Railway Photo Gallery
July 2006
Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image.
1st July 2006 - Dean Forest
Diesels
Diesel action at the Dean Forest Railway
involving D9555 and 73101. Unfortunately, 27066 failed on it's first train and
never appeared again.
8th July 2006 - Barrow Hill
Goes Mainline
An early start to get the Fastline 56 on 4E90
was a waste of time, because having got to Chevin as early as 0530, I still
missed it as it was running mega early. So, it was onwards to Barrow Hill for
their diesel gala, which this year featured mainline running. The first
departure off Barrow Hill was in full sun as it passed through the cutting east
of Barrow Hill. This has always been a bogey location for me, so it was pleasing
to nail the shot at last.
Next up was a steam special behind 30777 on which the sun dipped (well I did say
it was my bogey location!), but then the
first mainline special heading back to Barrow Hill was nailed in sun as it
swapped tracks at Barrow Hill North Junction. The day then deteriorated, and the
rest of the afternoon was spent in the Barrow Hill site having a general wander
round and taking a few phots. 20056 was on display in the yard in it's new Corus
livery which certainly caught the eye!
13th July 2006 - 4E90 at
Chevin
With the previous day's 4O90 running very
late, I was hoping that the return 4E90 would run late enough to be able to nail
a shot at Chevin (Milford Tunnel). The train was about 90 minutes late, and not
only did the sun play ball, but the train was well loaded too. Big thanks to MrH
for getting me a gen update at 4am!
15th-22nd July 2006 -
Blackpool Trams
My family holiday this year was to Fleetwood
near Blackpool. Naturally, as well as doing the usual 'on the beach, up the
tower and down the big dipper' kind of stuff, I also managed to point my cameras
at the odd tram or two. Well, actually it was a bit more than the odd tram or
two - 340 digital images, and 6 rolls of 36 exposure Provia 100F to be precise!
The restored Balloon tram number 700 (in 1940's green livery) was one of my main
targets for the week, as were any preserved tramcars that dared to venture out
during my holiday.
Rather than drive everywhere and have to find and pay for car parking in and
around Blackpool, we opted to buy 7 day Metro Coastline Travelcards. The car
only saw limited use for a couple of early morning and late evening tram
photting trips, and for the rest of the time, we travelled between Fleetwood and
Blackpool on the trams and the car was left at the caravan. At £21 for adults
and £18 for children, we certainly got our money's worth, and I would recommend
these tickets to anyone taking a holiday in the area. They are also available
for 1 day, 3 days or 5 days.
15th
July 2006
First day of our holiday, and a quick trip
down to Blackpool in the afternoon enabled me to capture a fair number of trams
around the Tower and Talbot Square area. I only took the digital camera with me,
which I soon regretted when I got a shot of Balloon 700 and Bolton 66 side by
side at Talbot Square - I would have loved that on slide!
16th July 2006
Sunday 16th July was 'Tram Sunday' in
Fleetwood (the annual Fleetwood Transport Festival). I got up early in the hope
of getting a photograph of the tram that was to spend the day on display at
Fleetwood Ferry, and was rewarded with a few shots of Coronation 304. There were
a few other vintage trams out that day, including Blackpool & Fleetwood 40,
Bolton 66 and Stockport 5.
17th July 2006
Started the day with a visit to Blackpool
Tower, which of course afforded a few shots of trams from the 'air'. Later there
was also time for a few shots along the promenade once the sun had moved round
to a good angle.
18th July 2006
Up with the lark to photograph the third tram
of the day to Fleetwood, which turned out to be the restored Balloon 700. It was
market day in Fleetwood, so there were one or two extra trams knocking about.
Later in the day, a trip down into Blackpool produced a few shots around Cabin.
19th July 2006
Once again, the early part of the day was
spent photographing trams in and around Fleetwood, with promenade shots in
Blackpool later in the day. I also managed to photograph a 'Boat' tram
travelling from Rigby Road depot to the promenade in Lytham Road.
20th July 2006
All plans for the day went out the window
when Blackpool Standard 147 passed us heading for Fleetwood while we were
waiting for a tram into Blackpool at Broadwater. The Standard was heading into
Fleetwood, so getting into a position for it's return took priority over playing
football on the beach. At the time of day that I was expecting 147 to return,
most locations along the promenade were too in line for the sun, so I was
grateful that 147 took a long time to return from Fleetwood, which allowed the
sun to come round to a good angle for a shot near the Pleasant Street tram stop.
After dark, I tried my hand at a few night shots at Cleveleys, but was
disappointed when Balloon 700 passed straight through in both directions on a
Fleetwood run.
21st July 2006
The morning was a little overcast, but by
lunchtime, the sun was shining once more, so it was on to Blackpool Promenade
during the afternoon for a few shots. As soon as I saw what working tram 700 was
on, I figured that a shot I wanted in Fleetwood town centre would be on, so I
took a trip aboard 700 to Fleetwood and photographed her on her return. After
dark, I once again tried some night photography at Cleveleys having figured that
700 was on the same diagram as the previous evening, but as per the previous
night, there was nobody to pick up or drop off at Cleveleys on the northbound
run so she sailed straight through again. See 22nd July for what happened on her
return.
22nd July 2006
After tram 700 had sailed through Cleveleys,
I chased her up to Fleetwood Ferry. Sometime during this short car journey,
Friday turned into Saturday, and 700 was duly photographed waiting time at
Fleetwood Ferry on the 0005 to Manchester Square. While the tram was standing at
Fleetwood, I approached the crew and asked them if they would stop for 20
seconds at Cleveleys even if there was nobody to pick up or drop off. This they
did, and a second shot was in the bag (big thanks to the driver and the two
conductors for their assistance). This day marked the end of our holiday, but
shortly before leaving Fleetwood, there was time for one more shot of a tram in
Lord Street and the Walls tram 719 duly obliged.
29th July 2006 - Maroon
Spoon and an Albino Skip
A couple of local(ish) moves for 47245
standing in for a steam engine on a Tyseley to York charter, and the silver
class 67 on a rail recovery train turning move.
30th July 2006 - Sunday
Morning Moves
Some early morning action in the East
Midlands with 37405 on an engineer's train being the pick of the bunch. There
was also 67029 on the EWS Manager's Train and 67028 on a Derby to Old Oak Common
ECS to have a go at.
