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A long way from its place of manufacture by Walkers in Queensland, South Australian Railways Rx class 4-6-0 steam locomotive looking pretty good in the park in Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, South Australia.
Although it was the same unit, I feel pretty lucky to catch a HH twice within a week. P75 returns to Andrews Yard from the C-Line in Cayce, SC. March 28, 2020.
6880 'Betton Grange" passing Tanygarth cottage in the stunning Dee Valley with a Ruabon to Barmouth local.
Taken during a TLE charter.
CN Local L514 is eastbound passing the approach signals for the Dyer, IN CSX interlocking, but still in Lynwood, IL. The aggregate loader has been there since the 1950's; one famous shot is of an EJ&E shark sitting here. This run has an assigned ICG caboose for the back up move from Griffith as far as Matteson, IL.
Photo by John Eagan
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Purbeck
The Isle of Purbeck, not a true island but a peninsula, is in the county of Dorset, England. It is bordered by the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay.[1] The most southerly point is St Alban's Head (archaically St. Aldhelm's Head). It is suffering erosion problems along the coast.
The whole of the Isle of Purbeck lies within the local government district of Purbeck, which is named after it. However the district extends significantly further north and west than the traditional boundary of the Isle of Purbeck along the River Frome.
In terms of natural landscape areas, the southern part of the Isle of Purbeck and the coastal strip as far as Ringstead Bay in the west, have been designated as National Character Area 136 - South Purbeck by Natural England. To the north are the Dorset Heaths and to the west, the Weymouth Lowlands.[
Geology
The geology of the Isle is complex. It has a discordant coastline along the east and concordant coastline along the south. The northern part is Eocene clay (Barton Beds), including significant deposits of Purbeck Ball Clay. Where the land rises to the sea there are several parallel strata of Jurassic rocks, including Portland limestone and the Purbeck beds. The latter include Purbeck Marble, a particularly hard limestone that can be polished (though mineralogically, it is not marble). A ridge of Cretaceous chalk runs along the peninsula creating the Purbeck Hills, part of the Southern England Chalk Formation that includes Salisbury Plain, the Dorset Downs and the Isle of Wight. The cliffs here are some of the most spectacular in England, and of great geological interest, both for the rock types and variety of landforms, notably Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and the coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site because of the unique geology.
In the past quarrying of limestone was particularly concentrated around the western side of Swanage, the villages of Worth Matravers and Langton Matravers, and the cliffs along the coast between Swanage and St. Aldhelm's Head. The "caves" at Tilly Whim are former quarries, and Dancing Ledge, Seacombe and Winspit are other cliff-edge quarries. Stone was removed from the cliff quarries either by sea, or using horse carts to transport large blocks to Swanage. Many of England's most famous cathedrals are adorned with Purbeck marble, and much of London was rebuilt in Portland and Purbeck stone after the Great Fire of London.
By contrast, the principal ball clay workings were in the area between Corfe Castle and Wareham. Originally the clay was taken by pack horse to wharves on the River Frome and the south side of Poole Harbour. However in the first half of the 19th century the pack horses were replaced by horse-drawn tramways. With the coming of the railway from Wareham to Swanage, most ball clay was dispatched by rail, often to the Potteries district of Staffordshire.
Quarrying still takes place in Purbeck, with both Purbeck Ball Clay and limestones being transported from the area by road. There are now no functioning quarries of Purbeck Marble.
Wild flowers
The isle has the highest number of species of native and anciently introduced wild flowers of any area of comparable size in Britain.[3] This is largely due to the varied geology. The species most frequently sought is Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys sphegodes), which in Britain, is most common in Purbeck. Nearly 50,000 flowering spikes were counted in 2009. Late April is the best time, and the largest population is usually in the field to the west of Dancing Ledge. Smaller numbers can be seen on a shorter walk in Durlston Country Park. This orchid is the logo of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Cowslip meadows (Primula veris and Primula deorum) are at their best shortly afterwards and Durlston Country Park has several large ones.
In early May several woods have carpets of Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum). King's Wood and Studland Wood, both owned by the National Trust, are good examples. At around the same time and later some Downs have carpets of yellow Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa) and blue Chalk Milkwort (Polygala calcarea). In late May the field near Old Harry Rocks has a carpet of yellow Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria).
Blue and white flowers of Sheep's bit (Jasione montana) and pink and flowers of Sea Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) lend colour to Studland dunes in June. Both Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata) and Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) are frequent on Corfe Common that month, and Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) and Purple Betony (Stachys officinalis) flowers add colour to the Common in July.
Dorset Heath (Erica ciliaris), the county flower, can be found in July and August in large numbers, especially on and around Hartland Moor, in damper parts of the heathland. Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) gives displays of yellow flowers there in early July. Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) is found less frequently in similar areas from mid August to mid September.[3]
Roman, Saxon and Norman
A number of Romano-British sites have been discovered and studied on the Isle of Purbeck, including a villa at Bucknowle Farm near Corfe Castle, excavated between 1976 and 1991.[4] The Kimmeridge shale of the isle was worked extensively during the Roman period, into jewellery, decorative panels and furniture.[5]
At the extreme southern tip of Purbeck is St Aldhelm's Chapel which is Norman work but built on a Pre-Conquest Christian site marked with a circular earthwork and some graves. In 1957 the body of a 13th century woman was found buried NNE of the chapel which suggests there may have been a hermitage in the area. In 2000 the whole chapel site was declared a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The precise function of the chapel building is disputed with suggestions that it may have been a religious retreat, a chantry for the souls of sailors who had drowned off St Aldhelm's Head or even a lighthouse or warning bell to warn sailors. Victorian restoration work of the chapel found signs that a beacon may have adorned the roof. The present cross on the roof is Victorian.
The town of Wareham retains its Saxon earth embankment wall and it churches have Saxon origins. One of these, St Martins-on-the-Walls was built in 1030 and today contains traces of medieval and later wall paintings.
At Corfe Castle village is the great castle which gives the village its modern name. The castle commands the strategic gap in the Purbeck Ridge. The present castle dates from after the Conquest of 1066 but this may replace Saxon work as the village was the place where Saxon King Edward the Martyr had been murdered in 978. The supposed place of his murder is traditionally on, or near, the castle mound. Corfe was one of the first English castles to be built in stone - at a time when earth and timber were the norm. This may have been due to the plentiful supply of good building stone in Purbeck.
Sir John Bankes bought the castle in 1635, and was the owner during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Mary Bankes, led the defence of the castle when it was twice besieged by Parliamentarian forces. The first siege, in 1643, was unsuccessful, but by 1645 Corfe was one of the last remaining royalist strongholds in Southern England and fell to a siege ending in an assault. In March that year Corfe Castle was demolished ('slighted') on Parliament's orders. Owned by the National Trust, the castle is open to the public. It is protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The isle
A large part of the district is now designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but a portion of the coast around Worbarrow Bay and the ghost village of Tyneham is still, after nearly 60 years, in the possession of the Ministry of Defence who use it as a training area. Lulworth Ranges are part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School at Lulworth Camp. Tanks and other armoured vehicles are used in this area and shells are fired. Due to safety reasons, right of entry is only given when the army ranges are not in operation. Large red flags are flown and flashing warning lamps on Bindon Hill and St Alban's Head are lit when the ranges are in use.[6] At such times the entrance gates are locked and wardens patrol the area.
Other places of note are:
Swanage, at the eastern end of the peninsula, is a seaside resort. At one time it was linked by a branch railway line from Wareham; this was closed in 1972, but has now reopened as the Swanage Railway, a heritage railway.
Studland: This is a seaside village in its own sandy bay. Nearby, lying off-shore from The Foreland (also Handfast Point), are the chalk stacks named Old Harry Rocks: Old Harry and his Wife.
Poole Harbour is popular with yachtsmen; it contains Brownsea Island, the site of the first-ever Scout camp.
Corfe Castle is in the centre of the isle, with its picturesque village named after it.
Langton Matravers, which was once the home of several boys preparatory schools until 2007 when the Old Malthouse closed.
Kimmeridge Bay, with its fossil-rich Jurassic shale cliffs, and site of the oldest continually working oil well in the world.
For a time during 2004, CSX removed all the through trains from the Hoosier Sub, leaving only the local trains, J772 north and J781 south. Leaving New Albany around mid-day with a train consisting of empties loads for Pillsbury, loads for North Vernon, and cars for Seymour, Mitchell and Logootee, made for great chase, with shots at Borden, Pekin, Fogg, Campbellsburg, Leipsic and this final shot at Turners at MP 267.5 on this December 2004 day.
This CSX local train is based out of Lyons, NY. They're westbound here over the wetlands at Montezuma after switching ADM a mile east of here, and Central New York Feeds in Jordan, NY. The consist is usually made up of grain cars and some occasional tankers; this boxcar (CSXT 142681) however is a mystery.
GWR Small Prairie 4555 steams along the Severn Valley Railway during a 30742 Charters photography day.
Locomotive: Great Western Railway 4500 Class 2-6-2T 4566.
Location: By the Crossing Cottage at the top of Eardington Bank on the Severn Valley Railway.
Norfolk Southern local train H04 is returning across the Bush River at Willoughby Beach over Amtrak's Northeast Corridor on March 26, 2021.
The venerable Lafayette Local works it’s way across the pastures of rural Boulder County nearing its destination at Lafayette. Mountains and Beautiful light and Fall splendor fill the air with popcorn showers and golden backlighting punch up our black ex Norfolk & Western power.
BNSF's Golden local works the yard in Golden, CO on a beautiful fall day. A pair of spiffy SD40-2s, both being former Santa Fe units, provide the power.
Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine
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Bus Transportation in Montreal is amazingly good with times specified for arrival or departures quite accurate. Not having a car means one has to be able to depend on buses and the City complies with enough of them so wait time is never more than maybe 20 minutes if one misses a bus.
These types of hives are all made with local materials.
The entrance hole is in the centre of the "pie".
Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family. Most species are placed in the genus Gallinula, Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots A familiar black bird of our lakes, ponds and rivers, the Moorhen is widespread
CN SD75i 5667 leads the way of the CN Limestone Job as it pushes seven limestone hoppers into the industry at Limestone, IL.
Hughes-Fowler '5MT' 2-6-0 'Crab' no.13065 powers through a sunny Burrs with the 14:10 Bury-Ramsbottom shuttle.
An unusually colourful fungus in the woods today and a new one for me.
Explored on 25/10/24, highest position: 455. Thank you to everyone for the comments, faves and group invitations. :-)
Day 22 for October 2024: A month in 31 pictures
#37 'Flecks of gold' for 124 pictures in 2024
Just continuing to fill in some random spots from last summer's whirlwind Montana getaway.
In this post I told the story about my last minute pilgrimage to Montana Rail Link on the cusp of its flag lowering: flic.kr/p/2nLhAy6
I'd only planned four days of shooting and the final day was only going to be a travel day. With the curfews around Bozeman and the dismal smoke conditions we slept in a bit, had a good breakfast downtown, and then I dropped my friend at the Bozeman airport. He'd elected to fly home from there instead of Missoula, but I had to head back west for my flight so after dropping him I headed for I90 and points west. Needing to be in Missoulal by 1500 I had just under an hour to play with so figured at least I could ghost foam somewhere or perhaps drop into Butte or Garrison or something along the way.
Anyway, about an hour west I realized I could take a five minute detour and drop into Whitehall. On our day chasing the Logan local we hadn't make it that far west since they traveled no further out the line than Sappington that day. In fact the famous stretch of track through the Jefferson River Canyon was the one significant and scenic stretch of MRL property still in service that I'd yet to see for myself. Frankly, I didn't think I'd get to since we hadn't lucked out with a ballast train during our short visit. But as I was cruising along I remembered my MRL contacts telling me that Thursday is the normal day the local makes the trek all the way to Whitehall if they have work so I crossed my fingers that perhaps they'd be working in town.
Well lo and behold lighting struck, because just as I got into the center of the small town this was whay I found!
And my timing could not have been more perfect because they were literally completing their air test on one car and were on the move back east within five minutes of me pulling up! Had they left 5 min earlier I'd never knwn or had they just gotten there I'd not have had time to wait around while they worked. But, miraculously the allotted extra time I had left I was exactly what I needed to chase them east for a dozen miles to and through the famed canyon where the Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited and the Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha once raced on opposite banks.
Here is the 844 Logan local with one covered hopper behind the same pair of classic EMD GP35s we'd chased to Harrison two days prior, MRL 403 and 405 blt. Dec 1964 as DRGW 3039 and Jan. 1964 as DTI 353 respectively. They are a few miles out of Whitehall making a good clip headed east approaching Tebay Lane at about MP 34.3 on MRL's 5th Sub mainline. The wildfire smoke has nearly obscured the mountains that would normally dominate the horizon to the west. It's only 18 miles in a straight line from here to Homestake Pass where the NP crossed the Continental Divide, but it's nearly 2000 feet higher!
Countless articles have been written about the MRL over the past 35 years of its existence and if you care to learn more download this great set courtesy of Trains Magazine:
www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TRN-MRL.pdf
Near unincorporated Cardwell
Jefferson County, Montana
Thursday September 8, 2022
At Half Moon Bay [next to Bahia Akumal] on the Riviera Maya. The section we were in of Akumal called Half Moon Bay isn’t overly crowded. But these iguanas like to visit and get some sun. They will let you take their photos if you don't move too fast.
A recreation of a Great Central stopping train heads past Woodthorpe during a Timeline Events photo charter in 2015.
Locomotive: LMS Stanier 5MT 4-6-0 45305.
Location: Woodthorpe, near Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Montana Rail Link's Paradise Local heads back west to Paradise after working Tricon Timber in St. Regis, Montana. The pair of GP9s leads the local past a patch of turbulent water in the Clark Fork River.