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34 comments in this gallery
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Score: 9.7 (27 votes)
Score: 9.9 (22 votes)
Score: 9.0 (23 votes)
Score: 9.7 (21 votes)
Score: 9.9 (19 votes)
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2009 S&C Review of the year
From a personal point of view 2009 has been without doubt my most successful year photographing the S&C. Reflecting on the year as a whole, the weather at times was superb and the traffic levels were steady, despite the disappointing fall off in gypsum traffic in the second half of the year. I managed to get shots at locations that I’d been meaning to do for some time whilst also improving previous shots at more familiar locations. However, there is still so much more to do and many more ideas for new locations that I have in mind for the future.
Looking in more detail at 2009 the year couldn’t have started any better. Throughout January snow clung to the high ground and I managed decent results at many locations on the line including Ribblehead, Shotlock Hill and Keld.
February was a real highlight. We had deep snow and long periods of sun early in the month. The 3rd provided me with a chance to get what has been voted ‘the people’s favourite’ shot, FHH 66951 in deep snow at Angerholme on 6Z73 Killoch to Ratcliffe loaded coal. The FoSCL also used this picture in a series of new postcards which were produced later in the year. The 6th of the month was yet another incredible day I got 2 decent sun and snow shots at Ribblehead, with the afternoon spent around Dent. On the 7th LMS 4-6-0 Royal Scot class ‘Scots Guardsman’ ran north and I don’t think I’ve seen as many people out photographing, I managed to avoid the crowds but wasn’t too happy with my shot at Smardale Viaduct.
March was a quiet spell for me with only 1 real decent shot during the month at Birkett Common on the 25th.
April was better with traffic levels increasing, the 2nd was a superb day when everything ran and the sun shone all day long, I spent the morning at Garsdale and the afternoon around Lunds and Shotlock Hill. The highlight of April was the 20th anniversary of the S&C’s reprieve from closure which fell on the 11th. The focal point of the celebrations was at Garsdale where the FoSCL organised a small gathering but I marked the occasion with a good view of a FHH 66 climbing over Ais Gill Viaduct with a clear view back down Mallerstang, an excellent way of describing in a picture the line’s salvation and subsequent important freight route status, it was a reminder that I can only photograph the line due to the dedication and hard work of various individuals and groups, my thanks to them all. May was dominated by cloud and was another quiet period.
In June and July there was some decent weather but it’s not my favourite time of year in terms of quality of light, so the site doesn’t contain too many photographs during these months. One highlight however was an evening shot of the northbound cement (6S00) at Low Frith with Mallerstang edge rising high in the background which I took on June 1st.
In August I got a shot that I was really happy with. On the 7th the weather was fine all day and I was out in the evening to see the 6S00 loaded cement diagram heading north at Birkett behind 66150 in superb late summer conditions. ‘Guardsman’ also made another appearance in August with a southbound run and I did a black and white shot at Ormside which I was happy with. September was frustrating to say the least, most of the time work kept me away but on the odd evening I did get out for the cement at Horton, each time I tried I got no joy, either late running meant the sun went down before it arrived or clouds turned up at the wrong moment. This shot is one of those top of my to do in 2010 list!
October was another excellent month; the undisputed highlight was the 3 runs that brand new A1 Pacific ‘Tornado’ made over the line. The 3rd was Tornado’s first encounter with the S&C I only did a southbound shot at Armathwaite which I was pleased with. The next day on the 4th I did the northbound at Garsdale and the return run later in the afternoon at Keld. With sun for all 3 shots I counted myself very lucky as many photographers went home frustrated by cloud. Around the 7th, 8th, and 12th the sun was plentiful and I got several decent results around Smardale and other location in Upper Eden. November was a mixed bag, I was pleased with my shots on the 9th at Dent and Ais Gill, but aside from those there were few others.
Along with February, December was another outstanding month. Despite some low traffic levels I managed decent shots on the 10th and 11th. In particular the cement empties approaching Ribblehead station. However the 18th was even better, up at Ais Gill I managed what is one of my favourite shots to date. 66171 charging south with one of the years regular and most interesting diagrams, the 6K05 Carlisle to Crewe engineers working, a classic.
I’m looking forward to seeing what 2010 will bring, hopefully we’ll see the new Class 70s working over the line and plenty more decent light for photography. All the best everyone for the new year. Cheers, JL.
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Welcome to my Settle to Carlisle Railway gallery. What can be written about the S&C that hasn't already been printed? Words like breathtaking, inhospitable wilderness and scenic grandeur have all become synonymous with the line over the years. What really excites me about the route from a photography point of view is not just the unrivalled beauty of the locations but that compared to other places on the network the S&C has changed little since the days of steam. Sure, the motive power has changed and some sidings have come and gone. But at locations like Selside, Angerholme in Mallerstang and Smardale you get the feeling that time has stood still. Photographs that anyone could get today still bear a close resemblance to the famous steam pictures of Eric Tracey and Gavin Morrison.
Later, in the BR blue era and then into the 1990s, another generation of photographers took up the challenge. Bob Lumley, John Hooson and Bill Watson to name just three, recorded many excellent images that provide us all with a fascinating glimse into another era in S&C history. Much of their work is available to view on-line and you'll find links to their sites on this page.
My own introduction to the line came when I was about 6 months old. My father had an infectious interest in steam and many family days out coincided with steam specials over the line. So it's no surprise that I inherited an enthusiasm for spending time by the lineside in Cumbria and the Dales. As a teenager my interest in railway photography grew. At that time my 'bible' was Roger Siviter's: Settle and Carlisle, a tribute. I would spend hours studying the hand-drawn maps planning my next excursion. But I always visited the popular locations, never venturing far from the crowds to attempt something original.
At present I live in Cumbria, in a house with a distant view of the line at Waitby. When I can fit it in around work and when time allows, I've dedicated myself to recording workings over the Settle to Carlisle line and this on-line gallery is my tribute to this incredible and beautiful piece of engineering.
Speaking from a photography point of view some would say that the best days are over. It goes without saying that the variety of traction types and diagrams has certainly narrowed over recent years, but with the tireless work of groups like 'The Friends of the Settle Carlisle line' and their partners the volume of freight and passenger traffic now and in the future seems secure. I for one still get a great deal of pleasure from photographing on the route and this collection represents my small contibution to the huge body of photographic records taken over the decades.
I hope you find it interesting. Over time I will add my collection of pictures onto this site and will update frequently with new shots. Any comments are most welcome.
Enjoy. |
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| Hits (today): | 15 |
| Hits (this week): | 140 |
| Hits (this month): | 687 |
| Hits (this year): | 9665 |
| Hits (all-time): | 70805 |
| Collections: | 65 |
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In 1945 having already established himself as an excellent railway photographer Eric Treacy became Rector at Keighley and with that move found the railways over the northern fells on his doorstep. Many of his most famous early atmospheric shots (which became his trademark) depicted slow moving trains climbing away from large city stations. The mix of light, shadow, power and grime were a very successful combination and many people will recall seeing some superb shots of Stanier Princess Royals and Jubilees powering up through the deep cutting from Liverpool Lime Street, or A1s and A4s storming away from Edinburgh Waverley or climbing out of King Cross around Copenhagen Tunnel. However his pictures of Anglo-Scottish expresses over Shap and Ais Gill held very different attractions, bleak moorland locations and hard working locos did much to highlight to other railway photographers the potential that existed for excellent shots in these exposed locations. He famously said that in his view there were three supreme man made marvels in the north of England: Hadrian’s Wall, York Minster and the Settle to Carlisle Railway.
There are some 1940s S&C pictures available from W.H. Foster but Eric Treacy was the real pioneer of photography on the line, however following him was a long list of others. In the 1960s when steam operation on British Rail was drawing to a close, many famous names travelled huge distances to record photographically these final steam workings. At that time the S&C was overlooked to a great extent, the greater frequency of traffic and more ‘interesting’ locos on other routes proving more attractive. However, in the mid to late sixties when steam was superseded by diesel traction in all but a handful of locations the modest S&C Jubilees, Black 5s, 8Fs and 9Fs became suddenly the target for photographers across the country. They would flock to Blea Moor and Ais Gill, often on overnight trains from London and Birmingham and in the words of John Goss...”It was then that we realised what we had been missing.” Michael S. Welch’s book ‘Steam over the roof of England’ contains an excellent and amusing introduction by John Goss which describes the adventures of a hard core of loyal S&C aficionados. Their efforts to record the final steam hauled diagrams over the line went hand in hand with discomfort and frequent disappointment, however reading accounts of their trips today it is clear that there was much camaraderie and friendships for life were forged. In particular there is much black and white work available in publication from the likes of Gavin Morrison, Ian Krause, Alan Robey, Rodney Lissenden, R. Leslie, J. Whitley, R. Merryprice and the aforementioned John Goss. There are relatively fewer colour photographs but Derek Penny, Derek Cross, Brian Magilton, Peter Fitton, Jim Winkley and Derek Huntriss have all made their contributions to the record of steam on the S&C.
This band of photographers has etched their name into S&C photography folklore and on the 11th August 1968 when the famous ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ ran north and south over the line they were joined by hundreds of others. In a famous picture of the event the road to Ais Gill from the Moorcock junction looked like a car park with three cars abreast as far as the eye could see.
Steam returned to the UK rail system in 1976 in the form weekend steam specials, V2 Green Arrow did the honours on the first steam special over Ais Gill and after this the S&C faced its own well documented challenges. Timetabled services were soon scaled down to an all-time low and the deliberate diversion of passenger and freight trains away from the route has since been exposed as BRs attempt to close the line by stealth. Eventually in 1983 BR posted formal notices of indented closure. There followed a protracted battle which has been well documented in many publications and eventually thanks the efforts of many committed people the proposal was thrown out in 1989. However during that period there were still a few for whom the line proved too much of an attraction, they stayed faithful despite the lack of steam, they were determined to capture any image over this King of routes. Gavin Morrison, Pete Walton, John Whitley to name just three. Also Bob Lumley and Bill Watson provided many superb black and white images of class 25s, 40s and 45s during the BR blue era.
Following the lines reprieve the route has seen many changes, first generation diesels have been replaced, and we have seen hundreds of rail tour excursions originating from all parts of the country. The value of the S&C as a diversionary route is demonstrated year after year and freight traffic is at an all-time high. Throughout this renaissance period and into the modern day there have been several photographers who have stood out, Pete Shaw and John Hooson who have been around on the route for a long time continue to enthusiastically photograph modern workings today. With new investments being made in permanent way and signalling the future of the S&C seems secure.
Nowadays it’s great to regularly see familiar faces by the line side amongst the contemporary group of photographers. As a collective we can hope that our own work helps others get as much enjoyment from the route as we do.
With many thanks to all those S&C photographers mentioned above and the many that haven’t.
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