14th March 2020 · ’49 Not Out’

Presenter: Bob Bradley

On the 14th March West of England Branch member Bob Bradley presented a traditional slide show entitled ’49 Not Out’, the title referring to him having taken railway photos since 1971. Initially he mainly took black and white photos, but he experimented with some slide photography that year and showed some of these depicting scenes around Exeter, particularly of ‘Warship’ and Class 22 locos.

From 1974 he concentrated on colour and the first half of the evening took us up to 1980; the topics including the final years of the ‘Westerns’, Grand National day at Aintree and views taken during an Eastern Region visit in 1978 using a Rover ticket.

The second part of the show covered the years from 1984-88 and showed the BR blue era giving way to the start of a more colourful period for liveries. Views also included the revival of steam on the main line and some visits to preserved railways

This was an entertaining presentation, full of interest and nostalgia, and was greatly appreciated by those in attendance.