Tag Archives: Railways

Rolling blog. Northumberland exploration…

02 Wednesday Aug 2023

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:30.

I should be using a U boat*, not a train! Following on from what must be the wettest July for years August’s maintaining the pace. It’s been heaving it down all morning here in West Yorkshire. I’m currently in Huddersfield waiting for a late-running (surprise, surprise) TPE service to Newcastle to take part in a press trip.

The Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade is now in full swing with work compounds springing up everywhere – including in the old goods yard/former car park at the station. Soon, work will be starting on the station itself. Whilst I was waiting for my service East ‘Felix’ put in an appearance. No, not Huddersfield’s famous station cat, but the Class 68 named after them!

68031 ‘Felix’ purrs through Huddersfield on its way to Manchester Piccadilly.

09:40.

We’re currently speeding up the rain-lashed ECML North of York. There’s little to see through the watery windows so I’m making productive use of my time by editing some of the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken in the past couple of days.

11:15.

There will now be an interlude…

14:00.

I’m back. I’ve just completed a fascinating run along the Blyth and Tyne from Newcastle to Morpeth via Bedlington on a special train organised by Northumberland Conty Council. The scale of work being done to repopen the line to Ashington to passenger trains is very impressive. A simple reopening it ain’t. You’ll be able to read all about it in a future edition of RAIL magazine.

The weather was atrocious and hasn’t improved, so I didn’t hang around in Newcastle. Instead, I’m off to have a look at another (much less ambitious) project – at Hartlepool…

15:20.

Another washout. The rain just won’t stop! My trip down the Durham coastline has been shrouded by low cloud and the sort of rain that has you soaked in minutes. It’s a shame as I’d have lacked to have seen more of Hartlepool than just the station – althogh to be fair, that has some interesting features and the work to reinstate the 2nd through platform is coming on well. Both the Station cafe and real ale pub were closed so I stayed long enough to take some pictures and enjoy the warmth of Grand Central’s well appointed lounge before retracing my steps.

A great use of an old building, with good facilities that are clean and well-kept.

17:50.

I give up! The weather’s been so universally awful there’s been nothing for it but to cut my losses and head home. To compound things Trans-Pennine Express are having a ‘senior moment’. They seem to have forgotten they’re meant to be running trains. The excuse offered is a classic ‘last-minute timetable changes’. That’ll be cancelling trains to you and me…

I managed to catch an LNER service down to York which I managed to find a free seat on. Changing TOCs I’ve ended up on a rammed 4-Car Cross-Country Voyager which will get me to Leeds. I’m currently ‘doing a Jeremy Corbyn’ and squatting the front vestibule, which isn’t ideal as there’s a howling gale blowing in through one of the external doors…

20:45.

I’m home, enjoying being in the warm and dry whilst spending some time editing a few more pictures before calling it a day. Dawn’s had a ‘fun’ day at work too due to the impact the TRU work is having on her office which is withing the curtilage of Huddersfield station so poor Dee’s playing ‘catch-up’ too. Thankfully, the freezer’s well stocked with food we’ve made ourselves so a chicken Korma’s defrosting as I type this. To bring this blog to a close I’ll add one last picture. TPE haven’t covered themselves in glory today, Here’s one of their trains doing what a lot have been doing – sitting around doing nothing, this one’s at Newcastle.

I’ll be working from home tomorrow so expect a lot of pictures to start appearing on my Zenfolio website tomorrow. Oh, and the latest eBay sale’s started. It’s the beginning of the month so I’ve relisted several hundred old railway slides and other memorabilia that’s for sale. Just follow this link.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

* U Boat is also slang for a certain type of old diesel railway engine (The Deltics) but I meant it in its original sense.

That was a day, that was…

01 Tuesday Aug 2023

Posted by in East-West rail, Hs2, Photography, Railways

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21:30.

I’ve been far too busy today to do a rolling blog and besides, many of the places I’ve been phone reception wasn’t of the best. So, here’s a rundown of events as I head home from Leamington for a night at home.

I stayed in London last night but my sleep quotient was less than a few hours as most of the time I was on the move, exploring and enjoying my old home town at night. I pitched up at Marylebone station before the first train left and caught it out to Denham to update some of my HS2 construction pictures as building the Colne Valley Viaduct is really cracking on. Now the viaduct’s bridging the second of the two roads it’s crossing and the weather conditions couldn’t have been better with low sun and blue skies – as you’ll see in the full set of pictures pictures later.

I had all the time in the world to chat to the people building the viaduct or wandering with the camera. After all, it’s not every day one sees a 120 tonne viaduct segment maneuvered into position like this.

A 120 tonne segment is craned into place on the Colne Valley Viaduct where it crosses Moorfield Rd. Denham. This section of road is closed for three weeks whilst the work takes place.
The viaduct marches onwards to the South…
One of the viaduct’s V shaped pillars next to Moorfield Rd.
Meanwhile, at Calvert.. Track is being laid on the East-West rail line. Here’s the switches will will allow access to the HS2 Infrastructure Maintenance Depot (IMD).
Here’s the bridge which will carry E-W rail over HS2.
The site of Calvert station on the old Great Central line has become a very busy haul road. Eventually, It will be site of HS2 tracks.

I managed to get to Calvert thanks to my friend Chris Howe, who provided the transport. Chris has a Youtube channel which contains some excellent explainers on construction, railways and also HS2. You can find his Youtube channel here.

I’ve plenty more pictures to add but I haven’t got the time right now. I need to get some sleep! Tomorrow I’m up early again as I’m travelling to Newcastle to carry out a job for RAIL magazine. I’ll blog about some of what I get up to during the day…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Another one of those days…

31 Monday Jul 2023

Posted by in Hs2, London, Politics, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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12:30.

What a great start to the week! I’m (slowly) heading down to London today ready to be in place to meet up with a friend as the pair of us will be looking at some of the “unachievable” HS2 construction works.

Not being in any rush I got some work done at home first, hoping the grim weather here in the Calder Valley would pick up and save me a soaking on the walk to the station. It didn’t. As I was engrossed in a phone call en-route I hadn’t checked how trains were running. The answer is – badly – which I only found out when I got to the station and checked the PIS. Apparently, there’s an obstruction on the line West of Todmorden that’s blocked both tracks. Most trains are cancelled with a few running to Hebden Bridge or Todmorden where buses will take us the rest of the way. The obstruction (whatever it is) is predicted to disrupt services until 17:30. Ho hum!

I’ll let you know how I get on and where I get to. This is going to be a long day…

13:00.

Hmm, plan B…

Having arrived at Hebden Bridge I had the option of waiting for the replacement bus service which wasn’t leaving for another 20 mins, or leaping onto a rammed York- Blackpool North service as far as Preston although I’d originally planned to get on the WCML at Warrington using the direct service to Chester. The train won.

I’m now wedged in a vestibule along with suitcases, prams and parents with offspring all heading for the seaside. I don’t envy them – the forecast for this week is crap!

Passing through Accrington. It’s grim up North…

14:40.

I’m finally heading in the right direction! I left my Northern service at Preston – as did many others which surprised me as I assumed the majority of folks were heading for Blackpool. Services on the West Coast seem to be in some disarray but I’ve no idea why at the moment. This time I’m unaffected and after getting a few shots in torrential rain joined the 14:18 Avanti Pendolino to Euston via Birmingham. It’s packed! So much for ‘no-one’s travelling by train anymore’. I’m perched on a tip-up seat by the toilets in coach D, although the friendly crew have told me the train’s due to empty after Crewe.

Approaching Wigan North Western.

15:50.

We’re just pulling out of Wolverhampton en-route to Birmingham. The weather’s will improved insomuch that it’s stopped raining and cloud level’s gained a few hundred feet, but that’s it. I’ll be changing trains and lines at New Street with the optimistic hope of getting some pictures. Let’s see.

18:50.

Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve been wandering around Birmingham getting pictures and soaking up the atmosphere. I’ve confessed this before but I really like the city. Its multiculturalism makes it a fascinating place to shop or just people-watch. Of course I was there for another reason too – which was to cast my eye over the ‘unachievable’ (according to much of the lazy UK media) HS2 work where progress looks anything other than unachievable! I’ll add a pic later. The weather was crap and I got a right soaking wating for the right moment but my patience was rewarded.

Now I’m chasing the storm that soaked me, heading South on a Chiltern Railways service as far as an old haunt – Leamington Spa. I can’t go all the way to Marylebone as the line’s closed due to engineering works. Instead I’ll be travelling via Oxford and Reading through to Paddington.

19:30.

The observant amongst you may have spotted the slight flaw in my plan. There are no trains running South of Leamington Spa at all – not just Chiltern ones. The line’s closed all week, which means I haven’t escaped the dreaded bustitution. Instead, I’m kicking my heels on a coach which will be leaving for Didcot in 15 mins. It’ll take just over an hour to get there. Ho ho hum…

To be fair, it’s an interesting experience. The staff (both rail and coach) have been excellent and everyone’s trying to make it as painless an experince as they can.

The Didcot coach is in pole position…

20:15.

So, here we are. Eight of us from Leamington rattling around on a coach to Didcot. Trying to put a gloss on it – at least I’m seeing parts of Leamington and the M40 I wouldn’t normally! To be honest it’s a relaxed journey. I’m in no hurry yo get anywhere. The rain’s cleared, leaving a lovely evening (although not great light for photography right now) so I’ll see how things turn out later.

21:15.

That was painless! Our driver’s estimate of 1hr 15m proved to be conservative, traffic was lighter than expected so we made it to Didcot in just over an hour. I didn’t hang around, much as I’d liked to have done as I have fond memories of the place – but it’s the wrong time of the day. Instead, I boarded GWR’s 21:04 stopping service to Paddington, just to enjoy the views and reminisce. I used to spend a lot of time on this route when I lived in London, but it’s not so easy when you live in West Yorkshire.

As you can see, this time of day my shuttle train isn’t exactly busy. The annoying thing? These electric trains should have been working to Oxford, not terminating at Didcot, but a certain Tory transport Minister (Chris Grayling) cancelled the project mid-stream.

21:45.

I’m now on one of GWRs express services to Paddington worked by another of those ‘unachievable’ schemes – the IEP project (see yesterday’s blog). I was tempted to jump on a slower Crossrail train (wasn’t that also ranked as ‘unachievable’? Ed) but getting there earlier allows me leeway to get some pictures at a station I don’t visit often enough nowadays. Paddington was always one of my favourites but then I’m old enough to remember it in the days of Wester region diesel-hydraulic locos like the ‘Hymek’ and ‘Western’ classes hauling old composite coach sets with buffet cars. It’s not quite the same anymore.

00:30.

Time to draw this blog to a close. There’s lots to talk about but it’s late and today’s another day. I’ll leave you with three ‘unachievable’ things. I’ve done today. Well. if you believe the mainstream media!

Here’s the ‘unachievable’ HS2 station at Birmingham Curzon Street earlier today.
Oh, this is the ‘unachievable’ Hitachi Class 800 that carried me from Reading to Paddington earlier.
I also took a trip on the ‘unachievable’ Crossrail (aka ‘Lizzy line) from Paddington to Farringdon earlier.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

More lousy journalism from the mainstream media about HS2…

30 Sunday Jul 2023

Posted by in Hs2, Lazy journalism, Politics, Railways

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This morning social media’s in a froth because of some crap journalism from the mainstream media, including the BBC. It seems they’ve finally caught up with some old news that on the 20th July the Infrastructure and Projects Authority published its annual report into progress on major government schemes and infrastructure projects – like HS2. The media’s making great play of the fact HS2’s currently rated RED and the fact this includes the word ‘unachievable’ – leaving a lot of people horribly misinformed and thinking HS2 can’t/won’t be built.

It’s worth noting that (contrary to impressions given by the media reports) this is not an investigation into HS2. It’s the IPA’s annual report and HS2 is only mentioned in passing. There’s no discussion of HS2 in the main body of the report – only in the traffic light ratings.

The IPA uses a colour-coded system to gauge how scheme are doing progress wise, they go from green to red. The ‘red’ rating is described thus;

Note the caveats. ‘appears’ – ‘at this stage’ – ‘do not appear’ – ‘may need’, absolutist this is not. Of course, you’re not going to get the lazy journalists at the Beeb or other media outlets to explain all this – or the fact many projects that have been given red ratings from time to time go on to be completed successfully. Here’s another project mentioned in the same report. Crossrail!

Yep, Crossrail was also rated as unachievable at one time! Would anyone dare argue it’s unachievable now? No. Despite difficulties in delivery the project’s been a roaring success and already exceeded expectations.

A train pauses at Custom House in East London on the ‘unachievable’ Crossrail line on the official opening day May 2022.

There’s another rail project that was rated Red at one time too – the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) which was the design, build and delivery of the new Hitachi train fleets known as the Class 800-802 (or ‘Azuma’ if you’re on LNER). Here’s this from page 24 of their 2018 annual report.

An ‘Unachievable’ Class 800 approaches Paddington in November 2022.

The irony? The first IEP went into service in 2017! These trains are now in nationwide service and have been for over 6 years years on the East Coast Main Line, Great Western Main Line and Trans-Pennine express routes across the Pennines and to Scotland. More have been built for Hull Trains, Lumo and now East Midlands Railway and Avanti West Coast. So much for ‘unachievable’.

Oh, I could mention that the Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers were also rated ‘unachievable’ too! Here’s page 21 of the 2017 report listing red ratings in 2013-2014.

HMS ‘Unachievable’ and HMS ‘Red Rating’ at sea…By Petty Officer Photographer Jay Allen – https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2021/may/20/210520-carriers-at-sea-and-strike-warrior, OGL 3, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=105562576

Admittedly, there’s still problems with them, but now they’re delivered and afloat they’re off the IPAs ratings. The point is, these ratings are a guide, not gospel. Nor is the Infrastructure and Projects Authority there to cancel projects. Its remit is to aid successful delivery.

Sadly, the mainstream media won’t give you this analysis and background. Partly through laziness but also because there’s very few specialised journalists worth their salt anymore who know the background on these things. Which means the public is more misinformed than informed. Let’s face it. what did any of you actually learn from the media reports in the way of perspective – until I blogged this?

There’s a reason why HS2 is getting these red ratings – and it’s nothing to do with the actual construction of HS2 – which is going well. It’s due to the Governments meddling, dither and constantly changing their minds that’s increasing costs, causing delays and altering the scope of the project leading to uncertainties. But the mainstream media don’t mention that either.

Lord Reith must be spinning in his grave…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Lincolnshire reprise…

26 Wednesday Jul 2023

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

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05:50.

If at first you don’t succeed…

It’s time for a day away form the office and out on the rails. But where to? I’ve several places on the list to tick off but – as often happens – I’m being governed by the weather forecast. East coast or West? The Midlands or London? The outlook’s promising on the East coast and I’ve unfinished business over in Lincolnshire, so Barton on Humber it is…

Feel free to keep popping in to see what I get up to today. Will I have the fun and games I had last time or will I actually make it onto the Barton branch this time?…

06:40.

Not a bad start. I’m on Northern’s 06:37 off Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Bradford. I feel odd getting a Westbound train from here rather than Halifax but as its all downhill from home there are advantages! Around a dozen folk were waiting for the service which is worked by a 3-car class 195. There’s plenty of seats available so I’ve bagged a table. I’ll be curious to see how it fills up at Halifax.

06:45.

Between 35-40 people were waiting at Halifax, including one person requiring assistance to board so the guard’s deployed the collapsible ramp. As you’d expect this time of day most folk look like they’re on their way to work.

07:50.

Having reversed at Bradford Interchange my train to Leeds ended up comfortably full but not overcrowded. It certainly paid its way. Leeds station was starting to get busy but was easily navigable. The new barrier arrangements have created a lot more circulation space opposite the main stairs from the island platforms which has really eased the logjam that used to form. I was waiting there for my next train which was due in at platform 8.

No longer a logjam…

I was pleased to see this arrive, working the 06:56 from Skipton to London Kings Cross…

91106 looking very smart in its revised Intercity livery.

What I like about these old Mk4 sets is the still have a quiet coach behind the locomotive which is where I am now. The coach is rarely husy even when the rest of the train is – as is the case today. There’s only a dozen of us in here whilst the next car’s almost full.

I’m not going to count my chickens just yet, but today’s looking good. The weather’s certainly better than forecast with high hazy cloud and lots of sunshine. I only hope this holds up as I travel further East…

09:30.

Yet again, my time at Doncaster was extended by late running trains. Trans-Pennine maintained their reputation by being over 12 mins behind time at Doncaster. The reason given was a late-running freight train. I wouldn’t have minded if it wasn’t for the fact ‘Donny’ was quiet with little of interest to photograph. Even the railway works yard was bereft of stock apart from a few old coal hoppers.

I’m now chugging along through the flatlands of Lincolnshire East of Scunthorpe. The town’s steelworks seemed oddly quiet too with little trace of the smoke or steam that you’d expect from such a huge industrial location.

09:45.

I’ve just been for a wander through the train. Well, the rear 3-car set anyway. There’s only three of us in it!

Pick a seat, any seat…

Admittedly, I saw quite a few folk detrain at Donny but I’d have thought it would be busier than this. Have the bright lights and fleshpots of Cleethorpes lost their lustre I wonder? I’ll find out later. I’m off at the next stop – Grimsby…

11:00.

Nothing much has changed in Grimsby since I was here last. Platform 1’s still out of use (points failure) forcing folk to use the footbridge or queue for the lift from platform 2 which all services to/from Cleethorpes are using. TPE are still late. The service behind mine was still using the ‘stuck behind a late running freight train’ excuse. I wonder how long they’ll keep that up? I’ll look the services up later. Still, the sun’s shining and East Midlands Railway’s 11:08 to Barton on Humber is running, so that’s a plus. There’s new ticket machines on platform one and I stopped to admire the extra decorations…

13:45.

Made it – and the weather’s played ball too! My trip up the Barton branch took me as far as Barrow Haven where I left the train at a single platform station that’s bern totally rebuilt in the past year as the old one was subsiding. I’d chosen this location for two reasons. There’s a nice shot of the train crossing a bridge over an inlet and it’s also the start of a lovely walk that takes you along the edge of the Humber to Barton. The footpath’s sandwiched between the river and old, flooded claypits so the area’s a haven for wildlife as its covered in reeds. You also get a grandstand view of the Humber bridge as you walk up to it…

I’m now in Barton waiting for the train back to Cleethorpes after a really enjoyable walk and quick wander around the town. Judging by the amount of old or vacant shops it was obviously a prosperous place at one time but I expect the opening of the Humber bridge killed a lot of that. Even so, there’s still a lot of buildings of interest.

The station mirrors the town as its reduced in importance too. It’s a single platform station at the end of a long siding from New Holland. Only now it’s graced by East Midlands Railway 2 car, air conditioned Class 170s rather than the Northern (then EMR) single car Class 153s which were the lines staple stock for so many years.

Compare and contrast today’s view with this one, which was taken on my first visit to Barton in March 1990!

Despite the sparse service and unexceptional traction the line has appeal to railway enthusiasts who’re interested in history and signalling. New Holland was the site of a pier station for ferries across the Humber to Hull. Nowadays it’s a bulk port but two old signalboxes at Barrow Rd Crossing and Oxmarsh survive along with an array of semaphore signals (some new). At Oxmarsh Crossing you can even observe the single line token exchange between the signaller and driver – a rare sight nowadays.

The station at Goxhill’s also worth a visit. There’s a lovely old station building. Wooden level crossing gates and a well maintained signalbox.

17:25.

I retraced my steps as far As Grimsby where I paused to grab a last few pictures before catching a Trans-Pennine service Westwards. The good weather was turning as grey skies moved in so there was no point in hanging around. Well, until we got to Scunthorpe where I took a break in between trains to for a couple of lineside shots and a nearby Road Traffic Accident (RTA) where a car was on its roof in the middle of a main road. Welcome to Scunthorpe!

Now I’m aboard a Northern stopper from Scunny to Donny. The weather’s getting duller and looking like rain so I might just head home. I have the shots I need so there’s no point in hanging around.

20:44.

Home and dry – literally! By the time I arrived in Doncaster the rain was setting in and stayed with me all the way home. The light was so bad I put the camera away and relaxed and enjoyed the journey instead. There were quite a few cancellations of Calder valley services shown at Leeds so I took the ‘scenic’ route via Shipley to Forster Square then walked across town to Interchange. The homeless ‘tent city’ under the arches at Forster Square had disappeared but what was there was worse in many respects. Dozens of people were queuing for soup kitchens that had been set up just before I arrived. It’s a tragic sight that also makes me very angry. We’ve had 13 years of Tory Government. Instead of tackling this problem they’ve made it worse. But at least their donors are well fed, having trousered billions in dodgy PPE contracts during Covid, or enjoying their expense accounts as members of the House of Lords…

A story you won’t see in the media as so many of them are obsessed with the much more important story about Nigel Farage’s bank account…

I managed to find a train from Interchange that wasn’t cancelled and Dawn saved me a soaking by picking me up from the station. Now I’m fed and in the warm, relaxing and sorting out a few of today’s pictures for your delectation whilst watching the rain bouncing off the cottage windows. Here’s a taster of what I’ve been taking…

170514 crosses the Beck at Barrow Haven with a service to Cleethorpes. It’s a squeeze to fit a 2-car into the shot compared to the single car 153s that used to operate the line.
The Humber bridge seen from the coastal path near Barton on Humber.
A variety of work and leisure craft moored in Barton Haven with the Humber bridge beyond.
Old shopfronts in Barton on Humber.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

The byelection conundrum for the Green party over HS2…

21 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by in Hs2, London, Politics, Railways, Sarah Green, The Green Party, Uxbridge

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This morning I woke up to some good news. The Tories had been routed in 2 of the three seats that were up for election yesterday. In the third (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) they had their majority slashed from 7,210 to just 495 votes. In Selby and Ainsty, where Labour won convincingly, they overturned a Tory majority of 21,357, the largest majority ever overturned by the Labour party in a by-election. In Somerton and Frome the winning Lib-Dem candidate overturned a Tory majority of 19,213 to win by 11,008 votes.

In both Selby and Frome the Green party (who came 3rd) did well. Especially in Somerton and Frome where the Greens Martin Dimery managed 3,944 votes or 10.2%, an increase of 5.1% on a reduced turnout out of 44.23% (down on the general election by 31.4%). This is double what the Greens poll nationally in opinion polls.

In Selby and Ansty the Greens Arnold Warneken received 1,838 votes, an increase of 1.9% to take them to 5.1% of the vote – consistent with the national average on a turnout that was down by 27.2% on the 2019 election.

In both elections the Greens held on to their deposits, another unusual outcome for the party.

Meanwhile, what happened to the Greens in Uxbridge, where their candidate (Sarah Green) stood on an anti HS2 ticket which was almost the sole focus of the Greens campaign? Here’s a look at the full Uxbridge results, taken from Wikipedia.

Interesting. There are several things worthy of note here. Firstly, the number of candidates. As this was a celebrity seat – being the one hastily abandoned by former PM Boris Johnson when he ran away before being censure by Parliament it was always going to attract the mad, bad and sad, from the Raving Looney’s, the failed actor and odious right-winger Laurence Fox, to Piers Corbyn and a rag bag of other no-hope independents, all of whom would attract a few votes. However, the turnout (whilst down) was nowhere near as low as in the other two byelections – only 17.3% compared to 27.2% and 31.4%.

As in the other byelections, the Greens came 3rd, but with a very different look – just 2.9%, well below the national polling average and and with a tiny increase of just 0.7% Yet Sarah Green was standing on what is meant to be a sure-fire ticket – an anti HS2 platform in a Nimby constituency that supposedly is in wholesale opposition to HS2. Unless, of course – it isn’t – and people have other fish to fry?

Green attracted 893 votes (and lost her deposit). The Lib-Dems vote dropped by 4.6% from 3026 in 2019 to 526 – solid evidence of tactical voting to oust the Tories as Labour’s vote increased by 6%. Labour ascribe their failure to capture the seat to London’s ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) which is hitting motorists pockets. In a breathtaking example of their hypocrisy, the Tories are saying their win is a referendum on ULEZ, neatly forgetting that it was brought in by a previous Mayor of London and former Uxbridge MP – one Boris Johnson! It’s also Tory party policy. In fact, in 2020 then Transport Secretary Grant Shapps wanted London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan to extend the capital’s congestion charge zone as far as the ULEZ boundary (link). Still, what does the truth matter when there’s a crucial byelection to win? T’was ever thus with the Tories.

Another thing to to note is that there were two candidates standing on an anti ULEZ ticket. Between them they garnered 394 votes. It’s reasonable to assume most of these would have been Tory votes in the past.

Meanwhile, back at the Green party…

It’s clear Sarah Green didn’t stand a chance but then Hillingdon green party has a history of fielding no-hope candidates on anti HS2 tickets who do nothing to enhance the party’s reputation (see Mark Keir). But, just imagine what would have happened if the Greens had decided not to run a candidate this time? How many of those 894 votes would have gone to Labour and potentially swung the election? This would have fulfilled the wider green party agenda as it’s clear the Tories are anything but climate-friendly!

Here’s why the GPEW aren’t fit for purpose. They’re not a coherent political party but a rag-bag of local groups with no party discipline and no strategy. They’re little more than incoherent protest groups, campaigning on whatever bee’s in their bonnets, or blowing in the wind to local Nimby issues like opposing wind-farms. Actually tackling climate change takes a backseat.

It’s clear from recent local election results that Greens standing on an anti HS2 ticket isn’t doing the party any good (see this blog). Let’s face it – a ‘green’ party actively opposing us building low-carbon public transport whilst saying they support building a new high-speed N-S railway ‘in principle’ just makes them look like a bunch of hypocrites – and voters see that. But the party’s structured in such a way it’s impossible for the ‘leaders’ to lead, so the party’s stuck – and some of the grassroots like it that way. In the meantime, we’ve just seen Hillingdon ‘green’ party enable a Tory victory in Uxbridge and embolden the right-wing opposition to clean air in London. Oh, the irony! I’m not the only one who’s noticed that either. Joss Garman, Executive Director of the European Climate Foundation tweeted this earlier…

The really dumb thing? The ‘greens’ never stood any chance of winning nor of stopping HS2. This was yet another wasted opportunity to actually do something positive to help change politics in the UK that would further their supposed real aim of tackling climate change. But as I’ve been saying for a long time, they literally can’t see the woods for the trees…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
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Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Stopping HS2 is a ‘vote winner’? The Green party find out otherwise…

20 Thursday Jul 2023

Posted by in Hs2, Politics, The Green Party

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Today’s the day voters go to the polls in three by-elections in different parts of England. Selby and Ansty, Uxbridge and South Ruislip and Somerton & Frome, all very different constituencies – apart from the fact they’d elected Tory MPs. Now it’s looking extremely likely that’ despite the fact two of them were Tory ‘safe seats’ held with huge majorities, all three will change hands. The first two are expected to fall to Labour whilst the Lib-Dems will gain the third.

Most eyes will be focused on Uxbridge, the former seat of Boris Johnson until he ran away after being censured by Parliament for telling porkies. Johnson? Lying? Colour me shocked. The man’s made a career out of lying, but for once they’ve caught up with him and hopefully ended his time in politics.

There’s a diverse range of candidates standing in Uxbridge one of whom I’ve mentioned before. Anti HS2 obsessive Sarah Green has managed to secure the Green Party nomination. Despite her failing to get elected to roles as a local Councillor in the past the local Green party are daft enough to put her forward in an important by-election. She doesn’t stand a chance of course (I’ll be reporting back on the actual results tomorrow) but her nomination made me look at how some other Greens who’ve stood on anti HS2 tickets have fared in the May 2023 local elections. I hadn’t realised until now but former StopHs2 ‘Campaign Manager’ Joe Rukin has joined the GPEW. Well, he does have a lot of free time on his hands nowadays! He was one of 11 Green party candidates in the Kenilworth Town council elections, and guess what? He was the only one who wasn’t elected! You can find the results here.

Meanwhile, over on Erewash Borough Council, another area which HS2 will run through, serial ‘wannabee’ and regular moaner about HS2, Brent Poland, stood in Breaston ward where 2 seats were up for grabs. The party put up 6 candidates across Erewash with Poland the ‘spokesperson’ for the group.

Of the two Breaston seats the Tories won one and the Greens the other, but not Poland, another Green candidate – Ann Marie Mills – was the one elected. As for poor Poland – he even less votes than the 2nd Tory candidate! You can find the full EBC results here.

There’s a message here that the Green party would do well to listen to. Opposition to HS2 – no matter how strident – is not a vote winner, even in constituencies HS2 affects where you hope to pick up the Nimby vote. In fact, the previous high-profile antics and car-crash history of candidates like Rukin and Poland might have proved to work against them, hence the results.

We’ve seen this in election after election. The most recent being another high-profile by-election in Chesham and Amersham where GPEW candidate Carolyne Culver ran an appalling anti Hs2 campaign – to the exclusion of almost all else – including Climate Change!

Sadly, this is a message much of the Green party ignores. Despite the fact the core part of HS2 is almost halfway to completion they still pretend they can somehow stop it and that doing so is somehow ‘green’. It’s baffling, but then so much about GPEW politics is. You do have to wonder if they’re really serious about politics or getting into Government and holding real power and influence. The evidence suggests not…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Lincolnshire loafing…

19 Wednesday Jul 2023

Posted by in Community rail, Lincolnshire, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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08:30.

It’s than two years ago that I was last exploring the coastline around Cleethorpes and the mouth of the Humber but changes to the railways have come (and gone) since. Trans-Pennine Express introduced their loco-hauled Mk5 sets to the route for a brief period, then just as quickly withdrew them. Meanwhile East Midlands Railway dispensed with their single-car Class 153s and replaced them on the Barton on Humber branch with something far more grand – Class 170 ‘Turbostars’. So, it’s time to head over that way and update my library and hopefully get some pictures for a client – subject to the weather behaving.

For the second day running, Dawn’s working from the Community Rail Network office in Nuddersfield, so I’m hitching a lift in with her to start my journey there. Feel free to keep popping back to see how the day unfolds…

0955.

Deciding to come to Huddersfield wasn’t my cleverest idea. I’d forgotten just how unreliable TPE services are nowadays. I’d have been quicker going from Halifax!

Arriving at the station I watched two Eastbound services come and go before I made it througb the barriers to the platform. A Newcastle bound train was timetabled to arrive a few minutes later but (TPE being TPE) the delays soon became to accrue. 5, then 10 then 15 mins. Finally, 19 mins late, 802201 arrived..

What kept you?

10:25.

I’m now heading for Doncaster after a fraught few minutes getting through Leeds. I’d planned to catch LNER’s 10:16 but congestion meant my TPE service was held outside the station for several minutes until a platform became vacant. I could see the 10:16 in the western bay (6) but my train sailed right through the station to the East end, making it impossible to reach 6 in time. Or so I thought. Fortunately, congestion delayed LNER too, so I made the train with a minute to spare!

10:40.

It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it? I’ve just noticed that the train I’d hoped to catch from Donny to Cleethorpes was cancelled due to lineside cable theft – a problem once endemic but now (thankfully) rare. It’s affecting services to/from Sheffield which could put a damper on my day. Still, I’m going to have nearly an hour to watch what happens at Doncaster, and plan accordingly. There’s never a dull day on the railway…

12:45.

I should gave kept my mouth shut! We arrived at Doncaster 15 down due to more congestion. Then I found out the East Coast Main Line was seriously disrupted due to a train hitting a cow up in Northumberland. This is how the PIS looked.

Nice…

Trains were out of sync all over the place leading to lots of last-minute platform changes as signallers tried to deal with the congestion and confusion.

“The train now blocking platform 3 is going nowhere”…

Still, my enforced stay did offer some decent photographic opportunities. Such as of this beast heading to York.

Right now I’m on a TPE service crawling its way to Grimsby. I always forget just how slow the speeds are on this line. Needless to say – we’re running late and have just come to a halt at Harbrough during heavy rain. Yep, the forecast has let me down too. There was meant to be sunny spells this afternoon! Ho hum…

15:30.

What a classic day – for all the wrong reasons – but it’s a great example of the frustrations of this job. I arrived late at Grimsby Town to find that one of the two platforms was out of use due to a points failure. This was delaying trains to/from Cleethorpes as it’s a single line between the two. So I decided to stay on the train to Clee and see what the weather was like. It was crap. The heavy rain had passed over but the skies looked like they could deliver a deluge any minute. After grabbing a few shots I caught the same TPE service back to Grimsby as there were extra services to photograph and interesting features of the station to document, plus a footbridge which offered a decent view of the station and nearby level crossing. Having rushed to the footbridge to get shots of my train departing I noticed the barriers on the crossing remained closed. Yep, they’d failed too – cutting off a main road in the town centre!

There was nothing for me to do for half an hour other than take pictures but as Grimsby Town’s a station with some interesting architectural features that was no problem. My plan was to catch the late-running Barton branch train back to Cleethorpes, then do the full run. That plan soon collapsed at Cleethorpes when the train Conductor announced the return trip was only going as far as Ulceby (the Barton branch junction) due to yet another points failure!

It was at this point I decided a pint was in order. I’ve popped into a place I’ve never visited before. The ‘No1’ bar on Cleethorpes station.

It’s quite a blast fom the past to walk into a pub where the Frank Zappa track ‘Bobby Brown’ from his album ‘Sheik Yerbuoti’ is ringing out from the jukebox. And in Cleethorpes of all places!

So here I am kicking my heels in Cleethorpes. The Barton branch is out of the question. There’s train delays left, right and centre – yet the one bright spot (literally) is the weather as blue skies are rolling in from the East – only there’s nothing to photograph!

Here’s what I could have won. An EMR ‘Turbostar’ working the Barton branch.
Class 185s aplenty at Cleethorpes earlier.

19:00.

I’m now back in Leeds and heading home to Halifax after admitting defeat. The weather and railway physics conspired against me so the only sensible thing to do was head home – especially as trains aren’t exactly of a metro frequency in that neck of the woods. I caught the first available TPE service West to Doncaster where I picked up a little bonus in the shape of one of LNER’s old loco-hauled sets to transport me to Leeds.

Just to rub my nose in it, the further West I travelled, the more the weather improved! Like everywhere else cancellations were dogging services through Leeds so I didn’t hang around. Now I’m on a Leeds-Chester service which will carry me back to Halifax.

Today’s a good lesson in how poor regional services are in the North. By rail it’s just as quick for me to get from Halifax to London (170 miles) as it is to Cleethorpes (76 miles) – despite the disparity in distance. Plus, I don’t really have to think about planning a London trip because of the frequency of services, but when trains are only hourly and two hourly it becomes a very different proposition, especially when services go tits up!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Windermere wandering…

13 Thursday Jul 2023

Posted by in Northern Rail, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs

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10:30.

Today’s the only decent weather window that’s forecast for several days so I’m out and about updating some library pictures as well as images for a client. I’d two options but on one route the trains I was interested weren’t running, so – Windermere it is! Looking through the archives I’ve realised the last time I was there was June 2018 when services looked rather different to today.

My trip began at Sowerby Bridge where I caught a train to nearby Hebden Bridge to connect with the York – Blackpool North service that I’m on now.

My 2nd train of the day…

This was running 15 late on arrival but the performance of these Class 195s has allowed it to claw back a few minutes. Even so, I’ll miss my intended connection at Preston. On the bright side, there’s another train from Preston to Oxenholme a few minutes later that I should be able to catch. We’ll see…

10:35.

Bugger! We’ve just left Accrington where dozens of folks (many with prams) were waiting to join the train. This has delayed us further pushing us to 19 mins behind time, making my alternative Preston connection almost impossible. Now, what’s plan C?…

11:10.

Things are looking up! Our driver made the most of the 195s performance and slack timetabling to recover some time. When we joined the main line at Preston we worked parallel to Preston with an Avanti Pendolino but the damn thing was no good to me as it was heading to Blackpool too! We arrived in adjacent platforms (1&2), then I noticed it was 10:57. A TPE service to Edinburgh was due to leave at 10:59 and it hadn’t yet arrived. A mad dash across the footbridge to platform 3 allowed me to watch 397010 pull in – saving me from kicking my heels in Preston for an hour.

Saved…

Needless to say, this 5 car’s packed so I’m reduced to standing in a vestibule but it’s hardly a hardship for such a short journey. Only a few years ago this service was worked by 3-car trains. Now, even a 5-car’s ‘cosy’. I hate to think what it’ll be like in a few years time with the passenger passenger growth expected on this route.

14:30.

Sorry for the gap but I’ve been busy taking pictures and finding locations – not always successfully – as trees and bushes have a nasty habit of growing and blocking views!

I enjoyed being back at Oxenholme. Train services have changed a bit. TPE have their new trains on Anglo-Scottish services. Northern’s have changed too. Gone are the old BR units like the single-car Class 153s, now services are worked by 3-car Class 195s. The Windermere branch is no longer just a shuttle either. Instead there’s 6-car trains running to/from Manchester Airport at certain times of the day, although this presented me with a problem. They’re far too long to fit into scenic shots of the landscape! Thankfully, the 6-car I took out and back to Kendal buggered off to Manchester to be replaced by a 3-car, which just fits into the picture I have planned outside of Staveley. Now all I have to do is pray the clouds play ball. In the meantime, here’s a couple of shots I’ve taken so far.

Nowadays there’s a rather nice little food hall in the old Goods yard at Oxenholme right outside the station. There’s a cracking range of pies and sandwiches as well as outdoor seating where you can wait for your train.
Having come up from Manchester this pair of 195s (195119 and 120) did a shuttle then (thankfully) headed South again.

17:30.

Job done – and the sun played ball, which is a minor miracle in this game. Now I’m making my way back South – although I may have deviated from the plan slightly…

No prizes for guessing that this isn’t actually the Windermere branch, but can you work out where I was?

19:00.

Just another day on the railway…

Back at Lancaster I noticed that my next Trans-Pennine Express train to Manchester Airport was shown as terminating at Preston. Not a problem for me as that’s where I was changing anyway. I’d factored in having an hour at the station to take some shots before getting the 18:44 Blackpool – York back to Halifax. When I got to Preston it was clear that all was not well. Lots of Blackpool services were running late or being cancelled. The 18:44 was shown as OK – right up to 10 mins before it was due when (within the space of a few minutes) it went from on-time to ‘delayed’, then cancelled. Rather than hang around for another hour I’ve caught a Blackpool Manchester Airport train via Bolton, figuring that I’ll take my chances in Manchester as there’s a more frequent service. It seems the chaos is being caused by an earlier fatality at Lostock near Bolton. An awful thing for all concerned.

19:40.

And relax! My diversion via Salford Crescent has worked well. Following a few minutes behind us was a Wigan Wallgate to Leeds service which will deposit me back at Sowerby Bridge just 20 mins later than my intended train from Preston. I’m now relaxing on a Northern Class 158 knowing I’m going to be home at a reasonable time after what’s been a busy and eventful day. Despite the difficulties the trips been profitable from a picture perspective, which is what it was all about. Mind you, I did enjoy rediscovering the Windermere line. With such lovely scenery and pretty villages (and the odd country pub), what’s not to like?

22:10.

I’m home and relaxing after a long day and over 10 miles walked. But I’ll leave you with a couple more pictures from the day…

Having arrived from Manchester earlier in the day, 195125 worked a couple of shuttle services along the Windermere branch before heading South once more. Now you can see why I didn’t want a six-car!
Here’s the same unit later in the cycle, calling at Staveley en-route to Windermere.

On another note, spot the slight technical difficulty with this sign at Staveley…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

12th July picture of the day…

12 Wednesday Jul 2023

Posted by in Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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After yesterday’s photographic excursion to Manchester where I met up with an old friend for a few drinks I’ve had a quiet day here at Bigland Towers. The weather’s hardly been conducive to getting out as we’re back in the cycle of low cloud and persistent showers. There was plenty of rain yesterday but that was made bearable by some dramatic skies and pools of sunshine that made for interesting photographic opportunities. Hassard, being London-based, had never ventured out to Glossop before so I took him out on the old Woodhead railway with the intention have having a wander and couple of pints before heading back. Fat chance! Just before we arrived we found out that the next two trains were cancelled, leaving us 10 mins to have a swifty in the Star Inn across the road from the station before catching the same train on its return from Hadfield. Talk about a flying visit!

Today we’ve had gloomy weather which hid the valley from view for much of the day so I’ve been happy to be desk-bound, edit all of yesterdays pictures and get on with other work – including adding yet more rail memorabilia to my eBay account. Here’s a sample – one of the goodies that Alstom/Virgin trains produced to celebrate 100 years of Oxley depot in Wolverhampton. You can find yesterday’s picture selection by following this link to the ‘recent‘ page on my Zenfolio website.

I’ll leave you with an example of yesterday’s pictures which illustrates what I mean about Manchester’s moody skies.

Dark skies over Manchester Piccadilly were leavened by short bursts of sunshine, like in this scene of two of Northern’s new CAF built units approaching the station. On the left is a Class 195, the diesel version whilst on the right a pair of electric-powered Class 331s arrive from the Airport.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312