The editor has been in correspondence with Supporters’ Association member Paul Robinson who makes regular visits to the island and has provided some superb photographs of the railway. Hopefully we will include these in future editions of the magazine, beginning with the two views on the inside rear cover of this issue. He writes with some thoughts on the ins and outs of being a photographer:-

Over the weekend I thought of the difficulties of photographing the Peacocks on the island, here are a few. I only press the shutter when the sun shines, can be a problem on the island at times.
The frustration of new barbed wire fencing appearing each year; the increase in lineside vegetation during the summer at the best locations. Sorry I am a slight technical trespasser, I do ask farmers, landowners for permission to photo. I do have a Hi-Vis jacket and a pair of secateurs, they were a present from my wife. She does not come to the island on my every visit, when she does she is used to sitting in the car between The Nunnery and Crogga while I take my photographs and then drive south for more. I like to photo the Peacocks running and steaming not waiting to depart from Douglas. You said many pictures in the magazine are newsy types, I am a linesider, movement steam and smoke for me. Enough rambling, the main reason for the e-mail, looking back I can only go back to No.98. I have not seen an article from a steam railway photographer. Your magazine along with all other societies relies on pictures to enhance the text.

As a keen steam railway photographer and visiting the island regularly over the years, I thought which is the most challenging photograph to achieve. I mean by this, I want the sun out on the side to be photographed and also not to have set behind a hill. The wind needs to be from the right direction, to clear the smoke away. The train needs to be on time. The location I am thinking of only becomes possible ONE week in the year and only for a TEN minute period in the day due to the train times, what a challenge! The train to be photographed is the last departure from Douglas after the clocks have gone back in October. To make the shot even more difficult the last train is  a 16:20 departure not 16:15 even less time to secure the photo. The location is the farm field at Keristal looking out to Marine Drive and the sea, this is the only time the sun is on land side. There are also large round straw bales still in the field and can be stood on to give a better position. This helps to keep my shadow out of the photograph,  yes that’s another challenge. The sun is dropping rapidly to South Barrule it will start to go behind at 16 35 that means less than 50 meters of track caught by the sun.

I have stood their in late October for the past couple of years looking over my shoulder looking for the sun to be out. Or if I am very very lucky looking at the setting sun. I keep checking the wind direction, I think it is just about right, I am balancing on top of the large round straw bale. It’s 16 20, I hear the whistle of “Kissack” departing from Douglas, five minutes later another whistle for White Hoe crossing. Is the sun going to stay out or disappear behind a cloud, will Kissack be on time. The anticipation builds, I see smoke at Keristal duck farm, I look over my shoulder, is the sun going to be out, or drop behind South Barrule? “Kissack” comes into view, great no high-vis jackets in the cab, I fire the shutter and the moment has passed. I look round and the sun has started to set behind South Barrule that was really close. My picture is reasonable, I will be back again next October, God willing, hoping for a return to a slightly earlier departure. This will give me a better chance and a better picture than this years attempts. I just hope next October I still have a straw bale to stand on, not turn up to a gallery trying to achieve the most challenging shot on the steam railway. I enclose the shot from Thursday 30^th October, it was my last chance. I dash to my house in Onchan, eat, bathe and catch the Ben. It’s a north easterly force seven – never mind it has been a good day.