Category Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling blog. HS2-ing and fro-ing, pt 1…

31 Friday Mar 2023

Posted by in Hs2, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:30

Another silly o’ clock start. I’ve been up for an hour getting ready to head South to meet up with my ‘partner in crime’ for a couple of days exploring HS2 railway construction and mitigation sites, but first I’ve got to get to Banbury. The weather’s looking bleak. The rain’s already started here in the Calder Valley so Dawn’s being a star and giving me a lift to the station so that I don’t get a soaking from the off! I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back to see what I get up to…

07:30.

Thanks to Dee I arrived at Halifax station dry and in plenty of time. Having bid Dawn au revoir I caught the 07:14 Halifax-Hull, an earlier train than planned which gives me an extra 6 minutes in the bank. As it’s starting from Halifax it’s also far less crowded, despite being worked by a 2-car Class 158 today. No doubt that situation will change once we’ve reached Bradford and beyond.

Even so, I’ve bagged a table seat, plugged my phone into the USB socket to keep it charged and begun to catch up with the waking world.

Almost as soon as we left the cheerful Guard conducted a ticket check. With the train being quiet we swapped cheeky banter as I asked when the trolley service came round!

07:40.

As I predicted, the train filled up at Bradford Interchange. My bay and the opposite table are now full. There’s a young businessman of Indian extraction sat opposite whilst the rest of the seats have been taken by a mother and daughters – also of Asian extraction but further South and East. I haven’t heard them speak so I can’t tell where they hail from originally.

Now we’re heading towards Leeds on a miserable day weather-wise. The sky’s a monotone grey, producing the light drizzle that soon has you soaked as it has the ability to permeate almost any clothing.

08:25.

My time at Leeds was brief, just 15 minutes. I hardly had time to get the camera out but then there wasn’t much of interest to photograph on such a grey day. Making my way to platform 15 I waited for Cross-Country’s 08:11 to Bristol Temple Meads which arrived spot on time. Consisting of two four-car Class 220s the service was reasonably busy. The was plenty of custom for it at Leeds, although several were only going as far as our next stop at Wakefield Westgate where we exchanged them for more long-distance travellers. The cross-country network is all things to all people. Some use it for short hops as the timings are convenient whilst others appreciate its reach and use it for far longer journeys – students and senior travellers especially.

Cross-country may not be the biggest operator but it’s certainly the most far-reaching. Although the network’s been cut back from its height its tendrils radiate from Birmingham afar as Penzance and Aberdeen. What a shame the dept of transport have no idea what to do with it other than cut its train-fleet by forcibly retiring their high-speed train fleet with no plan for replacement. Their capacity is desperately needed in the summer, especially now passenger numbers have bounced back and the state of the economy’s forcing more people to holiday in the UK.

11:00.

My trip to Birmingham was uneventful, although it gave great views of the HS2 construction sites at Washwood Heath and Curzon St, where the pillars for the elevated station deck are springing up like mushrooms. I filmed this as we passed.

Building HS2’s Curzon St station.

Birmingham’s wet. Very wet, so I was glad to seek shelter on Chiltern Railways 10:55 from Moor St which will carry me to my rondezvous in Banbury.

In a sign of the times I popped into a shop in New St which sells baguettes. It was always a busy place. For years the filled baguettes cost 99p and made a cheap and tasty meal. Then, post Covid they increased to £1.20. Today they’re £2.20. It may have been the time of day but the shelves were full but the shop empty. I was the only customer.

20:15

Apologies for the gap in blogging but we’ve been busy. I’m about to get something to eat then I’ll come back and fill in the gaps. In the meantime, here’s a few pictures to tease..

We were here at the Chiltern tunnels South portal where one of the ‘porous portals’ is being constructed now the area is cleared and the TBMs are over half way to the North portal. This one is over the London-bound track.
Progress on the Colne Valley viaduct is impressive. It’s really come on since my last visit. Here’s a view of the launching girder ‘Dominique’ seen from the Denham waterski club site.
One of the thousands of precast bridge segments that have been made on site at West Hyde is moved along the completed bridge to the launching girder ‘Dominique’ where it will be lifted and then turned before being dropped into position. The segments are made on site then moved from the factory along an internal haul road and onto the viaduct.

23:25.

Right, time for bed. It’s been a busy day although the latter part was foiled by the weather when the skies opened and stayed open, making photography next to impossible. Even so, we reconnoitered a few more HS2 construction sites which will allow us to pop back tomorrow when the weather’s improved before moving on to look at others.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Nottingham bound…

27 Monday Mar 2023

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:30.

We’re packed, all electronic devices charged and ready and about to head off to the station to begin our journey to Nottingham to prepare for the Community Rail Network conference. I’ll blog about the trip en-route so feel free to pop back later to see what we get up to…

11:00.

We’re on our way on a bright but bitterly cold day. We even had a snow flurry before we left. Right now we’re on Grand Central’s 10:40 train from Halifax to London which we’re using to get to Wakefield where we connect with Northern’s Leeds-Nottingham service. This GC class 180s busy and even more so after calling at Brighouse where a few dozen were waiting to join. The latest ORR statistics show that GC services have really bounced back from Covid. They’re currently at 103% of pre-Covid figures. Great news for an open-access operator.

The section of line between Ellend (where a new station’s due to open in 2025) and Brighouse has recently been opened up by a huge amount of lineside tree clearance which makes it feel less like a green tunnel.

11:45.

We had 10 minutes for a cross-platform interchange at Kirkgate, where a new building has appeared on the island platform 2-3. Built on behalf of Grand Central it’s a substantial 3 room structure that replaces the draughty and basic shelter that used to be there. There’s staff accommodation at one end, a seated waiting area in the middle and what looks like a potential retail outlet or small office at the other. Only it doesn’t appear to have any power sockets, just a fuse board, which is odd!

The new structure at Kirkgate.

Our Nottingham train arrived spot on time. Thankfully, it’s formed of a 2-car Class 195 so we can make the most of the power sockets and wifi as there’s other members of the CRN team aboard too.

14:15.

Having reached Nottingham and the venue in plenty of time I’ve a few hours to kill before I’m needed I’ve nipped out to make the most of the good weather and grab some new library shots whilst I’m here. East Midlands Railway have had many Class 170s cascaded to them from other operators to start replacing their old BR built fleets. Some have come from Anglia, via Transport for Wales, such as this example.

With Nottingham Eastcroft depot in the background 170271 works 1K67, the 13:43 from Newark Castle to Crewe. To the left is the former parcels depot. The building’s intact and used as a Virgin active health club.

16:40.

I’ve enjoyed a couple of hours exploring and getting pictures of railways, trams and the town. One thing that struck me is how many vacant shops there are now. Parts of the town centre are almost deserted. One street I walked along was 90% derelict. Here’s a couple of phone pics to be going on with. I’ll add camera shots later.

The old parcels depot which is now a fitness studio.
There’s one mad Tory Chiltern Cllr who insists that reopening the Great Central is a viable alternative to building HS2 as most of the route is intact. Really? This was the Great Central through the centre of Nottingham. Nothing remains.

Right, now it’s time to go to work…

Rolling blog. Roving again…

21 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Liverpool, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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10:45.

Having tired of being tied to my desk (and home) I checked the weather forecast firs thing this morning and found it was more optimistic than 24 hours earlier and decided “bugger it, it’s time to stretch my legs”. I’ll be blogging throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to…

Right now I’m on the 09:59 from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester en-route to Liverpool to have a look at one of the few positive stories about UK railways right now – the introduction of the Stadler Class 777 train fleet which have ushered in the era of level-boarding across Merseyside.

Journey’s beginning…

The weather en-route has been moody to say the least. There’s gangs of marauding rain clouds lurking but so far we’ve escaped any deluges. This Wigan bound train’s made up of a pair of Class 158s which are now relegated to secondary duties after the arrival of the CAF units. Loadings across the Pennines were low until we called at Rochdale were dozens joined us for the run into Manchester.

11:45.

I had 30 mins to spend between trains in Manchester which gave me time to observe activities. Trans-Pennine Express were busy. A pair of Class 185s arrived from the East. Having disgorged dozens of people (the service was well loaded) the units were split. The rear set returned East as the 11:01 to Saltburn whilst the rear set worked empty stock back to Ardwick depot on the other side of the city. I was waiting for another TPE service, the 11:21 to Liverpool Lime St. This arrived (on time – heavens!) worked by 802216. Finding a free table in the front car as it’s not a busy train I’ve set up the mobile office so I can download a few pictures en route. The journey only takes 40 mins so there’s little time to do much else. The good news is the weather’s picking up the further West we go. Muscly white clouds are edging out the rain to leave space for blue skies and sunshine to follow.

12:45.

After an on-time arrival and brief photo stop at Lime St I’m now aboard 777049, the first Merseyrail Class 777 to enter service which I picked up at Liverpool Central. I’m posting this via my phone and the trains wifi which even works in the tunnels. My phone’s also charging up via the under-seat sockets whic have a 3-pin connection and 2 USB sockets. First impressions? I’m impressed. It’s not the first time I’ve been on board a 777 but this is the first time in regular passenger service on the route they were built for. I’m sitting at the back of the train behind the driver’s cab and over the bogie, but the ride is still smooth (until you hit switches and crossings). Acceleration is impressive and also smooth. More soon…

13:00.

We’ve arrived at Kirkby…

Having got some pictures I stayed on the same unit as far as Rice Lane (a stones throw from where I entered this world) to see how the ride was by the leading cab. There was a lot more hunting coming out of Kirkby but I suspect that has as much to do with track quality as much as the trains.

The 777s are good. Very good. I like the controlled saloon lighting that changes when you pass under bridges and tunnels, and the LED strips around the doors which aid access.

18:00.

Apologies for the gap in blogging but the day took a bizarre turn – as I’ll explain in a minute. My trips on the Kirkby were really interesting. 2 of the 3 sets operating tge service were 777s. The other was fleet pioneer 507001. Sadly, of the two 777s set 009 was clearly having problems. There were isdues with the doors and the PIS system which meant it was taken out of service a couple of times, leading to gaps in the service. It’s surprising as the sets should have had plenty of time to ‘bed in’ during their mileage accumulation runs. But then, these things happen. I’ve no doubt the problems will be fixed, but it’s embarrassing when the units have just been introduced.

Whilst I was out I posted a 777 pic to a WhatsApp group I and a few close friends have – only to get a reply from an old friend and colleague who was out with his boss doing exactly the same as me! We arranged to meet up at Lime St where his boss got a train back to London, but Hassard dallied, so we had time for a spin out to New Brighton – a place he’d never visited before. I rather enjoy New Brighton and so did Hassard as he was fascinated by the river views and the artwork adorning many of the buildings.

Mersey rovers…

We had time for a quick beer so stopped off at the “Bow-legged Beagle” micropub where the second co-incidence happened.

The chap we sat next to saw our cameras and struck up a conversation. It transpired he also had an interest in railways and travel. Clearly, his accent wasn’t local but it was only in passing he mentioned he was on a day out – from Sowerby Bridge! He lives about a mile away from me! What’s the odds of two Yorkshire neighbours (one there totally by chance) bumping into each other like that?

Having headed back into Liverpool I bid adieu to Hassard so that he could head back to London whilst I caught TPE’s 17:54 service to Manchester. I’ll blog more later when I’ve had chance to download some of today’s pictures. Right now I’m heading back across the Pennines aboard another Northern Class 158 en-route to Sowerby Bridge and home.

21:30.

Home again, so here’s a last update with a few more pictures from today.

777009 was the other new unit working Kirkby services but it wasn’t having the best of days. Here it is calling at Fazakerley with a service from Ormskirk. As you can see, the PIS isn’t working – hence the ‘not in service’ displayed on the front. I had to persuade an elderly woman who questioned me that – yes, this train was going to Liverpool. Once on board I saw a Stadler engineer busy on his phone, making it clear the train would need to be taken out of service at Kirkdale.
Having abandoned 777009 at Rice Lane to get some more pictures I travelled on to Kirkdale before walking to Bank Hall where I caught 507001 (the first of the BR built EMUs) passing the depot where 777009 sits in the background in disgrace.
Meanwhile, just the other side of the road to the last shot, here’s 508124 and 508112 calling at Bank Hall with services to and from Southport. When I was a kid this station had four platforms – hence the disused lines on the left. To say the area’s changed a bit in 50 years would be an understatement.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 55. From Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru by train…

07 Tuesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Malaysia, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:15 (Malay time)

There’s another rolling blog from me today as I’m on the move again. It’s time to say goodbye to KL and begin the trek back towards Singapore ready for my flight back to the UK on Saturday. Shortly, I’ll begin my journey from Pasir Seni to KL Sentral to catch train EG9321, the 12:10 to Gemas, which is the junction for the ‘jungle railway’ up the East Coast to Tumpat. It’s also the present limit of electrification so it’s where I change to a diesel-hauled service which will take me down to Johor Baru.

I’ll blog throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back and see how the trip goes. I won’t get to JB until late this evening which means there’ll be plenty to write about…

12:34.

The journey to KL Sentral was easy. The MRT station at Pasir Seni was only a couple of hundred yards away from my hotel.

First train of the day. On the MRT heading to Sentral

From there it’s one stop to Sentral which despite it’s size, is hardly a busy station as there’s so few trains at the moment due to the Klang valley double tracking project having such an impact on capacity. There’s also acres of wasted space.

Waterloo it ain’t…

Sadly, KTM have gone down the airline route of corralling passengers in waiting areas, only letting them down onto the platform a few minutes before the train’s due.

When my train turned up it was stopped short on the long platform to allow departing passengers off first. It then crawled forward to pick up the next load – us! I can sort of see the logic in this but when you consider how most railway work this does seem a time-consuming faff.

Now I’m on-board ETS 204. One of the earlier CRRC sets built in 2014.

14:00.

A few minutes ago we left Seremban. It’s the furthest point on the KL commuter network and home depot for the SCS trainsets. It also retains one of the old station buildings which makes it a rather attractive place.

15:15.

Despite our late departure from KL our train had no trouble making up time and delivered us to Gemas spot on 14:50. It’s a cross-platform Interchange here so I went from this…

ETS204 at Gemas, having left Butterworth this morning the set’s preparing to head back North.
To this! ‘Blue Tiger’ 26113 ready to take us to Johor Baru. It’s unusual to find this class of loco working passenger trains.

17:15.

We’ve just stopped in the middle of nowhere to let a Northbound service pass. Whilst the track has been doubled at the MP 642.75 (just North of Paloh) it hasn’t been fully commissioned and only works as a passing loop. It was a great location to stop as the rather nice house on a hill was nearby, surrounded by new palm oil plantations.

There’s worse places to live, and at least you won’t get flooded…

23:30 (Malay time).

Apologies for the blogging gap. It’s been for several reasons One was because I was too busy watching the world go by, and the second was that my Singaporean friend Nicholas Lim had travelled up to Kluang to join me on the trip down to Johor Baru! What I’d missed whilst I was in KL was that the state of Johor had been hit by torrential rain this week which has led to extreme flooding. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never known it as wet this time of year, but Johor really has copped for it. When we left Gemas I saw sights around the railway like this. Low-lying land totally under water. Thankfully the railway has been rebuilt and raised otherwise there’s no way I’d have got back to Singapore by land.

The next person who tells me climate change is a myth is going to get a real mouthful. I’ve been travelling this part of the world for 31 years and I’ve never known the weather to be so unpredictable.

Fortunately, the floods were subsiding and the weather was picking up, so I could snatch the occasional picture from an open train door, although this crew were rather strict about me doing so.

Passing an up train in the middle of nowhere North of Paloh. This is a temporary loop until the double-tracking is completed.

Nick joined me at Kluang. As we’d seats reserved in different coaches we adjourned to the buffet car where we could sit together. Now, I know Mark (the man in seat 61) recommends independent ticketing companies where you pay a fee, but I’d heartily recommend the KITS app from KTM. Not only is it so easy to use but you get to choose your seat (the others don’t let you) you also get to see just how many seats are available on the train you’re looking at. Plus, you get instant confirmation that you have a ticket and you can download it straight away, or just save it in the app.

We had a great journey, with Nick giving me some very interesting historical and background info on Malaysian railways operations. At JB we parted company until tomorrow. I’m back in the hotel I stayed in when I first arrived but I have to say it’s not what I first experienced. I’ve now got a crap room on the 5th floor which is lacking so many things – a flushing toilet being one of them! If I was staying for more than one night I’d be kicking up merry hell, but it’s literally just a place to crash for the night. Johor Baru’s an odd place. You’d think it would be trying to mirror Singapore on the other side of the causeway – and in some (foreign investment) ways it does, but it also feels really seedy. Looking at my hotel I’m surprised they don’t rent rooms by the hour. There’s a few very unattractive ‘ladies of the night’ hanging around the main drag, although I suspect ladies may be too gender specific. There’s a backstreet off the main drag called Jalan Meldrum (no, really!) which seems to have the most life as one side of the street’s lined with restaurants. I did escape my hotel for an hour and had a rare (and bloody expensive) beer so that I could watch the world go by. Like everywhere in Malaysia all the different communities mixed freely, but it’s not a patch on Georgetown.

I don’t believe it!

Anyways. I’m off to nice, clean and even more expensive Singapore tomorrow. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the place – far from it. When I’ve been travelling the backwaters of Asia it was always a great place to dip into for a few days. I christened it ‘the land where everything works’ (even in the cheap seats). It’s just all a little more safe and sanitised.

Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m going to be up early as there’s a lot of pictures I want to get before catching the 11:30 shuttle train across the border to Woodlands.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Asian adventure day 50. KL bound…

01 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Georgetown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:45 (Malay time)

Much as I’d liked to have lingered longer in Georgetown it’s time to hit the road and begin my journey south towards Singapore. I’ll miss this place, but I know I’ll be back again sometime. This is such a fascinating multicultural place with rich history I could never tire of it. Add in the fantastic food and the fact it’s a crossroads for so many travellers, what’s not to like?

The weather’s overcast making it a good day to travel. I didn’t want to risk my back (or the wheels on my case) so I got a taxi from Star Lodge to the ferry. terminal – well worth the 12 ringgit (just over £2) it cost me). With the limited capacity ferries only running hourly now I’ve arrived in plenty of time to get to the front of the queue for the 11:30 ferry before catching the 12:45 train from Butterworth.

For once, I’m going to write a rolling blog throughout the trip. I’m travelling ‘Platinum’ class this time, which is the Malaysian version of 1st which should make for a relaxing trip. It takes just over four hours to reach KL Sentral nowadays, a great improvement on the past. The only shame is that services aren’t more frequent with just five ETS trains a day linking the two cities.

There’s more than a dozen other Europeans in the queue for the ferry. I suspect most of them will be doing the same as me as the trains the best way to travel. Plus, Standard class only costs £16!

11:22. The ferry has disgorged the inbound passengers, now it’s our time to board. These ex-Langkawi boats are nowhere near as much fun as the old ferries but at least they get you there (most of the time).

12:45. (Malay time).

We’re off! Platinum class in these new ETS sets is rather good..

Almost as soon as we’d left we were served lunch. It may have been prepared and served in a plastic tray, beut the quality of the chicken, bamboo shoots and green rice was rather good.

These particular ETS sets are from the second batch supplied by CRRC Zhuzhon Locomotive Ltd but assembled in Malaysia in 2018. Like most Chinese rolling stock quality (or rather the lack of it) and attention to detail are the issues. Despite only being only five years old the sets are fraying at the edges. Some of the windows have blown so are full of condensation, paintwork’s flaking and nothing really seems to have been made to last. That said, what did KTM specify in the contracts – and was there a warranty? At least they’re doing a bit better than the SCS Komuter sets.

Build quality aside, they ride well. We’re currently bowling along at 139kph so the PIS screen above the doors tells me. Oh, and they don’t leak – which is just as well as it’s chucking it down outside as we approach Taipeng.

13:55 (Malay time)

We’ve just passed through one of the new tunnels between Taipeng and Padang Rengas that were bored as part of the line’s modernisation back in the 2000s. The old British built single track line used to stagger through these jungle-clad hills – which was great fun if you were a railway enthusiast, but not if you were an ordinary passenger keen to get to their destination.

This part of Malaysia is very attractive because its so hilly. Whilst the lowlands around the railway are cultivated by palm oil and rubber plantations and the occasional fish farm, the high hills with their lush jungle are mostly left untouched.

14:40 (Malay time).

We’ve just left the town of Ipoh. Its an interesting place I’ve visited a couple of times. I was another colonial centre famous for mining so not only does it have an impressive Edwardian station building it also boasts an attractive old town centre. I’ll post a couple of links to pictures later. This area provides the railway with a lot of freight traffic due to the massive rail-served cement plant at Tasek. The size of the rail yards around the town reflect this.

Next stop after Ipoh was Batu Gajah which has become a railway centre nowadays. The new depot and associated sites which include a CRRC plant replaced the old British-built Sentul works which was Malaysia’s Crewe, employing thousands of people. Batu Gajah’s far more up to date, built to maintain diesel and electric fleets – not steam!

As soon as we departed the staff fed us again, this time with a snack box containing peanuts, a kitkat and a carton of apple juice to accompany a hot drink (I plumped for coffee) as well as a Danish pastry and cupcake.

15:40 (Malay time)

We’ve arrived at Tanjung Malim which is the Northernmost extremity of KL’s ‘Komuter’ network. There’s a few stabling roads here, one of which contains two badly damaged cars from set SCS06. They’ve clearly been in a collision, but what with I wonder? No-one appears to be in a hurry to do anything with them as I passed them on my way North over a month ago. I’ve just Googled these class 92s and found out this set was badly damaged at this location way back in October 2018! 6 clearly isn’t a lucky number as this was the 2nd accident the set was involved in, and it was hit by a Class 26…

16:30 (Malay time)

We’ve crawled into Sungai Buloh which is the start of single line working through to KL Sentral whilst the second line’s being re-laid and rebuilt. It plays hell with capacity in the Klang valley and I’m hoping to have a closer look at work whilst I’m here.

21:30.

Time to round up the day from ‘Bigland Towers’ KL branch! My train arrived into KL Sentral spot on time. A one stop hop on the MRT system to Pasir Seni got me back to the City Lodge Hotel on the edge of Chinatown where I stayed earlier. I now have a room next door to my old one!

The rain that’s followed me all the way from Penang had remained over KL all day so I’ve not been tempted to venture out. Instead it been a case of getting my new ‘office’ set up. I like the rooms here as they have good desk space by a window with plenty of power sockets. Looking at the forecast the weather’s going to be the same tomorrow but I’m happy to have a day working, catch up on picture editing and UK stuff whilst having the odd wander for food. Here’s not as sociable a place as Georgetown so there’s no distractions in that way.

My new office…

Thankfully my back problems didn’t cause any problem with travelling. Maybe it’s finally on the mend which will be a relief – especially with the fact in 10 days I’m going to be spending an awful lot of time glued to aircraft seats!

Right, now it’s time to get on with a few others bits. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s rolling blog. One thing I haven’t explored on this trip is KL’s monorail. I intend to put that right before I leave…

To end the day, here’s a couple of pictures from Butterworth. The ‘new’ ferries may be lousy for taking pictures from compared to their counterparts, but the new shopping complex adjacent to the ferry terminal has a multi-story car park above it. Here’s the view from the 8th floor.

Class 25 number 25109 removes empty container flats from the North terminal.
Vosco Unity is a Vietnamese bulk carrier. Built in 2004 by Imbari shipbuilding the ships gross tonnage is 29,963. After unloading she sailed to Prai (Malaysia) earlier today.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Departure day…

10 Tuesday Jan 2023

Posted by in London, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

≈ 4 Comments

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09:10.

Time to enjoy a coffee as I pack the final items I’ll be needing these next few months, enjoy a last breakfast and quality time with Dawn, then head off. Fingers crosses that there’s no problems on the trains. The good news is that I’ve looked up real-time information on my train and the empty stock to form Grand Central’s 10:40 from Halifax to London has left the depot which is always a good start! I’ll be posting throughout the day so feel free to pop back and see how my journey goes…

10:50.

I’m on my way! The weather here in West Yorkshire’s bloody awful – it’s been raining all morning leaving many roads flooded or resembling waterfalls. Dawn drove me to the station for a tearful farewell on the platform as she waved me bon voyage. It’s a shame Dee couldn’t have come with me – even if it was for part of the trip – but there’s where freelance life has its advantages. I’ll miss her wide-eyed enthusiasm and exclamations ‘oh, wow’ when it comes to seeing new sights.

Right now I’m on Grand Central’s 10:40 to London Kings Cross. It’s bizarre, but this is the first train I’ve been on in 2023! The only time that normally happens is if I’m already abroad for New Year, this time it’s been down to the strikes and preparations for this trip. My train’s busy, but I have a seat in 1st Class and (for now) a table bay to myself which has allowed me to set up the mobile office and get some work done.

On my way…

12:00.

After the usual stagger around the West Yorkshire backwaters and exotic places like ‘Pontycarlo’ (aka Pontefract) we’ve finally reached the East Coast Main Line and Doncaster, where dozens of people are joining what’s already a busy train. Standard class is rammed and First Class loadings are now healthy too.

12:30.

We suffered a minor delay at Doncaster but now we’re speeding South at line speed with the expectation of making up time. The weather’s a little better now as the rain’s stopped and the sun is making a valiant effort to break through the clouds but the amount of standing water in the fields, overflowing streams and swollen rivers betray the fact it’s been a very wet year so far. Cloud level remains very low but there’s now a multitude of shades and shapes of grey as differing formations have taken over from the thick ceiling of dullness we had earlier.

13:00.

We’re now the right side of Peterborough and cruising rather than speeding South, just 5 minutes behind time. I’m assuming we’re stuck behind slower services like Thameslink. I’m not too bothered as I’ve time in the bank – my flight doesn’t leave Heathrow’s terminal 4 until 18:15 which gives me plenty of time to get there on the tube rather than the much more expensive Heathrow Express. Plus, I’ve credit on Oystercards, so that leg of the trip won’t cost me anything. You can tell I’ve been living in Yorkshire for a while, can’t you!

14:10.

Part 1 of the trip’s complete and it was the one I was most edgy about as rail reliability hasn’t exactly been at its best recently. I was lucky with my GC service. The unit sprung a leak through one of its windscreens. Fortunately, it was in the trailling cab, not the leading cab, otherwiseit might have been a much more stressful story!

Made it to Kings Cross…

I didn’t hang around at Kings Cross. Instead I made a beeline for the Piccadilly line and stepped straight onto a train heading for Heathrow Terminal 4. Now I can start to relax a bit! The tube is quiet so there’s no problem with getting a seat.

Next stop – Heathrow…

16:10.

And – relax! The trip to Heathrow was hassle-free. Terminal 4 is pretty quiet so checking-in was a doddle with no queues. Even security was a breeze and for once my camera bag didn’t attract any attention at all. Now I’m airside. Having wandered up and down the terminal I’ve managed to notch up a few steps and explore. There’s not really much here at all apart from the usual posh but empty shops selling designer gear which are staffed by bored looking young women, the obligatory WH Smiths (closed, of course) and a trio of expensive cafe/bars. The plus side is there’s plenty of seating available and even a viewing gallery, although that’s of limited use as it’s dusk – and it’s raining. I’m sat outside the best of the three cafes, nursing an expensive pint and catching up on some emails whilst I’m still in the same time zone.

Heathrow T4. Not exactly buzzing…

17:00.

My gate’s been announced so now it’s time to hunker down, top up my phone at the handy free charging station and wait. My plane’s a Boeing 777-300 and I’ve a window seat for the 7 hour flight to Doha so I might get some rest. My fellow passengers are a rainbow of ethnic groups and nationalities with (thankfully) few young children in sight!

17:40.

All aboard! Well, not all – that may take a while yet but I’m ensconced in seat 37K and settling in out of the way of the chaos. See you 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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Coastal capers…

20 Tuesday Dec 2022

Posted by in Photography, Rolling blogs, Southport, Travel

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09.05.

We’ve another warm, foggy and wet morning here in the Calder valley, but I’m hoping to avoid a soaking as I was down to Sowerby Bridge station to head off to Southport for the day. I’m looking forward to having a day away from the valley and enjoy some coastal air. Let’s see how the trip goes…

Having strolled down to Sowerby Bridge under clearing skies I’ve discovered my train to Manchester is 7 mins late. It’s no big deal as I won’t miss my connection, it’s just frustrating!

Eventually, a vintage Class 158 working the Leeds – Brighouse – Walkden – Wigan Wallgate route arrived. I’m not complaining. It’s warm and cosy with USB sockets to keep my phone charged up.

The day begins…

This 3-car service isn’t particularly busy but we’re an all stations stopper as far as Rochdale so it’ll soon fill up.

En-route I couldn’t help but play a couple of songs by Terry Hall of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. He’s died at the age of 63 (my age). I’ve always been a lover of his music as he was another who helped provide the soundtrack to my life. Two songs especially stick in my mind, ‘Our lips are sealed’ is one but the tune that really resonates is ‘Ghost town‘, written by Jerry Dammers back in 1981. It summed up the turmoil and troubles of the Thatcher years with recession and racism rife. Troubles that (until recently) we thought we’d seen the back of – but now both are making a return. Now I can see the reflections of those years in the shuttered shops I pass in towns and cities up and down the country – and that I’m sure I’ll be seeing later.

09:40.

Right now we’ve crossed over the border into Lancashire to call at Smithy Bridge. As expected, the train’s very busy now. Dozens boarded at Littleborough and I’m expecting us to be almost full and standing after our next stop – Rochdale.

09:44.

We’ve departed from Rochdale. I gave up my table seat to stand and observe and – as I expected – we’re now full and standing.

10:20.

I’m now on my way to Southport aboard one of Northern’s bi-mode (25kv and diesel) Class 769s after a game of ‘guess the platform’ at Manchester Victoria where two of the four through platforms were blocked by cold and dead TPE class 185s. It seems TPE are having another torrid day. I’ll find out details when I can. As that TOC puts a lot of trains through the station nowadays they bugger-up Northern services when things go wrong – which is frequently!

TPE using half of Victoria’s through platforms as stabling!

Of course, this wouldn’t have been an issue before BR vastly reduced the size of the station in the 1990s and destroyed its capacity, a decision that’s come back to haunt us in the 21st century.

11:00.

I’m West of Wigan now, about to cross the West Lancashire plain to get to Southport. My 319 successfully changed from electric to diesel power at Bolton. Now it’s spending the rest of the trip trying to shake itself to bits! I’m in toilet car 71805 where there’s a reaonance effect that’s rattling the hell out of the luggage rack above me. The hopper windows aren’t liking it either. A couple of them have popped open of their own accord! Part of the problem is the rack on my side of the train isn’t braced – unlike the adjacent one.

The poles make all the difference…

At Southport the Merseyrail side of the station boasted trains old and new. The BR built Class 507-508 fleets are still in charge of all passenger services but the future is stabled in the sidings…

Wi

16:00.

My flying visit to Southport’s come to an end earlier than expected due to my Sister being unwell. I still managed to have lunch with my Niece (Charlotte) and her husband (Ade) – even though he could only join us for his lunch-break from work! Charlotte and I both share the same ‘itchy feet’ travel gene and the three of us will next be meeting up in SE-Asia in January. Co-ordinating the trip was one of the reasons for my visit as it’s part of the world I know really well, along with the logistics of travel. The rendezvous is being made all the more challenging as they fly into Bangkok a few days before I fly into Singapore but that’s only 887 miles difference compared to 7,000 – and you can do it overland! Another thing that Charlotte and I share is a love of Asian food so I’m looking forward to introducing her to some of the Malaysian cuisines – including Nonya food.

There was no reason for me to hang around afterwards, so I’ve caught another bi-mode Class 319 Eastwards. I sat in exactly the same place as the last unit, just to see if the vibration problem happened again. It did, but nowhere near as bad.

769456 works the 15:05 from Southport to Manchester Oxford Rd. Seen at Wigan Wallgate where I bailed out.

Now I’ve stopped off in Wigan for a quick pint in Wigan Central to let the light change so I can do some night-time photography. Well, that’s my excuse – and I’m sticking to it!

17:00.

Oh, bugger…

19:45.

Despite the cancellations I made it back to Manchester’s Deansgate station then wandered across the city centre, getting a few pictures en-route before stopping off for a pint and a spot of people-watching. It’s the Xmas party season but even so – the city seems far more subdued than previous years. This impression was reinforced by the number of almost empty restaurants I passed. Clearly, the amount of money in circulation isn’t what it was which is hardly surprising considering what’s going on in the country right now. If you’re striking for more pay (and many are) you’re hardly going to be blowing what money you have left.

I’m now ln the 19:23 from Victoria to Leeds. It’s yet another busy train but there’s little revelry on the train. Most folk seem to be returning from work or coming home for Christmas ahead of the next round of rail strikes.

21:30.

Home again (naturally). Time for some good food and chance to relax before another busy day 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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Another Shropshire sojourn..

01 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Travel

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11:10.

I’m working in Shropshire and North Wales tomorrow but it’s going to be a long day with an early start, so I’m making my way from West Yorkshire to Shrewsbury as I’ll be staying this evening in readiness for the first trip of the day. I’ll be meeting up with an old friend and colleague as it’s a two-person job. Right now I’m on my way to Chester aboard the direct train from Sowerby Bridge. Northern introduced hourly direct Leeds – Chester via Halifax trains in October 2019. It’s a very useful service as it provides a direct connection with the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at Warrington Bank Quay, as well as making it easier to get to North Wales. My service is worked by a pair of 2-car CAF built Class 195s, which are staple traction on the route. Modern trains like this add to its attraction. I’ve a table so set up the mobile office. Sadly, this particular unit isn’t in the best of health. There’s no working power sockets and the passenger information system’s lost! It’s half a dozen stations behind where it really is, so it’s announcing we’re about to arrive in Sowerby Bridge whilst our next stop’s actually Manchester Victoria! I’m travelling in the front car of the leading unit. Loadings are good, between 65-70% from what I can see, although I expect that figure to drop after Manchester.

The weather’s still grey and gloomy this side of the Pennines. Hardly ideal for photography as skies will be completely washed-out in pictures. Even so, I’ll be stopping off a couple of times en-route on my roundabout way to Shrewsbury in order to get some pictures, so expect a few shots to appear later.

11:30.

We’ve just left Newton-le-Willows and my train’s busy again thanks to a goodly number of people joining us at this rebuilt station. The facilities have really improved since the new building and lifts replaced the long staircases that used to be the only way to reach the platforms, but it’s sad to see the original building boarded up and unused.

12:00.

During our stop at Warrington Bank Quay I grabbed the chance to move tables and found working power sockets. Hurrah! The Only downside is I’m now sat over the leading bogie. The 195s are known for rough-riding and this unit (007) is no different. I’ve already had a couple of spine-jarring thumps as we’ve passed over rough track joints. Passing the freight yards at Warrington was rather a sad sight as they’re nowhere near as busy as they once were as the coal traffic that provided a lot of their business has disappeared – as have the rakes of hopper wagons that moved the stuff. Now many of the sidings are disused, the deep patina of rust on the railhead giving away the fact they’ve not been used for a long time.

14:00.

Well, that’s been a busy couple of hours. I’m still at Chester and will write more about my experiences later when I’m on the move again. In the meantime, here’s a few photos showing the variety I’ve observed. Right now I’m having a few minutes in the warm as it’s bleedin’ Baltic out on the station!

A pair of Transport for Wales Class 153s, aka ‘Dogboxes’ sit in one of the bays underneaththe truncated station roof before working a service to Liverpool Lime St.
An old friend. This class 150 used to work Silverlink services on my local line in London before moving on. First to GWR, and now Northern. In the background is a Merseyrail electric class 507.
The venerable Class 507s were introduced by British Rail back in 1978 but like many old BR fleets they’re living on borrowed time. Covid delayed their demise, but you won’t see sights like this for much longer.
New CAF built 3-car 197101 in between test runs, having worked in from Llandudno Junction.
Freight along the North Wales coast has been a rarity for many years now, so seeing stone trains from Penmaenmawr return is a welcome sight. Here’s Colas 60076 working a loaded train to Tuebrook in Liverpool.
The obligatory ‘but no-one’s travelling by train, they’re all working from home’ shot. A TfW Class 158 swops hordes of passengers en-route to Holyhead.

15:30.

I left Chester aboard another train which is reaching the end of its current career. In fact, unless DfT start making some sensible decisions it may even be the end of its career. Here’s Avanti West Coast ‘Voyager’ 221107 at Crewe, where it carried me to from Chester. These trains are only 20 years old but they’re soon to be rendered surplus by new-build bi-mode trains from Hitachi.

Ivwasn’t in Crewe long, less than 20 mins as I caught TfWs 15:09 to Milford Haven which will take me to Shrewsbury. Sadly, the weather remains grim. The sun did threaten to break through at Chester, but not here. This service is a 3-car Class 175, yet another fleet soon to be displaced. It’s packed, so yet again i’m exiled to a vestibule. What I found interesting was my fellow travellers. I’m sharing the vestibule with a young lady who’s just flown in from Malaysia. Meanwhile, the saloon luggage racks are rammed with suitcases carried by an extended family who’ve also just arrived via Heathrow. Why they’ve chosen this train’s a mystery…

16:00.

Journey’s end for me for the moment. Now it’s time to check into my hotel. Relax for a while and meet up with Pip…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. The Class 315 farewell…

26 Saturday Nov 2022

Posted by in London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:30.

I’m up showered and in dire need of coffee (no such luxuries in an ‘Easyhotel’ room) here in Reading, ready to head off to London to take part in the farewell tour of the Class 315 trains which have plied their trade in and out of London Liverpool St station since 1981. It makes me feel old. I moved to London in 1986 when these trains were just 5 years old. I used to watch them pass from the balcony outside our flat. Now they’re nearly all gone. Just last few sets remain and two of those will be working the tour to Shenfield today.

Right, time to go…

07:55.

I’m on my way! It’s another rail strike day so Reading station was deathly quiet this morning. On the bright side, Costa coffee was open so I’ve been able to get my caffeine fix.

The Elizabeth line isn’t affected by the strikes, so they’re running a normal service. Here’s my train.

What’s also running normally is revenue protection! Two officers are on my train and immediatelycaught two arrogant young men who thought buying tickets was for other people. An expensive mistake!

08:10.

My trip along the Great Western main line’s been an interesting one. So much has changed since I left London. And it’s still changing. I’ve just passed Old Oak Common and the site of the new HS2 station. I was here on a press trip the other day but it looks completely different when you pass it on a train as you get to see the start of work on the new main line station.

10:30.

Despite the strike a lot of people have turned up for today’s commemorative trips. Here’s the train before the first run.

21:45.

I’d intended to blog about the trip today but in the end I was just too busy taking pictures, so I’ll do a separate report on what turned out to be a very good day out. I don’t often do railtours nowadays, but I found this one really interesting because of the demographic it appealed to. Oh, and full credit to all those involved in making it happen. MTR, the Branch Line Society and Network Rail especially – not to mention many others. For now, I’ll leave you with a picture of the team at the end of the trips. My special thanks go to an old friend (Jon Bradley, bottom right) who was instrumental in making the event happen.

Right now I’m relaxing in my hotel in Reading after an ‘interesting’ journey on the ‘Lizzie Line’ thanks to an earlier incident outside Paddington on a day when (because of the strikes) plan B’s were hard to come by. Tomorrow I head back up North, so expect a more relaxed rolling blog as I’m under no pressure.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!

Rolling blog. Reading reprise…

25 Friday Nov 2022

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08:50.

I’m off to Reading on a fine and sunny autumn morning, which is a welcome change from all the wet weather we’ve been having recently. It certainly made walking to Halifax station far more pleasant! Despite being awake since the early hours (I often am when setting off on a trip) I left slightly later than planned so as not to disturb ‘the missus’ who’s not been sleeping too well recently.

The view across the Clader Valley as I slogged up the hill to Halifax this morning.

So, I’m now on a heroically late 07:52 Blackpool – York service. A signal fault en-route meant this 3-car Class 195 didn’t depart until 08:35, 42 minutes late! Still, it’s warm and not too crowded, so I’ve bagged a table to set up the mobile office and begin blogging. Let’s see how the rest of the journey goes…

‘Delay repay’ anyone?

09:30.

And relax! I’m now on an LNER ‘Azuma’ service to Kings Cross. This 10-car train originated in Bradford and it’s certainly busy. Most of the remaining empty seats are reserved for later in the journey so I expect it to be packed by the time it arrives in London. Still, I’ve blagged a table as far as Grantham so I can have a breakfast roll (or ‘teacake’ if you’re from Yorkshire, ‘barmcake’ if from Lancashire) and enjoy watching the world flash by the window whilst I do.

09:50.

We’re pulling out of Doncaster where dozens of people crammed into my coach, so I guess my guess this train will be full by London’s come true earlier than expected. Three bays are reserved from Grantham, which will come as a surprise to the people who’ve occupied the seats and not noticed! If the large group who’ve made the reservations turn up this could be fun! I’ll be gone by then as I’m moving to the other unit as soon as we arrive!

10:30.

My Grantham set-swop proved to be a wise choice. There was a big party of elderly people waiting to join us when we pulled in. Whilst it’s not unusual for individual reservations to be unused, such a big grouping is normally taken up. I can only imagine the chaos in the car when they descended on their reserved seats! I was long gone, having skipped into the rear set as soon as we arrived. There were far less reservations here and I managed to secure a table seat opposite a young lady busily bashing keys on her laptop. I’s say the rear set’s about 70% full, which makes for decent loadings when the front set’s jammed. And we haven’t stopped at Stevenage yet – where I’m going to bail out again, this time to catch a Thameslink service down to Farringdon. The cross-platform interchange here saves mucking around walking through two mainline stations and sets of ticket barriers at Kings Cross and St Pancras.

I’ve not traversed the ECML in daylight for a while, so I was surprised to see how many fields are flooded – a testament to all the heavy rain we’ve had in the North. Combined with the blue skies we’ve got today it would have made ideal conditions for lineside photography and reflection shots. Ho hum!

15:00.

Sorry for the gap but I’ve been busy. I’m now in the leafy Thames Valley (yep, even this time of year the trees are hanging on to their fiage). Getting here was fun. My Thameslink connection worked well so I was at Farringdon in no time. Then it was a fast walk down steps and escalators to get to the “Lizzie line” and a train Westwards to Paddington. Considering Crossrail has only been open a few months the passenger loadings are excellent.

Whilst I could’ve got a train straight through idecided to stop off at Paddington for a while – just for old times sake as I rarely visit nowadays. When I lived in London it was an old haunt as it was the gateway to the Thames valley, where we often went cycling, or further trips to the SouthWest.

Thames valley service have changed out of all recognition now. Not only is the route electrified but the GWR services are interspersed with Elizabeth line services that (as the old name implied) cross London, bypassing Paddington.

21:45.

What a fascinating but rather surreal day. Most of it was spent exploring Thames valley rail services which made me appreciate just how much has changed. Nearly all of it’s been for the better, although I mourn the old overall roof at Maidenhead that used to cover the branch line to Marlow. So few of these Great Western features have survived. I ventured West of Reading to catch an electric train to Newbury, which was a first for me. It’s an instructive lesson in how previous Government Ministers and the Dept of Transport have made penny-pinching decisions that make absolutely no sense in the long-term. But long-term isn’t a concept in many politician’s minds. On arrival at Newbury I hung around as the next train back to Reading was 30 mins away. In the meantime passengers from London to Bedwyn (the limit of GWR regional services) had to change to a DMU for the rest of the journey, which takes all of 19 minutes. Madness.

A waste of resources, much?

Now I’m relaxing in my hotel in Reading, editing pictures from today and (half) watching some memory lane TV. Flicking through the channels I discovered the Kenny Everrett video show – a programme I loved which has taken me straight back to my youth which has helped make this trip very much the old football analogy of ‘ a game of two halves’.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Thank you!