On the Right Track
The Flying Scotman Returns
It’s not often that you get the opportunity to see a legend, let alone photograph one! For the second time in just over six months, I’ve been able to photograph the steam engine legend that is the Flying Scotsman.
Bad Light and Crowds
Back in December of last year i was able to stand on the foot plate of the steam locomotive. It was just a short stay, probably no more than three minutes but just standing in the cab was a thrill. The only problem that day was the weather. A typical British winter mix of grey skies and poor light combined with a lot of people taking a look at the Flying Scotsman. Hardly ideal conditions to photograph such an iconic machine.
Second Steam
Fast forward a few months and the Flying Scotsman is back! This time pulling a couple of brake vans providing a rather fun ( and no doubt lucrative for Locomotion Railway Museum) trip for railfans including myself. It was certainly the best value rail ticket I’ve ever bought! The engine itself couldn’t be photographed during ride due to no bends in the track, but the sound and ambiance more than made up for it. Instead i decided to concentrate my lens on the people enjoying the journey with me.
On the Right Track
Having the ride in the brake van was fun but what i really wanted was to get a great shot of The Flying Scotsman. The photograph had evaded me back in December due to the winter weather and light. I noticed while tootling along the track that there was a great position for photographing the train as it went by. As usual all kinds of railway ‘furniture’ cluttered up the scene and added a challenge to composition of the photograph.Fortunately there was a clear bit of line free of any distractions.
I rather like how the photograph turned out.
