07:45.

Walking to Halifax station was enjoyable this morning. No rain for a change, even if the Calder valley was shrouded in mist.

Traffic was light too though dog-walkers were out in force. Having left the house at 06:50 I had time to spare to catch the 07:39. I ended up walking straight on to the 07:20 which was running 7 mins late due to a fault on one of the two Class 195/0s forming this four car train.

This service calls at Low Moor, the new (ish) intermediate station between Halifax and Bradford. I’m rarely on services that call here so I was impressed to see dozens of folk waiting to join us.

After a rapid exchange of passengers at Bradford Interchange and with enough time for the crew to swap ends we’re now on our way to Leeds. Looking around I’d say this car is 50-60% full. I’ve no doubt that’ll increase on our way into Leeds.

0755.

Sure enough, our call at New Pudsey resulted in one departing passenger replaced by seven joining – and that was just in my car. Passengers on this train are a mix of commuters and holiday-makers. I’m sharing a table with a couple in their mid 30s in high-vis cycling jackets and a young lad whom I’m assuming’s on his way to work.

08:45.

Being ahead of schedule has allowed me to get ahead of myself and take the scenic route. I had 6 minutes in Leeds to make a dash for LNER’s 08:15 to Kings Cross which I’m taking as far as Doncaster. Yes, Doncaster. OK, I lied about the ‘scenic’ bit! My trains formed of a 9-car Azuma and the loadings are healthy. Here’s coach H.

09:05.

My visit to Doncaster was brief. I had long enough to grab a couple of pictures and admire the varied collection of stock outside the Wabtec works (an AET ”Networker’ and Chiltern’s 165004 plus sundry Mk3 coaches) before it was time to jog over to platform 0, which I’ve never used before. I’m now on Northern’s 09:05 to Goole which is being worked by a 2-car class 158.

11:40.

S’cuse the gap. As soon as I arrived at RaiseE I was thrown into a round of introductions or discussions with old friends. Sadly, many of the conversations were pessimistic. Wether it’s Brexit or the shambles that’s government policy and rail finances (not to mention internal problems of some major players) the picture’s not a happy one.

However, the event focussed on the positive aspects and opportunities for the future. More of that later..

17:35.

The conference finished after lunch and after saying some goodbyes I left to make the most of the glorious sunshine. I realised I’d never really taken pictures around this way and that my ladt visit was in 2010 so I decided to make amends. The rail network’s a shadow of its former self as the dock lines are disused and the new Siemens factory – whilst rail connected – isn’t generating any traffic.

However, the docks are still used by shipping and the distinctive ‘salt and pepper’ buildings dominate the skyline nearby.

There’s also this rather interesting building that looks remarkably similar in style to certain London Underground stations. I’m guessing they were designed by the same architect.

Having spent an hour exploring I took a trip to the end of the line at Hull to add a few more library pictures. I’m glad I did. The classic view of the station throat is rapidly being closed off by tree growth.

22:00.

I’m now back at home after retracing my steps from Hull to Goole, back to Doncaster and thence on to Leeds and Bradford before arriving back in Halifax. The weather’s been glorious and the travel really interesting. I’ll flesh out more of this blog shortly but for now here’s a couple more pictures from my travels.

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