Matt Ditch Photography Blog

 Video of the day - Beamish steam gala. 01/04/23 Unfortunately due to a fault with my video camera, I could not capture any meaningful footage from the recent Steam gala at Beamish. I have therefore put together this video slide show to show off a selection of the images I was able to capture at the event. But, this has given me the opportunity to experiment with a new type of video.

 Beamish Steam Gala. 01/04/23 Over the weekend of the 1st &2nd of April, Beamish Museum held its first transport-related event of the year. The star guest for the event was Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No.1219 visiting from the Pontypool & Blaenavon railway in South Wales. The engine was operating on the colliery railway with museum resident Coffee Pot No.1. 1219  is staying at the museum till early May.  Below are some of my favorite pictures from the event. The full gallery can be found here. Visiting Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST No.1219 Foden "Mighty Atom" No.1 behind the Colliery engine shed 1219 & Stephen Lewin replica "Samson" Fowler road locomotive and Sunderland tram No.16

Ribble Steam Railway & Museum steam gala 25/03/23 I felt like the steam gala was a good excuse to make my first visit to the railway. I arrived the night before and stayed in the local Premier Inn, which was quite nice and reasonably priced. My trip down was plagued with cancellations and overcrowded trains, so it wasn't the best ride down! The walk from the City Centre to the railway was very pleasant. And I even managed to find several Geocaches on the way.  Grant Ritchie No.272 of 1894 & Hawthorn Leslie 3931 of 1938 "Linda" cross the level crossing at Lockside road with a mid-afternoon train. The railway itself is just over a mile long and runs through the redeveloped Preston Dock area. It isn't the most scenic of lines. But, it's nice to see Industrial steam locos working in an industrial setting. And that was one of the things that made me want to visit. I found the line very reminiscent of my local railway, the North Tyneside Steam Railway. FR.No.20

  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