Hi Everyone, with 2024 just about done and dusted, I thought I'd have a bit of a look back at what my railway travel and photography year looked like.

Close to home, I travelled on seven mainline trips in Victoria, including 707 Operations first standard gauge Winelander, and a couple of epic Steamrail trips to Bairnsdale and Wycheproof.

I thought I'd had a slow year behind the camera, but looking back, I photographed 14 heritage trips, some of the last loco hauled passenger trains in Victoria, and plenty of freight on both broad and standard gauges. We also managed to travel on, and photograph both the Victorian Goldfields Railway at Castlemaine and Daylesford SCR.

We had two trips to Queensland with mixed results from a railway front, but both great getaways.

A trip to Longreach in January was abandoned due to bus replacements, although the Brisbane section we did do turned out ok with a visit to the Four-ex brewery where I got to tap the wooden beer barrel, and a trip out to the famous Breakfast Creek hotel, where I again sampled beer 'off the wood'.

In November however, we were staying in Noosa, and finally visited the Mary Valley Rattler which operates out of Gympie after a couple of false starts over the years. The line was shut for quite a while by the rail safety regulator, and, when it reopened was a shorter journey than previously available due to a truck destroying a bridge. It’s certainly a reminder to travel on, and photograph things when you’re able to.

There was also some international travel in 2024 too, France, with a trip to Paris, then south to Bordeaux and Belvès, as well as New Zealand's Northern Explorer from Auckland to Wellington.

The Kiwirail Northern Explorer train is captured as a shadow on the valley of the Rangitīke river as it crosses the towering viaduct. Black and White, A Railway Life image — The Northern Explorer between Auckland and Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand has some spectacular scenery.

Photography wise, I started experimenting with flash photography of moving trains, my first real attempt was very successful, with Night Moves the result.

It's been my best selling print this year!

Steam engine R707 hauls a heritage train from Melbourne to Deniliquin across the bluestone bridge over Blind Creek in Sunbury. The train is lit by flashes, with a dark background. — Night Moves, R 707 gathering speed out of Sunbury on a miserable night.

I've had a couple more night shoots, and I'm looking forward to trying a growing list of locations in 2025.

A Gippsland bound Vlocity service is lit by flash as it crosses the Yarra River At Cremorne, Near South Yarra in Melbourne. A Railway Life photography — I’m not a fan of graffiti, but the colours and reflections on the Cremorne bridge work.

There was also my first exhibition participation at the XYZ gallery in Melbourne’s Docklands - it was interesting to see some of my images up beside some fairly amazing photos!

Photographer Scott Gould standing in front of some of his photographs on display at the XYZ gallery in Melbourne. — My first exhibition!

A walk through of the Metro Tunnel netted this shot, which ended up in the top 60 of MTR's 50th birthday photo competition, which I was happy with!

Two HCMT trains pass the Eastern Portal of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel at South Yarra. A Railway Life photograph.

This has been the year for getting photos blown up large! Starting with a full size wall as part of a meeting room refresh, I was asked to take a series of photos for another wall size creation, featuring some of Metro's control and fault centre teams. This ended up stretching over several corridor walls, another aspect of people doing their jobs to keep the trains moving for the travelling public.

Centre top, and middle two are some of my contributions, very happy to be a part of it.

Three A3 size framed railway prints featuring steam locomotive R 707 taken by Scott Gould, A Railway Life — Three A3 prints I was asked for, can anyone spot a theme?

There was another commission for three A3 framed prints which I'm looking forward to seeing hanging when the opportunity arises.

I’ve also had at least one photo published every month (and one cover) in magazines, Newsrail And Railway Digest being the two main publications.

The January edition of Newsrail - I’d made a few trips out to Bacchus Marsh photographing the last days of loco hauled trains, and captured this one.

To round things out, I released a 2025 calendar, which has sold out, thanks to everyone who bought one. There's even one on it's way to the Netherlands, 16,000 km away, my previous longest distance parcel was to Birmingham, Alabama, a mere 15,400 km.

I'd also like to shout out Will James Railways for promoting my website on his Youtube channel, it's a great way to see what's happening in the world of Australian model railways - and he has some great merch!

Front cover of the A Railway Life 2025 calendar as taken by Scott Gould. The cover image is two N class locomotives at North Melbourne with the Melbourne city skyline as a backdrop — My 2025 Calendar

Writing all that out is has made me look back on what’s been a fun, and successful year of growth, travel and photography, I’m looking forward to seeing what 2025 brings!

I hope you've all had a fantastic 2024, and to those who've had a rough year, look forward to a happier new year in 2025.

Thanks for reading and following along on A Railway Life.

Regards,

Scott

2024 End of year roundup

A day on the Victorian Goldfields Railway