Last minute Jim strikes again! Yep, I left my Frugal Film Project 2024 roll of Kentmere 400 for July to the last minute and to be honest I needed the break. I have been four blogs ahead for most of this year and I took the opportunity of a break during July without having to worry about not having anything to share with you. It's hard to find inspiration during summer, everything is green and whilst I like seeing the trees full of leaves, there's only so much you can do in the woods during the summer.
Our pal Keith came to visit on the last weekend in July and I suggested we visit somewhere local for our photowalk. There are more than a few places to visit here in the north west of England that are well worth pointing a camera at. I suggested the Lancashire Mining Museum at Astley Green, midway between Wigan and Manchester.
The Museum has a selection of working machinery on display and they like to run them for the visitors to enjoy. Sadly not with steam, but with compressed air. The colliery once was powered by 16 boilers, the last of which is on display, and burned coal dust and gas from the colliery to make the steam to power all the machinery.
To have a working coal/gas fired boiler in the 21st century requires a lot of expense before you even think of firing it up. A boiler service can run into 6 figures depending on the condition, a new one is prohibitively expensive for them, so you can forgive the Museum for choosing compressed air to power their working machinery. It's nice to see them run.
There is also the last surviving winding engine and head gear in the Lancashire Coalfield. This equipment has not been transported to the museum, it is the same winding engine and head gear that was in use when the site was a working colliery and also the very last still in place in Lancashire. The engine is run on select days during the year.
Astley Green Colliery closed in 1970 and was mothballed for many years for good reason. There are papers lodged with the Instutute of Mining Engineers that detailed the engineering challenges that had to be overcome to reach the coal seam 2,600 feet below the surface. It took 4 years to sink the first shaft courtesy of the soft, unstable ground on the edge of Chat Moss and those papers are studied to this day by students of civil engineering.
The shafts are capped, there's no cable reaching down into the depths below and there's no danger of anyone falling down a very deep hole. The head gear is showing its age now and is in need of repair which the Musuem are actively raising funds to carry out. Steel needs painting to keep the rust at bay, but after a hundred years that battle is slowly being won by the rust. Donations are most welcome to help keep this last man standing for many years to come.
There is also a narrow gauge railway and the days when the railway is running are a way for the museum to raise some much needed funds to keep this bastion of the Lancashire Coalfields alive. It would be a great shame if it were to be lost, consigned to history like all the coal mines before it. You can find out more about the museum by clicking the link below.
Keith and I were in our element and shot several rolls of film, including this roll of Kentmere 400 I shot with my Olympus OM101 and Zuiko 50mm f/2 power focus lens for the Frugal Film Project. It's the first time I have used the 50mm lens and I also took the opportunity to use an orange filter on several shots as the sun was high and bright. It seemed like the way to go to make the best use of the conditions.
For two middle aged fans of local history and the machinery that powered the industrial revolution, this was heaven. The working machinery on display has been lovingly restored and one or two have a big end knock that would make some folk worried. I would be if it was my motorbike, but the pump with a hypnotic knock is over a century old. It isn't under any stress and could probably run like that for another century. It will get a new babbitt bearing eventually.
One exhibit I am glad has been preserved is Fred Dibnah's home built head gear from the shaft he dug in his back yard. I'm sure Fred would approve that he is remembered at the Mining Museum. He spent his life collecting steam powered machinery and restoring them to working order so we could enjoy them for years to come. Fred's programmes about the golden age of Steam and the Industrial Revolution are still shown on TV and YouTube today.
Sadly, as often happens when I'm having fun, I ran out of film. Four rolls of film and a few videos shot with my phone ws a very productive and very enjoyable afternoon at Lancashire Mining Museum. It was almost closing time so we said our goodbye's to the staff and we headed home, happy with what we achieved that afternoon. We will be back.
I developed my roll of Kentmere 400 a day or two later using HC110 1+47 dilution E and hung it to dry in my bathroom overnight. I digitised it the next day with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.
Here's a few of my favourites from our afternoon at the Lancashire Mining Museum. It's a great place to visit with knowledgeable and very helpful staff on hand to talk about various exhibits and answer any questions. It's a great afternoon outing for all the family and you can find the opening times via the link below.
I am also very impressed with the Zuiko 50mm f/2 Power Focus lens that came with my Olympus OM101 given to me by my dear friend, Wellies. Olympus made their name from Optics before entering the camera market and the Zuiko range of lenses that accompanied the OM cameras are outstanding. This 50mm f/2 power focus lens follows that tradition of optical excellence and I'm glad it's in my kit.
As always I have placed these photos and more in my Frugal Film Project 2024 - 35mm album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
Frugal Film Project 2024 - July - 35mm
Lancashire Mining Museum
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