With the collapse of the anti HS2 ‘protection’ camps and protest on the ground, the shambolic remnants of their campaign (and I use that word loosely) spend more and more of the little time they have trying to shore-up their social media efforts to oppose HS2. Like the folks on the ground, this has mostly evaporated as the young people recruited via Extinction Rebellion who made up the bulk of it have (like many young people) short attention-spans. Most have already moved on to whatever lost cause is the latest ‘thing’. What’s left are retreating into an increasingly out of touch world which makes me wonder what some of them have been smoking/ingesting. Here’s an absolute classic of that genre!
Step forward ‘Tellheed Green’, yet another anonymous person supposedly based in London who’s just churned out this rebranded poster and posted it on the Facebook page of the Bluebell woods ‘protection’ camp. I’ve no idea who did the original artwork or where it’s been pinched from, but ‘Green’ has stuck a ‘stop HS2’ logo on it to turn it into something that’s truly ‘through the looking glass’!
Oil companies want HS2? HS2 is a carbon-neutral, electrically powered railway that will get people out of planes and cars to provide a real alternative to fossil fuel use and allow us to wean ourselves off them. Oil companies hate it! It’s the antithesis of everything Shell, Exxon and the others want! This is so bonkers it’s beyond words, yet it’s lapped up by some stophs2 supporters who’ve shared it dozens of times, or left comments like this:
Of course, the fossil fuel companies and their supporters like the Taxpayers Alliance and others must be absolutely p*ssing themselves laughing at this weapons-grade stupidity. The UK ‘green’ movement has swallowed their propaganda hook, line and sinker in order to oppose a carbon-neutral, green railway. The irony? Not one of these supposed ‘environmentalists’ has stopped, looked at this, engaged a brain cell and spoke up to say “Hey, guys? Just stop and think about this for a minute”? Their campaign is so intellectually bereft and bankrupt this stuff gets shared without any thought or question. You genuinely couldn’t make this stuff up. Well, unless you’re the likes of @hs2rebellion and it’s supporters, obviously.
And you wonder why I argue that the UK ‘green’ movement’s completely unfit for purpose? I wonder what madness they’ll come up with next?
UPDATE.
Thanks to a tip-off from Pete Johnson (@pedrojuk) on Twitter I now have the source of the original artwork which was stolen for this. Needless to say the original by Namaya Productions carried a very different message.
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Today’s been a lot less fraught. No ailing moggie to worry about for a start. Instead the little bugger seems to have made a speedy recovery and spent most of the day either curled up asleep on our bed or mewing for food, attention – or both. Jet’s such a lovely old boy that we can hardly be upset with him. Instead we just cherish the time we have with together.
The weather here in the Calder Valley’s certainly taken a turn. Although the forecast was for rain for much of the day we’ve had very little, merely the odd shower and a few claps of thunder out of some spectacularly threatening skies. Most of the really dark stuff has passed us by – which has allowed me to get in my daily perambulations without getting soaked. I’ve even managed a spot of gardening – cutting back the brambles on the terrace at the back of the house where they’ve made another bid for world domination. I’m sat up on the terrace now, beer in hand, gazing out across the Calder Valley, watching the next phalanx of stormclouds march towards us. It’s looking like this weather’s with us for the rest of the week now which is a shame in one way, but the gardens and woods would certainly benefit from the rain. Either way, I’ve got plenty to occupy myself with, so a few days climate-induced “house arrest” isn’t a problem.
The rest of the day’s not been unproductive. As well as sorting out paperwork I’ve enjoyed a pleasent few hours in the office, lining up some projects for the future now the country’s opening up again, as well as getting more old slides scanned. Right now I’m on an album of really random stuff that never got fully catalogued or filed, so there’s a melange of pictures taken between 1989 – 2003. Travel shots from the USA and Asia or images from my days working in social housing – even pictures of old friends – and of course old shots of Lynn. There’s such a mix of memories in these albums. I’m looking forward to having them all done so that I have digitised access to them in order to do something with them – even if it is just to jog some friends memories on Facebook, saying “remember this”?
This brings me on to the picture of the day which is one of today’s new scans. I took this shot of the old Three Mills complex at Bromley-by-Bow in East London on the 15th February 1990. In those days I lived just down the road on Bromley High St so this place was in walking distance and one day the winter sunshine was perfect for pictures. Built on the River Lea, Three Mills is the world’s largest tidal mill.
The grade 1 listed buildings have a long and fascinating history dating back to the 12th Century. In their time the mills have seen a multitude of uses, from milling flour to grinding grain for alcohol then distilling and bottling it or making gunpowder and used as warehouses right up to their present use for educational projects and as conference spaces. It’s a fascinating survivor of a world long-gone in this part of East London.
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Today wasn’t the one I was expecting or hoped for. Oh, it started well enough in that the weather best the forecast, so we had far better temperatures than predicted and a heck of a lot more sunshine, but our lovely Moggie decided to throw a spanner in the works with a health scare. You have to remember he’s just a few weeks shy of his 20th birthday, so we’re always thinking in the backs of our minds that today could be the day we end up saying goodbye. This morning he developed a twitch which seemed to be a problem with his right ear. It affected his balance and the poor bugger practiced walking round in circles so (of course) we became concerned. We booked him in for his 6-month check-up tomorrow and decided to keep an eye on him but his behavior got worse, so Dawn decided it was a trip to the emergency vet…
They were packed, so it took a while to wangle an appointment but we managed it. Only, when we got there, the little bugger decided to be awkward. He’s a lovely disposition, but he doesn’t like being prodded and poked by vets – so they couldn’t get to the root of the problem because (in the vet’s words) Jet was being “grumpy”. In the end we came away none the wiser, just with a cat that was full of antibiotics and a purse that was £83 lighter. Once back at home Jet became decidedly less “grumpy” and also stopped having the head-shakes and tremors. It’s almost like he did it to wangle yet another trip in the car!
Our schedule ripped up, the pair of us decided ‘bugger it’ and rather than work late to catch up for lost time we went out for a stroll and enjoyed the sunshine – which is due to leave us tomorrow, being replaced by several days of rain. We also called in at our replacement ‘local’ – the Wainhouse Tavern (the ‘Big 6’ remains closed as the transfer of ownership is still in the hands of solicitors, who’re taking an age) for a couple of drinks and chat with other ‘6’ exiles.
With the weather changing I’m expecting to be based at home all week, which will allow me to sort out lots of paperwork and pictures like this one I’ve chosen for today’s image. I took this shot in May 1995 whilst Lynn and I were out for a day cycling around Essex. This is Bradwell nuclear power station framed by old wooden mooring beams in the nearby harbour.
This old Magnox power station ceased operation in 2002 but in 1995 it was very much alive…
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Earlier today the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson presented the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the members of the Mytholmroyd Station Partnershipat a ceremony in the restored station building which the group has put so much time and effort into bringing back into use.
The award was presented to Sue and Geoff Mitchell who received it on behalf of all the members of the groups, many of whom were able to attend – along with representatives of the rail industry and local councillors. As friends of the friends, Dawn and I went along to celebrate their outstanding achievement. Needless to say, I took my camera along, so here’s a few pictures from the day
The Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson greets Geoff Mitchell in traditional Covid ‘arm bump’ fashion… The Lord Lieutenant meeting local Councillors and community representativesAddressing the stations friends and their guests inside the restored station building. The Lord Lieutenant presenting Sue Mitchell from the station friends with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service The Lord Lieutenant presenting Sue Mitchell from the Friends of Mytholmroyd station with the engraved award and the certificate signed by the Queen. Everyone came together outside the building for the obligatory group photograph to celebrate the (well earned) award.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’ve not done one of these for a little while as I’ve been busy with rolling blogs and other things. There’s a few more blogs in the pipeline, including one that’s occurred to me today because of the complete crap that’s come out of some of our ‘new’ media – the people who’re fed up with what they see as ‘biased’ reporting from the mainstream media so are doing their own stuff. The only problem is they fall into exactly the same trap (and worse). I’ll write that one up tomorrow.
Today’s been a mixed bag. After the fantastic weather we’ve had the past few days today has very much been an anticlimax – even though the temperature’s only been 4 degrees cooler. The skies have remained cloudy all day (hang on – wasn’t that a line from an old song?) so the sun’s never really broken through. Because of that I’ve been happy to be stuck in the home office bashing away at the computer to get some paperwork done as well as scan more old slides. Admittedly, I eventually cracked as I wanted to get some exercise so I ended up strolling down into Sowerby Bridge to get some shopping as Dawn had presented me with the challenge of making some veggie burgers – which is a first for me.
Considering it’s a Friday Sowerby Bridge was quiet – apart from the canal, which was busy with narrowboats leaving our local hire company (Shire cruisers). A veritable flotilla of their boats were queuing to head West through the locks on the Rochdale canal. It’s great to see people returning to the canals which is a wonderful way to travel. Ironically, myself and a group of friends did exactly the same thing back in 2005. At the time I never dreamed I’d end up living here, but then life’s full of surprises.
Whilst I was strolling along the canal I came across the picture for today. Sowerby Bridge is famous for its free-range geese. These animals own the town. They don’t just stick to the canal, or the river – they can be found roosting all around the centre of Sowerby. What makes them amazing is that they have incredible road sense. They’re infamous for the fact one of them will stand in the middle of the main road through town like an old ‘Lollipop’ lady, blocking traffic whilst the rest of the band waddle across the road. It’s quite a sight to behold when it happens. So, today’s picture is of the next generation of Sowerby Bridge Geese growing up on the canal earlier today…
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Having spent most of yesterday in the office on what was one of the sunniest (and certainly hottest) days of the year, i’m venturing out today. Sod’s Law being what it is, the weather’s nowhere near as good as we have low cloud instead of wall-to-wall sunshine. Hopefully, if the Met Office have got it right the cloud will disappear later.
That suits me as right now I’m on the 08:50 train from Halifax to Huddersfield. Why? I’m off to Specsavers! Having had my usual eye test deferred by Covid it’s time to get my ‘mince pies’ checked out and choose a new pair of glasses. My preaent ones are four years old now. Photographer’s glasses take a beating due to costantly coming into contact with cameras. The lens coatings get worn away and the glass scratched and scored, so it’s time these ones were retired. Besides, it’ll be a week or so before the new ones are ready…
After the Opticians (and if the weather’s right) I plan to spend a few hours at the lineside getting some pictures. I’m not sure where yet, that depends on the sun – so let’s see what happens.
My service to Huddersfield’s being worked by 150274, a unit that’s worked in Yorkshire all its life. It’s been refurbished and had USB sockets and PIS screens fitted, so it’s in good nick. It’s also empty. The handful of people who got on with me at Halifax detrained at Brighouse, leaving me on my lonesome!
09:30.
As train times and available appointment times were out of sync I’ve time to hang around at the station getting a few shots. Until recently the stabling sidings were always full of surplus Nothern units that weren’t needed due to the Covid downturn. Today the yard’s empty, which augurs well. All there is to admire is the massive, multi-storey bulk of the old goods warehouse in the background.
Watching the procession of Trans-Pennine Express services as they arrive and depart it’s plain passenger numbers are picking up. Some of them are busy and it’s noticable that 1st Class (which suffered the biggest collapse in numbers) is seeing people return as business travel returns.
11:45.
My eye-test revealed that my eyes are perfectly healthy, which is always good news. They didn’t pick up any other underlying health problems either. As an extra precaution I paid to have my Retinas scanned and mapped which provides a health template for the future. As usual, the Specsavers staff were both professional and friendly with no pressure put on me to buy expensive frames or extras. I chose an new lightweight frame to house the thin lenses I’d ordered. They don’t look very different to my old ones really, they’re simply a slightly different shape.
Back at the station I spotted that the famous station cafe on the East end of the island platform had reopened, so I couldn’t resist popping in for one of their delicious, freshly cooked bacon rolls. The lovely couple who run it were both there so we swapped stories as we’ve not seen each other since the start of the pandemic. It’s great to see them back. The cafe was always one of the station’s hubs with a regular throughput of passengers and railstaff passing through. They reopened just 9 weeks ago and are finding it hard to build back the business. Passengers are returning but many have changed their routines, bypassing businesses that relied on them. Getting them back is a challenge. So, if you do pass through Huddersfield remember they’re there and pop in for a drink and a snack and enjoy one of the few remaining traditional family run station cafe’s left on the network.
17:15.
Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve been on the move non-stop since leaving Huddersfield. Looking at the weather I decided tp bolt across the border into Lancashire for a few hours and recce the forthcoming Trans-Pennine route upgrade engineering work that will be taking place on the route to Stalybridge, so I caught a train to Manchester Victoria then retraced my steps towards Ashton-Under-Lyne by tram just for the sheer variety! I’ve not spent much time on Metrolink for some time, so it was a good opportunity to update the library with images of street-running trams and their place in the pecking order. Frankly, I could have done with some air-conditioning on the vehicles, most of which were very busy. Unlike the national rail network the number of people who’re still wearing masks is much lower. Despite the weather, I maintained mine. One thing that struck me as we pootled along the streets of Droylesden was how many shops remained closed. There were all sorts, fast-food joints, nail bars, restaurants – small businesses of all kinds. I’m assuming more than a few have been put out of business by the pandemic and will never reopen. It was a very sad sight.
Once out at Ashton I walked over to the nearby Ashton Moss North Junction where a road overbridge offers decent views and a new housing estate right next to the line adds perspective. Sadly, by this time the clouds were rolling in and I lucked out on a few shots. The weather felt like it could thunder any time, so I kept an eye out on the skies to make sure I didn’t get caught out. There’s no signs of electrification mast bases on this section yet, but there’s a large compound next to the railway on Richmond St which contractors have established and stocked with equipment – including mast piles. I expect progress will be made during the blockade when the line will be under a possession with trains diverted. Here’s a Northern Class 150 working from Southport – Stalybridge past Ashton Moss North Junction with the compound seen to the right, next to the trackside access.
Here’s a view looking the other way from the bridge. TPE’s 802206 is passing the new housing estate (barely 4 years old) with a service from Liverpool Lime St to Newcastle. This was the site of Old Ashton and Guide Bridge Junction, where the line to Guide Bridge trailed off to the right towards the camera. The Junction was closed in 1991. The site beyond the Junction (also on the right) was the site of the LNWR Oldham Rd goods depot which closed much earlier in 1966. It’s now the site of a Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets. The new housing makes me crack a wry smile when I think of those opposed to HS2 saying ‘no-one wants to hear the noise of a railway’! No doubt I’ll be popping back here on a regular basis now to document the march of the electrification masts.
Moving on to Ashton itself I caught a train through to Stalybridge where I resisted the temptation to visit the station buffet (believe me – that was a struggle on a hot day like today!). Staying just long enough to get a few pictures I made my way back into Manchester before heading back home. I’m currently on the 16:58 Victoria to Leeds which is very busy indeed.
22:30.
Time to bring the day to a close. I’ve spent part of the evening editing today’s pictures, so here’s a sample. A Manchester Metrolink tram approaches Ashton West with IKEA dominating the skyline beyond. I’ll add a few more pictures and some text to this blog tomorrow. Right now I’m going to try and get some sleep on what’s another hot and humid night…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s another silly o’ clock start for me this me this morning as I’m travelling down to Wolverton to a memorial service for a friend, Major John Poyntz, who died last year. Due to Covid those of us who knew John have never had the chance to get together to celebrate his life and swap memories, but today we will.
Of course, today’s also the day the Government have relaxed all the Covid restrictions in England, so it may be an interesting day to be travelling. I’ll be blogging throughout the day, seeing how it pans out…
07:00
Walking to Halifax station was lovely this morning. There was barely a cloud in the sky. It’s obviously going to be a glorious day but there was still enough coolness in the air that I made it to the station without becoming a sweaty mess. I’m now on my first train of the day, the 06:44 to Manchester Victoria, which is made up from a pair of two-car Class 195s. It’s a quiet train with just half a dozen other passengers in the front car besides me so I’d no problem getting a table seat where I could set up the laptop to type this. I like the amenities on the 195, working air-con (great on a day like today), decent-sized tables that don’t trap your legs like the ones on the old Class 158s, plus power sockets and wifi. On the bulkhead in front of me is a Passenger Information Screen that tells me what the next stop is as well as the trains final destination. It even tells me the temperature (16 degrees), which is more than the old Calder Valley Class 155s ever could!
195s pass at Halifax with 195003 on the right working today’s 06:44 to Manchester Victoria.
My train never really filled up – even after calling at Rochdale, making it a very relaxing journey. The vast majority of passengers were still adhering to wearing masks which also helped. As we descended the bank from Miles Platting to Victoria I checked the progress on wiring the line to Stalybridge. After years of delay the work’s finally progressing. I noted several new piles for overhead masts that had been sunk, whilst several pallets of new cable trunking sat in the cess.
As my train was quiet there was no melee at the gateline so I made a speedy departure. The walk from Piccadilly to Victoria was also a breeze. One thing I did notice that really stood out was the absence of rough-sleepers. Normally I’d pass dozens. Today I only saw one on a bench near Piccadilly. Have Manchester finally got hold of the problem?
08:30.
I’m now on a 9-car Avanti Pendolino speeding South. This is the busiest I’ve seen these services for a while. It’s certainly not pre-Covid levels but it’s plain that passengers are returning to the rails. I’ll be interested to see what the loadings are like after Stoke as the next stop then isn’t until we reach Milton Keynes. A welcome change to this set (390043) is it’s the first I’ve been on where the table power socket has been changed to include two USB ports as well as mains – a welcome addition as I can now recharge some of my other gizmos as well as power the laptop!
09:55.
I made it to Milton Keynes without a hitch. The sun’s really cracking the flags here so I’m glad I packed the suntan lotion. My train from Manchester has a lot of slack time here in order to let non-stop services past, this gave me time to nip across the footbridge and get pictures and a cheery wave from the driver!
From Milton Keynes I’m doubling back to Wolverton on a LondonNortwestern service which is worked by a single 4-car Class 350 so it’s busy.
10:50.
What I and many others in the congregation hadn’t known (until the Vicar mentioned it) was that the church we were in was the very first church built by a railway company. Built in 1844, it was paid for by the London and Birmingham railway.
20:50.
Well, that was quite a day! John’s memorial was a great event in so many ways. It was chance for all of us to celebrate his life and achievements. It was also an opportunity for his family to meet some of his railway and military friends, and it was chance for us sll to swap stories – and stories there were aplenty! Lord Snape, who served with John on the Longmoor Military Railway when the “Great St Trinians train robbery” film was being made had some great stories to tell. One of his fellow Railway Inspectors (David Keay) also had a few tales to tell..
After the event we all adjourned to a nearby pub where a buffet had been laid on and we could enjoy a few jars in John’s memory. After all – it’s what he would have wanted!
We spent a glorious few hours reminiscing before breaking up and heading off in different directions. Two of us were heading North so Mervyn Allcock and I couldn’t resist a little ‘pit-stop’ in Derby. Railway aficianados will recognise the background and know exactly where we were.
21:45.
I’m now on the final leg home, having caught a train from Leeds to Halifax before the final walk home – happy that the weather’s cooling down and that I can have the next few days staying local. I might not be going far but there’s going to be plenty to blog about…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
This is not exactly a two-pipe problem, it’s pretty easy to guess what’s causing this, although some people will do their damndest to pretend otherwise. It’s all about Covid, apparently…
Really? Well, Covid is a global pandemic that’s hit the entire planet, so surely, other countries must be suffering the same problem, no? Here’s a few shots I took at my local Tesco supermarket today. This is a Sunday morning. The shops had all night and until 10:00 to restock and replenish before opening its doors to the public. I took the pictures at 11:50 when the place had been open for less than two hours. One of the things I was shopping for was Strawberries. Here’s where they should be. These shelves have been empty for a couple of days. The surrounding soft fruit shelves aren’t much better.
Here’s where the Tomatoes are normally on display. Spot the gaps…
Salad veg stocks weren’t looking much better either…
Good job I wasn’t after any Satsumas…
It’s not just fruit and veg either. Here’s the meat isle. Notice the gaps and low stocks.
If you wanted to drown your sorrows you’d have to be a lot more selective…
This shot tells another tale. The top self is where reserve stocks are kept that allow the shelves below to be restocked during opening hours, so that the isles can be kept free of shelf-stacking trollies. These shelves would normally be refilled every night.
This isn’t an isolated phenomenon or restricted to any one supermarket chain. I’ve just spent a week down in Surrey where we had to shop between different supermarkets because the large Sainsbury’s in Farnham looked very much like Tesco in Halifax. I’ve seen this in other towns and Cities I’ve visited too.
We’re now in the 17th month since the Covid pandemic triggered the first lockdown. Yet, in that first year during the first lockdown the only empty shelves I remember seeing in supermarkets were due to people panic buying stuff like toilet roll, pasta and hand sanitizer. Everything else was well stocked throughout, with the occasional product gap. Those shortages were soon sorted as panic buying subsided and suppliers stepped up production. This begs the question, if Covid is the culprit here, why now and not then? Why did shops manage to maintain stocks at the height of the pandemic, but not now, when tomorrow we hit the Government’s much trumpeted ‘freedom day’ and many restrictions are binned? Will we suddenly see these problems evaporate? I’ll be keeping an eye out on supermarket selves to bring photographic evidence.
Another thing we’re being told is that part of the reason for the shortage is that the existing lorry driver shortage has been made worse by the fact potential new drivers are struggling to book tests. Really? So why has this become a problem now, after 17 months of restrictions? What else had changed this year that didn’t have an impact last year? This BBC article gives a clue…
“Based on a survey of its members, the Road Haulage Association estimates there is now a shortage of more than 100,000 drivers in the UK, out of a pre-pandemic total of about 600,000.
That number included tens of thousands of drivers from EU member states who were living and working in the UK.
Even before Covid, the estimated shortage was about 60,000 drivers”.
So, even if Covid hadn’t restricted driver training, there’d still be a shortage of HGV drivers because of – Brexit. The Road Haulage Association lists Covid 19 as No 6 on their list of reasons for the driver shortage. Brexit is No 2 after drivers retiring.
Oh, and don’t forget those drivers are now taking far longer to deliver produce from outside the UK because we’ve now declared customs sanctions on ourselves which means drivers spend far longer dealing with forms and other red tape. And I’m not even going to ask how much of the UK fresh produce is unavailable because the EU citizens who used to come to the UK in their 10s of 1000s to pluck and pack it are no longer here…
Now, what was it Brexiters like David Davis once said? Oh, yes…
They lied to you. They’re still lying to you. Remember that next time you go shopping and see empty shelves like this, because you won’t see them in any EU country – despite Covid.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Over the past few weeks I’ve been privileged to visit two of the major High Speed 2 railway construction sites. Firstly the one at Calvert, Buckinghamshire on the 23rd June where HS2 will cross the rebuilt East-West Railway, then the site at West Hyde in Hertfordshire on the 13th July where the Chiltern tunnels are being driven North whilst the Colne valley viaduct will be built Southwards. My article on the Calvert site will be appearing in a future edition of RAIL magazine but I’ll be blogging at length about my visit to West Hyde next week. Both visits demonstrate how construction of the new railway is ramping up massively now that contractors have finally been able to mobilise and begin the main civil engineering. This process will really more obvious next year when the Colne valley viaduct starts to span the lakes as you can’t see the tunneling and many cuttings that are being constructed are below peoples line of sight, so out of view – especially as they’re tucked away in the countryside. It’s the bridges and stations that are the most visible signs of progress. I’ve now got most of the pictures I’ve taken during my visits online. You can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio website.
Over the the next few months I’ll be visiting other HS2 construction site to bring you views and in-depth news of what’s actually going on with the largest construction project in Europe. As well as the engineering I’ll be talking a look at some of the ecological and mitigation work that’s being carried out to make this the greenest project of its kind.
What you’ll be hearing less and less about is the protests against HS2, becuase they’ve collapsed.
Having reached their height last summer they’ve been gradually fizzling out ever since. The Euston Gardens tunnel eviction early this year was their most public failure, but there’s been many since. Now, even their umbrella group – HS2Rebellion – are tacitly admitting that the protests asre on the wane. Yesterday they announced that after 38 issues their weekly (no)newsletter is going from weekly to fortnightly!
Mind you, its appearence has beeb patchy for some months due to a lack of anything to report. Deserted ‘protection’ camps don’t produce anything so they’ve filled space by talking about other political campaigns. Here’s a look at their probel. These are the ‘protection’ camps they list on their website with my annotations to reflect the true picture that HS2Rebellion aren’t admitting.
Hardly what you’d call an active campaign, is it? The handful of people left at the camps are in no position to mount any coherent actions against HS2, most of their time seems to be spent getting splinters in their backsides whilst appealling for funds to keep them in food. Even their social media activity’s dropping away as the mostly young people involved lose interest and find other things to get outraged about. When you consider the summer is meant to be the height of the activist season it’s clear they’re a busted flush now.
Come the autumn when it’s clear they’ve failed to ‘protect’ anything, much less actually stop HS2 I’m expecting the last few camps on Phase 1 to pack up and the people involved either drift off to other campaigns or try to set up new camps on Phase 2a. But they have several problems. Their support up North is nowhere near as strong or well-established as it was in the Chilterns, the weather’s harsher in the winter and they’re going to be waiting until Spring 2024 before the main civils work starts on phase 2a. That’s three winters away. Care to take bets on how many people are willing or able to sit around for that length of time – even if they’re not evicted first? So, as you can see, this is going to be the final year of any organised (and I use that term very loosly) campaign against HS2, which leaves me free to write about other things. No doubt I’ll still keep a watchful eye on the rump of their campaign as it continues to sink but I’m looking forward to writing future blogs on the positive events going on with the HS2 project.
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Ugh! The alarm went off at 05:00 this morning in order for me to have a shower, an injection of caffeine and a sugar rush- thanks to Dawn’s freshly made Bakewell tart. Just to add to the excitement the cat decided to be sick and feel sorry for himself so it wasn’t the most relaxed start to the day as we had to clean Jet up before we left. Dee was up too in order to drive me to the station (thank you babe! X) but on the bright side we both enjoyed a beautiful Surrey morning as the mist caused by last nights torrential rain begain to boil away as the sun rose. By 06:00 the mercury had already hit 14 degrees.
I’m currently sat on the London train, a 12 car set from Alton to Waterloo which is pretty empty. In this neck of the woods a lot of people are still working from home. Oh, there were a few dozen people waiting for the train to arrive and it is early, but you’d expect far more than this on a normal working day. It’s upper and middle-class commuter zones like this in the South-East where the rail recovery is going to be the slowest. I’ll be interested to see what Waterloo looks like when I arrive in under an hour. Still, my train’s clean and well-presented. The interior of this Siemens Class 450 has been refreshed with the new SWRailway seat mocquette and there’s now power sockets throughout . Oh, and wifi – which is how I’m transmitting this blog.
Not exactly crowded, is it?
07:10.
Whilst Surrey may be basking in sunshine the closer I get to London the gloomier it gets. The weather along the old London and Southwestern main line feels more like a dull and dank November day not July. Only the fact that the trees are sporting their summer regalia and gardens are full of blooms gives the game away. Hopefully, by the time I get to the HS2 construction site that I’m visiting today things will have perked up.
08:17.
Hanging around Waterloo just long enough to get a few library shots (including of the new ‘green’ wooden seating -nice!) I caught a Bakerloo line tube over to Marlebone. Initially quiet, the train filled up after Charing Cross.
Aboard the venerable Bakerloo line trains, now the oldest on the Underground network.
Marylebone was equally busy with commuters coming off arrivals. Numbers here are really picking up. There’d be little room for social distancing on these trains so It’s just as well rules will be relaxed next week. The vast majority of folk are still wearing masks and I’d be surprised if that changed overnight.
18:00.
Wow! What a day..
The gloomy weather cleared by the time I got to my final destination, which was the amazing HS2 construction site at South Heath, on the edge of the M25. It’s from here that two of the biggest structures on phase 1 of HS2 are being built from. Right now there are two huge tunnel boring machines (TBMs) drilling a pair of 9.1m diameter bores Northwards. These dwarf the 7.6m bores of the channel tunnel. Meanwhile, preperations are underway to begin costruction of the 3.5km long Colne Valley viaduct which will be built Southwards from the same site. Our small group wrre given a guided tour that got us up close and personal with “Cecilia” the second of the 160 metre long TBMs which was launched last week (a week earlier than planned).
I’ll be blogging at length about our visit another time. Right now I’m downloading the pictures from my camera, but here’s a taster.
Here’s what ‘Cecilia’ looks like without me stood in the way…
This isn’t the full 160 metre length of ‘Cecilia’ either. The cutting head and shield have already disappeared into the tunnel and there’s a good few metres of the tail which I simply couldn’t capture, even with a wide-angle lens! This things are big!
And there’s more…
Up close and personal with ‘Cecilia’ (named after Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, an astronomer), the second TBM which was launched last week. This is the view from the tail of the machine, looking through the centre towards the cutting head where you can see a tunnel lining segment waiting to be put into place. This is the tunnel dug by the first TBM. It’s only when you get this close you realise just how big they are. The Channel tunnel main bores are 7.6m in diameter.These tunnels are 9.1m. Several hundred metres inside the tunnel are the tail lights of TBM ‘Florence’ which is now outside the M25 motorway and running ahead of schedule. Inside the on-site factory making the steel and concrete segments that will line both of the Chilterns tunnels. The plant will produce approximately 112,300 of these 7.5 tonne segments which come in seven different shapes.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 