This large format book is a collection of photographs by acclaimed railway photographer Colin Gifford, who is considered by many to be the pioneer of a new genre of railway photography influenced by his fine art training. His earlier books featured black & white photographs, and this is the first book to show some of his largely unknown creative photographs using colour film. It features most of the photographs that were on display at an exhibition held at Kidderminster Railway Museum plus a number of others from his extensive colour archive.
Most of the photographs are from the 1960s, with a few from the 1970s also included. They feature steam locomotives at work on the main line rail network, on shed and at industrial sites such as collieries. Even after the end of regular steam operation on the British Rail network in 1968, some industrial railways continued to use this form of traction as did London Transport on works trains until 1971. In many cases the train is visible in the background and forms part of the landscape without necessarily being the main subject of the photograph.
The photographs are taken in a variety of locations all over the country. They are mostly arranged one or two per page. Only basic information about the date and location of each photo is given. As with the titles of two of the author’s previous books, the title “In the wink of an eye” is taken from the poem From A Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson.
235 colour photographs. Large format hardback. 160 pages.