Matt Ditch Photography Blog

  Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Steam Gala. 10/03/23 This was my 4th trip to the railway for their annual steam gala. And, my first visit with snow! I haven't had too much experience with photographing steam trains in the snow. And, I was very excited at the prospect of doing that. Although that did bring some challenges. Namely getting to some of the more remote photography locations. And, I'll openly admit I did fall on my arse several times! ha. The bad weather had affected the day's timetables so trains were either running late or canceled, which was an understandable shame. However, it was still an enjoyable event and a railway I would highly recommend and visit again. Below are some of my favorite images from the day. LMS Jubilee "Leander" crosses Mytholmes viaduct with a mid-morning service to Oxenhope. "Bahamas" shortly after leaving Haworth 52044 & No.85 double head a train away from Haworth. The full gallery can be found here YouTube...

 The Wensleydale Railway  - Hawes to Garsdale  History Tucked away in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales is Hawes station. Situated on the disused section of the Wensleydale Railway, Which ran from Hawes Junction (later renamed Garsdale) on the Settle & Carlisle railway to Hawes. The station was originally opened in 1878 and was part of the Midland railways "Hawes Branch". There was an end on junction with the North Eastern Railways line from Northallerton at Hawes station. The North Eastern railway, and later LNER ran the majority of the services over the line. The exception being a service to Hellifield nicknamed the "Bonnyface" which ran as a single day return. The line towards Northallerton closed to passengers in 1954. But Hawes was still served by passenger trains from Garsdale till 1959. Freight and goods trains ran until 1964 when the full line was closed. Today the section from Redmire to Leeming Bar and Northallerton is still open as a heritage li...