Review – Railway Portraits by R & B Wheatley

Photographs of the Final Years of the Steam Engine in Australia

Apr 19, 2009

Brothers Robert and Bruce Wheatley share their passion for the Age of Steam in this stunning collection of black and white photographs taken on Australian railways.

Bruce and Robert Wheatley offer a magnificent collection of artistic steam engine, railway and train photographs in Railway Portraits (WriteLight, 2006) accompanied by information about the final years of steam on Australian railways.

Railway Portraits

For many the romance of the railway died when the steam engine was replaced by the more efficient diesel and electric engines. Even in their youth, photographers and railway enthusiasts Robert and Bruce Wheatley realised that the final years of steam rail travel would yield images that would be treasured by future generations.

Armed with their family Box Brownie camera, later upgraded to a 35mm and larger format camera, the brothers travelled the railways of New South Wales capturing snapshots that represented not only the impressive physical presence of the steam engines, but also the spirit of the Age of Steam in Australia.

All pictures are black and white, taken by the brothers between the years of 1964 to 1979. Inspired by the railway photographs of British photographer Colin T. Gifford, Robert and Bruce’s photographic goal was capturing “the steam locomotives relationship with landscape, topography, railway staff and the public”.

The photographs are accompanied by text explaining the location and significance of various shots.

Australian Train and Steam Engine Photographs

Photographs include full images of engines and trains as well as snapshots of train and station fittings, close-ups of various train parts including wheels, couplings and backplates, and images that capture the atmosphere of the railway – the camaraderie of the workers, the fascination of children and passengers and the incredibly arduous work balanced with the freedom of life on the rails

Other photographs include the Goulburn North signal box cat in 1978, various photographs of children and families looking on as engines pass and pull in to stations, and a collection of images depicting railway life and mateship.

A Passion for Steam Engines and Railways

If readers needed further evidence of the passion for steam trains shared by the Wheatley brothers, their personal history leaves no doubt that these men are dedicated to preserving the memory of steam engines and steam rail travel.

Aged 13 and 16, the brothers travelled the NSW Railway network for up to a week at a time, taking photographs and absorbing the railway culture. Armed with a back pack each and their pocket money, they travelled in a variety of trains, slept in railway station waiting rooms, and met and talked with guards, drivers and firemen and other railway personnel.

The Romance of the Rails

Railway Portraits is an incredible book on many fronts – a tribute to a long gone and outdated but fondly remembered technology, a snapshot of Australian life in the 1960s and 1970s and a collection of artistic photographs.

Whether as a coffee table book or a gift for a railway enthusiast or Australian history buff, Railway Portraits is sure to be a treasured and admired by many, not simply those with a love of steam engines and railway history.

The copyright of the article Review – Railway Portraits by R & B Wheatley in Australian Literature is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Review – Railway Portraits by R & B Wheatley in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.