tarboat's photos

I always take a country walk on New Year's Day and this year it was along the Macclesfield Canal from Marple before crossing the ridge and returning along the Peak Forest Canal. After a hard frost the canal was frozen and it snowed for the first part of the walk, just enough to lift the lighting without making everything just white. This view is looking back to Hawk Green from Windlehurst and features the Goyt Mill in the background along with frozen-in boats on the canal, and even red deer in the field below. A perfect day for a walk.

A peek into the section of the works at Buckley Wells that is operated by Ian Riley. Taken during the East Lancs Railway night photoshoot in February 2009. Fellow Flickrite The View From The North was told off for making a similar view , but I managed to escape the attention of the authorities!

The development of new sidings to cope with increased output saw the end of the old Earle's cement office buildings in order to accommodate these tracks. Hunslet Barclay ' Blue John ' is prominent with a Harry Needle class 20 behind.

Slate sawing machines remain in situ at the mill on the Australia level at Dinorwic Quarry.

There always seems to be some sort of rail movement taking place on the myriad of lines spreading out from the marshalling yard at Gongsi on the Baiyin Mining Railway. In fact the yard also serves the military line that runs away to the east and the factories and smelters that abound in the vicinity. This was an unusual working as brake vans/cabooses are not common on this system.

High up in the Dinorwic quarries this table incline looks almost ready to receive wagons for the mills that were situated lower down. It is forty years since work finished here.

SY class locomotives are scarce on the Sandaoling mine system, being usually used on the mine passenger service and permanent way/crane trains. It was therefore a surprise to find SY1729 banking the empties towards the deep mines. The Tian Shan range fills the background some 35-40 km distant. When I came to download this image from the memory card at the end of the day it had vanished along with about 180 other shots - thanks Lexar. On returning home the application of some useful software enabled me to recover all but about 10 images. This is the second Lexar card that I have had fail in service. In future I shall stick to using Sandisk cards.

A view from Bakestonedale Moor, close to the start of the Boxing Day walk, with Shutlingsloe peeking over the distant ridges.

The Boxing Day walk this year was across Bakestonedale Moor to Bowstones and the conditions underfoot are best described as wet and slippery! On the descent from the moor on the way back the sun appeared from behind the clouds silhouetting the trees and, if you look carefully, White Nancy on Kerridge Hill in the background.

On the last day at Jixi during my 2008 visit to China we met these two young Chinese lasses who were spending the day photographing steam trains around the Chengzihe system. They were well wrapped up against the intense cold and kitted out with Nikon cameras.

Two new very high capacity power lines stretch across the desert bringing power from the resource rich western lands to the industrial centres of eastern China.

Instructions are being shouted to the driver of one of the locomotives lined up in the yard at Dongchang Colliery in Jixi during the morning shift change. This impressive gathering of up to eight locomotives is due to be replaced by electric services within a year.

In December at Sandaoling the sunrise coincides with shift change and there are rarely trains to be seen on the line running from the interchange sidings at Liushuguan. Happily this particular day saw the morning empties against a purple sky as the train was restarted after a stop to regain pressure.

SY1583 with the morning empties to the Kuangsan Copper Mine on the Baiyin Mining Railway. This train runs every day after the morning passenger service has returned from the mine. The exact timing is difficult to predict as it can appear at any time over about four hours. Luckily, on this day there was enough time to climb the hills overlooking the line, but not so much that I was standing in the cold for very long.

The first train of my 2009 visit to China - a few minutes before the sun crept over the edge of the mountains and SY 2008 hurries the morning passenger service towards Shenbutong on the Baiyin Mining Railway. This locomotive was renumbered from 0701 in honour of the Olympic year.

Tangmere hammering along through the cutting at Deepcut, just east of Frimley Green with the Railway Touring Company's 'Capital Christmas Express' from Swanage to Waterloo and return. Thanks to channel packet for navigating.

In order to avoid locomotives having to run round the train at Stiege when running between Alexisbad and Nordhausen, a reversing loop was constructed. Just running off the loop having completed the circuit is a freight train heading for Nordhausen.

Nissen Hut at Snape Farm POW camp. This building once contained washing facilities and toilets.