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January 2011 Peter Triggs- Trains in the Countryside- January 4th With his usual lively presentation and commentary, Peter started the year off in fine style with a wide variety of slides, steam and diesel, over the last fifty years in very varying views of the countryside, home and abroad. Your reviewer has to admit that, from the title, he had not expected to see slides of Middlesbrough Docks included in the show, but it all added to a very varied and interesting presentation. Our thanks go to Peter and we look forward to his next show! Home | Reflections | Top February 2011 Ian Chancellor- The Wheels of Industry- February 1st Ian recalled these days and looked back over the origins of the small industrial diesel shunting locomotives, from the LMS `small’ prototypes, the large numbers of former locomotive manufacturers who, like the heavy industries they served, have almost all but disappeared, and the ways in which different designs of locos were suited to their particular industrial use. Ian also captured them at work in some of the industrial landscapes which in many cases were all but swept away by the changes in the 1980’s – such as colliery railways, motor manufacturers, massive steelworks, quarries and dockyards. In addition to showing the diversity and variety of industrial railway systems, Ian explained how the changing fortunes and working practices of industrial railways had impacted on the main line locos, trains and depots which relied on and served their nearby industry. All in all, a thought provoking summary of the industrial and social change which has taken place over the last forty years. Home | Reflections | Top March 2011 Terry Nicholls- Vintage and Modern railways in the West on Cine Film- March 1st Peter showed us four films on the evening, ranging from local and preserved steam, to the last years of the Class 50 diesels on the Waterloo- Exeter line, and his cine film of the GWR 150 Celebrations, which whilst in some ways were overshadowed by high-profile steam loco failures and the closure of Swindon Works, also returned steam to the main line on a large scale and over many “new” lines, saw the re-emergence of City of Truro, a travelling exhibition train, accompanied by a large number of Open Days and special events. The cine films certainly brought back memories. Was it really that long since the Class 50’s finished work? Similarly, we hadn’t realised until the evening just how long it was since Terry had last visited us. We hope it’s not so long until his next visit! Home | Reflections | Top April 2011 Paul Chancellor- A Colour-Rail Journey- April 5th Ron prided himself on fulfilling orders received by return of post and if you wanted a quality colour slide of a scene from the days of steam- or indeed diesels- Colour-Rail was your first port of call. Paul took on the business when Ron decided to retire in 2009. He explained how he was trying to maintain and build on the respected name of Colour-Rail and all it stood for, as well as develop it in this era of the internet and digital images. Colour-Rail now had a website- www.colour-rail.com allowing on line ordering of digital images/ slides. He has also sought to broaden the coverage to include bus photographs- another of Paul’s hobbies, but encountered challenges in technology along the way- not least the continuing decline in the availability of suitable Colour Slide film and its impact on the slide sale business. Home | Reflections | Top May 2011
It’s fair to say that photography and steam engines- both rail and road traction- have dominated Malcolm Ranieri’s life for over forty years. In this meeting he shared with us some of this favourite scenes captured on medium format slides during that period. Malcolm gained a Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1998, and on retiring took up photojournalism, writing articles and taking pictures for Old Glory and Steam Railway magazines. Living in the Stratford on Avon area, working steam on the railways- either on the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway or the Shakespeare Express- has never been far away from Malcolm, although his travels with camera have taken him much further afield and he has covered Railway photo charters in many locations over the years. Malcolm split these views between Steam Railway views and Road Traction Engines, an area largely new to many members of the society. Many of the traction engine scenes were posed in front of stately homes or in classic rural working locations, and provided an education as to the former range of manufacturers and uses of road steam engines. Several of these views had appeared in Malcolm’s various books on Road Traction engines. One could be forgiven for thinking that the sun always shines for Malcolm when he’s out and about with his camera, but he assures us that’s not the case! Anyway, this was a most welcome return following his previous visit in September 2006. Home | Reflections | Top June 2011 Les Nixon “Forty-five years of Railway Photography- Part 1”, 7th June 2011. Thirty- one members packed the room for our June meting, with a first visit to us by Les Nixon. Of course, each photographer had their own favourite forms of traction- and Les was no exception. In practice though it was railways he was interested in and he photographed any railway related topic. He suggested though that if, for example, Sprinters or Voyagers weren’t your favourite form of railway traction you should not put you camera away but instead seek to include them in the wider landscape- even if they might be a bit more distant! One thing was sure- that today’s scene which we take for granted will also have changed in just a few years. Home | Reflections | Top July 2011 Evening Outdoor meeting, at Westonzoyland Pumping Station and narrow- gauge Railway, 5th July 2011. See separate trip report and photos.
August 2011 Members Slides and Digital Images, 2nd August 2011 A wide variety of slides and digital photos were on show at the August meeting, reflecting many different aspects of the rail system seen throughthecameras of Society members. Roy Patterson firstly took us on a rail tour around Eire in the early 1960’s, passing through many rural backwaters. It was quite evident that this was a very different country in the days before EU funding and the Celtic Tiger economy brought major modernization to the rail system in the 1990’s. Continuing the colour slide section, Ian Chancellor followed with a look back at Welsh Narrow Gauge steam railways in the early 1990’s, with a commentary contrasting the scene then with today’s operations on the Ffestiniog, Talyllyn and other railways. Some, such as the Corris Railway, had developed from virtually nothing twenty years ago. Today’s Welsh Highland Railway was but a pipe dream twenty years ago. Moving on to the Digital Image section, Steve Ash, Robin Eames and Lionel Jones showed various aspects of preserved steam railways and steam on the main line, plus recent Society activities, whilst Mike Kellaway -Marriott gave a very interesting Powerpoint presentation about the Brill Tramway which used to run from Quainton Road Station in Buckinghamshire, the venue for our Day outing in June. This gave a fascinating background to what we had scene, explainingthehistory and purpose of this line as well as why it developed in a very individual way. All in all a very entertaining evening put on by our members. The balance between colour slides and Digital photography has very much moved towards the latter, with the digital projector and laptop increasingly taking over from the slide projector on these evenings. Our thanks to all those who contributed.
September 2011 Arthur Turner- The Southern around Nationalisation, 6th September Colour Slides from the very early years of colour photography featured in Arthur’s show depicting the Southern Railway’s steam locos between the late 1930s and early 1960s. Arthur used Colourail slides, mixed together with a collection he had acquired some years ago, to portray the Southern Railway locomotives during these years. Many depicted freshly painted locomotives on depots or workshops, in clear well lit, front- three quarter views which could have been official publicity photos. Arthur explained the limited capabilities of early colour film in those days which was largely only capable of capturing trains at rest or moving slowly. Watching the show, one could be forgiven if they forgot the part which the Southern Electric Multiple Units increasingly played over during this period- in fact, quite strangely, not one was shown or mentioned during the programme. But we did have an alphabet of Southern Steam locomotive classes, as Arthur depicted each of the SR’s locomotive types, referred to in turn by their class letter classification. Many often overlooked or less- well known classes were shown, along with more familiar classic shots of Bulleids on theBournemouth or Devon Belle, including some in the early BR experimental deep blue livery. Views on London depots such as Nine Elms and Feltham contrasted with country views on theIsle of Wight, Weymouth tramway, and LymingtonHarbour branch as Arthur used the pictures to relive a journey which he took in the late 1940’s. It was hard to realise that some of these excellent colour pictures had been taken nearly 75 years ago in the days just before the Second World War. Home | Reflections | Top October 2011 Peter Doudney- `Mainline Steam in England and Germany’, together with Ian Chancellor `Alternative viewpoints’, 4th October 2011 A member of the Society since it began in 1977, Pete Doudney has always had a passion for photographing Steam locomotives in their natural element and surroundings, working hard out on the main lines ofthe national network. In Part One of a two- part show, (with Part Two shown in February 2012) Pete showed a series of slides portraying a wide variety of steam locomotives on various main line specials over the years, firstly along the rails between Bristol and Kingswear, in effect following the route taken by the Torbay Express, before moving north to the fells and Settle & Carlisle line. Views taken at the Great Central Railway, Loughborough also featured, keeping up the main line connection in name, since it was formerly known as the Main Line Steam Trust, before we moved abroad to Germany to see preserved steam working on service trains as part of their legendary steam festivals know as `Plandampfs’. Pete explained that in contrast to this country there are few preserved or heritage steam railway lines in Germany, although there are many preserved main line steam locos and active museum collections. Some of these steam locos occasionally got the chance to stretch their legs on the German DB national network hauling either special passenger trains, or occasionally, during these Plandampfs, scheduled passenger train services, in conjunction with the local authority and often run over several days as part of a community fair. Supporting Pete on the evening wasIan Chancellor who presented an interesting selection of slides entitled `An Alternative Viewpoint….’.These showed views of steam and diesels taken around twenty-five years ago in the 1980s, but from a slightly alternative perspective. Ian explained the thinking behind his efforts to get a different photograph, viewpoint or angle, rather than just present a traditional front three-quarters view with the sun behind thephotographer. Our thanks go to Pete and Ian for an entertaining evening. Further views of Pete’s German travels, including Digital images of his visit to an Open Day at the Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works in Germany, were held over until February 2012. Home | Reflections | Top November 2011 Annual General Meeting & `Location, Location, Location’ Quiz, 1st November 2011 22 members gathered on Tuesday 1st November 2011 for the Society Annual General Meeting. Chairman Lionel Jones welcomed members and through his report briefly recalled the main events of the last year which set the context for our interest. Society finances remained strong and this all gave theSociety a firm and positive base on which to go forward. The Chairman thanked Committee members for their work throughout the year, and members for their continued support. It was recommended and accepted that theSociety subscription should again remain at theprevious year’s reduced level of £8 per annum. The new programme of meetings for 2012 was outlined for members, and members were delighted that Les Nixon had once again agreed to give a slide presentation in 2012. The Committee were currently pursuing a number of ideas for day and evening outings but would put these to members in following months once firm proposals were ready. It was hoped to balance an interesting day visit, to a place/ places not visited by thesociety before, against the need to ensure it was affordable and could attract wider attendance in order to make it financially viable. Long serving Committee post holders Roy Patterson and Peter Carr confirmed that they wished to stand down as Secretary and Outdoor Activities secretary after many years. In thesubsequent elections, Steve Sands was welcomed to theCommittee as Secretary and Chris Batten took over responsibility for Outdoor visits. Members were saddened to receive the news that founder member and former Committee Post holder John Lickfold had passed away days before themeeting after losing his battle with Cancer. Members remembered theconsiderable contribution that John had made to theSociety over the last 35 years in several committee roles. In addition to this update full minutes were taken of themeeting by theSecretary and will be produced in due course. In themeantime this not should be taken as a formal account of what took place. Once again the AGM was followed, after theinterval, by an informal quiz “Location, location, location”, where Lionel Jones showed twenty four current day digital images, largely on preserved or heritage railways and members had to guess where they were taken. The pictures ranged from some very familiar station scenes to some more challenging views! A number of members received prizes to record their achievements. Home | Reflections | Top December 2011 `The Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway’,by Paul Gregory, 6th December 2011 25 members and friends gathered on Tuesday 6th December to hear a fascinating presentation by Paul Gregory about a local railway which almost none of us will ever have known, although its former trackbed has played a key part in shaping Weston’s roads and development. Paul, who is Secretary of the WC & P Group, explained that it had been launched in November 2006 to cater for those interested in the Railway. The Group is dedicated to the preservation of the WC&P Railway as far as is practicable, and has over 100 members spread across many countries around the world. It meets six times a year, twice each in Portishead, Clevedon and Weston. The Group has taken a strong interest in the former route and trackbed of the Railway. It has undertaken a thorough Route Survey to ascertain what remains, and Paul explained it hoped to persuade local councils and landowners to preserve as much as possible for posterity. For a railway which closed in 1940 there is perhaps more still visible in some places than many people realise but the Society would like to see it marked by interpretation boards, plaques, and marker posts. To emphasize this, Paul took us on a journey along the line, using an excellent selection of old but very clear photographs digitally restored, interspersed by modern day views to show us what remains to be seen of the line today, some seventy years or so after the line was closed and lifted. The locomotives and rolling stock of the line were also described and illustrated.
Paul told us that to help promote a greater knowledge of the railway, Interpretation boards were to be unveiled by John Penrose MP on 9th December (three days after the meeting) at the former Ashcombe Road station site, near to Milton Road in Weston. The lane leading to the station was also to be named Colonel Stephens Way, with assistance from the Colonel Stephens Society and the approval of the local council. Separately, a replica of Broadstone Halt Shelter had also been built, attracting local publicity, and was currently housed at Oakham Treasures, near Gordano.
The Group had also produced a commercially available DVD about the Railway, and a booklet describing the former stations on the line, illustrated with Pictures and maps. The Society had also sought to speak to those still alive who knew or worked on the WC&P, to record for posterity their memories and anecdotes of how it actually was.
Our thanks go to Paul for an evening which really brought the railway to life, helping us to understand more about this long lost local line and its interesting past, and the work of the Group. Those wanting to find out more about its past or the WC&P Group can do so at the excellent website about the former Railway and its route, with separate pages about the Group and its activities: Following Paul’s presentation, as this was the December meeting those present enjoyed the customary Christmas buffet.
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