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Thank you for liking the video!

Thank you Lewis. It's good to review a whole year's filming and sift out what you think is the best - as you know I am biased towards the best sounds, the best gradients and the best 'moments'......

And Thank You! Your comments are always greatly appreciated - extra enhanced by your footplate experience and our shared privilege of being familiar with 'real' steam back in the sixties!

.......and maybe dreamt, for a few minutes, of heading to Trawsynydd!

This day certainly had an 80s feel about it - the sound of the preserved class 40 and 45 - until you looked at the carriages. It will seem strange to say it - but there was a special 'warmth' to the atmosphere at Blaenau with the distinctive idling sound from each loco!

​@davebenjamin5380 great video BTW, some really creative angles there.

@@garthcox4307 Many thanks. Pont y Pant was planned, Blaenau location with 10 seconds to spare, leaving Blaenau with half a minute and the last two locations were very much improvised. Climbing 50 feet up the old incline would have allowed me to capture the full sound of the 40 on the 1/43(instead of the carriage sound) - but impossible to achieve with such a tight turn round at Blaenau. Memorable day, indeed!

I was on the same tour A proper engine 40047 ex HM

@jonathanwood2465 I think it was called the Conwy crusader? Also had 40029 and d200 on other parts of the tour. And a trip on the Birkenhead docks railway, literally on a road side verge past people's houses. I bet that closed many years ago.

Memories indeed, for me too! Wolverhampton High Level in 1966, a Fridays only relief to Newcastle on the ECML and one very special climb up to Talerddig possibly in the 1980s.

You might have missed a few recently....but apologies for the lack of wildlife videos, none since July - hopefully 'Four Seasons' will be made and uploaded before the year is out!

It's not just a great microphone ('Rode') - but an even better windshield - and the concept of the microphone being external with 2 metres of cable, hiding most of the mic in the camera bag to shield against any wind and yet still cover about 120 degrees. And a lot of experience to find the sheltered parts of a windy platform, avoiding the tamest blade of grass that could create extraneous noise - and, of course, a huge amount of luck!

Has to be seen and heard 'live' to fully appreciate! One of the very best places in the UK to appreciate locomotives working hard and crews always on top of their job!

Encouraging to hear! I chose not to upload those scenes two weeks ago because the consensus view was they were sub-standard. It's a quiet type of locomotive (they are loved or disliked and a million miles from anything your father would have known in the east)

Interesting to observe it all at the time - and to treasure how lucky we are still to see such scenes!

Thank you Andy. Probably a one-off for me, capturing so much of the modern railway instead of pure steam - but it does show how lucky we are to still have steam active on the modern network.

Canon XA20, about 12 years old, now superseded by something similar. Expensive tripod, quality Rode mic and windshield.

@ oh no wayyy i just got the xa11 from 2018 super great camera

@@Welshtrainspotting2024 It will be a great camera!

Thank you. Greatly appreciated. A memorable autumnal day with great sights and sounds from the Castle!

Knowing where to capture the sound certainly helps, as did the lack of onlookers and the still autumnal air.

Indeed. There was a very special feel to the day. The still air allowed the sound to carry and the smoke lingered when the sound had faded. Leaves were falling, the autumn colours were radiant and we were heading for winter. What a great privilege to see and hear a Castle in mid November!

Treasured comments Robert, extra meaningful as I know your interests are wide and many and not restricted to the steam-enthusiast world. Experience and skill plays a part but luck with dry and calm weather, especially in the Highlands, is a major factor. Many videos feature the locomotive up close and personal - you'll observe my focus is often very different - I'm trying to capture steam in the landscape where before and after are as important as the main moment. Thank you!

Thank you. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Pleased you liked the video. Hadn't anticipated the siding being so full at TYB so scrambling a bit higher was last-minute improvisation! There was a memorable atmosphere at Rhyd Ddu as the K1's fire had to be dropped and doused down, and as a brief downpour sent onlookers to find cover - the combined crews worked together to get the train back on the move.

I'm just treasuring the fact that the Ffestiniog's gravity trains are still allowed to run in our 'health and safety world' - in contrast to so many other areas of life where restrictions have greatly limited our freedom! But I'm pleased you liked the video....

Thank you Simon. Although not one of my best, made purely to mark Tornado's return....

Thank you Simon - a moment remembered for the smoke, sound and strong acceleration.

And Thank You for saying so - Thoughts and comments always greatly appreciated!

Yes - and you can't beat the bark of most things Great Western, Castle and King, Hall and Manor to name but a few. And yet I guess we are both LNER fans!

Thank you. Hearing every bark of the departure from a mile and a half away was extra memorable! (That's the sound copied to the last 30 seconds of the video)

And also a really enjoyable pleasure to film such an event!

Thank you! And a second video just uploaded from the FRs Bygone's event.

Many thanks. It's a very enjoyable experience filming on the FR and WHR - such variety in locomotives and scenery, gradients, great sounds and so much to capture!

It's hard to beat the sound of a GWR whistle - even though I'm an LNER fan and treasure the piercing shriek of a B1!

@@davebenjamin5380 I may be wrong here, but I think Prince's whistle could be off a "Streak". Fantastic filming by the way. Wonderful/creative views and sound effects.

@@cricciethcastle5077 Many thanks for the comments - greatly appreciated! I think I read that Driver Bill Hoole, of East Coast Pacific fame, was a Ffestiniog driver in the early days and that would explain the A4 whistle connection - maybe someone will know exactly which locomotive the whistle came from?

I'm pleased you found the video. When filming one of the Snowdonian specials it's always in my mind that passengers will come across the film and see it as a record of their journey! Rhyd Ddu was extra atmospheric with the heavy shower, all the smoke and steam around the two locos - and the industrious and very organised efforts of the crews to get the train on the move again.

Thank you Lewis. There will be another FWHR video by next Tuesday - hopefully - featuring the Bygones weekend.

Pure speculation on my part but it looked to be a possible injectors issue - I later heard it may have been a valve that wasn't functioning. The scene at Rhyd Ddu was definitively atmospheric - a very heavy shower and both crews working extremely hard to deal with the situation - not sure how much the passengers were aware, apart from the lengthy delay.

And thank you for allowing me to add your iphone footage of 29 and 2392 from Moorgates!

You might just recognise someone at 6.05 into the video!

Indeed. Always an impressive impact of steam in this part of Wales.

I'm very envious of your Cambrian memories! I recall the last year of the Manors and journeys over Talerddig behind Standard Class 4's in 1966. Robinson D11s at Cleethorpes in the late 50s are ingrained on my memory but Talerddig and the Cambrian would have been extremely special.

And the same equally legendary Mr Davies? - originally from Watford or Kings Langley? Stories to share - Let me know and I'll give you a call.....

I certainly do remember Don Southgate! One of a legendary group of volunteers/staff who helped the railway flourish back in the 70s and 80s! The Talyllyn retains much of its special charm as a unique narrow-gauge line.

And with equally impressive sound!

Thank you.