The locomotives being largely in motion or bellowing smoke and/or steam I had to take a lot of photographs, on that crisp October day, to get any of a quality worthy of sharing with you. For the purposes of this post then I have determined to whittle this collection down to a Top Five for your enjoyment:
1. When this trains whistle blew I was some what stuck. The path, running between the river and the railway embankment, had started well, but soon degenerated into a water logged, muddy, mess, tangled up with all manner of undergrowth. Forewarned by the whistle I climbed up as high as I could and prepared the camera; this the result. This is one of my favourite photographs and I did not feel too demoralised as I retraced my step back to the safety of the road.
2. The view from the guard’s van; something I never thought I’d see (being a child of the diesel and electric age, rather than the age of steam). The train was packed and the guard shouted something and one or two late comers to the scrum jumped into the van. Here we’re passing a mixed goods train, which was something of a surprise.
3. Roaring fires. There is something about a coal fire in the hearth that strikes you, or me at least, when you first feel the warmth of it. This example was at Ingrow (West) Station and it was very welcome.
4. It is the little things that make a house a home. I spent a very pleasant moment by the fire at Oxenhope Station wondering, like Sherlock Holmes, what sort of characters left these sticks and umbrella in the rack beside me.
5. The infectious enthusiasm of others is probably best illustrated by this photograph of a group of men determined to get the best view! I say “infectious” enthusiasm, because, after I had taken this photograph, I headed around to stand in front of them!
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway website: http://www.kwvr.co.uk/
Here is a link to other photographs from my collection: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121480122@N04/sets/72157643304607304/
