200 up for WME Wolverhampton

It seems to be landmarks all the way for WME at the moment, but I have to admit that this particular milestone is extra special. WME Wolverhampton has become the first of my local galleries to reach the 200 photo mark; 18 months of hard work have got me to this point, and I'm delighted with the achievement, especially as its Wolverhampton - the most local and most personal of my galleries - that takes me there.

A bit about the additions that broke the 200 barrier now, and it was just a standard, "nothing too exciting" type of an update to be honest. The crux of the update centred on sorting out some sequences of canal photos that had been sitting on Wolvtest for a while. On Shropshire Union Canal we got another Bridge 2 photo, plus a different angle exploring the top of Turnover Bridge, whilst on Staffs & Worcs there were a handful of Wightwick Lock views, a third installment in the Marsh Lane series and a couple of Compton Lock views. I must admit I do like the view of the lock gates at Compton, I'm quite proud of that photo. Other than the canal stuff, there was one addition to Wolverhampton by Bus - a second 698 at Wobaston photo further capturing a local route and a favourite terminus location - and thats your lot. Not a glamorous update then, but sometimes you just have to get stuck in and shift some photos around, so its a job well done all the same.

Whilst WME Wolverhampton should rightfully hog the headlines, I should also mention a useful update to Exploration Extra. My recent work on the archive has released some photos from October 2005 including some from my visit to BaMMoT with Rog and Woody, and these have now joined the BaMMoT 2005 collection. I must be honest and say I know very little about the vehciles or their history, so my commentary might lack its usual detail/waffle, depending upon your point of view. The photos are on there in any case, completing a constructive morning's work and keeping things ticking over nicely...

April Additions Alert

I've had a busy couple of days at WME Towers, sorting out some updates for the Easter period. There's a fair bit to report...

Let's start with WME Staffordshire, which has quickly followed WME Sandwell in joining the WME 100 Club! Perched precariously on 99 photos for the last couple of weeks, WME Staffs has smashed through the barrier in some style...

• Staffs by Bus gets another photo of the 825 at Lichfield.
• Railway Walk gets another location as Penn Halt joins Castlecroft and Wombourne Station.
• Staffs & Worcs Canal gets a handful of November 2005 photos: Castlecroft Bridge (again!), two shots of Dimmingsdale Bridge and a second Mops Farm view.
• Landywood Station has another view of the Walsall platform steps, plus a look at a curious DIY-style platform sign.
• And there's a new Exploring Cheslyn Hay collection featuring the local library and the Talbot pub, making for ten new photos in all, thats pretty good going by my standards!

Also getting a decent chunk of an update is WME Dudley...

• The star of the show here has to be the new Stourbridge Canal collection, featuring photos of Bells Mill Bridge, Brettell Lane and Seven Dwellings. This is an important canal addition to the Dudley repertoire and comes after a fair bit of research to find out what some of those bridges were actually called.
• The canal ranks are swelled further with the arrival of Black Delph Bridge on the Dudley No. 1 collection - Black Delph is quite a significant location as its the spot where the Dudley and Stourbridge Canals meet, so its good to get that in there.
• To more mundane matters, and we have another 240 at Stourbridge photo joining Dudley by Bus, and a further platform view on the Stourbridge Town collection too.

Looking now at the other galleries, and lets see whats been happening on those...

• Starting with WME Birmingham and the usual rail related update. Hamstead Station gets a photo of the path to the Birmingham platform, whilst Blake Street gets a platform view and a rather nice look at the side entrance. Both collections have been on WME Brum for a while without any updates, so its good to get things moving a little.
• On to WME Wolverhampton, and a couple of intriguing additions to Exploring Tettenhall - a view of Lower Green and a look at a tree in St Michael's Churchyard adds a bit more variety to the usual views of Tettenhall Library.
• An update too for WME Sandwell - a Great Bridge Bus Station view for the Stops & Stations collection, and there's a nice shot of a tram at West Bromwich Central joining Midland Metro.
• What's this, a new collection on WME Warwickshire? Yes, its true - Exploring Nuneaton is off and running with two views of the Railway Tavern, one for each of the Rail Rover Weeks I've done so far.
• A single update to WME Walsall sees Pelsall Library join the Exploring Pelsall collection. I'm pleased with how this collection is developing, as it contains a variety of different views whereas most local collections often provide multiple views of the same thing (Tettenhall Library springs to mind once more).
• And last but by no means least, even the perennial straggler WME Worcestershire gets a new photo with a second look at the back entrance to Great Malvern Station.

Well, I have to say that April is off to a good start with that little lot. Hopefully I might have some more update news for you as the Easter weekend progresses, and possibly a report on a potential outing to Stafford with Rog and Woody as well. I could be quite busy over the next few days...