When Michael Patterson first began photographing railway stations over 40 years ago, it was a professional requirement to document their appearance at that specific point in time.
Employed as the personal assistant to British Rail’s Director of Environment watchdog, on his very first day, his boss Bernard Kaukas handed him an Olympus Trip camera and instructed him to leave the office and capture images of stations across Britain.
Unlike typical railway enthusiasts, for a year spanning 1979 to 1980, he adhered to Bernard’s directive to “concentrate on the buildings, not the trains” as a means to highlight the remarkable architecture within the rail network. This unique assignment marked the start of a lifelong fascination with railway infrastructure, leading Michael to amass thousands of photographs of station buildings throughout the UK and across Europe for his private collection.
Some of his most cherished expeditions in the 1980s included voyages to the West Country, with memories from these trips showcased on Michael’s Flickr page. His collection features evocative throwbacks to the stations at Cheltenham Spa and Gloucester in May 1987.
You can view them in the gallery below:.