Incline and Upper Adit, Cononley Lead Mine

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An explore of a nineteenth century lead mine earlier in the year. Here the upper adit (up the ladder) meets the inclined plane which goes from the surface to the lowest naturally drained level. ⛏️ The incline (with a gradient of around 1 in 4) was used to haul ore out of the mine. Past the ladder there is an ore pass where ore from the upper level was dropped down via a hopper into a cart waiting on the incline tramway. ⛏️ Up the ladder a few passages branch off but all are blocked, the are also some stopes (areas where the mineral was extracted). The route to the portal (entrance on hillside, used to get the ore out prior to use of the incline) is also blocked. ⛏️ The incline descends further, past partial collapses, stopes and a rise to another level before being totally blocked not too far from the bottom. ⛏️ Upper parts of the mine were reopened and barytes (barium ore) was extracted after lead extraction ceased. The mine is extremely sketchy in places. #stayout #cononleyleadmines #mineexploration #leadmine #mine #cononleymineincline #cononleymineupperadit #orepass #ladder #baritemine #barytemine #exploration #abandonedmine

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 19, 2019 at 5:36pm PST

Hyde Park Picture House

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Sunshine on a rainy day. The low winter sun reflecting off windows opposite the cinema onto its right hand wall. 🌦️ Opened as a cinema in 1914 it has a more ornate design than the large numbers of cinemas built during the Art Deco period that followed. 🎥 The cinema won't look like this much longer as it closes for major works and renovation in the new year which will see the steps go and and the building will be extended into the space on the right where originally a canopy would have kept waiting queues dry. #cinema #hydeparkpicturehouse #gaslitcinema #lamp

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 18, 2019 at 2:53pm PST

Artificial Christmas Tree, Bradford

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Dalek Trojan horse? 🤖 What's the strangest tree you have seen? 🎄 #christmastree #bradford #dalek #balls #bradford #christmas #artificialtree #strange #weirdchristmastree #arndalehouse #arndalecentres #xchangebradford #broadwaybradford

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 17, 2019 at 5:29am PST

HST, Azuma, InterCity 225

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Three generations of trains used on the East Coast Main Line, taken a couple of weeks prior to the withdrawal (on 15th December, 2019) of InterCity 125, High Speed Trains by LNER after over forty years service. 📆⌛ The HST or InterCity 125 (right, capable of 125mph) was introduced on the east coast line in 1978. It cut an hour off the journey time to Edinburgh and was the first train in the UK to run above 100mph in regular service. 🚄💨 Class 91/InterCity 225 (middle, capable of 225km/h) entered service in 1989 on newly electrified sections of railway which reached Leeds by 1989 and Edinburgh by 1991. ⚡ The Azuma (class 800) (left, basking in the morning sun) entered service in 2019. They can run on both electrified and non-electrified sections of railway using the overhead wire where available and using diesel generators in non-electrified areas. 🚅 The non-powered (DVT) end of the InterCity 225 is seen here, which remotely controls the class 91 locomotive at the other end and which it is designed to look very similar to. The Azumas have traction motors and generators spread along the train, and the HSTs have a locomotive at each end. Just peeking out behind the Azuma in the second pic is a class180 (Adelante) a diesel train originally built for FGW to supplement its HST fleet between London Paddington and south Wales in 2001. This one is probably operated by Grand Central which runs some trains on the east coast line to Bradford and Sunderland. Hull Trains also use them on services to Hull (surprisingly!) 🚄 #intercity125 #hst #highspeedtrain #class43 #class254 #kingscrossstation #intercity225 #class91 #eastcoastmainline #trains #railway #azumatrain #class800 #lner #drivingvantrailer #adelantetrain #class180

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 16, 2019 at 7:56am PST

Bingley Teacher Training College

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This is where the old gates I found the other day originally led to - the former Bingley (West Riding) Training College. Built by West Riding County Council on a hillside on the edge of Bingley, from 1911 to 1979 it trained women to become teachers. Government reforms started in the 70's led to the 160 or so teacher training colleges merging with polytechnics or FE colleges, becoming colleges or institutes of higher education teaching a wider range of subjects or like Bingley (one of the smaller colleges) they closed. The buildings of the old college have been turned into apartments and new houses have been built on the site along with new access roads. #bingleyteachertrainingcollege #westridingteachertrainingcollege #teachertrainingcollege #bingley #lamp #westridingcountycouncil #clock #windows #educationaframeworkforexpansion

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 15, 2019 at 8:04am PST

Projector, Hyde Park Picture House

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35mm film projector, Hyde Park Picture house. 🍿 Not many of these left as cinemas have moved over to digital projection over the last decade or so. Digital allows much easier and cheaper distribution of films; each film print could cost way over £1000 to make for an arthouse movie with only a couple of prints. 🎞️ Apparently Eastman Kodak is the only company still manufacturing release print stock. 📽️ Virtual tour - bit.ly/2KzDzPk #hydeparkpicturehouse #cinena #projectionroom #movieprojector #35mmfilm #filmprojector #35mmfilmprojector #35mmprojector

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 14, 2019 at 7:51am PST

Imposing Iron Gates, Bingley

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These impressive gates were hiding behind the mobile polling station. Don't appear to have been used for a long time. #gates #metalgates #entranceway #ironwork #leaves #pillars #bingleycollegeofeducation #bingleycollege #wroughtiron

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 13, 2019 at 8:17am PST

Portable Polling Station, Bingley

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Soggy polling station. I've never seen a mobile polling station so went to looking for one nearby. 🔎 A luxurious converted shipping container complete with portaloo and generator. What more could you want 😀 🗳️ Hope they have enough petrol for when it gets dark (hmm, woods, rain, darkness, generator - reminds me of an old X-Files episode 😁). 💡 #election #election2019 #pollingstation #rain #rainyday #vote #generalelection #bingley #bingleycollege #portaloo #generator #darknessfalls

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 12, 2019 at 6:38am PST

Mystery Wall Box, Bingley

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Any ideas? #mysterywallbox #safe #canal #bingley #path #wallbox #combination #dials

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 10, 2019 at 12:08pm PST

Sewage tunnel, Bradford

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Start of three mile 10 foot diameter sewage tunnel to Esholt Sewage Works opened in 1923. What is the building for? Was it originally for ventilation? access? Did someone build a brick barbecue on the side? 😉 . Bradford Corporation's solution to the overloaded Frizinghall works was to build a huge works on the banks of the Aire at Esholt and build a tunnel to divert waste to it. . You can hear the liquid waste roaring below on pic 3 💩😋 . There is an indentation on one side which looks like it may have had a metal plaque recessed into it, now gone. #bradford #sewage #tunnel #unusualbuilding #frizinghall

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 9, 2019 at 2:58pm PST

Mail Rail, Postal Museum

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Squeezed into a train on Mail Rail the Post Office Railway. ✉️ From 1927 to 2003 the specially constructed 2ft gauge railway moved post along a route of around six miles under the streets of central London between mail depots at Paddington and Whitechapel with several intermediate stations. The trains were powered by electrictrified rails and controlled remotely. 🚃 A section of the railway around the Mount Pleasant maintenance depot was reopened in 2017 as part of the Postal museum and gives passengers a ride in custom designed carriages, now powered by battery and with a driver on the train (#healthandsafety). #mailrail #postofficerailway #mountpleasant #postalmuseum #undergroundrailway #preservedrailway #tunnels #railway #electricrailway #london

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 8, 2019 at 1:58pm PST

Cinema Organ, Elland Rex

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Rodgers 333 Olympic theatre organ being played during the interval at a showing of Modern Times (1936) with Charlie Chaplin at the Rex in Elland. This was the last film with his famous Tramp character and is mainly dialogue free although he does briefly sing gibberish in it and there are some voices through machines at the start. 1929 was the year that the silent era really ended and 'talkies' took over. The film deals with issues of poverty, hunger and joblessness, themes Charles would have been familiar with from his childhood in London where he had stints living in workhouses. #charliechaplin #moderntimes #cinemaorgan #cinema #silentfilm

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 7, 2019 at 5:16pm PST

Tramway rail in bridge, Windhill

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Bridge made with old tramway track (note the groove in the rail) 🚋 It's funny where you can unexpectedly find bits of the past, the road further down the hill used to have trams before they were replaced by trolleybuses in around 1930 and it was probably some of that track that was used here. They say that the camera never lies but in the second pic the profile of the rail doesn't show up well, the rail is shaped like a saucepan with a very thin wall rising near vertically after the groove, but the photo makes the groove look shallower and the rail horizontal to the right of it. #footbridge #stream #leaves #tramway #rail #tramrail

A post shared by John | Exploration and history (@merrytrek) on Dec 6, 2019 at 9:12am PST