Author Archives: Paul Bigland

Rolling blog: the Rovers return…

16 Friday Aug 2019

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07:05.

We woke up at 6am this morning to the sound of rain tapping on the window here in Tramore, County Waterford. Sadly, our last day in Ireland looks like it’s going to be a wet one which is a bit of a bugger as Dawn’s driving us back to Dublin today as we’re catching the 14:50 Stena ferry back to Holyhead and home. Hopefully, our crossing won’t be suffering the sort of seas we saw here yesterday!

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Despite the vagaries of the weather we’ve had a wonderful time here in Ireland. It’s been fantastic to catch up with old friends and make some new ones, but the focus of today will be travel. Let’s see how it goes…

08:05

We’ve packed and are getting ready to leave. To be honest, we’d much rather stay! The Airbnb we’re in is a lovely self-contained flat that would make an ideal base for a few days exploring the Copper Coast and the old railway that’s been converted to a greenway. if only we had more time and the weather was better…

09:00.

We’re on the road again! The ferry doesn’t sail until 14:50 but we’re giving ourselves plenty of time to get to Dublin because of the conditions – although the mucky weather isn’t exactly conducive to sight-seeing as visibility’s reduced to a few hundred metres!

10:21.

We’ve stopped for coffee and cake in Carlow which us an odd little place. It has a castle, well, the remains of one. Apparently, most of it was ‘accidentally’ blown up in 1814 when it was being converted into a lunatic asylum. No, really!

Considering the fact it’s Friday, Carlow is remarkably quiet. You have to wonder why many of the shops have bothered to open as the streets are deserted. The one place we found that had some life was a stylish cafe and bar called Brooks, where we’ve called in for coffee and cake.

Their home-made scones are certainly substantial…

We’ve arrived in Carlow at the right time as the weather’s broken and the rain’s stopped, although a blanket of low cloud sits over the town, blocking out most light, leaving the day feeling like a damp dusk in December.

11:12.

Having fuelled up ourselves we’ve done the same for the car. I’m beginning to warm to Carlow. Once you see past the number of empty shops it’s actually a friendly little place with a variety of cafe’s, bars and restaurants. Shame we couldn’t have stayed and explored…

13:30.

After an easy drive into Dublin and an amble around the city on the North Circular Rd we’re now waiting in line at Dublin docks, ready to board our ferry.

The weather’s remaining mixed with threatening skies but for the moment it’s dry and warm. This is Dawn’s chance to relax for a bit after driving 1180 miles since we left home last Wednesday. This is how the Dublin skies looked as we eased out of the port and headed out into the Irish sea.

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18:06.

After a crossing that was nowhere near as rough as we feared we’re about to dock at Holyhead.

20:41.

After getting off the ferry we zipped through Holyhead and the bad weather to enjoy a vintage run along the North Wales cost on the A55. The sun shone, the traffic was light and all was well with the world until we crossed the border into England when we caught up with the rain! Right now we’re navigating the M6 motorway before joining the M62 to head back to Yorkshire. For a Friday, the traffic’s remarkably light, which means we *should* get home by 21:40…

Ireland. Days 7 and 8.

15 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Ireland, Railways, Travel

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WARNING: This blog’s going to take a couple of day to write, so here goes. When it’s finished I’ll remove this caveat.

We’ve had a really busy couple of days for two reasons, the number of things we’ve seen, but also the amount of ground we’ve covered. Right now I’m scribbling this from our new AirBnB in Tramore which is on the coast South of Waterford. It’s our final stop before heading back up to Dublin to catch the ferry back to the UK tomorrow.

Yesterday we had a really interesting day around Cork and Cobh, which was our first port of call (if you’ll pardon the pun) yesterday morning. Cobh – formerly known as Queeenstown – is famous for two things. Firstly, it was the place where hundreds of thousands of people left their homeland as part of the Irish diaspora. Few left voluntarily. Most left through force of circumstances. Many left because of the famine, others because they were deported as criminals. Nowadays Cobh seems like a lovely place. It’s a massive natural harbour and the town itself is a major tourist attraction that attracts people from all over the world because of another tragic story – that of the ill-fated luxury liner, the Titanic. Queenstown was the Titanic’s last port of call. It was never seen again because four days after leaving Ireland it struck an iceberg and sank with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Wandering around the town nowadays it’s difficult to imagine the way the town was the centre of so much human stress and misery. It’s a jolly place full of bars, restaurants and buskers entertaining the crowds. It’s only when you visit the excellent Cobh Heritage Centre which is located in the old railway station that you start to realise the enormity of the town’s history. Their exhibition is a real eye-opener. It documents the history of Queenstown which includes immigration, imperialism and the history of the Trans-Atlantic Liners, including the Titanic. All of the exhibitions are fascinating, but for me as a photographer, the pictures of the Titanic taken by Father Francis Browne are of especial interest. Their quality is superb and the scenes they capture are incredibly powerful as he had no idea that he was documenting the last days of the ship.

Today’s West Coast/Hs2 franchise award exposes Joe Rukin’s lies yet again

14 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Anti Hs2 mob, Hs2, Joe Rukin, Railways, StopHs2

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A few days ago, StopHs2 ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin was given a platform by the Independent newspaper to spout his usual dishonest rubbish about Hs2 without the slightest challenge. There was no interview, just a polemic written by Rukin. In it, he doubled-down on some of his old lies, such as the claim that there will be billions of pounds worth of service cuts on the conventional network to fund Hs2. Here’s the quote.

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Rukin knows this is a lie as it’s been pointed out to him over many years by many people. But he can’t resist retelling it, just like his many others, because Rukin will never admit his dishonesty and dishonesty is all he’s got left now their ‘campaign’ is up shit creek without a political paddle. I first exposed it here way back in February 2015. Of course, in those days, Joe claimed it was only £8.3bn! Here’s what I wrote at the time.

“Joe’s totally unsubstantiated claim that this means “£8.3 billion of cuts to classic services” might be considered suspect by the most innocent of readers. And they would be right. It is true that in the Economic Case analysis (table 9 on page 78) is a figure of £8.265 billion, labelled “classic line savings”. So what’s that all about? Well first, it refers to the full network in Phase 2, not Phase 1. Then, it’s a Present Value, that is, 60 year’s worth of annual sums all rolled into one. So the annual figure relevant to Phase 1 will be a lot – and I mean a lot – smaller. Which is why Joe doesn’t quote it.

But whatever it is, is Joe right to paint this as “cuts”? Got it in one, no he isn’t. Go back to the beginning, and remember that, apart from the new Curzon St services, the HS2 service for Phase 1 is basically the present Virgin pattern unplugged from the WCML at Handsacre and plugged into HS2 to Euston instead. So we have, for instance, an HS2 train every hour that runs from Liverpool, calls at Runcorn and Stafford, and then on to Euston on HS2. The cost in terms of fuel, maintenance, crew and fleet leasing should be charged to HS2, no-one would dispute. But that train replaces a Virgin service that calls at Runcorn and Stafford, then to Euston on the WCML. So of course the saving from replacing that train with the HS2 service should be deducted from the cost of running the HS2 train. Same stations, same destination, and faster. What has been “cut”? Nothing.”

Since Rukin first told this lie many new rail franchises have been let. Most recently the Greater Anglia, Northern Rail, SouthWest Rail, Transport for Wales, East Midlands Rail franchises and from today – the new West Coast partnership which will cover the west Coast Main Line and phase 1 of HS2 as the new franchise will run until March 2031.

So, where are Joe’s cuts? Not a single franchise that has been let since HS2 was first mooted has contained ANY service cuts. Exactly the opposite in fact, they’ve all introduced new services and new trains. In the case of Greater Anglia they’re replacing their entire train fleet! It’s the same with many others, who are expanding, not contracting their fleets! So, where are the cuts, Joe? Take this snippet from todays West Coast announcement. Some of these new services will be run by brand-new bi-mode trains!

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Whichever way you look at the evidence, it’s clear that Rukin’s a serial liar who will say anything. Oh, you might have noticed something else. This new franchise covers the West Coast Main Line and HS2 phase 1 until 2031. Why would the Government let a franchise for a new railway that it’s about to cancel?

Joe has a big problem, he can lie as often as he likes about these things, he can ignore the facts – but the facts keep coming back to expose him for what he is – a man whose pants are perpetually on fire!

Ireland: day 6.

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Abandoned railways, Food and drink, History, Ireland, Railways, Travel

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Today’s been very much governed by the rain which has put the mockers on a lot of things, including any walking and also the change to get any decent scenic pictures of what’s a beautiful bit of Ireland. To be honest, the day started slowly anyway as poor Dawn went down with a migraine yesterday evening, which left her feeling woozy, so she had an early night and a late morning start. At first, the weather looked promising, so we stuck to our plan of driving over to pretty Kinsale on the River Brandon. But then we pushed our luck and ventured further West. Our first stop was at Courtmacsherry which is an attractive little village that’s spread out along a single long street on the southern shore of Courtmacsherry Bay. We stopped for coffee and cake (a rare holiday treat) at the Travara Lodge, a B&B with a lovely café on the ground floor and a garden on the banks of the Bay. You have to admit, the cakes do look tempting and the Pecan pie was gorgeous.

Like many places in Ireland, Courtmacsherry once had a railway station. The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Railway finally closed in 1960 after many years when it was only used for summer excursions and freight. Part of it remains as a footpath which is marked by an old semaphore signal arm on a makeshift post.

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Looking towards Courtmacsherry

The old station building in Courtmacsherry survives as a residential property.

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The village also contains a memorial to the sinking of the liner Lusitania which was torpedoed in May 1915 and sank in 20 minutes, with the loss of 1,198 lives. The ship went down not far off the coast from the village.

Taking a gamble and really sticking our necks out we ventured further West through Clonakilty and Skibereen as far as Baltimore, a village with a harbour that serves as the ferry terminal for boats to Cape Clear, Sherkin and Hare Islands, as well as trips around the famous Fastnet lighthouse. The area’s popular with boaters so the harbour’s busy with yachts and other small craft. In the right weather it must be an absolutely stunning bit of coastline. Today was not that day! As usual, we arrived the same time as the rain which cut visibility to a few hundred metres. We cut our losses by taking up refuge in the local pub which had been recommended by a friend. Bushe’s Bar overlooks the harbour and contains a vast array of nautical memorabilia including lifebelts from some of the ships wrecked in the area over the years. The place is popular with both locals and visitors and serves food as well as a good selection of drinks. It’s certainly worth a visit. On a sunny day the barrel tables outside are especially popular.

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We hung around for a couple of drinks, hoping the weather would clear, but it wasn’t to be, so we gave up and headed back to Kinsale to eat at another recommendation, Fishy Fishy is (as the name suggests) a seafood restaurant just back from the River Bandon that specialises in locally caught fish. The menu isn’t huge, but what you get is delicious. I went for this, pan cooked Hake.

Suitably stuffed, we’re now lounging at our Airbnb before exploring Cork and Cobh tomorrow – and praying for better weather!

Rolling blog. Ireland day 5 – From Limerick to Cork the long way round

12 Monday Aug 2019

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09:00.

The weather here in Limerick has been (to use the local vernacular) ‘shoite’ It’s been chucking it down overnight and the forecast remains mixed for the rest of the day although the sun is breaking through to defy predictions. Undeterred, we’re embarking on a bit of a tour today, taking in some of the historical, cultural and railway sites as well as the scenery on a roundabout trip that will eventually see us end of in Cork where we’ll base ourselves for the next few nights. Keep popping in through the day and see what we get up to. For now, here’s a shot from Limerick showing the 13th century King John’s castle.

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As you can see from the fullness of the river Shannon, there’s been plenty of rain recently!

11:10.

We left Limerick just as the heavens opened, treating us to a torrential rainstorm that’s left roads and pavements awash and us warm and dry in the car as we head for out first stop of the day: Foynes.

15:10.

The Gods have smiled upon us and the weather’s brightened up, making our visit to the Flying Boat museum in Foynes much more pleasurable. This is an excellent museum that documents when the River Shannon played a pivotal role as a base for the air-bridge across the Atlantic to America when flying boats dominated the trade before the war and subsequent advances in aviation technology killed it off in 1945. As well as a fascinating mixture of memorabilia there’s also the full size recreation of the fuselage and interior layout of the largest of the flying boats, the ‘American Clipper’. If you’re in the area I’d recommend a visit. The museum also hosts a section on the Irish-American film star Maureen O’ Hara (who was married to a pilot who flew flying boats in and out of Foynes during the war), the origins of Irish Coffee and also a look at the history of Foynes harbour. Here’s a few pictures from our visit.

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Memento’s, trinkets and even the remains of a crashed flying boat in one of the museum galleries.

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The replica of one of the luxurious Boeing B314 flying boats used by both American and British companies on the Atlantic crossings.

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Interior of the B314 replica

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The spacious flight deck of the B314 which could accommodate seven people.

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Fold-out beds in the cabins of the B314.

16:00.

Moving on from Foynes to Listowel we visited another museum, but to a very different era and very different technology. This one was a dead end – the Lartigue monorail system that was used on the 10 mile long Listowel and Ballybunion railway between its opening in 1888 until its closure in 1924. The museum was opened in 2008 on the site of the former broad gauge railway adjacent to the original route of the L&B. It has a 500 metre demonstration track complete with the unique turntable switches used on the monorail, along with a replica of one of the engines and some carriages. The replica engine is actually a diesel hydraulic as building (and maintaining) a steam replica would be prohibitively expensive. In the former goods shed is a museum to the line which has some excellent quality old photographs of the line, plus a superb old newsreel which was filmed on the route back in 1916. The whole site is run by volunteers who give you a warm welcome and an informative tour.  Here’s some of what we saw.

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Yes, the headlamp really was that big!

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One of the switches in action. They’re curved as that way they can connect with lines closer to each other than if the track on them was straight, but you can’t turn locomotives on them. That’s only done on straight turntables.

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The museum inside the former board-gauge goods shed has some really excellent quality old pictures of the L&B as well as a selection of railway memorabilia.

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22:13.

After leaving Listowel we essentially ran out of time to explore. Instead we drove down to Tralee for a late lunch, then headed on Down to Cork where we’ve booked 3 nights in a lovely Airbnb, which is where we’re relaxing now. Tomorrow we’re up early and heading out to explore the coast as the weather forecast’s looking promising, so expect another rolling blog.

 

Ireland. Day 4.

11 Sunday Aug 2019

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Well, Neil and Breda’s wedding yesterday was a brilliant event. The hotel they’d booked for us in Thurles was a lovely place where it was great to catch up with friends and meet some of Neil’s family we didn’t know on the night before the big day. We actually had a restrained night, limiting ourselves to a few drinks in the hotel bar. Well, I did anyway. Dawn was on day 40 of her alcohol free challenge so supping nothing stronger than Heineken Zero anyway!

After having a leisurely breakfast in the hotel we drove to Neil’s house which was some 40 mins away to meet up with part of the wedding party before heading over to the church early as John, his stepfather was going to be singing at the wedding and needed to practice at a sound check beforehand. Acoustics in churches can be temperamental things, so you never leave anything to chance. It also gave me the opportunity to suss out lighting and angles for photographs.  I’ve never taken pictures at an Irish Catholic wedding before but it was a delight. The priest was very relaxed about the whole affair so there were none of the restrictions that you sometimes face in England. The church was a lovely little place too, so it all went really well – apart from the weather, which was windy and wet.

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No-one let the weather spoil the occasion, it just meant we had to get the family group shots in the sheltered gardens at the hotel when we had a window in the weather.

The evening meal was great fun due to the speeches which were witty rather than wordy. Then there was a surprise neither of the newlyweds know about in the form of two actor-singers whose performance had everyone clapping. The evening ended with a band playing the old classics which had many up and jiving until the early hours – although I only lasted until half past 12, by which time I’d taken nearly 950 pictures.

This morning we checked out of the hotel and began our holiday by driving down to Limerick. I’ve not been outside the station since 2002 so for me it’s a chance to rediscover the city.

Ireland Day 2. Then the rain arrived…

09 Friday Aug 2019

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After having such fabulous weather on the first day we knew it was too good to last. The storm we were warned about didn’t materialise last night, but boy, did it rain! By the time Dawn and I woke up the storm had passed and, although the weather remained cloudy, the sun did make valiant attempts to break through. Because of this we decided to visit Wicklow town before moving on. One of the most interesting areas is the coastline just South of the harbour, which is still a busy little places used by fishing boats and commercial shipping. There’s also a lifeboat station and a selection of old muzzle loading cannon mounted atop the promontory. But the oldest piece of human history is the ‘Black Castle’, built in 1169 and first destroyed in 1301. The ruins are in a very dramatic location, especially in stormy weather with the sea crashing against the cliff!

DG330486. Black Castle. Wicklow. Ireland. 9.8.19.

Here’s a few more shots from Wicklow.

DG330494. Black Castle. Wicklow. Ireland. 9.8.19.

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An interesting exercise in recycling. These lobster/crab pots are made out of old plastic containers.

Moving on from Wicklow we headed inland with the intention of travelling through the Wicklow mountains and visiting the historical site of Glendalough. Then the rain returned! By the time we got into the mountains it was chucking it down, so we decided against inspecting ruins in torrential rain and drove through the gap to Hollywood. Apparently, there’s some fantastic views to be seen. Only not today!

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Defeated by the weather we drove on to Hollywood for a pub lunch. The weather improved momentarily, but as soon as we left the rain closed in once again and it poured down all the way to Thurles, which made driving on the motorway very difficult for Dawn. However, we made it without incident. We’re now tucked up in the hotel ready to meet up with the groom to discuss tomorrows wedding.

Rolling blog: across the Irish Sea…

08 Thursday Aug 2019

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06:41.

We’ve woken up here in Holyhead after a night in a very nice little bed and breakfast called Crossroads. They’re obviously used to people travelling to/from Ireland as the room’s set up with a little breakfast bar stocked with tea, coffee, cerals and fruit, plus juices. It’s very self-contained. I plumped for the healthy option and had the porage!We’re here because we’re catching the Stena Sealink ferry to Ireland this morning for a break (and to go to a wedding) in the Emerald Isle. We’re not travelling far as we’re heading for the Wicklow Hills on the coast South of Dublin. Stay with me and watch the day unfold…

09:12.

Our Stena ferry’s on it’s way to Ireland. I have to say it was a very slick operation by them loading all the cars and lorries. Dawn was nervous as she’d never taken a car on a ferry before but the crew were great, directing her and aiding her to get exactly where they needed the motor. We’re now sat in the lounge on deck 8, watching the world go by.

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Gone are the old days when foot passengers would just walk up gangways onto ro-ro Ferries and have to be herded like cats as cars and lorries were loaded. Now they’re bussed directly on to the ferry. 

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12:41.

We’ve landed in Dublin and heading South after what was a classic millpond crossing of the Irish Sea. I’ve never known it so calm!

20:40.

It’s been a slow day for a rolling blog so I’m going to fill in much of the detail here. After leaving the ferry in Dublin we were both taken aback at just how good the weather was. We’d been expecting grey skies and probably some rain. Instead, we’d basked in the sun on the ferry over and the good weather stayed with us for pretty much most of the day.

This is the first time I’ve sailed into Dublin port and I was fascinated by some of the industrial archaeology, like this old power station (known as the ‘Pigeon House’ that opened in 1903 after being converted from an old army barracks. It lasted until 1976.

DG330461. Former Pigeon House generating station. Dublin. Ireland. 8.8.19.crop

Next door are the two massive chimneys of the power station that replaced it – Poolbeg – which closed in 2010.

Getting out of Dublin port was a bit of a pain, as was heading out through the southern suburbs. Dawn drily observed that she’s never driven in a country that insisted on having traffic lights on every street corner!

After crawling out of Dublin, and with having plenty of time on our hands, we decided to take the scenic route and explore part of the coastal route via Dún Laoghaire. I remember it as the port that was the traditional gateway to Ireland. Nowadays the ferries have been replaced by fancy yachts as the town’s gone much more upmarket! There’s some beautiful buildings there and a real buzz due to the cafes, restaurants and shopping. Our next stop (albeit briefly) was Bray, which was a real disappointment. It felt like an Irish version of Blackpool and it was packed! So much so that all the car parks were full so we chose not to stay and wander up Bray Head but drive on to Greystones instead. We made the right choice. Greystones had a much nicer feel to it, more laid back, cosmopolitan and up-market. We decided to stay to eat and found a really lovely Spanish restaurant on the main street called ‘Las Tapas’. The large and well furnished interior’s complimented by tables on the street, which was a great place today, allowing us to sit in the suns and soak up the atmosphere of the town. The food was very good too. We ordered five different dishes and enjoyed every one. Both of us would recommend it.

Afterwards we drove the few miles down the coast to where we’re staying the night, in the hills just above Wicklow in a very nice self-contained Airbnb. By the time we arrived the weather was starting to turn. Our hosts informed us that a severe weather warning had been issued for overnight, so instead of wandering around the town we’ve elected to hunker down in their lovely room and catch-up with some work and the world.

You can find the first few pictures from Ireland in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. I’ll be adding to it regularly during the week – time, weather and wifi permitting of course! For now, it’s goodnight.

Rolling blog: The last judgement!

06 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in ACoRP, Community rail, I love my job, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs

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06:25.

I’m beginning the day here in Norwich on the last one for judging this years ACoRP awards. I’ll be visiting two East Anglian stations before beginning the trek back North, although I’ve one or two other things to see first as the East Anglian railway scene is changing fast, what with resignalling schemes and brand new fleets of trains sweeping away the old and familiar. The weather forecast is looking mixed, so let’s see how the day goes…The weather isn’t playing ball with the forecast, instead, it’s another beautiful day, so things are looking up. Which is just as well as I had neither wifi or hot water working in my hotel this morning. I had to boil a kettle to have a wash!Right now I’m getting a few pictures at the station before catching a train to Lowestoft in order to get to Cantley at a sensible time. We won’t be seeing scenes like this for much longer.

In the sidings at Crown Point depot are rows of new Stadler units, just waiting to enter service.

08:22.

My train’s well on it’s way to Lowestoft now and it’s been fascinating to see the changes to the railway, which is still a mix of old semaphore signalling with patches of new, like Reedham, where the old signalbox still stands, albeit boarded up. The former sidings are used as a dump for detritus like old signal posts, rails and sleepers which have been rendered redundant.I’be been interested to see that significant chunks of the new signalling cable are kept in raised metal troughs which presumably keep it safe from flooding, a sensible precaution in this neck of the woods.

08:46.

I’m in Lowestoft but only for 10 mins. Long enough to grab a couple of shots in the sun, then catch the same train back to my destination: Cantley.

11:39.

My visit done, I moved on from Cantley, but not without getting pictures of the hand-operated level crossing gates and signalbox that will be swept away in February 2020. Since my 2018 visit the station’s been fitted with a ticket machine, CCTV and information screens. Throughout the work the local friends group have kept the gardens looking pretty.

I also managed to bag this beastie at Cantley!

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Now I’m at Haddiscoe, where things haven’t quite gone to plan as the clouds are closing in. I’d intended to use the nearby A143 overbridge which crosses the railway and river as a vantage point to get some trains in the landscape shots but when clouds and their shadows are scudding across the landscape at a rate of knots and the trains are only hourly, the odds against train and sun coinciding are high. And so it was for me, two trains and two cloudy interludes! The luck of the draw…I’m not going to try my luck again, instead I’m moving back up the line towards Norwich.

14:35.

I ended up in Brundall, the junction for the lines to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It’s another link to the past as it also has semaphore signals, a working signalbox and also a hand-operated level crossing. By fluke I bumped into an old friend. Rob Pritchard of Today’s Railways UK magazine was there changing trains. We’d both pitched up for the same reason – we needed pictures of the new Stadler trains in service. Unfortunately, today wasn’t the day as the one I’d shot at Cantley earlier had been taken out of service, so we had to make do with 60yr old Class 37s instead! Here’s the pair of us ready to get some shots.

As the weather’s deteriorated and the 755s aren’t out I’ve begun my journey North using Abellio’s 14:40 to Ely for connections onwards to Peterborough, then off up the East Coast Main line.

15:31.

We’re currently dodging showers on the way from Brandon to Ely, which says something about how much the weather’s changed. The skies are big in the flat lands of the Fens, so you can see the rain approaching from miles away.

16:00.

I spent long enough at Ely to change trains, as the rain arrived at the same time I did there was no point in hanging around. Now I’m trying to outrace the weather. The problem is the clouds are coming up from the South, so the sun’s fighting a losing battle. I’m hoping I might get respite at our next stop, Peterborough although looking at the horizon now we’ve passed March I may be fleeing further! Peterborough looks like it’s getting a right soaking!

20:34.

Homeward bound! I ended up with a brief stop at P’boro and again at Doncaster before heading up to Leeds. The stormy weather dogged me all the way apart from a brief respite in Leeds. Now I’m heading for Halifax and a night sorting out stuff. I have the day at home to wind up what the ACoRP judging, paperwork and packing – then Dawn and I are off to Ireland -so expect blogging of a different nature for a week! Right now I’m signing off until tomorrow.

Rolling blog: on the rails again…

05 Monday Aug 2019

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07:35.

It’s a wet and windy morning in the Calder Valley and I’m getting ready to head South for the final two days of station judging for the ACoRP awards. Today I’m visiting a station in South London, but first I’ve got to get there. Let’s see how the day goes…

08:55.

I’m now on the first train of the day, Northern’s 08:52 from Sowerby Bridge which will take me to Leeds. The weather broke just before I walked down to the station, allowing me to bask in the sunshine for a while instead of receiving the soaking I was expecting. The forecast for the next few days is unsettled right across the country so I’m not expecting my luck to hold!

My train’s busy, but not overly so. The holiday periods in full swing, so there’s fewer travelling and more of them are casually dressed.

09:59.

Despite the holiday period my 3-car train was packed from Bradford into Leeds, where I switched to LNER’s 09:45 service to London which is being worked by a Class 91 and a Mk4 set. I suppose I should be enjoying the chance to travel on these whilst I can, but I must admit, I’m already preferring the Azuma’s as they give a much smoother ride. I’m sat in the quiet coach right behind the loco and the snatching and jerking of the loco is quite pronounced, especially now, as we’ve just stopped at Wakefield Westgate.

10:46.

We’re speeding through the countryside South of Newark at 112mph right now whilst being battered by regular rainstorms which are building up the further South we get. Earlier I took a walk to the buffet to buy breakfast and saw just how busy the rest of the train is. There’s a lot of families aboard who’re obviously heading for a day out in London, as well as the usual business travellers and tourists. Looking at the loadings, it’s a profitable train.

12:08.

I left the LNER service at Peterborough, where I stayed long enough to get a few shots in the sunshine before it departed, and so did I. This time I’m travelling aboard one of the Siemens ‘peoplemovers’ – otherwise known as the Class 700. These 12 car trains have a massive passenger capacity but even they get packed in the rush hour. However, right now there’s more than enough space to swing a cat, if you were so inclined…

I’ve time to spare for another stop before I get to where I need to, so I’m heading for Stevenage to have a look at the work that’s going on to add an extra platform at the station.

14:16.

Well, that was an interesting interlude. I stopped off twice, firstly at Hitchin to get a few shots, then at Stevenage, where I managed to grab some pictures of the work on the new platform.

Whilst I was there a Hull Trains 180 I’d seen signal checked earlier was terminated due to mechanical problems.

All the passengers were transferred to an 8 car Thameslink 700, which was quite cosy with all the extra punters! I caught it as far as Blackfriars where I transferred to a Sevenoaks service for my appointment at Crofton Park.

16:06.

Visit done (I’ll upload a pic later) I’m now heading my way back across London via Thameslink, bound for Norwich – eventually!

16:57.

I’ve now joined the commuter hordes heading out of the metropolis after a hard day at work. In my case I’m on Greater Anglia’s 17:00 to Norwich, which is pretty much full and standing. It’s a fast service, non-stop to Ipswich, which is where I might dally for a while.

This route holds lots of fabulous memories for me from my days residing in London as I lived, worked and socialised alongside it for so many years. I still get a warm feeling when we whizz past my old Housing Office and the estates I used to manage in Bow, and the virtually unrecognisable Stratford station and environs.

23:06.

I’m here in Norwich and bringing the blog to a close. I had intended to upload some more pictures from today’s travels but the hotel wifi is flaky and had other ideas. Hopefully tomorrow. After arriving and checking in I went for a wander up the strip from the station to the town. It’s always been a street full of clubs, bars and fast-food joints, so it was interesting to see just how many are vacant or undergoing a revamp. I remember it from the 1990s. On a Friday-Saturday night you knew that this would be where you’d be likely to find every village idiot across the county. Maybe it’s changed now, but a Monday night isn’t the time to find out! That said, I do like Norwich, it has some cracking pubs and beautiful buildings. I doubt I’ll have time to look around on this trip, but I’m sorely tempted to return to base myself here for a few days whilst I explore. It was always so much easier to get here when I lived in London and I’ve great memories of a cycling holiday from Ipswich all the way up to the Noth Norfolk coast. One day I’ll get around to scanning all the old slides…

Right, until tomorrow, goodnight.