Category Archives: Birmingham

Rolling blog. Birmingham, bridges and bimbling…

19 Tuesday Aug 2025

Posted by in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:20.

The alarm roused me at the ungodly hour of 05:00. Now, having shaved, showered and kissed Dawn goodbye, I’m sitting on Sowerby Bridge station, awaiting the arrival of the 06:23 to Manchester. It’s a grey, drizzly morning here in the Calder valley with the valley tops hidden under cloud. Still, it was refreshing to walk downhill all the way today, rather than having to climb the cobbles of Wakefield Gate to summit Spring Edge before dropping down into Halifax. That certainly gets the blood pumping first thing in the morning!

06:45.

My ride in the shape of a 3-car Class 195 arrived a couple of minutes late.

Now, having traversed the valley and passed through the Summit tunnel we’ve emerged into Greater Manchester, where the weather’s no different to Yorkshire! My train’s filled up en-route. Now it’s busy with early-birds heading into the city for work. Many are dozing, catching a few more minutes precious rest and peace.

08:00.

I arrived in Manchester on time and with plenty of it to spare, allowing me to take a slow amble between Victoria and Piccadilly whilst getting a few tram shots en-route. Now I’m settled on my 2nd train of the day, Cross-Country’s 08:03 to Paignton, which is being worked by a 4-car Class 220. My feelings about putting out 4-car Voyagers on the Manchester-Birmingham intercity route are well known. This one’s already packed and we haven’t even left Manchester yet!

220005 jn ‘pride’ livery is my second steed.

08:45.

Because there’s a blockade on at Stockport whilst road bridges over the railway at Greek St are replaced, my trains going off piste, travelling via the alternative route to Wilmslow via the Styal loop, then staying on the main line to Crewe, avoiding the normal route via Stoke on Trent and Norton Bridge. This brings the rare sight of Cross-Country Voyagers to Crewe – although we pass through without stopping. Mind you, Voyagers of any sort are rare at Crewe now that Avanti have ditched their fleet which used to pass through to/from the North Wales Coast.

Whilst cloud levels have lifted here in Cheshire/Staffordshire, the day remains dull. I’m hoping for an improvement when we reach the West Midlands, although I’m happy enough not to have to fight strong shadows and backlighting whilst we’re looking at 1000s of tonnes of rusty steel bridge this morning!

12:20.

The site visit is over – and it’s been fasinating! Here’s how the Smallbrook bridge looks now. The work is several days early. One last 12 meter push tonight should see it in its final position.

I’ll write about this in greater length later.

19:45.

Apologies for the gap. After the press event Chris Howe and I went for a drink in the Woodsman pub nearby. We talked HS2, the state of the UK media and politics in general before heading in different directions. I ended up tarrying in central Birmingham just to soak up the atmosphere. The city is one of my guilty pleasures as I really enjoy my visits. I ended up in conversation with these people – whom Reform MPs and voters would hate- for obvious reasons.

Jesus and Allah? That’ll upset Reform and the faux Christians

Having enjoyed the city vibe I made my way back North in stages. A brief stop in Wolverhampton was followed by another stop in Stafford. I stayed longer at my best interchange (Crewe) as there was so much going on- and so many memories. Plus, I was hoping to get shots of diverted Cross-Country services, which proved more difficult than I hoped due to signallers sending them off the Fast lines. 

Even so, it’s been a really interesting day. Now, I’m heading for Manchester on an old Midlands Class 323 via the airport. After the scrimmage on trains out of Birmingham, it may be slow – but at least it’s comfortable!

21:30.

I’m on the last leg home. My local train to Manchester remained relaxed even after calling at the airport. I guess it was the wrong time for arrivals/departures. The city centre remained busy with the usual mixture of people enjoying the nightlife, feral young lads desperate to attract the attention of their bored female companions and the smattering of homeless trying to beg and be anonymous at the same time. Talk about the whole of human life…

Having wandered across the city I had nearly 30 mins to wait for a train, so a swift half in the Victoria Tap was in order before boarding the 21:21 bound for Leeds. This 3-car train is rather quiet as its running in that quiet time between commuters having returned home and leisure travellers still enjoying their evening. Plus – it’s Tuesday, not a day renowned for revelling!

23:15.

I’m home and resting after a long day, but there’s on last thing I want to add to the blog. Today’s world photography day, so here’s my contribution, which was captured at Crewe station earlier.

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

Rolling blog. Birmingham (the long way round)…

08 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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11:45.

It’s time to head to Preston to meet up with an old friend, although his journey is proving to be ‘interesting’ due to problems on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) – hardly a rare occurrence. Apparently, an Avanti Pendolino has hir an obstruction in the four-foot near Grayrigg (a name infamous in railway history) and become disabled. Needless to say, this is causing fun on the two-track railway North of Preston.

Fortunately, my train doesn’t reach the WCML until just before Preston, so doesn’t seem to be affected. Time will tell…

Today’s a good day not to be working from home as we’re shifting our internet provider. I’ve been with Virgin for over 20 years (and can’t fault their broadband, but their prices have got silly. Despite my loyalty it’s not been possible to get s decent deal. Dawn took over dealing with the account and did a sterling job, but Virgin’s attitude was ‘take it or leave it’. So we left. Dee found us an excellent deal with Sky which is saving us over £50 a month, so switching has been a no-brainer. The switch-over happens this afternoon. I do feel a bit guilty for not being there, but I know Dawn won’t take any messing!

Right now I’m on my way to Preston aboard Northern’s 11:30 service to Blackpool North. It’s a half-full train where I have the luxury of a table seat, power-sockets and wifi, so I’m not complaining.

12:30.

Almost there on what’s been a very pleasant journey. Unusually, the train emptied out en-route, the sun’s put in an appearance and all’s well with the world. Well, for me anyway. Next stop – Preston.

19:45.

Where did the time go? I got to Preston only to find my meet-up with a friend was far more convivial and much more of a trip down memory lane than I’d expected. It turned out that Jon had also invited a lot of old friends from his British Railways (and Virgin) days. As you can imagine, the stories flowed, as did the memories as those of us who hadn’t seen each other for a while caught up. Here’s the gang in a classic old pub, the Black Horse. It’s not my photo by the way (the barmaid took it) which is why I’m in it for once!

Now I’m in Birmingham. A few of us caught the same Pendolino South, bailing out en-route so leaving me the sole member of the group by the train hit Birmingham.

Having delivered me from Preston, Pendolino 390002 waits time at Birmingham New St before heading for London Euston.

Now I’m relaxing and updating this blog from my hotel – which is another trip down memory lane. I’m staying in the Britannia Inns hotel in New St, just a stones-throw from the station. I’ve known this place of old as it was always a cheap and cheerful option when I was working in the area. It’s being refurbished and upgraded but the prices are still very reasonable. It’s not somewhere you’d come and stay for a romantic weekend – but it’s ideal for what I need.

Having checked in to my hotel and rested I’ll be nipping out shortly to get a few pictures, so expect another update later…

22:45

The last update. I’d intending doing a lot but happy circumstance meant that I pumped into an old train-driver friend outside Birmingham New Street which literally stopped me in my tracks. Danielle and I ended up chatting for ages. By the time we’d finished catching-up and had to part my plans were out of the window. But that’s been no bad thing as today’s been more about people than anything else. Still, here’s a Birmingham tram to end the day.

Now I’ve got to go as I have to be up at silly ‘o clock in the morning for a rather different 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

Rolling block. Tunnel travels…

12 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:15.

After being trapped under a miasma of low cloud for the past couple of weeks, waking up to clear skies and a colourful sunrise is positively uplifting. That’s not been the only positive about today’s start as I have company this morning. Dawn is travelling with me as far as Leeds as she’s off to a training event. So, for once, I’ve not had to sneak out of bed and tip-toe around the house so as not to disturb her slumber whilst I prepare to leave.

Another bonus is we got down to Sowerby Bridge in good time and caught an earlier (albeit slightly late running) train. The pair of us are now ensconced on Northern’s 06:57 to York which is operated by a 3-car Class 195. We even managed to find a free table bay. Now to hope the rest of today’s travels are as successful!

I’m on my way to a place called Burton Green for a visit to an HS2 construction site. Burton Green is where an old railway is being used for the new one. HS2 will run in what was a cutting that’s being converted into a ‘green’ tunnel.

Time and safety permitting, I’ll be blogging throughout the day…

08:25.

That’s the enjoyable bit of the trip over.

After saying goodbye to Dawn at Leeds I headed over to platform 11a to catch a Cross-Country service direct to Birmingham. God, I gate this part of the trip and today’s experience shows why. XC provided a 4-car Class 220 to work the train. As you can imagine, it’s absolutely packed. Dozens of folk left at Leeds but even more were waiting to join. The chances of me findng a seat were minimal so (yet again) I’ve ended up standing in the luggage area created from the former shop. I’m not alone, 8-10 others occupy here and the adjacent vestibule.

09:50.

Phew! On arrival at Sheffield I managed to sidle into a vacant window seat. This gave me chance to do some work and reapond to some work emails. This is the problem with such inadequate inter-city trains. Unless you reserve a seat you can’t guarantee being able to get any work done, so the benefits of rail over a car are narrowed.

10:40.

On the move again. I had half an hour to enjoy New St station, which gave me enough time to get a few library shots and admire the HS2 exhibition on the concourse. Models of the new Curzon St station are on display and attracted a lot of interest.

Now, I’m speeding South aboard a Siemens built Class 350/2, one of the fleet soon to be off lease with no home to go to. Crazy.

Next stop for me is Berkswell.

15:45.

I’m back and heading for Birmingham after a fascinating tour of the Burton Green tunnel construction site and stroll into the South and North portals.

I’ll add some technical details later, but this part of the HS2 route is built on the course of an old railway which closed back in the 1960s. Only HS2’s a rather larger proposition!

16:30.

Much as I’d liked to have done I didn’t hang around in Birmingham. I stayed long enough to grab a couple of useful shots of packed new (but woefully short) trains, then jumped aboard a Pendolino bound for Edinburgh as a way of avoiding packed Cross-Country services. 11 cars compared to 4 is luxury as you can normally find a free seat, even on this section of route/time of day when the trains heavily used by local commuters.

The only problem is that, whilst I have a seat – and it’s lovely and warm aboard – the wifi is crap, so the things I’d hoped to sort out via t’tinternet I can’t. It’s a great shame Avanti wifi is so poor as it discourages me from using the West Coast route because of it. Now, what are my alternatives?

18:00.

Another classic day of railway bingo. My Pendolino was lae into Crewe so I missed my Avanti connection to Manchester. Fear not, there’s a Transport for Wales service following at 17:30. Oh, wait – that’s late too. But there’s a Northern all-shacks at 17:46..

A quick check tells me that even though the TfW service isn’t due until 17:54 it’ll get to Piccadilly before the Northern service. So, I wave bye bye to the Northern train and make my way to platform 5 for the Welsh train – only to find the bloody thing’s now terminating short at Wilmslow (a favorite trick of TfWs). Bugger!

18:02.

We’ve just passed the Northern service at Sandbach. Looks like that’s the one that’ll be getting me to Manchester after all…

Ha! That went well (not). The Northen service was going via Styal so the theoretical fastest service was an Avanti train. Only that was running 33 mins late. I’m now on said train, warming up after spending far too long on cold platforms. I’ve nothing against Wilmslow station, it’s just that it didn’t feature in today’s plans.

Wither Wilmslow? I wasn’t really given much of a choice…

20:30.

The last leg! Having finally caught a late-running Pendolino to Piccadilly and crossed Manchester on foot I just had enough time for a cheeky pint at the Victoria Tap before catching the 19:57 back across the Pennines. Maybe my ‘cunning plan’ to avoid Cross-Country trains wasn’t so cunning after all…

22:00.

I’m home and it’s time to relax, but before I go I’ll leave you with a few camera pictures from today.

Looking South from the Northern tunnel portal through Burton Green. When the tunnel’s finished and the landscaping completed I’d be underground at this point. This section’s been built with gaps in the roof to facilitate construction. When it’s complete the gaps will be filled in and buried underneath several meters of topsoil to match the level of the land to the left.
Looking North from the Northern portal along the route of HS2 which will be several meters underground here- but not in tunnel. The crossbeams bracing the walls have been precast locally before being brought to site and craned into position.
I’m glad I wasn’t on this one! A rammed 2-car service from Birmingham to Shrewsbury earlier this afternoon. As for bikes, I don’t think so!

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

A picture farewell to the West Midlands Class 323s.

26 Thursday Sep 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Class 323, Photography, Railways

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This week sees the end of passenger operation across the West Midlands by the Hunslet transportation built Class 323s which have been a feature in the region since the early 1990s when 26 of the 43 built 3-car trains were allocated to the area by British Railways.

Numbered 323201-323222 and 323240-243, the units have slowly been replaced by the newly built Class 730s from Alstom (nee Bombardier). The last of the 323s will run this Sunday when a Branch Line Society railtour will take them along routes they served for so many years, but ending up in Liverpool Lime St!

Here’s a selection of pictures documenting their service over the years. But fear not, whilst some of the units will be going to store, others are being transferred to the North-West where they’ll join their sisters who work for Northern. The distinctive whine of the 323s electronics will be heard for many years yet!

Whilst many photographers have ignore the West Mids 323s (until now) I’ve been taking pictures of them for over 20 years. Here’s a small selection from different locations along the routes they’ve worked.

The first of the class, 323201 seen with a sister unit at Bromsgrove (the end of electrification) on the 16th June 2021.
It’s the 2nd May 2012 and 323203 sporting London Midland livery arrives at Sutton Coldfield with a service from Four Oaks.
323204 is seen through the tunnels on the approach to Birmingham New St on the 23rd March 2008.
323205 calls at Wylde Green on the 23rd April 2024 whilst working 2R39, the 1446 Four Oaks to Redditch..
Here’s 323206 at journey’s end in the bay platform at Wolverhampton after working a stopping train from Birmingham on the 8th August 2013.
323207 is at the rear of 323212 with a service leaving Longbridge on the 7th August 2013.
Whilst working a shuttle service from Birmingham to Birmingham International on the 7th September 2005, 323209 is seen at the latter destination before returning North.
Having terminated at Lichfield City the crew change ends before working back towards Birmingham on the 1st May 2012.
323212 approaches Sutton Coldfield from the Birmingham direction on the 2nd May 2012.
On the 14th January 2014, 323213 crosses the junction at Bescot stadium with a service from Walsall.
Here’s 323214 waiting to depart Bournville on the 25th February 2019.
323215 arrives at Stechford on the15th January 2014 whilst working the 12:47 to Birmingham International.
The previous day (14th January 2014) 323216 was captured crossing the junction outside Aston station with a service to Lichfield.
The end of the line. Here’s 323218 at the single platform station at Redditch on the 7th August 2013.
Taken a year earlier, this is the London Midland interior of 323218, seen on the 1st May 2012.
323219 approaches Tame Bridge Parkway station near Bescot with a service from Walsall on the 14th January 2014.
On the 2nd May 2012 323220 arrives at the Wolverhampton’s bay platform 1 with a service from Birmingham.
323221 has become a ‘celebrity’ after its repaint into the old ‘Centro’ livery. Here it is the first time around, seen in the turnback siding at Longbridge on the 21st February 2007.
An interior view of one of 323222’s driving cars after the seating had been re-upholstered by West Midlands Trains. Seen on the 23rd April 2024.
323240 picks up passengers from the impressive station at Sutton Coldfield whilst working 2R41, the 1516 Four Oaks to Redditch. The date is the 23rd April 2024.
On the same day, 323241 and a sister unit arrive at Four Oaks with 2P31, the 1229 Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent Valley.
323242 calls at the rebuilt station at Alvechurch on the 24th February 2019.
It’s the 16th December 2006 and the last of the class is seen at journey’s end (Coventry) before working back to Birmingham.

If you want to find pictures of other members of the fleet (I have them all) simply visit my Zenfolio website and enter the unit number in the search bar at the top right hand side of the screen.

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

Rolling blog. Going underground…

28 Wednesday Aug 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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04:30.

Another day with a silly o’ clock start so that I can get to Birmingham in time to join a press trip. Today I’ll be mostly running on coffee! The first precious cup is by the side of my desk as I type this. I’m all packed and ready to head off to catch the first train of the day (literally) as I’ll be on the 05:45 from Halifax to Manchester, which is the days opening service through the Calder valley. A quick check on ‘Real Times Trains’ whilst I’m sipping coffee tells me that the service is running and is made up of a pair of Class 195/0’s so at least the first leg will be comfortable. The 2nd leg is shown as a 4-car Voyager, so maybe not so much! Feel free to see how the day pans out as I’ll be sharing words and pictures from my visit to one of the latest HS2 tunnels – and more…

05:40.

This mornings stroll to the station as rather pleasant. Mild weather and no wind mad for a very still trip. Te ony other creatures stirring were cats. I passed several that were making their morning rounds. Just before I arrive at the station the ran started although it wasn’t heavy enough to dampen me or my spirits. Now I’m sat on a deserted platform, listening to the classical music that’s piped over the tannoy this time of day.

By the time the train arrived there were six souls waiting to be carried Westwards  joining the handful already aboard.

195023 leads the 05:45…

06:10.

We’ve crossed the Pennines and called at Littleborough, where several people were waiting. For once, traversing the hills hasn’t made the slightest difference to the weather. It’s wet and miserable both sides!

06:15.

As usual, there was plenty of trade for this train at Rochdale. Several dozen people were huddled under the canopy or umbrellas awaiting our arrival. This car’s now half-full. Not bad for the time of day.

07:15.

My arrival into Manchester coincided with a cessation of the rain that had followed me all the way from Halifax, making my amble across the city much more pleasant. Dawn was breaking along with signs that the heavy grey clouds would clear, leaving behind a rather nice day.

Despite the time of day, Manchester Piccadilly was buzzing, with queues at all the coffee shops. I’d plenty of time and managed to grab a Pret coffee without stressing. My next train sat in platform 6 with passengers already gathered, waiting for the doors to be released. I was surprised to see just how busy the departing Pendolino in the opposite platform was, showing why this is a 20 minute frequency service.

I’ve taken up residence in the front car of 220002. After picking up passengers at Stockport it’s over half full already. I expect it’ll be packed by the time we get to Birmingham, so I’m going to make the most of the space whilst I have it.

08:55.

So far so good. I made it to Birmingham on time and connected with the 08:52 to Leicester which is running a couple of minutes late. This was the train I couldn’t afford to miss as it’s the only one that stops at Water Orton for the next two hours!

10:45.

We’re all on site and getting site safety briefings and background on the work going on here. It’s a massive site with a lot going on. This is the location of the headhouse which is the halfway point of the tunnel.

For those who’re wondering, adits are the cross passages between the two HS2 tunnel bores.

16:00.

I’m back! It’s been a busy day.The site visit took much longer than expected due to the number present and the fact the national media and local MP (Liam Byrne) attended. Here’s the first few pictures. I’ll add captions later.

One of the Tunnel Boring Machine service vehicles loaded with a full ring of tunnel lining segments.
Looking along the Bromford box towards the delta junction.
Inside one of the tunnels. This is the bore that the new machine ‘Mary Ann’ has reached the half-way mark on.

17:45.

Homeward bound. Having left Birmingham to travel via Derby and Sheffield I’m now on the leg to Leeds aboard another Cross-Country Voyager. At least on this one I’ve managed to get a seat. The trip from Brum to Derby was standing room only. The irony is not lost on me that this journey replicates HS2 phase 2B to Leeds, the section cancelled by that lying, unkempt bag of custard, Boris Johnson. Now (for who knows how long) this is as good as it gets. Whilst the rest of the world builds their high speed networks, we’re masters of dither and delay…

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

Rolling blog. West Midlands wandering…

23 Tuesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:15.

I’m having another crack at a day out with the camera and hoping for better weather than the miserable conditions I encountered yesterday. At the moment thinks are looking up. There’s clearing blue skies here in the Calder Valley although I’m not hanging around.

Right now I’m on a Northern service from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester, after which I’ll be heading to the West Midlands for the day.  Let’s see how the day unfolds….

Bye bye Sowerby Bridge…

10:30.

The first leg into Manchester was a doddle. My train wasn’t busy so there was no problem finding a table bay to set up the laptop on – although the lack of power sockets on Northern’s Class 158 fleet can be a pain as you have to rely on laptop battery power. Many of the fleet (esp the ones cascaded from other operators) don’t have USB sockets either, so I always make sure my batteries are fully charge before leaving the house.

On arrival at Victoria I strolled across to Piccadilly. It can be a grim walk some days as the number of homeless seems to ebb and flow. Fourteen years of Tory (mis)rule and austerity have done the city and its population no favours at all.

Right now I’m leaving the city behind aboard on of Transport for Wales new CAF built Class 197s which is heading for Cardiff. This busy 2-car train will carry me as far as Crewe, my next stopping point.

17:00.

S’cuse the gap but I’ve been on the move all day with little time in between changes. From Crewe I headed down to an old haunt – Stafford. I spent many an overnight shift there in 2014-15 working for Network Rail on the Staffordshire Area Improvement Plan. This time my stop was just a few minutes. Long enough to change trains to head down to Wolverhampton where I changed once more before reaching my goal – Birmingham.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t live up to the forecast. Skies stayed grey and the temperature struggled to make it into double figures. Even so, I headed off on the cross-city line towards Lichfield, stopping off several times to take pictures en-route. I’ve not traversed the route for several years but changes are afoot as the old Hunslet built Class 323s are starting to be replaced by the new Alstom built Class 730s – a pair of which were out earning their keep, running between Lichfield and Bromsgrove. I’ll add some pictures later. Including shots from what’s the most interesting and historic station along the route at Sutton Coldfield.

There was another station that caught my eye. Wylde Green. It’s been adopted by a local station friends group who’re doing great work to make the pedestrian approaches a bee-friendly area.

Typically, just as it came time to head back the weather improved and the sun started to appear! Bugger! I reluctantly headed back into Birmingham New Street in time to get a few pictures in the Stygian gloom that constitutes platform level before catching the train I’m typing this on, a Cross-Country service heading to Leeds, then onwards to Glasgow.

17:36.

I’m glad I got to Sheffield ahead of time. The Cross-Country train I was going to catch is already 30 mins late at Birmingham!

23:00.

There’s plenty more stories I could add to this blog, but it’s late and I’m back at home trying to sort out stuff for my next trip tomorrow, which will see me travelling to Farnham via London. So, I’ll leave you with a couple of camera pictures from today – but expect another blog tomorrow…

The old (and soon to vanish) order on Birmingham’s cross-city line. Hunslet built 323205 arrives at Wylde Green en-route to Birmingham and beyond.
The new order. Alstom (nee Bombardier) built 730005 sits at Four Oaks with a service from Lichfield to Bromsgrove.
There’s posh. The ticket office windows at Sutton Coldfield.

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

Rolling blog. Hard hat required…

24 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:16.

I’m preparing to head off to Birmingham which could be fun as the wind has been howling outside all night. At least it’s not been rattling the windows (we’ve had ’em all replaced) but I could be propelled on my way to the station this morning! I may need a hard hat for more than one reason today.

07:30.

My walk to the station was spent dodging the detritus of the latest storm. Stepping over failed fence panels and blown over safety fencing whilst crunching the odd tree branch underfoot. Atop Spring Edge I was entertained by the contents of people’s upturned recycling bins. Caught in vortices they danced and pranced like fighting cocks!

At least the rain held off until I was in sight of the station as an umbrella in this weather would have been an exercise in futility.

Now I’m aboard Northern’s 07:20 to Leeds made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. It’s a busy train carrying workers and students into either Bradford or Leeds.

At least the vestibules are roomy on 195s…

08:45.

Oh, joy! I’m ‘doing a Jeremy Corbyn’ in a vestibule of Cross-Country’s 08:11 from Leeds to Bristol via Birmingham. It’s a rammed 4-car Voyager, completely unsuitable and inadequate for modern Intercity travel between some of our major cities.

At least the toilet we’re forced to stand next to isn’t stinking. Yet…

What makes me angry? This is all we have for the forseeable future because of the incompetent bunch in charge of the country. In 9 years time we *should* have had a modern, high-capacity, high-speed railway opening, but the Tories cancelled it and ‘Mr helicopter’ Rishi Sunak then wrnt on to can the alternative via Manchester. Another irony? Due to more government penny-pinching the trains that used to provide extra capacity on this line have all been sold off and are now running in Mexico!

09:00.

Whoopee! At Sheffield I managed to find a perch in a luggage rack in coach C. It’s mayhem as people try to claim their reserved seats in a car were there’s far more punters than cushions.

10:55.

Arrived. And so it starts…

13:00.

Here’s a taster of what I’m seeing.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street gave several interviews to TV companies as he celebrated the official launch of construction of the station at Curzon St.

17:15.

Wow! What a fascinating day. Whilst one section of the media came and went by lunchtime as they were only there to cover West Midlands Mayor Andy Street’s speech on the official start of work on Curzon St station (and words on the future of HS2 to Manchester) the rest of us hung on for a full tour of the site which included a reip up yo the train deck as well as a wander to the South-Eastern end of the site where two massive bridges (one already under construction) will cross over road and rail links. Some of the facts and figures of construction were amazing. Like many HS2 sites, what uou see above ground is like the tip of an iceberg. I’ll be adding some more pics later.

Right now I’m heading North via Cross-Country again, only this time via Manchester…

22:00.

Home again! On my way home I stopped off to see an old friend and colleague who was staying in Stockport for work. We had time for a quick drink and catch up before I made my way back into Manchester to swap between stations to make my way home. Having already completed more than 25,000 steps I was very happy with Dawn’s offer to pick me up from the station and save me making that 30k!

Now i’m preparing to switch off for the evening but I did promise I’d post a last couple of shots from today’s visit, so here they are – shot on my new Z9.

We were given access to the bridge decks, which gives a very different view of the site. This is the second deck away from the existing West Coast Main Line into New St. In a few years time I’d be standing in the middle of the ‘four foot’!
One of the massive weathered steel viaduct supports made in Bolton, Lancashire and assembled on site before being welded together. The details of the construction of these piers is quite a story. The tolerances involved in some of it is as little as 1mm.

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

22nd January picture of the day…

22 Monday Jan 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Hs2, Musings, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Bugger! Having waited around all day on the promise that Fedex would deliver the new camera today I received the following message late this evening.

It’s frustrating but as long as it arrives tomorrow things will be fine as I’ll still have chance to learn how to use it before my job in Birmingham on Wednesday. Mind you, that’s cutting things fine. This may be ‘on the job’ training!

Still, today’s not been entirely wasted. I’ve got a lot done at home with a mixture of picture editing and paper-shuffling. The enjoyable bit was shuffling a lot of paper out of files and bookcases into the recycling. My shelves are now looking a lot slimmer and cleaner. Plus, one of our local charity shops will benefit from some of the redundant electronic hardware I’m parting with. There’s more stuff to get rid of yet – but that involves digitising various old records and diaries which is going to be time-consuming.

Taking a break from the dust and old paperwork I did manage to get out for my daily constitutional which was challenging due to the weather. We may have been in-between storms but there was enough of storm Isha hanging around to make walking through our local woods feel risky. The amount of broken branches littering the paths and trails was both impressive and a testament to just how windy it’s been. Not that it’s blown over as it’s goodbye storm Isha, hello storm Jocelyn. Please, weather Gods, just let this all blow over by Wednesday as I have to get to Birmingham and back and I really don’t fancy getting stuck on a Voyager! I’ll be blogging throughout that day, which could prove interesting…

Today’s picture is a taster of what I’ll be visiting. The HS2 station construction site at Curzon St, although it’ll look rather different to this July 2023 view now as the platform decks are being constructed atop many of the pillars seen 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/Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. A game of two halves…

09 Thursday Sep 2021

Posted by in 3 peaks by rail, Birmingham, Infrarail, Photography, Rolling blogs, The Railway Children

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09:00.

I’m enjoying a slower start to today than the past couple in order to get some sleep in the bank as I’m going to need it over the next few days. I had a lie-in until 07:00 today – luxury! Now I’m enjoying topping up my caffeine levels whilst repacking all the kit need for for Infrarail plus all the stuff I’ve brought with me for the next few days volunteering for the Railway Children and their epic ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ challenge which starts this evening. But first, I’m heading back the NEC and Infrarail for a last session of photography. Feel free to keep popping back during the day to see how things unfold…

11:15.

It’s much quieter here at Infrarail today. The Seminars all finish before lunch so I’m planning to make a break for it by then.

13:30.

Job done! The final speakers have finished and all the pictures are ‘in the can’ as it were. The irony? I’ve spent the best part of two and a half days stuck indoors whilst the sun’s been beating down on us and the place has been red-hot. As soon as I pack up and leave to get the train to Crewe the heavens have opened and it’s raining cats and dogs!

Still, here’s a couple of pictures from Infrarail taken just before I left…

I’ll try and catch up with some blogging on my way up to Crewe and fill out some more details of the final day of Infrarail.

15:00.

I’ve finally left Birmingham to make my way (in fits and starts) to Crewe to join the rest of the Railway Children volunteers, staff and entrants to this years 3 Peaks by rail. Thankfully, the torrential rain we had earlier has passed. Now the skies are a multitude of shades of grey with the odd snatch of blue. It’s also very humid. I must admit it was great to be back at Infrarail even if it was hard work. Covering three seminar theatres spread over two halls plus the traipsing around after politicians and VIPs certainly kept me fit! Even so, seeing so many familiar faces again after such a long gap made it all worthwhile. Then there’s the new contacts and offers of work which you can only get face to face. Zoom and the interweb will never be a substitute for that.

15:35.

After a brief stop at Wolverhampton to change trains and grab a couple of pictures I’m on the move again, this time on another West Midlands Class 350. It’s hard to keep track of this fleet as not only do they have three sub-classes, they’re also a mix of refurbished and refurbished sets. The first train had tables and power sockets, this one (350235) doesn’t. Outside there’s some impressively moody and thunderous looking skies which could make for some great pictures if only I was in the right place!

20:00.

We’re on our way! Everyone came together in Crewe without any major difficulties. The teams assembled, registered and received their briefings, the volunteers stocked up the train (a job and a half) and then – we were off. Here’s everyone ready and raring to go.

For the enthusiasts out there, the train’s made up of LSL Mk3 coaches and triple headed by two Class 37s and a Class 47.

21:20.

We’ve just left Llandudno Junction after a 50 minute layover which gave the on-board team the chance to serve everyone with a hot meal. Now we’re heading for Bangor where the walkers will transfer to coaches for the trip to the base of Snowdon.

22:10.

We’ve deposited the teams, the guides and some RC staff and volunteers at Bangor where they’re being bussed to the base of Snowdon. Before they left they were provided with plenty of fresh fruit and other snacks to makes sure they weren’t short of energy.

Meanwhile, the train and the onboard crew are heading to Holyhead where the train will be serviced overnight and prepared for picking up the walkers when it returns to Bangor at 04:21.

23:15.

Whilst the teams climb Snowdon the train and its crew are at Holyhead where they’ve been busy unpacking and storing all the food and drink that was loaded aboard at Crewe. Meanwhile, chef Nick Hebborn and Alison are rustling up a meal of sausage stew on a bed of rice for them in one of the buffet cars. We don’t have a kitchen car this year, so facilities are limited.

Rolling blog. Infrarail day 2…

08 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by in Birmingham, Infrarail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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07:45.

Suitably rested after a good night’s sleep here in Birmingham I’m ready for day 2 of Infrarail. As there’s not so many keynote speakers today the pace should be a little more relaxed, which will give me time to blog through the event and also get to listen to some of the seminars. One I’m particularly interested in is a bit niche (hey, I’m at a rail event, isn’t it all ‘niche’?) as it’s about composite masts for greener electrification projects, given by Noel Dolphin of Furrer+Frey. The railways have picked up the ‘green’ ball and are running with it. Already the greenest form of land travel, rail is determined to stay that way, so is constantly looking at ways of doing so. Of course, electrification’s a big part of that and it’s the area where the UK (thanks to Government policies) lags way behind Europe. We have the lowest electrified route miles, so anything that will help keep costs down and aid decarbonisation is of value.

Right, I’d better finish packing my kit and head off to the NEC. I’ll update this blog en-route…

08:30.

Much as I like Birmingham I have to admit the walk from my hotel to the station was rather depressin due to the sheer amount of rubbish and litter I encountered en-route. The area by the car parks adjacent to the O2 arena is an utter shit-tip. Presumably a lot of it is discarded by people queuing to get into the venue like the ones I passed last night. Civic pride seems to be a thing of the past.

I’m now on Avanti West Coast’s 08:30 to Euston which will take me back to the NEC. New St station was busy, but it’s clear the recovery us still in progress. My train’s busy but there was no problem finding a seat in the rear of the set.

As we pulled out of Birmingham we passed the huge HS2 construction site at Curzon St, the site of the line’s cuty terminus. Work’s really progressed since my last visit so if I have time when I finish today I’ll pop by to get a few shots. Besides, the weather’s far too good to stay cooped up inside for longer than I have to!

13:45.

I’ve finally had chance to stop and sit down for five minutes and blog. So much for thinking today would be quiet, Infrarail’s been far busier today than yesterday. There’s a lot more visitors so I’m glad I arrived early and gad chance to check out some of the stands before they became busy. There’s some interesting stuff to be seen. I could do with one of these for a start. It’s an exoskeleton that’s designed to take the strain off older workers! Sadly, it won’t work with the camera bag…

21:30.

The end of another busy day, far busier than I expected but then not only were the crowds greater but I ended up covering three separate seminar stands. Not that I’m complaining as I got to hear some really interesting discussions as well as amass a huge amount of library shots and network with lots of people that I haven’t seen for ages. I’m not going to blog at length about the day, instead I’ll add a few more pictures and hope that tomorrow I can pause for breath long enough to give an overview of the show. What was great about the end of day 2 was the fact their were two drinks receptions. One on the RailBusinessDaily stand which promoted the activities of the Railway Children charity and another on the Alstom stand. Both allowed us to talk about more than just the day jobs and relax a bit more.

Network Rail allowed a lot of apprentices to attend the event. Here’s on of a cohort competing to see just how much weight (and bottles of water) he can balance on the sandcastle he’s made. A fun game with a serious message…

One of today’s important guests and keynote speaker was Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, the Shadow Transport Minister, who spent a lot of time afterwards touring the event and talking to companies involved in the railway supply chain. Here he is delivering his keynote address.

I’ll try and add a few more pictures tomorrow if I get a break at the event. That said, I have to leave just after lunchtime in order to make my way to Crewe to join the rest of the volunteers working the Railway Children’s ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ marathon fundraiser. No doubt I’ll be blogging from the trip as long as the phone reception holds. If not, you’ll be able to read all about it in some rail publications soon….

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!