‘From the Back of the Cupboard’, by Steve Batty, 3rd March 2026
3rd March 2026 Meeting.
Steve Batty came down from Yorkshire to give us a presentation of splendid black and white photos ‘From the back of the Cupboard’. He has been to a wide variety of spectacular locations where the landscape has been masterfully used to enhance the views of the trains.
The first part featured mainly steam on UK main and preserved lines, with a brief foray abroad to the Hejaz Railway. Many shots showed off masses of steam and clag in dramatic lighting. The second half concentrated on BR operations all over the north of England from 1970s to early 2000s This largely featured the now completely vanished proliferation of coal trains, (including a shot of the dive under at Whisker Hill, opened in 1965) and Trans Pennine expresses. A theme running through the presentation was that most of the lovely views shown are sadly no longer available because of the huge increase in lineside vegetation. The audience of twenty-five enjoyed an excellent presentation.
Rob Freeman, Branch Committee Member