No U Turn.
Nikon F80 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 + Fuji Superia 800.
Manchester Evening News Reportage here.
Our return journey from a fantastic Radiohead Gig at Old Trafford resulted in an unexpected end to the day and our weekend in Manchester.
M and I were standing next to the doors inside a packed carriage, when it came off the rails in the centre of Manchester. It was clear that something had gone very wrong when a series of bangs accompanied by loud clattering and grating noises over a hundered yards or so, was accompanied by the sound of lamposts being hit along the way. The tram ground to a halt, with our carriage positioned in the middle of a road junction, witnessed by some astonished car drivers waiting at the traffic lights where we were supposed to pass. This is the point where I should thank an unknown taxi driver who got out of his car immediately and headed towards the doors (which at that point were firmly closed) to help us.
Once it was clear the tram had stopped, M was able to prise open the doors so that we could navigate the 3-4 foot drop from the carriage to the road, in order to get out and away. In those initial moments, There was quite a prolonged, stunned silence as people tried to make sense of what was happening. We later found out that fortunately, none of the 300 or so people who had been crammed onto the tram had been seriously injured.
I don't really remember much of those moments, just the urge to get out as fast as possible, make sure that M was also OK, and then help others to get out as well. It seemed like an awfully long time before any kind of police or emergency services arrived - at least 20-30 minutes in fact. During that time, a number of vignettes remain with me.
People milling around, slightly dazed, searching for friends and family.
A man sat on the kerb of a nearby pavement discussing with his friends, the best way to go about claiming some compensation for a neck injury & whiplash. Deciding how much time he should take off sick from work to make that look convincing.
A woman lying on the road by a mangled lamp-post in front of the derailed carriage, getting her friends to take pictures of her as she pulled a number of grotesque facial expressions whilst pretending to be dead amid much hilarity.
The man who had pain in his leg and was limping but couldn't bring himself to sit down and look to check he hadn't seriously hurt himself.
A distressed woman asking for tissues because someone else had thrown up over her.
Small groups standing quietly, watching as other people clambered excitedly over the wreckage and back into the carriage, to pose for mobile phone pictures to send to their friends.
There are lots of reasons why people take photographs. I'm not entirely sure why I did, it's not exactly my genre! I had the camera with me and loaded with fast film, that's not unusual but it felt comfortable to be holding it and using it. I don't know if I was trying to take pictures for my own 'records' or in case they might be considered helpful. I know I wanted to be sure it was safe to do so before I went ahead.
I don't drive, so my public transport usage is more than most, but this is the first time anything like this has happened to me.
It could have been much worse.
We were all very, very lucky.
No U Turn.
Nikon F80 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 + Fuji Superia 800.
Manchester Evening News Reportage here.
Our return journey from a fantastic Radiohead Gig at Old Trafford resulted in an unexpected end to the day and our weekend in Manchester.
M and I were standing next to the doors inside a packed carriage, when it came off the rails in the centre of Manchester. It was clear that something had gone very wrong when a series of bangs accompanied by loud clattering and grating noises over a hundered yards or so, was accompanied by the sound of lamposts being hit along the way. The tram ground to a halt, with our carriage positioned in the middle of a road junction, witnessed by some astonished car drivers waiting at the traffic lights where we were supposed to pass. This is the point where I should thank an unknown taxi driver who got out of his car immediately and headed towards the doors (which at that point were firmly closed) to help us.
Once it was clear the tram had stopped, M was able to prise open the doors so that we could navigate the 3-4 foot drop from the carriage to the road, in order to get out and away. In those initial moments, There was quite a prolonged, stunned silence as people tried to make sense of what was happening. We later found out that fortunately, none of the 300 or so people who had been crammed onto the tram had been seriously injured.
I don't really remember much of those moments, just the urge to get out as fast as possible, make sure that M was also OK, and then help others to get out as well. It seemed like an awfully long time before any kind of police or emergency services arrived - at least 20-30 minutes in fact. During that time, a number of vignettes remain with me.
People milling around, slightly dazed, searching for friends and family.
A man sat on the kerb of a nearby pavement discussing with his friends, the best way to go about claiming some compensation for a neck injury & whiplash. Deciding how much time he should take off sick from work to make that look convincing.
A woman lying on the road by a mangled lamp-post in front of the derailed carriage, getting her friends to take pictures of her as she pulled a number of grotesque facial expressions whilst pretending to be dead amid much hilarity.
The man who had pain in his leg and was limping but couldn't bring himself to sit down and look to check he hadn't seriously hurt himself.
A distressed woman asking for tissues because someone else had thrown up over her.
Small groups standing quietly, watching as other people clambered excitedly over the wreckage and back into the carriage, to pose for mobile phone pictures to send to their friends.
There are lots of reasons why people take photographs. I'm not entirely sure why I did, it's not exactly my genre! I had the camera with me and loaded with fast film, that's not unusual but it felt comfortable to be holding it and using it. I don't know if I was trying to take pictures for my own 'records' or in case they might be considered helpful. I know I wanted to be sure it was safe to do so before I went ahead.
I don't drive, so my public transport usage is more than most, but this is the first time anything like this has happened to me.
It could have been much worse.
We were all very, very lucky.