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Category Archives: Travel

Rolling blog: Westward bound…

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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I’m enjoying that desk-free day today and heading West over the Pennines to the Manchester area for the day to catch up with some of the changes to the rail network and grab some shots of the old BR Pacers in their natural habitat before they head off to the scrapyard.

As usual, I’m starting my day at Sowerby Bridge station, which is looking rather resplendent at the moment. Despite the baking hot summer the station friends group have managed to keep nearly all the plants alive – which has been no mean feat! I helped in a very minor way by bringing plastic bottles full of water from home when I was passing through and watering as I waited for my train. Now the recent rains have taken some of the pressure off the group. Here’s how it looks today.

There’s not just flowers to admire on the station, there’s local history to discover too! The friends commissioned dozens of information boards that line both platforms. They tell you about local celebrities or people of note, such as this one about Walter Robinson, a tram conductor who was killed in the Pye Nest tram disaster in 1907.

It’s just as well there’s things like this to read as the train service is a bit of a shambles today. I’ve been here since 09:45 as I was planning to catch the 10:08 to Manchester. Initially it was shown on the station info screens as running a minute late. Then the time came and went and it mysteriously ceased to exist and was replaced by the 10:22 (runing 5 late due to making extra stops as another train was cancelled). At 10:22 the 10:08 rolled in, seemingly from nowhere, much to the confusion of waiting passengers! This is where the information screens both confuse and let down passengers. The information’s neither real-time nor accurate.

I’m now on a busy 2-car (150205) which is heading for the seaside at Southport. As it’s the school holidays we’re jam-packed with families.

10:42

I bailed out of the Southport train at Hebden Bridge to grab some shots of the platform extensions which are really coming along. They’ve been given their tarmac topping and aren’t far from completion.

Once again, the passenger information caused more confusion than anything. As the late running Manchester train approached it was shown on the info screens, yet “Digital Doris” (the automated voice on the PA) announced “the next train will be the 10:41 to Preston”. Grrrr!

It was the Manchester train, and I’m now sat on it!

11:06.

It’s going to be one of those days. We’re currently stuck at Littleborough as the section ahead is occupied by the train I got off! We’re getting later and later cut there’s been no announcements about what’s going on. At 12:08 we finally started moving but we’re going to be crawling from signal to signal now due to the train in front.

12:11

We finally crawled into Victoria at 11:41. I’m still none the wiser as to what the problem was. TPE also have services cancelled due to the meaningless and insulting phrase I hate – “operational reasons”.

The weather forecast hasn’t been up to much today either and the sunny periods it promised have failed to materialise this side of the Pennines. I’m making my way to the East side of the city, hoping for better.

12:46

Here we go, the 12:49 to Sheffield from Manchester Piccadilly, which is about to bounce its way back across the Pennines.

14:17.

I’m deep in ‘Pacer’ territory now, at the attractive station and town of Romily, which is where two different lines from Manchester meet before diverging again. One’s the truncated branch to Rose Hill Marple, the other is the old Midland main line to the South via Chinley. Nowadays all the local services have been strengthened to run a pairs of Pacers like this. Here’s 2S19, the 13:32 from New Mills Central to Manchester Piccadilly via Reddish North with Romily station in the background. The line to the left is the route via Hyde and Guide Bridge

DG305742. 142033. 142057. Romily. 21.8.18

16:53.

I’ve wifi so I’m quickly adding a couple of pictures whilst I can. Here’s the old Midland Railway signalbox at Romily Junction. It’s boarded up now and appears closed, yet the local signals still carry RJ plates, which is rather confusing. The box doesn’t have a straight line to it as it appears to be slipping backwards down the embankment.

DG305760After Romily I moved on to New Mills central, which is the boundary for many services from Manchester as it has a useful turn-back siding controlled from the local signalbox. here’s a pair of Pacers coming out of the siding before working back to Piccadilly.

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One more. Having come out of the sidings, 057 and 033 sit in the platform at New Mills Central before working back to Manchester Piccadilly

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Caveat. (18:33)

I’d update this blog more often but I’ve found WordPress struggles with me doing so from both a laptop via wifi and also my Android phone. I’ll try and add more shortly, but there may be troubles ahead…

21:40.

The final update for the day. Sadly WordPress has let me down today and I’ve struggled to update this blog whilst on the move. I’m intending to work from home tomorrow so I’ll add part two to this blog then.

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Desk-bound…

20 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in I love my job, Innotrans, Railways, Travel

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It had to happen sooner or later, the the past few days have seen me pretty much stuck at my desk. Admittedly we did get to nip over to Southport for a gathering of the Bigland clan on Saturday, but the rest of the time’s seen me on household duties or trying to deal with a rather large backlog of paperwork. The good news is that I can now get into my  office without worrying about being crushed by unstable piles of magazines and bumpf which were reaching Himalayan heights.

It’s not before time as the next month or so are going to be rather busy. I’ll be embarking on my bi-annual round-Britain trip for RAIL magazine shortly so I need to clear the decks for that and the time to write it up before I head off to the National Rail Awards, which is going to be a little different this time. I’ve been at the awards every year since 2003 as the event photographer. Now Dawn and I will be VIP guests, instead of being on duty with a job to do I’ll be able to chat and enjoy the company of the many people from the rail industry I’ve got to know over the years, like this bunch!

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Thankfully, the NRA doesn’t clash with another important event in the railway calendar as it has in the past: Innotrans.

This massive bi-annual event is the largest rail trade show in the world. It’s held in Berlin and it’s an absolute must for anyone who wants to see what the railway industry’s up to.  I’ve arranged to be there for 4 of the 5 days. The show’s so massive you need that amount of time to get around the place! Outside at the Messe Hall there’s acres of trains on display, inside there’s even more as the event takes over dozens of buildings on several levels. Here’s a link to pictures from the last time I was there in 2014 which will give you an idea of what to expect.

The next few weeks are going to be rather interesting. Obviously, my work for RAIL will be restricted to being published in the magazine, but I’m sure I’ll be publishing a few teasers! In the meantime, there’s a few other trips to do…

 

 

Rolling blog: Here we go again…

13 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, I love my job, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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It will come as absolutely no surprise when I tell you that I’m typing this on a train. This time I’m back on Grand Central’s 07:08 from Halifax to London. Us ACoRP judges are dedicated souls, I’m off to meet fellow Judge Paul Cook in Ashford, Kent to finalise the winners of this years awards. We’d hoped to have finished the job closer to home on Friday, but events got in the way!

At least I have wifi, a power socket and coffee to keep me going for the next few hours. En-route we’ve passed through one of the stations we judged, Brighouse, which is looking splendid right now as the plethora of planters and tubs are in full bloom. Nearby Mirfield is coming on too as the local ‘in bloom’ group have been busy tidying up the massive flower bed that occupies the site of the station buildings and adding more planters and ‘bug hotels’. As my train pulled away I noticed a commuter dead-heading some of the plants as she waited for her train. I love seeing the way ordinary passengers get involved like this.

09:42

We’re currently flying along the East Coast Main Line near Huntingdon, running 6 minutes late due to trespassers on the line around Doncaster earlier. It’s the school holidays and trespass incidents always increase when they’ve broken up. It’s a serious problem for the railways as vandalism also increases. Despite every effort by the railway companies and British Transport police to educate youngsters, we see this problem every year.

10:33

I’m now in London and I’ve swapped the East Coast Main Line for High Speed 1 to get me to Ashford.

It’s always a delight to use this line. Nowadays it’s so quick and easy to get into Kent. It’s a far cry from the days when you had to get across London by tube to Victoria or Charing Cross to catch an old slam-door electric train that would then take hours to rattle and shake its way through suburban South London before arriving in Kent. Now it takes just 38 minutes! Hs1 provides a taster of what Hs2 will be like (only more luxurious, the Hitachi Javelins in Hs1 are designed for moving commuters in/out of London).

The weather here in Kent’s rather mixed, to put it mildly! We’ve just passed through a veryheavy shower that lasted a couple of minutes before we burst out of the other side. I think my trusty fold-up umbrellas going to be very useful today.

20:20

I’m now on the return trip after a successful conclusion to the ACoRP judging and a chance to mooch around Kent, rediscovering old haunts and grabbing a few photos en-route. I dodged all but one shower and even managed to get pictures in the sunshine. I can’t say I’d rush back to Ashford however. There are one or two attractive old buildings but the town centre was a bit of a disappointment. It was all rather bland and uninspiring. As I had plenty of time I took a circular tour back to London via Folkestone, Dover, Ramsgate and Canterbury along one of the very few lines in the SouthEast I’d never traversed, the route from Dover to Ramsgate via Deal and Sandwich. It’s actually a pretty little line that is still controlled by manual signalboxes and even semaphore signals – a rare beast in this part of the world nowadays. Passing through Deal it’s hard to credit that this area was once the location of the Kent coalfield. The last mine at nearby Betteshanger closed in 1989, just short of the centenary of coal mining in Kent. Coal had been discovered during test bores for an earlier attempt to build a tunnel under the channel. The area has a fascinating history as the railway cuts across the bottom of the Roman fort at Richborough, just outside Sandwich. It was from here the Roman successfully conquered Britain during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. I remember cycling around this area back In the 1990s and I’d love to have the time to scan the slides I took. One day…

After a brief stop at Ramsgate to grab some pictures I headed back into London through Canterbury, another old haunt. When I lived in the East End of London our merry band would often come to attend the beer festival which was held on a farm on the outskirts of town. Fond memories!

The weather deteriorated as I returned to the capital and I fully expected to get soaked but they were confined to Kent and London escaped their attention – as did I.

It’s now 21:07 and I’ve glanced up from my screen to realise that it’s pitch black outside! The night’s are starting to draw in again…

 

 

Rolling blog: Cumbria bound

09 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, GNRP, I love my job, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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I’m on the move again today with three different assignments to fulfil. Hopefully, the weather will play ball. The dull, heavy cloud that blighted me yesterday as given way to a variety of shapes, styles and heights, broken up by long periods of blue sky.

Right now I’m making my way from Sowerby Bridge to Preston. I changed trains at Hebden Bridge as that gave me time to check-out progress on the platform extensions and also admire the collection of old Calder Valley railway prints and photographs on display in the waiting rooms. Here’s two examples from the artist AF Tait.

The first is the rail/canal bridge known as the Whiteley Arch which is West of Todmorden

The next shows the original Brighouse station (built in the Chinese style) from the days when the town was the railhead for Bradford, seven miles away.

If you’ve never been to Hebden Bridge station it’s well worth a look. It’s probably the best preserved former Lancashire & Yorkshire station left on the network. I’ll add some pictures of it later.

Right now I’m passing through a succession of old Cotton Mill towns (Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn) along a line that once used to be full of freight trains carrying coal, the raw materials for the mills – and the finished products to market. The decline since those heady days is evident, both in the towns and the railway that serves them. Yet the railway rationalisation of the 1960s-80s is now in reverse. The decline in the towns is harder to put right, especially after a decade of Government imposed austerity. Things are set to get worse thanks to the Brexit shambles as these towns were persuaded to vote Leave (against their own interests) and many folk are living in blissful ignorance of the gathering economic storm that’s coming their way and that will hit these shores in 2019.

I’ve arrived in Blackburn the same time as a passing shower! Fortunately, we’re heading in opposite directions.

Northern Rail seem to be having a few fleet issues today. Many Calder Valley services are short-formed. I’m jammed in the vestibule of a 2-car Class 158. This service is a normally a 3 car. The Class 153s that are used to strengthen many other trains seem noticeably absent today.

Preston. 10:44.

On arrival at Preston I’ve connected seamlessly with Northern’s 10:44 to Barrow in Furness. A 2 car 158 is a bit of a let-down after the TPE 185s that used to ply the route. There’s no power sockets or wifi so it’s not much of a mobile office. However, the Conductor has done his bit to make the trip more interesting. Look what’s on the PIS!

12:18

After another seamless connection at Barrow I’m now heading up the Cunbrian coast to Whitehaven and the weather’s ideal. Heres the view as we approached Ulverston.

16:52.

I’m heading home now, but things didn’t quite go to plan! When I arrived in Whitehaven the rain Gods had arranged to co-incide and a band of rain cloud sat over the town. Luckily, it didn’t hang around so my walk along the old mineral tramway Northwards towards Parton was blessed with sunshine. I do like this area as a photo location (you’ll see why later) but Parton itself is a sad place nowadays.

Unless you knew the Cumbrian coast 40 or so years ago you can be forgiven for not knowing about its industrial heritage. Coal mining, steel-making and chemicals were the backbone of the economy. Now they’ve all gone – along with the fishing industry. Today, the area’s biggest employer is the Sellafield Nuclear plant, followed by the tourist trade.

Add to the mix a decade of austerity since 2008 and towns like Parton are suffering. They never made the transition from industry to tourism as they have little to offer.

19:09.

I’m on the move again, this time from Barrow in Furness to Preston. The journey was gorgeous. The weather’s been perfect and the views across the beaches sublime. Here’s a sample

I stopped in Barrow in Furness for an hour to explore a little as I’ve not been here for 12-13 years. Now I can see why. Barrow was (and is) a shipbuilding town but there’s a problem. Britain is no longer an Imperial power or Empire and we certainly don’t rule the waves anymore. Our Navy’s shrinking in line with our reduced place in the world, yet towns like Barrow cling to a past that’s not coming back. Now Barrow is reliant on building the ultimate baroque arsenal – Nuclear submarines. They’re great for getting a seat at international tables – even more so after Brexit as it’s all we have left – but can our enfeebled economy still afford them? I suspect Barrow’s obvious love of the past may be the harbinger of its doom. Like many old industrial towns, the walk in from the station is past numerous derelict shops and reminders of a better past, like this:

Rolling blog: From Hull to Helsby (via Frodsham)…

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Cheshire, rail ale, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel

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I’m off on my travels today although my style’s being cramped by the need to be in Huddersfield for a dental appointment later. Still, I made an early start and headed over the Pennines to Manchester before catching an Arriva Trains Wales service out to Cheshire. My timing was perfect as the train I was aiming for from Piccadilly was one of ATWs loco hauled sets, providing a bit more capacity than the normal Alstom Class 175s used on the Holyhead services.

That said, the extra capacity was needed as the train was busy with lots of Mancunians heading off to the North Wales coast whilst other travellers were off to the Emerald Isle. I stayed on the train as far as the pretty little station of Helsby, the junction for the line via Ellesmere Port to Hooton. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve visited Helsby since the early 1970s. Probably 1973 or 74. In those days British Railways used to sell a ‘Merseyrover’ ticket which was priced at the princely sum of 50p for the whole weekend! I’ll have to dig one out but I think we must have ‘bunked’ the train from Ellesmere Port to Helsby as I don’t think they were valid that far. It explains why I only went once – twice might have been risking it!

Whilst Helsby station’s delightful architecturally it’s also a bit of the building site at the moment. The reason for that is the footbridge is being shot-blasted as part of an extensive refurbishment so it’s swathed in plastic sheeting. In the meantime access across the platforms is provided by two temporary footbridges. Their lightweight construction means they have to be held in place by multiple water tanks acting as ballast!

Here’s the main station building which was built out of Coursed rock-faced red sandstone in 1849 for the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway Company. It’s grade 2 listed. Although recently refurbished, the main part is vacant and available for letting. I was surprised to find the rest (to the left of the picture) has been occupied by a craft beer bar called Beer Heroes (see link) since 2016. Sadly, it was closed when I was there, but I’m definitely going to have to pop back in the future!

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Here’s the signal box with the footbridge beyond. The box is a London and North Western Railway Type 4 signal box dating from 1900 which is also grade 2 listed. The box retains its original 45 lever London and North Western Railway Tumbler frame.

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Here’s a shot of one of the two temporary footbridges. This one crosses the Ellesmere port lines. Not the big plastic tanks full of water which hold the lightweight structure in place! Sadly, trains on this section of line are few and far between. There’s a total of six across the morning and evening peaks between Helsby and Ellesmere Port.

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An ATW service from Manchester Airport to Llandudno worked by 175116 approaches the station past a semaphore signal guarding the line in the opposite direction.

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Unfortunately, the weather didn’t play ball as much as I’d hope it would so I moved on and headed back to Frodsham to try my luck with some other shots. If only the cloud had stayed away for this one – as an ATW Class 175 crosses the Weaver Viaduct to East of Frodsham.

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Halifax. 21:23.

It’s time to draw this one to a close. The day’s been a bit rushed but the good news is I sailed through my dental check-up for another 6 months! Now I’m enjoying a quiet night at home – emailing pictures that a magazine has requested…

As usual I’ve plenty of pictures to process and tomorrow is another day. I’ll be off on my travels again then, but I’m not sure where until I check the weather forecast first thing. Let’s see what happens in the morning.

G’night!

 

Rolling blog: The final countdown…

06 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, I love my job, Musings, Northern Rail, Pacers, Rail Investment, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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Paul Cook and I are back on the ACoRP judging trail today, visiting the last 3 of the 25 stations on the shortlist for 2018. There’s two in the Manchester area then one much closer to home back in West Yorkshire. 2018 brought some fantastic entries which means the pair of us are going to have a tough time choosing an overall winner.

Right now I’m heading over to Manchester from Sowerby Bridge on a Northern Rail Class 156. These units were rare visitors to West Yorkshire until recently as they worked services out of Liverpool and Manchester until they were displaced by electrification and an influx of former Thameslink Class 319s.

Northern’s DMU train fleet is a real mixture of cascaded units in a variety of liveries right now. 150s and 153s from GWR and 158s and 170s from Scotrail have been added to the fleet recently (with more to come). Meanwhile, the first of the new DMUs from builders CAF has arrived and sits in the depot at Edge Hill, Liverpool. Clearly, the writing’s on the wall for the old BR ‘Pacer’ fleet…

The run of sunny weather appears to have ground to a halt. We had a superb day at home yesterday. Today the skies wall to wall with grey clouds of a variety of hues and densities. I’m hoping it will recover as I’ve more scenic rail pictures to try and get in the can this week.

12:09.

First visit done! Now we’re moving on from suburban South Manchester out to rural Derbyshire, this time aboard a refurbished Northern Class 150/2. These are my least favorite DMUs. Noisy, slow and with high window cills and poor visibility, they’re less than ideal on scenic lines. The 2+3 seating doesn’t help make them feel any less cramped.

14:24

We’re heading back to Manchester now ready for the final visit. Here’s a clue to where we were visiting.

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The weather’s warming up and the skies are clearing, so I might see the last station at its most colourful…

16:16

Having made the dash over the Pennines to Huddersfield I’m now aboard yet another of Northern Rail’s Class 150 fleet. Oh, for a Pacer with their big windows! Luckily, I’m not on here for long…

18:04.

Dun judging! That’s it for another year. Now I’m bouncing my way back to Sowerby Bridge on a Pacer.

As predicted, the sun had got his hat on and the afternoon’s turned into a lovely evening. I popped into one of my locals, the Jubilee refreshment rooms on Sowerby Bridge station for a celebration beer. The Jubilee is unique in that it tells you when the beer barrel was put on.

As well as being blessed with the Refreshment Rooms the local station friends group has built a very attractive garden by the car park (as well as maintaining tubs and planters on the platforms).

Friday fun!

03 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Food and drink, Huddersfield, Railways, Travel

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I’ve no time for a full blog today, I’ve been flitting around too much and tonight I’m out with my wife’s family, so here’s the edited highlights as it were!

This morning I popped over to Liverpool to have a look at the rebuilt Lime St station. It’s impressive. This phase has concentrated on the really important stuff, tracks, platform extensions and signalling. Work’s still ongoing but all platforms bar one have reopened. At some point soon I’ll do a ‘then and now’ blog as I’ve pictures going back to the late 1980s which highlight how much things have changed. In the meantime, here’s a couple of shots from today.

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Looking back along the rebuilt platforms 3 and 4 (which used to be 4 and 5). The centre roads which were used for stabling trains have been torn up and the platform’s been widened

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The Southern extension of platforms 1 and 2 (formerly 2 and 3) has been built across former trackwork, meaning the single tunnel on the left only serves one platform.

DG304568. 350368. 150120. Liverpool Lime St. 3.8.18

The platforms nearest the camera are the new ones which occupy the site of the old taxi/parcels road which (until recently) occupied by the Virgin Trains lounge and waiting rooms.

I’ll add a lot more pictures from this outing to my Zenfolio website in the next few days. Right now I’m back in West Yorkshire at ‘ACoRP towers’ as this weekend it’s the Huddersfield food and drink festival (link). The event’s held on St George’s Sq, right outside the station. If you’ve never been I can really recommend it. Here’s a couple of pictures from earlier this evening.

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I’ve lots more to add but right now we’re off to one of our favourite restaurants, Thai Sakon.

 

Rolling blog: To Hull – and back…

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, Community rail, I love my job, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Day 3 on the rails but today I’m off somewhere in a different quadrant of the country. I have a station to judge on the line between Hull and Scarborough so I’m currently on a Northern Rail service from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds on the first leg of the trip.

As I’m travelling post-peak i’ve managed to bag a table. I need to get some work done on the way as (surprise, surprise) there’s a lot of pictures from the past few days travel to edit and get onto my Zenfolio website.

Admittedly, the world outside the carriage window can be a bit of a distraction, especially on a lovely day like today but this leg of the trip is more like a commute rather than an adventure.

10:38.

Having caught a late-running train to Leeds I had nearly an hour to wait for my connection and explore. Leeds is yet another station that’s changed out of all recognition since my childhood days. It’s undergone a series of redevelopments over tge years and is set for more with the arrival of the new High Speed 2 (HS2) railway in 2033. Here’s a couple of images, the first shows a great bit of artwork on the side of the old BR offices many passengers never even notice.

Here’s the old concourse that was added by the LMS railway.

Despite the torrid time Northern Rail passengers have been having with delays and cancellations, the picture does seem to be improving, as this indicator board shows

Unfortunately, one of the few late trains is mine! The 10:48 to Hull run by Trans-Pennine Express keeps slipping, and slipping and slipping. It’s gone from 3, to 5 to 10 minutes late – which screws up my next connection, leaving me an hour late!

This is the most frustrating thing about the passenger information screens, the information is less than accurate. Logging on to the ‘realtime trains’ website I can see my train has lost time at every station stop and is now showing as over 15m late!

19:21

A very frustrating day. I’ve updated this blog several times during the day and added a load of pictures (via laptop and mobile), but nothing’s ‘stuck’. Will this?

20:00

I’m now on the final leg from Leeds to Halifax aboard yet another ex GWR Class 150. The cascade of trains from other TOCs to Northern is very noticeable right now because most are still in their former liveries. From a photographer’s perspective it’s great. Passengers see it differently. They care about the fact their conmuter train’s doubled in size. They’d be even more impressed if all the extra services promised arrived too and punctuality wasn’t so dire.

Home. 21:57

I’m hoping having my home broadband connection will allow me to update this blog as I’ve had a really interesting day. A problem with traveling by Trans-Pennine Express is that their internet connection has the heebie-jeebies when it comes to logging into WordPress, so I have to use my phone to blog from, which is frustrating.

Anyways, back to the narrative. Yes, I missed my connection in Hull. The bright side? The group I was visiting were very understanding and I got to explore. Even though I was only in Hull last year the station’s undergone another change. This time many of the old buildings at the back of the buffer-stops have been swept away and replaced with new. Here’s an example. The newish waiting room’s been replaced by a Starbuck’s. The adjoining buildings are yet to be let.

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I first visited Hull in 2004 when I started writing my bi-annual round Britain trips for RAIL magazine. In those days the front of the station was disfigured by a monstrous 1960s office block built by BR. That’s gone now and the grade 2 listed station hotel it hid has undergone a bit of a renaissance. It’s now owned by Britannia hotels and the downstairs lobby and bar is really rather classy. Here’s the entrance from the station concourse.

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Here’s what it looks like on the inside. Style is returning to railway station hotels…

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Moving on from Hull I did my visit, then pitched up in Bridlington to check out an old institution, the station bar. Sadly, it’s not what it was. The extravagant floral displays have disappeared and the quality of the beer was disappointing. After a number of years the present owners have decided to call it a day and sell up. I wish them both well and hope that whoever buys it keeps the special feel of the place.

Heading back South I stopped off at Beverley, a place that I’d never explored beyond the environs of the wonderful overall roofed station. Today I put that right and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a lovely little market town with a very impressive cathedral

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Meanwhile, in the Market Square..

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Of course, the railway station which opened in 1846 is rather nice too. It’s a grade 2 listed building and one of only a handful which retain overall roofs.

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Rolling blog: Caledonian interlude.

31 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Scotland, Travel

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Greetings from Glasgow! After a convivial night in the city we’re ready to go judging again. We stayed in an Ibis in the city centre. It’s a nice hotel, but the views aren’t up to much!

There’s only one station to visit today before Paul C and I head off in different directions and I begin to wend my way back to Yorkshire. I’m not sure which way I’m going as it depends on the weather, which seems to be on an East-West divide today. There’s a few things I’d like to have a look at, so we’ll see. Scotland’s investing a lot of money in its rail network so there’s lots of changes to check out.

Right, we’re off…

09:18.

Our first train of the day is a refurbished Scotrail Class 158 fitted with high-backed seats and plug/USB sockets.

11.15

We’ve completed out visit and I’m now back in Glasgow. We’ve only a handful of stations left to judge now but both of us agree this is the toughest year for us to judge so far as the standard of the entries is so high.

As I crossed the city from Central to Queen St I stopped to admire a fine old Glasgow tradition which is clearly thriving! I especially like the stash of spare cones.

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13:20

I hung around Glasgow for a little while getting pictures before catching one of Scotrail’s brand new Hitachi built Class 385 EMU’s to Edinburgh. The Scotrail Twitter account was more than happy to let me know which services the pair that are in traffic were working, so here I am.

First impressions are good. We’re currently bowling along to Falkirk High and I’ve my laptop set up, plugged into the between seat power socket and connected to the onboard wifi. I’m in the front car of the second set. The acceleration of these trains is certainly good. The internal ambience isn’t bad either. The lighting’s not too bright, the seats are comfortable and the tables are large and certainly sturdy. Legroom in the airline seats is good and the seatback tables are solid, with a useful lip around the edge (with a depression for a cup to stop it sliding). There are a couple of things I’ve noticed. The toilet’s out of order in my vehicle (444104) and there’s a whistling noise from the door seals when we’re at speed. The suspension seems a tad harsh too. The PIS is a bit basic compared to the Siemens Class 700/707 too, it’s a simple, scrolling dot-matrix system that tells you the time and what station you’re arriving at next, plus your final destination. I do like the seat moquette on the priority seats adjacent to the doors. They have a different motif which feature pregnant women and those with children, the elderly and folks with injuries! Signage is good, although the seat numbers (which are displayed on the walls above the seats) are tiny and very difficult to see – even close up. If seat reservations will be used they’ll have to be the good old fashioned paper kind as there’s no electronic system provided.

I walked through into the leading set (385003) to see if there was any difference and noticed that the door whistling I’d noticed earlier was a one-off. This set was perfect. Looking around both sets I was impressed with the construction of the trains, they’re solid and well-made. I think they’re going to be a real hit with passengers.

Here’s a selection of pictures showing what the 385s look like from the inside.

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A table bay of four. Note the slots in the top of the seats for paper reservation labels and the fact that (like nearly all modern trains) seats don’t align perfectly with windows. The seats have folding armrests and there’s a power socket (one between two) located just under the front of each pair.

 

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Seating at the back of one of the driving cars in set 385104. There’s tip up seats on the opposite side by the toilet and the area’s designated as bicycle storage. Note the seat back tables for the airline seats.

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There’s five tip-up seats in the bicycle storage area which is clearly marked as such.

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One of the door areas in 385014. The door controls are at a height that anyone can use them. Note the difference in seat moquette. The seat to the left is designated as priority seating.

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Imaginative moquette on priority seating gets the message across!

 

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The vestibules are roomy and feature lots of curves rather than just straight lines. Beyond is the disabled access toilet.

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Inside the disabled toilet, showing the features which include a baby changing table.

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There’s space for two wheelchairs on the opposite side of the vestibule to the disabled access toilet. Note the tip back tables, power sockets and flip up companion seats.

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Seats aren’t cantilevered off the body side, but there’s still plenty of space underneath. Note the position of the power socket.

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Coathangers are an odd one. Not every seat seems to have one. Hitachi tell me that 2 are provided for every bay of 4, whilst airline seats have one each on the back of the seat in front. 

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The number 15 is actually the seat number. I hope these are only temporary as – unlike the rest of the signage – they’re very poor, extremely difficult to see and aren’t self explanatory. Hitachi tell me that these are temporary and for reference by the engineers bedding in the trains.  

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385104 after arrival at Edinburgh. Note the difference in the two front windows…

DG304286. 385003. 385104. Edinburgh Waverley. 31.7.18

Spot the difference…

 

Rolling blog: Northbound again (Sorry Dire Straits!)

30 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, Railways, Rolling blogs, Scotland, Travel

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No rest for the wicked! My Sunday was spent visiting two different stations in Lancashire and Yorkshire with my Paul Cook, my fellow ACoRP awards judge. As one of them had no trains (the route was shut due to Bolton line electrification work) my wife Dawn ended up acting as chauffeur.

We couldn’t have chosen a worse day to drive! The weather had broken over the weekend so Dawn had the ‘joy’ of driving on the M62 and 61 motorways when you could have water-ski’d on them.

At one point we nearly did as we hit a huge sheet of water on the M61. Thankfully Dawn’s an experienced driver and kept her cool – tho’ the steering wheel did have finger marks in it afterwards! Fortunately, the weather began to break during our first visit and the drive back over to Yorkshire was far less tense.

Visits over we adjourned to the nearby Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale to discuss the visits over one of their excellent Sunday lunches before going our seperate ways.

This morning I’m back on the rails and heading for Carlisle via Preston as Paul and I have stations to judge in Scotland. The weather’s still changeable but I’m not complaining. We desperately needed the rain and some more wouldn’t go amiss.

11:34.

I’m now in Carlisle, waiting for my ‘partner in crime’ to catch up with me. I’m currently enjoying a coffee under the station roof which was restored to its former magnificence in 2017.

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Carlisle station is now another on the network to be graced with a station bar called the ‘301 Miles‘ which serves an excellent range of draught and bottled beers (plus food) in a high vaulted room with a pair of superb old fireplaces and memorabilia about the railways, beer – and the  city itself.

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15:35.

Station visit done we’re now on the outskirts of Glasgow after heading up the GSW route from Dumfries via Kilmarnock.

22:55.

So many things I could have added today, but socialising with old friends got in the way – and don’t even ask about discussions on a Scottish view on Brexit! Tomorrow’s another day…