Category Archives: I love my job

Rolling blog: Swanning around sunny Yorkshire.

21 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in I love my job, Railways, Rolling blogs, West Yorkshire

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Well, not exactly swanning you understand. It’s already been a busy morning that’s seen me editing a backlog of pictures of Railtex, Community Rail in the City and HS2 work at Euston then getting them out to clients. I had other plans for today but an email from RAIL magazine means I’ll be off to Leeds for the afternoon. Life often seems to take unexpected turns at the moment with plans changing all the time. Still, any commissions are always welcome as they top up the coffers. Plus, as a photographer, I can’t afford to waste weather like this! Let’s see how the day goes…

10:37.

I’ve just left Bradford en-route to Leeds on a slightly late and rather dirty, disheveled unrefurbished Northern Class 158. The sunlight streaming through the windows makes you realise just how dirty they actually are!This is my first outing since the May timetable change, which the media doom and gloom merchants were waiting to label a fiasco. Only it wasn’t. There were a couple of delays on Calder Valley services but nothing out of the ordinary. It was the same for other operators from what I saw.

12:10.

I’m now pootling around Leeds, looking at various railway locations for a client. Not everything has gone to plan, whilst there’s no timetable chaos there is the perennial problem of the ‘knitting’ coming down on the East Coast Main Line! I did wonder when I saw so many LNER trainsets sitting in the station, the problem was soon confirmed by an announcement that the overhead wires had come down at Retford, so LNER were running a Leeds-Doncaster shuttle service for connections South to Kings Cross using the GN/GE joint line via Lincoln. Part of my mission on this trip was to explore the future site of Leeds HS2 station which will abut the existing station at right angles from the South. Here’s where it will be built across the river.

I also had a look for some aerial views of the city.

14:22.

Having done what I needed to do in Leeds I’ve headed back West and broken my journey in Dewsbury, where I’m enjoying some refreshment at the wonderful station bar. Dewsbury’s an odd place. It’s best days are long gone although some of the shoddy and mungo mills still exist and can be seen from passing trains. Nowadays the town is more known for its poverty and social/ethnic divisions – and the utterly bizarre case of the ‘kidnapped’ girl who was actually hidden by her parents under their bed.

There’s a young chap in his late teens/early 20s on the outside table adjacent to mine. He’s been on the phone telling his mates how he’s just left court, having escaped jail for some unspecified offence. I can see he’s not bulshitting as I saw the court papers kn the table when I passed. When I glanced over he was texting a friend. His mouth was pronouncing each word as he typed.

18:22.

I’ve made it home and I’m potentially regretting not carrying sunscreen today! I’ll upload a few more pictures later.

22;54.

Oops! Things sort of happened so there’s just one more picture of Leeds to add today.

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Rolling blog: and so it begins…

14 Tuesday May 2019

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

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06:18.

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

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

06:52.

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

07:38.

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

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

07:50.

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

08:18.

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

09:42.

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

14:54.

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

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

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

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

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

19:54.

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

22:45.

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

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

The week ahead…

13 Monday May 2019

Posted by in ACoRP, Food and drink, I love my job, Travel, West Yorkshire

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I’m enjoying a rare day at home, catching some sun whilst doing some gardening, sorting out chores and also working. Oh, and freezing some of the fabulous food Dawn spent yesterday evening cooking. Here’s one of the dishes she made, a delicious baked cauliflower.

Today’s very much one of those days where I’ve a lot of balls in the air. As the weather’s so good I took the long way round when I had to nip out shopping earlier, here’s the view.

Tomorrow the pace picks up even more as I’m working at Railtex in Birmingham during the day, then heading down to London for a night in the capital, ready for ‘Community Rail in the City’ alongside friends and colleagues from ACoRP and community rail groups across the country. We’ll be having a busy day as there’s events I have to cover on several railway stations. There’ll be stalls and entertainment at Kings Cross, Liverpool St, London Bridge, Waterloo, Paddington and St Pancras, so pop along if you can. Events will also be held outside London at Birmingham New St and Glasgow Central. After that I head back up to Birmingham for an overnighter ready to work at Railtex again on the Thursday. On Friday I’ll be back home, glued to the computer, editing the hundreds of pictures I’ll have taken.

No doubt I’ll have time for a few rolling blogs over the next few days, so watch this space…

Rolling blog: Friday fun…

10 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Hs2, I love my job, Modern Railways, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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05:15.Although getting up at 04:45 isn’t much fun at all to be honest! I’m just about to walk to the station to head back to London. At least the rain’s (mostly) holding off as I walk to the station. Here’s the view over the valley this morning.

06:13.I’m on the first train of the day, the 06:03 to Leeds, which started from Hebden Bridge. Today it’s worked by an unrefurbished ex-Scotrail Class 158 which still retains its old First Class section, so some people are travelling in style!

06:24.Whilst on the train I’ve been catching up with posts from friends on social media and found that a friend of a friend has bought and is doing up the closed Wigan pub I mentioned in yesterday’s blog. Talk about a small world! Apparently, it’s going to become a railway themed real ale pub. No doubt I’ll be paying it a visit and blogging about it once it reopens.Right now, coffee, not real ale is foremost in my mind. It’s going to be a long day…07:17.I’m settled in on LNER’s 07:00 off Leeds which started off from Bradford Foster Square. It’s just left Wakefield. Next stop is Kings Cross at 0859…09:13.We arrived on time at Kings Cross. Here’s hundreds of folk from Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield flooding off the train to earn their daily bread in London. Most of them will return later today.

13:04.Paul Stephen and I have just finished our tour of the Hs2 work at Euston which was amazing. The sheer scale of what’s going on, the complexity and the ambition is breathtaking and the archeological work is in another league. We were shown what’s going on in St James Gds and it’s on a vast scope. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL. All I’ll do now is give you a teaser. This is the site of the old Euston Downside carriage shed. The portal for the Hs2 tunnel to Old Oak Common and on to Birmingham will be at the far end of the site.

15:21. After leaving Euston to head North I was planning to try and get a trip on the Vivarail Class 230s on the Bletchley Bedford line but bad luck struck again. Firstly, I arrived in time for another torrential downpour and secondly, when the service turned up it was worked by an older class 153 DMU. In the end I gave up and headed North on the next train to Milton Keynes, which was basking in glorious sunshine.Now I’m aboard a London Northwestern service to Crewe as far as Tamworth. It’s a four-car and it’s standing room only. For the number of passengers using these lines 4-cars is clearly inadequate. This is a journey that you put up with, not enjoy.

16:28. I changed trains at Tamworth, a station that’s hardly my favourite. Although facilities have improved in recent years it’s still pretty basic and few intercity services stop here nowadays. They were sacrificed to speed up West Coast services after the West Coast Route Modernisation. When Hs2 takes those long-distance, non-stop trains off the WCML there’s the opportunity to improve the situation. I headed up to the even more basic high-level platforms where I taught the late running 16:20 to Glasgow. Despite the fact it’s worked by a 7-car HST set, this Cross-Country service has plenty of folk standing in the vestibules – including me in Coach E!

Rolling blog: another diverse day…

03 Friday May 2019

Posted by in I love my job, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, Uncategorized, Yorkshire

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10:23I’m currently on a train to Leeds after being a guest of the friends of Mytholmroyd station who invited myself and local stakeholders to view the restored 1874 station building. I have to admit, I was amazed – both by the size of the building, and the quality of the work. It was a privilege to be invited and have chance to take pictures. I’ll blog a selection separately later. Here’s Geoff Mitchell of the friends group welcoming us in the ground floor booking hall. Also present were two former members of station staff who worked here in the 1960s! The old ticket office window can be seen in the background.Old buildings like this are a pleasure to photograph because of the shadows and light.

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The original ticket desk in the old ticket office has been restored.

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The staircase in the public side of the building, linking the three floors.

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One of the restored rooms in the old Stationmaster’s residence which has been derelict since the 1960’s

Right now I’m off to look for something completely different and bang up to date. I’m looking for the new trains being built for Northern services that will mean the end of the Pacers.12:34.I’m currently at Doncaster, along with 3 of Northern’s new 4-car Class 331 EMUs which are here for driver training and testing.DG322061cropTwo more (331102 and 331105) are stabled in the nearby sidings.DG322072cropI’m looking forward to these trains entering service as they’re a real step-change to the ones they’re replacing.16:11.I’m back at Leeds on my way home after getting various shots at Doncaster. It’s a shame the weather was so overcast, but I shouldn’t complain as the forecast was worse. It’s been a good end to the working week as in-between taking pictures I’ve spent a fair bit of time lining up several jobs that will keep me occupied for the next few weeks. I’ll blog about them in good time. In the meantime, here’s a shot of the decluttered concourse at Leeds station which was built by the LMS railway. There’s some heritage trains in heritage deliveries knocking around too. This is a former Scotrail Class 156 in the old First group livery that reminds me of when they ran the North-western franchise post privatisationRight, time for home…

Rolling blog: back in Britain…

01 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in GWML, I love my job, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:00

Another day dawns back in the septic isle, dear old Brexit Britain feels a world apart after a couple of days in Austria. But ho hum…

My day’s starting at Clapham in South London, as I stayed with an old friend last night. We’d met up at the magnificent St Pancras station, along with some friends and colleagues from Irish railways. We spent a convivial couple of hours remembering old times and old friends before calling it a day.

Now it’s a new one and my plan is to head back to Yorkshire in a roundabout way, via various changing points on the UKs rail network, getting pictures for a client en-route. My starting point’s Clapham Junction station, which I can look down upon from my bedroom window. It’s Britain’s busiest railway station, so there’s plenty to see…

09:06.

I’m on my way to Basingstoke after spending an interesting interlude at Clapham Junction observing SWR staff dispatching trains whilst dealing with the commuter hordes quickly and efficiently, keeping the railway running and getting people to work safely, despite near crush conditions on some of the services into Waterloo.

As I watched I couldn’t help noticing that it seems a happy place to work, despite the pressures. Senior Managers put in an appearance, were recognised and greeted warmly, whilst dispatch staff smiled and joked with each other, clearly enjoying their jobs.

Now I’m on a slightly late running 12 car service to Poole, which – in the finest tradition of the old Southern railway – splits en-route. As we’re swimming against the tide of London-bound commuters it’s a pretty empty train. There’s only about half a dozen of us in the coach.

10:11.

After a brief break at Basingstoke to get a few pictures I’m on the move again, only now I’ve swapped from SouthWestern Railway to GWR and their shuttle service to Reading which is operated by one of the “Thames Turbo” DMU fleet. Whilst the 3-car Class 166 is still in the old First group blue livery it has been fitted with 3pin and USB sockets, which are proving useful in keeping my phone topped up and Fitbit charged.

I’ve not travelled this route for a few years, so it’s nice to be reaquainted with it, especially this time of year when the rapeseed’s flowering and the countryside a patchwork of bright greens and yellow.

11:02

I still can’t get used to how much Reading station’s changed since the days of my youth. A billion pound rebuilding project, electrification and the arrival of new train fleets has left the place almost unrecognisable apart from the clock tower of the Victorian station building sticking its head above all the glass and steel.

12:42

At Reading I doubled back towards London to spend some time getting shots of a much altered Great Western Main Line. Gone are the Turbostars on the Thames valley services, now it’s all four or eight car Electrostars. Crossrail Aventras are very much in evidence too. Here’s a panoramic look at one of them at Maidenhead.

14:31

I’m finally heading West towards home after bagging some Aventra pictures. This time I’m on another GWR 387 after transferring from Class 800. One thing I have been disappointed in is the external cleanliness of the trains. Both my last two have had dirty windows which is a shame.

16:07.

The sunny weather I enjoyed this morning has given way to dull, hazy skies, so I’ve decided to begin my journey Northwards from Oxford after grabbing a last few shots. I’m now on Cross-Country’s 15:39 to Manchester Piccadilly. It’s a five car Voyager with enough empty seats to make it a quiet and pleasant journey – although I suspect that may change when we hit Birmingham! Ideally I’d have liked to have bagged a table so I could have got on with some picture editing, but tables are as rare as hen’s teeth on these trains!

19:58.

I’m on the final leg home now after passing through Birmingham in the rush hour with crush conditions on most trains. I’ll finish off this blog when I get home as I’ve several pictures to add but I don’t want to eat up all my data allowance! I’ve been doing so many rolling blogs recently that I’m getting perilously close to my monthly allowance.

Rolling blog: back in the groove…

12 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in I love my job, New trains, Photography, RAIL magazine, Rolling blogs, Siemens, Travel

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06:32

Another day, another early start. Right now I’m sat on a train to Leeds on a frosty but sunny morning that promises to be a glorious day weather-wise. Sadly I’m sans coffee as I left the house slightly later than planned. I had to power walk to Halifax station, arriving with a minute to spare. That defect will be remedied when I reach Leeds!

I’m on my way to Peterborough to meet up with an old friend and colleague from RAIL magazine to do a job for said mag. Years ago Pip and I used to do regular features for RAIL which involved travelling on new trains and seeing what they were like from a passengers perspective. The series carried on for many years and now we’re bringing it back. This time we’re going to be checking out the new (ish) Siemens built Class 700s built for Thameslink/Great Northern services. You’ll be able to read about it in RAIL soon so I won’t be blogging in detail about the trip, but you might get a few teasers!

07:52.

My connection at Leeds worked without problem and I’m now happily ensconced on LNER’s 07:15 from Leeds to Kings Cross as far as Grantham. I now have coffee and a sandwich, so all’s well with the world…

08:35.

After a rapid change of trains at Grantham I’m now on an East Midlands Trains Class 158 heading for Peterborough. According to the screens, this service is from Mansfield Woodhouse to Norwich, which is a service I never even knew existed! I’d have thought it would have originated from Sheffield. Still, you learn something new every day!

I rather like the refurbed EMT 158s. They’re a comfortable train, although I know some folk don’t like the high-back seats.v

14:13

We’re hard at work, honest! We’ve tried out 4 class 700s, two 12-car and two 8-car. Here’s Pip Dunn checking the technical details on our way to London.

14:55.

Job done, it’s time to begin the trek North from Peterborough, this time it’s on a rammed LNER service heading for Leeds. I was going to hang around and get some pictures but the weather’s changed completely from this morning full sun to being cloudy and cold, so hardly an incentive to hang around…

16:29

I decided to take a short break in Doncaster to get a couple of pictures and (as it’s Friday) visit this little gem on the station for a ‘swifty’ before heading home.

17:10.

Last train of the day now. I missed an earlier one by seconds as our platforms were too far apart. Now I’m on the 17:97 to Brighouse which is a rammed 2-car ex-Scotrail Class 158. There’s 10 of us stood in the vestibule by the toilets and aisle in the passenger saloon resembles a sardine can.

Rolling blog: tales of the unexpected…

13 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by in I love my job, Photojournalism, Rolling blogs, Travel

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There was me, having a quiet day at home, catching up on some chores, paperwork and blogging, when the phone rang. Next thing I knew I had a commission in London tomorrow morning for something that will remain “hush hush” at this stage (all will be revealed on Wednesday).

I’d nipped out to get some autumnal pictures around Todmorden as the leaves are looking stunning at the moment. As is often the case, the the weather didn’t play ball but hopefully I’ll show you the fruits later. Right now I’ve got to head home as things have stepped up and I need to get to London this evening.

Sadly, (as often happens now) Northern services are running late so my schedules slipped already…

17:30.

Home, packed and off again. Now to get to London…

19:56.

Despite more late running by Northern I made it from Halifax to Leeds to catch my LNER service to London. Northern provided 2-car 150270 to work the 17:43 so it was full and standing as far as Bradford. I had 15 mins to make my connection which gave me just enough time to grab a sandwich before boarding. This time of evening the trains fairly quiet. I’d estimate it’s about 25-30% capacity after leaving Doncaster.

20:21.

We’ve now left Peterborough to run non-stop to London. We’ve exchanged a fair few passengers too, leaving our numbers slightly down but not much. I use to make this trip regularly back in the late 80s-early 90s and it was always a trade off between cost and time. You paid a premium for the Intercity train taking 50 mins or saved yourself few quid and caught the slower stopping service – although the clientele could be less condusive to enjoying the journey…

I’m enjoying the LNER Mk4 rake I’m travelling on because of the new information screens which are at the end of each coach. They tell you about journey times, stops and connections, so they’re really useful. Real-time information makes such a difference to being able to plan onward connections.

21:39

I’ve swapped the national network for the delights of the Piccadilly line.

22:10.

Phew! Arrived at the hotel in Hounslow ready for a busy day tomorrow. My colleagues are already abed as it’s an early start with breakfast at 07:00. Tomorrow’s rolling blog should be interesting…

Rolling blog: Foggy Monday…

05 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in I love my job, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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It’s the start of a new week and I’m out and about today. I’ve a commission over on Merseyside this afternoon so I’ll be heading over that way shortly. Although the weather’s still mild it’s a foggy day here at home, I can only just make out the other side of the Calder valley through the murk. Expect a mix of pictures and comment throughout the day….

09:59.

As usual, the weather’s completely different on opposite sides of the Pennines! Whilst Yorkshire’s mired in fog Lancashire’s clear. I scrounged a lift to Huddersfield off my wife this morning so I’m heading to Liverpool on a direct TPE service. As usual, it was late and ended up crawling through the Colne valley corridor. We’re pulling into Manchester Victoria now (9 mins down). Still, at least I’ve a table seat and can work on the train.

11:32.

I had time in Liverpool to admire the alterations at Lime St and grab a few shots before indulging in a spot of shopping, during which I came across this film crew shooting a period drama outside the Adelphi Hotel.

Now I’m heading out to Liverpool South Parkway aboard a West Midlands Railway Class 350. I like the comfort of these trains, but the seats are getting a bit threadbare.

– as you can see!

13:59.

Job done, I’m now on my way back into Liverpool. My assignment was to get pictures of Pendolino 390119 which has been repainted at Alstom Widnes and returns to traffic tomorrow. This marks the half way mark in the Pendolino repainting programme. Despite the gloomy weather, it does look rather smart.

18:57.

I’m currently bouncing my way back home across the Pennines from Manchester aboard a 2-car Pacer, which at this time of day’s a bit of a pain. It was absolutely rammed as far as Rochdale but fine afterwards, which begs the question: where do Northern Rail add capacity? Here we are, post-Rochdale.

It’s been an interesting day, despite the weather. The Alstom plant at Widnes is a hive of activity nowadays as their old factory at the Dick Kerr works in Preston has closed. Preston used to overhaul a lot of the kit for Alstom trains in the UK: Pendolinos Adelantes, Junipers and tube trains. Now it’s done at Widnes.

Wandering around Liverpool again I popped into a poundstore where I was fascinated to see racks and racks of disposable batteries. Why on earth do people still buy these wasteful things? I switched to rechargeable over a decade ago and really don’t understand why these wasteful and polluting things are still popular.

I remember the old days when I was backpacking and so much space (and weight) in my rucsac was taken up with film, batteries and books. Nowadays it’s just a Kindle and a battery charger!

Whilst I was at Lime St I came across this mock-up of one of the new Stadler trains that are being built for Merseyrail.

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The Merseyrail mock-up on display at Liverpool Lime St. 

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Car end seats with a representation of the fact these will be wide gangways, allowing you to see throughout the length of the unit. 

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Seating bay of four. Note the sloping floor. 

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The sliding doors. To my mind these seem a little narrow compared to other modern trains. Note the sloping floor to the left. 

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The trains will be fitted with retractable steps. It’s extended on the open door to the left and tucked away on this one in the foreground

 

Back to normal…

29 Monday Oct 2018

Posted by in I love my job, Railways, Travel

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Well, sort of  – ish…

I’ve penned the final part of my trilogy for RAIL magazine today. 12,000 words and lots of pictures will soon be part of their back catalogue (and mine). The first part appeared in print last Wednesday and it will be on sale until next Tuesday. Here’s a taster…

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Now, having had a wonderful birthday weekend and got one year closer to collecting my senior citizens railcard I’m into another week (and soon another month), which means things ratchet up a notch.

I mentioned that I wasn’t going to talk about a new contract until the ink was dry, but today that happened. I can now reveal that I’ll be spending at least the next 12 months working for the Rail Delivery Group, updating and replacing their picture archive – much of which I took 10-14 years ago when RDG was ATOC. I’ll also be kept occupied with a slightly different commission for another client, but that one’s under wraps for now.

This means that I won’t be spending as much time at home as recently – although some people would suggest I’m hardly here anyway! A by-product of all this is that there’ll be plenty of time to blog about various themes, including Hs2, travel experiences and also the way the UKs railways continue to develop and expand. As you can imagine, documenting a year in the life of UKs rail network isn’t exactly something you do from your armchair…

In the meantime, I’m going to try and get some of the 1000s of rail and travel slides that I have in the archives – which have never seen the light of day – scanned and added to my Zenfolio website.

So, stay with me and enjoy the ride – and the pictures…