tarboat's photos

No longer loved and now shedding roofing sheets is this Wiltshire barn. The plate on the end reads 'F. H. Dale builder Leominster'.

Sadly the exploration of this tramroad tunnel ended where the land beyond the portal had been infilled. Clearly others had been here before and had left behind their milk crate and plastic drum. The paved area for the horses walking between the plate rails can still be clearly seen.

George Hargreaves & Co sank the shaft of Grimebridge Colliery in 1851 and soon after a 'ginny road' was built across the moors to transport the coal tubs to the road up the valley from Waterfoot. At the site of the Fox Hill colliery the chain hauled line became a steep incline which crossed a wooden viaduct and then passed through along tunnel to reach the staith. The line operated for at least 90 years before the coal was routed through the hill to a wharf near Old Meadows on the Bacup to Burnley road. This is the point where the ginney line changed angle and started down the incline at Fox Hill. It is now in a ruinous condition and the land around had been changed through tipping and reclamation such that the surface arrangements here are no longer clear.

Even though the temperature is below freezing there is heat distortion across the desert as two JS class locomotives take a train of empty coal wagons to the deep mines at Sandaoling.

SY class locomotive leaving Xiamiaozi on the Nanpiao Coal Railway with an afternoon passenger service.

Heagears at UK Coal's Thoresby Colliery. On of the few collieries still operating in Britain.

Afternoon sunshine on a train loading spoil in the Jalainur opencast coal mine.

Typical wayside crossing on the Jitong Railway. This example is just east of Lindong and seen with typical traffic for the district.

Back in 2007 I posted a single shot of the demolition of the boilers and powerhouse at the Winnington works of Brunner Mond, but thought it might be fun to make a composite image showing the whole blowdown. Best viewed large.

In the days before digital photography I doubt that this shot would have been possible. It was almost dark as the last uphill train of the day is east of Mifengyan and heading for Bagou on the Shibanxi Coal Railway.

Ingersol air compressor and receiver on the Australia level at Dinorwic slate quarry.

Afternoon service crosses the Caldon Canal at Consall Forge on the Churnet Valley Railway.

The trans-mongolian highway was almost ready for opening in the area between Lindong and Daban when I last visited the Jitong Railway in spring 2005. Of course traffic was already using the road unofficially and this made it much easier to reach some of the formerly rather remote photospots. Here a pair of QJs plods westwards towards Chaganhada with a long freight over one of the many viaducts on this line.

Angle-changing station close to the top of the Claughton brickworks aerial ropeway.

Early morning passenger service for Diaobingshan departs the junction station at Sanjiazi on the Tiefa Coal Railway. This was the only occasion when I successfuly caught the morning glint at this spot.

Steel sections hand book, 1913. Many steelworks issued books similar to this, full of useful information about calculating the size of beams etc. for your project. There were usually photographs of the works and processes too. :-)

One of the Henschel built 0-6-0 tank locomotives heads a freight south of Gernrode on the Selkertalbahn. View On Black

Quenching tower in action at the Corus South Bank Coking Plant, Redcar Steelworks.