On today’s sterile railway it can sometimes be hard to think back and recall the days 60 + years ago when almost every train seen would be different from the next. Fixed formation sets applied almost only the electric working, the exception being the pull-push sets that plied their trade on the various Southern branch lines. Curiously, the pre-grouping classes of steam engine also seemed to keep much to their original owner’s lines although there were of course exceptions. To see the complete fleet of locomotives, the enthusiast (or photographer) had to travel and although train travel may have been preferred, road transport was often more flexible allowing the individual to park alongside the line or visit out of the way locations perhaps rarely and even inconveniently served by train. R C Riley was a man with many gifts. A man with his own transport and one who used Kodak colour film. He also had an ‘eye’ for composition; rarely was it a ‘point and shoot’ (and hope) exposure.

Counting the number of different steam classes that might be seen up to the end of 1962 and the figure was well into double figures, although that number was slashed dramatically in the great cull that occurred at the that year when so many serviceable engines were simply cast aside. Dick Riley’s images capture the scene both prior to and post that year. A time when engines might still be seen in gleaming paintwork and before the all pervading grime of the mid 1960s became commonplace. Feast then on the products of Messrs. Bulleid, Maunsell, Urie, Riddles and others in scenes and at locations that are now changed beyond recognition.