Picture of the Day 16 October 2024

Today’s picture is of London Marylebone station, showing a Chiltern passenger rushing for her train. Picture here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/190687851@N02/53979718755/in/photolist-2qf1aL8-2qf3fRu

In summer 2003, I made thousands of pictures of the Chiltern network – mainly featuring passengers. This was for a huge project and for which Chiltern were more than happy to cooperate. Normally, flash photography at stations is banned, but managers at Marylebone realised that flash was necessary if the desired results were to be achieved and they were happy that I wouldn’t fire the flash at drivers. The method used was to mount the camera on a tripod and shoot using a very slow shutter speed, but just fast enough to freeze some detail in the rushing passengers. I waited for when I saw a passenger wearing bright clothes – something common during summer months.

Over three weeks, I spent at least part of everyday day at Marylebone station, until I had a huge body of work showing Chiltern passengers mingling with trains. I travelled the whole London to Birmingham route, stopping off at many stations along the way. During this period I managed to photograph a huge variety of trains, including Freightliner class 57s, Thames Trains class 166s, and Virgin CrossCountry Voyagers.

Chime Whistle Publishing railway books, including the best selling ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Train to the Midlands’ and ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Train to London’. https://www.chimewhistle.co.uk/shop