1960s Iberian Railway Holiday

Michael Clemens’ holidays with his parents in the 1950s and 1960s were as much, if not more, about railways than normal holiday pursuits; however, with the decline of British steam by the mid-1960s, thoughts turned to further afield. From 1965 until 1969, family summer holidays became two weeks in either Spain or Portugal: 1965 Sitges, about 25 miles to the south of Barcelona, Spain; 1966 Benidorm, about 30 miles to the north of Alicante, Spain; 1967 and 1968 Ofir, about 30 miles to the north of Oporto, Northern Portugal; and 1969 Tarragona, about 60 miles to the south of Barcelona, Spain. 1960s Iberian Railway Holiday explores Iberian broad- and narrow-gauge railways with an emphasis on steam, but diesel and electric power are also covered plus trams and trolleybuses. All photographs were taken by the author and his late father. A captivating time capsule from over fifty years ago from the private collection of an internationally renowned authority on steam locomotives.