tarboat's photos

The former GS&WR station at Portarlington is the branching-off point for services to Galway, Ballina, and Westport. It was opened on 26 June 1847. This May 1982 view shows how few changes had taken place in the intervening 135 years.

The Kronospan plant at Chirk in North Wales produces wood based panel products and laminated flooring. This is the third largest manufacturing plant in the world for MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) and consumes over 1.5 million tonnes of timber a year. 670 people are employed here.

62-633 at the wooden loading bunkers of the Zenica colliery. This is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen at a coal mine.

The coal mining industry on the Wirral has a long history with extensive workings stretching under the Dee estuary towards North Wales. This last colliery closed in July 1928 and this view from the 1930s shows the site of the Wirral Colliery soon after the shafts had been walled up in brick for safety. The main winding shaft in later years was that on the furthest right.

The tree tubes suggest that this view of 6201 taking the Scarborough Flyer over the Alderley Edge bypass will soon be hidden. I cannot understand the need to impose trees on every bit of spare land. So many good views have been lost due to this plague of green.

It was back to 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' on the Scarborough Flyer today. Sunshine, for the first time this year when this train was running, catches the exhaust as speed builds up passing Nether Alderley. The building on the left is the gaurdhouse a the point where a siding entered the Royal Ordnance Factory Chelford site. This operated as a munitions store from 1942 to c1964 and had an extensive railway system operated by industrial diesel locomotives.

JS 8195 departs the Xuanmeichang unloading point with empty coal wagons for loading back in the opencast pit at Sandaoling. Now that the new loader is in use at the pit these trains have the locomotive at the other end as it will not fit underneath the loading gantry. Best viewed on black .

70013 'Oliver Cromwell' is just starting from the loop at Chelford with the Scarborough Flyer.

Coal mining on Sponds Moor has a long history back into the eighteenth century. In the second half of the nineteenth century a series of shafts was developed by the lessee James Jackson, each of which was wound with a horse gin. This particular shaft towards the top of the moor is shown as working on the 1873 OS map, but was abandoned by 1897. In 1982 when I took this photograph the bearing stone for the gin was visible in the side of the collapsed shaft. The metal piece was for the pintle of the vertical post to pivot in. On a recent visit the stone was no longer visible and may have sliped further into the shaft.

SY 0863 is enveloped in steam as it works under the loading bunkers at the Beicheng washery on the Chengzihe system of the Jixi Coal Railway.

Light snow is falling whilst Yugoslav built USA Tank clone 62-520 shunts scrap wagons at the Mittal owned Zenica steelworks. The use of steam at this location ended shortly after.

Pannier Tank 9681 glides across the level crossing at Parkend on the Dean Forest Railway as the crossing keeper waits to reopen the gates.

SY 1340 sets off for work after servicing at Dongchang Colliery on the Chengzihe system at Jixi.

Just below Chinley Churn on the Beard Moors the eighteenth century coal mining remains are extensive. There are two shafts in this view, the second lying in the low mound, right of centre background. From 1300ft above sea level the view takes in Whaley Bridge on the left and Furness Vale to the right, with Whaley Moor in the far background.

70013 Oliver Cromwell accelerates through Chelford station after leaving the loop with the Scarborough Flyer.

The use of semaphore signals on sections of the Jitong Railway when it was being built in the 1990s provided extra photographic opportunities alongside the steam locomotives employed until 2005. The distant signal seen here indicates that the road is clear into the Shangdian loops at the summit of the Jinpeng section. Before reaching the summit QJ 6763 has to negotiate the narrow confines of the tunnel just off to the left of shot.

Male Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea at Newchurch Common. I have been sorting out some of the files on my computer and found a lot of dragonfly shots that hadn't been catalogued. This one is from central Cheshire and is of one of the species more likely to be obliging by staying still for the photograper.

Bollington's 'beach huts' ™. :-) A reminder of the Bollington Flickrmeet a few years ago. Maybe we should organise another one for Macclesfield and Bollington groups?