Monthly Archives: July 2018

Rolling blog: Caledonian interlude.

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

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Greetings from Glasgow! After a convivial night in the city we’re ready to go judging again. We stayed in an Ibis in the city centre. It’s a nice hotel, but the views aren’t up to much!

There’s only one station to visit today before Paul C and I head off in different directions and I begin to wend my way back to Yorkshire. I’m not sure which way I’m going as it depends on the weather, which seems to be on an East-West divide today. There’s a few things I’d like to have a look at, so we’ll see. Scotland’s investing a lot of money in its rail network so there’s lots of changes to check out.

Right, we’re off…

09:18.

Our first train of the day is a refurbished Scotrail Class 158 fitted with high-backed seats and plug/USB sockets.

11.15

We’ve completed out visit and I’m now back in Glasgow. We’ve only a handful of stations left to judge now but both of us agree this is the toughest year for us to judge so far as the standard of the entries is so high.

As I crossed the city from Central to Queen St I stopped to admire a fine old Glasgow tradition which is clearly thriving! I especially like the stash of spare cones.

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13:20

I hung around Glasgow for a little while getting pictures before catching one of Scotrail’s brand new Hitachi built Class 385 EMU’s to Edinburgh. The Scotrail Twitter account was more than happy to let me know which services the pair that are in traffic were working, so here I am.

First impressions are good. We’re currently bowling along to Falkirk High and I’ve my laptop set up, plugged into the between seat power socket and connected to the onboard wifi. I’m in the front car of the second set. The acceleration of these trains is certainly good. The internal ambience isn’t bad either. The lighting’s not too bright, the seats are comfortable and the tables are large and certainly sturdy. Legroom in the airline seats is good and the seatback tables are solid, with a useful lip around the edge (with a depression for a cup to stop it sliding). There are a couple of things I’ve noticed. The toilet’s out of order in my vehicle (444104) and there’s a whistling noise from the door seals when we’re at speed. The suspension seems a tad harsh too. The PIS is a bit basic compared to the Siemens Class 700/707 too, it’s a simple, scrolling dot-matrix system that tells you the time and what station you’re arriving at next, plus your final destination. I do like the seat moquette on the priority seats adjacent to the doors. They have a different motif which feature pregnant women and those with children, the elderly and folks with injuries! Signage is good, although the seat numbers (which are displayed on the walls above the seats) are tiny and very difficult to see – even close up. If seat reservations will be used they’ll have to be the good old fashioned paper kind as there’s no electronic system provided.

I walked through into the leading set (385003) to see if there was any difference and noticed that the door whistling I’d noticed earlier was a one-off. This set was perfect. Looking around both sets I was impressed with the construction of the trains, they’re solid and well-made. I think they’re going to be a real hit with passengers.

Here’s a selection of pictures showing what the 385s look like from the inside.

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A table bay of four. Note the slots in the top of the seats for paper reservation labels and the fact that (like nearly all modern trains) seats don’t align perfectly with windows. The seats have folding armrests and there’s a power socket (one between two) located just under the front of each pair.

 

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Seating at the back of one of the driving cars in set 385104. There’s tip up seats on the opposite side by the toilet and the area’s designated as bicycle storage. Note the seat back tables for the airline seats.

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There’s five tip-up seats in the bicycle storage area which is clearly marked as such.

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One of the door areas in 385014. The door controls are at a height that anyone can use them. Note the difference in seat moquette. The seat to the left is designated as priority seating.

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Imaginative moquette on priority seating gets the message across!

 

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The vestibules are roomy and feature lots of curves rather than just straight lines. Beyond is the disabled access toilet.

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Inside the disabled toilet, showing the features which include a baby changing table.

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There’s space for two wheelchairs on the opposite side of the vestibule to the disabled access toilet. Note the tip back tables, power sockets and flip up companion seats.

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Seats aren’t cantilevered off the body side, but there’s still plenty of space underneath. Note the position of the power socket.

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Coathangers are an odd one. Not every seat seems to have one. Hitachi tell me that 2 are provided for every bay of 4, whilst airline seats have one each on the back of the seat in front. 

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The number 15 is actually the seat number. I hope these are only temporary as – unlike the rest of the signage – they’re very poor, extremely difficult to see and aren’t self explanatory. Hitachi tell me that these are temporary and for reference by the engineers bedding in the trains.  

DG304291. 385104. Edinburgh Waverley. 31.7.18

385104 after arrival at Edinburgh. Note the difference in the two front windows…

DG304286. 385003. 385104. Edinburgh Waverley. 31.7.18

Spot the difference…

 

Rolling blog: Northbound again (Sorry Dire Straits!)

30 Monday Jul 2018

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No rest for the wicked! My Sunday was spent visiting two different stations in Lancashire and Yorkshire with my Paul Cook, my fellow ACoRP awards judge. As one of them had no trains (the route was shut due to Bolton line electrification work) my wife Dawn ended up acting as chauffeur.

We couldn’t have chosen a worse day to drive! The weather had broken over the weekend so Dawn had the ‘joy’ of driving on the M62 and 61 motorways when you could have water-ski’d on them.

At one point we nearly did as we hit a huge sheet of water on the M61. Thankfully Dawn’s an experienced driver and kept her cool – tho’ the steering wheel did have finger marks in it afterwards! Fortunately, the weather began to break during our first visit and the drive back over to Yorkshire was far less tense.

Visits over we adjourned to the nearby Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale to discuss the visits over one of their excellent Sunday lunches before going our seperate ways.

This morning I’m back on the rails and heading for Carlisle via Preston as Paul and I have stations to judge in Scotland. The weather’s still changeable but I’m not complaining. We desperately needed the rain and some more wouldn’t go amiss.

11:34.

I’m now in Carlisle, waiting for my ‘partner in crime’ to catch up with me. I’m currently enjoying a coffee under the station roof which was restored to its former magnificence in 2017.

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Carlisle station is now another on the network to be graced with a station bar called the ‘301 Miles‘ which serves an excellent range of draught and bottled beers (plus food) in a high vaulted room with a pair of superb old fireplaces and memorabilia about the railways, beer – and the  city itself.

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15:35.

Station visit done we’re now on the outskirts of Glasgow after heading up the GSW route from Dumfries via Kilmarnock.

22:55.

So many things I could have added today, but socialising with old friends got in the way – and don’t even ask about discussions on a Scottish view on Brexit! Tomorrow’s another day…

 

Summer lightning

28 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in Travel, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Well, the weather’s well and truly changed! On Friday we basked in the hot and humid weather we’ve come to take for granted this summer. I have to admit, it’s been glorious – I love summers like this. Yesterday I was out exploring the Fylde coast, an area I’ve never known well but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. Here’s an example. The Italiante station building at Lytham has been turned into a very attractive pub.

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The railway’s still here of course, but the only reason I discovered the place was because I was on a rail replacement bus service. The bus took me through little villages I’d never seen before but ones I’m curious to come back and explore.

Today we did something a little different. After a slow morning at home listening to the thunder and rain Dawn suggested we have an impromptu day out. Dawn’s idea was to drive over to Ilkley Moor, a place I’ve never explored. So that’s what we did. The weather was amazing, it was constantly changing, this wasn’t four seasons in one day, it was four in an hour! Here’s a few examples.

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DG303932. Thiunderclouds and lightning. Ilkley. 28.7.18

With weather like this I couldn’t help but chuckle when we popped into a local pub nearby and I found this (one of my long time favourite beers) was on;

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After exploring Ilkley moor (sans hat) we went for a bite to eat in the town itself. I’d never ventured far from the station before, so I was pleasantly surprised by the genteel feel of the town and range of pubs and eateries. We’ll certainly be back.

A frustrating day on the railway.

26 Thursday Jul 2018

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– mainly because of poor timekeeping on Northern. My first train of the day from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester was late due to crawling along once it hit Lancashire. Four minutes delay by Hebden Bridge became 36 minutes by the time we reached Victoria. I get the impression that we were stuck behind a stopping service as we crawled from signal to signal around Rochdale.

Needless to say, this meant I missed my connections, so I was 40 minutes late for my first visit. Heading back I had pretty much an old Merseyrail Pacer to myself.

I managed to claw back a bit of time, so I was only 25 mins late at the second. After that I was back on schedule until a late running Trans Pennine Express service from Piccadilly to Victoria buggered things up again!

As Calder Valley services are more frequent the deficit could have been just 15 mins but then we were treated to a game of ‘change the platform at the last minute’! (from 6 to 5, which means traipsing over a footbridge). This seems a popular game at Victoria, although I’m not sure passengers see it that way…

The bizarre thing was that our train had been sitting in the platform (empty) for the past 20 minutes! The delay grew when the Conductor couldn’t get the doors to open so had to check the controls in each of the four cabs!

Now I’m finally on my way, hoping I beat the stormclouds to my final destination…

Footloose…

25 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, I love my job, Scotland, Travel

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Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday. It’s not that I wasn’t doing anything. Far from it – I ended up following the sunshine to Blackpool (of all places) to try and get pictures for two different clients. You’ll see some of the fruits of my labours on my website just as soon as I can upload them. Today I’ve been in Sconny Botland again, with the same sort of mission. The weather was far better than the forecast predicted. I ended up walking miles to research some locations so I’ve had a pretty good physical workout as well as getting pictures. Right now i’m coming full circle. I went from Halifax to Preston to Glasgow via the WCML before checking out locations on EGIP (Edinburgh- Glasgow Electrification Programne). Now I’m returning via the East Coast and York (plus Leeds).

Here’s what the view at Berwick looked like.

It’s funny the places you (unintentionally) end up in this game. After getting some lineside shots I was walking back to the road and spotted this. I’d never even heard of the event before now.

There’s an irony to this today as earlier a UKIP MEP and Brexit zealot called for the treason laws to be revised so that wanting to remain in the EU would be classed as treasonable!

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This is how far some folk in the UK have completely lost the plot.

Right, bedtime for me now. It’s been a long and sweaty day where my Fitbit stats don’t really reflect what I’ve been up to as they don’t account for the weight of my camera bag!

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Tomorrow I’m off judging stations tomorrow, but expect a big photo update by the end of the day, Meanwhile, here’s a teaser. The new Hitachi Class 385s have finally gone into service this week.

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More on the Gilligoon fake furore…

23 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Hs2, Rail Investment, StopHs2

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Predictably, yesterday’s story (for that’s what it was) in the Sunday Times has caused the usual predictable outcry from Hs2 antis that the project should be cancelled. Equally predictably, non of them have bothered looking at the timeline of events (including a general election) that demonstrate this was never going to happen.

Not only that, but no-one’s bothered looking at the latest IPA Annual Report on Major Projects for 2017-18. Because if they had they’d have realised how Gilligan’s story focussing as it does on an outdated report really is today’s chip paper.

Firstly, let’s remind ourselves what the DCA ratings system is.

DCA ratings

The IPA report looks at several rail projects, not just HS2. These are;

Crossrail (moved from Green to Amber)

Thameslink (moved from Green to Amber)

Midland Mainline programme (remains on Amber)

Hs2 (remains on Amber/Red)

Great Western route modernisation (remains on Amber/Red)

North of England programme (remains on Amber/Red)

East-West rail (remains on Amber/Red)

Southwest route capacity (remains on Amber/Red)

Rail franchising programme (moves from Amber to Amber/Red)

Intercity Express Programme (moves from Amber to Red)

Eh? Hold on, the IEP programme, which is delivering new Hitachi built trains every week to GWR and soon to LNER ‘appears to be ‘unachievable’? Tell that to the passengers who’re riding on those trains!

DG302957. 800304. Bristol Temple Meads. 18.7.18

One of the ‘unachievable’ IEP programme trains (left) alongside one of the venerable HSTs they’re replacing, seen at Bristol Temple Meads earlier this month.

Of course, sensible, pragmatic people will take the IPA report for what it is, a guide, not gospel. But that’s not the anti Hs2 mob, obviously! The truth is, Hs2 has remained at Amber/Red now for several years. Looking back at the programme’s progress and timescale I doubt it will move from that for several more years (despite what then Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin once claimed) especially as there’s still the final Phase 2b Hybrid Bill to make its way through Parliament.  Then there’s the construction contracts to be let for phases 2a and 2b. What is interesting is that despite all the claims from those opposing Hs2, the project’s never moved into the red category – which (if all the scaremongering over increased costs was true) you’d have expected it to.

Meanwhile, progress on Hs2 continues. On a project of such a vast scale there’s bound to be bumps along the road, but what’s clear is that those bumps are being ironed out. The next couple of years will be exciting times for the project. Away from all the hype and hyperbole, work continues every day, preparing the ground for the main civils work on phase 1 to start (just have a look around the Euston area to see that). In Parliament the Phase 2a Hybrid Bill Committee are making steady progress. There’s a complete absence of anti Hs2 groups gumming up proceedings this time as Hs2aa has folded and StopHs2 don’t even get a look-in. The Phase 2a bill is expected to get Royal Assent by the end of 2019, then we move on to the final Phase 2b bill. The project still maintains cross-party support, so there’s nothing to stop Hs2. There’s no national anti Hs2 campaign anymore, so barring a major political earthquake, the project’s unstoppable.

 

 

 

 

More anti Hs2 Gilligoonery in the Times today

22 Sunday Jul 2018

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Today’s Sunday Times carries yet another attempt at a hatchet job on Hs2 by one Andrew ‘transcription error’ Gilligan, a man who’s churned out stuff trying to discredit Hs2 as long as the project’s been going. Of course, none of his fanciful claims have come to pass, but that’s never stopped either him, or the gullibility of Hs2 anti’s who continue to grasp at every straw he throws them.

The latest stuff is that Gilligoon has supposedly been passed a copy of a report, dated December 2016, written by Paul Mansell, an IPA adviser embedded full-time in HS2. As usual, we have to take Gilligoon’s word for this and what its contents say as none of the report is reproduced in his article. Instead, we have to rely on snippets written in quotation marks. Such as,

“The assessment describes the scheme as “fundamentally flawed”, in a “precarious position”. And, the project is “highly likely” to go as much as 60% over budget and cost “more than £80bn”

So, it’s the usual cut and paste job by Gilligoon, where we have to rely on the great man’s reputation for accuracy and integrity. At least (for once), his article doesn’t use the standard lazy journalists phrase and claim that the report is ‘damning’.

The rest of the article is the usual mish-mash of previously reported speculation that’s been added to pad it out and try and make it seem more than it is. So, we get a repetition of the ConHome kite flying that Michael Gove’s been canvassing opinions that if he becomes PM, scrapping Hs2 would be a vote winner – ignoring the fact Gove’s just as  likely to end up in prison for his role in the vote Leave illegality as he is in No 10!

We also get treated to recycling the story that Hs2’s land purchase costs are billions over budget and – just for good measure – the story that Michael Byng has calculated that Hs2 will cost north of £100bn.

So, it’s the usual speculative numbers bullshit bingo! For years we’ve had Hs2 antis throw around invented numbers, each one more fanciful than the last. We’ve had £60, 80, 100, 123, 150 and even £200bn presented as the ‘true cost’ of Hs2 over the past 9 years!

Meanwhile, what’s happened in the real world since this report is meant to have been written (December 2016)? Here’s a timeline.

23 February 2017: Hs2 phase 1 gets Royal Assent.

8th June 2017: A general election. The one where ConHome tried to pretend that the Tories were serious about dropping Hs2!

17th July 2017: £6.6bn of Hs2 construction contracts were let. On the same day the Bill for hs2 Phase 2a was introduced into Parliament.

30th January 2018: The phase 2a bill passes 2nd reading with a massive majority of 295 to 12. The bill is now proceeding through Parliament.

Looking at events since December 2016 it’s clear that the Government has had several opportunities to pull the plug on Hs2. They haven’t. But hey, why let facts get in the way? Andrew Gilligan never has!

 

 

Homeward bound…

20 Friday Jul 2018

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I’ve had little time for blogging today as it’s been a hectic one that’s coveted a lot of ground. So, no change there then! We started off in London, ended up in Angmering (then Brighton) before Paul Cook and I went our seperate ways. I hung around to get a few pictures, before sampling the new Gatwick Express stock to get back to London. Back in the capital I headed up the West Coast main line on a poorly Pendolino where the tilt had failed, which meant that I missed my connection in Manchester. Plan B meant I rushed across town by foot (having just avoided a downpour) to get a train from Victoria to Halifax. I’m now on a rather scruffy ex-Scotrail Class 158.

Correction: I was when was writing the last few paragraphs. Right now I’m at Halifax station, trying to remember what this wet stuff is on the road outside. Wait a minute, I remember – it’s rain!

Now that I’m home for the weekend I’m not sure if I’ll be blogging much. I’ve a huge backlog of pictures to deal with and I suspect the missus might have some other plans in mind for me too…

Rolling blog: Westward ho!

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

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I’m wearing my ACoRP judges hat again today and heading down to Devon before pitching up in London later.

The day started early and my walk down to Sowerby Bridge station was noticeably colder as the weather’s really cooled compared to temperatures of late. That said, the rain that’s finally arrived has been a Godsend for gardeners and farmers, who’ve really been struggling because of the lack of rainfall.

My first leg of the journey was to Manchester Victoria, then a brisk hike across town to Piccadilly. The city was just beginning to wake up. Commuters were flooding in and the dozens of homeless people who ‘live’ in shop doorways around the centre were also stirring. It’s so sad to see how many of them there are now. A decade of austerity and an increasingly callous Government has increased their numbers dramatically. Now with the depressing fiascos in Parliament and the increasing likelihood of us crashing out of the EU without a deal in a ‘hard Brexit’ scenario I fear we’re going to see even more people begging on the streets. The country’s heading for the political and economic abyss and no-one seems bothered. I’m beginning to understand how educated German’s must have felt in the 1930s…

As I’d left earlier than planned I just managed to catch the 08:27 Cross-country service from Picadilly. It’s a peak train, so whilst it was busy it wasn’t overly so. As soon as we pulled away the TM did a ticket check and caught a group of lads trying to wing it to Totnes on off-peak tickets. They were given the option of paying the £150 difference or get off at Stockport and wait. They (reluctantly) chose to get off!

I used to do this trip fairly regularly. Manchester to Birmingham takes 91 minutes. When you consider this is two of our major cities we’re talking about, that’s pretty slow and that’s reflected in rails tiny market share. Once Hs2 phase 2b opens in 2033, 91 minutes will be reduced to 40 and the trains will be far superior to Cross-country Voyagers! Mind you, Leeds to Brum will see a masdive improvement too, meaning I’m more likely to use that route and save the schlep across the Pennines. Times wil reduce from 1 hour 58 minutes to just 49! It’s slashex journey times like these Hs2 anti’s always ignore in favour of their old canard that only 20 mins is knocked off Euston – Birmingham (that was always a lie as it will be 35).

As I write this we’re trundling through the Wolves-Brum corridor, so I’m going to break off and pack up my kit. I’ll blog again after Birmingham.

10:23

I’ve just left Birmingham on Cross-country’s 10:17 to Plymouth. There wasn’t much chance to mooch around as I only had 20 minutes between trains. I have to admit, the city’s grown on me over the years. Like Manchester, the centre’s a refuge for far too many homeless people (a disgraceful state of affairs in such a developed nation) but there’s been a new confidence in the city in recent years and a lot of investement. It’s heartbreaking to see all that being jeapordised on the altar of blind political dogma.

My train westward’s a packed 4-car Voyager (220020 for the number crunchers) with hardly a spare seat already. After decades of passenger growth, 4 car trains on long-distance services like these really aren’t fit for purpose. When the cross-country franchise comes up for reletting I’ll be very interested to see what the successful bidder intends to do to replace them…

13:08.

After a break at Bristol I’ve met up with Paul my fellow judge and swapped my Voyager for a Cross-country HST to Exeter. I’d not been to Bristol since GWR cascaded the ‘Thames Turbo’ Class 166s to the area, so my stopover allowed me to get some new library shots.

Now we’re bowling across the Somerset levels in style.

20:00

The day’s moved on. We’re now on Brunel’s ‘billiard table’ East of Swindon. The judging visit went well and we met a group who’d never entered the awards before. Afterwards, we had time for chips and mushy peas by the seaside. Well, it would have been rude not to!

Oddly, our direct train to London from Exeter eschewed the Berks and Hants route via Newbury. Instead it passed through (non-stop) both Bristol Temple Meads and Parkway as the first stop was Swindon. I’m obviously out of touch with developments here nowadays, but then my excuse is that I can’t be everywhere all the time!