Having woken up to wall-to-wall snow this morning I dropped everything to head out with the camera. After all, it’s not that often we get such conditions and the snow often disappears in the blink of an eye. Today was no different. The ideal conditions are when the snow clings to trees and bushes but the weather warmed quickly and the snow was already dropping before I left so there was no time to waste.
Having walked down to Sowerby Bridge I caught a train to Todmorden where the railway’s surrounded by high hills – ideal for photography. Here’s a small selection. I’ll add details tomorrow…
Having got the images I wanted I caught a train into Manchester with the intention of heading back via the nearby Colne valley, but Dawn had mentioned that Derbyshire had accrued a lot of snow, so my plans changed and I ended up at Edale instead. The Hope valley didn’t disappoint, although the trees were already bereft of snow.
Normally I’d be taking photos of atop Mam Tor and the ridge, but not today! It was bleedin’ Baltic out there!
Sorry for the lack of details but it’s been a long day. I’ve walked nearly 15 miles to get these pictures and I’ve another busy day tomorrow, so now it’s time to relax.
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/
Today there certainly was. After all the miserable weather we’ve had recently this neck of the woods was pretty much blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine from daybreak. Such favorable conditions tore me away from my desk in order to take the camera on a little tour around the Colne and Calder valleys. Having caught a train from Sowerby Bridge to Manchester I ventured up the Colne, stopping off at various places as I headed East. Here’s a selection taken around Mossley.
Houses so close to the railway line at Mossley are proving to be an interesting challenge when it comes to electrifying this stretch of line. TRU are consulting on the options at the moment. Here’s 185114 and 185109 passing whilst working 1P66, the 08:42 Saltburn to Manchester VictoriaThis is 802215 passing Mossley with 9M29, the 09:43 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street.802211 heads East past Mossley on 1P25, the 11:54 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle
Having a series of shots in the bag I moved location, enjoying a lovely walk along the Huddersfield narrow canal to Greenfield in the process. The autumn leaves looked stunning.
I didn’t stay long at Greenfield as the low autumn sun was already casting heavy shadows at the locations I’d planned to get shots at, but I did still get this.
802202 snakes past Greenfield with 9M31, the 11:43 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street.
Catching a train back into Manchester I retraced my way along the Calder valley route as far as Castleton, where I popped into this excellent hostelry for a pint whilst I waited for the ‘blue hour’ where the light’s changed enough to provide some really vivid colours in the sky, just before darkness falls.
The Old Post Office micro pub is just a few minutes walk from Castleton station.
Here’s how the light looked when I left, and no – this isn’t due to beer-goggles!
156452 arrives at Castleton whilst working 2J29, the 1521 Clitheroe to Rochdale.Journey’s end at Rochdale. The crew of 2J29 have a chat under stunning autumn skies.
Now I’m back home with an office day beckoning in the morning. Still, the light was good whilst it lasted…
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/
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/
After my trip to London yesterday I’ve been pretty much confined to Bigland Towers today as I’ve needed to spend most of my time picture editing and sorting out paperwork. It’s been no loss as the weather’s been crap. We woke up to low cloud and mist this morning which never cleared, leaving us with a gloomy, damp and sunless day all day – hardly one to be heading out with the camera, so I’ve made the most of my time staying indoors in the warm.
I’ve resisted the temptation to try and follow anything to do with the American presidential election, other than write this blog. There’s far too much misinformation out there and the reputable polls that do exist leave one none the wiser. According to them it’s too close to call so all the media are doing is speculating. I’ll wait to see what tomorrow brings instead, although it’s quite likely we won’t know the actual result until Thursday as the few swing states that matter may not declare until then.
Instead, the pair of us are going to have a quiet, relaxing night in watching a film. After all – tomorrow’s another day. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which was taken shortly before I left London last night.
Platforms 5-8 inside the Western arch of Kings Cross station. Opened in October 1852, the station was designed by Lewis Cubitt, the younger brother of Thomas Cubitt.
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/
I’m on my way to London to see a locomotive being named after a very old friend. I’ll give our the details after it’s happened.
Right now I’m on a train from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds under leaden skies. The weather is still mild here in West Yorkshire but it’s also damp and misty – hardly great weather for outdoor photography. Hopefully conditions will be better the further South I get.
Unusually, I’m on a four-car Class 158 set. Normally these units work Wigan to Leeds services via Brighouse and Mirfield.
Now they’re diverted via Bradford Interchange, after which they run non-stop to Leeds. This is due to the Trans-Pennine route upgrade affecting their normal diagrams where they’re being replaced by buses.
12:45.
Sorry for the gap, but I was busy working on the LNE service from Leeds all the way to Peterborough. I’ve been sent a PDF copy of the 3rd in my trilogy of trips around Britain for RAIL magazine so that I could supply captions for the pictures they’ve chosen. It’s kept me busy all the way from Leeds. I took a short break at Peterborough in the hope that there might be a couple of pictures to be had but sadly, the weather’s just as bad ‘dahn sarf’ as it is up in Yorkshire. Oh, hang on, doesn’t Peterboro count as the Midlands? I live in hope then! Another problem was that several services were cancelled. It seems East Midlands Railway and Thameslink are having a bit of a dodgy day. I’m now speeding towards Kings Cross in another ‘Azuma’. This one’s 5 not 9 cars and seems well loaded.
18:00.
Well, that was a fun day and one where I ended up being rather busy with the camera. Having arrived at Kings Cross I met up with the rest of the gang – and a real gang it was! A large chunk of the railway industry (past and present) was there to see Nigel name an engine after himself – along with many of us who’ve worked with him at RAIL magazine over the years he was Editor. Introductions were made by John Smith (CEO of GBRf, whose locomotive it was) after which Nigel gave a speech, talking about about the honour being bestowed upon him along with some background on locomotive namings.
The man and the machine named after him – 66312.Just some of the crowd attending. How many people from different parts of the rail industry (and politics) can you recognise?
Afterwards we adjourned to the Betjeman bar at St Pancras where GBRf had booked a room and very kindly laid on food and drink. It was a lovely event and chance to catch up with so many old friends and colleagues.
As I’ve got to get back home I’ve left those remaining to begin my journey back to Yorkshire and I’ve got a great ride to take me there.
One of the old East Coast racehorses, 91110, named ‘Battle of Britain memorial flight’
19:30.
My train to Leeds was relaxed as it wasn’t busy – and we had a quiet coach so I could knuckle down to some work which included editing some of today’s pictures. Now I’m on the lady leg aboard an equally quiet 2-car train from Hull to Halifax. Leeds station was bereft of passengers for a change – the quietest I’ve seen it for some time. That said, some of the gardens and playing fields are anything but due to folk celebrating Guy Fawkes night. There’s bonfires and fireworks aplenty!
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/
I’d planned to write about our trip back from Cumbria to West Yorkshire, but I’ve been overtaken by events. Instead I’ll leave you with a single picture from today’s travels. The weather across the Lake District has been ‘interesting’ to say the least, but as a photographer that’s how I like it!
Here’s how the hills and woods above Grasmere looked earlier today as yet another rainstorm passed through.
Now we’re back in West Yorkshire, which means what passes for normal service will be resumed shortly!
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/
What a lovely day! Today’s been my ‘significant’ birthday, although not as significant as it used to be before the rules on when you qualify for the state pension were changed. So, no carriage clock or long-service medal for me then. Those days are way gone – and the fact I’ve been self-employed freelancer for the past 25 years means they’ve not applied to me for a very long time anyway!
Instead, today’s been just another birthday, although I don’t mean to make that sound bad, or ungrateful. Dawn’s done a fantastic job in arranging things which we’ve both enjoyed. The weather here in the Lake District was predicted to be mixed today so we were up bright and early in order to make the most of the conditions. That meant an 08:30 breakfast, after which we headed North through Windermere and Ambleside to Thirlmere. The amount of traffic on the road through Ambleside meant the trip took far longer than it should, but once we were past that bottleneck things eased. Taking the road on the West side of Thirlmere eased us out of more traffic and let us enjoy some lovely lakeside sights like this as the trees shed their multicoloured leaves around streams filling the lake.
Looking South along Thirlmere before we started the climb to Raven Crag.
We’d originally considered climbing Helvellyn but the forecast suggested it’s be an unwise choice. Instead, we opted to ascend one of the smaller Wainwrights in the shape of Raven Crag which sits at the North end of the lake. It’s 450m and quite a fierce climb as it’s steep and unrelenting. That said, the views from the top are well worth it.
The walk down was far easier as we elected to follow a forestry track that was built for off-road vehicles. It certainly saved our knees. The climbing I don’t mind so much, it’s the descending that’s the killer.
Once back at ground level we decided to pay a quick visit to Keswick for a pitstop at a pub as well as check out some of the outdoor shops before braving the traffic on our return. We’d booked in for an evening meal at our hotel. So, after a shower and change of clothes we adjourned to the restaurant for a gorgeous meal of local lamb that was beautifully cooked and tasted delicious!
Now it’s time to call it a day. We head back tomorrow but we’re in no rush – even through the weather forecast is looking less than kind.
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/
The pair of us have evacuated Bigland Towers for the weekend and decamped to a lovely place near Windermere as I have what used to be (but isn’t anymore) a significant birthday tomorrow, but that was when the pensionable age wasn’t a moveable feast dependent on what year you were born in.
We’re staying in a place Dawn booked for my birthday last year and that we both rather fell in love with. The Wild Boar at Bowness on Windermere. The drive here from West Yorkshire’s a lovely trip as it takes in some fantastic scenery. Today the weather was ideal, showing off places like the Lune valley to their best.
The hotel has a lot of different attractions. One is the fact they brew their own beer. Like this.
What better place to quaff a pint of real ale than sat in front of this?
We ate in the restaurant which serves a range of food, much of it locally sourced. Admittedly, Dawn’s choice of fish may have come from a few miles away!
We’re here for two nights with the intention to spend tomorrow exploring and doing some walking although it looks like today was the best of the climactic conditions. No matter – we’ll enjoy our time whatever the weather deals us.
See you 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/
Good morning from Swindon. It’s time for breakfast before the group heads off to the local Atkins offices for a briefing and training session, after which we’ll be spending the day at Network Rail training centre at Cocklebury sidings. The centre is separate from the live railway but is fitted out with tracks, switches and OLE. It’s an idea place to learn about the railway without getting in the way of trains.
I’ll add update through the day as I can. I’m only here for the day so this evening I’ll be heading back to West Yorkshire (which could be fun). Watch this space…
08:55.
The trainees and staff from companies involved in the challenge are being briefed at Atkins office.
10:00.
Site briefing before tasks start and people are split into teams.
17:00.
Well, that was an informative and challenging day! I’ll add a few pictures later but what happened was the people who joined the challenge were split into four teams in order to gain hands on experience of assembling overhead equipment from drawings. After that they had the opportunity to get hands on with various tools and also learn about more aspects of the equipment used to electrify the railway. Some of those taking part had never been trackside before.
The training school replicates the real railwayAssembling a new type of adjustable dropper.
The final challenge of day 1 was running out and fixing a catenary wire under tension.
Now the day’s over. The teams have headed back for the night and I’m heading back to West Yorkshire. Hopefully, that won’t be too bad a journey. GWR services are running to time (or very nearly) and it’s a lovely evening to travel. Even so, I don’t expect to get home before 22:00 but hey – I’ve had a profitable and interesting couple of days, so I’m not complaining!
20:00.
The journey home’s been quite painless for once. My GWR train into Paddington was 10 late as it was stuck behind a late running service From Reading, but I had time in the bank but wasn’t too worried. Much as I’d liked to, I didn’t hang around at Paddington as we hadn’t got to the ‘blue hour’ when the sky performs the transition from daylight to dusk where it makes powerful pictures. Instead, I joined commuters on the Metropolitan line for a trip across to Kings Cross. By the time I arrived the skies had darkened enough to make it worth grabbing a few pictures. Now I’m on LNER’s 19:03 heading to Leeds. Today it’s a 9-car train so pretty quiet. I’ve managed to blag a table seat and set up the mobile office and begin editing today’s pictures. Chatting to a regular traveller on this service earlier it seems this is normally a very busy service, but today it’s a 9-car, hence me getting some space. Having wandered through the train to the buffet after the stop at Peterborough I can see what he was saying. My coach is probably the least busy on the train. That said, I’m sat opposite a woman who is slaving away on what’s obviously a company laptop (it has an asset register sticker on the front). Judging by the amount of huffing and puffing she’s obviously not a happy bunny! There’s workers of all kinds on this trip. I’m not the only one with a hard hat on the side of their rucsac. There’s a smattering of leisure travellers as some schools are still on holiday. There’s also a few people with airline baggage tags still attached to their suitcases, which is always a bit of a giveaway.
21:50.
The last leg. Rather than changing at Leeds I’ve had a brief break at a very quiet Doncaster station before catching the following Grand Central service which is mow carrying me directly home to Halifax. I *could* have chosen to use it from Kings Cross but I saw it was a veritable sea of reservation labels. So, choice of a 9 car on which I cold do some work, or sit in the vestibule of a 5 car. A bit of a no-brainer really.
22:20.
Home again…
The cobbles kinda give it away as Yorkshire, don’t they?
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/
It’s a calm morning here in West Yorkshire as I pack my bags and prepare to begin my journey down to Swindon. I’m not taking the quickest or most direct route, far from it. I don’t need to be there before this evening, which gives me time to stop off on the way. But where? You’ll soon find out…
08:20
My stroll down to Sowerby Bridge coincided with the arrival of a heavy shower which made for a soggy walk. I ended up waering rather than carrying my waterproof PPE jacket!
At the station it was business as usual on Northern with many trains cancelled or delayed. My 08:02 is 7 minutes late, which means I’ll be sprinting between Victoria and Piccadilly later if I want to make my connection.
The state of Northern is an object lesson for those who think ‘renationalisation’ is a magic wand cure for the railways ills. Northern was taken back ‘in house’ by the Department of Transport way back in 2020. Yet, more than four years later it’s plagued with issues. Timekeeping is awful, cancellations rife and Sundays a day to avoid travelling as complete routes are canned on a regular basis.
On my way (finally)…
09:45.
And relax..
Despite the conditions, our Northern driver managed to claw back enough time that my sprint across Manchester paid off. I made Avanti’s 09:15 with less than a minute to spare. Now I’ve stripped off and am cooling down in air-conditioned luxury. Well, standard class anyway!
I see that punctuality is an issue on the West Coast too. We were 4 mins late into Stockport, where we picked up a healthy load of passengers. We gained even more at Macclesfield, which means this 9-car, peak time train is already almost full.
I wonder if we’ll manage to make up any time?
10:15.
– as if!
We crawled much of the way to Stoke-on-Trent where we arrived 10 minutes behind time. Now we’re making slow progress towards Colwich, where we’ll join the main trunk of the West Coast Main Line (WCML). We’re not scheduled to stop again until Rugby but with the route being so congested and with us having lost our path I’m not optimistic. I have a 12 minute connection ahead of me. I suspect the chances of me making it are minimal.
To add to the fun the onboard wifi is awful as it keeps glitching and dropping out, leaving me typing this on my phone. Oh well, there’s little for me to do but window gaze and admire the clouds. They reflect my mood. Dark.
11:30.
Things are picking up. I decided to abandon my connection at Milton Keynes as something interesting was due. Here it is.
Hello stranger!
Yestrday saw the first passenger (albeit empty stock) trains running on the East-West line between Bicester and Bletchley, terminating at Milton Keynes. Both GWR and Chiltern have provided stock. GWR will be using part of the West Coast route as the line into Paddington will be blocked whilst construction begins on the Old Oak Common interchange station with HS2.
13:00.
I continued on to Bletchley where I took a little diversion. There’s a line from the town to Bedford. It’ll become part of East-West rail but right now it’s worked by a trio of Class 150 diesel trains borrowed from Northen. I’ve not travelled on it since these DMUs took over from the aborted Vivarail Class 230s so I thought I’d have a trip out to Apsley Guise and back.
150139 ready to work the 11:45 Bletchley to Bedford.
On my return to Bletchley, and with the clouds closing in I decided it was time to head into London.
15:20.
The last leg! After having a mooch around Euston station – which is much improved now that giant advertising screen’s been switched off – I caught a tube to Paddington and a fast train to Reading.
I rarely travel along the Thames valley by GWR nowadays, so I’m wondering. When did it become fashionable for the majority of passengers to sit in the aisle seats, so that they can ‘reserve’ the window seat for their bag? It’s endemic down here! Having stopped off between trains to get a few shots of Reading I’m now on my final unit of the day – another GWR Class 800 to Swindon. The weather’s bucked its ideas up around here, so there may be the opportunity for a few more shots in the sunshine before I’m due at the hotel.
800321 was my chariot from Reading to Swindon. I’ll give it one thing, it can certainly shift!
17:00.
I’m now checked into the hotel. Yet again my arrival somewhere coincided with the appearance of rain clouds, so there was little point in hanging around at the station. At least there was this welcoming sign on the old Great Western hotel opposite the station.
Arkells is a beer that doesn’t seem to travel well. I’ve never encountered it outside Wiltshire. The irony? There’s another pub across the road. What draught beer was it selling? Timothy Taylors – from Yorkshire!
Back soon. It’s time to meet up with everyone else…
23:55.
So much for ‘back soon’! I’ve had a really interesting night catching up with old friends and some of the people who’ve signed up for this hands-on training session. We had time for a quick drink in the bar earlier. This is what the future of the railway industry looks like. And I like it.
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 