On 7 Feb, 20:12, "Clive D. W. Feather"
wrote:
Some readers may recognise Stephen's name as author of the unofficial
Tramlink web site.

I regret to say that I have just been informed that he was killed today
in a road crash, being the driver of the Vauxhall mentioned in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6339357.stm.

This is truely horrible news. I would like to type a few words as this
forum is read by many who knew him, or knew of him. I had known
Stephen since we were both 5 years old and we pretty much grew up
together, having lived just a few doors apart. We attended the same
primary and secondary schools and had kept in touch, remaining good
friends ever since. We travelled together across the UK in our mid
teens and took a few interail trips to Europe. In 2005 we spent a week
on the east coast of the US. Each trip included a trip on a tram at
some point if remotely possible, it was obligatory!

Now a word about "SJP" and trams: Stephen's love of trams seemed to
develop after he bought a digital camera towards the end of 1998. He
started taking pictures of the Tramlink construction works in Croydon
which morphed into "Croydon Tramlink - The Unofficial Site". This
spawned a community of like-minded individuals, from fellow
enthusiasts to transport professionals. Pretty much everybody involved
in UK light rail projects knew Stephen from tram drivers to those at
the very top of the industry. I was always amazed by the amount of
information that reached him. Surely there can be nobody at Tramtrack
Croydon who has not heard of Stephen Parascandolo.

A little fact that most will not have known: Stephen and I took a trip
up to Sheffield in 1995 during which, at my insistance, we took a ride
on the new tram system. This was apparently Stephen's first trip on a
tram. After boarding the tram I asked Stephen what he thought. He
looked at me in his usual critical way and said "looks like a cross
between a train and a bus". I'll never forget those words and I would
never have guessed that he would become the great light rail
campaigner that he did.

There is much more that could be said about this remarkable and
telanted individual, including his dedication to his profession as a
Signalling Engineer and one of his main hobbies, model railway
electronics. At a young age Stephen had already become a talented
engineer a significant player in the rail industry.

Steve: I don't know if you can read the internet where you've gone
mate but I do hope that there are plenty of trams, signalling diagrams
and model railways to keep you occupied up there. Miss you buddy.

To his family, my deepest sympathies and condolences. You are in my
thoughts.



Mark Jansen (Proud to have been able to call myself a friend of S. J.
Parascandolo)