You’ll have to forgive me, as I’m having a pensive and thoughtful day so this blog is going to be hard to write. After all, humanity’s world’s not exactly going well right now, is it? I sometimes wonder how much better the planet would be if we hadn’t crawled out of the primordial swamp, grown feet then opposing thumbs and ‘developed’ into homo-sapiens as we seem hell-bent on destroying both ourselves and the planet. For an animal with such a huge brain-pan we can be incredibly dumb.
Right now I’m looking around at what’s happening in the Ukraine and also Palestine and Israel and wondering ‘what the fcuk’? Our capacity for death and destruction seems to outweigh everything else – including the ability to reason. Seeing what’s happening in Israel and Palestine (and that’s before we get into a discussion about whose borders are whose) I’m left thinking of the saying that ‘an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind’. I abhor the violence from both sides, but I’m also old enough to have followed the conflicts in that part of the world since the 1970s and know the answer is anything but black and white – just seemingly intractable.
I’m beginning to feel that the world is becoming a very unstable place for a whole host of reasons – which includes social media and the power of a small bunch of billionaires -and utterly useless, sell-out politicians. Now, I’m not a paranoid, conspiracy-loving person but I’ve always subscribed to the adage ‘follow the money’ – and the money is concentrated in fewer and fewer people’s hands – and philanthropists they ain’t.
Humanity at its best is capable of incredible things. Music, medicine, science and architecture, humour and compassion being just a few. So why’s so much of our time taken up with shit? Maybe I’ve reached that age where I look at what time I have left (whatever that is) and think it’s time explore what’s left of this beautiful planet before we completely screw it up and I can still enjoy it. Yep, I’m in one of those retrospective moods tonight. Anyway – my blog – my rules!
I’ll leave you with a picture that’s less dark than my thoughts. This is what I could do with right now. A palm-fringed beach, sunsets and solitude. Here’s a spectacular sunset at Viti Levu, Fiji, on the 7th March 1999 when the world seemed a very different place. This is the simple, natural beauty of a planet we seem hell-bent on rendering inhospitable, to ourselves and every other creature on it. But hey – it’s so important that I have that SUV to drive down to Waitrose…
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/
Today’s a day full of sunshine and the promise of decent photographic weather. I’ve a dinner date with my in-laws this evening near Huddersfield so I’m going to take the long way there, taking the camera with me to have a look at progress on the Trans-Pennine Route upgrade to see if there’s anything worth getting shots of. I’ll blog through the day, so feel free to pop back and see what I get up to…
12:00.
I’ve made it as far as Dewsbury having arrived here from Sowerby Bridge. Trains are packed today. My three-car was full and standing from Sowerby and rammed after Mirfield. The good weather’s bringing everyone out – including the rail-alers doing the railway pub-crawl. This isn’t the best day for exploring as the Trans-Pennine route West of Huddersfield is closed so services are much reduced. Even ao, there’s a few pictures to be had and sites to note.
My train departs from Dewsbury.
15:15.
Sorry for the gap but I’ve been busy shuttling between Dewsbury and Brighouse whilst enjoying the gorgeous sunshine – and dodging torrential showers! I’d intened to get a few lineside shots but the combination of low sun and rain made that foohardy, which is a shame – but hey ho. Instead I took the opportunity to enjoy Brighouse station joining the TPE network. Right now I’m on my way to Huddersfield, having stopped the latest weather bullet in the shape of this storm that’s just passed over Dewsbury. I didn’t make it to the cover of the canopy before the heavens opened.
Here’s 802213 working 9M32, the 1244 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street.
At Brighouse – which joined the TPE network for the day – I captured 802209 stopping at the station whilst working 1P25, the 1154 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle.
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/
Up at sparrow-fart once more. It’s a busy morning here at Bigland Towers. I’m preparing to head out for the day and Dawn is busy with her HIT (High Intensity Training) workout in the living room. The weather’s hardly conducive to early starts. It’s dark and cold outside now that temperatures have returned to their seasonal averages rather then the bizarre ones we’ve had recently. According to the thermometer it’s just 3 degrees.
I’ll be walking down to Sowerby Bridge station shortly to catch my first train of the day to Manchester. I’m planning another foray out to Glossop and area. I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so let’s see what happens…
07:35.
Walking downhill to the station was fun this morning. Looking across the valley from the bedroom window it looked everywhereas covered in fog. Once I’d left the house and descended ahundred meters or so the valley was clear. Then, when I looked behind me I realise our cottage was up in cloud level!
I’m now on the late- running 07:22 to Manchester which is a busy four-car set.
07:50.
We’ve now left Todmorden and this train’s getting very busy. As we traversed the Calder valley I realised Sowerby Bridge is lucky as everywhere else IS covered in fog! Today’s the first day of autumn where I’ve observed commuters wearing hats and gloves. Shorts are confined to the back of the cupboard for now. Judging by the number of people clutching hot drinks the local coffee shops will be happy with the change in the weather!
07:55.
We’ve passed through the Summit tunnel into Lancashire and – as is often the case – there’s very different weather on the other side. Rochdale has no fog at all. Instead it’s bathed in winter sunshine!
08:38.
Here’s how busy my train was as it approached Manchester Victoria – and what it was like trying to get through the gateline.
Right now I’m on the train out to Glossop which is much more relaxed as we’re going againt the flow. There’s just a handful of us in the front car. Several of those are young women all using their phones as mirrors as they apply their make-up!
09:25.
The light’s lovely this morning so I stopped off in the middle of nowhere to get a few pictures. Let’s have a guessing game with the station name. It carries the same name a former member of the band “10cc”.
Not a rubber bullet in sight…
10:20.
I’m having a quick break here in Glossop whilst I have a coffee in the lovely little Twig coffee house on the station – and respond to a couple of work emails to sort out next week’s jobs.
The old ticket office (the window is to the right).
Here’s one of my camera pictures showing the old 1,500 dc electrification structures that still predominate along the line, although this section’s had the contact wires simplified.
15:15.
That was a busy few hours! I’ve been exploring the area around Broadbottom station in order to get a few scenic shots in open country as well as check out the remains of the old fan of sidings that was Mottram yard. They were already abandoned when I was a kid, having closed in about 1970 but the arrival sidings remained open for loco changes from electric to diesel. Now the whole site’s woodland. Only a few clues as to their former use remain.
The yard was to the left. The remains of the short platforms for Mottram staff halt can be seen on the remaining lines. The view’s looking towards Manchester.
15:30.
Time for a refreshment break and a beer I’ve never tried before. The glass tells the tale…
18:35.
Home time. Well, heading back across the Pennines at least. I’ve manged to get most of the pictures I was after before the sun disappeared. Plus I’ve had an interesting time exploring and discovering new places. I’ll add a few pics from the camera later. Right now, it’s standing room only on the 18:21 From Manchester Victoria. So much for “but no-one’s travelling by train anymore”.
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Today’s been one of those that didn’t exactly go to plan – but in a good way! After I’d finished editing the latest batch of pictures and getting them off to a client I’d intended to catch up with sorting stuff around the office – a sort of ‘autumn cleaning’ if you like – then blogging about the latest Sunak/HS2 debacle. The weather’s certainly changed here compared to the balmy days we’ve had so far, with temperatures staying in single figures, so I thought it was time to make the place more streamlined – and cosy. Instead I got sidetracked with pitching a story to a magazine which they’ve decided to run with so I became embroiled in initial research. Before I knew it, several hours had passed. Then I had a contact about a short-notice commission which I’ve managed to squeeze into next week. So, that’s the autumn cleaning and long blog out of the window for now as I’ve events in Derbyshire and Wiltshire to attend as well as an article to write.
Now I’m prepping for another day out in the Manchester area tomorrow (expect a rolling blog) as the weather’s promising to be half-decent and I’m running out of time to get the pictures I require, which means an early start tomorrow to make the most of the shortening days. I’m going to miss the long summer evenings, but the consolation is that winter sunlight (when you get it) is far superior to harsh summer sun – especially for artistic shots. Well, if you happen to be in the right place at the right time anyway!
Now it’s time to go as I’ve stuff to prepare. I’ll leave you with an image from the Hope Valley taken on Sunday. You can find the full selection in various galleries on my Zenfolio website, simply follow this link to see which galleries have been updated.
A Trans-Pennine Express Class 185 heads West towards Manchester through the gorgeous Hope valley.
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 few days at home blogging about our lying Prime Minister and the deceit that’s “Network North” I’m having an interlude. Don’t worry, there’ll be another blog on Sunak and his sorry sorry saga of deception and incompetence this evening!
After an appointment in Sowerby Bridge that prevented me leaving earlier I’m now on a train to Manchester as the weather’s really too good to miss and I still have a long list of pictures I need to work my way through for a client. Feel free to pop back and see what I get up to as I’m not entirely sure what that’ll be myself!
Back to short trains and no stabiliser rail…
14:35.
After a relaxing (and sunny) journey to Manchester I added to my daily step total by walking between Victoria and Piccadilly stations through a busy city centre. En-route a plan had formed in my mind, so I’m now on the 14:33 to Glossop. I’m going to be looking at a couple of potential picture locations en-route – and a stop at one of the most misnamed stations in England…
“No mate, this isn’t the train to Stoke!”
15:45.
Maybe I should retitle this blog as the sunshine interlude didn’t last long at all this side of the Pennines!
My visit to Glossop lasted all of 30 mins. Just long enough to recconoitre a few photo sites as the light changed which was rather frustrating. Still, it means I have ideas worked out for the future. Plus, I did update my images of the gorgeous station at Glossop which still boasts a ticket office, barrier staff and a great little cafe.
Glossop station. The former ticket office to the right is now a lovely little cafe. There’s still an office here but it’s moved closer to the gateline.
15:55.
Having had a spin to Hadfield on the Glossop shuttle I’m about to head back towards Manchester.
The end of the line at Hadfield. The last stop on what was then the famous Woodhead freight only route to Penistone which closed in 1981.
16:55.
The beauty of this job is that you get to explore. Some places are better than others but they all add to your knowledge and experience. Here’s a station that only opened in 1985 but those naming it obviously had a sense of humour and tongues firmly in cheek. Meet ‘Flowery Field’…
Seriously?
Apparently, the name is due to its proximity to one of Manchester’s biggest parks. You’d be forgiven for not knowing that as you pass through! I got off to explore at it’s only a few minutes walk from another station on a different line – Hyde North.
This area of Manchester is pretty run down but there was a ray of hope as I cut through a nearby cul-de-sac although it took a minute to sink in. I passed several children playing in the street, drawing on the pavement with coloured chalk – just as my generation did half a century and more ago. They were outdoors interacting with their peers, not stuck indoors in their rooms ‘virtually’ interacting with people miles (or even continents) away.
Hyde North stations and it’s environs lived down to expectations and made me realise why I’d never bothered stopping. It has no architectural merit apart from the old footbridge. There’s a couple of basic shelters of modern design but that’s it. Admittedly, the local friends group have tried to brighten the place up with some art (and good for them) but I fear they’re trying to push water uphill! The area surrounding the station’s a mix of residential and commercial with little appeal. This is as good as it got.
19:30.
My return home way delayed by ‘shit happens’. I decided to have a quick pint in the city centre and ended up helping a woman who limped into the pub after twisting an ankle. She was both embarrassed and tearful so I ended up staying with her and helping her limp to a taxi before the cavalry arrived in the shape of some of her former pupils (she’s a Teacher) in town on a night out. Good deed done for the day I arrived at Victoria to find the new pub on the station was open for business and buzzing.
I’d passed the Victoria Tap earlier but fitting out work was still going on – even though pumpclips were advertising what draught beers were ready. I asked the young lady who served me how long they’d been open. Her reply was “about 3 hours!”
The tap’s only small. It’s a narrow two room establishment at the end of the station but it has a beer garden out back which is by the tram tracks and underneath the station roof. The range of beers is good and the prices are very competitive. A pint of ‘Farmers Blonde’ cost me £4.20.
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/
As I suspected. This week’s proving very different to the last one. I’ve hardly moved from the house apart from a brief foray into Sowerby Bridge yesterday in order to pick up some shopping. Mind you, the weather’s hardly been conducive to venturing far. We’ve had more than our fair share of rain here in’t Pennines – such a contrast to the great weather we enjoyed in Surrey. So, I’ve battened down the hatche and got square eyes by wading through the hundreds of pictures I’ve had to sift through and edit before captioning them and getting them on to my Zenfolio website. The process is almost finished – the last ones will be done by tomorrow. I’ve also written an article for RAIL magazine on my visit to the HS2 bridge site near Aylesbury last week.
HS2 is taking up a lot of the media’s time right now due to the absolute car-crash that’s the Tory party conference in Manchester. That the route to Manchester might be scrapped has been widely leaked to the press and Sunak is making an utter fool of himself parroting ‘spades in the ground, spades in the ground’ whilst refusing to quash speculation that he’s started himself! The optics of this are mad. Who in their right minds would hold a party conference in a major city you’re about to deprive of a new high-speed railway? But, looking at the conference it’s clear anyone in their right mind has stayed away. Leaks from those there describe the atmosphere as like a party at a funeral. It’s more ‘the last days of the bunker’ in the levels of unreality that have crept in. One would be forgiven for thinking its really the UKIP conference with the Tories having drifted so far to the right. That Nigel Farage himself has attended and been lauded by some says it all. Then there’s the video of Farage dancing with Priti Patel. God help us! It gets worse, our esteemed (are you taking the piss? Ed) Transport Minister, Mark Harper has joined the ranks of the batshit conspiracy theorists and condemned the concept of ’15 minute cities’. Add this to Sunak announcing his going to scrap non existent plans to tax meat and make you use seven recycling bins and you can see how far from reality the Tories are straying.
The Daily Mirror newspaper has helpfully highlighted 5 of the maddest claims and outright lies used in speeches at the conference. Talk about having no shame…
Then, today, Home Secretary Suella Braverman channeled her inner Enoch Powell to give the most awful speech imaginable, full of anti immigration rhetoric and condemnation, telling people we’re facing a ‘hurricane’ of immigrants coming to take over our shores then launching into more ‘war on woke’ tirades that forced one man to grumble aloud. It wasn’t even a heckle, but he was immediately pounced upon by security and police, had his pass ripped from around his neck and was ejected in full view of the media who caught it on camera. Then it turned out the man was none other than Andrew Boff, the Conservative Chair of the London Assembly!
This car crash will hit the inveitable brick wall tomorrow, although from what I’m hearing many delegates have already left in despair. Tomorrow Sunak is due to address the conference. Will he be suicidal enough to announce the cancellation of HS2? Who knows. Whoever is advising him from the Tufton St cabal could well have sealed his, theirs and the Tories fate, because such an announcement will go down like a bucket of cold sick, no matter how he tries to spin it. ‘Levelling up’ will be exposed as a joke and the North won’t forgive, or forget. And I suspect the Labour party will be watching with bated breath as the Tories could well be about to leave them a huge open goal.
I’ll be waiting for the next set of opinion polls to come out after this shambles is over with great interest. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is one of the batch I’ll have uploaded to my Zenfolio site tomorrow. Rightwinder try and pretend there’s no need for investment in the railways anymore as no-one using the trains nowadays. Really? Here’s the concourse of London’s Liverpool St station seen at 18:25 last Thursday. Just containing tumbleweeds, obviously….
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 week gallivanting around the South-East today couldn’t have been more different. Partly because after getting up at 06:30 every day the pair of us had a lie-in until nearly 11:00! Hey, it’s Sunday and time to recharge the batteries. The fact we’ve both gone down with minor colds and aches was another good reason to relax – at least until tomorrow. So, no trains for me today. In fact, no travel at all unless you count a leisurely stroll into Sowerby Bridge and back in order to pick up some shopping and ensure that I get my steps in for the day. Apart from that, I’ve spent the rest of Sunday glued to my computer in order to finish the first sift of this weeks pictures and begin editing the ones that pass muster. Which is a lot!
Whilst doing this I’ve been trying to resist looking at commentary about the Tory party conference in nearby Manchester. OK, I have taken the occasional peek but managed to avoid the temptation to vent my spleen – difficult as it is when you’re watching a party who’ve been in power for 13 years trying to pretend the utter shitshow we’ve suffered is nothing to do with them and what we actually need is to elect them again so they can make everything *even* better! Their levels of delusion are off the scale and I have to wonder if even they believe the bullshit they’re coming out with. Of course, their cheerleaders in certain sections of our famously ‘independent’ media (are you having a laugh! Ed) are doing their damndest to keep the gravy train rolling and cheerlead. Oh, did I mention trains? One thing you won’t get a straight answer out of any of them is over the HS2 railway. Apparently, having set the hare running over the future of HS2 to Manchester, Sunak and Co won’t comment on ‘speculation’. The very speculation they’ve started and could kill in an instant if they were honest and gave a straight answer. But they’re not – and they won’t. After all, when you’re having your conference in Manchester and spent years talking bollox about ‘levelling up’ the country are you really going to admit you’ve just cancelled/postponed the high-speed line to the city?
I can’t see the Tories having a great conference. It seems from reports (and the pictures I’ve seen) that attendance figures are derisory. Everyone knows they’re a dead man walking so why bother going unless you’re one of the deluded batshit faithful? I’ll bet the Labour conference shortly after will be a very different affair as people can see which way the electoral winds are blowing. I’d love to be enthused about Labour and the vision of them taking power and putting to rights the mess the Tories have made of the UK since they morphed into UKIP, but I’m struggling. Honesty is in short supply in UK politics. Of course, that’s not just the fault of the political classes, it’s also the media and voters as many of the latter seem happy to be lied to if what they’re told fits their prejudices. How things will pan out only time will tell, but it all increases my feelings of disconnection from the UK. As I get older the more I suspect that the UK is becoming an economic and political basket-case that’s utterly incapable of shrugging off the past and embracing a future where the world’s changing and flag-waving just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Anyways, on another front it’s going to be a very busy week as I’ve articles to write, pictures to edit and spleens to vent – and an awful lot more besides as I’ve another role to slip in to but more of that soon…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which is from last week’s Southern haul. People from outside of London always think of the London Underground as the ‘tube’, those narrow trains that runs on certain deep level lines across the capital. Here’s a very different ‘underground’. This is a Metropolitan line train at Chalfont and Latimer out in suburban North-West London. The stations and tracks are shared with the old Great Central railway as far as Amersham. This is Sir John Betjeman’s ‘metroland‘.
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/
Our time in Surrey has come to an end. Now we’re busy packing as we’ll be driving back to West Yorkshire later today. That may be ‘fun’ due to extra traffic on the roads as today sees another strike in the long-running labour dispute on the railways – which the government are doing nothing to resolve as they see it playing into their hands politically.
Plus, whilst the weather’s still lovely ‘darn sarf’ friends back home have told us to expect to return to heavy rain. Ho hum. Well, at least I won’t have to water the garden when I get in! As we’re in no rush we’ll be nipping out for coffee and cake with a neighbour for we leave. The local pub has sublet an outhouse in their beer-garden which has become a food hub. There’s now a coffe shop cafe occupying the place whilst the outside of the buildi g is home to a pizza oven run as a seperate business.
13:45.
Suitably fortified with coffee and cake we’ve made it out of Surrey, round the M25 (busy but mostly free flowing) and onto the M1.
15:30.
After our traditional pitstop at Watford Gap services we’re now whizzing up the M1 in Leicestershire. The further we get from London the more the traffic thins – although lane discipline hasn’t improved. So many folk seem to have no idea how you drive on a motorway.Thy stick in the middle lane as if their car’s on rails! This leads to lots of damgerous weaving and undertaking as others try to get past them.
16:06.
Our luck – and the weather – held as far as Junction 28 (Matlock). Now we’re driving along in clouds of spray but traffic is flowing and the M1 remains quiet.
16:40.
Good job it’s a Saturday and there aren’t many of these on the road kicking up spray.
21:30.
We’re home safe and sound, unpacked and settled in for the night on what’s a wet end to the day and real contrast to where we’ve just come from. I’ve begun the marathon task of doing the first sift of the 1000s of pictures I’ve taken over the past week whilst Dawn’s relaxing and winding down after her long drive by watching some TV. Looking at the weather here back in West Yorkshire it seems we accidentally chose an ideal time to go away!
Still, tomorrow’s another month – and who knows where that will lead…
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 rain overnight the Surrey skies are threatening to play ball and come up with some sunshine for my final day in 3rd rail land. That would be ideal as I’ve a full day planned but one that’s reliant on clear skies for scenic shots.
Here’s a teaser for you. One of the stations I’m going to visit has what’s believed to be the only one left in the UK with its own water well. Can you guess where it is? I’ll give you the answer later.
Right now I’m on an earlier train than usual as the ongoing industrial dispute has knocked my normal Farnham – Guildford service out of the timetable. So, no pictures of loadings on the 08:58 to Waterloo I’m afraid. Instead i’m on the 08:35 from Farnham formed of a 4-car Class 450. As you can see, there’s plenty of spare seats.
10:30.
The Weather’s living up to the forecast and the skies are clearing. I’ve just left Guildford after an hour there taking pictures of services through the area (pics later). There’s a very handy footbridge spanning the junctions to the North of the station that’s an ideal vantage point. It’s also a great place for people watching too as it now leads to the huge University of Surrey campus. Watching the constant stream of students made me realise just how many of our academic institutions are reliant on overseas applicants. I remember seeing all the adverts for UK universities when I was staying in Malaysia earlier this year. And yet, the government seems intent on creating a less than welcoming atmosphere for people with their rhetoric and actions.
After a quich change from a packed Waterloo bound service at Woking I’m now on a more relaxed 5 car Class 444 heading for Portsmouth the long way round via Eastleigh and Fareham. The Conductor has announced we won’t be stopping at Fleet today due to the emergency services dealing with ‘an incident’ – which sounds ominous. Hopefully it’s not a fatality.
On this part of the trip I’m using the excellent line guide published by Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership. It’s packed full of useful information on the towns en-route and includes both local and railway history, places and sights to see and pubs and cafe’s to visit.
I love guides like this as you learn so much about the areas you pass through. OK, admittedly some of it is whimsical and of little use other than for setting quiz questions. For example. The Bridge Inn, the pub you see from the train at Shawford? It was the location of the demise of Victor Meldrew in the final episode of “one foot in the grave”!
12:30.
I’m now heading for Southampton after a flying visit to Romsey which is an interesting little place. I’d liked to have explored the town but I’m on a tight schedule. The imposing station building oerched atop an embankment is only part-used although the ground floor still boasts a ticket off and waiting room. There’s a tiny cafe with seats on the platform which is run by Marco who’s now expanded to Shawford. There’s also an 1870s signalbox just a few minutes walk away which has been restored to working order and opens to the public.
12:55.
Now I’m hoping the pace will slow a little as I wait for trains and the sun to coincide at St Denys. Not actually at the station tho’ but by the river (where the tide’s in), as you’ll see shortly..
Here’s me, hard at work…
There’s a large element of chance involved here. Will the sun stay out? Will a train in the current livery arrive at the right time? It’s all beyond my control. All I can do is be patient…
15:25.
I managed to get the shots I wanted so decided to be optimist and go for a second bite of the cherry further down the line at Bursledon where the railway crosses another of the three rivers. At this point the river’s cammed with yachts and motorboats. It’s like being on the set of ‘Howards Way” (a 1970s yachty soap opera) but it makes a great scenic location for what I was after.
Now I’m on the move again, hoping to fit in one last scenic location if time, trains and weather allow…
18:45.
Things didn’t quite go to plan for a variety of reasons. The railway timetable began to fall apart as I headed East so I decided not to sally forth into the countryside. After all, I’d planned an hour long walk to get what would have been at best two pictures. Instead, I changed trains at Fratton and caught a late running Waterloo service that had most of its stops cut to get to Havant where I picked up another train to Haslemere. By then all the schools had chucked out so the trains were awash with teenagers. Some were very well behaved, others entitled arses. I’ve noticed that people putting their feet on seats is endemic down here, no matter what your social status.
After getting a few last shots of a working mechanical lever-framed signalbox (although you wouldn’t know it from the outside) I caught another late-running train back to Guildford. I’m here enjoying a quick pint whilst watching the world go by. I really like Guildford, apart from one thing. The traffic.
Getting from the station into the town centre involves negotiating multiple layers of sub-ring road full of cars where 90% have a single occupant.
As it’s a Friday it’s not just cars occupying Guildford, there’s a mass influx of people (mostly young) starting their weekend revelries. Events are fascinating to watch if you’re interested in observing the human condition. But, at the same time they’re rather depressing. There’s an element of ‘the last days of Pompeii’ about it.
19:30.
Time to go home. I’ve swum against the tide to get to the station and board the 19:23 to Farnham. I don’t envy rail staff working today as things are already getting messy – including this train – which is littered with fast food wrappers and other detritus. Standards certainly seem to have slipped in the South in the 13 years since I moved North. Many of our trains aren’t this bad!
It looks OK. What you can’t see is all the crap left on the seats or have your nostrils assaulted by the permeating smell of fried fast food…
21:00.
I’m now back at ‘home’ in Tilford, downloading today’s pictures so here’s a few images from my camera rather then just phone pictures.
GWR Class 158s 158958 and 158765 work 1F13, the 1205 Westbury to Portsmouth Harbour as it crosses the River Itchen after leaving St Denys. A few miles further East at Bursledon, 450066 crosses the river Hamble whilst working 2E40, the 1338 Portsmouth & Southsea to Southampton Central.
Oh, before I go I promised to tell you which station still has a well. I didn’t manage to get there today, so a return trip is on the cards, but the answer is…Rowlands Castle.
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/
Today begins at Clapham. After a lovely evening in with an old friend, catching up with each other’s lives and events it’s time to start another busy day. First, I’ve got to get across London to Kings Cross…
The overbridge at Clapham Junction’s a lot less cluttered nowadays. Many of the kiosks located there never survived the Covid years.
Train No 1 is a busy Class 455 heading to Waterloo. Looking around the car I’m struck by how many people are ‘plugged in’ via headphones, cutting off one of their five senses. Most are also staring at screens. I see two people reading newspapers, a massive change on just a few short years when this train would be littered with discarded copies of ‘Metro’ on its next trip out of Waterloo.
07:40
Now I’m on an old haunt – the Victoria line, which is still quiet this time of day as the morning peak has spread out more thanks to flexibje working.
09:30.
Having had a very pleasant journey on a busy LNER train to Leeds from Kings Cross I’ve time for a coffee and to catch up with some emails before meeting Pip Dunn. The cafe on platform 4’s gone upmarket since I first started coming here…
10:00.
And so it starts. Next stop – Ipswich…
11:10.
The first train to be put through its paces is one of Greater Anglia’s Stadler built 4-car, bi-mode class 755. Whilst Pip’s busy with his tape-measure and spreadsheets I’ve been occupied taking pictures of different aspects and details of the vehicles internal layouts.
12:15.
Now for a completely different product for a trip from Ipswich to London Liverpool St. The all electric Anglia Class 720 ‘Aventras’ were built by Bombardier (now Alstom).
15:20.
We’re now on the way to Norwich on something a little more luxurious and stylish…
1st Class in an Anglia Class 745. Cycle spaces on 745007. The clue’s on the window…The best seat in the house. In this case it’s the rear cab of 745007.
16:30.
The job ended in Norwich, by which time we’d tried out, tested, photographed and measured three different types of train. What did we think? You can read all about that in future editions of RAIL magazine!
Right now I’m heading back towards London on the same class 745 we tested earlier, only now I’m in standard class! This train’s not as busy as the one we came up from London on (that was packed) but it’s filling up as we head South. Sadly, the weather’s not really conducive to lineside photography. I’d considered stopping off on the way to get some exterior shots of the train types we’ve tested today but the weather doesn’t look like it’s going to play ball. Never mind, I’ve a camera full of pictures to edit anyway.
22:00.
Home again! The weather didn’t improve en-route to the capital so I stayed on the train all the way to Liverpool St. My, how things have changed there since I was a regular visitor. Not a single BR era train is left in service with any of the operators using the station. Now it’s all ‘Aventra’ derivatives or products from Stadler – quite a transformation for a main-line London terminus as all the others (bar Fenchurch St) still see the older fleets putting in an appearance on service trains.
A greater Anglia 5-car Class 720 Aventra ready to depart Liverpool St with a service to Ely.These Class 710 London Overground Aventras have replaced the BR built Class 315/317 fleets.
Tomorrow’s our final day in this neck of the woods and the weather’s due to improve, so I’ll be making one last foray on 3rd rail metals for now. I’m not quite sure where to yet as there’s disruption expected tomorrow due to strike action ‘working to rule’ which will affect some SWR services. I’ll make my mind up in the morning.
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 