"Special Thanks"

One of the things about the book which will forever irritate me is the fact I had to cut my Special Thanks & Acknowledgements page down to just under 500 words. It was originally much longer...!
Here is the special thanks page as it was originally intended!

I’d like to give special thanks to my immediate family; my parents Jill & Jerry, my sister Claire and my grandmother, Monica. Without your help and support, The British Railway Stories wouldn’t have got off the ground.

Special thanks too, to my wonderful girlfriend, Charlotte; who has supported me through thick and thin throughout the development of the book.

Special thanks to the Sidcup Crew of Mark, Nick, Matt, Ted & Becky. Thank you for being there in the hard times, and for all times.

To Kaylee Clark (nee Davidson!). You saved me in my darkest hour and urged me to keep going. Thank you for everything.

To Leo Henry, of the Leokimvideo channel, who gave me the "keys to the kingdom". Thank you for your mentorship and friendship, I value it so much.

Special thanks to the Loughborough Crew of Nick, Sarah, Martyn, Jezz, Tim & Alex, Clare & Matt, Pete, and Jim. I remember the first time I thought the book was being published, and many of us shared a champagne bottle in the Moon & Bell! How times have changed, but we shall celebrate together again one day soon.

Special thanks to my artist, Dean Walker, whose superb talents and wonderful sense of humour can be seen throughout this book. He is an inspiration and someone I am very proud to call my friend.

To Ryan Hagan, of the Sodor Island Forums. Without whom, I sincerely doubt that we would have got where we are. You have my eternal gratitude and friendship for all the things you've supported me on.

To Sean, Doug, Chris, Gavin, Eric, Steve, Ian, Ross, “Wee Chris”, Christopher, Evan, Clay, Davey, Keith, Jim, Zach and Ajani. You guys rock. Thank you so much for being such awesome friends and part of the “railway” crew!

To all of my friends on the various online forums such as YouTube, Facebook, RMweb, the Sodor Island Forums, the LNER Forum, and the like. Thanks for your wonderful support over the years; whether with the videos or the book incarnation of The British Railway Stories.

Special thanks to the good people of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the Wandering 1500 Club, the superb fountain of knowledge that is the National Railway Museum, and in particular, the late Malcolm Crawley, for being such inspirational people.

Finally; I’d like to give special thanks, and eternal gratitude to the man who instilled that original passion for history, railways, and a love of engineering and literature combined, in me.

To my late grandfather, Stanley Charles Carvin, who is much missed by all who knew him, but will be remembered forever.