Visiting from the North Norfolk Railway former Nassington quarry based Hunslet Ring Haw passes Castor spring 2015.
Jason’s Picture of the month June 2021
Ready Steady GO!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow sees the recommencement of services on the NVR, hopefully with no more lockdowns ahead.
Services will still be far from what we are used to, we still have social distancing.
Looking at the official railway web site we have lots of special events coming up, please support them. This is still a critical time for the railway.
For those who do visit and travel, you are most welcome, thanks for your support it is appreciated.
The railway has played a very important part in Peterborough’s history and development and it’s fair to say the city would be very different if that first train had not steamed into the city in 1845.
Whilst we can’t fully recreate those days, travelling on the railway does give you the opportunity to travel on part of the first railway route into the city.
If you take some nice photographs during your visit and would like to share them please feel free to send them to me and I would love to include them on the blog. The email address can be found to the right of this posting.
Welcome back to The Nene Valley Railway.
Coming to a screen near you.
For several years Railcam have had three cameras on the NVR.
Well I am pleased to announce that one of the cams showing the Main Wansford station and crossing is now available on YouTube.
Our thanks to Railcam for providing this for the railway it is appreciated.
Jason’s Picture of the month for May
Oh those tickets are big!
I was reminded today of a comment often heard when people looked at the display on the walls of Orton Mere station.
We had pictures of various things on the wall, amongst them were pictures of old tickets enlarged to A4.
One off the most common comments we heard was:-
“Oh look how big tickets were in the old days!”
Most were amazed when we told them that they had been enlarged so they were easier to see, I could never imagine anybody walking round with an A4 sized ticket in their pocket.
Ghost train: Northampton to Peterborough.
I received this from Mark Hernandez Deputy Editor of Nene Steam. My thanks to him for this contribution.
I’ve seen the video above shared on a few local railway groups I belong to on social media and by a lot of NVR volunteers so I got in contact with James, the young lad who created it . He kindly agreed to a short Q&A over email which I’ve included below.
Hi Marc. No problem. I am glad you like the vid it is probably the longest I have made in this format! (Ghost Train)I’ll try and answer as best I can.
Q – What made you decide to produce a then and now animated journey on the Northampton-Peterborough railway? I take it’s part of a series you’ve been doing of lost/closed railways
A – I chose the Northampton – Peterborough line in part via a suggestion from one of my followers. Every now and then I will throw a poll or question as to where I should explore next with my various projects – after I had produced several “Ghost Train” films in this style it was recommended that I take a look at the Northampton to Peterborough line. On quick inspection I discovered some interesting changes to the local landscape. (A lot of the track seems to be cutting through water/ lakeland in many places.) I myself am not a local being based in North Norfolk. However I am always interested in dramatic change from anywhere in the country and railways provide a striking albeit poignant one.
Q – Have you got any local connections to the original railway or ‘Nene Valley’ area?
A – I have not been to the Nene Valley but no doubt its on the to do list after all these lockdowns!
Q – Can you briefily talk us through the process of how you created the video? Time it took etc
A – I split into phases with these films. First I research the stations along the route – what images are available to use etc then I plot the route out on both the old map and the modern day. I then synchronize the two so they work in tandem with one another. I can then animate the train and add in any extra “cutscenes” showing the on the ground locations as they are now. True trainiacs will note that the locomotive I have been using isn’t authentic to the line but that is more a limitation of my resources and should be taken as illustrative of the route rather than a reflection of the original railway. I can usually get one of these done in a matter of a few days – with the pandemic I have had more time than usual to devote to such projects!
If you could link to my youtube channel that would be a great help. https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesFoxTimeTravelArtist/ Let me know if there are any other questions and I will try and answer as best I can!
Please visit the James Fox YouTube channel. The history of the railway and its social implications are my areas of interest, so I personally found this video very interesting.
Jason’s Picture of the month.
This is the first in a regular series of images from Jason Isaac who did the three part article on photographing along the line.
71000 Duke of Gloucester stands alongside Standard 5 73050 City of Peterborough at Wansford during the 2011 Steam Gala.
Is it a dirty job on the footplate?
Now that’s a question I have been asked on a regular basis.
The answer is it depends on what you think is dirty.
Here is a picture of Harry Baldwin back in 2009, he was a cleaner on steam locos. I often commented the loco was cleaner than he was!!
Back on track……
Excellent news, hopefully lots of tickets will be sold. Details are on the main Railway web site at www.nvr.org.uk
Great Northern Lamp
Just a couple of images of a Great Northern Railway Company lamp from New England I photographed a few years ago.
Not the greatest of images but they do show the lamp and also it’s identification plate.
