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| credit: Adam Rutter |
The weather has been hot and sunny today. I went to the Severn Valley Railway to take photos of the trains with my smartphone.
The first train that I photographed consisted of ex-BR coaches coupled to a blue diesel locomotive: the Royal Ark. I filmed the train leaving Bridgnorth station and captured the stills from the footage. I stood near the bottom of platform 1 as yellow carriages with a red bar below the windows were sliding past.
The
station was peaceful. A siren upset the equilibrium a little bit for me. Once
the siren faded into the background, peace and tranquillity was restored. Most
of the visitors at the station were clustered outside the café: a blue-grey building
that was adorned with posters for the tourist from yesteryear. The posters were
a re-enactment of the British Railways era, although some have sadly faded due
to exposure to the sun. I am happy to say that my particular favourite still remains
in pristine condition, and that is a picture of the sea cliffs rising above a sandy
beach in Cornwall that was originally advertised by Great Western Railway, or “GWR”
as stated on the poster. GWR promoted “monthly return tickets issued all year round”
that was aimed at encouraging more people to travel by train.
It
was about an hour and a half until the next train arrived. This time, it was steam.
Russet-brown coaches were being pulled into the station by a black locomotive
lined with red bands along the boiler. The locomotive made itself heard when
the steam hissed with a white column shooting into the air. I stood on the
footbridge, watching the fireman climb onto the tender, turn the tap round on
the water crane, and filled the engine up. More steam threw up. After jets of
steam had receded, the fireman moved the tap back where it was. The locomotive was
chugging along, sliding by platform 2, thundered under the footbridge and past
the gantry signal. I sat on a bench on platform 1, watching the train go out.
As before I filmed the locomotive going by and captured the stills.
I
was enjoying the sunshine while I was on the bench. I heard a pheasant calling
from a field upon the hill, blackbirds singing and magpies chattering from near
the railway signals. One signal slid down diagonally, which only meant one thing.
I went back on the footbridge. I stood directly above platform 1, so that I
could see a train come round the corner. The bell rang on the signal box, and
so I turned the camera back on. I filmed a diesel multiple unit arriving, which
contained three pea-green coaches and a drivers' cabin at either end. I took
some shots of the DMU diesel from the middle of the footbridge, and more at
platform level after the passengers had disembarked.
3 comments:
Sounds like a good day. We love the SVR too. Have never seen the pea-green coaches though 🌞
It was a good day at the SVR Irena. I have seen the 'pea-green' coaches at Bewdley station on previous visits to the railway.
Adam
Perhaps adding that GWR was referred to as 'God's Wonderful Railway' would have added a dimension to the prose. Perhaps 'God's Wonderful Railway indeed' (perhaps referencing the source) would emphasise your favourite.
Heather
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