Tag Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling blog: go West…

06 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:44.

Today weather’s far too good to be stuck at home so I’m having another day out with the camera. This time I’m heading West from Sowerby Bridge – and hoping I’ve not made a mistake in doing so!

I’m currently sat on the 09:22 from Sowerby Bridge to Chester. The weather in the Calder valley was wall to wall sunsine and the valley looked stunning. Then we passed through the Summit tunnel into Lancashire and arrived into a blanket of fog! It’s a fine example of what a barrier the Pennines are and how they can influence the weather.

13:07.

Phew! Now, where was I? I’ve been on the move so much and making the most of the weather that I haven’t had a chance to blog. I’m currently on a service from Manchester Piccadilly that’s heading to Blackpool North.

After disembarking at Victoria earlier I strolled across town to Piccadilly in bright sunshine. The fog I’d encountered earlier had quickly burned away, leaving Manchester’s reputation as a wet city in tatters. My first move was out to Stockport, where I wanted to get shots of trains crossing the famous viaduct. With the sun in the right place you can have fun with a long lens here, but the shadows from the overhead wires present a challenge. I’d been hoping to grab a shot of a Pendolino in the new Avanti livery, but there was no such luck.

Moving back North I stopped at the elevated and open station at Levenshulme where the overhead masts span all four tracks to give a wide vista. Plus, the bare lineside trees don’t cast heavy shadows at this time of year. There’s also the opportunity for some interesting backlit shots.

I moved on again when I felt the shots were in danger of getting repetitive. Heading back to Piccadilly I changed trains once more to enjoy a brief stop in Bolton. The new CAF 331 that carried me there had a noticeably rough ride on the way. Something I’d never noticed before so I can’t ascribe it to train or track. I’d be curious to repeat it in an old DMU to see if there’s a difference.

Bolton was a bit of a bust. Heavy shadows blocked any worthwhile shots, so I’m now on my way to Wigan…

15:40.

My Wigan sojourn was interesting, but it didn’t yield many pictures as the light (or me, depending on your viewpoint) was in the wrong position for the shots I had in mind. On the bright side, I’m now fuelled-up on chips and curry sauce – which is giving me a few calories to burn off!

Right now I’m on another Northern service. This time the 15:24 from Wigan North Western to Manchester Airport. Oddly, it’s worked by a diesel Class 195 as it originated from Windermere. Hardly the most ‘green’ diagram as it’s ‘under the wires’ all the way from Oxenholme.

16:50.

I arrived back in Manchester as the sun was just at tipping point. I had intended to visit an old vantage point on the Castlefield Corridor but the volume of new building in the past year has meant it’s disappeared. The sun’s been blocked out by high-rises, casting the whole area into shadow. Instead I added some pictures around Piccadilly, then backtracked to Oxford Rd. Abandoning the railway I wandered the backstreets to explore to photo opportunities in the new skylines. I’ve always found architecture and cityscapes fascinating. They make for some great pictures, so the past hour’s been spent exploring to find photo opportunities that will become impossible by the end of the year as the railway from Castlefield to Piccadilly will become hemmed in by new building.

Here’s another sight that will disappear even sooner…

A pair if Pacers at Manchester Piccadilly. In a sign of the times these units now work in tandem with Class 150s as they’re fitted with ORM compliant toilets.

21:33.

My day in Manchester was rounded off by what could be the inauguration of the the first branch of the Irish Railways Record Society outside of London. 50 people from across the North turned up to hear Dick Fearn and Tim Morton sound out the idea.

Rolling blog: plan B…

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

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

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08:38.

My computer problems continue, which means life is less than planned at the moment. I did manage to resurrect my old machine yesterday by reinstalling Windows 10 but by the evening it developed Alzheimers again. First it ‘forgot’ how to send emails, then it gradually lost the will to do everything else as well! I’ve now had to reset it for a second time just to get a few bits and pieces done. The new machine has been ordered and will arrive tomorrow*, so I’ll be spending yet another day installing programmes and gubbins.

As this leaves me somewhat incapacitated I’m heading out for the day in order to get some new library pictures even though the weather’s not exactly at its best. The law of Sod has been invoked and tomorrow’s forecast is looking far better. I might have to be crafty in what I do with getting my new machine delivered.

Right now I’m just packing the camera bag and working out where will be best to head for. Stay with me to see how the railways behave today…

10:45.

I’m on my first train of the day, but not from Haliax as I hitched a lift with Dawn this morning. Now I’m on a TPE Class 802 as far as Leeds although the set itself is going to Edinburgh. This is one of the trains TPE have reinstated after the December timetable debacle. Mind you, Edinburgh isn’t the only exotic new destination served by direct trains from Huddersfield. You can now visit the fleshpots of Redcar Central too if you were so inclined…

11.28.

The trip to Leeds was both pleasent and uneventful. The service was a minute late at Huddersfield but easily made that up by Leeds. The front coach of the Hitachi built set was only 10% occupied so there was no problem getting a seat. The extra capacity the new TPE trains are providing’s making travel on the crowded Manchester – Leeds corridor far more pleasent now. Gone are the days when it would be a miracle if you bagged a seat.

11:32.

My sojourn in Leeds was rather shorter than last weeks! I had about 20 mins to observe the station in action before catching the 11:11 Cross-Country service that’s heading for Plymouth. Despite the fact it’s only a 4-car Voyager I’ve managed to find a seat on here too. As usual with XC there’s a real mix of humanity aboard.  Grannies laden with suitcases, student types with their headphones and laptops, the occasional businessman and there’s even a pooch staring balefully at me from between the seats.

16:05.

That’s been an entertaining few hours. Having stopped off to get pictures at Sheffield I was greeted by lovely sunny weather. The station’s in a state of flux at the moment as Northern’s new trains are putting in an appearence on more and more services, but the place is still a stronghold of the old Class 144 ‘Pacers’ who operate a lot of Northern’s short-haul services to the likes of Doncaster and Huddersfield. The newer interlopers (the 195s) have taken over further reaching stuff like the Lincoln services, whilst Class 170s are working to the likes of Scarborough.

If you want to bag a Class 144, Sheffield’s the place to visit!

Having got some shots in the can I headed off to Chesterfield where I hit a weather front. A band of cloud extended South but it still allowed me to get some interesting shots from the old footbridge North of the station and allowed me to shoot what would’ve been straight into the sun otherwise. Network Rail’s contractor’s have been busy removing lineside vegetation which has opened up views that haven’t been possible for decades. The work provided me with some good scene-setting shots too. I didn’t hang around long. Just an hour, as there’s no point repeating the same shot ad nauseum. Having got what I wanted I caught the train back to Sheffield where the weather was less dull.

It might not be the most attractive view that’s been opened out by the lineside clearance, but it’s still a view!

Having grabbed a few more shots and resisted the temptations of the Sheffield Tap I’m now heading back to Leeds on a Northern ‘Express’ service. Well, it would be express if the 90mph Class 158 diagrammed was available. Instead, it’s being worked by a rather clapped-out Class 150 which is only cleared for 75mph. As you can imagine, our timing is a tad awry…

16:05.

The 150 finally staggered into to Leeds where the poor quality of the light’s made me decide to cut the day short and head home to Halifax. Admittedly, I have an ulterior motive. Tonight Dawn and I have planned a lovely evening together at home so I’m happy to get back and make the house feel the part in preparation.

My ride back from Leeds is aboard another 3-car Class 195 on the York – Bkackpool North diagram. It’s running 5 mins down which the Conductor has apologised for, citing ‘technical issues’ with the set earlier.

18:00.

The weather may not have been too good in Leeds, but it’s a lovely sunset here in the Calder Valley…

*Well, that’s when the Dell website claimed it could be delivered by, only that changed when I’d actually specced the machine.

Abandoning their website I put in call to a real live human being and spoke to a charming Indian lady who placed the order for me and told me that the problem at the moment is getting the processor chips, so my new machine won’t be ready for at least a week. This delay means I’m going to have to be creative with my use of backup laptops and nursing my old machine until the new kit arrives. Now I’m praying no last minute, urgent jobs crop up until it arrives…

Rolling blog: The Railway Children charity sleep-outs tonight.

30 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, The Railway Children

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I’m helping the Railway Children charity this evening by volunteering to with their sleep-out at Leeds station tonight. 30 people are dossing down on the station from 21:30 until 07:00 tomorrow to draw attention to the work the charity does, and also help raise much needed funds. You can find the details here. Tonight, teams will also be sleeping out at London Bridge Station, London Waterloo, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Milton Keynes Central, Birmingham New Street, Glasgow Central and Derby Railway Station.

I’ll be making my way over to Leeds later, so stay with me to see how the day/night unfolds as I’ll be updating the blog on a regular basis…

16:52.

I’m on my way, complete with camera bag, mat and sleeping bag. Even though we’ll be bedded down inside the station I’m glad the weather’s mild tonight. The walk to the station was actually quite pleasant! I’m now on a Northern (but not for much longer) service to Leeds via Bradford which is worked by a CAF class 195 running its traditonal few minutes late. I’m not going to get into the ins and outs of the Northern franchise, I’ll save that for anither blog. But passengers won’t be seeing any changes for a while…

After a swift reversal at Bradford we’re already on our way ul the bank en-route to New Pudsey. It’s early enough for the train to be busy but not packed. I’ll bet the return working will be tho!

18:10.

I’m waiting for the others to arrive as I got here early to have chance to get a few photos beforehand, but I hadn’t expected to find this!

A former LNER power car being moved from storage at Ely to Leeds Neville Hill depot where it’ll find a new life with East Midlands Railway. 57301 is on the front.

21:50.

I’ve been so busy I’ve not had time to blog until now. 30 of us are bedding down on the North concourse at Leeds, opposite the Wetherspoons. Network Rail have sent a huge group of people that includes their Route Director, Rob Mackintosh and several other senior staff. Although most of us are railway, there is one young lady from ‘First Direct’ who’s turned up. There’s several people I know, like former Angel Trains Director Malcolm Brown, plus folk who’ve taken part in previous fundraising events like the 3 Peaks. The atmosphere’s excellent as everyone knows they’re doing something worthwhile.

The sleepers hearing from one of the Railway Children staff about the valuable work they’re doing.

22:34.

The station’s quietened down over the past hour but now numbers are ramping up again as folks arrive to catch their last trains. There’s a few racous souls but most are good natured. We had our own bit of theatre earlier when a well dressed chap wobbled out of the Wetherspoons to sit on the plastic seats nearby and take a phone call. Gravity abd drink were too much for him and he slid off the seat and wbded up supine on the floor whilst he remained on his phone. A couple of our kind souls went to his assistance!

Folks have found a variety of ways to pass the time. Some have already bedded down with a book or phone, whilst half a dozen people are passing the time playing cards invthe centre of the concourse where there’s a collection of plastic seats. The only thing that’s making life uncomfortable is the gale blowing in through the open doors to the car park opposite where we’re bedded down.

00:26.

The station’s winding down and so are we. Most of our group are curled up in their sleeping bags now although not all are sleeping. Some will stay awake most of the night as this is too alien an environment to feel relaxed in. There’s too much noise and too many lights as far as they’re concerned. But they’re still doing it – because they care about the work the Railway Children does, and I really admire them for that.

This isn’t the first time I’ve slept on a railway station. Or slept rough. There’s far too many stories for me to tell in this blog. But I will tell one.

Back in 1986 I remember bedding down on a railway station in Tamil Nadu in India. The train I was catching was at 3am. I was travelling on a very tight budget, so what was the point of paying for a hotel room? Instead, I joined the throng of people you always find sleeping on stations as Indian railways run all hours of the day and night due to the vastness of the country. We had our heads against the building so that if anyone walked past it was only your feet they’d stand on. The mats we were sleeping on we laid down over the metal grilles that covered the rainwater drain next to the building, then we fell asleep. After a while I was woken by this odd skittering noise I didn’t recognise. It took a couple of minutes before I realised it was made by rats running up and down the drain just inches beneath my head.

In comparison, tonight is luxury…

00:56.

I’m amazed none of our group have yet tried to kill the bloke going up and down the concourse with the tile cleaning machine. It’s not him, or the machine – it’s the bloody siren attached to it…

00:59.

I take back everything I said about the tile cleaner. A MEWP’s just been driven into the concourse so guys can attend to some elevated work. The sounds of its poorly silenced diesel engine are so bad it’s almost drowned out the sounds of snoring from an adjacent sleeper! This is the sort of thing rough sleepers out up with day after day…

Oblivious to (or because of) us the bloke in the basket relates every minor detail of what he’s doing to his oppo on the ground. I now now more than I ever wanted to about worm drives on adverts.

04:00.

The MEWP and men have changed their advert and disappered, leaving us a few hours peace to get fitful sleep, thanking our lucky stars that this is a one off, not our everyday exustence.

05:00.

I’m awake and decided to explore the station, which is still a ghost town apart from a few passengers who’re on their way home from clubs and earky shift rail staff booking on or who’re already at work. Northern have started the day badly with the first train to Manchester cancelled and others delayed.

05:50.

Most of our sleepers are awake and packing their bags ready to face the day, off to hunt for coffee and warm food.

It’s been an experience I’ve not had for years and it’s an event I’m really happy I could help the Railway Children with. I’ll upload some pictures later today once I’ve got home and edited them. I’ll also let you know how much the event has raised.

In the meantime, thanks for following the adventure. Now it’s my turn to head iff in search of coffee!

The MEWP

Rolling blog: doing the TALGO tango once more…

28 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Railways, Rolling blogs, Talgo, Travel

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06:15.

I’m preparing to head off to Halifax station for a journey to Barrow Hill for today’s TALGO press event. Let’s see how the day progresses…

07:05.

I timed my walk to the station impeccably. As I crested the top of the hill above our house I arrived at the same time as a snowstorm! The weather often changes here as Spring Edge is the high point of the valley summit. After here it’s a long, gradual descent sll the way to Halifax town centre and the railway station. The snow was whipped by the wind and lasted for several minutes, leaving me (in my long black coat) looking like a Dalmation!

I arrived at the station with a few minutes to soare before the 07:07 to York arrived. This is being worked by a 3-car Class 195, so there’s been no struggle to get a seat. I’m now defrosting slowly in the warmth of the front coach.

Whilst I was waiting one of the new Hull – Halifax services arrived. In a sign of the times this was worked hy a 3-car Class 158, the type of units that were the backbone of Northern’s ‘express’ services before the CAF units arrived. The fact they can be spared and cascaded to secondary duties says a lot about the way the Northern fleet’s expanded. The train was almost empty when it terminated at Halifax, although I’ve no doubt its return trip will be profitable…

Journeys end for one of the new Hull to Halifax services

07:45.

I’ve arrived at Leeds via the usual game of sitting outside waiting for a platform to become free…

08:30.

I’m now rammed into the luggage area (formerly the shop) on a 4-car Voyager that’s running 9 mins late due to congestion between York-Leeds. The train’s packed with a mixture of long and short distance passengers. Folk heading down South of Birmingham as far as Plymouth whilst others are taking the short hop from Leeds to Wakefield. It’s one of my dislikes about the Cross-Country network. It’s neither fish nor fowl.

Having left Wakefield 10 mins late I’ve 25 mins to enjoy staring at this bulkhead..

At least my time in Leeds was profitable. The station was awash with new trains operated by Northern, LNER and TPE and passengers scurrying through the place, heads down or buried in scarves as they head to work on this cold winter’s day.

11:51.

Phew! A busy few hours af Barrow Hill where Talgo handed over one of their former sleeper cars which were used on Madrid/Barcelona- Paris services. Fitted with the company’s unique Rodal independent wheel system they’ve never been seen in the UK before. I’ll blog about this event separately as it justifies it.

20:10.

Well, that was an interesting day! Not only was it a chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, it was also a great opportunity to learn more about the exciting plans Talgo have for the UK as they’ve developed.

After the event a few of us congregated to talk about the world before heading off in different directions. I’d plans to make the most of the sunny weather. Sadly neither lasted. Snow flurries followed me South and by the time the last two of us started the trek Northwards the weather was positively Arctic! I left Jon at Sheffield to leg it from an EMR 158 tl one of its Northern cousins. By the time I transferred to yet another of the Class at Leeds to get to Halifax I felt I should’ve been wearing thermals!

Rolling blog. The camera bag’s packed…

10 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in I love my job, Photojournalism, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel, Yorkshire

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09:00.

I’m preparing to venture out on the rails for the first time this year – which is rather a long gap for me, but then 2020’s been a busy year so far. The sun looks like it’s going to play ball even if the trains possibly won’t. I’ve just looked up the real time performance of my two local operators and seen that Northern is currently running 84% of it’s services on time whilst TPE is propping up the bottom of the national league with just 63% on time and a whopping 25% either cancelled or more than 30 mins late. There’s a very useful website which uses Network Rail data to track the different companies performance throughout the day. You can find it here.

Let’s see how I get on today, and where I end up. I’ve a list of shots I need in mind, how many will I manage to get I wonder…

10:40.

The walk into Halifax this morning was gorgeous due to the crisp weather and glorious sunshine. Here’s how the station looked this morning, with one of Northern’s new Class 195s arriving on a service to Blackpool.

The new units were much in evidence today. I’m now on the 10:38 to Leeds which is made up of a pair of 2-car 195s. So far I’ve only seen one old BR unit – a 153 working the Bradford – Huddersfield shuttle.

Of course this step-change in the quality of trains goes unremarked in certain political arenas. If you listened to some of the elected Mayors you’d think the Pacers were still prevelent.

11:05.

I abandoned the CAF trains at Bradford Interchange and strolled across this much-maligned city to Forster Square, admiring the city’s magnificent Victorian buildings on the way. I love the quality of winter sunshine with its richness and warmth. It’s without the harshness or blue tones of summer sun and it was showing off Bradford’s buildings to their best. I paused en-route to grab a couple of pictures and I’ll add one later as an illustration.

Right now I’m sat on one of the venerable Class 321 electric units which will ship me to Shipley. Despite the arrival of the CAF 331s these remain in service.

11:49.

Sadly, by the time I got to Shipley tragedy had struck. A person had been struck by a train in the Skipton area, so many Aire valley Leeds services were being cancelled. The next two for Leeds were, so I’m now on a 322 that was turned back at Keighley.

I’m assuming (but don’t know) this was a suicide as January’s always a bad month for such incidents on the railways. My thoughts go out to the unfortunate train crew and the families involved.

13:00.

Having spent the best part of an hour getting pictures at Leeds I’m on the move again, this time to York aboard a Trans-Pennine Express Class 802. Unlike their trains I’m used to, this one has plenty of spare seats. I’ve even managed to bag a table to myself.

Leeds was interesting because of the sheer variety of traction you can see there. I suspect it has more variety than almost any other UK station, especially now Northern and TPE have diversified their fleets.

15:00.

York was enjoyable as the winter light made for some great photo opportunities, plus there was plenty of traction variety that allowed me to tick off a few library shots. Rather than keep repeating the same images I also nipped down to Church Fenton but didn’t stay as the shadows were lengthening, making the pictures I wanted difficult. Church Fenton’s an odd place as it seems like it’s little more than a dormitory town for York or Leeds. It still boasts a four platform station as it maintains its status as a railway junction. In fact, it’ll grow in importance in that regard as this is where the spur of the new HS2 line from Leeds will join existing tracks to take HS2 service on into York and up to Newcastle. Several years ago there was a small StopHs2 ‘action’ group here but like most such groups they’ve faded away. I’ve not seen anything from them for years now.

17:00.

I’m now heading back to Halifax on Northern’s 16:57 to Bkackpool North which is being worked by a totally inadequate 2-car Class 158/9. It’s absolutely rammed with 15 of us wedged in the leading vestibule gehind the driver’s cab.

I’d be interested to know where it stops but the onboard PIS tells me nothing useful apart from the fact we’re going to Blackpool North. The rest of its time is taken up with pointless stuff about security, reading safety information and telling you not to vape. The Conductor’s not made any announcements either. Thankfully, we stopped at New Pudsey, where the sardine-like conditions eased.

19:00

And relax! I’m back at home, plugging in the camera to the computer ready to download today’s pictures and add a few to the blog shortly. Despite the fun and games it’s been an instructive day. Despite the doom and gloom you hear about trains in the North there’s real signs of improvement. The hated Pacers are rapidly being displaced. I only saw a handful of sets today, a couple at Leeds and the same at York. There’s more and more of the new CAF units about, taking over routes like Blackpool North – York and many Leeds – Manchester services where they run as four cars. The 4-car electric version’s appearing more and more too. Its the same story on Trans-Pennine where the loco hauled 5-car sets are being rolled out, along with the Hitachi built Class 802 bi-modes working more Newcastle-Liverpool Lime St services. All these new trains are providing extra services and more seats, but the downside is the fall in reliability and punctuality. the problems due to staff training and unfamiliarity with new trains will soon pass (as they always do). The big problem is the infrastructure constraints and timetables that can’t be delivered because of that. What our politicians of any political hue won’t admit is that changing the name of the operator on the side of the train won’t fix the problems.

Here’s a selection of pictures I promised.

One of TPE’s loco hauled sets speeds through Church Fenton whilst working a Scarborough – Liverpool Lime St service.

Meanwhile, back at York…

155341 basks in the sun at platform 1 at York.
The old order clings on (just) at Leeds. LNER DVT 82215 and Northern Pacer 144001 side by side in the evening rush hour.

Rolling blog: back to Yorkshire…

28 Saturday Dec 2019

Posted by in Rolling blogs, Surrey, Tilford, Travel, West Yorkshire

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08:15.

We’ve been up since 07:00 having breakfast and finishing packing up the chalet to begin the drive back to Yorkshire later today. This could be interesting as Dawn and her parents may have left a lot of presents behind, but they’ve gained a load too and now there’s me and my camera bag to fit into the vehicle! This could get cosy!

Fortunately, the weather’s looking OK. We’ve a mild but cloudy day to look forward to with no rain forecast anywhere on the 4 hour drive back to West Yorkshire – although as we’ll be stopping off on the way for coffee and lunch we’ll be on the road for longer than that. Let’s see how this goes…

10:00.

It all fits! Mind you, you should see what’s in with the rest of us in the passenger saloon…

So, it’s goodbye to the chalet that’s been our home for the past week.

Next stop, coffee with Darren & the kids in Farnham…

11:45.

Fuelled – up on coffee, pain au raison and having bid adieu to the Surrey branch of Dawn’s family it’s time to hit the road, thankful that we’ve dodged the elderly idiot in a Bentley who nealy caused a crash in the Waitrose car park! Well, it would be, wouldn’t it?

12:35.

We’ve just come off the M4 at Junction 13 to head cross-country on the A34. Apart from the ever-busy M4 the roads have been surprisingly quiet allowing us to make good time.

13:15.

Well, the A34’s lived down to expectations! Despite the general lack of HGV traffic on the roads this route is a main freight artery to/from the busy port of Southampton. Add in the fact Oxford’s saturated with cars and the A34’s the town’s by-pass we’ve now got snarled up in heavy traffic.

14:50.

We made it through the traffic before flitting along an equally congested M40 for one junction then headed up a less busy A43 to reach the M1 where traffic was heavy Southbound but reasonable (for the M1) heading North.

We’re now having a pit-stop at Watford Gap services. The busiest of the eateries here is the one I never use anyway – McDonald’s, where folk tap in their orders to touchscreens before queuing for their burgers. Whilst Dawn and her folks relaxed in the adjacent Costa coffee I went for a wander and took this shot looking North up the M1.

The M1 at Watford Gap. Surprisingly quiet.

19:06.

Home! The rest of the journey wasn’t bad at all. Traffic thinned out the further North we got and the only surprise was when we passed above the car parks of the Meadowhall Shopping Centre outside of Sheffield. They were absolutely rammed!

Leaving the M1 at Junction 35a we headed over to Huddersfield to drop off ‘the folks’ and their bags, then (considerably lighter) we drove cross-country back to home. Despite it being Saturday night, life in West Yorkshire seems quite subdued. Most of the restaurants and pubs we passed were mostly empty. Presumably people are hording what money they’ve got left from the Christmas excesses for New Year. I can’t say either of us are going to be painting the town red tonight either. The moggie needs some TLC and there’s plenty to sort out before year (and decade) end…

Rolling blog: Heading South for Xmas…

20 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, London, New trains, Northern Rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:10.

I’ve begun my migration South as Dawn and I, plus her parents, are going to be staying in Surrey over Christmas in order to be near her brother and his young family. But first I have a few things to do in London, including catching up with old friends.

Right now I’m en-route to Manchester aboard the 09:06 from Sowerby Bridge to Wigan Wallgate. Once upon a time you could have expected this service to have been worked by a Pacer. Today it’s been allocated a refurbished 2-car Class 158, number 901 – one of the batch bought by the West Yorkshire PTE back in the 1990s. There’s an odd mix internally as it’s fitted with the new seats that are in the Class 195s but it retains the old (battered) tables and there’s no USB sockets or wifi.

As we traverse the Pennines I’m noticing that a lot more of the 2-car Class 195s are in passenger service now. Before the timetable change they were quite rare. It’s a positive change for passengers and I’m looking forward to seeing the full fleet in service next year.

09:30.

We’ve now crossed over the border ino Lancashire where the weather’s just as dull, wet and miserable as it was in the Calder Valley – but at least it’s mild!

09:42.

This train’s an ‘all shacks’ stopper which is full and standing now it’s left Rochdale. There’s a mix of Christmas shoppers heading into the city and others like me who’re heading South for the holiday.

11:44.

My train was late into Victoria as we played the usual game of sitting outside waiting for a through platform to become free. Oh, for the days before British Rail flogged off half the station to build an arena and demolished so many platforms!

I’m now taking my first trip on Avanti West Coast. There’s not a huge amount of difference at this stage in the game. The Pendolino’s look almost exactly the same internally apart from a few notices. The staff are their usual friendly and efficient selves, they just make slightly different announcements. The wifi screen’s changed, but beyond that…

I’m currently speeding through Warwickshire at a rate of knots past a very damp and flooded landscape. Everywhere I look I can see fields under water, whilst rivulets of rain cascade down the window, holding their own little races as they go. Inside the train it’s warm and cosy, leaving me feeling sorry for the sodden sheep I’ve just seen by the lineside. Right now we’re flying through Rugby, a town and station I know well having spent a lot of time here in the past – including a Xmas and Boxing Day trackside many years ago, working on the infamous Rugby blockade which was part of the West Coast upgrade!

12:01.

We’ve just paralleled the M1 motorway, which is easy to see because it resembles a linear raincloud due to all the spray that’s being thrown up by the vehicles on it. I’m glad I’m on a train instead!

12:16.

The rain’s finally abated as we speed past flooded fields around Ledburn and the location of the great train robbery, an event sanitised in popular culture but never forgotten by those members of the railway family because of what happened to the train’s driver, Jack Mills, which was always glossed over in the myths around the event and subsequent films.

12:30.

We’ve just passed Wembley yard, where the presence of a Grand Central class 180 has completely thrown me!

Rolling blog: off to the seaside…

07 Saturday Dec 2019

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10:00.

Today I’m heading back to Southport, the town where I grew up to see my sister and (belatedly) celebrate her birthday. Needless to say, I’m going by rail, so stay with me and see how the day goes as I’m stopping off on the way (albeit briefly) to visit the friends of Hindley station and their Xmas Fayre…

10:58.

Having walked down to Sowerby Bridge staion and picked up my coffee from the Jubilee refreshment rooms (in one of their fully biodegradable cups) I’m ready to roll.

Shame the train isn’t. The 11:06 is already 4 mins late. Still, it could have been worse. I could have been waiting for the 11:22 to Chester. That’s been cancelled!

11:10.

In the end the 11:06 turned up just a couple of minutes late. It’s worked by a schizophrenic Class 150. Number 109 was transferred to Northern from W Midlands Trains. It still bears their livery on the outside but on the inside the seats have the new Nothern mocquette! A 2-car on a Saturday is less than ideal. It’s already full and standing with several busy stations to call at before arrival in Manchester.

12:15.

I’m still on the same train as it was late into Manchester, so I missed my connection. We’re currently trundling along the old Lancashire and Yorkshire main line from Manchester to Wigan via Atherton. Once four tracked, it passed through a landscape studded with collieries. Now all are gone. I’ve been traversing the route for half a century and remember how industrial the area once was but little remains to stand out now other than the odd red-brick cotton mill.

12:38.

Having changed trains at Wigan Wallgate I’m now doubling back to Hindley aboard one of an endangerd species. The Northern Rail ‘Pacer’…

This one’s in original condition with the small destination blind and bus-style seats. Personally, I’d rather have one of these than a Class 150, but I know I’m in a minority here!

14:05.

I’ve had an interesting couple of hours in Hindley. It’s their Christmas market today, so I popped in to say hello to Sheila Davidson of the station friends group, who was looking after a stall there. The community spirit is still strong in this former mining town , as anyone who’s ever met Sheila and the friends of Hindley station will know.

The Xmas market was really busy. There were fairground rides for the kids. A stage on which a young girl with a decent voice was belting out tunes, an inflatable pub and dozens of stalls. One that caught my eye was the Mayflower brewery who’re based in the town. They do a variety of locally themed bottled beers with names like ‘Douglas Valley’ and ‘Wigan Bier’! I tried the Douglas Valley, which is a light, hoppy pale ale and ended up buying some.

My visit was fleeting and I’m now on the train to Southport. One thing I did notice about Hindley was how choked with traffic it was. Cars were queuing all the way from the centre of town as far back as the railway station.

The train I’m on now is one of Northern’s refurbished Class 150s. It’spart of a pair and it’s already in a bit of a state. The seats are dirty, there’s empty beer bottles strewn around and the disabled toilet is out of action – which doesn’t bode well for a Saturday night service!

21:00.

I’m now onboard yet another Class 150, making my way East to Yorkshire after a lovely afternoon catching up with my sister and an unexpected appearance by my elder brother John. It was far too long since we’ve been together, but life often puts obstacles in the way.

21.53.

I’ve changed trains at Manchester Victoria, where it’s the usual Saturday night mayhem as passengers (many inebriated) search for their trains. The information screens add to the chaos. I’m now stood on the 21:58 to Leeds, only the PIS was advertising it as the 22:04 to Blackburn until a few minutes before it left, causing the dispatch staff loads of hassle…

22:13.I’m stood in a 75mph ‘Dogbox’ (a single car class 153 to the uninitiated) tacked onto the rear of a 90mph Class 158. Not that it matters much on this route as 90 mph is purely aspirational!

Needless to say, the train’s full – even after calling at Rochdale, but the atmosphere’s jolly. Unusually, nany folk are doing the unheard of nowadays. They’re actually talking (even to strangers) rather than staring, trance-like at their Smartphones.

Rolling blog: book-launch bound…

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Lancashire, London, Manchester, Railways, Rolling blogs, TPE, Travel

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I’m back in London today for a book launch and heading down early to do a few other things beforehand. Unfortunately, it’s not a vintage day on the rails. Dawn had a phone-call from a colleague, telling her that they’d be working from home today as a person had been hit by a train at Brighouse, causing many cancellations and uncertainty. This made me change my plans too so I hitched a lift with Dawn into Huddersfield and eschewed the idea of heading down the East Coast by heading for Manchester instead. As usual Trans-Pennine Express services are running late by around 15 mins. The situation doesn’t improve when the Manchester Piccadilly service I was catching was terminated short at Stalybridge in order to work a service back to Hull. Needless to say, the one following behind it is late too, leaving a lot of disconsolate passengers hiding in the waiting room from the cold weather. The sunshine we had in Yorkshire’s refused to travel this side of the Pennines!

Whilst our former train sits to the left after dumping us at Stalybridge, we wait in the warmth for a late running TPE service to rescue us.

Northern Rail always cop the flak for delays but in my experience TPE are just as bad – yet they seem to escape the same levels of criticism, which has always puzzled me.

11:10.

The 10:53 has been further delayed until 11:12. To add insult to injury, several TPE’s have passed through on their way to Piccadilly non-stop.

12:50.

I’m finally on my way to London after taking a slight detour when I got to Manchester. In the adjacent platform was a pair of the old BR ‘Pacer’ trains in original condition with the bus-type seats. As they’ve little time left I took a spin on them out to Guide Bridge in order to get a few pictures.

The traditional seating layout with bus-type seats in 142034.

Now I’m on very different traction, one of Virgin Trains 11-car Pendolino’s which could be my final trip with the company as their franchises ends on Sunday after 22 years. Personally, I’ll be sad to see them go but I’m looking forward to seeing what the new ‘Avanti’ franchise will bring to the network.

13:44.

We’ve just sped through Nuneaton on our way South and the weather’s picked up again to leave us with a sunny but cold day. My train’s only about 45% full, so I’m sharing a table bay of four with another chap who’s busy bashing away on the keys on his laptop in a similar fashion to me. Most folk in this car seem to be travelling for business, so it’s a very quiet coach. The only noise to be heard is the gentle thrum of the air conditioning as it fights against the exterior temperature to keep the coach warm.

16:44.

Since arriving in London I’ve been busy taking pictures around Euston station and the nearby streets, documenting the changes that High Speed 2 (HS2) is bringing. That said, the station itself feels very different now it’s full of de-branded Pendolinos and Voyagers. I’ve been taking pictures here since the 1980s and seen several changes over the years, but the scope of HS2 is on an entirely different scale! I’ll add links to all the pictures when I have time, but here’s a couple for now.

The distinctive tower blocks in the background give the location away as Euston, but not everyone will recognise the remains of the building being demolished to make way for HS2 on the Regent’s estate.
This is a view more familiar to travellers passing through Euston station. This is the remains of one of the ‘black towers’ outside the front of Euston which will soon disappear completely.
The view looking East to one of the Railtrack office buildings at Euston

21:28.

Phew! After a busy few hours I’m heading back to Yorkshire with my Grand Central train just pulling into Doncaster. The book launch went really well and was attended my many senior people from across the industry as well as many journalists and safety experts. Here’s a couple of shots from the event.

Former MP Sir Simon Hughes with his copy of the history of the Rail Inspectorate.
Former Virgin Trains MD (left) with LNER MD David Horne (centre) along with ASLEF Assistant General Secretary Simon Weller (right).
General Secretary of ASLEF, Mick Whelan also came along and picked up a copy.

22:26.

The fun’s not over yet. It seems the fun and games at Brighouse this morning were actually caused by an engineers train splitting the points at Greetland Jn, leaving the direct route to Halifax unusable. To get around the problem my Geand Central service is running to Hebden Bridge where it’ll reverse and head back to Halifax via Milner Royd Jn.

Rolling blog: another month slips by…

01 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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It feels rather surreal realising that we’re already in December. The year seems to have flashed past so quickly. The arrival of a new month has also seen the return of the sunshine. We’ve a beautifully crisp winters day here in the Calder Valley, although we won’t be seeing much of it as the pair of us are off to Manchester by train to do some Christmas shopping. Hopefully the exercise will work off some of the fantastic food we enjoyed at The Engine last night.

I’ll post a few pictures and comments through the day as time allows.

13:00.

We’re on our way on a packed 3-car from Sowerby Bridge, with 7 of us sharing a vestibule. At least there’s tip-up seats in the vestibules of these old 158s so it’s not too bad! Mind you, we’ll be calling at several stations on the way, so this train could be quite ‘cosy’ by Manchester…

13:13.

My prediction came true by Hebden Bridge where dozens more joined us including a cyclist who just managed to squeeze her bike into the last available space.

13:22.

We added more variety at Todmorden where a chap boarded carrying a 5ft tall Xmas tree, it’s not wrapped up either! Luckily he boarded at the other end of the train!

13:32.

There’s now 10 of us in this vestibule, including the Conductor, who’s doing the doors from here. To add even more variety whe’ve been joined by several children, including one dressed as the Incredible Hulk, complete with green facepaint!

13:45.

Thank God we’re ‘fast’ from Rochdale, as there’s not a square inch of space left on this train. The kids are stowed away in the luggage rack and people are holding on to watever they can as we rattle and roll our way into the city…

It’s amazing how many people you can fit on a 158!

16.55.

I hate shopping at this time of year when the city’s packed. Whilst the atmosphere around the Christmas market is lovely it’s a pain in the arse trying to tour the shops in search of what you want – especially when you can’t find it! In the end we did manage to salvage something from the day and ticked off a couple of items from our lists, but not much! Having exhausted our patience the pair of us adjourned to a favourite haunt in the Northern Quarter for a drink in order to gird our loins for the trip home.

Sadly, our cunning plan backfired as we arrived at the station to see our train was absolutely rammed to the gunwhales, leaving many of us unable to get on. As the next one wasn’t for another jour there was only one option that made sense – another pub and chance to explore a bit more of the Christmas market.

19:37.

We’re now sat on the 18:57 to Sowerby Bridge, having arrived in plenty of time to get on this time. It was just as rammed on leaving, but we were first in the queue. It’s another 3-car Class 158 which is going to make it popular with the homeward-bound pub crowd later as the toilet door doesn’t lock!

20:28.

Bliss! We’re finally home in the warm and out of the freezing cold. The mercury’s really dropping tonight and it looks like we’re in for another cold one. The Council’s gritting lorries have been busy and many of the roads have had a layer of salt since the early hours of this morning. I always wonder why it is we still use something so corrosive nowadays. Many of the buildings here that are close to the road bear the scars as the stone is eaten away by the salt splashback as vehicles drive past.