Derelict Sunday

There used to be a challenge on the Blipfoto site called Derelict Thursday and I participate as much as I could. We took a rest of that over the summer months. It has now been resurrected but on a Sunday.

The day started gloriously sunny and the dog walk took place with the camera in tow. I spotted these remnants of the railway which once ran where we now walk and it looked suitably derelict against the light.

Beauty in Dereliction

Yesterday's blip hand holding event was a great success and looking at us all reaching out to each other and to the Blipfoto site and it's, now no longer with us, staff members was hugely satisfying. We will have to wait and see who is going to buy the site and what will happen in the future but we showed an amazing amount of solidarity. 

It did however mean that one single line of stitching (30" long) was achieved in the studio yesterday, and nothing else. I spend the entire day online looking at all the pictures and leaving comments as much as I could and that in turn resulted (as I almost already knew it would) in a horrible migraine. So today I'm treating myself with kid gloves. A bit of gentle machine quilting and some playing with paint was on the agenda, and joy of joys, the sun was out and we were able to drink coffee outside. A real treat. The dog walk this morning was equally lovely and I decided to try and find dereliction (for the DerelictThursday challenge on Blip) close by. Fortunately there is plenty of it along the old railway line, starting with the image above.

As I had my camera I also couldn't resist taking pictures of the beautiful reflections in what is the peat field's draining ditch.

But beauty can be found in unconventional places too and I was very taken with the patterns of the wire around one of the old fence posts, specially seen against the low sun.

 So intricate! And such beauty in decay.

The Leadburn, Linton & Dolphinton Railway

John and I went to an exhibition by the West Linton and District Historical Association in the Village Centre, Raemartin Square, West Linton.  It commemorates the 80th Anniversary of the Closure of the Leadburn-Dolphinton Railway. If you're in the area it will be open till 5  pm today and from 10.30 am - 5pm tomorrow.

The reason we are so interested in this is the fact that we live in a house part of which is the old railway cottage, located next to what once was Macbiehill Station. Sadly there aren't any old pictures of this cottage to be found anywhere (and believe me, I have been on the lookout since we moved here more than 17 years ago)

Above the old plans for the design of the railway, officially called, the Leadburn, Linton & Dolphinton Railway and by the way all pictures here were taken at the exhibition with permission from the Historical Association. The Civil Engineer of the railway was Thomas Bouch, who is better known for the fact that he designed the world's first train ferry in 1850, that ran between Granton and Burntisland.

And this picture shows why we are so fascinated by the old railway. In the distance you can see the railway bridge over which our lane still runs and beside which on the right hand side and out of shot in this photograph the old railway cottage is located that later became part of our home. That lovely little building is sadly long gone. It was probably used as a place for the staff of Macbiehill Station to take a break.
Even closer to the bridge was this even more delightful construction, where passengers could wait for the trains to arrive. The platforms can still be seen clearly to this very day although they have crumbled since those fine times when the railway was in it's heyday.

This area is as familiar to me as our own backyard. I have been walking our dogs along here since we came in 1995, and every blade of grass, bloom of heather and mud patch are registered with my eyes on a twice daily basis. Of course the tracks have long gone. In 1939 long after the railway was officially closed (in 1933), i the railway itself became part of the Royal Navy Armaments Depot and munitions were stored there during the Second World War. Some of the sheds used to do so are still there (hopefully without any remaining munitions!). The tracks themselves were finally lifted in 1961. If you're looking at the above picture try and imagine the train and tracks gone, and an evergreen forest on the left hand side and that's exactly what is on view today. The picture is taken just after the train has left Macbiehill Station and is on it's way to Lamancha Station further north.

In this picture the train is going in the opposite direction, on it's way to Macbiehill Station and I can tell you that it was taken in 1961 when the process of lifting the tracks was in full swing. This is the Class J37-06-0 locomotive No. 64599. It was probably one of the last times a train drove on this track.  It would have gone on through the railway bridge you can see on my blippost here, There are times when I can almost hear an imaginary whistle going in the distance when I walk the dogs!