The Chemin du Fer Blanc-Argent was a single track metre gauge cross country railway linking various lines of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (PO) running through the departments of Loiret, Loir-et-Cher and Indre in France.

What is now the Spa Valley Railway was in 1983 a railway backwater facing imminent closure.  This year has seen the Spa Valley Railway reopen Birchden Junction to run alongside Network Rail to the shared station at Eridge.

Over recent years there’s been a flurry of activity to build new steam locomotives from scratch and to convert existing Barry wrecks into long lost other classes.  Generally I’m not a supporter of such projects – but the story of the conversion of 78059 to "84030" is an exception.

A heritage railway in France that’s easy to reach for British enthusiasts is the "Petit train de la Haute Somme".  About an hour’s drive from the coast, it’s well worth a visit.  I visited a couple of times in 1983 – shooting slides that I’ve now scanned.

This is the story of some slides of the trams in Lille, France I shot back in 1983.  A mate went for a weekend recently and came back with pictures of the current scene, so I thought it would be interesting to scan the slides for a comparison.

Here's the story of an interesting lesson I learned and a bit of the history of the trams in Lille.

The railway line between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge is a story of a line closed by British Rail using questionable economics, becoming a successful heritage railway of today.  These pictures were taken during the lines twilight years under British Rail.

The Vasilikos, Kalavassos and Drapia Mineral Railway in Cyprus was owned by the Hellenic Mining Company Limited.

It was an approximately eight miles long, 2 foot 6 inches gauge railway system built to serve the mines in the Vasilikos River Valley.

Mining of gypsum, copper and iron pyrites started in the valley in 1937, continuing until 1977 when the mines became worked out.  The railway track was lifted in 1978, but some rolling stock remained in open store until 1980.

I’ve just had a few fleeting days in England, and as a gricer with severe withdrawal symptoms I had to get some train pictures somehow.

The problem was I was staying in Bishops Stortford, not renowned in gricing circles for it’s depth and interest.  If you’re a Class 317 aficionado, you’d be in heaven.  If you think they’re the most boring of EMUs, tough.

This is a set of pictures taken on the third and final day of my Midland Railtourer adventure in 1983. 

The day started out at Banbury.  From there I went to Birmingham New Street, Leicester, Wellingborough and Derby before returning to Banbury.