08:08.

Another day another dollar, I’m in Derby this morning ready to do a job for a company that’s getting a Ministerial visit. Once that’s done I’m heading back to Yorkshire to meet my wife as we’re off to help two of our local station friends groups (Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge) with their annual ‘carols by train’ event. It’s another busy week as on Thursday I fly to Dusseldorf to have a look at Siemens new Mireo train. It’s a quick trip but I’ve decided to stay a night so that I can have some time to explore Dusseldorf before coming home. It might be the last chance I get before all the Brexit madness explodes.

Just as I left the hotel the rain started bucketing down! It’s a miserable morning here, as these two pictures show. At least the lights on Derby’s new island platform add a bit of brightness to the day!

In the waiting room on platforms 4-5 is an excellent information board that tells of the history of the station and the old locomotive works.

11:30.

Job done (which I’m not allowed to talk about as it’s embargoed) I’m back at Derby station with time to grab a few shots before (by the look of it) the heavens open again!

It’s actually been a fascinating morning as I’ve learned a lot about some very interesting technological innovations and also more about the damage being caused to our economy by the madness of Brexit. I heard from a company that’s having to move a sizeable chunk of its business to the European mainland because of the fact we’re hellbent on leaving and it needs to stay within the EU regulatory framework to continue trading. This isn’t ‘project fear’, this is project fact.

13:09.

On the way back I’ve stopped off for an hour or so to get photo’s of another transport innovation. Well, in the UK anyway. After a decade of talking and planning (and re-planning) tram-trains are finally running between Sheffield and Rotherham. I didn’t have time to take a spin on one (that will have to wait for another time), but I did manage to grab a few shots of them in service in Sheffield town centre. Here’s the first of the fleet, 399201.

13:36.

I’m typing this on the 13:35 Sheffield-Huddersfield, which is late, so it’s still sat in platform 4a. The reason? Well 4a was already occupied by two other late running Northern services, with one trapped behind the other! First off was a late-running local to Leeds which was waiting for a driver. Trapped behind it was a Scarborough service, which got the road just as soon as it was clear. The inbound Huddersfield was stuck outside the station, waiting for the platform to clear.

It’s one of those situations ordinary passengers don’t quite understand when they say “Why don’t you just make trains longer”? The two late trains were both 2-cars, so they fitted in the bay. Double them in size and you can’t fit both of them. So where do you put the other one when platform space is at a premium?

My train’s a 3-car Pacer which is running 5 minutes late at the moment with little realistic chance of making up time on the Penistone line.

14:45.

We’re bouncing and screeching our way along the lovely Penistone line and all the while the weather’s been picking up.

16:39

Despite horrendous traffic (came from Huddersfield by road) we made it in time to meet up with the Mytholmroyd friends and Carol singers.

After singing at Mytholmroyd the merry band caught a train to Sowerby Bridge, where they met Santa in the Jubilee Refreshment Room.

Here’s the merry band at the end of the day before singing on the train back to Mytholmroyd.