Steam Around Scotland

Mountainous terrain and far-flung population centres tended to constrain the development of railways in Scotland and only the central industrial belt between Edinburgh and Glasgow has a dense network of lines. Scotland has, however, some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United Kingdom and the routes through the Highlands, in particular, offered countless opportunities for railway photographers. They had to contend with notoriously unpredictable weather conditions but when the rain cleared and the mist lifted a spectacular landscape of unparalleled natural beauty was revealed. Scotland may not have had the complex network of lines that characterised some areas south of the border but its epic routes were more than adequate compensation, as this new album shows.