Rolling blog. A man of Kent…

26 Thursday May 2022

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

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Community rail, Community Rail Network, Kent, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

08:00

Well, for a day anyway! I’ve woken up to be greeting by a fabulously sunny day here in Folkstone, a town I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. I’ve stayed in the Ship Inn overlooking the harbour. It’s a quiet little pub and my room is lovely. Here’s the view.

I’m preparing to head out for the day and explore a little before I’m due to begin work in Ashford later this morning at another Community Rail Network event celebrating Rail Week. I’ll blog about what I get up to…

10:30.

It’s not often that I’m pleasantly surprised by a town in the UK nowadays but I have to admit Folkestone is the place. It’s reinvented itself in recent years and a damned fine job they’ve done of it too. The Ferry port is long gone but the harbour and the harbour railway and pier have been transformed into an excellent tourist spot. I’ll add a load of pictures later and blog about it in detail but the town (unlike its cousin Dover, which is a shithole) is really attractive with a bohemian vibe due to artworks and quirky shops and bars.

Looking back on the tiwn from the harbour breakwater.

14:30.

Well, that was a stressful few hours. Firstly problems on the rails meant I thought I was going to be late getting to Ashford. As it was I made my train with just 3 minutes to spare rather than the relaxed 25 mins I was expecting. Then I got a text from a nag saying “could you get those Crossrail pics to us – only we’re on press today”? So, with no notice I managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat (after some wifi false starts) and get them over. As if that wasn’t enough I gad to go straight to work photographing students from Ashford college getting lessons in all aspects of the railways (safety, ticketing etc) on a round trip on the train to Maidstone East. That was actually good fun. The students were lovely and watching their delight in being let loose on making announcements over the station PA at Maidstone was priceless.

Now I’m taking a minute to get my brath back before getting some library pictures before beginning the trek back North…

17:10.

This visit to Kent is coming to an end. Whilst I was here I decided to nip over to Dover to get a few pictures as my records show I’ve not been there since 2011. Not a lot’s changed around the station to be fair and what little of the place I’ve seen hasn’t changed my opinion of the town. Whilst I was there I did have time for a quick pint and enjoyed the last rays of the sunshine outside The Priory, the pub opposite the station which is where I stayed all those years ago. It’s one of those rare beasts – a pub which still hosts live music.

Now I’m on one of SET’s high-speed services back to London to head back to Yorkshire. I’ve a fast mobile office back to the capital with plug-sockets and wifi – what more do I need? (A bar and restaurant car? Ed)…

17:33.

My mobile office is now speeding along High-Speed 1 to London. A railway that exposes all the anti High-Speed 2 environmental scaremongering as just that. It’s 15 years since this line opened to passengers and the scars from building it have long healed. I really must come back and spend a couple of days taking pictures along the route as the last ones I took were for a client and I’m not allowed to use them.

17:45.

I’m curious. On both my trips on SET ‘Javelins’ the Train Manager has announced which toilets are working, so by implication – this is a problem. This set (like all class 395s) has two toilets, a fully accessible one and a cubicle. The access one seems to have conked out. Is this a common issue?

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Rolling blog. Heading for the coast…

25 Wednesday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

14:30.

I’ve had the morning off as it’s Dawn’s birthday. We’ve had to cut the planned days celebrations short due to work commitments but I was determined that I’d at least take Dee out to celebrate before I began my journey from West Yorkshire to the Kent coast. I’d booked us in at La Luna in Halifax which is an attractive cafe/restaurant in the centre of town that does a cracking brunch which (sadly) is all we had time for. Even so, it was a lovely interlude.

Now I’m on my travels again, beginning with Northern’s 14:16 from Halifax to Hull as far as Leeds. The service is made up of a pair of former Scotrail Class 158s. Having started from Halifax the trains pretty quiet which is nice as it give me the chance to do some work and recharge a few devices from the USB sockets. I know now why my new Fitbit 5 is called the ‘Charge 5’. It’s because the damned battery needs recharging every 5 minutes! OK, that’s a slight exaggeration. It’ll last just over 24 hours on a full battery, but as it was advertised as lasting seven days someone is clearly taking the pee. I’ve some setting to play with yet and I’ll do a full blog review next week when I’ve played around with it, but right now I’d suggest ‘caveat emptor’…

17:15.

My trip South’s been very pleasant for a number of reasons. LNER’s 15:15 from Leeds to Kings Cross wasn’t that busy so I could spend some quality time on the 9-car Azuma editing pictures and sorting out paperwork. Plus, the further South we got the more the weather improved. Brollies were extremely useful in Halifax this morning, now you’d be using them as parasols. As we sped South I did decide on a minor diversion – purely in the interests of research you understand. The 15:15 stops at Grantham en-route, so I decided on a short interlude at the station to try out the new micro-pub. The ‘Whistle Stop’ opened in November 2019 but I never had chance to visit before the pandemic hit. Today seemed like the ideal time as the train following just 20 minutes behind was something else I’ve never sampled – a ‘Hull Trains’ Class 803 (in other words, an ‘Azuma’).

The micropub has three real ales on tap, two of which rotate and one of which is a dark ale. There’s also a selection of lagers, cider and bottled beers. The pub also has outdoor seating on the road and platform sides. It was quiet when I popped in. I was the only other customer inside but credit to the young guy behind the bar – he was industrious and kept himself busy behind the bar rather than just sitting there on his phone.

A quick pint later I was heading South again on Hull Trains. From what I can see there’s very little difference with this flavour of ‘Azuma’ other than seat moquette and carpet. The train’s about half-full and – like all Hitachi 800 series trains – it can shift!

An Azuma by any other name shall smell as sweet (despite having toilet retention tanks) ..

18:30.

A quick change in London has seen me transfer to the precursor of the ‘Azuma’ – the Class 395 ‘Javelin’ trains used by Southeastern trains on High Speed 1 services from St Pancras international. I love this line as it shows what’s possible with some imagination. I remember what a pain it was to get to the South coast when I lived in North London. First there was the schlep across London by bus and tube to Victoria or London Bridge and then the crawl on old 3rd rail slam-door units. I remember my excitement in watching HS1 being built then using it when it opened. I’m currently on the 18:07 to Sandwich – a ce that demanded to be included on the HS1 network as it was never part of the original plan.

Right now we’re speeding through Essex on structures I watched being built and construction sites I was privileged to visit working for RAIL magazine. The line’s really blended into the landscape in the 15 years it’s been open – just as HS2 will do in its time.

18:25.

17 minutes after leaving St Pancras and including a stop at Stratford we’ve arrived at Ebbsfleet in Kent, having passed under the Thames.

19:10.

I’m now on a murky South Coast where mainland Europe’s not cut off by fog. Just us, by Brexit. My train split at Folkestone Central with the front portion continuing on to an old haunt – Sandwich, so as I have time to kill and for the photographic opportunities I’m staying with it. Passing Dover is odd as I remember it as a hive of railway activity before the ‘chunnel’ was built. Now the boat trains and train ferries are long gone – as are the sidings and stations that serviced them. Now the physical journey is seamless – if you ignore the new customs and mental barriers the UK’s built in its foolishness.

20:38.

My visit to Sandwich lasted all of 50 minutes which was the time allowed before the next train back to Folkestone and a bed for the night. Despite that it was a fascinating trip. I’ve not been to Sandwich since the cycle trips around Kent that Lynn and I used to do after the Canterbury beer festivals, so I’ve probably not been back since 1996. Arriving by train’s odd as nowadays the station’s tucked away in a midern housing estate. No doubt these were once the old station goods sidings. I struggled to recognise anywhere in the pretty but dead little town. Most shops and restaurants were shut so the place had a sonambulent air. That aside I found the architecture fascinating. I love stuff like this which is an historical jigsaw and mystery.

Right now I’m retracing my steps to Folkestone. This time it’s on a less than high-speed Southeastern service to London Charing Cross from Margate. It’s quiet this time of day in this neck of the woods but I’ve no doubt that’ll chane when it gets closer to the capital.

23:45.

Time to end the day. I’m now tucked up in my hotel by Folkestone harbour. I’ve not been here for years – maybe 13? – I’d need to check my pictures, and I’ve never ventured this far from the main railway station even though I’ve done an overnighter before. I must admit to being pleasantly surprised. The town’s obviously putting in a lot of effort to reinventing itself. I’ll be up early tomorrow before I go to work so I’ll explore (and explain) more. But for now it’s time to sign off….

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Rolling blog. Crossrail’s here…

24 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Crossrail, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Crossrail, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

07:15.

I’m up and about ready to head out and make my way across London to meet up with an old friend and colleague as today’s the day that Crossrail’s central section finally opens to the public. Keep tuning in to see what I get up to…

17:30.

Humbles apologies – that was a crap “rolling” blog! The problem was that I was non-stop all the time I was in London. Crossrail’s opening was a huge story and the media were out in force. I met up with Richard Clinnick at Liverpool St. As the press leanch with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wasn’t until 09:30 we decided to take a trip to explore Farringdon – one of the stations we’d not had chance to look around before.

Like all Crossrail stations it’s impressive. What I hadn’t expected was how many ordinary commuters had switched lines already today – it was packed. Of course there was also thousands of visitors who’d just come along for the ride. These included rail and architecture enthusiasts as well as ordinary people who just wanted to try out this amazing new railway under central London.

Farringdon at the level of the Thameslink platforms.

The pair of us made it to Woolwich station where the official press event was going to be in plenty of time – which was just as well as it was packed. If you’d dropped a bomb on it you could have wiped out 3/4 of the rail press and a goodly chunk of national media and agency snappers too!

It turned into a bit of a media scrum at one point but to Sadiq’s credit he was in no rush and got round almost all the outlets who wanted to interview him. No government Minister was there apart from Baroness Vere. As she sits in the Lords I’m assuming she was seen as ‘safe’. Today was very much Sadiq’s – even if some journo’s threw him curve balls with questions about ‘partygate’ – which eventually elicited the wrath of Kahn about what had gone on in No 10!

After the circus was over I headed off to visit some more of the stations. Stations that are no longer just the preserve of folk in PPE. I managed Abbey Mills and Custom House before meeting up for a quick drink with a Singaporean friend who’s over in the UK for break. That break turned lucky with Crossrail opening whilst he’s here.

I left London just after 15:00 and spent the whole trip to Leeds editing the pictures I’d taken. I’ll get some on the blog later. Right now I’m perched in the luggage rack of a Northern Class 158 heading for Halifax. I’ve noticed what seems like another upturn in passenger numbers – especially during ‘rush-hours’. I’ll be interested to see if this appears in the next set of Government figures on rail usage…

21:15.

I’m now back at home where I’ve chance to edit some of the selection of pictures I’ve taken today for your delectation.

Looking down from the main concourse at Farringdon. Underneath me are the Thameslink platforms whilst the entrance to the Elizabeth line is straight on from the stairs.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan doing one of his many media interviews this morning. I hope his staff had throat lozenges to hand!

A class 345 enters Abbey Wood station. With a 5 minute interval timetable the service is literally ‘one out – one in’

The concourse and gate line at Abbey Wood station.

A service to Abbey Wood calls at Custom House.

Whitechapel. This walkway is built over the tracks of the East London Line,

Whitechapel. The gate line and main entrance.

You’ll be able to find the full selection of today’s pictures on my Zenfolio site in the next few days. I’m signing off for tonight as I’ve a busy few days ahead. I’m back on the rails tomorrow afternoon as I’ll be heading for the Kent coast. This time I’ll make sure the blog does roll!

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Rolling blog. Community rail week starts today…

23 Monday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Community rail, Community Rail Network, London, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, West Yorkshire

07:30.

I’m preparing to head off to the opening of Community Rail week which is kicking off with events in Bradford and Bingley. This year the message will be centred on increasing confidence and encouraging people to travel by train with the simple call to action, ‘Give the Train a Try’. You can find out what’s happening where and when by following this link.

Afterwards I’ll be heading down South as I’m staying in the London area tonight ready for the opening of Crossrail tomorrow where I have another assignment.

Feel free to keep popping back to see how my day goes…

09:08.

The journey begins. I’m off to Bradford for our first event of the day. Taking me there is a Northern 2-car Class 195. Unsurprisingly, it’s busy!

09:45.

I’ve strolled across from Bradford Interchange to Forster Sq to await the arrival of the rest of the Community Rail Network team. It’s a walk I always enjoy as ‘Bratfud’ (as the locals pronounce it) has some fantastic buildings. I keep promising myself that I’ll have a day out in the city taking the camera for a wander to photograph some of the delights the city holds. I passed this small slice of history on the way.

Sadly, the modern versions of the city’s stations are hardly architectural gems and are vastly reduced in area and stature.

15:30.

I’m back! It’s been a very hectic few hours so I’ve not had time to blog at all as the day job’s taken precedence. We all rendezvoused at Forster Square where CRN staff were joined by colleagues from Northern Rail and other organisations as well as the women from East meets West. The idea behind this group is to bring women together from different communities by using the train. The women selected have very little or no rail confidence so travelling by train with Community Rail Partnership officers and community group leads inspires them to take further trips – alone, with friends and with their own families. The group enables the women to have different experiences which they can access locally by train. Some of the women are single mums and are from isolated backgrounds so the project has really helped raise their self-esteem and provide them with a sense of community. They were all very excited to be taking part in the the event. Before we left we were joined by Rail Minister Wendy Morton, who is the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills. Needless to say, I was kept fully occupied taking pictures on the train and at Bigley station where the Minister met other Community Rail Officers and the local station friends. It was all extremely informal. To her credit the Minister was open and approachable to all, not surrounded by SPADs or ‘minders’.

Afterwards we we took part in a walk from the station to the top of the famous Bingley five-flight locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, guided by staff from the Canal and River Trust. Walking backwards along a canal bank whilst taking pictures of dignitaries isn’t my favourite job as there’s always the worry that you’ll end up either going arse over tit or in the cabal, but I managed it without accident!

At the top of the lock we took over the small cafe for a lunch of tea and sandwiches before retracing our steps to the station and disappearing off in different directions. I headed into Leeds and found a quiet corner of the Leeds Tap to download and edit some pictures before sending a batch out to the various PR and Media people on my lists. Now I’m sat on LNER’s 15:15 service to London which has become a mobile editing suite as I sort out a bigger picture selection. Meanwhile, here’s a few for your delectation.

Rail Minister Wendy Morton (seated, left) talks to some of the women from East meets West on the train to Bingley from Bradford. Standing is Karen Bennett. Karen is community rail education officer at Community Rail Lancashire, and a CRN Board member.

Everyone poses for a group photograph at Bingley station with some of the excellent work of the station friends on display behind.

The Bingley station friends having a laugh and a giggle with the Minister.

Gerald Townson Chairman at Leeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership gave a presentation to the Rail Minister on the work CRP’s are doing to encourage rail travel, supported by Community Rail Officers Brian Howarth and Catherine Huddleston.

17:25.

We’re now approaching London after an easy (albeit slightly late) run from Leeds. The weather’s picked up too. It looks like there’s a nice sunny evening in the offing. I’m not going to be staying long in the centre but there is one place Im going to stop at on my way through Euston…

23:00

It’s time to call it a day folks. As I was staying in the Watford area I hooked up with a local friend whom I met when I was spending a lot of time down here working for Network Rail on the 2014-15 Watford blockades. Alan Harte is a fellow railway person, cat lover and beer aficionado – so it would have been rude not to meet up for a couple of jars.

Right now I’m back at my accommodation, repowering all my devices and editing pictures ready for another busy day tomorrow as Crossrail finally opens. Watch this space…

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Thank you!

Rolling blog. A change in the weather…

20 Friday May 2022

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

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London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

09:20.

Bloody typical! We’ve had glorious sunshine these past few days whilst I’ve been at home, but today – when I’ve a day out the weather is the South is grey, wet and miserable! I’d planned to be out and about taking pictures for a client but the scenic pictures they want are incompatible with the conditions. So, I find myself on a busy 4-car Class 450 working the 08:50 from Farnham to Waterloo whilst I rejig my plans. I’m heading into the capital, then heading East where the weather’s meant to be clearing from. A vague plan is forming in my mind but we’ll see…

Feel free to keep popping back to see where I go and what I get up to.

10:45.

The trip into London was fine – even if the weather wasn’t. The service was short-formed but the rush was over by the time the train was running. I’d have made an earlier on if it wasn’t for the fact Dawn was dropping her nephew off at school first and Farnham was chocked with traffic, ironic when some people insist that we don’t need to improve public transport and build railways like HS2 because everyone’s supposedly still working from home!

Once in London I dashed to Waterloo East and caught a train to London Bridge where I was going to buy some breakfast but the queue at the Greggs was so long I gave it up as a bad job.

Waterloo’s concourse post rush-hour is still busy.

Right now I’m on a quite SouthEastern service heading out to a place I haven’t visited for years – Abbey Wood, which is about to develop a new life from next week when it become a Crossrail terminus. I’m sorry, but I really can’t get into calling Crossrail the Elizabeth Line. Sorry your Maj, but it’s part of the national network, it’s not a glorified tube line. Besides, I suspect if any name does stick it’ll be the ‘Lizzy Line’ which is far less cumbersome!

Passing through old haunts in SE London I’m stuck by how much has changed in the 12 years since I moved away. There’s new building everywhere. What a far cry from when I moved to London back in 1986 when the city was still in decline and the population was steadily shrinking. In those days the reputation of some of the areas I’m passing through was rough to say the least. In Bermondsey it was said even the rottweilers walked around in twos!

11:10.

There’s still something slightly surreal about suddenly seeing overhead wires appearing outside the train window – and then the twin tracks of Crossrail emerging from their tunnels to run parallel all the way into a rebuilt Abbey Wood station. Crossrail Class 345s were much in evidence running the shadow service in preperation for next week’s public opening.

I didn’t hang around at Abbey Wood as the weather’s still crap. Instead I decided to do some recce’s for other pictures as I’ve spent very little time along this line in recent years.

13:30.

I’m currently taking a break in rainy Rochester after travelling as far East as Gillingham where I stopped off to grab a sandwich. I’ve known the town since 1990 when I often used to pop over from London of a weekend to photograph the variety of traction that would be stabled here then. All that’s long gone. The town looked pretty run down then. It’s fortunes haven’t improved. I braved the torrential rain and flooded main street (blocked drains on both sides) to find a Greggs. It was a depressing experience. Shops are boarded up and empty and the dereliction has spread to the population. Just 15 minutes walking down the High St let me see there’s an awful lot of deprivation and health problems here. People who believe the hypes that Kent is the ‘garden of England’ have never visited Chatham and Gillingham! I doidn’t hand around after I’d grabbed a couple of pictures. I made my way along a platform flooding due to leaks from the station canopies and headed back to Rochester which has gained a brand-new station since I stopped here last.

The new 3 platform station at Rochester opened in 2015 and replaced the old cramped one which was further East. It’s been part of a scheme to redevelop the nearby dockland area which was cut off from the town by the railway. Progress has been slow but steady with new housing springing up alongside the railways and the East end of the huge site.

I must admit to liking Rochester. It’s a place with history (hence its castle) literary links (Charles Dickens) and an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants and pubs. It’s also less right-wing than much of the Medway (which is very Brexity), as this artwork by the museum attests to…

I have to agree. And it’s not done the Medway town any favours at all…

21:15.

Apologies for the ‘slight’ intermission but I’ve been non-stop for the past few hours as I made my wat back to Surrey – which is where I’m typing this from. As I left Rochester the weather really began to change making the trip much more enjoyable. I really enjoyed being back along this line, seeing the changes that have – and are – happening. It’s all a far cry from when I first explored the region back in the 1980s!

My first stop was at Gravesend, a station that’s been rebuilt in past years but still retains its Victorian buildings to complement the modern infrastructure such as it’s large cycle hub. Always on the lookout for an elevated view I found a nearby multi-story car park that afforded me this view.

Here’s the other side of the station. My pervious vantage point can be seen in the background.

Moving in once more my next port of call was Dartford – yet another place that’s changed dramatically since I first got to know it 30 odd years ago. The vintage slam door trains are long gone. Even the more recent BR built stuff has been elbowed aside by cascaded Siemens trains like this.

But, the biggest change was when I returned to Abbey Wood, the terminus of Crossrail South of the Thames. 30 years ago I’d never have imagined this far-flung corner of South-East London would have not one, but two cross-London connections. The first to arrive was Thameslink and services between Rainham and Luton, allowing to people to traverse the centre of the capital without changing trains. Now Crossrail’s arrived to add East-West to North South. As a consequence, house prices in Abbey Wood have gone through the roof and the skyline’s following suite – as this picture taken earlier demonstrates.

The changing face of South-East London. A Crossrail train arrives at Abbey Wood with the rising skyline beyond.

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Rolling blog. Here there and everywhere…

19 Thursday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Photography, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Photography, Surrey, Travel, West Yorkshire

10:15.

Today is starting from home but it will end in Surrey this evening. Right now my journey is starting at Sowerby Bridge station as I wait for the 10:22 service towards Leeds via Brighouse on a roundabout route to get to my first port of call. Huddersfield…

10:24.

A 3-car Class 195s arrived to carry me Westwards to Dewsbury where I’ll double back on myself before hitting Huddersfield. It’s a quiet train today.

My walk to the station wasn’t blessed with the wall to wall sunshine we had yesterday and the temperatures not hitting the same heights, even so, it’s a good day for walking and getting used to how my new Fitbit Charge 5 works. My old Charge 4 model developed a not uncommon fault where blank lines appear across the screen as the LCD fails, making it almost unreadable. In contrast (if you’ll pardon the pun) the Charge 5 has a much brighter and easier to read colour display.

Listed at £170 I bought mine from Amazon for £114, the same price Curry’s are selling them for. My initial reaction is it’s a far superior product but I hope they’ve ironed out the LCD problems. This is my fourth fitness tracker. I’ve found them really useful in improving my health. Well, in some aspects anyway. I’m glad they don’t count units of alcohol! They appeal to us number-crunchers as have a library of helpful and not useful statistics. For example, last week I won my “you’ve now clocked up the equivalent distance of walking from the North to South pole” badge!

11:00.

I’m now waiting for a late running TPE here at Dewsbury having arrived on this..

The TPE service is running 8 down which puts it behind the local stopper to Huddersfield which I expect it to overtake at Mirfield.

11:10.

The local arrived first and as I’m in no rush I decided yo catch it! We’re now trundling along under grey skies towards Mirfield.

11:18.

Sure enough we were held at Heaton Lodge junction West of Mirfield to allow the express to flash past. When this section to Huddersfield is returned to four-tracks as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU) such conflicts will be removed, making timekeeping much easier.

11:58.

Bugger! Another late-running TPE express is stopping my Huddersfield – Slaithwaite stopper from leaving. We’re already 7 down and the damned thing’s only just left. That means my walk along the canalside to Milnsbridge is going to turn into a dash as I’m up against arriving in time for my appointment…

We’ve just left Huddersfield at the time we should have arrived at Slaithwaite. Oh, joy! To cap it all, despite the weather forecast saying it’ll be dry and even sunny today the weather in the Colne valley clearly didn’t get the memo!

12:10.

The dash begins…

12:55.

I’ve impressed myself! I’ve made it with 6 minutes to spare. The sun’s come out too – although I’m glad it was gllomy whilst I was walking as that was some pace. I’m going off grid now – catch you in an hour or so.

17:10.

That was a long hour I admit! We’re currently taking a break at Watford Gap services on the M1. Dawn’s driving down to Tilford and I’m riding shotgun. The weather was beautiful as we traversed Yorkshire on our way to the motorway but it’s slowly deteriorated en-route on what’s been a busy motorway.

22:10.

And relax! We’re now ensconced in Tilford, Surrey after a drive that traversed motorways, major A roads like the A34 and even crossed the site of HS2 at Brackley – where work’s really come on in the past few months. I’m hoping we can take a detour on the way home just to check out progress.

Tomorrow Dawn’s on school run duties for her nephew whilst her brother’s away. Her niece is revising for her exams so’s (mostly) housebound apart from lunchtime when the two of them are going to have lunch together in Farnham. Me? I’m having a day out on the rail network although I haven’t decided exactly where I’m going yet. I’ll be doing that research after I’ve signed off here. But, I’ll be blogging throughout the days as I travel…

Until then, goodnight!

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Thank you!

Rolling blog. Let’s try that one again, shall we?…

12 Thursday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Hs2, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

06:30.

I’m reprising yesterday’s trip to London, only today I’m hoping no-one’s been out cutting signal cables and the day’s punctual and hassle free. Today’s itinerary includes a media visit to a High Speed 2 construction site in the capital. I’ll add details later once it’s done.

Right now I’m en-route to Leeds only this time with a fully functioning laptop – even if it is light on a few programmes and features for now. The main thing is it’s fit for picture downloading and editing.

I’ll blog more later once I’m settled in on the London train…

07:05.

I’m now at the part of the journey where it all went a bit ‘Pete Tong’ yesterday but (fingers crossed) there’ll be no repeat and I’ll be back in London in a couple of hours. I’m on another Azuma and everything is fine and dandy at the moment. My coach is only about a 1/3rd full so I have a table bay to myself. Now I’ve time to catch up on some work and maybe have a doze later. I must admit, I’m looking forward to having a lie-in tomorrow! The weather here in Yorkshire is glorious. Unlike yesterday it’s a fine sunny day. Hopefully London will compete…

08:40.

The trip to London’s gone without a glitch today. We’re now on the outskirts of London and I’ve plenty of time in the bank which will give me time to get pictures before I head off to the media call.

09:21.

Kings Cross looking busy.

10:30.

I’m getting nearer my next appointment and stopped off at Kilburn High Rd on the ‘DC lines’ out of Euston. It’s not a service I use very often nowadays but it has a lot of interest. I noticed this example of railway archeology on the opposite platform. The original station building perhaps (if much altered)?

The old Class 313s that worked the DC lines were replaced by Bombardier built ‘electrostars’ back in the 2000s. Now those trains have themselves been replaced with these ‘Aventra’ trains (also from Bombardier).

13:45.

OK, I can come clean on where I’ve been now. I’ve visited the HS2 tunnel vent construction site at Canterbury Rd in Kilburn, London. I was there along with the HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson MP. Canterbury Rd is the first diesel free construction site. All the vehicles run on HVO or electricity – including this enormous electrically powered crane.

Before you ask – yes we did go down the vent shaft. It’s only 22 metres deep right now When it’s finished it’ll be 55 metres deep…

15:00.

Whilst I was in London I couldn’t resist a trip on some old friends who are being retired this weekend. The 46 members of the Southern Class 455 fleet have served London and areas South of the Thames since 1982. Now government cost-cutting has forced them into retirement and a one-way trip to the scrapyard from this weekend’s timetable change.

A familiar sight that will disappear this weekend. 455813 on the blocks at London Victoria having worked in from Epson Downs.

I travelled out as far as another old haunt (Wandsworth) photographing several units on the way. I’m sad to see them go as they were part of my London life for so many years and often carried me across the Thames from Victoria to visit friends in South London. It won’t seem the same without them.

Here’s an earlier blog which looks back over their lives and times.

19:00.

Much as I’d have loved to have hung around the rush-hour was starting so it was time for me to begin my journey North as I’ve a lot of things to catch up on. Besides. I’ll be back in London again next week, even if the Southern 455s won’t be!

Right now I’m speeding up the East Coast Main Line on another trouble-free journey. Rather than wait for the 17:33 to Leeds which is often very busy I tried a slightly earlier LNER service to Hull which enabled me to bag a table and begin downloading today’s mass of pictures. I have to change at Doncaster, but I’ve had a productive time so don’t mind.

19:21.

‘Kin hell! The curse of the ECML strikes again! The direct train I swerved (but would have picked up at Doncaster) has been cancelled due to a train fault. I now have over 30 mins to wait. There’s only one thing for it – a pint in ‘The Draughtsman’ on platform 3…

20:05.

My Doncaster sojourn’s been ended by the arrival of the next Leeds train, which is just as well as ‘The Draughtsman’ closes at 20:00 and the temperature’s starting to drop. I’m obviously not a ‘proper’ Northerner anymore, many other occupants of the platform are dressed as if they’re in Greece in June! Me? No, I’ve spent too much time in tropical countries which has obviously thinned my blood!

20:45.

My final train of the day is old school – a Class 158. This one’s working Halifax – Hull shuttles. The unit’s been refurbished with new seats, PIS and USB sockets so it isn’t too bad but you have to wonder how much longer these BR built units have a future.

That said, I’d hope the Class 150s would be for the bin first!

22:27.

It’s time to bring this blog to an end. I’m back at home which is where I’ll be staying tomorrow as I’ve a huge amount of pictures from Germany and the UK to edit – plus a couple of jobs have come in which will see me on the move a lot over the next couple of weeks – and I’ve still a few magazine articles to write. Oh, and there’s a lot more slides and other rail memorabilia to add to eBay…

There’s lots to look forward to but right now that means one thing for me. Sleep! There’s only so many 04:30 alarm calls I can cope with in a week!

I’ve a 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. Infrarail – and things…

11 Wednesday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Hs2, Infrarail, London, Photography, Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Hs2, Infrarail, London, Railtex, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

06:30.

I’m currently sat on Northern’s 06:00 from Halifax to Leeds en-route to London to join day 2 of the Railtex/Infrarail trade fair in London.

195128 arrives at Halifax on the 06:00 to Leeds

It’s a busy time that’s being made far more complex than I’d have liked by the fact so many things are hsppening at once (fairs, press trips and HS2 protester evictions) and to put the cherry on the cake I’ve got ‘technical issues’. The local cable network went down last night – just as my laptop was installing new updates. Now the machine’s having an attack of the vapours which means I’ll have to take it back to factory settings then waste a whole day reinstalling programmes and software on the damned thing! Ho bloody hum! On the bright side, I had time to copy all my files off the machine (just in case) as I’ve learned that the wifi being kaput is the first sign of issues.

So, this blog’s being brought to you courtesy of my smartphone. The weather’s doing its best to add to the gloom as it’s wet and miserable here in the Pennines snd it’s meant to be the same in London where I’m heading. Oh, and I’m also ‘cream crackered’ due to yet another early start after a late night trying to sort out the laptop. Still, as the old saying goes – you can sleep when you’re dead!

Moan over I’m actually looking forward to the next few days. There’s lots to see/do and friends and colleagues to catch-up with. But first, I have to get there…

07:15.

My transfer at Leeds between Northern and LNER was painless as everything was running to time so I had 20 mins to catch the 07:00 to London Kings Cross. This is the fast service that only stops at Wakefield Westgate before running non-stop to the capital, arriving into London at 09:00. LNER run another (slower) departure just 15 mins later which stops at Doncaster Grantham and Stevenage to arrive in London 30 mins behind the 07:00.

Today the train’s quiet. I’m relaxing at a table in coach C where I’m going to try and grab a little more sleep. See you later…

07:25.

So much for sleep! The Train Manager’s just announced we’re stopping at Doncaster where the trains terminating at Doncaster due to cable theft on the line “further down South”. No-one’s any idea what’s happening but the 07:15’s cancelled too…

07:45.

Well, I didn’t expect to be in Doncaster today! Apparently, the theft of signalling cable is between Peterborough and Stevenage, which screws up any chance of diverts via Lincoln. The station staff did a very good job of keeping disgruntled passengers informed and a plan B was soon put in place as LNER tickets are been accepted for travel to London on the Midland route from Sheffield to St Pancras – which is why I’m now sat on a Trans-Pennine Express 185 heading for Sheffield. Judging by how empty the rear set is some people are taking their chances that the ECML will reopen quickly, but as it’s cable theft I’m not risking it.

LNER passengers streaming off the 07:00 to catch unfamiliar traction to Sheffield…

Many didn’t bother heading for the rear of the two sets. I did!

08:25.

The miserable weather’s followed me to Sheffield where I’ve swapped to a rather battered and careworn East Midlands Railway 5-car diesel ‘Meridian’ – a far cry from the smart LNER ‘Azuma’ trains we had to abandon at Doncaster.

Needless to say, the train is very busy as it’s the only way for folks to get to London right now.

14:45

Well, that’s been an interesting few hours but not in any way that I expected. By the time I arrived in the capital I was running over two hours late. Plus, the weather was crap. Taking stock, I made a series of phone calls that meant I didn’t need to be at Infrarail after all. Whilst I’m going to miss catching up with some people I’ve had different priorities to think about. Plus, I’m going to be back in London again tomorrow anyway as I’ve now got a ministerial site visit in the calendar…

So, instead of looking at an arena full of sales stands I quickly nipped over to London Victoria for a last chance to get shots of some of the old ‘Southern’ Class 455s before they disappear after next weeks timetable change. Whilst I was at Ebury St I bumped into an old friend, the former Editor of The Railway Magazine – Chris Milner – who’d had the same idea as me!

Shots in the can I made my way back to Kings Cross to ponder my next move and see what the options were. East Coast services were still disrupted with services to most Yorkshire destinations canned through cancellations so heading back before rush hour and whilst I could seemed like the most sensible plan. I’m now sat on the 13:30 from Kings Cross to Edinburgh which I’ve been using as a mobile hospital whilst I nurse a sick laptop back to health. So far, so good. Restoring it to factory settings has cured the glitches and allowed me to connect to the internet (hence you reading this) but I’ve a long evening ahead of me reinstalling a multitude of programmes to restore full functionality ready for another busy tomorrow. Still, at least I’ll be able to have a good night’s kip tonight!

I’ve a 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. Berlin – the return…

10 Tuesday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Berlin, Germany, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

04:50 (German time).

Ach – is it that time already? We’ve had a fabulous few days here in Berlin, which is why I’ve not been blogging. There’s been too much to see and do rather than sit down and write especially as the weather’s been so glorious, but right now it’s time to head to the airport for an early flight and return to the sceptic isle, which means I’ll blog about how our trip goes. Our German friend is rather critical of the new Berlin airport as she has to use it regularly for work. For us it seems like a breath of fresh-air after our experiences at Manchester (which we’ve all sworn we’ll never use again if we can possibly help it) so we’ll see what it’s like this time…

I’ve been so busy I’ve not even downloaded any of the pictures from my camera yet, so here’s a mobile phone picture from my solo travels yesterday when I left the rest of the group to their own devices so I could explore some places I’d not not explored before – and some that I had.

Right now it’s time to top up the caffeine levels before catching our ride to the airport. Back soon…

08:15 (German time).

We’re now sitting air-side waiting for our flight to be called. This airport is a breeze compared to Manchester. The Ryanair check in in Terminal 2 was fully staffed – and with happy proactive people who actually offered to help rather than waiting to be asked. The self check in machines all worked and so did the conveyor belts (with hand-held scanners so you could register your luggage). We were through in minutes. Security was equally efficient and the fact that my camera bag was held for a manual check (it nearly always is) didn’t slow us down.

Right Manchester, THIS is how you do it…

My only complaint was the shopping area isn’t fully open so the choice of eateries was very limited. Still, we managed coffees, croissants and sandwiches so all’s well with the world. Now we’re plane-spotting with grandstand views of the runway.

09:45 (German time).

Our ride home’s arrived!

15:30 (UK time).

Home again! This time, getting through Manchester Airport was relatively painless, even if the weather was almost as wet as when we were here last week. We weren’t detained at immigration or baggage reclaim so made it through pretty quickly. The bus pick-up worked well and we soon in Aubrey’s car for the drive through to West Yorkshire – although conditions on the M62 were wet (to say the least). Now the pair of us are back at Bigland Towers getting used to the sudden change in temperature after balmy Berlin! This isn’t the end of the journey for me as tomorrow I’ll be in London at the Infrarail trade fair and I have stuff planned for Thursday which will keep me blogging on another favourite topic – the HS2 railway, but until then I’ll bid you auf Wiedersehen!

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

Thank You!

Rolling blogs. Berlin day 1…

07 Saturday May 2022

Posted by Paul Bigland in Berlin, Food and drink, Germany, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Food and drink, Germany, Musings, Photography, Rolling blogs, Travel

09:30.

We’ve had an easy start to the day due to arriving so late last night. We’d not made any plans for our first day anyway but whilst we were en-route I was in contact with a German friend and colleague who lives here in Berlin. Ellen has arranged to meet us for lunch. I’d suggested the group might like to try somewhere traditionally German, so we’re off to Sophieneck in Hackescher Markt.

The weather here in Berlin is gorgeous and such a contrast to rainy, gloomy Manchester. It’s warm and sunny and ideal for a walking tour of the city. I’ve been coming to Berlin regularly for many years now but Dawn (who used to live in Germany many years ago) hasn’t been for 20 years and the rest of the gang are city virgins. It should make for an interesting day…

23:30.

Well, that was a pretty crap rolling blog, wasn’t it? We’ve had such a fun time and seen so much that blogging was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I’ll flesh this out in the morning as I’ve a bit of time before we meet to head out and explore on day 2. Instead, I’ll leave you with a picture of the day – from today).

To me decent, energy efficient and user- friendly public transport is the epitome of a good city. Here’s one of Berlin’s modern low-floor trams which are exactly that.

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

Thank You!

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Paul Bigland

~ Blogging on transport, travel & whatever takes my fancy.

Category Archives: Rolling blogs

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