04:50.

Silly o’ clock arrived half an hour ago. I’m now up and prepping to leave the house to walk to Halifax station in order to catch the 06:00 train and head to Morecambe on the Lancashire coast, stopping off en-route at Heysham Harbour on the only train of the day which serves the once thriving port. I’ll update this blog regularly, so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to as there’s going to be regular stops throughout the day…

06:00.

My walk to the station was through streets deserted of humans. There was just me and cats who were making the most of owning this fine sunny morning before the dogs and their walkers ventured out.

Now I’m on the first train of the day, the 05:59 to Leeds. This is a busy 3-car – already half full, which isn’t bad for this time of day.

09:00

My first train only took me as far as Bradford Interchange, where I swapped stations, walking across a deserted city centre to get to Forster Square. During my research into this trip, I discovered an odd service. Forster Square trains are all-electric nowadays. Bar one. There’s a single daily DMU service from Forster Square to Lancaster, leaving at 06:41. There’s no return working either. So, me being me I decided it was worth getting up at stupid o’ clock to try it out!

The train was worked by a 2-car Class 158. Rather appropriately, one of the ex-West Yorkshire PTE units was used today. I was one of only two dozen aboard from Bradford, but as it was an all-stations service it soon filled up.

Tempting as it was to stay aboard all the way to Lancaster, I had other plans so disembarked at Skipton in order to get some pictures. Skipton is a gorgeous old Midland Railway station that still possesses many original features like the iron and glass canopies. The journey along the Aire valley was lovely. I even spotted deer calmly grazing in a field by the railway near Cononley. All the stops we called at were busy with commuters heading into Leeds, leaving each station car park full of their cars. An hour after arriving at Skipton I was on my way again. As we headed further out into the countryside, the landscape became more rugged. As usual, the railway took the path of least resistance, meandering along river valleys where it could, which afforded lovely views.

Now I’m at my next stop. Hellifield, so it’s time for a nostalgic interlude in 24H, the wonderful station cafe.

1245.

I’ve moved on once more after a lovely historical interlude at Hellifield. The station cafe contains a wealth of old photos and railway artifacts, which bear testament to what an important railway junction this once was.

Leaving, I caught the 11:11 across the ‘little North-Western’ route via Bentham to Carnforth. This is a traditional ‘clickety-clack’ railway as the rails are still jointed, producing that classic noise as trains pass over them. I’ll write more about the line later.

After a pause at Lancaster between trains and chance for a quick (but expensive) pint in the station bar, I’m now en-route to Heysham Harbour aboard the left hand one of these two Metro-Cammell built beasts.

15:15.

Having experienced both Heysham and Morecambe I may have to revise my view of the latter. Heysham is exactly as I remember it. A dump only useful for getting the ferry to/from the Isle of Man. The station’s reduced from its expansive 5 platforms to half a one just large enough to cope with a two-car train.

Morecambe has been rebuilt too. The old station closed in 1994 with the site being taken over by new commercial developments. But the 1907 building survives.It has a number of uses now, including as a Greene King pub – a restoration which is rather good (just forget about the beer).

Opposite the station is the Art Deco Midland hotel- another gem that is undergoing further restoration. The old Colin Compton joke (‘they don’t bury the dead in Morecambe, they just stand them up in the bus shelters’) ran through my mind – and it’s true that a lot of the people I encountered were of a certain age, but…

A lot of money has been spent on the seafront, the beach is clean and deserted and the views across Morecambe Bay are sublime. But ‘fleshpots’ and nightlife? Nah. You come here for the quiet life!

Having fortified myself with chips and mushy peas (well, this IS the seaside) I made my way back East aboard a Leeds bound train which reversed at Lancaster before heading back across the ‘little North Western’ to my next stop, Bentham where I met up with Gerald Townson, an old community rail colleague, so that I could learn lots more about what the local Community Rail Partnership have been up to along the line.

19:40.

Now I’m back in West Yorkshire, having a brief pitstop in Shipley before heading home via Bradford. It’s been a diverse day, but I must admit the early start is catching up with me!

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