Autumn steam gala at the SVR. Guests included N2 1744 and 2MT 41241.

Miscellaneous images from Spring and Summer 2009.

UPDATED: May and June shots. More to come soon....

Another freezing cold day up at the GCR. Probably the biggest turn-out I've seen there in memory! Selection of shots from first train until when the sun finally died early afternoon.

Various mainline steam specials from around the UK.

Random bits and bobs since the start of the year. Will get hived where needed once relevant collections are created! (slowly diminishing)

This year's Santa Specials at the SVR. Five in steam and superb wall-to-wall sunshine. Couldn't buy it at all!

A superb day out at the GCR. Highlights were newly built 'Tornado', 'Leander', 'Lord Nelson' and 'Oliver Cromwell'.

Miscellaneous Autumn shots while the sun's been about (or not!).

Re-engineered 47s.
57/0: Formerly in service with Freightliner, now with Advenza and DRS
57/3 and 57/6: in service with Virgin and First Great Western respectively.

Electro-diesels

Freightliner 66s.

GBRF and Metronet 66s

BREL Class 58 or "Bone": Built from 1982, these locos have now all been withdrawn by EWS, many with more than several years of life left in them. This collection shows almost the entire class except for 58027 (don't ask!)

Brush Class 60 or "Tug". The last mainline freight diesel class built in the UK. Here is the complete class in camera across the country.

July/August 2007: Not much to report, aside from a very sunny day to finish what has been largely a wet July!

After 10 years of regular photography in and around London, I Finally caught the early morning Dungeness flasks in satisfactory conditions. The joys of night work! As a result, I've also been able to get some "early bird" action from 5am onwards - something I've always fancied doing but never really felt like doing so until now!

Here's hoping for a dry and sunny August......

A fantastic gala organised by the 6880 Betton Grange Society. A grand total of 11 locomotives running a highly intensive service. Photos of the Saturday shown here. More to be added later.....

Have been out and about during this month for a change. Visited my old stomping ground of the late 1980s of the Welsh Marches for 71000 on "The Great Britain".

A selection of shots taken mainly around the SE from September onwards. More to be added in due course!

Main highlights: 6233 Duchess of Sutherland on two visits to the ECML and a visit to the North Norfolk Gala in October.

May 2006: FM Rail and DRS take over Serco duties on the MML. New location for myself - Dudswell, south of Tring on the WCML. Highlight being 47818 and 714 on stock move from Derby to Norwich.

April 06: First Capital Connect take over the Thameslink franchise. FLHH take over all Bardon Aggregates trains. 66407 becomes the first member of the subclass to run on the MML. 5690 Leander hauls a charter from Tyseley to St Albans and rtn. DRS 37s begin running on the Purfleet turn, producing some nice combinations.

Almost like it used to be....busy! A nice start to the year with a variety of traction. Finished the day with some late winter setting sun at Clapham Junction.

December 2005: Nice to end the year on a high note with 37425 and 37419 on a myriad of workings around London on the 23rd. Two Network Rail 31s made induvidual appearances and a pair of 73/2s took 57605 back to Brush Loughborough for "fixing". GBRf 87s running on the WCML mail trains have also been of serious interest. Big thanks go to those who've provided gen throughout the year!

Photos from my recent holiday up in Scotland. Big thanks go to Jamie McEwen and Gary Lennon for their gen, company and local knowledge for locations.

Selection of main line steam railtours from around the UK.

A nice day out at the GCR for a mix of steam and diesel traction with a 1960s flavour.

First load of shots on my new Canon 10D. Of note are 87012 'The Olympian' and a DRS light engine move with 47802 and 37059 - the 37 was then used for route learning to/from Purfleet.
Two 37/4s were drafted in to top-tail a Serco in Kent on the 27th. The pair are also shown being towed as part of 6A42 to Wembley by 92016 the previous evening.

Selection of photos from my occasional trips to Paris (on music business).

Something I've only recently got into since getting a digital camera. Will get around to scanning some pre digital shots soon....

What could well be the last loco hauled train ran with 45112 and 47355 in top-n-tail mode. Some shots of this plus later action at Temple Mills Depot.

Photos on the Midland in 2004.

28th December 2003: The last scheduled run for GWR panniers on Network Rail. The reason for this was that it seems not to be cost-effective to fit TPWS to them. Here is 9600 pictured at Nuneaton before returning to Tyseley. End of an era.....

Barnetby: Until recently a major hotspot for class 56s, the transfer of Scunny coal traffic to 66s and HTAs being the next nail in the coffin. Barnetby still has the best array of semaphore signals in the country, several of which are pre-nationalisation. The various traction on offer there has varied over the years - since I first went in 1998 the class 66s have been making inroads and have virtually taken over the freight. Shown here are most of my photos taken on the 5 trips I've made there.

Photos from the MML in 2003. Highlights are the August Mail diversions and the various locos that have taken the empty barrier vehicles back to Derby from Brighton.

4th October 2003: My annual steam "fix"... the 1 in 49 gradient between Grosmont and Goathland gives a chance to see steam at its best - slogging up the steepest adhesion-worked preserved incline. The rest of the NYMR is fairly boring if I dare say so, unless you like wall to wall trees and curves (once you've seen one tree you have seen 'em all). Enjoy....

One of the last depots in london that one could just "turn up and go" before all the HSE concerns made going round a depot without ample warning/written consent nigh-on impossible. These photos are from my first visits in 1999 before 66's became the norm.

As usual, the SVR put on a good gala this year. 6201 stood in for another loco that couldn't make it - a big plus for me! Other highlights (for me) were 42968 recently repainted in lined BR black and 32678 on a visit from K&ESR.

Miscellaneous, one-offs - call 'em what you will. Odds and ends taken around the country from 1992 to present.

South London: Another busy freight area, the main hotspot being Wandsworth Road. As is the norm, most freight nowadays is handled by 66s, 60s and 59s with the occasional 37. Back in 1997 when I first went to Wandsworth Road on the "offchance", I had one of the busiest days for freight which I've only bettered at Newport! Nearby Battersea Marcon terminal usually had 33s and 37s in pairs which on returning back to Angerstein would make quite a sound pulling up the incline!

West London: Lots of freight to be seen around here, with Acton Yard being a main hub for stone traffic etc. The West London line between Willesden and Clapham Junction sees an extremely varied and plentiful amount of traffic. The best places to photograph on this line are Kensington Olympia and the new station at West Brompton.

This trip to Stafford also turned into a meet-up with a few like-minded enthusiasts. Here's a selection of what came through when we weren't bored.....
Also included are some pics taken in 1999 when I stopped off briefly one evening on the way back home from Manchester.

Most recent trip out. Not a bad day but could have been better... Freight really isn't as good as it used to be.

Didcot - a freight and passenger hotspot. Most things are to be found here, including numerous liners, CCE trains, general freight and hoardes of passenger workings. The latter used to be hauled by class 47's until their ousting by the frankly awful virgin voyager fleet which, if truth be told, are worse than what they replaced........ That aside, Didcot is a good place to spend a day or so to see what is still quite a busy place for freight.

Most photographers have photos that either bring back memories of a superb scene or day or whatever (you know what i mean by that anyway......). Here are some that for me do just that - a perfect shot....

47635 has recently gained a kind of celebrity status after repaint into large logo blue in readiness for the open weekend at Doncaster Works. Before its unvailing, it was given what appears an interim coat of a lighter blue and ran with smaller numbers instead of the larger ones now carried. The paint shade certainly had changed by the time of the weekend as the photos show. Personally i think it would have looked better with a grey roof but at least it's large logo. Also shown is a photo of it in old Parcels red livery.

A selection of shots taken in and around the Harpenden area of the Forder's Bins train before the contract was taken over by Freightliner. This was well known for the unusual traction frequently turned out on it by Acton Yard.

My local main line. This collection shows the wide variety of freight and other non passenger workings that have been running since i started making regular trips to see what was around. All photos taken from 1997 until present day.