From his contributions to the Railway Press it is obvious he puts a lot of thought into the composition of his pictures. This was borne out by the selection he showed us.

Not for him the standard three quarter shot which adorn the pages of the monthly magazines but each picture tells it own story. When one looks at his pictures half the fun is to read his mind when he took it and take a moment or two to digest what is in it apart from the diesel or electric train or multiple unit.

We were treated to a wide variety of motive power classes including his favourite diesel the Deltics which were mainly responsible for the demise of his beloved Gresley Pacifics!

Locations were wide and varied ranging from Cornwall to Inverness including many in his local area of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.

Every picture told a story and he uses various items on view to frame his subject such as bridges, signal gantries and tractors and in one case a line of washing! Against the general trend he also likes to include the human element where possible.

He tries to avoid high summer but prefers spring and winter where subtle variations of light are more attractive. We were shown what one might call abstract shots but nevertheless were pleasing to the eye such as a row of wagons in half light and use of semi dark conditions highlighted by available light.

He went to great pains to assure us that none of his pictures were taken from trespass positions although it may appear so from looking at them. Some were taken from fields and back gardens of private residences where the owners were glad to give permission once he had explained his objective!

A thoroughly entertaining evening much appreciated by the audience.

Thursday 2nd October
American Wanderings
Gordon Davies

On 2nd. October we had the pleasure of the company of Gordon Davies, Society Deputy Chairman who gave a very informative slide show of the American Railway Scene.

He started by telling us how he got into American Railways. In 1993 he was reading his company’s house journal with no great enthusiasm but noticed an advert for an all inclusive holiday to America which he decided to go on. He was so impressed by what he saw he became hooked on America and has spent his last 15 years holidays touring this vast continent and in the process accumulated a vast amount of knowledge of the railway workings and the many individual railroads a lot of which have been swallowed up by the bigger ones.

He showed us a specially drawn map of America showing the rail network and for the first part of the evening concentrated on the East and South Eastern Area down to Florida and New Orleans and back up to Chicago. The second half we went west and finished up in California with stunning views of the Tehachapi loop.

One feature which struck us was the many different liveries the locomotives had. He said it was not unusual for companies to change liveries at least twice a year. I think it fair to say that there was a different one for nearly every slide.

Another outstanding feature was the quality of the slides which more than one person commented on. He gave details of the various railroads and told us when and who they were amalgamated with.

He used some stunning locations from bridges and elevated line side shots which dramatised some of trains and also gave opportunity to get the whole train in which including up to four locomotives at the front and say two at the back made it very long indeed.

He was asked what the attitude was like to railway photography and understandably after 9/11 things were a bit tricky but things have eased somewhat although photography at the big stations is a no go.

He found the average American very friendly towards the British and even the police were friendly when they heard the English accent!

He finished with views of the Tehachapi loop where one can see the same train at three different levels such is the length of them.

Our attendance was less than usual which can be put down to the fact foreign steam is not everyone’s cup of tea but more significantly to the fact that BBC 4 had devoted the whole evening to railway programmes!

Nevertheless those who came enjoyed the evening and showed their appreciation to Gordon for coming down from North Wales to entertain us.

Thursday 4th September
Woodhead the Lost Railway
Stephen Gay

On 4th September we welcomed Stephen Gay to present his slide show titled ‘One man and his dog in search of Woodhead, The Lost Railway’. This took the form of a journey on foot with Stephen and his faithful companion Thunder, looking at what is left of the Woodhead route. Starting from the present bufferstops at Hadfield, we ventured towards Sheffield, stopping off at various places of interest, including Woodhead tunnel, Dunford Bridge, Penistone and Wadsley. Stephen’s recollections of the people he met along the way and some of the long forgotten memorials to the men who built the line, added to a very enjoyable evening. In addition to the slide show, Stephen brought along a display of memorabilia and newspaper cuttings related to Woodhead. By the end of the talk, all the members present were looking forward to Stephen returning and sharing more of his journeys with us.

Thursday 3rd April
Quiz Evening

For our meeting on 4th.April we changed from our usual practice of inviting a speaker to entertain us but on this occasion we decided to entertain ourselves with a Quiz Evening where questions were based on a wide selection of subjects with modern traction and pre 1968 steam ones being just a part.

Among some of the subjects covered were the date of the Britannia Bridge fire, signalling which included numbers of current Boxes on various routes, the names of Castles as used on FGW Class 57/6's, shed codes both old and modern. We were surprised by how many sheds there were in the “6” division which was more than thought possible by many. Another surprising fact to emerge was the number of diesel classes seen on the East Coast Main Line in the late 60’s. We also had a question on the significance of BR Standard Tank 84029 and the date and where built of the last ex LNER designed B.1 class.

Our thanks are due to our Chairman Bob Ballard and his able assistant Steve Dexter for the time and effort that they put in to compile the quiz.

Thursday 6th March
LM Steam North London and Beyond
Peter Groom

On 6th. March we welcomed Peter Groom, Society Member and well known photographer, who was to give a slide show entitled “LM Steam North London and Beyond”. This turned out to be a misnomer as we did not get beyond Willesden and Cricklewood such was his commentary and information given on each slide!

He visited London one day in 1955 and bought an evening paper which had details of the “Modernisation Plan” for the railways and it was at this point he decided he would try and photograph as many different types of steam locomotives as he could.

All his slides were black and white which had been skilfully converted from his original negatives taken on a 2 ½” x 3 ½” camera with slower shutter speeds which limited shots of moving trains.

By his own admission he was a “rivet counter” and it was fascinating to learn of the way to tell differences between some types of tender for example by the number of rivets along the side.

He started at Kentish Town with slides of Jubilees backing down to St. Pancras to take out the expresses of the day and moved on to Willesden and Cricklewood.

Nearly every slide had a tale to tell and one antidote he said would be of interest to modellers was the hole in the side of the tank where you put the key in to wind it up!. In fact this was where the fireman had to fill the sand container positioned below which proved very difficult. This was changed to a hole on top of the side tank and a tube was placed to go through the water- even this had problems with corrosion.

Another interesting fact was how to tell the difference between a Patriot and a Royal Scot looking head on. One had steps leading up to the top bracket whilst the other did not.

He got much pleasure from taking shots in rare locations- for example a Royal Scot on Cricklewood which found its way there when Neasden had closed.

There were many such tales to tell and he commented on the fact that most enthusiasts missed all these in their haste to put the number in their note book!

In all a very interesting evening superbly presented by someone who took great interest in detail at the time which is now available to the modern day enthusiast and modeller.

Thursday 7th February
The Waverley Route
Derek Lovell

For our meeting on 7th. February we had an above average attendance to hear “Local” Northampton Branch Member Derek Lovell entertain us with a talk and slide show about his wanderings on the Waverley Route from Carlisle to Edinburgh.

Derek has always had a fascination for this route which is close to his heart. He never actually travelled the line but it was obvious as the evening progressed that he had spent a lot of time researching it.

We were all amazed how much material he had collected over the years and the slides he had amassed from various sources. He started from Carlisle and worked his way up to Edinburgh. He has visited the line several times and taken various locations including stations, signal boxes and other buildings along the route. It was a proper “then and now” show illustrating the changes that had taken place in his several visits to the area showing the destruction and reconstruction and present day uses of the buildings. It was fascinating to see what uses they had been put to from holiday homes to industrial sites.

His slides showed the mixture of steam and diesel power used over the route and it was refreshing to see some shots of some rare A.3. Pacifics which were based at Carlisle Canal and very rarely ventured south except to visit Doncaster Works.

A prime example of the changes since closure was the complete destruction of any evidence of a railway ever being at Hawick which was an important centre in its day.

He spent one Easter walking the route and he showed us the growth over the track bed and how difficult it was to cover the exact route

He was inspecting an old signal box and heard strange noises coming from down below, although the area was deserted which was rather frightening until he discovered some goats had taken up residence!

There are plans to reopen the line for 35 miles going south from Edinburgh due to open on in 2011. Derek finished the evening by showing us some of the sites they are working on and judging by some of the obstacles on view the opening in 2011 is very doubtful but at least they have started work.

A very interesting evening and much appreciated by the audience who realised how much time and effort has been put into his labour of love!.

An evening which your reviewer would think would be of interest to any Branch.

Thursday 3rd January
Bank Manager to SWT Train Driver
Alan Nichols

For our First meeting of the New Year on 3rd. January we had the pleasure of the company of Alan Nichols, a Surrey Branch Member who enthralled us with his story of his career change in a talk entitled “From Bank Manager to South West Trains Driver”

His first encounter with trains was as a two year old and he became an enthusiast from an early age! He was like most of us a train spotter but by the time he was 14 other pursuits were beckoning and although he gave up train spotting he maintained his interest in railways.

He was obviously well educated and as the evening progressed it was obvious he was a man of high principles.

He joined the banking industry and rose to the top as evidenced by his promotion to Senior Management.

Having spent over 30 years in this profession and with the change in Banking attitudes in the late 1990’s he became somewhat disillusioned and took early retirement from a very demanding job.

Unlike most people who would be happy to retire he wanted to start a new career at 53!

He went back to his roots and applied for a job of Train Driver with South West Trains!

His earlier career obviously stood him in good stead and it was fascinating to hear of the various training courses he had to go through before he achieved his ambition of being passed out as a driver.

He regaled us with many anecdotes far too numerous to go into details here and he is obviously held in high esteem by his management and fellow drivers.

On one occasion whilst stopped at a station he noticed what he thought was a drunk on the platform, staggering from side to side, whereas most drivers would ignore it he got down and found out that the man was having a heart attack and put him on the train and called for an ambulance to be at the next station to take him to hospital. He told us the man is now fine which shows his caring nature as he must have made enquiries as to his state of health.

He told us of the various differences in the new multiple units and how he had to learn every word of the 600 page rule book which they are tested on regularly.

His main routes are from Waterloo to Woking and beyond to Portsmouth, Basingstoke and the branches plus the Windsor Line to Ascot and branches.

He is now 61 and having done five years with SWT, four years as a driver and will be forced to retire, much against his will, at 65.

We can thoroughly recommend him to any Branch for a very entertaining evening even without any slide presentation!

Thursday 6th December 2007
Christmas Evening
festive fare along with members presentations

Our annual Christmas meeting followed the tried and tested formulae with nothing serious and contributions by members. The Annual Quiz this year proved very interesting. More of that later.

The first half of the evening was given over to power point presentations shown on a digital projector. There were seven in all given by three members. We started off with a presentation of A3. nameplates which were on display at the Talisman Auction in Newark about a year ago. We were then taken back to the early forties when the member first started taking photographs including the New Southgate accident in 1948 when Bill Hoole was involved and other gems taken on a box brownie camera! Finally this first presentation concluded with a look how the RO was in the 1930's with a different colour cover every month.

Next up were views at Barnetby and surrounding area and shots taken at a former members model garden railway in North Wales depicting American and Continental engines and rolling stock.

This was followed by a "then and now" show depicting scenes at Sheffield Victoria and the Ilfracombe to Barnstaple line amongst others.

The Branch visited The Great Cockrow Railway in the summer and we saw beautiful 7 1/4 gauge models of all regions of British Rail.

The first half concluded with a quiz on the London Underground which your reviewer found very interesting and difficult to answer in spite of having lived in North London for 54 years and commuted on the underground for some 40 years!

During the break we were supplied with mince pies provided by a local member and then reverted to traditional slide presentations.

First up was a selection of slides by showing progress over the past year of the modifications being made at Milton Keynes station to encompass an additional platform and general upgrading of the area. It was fascinating to learn about the disposal of hundreds of tons of spoil and the re landscaping of the area.

Finally we were treated to a selection of local views of Bletchley and Banbury taken in the 50's and 60's.

Altogether a very interesting evening enjoyed by a lower than average attendance due principally to the dreadful weather on the night.

November 2008