tarboat's photos

Kersland Brickworks, Dalry, Ayrshire. On the site of the former Kersland Ironstone Pit, the works operated from around 1900 to c1939.

Meadow Brickworks, Carluke, South Lanarkshire, 1889 - 1920. The business of John McDonald, Son, & Company, Composition Brick and Fire Clay Manufacturers, Meadow Brick Works, Braidwood, Carluke. Partners Charles McDonald and William Barr dissolved partnership 30th April 1910. It was also known as the Nellfield Brick & Tile Works.

Milton Brick & Tile Works, Carluke, Lanarkshire, operated from c1897 to 1978. Scottish Clay Hollow-Ware Limited were incorporated on 15th July 1937 with registered office at the works. Final closure came with the voluntary liquidation of T B Gibson & Co Ltd t/a Milton Tile Works, Carluke on 14th August 1978.

JF 257 stand forlornly at the servicing point at Jalainur opencast mine. It was gone the next time someone reported from this remote site. There were several other JFs still in use here at the time, but their days were clearly numbered.

The Schwelgern in Duisburg is one of the largest and most modern coking plants in the world. It is operated by Kokereibetriebsgesellschaft Schwelgern GmbH with a staff of just over 300. The main customer is the adjacent integrated steelworks of Thyssen Krupp Stahl AG. Construction started in 1999 and the first coke was pushed in March 2003. Annual consumption of coal is 3.8 million tonnes for a coke production of 2.5 million tonnes from two batteries of 70 ovens each of which produces 55 tonnes of coke every 25 hours.

Back in 2005 I attempted to get some shots of the four big limekilns at Brunner Mond's Lostock soda ash works. This is as near to the gate as I got before security was out shouting about no photography allowed. I didn't argue as the car park I was standing on is well inside the boundary of their ownership.

Cutters on a Wirtgen Milling Drum for planing concrete road surfaces. Seen at Hillhead quarry exhibition.

Machinery being demonstrated at the face during theHillhead quarry exhibition. From the top they are, Liebherr R974 tracked excavator, JCB JS360 tracked excavator, and JCB 457 wheel loader.

A nice day to spend at the Hillhead quarry exhibition near Buxton. One of the more eyecatching exhibits was this patriotic piece on the Miller UK Ltd stand. It is fairly obvious that buckets and attachments are a major part of their business.

Dunkirk oil refinery

One of three blast furnaces at the ArcelorMittal integrated steelworks at Dunkerque. The plant produces more than 6 million tonnes of steel per year.

Dingler'sche Maschinenfabrik 1918 built steam winder at Ensdorf Colliery in the Saar Region of Germany. The coal is now brought to surface through a drift, but the winder is still in use for men and materials. Sadly the colliery is due to close on June 30th although the winder will continue in use for a few months during the reclamation of materials and machinery. It is a protected structure along with the 1936 engine from the same maker in the adjacent winding house.

The local youths admire the remains of the Wendel-Vuillemin Colliery from the roof of one of the two washery buildings on this vast site. Also known as Carreau Wendel, the mine was producing 5,000 tonnes of coal a day in the 1960s with a workforce of around 5000. The coal reserves were exhausted by 1986 and the mine closed. Since then the buildings have been listed and the site preserved in varying states according to whether each particular building can find an adaptive re-use.

Office of the éclusier at Monceau-sur-Sambre.

This morning I was peering into the new chip shop on Castle Street when I noticed that they had blow-ups of old photos on the front of the counter. One of them was this old postcard shot of Mill Street c1950 which is full of atmosphere. I am too young to remember it looking quite like this but I bet there are a few on this group who do. Hunters Tea Stores on the right is where Poundland now stands and Burgons Grocers is now Lloyds Bank. The white terracotta of the Majestic tower is just as prominent today.

Clarence Arcade, Stamford Street Central, Ashton-under-Lyne, is Tameside's only covered Victorian shopping arcade and was built in 1893. As the focus of shopping moved away from Stamford Street the arcade fell on hard times but has now been refurbished and many of the former shops are now offices. Inside it is eerily quiet and devoid of people.

Seen at Newchurch Common whilst out with BITH* looking for Downy Emerald.

I took a look at Newchurch Common with BITH* in search of Downy Emeralds. The sun was scarce and the temperatures low so we had to settle for a few damselflies, including this male Common Blue Damselfly.