CORONAVIRUS UPDATE.

With the Covid-19 pandemic currently sweeping the globe, and in particular the UK, in keeping with UK government guidelines, there will be NO new additions to this website for the foreseeable future as I am only going out for essential reasons (work, as I work in the food industry, and also for shopping). Hopefully I'll be back out again before long, maybe a matter of weeks or months, but until such time my camera will be staying firmly put in it's bag. 

I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all of you who have viewed my images over the years, and hopefully I'll see you again at some point in the not too distant future. 

Please take care everyone, and keep safe and follow your local authorities instructions where applicable.

Cheers

James

Saturday 8th February seen me attend my first Timeline Events photo charter at the Mid Hants Railway, in Hampshire, also known as The Watercress Line (as back in the day, it transported fresh, locally grown watercress to the London markets).

The subject of the charter was SR Schools Class 30925 Cheltenham, which had recently been repainted into BR Brunswick Green at the end of 2019 on rake of green coaching stock - a truly authentic Southern Railway prototypical train. 

After a relatively pleasant 2½ drive from the Midlands, travelling mostly via the M40 and A34, I arrived at our starting location, the pleasant Ropley Station, where our locomotive was in the process of being prepped for the day ahead. As ever, with any photo charter, all of the photographers had to be present for the all important safety briefing before the train pulled into the station and we all boarded. The train was a 5 coach train, with coaches 2 and 3 being made available for our use to travel in.

Our first location was an area known as Bishops Sutton, where a solitude tree stands line side, more than likely back from a time when the railway was once part of the main rail line between Alton and Winchester prior to closure in 1973, at this point is was quite cloudy and a number of run pasts was executed for the photographers and videographers, the absence of sun made it possible to take many different angles as the light was neutral for whatever side you were on. 

As the morning went on, we decided to head up to the line's terminus at Alresford for a break, stretch our legs and have a bite to eat, from a personal point of view, I always try to keep my business to the railway concerned and use their facilities as much as possible - in this case, using the station at café. I had a very tasty breakfast bap which consisted of sausage, bacon and fried egg on a white bap/roll/cob/batch/barm depending on what part of the country you're from.

Afterwards, we boarded the train for our afternoon session, whilst we was having a break, the clouds began to clear and soon we was blessed with some sunshine, we retraced our steps back to Bishops Sutton with that tree and began run pasts again.

After we filled our boots, our next location was Chawton Woods, which is more or less at the opposite end of the line between Alton and Medstead & Four Marks Station, it was seeing other peoples work online of Chawton Woods which actually swung it for me to book on the charter. At this location, the line is on an embankment running on the Southern fringe of Chawton Woods, and looking at the location seems a quiet and idyllic location. Don't be fooled however, as the A31 trunk road between Winchester and Farnham passes close by.

Having spent some considerable time at Chawton Woods, we had to head back to Ropley to give Cheltenham a drink, again the photographers had a choice of either disembarking the train or staying on the train whilst it was shunted into a siding where the water facilities are located. I disembarked the train to stretch my legs at Ropley and to spend a penny shall we say lol. Once watered, Cheltenham eased back into the station, and we headed West back towards Bishops Sutton, although there are a wide number of various locations to visit at Bishops Sutton, so the shots weren't all the same as when we visited in the morning.

We ended the day on the Western fringe of Bishops Sutton, at a location collaquially known as Weavers Curve, after which time we returned to Ropley Station, and subsequently time for me to retrace my steps back to the Midlands.

LINKS:

Timeline Events

Mid Hants Railway

My photo collections for 2020 started off on Monday 20th January 2020, with a visit to my local railway line side location at Burbage Common, near Hinckley. A location, which if the developers have their way, will be consigned to the history books over the next few years when a proposed rail freight terminal and associated warehousing will occupy the current countryside location.

My first photo of 2020, has the honour of 66040, still sporting the erstwhile EWS livery, and still looking shabby from it's stint on the RHTT season of 2019, working the 6V92 Corby - Margam steel empties. My second shot, which followed just 5 minutes later, was of GBRf's 66747, which in 2019 was painted into the customer livery of Newell & Wright Transport, working the 6G16 Stud Farm Quarry - Bescot loaded ballast boxes. 

Both photo's were taken with the camera placed atop a 5m tall Harris Painter's pole and remotely triggered from my android phone (A Samsung Galaxy A5 2017).

66040. 66040 Burbage Common (P).Still looking a bit dirty from it's RHTT session in 2019, 66040 passes through Burbage Common working 6V92 Corby - Margam empty steel carriers.

Camera mounted on top of a pole and remotely triggered.

66747.

66747 Burbage Common (P).Sporting the livery of Newell & Wright Group, 66747 Made in Sheffield passes through Burbage Common, near Hinckley working 6G16 Stud Farm - Bescot loaded ballast.

Camera mounted on top of a pole and remotely triggered.