A visit to the Tanfield Railway

We paid a visit to the Tanfield Railway in May. It was a dual visit, partly to go to a railway I (Ben) have been wanting to go to for many years, and partly a run to get some pics for magazine articles.

We nearly came here last October, but ended up cancelling the visit as we were a bit hard-up for money that month.

Wow, am I glad we didn't come in the Autumn. Way better to come in the Spring, much better weather...

Yeah this is May. The weekend before we'd been wearing shorts in north Wales. This time, we actually had to resort to wearing gloves, and getting hot drinks at each station. 

This was one of the objects of the exercise; getting reference pics of the coaches for a piece I'm doing for British Railway Modelling.

Also a fun place to be stuck in the middle of a family argument between you, your wife, and your teenagers. Ask me how I know...

One thing I can say for Tanfield, the rolling stock is gorgeous. Not a Mark.1 coach to be seen.

Some very characterful locomotives too, but then I'm a nut for industrial machines like this RS&H shunter.

The engine shed at Marley Hill was impressive; there'll be a separate post here later on the shots taken around it. He threatens.

Loved the stations in general.

At least the weather made for some very impressive atmospheric effects.

Illustrating something of the character of the Tanfield; mixed trains, wonderfully turned-out vintage industrial locomotives, and a lovely atmosphere at the stations.

Lots of useful shots taken throughout the day, which should inform a couple of projects going forward.

Sunny Spring Days on the Ffestiniog

It really did feel like Winter went on forever; I tend to feel a brightening of my spirits when a bit of sunshine lets me get some nice steam railway pictures.

"Blanche" running-round at Harbour.

Fairlie and "Prince". Some day, I'll visit and be able to get some pics of the little England-tank loco on its own... every visit since its repaint into green, I've only seen it sandwiched between other locomotives...

What a difference a couple of days made... some traditional Welsh weather, with it looking more like October. "David Lloyd George" looking great as ever.

Jumping back to the first day from this set, for a nice shot over the Cob.

 

Plas Newydd; The House

A little companion piece to the previous post; a few shots around the house at Plas Newydd.

Lovely details around the place.

Always on the look out for a nice Grandfather clock (one of Ben's relatives used to make such timepieces, so he has an eye out for one of his).

Lovely chandelier, though assume it's a swine to dust.

Interesting ceiling. 

 

Plas Newyd... the gardens

Just some pics from a few weeks ago, during a family trip out to Plas Newydd, Anglesey.

We've been here a few times, and the gardens are just a really pleasant place to stroll around on a warm afternoon.

There's a lovely walk through the woods, with lots of ferns and boggy areas.

The wilder areas contrast nicely with the more formal gardens near the house.

A lovely splash of colour in the beds.

 

Blossom in the Spring

The recent return of the nice weather has seen us out and about a bit more. Well, we need to keep up the exercise, and it's more pleasant to have a stroll in the Spring Sunshine than it is when battened-down against the wind and the rain.

A benefit to Spring walks are the rather prettier surroundings. The blossom was particularly impressive this year, and it seemed like the months of dead trees came to an end with them all springing into life in a matter of a few days.

It would have been a shame not to snap a few pics.

 

Criccieth Beach in early May

Back in early May, I (Ben) had to go get some reference pics around the beach at Criccieth, for an upcoming model project.

This involved getting some detail shots on the shingle itself...

...including the driftwood...

...washed up rubbish...

...sea defences...

...and the promenade.

The project is a build for one of the railway mags, so I also had to get some detail shots of the railway. Not massively successfully however, as circumstances meant I was down there at sunset, and was losing the light a bit.

That said, it was quite a nice sunset.

Class 158; I really, really need to work on photographing these this year, before they get replaced by the horrible new Class 197's.