I really went over to the GCR to get some shots of Black 5 Sherwood Forester. Quite expecting the place to be swarming with children. I was pleasently surprised at how well organised they all were and, I might add very well behaved and polite! Well I guess it was something different!

A day spent on the Severn Valley Railway! Tornado is visiting at the moment during Half term! So there is a timetable for the whole week! Next week she goes up to Bridgenorth for a wash out and general maintenance!

Sorry I keep adding to this collection. The night shots take quite a lot of work to process them!I do admit to altering the colours in these shots to get rid of the awful orange tint that the lights throw everywhere!
I hope you enjoy them?

Message to Mark Bowen thats if you bother looking!
How did your night stills come out! Let me know if you see this!!

A few shots taken around Loughborough station and shed.
I spent most of the day in and around the shed as there was so much going on! I cant wait for the other Black 5s to arrive it sounds as if its going to be a busy winter for me! Its coming toward my favorite period for Photography. Roll on the frosty weather!

The Fairburn tank will soon be returning to The Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway.
A Matt Allen Photocharter on a very dull day. There was a slight glimpse of the sun at Swithland reservior for about 30 seconds! Still a most enjoyable day even with the poor weather! Plenty of familier face too. Mike Snow, Clive Hanley, Paul Gildersleve and always jovial Paul Martin to name just a few. So there was plenty of the usual lineside banter! See their efforts from the links section below!

A big thanks to Matt Allen for all the organisation etc!

After a fairly good nights sleep in the van at Quorn,only interupted by a pesky owl which insisted on sitting in the tree above me and hooting all night. I could have sworn it landed on the top of the van at one point it was so loud!
I awoke to sunshine, thank heavens! Mind you it did disappear for a couple of hours after that!
The Day was spent in the good company of fellow photter Jon Bowcutt and his dad. We bumped into The mad welsh video man Mark Bowen so there was plenty of banter about Sheep, and bunker first shots etc! Later in the day we were joined by Paul Gildersleve for the afternoon! A thoroughly good and entertaining day was had by all.
Thankyou GCR for a splendid gala!

I did'nt arrive at Rothley untill 1 o'clock ish as the weather looked grim in Coventry in the morning. It was one of those mornings when ones head just did'nt want to leave the pillow if you know what I mean.
Having got there I rushed up to Swithland sidings for the first few shots but I could see the weather was not going to play ball today and it was only to get worse as the day wore on! The wet made for some nice effects down at the shed in the evening though, so not all was lost!

A day when disaster struck! I was using two camaras! One for telephoto shots at distance the other for closer in. Unfortunately I had a visitor to my home a couple of days prior and he was looking at my camera! He must of fiddled around with the control menu and set it for taking JPEG shots instead of Raw. I know what your saying! Yes, I should have checked! After loading them onto my hard drive the air turned blue when I'd realised what had happened!!!
Ive done my best with them, but as you may well know if you use raw processing I have been fighting a loosing battle!
I'm sure you wont need telling which is which photos they are as it is more than obvious!
Note to Fitz. This may give you some insight in to what I've been telling you about for the last couple of years!!!!

Finally I would like to thank Matt Fielding and Martin Creese for organising the charter and Dave and Kev, the crew for giving us some wonderful opportunities to get the shots we all wanted!

j in desc box Indicates a jpeg processed image.

WORK IN PROCESS

A couple of shots of Pitchford hall and Nunney castle at Leamington spa on their way down to the Bishops Lydeard for the West Somerset railway gala.

After a hearty dinner I was set for a few hours on Hampton loade station to attempt some more night shots. The night was spent in the pleasent company of Jon Bowcutt and Andy Gamble both keen and very able photograpers. Plenty of good natured banter as usual. I got accused of drinking all the tea and scoffing all the buscuits! In return I suggested they both get jobs gassing badgers on the nearby farm! If you get my drift?
I called it a day at about 3.30 as my sleeping bag was calling!
I have included a few shots from Sunday morning. The sun shone just long enough to get one or two before heading home!

After a very short sleep in my camper in the car park at Bewdley I arose and started all over again. This time in the company of my old buddy Paul Fitzpatrick. We chose to spend most of the time around Arley. After having a quick chat to Pauls (Fitz's) guru Paul Martin on the way back to the car. He told us he'd slept under canvas at the back of Bridgenorth station overnight. Fitz rushed off to his wife Pam who was at home and I shot up to Eardington bank for the last few shots before going down to Hampton loade to book into the campsite for the night.

It turned out to be a long day for me! It was 3am before I called it a day. Well worth the effort I think!

This collection was taken on the friday. Most shots were around Bewdley and up to Foley park tunnel.
Autumn is certainly starting to make a early start with some colour in the trees. This gala seems to be blessed with good weather most years even though it was a little bit overcast in the morning on this occasion!

The last opportunity for a Saturday out with my son Matthew as he is off to Cardiff Uni soon. We had a great day. Rather tiring climbing all those hills but it was well worth the effort!
Nice to see an engine from the GCR out in different scenery.

While visiting the Diesel Gala I had a quick visit to the shed to see what was going on.

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE SOME SHOTS OF THE DIESEL GALA.THEY CAN BE FOUND ON MY DIESEL AND MODERN TRACTION GALLERY See other Galleries.

While visiting the Shackerstone family festival I called in to the station to see what was happening. It was nice to see Mayflower again. This time facing south for a change! Pity I didnt have more time to spend at the railway.
Shots of the festival can be found on MY WALK ABOUT PHOTOS GALLERY. These include THE RED ARROWS and some Traction engines,working narrow boats etc

A day spent with a good friend from Birmingham, Pat Arrowsmith. It was great to see 43106 The Flying pig out in the yard in light steam! Also Kinlet Hall was visiting for a while from Tyseley. And it was my first encounter with D1062 Western Courier. So all in all it promised to be a good day!

A few shots of Tangmere on her way to and from Stratford upon avon

A visit to Didcot on what was forcast to be a very wet and windy day. As it turned out it was'nt a bad day at all. A bit cloudy and one spell of drizzle! Plenty to see but I must admit it was not really my cup of tea! Maybe it was all the kids and visitors who were there just for a day out and not really interested in what was on show! Still I guess it brings in the money to keep the place running. I should have visited when all the kids are back at school.

WORK IN PROGRESS

I was intending to go out for the second run but as it was I fell asleep in the chair after dinner! Must have been the effects of the long hot day spent at the GCR the day before catching up with me!

A day spent on the great central with the Fairburn and N2 tank engines.
It was nice to bump into quite a few familier faces along the lineside. Brian Burrows, Clive Hanley and Mike Snow and a new face Paul Gildersleve.
The sun played hide and seek a little bit in the morning making the shots I wanted around Swithland and Kinchley lane a bit awkward but still it was a good day all in all.

Just a couple of shots of Kinlet hall. After a rather late and tiring night on Saturday I was not up for running around the countryside so these will have to do for now! Still plenty of other chances to catch it in the coming weeks!

Engine and stock movement from Tyseley ready for Chiltern trains steam excusion from London Marylebone to Stratford upon Avon and return.
This collection includes photographs taken at Harbury cutting on the leg up to Stratford and Bishops Itchington on the return leg. Thankfully on both occasions the rain stopped just in time but it was still pritty gloomy

A day spent between Loughborough and Quorn Woodhouse at the Annual Mail By Rail gala. Nice to see that most trains were full!
It was a bit of a frustrating day trying to get a shot in sunlight as the clouds seemed to make a point of coming over just as the trains approached!

The colour of this engine is not to everyones liking. But I must admit it is quite striking! The train was full on both trips which is good news for Vintage trains and Tyseley.
Made a bit of a hash of the shots at Hatton north but I wanted something a bit different from all the other photters who were there.
For those of you who do not like the colour of this engine I have converted a few to Black n White.

I still can't get this pan shot quite right! Next time I will have to take my Tripod. These shots are the best of the bunch. Still at least it was not raining and it was more or less on time. Not like on the Thursday night when I stood for hours in the pouring rain waiting for it to come. Some bright spark decided to hold it a Tyesley untill about 9.30. I had given up way before then!

Up with the dawn for this one! Got to the location after scouting around a bit on other bridges but failed to find a decent location untill afterwards. The wind spoilt these shots somewhat!

A collection of general observations taken while visiting the Great Central Railway to see The Fairburn Tank during its re-entry into passenger service.

A collection of photographs of the Fairburn tank as she goes back into passenger carrying service on the Great Central Railway.
Congratulations to all who had a part in the engines overhaul. She is a credit to you all!!

My first attempts to photograph Kinlet Hall on the Shakespeare Express 2009. Turns out to be Emily's Birthday Express. I am told she is Alistair Meanley's 3 year old daughter. I also captured a shot of it last year on her 2nd birthday near Bearley station!

The weather for the weekend did'nt look very promising and as the SVR was running on a yellow timetable all of this week I took a chance and travelled over to meet up with a good friend of mine from Birmingham Pat Arrowsmith. I also needed to renew my Membership and lineside pass so it was a good excuse to go over!

An extra bonus for the visit was Class 52 Western Ranger was down to run on driver experience duties
Other pictures of this and other diesels can be found in My Diesel and modern traction gallery!

A small collection of black n white images. Some you may have seen in colour in different collections in this gallery, some I have never published before!
Some I quite like, others I'm not so sure about!

I suppose fotopic is not the best place to show black n white images as it tends to darken the shadow areas loosing the details when the photo is compressed on their system!! I wish they would address this problem as it spoils some shots! Not only mine but many other fotopic users photos too!!

I WILL BE ADDING TO THIS COLLECTION IF AND WHEN I COME ACROSS ANY OTHER IMAGES I FANCY IN B/W

One of my favorite locations on this part of the line has been blighted with a ugly mobile phone transmitter mast. It was to late to move to another location as I recieved a phonecall (mobile) to say it had just passed Hatton bank. SODS LAW!!! It was a strong signal though!

Off to the Festival of speed at Goodwood tomorrow (Sunday 5th)! So keep an eye out next week for those shots! NOW IN MY WALK ABOUT PHOTOS COLLECTION (I'm all car'd out!!)


Pity I'm missing the first Shakespeare Express but still there are lots more of those to come!

A perfect example of how to cock up a shot!!
First thing you must do is have the wrong lens on your camera. The second is not have the shutter speed slow enough and the third is not have enough angle on the subject in the first place!!!
I know I should have used my 55mm lens!! But it to late now!

Day 2 . Shots taken on the Saturday.

A very Hot and humid day! It certainly took its toll on me! I was going to get some shots of Leander on the S&C line on the Sunday before returning home but this was not to be as I really did feel quite unwell! The heat got to me I'm afraid so I returned home early!

Day 1 Friday afternoon and evening

A couple of days up in West Yorkshire on the KWVR. Things did'nt work out quite as planned for this outing but still!
Arriving at Haworth station at approx 1.15pm I decided to take a ride down to Keighley behind O4 No 63601 and WD No 90733 taking a few snaps on the way. I returned behind 0-6-0 Tank No 1704 Nunlow as far as Ingrow West from there I picked up LMS Jinty No 47279 and WD No 90733 which took me up through Damems, Oakworth, Haworth and finally to Oxenhope which is the original terminus of the line. After browsing around the station while the engines ran round I finally returned to Haworth with the same pairing!

After studying the times on UK Steam info there was no concrete time reported. Some sites said 17.48pm others 21.31pm. I decided to go for the earlier time and I'm glad I did. It actually passed at 18.10pm and a fine sight it made too!

These are the rest of the days goings on!
I visited Rothley and Quorn to have a nose about in between the N2 runs up and down the line. Even got a couple of shots of some of the guys from the MountSorrel branch line doing repairs on the bridge over the road down to Rothley

I just could'nt miss this! I like everyone else I have been eagerly awaiting this day.
The first duty for the day was to transport the members of the Gresley society along the line. I'm sure they must be very pleased with the outcome!
She certainly looks, sounds and performs fantastically well. A credit to all who have worked on her!
It is due to make appearances at NNR matched with the Quad-Art set of coaches AND SVR with the Teak set coaches later this year.

I was contacted by Russell Ashmore who was rostered for the signal box at Loughborough to come over and take a few pics of him working the box. This I did!
The rest of the morning was spent around Loughborough trying to find a few different angles and get something a bit different than my usual. I think I managed it in one or two shots!

With much regret I only had the morning to spend on the line so unfortunately I did'nt get up to Quorn or Rothley to see any of the rest of the goings on! I'm sure everyone who attended was in for a treat!
PLEASE NOTE ALL IMAGES OF THE 4-BIG UNIT HAVE BEEN MOVED TO MY OTHER COLLECTION (DIESEL AND MODERN TRACTION)

DAY TWO Between Chicken curve and Manor lane

I spent the night in my faithful old VW camper van (which Ive recently been getting back into trim) in the carpark at Toddington. The stationmaster gave permission of course! I was rudely awoken at 5.30am by a very keen fotter who parked right next to me and slammed his car door. He had the whole field to park in but he had to park next to me!! But never mind after a rather large breakfast (full English) it gave me some great oppotunities to catch the engine crews preparing for the days duties around the yard.

A pleasing distraction from the action at the GWR festival of steam

DAY ONE Between Chicken curve and Toddington

This gala was the GWRs 25th Anniversary of operation and to pull in the punters the railway bought in GWR Olton Hall possibly better known as HOGWARTS CASTLE from the Harry potter movies. It certainly did the trick as most trains seemed fairley well packed. Not necessarily to most fotters taste, but never the less it certainly made a colourful spectacle!

One Gala I thought would attract a good crowd but for some unknown reason it seemed very quiet everywhere. There certainly was plenty on offer with a busy mixed traffic timetable.
The day started quite bright but as the day wore on it got increasingly cloudy with short glimpses of the sun sometimes at the right moment and sometimes not!!

A quick drive over to Back Lane bridge at Cossington to see Oliver Cromwell pass on its way to Sheffield with the Steam Dreams excursion The Palatine

Just two shots of Tangmere running with its support coach down Hatton bank on its way to Southall. Just for the record! Not the best of shots I will admit as it was against the light or what little light there was available.

I decided to go over to the GCR to renew my yearly Membership and lineside pass and maybe take a few shots of the Deisel gala. But I got a bit distracted by what was going on in the shed.
Alex and Alan Pakes are doing a wonderful paint job on the N2. Alex was in the middle of lining out some rather Awkward to get at parts of the engine!

To see some photos of the diesel gala go to my other site DIESEL AND MODERN TRACTION in other galleries.

A day out at Llangollen. I missed out on the first weekend as I had other commitments which is a shame as the weather was much better that weekend. Still the sun did try to shine for a while but as the day went on it turned cloudy. Still at least it did'nt rain!
Ive only been to this railway once before and that time I travelled on the train so I had'nt got a clue as to where the best locations were. With a bit of advice from fellow fotter Paul Martin I did manage to find one or two spots ( Cheers Paul )

I apologise if the shots in this collection seem a bit out of sync. I was using two different cameras to save having to change lenses all the time. Gets a bit confusing!

A quick dash to Hatton bank to catch Kinlet hall returning light engine to Tyseley from Bishops Lydeard

After being spoilt with wonderful spring sunshine the previous day this mini gala was almost abandoned but I managed to stick it out as it was my last oppotunity to photograph the Large prairie 4141 before it is withdrawn for overhaul. Personally I will be sad to see her go as it is one of my favorites on the GCR.
If you would like to see why 4141 is one of my favorites Hit PHOTOS BY YEAR 2004 and scroll down to find GCR MINCE PIE SPECIALS 2004. There you will find one or two lovely shots of her performing!

I decided to go over the SVR to get a few shots of The DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
As I set off the weather looked grim but the closer we got to Bridgenorth the more the sun shone. By 10.30 it was a glorious day.

PART 2. OUTSIDE THE ROUNDHOUSE
After visiting Barrow Hill a couple of years ago and finding it very hard to get any photos without Hoards of other spectators in the shots I decided to attend this photo charter organised by Russ Hillier. I must admit I was'nt completely in favour of these charters before this one, but this has changed my mind about them completely. I hope to attend many more when finances allow. I must thank Russ for a really great day out!
I must also thank Paul Fitzpatrick once again, for providing the transport.

PART 1 INSIDE THE ROUNDHOUSE

These photos were taken during a Russ Hillier photo charter at Barrow Hill. A very enjoyable day was had by all. The day started with fog in the morning turning into a glorious sunny afternoon.
After several of the canteens wonderful Bacon bapps and cuppas I was more than satisfied by the days proceedings

I must also add Most of us looked more like Chimney sweeps than photographers by the end of the day. It has taken more than one attempt to clean off the black line around the bath back home. Well worth it though!

I spent several days driving around the countryside to find some new locations.
This one I found near Banbury. I'm afraid I cannot disclose the location as the Landowner who very kindly gave me access to it asked me to keep it quiet as there are no public footpaths anywhere near by. He has good reason for this as he keeps very, very expensive livestock on his land.
I decided to give these shots a bit of a overhaul to try and get the best out of them. So apologies if you have aready seen them before!

I had not really planned to visit the GCR for this gala but I'm really pleased that I did. It was extremely entertaining! I had one problem though. There was so much going on around the station at Loughborough I found it very hard to go and visit other parts of the railway! Not that I'm complaining!! The intention was to photograph the Q6 as its due to leave fairly soon and also the 8f as its facing north but I got a bit carried away at Loughborough!

I was accompanied by a chap who had not been over to the railway for quite a few years (when it was a single track) I'd been trying to entice him over for ages. He had no transport of his own so I happily drove him to Kinchley lane. He stayed there as he has not taken any photos from that location. He was well impressed and vowed to come back soon!! Another happy fotter!!

I would like to mention one small point. In all the promotional write up for this gala the GCR gave the impression that Loughborough station was having a make over and that things would be painted Maroon! The only sign of this was the platform numbers and waiting room signs. If there was anything else I missed it!

While at the Great Central Railway I was informed that this was about to happen. so I jumped in the car and dashed over to the main line to photograph it. It was a private charter to celebrate someones Birthday. Must have cost a bob or two I would think.
King's Lynn-Nottingham-Melton Mowbray-King's Lynn round trip.

On such a glorious day as this a walk in the cotswold countryside seemed the obvious choice and very therapeutic it was too! I saw the first Brimstone yellow butterflies of 2009, a fox, plenty of Bumblebees and loads of Buzzards and Kestrals none of them photographed I'm afraid (not got a big enough lens) so you will have to take my word for it!
Oh! and a couple of trains of course!!

LNER A4 Pacific Sir Nigel Gresley returning from Bridgenorth after appearing in the SVR Gala via Nottingham,Lincoln to Doncaster on a Railway Touring Company's excursion.
Seen here at Lea Marsdon.

I have had a few requests for a few more photos in black n white. So I've delved into my collections and picked a few that might do the trick. They are in no particular order! Some you may have seen in colour and some I've never posted.
Hope you enjoy!!

I decided to try and get to Bewdley as early as possible to catch the three engines on the rock as they were being prepared for the day.
Most of the shots are based between Arley and Foley park tunnel south of Bewdley. My aim was to get some distance shots to take in some of the Scenery around these spots. I must admit I am quite pleased with the results!

Erlestoke Manor,Oliver Cromwell,Sir Nigel Gresley, Nunney castle, Duke of Gloucester 5164 Prairie Tank made up the fleet!

After leaving the GCR I went to Cossington (Back lane) to get a few shots of Sir Nigel Gresley doing a Vintage trains excursion from York via Leicester to Birmingham new st. The Steam hauled part of the trip terminated at Bescote depot. The remainder of the journey was Hauled to B/ham by the Class 47 diesel attached to the rear of the train.
60007 Would then make its way to Kidderminster SVR ready for their Gala starting on the 6th of March.

A very bland grey sky was present for most of the day. So I spent most of the time around Loughborough station and shed with the odd excursion along the line. It was a very quiet day as far as photographers were concerned as the North Norfolk Railway gala was on and I should imagine most went to that!

It was a day for experimentation for me as far as my camera was concerned. Ive just downloaded some new Firmware settings from Nikon, which included some different colour and contrast settings as well as slightly better noise controls. I think its made quite an improvement.

My first visit to this railway! Pity the weather did'nt play ball but what an eye opener!!
It was a long day as I travelled by rail to Keighley and this unfortunately restricted the amout of time I had to explore the line. They say you learn by your mistakes so next time I will drive up and make a weekend of it!
With a constant incline, this line provides plenty of exhaust in all the shots as the engines climb up to Oxenhope. And it must be said, through absolutely wonderful scenery. I railway not to be missed!!!
While there, I bumped into Mike Snow who I'm sure will have some spectacular video footage on his site! Find him in the links section!

The theme for this gala was the last days of steam. A bright start to the day was a good omen! Unfortunately the light deteriorated some what as the day wore on.
Another pleasent and entertaining day spent in the company of Mark Bowen the mad Welsh videofotter who by all accounts left the lights of his old campervan switched on for the whole weekend and had to call the AA to get it started on Sunday night. Daft bugger!!!
With services running approx every 15 minutes there was'nt much time to record enything else that has been going on at the railway!

Another attempt at a night shoot at Loughborough. Rather disappointing evening as the engines were all packed around and inside the shed. I believe the lack of a signalman was the reason for not moving the engines around.

After a very stormy night the weather calmed giving me the opportunity to get some fine weather shots up on the great central. The idea was to walk the single line section towards Leicester as Ive not been along this part before. I soon realised I would not have enough time as I wanted to visit the shed at Loughborough to see how the Fairburn tank was coming along!

Day 1 was spent in the pleasent company of Mark the mad Welsh video fotter and concentrated on the part of the line between Winchcombe and Toddington. The weather as being kind to us and we managed to get a few shots in sunshine all beit a bit hazy.

Day 2 When I got up in the morning it was wall to wall cloud or low mist. Never the less the day was spent with my son Matthew and concentrated on the line between Greet tunnel and Dixton cutting. There was some odd workings between Winchcombe and Gortherington! Top n tail etc. I suppose 'Different' would be the best way to describe them!!
See February issue of Heritage Railway magazine for one of the photos taken on this day!!

A dash up to Loughborough for a breath of fresh air with my son Matthew. Not the weather we had hoped for but it was nice to get out and about.

Maybe the last chance to see Mayflower on this line for a while. She is moving to the North Norfolk and then the Llangollen railways for their galas over the next few months. Then returns to Shackerstone for the rest of 2009.
Sir Gomer has been withdrawn from traffic and is having her bottom end overhauled and the boiler retubed. So it will be a while before steam will be seen on this line again! I Have been informed with a bit of luck Sir Gomer should be ready by Easter! Thanks for the info Sam!

Our seasonal visit to the SVR was mainly based around Bewdley. My thanks to Paul Fitzpatrick for providing the transport. It would have been nice to have a little bit more sunshine but never mind maybe next time!

Shustoke was the location for these shots. I thought I'd try and find some new locations for a change. I must have walked a good mile and a half along the footpath which follows the line and not a shot was to be had without the trees casting shadows across the line. I ran out of time to go any further but it was a lovely crisp frosty morning and the walk did me good!

A short sharp visit to see the santa specials at Loughborough. A little dissapointed to see 4141 smoke box first at the rear of the train. The O4 was also running on the santa delux service and dining service. So all was not lost.

A few shots taken around the great central during my last visit. Very cold day but at least the sun was out for a change

We were told that this was Leanders last weekend on the GCR. We were hoping City of Truro would be running but no such luck!

A small remembrance service was held at Loughborough and Leicester stations. Most of the day was spent at Loughborough with a couple of stops off at Woodthorpe bridge and Rothley for a piece of excellent cake and a cuppa at the Ellis tea room on the way home. The weather could'nt make its mind up with short spells of sun and showers.

Two engines Rood Ashton Hall and Earl of Mount Edgecume double head this tour from Sollihull to Didcote and return. Bit cloudy and drizzly. Not the best conditions for Photos. Of course as soon as the train had passed within minutes the sun came out. Typical!!

The day started off not to bad. Windy, but no rain even a bit of blue sky! It soon turned dull and damp as the day went on and by 1pm it was raining not hard but nevertheless the light was poor. I was determined to stick it out! As I wanted to see City of Truro and Leander.

Rather a grey day but I was not going to miss this, its first run with passengers! The guys at Tyseley loco works have made a fantastic job of rebuilding her. Congratulations to ALL concerned!

The photographs marked (M) were taken by my son Matthew.

Unfortunately 5043 failed on the return trip with a hot axle box so the second trip was hauled by diesel. The trip to Didcote on 25th oct has been postponed. But it is hoped to have her in steam for the open day on Sunday!

On a rather grey damp day Sir Lamiel ran from London to Stratford upon Avon. Fairly difficult lighting for all of these shots! In fact I was lucky to get anything on the return trip at all as it was almost 6pm and the light was very poor. The camera was set on the highest ISO setting with the lens wide open at 2.8 so there is some noise visible but it was worth it just to see and hear the spectical of Lamiel at full tilt!

Again an early arrival after a very foggy drive from Coventry! I thought I'd take a few shots around the Station and some of the volunteer staff who work tirelessly to keep Rothley looking as good as it does!! On arrival the DMU was standing in the platform along with a very perplexed engineer. Apparently it had failed in quite some style with Gearbox problems! This obviously caused a few problems with the timetable untill it was moved out of the way. While up at Swithland sidings I could hear every engine slipping as they tried to leave Rothley toward me. The reason, I found out later was oil from the DMU had covered the tracks right through the station. Trouble is I did'nt get any shots of it! Oh well, you can't be every where at once I guess!
I make no apologies for all of the pan shots at the end of this collection! The light conditions were something I just did'nt want to miss!! HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THEM!

Arrived at Quorn station early to ensure a parking space! Glad I did, the place was absolutely heaving about an hour later! This Gala must have broken all records at the GCR. I must congratulate all that have had a part in organising and running this weekend. I also had a run behind Tornado and if all the trains were as full, the GCRs bank balance is sure to be much healthier! Also, a big thankyou to all at the A1 trust for letting us have Tornado at the gala. Its been a huge bonus!!!

Day one of the gala! I arrived at approx 11.30 The parking in the streets around Loughborough station was chaotic. It took a good ten minutes to find a space. Another ten minutes to get a pass for the night time shoot and I was in!! I intended to stay around the station for the rest of the day. A friend told me it was not to bad at Kinchley lane so I decided to get a few shots there later in the afternoon as Sat and Sun would be impossible.

Difficult to find a place to get a good look at Sir Lamiel without gantries and steelwork on a light Engine movement from Carnforth down to Southall.

I knew it!! I think the weather has got it in for me. Whenever I go to see Tornado its cloudy, grimy and dull. One of these days I'll get it right. Still worth seeing even if its not working hard. Hopefully the driver will open the throttle a bit more at the gala so we can all see just what it is capable of doing!
If you would like to see pics of Tornado's High speed test runs go to Brian Burrow's site. And with blue skys and sunshine its Clive Hanley's Go to the links section further down the page. They've both had more luck with the weather than I've had!!!!

Decided on Leamington spa for this occasion! The trouble was deciding which platform to shoot from. As it turned out where I decided was good for seeing the train for the longest period without having any other traffic getting in the way but not the best of shots of Nunney. Though, on the middle road it stopped right on the end of the other platform too far away for me! But a local sevice pulled onto the platform behind and blocked the veiw from that side. If you get my drift!

Having overheard a conversation at the cafe on Bewdley station during the gala weekend about this special train I decided to risk going in the hope that the sun might last untill the sunday as I wanted to go and see if it is possible to photograph Tornado in good weather! Everyone else seems to be able to catch it in the sun. But not me! As it was, the morning was shrouded in mist all along the Severn valley but what the hell it soon cleared up!

My first chance to see Peppercorn class A1 No 60163 Tornado actually running over the GCR metals. Typically the weather was not playing ball as usual and after a weekend in glorious sunshine on the SVR it was a little disappointing to say the least. But I'm sure there will be lots more oppotunities to come over the next few months especially during the Gala in October along with Leander, Cromwell, Lord Nelson and a yet to be announced visitor?? I can't wait!!

My second visit to the Severn valley Railway's Cambrian themed gala. This time starting earlyish on the Sunday morning. With much improved light! The highlight for me were the pairing of the Dukedog and City of Truro and the Double heading of two Prairie's. The whole weekend must have been a real success. And praise must be given to all involved in organising and running the event!

Arriving mid afternoon we met with a frenzy of activity at Bewdley station. Double heading trains were travelling between here and Kidderminster because of the weight restrictions over Victoria bridge. Sadly the king was not in attendence as it had failed some time earlier and could not be repaired in time! The standby engine Stanier mogul 42968 stood in and did a sterling job!

A friend of mine told me that the remaining old semaphore signals and signal box's on the North Warwickshire line are due to be removed in the next year or so. So I thought it would be nice to go and photograph them before it happens. One would hope that as the plans for a new Railway tourist centre along with shed, Museum and a turntable at Stratford and Tyseley's Vintage trains running the Shakespeare express along this line one would hope that Network rail would try and keep the character of the line intact.

I decided Tyseley would be a nice place to be on the final run of the Shakespeare Express for Rood Ashton Hall. A quick visit spent at the works at Tyseley took up the wait untill the second run. Widney manor was the location as its more or less the place where the engine is running at a speed of around 65 to 70 mph. What a sight!! Pitchford Hall was down to run on the Shakespeare today but its was unable to as the boiler inspection that was due could not be carried out in time. Nunney castle and Kinlet hall are down on the Mid Hants gala so it was a bit quite in the yard.

As the weather was being kind to us I went for a look around the SVR pre gala. Sadly neither City of Truro or the Dukedog were running. But it was still an enjoyable day out in the sun!

A special commemorative headboard was carried by Erlestoke Manor in memory Geoff Richardson who used to run the Erlestoke Manor fund at Bewdley. The headboard was later presented to his wife JOY.

A cloudy day at Tyseley. Plenty to see! And no apologies for taking lots of shots of Rood Ashton Hall. She is a credit to all of the team who look after her! Stunning!! is all I can say. Bob Meanley kindly let us have a look around the shed but no photos. (not allowed I'm afraid) So no shots of Earl of Mount Edgcumbe ( looking amazing ) or The Duchess. Oh well. I'll just have to wait untill The Earl's first run. Towards the end of October we were told!

A bit of a dreary day to be taking photos! But I think it worked in our favour. Light grey primer paint is a bit bright to look at! Sadly not running today but it was good to have a close look around this magnificent achievement!

I volunteered (Got roped in!) to help my neighbours take a party of 14 bored with summer holidays 4-9 yr olds to the Ivor the engine weekend at the Battlefield line. I've learnt a valuable lesson and wont be getting myself in this predicament again! While the kids were on the train I managed to get a few shots in and a well earned cuppa in the tea rooms at Shakerstone.

This time my son Matt accompanied me and we decided to visit Kidderminster as he'd not been there before! We also made quick visits to Bewdley and Arley. I have included some of his efforts in this collection (M)

A flying visit to the Great Central on Sunday afternoon. The weather was kind to us in between heavy showers and my son Matthew having just purchased a new Nikon D80 camera wanted to try it out!

This is my first visit to the SVR since Sept 2006 I spent the day at the Bridgenorth end of the line and around the station. The floods during 2007 caused untold damage to the line there are signs of repair work at all the places I visited. Especially at Danials Mill!

I raced down to Budbrooke to catch Nunney castle as it starting the climb up Hatton bank just above Parkway station and in the panic I failed to notice that my camera was set in Hi speed crop mode. So I only got half the shot I intended. What a plonka!!! Must have been the heat!! These are all I could salvage as the vegetation is starting to take over.

I went for a ride out during the week to see if I could find a new location for this shot. I chose this spot as I hoped the sun would be at the right angle at this time of the evening. Its just outside Bishops Itchington. There is a public footpath which crosses the line. Three other photographers were present! TWO SHOTS

After seeing Lord Nelson at the weekend I decided to go and have a quick visit just to see if it would still be in steam. But it was'nt! 78019 was down for the days duties. It was still worth the journey as Cromwell was outside the shed having some minor work done.

Another visiting engine on the Great central. This time its Southern railway No 850 Lord Nelson. Thanks again to Paul Fitzpatric for providing the transport. My turn next time! Hope you enjoy these shots.

These shots were all I could manage of Rood Ashton on this day. Pity really as I was looking directly into strong evening sunshine which made it really difficult.

Almost caught me out this one. It arrived an Half hour earlier than published! It was supposed to stop at Hatton in the goods loop for the best part of 45 mins but it was'nt to be.

A day to blow the cobwebs away this! Very bright with fast moving clouds was the order of the day you had to pick your moment to capture the shots.

The sun was on the wrong side but I wanted the colliery in the shot.

SHOTS FROM THE SECOND WEEKEND

A selection of shots from the first weekend

A quick vist to just outside Fenny compton where I found a public footpath crossing the railway leading to the Oxford canal and Wormleighton reservoir

I only had the morning to get these shots of Oliver Cromwell. I went to Kinchley lane expecting lots of other photograpers to be there. To my amazment I was the only one!

This class 37 had been repainted and named T.S (TED) CASSADY at Quorn woodhouse station on a day prior to my visit. It absolutely thundered out of Loughborough! Definately the fastest departure Ive ever witnessed on the GCR!

This small preserved line used to be part of the former Ashby&Nuneaton joint railway within the Midland railway network. Its main station Shackerstone stands by the side of the Ashby canal from where the line runs down to Shenton via Market Bosworth.

The morning started dull and my spirits were low. But I think it was worth the effort! There are a few sequential shots in this collection. The reason being, they were shots I just didnt want to miss!

A visit to the GCR to see how the work on Oliver Cromwell is going.

This was another one of those days that the weather men got it totally wrong! They said sunny intervals and the odd light shower. What did we get. Grey, dull and overcast. Oh well I could'nt go all that way and not take any photos. Most of the time was spent around The Black lion at Consall, for obvious reasons. Although getting to the bar was a nightmare! Was'nt it Fitz!!

Just a few shots from the winter gala. I did have a whole days shoot to choose from but the rest of the images mysteriously vanished from my computer. God only knows where they went!

This is my first attempt at a night shoot so Bare with me! Any advice would be more than welcome! What I found to be the most difficult problem of all to cope with was all the different types of lighting around the site!

A chilly visit to Toddington to clear my head ready for the new year festivities! My rhumatism was giving me some jip on this occasion in fact I could hardly lift the camera so please forgive the slightly blury effects on some of the shots!

I wish we had arrived a bit earlier when all the engines were inside! As the day progressed it got very busy indeed making it almost impossible to get a good view! I must thank My good friend Paul Fitzpatrick for doing all the driving around as it was a long exhausting day.

A pleasant Autumn day spent on the great central railway. It would be nice if this event was put back a few weeks so that the colour of the trees would be more striking. I'm not complaining of course!!

I fancied a change from the usual night out with the boys. So I drove up to Loughborough to take a few snaps. Chippy on the way home and still had time for a couple down the local!