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This week's Saturday Timewatch features a $1 coin found a few weeks ago in the washetaria / laundrette. Apparently they are not uncommon but I am pretty damn sure I've never seen one before.
This one is known as a Susan B. Anthony one dollar coin, minted from 1979-81 and again in 1999. You can read the Wiki here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Anthony_dollar
As can seen from the photo below it dates from 1979. This coin has had quite a lot of use so the mint stamp is hard to read but is probably a 'P' for Philadelphia.
Today it looks like a low-key, benign island scene off the west coast of Scotland. However, the back story is very dark and different.
Gruinard Island, just over a mile in length and half a mile wide, is situated between Gairloch and Ullapool. In 1942, Porton Down, one of Britain's most secretive military research facilities, requisitioned the island to test the idea of using anthrax as a biological weapon against German cities in WW2. Sheep were taken to the island and anthrax bombs detonated. It is no surprise that the sheep began dying within days. The experiment was deemed so 'successful' that the weapon was never used. This was not because of the expected death toll but because the level of contamination was such that the cities would be uninhabitable for the foreseeable future.
After the war, it took decades and direct action to get the clean-up started and the island returned to the original owners. That in itself didn't go well because the run-off from the formaldehyde solution used created significant marine pollution.
You can read the full horror story here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruinard_Island
This week's Saturday Timewatch goes back approximately 75 years to the short-lived steam era on Norway's Flam Railway. The line only opened in 1940 but by 1944 electric traction was already being introduced. So this is probably one of the few steam photographs taken in that era.
My photo is that of an old photo shown on the tv screen of the modern day service. The tv programme features interpretative material about the railway.
Given the circumstances, the photographic quality of this post cannot be good. However, what is particularly fascinating is that purely by chance, the location is almost identical to my previously posted photo taken just a few weeks ago....see below!
A rare find! I can find little information about this old school garage. However, it is still clearly open for business doing vehicle repairs. I don't know if that pump is still in use, possibly selling red (agricultural) diesel?
One real bonus of the b-side festivals is that you can get inside buildings that aren't usually open to the public.
The outside view of the Ranters Lodge has featured on these pages before and you can read all about it by clicking on this link flic.kr/p/2qgmzwg
It is now a holiday let, repurposed as an art exhibition location for the duration of this year's b-side. This is the upstairs area. I don't think anyone knows whether it was this upstairs area or the downstairs that was used for the religious sect's apparently rowdy meetings. Whichever, there are no old windows on the 'public' side of the building which may have helped the Ranters to do their thing.
By the way, the person who owns the Ranters Lodge also owns and lives next door in the Dead House.
This week's Saturday Timewatch travels just a few miles up the road from Hell Lane, Dorset. This is where we found another classic phonebox put to new use but now in further need of attention (see below). It is interesting how these iconic boxes from the last century have found new lives.
Another Saturday Flashback to the age of steam. This week's photo shows 31806, originally built in 1926, "changing ends" at Norden on the Swanage Railway to then pull a passenger service south to Swanage. 31806 was withdrawn from British Railways service in 1964 but was thankfully preserved to still delight thousands today.
This week's Saturday Timewatch goes back to WW2. There are still quite a few buildings from that era that stand in and around Ringstead. Two, including this one, have recently been converted into very unusual holiday homes. In this instance, The Bunker was part of RAF Ringstead, a component of the Chain Home radar. That was a coastal early warning system that stretched from Cornwall in the west to Norfolk in the east.
You can see photographs of the modern inside here, courtesy of Sykes Cottages
www.sykescottages.co.uk/cottage/DorsetSomerset-Spring-Bot...
This week's Saturday Timewatch history slot is filled with a short-lived aviation oddity that I had never heard of until visiting the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport, Houston.
At first I thought that maybe Braniff had Concorde on order but at some stage had pulled out of the deal. No! Braniff did actually fly Concorde, as can be seen from the timetable shown below. However the story is a strange one and I have to admit does change a bit depending which source you read. However the bare bones are consistent. British Airways and Air France crews flew across the Atlantic to Washington Dulles DC. From there Braniff crews took over for subsonic flights to and from Dallas Fort Worth, TX.....no supersonic flights were allowed over North American land.
Details are less certain but the following seem likely to have been true.
I read somewhere, but can't find it again now, that lawyers literally transferred ownership to Braniff for each flight and then back again. What seems more likely is that a legal lease existed and quite definitely all-American documentation was placed in the cockpit for the DFW flights whilst the European papers got stored on board (the forward loo is mentioned!) and vice versa.
40 years ago, in order to operate a domestic US segment, planes had to be temporarily registered in the US. Photographs confirm that upon landing from Europe the aircraft's G or F was covered over with tape, and an “N” followed by either “-81” or “—94” replaced the first two letters of the European registration. The last two registration letters were left in place. As a result, G-BOAC would become N-81AC, while F-BVFD would become N-94FD. A total of nine Concordes eventually wound up in the interchange program running for Braniff. However, none were repainted in Braniff colours as illustrated in the model above.
Initially fares for the Braniff leg were $15 higher than their usual first-class fares on their B727. However, sales were poor and they dropped to parity. Sales remained sparse and the service only lasted just over one year, January 1979 - May 1980.
Dating from over 150 million years ago, these fossil seashells, mostly bivalves, are fairly easy to find on one part of Ringstead beach. They are all firmly embedded in a mostly horizontal rock pavement that can be seen as the tide goes out.
A nice find today was this chunk of ammonite. The Charmouth ammonites are usually dated to around 190 - 200 million years old.
Regular viewers might remember that on the Isle of Portland, "ope" refers to an opening down to the sea. One of the lesser known examples is Longstone Ope. Long since abandoned, the site of the old Longstone Quarry still has a derrick that used to load stone blocks down onto a waiting vessel for onward transport.
A derrick can be seen at a distance in the old photo below.
The blocks of stone will be originals that were never shipped. However, I am not sure whether my more recent photo below (2015) shows the same derrick that has somehow survived or a more modern replica.
(Note : I have added the photos to the flickr map but for some reason they are not currently showing)
This qualifies as a 'Saturday Timewatch' because Ray Benson's Asleep at the Wheel have now been rollin' along the musical highway venues for 55 years. They are yet another hard working band who pretty much single-handedly have kept western swing alive. A couple of nights ago, we were delighted to see them perform live for the second time in a small theatre at Brenham, TX.
Below is the title track off their new and 63rd album (including compilations). Whilst Ray still leads on many tracks, fiddler Ian Stewart takes the strain off Ray for vocals on this one.
jukebox # 521
Tarr Steps crosses the River Barle in Exmoor. It is constructed of large flat slabs of stone which are supported on stone piers. The date of this bridge is unknown. Some people claim Tarr Steps goes back to the Bronze Age though the official listing suggests a Medieval origin.
As a nipper in the mid 20th century, unlike quite a few around this neck of the flickr woods, I never did go bunking engine sheds or locomotive works. Perversely, living just about as far as you can get from the sea in England, I was simply far more interested in ships!
For those out of Britain, 'shed bashing' was undertaken by rail enthusiasts who either officially or unofficially visited the numerous engine sheds to see what was in there. Happy days!
This is the scene inside one of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway sheds. There was no interpretation board or anyone around to ask so I don't know the identity of the steam locomotive being rebuilt in this photo.
Look what has found the light of day from the vaults! It is my first ever passport dating from July 1967.
Rather than a full passport lasting 10 years, this was known as a British Visitors Passport, was printed on lightweight card and was valid for just one year. Inside it gives my full name, date of birth, place of birth, height, colour of eyes, distinguishing marks and home address. There is my photo and my signature.
For foreign exchange purposes, it shows the National Provincial Bank issued me with £45. If I remember correctly, that was £5 less than the maximum £50 set by the government for an individual travelling abroad.
There is just a single stamp in the passport, dated 5th August 1967, at the port of Ostend, Belgium.
(Note : Even though it is more than 50 years later, for security reasons I have blanked out certain details, just to be on the safe side)
I might have this completely wrong. However, I reckon this old, disused shed might have started life elsewhere during World War 2 as an air raid shelter. Apart from a nearby airstrip, Portland Harbour and Dockyard are only about one hour away by road. There must surely have been many such shelters in the surrounding urban areas of Portland and Weymouth.
To narrow this down I think it may have been an Anderson Shelter, with a modified entrance door when it became an agricultural or forestry store shed.
Any thoughts on the subject are welcome!
Today's "Saturday Timewatch" returns to Castletown, Portland, Dorset. The terraced dockyard street still has several boozers. However in the late 19th and early 20th century there were 7 pubs plus hotels, almost next door to each other. Rowdy behaviour, drunkeness and fighting, mostly from sailors on shore leave, gained such a reputation that the locals coined the name Drunkard's Row, still commemorated by a modern sign.
Below is a old photo (date unknown) taken off an interpretation board in the area.
We are now into our fourth year following the route of the defunct Somerset and Dorset (S&D) railway line. In 2022, we started at the old Bournemouth West station which was the S&D's southern terminus. The aim is to shortly reach the Dorset / Somerset county line, a total distance of c40 miles / 64 kms.
This photo shows the remains of Bridge 171 just west of Sturminster Newton. Going over the R. Stour, it is one of several that crossed the river along this stretch of the Stour valley. I wonder what the passengers were thinking in the photo below as they headed back north to report for work after their brief holiday on the south coast?
Following on from yesterday's puzzle flic.kr/p/2pSUazX this set shows the LLCR in operation. Opening in 1890, it is the highest and the steepest totally water powered railway in the world. The top station is 500' above the lower sea level station.
In this photo, the two cars have just set off from their respective stations.
This is the company's website that has lots of information and also a video www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk/
The history is here www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk/about-the-railway/history/
This week's Saturday Timewatch goes back to the age of the dinosaurs and shows the tracks of at least one plant-eatring Sauropod exposed by operations at Keates Quarry, Purbeck in 1997. There are around 100 prints, dating back c145 million years. The closest modern analogy is that of a herd of elephants gathering to drink at a water hole.
(...translates as Public Holiday for those who live offshore)
Today, the tradition of a wet Bank Holiday Monday continued. It has chucked it down all day. So here is a celebration of one of the very few interesting shops in Weymouth "Rude Not To".
Who remembers Mods and Rockers and their traditional Bank Holiday Monday punch-ups at the seaside resorts? For those who live abroad, the rockers (motorcycles) and mods (scooters) created the moral panic of the day in the red-top press. As always the youth sub-cultures of the day were demonised and most teens were supposed to belong to one or the other. That was rubbish.
Personally, I was never a 'rocker' even though I bought a motorcycle to be able to drive 30 miles to/from an early job. Likewise, even though I was heavily into soul and Jamaican sounds, I was never a mod! It was all great fun though. So it is a delight to have such a retro clothes shop in town. I never go in. However, I do like to loiter outside listening to the music emanating from within.
Representing the rockers, Gene Vincent has featured here before flic.kr/p/9mnLvc
So here is a classic tune representing the mods and yes, I do have the Island Records 45rpm : )
bithbox # 218
This historic photo shows a 1942 photo taken by Dorothea Lange on the corner of 8th and Franklin, Oakland, CA. It was part of an exhibition about the Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho, one of 10 similar internment camps. (Note : Although her photo exhibit was in Idaho, I have geotagged it as Oakland)
After Pearl Harbor, all Japanese Americans were interned, almost 10,000 being sent to Minidoka. This was not a "concentration camp" such as those in Germany. However, it certainly destroyed existing lives. It is not clear whether the Masuda family, who before internment owned the Wanto Company store, were sent to Minidoka or another camp. However, what is clear is that many did not return to their previous lives after the war ended and that many lost everything as a result.
This week's Saturday Timewatch features the first of what will be several posts concerning the history of Castletown, Portland, Dorset. The small town is immediately adjacent to Portland Harbour. Remarkably still intact, this is the Public Bar window of The Jolly Sailor. According to the Encyclopaedia of Portland History, the original pub was established on this site in 1775 with the existing, now derelict building dating to the mid to late 19th century. It closed earlier this century and has remained unwanted and uinloved ever since.
Regular readers will know that I'm not a great fan of the diesel railbus, having commuted on them for far too many years. However, I'll readily admit that it was interesting to come across this German Class 798 unit now operating on the Dutch heritage line ZLSM, close to the German border. Apparently they were affectionately known in Germany as "Nebenbahnretter" which translates as "branch line saviours". Built more than half a century ago they were relatively cheap to manufacture and operate, hence rail lines were retained that might not otherwise have been profitable. They lasted in German scheduled service well into the 1990's.
I'm not entirely sure but think this is 798-09. If not, it is 798-04. In this photo it is leaving Simpleveld Junction towards Vetschau.
The first airplane built and flown in Texas, 1912. This is the original that has been preserved and restored, now displayed at Midland Airport, Texas.
www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/pliska-john-valentine
Tonight's red-eye flight back to Britain will be on something a little larger, a United Boeing 777.
I'll be absent from flickr for a couple of days. Cheers!
Inspired by Chris Firth's recent mention of Barmouth swing bridge, a delve into the vaults found this photo taken on my first ever digital camera. It has been somewhat reworked from a previous post. As can be seen from the photo below it features 76079 running one of the regular Cambrian Coast summer steam specials that the West Coast Railway Company operated between 2006-2009. The photos were taken on a foul morning from Tonfanau Station, part way up the bank from Tywyn towards Friog cliffs from where the line then drops down to the Mawddach Estuary and the Barmouth swing bridge.
Built in 1957, this 2-6-0 mostly worked freight duties, including some North Wales coal trains along the Chester to Holyhead line. However, as far as I know it was never seen on the Cambrian Coast line. The locomotive remains operational at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where she is certified for mainline working to Whitby.
New title courtesy of Mark!!
Another totally unexpected 'discovery'. Born in Dinant, Belgium, where this photo was taken, Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone which he patented in 1846. Bought for £5 in a junk shop some 50 years ago, a saxophone is the only instrument I have ever owned. Frankly, cats howling made a more tuneful sound than I could manage and my enthusiasm quickly faded.
However, this is a perfect opportunity to add a 1954 tune to the jukebox by my favourite sax player of all time.
BITHBOX # 102
Coleman Hawkins "Time on my Hands"
The sound of NYC, after dark, plumes of steam rising from the city streets in a black and white film..........
During our Somerset & Dorset Railway explorations, we took a pleasant walk around the classic small town of Stalbridge in north Dorset. Like so many similar towns the evidence of past businesses was plain to see from the house names that reflect previous uses. The businesses are all closed now although a different butchers shop does remain open.
Thanks to Kim for this week's Saturday Timewatch collage.
I don't often stray into Mr. Finch's dot-spotting territory. However, I'll make an exception on this occasion.
AIRCRAFT INTEREST :
This is American Airlines B777 (N735AT) coasting into London Heathrow from Miami at 27,000' (about 5 miles high) over Dorset. Although the underwing clearly shows 'AA' I was puzzled by the livery.
A bit of sleuthing revealed it to be the 'Flagship' retro livery, marking the 100th anniversary of a predecessor airline, Robertson Aircraft Corporation. It is a modern tribute to a DC3 which first carried the 'flagship' name some 90 years ago.
AI INTEREST :
Thanks go to Mr. Evans, our expat in Florida, for alerting me to the possibility of using AI to enhance the image. It is certainly true that our bridge cameras can't compete with those of higher-specs in the dot-spotting stakes. However, I ran the original through an AI programme a couple of times and reckon the end result is not too shabby.
This third look at Swanage Railway's recent Strictly Bullied 11 event features City of Wells (34092) running tender first up the bank from the River Frome to Norden Jct. On an earlier post, Richard wondered about the lack of evidence that dirty old coal was being burned. There ya' go Richard!
Long wave, medium wave or short wave?
No, nothing to do with radio stations but a malt extract used in the 20th century en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Malt Personally I don't remember this at all though I would just about be in an age group for which it was sold. As it is still available, I certainly know of Soreen, a type of malt bread loaf.
The photo was taken in the chemist 'shop' that is installed in Bradford-on-Avon Museum, using artefacts from the actual local chemists when it closed.
Built at Doncaster in1888. Saw both GNR and LNER passenger service.
BR departmental No ‘DE940281E’.
Withdrawn 1966 and preserved by the Vintage Carriage Trust.
Seen in the workshop area of the VCT operated Museum of Rail Travel.
Ingrow Station, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway
06-08-2015
The following details are from the VCT website:-
This coach was built in Doncaster by the Great Northern Railway. Its interior would have been quite comfortable, compared with other Third Class carriages of the same period. The four compartments had buttoned, upholstered seats (not yet restored), lit by gas, and the Guard's compartment had "ducketts" by which means he could view down the length of the train.
The London & North Eastern Railway, which absorbed both the GNR and the NER in 1923, kept old carriages like this in service for most of their existence, with this vehicle becoming a Civil Engineer's Department Stores Van at some time before 1942. Having suffered damage to one of the Guard's doors, it was sent to York in 1966 for repair, but was then condemned. Members of the Vintage Carriages Trust then purchased the coach and it was delivered to Keighley on 25 May 1966, having travelled from York to Bradford as part of a parcels train on the previous day.
The Trust has brought it back to its original external condition as far as research presently allows, but what is immediately striking is the varnished teak exterior panelling, for which products of the Doncaster Works were famous. Further detailed investigation has revealed the original running number, 589. This appears on the back of a number of components - including on the back of the door ventilator cover
The acquisition of GNR 2856 has provided accurate information regarding the colour of the Guard's Brake compartment roof lining and the size and spacing of the timber slats on the floor of the brake compartment. These have now been modified accordingly. Full restoration (including of the interior) is planned for this carriage, with research and costing now in hand.
Filming credits for this carriage:
Testament of Youth (2014 version); North and South; He Knew He Was Right; Sons and Lovers; The Way We Live Now; Possession; Timewatch; The Woman In White; Jude; The Secret Agent (1995 cinema version); Tomorrow's World; The Feast of July; The Secret Agent (1992 BBCTV version); I've Been here Before; Trains from the Arc; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Final Problem ; A Testament of Youth; Raffles: The First Step; Country Matters - The Black Dog ; The Railway Children (1970 EMI version); The Railway Children (1968 BBCTV version).
"All rise. The court is now in session. The Honourable Billy Bragg is presiding"
The very courtroom in which the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried and convicted in 1834 for their actions as members of a trade union was the most unusual venue I've ever been in for a concert. Billy Bragg's "A Short History of Protest Songs" was a fund-raising benefit show for Dorchester's Shire Hall.
We were seated in the public gallery. The dock is the small area between us and the judge's bench. Defendants were brought up to the dock from the cells below. The jury will have sat to the right.
There are around 600 ancient burial mounds aka 'tumuli' aka 'barrows' along the 17 mile / 27 km South Dorset Ridgeway. They mostly date from the Bronze Age, especially the early Bronze Age some 5000 years ago. This one also has a nicely preserved ring ditch around the main burial site.
Can you see three more? Look carefully and they are to the middle right of the photo. There is also a linear earthwork running diagonally across the photo from the bottom left corner. I'm not sure but it could be a much more recent grubbed-out hedgerow.
This week's Saturday Flashback features Warrington Transporter Bridge (aka Bank Quay or Crosfield Transporter Bridge). This is what WikiWhoKnowsAlmostEverything has to say :
"The Warrington Transporter Bridge across the River Mersey is a structural steel transporter bridge with a span of 200 feet. It is 30 feet wide and 76 feet above high water level, with an overall length of 339 feet. It was built in 1915 and although it has been out of use since about 1964, it is still standing. It was designed by William Henry Hunter and built by William Arrol.
It was originally one of two such bridges across the Mersey at Warrington, the other having been erected in 1905 slightly to the north of the existing bridge, and described in The Engineer in 1908. A third transporter bridge over the Mersey was the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge built in 1905 and dismantled in 1961.
The bridge is privately owned and was built to connect the two parts of the large chemical and soap works of Joseph Crosfield and Sons. It was originally used to carry rail vehicles up to 18 tons in weight, and was converted for road vehicles in 1940. In 1953 it was modified to carry loads of up to 30 tons.
The bridge is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building and because of its poor condition it is on their Buildings at Risk Register. The bridge is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument"
Thanks to tarboat www.flickr.com/photos/93173492@N00/8490008464/in/photostream for another good day out. Amazingly, as I only live 10 miles away, I had never heard of let alone visited this remarkable structure. Perhaps that is due to the access being on a legal public right of way that actually runs straight through an active chemical works, where access in practice is heavily discouraged. "Your presence on site is being monitored by security" said a loudspeaker voice as we passed through a gate. No, we didn't get arrested!
This week's Saturday Flashback goes back to Amsterdam circa 1725. I've always liked old maps and certainly from this one you can fairly easily pick out the structure of the old city as it still is today. One major change is that the course of the Amstel River was changed and it no longer flows down what is shown as Dam Rak to approximately where Centraal Station is today. Also note the ring of windmills around the outer ring of the city. This map is on show at The Hidden Church.
The unexpected is what American road trips are all about. This required a u-turn.
At a height of 19 1/2 feet and weighing 500 lbs, Howard Huge was made sometime in the 1960s by International Fibreglass of Lawndale, CA. Although Roadside Giants were a common sight along US highways 50 years ago, all the original molds were destroyed so only approximately 185 remain.
Howard was stored in Maine for over 30 years. The Fat Ass Ranch and Brewery, near Fredericksburg, won a nationwide auction in 2017 and Howard arrived on site in December 2018.