Day 260

The Alnmouth Cross, across the River Aln from the town. Taken 9.28.13.

Day 259

Alnwick Castle, with the River Aln in the foreground. It was a glorious day! Taken 9.28.13.

Day 258

Fall's starting to come! Taken 9.26.13.

Day 257

The Quayside in Newcastle, taken from the other side of the Tyne. Taken 9.26.13.

Day 256

Left to right: LNWR No. 3020 Cornwall (Built 1847, has what's known as a Crampton design) and LNWR "Jumbo" Class No. 790 Hardwicke (Built 1892). Taken 9.21.13.

Day 255

A platform at Darlington Station. It's amazing how few people there are around at 8:30 on a Saturday morning! Taken 9.21.13.

Day 254

Galatea and Duchess of Hamilton in the early morning. It was technically about 20 minutes before the museum opened, hence the lack of a crowd. I guess the operators took pity on the handful of photographers and railfans who were staking out the pedestrian gate from the train station. Taken 9.21.13.

Day 253

It was very entertaining watching the varieties of rail fans who came to the steam gala. You get the families with young children who love Thomas the Tank, and the middle-aged photographers who maybe remember the last days of steam, or grew up hearing their fathers talk about it. During the train ride to Shildon I was sat near a group of elderly chaps who worked on the railways during the glory days of steam, and were happily relating anecdotes to a fellow about my age who works on the model railway at the NRM in York. There was a party of retirees down from Durham, who were cheerfully reliving memories... in a more surreal moment of the day I was stood on the footplate of Galatea with her steam blowing all around me, when we heard the distinct sound of a propeller-driven aircraft. Everybody looked up, and the man next to me exclaimed "It's a Spitfire!"It wasn't actually, but it was definitely a fighter of that era. In the photo here, left to right, LNWR Webb Coal Tank No 1054 (built in 1888 and the sole surviving member of that class), LMS Jubilee Class No. 5699 Galatea (built 1936), and the streamlined LMS Princess Coronation class No 6229 Duchess of Hamilton (built 1938 and originally preserved to be an exhibit on a children's playground). Taken 9.21.13.

Day 252

I spent yesterday at the Annual Steam Gala at the NRM in Shildon. They had several locos in steam, with a couple sharing the work of running little 'specials' from the main building to the town. This is Furness Railway No. 20, which was built in 1863 and is the oldest working standard gauge steam engine in Britain. Taken 9.21.13.

Day 251

A train passing south of Carnforth. Taken 9.14.13.

Day 250

Malham Cove. You can just make out a group of hikers along the top. Taken 9.13.13.

Day 249

Cows! Oh, and the Gresley A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa passing on the railway behind them. Taken 9.14.13.

Day 248

Growing in a wall on the top of Malham Cove. Taken 9.13.13.

Day 247

Gordale Scar near Malham. Taken 9.13.13.

Day 246

A garden and fountain next to Towneley Hall. Taken 9.10.13.

Day 245

Towneley Hall looking a bit moody. Taken 9.10.13.

Day 244

Along the side of Crown Point Road. Taken 9.10.13.

Day 243

A view of Pendle Hill from Crown Point. Taken 9.8.13.

Day 242

On Crown Point. Taken 9.8.13.

Day 241

A goose on Rowley Lake. Taken 9.7.13.

Day 240

Taken 9.4.13.

Day 239

This caterpillar reminds me a lot of that one Thomas the Tank Engine story about Percy and a very windy day. Molasses gets spilled on Percy, then he has to go past some fields where they're haymaking, so hay gets blown over the track and stuck to him:
 
Taken 9.3.13.

Day 238

Taken 8.31.13.

Day 237

Taken 8.31.13.

Day 236

Taken 8.31.13.

Day 235

It's a Sere! Taken 8.31.13.

Day 234

Mister looking noble. Taken 8.31.13.