Today’s been a quiet one here at Bigland Towers for several reasons. I’m still trying to wade my way through editing the hundreds of pictures taken on my recent travels. Plus, the weather’s been crap – but no change there then. Mind you, I say that, but tomorrow we’re forecast to have a whole day of sunshine. Just the one of course, after that we’re back to the rainy conditions that – if you were biblically minded – might have made you consider building an Ark. Well, if you had the space…
For once the constant rain’s been alternating with snow flurries. They’ve achieved sweet FA around here as we’re not high enough up, but when I gaze out across the valley I can see a decent dusting at the higher tops and beyond towards the moors around Marsden. As tomorrow’s Saturday (not to mention Valentine’s day) we’re hoping to make the best of the conditions and get out for a walk somewhere and the idea of fresh snow and blue skies is rather appealing, so watch this space.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken in London last Saturday in similar conditions. Rain can be a real aid to photography because of the lighting conditions. Here’s a shot I took of the trackwork at London’s Victoria station where images are almost monochrome well, if it wasn’t for the train in the background, but I think that adds to the effect.
I’ve still lots of pictures to add to my Zenfolio picture website and there’s far too many galleries that have been updated to post individual links, but if you want to browse this ‘recent’ section link you can find what’s been added – and where.
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/
10 new 9 car Class 345 ‘Aventra’ trains for London’s Elizabeth line are currently under construction at Derby by Alstom. Ordered in June 2024 for delivery in 2026 the order saved the Derby site from closure due to a gap in orders before the start of building trains for the delayed and truncated HS2 project.
On Tuesday a selected group of journalists were given a tour of the production line. Here’s a gallery of pictures showing progress on the fleet and the first train.
Building trains at Derby is like assembling a kit of parts. Here’s the welding shop where aluminum sections brought in from off site are joined together to form frames, roofs, bodysides and other sections. Once individual sections are completed they’re moved around the site between different shops on fleets of bespoke trollies. Here’s a pair of bodysides waiting their turn to enter U shop, where final assembly takes place. Body ends in U shop waiting their turn to be fitted. ‘A bit like fitting a cap to a tube of Pringles’ was how it was described during our tour!The cab of a 345 having the drivers control desk and associated electronics installed before being fitted to a bodyshell. Painted bodysides complete with windows, internal insulation and some cabling waiting to be put on a jig where they’ll be joined to roof and floor sections.A bodyshell nears completion. Now it gets most internal components and panels installed. A look inside the bodyshell showing progress on fitting it out internally. Here’s the next stage as a driving car for 345071 nears completion internally and externally but before the traction equipment is fitted. The next stage in the line. Completed internally, the bodyshell is supported from below to allow the traction equipment to be slung underneath.
Next, the bodies will be moved to have their bogies fitted, then they’ll be formed into complete units. Despite the fact they’re a follow-on order of a type of train already running on the network they’ll undergo rigorous type testing before being accepted as part of the existing Elizabeth line fleet.
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/
Normal(ish) service is slowly resuming, but it’s not been without hiccups! My laptop is back up and running, but just as that was sorted out I came down with the lurgi – hence spending the past couple of days mostly confined to bed. Thankfully, what I’ve contracted isn’t anything more exotic than a heavy cold although the initial aches and sore throat had me guessing for a while.
Still, being stuck at home has had its compensations as it’s allowed me to start editing the hundreds of pictures I took in London last week. Admittedly, that’s going to be a slow process as I’ll be off on a mission tomorrow, heading out to Derby for an event. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it but Dawn brewed some of her excellent pick-me-up. It’s made from freshly juiced ginger, lemon, limes and apple. Add a bit of honey and it’s a powerful remedy.
I’ll try and blog through the day tomorrow as there’s going to be a lot of interesting things to see and photograph. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture from my London trip.
A busy but peaceful scene at Earls Court underground station in the West of London. The station’s the junction for several lines, including District line services that are described on the classic old indicator boards that can be seen in the foreground. The Piccadilly tube line passes through underground.
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/
Sorry folks, I’m still having technical issues with my laptop and computer kit, hence the lack of updates since Friday. Hopefully, things will be resolved on Monday – at least so that I can get all my London pictures edited and add a blog or two.
In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from Saturday. The weather in London was just as crap as it’s been up North which was a shame as my trip along the Greenford branch aboard GWR’s battery train was a really interesting experience for a whole host of reasons. The area’s changed a bit since I first got to know it in the 1990s – as the modern skyline in this picture shows.
The battery train is dwarfed by its surrounding and the new skyline of Greenford as it makes its way to West Ealing. If only the weather had been better! As you can see, the embankments on the route suffer from subsidence, leaving the track all over the place. 230001 arrives at Greenford. Dozens of railway enthusiasts turned out to sample the trip on Saturday, outnumbering ordinary passengers by several degrees.
See you soon…
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/
Right now I’m departing a wet and dreary Calder Valley for London. I’m later thn expected for a number of reasons.
Last night my laptop threw a strop. The battery (despite being new last year) decided that it wasn’t playing anymore and gave up the ghost, leaving the machine without power as it refused to run off the mains charger without it. Bugger!
Playing around with the benighted thing ate into the time I’d planned to get ready for going away, hence today’s delay.
I’m travelling sans laptop as a new battery won’t arrive until tomorrow, leaving me to blog/run the mobile office off my smartphone – which will restrict the number of pictures I can add.
To add to the fun and games there’s overhead line problems on the London end of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) but that shouldn’t affect services from Manchester..
So, as I’m restricted in what I can do I might as well sit back, relax and enjoy the journey. Dawn was kind enough to drive me to Sowerby Bridge station so I avoided a soaking and Avanti have provided me with 1st Class travel to/from London to attend this afternoons photo competition awards.
Bye bye Sowerby Bridge…
Let’s see how things go…
11:45.
London bound!
My trip across the Pennines was a grey and grim as ever, making me realise just how lucky I was to get out in the sunshine the other day. The stroll between Victoria abd Piccadilly in freezing temperatures was only enlivened by watching a pair of Manchester’s finest nicking and handcuffing two teenage lads!
Now I’m relaxing in coach J of an 11 car Pendolino heading for the capital. There’s only a handful of us in the coach so I have a table bay of to myself.
Drinks? Oh, go on then…
The food offering was good too. Bangers and mash – just what you need on a miserable winters day like this.
Travelling 1st Class on a Pendolino brings back memories of a different life and a different era.
20 years and more ago I was one of a small pool of freelance photographers the then Virgin Trains (who introduced the Pendolinos) employed on a regular basis. Being London-based I was on hand for some of their most prestigious events involving Sir Richard Branson and many other famous people from the worlds of film, sport and politics. I ended up covering so many jobs and locations that I was given my own 1st Class pass. Of course, in those days Virgin ran both the West Coast and Cross-Country franchises, so I could travel the length and breadth of the Country, from Aberdeen to Penzance!
12:50.
We’ve left Nuneaton, our final stop before London. Passing through the Trent Valley was interesting. The amount of flooded fields and overflowing rivers is a testament to just how much rain we’re having right now. How farmers are going to get crops in this ground is beyond me – unless they’re going to start growing rice.
This line contains so many memories and stories for me, but then I’ve been traversing it for over half a century. Nuneaton reminded me of the time we came here by train for the annual rail press corps Xmas dinner. Arriving by train we were ferried by coach to the test track near Melton Mowbray. As we changed, a screw leapt out of my glasses, which lost an arm as a consequence. We couldn’t find the screw but thankfully someone had a paperclip, which I used to jury-rig a repair!
13:05.
We’re now South of Rugby, a town I have so many memories and stories of. Not least of which is spending much of Xmas day 2005 in full orange PPE trackside, watching the rebuilding of the railway go seriously pear-shaped.
The further South we get the worse the weather seems. We’re in gog and low cloud with rain beating against the side of the train and streaming across the windows.
13:25.
The curse of the WCML strikes again! We’ve just staggered through Milton Keynes on the slow lines. Our Train Manager came on to the PA to let us know this is due to a broken-down train in the Leighton Buzzard area ahead of us. We’re now running 10 down with more delays expected. Good job I don’t have to be at the National Portrait Gallery before 16:00 then! On the positive side – the weather’s brightening up…
14:05.
After lots of stops and starts and zig-zagging between the fast and slow lines we’ve passed Watford Junction, a place I also spent many bank holidays working trackside a decade after Rugby. Now we’re on the last leg into Euston…
14:43.
Here we are again (finally)…
22:15.
Is that the time? Despite the weather I had a lovely time re-acquanting myself with the centre of London as I walked from Euston, down the Tottenham Court Rd to Trafalgar and the National Portrait gallery. Today’s event has been a great celebration of photography – and diversity. I’ll add some links tomorrow.
Right now I’m tucked up in my single bed in an intŕesting ‘hotel’ in Ealing. I’ll explain more tomorrow.
I’m back from London. Contrary to the far-right whingers on social media, our capital was a joyous place full of festive cheer – as was I and the friends I’d arranged to meet over the two days. I’ll add a separate blog tomorrow detailing some of yesterday’s adventures.
In contrast, today’s been less about gallivanting and more about consolidating for Christmas. The pair of us have chosen the recipes we want to cook, so went hunting for ingredients at our local Asian supermarket as well as Tescos. Now the kitchen’s full of goodies as well as some amazing smells which have been added to as the cooking muse has descended on Dawn, who’s now perfected home-made focaccia to go with the spicy prawns that have become something of a Saturday night tradition.
Tomorrow I spring in to action to start cooking some of the dishes we’ll be having at Christmas. Nearly all are dishes I’ve never made before, like Sri Lankan beans with coconut and Himachali Khatta (black chickpea curry). I’m looking forward to it.
Of course, there’s still other work to do. I’ve now a massive file of pictures to edit from my London adventure. So today’s blog includes a couple of tasters.
The rail staff carols at St Mary’s, Somers Town featured the London’s Transport Choir and the BT London choir.Meanwhile, on Waterloo station musicians were in festive mood to raise money for the Children’s Society. So much for Christmas being ‘cancelled’…
After the carols and having had a few drinks with other attendees Hassard and myself headed out to meet up with other old friends. By chance we managed to find on of the few Class 455s in service for a fast run to Surbiton.
Introduced from 1982, the Class 455s were the mainstay of suburban services on the Southern and Southwest Railway network. Now they’re almost all gone. Cheers from Surbiton!
Time to relax at home with this stunning home-made Focaccia and spicy prawns…
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 abandoned Bigland Towers for a couple of days I’m on my way to London to join the annual railway carols service and meet up with friends and colleagues from across the industry.
Having walked to the station on a grey but dry day it became duller once I boarded Grand Central’s 09:10 service to Kings Cross, where I was greeted with an announcement that there’s no buffet service due to staff shortages. Oh, and the wifi’s kaput too! This leaves me unable to do the work I was hoping to – and blogging from my phone – so please excuse the more than normal amount of typos!
Here was hoping…
10:00.
We’re currently crawling our way from Wakefield to ‘Pontycarlo’ (aka Pontefract) having picked up an almost full complement of passengers already after stops at Brighouse, Mirfield and Wakefield.
I’ve not seen any great progress on TRU work en-route but then a lot is due to be delivered over the Christmas blockade. I did notice that the relaid fan of sidings at the sute of the old Healey Mills marshalling yard contains a rake of ballast wagons, which is the first traffic I’ve seen. In contrast, the relaid (at great expense) DB loco stabling sidings at Wakefield are housing nothing but rust. I’ve never seen them used once since they were put in.
10:15.
This GC service has been retimed and now cuts out a lot of the crawl to Doncaster as it joins the main line at Hare Park Junction, allowing our 221 to stetch its legs. Observing the flooded fields and streams the colour of builders tea we’ve passed en-route it’s obvious just how much rain we’ve had, although the weather remains dry, for now.
The amount of passengers waiting to board this service at Doncaster was rather impressive. I doubt there’s a spare seat left now. I’ll check later once the melee has subsided. Right now it’s a chaotic mess of suitcases and bewildered people.
The sidings between the station and old railway works are empty – apart from a massive pair of Ainscough hire cranes. I can only assume they’re here to remove the decaying footbridge that linked the works with the outside world by crossing above the station.
11:10.
We sped through my old stomping ground of Peterborough 6 minutes late. It’s changed a bit since I first got to know it at the end of the 1980s so I’m glad to see the railway expanding there again thanks to freight compaby GBRf, who’ve made it one of their main locomotive depots.
Sadly, that was the only bright spot as the weather’s turned very dull indeed – evidenced by the amount of industrial sites where the yard lights have come on! My hope that we’d make up some tine have been dashed too. We’re currently crawing our way towards Huntingdon, which suggests we’re stuck behind something. The new ECML timetable came into force at the weekend, leaving thus a very congested railway. Something that building HS2 to Leeds and Church Fenton would have solved, until short-sighted and short-term politicians screwed that up.
11:39.
Bugger. We’ve just passed Potters Bar at the time we should’ve been arriving at Kings Cross. Plus, the rain’s arrived.
12:40.
Here we are..
18:45.
Sorry for the gap but it’s been a busy day. Right now I’m on this old train on my way to meet up with other friends.
Apologies for the lack of blogging recently, this will be rectified tomorrow as I’ve a number describing last week’s adventures which are half-written. Since returning from London much of my time’s been taken up with editing pictures and/or domestic duties. You can find which galleries have been updated on my Zenfolio website by following this link.
Here’s a sample…
Contrary to what many foaming right-wingers, foreign social media trolls and Reform politicians claim, London is not a dystopian hell-hole. The reality is, it’s recently been voted the worlds greatest city, and one that’s getting safer. During my time there I wasn’t stabbed, robbed or in any way hassled – even on crowded places like Oxford Circus tube station on the underground. I’ll never understand why so many so-called ‘patriots’ spend all their time running our country down. Funny old world, eh?
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/
The adventure begins! Despote being ul at 06:00 I’ve had an easy start to the day thanks to Dawn, who decided to get up at the same time – and even offered to take time out of her day to give me a lift and save me a chilly walk to Halifax station.
Now I’m aboard the late-running 07:45 to Manchester Victoria on the first leg of my trip ‘darn sarf’. This is a busy 3-car train which is already packed with people commuting across the Pennines.
There’s no space to set up my mobile office, this is being typed on my phone, so I’ll flesh details and tags out later.
08:45.
The day is not starting well! My train is currently crawling along near Castleton, having left Rochdale 18 mins late. This will bugger up my connection in Manchester. If we were on time I had 37 mins to get between Victoria and Piccadilly. Being a few minutes late would have been fine (we left Halifax 5 down after all) but this is painful – and there’s no announcements made as to the reason why we’re running so slowly. Oh, and it’s raining! Ho hum…
09:45.
We crawled into Manchester nearly half an hour late. Fortunately, there was a plan B. I’d intended to have a leisurely journey to Crewe aboard one of the old Hunslet built Class 323s operated by Northern. It was long gone by the time I got to Piccadilly. Instead, I’m enjoying a comfortable Transport for Wales CAF built Class 197,which has the advantage of plug sockets and tales, giving me chance to set up the ‘mobile office’ to update this blog.
My connection at Crewe will be very tight, (three minutes) but do-able. However, as this train’s now stuck outside Wilmslow I’m beginning to wonder…
10:40.
It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it? My TfW service made up some time to Crewe. I was even more optimistic when it pulled into the platform next to where my train was due to depart, with 2 minutes to spare. Hang on, the platform’s empty? Where’s my connection? Oh, bugger…
Still, for someone interested in railways there’s worse places to be stuck for an hour or so. That said, the West Coast Main Line seems to be having a bad day, with many trains cancelled or delayed.
12:00.
Southbound again after a right royal farce at Crewe. My enforced visit had a couple of silver linings. One was the moody skies and low sunshine which (hopefully) made for some great pictures. I’ll add them later. The other was that an old friend was also stuck at Crewe and we managed to meet up with the intention of travelling South together as far as Nuneaton on the delayed 11:13.
Then it all went Pete Tong again. The 8-car train that should have formed the 11:13 turned up as a 12-car, which wouldn’t fit in our platform so it arrived into 11, not 7. The two of us sensed something was afoot and made our way to watch the train being split. I asked LNW crew what was happening, only to be told the 11:13 was cancelled too! However, arrangements had been put in place so that the next Avanti service to Euston would take us forward. I had to bid goodbye to Jon as the Avanti didn’t stop at Nuneaton. I now find myself on a busy 9-car Pendolino heading to Euston which will get me in a few minutes earlier than my scheduled LNW service. Due to accepting LNW passengers this Pendolino is due to make an extra stop at Milton Keynes, otherwise it would have been non-stop from Stafford to Euston.
12:55.
We’ve left Milton Keynes and (thankfully) there’s been no further problems (touch plastic laminate). Next stop is Euston. Despite the train being very busy I managed to share a table in the quiet coach with a young woman. Whilst I’ve been busy typing/editing she’s been watching films on her iPad via headphones. The whole coach has been very well-behaved and respectful of the space, which has made for a very easy journey.
Now for the hustle and bustle of the metropolis!
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 