Over the Christmas shutdown Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) teams have been busy in the Mirfield station area where a number of different jobs have been carried. I visited just before Christmas, when the place looked like this;
Looking West across the original station and platforms 2 and 1 from the newer wooden platform 3 which is located on the Up Slow. Looking East from the end of platform 3 with a Wigan – Leeds train passing on the Down Slow. The centre track is the Up fast, which was about to move…
Over the holiday period approximately 560 meters of the Up Fast was renewed and slewed to a new alignment. This allowed the rarely used platform 2 to be cut back, creating more room for future works. At the same time two new beams were lifted into place over Station Road. these will form part of the new station platform. Here’s how things looked today – the first day of the year where it hasn’t rained!Platform 2 has been abolished with the edging stones removed and earth cut back. It’s also been hoarded off from platform 1 which remains in use for Eastbound services. To the right you can see one of the new concrete beams which have been lifted into place over Station Rd. They’re protected by the white fencing. Here’s a slightly wider view.
Meanwhile, looking East…
The new view from the end of platform 3 look East, with a long section of the Up Fast having been relayed in its new position closer to the Up slow. Here’s a couple of pictures that give greater clarity. Back in May 2021 180112 approaches Mirfield From Wakefield on the Up Slow. Notice the position of the Up Fast. Here’s (almost) the same view today.
These are the first really substantial alterations at Mirfield, but there’s lots more to come as the four tracks are restored and the station’s completely rebuilt.
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We’ve had a lazy Sunday here at Bigland Towers. That wasn’t actually the plan but the weather forecast forgot to tell the weather what it was meant to be doing. So, the pair of us spent most of the morning catching up with various stuff at home in the expectation sunshine would arrive in the early afternoon and we could get out for a decent Sunday stroll. I spent much of the morning editing and captioning some of the several hundred pictures I’d got in the queue after this weeks outings, whilst Dawn was equally busy sorting out Platt family duties. I’d even done a load of washing and pegged it out to dry before retreating to the office to continue picture editing when I noticed the skies had gone dark. Very dark – like aliens had parked a bloody great spaceship overhead dark. Then the rain arrived…
I couldn’t help but laugh as I brought the washing in again. That’ll teach me to listen to forecasts rather than watch the conditions from the bedroom window. Our bedroom looks out across the Calder valley in the direction most of the prevailing weather arrives. Normally we get a good 15 minutes warning of a deluge as we see the Ryburn valley disappear, then the South side of the Calder. The change of plan meant all the outdoor jobs I’d intended to carry out got rained off. Instead, I finished off the picture editing I’d intended to complete tomorrow morning then managed to get many of them on my Zenfolio website. If you follow this link you’ll see which galleries have been updated. There’s more to come tomorrow. Finally the rain abated and we did get out for a short stroll around the local area to get our steps in, so not all was lost although I have to say I’m starting to get fed up of these wet and windy conditions. Where’s the summer? I don’t mind over the next couple of days as I’ve an article for RAIL to write but I need to get out and about after that to catch up with more photography at far-flung locations. Emulating a drowned rat is hardly conducive to the job…
Anyway. We shall see. In the meantime I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is one from this week’s outing to Northumberland and the Blyth and Tyne railway. It’s a mundane scene now but it will look very, very different by this time next year.
This is Newsham. It doesn’t look much, does it? But in a year this location will change dramatically. The first clue is the extension of double track you can see creeping in to the right of the existing line. This is to provide capacity for a 30 minute passenger service. You’re looking at the site of a new two platform station which will have car-parking on either side of the tracks that will accommodate 287 cars. Not only that but in between the two semaphore signals that you can see there’s going to be a new road flyover crossing the railway as the existing level crossing (which is behind the camera) is being abolished. This sleepy railway which currently sees just one freight train a day is being transformed. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL magazine.
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 