Category Archives: Birmingham

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!

Rolling blog: West Midlands Wanderings…

14 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by in Birmingham, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:28.

My, It’s a long time since I last did a rolling blog, but as I’m wandering around the West Midlands today before beginning the trek North I thought I’d give one a shot. I’m going to have a look at a few of the rail developments in the area and also try and track down one of the new Class 196 trains which are currently being delivered and are being tested – although that’s always difficult to guarantee I’ll bump into one. What’s easier is some of the station improvements as they’re not on the move!

I’m about to leave the hotel now, it’s a beautiful sunny morning here in Birmingham, so let’s see what happens…

09:34.

As many station food outlets are closed because of Covid it was lovely to find the one of my favourites was open. I always try and pop into the Centenary Lounge at Birmingham Moor St station when I’m in town.

A slice of normality and nostalgia…

Having been given the heads-up by a friend it doesn’t look like any 196s are out on test this morning, so I’m heading off to get a few shots in the can at Leamington before heading to Coventry to have a look at work on the new station entrance. Here’s my first train of the day…

I have to say, I’m amazed at how many seats Chiltern block off for social distancing compared to other TOCs. In contrast, Scotrail don’t block off any. Instead they rely on passengers to use their own judgement. So do many other TOCs. I’m guessing it’s an Arriva thing.

11:00.

Typical! Just as I arrive at Leamington Spa two people tip me off that the Class 196 test runs are on! So, after grabbing a couple of library shots before my train arrived I’m now heading for Tyseley to rendezvous with the test workings. Let’s hope I’m lucky..

14:45.

Ever had one of those days? I arrived at Tyseley in plenty of time to catch some shots around the station before heading down to Shirley and catch the 196 that was out on test. Then W Mids trains started cancelling all the Whitlock End services due to driver shortages, so there was no way I’d make it down the line in time. Too late I had a brainwave. How far was it to walk to the first station on the Stratford route? Google maps said it’d be 20 mins. That meant I’d miss the inbound 196 but I’d be 10 mins ahead of the next run. It was a hot and sweaty walk carrying all my kit in the blazing sun but what the hell – nothing ventured nothing gained! I arrived at Spring Hill station with a few minutes to spare.

As the train pulled in I spotted someone with a similar face mask waving at me. It was Toby, who’d tipped me off earlier and who’d set off on the same mission! We travelled together and got ourselves ready at Whitlock End, where the test run was due to terminate before running back to Tyseley – only the bloody thing never turned up as the run was cancelled!

Crossing our fingers and hoping it was a one-off the pair of us moved up to Shirley ready for the next scheduled test run. That was cancelled too!

At that point we gave up and headed back into Birmingham where we parted. As we passed the depot at Tyseley we could see a 196 being prepped…

Oh, well – another time…

Right now I’m on my way to Wolverhampton to have a look at the new station. At least that can’t fail to run!

19:00.

I’m on the penultimate leg of my trip home after stopping off to look at Wolverhampton station, which is really coming along. Part of the new building is open now and the old one’s a pile of rubble (as you’ll see later, when I had the pictures I took on my camera). Demolition of the original building clears the way for the next phase of rebuilding which includes extending the tram tracks to the station.

Moving in I headed up to Crewe for a while as you never quite know what might put in an appearance there. As I passed the Arriva maintenance depot I saw a very sad sight. the newly repainted locomotives and coaches that open access operator Grand Central were intending to use on their new Blackpool North – London Euston service. Covid has put paid to that as the company are having to concentrate on the survival of their two existing services (West Riding and Sunderland). I wish them all the best in that as they’ve been a fantastic operation over the past 13 years.

Right now I’m on a late running Transport for Wales service bound for Manchester. Our platform at Crewe was occupied by a Network Rail survey train operated by Colas and a last-minute platform switch added to delays, leaving us 12 minutes late. Luckily, I built in plenty of time to walk between Piccadilly and Victoria so I won’t miss my connection. After 8 days away I’m really looking forward to getting home to see my family – Dawn and our ‘boy’ Jet. Well, if you can still get away with calling a nineteen year old cat a boy! Another thing I’m looking forward to is not having to spend all bloody day wearing a mask – especially when the weather’s been as hot and sticky as today.

20:21.

Yay! Last train of the trip. I’m on the 20:16 from Manchester Victoria to Sowerby Bridge. My car’s comfortably empty so it’s not a problem – unlike the scenes I saw as I walked across the city centre. Piccadilly Gardens was awash with bored young people just hanging around in the hot weather. As usual, there was no social distancing (and few masks). It seems many young people just can’t be bothered anymore.

Needless to say, I didn’t hang around. At Victoria I was presented with another problem. None of the ticket machines were working so I couldn’t collect my super-cheap advance fare ticket. Fortunately there were no queues at the ticket window and the chap on duty printed it off for me.

The station was quiet, any rush-hour was long past and the day was cooling down, so waiting was rather pleasant and a chance to indulge in a spot of people watching. One elderly be chained bloke with head tattoos rather than hair (and no mask) accompanied by his mate who resembled a living weeble was trying to impress a young cleaner. His invasion of her personal space would have been unacceptable pre-covid. For some bizarre reason (fear? Embarrassment?) she put up with it. I made sure I got in a different carriage to the pair of them…

22:36.

I’m bringing this rolling blog to a close. I’m home, all my clothes are in the wash as a precaution, I’m showered – and now it’s time to relax. I’ll add one final picture. This was the old Wolverhampton main station building.

Right, goodnight folks!

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 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 need all the help that we can get…

Thank you!

Rolling blog: Birmingham discoveries…

12 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by in Architecture, Birmingham, History, Hs2, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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05:18.

Ugh! Up at sparrowfart again getting ready to go to Birmingham. This morning I’m getting a lift to the station because I don’t want another soaking! The weather here is still what’s best described as ‘changeable’. I’m heading for the 06:44 from Halifax, so let’s see how today goes…

07:00.

I’m now on my way to Manchester aboard the 06:44 which is worked by a fully-functioning CAF built Class 195. We have heating, PIS and even the wifi which I’m using to type this. They’re lovely trains when they’re like this and a real step-change from what we’re used to.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in the Calder Valley although it’s a chilly 4 degrees according to the trains info screens. It’s a bit of a contrast to London yesterday when I basked in 14 degree sunshine!

07:14.

Having crossed the Pennines and called at Littleborough we’re trundling towards Rochdale at reduced speed. Looking up from my laptop for a moment I was just in time to catch sight of a trio of deer feeding in a meadow, their white tails attracted my attention, otherwise I’d have missed them as they were standing stock-still whilst the train passed.

07:18.

We’ve arrived at Rochdale where around a dozen early-bird commuters are waiting for our arrival. I was surprised to see so few, but there’s another Manchester bound service in the bay platform which seems to have a good crowd on it. No doubt it’ll be following behind shortly.

07:58.

After my usual 20 minute sprint across central Manchester from Victoria to Piccadilly I’m back in the warmth aboard Cross-Country’s 08:05 to Paignton. We’ve luxury this morning as this is an 8-car formation. Even the Conductor is boasting that there’s “lots of room this morning, so make the most of it”. I assume that this must be an aberration!

There is an irony in me travelling to Birmingham to see HS2 archeological work in this fashion. This journey between two of our premier regional cities will take 1 hour 28 minutes. Voyagers – be they four or five car – are less than an ideal offering. HS2 (when it’s completed) will cut the journey time by more than half to just 40 minutes. Plus, it’ll be on a 400 metre long, modern intercity train that will make a Voyager look primitive in comparison.

08:29.

We’ve just left Macclesfield. I don’t know about the rear Voyager, but this front set is filling up nicely! There’s lots of business travellers aboard. In the airline seats opposite me two young professionals have their papers spread out on the meagre backseat tables and are preparing themselves for the meeting they’re heading for. Others are using their time to catch up on the budget news in copies of the ‘Metro’ but on one table ahead I can spy an unopened bottle of Prosecco with four plastic cups atop it – so there’s business mixed with pleasure on this coach as I assume these people are race-goers!

08:47.

Bugger, we’re just leaving Stoke-on-Trent and the weather’s changed dramatically. We’re now blessed with thunderously grey skies and it’s chucking it down! Please let this clear before Birmingham…

09:20.

We’ve just left Wolverhampton and the penny’s finally dropped as to why this train is a double set! There were queues of well-dressed people waiting for us to arrive and I suddenly realised that we call at Cheltenham – where the races are on! Now the fact the catering crew were heavily advertising what deals they have on Prosecco or gin and tonic at this hour of the day makes sense!

16:13.

Apologies for the delay in updates but it’s been a very hectic few hours. Our little group got to the HS2 site at Curzon St for 10:00, donned our PPE, had a site induction, then went to visit the site of the London & Birmingham’s locomotive roundhouse, which was built in 1837. You’ll be able to read about my full visit in the future edition of RAIL magazine, but here’s a taster of how the site looks, with the remains of the turntable pit in the middle and 15 pit roads radiating from it. Everyone was surprised just how extensive the remains are, not just of the roundhouse, but other structures as well. Thankfully, the rain we’d had earlier held off and we had sunshine interspersed with cloud – which was just as well because there was a bitter wind blowing across the exposed site that made you thankful for the layers of PPE you had to wear!

The visit took several hours as we were given an extensive tour of the site of the roundhouse and the remains of the goods shed with its wagon turntables still in situ. Afterwards we were shown round the last building standing. The grade 1 listed station building and former boardroom of the London and Birmingham railway.

A selfie with Tim Dunn and Gareth Dennis taken by Gareth (which is why I’m in the middle!)

Afterwards I went to have a look at a modern transport innovation. The extension to the Midlands Metro tram network, the first to use dual-powered trams that don’t have to use overhead lines in the heart of the city so as to preserve the architectural heritage of the area.

Look – no wires (or pantographs)! A pair of trams pass outside the new Town Hall stop.

17:18.

Homeward bound! I left Birmingham on the 16:57 Cross-Country Voyager bound for Manchester. Unsurprisingly, it’s packed even though this is a 5-car. This time of day it acts as a fast commuter train between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, after which the vestibules empty out and some seats become free. With the advent of HS2 I’d like to see these trains withdrawn and the twice-hourly paths used for more commuter services for local passengers whilst long-distance passengers can transfer to a faster, more comfortable service from Curzon St so that we have an inter-city service worth its name.

19:05.

I’m now on the final leg home. After abandoning the Voyager at Piccadilly I retraced my steps to Victoria to catch a train back across the Pennines. I’m now on a 2-car Class 195 heading for Halifax. It’s not as busy as I’d have expected but I honestly can’t tell if that’s due to people not travelling through fear of the Coronavirus or the fact some folks may have left work earlier.

There’s certainly plenty of panic about. I had chance to scan the media earlier and saw the news about the Tango’d Buffoon in the White House banning all travel (except via the UK) to the USA for a month. An already very weak stock market which has suffered many days of losses went into complete meltdown and shed over 10% of it’s remaining value, propelling it into its worst decline since 1987. The spectre of another global financial crash is starting to rear its ugly head…

21:25.

I’m finally home in the warm and dry, having taken the sensible precaution of bringing a brolly with me today, although they’re often of little use up here in the Pennines due to the fact the wind rips ’em to shreds within a few minutes. Right now I’ve begun the task of loading some of the past two days worth of pictures to my Zenfolio website. If you follow this link, you’ll be able to see which galleries they’ve been added to.

Tomorrow I have a day working from home, trying to catch up on picture editing, paperwork and communications, although there might still be time for some blogging, it certainly won’t be rolling…

Goodnight folks!

Rolling blog: a tale of two cities…

06 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by in Birmingham, Calder Valley, London, Network Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs

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05:30.

I was up before sparrow fart this morning as I have to be in London for a commission with Network Rail at Euston at 09:00, then in Birmingham in the afternoon for the ACoRP AGM.

Right now I’m walking down to Halifax station to potentially catch the second train of the day – if it’s running to time. My connections are tight if I’m going to be punctual and punctuality isn’t great in the leaf-fall season. There’s no rain this morning, which is a bonus. Instead it’s clear and frosty. The gritting lorries have been busy overnight and as it’s quiet this time of morning i’m walking on the roads rather than the leaf-strewn pavements. Yorkshire stone slabs may look pretty, but in the autumn they’re as slippery and untrustworthy as Boris Johnson!

05:53.

I’m taking a chance and this could all go horribly wrong, but I’m now on the 05:50 from Halifax to Manchester Victoria, which is being worked by one of Northern’s new Class 195s. It was 3 mins late arriving from Bradford and it’s the first service of the day through the Calder Valley across the Pennines, so I’m taking a risk! I’m sat in the front car and it’s freezing! There’s no heating on and the information screens aren’t working either. The Conductor’s apologiesed and explained that the units come straight off Neville Hill depot and “hasn’t got going yet”!

06:01.

We’ve just left Sowerby Bridge, where I could have caught the train from (and had an extra 15m in bed) but i’d have been without a plan B (going via the East Coast) if the train had been late or cancelled. To be fair, we’re not doing badly. The driver took it easy leaving the station but the railhead conditions musn’t be too bad as he’s making the most of the unit’s superior acceleration and braking.

06:10.

We’re now leaving Hebden Bridge and I’ve noticed another thing about this unit (195109) which is there’s a real whistling sound at speed. The unit feels very draughty and I suspect it’s coming from the driver’s door!

06:17.

The whistling and draughts were annoying enough to make me move into the centre car. It’s still freezing in here but it’s not as draughty! Our timekeeping’s not bad. We’re only 2 mins down departing from Todmorden so I’m cautiously optimistic. In the bay of seats behind me are two men complaining about the service Northern Rail have been providing. To say the TOC has an image problem is an understatement!

06:33.

We’ve left Rochdale 5 mins late. I can feel the wheels slipping here but the driver’s done well. My connection time in Manchester is going to be very tight, but I might just make it. I’ll let you know if I do afterwards! I’m looking forward to sitting on a nice warm Pendolino with a steaming cup of coffee in my frozen hands…

07:16.

Bugger – missed it! A 5 minute late arrival into platform 6, the furthest away from the barriers that involves a scrum on the footbridge, meant that – despite a heroic sprint across the city centre – I missed the 07:00 Euston train by 2 minutes! I’m now thawing out in coach C on the 07:15 Pendolino which gets me into Euston 20 mins late. I’m sure my Network Rail colleagues will understand!

07:45.

Another calamity has befallen me. The coffee machine’s kaput! This could have been an absolute disaster were it not for the fact the chap in the shop had a stash of coffee bags, so I managed to get a brew after all…

07:50.

We’ve just left Stoke-On-Trent and the few seats keft unoccupied after leaving Stockport have filled up. This is a peak service so tickets aren’t cheap, but that’s not deterred the many business travellers who’re heading down to London for the day. This train’s now fast to Milton Keynes, so I’ll be interested to see how many alight there.

Weatherwise, we had a cracking sunrise around Stockport but now the mist has settled, marring visibility despite the thin, high cloud. I don’t travel the WCML anywhere near as much as I used to, so I’m going to sit back and enjoy the journey for a while.

08:55

We’ve just called at Milton Keynes, which became a bit of a scrum because of the passenger churn. Many left us, but many more joined and this train’s now standing room only. Outside, the weather’s changed too. The sky is clear blue whilst the mist has mistly burned off, leaving a lot of the country and lineside steaming in the warm sunshine.

13:29.

Phew! part 1 of the day’s been done and I now have portraits of 20 members of Network Rail staff in the can after a busy morning at Eversholt St. Despite arriving 25 mins late we managed to catch up time and get through all the pictures that were needed. I even had a bit of time spare to check out progress on the HS2 demolition work around Euston station and the Regent’s Park estate.

The demolition of Eskdale House on the Regents Park estate to make way for HS2 is in full swing.
The former Euston station signalbox sits in splendid isolation as all the surrounding buildings have been demolished.
With Euston station to the right, this view is looking North across the site of the old Thistle Hotel and St James’ garden

Right now I’m on another Virgin Pendolino, this time a 9-car set working the 13:03 from Euston to Birmingham New St in order to get to the ACoRP AGM.

Sadly, the wonderful autumn sunshine I had on the way down and in London has given away to more typical gloomy weather.

15:39.

Keeping busy at the ACoRP AGM…

Jools Townsend, ACoRP’s Chief Executive addresses the AGM.

17:14.

The AGM finished at 16:00 but Dawn and I resisted the opportunity to hang around for a drink as we’d seats booked on the 16:57 Cross-Country service to Manchester Piccadilly. These trains are always packed, so it was worth making use of the reservations.

True to form, there was an absolute scrum to get on the train at New St, then the scramble as people (including us) tried to get to their reserved seats. If there’s one train I actively dislike, it’s these. It’s neither fish nor fowl, neither a proper intercity train nor an adequate local one. The sooner these services are replaced by HS2 the better.

18:34.

15 mins late, but we’re finally in sight of Manchester Piccadilly where we can abandon this train, get some fresh air and clear our ears of the management bollocks being spouted by the guy sat opposite who’s insisting on having a loud (but ultimately pointless as it’s devoid of any real content) conversation on his mobile!

19:50.

Having traversed Manchester from Piccadilly to Victoria we arrived to find our train home had been cancelled! We’d have been quicker staying at Picc & coming home via Huddersfield. Adjourning to a local history to drown our sorrows and eat crisps we ended up catching the 19:37 instead. We’re now bouncing our way back to Yorkshire on a Pacer (142018 to be precise).

21:22.

The end of a looong day! I’ve been up since 04:30, travelled hundreds of miles (and walked nearly 11, burning 3.5k calories), visited three of our biggest cities and taken hundreds of photos, so it’s time for a little relaxation and the chance to enjoy a soak in a bath with some of Islay’s finest whisky as a nightcap. Goodnight!

Rolling blog: and so it begins…

14 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in Birmingham, Engineering, I love my job, Photojournalism, Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:18.

It’s a bright and beautiful morning here at Sowerby Bridge station. The sun’s shining, the birds are singing and I have fresh coffee, thanks to the Jubilee refreshment rooms on the station.

I’m here to catch to 06:23 to Manchester in order to get to Birmingham and the Railtex trade fair.

06:52.

The first chariot of the day was 158849, one of Northern’s refurbished fleet and one that’s been fitted with new seats and USB sockets. It’s only a two car so it’s packed after leaving Rochdale. It’s also remarkably quiet as most people (including me) are staring at their portable devices! This is a great example of how you can have a large group of people who are together in the flesh but are miles apart mentally!

07:38.

I’m now on TfW’s (Transport for Wales) 07:30 to Milford Haven as far as Crewe.

I walked between Victoria and Piccadilly which is always a depressing experience this time of morning as it’s painfully obvious how many people are sleeping rough. Forget the stories about “professional beggars” who return to their council flats each evening, these are real people curled up in doorways or huddled on pavements. A decade of austerity and a government that doesn’t really give a shit has made the problem worse than when I worked in housing back in the 1990s. It’s not going to get any better either. The UK’s flirting with fascism in the form of Nigel Farage and his Brexit party. People who blatently lie through their teeth and have no manifesto or policies other than crashing us out of the EU and who say they won’t tell us what they stand for until AFTER we’ve voted for them! How the hell has the country got itself in this state? I’ve never been more pessimistic about the future of the country as I don’t see much sign of people waking up to what’s going on and the road we’re heading down.

07:50.

We’ve called at Wilmslow, where a sizeable chunk of the folk on this two-car train decanted. Clearly, this time of day this train is a commuter service masquerading as a long-distance train. Next stop is Crewe, so I’ll be interested to see how many get on.

08:18.

I’m now on London Northwestern’s 08:18 to Birmingham New St, which is a 4-car Class 350, which is pretty much full and standing. There’s a few spare seats, but they’re the middle ones in sets of three, which most folk avoid. I’m sharing a vestibule with a bunch of LNW drivers who’re clutching notices about splitting and joining trains at New St. I’m assuming this has to do with the May timetable change. In age old fashion they’re grumbling about the new diagrams and rosters!

09:42.

Almost there! I was delayed changing trains at New St because some of the toilets are closed for refurbishment. New St being New St it was a trek to the alternatives which had folk queuing out of the door! Now I’m on a slightly delayed TfW service to Birmingham International.

14:54.

Phew! It’s been a full on day so far and started as soon as I walked through the Railtex door at 10:00. I’ve finally found time to sit down for a few minutes and get some pictures edited. Here’s a glimpse of the show so far.

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As usual, Siemens have a big presence at Railtex. This is one half of their stand!

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The Talgo stand. The company are bidding for the HS2 train contract (amongst others).

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It’s a Breeze! This is a model of the Class 321 train that Alstom are converting from electricity to Hydrogen.

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The Tratos stand always serves a good lunch for anyone leaving their business card.

19:54.

Right, where were we? Oh, yes – Railtex. I left the show an hour ago and I’m currently on virgin Trains Pendino snaking it’s way to London. Today feels like a bit of a blur as it’s been so manic. Trying to get round the show to take it all in is bad enough. Then there’s the need to be in certain places at set times, constantly bumping into friends and colleagues and trying to blog/upload pictures. By the time the day winds down you’re knackered. That said, the end of the event was fun. Alstom had a really interesting drinks reception to chat about their ‘Breeze’ hydrogen train, so a lot of us hacks met at that, afterwards we moved over to the main networking event which was a great opportunity to catch up with folk and shoot a few more pictures like this one of the band who did a great job of keeping us all entertained.

22:45.

The final update. It’s been a brilliant day. After tearing myself away from a very convivial couple of hours with friends at the end of the show I emerged, blinking, into the light and realised just what a stonking day it must have been weather wise. Now, having caught a train down to London I’m ensconced in the basement of a hotel in Kings Cross that makes me think of scenes from the bunker in ‘Downfall’ – only with better bathrooms. When you realise that to get to your room you have to press -2 you do start to get suspicious…

Hopefully I might actually see a bit of sunshine as I tour the London stations taking part in tomorrow’s event. Watch this space…

Rolling blog: Birmingham return…

13 Thursday Dec 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, Birmingham, Northern Rail, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:30

Dawn and I are on our way to Birmingham for the ACORP Association Of community rail lartnerships) AGM. It’s not the quickest of journeys to Britain’s second city due to our Victorian rail network. Right now we’re on one of Northern’s no-frills Class 150s heading to Manchester Victoria. In my opinion these are the worst trains Northern have – even the Pacers beat them. They’re very much in as-built form, which means there’s no tables, the seating’s 3×2, it’s difficult to find a rubbish bin and the views are poor because of the window and doorway arrangements.

Admittedly, there’s not a lot that you can do with the major design defects, but Arriva Trains Wales refurbished their 150/2s and brought them up to a much higher standard. I’ll see if I can dig out a picture to compare later.

10:39

After a brisk stroll across central Manchester we’re now sitting on Cross-Country’s 11:05 to Bristol Temple Leads which is being worked by a 5-car Voyager. I can’t wait to be doing this trip on Hs2, although I’ll have to as it’s not going to open until 2033!

11:49.

We’re well on our way to Birmingham now. The train’s pretty empty for a change, I’ve managed to get a table seat and crack on with some picture editing. Dawn and her colleague Hazel have the table opposite me, so I’m leaving them to it!

The weather’s picking up the further South we get, so I’m hoping to get one or two rail shots before the ACORP AGM starts…

12:52.

The ladies have headed off to AGM venue and I’ve nipped off for an hour to get some new library shots of the cross-city line which is operated by these old Hunslet built Class 323s.

26 of these trains (which date from 1992) work around Birmingham with another 17 based in Manchester. They’re nippy units that are comfortable to travel on as well as being popular with drivers. Despite this, they’re due to be displaced by brand new trains from 2020. However, there are plans to transfer these trains to Northern allowing them to replace the 4-car Class 319s there and work in multiple to run 6-car trains (2×319=8, which wouldn’t fit in most platforms).

16:06.

The AGM’s over and there’s six new board members elected from nine candidates.

18:00

Dawn and Hazel with the outgoing Chair of the ACORP board, Peter Roberts, who’s been keeping order for the last 18 years.

Not time for blogging, I’ve been too busy editing pictures – and watching the Government (and hopefully, Brexit) implode.

04 Tuesday Dec 2018

Posted by in Birmingham, Brexit, Politics, Railways

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As the old Chinese curse goes “May you live in interesting times”. We certainly are. According to the BBBC, tonight’s vote in Parliament which decreed the Government was holding Parliament in contempt was the first time it’s ever happened.  Just think on that…

It’s hard to explain to people unconnected with politics or economics just what an absolute f*****g shambles this county is in at the moment. Or as I saw on Twitter earlier;

fucktangular

I think “fucktangular” pretty much sums up the Brexitshambles, the Government and the ‘opposition’ at the moment. Never has this country been so ill-served by its political classes. Meanwhile, in other news most people will have missed, one of the architects of this mess, one Nigel Farage, has announced his resignation from UKIP as it’s completed the job he started and morphed into the British National Party. Their new Leader, Gerald Batten has welcomed arch-racist, several times convicted criminal  (and self publicist) Stephen Yaxley Lennon (aka “Tommy Robinson”) into the fold. Apparently, it’s OK to be a racist with a blazer in UKIP, but bomber jackets are just too common!

So, whilst Britain goes to hell in a hand-cart and we have five days of these political shenanigans to look forward to as our (entirely self-inflicted) national humiliation plays out in front of the world’s media I’ve not been eating popcorn, I’ve been editing pictures for clients and my website. Here’s a few samples to lighten the mood.

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An East Midland Trains HST plays ‘peek a boo’ through a doorway at Sheffield station.

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The German Christmas market’s in full swing at the moment. Ironically, it’s sponsored by the city of Frankfurt – although how long this might continue in a post-Brexit world is open to conjecture. The fact this Bierkeller is filled with the younger generation says it all really.

DG314118. Curzon St Hs2 station site. Birmingham. 30.11.18crop

A birds-eye view of the site of the new High Speed 2 station site in Birmingham. Demolition of the old concrete foundations of the parcels distribution site is well underway.

 

 

 

 

Rolling blog: Midlands meanderings

30 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in Birmingham, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:29

Morning folks! I’ve had a later start than normal as it was a late night last night. It was a fabulous evening (which you’ll hear more about later), but right now I’m concentrating on catching up with some emails and admin over a coffee at the wonderful art deco Centenary Lounge at Moor St station before making the most of the sunny weather here in Birmingham.

Time to hit the rails, more soon…

13.56.

Phew! It’s been a busy few hours, the weather’s been pretty good here in Birmingham but I’ve finally stopped for a break and chance to download a few pictures. To start, here’s a couple from last night. The entertainment was excellent, but also a challenge to photograph. Come on, you didn’t think I was going to leave my camera at home, did you?

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Last night’s compere was an old friend, Richard Salkeld, who works in the Comms team for GWR, here he is in typical ‘selfie’ mode with Andrew Haines, the new Chief Executive of Network Rail.

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Whilst I’ve been bumbling around Birmingham I’ve been out updating shots for the Rail Delivery Group that include the new West Midlands train livery which is being carried by more and more of the fleet. Here’s a couple of examples.

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Of course, I couldn’t not pop in to see how work’s progressing on the site of the new HS2 station that’s being built at Birmingham Curzon St on the site of the old parcels depot. So, here’s an overview of the site as the old concrete base is being broken up.

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Right, that’s it for new. More later. Hopefully my journey home won’t be quite as complex as yesterday!

15:55.

Ho hum. I’m heading for Manchester on Cross-Country’s 15:57 from Birmingham – and it’s absolutely rammed! There’s 17 of us crammed into a vestibule on this 4-car train!

I’ve written and blogged about this plenty of time before, but in this day and age, 4-5 car trains between Birmingham-Manchester is just mad – and they’re diesels running all the way under the wires, which is doubly mad.

So, there’s not much chance of doing anything productive on this train. It’s like being back on the tube in London.

16:48.

We’ve just left Stoke and the crush has eased. There’s still no seats available, but I’ve managed to find a perch in the luggage rack!

18:07.

After arriving at Manchester and fighting my way through the Friday crowds in the city centre from Piccadilly to Victoria I’m now standing on Northern’s 17:55 to Leeds! Well, I’m actually jammed in a luggage rack at the end of the saloon…

As usual things calmed down a bit after Rochdale, where a lot of folk got off. It didn’t mean there were any spare seats, just that we could all breathe! This is how things look after calling at Littleborough, our last stop in Lancashire before crossing the Pennines.

19:18

Bugger! I had to change trains at Jensen Bridge. It’s a Victorian gem of a station, but the weather’s not up to much this side of the Pennines!

Now I’m having a drink in Williams Bar in Sowerby Bridge before heading home. Well, it IS Friday…

Rolling blog:Birmingham bound…

29 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Birmingham, Railstaff awards, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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11:23

It’s almost time to brave the elements and head to Birmingham for tonight’s Railstaff awards. I’ve spent the morning pottering around and catching up with various bits, including scanning another 20 old rail slides from 1996 which have been added to the Tinsley depot open day gallery here. The weather is worse than predicted in the Pennines as the sunshine’s never really materialised but gales have. I doubt there’s many leaves left on the trees now, most have been blowing past the house in whirlwind pirouettes! Here’s how things look from our bedroom window right now.

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OK, time to walk down to Sowerby Bridge station and try my luck…

12:38.

My departure was delayed by the arrival of a torrential rainstorm the swept in up the valley you can see in the picture. The beauty of living where we do is that you get to see ’em coming so don’t get caught out!

Having dodged between showers I’m now on Northern’s 12:22 to Manchester Victoria which is running to time (unlike others). This is what a supposedly sunny day in the Calder Valley looks like! Talk about it’s grim up North…

Hopefully things will get better the further South I get.

13:46.

I’ve just arrived at Manchester Piccadilly after walking across from Victoria – and those white numbers don’t tell a happy story. They’re delayed trains.

There’s a Cross-country service to Bournemouth here that’s 25 down before starting its journey.

I was going to take the ‘scenic’ route to Birmingham via Crewe but as services are disrupted I’ve opted for a direct train. I’m now on the delayed Cross-country service to Paignton via Brum. We’re held awaiting a driver, with an expected departure of 14:25. Let’s see what happens…

14:47.

We left at on time at our new time and we’re now on our way to Brum. The trains very busy but the crew are doing a sterling job dealing with passengers who’ve been delayed by the weather. One of the problems with heavy winds is the sheer amount of stuff that becomes airborne and gets blown onto the tracks or into the overhead wires. Euston station’s Twitter account’s just posted a picture of a large chunk of sheet metal on the tracks near Leighton Buzzard. You certainly wouldn’t want that slicing through a train’s windscreen, hence the speed restrictions that are in place. I’m just waiting for the picture of the regulation kids trampoline as these always seem to blow away in the slightest breeze.

15:00.

It’s one of those days. My train failed at Macclesfield! One of the doors refused to close again despite the best efforts of the crew and other helpers, so we were told to detrain and catch the Bournemouth XC service that pulled in alongside us! Here’s some pictures of the fun!

Now I’m rammed in the 1st Class vestibule with 14 other people. Two middle-aged women immediately went into a long, outraged whine. One of them’s upset because she’s on her way to an awards ceremony. I felt like saying “so am I love”. Still first world problems eh?

15:58.

I could only stand the whining of entitled people as far as Stoke where I abandoned my train in order to catch the one behind. It gave me less than 30 minutes to wait and the chance to explore something new. The former Virgin 1st Class lounge at Stoke has been taken over by the Titanic brewery! The new pub has only been open 6 weeks and makes a welcome addition to the stock of station bars. Take a look.

Whilst I was there I ended up emailing pictures to a magazine and sorting out a short-notice commission on Monday (don’t you just love Government Ministers diaries?)

I’m now on the 15:45 to Bristol Temple Meads which gets me into Birmigham in time to check into my hotel and head to the Railstaff awards at the NEC. At least there’s plenty of space on this one

Next stop, Birmingham..

17:21.

Having dumped my bag at the hotel, looked for accommodation in Derby for Sunday night and had a little wander through the Xmas sights in central Birmingham, it’s off to the NEC I go!

Next stop, the Railstaff awards…

18:56.

Looks like a fun night!