Trains

Train Photo Galleries

My interest in trains dates from seeing the last few years of steam on the UK main line. Steam locomotives are magnificent beasts and I have been hooked ever since. The following are some of the photos I've taken over the years, mainly on various preserved railways in the UK but also elsewhere. I make no apologies if some of the images aren't first quality. I've gone for interest rather than art. Hope you enjoy.

Galleries

Chemin de fer de la Baie de Somme

On 26th April 2008 a motorcycle road trip took a small group of us to the town of St Valerie Sur Somme to see the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme in France. The line runs for some 24 kilometers from Cayeux sur Mer to Le Crotoy, on the coast about 11 kilometers apart but seperated by the Baie de la Somme. <read more>

Haytor Tramway

On the South edge of Dartmoor in Devon, at Haytor, there was a granite quarry which shipped stone to many areas of the UK. When the owners came to introduce rail transport, rather than import expensive iron railes thay used a material that they had freely available in large quantities. Stone! Even though the layout has not been used for many years, much of the permanent way remains in situ. <Read More>

Kingston Flyer

This preserved railway is in New Zealand's South Island. It runs from Kingston on the shore of Lake Wakatipu to Fairlight about 14 Kilometers away. Sadly the line closed in 2012 for 'safety reasons' and hasn't run since although it remains mothballed.

In December 2017, it was brought by a group of local investors with a view to re-opening but, as far as I can see, there is no news of it happening yet. <read more>

Listowel and Balybunnion - Lartigue Monorail

Located at Listowel in County Kerry, Ireland, this museum is a replica of the Listowell and Ballybunion Railway, the only commercially succesful example of a railway based on the principle of the Lartigue Monorail. Despite it'e unique form, the railway survivied fron 1888 to 1924.<Read More>

Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

This railway built to a gauge of only 15 inches runs for 13.5 miles between Hythe and Dungeness on the coast of Kent in South East England. Opening in 1927, the railway was designed to make a real contribution to the transport needs of the district. The original steam locomotives were designed to resemble contemporary main line express locomotives. There are now 11 steam locomotives and 2 diesels in the fleet. <Read More>

Strathspey Railway

Running from Aviemore to Broomhill in Inverness-shire, The Strathspey Railway trains travel through spectacular scenery on the edge of The Cairngorm Mountains in Highland Scotland. <Read More>

Talyllyn Railway

This small railway is widely accepted to be the first preserved railway in the world. Originally opened in 1865 it came into the hands of the present preservation society in 1951. It runs through spectacular countryside in the southern part of the Snowdonia National Park. <Read More>

West Somerset Mineral Railway

This short railway was built between 1857 and 1864 to link iron mines on the top of the Brendon Hills in Somerset to the small port of Watchet on the Bristole Channel. The mines and the railway were both owned by the Ebbw Vale Company which required the ore from the Brendons because it was ideal for the early Bessemer production of steel. Mining ceased in 1883 but the railway continued in operation until 1898 when it was close. In 1907 there was an attempt to re-open the mines and the railway but this proved short livedand final closure occured in 1910. A major feature of the line was a gravity worked incline, at 1 in 4 and over 1010 metres long it climbed 245 metres. <read more>

West Somerset Railway

THe West Somerset Railway is the longest heritage railway in the UK. It runs from the village of Bishops Lydeard to the seaside town of Minehead passing between the Quantock and the Brendon hills to the small port of Washford before turning along the coast through Washford, Blue Anchor and Dunster. The railway uses the trackbed of the erstwhile Minehead Branch of the Great Western Railway and predominantly uses GWR stock. <read more>