tarboat's photos with the keyword: apedale

Looking down an old road in the coal workings at Apedale, Staffs. Underground tours can be made here and the 'deeper underground' trips are particularly interesting.

The Apedale mines were always welcoming when I visited and allowed freedom to wander around the site so long as I did not enter the adits. This view has tubs being tipped close to the Rescue Room with Loomer Road stadium and part of Holditch Colliery site in the background.

Staffordshire Miners' memorial at Apedale. The wheel came from Annesley Colliery in Nottinghamshire.

This morning I took a stroll up the hill to the Staffordshire Miners' memorial at Apedale. The wheel came from Annesley Colliery in Nottinghamshire.

Baldwin WD 778 simmers whilst the crew take a well earned break during the first Tracks to the Trenches event at Apedale.

Troops from Bosnia-Herzegovina representing the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the Tracks to the Trenches event at Apedale.

Mounted troops demonstrating their skills at the Tracks to the Trenches event at Apedale. The troops attending the event incuded contingents representing the forces of Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as the usual suspects.

A coal seam exposed in a quarried face at Apedale. A very much younger Tarboat gives scale to the scene.

Roadway in the Apedale coal mines during a recent deeper tour.

Looking into old workings in the coal mines at Apedale. We did not go down there!

Today I went deeper under Apedale on the first of the new tours into the further reaches of the colliery. I believe that this particular level accesses the Spencroft seam which was reckoned to be highly suitable for use in steam locomotives. We saw at least six different seams and quite a bit of ironstone whilst underground.

Troops on the move from the trenches on the field railway that was laid for the Tracks to the Trenches event at Apedale run by the Moseley Railway Trust.

Replica Mk IV tank at the 'Tracks to the Trenches' event at Apedale today. It proved to be a real beggar to steer. The event was superb with a wide variety of WW1 railway equipment running on a real field railway and plenty of different re-enactments and contemporary equipment. They even had their own trench system to explore.

A useful looking shed at the Moseley Railway Trust on the old colliery site at Apedale.

Edward Sholto was built in 1909 by Hunslet for Penrhyn slate quarry. The original cost was £600. It is named after Edward Sholto Douglas-Pennant who inherited the Penrhyn estates upon the death of his father in 1907. Laid up in 1956 it was sold in 1961 and exported to Canada in October of that year. It never steamed there and changed hands several times before being purchased by Andrew Neale and repatriated in July 2006. Andrew and his small team have since done a marvellous restoration job which resulted in the locomotive returning to steam in 2010. It is seen here in action with two quarry trucks at its base at the Moseley Railway Trust, Apedale Heritage Centre. This was a special event in conjunction with the AGM of the Industrial Railway Society which was held in one of the locomotive sheds. Andrew Neale, seen here on the far left, is particularly proud of the fact that the locomotive still comprises most of the original metalwork from when it was delivered by Hunslet in 1909; even the firebox wrapper is original. He puts this down to the workshop practice at Penrhyn where locomotives were repaired one at a time and therefore there was less opportunity for swapping parts than at Dinorwic where two locomotives could be under heavy repair at the same time and the good bits of both would be used to get one back in service as quickly as possible.

Today I climbed to the top of the hill in Apedale Country Park and stood close to the mining memorial just soaking up the view across the Potteries. Summer as it should be! A stitch of seven images. Best viewed in original size.

The Apedale mines were always welcoming when I visited and allowed freedom to wander around the site so long as I did not enter the adits. This is one of the utilitarian buildings that housed the electric hauler for an adit. The coal was brought out on the conveyor that can be seen coming in from the left side of the picture.

Seen at the back of the Apedale collieries on a visit in 1995. The steeply inclined seam is typical of North Staffordshire and a small tunnel from old workings can be seen in the coal.