It’s another working week back here at Bigland Towers. The holiday and the weekend flew by all too quickly. Now my focus is centred on work, although parts of the holiday were very much the proverbial busman’s. Sunday was in similar vein as I waded through pictures I needed to get out to clients or just place on my website. It wasn’t too much of a problem as the pair of us had no great plans for the day. The weather forecast predicted thunderstorms so there was little point in planning a great outdoors adventure. In the end the predictions were false. Oh, we had some moody skies- but no pyrotechnics – much to our joint disappointment. What we did gate late in the day was some very heavy showers, which saved me the job of watering the gardens so I’m not going to complain! In the evening the pair of us sat down to watch the finale of the Glastonbury festival with the appearance of Elton John, who was excellent. It certainly took me back a bit. I’ve not been to Glastonbury since 2000 and the last time I saw Elton John live was in 1975!
Today’s been another day where I’ve spent much of my time glued to a computer screen. I needed to finish penning my net article for RAIL which is about the ‘3 peaks by rail’ marathon from the other week. You’ll be able to read all about it in RAIL 987 which will hit the newsagents on the 12th July. Tomorrow my work moves online as I’ll be taking part in an online seminar for Community Rail Network as part of my role as one of the CRN awards judges. Hopefully, on Wednesday (weather permitting) I’ll be out and about looking at the latest work on the trans-pennine route upgrade (TRU) before I’m back to online work on Thursday.
In the meantime, expect more blogs to appear as I’m free to write about other stuff just as ‘me’. O, and there’s plenty of pictures to look at too. You’ll find recent railway images from the Anglia network here, travel images here and social issues photography here. There’s more to come when I’ve finished editing other categories later in the week.
I’ll end with the picture of the day which comes from last weeks outings. I found these old wooden-bodied railway coaches just down the road from where we were staying. These were once a common sight around the country from the early part of the last century as railway companies sold off old vehicles to be used for a variety of uses, from chicken coops to holiday homes. Few remain, which is why I was surprised to find these two still in use as part of someone’s home.
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Today’s been our last day here in Norfolk before heading back to Yorkshire tomorrow. We’ve been extremely lucky with the weather which has been better than was originally forecast and a damned sight better than the conditions we’ve missed up North where there’s been a lot of rain whilst we’ve had hardly a drop here.
This morning we visited the aviation museum at Norwich which is opposite the airport on the old Norwich Rd. The whole area is part of the former Horsham St Faith RAF base and the museum occupies a small site on the other side of the A1270. Whilst the site may be small, it fits a lot into it. The museum buildings house a fascinating history relating to East Anglian airbases during WW2 with lots of memorabilia, aircraft parts, uniforms and hardware, along with informative displays on what the RAF’s 100 Group got up to during the war. Outside the buildings are the aircraft – large and small – from tiny Cessna’s to the mighty Vulcan bomber and Nimrod maritime aircraft (you can book tours of the inside of both). There’s also various cockpits and engines on display. For those interested in aviation or WW2 it’s a great place to visit.
The Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircraft is based on the old De-Havilland ‘Comet’ jet airliner from the 1950s. The mighty ‘Vulcan’ V-bomber.
Having nipped back to Cromer for a last afternoon stroll on the pier we returned home to pack before nipping out to eat locally at the Black Boys hotel in nearby Aylsham. This popular pub sits in the centre of town on the market square. The four of us dined here last year and enjoyed it so much we returned again this year. I enjoyed the belly pork – a dish I don’t cook at home, so it’s a treat to have when I’m out.
The diet starts on Monday…
Now it’s time to call it a day before an early start tomorrow in order to finish the packing and begin the trek Northwards. Our time down here has flown but there’s plenty for me to do when we get back so I’m not too sad to leave. After all, there’s always next time…
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Apologies for the lack of blogging these past few days but we’re on holiday in Norfolk and I’ve been trying to concentrate on enjoying ourselves. Well, not entirely. I’ve still had to do some work in order to get all the ‘3 peaks by rail’ pictures edited and off to the Railway Children charity and others for a forthcoming article in RAIL magazine, so that’s taken up my evenings rather than blogging. Whilst I’ve been working Dawn’s been enjoying herself in the kitchen, coming up with some wonderful food to feed the four of us.
We’ve been graced with some fabulous weather here in North Norfolk. Back in the Pennines there’s been a lot of rain whilst here we’ve had mostly wall to wall sunshine, leavened by a few clouds. Our days have been spent exploring Cromer and the coast, a trip on the North Norfolk railway and then – yesterday – a sortie over the border into Suffolk to visit Southwold, the lovely seaside town which is home to Adnams brewery. We’ve one day left here before we head back North, so we’re determined to make the most of it. Here’s a few pictures to give you a flavour of the trip.
On Tuesday we enjoyed a couple of trips on the North Norfolk railway behind this beastie, seen here at Holt station.Here’s a classic real ale pub in Cromer. The Red Lion hotel (yes, it also has rooms and serves food). Just a few of the real ales there were on sale during our visit. The pier at Southwold is hardly the grandest (or longest) in the UK, but it’s still a pleasant addition to this seaside retreat.The Sole Bay Inn and lighthouse in Southwold.On the way back from Southwold we stopped at the lovely Rushcutters Arms pub on the Eastern side of Norwich. It has a lovely riverside spot on the river Yare, good beers and a view of the railway. Tonight’s meal cooked by Dawn using fish bought from the excellent Davies Fish Shop in Cromer as well as other local ingredients. From L-R there’s Crevettes, Cromer crab, anchovies and Seabass. That was accompanied by local Asparagus and Dee’s home-made meatballs. Oh, there’s also a tomato salad and scalloped potatoes too…
Don’t worry, once I get back to Yorkshire I’ve lots to blog about, including the latest ‘green’ party anti HS2 lunacy in the first ‘crazy anti HS2 campaigner of the week’ for 2023 – although looking at the way their campaign’s shaping up it won’t be the last…
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We’ve had a relaxed day here in Norfolk so it’s a short blog from me tonight. None of us were rushing this morning although I did spend time working in order to tackle the mountain of pictures I need to edit from ‘3 Peaks by rail’. Then this afternoon we drove over to Sheringham to meet up with an old friend and enjoy sunshine, drinks and ice-cream – just the sort of things you expect of time at the seaside. Admittedly, we did have a quick look at the North Norfolk railway, which made us decide to pop back tomorrow to explore and take a trip along the line.
This evening has been just as relaxed – except for Dawn, who’s been busy in the kitchen cooking. But that’s something Dee really enjoys doing so we didn’t feel too guilty about letting her – and I did muck in to do the washing up and tidying!
The day’s been rounded off nicely by seeing that Parliament voted to accept the recommendation of the Committee looking at Boris Johnson lying to it by 354 to 7. Of course, we all knew he’d done that, but now it’s official. It was hardly the Tory party’s finest hour as most of their MPs were conspicuous by their absence, including Sunak, who seems to have forgotten his pledge of bring ‘integrity’ back to Government. As for the 7 who voted against, they weren’t all the usual suspects. One of them, uber- brexiter and right-wing old fossil Bill Cash has already announced he won’t be standing at the next election. I just hope the constituents of the other six dispose of them by the ballot box when they have the chance. Six of the seven (Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler) are Tories. The seventh is unknown according to the BBC and other sources, which suggest the tellers could have miscounted. Time will tell.
On that happy ending I’ll leave you with todays picture which was taken at the North Norfolk railway earlier.
This is British Railways ‘standard’ Class 4 2-6-0 number 76084 which was built at Horwich works, Lancashire in March 1957. It’s pictured at Sheringham station before working a train to Holt, the Western terminus of the line.
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/
Well, that was a blast! I’m starting to come down from the buzz of the past few days on ‘3 Peaks by rail’. This morning I heard the fantastic news that the event raised £250,000 for the Railway Children charity which make all the sweat, sprains and sleepless days worthwhile.
Now – after a brief night at home – I’m showered and changed and on my way to Norfolk to catch up with Dawn and her parents at the cottage we’ve rented for the week. I left Halifax on Northern’s 10:03 to Leeds which was (unusually) a five-car train – the first I’ve seen. working the route. I’d hoped to do some writing en-route but the wifi wasn’t working and I couldn’t be bothered setting up the full ‘office’ for the 40 minute journey to Leeds so I relaxed instead. Now I’m on LNER’s 11:05 from Leeds to London as far as Peterborough and editing pictures on the way. I know I’m meant to be on holiday but for freelances that’s an interesting concept as I still have pictures to edit and a magazine article to write! I’m hoping to be able to update yesterdays blog with a few shots later – and (of course) add some pictures to this one too when I’m not dependent on the onboard wifi as (understandably) train companies take a dim view of you file-sharing via their bandwidth.
Right now, we’ve just left Newark, passing a failed Grand Central Class 180 which has been left in disgrace in the sidings. t’s a sad sight. GC are having a torrid time of it at the moment due to such incidents happening on a regular basis. I like the 180s, they’re a good train internally but they’ve suffered with reliability issues throughout their lives. I think it’s time their owners (Angel trains) put them through a life-extension programme and sorted these issues out once and for all. Mind you, it’s not just the 180s that have problems. I’m on a modern nine-car ‘Azuma’ set which has no reservations loaded into the system due to their being a late set-swap. This should have been two-five cars sets so 10 into 9 won’t fit!
13:30.
After a pleasent journey down to an old haunt (Peterborough) I discovered my connection to Norwich was running up to 25 minutes late due to signalling failure – which blew out my next connection and puts me back an hour. Ho hum. The delay gave me time to grab a couple of library pictures before boarding the 2-car Class 158 East Midlands Railway have provided for today’s service. As is tradition with Class 158s the air-conditioning is struggling in the warm weather so I’m glad the train’s only around 60% full.
A London-bound Azuma calls at Peterborough The late-running 12:52 to Norwich
15:45.
Phew! That 158 was like a sauna. Add in the last few days exertions and lack of sleep and I was soon dozing off. I managed to stay awake to observe the lines of stored diesel trains at Potters of Ely, where a number of ex-East Midlands Railway class 156s are laid up which is annoying as Northern could certainly use ’em, but beyond that sleep soon claimed me. I had 50 mins ‘downtime’ at Norwich where I put the camera to use, and now I’m on my way to my final destination – North Walsham – aboard one of the best trains on the UK network, the Stadler built Class 745s.
Someone else had the same idea as me…
The weather here feels muggy with the threat of thunder in the air. A few spots of rain intruded whilst I was waiting for the train but it was half-hearted and never came to anything. I wouldn’t mind a good storm here as you’ll see it for miles in these flatlands.
21:45.
No thunderstorm here in Banningham sadly – just rain. Still, it’s good to be here again although it’s an early night for me and chance to catch-up on some sleep. See you all tomorrow!
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So much for plans! I’d originally hoped to be a rolling blog but that idea went out of the window in the early hours of this morning. Shortly afterwards the chance of blogging at all went with it. You’ll learn now why that is.
Like most of the folks on the train I managed to grab between 2-4 hours sleep on the train to Kingussie before we had to disembark at the even more ungodly hour than normal of 02:25 in order to be loaded on coaches which spent the next 90 minutes getting us to the base of Ben Nevis. The logistical challenges of such a short-notice change shouldn’t be underestimated. Once at the mountain and with the teams off up the mountain there wasn’t much for me to do after we’d worked out the only sensible place for the banner teams would have their photo taken behind. So – I donned my midge net, smothered myself in weapons-grade mosquito spray and crashed out of a few hours. At Ben Nevis this is a rare treat as normally the ground will be too wet or the weather too cold. But today I slept like a log for a couple of hours, preparing myself to spring into action when teams started coming down off the mountain.
It was a good move! By the time I woke up the majority of the midges had buggered off leaving the weather as pleasant as I’ve ever known it at Nevis.
Despite all their exertions over the past few days most teams made it up and down the mountain in good time and there were hardly any stragglers which was a real achievement. In fact, the first couple of teams stormed it. The difficulty with this event is that ‘time waits for no man’ although in this you can translate time for trains. A handful of people couldn’t make it off Ben Nevis in time to catch the special so they had to be ferried by road to Dalwhinnie where we picked them up.
The rest of us were coached back to Kingussie where folk decided their priorities. The toilets at the Ben Nevis visitor centre were out of order, so you either added to your intake or made room – rapidly! We were back on the train at 14:25 accompanied to the sounds of the bagpipes – which was a lovely touch and a nod to Katie Mason’s Scottish ancestry. You’ll see from the pictures I’ll add later
The train back South has been a riot! The atmosphere was superb but tinged with sadness as we’re saying goodbye to Katie Mason who’s been the stalwart of the event these past 20 years. The on-board crew did us proud with the service on-board. Mary Grant from Porterbrook (the event sponsor) joined us and yet again braved the sweaty bodies to prevent trophies to the three teams who’s raised the most money. I didn’t stop for a minute as I was constantly in demand to take pictures – either inside the train or out when we could choreograph them.
There’s so many good pictures to show from the event and I’ll add a few when I get home. Right now I’m on a very late running train from Preston to Halifax. I’ve managed to get a table to myself but that may be because I’ve not washed properly since Thursday!
19th June update.
I’ve finally had time to edit some of the pictures, so here’s a first few. The rest will appear over the next few days…
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/
Good morning folks! Our train’s currently traversing the the North Wales coast towards Chester. Those on-board woke up at silly o’ clock as the train left Holyhead at 03:55. Volunteers immediately swung into action to begin preparing for arrival at Bangor where we’d pick up the walkers. This year the weather’s been ideal so for the first time in many years the teams were already waiting for the train’s arrival. The bonus is that hardly anyone climbing Snowdon has picked up any injuries and the few that have were minor.
Now teams are bedding down on the train in order to get a few hours much needed sleep before we arrive at Ravenglass on the Cumbrian coast where we’re due to disembark at 08:46. Here’s a few pictures from the day so far…
Chef Si Cooper preparing sausages for breakfast.Meanwhile, in the catering vehicle next door, the rest of the team prepare fresh sandwiches for the walkers to take with them when they leave the train at Ravenglass. Sunrise over the North Wales coast.Bodies everywhere as people crash-out on the coach floors to grab what sleep they can.
07:50.
Good morning from the Cumbrian coast! The train’s woken up and everyone’s tucking into breakfast of ‘posh’ sausage rolls (with brioche baps) and porage., washed down with orange juice, tea or coffee. Meanwhile, the onboard crew have been busy preparing hundreds of sandwiches as part of the packed lunches walkers will be given to take with them to sustain their climb up Scafell. The weather here is glorious but that presents other difficulties, dehydration and sunburn being the major ones.
Arnside from the viaduct.
12:05.
The teams disembarked at Ravenglass 25 minute late due to a track-circuit failure on the Cumbrian coast line. Two trains took them along the narrow gauge Ravenglass and Eskdale railway to Dalegarth when they begin their walk to Wasdale to the climb up Scafell. This year I had the opportunity to get ahead so that I can get pictures if them ascending the mountain. So, here I am. Waiting…
There’s worse places to spend an afternoon…
21:30.
Well, that’s been a busy day! The photo above looks idyllic but when you’re sat there for three hours waiting for people to walk up into your lens the view does wane somewhat in the heat. Temperatures reached 27 degrees on Scafell today – unheard of in the history of the 3 Peaks by rail challenge. Understandably, some walkers struggled – even the experienced ones. Yet many managed to make the summit in a real feat of endurance and determination. Here’s a couple of pictures.
Now – after a couple of hours break in Ravenglass where people could enjoy a couple of glasses of ‘muscle relaxant’ we’re back on the train and heading for Scotland. The crew served the weary walkers an excellent Lasagne followed by Banoffee pie. Most people are already getting their heads down as we’re off the train at 02:15 to get coaches from Dalwhinnie to Ben Nevis in order to start the final challenge. Yet again the weather forecast is predicting a warm one.
22:30.
Our train’s looped at Beattock summit so all you can hear is the sound of the air-con which is often drowned out by the sound of people snoring. I’m the last one alive – but not for much longer. I’ve spied that someone’s left a gap between the back to back seats, so it’s my chance to stretch out and get some shut-eye. I’ll blog as I can tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day but I should have plenty of time between the teams going up on the mountain and me getting the shots of them crossing the finish line. Well, once Fort Bill opens, anyway…
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Having completed two sets of packing this morning the adventure’s begun. Dawn was good enough to give me a lift to the station with all my kit as I’m not exactly lighly loaded. You don’t bring an overnight bag for a trip like this – especially when you’re the event photographer!
Travelling ‘light’…
I’m now en-route to Crewe via Manchester on a busy Northern service from Sowerby Bridge. Other volunteers are on their way from across the country via road and rail, ready to provision the train when the empty stock arrives in the station. But first, a few of us have a little assignment on the depot before that happens…
The weather this year means the event’s going to be a warm. one which presents its own challenges for the teams. Never let anyone tell you this trip is a cakewalk. It’s bloody hard work! At the moment thunderstorms are forecast for the Ben Nevis area but we may be lucky and just dodge them. On the bright side – they could keep the midges at bay.
This is my 6th year as volunteer which I’d never dreamed would happen when I was first asked to help back in 2017. But, like a lot of the crew, I’ve enjoyed it so much I’ve kept coming back – despite the challenges and lack of sleep. Mainly because it’s such a great cause and we raise lots of money, but also because of the camaraderie. Every year’s different too. Each one has its own logistical and weather challenges which add to the fun – and the grey hairs. Well, for those with any left!
The first challenge this year is that due to earlier flood damage on the West Highland line our train can’t get to Fort William on Saturday. Instead, we’ll run to Kingussie on the main line to Inverness. It’s a hour by road from there to the start of the path up Ben Nevis. This change means walkers won’t get as much sleep as normal on Friday night, adding to the difficulty.
11:30.
I’m just leaving Manchester Piccadilly aboard this ancient beast which is working all the way to Carmarthen. Thank God I’m only going as far as Crewe!
Nice…
Needless to say, with it only being a 2-car, it’s full and standing. At least with it only having forced-air ventilation I don’t have to worry about the air-conditioning breaking down!
16:30.
Apologies for the gap there. I’m now back at the station having spent the past few hours at the depot helping to prepare the stock for the trip. There’s a lot of work to do before the train even arrives at the station. Volunteers are already aboard preparing food whist other of us have labelled the vehicles and laid out information and supplies. I can’t show you any photos as pictures are verboten on the depot, but there’ll be plenty from the trip later – including of the surprise…
When the coleslaw you ordered doesn’t turn up – just the basic ingredients, so you have to make your own. On the bright side, there’s chance to get some Vegan mayonnaise and provide variety to some diets…
18:25.
OK, we’re almost ready for the off and the secret is out. We have rather special traction to Bangor to celebrate Katie Mason’s 23 years at the Railway Children.
Yes, we have steam engine ‘Britannia’ on the front. So, if you have chance to pop out to the North Wales coast in the next hour or two…
22:15.
Time for an update and a load of pictures. The train’s certainly turned a few heads as it made its way along the North Wales coast. En-route our teams were fed a 2 course meal of pies, coleslaw and potato salad followed by cheescake.
You don’t go hungry on 3 peaks by rail.
We had a 30 minute stop at Llandudno Junction so that ‘Britannia’ could take on water which also gave people chance to pose for pictures with the loco in a much better location than platform 12 at Crewe!
Taking on water through a slightly leaky hose!
At Bangor we dispatched the walkers who boarded coaches to get them to Snowden and also said goodbye to ‘Britannia’ which was detached to run light engine to Valley where it could turn around on the triangle. Class 47 No 47614 was waiting to take over in its stead to take the empty stock to Holyhead.
The fact the walkers were on their way is only part of the story. I stayed aboard with the traincrew who immediately swung into action, clearing up the rubbish, washing hundreds of plates and then preparing their own meal.
A volunteer’s work is never done – but it’s done with humour!
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 hardly been the most exciting day here at Bigland Towers as I’ve spent most of it chained to my desk – despite wall to wall sunshine outside. I’ve needed to clear the decks ready for the next few weeks which is going to see me travelling all around the country but before doing that I needed to get pictures out to clients and rejig some other arrangements as plans have a habit of changing from day to day – through no fault of my own.
The first adventure begins tomorrow when I head off to Crewe to join the rest of the staff, volunteers and participants for the 20th anniversary trip of the Railway Childrens ‘3 Peaks by rail’ odyssey. The trip has already stretched the ingenuity of the team organising the logistics of the event but I won’t explain why until after we leave Crewe. I’ll be blogging throughout Thursday and the other two days of the event when I can, although there’s some places where phone reception and wifi simply don’t exist so I’ll have to fill in the blanks later. Of course you’ll also be able to read all about the event in a future edition of RAIL magazine.
Right now it’s time for me to call it a day as not only do I need to finish packing for the 3 Peaks, I also need to prepare a set of holiday clothes because just as soon as I get back from Scotland I’ll be hot-footing it down to Norfolk the next day to catch up with Dawn and her parents in Norfolk where we have a holiday cottage booked. Thankfully, Dee can take my stuff with her to save me carrying even more kit. The 3 peaks has often caused me some fun as a couple of times I’ve had to hot-foot it to Crewe straight from other (sometimes formal) events. I’ve even had to fly straight back from Germany and travel to Bangor in a following service only to meet up with the train in the early hours of the morning. In contrast, this year I have plenty of time and no other commitments.
I’ll leave you with today’s picture which comes from the series I was taking yesterday. Here’s a pair of Trans-Pennine Express Class 185s from Manchester en-route to Leeds crossing the Uppermill viaduct.
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/
Sorry for the lack of blogging these past few days folks but I’ve been taking time off for various reasons, but now I’m back in a new week and cycle which will provide plenty of time to blog and lots to blog about.
We returned from our Surrey sojourn on Sunday. Dawn drive all the way in good time and with only one stop. The fantastic weather we’d had in Tilford when we spent the day watching Dee’s nephew playing cricket followed us home. Thunderstorms have been predicted but have failed to materialise despite the looming cloud formations being equal to the task. The lack of rain’s kept me active in the garden, lugging cans of water up and down the steps and terraces, so I’ve had quite a workout.
Yesterday was busy sorting out all the pictures I’d been taking which have gone out to various clients. I was also kept busy arranging a potential job which would have taken me up to Scotland next week. The work came in on Thursday but by the time we came to arrange it yesterday the remit had already changed! Such is freelance life. I’m not complaining as the work (and more) is still in the pipeline. Besides, I’m meant to be on holiday in Norfolk next week, which will be a welcome chance to relax as this Thursday I start the Railway Children’s annual ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ odyssey. It’s the 20th anniversary this year so it’s going to be a special event but my lips are sealed about details – for now.
Having finished with pictures and emails earlier and with the weather still cracking the flags and reaching records for the time of year here in the Calder valley I’ve ventured out for a few hours to head West and another valley. Right now I’m on Northern’s 13.02 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester Victoria. It consists of a single 2-car Class 158 with all available windows open – which suggests the air-conditioning is kaput. It’s certainly warm in here – and noisy. On the table opposite me I have two young people knocking back the Pimms and G&Ts. I wouldn’t mind, apart from the fact they both suffer from inarticulacy. Every 3rd word is ‘like’. In the case of the young girl it’s almost every second word, which is extremely repetitive when she’s talking 90 to the dozen. Even their ‘posh’ accents can’t disguise just how limited their vocabulary is. To deaden the sound I’ve resorted to headphones and the ability to drift away on a music cloud. In this case memories of an equally warm summer day in back in 1978 when I saw Genesis at the Knebworth festival. Oh, God – I’ve just realised that was 45 years ago!
13:55
I may have been critical of the young couple adjacent to me but I’ll give them credit for clearing up the half-ton of scrap drinks cans they had on their table and binning them when they left the train. It’s more than many do nowadays.
Arrival. My train from Sowerby Bridge in the middle of a crew-change at Manchester Victoria before it heads off to Wigan Wallgate.
I made a swift cross-platform interchange to catch one of Metropolitan-Cammell’s finest modern products in the shape of a Northern Class 156 heading for Stalybridge. It’s running late but no matter as I’m in no particular hurry.
14:45.
I observed steady progress electrifying the line to Stalybridge. Since my last trip the contact wires have been installed all the way from Miles Platting as far as the West Junction at Stalybridge. There’s still steelwork to install in the station area plus the East throat and some of that is now lying in the 6 foot between platforms, ready to be installed during overnight or weekend possessions
17:15.
Next stop was Mossley but the summer sun had already moved on to leave heavy shadows which was a shame as it’s a great location. Victorian homes abut the railway with such closeness its amazing anyone got to sleep in the age of steam, when clanking unfitted freight trains thundered past their bedrooms. But then you didn’t have Nimbys in those days!
After that I detrained at Greenfield for the mile long climb up a back road to a vantage point over the Uppermill viaduct. Sadly, the view’s not what it was due to tree growth which has hidden a lot of the viaduct. Even so – on a day like this it’s still a photographic location.
18:20.
Time to head home. I’ll add some of the camera pics later. Right now I’m on a train from Greenfield back to Stalybridge in order to get back to ‘my’ bit of the Pennines. Thankfully, the walk back from the site overlooking the viaduct is almost all downhill and there’s a great real-ale pub opposite Greenfield station. Well – I felt like I deserved one!
19:15.
Well, that was ‘fun’. Checking on various timetables it seemed my best option for getting home was via Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria. So, I duly caught a train to ‘Stalyvegas’ where it all went a bit ‘Pete Tong’. Late running meant going via Victoria was up the spout. Still, there was always the option of getting the first train to Huddersfield and going via Halifax, right? Then the information screens and updates fell apart. I missed one train to Huddersfield as I was waiting for one to Hull that was only delayed by a couple of minutes but I was on the wrong platform. Then this really helpful screen came up.
Apparently, the 1841 is coming in sideways, which will upset Network Rail as that’ll take out many of the new electrification masts. Meanwhile, I was in the subway like I was waiting someone to serve in tennis.
19:12.
I’m now on the optimistically timed 18:41 which is currently crawling from signal to signal on its approach to Diggle, barely a mile from where I was taking pictures earlier. I suspect this is going to be a long journey home.
22:15.
Home again! Despite the crawl across the Pennines I arrived in Huddersfield with a few minutes to spare to catch my connection to Halifax. The 2-car Northern 158 supplying the service had working air-conditioning and was pretty empty, so the journey was easy. Admittedly, walking up the hill from Halifax to Spring Edge was more of a slog so required a pit-stop at the ‘Big 6’ for a swift half, but beyond that life’s been good. I’ll put the exercise down to limbering up for a bigger event later in the week.
Now it’s time to relax at home before another busy day tomorrow.
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Paul Bigland 