The Author[]
Hello,
My name is David and I am the writer, creator and directer of the Jimmy the Jinty Series. I live in Lancashire and I have been fortunate enough to live near to the East Lancashire Railway. As like so many children it was Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends which first introduced me into the world of steam engines. This fascination of this little blue engine and his friends working hard, travelling to and fro, carrying out their duties. From time to time I went to the Days Out With Thomas events. Which fuelled my passion for steam. But as my family have pointed out many times, I was always destined to become a fan of railways.
When I was just a baby, Flying Scotsman visited the East Lancashire Railway in 1992/93. The most famous Steam engine in the world drew in the crowds as expected and I was one of them, (Even if I was only a few months old). Steam was now in my blood. As time went by I would be treated to a day out on the line whenever a famous engine arrived. Countless rides behind such engines like Blue Peter, Duchess of Hamilton, Sir Nigel Gresley, Black Prince, Leander, Duke of Gloucester etc. All of this helped capture the imagination and magic that only steam engines can do. And soon Thomas couldn't keep me occupied any longer. I will always have a soft spot for the little blue tank engine, he was what made my childhood so happy and innocent, but seeing these big engines blew my mind away.
As I grew older I found that railways was in my family history too. I discovered that two of my great Uncles' were both the shunter and the signalman at Sheringham station in North Norfolk. Which happily has been saved and is now the main station on the North Norfolk Railway.
When I was old enough I volunteered at the East Lancs Railway, where I helped restore the wagons on the railway. It was a joy to do and I learnt many skills from my time there. I have a passion for railway photography too. There's something about capturing an image in a moment of time and it takes you back to the golden age of steam. Working on the railway meant I got exclusive access to places that members of the public rarely see. I was able to take many photographs in the yards and sometimes I'd be the only person who would capture the likes of the Duke standing alongside the City of Truro, a Beattie well tank, a Jinty and Princess Elizabeth. Imagine that!!
Sadly due to educational commitments I haven't helped out on the railway for quite some time. I had to concentrate on passing my A levels and now I'm away from home at University. Whilst I was working through my A levels I began to miss the railways deeply and to help me through this I began writing stories based on the LMS Jinty locomotive that lived and worked on the East Lancs railway. These would be for my eyes only but soon I began to have ideas of creating a series for Youtube. The East Lancs lost the right to hold Thomas weekends for 3 years and so they created there own event called Jimmy the Jinty. I was most disheartened as I though someone had beaten me to it and I couldn't create my series. As luck would have it within 3 years, Hit Entertainment became less strict with its rules and regulations and the East Lancs railway won back the rights to hold Thomas events. At last I thought, I could make my series without people thinking it was connected to the railways event in some sort of way.
And so the Jimmy the Jinty Series was made and first broadcast on Youtube on the 7th September 2010. It proved a success and I quickly made the second episode so not to make it seem like it was just a one off. I was determined to make the series a hit and to carry it on no matter what happened. As I departed for Uni, I began writing more material and creating more characters. When I returned home for 2 weeks during the Christmas break I set about making the 3rd and 4th episodes. Again they achieved good ratings and soon I started to receive messages off new fans saying how much they enjoyed the first couple of episodes and how they hope the series would continue. More and more subscribers began to add the channel and word must have gotten round that a new railway series had begun. (As I write this, I am approaching 300 subscribers).
The endless support has been amazing and I've had some amazing people writing to me saying how they are fans of the show. I can honestly say I never expected it to do so well. (I was only expecting the odd 100 views). I soon began writing a few Thomas episodes as I am still a fan of the Railway Series written by Rev. W. Awdry and of course the classic Television Series. I have received kind messages off viewers who have loved the episodes and asked if I should apply to be a writer for the current television series. All I can say is WOW, I never ever thought I was a good writer at all. So its very up lifting to hear praise of people who enjoy your work.
For the future, the Jimmy the Jinty Series is moving slowly forwards. I mean I've only just started a web page. The series is made on the cheap from whatever I own and so my stories work around that. I'm not trying to compete against other series, in fact I am inspired by them and in sheer awe over how incredible and outstanding they are. Jimmy the Jinty Series will never have the luxury of special effects or lots of money poured into the production, but one thing I can promise is that the series will always have good honest writing from the heart.
I hope the series continues to be a success and that the fans enjoy it as much as I do making it.
Thanks again for the endless support. Without you Jimmy the Jinty wouldn't be recognised as a railway series in its own right.
David.