Railfan ejected from enthusiast special {UK}

[jshugg@westpac.com.au]

I know this is not an Australian story, but it comes from today's Sun
newspaper (London), which is owned by a former Australian, so there is
a tenuous link...:)

BOOZED-UP trainspotter Dan Hart went loco - and got thrown off the
Orient Express.
Punk rocker Dan, 31, steamed into lager, champagne, whisky and vodka on
the four-hour train journey.
Then he went completely off the rails and was arrested after a drunken
scuffle with the crew.
And now he's been shunted out of a train buffs' club.
Dan and fellow members of the Deltic Preservation Society were
travelling from Manchester to Berwick-upon-Tweed in posh Orient Express
carriages pulled by one of their club's locos.
Dan got stuck into the booze and started rowing with club members. He
then clashed with the train's crew on a platform at Berwick and got
nicked.
The record producer was marched to the local police station in
handcuffs and locked in cells for four hours while the train headed
home.
Dan - who lives beside the main line at Retford, Notts - was let off
with a caution. He said yesterday: "The trouble with most trainspotters
is that they're stuffed shirts with no sense of humour.
"I had about eight pints and downed a few glasses of champagne, some
vodka and a whisky. I enjoyed myself.
"All I can remember was having an argument with some members, then
there was a scuffle with the train staff.
"Before I knew it, the police were carting me off."
The society - which owns three Deltic locos - banned him for a year for
bringing the group into disrepute.
Spokesman Roger Radcliffe said: "We're not trainspotters - we're
enthusiasts, and we have to maintain decent standards.
"There were complaints about Mr Hart's drunken behaviour. We're not
stuffed shirts but we do dress smartly."
Bitter Dan hit back by writing a joke song called We've Been Thrown Off
The Orient Express about train "nerds" and posting it on the Internet.
He said: "I'm really upset at being kicked out - Deltic diesels have
been part of my life since I was in short pants."

For a photo of a Deltic and of this scary looking railfan, check out
http://www.the-sun.co.uk/
in the EXCLUSIVE section
but I don't know how long it will last there.

Cheers... James


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