Tag Archives: Calder Valley

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:

The adventure begins…

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Ride India, The 'Beast from the East', The Railway Children, Travel, Weather

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– just not quite the way I was hoping! The bad weather’s still causing havoc on road and rail. Yesterday Grand Central announced the first train they’d be running today would be the 10.34 from Halifax. I’d planned to catch it and Dawn had given me a lift to the station, but it was cancelled at the very last moment as we waited in the warmth of the car. I’d already thought of a plan B (just in case) so put ot into action. VTEC were running a sparse service from Leeds but Virgin West Coast were running every 20 mins from Manchester. I figured that – even if one or two were cancelled – the odds of success were still far better! So, that’s where i’m en-route to now.

Calder Valley services are running with a few cancellations and delays. I’m on the delayed 10:27 which left Halifax at 10:50. The irony of taking this route is that I’m following my cycle training course to Rochdale. I’m glad i’m in a warm DMU as it looks perishing outside!

I’ll update you on my progress from Manchester…

UPDATE: 12.01

Well, that fell OK, I don’t need to be at Heathrow until 17.40. Time spent browsing the Virgin Trains website threw up a train at 13.15 for the bargain price of £39.50 instead of the normal £85.90! I’m now booked on that and *should* arrive in London at 15.39, giving me plenty of time to get to Heathrow.

Whilst passing through Manchester Victoria I was rather taken aback to see an old friend from my days in London – 150129.

20180302_114840

150129 has been about a bit. Centro to Silverlink to First Great Western to Northern…

This old BR built Class 150 was one of the local workhorses on the ‘Goblin’ (AKA the Gospel Oak – Barking line) in North London. I’ve travelled on it many times but never realised it was one of the units which has been transferred up North from GWR.

Taking my leave of Victoria I decided discretion was the better part of valour so instead of walking to Piccadilly as I normally do I caught a nice warm tram. I’m not exactly dressed for the freezing weather we’re experiencing and contracting hypothermia wouldn’t be a great start to this odyssey…

13:34.

We’ve left Manchester 13 late, not because of the weather (although the set was late in from Euston) but because of human error. Our train Manager confessed she’d been waiting on the wrong platform due to a last minute set swap!

14.16

I’m currently between Stone and Norton Bridge in Staffordshire. We’ve been diverted this way rather than our normal route via Colwich due to the snow drifts. The fields are bare as all the white stuff’s blown off them onto the track! Hopefully, once we’re on the 4 track main line the situation will ease. The train’s packed as we’re carrying passengers who were on an earlier service that was cancelled before departure. Everyone seems stoic – people are just happy to be on the move. Mind you, the coach is warm as toast as the heating’s on full – so quite a few folk have drifted off to sleep!

15:19

For a change, the closer we get to London the worse the weather is getting. The skies darkened South of Rugby, then the snow arrived. We’ve just passed Wolverton and the snow’s blowing in at a rate of knots. I’ve had a call from a friend at Euston to tell me that it’s snowing in London.

More on the Calder valley line

24 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Calder Valley, Engineering, Flooding, Mytholmroyd, Network Rail, Northern Powerhouse, Rail Investment, Railways, Yorkshire

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As the weather was meant to be good yesterday I took a little trip down the Calder valley line to Mytholmroyd, one of the towns which was badly hit by the Boxing Day floods of 2015. Nearly 15 months later, Mytholmroyd is still struggling to recover from the devastation. Although both the pubs have reopened, they’re still showing the effects. The Shoulder of Mutton’s beer garden backs on to Cragg Brook which burst its banks that day, flooding the whole area under several feet of water. Here’s what the brook and beer garden look like today. Giant ‘Lego’ blocks act as a bulwark against the brook, but take up all the beer garden!

DG267761. Flood repairs. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

The Environment agency is currently working on strengthening the towns flood defences, so I’m hoping that this is only a temporary measure.

It’s not just businesses that suffered in the floods. I passed several homes along the brook which are still empty as the owners are waiting for them to be renovated or dry out. Whilst the floods no longer make the news it’s clear the effects linger, even if the TV cameras  don’t.

The reason for my visit  wasn’t to gawk at the damage caused by the floods, it was to have a look at another of the worksites on the railway West of the station as a follow up to my earlier blog on the Calder line modernisation. There’s several footbridges on this stretch. Most of them have been renewed over the past few years and replaced with high sided metal structures suitable for electrified lines. What they’re not good for is photography – unless you’re carrying a ladder. However, one stone arch bridge remains at the end of Erringden Rd. Wide enough for a road, it’s now just a footpath. It cuts right across what will be one of the sites for where track renewal will be taking this coming weekend (25-26th March) – as you can see from this shot.

DG267764. Preparing to relay the track. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

Looking back East towards Mytholmroyd station. The Up line on the right was renewed back in January 2014. Lights and matting have been left in the cess next to Down line which will be renewed this weekend. New rail has been dropped in the four-foot of the Up line. In the background is one of the new footbridges. The two signals seen here are controlled by Hebden Bridge signalbox, which will be abolished as part of the resignalling scheme. No new cable troughing has been laid in this area but the existing troughs have had broken or missing lids replaced.

For reference, this next view was taken back in January 2014, looking back to the bridge I was standing on today.

DG168579. Relaying the Up Main. Mytholmroyd. 19.1.14.

Renewal of the Up line in January 2014

Whilst I was in the area I had chance to get a shot of one of the new freight flows that use the line. Last summer, GBRf started hauling stone from Arcow quarry on the Settle-Carlisle line through to Bredbury or Pendleton in Manchester. The trains run as Q services (Q=as required) and have several different paths allocated for them to use in the timetable, so they’re a bit unpredictable. I only found this one was running a few hours before it did. Here’s 66725 hauling 6M38, the 11.25 Arcow quarry to Bredbury.

DG267801. 66725. 6M38. Arcow Quarry - Bredbury stone. Mytholmroyd. W Yorks. 23.3.17

If you want to see the location on google maps. Use this link.

 

The Calder valley line sees £100m of improvements

19 Sunday Mar 2017

Posted by in Calder Valley, Rail Investment, Yorkshire

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Whilst most attention is focussed on the various electrification schemes across the North-West and Pennines, other work to upgrade lines in the North is going ahead with little fanfare. One such scheme kicked off this month with work starting on upgrading the Calder Valley line across the Pennines.

Work’s already been completed between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale, the highlight of which was the opening of a new Western facing bay platform at the end of October 2016. Now the focus moves East from Littleborough towards Bradford. Between now and October 2018 a series of work that includes station improvements, resignalling and track lowering (as well as the opening of the new station at Low Moor) will see speeds raised from 55-60mph to at least 70mph (and in some cases 90mph, although I’ve been told these could be too short for drivers to take advantage of). Whilst there’s been extensive track renewals along the line in the past decade, with the remodelling and renewal of Bradford Mill Lane Junction, renewal of Dryclough Jn and long lengths of the Up line either side of Mytholmroyd, some plain line still dates from 1966.

As well as adding capacity for extra services the work will reduce journey times, meaning that a Bradford – Manchester trip (with four stops) will come down from 58-61 minutes to 53-54 minutes. Whilst the time savings are modest at present, the increased linespeeds and smaller sections between signals will increase the resilience of the service and reduce delays.

Four signalboxes will be abolished and control of the line will be transferred to York ROC. The boxes to close are Hebden Bridge, Milner Royd Junction, Halifax and Bradford Mill Lane – where the junction will have new crossovers installed to enable more parallel moves and facilitate increased services between Halifax, Bradford and Leeds.

Network Rail has already confirmed dates for some of the work taking place between now and June. These are;

Sowerby Bridge and Luddendenfoot (26mp to 29mp)

25/3/17 – 27/3/17 Preparatory work for track lowering at Sowerby Bridge

01/4/17- 03/4/17 Track Lowering at Sowerby Bridge station (gauge clearance).

10/4/17 – 14/4/17 Sowerby Bridge follow up works

29/4/17-30/4/17 Prep works at Luddendenfoot

6/5/17-8/5/17 Track renewal at Luddendenfoot (West of Sowerby Bridge tunnel) and follow up work at Sowerby Bridge

13/5/17-14/5/17 Follow up works at Luddendenfoot

22/5/17-26/5/17 Follow up works at Luddendenfoot (Mid Week nights)

3/6/17-4/6/17 Follow up work at Luddendenfoot

Work on a new footbridge at the listed station of Hebden Bridge is expected to start in January 2018. The bridge (which will be fitted with lifts) will make the station fully accessible as the current subway ramps don’t meet the required standards. UPDATE: It’s since been confirmed that this was incorrect. Hebden Bridge won’t be getting a footbridge. Instead, lifts will be installed in the old lift shafts at the station. At a later date, the Down platform will be extended West to allow trains to stop within the modern signalling overlaps. As more dates are announced for other work, I’ll try and post them to this blog. There’s clearly a lot more work to do. Strings of new rail have been dropped just West of Milner Royd Jn and the ‘Orange Army’ have been busy around Halifax over the weekend. Sowerby Bridge has seen a lot of lineside vegetation clearance and there’s many sites in the Calder valley where new cable toughing has appeared.

Meanwhile, here’s a series of pictures of what you can expect to see, and what you already have…

DG168543. Relaying the Up Main. Mytholmroyd. 19.1.14.

Relaying the Up line West of Mytholmroyd station in 2014. Now the old ballast base has been  dug out and replaced the Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) moves in to drop new concrete sleepers into place.

 

DG19352. Relaying track. Bradford Interchange. 23.10.08.

In 2008 Mill Lane Junction at the approach to Bradford Interchange was replaced, with capacity added. A decade later, it’s going to be rebuilt to have yet more capacity added – allowing multiple entries/exits at the same time. This is a good illustration of how the railways have gone from rationalisation to expansion. In the background is Mill Lane Jn signalbox which will be abolished under the resignalling programme.

 

DG19303. Milner Royd Junction signalbox. 17.10.08.

Milner Royd Jn signalbox is of historical interest as it’s the only surviving example of the work of a small company called Smith and Yardley. The box was built in 1878 but will be made redundant in the next couple of years.

 

DG12731. 158791. Hebden Bridge. 25.9.07

The listed station at Hebden Bridge is a delight. The platform I’m standing on (the Bradford bound side) is the one that’ll be extended in the direction of the photo.

 

DG231394. Signalbox repainted. Halifax. 14.10.15.

Halifax signalbox (formerly Halifax East) was built by the Railway Signal company in 1884.

 

07070. Hebden Bridge SB. 7.8.99.

Hebden Bridge signalbox was built in 1891 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway. It’s a great example of their standardised, prefabricated design produced at Horwich. The box is listed Grade 2.

 

DG235206. Clipping new track in place. Luddenden. 22.11.15.

An RRV moves a rail into place on newly laid sleepers at Luddendonfoot in November 2015

The modernisation of the Calder Valley route reflects its new importance as a vital freight artery as well as a growing passenger railway. The last year has seen the line used by biomass trains from Liverpool Docks to Drax power station, stone from Arcow quarry on the S&C to Manchester and waste from Knowsley (Liverpool) to Wilton. There’s also daily trains moving the remaining coal stocks from the closed Ferrybridge power station to Fidlers Ferry.

DG257854. 66610. Mytholmroyd. 4.10.16

66610 hauls an empty rake of coal wagons from Fidler’s Ferry to Ferrybridge past Mytholmroyd.

 

DG257869. 66082. Mytholmroyd. 4.10.16.JPG

DB Schenker’s 66082 passes Mytholmroyd with domestic waste from Knowsley (Liverpool) to Wilton on Teeside.

Of course, it’s not just freight. The Calder Valley is an important diversionary route for Trans-pennine services when the Diggle route is closed for engineering work. When electrification of that line starts, the Calder valley’s enhanced capacity will be extremely useful.

DG249423. 185136. 185151. Sowerby Bridge.7.8.16

A pair of TPE class 185s pass at Sowerby Bridge station on the 7th August 2016 when the Colne valley route was closed for engineering work.

 

Spring’s in the air

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Calder Valley, Politics, Rail Investment, Travel

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There’s been no time to blog today despite the volumes I could’ve written about the continuing political farce. We saw the wheels come off Brexit when David Davis was forced to admit how woefully unprepared the Govt was to a Parliamentary Committee, as well as having to answer awkward questions to reveal some of the tariffs we’d face in the future (link).  Meanwhile, despite a hugely embarrassing Govt U-turn on NIC and a massive open goal to aim for, Jeremy Corbyn added another excruciatingly bad PMQs to his list (link).

Instead, I’ve been busy whittling down my email inbox before enjoying some of the beautiful pre-spring sunshine by wandering down into Sowerby Bridge to get a few photo’s. One of the beauties of buggering off to Asia for a couple of months is that I’ve missed the drab and dismal early months of the year and slipped straight into March instead – and today was a glorious showcase for the month. The countryside is actively throwing off winter’s hibernation. Birds are busy gathering nesting material whilst plants are industriously sprouting new life. There’s a sense of expectation and optimism in the air – well, amongst the flora and fauna anyway, this is still Yorkshire after all!

Whilst I was in town I popped in to a Network Rail event in a local Church hall. It was purpose was to brief residents about the upgrade works to the Calder Valley line which are taking place over the next couple of  years. The work includes track renewals and remodelling as well as signalling replacement and line-speed improvements. Stations will be improved too. For example, next year Hebden Bridge will have a footbridge (complete with lifts) installed.  I’ll blog about the whole project another time.

Tomorrow I’m off to Huddersfield for a social gathering at the ACoRP office, so I’ll blog again as soon as time permits.