We’re back at home after a few days in London but for me it’s a brief visit. Being back in London was lovely but what a strange time to be there. It’s certainly not the city I used to live in for so many years – for a whole host of reasons.
Right now it’s time to regroup and prepare to head off to Germany tomorrow. I’m looking forward to my travels as I’ll be exploring some places I’ve not been to a very long time (and can’t really remember) as well as new destinations and the landscape in-between. As the trip involves avoiding flying it’ll take some time – but that’s part of the fun.
Keep an eye out for the next week’s rolling blogs – starting tomorrow as I head for Harwich and the ferry to the Hook of Holland. In the meantime, here’s the picture of the day which was taken at London Kings Cross station this afternoon just before we headed back North.
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We’ve a full day in London today and we’re about to head out and make the most of it. There’s very much a feeling of two cities right now. There’s the classic city with Londoners and tourists going about their normal lives and then there’s the other city which is coping with the late Queen lying in state until her state funeral Monday. Today we’ll be exploring both, so expect flow of pictures throughout the day…
10:40.
I nipped out to buy some snacks for breakfast whilst Dee gets ready. The Bayswater Rd is traffic free but you can tell you’re in ‘posh’ London as the local petrol station has a mini Waitrose supermarket rather than the usual Tesco! Petrol’s surprisingly cheap too. £1.63 a liter (we were seeing it at £1.75 in Norfolk last week). I nipped into Kensington Gardens to sit and watch the world go by for a while. Life appeared normal. The paths were full of runners and dog-walkers or tourists out for a stroll. Back at the hotel the TV announced that the ‘queue of queues’ as it’s becoming known is so long it’s been closed. Newcomers are being kept in holding pens in a park in Bermondsey and it’s been announced no-one else should try to join until after 4pm today! Somehow, I can’t see that happening…!
13:20.
Having wandered back down to Leicester Square then across the Thames at Charing Cross we’re now sitting outside the Founders Arms on the South Bank (one of our favorite spots) watching the queue of queues and enjoying a view of the river and city of London beyond.
15:21.
Crowdwatch – pt 2
22:15.
We’re now back at the hotel after yet another full day walking around London and experiencing what’s going on in the capital due to the death of Queen Elizabeth. It’s been a fascinating experience on so many levels. I’ll add more about this soon when I’ve more time to go into detail. But here’s a few shorts. As far as we could gauge (and we saw a lot of it) the queue was almost evenly balanced between genders. It was overwhelmingly older, with most folk over 30 years old – and also mostly white, although Asian communities were a significant minority with (from what we saw) the African and Afro-Caribbean less represented. It was also good-humored and stoic – despite the length of time. Here’s a few pictures from our observations.
A Pigeon decides to take a close look at the queue near Blackfriars.Ex-members of the armed services were much in evidence. Not everyone came with others. There was a significant number of people who came on their own to pay their respects. The queue by the Globe theatre with Tourists strolling past in the opposite direction. More medals on display…The queue by Tower Bridge. This was far from the end. Grandad and Grandson by HMS Belfast.Vanessa Feltz from Talk TV out interviewing members of the crowd.
Having walked for miles around the South bank we headed back to London Bridge and crossed to the North bank of the Thames for a wander past St Pauls, Fleet Street and the Inns of Court before heading up to Euston where we dropped into Drummond St to eat at an old haunt. Ravi Shankar is a long established Indian vegetarian restaurant which I’ve been frequenting since the 1990s. It didn’t disappoint..
Chana dahl.Uthappam – South Indian pizza!
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 a slow morning at home, we’re finally on our way to London having travelled to Leeds to catch an LNER service to Kings Cross. Trains are surprisingly quiet today. Our 3-car Northern unit from Halifax was quieter than normal. As we pulled into Leeds we watched the 12:15 to the Cross depart with lots of empty seats. OK, it may fill up on its way South but then the station itself was far quieter than expected. Is everyone taking time off to stay at home and watch endless hours of TV about the royal funeral, or are people simply talking the time off anyway?
We caught the 12:45 to Kings Cross which was formed of a Mk4 set straight off Neville Hill depot. Propelled by Intercity liveried 91119 it was a substitute set for the scheduled working that should have been inbound from Kings Cross but that was cancelled due to a track circuit failure. This train is also empty. We’re in coach B (the quiet coach at the rear) with just half a dozen others. I’ll be interested to see how many get on at our intermediate stops of Wakefield, Doncaster and Peterborough.
91119 ready to push 1A30, LNERs 12:45 from Leeds to London Kings Cross.
14:00.
After our stops at Wakefield and Doncaster I had a wander through the train to the buffet and counted 85 passengers in Standard Class and around dozen in 1st. Stopping to chat to the crew they reminded me that today was meant to be a strike day which has clearly had an impact. Our fellow passengers are a mix. There’s one or two who look like they’re travelling for work but the majority are young single travellers (a surprising amount of whom are of SE Asian descent) plus one or two elderly couples – just the leaven the mix.
No worries about getting a seat on this service.
16:20.
We’ve arrived and checked-in to our hotel just off the Bayswater Rd. Now we’re getting ready to explore. We took a roundabout route via Farringdon and Paddington just so Dawn could have her first taste of the ‘Lizzie line’. London seems rather subdued and not as busy as I thought it might be. But then we’ve not hit the areas where the mourners are yet…
St Pancras Thameslink. Quieter than normal. On an Elizabeth line train to Paddington.
22:10.
Today’s been very much the tale of two cities. After dumping everything in our hotel we went for a walk through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, following the Serpentine. The parks weren’t busy, but a massive enclosure with screens was being set up in the N/E corner of Hyde Park with more portaloos than you could shake a stick at. I’m assuming this is to do with the funeral. Afterwards we went for something to eat at a Wagamama at the base of the Edgeware Rd. The restaurant was almost empty which was a real surprise.
Not how you expect to find a Wagamama just a stone’s throw from Marble Arch on a Thursday.Still, the food was good!
Bellies full of delicious food we caught a bus along Oxford St to Oxford Circus before wandering through Soho to Chinatown. These areas were absolutely packed. All the pubs had people spilling out into the streets and the atmosphere was anything but funereal.
Business as usual in Soho…– and in Chinatown…
It was only when we walked down to Charing Cross and across the Thames to the South bank that the atmosphere began to change. As we crossed the river we could see the queue of people who were going to pay their respects to the Queen, but it was moving very quickly and people were hardly nose to tail.
Ambling along the South bank we recrossed the Thames at Westminster bridge which was closed to traffic. It was very busy with people taking in the sights but the atmosphere was subdued, almost respectful. It was the same in Parliament Square. We lingered for a while so that Dawn could soak up the atmosphere before walking along Whitehall (also blocked to traffic) and back to Trafalgar Square.
The queue on the South Bank by Charing Cross bridge looking East.Parliament Square was busy, but the atmosphere was subdued. Still, it’s good to see the tower without scaffolding after so long swathed in the stuff.
From there the hardest thing to find was a pub that was selling decent beer. If I’m going to be paying £6.50 a pint I at least want something decent to drink – and a seat! Eventually, after several false starts we found a Sam Smiths pub called The White Horse on the corner of Rupert St and Archer St. It was a typical London corner boozer that was surprisingly quiet and ideal for a quick pint and chance to rest our feet.
We decided to eschew further refreshment stops and headed back to the hotel by bus after stopping at a supermarket to pick up supplies. We’ve walked miles, seen a lot and need time to relax and digest. Tomorrow’s another day…
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It’s been another busy day here at Bigland Towers. Well, for me anyway. Dawn’s been equally as busy but working from the Community Rail Network office in Huddersfield rather than from home so I’ve been the sole occupant of the manse. Editing and sending off the pictures of my recent round Britain trip for RAIL magazine took up a lot of the day whilst sorting out my next work trip to Europe took up much of the rest. Some of the stuff was mundane, like renewing my National Union of Journalists press card. To the NUJs credit they do this very quickly and sent me a useable PDF of my new card by return email. I needed it to gain accreditation for where I’m off to next week – the vast Innotrans railway trade fair in Berlin.
Originally, due to various other recent ‘happenings’ I wasn’t sure I’d be able to attend. Innotrans is held every two years, the last one was in 2018. We should have had one in 2020 but Covid but the mockers on that so this is the first event in four years. I’ve been going since 2008 and was loathe to miss such an important worldwide event in the railway calendar. This week I looked into the logistics and decided that – despite the last-minute nature of booking I could pull it off – and get there in the greenest possible way – even if it will cost me.
I’ll be heading to Europe on Sunday via the Harwich – Hook of Holland ferry. I’ve not used this route since 1981 so I’m expecting it to be part trip down memory lane and also part new adventure as so much has changed since then. From the Hook I’ll be making my way to Rotterdam via the metro, then catching a series of trains that will carry me all the way to Frankfurt (Oder) where I’ll base myself for the next 5 nights. Hotels in Berlin are far too expensive because of Innotrans which is attended by tens of thousands of people from all over the world. It’s OK if you book months in advance but right now hotels are charging anything from £2,000 upwards – which is OK if you’re on generous expenses – but that’s not us freelances! Instead, I’m within 70 minutes commute, which isn’t much different to travelling to work in London from many locations. In recent years the weather at Innotrans has always produced to fine sunny days. I’m hoping this year will be the same. Even if it rains there’s miles to be walked through the vast indoor halls of the Berlin Messe. You certainly use up a lot of shoe leather!
I’ll be attending all four days of the event before retracing my way across Europe by train – a trip I’m really looking forward to almost as much as the event itself. Expect daily blogs and lots of pictures like these from the 2018 event.
Before I go to Germany I’ve one more day working from home, then both Dee and I head to London for a short break, which leads me on to today’s picture which is a view of the city of London (aka the ‘square mile’) taken from the South bank of the Thames by Blackfriars in October 2017. Needless to say, it’s changed a bit since 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/
I had a lovely evening yesterday as I was invited along to supper along with my old friend to meet some of the people whom he’d been to school with in Ireland. This impromptu alfresco meal was unexpected by very enjoyable and took me back to the days when Lynn and I would host such events in the garden of our home in Crouch End.
A late night wasn’t much of a problem as there was no need to be up at silly o’ clock because of the aftermath of the rail strikes. The tube didn’t start running until 08:00 and trains until after 07:30. The best way for me to start my trek to ‘Rail Live’ was to catch the 07:49 to Reading, avoiding central London entirely. Seeing Clapham Junction so quiet at 07:00 during the week was really strange. There would have been more services running during the pandemic! Still, I’m now on my way West, looking forward to todays events on what promises to be a scorcher weather-wise…
08:45.
The further West I head the more the railway wakes up. We’ve just left Bracknell where the station’s teeming with passengers heading for London. In contrast, my train, which was packed when it left Clapham, gets emptier and emptier! But then when this pair of 5-car Class 458s turn around at Reading it’ll be scooping up folk heading for the capital. I wonder how busy Reading station will be?
10:00.
My visit to Reading station was brief but I’m always impressed by the scale of the transformation. It’s unrecognisable as the place I first got to know in the 1970s. It’s grown in both stature and services and the facilities are a vast improvement on what they used to be. It shows what can be achieved with the right levels of investment.
Now I’m on one of GWRs Class 800s. Having sped across Brunel’s ‘billiard table’ along the Thames valley and called at Oxford we’re heading into the Cotswolds and my next stop – Honeybourne…
17:45.
Apologies for the gap in the blog but it’s been a very busy and a very sociable day. As soon as I stepped off the train at Honeybourne I started bumping into people I knew. This continued after getting off the shuttle train and entering the ‘Rail Live’ site. Often I couldn’t get more than 100 metres before meeting someone I knew – which was lovely after all that time in lockdown. Oh, add in the fact the on-site phone signal wasn’t the best and that were so many stands to visit, things to photograph and folk to chat to I gave up.
I’ll post some pictures later as right now I’m making my way back North, which is proving to be ‘intersting’. I left ‘Rail Live in plenty of time as I’d no idea how train services might pan out in practice. GWR from Honeybourne to Worcestershire Parkway was fine and on time. However, my connection was an Arriva Cross Country service from Cardiff to Nottingham as far as Birminham where I’d have 15 mins to Interchange. Great in theory until you see your trains left Cardiff I mins late and it’s dropping not gaining time.
It arrived 10 down which wasn’t too stressful as my interchange was cross-platform. Well, in the timetable anyway. But right now we’re wheezing our way in fits and starts up the Lickey incline.
1750.
We passed Barnt Green at the top of the Lickey 17 mins late, so it looks like I’ll be waving goodbye to my connection. I wouldn’t normally be too bothered if it wasn’t for the fact tomorrow’s a strike day…
19:45.
Ever been happy that a trains late? I was. Not because my internal service was as it knackered any hope of a cross-platform Interchange. But the fact my following train was 5 down allowed me to make my connection despite an escalator scramble! I’m currently sat on a Cross-Country service heading for Edinburgh, which means I can get home to Yorkshire at least! The journey’s been lovely, despite the train being busy. I managed to blag a table seat after Derby which has given me a panoramic view of a gorgeous evening.
23:00.
OK, I’m home and it’s time to end today’s blog. I’ve a busy few days ahead of me and lots of pictures to edit. I’ll leave you with a taster from ‘Rail Live’. Here’s a selection of the new CAF built ‘civity’ trains for the West Midlands in store before before they enter service sometime in 2022.
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 a stressful morning I’m now sat on the train from Leeds to London for the first event of the day – the annual Siemens press lunch. I’m looking forward to meeting friends and colleagues plus the new personnel who’ve taken over roles at Siemens since the start of the pandemic. It’s a lovely day for travelling as the sun’s shining, the trains are running well and I can start to unwind. The day’s not going to be completely relaxed of course. After the lunch I’ve got to hot-foot it up to Crewe to join the other volunteers and staff of the Railway Children charity who’ll be preparing the train that we’ll be living on for the next few days – plus all the fundraising teams who’ll be arriving to take part and climb all 3 Peaks. I’ve also a rather large bag full of kit to tow around as you never know what weather you’ll encounter on this adventure so if you’re sensible you come prepared.
I’ll blog throughout the day as I can, so feel free to keep popping back to see what I get up to…
09:55.
The destressing continues. The mobile office is up and running, there’s HS2 pictures to edit, I’ve a fresh coffee from the buffet and I’m listening to The Waterboys through my earphones…
16:30.
Apologies for the interlude but it’s been a busy few hours. The Siemens press lunch was an enjoyable and informative event. We had chance to chat over drinks at the start, then sat down for lunch. Members of the media were allocated specific seats but Siemens staff rotated after each course which meant we had the opportunity to talk to a wide range of people, including CEO William Wilson and Sambit Banerjee, Director of Rolling stock.
Siemens CEO Will Wilson briefs the media on what the company’s been doing over the last year and plans for the future.It beats sandwiches!
Sadly,I had to leave early to ensure I was on time for my next event. I’m now speeding North on an Avanti Voyager in order to meet up with the Railway Children staff at Crewe ready for the big adventure – 3 Peaks by rail 2022.
23:35.
Well, that’s been a change of scenery! I arrived at Crewe in plenty of time to slip into my role as official photographer for the Railway Children’s 3 Peaks by Rail. This is my 5th year in a row and to be honest It’s just like meeting up with family. It’s not just the staff and volunteers either, there’s always familiar railway faces amongst the teams too. Here’s everyone all together just before we set off from Crewe. We were joined by the Railway Children’s founder, David Maidment who can be seem bottom left.
First things first. As soon as the teams are settled in on the train they’re fed. The food is all donated by various suppliers who help support the charity and prepared on board. On arrival at Bangor teams are provided with snacks by the on-board team to ensure their energy levels are maintained. It’s a slick operation. We only have 6 minutes to unload everyone and get the train dispatched. After dropping the teams off at Bangor the train heads for Holyhead where the locomotives can run-round, the train can be cleaned and the on-board staff have the chance to eat and get some rest before we head back to Bangor to pick up the teams at 04:00. Here’s 47501 and 47593 being passed by the Welsh Assembly train (aka ‘Gerald’) which is made up of ex-LNER Mk4 coaches and a Class 67 loocomotive. It’ll set back into the stabling point behind the signalbox to be serviced overnight.
Right, I’m going to call it a day as we’re now sat in the carriage sidings for the night. I’ll resume blogging in a few hours time – but that’ll be another day. Day 2 in fact…
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 up and about ready to head out and make my way across London to meet up with an old friend and colleague as today’s the day that Crossrail’s central section finally opens to the public. Keep tuning in to see what I get up to…
17:30.
Humbles apologies – that was a crap “rolling” blog! The problem was that I was non-stop all the time I was in London. Crossrail’s opening was a huge story and the media were out in force. I met up with Richard Clinnick at Liverpool St. As the press leanch with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan wasn’t until 09:30 we decided to take a trip to explore Farringdon – one of the stations we’d not had chance to look around before.
Like all Crossrail stations it’s impressive. What I hadn’t expected was how many ordinary commuters had switched lines already today – it was packed. Of course there was also thousands of visitors who’d just come along for the ride. These included rail and architecture enthusiasts as well as ordinary people who just wanted to try out this amazing new railway under central London.
Farringdon at the level of the Thameslink platforms.
The pair of us made it to Woolwich station where the official press event was going to be in plenty of time – which was just as well as it was packed. If you’d dropped a bomb on it you could have wiped out 3/4 of the rail press and a goodly chunk of national media and agency snappers too!
It turned into a bit of a media scrum at one point but to Sadiq’s credit he was in no rush and got round almost all the outlets who wanted to interview him. No government Minister was there apart from Baroness Vere. As she sits in the Lords I’m assuming she was seen as ‘safe’. Today was very much Sadiq’s – even if some journo’s threw him curve balls with questions about ‘partygate’ – which eventually elicited the wrath of Kahn about what had gone on in No 10!
Sadiq in the media scrum at Woolwich.
After the circus was over I headed off to visit some more of the stations. Stations that are no longer just the preserve of folk in PPE. I managed Abbey Mills and Custom House before meeting up for a quick drink with a Singaporean friend who’s over in the UK for break. That break turned lucky with Crossrail opening whilst he’s here.
I left London just after 15:00 and spent the whole trip to Leeds editing the pictures I’d taken. I’ll get some on the blog later. Right now I’m perched in the luggage rack of a Northern Class 158 heading for Halifax. I’ve noticed what seems like another upturn in passenger numbers – especially during ‘rush-hours’. I’ll be interested to see if this appears in the next set of Government figures on rail usage…
21:15.
I’m now back at home where I’ve chance to edit some of the selection of pictures I’ve taken today for your delectation.
Looking down from the main concourse at Farringdon. Underneath me are the Thameslink platforms whilst the entrance to the Elizabeth line is straight on from the stairs. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan doing one of his many media interviews this morning. I hope his staff had throat lozenges to hand!
A class 345 enters Abbey Wood station. With a 5 minute interval timetable the service is literally ‘one out – one in’ The concourse and gate line at Abbey Wood station. A service to Abbey Wood calls at Custom House. Whitechapel. This walkway is built over the tracks of the East London Line,Whitechapel. The gate line and main entrance.
You’ll be able to find the full selection of today’s pictures on my Zenfolio site in the next few days. I’m signing off for tonight as I’ve a busy few days ahead. I’m back on the rails tomorrow afternoon as I’ll be heading for the Kent coast. This time I’ll make sure the blog does roll!
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 preparing to head off to the opening of Community Rail week which is kicking off with events in Bradford and Bingley. This year the message will be centred on increasing confidence and encouraging people to travel by train with the simple call to action, ‘Give the Train a Try’. You can find out what’s happening where and when by following this link.
Afterwards I’ll be heading down South as I’m staying in the London area tonight ready for the opening of Crossrail tomorrow where I have another assignment.
Feel free to keep popping back to see how my day goes…
09:08.
The journey begins. I’m off to Bradford for our first event of the day. Taking me there is a Northern 2-car Class 195. Unsurprisingly, it’s busy!
09:45.
I’ve strolled across from Bradford Interchange to Forster Sq to await the arrival of the rest of the Community Rail Network team. It’s a walk I always enjoy as ‘Bratfud’ (as the locals pronounce it) has some fantastic buildings. I keep promising myself that I’ll have a day out in the city taking the camera for a wander to photograph some of the delights the city holds. I passed this small slice of history on the way.
Sadly, the modern versions of the city’s stations are hardly architectural gems and are vastly reduced in area and stature.
15:30.
I’m back! It’s been a very hectic few hours so I’ve not had time to blog at all as the day job’s taken precedence. We all rendezvoused at Forster Square where CRN staff were joined by colleagues from Northern Rail and other organisations as well as the women from East meets West. The idea behind this group is to bring women together from different communities by using the train. The women selected have very little or no rail confidence so travelling by train with Community Rail Partnership officers and community group leads inspires them to take further trips – alone, with friends and with their own families. The group enables the women to have different experiences which they can access locally by train. Some of the women are single mums and are from isolated backgrounds so the project has really helped raise their self-esteem and provide them with a sense of community. They were all very excited to be taking part in the the event. Before we left we were joined by Rail Minister Wendy Morton, who is the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills. Needless to say, I was kept fully occupied taking pictures on the train and at Bigley station where the Minister met other Community Rail Officers and the local station friends. It was all extremely informal. To her credit the Minister was open and approachable to all, not surrounded by SPADs or ‘minders’.
Afterwards we we took part in a walk from the station to the top of the famous Bingley five-flight locks on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, guided by staff from the Canal and River Trust. Walking backwards along a canal bank whilst taking pictures of dignitaries isn’t my favourite job as there’s always the worry that you’ll end up either going arse over tit or in the cabal, but I managed it without accident!
At the top of the lock we took over the small cafe for a lunch of tea and sandwiches before retracing our steps to the station and disappearing off in different directions. I headed into Leeds and found a quiet corner of the Leeds Tap to download and edit some pictures before sending a batch out to the various PR and Media people on my lists. Now I’m sat on LNER’s 15:15 service to London which has become a mobile editing suite as I sort out a bigger picture selection. Meanwhile, here’s a few for your delectation.
Rail Minister Wendy Morton (seated, left) talks to some of the women from East meets West on the train to Bingley from Bradford. Standing is Karen Bennett. Karen iscommunity rail education officer atCommunity Rail Lancashire, and a CRN Board member.
Everyone poses for a group photograph at Bingley station with some of the excellent work of the station friends on display behind.
The Bingley station friends having a laugh and a giggle with the Minister.
Gerald Townson Chairman atLeeds-Lancaster-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership gave a presentation to the Rail Minister on the work CRP’s are doing to encourage rail travel, supported by Community Rail Officers Brian Howarth and Catherine Huddleston.
17:25.
We’re now approaching London after an easy (albeit slightly late) run from Leeds. The weather’s picked up too. It looks like there’s a nice sunny evening in the offing. I’m not going to be staying long in the centre but there is one place Im going to stop at on my way through Euston…
23:00
It’s time to call it a day folks. As I was staying in the Watford area I hooked up with a local friend whom I met when I was spending a lot of time down here working for Network Rail on the 2014-15 Watford blockades. Alan Harte is a fellow railway person, cat lover and beer aficionado – so it would have been rude not to meet up for a couple of jars.
Right now I’m back at my accommodation, repowering all my devices and editing pictures ready for another busy day tomorrow as Crossrail finally opens. Watch this space…
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/
Bloody typical! We’ve had glorious sunshine these past few days whilst I’ve been at home, but today – when I’ve a day out the weather is the South is grey, wet and miserable! I’d planned to be out and about taking pictures for a client but the scenic pictures they want are incompatible with the conditions. So, I find myself on a busy 4-car Class 450 working the 08:50 from Farnham to Waterloo whilst I rejig my plans. I’m heading into the capital, then heading East where the weather’s meant to be clearing from. A vague plan is forming in my mind but we’ll see…
Feel free to keep popping back to see where I go and what I get up to.
10:45.
The trip into London was fine – even if the weather wasn’t. The service was short-formed but the rush was over by the time the train was running. I’d have made an earlier on if it wasn’t for the fact Dawn was dropping her nephew off at school first and Farnham was chocked with traffic, ironic when some people insist that we don’t need to improve public transport and build railways like HS2 because everyone’s supposedly still working from home!
Once in London I dashed to Waterloo East and caught a train to London Bridge where I was going to buy some breakfast but the queue at the Greggs was so long I gave it up as a bad job.
Waterloo’s concourse post rush-hour is still busy.
Right now I’m on a quite SouthEastern service heading out to a place I haven’t visited for years – Abbey Wood, which is about to develop a new life from next week when it become a Crossrail terminus. I’m sorry, but I really can’t get into calling Crossrail the Elizabeth Line. Sorry your Maj, but it’s part of the national network, it’s not a glorified tube line. Besides, I suspect if any name does stick it’ll be the ‘Lizzy Line’ which is far less cumbersome!
Passing through old haunts in SE London I’m stuck by how much has changed in the 12 years since I moved away. There’s new building everywhere. What a far cry from when I moved to London back in 1986 when the city was still in decline and the population was steadily shrinking. In those days the reputation of some of the areas I’m passing through was rough to say the least. In Bermondsey it was said even the rottweilers walked around in twos!
11:10.
There’s still something slightly surreal about suddenly seeing overhead wires appearing outside the train window – and then the twin tracks of Crossrail emerging from their tunnels to run parallel all the way into a rebuilt Abbey Wood station. Crossrail Class 345s were much in evidence running the shadow service in preperation for next week’s public opening.
I didn’t hang around at Abbey Wood as the weather’s still crap. Instead I decided to do some recce’s for other pictures as I’ve spent very little time along this line in recent years.
13:30.
I’m currently taking a break in rainy Rochester after travelling as far East as Gillingham where I stopped off to grab a sandwich. I’ve known the town since 1990 when I often used to pop over from London of a weekend to photograph the variety of traction that would be stabled here then. All that’s long gone. The town looked pretty run down then. It’s fortunes haven’t improved. I braved the torrential rain and flooded main street (blocked drains on both sides) to find a Greggs. It was a depressing experience. Shops are boarded up and empty and the dereliction has spread to the population. Just 15 minutes walking down the High St let me see there’s an awful lot of deprivation and health problems here. People who believe the hypes that Kent is the ‘garden of England’ have never visited Chatham and Gillingham! I doidn’t hand around after I’d grabbed a couple of pictures. I made my way along a platform flooding due to leaks from the station canopies and headed back to Rochester which has gained a brand-new station since I stopped here last.
Gillingham. It’s grim down South too…
The new 3 platform station at Rochester opened in 2015 and replaced the old cramped one which was further East. It’s been part of a scheme to redevelop the nearby dockland area which was cut off from the town by the railway. Progress has been slow but steady with new housing springing up alongside the railways and the East end of the huge site.
I must admit to liking Rochester. It’s a place with history (hence its castle) literary links (Charles Dickens) and an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants and pubs. It’s also less right-wing than much of the Medway (which is very Brexity), as this artwork by the museum attests to…
I have to agree. And it’s not done the Medway town any favours at all…
21:15.
Apologies for the ‘slight’ intermission but I’ve been non-stop for the past few hours as I made my wat back to Surrey – which is where I’m typing this from. As I left Rochester the weather really began to change making the trip much more enjoyable. I really enjoyed being back along this line, seeing the changes that have – and are – happening. It’s all a far cry from when I first explored the region back in the 1980s!
My first stop was at Gravesend, a station that’s been rebuilt in past years but still retains its Victorian buildings to complement the modern infrastructure such as it’s large cycle hub. Always on the lookout for an elevated view I found a nearby multi-story car park that afforded me this view.
Here’s the other side of the station. My pervious vantage point can be seen in the background.
Moving in once more my next port of call was Dartford – yet another place that’s changed dramatically since I first got to know it 30 odd years ago. The vintage slam door trains are long gone. Even the more recent BR built stuff has been elbowed aside by cascaded Siemens trains like this.
But, the biggest change was when I returned to Abbey Wood, the terminus of Crossrail South of the Thames. 30 years ago I’d never have imagined this far-flung corner of South-East London would have not one, but two cross-London connections. The first to arrive was Thameslink and services between Rainham and Luton, allowing to people to traverse the centre of the capital without changing trains. Now Crossrail’s arrived to add East-West to North South. As a consequence, house prices in Abbey Wood have gone through the roof and the skyline’s following suite – as this picture taken earlier demonstrates.
The changing face of South-East London. A Crossrail train arrives at Abbey Wood with the rising skyline beyond.
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 reprising yesterday’s trip to London, only today I’m hoping no-one’s been out cutting signal cables and the day’s punctual and hassle free. Today’s itinerary includes a media visit to a High Speed 2 construction site in the capital. I’ll add details later once it’s done.
Right now I’m en-route to Leeds only this time with a fully functioning laptop – even if it is light on a few programmes and features for now. The main thing is it’s fit for picture downloading and editing.
I’ll blog more later once I’m settled in on the London train…
I have this strange feeling of deja vu…
07:05.
I’m now at the part of the journey where it all went a bit ‘Pete Tong’ yesterday but (fingers crossed) there’ll be no repeat and I’ll be back in London in a couple of hours. I’m on another Azuma and everything is fine and dandy at the moment. My coach is only about a 1/3rd full so I have a table bay to myself. Now I’ve time to catch up on some work and maybe have a doze later. I must admit, I’m looking forward to having a lie-in tomorrow! The weather here in Yorkshire is glorious. Unlike yesterday it’s a fine sunny day. Hopefully London will compete…
08:40.
The trip to London’s gone without a glitch today. We’re now on the outskirts of London and I’ve plenty of time in the bank which will give me time to get pictures before I head off to the media call.
09:21.
Kings Cross looking busy.
10:30.
I’m getting nearer my next appointment and stopped off at Kilburn High Rd on the ‘DC lines’ out of Euston. It’s not a service I use very often nowadays but it has a lot of interest. I noticed this example of railway archeology on the opposite platform. The original station building perhaps (if much altered)?
The old Class 313s that worked the DC lines were replaced by Bombardier built ‘electrostars’ back in the 2000s. Now those trains have themselves been replaced with these ‘Aventra’ trains (also from Bombardier).
13:45.
OK, I can come clean on where I’ve been now. I’ve visited the HS2 tunnel vent construction site at Canterbury Rd in Kilburn, London. I was there along with the HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson MP. Canterbury Rd is the first diesel free construction site. All the vehicles run on HVO or electricity – including this enormous electrically powered crane.
Before you ask – yes we did go down the vent shaft. It’s only 22 metres deep right now When it’s finished it’ll be 55 metres deep…
15:00.
Whilst I was in London I couldn’t resist a trip on some old friends who are being retired this weekend. The 46 members of the Southern Class 455 fleet have served London and areas South of the Thames since 1982. Now government cost-cutting has forced them into retirement and a one-way trip to the scrapyard from this weekend’s timetable change.
A familiar sight that will disappear this weekend. 455813 on the blocks at London Victoria having worked in from Epson Downs.
I travelled out as far as another old haunt (Wandsworth) photographing several units on the way. I’m sad to see them go as they were part of my London life for so many years and often carried me across the Thames from Victoria to visit friends in South London. It won’t seem the same without them.
Here’s an earlier blog which looks back over their lives and times.
19:00.
Much as I’d have loved to have hung around the rush-hour was starting so it was time for me to begin my journey North as I’ve a lot of things to catch up on. Besides. I’ll be back in London again next week, even if the Southern 455s won’t be!
Right now I’m speeding up the East Coast Main Line on another trouble-free journey. Rather than wait for the 17:33 to Leeds which is often very busy I tried a slightly earlier LNER service to Hull which enabled me to bag a table and begin downloading today’s mass of pictures. I have to change at Doncaster, but I’ve had a productive time so don’t mind.
19:21.
‘Kin hell! The curse of the ECML strikes again! The direct train I swerved (but would have picked up at Doncaster) has been cancelled due to a train fault. I now have over 30 mins to wait. There’s only one thing for it – a pint in ‘The Draughtsman’ on platform 3…
20:05.
My Doncaster sojourn’s been ended by the arrival of the next Leeds train, which is just as well as ‘The Draughtsman’ closes at 20:00 and the temperature’s starting to drop. I’m obviously not a ‘proper’ Northerner anymore, many other occupants of the platform are dressed as if they’re in Greece in June! Me? No, I’ve spent too much time in tropical countries which has obviously thinned my blood!
20:45.
My final train of the day is old school – a Class 158. This one’s working Halifax – Hull shuttles. The unit’s been refurbished with new seats, PIS and USB sockets so it isn’t too bad but you have to wonder how much longer these BR built units have a future.
That said, I’d hope the Class 150s would be for the bin first!
22:27.
It’s time to bring this blog to an end. I’m back at home which is where I’ll be staying tomorrow as I’ve a huge amount of pictures from Germany and the UK to edit – plus a couple of jobs have come in which will see me on the move a lot over the next couple of weeks – and I’ve still a few magazine articles to write. Oh, and there’s a lot more slides and other rail memorabilia to add to eBay…
There’s lots to look forward to but right now that means one thing for me. Sleep! There’s only so many 04:30 alarm calls I can cope with in a week!
I’ve a 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 