Threkeld Quarry

[StuartRae]

One last set from my trip to the Lakes last week.

On Monday we visited the disused Threlkeld granite quarry, which is now home to a mining museum and a collection of old excavators.
The museum was worth the modest entry fee, and it was good to see that someone had the passion to gather together old ways of working which would otherwise be lost.
The official collection of excavators was in a locked compound with no obvious means of entry, but a stroll along some of the quarry roads yielded a profusion of abandoned equipment.
Here are a few images:

An Excavator Graveyard.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0800-01.jpg


Excuse me, would you care for the next dance?

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0803-01.jpg


A rusting engine from one of the monsters.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0809-01.jpg


A local spider has made this piece of winding gear home.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0811-01.jpg

Regards,

Stuart

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Stuart,

One last set from my trip to the Lakes last week.

On Monday we visited the disused Threlkeld granite quarry, which is now home to a mining museum and a collection of old excavators.
Lovely. Especially nice to see the power shovels (front shovels) - one perhaps steam.

Best regards,

Doug

[StuartRae]

Hi Doug,

Lovely. Especially nice to see the power shovels (front shovels) - one perhaps steam.

Thanks. They're so elegant, aren't they? I didn't notice anything obviously steam-powered, but if you let me know which one it is I'll see if one of us has a clearer shot of it.

Regards,

Stuart

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Stuart,

I myself am also visiting abandoned earth mining sites, but not granite, just gold! I'm in Tonopah, Nevada and can see so many similarities.

So what happened? Did the place run out of goos quality granite or the demand was not enough to sustain it? Is there alternate employment for the townsfolk there?One last set from my trip to the Lakes last week.

An Excavator Graveyard.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0800-01.jpg


This is an excellent establishing shot and shows us the nature of the abandoned site.[/quote]


"Excuse me, would you care for the next dance?"

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0803-01.jpg

You're funny! Yes they do look like challenging dancers or perhaps ready to duke it out! Mostly, they now look like toys no longer imposing industrial monsters. That's due to your POV.


"A rusting engine from one of the monsters."

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0809-01.jpg


"A local spider has made this piece of winding gear home."

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0811-01.jpg



These last two pictures show the massive machines rusting and very slowly being taken back by nature. guess it becomes uneconomical to recycle all this iron! Both these pictures would also do well in B&W. Maybe that's a presentation you might consider.

Asher

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Stuart,


Thanks. They're so elegant, aren't they? I didn't notice anything obviously steam-powered, but if you let me know which one it is I'll see if one of us has a clearer shot of it.
Maybe none - it just seemed that the one in the very center of the "Excavator Graveyard" shot might have been. But on closer examination, I don't see any real clues to that (such as a smokestack).

The ones with the yellow-orange over burgundy livery are by Bucyrus-Erie (or perhaps Ruston-Bucyrus in the UK).

Best regards,

Doug

[StuartRae]

Maybe none - it just seemed that the one in the very center of the "Excavator Graveyard" shot might have been. But on closer examination, I don't see any real clues to that (such as a smokestack).

Hi Doug,

I've just had a look at the full size image and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of steam, but here it is anyway.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0800-01-100pct.jpg

The ones with the yellow-orange over burgundy livery are by Bucyrus-Erie (or perhaps Ruston-Bucyrus in the UK).

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0802-01-100pct.jpg

Regards,

Stuart

[StuartRae]

Hi Asher,

Thanks for looking.


So what happened? Did the place run out of good quality granite or the demand was not enough to sustain it? Is there alternate employment for the townsfolk there?

I guess the demand dropped off. There's a brief history of the quarry here (http://www.threlkeldquarry.co.uk/history.htm)
Most employment these days would be in the tourist industry.


These last two pictures show the massive machines rusting and very slowly being taken back by nature. guess it becomes uneconomical to recycle all this iron! Both these pictures would also do well in B&W. Maybe that's a presentation you might consider.
Maybe, maybe not. For me, much of the interest lies in the variety of colours produced by the rusting process.

Regards,

Stuart

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Stuart,

Hi Doug,

I've just had a look at the full size image and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of steam, but here it is anyway.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0800-01-100pct.jpg
Yes, probably diesel. Thanks for the closer look.

http://www.lakelandphotography.net/OPF/IMG_0802-01-100pct.jpg
Aha!

Different livery, though. Interesting.

Thanks so much.

Best regards,

Doug