During the summer seasons of the 1950s, many passengers will have departed aboard The Pines Express from the northern industrial cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The rail service will then have picked up more holidaymakers at places such as Birmingham. Now, using Somerset & Dorset rails, the blissfully rural section along the River Stour valley between Sturminster Newton and Blandford Forum must have been a wonderful sight as their final destination of Bournemouth beckoned not too far away.

Fast forward over many decades and the North Dorset Trailway tracks along much of the old S&D route, crossing the River Stour several times. In this photo, passengers will have looked back along the river northwards to the distant Hambledon hill fort. The view from the other side of the train will also have been idyllic.

Aside : I must have travelled this very route as a nipper! Sometime in the 1950s my parents did holiday by train just once from Birmingham to Bournemouth where they had close friends. I must have been quite young because I'm sorry to say that the only memory I have was on the return journey. I was amazed that you could still pull down the old wartime blackout carriage blinds!

Following on from Ray's post a few days ago flic.kr/p/2jyS7Pu this is a Hall & Woodhouse pub that is pretty much on home turf. Their well regarded Badger beers such as Tangle Foot are brewed at Blandford Forum, Dorset.

The name "The Martyrs Inn" commemorates the six agricultural labourers who, in the face of declining wages, were convicted of trying to create a trade union, The Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers in 1834. Their punishment was transportation to Australia. Perhaps less well known is the fact that after mass protests they were pardoned in 1836 and returned to England in the following years.

The pub itself was built in 1921 to replace a former dilapidated pub that was knocked down in the First World War to allow tanks to pass through Tolpuddle village!

This week's Saturday Timewatch features the two lighthouses that are less well known to visitors than the current red and white operational lighthouse at the tip of Portland Bill.

The two shown in this photo are the forerunners of the current light. Dating from 1716, the Old Higher Lighthouse (in the distance) and the Old Lower Lighthouse were originally coal-fired. Quite how that worked I don't really know. Not very well I suspect as by the end of that century new Argand lights had been installed in both and the lower lighthouse remodelled.

Both were further rebuilt in 1869 but had short lives with the new and still operational lighthouse opened in 1906. The Old Higher Lighthouse was sold and in a quirk of history purchased in 1923 by Marie Stopes, the pioneer of birth control. It is still privately owned and now offers holiday accommodation.The Old Lower Lighthouse is now Portland Bird Observatory.

Yesterday's post flic.kr/p/2n5HUbD featured both pre and post-Roman history. Just a couple of miles away, this photo visits a classic Roman road. Known as Ackling Dyke, it originally ran from Old Sarum (Sorviodunum) to the hillfort of Badbury Rings (Vindocladia) a total distance of approximately 22 miles (35km). As can be seen here, it is possible to walk quite lengthy stretches on what are now public rights-of-way.

This week's Saturday Timewatch only goes back a few years but it goes back to an era when red telephone boxes were commonly seen and used everywhere in the UK. Their demise has been nothing short of rapid. Indeed this box was still shown on the 2003 Ordnance Survey and I suspect continued in business for at least another decade.

Near Langton Matravers, Purbeck, Dorset, this telephone no longer operates. However, the K6 box itself has been lovingly restored by Burngate, an adjacent stone carving centre. Inside there is a nice poem, though I cannot find anything about the author.

At least that was Swanage Railway's theory for last weekend's special event and yes, the coal fire burning in Corfe's ticket office was very welcome. Apart from that, it lashed it down with rain making photography difficult. This shot of 31806 hauling a freight service, replete with guard's van, was taken from underneath the platform canopy. For the record the other locomotive is 34070 Manston.

Saturday Timewatch returns with another look at the Isle of Portland's military history. The date of this photo is unknown. However, it is after 1881 when the southern entrance was completed. A regiment of soldiers leave the citadel.

Today, with the citadel being a prison, this entrance is no longer in use but it remains very recognisable.

No, not the sort of Ice House bar found in Houston, but the food storage ice house that preceded refrigeration in the UK.

Despite walking passed hundreds of times, we had no idea there was an ice house here, hidden by trees and vegetation, until prompted by an article seen by a neighbour. Although adjacent to the remains of a medieval village, the building is from a much later date. It is shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1902 but not on the earlier 1888 edition. Nor is it shown on the local tithe map from 1839.

It was built on a partially excavated bank above a small stream. The chamber itself was covered by a mound of earth, stone and turf to provide insulation, as can be seen above.

Upon entering the mound, immediately on the left a doorway leads into the chamber, see photo below. The second photo below shows the inside of the icehouse.

This Saturday Timewatch commemorates two of the Isle of Portland's major industries......stone quarrying and fishing. The quarryman looks inland to the quarries whilst the fisherman looks down towards Chesil Beach and the harbour. You can read a short article here courtesy of The Encyclopaedia of Portland History www.portlandhistory.co.uk/spirit-of-portland-sculpture.html

This week's Saturday Timewatch features a crushed ammonite (possibly Pavlovia rotunda) found in a fall of Kimmeridge Clay at Chapman's Pool, Dorset. It is from the Upper Jurassic period about 150 million years ago. Not collectable except by photograph, these are incredibly fragile. As winter storms hit, within months if not weeks it will finally disappear back to where it came from all those millions of years ago - the ocean.

(As I always mention with fossils I am very far from expert on the subject and once again have relied on internet information provided by Southampton University)

This week's Saturday Timewatch looks at some of the business history of the American aircraft industry. It is convoluted to say the very least! However, this is the gist of the three 'names' mentioned above.

Boeing 1916 - present, taking over assorted companies such as Hughes Aircraft Co. and McDonnell Douglas along the way.

Convair 1943 - 1996, formed from predecessors Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft and then subsequently acquired by Atlas Corp in 1947 and then by General Dynamics in the early 1950's. Between 1992 -94 various parts of the company were sold off to Hughes Aircraft Co; Martin Marietta and McDonnell Douglas. The name "Convair" finally disappeared as a business entity in 1996.

Lockheed 1912 - 1995, at which time merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin which continues into the present day.

Taking my chance during a window of 'flickr is working' opportunity with a double-header from two years ago in Belgium. Here is the second photo flic.kr/p/2jRJg47

This fine work is above the booking hall of the old part of Gent-Sint-Pieters station, Flanders. I presume it was advertising rail services to and from Oostende / Ostende. From there it used to be possible to catch a ferry to Dover. Once that bit the dust, in the final years of operation you could instead go to Ramsgate. Apparently that service also ended in 1997, closing a 151 year span of Ooostende-Enland ferry links.

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Less often photographed than the current lighthouse at Portland Bill, this is the Old Lower Lighthouse, companion to the Old Higher Lighthouse, both of which originally opened in 1716. This one was rebuilt twice, 1789 and 1869, before being decommissioned in 1906 when the third and current lighthouse came into use.

In 1961, it went on to become home to the Portland Bird Observatory, a function that continues to this day with a special interest in bird migration.

I'll readily admit I thought this might be a fragment of fossil wood. However, it has been re-identified by a well-known local expert as the fragment of an Ichthyosaurus rib bone. The specimen is approx 1 3/4" / 4cms long.

Here is Wiki's short version simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosaurus

Mount Damavand, Iran.

Jan 16 2013 : Forbidden lands meant countries such as Iran and North Korea.

Jan 16 2021 : Forbidden land is just a few miles down the road under C-19 restrictions.

Let's get one thing clear. I very much accept the UK current ban on going anywhere outside your home except in certain circumstances. However, how the world has changed from eight years ago.

This photo was taken from Emirates A380 EK017 from Dubai to Manchester on the way back from a stay with K's daughter who lived in Kuala Lumpur at the time. Mount Damavand is a stratovolcano rising to 5,609 metres (18,403 ft) some 70 kms (43 miles) northeast of Tehran. I'm pretty sure that the lake in the foreground is Hoz-e Soltan Salt Lake about 85 kms (53 miles) southwest of Tehran. That city is somewhere just off the left side of this photo so the mountain was photographed from approximately 140 kms away (86 miles).

A slightly different Saturday Timewatch this week because though historic, Weymouth Town Bridge is still operational. Opened in 1930, it is the sixth bridge to have been built since 1597, connecting Weymouth to Melcombe Regis. Photographed in 2017, it is a bascule bridge and is put into action from the control room immediately behind the yatch Pentrisha. Fortunately, since 1997 it has been protected as a Grade Two listed structure....just as well given what else has been lost in the town.

Following on from last week's Saturday Timewatch, this view from the sailing vessel Moonfleet is taken whilst going through the North Ship Channel looking south at all the military defences from Victorian to more modern times.

For those that are interested, click on "Official List Entry" for a very detailed article on this and other aspects of Portland Port.

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1205991

Of all the many exhibits at the Geevor Mine Museum, this changing room was one of the most striking. It is basically as left on February 16th 1990 which was the day the pit finally closed so far as any production was concerned. It had been a slow death, having first 'closed' 4 years earlier, then re-opened, then closed again. However, after this 1990 date, just a tiny care and maintenance staff were left. With no sign of improvement in the price of tin, the pumps were switched off in May 1991, and Geevor was allowed to flood.

Ironically, thirty years later, there is very serious talk of another tin mine in the area re-opening.

This week's Saturday Timewatch features a fifth and probably last posting from the Rodney Legg book "Dorset Flight : The Complete History". I will of course be removing this and any other images from the book should anyone moan about copyright. However, I think the photos deserve a wider showing.

This is the experimental Saunders-Roe SR-53. In 1959, naval airman Lieutenant-Commander Peter Lamb took off from RAF Boscombe Down. Using the rocket booster, he took the aircraft to 56,900' over Lyme Bay, Dorset, Just one year later, the project was abandoned in favour of other developing technologies after only56 test flights.

The full story can be found here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saunders-Roe_SR.53

This week's Saturday Timewatch goes back to WW2 and the baggage signs that remain on my dad's troop ship trunk. He served in the RAF and was posted to India.

This week's Saturday Timewatch features Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was made famous in the 1973 Hovis advert directed by Ridley Scott no less, he of Alien fame. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq59ykPnAE

Gold Hill is to be officially renamed "Hovis Hill" to further encourage tourism. I do understand that popular culture can be a wondrous thing. Perhaps you remember my description of how the Japanese go crazy for KFC on Xmas Day? Well apparently the Chinese, traditionally non-bread eaters, have developed a massive taste for the dubious delights of Hovis, at least in part due to the above advert being dubbed into Chinese. Already coachloads of Chinese tourists have been turning up, making their pilgrimage to "Hovis Hill" as a side trip to nearby Stonehenge. So the local council has decided to officially rename the hill!

PS : We can't take anything seriously in England. So here are The Two Ronnies www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJi_5T0jSnA

This week, Saturday Timewatch goes back to 2009. Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 puts the power on to begin her traditional steep climb out, this time from a display fly-pass at Manchester Airport. On this particular day, she had initially flown over nearby Woodford Aerodrome before making a low pass along the line of Manchester's 23R runway. After climb out she headed to her final display of the day at Southport Airshow.

XH558 made her last ever flight on 28th October 2015. Meanwhile at Woodford, where she was built, the Avro Heritage Museum opened less than one month later on 13th November. However she isn't based there, though Vulcan XM603 is still stationed outside whilst the cockpit of XM602 is indoors. Most of the old Woodford Aerodrome is now a housing estate.

(Note that I'll be awol for a couple of day on flickr)

Saturday Timewatch.

After a lengthy hiatus (too many other projects and quests!) we are determined to get our Somerset and Dorset Railway exploration back on track. Having already completed the southern section from Bournemouth to Blandford Forum, we hope to get at least as far as Sturminster Newton this summer.

This scene shows the remnant stub at the north end of the long gone Blandford Forum station, closed in the late 1960s. Under the Alexandra Street bridge, the North Dorset Trailway beckons us forward as it now follows the route of the old railway line for quite a few miles as a footpath, bridleway and cycleway! The photo below will have been taken from the bridge with the stub down the bottom right corner.

Who remembers Flanders and Swann "The Slow Train"??

"No more will I go to Blandford Forum and Moretehoe

On the slow train from Midsomer Norton and Mumby Road

No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat"

Fair enough, as it is an exaggeration. However, I've long had the opinion that Britain would fall apart if it wasn't for volunteers. They put so much into all sorts of support for people; all sorts of work for wildlife and of course for all sorts of industrial and transport history.

Just the platforms remain as original evidence at Spetisbury Halt on the S&D (Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway). In this instance it is a rather mixed and currently sad story. After considerable effort, a totally overgrown ex-station was cleared of overgrowth. Then along came covid meaning no work parties and it was almost back to square one. One our visit, a married couple, one of whom is seen here, were trying to remove ivy from the platform. They had made a 20 mile round trip to do the work and said they only had one other person to help who came by bus from Poole. Nobody from the local village volunteered despite some clearly using the North Dorset Trailway which now follows the old track. It was suggested by them (and independently by another gentleman we spoke to later) that this was largely because no 'locals' lived there any more as the properties had all been bought up by Londoners. Sadly, a round trip of 40 miles is too far for us to help out on a regular basis which is what is needed.

There are lots of old photos in this link. Also, scroll well down and there are some great personal recollections!

spetisburystationproject.wordpress.com/archive-photos/

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if some bugger hadn't suddenly stood up just as I was to press the shutter!

The photo was taken in July 1977 from the observation car of my northbound service from Anchorage to McKinley / Denali. It shows Alaska Railroad's 1512, a locomotive built in 1953. The last reference I can find for the unit is in 1985. The service is southbound to Anchorage whilst my train holds at a passing loop.

I have given a general geotag of McKinley / Denali as I don't know exactly where this was taken.

Scrubbed up from a grim 35mm slide, this week's Saturday Timewatch goes back to Corsica in the summer of 1978.

I would be delighted if anyone corrects my identification and / or provides more information. What I can say is that to the best of my knowledge this is a Renault ABH8 autorail. It was photographed during a "Great Railway Journey" from Calvi to Ajaccio. The unit is standing at an unidentified passing loop waiting for an eastbound service. Edit : I am informed by mariusd2 that this is Ponte Leccia station.

Chemin de Fer de Corse survived several closure proposals in 1959 and 1972 as a result of local action. Even more remarkably, autorails such as the above survived as well. Built in 1949, at least one was still operating into this century.

The railways in mountainous Corsica remain open to this day and I'm sure still provide spectacular journeys, just as they did over 40 years ago.

Note : I have entered a general geotag not knowing the exact location.

Today's Saturday Timewatch features two-for-the-price-of-one. Thankfully preserved and now operating as the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport, this is the airside view that passengers will have seen as they arrived at Houston's first purpose-built passenger terminal opened in 1940.

In the foreground is the resident Lockheed C-60A Lodestar delivered to the USAAF Dec 22 1942 and later converted to business flights. As far as I know she is still airworthy.

This week's Saturday Timewatch features another "left as it was" room from Geevor Mine Museum. This was the office of the mine superintendent (foreground) and two mine captains. The date is 1986. I'm pretty certain many who view this photo will recognise the style and details of the office.

Our most recent leg of exploring the ex-Somerset & Dorset Railway featured Charlton Marshall Halt. It only opened in 1928, apparently in response to competition from bus services. The halt had no buildings and no facilities. Given that only a few local stoppers were scheduled, it was never busy and closed in 1956. A notable feature was how short the concrete platforms were, by our judgement suitable for just a single carriage.

This week's Saturday Timewatch takes another look at the Old Coastguard Cottages, Osmington Mills. Like many others around the UK coast they were initially built for staff who were trying to stop smuggling rather than to save lives at sea. The next nearest coastguard cottages, only two miles east above Ringstead Bay, were literally built at the top of a cliff path that is known to this day as the "smugglers' path'.

Meanwhile back at this site, where boats could come into a tiny sheltered 'harbour', the adjacent pub is now known as The Smugglers. By all accounts the system made major inroads into the smuggling trade with numerous people being caught and sent to Dorchester for trial.

The date of construction remains unknown but they were certainly on a 1888 map and probably date from three or four decades before that.

This week's Saturday Timewatch goes back almost exactly 25 years to July 29 1995.

The butterfly is a Purple Emperor (Apatura iris). The link below shows the upperwings. The photos were taken in Bentley Wood on the Wiltshire/ Hampshire border. Today's flickr post transfers the original prints to digital. It is the only time that I have ever seen Purple Emperor so these are my only photos in a lifetime.

A tiny population (maybe less than a dozen) exists in the north east of Dorset. However, I have never yet managed to find one despite several attempts.

This week's Saturday Timewatch features a Witness Post erected by the US National Geodetic Survey in 1978.

A Witness Post indicates to surveyors that a Survey Marker is very close by, but possibly on private land. Indeed we could not find the actual marker.

However a search of the National Geodetic Survey Data reveals height marker AW2189 is situated -

"NORTHWEST OF A POLE WITH 2 GUY WIRES AND TO A POWERLINE SPUR, 30 FEET NORTH OF THE CENTER-

LINE OF MORRISON ROAD, 17 FEET WEST OF THE CENTER OF TWO LARGE METAL PIPE GATES, AND 1 FOOT SOUTH OF THE NORTHERLY RIGHT OF WAY FENCE. DISK IS LEVEL WITH THE GROUND, ACCESS TO WHICH IS HAD THROUGH A 4 INCH PLASTIC SCREW PLUG".

The height above sea level is revealed as 57.88 metres / 189.9'

It seems the marker to which this Witness Post was erected may have been situated because another marker AW2213 placed nearby on an unknown date but known to be 'good' in 1954, couldn't be found in 1978. Ironically both AW2189 and AW2213 were refound in good condition on October 14th 2004!

Flickr Explore # 74 on Monday, April 22, 2019.

With Lockdown 3.0 and poor photographic weather continuing, it is time to dig deep into the 35mm slide archives over the next few days, concentrating on a short visit to Katmai whilst exploring the state of Alaska.

The above photo features a Wien Air Alaska Boeing 737-200 taken on July 6th 1977.

The back story : For decades I have had it in my head that the trip to Katmai National Park from Anchorage was via Nome. Wrong! The aircraft was probably onward bound to Nome but stopped en route at the small town of King Salmon. After leaving the plane, this is where the above photo was taken.

I'll add that the Katmai trip was a mini 3 day package organised by a travel agent in Anchorage. I'll always remember him asking why on earth I hadn't called him from England ahead of time so he could book things. He was incredulous when I sheepishly answered that I didn't have a telephone!

What happened next? See tomorrow's post.

This week's Saturday Timewatch moves just a mile or so north of the old Somerset and Dorset Railway terminus at the now non-existent Bournemouth West station.

It shows two railway viaducts which are actually two sides of the Branksome rail triangle which enabled access to / from Bournemouth West. The line across the 10 arch viaduct in the foreground no longer exists, closed in 1965. It provided a direct link to / from what is now Bournemouth Station. However, the viaduct in the distance still carries the main line between Weymouth and London Waterloo.

The third side of the triangle (out of sight to the left) was the main S&D route into their southern terminus. The first part of that stub is still used by South Western Railway to access their Traincare Shed. However, with no direct link to Bournemouth, their main station in the area, equipment has to reverse via the current Branksome Station.

Completed in 1881, this now fully-automated lighthouse is still operational on the coast just to the south of Swanage, Dorset. The old keepers' cottages are now holiday accommodation.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil_Point_Lighthouse

The Cove House Inn, part of which dates back to a cottage built in the 18th century, is the far left building in the distance. It began operating as a pub from at least the 1840s. You can read a detailed history here www.portlandhistory.co.uk/the-cove-house-inn.html

As can be seen from the modern photo below, the nearer building just above the boats no longer exists. However, I reckon the fourth building along, with chimney stacks at either end, can be seen below just right of centre above the rubbish bin on the promenade. I also think the right hand building with a dark end and tall chimneys is the one that remains in today's world although clearly updated.

The date of the above photo is unknown, as is the photographer.

A Scheduled Ancient Monument and probably the oldest bridge to cross the River Stour is reputedly also the oldest bridge in Dorset, but who knows!

What is known are references to the building of "A Bridge on the River Stour adjacent to the White Mill" in the year 1175 and that during an investigation of the foundations on which it stands, there are timber pilings which have been carbon dated to the twelfth century. There is also a record from 1341 showing three shillings bequeathed for bridge repairs.

The basic construction of what you see here, somewhat updated by the Victorians and again repaired in more recent times, probably dates from the 16th century.

We managed to blag our way onto the footplate of Union of South Africa 60009 shortly before she left Swanage on her return journey to London. The amount of heat coming from the firebox was truly remarkable.

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bithbox # 200

Kacey Musgraves "The Trailer Song"

This week's Saturday Timewatch features one of the classic images of 20th century 'Murica, the trailer park. Generally regarded with suspicion by the authorities and those with money, they've always been pushed to the edge of town and this is one of the few that can now be found in central Houston. However, they remain quite common out in the Texas piney woods and across the Gulf plains. There are also many individual trailers to be found along the back roads on rural plots of land.

Note : There is no judgement here. We live in a trailer in England where they are rather grandly known as 'park homes'. In the 21st century, they are actually a rather good solution to finding relatively low-cost housing, usually in rural areas.

A bonus Timewatch photo this week as it was three years ago this week that Britain officially went into "Stay at Home" lockdown. The regulars will already know our story of Trump closing the US borders to all durn foreigners; ordering all American citizens abroad to return home immediately etc etc. Fortunately Kim took no notice and our excellent specialist immigration lawyer kept her legal in the UK for 15 months. At that point she voluntarily returned to Texas from where she could file a new and different visa application which then led six months later to another new and different visa application that finally gave her a British Residency Permit lasting 2 1/2 years.

I'm interested in what has become the classic Covid memory, classic Covid image that stands out in your mind? For us, it is the totally unexpected sight of empty cruise ships anchored in Weymouth Bay. During our government permitted walks (remember those?) it was almost a daily routine to see how many "Ghost Ships" there were. The first was a real shock to see. Then there were two, three, five, eight and eventually peaking at 10 all anchored offshore!=

This photo has not been posted previously. It features 7 such ghost ships on May 24th 2020, almost exactly two months after the UK lockdown began.

With hindsight, what is your stand-out image / memory of the three Covid years so far?

This week's Saturday Timewatch features a third in the series about defense constructions in Dorset over the millennia. The previous two concerned Iron Age and medieval defences.

This building is part of the large Upton Fort complex, originally constructed before WW1 but also used during WW2. I'm not sure of the exact date of this defensive outpost. Nor am I certain as to its purpose. Some say it is a searchlight battery but I don;t understand why there would be the concrete canopy at the front? That would surely obstruct beams for looking for enemy aircraft heading towards Portland Harbour in the distance? .

To me it has the look of an observation post, maybe with machine guns also available. However, I am very far from an expert on the subject so my thoughts are mere speculation.

The tidy and neat little town of Turkey, Texas (pop 320 : declining) survives on farming and the trickle of travellers paying respect to the town's famous son, Bob Wills. Although the Rolling Stones did a tribute track, he is mostly unknown outside America and somewhat unknown outside of TX. Nevertheless, he was influencing modern day Texas music even before I was born. To gauge his musical impact, watch this very informative 5 minute video www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0UI4rxaVD0

The Bob Wills Museum is inside City Hall. It was shut when we arrived. The only person we could find in the entire establishment kindly found the keys, turned on the lights and left us to it. The photo below shows just one of numerous exhibits featuring his life, times and music.

Meanwhile back in town there are references everyone. The above photo shows a restored tour buses from 1948 used by the band when travelling from honkytonk to radio station to dancehall. The make doesn't mean anything to me but it is a Flxible Clipper...and that is spelt correctly!

Let's finish by linking Waylon Jennings and his classic tribute

bithbox # 207

Waylon Jennings "Bob Wills Is Still The King"

This week's Saturday Timewatch encapsulates a broad sweep of English history at just one location.

Looking under the bridge and into the distance a Roman Road that originated at Poole Harbour remains as a right-of-way. Meanwhile, a rail-trail, the 16 mile Castleman Trailway runs across the top of the Victorian bridge. This follows the route of the original Southampton to Dorchester line known as "Castleman's Corkscrew" because of the tortuous route that it took to include Mr. Castleman's home town of Wimborne. Guess what? He was the main promoter of the line.

So what is the S&D (Somerset and Dorset Railway) connection here? The S&D originally ran to Wimborne, about 5 miles northeast of this location. From there, services had to join what had become The London and South Western Railway. Between 1872-74 S&D operations continued on LSWR metal from Wimborne along what is now the Castleman Trailway to the S&D's original terminus at Lower Hamworthy. Incidentally, Hamworthy Station is still active on the current mainline from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

Chapeau! Hats off!......to some of the biggest animals ever to have walked this planet. It is always special to see physical evidence of life from aeons ago, in this case a footprint in the ground.

The fossil record shows that Brachiosaurus sauropods could grow up to 26 metres long and weigh up to 50 tonnes. By comparison a modern day adult horse could weigh in at one tonne. The on site interpretation board at Keates Quarry, Dorset, suggests that a group of these plant eaters may have been visiting a water hole rather like modern day elephants.

(Catching up on some photos from Finland earlier in the spring)

I know nothing about engines but couldn't help but be impressed by this Jumo 211J aircraft engine displayed (upside down) in Joensuu Museum. The engine is from a German-built Junkers 88 level / dive bomber of the Finnish Airforce that crashed into a lake on July 1st 1944. It had left Joenssu Airfield on a bombing mission against Russian forces in this south-eastern corner of Finland.

This week's "Saturday Timewatch" takes us back over 2000 years to Eggardon Hill, Dorset, an Iron Age hill fort dating from about 300 B.C. Several tumuli / barrows are on the hill taking its human history further back to prehistoric times. The historic timeline is even more enhanced by a Roman ridgeway road, that can still be driven as narrow tarmacked lane. This runs literally straight to the edge of the fort from Dorchester to the east.

At a height of almost 250 metres (c830 feet) Eggardon Hill provides wonderful views to the south, west and north.

Looking to the west in this photograph, I'm fairly certain that the flat-topped hill is Pilsdon Pen, another Iron Age settlement and Lewesdon Hill, the highest point in Dorset and yet another Iron Age hill fort.

This week's Saturday Timewatch features a post card showing Osmington Post Office circa 1910. This village shop has long gone but the building still stands as Jasmine Cottage, a holiday let. The photo was taken several years ago during a small exhibition at the church.

Ironbridge, River Severn, Telford, Shropshire

This has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I’ve often regarded it as the twin to Worsley, both influential in the Industrial Revolution and the driving force that put ‘Great’ in Great Britain. However, it’s a real bugger to photograph because of the bend in the river and the overgrown trees that overhang both sides of the river bank.

This was taken, with much patience I might add, whilst sat at a park bench watching the world go by. So many tourists milling about eating fish and chips and rapidly melting ice creams in the late afternoon sun.

Now the history bit…

The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a structural material, and today the bridge is celebrated as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution.

The geography of the deep Ironbridge Gorge, formed by glacial action during the last ice age, meant that there are industrially useful deposits of coal, iron ore, limestone and fire clay present near the surface where they are readily mined, but also that it was difficult to build a bridge across the river at this location. To cope with the instability of the banks and the need to maintain a navigable channel in the river, a single span iron bridge was proposed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard. After initial uncertainty about the use of iron, construction took place over 2 years, with Abraham Darby III responsible for the ironworks. The bridge crosses the Ironbridge Gorge with a main span of 100 ft 6 in (30.63 m), allowing sufficient clearance for boats to pass underneath.

In 1934 it was designated a scheduled monument and closed to vehicular traffic. Tolls for pedestrians were collected until 1950, when the bridge was transferred into public ownership. After being in a poor state of repair for much of its life, extensive restoration works in the latter half of the 20th century have protected the bridge. The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Background

The Ironbridge Gorge was formed at the end of the last ice age by the overflowing of Lake Lapworth, which resulted in the exposure of useful deposits of resources such as coal, iron ore, fire clay and limestone near the surface where they were readily mined. With the river providing a means of transport, the local area was an important centre of the emerging Industrial Revolution.

Abraham Darby I first smelted local iron ore with coke made from Coalbrookdale coal in 1709, and in the coming decades Shropshire became a centre for industry due to the low price of fuel from local mines. The River Severn was used as a key trading route, but it was also a barrier to travel around the deep Ironbridge Gorge, especially between the then important industrial parishes of Broseley and Madeley, the nearest bridge being at Buildwas 2 miles (3.2 km) away. The Iron Bridge was therefore proposed to link the industrial town of Broseley with the smaller mining town of Madeley and the industrial centre of Coalbrookdale. The use of the river by boat traffic and the steep sides of the gorge meant that any bridge should ideally be of a single span, and sufficiently high to allow tall ships to pass underneath. The steepness and instability of the banks was problematic for building a bridge, and there was no point where roads on opposite sides of the river converged.

The Iron Bridge was the first of its kind to be constructed, although not the first to be considered nor the first iron bridge of any kind. An iron bridge was partly constructed at Lyons in 1755, but was abandoned for reasons of cost, and a 72-foot-10-inch (22.2 m) span wrought iron footbridge over an ornamental waterway was erected in Kirklees, Yorkshire, in 1769.

Proposal

In 1773, architect Thomas Farnolls Pritchard wrote to his 'iron mad' friend and local ironmaster, John Wilkinson of Broseley, to suggest building a bridge out of cast iron. Although he specialised in the design of chimneypieces and other items of interior decoration, and in funerary monuments, he had also previously designed both wooden and stone bridges.

During the winter of 1773–74, local newspapers advertised a proposal to petition Parliament for leave to construct an iron bridge with a single 120-foot (37 m) span. In 1775, a subscription raised funds of between £3000 to £4000 (equivalent to £361,000 to £482,000 in 2016), and Abraham Darby III, the grandson of Abraham Darby I and an ironmaster working at Coalbrookdale, was appointed treasurer to the project.

In March 1776, the Act to build a bridge received Royal assent. It had been drafted by Thomas Addenbrooke, secretary of the trustees, and John Harries, a London barrister, then presented to the House of Commons by Charles Baldwyn, MP for Shropshire. Abraham Darby III was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. In May 1776, the trustees withdrew Darby's commission, and instead advertised for plans for a single arch bridge to be built in "stone, brick or timber". No satisfactory proposal was made, and the trustees agreed to proceed with Pritchard's design, but there was continued uncertainty about the use of iron, and conditions were set on the cost and duration of the construction. In July 1777 the span of the bridge was decreased to 90 feet (27 m), and then increased again to 100 feet 6 inches (30.6 m), possibly in order to accommodate a towpath.

Construction

The site, adjacent to where a ferry had run between Madeley and Benthall, was chosen for its high approaches on each side and the relative solidity of the ground. The Act of Parliament described how the bridge was to be built from a point in Benthall parish near the house of Samuel Barnett to a point on the opposite shore near the house of Thomas Crumpton. Pritchard died on 21 December 1777 in his towerhouse at Eyton on Severn, only a month after work had begun, having been ill for over a year.

The bridge is built from five sectional cast-iron ribs that give a span of 100 feet 6 inches (30.6 m). The construction of the bridge used 378 long tons 10 cwt (847,800 lb or 384.6 t) of iron, and there are almost 1,700 individual components, the heaviest weighing 5 long tons 5 cwt (11,800 lb or 5.3 t). Components were cast individually to fit with each other, rather than being of standard sizes, with discrepancies of up to several centimetres between 'identical' components in different locations.

The masonry and abutments were constructed between 1777 and 1778, and the ribs were lifted into place in the summer of 1779. The bridge first spanned the river on 2 July 1779, and it was opened to traffic on 1 January 1781.

In 1997, a watercolour by Elias Martin was discovered in a Stockholm museum, which showed the bridge under construction in 1779. The painting shows a moveable wooden scaffold consisting of derrick poles standing in the river bed being used as a crane to position the half-ribs of the bridge, which had been taken to the site by boat from Darby's foundry 500 metres (1,600 ft) downstream. Using the approach depicted in the painting, a half-size replica of the main section of the bridge was built in 2001 as part of the research for the BBC's Timewatch programme, which was shown the following year.

Design

Decorative rings and ogees between the structural ribs of the bridge suggest that the final design was Pritchard's, as the same elements appear in a gazebo he rebuilt. A foreman at the foundry, Thomas Gregory, drew the detailed designs for the members, resulting in the use of carpentry jointing details such as mortise and tenon joints and dovetails.

The two outer ribs are engraved with the words: "This bridge was cast at Coalbrook-Dale and erected in the year MDCCLXXIX".

Two supplemental arches, of similar cast iron construction, carry a towpath on the southern bank and also act as flood arches. A stone arch with a brick vault carries a small path on the northern (town side) bank.