We were up in Wales in mid-September... the plan had been so I (Ben) could do a miniatures shoot, but after some unplanned medical shenaniganary, I didn't get the model finished in time. But as a consolation prize, the Welsh Highland Railway were having their 21st Anniversary Gala, "Superpower", so we thought we'd pay a visit. The last time we went to one it was before The Childs moved in with us, and the weather was a bit grim, so we were interested to see what it was going to be like this year, especially as the forecast was for nice weather conditions.
All the fun and games were going on around Dinas Station; we got there nice and early, paid our entry fee, and The Childs descended on the ride-on miniature railways, looked at the impressive model railways (Bron Hebog, a 009-scale recreation of the Welsh Highland around Beddgelert, was particularly excellent, massive and eye-catching), and they mugged us for sausage baps which were admittedly very tasty.
Outside, a regular service was running, particularly compared to the normal 2-a-day-each-way tourist train service that we see most of the time we're up there. "Taliesin" of the Ffestiniog Railway is seen arriving above with a Waunfawr-Caernarfron shuttle (the Ffestiniog being physically connected to the WHR, so a big feature of the gala was the amount of their locomotives running special trains on Welsh Highland metals).
The main attraction, visiting engine-wise, was this impressive machine. A new-build replica of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway loco "Lyn" (originally built by Baldwin in the US), making a visit away from Devon. It would appear that about three-quarters of all the narrow-gauge railway enthusiasts in the UK had turned up to get pictures of the loco too...
In an attempt to avoid just standing with the masses at the end of the platform, all getting identical shots, I went for the patented 'this is probably why I have a chest-muscle-condition problem' super low angle shot. I wasn't too fond of this shot, except that I like the dramatic, coat-flapping stride of the chap on the right.
Ducking out under the bridge to get a Ffestiniog Double-Fairlie, "Merddin Emrys", leaving. A surprising few photographers seemed willing to walk the 20-yards or so under the bridge to take pics away from the station, which given a tarmacked footpath parallels the line with a nice wire fence to poke lenses through, seemed a bit odd. Nice not to have company for once though.
Hunslet "Lilla" was doing short rides with the Ffestiniog 4-wheel carriages up and down the yard, rides which were free once we'd paid entry to the site; the team manning the train were very friendly, to the point where The Childs insisted on multiple rides, which frankly neither Amy or myself minded.
Away from Dinas the weather was a bit manky (technical term that) which slightly naffed the attempt to photograph the Fairlie out in the countryside further along the line but to be honest we'd had such a good time at Dinas it didn't really matter.
Chronologically out of sequence, but my favourite shot of the day, "Merddin Emrys" and "Lyn" side-by-side at Dinas, and yes, ultra-low-angle too.
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