Reflecting on the Whistling Giants Class 40 reunion on April 11, 2018

Another heritage traction reunion event on the East Lancashire Railway in April 2018 brought together six of the surviving Class 40s for the first time in preservation, with only the underrestoration 40118 missing out.

The reflection in this shot, taken in the yard at Baron Street Locomotive Works, was challenging to say the least, achieved with the aid of a piece of timber placed in one of the many trackside puddles that night. My camera was precariously balanced about one inch above the water to achieve the reflection.

Luckily, I had packed my Canon 16 – 35 wide angle lens and had to shoot at the widest focal length (16mm) to fit the whole scene in. This created plenty of distortion, which was later rectified with the aid of Photoshop.

With three of the six preserved Class 40s painted in BR green and another three in BR blue, from left to right are D200, D213 Andania, 40106 Atlantic Conveyor, 40012 Aureol, 40135 and 40145.

Photo details: Canon 6D – 6 Secs, F8, ISO 200.