Category Archives: Community Rail Network

24th May picture(s) of the day…

24 Wednesday May 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Yet another day when (thanks to the glorious sunshine) it’s been anything but grim up North! T’was even cracking the flags in Manchester!

My day started pottering around at Bigland Towers before catching the train from Sowerby Bridge to nearby Mytholmroyd station to join in the Community Rail week fun with our old friends Geoff and Sue Mitchell, some of the other members of the station group plus visitors from the Calder valley Community Rail Partnership, Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail and others who came along to enjoy a guided walk from Mytholmroyd to nearby Hebden Bridge.

The event was meant to kick off with tours of the restored station building, but that nearly didn’t happen due to one of those black comedy moments that we can laugh about now, but at the time could have been far less funny. Since the building’s been restored it’s always been assumed there was no water supply. Today that turned out to be untrue, as when some protective coverings were being moved a pipe was exposed which then blew its plastic coupling to release a high pressure jet of water across the ground floor. Poor Geoff and Sue and another of their colleagues got absolutely drenched trying to reattach the pipe to stem the deluge, but if you’ve ever tried such a maneuver you’ll know it’s next to impossible. In the end, all we could do was open a drain in the floor, dam and divert the flow into it and wait for the water company to come and access the stopcock buried in the pavement outside. Thank God it was a bright sunny day and not January!

The irony? The door in the picture is equipped with flood protection – but only from the river outside…

Still, it provided some amusement for the visitors, who were still able to have a look around the upstairs of the old building. Tours over, everyone assembled for short welcome speech from Geoff before Sue (who’d dried out somewhat) led the walkers off on their exploration of the valley. Poor Geoff was left behind to dry off in the sun and wait for the water company!

“Can anyone hear running water”? The gang gathered outside the station building in Mytholmroyd before setting off for Hebden Bridge.

Having done all I could to help, and taken pictures of the event I headed off into Manchester for the rest of the afternoon to do some shopping and grab a few pictures. In many ways I’m still a city boy at heart, so it was lovely to be able to spend an afternoon exploring and people-watching, as well as stocking up on bits I needed that are hard to get elsewhere. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the weather, the city was very busy with many people taking advantages of the centre’s open spaces to relax or work outside.

Manchester’s old Midland Hotel basks in the sunshine.

Now I’m back at home ready for a day with a very different focus tomorrow. It’s someone’s birthday…

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Variety’s the spice of life…

23 Tuesday May 2023

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Photography, Railways, West Yorkshire

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08:50.

I’m already in ‘Bratfud’ as the locals pronounce it, waiting for the Community Rail Network and other teams to turn up for today’s assignment. A party of schoolchildren are being taken by train from Forster Square station to Ribblehead on the Settle and Carlisle railway. They’ll learn about the railways and local history en-route. Other projects are lined up for them at Ribblehead.

Getting here was a breeze. I walked down to Halifax in plenty of time to pick up the local Huddersfield-Bradford Interchange shuttle. The old Class 150 chugged its way up the hill to the other side of Bowling tunnel without problem. Hopefully we’ll have something less pedestrian to take us to Ribblehead.

Right, time to go to work. More later…

21:30.

Well, that was a crap ‘rolling’ blog – apologies! I ended up being really busy then losing mobile reception once we got onto the Settle and Carlisle, so there was no time to blog during the trip. We met up with the children at Shipley station for the trip up the S&C. Fortunately, volunteers from the friends of the S&C line had reserved half a carriage for us on the 3-car train, so we were enable to hold the STEM class on board with the kids ticking off various aspects of railway operations and equipment that they observed on the way. All along the route they were treated to a commentary about the line, the towns it passed through and features of the countryside, like the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.

At Ribblehead the kids were spilt into two groups. One group visited the famous viaduct and learned about its construction whilst the second group got to grips with building their own viaduct in one of the station rooms before the two groups swapped over. My job was to document the day, which was a challenge when one considers the restrictions that are sometimes imposed by the needs of child protection. Even so, I managed some great interactive shots both on the train and at Ribblehead. Here’s a shot of some of the happy band at the viaduct along with teaching staff, representatives from Community Rail Network, Northern and Network Rail.

The great outdoors. Not an environment many of these children are used to visiting. A large proportion had never even been on a train before.

As we walked back to the station this heavy stone train passed us heading North, the 20 wagons and locomotive fitting neatly onto the viaduct. Many of the children were rather impressed with the sight and surroundings.

We returned on a regular service to Leeds so there was no chance for a reserved coach (or more pictures). I stayed with the group as far as Bradford Forster Square which gave me chance to download and edit all the pictures to go off for websites and publication before one last farewell group shot – after which, my job was done. Well, apart from editing all the rest of the pictures – but that doesn’t have the same urgency!

Having a couple of hours on my hands and in glorious weather I made my way back to Skipton for some mobile office time, then took a break in the lovely market town to peruse some shops, grab a bite to eat and add a few more library shots to the archive.

CAF/Siemens built Class 333016 arrives at Skipton with a service from Leeds. Note the old stop boards for HSTs by the adjacent track. I’m not sure if these are still relevant to the Hitachi ‘Azuma’ fleet which have taken over LNERs Skipton to Kings Cross service.
The ‘new order’ at Shipley, where CAF built 331108 arrives with a service from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square.

Now it’s time to kick-back at home. Having walked over 27,000 steps (12.59 miles, apparently) I’m happy to put my feet up before another (easier) outing tomorrow…

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

Thank you!

A fun Friday in’t Calder valley…

14 Friday Apr 2023

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, Community Rail Network, Food and drink, Musings, Mytholmroyd, Photography, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Today’s certainly been a sociable one and very much a game of two halves – and that included the weather. This morning we awoke to what threatened to be makings of a sunny say, even though temperatures were sub-par with frost on the ground. My optimism rose with the sun, even if the temperatures didn’t. Dawn had to leave for an appointment over in Ossett whilst I stayed indoors wading through emails and paperwork, planning next week (which is looking rather diverse, providing different blogs from different locations). The pair of us arranged to rendezvous over in Mytholmroyd at lunchtime with me letting the train take the strain.

It was a great plan until it came time for me to leave the house. That’s when I realised the weather had turned to ratshit again and my plans to get pictures along the line were a wash-out. Mind you, poor Mytholmroyd’s used to washouts as its recent history of flooding attests to. The reason the pair of us were visiting was the AGM of the friends of Mytholmroyd station which was being held in a church hall adjacent to the station. Like many buildings in the village it’s been underwater several times as it sits next to the Cragg Brook which has regularly burst its banks to flood the town when the nearby Calder’s done the same. Now, some very expensive flood defenses protect the town, so although the weather was miserable we weren’t worried about being deluged.

The AGM turned out to be a great event. Dee and I have known the group for a long time and have made some great personal friends. Their meetings – which whilst they get the business done – are also social events. The food’s pretty good too! We were treated to home-made tray-baked steak pie (with a cheese version for veggies) along with peas, gravy and mint sauce – the classic pie and peas!

Suitably stuffed the attendees got down to business. Just under 30 people attended which included representatives from train company Northern, the new Community Rail Partnership which covers the whole of the Calder valley line and my wife representing Community Rail Network. Me? I was there to record the event and muck in any way I can. It was a very positive event despite the problems the rail industry’s facing at the moment. There’s lots of things to look forward to with the rail network in the Calder valley which is seeing an increase in passenger numbers with more to come as the place increases its profile as a tourist attraction and as an important diversionary route during the trans-pennine route upgrade.

To add to the calorie intake we were treated to home-made cake as a thank-you to Sue Mitchell who was standing down after many years from her role as Secretary of the group. Not that she’ll be retiring completely. Her partner Geoff was reelected as Chair! Here’s a few pictures from the event.

Meetings don’t have to be miserable. Geoff Mitchel (standing) talked about events whilst Richard Isaacs from Northern (behind the laptop) kept this part of the meeting in order.
Retiring Secretary Sue Mitchell was presented with gift vouchers and a gorgeous home-baked cake which was divvied up between attendees.
Pie and peas, coffee and cake, positive actions and laughter – what more do you need to be persuaded to join active community groups like this?

Meeting over Dee acted as a taxi to drop people off and keep them dry before the pair of us headed home for part two of the day. Having spent a couple of hours working it was time to head up to our local pub (The Big 6) to join friends for the Friday quiz. Admittedly, choosing to walk there probably wasn’t the wisest move as the rain was still pelting down but hey – at least we got in the steps!

Sadly, our regular quizmaster Mel wasn’t able to make it so the job of reading out the quiz questions fell to me by popular demand. My accent-neutral enunciated tones weren’t as much fun as Mel’s broad Lancashire but I got the job done. Dawn doesn’t normally manage to make or Friday gathering due to work commitments so today was a bonus as not only was Dee there but the rest of the ‘5 from the 6’ were too – which gave us chance to talk about our next joint adventure to Istanbul in three weeks time.

Now the pair of us are back at home having a relaxing night in. Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day but we both have hopes that Sunday many finally live up to its reputation as the day of rest – we’ll see. So, I’ll end today’s blog with a cartoon from the Pub Paper that I read the two quizzes from tonight. It seems rather appropriate…

Oh, before I go, I should mention that next weekend Mytholmroyd is hosting a very unique and very local event. The World dock pudding championships. Never heard of dock pudding? No, neither had I until I moved here. Sadly, we have an appointment elsewhere which means we might struggle to attend, but I’m determined to do so one year…

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

Thank you!

28th March picture of the day…

28 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Architecture, Community rail, Community Rail Network, Nottingham, Photography, Railways, Travel

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Tempting as it was I decided not to do a rolling blog today because I had more than enough plates to keep spinning without adding another one to the mix. We had a convivial night with many of the Community Rail Network team as we were saying goodbye to Director of Support and Development (and Deputy Chief Executive) Brian Barnsley. Brian was one of the early members of the team from the days when the organisation consisted of a handful of people. After a fun ‘life of Brian’ presentation at the conference social a few of us adjourned to a local hostelry that served real ale – and where you didn’t have to pay hotel prices! Even so, we were good as Dawn and I had to be up by 7am because Dee was working on the conference reception desk with Community Rail Support Officer Daniel Wright. The pair of them made a great double-act, prompting humour and a relaxed atmosphere – just what you need to know that the conference you’re attending isn’t going to be stuffy! We were starting early as many delegates had a long way to travel home, so whilst I had time to tuck into the excellent hotel breakfast Dee was preparing for the delegate deluge. leaving me no option but to drop in a Red Cross parcel of a Danish pastry, croissant and coffee to provide that all important sugar-rush! The conference was a really good event. There was a great range of speakers and presentations to keep people engaged which meant I was kept busy with the camera and laptop as I was constantly feeding the CRN media team with images to use on Twitter and other social media. That said, I did get to listen to and learn from some of the presentations, as well as chat with old friends during the coffee-breaks. The event wrapped up by 16:00 when we bid our farewell to Nottingham with many of us heading North to Yorkshire via Northern’s 16:17 to Leeds. Now the pair of us are relaxing at home ready for another busy few days.

You can find some pictures and more details of the event on CRN’s twitter feed at @CommunityRail.

Now, what to choose for picture of the day? I’m tempted by some of the conference photos but decided against it. Instead, here’s a look at some of the lovely old buildings that make up much of Nottingham’s city centre. In places like this is always worth looking up, although in Nottingham this is made easier by the fact the town’s built over a range of hills!

Here’s the view looking down Queen St with the clock and dome of the Town hall in the background.

Tomorrow I’ll be based at home as I’ve a lot of pictures and paperwork to catch up with before my next escapade later in the week which will involve a popular (and regular) feature of this blog as a friend and I will be visiting several High Speed 2 construction and mitigation sites along the phase 1 route between London and Warwickshire, so expect plenty of words and pictures to come.

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Nottingham bound…

27 Monday Mar 2023

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:30.

We’re packed, all electronic devices charged and ready and about to head off to the station to begin our journey to Nottingham to prepare for the Community Rail Network conference. I’ll blog about the trip en-route so feel free to pop back later to see what we get up to…

11:00.

We’re on our way on a bright but bitterly cold day. We even had a snow flurry before we left. Right now we’re on Grand Central’s 10:40 train from Halifax to London which we’re using to get to Wakefield where we connect with Northern’s Leeds-Nottingham service. This GC class 180s busy and even more so after calling at Brighouse where a few dozen were waiting to join. The latest ORR statistics show that GC services have really bounced back from Covid. They’re currently at 103% of pre-Covid figures. Great news for an open-access operator.

The section of line between Ellend (where a new station’s due to open in 2025) and Brighouse has recently been opened up by a huge amount of lineside tree clearance which makes it feel less like a green tunnel.

11:45.

We had 10 minutes for a cross-platform interchange at Kirkgate, where a new building has appeared on the island platform 2-3. Built on behalf of Grand Central it’s a substantial 3 room structure that replaces the draughty and basic shelter that used to be there. There’s staff accommodation at one end, a seated waiting area in the middle and what looks like a potential retail outlet or small office at the other. Only it doesn’t appear to have any power sockets, just a fuse board, which is odd!

The new structure at Kirkgate.

Our Nottingham train arrived spot on time. Thankfully, it’s formed of a 2-car Class 195 so we can make the most of the power sockets and wifi as there’s other members of the CRN team aboard too.

14:15.

Having reached Nottingham and the venue in plenty of time I’ve a few hours to kill before I’m needed I’ve nipped out to make the most of the good weather and grab some new library shots whilst I’m here. East Midlands Railway have had many Class 170s cascaded to them from other operators to start replacing their old BR built fleets. Some have come from Anglia, via Transport for Wales, such as this example.

With Nottingham Eastcroft depot in the background 170271 works 1K67, the 13:43 from Newark Castle to Crewe. To the left is the former parcels depot. The building’s intact and used as a Virgin active health club.

16:40.

I’ve enjoyed a couple of hours exploring and getting pictures of railways, trams and the town. One thing that struck me is how many vacant shops there are now. Parts of the town centre are almost deserted. One street I walked along was 90% derelict. Here’s a couple of phone pics to be going on with. I’ll add camera shots later.

The old parcels depot which is now a fitness studio.
There’s one mad Tory Chiltern Cllr who insists that reopening the Great Central is a viable alternative to building HS2 as most of the route is intact. Really? This was the Great Central through the centre of Nottingham. Nothing remains.

Right, now it’s time to go to work…

Rolling blog. Community rail awards 2022…

06 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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08:30.

Today’s the day of the awards in Manchester so Dawn and I have been up early to head off to the event to help in the preparation, not that there should be too much to do as it’s always a well-organised event with a good team behind it. Even so, we’ll be on-hand if needed and to go through the rehearsal later in the day. There’ll be a fair bit of time-killing too, so expect a few pictures of Manchester to appear at some point. The beauty of the event being in Manchester this year is that it’s on our doorstep. The awards visits different towns and cities every year. For example, last year we were in Southampton and we’ve been everywhere from Plymouth to Glasgow and all points in-between.

Right now, the pair of us are on the 08:05 train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria, having driven down to the station ‘cos we’ve got so much kit. This brings me to my first picture. Sowerby Bridge has a fairly big station var-park. It was almost full by the time we arrived. Cars were already lining the street outside. But, hang on. I though those opposed to us building new railways like High Speed 2 swore blind it wasn’t needed because everyone’s working from home nowadays. Clearly, a lot of citizens of the Calder Valley didn’t get the memo!

Getting through the ticket barriers at Manchester Victoria was a bit of a scrum too…

10:50.

We’re here at Manchester Central where the awards will be held tonight. In another few hours this auditorium will be full of people…

17:20.

And we’re off…

Rolling blog. Tales of the unexpected…

09 Tuesday Aug 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Manchester, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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09:55.

I’m on my way to Manchester as expected, but under very different circumstances due to a sudden family tragedy that’s happened to a friend and colleague from Community Rail Network. Dawn and I were planning to go into Huddersfield where I’d catch the train and Dee would spend a day at the office. Now we’re both going into Manchester from home because Dawn’s providing cover as she was involved in running the awards for many years. I’ve gone on ahead to do some bits first, with Dawn following on behind.

It’s a beautiful day for travelling anyway. There’s clear blue skies across the valley and the mercury’s rising. I’m on the 09:44 from Halifax which is busy but with seats available which has allowed me to set up the laptop and begin blogging. Feel free to pop back and see what I get up to as the day goes…

Manchester bound…

10:30.

Rather than hang around in the Stygian gloom of Victoria I decided to change trains at Rochdale to grab pictures in the sun. My time was brief and services piled up on me, but I managed a couple before joining a pair of class 150s sat in the ‘new’ bay waiting to leave with a service to Clitheroe. It’s an all-stations stopper which has filled up rapidly.

On arrival at Victoria I noticed this bell symbol which I’ve never seen on a Northern unit before.

13:45.

We’re at Manchester Central, food-tasting. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it…

18:10.

Our meetings over the awards ended up taking most of the day, but that was no bad thing as we were really thorough and went through all the event with the ‘tech’ team and I got to see the awards hall and plan the photography.

My plans for getting some pictures went out of the window but that was fine. Instead we headed to Victoria to get a train home. That’s when the farce began. The 17:22 was running late due to a fault on the train but was due to arrive on the same platform (6) as the 17:37 so we joined the crowds packing the area.

At the last minute it was announced the 17:22 would leave from platform 5, so we took the chance and trotted over the footbridge to wait. The pair of 2-car 195s arrived and we joined the rear unit. Bad move No2. As we sat we saw the 17:37 pull in next to us. The conductor then announced we’d be running fast to Hebden Bridge due to our lateness. Result! We thought…A minute later he annouced the rear set was being split off so we’d have to join the front train. Deep joy! Whilst this farce played out the 17:37 left ahead of us, meaning we’d be stuck running at reduced speed behind it despite running ‘fast’. So, now we’re stood on a packed 2-car with many people who’re missing their stations as they were unaware of the change.

21:30.

Well, we made it home, albeit later than anticipated. To be honest it’s been a good day, despite the unfortunate circumstances. We’re all really happy the the awards venue, the logistics of the event and the food. Oh, and the wine – which we forced ourselves to sample – purely to ensure we wouldn’t expect guests to drink something that wasn’t up to scratch! Roll on the awards on the 4th October….

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog. One last thing…

27 Friday May 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:30.

I wasn’t expecting to be staying in Sheffield last night. But, there’s one last photographic opportunity for Community Rail week that seemed daft not to fit in – especially as it’s at such a scenic location Edale in the Hope valley. A group of Network Rail staff are joining the station friends to give the station a heavier spruce-up. Many hands make light work and all that.

So now I find myself sat on a 2-car Northern Class 156 ready to depart Sheffield and trundle up the valley.

Raring to go…

Job done, I’ll be heading home to Halifax for the weekend and a time to edit the plethora of pictures that I’ve taken over the past few days.

08:45.

It’s a lovely morning to be heading for Hope, there’s high cloud around and a fair bit of wind too, but plenty of sunshine. The train’s already busy with a mixture of students, walkers and cyclists heading to college or for a day out.

08:45.

Heading West I’ve noted a substantial amount of work being done around Bamford station by Network Rail contractors. They appear to be putting in a haul road on the North side of the line, although I’ve no idea why. I’m assuming its to do with the capacity improvements planned for the route.

12:45.

That was in interesting interlude. Edale station’s a lovely little place that’s seen a lot of inhancement work recently. All the station fencing has been renewed (paid for from car-parking charges) whilst the station friends have added new planters, artwork, running-in boards and old pictures of the station. This has been added to with Ukrainian flags and bunting.

On time, the volunteers from Network Rail, Transport for Gtr Manchester and the local station friends arrived and set about tackling various jobs such as litter-picking and tree-trimming in the old goods yard whilst others had a big clear-up of the tree-lined station footpaths which were in need of a good clear-up.

The group getting a safety brief before beginning work.13

13:45.

Having photographed what the groups were getting up to I took my leave after a couple of hours and headed back to Sheffield to finally head home. The 2-car Northern service had room but the 8-car Arriva Cross-Country train I caught back to Leeds was full and standing. I shared a vestibule with a group of off-duty S Yorks police officers off to York for a stag do. Leeds station was just as busy as the train. There’s a lot of people dragging around big suitcases right now!…

Rolling blog. A man of Kent…

26 Thursday May 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Kent, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:00

Well, for a day anyway! I’ve woken up to be greeting by a fabulously sunny day here in Folkstone, a town I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. I’ve stayed in the Ship Inn overlooking the harbour. It’s a quiet little pub and my room is lovely. Here’s the view.

I’m preparing to head out for the day and explore a little before I’m due to begin work in Ashford later this morning at another Community Rail Network event celebrating Rail Week. I’ll blog about what I get up to…

10:30.

It’s not often that I’m pleasantly surprised by a town in the UK nowadays but I have to admit Folkestone is the place. It’s reinvented itself in recent years and a damned fine job they’ve done of it too. The Ferry port is long gone but the harbour and the harbour railway and pier have been transformed into an excellent tourist spot. I’ll add a load of pictures later and blog about it in detail but the town (unlike its cousin Dover, which is a shithole) is really attractive with a bohemian vibe due to artworks and quirky shops and bars.

Looking back on the tiwn from the harbour breakwater.

14:30.

Well, that was a stressful few hours. Firstly problems on the rails meant I thought I was going to be late getting to Ashford. As it was I made my train with just 3 minutes to spare rather than the relaxed 25 mins I was expecting. Then I got a text from a nag saying “could you get those Crossrail pics to us – only we’re on press today”? So, with no notice I managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat (after some wifi false starts) and get them over. As if that wasn’t enough I gad to go straight to work photographing students from Ashford college getting lessons in all aspects of the railways (safety, ticketing etc) on a round trip on the train to Maidstone East. That was actually good fun. The students were lovely and watching their delight in being let loose on making announcements over the station PA at Maidstone was priceless.

Now I’m taking a minute to get my brath back before getting some library pictures before beginning the trek back North…

17:10.

This visit to Kent is coming to an end. Whilst I was here I decided to nip over to Dover to get a few pictures as my records show I’ve not been there since 2011. Not a lot’s changed around the station to be fair and what little of the place I’ve seen hasn’t changed my opinion of the town. Whilst I was there I did have time for a quick pint and enjoyed the last rays of the sunshine outside The Priory, the pub opposite the station which is where I stayed all those years ago. It’s one of those rare beasts – a pub which still hosts live music.

Now I’m on one of SET’s high-speed services back to London to head back to Yorkshire. I’ve a fast mobile office back to the capital with plug-sockets and wifi – what more do I need? (A bar and restaurant car? Ed)…

17:33.

My mobile office is now speeding along High-Speed 1 to London. A railway that exposes all the anti High-Speed 2 environmental scaremongering as just that. It’s 15 years since this line opened to passengers and the scars from building it have long healed. I really must come back and spend a couple of days taking pictures along the route as the last ones I took were for a client and I’m not allowed to use them.

17:45.

I’m curious. On both my trips on SET ‘Javelins’ the Train Manager has announced which toilets are working, so by implication – this is a problem. This set (like all class 395s) has two toilets, a fully accessible one and a cubicle. The access one seems to have conked out. Is this a common issue?

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

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Community rail week starts today…

23 Monday May 2022

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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07:30.

I’m preparing to head off to the opening of Community Rail week which is kicking off with events in Bradford and Bingley. This year the message will be centred on increasing confidence and encouraging people to travel by train with the simple call to action, ‘Give the Train a Try’. You can find out what’s happening where and when by following this link.

Afterwards I’ll be heading down South as I’m staying in the London area tonight ready for the opening of Crossrail tomorrow where I have another assignment.

Feel free to keep popping back to see how my day goes…

09:08.

The journey begins. I’m off to Bradford for our first event of the day. Taking me there is a Northern 2-car Class 195. Unsurprisingly, it’s busy!

09:45.

I’ve strolled across from Bradford Interchange to Forster Sq to await the arrival of the rest of the Community Rail Network team. It’s a walk I always enjoy as ‘Bratfud’ (as the locals pronounce it) has some fantastic buildings. I keep promising myself that I’ll have a day out in the city taking the camera for a wander to photograph some of the delights the city holds. I passed this small slice of history on the way.

Sadly, the modern versions of the city’s stations are hardly architectural gems and are vastly reduced in area and stature.

15:30.

I’m back! It’s been a very hectic few hours so I’ve not had time to blog at all as the day job’s taken precedence. We all rendezvoused at Forster Square where CRN staff were joined by colleagues from Northern Rail and other organisations as well as the women from East meets West. The idea behind this group is to bring women together from different communities by using the train. The women selected have very little or no rail confidence so travelling by train with Community Rail Partnership officers and community group leads inspires them to take further trips – alone, with friends and with their own families. The group enables the women to have different experiences which they can access locally by train. Some of the women are single mums and are from isolated backgrounds so the project has really helped raise their self-esteem and provide them with a sense of community. They were all very excited to be taking part in the the event. Before we left we were joined by Rail Minister Wendy Morton, who is the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills. Needless to say, I was kept fully occupied taking pictures on the train and at Bigley station where the Minister met other Community Rail Officers and the local station friends. It was all extremely informal. To her credit the Minister was open and approachable to all, not surrounded by SPADs or ‘minders’.

Afterwards we we took part in a walk from the station to the top of the famous Bingley five-flight locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, guided by staff from the Canal and River Trust. Walking backwards along a canal bank whilst taking pictures of dignitaries isn’t my favourite job as there’s always the worry that you’ll end up either going arse over tit or in the cabal, but I managed it without accident!

At the top of the lock we took over the small cafe for a lunch of tea and sandwiches before retracing our steps to the station and disappearing off in different directions. I headed into Leeds and found a quiet corner of the Leeds Tap to download and edit some pictures before sending a batch out to the various PR and Media people on my lists. Now I’m sat on LNER’s 15:15 service to London which has become a mobile editing suite as I sort out a bigger picture selection. Meanwhile, here’s a few for your delectation.

Rail Minister Wendy Morton (seated, left) talks to some of the women from East meets West on the train to Bingley from Bradford. Standing is Karen Bennett. Karen is community rail education officer at Community Rail Lancashire, and a CRN Board member.

Everyone poses for a group photograph at Bingley station with some of the excellent work of the station friends on display behind.

The Bingley station friends having a laugh and a giggle with the Minister.

Gerald Townson Chairman at Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership gave a presentation to the Rail Minister on the work CRP’s are doing to encourage rail travel, supported by Community Rail Officers Brian Howarth and Catherine Huddleston.

17:25.

We’re now approaching London after an easy (albeit slightly late) run from Leeds. The weather’s picked up too. It looks like there’s a nice sunny evening in the offing. I’m not going to be staying long in the centre but there is one place Im going to stop at on my way through Euston…

23:00

It’s time to call it a day folks. As I was staying in the Watford area I hooked up with a local friend whom I met when I was spending a lot of time down here working for Network Rail on the 2014-15 Watford blockades. Alan Harte is a fellow railway person, cat lover and beer aficionado – so it would have been rude not to meet up for a couple of jars.

Right now I’m back at my accommodation, repowering all my devices and editing pictures ready for another busy day tomorrow as Crossrail finally opens. Watch this space…

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