Young Brian Andrews, photographed by rail and mine enthusiast, the late Jim Webber.
Brian’s childhood polio helped feed his love of coalmines and railways
Brian Robert Andrews was born in the midst of coal and steam near his father's workplace at West Wallsend Extended Colliery at Killingworth in 1948. His father was in charge of maintaining Caledonian Collieries' fleet of coal wagons, and the family of eight lived in a company-owned house. At 17 months Brian contracted polio. He went to bed one night fit and strong and woke next morning unable to stay upright. The doctor was called and passed sentence: the infant had polio and nothing could be done. That was the beginning of a lifetime of trials…