tarboat's photos

More corporate rubbish on the Novus Solutions van seen at Bangor University. The company has lots more nonsense on its website: Mission Statement / Our mission is to continually exceed expectations through quality, safely delivered by a professional, experienced well trained workforce. Our Vision / Our vision is to be recognised nationally as the contractor of choice for all building and maintenance needs, delivering bespoke client focused solutions together with unrivalled customer service and client satisfaction. Perhaps a few more superlatives would not go amiss!

The Conwy stone quarries are easily visible from the A55 a short distance west of the tunnel under the estuary. A microgranite was worked here during the nineteenth century under a number of quarry owners. A series of inclines connected at least four levels with the mill and loading bunkers on a siding off the Chester and Holyhead Railway. Closure came at some point between 1936 and 1945 after an agreement was reached to supply the North Wales Granite Co Ltd with stone from Penmaenmawr. The quarry is now sometimes used by climbers and the five incline drum houses stand empty, staring out onto the Irish Sea.

Cold and windswept is the colliery at Xinghua on the Chengzihe section of the Jixi coal railway. I was never lucky enough to see a locomotive facing outwards at this location.

As the sun sets SY 1685 heads a heavy load of coal towards the Xinhua power station on the Hegang Coal Railway.

Detail from the former Technical School on Abbey Road, Barrow-in-Furness which was built 1900-1903 for Barrow Corporation to the design of Woodhouse and Willoughby. The building contractor was W Gradwell and Co. It is listed Grade II.

The Duke Street Scherzer Rolling Bascule Bridge at Birkenhead spans the channel between East Float and West Float. It replaced a swing bridge in the 1930s.

Female Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) ovipositing on a lovely marl pit at Church Minshull.

Nissen hut at Hindringham in Norfolk.

Lockers in the pithead baths at Beringen Colliery which closed in 1989.

Typical equipment on top of a limekiln near Lindong in the Monglian Autonomous Region of China.

This is not the photo that I intended to take here. I was just setting up for a shot of this terracotta faced building in Regent St South, Barnsley, when I was suddenly aware of the lass seen here on the left lower corner of the image. On seeing the camera she had emerged from Mini Mode Boutique and was demanding to know what I was photographing. On being told I was photographing the building she stated that it was not allowed as it contained private businesses. So what I responded, I am on a public street and can photograph whatever I want. She then said that I should ask permission before photographing the shop and, having had enough of her silliness, I told her 'no chance' and fired the camera. She went back into the shop and closed the door. Very strange world we live in. The building dates from 1927 and has some nice art-deco features.. Most of the shop doors are original with the nice glazing bars.

The Finning Group demonstration area at the Hillhead Quarry Exhibition included this Caterpillar loader and dump truck in action.

A page from the 1884 catalogue of A & J Main & Co, Clydesdale Iron Works, Possilpark, Glasgow. Some beauties in there that I would love to own.

The sun sets behind the cranes of the Ship Dock at Goole.

This tiny Nissen hut stands in a quiet corner of the Cultbraggan camp. The prisoner of war camp at Cultybraggan was completed in late 1941 and originally used to house Italian prisoners. It was later used as a transit camp for Germans and as a high security establishment for holding ardent nazis. Later it became a MOD training centre until closure in 2004. It is now owned by the local community through the Comrie Development Trust. The camp still contains a large number of nissen huts.

Feeding the Dahuichang limekilns. These large traditional draw kilns were part of the Beijing based Capital Iron & Steel empire.

Scherzer rolling lift bridge on the dock road between Stanley and Collingwood Docks in Liverpool. This bridge no longer operates, but has been externally restored by Peel Ports.

This limekiln at the roadside above Baycliff is in excellent condition. It presumably supplied lime for local use.