In his own words...
I am self taught and paint exclusively in acrylics now. I describe it as a hobby that's got a little out of control! I used to combine my love of all things transport with my painting and simply pile the results in the corner of my "studio", actually a converted loft in my home, until someone saw what I was doing and asked me to "do one for them". I did and it's taken off from there. I had the opportunity to take early retirement in 2006 after 30 years in the textile industry, at the ripe old age of 50 and took it. This allowed me to concentrate on my many interests and hobbies including railway preservation, the latter giving me the opportunity to get access to the reference material and detail so necessary in railway art.
My motivation to paint is simply for the love of it, the fact that people pay me hard earned money for my efforts is the icing on the cake!
Blue Thunder
Northern Ireland Railways General Motors class 111 class leader passing my home station of Lambeg with an early morning Enterprise service to Dublin in the early 1990's.
Craigmore
Winters eve on the Craigmore viaduct near Bessbrook in Co. Armagh, with a northbound express for Belfast in the late 1940's. No doubt the farmer wishes he was seated in the warmth and comfort of the train rather than the cold steel seat of his little grey Fergie!
D-Day Departure
American GI's departing Enniskillen station from their training camps in Co. Fermanagh en route to the Normandy landings.
Trundling down to Greenore
An afternoon boat train of the Dundalk Newry & Greenore Railway (the Irish arm of the London North Western) en route to meet the Holyhead steamer on the southern shore of Carlingford lough. The Mourne mountains provide the backdrop. Circa 1920's.
Foggy Night in Lambeg
A Cork Dublin Belfast Enterprise service hauled by Great Northern VS class 209 'Foyle' shakes the platforms as it passes Lambeg some 8 miles from its destination at Gt. Victoria Street station Belfast in 1953. A local 'all stations to Lisburn' disappears into the gloom on the up line. The last stationmaster at Lambeg Willie McIntyre glances at his pocket watch to satisfy himself all is on time.
North Atlantic at York Road
The LMS had a presence in Ireland as the Northern Counties Committee, their headquarters at York Road in Belfast. In the late 1930's in the heyday of rail travel it decided a business mans express was needed to get people from the north coast resort of Portrush to their offices and businesses in Belfast in some style and at speed, and this was the result, five carriages including a very modern bar car for that relaxing G&T on the way home after a hectic day, hauled by a W class mogul, averaging 60 mph for the 70 mile run. Depicted here passing the Jennymount Mill in Belfast on test.
Railcar B - Pride of the Line
A Walkers of Wigan diesel railcar of the cash strapped Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway rests between turns at Enniskillen station in the early 1950's, a station which was shared with the Great Northern Railway-Ireland, one of whose AEC railcars can be seen in the background.
Rhapsody in Blue
Great Northern Railway of Ireland's S class 171 Slieve Gullion hustles a lightweight northbound express through Laytown on the east coast en route to Belfast circa 1950.
Winters Night at Enniskillen South
The SL&NCR's line to Sligo diverges to the right and the GNRI's to Clones on the left. The signalman has left his warm cabin to receive the single line staff from the approaching train, whilst an SL&NR tank engine shunts empty cattle wagons in the yard, circa 1930's.
