Railway Photo Gallery
May 2009
Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image.
2nd May 2009 -
37's on Dutton Viaduct and Blackpool Trams
A visit to Blackpool for the annual Fylde
Tramway Society visit to Rigby Road depot. On the way I stopped off at Dutton
viaduct for 37670 and 37401 on a Mossley Hill to Cardiff Central railtour. This
wasn't in full sun, which was disappointing as I then walked all the way back to
the car in top light! Blackpool was a completely different matter with full sun
for most of the day, so plenty of shots on the prom including several on the
newly rebuilt section between the South and Central Piers. The depot visit was
excellent, the highlight of which was seeing the completed 'Western Train' sat
on the depot fan. A big thanks to the FTS for organising the visit and to the
BTS staff who took us round.
3rd May 2009 -
Sheffield Trams
A shopping trip to Sheffield gave me the
chance for a few photos of the trams running through the city centre.
7th May 2009 - Cossington
Traction Fest
Two test trains and a loco convoy all within
15 minutes of each other. The sun was dicking around on the two test trains, but
the loco convoy headed by 55022 was in full light (just!)
9th May 2009 -
Yellow Plop and a Few Other Bits
A trip over to Shrewsbury for all yellow
97301 (formerly 37100) on a railtour to Aberystwyth. I also managed to pull in a
couple of shots near Penkridge (albeit in poor light) and also a few trams near
Wolverhampton on the way home.
16th May 2009 -
The Western Train
An enthusiast's tour operated in Blackpool
using the recently restored 'Western Train' illuminated tram. Not only was this
an opportunity to hopefully get a few sunny shots of the train, but it was also
a chance to have a ride and as this tour would travel to Fleetwood twice, I was
really hoping for a shot or two of it running down the streets of Fleetwood.
23rd May 2009 - Solent
Syphons (and other bits)
Primarily a family day out, I engineered the
day so that I could pull in 37602 and 37069 on a Spitfire tour to Weymouth a
couple of times. First shot was at Banbury in banging light, second shot was a
squiffy one at Totton, and finally I called in at Culham on the way home only to
find there wasn't a shot there any more, so I put on a bazooka lens and made the
best of a bad job. Also included in the collection of pictures below are a
couple of shots of the Hythe Pier Railway. Several ship photos were also taken
and these can be found on the 'Boats and Ships' page.
24th May 2009 -
Crich Tramway Museum 50th Anniversary
Crich Tramway Museum celebrated it's 50th
anniversary, and to celebrate a series of events were held over the Bank Holiday
weekend. Sunday was TMS members day, so I thought I would saunter up there for a
few hours and ended up staying all day. Clear blue skies and plenty of tram
action made it a very enjoyable visit. I really wanted a nice photo of recently
restored Cardiff 131. Unfortunately when I arrived it was hiding in the
workshop, but the staff at Crich eventually brought it out and posed it in a top
position for photography - thanks to Jack Gordon and other members of the
workshop staff for doing this, it was much appreciated by myself and others.
What a top restoration job Crich have done on this tram.
24th May 2009 -
Local Skip
67008 was working a Glasgow to Leicester
rugby special formed of a rake of ex Virgin Mark 2's - Thurmaston was my chosen
location.
30th May 2009 - Anglia
With DRS now providing traction for the Great
Yarmouth drags, I couldn't resist heading across to Anglia for a slice of the
action. It was clear blue for pretty much all of the day (except a few very
small clouds at Norwich in the morning). Not only did I get several photographs
of 47501 on the drags, but I was also able to pull in a few 90's working out of
Norwich, a couple of Blackpool Trams at the East Anglian Transport Museum and
50019 on the Mid Norfolk Railway on the way home. A top day, made all the more
better by the 47 returning to Norwich via Acle on the last working so I could
nail the Stracey Arms shot.
