‘Steam Memories No 5’ is the work of enthusiast and photographer Bob Ratcliffe. Bob was an avid follower of steam mainly on the Southern but with occasional excursions on to Western Region territory. He also followed, and probably travelled, on a number of rail tours and as such we are treated to images of steam at work under normal conditions and also some of the more unusual workings.

All of the views date from the early to mid-1960s, a time when the railway was changing into a new system it was hard to comprehend at the time. ‘Blue / grey’ creeps into the background in only a few of the images, and whilst many of the steam engines depicted are far from in ex-works condition they represent a timeframe that will still be recalled by many.