Mechanical Landscapes

Category: Railway Photography

  • #372 – Library of Congress Images – Virginia coal trains

    Boy this was hard work! The negatives were as rough as the environment they portray and must have been developed in gravy and moonshine. Most of the Library of Congress scans that you may have seen in earlier posts have required a few minutes work in Lightroom to give them some contrast and a bit…

  • #371 – Library of Congress Images – Allied Railways (and British Engines) in Iran

    An American locomotive with an American soldier crew hauling freight to Russia somewhere in Iran. I was quite surprised to see world war 2 photographs of the Persian Corridor in the Library of Congress. This was the supply chain set up through Iran by the allies to supply Russia by road and rail. The motive…

  • #370 – Union of South Africa on the East Lancs Railway 2

      Of course, it’s not all rural locations, but the urban locations around Bury aren’t really accessible. Even those around the railway station are only accessible on occasions like this, but it did allow for some variety as I do like to capture the people side of the railways where I can.  Finally, some alternative…

  • #369 – Union of South Africa on the East Lancs Railway

    If I could draw an automotive comparison to the sound of a streamlined A4 steam loco it would be to a flat 6 Porsche engine – a taut, highly tuned mechanical beat with the underlying threat of huge power. I’m not well up on the different noises of steam locomotives, but hearing the Union of…

  • #368 – Library of Congress Images – a trip on the Santa Fe in Black & White

    People talk about how in the digital age, there is a lot of ‘machine gunning’ of scenes with dozens of photographs taken, and not all with a great deal of care and attention. In looking through the photographs of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway it seems that the practice wasn’t unheard of in…

  • #367 – Library of Congress Images – Santa Fe in Black & White

    Going up? Or down? Wheel shop. Not sure what the significance of the white painted ones are – dummy ones for works use only? Or maybe ones that are waiting for machining / new tyres? This almost has a production line-like feel to it. The workshop is clearly quite large and by british standards quite modern. Interesting to…

  • #366 – Library of Congress Images – Santa Fe in colour

                                          A few more images of the Chicago and North Western railway to complement those I blogged recently. In some respects, the outside environment probably suits the film better (Kodak Safety Film again), as by modern standards it…

  • #365 – Library of Congress Images – Chicago Railway Yard

    http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001045480/PP/resource/   http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992001024/PP/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992001028/PP/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001045487/PP/resource/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001045474/PP/resource/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001046046/PP/resource/ Having explored inside the railway works, Jack Delano continued his documentation of the Chicago and North Western outside in the switching (shunting) yards. One tends to forget the enormous size of American steam locos until you see them with people next to them, and those depicted in these…

  • #364 – Library of Congress Images – Chicago Railway Workshops in Black & White

      http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001010167/PP/ Following on from the last post of the colour photographs of the Chicago and North Westerns workshops, this series are in a more familiar black and white. I say familiar due to the abundance of shed photographs taken in the 50’s and 60’s by British enthusiasts. However, these are different inasmuch as they…

  • #363 – Library of Congress Images – Chicago Railway Workshops in Colour

      http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000703/PP/               http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000725/PP/     http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000693/PP/                                 http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000724/PP/                           http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000693/PP/ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1992000647/PP/ In my nightschool studies of the history of photography, we…

  • #354 – Crewe Works by Lili Rethi

    I love old railway posters, anything done before about 1960 had so much style and panache. The railway companies used a variety of artists, from commercial artists, to fine artists, notables include the likes of Terence Cuneo who is one of my favourite transport artists. I’ve loved this particular one since I saw it in…

  • #340 – Reworked Images 6 – Jumbles Quarry

    This was an image I’d scratched my head with in colour. I just couldn’t do anything with it, and I didn’t think it worked well in monochrome, so even though I liked it and thought it had potential it never really went beyond basic adjustments. I’ve always thought it an intriguing image, but one that…

  • #315 – Lucerne to Zurich Express

    A recent business trip to Switzerland resulted in the opportunity to use the countries railway system to get to the airport. I’d never  been to Switzerland before but knew that the Swiss railway network, ran like the clockwork mechanisms the Swiss are famous for. And indeed, it did, everything ran bang on time, the trains were clean…

  • #289 – Thresholds Of Change – Link, Gifford and the end of steam

    O.Winston Link – Train No.2 arrives at the Waynesboro Station, Waynesboro, Virginia Colin Gifford The increasing affordability of photography in the 50’s and 60’s meant that the end of steam traction in Europe and America was well documented. Two recent book releases by acknowledged masters of the genre present a fascinating contrast of styles and…

  • #287 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 13 – Rawtenstall Station

    Unlike Ramsbottom, Rawtenstall is a terminus station, so if you’re travelling on the train, you will have more time to get out and walk round as the engine has to run round to the other end of the train to head back down the line. Rawtenstall is a good place to actually start your journey…

  • #286 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 12 – Townsendfold

    The spot by Townsendfold Signal Box is quite popular, and in the right light (such as above) can yield some nice results. It’s also a very easy spot to access and park at, which is always a good thing, especially if you’re not terribly mobile. It’s also possible to get a decent shot looking north…

  • #285 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations – Ewood Bridge

    There’s only one view here, and it’s looking due south! Framing is important, as at the west side of the line is the decaying ruins of a non-league football ground, which last time I was there still had the floodlight posts in shot. A pity, because the more distant background is lovely. I wouldn’t recommend…

  • #284 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 9 – Irwell Vale

    This is a favourite location with those who like to leave the confines of the main stations. It is a small halt, and has a small car park next to it, and there is some street parking nearby. The standard view is a good one, but I’ve only ever done it twice, one of which…

  • #283 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 8 – Stubbins

    Heading north out of Ramsbottom, turn right after the garage on the right hand side. This will take you up past a playing field to a level crossing. This is a excellent place to catch the trains leaving Ramsbottom as they are working pretty hard to get up the incline to Rawtenstall. Some people venture…

  • #282 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 7 – Ramsbottom Station

    Ramsbottom station is a nice little to photograph, as it’s got some nice period features, especially since the addition of the wrought iron canopy over the up platform. This is adjacent to the main station buildings, and combined with the water tank and general platform paraphenalia, gives plenty of potential. The station is a passing…

  • #281 – East Lancs Railway Photo Locations 6 – Brooksbottom Tunnel

    A short walk from the previous location is one that I quite like, the entrance to Brooksbottom tunnel. Although there are various possibilities here, the best one seems to be on top of the tunnel entrance, offset to the west to get a nice three quarter shot, and the curve of the line going over…