MADAM - The photo of the ‘last railcar’ brought back childhood memories, which I thought I would share.

As a child in the early 1960s, my friends and I were keen ‘trainspotters’.

We spent many hours on the platforms at Stroud railway station, collecting the names and numbers of the steam trains as they passed through.

The waiting rooms on either side of the platform were usually empty in those days, and both had a large wooden table in the centre of the room.

To pass the time between trains, we used the tables as a football pitch, with a halfpenny for the ball and old pennies for the players, which were moved around using the back of a comb, which we all seemed to carry in those days.

My uncle worked on the railways from the Stroud station, and I was 11 years old when he gave me details of the last railcar journey.

My cousin and I travelled on that last trip, having bought a return ticket from Stroud to the Chalford Halt.

I retained that train ticket as a memento for many years, but unfortunately, it was eventually lost.

Paul Dangerfield

Nailsworth