Photos:
Mr D S Andrews - Black and White Section . First Prize, Mr D S Andrews' beautiful picture of the Beattie tank on a passenger train on the long siding taken on 29th May 1972

Peter Clarke - Colour Section. This black and white reproduction from Peter Clarke's colour slide does not do it justice to the dramatic contrast between the cement white of the buildings and chimney stacks, the blue sky and the green locomotive. No. 3 is ready to leave Swanscombe for Quainton on 2nd June 1971. First Prize for this picture went to Peter

The first venture into this field brought a moderate response from members. Twenty three entries were received for the black and white section and twelve for the colour slides. The problems at Kodaks must have inhibited the colour section enthusiasts although the last date for entries was extended to the end of March in the hope that more would be submitted. The judging was kindly undertaken by Mr Les Elsey of Eastleigh who is very well known as a photographer of the sort of quality of result that we would all like to emulate!. The prize winners are to be congratulated for the excellence of their work and you can see some of the best entries in this issue.

Here are Mr Elsey's comments:

The assessment of the black and white entries proved to be a more difficult task than I had realised because nearly all of them were of good quality and conveyed the impression of an event of activity in or around Quainton Road. The first prize, I felt, gave the best feeling of Steam in Action, giving obvious enjoyment to the visitors, and giving to the railway enthusiasts the thrill of seeing a Beattie tank in movement. If the viewer could recall the bygone days of the Beattie tanks at Wadebridge he couldn't fail to be happily impressed! The only criticism is the Persil White of the buffer stops which, although they are rather glaring, could not be avoided by the photographer.

The second prize in this section was for a very attractive and appealing print which was out of the ordinary in that it portrayed one of the less glamorous duties associated with the operation of the steam locomotive; tube cleaning. The photographer captured the scene very well.

The colour slide section was also difficult to judge, for the same reason, because the standard was so uniformly high. The first prize was awarded to the view of No. 3 at Swanscombe. The locomotive on the low loader stands out from the background of factory chimneys and it conveys the impression of the working life of No. 3 before it left for the country air of Quainton.

The second prize was entitled Flower Power and it almost made the top spot. It gives such a cheerful and colourful feeling of summer at Quainton on an Open Day and the quality of the tone rendering was very good indeed.

I would like to commend many other pictures in both classes but the four I have selected as prize winners deserve special congratulation as having come out as the best among such a fine quality of entries.

Black and White Section:

       First Prize: Mr D S Andrews
       The Beattie on a train

       Second Prize: Mr A J Bratton
       Tube Cleaning on 7115

Colour Section:

       First Prize: Mr P I Clarke
       No. 3 at Swanscombe

       Second Prize: Mr A D Houchin
       Flower Power

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 1974 and so does not reflect events in the 40+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
The Quainton Photographic Competition 1974 - Quainton News No. 20 - Summer 1974