Collections
- Introduction
- Official photography
- Private photography
- The masters
- H. Gordon Tidey
- M. W. Earley
- P. Ransome-Wallis
- E. Treacy
- C. C. B. Herbert
- E. R. Wethersett
- Photography at NRM
- Image gallery
- References
The History of Railway Photography
The masters railway photographers - H Gordon Tidey
H Gordon Tidey was described as one of the father's of railway photography and Tidey himself proudly boasted that of all the railway photographers who started in the 1890s, he was the only one still carrying on in the 1950s. He was born in 1879 and from 1900 onwards he devoted a week a year to railway photography. He favoured no particular area or company, but covered large parts of England and Scotland. He particularly enjoyed the early days of the railways where there were many small local companies operating rural lines. In an era when most photographers simply took conventional 30 degree angle shots of trains in motion, Tidey often chose a high vantage point, such as an over-bridge, to capture the whole train. Before his death in 1971, Tidey had sold most of his large collection to various commercial companies for the marketing of images to other enthusiasts.
York Station by H. Gordon Tidey, 1920s.
ref no. Tidey 9341 © National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library