tarboat's photos

In 1984 I was able to accompany Les Cawley to the premises of Messrs A Barton & Sons, wadding manufacturers, of Hazel Grove, Stockport, where he was dismantling the steam engine that had driven the mill. This horizontal cross-compound was built in 1903 by Stott & Co of Haslingden and had operated until 1960. Today I had the great pleasure of seeing the engine reassembled and turning over at the excellent Anson Engine Museum in Poynton. Currently only being rolled over by electric drive, it is hoped to have it back in steam later in 2010.

Another example of an Obsidianite brick from Charles Davison & Co, Ewloe Barn Brickworks, Buckley. This one was at the Shotton Steelworks.

A Flintshire product if the trade name is anything to go by. Seen at Shotton

Only acid resisting this time. The Flintic trade name suggests a Flintshire brickworks. Seen at Shotton

Seen at Shotton Steelworks. Thanks to research by Cold War Warrior it is now clear that this brick is a product of the Buckley Brick & Tile Co. Ltd. at their Belmont works in Buckley.

It's over 70 years since these 3ft gauge tracks were abandoned at Jumbles Quarry. The line was used to carry stone for the Stocks Reservoir construction project.

The billhoarding by the level crossing at Dongchang on the Jixi Coal Railway has seen a change between the dates of the two images. That at the top was taken in December 2008 and the lower shot in December 2009. The double unit main line electric locomotive and coal hoppers has been replaced with and army of railway staff marching in front of two of the DC electric locomotives that Jixi has bought from the Pingzhuang opencast mine in the Mongolian Autonomous Region. Somebody has repainted the hut and wall too. Of course there is no sign yet of the electric infrastructure to allow these locos to take to the tracks and they remain in a fenced compound at the nearby Nancheng yard. As for the message on the posters, I don't know, but perhaps others can assist with a translation.

The Dingle Bank quarry at Chelford is operated by Sibelco and supplies the glass, foundry, and ceramics industries with high quality graded sands.

The US owned Cabot Carbon plant at Ellesmere Port produced carbon black using the oil furnace process. This is used in the production of tyres, toners, printing inks, plastics and coatings. The works was busy when I took this shot but has now been closed and production transferred to a cheaper location in China. It was Britain's largest producer of Carbon black. Now the demolition men are on site.

Water treatment plant at Corus' Shotton steelworks.

Spotted whilst out with Eagle142 today, this was just too good to miss. Office building in a former haulage yard at Whitemoor Hollow, below Gawsworth Common.

LNWR Super 'D' 49395 at Froghall on the Churnet Valley Railway.

The newest furnace at the Baotou steelworks was blown in during November 2006. The steam locomotives here were finally displaced by diesels in January 2009.

Centre panel on the front of the Boars Head at Higher Poynton which feature its namesake.

Stone and terracotta mix well on the side of the Boars Head at Higher Poynton.

The Boars Head at Higher Poynton is a replacement for an earlier building that still stands, albeit much altered, across the road to the right of this shot. This version was built c1904 and reflects the level of custom that must have been available at the time when the local collieries were still hard at work and the railway station stood just opposite. The building in the right background is a stables which were part of the pub property. The ivy covers the sealed doorway that once gave access directly into the public bar.

The Faku branch is the most scenically interesting of all the lines on the Tiefa Coal Railway network as it features some hills, cuttings and bridges that offered opportunities to the steam photographer. Unfortunately it was also dieselised first due to its gradients. Back in 2004 SY 1749 is seen crossing a bridge close to Faku with a passenger service to Diaobingshan.

A train of tippling wagons arrives at the Didao washery on the Jixi Coal Railway with a load of coal from a colliery higher up the valley.