Michael Crofts

Does this count? Tatton Park Farmyard. Not my pictures and I can't remember where they come from. Sorry about that.

That's a nice thought but I'm feeling somewhat dispirited myself. Your thread caught my imagination and I thought I could contribute dozens of examples, but I now realise that's because my memory was taking me back to the last century (God that sounds old) when I remember coming across complete railways that were closed but not lifted, and literally hundreds of bits of rail in the concrete and tarmac every time I went into an industrial estate or a port. In fact there's only a smattering left and although there must be others not yet mentioned here I think these last reminders of the old railways are few and far between. Anyway, must make the best of it, here's another The famous Fairfields shipyard, Glasgow. The heritage centre, genuine original track left in place, including a weighbridge.

Alderney. The railway is all original, consisting of the preserved section from the quarry down to Braye Road near the harbour. From there onwards it's almost all intact, but definitely abandoned, and although the Channel Islands aren't part of the UK I'm including it here because I happen to have some pictures taken on a visit in 2019 and the title thread doesn't actually exclude "foreign" places. Clicking on the image should take you to the album if you are interested, and you can see the thumbnails by clicking 'Back to album' in the top left corner.

When I lived quite close all those years ago I was told there was an original piece of Southwold track in the woods somewhere but I never found it and the only bit I'm sure is original is the Harbour spur, what's left of it.

Chilmark Quarry. Google aerial view dated 2022 shows the level crossing, possibly part of the roadside tramway, and the tracks in the Cutting Yard still there. And here's what it looked like on Streetview 13 years ago. There's very little about this on the internet so I have made a little album of Streetview snapshots for safekeeping. Click on this image below if you want to see the album.

I really don't know if this fragment of the original Southwold Railway is still there. Last time I saw it there was hardly anything, quite a contrast to how it was when I lived nearby in the late 1950s - 1960s. For those who don't know it's near the Harbourmaster's office and it's the end of the fish traffic spur which may or may not have seen regular revenue-producing trains. Photo by Ashley Dace, Geograph, CCL. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1758861 And this bit - still there? https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1881767

Andy Y of this forum posted some pictures of the last remnant of the Welshpool & Llanfair east of Raven Square. I can't find his original post so here's my stolen borrowed copy of one of his images.

Exeter City Basin. Hard to know how much is original, exposed and conserved, and how much has been restored and may or may not be the same as it originally was. My photos, 2021 The last image is by KDH archive - I think it is probably not the restored/conserved turntable but maybe someone here knows.

The "rails" in this example are buried beneath the tarmac (confirmed by metal detectors), but they run a bit further beyond the level crossing and are covered by compacted stone which occasionally washes away to reveal the metal. It's the Bixlade (or Bicslade) Tramway in the Forest of Dean, a plateway which originally had classic cast iron plates but what survives is steel "angle iron". The first image is mine, taken in 2021. The GWR ran the tramway for a time Here's a classic view taken very near the spot where the rails survive More information here: https://www.forestofdeanhistory.org.uk/learn-about-the-forest/bixlade-tramway-rails/

Now, a puzzle. I drove over these rails a few weeks ago and because I knew the location was a standard gauge level crossing I assumed that's what they were. I didn't know about this thread at the time - I would have photographed them if I had. The thing is, Google Streetview shows them clearly, and the NLS side-by-side maps confirm the location as the standard gauge Stonehouse Branch (Plymouth) level crossing of Rchmond Walk, but in the Streetview image they look narrow gauge. I think it must be distortion - does anyone know or have I got to go back with a tape measure? EDIT: It is standard gauge, see my post of 9 May 2023

Here's a 7 1/4" gauge miniature railway which lasted only a vey short time, but it included a level crossing and I'm told the rails are still there as pictured from Google Streetview in my Flickr album, here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/119194913@N05/albums/72177720298149134

And here's another 18" gauge line with abandoned rails in the road, at Haslar, Portsmouth, photographed in 2014. The rails were part of the Fort Blockhouse system. My pictures here, some public domain pictures included in my album here.

I can't find my notes and I can't remember when that part closed. The system was in roughly two halves. The northern half started at the packing sheds and ran south to a level crossing of Hollow Oak - this part has been lifted for some years. The southern half still existed in 2014 and I think it might still exist now, running further south past the locomotive storage point (there has never been a loco shed) to the end of the watercress beds. The Bere Regis website has a lot of good photos and links to other sources. I have made a little visual map which I hope you can read. It's online here temporarily or you can download it as a pdf:- Sylva_Springs_map_v1.pdf

I thought that the 18" gauge light railway at Bere Regis built by the Sylva Springs watercress company had been mentioned previously in this thread but I can't find it. It's now 8 years since I last visited but I hope the remaining rails in a concrete bridge may still be there. This was a proper system at one time and nearly half of it has remained in use for an amazing number of years. It was recently confirmed to still be there, but this is the bit that fits this topic best. I think it is at What3Words ///measuring.drill.fussy looking across the valley from Doddings to Hollow Oak (my photo): Here's the Google Streetview of the place seen from the left of my photo. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.7432259,-2.2116472,3a,75y,277.62h,95.89t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7QXSspI9JglCCQO1OQwsZg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 If you've got 5 minutes to waste you could do worse than explore this extraordinary survival of rural England on Streetview. More photos in my album (a lot more): https://www.flickr.com/photos/119194913@N05/albums/72157720232758091

Looking at your pictures of the Stroudwater Navigation I assume you have this, which reminded me of this thread while I was reading it a couple of days ago (a wonderful book IMHO): But do you have this? https://lightmoor.co.uk/books/severn-wye-railway-vol-5/L8658 The Severn & Wye Railway volume 5 covers Lydney Dock and has some very useful images of boats and small ships. Also the clutter of a working harbour used by vessels from both the coasting trades and the inland waterways which crossed from Sharpness or sailed up from Bristol. James Smart of Chalford sent his barges here, and across to Bullo Pill via the Framilode spur and lock This is one of the sample pictures on the publisher's site: By the way Brockweir (mentioned above, and only a few miles from my home) is the limit of ordinary tides on the Wye and it still has an official harbourmaster even though the last decent-sized vessel to pass through was, I believe, the Wye Invader about which I could ramble on for ages. For those who don't quite follow the geography of all this I would be willing to put up a map but I don't want to hijack Schooner's thread.

Almost certainly because the difference in track maintenance is stark. Question: I remember seeing little cast iron plates screwed to sleepers stating 'BR Maintenance Ends'. Did the Big Four and/or pre-grouping railways also have such plates where tracks passed out of their ownership and became private sidings?

I read somewhere that a really hard to trace sabotage method was to swap wagon labels so that munitions ended up in the arrivals roads of sugar beet factories and empty sugar beet wagons were sent to the Ruhr who didn't have much use for them. And no easy way to work out where to forward the misplaced wagons.

Well, yes, but Palace Green is the Castle/Cathedral end of the peninsula, not really the City Centre which I would say is the Market Place. And I'm not surprised there was a queue.

Yes, that's it. Well, parts of it. If you let me know when you would like to visit I will try and arrange a short guided tour. I live 280 miles away so it probably won't be me that shows you round. By the way your nice photo is "historic". To the left is the Guild Hall (which is also the Town Hall) and further left, out of shot, is the main entrance to the Indoor Market. The entrance you see with the red canopy is the "Fish Entrance" (because that's where the fishmongers were - and we still have one) which leads to the "Three Day End" which used to be open only 3 days a week. It's all 6 days a week now. And to the right of that is the historic bit, the Tourist Information Centre (TIC). This end (or side) of the market was, when I joined the board, leased from the City Council. We managed to purchase the freehold (if we hadn't done that we wouldn't be there now) and the City then leased back the TIC. Oh my word, that caused some raised hackles. Sadly the TIC then decanted itself to the new development which caused such trouble for the City hierarchy that then existed, and then it closed, so now there is no TIC in Durham. Your photo also shows the surface of the Market Place which was re-laid as part of an extraordinarily expensive scheme using taxpayer money which included a "modern" "hidden" drainage scheme. When it was being put in I looked at it and said 'It won't work'. It doesn't. Under the flagstones to the left is the last public lavatory of Durham City Centre. It's intact, just as it was when the last cistern was flushed, but it's blocked off and inaccessible, leaving the Market Hall to provide the only available lavatory, which costs a fortune to run, and for which we have to pay all the costs. One thing the Edwardians got right (and the Victorians too in the second half of their epoch) was public toilets. Now they seem to be a thing of the past. Not a very edifying subject but they are an essential component of a civilised society, and they are gradually disappearing everywhere you look, often replaced by signs instructing inhabitants and visitors not to U or D in the street.

Hello from a long-term lurker, inspired by all the recent talk of Durham to request that if your path takes you that way you consider visiting the Durham Indoor Market in our cherished 19th century Market Hall where we have recently installed a 45mm gauge model railway (which the Manager used to call a train set). This is an attempt to entice children into the place and it is working. It was constructed in sections at my home (but not by me) and taken up in vans. My family has been part of the Markets Company for 171 years (of which the last 32 years has been my stint, most recently as Chairman) and we have to keep thinking of ways to reinvent the place so that it stands a fighting chance of lasting another 171 years, hence the model railway. Anyway, this is a shameless plug and should be treated with the disdain it deserves, but hopefully it won't be declared ultra vires and deleted by the Committee. By the way, I think the best value hotel in Durham at the moment is the Bannatyne. I'm just a customer - no connection. I have gone right off Premier Inns.

That's made me think of the caravan I bought on which my electrician discovered during testing that the previous owner had added a second mains electricity plug/inlet for connecting "shore" power, on the opposite side of the caravan to the factory-fitted plug, at toddler height. Not a railway story except that the caravan was for seasonal staff at the Perrygrove Railway.

Posted by Andy Kirkham. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/165080-interesting-and-inspiring-photos-from-flickr/?do=findComment&comment=4911151

I love layouts where you can look along the tracks and get a real sense of perspective. Hunstanton - Credit: Nigel Simon, Facebook EDIT: After I posted this the creator of this composite colourised image commented as follows: 'its not without flaw, it is a composition made from many images , parts of images.'.... 'it is a colourisation and sharpening flaw, unavoidable when one needs to have pixel perfect alignment and introduce colours that blend'... 'one has to choose a colour and its blending, one has to align parts of images that do not align with others by perspective, so need to be repositioned, resized, change of perspective and angle of view.... it means working to pixel accuracy else it will not combine... one could for example make it grey scale, and blur it... then sepia, it would look like a very old image then.. not an image taken yesterday.. I hope it lives on beyond me, since I made it for myself, but think its memory worth giving... so if I don't share it, it would just disappear with me.....' Nigel has also posted his composite image before colouring:

That is one of the most clever view blockers I've ever seen. You really cannot see the cut-out where the track goes through the backscene because it's hidden behind the houses. Do we know whether forced perspective has been used, in which case it really only works from this viewpoint, or whether it works equally well from a viewpoint further to the right?

I have a few pictures of goods shed interiors in my collection but nothing from the area where Porth Dinllaen is located. However I think goods shed cranes were made by specialist manufacturers and similar patterns might be found all over the country. Felixstowe, by Blue Pelican, Flickr Felixstowe, by Blue Pelican, Flickr Felixstowe, by Blue Pelican, Flickr Saxmundham, from Flickr Chappel & Wakes Colne, by Webrarian, Flickr Chappel & Wakes Colne, by Webrarian, Flickr Hassocks, by Linda Chen, Flickr Burfield, from 'The Railway Goods Shed and Warehouse' by Historic England Congresbury, from 'The Railway Goods Shed and Warehouse' by Historic England