Jones The Steam

Here's a super steam powered model railway layout, that was on show yesterday as part of the heritage weekend celebrations.

I think everyone loves watching trains of all sizes, especially the steam ones, as they portray the romance of a bygone age.  Although for me, I think I prefer old cars.

It was a big layout and took up quite a lot of the space in the hall that it had been set up in.  The enthusiasts had a couple of engines on the go, and the town that they had created was really quite quaint with a few houses, some cars and of course a station.

I watched them go round the track a few times and enjoyed looking at the small plume of steam every time the locos started up. Sometimes there was a bit of water on the tracks, and one of the owners had to rub the track with a cloth.  No wrong leaves on the line in the model world!

Ran Out Of Steam

Went to check on the Victorian railway arches that are sadly being knocked down after standing there for all these years.

It's been said that they have to come down as the area is being developed. Personally, if I was the architect, I would incorporate them into the new building as a feature, as I hate to see old buildings knocked down, as they have much more character then modern soulless buildings.

There's a prime example In my photo here, the green and gold building on the left is the Contemporary art gallery, which you must admit looks awful and stands out like a sore thumb, compared to the former church, now the Pitcher & Piano bar, and the other old buildings that make up part of the Lace Market.

Letting The Light In

There's some more demolition work now taking place in the city centre.

This is down near the Broadmarsh shopping centre and involves some old buildings and the remains of some Victorian railway arches.

Some people, including myself think this is a great shame, as it's about the last remaining arches in town, and should be saved for prosterity.

You may be wondering why my photo looks a little strange. It's because I took it with one of the art filters which are on my OMD. Diorama, I think its called, and makes things look miniature. I don't often use them, as I prefer to mess around in Lightroom & Alien Skin, but I don't think it looks too bad.

Leading Lines

Whilst visiting Ripley we stopped off at Butterley Railway Station.  Being late on Sunday, it was obviously closed. But it didn't stop me from having a poke around.

There were a row of old carriages not connected to an engine. They just seem to have been left there. So looking for a way of taking them that looked interesting, I went for the good old leading lines and perspective, with a bit of a glow from the sun setting.

A Brief Encounter

Another flying visit to London today, so very little time to take any photos before my train home. It was more of a case of wandering round St Pancras Station for a little while, before lining up on Platform One.

So here's a photo of Paul Day's 'The Meeting Place' sculpture, which was created in 2008.

A Costumed Love Affair

Well there were certainly a lot of people walking around Whitby in some fantastic, strange and outlandish costumes.

Here's just a few of the many characters that we came across on our travels along the cobbled streets of the town. So many variations on a theme, that I could post different images all week.

The feathered ensemble that this woman is wearing is quite incredible. And I love the face she pulled whilst I was taking their photograph.

Whilst looking at the Victorian railway station, we came across that couple in period costume. As luck would have it, a train had appeared that was pulling some original carriages, as part of the North York Moors line. So we asked them to pose by it, and I think it makes for quite a good shot.

We came across 'Gandalf' as he was walking around a corner. He was with his wife and carrying a local newspaper. His was was dressed normally, so he handed her the paper, whilst he looked mystically into the distance.

The Bridge To Nowhere

It's the First of the month and it's theme day, the topic being bridges.

This photo shows all that is left of the viaduct that carried trains along the London, Midland, Scottish line. which closed during the Beeching cuts of the 1960's. The rest has been knocked down over years, as new structures appear across the city. This is likely to be demolished in the next year or so. I have also shown you other parts of this area, which is known as Narrow Marsh a few weeks ago.

Here are the links to the other sites that are participating:
Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands - Minneapolis (MN), USA

A Bridge Too Far

At the moment, the bridge on Carrington Street outside the railway station is being reinforced with lots of steel and concrete. The work is causing a fair amount of congestion for the traffic going over it. I took this photo while they were pumping concrete over the steel gridwork.

Train of Thought

Here's a photo for all you trainspotters out there. This is one of those special engineering locomotives that tests & checks the tracks for problems etc. Here's a weblink to the company that makes the equipment.

The Taxman Commeth

Last April I published a photo of the Inland Revenue building, which I took from the Castle. Today's shot is of the same building. This time it was taken from the railway line, that runs at the back of the offices.