Tag Archives: Photography

Lockdown. Day 10.

03 Friday Apr 2020

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Thursday’s are our most exotic day of the week as we escape from the confines of the Calder Valley in order to go over to Huddersfield to do the shopping for Dawn’s parents who’re both in the ‘at risk category due to their age – although neither of them act it!

I managed to get a bit of work done first before we got in the cars – a novel act in itself at the moment. When one considers the fact we’re normally cooped up at home it almost feels rebellious, although we do have a very good reason for doing what we do. This is very much an essential journey and one we make the most of. I still can’t get used to having a clear run up the bypass to Ainley Top under the M62 before entering the outskirts of Huddersfield with nary another car in sight. It really is quite surreal. En-route we called in at the ACoRP office at Huddersfield station so that Dawn could check on the vacant office and make sure everything was OK. Compared to last Thursday Huddersfield town centre seemed even more deserted. You could have dumped a herd of elephants in the square outside the station as the only occupants were a sad circle of traffic cones blocking one entrance to the concourse and one lonely member of station staff who’d nipped out for a fag.

We shopped at Sainsbury’s which was busier than last week. The queue was still well organised but it stretched far enough around the car park that were had to queue for 10 mins – hardly anything to complain about. There was no shortage of stuff to buy – unless you were after bog roll. What on earth are people doing with the stuff? Mummifying their kids with it? Whilst Dawn shopped for her parents I picked up the things we needed. It was all pretty painless, if still a bit surreal, but it’s surprising how quickly the odd becomes the norm.

Driving over to Dawn’s parents we were surprised just how windy the weather had got with gusts touching gale force. Because of it we didn’t hang around as it was unfair to leave Dee parents being buffeted by the wind so after exchanging shopping backs and having a chat at a distance over the garden gate we left and drove home. Our route back is different in that we pass over the M62, where we stopped just long enough for me to grab a shot of the (lack of) traffic. Wagons were still ferrying important goods East and West, but nowhere near in the same volume and car traffic was minimal.

DG341822crop

Battling our way through the winds we headed back to home and our life in lockdown, with the car parked up for another week. It’s no wonder that air quality is improving (especially in the cities) when you consider how many vehicles are off the roads at the moment. I’ll be very interested to see some of the numbers that’ll be crunched by the end of all this.

Hunkering down for a few more hours work Dee was busy at her makeshift workstation in the living room whilst I managed to get more old pictures scanned upstairs and dispose of yet another set. I’ve now finished albums that take the archive up to August 1991. Whilst we were dropping food off to John and Norah I asked John to dig me another one out of their loft where I have much of my archive in safe storage. So now I’m going right back to the beginning to scan the very first slides I took, way back in August 1989. In retrospect I wish I’d transferred to tranny film earlier, but then I only bought my first SLR camera the year before. My next door neighbour in London was selling his old Pentax ME super which I snapped up, and it’s on that these first pictures were taken before I bought my first Nikon a year later.

Back in 1989 I often used to spend weekends with Nancy, an old friend from Southport who lived in Peterborough. I’d travel up from London and we’d spend the weekend exploring the areas pubs and sights. Nancy shared my interest in railways and one weekend in August we drove over to the Rutland Railway Museum where I shot with my first roll of slide film. Here’s the picture which is numbered 0001 in my database!

0001. Coal products No 6. 0-6-0. Rutland Railway Museum. 13.8.1989.+crop

Who knew then that I’d end up making my living as a photographer? Certainly not me when I look at this picture. I had a hell of a lot to learn – but then I was doing this for fun. If I’d known then how much the railways would change I’d have been a little more diligent in what I was recording. Still, isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? At least I have some fantastic memories captured on film going back over 30 years and this current crisis is giving me the time to finally dig these pictures out of the archive – some for the very first time – like this scene which now really is history…

0023. Signalbox. Addiscombe. 02.09.1989.crop

This is a picture of the signalbox at Addiscombe on the outskirts of South London, taken on the 2nd September 1991. It was the end of a branch line from London Bridge that was opened by the Mid-Kent railway in 1864. The railway gradually declines throughout the years with train services cut back, especially when this signalbox was burnt down by vandals in 1996. The whole line closed in 1997, only to be reborn as part of the Croydon tram network a few years later. Had I any idea what was going to happen when I took this. Did I heck as like. I’m just glad that I passed through there on a whim…

Lockdown. day 4…

27 Friday Mar 2020

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After yesterday’s adventures there’s been very little excitement today as we haven’t moved from home all day. There’s been no need to go to any shops as we’re stocked up with everything we need right now, especially as my delivery from Virgin wines arrived today to go with Tony Allan’s beer gift yesterday!

Dawn’s been slaving away over a hot keyboard (either computer or phone) whilst I’ve been busy trying to get as many old rail slides scanned as possible. I had to admit defeat by mid afternoon as I was getting bog eyed and the weather outside was beginning to warm up. It’s been a beautifully sunny day, but not particularly warm so I was happy to stare at screens initially, then I decided to make the most of the weather and go stuck into some gardening as a mix of therapy and exercise. I’ve been meaning to replant part of our front garden for a couple of years but the time’s never been right. Today, it was. I’ve dug up an old azalea bush which is one of a pair but that was starting to dominate its sector of the garden. It’s been transferred to a pot that I can put out of the back of the house and its spot has been taken with a young Acer bush which will add colour at different times of the year. I’ve also split a huge Hosta which had got too big for its spot. It’s been quartered and 3/4 of it now resides in other flower beds or pots. As I was digging these things up I also sieved the soil and removed enough pebbles and stones to make a small beach!

All this activity has made up for not going for a walk today, so I don’t mind or feel guilty about the fact we didn’t get out for our traditional constitutional. Instead, I had the chance to sit in the late afternoon sun for a little while to pretend I was a lizard and bask, topping up my Vitamin D levels, which is something I’ve really missed with not having our normal January jaunt to warmer, sunnier climes. The way things are at the moment I’ve no idea when that opportunity will come around again.

Whilst I’ve not been out I have tried to keep up with the news. You may imagine my wry smile when I head that both the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary had tested positive for Coronavirus. Wasn’t Johnson boasting the other week that he’s shaken hands with Coronavirus patients? Awkward…

Apropos of this, I had a quick chat over the garden fence (as it were) with some Neighbours earlier. One of them is a hospital Anesthetist. Did he think think this lockdown would be over by the Government’s 3 week review? No. His view was that 12 weeks is more likely. I’m certainly planning for the long-haul – at least by then I won’t have to worry about getting all these slides scanned anymore! Talking of slides, here’s a couple from today’s batch. Both were taken at Liverpool Lime St and show why regional rail liveries aren’t always the best idea – even in BR days.

It’s a Pacer Jim, but not as we know it! When the railbuses were first introduced some of them were branded ‘Skippers’, painted in a faux Great Western Railway livery and sent to Cornwall to work some of the branch lines. They were a bit of a disaster due to excessive tyre wear and the fact they screeched around the sinuous curves, deafening passengers and locals alike. They didn’t last long and were soon transferred North. Here’s 142516 at Liverpool Lime St with a service to Wigan North Western on the 17th June 1991.
Same day, same location. Only this time it’s Network SouthEast liveried 86401 that looks very much out of place. The Class 86 had been repainted and renamed ‘Northampton Town’ to work the ‘Cobbler’ commuter trains between Euston and Northampton. Of course, it never stayed on those diagrams, hence it turning up in that well known outpost of Network SouthEast. Err, Liverpool…

On Fridays a group of us would often meet in our local pub (The Big 6) for an unofficial Quiz night. Our friend Mel would read out the questions from the brain-teasers in the local ‘Pub Paper’ in her finest broad Lancashire accent, which made it doubly challenging. First we had to work out what she was saying, then we had to work out the answer to the question! As that entertainment avenue’s no longer open as the 6 is closed to us a couple of folks had the idea that we should recreate the experience over Snapchat, so we tried it for the first time tonight. It lacks some of the atmosphere, but the humour and daftness was still there and it was great to be able to interact with familiar faces in a way that we’ve been deprived of. This could become a regular Friday feature of lockdown. When needs must…

Tomorrow’s the weekend – the first of the lockdown, but it’s rather lost its meaning as it’s going to be no different than any other day. That’s one of the problems right now, it’s difficult to tell the time. Clearly, we’re not alone in this as I’ve seen several friends comment about the way they’re finding it difficult to keep track of the days. How are you coping, wherever you are?

Interesting times. Part 6.

23 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in Coronavirus, History, Musings, Photography, Railways

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So there we have it. The Government has announced that the UK is now in ‘lockdown’ due to the Coronavirus – although not in complete lockdown as people are still allowed to be out to do several things. Go to work, go to buy food or – to exercise once a day. The caveats? No gatherings bigger than two people or household groups if everyone lives together. All non-essential shops are to be closed, as are playgrounds and places of worship. Mind you, for some people, clothes shops are places of worship, so for them it’s going to be a double-whammy! All wedding and christenings are off, but funerals are OK – just don’t go to one, unless it’s your own, obviously – although if I had the choice that’s the one I definitely would avoid! You can find the full list of closures and don’ts here in the Governments press release. The police will be given powers to break up any gatherings that don’t conform to the new rules, which will be reviewed after three weeks. I think most of us suspected this was coming. We’ve had the social screws slowly tightened over the past week, but the sights of the weekend, when thousands ignored the calls to self isolate have made it easier for the Government to act as – in general – people agree with the actions they’re taking, despite this being the most draconian cut in people’s civil liberties since WW2 as it will actually save lives.

Tomorrow we’ll see the reaction of the stock markets, although that can’t get much worse as the FTSE100 has already fallen by 3.79% today. The economic damage this pandemic is causing are going to be far-reaching and any resolution is too far in the future to see. The markets have lost 30% of their value in the past month, which is causing a lot of financial pain for many people and companies.

All we can do now is live for the present. That said, most of what I’m doing is living for the past as the present and future’s very much on hold! I finished writing my latest piece on HS2 and the Curzon St archeological excavations for RAIL magazine today so now I’m going to be concentrating on scanning yet more pictures from the 1990s. I always said I needed to find the time to do this, now I’ve had that time thrust upon me – like it or not. I’ve got two albums of rail pictures with me at home, plus another half dozen travel ones containing pictures from around the world. I’m tempted to vary my output. If I’m going to be stuck in these four walls for most of the day it might be a nice distraction to look upon pictures of sun-kissed beaches and exotic locations – or it could drive me batty as I realise what I’m missing out on. Only time will tell!

Here’s a little sample of the latest additions from today.

This scene from 1991 is unrecognisable today. There are the low level platforms at Stratford, East London, which were on the route to North Woolwich, which closed in 2004. The lines now been converted to become part of the Docklands Light railway. The station itself has undergone several reconstructions since. This part of the line is now inside the huge new main station building whilst the area to the left is the terminus of the Jubilee line. Only the inspection saloon and the locomotive (73209) still exist. ‘Caroline’ as the saloon’s been named is based at Derby whilst the loco is operated by GBRf and used on Caledonian Sleeper trains up in Scotland.
Paddington station on the 25th April 1991 was a dingy place. The station roof was dirty and stained – as were many of the locomotives that choked the place with diesel fumes. Network Southeast liveried 47715 was a refugee from Scotland, having been transferred after the end of push-pull services between Edinburgh and Glasgow. 47843 was used on Cross-country services, having arrived from the Midlands. Notice all the parcels trolleys full of mail bags to the right of the train – another sight that’s long gone.

Tomorrow I’ll be ploughing through another batch of pictures from 1991 and also digging out some more modern digital shots for a future RAIL article. I may be confined to barracks, but I’ve no shortage of things to do…

Interesting times: Part 3.

19 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by in London, Musings, Photography, Railways

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Considering that I’ve had jobs and events cancelled left, right and centre – I should be a man of leisure, but life never works out the way you think it might. Instead, I’ve found myself busy with trying to arrange work to fill the gaps, continue scanning old pictues and (safely) escape from quarantine to enjoy the fact Spring’s on it’s way and enjoy little victories.

Shopping around here is still a bizarre experience. Our local supermarkets have the look of places that have been visited by looters! Today I celebrated a small success by popping into one on the off-chance and being at the right time to pick up a dozen eggs. Sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? A couple of weeks ago, who would have thought that this would even have been an issue? I still can’t get my head around the whole bog roll shortage. Today I was amused to see that the shelves in a local Tesco’s had been stripped clean of cans and bottles of shit lagers, which is possibly an indicator of who’s doing the panic buying. There was still plenty of decent beers, wines and spirits to be had but the piss was in short supply…

Like many others, I’m still trying to come to terms with all this. To put things in perspective, by the end of today there had been a grand total of three confirmed cases of Coronavirus across the whole of Calderdale – out of a population of 210,000. We’re in the group of the lowest in the UK. Sure, there’s bound to be more undiagnosed cases here, but it’s not exactly the Black Death.

I’m not trying to make light of things here, just add some perspective – honest! Let’s face it, we need some humour at the moment and if the likes of Monty Python can’t supply it, who can? With the boot on the other foot I was morbidly fascinated to see how many older people still couldn’t resist the lure of Wetherspoons in Sowerby Bridge earlier, despite all the warnings about gatherings. We could be seeing an interesting experiment in self-inflicted social Darwinism playing out over the next few months.

Back from my mission to buy eggs I’ve been continuing to be productive by scannning more old slides from what now seems a much simpler age to my Zenfolio website. Here’s a couple of samples.

It’s Sunday the 14th April 1991 and Romanian built 56026 keeps UK built 47473 company in platform 7 of the old St Pancras station where they’d been stabled for the weekend. St Pancras was a BR traincrew depot and in those days driver still signed both passenger and freight traction.

Meanwhile, just down the road at Farringdon..

31511 heads up a wiring train at Farringdon on the cross-London Thameslink route. Diesel locomotives were extremely rare in this neck of the woods.

Holed-up at home…

10 Tuesday Mar 2020

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Not because of the Coronavirus just because of the weather, as it’s been wet and windy pretty much most of the day – hardly the climate for going out panic-buying toilet roll, which would have got rather soggy! I have to say, it there’s one thing, it’s panic-buying and hording toilet roll? You may run out of food, medicines and alcohol, but at least you’ll have 3 months supply of bog-paper! What are these people thinking – and why are they so damned gullible that if someone on social media’s told ’em to do it, they didn’t have the brains to say “toilet roll, seriously? Why? Sod, that – I’m heading for the booze isle…”

I’m not suggesting that the current scares are much ado about nothing, but this is hardly ‘keep calm and carry on’ territory. I have to crack a wry smile when I wonder how many of those Brexit supporters who talked about the ‘blitz’ spirit and how we can stand up to the dastardly EU because of our stoic mentality are the first ones in the supermarket queue with trollies laden with shithouse paper and anti-bacterial wipes…

What is real is the effects the virus is having on the economy and also travel. The stock market had its worst single day since the crash of 2008, which is painful if (like me) you have investments. I’m avoiding logging on to my accounts at the moment as I don’t want to see the financial carnage. I’ve no idea how long this blip will last but it could take quite some time for the markets to recover the ground they’ve lost, which will have a long-term impact on many people. There were hopes the recovery had started when the FTSE 100 rose by 2% today, but it was a false dawn as the index still closed in negative territory

I’ll be observing the impact the panic is having on travel tomorrow as I’m heading back down to London for the day to get some pictures for a magazine. I had thought of going today but the weather dissuaded me. Tomorrow’s forecast is better. Expect a rolling blog from my travels.

I’ve not had time to finish writing a blog over the past few days as I’ve been busy with other things. We were occupied with walking and socialising on Sunday whilst Monday morning was taken up with a meeting about preparations for judging this year’s Community Rail Awards. It’s something I really enjoy doing but the logistics of visiting over 2 dozen stations across the country in the space of just a few days is challenging to say the least! Much of the rest of my time’s been spent making a dent in scanning more old slides. You can find the results here but I’m adding a little taster to the blog. Almost everything in this scene has vanished now.

Taken on the 23rd February 1991 at Reading, a shunter (under the watchful eye of the driver) is uncoupling Class 47 number 47829 from its coaches to allow the engine to run round the train, which has arrived from the South coast. It will form the 15.45 to Liverpool Lime St. The coaches are long-gone, having been replaced Class 220-221 ‘Voyagers’ back in the early 2000s. 47829 lasted longer. It was scrapped in 2013. Reading station underwent a multi million pound rebuild several years ago, leaving it unrecognisable – and electrified.

Here’s Tonbridge Yard on the 24th February 1991 with a trio of engineers trains ready for weekend work. The Class 33s were classic old Southern engines, having been built specifically for the region.

I won’t be adding any more old slides for a few days. As well as being in London tomorrow I’m in Birmingham on Thursday as I’ll be visiting the archeological work and discoveries on the HS2 site at Curzon St, where the old railway roundhouse has been uncovered. I’ll be writing this up for an article in RAIL magazine, but here’s an idea of what there is to see.

Back in the day…

07 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by in Down memory lane, Musings, Photography, Railways

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As some of you may have noticed, I’ve been spending a lot of time scanning old pictures recently as I try to (finally) get my collection of rail, travel and social issues pictures taken over the past 30 plus years onto my Zenfolio website.

In the past, when I did this for my old Fotopic website (remember them?) my approach was more scattergun. Nowadays I’m much more methodical, scanning whole albums rather than selective shots. Recently I’ve been covering the years 1990 and now 1991, which was when there was an interesting transition.

I was very much an amateur photographer in those days. I never dreamt that one day it would become my profession. I was happy being a Housing Officer in East London – a job I really enjoyed. The money was good, I had no commitments and so I had a large disposable income and could afford to buy decent cameras. Nothing too flash mind, I wasn’t getting into medium format (too bulky) or expensive kit like Leica, just good mid-range auto-focus Nikons like the F801s which came out that year. Yep, back in those days auto-focus was a new thing. It was still a bit clunky compared to what we use today but it was a great advance on manual focus as it was one less thing to worry about and concentrate on.

What also came out then and really changed the game was a new slide film. Fuji Velvia.

Having taken the old advice I’d been using Kodachrome the standard slide film of the day since 1989 when I ditched print film. The problem was that Kodachrome was slow speed, grainy and difficult to get processed. It didn’t like dull days either.

Then Fuji Velvia arrived. I’d read about it in camera magazines but didn’t try it until a few months later, in February 1991. I’m now scanning the first roll I used. Wow, what a difference! Rated at ISO 50 it wasn’t much of a change in speed but the lack of grain and vividness of colour compared to Kodak was brilliant. Here’s a sample.

On the 17th February 1991. 4-EPB unit 5467 stands at Dartford before working the 13.30 to Charing Cross via Sidcup.

As I scan more slides I can see the transition I made from Kodak to the ‘upstart’ Fuji. Velvia became my standard film, even though it wasn’t ideal for everything as it was a high-contrast film with vivid colours (not great for indoor shots of people for example). But then Fuji soon introduced Provia and Reala.

I realise that to many modern photographers brought up in the digital age when all you do is flick a few dials and go through a few menus all this is gibberish. But in the early 1990s the world was very different. As I scan my old pictures I’m reliving those times. Would I go back? No. Do I regret not having gone digital before I did in 2004? Yes. But isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?

Here’s another sample that also shows just how much the railways have changed since 1991. This is Gillingham (Kent) on a quiet Sunday when spare locos used to be stabled just outside the station. All these are ex-Southern classes which have now (mostly) disappeared, although the later versions of the Class 73 electo-diesels still put in sterling work on the Southern for freight company GBRf.

Rolling blog: you win some, you lose some…

13 Thursday Feb 2020

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13:10

Today’s been one of those mixed days where you never know quite how things are going to turn out!

When I woke up and gazed out of the bedroom window this morning I looked out on beautifully clear skies and idea weather for heading out with the camera. I’d a list of shots that I needed to get for a client so as soon as I had breakfast and sent some emails I headed out.

Typically, by the time I got down to Sowerby Bridge the weather had changed as the clouds had rolled in rendering it impossible to get the shots I needed. Instead (on a whim) I decided to head over to Manchester and reconnoiter some different images. Unfortunately I’d just missed a Manchester bound train. Northern’s new timetable has cut a lot of trains that used to at Sowerby so I had the best part of 45 mins to wait for the next one. Eventually, a Class 158 arrived. To my shock, it was the 11:06 running 5 minutes early! I’m not used to such early running. Needless to say, it waited time and I had an uneventful journey Westwards across the Pennines on an uncrowded train. Whilst I was travelling I heard that an interesting job I’d had pencilled in for next week was cancelled, which was a disappointment, but that’s the nature of freelance work.

Once in Manchester I grabbed a few shots but the weather was still damp and miserable. On another whim I plumped to head over to Liverpool in an effort to find some sunshine and check out a couple of locations. Here’s the beastie that’s taken me back to my birthplace.

68021 blows some dust off the roof as it arrives at Manchester Victoria on its way to Liverpool Lime St.

My timing was less than perfect. Plugging in my new laptop on its maiden voyage away on the rails I checked my emails and found one from a magazine asking for a potential cover picture of – Manchester! It looks like my Liverpool visit is destined to be brief…

14:10.

– as indeed it was! I’m now racing Eastwards again, this time aboard on of TPE’s Class 185s. They may be the oldest trains in their fleet, but they still over the best ride qualities. I seem to be heading back towards sunshine too – so maybe this particular change of plan’s paid off…

16:26.

Well, my gamble almost worked! The weather played ball in Manchester. Sadly, the trains didn’t and the juxtaposition I was hoping for never quite came off. The photo I hoped to recreate with the current liveries is next to impossible now. Even so, I did manage a few useful library shots before heading off to Stalybridge to do a quick bit of shopping and see if I could get a hair cut (natch). Interestingly, whilst I was there I came across the pubs that’s in the Guinness book of records for having the shortest name in the UK whilst just a couple of doors down is the Inn that could quite possibly have the longest!

17:45.After a quick ‘libation’ in the renowned Stalybridge station buffet bar I headed back to Manchester Victoria on a Class 153/158 lash-up that was shuttling between the two locations. Almost empty heading back into the city it had crowds waiting for its arrival.In the adjacent platform was a 2 – car Class 195 heading to Leeds but I was already rammed. Then, as I watched, the lights failed. That’s when I noticed the engines had already stopped running. I decided to abandon that odea and make a dash to get a sabdwhich fron the Co-op across the road vefore trying my luck with the 17:37 to Leeds. When I came back the 195 was still stuck in platform 1, but the 17:37 was in at 6 and it was worked by a 3-car Class 158. OK, it was rammed and I was stuck in a vestibule, but these things nornally disgorge 20-25% of folk at Rochdale anyway.

And so it came to pass…

21:55.

Right, it’s time to sign off for the day folks. After getting home and sorting out some of today’s pictures I made an effort to catch up with the past by getting through a few old slides I had set up before my ‘other half’ came home. Here’s a sample.

This is Ely, back in July 1990 before the world changed. These are some of the remnants of the old semaphore signals that had controlled the railways almost since their inception. Ely had a veritable forest of them, but they were all being chopped down to make way for the modern, electrified railway. I miss them, but I don’t mourn their passing as the railway had to modernise.

You might not get much of a blog tomorrow as it’s Valentine’s day…

Waiting for the wind to blow.

08 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Uncategorized, West Yorkshire

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After the past few days gallivanting I’ve enjoyed a restful domestic Saturday at home with Dawn today. Because there’s been a severe weather warning and people have been warned not to travel discretion seemed the better part of valour. Besides, I had an awful lot of pictures to edit and get onto my Zenfolio website, which kept me out of trouble for most of the morning.

I’m writing this at 20:00 and whilst the wind is certainly starting to rise it’s hardly hurricane conditions out there. Even so, we’ve battened down the hatches which in this part of Yorkshire means that we’ve moved all the plastic recycling bins into the porch. There’s not a lot else to do where we live as we’re high up on the valley side. If we needed to sandbag the front door against flooding it wouldn’t just be us who’re in trouble, it’d be the whole damned planet!

Meanwhile, as we wait for everything to blow over, here’s a couple of examples of the pictures I’ve been taking and adding to my Zenfolio website.

Northern’s new CAF built Class 195s continue to spread their wings. Here’s one of the two-car versions arriving at Chesterfield whilst working a Leeds to Nottingham service.

Don’t tell the Woodland Trust! The overgrown lineside at Chesterfield is being cleared of trees and scrub that’s being encroaching on the lineside for the past 30 years. This area used to be the operational railway but as freight patterns changed many goods yards were abandoned and became overgrown. The problem is these trees can cause a danger to rail safety and need to be removed.
The end is near for the BR built Pacer trains as their derogation for disablity legislation runs out in the next few months. This is now a rare sight at Manchester Piccadilly. To make the services compliant each Class 142 is operating with a Class 150 which is fitted with a disabled toilet.
Gorgeous winter light at Manchester Piccadilly station yesterday.

Rolling blog: go West…

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:44.

Today weather’s far too good to be stuck at home so I’m having another day out with the camera. This time I’m heading West from Sowerby Bridge – and hoping I’ve not made a mistake in doing so!

I’m currently sat on the 09:22 from Sowerby Bridge to Chester. The weather in the Calder valley was wall to wall sunsine and the valley looked stunning. Then we passed through the Summit tunnel into Lancashire and arrived into a blanket of fog! It’s a fine example of what a barrier the Pennines are and how they can influence the weather.

13:07.

Phew! Now, where was I? I’ve been on the move so much and making the most of the weather that I haven’t had a chance to blog. I’m currently on a service from Manchester Piccadilly that’s heading to Blackpool North.

After disembarking at Victoria earlier I strolled across town to Piccadilly in bright sunshine. The fog I’d encountered earlier had quickly burned away, leaving Manchester’s reputation as a wet city in tatters. My first move was out to Stockport, where I wanted to get shots of trains crossing the famous viaduct. With the sun in the right place you can have fun with a long lens here, but the shadows from the overhead wires present a challenge. I’d been hoping to grab a shot of a Pendolino in the new Avanti livery, but there was no such luck.

Moving back North I stopped at the elevated and open station at Levenshulme where the overhead masts span all four tracks to give a wide vista. Plus, the bare lineside trees don’t cast heavy shadows at this time of year. There’s also the opportunity for some interesting backlit shots.

I moved on again when I felt the shots were in danger of getting repetitive. Heading back to Piccadilly I changed trains once more to enjoy a brief stop in Bolton. The new CAF 331 that carried me there had a noticeably rough ride on the way. Something I’d never noticed before so I can’t ascribe it to train or track. I’d be curious to repeat it in an old DMU to see if there’s a difference.

Bolton was a bit of a bust. Heavy shadows blocked any worthwhile shots, so I’m now on my way to Wigan…

15:40.

My Wigan sojourn was interesting, but it didn’t yield many pictures as the light (or me, depending on your viewpoint) was in the wrong position for the shots I had in mind. On the bright side, I’m now fuelled-up on chips and curry sauce – which is giving me a few calories to burn off!

Right now I’m on another Northern service. This time the 15:24 from Wigan North Western to Manchester Airport. Oddly, it’s worked by a diesel Class 195 as it originated from Windermere. Hardly the most ‘green’ diagram as it’s ‘under the wires’ all the way from Oxenholme.

16:50.

I arrived back in Manchester as the sun was just at tipping point. I had intended to visit an old vantage point on the Castlefield Corridor but the volume of new building in the past year has meant it’s disappeared. The sun’s been blocked out by high-rises, casting the whole area into shadow. Instead I added some pictures around Piccadilly, then backtracked to Oxford Rd. Abandoning the railway I wandered the backstreets to explore to photo opportunities in the new skylines. I’ve always found architecture and cityscapes fascinating. They make for some great pictures, so the past hour’s been spent exploring to find photo opportunities that will become impossible by the end of the year as the railway from Castlefield to Piccadilly will become hemmed in by new building.

Here’s another sight that will disappear even sooner…

A pair if Pacers at Manchester Piccadilly. In a sign of the times these units now work in tandem with Class 150s as they’re fitted with ORM compliant toilets.

21:33.

My day in Manchester was rounded off by what could be the inauguration of the the first branch of the Irish Railways Record Society outside of London. 50 people from across the North turned up to hear Dick Fearn and Tim Morton sound out the idea.

Rolling blog: plan B…

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, Yorkshire

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08:38.

My computer problems continue, which means life is less than planned at the moment. I did manage to resurrect my old machine yesterday by reinstalling Windows 10 but by the evening it developed Alzheimers again. First it ‘forgot’ how to send emails, then it gradually lost the will to do everything else as well! I’ve now had to reset it for a second time just to get a few bits and pieces done. The new machine has been ordered and will arrive tomorrow*, so I’ll be spending yet another day installing programmes and gubbins.

As this leaves me somewhat incapacitated I’m heading out for the day in order to get some new library pictures even though the weather’s not exactly at its best. The law of Sod has been invoked and tomorrow’s forecast is looking far better. I might have to be crafty in what I do with getting my new machine delivered.

Right now I’m just packing the camera bag and working out where will be best to head for. Stay with me to see how the railways behave today…

10:45.

I’m on my first train of the day, but not from Haliax as I hitched a lift with Dawn this morning. Now I’m on a TPE Class 802 as far as Leeds although the set itself is going to Edinburgh. This is one of the trains TPE have reinstated after the December timetable debacle. Mind you, Edinburgh isn’t the only exotic new destination served by direct trains from Huddersfield. You can now visit the fleshpots of Redcar Central too if you were so inclined…

11.28.

The trip to Leeds was both pleasent and uneventful. The service was a minute late at Huddersfield but easily made that up by Leeds. The front coach of the Hitachi built set was only 10% occupied so there was no problem getting a seat. The extra capacity the new TPE trains are providing’s making travel on the crowded Manchester – Leeds corridor far more pleasent now. Gone are the days when it would be a miracle if you bagged a seat.

11:32.

My sojourn in Leeds was rather shorter than last weeks! I had about 20 mins to observe the station in action before catching the 11:11 Cross-Country service that’s heading for Plymouth. Despite the fact it’s only a 4-car Voyager I’ve managed to find a seat on here too. As usual with XC there’s a real mix of humanity aboard.  Grannies laden with suitcases, student types with their headphones and laptops, the occasional businessman and there’s even a pooch staring balefully at me from between the seats.

16:05.

That’s been an entertaining few hours. Having stopped off to get pictures at Sheffield I was greeted by lovely sunny weather. The station’s in a state of flux at the moment as Northern’s new trains are putting in an appearence on more and more services, but the place is still a stronghold of the old Class 144 ‘Pacers’ who operate a lot of Northern’s short-haul services to the likes of Doncaster and Huddersfield. The newer interlopers (the 195s) have taken over further reaching stuff like the Lincoln services, whilst Class 170s are working to the likes of Scarborough.

If you want to bag a Class 144, Sheffield’s the place to visit!

Having got some shots in the can I headed off to Chesterfield where I hit a weather front. A band of cloud extended South but it still allowed me to get some interesting shots from the old footbridge North of the station and allowed me to shoot what would’ve been straight into the sun otherwise. Network Rail’s contractor’s have been busy removing lineside vegetation which has opened up views that haven’t been possible for decades. The work provided me with some good scene-setting shots too. I didn’t hang around long. Just an hour, as there’s no point repeating the same shot ad nauseum. Having got what I wanted I caught the train back to Sheffield where the weather was less dull.

It might not be the most attractive view that’s been opened out by the lineside clearance, but it’s still a view!

Having grabbed a few more shots and resisted the temptations of the Sheffield Tap I’m now heading back to Leeds on a Northern ‘Express’ service. Well, it would be express if the 90mph Class 158 diagrammed was available. Instead, it’s being worked by a rather clapped-out Class 150 which is only cleared for 75mph. As you can imagine, our timing is a tad awry…

16:05.

The 150 finally staggered into to Leeds where the poor quality of the light’s made me decide to cut the day short and head home to Halifax. Admittedly, I have an ulterior motive. Tonight Dawn and I have planned a lovely evening together at home so I’m happy to get back and make the house feel the part in preparation.

My ride back from Leeds is aboard another 3-car Class 195 on the York – Bkackpool North diagram. It’s running 5 mins down which the Conductor has apologised for, citing ‘technical issues’ with the set earlier.

18:00.

The weather may not have been too good in Leeds, but it’s a lovely sunset here in the Calder Valley…

*Well, that’s when the Dell website claimed it could be delivered by, only that changed when I’d actually specced the machine.

Abandoning their website I put in call to a real live human being and spoke to a charming Indian lady who placed the order for me and told me that the problem at the moment is getting the processor chips, so my new machine won’t be ready for at least a week. This delay means I’m going to have to be creative with my use of backup laptops and nursing my old machine until the new kit arrives. Now I’m praying no last minute, urgent jobs crop up until it arrives…