After yesterday’s travels I’ve not moved far today – not that the weather’s encouraged me to do so. As I type this I can head the sounds of thunder in the background, although it’s mere bluster at the moment as we’ve had little rain today. That said, it has been warm. The Mercury’s hit the low 20s today which has made for a sticky time thanks to the lack of wind. It’s a shame, I rather enjoy a good thunderstorm and they’re great to play around with the camera in. Well, as long as there’s waterproofing!
Today’s planned walk went out of the window for various reasons, so I’ve spent the day catching up on picture editing and preparing more stuff for sale on eBay. All yesterdays pictures are now on my Zenfolio website in various galleries. There’s too many to past links to, but if you follow this link to the ‘recent’ section you can see which ones have had pictures added to them. The next tranche of eBay sales ends on Monday, so if you want to put in bids on stuff like this, you’d better hurry.
The weather’s meant to improve tomorrow so maybe a walk will be had. If not, expect more stuff to be uploaded to eBay! In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which shows you how the weather looks in the Calder Valley right now…
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Having spent the week working from home I’ve decided to make the most of the sunshine and get out and about with the camera. I’ve a whole list of places to visit and things to do, but today I’ve decided to head over to parts of the West Coast Main Line and the Midlands to update the library and also add pictures for a client’s list.
I’m currently on Northern’s 09:22 from Sowerby Bridge to Chester which I’m taking as far as Warrington Bank Quay. Formed of a 2-car Class 195 it’s been a busy little train all the way through the Calder valley as far as Manchester Victoria where many punters departed, only to be replaced by a smaller number of travellers heading West. The extra space has allowed me to set up my ‘mobile office’ in a free table bay and start this blog.
Right now we’re threading our way through the ever-growing skyline of Manchester and Salford. It’s such a contrast to the city I remember as a teenager in the 1970s, when the city seemed to be in permanent decline. How times change! Now, even long-derelict areas like the old canal basin at Middlewood locks adjacent to the railway line in Salford are being covered in new 8-storey apartment blocks.
10:55.
The rest of my trip to Warrington was relaxed and uneventful. On arrival at Bank Quay I only had time to grab a quick shot of my train before my onward connection arrived at the adjacent platform in the shape of 11 car Pendolino 390118.
Off one, onto another…
Whilst I’m not a great fan of the new seats on the refurbished Pendolino seats but I do like the positioning of the airline seat power sockets and table arrangement.
11:30.
Ah, the fun of Crewe! I arrived on plenty of time to catch my onward connection and even had time to grab a few shots of trains under the skeletal canopies that ‘cover’ the stations Southern bays. The shadows their rusted ribs cast are quite atmospheric. I was here at a busy moment with trains aplenty. Pendolinos kept arriving from North and South whilst a Transport for Wales Class 67 loco-hauled set added to the atmosphere – and noise!
“The train not arriving at platform 7″…Appearing to have been freshly painted in TfW livery but not yet rebranded 67008 leaves Crewe for Shrewsbury and Cardiff.
I was here to catch the 11:13 London Northwestern service South. Well, me and a couple of hundred other people huudled on platform 7 waiting its arrival as it was late. Just to keep us active it was announced the set would roll into platform 4, which led to sheep-like scenes as everyone had to traipse over the footbridge to get there!
Today’s train was short-formed of a single Class 350/2 which looked like ot could be ‘cosy’ so I sprinted to the front car. Most folk couldn’t be bothered and crammed in the rear cars so whilst this coach is busy I’ve plenty of space – but no table, USB or power sockets as these sets aren’t fitted with such luxuries.
11:55.
All was well until we arrived at Stafford where dozens of people were waiting. I was quickly surrounded by a bevy of well-dressed and spoken women heading for a day out. Well, it’s better than the old days of catching trains back North from Euston on a Friday evening. The ‘sweaty socks and spirit levels’ express as a female friend described the Liverpool train!
15:10.
The past few hours have been fun as I’ve been exploring lines I rarely use as well as (very) old haunts. The group of ladies I shared a coach with turned out to be a bridal froup heading to London via the slow train. I left them behind at Rugeley Trent Valley station South of Stafford. It’s a useful photographic location as the reverse curves here show off the Pendolinos tilting prowess to good effect. It’s also the junction for the line through Cannock to Walsall, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Having been electrified in recent years the line’s now graced with a 30 minute service, so I couldn’t resist a spin to visit a station I’ve never been to before – Rugeley Town. It’s a modest station in a modest town. Staying long enough to get some pictures you’ll see later I headed on to Walsall…
I remember Walsall. Well, sort of. I lodged here in 1977 in the far-off days of Labour Exchanges, when the government would actually pay for you to look for work. I’d been training as an apprentice Locksmith up in Southport but lost the job. The Labour exchange gave me a rail travel warrant, arranged accommodation for me in Walsall and arranged a series of interviews for me in nearby Willenhall – the centre of the UK lock trade, where all the big companies (Yale, Chubb etc) wrre based. I stayed for a week, then decided this was’t for me. So, getting off the train as Walsall today I couldn’t resist a quick look around the station and town centre. I didn’t recognise or remember a damn thing! Well, it was over 40 years ago and I’ve been to a lot of places since!
The first building I saw outside the station. Great top floors – shame about the awful shopfront.My carriage awaits. Going from Walsall to Wolverhampton the long way round via Birmingham New St.
21:30.
I’m now back at home having travelled into Birmingham via Bescot, past the HS2 station work at Curzon St, then on to Stafford for a quick break before catching a packed Cross-Country Voyager back to Manchester. Leaving the station I bumped into Ian Brown, former MD of London Rail under Transport for London. The two of us discussed various railway woes as we walked across to Piccadilly Gardens where we went out separate ways. Him to his brothers and me to Victoria to catch the train back to West Yorkshire.
I’ll fill in some of the gaps in this blog tomorrow. Right now I’m going to add a few more pictures as a taster.
A pair of the new Class 730s (730040 and 730004) on test between Crewe and Nuneaton, seen at Rugeley Trent Valley. 390112 begins to accelerate after being brought to a halt at Rugeley Trent Valley by a signal check. The joy of a Cross-Country Voyager on a Friday afternoon…
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I could probably subtitle this blog hell hath no fury like a Chairman who’s made a fool of himself, as it seems that – rather than try and build bridges and improve the standing of the East Lancashire Railway, which has taken a real battering after the way volunteer Joanne Crompton was sacked (previous blogs here and here) – the ELR Chairman, Mike Kelly, who has already come in for a lot of criticism, has decided to make matters worse.
Today, Joanne tweeted this;
Joanne went on to add.
For those who don’t know. Joanne has been involved in running a group that has a preserved locomotive on the East Lancashire Railway, which is separate from her involvement as a (former) ELR volunteer. This ban makes life for her and the group difficult – for no good reason. Such a wide-ranging ban (which makes no sense) seems more a vindictive act on the part of the Chairman than anything else. I have approached Mike Kelly via his Twitter account to see if he wishes to comment on this, but as he seems to be avoiding using it much since his disastrous blanket banning of people and (frankly) ridiculous excuse, I’m not optimistic of a reply.
Needless to say, the reaction to this news has been overwhelmingly negative. Here’s a few examples.
I would (for the sake of balance) include any tweets supporting such a ban, but there aren’t any!
8th July UPDATE.
Yesterday Joanne posted this news on Twitter.
The expression ‘what a way to run a railway’ springs to mind…
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There’s only a short blog from me today as there’s not an awful lot to report as I’ve been chained to Bigland Towers for most of the day, only getting out for a short walk earlier this afternoon. The weather’s still below par for the time of year, with blustery winds and low temperatures – although we have had some dramatic cloud formations to entertain us. Thankfully, they didn’t bring any more rain with then today. Today’s gainful employment has included adding a few more Northern rail pictures to my website, which you can find here, plus uploading another batch of old slides and railway memorabilia for sale on eBay which you can find here.
Today’s picture is of a rare item that I’ve added to eBay. It’s a limited edition Wedgewood plate and first day cover from the opening of the Docklands Light Railway in London on the 31st August 1987. Only 110 of these plate were produced. They were given to staff working on the railway when it opened and each one has the individual details on the back of the plate. If you fancy it, feel free to bid here.
I’ll be busy working from home again tomorrow, but I hope to be able to finish my earlier picture blog and history of the Alstom built Class 180 ‘Coradia’ fleet.
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Today’s been a curate’s egg sort of day. This morning I strolled into Halifax in bright sunshine in order to visit a well known chain of opticians in order to have my two-yearly eye test and choose some new glasses. My old ones are past their sell-by date due to the photochromic darkening breaking down, leaving them rather blotchy. My eye test went well in that it revealed only a minor change in my prescription. But it also revealed that I have the very early stages of cataracts in both eyes. I’m not too surprised – or worried. After all, it’s an age-related problem that 30-50% of people will suffer from in their lives due to their age – and it can be cured with surgery (if it ever gets that bad). I’d never have known I had it if the optician hadn’t picked it up as It’s not affecting my eyesight. On the bright side, I’ll have new glasses and a new look in a fortnight’s time. Dawn came with me to approve my choice of frames. She’s happy with my pick which is good as she’ll spend more time looking at them than I will!
Appointment done and dusted and with the weather staying dry I decided to nip out for a few hours to reconnoiter photographic opportunities on the new railway electrification scheme between Bolton and Wigan. The quickest way to Wigan was via the old Lancashire and Yorkshire railway main line via Walkden. This route’s changed out of all recognition. It was once a four-track main line through a landscape dotted with collieries and cotton mills. All that’s gone. Now the route serves areas that are little more than dormitory towns for Manchester. That said, at least the stations have seen money spent on them and have a half-hourly train service. It’s a far cry from when I used to travel on it as a teenager in the 1970s.
My pair of Class 158s deposited me at Wigan Wallgate where I had 25 mins to wait for a return service, this time via Westhoughton on the section soon to be electrified. My return transport was rebuilt hybrid Class 769 which was rather nice as I was ensconced in the former first class saloon. Apart from vegetation clearance and some serious bridge reconstruction at Hindley where the station remains closed until 24th July whilst platforms are lengthened and resurfaced there’s little sign that electrification’s coming as installation of electrification masts and associated equipment has yet to start.
Back I Manchester I swapped my 769 for a busy CAF built Class 195/0 for the trip back across the Pennines, changing once more at Todmorden in order to arrive at Sowerby Bridge. Now I’m having a quiet night in with Dawn as the pair of us have another busy day tomorrow. I’ll leave you with a picture from the day for now.
158792 coupled to 158849 brings up the rear of 2I15, the 1249 Wigan Wallgate to Leeds (via Brighouse) service as it leaves Todmorden earlier today.
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Hmm, it’s been a wet start to the week here in the Calder valley and hardly a brilliant start to July – especially after hot weather we had in June. I see that the Met Office have declared June the warmest on record, which is hardly surprising. I was watching the daily forecasts (not from the Met Office) which showed average temperatures being broken day after day. Of course, this news has brought out the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging climate change deniers out in force on social media. Their best conspiracy theory has been that it’s only the hottest because the Met Office have fiddled previous years figures to make it look that way. Proof (if ever it were needed) that they’re not the sharpest tools in the box – and neither are the people who fall for them.
Still, after the heavy and persistent rain we had this morning I was rather pleased to see the sun this afternoon – even if the high-winds that have battered us for several days took the edge off the temperatures. Both Dee and I have been busy working from home today but we did manage to get out for a rare joint walk, which was lovely. The local woods are bursting with life at the moment. So much so that some of the footpaths are becoming obstacle courses due to all the brambles and nettles. I’ll not complain too much as I may be able to pick a good crop of Blackberries again and Dee’s threatening to have a go at harvesting Bilberries – something that are alien to me. Still, with Dawn being such a fantastic cook – if she wants to rustle up a few Bilberry pies I’m not going to complain. Maybe we can do a trade with my sister Anne for some of her home-grown and made Gooseberry pies…
The weather’s looking pretty crap for the rest of the week but I’ve things to do tomorrow so I’ll be out and about in some form whatever happens. With luck I may be able to get a blog from the day. In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day, which reflects how the weather and the seasons can change the landscape around here. This is the very first picture I took from our bedroom window when I moved here from London in January 2010.
Looking across to Norland from our home on the 3rd January 2010. We have had snow in June here in the Pennines – but not like this! Ironically, with global warming making weather patterns more unpredictable, we may have more scenes like this – but not in July – unless we’ve completely screwed the planet!
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This blog illustrates the history (from 2003 until the present day) of the 14 strong fleet which has had a varied if chequered history which is a pity as from a passenger perspective at least they’re good trains. I’ve been using them on a regular basis, especially since 2010 when Grand Central introduced their ‘West Riding’ service from Bradford and Halifax to London Kings Cross using the fleet.
The Class 180s were originally ordered by First Great Western back in 1999. They wanted extra trains to complement their high-speed HST fleets to run new services to Cardiff. Alstom won the tender, offering a 125mph, five car diesel version of their ‘Coradia‘ platform which has been supplied to many countries since.
The 180s and their cousins the Class 175s were some of the first new train orders placed since rail privatisation, which had led to a 1064 day drought in UK rail orders. This presented problems as the Washwood Heath factory had been run down and staff let go, so gearing up to a sudden glut in orders meant recruiting a new workforce. This led to build quality issues with the Alstom fleets which dog them to this day.
The first Class 180s was unveiled to the press in April 2000, before beginning the test programme. The sets were meant to be introduced into traffic by the May 2001 timetable change but a variety of problems meant it wasn’t until the December timetable that they first entered service. I remember attending one of the early unveilings where staff were seen trying to lever the nose-end coupling cover open with a plank of wood, which didn’t bode well!
The technical issues and reliability problems with the fleet has been a real shame as – from a passengers perspective – they’re a good train. Despite having an engine under each car the ambience in the saloons is very good. They’re spacious and airy, both in first class and standard. The buffet counter fitted to one vehicle also adds to the feeling of being on a proper inter-city train.
Due to the repeated problems with the fleet FGW decided to dispense with their services and replace the 180s with HST sets cascaded from Midland Main Line who’d replaced them with Class 222s. The 180s began to return to their owners (Angel Trains) from 2007 until the last one was relinquished in March 2009, which led to the next chapters in their careers. The fleet has moved from pillar to post since FGW decided to let them go. Three sets went on short-term lease to Northern trains between December 2009 and December 2011 before returning to FGW.
Hull Trains first used a couple of sets as maintenance cover in 2008 before replacing their whole fleet of class 222/1s with 180s in 2009. These four sets lasted in service until 2020 when they were replaced by new-build Hitachi Class 802. The surplus 180s then went to East Midlands Railway in 2020 but only lasted until May 2023 when they were surplus once more.
Grand Central first took on a pair of the units in 2009, then increased this to five sets in 2010 when they started running their ‘West Riding’ service from Bradford to Kings Cross. In 2017 GC took on another five 180s in order to increase services and dispense with their HSTs. This left them with a homogenous fleet.
Sadly, decreasing reliability of the 180s has caused problems for GC leading to two former Hull Trains and later EMT sets (180110 and 111) being added to the fleet, as well as a pair of former Avanti West Coast Class 221s.
The future of the 180s looks uncertain. They continue to be dogged with mechanical problems leading to GC cancelling services. Soon more Avanti class 221s will become surplus to requirements. Could this spell the end of the Adelante’s?
Here’s a pictorial overview of the entire fleet.
Here’s 180101 in original condition on the 9th January 2001 during testing of the fleet before it entered public service in December of that year. It’s pictured at Reading on its way back to Old Oak Common. 180101 seen in Sonning cutting en-route to London Paddington on the 8th August 2006. To say this view’s changed would be an understatement! Gone are the 180s and the HSTs. Now this is an electrified railway. On the 31st July 2020, 180102 forms a service from Hebden Bridge to Leeds whilst on-hire to Northern Rail to cover for a stock shortage. This was during the first Covid 19 lockdown so the train was hardly well used.180103 still wearing First Great Western ‘dynamic lines’ livery stand at Halifax after arriving from London not long after the set had been transferred to Grand Central. 8th January 2018. 180104 passes through Slough at speed whilst still working for First Great Western. 2nd April 2014. Like most locations on the GWML this one’s changed out of all recognition. 180105 prepares to call at Pontefract Monkhill on the 20th April 2011 whilst working an afternoon Grand Central service from Kings Cross to Bradford Interchange. Since this picture was taken the track layout has been rationalised with sidings either side of the line stripped out. 180106 sporting a variation of Northern livery and branding on the 18th November 2010. It’s pictured passing Kirkham and Wesham whilst working a Manchester Victoria – Blackpool North service. This is yet another line that’s changed completely since the picture was taken as the Blackpool route is now electrified. Note that this unit still has its coupling cover door in place.Here’s 180106 again in the early days of service with First Great Western when the troublesome retracting coupling covers were still in use. It’s pictured at Paddington with a Cardiff service on the 13th May 2003. To the left is Virgin Cross-Country’s 221107 which is working the 07:00 to Manchester Piccadilly. 180107 trundles into Halifax with 1A67, the 1537 from Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross. 29th July 2013. No, this wasn’t taken with a drone. It’s the view from Beacon Hill!180108 speeds through Slough on the Great Western Main with a service from Paddington. 2nd April 2014. The Class 180s tenure with East Midlands Railway has been brief. The units have been handed back early and sent into store. Here’s 180109 calling at Luton on the 15th May 2021. This particular set is now stored at Ely. The 180s have always suffered from reliability problems. Here’s Hull Trains 180110 which was being terminated at Stevenage on its inbound run to Kings Cross due to a fault with the train. The date’s the 5th August 2019.On the 12th August 2016 180111 leads a sister unit into Selby station en-route from Hull to Kings Cross. 10 car formations were rare but I can’t remember why they were running at this time. The cabs of 180112 and 180103 show off the lines of the original FGW livery at Paddington on the 22nd February 2004. Vehicle 59912 from set 180112 has been converted to run on dual-fuel (diesel or LNG). To distinguish it from the normal Grand Central fleet it’s had its orange stripe converted to green. The set was named ‘James Herriott’ at Kings Cross in August 2011. The eagle-eyed will not that the nose-end door is carrying the number 180109, which suggests it’s been pinched off that set as a replacement. Hull Trains set 180113 speeds North through Harringay, en-route to Hull on the 11th November 2009. The Conductor is busy in the back cab making a PA announcement! Last of the class. Grand Central’s 180114 is seen in between duties at London Kings Cross on the 11th July 2010. This set is still using the sliding coupling cover which have all been dispensed with as they were just another bit of kit to fail. Mix and match! 180110, wearing EMT livery but carrying Grand Central branding leaves York whilst working 1N95, the 14:27 London Kings Cross to Sunderland. Seen on the 12th September 2023.
I’ve a small 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/
It’s been a very windy couple of days here at Bigland Towers. Nothing to do with the food I’ve been cooking you understand, the phenomenon’s been weather rather than digestive related. However, it did cause damage to some of the plants I have in pots out at the back of the house, so part of today’s been spent visiting various garden centres spread across the area. Pot prices (and choices) vary enormously depending on where you go. Fortunately I’d already checked out a few likely candidates recently, so our ‘go to’ garden centre was Totties near Holmfirth. They have a great selection of pots and other garden bits besides plants. Oh, the cafe’s not bad either – although the pea soup we ordered today turned out to be mushroom because no-one had changed the specials blackboard!
Once back at home I spent the afternoon up to my elbows in compost and cuttings, which is great therapy. We’ve replaced several old pots and baskets with some made out of recycled plastic. I do love traditional terracotta pots but with the cold winters and freezing winds we get here in the Pennines they can mean plants have a very short life.
Here’s the view from outside the kitchen window, where we have a mixture of herbs and flowers. It certainly brightens the place up – not to mention giving us a good selection of fresh herbs which we don’t have to pay through the nose for in supermarkets.
I’ve a small 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 