tarboat's photos

After watching this train pass lower down the line ( see earlier image ) I realised that it was slipping badly and from the noises bouncing off the hills it soon became clear that it had stalled. Sensing another photo opportunity I descended the hill I was on and ran down the snow covered road to Shenbutong where, rather breathlessly, 17 minutes later, I was just in time to make this shot as the train was accelerating away. Well worth the long run.

Today I climbed to the top of the hill in Apedale Country Park and stood close to the mining memorial just soaking up the view across the Potteries. Summer as it should be! A stitch of seven images. Best viewed in original size.

In 1905 the Alder Spinning Company commenced building its mill in Leigh to the design of Stott & Sons. The mill entrance, yard and offices are all that survive, still proudly declaring the mill name and the 1907 date of completion. The gates and fencing to the yard are of similar quality to the brickwork. Details and images of the mill can be found here.

The Cracken Edge Quarries above Chinley in Derbyshire comprise a series of faces stretching over a distance of around 1 kilometre. The products were transported down to the nearest road via a long incline which can be seen running across the centre and left of this image. The winding drum can be seen here .

SY 1583 hammers uphill towards Shenbutong on the Baiyin Mining Railway with the morning empties for the Kuangsan copper mine at the top of the line. The uphill trains on this line are regularly worked with the locomotives flat out and at the limits of adhesion. This train made a wonderful sound with the noise of the exhaust bouncing off the surrounding hills.

SY class locomotive undergoing light repairs in the workshops of the Baiyin Mining Railway.

Ex Thomas Clayton tarboat heads up the Bosley locks on the Macclesfield Canal.

JS 8222 pushing a heavy spoil train out of pit the opencast pit at Sandaoling. The motorcycles belong to the track repair gang working on the day shift.

6233 hurries the Scarborough Spa Express towards the Peover Viaduct at Bate Mill between Goostrey and Chelford.

A rarity from a demolition site in the Potteries. Clement Wooldridge is listed in the 1867 and 1869-70 trade directories as operating at Davis Street, Hanley. The brickworks is not mentioned in 1866 or 1873 and was probably a short-lived venture. It does appear on the 1879 Town Plan as being situated behind the Castlefield Pottery which later became the Etruscan Tile Works. The site has a brick shed and two round kilns. Clement Wooldridge was born in Hanley in 1834 and is listed in the 1861 census as a Joiner. I suspect that his elder brother Levi was also involved in the business. Clement Wooldridge died in 1871 and the business may have been briefly run by Levi Wooldridge although his main occupation was as a victualler and pub keeper.

On as fine a day as you could wish for, I took a long walk around the Goyt Valley and over the moors above Buxton. On the way back I was presented with this fine view from the gritstone moors onto the limestone uplands. Buxton lies to the left of the lond-abandoned Grin Quarry at the left side of the image. In the right background is the former Harpur Hill quarry and subsequent developments as a trading and office estate incorporating the explosion and flame laboratory of the HSE which results in interesting bangs on occasion.

Not the best quality brick and a manufacturer about whom I have been able to find absolutely nothing. Hmm, frustrating!

A high quality blue brick from a Burslem brickworks. Stanley & Rogers were running the works in 1896 and by 1904 it was Stanley Bros Ltd, Dalehall Brick and Tile Works, Ellgreave St, Burslem. The works is also listed in the 1912 Kelly's Directory but not in 1924.

Gleaners work through the dropped ashes whilst SY 1446 stands under the sand hopper at the washery on the Didao system of the Jixi Coal Railway.

This time the train actually ran behind steam and I was able to get a panning shot of 6201 running at speed with the Scarborough Spa Express at Bate Mill between Goostrey and Chelford. Sadly the light was poor compared with the previous week when it was sunny but steam free. Thanks to Eagle142 for providing the transport.

In latter days the coal mined at the Jalainur opencast mine was brought to this unloading point from where it was carried by underground conveyor to the washery high up beyond the bank to the right. The train in the background is empty spoil wagons returning to the pit, whilst the locomotive on the left is standing in the servicing area with loco coal being unloaded by steam crane into the overhead bunker.

Tarbert (left) and Moneypoint (right) power stations seen down the Shannon estuary. Tarbert is in County Kerry and was commissioned in 1969. It is oil fired and produces a maximum of 620 Megawatts. Moneypoint is one of Ireland's largest generating stations and was commissioned in 1985. It is coal fired produces a maximum of 915 megawatts. It consumes two million tonnes of coal per year.

Romiley Board Mill recycles waste paper into cardboard products such as cardboard sheets, tubes, coils and edge protection.