All Steamed Up

I read something quite exciting on social media this morning, as someone had put that a steam train would be passing through the Attenborough Nature Reserve at around 1.25 today.

There has been a couple of steam trains passing this way recently, but annoyingly I have never been around to see them. So I was very keen to get down there and see if I could find a good spot to see it thunder by.

Even though I knew the time of its appearance, I thought I would go down a bit earlier, to a, get a parking space and b, find a good place to take some photos.

The nature reserve was really busy when I got there, but I managed to find a space and parked up. I was in two minds whether to stay near the nature reserve building and get a long shot of the train, or stand close to the line, so I could see the might of the 1933 Princess Elizabeth.

In the end I plumped for the latter. So I took the few minutes walk to where the railway line crosses the reserve and looked for a suitable spot. Several other photographers were already there, eagerly waiting to take that shot.

It wasn't as busy as I thought it might be, especially as it was sunny. I found a good spot and waited. Not long, as one old guy called out "the barrier's down", as part of the line crosses a road. I got ready and waited for the right moment to press the shutter.

It was coming by quite quickly, so I just kept on pressing. Fortunately I managed to capture a couple of what I think are decent shots. I was using my 40-150mm lens, and so I wonder if I might have done better with my 14-40mm lens instead. Both can shoot at f2.8.

Still, photography is a continual learning process, so I might try the smaller lens next time. But I'm still happy with this one. Especially as you can see some smoke coming to of the chimney.