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Category Archives: Calder Valley

A wet Wednesday in the Calder Valley

07 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Travel, Walking

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I’ve had another day working from home –  which has been fortunate as the weather’s been pretty mixed to –  say the least. One of the beauties of homework is that I can nip out for an afternoon constitutional when staring at a screen and a numb bum combine to force me to take time out.

Right now the woodland around where we live is at its autumnal best as the leaves have turned from green to a range of coppers and yellows, depending on the type of tree and its location. All I need now is some spare time and a sunny day to get a few pictures to really do it justice, rather than a couple of shots grabbed on my phone in the woods I’ve just walked through. Still…

Here’s the view from the edge of Halifax, looking across the Calder Valley. See what I mean about the trees?

Right now I’m down in Sowerby Bridge, taking a break from the rain before walking back up the hill to home. The weather’s closed in and the skies have opened. As a photographer, I really don’t mind the rain. OK, it could be a bugger if you were trying to shoot some picturesque calender shots, but the way light reflects off wet surfaces is a delight to play with – as are the colours. I’ll update this blog with a couple of examples later.

17:53.

Here’s what I mean, these pictures just wouldn’t have the same impact if it hadn’t been raining.

DG201371. Tram 3069. Piccadilly Gardens. Manchester. 21.11.14crop

FDG2464. Tracks in the rain. Limerick Jn. 22.10.05

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The Calder valley resignalling arrives

23 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Rail Investment, Railways

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Trains began running through the Calder valley again this morning after a three-day blockade which saw the new signalling commissioned and the end for the manual signal boxes at Hebden Bridge, Milner Royd Junction, Halifax and Mill Lane, Bradford.

I nipped out this afternoon to have a quick look at how things have changed by heading down to Hebden Bridge. It seemed very odd to see the grade 2 listed signal box dark and devoid of life, but hopefully not for long..

Whilst some may bemoan the changes, for ordinary passengers they’re positive. The resignalling will help raise line-speeds which will cut several minutes off journey times but also make the railway better equipped to catch up on delays. The new kit is also easier to maintain and less likely to fail, making services more reliable. Here’s a small selection of pictures highlighting the changes.

DG312307crop

It’s alive! After sitting idle for months, the new signal by the Manchester bound platform at Sowerby Bridge is ready for business. The HG prefix to the signal number no longer refers to the signalbox controlling the signal, but the route it’s on. So, HG refers to Hebden (Bridge) to Greetland (junction). The signals actually controlled from the new ROC in York

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The box at Hebden’s disconnected and dark now, but as a grade 2 listed building it will live on and there’s some interesting plans for its future.

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Northern’s 158792 passes one of the new signals at Hebden Bridge on its way to Leeds.

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158792 calls at Hebden Bridge, controlled by the new signalling system 

 

 

 

A short walk in the Calder valley

29 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It’s been a lazy(ish) day today. We’ve not been far, well, by our definition anyway! After a fairly lazy morning at home catching up on chores and bits we decided to walk across the valley up to Norland Moor and the fabulous Moorcock Inn.

After leaving home we walked down through Scarr Woods to the valley floor and along the Salter & Hebble Navigation (otherwise known as the canal) as far as Copley, a small place that’s sandwiched between the canal and the River Calder.

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There’s only one road in and out and for a couple of years the place was even more isolated as the old stone bridge that crossed the Calder was destroyed in the Boxing day floods of 2015. In 2017 this was replaced by a modern steel structure that once again allows pedestrian access to the Norland side of the valley and an area of dense woodland known as North Dean Wood. It’s a interesting little place. An old Toll house still stands by the bridge, opposite the disused St Stephen’s Church which is a designated Grade II* listed building, under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

toll list

toll 2crop

The church was open when we passed, so we had a nosey inside. It’s a huge, rather gloomy place that must have been murder to heat and light in its day!

Churchcrop

What was interesting about the church was that it contained nuggets of local history and an explanation of how Copley village came into existence. What I learned was that it was one of the earliest model villages, set up before the much more famous Saltaire. He’s a local website that explains – and saves me having to!

Heading on from the church we walked up through the woods to reach the top of the escarpment and Greetland Moor. The leaves are just beginning to turn but have yet to produce the rich panoply of colours we can expect to see in a few weeks time. What we did see was a wide variety of mushrooms. I’m no mycologist, so I don’t really know what I’m looking at, but here’s some examples.

mushrooms 1crop

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As you cut through the trees towards the top of the escarpment there’s some wonderful views back across the Calder valley towards Halifax, where the magnificent 23 arch, Grade 2 listed Copley viaduct is exposed to view. Built for the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway in 1850 it spans the River Calder, the canal and the A6026 Wakefield Rd.

viaduct

Once up on the moors we walked from Greetland to Norland and on to the Moorcock Inn for a well deserved pint and also – one of their home made pork pies – which are excellent. Succulent and packed with meat, they’re not cheap, but as a treat, they’re well worth trying.

pie 1

pie 2

The bar menu changes on a daily basis and always contains something different and delicious

Rolling blog: Westward bound…

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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I’m enjoying that desk-free day today and heading West over the Pennines to the Manchester area for the day to catch up with some of the changes to the rail network and grab some shots of the old BR Pacers in their natural habitat before they head off to the scrapyard.

As usual, I’m starting my day at Sowerby Bridge station, which is looking rather resplendent at the moment. Despite the baking hot summer the station friends group have managed to keep nearly all the plants alive – which has been no mean feat! I helped in a very minor way by bringing plastic bottles full of water from home when I was passing through and watering as I waited for my train. Now the recent rains have taken some of the pressure off the group. Here’s how it looks today.

There’s not just flowers to admire on the station, there’s local history to discover too! The friends commissioned dozens of information boards that line both platforms. They tell you about local celebrities or people of note, such as this one about Walter Robinson, a tram conductor who was killed in the Pye Nest tram disaster in 1907.

It’s just as well there’s things like this to read as the train service is a bit of a shambles today. I’ve been here since 09:45 as I was planning to catch the 10:08 to Manchester. Initially it was shown on the station info screens as running a minute late. Then the time came and went and it mysteriously ceased to exist and was replaced by the 10:22 (runing 5 late due to making extra stops as another train was cancelled). At 10:22 the 10:08 rolled in, seemingly from nowhere, much to the confusion of waiting passengers! This is where the information screens both confuse and let down passengers. The information’s neither real-time nor accurate.

I’m now on a busy 2-car (150205) which is heading for the seaside at Southport. As it’s the school holidays we’re jam-packed with families.

10:42

I bailed out of the Southport train at Hebden Bridge to grab some shots of the platform extensions which are really coming along. They’ve been given their tarmac topping and aren’t far from completion.

Once again, the passenger information caused more confusion than anything. As the late running Manchester train approached it was shown on the info screens, yet “Digital Doris” (the automated voice on the PA) announced “the next train will be the 10:41 to Preston”. Grrrr!

It was the Manchester train, and I’m now sat on it!

11:06.

It’s going to be one of those days. We’re currently stuck at Littleborough as the section ahead is occupied by the train I got off! We’re getting later and later cut there’s been no announcements about what’s going on. At 12:08 we finally started moving but we’re going to be crawling from signal to signal now due to the train in front.

12:11

We finally crawled into Victoria at 11:41. I’m still none the wiser as to what the problem was. TPE also have services cancelled due to the meaningless and insulting phrase I hate – “operational reasons”.

The weather forecast hasn’t been up to much today either and the sunny periods it promised have failed to materialise this side of the Pennines. I’m making my way to the East side of the city, hoping for better.

12:46

Here we go, the 12:49 to Sheffield from Manchester Piccadilly, which is about to bounce its way back across the Pennines.

14:17.

I’m deep in ‘Pacer’ territory now, at the attractive station and town of Romily, which is where two different lines from Manchester meet before diverging again. One’s the truncated branch to Rose Hill Marple, the other is the old Midland main line to the South via Chinley. Nowadays all the local services have been strengthened to run a pairs of Pacers like this. Here’s 2S19, the 13:32 from New Mills Central to Manchester Piccadilly via Reddish North with Romily station in the background. The line to the left is the route via Hyde and Guide Bridge

DG305742. 142033. 142057. Romily. 21.8.18

16:53.

I’ve wifi so I’m quickly adding a couple of pictures whilst I can. Here’s the old Midland Railway signalbox at Romily Junction. It’s boarded up now and appears closed, yet the local signals still carry RJ plates, which is rather confusing. The box doesn’t have a straight line to it as it appears to be slipping backwards down the embankment.

DG305760After Romily I moved on to New Mills central, which is the boundary for many services from Manchester as it has a useful turn-back siding controlled from the local signalbox. here’s a pair of Pacers coming out of the siding before working back to Piccadilly.

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One more. Having come out of the sidings, 057 and 033 sit in the platform at New Mills Central before working back to Manchester Piccadilly

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Caveat. (18:33)

I’d update this blog more often but I’ve found WordPress struggles with me doing so from both a laptop via wifi and also my Android phone. I’ll try and add more shortly, but there may be troubles ahead…

21:40.

The final update for the day. Sadly WordPress has let me down today and I’ve struggled to update this blog whilst on the move. I’m intending to work from home tomorrow so I’ll add part two to this blog then.

Calder Valley rail improvements progress

16 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, GNRP, Rail Investment, Railways, Sowerby Bridge

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The Calder valley is seeing a package of rail improvements at the moment. The ones that are most visible to passengers are taking place right now as platform extensions on several stations are underway or just about to start.

The following stations will see platforms extended by varying lengths, with work due to finish by December 2018.

Mills Hill. Smithy Bridge. Littleborough. Walsden. Todmorden. Hebden Bridge. Mytholmroyd. Sowerby Bridge and Bradford Interchange.

Here’s a good example: Hebden Bridge station’s the most historic on the rout as it’s in pretty much original condition, so any work has to be carried out sympathetically. Platform two is being extended by 56m, one of the longest extensions planned. The opposite platform only needs to be extended by a few metres. Here’s a series of pictures showing how the work has progressed.

DG300391. Platform 2. Hebden Bridge. 22.6.18

How it used to be on the 22nd June 2018: Platform 2 just as the work to extend the platforms was starting. On the bottom left of the picture you can see the old wooden buffer-stops to the former goods yard behind the Vortok fencing and the black pipes containing cable runs.

DG301729. Starting construction of the platform extensions. Hebden Bridge. 9.7.18

By 9th July the old buffers had gone, along with the platform ramp and cables were encased in protective plastic tubing.

DG302808. Platform extensions. Hebden Bridge. 16.7.18

16th July: The first precast concrete section of the platform extension were in place, along with the crane that was used to lift them into position during night-time possessions.

DG302816. Platform extensions. Hebden Bridge. 16.7.18

16th July: A closer look, showing the facing to the pre-cast concrete to enable it to blend with the original platform.

DG303340. Platform extension. Hebden Bridge. 23.7.18

Blending old and new.

DG303344. Platform extension. Hebden Bridge. 23.7.18

Here’s a view inside the new platform on July 23. The plastic pipes that protected the signalling cables have been replaced with concrete cable toughs.

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By the 30th July the platform structure was complete. Foundations for lighting columns and much of the hardcore infill were in place.

DG305385. Platform extension. Hebden Bridge. 9.8.18

9th August: The coping stones and tactile paving is in place, along with a drainage channel at the back of the platform and finished bases for lighting columns.

Meanwhile, platform 1, which had a much shorter extension and had limited access was being built by more traditional methods, using breeze-blocks.

DG303363. Platform extension. Hebden Bridge. 24.7.18

Platform 1 on the 21st July, a much more restricted site access than platform 2 means traditional construction methods were being used.

The platform extensions aren’t the only work happening at Hebden Bridge. The signalling is being replaced and the listed Lancashire and Yorkshire signalbox is expected to be decommissioned in October. Here’s one of the new signals which guards the crossover and siding.

DG303348. New signalling. Hebden Bridge. 23.7.18

To enable modern step free access to platform 1 the former goods lift shafts will be refurbished and used for new lifts.

DG303342. Site for new lift. Hebden Bridge. 23.7.18

Meanwhile, over at Sowerby Bridge, the long-abandoned section of the Bradford bound platform has been stripped of undergrowth ready to be rebuilt. Here’s how it looked on the 24th July.

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Here’s a different view taken on the 16th August.

DG305670. Old platform about to be rebuilt. Sowerby Bridge. 16.8.18

 

I’ll keep blogging about the upgrades to the Calder valley line and add as many pictures of the work as I can over the next few months.

Rolling blog: Cumbria bound

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, GNRP, I love my job, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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I’m on the move again today with three different assignments to fulfil. Hopefully, the weather will play ball. The dull, heavy cloud that blighted me yesterday as given way to a variety of shapes, styles and heights, broken up by long periods of blue sky.

Right now I’m making my way from Sowerby Bridge to Preston. I changed trains at Hebden Bridge as that gave me time to check-out progress on the platform extensions and also admire the collection of old Calder Valley railway prints and photographs on display in the waiting rooms. Here’s two examples from the artist AF Tait.

The first is the rail/canal bridge known as the Whiteley Arch which is West of Todmorden

The next shows the original Brighouse station (built in the Chinese style) from the days when the town was the railhead for Bradford, seven miles away.

If you’ve never been to Hebden Bridge station it’s well worth a look. It’s probably the best preserved former Lancashire & Yorkshire station left on the network. I’ll add some pictures of it later.

Right now I’m passing through a succession of old Cotton Mill towns (Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn) along a line that once used to be full of freight trains carrying coal, the raw materials for the mills – and the finished products to market. The decline since those heady days is evident, both in the towns and the railway that serves them. Yet the railway rationalisation of the 1960s-80s is now in reverse. The decline in the towns is harder to put right, especially after a decade of Government imposed austerity. Things are set to get worse thanks to the Brexit shambles as these towns were persuaded to vote Leave (against their own interests) and many folk are living in blissful ignorance of the gathering economic storm that’s coming their way and that will hit these shores in 2019.

I’ve arrived in Blackburn the same time as a passing shower! Fortunately, we’re heading in opposite directions.

Northern Rail seem to be having a few fleet issues today. Many Calder Valley services are short-formed. I’m jammed in the vestibule of a 2-car Class 158. This service is a normally a 3 car. The Class 153s that are used to strengthen many other trains seem noticeably absent today.

Preston. 10:44.

On arrival at Preston I’ve connected seamlessly with Northern’s 10:44 to Barrow in Furness. A 2 car 158 is a bit of a let-down after the TPE 185s that used to ply the route. There’s no power sockets or wifi so it’s not much of a mobile office. However, the Conductor has done his bit to make the trip more interesting. Look what’s on the PIS!

12:18

After another seamless connection at Barrow I’m now heading up the Cunbrian coast to Whitehaven and the weather’s ideal. Heres the view as we approached Ulverston.

16:52.

I’m heading home now, but things didn’t quite go to plan! When I arrived in Whitehaven the rain Gods had arranged to co-incide and a band of rain cloud sat over the town. Luckily, it didn’t hang around so my walk along the old mineral tramway Northwards towards Parton was blessed with sunshine. I do like this area as a photo location (you’ll see why later) but Parton itself is a sad place nowadays.

Unless you knew the Cumbrian coast 40 or so years ago you can be forgiven for not knowing about its industrial heritage. Coal mining, steel-making and chemicals were the backbone of the economy. Now they’ve all gone – along with the fishing industry. Today, the area’s biggest employer is the Sellafield Nuclear plant, followed by the tourist trade.

Add to the mix a decade of austerity since 2008 and towns like Parton are suffering. They never made the transition from industry to tourism as they have little to offer.

19:09.

I’m on the move again, this time from Barrow in Furness to Preston. The journey was gorgeous. The weather’s been perfect and the views across the beaches sublime. Here’s a sample

I stopped in Barrow in Furness for an hour to explore a little as I’ve not been here for 12-13 years. Now I can see why. Barrow was (and is) a shipbuilding town but there’s a problem. Britain is no longer an Imperial power or Empire and we certainly don’t rule the waves anymore. Our Navy’s shrinking in line with our reduced place in the world, yet towns like Barrow cling to a past that’s not coming back. Now Barrow is reliant on building the ultimate baroque arsenal – Nuclear submarines. They’re great for getting a seat at international tables – even more so after Brexit as it’s all we have left – but can our enfeebled economy still afford them? I suspect Barrow’s obvious love of the past may be the harbinger of its doom. Like many old industrial towns, the walk in from the station is past numerous derelict shops and reminders of a better past, like this:

Another mad week begins!

11 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Germany, Hs2, I love my job, Never a dull life, Northern Rail, Photography, Photojournalism, Rail Investment, Travel

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The old expression “feast or famine” springs to mind this week as I find myself with one of those weeks where there’s just too much happening at the same time, leaving me with an interesting exercise in logistics and juggling.

Right now I’m off to Manchester to check on rail improvement work and the effects of the timetable ‘difficulties’. I’ll report back on what I find. At least my train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester’s only a minute late. It’s 158905, which is one of the DMUs West Yorkshire PTE funded ‘back in the day’. It’s still providing sterling service, even if it’s carrying a lighter load than usual today.

Funnily enough, I’ve just passed one of its sister units at Hebden Bridge which is still carrying Scotrail livery (158871). It’s the delayed cascade of units like 871 that’s contributed to Northern’s present difficulties

Tomorrow, the fun starts in earnest. I’m attending the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders conference in Leeds then heading straight down to London in readiness for an early morning flight to Germany. I’m part of a Siemens press trip which will preview some of their new products ahead of the massive Innotrans trade fair in Berlin in September. It’s going to be a busy couple of days in Germany but as soon as I land I have to dash again – this time to Crewe as I’ve volunteered to take the pictures on the Railway Children charities annual ‘3 peaks by rail’ fundraiser. This is only being made possible by my long-suffereing wife, Dawn – who will be meeting me (fleetingly) in London for a rapid kit change! Hopefully (Heathrow customs permitting) I’ll make it to Crewe in time to catch the train. If not, I’ll be catching up with them in Bangor at some God-awful hour!

The ‘3 Peaks by rail’ event lasts from Thursday evening until Saturday evening, when I should land back in Preston in time to get home. Last year that didn’t happen. One of the pair of Class 37s had to be changed at Carlisle so we were late and I had to stay over in Manchester. I’m hoping for better luck this time. Dawn’s on standby with the car, just in case…

As you can see, there’s going to be plenty to shoot and write about, so watch this space…

15.37.

Right now I’m returning from a look at electrification of and expansion to Bolton station. The delays to this project are another reason for Northern’s problems…

The adventure begins…

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Ride India, The 'Beast from the East', The Railway Children, Travel, Weather

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– just not quite the way I was hoping! The bad weather’s still causing havoc on road and rail. Yesterday Grand Central announced the first train they’d be running today would be the 10.34 from Halifax. I’d planned to catch it and Dawn had given me a lift to the station, but it was cancelled at the very last moment as we waited in the warmth of the car. I’d already thought of a plan B (just in case) so put ot into action. VTEC were running a sparse service from Leeds but Virgin West Coast were running every 20 mins from Manchester. I figured that – even if one or two were cancelled – the odds of success were still far better! So, that’s where i’m en-route to now.

Calder Valley services are running with a few cancellations and delays. I’m on the delayed 10:27 which left Halifax at 10:50. The irony of taking this route is that I’m following my cycle training course to Rochdale. I’m glad i’m in a warm DMU as it looks perishing outside!

I’ll update you on my progress from Manchester…

UPDATE: 12.01

Well, that fell OK, I don’t need to be at Heathrow until 17.40. Time spent browsing the Virgin Trains website threw up a train at 13.15 for the bargain price of £39.50 instead of the normal £85.90! I’m now booked on that and *should* arrive in London at 15.39, giving me plenty of time to get to Heathrow.

Whilst passing through Manchester Victoria I was rather taken aback to see an old friend from my days in London – 150129.

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150129 has been about a bit. Centro to Silverlink to First Great Western to Northern…

This old BR built Class 150 was one of the local workhorses on the ‘Goblin’ (AKA the Gospel Oak – Barking line) in North London. I’ve travelled on it many times but never realised it was one of the units which has been transferred up North from GWR.

Taking my leave of Victoria I decided discretion was the better part of valour so instead of walking to Piccadilly as I normally do I caught a nice warm tram. I’m not exactly dressed for the freezing weather we’re experiencing and contracting hypothermia wouldn’t be a great start to this odyssey…

13:34.

We’ve left Manchester 13 late, not because of the weather (although the set was late in from Euston) but because of human error. Our train Manager confessed she’d been waiting on the wrong platform due to a last minute set swap!

14.16

I’m currently between Stone and Norton Bridge in Staffordshire. We’ve been diverted this way rather than our normal route via Colwich due to the snow drifts. The fields are bare as all the white stuff’s blown off them onto the track! Hopefully, once we’re on the 4 track main line the situation will ease. The train’s packed as we’re carrying passengers who were on an earlier service that was cancelled before departure. Everyone seems stoic – people are just happy to be on the move. Mind you, the coach is warm as toast as the heating’s on full – so quite a few folk have drifted off to sleep!

15:19

For a change, the closer we get to London the worse the weather is getting. The skies darkened South of Rugby, then the snow arrived. We’ve just passed Wolverton and the snow’s blowing in at a rate of knots. I’ve had a call from a friend at Euston to tell me that it’s snowing in London.

Sunday miscellany

11 Sunday Feb 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Environment, Flooding, Miscellany, Mytholmroyd, Rail Investment, Rail Moderinsation

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It’s another dismal day here in the Calder Valley as we’ve suffered from high winds and waves of sleet and snow showers. In fact the whole weekend’s been a washout due to the changeable weather. It’s prevented me cycle training and left me catching up with household chores, paperwork and some picture editing.

Some of the pictures are from Friday’s visit to nearby Mytholmroyd, which is still recovering from the devastation caused by the Boxing Day floods of 2016. For those of you unfamiliar with events, have a look at this article from the Guardian newspaper.

Whilst most homes and businesses have now been re-occupied, a row of shops that were sandwiched between the main road and the river Calder were seriously damaged and have been demolished by the Environment Agency, they’ve been replaced with these ‘Lego’ blocks which form part of the new flood defences that are still under construction around the town.

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The view from the road bridge over the River Calder, showing the new flood defences which occupy the site of former homes and shops.

A few hundred metres up the road, behind the Shoulder of Mutton pub the Environment Agency’s rebuilding the shattered banks of Cragg brook that were overwhelmed. Flooding the pub, nearby homes and the housing estate opposite.

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Looking upriver along Cragg Brook towards Cragg Vale. The housing estate behind the wall was under several feet of water after the floods.

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Looking in the opposite direction to the previous photo. The Shoulder of Mutton pub can be seen on the right. The River Calder is a few hundred metres beyond the railway viaduct.

I only hope that once the Environment Agency’s finished the work Mytholmroyd will be protected from such devastation in the future and the problem isn’t simply moved downriver…

On another front, the resignalling of the Calder Valley line is continuing apace. More and more new signals are springing up along the route. Some are straight replacements for older signalling such as this pair at Mytholmroyd where the new signal has been moved forwards

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Others are new, installed to reduce the size of the signalling sections, such as this one in Sowerby Bridge which is protecting the station.

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What’s immediately noticeable about the new signalposts is the absence of ladders that previously allowed S&T staff to reach the signal head. These have been made redundant as the post is hinged at the base so that it can be lowered to the ground.

It’s now Sunday evening and the weather’s deteriorated as the temperature dropped. One minute you could see the other side of the valley – the next you were lucky to see 50 metres!

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The calm before the next storm. Looking down over Sowerby Bridge from by the Wainhouse Tower. The next snowstorm is coming in from the West  (to the right of the picture).

The wind whipped the snow flurries so that they were almost horizontal. Then, suddenly – blue skies would appear, giving a blissful few minutes peace before the next lot of flakes stormed in. We abandoned attempts to go walking and sought solace in the local pub for an hour of fun and laughter with friends.

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The Big 6 is a traditional pub of the old school. There’s no wifi or TV, you go there to drink good beer and engage in conversation with people. Beer like this…

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After the pub the two of us settled in for a productive evening at home. Dawn had promised to make another batch of her Thai style chilli pickle so the pair of us spent ages cutting up a large bowl full of red and green chillies which produced these jars full of weapons-grade pickle for ourselves and some friends.

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This stuff isn’t for the faint-hearted & should probably be banned under the Geneva convention – especially the next morning when its had chance to work its way through your digestive system. Johnny Cash summed up the effects perfectly…

Goodnight folks!

 

 

 

The writing’s on the wall for the Calder Valley’s last two remaining signal boxes.

24 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Rail Investment, Signalling

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Whilst waiting for my train at Sowerby Bridge the other day I noticed this new signal had appeared on the Up Main.DG288534. New signalpost. Sowerby Bridge. 19.1.18.

If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s signalling more than trains – it’s signalling the end of absolute block working between Hebden Bridge and Milner Royd Junction, the last remaining patch of AB working on the Calder valley route in 2018. Both signal boxes are due for closure in the autumn. The future of Milner Royd (one of only two surviving Smith and Yardley boxes) is uncertain, but Hebden Bridge, (built by the Railway Signal Co) is a grade 2 listed building so will survive. Here’s a couple of pictures of the boxes concerned. Photograph them whilst you can!

07070. Hebden Bridge SB. 7.8.99.

Hebden Bridge Signal Box was built by the Railway Signal Co to a standard design in 1898. It contains a 38 lever frame and L&Y block instruments.

DG19303. Milner Royd Junction signalbox. 17.10.08.

Built in 1878. Milner Royd signal box contains a 20 lever Railway Signal Co frame and L&Y block instruments

Two other boxes are also due to close, although neither are actually in the Calder Valley. They’re Halifax and Mill Lane, Bradford. Two other boxes have already closed this month. Huddersfield and Healy Mills functions have been transferred to York ROC.