Fred Kerr

Fred Kerr was born in Edinburgh in 1948 where he gained an interest in railway locomotives from both the LMSR and LNER companies whose services permeated the local network. When his parents moved to Corby in 1956 the interest in railway locomotives continued and included the diesel locomotives that increasingly appeared at Kettering from the late 1950s. The sightings increased his interest and during the 1960s he travelled widely throughout the UK observing the various designs centred within specific areas. In the late 1970s his interest in Diesel Traction led to his involvement with the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group and its preservation of 'Hymek' Class 35 D7017 - the first diesel preservation scheme to be funded by public subscription. The subsequent growth of Heritage Lines and the preservation of diesel traction re-kindled his interest in the earlier diesel designs, and during this century, retirement has given him renewed opportunities to visit the many Heritage Lines where diesel traction can be both viewed and sampled.