Steam and diesels in the Northern fells since 2017
The branch welcomed the return of Ian Pilkington who spoke about “Steam & Diesels in the Northern Fells since 2017”. A superb shot of the Sellafield nuclear flask train at Kirkby in Furness, with Coniston Old Man in the background, set the scene for a high-quality session. Pictures of Scots Guardsman leaving Appleby, a diesel with the Castle cement Kingmoor train and the Chirk logs showed his determination to use a great location as a vital factor in his photography.
More excellent pictures followed a highlight being 48151 at Blea Moor with Ingleborough peering behind. He had followed 48151 hauling an excursion around the Cumbrian coast showing a range of locations, Nethertown, Eskmeals and Ulverston. The Settle and Carlisle featured strongly throughout the session with several excellent pictures of the Chirk logs, Castle cement and Arcow quarry trains.
He has several favourite locations and Smardale gave us an excellent shot of Galatea working hard in brilliant conditions. This location appeared many times in the show. Just south of Appleby a shot of the last coal service train on the S & C struggling to climb the gradient at 20 mph was very illustrative. There was a wide range of weather conditions on display one picture showing the Chirk logs at Ribblehead in a whiteout and low light.
Continuing to find great locations showed the Dalesman at Aisgill and a Saphos tour at Hayfell hauled by Black 5 45231. A rare picture of the China clay train from Ayrshire displayed the wide variety of trains on display.
An unusual picture of a 3 car HST set at Selside with Penyghent behind gave a complete contrast to earlier pictures. He also showed several Northern Belle tours, one at Bessy Ghyll(Penrith), one at the Helm tunnel and another with Tangmere at Crosby Garrett, all displayed in fabulous colours.
The session continued displaying his attention to detail in his photography combined with superb locations and knowledgeable commentary gave us a wonderful evening’s entertainment so huge thanks to Ian.
Alan Sattenstall
2nd April 2026