After a long day (and early day) yesterday I luxuriated in a lie-in until 06:00 here at Bigland Towers. I’d like to have slept in longer but we had a commitment. We were meant to be having the boiler replaced today, which meant getting up in plenty of to perform our ablutions and prepare for the cottage to be upheaved for the day. But there was a problem. After weeks of wall to wall sunshine, today the weather was chucking it down, and part of the boiler replacement meant that the guys had to get onto the roof to replace the boiler flue too. So, (apologetically) they cancelled and arranged to come back next week. The weather put the kibosh on another plumbing job I’d planned to do too. So, whilst Dawn disappeared to her parents I spent the day sheltering from the rain and editing pictures from yesterday. meaning the day wasn’t entirely wasted.
I managed to get a few other things done too – as well as get out for my daily perambulations, which I’ve not done as much of here compared to being in Southport, but what you lose in distance on the flat you make up with exertions on the hills, as my Fitbit cardio results show!
Whilst inconvenient in some ways the amount of rain we’re having is a blessing. Grassland that was showing several shades of brown is beginning to return to green – at least in some parts. The problem is that the ground’s so hard-baked much of the rain is running off fields which are hardly renowned for being flat in this neck of the woods. Hopefully, more rain will follow now that the ground’s being softened up.
Not that I’ll see the results. I’m heading back to the seaside for a little while.
I’ll try to keep you entertained with various blogs over the next few days. I’ve one in preperation right now from yesterday’s HS2 visit. The pictures are all ready, I just need to do the words so you know what you’re looking at as it’s quite a project with lots of facts and figures.
Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which relates to both Birmingham and HS2.
With the massive Curzon St HS2 station rising in the background, a West Midlands metro tram calls at Albert St on the latest extension to the city’s tram network.
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Ugh! Is that really the time? I’m up early as I’m off to Birmingham for another High Speed 2 (HS2) media visit, details of which will follow after the event. But first I’ve got to get there, which involves a series of early trains from Halifax – hence me being up at this ungodly hour! I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back to see how the day unfolds.
05:25.
We’ve had another wet night here in West Yorkshire – a welcome event as we desperately need the rain. Thankfully, it’s subsiding as I begin my trek to the statìon this cool morning.
06:05.
And we’re off! I saw barely a soul on my walk to the station this morning. Even the dog walkers seemed to be having a lie-in! It was a different picture at the station where a few dozen early morning travellers were waiting for trains to Wigan and Leeds. I’ve joined the 06:00 to the latter. It’s worked by one of Northern’s 3-car Class 195s, prociding plenty of space for the numbers travelling at this hour.
Morning breaks over Halifax.
07:10.
Leeds was still waking up when I arrived. The normally bustling station was almost empty of trains and passengers. Only my platform was busy with people waiting for the same train as me – the 07:11 to Plymouth.
Thankfully, this Cross-Country service was made up of a pair of 4-car Class 220s so it was possible to get a seat for the trip to Birmingham.
07:30.
Having called at Wakefield Kirkgate my coach has started to fill up. No table seats are acailable so I’m in an aisle seat next to a fidgety and rather ‘out of gauge’ young man – ho hum! With the shops on Leeds not being open I was looking forward to getting a coffee on the train, only to find the trolley service on this unit has no hot drinks! Bugger!
There’s no chance of me setting up the ‘mobile office’ on this train so there’s little for me to do other than sit back and enjoy the ride.
08:45.
By Derby I’d had enough of fidgety ‘out of gauge’ man as a companion. He spent most of his time watching crappy youtube videos about American fast food (which could explain a lot) so I swapped trains and found a spare window seat in the reat unit, which was one of the refurbished XC sets. The plug sockets have been moved to a much more sensible position that’s between the airline seats in front. This has given me chance to ensure my phone’s fully charged by the time I get to Brum.
The heavy, moody clouds I saw at home have gradually morphed into less threatening examples here in the Midlands. It’s difficult to tell if there’s been any rain as everywhere looks so dry. I’m nit complaining as I didn’t fancy doing today’s visit during a deluge!
09:22.
No prizes for guessing where I am, now for the last leg…
11:45.
A view few get to see. Atop the Hs2 viaduct which is being pushed out over the Birmingham – Derby line, looking towards central Birmingham.
The HS2 viaduct with Network Rail’s Saltley ROC (Rail Operations Centre) to the right. HS2 will give fantastic views of Birmingham to incoming passengers.
One of life’s ironies was that – whilst we were being given a tour of a railway for the future, an engine from the past turned up.
37800 chunters at signals on the freight line that’s been diverted to allow an HS2 viaduct pillar to be built in the old formation.
13:30.
Wow! That was quite a visit. Our small band of trade press journalists were given fantastic access. Both to to the Duddeston viaduct site and the people in charge of building it. It’s a hell of a project, putting together 1000s of tonnes of steel on a constricred site, then pushing out the viaduct in stages across a major rail line (part of which you’ve had to divert). Not only that – but the viaduct’s curved and you’re pushing it uphill! I’ll write a seperate blog about it another time but add more pictures later. Right now I’m taking time to get a few pictures in Birmingham city centre.
14:55.
My time in Brum’s been blessed by heavy showers – but only after the event! On the bright side, it lead to a really interesting conversation with a chap who was working on the tram network as we both hid from the rain!
Trams. The sign of a modern, forward-thinking UK city.
17:00.
I’m making my way back to West Yorkshire via a rather different route, using the West Coast Main Line to Manchester. It avoids having to use Cross-Country ‘Voyagers’. Instead I’ve hax the pleasure of a Siemebs built Class 350 to Crewe before swapping to an old Northern Class 323 to Manchester.
Admittedly, Crewe’s not the interchange that it was when I was a kid. The station’s well past its ‘sell-by’ date but successive Governments have done naff all to improve it. The biggest failure of recent years was when temporary Tory PM Rishi Sunak made the mad decision tocancel HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester.
Crewe station. Decaying gently.
18:45.
The last leg…
After enjoying heritage traction from Crewe to Manchester Piccadolly and weaved my way through city centre crowds I’m now on my last (packed) train of the day. Northern have seen fit to allocate a 2-car Class 195 to the 18:21 to Leeds. Needless to say, it’s doing a very good impression of a sardine can! Why this service is short-formed is a mystery. When we passed Newton Heath depot it was awash with spare units. Are they all broken?
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Yesterday I took advantage of the weather to take a look at TRU work at the locations mentioned above. Here’s a selection of shots from my travels.
A Liverpool – Hull TPE class 802 sweeps through Deighton. The new station is being built on the site of the old behind the bridge (itself being replaced) in the background. The new Fast lines will be laid to the left of the picture.Here’s the new Leeds Rd bridge the previous picture was taken from. When fully open it will contain two lanes for vehicles, cycle lanes and footpaths. The old bridge is behind the barriers to the right of the picture. Bradley Junction, where the single line chord to/from Brighouse joins the Trans-Pennine route. The junction and all other lines have been renewed in recent blockades. Preparations for laying the new Fast lines to the left have reached the stage where the original formation has been dug down ready for membrane to be laid before ballasting up to the required level to allow sleepers to be laid. I’ve zoomed in to show the new single span steel Colliery footbridge which replaced the old double arch stone bridge which can be seen in the next picture which was taken last year. The new bridge isn’t open to the public yet, but it’ll make a fine vantage point when it is. Looking in the opposite direction at Bradley Junction. Yet another new bridge can be seen in the background. The same view as 802211 working 9E09, the 0953 Manchester Piccadilly to Newcastle speeds past some of the new OLE masts which have been installed during previous possessions. Here’s a view from the West side of Deighton where four-tracks have been installed. The tracks to the right (which will be the Fast lines) were the original lines. The 802 is running on the newly laid track. In the background the platforms and footbridge lift tower of the new Deighton station are taking shape. Welcome to the UKs newest four-track main line! Here’s a view looking towards Huddersfield as 185147 working 2U47, the 1101 Manchester Piccadilly to York traverses the new tracks.A view from the new footbridge at Huddersfield looking along the viaduct to the East of the station. The new Fast lines will be laid across the right of the viaduct whilst the new through platforms are taking shape behind the camera to the left. A wider shot to the last showing the new platform canopies and extended platforms at Huddersfield.Work continues to build the new island platform. The walls are partially in place, now they’re being filled in to platform level. Looking across the site of the new island platform. This area was once the stabling sidings. Work continues on refurbishing the main trainshed roof. Worthy of note are the counterweights in the foreground. These were used on one of the stations water columns used for topping up steam engines!
If you want to browse other pictures of upgrade work I have a gallery dedicated to the TRU on my Zenfolio website, just follow this link. You’ll find photographs going back as far as the start of the project in 2021.
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I’ve been having a busy few days back here in West Yorkshire which is why there’s been no time for blogging – although I hope to put that right tomorrow. Dawn has been cat-sitting for a friend/colleague over in Todmorden and I popped in to join her for a few days. We’ve both rather fallen in love with ‘Tod’. It’s a lovely little town in a perfect location, surrounded by hills. It possesses a great indoor (and outdoor) market and a range of pubs and eateries along with a friendly and rather bohemian air.
Admittedly, when I arrived the weather had decided to change from wall to wall sunshine to moody skies and heavy showers but I really couldn’t complain. Today we moved back to Halifax as our sitting duties were done. We’ll miss ‘Luna’, the 12 month old tabby who was our charge, but I suspect it won’t be the last time we end up as her surrogate parents.
Now, the weather’s changing once more as temperatures rise and the sunshine returns. So, plant watering will be taking up more of my time. Plus, I’ve plans to attend to. I’ll be off to the massive Innotrans rail trade fair in Berlin for several days next month. I’ve decided to make a trip of it via Interrail which will make it a much more enjoyable journey by train/ferry and also extend my time outside of the UK to take in several other countries, which means there’s lots of train and ferry timetables to pore over and consider before I chose where I visit – and for how long. Then there’s other work – including writing and picture editing. I’m expecting a busy few days…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken in Todmorden on Thursday as I was dodging showers.
Looking up towards Lumbutts from Todmorden as the next set of showers rolls in. Stoodley Pike is off to the left of the picture.
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After yesterday’s trip into Liverpool I’m on the move again, this time to head back to West Yorkshire for a while. The weather’s finally broken on both sides of the Pennines. Early this morning we had a loud thunderstorm with flashes of lightning which heralded heavy showers in Southport. It didn’t last long but the rain it brought was welcome. I nipped out to quickly check on the trees I’d been nursing through the drought. They all seem to have survived, although a couple are looking iffy. I’m hoping that the bouts of heavy rain we’ve had will help revive them.
By early afternoon my cat-sitting duties were at an end, allowing me to catch a train from Meols Cop station to head East. Whilst there were some moody skies and dramatic looking clouds around I saw more sun than showers along the way to Manchester. The old Class 769 which carried me isn’t fitted with air-conditioning so it was rather a noisy journey as nearly all the windows had been opened by travellers trying to keep cool as the sun beat through the windows, turning the train into a greenhouse.
I made a brief stop in Manchester in order to visit the excellent fresh fish market in the Arndale Centre. I’d suggested to Dawn that I could pick up a couple of tuna steaks for tea tonight. Fortunately, one of the stalls had plenty of freshly prepared ones. Whilst pricy (nearly £12 for 2) they were huge. If you’ve never tried fresh tuna I’d highly recommend it. It’s a world apart from the stuff you get in tins!
As I had a while to wait for my train to Todmorden I nipped into the station’s Victoria Tap for a quick pint, dodging heavy showers in the process. Manchester was getting a soaking but with the weather being so hot the streets dried up in next to no time with only a few puddles left as evidence.
It was the same story on the other side of the Pennines. Todmorden was surrounded by huge, threatening clouds and the sound of the occasional thunderclap in the distance but little sign of immediate rain, which was a blessing as I’d a way to walk after leaving the station. Once again I was lucky and made it in unscathed. Now the pair of us are stuffed full of tuna and relaxing as we watch the rain beating on the window, illuminated by the golden glow of the sunset. West Yorkshire’s seen little of the rain that we’ve had on the coast, so it’s doubly welcome here. Here’s how it looked through the living room window.
A mist of gently falling rain acts as a filter for the light from the sun as it disappears behind the hills on the opposite side of the vallley.
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I’ve returned to Parbold today to get more shots of the work now that things have progressed. I had the same trouble getting out here as yesterday. The ‘direct’ bus is a figment of Northern’s imagination. I still had to change at Burscough Bridge to the same timetable as yesterday. This time I sat on the station to wait and ended up directing several rail passengers to the bus stop. There’s no posters on the station telling them were it is, only one saying the the line’s closed and buses are running instead. I’m amazed at the number of people who don’t know there’s a blockade on this week and still turn up expecting a train.
Anways, here’s a few pictures from today.
The life of an engine driver on a possession. More time’s spent with your feet up than actually driving! It’s a dull job.Overnight the old Up (Wigan bound) line has been stripped out and the formation levelled with fresh ballast which is being unloaded from the train behind. These remote controlled Wackers (yes, they’re really called that) are used to compact and level the ballast before sleepers are laid on top. Meanwhile, other RRVs are unloading more ballast. The whole thing has to be tightly choreographed as the RRVs can’t lay new sleepers until the ballast train is out of the way. On this job the original rails and sleepers are being relaid as they’re not that old and still have plenty of life left in them. The RRV on the left brings them in from a stockpile whilst the machine on the right places them into position. This RRv picks up six sleepers at a time and places them into position.Once in roughly the right position (see the yellow line spayed on the ballast behind) a measurement is taken from the opposite track to ensure they’re in exactly the right alignment.
Having left the site for an hour or so to download these pictures I returned to find that the teams had made rapid progress.
There was rapid progress on the Up (Wigan bound) line where rails had already been reinstated along part of the line, ready for being clipped into place. This clever little machine lifts the sleepers up and clips them onto the rails – several at a time, a job that once used to be done manually. An RRV moved stacks of sleepers that had been stored on the track in the station platform. This is one of the reasons the level crossing has been closed throughout the work. Space is limited and the crossing has also been an access point to allow equipment to be taken away or brought onto the worksite. A COSS (Controller Of Site Safety) clips sleepers to the RRV’s boom, ready to be lifted and moved to site. Wonder what all those paper things are? They’re tickets to say that all the chains have been inspected and are safe to use for the job.
Rather than wait hours for the bus, I walked back to Burscough Bridge along the Leeds and Liverpool canal. It look around 90 mins but it allowed me to get a shot of these engineers trains parked up West of Parbold out of the way, but next to a level crossing so that the engine drivers could be relieved after the end of their shifts.
Mind you, that wasn’t all I saw en-route. There was also this flotilla of young swans on the canal.
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I’ve decided to have an away day from the coast to head inland in order to photograph the railway engineering works at Parbold.
To get there, I’m using the rail replacement coach service which runs from Southport to Wigan.
Spot on time, the 10:13 coach to Wigan arrives at Meols Cop to take me onwards. Only there’s one problem. The coach driver tells me he doesn’t actually stop at Parbold!
Apparently, due to poor planning, it’s not safe for large coaches to get to Parbold due to work on the level crossing that’s part of the rail blockade.
Instead, I’ll have to change at Burscough Bridge, where minibuses are being arranged to serve Parbold!
Ho hum!
Crossing the moss and the Leeds and Liverpool canal at Heatons Bridge on the way to Burscough
10:45.
Having made it as far as Burscough by coach I’m now kicking my heels for 30 mins waiting for an 11:01 minibus to Parbold. There’s nothing like integrated transport, and this is nothing like integrated transport.
My coach from Southport.
Having wandered over to the station were teams are cutting back vegetation further along the line towards Southport I’m now waiting for the bus whikst being entertained by a car crash in the adjacent Tesco car park, where an old lady has managed to reverse into another car – the owner of which is not best pleased! Fortunately little physical damage appears to be done.
11:10.
On the move again in a minibus that’s seen better days. They must have dug this one out of the back of the garage! The driver has a young lad riding shotgun. He’s there to open the door by hand as the mechanism’s knackered and decoupled. He’s also navigating on his phone, relaying directions to the driver.
This bus is an ‘all-shacks’, stopping at obscure stations like Hoscar en-route.
13:00.
I’ve been at the worksite (which is just East of Parbold station for the past couple of hours. Progress has been rapid. The Southport bound line has already been replaced and is almost ready to receive engineering trains which will allow the Wigan bound line to be torn up and renewed. Here’s a look at the work.
Looking towards Parbold station with the new Southport bound line already in place. Looking in the opposite direction where workers are connecting the new and old sections of track together. Workers gradually removing equipment and old rails from the worksiteThumbs up from a Quattro RRV driver removing scrap rail.
I’ll hang around for another hour, then my plan is to head to Wigan.
15:50.
I’m finally on my way to Wigan. The delay was due to getting talking to rail workers involved in the blockade when they knew my history. I’ve actually worked on a couple of the same jobs with some of the older ones! Then there was the shambolic rail replacement bus service, which has been altered yet again. Trying to find the actual stop was a challenge, despite contacting Northern assist via Twitter. They didn’t have the correct infornation either. Fortunately, there was a real live human from Arriva by a bus stop who put me right.
Now, after seeing areas of Wigan that I never knew existed I’m on the move again. I hhad less than 10 minutes in the town, just long enough to catch Northern’s 16:14 to Headbolt Lane on Merseyside. It’s great to be back on a train – even if it’s a Class 150!
Hello (and goodbye) Wigan…
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Today I escaped from Southport – albeit briefly, through an excursion to Preston care of my eldest brother, John. He was driving over to do some shopping and checking out parking for a future excursion with his kids, so I joined him for the ride. We don’t see much of each other nowadays as our lives have diverged, but John was a huge support for me and for Lynn towards the end of her life.
Before John picked me up I’d time to check out what was going on with the railway line to Wigan. The line’s closed until Saturday due to engineering work at Parbold, but Network Rail have take the opportunity to chop back a lot of trees and bushes along the line in Southport between the site of the old St Lukes station and Meols Cop. The work certainly needs doing. This is why. Here’s how it looked in 2003.
Here’s the same area today, with an RRV trimming back the extensive tree growth that’s hidden the nearby houses completely.
The trip out to Preston was rather fun. I’ve never really explored the city that much, despite visiting on a regular basis over recent years. This time I got to see different sides of the town, including the ‘old’ (or rather rebuilt) market, which had a great Indian food stall as well as some excellent butchers and fruit and veg stalls.
Great curries, both veg and non-veg, and the Samosas are exellent.Quality fruit and veg in Preston market.
As we were only a stone’s throw away it would have been rude not to visit a fantastic CAMRA national inventory pub – the grade 2 listed Black Horse for a ‘swifty’. The interior is stunning. Here’s some of the detail around the bar.
Now I’m back in Southport, drying off after getting a soaking. I’d made the mistake of walking into town, thinking the rain that had been forecast was never going to arrive. Bad move! It waited for me to begin walking back! Still, I’m not complaining, at least we’re getting rain – unlike a lot of the country.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking another trip out of Southport. This time to Parbold to (hopefully) have a look at the railway engineering work. Depending on other events I may make it a round trip via Wigan and Liverpool. We’ll see…
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I’ve had a busy few days here in Southport, flitting between my sister’s and an old friend, whom I’m currently keeping company so that she’s not alone in the house at night. Of course, this means I’m keeping getting my steps in (over 30k covered today).
Having spent the early morning editing pictures and sorting out emails I had an appointment in town. Should have gone to Specsavers? I certainly had – and today it was time to pick up my new glasses. They’re not dissimilar in design to my old ones but the prescription is weaker. One thing I’d never realised is that – as you get older, you don’t always become more short-sighted. This is the second time I’ve had an eye-test and prescription that is milder than the last. the real bonus for me is that my ‘old’ glasses were knackered due to the photochromatic reaction breaking down. It was like looking through badly cleaned windows. Hardly a great thing for someone who’s a photographer and spends a lot of time outdoors and in sunny climbs. Let’s just hope these ones last longer than my last pair.
Having got my new ‘bins’ I spent time shopping before heading to my sisters where I swapped food for water. Why? Because for the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying to keep some young saplings in the local park alive. They’ve only recently been planted and have got terribly stressed during this hot weather. I go to the park to use the gym equipment there, so watering the trees is no big chore. Besides, carrying 8 liters of water per trip just adds to the exercise.
Having sweated over bench presses and trees I returned to Anne’s to cook a chicken Korma which was split between the two households. back at my current residence the two of us shared it before sitting down to reminisce in two very different ways I’ve known ‘P’ since the 1980s when we all frequented the same pub in Southport and partied at her and her husband’s house. What was of no significance all those years ago was that she was raised in Rishworth, West Yorkshire. Now that I’ve been living down the road in Halifax for the past 16 years and can share Yorkshire memories adds a whole new dimension to our conversations!
Tomorrow looks like another family orientated day, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures.
I don’t often publish pictures of myself but here’s me and my new glasses in all their glory. Yeah, I know – the flowers behind are far more attractive! Staying alive…This is the row of saplings I’m trying to get through the drought. Fortunately, we have rain forecast for the weekend. It can’t come soon enough.
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Another week ends and another chapter begins. My time in Marshside is over. Anne and Steve have returned from their break in Croatia so I’m moving again as I go from cat sitting to people sitting (long story). Right now I’m back at my sisters, helping out with a few chores before my next adventure.
the weather here in Southport has remained wall to wall sunshine, which is lovely if you enjoy the outdoors and getting a tan. It’s also been fabulous for the golf and the Open has been in town all week. Oddly, despite the numbers of people it draws in, the place has never felt overrun, Far from it. Whilst I’ve avoided Hillside and the areas around the Royal Birkdale course, if you went North of the town centre to places like Churchtown you’d have no idea anything special was happening.
Now the golf is over, although it’ll take a few days for the logistics to wind down and everything to be cleared away. Who won? I’ve no idea!
My day’s been taken up by caring for some recently planted trees on a local park which are feeling the stress from a lack of water. The park contains some exercise machines that I’ve been using several times a week, so I’ve taken to carrying bottles of water with me to give the trees some liquid relief. I’m not sure all are going to survive, but I’m doing my best.
The trees I’m trying to keep alive.
Apart from that I’ve been continuing my perambulations around town, watching what’s going on. Southport seems to be undergoing somewhat of a cultural revival, with all sort of events being staged. Today it was the turn of the old bandstand on Lord St. It’s been restored and the past couple of Sundays have seen various music events laid on.
A great group of schoolkids playing a mix of rock and folk. Sadly, I didn’t catch their name.
In fact – thinking about it – Southport’s has a lot of live music going on, and all of it for free. On Saturday there were craft stalls and a music stage outside the old market hall.
Then there’s the Northern end of Lord St, which is popular with buskers, and you can often catch acts outside this bar in the backstreets.
This spell of dry and sunny weather’s predicted to last until next weekend, so let’s enjoy it whilst we can. I’ve a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, but I’m hoping to get a trip away from the seaside later in the week, let’s see…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 