“I’ll watch that later” wrote Kate in the group chat, “we’re just off to see the Flying Scotsman”. Those were the words that sent me on an impromptu trip out to Blea Moor to see something I’ve wanted to see for some time.

It was January 2016 at the end of its long refurbishment when I last tried to photograph the Flying Scotsman, but some last minute problems led to it being substituted for two Black Fives instead. Scrambling up the embankment in plenty of time I ended up with a shot I’m still extremely pleased with, but it wasn’t the Scotsman.

This trip left no time to spare and no hanging about – I had an hour and a half to decide whether to go, get in the car, drive out there and walk to a decent vantage point. My first thought was to try for the western side of the embankment at the north end of the Ribblehead Viaduct. It was catching the sun but it wasn’t obviously or easily accessible, and an orange-clad gentleman from Network Rail was sat there in his van leaving no prospect of a covert operation.

Doubling back I went under the great arches and further north on the east side. Time was tight by this point and I knew the scene would be back-lit, but I decided that I’d rather have a decent shot of the locomotive in its surroundings than try and shoehorn the viaduct in to an awkward composition. And after almost no hanging around, it was coming! Didn’t even stop at Ribblehead station and just came trundling straight through.

I rattled off a few shots, blowing almost the entire sky out as I did it, but managing to retain some of the steam. This one stuck out as a decent attempt at an elusive slice of British railway history. I’m happy with it.

You can look back at my previous attempt, ‘Two Black Fives over Ribblehead’, here.