tarboat's photos

A pair of 83 class 0-8-2 locomotives head a long train of empty coal wagons for the opencast mine loading point at Turija on the 760mm gauge Banovici coal railway. The train is on the lower section of the line between the interchange with the state railway at Oskova and Banovici town.

It is always worth a look over the parapet at Frodsham Bridge as there is a god chance of seeing the barge Panary lying at Frodsham Wharf loaded with grain. This is the last commercial traffic on the Weaver.

Corus South Bank coking plant in action.

Towers of ceramic insulation at the mega-substation close to the former site of Carrington Power Station.

I made three visits to the Yuanbaoshan colliery system at the edge of the Mongolian Autonomous Region. The first two were less than successful due to poor weather and lack of trains. In January 2006 it was clear that steam would soon be usurped by diesels and there would be no second chance if things went wrong again. Thankfully the cold, clear weather was matched with plenty of steam action. Here JS 6246 arrives at Xizhan yard with a heavy load of coal for the nearby power station. Although there are a number of collieries in the area there is still a need to import coal via the main China Rail system.

Iarnród Éireann. GM (London, Ontario) built loco No.211 crosses the River Barrow viaduct at Monasterevin with a train for Dublin.

Part way along the aerial ropeway at the Claughton Manor Brickworks.

The Great Northern Railway of Ireland constructed a twelve road locomotive shed at Clones in County Monaghan in 1925. This was the first of its type in Ireland and comprised a reinforced concrete structure to a design by the Indented Bar Company of London. It curves through 130 degrees and had 12 radial bays to contain the locomotives. The railway closed in 1959 and the premises were subsequently modified and used by a company that constructed tank containers. Around 2003 this business got into financial difficulties and the works has since been used for steel fabrication although that appears to have come to an end in the loco shed building. There was a slightly later and identical example at Portadown in County Armagh, but this has been demolished.

Bestwood Colliery was closed in 1971 and today the headstocks and sheaves survive with the winding engines and house in the midst of a country park. In the adjacent village the Bestwood Hotel has also succumbed and now stand empty and disused.

With the impending move of Leigh to their new stadium Tarboat Junior and myself decided to pay what may well be our last visit to Hilton Park for the Leigh - Batley game. Batley fans are probably gutted that they threw away a 16-4 half-time lead to lose by a point after a tension and action packed second half. We enjoyed a game in an old-fashioned ground that is definitely past its best but a great reminder of how most grounds were when I was but a lad. The current crop of new stadia was certainly needed if the sport is to survive and, hopefully, grow. As for the French referee Monsieur Albert, best that I keep my mouth shut!

The Wilton International chemicals site on Teesside covers a large area and has a number of cooling towers amidst the usual jumble of pipes and chemical plant.

Taken in the mid-1980s. The sight of this brought about a 'Stop the car!' moment. I did believe that the place was named after the field number on the map when the Midland and Great Northern Railway was being built but it is also suggested that it came from the Twenty Foot Drain that is crossed by the road at this place. Sadly, I understand that the sign has been removed. :-(

A rare beast indeed. A right-angle crossing on a narrow gauge railway. Bord na Mona, Blackwater Bog system.

Old and new peat fired power stations of the Irish Electricity Supply Board at Shannonbridge on the River Shannon. The old Shannonbridge plant at the rear was closed after an accident in February 2004 when a high-pressure pipe at the plant exploded. The plant was already to be decommissioned as part of the planned closure of all six peat-fuelled stations in the country at that time. Subsequently the new 150 megawatt West Offaly station at the front has been constructed and this is supplied with around 1 million tons of peat annually by Bord na Mona. The old station will be demolished soon. Just above the boats can be seen the rotating spans from the old Shannon Bridge which were placed here when replaced with a fixed concrete span.

Another load of empties heads for the mountains and the mines on the Huanan Coal Railway

Tankerville mine was worked for lead and also barytes, calcite, silver and zinc intermittently between 1865 and 1925. The structures seen here relate to the Watson's shaft completed in 1874 to a depth of 1690 feet. The pumping engine was a 40" cylinder cornish type.

The shepherd heads home with his flock as the sun sets behind the power station and a colliery screens and bunkers in Jalainur, Mongolian Autonomous Region.

Coal hoppers heading from the Kostolac power station back to the Klenovic opencast mine.