In issue 278, respected professional photographer Jack Boskett treated us with an ‘alternative angle', focussing on a host of attributes which combine the subject of railways with photography, to encapsulate a story within the scene. This time he enlightens us with stories of main line excursions he has photographed in recent years across the United Kingdom, along with hints and tips on how to photograph them.
In issue 278, respected professional photographer Jack Boskett treated us with an ‘alternative angle’, focussing on a host of attributes which combine the subject of railways with photography, to encapsulate a story within the scene. This time he enlightens us with stories of main line excursions he has photographed in recent years across the United Kingdom, along with hints and tips on how to photograph them.
Main line railway photography has its own challenges when it comes to taking that perfect shot. Steam on the main line is a real treat for us and doesn’t happen as often as we would like. Therefore, when the opportunity arises, it is always a pleasure to photograph the excursions at a unique location.
We have all read stories about trespass incidents on the railway. A few years ago, I witnessed a man on the wrong side of the fence in the cess with a camera and tripod so he could obtain head-on footage. This is totally unnecessary. Not only is it against the law to trespass on the railway, but it will not result in the ‘money shot’. The footage will clearly show that you are trackside – resulting in a trip to custody with British Transport Police once it has been put out in the public domain.
Not only are these people causing a danger to themselves and others, but they are also harming the reputation of steam on the main line and may even result in Network Rail banning all charter trains in the future. There are a plethora of foot crossings, public footpaths, under/over bridges, fields, and roadside locations to choose from should anyone wish to ‘think outside the box’ and do something different with their photography.
The selection of images that follow, span the past 10 years, and in all cases, have not needed special access to achieve. Each photograph was obtained either at a foot crossing, on a public footpath or highway.
With most of my work, I plan my photographs in advance. I look at the weather forecast and check to see which way the wind direction is blowing – as this helps define which way the exhaust from the locomotive will be going – and I also keep an eye on the cloud cover and visibility. In an ideal world it would be lovely to have wall to wall sunshine all day, but railway photography wouldn’t be as fun without its peaks and troughs of our British weather.
Modern technology has come on a significant amount in recent years. Railtour information and timings are now publicly available in advance on websites, such as Real Time Trains. This can be used to our
advantage to plan a day out, particularly if you are wishing to see the train over the booked route several times. We can look at the timings to gauge where the water/pathing stops are. These can range from anywhere between 20-60 minutes at some places, depending on whether there is a slot between the usual passenger services. Without breaking the highway code, it is possible to get ahead and position yourself in a suitable location for another take.
Thankfully, Real Time Trains is a live feed from Network Rail’s servers. The instantaneous information can be viewed as the train passes a location on the timetable. There are also other live feed websites to look at too, such as Railcam and Open Train Times. These will give you a good idea as to where the railtour is if you know the headcode and route.
The main line railway offers a wide variety of beautiful Victorian architecture, countryside, and urban surroundings, allowing a photographer to use their artistic licence to be creative with their location choices. It is worth researching the gradient profiles of the railway. There are a couple of books on the market you can purchase as a reference. Although the
environmentalists would rather we didn’t use coal fired steam engines, most railway photographers would like to see exhaust from the locomotive as it adds a finishing touch to a picture. It is worth spending the time in advance seeking a location where the locomotive is guaranteed to be working hard to keep up to the speed limits. It could be a hasty departure from a standing start in a platform, or climbing a steep gradient, such as the well known 1-in-37 Lickey incline in Worcestershire.
From a photographic perspective, I enjoy re-creating the ‘good old days of steam’ where possible. The modern scene will often give us opportunities to take timeless photographs of steam engines on the mainline using the monochrome functions in our cameras. This particularly works hand-in-hand with locations that are run down or in urban areas. However, because photography is subjective, it is entirely up to you as to how you would like to see your photograph pan out.
We all enjoy our hobby and I am very lucky to have turned mine into a full-time job. If it wasn’t for the hard work of all of the volunteers, staff, benefactors, and other individuals who spend endless time and money restoring and maintaining the locomotives and rolling stock, we would not have the set-up for us to enjoy. A huge thank you to everyone involved. You have made this preservation era what it is today. It has enabled photographers like myself to capture these ‘antiques on wheels’ roaming our beautiful British countryside doing just what they were designed and built to do.
Crossing the Tay
In April 2010 I travelled the United Kingdom with the motive of photographing the Great Britain excursions which began in London and ran up to Scotland touring the lines out to Kyle of Lochalsh and Fort William. On this particular occasion, the weather was glorious for the four days in Scotland and it just had to be taken advantage of. The southbound workings were hauled by a plethora of locomotives and the engine on this stretch was Ian Riley’s ‘Black Five’
No. 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier. The train is captured crossing Tay Bridge Viaduct silhouetted against a golden sunset.
Nikon D200 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/500th sec at f6.3 on ISO100
Ï Maximum horsepower!
I am always on the lookout for something different when I hear of a ‘light engine’ movement. On this particular day I gained permission to venture into a farmer’s field at Natton, near Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, to photograph a pair of Class 50s – No. 50049 Defiance and No. 50007 Hercules – underneath a horse, as they work their way back to the Severn Valley Railway. At the very last second, this Mare lifted her leg to reveal a neighbouring horse in the background – great timing! It was imperative that I had the single focus point in the correct place. I needed a long depth of field, so I focussed on the underside of the horse so that the whole image would be in focus throughout, enabling you to read the numbers on the side of the locomotives
Nikon D5 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/800th sec at f10 on ISO320
Ï On the climb to Sapperton
As the Alpacas graze on the grass in this idyllic scene, GWR Castle Class No. 7029 Clun Castle breaks the silence as it digs its heels into the start of the 1-in-94 climb to the top of Sapperton in the Stroud Valley. I arrived an hour before the excursion was due and I didn’t see anyone along the towpath until a couple of minutes before the train appeared. In the distance I could hear the locomotive whistle combining with Thunderer whistles and drumbeats. To my astonishment, around 100 Extinction Rebellion protesters were marching down the path towards me on their way to London by foot! Thankfully, the last person walked by as the train came into sight! It was very close!
Nikon D850 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/800th sec at f6.3 on ISO200
Ï
Fodderty Curve
This photograph of LNER K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess will always stand out in my mind as one of the most memorable moments during my Scottish trip in April 2010. The air was still, the temperature was just above freezing and the sun poked its head over the hills around 6.30am. Fodderty Curve was the place to be that morning as the train made its way along the picturesque line towards Kyle of Lochalsh. It was well worth the 1500 mile drive around Scotland for a week!
Nikon D3 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/320th sec at f7.1 on ISO160
Ï Bridging the Avon
Southern Railway West Country Class No. 34046 Braunton crosses the Avon at Fladbury on the Cotswold Line with a Saphos Trains excursion bound for Worcester Shrub Hill. I was very lucky to get a reflection in the water after a couple of kayakers passed through a few moments before. It was also a warm day in the height of summer, so I was surprised to see some black exhaust out of the chimney. I purposely used a wide angle (14mm) to capture the bridge and reflection.
Nikon D5 with Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 lens. 1/1000th sec at f6.3 on ISO200
Ï A time to reflect
They say that photography mirrors your personality! On reflection, this was the case in Scotland on May 3, 2017. I photographed Peppercorn K1 2-6-0
No. 62005 en route for Fort William, working the ‘Great Britain X’ excursion. Putting my creative hat on, I decided to stay in the car at County March Summit and photograph the train in my vehicle’s wing mirror. There is a knack to getting an image sharp in a mirror: the further you are away from it, the sharper the subject will be and this time I used a wide angle. You can see that a lorry is just about to enter the mirror, I was so lucky that my view wasn’t blocked at the moment I pressed the shutter.
Nikon D5 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/400th sec at f10 on ISO250
Ï Urban steam
I spontaneously took this shot of a young lad taking his photograph of No. 70000 Britannia departing Bristol Temple Meads last year. For me, this was definitely a monochrome image as it had enough depth and detail in the scene for the eye to look at. Details like the rivets on the bridge, the litter on the ground and the tones in the blacks merging into one another. I love the shapes – we have a conflict of curves, triangles, rectangles and straight lines. I focussed on the girder bridge with a shallow depth of field to tell the story of what was going on in the foreground. I remember not being tall enough for a bridge as a teenager and used the same technique by guessing the composition by raising the camera above my head and hoping for the best!
Nikon D5 with Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 lens. 1/250th sec at f7.1 on ISO160
Ï Poetry in motion
You cannot beat the sound of a Scot at full speed with a rake of 11 coaches behind the tender on the mainline. Here, LMS 4-6-0 No. 46100 Royal Scot is captured in motion near Hope-Under-Dinmore on the North and West route with a Saphos Trains excursion to Cardiff Central. I put my camera skills to the test with a shutter speed of 1/30th second, hand-held, (holding my breath) as I panned the engine and first coach. I was hoping that one of the photographs I took in the sequence would be pin sharp throughout. It is always a gamble as to whether you will get a shot which is sharp when taking a pan with a slow shutter speed. I am grateful that my digital camera is able to help in this department, as I wouldn’t have had this luxury in film days!
Nikon D5 with Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 lens. 1/30th sec at f22 on ISO200
Ï A Royal performance
I rarely venture out to a line-side location, but this particular foot crossing on the Water Orton to Nuneaton route is the perfect spot for any enthusiast who would like to hear a steam locomotive attack a gradient at speed. I fancied a treat! On this particular day, the air was still, the sun was out, the birds were singing, and in the far distance you could hear the rhythm and the beat of this big red machine as it drew closer and closer. Then, out of nowhere, No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth gracefully emerges in all its majesty, with the regulator through the roof as it attacks the 1-in-125 gradient at the tiny village of Old Arley, near Daw Mill Colliery, with a round robin Vintage Trains excursion from Tyseley. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end – absolutely magic!
Nikon D3 with Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 lens. 1/640th sec at f6.3 on ISO200
Ï A powerful time keeper
WR Castle Class No. 7029 Clun Castle works hard as it pulls away from the 15mph speed restriction through Ashchurch station in Gloucestershire, with a Vintage Trains excursion to Oxford. This particular stretch of railway is set to 100mph running. It is important that all non essential trains keep to their speed along the route to stay within the working timetable, to prevent delays to other services. The power of a steam engine in this particular area is often put to the test as it travels from 75mph down to 15mph for 100 yards and then back up to 75mph, as witnessed here at Homedowns crossing. Ashchurch rests in a dip in a five mile straight from Tredington crossing to the village of Bredon, so depending on which way the steam engine is heading, it’ll be working hard away from the Ashchurch area, resulting in powerful photographs such as this.
Nikon D850 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/640th sec at f5.6 on ISO640
Í Steam on the Met
In 2013 a celebration of 150 years of steam on the Metropolitan line took place on the London Underground. I went up to the Capital to photograph a private event at Moorgate with VIPs of which the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was in attendance. ‘Met 1’ from Buckinghamshire Railway Centre and Met 12 (electric) Sarah Siddons took centre stage in top and tail formation along the Underground route between Kensington Olympia and Moorgate, on January 13. The event was widely publicised in advance in the national press, which resulted in crowds lining the platforms along the route. I wanted to capture the modern scene with Londoners gathering to see this rare movement of steam on the Underground. My location of choice was Barbican station, where I found myself alone when I arrived. This soon changed as the time drew closer! I kept a close eye on the digital screens as the ‘special’ was due to pass through at the same time as a passenger train in the opposite direction. I made the decision and gambled to stand on the adjacent platform with a telephoto lens just in case I was bowled over by a train travelling the other way. Something was telling me that it would happen. To my astonishment, I was right! A couple of seconds after this photograph was taken, a train entered the platform behind me, blocking my view of the locomotive. I love a challenge, but this was something else!
Nikon D4 with Nikon 80-400mm F4.5-5.6 lens. 1/250th sec at f5 on ISO1000
Î Steaming through the afterglow
GWR Hall No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall skirts along the skyline at Bredon’s Hardwicke, Worcestershire, with a return mainline excursion to Tyseley. With Venus dotted in the western sky, you can make out the passengers sat at their tables enjoying their evening meal as they take in the glorious Worcestershire sunset. The afterburn colours work tremendously well with this scene, without those then the image would be completely flat.
Nikon D4 with Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 lens. 1/200th sec at f4 on ISO1250