Behind the photo galleries sits a database that controls everything, creating the links between the pictures and the text and ensuring the right images appear in the right galleries. It was fine when there were only a few hundred pictures but had been struggling to cope with the 5000+ images currently on the site. In particular, site updates were taking longer and longer and the process was regularly failing before it completed, requiring time consuming manual interventions almost every time it ran. Something had to be done.

The solution is a brand new database, set up from scratch, taking into account the lessons learned from the last one. Indications are that the new set-up is much faster and more reliable. The opportunity was taken to redesign the photo gallery pages at the same time, adopting a flexible layout that adapts itself to the size of the browser window. Whether you're using a phone, a tablet or a large desktop screen, pictures should display at an appropriate size in a layout suited to the window dimensions and orientation. The Austria, Cuba, Denmark and UK galleries have already been converted to the new format and are available to view. The new pages have been tested on Safari, Chrome, Opera and Edge browsers so, hopefully, will work for everyone. Smaller pictures, 750 pixels across have also been replaced with 900 pixel versions. More enhancements will follow once the remaining galleries have been converted.

go to Austria photos
go to Cuba photos
go to Denmark photos
go to United Kingdom photos

Despite the Covid pandemic and lockdowns the Berks and Hants has remained a busy freight railway and if anything has become even busier with new flows of stone introduced in an attempt to satisfy the insatiable demand of construction in the south-east. The Class 59s remain dominant but now with Freightliner's green class 66s replacing DB red and EWS maroon machines in the supporting role. DB still retains a presence on non-MRL stone workings but other operators barely get a look in. This update adds 62 pictures taken on the line between March and June 2021.

go to New Photos
go to 135 Reading - Westbury photo gallery

The line from Westbury to Cogload Junction, near Taunton, carries inter city passenger traffic from London to the West of England as well as local services between Bristol and Weymouth, all worked by units these days. The east end of the line, around Westbury and Frome also sees a significant amount of freight traffic, most of it limestone from Merehead and Whatley quarries, which is taken to destinations all over southern England. The stone workings are of particular interest as they employ Class 59 diesels as well as the ubiquitous Class 66s. These pictures were taken in September 2019, around 6 weeks before Freightliner took over the stone workings from DB Cargo.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 135 Westbury - Cogload Jn photo gallery

Added a batch of 50 (appropriately) photos taken between 1988 and 1990 on the LSWR main line, mainly between Woking and Farnborough but with a few closer to London. Classes 33, 50, 47 and 73 feature as do EMUs of several classes. There are new galleries for classes 33, 50, 421 (4-CIG), 423 (4-VEP) and 442.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 158 Waterloo - Weymouth gallery
go to Class 33 gallery
go to Class 50 gallery

go to Class 421 gallery - - - - - go to Class 423 gallery - - - - - go to Class 442 gallery

A handful of new pictures taken in 2019 and 2020 around Peak Forest and Chinley, Wokingham, near Reading and Newtonhill, south of Aberdeen.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 078 Peak District gallery
go to 148 Reading - Redhill gallery
go to 229 Dundee - Aberdeen gallery

A batch of 66 new photos taken between Maidenhead and Reading in 2016, while electrification work was taking place. There are some HSTs and DMUs but most pictures are of class 59s and 66s on freight. This takes the total number of UK images to over 1000.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 125 Paddington - Reading gallery

A few more pictures from Barnetby in early 2019 and from the impressive new Reading station in August of that year. There's also a new Reading Area gallery bringing together all the photos taken within a 3 mile radius of Reading from the various galleries on the site.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 029 Barnetby Area gallery
go to 125 Paddington - Reading gallery
go to Reading Area gallery

A return to the now partially electrified Berks and Hants, with 56 new photos taken on the wireless section from Newbury to Westbury in 2019, before Freightliner took over the Mendip stone contract. There are plenty of Class 59s, a number of Class 66s, a few IETs and even Network Rail's Class 950 Track Recording Train.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 135 Reading - Westbury gallery

The final batch of 55 photos from the Dundee - Aberdeen line in 2019 featuring the usual mix of classes and locations.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 229 Dundee - Aberdeen gallery

Yet more photos from the Dundee - Aberdeen line in 2019 and three new galleries covering ScotRail, VTEC/LNER and Caledonian Sleeper.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 229 Dundee - Aberdeen gallery
go to ScotRail gallery
go to Caledonian Sleeper gallery
go to VTEC/LNER gallery

Another batch of photos from the Dundee - Aberdeen line in 2019 including DRS Class 66s and a Colas Class 70 on freight and a Class 73/9 on the Caledonian Sleeper. There are plenty of DMUs and HSTs on this scenic line as well, including the now departed LNER HSTs in their striking red and white livery.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 229 Dundee - Aberdeen gallery

By early 2017 the electrification of the east end of the Berks and Hants line was beginning to make serious inroads into the number of photographic locations available between Reading and Newbury. These photos show freights, HSTs and DMUs on the line as the poles went up. It was good while it lasted.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 135 Reading - Westbury gallery

Sorry, no locos in this batch of pictures. It's all units, taken at various places between Clapham Junction and Gatwick Airport on the old SR Central Division. There are also new galleries for Class 375, 377, 379 and 387 EMUs, for Class 455 and 456 EMUs and for the predominant operator on the route, Southern.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 170 Victoria - East Croydon gallery
go to 186 East Croydon - Brighton gallery
go to Class 375, 377, 379 & 387 gallery
go to Class 455-456 gallery
go to Southern gallery

The Didcot - Swindon section of the GWML was one I ignored until it was almost too late. It doesn't have the scenery or the volume of freight traffic that can be found elsewhere but turned out to be a lot more attractive than anticipated, until the poles went up.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 125 Didcot - Swindon gallery

The discovery that time machines are exempt from lockdown restrictions prompted me to go back to the early 1980s, visiting Glasgow in January 1981 and Manchester in January 1982, or maybe I just found some old scans that hadn't yet been published. Either way, it was a completely different world back then, in the days before the entire population was convicted of breathing and put under house arrest.

go to New Photos gallery
go to Manchester Area gallery

Another set of pictures from the East Midlands taken in early 2019, specifically on the Stenson Jn - Sheet Stores Jn line and the Midland Main Line north of Leicester, both of which now have their own galleries. There's also a new gallery for the East Midlands passenger franchise, sadly all units apart from the occasional HST, and another for Class 73s, which should have been published along with the Scottish photos.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 053 Midland Main Line gallery
go to 054 Stenson Jn - Sheet Stores Jn gallery
go to East Midlands Trains gallery
go to Class 73 gallery

Some more pictures taken north of the border in recent years, comprising 7 images from the Glasgow - Dundee line and the first 35 from the Dundee - Aberdeen line. It's been all change in the North-East of Scotland recently and several of these shots show traction that's now been replaced or reliveried, including HSTs in Virgin and LNER colours and DRS 68s on freight.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 229 Glasgow - Dundee gallery
go to 229 Dundee - Aberdeen gallery

The last of this batch of catch up images consists of 24 pictures taken in the Rugby area over the past few years. Plenty more pictures to come but they need sorting out first, so it may be a few days before the next batch appear.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 065 Milton Keynes - Stafford gallery
go to LNWR and West Midlands Rly gallery

A selection of pictures from the Birmingham Area and the lines to Derby and Peterborough via Leicester. Many of the images date from 2003, only 17 years ago but another world as far as the rail scene is concerned.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 047 Water Orton - Peterborough gallery
go to 057 Birmingham - Derby gallery
go to Birmingham Area gallery

Another 20 photos from the UK added to the website, all from Kings Sutton, south of Banbury, together with new galleries covering the Aynho - Jn to Leamington line, Chiltern Trains and Class 68 diesels.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 071 Aynho Jn - Leamington - Coventry gallery
go to Class 68 gallery
go to Chiltern Trains gallery

The UK catch up continues with 53 photos taken over the last few years, mainly in the Oxford area and including the transition from HSTs to IETs as well as good number of freights. A few holes have also been plugged with new galleries, including Class 67s and Network Rail.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 116 Didcot - Aynho Jn gallery
go to Class 67 gallery
go to Network Rail gallery

36 new photos added to the UK galleries from 3 day trips to East Anglia in late summer 2019, concentrating on the Class 90 electrics working between Norwich and London and the class 37 diesels covering a Norwich - Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft diagram. Both the 37s and the 90s have since been replaced by new multiple units.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 011 Liverpool St - Norwich gallery
go to 015 Norwich - Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft gallery

27 new photos added to the UK galleries from visits in recent years to Edinburgh and the Abington area on the north side of Beattock, mostly units but a few locos. There are several new categories as well for TransPennine Express, DRS, Class 350 and Class 390 EMUs.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 065 Carlisle - Glasgow gallery
go to Edinburgh Area gallery

A new batch of 80 pictures, mainly from the Reading - Basingstoke - Clapham Junction triangle, many of them units as would be expected but quite a few loco hauled workings as well. There are also a few odds and ends from as far apart as the Peak District and China for good measure.

go to New Photos gallery
go to 135 Berks and Hants gallery
go to 149 Waterloo - Reading gallery
go to 158 Waterloo - Weymouth gallery

Another batch of 41 new photos, mostly taken around Oxford over the last couple of years but with a few from the Reading area as well, including some night shots.

go to 116 Didcot - Aynho Jn gallery
go to 122 Reading - Basingstoke gallery
go to 125 Thames Valley East gallery
go to New Photos gallery

Forty new pictures have been added to the UK photo galleries, mostly covering visits to the Peak District, Midland Main Line and North Lincolnshire over the last couple of years. These include plenty of freights hauled by Class 66s in a variety of liveries but also quite a few Class 60s and a handful of older classes. For the DMU fans (are there any?) there are a few shots of Classes 150, 158, 185 and 222 as well.

go to 029 Barnetby Area gallery
go to 053 Midland Main Line gallery
go to 078 Peak District gallery
go to New Photos gallery

An additional 44 pictures added to the UK photo galleries covering the line through the Thames Valley between Reading and Didcot. Most pictures are from 2014, before electrification work had ruined any good locations, but there are a handful from last century as well. It's very different now with poles and wires making any attempt at photography pointless.

go to Thames Valley West gallery

Just added a few photos from the Berks and Hants line, taken during 2016. The eastern section of the line, from Reading to Newbury, is currently being electrified, undoubtedly ruining all of the locations shown here. The line carries a mixture of long distance and local passenger trains as well as Britain's heaviest freights, stone trains grossing up to 4800 tonnes.

go to Berks and Hants gallery

A rare excursion to another part of the UK to photograph trains produced these pictures of Barnetby and the surrounding area, all taken on 10 September this year. With plenty of freight trains and some nice locations including Barnetby Station and Wrawby Junction, complete with semaphore signals, it was a very rewarding day out.

go to the Barnetby Area photo gallery

The UK photo galleries are the first to benefit from the new style galleries and a good number of new pictures have been added, some from the early 1980s around Yorkshire and others from 2003 in the Thames Valley.

go to UK photo galleries

I gave up on photography in the UK in 2003, disillusioned by the virtual extinction of loco hauled passenger and mail trains and the replacement of interesting freight diesels by the ubiquitous class 66s. There was far more worthwhile stuff to photograph in Europe. Eleven years on, and with electrification looming, I went back to the Thames Valley to record the scene before the poles went up. This gallery contains a few images from 2003 and more from 2014 and 2015.

go to Thames Valley East gallery

1981 was a seminal year. It was when I got serious about railway photography and started to take pictures that I'm happy with to this day. It was also a year of change for Britain's railways. Industrial steam was on its last legs in Scotland and I managed to get a few shots of NCB No.17 working at Bedlay Colliery before it closed at the end of the year. At the opposite end of the scale, the legendary Deltics were working out their last miles on the East Coast Main Line. After a number of unsuccessful attempts to photograph them earlier in the year, I found myself within striking distance of the ECML on several occasions in November then got posted to Selby for most of December. With few opportunities for daylight photography, most pictures were taken after dark with the aid of a tripod. Some of the original slides have unpleasant colour casts but the scanning software has done an excellent job of restoring the colours.



East Coast Diesels



Bedlay Colliery