Wednesday, 27 December 2023

Rochdale Canal, Rose Grove Bridge 3 to Bridge 1a

The Rochdale Canal Rose Grove Bridge (3) to Tower Hill Bridge (1A) is an approximately 1-mile-long flat section of the waterway. Along this stretch, you'll pass Rose Grove Bridge and Hollins Tunnel, also sometimes known as Cemetery Tunnel. I have no idea why it is known as this, as Sowerby Bridge Cemetery is on the opposite hillside. After the tunnel, the canal curves towards Sowerby Bridge, passing under the Co-Op Bridge and Tower Hill Bridge.

After the closure of the Rochdale Canal in 1952, the canal came to an abrupt end just before reaching Tower Hill Bridge and was infilled through to the modern-day exit of Tuel Lane Tunnel adjacent to Lock Number 2.

These pictures were taken on the 10th April 2022 with a Nikon D3300, they can be seen below and on Clickasnap un-watermarked. Simply click any image to see the Clickasnap version in another window.

These two pictures show both sides of Bridge 3 High Royd.


These two pictures show the stretch of Canal towpath between Rose Grove, High Royd Bridge and Hollins Tunnel.


Inside Hollins Tunnel.

Hollins Tunnel entrance on the Sowerby Bridge side.

The canal curbing towards Sowerby Bridge, the Co-Op bridge visible crossing over the canal. The bridge provides acces to Hollins Mill Lane from the Industrial Road area of Sowerby Bridge, but does not give any access to the canal.

The canal underneath Bridge 1A. In 1952 the canal was infilled from just beyond the arch, the bridge was also known as Tuel Lane Bridge until the road that crossed over it was rerouted and then it was changed to Tower Hill Bridge. The tower block is Ladstone Towers, built when large areas of low quality housing around the area was demolished in the mid 1960's.

Thanks for looking please take a moment to check out my Zazzle stores, photo4me portfolio, andshare on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Sunday, 24 December 2023

Devil's Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale

Devil's Bridge was once the main road crossing over the River Lune but has been closed to traffic since 1932. It is thought to date from 1370 and was built by the monks of St. Mary's Abbey, York. The bridge used to be popular for tombstoning, with the deep pools underneath the main arch allowing people to jump without much threat of injury. This was outlawed a few years ago, but the bridge is still popular in the summer months as a destination for bikers riding up through the Yorkshire Dales. It was replaced as the main crossing over the river by the nearby Stanley Bridge. The bridge is Grade I listed.
 
Legend says that the Devil built the bridge in exchange for the first soul to cross after completion. A woman threw bread across for her dog to chase, so that the devil felt tricked as the dog was the first soul to cross the completed bridge.
 

The pictures were taken on April 4, 2015, using a Polaroid IS2132 bridge camera. They have previously been posted but the ones below were reworked recently for my Zazzle Store and Photo4Me wall art portfolio. They can also be seen on my Clickasnap account via the link in the side panel.

Clicking the image will open a link in another window to my Kirkby Lonsdale collection on Zazzle, the image can be transferred to a number of different products to the ones already offered, including wall art, furnishings, cups, watches, clocks, phone and tablet cases. Please take a moment to have a look.

Clicking this image above and below should open a link in another window to the Photo4Me listing for each picture..



All 4 images can be purchased on various products of your choosing from my Zazzle store, the middle 2 images can also be purchased as wall art from Photo4me.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Please take a moment to check out my stores on Zazzle, Photo4me and Clickasnap portfolio's.
 

Saturday, 16 December 2023

Fiery Sky at the Ruins of the Church of St Thomas a Becket, Heptonstall

The picture below is the result of a little tinkering with replacing a washed-out overcast sky in a picture I took in November 2013 with a more adventurous sunset-type sky.

The picture shows the inside of the ruined church of St. Thomas a Becket, Heptonstall, a church built on the site of an earlier one in the 15th century. The church was damaged beyond repair in the 19th century and replaced by the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, which occupies the same grounds as its predecessor.

I took the original pre-edited version of the picture on November 16, 2016 with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet; it can be seen un-watermarked on Clickasnap by clicking the image. The link opens in another window.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media. You can also check out my Zazzle stores via the links in the sidebar. I also have a sales profile on Photo4Me.

The picture remains the copyright of Colin Green.

Saturday, 9 December 2023

The Ribblehead Viaduct - Photo4me

The Ribblehead Viaduct is a set of pictures taken in April 2015 using a Polaroid IS2132 digital bridge camera. The impressive structure is somewhere I had wanted to visit for a while, and I was in nearby Kirkby Lonsdale when I got the chance. The viaduct is also known as Batty Moss, and it is located approximately 13 miles north of Settle and 73 miles south of Carlisle on the famous Settle to Carlisle Railway. There is the Ribblehead Railway Station adjacent to the viaduct, which is a train ride of approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes from Leeds Railway Station, and the B6255 road linking Hawes with Ingleton passes the viaduct.

The pictures below are a set I have recently re-edited for inclusion in my Photo4Me portfolio. Clicking any image will open a link to the listing in another window.




All the pictures can be purchased on Photo4Me or just enjoyed her and on my Clickasnap profile, They will shortly be offered in various products at my Colins Picture This Zazzle store.

The history of the viaduct below is taken from my earlier post on the Ribblehead Viaduct.

The viaduct was designed by engineer John Sydney Crossley. The first stone was laid on October 12, 1870, and the last in 1874. One thousand navvies built the viaduct and established shanty towns on the moors for themselves and their families. They named the towns after Crimean War victories, well-to-do districts of London, and biblical names. There were smallpox epidemics and deaths from industrial accidents. Around one hundred navvies were killed during its construction. There are around 200 burials of men, women, and children in the graveyard at Chapel-le-Dale dating from the time of its construction. The church has a memorial to the railway workers.
The line over the bridge was opened to goods traffic on August 3, 1875, but passenger trains did not commence running until May 1, 1876, following approval of the works by Colonel F. H. Rich, an inspecting officer of the Board of Trade.
In 1964, several brand new Humber cars landed on the ground after being blown off their waggons while being carried over the viaduct on a freight train.
 
Ribblehead Viaduct is 440 yards (400 m) long and 104 feet (32 m) above the valley floor at its highest point. It is made up of twenty-four arches of 45 feet (14 m) span, with foundations 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. Every sixth pier is 50% thicker to mitigate against complete collapse should any pier fail. The north end of the viaduct is 13 feet (4.0 m) higher in elevation than the south end, leading to a gradient of 1:100. 1.5 million bricks were used in the construction, and some of the limestone blocks weigh 8 tonnes each.
 
Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest on the Settle-Carlisle Railway. Ribblehead railway station is less than half a mile to the south, and to the north is the Blea Moor Tunnel, the longest tunnel on the line. It is near the foot of Whernside.
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. British Rail attempted to close the line in the 1980s, citing the fact that the viaduct was unsafe and would be expensive to repair. A partial solution was to single the line across the viaduct in 1985, preventing two trains from crossing simultaneously. A 30 mph speed limit is also in force. The closure proposals generated tremendous protests and were eventually retracted. The viaduct, along with the rest of the line, was repaired and maintained, and there are no longer any plans to close it.
Two taller viaducts on the route are Smardale Viaduct at 131 feet (40 m) high and near Crosby Garrett, and Arten Gill at 117 feet (36 m).
 
In 2016, the line and viaduct carried seven passenger trains from Leeds to Carlisle per day in each direction, plus periodic long-distance excursions, many hauled by steam locomotives. Regular diesel-hauled heavy freight trains also use the route to help reduce congestion on the West Coast Main Line. Colas Rail operates a timber train most Friday afternoons, which passes over the Viaduct when it departs its yard opposite Ribblehead railway station. The combination of the rarely seen timber train and the British Rail Class 56 locomotives used to pull the train has built quite an enthusiastic following. Another regular traffic flow to use it is the limestone aggregate train from Arcow quarry sidings (near Horton-in-Ribblesdale), which runs to various stone terminals in the Leeds and Manchester areas on different days. This has to be reversed in the goods loop at Blea Moor signal box (north of the viaduct) because the connection from the quarry sidings to the main line faces north.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Sunday, 3 December 2023

My Popular Zazzle Products November 2023

I recently opened a couple of Zazzle stores to sell my pictures on a variety of products, and so far, while not selling anything, a number of views have been received on the items I have listed. I am offering my art and photos on a number of products, which include phone cases, tablet covers and sleeves, mouse and desk mats, bags, t-shirts, pillows, mugs, clocks, posters, postcards, photo enlargements, and downloads. I also allow all my designs to be transferred to other products of a person's choosing.

I thought it would be interesting to share a selection of 10 items here to showcase the different products currently available in my two stores.

Store 1 is Colins Picture Me Store, which offers a number of artworks and photos from areas outside my home county of Calderdale. The artworks can be of almost anything that took my fancy; please take a moment to go and have a look via the link in the side panel. The following 5 products are a small selection of what is available there.

Photo enlargement of a cityscape comic book style artwork.

Laptop sleeve featuring a space image of planets and a nebula.

Coffee mug featuring an artwork of the Tees Transporter Bridge, Middlesborough

Mouse mat with a drawing - artwork of a ghostly house ruin.

Pillow with a artwork of Beggar's Bridge, Glaisdale near Whitby I created based on a photo postcard. This is also available in colour.

Clicking any image will take you to the product pictured in another window. Each product design is transferable and is already available in a variety of different products in my store. I currently have over 350 products available in my Colins Picture This Store.

My second Zazzle store is Calderdale Unframed, where I offer my images of the Calderdale area on a variety of products for you to enjoy. The below products are a small selection of what is available in store.

A Snicket in Halifax features a picture I took in 2022 as a tribute to the 1937 version of the image by Bill Brandt. This is also available in colour.

Coffee mug with a picture of East Stand at the Shay Stadium, Halifax, the ground is home to FC Halifax Town and Halifax Panthers RLFC

Coffee Coaster, with a image of a mileage marker on the Rochdale Canal, the marker is just to the west of Hollins Tunnel, Sowerby Bridge.

Wall clock, this has an image of People's park, Halifax looking across to the Pavilion. The image is also available on a number of products in colour.

Tote bag with an image of Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge on an unusually quiet and traffic free day.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to check out my products and stores on Zazzle.

Through a Glass, Darkly: Hebden Bridge Railway Station in Negative

 There's something hauntingly beautiful about old photographs, especially when they're presented in a way that flips our perception....