SANS PAREIL PHOTOGRAPHY - UK & International Transport Photos Without Parallel
Top Photographs of All Time
Paxman Valenta parts undergoing overhaul at Crewe Works Open Day  Crewe Works Open Day 2005  (1897)
The unit driver must have had an eye full of the flash over!  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (1843)
Paxman Valenta power unit undergoing overhaul at Crewe Works Open Day  Crewe Works Open Day 2005  (1125)
Note the lack of headlamp on the Class 317 unit, overheads now blown  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (944)
Two females in the sun at Norwich, but both smoke!!  August Bank Holiday Monday Top-and-Tail Class 47  (858)
Glowing particles remain  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (743)
86235 leads the farewell tour through Hythe station nr Colchester  Anglia Class 86 Farewell Tour  (715)
The flash receeds  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (709)
People jumping over full barrier gates just minutes before the Royal Train  The Royal Train at Harwich  (699)
10 Paxman Valenta pistons undergoing overhaul at Crewe Works Open Day  Crewe Works Open Day 2005  (685)
11 Bang - This is a real pic. Total whiteout on the camcorder capture before the next shot when things cleared!  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (680)
12 An attractive girl asks a driver what 37's are doing the other diagrams on the valleys, ok probably not, but she could be!!!  Cardiff Valleys Class 37's - Final Trip  (669)
13 Smoke, steam, electricity and low overheads =  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (609)
14 You can just make out 61264's cab side  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (598)
15 The B1 departs Liverpool St  B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St  (559)
16 Making a change from the usual people that get in the way of your shot!!!  ACoRP Event at Norwich, Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth  (491)
17 A Bubble Car at Crewe Works Open Day  Crewe Works Open Day 2005  (490)
18 Unbelievable sight on a 70mph blind bend, guy walks with his head down having previously walked on the Up line with his back to traffic. The police were called by a lady nearby. One of several shots taken, this the most unbelievable but furthest away.  Dawlish Day Out  (481)
19 A modern double decker train at Praha Masarykovo Nádraží  Prague, Czech Republic  (469)
20 A closer view. A Virgin driver in Thunderbirds International Rescue uniform!!  Manchester via a West Coast Drag and Rio MML HST into St Pancras  (464)
21 When did you last see Yarmouth like this?  ACoRP Event at Norwich, Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth  (433)
22 A non railway shot on the same day in London. I know parking is at a premium in Covent Garden but......!!!!!!  Class 47 dragging a Class 90 at Colchester  (430)
23 Two Class 37's at Ipswich on snow ploughing duties  Looking Back - Pre-Digital Selection  (428)
24 A Class 91 on a low loader at Crewe Works Open Day  Crewe Works Open Day 2005  (385)
25 The Royal Train in Harwich Town station from the foot crossing  The Royal Train at Harwich  (383)
Most Recent Collections
26th September 2009Mid-Norfolk Diesel Gala Autumn 09
Another trip to Norfolk for the relliably good gala. Nice to see another 37 running and lots of expansion work taking place, although causing many speed restrictions. Think top n tail works best on a flat line like this though as it gives more load for the locos. Otherwise the just reach the speed limit to quickly.
12th September 2009Yarmouth Drags - A near miss!
A trip again to the Norfolk coast. On departure the service was announced as cancelled due to loco failuer but had other business in the area so went anyway and by stroke of luck the service did run! A near miss.
4th September 2009A Tornado and the Winton Train
A very special train. The Winton train was run to mark the 70th anniversary of a series of evacuation trains organised by a British Banker, a now Sir Nicholas Winton. This modest man saved hundereds of childrens lives before war took hold. This small gallery shows the train at Harwich as the train departs on its last leg to London Liverpool St. Those on board had started out in Prague as the original journeys did and travelled overnight from Holland. The use of the Tornado locomotive made the day even more special.
18th July 2009Grand Day Out - Take 2
A better trip out this time on GC courtesy (partly) of some compensation from last times chaos. Although to get compenstion was a bit of a battle, they arent as generous when things go wrong as mainstream TOC's! Came across a couple of jobs worths, the usual 'no photos' national security type at Newcastle and one onboard GC, not allowed to stand near a door. Weather, hmm lets not go there!
11th July 2009Great Yarmouth Drags - Again
Another visit to the Norfolk Coast for the NXEA drags. Seems folk come far and wide for this, I met a German enthusiast from Munich!
4th July 2009East Lancs Diesel Gala Summer 2009
A dayout to the ELR for the first time, a interesting line with some nice gradients and stations. Nice line up too but not the cheapest of Gala's.
27th June 2009Dawlish Day Out
A last minute day out to dawlish in the sun. Run of the mill stuff (it really aint what it used to be other than the odd tour here and there often just early or late in the day) but good day for photos with the sun being out. A trespasser caused havoc for a short while when everyting came to a stop on the wall, nice and easy for photos though! The police heliopter came out to find the trespasser but had long since jumped back on the wall - see photos. Not sure what he was playing at!
20th June 2009
to 22nd June 2009
A Grand trip out to the North Yorkshire Moors
A trip north with Grand Central, or not so grand as it was! Timetable in chaos and 2hr delay on return (albeit delay not GC's fault). Otherwise good trip (discount the huge soot covering I got on Sir Nigel in Grosmont tunnel!), 1st trip on the NYMR and a good line it is, plenty of steep gradient action.
13th June 2009DRS Drag Day Out
A day out with the new order in motive power supplier evident. Maybe these locos are maintained to higher standard than some ther operators as this was the least clagy 47 I had seen for some time!
1st June 2009Manningtree hour
A sample of an hours running one evening from approx 17.45-18.45 in the sun...enjoy
23rd May 2009
to 24th May 2009
Eastleigh Weekend and a mini-railtour too
A trip to the Dorset Coast via Spitfire Railtours Class 37 ex-Crewe tour. Then on the quieter Sunday a visit to the works itself. A good weekend.
29th March 2009MNR Diesel Gala Spring 2009
Another top gala day at the MNR - these boys know how to put on a top event! Good line up, 37 the best loco again!
13th December 2008Grand Central, The NRM and a Tornado!
A trip to the National Railway Museum courtesy of a Grand Central offer. Was the day of Tornado's unvieling at the NRM. Good travel on 'real' HST's too (especially when get to travel in downgraded 1st class at no extra cost)!
4th October 2008Nene Valley Diesel Gala 2008
A typically grey saturday, a day out at the Nene Valley Gala, becoming a bit of an annual fixture for me now, good day out having given the MNR a miss this year due to no Class 37. Look forward to 2009!
13th September 2008Isle of Wight day trip
A trip to the Isle of Wight along the Island line. Trains formed of 1938 tube stock and still providing sterling service, recently all repainted into original colours.
9th September 2008Steam loco 70013 Oliver Cromwell at Colchester with a Steam Dreams railtour
Newly back to mainline metals Oliver Cromwell waters at Colchester before resuming its journey to London from Norwich.
6th September 2008Great Yarmouth Summer Saturday loco hauled
A trip once again to the Norfolk coast via quality train and traction. Another good day out with not so good weather. Hopefully this turn will continue next year too.
30th August 2008Jolly Fisherman Dayout to Skegness by Class 47
A trip to the Lincolnshire coast by Class 47. A bit like days of old. Huge long 35mph speed restriction means it takes something like an hour to cover the last 35 miles of the journey! Stock in a bit of a state with many non-working toilets and no working air-con! One coach had a leaking water tank meaning a mini-Niagara was occuring! Not a good ad for loco hauled stock.
11th August 2008
to 25th August 2008
West Canada
A tour around west Canada taking in places around British Columbia and Alberta. Good to see more huge freights once again with loud locos. Friendly staff, almost every driver waved and some gave a toot on the horn. Staff happy to chat about their system etc at length. Refreshing compared to some of my experiences in the UK!
14th June 2008
to 16th June 2008
Latvia
A country with average passenger trains but amazing freights! Massive in size and noise locos haul upto 4000 ton freight trains (mainly oil). The wagons are often so huge that 8-wheels per wagon are needed. Only downer is that I have since learnt that rail photography is technically illegal in Latvia (although very much subject to debate to further add 9/08). All but one member of staff were friendly though. Anyone else got any more on this or had troubles? Not so many photos taken as I was mainly filming the massive freights.
17th May 2008Great Central Railway Day Out 2008
A day out to have a run behind the Britannia 'Oliver Cromwell'. Disapointing weather.
26th April 2008'Grays Church Elegy' Railtour around London
Some shots of this 37 hauled tour on the LTS and GE metals.
12th April 2008Manningtree for the Class 40 Railtour
A trip top Manningtree to see the Class 40 Lowestoft bound railtour pass.
28th February 2008
to 2nd March 2008
Austrian Alps tour
A trip through Austria taking in the Alpine scenery in the winter sun (note lack of) and interesting trains. Postlingberg tram well worth a visit in Linz for only €4 return. Steepest adhesion tram way in EU and possibly world. Jenbach, freight galore as usual, is this the busiest place in EU for freight? Only other place ive been and seen so much freight is Baden-Baden area. Neighbouring countries also visited.
31st December 2007Winter Bonus Gallery
Some shots from East Anglia towards the end of 2007. RHTT leaf buster and on loan EWS 90's.
8th December 2007
to 10th December 2007
Poland
A few shots from a trip to Poland in the Krakow area
1st December 2007London St Pancras International
A first visit to this rebuilt station in London. A 'top job' this one, very well done. Even at 7pm on a saturday it was buzzing with people. The champagne bar particularly busy. Respect must be paid to the roots of this new station and the engineer Barlow who designed it.
20th October 2007
to 22nd October 2007
Spain
A trip across Spain. Shots from that trip, temps topped 34 despite being the month of October! Sun all the way, so different to the UK! Note not a lot of english spoken in Spain I found, hard work.
11th October 2007Barnetby
A brief trip to Barnetby, this place 'aint the same now it is GM dominated. Still some good photos to be had though.
6th October 2007Nene Valley Railway Diesel Gala
The NVR Diesel Gala day. First time to this line in 20 years and a pretty good day out (if not a very grey day). An intense timetable in operation with a good variety of classic british traction on offer.
22nd September 2007Mid-Norfolk Diesel Gala
Another quality day out at the MNR. The hired in DRS traction proving a big draw. Thanks to all people who donated their time to make this and other similar events happen, and of course to DRS and its staff.
8th September 2007A Devon Day Out
A trip to south Devon for the seawall, Torbay and Kingswear (steam railway). Added highlights were sunshine (!) and a Class 40 on a railtour.
4th September 2007Manningtree
A brief trip to this photogenic location on the Essex/Suffolk border. All the better when the tide is in and the sun out!
1st September 2007Gt Yarmouth Class 47 drags
A quick trip around East Anglia mainly for the Class 47 drags to the Norfolk Coast.
25th August 2007HST Tour 2007 - The final..........
A trip around part of the UK on the legendary HST before they are either re-engined (so boring silent) and in some cases ruined internally (yes you FGW/GNER). FGW/MML/GNER/VIRGIN sampled in the round robin tour. Next year this tour wont be happening.
14th July 2007Barrow Hill Diesel Gala Day 2007
A trip to Barrow Hill for the annual disel gala. This it year the theme was to celebrate the 50th birthday of the English Electric Type 1 loco the Class 20.
7th July 2007
to 9th July 2007
Scotland Tour
A trip to Scotland taking in the most northerly rail station in the UK. Great scenery, varying weather. Couldnt believe how quiet the trains were north of Inverness, hour on end travelled with just a handful of passengers aboard in high Summer. Then travelled all the way back to London stopping off en-route.
30th June 2007Belgium Jolly
A day out in Belgium via Eurostar, possibly my last trip out of Waterloo International with Eurostar. More average weather. Eurostar a total of 15mins early on the return trip on what didnt appear to be an incredibly fast run. Brussels trains now much busier than seen before with many changing at Lille for onward destinations.
23rd June 2007Norwich to Great Yarmouth Summer Saturday Loco Hauled
A short trip out to have a ride on the One Summer Saturday Class 47 loco hauled services to Gt Yarmouth. Typical British Summer weather - rain, cloud and cold!
16th June 2007
to 17th June 2007
Devon & Cornwall
A brief trip to Devon and Cornwall. Very average weather indeed slightly took the edge off the trip. Also almost all the HST's seen were the dreaded MTU variety. Hoped to score my last Paxman power car from Penzance to London - it didnt happen - double MTU instead!
21st May 2007
to 8th June 2007
USA & Canada
A trip to the USA & Canada. Various places visited inc New York and Toronto. Good to see proper loud diesels running regular suburban services in Toronto, if only Class 66's sounded like this! Amazing the amount of Routemaster buses there are around too, seen in Montreal, Toronto and Niagara.
5th May 2007East Anglia Railtour Run Around
Railtour bonanza comes to East Anglia. Four railtours in the region today of which I viewed three of these. Tangmere/Northern Belle/Cargo D MK3's. Tours seen at Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and Gt Yarmouth. I managed to bag a trip on the MK3's between Yarmouth and Norwich.
28th April 2007A Day Out Around London
A day in London mainly in the Docklands area. Superb spring (or Summer like weather).
21st April 2007A Spring Day at Didcot
Another trip out to Didcot. A sample of the days observations is included, many more MTU's seen this time. New FGW MK3's were sampled. Hmmm.. the open carriage giving good all around views has been replaced by very high back upright seating and almost totally airline in its layout. Claustraphobic! Everything just seems to go downhill!
31st March 2007London - Buffer Puffer Railtour 4.1
A trip to London to see the buffer puffer railtour. Several shots of this around the capital. Worked by 37401 and 410.
17th March 2007The Last Day of Arriva Wales Loco Haulage
Today was supposed to be the last day of loco haulage in S.Wales with Arriva. Despite the stock being overhauled during the Winter sprinters look set to be choice from now on. 3x Class 47 and a Class 50 were in action.
9th December 2006
to 11th December 2006
Austria & Slovakia
A short trip to the capitals of these countries and transport activity seen there abouts. New OBB Hercules locos seen that use MTU 4000 series engines as in UK HST's now. Just as silent as ours....
8th November 2006
to 9th November 2006
The Forth Rail Bridge -Bonus Gallery-
An undoubted engineering wonder of the modern world, The Forth Rail Bridge. At 1.5 miles long its big and was the worlds first great steel bridge, it was opened in 1890. It remains the worlds 2nd largest span cantilever bridge. Designed by the engineers Sir John Fowler and Benjamin Baker. Simply impressive.....
24th October 2006Belgium Bound
A quick spin across the channel via comfy Eurostar. I do like their buffet cars and eye level windows. Antwerp visted. Lots of rain!
14th October 2006
to 17th October 2006
Portugal
A trip to Portugal and a run on the Alfa Pendular Pendolino's. Even these are better than Virgin's variant and peak at a higher max speed! Quite a lot of old traction in Portugal and superb urban transit systems (especially the new trams of Porto).
7th October 2006A Dayout at Didcot
A sunny day trip to Didcot. Plenty of HST's screaming through at 125mph. This sound will be missed once the super-silent MTU engines take over. A few freights seen.
1st October 2006
to 4th October 2006
Italy and Switzerland - The Gotthard, Lotschberg and Simplon Passes
A round robin trip covering Northern Italy and Southern/Central Switzerland. Route taken: Venice - Milan - Luzern (via Gotthard Pass) - Interlaken (via Golden Pass line) - Milan (Via Lotschberg and Simplon Pass). Travel was on Cisalpino Loco hauled trains, Eurostar Italia and on the Golden Pass train in Switzerland.
23rd September 2006Mid-Norfolk Railway Diesel Gala
A trip to the late summer Diesel Gala. Visiting DRS loco 37259 puting in a good preformance. An interesting line with many old little stations and level crossings. Coaching stock in good condition too, not always the case at many preservation centres. A scenic line even though this is Norlfolk which is meant to be flat and boring! Wymondham station looks absolutley superb and very friendly staff in the buffet, its more akin to a museum. You can sit on real train seats while you dine!
9th September 2006A Summer Saturday in Devon
A day trip to Devon. Dawlish, Torquay and Paignton visted in a very long day out. Dawlish is not what used to be with a high density of Voyagers and Sprinters, only the sight and scream of HST's making it interesting railway wise. Still a very photogenic and pleasant place to watch the trains go by.....
23rd August 2006
to 30th August 2006
Austia, Germany and Italy
A week in the Alps touring around. Places visited included Munich, Mayrhofen, Mittenwald, Arlberg Pass, Jenbach, Innsbruck, Seefeld, Brenner Pass, Verona and Milan. Tons of freight seen at Jenbach as normal (about 5-10 an hour). VSOE was seen at Verona too.
12th August 2006Fishguard Class 50 - The Return
A return visit to S.Wales for a trip behind the Class 50. Same story as before except the arrival time back in Cardiff was 25mins early this time! To be fair even though it was a fast run the timings on the return working are very slack it has to be said.
5th August 2006HST Tour - MML/FGW/Virgin/GNER
A round robin trip sampling HST's before Valenta (ie real) power bites the dust. MTU power is now starting to be an all to common occurance on FGW, four of the silent dreaded things seen in 40mins at Didcot! Will we see any Valenta powered power cars preserved/retained? Highlights included on hire examples to VXC, a trip was taken on one sampling first class up the Lickey, even with 9 cars on light work was made of it.
29th July 2006Portsmouth & The Isle of Wight
A day trip to Portsmouth & The Isle of Wight. A trip on the vintage 1938 ex-LT tube stock too. Return travel was via Gatwick Airport.
22nd July 2006Class 50 to Fishguard
A trip to Fishguard in West Wales for a journey behind the Class 50 hauled boat train. 50031 (50028 on one side) was providing the power on this day. Brought back good memories of days gone by.
14th July 2006
to 17th July 2006
Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland
Some shots of the transportation seen while on a break in these cities. Trams great fun as usual and great cities in their own right too. Lucky with the weather I think.
8th July 2006Barrow Hill Diesel Gala 2006
A trip to Barrow Hill nr Chesterfield to the Diesel Gala Day. A first trip for me to the round house and well organised it was too. Free bus from the station got us there, another good move.
1st July 2006'One' Summer Saturday Loco Hauled to Great Yarmouth
A trip to Norfolk for the 'One' Summer Saturday loco hauled services to Great Yarmouth. Services formed of a Class 90/Mk3/DVT sets dragged to the coast on this occasion by ex-Virgin 47810. Time was made in Norwich to see england lose in penalties in traditional style in the World Cup. Another sunny summer Saturday, what is going on with our weather right now?
24th June 2006Didcot Day Trip
A trip to the Didcot Steam Centre. Highlight of the day was the TPO demonstration runs. Worth the money on their own! To see a steam loco power so hard from a standing start to gain the necessary speed was incredibily impressive, I didnt think such acceleration and noise was possible from a steam loco. Great camcorder action.
10th June 2006Anglia Plus Day Rover
True Summer sun. Dont get many like this in the UK, no haze just sun and low humidity! A trip aroud the Anglia region. Time was of course made for us to watch England play Paraguay in the pub in Norwich city centre enroute.
29th April 2006Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and a B1
A trip to Norwich stopping off to to see the B1 steam loco on a railtour at Ipswich. Unfortunately the B1 was running an hour late at Ipswich so had to miss it there due to my other planned commitments in Norwich. Saw it on its return though at Colchester in the evening. The steam heating adding to the evening effects.
3rd April 2006
to 16th April 2006
California, Arizona and Nevada - USA
A trip to the USA travelling some 2600 miles around the three states. These are some shots I grabbed on our travels. The trains in the US are just like the stereotype, huge in size and seriously long. One train took about 7 mins to pass us at around 30mph! I lost count of the number of freights I saw on our travels, there are so many of them, some places had a freight every 15 mins, far far more than the UK. Surprisingly the American GM's I saw were actually loud, impressively loud, not like a Class 66. Must return.
27th December 2005Colchester in the (light) Snow
A few shots from Colchester during the recent light snow fall. Given the state of the service that day (note no loco hauled Norwich sets photographed) I wonder what would happen if we actually had a decent amount of the white stuff!
10th December 2005
to 12th December 2005
Budapest , Hungary
Some shots from around Budapest including the small, but worthy of a visit, Transport museum at Deak Ferenc Ter.
26th November 2005Eurostar to Leeds - My final trip
A round trip to leeds to sample the dying days of Eurostar White-Rose services to Leeds. Will be a shame to see these quality trains go on these services. Return travel was first class back via the MML for a tenner! A fine trip other than a 'jobsworth' at Leeds stopping me from taking photos and threatening to call the police due hightened levels of security! A complaint has been submitted to GNER! Indeed I have since learnt a railway magazine editor has had troubles with the same gentleman!!!
12th November 2005Cardiff Valleys Class 37's - Final Trip
My final trip over to Wales for Class 37's in the Valleys. Three 37's were out those being 411, 425 and 405. The journey down from Paddington was made more interesting by a diversion via Westbury curve, Dr Days Curve at Bristol and a reversal at Bristol Parkway! Surprised to see for the second visit in a row mainly anti rail-enthusiast staff in the valleys. Many unecessary and aimed to embarass announcements made over the PA etc. While I have seen bad behavior previously from 'enthusiasts' (arm waving out of windows and deliberate trespass) people were pretty well behaved here. One example, some people were taking photos from a car park not marked as private or locked but in no uncertain terms were asked to leave most promptly by a driver, slightly over zealous! Yet a teenage girl was trespassing and staff said nowt despite seeing her! A huge contrast to the ACORP event in which 'One' staff were great.
14th October 2005
to 15th October 2005
South of France
A brief trip the the south of France. Primarily for sight-seeing reasons but a few shots here from during the travels. I flew down by Ryanair and returned all the way back home by rail and in 1st Class on TGV to Paris (only £33, bargain), then onto Eurostar.
6th October 2005
to 8th October 2005
Germany 2005
A few days touring round western Germany. The tour started in Baden-Baden then on to Lake Contance via the Black Forest. Stuttgart was visited next via Cisalpino Pendolino. After Stuttgart was Heidelberg via the slow but scenic Neckar valley route. After that it was onto Frankfurt then up the Rheine to Koblenz then down the Mosel to Germanys oldest city Trier. Top trip, 9 freights in 25 mins at Baden-Baden wernt bad (inc a Euro 66 - no pic)!
1st October 2005Cardiff Valleys Class 37 Trip
A day out with the class 37's in the Cardiff Valleys with a matter of only weeks to go until their gone. Three diagrams remain, on this day the two celebrity locos were out along with 37419.
24th September 2005ACoRP Event at Norwich, Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth
Special loco hauled trains and a small number of locos were on display as part of the ACoRP Event at Norwich, Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth. Choas ensued at the start and end of the day but it was still superb. The first time class 33's have visted the Suffolk and Norfolk coastal towns. Class 87's worked a special from London, also a first. SUNDAY....what else can be said other than chopper-tastic mate!
10th September 2005Crewe Works Open Day 2005
A visit to the works open day in classic British summer weather....rain! Still a good day out though. Note the destination label on the Desiro under test at Crewe, nice little touch!
24th August 2005
to 1st September 2005
Switzerland
A week in Switzerland during the Summer flooding! Things eventually dried out to leave some weather that resembled Summertime. Many railways were affected in the area, there is no doubt some will out of action for many many months. Travel to Switzerland was via Paris and onwards to Interlaken via Geneva and Bern. Pictures are taken from locations in these areas.
20th August 2005Wessex Top-and-Tailed 31's via Reading, Lymington and Weymouth
A £55 round robin trip first to Reading (where two steam tours were seen within 5 mins of each other!) then on to Lymington for the Heritage unit. Then on to Weymouth for the Fragonset Class 31's up to Westbury for an HST back to London via the Berks and Hants route.
11th August 2005
to 13th August 2005
Stockholm and Copenhagen
A short trip to the capital cities of Sweden and Denmark. A few shots taken during the time there.
5th August 2005
to 7th August 2005
Devon and Cornwall
Some shots from a break in Devon and Cornwall. The Torbay Express 'King' hauled steam service was seen at Dawlish in full sun conditions.
30th July 2005Bonus Gallery - T&T Class 47 on MK3's to Yarmouth
A few pics of a first today. Class 47's worked T&T between Yarmouth and Norwich on 3xMK3's and a MK2 DBSO. No time myself to travel on it but grabbed these few shots while passing.
23rd July 2005Leeds, Manchester and Buxton
A trip to Leeds on the White Rose (aka Eurostar), quality trains. Then on to Manchester via Huddersfield. From there I travelled down to Buxton via a lengthy diversion from Victoria. Return to Leeds was via Rochdale and Bradford.
16th July 2005North Wales Trip
A day trip to the North Wales coast. Surprisingly the Holyhead service was made up of MK3's which was a very pleasent surpise. No class 47 this year though despite advance reports that there would be, a class 57 took us forward instead. Last years gellery of a similar trip can be found here http://spp.fotopic.net/c346077.html This year I decided to visit Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog instead of Holyhead. The class 150 sprinter managing to fail numerous times on the climb to Blaenau Ffestiniog due to apparent overheating. Still this gave longer views of the oustanding scenery in full sun conditions!
7th July 2005Belfast to Dublin Enterprise Trip
A trip to Belfast and some spare time allowed me a quick trip down to Dublin having never before travelled by train in Ireland. The enterprise trains use GM diesels and quality Eurostar type coaches. Why cant we have quality trains like this in the UK instead of Voyagers etc on Intercity routes????
18th June 2005Doncaster & Barnetby via the Midland Main Line
A round robin trip from London to Sheffield then on to Doncaster and Barnetby. Return from Barnetby was via Brigg on the little used line (about 6 passenger trains a week) to Sheffield and then by HST back in to St Pancras.
4th June 2005Cardiff Valleys Class 37's
A trip to the Welsh valleys running out of Cardiff to see the Class 37's working to Rhymney. Three 37's were working on this day they being 405, 408 and 411. 411 has been painted by EWS into original BR green with yellow ends, it really looks the part. This is all soon to pass into history. Another day of poor British Summer weather!
28th May 2005Eurostar's on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
Some photos of Eurostars traveling at line speed (186mph) through the kent countryside on the new purpose built line. The speed is truly impressive. Photography is mainly possible from the many overbridges on the side roads off of the A20 road. With the speed of the trains this really will test you and your camera equipment to the limits (shutter speeds of 1/1200 sec or faster a must)!
14th May 2005Mid-Hants Railway Diesel Gala 2005
A day trip to the Mid-Hants Railway for their excellent annual Diesel Gala Day. Weather average to poor and late running trains both as is usual for this event! Shame no class 56, 50 or Deltic but otherwise a very entertaining day and well worth the £15, recommended if you have not been before.
Many locos today producing some serious exhaust both in terms on noise and smoke, all good stuff!
5th May 2005
to 9th May 2005
Italy 2005
A 5-day break traveling around Italy. Travel between Rome and Florence was via ETR 480 Pendolino at 155mph. Loco hauled trains still reign here like most European countries other than the UK! This makes for entaining watching with plenty of activity at terminal stations. Frieght is still very evident on Itailian lines with many stations still having yards and a shunter. Weather was superb. Enjoy the shots as much as I enjoyed taking them!
12th March 2005London Routemasters and Class 47 drag to Colchester
As London Routemaster busses are due to pass into history soon I had a day traveling round London on routes 19/38. Return travel was by pure chance a Class 47, 47828 dragging 90015 due to a push/pull fault.
5th March 2005Class 47 dragging a Class 90 at Colchester
A busy day for heritage traction in East Anglia. Class 37,47 and 86 all in use. A few photos of 47828 dragging 90010 in a positioning move.
22nd January 2005Class 40 'Silver Jubilee' Railtour at London Liverpool Street
A class 40 visited the Anglia region on Saturday 22nd of Jan 2005. This is the first time this type of loco has run on Anglian metals for nearly 20 years. Norwich was reached in 1hr 43mins with assistance of Colchester signal box. The sight and sound was superb.....
16th December 2004
to 18th December 2004
Prague, Czech Republic
A short break to Prague in the Czech Republic produced some tram/train shots from around the city. A great city but be careful, we were pick-pocketed and also had a brush with undercover police carrying out an operation (update 21/11/05, now known to have actually been fake Police trying to con you out of your money/passport - BEWARE)!!
25th November 2004The Royal Train at Harwich
The Queen visited North Essex on November 25th. She was to arrive by The Royal Train hauled by 67005 and tailed by 67002. The photos show the train near Harwich Town and at Harwich International station.
30th October 2004Anglia Class 86 Farewell Tour
A charter ran on October 30th 2004 touring East Anglian electrified lines. This tour was to mark the ending of Class 86 operation on Anglia Intercity services in 2004.

The tour was top and tailed by 86246 and 86235. A couple of photos show the two locos passing through Hythe station on their way to Clacton.
27th October 2004Bruge via Brussels on Eurostar
A day trip to bruge for some sight seeing. Travel was via Brussels on Eurostar and Intercity train onwards to Bruge. This was taking advantage of a £29 offer.

One of the interesting sights seen included a new 9-car Midland Mainline Merdian (aka Voyager) on test.
9th October 2004High Speed Saturday - Europe in a Day!
On October the 9th a Journey from Essex to Mainz, Germany (nr Frankfurt) was made via France and Belgium and back home in one day! The day was to start at 05.45 and end at 23.30! Eurostar to Brussels, Thalys to Cologne and ICE to Mainz. This represents a fair sample of some of the world’s fastest passenger trains. I even had time in Brussels, Cologne and Mainz to explore…….and returning home by air from Frankfurt Hahn airport on a brand new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. 186mph/300kmh was reached across four countries and the flight back was at approx 500mph - definitely qualifying the High Speed Saturday title!

A superb day out.
25th September 2004The Final Fishguard Class 37 and Class 50 Tour at Colchester
On Saturday 25th September 2004 a journey was made to Fishguard to sample the final Class 37 hauled service train to this west Wales port. On the way back the hard climb out of Fishguard in the drizzle is something that will be will remembered. At Colchester on the return the top-and-tailed Class 50 charter from Bath to Kings Lynn was seen, although the photos are a little on the dark side. A great day out!
11th September 2004
to 13th September 2004
Isle of Wight
A short break in the Isle of wight during early September produced a small number of shots of ex-LT 1938 tube stock and more.....well worth a visit.
1st September 2004
to 9th September 2004
Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France
A weeks break in Austria then travel back to the UK by train through Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium and France stopping off places along the way, superb!
30th August 2004August Bank Holiday Monday Top-and-Tail Class 47
Due to engineering work in the Ipswich area the overheads were switched off. This meant all services to Norwich were diesel hauled, some turbostars and others top and tailed class 47. 47316 and 47813 providing the power all day. The stock was also used to move many Ipswich Town FC fans as they were playing at home. I remember the comments of one fan going home.....what can be better - watching Ipswich win and then class 47 haulage back home too!!!! Enjoy the photos!
28th August 2004Ipswich Tunnel Diversion - Class 86s at Bishops Stortford
A couple of photos of a diverted London-Norwich train at Bishops Stortford. The train was diverted due to the 2 month tunnel closure at Ipswich. This provides the rare sight of Anglia push/pull stock off its usual route.

The train on this day was double headed, a rare event, due to an earlier loco failure.
21st August 2004North Wales Coast Day Trip
A day return all the way to Holyhead from Essex before the end of the Class 87's, 47's and MK3 coaches in 2004.
28th July 2004
to 2nd August 2004
Scotland & The Lake District
A trip to the West Higland Line and then on to the Lake District. The steam hauled Jacobite was travelled and also the Class 37 hauled sleeper sampled as far as Rannoch Moor. Not the sort of place that you want a tight connection! Return from south from The Lake District was via the Settle and Carlisle railway on the top-and-tailed Class 37's. Eurostar was taken back to Londons Kings Cross.
7th July 2004Colchester
An evening trip to Colchester for a quick sessions photograhing in superb light.
10th April 2004B1 steam loco blowing the overhead electrics at Liverpool St
These pictures show B1 steam loco 61264 departing Liverpool St in April 2004 and subsequently blowing up the overheads. This created a rather LOUD bang, many onlookers mistakenly believing these were planned fireworks to celebrate departure!It was not a good day for the rail tour as the loco later hit the buffer stops at Norwich and was terminated, this reached local TV news headlines. These shots are digital camcorder captured stills and the video footage itself makes interesting watching on TV I can tell you!!

UPDATE - CHECK OUT MY YOUTUBE SITE FOR THE VIDEO. LINK ON MAIN PAGE.
20th March 2004Top and Tailed Class 47's working between London and Norwich
On Saturday 20th March top and tailed class 47 haulage was provided by Anglia railways on the mainline between London Liverpool St and Norwich. This was due to a lack of serviceable electric locos. This gallery shows some the days activity...
17th March 2004My Final Trip to Scotland by Class 87 Haulage on the West Coast Main Line
A Journey to Motherwell by Class 87 and MK3 coaches via the West Coast Main Line. This looks set to be my final trip north of the border in this manner.......... Photos from Tamworth, Carlisle and Motherwell.
7th February 2004London
A small selection of shots taken during a visit to London. This gallery contains photos taken at Liverpool St and Colchester featuring 86227 Golden Jubilee.
26th July 2003Doncaster Works Open Day 2003
A trip to Doncaster Works Open Day in 2003. Travel to Doncaster was by GNERstar (ie Eurostar) from London Kings Cross.
12th July 2003Manchester via a West Coast Drag and Rio MML HST into St Pancras
A round robin trip to Manchester from Essex. The trip was via the West Coast Mainline to Manchester which included a drag by Cl 47. On the return I came back via the Midland Mailnline service to St Pancras on an HST. The weather was probably as good as it can get in the UK, hot and VERY sunny. Now I was thinking the sun was getting to me by Wolverhampton, but no, check out the Virgin Class 57 driver in Thunderbirds International Rescue uniform!!!!
1st January 0000Looking Back - Pre-Digital Selection
A selection of my favorite photos from pre-digital days. These have been scanned in so are not upto the same standard as newer galleries. Gallery continually updated......
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Paxman Valenta parts undergoing overhaul at Crewe Works Open Day
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Crewe Works Open Day 2005
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Welcome
Hello and welcome to my Fotopic gallery (as featured on BBC TV).

This site contains some of the pictures taken by me on my travels mainly in the UK but also abroad too.

My introduction to the digital format was in early 2003 and photos on this site date from then onwards (mainly from summer 2004) and using various digital cameras.

Pictures are available for commercial use if interested (HQ originals available). Contact me for further information regarding this.

Why Sans Pareil? Sans Pareil was a steam locomotive which took part in the 1829 Rainhill Trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in the earliest days of railways as we know it. It was also a name fitted to a more modern Class 86 electric loco in repesct to aforementioned. In French it also means without parallel, some may say my photos are without parallel both good and bad!!!

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