Today was one of those days that didn’t really go to plan because of the bane of the outdoor photographer’s life. The weather. It started well enough. I was working from home, wading through all the pictures I took on Merseyside yesterday whilst also dealing with emails and other correspondence. But I could see the weather was ideal for photography. Dawn was going into the Community Rail Network office in Huddersfield for a meeting with Network Rail and TPE so she suggested I might want a lift into town. It sounded like a good idea to me as I could get pictures of some of the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) work and diverted services for the the archive. I really should have checked the weather forecast first…
All was well until we got to Huddersfield, the weather looked cracking. Then I dug the camera out. Just as soon as I did dark clouds marched in from the West – bugger! Huddersfield station was quiet as only a few services were running (to Sheffield, Bradford Interchange, Marsden, Leeds and Hull) the busiest place was the station forecourt where fleets of coaches were ferrying people across the Pennines to Manchester. My plan was to hang around for half an hour before catching the first available train to Brighouse where I’d intended to get a series of lineside shots of the TPE services diverted via the Calder valley, only the bloody clouds followed me and the weather got gloomier – and wetter. I ended up retreating to the Market Tavern in order to have a pint and make a series of work phone calls to make something of the day whilst hoping the weather would clear again. It teased me a couple of times with brief flashes of sunshine, but then the rain arrived so I gave up and came home via a train to Sowerby Bridge before slogging up the hill to home and my desk. Ho hum!
Still, I did get the picture of the day at least. The friends of Brighouse station have done some fantastic work over recent years, transforming the station with plants and flowers. Now they’ve branched out and added a series of local history boards which tale the tale of the town and some of its inhabitants. One in particular caught my eye. Do you remember the old song about the man who broke the bank of Monte Carlo? Well, he was real – and he was local…
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Amazing the difference a good nights sleep makes. I woke up in a much more positive frame of mind this morning. Mind you, stepping straight out of your door to a wonderful river view does rather help. Here’s where I’m staying.
There’s such wildlife to enjoy here (and I’m not talking about the ‘girly’ bars). The river’s teeming with fish and the birdlife (of the feathered variety) is amazing. I’m quite content to pass the time sat outside my room on the verandah and watch the world go by. I’d only booked a couple of nights but I’ve decided to extend that by a few days as today’s been spent exploring the town and catching up on picture editing. It’s a sleepy place in the mornings. The town doesn’t really wake up until the heat of the day’s passed – apart from around the bridge where the tourist tat stalls are. A couple of bars open for the hardened drinkers, all old Western men who’ve either retired here or take long holidays to Thailand. I passed one such large group of Englishmen tucking into their beers at 10 am!
One place I did visit today is the war cemetery run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A group of Thai workers were busy keeping it looking immaculate. A party of Thai schoolchildren on a trip were there at the same time. Each child picked a grave at random and wrote down the details of the soldier contained on the plaque. It’s a sobering place. Each one of these allied soldiers died building the railway, along with an estimated 100,000 Asian forced labourers.
The youngest soldiers (and a sailor) I found were 20. The oldest was 51. The average age would have been mid 20s. Such a waste of life – and sadly it’s still going on today thanks to the meglomania of old men like Putin. We never learn.
Now I’m back at my room, relaxing as the sun sets before heading off to eat. Tonight I’ll be busy finishing off some work so expect more pictures and commentary later. It’s Friday, so the place is beginning to fill up with folks from Bangkok who come here for weekend breaks. This could get interesting…
21:20 (Thai time).
Having had a wander for a bite to eat and enjoyed some fiery noodle soup (my fault, I loaded it with dried chilies) I’m now relaxing at home whilst the town gears up for the weekend. Here’s a couple of pictures taken on the main drag.
Not quite streetfood as it’s cooked in a cafe, but you eat it on the street! One of the main ‘girly bars’. Trade’s slow…
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Here’s my first blog from Greece where the pair of us are doing our best to kick back and enjoy a holiday whilst trying to take a break and ignore as much as possible the political and economic madness of the UK (and the rest of the world). To that end we’ve even booked a hotel where we don’t have wifi in the room so that we’re not tempted to be constantly checking t’internet and have a bit of a media detox – hence my lack of blogging. I’ve even had days out where the camera’s stayed at home. Lordy!
We’re staying at a little place called Lardos in the South-East coast of Rhodes. It’s unheard of for us but we’re actually on a package holiday, staying in the same place for a fortnight for the simple reason that this really is meant to be a holiday. Chance to relax, have a base from which we can explore – or just sit by the pool and sun ourselves. The area we’re staying in is a satellite development of the original village. It’s by the beach whilst the old town is inland. Again, it’s not where we’d normally stay but we’ve a great little hotel. (the Cosmos Maris) and the village is only a 25 minute walk away. We pop up there most days for a coffee in a great little local café which is an ideal place to sit and people watch as it’s on the edge of the town square and frequented by many locals, unlike the nearby tourist orientated restaurants, where people (mostly, but not exclusively Brits) are swilling beer and cocktails by 11:00. Instead, we sit with a cup of java (in my case Greek coffee) and watch the world go by. There’s normally a handful of old boys who turn up on their scooters and sit for hours chatting, occasionally swapping hello’s with some of the Greek grannies who regularly pass by to/from the local supermarkets. It’s quite funny to watch as many of the old dears are using prams as shopping trollies! The first time I saw it I did a double take. You don’t expect to see a silver-haired, black-clad, headscarf-wearing Greek granny to be pushing a buggy!
As well as tourist restaurants the village possesses a couple of local Greek tavernas, one of which does a roaring trade as a local-take out. The menu’s good and the prices are very reasonable. It’s run by a couple who must be in their 70s, so don’t expect fast service early-doors until the younger staff arrive!
We’ve been here a few days now and established somewhat of a routine, splitting our time between exploring and relaxing. Yesterday we walked East along the coast from Lardos to nearby Pefkos, which is a much larger version of a tourist town. You can tell the fact most visitors are English by the fact restaurants are advertising English breakfasts (complete with black pudding) and Yorkshire tea. Despite the fact it’s almost the end of season the main beach was packed. We didn’t linger, just stopped long enough to have a coffee and a snack at a place overlooking the beach, then continued walking up into the hills along the coast. I’d realised that the classic Hollywood war film ‘The Guns of Naverone’ was filmed nearby. In fact, the bay where it was filmed is now officially known as ‘Naverone beach’. It’s all cobblers of course. Alistair McLean, who wrote the novel invented ‘Naverone’ and a whole chain of fictitious islands for the plot of his yarn, but as this is where the film was made the name’s been adopted.
It’s quite a walk up into the hills above Pefkos to get to the viewpoint, the last mile is on an unmade road that’s little more than a dirt track, but when you get there, the views across both bays are wonderful and there’s a handy tree for shade whilst you take in the sights. But bring your own water and food as you won’t find anything after leaving Pefkos. The trek isn’t that popular. We were the only ones there and we didn’t pass anyone else either, but that made it part of the fun as we were well off the tourist trail.
Naverone bay seen from the cliffs above them. In the middle distance is the Acropolis at Lindos (see next picture). The beauty of a 400mm lens! Here’s a close-up look at the Acropolis at Lindos taken from the same location as the last photo (which used a 50mm lens). The cliffs of ‘Naverone’ – and not a gun emplacement in sight! That’s the wonders of Hollywood for you…
On the way back we passed a local taverna on the edge of Pefki where we stopped for a well-earned beer. Dawn was tempted by their Baklava and ice-cream, so we shared a portion, which was gorgeous. I don’t know if it was home-made, but it was far superior to what you can buy in the supermarkets.
Baklava and ice cream. Just the thing for topping up the blood sugar after a long walk in the sun…
Our spirits restored we decided to walk all the way home but stopped off at a little bar en-route and the smaller Plakia beach on the edge of town, where there’s the Blue Waves ‘cantina’ which is a little shack with a few shady tables set back from the beach. It serves the locally made Magnus Magister beer on draft which was a bonus for me!
Plakia beach seen from our table at ‘Blue Waves’…
By the time we got home, sweaty but happy – we’d covered over 11.6 miles. Not everybody’s idea of a relaxing holiday, admittedly – but we enjoyed it!
Over the next few days, we’ll be taking local buses to visit Lindos and Rhodes town which we’re both really looking forward to. The island’s got a fascinating history which we’re keen to learn more of. Don’t expect a blog every day, but there will be more updates – and pictures.
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Time to wind down! Yesterday’s community rail awards was a brilliant event but it certainly kept me busy! I was editing pictures of the award winners until late into the evening back at the hotel, but the company was good as the CRN staff and helpers (along with some of the attendees) were winding down over a few drinks. This morning Dee and were part of a group who visited one of the post-awards events laid on by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). In our case it was a visit to the old Castlefield viaduct which has been turned into a mini version of New York’s ‘high’ line.
The Castlefield Viaduct has only been open for a matter of months (it opened on the 30th July) but it’s well worth a visit. It’s managed by the National Trust and plans for the future are very much out for consultation at the moment.
Sadly, it was the only event we could attend as we had to head back across the Pennines to prepare for another event. Tomorrow the pair of us disappear off on holiday to the island of Rhodes. We’ve certainly picked the right time as today the rain’s been bucketing down, both in Manchester and here in the Pennines as I write this. In contrast, Rhodes should be a balmy 27 degrees – as well as sunny and dry! Whilst I’ve had several work trips abroad recently (and we had a mini-break in Berlin with friends) this will be Dawn and mine’s first proper holiday abroad since Covid struck. To say we’re both looking forward to it would be an understatement.
I won’t be going ‘off-grid’ completely as us freelances rarely have that luxury, but I will be letting social media take a backseat. Expect some pictures but not a huge amount else – unless we get rained in (which is unlikely).
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is from our visit to the Castlefield Viaduct. The NT have done an awful lot in a short time, but they welcome feedback from people on the direction of the project.
When I get time (on holiday) I’ll upload the rest of the pictures to my Zenfolio picture website – along with hundreds of pictures from Holland, Germany and the UK I have in the queue.
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/
Today’s our last day here in North Norfolk as tomorrow we head back to West Yorkshire. There’s going to be a very short blog from me tonight as there’s too much to do in the way of packing and also – how do I blog about the events of the week in just a few minutes? A week where we’ve ‘gained’ a new Prime Minister and a right-wing disaster of a government – and also lost a Queen who’s been on the throne for 70 years? To quote Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a changin”…
The UK’s reaching a critical path in its history and I’m really not sure how this is going to pan out, so I’m going to take time to ponder to myself and enjoy the last day of the holiday before facing a new reality. Right now, I’ll leave you with the picture of the day, which is of a place we visited today – Blickling Hall.
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/
After the past few days exertions and travels I’ve enjoyed having a day at home sans camera bag. If nothing else it’s allowed my skeleton to begin to re-assemble itself in some semblance of a correct posture without any compression. Oh, I also had the luxury of a lie-in! Beyond that most of the day’s been spent wading through the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken over the past few days and getting the early edits out to a magazine whilst dealing with a completely different picture request from another. This has led me to being chained to my desk for much of the day, not that I’m complaining as the weather’s been as predictable as the national lottery! Come late afternoon I’d had enough and broke free to head out to our local pub for the Friday quiz with friends. Poor Dawn was even busier than me so remained home working.
The pub was an entertaining interlude. The quiz exercised the little grey cells whilst the humour that flowed as a consequence gave the chuckle muscles a work-out too! Oh, and the beer (in my case Salopian brewery’s ‘Lemon Dream’) helped lubricate both. Now I’m back at Bigland Towers. There’s been no need to cook tonight as we’re living off batch cooking spaghetti bolognaise tonight so we can relax with a film and ease ourselves into the weekend – although in my case that means captioning hundreds of pictures in the morning!
Talking of pictures, here’s today’s picture which is from my stay in Banbury earlier in the week. I saw this decoration on a building called the Old Wine House, which made me do a double-take as it says it dates from 1537. What fascinated me was the design is a representation of what appears to be Indian Hindu god or even a Buddha. Look at the posture, the arms positioning and the fact they’re sitting on what appears to be a Lotus flower, yet the British didn’t come to India until the 17th century. The East India Company started in the year 1612.
All is clearly not what it seems. The building is listed Grade 2 and listings details give away the fact that – whilst this was a house that dates from the 15th century it’s been much knocked-about and altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mystery solved! Well, sort of…There’s still no explanation of what an image of an Indian deity is doing on an old English building called the old wine shop.
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It’s another short blog from me today. After yesterday’s day out I’ve been very much home and office based trying to catch up on stuff. I’ve been threatening to get back to selling surplus slides and other railway memorabilia on eBay but having let my account lapse over the past year that’s been made even more complicated by the fact I’m starting from scratch. I’m having to relist everything, which is a major PITA, but it’s allowed me to be more organised this time when it comes to record keeping. In theory I’ll benefit in the long run as I’ll find it easier to keep track of stuff. Well, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway!
I’ve managed to reload a couple of hundred surplus slides so far and hope to at least double that over the weekend before getting into all the memorabilia. All this stuff’s been sitting in cupboards for years so it’s time it went to new homes. I’ll be adding the occasional link to stuff in the future, bit for now, the picture of the day is a slide that’ll be on eBay very soon.
I took this shot in Limerick, Ireland way back in 2003 when Irish Rail was still using locomotives and coaching stock on a lot of services. This meant many locations had station pilots – engines who’s only job was to shunt empty coaches around the place. Like this one.
‘Baby GM’ 146 prepares to haul a rake of the old ‘Cravens’ coaches out of Limerick station whilst a brand new railcar sits in the opposite platform. Their introduction would lead to the demise of scenes like this.
As well as UK railways going back to 1990 I’ll be putting pictures up for sale from other countries (like Ireland) that will include Sri Lanka, Malaysia and also the last days of Indian steam trains. Watch this space…
I’ve a 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/
Only a short blog from me tonight. It’s been a quiet day here at Bigland Towers with the pair of us making the most of the bank holiday to catch up on jobs around the cottage rather than try and compete with all the others who’re trying to ‘get away from it all’ which normally means prices rise as you’re all competing with each other!
Instead, we spent the day enjoying the warmer weather here in the Calder Valley. Dee was busy indulging in some DIY whilst I spent the day cleaning windows, tidying up the garden, repotting and planting lots of seeds and cuttings. Not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle admittedly, but who cares! I find gardening really therapeutic and it makes a change from staring at computer screens.
So, without further ado, here’s the picture of the day, which is one of the series I took yesterday. I found this plaque at Wigan North Western station. It’s new (well, nearly new) as it was only installed last year. Installed by the British Transport Police History Group outside their offices on Wigan North Western station it commemorates an officer of one of the precursors of the BTP, Detective Sergeant Robert Kidd who was murdered at Wigan on the 29th September 1895 by a gang stealing from railway wagons in the nearby sidings. You can read about the events and subsequent trial here.
I’ve a 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/
As it’s been announced that Southern will be retiring its BR built Class 455 units by the end of the year I thought I’d compile a picture gallery of the trains in use over the past 20-odd years, first with the late unlamented ‘Connex’ franchise and then with Southern which has run the service since August 2001 after buying Connex out of the last 2 years of its franchise (which Govia as winning bidder was originally going to operate from 2003). Originally run as Govia South Central the franchise began to repaint trains in the distinctive white and green livery in 2001 but didn’t introduce the ‘Southern’ brand and logo until 2003. It’s remained ever since even tho’ Southern were absorbed into the huge Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise in July 2015.
The 455s were built from 1982 onwards but the first units didn’t appear on the South-Central network until 1986 after Selhurst depot had been modified to cope with the new trains. Their career’s lasted 36 years but sets are already standing idle on a daily basis as not all 46 trains are needed to run the current timetable.
The Southern sets look very different to their South-Western sisters. Between 2004-06 the trains were refurbished by Alstom at Eastleigh works. As well as internal work the nose-end doors were removed and replaced with a revised front end that incorporates cab air-conditioning. A new light cluster also changed their appearance. Unlike the SWR refurbishment the passenger doors weren’t altered, which leaves the Southern sets with the old cramped arrangement.
Here’s a look back over their lives. Please note. All the pictures are my copyright…
Here’s Wandsworth Common station on the 26th June 2001 with units 5809 and 5830 standing in the platform in the days when the trains regularly worked to Leatherhead.5812 is seen entering Purley station with a service to Smitham on the 16th July 2001. On the same day as the last picture Connex liveried 5818 waits at South Croydon with a service bound for London Bridge. 5815 seen at Streatham Common on the 16th July 2001 with a Caterham service. Only 16 out of the fleet of 46 ever received Connex yellow livery. Unit 5823 in full NSE livery minus branding stands at Sydenham on the 15th June 1997. Connex had taken over the franchise in October 1996 but were slow in branding their trains. The destination blinds indicate this is a service to Charing Cross, another place the 455s aren’t seen at anymore. Here’s 5833 and 5825 both on Victoria – East Croydon services passing just outside Wandsworth Common station on the 26th June 2001. Both units are in original condition.
The Southern years.
On the 2nd April 2014 class leader 455801 pulls out of Victoria with an unknown service. The modified front end with the air-conditioning unit in place of the gangway doors is evident, as are the revised headlight clusters. A sight that’s changed out of all recognition since this shot was taken on the 12th November 2010. Here’s 455803 at the old London Bridge station. On the 1st September 2008. 455804 gets a wash and brush-up at the carriage wash plant at Selhurst depot – although the plant is far closer to Norwood Jn station (in the background) than it is the depot. 455810 emerges from the highly decorative tunnel at Tulse Hill on the 14th June 2012.The classic view of the approaches to Victoria – although the background has changed enormously since this view of 455824 arriving at the terminus was taken on the 30th April 2003. 455827 traverses the viaducts on the approach to London Bridge on the 8th March 2008. Another part of London where the skyline backdrop’s changed dramatically. On the 1st December 2008 units 455828 and 455836 pass outside Clapham Junction station. 455830 calls at West Norwood station in South London on the 1st September 2008. In the background the Crystal Palace TV transmitter dominates the skyline. 455831 is framed by one of the old Southern Railway concrete signal gantries at it arrives at Honor Oak Park on the 19th July 2010.455834 leaves Horsham and returns to London on the 11th November 2015.455839 stands at West Croydon station on the 20th April 2010.The first unit to appear in the new livery was 455841 which is seen working the 14.53 to Victoria at Dorking on the 22nd October 2001. 455843 speeds through Penge West on the fast lines on the 1st September 2008.The last of the Southern units. 455846 sits on the reverse curves at Clapham Junction station on the 3rd March 2010.
Here’s a comparison between the unmodified doors on the Southern sets compared to the rebuilt (and this wider) doors on the SWR 455s.
Note the poles on the opposite side to the open door that show the limit the doors open to. This can be seen with the open doors and how far they protrude into the available opening. Here’s the SWR rebuild.No poles and rebuilt runners without the protruding stops which mean the doors fit further into the unit body, allowing for a wider door. A far batter arrangement.
If you want to view (or buy) more pictures of the Southern 455s you can find them in these galleries.
It’s worth mentioning that the ‘Part-time Spotter’ WordPress blog is currently posting the daily allocations and diagrams of the Southern 455 fleet, so if you want to track and trace any particular members or travel on them before they disappear, give them a follow at this link.
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 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/
It’s a short blog from me today as the vast majority of my time’s been spent glued to a computer screen, sifting through and editing all the pictures that I’ve taken over the past few days as various clients are chasing me for them. In this line of work you get very little notice of jobs and when they’re done – everyone wants the results yesterday!
That said, after a few days running around I wasn’t too averse to a day or two sat at home. Admittedly, I’d been spoiled with the catering arrangements with being away and the novelty of eating other people’s well prepared food and the one luxury I enjoy when away – a full English breakfast! The odd thing is I never miss such things when I’m travelling abroad, it’s purely a parochial delight to be savored this side of the Channel. Anyways, tomorrow’s another busy day so let’s cut straight to the picture of the day which was taken on my recent trip to explore Crossrail – sorry – the Elizabeth line…
We were given the opportunity to explore the new station at Liverpool St which has a rather interesting history. Like most of modern London it’s built on the site of something else. In this case it’s Bedlam and I mean that literally as this glass panel on one of the levels explains.
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 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/
Paul Bigland 