PRESERVED STEAM IN DERBYSHIRE - ROBERT FALCONER - HALSGROVE

There is something romantic and magical about
steam trains. The atmosphere created by
steam, smoke and the nostalgia of a bygone age
attracts thousands of people who want to ride
behind a steam locomotive, take photographs
or just experience the unique aroma they
create.
Back in the 1960s the future of steam locomotives
looked very bleak as British Rail sent
them to the scrap yard and replaced them with
more modern diesel and electric locomotives.
Yet you don't have to go far in the UK today
to have your own steam experience, and
Derbyshire is no exception.
Through recent decades there is hardly any
part of Derbyshire that has not witnessed the
sight of a steam train, from the once railway
Mecca of Derby, to Chesterfield and through
the dramatic scenery of the Peak District on
the HopeValley line. Buxton and Matlock have
also seen occasional trains. And away from
the national network there are a number of
preserved lines and centres in Derbyshire.
Derbyshire-based Robert Falconer has been
photographing steam engines in action in his
home county for more than a quarter of a
century.Through many different styles of railway
photography, and in more than 140 superb
images, he captures a large variety of locomotives
from the small industrials to large express
engines.The steam locomotives are undoubtedly
the stars of the show but Derbyshire's
often spectacular landscape sets them off to
their very best advantage in this supremely
colourful and evocative collection.