Monthly Archives: April 2023

12th April picture of the day…

12 Wednesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire

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Another less than vintage day here in the Calder valley as the weather forecast wasn’t far wrong. Whilst last night’s high winds had dropped by this morning the rain returned, making this a rather wet Wednesday. As if that wasn’t enough to lower one’s mood I ended up in a frustrating fight with technology for several hours. I’d planned to update my eBay account to reflect the new postal rates but the site kept crashing which was rather annoying. Undeterred, I started consolidating 2023s pictures from various hard-drives only to find one decided to play-up by refusing to copy over large folders. I ended up needing to leave my machine running and go for a walk whilst it huffed and puffed but at least that way I got some exercise – even if it was in the rain. I suspect I’m going to have to invest in a new portable hard-drive although I rarely need to use them nowadays except for extra storage and as a back-up whilst I’m travelling – although cloud-based services offer enough space to do that now – as long as you have an internet connection, which is where the hard-drives still come in useful.

Come late afternoon I decided ‘bugger this for a lark’ and retreated to the kitchen to knock up this evenings meal. I made a Chana Masala from scratch. Cooking is one of my therapies and today that was needed! There’s plenty left over for portions to be frozen for another day, although we did polish off the last of the chapattis – something else to add to the shopping list. Much as I like preparing Indian meals from scratch I’m quite happy to buy ready-made Chapattis!

As for tomorrow, another day struggling with technology beckons I reckon – and yet more indifferent weather. Still, as always – there’s plenty to do. Now, what picture can I entertain you with today? I’ve not been out with the camera for a few days now because of time limitations and the weather, but I did come across this with the camerphone the other day when I was walking along the canal. Here’s when you only have a narrowboat but want to channel your inner Viking…

Storage is always at a premium on narrowboats but these boxes with solar-panel roofs are a nifty way of solving the problem – and decorative too!

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11th April picture of the day…

11 Tuesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Arambol, India, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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There’s not much of a blog from me today. Not that there’s nothing to say, rather that there’s too much and I’m not in the mood for polemics. Much of my day has been spent catching up on bits of work and planning my diary, a task made slightly harder when a a press lunch invite is sent out (so entered into the diary) only for it to be cancelled without reason just a few hours later. Ho hum!

My morning was spent glued to my desk, which wasn’t much of a hardship as the weather here in the Pennines has been pretty miserable with lots of cloud, temperatures way short of double-figures and buckets of rain. I did venture out this afternoon as I needed to drop a parcel off at the Post Office in Sowerby Bridge and pick up a few bits of shopping, but it wasn’t much fun walking back along the canal as the rain decided to follow me. Even the dog walkers I passed looked like they’d rather be somewhere else. I know the feeling!

This evening the rain appears to have stopped, but only because the winds sprung up. The forecast suggests we’re in for another wet and blustery day tomorrow so it looks like another day working from home is the best plan. No matter, I’ve got plenty to be getting on with…

With the weather being so miserable I’ve opted for a more colourful picture today so here’s one from the archives. I didn’t really make it to a beach on my recent Asia travels, unless you count stopping off to admire one whilst waiting for a bus on Penang Island. In retrospect I wish I’d had some beach time, but it wasn’t to be. Here’s a beach I used to frequent on a regular basis but I haven’t been back for 20 years now and I doubt it looks this empty anymore. This is the long beach at Arambol, North Goa, India seen on the 31st January 2000.

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10th April picture of the day…

10 Monday Apr 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Don’t you just love Bank Holidays? Today’s was very traditional in that it was a complete washout. Yesterday was iffy but Easter Monday here in the Calder Valley was awful. Whilst the morning seemed fair to middling the afternoon was one of persistent rain and gloomy light levels that made you think you were in Winter, not Spring. There was no chance of getting out for a decent walk without getting soaked so the pair of us stuck to the indoors until the afternoon when meagre sunshine broke through the storms long enough to allow us to nip out to do some food shopping. Please Sir – can I go back to Asia?

Now it’s late evening and the only solace has been food. I knocked up a stir-fry earlier using some of the leftover Duck from yesterday which has been followed by Dawn’s superb ginger puddings.

I’m looking forward to normal service being resumed tomorrow as I’ve lots of things I want to get done. I’ve never been a great fan of the Easter bank holiday. I was always happiest when I was working across them and earning the money to spend when no-one’s charging premium prices and the kids are back at School! Still, there’s lots of things to look forward to in the next couple of months and my May Diary is packed to say the least. In the meantime, expect a few blogs from here and there as I stretch my legs around the UK on assignment for various clients.

With the weather being so crap today I’ve been limited in what pictures I can take, so today’s another foodie shot. Ginger pudding and cream anyone?

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9th April picture of the day…

09 Sunday Apr 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Huddersfield, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Today’s been one of those rare days that has absolutely nothing to do with railways. Instead it’s been all about the holiday – and food…

Dawn’s been a busy Easter bunny over the past couple of days, cooking up an absolute storm as we’ve spent to day with her parents over in Huddersfield, having prepared a festive feast for the four of us. I played my part as kitchen assistant and chief washer-up, but the lions share of the work’s been done by Dee. We’ve eschewed the traditional Easter fayre of lamb and went for pork and duck instead. But even that wasn’t particularly traditional as the Duck was served cold or in a stir-fry medley mixed with Hoisin sauce. So, for the past few days our cottage has been filed with the most delicious smells as the pork was prepared in a slow-cooker and the duck in the oven.

The idea was to get as much prepared at home before we ferried the food (and ourselves) over to Dee’s parents where everything was assembled in their kitchen. Oh, I forgot to mention the home-made gravy with apples, Shallots, Dijon mustard, celeriac, white wine, chicken stock and honey garlic and Thyme. Then there was the pork crackling, made from the fat off the joint and crisped to perfection at home. Plus – as a dessert – sticky Ginger puddings with a ginger wine and brandy sauce…

Feeling hungry yet?

In preparation for such a repast the two of us stretched our legs and burned off a few calories by wandering around a local beauty spot. Beaumont Park is on the edge of the valley looking out towards Castle Hill and a place called Armitage Bridge. It was the nearest I got to a railway today as there’s an impressive viaduct below which allows Penistone line services to cross the gap.

Now, having stuffed ourselves, we’re back at home. The surplus food’s stashed away. It’ll feed us for the next few days, allowing us to concentrate on other holiday activities. We’d planned to have a long walk tomorrow but the forecast isn’t looking like the weather’s going to play ball. Even so – tomorrow’s a day for just the two of us. We’ll get out somewhere – we just don’t know where yet. Meanwhile, i’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is one of the views from Beaumont Park. I must come back with the proper camera one day…

With Castle Hill in the background, the Honley viaduct on the Penistone line dominates this view from Beaumont Park.

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Stalybridge rebuilt…

08 Saturday Apr 2023

Posted by in Photography, Rail electrification, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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On Friday I paid a visit to Stalybridge station to see the result of the engineering blockade that had transformed the stations Western junction. This is been totally remodelled and resignalled. The resignalling has extended to the Eastern side of the station although the track layout here remains unchanged. As well as track and signals a large number of overhead electrification masts and portals have appeared, although there’s still many more to be installed at further weekend engineering possessions before the wires can be extended.

Here’s a selection of pictures showing how the place looks now.

Looking West to Stalybridge Junction from the end of platform 3. This junction was remodelled as recently as 2011. This time some of the switches have been removed and replaced with a flat crossing (just out of sight around the curve). The formations been expanded by the removal of the old ATO oil siding in the far left, which has allowed tracks to be slewed. The remodelling appears to remove conflicts and certainly allows for faster line speeds across the junction.
Bi-mode 769424 pulls into the bay platform 5 with a Southport-Stalybridge service.
185151 approaches platform 3 working 2E73, the 1158 Manchester Piccadilly to Huddersfield.
185151 sits waiting time in platform 3. The newly installed portals are very much in evidence.
802208 approaches from the East whilst working 9M10, the 1006 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street. The new portals have usurped the signal gantry that was installed (at great expense) at this location in 2012.
And there it was – gone! The substantial signal gantry that was installed as part of the original Trans-Pennine electrification scheme but (apparently) was now in the way of the revised scheme for some reason. It’s no wonder many rail improvements cost so much money when plans constantly change and investment like this is wasted. It’s seen here in 2016.
New signalling and OLE masts that have been installed at the East end of the station between platforms 3 and 4.
Looking East along platforms 5 and 4 with new masts and portals in place where the former through tracks were situated.
Looking along the railway viaducts by Waterloo Road. The bracket where the 2012 signal gantry was fixed to the side of the piers remains.
185107 calls at platform 4 outside the famous buffet bar whilst working 1K23, the 1354 Liverpool Lime Street to Hull.

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The ELR responds to Joanne Crompton’s sacking…

07 Friday Apr 2023

Posted by in Railway preservation, Railways

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Finally, the Chair of the ELR board, Mike Kelly, has responded to the shit-storm that’s enveloped the railway (and reflected on the wider preservation movement) following the sacking of respected volunteer Joanne Crompton. You can find it on the ELR website here.

To say it’s anodyne and bland would be an understatement. It answers no questions. In fact the opposite, it poses more. Here’s what it says.

“We concluded two independent investigations as a result of grievances raised by Joanne Crompton and have just received an appeal which means we are limited in what we can share.

The first was about our processes used for all volunteers going through steam driver training. The investigation highlighted a deficiency in the steam driver training assessment and is subject to a review.  We are now in the process of doing this, however, this was not a case of discrimination against Joanne, but a general problem that needed fixing.

Our exhaustive independent investigation into Joanne’s second grievance was inconclusive.

We understand that this has been difficult for Joanne – this has also taken an emotional toll on our volunteer community.

We’ve asked Joanne to no longer actively volunteer at the railway. We share her sadness that it has come to this but wish her all the best for the future.”

The first question that occurs is – if the first investigation was merely about a training issue, why does this warrant a sacking? And, if the “exhaustive independent investigation” was inconclusive – why was Joanne still sacked? Neither of these events suggest why such a draconian course of events as ‘sacking’ a volunteer is warranted.

Nor does is explain the bizarre actions of the ELR chairman in blanket banning people on social media, a ban that included a very large proportion of the railway press, railway staff and even (at least) one TOC MD! This isn’t even mentioned, never mind explained or apologised for. I wonder why?

Frankly, this is no more an explanation than it is an apology for dragging the reputation of the preservation movement through the mud. Nor is this going to make things go away or rescue the ELR’s credibility. Far from it as people are already drawing their own conclusions.

What happens next will be interesting to watch, but I foresee the ripples from this debacle to continue spreading…

8th April update.

Kelly has just posted this unbelievable excuse for his blocking spree on Twitter.

It ranks with (and is as believable as) ‘a big boy did it and ran away’.

Needless to say, a story that was full of more holes than Swiss cheese soon began to unravel as Twitter users reacted with both derision, disbelief and more contradictory background information – like this, from Angus Duncan…

A “simple user error”? That’s not what he claimed on Twitter! The idea that this ‘error’ just happened to coincide with Joanne’s sacking is laughable. Kelly hardly ever used Twitter. He only had around 300 followers. This has now mushroomed to 900 plus as people have signed up to listen to the excuses and watch the car-crash. He has no idea how Twitter works, so has made a complete fool of himself – as many more savvy people have pointed out. Some of the the responses have been savage. And the longer this drags on the more damage it does to the East Lanc’s Railway’s reputation and credibility.

Kelly’s position is now untenable. Either he jumps or the board need to push him. Either way, the ELR board have a mountain to climb to restore the railways reputation.

Update. 20th April.

We’re almost two weeks away from Joanne’s sacking and the ripples are still spreading. The issue made it into national attention when the Daily Telegraph carried an article regarding the matter. The readers responses said far more about the Telegraph’s demographic than anything else, being overwhelmingly misogynistic. The gist of many being criticism of ‘troublesome’ women bringing these things on themselves by having the temerity to speak out, so highlighting the very issue Joanne’s been talking about!

Meanwhile, the social media responses to PR tweets from the ELR are both savage and embarrassing to the railway. Here’s an example.

I really feel for the people in the ELR publicity department as they’re having to bare the brunt of this whilst the Chair, General Manager and Board continue to stick their fingers in their ears and hide, pretending nothing’s happened and it’s business as usual. They’ve all gone to ground since 7th April, Kelly’s said nothing since his risible attempt at defending blocking people on Twitter (many of whom remain blocked) whilst nothing has been heard from the rest of the board, or the General Manager…

I wonder what passenger numbers will be like over the coming Easter and Bank Holidays?

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Thank you!

6th April video of the day…

06 Thursday Apr 2023

Posted by in Picture of the day, Railway preservation, Railways

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Today’s been another glued to my office chair sort of day as I’ve waded through various files, folders and general paperwork whilst trying to clear my desk of various old tasks as well as book some new ones. The diary’s now looking fuller as a consequence. The day started off as miserable as yesterday weather-wise but picked up by the afternoon, although the sun was beaten back by a cold wind so temperatures remained on the chilly side – something I really noticed when Dee and I broke away from or desks to venture into Halifax in order to sort out various chores. Dawn dropped me off in the town centre so I could pick up a parcel and wend my way back via my bank. Gone are the days when I was a regular at my old bank in Crouch End in North London, paying in a stream of cheques from various clients. Not only is the Crouch End branch of Natwest now history but I can’t think of the last time I was paid by cheque. I visit the Halifax branch around once a year and that’s only to deal with issues with bank cards as I happen to be in town. Even they can be dealt with online nowadays either via the internet or banking apps on one’s phone. The days of imposing (and busy) bank branches are long gone. Sowerby Bridge doesn’t have a single bank left and Halifax is losing many – including branches of the Halifax! Walking home in order to boost my daily steps gave me time to reflect on these things. I’ve only lived here for 13 years but the changes I’ve seen in that time are many. Talk about time flying…

One change that seems to be taking one step forward and two steps is the treatment of women in the railway preservation movement. Today, Twitter has been all aflutter over the treatment of a well-known woman fireman (Joanne Crompton) who’s up for a Women In Rail award due to her fight against discrimination in the preservation movement and to improve the lot of female volunteers. Having won a case for unfair treatment and unacceptable behavior against the East Lancashire Railway she was promptly sacked as a volunteer.

The news soon went viral. The negative reaction to the news was compounded when it was discovered that the Chair of the ELR board had been on a pre-emptive spree on Twitter, blocking dozens of people in the rail industry and rail media, many of whom had never interacted with him or even heard of him. The block list even includes rail company MDs! Talk about an own goal!

The ELR have yet to make any public statement about the matter (unless you count the Chair of the board frantically blocking people as a statement) which has compounded the problem – and outrage. Of course, every story has two sides – as Joanne herself has said – but many of us who have been involved in railway preservation in the past feel uneasy about this, because we know what it can be like.

I was a teenage volunteer in railway preservation back in the 1970s when the landscape for women was bleak. If you volunteered you’d end up in the shop or the cafe – forget about getting anywhere near the footplate. Misogyny was commonplace, as was racism. I’d hoped times had changed but I know the problem with the ‘nostalgia’ sector is that sometimes it isn’t just about recreating the positive things about the past, there’s a hard-core who want to preserve less inclusive social attitudes too.

Joanne is one of those people whose been brave enough to challenge these attitudes and even gave a speech about her experiences to the Railway Heritage Association in 2021. Here’s a link via Youtube.

Joanne’s no wrecker. Her passion and commitment shine through, as does her sense of justice. If it’s to survive, the railway preservation movement needs to listen to Joanne and all those other people who want to volunteer but who feel excluded for a number of reasons (including gender, and sexuality) because in voicing these problems Jo is not alone.

So, today’s picture is another video – and it’s dedicated to Joanne and the work people like her who to try and drag railway preservation into the modern era…

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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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

5th April picture of the day…

05 Wednesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, TPE, West Yorkshire

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Yesterday we had wall-to-wall sunshine, today we’ve had wall-to-wall rain! It’s been a thoroughly miserable one here in the Calder valley. Half the time you couldn’t even see the valley tops. Still, I had plenty to keep me at home today so the my time wasn’t wasted. I managed to finish editing all my pictures from last weeks trips to Nottingham and the various HS2 sites – as well as yesterday’s jaunt over to Manchester and Stalybridge. I’ve also made a serious dent in some paperwork as well as getting another selection of recent eBay sales off to the successful bidders. So, all in all – not a bad day. The eBay sales involved a trip down to the post office in Sowerby Bridge so I still managed to get in my daily constitutional, even if I was looking rather soggy by the time I returned. I’m missing the warm rain of SE-Asia!

Another day working from home beckons tomorrow as I’ve a load more stuff to stick on eBay as well as adjusting the postage rates for the previous batch of stuff that remains unsold. It’s a chore but it has to be done. Hopefully, by Friday I’ll be free to sally forth once more…

Yesterday’s pictures can have been divided between several galleries. There’s Northern rail services here, Trans-Pennine services here and infrastructure and engineering pictures here.

Now, having cooked a meal for the pair of us (Dee’s still slaving away over her keyboard downstairs. The end of the financial year’s a mad time for her work, which involves long hours) it’s time for me to switch off at least. Therefore I’ll leave you with today’s picture which features on of the current crop of Trans-Pennine express services diverted via the Calder Valley. The Diggle route via Stalybridge reopens on the 7th April so these trains will revert to their normal paths during the week until the next blockade takes place. I’ll bring you pictures of the rebuilt Stalybridge station just as soon as I can.

TPE’s Hitachi built unit 802209 speeds through the classic old station at Hebden Bridge with 1P32, the 1543 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street, making an interesting contrast from the staple diet of Northern DMUs which work the line.

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Thank you!

4th April video of the day…

04 Tuesday Apr 2023

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Only a short blog from me today, but I hope you enjoy it. Today was another one of those that didn’t quite go to plan as I was busy slaving away in the office this morning then thought ‘bugger it, this weather is too good to waste’ so I packed my kit and headed over to Manchester via the Calder Valley to catch some of the last Stalybridge blockade diverts and also visit Stalybridge itself – which was a bit of a time-consuming faff on rail replacement buses. On the bright side I got to see parts of Manchester I’ve never seen before – and some that I never want to see again!

I’ll write more about this at a later date. But the most surreal part of the trip was when I stopped off at Todmorden on the return. As I wandered along the Leeds bound platform I heard a quacking noise from the other side of the platform fence. When I looked I realised I was being accosted by two ducks. Said ducks then stuck to me like glue all the way along to the end of the platform. They wouldn’t leave me alone and even started pecking at my boots through the fence. I get the impression that some kind soul has been feeding them and now any passenger is seen as a meal ticket! In all my time travelling the railways I’ve never seen anything like it! So, here’s a short video of my two feathered assailants…

If you ever go to Tod’ – take food!

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Thank you!

3rd April picture of the day…

03 Monday Apr 2023

Posted by in Architecture, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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Today’s been one of those ‘dolly mixture’ sort of days where I’ve been doing allsorts (you’re mixing your sweetie metaphors: Ed). I’ve had a full calendar trying to catch up on work after having been away, so I’ve a large inbox of picture editing to clear. Then there’s been the usual paperwork to sort out – plus the fact I had a visit booked to an Osteopath for a check-up. I did manage to add a load of the High Speed 2 pictures I’ve taken to my Zenfolio website which you can find here.

I’m pleased to report that the Osteopath was very impressed with my old bones and their skeletal alignment so gave me a clean bill of health. Well, after freeing some tension in my neck with an armlock and a resounding ‘crack’ – but apart from that ‘dem bones’ is doing fine. The appointment was over in Lindley which is a lovely suburb of Huddersfield. I’m assuming it’s a village that’s been subsumed by an expanding town back in Victorian times, but it retains it’s own charm and a range of shops, cafe’s and pubs that give it a distinctive feel – as you’ll see in today’s picture. Dawn’s been visiting the same Osteopath for a little while to try and sort out a couple of niggles she has and it was Dee’s suggestion that I get myself checked out after the problem I had whilst I was away. Carrying a camera bag that often weighs 12-13 kilos or more can play havoc with your muscles – as I’ve found out a couple of times in my career.

Appointments over we called into a local garden-centre to restock out collection of herbs. The winter hadn’t been kind to some of our long-established plants as we lost the Rosemary and Thyme – although I’m happy to say the Parsley and Sage survived, so we’re halfway to a song there! Having bough what we needed and acquired a load more compost I spent a couple of hours in the garden on our return. It was an ideal afternoon for it. We’ve had a lot of sunshine today and you can feel the heat returning as the year rolls on. So, all in all – it’s not been a bad day.

Now it’s time to enjoy the evening before another busy day tomorrow but before I go I’ll leave you with today’s picture. There’s a lovely old (Edwardian) clocktower in Lindley. I feel it has a faint Germanic air, what do you think?

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Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!