IMFORMATION ONLY,if i took a shot of all the masts being erected willy nilly around the country i would need a larger collection,but this buggers on my doorstep,so to speak,at Battledown

Latest digital and any reworked scanned images will be placed here until their eventual transfer to a appropiate collection.

I expect this to be another quiet month,but who know's,will need a bit of lineside walking to loose all those mince pies.As usual i have placed some reworked and resized scans on.
01.01.10...Blimey,a sunny new year shot already,66596 at Battledown.
07th..Run of the mill stuff at Battledown and Worting Jnct. in the snow.
09th..More diversion's in the snow.
30th..73201 at Battledown and some Saturday shed shots

Having recently scanned some non-rail related slides,and then realising some years have passed since i last delved into my railway slide collection, i decided to have another butchers,and have come across quite a lot that for one reason or another i never scanned,so they will be placed in this collection as and when i can.Some leave a lot to be desired,regarding quality,but will be included for their nostalgia value if nothing else.

A few hours spent on the Watercress Line at a location which i have never taken any diesel shots,and only moving to get a better angle for the grid,and back home for a BBQ and a cold beer.

My only visit to Eastleigh works was 1969,on a Eastleigh college trip,so a sunday 24th May visit to this event rectified the long gap.With excellent weather and bumping into familiar faces combined to make this a enjoyable day.

Or more in some cases. Other pairings, within the same class ie 20s can be found within their own class collection.

**12 Scanned images added 06th.June.09**

Have used this collection for locomotives,withdrawn from BR service before i could photograph them.These thankfully having escaped the cutters torch.

Having learnt via the press that the Calcium Carbonate flow from the Quidhampton quarry,nr Salisbury is to finish in early 2009,i was reminded how much freight flow has been lost since i started "photting" in the early 80s.It seems i was always tracking down, about to be withdrawn locomotives or workings, especially with the demise of speedlink,having an effect on both.However the Quidhampton workings,to and from Willesden and Eastleigh, and the Enterprise taking the flow over the border, seems special in some respect,partially due to the fact that it passed my doorstep,but mainly due to the varied amount of loco class and liveries encountered.Once the class 66 took a stranglehold on the working i have not thought much about it,untill now.Bearing this in mind i have compiled this collection,depicting class 33,37,47,56,58,60,66 and 73 on such workings.
I recall,back in the last economic downturn a considerable reduction in flow,however the quarry thankfully survived until now.Working in the constuction industry,i am sure other related flows will at best be reduced, having a knock on effect to loco requirements,but on the bright side i hope you enjoy a look back in the not to distant past.

Situated in the polish side of the Tatra mountain area,zakopane is a popular destination for Polish holidaymakers with many arriving at the station terminus on day trips from Krakow.This would explain that even though it is a single line, there was plenty of activity when i spent a evening half/hour there whilst staying for a few days.
It was a pleasure to wander around with no "jobs worths" etc and Health and safety did not seem to exist with people crossing lines where they felt like it.I had asked a driver for info..but he shrugged his shoulders and walked off,only to return with another English speaking driver who could talk railways for ever and a day,no matter that his unit was soon due to leave.

Usually whilst on holidays i tend to forget about railways completely,no distractions on the Greek islands for example.However during visits to the cities of Prague,Vienna,Budapest and krakow,i could not help but notice the amount of trams hurtling around(4000 in Prague alone).so whilst walking around these cities i managed some grab shots,not as easy as i would have thought,due to other vehicles and people blocking out the trams and shadows from buildings.

**22 IMAGES ADDED 26 AUG** This collection will contain mainly 1980s photographs that i have managed to scan and will update from time to time.The quality is not up to scratch but the nostalgia makes up for it.

Have not made as many visits north of the border as i would like,probably due to the distance and unpredictable weather at times of the year,however what i have got ,be it linesiding or depot and works visits seem more valuable as time goes on.

When adding collections onto this site,they have been in geographical areas of the UK rarther than in counties,that is until now ,where i have a few images that dont seem to fit in anywhere else.Despite the fact i have spent many weeks over the years either in Meltham Nr Huddersfield or Doncaster on training courses,i have not got a lot to show in terms of railway photography.(Well every night was a !!!! up on expenses, so what do you expect.Works and depot visits can be found in a forthcoming collection.

This contains images of both electric and diesel traction,mainly on the southern end of the WCML with other lines thrown in.
The northern section of the WCML can be found in both the NORTH WEST and SCOTLAND (coming soon) collections,whereas the EASTERN COUNTIES collection contains the Liverpool st. to Norwich route.
In the past i have neglected electrics in favour of other areas,that is until its nearly gone, then panic.
If i lived near the WCML things would have probably been different,plenty of electrics but then less of what i have in my patch...cant have it all.

Locations include Winwick and Warrington area and some others.

Apart from a trip to Peterborough in the 1980s and a holiday in the Yarmouth area ,i have negleted this area,that is,until the last year of the 86s on the Liverpool St. to Norwich workings,well me and the rest of the country and their dog that is.

Various locations in this area ie Middlesborough,Thirsk, Blyth and more.

This compliments the previous two S.Wales collections ie 1980s and 2000 on.
Again this area produces a large variety of workings and loco classes,however as with other areas of the UK,the shed invasion can be noticed as the 90s come to an end,with mgrs,lpg and other workings already 66 hauled.
Another change in this period are the iron ore workings,37s to start then 59s and finally 60s (to the end)

As in the previous E.Midlands collection,i still found myself drawn to the area searching out locos or workings on borrowed time,and again anything else would be a bonus,the 56s were no exception and despite the fact i probably have many good shots,the fact that the class is about to be withdrawn kicks in the headless chicken mode,hence one of the last reliable workings,the Aldwarke led me,and others a merry dance in the last months ie. crap weather forcasts,non or very late running or a shed(in the sun of course). Happy days

Prior to some class withdrawals over the years, a good bet to phot any remaining workings would be this area.Consequently many visits(work and pleasure) would be planned around threatened classes,ie 20s,Peaks on the Midland line,even semaphores at Wellingborough and the list goes on.
Whilst on such trips any thing else would be a bonus,and even these shots, have themselves become unreaptable,ie 58s on coal,two a penny at the time.
To some extent the 60s still dictate where to go when planning a trip,but i cant really see me worrying over future class 66 withdrawals,but who knows.
I have split this area into two collections,and will place the remaining one, on soon.

When my interest in the railway scene was rekindled in 1981 i started using print film before switching to slides, a short while later.
Along with many others i manufactured a frame to enable slide and print cameras to fire simultaneously(frame more or less redundant in the digital age) .Due too lost slide film or other disasters this frame has enabled me to scan negatives years later which have been long forgotten,although they seem to suffer from the years more than slides do,but better than nowt..
Some have been placed in forthcoming collections and after a time i shall place this collection in their respective places.
I might even scan the older prints (where i no longer have the negatives) if i get keen.

My first visits would be by crompton haulage to Newport or Severn Tunnel Jnct. where plenty of action could be expected.
Subsequent trips have been by car allowing some attempts to phot the branches,i say attempt because the weather was usually unfavourable and a return to the main line was often met with sunshine again.
Consequently after a 2 hour plus drive to S.Wales a reluctance to explore crept in, resulting in fewer branch shots than i would have liked,but you cant have it all so they say.

This area has always been blessed with plenty of freight action and before gen lines etc a visit would always produce something unexpected,as on my first visit when a pair of tractors came on ores (had gone over too 60s)
and with 20s back in the area on a indian summer, so to speak, a pair came along on coils.
Nowadays a visit,as most parts of the country, require gen and a fair bit of homework before leaving home and even then as we all know too well the day can still go tits up.
My last trip was during 2006, and another good day was had ,even though the weather tried its best to interfere.

Shots from Coombe Perry Wood down to the Severn Bridge

Due to other distractions i never managed to photograph 37s on the branch(cant be in two places at the same time),however by the time 31s came on the scene,saturday traffic was getting a bit sparce so with fewer distractions this allowed quite a few trips onto the branch ,but still never done as much as i wanted,probably due to return visits to some locations to get the shot in sunshine,i am sure you know where im coming from.

This collection contains 35mm scans of traffic on the main line in S.Wales,including ruggex and footex workings to the Millenium stadium.Two more collections,the 1980s and 1990s will follow.

Have not done too much on this line,but this is some i have managed to get over the years.

Just about the last place in the uk where you could phot locohauled passenger workings in quantity,so although the last year was a bit manic in the valley,(something to do with "every man and his dog"),i would still like to turn the clock back because saturdays can be a bit slack now,so to speak.

Freight and some locohauled passenger workings in this area including the Wylye route.Will place weymouth workings in a seperate collection.

A look at freight and locohauled traffic in this area during the 80s ,90s and to date.Its always been a good area to observe and phot the many varied movements,but the days off 10 to 20 plus enthusiasts on the Cambell Road bridge on a normal run off the mill day are long gone.I can recall some people in the 80s refusing to phot some class of loco such as 47s,big mistake,what was then mundane as become pure nostalga.We all have regrets, mine, loosing interest in the 70s

PART 3 Still some interesting freight around but not a patch on the 80s and 90s.Loco hauled about early on, but now a thing of the past.

PART 2 More freight and locohauled workings on my local patch,this time during the 1990s.This period was pretty good for livery changes and the Waterloo to Exeter/Salisbury workings went through a period of using various classes of traction.Again there was plenty of freight about with a variety of motive power. Some workings ceased but compensated by other new workings,but a general decline in freight workings was noted towards the end of the 1990s,so its another trip down memory lane.

PART 1 includes various locohauled and freight on my local patch during the 1980s.Most distance memories now.

Various images of traction from Reading to Westbury along the B&H route,alas a lot of locations now overgrown.

This collection holds shots along the Reading to Maidenhead stretch of line ,Sonning,Ruscombe,Waltham etc.
When i started photting proper during the 1980s a morning stint along this line would result in a at least 20 good shots,passenger and freight,and i would come away well happy.
Alas like most parts of the country the amount of shots has vastly reduced.

Some scans of traffic along this route

Various locations along this route via Didcot

Work never took me to the duchy, so disregarding photos taken on holidays,the first slides i took were on a Wessex Rail Society trip during 1989,where before mobile phone info etc a search to find a 37, was undertaken ,then follow it down the branch etc.
Likewise i did not do much in Devon until the last of the locohauleds, infact i must be the only bloke in the country without a hatfull off sunny Langstone Rock shots.(plenty of cloudy shots)

Some scans around the Bristol area including lines to Bath and Taunton

Another favourite area of mine,even if the weather is not as favourable as the N.Wales coast seems to be,even though Buxton is reputed to be the highest town in England and thus nearer the sun.I have had more cloudy days than i care to remember,but still return,glutton for punishment.

A trip down memory lane.As with most coastal regions the N.Wales coast had its fair share of sun when i visited, but more often than not this was compensated by the next inland trip,yep, CLOUD.