Our time in Surrey has come to an end. Now we’re busy packing as we’ll be driving back to West Yorkshire later today. That may be ‘fun’ due to extra traffic on the roads as today sees another strike in the long-running labour dispute on the railways – which the government are doing nothing to resolve as they see it playing into their hands politically.
Plus, whilst the weather’s still lovely ‘darn sarf’ friends back home have told us to expect to return to heavy rain. Ho hum. Well, at least I won’t have to water the garden when I get in! As we’re in no rush we’ll be nipping out for coffee and cake with a neighbour for we leave. The local pub has sublet an outhouse in their beer-garden which has become a food hub. There’s now a coffe shop cafe occupying the place whilst the outside of the buildi g is home to a pizza oven run as a seperate business.
13:45.
Suitably fortified with coffee and cake we’ve made it out of Surrey, round the M25 (busy but mostly free flowing) and onto the M1.
15:30.
After our traditional pitstop at Watford Gap services we’re now whizzing up the M1 in Leicestershire. The further we get from London the more the traffic thins – although lane discipline hasn’t improved. So many folk seem to have no idea how you drive on a motorway.Thy stick in the middle lane as if their car’s on rails! This leads to lots of damgerous weaving and undertaking as others try to get past them.
16:06.
Our luck – and the weather – held as far as Junction 28 (Matlock). Now we’re driving along in clouds of spray but traffic is flowing and the M1 remains quiet.
16:40.
Good job it’s a Saturday and there aren’t many of these on the road kicking up spray.
21:30.
We’re home safe and sound, unpacked and settled in for the night on what’s a wet end to the day and real contrast to where we’ve just come from. I’ve begun the marathon task of doing the first sift of the 1000s of pictures I’ve taken over the past week whilst Dawn’s relaxing and winding down after her long drive by watching some TV. Looking at the weather here back in West Yorkshire it seems we accidentally chose an ideal time to go away!
Still, tomorrow’s another month – and who knows where that will lead…
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/
After rain overnight the Surrey skies are threatening to play ball and come up with some sunshine for my final day in 3rd rail land. That would be ideal as I’ve a full day planned but one that’s reliant on clear skies for scenic shots.
Here’s a teaser for you. One of the stations I’m going to visit has what’s believed to be the only one left in the UK with its own water well. Can you guess where it is? I’ll give you the answer later.
Right now I’m on an earlier train than usual as the ongoing industrial dispute has knocked my normal Farnham – Guildford service out of the timetable. So, no pictures of loadings on the 08:58 to Waterloo I’m afraid. Instead i’m on the 08:35 from Farnham formed of a 4-car Class 450. As you can see, there’s plenty of spare seats.
10:30.
The Weather’s living up to the forecast and the skies are clearing. I’ve just left Guildford after an hour there taking pictures of services through the area (pics later). There’s a very handy footbridge spanning the junctions to the North of the station that’s an ideal vantage point. It’s also a great place for people watching too as it now leads to the huge University of Surrey campus. Watching the constant stream of students made me realise just how many of our academic institutions are reliant on overseas applicants. I remember seeing all the adverts for UK universities when I was staying in Malaysia earlier this year. And yet, the government seems intent on creating a less than welcoming atmosphere for people with their rhetoric and actions.
After a quich change from a packed Waterloo bound service at Woking I’m now on a more relaxed 5 car Class 444 heading for Portsmouth the long way round via Eastleigh and Fareham. The Conductor has announced we won’t be stopping at Fleet today due to the emergency services dealing with ‘an incident’ – which sounds ominous. Hopefully it’s not a fatality.
On this part of the trip I’m using the excellent line guide published by Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership. It’s packed full of useful information on the towns en-route and includes both local and railway history, places and sights to see and pubs and cafe’s to visit.
I love guides like this as you learn so much about the areas you pass through. OK, admittedly some of it is whimsical and of little use other than for setting quiz questions. For example. The Bridge Inn, the pub you see from the train at Shawford? It was the location of the demise of Victor Meldrew in the final episode of “one foot in the grave”!
12:30.
I’m now heading for Southampton after a flying visit to Romsey which is an interesting little place. I’d liked to have explored the town but I’m on a tight schedule. The imposing station building oerched atop an embankment is only part-used although the ground floor still boasts a ticket off and waiting room. There’s a tiny cafe with seats on the platform which is run by Marco who’s now expanded to Shawford. There’s also an 1870s signalbox just a few minutes walk away which has been restored to working order and opens to the public.
12:55.
Now I’m hoping the pace will slow a little as I wait for trains and the sun to coincide at St Denys. Not actually at the station tho’ but by the river (where the tide’s in), as you’ll see shortly..
Here’s me, hard at work…
There’s a large element of chance involved here. Will the sun stay out? Will a train in the current livery arrive at the right time? It’s all beyond my control. All I can do is be patient…
15:25.
I managed to get the shots I wanted so decided to be optimist and go for a second bite of the cherry further down the line at Bursledon where the railway crosses another of the three rivers. At this point the river’s cammed with yachts and motorboats. It’s like being on the set of ‘Howards Way” (a 1970s yachty soap opera) but it makes a great scenic location for what I was after.
Now I’m on the move again, hoping to fit in one last scenic location if time, trains and weather allow…
18:45.
Things didn’t quite go to plan for a variety of reasons. The railway timetable began to fall apart as I headed East so I decided not to sally forth into the countryside. After all, I’d planned an hour long walk to get what would have been at best two pictures. Instead, I changed trains at Fratton and caught a late running Waterloo service that had most of its stops cut to get to Havant where I picked up another train to Haslemere. By then all the schools had chucked out so the trains were awash with teenagers. Some were very well behaved, others entitled arses. I’ve noticed that people putting their feet on seats is endemic down here, no matter what your social status.
After getting a few last shots of a working mechanical lever-framed signalbox (although you wouldn’t know it from the outside) I caught another late-running train back to Guildford. I’m here enjoying a quick pint whilst watching the world go by. I really like Guildford, apart from one thing. The traffic.
Getting from the station into the town centre involves negotiating multiple layers of sub-ring road full of cars where 90% have a single occupant.
As it’s a Friday it’s not just cars occupying Guildford, there’s a mass influx of people (mostly young) starting their weekend revelries. Events are fascinating to watch if you’re interested in observing the human condition. But, at the same time they’re rather depressing. There’s an element of ‘the last days of Pompeii’ about it.
19:30.
Time to go home. I’ve swum against the tide to get to the station and board the 19:23 to Farnham. I don’t envy rail staff working today as things are already getting messy – including this train – which is littered with fast food wrappers and other detritus. Standards certainly seem to have slipped in the South in the 13 years since I moved North. Many of our trains aren’t this bad!
It looks OK. What you can’t see is all the crap left on the seats or have your nostrils assaulted by the permeating smell of fried fast food…
21:00.
I’m now back at ‘home’ in Tilford, downloading today’s pictures so here’s a few images from my camera rather then just phone pictures.
GWR Class 158s 158958 and 158765 work 1F13, the 1205 Westbury to Portsmouth Harbour as it crosses the River Itchen after leaving St Denys. A few miles further East at Bursledon, 450066 crosses the river Hamble whilst working 2E40, the 1338 Portsmouth & Southsea to Southampton Central.
Oh, before I go I promised to tell you which station still has a well. I didn’t manage to get there today, so a return trip is on the cards, but the answer is…Rowlands Castle.
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/
Today begins at Clapham. After a lovely evening in with an old friend, catching up with each other’s lives and events it’s time to start another busy day. First, I’ve got to get across London to Kings Cross…
The overbridge at Clapham Junction’s a lot less cluttered nowadays. Many of the kiosks located there never survived the Covid years.
Train No 1 is a busy Class 455 heading to Waterloo. Looking around the car I’m struck by how many people are ‘plugged in’ via headphones, cutting off one of their five senses. Most are also staring at screens. I see two people reading newspapers, a massive change on just a few short years when this train would be littered with discarded copies of ‘Metro’ on its next trip out of Waterloo.
07:40
Now I’m on an old haunt – the Victoria line, which is still quiet this time of day as the morning peak has spread out more thanks to flexibje working.
09:30.
Having had a very pleasant journey on a busy LNER train to Leeds from Kings Cross I’ve time for a coffee and to catch up with some emails before meeting Pip Dunn. The cafe on platform 4’s gone upmarket since I first started coming here…
10:00.
And so it starts. Next stop – Ipswich…
11:10.
The first train to be put through its paces is one of Greater Anglia’s Stadler built 4-car, bi-mode class 755. Whilst Pip’s busy with his tape-measure and spreadsheets I’ve been occupied taking pictures of different aspects and details of the vehicles internal layouts.
12:15.
Now for a completely different product for a trip from Ipswich to London Liverpool St. The all electric Anglia Class 720 ‘Aventras’ were built by Bombardier (now Alstom).
15:20.
We’re now on the way to Norwich on something a little more luxurious and stylish…
1st Class in an Anglia Class 745. Cycle spaces on 745007. The clue’s on the window…The best seat in the house. In this case it’s the rear cab of 745007.
16:30.
The job ended in Norwich, by which time we’d tried out, tested, photographed and measured three different types of train. What did we think? You can read all about that in future editions of RAIL magazine!
Right now I’m heading back towards London on the same class 745 we tested earlier, only now I’m in standard class! This train’s not as busy as the one we came up from London on (that was packed) but it’s filling up as we head South. Sadly, the weather’s not really conducive to lineside photography. I’d considered stopping off on the way to get some exterior shots of the train types we’ve tested today but the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to play ball. Never mind, I’ve a camera full of pictures to edit anyway.
22:00.
Home again! The weather didn’t improve en-route to the capital so I stayed on the train all the way to Liverpool St. My, how things have changed there since I was a regular visitor. Not a single BR era train is left in service with any of the operators using the station. Now it’s all ‘Aventra’ derivatives or products from Stadler – quite a transformation for a main-line London terminus as all the others (bar Fenchurch St) still see the older fleets putting in an appearance on service trains.
A greater Anglia 5-car Class 720 Aventra ready to depart Liverpool St with a service to Ely.These Class 710 London Overground Aventras have replaced the BR built Class 315/317 fleets.
Tomorrow’s our final day in this neck of the woods and the weather’s due to improve, so I’ll be making one last foray on 3rd rail metals for now. I’m not quite sure where to yet as there’s disruption expected tomorrow due to strike action ‘working to rule’ which will affect some SWR services. I’ll make my mind up in the morning.
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/
We’ve settled into a routine here now. Up by 06:30. Drink coffee, get ready for the day, take Sam to school, then Dawn and I go our separate ways as I get dropped off at the station to disappear on the 08:58 for the day. Today’s another such circuit, but where will I get to this time? Feel free to keep popping back to find out…
09:00.
Here’s the daily pic from the rear coach of the 08:58. Different faces today but loadings are pretty good.
09:20.
I’ve abandoned the London service at Aldershot to do what I did yesterday and swap to the Guildford service which follows behind. In contrast to yesterday it’s a grey old day this morning so the camera’s remained in its bag. I’ve a lunch appointment later but I’m wondering what shots I can get in the interim – and where.
11:02.
I ended up staying at Guildford for an hour due to ‘events’. The first thing I noticed was a track gang busy cutting down Buddleia and other plants in the station yard. Not the sort of thing that would attract any interest from railway enthusiasts (several were there for other reasons) but for me they’re excellent library shots to have to illustrate the railway’s story. A few minutes later one of the few remaining pairs of SWR Siemens Class 707s put in an appearance. Grist to my mill but the enthusiasts were uninterested.
Why? Because they were here for this. A steam engine!
West Country class No 34066 ‘Braunton’ puts in an appearance at Guildford whilst working a London to Bath excursion.
15:50.
Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy. Having travelled via Woking to Winchester I bumped into Dan, a CRN colleague who caught the train to with me. Dan gave me the background on what to expect when we arrived at Shawford. Even so, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the transformation of an old station building that’s been derelict for over 40 years. Waiting for us where some of the folks from Hampshire CRP who’ve been the poerhouses behind this and some other staion cafes. I’ll add more details later, but for now – here’s a few pictures.
21:55.
Now where was I? Oh yes – Shawford! Since when I’ve gravitated to London. I’m not staying in Tilford tonight as I have a silly o’ clock start tomorrow. I’m leaving ‘stabiliser rail’ country for the day to meet up with old RAIL magazine friend and colleague Pip Dunn in Peterborough as we’ve some train tests to do.
Having arrived at Waterloo I had the chance to meet up with other old friends. SWR train driver Steve Upton was on a break when I arrived so we went for a coffee (or in my case sparkling water) when we were joined by another of the gang, Hassard Stacpoole. Here’s the three of us together before Steve chauffeured us back to Clapham Junction, where we are now.
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/
Despite a positive forecast we’ve had a gloomy start to the day here in Tilford, but whatever the weather it’s going to be a busy one. Dawn and I have been occupied from an early hour preparing the ingredients for tonight’s meal – Coq au Vin, done in a slow cooker. Now it’s time to take Sam to school and me to head to Farnham station for another day on the rails before Dee returns home to work. Now, where shall I go today?
09:20.
What a difference a day makes! If we thought the roads were busy on the school run yesterday they were even busier today. Farnham was chocked with traffic which included a lot of builders and other vans clogging roads and pavements as tradesfolk made their livings.
Fortunately, I still got to the station on time to board the 08:58 which was once again worked by a Class 444. This seems to be a regular (and only) diagram for the fleet to Alton. Today the train was far, far busier. I walked through all five cars from front to back. Here’s today’s comparison shot.
The rear coach was the quietest. Up front it was full and standing.
I only travelled as far as Aldershot as I’m heading for Guildford on a service that runs just a few minutes behind the London train. Guildford’s the main town in the area and the platform was busy with folk making their way there for work and pleasure. That said, a 4-car Class 450 shuttling to and from Farnham is perfectly adequate for the traffic.
10:05.
My first stop after changing at Guildford is Farncombe which I’ve never visited before. It has substantial buildings on each platform (pics later) plus one of the few signalboxes left on this line and one I’d never photographed before.
I know nothing about Farncombe but it looks a pleasent little place. Like most towns the shops have suffered. Many are vacant but this one (a real trip down memory lane) caught my eye.
11:45.
On the move again after catching the train for an impromptu stop at a place called Witley which has a lovely small station and a lot of rail engineering work going on – hence my decision to stop for an hour. I managed some great shots of embankment stablisation work being carried out on the live railway (pics later). In the meantime, here’s a shot of the station building.
16:00.
I’m now blogging from St Denys in Southampton. How I got here’s a long story that involved several trains, one or two stops – and Portsmouth!
I’ve had an interesting day as I’ve had chance to stop off in several places I’ve always threatened to explore but never had the time. St Denys is one. It boasts a four platform station (two on the main line and two on the Pompey route) and some rather nice buildings. The stations a stones throw ffom the estuary which is a good place for scenic rail pictures – hence my visit.
This is a phone pic. The camera ones have trains in ’em.
There was something else I discovered in St Denys. A pub right next to the station called the South Western Arms (after the railway). When I walked past it I noticed the selection of handpumps and thought ‘hmm’. Then, when I was finally beaten in my photographic endeavors by cloud cover I thought I’d pop in for a swifty. I’m glad I did as it’s a cracking real-ale pub with a distinctive local hippy/bohemian feel – and a massive beer garden backing onto the railway. I’ll certainly be popping back when I’m in the area.
18:30.
So much to write about but so little time as I juggle taking pictures, notes and blogging whilst still trying to live in and experience the here and now. And right now I’m on a train from Woking back to Farnham…
Q: Guess how many people are staring at their phones/screens? A: 99% of them..
21:10.
I’m now back in Tilford and beginning the task of editing the pictures I’ve taken today. It’s going to take some time before they appear on my Zenfolio website, so here’s a quick taster of some of the camera (rather than phone) pictures.
A pair of class 444s with 444028 leading pass embankment stablisation work at Witley on the Portsmouth direct line. 73962 leads a test train through St Denys. The route was from Eastleigh to Eastleigh, but all round the houses. When I photographed it the train had just come from Portsmouth Harbour.
Here’s the rather lovely main station building at Farncombe.
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/
Well, it wasn’t a ridiculous start to the day. I was up at 06:30 as I don’t need to be in Aylesbury until 14:00, although getting to Farnham to catch the train means I’m reliant on Dawn for a lift and Dee’s dropping her nephew, Sam, off at school first. This may be ‘leafy Surrey’ but the roads around here really aren’t very civilised when it comes to walking. Most of them are narrow and don’t have footpaths, leaving no safe space for walkers. Plus, many people around here are driving the four-wheel versions of tanks, leaving even less clearance. Society here is very much focused around the car. There’s not even a bus service through Tilford.
Feel free to pop back during the day to see what I get up to…
09:00
Having sat in on a Surrey school run it was instructive to say the least. Sam’s school is in Farnham, on a narrow street parallel to the railway line. The street is totally unsuitable for the numbers driving their kids to school (ignoring the no parking signs in the process). Lardbutt SUVs merely exacerbate the problem. It was good to see the number of kids who were walking but far too many weren’t. One thing I did notice, there’s not as many obese kids here compared to West Yorkshire but as obesity’s linked to poverty that’s unsurprising.
Dawn dropped me off at the station before heading home and I’m now sat on a 5-car Class 444 heading for the hour-long journey to Waterloo.
These services were always normally worked by 4-car Class 450s in multiple as the 444s are the ‘intercity’ units reserved for long-distance services from Waterloo to places like Bournemouth and Weymouth, although I do remember seeing them on Alton services in the past. As I’ll be a regular commuter from Farnham this week I’ll be interested to see how the service pattern pans out in practice.
Whilst there’s clearly not as many people commuting daily anymore, the car-park at Farnham was very busy and my trains filling up after each stop. The picture was taken after we left Farnham. I’ll add a comparison shot later.
09:30.
We’re well on the way to London now, the next stop’s Surbiton. We’ve had a ticket check which allowed me to observe that the people around me are all using paper tickets, suggesting they’re not daily commuters.
The change in seasons is evident too. Earlier we passed a ‘leafbuster’ train. The MPV was busy spraying the track towards Alton. The sun’s noticeably lower in the sky too, meaning that (photographically) I have longer, deeper shadows to contend with. Mind you, the forecast is that the Mercury’s due to hit a balmy 23 degrees today, so I can’t complain.
11:30.
I’m now on my way to Aylesbury via the old Great Central railway from Marylebone. Having time in the bank I tarried in London, changing trains at Clapham Junction in order to get a few library shots. The sidings there are full of the ‘new’ Class 701 ‘Arterio’ sets which are yet to turn a wheel in passenger service. It’s arterio sclerosis at it were! I boarded one of the old Class 455s from Clapham, one of the BR built trains that should have been sent for scrap years ago but that are still going strong. At Waterloo I spied my first 5-car Arterio which was out on test, contrasting with the 455s in adjacent platforms.
18:30.
Sorry for the break in blogging but I’ve had another busy day. Having met Ian (from the excellent ‘Ian visits’ website) and EFKB PR on the train to Aylesbury the three of us walked to the EKFB site, chatting on the way. The walk allowed us to see other aspects of the vast site other than the area we were visiting.
Once we met up with all the other invitees and folks from Network Rail and EKFB and having got ‘booted and suited’ we headed off to the main worksite where the new rail bridge over what will be HS2 has been completed and track relaid.
The bridge over HS2 with the HS2 cutting being excavated beneath. This is looking South towards London with Aylesbury off to the left and Princes Risborough off to the right. It’s a hot day to be wearing full PPE!
I’ll write a bit more later and perhaps add another pic. Right now, having said goodbyes after a really informative visit I’ve walked back into Aylesbury and caught the train back into London.
20:00.
Travelling back into and across my former home town was weird. OK. I’ve not lived here for 23 years, but I never remember it this quiet – even on a Monday. The Chiltern train into Marylebone picked up a few folk en-route with many joining it when it hit the London suburbs but it still felt quiet. I had the same feeling on the Bakerloo line tube. This route passes through what are some of the capitals entertainment areas, but the vibrancy of the old days was missing.
Now I’m at Waterloo which is definitely subdued. It feels more like a provincial rail station rather than London’s busiest terminus.
Where’s the buzz?
Bidding adieu to the capital I’m taking the less direct route ‘home’ via Guildford rather than the Alton directs. I’m aboard yet another ‘Arkwright’ (aka a Class 444).
22:30.
‘Tis the end of the day and time to bring this blog to journey’s end. My route home via Guildford was easy, the trains weren’t crowded and the connection time allowed me to grab a few night shots. Yep, we’ve got to that time of year where it’s getting dark too early for my liking as my working day’s getting shorter, but hey ho. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…
I said I post another couple of pictures before I went. Here’s one of the HS2 trace West of Aylesbury, looking South. Can you sport the new railway bridge I was visiting? Some folk complain that building HS2 is ‘desecrating’ an AONB. Really? So who gave planning permission for those pylons then? In a few years when HS2’s complete you won’t even notice it at this location. Oh, and don’t even mention the sound of heavy traffic from the road behind me…
‘Metroland’. A pair of London Underground S stock trains stand at Chalfont and Latimer station which is shared between the Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways.
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/
Sunday turned out to be far lazier than we expected. The original plan involved going into Farnham to do some shopping and watch Dawn’s nephew Sam play rugby before her brother Darren flew off to Italy with a wine-tasting group. Then, late morning, things went a bit pair-shaped. Darren received a text telling him his flight was cancelled. After some frantic phone calls another (later) flight was found. Then another problem reared its head. The name on Darren’s ticket didn’t match the full name in his passport – and airlines can knock you back when that happens. Of course, when you’re in a hurry stressed and the clock is ticking, you just know technology will let you down to make even the simplest of tasks more difficult and/or expensive so it took Darren ages to sort out that one.
Whilst the drama unfolded there was no way any of us were going anywhere, so I decided to put the dead time to use and go through some old picture folders on my laptop and do something productive. Early last year I’d scanned several hundred old travel slides but never got around to editing them and loading them onto my Zenfolio website. So, today was a good day to start! I’ve managed to wade through a couple of hundred of them. They’re pictures from the marathon 18 month round the world trip that Lynn and I made in 1997-1999. This particular batch are all from India taken in 1998 and you can find the first of them here. The latest scans start in Chennai in the South of India, encompass Puri and the Sun temple at Konarak in Orissa, then take in Calcutta and finally Varanasi.
Whilst I waded through pictures the airline fun and games was finally resolved and a plan hatched. The three of us would drive to Gatwick Airport, then Dawn would drive Darren’s car home whilst I rode shotgun and did the navigating for Dee to help her concentrate on driving on unfamiliar and very busy roads like the M25.
Everything went like clockwork – apart from Darren’s plane being delayed leaving! By that time he was airside and self-medicating in the bar, so it wasn’t an issue! This evening we’ve had a quiet one at home, Dee’s been cooking whilst I’ve been editing and preparing for a little job tomorrow.
Despite all the shambles of the Tories rowing back on just about every promise they’ve ever made, work on building phase 1 of High Speed 2 continues. 30,000 folk are employed on the project and tomorrow I’m off to see work on the existing railway between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury where HS2 will pass under the present line. It’s rather a unique bridge that’s being built there and I’ll be trackside, seeing the existing railway being reinstated over HS2. I’ll be posting a few bits about my trip but you’ll be able to read much more about what’s going on in future editions of RAIL magazine.
Expect daily rolling blogs from tomorrow as I’ll be out and about on the network each day, looking at various projects and locations across 3rd rail land so there’ll be plenty to write about and photograph.
I’ll end tonight with one of the pictures I’ve scanned. Here’s the ghats at Varanasi, India just after sunrise one morning in February, 1998.
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/
I’m eschewing my usual mode of transport as the pair of us are driving down to Surrey. Bigland Towers will be in exile in the home counties for the next week, which means taking the bare bones of two office setups with us.
Today’s a good day for travelling, unlike earlier in the week. The sun’s shining, the roads are dry and there shouldn’t be too much commercial traffic on the road…
11:10.
So far so good. We cut across country from Halifax to the M1 via windy A roads that provide the most direct route, although the potholed conditions leave something to be desired. Now we’re on the M1.
11:30.
All was going well until a couple of miles before the junction with the M18 when we hit a jam which we’re now stuck in, crawling along at 7mph.
11:34.
Free! Some poor sod was unlucky enough to break down on a carriageway reduced in size due to roadworks!
12:00.
We’re back on the road again after taking a wee (literally) break at Woodall services – not one I’m familiar with. The place was busy with others with the same idea, doing similar for their four-legged friends and smokers, sucking on fags as they hung around their cars.Motorway services have gone upmarket since my hitchhiking days in the 80s-90s. This one even has a Waitrose supermarket!
13:50.
Having called in at our usual pitsop at Watford Gap we sat in the sun, watching the world go by whilst munching a sandwich on the grass bank at the rear of the service area. The car-park was packed with vehicles as this is such a strategic services due to its location near were the M6 motoway diverges from the M1. One thing I noticed on this visit was how many EV charging stations have been installed and were in use.
Now we’re on our way South, but not by our normal route. The A43 is closed between the M1 and Towcester, so we’re sticking on the M1 and heading for the London orbital carpark (aka the M25).
This section of the motorway brings back so many memories of my hitchhiking days, heading to/from London. When I moved to the capital in 1986 I couldn’t afford the train fare or to hire a van so I spent several weeks hitchhiking back and forth, moving my stuff South by the rucksack load! Happy days!
I had a series of white plastic cards that fitted in my bag, each one bore the number of a main motorway such as “M1 please”, plus one for emergencies when you got stuck for ages. It read “anywhere but here!” It would raise a smile if nothing else but also a lift sometimes.
Funny the way the memory’s jogged sometimes. Near Luton we’ve passed a couple of bikers. Years ago I often came to see a friend who’d moved here and we’d go out and about on this 250cc Honda. Of course, you’re immortal when you’re in your 20s and riding pillion with Duncan could be an ‘interesting’ experience as Duncan enjoyed his beer and exotic substances. So much so his nickname was ‘Duncan disorderly’…
Then (the early 80s) there was a pub in nearby Dunstable that was popular with bikers and hippies. The Wheatsheaf didn-t have a jukebox. Instead it had twin decks so people could bring in their own albums. We’d often bike over there. One time Duncan was a little overzealous with his overtaking and I felt the car coming inthe opposite direction brush against my jeans!
What’s changed so much since those days is the landscape around the motorway. Where it once passed through open fields it’s now hemmed in by massive distribution warehouses for the likes of Amazon, H&M and Lidl.
16:20.
And relax – we’re here in Tilford. The car’s unloaded and it’s time for a breather. The Southern end of the M1 and M25 were very busy but kept flowing, as did the M3. Then we headed across country past Aldershot and the Hog’s Back to reach our destination.
19:00.
Having sorted ourselves out it was time to have a mooch and take Tilly, the family’s Cairn Terrior for a walk. Tilly has a set route, oddly enough, she was insistant thart we called in here – The Barley Mow…
22:45.
‘Tis time to bid goodnight. We’ve had a lovely evening full of food and drink here in Tilford, but now it’s time to call it a day. Tomorrow the Platt family are off to watch the youngest male member of the clan play Rugby. Me? Rugger’s never been a game on my horizon, so I’ll take the camera for a walk somewhere. I just don’t know where yet. Watch this space…
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I’m typing this from Bigland Towers, which is rather unfortunate as you should be receiving this missive from darkest Devon…
On Tuesday Dawn and I were due to drive down to North Devon in order to stay with some old friends who moved there from West Yorkshire a few years ago. It would have been the first chance we would have had to visit them as Covid got in the way before now. Then on Monday we received a message that the pair of them had gone down with a stomach bug so we provisionally knocked the trip back for 24 hours. On Tuesday we found out the bug wasn’t of the 24 hour variety so we reluctantly (but sensibly) decided to postpone our visit until next year due to hectic schedules between now and then. We were all gutted as our friends had planned some brilliant trips such as beach walks and (of course) railways.
Our ‘rain-check’ proved to be eminently sensible in more ways than one as the weather here in West Yorkshire and in North Devon was shocking – and in many points in between it seems. We’ve had torrential rain and gales so driving all that way on motorways would not have been fun at all – especially as we’d planned to do the 300 mile trip in a day. So, we’ve stayed at home, which has been frustrating as the climatic conditions have made it impossible to get much exercise in. I could have gone walking but even with full waterproofs it would’ve been a miserable experience. Instead I’ve been trying to stop the garden blowing away as my Gladioli and other plants have taken a battering. We’re now on day 3 and the weather’s finally changed. We nipped out for lunch with Dawn’s parents over at a garden centre near Holmfirth where I picked up some Pansies to replace some of the summer plants that are past their best. Late afternoon blue skies put in an appearance, the wind abated and the rain finally sodded off. So, tomorrow, rather than enjoying the hedonistic delights of Devon I’ll be at home, repairing the garden and putting up shelves. However, all’s not lost, we’re only stuck here until Saturday, then we head down to Surrey, where we’ll be based for a week – and the weather forecast is looking very promising indeed. I’m hoping I may be able to take the camera for a walk around this neck of the woods on Friday, but we’ll see how much gets done tomorrow…
I’ll leave you with a picture from one of the lines I should be back exploring next week. Here’s the old signalbox at Haselmere station, seen on the 5th July 2017.
This London and South Western Railway type 4 design is 127 years old and listed Grade 2. There are plans to preserve it in situ when the line is resignalled.
The Portsmouth direct line is in the process of being renewed and resignalled. You can learn more about the project here.
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/
The past few days has seen even more confusion than usual about the future of the HS2 rail project. There’s the usual dither and delay as a dysfunctional Tory government can’t make its mind up what to do about anything with HS2 just being one item on a long list of issues and policies it’s incapable of tackling with any consistency or rationality.
In many ways, that doesn’t really matter. Most people, including many Tory MPs, can smell the stench of a dying government. What the smart money is on now is what Labour will do when they come back to power at the next election. Labour (who started the HS2 project) have always backed it in opposition, but over the past couple of days sections of the media have cast doubt on the idea and speculated that Labour are somehow backtracking. Today, a group of Labour Shadow Ministers took to the airwaves and Twitter (I refuse to call it ‘X’) to make it very clear that wasn’t the case. I’ve gathered those comments together here. First up is Lou Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, who reinforced the message put out by Shadow Paymaster General Jon Ashworth in an interview on Sky news.
The message was further rammed home by Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan in this trio of tweets.
Mark Walker of PR agency Cogitamus tweeted the fact that Shadow Minister without Portfolio Nick Thomas-Symonds had also been making Labour’s position clear on the BBCs ‘PM’ radio programme in an interview with Evan Davies.
Meanwhile, the BBC put out this tweet of the interview.
That’s four Labour Shadow Ministers making the party’s position crystal clear in what’s obviously a concerted approach which will almost certainly have the blessing of the Labour Leader’s office. It’s easy to see why. HS2 has massive support up in the North and Midlands where the Tories vacillation on the project has gone down like a cup of cold sick. Labour are smelling blood and capitalising on this to highlight the Tories ‘selling out’ the North and abandoning all pretense of ‘levelling up’. Labour are being handed an ideal opportunity to lambast the Government and erode any support they may still have in the ‘red wall’ seats. After all, why wouldn’t they support building HS2? It was their brainchild after all. Will the Tories realise the trap they’ve set for themselves? Possibly not as they’re so dysfunctional right now. They’re too busy listening to the swivel-eyed loons who got Liz Truss into such policy debacle.
Of course, Labour coming out in force to stamp out any confusion over their HS2 stance will be ignored by some sections of the media and also by the tiny number of Nimbys, right-wingers and faux ‘greens’ who still think them muttering on Twitter can possibly change anything. Labour can safely ignore them as most of them would never vote Labour anyway and none of them have the clout to affect an election in any meaningful way and barring something like an asteroid hitting the Earth, it’s almost certain that Labour will form the next Government…
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 