Popped over to the West Coast Main Line (and Bakerloo Underground Line) at Kenton this afternoon and took a few photos. They are not very good (due to a combination of irritatingly positioned overhead wires and gantries and my inexperience at firing my digital camera shutter at the right time to allow for the time lag before it actually opens) but here they are anyway; a small gallery showing a few trains passing during a 10 or 12 minute period. Ben http://www.pbase.com/image/198994.jpg http://www.pbase.com/image/198993.jpg http://www.pbase.com/image/198999.jpg http://www.pbase.com/image/198995.jpg http://www.pbase.com/image/199003.jpg
Here are a couple more - a nice view of the trackwork and a closer view of a Bakerloo tube. http://www.pbase.com/image/199097.jpg http://www.pbase.com/image/199099.jpg Ben
Hi Ben, Two Virgins out of five isn't bad.....especially for Kenton Seriously, I really enjoyed the photos and look forward to seeing more of your work. Your posting has also given me an idea.......now that more and more folk are getting their hands on digital cameras, how about making this sort of posting a regular feature ? I for one have lost track of what's happening in other parts of the country so would really appreciate seeing some "typical train" shots like yours from Kenton. Next week I will spend a few minutes snapping the trains on the northern part of the WCML for comparison. John.
Ben, In the time that it took me to reply I see that you have added more photos. The photos are really sharp......Any tips for using a digicam on moving objects ? I have only ever used mine on static objects. John.
Thanks for your comments John; I would love to see more of this kind of posting; our American friends post plenty of everyday shots of the different American railroads but more current English pictures, especially from different parts of the country, would be very interesting. I used no manual settings on the camera at all for these shots and just leaned on the footbridge parapet to ensure some steadiness; I think that just as with any camera it is important not to rush the shot; to keep calm, form an opinion of where the front of the train should be at the moment of opening the shutter (perhaps by concentrating on a piece of lineside equipment or just a particular place in the field of view) and trying to make sure the camera fires at exactly the right moment but without jerkiness. Ben
Great shots Ben, it is great to see shots from other parts of the world, the infrastructure in the UK is very similar to here in australia. Once Trainboard has facilities to upload pics i will start to post pics taken here in Sydney
You have done very well with these shots. I am especially interested in the tracks shown on the far right of your last two pix. Are they dual gauge or some other special configuration? You might also want to take a look at the "More Than Trains" forum on this board. It has a pretty good international participation. Also there are some challenges there that might be interesting to you.
Pierce, the two tracks with four 'rails' are for London Underground trains, as seen in some of the pictures. They use two extra electrified rails, with collector shoes on the bogies. Great shots Ben! I have not yet used my digital camera on moving objects, but know what you mean about the time lag of shutter opening. I must get over to the ECML and practise This is a good idea for reporting rail activity in various parts of the UK, and, hopefully the rest of Europe/World I look forward to more.
I think to be strictly accurate (although I am no expert and will gratefully be corrected) the outside third rail is the live rail (the collector shoes are on the outside) and the centre rail is the return rail (but then I suppose there would have to be shoes or skates underneath the train to connect with that rail as well). Peirce, the electrics on the former Southern Region of British Railways have a similar system except that there are only three rails; the two running rails and an outside live rail. LT's pointwork is something to behold; I will try to get a shot of the crossovers and points at the south end of Golders Green station; shot with a telephoto they look most impressive! Ben [ 22 July 2001: Message edited by: Ben ]</p>
