This is a short blog. I’ve had a busy day here at Bigland Towers tying up loose ends in preparation for a new (hopefully better) year ahead. I’m not too sorry to see the back of 2024 as it’s had far too many ups and downs. I’ve not even ventured outside today as the weather here in the Pennines is awful, which severe weather warnings heralding the arrival of yet more gales and heavy rain. 2024 is literally blowing itself out! 2025 is predicted to start in the same way only with the added bonus of snow. If the forecast is right then I’ll have plenty of time to write my review of 2024 as we won’t be going anywhere. Just as we haven’t tonight. Instead, Dawn’s cooked some fabulous food for us to enjoy in front of a film.
In the meantime, let me wish all my readers a prosperous and peaceful 2025, whatever time zone in which you reside – as some of you will already be there!
See you in January…
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 Platt family festive southern sojourn is over. I’ve packed the car (fitting everything in was a minor Christmas miracle in itself), and we’ve left the chalet to call at Platt Mansions before beginning the journey North. There’s no room in the car for me so I’ll be heading back from Farnham by train. I’ll be blogging en-route and getting a few pictures as I do – so feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to…
11:40.
After getting a lift from Tilford to Farnham I’ve swopped from the infernal combustion engine to rail and caught the 11:28 to Guildford. There’s still no direct trains to London but that’s OK, I’m in no rush anyway. The weather here’s hardly conducive to photography. In fact, we’ve not seen the sun once since we got down here – just gray skies and fog so my photo opportunities are somewhat limited.
15:07.
Getting into London was interesting due to having to change at Guildford. Apparently, there’s Rugby on at Twickenham today which means the trains were even busier than normal. Clapham Junction was heaving as people changed trains to get to the ground.
Siemens Desiro 450119 arrives at Guildford to carry me and dozens of others to London.
In contrast, the underground’s Northern line from Waterloo to Euston was remarkably quiet. Euston itself soon made up for that. All parts of the station were heaving! Paddington station is closed for the next few days which means 4 GWR trains an hour are running to/from Euston from platforms 15 and 16, along with all the regulars. Plus, nearby St Pancras is shut to East Midlands Railway services, adding to the pressure.
Credit to Network Rail and TOC staff, things are running remarkably smoothly at Euston, despite the influx of bewildered passengers who’re not used to using the station.
I’m now on my way North after getting a few shots of activities at Euston. I’m on a late running Avanti service which is crawling its way North dues to overhead line damage in some unspecified place. We’re still South of Watford Junction and already 16 minutes behind time. What a day for such a problem to crop up…
15:45.
We’ve just left Milton Keynes 28 minutes late after being switched to the slow lines at Bourne End Junction in order to avoid the dewirement at Tring North Junction, which (Sods law) happened this morning. We were put back on the fast lines at Ledburn Junction and soon managed to reach linespeed. Hopefully, we may now be able to make up some time.
16:10.
As expected, we’re gradually pulling back minutes as we speed North through the thickening fog. We’ve left Rugby behind to join the Trent valley route. It’s in conditions like this train drivers really earn their money. 125mph at dusk with added fog is the test of anyone’s concentration, route knowledge – and skill.
16:50.
Our timekeeping went to pot again when we called at Stafford. The station’s far busier than usual as it’s being used to turn around trains in both Northerly and Southerly directions due to the fact Crewe South Junction and the ‘independent’ lines are closed to enable a new signalling system to be commissioned – hence my train having just passed Stone en-route to Crewe via the long way round through Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove.
17:45.
Crewe station was a shadow of its normal self due to the lack of trains – and passengers. Despite this, there was more confusion than you’d expect. Having checked my options on Real Time Trains I knew the best way to get to Manchester was aboard a Transport for Wales train that was running a shuttle service between there and Crewe. The only problem was the information screens were programmed to show it as ’empty to depot’ and neither enquiries with platform staff nor driver provoked a more informed response. However, the sheer weight of people turning up on platform 5 asking where their connection was provoked enough of a response that people were allowed to board. So, here we are, en-route to the rainy city…
19:15.
The last leg…
Whilst Dawn and her parents have beaten me in the car and stopped off in Honley for tapas, I’m still travelling. Well, that said, Dee’s got to get to her mum and dad’s and unpack their kit from car – which (after the way I packed it) may take some time – especially as it includes loads of Xmas prezzies including a dual-drawer air fryer!
Walking across Manchester city centre between Piccadilly and Victoria was entertaining as the place was packed with young people, many of whom seem to have decided to wear clothes in inverse proportion to the weather. It was like Newcastle had been cloned! With the place being so packed and me running late I wasn’t tempted to stop. I headed straight to Victoria and caught the first train heading across the Pennines. Now I’m back in the land where the word ‘No’ has a surplus of Os.
22:00.
Home again – and it’s time to bring the blog to a close with a few extra photos. I’ve added them in the relevant sections. Tomorrow’s going to be a quiet day, catcing up on some work whilst enjoying being at home. But after that…
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/
There’s no blog from me today as the pair of us have had a busy time here in Surrey, cooking and clearing up for a Platt family Christmas eve (and a birthday). I’ll do better tomorrow as there’ll be more time. In the meantime, Dawn and I wish you all a fantastic festive season and all the best for the new year.
It’s time to wave goodbye to Bigland Towers for a few days and head South to Surrey to join Dawn and the rest of the Platt family for Christmas. Whilst Dee and her folks drove down I stayed behind with the intention of doing some work but a knee injury put paid to those plans. Instead, I’ve been resting up in the hope my knee will appreciate the inactivity.
Now I’m on the move again, heading from Halifax to Leeds before swinging South to London. Needless to say, trains are very busy. I’m on a delayed service from Chester which was cut back to start from Manchester due to a fatality on the route earlier today.
A message you never want to see…
Sadly, someone’s family are going to be having an awful Christmas and some poor train driver will be left with memories they wished they hadn’t got.
13:15.
So far so good. I’m now on a packed 13:15 to Kings Cross that’s worked by on of LNER’s old warhorses, a Class 91 and Mk4 coach set.
15:15.
Time’s flown. I’ve been busy writing and not noticed the miles getting eaten up. We’re now South of Stevenage but running late, and getting later as we’ve lost our path so got trapped behind a Thameslink service on this two track section of the ECML. The weather here’s very gloomy compared to the sunshine I left behind in Yorkshire! I wonder what it’s like in Surrey? Hopefully the delays won’t impact on my arrival time there.
16:50.
Miracles will never cease – everything’s going to plan – despite hitting London late. As usual at this time of year, the capital’s crawling with people travelling here and there. Dodging families towing kids and suitcases becomes quite a task, especially on the underground. Despite not having lived here for nearly 15 years I still have the knack of negotiating my way through the melee. Having made it to Waterloo on the Northern line there was time to grab a snack before boarding my next train. I’m now on an 8-car SWR service heading for Guildford. The train’s packed but the clientele is mostly single people (no groups) heading home from work. Most are either dozing or staring at smartphones, making it a very solemn journey. The only buzz is the sound of the air-conditioning!
My last sleigh before Christmas. 450075 leads 450066 on a Guildford – Alton service.
19:45.
Journey’s end. Well almost. Dee picked me up from Farnham station, bringing me back to Platt Mansions where the family are preparing food for tonight and planning the next few days festivities, so I’ve been mucking in on kitchen duties. Now, with food almost ready I’ve been able to spend a few minutes downloading pictures to add to this blog.
22:25.
The day’s winding down. We’ve eaten and Dawn’s been busy working her culinary magic to make this gluten free Tiramisu for her nephew, Sam – who has his birthday 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
Today’s not entirely gone to plan, but t’was ever thus. I’ve had a busy month that’s involved a lot of walking – especially when carrying my camera bag which isn’t the lightest of things. The result of which is that I find myself suffering from an old knee injury I picked up from the days when I used to cycle to work across London back in the 1990s. Needless to say, that has cramped my style a bit today. I suppose I’ve only myself to blame. I’ve just passed 65 yet I treat my body like I’m a damned sight younger (because in my mind, I am). Most of the time my body plays ball, but occasionally it says ‘oi! – which is where I find myself now – wearing a knee brace and dosing myself with Neurofen whilst restricting what I do. I’d all sorts of plans for this weekend but the reality is I’m pretty much confined to barracks today and tomorrow in the hope I can recover in time for Christmas. In some ways that’s no bad thing as I’ve a shitload of things on my ‘stuff to do’ list.
This morning Dawn left to drive down to Surrey with her parents for a Platt family Christmas. I hobbled around to help her pack the car and see her off with the intention of joining them on Monday. The rest of the day here at Bigland Towers has mostly been spent in a horizontal position whilst listening to the gales and rain beating on the cottage windows as we suffer from the latest storm to hit us. The weather really has been crap over the past couple of weeks. I’m not sure I ever remember such a prolonged period of high winds. Rain? Yes – as this is the Pennines after all. On the bright side, today was the winter solstice, so we’ve reached the darkest times and the days will slowly start to get lighter – although that’s no guarantee the weather’s going to improve in the era of climate change. All that I can do is keep my fingers crossed that nothing goes tits-up on Monday when I head South myself.
Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from yesterday’s journey home. Here’s a look at Kings Cross station, one of London’s most iconic railway termini.
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 on my way to London again for part 2 of my festive celebrations with friends as a bunch of us are meeting for lunch. Getting there from West Yorkshire’s not as fraught today as the trains are mostly behaving themselves – it’s the people that aren’t! I’m currently on a Cross-Country service from Leeds heading Derby which is running 25 minutes late due to trespassers on the line in the Durham area. Ho hum! On the bright side, this service is a 9-car train the normal 4-car Class 220 is coupled to an ex-Avanti Class 221 which means that (for once) there’s no shortage of seats. Mind you, the holiday season’s already having an impact on rail traffic. Leeds station was strangely quiet this morning due to a dearth of commuters travelling into the city. I can only assume some people are already taking holiday time. I’ll be curious to see how busy London is as I’ve got to get over to Islington on the tube, unlike yesterday when I never strayed from the shadow of Euston station.
09:15.
We’ve left Sheffield considerably heavier than when we arrived due to an influx of passengers, many of whom seem to be young people with suitcases heading home for the holiday. Cross-Country’s passenger profile is always interesting due to the sheer number of University towns it serves and the expansiveness of its network, yet most journeys are (or used to be) less than 60 miles.
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 on my way to the annual railway Xmas carol concert in London, but as is so often the case, things haven’t exactly gone to plan. I was up before dawn (and Dawn) in order to give myself plenty of time travel, which is just as well. My walk to Halifax station was enjoyable as today’s a lovely morning, although the attraction waned once I arrived at the station to find the platforms choked with people. The information screens told a sorry tale of why. Every train was either delayed or cancelled due to one of several reasons. You could choose from lineside equipment failure, points failure or no traincrew being available. It didn’t really matter as the end result was the same.
Right now I’m on the 07:10 to Huddersfield, which is running nearly 20 mins late. To cap it all, the train thinks its running along the East coast between Middlesbrough and Newcastle via Sunderland!
Whilst the automated system is up the spout the human Conductor’s doing a sterling job of keeping people informed of their options for getting to Manchester as ticket acceptance for alternative routes is in operation.
09:20.
And relax! Having made it to Huddersfield I jumped on a TPE service to Manchester Victoria then walked across a soggy city centre to Piccadilly. The weather’s both damper and colder this side of the Pennines but as I’m not staying the fact the sky is full of threatening and broody clouds holds no dangers for me. Instead, I’m now tucked up in a warm, cosy Avanti Pendolino heading for Euston. It’s a busy train but I’ve a seat, working sockets and wifi which will allow me to be productive en-route.
As I passed through Piccadilly the station was playing host to two of the ex-West Midlands Class 323s which have been transferred to Northern. Here’s 323207 about to leave on 2K16, the 08:46 Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent.
11:10.
Having left Stafford 7 mins down we’ve clawed a couple back on our non-stop run from there to the capital. Time’s flown as I’ve been busy writing an article but we’re now passing through Kentish Town on a lovely sunny day – what a contrast to Manchester!
Not a vintage day at Euston. This service (the 11:30 to Glasgow) was cancelled due to a train failure – only to be reinstated a few minutes before it was due to depart. That’s better! No ads – just information that you need to know.
20:15.
Riiigghhht – let’s try again. The next few pictures should have loaded on my way back up North, but for reasons only known to Gremlins, they didn’t.
The carols concert drew one of the biggest audiences most of us can remember. Maggie Simpson, CEO of the Railfreight Group delivers one of the lessons.The London’s Transport choir belting out some great Xmas carolsRuth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee was another of the readers.
20:30.
After sherry and mince pies in the church refectory a group of us retired to a local hostelry for further refreshments and the chance to catch up. Eventually, many of us departed to head off in different directions. For me, that meant catching another Pendolino back to Manchester. This one was delayed too but for a different reason – flooding around Macclesfield. Now, having strolled across the city centre to Victoria I’m on the last leg aboard a Northern service to Halifax. Normally, this train would be really busy but this close to Xmas many people are enjoying the festive season and office/work parties so travelling’s spread out.
Me? I’ll be glad to get home as I’ll be doing this all again tomorrow. Expect another blog from my travels to and from London. This time there’ll be no lessons and no carols – but there might be food pictures…
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
We’ve had another thoroughly miserable day (weather wise) here in’t Pennines. The rain beating on the window and the high winds battering the house in the early hours made me decide that discretion was the better part of valour, so I canned my plans to get out with the camera and worked at home instead which gve me chance to edit some of the pictures I’d taken yesterday on a little trip up the West Coast Main Line as far as Carnforth. I should have written a rolling blog but I was too busy trying to keep up with other stuff – hence today’s reprise of events.
My first stop was Preston. An obvious choice as I had to change trains there, but also because the December 15th timetable change has seen Northern’s Class 323 trains working in pairs through the town on Blackpool North – Manchester Airport services. Some of these nippy units have been cascaded from services around Birmingham – hence combinations like this.
Ex- West Midlands 323206 along with original Northern unit 323224 are seen at Preston whilst working 1Y65, the1225 Blackpool North to Manchester Airport. Two pairs of these units were out on this route yesterday, supplementing 3 and 4 car Class 331s.
On the way North I stopped at Lancaster where the station’s having a bit of a revamp. Story rail are refurbishing the station canopies on behalf of Network Rail at a cost of £9.5m. You can learn more here.
Yes, the picture’s taken from the disused platform which was where the electric trains to Morecambe used. It’s not open to the public but an old friend was on duty and very kindly arranged access for me.
Next stop was Carnforth. Home of the famous tea rooms which featured in the classic 1945 film ‘Brief Encounter’. Whilst the tea rooms are remaining open the adjacent museum closed its doors for the final time in October. The tea rooms remain bus and looked rather festive yesterday.
On my return via Lancaster I popped into a rather more modern refreshment room, the Tite and Locke on Lancaster station. It’s a wonderful addition to station bars which can be found on the Northbound platform. Roof restoration means that the outdoor area on the platform’s rather cut off, but the multi-room bar is still as welcoming as ever.
Choose your Christmas cheer…The entrance to the bar and the first of many rooms…
Much as I’d liked to have stayed I had to head home after a ‘swifty’. Hopefully I’ll have more time to explore next year.
Now I’m prepping for the next few days and decamping to Surrey for Christmas, but first I have a couple of days in London. Tomorrow I’m at the annual railway carols service at St Mary’s Somer’s Town, Eversholt Street, London NW1. The lessons will be read by: Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee; Rob Morris, Managing Director of Siemens Mobility; Elaine Clark, CEO of the Rail Forum; Mark Phillips, CEO of RSSB; and Maggie Simpson, Executive Director of the Rail Freight Group. If you’re in the area, why not join us? There’s mince pies and sherry to be had in the refectory afterwards.
I’ll add a rolling blog tomorrow. But right now it’s time to call it a day…
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
Apologies for absence these past few days. It’s because of a variety of reasons which include work, the weather and my father-in-laws 90th birthday party. Like Royalty, he’s had two birthdays, the official one (his date of birth), then on Saturday he held a party for family and friends at a local cricket club. Dawn and I stayed over at Platt Mansions so there’s been little time to blog as I’ve had so many pictures to edit from various events. Yesterday, I’d half-hoped to have headed up to Ashington in Northumberland for the reopening of the railway line to passengers after a gap of 60 years, but the weather and intermittent trains here in West Yorkshire dissuaded me. I’m really not too bothered about first and/or last events anyway. I’d rather pay a visit when the service has settled down to see how well it’s being used.
Unusually, I never even set foot outside the house yesterday as we’ve had several days of gale-force winds and driving rain. Instead I decided to put my feet up, recharge my batteries and clear the picture editing decks. Dawn did much the same (bar the picture editing of course) which led to a relaxing day. Now it’s the start of a new week and I’ve various things planned that’ll see me out and about to make up for my indolence. I’ve not ventured far today other than a trip to the local shops as I’ve been waiting in for a new battery for my laptop to arrive. It was ordered from China a couple of weeks ago and finally arrived today, just in time for Christmas. The last one was 5 years old and life expired as it wouldn’t hold a charge longer than 45 minutes. Now, with this new one installed I’m getting indications that it’ll last for around 7 hours or more, which is plenty of time when I’m travelling and takes away the anxiety of getting caught somewhere where I can’t plug it into the mains. It’ll also mean that I can hang onto this laptop for a little while longer before I renew it as it’s still a fine machine for my requirement. Now I just need to replace/upgrade my mobile which is also reaching the end of the line…
OK, it’s time for me to go as I’ve more writing to do before the evening ends. I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is one I took whilst I was away in Wales. We had some incredibly moody light over the Brecon Beacons, as this shows.
Looking North into the Brecon Beacons from atop GCRE’s Nant Helen opencast site. GCRE liked this picture so much they’ve posted it on their LinkedIn page!
You can find more scenic pictures from my Welsh travels here, whilst the rail orientated one can be found 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/
This will be an intermittent rolling blog as I’ll be spending much of the day at GCRE (see yesterday’s blog) with the team from Furrer and Frey before catching trains back to West Yorkshire, which is a long old trip taking almost 6 hours. Plus, phone reception from the middle of nowhere isn’t the best. Still, I’m sure that I’ll be able to keep you entertained. Right now it’s time for breakfast before we head out to the site to have a play with the variable height catenary that F&F have installed. Catch you later…
Furrer and Frey’s area on the GCRE short test track.
18:30.
I’m back!
As predicted, it’s been a long old day, but better than expected due to the weather picking up. The Baltic winds we suffered from yesterday had abated, temperatures were reasonable and the F&F team pretty much had the site to ourselves. The plan was to get a series of still and videos of the company’s project at GCRE whilst we could. The day went well and we managed to wrap up at a sensible time that meant we wouldn’t be heading home into the wee hours.
Part of my job was to put what F&F are doing into the context of the landscape as well as capture work on the OHL with a MEWP* as a prop. I also had time to show the splendid isolation of the site and how it gives excellent views of the nearby Brecon Beacons. Here’s a small selection of pictures.
Now this is what you call a trainset! Former Heathrow Connect units waiting to be used as test-beds once the 7km long circular test track is complete. Track panels which can be used to build it sit in wait…Here’s an old OS map for context. Many of these pictures were taken around where the lettering saying ‘Nant Helen opencast coal mine’ are. Looking North into the Brecon Beacons. The lighting was very moody today. Coal mining may have finished but there’s still several of these massive Komatsu S3000 diggers on site. They’re gradually being resold to mining operations around the world.
Job done, a group of us got a lift to Swansea off a colleague where we went our separate ways. I caught a train to Cardiff where I had a short break to capture more of the changing face of the city’s railways in the build up to rush-hour. The new Stadler bi and tri modes are putting in appearances, such as this one.
Tri-mode 756117 (the last of the class) picks up passengers at Cardiff Central.
19:00.
Right now I’m on a slowly emptying 16:49 from Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly – only this time it’s going all the way. This 3-car Class 197 was packed from Cardiff as far as Hereford, where it slowly started to empty out. Even so, a healthy number of passengers joined en-route as far as Shrewsbury. It’s only now that I have the table bay where I’ve set up the mobile office to myself.
19:50.
We’ve now left Crewe so I’m getting closer and closer to home. One thing I’ve noticed about this CAF built Transport for Wales train is – it’s cold in here. I’m sat in the table bay next to the gangway in the central car. This 197 is like the Northern 195s, there’s no doors sealing off the gangways which means cold air seeps into the vehicles. Plus, you can’t lock out a vehicle if there’s a problem – you have to take the whole train out of service. Now it’s got so cold I’ve had to put my coat back on.
Another day, another delayed train. I was looking forward to getting home but this service has gradually lost time en-route. We lost 6 minutes approaching Prees, leaving us 10 down. Our Crewe stop didn’t help, but then we got stuck at Sandbach to let other services pass, which is now seeing us running even later. At this rate my hike between Piccadilly and Victoria is looking under pressure to catch the 20:57 back to Halifax. I’ve just checked, we’re now 29 minutes down. I’m beginning to wonder if we’re going to get chucked out at Wilmslow again…
20:25.
I’ve no idea what the issue was around Sandbach but a quick look at other services (in both directions) makes our delay look mild. We’re now 36 mins late so I can kiss my connection goodbye. Looks like I won’t be home until late – again. Maybe a day at home tomorrow isn’t a bad idea…
One small mercy, we didn’t get terminated at Wilmslow so we’re now going to make Manchester. Of course – I won’t make my connection – but I can still get home at a vaguely sensible time. And, as I’m ‘on the clock’ I might even push the boat out and get a taxi home!
21:35.
The last (rail) leg. As I arrived late in Manchester I eschewed the chance to buy hot food en-route from Piccadillly to Victoria as i didn’t want to miss my connection so picked up a sandwich instead. Imagine the curses I muttered under my breath when I got to Victoria only to find the 21:21 to Leeds was running 7 minutes late! Of course, that margin increased by the time it left Victoria. But, at least I’m on the way home.
I’m on another CAF built train but as I’m in the front car of this 2-car unit and it’s reasonably busy the ambient temperature’s rather pleasant.
22:05.
The agony and frustration continues. My late-running train followed an all-stations stopper as far as Todmorden which meant we lost more and more time. We’re currently 20 minutes late departing from Todmorden. Now the stopper in front of us has buggered off towards Blackburn leaving our route clear.
*MEWP – Mobile Elevated Work Platform.
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 