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| Arty Photograph Page. Every so often, a member of the club will submit a really artistic photograph for inclusion on the website. This page features some recent examples ... |
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Above: Contributions don't come much more artistic than this collage assembled by Bob Morgan, which depicts 'then and now' scenes near the Bristol end of what is now the Bath to Bristol Railway Path. This used to be Bob's stomping ground as a young lad, where he used to photograph traffic on this important ex-MR line. September 2008. (Bob Morgan) |
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| Above: Unless you know this site, you might have difficulty in working out how Bob Prigg captured this unusual shot of Consall station on the Churnet Valley Railway. Those in the know will realise that he photographed the station from the towpath of the Leek branch of the Trent & Mersey Canal. As can be seen, the amount of land available to the railway at this point was so limited that the railway engineers had to use cantilevers to project the platform partly over the waterway. Apart from the preserved railway, the remote Black Lion public house nearby is another good reason for visiting Consall. July 2008. (Bob Prigg) |
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| Above: This view reveals the truth of the above scene. Notice how far the passenger shelter has been cantilevered over the canal; you'd never see it again if you lost a coin through the floorboards of that! July 2008. (Bob Prigg) |
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| Above: The Consett and Sunderland Railway Path features a number of notable public artworks, which were commissioned by Sustrans at the time this old steel-carrying railway was converted into a trail. One of these artworks is a series of sculptures of cattle, the so-called 'Beamish Shorthorns' by Sally Matthews. Given the name of this installation, it will come as no surprise to learn that it is situated near Beamish by a small tunnel. All of these metal bovines were made from parts of old JCB diggers. May 2008. (Bob Prigg) |
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| Above: 'The Old Transformers' by David Kemp are situated near the west end of the Consett and Sunderland Railway Path, just as the old line climbs up through Leadgate to reach Consett, where the former steelworks dominated the landscape. These were once the largest steelworks in Europe and produced 'unimaginable quantities of steel'. People have asked David Kemp if the sculptures are permanent. He replies: 'Built from the heaviest steel available, the two transformers weigh over 14 tons and are 20 feet high. It may take some time before this steel rusts right back into the earth again.' Kemp's design gives these industrial relics a totemic quality, reminiscent of the art of north American indians. May 2008. (Bob Prigg) |
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| Above: Have you seen a finer portrait of a viaduct? This is Thornton Viaduct near Keighley in west Yorkshire, situated on the former line from Keighley to Queensbury, which Sustrans is working to convert into the Great Northern Trail. (It certainly will be great with engineering features like this along the way.) This latest section runs north from Headley Lane across the magnificent viaduct and then west for ¼ mile. It will only really become useful when it links up with the other sections, unless of course one just needs to cross the valley. Previous sections have been Cullingworth to Wilsden, and a short section near Queensbury. The new length is still independent of these but does include the viaduct. For further details, have a look at the supporting group's website, which can be accessed by clicking the link here. November 2008. (Photograph by Graeme Bickerdike; local information by Ralph Rawlinson) |
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| Above: This photograph may not be artistic in the conventional sense, but if the purpose of art is to surprise and to view the familiar in unfamiliar ways, then this shot does that in spades. This mouldering ruin is a GWR 'Toad' brake van viewed at Rhosaman on the Aman Valley line between Cwm-twrch Uchaf and Brynamman (see OS Landranger map 160, SN 7313). It is highly unusual for rolling stock to be abandoned like this, let alone to survive in a recognisable state for decades. February 2009. (Bob Prigg) |
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| Above: A train on the preserved West Somerset Railway sets off across Ker Moor on its way from Blue Anchor to Minehead. The WSR is one of the lucky lines which was closed by British Rail but came back from the dead, so, strictly speaking, it has no right to be included in these pages. However, this picture is so striking, and so English, that hopefully no one will object to the exception. Click here for a poem based on this photograph. May 2009. (John Fisher) |