Railway Photo Gallery
July 2007
Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image.
1st July 2007 - Peak
A well timed blue patch while passing through
Loughborough allowed me this shot of D123 on the 1515 to Leicester North.
2nd July 2007 - Churnet
Valley Railway
An EMRPS photo charter at the Churnet Valley
Railway using class 47 D1842. This event was the first diesel charter to take
place at the CVR, and what a good day it turned out to be. The day started grey
and rainy, and stayed this way for much of the morning. However, by lunch time,
there were a few blue holes opening up, and from then on we nailed every shot in
sun. Highlights of the charter were the positioning of the 47 and a few ballast
hoppers under the old loader at Oakamoor, and the photographic opportunities
afforded by the old copper works near Froghall. A massive thanks to the CVR
staff and the loco owners who did a fantastic job for us, and to the
photographers who supported the event.
12th July 2007 - Barrow Hill
An EMRPS photo charter at Barrow Hill
Roundhouse. This event featured a feast of class 20's in various liveries, and
photographers were able to photograph locos in unusual liveries and also
recreate scenes from the past. The star of the show for me was 20092, not least
because I fitted the glazing to the cab windows and made the logos and BR
arrows. A big thank you to the volunteers who cleaned up and touched up the
paintwork on 20092. Thanks also go to the volunteers and staff who helped to
stage the event, the participating photographers and to the EMRPS lighting crew
for yet another top job.
14th-21st July 2007 -
Blackpool Trams
I've become a bit of a Blackpool tram addict
in recent times, so it may come as no surprise that this year's family holiday
was spent in the Lancashire resort. While much of the country was suffering with
torential rain and even flash floods, Blackpool offered quite a lot of sunshine
with only the occasional shower, and not too much in the way of blanket cloud
coverage. With several refurbished balloon cars languishing in the depot waiting
for advert vinyls to be applied, there was plenty of opportunity for
unrefurbished ballons to be out on the timetabled service. Highlights of the
week were the annual Fleetwood Transport Festival (Tram Sunday) and the
Fleetwood Market on the Tuesday. These two days provided a few extra trams in addition
to the normal 11 tram timetabled service.
14thJuly 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 1
I arrived in Fleetwood early in the afternoon
and was immediately greeted by the sight of Stockport 5 bouncing along Lord
Street. A quick chase to the Ferry for a few photos was followed by a trip down
into Blackpool for a meal and a few tram photos.
15th July 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 2
Fleetwood Tram Sunday was a largely dull day,
but there were some sunny spells during the morning that offered a few
opportunities. Since Easter, I have been after a shot of 700 and 623 together. I
managed a shot of them together as they waited to unload at Ash Street in
Fleetwood, but there was an overhead post across 700 which was also casting a
shadow up it's front end. I couldn't resist a bit of digital manipulation with
this shot to move the post so that it is beyond 700. The result is included
below.
16th July 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 3
Monday started fairly bright, went cloudy
during the middle part of the day, but then the sun razzed up during the
afternoon and evening. The clouds inland looked evil though! Tram output was
just the basic 11 trams on the timetabled service, but the fact that there was a
bit of green and cream in action in the forms of 700 and 703 made the day a bit
more interesting.
17th July 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 4
Market Tuesday in Fleetwood produced quite a
few extra trams. Three twin sets were out, although one set managed to elude my
camera and returned to depot early. There was plenty to photograph, and the
light in late afternoon / early evening was superb.
18th July 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 5
I was up with the lark on this day and
managed to capture the first tram of the day at Fleetwood with a black sky as a
backdrop which was very pleasing. Again, it was one of those days that saw a lot
of cloud early on, but cleared out during the afternoon. In addition to the
usual 11 trams on timetabled services, three trams worked specials to offer a
little extra interest.
19th July 2007 - Blackpool
Trams Day 6
Another mostly sunny day, but this was to be
the last sunny day of the week (can't really grumble at that!). Nothing other
than the 11 timetabled trams in service, but engineering car 754 did put in an
appearance with a trip to Thornton Gate.
28th July 2007 - Local Stuff
Looking back, the last time I photographed
decent traction on the national network in sun was the 2nd June when I managed a
photograph of 40145 at Daresbury! It would seem that my only recent successes
have been photo charters or trams, so it was nice to weigh in with a few sunny
shots without having to travel too far.
29th July 2007 - Great
Central Railway 'Mail by Rail' Gala
A pleasant Sunday afternoon spent
photographing at the Great Central Railway.
