Category Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling (ish) blog: Manchester travels…

05 Friday Jul 2019

Posted by in I love my job, Lancashire, Manchester, National Rail Awards, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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08:10.

It’s day two of working for Network Rail’s ASPRO (Asset Protection) team and this time the focus is on the Manchester area, so I’m on my way to meet them at NR’s Square 1 offices next to Piccadilly station. This is a ‘local’ job so I’m not encumbered with my overnight kit, which makes my bags a bit lighter!

I’ve caught Northern’s 08:06 service from Sowerby Bridge to get to across the Pennines. Made up of a Class 150/156 pairing it’s a surprisingly quiet train. I can only assume the holiday season’s in full swing. Needless to say, I’ve plumped for the 156 where I’m almost the only passenger in the rear car.

Unlike London where it’s meant to be even hotter than yesterday, it’s relatively cool here in the Pennines at 19 degrees with a blanket of high level cloud. At least I won’t have to cope with any harsh shadows today.

We’ve got a very busy schedule and plenty of sites to visit today so I’ll blog as and when I can. Hopefully there’ll be a few interesting pictures to add, although I don’t think I’ll be able to compete with the dramatic skyline pictures I took in London that are displayed in yesterday’s blog!

08:34.

We’ve now passed under the Pennines into Lancashire and our trains beginning to fill up with passengers from stations on the way like Littleborough and Smithy Bridge. Rochdale always provides a good crop of commuters so I expect we’ll be pretty full by then. This service is bound for Southport so it’ll probably be picking up the ‘bucket and spade brigade’ from Manchester.

22:28.

That went well then! Very sorry for the complete absence of blog updates. That’s partly because we were really busy and partly because not everything went to plan. Anyways, here’s a couple of pictures that give you a flavour of the assets we were looking at today.

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Brick arches at Salford. Below them is a compound for building new residential housing right next to the railway. 

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A new rail bridge over the A6

 

Rolling (ish) blog: London travels…

04 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in Engineering, I love my job, London, Network Rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:40.

I’m at Twickenham station after completing the first assignment with Network Rail’s ASPRO (Asset Protection) team where we visit the project you can see in the background to this picture.

This is the new station building that also contains flats and shops. It’s a complex project built astride the operational railway that’s due for completion next year. We’re now off to have a look at a similar project in Kew.

13:09.

Wow! That was interesting. You get to go to all sorts of places in this job. This triangular site is bounded by three railway lines. On one of them sits Kew Bridge station (just off the the left of this picture). Around the triangle’s a vast housing development that also includes Brentford Town’s new 17,000 seat stadium. It was originally planned to be 20,000 but this would have overhung the operational railway and proved to be difficult to maintain, so was scaled back.

15:52.

Next up was Vauxhall. Wait till you see some of the other pictures I took from the roof of this new 27 storey development!

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Like this, looking at Vauxhall station in a way you never normally get to see it – unless you’re in a plane!

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16:20.

Now I’m in Stratford, an area I knew well as I lived and worked near here for 11 years. I have to say, where we are now I wouldn’t recognise at all. The only thing that still remains is the railway from Stratford heading up to Lea Bridge. Everywhere you look new housing has sprung up.

18:49.

After a long, hot and sweaty day I’m heading back North on LNER’s 18:33 to Bradford Forster Sq. This is still worked by a Class 91 and Mk4 set, but they’re showing their age. This set is missing coach D, which is causing a few problems. Plus, both ovens in the buffet are kaput and the PA’s on the blink!. That said, the Train Manager’s doing an excellent job keeping passengers informed. He’s pointed out that the first stop is Stevenage, where (normally) at least 100 people will leave the train, so there should be plenty of seats available (he was right by the way).

21:05.

I’m on my last leg, if not my last legs! The journey up to Leeds was pretty good. I managed to get a bit of work done on the train but also had time to collect my thoughts for a bit and enjoy the scenery for a while, which is a rare treat.

Now I’m on Northern’s 21:08 from Leeds to Huddersfield via Halifax which is made up of a two-car 144 and 150 lash-up which were joined in the station as I arrived. I suspect they’re heading to Huddersfield for stabling overnight. For old times sake I’m travelling on 144009 as Pacer withdrawals start this month and soon, they’ll be all gone.

Rolling blog: Off again…

03 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in I love my job, London, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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12:12.After a busy morning catching up on paperwork and checking and packing my PPE ready for tomorrow and Friday I’m getting ready to head down to London. The weather forecast is looking promising, so I can travel a bit lighter for a change. Let’s see how the day goes…13:38.I’m on the move after walking down into Sowerby Bridge. It’s a gorgeous day for a stroll, or it would be if I wasn’t carrying both the camera bag and a rucksack full of PPE!I caught a Leeds train, the 13:23 via Brighouse which is running 7 minutes late. It’s made up of a pair of refurbished Class 150s which are mostly empty this time of day. If anyone’s any sense they’ll have taken the day off to enjoy the sunshine!It makes a change to be heading for Leeds without a reversal at Bradford. I’m also enjoying the different scenery. The line through Brighouse to Mirfield is a shadow of it’s former self. Once it was four tracks all the way from ‘brig’, with massive goods yards and a vast amount of freight traffic along with a large steam locomotive depot at Mirfield, one of the last to close in the UK. The site is now a housing estate that was built in the last decade.Some of the towns haven’t fared much better, such as nearby Dewsbury (although it still has a lovely station and great station bar) and Batley, once renowned for its variety club and all the famous names that played there. Now, it’s infamous for the awful murder of Batley & Spen MP Jo Cox by a far-right fanatic.What Batley does have is one of the last surviving signal boxes in this part of the world, which protects a small level crossing to the East of the town. I’ll add a picture later.14:43.I’ve enjoyed a short break in Leeds in the sunshine, now I’m heading South bit by bit. First off is LNER’s 14:45 to Kings Cross which is worked by one of the companies fleet of HSTs that will soon be replaced by Azuma’s. The HSTs replacement on Intercity services is sounding the death knell for something that dates back to the dawn of the railways. The slam door…The HSTs that will remain in service are being converted to power operated doors, meaning the remaining slam door stock will be operated by charter operators and a couple of the freight companies like DB who lease them out to one or two operators like Scotrail, Abellio and Transport for Wales but they’ll be history on intercity services17:12.Far later than I expected due to technical issues with dealing with last minute picture requests, I’m now speeding south from Doncaster on another LNER service from Leeds, only this one’s a crowded and toasty Mk4 set. The air conditioning is struggling in my coach (F) but it’s the only one I could find a free airline seat in. Despite that, the crew have been great.All I can say is I’m glad I’m not dressed in full PPE (other than boots, which are easier to wear than carry) and I can dress down and pretend this is a local train in Thailand. Well, apart from the sights, sounds and smells, obviously!18:21.I abandoned my LNER service at Stevenage which offers a very handy connection to cross-London Thameslink services. The days of having to fight your way from terminal to terminal via the London Underground have dropped dramatically and will do so even more when Thameslink finally opens.20:18.OK, I admit I dallied in old haunts in central London for half an hour as the weather was so perfect. I bailed out of my Thameslink service at Blackfriars after seeing the stunning weather. I couldn’t resist a short walk aking the south bank just see see how the ever changing skyline of the ‘square mile’ looks like now.

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Mind you, it’s not just the city. After my stop-off I continued on to the rebuilt London Bridge station before heading back to Waterloo, where my train to Feltham was leaving from platform 24. Hang on a minute – 24? Yep, one of the old Eurostar platforms.

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See you tomorrow!

Rolling blog: different strokes…

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, I love my job, New trains, Northern Rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel, West Yorkshire

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08:05.

Today’s an important one for Northern Rail as 9 of their new CAF built trains are used in passenger service for the very first time. So I’m off to do two things, get pictures of them and also visit a community rail project that involves them.They day’s not started well. The hot and sticky weather we had on Saturday has given way to wind and unexpected drizzle, which make the walk to the station fun. Northern aren’t having much luck with Calder Vally services this morning either. I’m on the late-running 07:45 which didn’t leave Halifax until 08:01. Despite the fact it’s a 3-car Class 158 it’s rammed!

08:17.

We’ve just left Bradford Interchange and it’s sardine conditions aboard now! 11 of us are crammed into the cab end vestibule and we’ve not even got to New Pudsey yet!

08:26.

We’ve just left New Pudsey and there’s now 14 of us crammed into the vestibule! There’s hardly an inch of floor left free as we’ve taken as many onboard as we can but still left some behind. The atmosphere’s stoic – and humid! I’ll be glad to get to Leeds…

09:21.

Due to the crush the train doors seemed to open with a louder pop than normal when we reached Leeds. Grateful to be in the cool I’m now on something very different – a Class 331 in public service. It’s 331106 on the 09:21 to Doncaster.

13:11.

Having visited Fitzwilliam station to see the unveiling of the new artwork on the adjacent footbridge. Here’s a sample. I’ll add the pictures I took on my camera later but it’s a great bit of work that’s full of interest as many of the windows contain pictures of the area.

Update, here’s a couple of camera pictures.

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Afterwards I headed back to Leeds to grab a few more Class 331 pictures before heading across the Pennines to Manchester to catch the Class 195s in action. We’re just approaching Manchester Victoria now. The weather’s a bit better over here in the the clouds are interspersed with blue sky and sunshine. Most of my time on the train was spent editing the pictures from this morning, so I had little time to enjoy the views.

14:07.

I’m now in position on the corridor linking Piccadilly and Oxford Rd stations as it’s an interesting backdrop to the railway and all the Class 195 diagrams are filtered through it. So far I’ve managed to capture two Northbound units, one Barrow bound, the other off to Liverpool.

16:12.

Time to go home! I’ve had a successful day in Manchester as even the sun played ball in some if the pictures. I’ll upload a few later. Now I’m at Piccadilly, making my way home via the Colne valley rather than the Calder.

22:25.

Sorry for the huge gap. I was hoping to stop off on the way and use the wifi in the Stalybridge buffet bar but the weather was so nice I ended up enjoying a quiet pint outside. I’ve been back at home several hours and spent the past few editing pictures, so here they are.

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331106 waves it’s way through the maze of tracks to the West of Leeds station with a service from Doncaster. On arrival it formed the 09:21 back to Doncaster.

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The honour of being the first Class 195 to carry fare-paying passengers fell to 195116, which left Barrow around 5am. It’s seen here between Piccadilly and Oxford Rd stations in Manchester whilst working 1C55, the 1329 Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness.

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Here’s 195121 working 1U97, the 1353 Barrow-in-Furness to Manchester Airport

Right, that’s all from me tonight folks. I’m working from home tomorrow, so expect to see a few more photos on my Zenfolio website.

 

Rolling blog: Doncaster detour…

27 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by in I love my job, Northern Rail, Photojournalism, RAIL magazine, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport

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08:48.I’m on my way from Halifax to Doncaster for a Rail Safety week presentation at DB Cargo’s offices. My first train if the day is Northern’s 08:44 to Leeds, which is worked by a Class 150/153 combo. I’ve plumped for the better all round visibility of the 153, which is busy but not rammed. The only problem with these units is there’s very little leg-room in the airline-style seats.

Today should be an interesting event as it deals with mental health well-being and my old friend, RAIL writer Richard Clinnick is speaking. I’ve already had a busy day as I was up at 6am to polish an article I’ve written for RAIL about the ‘3 Peaks by Rail challenge’.

09:47.

I’m now ensconced in the quiet coach in LNER’s 09:45 to Kings Cross as far as Doncaster. Leeds station was busy with inbound commuters who moved like a shoal of scared fish through the barriers only to break in different directions due to changes in the concourse layout. The entrance to the concourse has been widened by removing the old ‘Upper Crust’ cafe and a new gateline is being installed further back from the platforms. The whole area’s a building site at the moment as it’s dotted with scaffolding holding up the decking from which the new roof’s being installed.

I’m travelling on a Mk4 set as this service hasn’t yet gone over to ‘Azuma’ operation, although that won’t be for much longer…

11:14.

I’m now at the DB offices at Donny and the first session today is about Defibrillators.

16:30.

Wow! That was an even more interesting day than I expected. I’ll blog more about it later when I can download my camera pictures. Right now I’m heading back to Leeds aboard one of LNERs brand new ‘Azuma’ trains. They’re quite impressive as they’re fast, the ride quality’s far better than the old Mk4 sets and the legroom in the airline seats is very good. Oh, the seat reservation system’s rather good too as it has coloured lights to indicate if seats are free or reserved.

18:00.

My final train’s just pulled out of Bradford Interchange en-route to Halifax on a glorious summer’s evening. What a day to have been cooped up inside an office! That said, I did manage to get a few library shots in the sunlight which I’ll add to my website soon. But not tonight as Dawn and I are out with friends enjoying bar food at the Moorcock Inn at Norland Moor. If I don’t get told off for being anti-social I might add a couple of restaurant pictures later. If not – expect another rolling blog tomorrow as I’ll be back in Doncaster for a press event.

Rolling blog: Pembrokeshire travels by rail.

20 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by in Photography, Pubs, Railways, Rolling blogs, Station buffets, Transport, Travel, Wales

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My plans changed today at the last moment so I find myself sampling the railways of Pembrokeshire, starting out at Pembroke Dock.I’d no idea what to expect as I’d never been here before, so I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the old station building was not only intact – it was also in use as a bar and restaurant! In fact, it has been for the past 26 years, which is pretty good going when you consider the train service is one every two hours! The station Inn is one of those rare beasts nowadays as it’s also a live music venue (I’ll add a link to them later). There’s also a seating area outside for those who want to catch a bit of sun, which is what we’ve got today.

The sparse train service is relaxed to say the least as there’s a long turnaround time here. The inbound working arrived at 12:23 and it’s not due out until 13:09. I’m assuming there must be a crew messroom in the station building somewhere.

13:25

I’m now pootling my way along the branch which is actually very pretty as we pass castles, backyards and countryside whist stopping at a variety of single platform stations and level crossings where our driver still makes liberal use of the train horn – something that’s forbidden on many parts of the network due to complaints from those living alongside the line.13:44.We’ve now left Tenby, the major station on the line. It’s a town I’d never visited until this week but I can see the attraction. It has an interesting history, lovely beaches and good places to eat. Sadly, it’s a bit of a beer desert! Tony’s one of those towns that’s been taken over by the curse of ‘Doom Bar’. In many pubs it’s the only real ale you can find, which is why the arrival of the Tenby Harbour Brewery has been such a saviour!14:51.I’m now kicking my heels in Whitland, which is the junction for the Pembroke Dock line and the routes to Milford Haven and Fishguard. The station has two platforms, a BR(W) era signal box and rudimentary passenger facilities.

The single-storey modern station building is used as a base for Network Rail. At least there’s a platform canopy. Passengers on the Westbound platform have to make do with two bus shelters.

15:46.

I’m now on the 15:44 from Whitland which is heading for Milford Haven from Manchester. When you think about it, that’s quite a long trip. I wonder how many passengers (if any) do it point to point?

The line’s double track as far as Clarbeston Rd where the two lines diverge. The junction’s still controlled by an old GWR brick built signal box. The landscape around here puts me very much in mind of Devon & Cornwall, it’s gently rolling hills and rural nature are very similar, although they have a far better train service!

16:14.

Wer’e now West of Haverfordwest, a two platform station whose brick built buildings look like they date from the early 1950s. Unlike many stations it still sports a goods yard, although I’m pretty certain it’s only used by the occasional engineers train.

16:58.

I’ve arrived at Milford Haven, just over a mile from where I started. It’s another badly truncated branch line that’s seen far better days. After getting a few shots at the station (most if which is now shops) I’ve wandered through the harbour to explore. The inner harbour basin’s full of yachts whilst the quayside is lined with mock warehouse buildings that are a mixture of residential and retail. It’s a far cry from the harbours origins as a massive fish dock. I’m observing all thus from a modern restaurant/bar called The ‘Harbourmaster’ which straddles the yacht basin and the real docks on the other side of the river under the former refineries. The fact they’re mothballed now is evident from their chimneys which are all dead. Tankers still dock her, but only to fill the storage tanks on land.

Rolling blog: a new adventure begins…

16 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by in 3 peaks by rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, Wales

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09:39.

The 3 peaks by rail adventure’s over for another year and no doubt many of us are still on a bit of the high as it’s such an amazing experience to be part of. Here’s the Railway Children team on the train last night. For once, I’m actually in the picture, rather than taking it. Everyone’s hard work has raised over £225,000 for the charity.

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Last night I stayed in a hotel in Crewe as I’m on the move again today, this time to join my wife Dawn and her parents down in Pembrokeshire, where we’ve booked a holiday cottage for a few days. It’s going to take me most of the day to get to Carmarthen, where they’re meeting me, as my first train off Crewe isn’t until 11:11. I’ll blog about the trip as part of it is on the scenic Central Wales line from Shrewsbury to Llanelli.

11:20.

Not a great start to the day. Apart from the fact it’s bloody cold here in Crewe my first trip has turned into a bit of a farce. I’m catching Transport for Wales’s 11:11 to Shrewsbury. It starts at Manchester Piccadilly and terminates at Newport but for some reason there’s had to be a set swap at Crewe. Cue the usual confusion and melee of passengers as people transferred between the two sets, even though the terminating train drew up right behind the other in the same platform. We ended up leaving 12 minutes late, which is making my connection at Shrewsbury rather tight with no time to stock up on food as there’s no trolley service on the 12:04 to Swansea. Luckily I’d planned for such eventualies and kept back a couple of cereal bars from the 3 peaks trip!

The TfW Class 175 I’m on has definitely seen better days. The seals on a several of the windows have gone, leaving them covered in moisture and virtually impossible to see out of, It’s also full of litter left behind by previous passengers. All in all, it doesn’t give a good impression.

12:00.

I needn’t have worried about my connection! I did a bit of checking at it seems the stock to form the 12:04 comes empty from Crewe where it’s been serviced at the Arriva depot there. It’s following on behind us, so it’s late too!

12:15.

We’re off! Possibly because the Great Western Main Line in Wales is closed for electrification works so there’s the dreaded ‘bustitution’ this service is full and standing. Here’s the scene on the platform at Shrewsbury before our train rolled in…

Mind you, as the 12:04 is worked by a single-car Class 153, that’s not too difficult. I’ll be on this train for the next 3hrs 32mins, all the way to Llanelli, where the Heart of Wales line joins the main line to Swansea.

12:30.

Fist stop was Church Stretton, a place Lynn and I used to come to for walking holidays as it’s an ideal base to explore the nearby Long Mynd and some of the other surrounding hills. We continued South down the double track main line as far as Craven Arms. This is the junction where the Heart of Wales line branches off, cutting through rural Wales to reach Llanelli. You know you’re on a country railway straight away by the noise as much of the line still uses jointed track and the noise the wheels make as they pass over is very distinctive.

To compliment my trip and make it more interesting the weather’s picked up. We’ve got a combination of stormclouds, sunshine or cotton-wool clouds.

Having passed through several request stops or first fall’s been Knighton. The station has a passing loop so we have to stop there for the driver to collect the token for the next single track section.

A few miles further on we called at Knucklas, a tiny station and small village that’s famous for its attractive stone viaduct with its castellated ends. I stayed here many years ago to get pictures and I really should come back to update them one day.

13:43.

We’ve arrived in Llandrindod Wells where we’re passing a Northbound service operated by a Class 150. The town’s one of the biggest on the line. There’s no wifi on the train and the phone reception’s pretty ropey around here so expect gaps to this blog!

16:04.

I’ve changed trains at Llanelli (God, it’s rough), now I’m heading to Carmarthen. I ran out of time and wifi to describe the beauty of some of the Heart of Wales line but I’ll certainly be visiting again soon. Right now I’m looking forward to discovering at least one new line as I’ve never travelled on any of the routes West of Carmarthen before which is a unique situation for me. Over the years I’ve travelled 95% of the UK rail network but always managed to miss this corner.

The good weather I had in the North of Wales hasn’t been replicated down in the South. Instead it’s cold, wet and windy. Even so, it’s lovely to follow the coast here. The industrial dereliction’s been left behind to be replaced by narrow beaches decorated with driftwood and wading birds. Finally we leave the coast behind to head up the side of a narrowing estuary that leads us into Carmarthen, where (hopefully) the others will be waiting for me.

Rolling blog: 3 peaks by rail, day 3.

15 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by in Charities, Railways, Rolling blogs, Scotland, The Railway Children, Uncategorized

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03:48.

Here’s a bleary eyed good morning from the West Highlands! After a fitful night’s sleep we were woken up by the train crew volunteers who served tea, coffee and croissants along with hot bacon rolls. We’re due into Fort William at 04:19, when the fun begins. I’ll keep you posted…

05:33.

All the teams are on the mountain, the base camp is established and the banners and finishing line is being set up. Here’s some scenes at departure.

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The Rail Delivery Group team in good spirits as they begin their climb. From L-R Robert Nisbet, Jac Starr, Naomi Rial and Paul Plummer

The weather’s wet but the rain’s light and it’s forecast to cease later on. Now it’s just a question of waiting for anyone returning injured until the first teams make it back, which is normally around 10:00. That’s when my work starts as we get individual team photos one they’ve crossed the finish line, registered their time & checked in their kit.Here’s how the mountain looks right now.

Rather than hang around and be midge bait I’m going to walk into Fort William for a few hours.

07:07.

I’m now sat at Fort William station (which has just opened), using their free wifi to update the blog after having had a wander around the town. It’s not exactly the most exciting place at the best of times, but at 06:30 it’s deserted. I did find one thing of interest. A statue dedicated to the name whom, in 1911 drove a model-T Ford to the top of Ben Nevis!

Once the station opened I had chance for a mooch around with the camera and caught one of the two Class 37s that are hauling our 3 peaks train. As there’s too many coaches to fit on the platform one of the loco’s is detached to create a bit of extra space.

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07:52.

I’ve moved on to the local McDonalds, which is where we take the walking wounded. There’s four of them from various teams, all somewhat dispirited, but not wanting to spoil their team-mates chance of succeeding. I’m sipping a much-needed caffeine (I got very little sleep last night) whilst I download a few more pictures to the blog. My time will be cut short as I’ve just had a call from Katie Mason, the Railway Children’s events organiser. The first team is expected down off the mountain by 09:30, so I need to head back in an hour.

09:56.

The first team (from DRS) crossed the finish line at 09:26.

19:54.

Sorry for the gap in blogging, but it’s been a day full of challenges for us all – not least physical one of the teams who’ve climbed the three peaks, but also the mental ones of the folk who’ve organised all the logistics. Either way, everyone’s knackered due to the level of commitment- and the lack of sleep!

We’ve had a fantastic day and we’ve got everyone off the mountain off safe – and raises a huge amount of money for the Railway Children. The different skill groups involved in such a complex event have worked brilliantly – and not for the first time

Rolling blog: 3 Peaks by rail. Day 2

14 Friday Jun 2019

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03:52.

Morning folks! At 03:30 our train sprung to life. People are waking up and springing into action as we’re on the move, heading back to Bangor to rendezvous with the walkers who are being bussed back from Snowdon.Dawn’s just breaking and the weather’s improved. There’s been no rain since we left Crewe yesterday, although as we head East the cloud is getting thicker and darker. Let’s see what the day brings…

04:18.

The train’s arrived at Bangor. Now we await the walkers, who should arrive in the next few minutes.04:42.All the climbers are back, on the train and we’re ready to leave. Due to the conditions it was a very tough climb and descent. A few folk are already limping, so I expect our on-board doctor and the two sports therapists will be busy for the next few hours.Whilst the weary walkers strip of their wet kit and relax, the volunteers are busy serving tea and coffee. Virgin chef, Ian Joesbury, who’s worked on every single one of these trains is preparing a cooked breakfast.

05:32.

The train’s approaching Chester and the two catering cars are a hive of activity as breakfast’s being cooked and 200 rounds of bread are being buttered to make sandwiches for packed lunches. It’s a production line where everyone knows their job. Here’s Molly laying out the breakfast platter, ready to be served.

Meanwhile, in the climbers coaches, people try to rest and get some sleep.

06:43.

We’re just approaching Preston, most people (apart from the train crew) are asleep or dozing. The weather’s taken a turn for the worse. It’s dark, wet and misty with visibility down to a few hundred metres. This time of morning the station’s almost deserted but we’ve stopped to drop off some rubbish and pick up a few more supplies.

07:17.

Breakfast is being served in the front three coaches. Meanwhile, climbers are still resting or getting ready in the back three.

08:35.

The train’s a hive of activity as everyone gets ready to hike. The weather’s broken and we’ve actually got patches of blue sky and broken cloud!

09:00.

We’ve swapped our mainline train for the narrow gauge ‘lil ratty’ to carry us from Ravenglass to Eskdale. We seem to have a rather unusual driver…

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11:48.

The teams are long gone from Dalegarth now and many have already started climbing Scafell. This year my job’s been different. We’ve had the potential to get some national newspaper coverage so my role was to get shots of the teams starting off, then hot-foot it back to the railway station café to use the wifi and get shots out to our PR people. I’ll catch up with everyone else later.

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12:34.

I don’t know what the weather’s like at the top of Scafell, but it’s bright and sunny where I am right now! Pictures emailed, I’m just waiting for my lift back to join the others at Scafell.

21:16.

It’s been a very long day with little chance to blog as we’ve spent most of the day in areas with no mobile phone coverage, never mind wifi access!

We’re now on the train on our way to the final mountain (Ben Nevis). Right now we’re at Carlisle whilst there’s a crew change on the train. The onboard crew served a fantastic two course meal to the weary climbers, many of whom have already hit the sack as we have a 4am start tomorrow. Here’s our train arriving at Ravenglass to pick us up after being serviced at Barrow.

DG325656. 37419. 37402. Ravenglass. 14.6.19.crop

21:55.

We’re currently being held at Lockerbie and it’s time for me to call it a day. As usual, it’s been a brilliant one, even if slogging up fells with a 10kg camera bag (never mind all the other kit) is a young man’s game. I’ve really enjoyed the experience and will share more photos just as soon as I can. Stay tuned for day 3…

Rolling blog: it’s going to be a long day…

10 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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11th June. As promised, I’ve added a few more pictures and comments to this blog.

04:30.

I’m sipping my first coffee of the day, getting ready to leave the house and head off to an assignment for RAIL magazine in Bedford, looking out of our bedroom window out over the Calder valley I’m relieved to see it’s not raining, although parts of the valley are obscured by low cloud. I only hope the weather’s good down South. Let’s see what happens…

06:00.

Here’s the view from my walk to the station this morning. It’s constantly changing and why I love living here. Sowerby Bridge is down there somewhere!

I’m now on the 06:00 to Leeds which is made up of a Class 150 & 153 combo. Even this time of the morning it’s busy with early morning commuters heading to work.

07:05.

Whilst changing trains at a bright and sunny Leeds I was greeted by one of LNER’s new ‘Azuma’ trains on test in an adjacent platform.

I was waiting for the 07:00 which is an LNER service that starts from Bradford Foster Square. I wasn’t the only one, the platform was packed!

This is obviously a popular service for business folk as it’s non-stop from Wakefield Kirkgate, getting into London just before 09:00.

08:31.

We’re not far from the metropolis now and I’ve just been for a wander. This train is absolutely rammed, despite it being a peak service! There’s bodies everywhere.

09:24.

My time in the capital was brief. I stayed long enough to walk from Kings Cross to the subterranean Thameslink platforms at St Pancras and catch a late running 09:06 to Bedford. Thameslink aren’t having a good day. Due to earlier problems there’s delays, skipped stops and even cancellations. I’m now on a very quiet 12 car Class 700 which is speeding through the rain and North London suburbs.

10:27.

I’m now at Bedford, having left my 12-car mass people mover for something a little smaller. A 2-car Class 230! It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it!

11:44.

Having met up with Pip Dunn earlier we’ve been busy putting the Class 230 through their paces from a passengers perspective. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL magazine. We were lucky that we’d decided to catch the 10:50 Bedford – Bletchley and 12:01 return as the next service has been cancelled due to a shortage of train crew! The outward train was really busy but the 20 minute layover gave me plenty of time to get shots of an empty train as most passengers don’t pitch up until just before departure. Personally, I’m quite impressed with the Class 230s, but let’s see what Pip says…

13:01.

Job done, I’m back at Bedford where the rain’s got even heavier! There’s no point in hanging around so I’m heading home up the Midland Main Line to check out progress on electrifying the line and hoping for better weather.

13:30.

I’m bowling along the MML towards Wellingborough and there’s plenty of progress with electrification. In fact, just a mile or so out of Bedford the wires are up for a short stretch. Elsewhere most of the masts have been installed and are gradually being fitted out. Four tracking’s progressing well too.

14:15.

I stopped off for a quick visit to Wellingborough to get some shots. It’s a lovely station. The original Midland Railway building is still in use and it has another couple of gems. One’s the old goods shed which still has its original interior.

At the opposite end of the platform is another gem, a tiny real ale bar in a building that’s seen several uses over the years, including a Home Guard ammunition store.

15:01.

I’ve moved further North, this time to a station I’ve never visited before. Most of it is also brand new! The original station building survives but the platforms, footbridge and shelters have only just been built at Market Harborough because the railways been realigned to improve line speeds. That said, the area’s a building site with much work still to do.

Here’s the view from the footbridge looking South, so – the opposite direction to the picture above.

DG325193. New platforms. Market Harborough. 10.6.19.crop

What remains is the original station building which is out of sight in this picture because it’s at a lower level. The building is Grade 2 listed and was built in 1884 by Hirst of Rugby.

DG325197. Station building. Market Harborough. 10.6.19.crop

Here’s the tiled entrance with the ticket counter and café.

DG325204. Ticket hall and cafe. Market Harborough. 10.6.19.crop

15:46.

Having changed trains at Leicester and been unfortunate enough to see Michael Gove on TV launching his bid for the Tory leadership (pure unicorn thinking) I’m now on my way to Sheffield. The weather’s still crap with leaden skies and heavy showers but at least I’m in the warm – and dry!

17:10.

We arrived in Soggy Sheffield 10 mins late. The weather’s lousy for pictures so I paid homage to the Sheffield Tap instead of taking the camera for a walk. From the comfort of the bar I could see that my next train was also late. I’d plumped for a 17:11 TPE service via Doncaster for one last chance to escape the rain and get some pictures. Problem was the delay kept growing, and growing. When the screens swapped from counting down minutes to just displaying ‘delayed’ a number of us bolted and headed for plan B – Northern’s 17:25 to Cleethorpes.

We shouldn’t have bothered. Just as we got to it over on platform 4 the TPE service rolled in, then was given priority over us. The words of ‘Dick Dastardly’ spring to mind… This ex-Scotrail Class 158 doesn’t have wifi either. On the bright side, it’s not too busy, whereas the TPE train looked rammed.

18:37.

We’re just passing through Wakefield on the way back to Leeds and no – the weather didn’t improve. It’s still chucking it down, so my hopes of getting decent pictures at Donny were dashed. It’s time to go home…

When I get there I’ll add a few more pictures to give a flavour of the day. I’m blogging on my phone right now so I don’t want to eat my data limit by posting more shots.

20:02.

We’re just pulling out of Bradford Interchange on the final trip of the day. It’s finally stopped raining so I’ll risk walking home. I’m pretty much going to be office bound tomorrow as I’ve loads of paperwork and pictures to sort out – and the weather forecast it awful. Plus, I need to start getting my kit ready for Thursday, when I join the other ‘Railway Children’ volunteers for the annual ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ charity fundraiser.

22:07.

I’m curled up in bed with the cat beside me after a long day although the weather and spending so much time aboard trains has cramped my exercise a bit, as my Fitbit score shows.

fitbit

As it’s been a long day and I’m ‘cream crackered’ I’ll add some more pictures to this blog (and also the Liverpool trip blog on Saturday) tomorrow. Until then, it’s goodnight from me…