A RAILWAY enthusiast who, as a schoolboy spent many happy hours watching the trains travelling in and out of Kidderminster station has recorded his memories.

Bewdley resident, Adrian Turley, has published The Railway at Kidderminster in the 1940s, which is his third book.

During the Second World War, Mr Turley lived in Chester Road, Kidderminster, near the footbridge known as the Wooden Bridge, by the signal box and said his interest in the railway began when he was around 10.

He said: "I have always been interested in railways, having lived by the railway and being a member of the Severn Valley Railway. As a schoolboy, I used to note what was on railway and all the different trains."

Mr Turley, who lives in Orchard Rise, added: "I enjoyed standing on the Wooden Bridge, watching all the traffic and the aeroplanes that came over. There used to be 20 or 30 of us looking at the different trains."

The book is divided into chapters including passenger services, goods trains, military and Government traffic and foreign locomotives and contains records of the traffic, as well as his observations.

It has taken Mr Turley, who was an engineering draftsman in Birmingham, a year to compile his book.

He said: "I have got all my old notes from the 1940s - it was just getting them into some sort of order. They made interesting reading so I thought it would be good to get them printed."

The railway enthusiast said he was pleased with his finished book and would be taking a break before starting his next project.

His brother, Neil, who also lives in Bewdley, helped him to track down photos to go with his notes. He said: "It is very difficult to get photos because during the war you couldn't take photos of the railway and after the war it was hard to get film."

Pictures such as a Luftwaffe reconnaissance photograph showing an aerial view of Kidderminster after a raid in 1940 have come from as far away as the US National Archives in Washington.

The brothers have published two previous books - US Army at Camp in Bewdley and Locations in the Wyre Forest Area - 1943-1945 and The US Army in South-east Shropshire 1944.

Adrian Turley is donating proceeds from the book to the Kidderminster Railway Museum because he said he wanted to support the museum, as "it is nice to see somewhere where railway items are preserved".

The book, priced £14.95, is available from WH Smith Books, Kidderminster Railway Museum, Severn Valley Railway shop, Kidderminster, and Black Books on 01562 69296.