January 2011

Peter Triggs- Trains in the Countryside- January 4th
A welcome return visit from “our favourite Cornishman from Taunton”, Peter Triggs. Peter had been due to give this slide show in January 2010, but it unfortunately had to be postponed due to Snow. Still it was well worth the wait.

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! 

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February 2011

Ian Chancellor- The Wheels of Industry- February 1st
A journey by rail in most parts of UK in this day and age will appear very different through the carriage window compared to the same journey forty years ago. At that time there were myriads of sidings serving private industry, and most major industrial or manufacturing plants had their own industrial locomotives.

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.

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March 2011

Terry Nicholls- Vintage and Modern railways in the West on Cine Film- March 1st
Terry Nicholls was welcomed back to give us a further show from his collection, this time on cine film. Well known as a former professional railwayman in Bristol, his photographs of steam and diesels, many taken from the business side of the tracks as he went about his daily work, have appeared in many books and magazines over the years.

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!  

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April 2011

Paul Chancellor- A Colour-Rail Journey- April 5th
Paul Chancellor returned to show us slides from the Colour-Rail collection, a subject dear to his heart as he acquired the Colour-Rail Slide business in 2009.
  
Paul explained that Colour-Rail was established by Ron White over thirty years ago From that small beginning It built a strong name for itself and became respected as the photo library of choice, with its slides of steam, diesel and electric railway locomotives from the 1930s to the present day being used in countless Railway Books. Many well-known photographers entrusted their best slides to Ron, and customers were able to order anything from one to hundreds of quality slides to add to their collections, illustrate publications, books & magazine articles they were writing, or use in slide shows they gave to societies such as our own.

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.

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May 2011

Malcolm Ranieri  “Steam on Road and Rail”, 3rd 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.

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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.
Les began by explaining that the title was in fact a bit misleading, since the oldest photo featured in the show and taken by Les dated from 1950, taken on a box-brownie!
The first shot shown was actually taken not too far away, at Charlton, Cogload Junction during the GW 150 steam specials 1985 (and by a complete coincidence your reviewer was also on the same bridge that day and took a similar photograph) but during the evening we were taken on a fascinating world tour, across many countries – many such as the Lebanon never seen by the society in any previous meetings. Les deliberately mixed up the content so that we never knew what we were to see next-either by geography or era, from 1950 right up until the present day!
Les provided a very amusing and thought-provoking commentary, complementing the wonderful photography which we expected from him. He explained his basic philosophy of photography, to picture the train as part of a wider landscape or in its surroundings. Very frequently these would add to the picture and tell a story in themselves, recording social change, fashions or styles at the time. Frequently it was about planning the photo and persisting until the weather, lighting conditions and other factors fell into place.
Les actively sought to include people in many of his railway photographs, to add impact or interest. An example was a picture on a station platform including someone reading a Broadsheet newspaper, taken some fifteen years ago. Les suggested that if taken today such a photo might feature a similar person talking on their mobile phone instead!

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.
This was a truly memorable and enjoyable evening by Les. We thank him for traveling from the Peak District especially for the show, and hope that maybe he might return again for a further installment in the future!

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