tarboat's photos

Seen in the grounds of the Guest House at Namtu, Myanmar.

SY 1581 brings the afternoon passenger service from the mines and smelters on the last leg into Baiyin City.

New conveyor systems at Pentre Halkyn Quarry. The annual output here is about 1 million tonnes of stone.

Early railway relics from the Cheshire coalfield. The lightweight plate at the top is from Poynton Collieries and may date from the late 1830s. The lower fragment was used on a line running from the Nelson Pit in Adlington. In neither place have any stone blocks been found and it may be that the lines were laid on wooden sleepers.

45379 on the approach to Ipstones at the Churnet Valley Steam Gala.

Tegg's Nose & Bottoms reservoirs were constructed to provide compensation water to the River Bollin when the Ridgegate Reservoir was built for public water supply. They feed water into the river to maintain minimum levels of water. Looking further afield, the clump of trees on the skyline to the right of centre is the location of Cleulow Cross.

The Central Public Library on Garrick Street was completed in 1900-1902 to the designs of H.T.Hare. It was erected to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee but she was dead before it was completed. Funds were raised by the Mayor, Alderman S Craddock, and by a grant of £1,000 from Andrew Carnegie. The design was chosen in 1898, through limited competition confined to twelve selected architects. Hare’s original plan has two rectangular spaces for the principal rooms and a triangular space between them for circulation, administration and offices. He conformed to the brief in every detail save one - his plan, when assessed for cost, was considerably more expensive than had been stipulated. Nevertheless, the design was so good, that additional funds were raised. The Grade II listed building is a mixture of styles with Art Nouveau vying with the Classical. This upper section to the left of the main entrance shows off the buff terracotta decoration and some of the Art Nouveau features.

Prairie 5199 approaching Apesford crossing as the sun breaks through on the first train of the day up to Caldon Low.

The first day of the Churnet Valley Railway steam weekend was blessed with a lot of sunshine and a strong cold wind. The Black '5' from the Mid Hants Railway is seen here approaching the crossing at Apesford on its second run of the day up to Caldon Low. This shot is special to me because it also features the mighty Shutlingsloe in the far distance.

Initials of the Lancashire & Cheshire Miners' Federation over the door of their 1913 built offices and hall, Bridgeman Place, Bolton.

QJ 7143 hauling QJ 7037 dead at the front of a long freight heads west on the approaches to the station at Yamenmiao on the Jitong Railway. It was a bitterly cold and windy morning, but well worth getting up early for a view such as this.

Terracotta ornamentation from a block of buildings on Lichfield Street in Wolverhampton.

The use of stone and terracotta makes for an attractive building but a closer look reveals that all is not well. There is at least one bay missing to the right and the left hand bay has suffered significant damage which has been patched up with concrete lintels and the re-use of terracotta mouldings above the second floor windows, probably from a missing projecting bay like the one in the centre. All this, with the missing pieces of stonework above the top floor, is most likely due to wartime bomb damage.

A long flue leads to this chimney from the old lead/zinc smelter at Namtu. The lack of vegetation on the hillside around the chimney is a good indication of the heavy metal fallout.

I took a walk up from Langley up Tegg's Nose this morning and was presented with this view across Ridgegate Reservoir to a misty Macclesfield Forest. It's a great place to live and I do so enjoy being able to walk in such grand countryside.

Union offices and hall, Bridgeman Place, Bolton. The Lancashire & Cheshire Miners' Federation was the Union representing most miners in north-west England. Membership reached over 70,000 by 1907. In 1913 Thomas Greenall, President and Thomas Ashton, Secretary, laid foundation stones in Bridgeman Place, Bolton for stone and brick headquarters designed by Bolton architects Bradshaw, Gass & Hope. This building, which has echoed with the voices of both employees and employers over the decades, has been up for sale or lease for a number of years and so far there are no takers.

Full coal hoppers arrive at the Beichang washery from the mines on the Chengzihe system of the Jixi Coal Railway. The train has passed through the main washery and the coal will be unloaded in an enclosed building just off to the left and then carried away by the rising conveyor seen in front of the locomotive.

Tyldesley and Astley Miners Association was formed in 1862 and had membership of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners Federation. In 1907 when registered as a Trade Union the membership was 3,351. It was based in the Miners Hall in Elliott Street which was completed in 1893 and seated about 750 persons.