Over the Christmas shutdown Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) teams have been busy in the Mirfield station area where a number of different jobs have been carried. I visited just before Christmas, when the place looked like this;
Meanwhile, looking East…
These are the first really substantial alterations at Mirfield, but there’s lots more to come as the four tracks are restored and the station’s completely rebuilt.
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The weather’s finally picking up. Well, it’s stopped raining – so I’m off to have a look at recent work on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU) for the afternoon.
Having walked down to Sowerby Bridge station I fear I may be overdressed as it’s far warmer and muggier than the forecast suggested, shorts and a vest top would have been better than walking pants, polo shirt and a denim jacket. Today may get sweaty!
I’m currently aboard Northern’s 11:22 to Leeds made up of a pair of Class 158s. I’m not going to complain as the air-conditioning’s welcome! Next stop is Batley, then Morley…
Feel free to pop back and see what I get up to during the day…
11:40.
Our first stop was at Brighouse where I spied half a dozen members of the station friends group buzzing around keeping the place clean and maintaining the garden and planters. The station looks stunning at the moment as everything’s in summer bloom. I really need to pop in and get some pictures whilst I can.
Network Rail have been busy too. Sections of the old 4-track route towards Huddersfield have had some serious vegetation clearence carried out. The work’s removed many large trees and opened up views lost for 30-40 years, as well as having made the lineside safer.
14:00.
Time for a break. Detraining at Batley I walked to the site of Lady Anne Crossing, a former road level crossing that’s been reduced to a foot crossing for several years. It was guarded by one of the last operational signalboxes in West Yorkshire, but it was abolished last weekend as it’s been replaced with a footbridge as part of the TRU. Here’s a few pictures.
Next stop was at the new station at Morley which opened on Monday after a 9 day blockade of the line which also allowed the work at Batley to be completed. Well, I say completed – neither is as there’s still cosmetic and other work to be done but the point is the facilities they were replacing have closed. TRU staff have worked hard to get these improvements done on time and the new station at Morley is a great improvement on the cramped old station.
16:15.
Things haven’t entirely gone to plan! After a brief stop at Dewsbury to upload pictures and avoid showers I caught a TPE service to Huddersfield and back to check out TRU work as things change on a weekly basis. At the moment a worksite’s being set up West of Deighton where two rail overbridges are to be replaced. The new signalling that’s been commissioned streches East from LNW junction by Ravensthorpe to beyond Morley. Huddersfield itself remains little changed – at the moment. I was only intending to change trains at Dewsbury in order to head back to Brighouse but I got caught up in 30 plus minute delays due to kids trespassing on the lines I’d only just traversed. Now I’m finally on a delayed Northern service heading in the right direction.
21:30.
I stopped off in Halifax en-route to home for a swift libation at the Meandering Bear, a bar in town where some neighbours work. As they were both in I ended up chatting and the swift beer turned into two. Oops!
Back home I was on cooking duty, learning to use our new Ninja air-fryer. Dawn’s already converted but I’ve yet to get to grips with it, although after a couple of tries I have to say I’m impressed.
Now it’s time to relax. Tomorrow’s another day.
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 sun doth shine so I’ve escaped the office and the Calder Valley to have one of my regular looks at progress on the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. Right now I’m on a Northern service heading into Manchester from Sowerby Bridge in order to access the route from the West and begin my examinations there before heading through the Colne valley back into West Yorkshire.
I’m not the only one making the most of the weather. This off peak 2-car Class 158 is busy with day-trippers doing the same.
I’ll be updating this blog throughout the day so feel free to keep popping back to see what I get up to…
12:20.
Due to disruption and late running with services via Victoria I’m taking the ‘scenic route’ via Salford Crescent where I picked up a very busy Northern Class 331 electric to get me to Manchester Piccadilly where I’ll connect with a Newcastle bound TPE service to Stalybridge. Here it is, worked by 802213.
12:45.
I’m now on the late-running 12:33 which still has plenty of free seats at this point in its journey. It won’t be like this once it gets to Huddersfield.
I don’t envy the passengers joining the nearby Transport for Wales service to Cardiff Central. They’ve got this 75mph ‘delight’ in store today…
13:30.
On the move again! The trip to Stalybridge via Guide Bridge was interesting as it allowed me to glimpse the work done on the curve between the two. The chord’s now full of TTLs (two-track cantilevers) waiting to be fitted out and the wires added. The irony? This section of track was originally electrified as part of the 1500v DC Woodhead line scheme from the 1950s and some of the original lighweight masts survive – although not for much longer.
Things hadn’t changed majorly at Stalybridge despite bank holiday works. No new TTLs or portals had appeared but the structures that did were being fitted out with downpipes and registration arms.
I didn’t hang around. Now I’m on a local TPE service to Huddersfield. Thus section of the route shows no descernable progress other than vegetation clearance and a few concrete hardstandings installed for future worksites or lineside cabinet locations. Don’t even ask about the new line from Liverpool to Marsden which exists only in the imagination..
13:50.
My stop at Huddersfield was brief in the extreme. 5 mins to change trains and grab a quick picture. Huddersfield stations about to undergo major changes as part of the TRU, so savour views like this whilst you can.
14:50.
At my next stop (Dewsbury) train times went pear-shaped again as my connecting service is 20m plus late. Oh, well. Time for a swift half in the station’s West Riding refreshment rooms. Choices, choices…
16:45.
I’m now heading home from Batley after an interesting interlude looking at the TPU work and also reminiscing about the town which is hardly a place I can say I know well but it seems to keep cropping up in my memories and mentions.
The work to install the footbridge and abolish the foot crossing is well advanced. Most of the earthworks are complete and sections of the footbridge have arrived on site. On a Facebook forum one of the signallers working the box has said it will close on June 23rd. Here’s a look at work today.
21:55.
I’m now back at home and winding up today’s blog after an interesting day out. Walking back into Batley I noticed that that the pub next to the station had reopened. Located in the basement of one of the lovely old Victorian buildings that line the exit to the station, the Cellar Bar closed suddenly in December 2022 after six and a half years but reopened under new management at the end of January this year. It’s well worth a visit as it has a selection of hand-pump real ales as well as the usual lagers, wines and spirits.
Having had a swift half I made my direct train back to Sowerby Bridge with minutes to spare. After picking up some shopping en-route I’ve had a leisurely evening being a good husband and cooking for us both whilst Dawn’s been out to visit her hairdresser! Tonight’s meal was made up from these ingredients. To use the catchphrase of a discredited Australian artist – ‘can you tell what it is yet’?
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 taking advantage of the sunshine across West Yorkshire to get out and look at more Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU) work and other bits of the rail network in what’s fondly described as ‘God’s own country’.
As Dawn was going into the office today she gave me a lift into Huddersfield so I could catch a train East. Walking over to the island platform I was shocked and saddened to see that the famous station buffet run for many years by husband and wife team of Chris and Gez had closed for good whilst I was away in Asia. Calling in for one of their excellent bacon rolls was often the start to a days adventures. Sadly, the strikes and Covid had taken its toll on their business over recent years, so they took the decision to close their doors on February 18th. They’ll be missed by many rail staff – if not by their waistlines!
Heading East my first stop was at Batley where I walked down to the old level crossing to update pictures of the old level crossing and signalbox which will be replaced by a new footbridge.
13:30.
After walking back to Batley and retraching my steps to Dewsbury I’m now in Leeds ready to head off to the next location I want to document improvements at, although this is off the main TRU route. Photography’s becoming more of a challenge as clouds are rolling in, although for some shots that’s no bad thing. Leeds station’s busy but not at the frenetic levels we see at the peaks.
Right now I’m sat on one of Northern’s 2-car Class 158s which is welcome because the wind’s really taking the heat out of the sun and Leeds station’s notorious for being cold. Feeling the strength of the solar rays through my seat window is a far more pleasant experience to being stuck out on the platform.
My route out of Leeds follows the corridor HS2 would have used to enter the city. Mothballing this route is just another example of the criminal myopia and lack of ambition of our political classes. It does nothing for ‘levelling up’ or the environment. Truly, we have a government that knows the cost of everything and value of nothing (unless you count bungs to its friends and donors).
14:15.
My next stop was at Castleford, a tpwn I’ve not visited for a dozen years. The single platform station is having its second reinstated along with a new footbridge with lifts to link the two. Track improvements and resignalling have added to the package of improvements so that the station can be a useful diversionary stop away from the main Trans-Pennine route whilst its closed for upgrade work. It’s a great example of the spin-offs from TRU work that has long-term benefits other areas.
I didn’t hang around to explore the town. I’ll save that for another time. I merely used the 10 minute window in between services to get the pictures I wanted before catching the next train back to Leeds.
15:30.
There were two good reasons to get back to Leeds when I did and they arrived one after the other. First up was a Cross-Country double HST power car move from Derby to Neville Hill depot in Leeds.
Right behind it was the ‘Blue Pullman’ liveried HST set which had set out from Crewe on its way to Nevill Hill.
17:50.
Last stop of the day is Ravensthorpe station and LNW junction. This are will undergo massive changes as part of the Trans-Pennine route upgrade. The station you see will be closed and a new one built West of the junction (and behind the camera)so that it can serve both routes. The old London and Northwestern line to Dewsbury to the left and the old Lancashire and Yorkshire line to Wakefield on the right. Plus, the fast LNW Trans-Pennine lines will cross the L&Y lines in a dive-under rather than the existing capacity-constraining flat junction.
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/