04:30.

Oh, God. Is that really the time? I’m already up, drinking coffee and munching on toasted fruit teacakes in preparation for my stroll to Sowerby Bridge station to catch the first Manchester bound train of the day, the 06:03. I’ll be heading to Birmingham for an HS2 media visit, the first to this particular site which I’ll describe when I get there. Unlike some, this is no hole in the ground. Exactly the opposite, in fact – it’s rather eye-catching…

I’ll be blogging as and when I can, so feel free to pop back to see how the day goes…

06:10.

Whilst it’s a damp and somewhat icy morning my walk to the station was rather enjoyable. The fact it’s downhill all the way  added to that fact! Now I’m relaxing in the warmth of a mostly empty 3-car Class 158, although I’ve no doubt it’ll have folled up with wage-slaves by the time we get to Manchester.

06:43.

As expected my train slowly filled up en-route but was way over half full by the time it left Rochdale which is the busiest station on the route after Halifax. The occupants are a mix of trades people heading into the city to work on various building projects and earlybird white collar office or shop workers.

07:33.

This morning’s walk twixt Vic and Picc stations was a chilly one. The city centre felt colder than back in the Pennines. I felt for the poor sods sleeping rough, hidden in cardboard boxes to keep warm, or just swaddled jn dleeping bags. There but for the grace of God…

Piccadilly station was just beginning to spring into life with long-distance services heading South and East whilst local trains ferried in commuters from the suburbs.

Now I’m en-route to Crewe aboard an ex-London Midland Class 323 whilst dawn breaks over the city on what promises to be a decent winter’s 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

Cheers!

Paul