March? Where the hell did February go – other than underwater? We’ve gone from the wettest February on record to another month that seems determined to carry on in the same vein. The past two days here at Bigland Towers have seen miserable weather as we’ve had a combination of snow, sleet and rain. The snow’s clung on to the valley tops but the rest of the valley can be summed up in one word. Soggy. The ground’s so saturated any extra rainfall runs straight off, clogging roads and drains. The roads are already in an appalling state but constant flooding’s making them worse as fractured tarmac and gravel is washed away, making potholes both deeper and wider. Still it’s OK, Rishi Sunak’s potholes won’t exist as he’s spending £bns ‘diverted’ from HS2 to fix ’em. And if you believe that I have this really nice tower in Paris to sell to you…
Today the pair of us decided to have a day out and bugger the weather, so we drove over the border into Greater Manchester to a place called Uppermill. The idea was to have lunch somewhere, but the town was packed – despite the weather. We fell back on plan B and travelled the short distance to Delph and stopped at the Old Bell Inn where we found a table without a problem. We’ve eaten here before but not for a year or two. We weren’t disappointed. I ordered a local delicacy – rag pudding. It’s similar to a steamed pudding in that it comes in a suet case, it’s also delicious! Dawn decided to go for the fish and chips which was equally tasty. Here’s the rag pudding…
As we were on the Huddersfield road we decided to come back via Marsden and the Colne valley, calling in at the Riverhead pub on the way. This popular brew-pub on the rail ale trail has only just reopened after a major refurbishment. Here’s how it looks now.
The upstairs room in the RiverheadAt the back of the upstairs is a kitchen area and hatch which serves Asian-style steamed bunsBrew tanks at the back of the ground floor. The revamped downstairs bar area looking out towards the main street.
Now the pair of us are relaxing at home before another busy day tomorrow. We couldn’t have fitted in a dessert course earlier but Dee’s decided to make one at home. So, whilst I’m penning this, Dawn’s in the kitchen making one of her divine lemon meringue pies!
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Discretion being the better part of valour and with having a judging meeting this morning I decided not to sally forth this morning until afterwards just in case I couldn’t find a decent wifi connection and location to hold such an event. Now, with the meeting done and the picture shortlist agreed between CRN’s Alice Mannion and I, I’m venturing West for a few hours to document the last days of Northern’s Class 319 fleet – all of which will be off to the scrapyard between now and the December 10th timetable change.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 12:02 from Sowerby Bridge which is formed of a quiet (but warm) 2-car class 158. In fact, it’s one of the later batch purchased by funds from the West Yorkshire PTE.
12:48.
A journey by train through the Calder Valley’s a lovely experience this time of year due to the autumnal colours from the woodland covering the valley, although last weeks high winds and rain have taken their toll, dropping a huge tonnage. My train remained quiet all the way to Rochdale where (as always) we filled up with dozens of folk heading into Manchester. I’m resisting the temptation to join them. Instead I’ll stay onboard all the way to Wigan where I can connect with the main diagrams (Liverpool, Wigan, Preston and Blackpool) the 319s are allocated to nowadays.
13:20.
Having swapped one load of passengers for another at Manchester we’re now burbling our way over the old Lancashire and Yorkshire railway main line between Liverpool and Manchester via Walkden. It’s a line I’ve known since childhood, although it’s almost unrecognisable now. One four-track it was reduced to two in the 1960s. The mines, power stations and other industrial sites that I remember from the 1970s are all gone. Sometimes it’s hard to picture exactly where they were as the landscape’s changed so much few points of reference remain. Only the stations survive, although they enjoy a much more frequent service (it’s doubled) since I was a kid.
13:55.
Having been deposited at Wallgate station I dashed across to nearby Wigan North Western just in time to catch my quarry. 319384 arrived working a fast Blackpool North to Liverpool service – first stop St Helens.
319384 arrives at Wigan North Western whilst working 1F07, the 1305 Blackpool North to Liverpool Lime Street.
16:15.
I’m taking a short break in Liverpool, waiting for the light to change after having visited St Helens and Huyton. Here’s a few pictures.
319381 approaches St Helens Central, past what used to be extensive sidings and goods yards on 2C17, the 1353 Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street.319368 passes the only remaining signalbox left on the route as it arrives at St Helens Central with 2C18, the 1421 Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street all stations service.
The station building, athough only recent – hasn’t aged well. The railways have changed since it was designed and the 1st floor cafe (always a marginal business) closed years ago. The waiting area is pretty unkempt too. It’s a shame, as it’s an interesting design. I wonder if a micro-pub could take over the cafe?
The waiting area in the main building is unkempt and in need of a good clean. A simple coffee kiosk might work in here rather than the cafe upstairs which never really stood a chance. The frontage of St Helens Central’s rather impressive and reflects the glassmakers art. The building opened in September 2007 at a cost of £6m
18:45.
Homeward bound. I’ve had a good – if rushed – day. I hadn’t realised my last explorration of the line through St Helens Central was so long ago. Vegetation has really grown up in certain areas. Combining that with electrification of the line and many photographic locations have disappeared. That said. I managed a reasonable selection of pictures from different vantage points and checked out others for another foray. I’d have liked to have got shots of the Xmas market opposite Lime St station but I didn’t have time to hang around, so that’s snother mission for another trip.
With the light in the ‘blue hour’ 319385 calls at Huyton with 2F52, the 1645 all stations from Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western.
Having retraced my steps on the road to Wigan I swapped old Class 319s for even older trains. I’m currently on a vintage Class 156 heading to Stalybridge from Southport. The plan is to change at Manchester Victoria but as we’re running late the connection time may be tight…
Not my 156 but the empty stock from a previous service that was late being shunted between platforms, helping to delay my train.The quietest train I’ve been on all day. Having dropped of its human cargo en-route 156425 passes through Salford bound for Victoria where it’ll fill up once more.
19:14.
Oh, the joys of late-running! Connections were touch and go in Manchester. My delayed train arrived at platform 6 at 19:55. My connection was due out of bay No 2 at 19:57. The next Leeds service was cancelled, so a sprint was order. Thankfully, the 19:57 hadn’t got the road so I made it with a couple of mins to spare, saving me an hour’s fester in the cold and temptation to visit the station’s new micropub. Swings and roundabouts…
21:45.
Time to bring this blog to a close. Despite the fact I only had a few hours I think I’ve added some valuable library shots to the collection – some of which are shown here. I’ll edit the rest over the next few days. I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip.
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 