There’s another day of mixed fortunes here at Bigland Towers, mostly due to the weather, which has done its best to keep us guessing of its intentions. Just when you think there’s going to be a sunny spell some dastardly clouds sneak up the Ryburn valley and bring with them a good soaking! It’s frustrating, but at least I have decent waterproofs – thanks to a birthday present from Dawn who treated me to a new Mountain Warehouse jacket to go with my ancient Mont trousers (bought in Oz in 1998).
Not that I’ve spent much time outdoors today, apart from a supermarket run and a late walk. Apart from keeping Dee fed and watered whilst she slaves away in the office upstairs a goodly proportion of my day’s been spent sorting out more old railwayana to go on eBay. I’ve added a selection of railway badges (old and new) to go with the hundreds of slides I have on offer. You can find the full list by following this link. Who knows? You might find a late Xmas prezzie for yourself or a loved one! Here’s one of the most recent additions, shown with a ruler for scale.
Tomorrow there’s a distinct change of tempo as I head down to London for a couple of days. Expect a mixture of blogs and pictures as I swan around the capital. Of course, if you read/watch the right-wing media you’d think I should be packing a stab-vest and letting Dawn know where my will is as London (in their hysterical imaginations) is dome kind of dystopian hellhole. It’s a load of bollocks of course, as I’ll show…
Whilst I’ve been complaining about the weather there’s one thing the mild days have provided as a bonus. I still have Chrysanthemums flowering in the garden! I have several plants in the front and back, all of which have flowered at different times, right through from October. This particular plant is opposite the kitchen window and only just coming into bloom…
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/
Yesterday (Thursday) the sun shone bright here in West Yorkshire, making a change from the dank and dismal weather which seems to be the norm nowadays. It spurred me on to get out and about for a few hours to look at some of the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade work sites that I hadn’t visited this year, as well as some I’ve been popping into regularly. I was also driven by the fact Ravensthorpe station closes this weekend so that the site can be cleared for the new fast lines flyover. Here’s a selection of pictures from the day.
802204 speeds through Batley as 1K16, the 1103 Hull to Liverpool Lime Street, passing the platform extensions which are being added to both Up and Down line platforms at the North end. Looking down on Batley station from Soothill Lane bridge. It’s hard to believe this was once a junction, with the GNR Chicken Heath branch running off to the left towards Ossett.A 1915 OS map shows the station and goods yard. The dingy Batley station subway is due to be replaced by a footbridge with lifts which is being constructed at the Southern end of the platforms. I’ll span the tracks between the two lamp posts on the right. Meanwhile, at Ravensthorpe, hardcore is being laid between the two side walls of the flyover. This will be the location of the slewed lines to/from Healy Mills.Foundations of the Northern wall of the flyover are almost complete. A last view of Ravensthorpe station which closes this weekend. 150215 approaches with a service from Leeds to Bradford Interchange. That’s progress! Here’s the new bridges over the Calder and Hebble navigation. Since I visited on the 25th November two of the Eastern side girders have been put into place. A closer view of the two new girders. The pillar nearest the camera waits to receive its girder, which is already hooked up to the crane nearby. Passing under the new girders. The last train I’ll ever catch from the old Ravensthorpe station. 15020 calls on the 14.02 from Bradford to Leeds.
On the way back I stopped off at Brighouse to get a couple of pictures and to visit the renowned Blakeleys take-away and restaurant, which is famous for the quality of its fish and chips. It’s next door to another Brighouse institution, the Market Tavern. It seemed rude not to wash my food down with a pint, so I called in for a ‘swifty’. The beer was in great condition and the pub busy, but I couldn’t help noticing that the clientele were almost all pensioners (shit, that includes me now!). Admittedly, most younger people would still be at work, but I wonder what the place would look like at 16:00 in say, 10 years time? Times are changing, and so are demographics…
Back at the station I couldn’t resist getting a picture of this history board. I’ve mentioned the tale of the man who broke the bank of Monte Carlo before, but here’s the full story…
If you want to see more TRU construction pictures, you can find the complete gallery by following this link to my Zenfolio website.
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/
Friday’s weather turned fine for a change. Well, for most of the day, anyway. It gave me the opportunity to catch a train from Halifax to Brighouse in order to check out progress on The Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) around Bradley, to the East of Huddersfield. The area contains Bradley Junction, where the Westward connection from Calder valley line from Brighouse joins the Trans-Pennine route, and also for me to explore closer to Heaton Lodge Junction, further East.
There’s no train service from Brighouse to Huddersfield anymore. Instead, you have to catch a rail replacement coach which stops at Deighton before heading into Huddersfield. I struck lucky, as the vehicle I caught was a brand-new Mercedes coach which was seeing its first day in revenue service. John, the driver, explained that operator S-Line travel had bought 3 of the vehicles at a cost of £1.2m. I have to say, it certainly put the Class 150 I’d arrived on to shame when it came to comfort!
There two rail replacement stops at Deighton and John dropped me off at the Easternmost, where it was only a short walk to Colliery Bridge. Sadly, this arched bridge is now closed prior to demolition as it’s being replaced by a new structure to allow this section of line to be electrified. Here’s how it looks from Station Rd bridge further East.
It may be called Colliery bridge, but the colliery it was named for (which was out of picture to the left) closed in early Victorian times. The crossover you see in the foreground leads to the single-track spur to Brighouse. This was also the site of Bradley station which closed on the 2nd March 1950. No trace of the station remains.
Here’s the view looking the other way with Colne Bridge Rd in the background. A lot has changed since my last visit in June, with the first OLE masts having made an appearance, both on the existing line and also where the new Fast lines will be installed.
A TPE service for York worked by 185124 passes 802204 on a Newcastle to Liverpool Lime St service at Bradley. In a few years time they’ll use the new Fast lines which will be laid to the right of the existing tracks.
Moving on I walked up to Colne Bridge Rd but it’s impossible to get pictures there right now. The bridge carries a very busy and very narrow road which only has an (equally narrow) pavement on the Eastern side – which is where a replacement bridge has been built that completely blocks off any view! You can see one of the bridge abutments through the arches in the picture above.
Realigning the road here presents a challenge due to site constraints and the fact there’s an equally narrow bridge over the Huddersfield Wide canal just a few 100 meters South! I’ve marked the new road in red on this satellite image. I can only assume that (at some point) the bridge over canal will be replaced and realigned as it’s going to create a real bottleneck.
As it wasn’t possible to get pictures I walked on to the next bridge which involves a trek uphill before cutting down Bog Green Lane then along a road to the old sewage works where the existing (but also to be replaced) bridge gives this view Westwards.
In the foreground is a new Fast line bridge over the Colne river. Beyond that is a new bridge over the Huddersfield wide canal whilst in the background is the new Colne Bridge Rd bridge. OLE masts have made an appearance here too.
This bridge used to offer a commanding view of the new cutting being dug for the Fast lines to avoid Heaton Lodge Junction. Only now someone’s stuck this bridge in the way!A TPE service for Manchester speeds under the new Bog Lane bridge. The new Fast lines will run in the foreground.
Finally, here’s a look at one of the new bridge sections over the Huddersfield wide canal at Lock No 2.
I’ll pop along for another visit to this section of TRU in the next few days.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I was out and about, enjoying autumn sunshine and the chance to explore. Today? It’s back to normal in the Calder valley with low cloud, rain and generally dank and miserable conditions. A good day for staying in the warm here at Bigland Towers in order to edit yesterdays pictures whilst planning new adventures.
You can find yesterdays pictures in these galleries on my Zenfolio website.
The local weather forecast isn’t looking good for the next few days and I’ve plenty of things to do here at home. So, whilst I *might* nip out early for a couple of hours tomorrow morning to look at some TRU work the rest of this weekend will be spent getting Bigland Towers ready for Xmas. Dawn’s got her own programme and day out arranged for tomorrow, which frees me up from cooking/teaboy duties, so I might as well make the most of it! Watch this space…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture.
One thing I’ll be looking out for over the next couple of weeks is railway station Christmas trees. Forget this ridiculous far-right nonsense about Christmas being ‘cancelled’ – the railway has always celebrated on stations up and down the country – often with gusto! I won’t be back in London for a couple of weeks but one effort that’s always worth checking out is at St Pancras station. Here’s their 2015 tree.
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 being tied to Bigland Towers by a combination of poor weather and home-based jobs to do I’ve escaped for the day! Today we have a crisp autumn day with clear skies and lots of sunshine, so it’s time to venture out with the camera. I’ve a rough idea of where I want to go, but my plan’s not written in stone. First off, I have to get over to Manchester, which is why I’m currently on Northern’s 09:02 from Sowerby Bridge which is heading for Wigan Wallgate. Formed of 2, 2-car Class 158s it’s a quiet train, which has allowed me to grab a table bay and begin blogging, fortified by a fresh coffee from the Jubilee refreshment rooms.
I’ll be posting throughout the day, so feel free to pop back to see where and what I get up to…
09:22.
Ha! My comments about the weather turned out to be premature. We’ve just pulled out of Todmorden and the tops of the surrounding hills are shrouded in cloud. We’ll pass through the Summit tunnel into Greater Manchester shortly, the weather’s often the opposite to Yorkshire on the West side of the Pennines. I’m hoping today’s no different…
09:45.
Bugger. For once, crossing the Pennines hasn’t affected the weather. We have low thin bands of cloud the sun’s struggling to break through, but it’s thinning, so I renain optimistic. If I only get a few decent daytime shots I’ll be happy, otherwise I’ll fall back on plan B for some night shots later.
10:30.
Where the sun never shines! The gloomy through platforns at Manchester Victoria.
The sun god has smiled! Manchester’s belied its rainy reputation to be bathed in sunshine. Not that I’m hanging around. I hot foot across town from Victoria to Piccadilly in order to head out further, this time into Derbyshire, where the weather’s looking just as good. I reckon that If I head to my furthest point away first it doesn’t matter if clouds return later. Rather than kick my heels at Piccadilly I’ve caught a train to New Mills Central. That will involve a walk to another station to catch my next train, but that’s no bad thing on a day like today.
Right now I’m trundling through the delights of South-East Manchester. I covered all these stations at length last year as part of a commission, so there’s no need for me to tarry.
11:20.
I’m now on the right line at New Mills (Newtown). This is a delightful little Derbyshire town on two train lines. Manchester-Sheffield and Manchester-Buxton. There’s also a canal and lots of industrial history. I needn’t have rushed walking between the two stations as my next Buxton bound train is delayed by 6 minutes due to an ‘electrical power failure’. Still, there’s worse places to be stuck. The ticket office is open and it has a lending library!
14:40.
I’m back! My next stop was Chapel-en-le-Frith, where the railway station’s a good 15 mins walk downhill from the centre of town. The running-in boards proclaim it’s the ‘home of Ferodo’. This may be the shire, but it’s not a Hobbit they’re referring to, it’s a company known for making car brakes! The station also has a place in history because in 1957 it was the site of a tragic accident involving a runaway train which led to the deaths of Driver John Axon and Guard. There’s a nemorial on the station which contains the wreckage of one of the wagons involved.
There’s some gorgeous views across the valley towards Kinder Scout and South Head, which is seen in these pictures.
I hung around between trains, then caught the next service to the end of the line at Buxton. Sadly, the station’s lost its overall roof but this wonderful window remains.
Now I’m making my way back towards Manchester. The railway runs on the wring side of the valley for low sun shots. It’s already disappeared behind the hills, so I’m taking a pitstop in Whalley Bridge.
18:20.
Whalley Bridge was both interesting and frustrating. I’d intended to get some shots at the station, then have a quick pint at the nearby Station pub whilst downloading (then uploading) pics but the pub had no wifi and power sockets were in short supply. Instead I ended up engaging in conversation with both staff and locals as my camera is often a talking point.
On leaving, and with the light failing I made my way back into Manchester where I grabbed a few tram pictures before calling it a day and catching the 17:57 back across the Pennines. Needless to say, this 3-car train is standing room only.
Now I’m home, here’s a few camera pictures from the day.
150108 approaches Chapel-en-le-Frith working 2B25, the 1144 Buxton to Manchester Piccadilly. The old station building at Chapel-in-le-Frith is no longer occupied by the railway, but a local brass band use it for practice every week. A trio of Class 150s at Buxton. These machines are the staple of Buxton line services, augmented by some Class 156s.
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/
On Tuesday the grey skies which have bedevilled us here in West Yorkshire took a day off, allowing me to get out with the camera and record progress on the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade between Mirfield and Dewsbury.
Having caught a Northern service from Sowerby Bridge we joined the Trans-Pennine route at Bradley Wood Junction, where earthmoving continues in order to create space for the new Fast lines. I’ll visit here again soon. My first stop was at Mirfield, where progress is steady but slow. Work on the new footbridge and lifts continues, as does the rebuilding of the island platform which is gradually creeping West towards Huddersfield. The most noticeable change since my last visit is that a long length of the Down Huddersfield line through the old platform 1 has been laid, although it remains unconnected and has yet to be ballasted. Here’s some pictures.
Much of the scaffolding around the lift tower has disappeared. Meanwhile, work continues on rebuilding the platform 1 side of the island. Grand Central’s 180108 working 1A63, the. 10:29 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross slows to stop at Mirfield. You can see work continue on rebuilding platform 1 to the right. This scene will look very different in a few years when all four tracks are reinstated and electrification masts and wires abound! Newly laid track in place on the formation of the Down Huddersfield which serves platform 1. This is looking East towards Ravensthorpe.
Moving on, I caught another Northern service to Dewsbury before walking back to Ravensthorpe.
Dewsbury is having platforms extended to cope with 6-car trains. Here’s progress on the Eastern (Leeds) end of platform 1. The overbridge on George St has been replaced by a new concrete structure. The original (life-expired) structure dated from the opening of the line in 1847, so it had a good innings! Note the detailing on the concrete undersill in an attempt blend in with the original stonework. Early embankment work on the River Calder seen through one of the arches of the double-span Butler bridge. A new river crossing will be constructed at this point with the original 1847 railway alignment and bridges being abandoned. The footpath along this stretch of the Calder is blocked off at this point. This is as far as you can go.
Walking back along the Calder to pass under the Spen valley greenway I walked down the (still open) footpath along the Calder and Hebble navigation to this point where the new railway bridges are beginning to take shape. A Northern service from Bradford to Leeds crosses the 1847 bridge in the background. Another view of the new bridge. The different spans are because the Fast and Slow lines will converge near here. The (double track) Fasts are in the centre whilst the Up and Down Slows join on either side.
Walking on along a very muddy towpath I moved on to Ravensthorpe. Here’s the view of the station from the soon to be replaced Calder Rd bridge.
It’s difficult to appreciate how this scene will look in the future – or how it looked in the past. Here’s an artist’s impression curtesy of TRU. Everything here will disappear under a flyover and dive-under! The station will move behind the camera, to the other side of the bridge. The current view from the station platform as workers pour concrete to build one of the retaining walls for the flyover and the line to/from Healy Mills (seen in the background) which will be diverted to pass underneath. A TPE service from York via Healy Mills speeds past workers levelling a fresh pour of concrete.Retaining walls for the new flyover are beginning to rise. The existing main line towards Dewsbury curves away in the distance whilst cranes are at work constructing the bridges for the new line. This section of track will be abandoned once the new lines open. To the left of the picture is the site of the old goods yard and coal-fired power station which provided a lot of rail traffic in the past. Here’s a 1937 map (published in 1942) showing the mass of freight lines and sidings that existed in the area. Ravensthorpe station is bottom left. The very first of the Class 150s, 150001 arrived to take me back to Dewsbury for my connecting train to Halifax. The station will close from the start of the new timetable on Sunday 14 December 2025, so if you want to visit – be quick!
I’ll be adding another TRU update shortly. I’ll also be visiting Ravensthorpe again before it finally closes.
NOTE: All photographs in this blog are my copyright.
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/
Apologies for the lack of blogging recently, this will be rectified tomorrow as I’ve a number describing last week’s adventures which are half-written. Since returning from London much of my time’s been taken up with editing pictures and/or domestic duties. You can find which galleries have been updated on my Zenfolio website by following this link.
Here’s a sample…
Contrary to what many foaming right-wingers, foreign social media trolls and Reform politicians claim, London is not a dystopian hell-hole. The reality is, it’s recently been voted the worlds greatest city, and one that’s getting safer. During my time there I wasn’t stabbed, robbed or in any way hassled – even on crowded places like Oxford Circus tube station on the underground. I’ll never understand why so many so-called ‘patriots’ spend all their time running our country down. Funny old world, eh?
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After two long days in the South-East it was nice to be home and put my feet up in the warm, especially as West Yorkshire had seen its first snow of the season. This looked very attractive from the bedroom window as it glistened on the tops of the hills across the Calder valley, but I was glad not to be out in it.
Instead, I had a morning Teams call with friends and colleagues from Community Rail Network as it was our day to pick the shortlist for the annual photographic competition. Myself and another judge (this year it was CRN’s Erin Kelly) go through the dozens of entries, pick what we individually consider the best, then collectively agree (or disagree!) on the final 14. More often than not the judges are in agreement on the vast majority but haggle over the last half-dozen, which was the case this year. The competition will go live in the new year, with the public being able to vote for their favourite. You can see the 2025 winners by following this link.
That’s not the only photographic competition I’m involved in this year. I’m also on the panel of judges for Avanti West Coast’s ‘Together We Roll Photography Competition‘ which was launched this week. Avanti are inviting photographers (professional, emerging, and amateur) to submit an image that perfectly captures the spirit of a community local to the West Coast Main Line, which serves major cities and towns in England, Scotland, and Wales. You can find full details by clicking on the link above.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to get out with the camera again myself once the weather changes. In the meantime, I’ve plenty of archive pictures to sort out, like this shot of one Avanti’s new ‘Evero’ trains taken at Crewe on Tuesday.
You can find many more images of Avanti services in this gallery.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Having finally made it to London my plans changed somewhat due to the power of social media. I’d not arranged to socialise but a friend who was in Brighton had read my blog and suggested meeting up in London on his return. Then another friend who’d just flown back to the UK from Ireland signed up to the meet. The obvious point for us all to rendezvous was around Victoria station, which is what transpired. That was handy for me as I had time to take pictures on the old South-Eastern side of the station which is still home to some the old BR-built Class 456/466 EMUs which work services to places like Gillingham, Orpington and Gravesend.
One of the remaining 2-car Class 466s in service at Victoria which had been working inner-suburban services that day. 43 of these units were built between 1993-94. 18 of them have already been scrapped whilst 3 more are in store.
Having enjoyed photographing various services it was time to adjourn to the St George’s Tavern which is a Nicholsons, pub adjacent to Ebury Bridge over the SER station in Pimlico. It’s a classic old London corner boozer that’s tucked out of the way so doesn’t see much tourist traffic. The three of us enjoyed a catch-up for a couple of hours before heading off in different directions, but not before a couple of us went back to photograph these beasts which had appeared on a railhead treatment train (RHTT)
A pair of re-engined GBRf Class 56s (now classified Class 69) were working a Tonbridge to Tonbridge (via ‘around the houses’) RHTT.
As I had some time to kill and a Travelcard at my disposal I nipped aboard another 465 to head out to an old haunt at Denmark Hill. The old station building has enjoyed a charmed life. In 1980 the building was devastated by fire but was resurrected by Bruce’s brewery as part of the much missed Firkin chain, when it was named the Phoenix and Firkin. The pub’s changed a lot since those days, but it’s still called the Phoenix. My fond memories of the area date back to 1981 and a lovely weekend spent with a female friend from Southport that involved a fur rug in front of a roaring fire in a house that it transpired was owned by an arms dealer. Happy days!
The next day was the main event and why I’d returned to London. I was due at an HS2 media visit to a rather special site – the Wendover green tunnel. I’ll blog about the visit in full later but for new here’s a few pictures and details. The 1.4km is being built from precast sections made by a company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire which are transported by road to the site. It’s not often you see a tunnel being built above ground, much less have the chance to explore one!
Looking South towards London from the site offices. Wendover village is to the left, across the existing Chiltern railway and A413 dual-carriageway. The segments are laid on a pre-prepared reinforced concrete base, then covered with layers of membrane before being carefully backfilled. Inside the Northbound tunnel, looking South. I’m standing where the rails will run, inside concrete guides. The space to the right is for a walkway and services.
Our guided tour and explanations lasted several hours, after which I was glad to get back into a warm train for the trip back into London! We’d had snow that morning but fortunately it didn’t disrupt the visit, although there were still plenty of traces on the ground along the route back to Marylebone.
Marylebone’s now a unique London terminal, as it’s the only one that’s still 100% operated by diesel trains, with no plans to electrify services. However, the elderly Class 165s that form the backbone of local and suburban services are due to be replaced in the near future, but there are no firm plans on how decarbonisation will be achieved, or even what a new fleet will look like. In the meantime, these BR built units soldier on. They’re pretty dated on the inside, with no mod-cons like plug or USB sockets. However, they do retain the old 1st Class seats at the front of the vehicles, which are rather comfortable – if threadbare!
165039 at Marylebone before working a service to Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
By the time I got back to London it was late afternoon and the weather was hardly conducive to hanging around, so I made a beeline for Euston where I was just in time to catch LNW’s 15:46 to Crewe, which was worked by a pair of Class 350s. At least this service was running today! The train was packed leaving London but gradually emptied out en-route, allowing me to finally get a table seat and set up the laptop to begin processing pictures.
My journey back North was (thankfully) uneventful, if a bit late getting to Crewe, which seems a regular thing. I still made my Manchester connection and final train home from Victoria which saw me walk through the door at home just before 21:20. It had been a long couple of days!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The adventure begins! Despote being ul at 06:00 I’ve had an easy start to the day thanks to Dawn, who decided to get up at the same time – and even offered to take time out of her day to give me a lift and save me a chilly walk to Halifax station.
Now I’m aboard the late-running 07:45 to Manchester Victoria on the first leg of my trip ‘darn sarf’. This is a busy 3-car train which is already packed with people commuting across the Pennines.
There’s no space to set up my mobile office, this is being typed on my phone, so I’ll flesh details and tags out later.
08:45.
The day is not starting well! My train is currently crawling along near Castleton, having left Rochdale 18 mins late. This will bugger up my connection in Manchester. If we were on time I had 37 mins to get between Victoria and Piccadilly. Being a few minutes late would have been fine (we left Halifax 5 down after all) but this is painful – and there’s no announcements made as to the reason why we’re running so slowly. Oh, and it’s raining! Ho hum…
09:45.
We crawled into Manchester nearly half an hour late. Fortunately, there was a plan B. I’d intended to have a leisurely journey to Crewe aboard one of the old Hunslet built Class 323s operated by Northern. It was long gone by the time I got to Piccadilly. Instead, I’m enjoying a comfortable Transport for Wales CAF built Class 197,which has the advantage of plug sockets and tales, giving me chance to set up the ‘mobile office’ to update this blog.
My connection at Crewe will be very tight, (three minutes) but do-able. However, as this train’s now stuck outside Wilmslow I’m beginning to wonder…
10:40.
It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it? My TfW service made up some time to Crewe. I was even more optimistic when it pulled into the platform next to where my train was due to depart, with 2 minutes to spare. Hang on, the platform’s empty? Where’s my connection? Oh, bugger…
Still, for someone interested in railways there’s worse places to be stuck for an hour or so. That said, the West Coast Main Line seems to be having a bad day, with many trains cancelled or delayed.
12:00.
Southbound again after a right royal farce at Crewe. My enforced visit had a couple of silver linings. One was the moody skies and low sunshine which (hopefully) made for some great pictures. I’ll add them later. The other was that an old friend was also stuck at Crewe and we managed to meet up with the intention of travelling South together as far as Nuneaton on the delayed 11:13.
Then it all went Pete Tong again. The 8-car train that should have formed the 11:13 turned up as a 12-car, which wouldn’t fit in our platform so it arrived into 11, not 7. The two of us sensed something was afoot and made our way to watch the train being split. I asked LNW crew what was happening, only to be told the 11:13 was cancelled too! However, arrangements had been put in place so that the next Avanti service to Euston would take us forward. I had to bid goodbye to Jon as the Avanti didn’t stop at Nuneaton. I now find myself on a busy 9-car Pendolino heading to Euston which will get me in a few minutes earlier than my scheduled LNW service. Due to accepting LNW passengers this Pendolino is due to make an extra stop at Milton Keynes, otherwise it would have been non-stop from Stafford to Euston.
12:55.
We’ve left Milton Keynes and (thankfully) there’s been no further problems (touch plastic laminate). Next stop is Euston. Despite the train being very busy I managed to share a table in the quiet coach with a young woman. Whilst I’ve been busy typing/editing she’s been watching films on her iPad via headphones. The whole coach has been very well-behaved and respectful of the space, which has made for a very easy journey.
Now for the hustle and bustle of the metropolis!
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Paul Bigland 