tarboat's photos

Mid-Cheshire Rail Day continued. I went to a spot on the east side of Plumley for the early afternoon train from Chester as it accelerates away from the station stop.

On a morning of torrential rain it was lucky that a brief lull occurred in the downpour whilst 45407 ran past Billinge Green between Middlewich and Northwich.

Running fast and a few minutes late, 45407 brings the Crewe - Altrincham train past Plumley on the first run of the Mid-Cheshire Rail Day.

Ice sculpture is big business in the northern parts of China where crowds flock to see the sculptures illuminated at night in a fairground atmosphere. In the town of Manzhouli in the Mongolian Autonomous Region, close to the Russian border, there are two adjacent rival attractions close to the power station which joins in the fun with an ice topping to the cooling tower.

JS 8366 and 8358 thrashing uphill on the Sandaoling coal railway with empties from Liushuguan. All China is on Beijing time and this remote desert area is so far to the west that even at 9.15am the sun had yet to rise on this cold January morning.

Driving through Middleport I spotted this doorway on the premises of Impact Motor Services and just had to stop and make a photograph. The Art Deco lights and the (sadly altered) door with the detailing of the faience make for a very pleasing design. I always think of Co-operative stores when I see such buildings, but this one seems just that bit better. I wonder whether the lettering/design on either side of the lower doorway could be a clue. SCI = Stoke-on-Trent Co-operative Industrial Society?

One of the few structures remaining from Fenton Park collieries is this chimney base. To the left are the shaft remains of the Victoria Colliery. In the background can be seen the housing in Ubberley and Bentilee. This area has some of the best nineteenth century mining remains to be found in North Staffordshire.

I had a day out mooching around the Potteries with the camera snapping a bit of industry here, a bit of dereliction there. Mid-afternoon I reached the former Twyfords sanitaryware factory at Cliff Vale and was happily taking photographs from out on the road when this guy walked out and asked me what I was doing. When I told him I was taking pictures of the factory he said that this was prohibited because it was a private building. I advised him that it did not mean that I could not take photos from a public place but he was quite insistent and wanted to know where I was from. When I refused to answer any more of his questions he called his boss on his radio and advised him that I was an awkward *$!*%£. He headed back in and I took this shot, but when another guy came out and walked down the street behind me I decided it was time to leave. It's a strange old world these days!

Oh dear!

A dusty day at the Lafarge operated Llynclys Quarry near Oswestry.

Cranleigh Brickworks

Beeding cement works in the evening sun.

Trains in all directions at Sandaoling.

A touch of glint as a JS class locomotive pushes yet another load of spoil onto the tips at the Sandaoling opencast mine.

The Braithwaite water tank is still in production but this older example has ended its useful life. Another find on a Wiltshire country walk.

Seen on a walk in Wiltshire. I think that this one is no longer wanted.

One of the classic angles on the Simingyi viaduct on the Jinpeng section of the Jitong Railway. Two QJ class locomotives pound across as they haul a heavy eastbound train towards the summit. For once the Jinpeng wind is pushing the exhaust away from the camera. Sadly scenes such as this can now only be seen on special occasions if the railway has a steam festival such as it ran in early 2008.

There was a big pile of these at a reclamation yard that I passed through today. Once again I have no idea where this was made. I like the name of the product - wonder if it's better than double-hard? Update: The BERN - ARD bricks were made at the Longport brickworks owned by the founders of Wilkinson Bros. (Burslem) Ltd in the early 1930s. Samuel Wilkinson, the elder of the Wilkinson brothers, had a son named Frank Bernard. Sam decided that the brick's trade name should be BERN - ARD, but his brother disagreed when he became aware of this decision and the dies were destroyed and the brand withdrawn. Thanks to M Pool and M Wilkinson for the information via Ken Perkins.