Having spent the morning pottering around, writing, posting off eBay buyers purchases and prepping the garden to survive our absence Dawn and I are waiting for friends to arrive to take us all to Manchester Airport for our flight to Berlin. I can’t quite believe that after 2 years and one aborted attempt (thanks Covid) the five of us are finally on our way. Sadly sans the 6th Musketeer – Tony Allen – who passed away last year. Still, we’ll sink a few in his memory…
I’ll blog about our journey as and when I can…
15:15.
We’re on our way…
15:42.
Oh, the joys of the ‘cobbled motorway’ (aka the M62)…
16:29.
We’re using a car drop-off place on the Styal Rd, just South of the airport railway delta junction. It’s a great use of acres of disused greenhouses as all the vehicles are kept undercover. Now we’re on the bus to take us to the terminal.
Or second form of transport today…
17:30.
Oh, the fun of Manchester Airport and Ryanair check in. The self bag drop is farcical. Half the label printing machines are broken. When you do get your bag labelled you join another queue to drop off your bag. But there’s only one person doing it. Then the belt’s broken! So we’ve been standing here for nearly an hour! My friends have found a way of passing the time..
1950.
We’re late, fed up of queuing and haven’t had a drink, but at least we’re on the plane…
Saturday morning update…
Our plane was an hour late into the Brandenburg airport but I can’t fault the flight crew, who were a mix of Spanish and Italian. They were lovely. Getting through the airport was a breeze as (unlike Manchester) everything works. Even the immigration staff were friendly although I’ll never get used to our loss of freedom and our new 3rd country status (thanks for nothing Brexiters). As we were arriving so late we’d arranged for a taxi pickup for the half-hour trip to our hotel near Alexanderplatz. We checked in with just 20 nins left before the bar closed at 1AM so headed straight to it before going to our rooms. Once again the staff were lovely and also flexible so we managed to squeeze two rounds in before they shut up shop and we retired to bed at 02:00.
It’s Thursday so it’s time for my weekly visit to the ‘other’ valley (the Colne) and Milnesbridge. I’m taking a modified route this week but it still involves walking, trains and canals. I’ll be blogging through the day as I travel, so feel free to pop in and see what I get up to….
10:30.
Having walked down into Sowerby Bridge instead of through to Halifax I’m on my first train of the day, Northern’s 10:22 to Leeds which will carry me as far as Dewsbury. This turned out to be a wise choice as the onboard Passenger Information System (PIS) screen shows onward connections and I noticed the Grand Central service I used last week is cancelled. That would have really screwed me up! Instead I’m on a quiet 3-car Class 195 and stress-free as I’ve time in the bank.
Today’s a good day for a wander. The Mercury is creeping up and the sun is shining through high broken clouds so I’m glad I’ve brought the camera. Plus, it’s interesting to observe early progress on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU). There’s nothing major to see yet but preperations are much in evidence. Many new safe access to trackside walkways have been installed, existing work compounds enlarged with many new ones being built. Vegetation clearance has been carried out over the past few years (with more needed).
11:00.
My visit to Dewsbury was brief – around 10 minutes. I had just enough time to grab some shots of this attractive and well-maintained station before moving on. As well as being good-looking the station boasts a good little cafe and the excellent West Riding refreshment rooms with its great range of real ales.
My next train was a six-car TPE service fromRedcar to Manchester Airport. Unlike the Northern train it was rammed. A situation exacerbated by the number of students here at Dewsbury who were travelling to college in Huddersfield. Being wedged in a TPE vestibule felt like the old days had returned!
11:30.
Like the students, I decamped at Huddersfield. Running earlier than last week I had plenty of time to buy a delicious bacon roll and coffee at the cafe and get some pictures before my next train.
A few weeks ago this area between the tracks at the East end of Huddersfield was a mass of Buddleia. Now it’s all been cleared, reopening photo opportunities that disappeared several years ago.
12:55.
Everything came together. My train arrived in Slaithwaite on time and the walk along the Huddersfield narrow canal was even easier this week as a lot more of the towpath has been resurfaced. I made it in under 50 minutes. Here’s a view from my journey.
OK, back later…
16:15.
I’m back!
Meeting over I had a mooch around Milnsbridge for an hour and checked out a photo location I’ve not visited before on the road bridge high above the railway to the west of the viaduct and next to the old goods yard. Here’s the view looking West towards Slaithwaite
It won’t look like this in a few years time! Here’s looking in the opposite direction as 802208 comes off the viaduct and passes the site of Milnesbridge goods yard which is now an industrial estate.
Right now I’m back at Huddersfield waiting for the 16:35 to Halifax and basking in the sun as I do so. There appears to be quite a few traincrew issues today with several services (Northern to Sheffield and TPE to Redcar) cancelled with staff shortages being given as the reason. At least my train’s turned up in the shape of a refurbished ex-West Yorkshire PTE Class 158.
22:00.
I’n now home and putting this rolling blog to bed as I’ve got to pack. Why? Because tomorrow our little gang (the 5 from the 6) are off to Berlin for a few days. It’s mine and Dawn’s first trip outside the UK since the pandemic, so we’re really looking forward to it. The next week or so will see me doing a lot of travelling and touring as well as attending a trade fair back in the UK, so expect lots more blogs to come – starting tomorrow when our merry band make our way to Germany via Manchester Airport…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
To save my blood-pressure and give my spleen a break I’ve steered clear from much political commentary recently. Let’s face it, if I was going to fact-check every lie our Transport Secretary and Prime Minister uttered I’d have a full-time job on my hands.
But today, the lies have really caught my eye because they’re on the back of a good news story which was announced earlier, which is that Crossrail – the new main line railway under London – will open on the 24th May. Of course tomorrow is the local elections across the UK in which the Tories are widely expected to get a spanking from the electorate. People are fed up of the lies and disinformation over Covid, Brexit and ‘Partygate’. The Tories answer? Double-down on the lies, get your friends in the media to plant ‘look over there’ stories and do *exactly* what you accuse your opponents of doing.
Today Transport Minister Grant Shapps tried to accuse Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London of breaking election ‘purdah’ rules by admitting that Crossrail would open this month (link). Really? Here’s Sadiq’s tweet – which makes no political point whatsoever.
Unlike Shapp’s Tweet an hour later which is emblazoned with the Conservative party logo…
It gets worse. The liar in chief, one Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, also known as the Prime Minister joined in with this tweet – in which he just couldn’t stop lying…
“I’m proud to have secured the investment”? Really? No. It’s a downright lie – as anyone who understands anything about the history of Crossrail knows.
The Crossrail Hybrid Bill was introduced to Parliament in February 2005 (under a Labour government). It passed 2nd reading on the 8th November 2007 (under a Labour Government). This meant the principle of the bill was established and anything else was a formality. The Bill was enacted (as in it received Royal Assent, so passed into law) on 22 July 2008 (under a Labour Government). Here’s what the Crossrail website says about the funding mechanism.
“The funding framework for Crossrail was put in place in October 2007 when the Prime Minister announced that Crossrail’s cost will be met by Government, the Mayor of London and London businesses. A funding envelope of £15.9 billion was agreed to deliver the Crossrail scheme in its entirety.“
Boris Johnson was elected Mayor of London in May 2008, long after the deals were done. He’s lying. Again.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’ve had another low-key day here at Bigland Towers. It’s a bank holiday Monday so (of course) the weather’s been dull and wet! Not that it mattered as we spent most of our time pottering around indoors, catching up on a few chores but generally taking it easy. Well, isn’t that what bank holidays are for?
Later in the day we did sally forth to brave the drizzle and walked down to Sowerby Bridge which was surprisingly quiet, but then many restaurants were closed as the bank holiday coincided with the end of Ramadan and the Eid festival. Still, we enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs and watch ‘newbies’ cautiously navigating their first locks on canal narrowboats they’d hired from local operator Shire Cruises. We stayed long enough to have a couple of drinks in less than packed local pubs before strolling back along the canal, where we kept an eye out for this season’s ducklings. We passed a couple of broods en-route and it’s fascinating to see how different in size the little beggars are when there’s literally only a few days between the hatchings. These little balls of down certainly grow up fast. Heading back uphill from the canal we traversed our local woods which are ablaze with carpets of Bluebells, making it a lovely time of the year for a woodland walk.
So, here’s today’s picture – from said woods…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Well, that’s another month ticked off on the calendar, we’re now in May although the weather belies that fact. It’s bleedin’ chilly up here in the Pennines. The days may be getting longer but the temperatures aren’t keeping up with the spirit of the seasons. Today’s drab conditions meant that neither Dawn or I have been particularly active, instead we’ve spent most of the day recharging our batteries and pottering around at home, sorting out bits and bobs for the future and our impending trip to Berlin.
Late in the day we did slip into another gear, Dee headed for the kitchen to prepare us a gorgeous evening meal (lamb and lots of veg) whilst I made it outside for a semblance of exercise by walking for an hour but failing miserably to hit my daily targets. Ho hum! Still, it’s a bank holiday weekend, so I’m not going to beat myself up too much – at least it’s not all been spent in a pub! Plus, tomorrow’s another day…
What I have managed to do to redeem myself is get more old railway slides sorted ready for sale on eBay. You can find out what’s on offer by following this link. Right now there’s over 500 diverse slides that include rail images from the UK, Malaysia, India and Ireland – with hundreds more to add. The next batch will feature some historic shots – one of which is today’s picture of the day.
Back in 1991 I visited India which still had hundreds of steam locomotives working on both the broad gauge and metre gauge networks. They weren’t in isolated areas either. Steam could still be found in the capital, New Delhi. I managed to blag my way around the steam shed at Old Delhi railway station. The dilapidated state of the she was reminiscent of pictures of the end of British steam back in 1968. So, watch out for this slide being offered for sale tomorrow. Here’s one of the majestic WP Class broad-gauge 4-6-2 ‘Pacific’ locomotives seen on the 17th October 1991.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 