Some Viaducts I Have Known

Here are pictures of a couple of viaducts I have bonded with. Above is Larpool Viaduct, Whitby, the top photograph taken by self, the lower photograph taken by Mrs Nick.

Below are pictures of Bennerley Viaduct on the Notts/Derbyshire border. I am always surprised to see how sombre Bennerley Viaduct looks in pictures as it is near my home and I have nothing but happy memories of visiting it with family and friends.

Should you wish to enlarge your experience of the nations` viaductical delights, here are some links you might like ;

www.railwaypaths.org.uk

http://transportheritage.com/find-heritage-locations.html

www.forgottenrelics.co.uk

Walter Tyrer 1900 - 1978

Many crime fiction buffs will no doubt share my fondness for the adventures of fictional sleuth Sexton Blake.

For what it`s worth, I never think of those stories as being `retro` and I don`t appreciate them with any sense of `post-modern irony` or wotnot. I leave that sort of thing to others.

Vintage crimestopper Blake was interpreted by many different writers over the years, one of my favourites being the late Walter Tyrer.

I`ve posted reviews of Walters` works here, there and everywhere but only recently have I been able to provide a potted biog.

To see the result of my efforts, look for `Walter Tyrer ; A Writers` Life, posted a couple of days ago at http://thesextonblakeblog.blogspot.com .

                                                       Walter Tyrer (1956 publicity shot). Thanks to Ray Elmitt for providing this.

On and Off the Rails

 

 

 

 

 

 

I`m having a long-overdue sort-out of my old photos and today we`re going with a railway theme.

 

Above are pictures of steam trains at Matlock Town  ( more info from www.peakrail.co.uk ).

 

Below are pictures of abandoned railway materials near to Bennerley Viaduct. I see these often and always wonder if some group of railway enthusiasts couldn`t find a use for them. They`re doing no-one any good where they are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I`ve had a quite look around the web, and unsurprisingly there are a bewildering array of sites catering to rail buffs.

 

For a useful overview of heritage railway sites, click here ; www.uksteam.info/links.htm .

 

Also useful is www.rail.co.uk .

 

There are numerous camnpaign groups, including the national campaign Action for Rail ( http://actionforrail.org ) , the  Skipton-based SELRAP   ( www.selrap.org.uk ) and The Campaign for Better Tranport ( www.bettertransport.org.uk ) who campaign on issues around HS2, for lower train fares and, in partnership with a number of local groups,  for the re-opening of a number disused railway lines.