Category Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling blog: A day out with HS2…

08 Tuesday Apr 2025

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

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07:30.

I’m not used to this anymore! I was rudely awoken by the alarm which I’d set for 06:30 – not something I’ve had to do for a while. The reson for getting up at such an hour is I need to get into Farnham to catch a train into London before heading North to Rickmansworth, ready for an HS2 railways site visit (more of which later). Darkest Tilford isn’t the easiest place to get to/from but Dawn’s kindly offered to give me a lift to the station. I’ll blog and post pictures throughout the journey and explain more about what it is I’ve been invited to see later…

08:15.

I’ve made it as far as Farnham on what’s a beautiful morning – but bloody chilly! The fields surround Tilford are coated in frost, which makes for a lovely vista. I’ve I wasn’t travelling I’d have been tempted to wander with the camera locally. As it is I’m now waiting for the 08:34 to take me to Guildford. Farnham station’s busy with commuters such as these who catching a direct service into the capital as I arrived.

08:45.

I’m now on the first train of the day, a virtually empty 4-car Desiro. It’s quiet as the set has just come empty out of the sidings where it reversed after working in from Guildford. Plus, a London direct train   runs ahead of it by just a few minutes.

Just 3 to a car…

09:20.

My plan to get a few quick pics at Guidford fell by the wayside when I ended up in conversation about railways with the Conductor of my train as he was intrigued as to how and why I was going to Rickmansworth (he’d noticed my ticket destination earlier). I nearly missed my connection as a result! Fortunately, the Waterloo train left from the adjacent platform. The 5-car Class 444 that formed it was already very busy, leaving few seats available to Guildford passengers. Apparently, vandalism at Portsmouth was causing delays and cancellations on our route, so I was probably lucky my train was on time.

Right now we’re speeding along the South-western main line, non-stop from Woking to Waterloo.

10:00.

After grabbing a few quick shots at Waterloo, I headed for the underground and a trip on the Bakerloo line, which has the oldest trains on the network. They should have been replaced years ago, but Transport for London has been strapped for cash, so these 40 odd year old trains soldier on, unloved and unkempt. They’re in a right old state inside and out. Riding the line’s reminiscent of the New York subway in the bad old days.

14:30.

I’m here at the HS2 Chiltern tunnel South portal where the porous portals that prevent sonic booms have bern completed.   They’re fascinating examples of civil engineering problem-solving – and an interesting optical illusion.

Inside the Southbound tunnel.
The portal itself.
Looking down on the Northbound portal. The air pressure holes and taper of the porous portal are more obvious.

18:15.

That was a really interesting day. Having the opportunity to talk to the engineers (male and female) who are responsible for designing and executing these major projects is a real privilege.

Having been deposited back at Rickmansworth station, I retraced my route back to London, stopping off on the way to get a few pictures at various stations along the line to Baker St.

Metropolitan line S stock in the turnback siding North of Harrow-on-the-Hill station.
Jubilee line trains pass at Finchley Rd.

Back at Waterloo I made time to check out the Railway Heritage trust exhibition outside the old Eurostar platforms. The trust are showcasing the import work they do helping to restore the UKs railway heritage with grants and advice on restoring station buildings and other items across the network.

I made one last stop at Clapham Junction to make the most of the glorious weather in order to capture images of the old Class 455 trains that are still in daily service despite being well past their sell-by date.

Who’d have thought these old girls would still be the mainstay of SWR suburban services in 2025!
A pair of SWR Desiros pass Clapham and head for Waterloo with London’s ever-changing skyline as a backdrop.

Right now I’m standing in a vestibule on the 18:02 from Clapham to Alton, which is absolutely rammed.

10 cars of human sardines. But I thought everyone worked from home nowadays?

18:30.

Thankfully, a large portion of my fellow passengers left at West Byfleet, which has allowed the rest of us to get seats – and me to charge my phone!

I’m reflecting on the fact today is my first (albeit brief) visit to London in 2025, which seems bizarre as it’s a city I called home for 25 years, but then Asia beckoned earlier this year and I answered the call.

21:10.

Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m back at Chez Platt in Tilford and winding down for the evening. I’ve added several more pictures from today but now Dawn and I are having some quality time together before another busy day tomorrow. See you then!

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

Rolling blog. Northbound again…

28 Saturday Dec 2024

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:30.

The Platt family festive southern sojourn is over. I’ve packed the car (fitting everything in was a minor Christmas miracle in itself), and we’ve left the chalet to call at Platt Mansions before beginning the journey North. There’s no room in the car for me so I’ll be heading back from Farnham by train. I’ll be blogging en-route and getting a few pictures as I do – so feel free to pop back later to see what I get up to…

11:40.

After getting a lift from Tilford to Farnham I’ve swopped from the infernal combustion engine to rail and caught the 11:28 to Guildford. There’s still no direct trains to London but that’s OK, I’m in no rush anyway. The weather here’s hardly conducive to photography. In fact, we’ve not seen the sun once since we got down here – just gray skies and fog so my photo opportunities are somewhat limited.

15:07.

Getting into London was interesting due to having to change at Guildford. Apparently, there’s Rugby on at Twickenham today which means the trains were even busier than normal. Clapham Junction was heaving as people changed trains to get to the ground.

Siemens Desiro 450119 arrives at Guildford to carry me and dozens of others to London.

In contrast, the underground’s Northern line from Waterloo to Euston was remarkably quiet. Euston itself soon made up for that. All parts of the station were heaving! Paddington station is closed for the next few days which means 4 GWR trains an hour are running to/from Euston from platforms 15 and 16, along with all the regulars. Plus, nearby St Pancras is shut to East Midlands Railway services, adding to the pressure.

Credit to Network Rail and TOC staff, things are running remarkably smoothly at Euston, despite the influx of bewildered passengers who’re not used to using the station.

I’m now on my way North after getting a few shots of activities at Euston. I’m on a late running Avanti service which is crawling its way North dues to overhead line damage in some unspecified place. We’re still South of Watford Junction and already 16 minutes behind time. What a day for such a problem to crop up…

15:45.

We’ve just left Milton Keynes 28 minutes late after being switched to the slow lines at Bourne End Junction in order to avoid the dewirement at Tring North Junction, which (Sods law) happened this morning. We were put back on the fast lines at Ledburn Junction and soon managed to reach linespeed. Hopefully, we may now be able to make up some time.

16:10.

As expected, we’re gradually pulling back minutes as we speed North through the thickening fog. We’ve left Rugby behind to join the Trent valley route. It’s in conditions like this train drivers really earn their money. 125mph at dusk with added fog is the test of anyone’s concentration, route knowledge – and skill.

16:50.

Our timekeeping went to pot again when we called at Stafford. The station’s far busier than usual as it’s being used to turn around trains in both Northerly and Southerly directions due to the fact Crewe South Junction and the ‘independent’ lines are closed to enable a new signalling system to be commissioned – hence my train having just passed Stone en-route to Crewe via the long way round through Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove.

17:45.

Crewe station was a shadow of its normal self due to the lack of trains – and passengers. Despite this, there was more confusion than you’d expect. Having checked my options on Real Time Trains I knew the best way to get to Manchester was aboard a Transport for Wales train that was running a shuttle service between there and Crewe. The only problem was the information screens were programmed to show it as ’empty to depot’ and neither enquiries with platform staff nor driver provoked a more informed response. However, the sheer weight of people turning up on platform 5 asking where their connection was provoked enough of a response that people were allowed to board. So, here we are, en-route to the rainy city…

19:15.

The last leg…

Whilst Dawn and her parents have beaten me in the car and stopped off in Honley for tapas, I’m still travelling. Well, that said, Dee’s got to get to her mum and dad’s and unpack their kit from car – which (after the way I packed it) may take some time – especially as it includes loads of Xmas prezzies including a dual-drawer air fryer!

Walking across Manchester city centre between Piccadilly and Victoria was entertaining as the place was packed with young people, many of whom seem to have decided to wear clothes in inverse proportion to the weather. It was like Newcastle had been cloned! With the place being so packed and me running late I wasn’t tempted to stop. I headed straight to Victoria and caught the first train heading across the Pennines. Now I’m back in the land where the word ‘No’ has a surplus of Os.

22:00.

Home again – and it’s time to bring the blog to a close with a few extra photos. I’ve added them in the relevant sections. Tomorrow’s going to be a quiet day, catcing up on some work whilst enjoying being at home. But after that…

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

Rolling blog. Southbound for Christmas…

23 Monday Dec 2024

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

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12:35.

It’s time to wave goodbye to Bigland Towers for a few days and head South to Surrey to join Dawn and the rest of the Platt family for Christmas. Whilst Dee and her folks drove down I stayed behind with the intention of doing some work but a knee injury put paid to those plans. Instead, I’ve been resting up in the hope my knee will appreciate the inactivity.

Now I’m on the move again, heading from Halifax to Leeds before swinging South to London. Needless to say, trains are very busy. I’m on a delayed service from Chester which was cut back to start from Manchester due to a fatality on the route earlier today.

A message you never want to see…

Sadly, someone’s family are going to be having an awful Christmas and some poor train driver will be left with memories they wished they hadn’t got.

13:15.

So far so good. I’m now on a packed 13:15 to Kings Cross that’s worked by on of LNER’s old warhorses, a Class 91 and Mk4 coach set.

15:15.

Time’s flown. I’ve been busy writing and not noticed the miles getting eaten up. We’re now South of Stevenage but running late, and getting later as we’ve lost our path so got trapped behind a Thameslink service on this two track section of the ECML. The weather here’s very gloomy compared to the sunshine I left behind in Yorkshire! I wonder what it’s like in Surrey? Hopefully the delays won’t impact on my arrival time there.

16:50.

Miracles will never cease – everything’s going to plan – despite hitting London late. As usual at this time of year, the capital’s crawling with people travelling here and there. Dodging families towing kids and suitcases becomes quite a task, especially on the underground. Despite not having lived here for nearly 15 years I still have the knack of negotiating my way through the melee. Having made it to Waterloo on the Northern line there was time to grab a snack before boarding my next train. I’m now on an 8-car SWR service heading for Guildford. The train’s packed but the clientele is mostly single people (no groups) heading home from work. Most are either dozing or staring at smartphones, making it a very solemn journey. The only buzz is the sound of the air-conditioning!

My last sleigh before Christmas. 450075 leads 450066 on a Guildford – Alton service.

19:45.

Journey’s end. Well almost. Dee picked me up from Farnham station, bringing me back to Platt Mansions where the family are preparing food for tonight and planning the next few days festivities, so I’ve been mucking in on kitchen duties. Now, with food almost ready I’ve been able to spend a few minutes downloading pictures to add to this blog.

22:25.

The day’s winding down. We’ve eaten and Dawn’s been busy working her culinary magic to make this gluten free Tiramisu for her nephew, Sam – who has his birthday 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

Rolling blog. More Christmas carousing…

20 Friday Dec 2024

Posted by in Food and drink, London, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:00.

I’m on my way to London again for part 2 of my festive celebrations with friends as a bunch of us are meeting for lunch. Getting there from West Yorkshire’s not as fraught today as the trains are mostly behaving themselves – it’s the people that aren’t! I’m currently on a Cross-Country service from Leeds heading Derby which is running 25 minutes late due to trespassers on the line in the Durham area. Ho hum! On the bright side, this service is a 9-car train the normal 4-car Class 220 is coupled to an ex-Avanti Class 221 which means that (for once) there’s no shortage of seats. Mind you, the holiday season’s already having an impact on rail traffic. Leeds station was strangely quiet this morning due to a dearth of commuters travelling into the city. I can only assume some people are already taking holiday time. I’ll be curious to see how busy London is as I’ve got to get over to Islington on the tube, unlike yesterday when I never strayed from the shadow of Euston station.

09:15.

We’ve left Sheffield considerably heavier than when we arrived due to an influx of passengers, many of whom seem to be young people with suitcases heading home for the holiday. Cross-Country’s passenger profile is always interesting due to the sheer number of University towns it serves and the expansiveness of its network, yet most journeys are (or used to be) less than 60 miles.

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

Rolling blog. Christmas carolling…

19 Thursday Dec 2024

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

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07:45.

I’m on my way to the annual railway Xmas carol concert in London, but as is so often the case, things haven’t exactly gone to plan. I was up before dawn (and Dawn) in order to give myself plenty of time travel, which is just as well. My walk to Halifax station was enjoyable as today’s a lovely morning, although the attraction waned once I arrived at the station to find the platforms choked with people. The information screens told a sorry tale of why. Every train was either delayed or cancelled due to one of several reasons. You could choose from lineside equipment failure, points failure or no traincrew being available. It didn’t really matter as the end result was the same.

Right now I’m on the 07:10 to Huddersfield, which is running nearly 20 mins late. To cap it all, the train thinks its running along the East coast between Middlesbrough and Newcastle via Sunderland!

Whilst the automated system is up the spout the human Conductor’s doing a sterling job of keeping people informed of their options for getting to Manchester as ticket acceptance for alternative routes is in operation.

09:20.

And relax! Having made it to Huddersfield I jumped on a TPE service to Manchester Victoria then walked across a soggy city centre to Piccadilly. The weather’s both damper and colder this side of the Pennines but as I’m not staying the fact the sky is full of threatening and broody clouds holds no dangers for me. Instead, I’m now tucked up in a warm, cosy Avanti Pendolino heading for Euston. It’s a busy train but I’ve a seat, working sockets and wifi which will allow me to be productive en-route.

As I passed through Piccadilly the station was playing host to two of the ex-West Midlands Class 323s which have been transferred to Northern. Here’s 323207 about to leave on 2K16, the 08:46 Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent.

11:10.

Having left Stafford 7 mins down we’ve clawed a couple back on our non-stop run from there to the capital. Time’s flown as I’ve been busy writing an article but we’re now passing through Kentish Town on a lovely sunny day – what a contrast to Manchester!

Not a vintage day at Euston. This service (the 11:30 to Glasgow) was cancelled due to a train failure – only to be reinstated a few minutes before it was due to depart.
That’s better! No ads – just information that you need to know.

20:15.

Riiigghhht – let’s try again. The next few pictures should have loaded on my way back up North, but for reasons only known to Gremlins, they didn’t.

The carols concert drew one of the biggest audiences most of us can remember.
Maggie Simpson, CEO of the Railfreight Group delivers one of the lessons.
The London’s Transport choir belting out some great Xmas carols
Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee was another of the readers.

20:30.

After sherry and mince pies in the church refectory a group of us retired to a local hostelry for further refreshments and the chance to catch up. Eventually, many of us departed to head off in different directions. For me, that meant catching another Pendolino back to Manchester. This one was delayed too but for a different reason – flooding around Macclesfield. Now, having strolled across the city centre to Victoria I’m on the last leg aboard a Northern service to Halifax. Normally, this train would be really busy but this close to Xmas many people are enjoying the festive season and office/work parties so travelling’s spread out.

Me? I’ll be glad to get home as I’ll be doing this all again tomorrow. Expect another blog from my travels to and from London. This time there’ll be no lessons and no carols – but there might be food pictures…

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

Rolling (ish) blog. Welsh wandering part 3 – and home…

11 Wednesday Dec 2024

Posted by in GCRE, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport for Wales (TfW), Travel, Wales

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07:15.

This will be an intermittent rolling blog as I’ll be spending much of the day at GCRE (see yesterday’s blog) with the team from Furrer and Frey before catching trains back to West Yorkshire, which is a long old trip taking almost 6 hours. Plus, phone reception from the middle of nowhere isn’t the best. Still, I’m sure that I’ll be able to keep you entertained. Right now it’s time for breakfast before we head out to the site to have a play with the variable height catenary that F&F have installed. Catch you later…

Furrer and Frey’s area on the GCRE short test track.

18:30.

I’m back!

As predicted, it’s been a long old day, but better than expected due to the weather picking up. The Baltic winds we suffered from yesterday had abated, temperatures were reasonable and the F&F team pretty much had the site to ourselves. The plan was to get a series of still and videos of the company’s project at GCRE whilst we could. The day went well and we managed to wrap up at a sensible time that meant we wouldn’t be heading home into the wee hours.

Part of my job was to put what F&F are doing into the context of the landscape as well as capture work on the OHL with a MEWP* as a prop. I also had time to show the splendid isolation of the site and how it gives excellent views of the nearby Brecon Beacons. Here’s a small selection of pictures.

Now this is what you call a trainset! Former Heathrow Connect units waiting to be used as test-beds once the 7km long circular test track is complete. Track panels which can be used to build it sit in wait…
Here’s an old OS map for context. Many of these pictures were taken around where the lettering saying ‘Nant Helen opencast coal mine’ are.
Looking North into the Brecon Beacons. The lighting was very moody today.
Coal mining may have finished but there’s still several of these massive Komatsu S3000 diggers on site. They’re gradually being resold to mining operations around the world.

Job done, a group of us got a lift to Swansea off a colleague where we went our separate ways. I caught a train to Cardiff where I had a short break to capture more of the changing face of the city’s railways in the build up to rush-hour. The new Stadler bi and tri modes are putting in appearances, such as this one.

Tri-mode 756117 (the last of the class) picks up passengers at Cardiff Central.

19:00.

Right now I’m on a slowly emptying 16:49 from Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly – only this time it’s going all the way. This 3-car Class 197 was packed from Cardiff as far as Hereford, where it slowly started to empty out. Even so, a healthy number of passengers joined en-route as far as Shrewsbury. It’s only now that I have the table bay where I’ve set up the mobile office to myself.

19:50.

We’ve now left Crewe so I’m getting closer and closer to home. One thing I’ve noticed about this CAF built Transport for Wales train is – it’s cold in here. I’m sat in the table bay next to the gangway in the central car. This 197 is like the Northern 195s, there’s no doors sealing off the gangways which means cold air seeps into the vehicles. Plus, you can’t lock out a vehicle if there’s a problem – you have to take the whole train out of service. Now it’s got so cold I’ve had to put my coat back on.

Another day, another delayed train. I was looking forward to getting home but this service has gradually lost time en-route. We lost 6 minutes approaching Prees, leaving us 10 down. Our Crewe stop didn’t help, but then we got stuck at Sandbach to let other services pass, which is now seeing us running even later. At this rate my hike between Piccadilly and Victoria is looking under pressure to catch the 20:57 back to Halifax. I’ve just checked, we’re now 29 minutes down. I’m beginning to wonder if we’re going to get chucked out at Wilmslow again…

20:25.

I’ve no idea what the issue was around Sandbach but a quick look at other services (in both directions) makes our delay look mild. We’re now 36 mins late so I can kiss my connection goodbye. Looks like I won’t be home until late – again. Maybe a day at home tomorrow isn’t a bad idea…

One small mercy, we didn’t get terminated at Wilmslow so we’re now going to make Manchester. Of course – I won’t make my connection – but I can still get home at a vaguely sensible time. And, as I’m ‘on the clock’ I might even push the boat out and get a taxi home!

21:35.

The last (rail) leg. As I arrived late in Manchester I eschewed the chance to buy hot food en-route from Piccadillly to Victoria as i didn’t want to miss my connection so picked up a sandwich instead. Imagine the curses I muttered under my breath when I got to Victoria only to find the 21:21 to Leeds was running 7 minutes late! Of course, that margin increased by the time it left Victoria. But, at least I’m on the way home.

I’m on another CAF built train but as I’m in the front car of this 2-car unit and it’s reasonably busy the ambient temperature’s rather pleasant.

22:05.

The agony and frustration continues. My late-running train followed an all-stations stopper as far as Todmorden which meant we lost more and more time. We’re currently 20 minutes late departing from Todmorden. Now the stopper in front of us has buggered off towards Blackburn leaving our route clear.

*MEWP – Mobile Elevated Work Platform.

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

Rolling blog. More Welsh wandering…

09 Monday Dec 2024

Posted by in Cardiff, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport for Wales (TfW), Travel, Wales

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18:00.

What? Starting a rolling blog at 18:00 I hear you say? Well, yes, because the day’s taken an unexpected turn…

There was me, quite content to be working from home, when in the space of am email and a whatsapp call I found myself myself agreeing to head off to South Wales on another adventure – and adventure it is! Right now I’m sat on a Northern service from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester in order to catch a train to Cardiff. Of course, nothing’s simple, due to the recent storms. Some trains are cancelled whilst others are running late, including this one. In theory, the 17:23 to Chester would’ve got me to Manchester in time to hotfoot it across the city in order to connect with the 18:30 to Cardiff. Only, we’re running 16 minutes late after leaving Todmorden, so that’s not going to happen. That leaves me waiting for the 19:30 to Cardiff, which will get me to the Welsh capital at 23:09. Only the inbound working from Carmarthen has now been cancelled due to trees on the line. Fortunately, Transport for Wales are running an extra service from Shrewsbury in its path, which means I should still make it to Cardiff today. Just as well the hotel I booked at the last minute is right next to the station.

At this point I must thank my long-suffering wife Dawn, who’s just had her next two evenings changed at very short notice – and who dropped things at even shorter notice to drive me to the station in order to try and catch an earlier train.

Why am I venturing to Wales you may ask? Well, I’ve been contracted for an assignment at the new railway test track near Neath, which is where I’ll be spending the next couple of days. But more of that when it happens. Just getting to Cardiff is going to provide enough entertainment for now!

19:30.

Remember I said about entertainment? My Northern service arrived into Manchester 19 mins late, so – as expected I missed my connection. But more fun was to come. Despite what the National Rail Enquiries said about trains running through to Cardiff, the opposite proved to be the case when I got to Manchester Piccadilly. The main Indicator boards showed a 19:30 to Cardiff, but when I got to platform 9 the 19:30 was shown as only running as far as Shrewsbury. Well, I have to get there so I had no option to board the unit when it arrived and await the next instalment – which was soon provided by the Conductor, who announce that the 19:30 would indeed be terminating at Shrewsbury as the line is blocked between there and Hereford. So, from Shrewsbury we’ll be loaded into coaches which will take us to Hereford, where we’ll be put back on a train to resume our trip to Cardiff. What time will I get there? Who knows? I’ve no problem with any of this – other than the lack of up to date information available when I checked NRES and Real Time Trains. It’s not RTTs fault as they take the information direct from the railway’s systems, but you’d think something would produce a red flag on National Rail Enquiries when you enter the journey.

Right now I’m enjoying a nearly empty train as we head South. I’d planned to have settled down for a few hours of work, but that hope’s out of the window now.

20:00.

I’ve just had a good chat with the conductor who told me what the problems are. Apparently, there’s two sections of track near Craven Arms and Leominster where the ballast has been washed away and level crossing and signalling equipment damaged. Network Rail are doing their best to repair the damage as quickly as possible, but they keep discovering more problems. Ho hum…

20:15.

We’ve arrived at Crewe 7 minutes down due to more disruption around Sandbach. For such a busy junction the station’s strangely quiet. Thankfully, this train is again too as the squalling baby that’s been trying to burst its lungs all the way from Stockport has departed the train here. Maybe my ears will stop ringing by the time we get to Shrewsbury…

20:30.

Whilst I’m stuck on the train, I thought I’d have a look at the NRES website to see what it says about my journey. Now, our Conductor has assured us via several announcements that road transport will be laid on between Shrewsbury and Hereford. But this is what’s on the NRES page.

Looks like my trip is going to get even more interesting when we get to Shrewsbury. This trip’s really starting to feel like a bit of a lottery. Meanwhile, the day draws on…

21:10.

Phew! The coach sevice to Hereford does exist! The few of us travelling were bundled on to a rather careworn coach and left within minutes. I count four other passengers besides me.

23:00.

-…and relax! We made it to Hereford by 22:38. The young lady driving our coach did a sterling job getting us from A-B via all the normal station stops on the route. No-one got on anywhere and only a couple got off leaving three of us to disembark at Hereford. The station was deserted of staff, which wasn’t too reassuring, especially as the building was locked up, but I spied a TfW service with lights on in the platforms and managed to find the night entrance to get across to platform 2. Now I’m sat in the warm, sharing a very dirty train with a handful of others. Admittedly, the bins on these 197s aren’t very prominent (or large) but it’s depressing to see just how many people can’t be arsed to tidy up after themselves, leaving the train looking like a shit-tip.

I’ve now swapped from this….
…to this.

I’d hoped to have got to Cardiff by 21:50. Then it was 23:09. Now it’s 00:25, but at least I’ll get there.

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

Rolling blog. Welsh coast conundrum…

04 Wednesday Dec 2024

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport for Wales (TfW), Travel, Wales

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07;30.

Having spent several days at home and with the year fast ticking by I’ve decided to have a trip out to the North Wales coast to get some pictures of the changing scene on that line. Very shortly Avanto West Coast will be withdrawing their last Class 221 ‘Voyager’ trains which have plied that route for the past 20 odd years. They’re being replaced with the Hitachi built Class 805 ‘Evero’ fleet.

As is often the case with these trips, things are already going awry.

To give myself enough daylight hours meant getting up at sparrowfart to catch Northern’s direct 06:23 from Sowerby Bridge to Chester, the gateway to the North Wales coast. Right now the service has just left Manchester Victoria. It’s a quiet train at the moment, only about 20% full after dropping off many early-morning workers in the city. I’m glad I’ve a flask of coffee with me as my train’s freeing. The air-conditioning seems to be on the blink and the lack of corridor doors between vehicles isn’t helping. The Class 195s are a ‘plain vanilla’ CAF product that don’t come equipped with such luxuries as the Department of Transport saw them as an unnecessary expense.

What’s really going awry is that it looks like only one Voyager is running along the coast today, the rest of the Avanti diagrams are using 805s. Bugger! I’ve been told the Voyagers will only last another week or so, meaning this could be my last chance to capture one in action. On the bright side, there’s lots of shiny new Transport for Wales Class 197s out and about, plus – I don’t yet have shots of the ‘Evero’ fleet along the coast. All I have to do now is hope the rain hold off long enough. Let’s see how the day unfolds…

07:52.

On departure from Warrington I had a wander through the train to do a passenger count. There’s 69 people and three bikes aboard. Not bad for this time of day. We’ve now arrives at Runcorn East where another hafl-dozen have joined, including some school students. Dawn’s breaking and the fog we encountered around Warrington is dissipating as we head West. Right now, the day looks quite promising.

08:45.

I had little more than 15 mins to make my connection at Chester, just enough time to grab a couple of shots in the early morning light. Sadly, the skies colours were already getting bleached out by the low sun.

Chester’s the Southern boundary of the Merseyrail network. Here’s 777016 taking a break after ferrying commuters into the city.

The station was a hive of activity with commuters arriving into the city from several directions, including the train I was waiting for, the 08:25 to Holyhead which arrives from Wrexham before reversing. Fortunately, it’s not too busy now so I’ve found a free table where I can set up the mobile office for the short journey to Llandudno Junction. Right now it’s a gloriously sunny and frosty morning, so I’m hopeful of some decent pictures later.

16:00.

Sorry for the gap but I’ve been wearing out a lot of shoe leather around Llandudno and Conwy – and other points East. The primary reason for my visit (catching Voyagers) was a bit of a bust, but the rest of the day’s been really enjoyable even if the weather – like the Voyagers – didn’t play ball. The glorious sunshine I’d experienced through the train window en-route disappeared as soon as I arrived in Llandudno. A lot of my time was taken up exploring picture locations (old and new) to see just how much the lineside is obscured by vegetation nowadays. Having walked from Llandudno to Conwy – a place I’ve a lot of fond memories of with Dawn and her family – I strolled back to the Junction to try a new location. As is often the case, what would’ve been a great location 30-50 years ago is disappearing under lineside vegetation.

On the way back I stopped at Rhyl, where the station was resounding with carols thanks to the Vale of Clwyd MIND charity branch, assisted by their local PCSOs. Now I’m back in Chester, waiting for the ‘blue hour’ whilst having a quick pint as I use the adjacent pub’s wifi to write this and download some pictures. Here we go – I’ll add details later…

When railways had a very different attitude to heritage! Here’s a Transport for Wales service passing through the wall of Conwy castle. The Victorians didn’t let the castle get in their way, they built the railway right up to the base of the castle and built this arch where they breached the wall.

19:00.

I’m on the last leg home, having traversed a very soggy Manchester city centre. That said, it’s always good for pictures (as you’ll see later). The day’s been a mixed one due to the weather which has really played games with me. Even so, I’ve found some new photo locations and managed a few decent shots, not just of the Voyagers I was after, but also of Class 56s on the Railhead Treatment Train (RHTT) – and other bits and bobs.

Tomorrow’s going to be very different day as it’s my Father-in-Laws 90th birthday, so the camer will be put to another use…

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

Rolling blog. Out and about with the camera…

26 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in Lancashire, Photography, Preston, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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12:00.

Having been cooped up recently and with the weather improving I’ve headed out with the camera for a few hours. It’s a good time to be on the rails as today is world sustainable transport day – and trains have a huge part to play.

I was undecided where to head for as that very much depended on the weather and what I wanted to see. My final decision was made when I got to Halifax station, where I looked at what was running and plumped for a Northern service to Blackpool North via Preston, which is where I’m typing this from. As the season’s over the train’s pretty empty, with the buckets and spades having been put away for the winter. There’s a few people who’re obviously having a day out, but you’d be brave (or foolhardy) to be heading to the beach today! There’s not a sign of snow anywhere as we pass through the old cotton towns of Burnley Blackburn and Accrington, although more is on the way, apparently – but not today. Railhead conditions don’t seem too bad either, as this 3-car Class 195 seems sure-footed and the driver’s managing to keep pretty much to time.

I’ll be posting a few pictures from Preston later, then working out what circuitous route I take back this evening. Feel free to pop back to see where and what I get up to!

15:30.

I’m back at Preston after a little diversion (more of which later). I’d hoped to find some of the Northern Class 323 EMUs in the area as there’s several diagrams between Wigan, Preston and Blackpool in order to allow crews from the area to be able to learn the trains, which will be taking over some services in the future. This is because a number of the trains have been cascaded to Northern after being replaced on services around Birmingham, where West Midlands trains have dispensed with the services of their entire class 323 fleet. A real EMU shuffle has gone on in recent years. First Northern acquired hand-me-down class 319s, then brand new class 331s, now they’re back in the second-hand market with the 323s.

Sadly, none of the diagrams were working today. However, not all was lost as there’s a number of diagrams along the WCML to allow Avanti West Coast to run in and train staff on the Hitachi built Class 805 ‘Evero’ fleet. A couple of examples passed through.

805004 sits at Preston before returning South as 3A83, the 1332 Preston to London Euston.
805002 also put in an appearance. It’s seen here on a break whilst working as 3N84, the 1543 Lancaster to Northampton.

16:45.

Having failed to get the shots I wanted I’ve headed home via Wigan, catching a Euston-bound Pendolino as far as North Western. I couldn’t resist a quick pit-stop in a pub that’s been a West Coast railway landmark for years but that’s enjoying a new lease of life since it being taken over and reopened 5 years sgo – the Swan and Railway. You can’t help seeing it as you travel North as it’s right next to the station.

The Swan has a wide range of drinks, including seven hand pumps for real ale. They also accept CAMRA vouchers, making beer very reasonably priced.

21:30.

Home again after an ‘interesting’ trip home. All went well until I got to Manchester. I had a pleasant trip from Wigan aboard one of Northern’s old Metro-Cammell built Class 156s. The train was less than 20% and the atmosphere relaxed. Things changed at Victoria. A passenger had been taken ill over on platform 4 which brought two of the stations through platforms to a standstill. Sadly, judging by the number of paramedics BTP officers and station staff in attendance, it wasn’t a minor problem. Despite the delays and disruption this caused I have to compliment all those who were involved for the way they handled the incident. The overwhelming majority of passengers here understanding too, even when our train was further delayed due to our relief driver being stuck on another train outside the station. Still, I made it home OK, I can only hope that the poor soul who needed medical intervention did too.

Here’s a few more pictures from my travels to end the day.

A busy scene at Preston. On the left, 397001 has arrived on 1M87, the 1212 Edinburgh to Manchester Airport. In the middle, 397011 is ready to leave with 1M75, the 1204 Glasgow Central to Liverpool Lime Street, whilst 195129 waits on 1C57, the 1329 Manchester Airport to Barrow-in-Furness.
A Windhoff MPV sits at Wigan North Western before reversing whilst working 3S58, the 1653 Wigan L.I.P. to Wigan L.I.P which will visit many locations across Lancashire during its patrol as a Railhead Treatment Train. (RHTT).
When you see crowds like this on the platforms at Manchester Victoria, you know something’s gone awry.

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

Rolling block. Tunnel travels…

12 Tuesday Nov 2024

Posted by in Birmingham, Hs2, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:15.

After being trapped under a miasma of low cloud for the past couple of weeks, waking up to clear skies and a colourful sunrise is positively uplifting. That’s not been the only positive about today’s start as I have company this morning. Dawn is travelling with me as far as Leeds as she’s off to a training event. So, for once, I’ve not had to sneak out of bed and tip-toe around the house so as not to disturb her slumber whilst I prepare to leave.

Another bonus is we got down to Sowerby Bridge in good time and caught an earlier (albeit slightly late running) train. The pair of us are now ensconced on Northern’s 06:57 to York which is operated by a 3-car Class 195. We even managed to find a free table bay. Now to hope the rest of today’s travels are as successful!

I’m on my way to a place called Burton Green for a visit to an HS2 construction site. Burton Green is where an old railway is being used for the new one. HS2 will run in what was a cutting that’s being converted into a ‘green’ tunnel.

Time and safety permitting, I’ll be blogging throughout the day…

08:25.

That’s the enjoyable bit of the trip over.

After saying goodbye to Dawn at Leeds I headed over to platform 11a to catch a Cross-Country service direct to Birmingham. God, I gate this part of the trip and today’s experience shows why. XC provided a 4-car Class 220 to work the train. As you can imagine, it’s absolutely packed. Dozens of folk left at Leeds but even more were waiting to join. The chances of me findng a seat were minimal so (yet again) I’ve ended up standing in the luggage area created from the former shop. I’m not alone, 8-10 others occupy here and the adjacent vestibule.

09:50.

Phew! On arrival at Sheffield I managed to sidle into a vacant window seat. This gave me chance to do some work and reapond to some work emails. This is the problem with such inadequate inter-city trains. Unless you reserve a seat you can’t guarantee being able to get any work done, so the benefits of rail over a car are narrowed.

10:40.

On the move again. I had half an hour to enjoy New St station, which gave me enough time to get a few library shots and admire the HS2 exhibition on the concourse. Models of the new Curzon St station are on display and attracted a lot of interest.

Now, I’m speeding South aboard a Siemens built Class 350/2, one of the fleet soon to be off lease with no home to go to. Crazy.

Next stop for me is Berkswell.

15:45.

I’m back and heading for Birmingham after a fascinating tour of the Burton Green tunnel construction site and stroll into the South and North portals.

I’ll add some technical details later, but this part of the HS2 route is built on the course of an old railway which closed back in the 1960s. Only HS2’s a rather larger proposition!

16:30.

Much as I’d liked to have done I didn’t hang around in Birmingham. I stayed long enough to grab a couple of useful shots of packed new (but woefully short) trains, then jumped aboard a Pendolino bound for Edinburgh as a way of avoiding packed Cross-Country services. 11 cars compared to 4 is luxury as you can normally find a free seat, even on this section of route/time of day when the trains heavily used by local commuters.

The only problem is that, whilst I have a seat – and it’s lovely and warm aboard – the wifi is crap, so the things I’d hoped to sort out via t’tinternet I can’t. It’s a great shame Avanti wifi is so poor as it discourages me from using the West Coast route because of it. Now, what are my alternatives?

18:00.

Another classic day of railway bingo. My Pendolino was lae into Crewe so I missed my Avanti connection to Manchester. Fear not, there’s a Transport for Wales service following at 17:30. Oh, wait – that’s late too. But there’s a Northern all-shacks at 17:46..

A quick check tells me that even though the TfW service isn’t due until 17:54 it’ll get to Piccadilly before the Northern service. So, I wave bye bye to the Northern train and make my way to platform 5 for the Welsh train – only to find the bloody thing’s now terminating short at Wilmslow (a favorite trick of TfWs). Bugger!

18:02.

We’ve just passed the Northern service at Sandbach. Looks like that’s the one that’ll be getting me to Manchester after all…

Ha! That went well (not). The Northen service was going via Styal so the theoretical fastest service was an Avanti train. Only that was running 33 mins late. I’m now on said train, warming up after spending far too long on cold platforms. I’ve nothing against Wilmslow station, it’s just that it didn’t feature in today’s plans.

Wither Wilmslow? I wasn’t really given much of a choice…

20:30.

The last leg! Having finally caught a late-running Pendolino to Piccadilly and crossed Manchester on foot I just had enough time for a cheeky pint at the Victoria Tap before catching the 19:57 back across the Pennines. Maybe my ‘cunning plan’ to avoid Cross-Country trains wasn’t so cunning after all…

22:00.

I’m home and it’s time to relax, but before I go I’ll leave you with a few camera pictures from today.

Looking South from the Northern tunnel portal through Burton Green. When the tunnel’s finished and the landscaping completed I’d be underground at this point. This section’s been built with gaps in the roof to facilitate construction. When it’s complete the gaps will be filled in and buried underneath several meters of topsoil to match the level of the land to the left.
Looking North from the Northern portal along the route of HS2 which will be several meters underground here- but not in tunnel. The crossbeams bracing the walls have been precast locally before being brought to site and craned into position.
I’m glad I wasn’t on this one! A rammed 2-car service from Birmingham to Shrewsbury earlier this afternoon. As for bikes, I don’t think so!

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