Welcome

Welcome to Railography. As the name suggests, this website features railway photography. As well as being a vehicle for showcasing my own pictures it also contains related material that may be useful to others such as trip reports, locomotive details etc.

Geographical coverage is fairly patchy. Rather than trying to do a bit of everything, I tend to concentrate on one or two countries at a time, moving on after a few years when things become less interesting. The bulk of material here was taken following my switch to digital in 2003 but older pictures from other countries will be added as and when I get round to scanning them. China and the Czech Republic are the current destinations of choice and the subject of most of the current content but other countries, such as Germany, Spain and Switzerland also feature.

Photographing foreign trains may seem like a strange pastime but there’s far more to it than first meets the eye. A fascination with railways is essential but it also involves travel, adventure, strenuous exercise, detective work, a sense of timing, a determination to get it right, the perseverance to keep trying until you do get it right and a taste for beer. It helps to be able to predict the weather and the light, to have the skill to find good locations in unfamiliar places, the artistic flair to compose the perfect picture and the hand/eye co-ordination of a sharpshooter to take the shot. After years of trying I’ve failed to develop these superhuman qualities and have to rely on the perseverance and the beer.

It’s a great way to unwind from a stressful job, very satisfying when you do get it right and unlike many hobbies or sports, there’s usually something to show for your efforts when the trip’s over. Trainspotting with a camera it isn’t. Enjoy the pictures, I’ve certainly enjoyed taking them. 

Upgrade

The upgrade is almost complete with only the photos remaining to be migrated from my original Tractive Efforts website. This may take some time. The rest of the Tractive Efforts material is now available on Railography.

User Guide

Use the menu at the top of each page for navigation between the different sections of the site. Individual pages can be accessed by clicking the relevant links and buttons.

The site is organised as follows:

What's New
A listing of updates to the site in reverse chronological order. This is a good place for regular visitors to start as they can see what's changed since their last visit. There's now an RSS feed as well.

Photo Galleries
The pictures. These are arranged by country and then geographical area. Most material is post 2003 but earlier pictures will be added when time permits.

Video Clips
Short video clips. Mainly Bryan Acford's Chinese steam clips at the moment. One day I might get round to adding some more of my own.

Sounds
Recordings of steam and diesel locomotives in action. Like the videos, this is very much a work in progress.

Trip Reports
Reports of my photographic trips, usually illustrated. These can be a bit anoraky in places but I try to keep them readable.

Information
Other material of interest, generally on locomotives, railway operations etc. Chinese locomotive lists, loco profiles and location maps are here.

Countries
An alternative index listing all the content for each country in the same place. If you're only interested in one country, this is a good place to start.

Useful Links
Links to other sites, again generally with a railway bias but there are some useful travel and photographic resources as well.

Tractive Efforts
My original website was devoted to Chinese steam. The Tractive Efforts photos are accessible via either of the China items on the Photo Galleries menu. Everything else has been integrated into Railography already. Tractive Efforts is now decommissioned.