rogerfarnworth

I have just started a thread on the Disused Railways area on the Forum about the Co. Donegal Railways. We were due a holiday which did not happen because of Covid-19 and we would have spent quite a bot of time walking on the old railways in Donegal on a self-planned holiday. It might be of interest.

My wife and I were due to spend a couple of weeks walking in Co. Donegal in April and May 2020. Instead, we remained at home in Ashton-under-Lyne and continuing to do the jobs we love! I would have been writing a blog about our journeys and walks but instead I have started a series about the 3ft-gauge Co. Donegal Railways. ..... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/27/co-donegal-railways-ireland-part-1-the-glenties-branch-stranorlar-to-ballinamore

This second post in this series looks at the railways to the East of the Canal and Docks in Gloucester - The High Orchard Branch, the Hempsted Branch and the sidings associated with both these lines and the East side of the Docks. ... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/28/gloucester-docks-and-railways-part-2-the-high-orchard-branch-and-railways-to-the-east-side-of-the-docks

Neil Parkhouse, in one of his fantastic collections of colour photographs from the last decades of steam in Gloucestershire (British Railway History in Colour) focusses on the Midland lines serving the docks, specifically three lines in the area - the Tuffley Loop; the High Orchard Branch; and the Hempsted or New Docks Branch. The Western approaches to the docks are covered in the first volume of the series. This thread is designed to cover the Railways of the Docks - the first post below is a general over view. Elsewhere I have posted about the ancient tramroad that first served the docks - it was a 3ft 6in gauge plateway which ran between Gloucester and Cheltenham - The Gloucester and Cheltenham Plateway. My following posts on the thread will seek to follow the routes of the various branches and their sidings. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/17/gloucester-docks-and-railways-part-1

This post results from reading Issue No. 30 of the "Railway Archive" Journal. It contains an article about the locomotives originally purchased for the Cornwall Minerals Railway. That company dramatically over-ordered motive power and when it lease was taken over by the GWR, 50% of its original order were returned to the manufacturer Sharp, Stewart of Manchester. Eight if these locomotives found their way to the Lynn & Fakenham Railway and eventually onto the books of the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway. This first post about the Cornwall Minerals Railway highlights these locomotives. ... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/17/the-cornwall-minerals-railway-part-1

I have posted a further three posts about this tramroad on RMWeb at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/188-the-railways-of-gloucestershire-and-the-forest-of-dean/

This is the final instalment of the articles about the Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad. ... Part 4 covers the length which ran through the City of Gloucester to the Docks. ...... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/08/the-gloucester-and-cheltenham-tramroad-part-4

The Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad - Part 3. .... This length of the tramroad takes us from central Cheltenham to the suburbs of Gloucester. .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/06/the-gloucester-and-cheltenham-tramroad-part-3

I have just completed the second part of a journey along the Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad. This length runs from the bottom of Leckhampton Hill to the junction with the Tramroad's main line to the Northeast of what is now Cheltenham Railway Station. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/05/02/the-gloucester-and-cheltenham-tramroad-part-2

This next post gives some insight into what is being achieved in Iran at the moment. I must acknowledge that it is not a comprehensive report on Iran's Railways in the 21st Century, merely a snapshot of what has been happening. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/25/railways-in-iran-part-7-some-limited-reflections-on-irans-railways-in-the-21st-century

After spending a bit of time reading Neil Parkhouse's recent series on the railways of Gloucester - entitled "British Railway History in Colour" and published by The Lightmoor Press, I have stared looking at the ancient tramroad which served Gloucester Docks and Cheltenham and Leckhampton Hill. There is an excellent little book about this by David Bick. The first post in this short series focusses on the remote end of the branch-line which served Leckhampton Quarries. A small part of the tramroad outside the quarry boundaries remained in use up until the turn of the 20th Century. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/23/the-cheltenham-and-gloucester-tramroad-part-1

After spending a bit of time reading Neil Parkhouse's recent series on the railways of Gloucester - entitled "British Railway History in Colour" and published by The Lightmoor Press, I have stared looking at the ancient tramroad which served Gloucester Docks and Cheltenham and Leckhampton Hill. There is an excellent little book about this by David Bick. The first post in this short series focusses on the remote end of the branch-line which served Leckhampton Quarries. A small part of the tramroad outside the quarry boundaries remained in use up until the turn of the 20th Century. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/23/the-cheltenham-and-gloucester-tramroad-part-1

I have just finished reading the fourth book of five so far published in this series by Neil Parkhouse. I have quite a library of Railway Books and the books in this series are among the best I have, alongside a number from the same publisher, Lightmoor Press. ..... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/17/book-series-review-neil-parkhouse-british-railway-history-in-colour

Fantastic Photo, Paul.

One of the joys of doing research is discovering little gems in surprising places. This happened to me just recently as I was searching for information and particularly for images associated with the railways of Iran up to the end of the Second World War. The result is this next article which I have agreed with Lancaster City Museum and the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum. ...... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/railways-in-iran-part-12-photographs-from-the-second-world-war

After the Revolution. ...... This next post brings the story of the Railways of Iran up to the Millenium. .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/railways-in-iran-part-5-from-1980-to-1999

To finish the collection of translated articles from other sources, this post focuses on chapters from a book written in Danish in the 1930s about the filming of a documentary about the building of the Tran-Iranian Railway. ...... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/13/railways-in-iran-part-8-foreign-articles-collection-b

This post includes two articles from journals published in other countries translated for an English audience. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/10/railways-in-iran-part-9-foreign-articles-collection-c

Fantastic stuff Tony. Thanks for sharing.

While undertaking the research for these articles on the railways in Iran. I was delighted to find some material in a number of European language posted on a thread about the Railways of Iran on the SJK Postvagen forum. This next post is numbered out of sequence as I have already begun work of the period from the 1980s onwards, but the material is really interesting (in my view). I have had to use Google Translate to get the first draft of the different papers referred to in the link article and then I have had to clarify or paraphrase a number of things to make the text work in English. .... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/04/03/railways-in-iran-part-6-foreign-articles-collection-a

Recently I picked up a new copy of this book for less than the price of a railway magazine at the newsagent. I have been enjoying reading it. .......... This is a short review. ....... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/30/railways-of-the-great-war-book-review

The rule of the Shah in the 1970s became increasingly authoritarian. The royal family appropriated a large amount of the country's income for themselves and gradually the clerics became less and less content with the ruling classes. The result, as we know, was major political change at the end of the decade. The railways continued to serve the country and saw some significant developments during the decade. I hope you find this next article interesting. ... http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/30/railways-in-iran-part-4-1970s

Sorry, Paul, I cannot at the moment work out what is happening for you.

After the War, Iran's railways experienced a period of relative stagnation. Significant developments did not occur until the 1950s. http://rogerfarnworth.com/2020/03/28/railways-in-iran-part-3-1945-to-the-1960s

Hi Paul, I will have to look at that. Others seem to be posting on the blog OK. My apologies to you.