Obituary: Tommy Gunn, Scottish Railway Preservation Society member, 65

LIFELONG steam train enthusiast and stalwart of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society Tommy Gunn has died aged 65 following an illness.

Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1945, Mr Gunn's earliest memory was travelling north to his new home in Scotland with his parents. It must have had a strong impression on the child for he retained a passion for the railway ever since.

By the end of his life Mr Gunn had an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of rail travel, buses and transport in general.

He enjoyed a 20 year association with the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and was considered a very valuable member. He was a constant presence at the Bo'ness & Kinneil Steam Railway where he had many happy times.

Mr Gunn was the only child of a stonemason and namesake Thomas Gunn and his wife Margaret. The family moved to East Calder when he was two or three, initially staying with his grandparents. The young family then settled in a house of their own in Landton Road which was to remain Mr Gunn's home for the rest of his days.

He was educated at the local primary school and then East Calder Junior Secondary but left school at 15 to pursue a career as a gardener. He worked in a number of gardens in East Calder, Wilkieston and Davidson's Mains before joining the local authority, now West Lothian Council, as a storeman.

He spent 34 years at the council, initially based in Kirknewton and latterly at Bathgate, and during his spare time travelled the length and breadth of Britain and as far afield as Zambia and Zimbabwe by train. A committed rail user, he had travelled every line from Land's End to John O'Groats and every line in between making friends and contacts on the way. His foreign rail destinations included the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, France, Poland and Germany as well as Africa.

On his trips, Mr Gunn would capture many of the spectacles on camera.

Another one of his passions was music and, typical of his thoughtfulness, he would make regular radio requests for birthdays, weddings and anniversaries of friends and family. He never wanted anyone to be forgotten.

He was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer last autumn but it failed to dilute his enthusiasm for travel. Before he died, Gunn ensured his final journey would be by train - requesting that his ashes be scattered on the line at Bo'ness.

But he left friends and family puzzled over why a man so passionate about steam travel decided his farewell should be aboard the Type 3 Class 37 diesel locomotive No37025.

Mr Gunn is survived by his cousins Sandy and Billy Gunn, Catherine Forrest, Catherine McKillip and Joyce Macedo.