Better late than never for a blog update about my recent visit to the Great Central Railway for their Winter Steam Gala - the first steam photography outing of 2013.

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I must admit that the weather forecast for Friday 25th, when I planned to travel up to Leicestershire, was less than ideal.   I was expecting to hit heavy snow by the time that I reached Birmingham en route to the Leicester Markfield Travelodge, but luckily, the bad weather held off until around 9pm, well after I had reached my destination.

The weather next morning immediately made me glad that I had made the trip as the day started with blue skies and low Winter sunshine that complemented the snow still covering the lineside as you can see in the above image of gala guest star ex-GWR King class no. 6023 King Edward II storming away from Loughborough Central with the 09:45 to Leicester North.   I must admit that I didn't follow my usual programme of walking the line down to Quorn & Woodhouse, preferring to take a mid-morning train instead.   I returned to Loughborough in the late afternoon as I wanted to have a look at the locomotives undergoing overhaul inside the shed before tackling some night shots around the station.

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The following day, as overnight rain had cleared most of the remaining snow from the roads, I made my way to Rushey Lane overbridge for the very first time.   I can see why that location is such a magnet for lineside photographers, but I think it will be quite a while before I pay a return visit.    I also found my way to the southern end of Swithland Reservoir for the close view of the viaduct from its west side.    Got some good shots from here, but it's probably another place that I won't go back to very soon - at least not until I've got a long lens with a focal length of at least 400mm!

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See what I mean?