Southwell Trail

The following small selection of photographs focuses on the Southwell Trail’s past life as a railway line connecting Southwell to Mansfield. Passenger trains stopped running in the 1920s but the line was maintained for goods services until the 1960’s. More information about the trail and the railway can be found in this leaflet produced by Nottinghamshire Council: 

https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/1528400/southwell-trails-booklet.pdf

The photographs below show the old Edingley and Kirklington Station house, one of the bridges over the trail, the old height gauge which stands in the picnic area near to the station:

These days the trail is tree lined and used by walkers and cyclists but it retains a straight, often tunnel-like appearance:

Swanwick Junction - Part 2 (April 2019)

More from the heritage railway at Swanwick Junction, Derbyshire. This selection takes more of a wider angle view including some of the buildings, locomotives, wagons etc. I particularly like the luxury 'rail replacement service' bus!

Swanwick Junction (April 2019)

Swanwick Junction is part of a heritage railway on the former Ambergate to Pye Bridge line closed in the 1960's and now run by Midland Railway - Butterley. The visit was part of several outdoor watercolour painting days I attended during April and May all on the broad theme of transportation.

I really enjoyed the day particularly as I was a railway enthusiast as a child. Many of the locomotives being preserved at Swanwick Junction were in service at the time when I had the greatest interest and it bought back lots of memories.

Once the painting session had finished there was enough time for some photography. The subjects that appealed the most were the surfaces and textures of the old wagons, carriages and engines including rust, peeling paint, great colours etc. These were some of the results: