Llangollen Railway: Hybrid DMU…
The weather yesterday morning was really strange, a balance of storm clouds and blue sky with a soft light that kept changing whilst I waited for the morning train from Llangollen to Carrog to pass…
I can’t help but feel this might be a good spot for photo of the resident steam engine when she returns to service, so although my aim is to photograph the railway from different spots this year, we may return another day! I’m beginning to feel like I’m appreciating the railway here, as it is, when it is… More soon…
I had walked about half an hour, a little further than normal to watch the train alongside the Dee towards Carrog. The line follows the river here and the quiet village road never strays too far allowing glimpses through the trees, a broken view of a timeless scene.
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| Check out the sky! From storm clouds to blue sky in one photo! |
The train was a little late, and the railway was a little further from the road than I would have liked but the iPhone coped admirably, with both filming a short video (on my Facebook page) and these stills. The quality of light was lost so I’ve boosted them a little to give a feel for the experience of watching the train roll past on it’s way to Carrog.
There are probably as many ways as there are words to describe the difference of railroading in my backyard to yours but it's this vision of DMU's moving through the country that feels the most significant since it's a thing we just never had the way you do. That this is in preservation only further underscores that difference. I love the sight and sound of the British DMU and how they move through such beautiful scenes. We talk about preserving railway equipment and the conversation is about saving that thing as a thing but in the case of your railway and its DMU's that conversation on preservation seems like one about preserving not just the parts but the whole--that without the context of the rural branchline there's less reason to save its trains.
ReplyDeleteChris
You’ve put this beautifully as usual. I remember them on the mainline, in particular Class 101s in Regional Railways livery out of Chester… I’d love to see some more modern preservation liveries, to re live my memories… but yes, even the green and blue here just feel right in a way many don’t understand. DMUs ran on this line on excursions, but I’m general it was steam until Beeching… well actually the River Dee flooded at washed out the railway between Corwen and Bala causing closure a few days early…
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