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New to Pete's Travel of West Bromwich and latterly with Grant Palmer of Flitwick is Mercedes Vario / Plaxton V398 SVV of Gary's Minicoaches, Bestwood, Notts. This and V253 BNV have been owned by Gary's, both purchased direct from Palmer via eBay, V398 SVV is now on eBay in January 2016 after a loss of contract.
This card was also included as well as the Joker.
When I was in the Army I played a huge amount of Bridge, I have not played now for about 40 years.
For many years independent operators have taken school children to the swimming baths providing a useful source of off peak income. The firm with whom I started my working life in the bus industry was no exception and Stoniers of Goldenhill ... later Tunstall, had several such contracts. Here 'our' penultimate new Leyland Leopard TVT 863R awaits the returning rabble outside Tunstall's elderly Public Baths in Greengate Street circa 1980. Bodywork was by Plaxton to their Supreme III 'Express' design seating 53.
I gather Tunstall's baths are now earmarked for closure along with several other council run facilities as the authority strives to make cuts. I'm not sure how or where the kids will learn to swim if it is indeed still a legal requirement (?)
DSC_3065 - MEC7 - BG09 JJZ - Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro 2 - Go-Ahead London Central - Lewisham, Molesworth Street 23/07/20
The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is 28 miles (45 km) north-west of Skipton and 26 miles (42 km) south-east of Kendal. It is a Grade II* listed structure. Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle–Carlisle line.
The viaduct was designed by John Sydney Crossley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway, who was responsible for the design and construction of all major structures along the line. The viaduct was necessitated by the challenging terrain of the route. Construction began in late 1869. It necessitated a large workforce, up to 2,300 men, most of whom lived in shanty towns set up near its base. Over 100 men lost their lives during its construction. The Settle to Carlisle line was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour.
By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid; on 1 May 1876, the Settle–Carlisle line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp and navvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.
In the 1860s, the Midland Railway, keen to capitalise on the growth in rail traffic between England and Scotland, proposed building a line between Settle and Carlisle. The line was intended to join the Midland line between Skipton and Carnforth to the city of Carlisle. On 16 July 1866, the Midland Railway (Settle to Carlisle) Act was passed by Parliament, authorising the company "to construct Railways from Settle to Hawes, Appleby, and Carlisle; and for other Purposes".
After the Act passed, the Midland Railway came to an agreement with the London & North Western Railway, to run services on the LNWR line via Shap. The company applied for a bill of abandonment for its original plan but Parliament rejected the bill on 16 April 1869 and the Midland Railway was compelled to build the Settle to Carlisle line.
The line passed through difficult terrain that necessitated building several substantial structures. The company's chief engineer, John Sydney Crossley and its general manager, James Joseph Allport, surveyed the line. Crossley was responsible for the design and construction of the major works, including Ribblehead Viaduct.
On 6 November 1869, a contract to construct the Settle Junction (SD813606) to Dent Head Viaduct section including Ribblehead Viaduct was awarded to contractor John Ashwell. The estimated cost was £343,318 and completion was expected by May 1873. Work commenced at the southern end of the 72-mile (116 km) line.
By July 1870, work had started on the foundations for Ribblehead Viaduct. On 12 October 1870, contractor's agent William Henry Ashwell laid the first stone. Financial difficulties came to greatly trouble John Ashwell; on 26 October 1871, his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement. From this date, the viaduct was constructed by the Midland Railway who worked on a semi-contractual basis overseen by William Ashwell.
The viaduct was built by a workforce of up to 2,300 men. They lived, often with their families, in temporary camps, named Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia on adjacent land. More than a hundred workers lost their lives in construction-related accidents, fighting, or from outbreaks of smallpox. According to Church of England records, there are around 200 burials of men, women, and children in the graveyard at Chapel-le-Dale and the church has a memorial to the railway workers.
In December 1872, the design for Ribblehead Viaduct was changed from 18 arches to 24, each spanning 45 feet (13.7 m). By August 1874, the arches had been keyed and the last stone was laid by the end of the year. A single track was laid over the viaduct and on 6 September 1874 the first train carrying passengers was hauled across by the locomotive Diamond. On 3 August 1875, the viaduct was opened for freight traffic and on 1 May 1876, the whole line opened for passenger services, following approval by Colonel F. H. Rich from the Board of Trade.
Ribblehead Viaduct is 440 yards (400 m) long, and 104 feet (32 m) above the valley floor at its highest point, it was designed to carry a pair of tracks aligned over the sleeper walls. The viaduct has 24 arches of 45 feet (14 m) span, the foundations of which are 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. The piers are tapered, roughly 13 feet (4 m) across at the base and 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) thick near the arches and have loosely-packed rubble-filled cores. Every sixth pier is 50 per cent thicker, a mitigating measure against collapse should any of the piers fail. The north end is 13 feet (4 m) higher in elevation than the south, a gradient of 1:100.
The viaduct is faced with limestone masonry set in hydraulic lime mortar and the near-semicircular arches are red brick, constructed in five separate rings, with stone voussoirs. Sleeper walls rise from the arches to support the stone slabs of the viaduct's deck and hollow spandrels support plain solid parapet walls. In total, 1.5 million bricks were used; some of the limestone blocks weigh eight tons.
Ribblehead Viaduct is 980 feet (300 m) above sea level on moorland exposed to the prevailing westerly wind. Its height, from foundation to rails is 55 yards (50.3 m). It is 442.7 yards (404.8 m) long on a lateral curve with a radius of 0.85 miles (1.37 km).
The viaduct is the longest structure on the Settle–Carlisle Railway which has two taller viaducts, Smardale Viaduct at 131 feet (40 m) near Crosby Garrett, and Arten Gill at 117 feet (36 m). Ribblehead railway station is less than half a mile to the south and to the north is Blea Moor Tunnel, the longest on the line, near the foot of Whernside.
During 1964, several Humber cars were blown off their wagons while being carried over the viaduct on a freight train.
By 1980, the viaduct was in disrepair and many of its piers had been weakened by water ingress. Between 1981 and 1984, repairs were undertaken as a cost of roughly £100,000. Repairs included strengthening the piers by the addition of steel rails and concrete cladding. For safety reasons, the line was reduced to single track across the viaduct to avoid the simultaneous loading from two trains crossing and a 20mph speed limit was imposed. During 1988, minor repairs were carried out and trial bores were made into several piers. In 1989, a waterproof membrane was installed.
In the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line, citing the high cost of repairs to its major structures. Vigorous campaigning by the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line, formed during 1981, garnered and mobilised public support against the plan. In 1989, the line was saved from closure. According to Michael Portillo, who took the decision in his capacity as Minister of State for Transport, the economic arguments for closing it had been weakened by a spike in passenger numbers, and further studies by engineers had determined that restoration work would not be nearly as costly as estimated.
In November 1988, Ribblehead Viaduct was Grade II* listed. The surrounding land where the remains of its construction camps are located has been recognised as a scheduled monument.
Between 1990 and 1992, Ribblehead Viaduct underwent major restoration. Between September 1999 and March 2001, a programme of improvements was implemented involving renewal of track, replacement of ballast and the installation of new drainage. Restoration has allowed for increased levels of freight traffic assuring the line's viability.
The Settle–Carlisle Line is one of three north–south main lines, along with the West Coast Main Line through Penrith and the East Coast Main Line via Newcastle. During 2016, the line carried seven passenger trains from Leeds to Carlisle per day in each direction, and long-distance excursions, many hauled by preserved steam locomotives.
Regular heavy freight trains use the route avoiding congestion on the West Coast Main Line. Timber trains, and stone from Ingleton quarry, pass over the viaduct when they depart from the yard opposite Ribblehead railway station. The stone from Ingleton is ferried to the terminal at Ribblehead by road. Limestone aggregate trains from Arcow quarry sidings (near Horton-in-Ribblesdale) run to various stone terminals in the Leeds and Manchester areas on different days – these trains reverse in the goods loop at Blea Moor signal box because the connection from the quarry sidings faces north.
Major restoration work started in November 2020 as a £2.1 million project to re-point mortar joints and replace broken stones got underway. Network Rail released a timelapse video of the works in June 2021.
Building the viaduct was the inspiration behind the ITV period drama series Jericho. The viaduct appears in the 1970 film No Blade of Grass and also in the 2012 film Sightseers. A number of other films and television programmes have also included the viaduct.
North Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East regions of England. It borders County Durham to the north, the North Sea to the east, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the south-east, South Yorkshire to the south, West Yorkshire to the south-west, and Cumbria and Lancashire to the west. Northallerton is the county town.
The county is the largest in England by land area, at 9,020 km2 (3,480 sq mi), and has a population of 1,158,816. The largest settlements are Middlesbrough (174,700) in the north-east and the city of York (152,841) in the south. Middlesbrough is part of the Teesside built-up area, which extends into County Durham and has a total population of 376,663. The remainder of the county is rural, and the largest towns are Harrogate (73,576) and Scarborough (61,749). For local government purposes the county comprises four unitary authority areas — York, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and North Yorkshire — and part of a fifth, Stockton-on-Tees.
The centre of the county contains a wide plain, called the Vale of Mowbray in the north and Vale of York in the south. The North York Moors lie to the east, and south of them the Vale of Pickering is separated from the main plain by the Howardian Hills. The west of the county contains the Yorkshire Dales, an extensive upland area which contains the source of the River Ouse/Ure and many of its tributaries, which together drain most of the county. The Dales also contain the county's highest point, Whernside, at 2,415 feet (736 m).
North Yorkshire non-metropolitan and ceremonial county was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972. It covered most of the North Riding of Yorkshire, as well as northern parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, northern and eastern East Riding of Yorkshire and the former county borough of York. Northallerton, as the former county town for the North Riding, became North Yorkshire's county town. In 1993 the county was placed wholly within the Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Some areas which were part of the former North Riding were in the county of Cleveland for twenty-two years (from 1974 to 1996) and were placed in the North East region from 1993. On 1 April 1996, these areas (Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton borough south of the River Tees) became part of the ceremonial county as separate unitary authorities. These areas remain within the North East England region.
Also on 1 April 1996, the City of York non-metropolitan district and parts of the non-metropolitan county (Haxby and nearby rural areas) became the City of York unitary authority.
On 1 April 2023, the non-metropolitan county became a unitary authority. This abolished eight councils and extended the powers of the county council to act as a district council.
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority held its first meeting on 22 January 2024, assumed its powers on 1 February 2024 and the first mayor is to be elected in May 2024.
The geology of North Yorkshire is closely reflected in its landscape. Within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales, two of eleven areas in England and Wales to be designated national parks. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills. The highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at 2,415 feet (736 m). A distinctive hill to the far north east of the county is Roseberry Topping.
North Yorkshire contains several major rivers. The River Tees is the most northerly, forming part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham in its lower reaches and flowing east through Teesdale before reaching the North Sea near Redcar. The Yorkshire Dales are the source of many of the county's major rivers, including the Aire, Lune, Ribble, Swale, Ure, and Wharfe.[10] The Aire, Swale, and Wharfe are tributaries of the Ure/Ouse, which at 208 km (129 mi) long is the sixth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river is called the Ure until it meets Ouse Gill beck just below the village of Great Ouseburn, where it becomes the Ouse and flows south before exiting the county near Goole and entering the Humber estuary. The North York Moors are the catchment for a number of rivers: the Leven which flows north into the Tees between Yarm and Ingleby Barwick; the Esk flows east directly into the North Sea at Whitby as well as the Rye (which later becomes the Derwent at Malton) flows south into the River Ouse at Goole.
North Yorkshire contains a small section of green belt in the south of the county, which surrounds the neighbouring metropolitan area of Leeds along the North and West Yorkshire borders. It extends to the east to cover small communities such as Huby, Kirkby Overblow, and Follifoot before covering the gap between the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, helping to keep those towns separate.
The belt adjoins the southernmost part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the Nidderdale AONB. It extends into the western area of Selby district, reaching as far as Tadcaster and Balne. The belt was first drawn up from the 1950s.
The city of York has an independent surrounding belt area affording protections to several outlying settlements such as Haxby and Dunnington, and it too extends into the surrounding districts.
North Yorkshire has a temperate oceanic climate, like most of the UK. There are large climate variations within the county. The upper Pennines border on a Subarctic climate. The Vale of Mowbray has an almost Semi-arid climate. Overall, with the county being situated in the east, it receives below-average rainfall for the UK. Inside North Yorkshire, the upper Dales of the Pennines are one of the wettest parts of England, where in contrast the driest parts of the Vale of Mowbray are some of the driest areas in the UK.
Summer temperatures are above average, at 22 °C. Highs can regularly reach up to 28 °C, with over 30 °C reached in heat waves. Winter temperatures are below average, with average lows of 1 °C. Snow and Fog can be expected depending on location. The North York Moors and Pennines have snow lying for an average of between 45 and 75 days per year. Sunshine is most plentiful on the coast, receiving an average of 1,650 hours a year. It reduces further west in the county, with the Pennines receiving 1,250 hours a year.
The county borders multiple counties and districts:
County Durham's County Durham, Darlington, Stockton (north Tees) and Hartlepool;
East Riding of Yorkshire's East Riding of Yorkshire;
South Yorkshire's City of Doncaster;
West Yorkshire's City of Wakefield, City of Leeds and City of Bradford;
Lancashire's City of Lancaster, Ribble Valley and Pendle
Cumbria's Westmorland and Furness.
The City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council formed the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority in February 2024. The elections for the first directly-elected mayor will take place in May 2024. Both North Yorkshire Council and the combined authority are governed from County Hall, Northallerton.
The Tees Valley Combined Authority was formed in 2016 by five unitary authorities; Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland Borough both of North Yorkshire, Stockton-on-Tees Borough (Uniquely for England, split between North Yorkshire and County Durham), Hartlepool Borough and Darlington Borough of County Durham.
In large areas of North Yorkshire, agriculture is the primary source of employment. Approximately 85% of the county is considered to be "rural or super sparse".
Other sectors in 2019 included some manufacturing, the provision of accommodation and meals (primarily for tourists) which accounted for 19 per cent of all jobs. Food manufacturing employed 11 per cent of workers. A few people are involved in forestry and fishing in 2019. The average weekly earnings in 2018 were £531. Some 15% of workers declared themselves as self-employed. One report in late 2020 stated that "North Yorkshire has a relatively healthy and diverse economy which largely mirrors the national picture in terms of productivity and jobs.
Mineral extraction and power generation are also sectors of the economy, as is high technology.
Tourism is a significant contributor to the economy. A study of visitors between 2013 and 2015 indicated that the Borough of Scarborough, including Filey, Whitby and parts of the North York Moors National Park, received 1.4m trips per year on average. A 2016 report by the National Park, states the park area gets 7.93 million visitors annually, generating £647 million and supporting 10,900 full-time equivalent jobs.
The Yorkshire Dales have also attracted many visitors. In 2016, there were 3.8 million visits to the National Park including 0.48 million who stayed at least one night. The parks service estimates that this contributed £252 million to the economy and provided 3,583 full-time equivalent jobs. The wider Yorkshire Dales area received 9.7 million visitors who contributed £644 million to the economy. The North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales are among England's best known destinations.
York is a popular tourist destination. A 2014 report, based on 2012 data, stated that York alone receives 6.9 million visitors annually; they contribute £564 million to the economy and support over 19,000 jobs. In the 2017 Condé Nast Traveller survey of readers, York rated 12th among The 15 Best Cities in the UK for visitors. In a 2020 Condé Nast Traveller report, York rated as the sixth best among ten "urban destinations [in the UK] that scored the highest marks when it comes to ... nightlife, restaurants and friendliness".
During February 2020 to January 2021, the average property in North Yorkshire county sold for £240,000, up by £8100 over the previous 12 months. By comparison, the average for England and Wales was £314,000. In certain communities of North Yorkshire, however, house prices were higher than average for the county, as of early 2021: Harrogate (average value: £376,195), Knaresborough (£375,625), Tadcaster (£314,278), Leyburn (£309,165) and Ripon (£299,998), for example.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added for North Yorkshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British pounds sterling.
Unemployment in the county was traditionally low in recent years, but the lockdowns and travel restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on the economy during much of 2020 and into 2021. The UK government said in early February 2021 that it was planning "unprecedented levels of support to help businesses [in the UK] survive the crisis". A report published on 1 March 2021 stated that the unemployment rate in North Yorkshire had "risen to the highest level in nearly 5 years – with under 25s often bearing the worst of job losses".
York experienced high unemployment during lockdown periods. One analysis (by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership) predicted in August 2020 that "as many as 13,835 jobs in York will be lost in the scenario considered most likely, taking the city's unemployment rate to 14.5%". Some critics claimed that part of the problem was caused by "over-reliance on the booming tourism industry at the expense of a long-term economic plan". A report in mid June 2020 stated that unemployment had risen 114 per cent over the previous year because of restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.
Tourism in the county was expected to increase after the restrictions imposed due the pandemic are relaxed. One reason for the expected increase is the airing of All Creatures Great and Small, a TV series about the vet James Herriot, based on a successful series of books; it was largely filmed within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The show aired in the UK in September 2020 and in the US in early 2021. One source stated that visits to Yorkshire websites had increased significantly by late September 2020.
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) bisects the county stopping at Northallerton,Thirsk and York. Passenger service companies in the area are London North Eastern Railway, Northern Rail, TransPennine Express and Grand Central.
LNER and Grand Central operate services to the capital on the ECML, Leeds Branch Line and the Northallerton–Eaglescliffe Line. LNER stop at York, Northallerton and on to County Durham or spur over to the Tees Valley Line for Thornaby and Middlesbrough. The operator also branch before the county for Leeds and run to Harrogate and Skipton. Grand Central stop at York, Thirsk Northallerton and Eaglescliffe then over to the Durham Coast Line in County Durham.
Northern operates the remaining lines in the county, including commuter services on the Harrogate Line, Airedale Line and York & Selby Lines, of which the former two are covered by the Metro ticketing area. Remaining branch lines operated by Northern include the Yorkshire Coast Line from Scarborough to Hull, York–Scarborough line via Malton, the Hull to York Line via Selby, the Tees Valley Line from Darlington to Saltburn via Middlesbrough and the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough to Whitby. Last but certainly not least, the Settle-Carlisle Line runs through the west of the county, with services again operated by Northern.
The county suffered badly under the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. Places such as Richmond, Ripon, Tadcaster, Helmsley, Pickering and the Wensleydale communities lost their passenger services. Notable lines closed were the Scarborough and Whitby Railway, Malton and Driffield Railway and the secondary main line between Northallerton and Harrogate via Ripon.
Heritage railways within North Yorkshire include: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, between Pickering and Grosmont, which opened in 1973; the Derwent Valley Light Railway near York; and the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The Wensleydale Railway, which started operating in 2003, runs services between Leeming Bar and Redmire along a former freight-only line. The medium-term aim is to operate into Northallerton station on the ECML, once an agreement can be reached with Network Rail. In the longer term, the aim is to reinstate the full line west via Hawes to Garsdale on the Settle-Carlisle line.
York railway station is the largest station in the county, with 11 platforms and is a major tourist attraction in its own right. The station is immediately adjacent to the National Railway Museum.
The main road through the county is the north–south A1(M), which has gradually been upgraded in sections to motorway status since the early 1990s. The only other motorways within the county are the short A66(M) near Darlington and a small stretch of the M62 motorway close to Eggborough. The other nationally maintained trunk routes are the A168/A19, A64, A66 and A174.
Long-distance coach services are operated by National Express and Megabus. Local bus service operators include Arriva Yorkshire, Stagecoach, Harrogate Bus Company, The Keighley Bus Company, Scarborough & District (East Yorkshire), Yorkshire Coastliner, First York and the local Dales & District.
There are no major airports in the county itself, but nearby airports include Teesside International (Darlington), Newcastle and Leeds Bradford.
The main campus of Teesside University is in Middlesbrough, while York contains the main campuses of the University of York and York St John University. There are also two secondary campuses in the county: CU Scarborough, a campus of Coventry University, and Queen's Campus, Durham University in Thornaby-on-Tees.
Colleges
Middlesbrough College's sixth-form
Askham Bryan College of agriculture, Askham Bryan and Middlesbrough
Craven College, Skipton
Middlesbrough College
The Northern School of Art, Middlesbrough
Prior Pursglove College
Redcar & Cleveland College
Scarborough Sixth Form College
Scarborough TEC
Selby College
Stockton Riverside College, Thornaby
York College
Places of interest
Ampleforth College
Beningbrough Hall –
Black Sheep Brewery
Bolton Castle –
Brimham Rocks –
Castle Howard and the Howardian Hills –
Catterick Garrison
Cleveland Hills
Drax Power Station
Duncombe Park – stately home
Eden Camp Museum –
Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway –
Eston Nab
Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo –
Helmsley Castle –
Ingleborough Cave – show cave
John Smith's Brewery
Jorvik Viking Centre –
Lightwater Valley –
Lund's Tower
Malham Cove
Middleham Castle –
Mother Shipton's Cave –
National Railway Museum –
North Yorkshire Moors Railway –
Ormesby Hall – Palladian Mansion
Richmond Castle –
Ripley Castle – Stately home and historic village
Riverside Stadium
Samuel Smith's Brewery
Shandy Hall – stately home
Skipton Castle –
Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications –
Studley Royal Park –
Stump Cross Caverns – show cave
Tees Transporter Bridge
Theakston Brewery
Thornborough Henges
Wainman's Pinnacle
Wharram Percy
York Castle Museum –
Yorkshire Air Museum –
The Yorkshire Arboretum
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I was originally enrolled into the GETTY IMAGES collection as a contributor on April 9th 2012, and when links with FLICKR were terminated in March 2014, I was retained and fortunate enough to be signed up via a second contract, both of which have proved to be successful with sales of my photographs all over the world now handled exclusively by them.
On November 12th 2015 GETTY IMAGES unveiled plans for a new stills upload platform called ESP (Enterprise Submission Platform), to replace the existing 'Moment portal', and on November 13th I was invited to Beta test the new system prior to it being officially rolled out in December. (ESP went live on Tuesday December 15th 2015 and has smoothed out the upload process considerably).
With visits now in excess of 17.661 Million to my FLICKR site, used primarily these days as a fun platform to reach friends and family as I have now sold my professional gear and now take a more leisurely approach to my photographic exploits, I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to FLICKR, GETTY IMAGES and everyone who drops by.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on November 28th 2016
CREATIVE RF gty.im/620515000 MOMENT OPEN COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 2,327th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fourteen metres at 12:29pm on Saturday 23rd May 2015 off the A835, then A832 on the shoreline of Loch Maree, between Taagan and Talladale in the Northwest highlands of Scotland.
Loch Maree lies in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. It is Twenty Kilometres long and has a maximum width of Four Kilometres, it is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland and the largest north of Loch Ness.
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Nikon D800 24mm 1/1000s f/2.8 iso100 Hand held. RAW (14-bit) AF-S single point focus. manual exposure. matrix metering. Auto white balance.
Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL15 batteries. Digi-Chip Speed Pro 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC card. Nikon DK-17a magnifying eyepiece. Hoodman HGEC soft eyepiece cup. Optech Tripod Strap. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.
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LATITUDE: N 57d 37m 52.30s
LONGITUDE: W 5d 20m 57.70s
ALTITUDE: 14.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 103.00MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 37.58MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU processor. AMD Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB SATA storage. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.10.3 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit
As everyone watches Johnny slink out of the coffee shop wearing humiliation and Elizabeth's coat, Booley turns to the Buddy Duo.
Booley: "Well, Don, what do you say we try to peel you out of this booth?"
Don tries to stand on his own but needs Booley's help straightening his back.
Don, not sure he can get his coat back on: "You know, who needs a coat in this weather?"
On a sidenote: Does anyone know where Don's coat comes from? I inherited it from my sister when I was about four or five, and we can't recall if it's Mattel and if so, what fashion it came from....It's Don's favorite coat -- or what remains of it! :)
After 12 years of operation on the route, Friday March 30th was the final day that Go-Ahead London would operate route 468. The route will return to Arriva London, who were the last operator to have the route before Go-Ahead, and I must say, as much as I like Go-Ahead, I'm very pleased to see the 468 returning to Arriva tomorrow, it's a shame however that it isn't being operated by South Croydon Garage, the route going to Norwood for its second spell with Arriva.
The 68 group of routes (68/N68/468/X68) have been operated by one operator throughout their history and for the first time, they are being split between three operators, with the 68/N68 passing to Abellio London and the 468 passing to Arriva London
Route X68 will be the only 68 group route that will remain with Go-Ahead London and will have its own dedicated batch of Enviro400H MMC's
When Go-Ahead won the 68, 468 and X68 from Arriva, a huge batch of Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini's were ordered (WVL212-WVL273). Come the end of the contract, there are only 20 of them left at Camberwell, around 15 of them are with Metrobus at Croydon and Orpington (most of the Orpington fleet were cascaded elsewhere due to the loss of route 161, 3 at Merton and Stockwell, around 4 withdrawn and with new operators, the last two (WVL272 and WVL273) in the commercial fleet and one sadly destroyed by fire outside Camberwell Garage (WVL221). The rest are scattered across all Go-Ahead Garages.
One of the WVL's that remained at Camberwell throughout the duration of the 68/N68, 468 and X68 contracts was WVL264 (LX06EBP), and it is seen on the stand at Nottingham Road, South Croydon on what could turn out to be it's last day in service, although I think they may be sent to Stockwell or other garages to replace older WVL's and PVL's. It will be interesting to see what happens to these WVL's after the 468 loss as the E's being made redundant are ultimately destined for Metrobus for route 403.
N251FL - Boeing B-727-22C - Contract Air Cargo
(leased from International Trading Co. of Yukon Inc.)
at Hamilton International Airport (YHM) in March 2008
c/n 19.204 - built in 1967 for United Airlines -
operated by Kelowna Flightcraft as C-GKFZ for PUROLATOR between 03/1994 and 2004 -
leased to Contract Air Cargo
After the end of the lease the aircraft was slowly parted out by Kelowna Flightcraft at YHM and was finally scrapped in 2008 - a sad sight.
The current N251FL of IFL Group might go the same way (currently stored at YHM).
scanned from Kodachrome-slide
Stagecoach Selkent 10145 LX12 DGO at the P.R.U. Hospital at Locksbottom, waits to work its next run to Lewisham on the 261. Friday 30th November 2018. DSCN47941.
AD E40D-AD Enviro400 10.2m.
The following day was a contract renewal for this route with a mixture of existing vehicles and new smart hybrid E40D's, but the new vehicles did not arrive for another couple of weeks.
Contracted to the US Navy in San Diego for ship and Submarine handling . Built in 1994 by North American Shipbuilding in Larose , Louisiana. She has two Caterpillar 3512 Diesel engines rated at 4800hp that drive Ulstein Z-drives mounted aft . 1st October 2021
twitter.com/prichards1995/status/1101452418695479296
March 1st can only mean one thing... three brand new trucks have arrived and are out on the road! #Prichards #growingfleet #19plates #scania #suppliedbykeltruck
Vanquish Contracting Corp, Demolition Specialists, 31, in Manhattan, New York, USA. February, 2022. Copyright Tom Turner
With Abellio Surrey losing all of their Surrey CC contracted services from September 2017, White Bus Services - newly under new ownership - entered the mainstream Surrey bus scene.
They won the contracts for the interworked 438 and 566/567, Sunday 446 and 456 work and took on the Monday - Saturday 446 service commercially.
Abellio pulled their horns in to operate only their commercial 441 (cut to run Englefield Green to Staines only) and 461 (Addlestone - Kingston) services, moved to an Abellio London garage.
Fast forward to March 2017, and it was announced with short notice that Abellio had reached agreement with White Bus that the latter would take over the 441 effective Saturday 17th March 2018.
The same timetable is operated, and the three of 8016, 8018 and 8108 in the Abellio fleet are on loan to White Bus for a few months.
Here though, baby Solo SR YJ14 BBO was doing the honours, presumably due to it being Saturday and not being required in Windsor (allowing a fleet livery vehicle to be used rather than a loan bus).
Staines bus station, Staines, Surrey.
What happens when two models are contracted to do the same photoshoot by mistake? Harry Emmalong, the unfortunate fashion photographer found out when sisters Flambo and Gissles Lank turned up at the same time.
The plan had been a simple shot, featuring an armchair by the newly formed furniture company, Shabby Sheik. However, both women were determined they should be the model employed, not accepting it to be a back-office mistake.
Harry said "Frankly, I just let them argue it out amongst themselves. There was much squealing from the back room, and afterwards I found tufts of hair all over the floor. But I wasn't going to get involved".
Eventually, Harry took this shot of the pair trying to force themselves into the same chair. It was as good he was going to get that day, especially as they broke the chair.
Shabby Sheik were delighted with the picture, and paid both girls half the amount.
On receiving the news of this, there was much squealing from the back room.
Title: Wheels of Flame
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Been super busy lately planning new shoots and catching up on a series of contracts! I have a couple interesting images that I'm trying to work on but they're taking a lot more time/photoshop effort than I had initially planned and my recent upgrade to Photoshop CS5 has resulted in a lot of crashes making me loose hours and hours of work =(
Not quite a good excuse though!
I actually have around 10 images of this same shooting with Peg, Romy, Cloe and Edith that are ready to be posted up but I've always found it more interesting to vary the images so people don't get bored.... XD
In other news, my upcoming month is pretty free from contracts so I'm toying with the idea of getting back into some deep dark self portraiture and maybe experiment with virtual landscapes and the new Intuos 4 I recently upgraded to. Thoughts?
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Model: Peg Pajot
Designer: Peg Pajot
Makeup: Romy Noel
Assistants : Julius Adarna, Russ Perry
Strobist Info:
1x WL X1600 gridded softbox camera left
1x WL X1600 gridded octobox camera right
Tungsten gels on all
Triggerd by cybersyncs
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Thanks for viewing my photostream =)
Please leave a comment and feel free to throw in some constructive criticism!
©VonWong
Montreal Conceptual Photographer
vonwong.com | Facebook | Twitter | Flickr
Painted in Jones Holidays contract livery, Alpine Travel AP69 ALP is a Mercedes Tourismo M/2 which was new in 2019 as Shearings 232, registered BV69 LLR. It is awaiting the return of its passengers in Royal Well Bus Station, Cheltenham.
From Wikipedia
In 2002 Virgin Trains in the UK began operating custom-designed Pendolino trains known as the Class 390 on its West Coast Main Line (WCML) franchise.
The 53 9-car trains were constructed by Alstom and are leased by Virgin Trains from Angel Trains.
Due to the failure of the WCML upgrade to provide in-cab signalling these units are limited in service to 125 mph (200 km/h) operation rather than their 140 mph (225 km/h) design speed. In 2006, Virgin Trains announced that over the next three years they will be examining the possibility of running the trains at 135 mph (215 km/h) through the Trent Valley as part of their new WCML Franchise Proposal.[14]
An Alstom Class 390 Pendolino in Birmingham.The Class 390 Pendolino are maintained by Alstom (West Coast Traincare) under contract to Virgin Trains until 2012. The main maintenance locations are Wembley, Midlands (Oxley, Wolverhampton), Manchester (Longsight) and Glasgow (Polmadie), as well as Liverpool (for minor work only) and several "Traincare Points" along the line of route (such as Euston and Carlisle). Headquarters for West Coast Traincare moved from the former Metro-Cammell factory at Washwood Heath in Birmingham upon its closure in November 2005 to Manchester Longsight depot with some functions being based at a new office facility at Oxley depot.
The DfT has announced that 31 of the existing 9-car sets will be lengthened to 11 cars to increase capacity. Four new 11-car sets are also to be built. Angel Trains ordered the vehicles from Alstom in September 2008.[15] Virgin Rail Projects has been selected to introduce the new trains. The longer units will require major infrastructure changes to allow stations and depots to accommodate the 11-car units.
Two decades earlier British Rail had planned to bring tilting train technology to the same line with the APT project. Technical problems caused by pressure to launch the service early and lack of the political will to provide sufficient funding to overcome them forced the abandonment of this early attempt, although much of the technology was used to design and build Pendolino trains.
After 8 years with yearly contract at the Ministry of Education, eventually tonight I got my OPEN ENDED contract...see my face!!!!
The era of the pastoralists in the Crystal Brook area was dominated by the Bowman family. This area appealed to pastoralists as the Rocky River (which rises beyond Laura) joins the Broughton River near where Crystal Brook now stands. The first run in the district, called the Crystal Brook run (560 square miles) was taken up by William Younghusband and Peter Ferguson in 1842. It included the site of present day Port Pirie. Younghusband and Ferguson decided to survey part of their run and establish a town in 1848. They sold some of the land (85 acres) to Emmanuel Solomon and Matthew Smith, who established Solomontown. Around 1850 the leasehold was “sold” to the Bowman brothers with 25,000 sheep, 3,400 cattle and 200 horses for £50,000! The partnership between the three Bowman brothers was dissolved in 1864 following the Surveyor General’s new evaluation of their leasehold. George Goyder raised the annual lease from £514 to £3,420. One Bowman brother left for Tasmania, one for Poltalloch on Lake Alexandrina and another for Campbell Park on Lake Albert. The last remaining brother had his Crystal Brook run resumed by the government for closer settlement in 1873. The original homestead with a fine slate roof is part of Bowman Park, a state Native Fauna Park, controlled by the government. Many station buildings from the pastoral era still exist in this park. .
Surveying of the land for agriculture began in 1873 with town blocks being sold at auction shortly after this and the Hundred of Crystal Brook being declared. The town grew phenomenally in the first few years. The railway from Port Pirie arrived in 1877 sealing a prosperous future of the town. It continued on to Gladstone and to Peterborough by 1880. Many public buildings were erected in the years between 1877 and 1880. The first two storey construction in the town was completed in 1875 for E.H. Hewett, a butcher. At one stage this became the town’s bakery and it still has a basement oven. Today it is the National Trust Museum. By the time of the 1881 census Crystal Brook had 496 residents, making it the 12th largest town in the areas north of Adelaide.
At the end of the Main Street (Bowman Street) is Adelaide Square. Like Adelaide, Crystal Brook is also surrounded by parklands, although these have been used for development in places. The railway line divided the town into two parts. Some of the notable or historic buildings in the main street are:
1.The Crystal Brook Hotel on the corner of Railway Terrace was erected in 1878. The upper floor was added in 1910. For some years it was known as Knapman’s Hotel.
2.One of the large department stores was Claridge’s. It eventually became a Eudunda Farmer’s Store.
3.The National Bank site from used from 1876 but is now a private residence. The last a bank to operate here was the Savings Bank of SA. The classical looking bank structure was opened in 1936 for the SA centenary celebrations. It became a Savings Bank of SA in 1943.
4.The Royal Hotel built in 1882 with the upper floor added between 1910 and 1920.
5.Crystal Brook Institute built in 1881. Note the rounded upper windows and door quoin with the rectangular lower windows. Made of local stone. The library service started in 1878 before the Institute built.
6.The Georgian style Elders stock and station agent building was built in the 1930s. It is now a private residence. Note the perfect symmetry and the tiny portico above the front door.
7.In Adelaide Square note the Methodist Church- opened in 1877 and still in use. The unsympathetic front porch was added in 1967. Adjacent to it is a fine Sunday School building which opened in 1912 with FOUR foundation stones laid by four different local ministers and identities.
The District Council of Crystal Brook was established in 1882 and by then the town had a number of town facilities. These included the Crystal Brook School which opened in 1877; the Methodist Church which opened in 1877; and the first Catholic Church which opened in 1879. (The present Catholic Church opened in 1924 when the old church became a Catholic School.)
Growth of the town was based on its industrial development and the employment opportunities this provided. The first blacksmith was started by John & Robert Forgan who had learnt their trades with James Martin of Gawler. Their Crystal Brook foundry and implement works began operations in 1878. In 1884 the business expanded following the death of Robert. John also opened a branch in Port Pirie in 1902. The firm was still operating in 1973 when the town centenary history was written. The first flour mill was built on the corner of Railway Terrace and Cunningham Street in 1880. The flour mill burnt down in 1905 but the chaff mill part of the operations continued until the 1920s when it too burnt down. It was replaced by a motor vehicle dealership and garage.
But the biggest employer in the town was the SA government. In 1885 construction of the Beetaloo Dam, upstream on the Rocky River commenced. The government based its headquarters for the construction team in Crystal Brook. Once this project was completed work began on the Bundaleer reservoir in 1898. This was connected to the Beetaloo system. All the engineers and other workers for water in the mid north were based in Crystal Brook. Next the Baroota Reservoir was started in 1921. The Engineering and Water Supply (E & WS) office has thus been in Crystal Brook since 1892. Since the 1950s Crystal Brook has been the regional head office for E & WS with over 100 employed in the department’s workshops and offices. They are still located on the edge of Adelaide Square. The Highways Department has also had regional headquarters in Crystal Brook since 1943. In the 1970s this department employed 110 people in Crystal Brook. The railways were the other major government employer in the town before the rail standardisation of 1970 which saw the old station complex demolished. Other employment options in the town have been the northern areas radio station which was established in 1932, and the town electricity supply which began providing a service in 1922. The government has also employed health workers at the town hospital since 1925. Today Crystal Brook has a population of 1,600.
Used for an article about a pension fund for freelancers: www.24oranges.nl/2014/05/17/a-pension-for-freelancers/
Photo by Branko Collin.
It all started when the mortally wounded Arick Havoc of Avalon made a contract with The World...
"In return for my life after death... give me the strength to persevere in my course of action, let me keep breathing... One last breath... To find...
the Super Chalice."
(Coming soon. I just missed the dusk, sadly, the red sky was truly beautiful :/
There's always next time, and at the very least this is still a pretty picture with some nice little forshadowing. In fact, if you look real close you can see the character holding Chekhov's Gun. Speaking of weapons, those are placeholders, I'm bored of them but it's what I had on me :P)
There is a lot of work for any government concern done by private contractors nowadays. This process of part privatisation of public services was started during Labours tenure of No.10 during the “reign” of Mr Blair!
He was responsible for many retrograde policies, too many for me to start going on about here, but when it comes down to the NHS, the National Health Service, he introduced PPP, Public and Private Partnership to get more new hospitals and health establishments built.
Constructed by private finance then leased back to and operated by the NHS. The contacts were for very long periods, decades, and very costly rents. These locked the government organisations into exorbitant payments even when the building became redundant for some reason.
There are many empty buildings around the country that the government is still paying for and for many years to come.
Patient transport is one area that part-privatisation actually appears to be working in!