKING TO PHIL ROSE)
In this extract, Steve talks us back to the early 60s when steam locomotives were disappearing from British railways. Steve, then aged 17, felt he wanted to do something about it and went to an early SVR meeting at Kidderminster Town Hall.