Monthly Archives: June 2024

Rolling blog. Changing gear…

30 Sunday Jun 2024

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:30.

What a difference a decent night’s sleep and a shower makes! After two nights sleeping on the floor of a train having a bed was luxury. Mind you, when I first arrived at my hotel in Preston I thought I might end up sleeping rough. The place I was staying was a family business and unstaffed. There was a keysafe outside the front doo – but no key in it! A phone call to the number I’d been given by my hosts soon put that right. It turned out that another apologetic guest travelling as part of a group thought they’d been left two keys.

Now I’m on the move again. I didn’t hang around in Preston, instead I caught Avanti’s 10:01Pendolino to Euston. Despite it being a Sunday morning it’s a busy train. Thankfully, as it starts from Preston I’ve managed to blag a table seat and set up the mobile office. Not that I’m planning to do much work. I’m still suffering from a sleep deficit so relaxing and catching up with the world is more the order of the day and I suspect this train’s going to get busy. We’ve just pulled out of Wigan where confusion reins as people can’t find their reserved seats. This may not be the relaxing journey I’d hoped for…

Still, I’m on my way to a holiday, joining Dawn and her parents down in Wareham, Dorset – so my batteries will get recharged eventually!

14:45.

As expected, the Pendolino was packed by the time we left the North-West. There was no point in me trying to do any work so I dozed most of the way instead. It being a Sunday the timings weren’texactly sparkling either. We arrived at Euston just a few minutes before 13:00, having sat for ages at Rugby and Milton Keynes.

I’ve now travelled across busy London to Waterloo. The capital’s weather certainly better than ‘oop North’ as there’s sunshine and a hike of several degrees in temperature. I’m in no rush to get to Wareham, so I might stop off en-route. Right now I’m on the 14:35 to Weymouth, waiting departure form Waterloo…

18:25.

It’s turned into one of those days! The train from London was packed all the way to Southampton central, which is where things went belly up. My train onwards to Wareham was cancelled due to a previous service hitting a bike which had been thrown onto the line at Christchurch near Bournemouth. Chaos ensued as services through Southampton rapidly fell apart with knock-on cancellations following. Nothing was running between Southampton and Bournemouth, with staff being unable to say when services would resume. Some passengers were getting stroppy and one young woman member of staff fled to her office in tears.

22:30.

Well, I *did* make it to Wareham in the end, but it was by taxi, not train.

I ended up being stuck at Southampton for a few hours as SouthWestern Railway effectively gave up on trying to run trains West of the city. Every time one arrived from London with the idea of it heading West it was cancelled by SWR control. Even the station staff were getting fed up of it. Thankfully, Cross-Country were made of sterner stuff and kept their Bournemouth bound trains running. I managed to get aboard a packed 18:50 which was standing room only. On arrival at Bournemouth I found SWR were running trains back to London but nothing was going West. After quizzing a couple of different members of staff myself and three other passengers were loaded into a taxi which took me to Wareham and them to Weymouth. Not the railway’s finest hour at all.

Thank you, Cross-Country, at least you ran trains to Bournemouth this afternoon. Here’s 221124 after depositing me, ready to leave on its return trip to Manchester Piccadilly.

Still, I’m here now and the holiday can begin…

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/

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

Rolling blog. 3 Peaks by rail. Day 3…

29 Saturday Jun 2024

Posted by in 3 peaks by rail, Photography, Railways, The Railway Children, Travel

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04:30.

Ugh! After a few hours sleeping on the floor or cushions of the coaches as we headed into Scotland the train’s awake and the onboard volunteers are already serving breakfast. The train’s running 45 minutes late right now and we’re being greeted by the sight of dawn breaking over the Scottish highlands around Tulloch.

We’ll be leaving the comfort of the train by 05:15. Right now, everyone’s preparing themselves physically and mentally for what’s to come. Coaches are clouded in mist – a heady mix of deodorant and midge spray! The midge warning for base camp is at maximum level. There’s expected to be clouds of the little buggers so the first thing I check is to ensure I’ve packed my midge net and spray in the camera bag.

This is the bit of the trip that drags for me. Once walkers are ascending Ben Nevis there’s little for me to do until they return and I start getting the team pictures. So, I’ll probably be stretching my legs with a walk from the base camp into Fort William where I can sit and update this blog whilst editing pictures and sipping coffee in the local McDonalds – which is one of the only places open at that God-forsaken time!

Here are the first pictures from today…

The scene on the train last night aswalkers bedded down for a precious few hours sleep…
Smiles as we leave the train at Fort William to board the coaches which will take us Ben Nevis.
Being checked in before beginning the ascent of Ben Nevis.

07:20.

Well, everyone’s on the mountain. The last few began the climb to the summit at 05:40. Base camp and the finish line are all set up, all there is to do now is wait for the teams to return. No doubt there’ll be a few stragglers who are unable to complete the challenge due to injury or exhaustion. A handful haven’t climbed today for those reasons (and the fact safety’s paramount, so we wouldn’t let them risk themselves). Instead they’re talking short walks around basecamp whilst waiting for their team members to return.

As anticipated, I walked back into Fort William just in time for McDonalds to open, which is where I’m sat typing this. The weather here is a mixture of sunshine and showers, so I’m happy to kill some time in the dry. I’ll be heading back to camp in time to get shots of the walkers as they cross the finish line. We expect the first between 8:30-09:00. We have one team member who’s doing the 3 peaks as part of his army training. He’s been first up and down both Snowdon and Scafell and I expect him to complete his hat-trick!

14:30.

I’m back!

We’ve been reunited with the train and are currently South of Corrour. The team managed to get everybody off the mountain in good time and the train left Fort William spot on time at 13:05. Now the walkers can relax and get stuck into the food and drink on offer. Lunch is a fabulous chili with baked potato and the bar is open. I can’t let my hair down in quite the same way as I’m still on photographic duty, but here’s a few from earlier.

Returnees from Ben Nevis are piped across the finish line by Alex, a young bagpiper from Mallaig.
Some of the Ops and Railway Children team responsible for ensuring everything runs smoothly are seen with Alex, the piper.
Say ‘celery’ (a train catering in-joke, honest). This is the brilliant team who’re taking care of people on board on our return to Crewe. Seen at Fort William, just before we departed.

The money’s still coming in, but at the moment it looks like the event has raised £200,000 plus for the Railway Children to further the work it does.

16:00.

Time for a break. I’ve been busy taking pictures onboard, escorting the team who’re raffling off prizes of whisky, the headboard off the train – or the headboard of the narrow-gauge steam train we used yesterday. The walkers have been incredibly generous and we’ve raised even more money for the Railway Children. Here’s another selection of pictures of life aboard the train

Vast quantities of chili being prepared in the kitchen, ready to feed walkers and crew alike.
We have professional sports physio’s aboard, ready to massage tired limbs back into life.
Some of the prizes available in the raffle, ably sold by volunteers…

20:10.

After a long, painful crawl through Glasgow where we averaged around 15mph we’re now on the West Coast Main Line heading for Carlisle. This year the train’s quite subdued. Last year we had people doing a conga up and down the train. It’s a reflection of how the same event changes every year depending on people and circumstances. Some of the walkers coaches are full of sleeping people, others not – as people (despite the tiredness) party. In our staff coach it’s the same mixture depending on levels of exertion, adrenaline and age.

23:55.

I’m typing this last update from my hotel room in Preston. Do I have some stories to tell – just getting into my room was a saga, but not in any bad way. Right now I’m too knackered to do anything more than fall into a comfortable bed – which feels like a luxury after the past few days. I’ll explain and expound more tomorrow.

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/

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

Rolling blog. 3 Peaks by rail – day 2…

28 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by in 3 peaks by rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, The Railway Children, Travel

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05:30.

I’m not sure how rolling this blog will be because when we get to Cumbria phone reception will be patchy at best, but I’ll do what I can. Right now we’re winding our way along the North Wales coast after picking up the walkers at Bangor. The weather on Snowdon was windy but (mostly) dry and almost all of the walkers managed to reach the summit.

Those of us onboard the train were woken just before 04:00 as the train left Holyhead. A welcome cup of coffee was provided by the kitchen staff who were already awake. Now the train’s quiet as people try and get some sleep wherever they can before we arrive at Ravenglass at 08:47, where the next leg of the challenge begins. Here’s a few pictures from the train.

Breakfast’s already being prepared in the kitchen car.
Walkers leave the coaches that have ferried them from Snowdon to rejoin the train at Bangor.
Time to catch some sleep, bedded down wherever you can.

06:15.

We’re just North of Wigan now and whilst the walkers coaches look like someone’s set off a hand-grenade the kitchen car’s a hive of activity as the onboard crew have formed a production line to make and bag fresh sandwiches for everyone to take with them on Scafell.

Talk about a hive of activity…
This is only part of what’s going on behind the scenes…

07:30.

The train’s awake as breakfast is served. First course is orange juice and chocolate croissants and/or porridge.

Right now we’re heading along the Cumbrian coast, having just passed Arnside. The weather’s mixed here, with moody skies and the threat of rain. It’s certainly a lot colder than it has been which is no bad thing when you’re walking. Thankfully, there was only one minor injury amongst the walkers on Snowden so we should have a full complement on Scafell. But first we have to get to Ravenglass and a trip along the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway to Dalegarth, where the teams will walk 5 miles to the start of the climb up Scafell. When we reach Ravenglass I’ll lose contact for while, but I’ll be back this evening. with an update.

21:00.

I’m back! It’s been a long old day so here’s an update from the train as we head up the Cumbrian coast towards Carlisle.

Folks old and new enjoyed the trip on the Ravenglass and Eskdale railway up to Dalegarth. It’s such a pretty trip and for those who’d never explored this part of the world it was a revelation. That said, some of the old hands were very happy to use their cameras too (hello Sam D!)

At Dalegarth the teams were registered and their trackers logged in to Satlink, then they were off to walk the 5 miles to the start of the Scafell ascent. I couldn’t accompany them this year as it was arranged that some of the event team were bussed to Wasdale in order to set up the next tracking station. On the bright side this allowed my to climb Scafell ahead of the teams so that I could get pictures like this.

By late afternoon the weather on Scafell turned from dry to a series of showers and hail further towards the summit. Some teams got soaked, which wasn’t ideal due to the high winds and wind-chill. To add to the ‘fun’ many people (to their credit) made the trip ahead of time, but we couldn’t provide coaches to ferry them back to Ravenglass any earlier as the vehicles aren’t freed up until after the local school run. So, we got a double-soaking!

Back at Ravenglass the weather finally smiled upon us as we had a couple of hours of sunshine which helped people dray out. Well, mostly! Several people were reduced to wandering around in bare feet in order to allow their footwear to dry out!

Some people did pick up injuries – almost all minor, but safety comes first, so they weren’t always allowed to complete that days challenge.

Now, after a couple of hours rest and relaxation in the pubs of Ravenglass we’ve been fed and watered on the train and we’re heading for Ben Nevis – where the conditions are looking good…

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/

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

Rolling blog. 3 peaks by rail 2024 – it begins…

27 Thursday Jun 2024

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10:50.

Having spent the morning completing household chores and giving the gardens a good soaking before I go it’s now time to begin my journey over to Crewe to join the rest of the Railway Children volunteers and prepare for the arrival of this years teams and the train that will be our home until Saturday night. The weather here in the Calder valley’s bright and sunny, but I’ve packed for all eventualities.

But first, I’ve got to get to Crewe. I wonder which way I’ll go? I’m not going to be walking far as I have a rather large kitbag with me as well as a fully-stocked camera bag. So, let’s see. Next stop, Halifax station…

12:30.

Dawn very kindly gave me a lift to the station which saved mucking around with taxis. I managed to make Northern’s 11:16 to Chester which was ‘fun’ as a stock shortage meant that it was formed of a single 2-car Class 195, so it was full and standing when it arrived. I ended up standing all the way to Manchester as there was no way I was going to get a seat.

By the time we left Rochdale it resembled a sardine-can but after leaving Manchester it was only around 20% full, so now I’ve time to blag a table, plug in the mobile office and relax for a while. Unfortunately, we’ve lost the good weather now. The further West we go the gloomier the skies are.

14:15.

I’m now in Chester. Yes, I know it’s a little bit of a detour but I was still working on the train at Warrington and decided to stay on to finish what I was doing. Plus, there’s method in my madness. I can catch a direct train to Crewe from here and hopefully sample of of Avanti’s new Class 805s in the process. Mind you, it’s all a bit shambolic here. One Holyhead train was 72 minutes late. Diagrammed to leave from platform 3, announcements were made it would leave from platform 4, so passengers and luggage traipsed over the footbridge to the new platform – only to have to traipse back at the last moment when the signaller decided it could leave from its original platform anyway! Here’s a few shots;

 Schrödinger’s 13:25, simultaneously cancelled and on time…

Chester is the Southern outpost of the Merseyrail 3rd rail network.
197005 sits on platform 3 whilst passengers on the island wait for their next service.

10:05.

The adventure’s about to begin…

We’re on the way! Our train left on time at 19:14, we’re now on our way to Chester and the North Wales coast before a layover at Llandudno Junction, where we let a service train pass. We’ve 42 teams aboard comprising 190 people, from companies like Siemens, train operators like Avanti and SouthEastern, engineering companies like Volker Rail and others such as HD2 and RSSB.

For the railway enthusiasts amongst my readers we have 47593 on the front and 57311 on the rear of the train.

23:55.

It’s almost time for me to go, but here’s how things have gone so far. As we hugged the North Wales coast the walkers were treated to a hot meal prepared in the kitchen cars that’s part of the train. Here’s the staff busy serving the walkers with the first course of a two course meal (the second course was cheesecake, which was divine). As you can imagine, it’s a military style operation to serve hot food to so many people in such a short time – and on a moving train! Some of the servers were ‘newbies’ to 3 Peaks , which is a challenge in itself.

We dropped off the walkers at Bangor at 21:26. Eve though they’d already been fed and watered they were provided with plenty of snacks to keep ’em going overnight.

Snack anyone?

Just as soon as they were all off the train the empty (well, empty of walkers) train continued to Holyhead where the onboard crew had the train cleared of rubbish and vehicles tanked. Meanwhile, the kitchen staff prepared a second meal, this time for the onboard crew. Now it’s time to get our heads down for a few hours before we’re up at silly o’clock to head back and pick up the walkers. Before our train departs Bangor for Ravenglass at 04:37 on Friday…

The train at Holyhead earlier. A short break before a very busy day tomorrow.

Right, see you in a few hours…

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/

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

26th June picture of the day…

26 Wednesday Jun 2024

Posted by in 3 peaks by rail, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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This is the last blog from Bigland Towers for a while as tomorrow I head off to Crewe to join the Railway Children’s annual ‘3 peaks by rail’ charity fundraiser. I’d hoped to have been able to enjoy some of the gorgeous summer weather that’s arrived but instead I ended up stuck indoors for the vast majority of the day in order to clear the decks of various work before I decamp. Plus, I’ve had to pack for the family holiday which I’ll be joining once the 3 peaks is over. Dawn and her folks will be heading to Dorset on Saturday and I’ll follow on behind.

The logistics of these trips means packing for all eventualities and climates as it looks like we’ll be having changeable conditions depending on whether we’re in England, Scotland or Wales. Then there’s the Scottish midges to contend with, which means packing different protective equipment to keep the little buggers at bay! Right now I’m almost done. All the batteries are fully charged, spares packed, cables secured and the laptop cleared of pictures which have all been archived – just in case…

I’ll be blogging throughout the next few days as and when wifi and phone reception allows – which isn’t always. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which comes from a previous 3 peaks. One of the many delights of the event is the opportunity to take a trip on the Ravenglass and Eskdale narrow-gauge railway, which is used to move the teams from the coast inland, where they then walk from Dalegarth to the start of the climb up Scafell. Here’s ‘Whillan Beck’, the locomotive that was used in June 2018.

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/

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

Rolling blog. Behind the scenes…

24 Monday Jun 2024

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:10.

We’re being treated to glorious sunshine here in the Calder valley this morning, although I’m not going to be around to enjoy it as I’m on my way to Manchester for another visit to Manchester’s Newton Heath depot in order to get the pictures and info I need for a future RAIL article.

My fellow passengers on the 09:02 from Sowerby Bridge are all dressed for the summer as everyone’s making the most of the good weather whilst it lasts. Finally, the winter layers and rainwear have been discarded – for now at least. The Class 158 I’m travelling on is in summer mode too – all the windows are open as the air-conditioning is struggling already!

After my depot visit’s concluded I’ll be spending some time exploring the railways around Manchester and making the most of the sunshine. Feel free to pop back later and see what I get up to….

16:00.

Sorry for the gap but things haven’t gone entirely to plan! My visit to Newton Heath was excellent. I was given a full tour, learned a lot more about operations and future plans whilst also getting pictures of different depot facilities.

An empty ‘parlour’. This is the only part of the 1876 steam shed that remains. Note the WW1 memorial which has been installed at the end.
Here’s a look inside the new St Mary’s building which is a world apart from the old steam shed.

It was only afterwards that things went a bit ‘Pete Tong’. I’d decided to make the most of the weather and explore the old ‘Oldham Loop’ rail line to Rochdale which is now part of the Manchester Metrolink tram network. I’ve not travelled this line for several years so today seemed like an ideal opportunity. I traversed Oldham on foot to get pictures then caught a tram out to an old haunt – Shaw and Crompton.

Tram 3097 calls at Oldham Central tram stop in Union St. To the left the old Prudential building is slowly reclaimed by nature.
Tram 3139 leaves Oldham Mumps tram stop on its way into Manchester. There’s a lot of regeneration happening around here but the amount of empty commercial properties is depressing. The old mainline station was down the hill to the right.
It’s changed a bit since I first got to know the area! The Metrolink station has been built to the South of the level crossing and site of the national rail station.

It was then I became aware of an issue with my footwear. I was wearing a pair of safety shoes with steel toecaps – sensible and required footwear for wandering around a depot – but I’d not worn them for a while as most of the jobs I do require safety boots, not shoes. As I walked along the platform at Shaw and Crompton I became aware of a flapping sound. Looking down I realised my shoe soles were very rapidly disintegrating as well as coming away from the uppers! There was nothing for it to head back home for a change of footwear and hope they’d last long enough to walk back in. Thankfully Dawn had a free moment and was a star. She drove down to Halifax station to deliver me spare shoes in order that I could complete my explorations. Talk about a life-saver. Needless to say, she now has even more credit in the bank!

I wasn’t expecting this!

Leaving Halifax I caught the local shuttle down to Huddersfield in order to check out TRU work. Since my last visit one of the platform shelters has vanished, while the scaffold and crash deck that’s being built under the existing roof has extended even further Eastwards. The wooden waiting room on the island platform is slowly disappearing too. It’s being dismantled piece by piece so that it can be stored before being re-erected on the station at a later date. The interior’s now been stripped out and the windows have all disappeared.

Notice anything missing?

Right now I’m on a TPE service back to Manchester to pick up where I left off. The weather’s changed with cloud building up but I’m optimistic I’ll still be able to get some good library shots.

22:15.

I’m back home after a busy but productive day. I did manage some extra library shots but for once the weather changed for the worse in the evening, meaning we lost the sun and gained low cloud instead so I called it a day earlier than planned and made my way home.

Having been transferred to Northern from the West Midlands, 323220 has become a common sight in Manchester. It was at Piccadilly this evening before working a service to Crewe.

I’ve still got over 27,000 steps in the bank, which isn’t bad when all I’d had to eat was 3 bits of bacon and an egg for breakfast and an apple for lunch. Mind you, I’ve been guzzling water like it’s going out of fashion, so that’s helped fill the gaps. I’m surprised (and rather relived) that my fasting regime isn’t more challenging, although I was looking forward to getting home and consuming my last allowance. I’ve found baked beans fill you up nicely – and so far, there’s been no unfortunate side effects…

Tomorrow I’ll be working from home all day and prepping for both 3 Peaks by rail and the holiday afterwards, so expect a picture dump and a few other bits on the blog. Until then, goodnight!

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/

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

23rd June picture of the day…

23 Sunday Jun 2024

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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We’ve had a busy weekend here at Bigland Towers and it’s one that’s (finally) been blessed with good weather. There’s been several days in a row with glorious sunshine and lovely evenings, which is a first for 2024 as normally rain follows the sun as night follows day. Today both of us managed to get out for a long walk and enjoy an hour in the beer garden at our local, topping up on liquid refreshments and also vitamin D. The timing’s been excellent as I’ve got a very busy week ahead so having time to recharge both mentally and physically has been a Godsend.

Tomorrow I’m back in Manchester with another visit to Northern’s Newton Heath depot. I’ll blog about some of it but the rest you’ll be able to read about in a future edition of RAIL magazine. My fasting regime kicks in again tomorrow which should be interesting as so far I’ve only stuck to that when I’ve been at home. On Thursday I set off for another major event where fasting will not be part of the programme (I’ll need all the calories I can get) as I join the Railway Children’s annual ‘3 peaks by rail’ as the event photographer. Regular readers will know I’ve been volunteering every year since 2017, it’s a fantastic charity fundraiser but it’s hardly a walk in the park for either the teams or the volunteers who keep the whole event running. We finish next Saturday night after living on the train for two nights and two days. I’ll try and blog as I can, but you’ll be able to read about the whole trip in RAIL magazine.

I’ll need a holiday after that. But then I have one planned, because just as soon as I finish I’ll be travelling down to Dorset to meet Dawn and her parents as Bigland Towers is moving to that neck of the woods for a couple of weeks – so expect many more blogs with a travel flavour.

Right now it’s time to go as I’ve stuff to prepare for tomorrow. I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from a previous ‘3 peaks by rail’ adventure, 2021 in fact…

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/

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

Rolling blog. Off to RAIL live…

20 Thursday Jun 2024

Posted by in Photography, Rail Live 2024, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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04:45.

Ugh! The alarm went off at 04:15 and I’m now showered and on mt first cup of coffee – but it won’t be my last. Today’s going to be a long day. But first things first, which is a long walk to the station, which should get the blood pumping. On the bright side (literally) is the weather’s fine and the sun’s almost up. Let’s see how things go…

05:55.

The walk to Halifax station was very pleasant. The town’s not woken up yet and the streets were deserted. Plus, the slight chill in the air meant there was no danger of overheating. Now I’m on Northern’s 05:45 heading for Manchester on the first leg of the route. Today it’s a 4-car and at the moment pretty quiet with just half a dozen of us in the front car.

07:45.

When we passed Newton Heath depot in Manchester I had to do a double-take as the ranks of Northern liveried trains was broken by a pair of interlopers. A pair of Transport for Wales class 150/2s occupied one of the sidings. Made surplus by Wales’s investment in new trains they’ve been cascaded to Northern. I wonder if they’ll be pressed into service before they’re reliveried?

On arrival at Victoria another unusual sight greeted me. A rake of Pullman liveried MK3’s, top and tailed by a pair of Class 47s sat in Platform 4. It turns out this was a West Coast railways dining train heading down to Ascot for the races. The return working gets back to Victoria after 1 AM tomorrow, by which time I expect the occupants will be very wined and very dined!

I didn’t have time to get a picture as I needed to hotfoot it across the city to get to Piccadilly in order to catch my next train. I’m now aboard Cross-Country’s 07:03 to Bristol, which I’m using to get to Birmingham New St. The service was quiet leaving Manchester but we’re now South of Stoke and the 5-car units filled up considerably en-route.

09:30.

Well, that was fun! On arrival at Wolverhampton we got told that – due to a ‘train in difficulty’ ahead of us we were being diverted via Bescot and Soho Junction. Passing Bescot was sad. Most of the old freight yard’s abandoned with all the overhead wires stripped out, only the skeletal portals tell the tale of how how many freight trains used to be electric hauled. The rest is just fans of rusting, weed-strewn sidings. The once-busy loco depot disappeared years ago, to be replaced with a wagon repair shops. The area’s a world away from the incredibly busy site I first visited way back in 1977.

We arrived at New St 15 minutes late but that still gave me time to walk over the Moor St where I picked up my scheduled connection. I’m now aboard Chiltern’s 09:15 heading to Warwick Parkway where I can catch the free coach service to Long Marston.

18:00.

I’m back! Sorry for the interlude but not only is Long Marston difficult to get to but the phone reception is awful. Plus, I didn’t have a spare minute to blog as there was too much to see/photograph and people to catch up with.

If you’ve never been to RAIL live you won’t appreciate just how much shoe-leather you wear through. It’s a huge site and it’s getting bigger each year. But then it has a 3.5km long test track, miles of storage sidings and the event brings in 100s of stalls and outdoor displays. I’ll add some pictures later, but to give you an idea. There’s 100s of millions pf pounds of new (or nearly new) trains in store on the site, as welll as re-engineered Porterbrook Class 769s rendered surplus before they were even introduced by GWR. Then there’s the exhibition stands. Ever seen a ‘robo-dog’? There were several on site. These incredible automatons that look like they’re out of ‘Star Wars’ are used for surveys and inspections. Then there’s some cutting-edge Road Rail Vehicles (RRVs) that look like spiders because of their flexibility. They can literally crawl across the land through their use independently wheeled arms. The first to be registered on the UK rail network was on display.

But RAIL live isn’t all about technology. There’s three stages where discussions take place with humans. One of the most powerful was with Ukrainian railways, who explained how they keep the network running amidst the biggest European war since World War 2. Whilst we’re all dressed in lightweight high-vis jackets one of their number talked about trying to raise funds so that Ukrainian rail workers can wear the version they need. Bullet-proof high-vis. Sobering…

I left the site around 1500 as I was offered a lift with old friends (other RAIL magazine alumni) who dropped me off at Stratford-upon-Avon where I caught a train to Birmingham. It’s such a lovely evening I’d have been tempted to stay for a pint in Birmingham, but the journey back to Halifax is long and slow – and will be for decades – thanks to Rishi Sunak’s capricious decision to scrap HS2 to Manchester. Now I’m on a busy 5-car Cross-Country service to Manchester Piccadilly. Fortunately, I’ve managed to blag a free table seat to set up the mobile office and begin downloading today’s pictures.

22:50.

I’m home – and knackered after a long day in which I’ve walked over 14 miles with a camera pack on my back on one of the warmest days of the year so far. Despite that, it’s been a really good day. There’s lots of photos to sort out tomorrow, but right now I’ll leave you with these.

A line-up of Class 701s. A lot of very expensive, brand-new (but stored) trains. Most will be over four years old before they turn a wheel in revenue service.
No, it’s not out of ‘Transformers’ – this is real! These flexible machines are incredible bits of kit. I’ll add more details tomorrow.
More futuristic kit. ‘Robo-dogs’. They’re house-trained and they don’t shed hair. But they’re not pets either. They’re a very flexible tool for carrying out inspections and diagnostic work in dangerous and/or confined spaces – or even in the open air.
– and here’s one that we made earlier… These bi-mode Class 769s were due to be used by GWR. Instead they’ve ended up in store here at Long Marston.

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/

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

19th June picture of the day…

19 Wednesday Jun 2024

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Rail Live 2024, Railways

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There’s a very short blog from me today as I’ve got to be up at Sparrowfart tomorrow in order to get down to Long Marston for RAIL live. That means my alarm’s set for 04:15 so I can catch the first train of the day from Halifax. Right now I’m just finishing packing my kit before heading to bed.

Today, the weather’s actually felt like summer. We’ve had hours of sunshine, even though there’s been a fair amount of cloud around. The temperature’s started heading in the right direction too. RAIL live looks like it’s going to be blessed with good weather again too, so I’ve packed a pair of shorts – just in case!

One of my little chores today was to amalgamate the previous years RAIL live pictures into one gallery, which you can find here. There should be a lot more to add from this year’s event in a couple of days time. I’ll be doing a rolling blog as I’m travelling tomorrow, but don’t expect too much from the event itself as I’ll be kept busy catching up with friends and colleagues from across the industry, although I hope to be be able to add one or two pictures if I can.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is from the 2022 event, when GBRf sent along one of their rebuilt Class 56 locos, renumbered 69005 and repainted into a heritage style livery.

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/

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

17th June picture(s) of the day…

17 Monday Jun 2024

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Rail Live 2024, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Another week that’s begun with a day working from home, not that I’m complaining as it’s a nice way to ease oneself into a new week that’s the potential for being rather busy. Besides, I’ve most of the material I need for a new RAIL article now, so I can crack on with the first draft. Besides, having eaten out a lot (and drunk a fair bit too) I’ve decided to have a crack at losing a few pounds with the 5:2 diet, which means restricting your calorie intake to 600 a day for two days of the week. That’s much easier at home than when I’m on my travels – and I can combine it with a lot more regular exercise. It’s not that I’m overweight, I’m just nearer to top of the range I ensure I stay within. Today’s day 1 and it’s not been too bad, even though I’ve burned off a lot more calories walking over 18,000 steps as I had to stroll into Halifax to collect timber and screws for DIY chores at home. Still, it’s always nice to try something different, all I have to do now it take more care planning meals and making sure I don’t stuff myself on the other five days – especially as Dawn’s made another batch of her fabulous Bakewell tart and gorgeous lemon drizzle cake!

Today’s been made more pleasant by the fact we’ve only had the briefest of showers this morning whilst the afternoon and evening’s been graced with glorious sunshine. Temperatures are still low but after the conditions we’ve had recently – I’ll take it. Sadly, it seems this is a ‘for one day only’ sort of offer with the rain resuming tomorrow afternoon. Never mind, maybe I’ll get most of that article written…

Later this week I’ll be attending the RAIL Live event at Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre in Warwickshire. I just hope this massive outdoor event is graced with decent weather. At the moment the forecast’s looking promising so expect a rolling blog and pictures on Thursday. RAIL live’s a brilliant showcase of the latest kit (big and small) used by rail engineering companies. The site’s also used as a test facility and storage site for trains either recently withdrawn or waiting to go into service. So, today’s picture(s) are from the 2022 event, just to give you a flavour…

Brand new West Midland Railway Class 197s No’s 196010. 196106. 196011. 196109 and 196008 in store before entering service.
Engineering company Furrer and Frey demonstrating their retractable 25kv overhead power supply. This can be used in depots or yards.
Van Elle showing of some of their range of Road-Rail Vehicles.

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/

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