Steam & Railway Image Library - The Alan Ledger Collection

Steam Picture of the Week

Bedley SVR 5/7/2025

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

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7903 Foremark Hall

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.

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99-5902 at. Alexissbad East Germany

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

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4277 At Pickering North Yorkshire Moors

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

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Picture of the week

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

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7029 Five Ways

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

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97-210 At Vordenberg Austria

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.

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WELSH HIGLAND RAILWAY

Hi, Begin forwarded message: From: Alan <alan.r.ledger@blueyonder.co.uk> Subject: WELSH HIGLAND RAILWAY Date: 17 May 2025 at 16:06:52 GMT+1 To: “bgatepost@gmail.com” <bgatepost@gmail.com> 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

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Kronstadt loco South Africa

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

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SVR Steam Gala 2025

Hi all,I Traveled to Bewdley for this year’s annual spring steam Gala at the weekend, having got there by train(s) to Kidderminster then the152 bus to Bewdley that was going to Bridgnorth from Kiddy onwards to Bewdley all connecting remarkably well. The plan was to see three visiting engines, 2 LMS Jubilee 4-6-0s, 45596 “Bahamas” and 45627 “Sierra Leone” which is in fact 45699 “Galatea” The third engine being brand new built 4-6-0 6880 “ Betton Grange” the 81st of

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Rheine loco Germany

Hi all, 1975 was a bad year for going abroad, I had just bought a house that needed plenty of work on it so just one trip was made on a two dayer to northern Germany. Unfortunately the weather was dire. Day one thick grey cloud, day two thick grey cloud and heavy rain. We had given up on the action shots and had made our way to Rheine and the depot even here you needed a tripod! To get

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Statfold Farm Railway

Hi all, This was the scene a few weeks ago out near Tamworth on the Statfold Farm Railway at their steam weekend where approximately 12 engines were in steam running a very busy timetable. First of two pictures of two engines waiting to back up to the station at Statfold Junction. The second picture is taken at Oak Tree Halt a busy passing point for the trains bout halfway round the circuit. It’s really a nice day out to just

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