This year marks Railway 200, the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, when the Stockton & Darlington Railway commenced operations in 1825.
IN what was one of the biggest railway events of recent times, The Greatest Gathering at Derby saw the 150-ton SR Merchant Navy Class No. 35028 Clan Line twice routed over Grand Union Canal at Fenny Stratford, a couple of miles east of Bletchley on the Bedford line, which crosses the canal on a low bridge by lock 22 – and narrowboater Phil Marsh made sure he was there to catch its journey on camera.
“Photographically, this is a great location,” he said. “Lock gates, swing bridge, a lock keeper’s cottage and a railway, and for a long-standing professional railway photographer, it offers a great canvas. It just required a steam locomotive to complete the picture.
“The water level changes by less than a foot at lock 22 and local folklore suggests this shallow water level difference was purely to extract a passing toll from all boats!
“My narrowboat is moored about five miles north at Lionhearts Cruising Club, in Milton Keynes. A few miles further north is the world’s first railway town, Wolverton. Here, the West Coast Main Line crosses the Grand Union Canal, making another great photographic location.
“In 2010, several test photos were taken at lock 22 given that a similar-sized steam locomotive, a LMS Duchess, was booked to cross the canal a few days later. I returned for the master shot but annoyingly, the locomotive was diverted and went via the Wolverton canal crossing 10 miles to the north instead.”
Determined to capture the shot this year, on August 4, Phil arrived at lock 22.
“I spent 15 minutes taking test shots from all angles and locations, on the lock gates, the swing bridge and the towpath, as well as ensuring the correct camera settings. Shooting from the swing bridge offered the best panorama, and the train was tracked online.
“Unlike fairly silent modern trains, Clan Line could be heard but not seen due to lineside trees no more than 10 seconds before crossing the canal. Some 30 images were taken on a continuous burst – and the 15-year wait for such a picture was over.
“Unlike 2010 at Wolverton, disappointingly, no canal boat of any description was cruising at Fenny Stratford. In 2010, a narrowboat was passing, saw me waiting with a couple of cameras, and asked what I was waiting for. I explained that a steam locomotive was about to cross the canal on the bridge, and was it be possible to position his narrowboat in shot for me.
“This was before I’d joined the canal community and didn’t know about the loss of steering effect at low or no speed. But after 15 years, I managed to bag that unique picture.”
The technical details are: Canon 5D4 with a 24-105 F4 lens; shutter speed 1/500th second;
ISO 800; exposure F8 with a +0.3 of a stop compensation.
