Steam Train Photography

Picture of the week: 50-485 Buch West Germany

Alan Ledger December 22, 2016

A class 50 2-10-0 50-485 is crossing a deep valley at Buch with a west bound freight train from Crailsheim to Heilbronn. If you look carefully the engine is attached to a tender with a guards compartment behind the coal space. These were not universal though. The engine also has a covered front valance below the smoke box down to the buffer beam, these were rare on this class in West Germany. We had come here to see the last

Picture of the Week: 62064 Saltley

Alan Ledger December 15, 2016

K1 2-6-0 62046 has come from York on a freight train to Washwood Heath sidings Birmingham and now rests inside three shed at Saltley waiting for a job home some time in 1965. I took this picture whilst at work, it’s not good quality but brings back so much. It gives you a taste of steam at the end of it’s existence on the railway. All the shed roof has long gone through decay. Large lumps of coal have fallen

Picture of the Week: 001-234 Hof

Alan Ledger November 24, 2016

West German 4-6-2 2 cylinder class 001-234 stands alongside the shed at Hof its home depot in the summer evening sunshine after working the 16.34 from Neuenmarkt Wirzberg. This train was often worked by a 2-10-0 class 50. It will work the 19.12 later to Nurnberg. This was the last strong hold for the remaining few of this large class of engines and this one was the last of the class to be built. They worked all the express trains

Picture of the Week: Yugoslav 006-020

Alan Ledger November 17, 2016

Date: 17 November 2016 at 09:10:28 GMT This is the Austria Yugoslav border with a Yugoslav 2-8-2 class 06-020 leaving Spielfeld Austria with a passenger train for Maribor. You didn’t venture into Yugoslavia unless you wanted really serious trouble with their police so we stayed in Austria, just! The border post was right behind us. There aren’t many photographs of Yugoslavian engines about! Sunday 20th July 1972. Regards Ledg.

Picture of the Week: 34027/34053

Alan Ledger November 10, 2016

Here’s a picture or two for sore eyes. This could have been taken quite easily before 1967 if you worked on the footplate of the Southern Region but in 2016? well you have to be in the right place at the right time! Say no more. Two rebuilt Bullied Pacifics passing one another taken from the cab of West Country 34027 “Taw Valley” working the 16.20 Bridgnorth to Kidderminster train looking along that long firebox and boiler approaching Battle of

Picture of the Week: 5043 SUTTON PARK

Alan Ledger November 3, 2016

Ex Great Western Railway Castle class 5043 “Earl of Mount Edgcombe” climbs up through Sutton Park working the 09.13 Tyseley to Chester just over a week ago. The trees are beginning to change but the sun has not come out to brighten them up. It will return later in the day passing through Birmingham New Street station at 19.50. Saturday 22nd October 2016. Regards Ledg.

Picture of the week: 52 6208 Friestadt Austria

Alan Ledger October 27, 2016

Here we are in sleepy north east Austria in beautiful rolling countryside away from the mountains. I always liked coming here as we did a lot of walking along the railway finding places to photograph. This is 2-10-0 52 6208 an ex German kriegslok from the second world war working the 16.25 linz to Summerau on the Czechoslovakian border. It was climbing all the way from Linz for the train crew but great going back! The train is formed of

TK 48-143 a Polish 2-8-2 tank at Wolsztyn

Alan Ledger July 21, 2016

TK 48-143 a Polish 2-8-2 tank has just arrived at Wolsztyn with the 15.22 from Nowa Sol looking very smart. This was the only one of the class allocated to Wolsztyn and at the time was a great favourite with the train crews at the depot. We were to see more later on allocated to Jarocin. Saturday 23rd March 1991. Regards ledg.

Picture of the Week: South Africa 19D3362

Alan Ledger July 7, 2016

A nice action shot of a South African 4-8-2, 19D 3362 hurrying along right in the centre of the country absolutely miles from anywhere, the nearest place being Flips Kop, if you can find it on any map good luck. We seemed to end up in lots of these locations but they were well worth it for the scenery. It was a good job we had some good maps, and our camper van never broke down as we would have

Picture of the week: 35006

Alan Ledger June 23, 2016

A picture taken a few weeks ago of rebuilt Merchant Navy 35006 “Peninsular and Oriental Line” at the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway steam gala on Saturday 28th May 2016. Here it is having left Cheltenham Race Course and heading for Toddington with the 12.36 departure looking very smart. I remember seeing these engines tearing through Basingstoke from the Weymouth and Exeter lines coming down from Worting Junction in the early 1960’s the drivers hanging on the whistles as they approached

Picture of the week East Germany 44-0115 At Saalfeld

Alan Ledger June 16, 2016

Here is a panoramic view of Saalfeld in East Germany showing the depot yard and turntable on the left and the station in the background. 44-0115, a 3 cylinder 2-10-0 oil burner storms out of the freight yard with a long train for Gera putting up an almighty exhaust in anticipation of the long five mile climb ahead up to Unterwellenborn. The cylinder taps are open to clear any water from them after having stood in the yard. Saalfeld’s 01-0534

Picture of the Week: 4771

Alan Ledger June 10, 2016

Hi all, I had been on the Castle Bromwich Cement train and knew this special was coming so after a quick chat with the signalman at Saltley I was able to leave my engine in the picture, class 31 and climb the signal gantry to get this photograph of Gresley V2 2-6-2 4771 Green Arrow blasting past Castle Bromwich with a very mixed bag of 12 colourful coaches in tow. It’s now in York museum along with 2 other engines

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