Tag Archives: Railways

Stamford sojourn

27 Saturday Oct 2018

Posted by in Railways, Travel

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It’s my birthday today, and thanks to the generousity of a friend’s wedding present we’re spending the weekend in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

It’s a historic little town with some beautiful buildings, most of which are constructed out of the local Cotswold stone (Yes, the seam runs this far). If you have an interest in either architecture or history, the town’s well worth a visit. Here’s a couple of examples.

One of the fascinations of old buildings is looking at how they’ve developed and changed over the years. Many have changed uses and there are often clues in the stonework, like this…

Our visit’s been made more entertaing and interesting as our friend, Martin Yallop, has a vast knowledge of architecture and local history, so he’s been showing us around and taking us to places we might otherwise miss, like this grave of a local celebrity.

Sadly, the weather’s not as good as we’ve had recently, the temperatures dropped and the skies have turned grey, but undeterred, I’ve still had a wander with the camera. Here’s the station. Stamford used to have two, but now the old Midland Railway line from Peterborough to Leicster is the only one that survives. The town has an hourly service run by Cross-Country trains.

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Here’s the town on a previous visit, when the weather was a little better!

DG212631. The George & St Mary's church. High St. Stamford. 28.4.15crop

 

A fascinating day…

25 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in Hs2, London, Travel

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After the past few days working at home I had to head back to London today to have a business meeting with a potential new client. Fortunately, I didn’t have to be on the very early train from Halifax, just Grand Central’s 08:08 which was a bit of a luxury. I had a very productive few hours aboard, writing part 3 of my rail rover for RAIL magazine (part 1 came out yesterday) on the way to the metropolis. On arrival I met up with a new client for a fascinating chat about new technology and a demonstration of the potential of augmented reality for the rail industry which left me both fascinated and enthused.

After the meeting I spent an hour or two wandering around Camden, looking at how much the area’s changing because of HS2. It’s clear from that there’s no visible opposition to the project nowadays. There’s no banners, placards, posters in windows – nothing. What there is instead is a huge amount of people in Hs2 branded hi-vis changing the face of Euston (and beyond) – although some Muppets still try to pretend it’s not happening!

Now I’m heading North aboard Grand Central’s 16:27 to Bradford. It’s packed – even in First Class, but then many of their services are nowadays. To paraphrase the actor Roy Scheider’s famous line in the film ‘Jaws’ – “We’re gonna need a bigger train”…

Expect some pictures later..

The Calder valley resignalling arrives

23 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Rail Investment, Railways

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Trains began running through the Calder valley again this morning after a three-day blockade which saw the new signalling commissioned and the end for the manual signal boxes at Hebden Bridge, Milner Royd Junction, Halifax and Mill Lane, Bradford.

I nipped out this afternoon to have a quick look at how things have changed by heading down to Hebden Bridge. It seemed very odd to see the grade 2 listed signal box dark and devoid of life, but hopefully not for long..

Whilst some may bemoan the changes, for ordinary passengers they’re positive. The resignalling will help raise line-speeds which will cut several minutes off journey times but also make the railway better equipped to catch up on delays. The new kit is also easier to maintain and less likely to fail, making services more reliable. Here’s a small selection of pictures highlighting the changes.

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It’s alive! After sitting idle for months, the new signal by the Manchester bound platform at Sowerby Bridge is ready for business. The HG prefix to the signal number no longer refers to the signalbox controlling the signal, but the route it’s on. So, HG refers to Hebden (Bridge) to Greetland (junction). The signals actually controlled from the new ROC in York

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The box at Hebden’s disconnected and dark now, but as a grade 2 listed building it will live on and there’s some interesting plans for its future.

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Northern’s 158792 passes one of the new signals at Hebden Bridge on its way to Leeds.

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158792 calls at Hebden Bridge, controlled by the new signalling system 

 

 

 

Rolling blog: out and about again…

18 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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What a stunning autumn weather for getting out and about! I’ve moved office for a couple of hours to base myself in Grand Central’s excellent 1st Class lounge in the renovated Wakefield Kirkgate station.

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I arrived from Huddersfield (where I’d popped into the ACoRP water tower) on one of Northern’s ‘new’ Class 158s that have been transferred from Scotrail.

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I’ve had to spend a while on the phone negotiating a new rolling contract with one of the major players in the rail industry and the waiting room was a fine place to use as an office whilst I did it. Once the ink’s dry on the contract I’ll let you know who it is. Now I’ve another couple of emails and phone calls to make before getting out and about for a couple of hours, so watch this space…

15:00.

I’m now in the lovely town of Knaresborough, with it’s equally lovely railway station. The old station building has been converted to mixed uses. There’s arts and crafts and a smashing cafe called ‘the old ticket office’, so no prizes for guessing where that’s located! I’ve popped out this way as the Harrogate loop (as this line is known as) is currently the preserve of the former Scotrail Class 170s that have been cascaded to Northern Rail.  Most are still in Scotrail colours, like this one that brought me from Leeds. They’re certainly a step-change in comfort from the Pacers that were a staple on the route.

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22:37.

I’m now back at home. The day didn’t quite go to plan as I ended up dealing with a lot more work phone calls, but I’m not complaining as there’s some exciting new opportunities on the horizon. In the meantime, here’s one or two more pictures from my travels.

Here’s the main building at Knaresborough station. It was built in 1865 by the North Eastern Railway, replacing an older structure. It’s grade 2 listed. The end nearest the camera contains a rather fine café.

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The café is in the old ticket office. The old ticket window’s still in situ but has been blocked off and replaced with this painting.

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On my return I passed through Leeds at rush-hour, with rather nice light, thanks to the fact the sun’s now dropped at this time of year.

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The twilight of the Class 313s (part 1)

15 Monday Oct 2018

Posted by in Class 313, Railways

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(updated with new pictures and information on the 9th April 2019)

In the next few years several familiar types of train will disappear from the UK network. One such fleet is the BR built Class 313 EMU which is currently the oldest surviving electric multiple unit on the UK mainland. The class were a development of the experimental PEP EMUs tested on the Southern region. Built at York, the 313s were introduced to the newly electrified East Coast Main Line in 1976 to work inner suburban services from Kings Cross and Moorgate to Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth Garden City.

Now, 42 years later, they’re about to be replaced by the new Siemens built Class 717s, which will offer a step-change in comfort. This blog will look back on the 313s lives and times and some of the services they’ve operated across London (and elsewhere) over the years…

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The first of the 64 strong fleet was 313001. Now numbered 201 and owned by Beacon Rail who’ve repainted it into a version of the original BR livery, the unit works Southern services along the South coast, along with 18 of its brethren.  It’s seen at Shoreham-by-Sea on the 8th June 2018.

Let’s take a look at the units working the services they were originally built for, the Great Northern services.

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NSE liveried 313061 calls at Harringay station on the 12th February 2004

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Catching the 16:20 to Stevenage from Moorgate on the 19th April 2004. Note the new high back seats fitted in place of the originals.

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313053 stands at Stevenage after working in from Moorgate on the 6th May 2004. The unit’s still in NSE livery although most of the GN units were in white undercoat by this stage.

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On the 10th August 2004 Undercoat liveried 313039 trails one of the handful of NSE liveried units through Alexandra Palace on their way to Moorgate.

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313043 arrives at Harringay on the 24th September 2004. This was one of 5 units advertising the WAGN family travelcard.

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313058 sits at Moorgate before working a service to Hertford North on the 6th January 2005.

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Sporting WAGN’s new deep purple livery, 313036 calls at Crews Hill on the line from Hertford East on the 12th August 2005.

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A year later on the 24th July 2006 313052 calls at Hitchin en-route to Moorgate. The units in WAGN liver but sporting First Capital Connect branding. FCC had taken over the franchise in the 1st April 2006.

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Fast forward to the 11th June 2008 and all the 313s had FCCs ‘Urban lights’ vinyls applied. I’ve always thought this livery suited them very well. Here’s 313063 and 313042 passing at Alexandra Palace.

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On November 11th 2009 313027 pulls away from Harringay with a service for Welwyn Garden City.

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After 23 of the fleet were converted for duties on the North London line, 313018 became the lowest numbered 313/0. It’s seen here arriving at Old St on the 22nd April 2010 whilst working a service to Moorgate

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Here’s the interior of 313134 with the original low backed seating on the 1st April 2014. This is one of three ex NLL units that were transferred back to GN services after the units were displaced by Class 378s. The two others are 313122 and 313123.

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On the 14th July 313054 waits to work back to Moorgate from Welwyn Garden City

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313030 and 313029 stand at London Kings Cross on the 21st September 2014. This shot shows of the flat front ends to good effect.

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How many passengers saw the 313s. An unidentified unit pulls into Highbury and Islington on the 12th December 2016.

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13th December 2016. 313043 stands at Drayton park on the Moorgate branch. It’s at this station the units switch over from the overheads to the 3rd rail (or vice versa).

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The 313s have carried commuters in all weathers for over 40 years. Here’s 313033 in a snowstorm at Alexandra Palace on the 28th February 2018.

If you want to know more about the new Siemens Class 717 trains that are replacing the 313s, have a look at this blog. I visited the German factory where they were build and also had a run on one on the Wildenrath test track.

UPDATE: 9th April 2019

Yesterday, the first member of the class to be withdrawn was towed away from Hornsey depot to Sims Metals, Newport, for scrapping. 313026 was hauled by 57312 as 5Q56, the 105:4 Hornsey E.M.U.D. to Newport Docks. It left slightly later than planned due to a few technical issues, but here’s pictures of it passing Finsbury Park in very gloomy weather.

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Withdrawals are expected to pick up pace now that three of the new Class 717’s are in service. This evening, another unit (possibly 313050) may be going to Booths scrapyard in Rotherham (link) whilst 313055 is expected to be the next to go, this time heading off to Kingsbury on Thursday. Needless to say, the usual caveats apply to these workings, which can’t be confirmed as certain to happen.

So, if you want to see or ride these trains, now’s the time because this is how Moorgate services are going to look in the future…

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The fantasy world of Joe Rukin and Stophs2

11 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in Hs2, Joe Rukin, Railways, StopHs2

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I’ve been a bit busy recently so I hadn’t seen this load of rubbish from StopHs2’s pet windbag. No, not ‘Ellie’ the inflatable elephant, but their laughably titled ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin!

Stophs2 have been punting this YouTube video of Rukin lying through his teeth on ITV – not that it’s doing very well as it’s only had 70+ views.

Rukin doesn’t ‘genuinely believe’ any such thing. He’s a practised liar who’ll claim anything and he’s lots of form for trotting out outrageous porkies in the hope people are gullible enough to fall for it. Remember his previous lie that Hs2 will cause £8.3bn of ‘cuts’ to rail services that I exposed here?

So, no rail investment for the next 20 years “anywhere on the network”eh? That will come as a huge surprise to Network Rail who’ve already got an ambitious programme of work planned for Control Period 6 (CP6) which starts in 2019. Back in October 2017 the DfT published the SoFA (Statement of Funds Available) which says “we expect around £47.9 billion to be spent on the railway across control period 6”. Earlier in July 2017 they also published the High level output specification (HLOS).

Not that Rukin will have ever read any of these of course. I doubt he even knows they exist as they show what a liar the man is. The SoFA contains this statement.

enhancements

Oops! Joe’s fallen at the first hurdle here. The announcement of ‘new enhancement’ schemes rather gives the game away.

Meanwhile, what’s in Network Rail’s Strategic Business Plan which was published earlier this year? Well, lots of enhancements actually. There’s a huge investment in digital signalling for a start. Oh, then there’s the £237m remodelling of Kings Cross station approaches, which is planned for 2020. Not to mention the £3bn Trans-Pennine route upgrade which begins next year.

Did I mention Scotland? The Scottish Government has committed to a rolling programme of route upgrades and electrification, including Aberdeen-Inverness. and bringing high-speed rail to Scotland. In Wales the new franchise is introducing lots of improvements between now and 2024 which includes new trains, stations and depots.

Oh, there’s also a small matter of fact that there’s 1000s of of new train cars either already being delivered or on order. So, as you can see, Rukin’s bare-faced lies sinply don’t stand up to any form of scrutiny – and that’s without me shredding him any further by mentioning East-West rail, the ECML Peterborough ‘dive-under’ at Werrington Jn, the Midland mainline upgrade and many, many more…

Rukin reminds me of the old joke about politicians. How can you tell when he’s lying? His lips move! Even his ‘fans’ must be getting sick of being deceived by now.

But it’s not just that. This highlights why I’m unhappy with some of my fellow journalists and their standards. Rukin was allowed to broadcast this travesty of the truth thanks to ITV who had no-one ask him the slightest question – much less any of the one’s I’ve highlighted in this blog. Where was the professional (informed) journalist challenging him on camera and saying “but hang on Joe”…This is why we’re in such a mess now. When did the mainstream media like the BBC and ITV let this rubbish pass through their filters? Since when did journalism get this lazy?

That said, we’re in the throes of the Brexit shambles, which the BBC seems to have aided and abetted, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised….

 

Rolling blog: the Talgo tango…

09 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by in I love my job, Railways, Rolling blogs, Scotland, Talgo, Travel, Wales

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It’s going to be a looong couple of days that will take in Wales, England and Scotland, but I’m here in Cardiff ready for the first press conference where Spanish train builder Talgo are ready to announce the shortlisted sites for the factory they intend to build here in the UK. I’ll be blogging throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Here’s the view from the room in the St David’s hotel where we’re holding the event.

The shortlisted site in Wales is at Mostyn, a port on the North Wales coast.

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From L-R, Jim o’ Toole, MD of Mostyn port. Jon Veitch, UK MD, Talgo and Carlos de Palacio, President of Talgo

You can read more about what we’re up to in this article on the RAIL website. Here’s Rail’s Richard Clinnick having an exclusive interview with Jon Veitch.

11:34

Phew! We’re all packed up and the 5 of us are off to the second event of the day. We’re travelling on a Cross-country service to Birmingham, where the English part of the shortlist will be announced. These are sites at Chesterfield, St Helens and Leeds

Whilst we’ve been travelling, the news has broken that two sites in Scotland have been shortlisted, these are Longannet and Hunterston.

13:50.

We’re ready to rock and roll in Birmingham now. The stage has been set..

Oh, and the views out of the windows are amazing!

Now we’re waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. Here’s material produced by two of the potential English sites. St Helens and Chesterfield.

17:10.

The Birmingham event was very well received. Here’s a couple of pictures.

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Carlos de Palacio, President of Talgo, speaking in Birmingham

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L-R Sir Simon Hughes, Talgo Strategic UK Advisor, Jon Veitch, UK MD, Talgo and Carlos de Palacio, President of Talgo

19:23.

We’re now over the border and heading for Edinburgh aboard a Virgin Pendolino. It’s been a fascinating day but we’re all looking forward to getting to our hotel. Tomorrow the fun and games starts again with a series of radio interviews before the main event.

Because of this – and for the sake of continuity I’m going to roll this blog over into tomorrow. Right now I’m going to enjoy a glass of wine and catch up with the world..

Meanwhile, next to me, Carlos, Simon and Jon are doing the same and chatting about the day.

Day 2

10:00

We’re all set up and ready for the Scottish event which is being held in a hotel with a fabulous view. I took this from the balcony of my room this morning!

Here’s the event set up to go. As well as being the Talgo photographer I’ve been mucking in to do the stage setting. Here’s one I made earlier…

11:57

Phew! Event over!

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It’s been a very hectic few days but also hugely enjoyable. I’ve learned a lot about Talgo and I’m looking forward to visiting their Spanish factories in the future. Right now I’m looking forward to a few days at home in order to catch up with some writing and picture editing.

Pausing for breath – but only momentarily…

07 Sunday Oct 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, Railways, Scotland, Travel

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After a fantastic few days up in Scotland at the ACoRP awards and some of the wonderful events that Scotrail (and Abellio) arranged for us I’m back at home for a night. The awards was a brilliant showcase for community rail that attracted the biggest audience since its inception in 2005 with over 470 folk attending. I’ll blog about it in greater detail soon, but for now, here’s a few pictures from the night.

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The tables are set, ready for the 470 guests to arrive…

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Just some of the people who won awards that night…

I’m now back in the bosom of West Yorkshire – but not for long! Whilst I was in Scotland I was commissioned for a new project that will see me on the road again tomorrow. I’ve got to be in Cardiff tomorrow evening ready for an event on Tuesday morning. After that, we head up to Birmingham, then I’m back in Glasgow before finally getting home on Wednesday. I’ll flesh out more detail later. In the meantime, here’s a few other shots from Scotland after a trip out to Gourock and the ferry across to Kilcreggan.

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Rolling blog: the fun begins…

03 Wednesday Oct 2018

Posted by in ACoRP, Railways, Rolling blogs, Scotland, Travel

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I’m currently sat on a Pendolino heading for Glasgow in readiness for tomorrow’s annual ACoRP awards. We’ve got a hectic programme of events over the next few days which have been laid on by our friends at Scotrail and Transport Scotland. First up is a civic reception at Glasgow city chambers this evening. Tomorrow we’re on one of the fabulous Glasgow Central station tours (a real must if you’re ever in the city) before the main event – the awards ceremony itself.

On Friday we’re off for a trip on the Borders railway, so you’ll be seeing plenty of pictures in the next few days. Here’s the first one, taken when we changed trains at Preston – I wasn’t expecting this!

‘Black 5’ 44871 was one of the locomotives used to haul the last steam service on British Railways, the Fifteen Guinea Special on 11th August 1968. It was withdrawn from service the following day.

14:48.

Well, we’ve arrived in Glasgow and picked up our Scotrail passes, goody bags and guides.

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16:20

Plans have changed slightly due to a technical issue, so I’ve had some free time and chance to wander down to Glasgow Queen St station. Like many in the UK. it’s undergoing extensive modernisation. Now it’s also the place to find the latest Scotrail EMU’s, Hitachi’s Class 385s. Here’s a couple of shots.

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This evening we went on to a civic reception hosted by the Deputy Lord Provost of Glasgow, Bailie Philip Braat, who welcomed us to the city. This was held at the magnificent Glasgow City chambers. Here’s a few photos from the event.

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From L-R James Ledgerwood, Head of Economic & Community Development at Scotrail, Deputy Lord Provost of Glasgow, Bailie Philip Braat and Brian Barnsley, Deputy Chief Exec of ACoRP at the reception.

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A relaxing weekend? Sort of…

23 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Germany, I love my job, Musings, Railways, Travel

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It’s Sunday night and the weekend’s flown by. The good thing is that I’ve had time with my nearest and dearest, the bad thing is – there’s no rest for the wicked! Most of the last couple of days have been spent trying to catch up with picture editing and writing. I’m gradually working my way through editing the hundreds of pictures I took in Germany last week. You can find the Innotrans shots in this gallery whilst the general railway shots are here. Here’s a couple of samples.

DG308400. Rebuilding the lines between Ostbahnhof and Warschauer Strasse stations. Berlin. Germany. 17.9.18cropp

Rebuilding the lines between Ostbahnhof and Warschauer Strasse stations

DG308712. Stadler Flirt for Greater Anglia. Innotrans. Berlin. Germany. 18.9.18crop

One of the new Stadler FLIRT 4-car bi-mode trains for Greater Anglia on display at Innotrans

As well as picture editing I’ve managed to get the first of my three-part trip around the UK rail network for RAIL written and sent off for editing. This next week will see me spending most of my time at home to get part 2 written and also finish editing the hundreds of remaining pictures from Germany sorted out as well as the shots to illustrate RAIL. Time and weather permitting, I might even manage to get out for the day somewhere…

After that it’s off up to Scotland for this years ACoRP awards which are being held in Glasgow. Thanks to Scotrail and Transport Scotland there’s a lot of activities going on around the awards so it promises to be a great time. Watch this space for comments and pictures.