Standing on the Footplate

Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster Station, Worcestershire, England, UK

September 4, 2006 - 15:10 UTC (16:10 Local Time)

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Caption

So who at some point in their life hasn't wanted to be a steam train driver? Standing on the footplate with the world rushing by, shovelling coal into the fire, and feeling the heat against your face.

This panorama was shot at the end of an enjoyable day riding up and down 16 miles of preserved railway owned by the Severn Valley Railway. I spent about 75% of the outward journey hanging out of the window and ended up with a head full of soot and a grin that lasted for ages. There’s nothing better than the smell of steam.

Once we got back to Kidderminster station, the train was de-coupled and shunted forward before the driver and fireman took a break. While they took their break I was allowed to stand on the footplate to shoot my panorama. You can see them sitting on the bench.

For any train buffs outs there, the train is the GWR 5764 and you can find out more about the Severn Valley Railway and the train in the links below.

The offical website of the Severn Valley Railway
Wikipedia entry for the Severn Valley Railway
Wikipedia entry for the GWR 5700 class of steam locomotive
Photographs of the GWR 5764 steam locomotive

Location

Europe / UK-England

Lat: 52° 23' 2.39" N
Long: 3° 15' 23.19" W

Elevation: 190 ft

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

Equipment

Taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990 and a FC-E8 Fisheye lens. Mounted on a simple L shaped bracket. 4 portrait frames taken 90 degrees apart with the fisheye circle just touching the top and bottom of the frame, while being clipped on the left and right. Stitched using PTGui / Panotools and converted to a QTVR Cube using Pano2QTVR Pro.

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Best of 2006

Standing on the Footplate

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