The LNER Encyclopedia

Picture the scene. It's going to be a nice weekend. Bittern, 1744 and 69023 on the SVR. Got to go. Take wife and dog, combine riverside walk with return trip on train, get some great photos of 4464 plus teaks, what could be better?

If only life was that easy:
Wife slow to get going;
Letter from school prompts debate over younger son's academic progress - don't leave until 11.00am;
Sat nav takes us on route avoiding traffic delays, end up going down dirt track road, turn round and retrace steps;
Get to Arley, wrong side of river, car park full, wait for space;
Finally park, dog wants to chase ducks, try to get wife in "holiday mood" with home-made ice-cream, wife drops ice-cream (even though it's me restraining eager dog), wife cheesed-off;
Walk up to station as chime whistle sounds, get to platform only for goods train hauled by non-LNER engine to pull in totally obscuring Bittern plus train of teaks - no time to run round to other platform;
Staff don't know when Bittern will next come through with teaks, finally obtain timetable with loco info and realise it's hours before Bittern comes through;
Decide to make the best of it and walk from Arley to Bewdley, but genuinely inexplicable lack of enthusiasm from wife, dog pulls on lead all the time;
Stop for photo of any train over Victoria Bridge, lovely view, perfect shot, flask of coffee whilst waiting, and then I totally fluff the photo by catching some button the camera that locks the shutter - never done it before!;
Walk to Bewdley uneventful, wife enjoys delicatessan and kitchen shop, always good for "brownie points";
Get to Bewdley station, 69023 in platform, LNER "fix" at last;
4464 comes through tender first, but not with teaks!!!!, autofocus decides to play up - no photo;
Never mind, need to catch 18.21 behind 4464 back to Arley, get on front coach for quick exit and photos before engine pulls away in Bridgenorth direction;
Time to get off, exit blocked by trolley, find coach beyond end of platform, need to go back past trolley, tricky with dog, ticket collector decides to demand tickets as we're trying to get off, just make it before the train leaves;
Dash to front, engine way past platform end of course, too dark for flash to light up engine, no photo!;
Never saw 1744.

Consider going back today. Hard to justify fuel cost again. Forget clocks going forward. Oh bu**er it!

All I really wanted was to see Bittern hauling a train of teaks in the sunshine, was that much to ask?

Frustration overload!

Ay up!

Kodak's three laws of photography.

1: You will always run out of film just as that master shot appears.

2: Your best pictures are always taken with the lens cap on (or similar)

3: When the grab shot appears, you will have forgotten to wind on.

The digital revolution has more or less passed me by.....

In my case there is also a past number 4: which stated that only when when I wound on past photo number 38 on the counter (for a 36 film) did I realise that the film hadn't wound on since number 1 or 2.

strang steel wrote:In my case there is also a past number 4: which stated that only when when I wound on past photo number 38 on the counter (for a 36 film) did I realise that the film hadn't wound on since number 1 or 2.

Or Number 5: spend all morning taking a perfect series of photos, only to find there's no film in the camera!
Peter

Thanks fellas - I'm starting to feel less annoyed now!

PGBerrie wrote:

strang steel wrote:In my case there is also a past number 4: which stated that only when when I wound on past photo number 38 on the counter (for a 36 film) did I realise that the film hadn't wound on since number 1 or 2.

Or Number 5: spend all morning taking a perfect series of photos, only to find there's no film in the camera!
Peter

Yes, I have only done that once; on a trip to Crewe many years ago. I began to think that the film was winding on very easily and had to pluck up the courage to open the back of the camera - only to see no film at all.

You are right, the photos that never were always seem to be the best and most interesting ones (had they actually been taken on film).

Ay up!

I've done these as well...

In my case they were phantom black and white pictures of the wrapped trees at the Fondation Beyeler just down the road: http://www.fondationbeyeler.ch/en/collection/christo. They were taken on boxing day, and a couple of days later Christo took the hump and declared the exhibition closed. Overnight the wraps were gone. No chance to take the photos again!
Peter

Many years ago, got up 0430, left house in Southampton 0530 and drove all the way to the Severn Valley. Arrived Bewdley, wasted about 45 minutes for the first train I wanted (actually had a cup of coffee and bacon/egg roll) train runs in to Bewdley, press shutter NOTHING battery flat, need new battery. Back to Kidderminster, buy battery. Back to Bewdley to miss the loco I really wanted. I actually saw it from the place I wanted to photograph it but I couldn't get the camera out in time.I enjoyed the rest of the day until on the way down the M40 motorway closed because of an accident - I heard it on the car radio just after passing the junction before the accident. Got home about 0130. Bed. Up at 0430 for work!!!!

Bristol Temple Meads - class 56 with the flashing light over the cab comes off the depot. This was a definite 'want' for the collection. Camera raised, shutter pressed NOTHING battery flat and certainly no time to drive into Bristol proper to get a new one. Solution - as I had SWMBO with me and she is generously endowed, battery out, into her bra (to warm it up) and that gave me enough power for my photo. Of course, I then saw the same loco about weekly for the next six months.

We all suffer for our calling!!

Went to video 70013 through Crowle on the Tynesider a few weeks ago. Last chance to check timings was the Thursday before. Arrived Crowle station at 8:30am and proceeded East along the bank. Set up camera and tripod, stood for two and a half hours thinking it was just late. Packed in at 11am. Returned home to find timings had been changed on Friday and the train had come through Crowle at 8am.

Discovered that 70013 was to haul the 'Heart of Midlothian' out of York at 9am the week after. Timings changed again, to leaving York at 8am, which would mean I would have to have been away from home by 5:30am. I was bl##dy furious

The advert said "If there is snow on the hills the scenery will be particularly beautiful"

So car to Barnsley for 0700 ours were the first tracks on the M1 all the way

Park in car park and into waiting room with roaring fire. Drank most of my coffe [well laced with rum] and waited.

Porter came said train was at Chesterfield and running late, now 0900.

Helped to build a snow man on the platform.

Finished coffee.

Porter came, train still at Chesterfield held up with snow,now 1000.

Had a nap now 1100.

Porter came "If you all come to the booking office you can get a refund on your tickets as control will not accept the train over the S & C."

Joined queue got a refund now 1230

Went to car snowed in, couldn't get out of car park.

Borrowed shovel from porter and between the 30 of us cleared a road out of car park, now 1400

Drove home took 2 hours on non mway as it was closed.

Home at 1600 cold, fed up, in a bad temper, fell out with wife, no dinner ready, empty flask eaten all sandwiches and so she went to bingo

And you think you had it rough

Boris wrote:And you think you had it rough

I can feel a "Monty Python-esque" exchange coming on here!

Well, we had it tough.........

From dissapointing and infuriating to 'heartbraking': Picture the scene, Grosmont station in 2008. It is the LNER gala with the three A4's. Car is parked in Pickering and the ticket runs out in an hour. 60007 blows her chime whistle and we run to catch the train of which was the latest we could get the ticket for. Guard blows his whistle and doors start to shut as me, my parents and grandparents clamber onto the 2nd carriage, for perfect views of 60007 on the curves. I'm the last on and something makes me look left. There like a mirage, with steam pouring from her cylinders is Green Arrow, sat half way down the adjacent platform. The first time I'd seen Green Arrow for years, and the last time I saw her in steam. I reluctanly got on the carriage and the guard closed the door behind me. I hung out of the window, tears in my eyes, knowing that I would never see her in steam again. I never caught another glimpse of her.

It was another two years before I had a chance to see Green Arrow again, at Shildon, cold and dead.

The upside of it all? The ride behind 60007 on the incline to Goathland was the most amazing experience I have ever had, even though I was nearly blinded by the soot from Sir Nigel

Ay up!

I was there the day after she was failed so she was in Grosmont shed, unphotographable. At least I saw 45212 being shunted plus a load of A4s.

Blink Bonny wrote:Ay up!

Kodak's three laws of photography.

1: You will always run out of film just as that master shot appears.

2: Your best pictures are always taken with the lens cap on (or similar)

3: When the grab shot appears, you will have forgotten to wind on.

The digital revolution has more or less passed me by.....

A fourth one that happened to the late O. Winston Link's final flash photo. Forgot to pull out the slide from his plate camera.