The SS Majestic was launched in 1889 and so was maybe 12-15 years old when this photograph was taken. She held the Blue Riband for a brief 2 weeks in 1891 with an average speed of 20.1 knots. She was taken out of service in 1912, replaced by Titanic. She was placed in reserve in Birkenhead,…
Author: Andy
#408 – Library of Congress Images – Cramp’s Shipyard
I’ve posted a few pictures of American naval ships and naval yards over the last year or so, so here’s a slightly different perspective on the subject. William Cramps shipbuilding yard in Philadelphia was a long established, privately owned shipbuilders that built ships for three major conflicts fought by American forces (the Civil War, World…
#407 – Steam on the River Dart
OK, time for a few holiday snaps, but mine consist of paddle steamers, factories and steam locomotives;) The River Dart runs through 18.5 miles of Devon countryside and is navigable from Dartmouth to Totnes. Dartmouth is best known for its Regatta and the Naval College, but is also a deepwater harbour, although it sees little…
#406 – Shadows of the North Exhibition opens at Queen Street Mill, Burnley
I am pleased to announce that my Shadows of the North exhibition has moved to Queen Street Mill Textile Museum in Burnley, the last steam powered weaving shed in the world. This is the same exhibition that was up at Helmshore earlier this year, but reduced to 15 photographs due to space constraints. If I’m…
#405 – Beyer Peacock’s Gorton Foundry
The Gorton Foundry in 1947, courtesy of Britain From Above Following on from my post on Mather and Platt’s foundry, the (only?) other evidence of East Manchester’s engineering past are the boiler shops of Beyer Peacock’s Gorton Foundry. Like Mathers, the majority of the site has been demolished, but maybe the most significant part…
#404 – Mather and Platt’s Park Engineering Works
I’ve noted on this blog before that Manchester, the so-called first industrial city, now describes itself as a post-industrial city. It’s an accurate assessment as it’s hard to find anything of any consequence that is made in Manchester these days, beyond Cornflakes and Coronation Street. The area to the east of the city was, at…
#403 – Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry Part 3
Winding engine (I think) in one of the sheds. Just a few more random ones from the visit. It was good to have some expert accompaniment on the visit, so thanks again to Iain Robinson for spending a good part of the day with me as he’s very knowledgeable on the local quarry industry and…
#402 – Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry Part 2
While I’m not a frequent visitor to North Wales, I have visited at least annually over the past ten years, and had experienced only one sunny day in that time. So I was pleasantly surprised to experience the area when it wasn’t smothered in cloud, fog and rain. Photographically, this represented a departure from me for two…
#401 – Pen-yr-Orsedd Quarry Part 1
I’ve no particular association with the area or the industry, but I have an odd fascination with the slate industry and the way it has shaped the landscape of North Wales. In most industries, once a plant has worn out or is rendered obsolete for whatever reason, the place is either raised to the ground and something…
#400 – Library of Congress Images – SS Rotterdam at Holland America Line Terminal, Hoboken
This is a panorama created from three separate 8×10 glass plate negative scans. Needless to say, the resultant file is rather large! I recently upgraded my computer as my 6 year old PC with 4GB of RAM struggled with files like this, but the new one has significantly more processing power and Photoshop CC…
Mechanical Landscapes 