Photos, videos and docs of Jon Searles, with the keywords: "Wales"

Great Western Class 158 DMU in Cardiff Central Station, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales(UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 21:28:19 +0000

I took this on New Year's Eve, after getting to Cardiff in the nick of time to meet my friends. I took several other cameraphone shots along the way, although nothing to speak of. I originally had hoped to get the number of this unit, but again I was using a cameraphone, so the exposure from the headlights was too much. This had been my first trip on Great Western after it reverted to its pre-1948 name, after having operated as "First Great Western" (in reference to First Bus) since privatization, and the creation of the train operating companies (TOC's) in 1996.

Welsh Assembly, Edited version, Cardiff, Wales (UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 12:11:00 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Created by the Government of Wales Act of 1998, the Welsh Assembly is another example of devolution to the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, in line with the Scottish Parliament (also created in 1998), and "Home Rule" in Northern Ireland, initiated in 2007. Perhaps surprisingly, this Assembly Senedd (Senate) building was constructed at Cardiff Bay, rather than in the city centre, in 2006. The old Pierhead building is also controlled by the Assembly, but is used as a museum to educate citizens and visitors about the Welsh government.

Norwegian Church, Edited version 2, Cardiff, Wales (UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 12:11:02 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

The Norwegian Church, now used as a community centre with dance lessons and other services, was originally constructed in 1868 to serve Norwegian sailors. In contrast to most British churches, which were Anglican (Church of England), the Norwegian Church was originally Lutheran, which may explain why it was built. Roald Dahl was baptized in the church (probably) in 1916. In 1974, following a drastic decline in the size of the congregation, the church was deconsecrated, and in 1987 it was dismantled with an eye towards preservation and eventual reconstruction. Roald Dahl actually chaired the society responsible for the effort. It had actually been located on the site of what is now the Millenium Centre, so the present location was chosen in 1992, when the church was reconstructed as seen here.

Cardiff Bay, Picture 6, Edited version, Cardiff, Wales (UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 12:11:03 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is a lock gate (chaisson?) to one of the dry docks(?) in Cardiff Bay. I took this as one of a series of shots I took of the Bay, mostly without any background research. Obviously, further information would be appreciated.

Lightship 2000, Picture 2, Edited version 2, Cardiff, Wales (UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 12:11:02 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

The most notable ship preserved in Cardiff Bay, or at least the easiest to access until 2015, was this light ship, called variously Lightship 2000, Lightship 14, Goleulong 2000, and Helwig. Built in 1953, it was literally a "light ship," which served as a floating lighthouse to prevent other ships running aground. In spite of the development of radar before its construction, it remained in service until 1991, before being bought by an entity connected to the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (I haven't been able to find a source specifically naming the buyer). For a time, it served as a chapel upon preservation in 1993, until it was closed to the public in 2013 and moved to Gloucester in 2015, with an eye to opening it as a museum following another restoration (which it has also served as over the years), but in Newnham-on-Severn, rather than Gloucester or Cardiff. At the moment, it is supposedly is being restored by Fred Larkham, although I have been unable to verify the owner. Their is an official website for the ship at:

www.lightship2000.co.uk

...but the site appears to be down at the moment (June 12th, 2016).

Pierhead Building, Edited Version, Cardiff, Wales (UK), 2015

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 12:11:01 +0000

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Originally constructed in 1897 for the Bute Dock Company, which almost immediately became the Cardiff Railway Company. It was transferred to the Port of Cardiff in 1947, as part of the Nationalisation of the railways to form British Rail. Following privatisation, it eventually was acquired by the City of Cardiff, and then by the Welsh Assembly. Today, it is used as a museum to educate citizens and visitors about the Welsh government. The clock tower, often called "Little Big Ben," had its mechanism replaced in 1973, with the original mechanism eventually being displayed in Cardiff's city centre in 2011, at the corner of Wood Street and St. Mary's Street.

Intercity 125 Cardiff-Newport, UK, 2014

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 12:41:59 +0000

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This is the first of a series of short railfan videos that I took out of train windows while traveling from Cardiff to Prague. "Railfan" is an important qualifier here. I didn't expect any of these videos to be spectacular by themselves, Instead, they're aimed primarily (maybe only) at railfans who like to watch high-speed train videos. Technically, in modern terms, these Intercity 125 diesel trains, introduced in 1976, aren't high-speed in the modern sense. This is because their maximum legal speed is, and has always been, 125 m.p.h., or about 200 km/h, while the threshold for modern high-speed trains is about 210 km/h, set by the Japanese Series 0 bullet trains in 1966. However, the Series 0 bullet trains ran at 200 km/h from 1964 to 1966, and when the Intercity 125 diesel trains were being developed by British Railways in the 1970s, they were referred to as, literally, "High Speed Trains," or HSTs. Today, they're still often called HSTs, and remain some of the fastest diesel trains in the world, 39 years after being introduced to regular service.

Grangetown Station, Picture 2, Grangetown, Glamorgan, Wales (UK), 2014

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:07:42 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This is the entrance to the station, which is, as far as I know, up on that bridge to the right. The sculpture on the wall looks really 1970's, even Communist, although in this location that would be virtually impossible. In truth, a lot of similar artwork existed in America at the time. However, I know next to nothing about its actual origins.

Grangetown Station, Grangetown, Glamorgan, Wales (UK), 2014

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:07:40 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This visit to Grangetown was completely unplanned. I was running an errand with one of my friends, and just spotted this BR-era "barbed wire" station sign. To avoid confusion, perhaps, most of these signs have survived, not only in situ, but also on maps, and the logo also still appears on tickets and in timetables. Grangetown is located south of Cardiff, and is often counted as part of the city, although the maps I've seen are confusing so I don't know if it technically is Cardiff.

First Great Western Intercity 125 in Cardiff Central Station, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales (UK), 2014

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:07:43 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

This was my train, still worked by an Intercity 125 after all these years. These trainsets date to 1976, but in some respects they're still the most advanced diesel passenger trains in the world. At the moment, I'm also unaware of anything faster than them, although some DMU's and ICE-TD variants can match them.

Brains Brewery Silhouette, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales (UK), 2014

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:07:43 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I took this on my way to Cardiff Central Station. The old Great Western Mainline is on that viaduct you can see on the right, and you can see a steam-era water tower on the left. I've taken shots from this angle several times before. This wasn't actually a sunset, but a sunrise, as I had to get a train very early in the morning in order to get the Eurostar in London.

Summit of Snowdon, Picture 4, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:59 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Here's a view from the summit. The summit was in the clouds when we arrived, and gradually cleared up. In the meantime, it was cold, wet, and generally unpleasant. The crowds were enormous, in spite of the weather and the moderately difficult route up, and the cafe was so overcrowded that it was physically difficult to move in and out. This sounds like a frivilous, yuppie, complaint, but when it's this crowded you need restrooms. For both food and restrooms, it seemed hopelessly inadequate.

Summit of Snowdon, Picture 2, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:58 +0000

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This is the benchmark at the summit, which is actually a mound of rocks that probably isn't natural. It was crowded with people, and there was a line. The lines on the benchmark indicate the distances to different landmarks.

Snowdon, Picture 14, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:58 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I took several photos, at different exposures, from this position. I was trying to get the cloud ceiling, as I thought it was dramatic.

Snowdon, Picture 12, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:57 +0000

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This, if I'm not mistaken, is another angle on the reservoir, but the gloom makes it less dramatic.

Snowdon, Picture 7, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:56 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

I don't remember the name of this body of water, but my understanding was that it was an artificial reservoir. further information would be welcome. I got especially lucky with this photo in terms of the exposure and the reflection in the water.

Snowdon, Picture 2, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:54 +0000

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As on many hikes, most of the routes up Snowdon give wide panoramic views of the landscape. Assisting in this is that Wales has relatively few trees.

Snowdon, Picture 6, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:55 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Here's another view of the landscape on Snowdon.

Snowdon, Edited Version, Snowdonia National Park, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:12:53 +0000

Jon Searles has posted:

Snowdon, at 1085 metres, or 3,560 feet, is the tallest mountain in Wales. Recently, I was in a group who climbed it, making it my first summit in many years. This was my first proper film photo on the way up.

Tracks Under Conwy Castle, Picture 4, Conwy, Wales (UK), 2012

nobody@ipernity.com (Jon Searles) — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 09:15:49 +0000

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Here's the original, unedited scan.