Category: Railways

Throwback Thursday… A walk across the Ribblehead Viaduct

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

Ribblehead Viaduct, July 2007bRibblehead Viaduct, July 2007
Nikon D200, AF NIKKOR 24-85mm f2.8-4 D at 62mm, 1/400s, f10, ISO 400

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

14 years ago it was a walk across the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle railway line.

Batty Green from the Ribblehead ViaductBatty Green (with Pen-y-Ghent visible in the distance)
Nikon D200, AF NIKKOR 24-85mm f2.8-4 D at 24mm, 1/640s, f13, ISO 400

The Grade II* listed structure had been closed for a couple of weeks for maintenance and the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line organised a number of walks for the final day of closure.

The walks set off north across the viaduct from Ribblehead Station with the return being via the area known as ‘Batty Green’ where 2,300 men and their families were housed in temporary camps during the viaduct’s construction.

Ribblehead Viaduct, July 2007aRibblehead Viaduct, July 2007
Nikon D200, AF NIKKOR 24-85mm f2.8-4 D at 24mm, 1/500s, f11, ISO 400

The viaduct was designed by the Midland Railway’s chief engineer, John Sydney Crossley, and took five years to build, finally opening on 3 August 1875. At 440 yards (400m) long and 35 yards (32m) high, the 24 arch structure is awe inspiring and although no further walks across it are planned I’d definitely recommend taking a trip across it by train!

Monochrome Monday… Mansfield Viaduct

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

Mansfield ViaductMansfield Viaduct
Nikon F2S, NIKKOR-S.C 50mm f/1.4, 1/250, f11 – Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 320
Developed in Adox Rodinal at 1:25, 7 mins at 20°c.

This particular railway viaduct has featured on this blog before, here and here…

This 13 arch structure dates from 1875 and carries the Robin Hood Line high above the Nottinghamshire town of Mansfield.

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Throwback Thursday… The Golden Valley Light Railway

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

KS 'Wren' class 0-4-0ST PETER PAN (works no.4256 of 1922)-20070708Kerr Stuart & Co Ltd ‘Wren’ class 0-4-0ST PETER PAN (works no.4256 of 1922)
Nikon D200, AF-S NIKKOR 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED at 31mm, 1/200s, f8, ISO 400

What was I photographing on this day in previous years?

14 years ago it was the Narrow Gauge Weekend at the Golden Valley Light Railway in Derbyshire.

If memory serves there were five steam locomotives at work on the 2ft (610mm) gauge line, the oldest being IRISH MAIL, a ‘Quarry Hunslet’ 0-4-0ST built in 1903 (and partially visible in the above image) and the newest was…

HE 'Quarry Hunslet' class 0-4-0ST JACK LANE (works no.3904 of 2005)-20070708Hunslet Engine Co Ltd ‘Quarry Hunslet’ class 0-4-0ST JACK LANE (works no.3904 of 2005)-20070708
Nikon D200, AF-S NIKKOR 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G ED at 44mm, 1/200s, f7.1, ISO 400

JACK LANE is another ‘Quarry Hunslet’, but one built 102 years after IRISH MAIL in 2005!

Single frame… Lower quadrant signals, Butterley station

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

Lower quadrant signals, Butterley stationLower quadrant signals, Butterley station
Nikon EM – Ilford XP2 Super

An image from one of the 197 (so far) sheets of negatives I’ve labelled and filed recently…

I’ve no notes for this roll other than the camera used (Nikon EM) and the dates shot (January/February 2015) but I suspect the lens used was my Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8.

At the time I was having my films developed by the cheapest of local minilabs and the negatives are in a shocking state! Switching to the excellent AgLab for C41 and E6 processing was definitely a good move!

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Single frame… Torn up tracks

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

Torn up tracksTorn up tracks
Canon EOS 600, EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, 1/750, f8 – Kodak Tri-X
Developed in Adox Rodinal at 1:25, 7 mins at 20°c.

Monday was a glorious day (weather-wise) and it felt wonderful to get out for a few hours with a couple of cameras and a few rolls of film…

These tracks are only a few feet long and can be found on the High Peak Trail at Middleton Top, the summit of a 708 yard long 1 in 8½ incline on what was the Cromford and High Peak Railway that once linked the Cromford Canal to the Peak Forest Canal.

Digitised using Nikon D5500 & AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8, pixl-latr and Negative Lab Pro plugin with minimal cropping and tweaking in Lightroom Classic CC.

Single frame… A Happy Christmas to all*

~ freelancewastrel ~ Leave a comment

GWR 6000 class 4-6-0 6023-20130125Great Western Railway 6000 class 4-6-0 6023 KING EDWARD II
Nikon D600, AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR at 100mm, 1/640s, f8, ISO 400

In this year of scaled down festive celebrations I thought it appropriate to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or Cool Yule with, not three kings from the east, but one king from the west! 😁

In this case it’s Great Western Railway (GWR) 6000 class 4-6-0 6023 KING EDWARD II during its visit to the Great Central Railway‘s winter steam gala in January 2013.

* ‘and to all, a good night…’