You may, or may not, be aware, that I am a volunteer with our beloved Puffing Billy Railway, taking photos of events for them. For the past two years I’ve photographed their fabulous Train of Lights, firstly chasing the train in 2022 and taking photos from various vantage points along the railway (with my husband as the driver) and then in 2023 on board the train taking photos from inside the train. Was a fantastic experience both times. And a learning one too as photographing at night isn’t my strong point but I’m learning, with practice.
This year, both my husband (who is a Conductor with PBR) and I got to ride on the Dress Rehearsal train as passengers – I’d not been engaged to take any further photos for this event. But I NEVER go anywhere without my camera. That’s a given! So when I saw Sheena, from the events team, during the stopover at Gembrook she commented on the fact I had my camera with me. I just smiled and said it’s always with me. And yes, I got both videos and photos, using my Samsung S10 and Nikon D7100 to get these on the night.
The Emerald Rotary did a magnificent job with serving over 200 people quickly with their sausage sizzle and there were hot cuppas available inside the station at Gembrook too.
Tickets are sold out so you can’t get any this year – it is running from Friday 28th June to Sunday 21st July – a whole week longer than previous years. But if you subscribe to their newsletter you’ll get notified of other events and when tickets are available for sale – they often do sell out on the day they’re released.
You can find a video which is a mix of photos and a couple of videos I took at my Youtube channel – turn your sound up! I love the Wow! in one video of the white birds. And if you want to see it in person, you can pop into Lakeside Station before 6pm to see it leave, or travel along to Cockatoo, or Orchard Road by the netball courts, or Station Road, Gembrook to see it arrive there at 6.50pm. It leaves again at 7.50pm arriving back at Lakeside at 8.30pm every night during the event.
