What do you look at when out & about on the railway?

[The Stationmaster]

A post in the Peco bullhead track thread has prompted me to raise this topic.

 

In that thread a discussion has developed - which hopefully will continue here - about what people look at when they are out & about looking at the railway scene?  Obviously we all have different interests so we do, probably, look more closely at different things.  My own interests are in operation and infrastructure, and the relationship between the two, plus how a general scene is set and observed.  Thus - in my particular case, I have long had a far greater inclination to take photos of infrastructure rather than of trains.  I don't completely ignore trains and locos but out of my railway photographic total over the past 50+ years they form probably little more than 10% in total and in recent years are probably well under 1%.

 

Let debate commence ...

[beast66606]

Like you, my major interest is the signalling and operational side, perhaps I should have converted all my amateur box workings to a professional career but that was not to be. 

 

I photograph everything when out and about including units and the very mundane, one day it won't be - however I do enjoy the sight and sound of a loco on a heavy train, working hard, or a junction swinging and then a train snaking over it (Milford for instance, now effectively ruined by a thoughtless bridge).

[Bon Accord]

I pay most attention to the infrastructure of the "old" railway in it's many and varied forms. That is, where it still appears of course.

My interest in the modern scene ended abruptly with Sprinterisation circa 1990 and accordingly I pay little attention to current goings on; something that's reflected in the subject matter of the few photographs I still take, which are almost exclusively of steam specials and steam age infrastructure.

[Edwardian]

A good topic to start.  All views here are necessarily personal and subjective, and there can be no right or wrong answers.

 

It is a thought provoking question.  Do I immediately know, without some thought, what interests me most? 

 

Well, I suppose what catches my eye depends upon what I might see myself modelling.  As I like to see a whole scene, with the train in the landscape, I would also say that an eye for how the infrastructure fits within the landscape, or townscape, is a key interest.  But, then, all the details, from locomotives to platform ticket machines, are worthy of note as they are all needed to complete the scene.

 

If I see a locomotive that inspires me, I want to see it at the head of a train, so I want to know what the carriages were like and the formations.  I want to know where it went and what that looks like.  Or, I might see an attractive station and think, what would I see running through there. A lot of the time, it is old photographs, rather than the modern system or preserved artefacts that inspire me. 

[mezzoman253]

The train spotter in me says trains, loco, units, etc. However since joining RMweb I've started to take more interest in all the other parts that make up the railway.

 

I now take interest in, and pictures of, anything and everything, as some day it'll be gone.  

 

Rob

[Stubby47]

For me it's the areas around the stations and the lineside. Not just the buildings themselves, but how the existing infrastructure was changed because of the railway - the country lane that used to be straight, but now has a dog-leg arched bridge, the row of terraced houses that's been scythed through the middle.  These are the elements I want to try to capture in my layouts.

['CHARD]

Depends very much if its in my professional or personal capacity, and - to a degree - who I'm with in either!

 

In my professional capacity I'll look at whatever it is I'm being paid to look at; some of these things are very interesting, others less so.  (Some of the more interesting ones may not even necessitate moving from the desk!)

 

 

As the default state of a fixed piece of railway infrastructure is usually wheels-free at the time of my looking, I invariably look at the structures - and the scars they bear from decades of adjustment and injury.

 

I look through most of the modern glass and steel at the overall scene.  Only loco-hauled trains normally get a proper look, although I watch the operational progress of any train movement, even those curious things that suck up electrons from the surface of the earth.

 

When it comes to the railway, generally it works for me as theatre might.  The track sets the context and the expectation, although it normally registers in my semi-conscious as a palette of brown hues, and a gleaming head of steel.

[russ p]

I'm terrible for not taking photos. I'll see something and think I must photograph that before it goes...... Ah its gone!

I sometimes take the odd pictures of loco's providing they aren't 66s or belong to private companies!

[PhilH]

Two things have really caught my attention when out and about with mainline steam. One is how many random lines there are still about criss crossing London. We have various routes across the capital depending on where we are going / starting from, and it just amazes me how many lines there are 'snaking through the cemetery and round the back of the Co-op'.

 

The other thing is just how rough certain parts of trackwork are, in areas where you'd least expect, when riding on the footplate of various steam locos. Parts of the ECML come to mind...now whether the track is set up differently these days or not I really don't now, but you certainly do get some rough rides in various parts of the country.

[The Stationmaster]

I'm terrible for not taking photos. I'll see something and think I must photograph that before it goes...... Ah its gone!

I sometimes take the odd pictures of loco's providing they aren't 66s or belong to private companies!

This is I think something which has plagued many of us.  There are quite a few items of traction and rolling stock which were gong to be around forever so I never bothered with pics (although I did with a few).  But the same goes for signals and track formations although fortunately I have some photos of colour light signals taken over a span of 50 years and thus capturing the changes during that time - it was just a shame I couldn't do it exactly like that with semaphore signals.

[jonny777]

From a photography point of view, I remember borrowing a friends binoculars whilst we were on Euston station early in the 1970s.

 

I found myself becoming increasingly fascinated by the patterns produced by the foreshortened catenary supports, wires, pointwork, sleepers and the like. This led me to want to take photos of this aspect of railways using a telephoto lens, but it took me a long time before I could afford one.

 

I also found the regular repetition of slam-door suburban stock with the door handles, hinges, windows and so on, multiplying more closely as they were further from the telephoto lens.

 

However, I soon discovered that reproducing on film what I had seen through binoculars was not quite as easy I anticipated; mainly because of adjustments to the shutter speed and f-setting to get the required correct exposure and depth of field. Many of my early attempts were bad enough to be ditched; and I began to have thoughts about whether I was photographing reality, or somehow producing images that were not there in reality.

 

Then the trainspotter element took over and I found myself just recording locos passing stations with or without trains.

 

Slowly over recent times, much of the complexity of the trackwork has vanished and locos/trains have become very similar - so much so that my railway photography has diminished greatly.

 

I'm afraid that when I visit railways now I find myself contemplating what used to be there, rather than what is now.

[Stubby47]

Thinking tangentially here, maybe we (as a forum) ought to be promoting the idea that whenever we are out near the railway, we ought to be photographing what we see.

 

We are all very aware of the lack of photos from the period we want to model, apart from the very few websites - maybe we should be recording the current information as a legacy for the future ?

[martin_wynne]

I like to look at the pride, skill and craftsmanship that went into the building of the railways. In many cases now ignored or left to rot.

 

Look at the dressed masonry and graceful curving wing walls in this. For a simple farm occupation bridge, which could have been not much more than a plank (and nowadays would be):

 

 

 

Today it looks like this:

 

 

 

Martin.

[Zomboid]

I like to look out for traces of closed lines and stations

Beyond that I like to look at the track layouts. And freight operations, which are usually associated with interesting track arrangements.

[Phil Bullock]

I'm with Stubby and Martin

 

Very much about how the railway works in the environment and the detail of structures

 

Its hard to observe much in close proximity from a moving train these days given speed and lack of line up of windows with seats too...

 

Workings still hold a fascination although modern traction does little for me

 

Wish I had paid more attention to rolling stock in the late 60s/early 70s too...

 

Phil

[Talltim]

Mostly RMWeb on my phone I'm afraid I've done the same 14 mile commute for 13 years and I've got a bit bored of it.

I do like to look at the interplay of the shapes of infrastructure (rail and non-rail), the odd angles and bits that aren't straight. To my mind including these are the 'detailing' that make a model, rather than adding extra stuff as the term 'detailing' often seems to mean

[PaulRhB]

Between a couple of us at work we do try to record some of the more mundane stuff as well as the unusual workings. I have a big file on the PC including people, vehicles and structures simply because they are the details I like to include to make the model just a little different.

I keep thinking I need to do the same about town, photographing vehicles and their liveries, buildings etc and putting them in 5 year groups for the future

The main problem is filing it all and keeping the digital stuff safely backed up as you do find drives die and odd folders corrupt. Printing it all off gets a bit expensive!

I've always liked the overall look rather than just the train so I prefer wider shots of it in the landscape and maybe this is why I'm increasingly interested in Operation, running models as part of a bigger system with trains actually serving defined points as part of the scene.

[Phil Bullock]

And if I am seriously bored on a journey there's always the Realtime trains app to monitor progress and work out what other trains are...

 

Phil

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...As the default state of a fixed piece of railway infrastructure is usually wheels-free at the time of my looking, I invariably look at the structures - and the scars they bear from decades of adjustment and injury.

 

I look through most of the modern glass and steel at the overall scene.  Only loco-hauled trains normally get a proper look, although I watch the operational progress of any train movement, even those curious things that suck up electrons from the surface of the earth.

 

When it comes to the railway, generally it works for me as theatre might.  The track sets the context and the expectation, although it normally registers in my semi-conscious as a palette of brown hues, and a gleaming head of steel.

 That's a pretty good summary of the visual side for me. I enjoy the sounds the railway makes too. Some of the smells are impressive, and occasionally  evocative of a vanished past. But it is all impression, rather than a focus on detail.

 

(Analogy with composed music, which I also enjoy. Don't give a shit about the score, it's the sound it makes that really counts for me.)

[big jim]

Women.....

 

 

 

 

 

......I mean signals!

[31A]

Tail lamps.

[jjb1970]

I love sitting watching trains, unlike most I like high intensity urban and commuter lines as I find there is something hugely impressive in watching high intensity operations. I was always a bit of the odd one out when I was younger as when all my friends who were into trains were obsessed with bashing diesels and getting "NB" haulage I loved coming down South to enjoy Southern Region EMUs. I tend not to be so interested in infrastructure and such like and if I'm not looking at trains I tend to be more into looking out of trains at the world going by outside.

[Colin_McLeod]

Sleeper spacing

[SHMD]

It depends upon - very specifically - what aspect (sorry) of the layout I am currently working on.

 

 

Two years I could have been caught starring intently at points and signal identifying systems for a busy mainline terminus.

Last year I looked at line side electrical cabinets.

Currently, I'm very interested in Chairs, Keys and Bullhead Rail!

 

 

Kev.

[Derekstuart]

I agree with Bon Accord.

 

The modern railway has very little of interest in it for me. Therefore I seem to spend more time looking at the price of Stella in the "buffet" car.

 

But from now on I'm going to try and find those strange locations such as in Martin's photo, where bridges, track, embankment and sky are all painted grey.