Out of luck at the L&B

The day after the Launceston trip, we visited the nascent L&B at Woody Bay, hoping for a steam trip along the mile or so or reconstructed railway, behind a fine little loco we'd met 30 years ago, in derelict state. No such luck - a brake pump failure meant we were doomed to diesel-haulage. But never mind - it was a fine sunny day, good to be out on those north Devon hills. Visit "...but no luck at Lynton" on "Geoff's Rail Diaries"

Welsh Quarry Hunslets - in Cornwall

Just back from a trip to the South-West - a few days of general exploration, with one or two rail-related outings too. Firstly, a trip to the Launceston Steam Railway, a 2' gauge line just inside Cornwall with a fine fleet of Hunslets. Take "A look at Launceston" on "Geoff's Rail Diaries"

Page 3

Another set of Kenneth Gray's photos from the days of black and white, this time focusing on a single location. Visit "Carlisle", as it was around 50 years ago.

Page 2...

...of photos from the Kenneth Gray collection. This time, a purely Scottish selection - steam from the pre-grouping companies. Visit Scottish pre-grouping steam" on the monorail pages

The boat is back

Out of action since the disastrous storms of 2007, the ancient ferry at Hampton Loade on the river Severn is back in action (if that's the best way to describe it). Relying solely on the current, this is truly green transport.

More monorail...

Just published to the "monorail" pages, the first page of what promise to be a very interesting set - the Kenneth Gray collection. Here's a fairly random sample...

The high street, Blists Hill

The high street, Blists Hill
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Back to Blists Hill - another afternoon with some good light...

More on Flickr

The Vital Spark

The Vital Spark
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Inveraray - and tied up at the quay (admittedly in the custody of the maritime museum) is none other than the "Vital Spark", Para Handy's famous puffer.

Home the following day - via Dunoon and the Hunter's Quay - McInroy's Point ferry

More on Flickr...

The ferry, Armadale

The ferry, Armadale
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

The journey home - via the west coast and a couple of ferry crossings.

Firstly, from Armadale on Skye to Mallaig, then via Fort William and the Appin coast to the Connel bridge, and onwards via Loch Awe to Inveraray.

More photos on Flickr

Last of the light at Linicro

Last of the light at Linicro
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Skye - a fine evening in the north of the island - and some beautiful light in the last hour before sunset.

Lots more photos from this and other trips on Flickr

Accidental Steam...

Great Britain II, Gleneagles
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Should have done some homework before setting off... A trip to Skye, via Edinburgh, arranged at fairly short notice - never thought to see what was happening up there. We met the two locos - 45231 and 45407 - on Beattock bank as we drive northwards the previous day - quite a sight. Then, after an overnight stay in the Scottish capital, we continued northwards, via Falkirk and "the Wheel". As we drove up the A9 towards Perth, we noticed lots of people beside the railway line - we'd better find out what was going on.
It was of course the "Great Britain II" railtour - seven days of steam haulage. Yes, we'd seen the 5s on Beattock - if we'd been organised, we might have seen Scots Guardsman too.

Shades of the past in Canal Street

Shades of the past in Canal Street
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Blists Hill is expanding - here's a first look at the first part of the development - "Canal Street"...

Photo taken 5 April (and tweaked a little)

Superb Statfold Steam - 28 March '09

Ten locos in steam! Fantastic! Visit Ten in steam at Statfold on Geoff's Rail Diaries for the rest of the photos...