Bloody hell! It’s June already! To be honest the new month’s made a welcome arrival as it’s started on a weekend that’s brought some gorgeous and much-needed sunshine. I’ve been based in the Calder valley but not entirely at home. On Saturday the friends of Mytholmroyd station had an open day at their station building. This was in conjunction with the local historical society, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Rly society and other supporters. I dropped in for a while to help them with photographs whilst enjoying the atmosphere. A local gospel choir kept visitors entertained whilst they waited to join one of the organised walks around the village whilst other folk amused themselves looking through the collection of old photographs, posters and artwork on display inside the station building. Here’s a few pictures from the day.
The station building’s celebrating an important anniversary this year, as these signs mounted on the platforms proclaim.
Today (Sunday) has been a more home-based day. I made the most of the weather by spending much of my time gardening and trying to control the weed that threaten to take over the terraces at the back of the cottage. Everything’s growing at such a rate of knots now all I have to do is turn my back and the brambles start to encroach. Mind you, the wildlife can cause a few problems too. I had to scare off a Fox that (as bold as brass and in the middle of the day) decided to try and bury a chicken thigh (left out by a neighbour) right in the middle of one of my flowerbeds, and right outside the kitchen window too. Cheeky bugger!
Hopefully, this is the start of summer, but I’m not going to hold my breath. The weather’s been so unpredictable this year I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if we have snow by Friday!
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It’s a bit of a busman’s holiday for me today. I’m travelling to London for lunch with an old friend, then heading back later as both Dawn and I have another (railway related) appointment tomorrow.
On my walk to the station I couldn’t resist taking a detour past the Big 6 to see what the film crew were up to. The surrounding streets are now clogged with trucks and vans whilst the pub itself has disappeared behind scaffolding which is holding the blackout curtains in place.
The front……and back.
Right now I’m on Grand Central’s 08:13 from Halifax to Kings Cross. There’s been a last minute set swap which has led to the service being worked by one of their hired-in Class 221 ‘Voyager’ trains rather than the expected Class 180. This has caused some confusion amongst passengers as the seat reservations are all mixed up!
A sea of reservation labels aboard this GC service.
I rarely travel by GC nowadays so it was lovely to bump into an old friend working the train. Javid is one of the original West Yorkshire crews. Most have left or (like Javid) been promoted. He’s gone from a Customer Service Assistant to Train Manager (Guard in old money). Quite a few of his contemporaries are now Drivers with GC or other train companies. We had time for a catch up after leaving Halifax and before the train filled up even more at Brighouse. GC is a real success story. Their passenger numbers have grown massively with most trains being fully booked (one of the reasons I don’t use them as much) so it’s good to hear they’ll soon be introducing a 5th West Riding service.
I’d planned to do some work on the train but on unpacking my bag I realised I’l left my laptop lead at home! I’d been sneaking around this morning in order not to disturb Dawn so hadn’t checked. The battery won’t last there and back, so I’ll take it easy, save it for later and enjoy the journey instead.
09:00.
We’ve just left Wakefield Kirkgate, which is a busy exchange stop for GC because many people use the train to get there from Bradford and Halifax. They’re replaced by other passengers for Doncaster and London.
En-route I had chance to observe TRU progress. The most noticeable changes are the massive mounds of earth being moved at Ravensthorpe where the ‘dive under’ junction is being created. I need to pay another photographic visit soon. The abandoned marshalling yard at Healy Mills is seeing some changes too with many of the old sidings being lifted to create space for the new TRU construction yard.
09:55.
Having found the wifi wasn’t working on my GC set, and having something I wanted to get shots off at Doncaster I opted to change trains. This gave me just long enough to photograph what I was after, grab some library shots of the GC train and crews swapping over, then board the following LNER service. I’m now chasing the Voyager which I’ll catch up at Kings Cross! The 10-car LNER service (ex Harrogate) is the train I was originally aiming for at Leeds. It’s packed full of families and groups en-route to the capital although I have managed to bag an unoccupied seat that had been reserved from Wakefield. The wifi’s working, so I’m quickly blogging from my laptop and catching up on some work before switching off again.
11:15.
We’re now South of Stevenage and the weather’s rather disappointing. I’ve left behind sunshine in Yorkshire for the grey and dismal South! Hang on, isn’t it meant to be grim up North? Apparently (according to the Met Office) my Southern sojourn may be enlivened by heavy showers and even thunderstorms. Ho hum…
11:40.
Arrived…
21:30.
Mind the gap..
Sorry about that but I’ve had a lovely time in old haunts in North London with a group of friends from the industry where Chatham House rules (and more) apply. Gosh, did we all cover some territory – from both ends of the political spectrum – but, as old friends we still remained civil. Now I’m back in’t North, aboard a train from Leeds to Halifax.
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Another day of mixed fortunes here at Bigland Towers. The pair of us have been busy in our respective home offices, only meeting up in the kitchen to swap news and gossip. Still, from my perspective it’s been a productive day. I’ve finished penning my next article for RAIL magazine and even begun the next with some forward research and commitments from various players within Northern trains that will make it possible. I won’t say what it’s about just yet but it will give a ‘behind the scenes’ insight into an important operational area.
If only the weather had been so good. Frankly, if you were spending much time outside you’d have no idea that we’re on the cusp of June and only a few weeks away from the official start of summer. It’s neither warm, dry nor sunny here in the Pennines. Instead, we have the sort of weather that makes you hanker for foreign holidays and sunnier climes.
As Dee’s off to a meeting in Manchester tomorrow I’d had half a mind to follow her but the forecast tells me it would be a wasted day. Instead, I’m going to stay at home, scribble some more and work on the cottage whilst I have the chance as I don’t want to waste some sunny days – if and when they arrive. Plus, I’ve a rather full diary over the next couple of months.
Talking of sunny days, we have plans for later in the year which will involve just that. Today’s picture’s a clue about our intended destination. This was one of the first pictures I ever had published – in a spread in the Sunday Telegraph way back in 1996. But can you guess where it was taken?
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Apologies for the lack of blogging recently but I’ve been rather busy both personally and professionally, so something had to give. Plus, I’d have been tempted to indulge in some spleen-venting o ver the utter shit-show that’s the Tories election campaign, but more on that later!
The bank holiday weekend was rather sociable, partly because it was Dawn’s birthday on Saturday and we’d arranged to have a day out with her parents before going for a meal. We visited somewhere they knew well but I’d never been to before, Wentworth Garden Centre near Barnsley. It’s not just a garden centre (although that’s huge, and the cafe equally massive) but also an ornamental garden. I was impressed with both – especially the garden centre as it possessed a far greater variety of plants than any near us – and the prices were very reasonable too, which caused both Norah and I to come away with various green goodies. In my case a couple of colourful and unusual ornamental plants as well as herbs to replace some I’d lost last winter. Come the evening we adjourned to a favorite food haunt, Punch Tapas in Honley, near Holmfirth. The food’s always good, the atmosphere never too frenetic and the staff ever friendly and attentive.
The rest of the bank holiday weekend was spent at home doing not very much at all due to the weather, which has resorted to being atrocious. We’ve had huge amounts of rain dropping from end of the world coloured skies – as well as regular claps of thunder. To be honest, Dee was glad of the rest as she’s been working at 110% recently. I was quite happy to be housebound too as it gave me the opportunity to clear the decks of all the pictures I’d taken over the past week and get them out to clients – and get paid! Now we’re in a new week and the end of yet another month. The weather’s showing no sign of improving – exactly the opposite. We’ve more yellow warnings of thunder and heavy rain so I’m thankful that I’ve another day at home, writing for a living.
Of course, I’ve been keeping one eye on the election, and I have to say I’ve never known such an utter shit-show. It’s hard to believe the Tories once had a reputation as a fearsome electoral machine because all we’ve seen since Sunak dropped the news he was calling it has been one disaster after another. Over the weekend he came up with another ‘brainwave’ no-one in his party had been consulted on – bringing back national service. In fact, the whole idea had only been dismissed by his Government in Parliament the week before! But that’s ‘Head Boy’ Sunak for you. He only listens to a tiny bunch of ‘think-tanks’ he’s surrounded himself with. To say the idea was greeted by almost universal derision and condemnation would be an understatement. Of course, the right-wing press and client journalists tried to cheerlead for the idea, but it’s shot full of so many holes it’s had the opposite effect to the one he was mad enough to expect. As usual, the devil’s in the detail (not that there’s much of that) but the interesting admission was that the hopelessly underestimated cost (£2.5bn) would be paid for by scrapping grants to the regions that were meant to make up for losing EU regional funding after Brexit! Yep, the regions get shafted again!
This madcap idea was meant to appeal to the ‘hang ’em and flog ’em brigade, which is mostly the old. But not too old, as you’d have to be at least 84 to have done National Service (my FiL did, he’s 90 this year). To reinforce this appeal to an older generation, Sunak came up with a second ‘brainwave’, which is the ‘triple lock plus’. What’s that you ask? It’s a ruse to stop pensioners having to pay tax on their pensions as the Tories have frozen personal tax allowances until 2028. That ‘fiscal drag’ is why more people are now paying tax, but pensioners will become exempt. It’s just another mad ‘back of a fag-packet’ idea.
To say this appeal to the elderly is misjudged is becoming more obvious by the day. It’s widely accepted that the old make up the majority of the Tory membership and that it’s the over 65s who’re most likely to vote Tory, but the very latest polling research from Redfield and Wilton has put the cat amongst the pigeons. Here’s their breakdown of voting intention by age.
Labour are ahead in every age demographic – even the over 65s! In fact, only 26% of over 65s intend to vote Tory! The bribes aren’t working…
Polling across the board shows that the Tories are toast. If the polls are moving, the majority show Labour’s lead’s increasing. Nothing Sunak is doing is moving the dial in his favour. Mind you, you have to wonder what the next batshit idea his friends in the right-wing ‘think tanks’ will come up with. Bring back hanging? Send kids too young for national service up chimneys? Ban something – maybe Gay pride, or the Notting Hill carnival? I wouldn’t put anything past these people. God help us – we’ve 5 more weeks of this crap to go. Meanwhile, Labour are looking more and more like the adults in the room, just waiting to take over the reins of power.
There is one massive omission in all of this. Any talk of the biggest elephant in the room. Brexit. You can see why Labour are staying schtum. As the Napoleon quote goes – ‘never interrupt you enemy when he’s making a mistake’. What’s amazing is that the Tories aren’t talking about Brexit either. After all, they fought the 2019 election under the slogan ‘get Brexit done’. They did (supposedly) so why are they not crowing about the ‘success’ of Brexit, and how they’ve delivered on all it’s promises. Y’know – the ‘sunny uplands’ and all that, where we’re now richer and more important in the world, having ‘taken back control’? Anyone who’s not a fanatical Brexiter knows the answer to that one, but for some reason, the mainstream media give the Tories a free pass on that question…
OK, that’s enough politics for one night. Now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from Friday’s visit to Newton Heath Traincare centre in Manchester, not a place many people get to visit.
A trio of the oldest diesel train fleet operating on the national network – all of which are now operated by Northern (bar 3 they’ve sent to work the Bedford to Bletchley line). As an aside, did you know one of the world’s most famous football clubs started out as the depot’s own team? Nowadays they’re better known as…Manchester United, which was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the railway’s Carriage and Wagon department!
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The team are preparing for today’s event in London. I can’t say anything about it until afterwards but we had a great planning session with some of the local station friends yesterday evening, so we’re looking forward to what’s going to happen. Why not pop back later to see what it is we’ve been up to?
13:05.
Phew, sorry for the gap but it’s been a busy morning. I can now reveal that we’ve been kept busy at Alexandra Palace station with an event that included a long visit by Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan MP, who spent time with local MP Catherine West, Community Rail Networks Chief Exec Jools Townsend and many of the local station friends and visitors from as far afield as Gipsy Hill. Here’s a few pictures.
The whole group get the message across…
I’ll add more details later. Right now my main task is to get the pictures edited – and begin my journey back North…
13:45.
Having got the pictures out to where they need to go I’m footloose and fancy free again, soI’m beginning my journey back North. I’ve really enjoyed being back in my old stamping ground – even if the weather’s been iffy (at least it didn’t rain in any meaningful way) but now it’s time to hunt for some sun and the chance to get a few more libray shots in the can. Right now, the next stop’s Stevenage…
16:50.
Stevenage proved to be quite literally a washout, thanks to the weather so I boarded the next available train to Peterborough – and old haunt from the 1990s. I did manage a few more library shots but whilst the weather stayed dry the skies were dull in the extreme. Now I’m on my way to Doncaster, although I don’t know if I’ll stop off as despite my moving North sunshine’s proving to be elusive.
17:00.
Doncaster was a bust, although clouds are lifting and every so often there’s a tantalizing glimpse of blue sky. Unfortunately, the works yard is empty and the station’s just as quiet, so I’ll stay on board until York where there just *might* be a couple of worthwhile shots to be had under the station’s magnificent roof. Plus, I can get a direct train to Halifax from there, which makes life easier.
19:30.
Like most plans, mine didn’t survive long. Whilst the weather had picked up many services were running from platforms oufside the trainshed, so less photogenic. Then my direct train to Halifax was cancelled, so I had to get a TPE to Leeds and pick up a late running Halifax service
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Community rail week has begun, and I’m off on my travels again as part of it. Right now, I’m on Northern’s 10:23 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester in order to pop in on an event being held at Piccadilly station before making my way down to London this evening. After yesterday’s wall to wall sunshine the weather’s a bit of a disappointment as the Calder valley’s full of low cloud but I’m hoping things will improve as I drift South stopping off on the way. Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to…
No 1 on day 1 to carry me to Manchester…
11:05.
Before I get to Manchester I’ve stopped off at Rochdale where the Calder Valley CRP are having an event in the station garden. There’s music – and cupcakes, so if you’re in the area feel free to pop in…
12:30.
My tour continues. On reaching Manchester I hot-foot it over to Piccadilly station where several CRPs (Community Rail Partnerships) and their friends have stalls today. There’s a lot of interest in the line and walking guides, along with the other goodies on offer. Both the Bentham and Glossop lines had sent delegations..
Now I’m on the move again, slowly heading South. Today I have a treat as far as Crewe in the shape of one of Transport for Wales locomotive hauled (or in this case, pushed) Mk 4 sets.
13:55.
I’m currently taking the scenic route as plans went slightly awry on arrival at Crewe. There was plenty of variety of traction on view – from old TfW single-car ‘Scuds’ working the Shrewsbury shuttle to brand new Hitachi built Class 805s on test before taking over from Avanti Voyagers later this year. Oh, and the nostalgia-fest that is LSL’s loco depot, which is a real 1980s throwback. Unfortunately a number of services were late or delayed, so I’m now heading for Stoke on a sideways shuffle aboard one of LNWs Class 350s. This one’s a former Trans-Pennine Express unit that used to work between Manchester Airport – Glasgow/Edinburgh before being displaced by more modern (and longer) trains.
14:50.
And relax! On arrival at Stoke I had 10 minutes to wait for a Pendolino to arrive which would whisk me to Euston via one stop at Nuneaton. There’s no more community rail events within my reach now so the rest of the day is purely a positional move. As I head South the weather’s improving. There’s clear blue skies and fluffy cumulous clouds instead of the grey I’d been used to, so now all I have to do is decide where I’m going to visit to get some library shots after hitting London.
15:33
Bugger! Just when I thought I was back on track! We’re currently running 26 minutes late (and being diverted via Northampton) due to – as the onboard screens inform us – a ‘safety inspection of the track’. Ho hum. Now I won’t reach Euston until 16:07 – and counting. We’re not the only service affected either. I’ve just had a quick look at ‘real time trains’ to check out Euston departures/arrivals. It’s not good. I expect it’ll be carnage on the concourse when I arrive.
16:40.
Carnage has been averted at Euston due to many departures leaving on time, which will keep passengers happy and the concourse uncrowded. But it’ll come at a price. Many trains will have been ‘stepped up’ (turned around quickly and reallocated to different services). Train crews bear the brunt when this happens as their dockets aren’t worth the paper they’re written on so hours get extended. Juggling the trains has issues too as some will have been heading to certain depots for maintenence to take place. They’ll end the day somewhere very different unless train controllers can get them back to where they need to be.
Euston. It could be a lot worse…
17:45.
Wandering down the Euston Rd from Euston to Kings Cross I bumped into Ndy Savage, an old friend and fellow Community Rail Awards judge. It’s what I love about London. You’re never far away from someone you know. Now I’m back in old haunts in Harringay, heading to tonight’s hotel…
23:30.
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m kicking back at my hotel in Wood Green after meeting up with the rest of the CRN team ready for tomorrow’s big event. I’ll leave you with a few more pictures from today, with many more to follow tomorrow.
Manchester Piccadilly earlier, with people interested in details of some of the walking guides on offer. Stoke station dominated by LNW Class 350s, including the former TPE unit I arrived on. It could have been an awful lot worse. Despite the WCML disruption Euston station passenger flow remained in tolerable levels. Buddleia’s not part of the station friends plan, but like many locations it’s encroaching on the lineside here at Alexandra Palace in North London.
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We’ve another dull day in the Calder Valley but my Friday’s being brightened up by the opportunity to mix business with pleasure. I’m currently aboard a Northern service from Halifax to Hull which I’m using to get to Leeds before making my way (via a few changes en-route) to Chersterfield, then on to Barrow Hill roundhouse to attend the annual ‘Rail Ale’ beer festival for a few hours. Railways and beer? What’s not to like?
Here we go…
I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to pop back and see how things unfold….
11:15.
After a short sojourn in Leeds I’m now aboard a Cross-Country service heading for Plymouth. Well, the train is, I’m only going as far as Sheffield! Made up of two 4-car Voyagers it’s a busy train although I’ve managed to find a free airline seat in the front car of the leading seat. There’s an elderly couple who got on with me at Leeds who’re travelling all the way as they’re heading to Cornwall. They’ll be on here for the next five and a half hours! They hadn’t reserved seats and were going to sit separately but one kind business chap offered to move and also helped them store their luggage.
13:15.
I changed trains at Sheffield, which led to one of those silly, petty ‘elf and safety’ events which – whilst rare, do seem to be coming more common again.
I was leaning on the fence at the North end of platform 5-6 waiting to take a shot when I heard urgent whistling going on behind me, turning around I noticed two platform dispatch staff bearing down on me from ine and the adjacent platform. Odd, as I was well within the public area of the station. One of the women shouted at me to ‘get behind the sign’ on a lampost set well back from the fence. The sign didn’t say ‘do not pass this point’, merely no unauthorised access – meaning don’t wander off the platform – hard to do now there’s a fence and cattle grid stopping you! I asked the second woman what I’d done wrong. I’d wandered up to the fence (surely, what it’s there for?). I pointed out the arbitary silliness of this, only to be told other had walked past the grid to go into the tunnels – something I was clearly not doing! I couldn’t be bothered to argue as I was due to catch a train. But the upshot was two dispatch staff had their time wasted enforcing an arbitary non-rule rather than using common-sense, and I was left feeling that some rail staff really have lost the plot. Later I heard the same dispatcher hanguing passengers for not standing back from a train in the platform despite the fact it was minutes from departure, giving the feeling passengers are treated like nuisance sheep at Sheffield – not farepaying customers.
17:30.
Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve had a busy time at Barrow Hill meeting up with old friends, sampling beers and taking lots of picture (you’ll see some later). Sadly, due to other commitments I’ve had to leave this excellent event early. Right now I’m heading back to Chesterfield on an open top bus!
19:00.
I’m currently sat on another Cross-Country Voyager, this time heading from Sheffield to Leeds. You can tell it’s Friday as many younger passengers are travelling from town to cities en-route to a night out. Let’s face it, most can’t afford a mortgage anymore, so there’s little point saving so they’re the people disposing of their income in a fashion that’s keeping many bars and clubs alive.
21:30.
Home again. Despite it being a Friday and train services being extremely busy my journey back was rather pleasant. Now I’m busy editing pictures from Barrow Hill. Here’s a selection.
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I’m having a quiet weekend here at Bigland Towers. Following all my travels earlier this week its lovely to be able to have the odd lie-in and not have to be constantly on the move. Plus, poor Dawn was struck down by the Lurgi whilst I was away so I’ve had to don my nurses uniform once more.
I’ve plenty to keep me occupied. I’ve 1000s of pictures to sift through and edit which is going to keep me busy for several days. Then there’s cooking, washing and all the other stuff needed to keep the place running whilst Dee recuperates. Oh, then there’s still keeping up walking over 12.5k steps a day.
Another thing that’s filled time is watching the latest political psychodrama involving Natalie Elphick, the Tory MP who’s defected to Labour. Many on the left and centre left are unhappy about this due to her history. But this is politics, and my view is that it’s been a clever move on Labour’s party due to the damage it’s doing to Sunak and the Tories. For every vote Labour *may* lose because of it, they’re likely to gain far more in swing seats which are the ones they need to win to form a Government. Mind you, watching the Tories losing it because of her defection is really rather delicious. By trying to smear her they’re proving how inept they are as these revelations and cover-ups happened when she was still a Tory MP!
This evening’s been spent cooking and listening to the thunderstorms that have arrived to put an end to the day after some glorious sunshine. Now it’s time to relax before another busy week. In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from the editing queue.
Siemens built RRX trains in the depot at Dortmund, seen during my press trip on Tuesday.Not your usual view of the London Underground. Here’s Oxford Circus on the Northbound Victoria line. Looking through the bridge beams at HS2’s Thame valley viaduct. Not a view many people will ever get to see…
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My time away has come to an end. Today I head home for a while until the next adventure. But first I’ve got to get there. Thankfully, the main rail strikes are in abeyance today, but last minutes changes are still possible. Let’s see hoe things go. First off it to get across London to begin the journey North. Today I’m taking that trip via the Midland Main Line…
08:15.
The pair of us are now speeding up the Midland Main Line on a very empty (and very dirty) Meridian, the first of the class in fact. Talk about tired – the train that is – not me! This one has the new seat mocquette but the quality of the fitting leaves a lot to be desired. The carpets are still threadbare and the paintwork inside and out is in a terrible state.
Not exactly London’s busiest rail service…
11:45
I said goodbye to Hassard at Derby. He went off to his meeting whilst I stayed to make the most of the good weather to get some library shots before catching an onward service to Sheffield. Here’s a couple of camera pictures.
The Meridian I’m on now (set 13) is lucky for me as at least you can see out of the windows in this train. We weren’t so lucky in the last one…
Still, it’s swings and roundabouts. The wifi doesn’t work on this set – unlike the last one!
13:15.
Well, that was fun. I joined a 4-car Cross-Country Voyager bound for Edinburgh for the leg between Sheffield and Leeds. It was rammed! I was ‘lucky’ enough to find a space to stand opposite the disabled toilet in the rear car. It was taking a hammering due to the amount of drunks sat in the same vehicle (and others elsewhere). I have to give full credit to the Train Manager, despite the obstacle course he needed to navigate he still managed to make a full ticket check!
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In contrast to the past couple of days which has been mostly about new trains, today’s visit is going to be about building bridges – HS2 style. I won’t say just where yet, but all will be revealed soon. But first I’ve got to to to where I’m going, which means a cross-London journey from here in Clapham then a trip along the Chiltern line…
07:42.
The weather’s so good this morning I was up and out early in order to bank some time (and pictures en-route). Here’s how the changing skyline of Clapham Junction looks.
08:40.
Having arrived at Victoria I took a trip on the tube line of the same name as far as Oxford Circus where I changed to the antique line – sorry – the Bakerloo line, which operates the oldest and most decrepit trains on the network.
Now I’m at Marylebone, waiting for my next train. The station’s celebrating its 125th birthday this year so is decked out with bunting as a consequence. Not that many in the constant ebb and flow of passengers seem to notice!
At least the trains aren’t 125 years old…
14:30.
Mind the gap! Sorry about that. I’ve only just left the HS2 Thame valley viaduct site. My tour of the structure was extensive so and I was so engrossed in taking pictures and writing notes there was no time to blog.
This particular viaduct is 880 meters long. It’s a low lying structure that will carry HS2 over a flood-plain. I was here ladt year to see some of the first prefabricated concrete beams being installed. There’s been a lot of progress since.
One of two central piers in the viaduct. the poles and pile cap are far bigger as it from here the viaduct is tensioned and dynamic forces transferred. The 880m long viaduct can expand up to 450mm in each direction from these points.
Now, large sections of the viaduct are in place and progress is being made with installing the prefabricated concrete plants which form the bed of the deck. I’ll describe it in far more detail later.
15:15.
On my way back to London I couldn’t resist making a quick stop at Wendover, where the station is very close to some of the HS2 trace. Despite the claims of some residents HS2 construction doesn’t dominate the village as it’s on the opposite side of the noisy and busy A413. Since my last visit there’s been a number of changes. One road which is at the Northern portal of the ‘green’ tunnel’s been diverted over a new bridge spanning the trace. This bridge privides an excellent vantage point to follow construction of the route Northwards.
The bridgeThe view from the bridge.
A short walk away is a footpath and the infamous memorial woods that anti HS2 protesters like Mark Keir lied about, claiming it was dedicated to dead children (it wasn’t) and it was being torn-up up by HS2 and ‘desecrated’ (it wasn’t). I covered their disgraceful, lying campaign in this blog at the time. In fact, the wood’s in rude health. I popped in and took this shot.
Meanwhile, the footpath to the South just past the memorial wood affords this view which is looking down the valley to the viaducts that cross the A413 and also Wendover Dean. Notice how the scenic nature of the valley has been ‘destroyed’ by HS2. Oh, hang on – what are those metal pylons – and how long have they been there?
23:00.
Time to bring today’s blog to a close. The weather here in London’s been lovely. Eating alfresco has returned to the streets of Clapham and the place has been buzzing. It seemed a shame to waste the eveing so the pair of us nipped out for a couple of beers to enjoy the atmosphere, but now it’s time to prepare for tomorrow which includes another early start with the pair of us travelling North together as far as Derby. Watch this space…
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Paul Bigland 