Matt Ditch Photography Blog

  Throwback to happier times with J27 No.65894 & T2 (Q6) No.2238 double-heading a train away from Grosmont during the 2019 steam gala. Full gallery

  Today's shot comes from the heavily overgrown trackbed of the Lambton railways Littletown & Sherburn branch. The picture was taken near the site of Hunter's house pit.

 

 Today I walked part of the "Tyne Dock to Consett" route from Washington to near Pelton. Obviously, this got me thinking about what the line must have been like back in the day and how I wish I could've seen a 9F thunder through South Pelaw on its way up to Consett. The above shots is of 9F No.92134 taken last year on the NYMR during their steam gala.

  A little sneak peek from an upcoming project. No prizes for guessing which railway this is/was!

  A quick snap of the remains of Whitwell level crossing on the Leamside line. I passed over here yesterday whilst out exploring the Shincliffe and Sherburn areas. The leamside line is currently mothballed with no trains having ran on it in over 30 years. 

  Looking down Nanny Mayer's Incline My latest disused railway gallery is now live on my website. It covers a walk along the Stanhope & Tyne railway from Lydgetts junction to the top of Weatherhill incline. Below is a small selection of images from the gallery, see individual photos for more details. The full gallery can be found here If you'd like to learn more about the Stanhope & Tyne railway then I highly recommend the books by Rob Langham

Looking back to a cold and grey day in February this year. Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST “Illingworth” creeps under the old Wallsend road bridge with a short freight train on the North Tyneside Steam Railway Full gallery >> https://www.mattditch.photography/rail#/north-tyneside-steam-railway-freight-demonstration-day-260223/

My previous visit to Beamish was in less-than-ideal conditions (rain!). So, when I found out visiting Andrew Barclay No.1219 would be running during the week I decided to make another visit. thankfully the weather was much nicer! And, I was able to record a video of it shunting. Which I'll release this weekend on my Youtube channel (Matt Ditch Photography) The attached image shows 1219 passing by the colliery engine shed with a rake of Chaldron wagons. The full gallery can be found here

  I didn't manage to get too many shots at the York show on Saturday. The above shot is probably my favorite from the handful I was able to take. I didn't manage to get the layout details, unfortunately, but it was a very impressive layout! I've always liked the idea of modeling in 0 gauge. But space is a problem for me, so I think I'll be sticking with 4mm for now. I hope to start sharing some of my own modeling projects on this blog shortly. 

  One of my many ideas for bringing this blog back from the dead is to have a daily "Picture of the Day" post.  To kick things off here is a picture from the 2019 Tanfield Railway "Legends of industry gala". The photo shows both visiting gala guests outside Marley Hill shed. These are Backworth Collieries No.12 and Stephen Lewin No.18.  The full gallery can be found here