Social Evening Reviews

NOVEMBER 2024 Our meeting on 6th November was a celebration of 50 years of the Pennine Railway Society. John Sanderson, our Treasurer for all those 50 years, gave a presentation of society activities during all those years. It began and ended at Rotherham Masbrough. The society was formed in November 1974 by a group of friends who met regularly in the "Prince of Wales" pub, across from the station. There followed slides taken from 39 separate MPDs across the country visited on trips organised by the Pennine, along with slides from Works at Doncaster, Derby, Crewe, Swindon, Litchurch Lane, St Rollox, Stratford, Eastleigh and Horwich, all visited by the society, along with Acton Tube Works.
The second part of the evening began with shots of our 10th anniversary celebrations on the KWVR when we hired the four-wheel railbus M79964. There then followed slides of trips on special trains to Maltby Colliery, West Burton Power Station, Scunthorpe Ore Terminal, Bardney and New Holland Pier. The trip on an excursion from Doncaster to Fort William was shown when there were failures to locomotives 25246 and 25232 in Scotland, resulting in heavy delays and cancellation of the planned destination of Mallaig.
There were also slides of our sales stands at Open Days, members in the snow at Tinsley, trips on open-top buses taking us to depots across London, refreshment stops at pubs (as we did on all our visits) and a visit to the LT skid-pan at Chiswick bus garage, where one of our committee members was actually allowed a drive!
As part of the evening of celebration, members were treated to a buffet, a bumper raffle was held, mugs celebrating our 50th anniversary were sold and a special cake, provided by Andy Barclay, was cut and photographs were taken. A packed evening of entertainment, enjoyed by a capacity audience 😊

On 20th November Jerry Dickinson, who works for Network Rail, presented his show ‘Charters for Charity’. Jerry explained how his first experience of charter trains for charity was when he worked for Waterloo Control and went on a rail-tour, the’ Christmas Pudding Tour’ in 1995, which raised funds for Woking Homes, a residential home for people who worked in the rail industry. Later he would move to York and got involved with the Branch Line Society. Jerry worked with a lady called Charlotte, whose 11-year-old son Luca had been cared for by Martin House Children’s Hospice in Wetherby for most of his life before he passed away. Jerry and colleagues hatched up a plan to run a single charter train to raise funds for the hospice, in memory of Luca. The train would run between Lancaster and Drax, running on branches which people couldn’t normally travel on. And so, the ‘Luca Pezzulo Express’ ran on 20th July 2019 and raised £18,247. The full report of the tour can be found here It was such a success that the following year they decided to do another. This was a two-day affair called ‘The Power of Aire’ from Carnforth into Yorkshire, at one point travelling through Kellingley Colliery behind 3 class 66 locos. In 2021 a 4-day Scottish tour ‘The Primary Colours’ used red, blue and yellow engines. Many challenges included loco failures but this tour raised over £70,000 over the 4 days. In 2022 the decision was taken to do more than one a year and ‘The Merchant of Teeside’ and ‘The Lackenby Looper’ ran. More rail-tours have followed and in 2023 DB Cargo loco 66190 was named Martin House Children’s Hospice, which helps to spread the word nationwide about the work of the hospice. The now regular rail-tours continue to be a great success, involving many organisations such as the Branch Line Society, DB Cargo, Network Rail and many more individuals, all pulling together. The collaboration has now raised over £250,000 for Martin House. This was a really interesting presentation from Jerry and highlighted the fact that the privatised railway can still pull together as a single team. All proceeds from the raffle on the night were donated to the hospice.

OCTOBER 2024 On 2nd October John Law presented his show ‘D is for Don’t Panic! Also Dacre to Dysart’. We have already had shows from John covering A, B and C so this was the fourth in the series of shows which portray stations beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. John includes his own shots plus many researched photos from old postcards etc. Tonight we began at Dacre, near Whitby, and travelled around the UK and also dipped into countries around the world. We visited stations still in use and many now long gone. We travelled to Dagenham East, Danby Whiske, Dandaleith and Darras Hall. At Darwen the platform was full of travellers in their Sunday best clothes, perhaps going to Blackpool for the Fair Holidays in the early 1900s. The impressive rebuilt station at Delft in The Netherlands was included, with shots from both over and underground. A lovely old shot from Denbigh was taken by the late Geoff Warnes, a long time member of our Society. John likes a pint of real ale and some of the station shots included the pubs such as The Phoenix and Firkin at Denmark Hill. Some more long lost stations included Devizes in the snow, Dewsbury Market Place, Doncaster York Road, Dover Marine and Driffield. The audience were wowed yet again by John’s show and his dry sense of humour. We look forward to 'E' being the next instalment. A few of John’s shots are shown below.

On 16th October Roger Senior and John Zabernik double headed a show again. Roger Senior began with his show ‘Train Doctor’. Roger was a Technical Riding Inspector for BR/GNER and in this show he told us about his days working on the Royal Train. His first royal duty was for the Silver Jubilee in 1977, when he ‘slept with the Queen’. He was in the cab of a class 31 which worked the train from Holbeck to a tip near Selby where the train was stabled as a safe place for the Queen to sleep. Roger slept in the cab! He worked royal trains for everyone except Princess Anne. Roger was also the technical rider on the record-breaking run from Newcastle to King’s Cross on 2nd June 1995 when 91110 achieved it's record speed of 154mph. Roger also showed shots of the Mk4 stock undergoing the ‘Mallard’ upgrade at Horbury. John Zabernik took over for the second half of the show. He has previously told us all about the 125 Group and in this show, he brought us up to date. They now have 5 HST power cars, one based at Ruddington and the rest at the Midland Railway Centre. So far, the group have run five mainline tours which brings in much needed revenue to keep the whole project going. The next big project is 43044 which is still at Ruddington, the plan is for this to have an original Valenta engine refitted, to recreate the sound and smell of those long lost HST days. John closed his presentation by showing some shots of CrossCountry HSTs in their last days, and some exported HSTs in their new homes in Mexico and Nigeria! Another interesting show and no doubt we will John and Roger again in the future.

On 30th October Robert Pritchard presented another Zoom show with his ‘Early Digital Memories’. The show took us through Robert’s early days of digital photography, travelling around the country and Europe, many shots were on official visits in his capacity as Today’s Railways Magazine Editor. Another excellent presentation from Robert and we look forward to his next show. A selection of shots from Robert’s show are below.

SEPTEMBER 2024 On 4th September Robin Havenhand presented his show ‘A Blast from the Past’. Robin has travelled to Europe on many occasions and his show was a mix of UK and Germany from the early 2000’s. We began in 2004 in Cologne and Berlin and then moved back to the UK to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway before a trip to Barrow Hill Roundhouse. It was a wet evening visit to Barrow Hill where we saw EM2 loco 27000 and 86213 ‘Lancashire Witch’. Back in Germany Robin showed many shots of Russian built ‘Ludmilla’ locos on Prague trains. On New Years Day 2004 we saw shots in the snow from Ulm and also shots in the snow from January 2005 at Reichenbach and Hof. At Mühlacker between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart we saw a tram train. Back in the UK we were treated to shots of Robin’s favourite loco, the class 50. On a Pathfinder rail tour we saw 50049 and 50031 on the West Highland line with shots taken at Arisaig, Rannoch, Spean Bridge and Fort William. Another tour featured the same locos at Penzance. Another good show from Robin and we look forward to seeing more from his collection in the future.

On 18th September we held our Annual Digital Image Competition in memory of David Bladen. We were pleased to receive 55 entries. The audience judged the entries on the night and all the winning images can be seen here in our Gallery.

AUGUST 2024 On 7th August Andy Barclay presented some more slides from the collections of Alan Lovecy and Peter Fox, together with some from his own collection. He began with slides taken by the late Peter Fox, joint founder of Platform Five Publications. We saw some shots from the last throes of steam at Dore & Totley station, locos on the long gone Bristol Bath Road depot, and DMUs at Sheffield in the days when platforms were busy with BRUTEs. On a snowy day at Dore & Totley station, Peter moved outside to the front of the station to photograph queues of people waiting to get on to the platform, the train being the only available public transport. The slides from the late Alan Lovecy, an RCTS member, included shots from railtours, Southern DEMU 1017 at Portishead in October 1985 and Southern Electric Group Coastaway Express tour at Seaford in January 1988. Also a rare shot of 26025 at Tinsley, and 33003 with a crumpled cab at Eastleigh. Andy’s own collection were digital shots taken more recently. Andy is a well-known HST fan and many images were of HSTs including some at Marylebone and Basingstoke when Paddington was closed, at Dawlish with waves coming over the trains, and the prototype HST at Ruddington. Many of the shots were in the last throes of HSTs working top-link express trains in England. Another entertaining evening, showcasing the collections of two well known local enthusiasts. Andy assures us there are plenty more to follow and we look forward to seeing them in the future.

On 21st August Steve Armitage presented a 3D celebration of Derby, Darlington and Doncaster in steam days. Since retiring, Steve has devoted his time to restoring historic railway photographs and has been given access to many different railway photographer’s collections. The show featured the Stations, Sheds and Works at these great and iconic rail centres including classic images in both colour and black and white, from Victorian days to the end of the steam era. Most of the images were previously unseen. At Derby Works we gasped at pictures of engines lifted on simple jacks; at Darlington we smiled at many workers in the boiler shop posing for a picture, the workers in flat hats and the foreman in a bowler hat; at Doncaster we were privileged to see images from the official GN/LNER Archive which included the first engine built there in 1868, 25 locos on ‘Race Specials’ in the sidings in 1902, many female workers in the plant during the first world war era, and the last steam loco built there in 1957. This was another hugely entertaining and informative evening, the audience appreciating the historic nature of the images, especially the local Doncaster ones. We look forward to Steve returning next year with another great show. An image from each location is shown below for you to enjoy.

JULY 2024 On 3rd July a Zoom show replaced the usual show at Doncaster Town Fields Sports Club due to there being a General Election the next day and the room being used as a Polling Station. David Allen agreed to step in at short notice and presented two shows, one either side of the break, ‘Holyhead to Hull’ and ‘The East Coast Main Line - Doncaster to the Border’. We started at Holyhead with a class 37 loco in Regional Railways Livery running around its train. We called at most stations from Holyhead to Chester with class 40s, 25s, 33s,158s,180s and HSTs, looking closely at the North Wales main line where signalling alterations have reduced the layout from 4 tracks to 2 tracks. We discovered David’s interest in signalling alterations over the years, looking in particular at the signalling alterations at the east end of Chester. Moving on we headed towards Manchester via Warrington, visited Warrington NX panel Signal box, then through Manchester Victoria looking at the Harwich to Glasgow Boat train, the remains of Manchester Exchange station and Miles Platting. We headed towards Diggle and Huddersfield through Leeds and arrived at Hull Paragon to see a Deltic ready to depart to King’s Cross. After the break we saw Doncaster just prior to the 1979 re-signalling, Shaftholme Junction new box (new in 1950s) at Templehurst, we followed the old ECML into Selby looking at the swing bridge and through Riccall towards York, before retracing our steps and following the new (1984) Selby diversion, arriving at Chaloners Whin where we saw an HST side by side a Black 5 approaching York, pre-Tesco. Then we headed north on the ECML through Northallerton, Eryholme and Darlington and saw the Doncaster Works trial train which was regularly an ex works class 50 to Heaton and/or Newcastle. We eventually arrived at the border after seeing Durham with 55012 Crepello departing and Plawsworth in the snow. Each section was illustrated with maps. A very interesting and informative evening and we look forward to David presenting a show again in the future.

On 17th July Pete Sargieson presented the 5th show from a collection of slides belonging to his farmer friend Keith, who again joined Pete for the show. The slides were from the mid-70s to the early 80s, taken by Keith on his travels around the UK, and described with Pete’s wealth of knowledge about engine names and their nameplates. We saw lots of shots of engines in the famous scrap yard at Barry. Many had been painted with slogans from potential owners and looked in a poor state, but perhaps surprisingly, many have since been restored and survive today. We visited Hull where we saw 03112, white from shunting trains through the carriage washer. At Dingwall 26025 was on the platform together with mail vans and mail bags. At Carstairs 24009 was on a mixed freight in ex-works condition and at Old Oak Common we saw Class 47s and a class 50 on the turntable. Pictures of Class 20s at a Toton Open Day with lots of young lads in flared jeans, with Adidas bags over their shoulders, brought back memories for the audience. Also at Toton 44008 was bulled-up for cab rides, with a red name plate that it never carried. A shot of 55016 Gordon Highlander at York in 1977 led to memories of doing rubbings of nameplates and badges with rolls of lining paper while the engines stood on the platforms. A shot of Deltic 55006 at Kings Cross in 1977, Pete explained why the last two letters of the nameplate ‘Fife and Forfar Yeomanry’ appeared silver. The plate had been damaged and had to have the last two letters replaced. With his encyclopaedic knowledge of loco nameplates and his Yorkshire sense of humour Pete is always welcome and we look forward to his return with Keith to do another presentation in the future.

JUNE 2024 On 5th June Andrew Shenton presented his take on the railways of Yorkshire. With Andrew it’s all about the photography, his aim is to make a visually appealing photograph, using railways as the subject. With the images arranged in time order starting just after midnight, Andrew used the weather, seasons, landscape and cityscapes of Yorkshire to present ‘Dawn ‘till Dusk – A Contemporary look at the Railways of Yorkshire’.
Andrew dedicated his show to his father Ian, a long time member of the Society who sadly passed away recently. Ian took Andrew out with him on the railways from a very young age and the interest has stayed with Andrew all his life. The following five images are a snapshot of the ‘day’ and give a real flavour of the care which Andrew takes to capture both the railway subject and the surroundings. This was the first time that Andrew had presented a show to the Society and we very much look forward to his return in next year's timetable.

MAY 2024 On 1st May Robin Skinner presented a Zoom show ‘My Favourite Pictures’. This additional Zoom show was our ‘Plan B’ Social Evening option, because the room we normally use at Doncaster Town Fields Sports club was to be used the following day as a Polling Station. Robin’s show consisted of 180 images taken over a period from 100 plus years ago to the present day, some from Pennine Railway events, some from his career on the railway, some from The Pennine Railway Society collection, and some by friends Gavin Morrison, Steve Armitage, Chris Nettleton, Eric Slater, Jack Davis, Robin Patrick, David Bladen, Peter Fox, Les Nixon, John Sanderson and Bob Burden. Trains, Trams, Buses, Trolleybuses, Pennine personalities, even Royalty and the Political elite were all represented, together with some, ‘only some’ mind, by Robin Skinner. A small selection is show below.

On 15th May Geoff Griffiths took the reins to do a presentation at short notice, due to our advertised presenter unfortunately being unwell. Geoff’s show was titled ‘21 years of Digital Photography’ and took us through a selection of slides which had been scanned, together with those taken in more recent years by both digital camera and drone. We began with scanned black and white images of a Class 37 at Manchester Victoria and also 1025 ‘Western Guardsman’ at Westbury. We travelled to the North Wales coast, Llandudno Junction and the Royal Mail terminal at Willesden. In his working life on the railway, Geoff worked on the Royal train, and we saw an image of it on the viaduct at Knaresborough, a picture which also hangs in the travel office at Buckingham Palace. Geoff showed us Class 67s in a variety of different liveries, Pendolinos and Azumas. Pictures of Eurostars coming into Stratford International station, taken through a telephoto lens really accentuated the change in gradient there. Geoff visits many heritage lines and we saw images from Woodthorpe on the GCR where he volunteers, comparing before and after the building of housing estates there. A selection of images are shown below, which gives a snapshot of another excellent show from Geoff. Thank you for standing in and we look forward to the next show.

On 29th May Robin Patrick presented his Zoom show, consisting mainly of his photographic wanderings over the last year, but also including some black and white images taken in 1964. We visited York, Robin’s home city, for a variety of shots of diesel and steam charters, rail head treatment trains, HSTs and Azumas in the area including Colton Junction, Challoners Whin, Beningbrough, Haxby, Dringhouses, Scarborough Bridge, the York Station area, Poppleton Railway Nursery and the National Railway Museum. Further afield we visited Doncaster, Selby, Leeds, Neville Hill Depot home of the LNER 91s, Saltaire, the Stratford Barn Railway, the Great Central Railway, Severn Valley Railway, Beamish and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Even further afield we saw shots from Kensington Olympia, Crewe North, Peak Forest, Carlisle, Dawlish and Leamington Spa. We also looked into Robin’s archive of black and white images from around 1964; where we visited Roade to see 10001 running under newly erected wires, Peterborough East, Charwelton on the Great Central, Castlethorpe, Gayton, Hunsbury Hill, Bournemouth, Basingstoke, Swindon, Dundee and shots of the Lickey Bankers at Bromsgrove. We look forward to another Zoom show from Robin in the future. Some of the shots from his show are shown below.

APRIL 2024 On 3rd April Bryan Johnson presented his show ‘ Travels with a Swiss Rail pass 2023 Part 1’. Bryan had taken a holiday specifically to ride the many lines in Switzerland, it had taken a lot of planning to make the most of the 15-day pass. The show was accompanied by maps and also charts comparing the heights of the various Swiss mountains to those in the UK to give the audience a comparison. His presentation took us initially to Paris on Eurostar, and then via Geneva to Nyon, his first Swiss base where he stayed for 3 nights. On day 1 of the pass he took us on the cog railway from Montreux to Rochers-de-Naye through stunning scenery. He also took the GoldenPass MOB train from Montreux to Montbovon and later up to Les Pliades. On day 2 Bryan took the Golden Pass again from Montreux to Zweisimmen. Because of the different track gauges between Montreux and Interlaken the train uses adjustable bogies – we saw pictures of the contraption which shifts the wheel on the axles and lifts them up to fit higher platforms. He continued from there up to Lenk and back, then on to Bern, where we saw trams and a battery trolley bus. Bryan travelled to Olten which he described as ‘a bit like Crewe’ due to being very busy with both passenger and freight trains. From there the high-speed tilting train took him back to Nyon via Morges. Pass day 3 was a transfer to Interlaken for 2 nights and from there travelled on by ship to Brienz before travelling on the Rothorn Bahn, little red carriages and steam locomotives on rack and pinion tracks. It was an hour to the Rothorn summit, unfortunately it was murky with no visibility at the top. Day 4 saw Bryan travel from Interlaken to Grindlewald and Kleine Scheidegg and the rack railway up to the summit of the Jungfraujoch for some more fabulous scenery. Later was a cable car trip from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp summit and then the narrow-gauge mountain railway to Mürren before returning to Interlaken where we saw some old stock of the Schynige Platte railway. On day 5 he transferred operations to Luzern, travelling again by boat from there to Alpnachstad and then on the steepest cog railway in the world to Pilatus before the cable cars to Fräkmüntegg and then to Krienz. For day 6 Bryan covered more distance taking the old route through Gotthard Tunnel to Göschenen and on to Brig where we saw the Glacier Express train, to Domodossola in Italy, Locarno and Bellinzona. The return journey was through the Gotthard base tunnel back to Luzern. On day 8 Bryan travelled towards the Italian border to Bellinzona again, then to Chiasso through the Ceneri base tunnel, Lugano and back to Luzern on the old Gotthard route again. He travelled up the Stanserhorn, firstly on the old funicular which was celebrating its 130th anniversary, then on to the CabriO cable car, a much more modern way to travel, where passengers could ride on the open top of the huge gondola. This was a fascinating presentation from Bryan and we look forward to Part 2 covering the remaining days of the Swiss Rail Pass. Some of his images are shown below.

On 17th April Bryan Longbone presented ‘The North Lindsey Light Railway’. At the request of our Chairman Robin, Bryan began with a few shots taken at Rotherham Masbrough in 1974, the year that the Society was founded just over the road at The Prince of Wales pub. Although Bryan himself admitted the shots were not of the highest quality, taken with his Box Brownie, the content featuring Class 20s, 25s, 37s and Peaks on various trains, went down well with the audience. Bryan’s main presentation concentrated on the NLLR and he gave a brief history of the route from its opening in 1906, taken over by the Great Central Railway, then to the LNER and finally BR. He explained that much of the route is now closed, mainly due to the rationalisation of the nearby steelworks at Normanby Park. Many of Bryan’s shots, both historic and more recent, were taken at Dawes Lane Crossing and Crosby Mine Box showing the latter signal box both working and derelict after a fire in 1996. He then showed some more recent shots of Class 37s and 56s on both the Flixborough branch and the ‘still in use’ line to Roxby Gulet. Bryan closed his presentation with some interesting shots of the various industrial steam and diesel engines used on the light railway and the steelworks lines. He was obviously very passionate about the history of the line and we hope he can return with another presentation featuring other lines in North Lincolnshire.

MARCH 2024 On 6th March Paul Chancellor presented ‘An 11th Colour-Rail Journey’. The show was based on the year 1964, and Paul showed every class of loco and unit that a train spotter could have seen in that year, including departmental and industrials. Beginning in the south west at Penzance and moving up country to Scotland, Paul took us on a tour of all the regions. The shots were from many different years but all ‘spottable’ in 1964. Highlights included blue class 22 D6336 at Oxford in 1969; very elusive shunters 01001 and 01002 at Holyhead; a class 129 Cravens parcels unit, one of only two built; DP2 at Barlby; a green TransPennine unit at Bridlington in July 1963; and a battery DMU at Inverurie Works. Paul concluded his show with some shots of classes from 1964 which have survived on heritage railways. As the title suggests this was the eleventh show which Paul has done at the Pennine and the audience were again enthralled by both the quality of the images and Paul's well informed commentary. All the pictures which Paul showed are available to buy from the Colour-Rail website where you can find over 150,000 images - www.colourrail.co.uk

On 20th March, Chris Nettleton of the Gresley Society made a return visit to show us his presentation ‘Flying Scotsman – the locomotive’. Chris gave us a brief but well informed illustrated history of this world famous locomotive from its origins in the 1920s, through its service life with LNER and British Railways and into preservation. We began at The British Empire Exhibition in 1924 when the loco first came to prominence. Chris then explained how the first high speed non-stop London to Edinburgh runs could happen in 1928 with the newly designed corridor tender and covered the 100mph high speed trials in 1934. Chris illustrated the loco with its modifications in British Railways days, such as the double chimney and German type smoke deflectors, explaining how these deflectors although not popular with some enthusiasts, made the driver’s job much easier. Moving on to the preservation era Chris described the colourful era of Alan Peglar’s ownership including the ill fated trip to the USA and Canada. He covered the McAlpine and Marchington eras before closing his presentation with a look at the locomotive under its current NRM ownership. As usual Chris’ presentation was very well received by the audience and we look forward to his return in the future.

FEBRUARY 2024 On 7th February Bob Gellatly presented a show ‘Retford through the lens of Keith Pirt’, slides taken in the late 1950s and early 1960s, mainly from the Bassetlaw Railway Society collection. Keith Pirt was a railway photographer from Sheffield who had his photographs widely published in magazines and books. Bob began the show with a slide taken by Mike Eggenton at Doncaster of A1 ‘Foxhunter’ on a Pullman Express, with Keith Pirt on the platform taking his own photo. Bob based his presentation on ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs of Retford station and its surrounding area, on both the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire lines (latterly Great Central) and the Great Northern lines, which until the 1960s crossed each other on a flat crossing just south of the station. The station was rebuilt in the mid 1960s with the flat crossing eliminated and replaced by a dive-under for the former GC lines. He began on MS&L and we saw lots of photos of freight trains queueing up on both sides to go across the flat crossing, trying not to disrupt express trains on the east coast main line to Edinburgh. On some of the pictures Keith appeared to be taking his life in his hands he was so close to tracks and crossings. Keith’s photos featured many of the pre-grouping freight locos as well as the more famous LNER Pacifics on east coast expresses. The show ended with a shot at Five Arches Bridge during the big freeze of Winter 1963. A very interesting and informative show, was much appreciated by members, some of whom would have remembered the old flat crossing and others who may now wonder as their Class 91 hurtles through Retford in the blink of any eye!

On 21st February Steve Philpott presented his show ‘Spinning Around II (Too)’. The show comprised mainly scanned slides which Steve had taken from the 1970s to 1990s with the odd older and more recent shots. Many were taken in his local area of Grantham and featured his well known favourite class of locos, the Deltics. His first Deltic to Aberdeen in August 1979 was 55017 and we saw his shot in Aberdeen while he waited to return on it. His last Class 50 for sight was 50031 Hood which we saw at Woking in 1991. He had visited Port Talbot and Scunthorpe steel works where his shots had blast furnaces in the background, much in the news recently. 60039 was seen causing traffic chaos in Grantham town centre, on the back of an Allelys low loader, its traction motor seized, and needing road transport back to Toton depot. Steve also showed some early 1970s shots of Warships at Exeter, Hymeks at Old Oak Common and a particularly stunning shot of a Class 73 on the Weymouth Tramway. We saw three ex-works Class 08s with cut down cabs modified for work in South Wales. Steve was tasked by EWS to photograph the three locos on Doncaster depot before their onward movement. We came right up to date at the end with a Class 68 in Cleethorpes. Thank you to Steve for stepping in to do this show at short notice, and delivering such an entertaining presentation which was well appreciated. Some of his shots are shown below.

JANUARY 2024 On 17th January Steve Hoather presented his show ‘Some recollections of the early days of HSTs on the ECML’. Now retired, Steve was the HST Section Leader in the Regional Mechanical & Electrical Engineer’s Office during the introduction of the HSTs in the late 1970s. He began by recalling the traction and timings on the ECML before HSTs, moved on to their introduction on the ECML and to the lessons learned from their earlier introduction to the Western Region. He described his ‘Big 4’ issues; windows which smashed en masse; coaches which uncoupled at speed; gear boxes which seized and derailed; and brakes which didn’t work in the snow. He explained how these issues were resolved and why they had not previously been experienced on the earlier Western Region fleet. Steve then took questions from the audience, including our well known HST expert Andy Barclay, before closing the evening to a well earned and appreciative round of applause.

On 31st January Geoff Griffiths presented his ‘Ups and Downs’ at a well attended Zoom show. Geoff has many years of railway photography under his belt and his show combined scanned slides from the pre-digital age and more recent digital images including some taken using his drone. Where Geoff had drone shots he brought them together with ground shots of the same location, therefore ‘Ups and Downs’. In this way the audience could appreciate the much wider picture and see views that you don’t get at ground level. Whoever knew that there were caravans on the top of the cliffs near Langstone Rock at Dawlish? Highlights included the Forth Bridge, Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash and Aberystwyth. Also local shots included both Doncaster, York and Sheffield from above. These unusual views were much appreciated by our Zoom audience. We look forward to further Ups and Downs in the future, meanwhile a few of his shots are shown here.

NOVEMBER 2023 On 1st November Rhys Jones presented a show ‘North Wales and the North West’. Rhys started his presentation with a slide of himself on the footplate of Black 5 loco 45405 taken in December 1965 at his local station Caernarfon. He told us how he had got into trouble at school, late every day for 3 weeks because he went to see a ‘soon to finish’ steam working. He then took us on a journey starting at Holyhead, carrying on through Bangor, to Llandudno Junction, including a shot of the royal train at Penmaenmawr. He diverted up the line to Blaenau Ffestiniog with shots of both BR and Ffestiniog steam locos. Back to Llandudno Junction through Abergele and Pensarn with shots of the Rhyl miniature railway and atmospheric shots of locos on Rhyl shed. On to Chester General, as it was then, and loco 42613 on one of the last Birkenhead-Paddington workings. Now into north-west England, through Burscough Bridge and Padgate, to a location just south of Preston, where we saw shots of Jubilees, Moguls, Crabs, 8Fs and Britannias. One of many highlights was a shot of loco 72007 ‘Clan Mackintosh’ at Penwortham on an RCTS charter, followed by an incredible shot of ‘Blue Peter’ leaving Preston heading north under the magnificent signal gantries north of the station, in April 1966. To the Fylde coast for a shot at Lytham Station and then Blackpool where a couple of Coronation trams and an English Electric Railcoach were photographed on South Promenade. Heading back on to the west coast mainline via the Cumbrian Coast and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, to one of Rhys’s favourite locations, Shap Summit, with both BR and preserved steam working hard. Back to Preston for some depot shots at Lostock Hall featuring loco 5305 and withdrawn loco 43106 in steam, ready to go for preservation at the Severn Valley Railway. Shots at Bolton Shed and Patricroft before moving to Manchester for the famous 15 Guinea Special at Manchester Victoria on 11th April 1968. Heading south to another one of Rhys’s favourite locations, with shots at both Crewe North and South sheds before moving on to Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth featuring BR and Vale of Rheidol locos. On the homeward trek now with shots at Barmouth and Criccieth, the Welsh Highland Railway and the Snowdon Mountain Railway before finishing back to Caernarfon. As you would expect from Rhys the only diesels which featured were very much in the background. The scanned images were of a very high quality and delivered with Rhys’ usual depth of knowledge. We look forward to more shows. A few of his images are shown below.

On 15th November 2023 Rob Hay presented his ‘Memories of the 80s and 90s’. Rob introduced the show as a nostalgic random selection of his earliest slides. We began in Scotland in 1990 between Christmas and New Year, with 37262 and 47550 on the late running ‘Clansman’. Rob visited lots of sheds, often turning up and asking to go around. We visited Knottingley, Frodingham, Immingham, Stratford and Shirebrook amongst others. At Eggborough Power Station we saw 0-6-0 well-tank ‘Bellerophon’. 47474, the first one in post office red, was dragging a class 91 on the joint line on ECML diversions. Another notable livery was 50149 on Exeter Shed sporting red and yellow checked Railfreight livery. A couple of cold and frosty shots, a steam train at Quorn and Woodhouse on the GEC, and a shot of 26021 and a class 37 at Kingussie, on a full snow plough. Rob showed a few night shots including 90015 at Preston in 2001. In 1998/9 we saw the Deltic 55016 ‘Gordon Highlander’ in its controversial purple Porterbrook livery on the way back from Scarborough. Rob had a great shot of 47150 on a southbound Freightliner, the last freight train travelling over the old bridge over the River Trent at Newark. The new bridge could be seen waiting to be moved into position. Rob showed class 37s in the rain at Rhymney, 31437 with one post van on the Manchester-Peterborough mail train at Newark in late 1988, and in the late 1990s 47813 on a Motorail train at Paddington. After what seemed like a whistle stop tour of the country Rob finished with 33109 and 33106 on a charter train at Dungeness. Rob has a very extensive collection and we keenly await his next visit. A few of Rob's images are shown below.

On 29th November 2023 Andrew Watts presented a Zoom show, 'Post Pandemic Perambulations'. As many of these shots were taken during lockdowns there was a good selection from Andrew's local station of Penkridge and the surrounding area. Andrew showed quite a few shots taken on the Severn Valley Railway, after lockdown restrictions were lifted but when the country was still under social distancing rules. Many of these featured his beloved Class 50s. Once restrictions were fully lifted Andrew was able to travel abroad again and we saw shots taken on rail tours both home and abroad. We very much look forward to further perambulations from Andrew in the future.

OCTOBER 2023 On 4th October Robert Pritchard presented his show “2020 What a Year!”. As you will remember the year began as any other, with no indication of how it would turn out. So in January Robert was out and about travelling around the UK, in Leeds for a meeting he took the opportunity to photograph 91113 which is no longer with us and 68023 on a Leeds – Scarborough working. DRS Class 20s on a rail tour looked good on the bridge at Knaresborough. In Liverpool, at the Kirkdale main depot, he saw 777003 recently arrived from Stadler in Switzerland. In February he flew to the Czech Republic and visited a few depots there before returning to the UK and going to the official opening of the new CAF factory at Newport. In early March he had his last run on the GE on a Class 90 to Liverpool Street, then in late March we all received the instruction to ‘stay at home’ because of Covid 19. Robert spent lockdown living near to Saxilby Station on the joint line and his daily walks allowed him to take photos of the rail traffic passing through. We saw 66773 dragging a class 91, a mix of freight and weedkiller trains, Class 37s and 67s on test trains and Azuma empty stock workings. Stow Park box and Swinderby box appeared in shots as did the Foss Dyke where reflection shots were possible. Back in Sheffield towards the end of the year, Autumn colours provided the backdrop to images of HSTs at Dore, DB Class 66s on RHTC trains and joint line diversions. We look forward to Robert returning to do another show now that the lockdown restrictions are just a distant memory and his freedom to travel has returned. Below are some images from Robert's show.

On 18th October Pete Sargieson presented ‘An Early Seventies Diesel and Electric Adventure’. The presentation was composed of slides from an unknown photographer, which had been donated to the Hull and Barnsley Railway Stock Fund and were all from the early 1970s. We began at Crewe Works in June 1971 with four different classes of loco all in green livery, where we also saw D211 Mauritania having already lost one nameplate and Woodhead electric E26005, a loco which Pete had never actually seen despite living close by as a young enthusiast. At Penistone we saw E26014, E26023, E26005 and unusually a Class 47 diesel on MGRs. Pete also included some shots from his own collection, of loco nameplates and badges and at the break he produced the actual nameplate and badge from 47 169 ‘Great Eastern’ which the audience enjoyed getting up close to. The photographer had clearly been on many visits to works and depots: these included a panorama shot of Class 47s and a Class 52 Western at Old Oak Common, another panorama shot this time at Hull Botanic Gardens, D0280 Falcon at Swindon Works, Class 42 Warships on scrap lines at Swindon and Class 20 8182 in green at Westhouses depot, complete with Midland gas lamps. The show ended with a sunny shot taken at Immingham in April 1972 of 5537, showing headcode 8D45. We look forward to seeing Pete back next year with another slide show although not from this particular photographer as this was the full set.

SEPTEMBER 2023 On 6th September Les Nixon presented his slide show ‘Railways in the Peak’, a show taking in the Peak District and surrounding areas.  We began with shots of a 4F at Ambergate near Derby from 1958 and the wonderful signal box on stilts at Matlock Station.  We saw Bakewell Station as it looked in 1962 and Sheffield Station without a roof in the late 1950s.  Les took his camera up and down hillsides trying to get shots of trains in their environment, not just on station platforms, so we saw the sun reflected off the tracks at Hathersage and Bamford, a wonderful effect of steam engines with a temperature inversion with mist trapped in a valley, and views of the waterworks railway used in the construction of Howden, Derwent and Ladybower dams.  The changing seasons in Edale provided many scenic backdrops to Les’s shots.  We saw a snowy shot of a HST with Edale signal box, snowy hills in the background of an 8F Banker at Monsal Dale Viaduct, and at Chinley North lots of snow provided a great steam shot, especially as Les and his friends had cleaned the loco the previous night in anticipation of the sun coming out.  Rare shots included a panorama at the long closed Manchester Central Station and the LNER Garratt at Chinley on a light engine working to Derby.  As usual the quality of Les’s photography was outstanding and hopefully we can expect a further visit from Les next year.

On 20th September we held our Annual Digital Image Competition in memory of David Bladen. There were 60 entries and the audience judged the entries on the night. All the winning images can be seen here in our Gallery.

AUGUST 2023 On 2nd August Andy Barclay presented the second set of slides from the late RCTS member, Alan Lovecy. All of the slides were from the early 1980s and we began with 313052 at Kings Cross in July 1982. We took in Scotland with a Class 37 at Glenfinnan with some lovely rhododendrons; shots from trips to the collieries at Dalmilling and Killoch in Ayr; three Class 303 EMU ‘Blue Trains’ at Milngavie and 26038 at Kyle of Lochalsh. In Wales we visited a rather bleak Oakdale Colliery in the valleys and also saw DMU C316 at Treherbert. Over to England and various shots from Barrow Hill Open days and trips around Doncaster works. We saw a TPE unit leaving Sheffield with almost all of the background buildings having since been demolished, the station pilot 09006 at Waterloo and 86215 and an unknown Peak Class at Euston. Class 210s, 210002 at Ealing Broadway belching smoke and 210001 at Maidenhead. The show brought back lots of memories for the audience but perhaps none more so than the shot of six camping coaches at Marazion in Cornwall and the shots of an Intercity APT at both Preston and Euston on the same day. Our thanks go to Andy for bringing this collection to a show and we look forward to seeing the next selection of Alan Lovecy’s slides next year.

On 16th August Neil Taylor presented a selection of ‘European and UK slides from around 20 years ago’. We began with the dying days of Class 47 hauled trains on Virgin Cross Country, in July and August 2002. Neil had been to the annual Sandtoft Gathering in 2002 and we saw HKR11, a preserved Maidstone and District trolley bus. He also showed buses at an event at Meadowhall, with the now long-demolished power station cooling towers in the background. A visit to Germany produced both steam and electric heritage traction, as did visits to Poland, and Switzerland where we had snowy mountains in the backdrop of a heritage electric Ae 6/6 at Sargans. March 2003 saw white EMU unit 1736 at Clapham Junction and heritage trams on an Easter rail tour to Lisbon and Porto. There were many shots from Mercia Charters rail tours to Belgium, Luxembourg and France. In August 2003 we saw 56118 and 56107 on a Worksop Open Day Committee Charter to Paignton and in September 40145 at Doncaster on a rail tour from Crewe to Kings Cross. Neil ended his show in early 2004 with a shot of the station at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Neil is a regular traveller to both UK and European destinations and so we look forward to his next instalment.

JULY 2023 On 5th July John Law presented his show, ‘The C Word – Caerphilly to Cwmbran’. John’s show took us alphabetically through open and closed stations beginning with the letter C, a selection of shots from his own collection and also from those of other photographers. We began in Wales with Caerphilly and Caersws, then Callington, a closed station just in Cornwall on the Southern Railway before moving across the channel to Cambrai near Lille in France via Camber Sands. Again to Wales and a Swindon built DMU at Carmarthen in Dyfed, and 7822 ‘Foxcote Manor’ arriving at Carrog in Clwyd. To South Yorkshire and a Derby built DMU at Chapeltown’s old station and also the old Great Central station at Chapeltown. We crossed the channel again, to Belgium this time and Charleroi Sud. Long gone stations at Checker House in Notts, Chelfham in Devon, and Chickenley Heath West Yorkshire. We moved to Claremorris in Eire and then back to West Yorkshire and Clayton West and Cleckheaton. A Class 31 and 37 approaching Colchester and a Class 312 at Colchester Town. As we neared the end of the alphabet we visited Scotland to Crianlarich Lower and Upper, saw EMU 077 at Croftfoot and 26021 at Cupar before ending at Cwmbran with 47476. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this skip through the C’s and eagerly look forward to John returning to show us the D’s. Some of the shots from the show are shown below.

On 19th July Roger Childs presented a show on ‘American Railways, Denver to Barstow’. We began with a remote controlled EMD MP15 of Union Pacific on ‘switcher’ (shunting) duties at their Denver depot with the ‘driver’ on the front of the engine working with a controller. Roger had visited the Colorado Railroad Museum at Golden, northwest of Denver and we saw shots of steam engines there, including a Chicago Burlington and Quincy steam loco no 5629 built in 1940. At Grand Junction we saw a long line up of stored locos, many in ex-works condition, Roger explained how they tend not to scrap locos, they are more likely to rebuild them as very little is built new now. At Flagstaff a train made up of double stacked containers with 4 BNSF locos is the norm. We aw shots of the Grand Canyon and Roger supplied the huge vital statistics which left the audience amazed. At Kingman in Arizona, we saw an example of ‘distributed power’ – a grain train with 3 locos totalling 13200hp at the head. 3 more in the middle and 2 more at the back. A total of 35200hp, not necessarily to pull it but to be able to stop it. In California Roger had visited the Tehachapi Loop, an engineering marvel where the track goes around in a circle to gain height. In gaining elevation around the central hill of the Loop, a 4000-foot train will cross 77 feet above its rear cars in the tunnel below. Roger’s wealth of knowledge on the subject was much appreciated and we look forward to another visit in the future.

JUNE 2023 On 7th June we welcomed Philip Benham, retired railway manager, to talk about his railway career on BR in a show called “Go East Youngman”. Philip started with his childhood, making the connection with railways at an exhibition at King’s Cross in 1952 to celebrate 100 years of the station. He lived with his parents at Uxbridge and with grandparents living near Wakefield Kirkgate station had journeys from King’s Cross to Wakefield Westgate. The family moved to Chesterfield and he recalled his first trainspotting trip to Doncaster from Chesterfield Midland. He also took his first black and white picture at St Pancras in 1959 heading for Chesterfield. He joined British Rail in 1968 working as a train recorder in Derby station area boxes. Staff travel meant he was on the Waverley route on the day before closure. He then moved into the Divisional offices in Nottingham, part of the team arranging Merrymaker and Mystery trips to Barmouth etc. and then to Stoke to promote the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch. He became an Area Inspector covering the Nottingham division, initially helping The Main Line steam trust get established between Loughborough and Quorn and Woodhouse, when the first trains ran the line was still owned by BR. After other roles in Toton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby on the Midland main line. in November 1982 Philip became Area manager York. We saw pictures of Old York signal box, the old station layout with many HSTs (Deltics had gone), and moving the lower somersault signal from Haxby to the concourse at York station. A Midland main line with Peaks on loco hauled expresses and midland railway manual signal boxes. Pictures of a derailment at Corby, writing off 31150. Philip unveiling a plaque on York station to remember the bombing of York and the station in 1942. Later Philip’s Area got bigger with the Hull area being incorporated into the York area along with the Wolds Coast line through Filey, Bridlington and Beverley into Hull. On July 26th 1986 a Bridlington to Hull DMU collided with a road vehicle on Lockington Level Crossing. Philip showed numerous pictures of the accident. Later in 1986 another promotion to Area Manager Kings Cross. Turning round HSTs at King’s Cross and handling Network South East local services and Overnight Sleeper services, was a very different railway to York. It’s rumoured his office at Kings Cross was the one used by Sir Nigel Gresley. Meeting and greeting Royalty and opening a new station at Arlesey came with the job, as did the Kings Cross underground fire at Kings Cross in 1987. The area was then extended from Sandy north to take in the Peterborough area to Stoke 100 miles from Kings Cross almost exactly the same area as the old Kings Cross Division which closed in the 80s. With electrification and the first electric hauled services were the Peterborough commuter services using 89001 Avocet. He showed a picture of Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher naming ‘Avocet’. We saw pictures of the first 91 on the 1736 Kings Cross to Peterborough, the testing of the 91s and a picture with Terence Cuneo doing a painting, to be presented at the naming of 91011 ‘Terence Cuneo’, and the Queen Mother naming 91004 ‘The Red Arrows’. A few of Philip's images are shown below. The audience showed their appreciation with a huge round of applause. Philip will be back in the future a he has a few more evenings entertainment on his list.

On 14th June we held our annual visit to Barrow Hill Roundhouse. It was a glorious sunny evening for wandering around the site. This year we also had a climb into the signal box. Here are a few images from the trip.

On 21st June Pete Sargison presented the slide show, ‘Keith the farmer: Part 4’. The slides were taken by Pete’s farmer friend Keith, who attended the show to add his memories for the first time. The slides were mainly from the 1970s and taken all over the UK although many were from works visits to Derby, Doncaster and Swindon. We started in Leeds with Deltic 55004 on platform 4, 45042 and 47528. At Derby Works on an open day in 1978 we saw 45044 “Royal Inniskilling Fusilier” and other engines on jacks, being pored over by young enthusiasts wearing anoraks with furry collars, carrying Adidas bags. Brought back many memories for the audience. At a Doncaster Works open day in 1978 we saw 55004 on the lawn, and 50021 and 37208 in ex-works condition. 50024 had recently been named “Vanguard”, class 50s had only just started to be named by then. We saw 4771 “Green Arrow” and Ivatt Atlantic 251 at the same open day, both engines can now be seen just up the road in Doncaster Gallery, Library and Museum www.dglam.org.uk. Before the break Pete showed some nameplate pictures and then produced the actual nameplate from D98 “Royal Engineer” for the audience to take a close look at. After the break we visited Exeter St Davids for 33023, Glasgow for 86023 and 81008,and Kings Cross for an atmospheric shot of a Deltic plus exhaust and Royal Mail brutes on the platform. At Hull 03112 plus match wagon were releasing a Deltic off the stops. At Swindon we saw rows of ex-works class 08 shunters. The show ended with Deltic 55015 at York in the evening light, wearing a 1981 Rainhill plaque. It was interesting for the members to meet Keith as we have already had three previous shows of his slides presented by Pete. We understand that there are enough slides for Part 5 so we look forward to both Pete and Keith returning in the future. A few of Keith's slides are shown below.

MAY 2023 On 3rd May Tom Ingall presented a show on ‘The Reunification Project at the Great Central’. The first half of the show portrayed the history of the Great Central Railway’s London Extension, from 1899 when it first opened until 1923 when it was absorbed into the new London & North Eastern Railway, and beyond until closure in 1969. Tom showed pictures taken by Sidney Newton who as a young man, photographed the building of the London Extension – ‘the last main line’ - between Nottingham and London. Further information about the Newton collection can be found through this link https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/newton-cycling-photographer/
The second half of the show concentrated on the line in preservation. Currently there are two separate heritage lines running from Loughborough to Leicester and from Ruddington to north of Loughborough. The reunification project seeks to rebuild the five hundred metres of track between the two halves, to create a single eighteen mile heritage line. Tom talked us through with pictures all of the elements needed for this project, including road, rail and canal bridges, and embankments. We saw the major engineering works needed to construct a new bridge across the Midland main line, a bridge across the A60 road and restoration work on the bridge over the Grand Union Canal. The remaining element are the embankments which need replacing and bridges to span a factory car park and Railway Terrace Road. Tom’s role for the project is a fundraiser and his enthusiasm for the project shone through the whole presentation leaving the audience in no doubt that it can be done. The Society was happy to donate the takings from a bumper raffle to the project and we look forward to keeping track of progress in the future. More information can be found through this link https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify/

On 17th May Roger Wainwright presented ‘Rusty Buffers: Tinsley Footplate Memories’. Roger is a retired Sheffield Midland and Tinsley driver who is now scanning the thousands of slides which he took whilst working. This was his first public show. Since the whole show was of shots taken from the viewpoint of perhaps second man in the cab or as a driver getting out at signals or shots taken during down time in railway areas not generally accessible to the public, images which Roger considered to be unexciting to him, turned out to be very exciting to an audience of railway enthusiasts. We saw lots of long-gone signal boxes such as those around Masborough, Meadowhall, Ickles Yard and Smithywood coking plant. A class 20 literally in the bushes and weeds, Roger had persuaded his mate to create a photo opportunity! A panorama at Tinsley Marshalling Yard, taken from a roof, of class 20s and 31s. On a cold and frosty day, a class 56 that had overrun onto Sheffield Parkway. Roger described how they had dragged it back with a class 13 hump shunter. Another accident where 37302 had come off the track sideways at Rotherham near to where the Rotherham United’s New York football stadium is now. A driver’s eye view of Wath Central from the cab of a class 37. Roger told an amusing story with pictures of a class 31 and one wagon full of coal being sent to deliver coal to “Sheffield Est No 4” box because the signalman had run out. The guard shovelled the coal in! Sadder sights were five class 45s, class 71s and 55001/55020 all awaiting the cutter’s torch! The audience certainly enjoyed Roger’s show and look forward to many more of his “boring” shots in the future 😊

On 31st May Robin Patrick presented a Zoom show ‘Recent Photographic Wanderings’. Robin did one of our first Zoom shows in 2021 so for this one we saw images taken on his wanderings in 2022-23. He has some favourite local places to take pictures, and Chaloners Whin, Copmanthorpe and Colton Junction on the ECML featured regularly. We saw 46100 ‘Royal Scot’ at Raskelf, north of York, and the same train again at Colton after 47614 had taken over. DRS 37425 was seen dragging 91101 at Chaloners Whin, en-route to Neville Hill depot, one of three class 91 drags that day due to a tree on the overheads the previous evening. 67007 was at the head of the royal train at Dringhouses, the queen was travelling from Edinburgh to Kings Lynn. Robin had been to a number of preserved railways. We saw 47077 and Standard 4MT 76079 on the NYMR, shots from a gala on the KWVR in snow and 0-4-0 saddle tank ‘Sir Tom’ at Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum. Robin included some of his old scanned slides, black and white images from 1964 – Ivatt 41291 plus two bankers on a cement train at Exeter St Davids and a shot of Northampton shed with a variety of steam locos and a class 37. Robin was a signalman early in his railway career and he had visited some signal boxes, including the Shrewsbury box where there are still 98 levers working, the largest lever frame signal box left in the world. The presentation was very much enjoyed by all and we look forward to Robin returning again in the future. A few of Robin’s images are shown below - he also has a Flickr account if you wish to see more of his images.

APRIL 2023 On 5th April Steve Armitage and ‘The Great Railway Time Machine presented ON NORTHERN RAILS West of the Pennines’. Since retiring Steve has devoted his time to restoring historic railway photographs and has been given access to many different railway photographer’s collections. His show was made up of these and a few of his own. Shots were mainly out on the lines rather than station platforms and highlighted things which have now been erased from the landscape. He started at Bolton with a Lowery-esque shot with mill chimneys and almost match-stick men. Highlights of the show included the long-gone works at Horwich and Gorton, closed stations at Manchester including Central and Exchange, and long-lost depots like Rose Grove, Lostock Hall and Blackpool. Steve showed a historic shot of brand new electric loco E3001 at East Didsbury depot. Shots at Lancaster Green Ayre station and Morecambe Promenade featured the ex-LNWR Oerlikon DC EMUs on one of the pioneer lines for electric traction. Steve also showed photos in the Bury area, lines that are now part of the preserved East Lancs Railway and a memorable shot of an early Met-Cam DMU at Bacup. Another high quality presentation from Steve which drew loud applause from a large audience. Highly recommended and we hope for a swift return.

On 19th April we welcomed Graham Lightfoot to present his show ‘Saxonia’. Graham is a regular visitor to Germany and particularly the Leipzig and Dresden areas of Saxony and the many narrow-gauge lines which still run there. The narrow-gauge lines in Saxony were once the largest single-operator narrow-gauge railway network in Germany, connecting small towns and villages, and their industries, with established standard gauge lines. We travelled around the whole area, focusing on main stopping points, and seeing maps to illustrate the areas involved. We saw what Graham considers to be the masterpiece of a station building at Leipzig and at Dresden Graham explained how the station had been affected by the River Elbe flooding in 2008. We visited the narrow gauge lines of Döllnitzbahn, Lößnitzgrundbahn, Zittau and Weißeritztalbahn. We saw shots of trains on the largest brick structure ever made, the Göltzschtal railway bridge. We visited museums at Chemnitz and Schwarzenberg and travelled up into the mountains on the Fichtelbergbahn. Along the way we saw many shots of old East German locomotives and rolling stock, modern locos and multiple units, and of course many steam locos on the narrow-gauge lines. Graham’s commentary throughout the show was very informative and he’s obviously passionate and very knowledgeable about Germany and this particular area. The audience really enjoyed the show and as Graham is shortly to visit Germany again, we look forward to a future show where he can entertain us with his knowledge and images of another area.

MARCH 2023 On 1^st March Paul Chancellor presented us with ‘A Tenth Colour-Rail Journey’. The presentation showcased the work of 10 photographers. Paul began with David Forsyth whose spiritual homes were Stockport, Carlisle and Northern Ireland.  We saw Jinty 47599 at Kingmoor in 1960, a Western in undercoat at Crewe Works in 1961 and a moving shot from Lisburn in 1963. From David A Lawrence we saw lots of railway infrastructure.  Teeside Railess Traction Depot in 1971, the departure board at Brighton station, the book stall at Aberdeen and J27 65879 at Alcan Smelter in the NE. From Roger Siviter we saw pannier tanks on the turntable at Stourbridge shed, 60019 Bittern at Perth and 46457 at Tydesley, all from the 1960s. Trevor Owen was renowned for steam photography and liked high up vantage points. From his collection we saw D3849 on the Cholsey & Wallingford in 1958, 42751 on Ribblehead Viaduct and the roundhouse at Aberdare in 1963. Ken Fairey was next and from him we saw 44575 at Wellingborough in 1955, 7814 at Paignton in 1958 and Class 04 D2210 at Norwich in 1960. Emery J Gulash was an American photographer who visited the UK twice, in 1966 and 1968, and took many shots whilst travelling around the UK. We saw 43034 at Crewe with piles of post bags on brutes, pictures from a trip on the Bournemouth Belle hauled by 35012 ‘United States Lines’, rail staff stood chatting and smoking at Ryde Pier and 5 Peaks and a Class 47 at Holbeck. Denis Ovenden’s shots were all black and white. We were treated to Golden Arrow on Ashford cattle trucks in the 1950s, 10001 on the Bletchley – Euston stopper at Bletchley in 1959 and DEMU 1122 at Ham Street in 1960.  John Spencer Gilks was renowned for landscape and infrastructure. 78049 at Kelso in 1963, St Boswell station exterior, a panoramic view of Waterloo and Class 29 6119 at Morar.  From Martin Thirlow we saw more modern shots, D362 at Carstairs at night, a train silhouetted on the Forth Bridge at South Queensferry and a going away shot on the Settle and Carlisle line. Finally we were treated to some of Paul’s own shots.  A rare one of a DMU in Weston-super-Mare in 1961, Bath Green Park shed in 1965 and an atmospheric shot from the Severn Valley Railway in 1999.  The audience again enjoyed this treat from the Colour-Rail collection, and very much look forward to the 11^th Journey in the future.

On 15^th March David Whitlam presented ‘Pot Luck’. David did a show many years ago and covered up to 2006 so tonight he presented some of his shots from 2006-2010. He began with some scans of family railway photos including of his Great Grandfather who worked on the railway at Louth in the 1920s. In 2006 David changed his camera and tried his hand at distance shots of trains in the Hope Valley. We saw shots from a Society visit to Scunthorpe in 2007 which had been organised by our late member Andy Dalby.  The next shots were from 2008 on a trip to the Nene valley, arranged in tribute of Andy, when David won a cab ride. We moved to Brussels and Luxembourg and then back to the UK to the Midland Railway at Butterley for some old buses.  We saw 73136 at Wansford, Class A1 60163 ‘Tornado’ at Barrow Hill and a Class 03 and 04 at Shackerstone station. From 2009 we saw shots taken by David on a Society trip to Barrow Hill including both engines and members of the society enjoying the chat. Trips to the Great Orme followed, and then to Crich on a wet day. In 2010 Barrow Hill held a celebration of Finsbury Park and David had taken a number of shots including 31128 with a commemorative headboard. Shots from Carlisle included 37610 and 57003 on the Cumbrian Crusader railtour and 6201 ‘Princess Elizabeth’ on the Cumbrian Mountain Express. David finished the show with a few shots of Class 66 and 67s on the ECML.  Some good memories from David and we look forward to his next presentation. A few of his shots are shown below.

On 29^th March Tony Caddick presented a Zoom show ‘More scanned memories’, and showed scanned slides from the year 2003 illustrating some of the changes that have taken place over the last 20 years.  Tony’s first image featured a Supertram in the old Stagecoach stripes livery at Herdings Park on a snowy January day.  We then saw various shots of First and Stagecoach vehicles on the temporary West Street stops during the construction of the new Doncaster Interchange. Also featured were Met-cam DMUs in their final year of service in the north west, shots taken at Glasgow Central on a sunny day, Class 86/90 on Anglia workings and various shots at the Doncaster Wabtec Open Day in July.  Tony showed a selection taken on holiday in Penzance featuring various buses no longer with us and Sprinter DMUs in Wessex Trains livery.  Highlights of a summer holiday in Blackpool included railcoach 679 with a smashed pantograph, a depot shunt involving illuminated rocket tram 732 and various vehicles at Fleetwood Tram Sunday.  The Barrow Hill Firstborn weekend also featured, highlights were D6700 in green livery and the stunning prototype Deltic.  Tony closed his show with images taken at Leeds and Carlisle on the Arriva Trains service rostered for top and tail Class 37s popular with all gricers at the time.  Tony is still scanning his slides and we look forward to another presentation of memories before too long. A few of his shots are shown below.

FEBRUARY 2023  On 1^st February Geoff Griffiths presented his show ‘ 20 years of digital photography’.  He began with some of his early attempts and admitted that using a digital camera had been a big learning curve, but he got lots of practice, working for the railway and visiting depots on his days off.  We saw shots from Toton Yard, scrap lines at Crewe, TPOs at St Blazey and the EWS company train at Bescot Yard.  Early steam shots included a classic shot of 71000 ‘Duke of Gloucester’ under the castle wall bridge at Conwy.  Geoff showed some scanned slides from 1980s and 90s, including from Bluebell Railway, Worksop Open Day and TPOs at Teignmouth and St Pancras.  The audience was really interested to see a scan of a deteriorating slide, before and after Geoff had adjusted it with Photoshop.  The difference was amazing and well worth the time investment needed to do the job.  Geoff went on to show some scanned black and white negatives, class 20s at Derby, 37s at Codnor Park, Deltic 7 at Kings Cross at night.  He also showed a black and white scanned image of a class 40 which he had colourised.  A different view of St Pancras was seen, Geoff had asked permission to go upstairs in the council building on the opposite side of Euston Road to get the view.  The second half included shots from preserved lines where Geoff had a lineside pass, Tornado on the day it was named and 4464 ‘Bittern’ on Penny’s Crossing at Rossington.  We saw how Photoshop can be used to convert to mono and also to leave some colour on a predominantly mono picture.  More recent shots included steam on heritage lines, poppy fields in the foreground at Bewdley and various HST liveries.  Geoff finished with some drone shots including over Conisbrough viaduct, Hatfield Colliery and all three Forth Bridges.  As always Geoff put on a fantastic show and the audience were left in awe having seen a digital photography masterclass.  A few of Geoff’s shots are shown below.

On 15^th February Steve Philpott presented ‘Spinning Around (the UK, mainly)’.  This show was a potluck mix of scanned slides and negatives and more recent digital shots.  We began with shots of electric locos at Wolverhampton, 26002 at the front of a line-up at Millerhill, 37097 and 37248 at Hither Green and two Peaks at York on a booked trans Pennine loco change.  There were shots from Boston Docks of 03 and 08 shunters which Steve had been able to ride on, 73104 and 33009 in the snow in Feb 1986 at Tennison Road, Norwood, and 25145 as the Miles Platting banker at Manchester Victoria in 1984.  We moved around the country and the decades, with class 86s at Ipswich, 90026 at Drem on a North Berwick working, 37715 at Middlesbrough in the early 2000s with all the old ironwork still on the platforms, 91007 Skyfall with its set of coaches in promotional  James Bond livery, and class 20s at Skegness with signal box and signal gantry in the telephoto shot.  81022 in a blizzard at Wolverhampton High Level, 45596 ‘Bahamas’ on The Steam Dreams tour at Muskham and a Duchess at Lincoln, both with lots of steam.  We saw D345 and D213 at Preston 16 months ago, and then saw them again at Crewe and Edinburgh.  37688 with 37521 on the back made a good shot with Ely Cathedral in the background.  Two class 08s, 08738 and 08939, fitted with remote control operation and painted in off-white livery stored at Toton.  Steve’s last shots were in Europe where we saw locos in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Salzburg and Florence.  Steve’s show was up to his usual high quality and delivered in his own inimitable style.  A few of his shots are shown below.

JANUARY 2023 On 18th January Glen Williamson presented his slide show ‘The End of Inter-City’. He began with a slide of a 1938 Gresley buffet car, in teak with original chairs, but in corporate BR Blue livery. He moved on to a shot of a Class 47 on an East Coast Pullman with 1951 era Mk1 coaches at Doncaster and then went on to show us a number of different shots of Mk3 coaches on a variety of HST liveries, including one going over the bridge at Misterton and another going over the bridge at St Mary’s Roundabout, a difficult shot to get. We saw Class 91s in GNER and National Express liveries and also GNER liveried Eurostars. He likes to take shots from Mallard Bridge in Doncaster which looks down on to the ECML and also the mothballed Royal Mail depot. Shots such as 69002 and 69005 in GBRf livery, another of a Swift 321 unit and a line of withdrawn class 91s. We saw 47115 ‘The East Anglia’ at Norwich, one of the last loco hauled services to carry a regular headboard. Units included 144013 at Gainsborough showing the new footbridge, 350403 in West Midlands livery at Manchester Piccadilly on a TPE working and 37608 pulling new Elizabeth line stock at Whitwell. He brought his show to a close with a variety of shots of HSTs in their last days with LNER, many were empty stock movements, including at Swinton, Wombwell and Bolton-on-Dearne. In closing Glen lamented on the declining standards of comfort on the new IET trains in service with GWR & LNER compared to good old British Rail, a view with which most members would agree. As usual the photos were up to Glen’s very high standard with lots of useful information and were well appreciated by a very healthy attendance.

DECEMBER 2022 The Pennine Shield Quiz Competition was held on 7th December 2022, the first for 3 years. The quiz competition was contested by The Pennine Railway Society, Dore Loco Society and The Great Pretenders. Our thanks this year go to Robin Skinner of Pennine Railway Society for setting the questions. As usual it was a hard fought contest. Great Pretenders won with a score of 38 points, Dore Loco Society came second with a score of 34 points and Pennine brought up the rear with a score of 31 points.