Hi all, An atmospheric view of the north end of Sydenham Road shed Port Elizabeth South Africa. The last rays of the evening sun try to penetrate the smoke from the building as five workers are silhouetted taking a break. Two 15ARs and a 24 stand outside. Almost a hundred engines on shed that evening. Sunday 9th September 1973. Regards Ledg.
Hi all, 45699 “Galatea” in disguise as 45627 “Sierra Leone” leaving Bewdley this year during the Spring Gala on the Severn Valley Railway. The dreadful yellow stripe on the cab side indicated that the engine was banned from working south of Crewe once the electric was turned on for the overhead wires in the 1960s. (The powers that be just didn’t want passenger engines getting their new wires dirtied up!) because they go up and down willy nilly south thereof
Hi all, I went to the Severn Valley Railway last week end to see 46115 “Scots Guardsman” at the 200 year celebrations hoping to get a good shot of it at Bewdley having got few at Kidderminster. Unfortunately little did I know that it would be turned whilst I waited at Bewdley after travelling by bus from Kidderminster only for it to come late and tender first thus almost missing my return bus back to get home!. Anyway here are
Hi all, A nice shot of Ex Great Western modified Hall 7903 “Foremark Hall” seen through the pine trees at Cheltenham Race Course station, all the trees over a hundred years old now. It’s hard to believe I once drove freight trains along this now preserved railway from Birmingham to Gloucester. Saturday 5th,April 2025 Regards Ledg.
This was our first visit to East Germany which meant a visit to London to obtain visas. Taking photographs was no Bothe on the narrow gauge lines even the standard gauge was the same as long as you didn’t venture near depots or marshalling yards they got nasty then. Here is a delightful shot taken at Alexisbad station on the Hartz narrow gauge system, every one is waiting for the train hauled by to depart at 11.46 to Strasberg. 99-5902
Hi all,An age old daily occurrence on the railways during steam days, taking water, OK on a nice day like here but not so much fun on a bitter cold day in the winter or any time really when the rain was lashing down and the wind was blowing, being on the back of a tender, waiting for the the tank to fill in those conditions was no joke. Your hands became gnum with cold holding down a thick wet
Hi all, Here are a couple of really nice shots taken on my fifth visit to Austria. Almost all of the standard gauge steam had now finished in the country and so I was now concentrating here on the Garsten narrow gauge line which would almost certainly be closed by the OBB Austrian state railway, which it eventually was. But the section between Styer and Grunburg has now become a 17 km steam operated museum railway. 298-53 by the river
Hi all,I ventured out on my trusty wheel chair early last Saturday to take a picture of 7029 “Clun Castle” climbing out of Birmingham New Street and passing through Five Ways station with 1Z40 the 08.00 Birmingham New Street to Bishops Lydeyard, near Taunton for a trip down the West Somerset Railway onward to Minehead. Here are two pictures, one of it leaving the last of 4 tunnels,(at one time I could remember their names but time has caught up
Hi all, A panoramic view of the valley looking down past the village of Vordenberg Mark to the town of Vordenberg Austria, which is out of sight around the bend. 97-210 an 0-6-2 tank rack fitted engine is seen pushing the 12.39 up the steep gradient from Vordenberg to Eisenerz away from Vordenberg Mark station on a miserable May day. Winter persists late high up here in the mountains, nothing seems to be growing yet. 1st May 1974. Regards Ledg.
Hi all, It was a good day and a bad one regarding my visit to Porthmadog last week. The good bit was this photograph, the bad was that the Festiniog Railway was completely Diesel worked due to the very dry spell we are experiencing at the moment and the fire hazard had stopped the use of steam engines up through the forests and mountain side. And so I came away minus 5 trains to photograph. Never mind. Here is ex
Hi all, A grand view of the south yard at Kronstadt Loco South Africa with the main array of engines on show being 4-8-2s of class 23s which at the time were working the busy main line South to Bloemfontein. As you can see they were all facing south except one and all were coaled up and ready to go. Unfortunately this was soon to change as the line to Bloemfontein was at the beginning of being electrified which would