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10:30.

This is my second rolling blog on the Trans-Pennine Route upgrade (TRU) this week. There’s far too much going on to be dealt with in one day so I’m out again today with the intention of looking at (mostly) different locations compared to Monday. The weather’s nowhere near as good as it was on Monday and I expect to get rained on at some point, but I’m not too bothered. It’s still nice to be out and about.

As I didn’t get down to Halifax station later than planned I decided to start by getting a train to Leeds so that I can cover the route to Huddersfield from that end. It’s also given me time to set up the mobile office on this busy 10:05 service from Halifax in order to set up today’s blog.

12:00.

Phew! That was a busy hour. As soon as I arrived at Leeds I had to return a work call. The upshot of which is that I’ll be travelling to Wolverhampton on Monday and staying overnight ready for an early morning start on Tuesday. So later I’ll have to do some hotel booking…

I was in Leeds just long enough to change trains and catch a non-stop service to Huddersfield. This was a useful recce trip as ut allowed ne to observe some of the work I’m wanting to photograph. I also had chance to grab a couple of shots of progress on the new through platforms at Huddersfield.

The site of the new platforms, looking towards Leeds.

15:30.

Back again after a busy few hours – and a lot of walking! Having caught tge rail replacement coach to Deighton I set off to explore several TRU sites. To be honest, Deighton’s not the most salubrious of places. It a mix of social housing and industrial estates nestled on the Northern side of the Colne valley. The Southern side’s much nicer and far more rural. But, fair play to whomever decided to plant so many cherry trees in the area as right now they’re looking gorgeous!

As many of the overbridges in the area are being rebuilt so inaccessible my first stop was Bradley Junction, where lots of work’s taking place. Track panels have been stacked ready for the renewal of the junction itself.

Bradley Jn. The line to the right would normally be used by trains from Huddersfield to Bradford.

Having got the shots I wanted I walked vack to Deighton before cutting along the canal to a location West of the former staion where a footpath overbridge gives great views of the changes. I’ll add pictures later. Realising just how close I was to the centre of Huddersfield I elected to walk tne rest of the way along the canal. It’s an easy walk as the Canal and River Trust have spent a lot of money having the towpath tarmac’d. The cynic in me wonders if they should be renamed the towpath trust as more of their money seens to be spent on them than the actual canals.

Fortunately, the rain held off and I had the chance to explore an interesting back-route to the town I’d never traversed before.

Huddersfield’s abandoned industrial heritage.

Now, after a break to book a hotel and download pictures I’m heading back to Leeds in the aftermath of a rainstorm I was lucky to duck!

16:10.

As the weather’s very much taken a turn for the worse and with the fact I’ve got the pictures that I wanted ‘in the can’ I dashed from one platform to another in Leeds in order to catch the first homeward service. Like many others I’m currently criwding the vestibules of a Northern service towards Blackpool North. The plan now is to walk home via my local for a well-earned beer (and maybe a slice of free pork pie) before a quiet night at home when I can add more pictures to this blog.

21:30.

Home again! I’ve covered a fair few miles today so now’s the time to relax. After arriving back in Halifax I walked back home but stopped off in my local for a couple of pints and a slice of pie. Both felt like they were earned!

Here’s a final picture update.

A TPE Class 185 speeds through the reverse curves at Deighton with the site of the old station just ahead of the train. A huge amount of civil engineering’s being undertaken on the site to provide space for four tracks and the new station and associated facilities. The new Slow lines are gradually being installed. They’re the ones to the left.
Here’s the old bridge I was taking pictures from. You can see the way it’s had to be altered to raise the deck in order to create space for the overhead electric wires.
Looking West from the same bridge. The new Fast lines will be installed to the left of the picture, which will involves slewing of the existing lines as they’ll become the Slow tracks.
Civil engineering that isn’t always appreciated by train travellers. Here’s a culvert under the embankment near Huddersfield that’s being renewed and enlarged in order to cope with climate change in order to build a resilient railway fit for the future.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
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Cheers,

Paul