tarboat's photos

Another ex Bournemouth Corporation bus at the recent POPS event in Stoke. This time it's Leyland Leopard CRU 103C at the drop-off point at Trentham Gardens.

Invoice from the Anderton Carrying Company (late J. P. Swanwick & Co) for boxes of soap brought by canal from Liverpool to Macclesfield in 1840. It is notable that this was not paid for a year and I suspect that this was quite normal at the time.

The Macclesfield Courier of January 1832 states: The advantages of water communication are daily manifesting themselves in the instance of the Macclesfield Canal. It is well known that for many years past this town has been mainly dependent upon the Stockport millers for its supply of flour; but since the formation of the canal and the consequent erection of the extensive steam mill of Messrs J. P. Swanwick & Co. not only is the town and neighbourhood chiefly supplied thereby, but flour is now exported from Macclesfield to Stockport; a cargo of 150 loads was dispatched on Thursday to a respectable flour dealer in the latter town from the Macclesfield steam mill. The mills, on the site of the later Hovis Mill were owned by Joseph Powell Swanwick & Co and leased to Francis Brindley & Co, corn millers and merchants. Swanwicks had an extensive carrying business on the canal but sold this to what became the Anderton Carrying Company in 1838. By 1854 the mill was described as in the occupation of Messrs. Brindley & Company, and the carrying department of the Duke of Bridgewater's Trustees and the Anderton Company. This invoice covers a delivery of bricks in Macclesfield in 1835.

I recently found time to take a stroll over to the Bramhall fuel distribution depot, but it proved to have few photographic opportunities from behind the security fence. I did manage a chat with one of the lorry drivers and was aggressively questioned by a woman in a car that was leaving the premises. She didn't seem able to comprehend that someone might just want to photograph the place out of interest.

One of Britain's scarcer dragonflies is the Common Clubtail ( Gomphus vulgatissimus ). In Cheshire it is only found along the River Dee in May and June, and even then you have to search hard to find it. This freshly emerged female was basking in the sun at Aldford.

With the main line career of the Deltics coming to an end (or so we thought) there is a lot of interest in 55-015 Tulyar as it stands at the buffers at Liverpool Lime Street Station. The run from Manchester had been 'spirited'!

In 1867 the Kendal and Windermere Railway was paying a guaranteed dividend of 3% on Ordinary shares. I wouldn't mind that sort of guaranteed return myself just at the moment, especially with income tax at less than 2%!

Manchester bound Pendelino and a Voyager on a Bournemouth service pass at Macclesfield Station on a dull and wet Friday afternoon.

Oops! :-)

Ex Bournemouth Transport, Daimler Roadliner SRP8 KRU55F pauses by the green at at Barlaston during the POPS running event based at the Britannia Stadium.

Francis Rufford established collieries and brickworks at Hungary Hill and New Farm in Stourbridge by 1812 and the business continued right through the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. This ticket covers the supply and transport by canal of sixty firebricks manufactured to a pattern supplied by the customer, Messrs Kay and Blackwell of Wharton Salt Works, Winsford. Despatched on 9th June 1849 the bricks were delivered at Middlewich Wharf six days later. From the wharf they would have been carried by cart to the Winsford salt works which lies a few miles distant on the banks of the River Weaver.

With the sun shining out of an almost cloudless sky I decided to head for west cheshire in search of dragonflies. The best shot of the day was this female Hairy Dragonfly ( Brachytron pratense ) seen in a cornfield at Churton. I have been seeking a photo of this one for years, but the females are really hard to find apart from when ovipositing.

Leyland Leopard ORS60R of the Beresfords fantasy fleet waits for passengers at the Caverswall Road Station of the Foxfield Railway during the recent running day at Stoke-on-Trent.

Fighting the fog on the Caldon Low line during the 2010 extended reopening gala. 71000 is seen at Blackbrook Crossing. The track has now been lifted here and it remains to be seen whether it will ever return.

At the weekend I attended the Potteries Omnibus Preservation Society's running day based at Stoke City FCs Britannia Stadium. The sun shone all day and a good time was had riding on some fine old buses. Although it was not advertised to be carrying passengers on the day I was delighted to see North Western Road Car Bristol L5G CDB 206 roll up at the bus stop and piled aboard for a run to Trentham Gardens. This 1950 built bus is seen during a brief pause outside the Trentham shopping village before heading back to the Britannia.

At the coal stage adjacent to Stonhenge Works on the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

This one is for Fortescue38, who I think will understand.

Cooling tower seen along the main entrance roadway at Scunthorpe steelworks.