KWVR Spring Steam Gala, Day 2

Less sunshine for Day 2, as me (Ben) and Elder Child spent the day on the trains. Today was all about the visiting engines for us, principally the Avonside tank loco, "Dora".

First train of the day though, the Jinty, on the goods. not great lighting and it was running a little bit late, but not a bad shot.

Then back down to Keighley Station for breakfast.

Dora, marshalling the stock for the vintage shuttle.

Another brakevan ride, this time with "Dora" and "Ann", a quick trip up to Ingrow then back.

Ann running-round.

We rode the train up to Oxenhope, then bailed off back at Haworth for a few lineside pics. The 8F races through the woods.

The worlds fluffiest horses.

Back to Keighley, for the brakevan shuttle going out.

And the Jinty being piloted out by 1054.

 

KWVR Spring Gala; Day One. Goods Trains and Sunshine

 

For us, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Spring Steam Gala tends to mark the the point in the year where we kick a bit more into gear with the photography- certainly with the train pics. 

This year, I (Ben) had managed to swing two weekdays off for the Gala, the first time I'd been able to attend a Thursday session. And weather-wise, it was absolutely gorgeous. 

With those days off, I'd taken the opportunity for booking on for the brakevan ride on the morning goods train.

Through Mytholmes Tunnel.

Banking engine (L&Y no.957)

This was an amazing way to see the railway, something I'd not done before in nearly 20 years of coming here.

Again, the weather really made the day.

Back at Keighley, 1054 and the visiting Jinty. I really, really want a model of the latter now...

A try at an Amy-esque panoramic shot. She does them better.

We (myself and Father-in-Law) rode the trains a bit, and hopped off for an excellent pizza at Oakworth Station. This was my only bit of lineside photography of the day, shot over the top of a wall. Light on the wrong side, but then I was competing for space with about a dozen other snappers and didn't have time to get to a better spot.

And walking back to the old house, "Bahamas" and 44871 heading away. Odd how I took this for granted when we still lived on this estate.

Day 2 next, and another brakevan ride...

Cemaes Bay in the Sunshine

Whilst we bury ourselves in the edit for the pics from the Worth Valley Gala this weekend, here's some from a few weeks ago, and a little walk on the beach at Cemaes, Anglesey, where the Spring sunshine was rather nice.

 

Embsay and Bolton Abbey Breakfast

A relative kindly bought us tickets for the Dales Diner breakfast train on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway; figuring we'd need a bit of a pick-up in Feb, we duly booked it and headed over one cold morning to the station.

Fancy.

The breakfast was really nice, a proper full English with black pud and everything- just right for a manky winters day.

37 on the crossing train service.

Even better, the loco in charge was an Austerity tank loco.

Running-round at Skipton. The dull sky made photography a bit of a challenge.

The railway is having a Hunslet-themed gala in the summer; as a fan of Hunslets in general and the Austerity tanks in particular, a return visit will probably be in order.

Attentive staff, lovely food, and a nice start to the day.

Even better, a shot published in Trackside (and the Picture of the Day on The Railway Centre.com).

 

Blue Sky, Sunshine, and Architecture in Liverpool

Amy was helping with a trip to Liverpool recently, with their 6th Formers, so took the opportunity to grab a few architectural snaps and abstracts around the impressive old buildings near Lime Street Station.

As a rule we don't do much photography in Jan and Feb, as the sky tends to be manky and overcast; it was nice to be able to make the most of the bright spring sunshine and clear blue sky.

 

Emerging from winter hibernation...

We've finished our customary winter hibernation. Although to be fair, we've kept working since Christmas (with two open calls successfully entered, and a number of articles published in mags) but the main thing has been the house move.

So, here are some pics from a few months ago when it snowed quite heavily up here in The North. As we type this, it's just been a weekend of high temperatures, blue sky, and bright sunshine, which can only mean another huge snowfall and catastrophic temperature drop are just around the corner...

Anyway, we'll be getting going again with the blogging, both here and the model-making blog (assuming anyone still looks at blogs in 2025?) Our instagram, @bucki_photography, updates rather more regularly.