There are numerous pictures of Class 56s working MGR coal trains from the Midlands to Didcot Power Station in the 1980s, but I have not yet seen many taken here, at their ultimate destination. On 12 June 1983, 56064 draws slowly forward into the unloading building prior to dropping its load of coal through the slatted floor. It would move through at 0.5mph, with the wagon doors being tripped by the blue actuators on the right. This was the worst possible conditions to try to take a photo, inside a dark building on a bright sunny day, resulting in an excessive contrast range. Considerable work using layers in Photoshop has been required to get an acceptable result from what looked like a very unpromising Kodachrome transparency. |