The idea was to meet up with some like-minded railway-inclined photographers for beer, stories and taking lots of shots of locos at a steam gala in the midlands. It all sounded wonderful, but I did not read the mail properly, and missed the meet-up by a whole day. But still the gala was still on, and so as the hotel was still booked, so may as well make the best of things, eh?
I asked my good friend, Gary, to feed the mogs, and to borrow his monster 130-400mm lens, and so after being awake at a really silly hour Saturday morning, we fed the cats, packed the car and headed off into the dark to head up to Loughborough for lots and lots of trains. I won’t bore you with the journey, but it was pleasant enough, traffic light and weather was pleasant enough. Zoe Ball burbled on the radio playing inoffensive music and asking not-so-taxing conundrums.
Soon enough we turned off the M1 and a quick blast onto a local road and through the picturesque village of Quorn and then we arrived at the station, only to find most of the train fans in the country had arrived before us. Still, we paid to get in, found what seemed to be the last non-muddy parking space, I got the camera gear out and we headed to the station to purchase our tickets. At least by that time, it did not seem too crowded, and once we got the tickets, I snapped what locomotives were around, before we headed on the first train north to the main station at Loughborough to have a look round the yard and engine shed.
There was no chance of a seat, so we stood in the guards compartment, which was pleasant enough; we talked to other travellers and it really was very nice. At Loughborough, we got out and walked to the shed, only to find just about all ten locomotives were out somewhere on the line. But, one tank locomotive was being watered, and I knew that one of my Flickr contacts should have been working on it. ‘Is there a Mr Loose grip on there?’ I asked. The fireman turned and smiled, ‘I’m Loose Grip’ he said. I explained I was one of his Flickr contacts and just wanted to say ‘hi’. He climbed down to shake my hand, but then the signal dropped to show the road was clear, and he had to get back to work, and was gone.
Everywhere was now very crowded, and so we walked from the station into the town to find somewhere to get a bite to eat. We walked into the centre of town, and in time found an Italian café and had huge breakfasts and a good sized cuppa. Feeling better, we split up for a while as she went to look for a bead shop and I seeking out the town’s church. Thankfully, it was unlocked, and I went inside and had a nice meeting with the churchwarden, before I got the shots I wanted, and I headed back to the station and the world of steam.
I got on the first train south. I say got on, the crowds were now so big, that I only just got on the train, being the last one to get onto the carriage. That was good enough for me. I wanted to get to somewhere with a clear view of the line so I could something other than close-up shots. I ended up at Rothley, a station in a deep cutting, and it seemed perfect. However, the cuttings were marked as private property, and even though others had broken through the gate and were happily taking shots or having a picnic, it felt wrong to me to trespass, and so I went back to the station, and the road over the railway, offered fair views of the line; so I stopped there to watch a few trains go past.
After a while, I went onto the station to try to get a drink. OK, a beer. I queued up to get a bottle of beer, and sat on a picnic bench outside and watched the world, and trains, go by. I got a call from Jools saying she had seen me as her train went through the station, and was trying to get back to me. Initially, we had planned to hang round the station some more, but the crowds were so thick now, and views were really difficult to get, so I decided that we should go to the hotel for a rest. I should also explain that I had flattened the battery on my main camera, and what with our early start, I needed a lay down too.
So, a quick twenty minute drive through wonderful countryside and stunningly beautiful villages we ended up at the Travelodge; the booking was good and we were shown up to our room, with the warning that the Little Chef stopped serving at nine in the evening. We explained that we had seen a nice looking pub, but she said to go to the village of Thrussington. We had been told there were two good pubs there, but we stopped at the first one, The Star, and after parking on the square, went inside and grabbed the last table.
Food was good and very flavoursome, which is a good thing I find. I had Moroccan Lamb Tagine followed by a good cheeseboard, washed down by Timothy Tailor Landlord and for the cheese a nice glass of red wine. A super meal, and just a 5 minute drive for Jools back to our hotel and time for bed.
Next morning we were up as normal before seven, and after packing and washing, we loaded the car and set off. The Little Chef failed to open, even if we had wanted to eat there, and so we headed back to Loughborough to find a place to take shots of the trains hurtling up and down. As we drove through town, I could see the smoke from the locomotives being steamed, and an idea formed into my mind; take shots of the yard with the ten steaming locomotives. I saw the bridge, and so swung the car round and parked up.
Sure enough, the view from the bridge was splendid, and I got the shots I wanted, and in the wonderful rosy light of dawn, it was a wonderful sight.
We headed off towards the countryside, and a bridge on a lane I had spied on Google Earth. We found the bridge with no trouble, turned the car round ready for a quick getaway. We were the only folks there, so I congratulated myself on choosing somewhere that no-one else had thought have using. I failed to realise it was still early. By half eight there must have been a dozen other cars parked up beside ours, and by nine, there was very little parking available.
Anyway, at a quarter to nine, the first locomotive went down the line; the frost and damp air meant that it created a huge amount of steam and smoke. It was wonderful. So, I snapped it good. At nine, the first passenger service was due to appear, and sure enough a huge cloud of smoke approached, and as expected it was being double-headed by two fine locomotives, and the smoke they produced was wonderful.
I hung round until ten, by which time I was frozen to my bones. I packed the camera away and we pulled away with the heating on full to warm up.
Not much else to say about the weekend; we had a good trip home, but having to drive the other way round the M25 due to an accident; this meant we had driven all round it over the weekend. Not the first time this has happened either. We were back at home by half two, and making a nice cup of tea soon enough.
And if the weekend wasn't good enough, Norwich beat West Brom again, at their place, in the FA cup. And we now have a home tie against Leicester in a few weeks. The dream lives on!
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