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The History of Railway Photography

The master railway photographers - E. R. Wethersett

Ernest Wethersett began his photographic career after the First World War, mainly concentrating on the southern end of the East Coast Main Line. However a good friendship with the shed foreman at King's Cross gave him access to the depot, and led him to acquiring a lineside pass, which he used to good effect. Most of his photographs were taken around London, often featuring the newest LNER and LMS engines. Wethersett stopped taking railway photographs altogether in 1960 as he had no interest in the diesels or electrics that were beginning to replace the steam locomotives he loved.

LNWR 4-6-0 No. 8824 in the London suburbs

LNWR 4-6-0 No. 8824 in the London suburbs by Ernest Wethersett, 1934.
ref no. LPC 24399 © National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library

A triple-headed train working between Folkestone Harbour and Folkestone Junction

A triple-headed train working between Folkestone Harbour and Folkestone Junction by Ernest Wethersett, 1949
ref no. LPC 23163 © National Railway Museum/Science & Society Picture Library