On Wednesday I was privileged to be invited to see the construction of HS2s Duddeston Jn viaduct up close. It’s an impressive structure that’s being built on a very constricted site. To add to the fun the engineering challenge is made tougher by the viaduct’s changing horizontal curve and 3% gradient, which sees it climb to around 12m above the existing railway.
Built by consortia BBV, the weathering steel structure is made up of 14 spans of around 55m apiece. It’ll weigh up to 6,835 tonnes when complete. Seven spans are being built and pushed out over the existing railway lines whilst the remaining seven spans will be built and craned into place to create a 700m long structure.
Duddeston Junction Viaduct is supported by one abutment, two steel piers, four portals and eight concrete piers. It’s the longest viaduct on the Curzon Approaches by over 400 metres – eclipsing Curzon 1 which measures around 300 metres.
Here’s a selection of pictures from my visit.
A freightliner Class 66 passes where the viaduct will be pushed out over the four tracks of the busy Birmingham to Derby main line. In the background is the Freightliner container terminal whilst the pillars of the HS2 line lead your eye towards the Curzon St No2 viaduct which can be seen peeping out from behind the trees. These two freight lines are new. The originals had to be slewed to provide a space for one of the HS2 viaduct pillars. This involved building a new bridge over Duddeston Mill Rd which can be seen in the picture. The diverted freight lines are to the left of this pillar, which was built on the course of the original formation. The 20m wide gap that was created allowed the bridge pillar to be built. The viaduct is like one giant Meccano set, with the weathered steel being welded (or bolted) together on site. Looking along the viaduct towards Washwood Heath. The constricted nature of the site is evident. HS2 have taken over the warehouse to the right which is used for offices and storage. The weathered steel that makes up the viaduct is shipped in from Portugal, then put together on site. That white line? That’s where two sections have been welded together. Looking along the inside of the viaduct. Unlike other HS2 viaducts at Wendover and elsewhere, this one will be left open at the bottom. The viaduct with Birmingham ROC (Rail Operating Centre) in the background. You can see where sections have been welded together. To the left is the ‘nose’ of the viaduct, which is the guide fitted to it whilst it’s pushed out. The pile cap and wing walls which form the start of the viaduct. This is a massive structure sitting in piles of 1.8 meters in diameter sunk to 20 meters in depth. It’s designed to take the stresses of high speed trains passing over the viaduct.. Looking along the viaduct towards central Birmingham, with the ROC to the right and Curzon St No2 viaduct on the horizon beyond. Building the bridge deck insitu. The size and complexity of the rebar is evident. The bridge deck waiting for the next section to be built so that it can be pushed out further. The curvature is evident. Pillars for the viaduct on the opposite side of the existing railway. One the viaduct is pushed out to bridge the railway the remaining seven spans of the viaduct that will bridge these pillars will be built on site and lifted into place. A telephoto view that gives an impression of the curvature of the viaduct.The back of the viaduct with sections of it being assembled before being joined to the existing structure. The constrained nature of the site is evident. Part of the problem in building the viaduct is the curvature, which means the length of sections that can be built at any one time is limited. In the background is the first of four spans of the new Washwood Heath viaduct, a replacement road bridge. This span will be lifted into place over the railway during a blockade over the August bank holiday. The assembly area for viaduct sections with the gantry crane used for lifting them into position. The steel is brought in by road, which presents its own logistical challenges due to the size and weight of some of the pieces. Sections of the weathered steel in the assembly area. One of the bearings that the viaduct is slid over. This one is capable of being moved to left or right, hence the long pad it’s sat on. Who says no rails have been laid on HS2 yet? OK, admittedly, this is only for the travelling crane!
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After a long day (and early day) yesterday I luxuriated in a lie-in until 06:00 here at Bigland Towers. I’d like to have slept in longer but we had a commitment. We were meant to be having the boiler replaced today, which meant getting up in plenty of to perform our ablutions and prepare for the cottage to be upheaved for the day. But there was a problem. After weeks of wall to wall sunshine, today the weather was chucking it down, and part of the boiler replacement meant that the guys had to get onto the roof to replace the boiler flue too. So, (apologetically) they cancelled and arranged to come back next week. The weather put the kibosh on another plumbing job I’d planned to do too. So, whilst Dawn disappeared to her parents I spent the day sheltering from the rain and editing pictures from yesterday. meaning the day wasn’t entirely wasted.
I managed to get a few other things done too – as well as get out for my daily perambulations, which I’ve not done as much of here compared to being in Southport, but what you lose in distance on the flat you make up with exertions on the hills, as my Fitbit cardio results show!
Whilst inconvenient in some ways the amount of rain we’re having is a blessing. Grassland that was showing several shades of brown is beginning to return to green – at least in some parts. The problem is that the ground’s so hard-baked much of the rain is running off fields which are hardly renowned for being flat in this neck of the woods. Hopefully, more rain will follow now that the ground’s being softened up.
Not that I’ll see the results. I’m heading back to the seaside for a little while.
I’ll try to keep you entertained with various blogs over the next few days. I’ve one in preperation right now from yesterday’s HS2 visit. The pictures are all ready, I just need to do the words so you know what you’re looking at as it’s quite a project with lots of facts and figures.
Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which relates to both Birmingham and HS2.
With the massive Curzon St HS2 station rising in the background, a West Midlands metro tram calls at Albert St on the latest extension to the city’s tram network.
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/
Ugh! Is that really the time? I’m up early as I’m off to Birmingham for another High Speed 2 (HS2) media visit, details of which will follow after the event. But first I’ve got to get there, which involves a series of early trains from Halifax – hence me being up at this ungodly hour! I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back to see how the day unfolds.
05:25.
We’ve had another wet night here in West Yorkshire – a welcome event as we desperately need the rain. Thankfully, it’s subsiding as I begin my trek to the statìon this cool morning.
06:05.
And we’re off! I saw barely a soul on my walk to the station this morning. Even the dog walkers seemed to be having a lie-in! It was a different picture at the station where a few dozen early morning travellers were waiting for trains to Wigan and Leeds. I’ve joined the 06:00 to the latter. It’s worked by one of Northern’s 3-car Class 195s, prociding plenty of space for the numbers travelling at this hour.
Morning breaks over Halifax.
07:10.
Leeds was still waking up when I arrived. The normally bustling station was almost empty of trains and passengers. Only my platform was busy with people waiting for the same train as me – the 07:11 to Plymouth.
Thankfully, this Cross-Country service was made up of a pair of 4-car Class 220s so it was possible to get a seat for the trip to Birmingham.
07:30.
Having called at Wakefield Kirkgate my coach has started to fill up. No table seats are acailable so I’m in an aisle seat next to a fidgety and rather ‘out of gauge’ young man – ho hum! With the shops on Leeds not being open I was looking forward to getting a coffee on the train, only to find the trolley service on this unit has no hot drinks! Bugger!
There’s no chance of me setting up the ‘mobile office’ on this train so there’s little for me to do other than sit back and enjoy the ride.
08:45.
By Derby I’d had enough of fidgety ‘out of gauge’ man as a companion. He spent most of his time watching crappy youtube videos about American fast food (which could explain a lot) so I swapped trains and found a spare window seat in the reat unit, which was one of the refurbished XC sets. The plug sockets have been moved to a much more sensible position that’s between the airline seats in front. This has given me chance to ensure my phone’s fully charged by the time I get to Brum.
The heavy, moody clouds I saw at home have gradually morphed into less threatening examples here in the Midlands. It’s difficult to tell if there’s been any rain as everywhere looks so dry. I’m nit complaining as I didn’t fancy doing today’s visit during a deluge!
09:22.
No prizes for guessing where I am, now for the last leg…
11:45.
A view few get to see. Atop the Hs2 viaduct which is being pushed out over the Birmingham – Derby line, looking towards central Birmingham.
The HS2 viaduct with Network Rail’s Saltley ROC (Rail Operations Centre) to the right. HS2 will give fantastic views of Birmingham to incoming passengers.
One of life’s ironies was that – whilst we were being given a tour of a railway for the future, an engine from the past turned up.
37800 chunters at signals on the freight line that’s been diverted to allow an HS2 viaduct pillar to be built in the old formation.
13:30.
Wow! That was quite a visit. Our small band of trade press journalists were given fantastic access. Both to to the Duddeston viaduct site and the people in charge of building it. It’s a hell of a project, putting together 1000s of tonnes of steel on a constricred site, then pushing out the viaduct in stages across a major rail line (part of which you’ve had to divert). Not only that – but the viaduct’s curved and you’re pushing it uphill! I’ll write a seperate blog about it another time but add more pictures later. Right now I’m taking time to get a few pictures in Birmingham city centre.
14:55.
My time in Brum’s been blessed by heavy showers – but only after the event! On the bright side, it lead to a really interesting conversation with a chap who was working on the tram network as we both hid from the rain!
Trams. The sign of a modern, forward-thinking UK city.
17:00.
I’m making my way back to West Yorkshire via a rather different route, using the West Coast Main Line to Manchester. It avoids having to use Cross-Country ‘Voyagers’. Instead I’ve hax the pleasure of a Siemebs built Class 350 to Crewe before swapping to an old Northern Class 323 to Manchester.
Admittedly, Crewe’s not the interchange that it was when I was a kid. The station’s well past its ‘sell-by’ date but successive Governments have done naff all to improve it. The biggest failure of recent years was when temporary Tory PM Rishi Sunak made the mad decision tocancel HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester.
Crewe station. Decaying gently.
18:45.
The last leg…
After enjoying heritage traction from Crewe to Manchester Piccadolly and weaved my way through city centre crowds I’m now on my last (packed) train of the day. Northern have seen fit to allocate a 2-car Class 195 to the 18:21 to Leeds. Needless to say, it’s doing a very good impression of a sardine can! Why this service is short-formed is a mystery. When we passed Newton Heath depot it was awash with spare units. Are they all broken?
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I’m here in South London, preparing to start the day. First up (after coffee, of course) is a trip across the capital to Willesden Junction where I’ll be meeting up with an old friend and colleague, Andy Roden of Modern Railways. We’re off for a visit to the HS2 station construction site at Old Oak Common. I’ll blog more about that later, but you’ll be able to read the full details of the visit in a forthcoming edition of Modern Railways.
But first, I have to get there…
09:18
And getting there has proved to be fun! Having arrived at Clapham Junction I’d intended to get the Overground direct to Willesden Jn, only to be greeted by PA announcements telling me the service has been suspended for some unknown reason.
So, plan B it is. I’ve caught a train to Waterloo where I’ll jump on the Bakerloo line. I was hoping to avoid the tube on a warm day like this but hey ho…
On the bright side, my train to Warerloo is a Class 458, which are in their final weeks of service.
09:40.
At Waterloo I had a surreal experience. A young nember of security staff spotted me taking a picture of the 458 and accosted me from the opposite platform, telling me my mirrorless camera was ‘too big’ and that I needed permission to take pictures so needed to sign in. I explained I was only there for a minute as I was catching another train, her her next line was that I could only take a picture with my phone! I politely but firmly declined, took my pictures and walked away…
Well, that’s a new one!
I’m now rattling and screeching my way to Willesden. Well, not me personally, but the ancient underground train I’m on is! We discussed these trains at the Siemens lunch yesterday. Soares are impossible to come by, so a machining shop has been established at Stonebridge Park depot to make any metal parts needed. If the part takes weeks to make, the train remains out of service until it has been.
15:15.
I’m back! Our visit to the HS2 site at Old Oak Common was a really full tour. Not only dis we descend into the HS2 station box to see how progress on constructing the 6 platform station is progressing, we also visited the Western approaches to the new station on the Great Western Main Line (GWML) where tracklaying has already taken place. Here’s a couple of shots.
Myself and Andy Roden pose for a picture on platforms 5-6 of the new HS2 station. We worked out that the last time we worked together on a similar project was HS1 at St Pancras way back in 2004!Looking towards Paddington from the new tracks being laid for the GWML station. The tower cranes in the background will be involved in constructing the roof for the interchange station. The new track on the Right will be part of the slewing of the existing GWML in order to create room for platforms 1-2 of the new station.
18:00.
Watching England play in the world cup in a pub in London with two Scousers and an Irishman…
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/
Oh, God. Is that really the time? I’m already up, drinking coffee and munching on toasted fruit teacakes in preparation for my stroll to Sowerby Bridge station to catch the first Manchester bound train of the day, the 06:03. I’ll be heading to Birmingham for an HS2 media visit, the first to this particular site which I’ll describe when I get there. Unlike some, this is no hole in the ground. Exactly the opposite, in fact – it’s rather eye-catching…
I’ll be blogging as and when I can, so feel free to pop back to see how the day goes…
06:10.
Whilst it’s a damp and somewhat icy morning my walk to the station was rather enjoyable. The fact it’s downhill all the way added to that fact! Now I’m relaxing in the warmth of a mostly empty 3-car Class 158, although I’ve no doubt it’ll have folled up with wage-slaves by the time we get to Manchester.
06:43.
As expected my train slowly filled up en-route but was way over half full by the time it left Rochdale which is the busiest station on the route after Halifax. The occupants are a mix of trades people heading into the city to work on various building projects and earlybird white collar office or shop workers.
07:33.
This morning’s walk twixt Vic and Picc stations was a chilly one. The city centre felt colder than back in the Pennines. I felt for the poor sods sleeping rough, hidden in cardboard boxes to keep warm, or just swaddled jn dleeping bags. There but for the grace of God…
Piccadilly station was just beginning to spring into life with long-distance services heading South and East whilst local trains ferried in commuters from the suburbs.
Piccadilly awakes…
Now I’m en-route to Crewe aboard an ex-London Midland Class 323 whilst dawn breaks over the city on what promises to be a decent winter’s day.
09:07.
I’m typing this aboard a London North-Western service from Crewe to Birmingham. I’m on a warm, comfortable Class 350/4 with plug sockets, a/c and wifi, which is a bit of a step-up from the Class 323 that got me here from Manchester. Not that it was a bad journey, watching the sunrise over frosty fields and frozen streams as we traversed the Cheshire countryside was gorgeous. At Crewe I bumped into two other rail journalist colleagues, but they’re booked on a later train so I’ve gone on ahead.
Staffordshire is just as frozen as Cheshire with everywhere covered in a thick layer of frost. If I was lineside it would make for some great pictures, but today I’ve other fish to fry.
09:33.
Perusing the BBC website my day was dimmed by the tragic news coming out of Thailand where 28 people have been killed when a construction crane collapsed onto a train. It’s a railway system I know well and I country I love, so it feels anything but abstract, or distant, especially as I’d normally be there this time of year.
11:00.
Having met up with Chris Howe and Rich Wilcock at New St we’re now on site. This is what we’ve come to learn about – and climb to the top of. The HS2 bridge which will span the existing line to Walsall at Duddeston.
14:35.
Visit over, I’m now having a warm and editing a few pictures. Here’s a sample (captions to follow).
Looking down along the bridge from the high girders at the Birmingham end of the structure.The view looking the othe way towards Curzon St with a cross-city line train on the route the bridge will be pushed out over…A zoom lens shot of Curzon St station under construction.
18:00.
I’m now on my way home from Crewe after a fascinating day. I’ll be writing a seperate blog about Curzon St No2 bridge soon. Hs2 Ltd organised an excellent visit with lots of information and access to the engineers building this project.
Having left site I had a couple of hours to get pictures around New St station before catching the 16:34 North. This was another busy train which was rammed all tge way to Wolverhampton. It remained busy all the way to Crewe, where I had a few minutes grace between trains to photograph these beasties.
The Class 37. Still serving the railway after 60 plus years.
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/
Having finally made it to London my plans changed somewhat due to the power of social media. I’d not arranged to socialise but a friend who was in Brighton had read my blog and suggested meeting up in London on his return. Then another friend who’d just flown back to the UK from Ireland signed up to the meet. The obvious point for us all to rendezvous was around Victoria station, which is what transpired. That was handy for me as I had time to take pictures on the old South-Eastern side of the station which is still home to some the old BR-built Class 456/466 EMUs which work services to places like Gillingham, Orpington and Gravesend.
One of the remaining 2-car Class 466s in service at Victoria which had been working inner-suburban services that day. 43 of these units were built between 1993-94. 18 of them have already been scrapped whilst 3 more are in store.
Having enjoyed photographing various services it was time to adjourn to the St George’s Tavern which is a Nicholsons, pub adjacent to Ebury Bridge over the SER station in Pimlico. It’s a classic old London corner boozer that’s tucked out of the way so doesn’t see much tourist traffic. The three of us enjoyed a catch-up for a couple of hours before heading off in different directions, but not before a couple of us went back to photograph these beasts which had appeared on a railhead treatment train (RHTT)
A pair of re-engined GBRf Class 56s (now classified Class 69) were working a Tonbridge to Tonbridge (via ‘around the houses’) RHTT.
As I had some time to kill and a Travelcard at my disposal I nipped aboard another 465 to head out to an old haunt at Denmark Hill. The old station building has enjoyed a charmed life. In 1980 the building was devastated by fire but was resurrected by Bruce’s brewery as part of the much missed Firkin chain, when it was named the Phoenix and Firkin. The pub’s changed a lot since those days, but it’s still called the Phoenix. My fond memories of the area date back to 1981 and a lovely weekend spent with a female friend from Southport that involved a fur rug in front of a roaring fire in a house that it transpired was owned by an arms dealer. Happy days!
The next day was the main event and why I’d returned to London. I was due at an HS2 media visit to a rather special site – the Wendover green tunnel. I’ll blog about the visit in full later but for new here’s a few pictures and details. The 1.4km is being built from precast sections made by a company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire which are transported by road to the site. It’s not often you see a tunnel being built above ground, much less have the chance to explore one!
Looking South towards London from the site offices. Wendover village is to the left, across the existing Chiltern railway and A413 dual-carriageway. The segments are laid on a pre-prepared reinforced concrete base, then covered with layers of membrane before being carefully backfilled. Inside the Northbound tunnel, looking South. I’m standing where the rails will run, inside concrete guides. The space to the right is for a walkway and services.
Our guided tour and explanations lasted several hours, after which I was glad to get back into a warm train for the trip back into London! We’d had snow that morning but fortunately it didn’t disrupt the visit, although there were still plenty of traces on the ground along the route back to Marylebone.
Marylebone’s now a unique London terminal, as it’s the only one that’s still 100% operated by diesel trains, with no plans to electrify services. However, the elderly Class 165s that form the backbone of local and suburban services are due to be replaced in the near future, but there are no firm plans on how decarbonisation will be achieved, or even what a new fleet will look like. In the meantime, these BR built units soldier on. They’re pretty dated on the inside, with no mod-cons like plug or USB sockets. However, they do retain the old 1st Class seats at the front of the vehicles, which are rather comfortable – if threadbare!
165039 at Marylebone before working a service to Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
By the time I got back to London it was late afternoon and the weather was hardly conducive to hanging around, so I made a beeline for Euston where I was just in time to catch LNW’s 15:46 to Crewe, which was worked by a pair of Class 350s. At least this service was running today! The train was packed leaving London but gradually emptied out en-route, allowing me to finally get a table seat and set up the laptop to begin processing pictures.
My journey back North was (thankfully) uneventful, if a bit late getting to Crewe, which seems a regular thing. I still made my Manchester connection and final train home from Victoria which saw me walk through the door at home just before 21:20. It had been a long couple of days!
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/
Oh, God. Another silly o’clock start. I’m getting too old for this! Right job I’m sat in the hotel lobby waiting for a taxi which will take me to this morning’s event – details of which later as I’m respecting their media embargo.
06:10.
Ok, I’m now on site, and a lot of other media are arriving, so you’ll see why I’m here plastered all over TV soon. Here’s a clue..
06:25.
Time for a safety briefing.
07:05.
OK. Here’s why I’m here at an ungodly hour.See this concrete wall, I the next hour or so an HS2 tunnel boring machine will be poking its head through after completing the first of the Bromford tunnels.
Look who’s here!
10:30.
Job done! The TBM broke through far quicker than was anticipated. So much so that the machine had to be halted in order to let other VIPs and guests arrive for the main event. These things are not an exact science and can’t be timed to the minute. When the breakthrough was complete some of the TBM crew displayed flags from the nations involved in the project – although I’m not sure anyone expected an Everton flag to put in a brief appearance!
I have to say, finishing a job by 09:30 is rather nice – especially when the weather’s so good. My colleague John Whitehouse (the only other member of the rail media attending) gave me a lift from the site to Stechford station. Now I’m exploring the W Midlands rail network to add some library pictures to my archive – some of which will appear here as I relate my travels.
11:00.
Bugger! I travelled up to Wolverhampton on a local service with the idea of trying the tram back towards the city – only to find none were running due to a power failure. Ironic when the trams run on battery along this section of line! Still, the rebuilt station looks good.
Maybe I’ll try again later. Right now, I’m on my way to Tame Bridge Parkway…
12:45.
Travelling to Tane was an inter experience as it took me a long way into the past- as well as the future. The line from Wolves as far as Bescot wasn’t a regular passenger route for decades – unless it was weekend diversions in BR days. Now, two new stations are under construction on that section of the line.
Sadly, the Bescot area has gone in the opposite direction. I first got to know it back in early 1977 when I was in digs in Walsall, looking for work in the lock trade to continue my apprenticeship. I’d nip out to Bescot in my free time to watch the cast amount of freight passing through the marshalling yard and locomotive movements of the depot. Now, the depots canister and the yard is just a fan of empty and rusting sidings.
19:00.
Time (and I) have moved on. I’ve abandoned the West Midlands for Lancashire, having retraced yesterdays steps to Preston. My attempts to get traverse sections of the West Midlands tram network were foiled completely when I found the power outage I’d encountered in Wolverhampton had affected the whole network, including central Birmingham! Instead I took a circular route by rail back to Wolverhampton where I could mix basking in the sun with some photography. After topping up my vitamin D levels I headed back into Brum for a final time before catching an Avanti Pendolino North. I’ll add a few pictures from my trip when I get home. Right now I’m on a Northern Class 331 heading for Manchester via Chorley. I have to admit, these electric versions of the Class 195s can certainly shift. Their ability to accelerate seems to beat all the older kit Northern possesses. This six car formation is rather quiet, so I’ve had no problems setting up the mobile office in order to blog en-route. Sadly, the train’s accelerative properties are rather wasted as we’ve been signal-checked at Buckshaw Parkway in order to let a late-running Trans-Pennine Express service get ahead of us, but I should have ample time to make my next connection at Salford Crescent.
20:15.
My connections proved to be more touch and go than I thought as my late runner caused my connection to Manchester Victoria to be late as it was following behind. As it was, I made the 19:57 to Leeds with 3 minutes to spare. This is another quiet train, so I’m relaxing whilst enjoying the glorious evening sunshine. I must admit, I’ll be glad to get home. It’s been a long day!
I might get a little lie-in tomorrow, but the plan is for Dawn and I to make the most of the weather and get out into the countryside for the day. Well, I say plan – we haven’t actually got one yet – and no idea of where we’re going to go!
22:00.
OK, as promised, some more pictures from today.
Coming down in chunks!After the breakthrough the TBM crew appeared through the cutter head to display flags representing some of the nationalities working on the site.Flying the flags of Malaysia, England and Donegal. Rail Minister Lord Hendy was in attendance.How the site looks from above ground. The TBM is behind me as I look towards Birmingham.
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 not used to this anymore! I was rudely awoken by the alarm which I’d set for 06:30 – not something I’ve had to do for a while. The reson for getting up at such an hour is I need to get into Farnham to catch a train into London before heading North to Rickmansworth, ready for an HS2 railways site visit (more of which later). Darkest Tilford isn’t the easiest place to get to/from but Dawn’s kindly offered to give me a lift to the station. I’ll blog and post pictures throughout the journey and explain more about what it is I’ve been invited to see later…
08:15.
I’ve made it as far as Farnham on what’s a beautiful morning – but bloody chilly! The fields surround Tilford are coated in frost, which makes for a lovely vista. I’ve I wasn’t travelling I’d have been tempted to wander with the camera locally. As it is I’m now waiting for the 08:34 to take me to Guildford. Farnham station’s busy with commuters such as these who catching a direct service into the capital as I arrived.
08:45.
I’m now on the first train of the day, a virtually empty 4-car Desiro. It’s quiet as the set has just come empty out of the sidings where it reversed after working in from Guildford. Plus, a London direct train runs ahead of it by just a few minutes.
Just 3 to a car…
09:20.
My plan to get a few quick pics at Guidford fell by the wayside when I ended up in conversation about railways with the Conductor of my train as he was intrigued as to how and why I was going to Rickmansworth (he’d noticed my ticket destination earlier). I nearly missed my connection as a result! Fortunately, the Waterloo train left from the adjacent platform. The 5-car Class 444 that formed it was already very busy, leaving few seats available to Guildford passengers. Apparently, vandalism at Portsmouth was causing delays and cancellations on our route, so I was probably lucky my train was on time.
Right now we’re speeding along the South-western main line, non-stop from Woking to Waterloo.
10:00.
After grabbing a few quick shots at Waterloo, I headed for the underground and a trip on the Bakerloo line, which has the oldest trains on the network. They should have been replaced years ago, but Transport for London has been strapped for cash, so these 40 odd year old trains soldier on, unloved and unkempt. They’re in a right old state inside and out. Riding the line’s reminiscent of the New York subway in the bad old days.
14:30.
I’m here at the HS2 Chiltern tunnel South portal where the porous portals that prevent sonic booms have bern completed. They’re fascinating examples of civil engineering problem-solving – and an interesting optical illusion.
Inside the Southbound tunnel.The portal itself.Looking down on the Northbound portal. The air pressure holes and taper of the porous portal are more obvious.
18:15.
That was a really interesting day. Having the opportunity to talk to the engineers (male and female) who are responsible for designing and executing these major projects is a real privilege.
Having been deposited back at Rickmansworth station, I retraced my route back to London, stopping off on the way to get a few pictures at various stations along the line to Baker St.
Metropolitan line S stock in the turnback siding North of Harrow-on-the-Hill station.Jubilee line trains pass at Finchley Rd.
Back at Waterloo I made time to check out the Railway Heritage trust exhibition outside the old Eurostar platforms. The trust are showcasing the import work they do helping to restore the UKs railway heritage with grants and advice on restoring station buildings and other items across the network.
I made one last stop at Clapham Junction to make the most of the glorious weather in order to capture images of the old Class 455 trains that are still in daily service despite being well past their sell-by date.
Who’d have thought these old girls would still be the mainstay of SWR suburban services in 2025!A pair of SWR Desiros pass Clapham and head for Waterloo with London’s ever-changing skyline as a backdrop.
Right now I’m standing in a vestibule on the 18:02 from Clapham to Alton, which is absolutely rammed.
10 cars of human sardines. But I thought everyone worked from home nowadays?
18:30.
Thankfully, a large portion of my fellow passengers left at West Byfleet, which has allowed the rest of us to get seats – and me to charge my phone!
I’m reflecting on the fact today is my first (albeit brief) visit to London in 2025, which seems bizarre as it’s a city I called home for 25 years, but then Asia beckoned earlier this year and I answered the call.
21:10.
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m back at Chez Platt in Tilford and winding down for the evening. I’ve added several more pictures from today but now Dawn and I are having some quality time together before another busy day tomorrow. See you then!
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/
After being trapped under a miasma of low cloud for the past couple of weeks, waking up to clear skies and a colourful sunrise is positively uplifting. That’s not been the only positive about today’s start as I have company this morning. Dawn is travelling with me as far as Leeds as she’s off to a training event. So, for once, I’ve not had to sneak out of bed and tip-toe around the house so as not to disturb her slumber whilst I prepare to leave.
Another bonus is we got down to Sowerby Bridge in good time and caught an earlier (albeit slightly late running) train. The pair of us are now ensconced on Northern’s 06:57 to York which is operated by a 3-car Class 195. We even managed to find a free table bay. Now to hope the rest of today’s travels are as successful!
I’m on my way to a place called Burton Green for a visit to an HS2 construction site. Burton Green is where an old railway is being used for the new one. HS2 will run in what was a cutting that’s being converted into a ‘green’ tunnel.
Time and safety permitting, I’ll be blogging throughout the day…
08:25.
That’s the enjoyable bit of the trip over.
After saying goodbye to Dawn at Leeds I headed over to platform 11a to catch a Cross-Country service direct to Birmingham. God, I gate this part of the trip and today’s experience shows why. XC provided a 4-car Class 220 to work the train. As you can imagine, it’s absolutely packed. Dozens of folk left at Leeds but even more were waiting to join. The chances of me findng a seat were minimal so (yet again) I’ve ended up standing in the luggage area created from the former shop. I’m not alone, 8-10 others occupy here and the adjacent vestibule.
09:50.
Phew! On arrival at Sheffield I managed to sidle into a vacant window seat. This gave me chance to do some work and reapond to some work emails. This is the problem with such inadequate inter-city trains. Unless you reserve a seat you can’t guarantee being able to get any work done, so the benefits of rail over a car are narrowed.
10:40.
On the move again. I had half an hour to enjoy New St station, which gave me enough time to get a few library shots and admire the HS2 exhibition on the concourse. Models of the new Curzon St station are on display and attracted a lot of interest.
Now, I’m speeding South aboard a Siemens built Class 350/2, one of the fleet soon to be off lease with no home to go to. Crazy.
Next stop for me is Berkswell.
15:45.
I’m back and heading for Birmingham after a fascinating tour of the Burton Green tunnel construction site and stroll into the South and North portals.
I’ll add some technical details later, but this part of the HS2 route is built on the course of an old railway which closed back in the 1960s. Only HS2’s a rather larger proposition!
16:30.
Much as I’d liked to have done I didn’t hang around in Birmingham. I stayed long enough to grab a couple of useful shots of packed new (but woefully short) trains, then jumped aboard a Pendolino bound for Edinburgh as a way of avoiding packed Cross-Country services. 11 cars compared to 4 is luxury as you can normally find a free seat, even on this section of route/time of day when the trains heavily used by local commuters.
The only problem is that, whilst I have a seat – and it’s lovely and warm aboard – the wifi is crap, so the things I’d hoped to sort out via t’tinternet I can’t. It’s a great shame Avanti wifi is so poor as it discourages me from using the West Coast route because of it. Now, what are my alternatives?
18:00.
Another classic day of railway bingo. My Pendolino was lae into Crewe so I missed my Avanti connection to Manchester. Fear not, there’s a Transport for Wales service following at 17:30. Oh, wait – that’s late too. But there’s a Northern all-shacks at 17:46..
A quick check tells me that even though the TfW service isn’t due until 17:54 it’ll get to Piccadilly before the Northern service. So, I wave bye bye to the Northern train and make my way to platform 5 for the Welsh train – only to find the bloody thing’s now terminating short at Wilmslow (a favorite trick of TfWs). Bugger!
18:02.
We’ve just passed the Northern service at Sandbach. Looks like that’s the one that’ll be getting me to Manchester after all…
Ha! That went well (not). The Northen service was going via Styal so the theoretical fastest service was an Avanti train. Only that was running 33 mins late. I’m now on said train, warming up after spending far too long on cold platforms. I’ve nothing against Wilmslow station, it’s just that it didn’t feature in today’s plans.
Wither Wilmslow? I wasn’t really given much of a choice…
20:30.
The last leg! Having finally caught a late-running Pendolino to Piccadilly and crossed Manchester on foot I just had enough time for a cheeky pint at the Victoria Tap before catching the 19:57 back across the Pennines. Maybe my ‘cunning plan’ to avoid Cross-Country trains wasn’t so cunning after all…
22:00.
I’m home and it’s time to relax, but before I go I’ll leave you with a few camera pictures from today.
Looking South from the Northern tunnel portal through Burton Green. When the tunnel’s finished and the landscaping completed I’d be underground at this point. This section’s been built with gaps in the roof to facilitate construction. When it’s complete the gaps will be filled in and buried underneath several meters of topsoil to match the level of the land to the left. Looking North from the Northern portal along the route of HS2 which will be several meters underground here- but not in tunnel. The crossbeams bracing the walls have been precast locally before being brought to site and craned into position. I’m glad I wasn’t on this one! A rammed 2-car service from Birmingham to Shrewsbury earlier this afternoon. As for bikes, I don’t think so!
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/
There’s been lots of stuff to unpick in Wednesday’s budget which was the first one from Labour for 14 years. Much of the endless speculation running up to it proved to be wrong. What wasn’t wrong was an expected announcement that High Speed 2 will be running to Euston.
Chancellor Rachel Reeve confirmed that the Government will directly fund the roughly £1bn cost of completing the 5.4-mile tunnel drive from Old Oak Common. The Tories has said this would only go ahead if private finance funded it. The new Labour government knows this was just an excuse for more dither and delay, so has committed to funding the work from Government funds.
Some people have expressed surprise that – whilst the tunnels will be built, there’s no announcement on building the HS2 station at Euston. There’s a reason for this.
The TBMs to bore the tunnels are already being assembled on site at Old Oak Common. There’s a tight window for launching them as any delay would impact on the construction of the HS2 station at Old Oak Common, so the decision had to be made quickly and the budget was a handy event to include it in.
The announcement of Euston station is much more complex. Plans for the station had changed a number of times due to the Government changing its mind on the size of the oversite development (OSD) and latterly, due to the station being designed by a Committee, the Euston Partnership Board. There’s an old adage that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. It’s similar in intent to ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. All the different partners in the partnership wanted their needs and aspirations included in the station design and the costs escalated massively as a consequence. Now the new Government has redrawn plans yet again. Another budget announcement was the appointment of Bek Seeley to chair the Euston Housing Delivery Group which will be involved in Euston station design and the surrounding area. Meanwhile, funding for Euston station redevelopment isn’t expected to be announced until the March 2025 spending review. As things stand, there’s still considerable uncertainty over what the actual HS2 station will look like, many platforms it will have, or even when construction will begin – only that HS2 WILL get to Euston. For the rest, we’ll just have to wait and see…
Before the Tories dithered and delayed to waste 100s of £ms on HS2 at Euston…Here’s a 20th October 2021 view of the station’s Western wall under construction.
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 