tarboat's photos

Rail crossing in the opencast coal mine at Sandaoling as a trainload of spoil leaves the pit on a lower line.

SPS 2997 simmers in the yard at Malakwal shed.

The ferrous alloys plant at Glossop was always controversial due to the emissions from the very tall chimney that dominated the town. The landforms around Glossop are such that even such a tall structure did not mean that fumes were dissipated quickly. Today the production of Ferromolybdenum is long finished and the plant is being demolished.

I am not a great cat lover but was moved to take a photo when I happened upon this beast busily stalking one of the more disused and derelict parts of Wigan. Apparently it is one of a fairly new breed - the Ocicat!

The green on High Street, Bollington. Seen on the recent Flickrmeet.

Corus appear to have forbidden photography inside the Scunthorpe steel plant, but this was taken from outside the perimeter. Gasholder close to the continuous casting plant.

Not only has steam haulage all but finished at Pingdingshan, but the several level crossings that were to be found on the main line between Tianzhuang and Zhongxin, and also on the adjacent colliery branches, have all been replaced by road underbridges. Back in early 2006 the old order still ruled as JS 8054 holds up the traffic as it crosses the main road close to Zhongxin with a long train of empty coal hoppers.

It was nearly always worth the effort of getting up in the dark when chasing steam on the Jitong line. Waiting at the summit of the Jinpeng pass was rewarded by this shot of a westbound train on the curve leading into the summit tunnel before the sun had risen. Although it was April there was still ice on the river and at this time in the morning cold enough for impressive exhausts.

The Alder Mill office block is a delightful mix of materials topped by a cupola rising behind a terracotta parapet.The only thing missing is the Alder Mill itself as this was demolished in 1982. Details and images of the mill can be found here.

Built in 1900 and extended in 1905, the Rushton building on Market Street, Wigan, was originally a food and grain warehouse. Today it accommodates the council civic offices.

The Park Lane mills of Leigh Spinners are still working in the carpet trade although redundancies were being implemented on the day I visited. The chimney is very impressive, situated between the original 1913 mill and the 1923 addition on the western side. A stitch of five images. Best viewed very large

The used to be a mill here, and now there are houses and apartments. Where are all the jobs?

JS 6246 storms uphill from Majiawan and past the cement factory on the climb to the opencast mine on the Yuanbaoshan coal railway.

Fiddlers Ferry power station peeps above the horizon on a clear afternoon. The cooling towers are almost thirty miles away. Viewed from Rough Hay, Macclesfield.

On a really clear afternoon I went up to Rough Hay Quarry and grabbed this panorama across Macclesfield to Manchester and on to the hills beyond. A stitch of three images. View original size to see the detail.

Crossing point for trains on the Huanan Coal Railway is the village of Xiahua. On this snowy morning the empties head off to the mine in the hills whilst a few final adjustments are made to the locomotive heading the full wagons.

Sand towers at the Daban depot of the Jitong railway. In October 2004 the shed was still almost entirely steam locomotives and very busy at all hours.

Beaten to the stitched view by Shaggy, I offer another perspective on Bollington's many beach huts ™. ;-)