Chirk Castle

25 June - a Sunday afternoon outing to this fine old castle just across the Welsh border, near Chirk (between Oswestry and Llangollen). Interesting building, enjoyable gardens. It's a National Trust property - see here for more details

Very quiet on the roads on the way home (about 4.30 - 5.00pm) - can't think why...

Stapleford published

"Stapleford Revisited" now up on Geoff's Rail Diaries. Pictures and more than seven minutes of video

Blists Hill

A brief visit to Blists Hill Victorian Town, the chief site of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire. It's always an interesting place for a wander round on a Sunday afternoon - there are plenty of subjects for the camera (just wish I could find them!)

The three photos depict a (very) short road - "Foundry Alley" - which leads, oddly enough, to the iron foundry (not in use on this occasion); the toll house which once stood beside (Thomas) Telford's Holyhead Road, and a view from the garden to the locksmith's and the baker's.

Just back from Stapleford...

Just back from a second trip to Stapleford Steam - the annual steam gala based around the 10½" gauge miniature railway near Melton Mowbray.

Lots to see and do - tractions engines, steam rollers and lorries, old tractors, hog roast (we must keep the household authorities happy...)

A "Geoff's Rail Diaries" page will appear, no doubt, in a day or two, with photos and video footage - in the meantime, here are a few samples of the fun - or visit the 2003 trip page, or perhaps the Stapleford Miniature Railway's home page for details of future events

Remember Barry?

A new "monorail" page - "Remember Barry?" The great scrapyard contained around 300 locos at its peak; by the time of this visit in August 1983, perhaps 70 remained - the others gone to preservation, and a good few restored to full working order. Where would our preserved lines be now, if Dai Woodham had cut them up like his colleagues at Cashmores? - And what a shame the yard hadn't been in the north-east of England, or Scotland.... Ex-GWR, SR and LMS locos by the dozen, and one solitary ex-LNER locomotive, B1 61264

Statfold published

Statfold Barn Orenstein & Koppel Day 3rd June 2006 - published to Geoff's Rail Diaries

A trip to sunny Statfold

Just back from Statfold Barn Railway's "Orenstein and Koppel" event - and this time, the weather couldn't have been better, after the Siberian conditions for the March trip. "Every silver lining has a cloud", of course - the sun was invariably in the "wrong" place - i.e. directly above and behind trains coming up the bank. But never mind, it was an excellent day, with no less than 5 steam locos in action: -

• Statfold, the "new" Hunslet 3903/2005
• Trangkil, the last "old" Hunslet 3902/1971
• Harrogate - the fine 0-6-0ST Peckett 2050/1944
  
• O&K 614/1900, newly-restored as Pakis Baru No 1
• and visitor O&K "Montalban" 6641/1913 from the West Lancs

not forgetting the MR "Charley" 9976/1954 on the garden railway. A Rail Diaries page will of course appear in a day or two - when I've had a chance to work through the 200-odd digital images and the 15 minutes of video...

30587 (Horsehay) published

30587 page added to Geoff's Rail Diaries. Fun and games with the NRM's Beattie well tank at the Telford Steam Railway, Horsehay. 6 photos and 1 x 3 minute video compilation of the loco hard at work on the 1 in 40 gradient.

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Day out in North Staffs - a visit to Biddulph Grange gardens. Doesn't sound very exciting, I know - but it's actually an interesting exploration through a variety of individual gardens, linked by tunnels and passages.
Also a quick look at the landmark folly at Mow Cop (which my wife misread as Cow Mop - "what a funny name". I'm not sure that Mow Cop is any less funny, come to think of it...)