Images of the British Railway Landscape
Published by Pen & Sword Books
A collection of striking and evocative photography capturing the interplay of trains and the spaces that surround them.
David Goodyear’s approach to railway photography has always been to capture the context of the railway within the landscape in which it finds itself. The railway train itself embraces each scene, providing the soul and atmosphere where it may dominate or be dominated by the landscape in which it is portrayed, alongside the special manner through which it expresses its very character. The landscape expresses the train as much as the train expresses the landscape.
The magnificence and splendor of a railway viaduct such as that at St. Germans or Brunel’s engineering masterpiece of the Royal Albert Bridge makes a statement of the railway within the location it is placed. The train crossing the viaduct finds itself enveloped by the architecture of the viaduct and yet characterizes the very function for which the viaduct was built. Steam locomotives always bring a very special sense of mood and movement to a railway landscape, but a modern train can also contribute its own soul to the landscape in which the railway participates. Diesel and electric trains possess their own appeal and character, such as through an eye-catching livery that conveys a sense of stage-appearance on a scene where the aesthetic of the passing train is expressed alongside the location or architecture embracing it.
Inspirational scenery, big skies and brooding hills or a patchwork of color in springtime fields can instill a sense of admiration for beauty in nature through which the train passes. Equally expressive are sunlight and shadows, and the quality of light through different seasons. The author lives in an area with access to many such awe-inspiring vistas to explore within Devon and Cornwall. Join him on a series of journeys in this collection of his extraordinary photography.
David Goodyear’s approach to railway photography has always been to capture the context of the railway within the landscape in which it finds itself. The railway train itself embraces each scene, providing the soul and atmosphere where it may dominate or be dominated by the landscape in which it is portrayed, alongside the special manner through which it expresses its very character. The landscape expresses the train as much as the train expresses the landscape.
The magnificence and splendor of a railway viaduct such as that at St. Germans or Brunel’s engineering masterpiece of the Royal Albert Bridge makes a statement of the railway within the location it is placed. The train crossing the viaduct finds itself enveloped by the architecture of the viaduct and yet characterizes the very function for which the viaduct was built. Steam locomotives always bring a very special sense of mood and movement to a railway landscape, but a modern train can also contribute its own soul to the landscape in which the railway participates. Diesel and electric trains possess their own appeal and character, such as through an eye-catching livery that conveys a sense of stage-appearance on a scene where the aesthetic of the passing train is expressed alongside the location or architecture embracing it.
Inspirational scenery, big skies and brooding hills or a patchwork of color in springtime fields can instill a sense of admiration for beauty in nature through which the train passes. Equally expressive are sunlight and shadows, and the quality of light through different seasons. The author lives in an area with access to many such awe-inspiring vistas to explore within Devon and Cornwall. Join him on a series of journeys in this collection of his extraordinary photography.
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