tarboat's photos

A contraband warning still attached to the steelwork at the airlock entrance to the Platt Shaft at Chatterley Whitfield colliery.

The Ynysypandy slab mill only had a working life of 10 or 11 years as the Gorseddau quarry that supplied it with slate closed in 1867. This massive structure is now a scheduled ancient monument. The distant remains of the quarry can be dimly seen above the tramway embankment to the right of the building.

The limekiln at the top of the beach at Polkerris was erected in 1827 by local farmers John Andrew and George Boscestow. It was long disused by the Second World War when a pillbox was constructed on top.

The GWR Society's steam railcar makes a departure from Froghall towards Oakamoor with a shareholders' special service on the Churnet Valley Railway. Such was the popularity of this day that every service was full to capacity.

Another memory of the Jitong Railway with QJs 6808 and 6925 eastbound approaching the summit at Shangdian.

Malkin Tiles was an offshoot of the earthenware company Edge, Malkin and Co. Initially they traded as Malkin Edge & Co, later becoming Malkin Tiles and eventually Malkin Tileworks. Manufactured a wide range of tiles, mainly moulded and encaustic dust-pressed. Eventually absorbed into H & R Johnson in 1968. More information here: www.thepotteries.org/potworks_wk/050.htm

Ineos Silicas' plant adjacent to the Mersey at Warrington. The company has now merged with PQ Corporation and continues to produce inorganic chemicals at this former Crosfield's site.

Junction Mine at Broken Hill was developed from 1884 and from 1886 to closure in 1923 the Broken Hill Junction Silver Mining Co. produced ore to the value of £1.2 million. The mine was reworked by North Broken Hill Ltd between 1946 and 1962, and again by South Broken Hill Ltd. until 1972. The wooden headframe is the oldest on the line of lode and was erected at Browne Shaft in the 1890s although it has been modified several times. The winding enginehouse and ore bins here date from the 1946 reworking.

This corrugated iron church in Broken Hill was moved to this site in 1911 having previously served as Picton Methodist Church on Kaolin Street. The adjacent hall was moved from Blende Street Methodist Church when that closed in 1926.

Pillbox at Queensferry alongside the River Dee on the approaches to Chester.

The Furness Clough Colliery and associated firebrick works was purchased by Richard Knowles in 1905. The mine produced mainly fireclay but also yielded coal for the kilns. The mine closed in 1963 but the works continued into the 1980s. A significant market at the time of my visit was firebacks exported to Saudi Arabia and several of these can be seen in front of the fork lift outside the kiln.

A pair of Beyer Garratt type locomotives working hard uphill on the curve before Rhyd Ddu on the Welsh Highland Railway.

This depression is the filled-in bowl of the limekiln close to Rogerley Hall, Frosterley. This is much safer than the many open kilns that can be found across Britain.

This type 23 pillbox was built way up on High Edge to protect the extensive bomb storage area at RAF Harpur Hill.

Compound steam engine driving the ventilation fan at Sutton Manor Colliery. Walker Brothers at Wigan made this engine and the fan to which it was attached in 1910. The cylinders of the 520hp engine were 23" and 36" diameter. At the time of my visit this engine was on standby only.

Fermenting vat being drawn down at Robinson's Brewery . There is a thick layer of yeast on the top of the liquid.

Disused brickworks at Hongshila in the Nanpiao region of Liaoning Province in China. A quick grab shot from a passing train. I returned to have a closer look four years later and it hadn't changed at all.

Nothing too fancy, but the 1909 built Methodist Church at Askam-in-Furness still has a wealth of terracotta trimming. The tops of the gate pillars are impressive lumps too.