Up until Thursday, the only celebrity trainspotter I’d ever heard of was Robert Carlyle as Begbie in the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s book.
But then I read about Francis Bourgeois, who joined fellow (but less famous) train enthusiasts on Monday when a Class 37 locomotive made its debut on the Harry Potter line.
A class what on the what now? Allow me to elaborate. The Class 37 is a “beautiful engine” according to Francis and for fans, it’s the rail equivalent of a Ferrari, he says.
The Harry Potter line is what we’re now calling the Fort William to Mallaig route. Get with the programme.
It goes across the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which has special significance for Potterheads what with the Hogwarts Express and all.
Harry Potter line is like the NC500
Plus it slips off the tongue more easily than the “West Highland Jacobite line” as it’s been called. Sorry history lovers.
In a way, the Harry Potter line is like the NC500; it was there all along but giving it a cuter name made more people sit up and take notice.
Francis Bourgeois (made-up name, obvs) is a social media personality, model and mechanical engineer.
That last bit is interesting because it turns out he once worked for Rolls-Royce.
Then he discovered that making TikTok videos and Instagram reels is more his cup of tea.
The other day I watched a former A&E doctor-turned-influencer giving lifestyle advice on YouTube, so this is where we are now.
If Artificial Intelligence takes all our jobs while we’re out taking selfies, I can’t help but think we’ll only have ourselves to blame.
I got chatting to a real-life former Rolls-Royce engineer on a plane from Aberdeen to London recently and the journey seemed to fly by quicker than you could say “cross check”.
Harry Potter line versus airlines
I’m not terribly fussed about trains but I am very interested in aeroplanes.
I only found out recently there’s a name for that. Apparently I’m an aviation geek.
I do prefer this to Anorak, which is what the trainspotting lot call themselves, or Crank, which sounds well dodgy.
I grilled my fellow passenger with questions such as: “What was it like being at Rolls-Royce, or Boeing, the world’s largest factory? And how does Rolls-Royce transport its jet engines around the world?”
Answers: Strict, pristine and awe-inspiring. You had to sign legal documents to say that if you lost or dropped anything, say a pencil, you’d fess up.
This was to make sure nothing ended up where it wasn’t supposed to be, like in a turbofan jet engine.
World’s biggest plane destroyed in Russian invasion
Transporting a Rolls-Royce engine is like trying to move two elephants with Ming vases balanced on their heads. Precious, heavy and not to be jolted.
It could call for an Antonov international cargo transporter, you know, the funny-looking one.
While we’re swapping geeky facts, aircraft manufacturer Antonov is state-owned and its parent company is Ukrainian Defense Industry.
It created the world’s biggest plane, the AN-225. It was destroyed at the Battle of Antonov Airport in the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Only one AN-225 was ever completed. It was called the Mriya, meaning dream.
I wonder if any of the Mriya’s mechanical engineers decided one day to down spanners and become social media personalities instead?
Cyberspace is no substitute for the real world
As we withdraw ever further into cyberspace, viewing the real world via a screen, we are losing the skill at which we most excel – our ability to communicate.
A message that can be conveyed with the tiniest nod of the head or the pursing of a lip can take 100 words to express via Facebook Messenger.
Even then, it can still be misinterpreted.
Internet ‘influencers’ like Francis Bourgeois can bring experiences to our attention.
A train ride through the West Highlands is a great experience but has something been lost in transit?
At one time, passengers aboard trains, planes and buses would talk to one another.
They would discuss the weather, the news, their destinations or Rolls-Royce engines and Antonov aircraft.
Now they are too engrossed in their devices. And so the conversation I had on that flight from Aberdeen was a rare treat.
And all I had to do was switch my phone to airplane mode – and put it away.
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