Category Archives: Photography

Rolling blog. Chasing trains…

28 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in Photography, RAIL magazine, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:20.

Today begins at Clapham. After a lovely evening in with an old friend, catching up with each other’s lives and events it’s time to start another busy day. First, I’ve got to get across London to Kings Cross…

The overbridge at Clapham Junction’s a lot less cluttered nowadays. Many of the kiosks located there never survived the Covid years.

Train No 1 is a busy Class 455 heading to Waterloo. Looking around the car I’m struck by how many people are ‘plugged in’ via headphones, cutting off one of their five senses. Most are also staring at screens. I see two people reading newspapers, a massive change on just a few short years when this train would be littered with discarded copies of ‘Metro’ on its next trip out of Waterloo.

07:40

Now I’m on an old haunt – the Victoria line, which is still quiet this time of day as the morning peak has spread out more thanks to flexibje working.

09:30.

Having had a very pleasant journey on a busy LNER train to Leeds from Kings Cross I’ve time for a coffee and to catch up with some emails before meeting Pip Dunn. The cafe on platform 4’s gone upmarket since I first started coming here…

10:00.

And so it starts. Next stop – Ipswich…

11:10.

The first train to be put through its paces is one of Greater Anglia’s Stadler built 4-car, bi-mode class 755. Whilst Pip’s busy with his tape-measure and spreadsheets I’ve been occupied taking pictures of different aspects and details of the vehicles internal layouts.

12:15.

Now for a completely different product for a trip from Ipswich to London Liverpool St. The all electric Anglia Class 720 ‘Aventras’ were built by Bombardier (now Alstom).

15:20.

We’re now on the way to Norwich on something a little more luxurious and stylish…

1st Class in an Anglia Class 745.
Cycle spaces on 745007. The clue’s on the window…
The best seat in the house. In this case it’s the rear cab of 745007.

16:30.

The job ended in Norwich, by which time we’d tried out, tested, photographed and measured three different types of train. What did we think? You can read all about that in future editions of RAIL magazine!

Right now I’m heading back towards London on the same class 745 we tested earlier, only now I’m in standard class! This train’s not as busy as the one we came up from London on (that was packed) but it’s filling up as we head South. Sadly, the weather’s not really conducive to lineside photography. I’d considered stopping off on the way to get some exterior shots of the train types we’ve tested today but the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to play ball. Never mind, I’ve a camera full of pictures to edit anyway.

22:00.

Home again! The weather didn’t improve en-route to the capital so I stayed on the train all the way to Liverpool St. My, how things have changed there since I was a regular visitor. Not a single BR era train is left in service with any of the operators using the station. Now it’s all ‘Aventra’ derivatives or products from Stadler – quite a transformation for a main-line London terminus as all the others (bar Fenchurch St) still see the older fleets putting in an appearance on service trains.

A greater Anglia 5-car Class 720 Aventra ready to depart Liverpool St with a service to Ely.
These Class 710 London Overground Aventras have replaced the BR built Class 315/317 fleets.

Tomorrow’s our final day in this neck of the woods and the weather’s due to improve, so I’ll be making one last foray on 3rd rail metals for now. I’m not quite sure where to yet as there’s disruption expected tomorrow due to strike action ‘working to rule’ which will affect some SWR services. I’ll make my mind up in the morning.

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

Rolling blog. Tilford tales, day 4…

27 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:20

We’ve settled into a routine here now. Up by 06:30. Drink coffee, get ready for the day, take Sam to school, then Dawn and I go our separate ways as I get dropped off at the station to disappear on the 08:58 for the day. Today’s another such circuit, but where will I get to this time? Feel free to keep popping back to find out…

09:00.

Here’s the daily pic from the rear coach of the 08:58. Different faces today but loadings are pretty good.

09:20.

I’ve abandoned the London service at Aldershot to do what I did yesterday and swap to the Guildford service which follows behind. In contrast to yesterday it’s a grey old day this morning so the camera’s remained in its bag. I’ve a lunch appointment later but I’m wondering what shots I can get in the interim – and where.

11:02.

I ended up staying at Guildford for an hour due to ‘events’. The first thing I noticed was a track gang busy cutting down Buddleia and other plants in the station yard. Not the sort of thing that would attract any interest from railway enthusiasts (several were there for other reasons) but for me they’re excellent library shots to have to illustrate the railway’s story. A few minutes later one of the few remaining pairs of SWR Siemens Class 707s put in an appearance. Grist to my mill but the enthusiasts were uninterested.

Why? Because they were here for this. A steam engine!

West Country class No 34066 ‘Braunton’ puts in an appearance at Guildford whilst working a London to Bath excursion.

15:50.

Apologies for the gap but I’ve been busy. Having travelled via Woking to Winchester I bumped into Dan, a CRN colleague who caught the train to with me. Dan gave me the background on what to expect when we arrived at Shawford. Even so, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the transformation of an old station building that’s been derelict for over 40 years. Waiting for us where some of the folks from Hampshire CRP who’ve been the poerhouses behind this and some other staion cafes. I’ll add more details later, but for now – here’s a few pictures.

21:55.

Now where was I? Oh yes – Shawford! Since when I’ve gravitated to London. I’m not staying in Tilford tonight as I have a silly o’ clock start tomorrow. I’m leaving ‘stabiliser rail’ country for the day to meet up with old RAIL magazine friend and colleague Pip Dunn in Peterborough as we’ve some train tests to do.

Having arrived at Waterloo I had the chance to meet up with other old friends. SWR train driver Steve Upton was on a break when I arrived so we went for a coffee (or in my case sparkling water) when we were joined by another of the gang, Hassard Stacpoole. Here’s the three of us together before Steve chauffeured us back to Clapham Junction, where we are now.

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

Tilford tales. Day 3…

26 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:55.

Despite a positive forecast we’ve had a gloomy start to the day here in Tilford, but whatever the weather it’s going to be a busy one. Dawn and I have been occupied from an early hour preparing the ingredients for tonight’s meal – Coq au Vin, done in a slow cooker. Now it’s time to take Sam to school and me to head to Farnham station for another day on the rails before Dee returns home to work. Now, where shall I go today?

09:20.

What a difference a day makes! If we thought the roads were busy on the school run yesterday they were even busier today. Farnham was chocked with traffic which included a lot of builders and other vans clogging roads and pavements as tradesfolk made their livings.

Fortunately, I still got to the station on time to board the 08:58 which was once again worked by a Class 444. This seems to be a regular (and only) diagram for the fleet to Alton. Today the train was far, far busier. I walked through all five cars from front to back. Here’s today’s comparison shot.

The rear coach was the quietest. Up front it was full and standing.

I only travelled as far as Aldershot as I’m heading for Guildford on a service that runs just a few minutes behind the London train. Guildford’s the main town in the area and the platform was busy with folk making their way there for work and pleasure. That said, a 4-car Class 450 shuttling to and from Farnham is perfectly adequate for the traffic.

10:05.

My first stop after changing at Guildford is Farncombe which I’ve never visited before. It has substantial buildings on each platform (pics later) plus one of the few signalboxes left on this line and one I’d never photographed before.

I know nothing about Farncombe but it looks a pleasent little place. Like most towns the shops have suffered. Many are vacant but this one (a real trip down memory lane) caught my eye.

11:45.

On the move again after catching the train for an impromptu stop at a place called Witley which has a lovely small station and a lot of rail engineering work going on – hence my decision to stop for an hour. I managed some great shots of embankment stablisation work being carried out on the live railway (pics later). In the meantime, here’s a shot of the station building.

16:00.

I’m now blogging from St Denys in Southampton. How I got here’s a long story that involved several trains, one or two stops – and Portsmouth!

I’ve had an interesting day as I’ve had chance to stop off in several places I’ve always threatened to explore but never had the time. St Denys is one. It boasts a four platform station (two on the main line and two on the Pompey route) and some rather nice buildings. The stations a stones throw ffom the estuary which is a good place for scenic rail pictures – hence my visit.

This is a phone pic. The camera ones have trains in ’em.

There was something else I discovered in St Denys. A pub right next to the station called the South Western Arms (after the railway). When I walked past it I noticed the selection of handpumps and thought ‘hmm’. Then, when I was finally beaten in my photographic endeavors by cloud cover I thought I’d pop in for a swifty. I’m glad I did as it’s a cracking real-ale pub with a distinctive local hippy/bohemian feel – and a massive beer garden backing onto the railway. I’ll certainly be popping back when I’m in the area.

18:30.

So much to write about but so little time as I juggle taking pictures, notes and blogging whilst still trying to live in and experience the here and now. And right now I’m on a train from Woking back to Farnham…

Q: Guess how many people are staring at their phones/screens? A: 99% of them..

21:10.

I’m now back in Tilford and beginning the task of editing the pictures I’ve taken today. It’s going to take some time before they appear on my Zenfolio website, so here’s a quick taster of some of the camera (rather than phone) pictures.

A pair of class 444s with 444028 leading pass embankment stablisation work at Witley on the Portsmouth direct line.
73962 leads a test train through St Denys. The route was from Eastleigh to Eastleigh, but all round the houses. When I photographed it the train had just come from Portsmouth Harbour.

Here’s the rather lovely main station building at Farncombe.

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

Rolling blog. Aylesbury adventure…

25 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel

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07:30.

Well, it wasn’t a ridiculous start to the day. I was up at 06:30 as I don’t need to be in Aylesbury until 14:00, although getting to Farnham to catch the train means I’m reliant on Dawn for a lift and Dee’s dropping her nephew, Sam, off at school first. This may be ‘leafy Surrey’ but the roads around here really aren’t very civilised when it comes to walking. Most of them are narrow and don’t have footpaths, leaving no safe space for walkers. Plus, many people around here are driving the four-wheel versions of tanks, leaving even less clearance. Society here is very much focused around the car. There’s not even a bus service through Tilford.

Feel free to pop back during the day to see what I get up to…

09:00

Having sat in on a Surrey school run it was instructive to say the least. Sam’s school is in Farnham, on a narrow street parallel to the railway line. The street is totally unsuitable for the numbers driving their kids to school (ignoring the no parking signs in the process). Lardbutt SUVs merely exacerbate the problem. It was good to see the number of kids who were walking but far too many weren’t. One thing I did notice, there’s not as many obese kids here compared to West Yorkshire but as obesity’s linked to poverty that’s unsurprising.

Dawn dropped me off at the station before heading home and I’m now sat on a 5-car Class 444 heading for the hour-long journey to Waterloo.

These services were always normally worked by 4-car Class 450s in multiple as the 444s are the ‘intercity’ units reserved for long-distance services from Waterloo to places like Bournemouth and Weymouth, although I do remember seeing them on Alton services in the past. As I’ll be a regular commuter from Farnham this week I’ll be interested to see how the service pattern pans out in practice.

Whilst there’s clearly not as many people commuting daily anymore, the car-park at Farnham was very busy and my trains filling up after each stop. The picture was taken after we left Farnham. I’ll add a comparison shot later.

09:30.

We’re well on the way to London now, the next stop’s Surbiton. We’ve had a ticket check which allowed me to observe that the people around me are all using paper tickets, suggesting they’re not daily commuters.

The change in seasons is evident too. Earlier we passed a ‘leafbuster’ train. The MPV was busy spraying the track towards Alton. The sun’s noticeably lower in the sky too, meaning that (photographically) I have longer, deeper shadows to contend with. Mind you, the forecast is that the Mercury’s due to hit a balmy 23 degrees today, so I can’t complain.

11:30.

I’m now on my way to Aylesbury via the old Great Central railway from Marylebone. Having time in the bank I tarried in London, changing trains at Clapham Junction in order to get a few library shots. The sidings there are full of the ‘new’ Class 701 ‘Arterio’ sets which are yet to turn a wheel in passenger service. It’s arterio sclerosis at it were! I boarded one of the old Class 455s from Clapham, one of the BR built trains that should have been sent for scrap years ago but that are still going strong. At Waterloo I spied my first 5-car Arterio which was out on test, contrasting with the 455s in adjacent platforms.

18:30.

Sorry for the break in blogging but I’ve had another busy day. Having met Ian (from the excellent ‘Ian visits’ website) and EFKB PR on the train to Aylesbury the three of us walked to the EKFB site, chatting on the way. The walk allowed us to see other aspects of the vast site other than the area we were visiting.

Once we met up with all the other invitees and folks from Network Rail and EKFB and having got ‘booted and suited’ we headed off to the main worksite where the new rail bridge over what will be HS2 has been completed and track relaid.

The bridge over HS2 with the HS2 cutting being excavated beneath. This is looking South towards London with Aylesbury off to the left and Princes Risborough off to the right.
It’s a hot day to be wearing full PPE!

I’ll write a bit more later and perhaps add another pic. Right now, having said goodbyes after a really informative visit I’ve walked back into Aylesbury and caught the train back into London.

20:00.

Travelling back into and across my former home town was weird. OK. I’ve not lived here for 23 years, but I never remember it this quiet – even on a Monday. The Chiltern train into Marylebone picked up a few folk en-route with many joining it when it hit the London suburbs but it still felt quiet. I had the same feeling on the Bakerloo line tube. This route passes through what are some of the capitals entertainment areas, but the vibrancy of the old days was missing.

Now I’m at Waterloo which is definitely subdued. It feels more like a provincial rail station rather than London’s busiest terminus.

Where’s the buzz?

Bidding adieu to the capital I’m taking the less direct route ‘home’ via Guildford rather than the Alton directs. I’m aboard yet another ‘Arkwright’ (aka a Class 444).

22:30.

‘Tis the end of the day and time to bring this blog to journey’s end. My route home via Guildford was easy, the trains weren’t crowded and the connection time allowed me to grab a few night shots. Yep, we’ve got to that time of year where it’s getting dark too early for my liking as my working day’s getting shorter, but hey ho. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…

I said I post another couple of pictures before I went. Here’s one of the HS2 trace West of Aylesbury, looking South. Can you sport the new railway bridge I was visiting? Some folk complain that building HS2 is ‘desecrating’ an AONB. Really? So who gave planning permission for those pylons then? In a few years when HS2’s complete you won’t even notice it at this location. Oh, and don’t even mention the sound of heavy traffic from the road behind me…

‘Metroland’. A pair of London Underground S stock trains stand at Chalfont and Latimer station which is shared between the Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways.

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

Tilford tales. Day 1…

24 Sunday Sep 2023

Posted by in India, Photography, Surrey, Travel

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Sunday turned out to be far lazier than we expected. The original plan involved going into Farnham to do some shopping and watch Dawn’s nephew Sam play rugby before her brother Darren flew off to Italy with a wine-tasting group. Then, late morning, things went a bit pair-shaped. Darren received a text telling him his flight was cancelled. After some frantic phone calls another (later) flight was found. Then another problem reared its head. The name on Darren’s ticket didn’t match the full name in his passport – and airlines can knock you back when that happens. Of course, when you’re in a hurry stressed and the clock is ticking, you just know technology will let you down to make even the simplest of tasks more difficult and/or expensive so it took Darren ages to sort out that one.

Whilst the drama unfolded there was no way any of us were going anywhere, so I decided to put the dead time to use and go through some old picture folders on my laptop and do something productive. Early last year I’d scanned several hundred old travel slides but never got around to editing them and loading them onto my Zenfolio website. So, today was a good day to start! I’ve managed to wade through a couple of hundred of them. They’re pictures from the marathon 18 month round the world trip that Lynn and I made in 1997-1999. This particular batch are all from India taken in 1998 and you can find the first of them here. The latest scans start in Chennai in the South of India, encompass Puri and the Sun temple at Konarak in Orissa, then take in Calcutta and finally Varanasi.

Whilst I waded through pictures the airline fun and games was finally resolved and a plan hatched. The three of us would drive to Gatwick Airport, then Dawn would drive Darren’s car home whilst I rode shotgun and did the navigating for Dee to help her concentrate on driving on unfamiliar and very busy roads like the M25.

Everything went like clockwork – apart from Darren’s plane being delayed leaving! By that time he was airside and self-medicating in the bar, so it wasn’t an issue! This evening we’ve had a quiet one at home, Dee’s been cooking whilst I’ve been editing and preparing for a little job tomorrow.

Despite all the shambles of the Tories rowing back on just about every promise they’ve ever made, work on building phase 1 of High Speed 2 continues. 30,000 folk are employed on the project and tomorrow I’m off to see work on the existing railway between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury where HS2 will pass under the present line. It’s rather a unique bridge that’s being built there and I’ll be trackside, seeing the existing railway being reinstated over HS2. I’ll be posting a few bits about my trip but you’ll be able to read much more about what’s going on in future editions of RAIL magazine.

Expect daily rolling blogs from tomorrow as I’ll be out and about on the network each day, looking at various projects and locations across 3rd rail land so there’ll be plenty to write about and photograph.

I’ll end tonight with one of the pictures I’ve scanned. Here’s the ghats at Varanasi, India just after sunrise one morning in February, 1998.

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

Rolling blog. Surrey road trip…

23 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Rolling blogs, Surrey

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10:30.

I’m eschewing my usual mode of transport as the pair of us are driving down to Surrey. Bigland Towers will be in exile in the home counties for the next week, which means taking the bare bones of two office setups with us.

Today’s a good day for travelling, unlike earlier in the week. The sun’s shining, the roads are dry and there shouldn’t be too much commercial traffic on the road…

11:10.

So far so good. We cut across country from Halifax to the M1 via windy A roads that provide the most direct route, although the potholed conditions leave something to be desired. Now we’re on the M1.

11:30.

All was going well until a couple of miles before the junction with the M18 when we hit a jam which we’re now stuck in, crawling along at 7mph.

11:34.

Free! Some poor sod was unlucky enough to break down on a carriageway reduced in size due to roadworks!

12:00.

We’re back on the road again after taking a wee (literally) break at Woodall services – not one I’m familiar with. The place was busy with others with the same idea, doing similar for their four-legged friends and smokers, sucking on fags as they hung around their cars.Motorway services have gone upmarket since my hitchhiking days in the 80s-90s. This one even has a Waitrose supermarket!

13:50.

Having called in at our usual pitsop at Watford Gap we sat in the sun, watching the world go by whilst munching a sandwich on the grass bank at the rear of the service area. The car-park was packed with vehicles as this is such a strategic services due to its location near were the M6 motoway diverges from the M1. One thing I noticed on this visit was how many EV charging stations have been installed and were in use.

Now we’re on our way South, but not by our normal route. The A43 is closed between the M1 and Towcester, so we’re sticking on the M1 and heading for the London orbital carpark (aka the M25).

This section of the motorway brings back so many memories of my hitchhiking days, heading to/from London. When I moved to the capital in 1986 I couldn’t afford the train fare or to hire a van so I spent several weeks hitchhiking back and forth, moving my stuff South by the rucksack load! Happy days!

I had a series of white plastic cards that fitted in my bag, each one bore the number of a main motorway such as “M1 please”, plus one for emergencies when you got stuck for ages. It read “anywhere but here!” It would raise a smile if nothing else but also a lift sometimes.

Funny the way the memory’s jogged sometimes. Near Luton we’ve passed a couple of bikers. Years ago I often came to see a friend who’d moved here and we’d go out and about on this 250cc Honda. Of course, you’re immortal when you’re in your 20s and riding pillion with Duncan could be an ‘interesting’ experience as Duncan enjoyed his beer and exotic substances. So much so his nickname was ‘Duncan disorderly’…

Then (the early 80s) there was a pub in nearby Dunstable that was popular with bikers and hippies. The Wheatsheaf didn-t have a jukebox. Instead it had twin decks so people could bring in their own albums. We’d often bike over there. One time Duncan was a little overzealous with his overtaking and I felt the car coming inthe opposite direction brush against my jeans!

What’s changed so much since those days is the landscape around the motorway. Where it once passed through open fields it’s now hemmed in by massive distribution warehouses for the likes of Amazon, H&M and Lidl.

16:20.

And relax – we’re here in Tilford. The car’s unloaded and it’s time for a breather. The Southern end of the M1 and M25 were very busy but kept flowing, as did the M3. Then we headed across country past Aldershot and the Hog’s Back to reach our destination.

19:00.

Having sorted ourselves out it was time to have a mooch and take Tilly, the family’s Cairn Terrior for a walk. Tilly has a set route, oddly enough, she was insistant thart we called in here – The Barley Mow…

22:45.

‘Tis time to bid goodnight. We’ve had a lovely evening full of food and drink here in Tilford, but now it’s time to call it a day. Tomorrow the Platt family are off to watch the youngest male member of the clan play Rugby. Me? Rugger’s never been a game on my horizon, so I’ll take the camera for a walk somewhere. I just don’t know where yet. Watch this space…

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

16th September picture of the day…

16 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by in Brazil, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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The (alleged) old Chinese curse ‘may you live interesting times’ springs to mind right now. Having returned from Thursday’s national rail awards I’m finding life odd to say the least. Seeing so many familiar faces at the NRA was lovely – as was having time to chat – even though time flew by all too quickly and I didn’t get to talk to half the people I’d have liked to. Plus, the awards felt very much like the end of an era with Nigel Harris retiring, plus other changes that are going on I’m not going to reveal here. The railway ‘Oscars’ felt different this year because the rail industry is in a mess. Not one of it’s own making to be fair, the railways are just another victim of an utterly incompetent Government that hasn’t got a clue what it’s doing – about anything. Forget re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, with this lot you can add musical deckchairs as Ministers constantly change their minds depending on which loon – Sorry, ‘think tank’ or special advisor has got their ear. The sooner we have a general election and this miserable lot are put out of their misery the better. Sadly, the mess we’re in isn’t all down to the Tories. There’s a sickness throughout the UK body politic which means we’re ill-served by the political classes as they just can’t be honest with people – hence Labour’s insistence that you can actually polish a turd and they can make Brexit ‘work’. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the ‘green’ party – a collection of Nimbys who seem to spend most of their time opposing solutions to climate change (solar farms, nuclear power, HS2) as they know they can posture all they like as they’ll never hold power. I should mention that the Scottish greens are an exception to this. They’re a separate party who’re pragmatic, positive and not in thrall to Nimbyism the way their cousins South of the border are. In a lot of ways I’d be quite tempted to move North of the border as Scotland seems to be so more progressive than England. Shame about the weather tho’…

Looking around it’s hard to remain positive about the future of this septic Isle as honesty and realism in politics is about as rare as rocking-horse shit right now. Meanwhile, as many folk who tear themselves away from gawping at TV screens may have noticed, we’re having some really weird weather due to climate change. But what are we doing about it as a nation? Answers on a postcard please…

You may have got the impression that I’m feeling rather cynical at the moment. In which case all I can say is – damned right! I’m normally a glass half-full sort of guy but right now it’s difficult to maintain that perspective. Hopefully, my equilibrium will be restored soon. Whatever, it’s time to think about my own future in a changing world.

Whilst I ponder I’ll leave you with today’s picture. I’ve updated my Zenfolio website with a host of different pictures taken over the last couple of weeks. Follow this link to see which galleries they’re in. Now, what to choose? OK, how about this…

Although I was away for the first couple of months of this year the one thing I didn’t manage was any beach time. I need to put that right on my next trip. Here’s a beach on a very special island few people will have set foot on due to its isolated location. This is Baia do Sancho on the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil, seen on the 19th August 2002.

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

Rolling blog. National Rail Awards 2023…

14 Thursday Sep 2023

Posted by in London, National Rail Awards, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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12:15.

The pair of us are currently bouncing along from Bradford to Leeds on a Northern Class 195 in order to head down to London for tonight’s National Rail Awards, an event I’ve only missed once since (gulp!) 2003. Jeez. Were’s the last 20 years gone?

Tonight will be rather special as the awards host and Editor of RAIL magazine, Nigel Harris, leaves Bauer after 28 years tomorrow so it’s very much the end of an era. Nigel’s an old friend. The pair of us first met as volunteers on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway back in the mid 1970s. Then, in 2001 I started working for RAIL as a freelance photographer which brought me to the attention of the wider railway industry. The rest (as they say) is history…

12:45.

We’ve swapped our Northern 195 for some ‘classic’ traction to Kings Cross in the shape of 91111 ‘For the Fallen’

16th September update.

Sorry, I was overtaken by events that evening (literally) so never finished this blog. Despite the awards opening at 17:45 and going on until the early hours of the morning there’s never enough time. There’s so many people to see and say hello to, never mind get into conversation with – and Dawn and I have been privileged enough to have the run of the place and access to the VIP area which is the bar above the Great Hall.

Seeing so many old faces was lovely and (as usual) there was lost of stimulating and informative conversations. The Rail awards really are the railway ‘Oscars’ so pretty much everybody in the rail industry who can be there is. Only this time there was a twist due to Nigel retiring after so many years. Nigel’s co-presenter this year was the always entertaining TV journalist Steph McGovern, a person who has a host of stories and not afraid to call a spade a spade – or someone a tw*t! You should hear her anecdotes about meeting Donald Trump!

Here’s a few pictures from the night.

The VIP balcony. Folk in the rail industry may be able to spot a few familiar faces.
The view from our table as Steph McGovern gets into her story-telling stride…
Sir Peter Hendy was one of the people who bid farewell to Nigel (seen on the right).

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

York interlude…

12 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Photography, Railways

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Having been tied up at home recently (not literally you understand) and having had an appointment down in Sowerby Bridge this morning I thought ‘bugger it’ and escaped the valley for a few hours – even tho’ the weather was less than clement. I caught a train from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Dewsbury which allowed me a window-seat to observe progress on the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TTU) – not that were huge changes. The most obvious sign that something’s afoot is the amount of new cable troughing that’s sat on pallets by the lineside, waiting to be installed. Well, that and the new stations of course. Morley’s coming along. The old platforms are being demolished and the new station’s slowly gaining a new footbridge with lifts. Farther up the line (or should that be Down the line?) ‘White Rose’ station’s taking shape. I’ll venture out next month to get pictures of progress.

Arriving at Leeds I swapped from Northern to a late-running TPE (surprise, surprise) service to York. There’s TPU work happening on this section too but I’m not familiar with the specifics other than the overhead wires having spread West from Colton Junction to end in the middle of nowhere – for now.

When I arrived at York I found it strangely quiet, although the fact it’s a September Tuesday may have had an impact as there’s bugger-all going on. That said, there’s always something of railway interest, as these pictures prove.

Former East Midlands Trains ‘dogbox’ 153311 is now used as a test train. I managed to catch it in the sidings during its brief layover.
Former Calder Valley class 155 set 155345 rattles the station roof as it rumbles its way to Bridlington. Nowadays, this small class of 7 units are all based at Hull’s Botanic Gardens depot.
Mind the gap. Level boarding is a dream on lots of the railway network, as this shot of passengers detraining from a Blackpool North – York service illustrates.
Grand Central have been having an awful time with reliability of their Angel trains class 180 fleet recently. So much so units have been hired in. Here’s former East Midlands Railway 180110 working 1N95, the 1427 London Kings Cross to Sunderland.

I’ll add these and other pictures to my Zenfolio website shortly. Right now I’m back at home and taking the night off. See you soon…

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

11th September picture of the day…

11 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Essex, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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There’s only a short blog from me today. It’s late and I’ve had a long day glued to the computer editing pictures which have now appeared on my Zenfolio picture website. As usual, they’re spread around various galleries which are dedicated to particular train companies, aspects of the railways – or other interests. There’s still more pictures to edit but the majority have been uploaded. You can find them in these galleries;

Greater Anglia

Govia/Thameslink

Infrastructure and engineering

East Midlands Railway

Social issues

UK travel photography

Odds and sods

Another of today’s chores was to package and parcel the latest eBay sales of old railway slides and memorabilia and get them down to to post office for dispatch to the lucky winners. There’s still plenty of items on offer (I’ve just started another 5 day sale now) so if you want to browse what’s for sale, click on this link.

I’m having break from the office tomorrow so expect a rolling (ish) blog, although I can’t tell you where I’ll be going as I don’t know myself yet! It depends on the weather and what’s happening.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a taster from my new travel pictures. This one’s of Saffron Walden in Essex. It’s a delightful little market town that couldn’t be more different in character and design than West Yorkshire…

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