tarboat's photos

The southernmost of the two berths at the Tranmere oil terminal on the Mersey. The tug Svitzer Amazonas is seen tied up here covering the contract to have at least one tug available on the river at all times.

Arrival at Parkend with the ballast hoppers. A great charter with 9681 on the Dean Forest Railway.

Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust has restored the old station building at Wingfield on the route of the North Midland Railway which opened a line from Derby to Leeds in 1840. As part of the interpretation of the station and surroundings the Trust raised £8,000 through a crowd funding appeal to save the stone crest with the coat of arms of the railway that once adorned the main entrance to the original Derby Railway Station, and relocate it to Wingfield Station where it can now be seen at the back of the car park.

The footplate crew are trying to keep the rain off them as ex Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 0-6-0 52322 takes its ballast train through the station at Embsay.

Four Maerz PFR (parallel flow regenerative shaft kiln) limekilns at the Tata Steel operated Hardendale Quarry at Shap. A Maerz kiln can process up to 800 tons of burnt lime per day. These kilns are currently mothballed whilst the Port Talbot steelworks is remodelled with electric arc melting technology.

A flavour of the light railways used in World War 1 at the Pages Park shed on the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway. On the left is War Department Light Railways 303 - Hunslet 1215 of 1916. On the right is Baldwin built British War Department locomotive 778. Built in 1917 this locomotive is one of four survivors in the UK of the total of 495 delivered by Baldwin.

The Shap Beck Quarry received a new plant in 1999 and since 2009 supplies around 650,000 tonnes of crushed kiln feed limestone from Shap Beck to Shap Fell processing plant nearby (Tata steel) and used in the large scale production of lime for steelmaking. The quarry also supplies around 300,000 to local and regional markets and has an on-site plant for making asphalt for road surfacing. There are 21 people employed directly and the quarry supports a further 30 jobs for drivers and contractors. The site extends to 118 hectares and is now operated by Heidelberg Materials

A section of the asphalt plant at the Lafarge (now Tarmac) granite quarry at Mountsorrel.

Bulleid pacific 34067 'Tangmere' heads the Great Britain XVIII tour up the Midland Railway Disley cutoff line on its way to Carlisle. The train is approaching the Hatherlow Lane footbridge in Hazel Grove. It was over sixty years ago that I used to spot trains from this bridge and it was a real bit of nostalgia to see steam again at this spot, even if it wasn't the ex LMS and LNER locomotives that we used to see. As kids we knew this location as 'Skelly Bridge'. There weren't any trees and it was double track back in the day.

Narrowboats Victoria and Alton at the 2016 Bollington boat & folk event on the Macclesfield Canal. These two motor boats were still at work carrying fuels, mainly supplying boaters along the waterways in the area.

Draw holes inside one of the large derelict limekilns at Porth-y-Waen. The banks of kilns here burned limestone from the Llynclys quarry on the hillside above.

4F 43924 waits to enter the station at Keighley with a mixed train.

Looking down from the Worth Valley Railway at Keighley revealed this fine stone chimney with splendid capping and stone pot.

Back ginnel off Woodside Road, Halifax. There's always bins!

Cottam power station on load on a cold January day.

The Jiayang coal railway was a rare survivor of a narrow gauge line that continued to serves a whole community. The recent development of new roads in the area it serves has reduced its significance but it has renewed itself as a tourist line. Back when the coal mines were still operating a passenger service is departing from the reversing point at Mifengyang. The pointsman is reaching to remove the green signal flag from its holder.

Upcast shaft headgear at the preserved Pleasley Colliery, Derbyshire.

This weekend saw the Macclesfield Model Railway Exhibition and amidst the large array of excellent layout was Kerrinhead. Set in the 1920s this former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway branch terminus was presented by Scalefour Society members Gavin and Helen Clarke. These are the coal drops, a feature I haven't often seen modelled.