Sir Nigel

Juggling been a committed photographer and a full-time job is hard work and can often be frustrating as you find yourself missing out on certain events or nice conditions for photography due to having to work. I’m quite fortunate that my work are quite flexible and sometimes if I ask I’m able to reschedule things to pop out for a while and this one was one of those occasions. Having heard that the steam train Sir Nigel Gresley was heading its way back to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on this day via the mainline it gave a rare opportunity to photograph it in places it is seen much less. Having racked my brain for locations that I could capture it I opted for Great Ayton train station as it had a stone bridge over the approach to the station and I could access it without a large hike that would have taken me away from work for longer. Happy with what I’d captured I yearned for more and opted to go and stand on top of a bridge at Kildale aiming to catch it passing. Having stood 20 minutes after it was due passed us it looked like a no show and I’d have to leave before a fellow viewer said it had just left Battersby so knowing it wouldn’t be long I’d waited. Eventually over half an hour later than planned the train approached only for me to have forgotten that it would now be tender first and not overly photogenic. Oh well, at least I got this shot.

Location = Great Ayton

Date Taken = 21st September 2023

Taken By = Andrew