Jimmy Wilson

About Jimmy Wilson

I was born in 1964 in Rothbury Northumberland. I have lived almost all of my life in and around Morpeth, some 13 miles from Newcastle-Upon -Tyne.

My interest in railways came from my Dads passion for steam. He used to take me in his arms on the footplate up the Wannie line from Meldon to Scots Gap where my Mam would be waiting with the Car to take us back home. Once a few years older and after a family day out to Scarbourgh on a steam special from Newcastle I was the proud owner of my first train spotting book.

I started my working life on the Railway in 1981 in the Signals & Telecommunication Department and stayed there until I took early retirement in 2019. In those days working for British Rail a perk was free & reduced rate travel, something I still hold onto, so this took me all over the country train spotting.

My interest changed as a number was just a memory & a scribble in the note book whereas I wanted to capture these old locomotives doing there day to day duties before they had gone for good & to have an image to look back on in years to come.

In 2013 I was asked to join the Railway Camera Club & was delighted to accept.

I stick to what I think I am quite good at & that is finding a nice location with the sun angle favourable to capture the train working in its day to day environment, this has become more difficult over the years & I often spend many hours doing research before heading out for the day or on Holiday.

The hobby has brought me friends and acquaintances from all over the UK, I am also lucky like so many other railway photographers that my wife & family although not fully understanding the thrill I get out of the hobby allows me to pursue it sometimes obsessively, and they can sometimes be found with me in pursuit of that illusive master shot.

You can see more of my images at: www.jww.smugmug.com or www.flickr.com/photos/jww1964/

Jimmy Wilson