Abbeyton lofts - Mr & Mrs J Savage Racing Pigeons

Ah for those happy railway days, but alas they are long gone. For those who entered the sport after 1965 when Dr. Beeching acting for the Government of the day lobbed off many of the branch lines it left our sport in a winter of turmoil. Special Federation meetings were the order of the day and transport committees formed to make ready for season 1966 our first year on tarmac. Ayrshire's first transporter was a rigid vehicle with wooden crates with wire mesh tops measuring approximately 2'6" long by 1'8" wide and 11" high. Not the ideal arrangement but we were on our way and this vehicle served us for a good few years.

The people who were of great help from day one were the Tannahill Family motor contractors and themselves pigeon fanciers. Indeed John Tannahill has enjoyed some excellent performances, I recall going to Paisley to have our National Avranches clock read after a trying race. John had timed in around 7.40am and we were in just after 9am if I remember. Bob Jamieson the clock convener said we were the only two up from Ayrshire and he had only opened half a dozen clocks by Noon, we both won a good prize. Another gratifying moment for John was when he was presented at the 1981 dinner-dance with the Tom Nisbet Cup and West Coast Combine Cup for winning Sartilly with his Dark Pied Cock.

Returning to transportation John Tannahill services our vehicle every week prior to racing and also provides a feeder lorry service. On occasions at short notice he has drove the transporter to the races himself. One must not forget the convoyers, one whose served us well was James (Jimmy) McCann, Jimmy served in the African campaign with the 8th Army and had many a story to tell. You always got Jimmy the same jovial way and the care of his charges was always uppermost in his mind.

Another job well done Jimmy McCann chief convoyer watches the last of the birds leave the race point while the driver starts to close the baskets.

When I was race Controller on the night of departure with the birds I would ask Jimmy to phone me at a given time on the Saturday morning. Dorchester the last inland race was usually a 5.30am call. When Jimmy got to the two nearest public telephones they were both out of order, Jimmy began walking to the next village and the first house he came to with a telephone wire he knocked on the door and asked to use their phone. The people obliged and our pigeons were in the air by 6.30am and enjoyed an excellent race, such was his dedication. As mentioned Jimmy was always jovial and happy at his work. I must tell you the story of one of our Stafford races. Jimmy came on the line around 6 am and stated, "It has never stopped raining all night and still pelting down, there is no way we will get a race today, the salmon are jumping out of the puddles". My quick retort was "Bring me one home, Jimmy". He quipped back, "I am the comedian, I'll crack the funny lines".

It was all so different pre 1966, first it was easier to train your pigeons and a lot less time consuming. All the local railway stations accepted baskets of pigeons for training. You simply tied special training labels to your basket with the name of the station you wished to have your pigeons released at, it was then off to work. On the way home you collected your empty basket and a quick look at the label told you what time they had been liberated.

Here you see John Weeks of Crosshouse setting off to the railway station with a basket of trainers. Some of the favourite stations for release were New Cumnock, Sanquhar, Thornhill and Auldgirth, sometimes the National candidates would be sent to Dumfries or Annan.

Today some clubs have training vans which are handy for those fanciers who don't have a car, however with van training 80 per cent or so appear to hit the town together. When on the railway the birds had to sort themselves out earlier as your lot could be liberated at the same time as say pigeons from Kilmarnock, Dalry or even Ayr or Paisley.

"Bicycle Transport" John Weeks of Crosshouse

What of our future, it is common knowledge our numbers have diminished by around 30 per cent over the past two decades. For a number of years neighbouring Federations all used their own transporters right down the line with each Federation loosing money from almost the mid-point in the programme. Thankfully for a year or two differences have been put aside and from Stafford outwards the four Federations travel in the one transporter with a saving all round. This is one big step in the right direction and there is no problem as each organisation keeps its own identity plus there is an open pool in certain races in operation organised by the combine.

"The Next Generation" Irvine Newtown secretary Robert McAulay explains some of the features of his winning pigeons to the pupils of John Galt School.

It is every fanciers duty to encourage anyone who shows the slightest interested in our sport. There are a number of ways to help a new starter, the obvious one by breeding them a few young birds, another is lending a clock for racing many fanciers have more than one, some clubs even hold a few clocks for this purpose. Last June Robert McAulay and myself went to John Galt School in Irvine and gave a general "Talk-In" on how the sport was run. We took along different types of timing clocks a few pigeons and a race ringer. At the end of our lecture which lasted two hours we invited the class to ask questions and were pleasantly surprised with the variety of what we were asked.

May I suggest if and when your organisation hold a Quiz Night you go along to schools in your area and leave a dozen free tickets for pupils to attend, the same could be done at all Open Shows Many schools now show lessons by Video possibly the companies who sell them would part with some at cost price to your organisation and these too could go on loan to schools. One thing for sure we will all have to pull together and present ourselves to the public at every opportunity the best way we can.