RECONNAISSANCE WITH A CAMERA

Question on 'The Vault'. Melanie Sykes asked 'What is the name given to the condition where the sufferer can fall asleep at any time?' The contestant replied, 'Nostalgia…'

I shouldn't laugh…the contestant probably has a point! Today the ageing process is creeping up with a vengeance, and never a day goes by that I haven't wanted to photograph Sixties steam all over again. Only there's a catch. Who in their right mind would want to put themselves through the ordeal of steam's demise for the sake of a few memories? After all, nostalgia is a futile diversion - and often mistaken - for we kid ourselves into believing that the past is somehow better than it is today. It isn't always, of course, and nothing is more likely to cure an old fool of a yearning for going backwards than witnessing the demise of steam a second time around. 

After steam vanished from the scene in 1968 everything that came afterwards seemed a poor second best. In particular, the British Rail Board's (BRB's) Corporate Identity Programme left me stone cold. The new 'barbed-wire' logo was an ugly design compared to the first British Railways totem consisted of a 'British Lion' embracing a flanged wheel to symbolize rail transport; this was followed by the second totem which had the 'British Lion' rising from a crown holding a driving wheel in its front paws. A variation of the 'British Lion' and crown totem was cast in polished aluminum for the WR's prototype 'Western' class No D1000 Western Enterprise and the LMR's new fleet of WCML electrics. The British Lion is a superb design and should have been left well alone. After all, what's  wrong with 'Britishness' - or is it just me being a misery-guts?

But then, I enjoy hamming up the curmudgeon role, because it gets easier as you get older. You develop an endless capacity to wage war against change. That's why I embarked on this website, since nostalgia becomes embedded in everyone's consciousness later on in life. But nostalgia isn't what it used to be, is it? I can paint pretty pictures of steam trains (below) until I'm blue in the face, but back in the Sixties it was a different story. With the demise of steam gathering pace, there was something out of kilter with a hobby that involved jotting down the number of a scrapped engines awaiting disposal at locomotive works. That's why so many train spotters turned to railway photography, it was a rehabilitative form of exercise - the collection of old steam photos we took of steam's demise brings back a shedful of memories. 

Back in the Fifties, one of the easiest ways of getting started in railway photograph was to beg, steal or borrow the family's Kodak Brownie 127 camera and finish off the tail end of roll film lying dormant in the camera since last year's holiday!  But the temptation to fill the viewfinder with a speeding locomotives (to the exclusion of everything else in the surroundings) inevitably ended up with a set of blurred shots. It wasn't until my dad suggested taking a step back from the action and embracing more of the railway scene that things improved - and thank goodness I heeded his advice, because the railway network has changed out of all recognition over the years and the general view often produces a more interesting picture.