Tag Archives: Rolling blogs

Rolling blog: the Rovers return…

16 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in Ireland, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:05.

We woke up at 6am this morning to the sound of rain tapping on the window here in Tramore, County Waterford. Sadly, our last day in Ireland looks like it’s going to be a wet one which is a bit of a bugger as Dawn’s driving us back to Dublin today as we’re catching the 14:50 Stena ferry back to Holyhead and home. Hopefully, our crossing won’t be suffering the sort of seas we saw here yesterday!

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Despite the vagaries of the weather we’ve had a wonderful time here in Ireland. It’s been fantastic to catch up with old friends and make some new ones, but the focus of today will be travel. Let’s see how it goes…

08:05

We’ve packed and are getting ready to leave. To be honest, we’d much rather stay! The Airbnb we’re in is a lovely self-contained flat that would make an ideal base for a few days exploring the Copper Coast and the old railway that’s been converted to a greenway. if only we had more time and the weather was better…

09:00.

We’re on the road again! The ferry doesn’t sail until 14:50 but we’re giving ourselves plenty of time to get to Dublin because of the conditions – although the mucky weather isn’t exactly conducive to sight-seeing as visibility’s reduced to a few hundred metres!

10:21.

We’ve stopped for coffee and cake in Carlow which us an odd little place. It has a castle, well, the remains of one. Apparently, most of it was ‘accidentally’ blown up in 1814 when it was being converted into a lunatic asylum. No, really!

Considering the fact it’s Friday, Carlow is remarkably quiet. You have to wonder why many of the shops have bothered to open as the streets are deserted. The one place we found that had some life was a stylish cafe and bar called Brooks, where we’ve called in for coffee and cake.

Their home-made scones are certainly substantial…

We’ve arrived in Carlow at the right time as the weather’s broken and the rain’s stopped, although a blanket of low cloud sits over the town, blocking out most light, leaving the day feeling like a damp dusk in December.

11:12.

Having fuelled up ourselves we’ve done the same for the car. I’m beginning to warm to Carlow. Once you see past the number of empty shops it’s actually a friendly little place with a variety of cafe’s, bars and restaurants. Shame we couldn’t have stayed and explored…

13:30.

After an easy drive into Dublin and an amble around the city on the North Circular Rd we’re now waiting in line at Dublin docks, ready to board our ferry.

The weather’s remaining mixed with threatening skies but for the moment it’s dry and warm. This is Dawn’s chance to relax for a bit after driving 1180 miles since we left home last Wednesday. This is how the Dublin skies looked as we eased out of the port and headed out into the Irish sea.

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18:06.

After a crossing that was nowhere near as rough as we feared we’re about to dock at Holyhead.

20:41.

After getting off the ferry we zipped through Holyhead and the bad weather to enjoy a vintage run along the North Wales cost on the A55. The sun shone, the traffic was light and all was well with the world until we crossed the border into England when we caught up with the rain! Right now we’re navigating the M6 motorway before joining the M62 to head back to Yorkshire. For a Friday, the traffic’s remarkably light, which means we *should* get home by 21:40…

Rolling blog. Ireland day 5 – From Limerick to Cork the long way round

12 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in Abandoned railways, Ireland, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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09:00.

The weather here in Limerick has been (to use the local vernacular) ‘shoite’ It’s been chucking it down overnight and the forecast remains mixed for the rest of the day although the sun is breaking through to defy predictions. Undeterred, we’re embarking on a bit of a tour today, taking in some of the historical, cultural and railway sites as well as the scenery on a roundabout trip that will eventually see us end of in Cork where we’ll base ourselves for the next few nights. Keep popping in through the day and see what we get up to. For now, here’s a shot from Limerick showing the 13th century King John’s castle.

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As you can see from the fullness of the river Shannon, there’s been plenty of rain recently!

11:10.

We left Limerick just as the heavens opened, treating us to a torrential rainstorm that’s left roads and pavements awash and us warm and dry in the car as we head for out first stop of the day: Foynes.

15:10.

The Gods have smiled upon us and the weather’s brightened up, making our visit to the Flying Boat museum in Foynes much more pleasurable. This is an excellent museum that documents when the River Shannon played a pivotal role as a base for the air-bridge across the Atlantic to America when flying boats dominated the trade before the war and subsequent advances in aviation technology killed it off in 1945. As well as a fascinating mixture of memorabilia there’s also the full size recreation of the fuselage and interior layout of the largest of the flying boats, the ‘American Clipper’. If you’re in the area I’d recommend a visit. The museum also hosts a section on the Irish-American film star Maureen O’ Hara (who was married to a pilot who flew flying boats in and out of Foynes during the war), the origins of Irish Coffee and also a look at the history of Foynes harbour. Here’s a few pictures from our visit.

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Memento’s, trinkets and even the remains of a crashed flying boat in one of the museum galleries.

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The replica of one of the luxurious Boeing B314 flying boats used by both American and British companies on the Atlantic crossings.

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Interior of the B314 replica

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The spacious flight deck of the B314 which could accommodate seven people.

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Fold-out beds in the cabins of the B314.

16:00.

Moving on from Foynes to Listowel we visited another museum, but to a very different era and very different technology. This one was a dead end – the Lartigue monorail system that was used on the 10 mile long Listowel and Ballybunion railway between its opening in 1888 until its closure in 1924. The museum was opened in 2008 on the site of the former broad gauge railway adjacent to the original route of the L&B. It has a 500 metre demonstration track complete with the unique turntable switches used on the monorail, along with a replica of one of the engines and some carriages. The replica engine is actually a diesel hydraulic as building (and maintaining) a steam replica would be prohibitively expensive. In the former goods shed is a museum to the line which has some excellent quality old photographs of the line, plus a superb old newsreel which was filmed on the route back in 1916. The whole site is run by volunteers who give you a warm welcome and an informative tour.  Here’s some of what we saw.

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Yes, the headlamp really was that big!

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One of the switches in action. They’re curved as that way they can connect with lines closer to each other than if the track on them was straight, but you can’t turn locomotives on them. That’s only done on straight turntables.

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The museum inside the former board-gauge goods shed has some really excellent quality old pictures of the L&B as well as a selection of railway memorabilia.

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22:13.

After leaving Listowel we essentially ran out of time to explore. Instead we drove down to Tralee for a late lunch, then headed on Down to Cork where we’ve booked 3 nights in a lovely Airbnb, which is where we’re relaxing now. Tomorrow we’re up early and heading out to explore the coast as the weather forecast’s looking promising, so expect another rolling blog.

 

Rolling blog: across the Irish Sea…

08 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Ireland, Rolling blogs, Travel

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06:41.

We’ve woken up here in Holyhead after a night in a very nice little bed and breakfast called Crossroads. They’re obviously used to people travelling to/from Ireland as the room’s set up with a little breakfast bar stocked with tea, coffee, cerals and fruit, plus juices. It’s very self-contained. I plumped for the healthy option and had the porage!We’re here because we’re catching the Stena Sealink ferry to Ireland this morning for a break (and to go to a wedding) in the Emerald Isle. We’re not travelling far as we’re heading for the Wicklow Hills on the coast South of Dublin. Stay with me and watch the day unfold…

09:12.

Our Stena ferry’s on it’s way to Ireland. I have to say it was a very slick operation by them loading all the cars and lorries. Dawn was nervous as she’d never taken a car on a ferry before but the crew were great, directing her and aiding her to get exactly where they needed the motor. We’re now sat in the lounge on deck 8, watching the world go by.

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Gone are the old days when foot passengers would just walk up gangways onto ro-ro Ferries and have to be herded like cats as cars and lorries were loaded. Now they’re bussed directly on to the ferry. 

DG330426. Stena Superfast X. Irish Sea. 8.8.19.crop

12:41.

We’ve landed in Dublin and heading South after what was a classic millpond crossing of the Irish Sea. I’ve never known it so calm!

20:40.

It’s been a slow day for a rolling blog so I’m going to fill in much of the detail here. After leaving the ferry in Dublin we were both taken aback at just how good the weather was. We’d been expecting grey skies and probably some rain. Instead, we’d basked in the sun on the ferry over and the good weather stayed with us for pretty much most of the day.

This is the first time I’ve sailed into Dublin port and I was fascinated by some of the industrial archaeology, like this old power station (known as the ‘Pigeon House’ that opened in 1903 after being converted from an old army barracks. It lasted until 1976.

DG330461. Former Pigeon House generating station. Dublin. Ireland. 8.8.19.crop

Next door are the two massive chimneys of the power station that replaced it – Poolbeg – which closed in 2010.

Getting out of Dublin port was a bit of a pain, as was heading out through the southern suburbs. Dawn drily observed that she’s never driven in a country that insisted on having traffic lights on every street corner!

After crawling out of Dublin, and with having plenty of time on our hands, we decided to take the scenic route and explore part of the coastal route via Dún Laoghaire. I remember it as the port that was the traditional gateway to Ireland. Nowadays the ferries have been replaced by fancy yachts as the town’s gone much more upmarket! There’s some beautiful buildings there and a real buzz due to the cafes, restaurants and shopping. Our next stop (albeit briefly) was Bray, which was a real disappointment. It felt like an Irish version of Blackpool and it was packed! So much so that all the car parks were full so we chose not to stay and wander up Bray Head but drive on to Greystones instead. We made the right choice. Greystones had a much nicer feel to it, more laid back, cosmopolitan and up-market. We decided to stay to eat and found a really lovely Spanish restaurant on the main street called ‘Las Tapas’. The large and well furnished interior’s complimented by tables on the street, which was a great place today, allowing us to sit in the suns and soak up the atmosphere of the town. The food was very good too. We ordered five different dishes and enjoyed every one. Both of us would recommend it.

Afterwards we drove the few miles down the coast to where we’re staying the night, in the hills just above Wicklow in a very nice self-contained Airbnb. By the time we arrived the weather was starting to turn. Our hosts informed us that a severe weather warning had been issued for overnight, so instead of wandering around the town we’ve elected to hunker down in their lovely room and catch-up with some work and the world.

You can find the first few pictures from Ireland in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. I’ll be adding to it regularly during the week – time, weather and wifi permitting of course! For now, it’s goodnight.

Rolling blog: The last judgement!

06 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in ACoRP, Community rail, I love my job, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs

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06:25.

I’m beginning the day here in Norwich on the last one for judging this years ACoRP awards. I’ll be visiting two East Anglian stations before beginning the trek back North, although I’ve one or two other things to see first as the East Anglian railway scene is changing fast, what with resignalling schemes and brand new fleets of trains sweeping away the old and familiar. The weather forecast is looking mixed, so let’s see how the day goes…The weather isn’t playing ball with the forecast, instead, it’s another beautiful day, so things are looking up. Which is just as well as I had neither wifi or hot water working in my hotel this morning. I had to boil a kettle to have a wash!Right now I’m getting a few pictures at the station before catching a train to Lowestoft in order to get to Cantley at a sensible time. We won’t be seeing scenes like this for much longer.

In the sidings at Crown Point depot are rows of new Stadler units, just waiting to enter service.

08:22.

My train’s well on it’s way to Lowestoft now and it’s been fascinating to see the changes to the railway, which is still a mix of old semaphore signalling with patches of new, like Reedham, where the old signalbox still stands, albeit boarded up. The former sidings are used as a dump for detritus like old signal posts, rails and sleepers which have been rendered redundant.I’be been interested to see that significant chunks of the new signalling cable are kept in raised metal troughs which presumably keep it safe from flooding, a sensible precaution in this neck of the woods.

08:46.

I’m in Lowestoft but only for 10 mins. Long enough to grab a couple of shots in the sun, then catch the same train back to my destination: Cantley.

11:39.

My visit done, I moved on from Cantley, but not without getting pictures of the hand-operated level crossing gates and signalbox that will be swept away in February 2020. Since my 2018 visit the station’s been fitted with a ticket machine, CCTV and information screens. Throughout the work the local friends group have kept the gardens looking pretty.

I also managed to bag this beastie at Cantley!

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Now I’m at Haddiscoe, where things haven’t quite gone to plan as the clouds are closing in. I’d intended to use the nearby A143 overbridge which crosses the railway and river as a vantage point to get some trains in the landscape shots but when clouds and their shadows are scudding across the landscape at a rate of knots and the trains are only hourly, the odds against train and sun coinciding are high. And so it was for me, two trains and two cloudy interludes! The luck of the draw…I’m not going to try my luck again, instead I’m moving back up the line towards Norwich.

14:35.

I ended up in Brundall, the junction for the lines to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It’s another link to the past as it also has semaphore signals, a working signalbox and also a hand-operated level crossing. By fluke I bumped into an old friend. Rob Pritchard of Today’s Railways UK magazine was there changing trains. We’d both pitched up for the same reason – we needed pictures of the new Stadler trains in service. Unfortunately, today wasn’t the day as the one I’d shot at Cantley earlier had been taken out of service, so we had to make do with 60yr old Class 37s instead! Here’s the pair of us ready to get some shots.

As the weather’s deteriorated and the 755s aren’t out I’ve begun my journey North using Abellio’s 14:40 to Ely for connections onwards to Peterborough, then off up the East Coast Main line.

15:31.

We’re currently dodging showers on the way from Brandon to Ely, which says something about how much the weather’s changed. The skies are big in the flat lands of the Fens, so you can see the rain approaching from miles away.

16:00.

I spent long enough at Ely to change trains, as the rain arrived at the same time I did there was no point in hanging around. Now I’m trying to outrace the weather. The problem is the clouds are coming up from the South, so the sun’s fighting a losing battle. I’m hoping I might get respite at our next stop, Peterborough although looking at the horizon now we’ve passed March I may be fleeing further! Peterborough looks like it’s getting a right soaking!

20:34.

Homeward bound! I ended up with a brief stop at P’boro and again at Doncaster before heading up to Leeds. The stormy weather dogged me all the way apart from a brief respite in Leeds. Now I’m heading for Halifax and a night sorting out stuff. I have the day at home to wind up what the ACoRP judging, paperwork and packing – then Dawn and I are off to Ireland -so expect blogging of a different nature for a week! Right now I’m signing off until tomorrow.

Rolling blog: A tale of two stations…

01 Thursday Aug 2019

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06:25.

I’m preparing for another day on the ACoRP judging trail, but today’s a little different. Due to my fellow judge having other commitments I’m flying solo today, plus, there’s only two stations to visit, one in Derbyshire and one in Greater Manchester, so (in theory) I should be finished by early afternoon. The weather forecast isn’t looking as bleak either, so it should be an enjoyable day. I know both the stations, I’m visiting, but only one has put themselves forward for judging before. Let’s see how the day goes and if punctuality improves as I’m intending setting off on exactly the same train as before, the 08:23 from Sowerby Bridge…

08:13.

I’m already on the move. The weather’s dry with a mix of blue skies and cloud, even if it’s not particularly warm. I left home slightly earlier this morning which meant I arrived at Sowerby Bridge in time to catch a slightly earlier train, the 08:06 to Southport. It’s being worked by a part-refurbished Class 156. You can tell it’s the holiday season by just how empty it is – and this is when we’re waiting to leave Todmorden!

I’ve bagged a table bay of four in order to sit back and enjoy a relaxing trip across the Pennines, knowing that I’ve banked some time.09:18.After strolling across Manchester city centre from Victoria to Piccadilly I’ve decided to spend some of the time I banked by breaking my journey to Grindleford along the way, so I’m now on an earlier train along the route, the 09:20 to New Mills, which is worked by one of the soon to be withdrawn Class 142 Pacers. Sights like this will be a thing of the past by the end of the year.

The ride out of Piccadilly is like a bucking bronco as the Pacer heaves its way across the complex network of switches and crossings that make up the station throat.If you start seeing more than the usual amount of typos from here in, blame trying to blog on a phone touchscreen when bouncing along on a Pacer!

10:02.

I’ve stopped off to look around and admire Marple station. It’s claim to fame is that Marple was the inspiration for naming one of Agatha Christie’s famous detectives, Miss Marple. The local station friends group have provided information boards on the platforms to inform passengers of how the sleuth came to be named after the town. There’s other attractive posters and a selection of planters too.

11:37.

Grindleford visited, I’m now heading back West along the Hope Valley line which is celebrating it’s 125th anniversary this year. Things are on the up. Since the new timetable was introduced in May, services have doubled to hourly from two hourly, making the area much more accessible to people who want to leave their cars at home and use public transport. It’s a huge boost, as is the next step – doubling the size of the trains from two car to four. This entails extending the platforms at stations like Grindleford by reinstating what was once there, or by building new. Of course, this flies in the face of the moaners who always whinge about how the North never sees any investment in its public transport as all the money goes ‘down South’…

Talking of investment, on my way back I changed trains at Romily to catch the train behind which was working off the New Mills branch. About a year ago I wrote about how the local services centred on Romily were a great place to catch pairs of Pacers. Things have already changed with more Class 150s creeping in. The working following behind us was a 142/150 lash-up, so if you’re a fan of Pacers (and some folk are) you’d better get a move on as in a few months there’s going to be a mass extinction event around Manchester and the North-West.

13:25.

It was all going soooo well. Then I hit the congested Oxford Rd corridor, which is even more congested now Virgin Pendolino’s are diverted this was due to Acton Grange Jn on the West Coast being shut for rebuilding! My train from Oxford Rd to Irlam’s been trapped in a bay by late running services and didn’t escape until it was 9 mins late. I’m now plodding along on another Northern Class 150 to my final appointment for today: Irlam.

17:25.

S’cuse the gap in blogging. I’ve been busy with the camera and sorting stuff out on email. After leaving the Irlam station adopters I headed back into Manchester just in time to get caught in a torrential downpour. I mean, I know Manchester has a reputation for being wet, but this was impressive due to the intensity and the size of the drops.

My plan had been to spend an hour getting some pictures of Virgin Trains Pendolinos being diverted through the Oxford Rd corridor I mentioned earlier. Here’s one. My frustration was the Pendolinos that passed were in the old livery rather than the new, which would’ve updated the pictures.

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Of course, there were other attractions too, such as this DRS Class 88 working an intermodal service.

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I took my leave of Manchester shortly afterwards, conscious of more threatening skies. En-route I became aware that the threat was no-shit serious when I saw TV news showing a Derbyshire dam in danger of collapse in an area I’d travelled through earlier. Wake up folks, man-made global-warming is real…

Rolling blog: Cumbrian connections…

31 Wednesday Jul 2019

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06:25.

I’m getting ready to head off through Lancashire up to Cumbria before finishing off our day’s judging in Merseyside this evening. The weather forecast’s looking ‘interesting’, to say the least, so we may be having a fun day on the rails. Let’s see what happens…

08:21.

The ‘fun’ begins…

In between me leaving home and getting down to the station, my train (the 08:23) has been cancelled. The reason given? “More trains than usual being repaired”. To be honest, I find this a curious reason as Northern has more trains in service now than it has had before due to the introduction of the new Class 195 and 331 fleets and the delayed withdrawal of the Pacers – all of which are still in service. Add in the older trains that have been cascaded from other train companies to allow the Pacers to be withdrawn and Northern should have spares aplenty.

My whole day is now in doubt. To make it worse, Mark is also delayed. He’s coming from Cheshire and the Crewe – Manchester line is suffering from flooding!

We’re meant to have an hour at each station and now I’m running 35 mins late…

08:50.

I’m now kicking my heels at Hebden Bridge, waiting for a connection to Manchester off the Sowerby Bridge – Blackpool service that got me here and allows me to gain a few mins rather than waiting for the next direct service to Manchester from Sowerby Bridge. To be fair, it’s an attractive old station to kick heels on!

09:58.

I’m now bouncing my way to Bolton on one of the early Pacers (142004) well behind schedule.

Mark will be arriving 8 mins before we were due to leave, so we’re going to have to come up with a plan B…

12:45.

Plan B involved truncating time at our first two stations. It was a real shame as one (Bolton) was a new entrant but as least we didn’t have a huge station garden to inspect. The next, Hindley is a station and group Mark and I both know well. We had a lightning tour of their new projects and came away with a book all about what they’d been up to. A great shame as you can spend ages exploring the gardens and artwork. Having caught up with ourselves – despite some residual delays – we’re now en-route to Lancaster via Preston under a real mixture of weather.

16:37.

After visiting two lovely stations on the the Furness Vale line (Kent’s Bank and Cark) we’ve made our way back to Preston courtesy of a new Northen Class 195. The gremlins have struck yet again as our next train, the 16:26 to Ormskirk has left Preston 14 late due to the late inbound working made even later by tardy dispatch.

19:28.

Another day done! Our final visit was to Maghull on the Merseyrail network. We’ve seen a wide variety of groups and their stations and despite the ups and downs of travelling between them it’s been an absolute pleasure to see the fantastic work they do and meet such enthusiastic people who’re determined to make a difference in their communities.

Mark has headed back via Liverpool but I’m retracing my steps as far as Preston on yet another late running train. Hopefully I’ll make my connection in Preston…

20:05.

There is a God after all! My connections at Preston worked and I’m now heading home across the Pennines care of this Northern beastie.

We’ve certainly covered some ground again today and also enjoyed a variety of rail routes, from post industrial Lancashire to the scenic Cumbrian coast, plus a former main line that was relegated to a single track dead-end back in the 1970s. But wherever we’ve been we’ve seen the positive impact community rail has on stations large and small.

Rolling blog: The judging continues…

29 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in ACoRP, Calder Valley, Flooding, Mytholmroyd, Northern Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Weather, Yorkshire

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07:49.

I’m on the rails again. This time judging three stations across Yorkshire for the ACoRP awards. After the fun and games we had last week because of the heat, today could be problematic for a different reason. We’ve had torrential rain overnight and there’s more to come. When I walked down to Sowerby Bridge station this morning I did so along roads that were full of debris washed down from some of the steeper roads, which had been transformed into waterfalls. Crossing the river Calder I could see it was way above it’s normal level, although nowhere near its worst. In 2015 it was so high it flooded the lower level of the building you can see to the left of this picture.

Arriving at the station I walked straight on to a very late running 07:00 to Leeds, which was 41 minutes down after being delayed in the Walsden area due to flooding. This is a regular occurrence in the area due to a stream that runs under the line just by the station.

08:58.

I’m now waiting for the 08:48 from Leeds to Hull which is being delayed by flooding in the Stalybridge area. It’s currently 12 minutes kate, putting our 15 mins connection in peril. Not a good start to the day!

10:39.

We were meant to be at Driffield on the Yorkshire coast line 10 mins ago but we did miss our connection in Hull as we were 27 mins late. We’re now on the following service, leaving us 30 mins down. Luckily(due to the vagaries of the service) we’ll still have plenty of time to do our tour.

12:00.

First visit done, we’re now heading back to Hull from Driffield. Here’s a historic picture displayed on the station. It shows WW1 soldiers on the same spot we were stood, ready to go off to a war many of them never returned from

Driffield’s rather attractive. Here’s the old canal basin which is just 3 mins walk from the station

16:15.

The weather’s changed and I’m rather overdressed for the rapid rise in temperature now the sun’s appeared! We’ve left Bingley and headed into Bradford and walked across the city from Forater Sq to Interchange. There’s still residual delays, which means we’ll arrive in Mytholmroyd at the right time – just on the wrong train!

18:19.

The day’s done and I’m back at Sowerby Bridge, having a celebratory pint outside the Jubilee Refreshment rooms on the station before walking home. It’s a beautiful evening and such a contrast to this morning!

Rolling blog: A night out in Liverpool…

27 Saturday Jul 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Liverpool, Northern Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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15:51.

It’s slightly later than planned due to circumstances beyond my control, but I’m leaving a wet and miserable Calder Valley behind for a night out with friends in Liverpool. Dawn, plus Fran and Aubrey are already there and I’m catching up. Due to timings it’s not the speediest of journeys as it involves several changes of train, which is why I’m typing this now on the platform of Hebden Bridge station after arriving from Sowerby Bridge on a Blackpool service. Still, it could be worse. In the background I can hear a band playing. I’m assuming there’s an open air gig in the nearby park, which must be well soggy! I’m glad I’m not there – even tho’ the forecast for Liverpool’s no better. I’m off to see some bands too – but in a drier place. Our friends love Liverpool and have persuaded us to join them in seeing a Beatles tribute act in the resurrected ‘Cavern Club’. I’ve fond memories of the area in the 1970s when a club across the road called ‘Eric’s’ was in business. You’d get a real mix of bands in those days, from punk to old hippy bands like ‘Gong’.

We’ve booked a hotel just round the corner as we’re making the most of the weekend. All I need now is for this train to turn up…

16:33.

A single Northern Class 156 turned up (almost) on time at 16:07 to ferry me across the Pennines, we’re just about to arrive in Victoria now. My fellow passengers consist of families returning home after a day out and younger folk heading out for a night in the cities clubs and pubs – although there’s not that many of them as it’s too early!

17:07.

Victoria was an even more surreal experience than on a normal Saturday due to the number of young women and girls dressed as cats or book and film characters. I spotted ‘Wonder Woman’ and Rapunzel, amongst others. I’m assuming that some event’son rather than this being some bizarre co-incidence!Whilst I was waiting for the liverpool service a pair of ex-West Midlands trains Class 150s put in an appearance on a StalyVegas – sorry, Stalybridge service.

I’m currently on a TPE 185 to Lime St. It’s another train carrying a mix of families and revellers enjoying different Saturday experiences.

20:08.

No time for blogging right now, there’s too much going on! Our night out has coincided with Liverpool gay pride and the city is absolutely buzzing!

Postscript.

We had a fab night listening to songs from the ‘fab 4’ which brought back a huge amount of happy memories as well as one or two sad ones. The Cavern was far better than I expected. It could have been touristy and tacky but it was anything but. Yes, there were plenty of tourists but they were there because they loved the Beatles music. It made for a great atmosphere.

Rolling blog: Another judgement day…

25 Thursday Jul 2019

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08:06.Mark and I are getting ready to set off from Exeter for another day’s judging. We’ve only two stations to visit but they’re spread out and we’ve also got to get home afterwards. Plus, the weather forecast suggests that today will be the hottest day of the year so far and several rail companies have already announced service cancellations and speed restrictions. Stay with me and see how we fare…08:47.We’re on our first train of the day, GWR’s 08:31 from Exeter to Barnstaple as far as Copplestone on the Tarka line which is made up of a pair of Class 150s. They were busy earlier as they worked Exeter to Exemouth beforehand, now it’s a bit overkill, but will probably be very busy on the way back.

11:26.We’re now enjoying the air-conditioned comfort of a Hitachi class 800 en-route to Reading after visiting the single platform station at Copplestone and talking to the small band of women who’ve made it such an attractive station.

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To say the weather’s hotting up is an understatement. We’re keeping one eye on Real-Time Trains, making sure the speed restrictions due to hot weather aren’t going to get in our way. At the moment a broken-down train outside Paddington’s actually done us a favour as it’s giving us a few more minutes to make a tight connection at Reading. That said, we’re now running late too!12:08.We made it! Our train was 5 late into Reading, but the one we were hoping to catch was 10 down. They arrived almost simultaneously at platforms 11 and 9 which meant a mad dash up the stairs to cross the tracks. We made it with seconds to spare. The pair of us are now sat in coach A of a 5-car 800.Now, I know it’s the hottest day of the year and all that, but even so – I’m surprised at how steamy it’s been on both the 800s we’ve travelled on today. I walked through both sets just to check and some of them were like saunas. The car we’re in at the moment is the only one at levels I’d say are actually cool. It’s disappointing for brand-new trains.That said, it’s not a bad environment. Most folk bailed out at Oxford which allowed the pair of us to purloin a table and stretch out in comfort to enjoy the trip to our next destination: Evesham, where we’ll now arrive an hour earlier than planned – no mean feat on a day like today!16:02.It’s been an eventful few hours! After being on a cool train for a couple of hours the heat really hit us at Evesham. Having done what we came to there was just enough time for a celebratory pint before we started to make our way home via Worcester. This is when things started to go a bit “Pete Tong”! Our West Midlands trains service to Birmingham was stuck behind another DMU in platform 2 which had overheated. A shunt move and reversal got it out of trouble and into platform 1 where it picked us up before leaving 20 mins late. All was fine until we hit the outskirts of Birmingham where we got caught up in signal failures and more overheating trains. Mark decided to change at Smethwick Galton Bridge and try for a train to Cheshire. I opted to head into Birmingham, get a few pictures then weigh up my options. If the West Coast was up the spout I can always head back via Derby…Ironically, the train that carried us from Worcester was an old friend. It was one of the ex- London Overground Class 172s used on my old stamping ground – the Gospel Oak – Barking line, although they look a little different nowadays!

16:58.

Talk about serendipity! Here I am, sitting in central Birmingham, considering my options when I get a phone call about a commission from someone who’s having to get driven back to London from Derby ‘cos the Midland Main Line’s in chaos! Well, that’s me going via Derby ruled out then!

The weather’s starting to cool a bit here so I might just wait for the rush to subside for the next hour before I look at getting home. I’m used to packed trains but packed into a hot and sweaty Voyager for 90 mins isn’t my idea of fun if it can be avoided…

19:06.

After getting a few photos at Birmingham and having let some of the rush crush subside I decided to begin heading North and the first opportunity was a Class 350 working an all stopper shuttle to Wolverhampton. Needless to say, it was packed, but the air-conditioning worked and it wasn’t that far to stand. The Conductor was excellent as he stayed away from the script and came across as human and just trying to do his best in trying circumstances.

A few minutes down the line and out of the blue I got a tap on the shoulder from a chap in Virgin trains uniform who was ‘on the cushions’, well as much as you can be stood in a vestibule – who said “I follow you on Twitter, we have a mutual (rail) friend”.

We ended up having a really good natter about the railways and today’s events.

19:57.

“Penny the Pendolino” (for it was she) arrived at Crewe 90 mins late. Also late was a Transport for Wales service to Manchester Piccadilly, which I managed to jump on a couple of minutes before it left. Like most trains I’ve been on today, it’s packed – but it’s getting me closer to home…

21:16.

I’m on the final leg now. The TfW train to Manchester was fine. What wasn’t was looking at some of the utter crap people have been posting on social media about railways and the hot weather. Anyone would think the #RailwayFamily were deliberately trying to ruin peoples day just for the shots and giggles rather than trying to keep them safe and get them home, whilst suffering stress themselves. My opinions of my fellow country-folk continue to decline. At what point did we become so stupid that we almost revel in the fact – and also so intolerant?

Having arrived in Manchester I made my way on foot between Picc and Vic. The wind got up and we actually had a few blessed drops of rain that teased but little else. Now I’m on the (slightly) late running 20:58 to Leeds, a Class 156/153 lash-up using a former GWR “dogbox” (railway slang for a single car Class 153) which I’m relaxing in as the train’s pretty empty. Hot, but empty!

Rolling blog: 2 more days of ACoRP judging…

24 Wednesday Jul 2019

Posted by in ACoRP, Community rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel, Uncategorized

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06:13.

After baking on the hottest night of the year that was accompanied by a heck of the thunderstorm overnight I’m getting ready to head off for two more days of judging for the ACoRP awards. I’d have loved to have got out of bed, watched the lightning and tried to get pictures but I needed to sleep as it’s a long day today. It’s also a good job it’s today, not yesterday as the East Coast Main Line (ECML) suffered yet another de-wirement that left services in chaos. I’ve been checking services this morning and luckily, none of the trains I need have been cancelled. Let’s see how the day goes as the pair of us will end up in Exeter tonight…

07:34.

After last night’s storms and rainfall the weather was fresh and crisp this morning. Much of the valley was obscured by low cloud and most, so the walk to Halifax station was very pleasant. I’d given myself plenty of time so may oacd was quite relaxed too.I’m now on Northern’s 07:17 to Leeds which started in Huddersfield. It’s made up of a 142/144 Pacer combo. Northern have finally bitten the bullet and publically admitted that some Pacers will stay in service until 2020 due to delays in introducing the new trains, which are 6 months late. The 144 fleet is the one granted a reprieve, so the 142 I’m travelling on should be gone by year end.As we squeal around the curve and up the bank out of Bradford the weather’s looking very gloomy with uniformly dull skies, even so, it’s warm and humid. I wonder if there’s more thunderstorms in the offing?08:03.I’m in-between trains here in Leeds, which has given me time to grab a couple of shots like this. One of Northern’s Class 331 EMU’s arrived carrying passengers. It’s seen here before scurrying off to Neville Hill depot as empty stock.I’m catching LNER’s 08:15 to Kings Cross as far as Stevenage. It’s still worked by one of their old HSTs as it originates in Harrogate. No doubt it’ll go over to Azuma’s soon, but now I’ve an increasingly rare chance to travel ‘old style’

09:11.

We’re currently bowling along the ECML near Retford at 123mph, a few minutes down due to weather damage to the signalling around Wakefield. After our Doncaster stop I wandered right down the train from my seat in Coach B to the buffet. There’s no trolley service today but I didn’t mind as it gave me chance to stretch my legs and also see how busy the train is. I’d estimate it’s about 75% full, with an impressive amount of people busy on laptops, trying to get work done. Just by the clothes alone I can tell there’s a lot of business travellers aboard.10:02.We’re running 6 late, which means I now have a -1m connection at Stevenage with a late running Thameslink service. This could be close.

10:45

– too close! I missed it by a minute. I’m now on Great Northern’s 10:40 to Kings Cross which is running 5 down. Luckily, Mark is already at Welwyn Garden City as he came down the WCML and arrived ahead of me.

12:39.

Having done the first visit and met up with Mark we’ve made our way from Welwyn Garden City across London via Thameslink to East Croydon where we changed onto the Southern network. We’re currently enjoying the air-conditioned comfort of a Bombardier built Class 377 which is carrying us to Angmering. The weather in the South-East is hot, hot, hot! A few wispy clouds filter the sun occasionally, but do nothing to cool the temperature which is showing as 29 degrees in these parts!

16:09.

After Angmering we headed West to Fratton, travelling past many little stations that had cafes and kiosks open all day, which tells you something about the size of the footfall in Southern stations. Sadly the only one we got to sample was at Fratton which is my least favourite station in this neck of the woods as it’s dirty, rundown and unkempt. Although there’s a cafe, Mark reckoned it served the worst cup of coffee he’d had since we started judging. From Fratton we’ve caught a GWR Class 158/9 heading for Salisbury. The air-conditioning is struggling in the heat and none of the power sockets work, but it’ll get us there.

17:05.

At Salisbury we had a quick change and swapped our GWR 158/9 for a SWR 159 which has no air-conditioning working at all. Instead the Conductor’s opened all the (normally locked) windows and been through doling out bottles of water to everyone.As I was curious to establish the units identity I wandered through the train and soon realised there wasn’t a single vehicle that displayed a coach number – unlike Northern or Scotrail. They have prominent stickers telling to people to tweet them in if they find a fault. There’s no chance of that here!

22:00.

The pair of us have had a long day & we’ve now retired to our hotel in Exeter. There’s so much that I could blog about but I’ve simply run out of time. Tomorrow we’ll be off again, so watch out for the next rolling blog…