Get to the run up to Christmas and, if you have a heritage railway near you, there is a good chance they will be advertising that they have illuminated trains in operation. The trains will have lights all across the outside and probably within the carriages too. I’m sure they are fun to ride on but, from my point of view, seeing the outside lights is more appealing than being inside.
The Watercress Line is close to Winchester, and they had an illuminated service. In fact, they had more than one. My mum was visiting, and she was also interested in the lights so, late in the afternoon, since it was already getting dark at that time, we popped out to see the train go by. Sure enough, we soon saw it coming up the hill out of Alresford. There is a long stretch where the trees have been trimmed back when you get a good view of it coming our way. Even with the lights, the exposure is still a stretch for the camera. It did okay, though, and a bit of noise reduction software helps.
As they came around the corner into the straight heading at us, the lights would illuminate the embankment on either side of the cutting. There was also a strong yellow glow which, I assume, came from the firebox. The colours were constantly changing and it looked really impressive as the loco pulled hard up the bank. I think that they had swapped to a smaller loco because they had a diesel on the back of the train to support.
We were going to head straight home but one of the other people there told us there was a second train coming down from Alton a little while later. While it was getting a bit chilly and definitely dark, we figured there was no harm in hanging around. We did get the second train as it came down the cutting and then headed back the way the previous train had come. Going that way, they are going downhill so the loco is barely working to get them home. No plumes of smoke and thundering noise.
You might look at this image and ask, “why make a post about it?” That is a fair question I suppose. The first thing is it is an A340 so that might be enough for me. However, it is more about my luck with getting these European A340s as they operate in Bournemouth. This time I was walking with a longer lens. Last time I had one overfly me, I only had a short lens and so it was a bit distant. This was an improvement. However, this time it was a bit rainy and overcast so not great conditions. The specs of raindrops are clearly visible in the image. That might ruin it for me but, for some reason, this time I feel like it adds something that reflects my frustration with trying to get good shots of these jets. Whatever way I try and justify it, it doesn’t really matter. I just like it.
