Andy Hoare, a founding member of the 1Z10 railway photography collective and one of the most enthusiastic and generous figures in the modern railway photography community, died suddenly on 2 February 2026, aged 68.

Born in 1957, Andy’s fascination with railways began at the age of four and developed in the way familiar to many of his generation – through childhood trainspotting in the Midlands and a teenage enthusiasm for photography. Armed with a camera, he became a prolific recorder of the changing railway scene, documenting motive power, freight flows and infrastructure at a time of enormous transition. Like many, his interest waned during the early 1980s as first-generation diesels disappeared and traditional freight declined, but the advent of digital technology and online sharing reignited his passion. As Andy himself put it, “A scanner revitalised my old hobby in 2005 – here’s to the internet!”

From that point on, his output was remarkable. Since joining Flickr in 2010 Andy uploaded more than 11,000 photographs, attracting over 25 million views. His work combined technical skill with an instinctive eye for composition, light and atmosphere. While he enjoyed the challenge of locomotive identification and detail – marker lights, boiler flues and pipework became “currency” in his words – he increasingly prioritised creativity over record, producing images that told stories rather than simply catalogued numbers. In later years, he embraced drone photography with characteristic enthusiasm, adding yet another dimension to an already extensive portfolio.

Andy’s impact, however, went far beyond his own photography. He had an overwhelming desire to connect with like-minded people and was instrumental in bringing photographers together through early online platforms such as the Rail Photo Archive. From these beginnings grew 1Z10, a self-organised, informal collective that has flourished for almost 20 years. Andy was its driving force – planning trips, phoning members to drum up interest and ensuring that railway photography became a shared experience rather than a solitary pursuit. His boundless energy, humour and encouragement transformed days lineside into friendships that extended far beyond the railway.