The Monochrome Model Railway

Physical meeting at Shenfield Parish Hall which will also be available on Zoom as a Hybrid Meeting.

Railway photographers often have their step-ladders in the boot of their car to allow them to get a few feet higher in search of the ideal image. Tonight’s presentation promises a more lofty view still. This presentation takes the form of a selection of views of the railways in East London & Essex taken from the Historic England Aerofilms collection. These show the railway from a totally different perspective. The illustrations presented here were taken between the 1920s and the 1950s and some show aspects of the lines not normally seen in photographs.

Our speaker, Nigel Bowdidge, has been interested in railways for as long as he can remember. A detailed interest in the railways of East Anglia and East London began when he discovered the maps and photographs in the Essex Records Office and Chelmsford Borough Library when in his teens. Much photography of trains and stations, both open and closed, ensued thanks to his first full-time job at Ilford Films. Forty years of commuting to the City meant he could keep an eye on developments on the railway. Now semi-retired, he finds there is enough railway information on the internet to keep the mind active!