Swanage Railway: Spring Gala 2026 At the start of the year, as I often do, I set myself a few photographic challenges for the year ahead. The first was to shoot little blue Scottish steam engine № 828 over at the Spa Valley Railway, which I did at the end of January. The third was a do-over from last year, which was to shoot a fireworks display, something that will likely have to wait until the autumn.

A few weeks ago I ticked another of my 2026 goals off the list, when I attended the Swanage Railway Spring Gala. Another railway I will definitely be returning to.

.
#steam #steamlocomotive #locomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain @swanagerailwayofficial

Bluebell Railway: Spring Gala 2026 It’s Easter, which is prime spring gala season in the heritage railway world. Many railways like to run galas at this time of year, running more intensive timetables and bringing in guest locomotives to attract crowds. In previous years, the Bluebell Railway has run what they call a Branch Line gala in the spring, but this year they ran a more general spring gala, presumably to free themselves from working to a ‘branch line’ theme.

A couple of weeks ago I spent time at the Bluebell Railway Spring Gala. As you can imagine, photos were taken, which can be seen on my website alongside the story behind the shots.

#steam #steamlocomotive #locomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain @bluebell_railway

Sir Nigel Gresley 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley sits on platform at Sheffield Park steaming away to herself ahead of her first service of the day. My favourite steam locomotive. Found In: Bluebell Railway: Giants of Steam 2024 Just a quick note. I've now managed to post on this site every day for 500 consecutive days. I'm very pleased with that achievement, but I am also starting to think it might be time to take another break. I hate to break a streak though, so I might find myself fighting that urge.

60007 Sir Nigel Gresley sits on platform at Sheffield Park steaming away to herself ahead of her first service of the day. My favourite steam locomotive.

#photography #steam #steamlocomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain

6989 ‘Wightwick Hall’ 6989 Wightwick Hall heads north from Horsted Keynes Station on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. This locomotive is painted red thanks to her appearing in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series. Found In: Bluebell Railway: New Year's Steam Up 2026

6989 Wightwick Hall heads north from Horsted Keynes Station on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. This locomotive is painted red thanks to her appearing in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

#photography #steam #steamlocomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain

Spa Valley Railway At the start of the year, I set myself several photography-based resolutions for 2026. One of those was to visit the Spa Valley Railway to see Caledonian Railways № 828 in action. By late January I was itching to get out and photograph steam again, as well as give my "railway lens" a proper field test against the subject I bought it for (it had…

At the end of January I made my first visit to the Spa Valley Railway, to see Caledonian Railways № 828 and give my recently acquired "railway lens" a proper runout.

#photography #steam #steamlocomotive #railwaysofbritain #heritagerailway @spavalleyrailwayofficial

6989 ‘Wightwick Hall’ 6989 Wightwick Hall sits in front of some bluebells at Sheffield Park Station on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. This locomotive is currently painted red and appearing in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series. Found In: Lineside at the Bluebell Railway

6989 Wightwick Hall sits in front of some bluebells at Sheffield Park Station on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. This locomotive is currently painted red and appearing in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

#steam #steamlocomotive #locomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain

Bluebell Railway: New Year’s Steam Up 2026 The old saying goes, start as you mean to go on. While I’m not the biggest proponent of that saying - the most important thing is starting in the first place - it never hurts to get your year off on the right foot. For some that’s eating healthier, drinking less, or giving up meat for the month. For me, life is too short to deliberately make it worse, so for the last couple of years I’ve started out January in one of my happy places: lineside at the Bluebell Railway, for their annual New Year’s Day gala.

On New Year’s Day I once again headed out to the Bluebell Railway to photograph some trains, starting off 2026 one of the best possible ways.

#photography #steam #steamlocomotive #heritagerailway #railwaysofbritain @bluebell_railway

Welsh Highland Railway – Landslide Affects Christmas Trains The Ffestiniog Railway Company can confirm that the Welsh Highland Railway has been affected by a landslide near Tryfan Junction 4.5 miles from Caernarfon in North Wales. Persistent heavy rain over recent weeks has caused a number of similar incidents in the area including the widely reported example on the coast at nearby Nefyn. The incident […]

#steam #train #ffestiniograilway #loco #locomotive #steamengine #railwaypeople #railway #railwaysofbritain #heritagerailway

Boston Lodge Works Wins National Railway Heritage Award The Ffestiniog C Welsh Highland Railways are delighted to be winners of the National Rail Heritage Awards ‘Network Rail Award.

#bostonlodgeworks #bestrailwayintheworld #steam #train #ffestiniograilway #loco #locomotive #steamengine #railwaypeople #railway #railwaysofbritain

The Hogwarts Express I’m not the biggest TV person. Although I have a long list of shows I should probably watch, I rarely keep up with upcoming shows. I’m also not the biggest Harry Potter fan. I’ve read all the books, but only seen the first few films. So when they announced that there was going to be a new TV series based on the Harry Potter books, I didn’t really pay that much attention.

Last month I went out to the @bluebell_railway to see 6989 ‘Wightwick Hall’, star of the new Harry Potter TV series, in action.

#photography #steam #steamtrain #steamengine #steamlocomotive #train #trainsofinstagram #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography #harrypotter #hogwartsexpress

Bluebell Railway: Giants of Steam 2025 The Bluebell Railway’s annual Giants of Steam gala is in the bag for another year. This gala is the highlight of the year for the railway, marking their busiest weekend for visitors, and as you might expect for photographers too. This is usually the gala that brings the bigger names in visiting locomotives too. This year, the theme was new build steam, bringing us the interesting scenario that the oldest locomotive in action this weekend was only completed in 2008.

The big steam gala of my year is finally here, featuring Tornado, Betton Grange, Lady of Legend, Beachy Head, and concluding with a cheeky little night charter.

#photography #steam #steamtrain #steamengine #steamlocomotive #train #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography @bluebell_railway

Free Tours by Rail Celebrating Local History, Heritage and Culture The 3 Counties Connected CRP is inviting the public to discover local heritage in a new way...“Tours by Rail – Step into the Story”

#3counties #toursbyrail #railway #railwaysofbritain

20K Awarded to Strengthen Community Organisations The Conwy Valley and North Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership has awarded £20,000 to community groups across North Wales.

#conwyvalleynorthwalescoast #communityrailnetwork #railway
#railwaysofbritain

Cambrian Rail Partnership Awards Nearly £7,000 The Cambrian Railway Partnership has awarded almost £7,000 to community projects as part of its Railway 200 Community Grant Fund.

#cambrianline #cambrianrailwaypartnership #cambrianrailway #railway #railwaysofbritain #ukrailscene

Bluebell Railway: Diesel Gala 2025 It's gala season at the Bluebell Railway. Last month we celebrated the railway’s 65th anniversary, and next month, like many railways, there will be an autumn gala, in the form of Giants of Steam - which will hopefully bring some lovely brisk autumn weather and with it some great steam engine photography. September, though, is the month of the diesel gala.

A couple of weeks ago I went out to the @bluebell_railway Diesel Gala. This post features a whole bunch of trains – and the unlikely debut of a new lens.

#photography #diesel #diesellocomotive #train #trainsofinstagram #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography

Community Resilience Grant Launched to Support Communities The Conwy Valley and North Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership has launched their Community Resilience Grant.

#conwyvalleynorthwalescoast #communityresiliencegrant #communityrailnetwork #railway #railwaysofbritain

Collaboration Sees New Artwork at Shotton Station Artwork celebrating the history of the railway in Shotton on the North Wales Coast has been unveiled at the railway stationm.

#conwyvalleynorthwalescoast #communityrailnetwork #railway
#railwaysofbritain

6989 ‘Wightwick Hall’ 6989 Wightwick Hall departs from Sheffield Park during the Bluebell Railway's Branch Line Gala in 2024. Found In: Bluebell Railway: Branch Line Gala

6989 'Wightwick Hall' departs from Sheffield Park during the @Bluebell_Railway Branch Line Gala in 2024.

#photography #steam #steamtrain #steamengine #steamlocomotive #train #trainsofinstagram #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography #railwaysofinstagram #railway_photos_uk #ukrailwaypics

Lottery Heritage Project Completed at Award Winning Railways The FFWHR is celebrating the completion of a £5m project thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

#heritagefundcym #heritagefundcymru #ffestiniograilway #bestrailwayintheworld #heritagerailway #railwaypeople #railwaysofwales #railwaysofbritain

Returns to the Swanage Railway It utterly boggles my mind, given how often I’ve visited Swanage and at least visited, if not ridden on, its heritage railway, that I only have one post titled ‘Swanage Railway’ on this website. I suspect a lot of my photos from the railway have ended up amongst posts containing lots of images from that, my most favourite part of the world.

I’ve put together an archive post of some shots I’ve gotten at the Swanage Railway over the last few years.

#steam #steamtrain #steamengine #steamlocomotive #train #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography

The National Lottery Heritage Fund Helps Wales’ ‘Best Attraction’ Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways is celebrating the completion of a £5m project thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

#festrail #heritagefundcym #heritagefundcymru #ffestiniograilway #bestrailwayintheworld #heritagerailway #railwaypeople #railwaysofwales #railwaysofbritain

Minera Community Celebrates Local Heritage with Launch Event A heartwarming celebration took place recently at Plas Pentwyn, Coedpoeth, as residents gathered to honour the railway heritage of Minera.

#minera #minerarailway #railwaypeople #railway
#railwaysofbritain #railways_of_our_world #ukrailscene #heritagerailway

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways Win ‘Best Attraction’ Prize The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways won the ‘Best Attraction’ prize at the recent National Tourism Awards for Wales.

#festrail #steam #train #ffestiniograilway #loco #locomotive #steamengine #railway #railwaysofbritain #ukrailscene #heritagerailway

Bluebell Railway: Branch Line Gala 2025 This weekend marked the return of the Bluebell Railway’s Branch Line Gala. Last year’s gala marked one of my first excursions lineside. This time I’ve gotten a lot more practise in photographing steam trains, and it’s also the first weekend-long gala since I’ve been actively sharing my train photography on Instagram when I’ve gotten an idea of what resonates more with people (and been looking at a lot of other people’s work for inspiration too).

Last week I headed over to the @bluebell_railway for their Branch Line Gala. Here are the photos.

#photography #bluebellrailway #steam #steamtrain #steamengine #steamlocomotive #train #trainsofinstagram #railwaysofbritain #railway #railwayphotography #railwaysofinstagram #bluebellrailway

The Conwy Valley and North Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership has been shortlisted in the National Community Rail Awards 2025.

www.welshcountry.co.uk/north-wales-...

#conwyvalleynorthwalescoast #railways #transportforwales #communityrailnetwork #railwaysofbritain

Community Rail Partnership covering 3 counties, Shropshire, Wrexham and Chester, has been shortlisted for four Community Railway Awards

www.welshcountry.co.uk/3-counties-c...

#railways #transportforwales #communityrailnetwork #railwaysofbritain