Lets go all the way back to 1838 when the Miami and Erie Canal was in use. it was the main way people traveled in the early days of Ohio History, by canal boat or by horse.This area was pretty undeveloped at that time and there were still hostiles roaming around. It was an easy laid back slow way to travel.

Then in the mid 1800's the railroads were starting to be built. The Baltimore and Oho was the first freight and passenger railroad that started to expand toward the old northwest territory from the populated centers of the east coast. By the late 1800's the railroad had reached as far west as Ohio and Michigan. they could move freight and passengers much quicker and in larger quantities than the canal boats. As more rail branches were built, like this one they soon put the canal boats out of business. This one connected every small town and village between the major urban centers of Ohio. It's the way people traveled in the late 19th century and half way through the twentieth.

In the early twentieth century horses were still they way people got around. The automobile was a novelty and only the wealthy who had the means could purchase one. Then a guy Named Henry Ford came a long and everything changed . he figured he could manufacture a car cheep enough by mass producing the parts ( all the same for every car produced ) and using an assembly line to put them together. they would be more affordable because of mass production than the hand crafted models that were representative of the cars already on the roads. Most were dirt roads and around urban areas some were starting to be made of brick.

Well cheaper cars meant that the common Joe could afford one. That meant that the unpaved roads would have to be upgraded so the the new mode of transportation, the automobile and a little later the truck would have a more stable and efficient way to deliver people and goods to the intended destination. ( during the winter and rainy seasons the dirt roads could become a morass of mud and water which was manageable on a horse but not a wheeled vehicle of any kind ). As the automobile became a more popular mode of transportation, programs were started by state and federal governments to create roads to connect towns and cities many of which were not on a rail line so people and goods could reach these out of the way places. people no longer took the railroad to travel, they drove their car, especially to places where there was no railroad. So as passenger service declined the railroads became long haul freight lines with the big cities becoming hubs where trucks would then deliver freight to towns and villages off the rail lines. Its still that way today.

In Grand Rapids and a lot of the smaller towns have no major industry, The stops were mainly for passengers and with everybody driving, there was no need to continue service on there branches and they were abandoned. Today even some of the larger cities but with populations under 50'000 still use trucks to ship the products from the industries they do have. It wouldn't pay for the railroad to have a siding at those plants.

Things now are changing again and I don't think the electric craze is going to work. To many problems to overcome. What ever does happen I am sure, like the canal boat, autos will become a thing of the past.

This climate change thing is real but not for the current reasons stated by the government or the people who are trying to force us to use their products. We are going to have to find a cleaner less polluting way of doing things. I will not argue that fact. The earth goes through cyclical changes and there are catastrophic events associated with them. We have no control over these, even if we quit using cars, planes and trucks or plug the anus of every cow on the planet with a cork, it's not going to make a difference. We are still going to suffer through what ever happens and probably a lot of people won't make it. ( Usually those in the lesser developed countries ) Ironically, those most likely to survive are the ones who practice substance level living, The natives of South America and other primitive cultures .

Overcome challenges, break records.

The sky is the limit for warriors.

Fight against all your limitations.

This is a leaf from a Bible that was probably produced in France (or perhaps in England) c.1200.

The text is from the First Book of Maccabees beginning at chapter 1, in verse 22 and ending at chapter 3 in verse 1.

The size of the leaf is 264mm x 191mm (10 4/10ins. x 7 11/20ins.).

ILLUMINATION AND DECORATION: -

The decoration of this leaf is particularly interesting in that it was completed at two different times. The original decoration is: -

Seven red or blue initials with contrasting pale blue or red penwork (one thirteen-line), six two-line; and

Headlines in red and blue capitals.

Added a little later are: -

Chapter numbers in the margin in red and blue preceded by paraph marks in highly burnished gold with blue penwork.

GENERAL COMMENTS: -

This is a superb addition to the collection for two reasons. Firstly, except for a small stain in the bottom margin of the recto, it is in extremely good, clean condition and has been written by a very competent scribe. Secondly, whilst it is not possible to say whether the origin of the leaf is France or England, it is possible, with some degree if certainty, to date it to c.1200.

The leaf was certainly written after c.1175 because where “pp” is written the letters bite into each other. The leaf cannot have been written after the first year or two of the thirteenth century because the decorated initials here are of the style that Bibles were written before Stephen Langton standardised the chapter numbers. Prior to him doing this, Books of the Bible were often divided into short, impractical and non-standard little sections. On this leaf those sections have the decorated initials at: -

Recto: -Chapter 1,verse 57 “D”Chapter 2, verse 1 “I”

Chapter 2, verse 15 “E”

Verso: -Chapter 2, verse 29 “T”Chapter 2, verse 40 “E”

Chapter 2, verse 49 “E”Chapter 3, verso 1 “E”

Standardisation became necessary because commentaries were being written, and for study. In order to overcome the problem of these little sections, the Bibles that had been produced had the new, standard, chapter numbers added in the margins and that is what has been done here, with the added improvement of illumination.

Ins. Nos. 0441 and 0443 are from the same Bible.

hope4teens.org/

On the following videos, you will hear the stories of teens who have struggled with depression, anger, addiction, pornography, and suicide. These stories, unlike some, have a happy ending. Each teen has learned new skills for coping, relationship-building, and maintaining a positive perspective in life.

Pierre came to C.A.R.E.S. because he was “angry and insecure.” He was on several medications and was having problems with his parents and siblings. With the support team at C.A.R.E.S., he has been able to reduce his medications, learn to like himself, and realize that others care for him.

hope4teens.org/

For a full play list of Heart Transformation videos visit youtube.com/HeartTransformation

If you would like to know more about Heart Transformation and how it can help you or a loved one, visit us at hearttransformation.com or call us at (855) 992-4000.

For more information about C.A.R.E.S Treatment and how it can help your loved one on their path to recovery, go to

►Website: hearttransformation.com

►Facebook: facebook.com/hearttransformation

►Instagram: instagram.com/hearttransformation

►Twitter: twitter.com/hearttransform

GREENVILLE – Wearing the Green and White No. 17 for the Green Wave girls soccer team, Moreah Donthnier was moved to tears when her brother US Army Private First Class Micah Donthnier made a surprise return from a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan surprising his sister Saturday afternoon prior to the playing of the National Anthem on the field at Harmon Stadium for a soccer match between Lady Wave and Eaton.

soldier2“I just got done with reintegration this week,” said PFC Donthnier. “Just got on the bus… just been home for a couple of hours.”

Overcome with emotion, Moreah sprinted across the rain soaked field to greet her brother with hugs of joy as the two embraced on the field next to the American flag carried by a member of Greenville’s Naval Junior ROTC.

As the brother and sister embraced on the field, fans from both Eaton and Greenville applauded and cheered in appreciation and admiration.

“I’m glad she (Moreah) is fine… I’m glad my family is fine,” said PFC Donthnier. “Good to be home. It’s very good to be home.”

The reunion on the field took place just a couple of hours after Private First Class Donthnier had arrived back in Greenville with the surprise meeting arranged on short notice between Shalissa Donthnier the mother of the two siblings and Greenville varsity girls soccer coach Steve Shepard.

“I’m so glad we got to be a part of this,” said an emotional Coach Shepard. “We can’t thank the soldiers enough. When Mo’s (Moreah) mom texted me about doing it… I sure was happy to be part of it because this is special.”

“I was planning on surprising but just not quite at this magnitude,” said Donthnier. “This got sprung on me at the last moment, so I was like… alright, can do.”

“It was my mother’s,” said PFC Donthnier when asked whose idea the soccer field surprise reunion was. “Of course it is always my moms,” chuckled Donthnier.

Prior to reporting to Fort Sill (Lawton, Oklahoma) for basic training, PFC Donthnier worked at McDonalds Southtown and Walmart in Greenville.

PFC Donthnier served with the 1/327th Infantry, 1st Brigade 101st Division in Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

Having just completed reintegration at Fort Campbell, PFC Donthnier will spend two weeks of leave before returning to base, “to go back into another training cycle,” said PFC Donthnier.

Looking to the future while serving with the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Division, PFC Donthnier stated, “We are always deployment ready.”

Ruben Bart

BELICE

2023

We shall overcome, we shall overcome,

We shall overcome someday;

Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,

We shall overcome someday.

Built in 1912 this electrically powered train winds it's way through the mountains of the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The railway is characterized, amongst other things, by the fact that it is narrow gauge, the track width being 914 mm (an English yard/approx. 3ft), which is infrequent nowadays; moreover its rolling stock is extremely varied and meticulously finished, and maintained using traditional methods.

The Sóller railway also stands out for the special, attractive route it runs along, overcoming the natural barrier of the Sierra de Alfàbia mountain range which is 2.8 km wide and 496 metres (approx. 1500ft) high. To do so, in just seven kilometres, the railway rises up 199 metres(approx. 600ft) with an inclination of 23 millimetres, runs through thirteen longitudinal tunnels ranging in length from 33 to 2,876 metres, crosses over several bridges, the “cinc-ponts” viaduct which has five arches with spans 8 metres high and a great many bends, some with radii below 190 metres.

The Sóller Train transports the traveller from the hustle and bustle of Plaza Espanyol in central Palma past Bunyola's olive groves and Alfabia gardens and into the tranquillity of the Tramuntana Mountains. Although some call it the Red Lightning, it only travels slowly, taking an hour to reach Port Sóller. Others know it as the 'Orange Train' even though there is only orange paint on the lead and tail carriages of the train running to the Port. So why did it get its name?

Sóller is a unique place, hidden in an isolated valley and the market gardeners of Sóller had been looking for a way to get their produce to Palma for years. They had to rely on horse drawn wagons to make the difficult ten hour journey over the steep mountain pass. While farmers across the rest of the island looked forward to using new petrol driven lorries to move their produce to Palma's markets at the start of the 20th Century, they were unable to negotiate the endless hairpin bends on the road to Sóller.

While it looked like Sóller was destined to remain isolated from the island (and the tunnel used by drivers today did not open until 1997), the discovery of Vitamin C and its health benefits at the end of the 19th Century meant that the demand for citrus fruit escalated.

The people of Sóller wanted to cash in and Jeroni Estades was commissioned to study a railway from Palma to Sóller in 1893. He chose a route which went via Valldemossa and then along the coast through Deià, rather than rely on a tunnel to get under the Sóller pass. The plan was rejected as being too expensive.

In 1903 the industrialist Joan Morell proposed a direct route, which would cross the Serra d'Alfàbia, then pass through a tunnel under Coll de Sóller before making a 180 degree turn to reduce the gradient down into Sóller town. It too was turned down but Jeroni Estades i Llabrés , a local politician, persisted and engineer Pere Garau's plans were given a favourable response when they were made public in Sóller's Town Hall.

Most of the families in Sóller bought shares in Estades' railway company, the Compañía de Navegación Sollerense, raising 3.5 million pesetas, in the hope they would cash in on the orange trade.

Work started on the line in 1907 and the workmen carved a route through the mountains, building bridges and blasting thirteen tunnels through the mountain range. After only five years of hard work, the railway was ready. Steam driven trains had been bought from England and they were similar to the San Francisco style street cars. On 16 April 1912 the first flower soller train mallorcabedecked train was cheered as it rolled into Sóller station; the market gardeners had fulfilled their dream and the first trainloads of citrus fruits rolled into Palma during the season.

To begin with the train line between Palma and Sóller was steam driven but in 1929 overhead electricity cables were installed. The shorter section to the Port was always electrically powered. In the 1980s it seemed that improvements to lorries would take much of the Orange Train's business while plans to install a tunnel under the mountains threatened its very existence. However, the huge rise in the tourist industry was going to throw the 70 year-old railway a life line. The first class carriages were restyled with leather seats, mahogany panelling and luggage racks while the second class carriages had wooden benches.

In recent years, the Train and Art Foundation was established to commission art exhibitions to enhance the train trip. An exhibition of Mallorcan landscapes can be found in the Palma station, while exhibitions of Joan Miró and Picasso ceramics can be visited in Sóller town railway station; the Ca'n Prunera Museum of Modernist Art has been set up in a Sóller mansion.

Travellers can now enjoy the regular service between Palma and Sóller, enjoying the views as the train rattles through the olive groves north of Palma before diving under the two mile long tunnel under Coll de Sóller. The driver then makes a short stop at Mirador des Pujol d'En Banya, overlooking Sóller town, before making the long descent. After a look around the town there is time to continue the journey into the Port.

www.mallorcadaysout.com/5.1.html

Sorry for the long narrative but it's a great piece of history.

Overcome

Ruben Bart

BELICE

2023

~ Jimi Hendrix

IMG_6436

The Laso Transportes slogan.

Seagull

Southern ITALY

No crop

No tripod

Giornata al freddo, sotto l'acqua e nel vento..... ma bella

If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we've destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?

-------

Se la nostra amicizia dipendesse da cose come lo spazio e il tempo, allora, una volta superato lo spazio e il tempo, noi avremmo anche distrutto questo nostro sodalizio! Non ti pare? Ma se superi il tempo e lo spazio, non vi sarà nient'altro che l'Adesso e il Qui, il Qui e l'Adesso. E non ti sa che, in questo Hic et Nunc, noi avremo occasione di vederci, eh, ogni tanto?"

The background of our living room has been blacked out - by me (am not an expert at these things!). Smudge (on the left) is no longer with us. The two cats weren't particularly good friends. Cleo - on the left having being intoduced to the family much later, there was some resentment from Smudge that she wasn't the only cat any more. Anyway, their mutual interest in the fish managed to overcome the fact that they didn't like being very close to each other!

I am so! I can not stop, because with each passing day I try to overcome my own personality, smashing everything inside me that is old and dead, because fighting is the key word that raises the weak and some strong.

The important thing is to plant, producing millions of smiles solidarity and friendship ... Seeking to sow optimism and plant seeds of peace and justice; I say what I think ...

I think what I do with faith I do with love and dedication, striving to be better every day, because goodness is also learned.

I'm starting a new job because this gift was God who granted me the most and I take putting my intellect to function at full throttle even getting nothing in return; I do it just for the pleasure of performing a drawing more than likely please many and not others; By far this is my task to do and show ... Ok?

Big hug ...

Sincerely.

Marcos Robles.

As I drove by this scene today and couldn't help but think how out of place this boat seemed and it made me think of how lucky we are to live here and how awful it must have been to be in that earthquake and tsunami that I watched unfolding live on TV last night where their whole world is now out of place...thoughts and prayers are with Japan.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War.

After that, the Brazilian government took over the operation from the United States in 1966 and the IAPF was disbanded in 1967, what also marked the end of the F4U’s service in the Forza Aérea Paraguaya.

General characteristics

Crew: 1 pilot

Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.2 m)

Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)

WS Folded: 17 ft 0.5 in (5.2 m)

Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)

Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,174 kg)

Loaded weight: 12,405 lb (5,626 kg)

Powerplant:

1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-32(E) radial engine,

rated at a maximum power of 2,850 hp (2,130 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 453 mph (395 kn, 731 km/h)

Range: 897 mi (602 nmi/1.115 km)

Service ceiling: 41,500ft (12,649 m)

Rate of climb: 3,870ft/min (19.7 m/s)

Armament:

4× 0.79 in (20 mm) M2 cannon plus up to 4.000 pounds (1.800 kg) external ordnance,

incl. up to 10× 5" (12.7 cm) high velocity aircraft rockets, bombs or drop tanks

The kit and its assembly:

I am not certain what struck me when I started this one. It’s actually the leftover Italeri F4U-7 that I recently bought just for the French markings (for the ‘Bourrasque’ whif), which was still left on the work bench. Wondering about the type’s late Middle and South American operators I suddenly had Paraguay on the radar, no idea why.

Checking the country’s air force history I found that it was just a small air arm, and that the roundels resemble French markings a lot. A deep search in the decal box revealed some suitable roundels, and from that things evolved gradually…

As mentioned before, F4Us in smaller American air arms’ service is nothing exotic, so this one would be subtle. Hence I decided not to mess too much with the kit. It was basically built OOB, only changes were:

• Using the F4U-5 cowling that comes with the kit

• Lowering the flaps for added drama

• A different, cuffed propeller from a Hobby Boss P-47D with deeper blades

• The single OOB exhaust pipes were replaced by thin styrene tubes

• The arrester hook disappeared, as well as its opening behind the tail wheel

Since this would become a pure fighter I did not put any HVARs or bombs under the wings, but the OOB drop tanks were used.

The kit itself is nicely detailed, with engraved panels, and goes together well. Only issues I had were mounting the cowling, where the intakes run into nowhere and need some putty assistance, and the wing part needed some filling at the fuselage intersection.

Painting and marking:

Exotic realism was the intention, and painting this one was more fun than building it, even though this whif was to be kept rather subtle and unflashy. And how to paint a Paraguayan aircraft?

For inspiration I took a look at aerial landscape photographs of the country, and since the machines were supposed to be bought directly from the USA I decided to apply the classic USAF SEA scheme on the Corsair. It’s a perfect match, and the USAF scheme looks a bit weird on the naval bird. I like that!

Operation “Power Pack” was another historical fact that would match the type’s fictional service time frame with Paraguay: The South-American country actually did take part in the Dominican Republic intervention as a part of the Inter-American Peace Force, but not with aircraft or the way I cooked it up. Anyway, the IAPF duty would be a good reason for extra markings on the Corsair, so that it would look less Vietnam-esque.

The SEA scheme colors are partly authentic FS tones: the greens, FS 34102 and 34079, are ModelMaster Authentic tones. The tan, originally FS 30219, is a slightly darker tone, "French Earth Brown", also from ModelMaster. The undersides, originally FS 36622, were painted with FS 16515 (Canadian Voodoo Grey), which is a tad darker, too, and more blue-ish.

On top of that a light black ink wash was applied, in order to emphasize details and add a worn look, plus light dry-brushing for panel shading with lighter tones.

The oil stains were painted with thinned dark grey stains, the exhaust soot with matt black. Furthermore, some dry-brushing with Aluminum simulates chipped/flaked paint in some areas, but not too much.

All interior surfaces were painted in a Zinc Chromate Primer tone - I used Humbrol 159 as basic tone (not as "loud" as the treu tone), plus some dry-brusing with RLM 02.

All markings were puzzled together from the decals archive. The FAP roundels are a selection of various French roundels without the typical yellow rim and with very dark blue dots in the middle. The roundels’ size is relatively big – but I think that a mission like the IFAP would call for quick and clear identification? This was also the reason for adding the “IFAP” markings – a simple detail that pushes the whif beyond the ordinary and helps telling a story. ;) The flag on the fin is an early WWII RAF flash, turned by 90°, with a tiny, yellow star added in the middle.

The aircraft code “1-2.05” is fictional, but conceptually based on a real world FAP T-33. The “FAP” on the fin was created from single letter decals, as well as the “IFAP” on the flanks and under the wings.

Finally the kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

A spontaneous, exotic and somehow disturbingly convincing what-if aircraft model? Surely one that won’t turn heads, but rather have them scratched. ;)

This was the highlight and reason for my Southern Arizona Adventure 2024. This is stage 8 of 9.

I was lucky to secure permits for the once monthly photography tour of Kartchner Caverns. Kartchner Caverns State Park strictly forbids any cameras or cellphones in the Caverns. Except for one trip per month for 12 to 15 photographers currently $125. I planned a 4 day 3 night road trip around Southern Arizona anchored by my Kartchner Cavern permit.

I was expecting dark conditions. The State Park turned on all the lights in the Big Room. They don't like turning on all the lights since can cause an increase in algae. This is the reason they only have one photography tour a month.

I found myself adjusting my histograms to not clip the highlights. Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome. Next time I am going to bracket my shots. I almost wish I had brought a ND filter or tried a handheld GND filter.

I don't know speleothems so I won't even try to identify. If anyone can help me with the identification, I will appreciate it.

www.nps.gov/subjects/caves/speleothems.htm#:~:text=The%20...)%20when%20needed.

The features that arouse the greatest curiosity for most cave visitors are speleothems. These stone formations exhibit bizarre patterns and other-worldly forms, which give some caves a wonderland appearance. Caves vary widely in their displays of speleothems because of differences in temperature; overall wetness; and jointing, impurities, and structures in the rocks. In general, however, one thing caves do have in common is where speleothems form. Although the formation of caves typically takes place below the water table in the zone of saturation, the deposition of speleothems is not possible until caves are above the water table in the zone of aeration. As soon as the chamber is filled with air, the stage is set for the decoration phase of cave building to begin.

The term speleothem refers to the mode of occurrence of a mineral—i.e., its morphology or how it looks—in a cave, not its composition (Hill, 1997). For example, calcite, the most common cave mineral, is not a speleothem, but a calcite stalactite is a speleothem. A stalactite may be made of other minerals, such as halite or gypsum.

Classifying speleothems is tricky because no two speleothems are exactly alike. Nevertheless, speleologists have taken three basic approaches: classification by morphology, classification by origin, and classification by crystallography. All three of these approaches have their problems (Hill, 1997), so cavers often take a more practical approach that primarily uses morphology (e.g., cave pearls) but includes whatever is known about origin (e.g., geysermites) and crystallography (e.g., spar) when needed.

nocache.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/southern/articles/20...

The Kartchner Caverns, rated one of the world's 10 most beautiful caves, is an eerie wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites still growing beneath the Whetstone Mountains 40 miles southeast of Tucson.

The limestone cave has 13,000 feet of passages and hundreds of formations built over the past 200,000 years, including some that are unique and world-renowned. It's a "living cave," with intricate formations that continue to grow as water seeps, drips and flows from the walls and slowly deposits the mineral calcium carbonate.

The caverns were discovered by amateur spelunkers Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen in 1974 on land owned by the Kartchner family. They kept the cave a secret until 1988, when the Kartchners sold it to the state to become a state park.

The highlights of the Big Room tour are a stretch of strawberry flowstone, which has been colored red by iron oxide (rust) in the water, and a maternity ward for 1,800 female cave myotis bats, with black grime on the ceiling where the bats hang and piles of guano on the floor. Visitors who look closely will see a bat's body embedded in one of the cave's formations.

Though not all are available on the tours, the caverns' unique features include a 21-foot, 2-inch soda straw that's one the world's largest (Throne Room), the world's most extensive formation of brushite moonmilk (Big Room), the first reported occurrence of "turnip" shields (Big Room), the first cave occurrence of "birdsnest" needle quartz formations (Big Room) and the remains of a Shasta ground sloth from the Pleistocene Age (Big Room).

azstateparks.com/Kartchner

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartchner_Caverns_State_Park

Kartchner Caverns State Park is a state park of Arizona, United States, featuring a show cave with 2.4 miles (3.9 km) of passages.[1] The park is located 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Benson and west of the north-flowing San Pedro River. Long hidden from view, the caverns were discovered in 1974 by local cavers, assisted by state biologist Erick Campbell who helped in its preservation.

The park encompasses most of a down-dropped block of Palaeozoic rocks on the east flank of the Whetstone Mountains.

The caverns are carved out of limestone and filled with spectacular speleothems which have been growing for 50,000 years or longer, and are still growing. Careful and technical cave state park development and maintenance, initially established by founder Dr. Bruce Randall "Randy" Tufts, geologist, were designed to protect and preserve the cave system throughout the park's development, and for perpetuity.[3]

The two major features of the caverns accessible to the public are the Throne Room and the Big Room. The Throne Room contains one of the world's longest (21 ft 2 in (6.45 m))[5] soda straw stalactites and a 58-foot (18 m) high column called Kubla Khan, after the poem. The Big Room contains the world's most extensive formation of brushite moonmilk. Big Room cave tours are closed during the summer for several months (April 15 to October 15) each year because it is a nursery roost for cave bats, however the Throne Room tours remain open year-round.[8]

Other features publicly accessible within the caverns include Mud Flats, Rotunda Room, Strawberry Room, and Cul-de-sac Passage. Approximately 60% of the cave system is not open to the public.[9]

Many different cave formations can be found within the caves and the surrounding park. These include cave bacon, helictites, soda straws, stalactites, stalagmites and others.[12] Cave formations like the stalactites and stalagmites grow approximately a 16th of an inch every 100 years.[13]

Haiku thoughts:

Beneath earth's cool veil,

Stalactites in silence grow,

Whispers of stone deep.

Kartchner

Southern Arizona Adventure 2024

Water in my lungs.

Ruben Bart

BELICE

2023

I did not come here to be small and fit in

I came to uplift and bring to higher ground

I did not come to be burdened down

But to deliver strength from the Unknown

The Unseen

The Unheard

The Un-named

I did not come here to fill myself to the rim

But to bow and pour the abun-”dance”

I did not come to establish banners or kingdoms

I came here as a nation builder

For the great Imagination

For the Dreams aching to express

For the coming generations of children

To sing them the Unreachable Songs

©Ganga Fondan, 2009

This latest artquest is leading me deeper toward these words which poured through me in 2009. Beyond the doom and gloom messages coming my way daily, I feel determined to continue on this path of knowing who I am and what I am here to do. Breaking new ground, I feel inspirited with ideas from the new "Ancient Secrets for Today's World" webinar series:

"Awakening to a Fear-Free World"

Step 2 of 9:

Overcoming Fear and Doubt by Creating a vision:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb86LyOle3g

...after the first rainfall in 2009...from the roof of Rashid Hall, BUET.

·No hago favores , no pierdas tu tiempo ·E-mail & msn : kevinstudios.off@hotmail.com

"Charge all Bayonets!" is not necessarily a last resort command anymore.

Pictured left to right are the T.A.H. MK XII, MK XIV, and MK VIII "Bayonets"

Commonly deployed with small squads of the infantry, multiple variants of the T.A.H. "Bayonet" were seen throughout the years of open conflict. The Mark XII (left) featured upgraded Lancer cockpit cannons and two Farnsworth 52mm cannons on the port side. The MK XIV (center) is ceremonial variant; used for protecting important people, events, and places.

Ridiculously inexpensive to manufacture and equipped with interchangeable weapons systems, "Bayonets" were loved by the Devil Dogs they supported. After their introduction, infantry casualties dropped by over fifty percent. The Corps brass quickly voted for full integration and soon the ratio of Marines to "Bayonets" was five to one. A standard squad would consist of five to twelve Marines and one to two "Bayonets".

The battle ready variant "Bayonets" have multiple weapons mounted on their legs (only unlockable by a fellow Devil Dog).

A capable or injured Marine can also be strapped into the back and offered safety, as the Marines who operated MARK VIII's are trained never to retreat or surrender.

Documentary Trailer "The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything" | The Rise and Fall of Nations

Is the rise and fall of a country or nation the result of human actions? Is it a natural law? What kind of mystery is contained within? Exactly who commands the rise and fall of a country or nation? The Christian musical documentary The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything will soon reveal the mystery!

Terms of use

* Another in the Mosaic Series of pieces

* A proof-read version of the original, completed last night.. quite a few bits needed re-wording, clarifying and spell-checked.. think the 'flow' is now much better. As you may realise, after completing all this, was glad to see the end of it and get it on-line, the 1st 'edition' was up-loaded on 28th February, 2016 and the piece has been well-viewed with currently, 24/2/22, 13,690 & 39082 views from the two sites, Imarch1-

www.flickr.com/photos/imarch1/49556224938/

and Views-in-Camera-

www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/26425061234/

making a grand total of 52,772, impressive interest!

Prompted by the recent changes in the area which is now seeing the GC's line between Tinsley & Rotherham being used as part of the new Tram/Train system, between the two behemoths of Meadowhall and Parkgate retail 'worlds'; the tram part of the Tram/Train facility having been delivered to the Nunnery Tram depot a few weeks ago, it seemed timely to push on with a piece of work started earlier this year. Having been progressively pushed back due to other interesting recent 'passing traction events', but a return to it was prompted by developments along the GCs line, picture-wise, was almost complete, it was time to move on with it and present it here. The short section of line between Sheffield Wicker, the presence of the canal cut between Tinsley and Rotherham and the wish, in the 19 century, of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway to press on with a line from Woodburn Junction through to Mexborough, all meant some rather dramatic changes to the scene outside Rotherham, immediately to the south-west of the town centre, changes which, in the Victorian period brought a landscape to the town which remains into present times and which, at the time of construction were considered to be significant, if disruptive, engineering events. By the time of the arrival of the MSL's line through Rotherham, the Midland had already completed its north/south line from Derby to Leeds and the line went though the area, thought not really close to the centre of the town, passing as it did, and still does, through Rotherham's 2nd station; the one at Masbrough; now no longer in use. The 1st station, and by far the closest to the town centre was the Midland/Wicker branch to Westgate, until the move, in 1987, by the MSL's Central Station, a little further north along its own line which then put that station close to the centre of town. Its unclear why this wasn't the location in the first place, but the move of the station in 1987 precipitated the closure of the far less convenient Masbrough. By the time the MSL wanted to push its line through Rotherham, there was a problem when it reached the outskirts of the town on the east side of Templeborough, at Ickles.

The first of the two central maps (item 10) shown at left, is the 1853 plan of the area just to the west of the town centre and shows the Midland line, which arrived just 13 years earlier, passing north/south along the left-hand side and at this date, a chord had been constructed by the Midland to take traffic from Sheffield along the Sheffield & Rotherham line from the Wicker to a station at Masbrough. Its clear from this that any folk in Sheffield wanting to travel south to London, had first to come here to this station, change trains and then head back south along the Midland's Main Line, at that time; all of which didn't go down too well in Sheffield. The ultimate solution to that problem of course was the building of another line, branching off to the north-west on the Midland Main Line, from just north of Chesterfield at Tapton Junction, passing through Bradway Tunnel to the south of Sheffield at Dore & Totley, the line then approaching Sheffield from the south; the situation we have today. When the MSL attempted to build a line to the north of Rotherham, from the west side, the Midland refused to let them tunnel under the old S&R, Midland, line, to reach a convenient site for the station in Rotherham. The MSL had however purchased the River Don Navigation and this was to prove fortuitous in this circumstance as the only way to reach the town centre was the use the existing canal cut which conveniently passed under the Midland's Westgate Branch, the old S&R line, so enabling them to push the line through to their station just off Main St., close to the centre of town. They also owned the Ickles Cut, seen in the lower left corner of this map, joining the River Don at Ickles Lock, the Cut also passing under the Midland's main line, seen here in the lower left corner. By this time the Midland was running trains through Sheffield along the line through Masbrough, the old north/south line became known colloquially as the 'Old Road', the other being the 'New Road'. On the 1853 map, Rotherham Masbrough can just be made out near the left edge, above the centre, The Midland's other station, Westgate, can be seed at right, in the centre, having just come across the wooden bridge over the River Don. Other notable attractions on this map are at lower right the 'Rotherham Old Brewery', above which is the 'Wheathill Foundry' at lower left, 'Ickles Mill', at centre lower left, the 'Bromley Sands' Locks, to the right of which is the old 'Bow or Saddle Bridge', under which the River Rother flows into the River Don, the bridge just south of the confluence of the two Rivers. The embankment on which the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway built its Westgate Branch was still in situ until the late 1960's after which it was removed and with the building of Centenary Way, the only sign of there ever having being a railway here is in the west, from Holmes Junction, the short stub of line passing Mill Moor Cottage, left of centre on the map, the line now passing into the bowels of Booth's Scrapyard, the yard now occupying the land either side of the line. In the east, before the line crossed the River Don, there was a Midland bridge across the old canal formation, the line then heading directly into Westgate Station over the River Don; the change from water under this bridge, to a rail formation, is the basis for the present narrative.

The second of the two central maps (item 11) shown at right, is from an OS plan just 35 years later, 1888, and now shows the new layout of canal and MSL railway into Rotherham and its Station, on Central Road, just off Main St. To the left, the Midland has added another curve to permit west to south moves from the direction of Sheffield and so south along the 'Old Road'; this west-to-south connecting curve is Masbrough South curve on its massive bridge and although the track was removed in the 1980s, the bridge, a listed structure, is still present. All the heavy material was removed from the formation in August 2011 and an inspection of the bridge was made in February 2013. The main stars of the show are, however, the re-aligned canal now passing directly east from what was Bromley Sands Lock, now Ickles Lock and heading towards the River Don, curving north to join it at Don Island, north-east of the Don and Rother's confluence near the 'new' Bow Bridge. It is unclear to me why the MSL decided to take the new cut from Ickles Lock, all the way along to Don Island; why not simply allow the water to flow into the Don just at the other side of the Lock and reduce the amount of colossal manual labour required to dig the long stretch over to its joining with the river at Don Island? Having diverted the canal, the MSL was then able to use the alignment of the Canal for its metals and to facilitate this, the canal bed had to be raised to about half its depth and this was achieved by manoeuvring old barges filled with stone into the correct place and then sinking them. In this way, the new railway formation was raised to 3 feet below the old tow-path level; the tow path level then being the height of the new platforms in the station. At the other end of the old canal formation, north of the new Central Station on the 1888 map, the old canal connection to the south-west on the 1853 map was cut off just at the 'elbow' where the canal turns north-east, and a single track, which crossed the canal here, passed over to 'Forge Island, the latter day home of 'Tescos' which has also now quit this site to a much larger one on the north-east of the town centre, can also be seen on this map. The MSL has used Ickles Cut to reach the line coming along from Tinsley and Templeborough and the formation will soon be the closest line along the north side of the Iron & Steel works which will grow up along the Don Valley, all the way over from Sheffield area. At this time, some works have already sprung up between the Westgate Branch and the MSL's new line through Rotherham, this area being 'New York'. In later times this area will see the building of the RUFC's New York Football Stadium to the south-west of the other industrial concern south of the Westgate Branch line; Guest & Chrimes, its building still present, now listed and up for sale but to date, no takers; the buildings can be seen on Don Street alongside the River Don near the bridge carrying the Westgate Branch over the Rover Don. In the lower left corner, just to the left of 'Bromley Sands', sounds idyllic, and between the Midland's 'Old Road' and the MSL's line, the 1st signs of the coming of the Iron & Steel works which dominated the landscape in Templeborough, conveniently alongside both the River and the railway line. The MSL' line has 'sprouted' sidings along the formation towards Rotherham and on this map is the only signal box, 'Rotherham Station', which can be seen in one of the accompanying pictures, item 12. In later years, between the two wars, the sidings at either side of the line expanded to fill out much of the free space seen in this map including two lines over the River Don in the Bromley Sands area, passing close to the end of the small terrace of housing development just west of Bow Bridge at the end of Marsh Street; one of the streets off there, River Street, was very appropriately named; only Marsh Street now remains, the rest being under the large roundabout which connects Sheffield Road with Centenary Way. One of the lines crossed Sheffield Road and fanned out into a large array of sidings atop a large mound of flat ground, opposite to what used to be the Rotherham Corn Mill, the site of Rotherham Old Brewery on this map and latterly the 'Flour Mill' of R.H.M., this latter was demolished in 2012. To the west of Rotherham Central Station were sidings and a goods shed set higher up than the level of the main lines; the station had staggered platforms, the north-bound being at the north side of the lattice footbridge (marked F.B. on the map) and the south-bound being on the south side of the footbridge. From the south-bound line, looking over to the embankment on the other side where wagons were usually waiting, someone had installed a fish-tank in the ground about half-way up; to be able to see the fish, they had the bright idea of inclining a plane mirror above the tank, set at 45 degrees, so passengers could see fish swimming around, in what they thought was the front of the tank; the tank itself being buried in the bank with a sign, 'TRAVEL by RAIL', set above the mirror and in front of a 30-yard long garden, including varieties of potted plants. I only just recently discovered a picture of this, thinking possibly I had been imagining it, after all it would have been over 50 years ago since I was last on the platform; the Station won the 1956 British Railway's district competition for the Eastern Region's best kept station! In the years after 1888, the year of this map, when the line got busier with the advent of large quantities of iron, coal and steel traffic, two further signal boxes appeared, one in the south-west, just on the east (right) side of the Midland Line on the left, this was Rotherham Main and one to the north just beyond the top edge of the map at Thornhill, this was Rotherham Road, which was also the site of the 1st station out of Rotherham Central to the north; all these signal boxes and the station have now gone of course. Rotherham Central's location moved about 300m to the north, making it more 'central' for the town, in 1987 since when it recently underwent and well deserved refurbishment; the new station still being fitted into the tiny space left due to rail land being sold off on the west side of the running lines. The mammoth South Yorkshire Police Headquarters was built on a large part of the land on the east side towards Main St., the canal and river were just a few yards away at the north end of the site.

The pictures which accompany this text are from present photographs and archival material regarding how the MSL managed to push its line through Rotherham, having obtained the necessary powers south from Woodburn Junction and north on through Park Gate, Thrybergh, Mexborough, Conisbrough, Warmsworth, Hexthorpe and so into Doncaster. The piece is separated into 2 sections, at top, 6 items of historic interest showing what the MSL did to drive its line through Rotherham and overcome the limitation placed on it by the Midland Railway who wouldn't allow burrowing, at the eastern end near to the River Don, under their branch line from the Wicker in Sheffield to Westgate Station in Rotherham. Two central maps, 1853 at left and 1888 at right, spanning a period of 35 years during which time the landscape was changed to permit the MSL to re-route the canal and hence be able to push its line through the western side of the town. And the lower section of the piece, comprising some 14 pictures, along with 1 at the top for comparison purposes at Don Island, these pictures taken on a cold clear day in February this year(2016).

The Upper 8 pictures show the state of the GCs line through Rotherham after the diversion work on the canal to take the line under the Midland bridge which carried their line from Sheffield Wicker, over the Don to the right here and into Rotherham's most Central Station, at Westgate-

1. The original, not very substantial Bow Bridge, over the end of the Rother, just before it joins the Don at the confluence at Ickles. At this time, this area west of Rotherham was 'open countryside' - a far cry from what it was subsequently to look like when the Industrial Revolution got into full swing. Rotherham Westgate at this time was the closest station to the centre of Rotherham and the Midland's station at Masbrough, visible over on the left, had only been in existence for around 13 years, the line being built by George Stephenson in 1840. The only connection to the main Leeds/Derby/London line which the worthies of Sheffield had was via a connection made off the S&R's Westgate line at Holmes Junction, the line into Masbrough Station curving round north to the station allowing connections to be made to main-line services; something which was way from satisfactory.

2. The new canal cut from Ickles went 500m along parallel to the River Don to the west of its confluence with the River Rother at Bow Bridge and the canal cut was joined up with the river at the end of Don Island, the 'spit' of land which was the outcome of the new cut's path to the river. The type of operation and some of the equipment used can be seen in this picture, though the quality isn't too good. There is a line of timber baulking holding back the river whilst the new cut is made good along the side of the river; the new 'spit end' of Don Island can be seen in the lower right corner as can some of the 19th century industries and their buildings on the other side of the river; both running along Don Street where Guest & Chrimes was located.

3. The contemporary view, from February 2016, can be seen in this picture, looking towards the now overgrown 'spit of land' at the Canal/Don confluence, which is Don Island with its 'traffic sign' indicating the route for canal barges and pleasure craft. To the right, the route along to the Ickles lock and on along the Sheffield & South Yorks Navigation to Tinsley and thence to the Sheffield Canal Basin at Victoria Quays. To the left the sign indicates a 'dead-end' as far as navigable waters are concerned; the Don continuing on to its confluence with the River Rother at Bow Bridge; the Don then continuing its course through what were some of the heaviest industries in the country at Templeborough; they not only being 'heavy', but also heavy polluters as well. The turn off onto the Rother is navigable for only a short distance to what was, in these times, the Rotherham Corn Mill, latterly the R.H.M. (Rank Hovis McDougall) building, which was finally demolished in 2012.

4. This is close-up looking towards the Central Station in Rotherham in the early days shows what appear to be, and are, rope marks on the S&R Westgate bridge abutment which supported the line from the Wicker in Sheffield over to the terminus in Rotherham. This part of the bridge stood in the middle of the formation and so, sadly, is no longer in place; almost all of the bridge, the embankment and the formation on the other side of the canal having been removed. The marks have arisen from canal barges being towed along the tow path which went around the abutment, with the canal on the other side, and so the rope between the barge and horse, for a short distance had to make contact with the corner of the bridge support until the rope could be 'thrown round' to allow the barge to continue its journey; an altogether odd sight at this height above a railway line with no sign of water in sight!

5. This picture and the one below it, (9) show two views of the the S&R bridge over the River Don, in (5) looking along Don St. on the left, past the Guest & Chrimes building with the next of the wooden bridges which the S&R deployed over the River; a canal barge lies moored just at the confluence of the River Don and Rother, in the foreground. All Saints Church, in the centre of Rotherham, is at top right and the foundries and other heavy industry type businesses which were emerging at this date can be seen alongside the river.

6. This is the 1853 OS map showing what the scene looked like in Rotherham in 1853 before the building of the MSL's line through the town. Some notable features are; the line of the old canal formation coming in from Ickles in the west and swinging round north to cross under the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway's line into Rotherham Westgate from the Wicker; this was eventually taken over by the North Midland company. The S&R Railway line coming through Holmes Junction & Station, at the left edge, with its connection from the S&R line to Stephenson's North Midland line, built and in operation by 1840, with its station at Masbrough, the Midland line at that time passing over the main road which went in a tunnel under the lines; this was superseded by the road-over-bridge, Coronation Bridge, in 1953.

7. Just 35 years later, 1888, and the scene has changed dramatically with the canal formation taken over by the MSL for their line from Woodburn, through Rotherham and on to Mexborough. The canal has had a new cut formation made and for a reason I am at a loss to explain, they took this a full 500m north to join the River Don, forming Don Island in the process, a long way the other side of the confluence of the Don and Rother. Why the canal cut wasn't just taken the short distance to join the Don at the 'elbow bend' where the new lock was installed, is intriguing to say the least, the extra work involved in taking the cut the extra 500m was enormous, to say the least, with little mechanical aid and a lot of shovelling, see picture 2 for a shot of the work. At the left edge, another curve has been added to the S&R line through Holmes Junction, this line now curves south and meets the Midland line at Ickles in the Bromley Sands area and this line is called the Masbrough South Curve with its huge, well-engineered, now also listed, bridge over the Canal cut. The curve joined the Midland's line at Masbrough South Junction with its famous array of semaphore signals across the large number of lines which existed there at this time. The MSL, latterly GC'c Rotherham Central Station now takes a prominent place to the left of centre and already it has sidings to the north and south, a connection over the the canal cut to Forge Island, until recently the home of Tesco though its predecessor was a very noisome forge whose forge hammers resounded through the centre of Rotherham at all times of the day or night; I well remember getting of the No. 69 Sheffield bus at the lower end of Corporation St around 10pm at night and hearing this almighty 'forge-hammer of the gods' rhythmically pounding, at about one crash-down per minute, just away over behind 'Ratcliffe's the Stationers', just 200m away on the island site...

8. The centre bridge support on the MSL's line into Rotherham with Rotherham Station signalbox to the left, it was just at the other side of the bridge abutment which can be seen in picture 10 below and to the left of this one, on the station side of the line; there now being no sign of this structure remaining. The Rotherham Main signal box, further along south-west towards Templeborough, was only about 800m away and located under the Ickles Viaduct carrying the Midland Main Line, at that time, through Masbrough to the south. There were two signal boxes to the north in the local area, one just north of the main road on the west side of the line, the box being Greasbrough Road (for obvious reasons) and again about 800m away and finally, at Parkgate, another 800m away, on the other side of the line was Rotherham Road. The S&R line would have passed over right in front of the Rotherham Station box and this view of the central support also shows rope marks on the corners from the passage of horde towed canal barges along the old cut.

9. The 1st of the wooden bridges across the River Don with the spire of the All Saints Parish Church featuring prominently amongst the town's river-side factories and chimney stacks. Through the 2nd of the wooden arches from the right, carrying the railway over the river, one of only 4 of the surviving medieval bridge chapels, 'The Chapel of Our Lady on the Bridge, may just be glimpsed. On the right bank of the river, at the S&R Railway's terminus, the scant wooden station buildings, then fronting onto Westgate, may also be seen; this must have been a very chilly place to wait for a train in the middle of winter. One of the early locomotives and set of coaches belonging to the S&R may also be seen in this old drawing, looking across the then pristine waters of the Don, over into Westgate Station. Some information on the bridge chapel-

'...The chapel was built in 1483, part of a new bridge across the River Don. We can date it from the will of a local teacher called John Bokying. In 1483 he left "3s.4d. to the fabric of the chapel to be built on Rotherham Bridge." It is possible that Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York, donated most of the money needed for building. The chapel was richly decorated and contained a statue of the Virgin and Child "of gold, welwrought". In November 1485 Arnold Reresby of Thrybergh left "6s.8d. to the glassing of a window"..'

10. Close-up of Westgate Abutment. The S&R's, latterly Midland, line through to Westgate went over a bridge across the old S&SYN canal cut here, but as this narrative indicates this was long ago turned into the track-bed of the GC's line into Rotherham. The western bridge abutment, carrying the line over from Holmes Junction on an embankment which strode across the land here to reach the west side of the River Don, can be seen over on the left. The shot looks north-east towards Don Street and the location of the wooden bridge which once carried the line over the River Don and into Westgate; the Guest & Chrimes building, a listed structure and now cleared of its asbestos materials is seen at far right in this picture with the new Rotherham council offices poking out half way down the bridge abutment.

11. Looking the other way passed the remaining abutment and westwards along the alignment of the line towards Booths scrapyard, now at the other side of Centenary Way on its deck, the road alignment having cut the area in half. There is no remaining signs of the embankment which carried the line over to Holmes Junction in the distance, the old line now being cut short in the bowels of Booths scrapyard, the line being occasionally used to convey materials in for scrapping. Earlier a Freightliner class 66, 66619, 'Derek W. Johnson M.B.E.' can be seen backing a handful of old HHA coal wagons into Booths scrapyard along the only remaining stub of the S&R's line from their station at Wicker and over to Rotherham Westgate. Now the land, derelict for a while, has been taken over to be used as yet another town cark park and is very handy for the RUFC's ground at New York Stadium, just behind the camera. The substantial nature of the MSL's bridge construction can be seen in all these pictures and reflects other such artifacts along the line; all being built to last.

12. Looking back towards the council offices once more, towering over the scene in the background as a Northern Rail DMU comes along the line, the view looking in the direction of Rotherham Central station. One of the new Tram/Train overhead poles lies in the foreground waiting to be erected on its flat-topped steal base and after this phase of erection, the wires will go up; though the latest news to this day, Sunday 15th May, is that Network Rail aren't now going to complete all of this work until... 2018 and a new Tram/Train unit arrived at Nunnery last night; 2 Tram/Trains and no usable tracks! A class 142 passes the old bridge abutment of the Westgate branch on the left and the DMU has just turned onto the eastern end of the Holmes Chord coming off the GC's main line through Rotherham; the unit is 142060 and is on the 2Y87, York to Sheffield passenger service. The multi-segment concrete fence at the other side of the DMU would have been where the far bridge section would have been, the line then continuing over towards Don St. and close the southern side of the new council offices, before crossing the Don on its wooden bridge to head into 'The Rabbit Hutch', as Rotherham Westgate Station was fondly known as.

13. From slightly further back at the south side of where the embankment would have been, as far as I could measure, over beyond the bridge abutment, the new Council offices are on the left alongside the River Don and the listed Guest & Chrimes building over on the right. The view looks directly along what would have been the railway alignment heading for what was, until recent years, Rotherham's most central of stations at Westgate. Palisade fence has now gone up along the tracks from the S&R bridge abutment, all along the line and round the corner into Booths, joining the pre-existing section; yet another section of this stuff constituting yet more of a 'blot on the landscape'.

14. This view looks along the River Don towards the centre of town with the new-build flats built on the site of the old Rotherham Public (Old) Baths, the 'New Baths' being behind the camera on Sheffield Road on the bank-side close to Don Island. The 'Old Baths' were disgusting, with the misty air heavy with a slight green tinge from the excessive chlorine used to make sure there was nothing swimming around in the water other than the bathers; I have direct experience of this as this is where I attained my Grade 1 Swimming Certificate. In addition the 'Gents Urinals' emptied directly into the river below, no grate over the hole so the sight of the odd brave rat swimming by underneath could often be glanced, so I think the new building is a much better sight than the old one and hope the toilet facilities have been updated since the early 1960s. At the far side of the river, just in front of the Main Street, is the eastern abutment of the S&R's railway line, the wide extent of the bridge here indicating the fact that the double-track lines fanned out into the station neck whilst still on the bridge. The S&R's Rotherham signal box was just this side of the river on this side of the line, just about where the camera is located and is shown on the map at (7) from 1888, just to the left of the 'Sta' sign marking Westgate Station; the fanning out of the lines can also be seen on that map.

15. Looking along the line to the Main St. bridge and under towards Rotherham Central, moved about 500m further north along the line in 1987, shows a passenger service having just left the station, headed by a Northern Rail class 144 DMU, 144003 with class 142, 142092 at rear. This is the 2N23, Leeds to Sheffield return service and the set is heading for the turn-off along the Holmes Chord, to join the Midland Main Line into Sheffield at Holmes Junction. The set is passing along what would have been the old Rotherham Central's down line platform on the right, the platform extending under the Main St. bridge seen overhead. Rotherham Central in those days had staggered platforms, the up line platform being beyond the station's footbridge, with access from the northern end of the down platform, further north on the other side. Behind the down line platform and just in front of the DMU was the cattle dock occupying some of the space this side of the S&R's bridge over the line; the cattle dock facility being accessed from a line coming back from the down line beyond the S&R's bridge. The land on the right which was the location of the platform has been left as it is and a picture taken here before the New York Stadium development got fully under way shows some evidence that part of the platform still exits.

16. Just a little further along and this shot now looks back across to where the MSL's line, and before that the canal, passes under the S&R's formation on the bridge carrying the line into Westgate Station. In the background, beyond the last remaining part of the old bridge, the view looks along the alignment directly towards Booths Scrapyard which now dominates the background. There are no signs of any bridge materials on this side of the line as yet another Northern Rail DMU passes, this time a class 144, 144005, working on on the 2N24, Sheffield to Leeds service and is about to exit the Holmes Chord junction just off to the right; it would possibly only need train services to be a little more frequent, to warrant the single track being doubled over to Holmes Junction making for a much better railway scene for photographers. The 'slope-up/slope-down' font of 'Booths' writ large on the side of one of their buildings, and which has been there a good few years, can be seen over the central part of the leading DMU; and behind the DMU, on some spare ground, one of Booths, 'skip parks' with ancient looking, rust coloured 'units' parked higgledy-piggledy on the ground; the car park to the right now filling up. The old RUFC's ground at Millmoor can be glimpsed, marked by the position of the 4 tall floodlight stands at the ground over in the right background.

17. Some detailed shots now relating to the canal formation which was altered by the MSL to allow its line to be pushed along through the centre of Rotherham. This view of the canal exit looking towards the new locks with Forge Island over on the left, shows the new and old exits. On the right, the old exit, now cut-off, which came up in a broad curve from the direction of 'Bromley Sands' lock on the 1853 map at left exited here, joining the cut from the River Don, on the left, the River passing over the Town Weir near to what used to be the site of Rotherham Forge, latterly Tescos Store, this 'Rotherham Cut' avoiding the river and being part of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. The section here turns through almost a right angle to pass to the south-east of the new Central Station. The court offices building is right of centre, the new flats alongside the river, mentioned in an earlier picture, are through the trees on the left and the Forge Island Locks are left of centre.

18. A wider shot of the scene taken a little further back with a canal barge pointing towards what would have been the old exit from the waterway here, along towards the 'Bromley Sands' lock. There wasn't a connection to the River Don there from this waterway, the Ickles cut coming up from the River further along to avoid yet another weir outside the eastern end of what became the Templeborough Steelworks. A fisherman plies sits calmly at the side of the now clean waters teaming with fish, the whole area's feel having been improved by Council and Waterways efforts to remove old buildings, rubbish and old barges; the improvement to Rotherham Central helping a great deal in the look of the area as well. The old cut exit, with the pedestrian footway across it left of centre, into the S&SYN on the bend is now 'grilled off' and I imagine the water-way is lost, a now subterranean ditch used to collect rain-water and probably blocked off at some point.

19. Further along still, now at the side of Rotherham Central Station after completion, the new station building seen over on the right along with its new terrace over-looking the canal in-lieu of the canal-side building which I think ought to have been renovated and used rather than being pulled down. A garden on the bank of the canal where the burnt-out barge once stood, before being towed away and in the background at left, the canal exit from the Forge Island locks on the River and to its right, what now looks like a very diminutive exit from the old cut, can be seen.

20. Moving back to the railway part of this long piece (have to get this finished today!) and looking along GC line towards Rotherham with Holmes Chord coming in from the left, to join the MSL/GC's main line heading along from Woodburn Junction, through Rotherham and on to Mexborough, at right. Heading along the chord in front of Booths Scrapyard, another 'double-header' of sorts, in the form of another pair of Northern Rail sets, this time class 144, 144007 leading and with 144002 at the rear working the 2N25, Leeds to Sheffield passenger service with the sun out and the light good. At this time, Network Rail have the line under a Possession, one of their rail-mounted 'STOP' boards can be seen to the right of the rear of the DMU set, mounted on the far right rail, blocking access for wrong-line moves in that case, though I have never seen any along here; the line on the far right being for moves _towards_ the camera. Good lineside clearance here by Network Rail have helped photography enormously but its a shame that there isn't a better frequency of more interesting traction. The difference in grade between the MSL/GC lines over on the right, and the rising grade of the the Holmes Chord, can easily be seen; the rising grade accomplished by moving barges filled with stone to the site along the old cut and then sinking the barges to make up the level, as described in the introduction above. New York Stadium is in the background and still visible in the very early Spring weather, all the lineside vegetation has been removed in preparation for more work on the Tram/Train system which will use the rails on the right together with an electrified overhead supply system at 750VDC.

21. Looking the other way along both the MSL/GC lines through Templeborough on the left and the Holmes Chord to Holmes Junction on the right, we now see a 'STOP' board facing the correct direction for travel and with good evidence of lineside clearance. The relay cabin between the two sets of lines has been graffiti'd and the high spot-lights look over onto the Brinsworth St Level Crossing, controlled from the York ROC via Sheffield PSB. The old, decades old, crane at Booths Scrapyard is to the right, the cab also having not moved for a few decades; you'd think they would scrap it all! On the far left, at the side of the 'STOP' board, is one of the bases for the Tram/Train overhead stanchions and behind that, the railings going over the 'new cut', MSL's divert of the the canal through here. The diversion from the original formation which is where the DMU is passing along, took the canal around 5m below track level and there is a lock just off to the right to take the waters of the S&SYN down to the lower level allowing it to pass under the rail formation bringing it down to the level of the River Don which it will meet at Don Island. The DMU is coming up the grade, to join the GC's line, its formation being made by sinking barges loaded with stone along the old canal bed, to bring the level up to the site of the Rotherham Central station. So, the final DMU set in this sequence is yet another class 142, this time 142029 en-route to Sheffield on the 2R82, Adwick passenger service having just passed Sheffield PSB's S0749 for moves along the bi-directional single track.

22. The piece-de-resistance and the picture which, in some part, has been holding up the show a bit, as Network Rail line possessions along here for days and weeks on end occasionally meant no freight movements. The only one, the Stocksbridge Steel, the move occuring outside working hours when the Line Possession was lifted, being too late, light-wise, at this time of the year, early February when most of these images were taken. The shot required was dictated by the wish to have a freight move, in sunny conditions and coming over the Ickles canal bridge so that the difference in level between the MSL line and the 'new cut' canal formation was clearly seen; 'clearly' being the operative word for, as the weeks went by, more 'greenery' sprouted and the view started to look 'congested'. This shot was taken on the 5th May and the following week, last week, no moves of this working took place along here, though it did run, diverted and the long way round, on the Midland Main Line and Old Road through Masbrough. On Wednesday last, after weeks of not running at all the late afternoon Aldwarke to Tees Dock Export ran, via Tinsley for reversal! at 15:35, so the Possession must have had to be lifted for this move. This coming week, it is now back in full force and nothing is running along the GC line through Templeborough and Tinsley, not even the evening Steel train to Stocksbridge. So in bright sun the DBC operated but EWS liveried class 66, 66034, comes rattling through and on time, I had missed this the week before as it ran 30 early, on the 6M69, Heck Plasmor to Dowlow Briggs Sidings in the Peak Forest and amply shows the work the MSL were involved in to get their line 'into town'. The Midland had refused permission for a burrowing formation under their Westgate Branch into Rotherham and as the MSL now owned the canal formation, they took the decision the use the canal bed as a basis for the railway formation. As described above this meant excavating a new cut along to the River Don, and using the old cut, which went through town and formed the new track bed. Over on the far left is the Brinsworth Street level crossing over the line installed in 1987 to take passenger services from Sheffield over to the site of the new Rotherham Central Station. This line rises in grade to meet the GC's formation at the junction near Main St. attaining the correct height, built up from the level of the old canal formation, as described earlier. Ingenious and all because of the fractured nature of the old Railway Companies who vied with each other for routes, freight and to a far lesser extent, passengers; a situation which has spectacularly changed in terms of passenger numbers using the railways.

23. Finally, in this mammoth piece, a shot looking along the line in front of the freight train heading towards the Midland's Old Road line over the MSL/GCR formation at Ickles. Once more, the change in level which the MSL had to contend with in the work involved to get its line through Rotherham in any sensible way, is clearly seen as the water level drops around 5m from the level of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation over on the right at the other side of the road bridge, part of the lock actually being underneath the bridge, down to the level to join the River Don at Don Island. At this time, the Tram/Train posts hadn't been erected yet along the lineside and the new Biomass facility at Templeborough, alongside both the Midland and GC lines, is seen early on in its construction and the track-side has been cleared of any over-hanging material; have to say putting 600VDC through here has meant quite a bit of clearance both on the GC line itself and any crossing lines such as the Midland ahead; NR having been down and cleared the Ickles viaduct bridge of any hazardous material.

Finally, in summary, a piece relating to a journey on a train in 1840, along the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway from the Wicker Station in Sheffield to what is described here as a 'spacious shed' in Rotherham, at Westgate Station. 1840 being the year of course when Stephenson completed the North Midland Railway-

'...The North Midland Railway strikes off’ from the Midland Counties Railway about a quarter of a mile from Derby. It first runs up the Derwent valley, from which it emerges near Belper. It then passes through the Amber valley, leaving Matlock six miles on the left. It next enters the Rother valley and proceeds long it past Chesterfield and across the Yorkshire boundary as far as the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway. Proceeding northward, it passes three miles to the east of Barnsley, and two and a half to that of Wakefield. Ten miles from Leeds it is joined by the Leeds and Manchester Railway, and shortly afterwards by the York and North Midland. It terminates at the east side of Marsh-lane, at Leeds, and is there joined by the Leeds and Selby Railway. Its total length is seventy-two miles; it passes through five tunnels in its course, and is expected to cost at least two millions sterling. The summer of the present year will, in all probability, behold its completion; and, at the same time, we shall have the happiness of again appearing before our readers as its historian, describer, and eulogist. The view of Rotherham from this part of the railway, is beautiful and imposing; but as it lies directly in advance, it can only be seen by adventuring the head from the window of the carriage. The church rises majestically on the left of the landscape; Canklow Wood clothes the hills which stretch far away on the right; and, on the beautiful acclivity which forms the centre, rests a considerable portion of the fair town of Rotherham. On the top of the hill the Methodist Chapel stands conspicuously; and not far from it appears the New Poor House. The mass of the town lies beyond the rising ground, and is consequently invisible. Canklow Wood, which so beautifully overhangs the town, is the property of the Duke of Norfolk. On the summit of the hill which it envelopes, a little structure has been erected, on which the name of Boston Castle has been bestowed. From this point the eye can range over a wide tract of country; and the prospect is as enchanting as it is extensive. After crossing the headstream of the Holmes, we cross the river Don company’s new cut by a handsome bridge of three arches, of which the centre one is iron and of thirty-six feet span. Again we cross the headstream, and immediately afterwards the River Don, by a noble wooden bridge of seven arches. Immediately after passing this bridge, we find ourselves beneath the spacious shed of the Rotherham station. As this, however, closely resembles that at the other extremity of the line, a description of it is unnecessary...'

( Note boxes on the GC line-

Mexborough to Woodburn

E50/23 Mexborough No3

E50/24 Kilnhurst

E50/25 Thrybergh Junction

E50/26 Parkgate

E50/27 Aldwarke Main/Aldwarke Junction

E50/28 Rotherham Road

E50/29 Greasborough Road

E50/30 Rotherham/Rotherham Central

E50/31 Rotherham Main

E50/32 Ickles

E50/32a Frith's Siding

E50/33 Tinsley East Junction

E51/01 Tinsley Junction

E51/02 Carbrook North/Carbrook

E51/03 Carbrook South

E51/04 Broughton Lane

E51/05 Brown Baileys Siding

E51/06 Attercliffe Station

E51/07 Attercliffe Junction

)

This is a collaborative art collection where writers use my portraits to explore individual characters. As a long term project, I am hoping to publish a book containing the photographs and accompanying stories. Art, in both forms, has wonderfully varied interpretations and these are (hopefully) paired examples of how artists can work together to form more complex pieces.

As with my photographs, all stories published here are copyrighted.

Hope you enjoy and, as always, email me if you have questions, feedback, or wish to contribute.

Below is the first combined effort.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Photography by, Cassandra M. Kammerer

Short story written by, S.J.L.

You will never learn my real name. Some of your predecessors have asked, one even pleaded, but boundaries exist and I am quite particular. You lost all freedom when you told me your name Douglas, even if the loss was not immediately perceptible, and only by extension of my own gracious nature are you able to make these self-indulgent inquiries now. Your struggling questions are amusing, but as fruitless as the group counseling sessions to overcome your substance addiction. My confidence in your ability to fail is complete, but I offer one last recommendation: accept the vast weakness within yourself before I finish my latte and our time is up. Already shaking with confusion? Lamentable, but thankfully this is not really about you.

Hollow. That is the description I first wrote on my notepad about you. I see your skepticism, but here is where I circled it. Right at the top, what does it read? Page One. It took less than one minute to fully diagnose you and I have, on several occasions, encapsulated you to my colleagues as such: hollow. We are professionals and the sharing of such information was done under strict ethical code, of course. They had similar men as patients, celebrities like yourself, and needed comparative data. It is what we do, you see, we aggregate data from the weak to bolster our understanding of how not to be. Then we publish articles and books, creating our canon of behavioral norms and expectations. I choose the word canon carefully, Douglas. Your mother, who was also a patient of mine before she took her own life, was deeply fixated on a canon of her own, the Catholic worldview of her youth: heaven and hell – or, perhaps more simplified, good and evil. It was the great pendulum swinging through the landscape of her mind. Have you ever glimpsed away from yourself to ponder what it might take for a Catholic to commit suicide? How fractured she needed to be?

Are you actually displaying emotions for her suddenly? Where were you when she took the hatchet to her arm? Incidentally, I have always respected her choice in tools. If the magazines are to be believed, you were in Monaco, halfway through a month-long binge. You denied the veracity of those photographs, even to me; but, looking at you now, I think you are ready to admit you left the country knowing she was crumbling before your eyes. You were too weak even to try.

As I was saying, my colleagues and I do not see the evil or good of men. We identify weakness and prescribe strength. People like your mother, taught to worship a collapsed god, cannot be helped because their foundation is based on the archaic treatises of goatherds. Centuries of reinterpretation cannot change the simple fact her savior committed suicide, paving the way for her own. Taught to emulate weakness, and unable to locate conviction, she crawls to me, expecting her terrors and self-hate to disappear – which is not how therapy works, as you now fully appreciate.

How long did you wait after learning of her death before seeking my guidance? Three weeks? I remember you wore a disguise when you came through my office door. Yes, of course it was a disguise. Even in your deepest alcoholic engorgement, you never allowed yourself to be unshaven, let alone wear an Orioles ball cap. Please don’t insult my intelligence by claiming it was grief. Your girlfriend, who you may not realize has been on my weekly itinerary for over a year, told me what you said enroute to the funeral. Do you remember? No? You said, “Mom was a deranged lunatic. I am leaving this sideshow early because La Traviata opens tonight.” And you did.

Why am I saying these things? This is our last session, Douglas, and soon you will have found the cure to your hate-filled anxieties and the logical conclusion to your addiction. No, this is not tough love, for at least two reasons: first, a doctor cannot love her patient and remain objective; second, as previously stated, you are merely the thin shell of a human being and unworthy of anyone’s love. Hollow, remember? I am not passing judgment; I am treating you for an illness, one you have carried since you were eight years old. We have discussed the incident several times, so it should come as no shock the genesis was with the wagon, your friend Christine, and those two boys. She begged for your help when they were chasing her, but the boys threatened to take your wagon. She had even kissed you at the roller rink three weeks prior and you had exchanged valentine’s cards. For such a young age, the two of you had shared much. But you did not get out of your wagon for Christine, and those two boys brutalized her. Her parents moved to Florida shortly thereafter and you never saw her after that day. Your mother told me once she prayed desperately for that girl to pull through her surgeries, but what help did you offer?

You understood the ramifications of sticks and stones, right? Did their yells of victory or her screams of pain hurt you? Did you cry for her or only for yourself? You did not become feeble that day, for all children are; rather, it was the day you learned about the connection between cowardice and survival. Your addiction is the outward manifestation of the fear and weakness permeating your mind – it is the gaseous cloud filling the empty space normal people lack.

No, I don’t mind if you have a drink. I anticipated you might and had my secretary ensure the mini-bar was properly stocked. We are celebrating, after all – me with my latte and you with your bourbon. There is no need to bark obscenities, Douglas. You cannot visit a surgeon and become agitated when her delicate scalpel technique causes tissue to swell. The pain is natural and expected and the disease you have coruscating through your system has had twenty-nine years to fester.

Yes, I am a surgeon. I carve apart the minds and experiences of my patients and remove desiccation when I am allowed. Therapy is artfully complex in this way – regulatory and behavioral obstacles at every turn. Your girlfriend, Evelyn, understands this, but your mother did not. She needed me to cut her, wept for me to do so, but never once gave me permission. You are miserably similar to her in this way, refusing to sign the necessary paperwork. I am, in a sense, your five hundred dollar an hour barfly; or was, since our relationship is now over.

Time, nipping at your ankles, has caught hold finally. You have run dry on individuals to blame and the fiasco of your life will be reprinted for the slathering masses to devour. I know it can be heartbreaking to learn the thoughts you labeled as hope in your mind are false; however, you simply must appreciate those thoughts were never true. You would never consent to hope, not Douglas Clarion. Yes, you may have another drink; in fact, consider all three of those bottles a gift.

Now why would you ask me such a question? Vain until your last breath, Douglas. I grasp why women adore you, but it would be inappropriate for me to officially comment on your attractiveness. No, you may not kiss me, but it was sweet of you to ask. It lets me know you recognize I am in control. Control is the bedrock of civilized life, be it social or technological. Let’s examine your own civility: even now, knowing you will die soon if you continue, you are unable to prevent your own hand from raising that glass to your mouth; your life is chronicled for you by a professional mob armed with telescoping lenses and legally sanctioned deceit; food, clothing, and transportation is handled by servants, much like a toddler; and Evelyn counts herself fortunate if you can manage an erection more than once a month. Has there ever been anything more pathetic than a sagging philanderer?

No need to scowl, Douglas – it makes you seem ill-tempered and foul. I am explaining something critical, if you would pay attention. For all your wealth and luxury, you are remarkably uncivilized. By extension, I cannot in good conscience grant you the rights and privileges I do normal human beings. It is one of the fundamental reasons you are no longer my patient – I am not a veterinarian, after all.

There are tissues on the end-table if you wish to dry up your face, but it is time to stand up from the couch. No, I do not find you contemptible because you are crying. Everyone cries, Douglas, even me. No, I will never cry over you because you are a disgrace, filled with purposeless and unguided shame.

Which brings our session to its inevitable close. My latte is finished and you have managed, amazingly, to consume the entire bottle of bourbon. Be sure to try my other gifts after you arrive home tonight. I pronounce you cured. Yes, just like that. Please, Douglas, do not ruin the moment with more obscenities. I want to remember you exactly as you are right now. My secretary will collect the final payment on your way out.

* * * *

Good Morning, Jenny. Who is my nine o’clock? Mrs. Garnier? Are her files on my desk already? Very well. No, I was running late today and did not read the newspaper, what happened? Mr. Clarion was found dead in his penthouse? Was it an overdose? My my, the paparazzi will have a field day with this tragic story. Call Evelyn Wilson and schedule her tomorrow morning and cancel Garnier and my other morning appointments. I am feeling exultant today, Jenny, and will be at Linney’s having a spa facial – care to join me? My treat… Excellent. I have wanted to pick your brain for ages and this is the perfect opportunity.

Leica M7, Summicron-M 90mm f/2, Ilford HP5+ in D-76 (Stock)

Independence is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located just off State Highway 82 in the eastern corner of Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide. It was the first settlement established in the Roaring Fork Valley, after gold was struck in the vicinity on Independence Day, July 4, 1879, hence its name. In 1973 it was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Independence and Independence Mill Site.

Like other early settlements in the upper Roaring Fork Valley, it lost population over the course of the decade as Aspen emerged as the ideal location for commerce in the region,[1] and then became the county seat. It was never able to overcome the severe winters that resulted from its location at a high elevation in the mountains, and at the end of the 19th century all but one of the remaining residents abandoned Independence en masse after a particularly heavy snowstorm to settle in Aspen.

It has been a ghost town since at least 1912. The remaining structures, all log cabins of various sizes, are now on land partially in White River National Forest. It is one of the few abandoned mining camps in the state where any buildings are left.[2] In the late 20th century they were restored and interpretive materials added.

© Web-Betty: digital heart, analog soul

follow me on: web | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | blog

Overcome.

Static friction is overcome and a new layer is flattened on the cone. The process is similar to what happens when slowly raising one end of a board on which rest a scatter of coins. The money stays in place until static friction is overcome and the board clears at a critical angle: like a delayed money-slide when playing poker and drinking heavily.

shirley wilson and don burkley were probably the most photographed people there... the press loved the fact that they were unabashed in showing their emotions. most likely some of you have seen their picture on major websites or newspapers already.

By a moment. I had to go cry for a few minutes after saw them sitting there singing Jim Croce.

I was happy to catch this.

Canon Av-1

Lomography 800 speed film

Hiking in nature in Svalbard

As a reminder, keep in mind that this picture is available only for non-commercial use and that visible attribution is required. If you'd like to use this photo outside these terms, please contact me ahead of time to arrange for a paid license.

This young girl lives in a relief camp with her family in Jamshoro district, Sindh, after having to leave their home during the monsoon floods. During the day, she spends time in one of UNICEF's child-friendly spaces, where play and counselling helps her overcome the trauma of losing everything. These spaces also serve as temporary learning centres, enabling her to continue her schooling.

Jamshoro, Pakistan, 2010

There will be times you have to overcome darkness, even without light.

Overcome