Bonded in rail love

MOTHER and son Jean and David Clowes were excited to spend their second Mother’s Day together at Puffing Billy on Sunday 8 May, with the railway holding a special place in their hearts.
On Sunday, Jean and David worked together on the footplate of the 11.10am departure from Belgrave to Gembrook.
“As a young boy, Mum used to take me to Lakeside station in Emerald almost every day to watch the trains, and this eventually led to mum becoming a volunteer,” David said.
“I used to go on the engines with her and learn everything I could about how they worked. I became a volunteer myself when I was 13, eventually becoming a driver the day before Mother’s Day in 2015.
“That was a very special Mother’s Day, and something we both will remember forever,” he said.
Jean, who has been a Puffing Billy volunteer for 27 years and is also the vice-president of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, said it was a proud moment for her last Mother’s Day when she was able to be David’s first fireman on his first day as a driver.
“Puffing Billy has been in our family’s life for so long, and I can’t wait to spend another Mother’s Day working with my son and sharing the footplate with him,” she said.