Yet another day when (thanks to the glorious sunshine) it’s been anything but grim up North! T’was even cracking the flags in Manchester!
My day started pottering around at Bigland Towers before catching the train from Sowerby Bridge to nearby Mytholmroyd station to join in the Community Rail week fun with our old friends Geoff and Sue Mitchell, some of the other members of the station group plus visitors from the Calder valley Community Rail Partnership, Transport for Greater Manchester, Network Rail and others who came along to enjoy a guided walk from Mytholmroyd to nearby Hebden Bridge.
The event was meant to kick off with tours of the restored station building, but that nearly didn’t happen due to one of those black comedy moments that we can laugh about now, but at the time could have been far less funny. Since the building’s been restored it’s always been assumed there was no water supply. Today that turned out to be untrue, as when some protective coverings were being moved a pipe was exposed which then blew its plastic coupling to release a high pressure jet of water across the ground floor. Poor Geoff and Sue and another of their colleagues got absolutely drenched trying to reattach the pipe to stem the deluge, but if you’ve ever tried such a maneuver you’ll know it’s next to impossible. In the end, all we could do was open a drain in the floor, dam and divert the flow into it and wait for the water company to come and access the stopcock buried in the pavement outside. Thank God it was a bright sunny day and not January!
The irony? The door in the picture is equipped with flood protection – but only from the river outside…
Still, it provided some amusement for the visitors, who were still able to have a look around the upstairs of the old building. Tours over, everyone assembled for short welcome speech from Geoff before Sue (who’d dried out somewhat) led the walkers off on their exploration of the valley. Poor Geoff was left behind to dry off in the sun and wait for the water company!
“Can anyone hear running water”? The gang gathered outside the station building in Mytholmroyd before setting off for Hebden Bridge.
Having done all I could to help, and taken pictures of the event I headed off into Manchester for the rest of the afternoon to do some shopping and grab a few pictures. In many ways I’m still a city boy at heart, so it was lovely to be able to spend an afternoon exploring and people-watching, as well as stocking up on bits I needed that are hard to get elsewhere. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the weather, the city was very busy with many people taking advantages of the centre’s open spaces to relax or work outside.
Manchester’s old Midland Hotel basks in the sunshine.
Now I’m back at home ready for a day with a very different focus tomorrow. It’s someone’s birthday…
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/
I’m already in ‘Bratfud’ as the locals pronounce it, waiting for the Community Rail Network and other teams to turn up for today’s assignment. A party of schoolchildren are being taken by train from Forster Square station to Ribblehead on the Settle and Carlisle railway. They’ll learn about the railways and local history en-route. Other projects are lined up for them at Ribblehead.
Getting here was a breeze. I walked down to Halifax in plenty of time to pick up the local Huddersfield-Bradford Interchange shuttle. The old Class 150 chugged its way up the hill to the other side of Bowling tunnel without problem. Hopefully we’ll have something less pedestrian to take us to Ribblehead.
Right, time to go to work. More later…
21:30.
Well, that was a crap ‘rolling’ blog – apologies! I ended up being really busy then losing mobile reception once we got onto the Settle and Carlisle, so there was no time to blog during the trip. We met up with the children at Shipley station for the trip up the S&C. Fortunately, volunteers from the friends of the S&C line had reserved half a carriage for us on the 3-car train, so we were enable to hold the STEM class on board with the kids ticking off various aspects of railway operations and equipment that they observed on the way. All along the route they were treated to a commentary about the line, the towns it passed through and features of the countryside, like the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.
At Ribblehead the kids were spilt into two groups. One group visited the famous viaduct and learned about its construction whilst the second group got to grips with building their own viaduct in one of the station rooms before the two groups swapped over. My job was to document the day, which was a challenge when one considers the restrictions that are sometimes imposed by the needs of child protection. Even so, I managed some great interactive shots both on the train and at Ribblehead. Here’s a shot of some of the happy band at the viaduct along with teaching staff, representatives from Community Rail Network, Northern and Network Rail.
The great outdoors. Not an environment many of these children are used to visiting. A large proportion had never even been on a train before.
As we walked back to the station this heavy stone train passed us heading North, the 20 wagons and locomotive fitting neatly onto the viaduct. Many of the children were rather impressed with the sight and surroundings.
We returned on a regular service to Leeds so there was no chance for a reserved coach (or more pictures). I stayed with the group as far as Bradford Forster Square which gave me chance to download and edit all the pictures to go off for websites and publication before one last farewell group shot – after which, my job was done. Well, apart from editing all the rest of the pictures – but that doesn’t have the same urgency!
Having a couple of hours on my hands and in glorious weather I made my way back to Skipton for some mobile office time, then took a break in the lovely market town to peruse some shops, grab a bite to eat and add a few more library shots to the archive.
CAF/Siemens built Class 333016 arrives at Skipton with a service from Leeds. Note the old stop boards for HSTs by the adjacent track. I’m not sure if these are still relevant to the Hitachi ‘Azuma’ fleet which have taken over LNERs Skipton to Kings Cross service. The ‘new order’ at Shipley, where CAF built 331108 arrives with a service from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square.
Now it’s time to kick-back at home. Having walked over 27,000 steps (12.59 miles, apparently) I’m happy to put my feet up before another (easier) outing tomorrow…
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/
I wasn’t intending to be out and about today but having checked ‘realtime trains‘ this morning I found that there was something different (railway wise) happening on my doorstep. Halifax and the line to Bradford Interchange have a staple diet of Northern and Grand Central passenger trains and bugger all else. Freight disappeared back in the 1980s when newspaper trains disappeared when the print media abandoned the railways and went to road transport as the result of too many strikes. That’s left this area with very little in the way of variety apart from the occasional special train or engineering trains. Today, in fact this week, has seen such a cycle. Freightliner are running what looks like route-learning trips using locomotives locomotives from Leeds to Bradford Interchange via Greetland and Halifax to Bradford Interchange and back. These services are always hit and miss as they often get cancelled but today was my lucky day…
66529 arrives at Bradford Interchange past the abandoned Mill Lane Jn signalbox which nails the location.On the return from Greetland Jn to Bradford and running late 66529 passes through Halifax.
So, now I’m out and about I might as well try for a few more shots in the area. See you later…
15:30.
As the rest of the diagram for these route-learners all went a bit ‘Pete Tong’ I decided to abandon the railways for a while and head back to Bradford to look at a place I’ve promised myself to visit for a few years now. Years ago, when I was wandering across Bradford taking pictures of some of the amazing architecture on the way I was stopped by an elderly Asian gentleman who asked of my interest. When I told him of my interest in architecture he told me about an area of the city centre known as ‘Little Germany’. I’d never heard of it before but decided to do some research on his recommendation.
Now, I have a confession to make. I rather like Bradford. Yes – I know – it’s a deeply unfashionable thing to say. Even the locals give the place a hard time. It’s not a place you’d head to for its nightlife or real ale pubs. Dawn and I once went to the ‘world curry festival’ in Bradford which was a singular disappointment (I think the word I’m actually looking for is crap) but there’s one thing the city excels in and that’s architecture.
‘Little Germany’ is a quarter of the city that was built from the 1850s onwards. It got its name because a lot of the people who built the gorgeous Italianate buildings were German companies (many of them Jewish). There’s a famous name or two involved too. The idea was to take advantage of Yorkshire very profitable woolen trade – as well as exploiting Lancashire’s cotton trade) which involved building impressive offices and showrooms. Sadly, the Franco-Prussian war of 1871 killed off some of the trade, but the buildings were taken over by other companies.
Today the area has large amount of listed buildings. Here’s a few pictures.
The architecture’s not all Italianate. Here’s a good example of Scottish Baronial. This building was constructed in 1871 as the warehouse of Heugh, Dunlop and Company, the partners of whom were John Heugh of Manchester and Walter Dunlop of Bingley – both of whom were Scottish.
As you can see, the area has some beautiful buildings, some of which have been restored and turned into offices and apartments, but many still seem empty. There’s obviously been a conscious effort to regenerate the area, but it’s strangely quiet on the streets. I suspect Covid has a lot to answer for. There are few shops or cafe’s (and no bars) and the ones I saw were closed. If this was Glasgow the place would be buzzing. Instead it’s like a lot of quarters in many English provincial towns – deserted. So much for the governments much vaunted claims of ‘levelling up’. Poor Bradford has been shafted several times recently, which is a crying shame as it really is an architectural gem.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After the last two days travels today’s been a much quieter one here at Bigland Towers as I’ve barely moved from home, so it’s a short blog from me tonight. Most of the day’s been taken up with editing and captioning all the pictures I’ve been talking, plus catching up with shots I took in Turkey. You can find the pictures in various galleries. Here’s links to Avanti West Coast, Northern, Trans-Pennine Express and Transport for Wales. There’s also additions to the infrastructure and railway stations galleries plus the UK travel section. The new updates take my Zenfolio website over the 83,000 picture mark – and there’s still plenty of archive material to add, but next up will be a new gallery dedicated to Turkish rail operations.
Now all those are out of the way I can concentrate on other activities although I’m not sure if I’ll be travelling again this week as we’re heading into the next tranche of rail strikes, plus the weather’s looking decidedly mixed. We’ll see. I’ll certainly be out and about next week as I’ve commissions that will take me to Bingley and the Settle and Carlisle line as well as the Nottingham area.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was actually taken yesterday during my visit to Llandudno Junction. This is one of Transport for Wales new CAF built trains, 197002 working 2D69, the 1414 Llandudno to Llandudno Junction. On arrival at the Junction and after a layover, it formed a service East to Manchester Airport.
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/
Heading East I caught a train as far as Abergele and Pensarn which is another favorite photo location from the 2000s when I spent a week or so staying in the area to get pictures for the first Lonely Planet guide to Wales. God, that seems such a long time ago as so much has changed since. The days when you could make money out of travel photography seem long gone, but at least the rail shots I took have historic value. I’ll add the shots I took at Abergele at a later stage.
08:45.
I’ve escaped the Pennines once again today. After some thought and looking through the list of pictures I need to get for clients I’ve decided to make the most of the good weather and head to the Welsh border and onto the North Wales coast. So, to that end, I’m now on the handy 08:22 from Sowerby Bridge direct to the gateway to Wales – Chester.
Today the train’s formed of a 3-car CAF built class 195 – and it’s busy with people travelling to work in Manchester.
There’s few seats left and we haven’t reached Hebden Bridge or Todmorden yet. I’ve managed to bag an airline seat but I’m hoping to grab a table after Manchester Victoria so that I can set up the mobile office and do some work as we don’t arrive in Chester until 10:00.
As usual, I’ll be blogging on and off throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to – and where…
08:55.
Having stopped at Rochdale where the platforms were surprisingly empty of custom (another service was 10 mins ahead of us) we’re now on the outskirts of Manchester where a depressing number of clouds are muscling in on the blue skies…
09:10.
As expected, the train emptied out at Victoria, allowing me to dive forward and secure a table just behind the driver’s cab. With the laptop plugged in and powered up and a connection to the wifi secured i’m all set up for the rest of the trip to Chester.
As I needed to use the loo – and out of interest – I’ve walked through the entire train to do a headcount. There’s 31 passengers aboard. Judging by the number of folks using laptops many are working. Others appear to be students, and a few leisure travellers (one woman’s carrying a bag full of plants). Interesting, the gender balance is over 80% female. Of the handful of males aboard there’s a retired gent who’s bus-spotter (I know that by the pictures he’s reviewing on his camera) a couple of Asian lads, a businessman – and me.
09:45.
We’ve now called at and left Warrington Bank Quay station where we threaded our way through Arpley yard and stabling point. This was once a thriving place where coal trains from Scotland and elsewhere reversed before heading along the low-level line to Fidlers Ferry power station. Now the power station’s closed and the coal traffic’s disappeared. There’s still some old coal wagons in store here and a few remain in service carrying other heavy loads, but the majority have gone for scrap, leaving the yard much quieter, although DB still had several locos on the stabling point or shunting. To the East of the yards where factories once stood a huge housing estate is rising. I often wonder where people who will inhabit these places actually work, having displaced industry.
10:07.
That was a turn-up for the books! I’d antiicipated having around 20 mins in Chester but after grabbing a couple of pictures I heard the sound of a locomotive arriving at the adjacent platform 4. To my surprise a TfW Class 67 hauling a rake of ex-Grand Central Mk4s (acquired for the abortive Blackpool service killed by Covid) which remain in black but with TfW branding.
The crew were changing ends and an enquiry with a Dispatcher established this was a late-running Cardiff- Holyhead service (AKA ‘Gerald’) calling at Llandudno Junction – happy days!
TfW contrasts. A single-car Class 153 rests in the bay whilst 67012 waits to head to Holyhead with the late-running service from Cardiff.
12:50.
Time to catch my breath back after a very quick visit to Holyhead. I hadn’t intended heading this far West but as the weather was so good and the train so comfortable I thought what the hell. Besides, it’s nice to visit Holyhead in the daylight and not preparing to bed down in a rake of coaches in the sidings, which is my usual modus operendi as part of ‘3 peaks by rail’. That will be next month! Besides, the relaid sidings at Holyhead are playing host to ranks of stored TfW class 175s, which is worth a picture.
Off to pastures new soon?
By pure co-incidence and the power of social media I found an old friend was also in Holyhead. Jon Veitch and his wife Tina were in town, so Jon and I quickly met up between trains.
Now I’m on Avanti’s 12:46 heading for Llandudno Junction. This service is operated by an ex ‘Virgin Voyager’ (221117 to be exact). They’re not everyone’s cup of tea but they’re due to be replaced by new trains from Hitachi, which have just gone on test.
14:15.
I’m now at Llandudno Junction to get a few more pics and update on old magazine cover. I’ve ‘fond’ memories of this place as a kid from family holidays to Anglesey where my mum had family. We had plenty of time to admire the likes of Colwyn Bay, Llandudno Junction and Conwy in those days of the late 60s-early 70s – because we spent so much time in my Dad’s car stuck in miles-long traffic jams, going nowhere fast. Not a problem by rail…
221117 at Llandudno Junction on its way to London Euston. The Holyhead crew will work this diagram out and back.
17:20.
Now, where was I? I really enjoyed my break at Llandudno and wander towards Conwy as the weather’s superb. It’s a place I’ve more recent fond memories as Dawn and I came here a few years ago, aalking along the estuary from Llandudno to enjoy some superb Mussels served on Conwy Quay as part of a food festival. Here’s how things looked today.
17:37.
Right now I’m at Rhyl – another place from childhood memories but not a place I ever remember exploring by either road or rail. It has some family history from the days of ‘Mods and Rockers’ when one of my brothers was very much on the ‘rockers’ side and the place was infamous for pitched battles between the two.
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, more like ‘half-day away’ really but that doesn’t have the same ring to it!
Monday’s dawned bright and sunny here in the Pennines. I apent the morning working from home but at lunchtime I had an appointment at our Doctors in Sowerby Bridge to have blood taken as part of a regular personal MOT. Being thorough, my GP had arranged for a panoply of tests so when I saw the nurse she wanted four different vials. Not quite Tony Hancock’s famous armful, but still…
I was in and out in no-time so decided to make the most of the weather by heading over to Manchester to get some pictures, including Transport for Wales new Class 197s which are starting to appear on a regular basis. You may have read the recent train test that my old friend Pip Dunn and I did in RAIL magazine. Our opinion? They’re good units and certainly an improvement on some of TfWs ex-BR fleets.
Right now I’m on one of those old BR sets which is still working for Northern. 3-car 158757 is on the 13:02 Sowerby Bridge to Wigan Wallgate.
Pre Covid you’d have been more likely to find a 2-car ‘Pacer’ railbus on this diagram. Now we have the luxury of a 90mph air-conditioned train with tables and USB chargers! OK, call me weird but I admit – I do miss the railbuses!
14:25.
Having taken the ‘scenic’ route via Salford Crescent to change trains I’ve wended my way via acres of new multi-story developments to arrive at Manchester Oxford Rd where this beast was sitting in the bay in-between working services to Southport. The ex-Thameslink Class 319s (and those converted to bi-mode Class 769s) have worked Northern services for nany years now but I still can’t quite get used to the fact after spending over two decades travelling on them around London.
16:45. I’ll catch-up with blogging shortly but I’ve been on the move quite a bit so writing’s been rather difficult. Right now I’m taking a quick break in the city centre to upload a couple of camera pictures before returning to Piccadilly. I realised I’d not really spent much time at the station in recent years as I’m normally just passing through. Today’s chance to make amends. The variety of units has certainly changed as Northern’s new CAF built trains have taken over many services, plus, there’s these new arrivals for Transport for Wales…
197002 works a Manchester Airport to Llandudno service at Manchester PiccadillyTfW’s 197009 heads in the opposite direction shortly afterwards.
22:00.
I’m now relaxing at home after a few hours in Manchester watching the new trains go by. As I mentioned earlier, the rail scene at Piccadilly has changed due to so many of Northern’s CAF built diesel and electric fleets usurping older traction. You can still find the older BR built Class 150 and 156 diesels, and the electric Class 323s, but the 319s were noticeable by their absence – as were the Transport for Wales Class 175s but that’s mainly because so many of them are out of service now. Instead, TfW are sending older Class 150s on epic journeys from as far away as Milford Haven! The new Class 197s seem to be confined to Manchester Airport – North Wales coast services – for now, anyway.
Here’s another couple of shots to reflect the contrasts.
From left to right. One of the old stalwarts in the shape of Hunslet built Class 323 number 323233 heading for Glossop passes a CAF built DMU (195113) whilst an identical (bar the fact it’s electric, not diesel) CAF built 331023 heads for Manchester Airport.Here’s another CAF product, this time it’s one of Trans-Pennine Express’ Class 397 ‘Civity’ fleet in the shape of 397008 heading for Manchester Airport with a service from Glasgow Central. First Group will lose TPE from May 28th when the operation will be taken back ‘in-house’ by the Dept of Transport, who will run it via their ‘operator of last resort’ – Directly Operated Railways (DOR).
I’m hoping to get out and about again tomorrow, only this time head further East. 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/
Today the 5 became 4. Aubrey’s had to head home early as a jury’s being sworn-in (long story not for me to tell, but he works in the legal profession), so our numbers have shrunk. This morning I let the girls go off on their own for some female time whilst I wandered solo with the camera.
Having seen the antiquities yesterday I’ve stayed ‘our’ side of the river to wander uphill to Taksim in search of one of the vintage tram routes. It’s been an interesting trip as I can go at my pace ans stop and stare as I will. This side of the city has a different feel. There’s a bit of a boho air in some parts that belie the current conservatism of the government – but that’s capital cities for you. There’s some fascinating architecture – and cats. Lots and lots of cats. They’re one of the reasons I like the place. A city where people think cats are cool can’t be all bad!
Eventually I tracked (literally) the trams. Or I should say tram as there’s only one running. It’s difficult to get a decent picture of it due to the preponderance of people who like to have their picture stood in the way of things, but here it is…
Tram 410 at Taksim.
13:45.
Having worn down a fair bit of shoe-leather I’ve stopped to rest my weary feet and have a beer close to home. I’m sat outside a bar in the backstreets enjoying an Efes and listening totheir choice of music. Right now it’s Johnny Cash singing ‘House of the rising sun’ which brings back a few memories.
I’m having a fantastic wander with the camera, people and architecture spotting (as well as the odd tram, obviously!) earlier I passed the Greek consulate which was indulging in some top trolling by flying both their national flag and that of the EU.Remember when ‘vote leave’ ran their lying campaign claiming Turkey was about to join the EU and 80 million Turks would be flooding into the UK? It was total bollocks of course, but it did appeal to some Britons racism and xenophobia. Truth is, Turkey is further away than ever to joining the UK due to the actions of the Erdoğan government.
Politicans aside, I have to admit I’m really enjoying Turkey. I’ve found people really friendly. Sure, in the tourist areas you get the usual salesmanship and hassle from a few people but once you get away from those areas it’s far more relaxed. I love street photography and Istanbul’s a wonderful place to practise that art because there’s so much life on the streets.
To give you an idea of how relaxed things are here, the bar I stopped at has two parts – on opposite sides of the street. The staff consisted of one chap with very little English and his young son, aged about 12. I was the only customer, so dad wandered off to do some shopping, leaving the young lad in charge of both establishments. When I’d finished my beer and wanted to pay there was only the young lad there, who then had to shoot off to find dad, leaving me in possession of two bars! Here they are…
14:50.
I’ve had to nip back to the hotel as I realised I’d left my phone charging cable behind, so despite having a power-pack with me I’d no way of connecting the bloody thing! As I was back at home I’ve taken a few minutes to download the camera, so here’s the first of the street photographs. This guy was happy for me to take his picture, but you have to wonder who owns whom? A minute before the cat was sitting across his shoulders…
20:30.
Here’s another shot I took earlier of the fishermen on the Galata bridge. There’s dozens of them lining each side and they hook a huge amount of fish.
I met up with the girls a few hours ago in time for dinner at what became our ‘go to’ restaurant – the Afrodit on the harbour front in Karakoy. We discovered it a few days ago when we popped in for a drink and to admire the views across the harbour from the top floor. Yesterday we tried the food and we enjoyed it so much we went back today. Not only is the food excellent, the staff are also. Oh, and the views across the Bosporus and the shipping lanes are brilliant – as you can see from this shot taken with a 400mm lens.
Tony Smith is a Bulk Carrier sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands. Her gross tonnage is 33044 and deadweight is 56498. The ship was built in 2011.
Right, time to bring things to an end. We’ve had a wonderful time here in Istanbul but we fly back to the UK tomorrow. I’kk try and blog about our return and talk more about Istanbul when we get back.
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/
The sun doth shine so I’ve escaped the office and the Calder Valley to have one of my regular looks at progress on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. Right now I’m on a Northern service heading into Manchester from Sowerby Bridge in order to access the route from the West and begin my examinations there before heading through the Colne valley back into West Yorkshire.
I’m not the only one making the most of the weather. This off peak 2-car Class 158 is busy with day-trippers doing the same.
I’ll be updating this blog throughout the day so feel free to keep popping back to see what I get up to…
158860 arrives at Sowerby Bridge en-route to Wigan Wallgate.
12:20.
Due to disruption and late running with services via Victoria I’m taking the ‘scenic route’ via Salford Crescent where I picked up a very busy Northern Class 331 electric to get me to Manchester Piccadilly where I’ll connect with a Newcastle bound TPE service to Stalybridge. Here it is, worked by 802213.
12:45.
I’m now on the late-running 12:33 which still has plenty of free seats at this point in its journey. It won’t be like this once it gets to Huddersfield.
I don’t envy the passengers joining the nearby Transport for Wales service to Cardiff Central. They’ve got this 75mph ‘delight’ in store today…
13:30.
On the move again! The trip to Stalybridge via Guide Bridge was interesting as it allowed me to glimpse the work done on the curve between the two. The chord’s now full of TTLs (two-track cantilevers) waiting to be fitted out and the wires added. The irony? This section of track was originally electrified as part of the 1500v DC Woodhead line scheme from the 1950s and some of the original lighweight masts survive – although not for much longer.
Things hadn’t changed majorly at Stalybridge despite bank holiday works. No new TTLs or portals had appeared but the structures that did were being fitted out with downpipes and registration arms.
I didn’t hang around. Now I’m on a local TPE service to Huddersfield. Thus section of the route shows no descernable progress other than vegetation clearance and a few concrete hardstandings installed for future worksites or lineside cabinet locations. Don’t even ask about the new line from Liverpool to Marsden which exists only in the imagination..
13:50.
My stop at Huddersfield was brief in the extreme. 5 mins to change trains and grab a quick picture. Huddersfield stations about to undergo major changes as part of the TRU, so savour views like this whilst you can.
The grade 1 listed Huddersfield station will be seeing a major rebuild with the two small bay platforms behind the camera abolished and two new through platforms provided instead.
14:50.
At my next stop (Dewsbury) train times went pear-shaped again as my connecting service is 20m plus late. Oh, well. Time for a swift half in the station’s West Riding refreshment rooms. Choices, choices…
16:45.
I’m now heading home from Batley after an interesting interlude looking at the TPU work and also reminiscing about the town which is hardly a place I can say I know well but it seems to keep cropping up in my memories and mentions.
The work to install the footbridge and abolish the foot crossing is well advanced. Most of the earthworks are complete and sections of the footbridge have arrived on site. On a Facebook forum one of the signallers working the box has said it will close on June 23rd. Here’s a look at work today.
The location of the footbridge is made clear by the abutment wall next to the rails.The wider view from Lady Anne crossing looking towards Batley. The two people in PPE in the left foreground are standing on what will be a tarmac’d ramp from the footbridge down to the site of the level crossing out of shot to the left. Sections of the footbridge have already arrived on site. They can be seen in this picture sat on the back of a pair of HGV trailers. A TPU compound has been established adjacent to Batley station on the site of the old GNR platforms and yard. It extends beyond the industrial unit to the left. You can see one of the new tilting, ladderless signals that are being installed in the cess to the right of the picture.
21:55.
I’m now back at home and winding up today’s blog after an interesting day out. Walking back into Batley I noticed that that the pub next to the station had reopened. Located in the basement of one of the lovely old Victorian buildings that line the exit to the station, the Cellar Bar closed suddenly in December 2022 after six and a half years but reopened under new management at the end of January this year. It’s well worth a visit as it has a selection of hand-pump real ales as well as the usual lagers, wines and spirits.
Having had a swift half I made my direct train back to Sowerby Bridge with minutes to spare. After picking up some shopping en-route I’ve had a leisurely evening being a good husband and cooking for us both whilst Dawn’s been out to visit her hairdresser! Tonight’s meal was made up from these ingredients. To use the catchphrase of a discredited Australian artist – ‘can you tell what it is yet’?
I won’t keep you in suspense. These are the ingredients of a hearty chorizo and Cannelloni bean stew.
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/
Gordon Bennett – another month gone! Where the hell’s the time going? Our day at Bigland Towers has been dominated by the weather – but that’s what you get for living in the Pennines. We’d no plans to travel anywhere, the idea was to stay at home and continue gardening/cleaning/cooking but my outdoor activities were cut short by the advent of drizzle. That said, the garden’s looking much improved and my rock-breaking activity has tidied up the place as well as providing plenty of exercise! Dee’s been equally busy. We had some lamb rumps we’d purchased from the Bolster Moor farm shop which Dawn prepared and stuck in the slow-cooker, so whilst I’ve been working outside the house has been filled with some delicious smells.
We did nip out into Halifax to do some shopping as Dawn was on the hunt for some Guinness Zero. Our tastebuds diverge on these matters. Apart from the fact Dee’s teetotal the other major difference is she’s on the ‘dark side’ when it comes to beers whilst I prefer the pale hoppy variety (even in low-alcohol varieties). Many people say that Guinness Zero tastes just like the real thing, which could account for it’s popularity and scarcity. Only one local supermarket seems to stock it and that normally sells out fast. Sadly, Dee was disappointed as Sainsbury’s had none. We did try a Tesco Metro nearby where we live but the choices were poor (especially when it came to LA beers) and the the prices were racked up. On the bright side we bumped into a couple of friends which led us to a side trip to while away an hour playing pool in a pub just down the road from where we live. Well, I played pool with the boys whilst Dawn cast a critical eye over our efforts from the sidelines!
Now we’re back home, replete after a lovely meal of lamb, Yorkshire puddings and lots of veg. Ideal food as the weather’s taken a turn for the worse. Rainstorms have breezed in turning the evening into a very wet one indeed – just what you’d expect as a precursor to tomorrow’s bank holiday. Right now we can hear the sound of the rain beating against the cottage windows over the noise of the TV. Impressive!
When I got home and logged onto the web I found the sad news that an old photographic colleague and legend in the railway world (Brian Morrison) had passed away today at the age of 92. I’ll blog about Brian tomorrow as he deserves more than a passing mention but I’ll leave you with his image as today’s picture. Farewell Brian, we had some fun times over the years…
Many of Brian’s friends and colleagues attended his 80th birthday celebration at the Quainton railway centre back in March 2010. Here’s Brian with his certificate of appreciation from railway magazine editors.
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/
On Monday the Public Accounts Committee of MPs took oral evidence on the pause of HS2 construction at Euston station. Anyone expecting any real answers as to how we got to this sorry state will have been sadly disappointed at the session as it was more the ‘dunno’ show than generating any real insights. It was also curious for what was not said or discussed as much as what was.
For some reason the Committee decided to focus exclusively on Euston station itself and ignore another vital piece of that jigsaw. The Euston tunnels, which are essentially separate to the station but they’ve been paused too – as has construction of phase 2a from Handsacre Junction North of Birmingham as far as Crewe.
Now, Euston station is undoubtedly a mess but that’s no reason to postpone building the Euston approach tunnels. Plus, the tunnels are ‘critical path’ work. Without the TBMs for the Euston tunnels being launched from the Old Oak Common station box you can kiss goodbye to opening the HS2 station at Old Oak that’s now being talked about as a ‘temporary terminus’ for HS2 in London. Plus, if you don’t build the tunnels you won’t be running any HS2 trains into Euston – whatever final design’s cooked up!
The PAC session was billed as asking “how the risks to value for money are being managed” yet the session was all about the money and not about the value. We got bogged down in the minutiae of how much it would cost to secure the Euston site (even talking about hoardings) but nothing about the REAL value of money questions – such as how much the delays to building Euston would affect railway capacity and passenger usage of the truncated HS2 line to Old Oak Common. Nor was anything asked about the environmental costs of delaying HS2 – which are also financial – or the economic impact on ‘levelling up’.
Instead, what we heard from Dame Bernadette Kelly (Perm Sec at DfT), Alan Over (DG of High Speed Rail Group and SRO for HS2 at DfT) and Mark Thurston (Chief Exec at HS2 Ltd) was a sorry tale of government delay and dither and what happens when you let a Committee design something. Think of the problems with the Great Western Main Line electrification where everyone sticks their ‘pennorth’ into the specification so the costs keep rising.
Reading between the lines of what was being said at the Committee, this is what happened at Euston. Costs kept rising as Government changed its mind on the size of the oversite development (which impacted on the rail design), a new ‘partnership’ was established which added other priorities and considerations and the whole thing grew so that the agreed 2019 budget hopelessly was unrealistic when the wish-list was presented to the construction team who were meant to wrap it all up into a final, costed design that they could build.
I suppose you could describe it like this. You want your dream kitchen so you and all your family set an unrealistic budget, then you pore over an out of date catalogue whilst accepting suggestions from your neighbors and relatives on what’s needed. Then you call the builder. The builder weighs everything up, itemises it, sucks his teeth and tells you exactly how much that little lot will cost in the real world today.
Now, I have sympathy with the idea that Euston had to be paused. It’s clear the existing wish list (I won’t grace it with the name of ‘plan’) was far too expensive and that the dither and delays had added to the costs. Remember, Euston was originally expected to open at the end of 2026 with the rest of phase – despite what Kelly and Merriman have previously claimed, which I dealt with here. Plus, in the original plan we were going to get more (11 platforms) for less money. As we’re now 1/3 of the way through 2023 and there’s still no viable plan and in the intervening time we’ve seen rampant inflation, cost pressures due to Covid, the Ukraine war and Brexit so it’s hardly surprising costs have increased.
Some of this was touched on at the hearing, some of it wasn’t. Was was studiously ignored was the Government’s involvement in this expensive fiasco. Obviously, the witnesses were going to have to tread carefully (if you’re a civil servant criticising this Government can be very bad for your career) but not all the PAC members were Tories and could have asked awkward questions. The bizarre thing is none did. The nearest we got was Labour’s Nick Smith MP, who did ask some direct open questions and didn’t take fuzzy replies as an answer. But otherwise, it was a very poor show. Many questions were asked about ‘exactly’ how much the shutdown was going to cost and all three witnesses gave the same answer – ‘dunno’ – because no-one’s worked it out yet! The decision was only taken around 4 weeks ago and no-one’s looked at all the implications and crunched the numbers – which makes the Transport Minister Mark Harper’s initial claim that this was being done to ‘save’ money look even more ridiculous.
Mark Thurston did shed some light on what happens next. £2bn has been spent on the Euston area since the project began in what he describes as ‘no regrets’ investment (meaning its needed whatever the new station plans are). This includes all the preparatory and enabling work, all the works in the surrounding areas (like building new homes) and the work to the London Underground. A further £220 million will be spent on completing the TfL vent shaft and substation, the new construction skills centre and the station facilities block. This work will run to the autumn when the Euston station site will be secured and shut down. Ctte Chair Dame Meg Hillier questioned how long this would mean the site would be shut down as the timescale Thurston was suggesting was less than 2 years, or was it? Thurston explained that he expected the site to reopen in Spring 2025.
Alan Over did make two things clear in response to questions. One was that there’s no way the savings being asked for can be made without cutting the ‘wish list’ that’s been included in the final Euston design that the builders costed (which came in at £4.8bn) . the other was that, depending on what final ‘wish list’ is agreed by all parties, the Government may need to cough up some more money.
After 2 hours of being none the wiser on costs or timetables and with not having asked any of the really big question on value (never mind costs) the Ctte wound up. I can only hope they return to these matters having thought about the ‘big picture’ stuff and the real implications of the delays to HS2 and don’t get bogged down in the minutiae of mothballing building sites, but I won’t hold my breath…
Looking down on the Euston HS2 construction site in October 2021 at the bit no-one at the PAC talked about. The Euston tunnels…
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/
Paul Bigland 