10:40.
Stop sniggering at the back! Yes, I know the name Penistone always attracts giggles from those who enjoy innuendo, but the Penistone line between Huddersfield and Barnsley is a very scenic railway. Today I’m off exploring in order to get some lineside shots. The weather’s not exactly wall to wall sunshine, but I should be able to play with the shadows and light if the weather plays ball.
Right now I’m sat at Huddersfield, getting a few pictures after catching the local service from Halifax. Sadly, the timing off the two services couldn’t be worse. We were scheduled to arrive at 10:12 – at exactly the same time the Sheffield train departs! Still, it gives me time to get some other shots. Here’s a few,



15:00.
Time for an update.
As I suspected, I’ve been playing hide ank seek with the sun. That and the fact I was an hour later than hoped so its position was getting quite acute to the viaduct I wanted to shoot trains on. In the end I managed a decent shot but know there’s others to be had earlier in the day and when clouds are in a minority.Having explored Penistone I moved back up the line to Denby Dale, where the cloud was even thicker! I did manage one decent shot as a train traversed the viaduct but it’s going to need tweaking. The bright side is that I’m putting today down to an exploring day. I’ve not been to Denby Dale for years. This trip’s given me chance to explore local footpaths and work out positions for some great scenic shots when the weather’s right. Oh, and I’ve already got 18,000 steps under my belt!


16:45.
I’m now kicking my heels back in Huddersfield. The train from Denby Dale was 20 minutes late, not that it mattered as my onward connection to Halifax was cancelled!

Now I’ve over an hour to wait, so I’ve retreated to the ‘Kings Head’ on the station for a beer and a chance to update this blog. In passing I saw that staff from the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) had set up an information stall on platform 1. As well as useful information leaflets they’d a range of freebies, from pens to jelly-babies. I snaffled a pen…

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The remodelling of Huddersfield station, leaving the Bradford and Penistone line services as almost separate railways, makes Halifax/Penistone/Barnsley/Sheffield travel difficult.
I can remember when there used to be almost and hourly service from Bradord, through Halifax, to Huddersfield & Penistone, where a quick change got you to Sheffield Victoria within 70 mins or so of leaving Halifax.
But we’ve progressed since then!