Photography
The face of the Moon rising over the Chaîne de l’Étoile, Marseille while the sun is setting in the opposite direction, almost making the eclipse.
Fine view of one of England’s highest mountains, Skiddaw (931 m.), over Bassenthwaite Lake, one of Cumbria’s largest lakes. St. Bega’s church, Bassenthwaite is on the lakeside opposite.
BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia at Platform 1, Victoria station, London
Hot, steaming and still running on coal, the 4-6-2 steam locomotive pulling the excursion train in to Platform 1 is Britannia, back running on the mainline rails after replacement of a connecting rod which failed during one of last year’s rides. Quite a contrast to the sleek electric commuter trains usually at this London terminus.
Photography note: one of those subjects where my camera’s exposure suggestion was wrong by more than two stops. Those old-time railway photographers had some quite specific skills to get the shots they did.
Dramatic dawn over Skiddaw (931 m.) and Latrigg (268 m.), seen from Keswick. A thunderstorm developed very soon afterwards so truly “Red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning”.
Not what you expect to see at your local station: neither the Piccadilly Line nor the District Line were running trains this weekend through Barons Court, my local Underground station. Usually the lines are busy with the rattle of passenger trains every couple of minutes, instead there’s a busy flock of hi-viz suits and a couple of engineering trains stationary on the tracks.
