Staffordshire

A chat with the crew of Hunslet Engine Co 9000/1983 at Chasewater Heaths.

A pair of class 25 locomotives wait at Silverdale Station whilst the crew collect the single line token from the machine in the office. The train is carrying coal from the nearby Holditch Colliery.

Cheddleton on the Churnet Valley Railway. A nice little Braithwaite tank for supplying locomotives.

A rather special wrought iron sign is on the side of the former Victoria Jubilee Institute and public baths in Tunstall, building of which was started in 1889. The uses of the building included the Free Library and this was marked by the sign provided by local worthy and brick & tile manufacturer John Nash Peake in 1901. Sadly the building is now entirely derelict and up for sale at a knock-down price. Renovation of the Grade II listed structure would cost millions.

Orenstein & Koppel 10750 of 1923, "Max", was sent to the Sragi sugar mill in Java, Indonesia where it worked into the early 2000s. It is seen here at the Statfold Barn Railway where it was restored to steam in 2014.

BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4 Tank, 80098 moves from the bay at Cheddleton during the February 2008 steam gala on the Churnet Valley Railway.

Not a service that one would expect to see departing from the 1960s chic of Hanley bus station. The Bristol RE was new to Crosville in May 1970 and has been in preservation since 1990.

K1 is the original Beyer Garratt, which was supplied to the Tasmanian Government Railways in 1909 for use on the North East Dundas Tramway. After overhaul at the Statfold Barn Railway in 2020 it is seen here out on the line just after departing from Oak Tree Halt during a 30742 Charters event.

The Triumphal Arch at Shugborough is most likely to have been the first of the park monuments undertaken by Stewart and certainly the most prominent. Work started soon after 1761 and was completed in 1765. It is based on the Arch of Hadrian in Athens. In 1760, Thomas Anson suffered a huge loss, with the death of his close friend and sister-in-law, Elizabeth York, and again in 1762, with the death of his brother George. Thomas memorialised them both by adding their busts in the outer arches. In the central arch, Thomas added an ‘aplustre’, a commemorative plaque. It depicts naval trophies and other attributes linked to his Admiral brother’s illustrious life.

Pipeworks at Cheslyn Hay. At the time the site was being used as a depot for Hepworth West Midlands & Stoneware Ltd. In 1961 it is listed as Stella Tileries Ltd, (The Hepworth Group), Essington, near Wolverhampton. Vitrified Salt-glazed Pipes and Fittings, Glazed Conduits and Land Drain Pipes. Hepworths had bought the business in 1959. The works seems to have been established in 1935.

The Picture House in Stafford was built as a cinema for local independent exhibitor Walter Goodall and opened on 23rd February 1914. It closed on 30th March 1995 and has since been converted to a Wetherspoon public house. In November 2012, the Picture House was equipped with a HD projection screen and began to screen films on Wednesday evenings with a different theme each month. The building is Grade II listed.

Shovelling coal into the feed hoppers of the automatic stokers at Claymills pumping station. The blocks on the floor are made from compressed rapeseed waste and are being trialled as an alternative to very expensive coal. Clearly these are unsuitable for the stokers and therefore have to be hand fired. They burn very hot but do not have enough surface area to volume to raise steam as well as coal. If they could be broken down to pieces the same size as the coal used, then maybe they would be a worthwhile substitute.

Valve gear operating handles on the 'D' engine at Claymills pumping station. The high pressure cylinder of this Woolf compound beam engine is behind to the right and the low pressure cylinder to the left. The pumping engines were supplied by Gimson & Co of Leicester in 1885.

The Middleport Pottery opened in the 1880s and has continued in production to the present day. In 2009 with the business facing closure it was purchased by the Prince's Regeneration Trust and the buildings underwent restoration and regeneration. The boat is typical of those that carried pottery materials to the works and probably finished ware away for export.

Burslem Park was opened in 1894. It contains a number of terracotta features including this drinking fountain donated by Councillor Bowden.

Preserved Ex PMT Leyland Atlantean PDR1 / Weymann, 766 EVT is seen during the farewell to Hanley Bus Station event in 2013. It was new to PMT in August 1959 as L9766.

As the snow continues to fall 5619 takes a short freight through the woods to the east of Consall on the Churnet Valley Railway. This 30742 Charters event encountered these completely unexpected conditions which provided many great images on the day.

Romney type hut lurking behind the billhoardings on the corner of Cutts Street in Hanley. There is a second hut behind.