l'angelo mysterioso

it makes no difference the analogy with animals in a zoo is ridiculous.

You make a good pointBut these locomotives still exist and are cherished. They weren't scrapped .Some have been even improved: for instance the duke of Gloucester's draughting problems that limited its career were solved post preservation. Some main lines lend themselves to use by large passenger locomotives, the classic being the settle or rather leeds to Carlisle. My point is that the zoo analogy is inept. Also preserved lines give an authentic impression, and that not all railway preservation is about express passenger locomotives.

the smoke and steam don't look right. but this is a cracking photo creating a sense of scale that makes the loco and it's train look 'full size' as it were.

the tracks that preserved steam locomotives run on were part of the rail system at one time. For instance if you travel on the Keighley Worth valley Railway you are travelling on an actual branch line. If you travel on the Middleton railway you are travelling on an actual industrial railway: the oldest railway in the world. The North York Moors Railway is 18 miles long and takes in some dramatic scenery along a genuine piece of infrastructure, same with the Strathspey Railway. The locomotives are in their natural environment, doing real jobs. And they are railway locomotives-machines, not wild animals taken from their natural environment. Steam locomotives are obsolete pieces of industrial equipment that people have kept in service on preserved lines so that people can appreciate their power and beauty. They run on real railways. Wild animals in zoos are living creatures bred outside their natural environment, living outside their natural environment, purely for people to look at.

I watched 'Spiral' on BBC 4 last night. Cracking French crime drama.

Still a cracking bandI keep my tee shirt in a special place

Spent yesterday afternoon on ilkley moor, bliss

What a gorgeous day the ground was hard and the frost was crisp, with the sun making everything gleam, with adjusting of snow on the fields. Great morning for a walk.

I'm taking stock as well gazI like street photography and I'm thinking about my approach to it. I'd like to engage more with the people I photograph, and adopt more of a portraiture rather than a candid approach. I think it's more respectful, and more productive I also want to do something with my portfolio of the local woods, some of which you've seen

Intriguing piece of work gaze, well played

Oh yes

Couple of slices of bread and butter maybe

Chippy tea from Midgeley's at west park tomorrow. They take their duty of care seriously. I once asked for two large portions of my shoes and was told I couldn't gave them and would have to settle for one large and one small, so that I didn't "make myself badly". I respectfully disagreed but accepted her judgement. It was like bar staff refusing to serve a drunk

I'm going to listen to johnny winters's swan song properly tonight. I've had it since it first came out but not paid enough attention to it

He blamed the ball boys