It’s been another slow Sunday here at Bigland Towers. We’ve both been having a busy time over the past few days so it’s lovely to have one day in the week where the alarm clock can bugger-off! Mind you. the weather’s still been pushing temperatures into the edges of 30 degrees so that fact the pair of us had a couple of hours work to do in the cool of the cottage was no bad thing. I’ve managed to upload all the pictures I’ve taken over the past few days which can be found by following this link.
By late afternoon we’d finished all we were doing and incoming clouds took the edge off the heat so we sallied forth to Sowerby Bridge and a couple of drinks in some of the local venues. Both of us were surprised just how quiet the town was. There’s several pubs with large beer-gardens/outdoor seating that I’d have expected to be packed but they’d all enough room to dump an elephant! Had everyone had a skinful the night before and were still recovering? Were they all having barbecues at home – or was it the fact it’s the school holidays so many folk are away? Who knows! Whatever, it made for a more relaxed day. Just to feel virtuous (and to get our steps in) we walked back along the canal which was also very quiet, but at least it’s not affected by the drought and unnavigable the way some are.
Now we’re having a quite night home. Well, once I’d watered the gardens anyway. We’re predicted to have thunderstorms tomorrow but I’m taking no chances as we’ve hear these tales before. I must admit, I’d love a good thunderstorm right now. Next week will see me mostly working from home as I’ve a lot of paperwork and planning to sort out before I begin my round Britain trip for RAIL magazine on the 22nd. I’m really looking forward to the adventure but I need to plan the last few days first.
Right now it’s time to leave you with a picture of the day, but what to choose? Oh, I know – here’s an image from yesterday’s trip to Todmorden that shows how Victorian engineering suffers from the ravages of time and the fact they didn’t always get ground conditions right. Here’s the railway viaduct which crosses the centre of the town and possesses a real kink when viewed from the right angle…
Northern’s CAF built unit number 195127 arrives at Todmorden station across the ‘kinky’ viaduct whilst working 1J15, the 12:12 Leeds to Manchester Victoria.
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We’ve had another hot and sunny day here in the Calder valley which prompted me to venture out with the camera as on Saturdays Trans-Pennine Express trains are diverted from their usual route and traverse the Calder valley. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but as Dawn had to work this morning this gave me the excuse I needed. I’ll be documenting the diversions at several locations over the coming months but as I only had a few hours today I headed over to Todmorden as I could swap between a couple of locations quickly.
Here’s a few examples.
185126 (rear) and 185138 speed through Todmorden station whilst working 1P71, the 11:02 Manchester Victoria to Darlington. 802206 passes Hall Royd Junction just outside Todmorden whilst working 9M20, the 09:47 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street. This is the junction for the line to Blackburn which is off to the left. 802217 approaches Todmorden station working 1P25, the 1154 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle.
There’s plenty of other pictures to be added to my Zenfolio website later, but these give you a flavour of what the day was like. On another day I would’ve stayed longer but I was keen to tear Dawn away from her computer, so the two of us arranged to meet up in Halifax for a wander and a couple of drinks.
I have to say I was amazed at just how busy Halifax was and what fun people were having. The Piece Hall was as stunning as ever. Right now the courtyard hosts a roller-skating rink which is proving to be very popular. What was equally popular was the nearby Westgate Arcade which hosts a variety of bars, cafes and restaurants. The covered seating area was jam-packed and the crowds were being entertained by a swing band and dancers who were performing nearby. The town’s really come on as a place to go to in recent years and it’s lovely to see. Here’s a few pictures to give a flavour.
The stunning Piece HallLife in the Westgate ArcadeOur final stop was in the ‘Meandering Bear’ which always has a great selection of beers on offer at prices that surprise many Southerners.
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/
It’s another hot and sunny day here in West Yorkshire so I’m heading to the seaside for a few hours to get a selection of pictures for a client. Right now I’m packing my kit before heading off to the station. It’s going to be a flying visit as I need to be back in Halifax this evening as we’re out for a meal with a friend this evening. I’ll update this blog as I go along…
09:20.
With the sun already heating the place up I decided descretion was the better part of valour,so rather than walking up our steep hill to head to Halifax I took the shorter and easier downhill route to Sowerby Bridge. The only problem is there’s no direct trains to Blackpool from here anymore (bar weekends) so I have to arrive slightly earlier to catch a Manchester Victoria service as far as Hebden Bridge and change there. Here’s my train now…
09:45.
Well, there’s worse place to change trains!
As expected, this 3-car service to the seaside is packed with ‘the bucket and spade brigade’ – young couples, families with prams and a brood of kids or elderly solo travellers whose only encumbrance is a suitcase.
10:05.
We’ve just left Burnely Manchester road where we gained dozens of new passengers including a family with a mamber in a wheelchair plus two old dears with wheeled walking frames which have been added to the pram collection.
At the last moment we were joined by a second wheelchair which has made this vestibule rather cosy – and we haven’t reached Blackburn yet…
10:20.
In order to insulate myself from the onboard mayhem and chatter I’ve retreated into listening to music. As a homage to my destination I’m playing the album ‘Too old to rock and roll, too young to die” by Jethro Tull. It’s an old favorite and those who’re familiar with it will know the connection.
10:25.
During our stop at Blackburn we lost a handful of folk but gained far more – and plenty of suitcases! Looking around I’ve observed several people who’ve clearly kept the local tattoo parlours in work. Shame it wasn’t the dentists…
11:40.
Well, this is fun! I changed trains at Preston where I had plenty of time to observe the melee as hundreds of day-trippers and holidaymakers changed trains. Many had kids in tow which was a bit like herding cats! Not easy as the island platform used by trains to the resort (1 and 2) is narrow so staff were constantly exhorting people to stay behind the yellow line. Unlike the unwary and uninitiated I knew our train would be a 2-car so stood in the right place to ensure I was one of the first one and able to get a perch seat to observe the fun. To say this 156 is rammed is an understatement! On days like this the train really could to to be a 3-car at least.
16:00.
I’ve bid adieu to Blackpool to head back to Halifax and prepare for our evening out. I’ve certainly had an interesting time. I managed a handful of pics that fit the clients needs but also captured many others that will sit quite happily in the archive for future use. It’s a shame the trip was so rushed as the weather was ideal. I need to spend a day documenting the Blackpool South branch. It’s a curious hangover from the days of BR rationalisation in the 1960s when it was reduced to a ling siding from Kirkham and Wesham. I’ll add some links later to show just how important a railway it used to be, complete with an express link. Now it’s hopelessly under capacity. It really needs to be trains a minimum of every 30 mins, not once an hour – and not 2-cars either!
Having got the shots I needed at Blackpool pleasure beach I walked along the promenade all the way up to Blackpool North, taking pictures on the way. I first visited as a child back in the late 1960s and have one abiding memory of the family visit. We visited a cafe serving fish, chips and peas (as one did). My late sister Ruth was a baby who was duly plumped in a high chair. Not being old enough to use a knife and fork she was given a spoon. This worked well until it came to eating the peas. The sight of her determinedly chasing the peas around her plate with a spoon still raises a chuckle half a century later.
To be fair to Blackpool it’s a town that’s invested heavily in the seafront and tried to reinvent its image somewhat. I didn’t see one ‘kiss me quick’ hat or anyone eating candy floss and only heard one bingo caller in the whole time I was walking. The town’s visitors have become much more multi-racial too. It’s no longer just a refuge of the white working classes. Southport, just down the coast where I grew up was always known as the place the middle classes holidayed, although it was also a big venue for Scousers on a day out.
Whilst Blackpool’s changing, the clientele isn’t always. I passed several couples deep in arguments and the use of four-letter words (even in front of small kids) was endemic. ‘Fcuk’ and its derivatives are used by many almost as punctuation.
Anyway, I’ll add a few pictures from my trip tomorrow, but here’s a few for now.
The ‘Paris of the North’, allegedly…Vintage trams are still running tourist trips.The concourse at Blackpool North has been improved with new retail outlets. Despite the infamous reputation it has with both railstaff and enthusiasts I found people polite and helpful.
18:10.
I’m home, showered and changed, ready to pick up our friend before heading over to Honley for an evening eating tapas – and not just the Yorkshire kind* either!…
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Well, it took up some time but I managed to get all of the last few days pictures edited, titled and filed on my Zenfolio website. Follow this link to see which galleries they’ve been added to. Of course the ‘big’ one is the gallery of High-Speed 2 (HS2) construction pictures. If that’s your bag, you can find ’em here.
The rest of the day’s flown. Dawn’s been out for the day to spend time with her folks whilst I’ve been chained to a computer but we’ve both had good times in out own way. I managed to escape later in the afternoon to enjoy a long walk before meeting up with friends in our local pub for a few games of pool. I’m slowly rediscovering the old skills but sometimes my shots are shocking! I blame the fact my glasses have got smaller over the years. Remember Dennis Taylor, the snooker player and the fact he looked like he wore his upside down? That’s what I need! Still, none of us take it seriously. It’s merely an opportunity to have a few beers whilst laughing, joking and doing something other than just propping up a bar. Now the pair of us are back at home for a quiet night in with some home-cooked food and a movie. Not exactly the ‘rock and roll’ lifestyle but it suits us as we’ve got some busy weeks ahead of us.
As it’s nearly showtime I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is one from my trips out earlier in the week. This HS2 environmental mitigation site at Ladbroke in Northants hit the headlines in 2008 when the national media latched on to a story from HS2 opponents that mitigation work was ‘greenwash’. Why? because many of the newly planted trees died in the 2018 heatwave as it simply wasn’t practical or economic to water them. What made more sense was to replace them with new saplings, which is what happened. But, contrary to the anti HS2 hype, not all of them did die. Plus, you don’t know what’s in many of those plastic tubes (used to stop deer eating everything) until you peer into it or the tree makes it to the top.
I visited the Ladbroke site on Thursday. Dead it ain’t…
Oh, and if you’re still unsure, here’s what you see when you peer into some of those ’empty’ tubes…
Unlike the anti HS2 protesters I’ll be visiting sites like this on a regular basis over the next few years in order to document the reality on the ground. 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/
After such a long day yesterday I must admit I slept like a log, falling asleep as soon as I lay down. Now, refreshed, I’m ready for another busy day – and a warm on to boot. It’s not a heatwave, but 22 degrees is plenty warm enough when you’re wandering around a construction site in full PPE! Right now it’s time for a coffee before heading out to meet an old friend who’s staying nearby before we head of to the HS2 green tunnel construction site near Chipping Warden. I’ll update the blog as and when…
13:30.
Sorry for tge delay with updates but it’s been a busy few hours. We were given an access all areas tour of the Chipping Warden green tunnel site, including access to the Birminham bound bore. Here’s a few phone pictures (for now) until I can add proper ones and details of tunnel construction.
Looking at the tunnel from the Birmingham side. This section of the tunnel is being built first as the nearby road will be diverted over the top (at the far end). As a consequence, those segments are the slightly bigger type 2 ones.
The twin bores seen from the London end. Both are having steelwork and concrete fitted that will form the tunnel floor and guide barriers either side of the rails.
Me with the route of HS2 to Birminghsm behind me. The green tunnel will finish by those portakabins just to the Right of my head.
17:40.
Sorry, another long interlude! Our visit finished by 13:00 – bang on the expected time which gave us the opportunities for some informal chats before we departed the site. Whilst my colleagues headed off to catch their trains I was met by a friend who took me Northwards to Leamington, stopping to examine several HS2 construction sites on the way (pics later). Right now I’m back on the rails, heading for Birmingham. Leamington was teeming with people who are here for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. whilst folk were flooding off the staion after a day out at the games, many more were heading into the city.
My brief visit to Leamington delighted me for a different reason. The wonderful old buffet on the Birmingham bound platform closed down during Covid. To be honest, it had become a shadow of its former self so wasn’t that much of a loss. Now it’s been reopened under the aegis of the people who run the excellent ‘Centenary Lounge’ on Birmingham’s Moor St station. I popped in for a chat. They’ve been busy restoring the woodwork and other fittings but that’s just the start. Soon they’ll replace the furniture with something far more sympathetic and introduce the excellent choice of food and drink they offer in Birmingham. I’ll report back when they do!
19:30.
I’ve just left Sheffield on the penultimate leg of my journey home. We were late into Birmingham as earlier delays were exacerbated by being held outside the station to wait for a platform. Thankfully, my connection was also running behind time so the dash between platforms still gave me the chance to grab a few pictures en-route.
The Edinburgh service I was catching was being cut back to Newcastle due to staff shortages but that’s not going to affect me. It’s still a busy train as (like most Cross-Country trains) it serves different markets en-route. Looking around my coach now I’m one of only a handful who were on at Brum.
20:20.
The last leg! I managed to get some work done on the train and get all today’s pictures downloaded before we arrived at Leeds where I had a twelve minute turnaround. Now I’m heading home on one of Northern’s 3-car class 195s which is busy but not enough that I couldn’t find a free table where I could set up the laptop to start key bashing! It’s a glorious summer evening in Leeds although I really noticed the difference in temperature as soon as I stepped off the train. Yorkshire’s several degrees cooler than Warwickshire. Still, it’s going to be lovely to be home after such a hectic few days – although the pace won’t slacken I won’t be walking miles with a heavy camera bag on my back or sweating away in PPE!
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 back in the road (or rather, rails) again for the next few days as I’m heading South to check out work on building our new high-speed railway, HS2. It’s been an unconscionably early start as I’ve a lot of ground to cover before I end up in Banbury this evening where I’ve a hotel booked for the night before taking part in a morning media visit to a nearby HS2 site, but more of that tomorrow. Feel free to keep popping back to see where and what I get up to today…
Right now I’m on the 06:00 train from Halifax to Leeds to begin my journey South to London. This morning’s walk to the station was one of the quietest I’ve known for some time, despite it being a lovely morning – although the amount of broken branches lying on the roads suggests we had anything but a calm night. Even the dog walkers seemed to have taken the day off as the only people I passed were a handful of people cocooned in their metal boxes as they drove to/from work.
The 06:00’s not normally a busy train but this mornings loadings are looking good, especially now that it’s left Bradford Interchange. It’s between 25-30% full, mostly with early shift workers.
07:30.
My journey to Leeds was quick and easy as was my transfer to LNER’s 07:00 to London. The service originates at Bradford Forster Square and reverses at Leeds before calling at Wakefield Westgate, then running non-stop to London Kings Cross. It consists of two 5-car Class 801/1 ‘Azuma’ units which are normally busy with a mix of business travellers and families who’ve secured cheap tickets for a day out in London. Today’s no exception. The beauty of this service is that it’s times to arrive at Kings Cross at 08:59, which is ideal if you’ve an early meeting in London. Despite all the fuss made in some quarters about ‘Zoom’ meetings it’s obvious that a lot of business people still want face-to-face meetings.
08:40.
My trip South has been (so far) hassle-free. The change in the seasons is made obvious by the amount of hay bales in the fields we’ve flashed past as farmers are busy bringing in the harvest. Something else that’s noticeable is how dry the land looks the further I get towards London. We’ve had many days of rain up in the Pennines which has left the landscape lookin very lush, which is a marked contrast to the scorched landscape of Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The weather’s clouded up ‘darn sarf’ but there’s no sign of rain…
As we’re within spitting distance of London I’m making sure all by gadgets and gizmos are charged up using the multitude of available sockets on the train. One gadget I don’t have to worry about anymore is my Fitbit. I’ve talked about how the new Charge 5 has an excerable battery life. It it went for 48 hours without needing recharging it was a miracle. Well, recently Fitbit did a software update which appears to have cured the problem. I’ve not charged the thing since (3-4 days ago) and I’ve still got 48% left. I’m going to see how long it lasts before I need to plug it in again.
09:45.
I’ve been in London less than an hour. My inbound service from Leeds was 3 minutes early – as it often is. Say what you like about the Azumas but they can’t half shift! At King’s Cross an earlier East Coast racehorse was waiting for me. 91127 in its revised BR livery with an LNER twist…
Oh, I say…
Staying long enough to grab a picture I scuttled off to Marylebone via a quiet Metropolitan line. It may be one of the capital’s smallest mainline termini but it’s buzzing nowadays. A far cry from BR days when it was dead outside of rush-hours. Now there’s trains departing every few minutes and a constant stream of passe gers using its expanded services to the likes of Oxford and Bicester shopping village (a favourite of foreign tourists).
I caught the 09:44 to Gerrards Cross worked by this old ‘Thames Turbo’.
12:00.
Phew! The weather may be cloudy but it’s certainly warm down here. I’m currently in Denham having a look at sites associated with what will be one of the most visible and iconic structures on HS2, the Colne Valley viaduct which will stretch for 3.5km. The viaduct will cross a series of lakes (former quarries) which makes construction interesting as haul roads have to be built across the lakes to the site of each pier to enable construction vehicles to get to from the sites. I’ll add pictures later. I did visit one contentious site. According to local anti HS2 activist Sarah Green the Hs2 haul road is blocking the grand Union canal as the engineers are “incompetent” and build the road too low. There’s only one problem with her claim. It’s a complete fabrication. Here’s where HS2 viaduct will cross the Grand Union canal. The canal isn’t blocked by any haul road – because there isn’t one. Green knows the truth because she only lives a few minutes away along the canal. She lied.
14:45.
Double phew! Having spent time exploring the route of the Colne Valley viaduct I wandered up to the Northern end which is where construction has been launched from. The massive South Hyde site contains two temporary factories. One names the tunnel segments for the Chiltern tunnels pushing North whilst the other makes the viaduct sections heading South. So meet ‘Dominique’, an expat from Hong Kong who’s now at work building the Colne Valley viaduct.
Here’s more up close and personal…
16:30.
Oops! I stopped off to get some pictures and a spot of lunch but soon regretted it as my next Banbury bound train turned out to be an absolutely rammed 2 car set working to Birmingham. 2 cars all the way to Brum, seriously? Yes, sadly so…
The vestibule I’m stood in at the front of the train contains me, a pram, a woman with a suitcase and a chap looking after 2 bikes as his partner’s found a seat. No-one’s complaining, even though the bikes are blocking off the front compartment and have to be juggled every time we stop.
21:30.
Time to bring today’s rolling blog to a close. I’ve had a long day and walking 15 miles with a fully laden camera bag has certainly given me a bit of a workout. When I arrived in Banbury the first thing I did was make a beeline for my hotel which was on the opposite side of town and and enjoy a nice warm shower! Suitably refreshed I went for a wander around the town which I’ve not visited for over 20 years. I was quite a depressing experience. Banbury should be a thriving market town in an affluent part of the country but the reality is rather different. I was amazed at the numbers of street homeless and vagrants panhandling around the town centre. There’s some lovely buildings here, but many of the shops are derelict. When you see that even ‘Burger King’ has closed its doors you can start to appreciate the problem. On the plus side, there’s some excellent Eastern European supermarkets – and quite upmarket ones at that. I’d be interested to know what the demographic is around here as they’re obviously catering for someone, and the Slavic languages are often heard in the street. In contrast, the vagrants are nearly all white English. Maybe I need to do some digging as it’s not what I expected. Still, I have a great room in a family run B&B and tomorrow I’ll be meeting up with various friends and colleagues to be given a tour of the HS2 cut and cover green tunnel at Chipping Warden, so expect another rolling blog tomorrow as I’ll be checking out a few other HS2 construction sites as I make my way back up North. But, for now – goodnight…
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/
*Warning – blog under construction. This warning will be removed when I’ve added all the details and pictures*
Whilst the sun is rapidly setting on the careers of the old BR built Mk3 coach derivatives South of the Border it still shines in Scotland – for now…
The Class 321 Electric train series is finally being retired in England but the Scottish version of the ‘Dusty Bins’ (The ‘McBins’ maybe?) are not only at full strength, they’ve been complemented by reformed Class 321/4 transfers from the South.
History
Built at York Holgate works in 1990 the Class 320 is a 3-car version of the Class 321s built for London and South-East services. 22 of the trains were ordered and numbered 320301-322. Unlike their sisters, the 320s were originally built without toilets and with a maximum speed of 75mph rather than 90mph due to the closeness of station on the lines they were designed to operate on. They were ordered to help replace the older 75mph Class 303s from Pressed Steel Co which were built between 1959-61. Originally they operated North Clyde services from Glasgow to Balloch, Helensburgh and Milngavie. Their speed was raised to 90mph in 2010 by fitting the yaw dampers that were standard on the rest of the 321 fleet. This allowed them to operate in multiple with the Class 318s and also extended their sphere of operation to include the Argyle line underneath Glasgow Central and later the Cathcart lines from the mainline station above. Nowadays they can be found on many different routes North and South of the Clyde, including services to Wemyss Bay.
The units have been refurbished twice. Firstly between 2002-04 when they received an internal refresh including new seats covers and a revised version of the revised SPT carmine and cream livery which they’d first gained from 1997 onwards.
(To be continued)…
On the 8th December 2016 class leader 320301 sporting Saltire livery arrives at Dalmuir with a service heading for Glasgow. The previous day, 320302 calls at Glasgow Central low level with a service to Milgavie.3 years previously, on the 14th June 2013. 320303 pulls into Charing Cross on the low level line via Glasgow Queen St. Here’s 320304 arriving at Newton to the East of Glasgow on the 29th March 2012 with a service to Motherwell.320305 sits at platform 6 at Glasgow Central on the 4th October 2018. It’s the 29th March 2012 and 320306 is arriving at Partick station on the North bank of the Clyde, an interchange with the famous ‘clockwork orange’ as the Glasgow circular subway is known to many. The station had only recently been rebuilt and extended. 320307 threads its way through the complex switches and crossing that form the approaches to Glasgow Central station on the 10th November 2021. Platform 6 at Glasgow Central once more, this time on the 4th October 2018, when 320308 rests between duties. 320309 sporting the revised SPT carmine and cream livery with all cream doors seen at Dumbarton Central on the 13th June 2013. Glasgow Central again but this time platform 10 where 320310 and a sister unit sit in the sunshine on the17th July 2018. It’s the end of the line at Milngavie on the 8th April 2009 where 320311 keeps company with a fellow Mk3 based unit in the shape of Class 318254. These units had been refurbished and had their corridor connections removed. Ironically, Scotland is also the last bastion of the Class 317 type fleets as the last ones in English service were withdrawn earlier this year.It’s the 9th of November 2021 an the distinctive and ornate lattice roof supports give away the location of this picture of 320312 working to Wemyss Bay. It’s Paisley Gilmour St on the South side of the Clyde. 320313 arrives at Dumbarton Central with a service from Glasgow on the 13th June 2013.
320314 with the swoosh on the front of its carmine and cream livery calls at Dalmuir on the 21st March 2001.
320315 with a sister unit in tow calls at Motherwell on the 29th March 2012. The traincrew change ends on 320316 which has terminated at Dumbarton Central, ready to work back into Glasgow and beyond on the 8th December 2016.Passengers board 320318 at Partick on the 29th March 2012. 320319 waits at Glasgow Low Level station on the 7th December 2016 with a service to Larkhall. 320320 pulls into Exhibition Centre station on the North Bank of the Clyde on the 8th December 2016. Carmine and cream liveried 320321 wearing the First Group logo on its front end sits inside Glasgow’s Shield Road depot where the class was based on the 8th April 2009. Last of the class 320322 sporting Carmine and Cream livery and First group logos sits in the bay platforms at Springburn on the 16th August 2012.
To be continued…
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/
No rest for the wicked! It may be Sunday but I’ve a little job to do that involves trying to get a suitable cover picture for a magazine. This means that after a lazy Sunday morning at home I’m now heading to Leeds for a few hours. This could be a challenge as the weather’s variable to say the least. We had a lot of heavy rain overnight. The aftermath is Yorkshire’s blanketed by low grey cloud and a procession of showers. Still, I enjoy a challenge! On the bright side (if you’ll pardon the pun) I won’t have to worry about heavy shadows or being on the wrong side of the sun!
The train I’m using to get to Leeds is a late running service from Blackpool North to York that needed to rendesvous with an ambulence (for some unspecified reason) earlier in its journey. The 3-car 195 is packed with a variety of holidaymakers and day trippers leavened with a few determined shoppers but I’ve managed to find a tip-up seat in a vestibule and relax for a whole.
The train became less packed after calling at Bradford Interchange as a number of suitcase wielders bid us goodbye. I’m assuming they’re on their way home from fleshpots of Blackpool – although looking at some of them I suspect a lot of time was spent in pubs and chip-shops! I’m now sharing a table, which is an improvement as I can set up the laptop and catch up on some work.
16:00.
I’ve seen a lot more sunshine at Leeds than I expected! This choose my first photographic position for me, leaving me shooting pictures of trains approaching from the East along the narrow station throat to head straight into the range of my long lens – like this…
I managed to capture a variety of train types and companies but with it being a Sunday my quarry was on the sparse side! After an hour of changing light conditions I’ve swapped ends to add to the picture mix. I was hoping we might have had a rain shower just to wet the ground. Backlit shots after rain can look very dramatic – almost monochrome.
Whilst the trains are on the sparse side passenger numbers remain bouyant. I’m about to relocate to Bradford and this was the view as I walked to my train.
17:25.
Well my brief interlude in Bradford was a bit of a bust! It’s high summer and the ballast looks more like a lawn rather than a well-maintained trackbed. I had similar problems at Leeds but this was worse. Plus, it being Sunday, the trains I was hoping to shoot are sparse. I may have to nip out for a bit tomorrow as compensation. I’ll decode after I’ve edited today’s image haul. Right now I’m heading home on this wee beastie. You really don’t want to see a solitary 2-car on York – Blackpool’s, especially of a weekend, but there you go…
17:45.
I’m back in Halifax, the weather’s improving with the promise of a lovely evening so I’ve stopped for a ‘swifty’ in the Meandering Bear before the walk home…
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We’ve had a busy day here at Bigland Towers due to two events. Dawn had to go into the Community Rail Network offices in Huddersfield bright and early whilst I was engaged in my last Zoom judging panel for the Community Rail Awards. The law of Sod being what it is, my internet started playing up shortly before I was due to join the meeting. Luckily, there was a plan B. I have a large data allowance on my mobile phone contract so I tethered it to my laptop and used it as a surrogate internet connection for a few hours whilst myself and my esteemed colleagues (all with a wealth of experience) judged our final three categories totaling over 50 entries . What was reassuring was the the fact that during our individual initial sifting and marking we’d all come to an independent (and unwitting) consensus on who the winners were. 2nd and 3rd place took some more discussions but an agreement wasn’t too difficult – despite the fact there were some excellent entries and the overall standards were so high. I’ll say no more other than that there are some very worthy winners and the awards ceremony in Manchester later in October will be a brilliant and inspiring event and celebration of the best the world of community railways has to offer.
Now my judging duties are over for another year I can concentrate on other things. I’m looking forward to be able to get out and about again as there’s so many things to see and do – although today wasn’t going to be one of those days due to the latest rail strike which meant there were no trains at all running through the Calder Valley, which would have rather cramped my style! Anyway, there’s another week and another month coming up on Monday which will see me stretching my legs on a number of different projects. But not tomorrow – as the weather’s meant to be crap again! I’ve been sending pictures from the heatwave to several different magazines today. They seem like an age ago due to the fact we’ve had constant rain since – it’s almost like it was a dream. Hopefully the summer will return soon.
On that note I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is an archive ‘trains and the landscape’ picture taken at Arnside on the edge of the Lake District in November 2021.
CAF built Class 195 number 195132 crosses the viaduct at Arnside whilst working 1C54, the 1228 Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness on the 4th November 2021.
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 a week where I’ve never left the Calder Valley I’ve broken free again to have an awayday taking pictures. A client has requested a bunch of pictures. Most (but not all) I can supply from my archives, but there’s one gap and another section where the pictures are too dated – so here I am – off to get what’s required and hopefully get a few other shots for another client in the can. Thankfully, Dawn’s made enough of a recovery from Covid that I don’t feel guilty for leaving her for the day. Thankfully, I remain free of that capricious little bug this time.
Right now I’m on the first leg of my journey aboard Northern’s 07:19 from Halifax to Leeds which is worked by a 3-car Class 195 – which is just as well as it’s a very busy train.
Today’s adventure begins…
We lost many passengers at Bradford Interchange as they headed into work but we gained even more for the next leg into Leeds.
I must admit I’m looking forward to my awayday. It’s been lovely having the time at home with the weather having been so glorious. I’m glad I wasn’t stuck trackside somewhere in full PPE but after a few days I do get itchy feet and a camera trigger-finger!
My first stop on this trip will be Derby in a few hours time. Feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to and how the day progresses…
08:35.
So far so good. At Leeds I had 10 minute connection time to catch Cross-Country’s 08:11 service down to Derby. This train’s worked by a pair of 4-car Class 220s and it’s also busy. There’s lots of laptops open in my coach – including mine. On the opposite table to me are three Geordie women bashing away on their keyboards or making business calls. I’m guessing they’re on their way to a business event or training course.
The 220s were busy when they arrived in Leeds and they filled up even more at Westgate despite some seats being vacated by Leeds -Wakefield travellers (an unlikely commuter flow I must admit).
17:00
Umm, where was I? Right now I’m heading back to Derby from Nottinghan to reprise my shots now the sun’s moved around. Arriving at Derby and making a recce of the site I realised that – whilst the archive shots I have are out of date they’re great to have as you can’t replicate them in 2022. Oh, and someone took years to build a walking great bridge on London Rd which is the reason my archive pictures are now precious.
18:45.
Where was I part 2! After stopping off at Derby to get the pictures I needed now the sun’s moved round I’m heading home. Right now I’m on an EMR service as far as Sheffield. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to get out and about again, but what a contrast to last week in Germany. I’ll not ‘go-there’ right now as I’ll upset some people. Anyway. Today’s been a good day. I’ve fulfilled my missions and even had chance for a quick visit to a pub that has a gate straight onto the platform. 5 points if you know where this is?
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 