At the start of the year, I set myself several photography-based resolutions for 2026. One of those was to visit the Spa Valley Railway to see Caledonian Railways № 828 in action. By late January I was itching to get out and photograph steam again, as well as give my “railway lens” a proper field test against the subject I bought it for (it had already proven itself against some wildlife). With the Bluebell Railway shut for their annual winter maintenance period, it was the perfect time to make good on my promise and visit Spa Valley Railway.
My guide for the day would be Chailey Stowe, a YouTuber I’ve met at the Bluebell many times. Not knowing where to start, I wanted to make sure my first time at the Spa was with someone who knew a lot of the good spots along the line. They were already planing on going out that day, and were happy for me to tag along. Unlike at the Bluebell, I have no special permits for Spa to access non-public parts of the lineside, so everywhere we’d visit were public areas.
We started out our day on the edge of Birchden Wood, just outside Eridge station, the western end of the line where the railway connects with the National Rail network. Here we climbed a hill to get a nice wide view of the line. Whilst we waited, I dangled slightly precariously off the a ledge to clear some branches that were blocking the view. Ultimately victory was mine after hitting the branch with another stick until I could break it and twist it out of the way. Soon, № 828 was on her way out towards Tunbridge Wells.
We then made our way to the other side of High Rocks station to catch the train on its way towards Tunbridge Wells. This spot was a bit narrow, but luckily the light played ball.
This was the first time the “railway lens” came into its own, as I was able to shoot the above at 100mm – above my normal zoom range – but then open out to 40mm as the locomotive went by. Concept proven!
I even opened up as wide as 28mm during the pass, which you can see in the gallery below.
On this day the railway was running one train in a top-and-tail formation. 828 would be leading trains heading towards Tunbridge, and a diesel (Class 33 33063) would pulls the trains in the other direction. This saves the time (and space) of running a single locomotive around to the other end of the train at each end of the line. Painted in a primer and no particular livery, she looked an interesting colour.
We then headed in the other direction, deeper into High Rocks Forest, for another run. It was a bit of a damp day, although it wasn’t really raining it was the end of a very wet January, so it was pretty muddy traipsing through the forest to get to the railway boundary. There we bumped into SouthEast Classic Rail (who has just started up an Instagram account you should follow, and even got themselves a lineside pass at the Bluebell Railway this year). We waited for 828 to come round the corner, chuffing away having just come off a temporary speed restriction.
These three shots once again show the benefit of this lens, not that I need to labour the point. With one lens I got shots of the same train at 250mm, 70mm and 28mm. Unfortunately 828 was getting a bit leaky by this point, so the body of the locomotive was starting to disappear in a small cloud.
All three of us then headed to what would turn out to be the last spot of the day, a road crossing a little further along the line. When we got there, we found ourselves needing to rescue another photographer’s car out of some mud. With them rescued, we could turn our focus back to the trains. The next service would be heading back towards Eridge hauled by the Class 33 diesel. It was suggested that the nearby pond, nicely full after all the rain, would work for a reflective shot as she went by. Positions were assumed, and the train duly photographed as it went by.
It worked quite nicely, but because of the angle, I decided it wouldn’t work with the train going in the other direction, led by the steam locomotive, as it would be heading slightly away from the camera. For the next – and final – run of the day, we instead positioned ourselves closer to the crossing itself.
With that, the last train of the day was done, and we made our respective ways back home.
It was an excellent welcome to the Spa Valley Railway, and to № 828 which is a stunning locomotive. She’s only expected to be in this part of the world for this year, and will be going back to Scotland before the year is out, so I will need to make sure I get back out to see her again.
As is now tradition, the shots included above are only an handful of the shots I took. There are more in the gallery below.
Creative Splurges 