The Railway

Nikon D90 and AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens.

Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens.

Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens.

Photographed with a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens on a Nikon D2Xs.

The South Devon Railway is seven miles long, and runs from Totnes to Buckfastleigh. 
Nikon D60 with 18-55 kit lens.

Designed by J H Sanders, the station has a vaulted glass roof in a single-span wrought iron arch structure. The station was originally called 'Queen Square' and renamed 'Green Park' in1951. Passenger trains from this station ceased in 1966. It is now a short-cut to the centre of Bath doing duty as an occasional market. The sidings have been redeveloped by Sainbury's Supermarkets.

The HST was introduced in 1976 by British Rail and is still the backbone of express services on several British main lines. The power cars have new engines, and the Mark 3 coaches have been refurbished, but despite that, this attractive design continues to be a great success and as iconic as the old Routemaster bus. The HST necessitated realignment of the track in some places on the western region, where it was first introduced. At Chippenham station there was a straightening scheme to allow the trains to go through at over 100 m.p.h. and the effect was to orphan one of the platforms and make the remaining platform do double duty for the trains which did stop. One HST service was timetabled to do the journey from Chippenham to London Paddington in 59 minutes. When the critics of the nationalised railway tell you how much better the services are under privatisation, tell them about Chippenham to London in under an hour. The packed perspective in this picture was achieved with a focal length of 102mm on a DX camera. The photograph was taken in Sydney Gardens, Bath. Nikon D90 and Nikkor 55-200 VR zoom lens.

This photograph of a mixed traffic tank engine taking on water at Swanage Railway was taken in July, 2010. The locomotive was built in 1928 and scrapped circa 1964 before being rescued and put back into service. It is a GWR 0-6-2T 5600 Class, no. 6695.

Yeoman Freight near Crofton, Wiltshire.

Yeoman Freight near Crofton, Wiltshire.

Swanage. Nikon D50 and AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G lens.

A Victorian railway station, built to last. Attractive, in a utilitarian way. Yet like so many things in Declining Britain, it presents an air of defeat and neglect. Nikon D50 + AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G lens.

Nikon D2Xs + Tokina AT-X 535 Pro DX 50-135mm F2.8 lens.