Tag Archives: Transport

All change…

23 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Northern Rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Today’s really been a mixture! My plan was to spend most of it at home catching up on picture editing and paperwork but the weather was so good this morning that I kiboshed that idea after a few hours. Admittedly, I was in the office at 6am, so I didn’t feel too guilty as I’d got a lot done already.

I stayed locally as there’s enough of interest at the moment because of the new trains we’ve got in the area, plus the abundance of woodland which makes for a fantastic backdrop this time of year. In fact I was in two minds about which locations to choose, but a changing forecast made my mind up for me.

My first port of call was half an hour’s walk away, which was a really pleasant stroll as the weather was so balmy. I headed down to an overbridge near Dryclough Junction which is where the line from Halifax splits into two routes. One heads West through the Calder Valley, the other heads to Brighouse and Huddersfield. Here’s how it looked today.

A splash of autumn colour as 195107 passes Dryclough Junction whilst working 1D77, the 1238 Leeds to Chester. Timekeeping’s improved today, this was only seven minutes late! The lower lines in the background lead to Greetland Junction and the route to Brighouse. Halifax town is behind the train.

This time of year the sun doesn’t hang around. I only had a 30-40 minute window at Dryclough before heavy shadows crept in, so I moved on to a very different location and a completely different kind of shot in the hills above Halifax, helped by the fact the weather completely clouded up in the afternoon, otherwise I’d have been shooting straight into a low winter sun. I do like the views around Halifax and beacon Hill as they can really reflect the era when the Industrial revolution (and a colonialist empire) transformed the landscape in both Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The first of the class, CAF’s 195001 leaves Halifax, past the famous confectionary factory in the background that produces such well known items as ‘Quality Street’ before the unit disappears off the Beacon Hill viaduct into the 1105 yard long tunnel of the same name. Back in the 1980s this picture would have been impossible as all you’d have been looking at was a huge multi-storey mill that was blocking the view. It’s long gone and the site’s now occupied by a low height ‘Matalan’ shop.
Here’s a slightly different view as 195104 arrives into Halifax station whilst working 1D79, the 1438 Leeds to Chester which was (almost) on time! To the right of the picture you can see the old Halifax signal box which was decommissioned last October. The stone wall in front of the white van was once the start of the series of viaducts that carried the old Great Northern Railway line to Bradford via Queensbury. It closed to passengers in 1955 but remained open for goods traffic until 1963.

Tomorrow we shift tempo – and country – as Dawn and I are off to Belgium by train from Halifax with a small group of friends from our local pub, the ‘Big 6‘. Six from the 6 are off to Bruges for three nights of fun and frolics, food beer and culture – as well as some history, so expect a rolling blog tomorrow as we make our way to London by train before catching the Eurostar to Brussels, then an internal service to Bruges. It’s going to be wonderful to be back on the European mainland in a civilised country and away from the continual and utter shambles that’s Brexit – which I promise not to mention, (well, not much, anyway) Stay tuned!

Calder Valley rail travails

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Northern Rail, Rail Investment, Railways, Sowerby Bridge, Transport, West Yorkshire

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After yesterday’s excitement about the arrival into service of the new trains, today’s been back to business very much as usual with lots of late running, trains terminating short and cancellations. I popped down to Sowerby Bridge for an hour to see what was happening. It wasn’t great. Several Leeds – Southport and Chester services were cancelled with some Southport trains terminated at Wigan Wallgate. Here’s a look at some of the days services.

195119 worked 1E60, the 1124 Chester to
Leeds which was one of the few trains I saw that actually ran to time. The 195s superior braking and acceleration should help when there’s only a few minutes delay involved, as there was on this service earlier in the run.
This service wasn’t so lucky. 195107 passes at speed whilst working 2M14, the 12:18 Leeds to Manchester Victoria. It got as far as Hebden Bridge before being cancelled with a door fault. Door problems appear to be a recurring theme with the new units. This seems to be a mixture of mechanical and human problems. Hopefully, the bugs will be ironed out quickly.
The next 195 to appear was 2-car 195002 which had been allocated to 1D77, the 12:38 Leeds to Chester. It also suffered from late running, arriving at Sowerby Bridge 3 mins down. It dropped another 5 mins before arriving in Manchester.
Another service with problems was 1J10, operated by a pair of 2-car Class 158s, 158859 and 158851. This should have been the 11:24 from Southport to Leeds but it was terminated at Wigan Wallgate on its Westward run, so formed an 11:57 Wigan Wallgate to
Leeds.
Close on the heels of 1J10 was 195007 working non-stop through Sowerby on 2E15, the 12:58 Manchester Victoria to Leeds which was running 10 minutes late. On its return it formed a Chester service.
The last observation of my short stint was 195111 non-stop on 2M16, the 13:18 Leeds to
Manchester Victoria which was only a minute late!

As this is early days and there’s always teething problems with new fleets I’m hoping these issues will be sorted out quickly. What’s harder to sort out is the cancellations and delays that have nothing to do with the new trains. After the heartache and hassle passengers and businesses have suffered over the past few years due to the rail strikes, punctuality needs addressing as a matter of urgency. It’s easy to see how the Northern TOC can become a political football when the service is so unreliable. It could be very tempting to politicians desperate to curry favour and secure a ‘cheap win’ and political plaudits by taking back the franchise. Add in the fact that Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd are due to lose many of their services from the December timetable (I understand they’re due to be cut by a third during the week and by half on Sundays) and you can understand local displeasure.

It’s disappointing on another level too. Network Rail have invested in the route, having spent over £100m on new signalling track upgrades and line-speed improvements in the past few years, but this isn’t reflected in punctuality improvements. Why? What’s the route cause of the problems? I’d love to know…

Rolling blog: new trains enter service in the Calder Valley

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, New trains, Northern Rail, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Sowerby Bridge, Transport, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Northern’s new CAF built Class 195s have entered passenger service through the Calder Valley today on the routes from Leeds – Chester and Leeds – Manchester Victoria. Needless to say, I’m out with the camera to capture pictures of this important milestone. It’s the culmination of improvements to the line that have seen the route resignalled, linespeeds increased and platforms lengthened.

I’ll be adding pictures throughout the day. Here’s the first as 195123 picks up passengers at Sowerby Bridge whilst working the 10:22 from Chester to Leeds.


10.35.

I’ve caught a late-running Chester service which is worked by 195110. These trains are certainly a step-change to the old BR built units we’ve been used to since the 1980s! They’ve far superior acceleration and braking, not to mention all the facilities that passengers have come to expect nowadays, such as power sockets and free wifi. They’ve also got far more seating bays with tables.

22:36.

Sorry folks, It didn’t turn out to be much of a rolling blog as I was too busy taking pictures! Since I got home earlier this evening I’ve been busy editing them, so here’s a small selection. You can find the full gallery here on my Zenfolio website.

1J06, the 0957 Wigan Wallgate to
Leeds worked by 150275 and 158901 passes 195002 just outside Todmorden. The 195 was working 2M10, the 1018 Leeds to
Manchester Victoria. 1J06 should have run from Southport but was cancelled due to late running. Sadly, that’s something the new trains are having no impact on!
A few hours later 195002 passes Gauxholme whilst working 2E13, the 1158 Manchester Victoria to Leeds
3-car 195123 arrives at Walsden with 2M12, the 1118 Leeds to
Manchester Victoria.
Another late runner was 195103 on 1E60, the 1124 Chester to
Leeds which was 21 mins late by the time it reached Todmorden at 13.06.
Meanwhile, at Halifax, here’s a couple of shots of 2M20, the 1518 Leeds to
Manchester Victoria, worked by 195110.

For the number crunchers, the list of units seen in passenger service is as follows. Two car 195002 and 195007. Three car 195103. 195110. 195111. 195119. 195121 and 195123.

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: London return…

29 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in London, Photojournalism, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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09:58.It’s a gorgeous spring day today, so I’ve abandoned the office to head to London with the camera and hunt down some of the new trains coming into service at the moment. I’m on LNER’s 10:15 train heading South after arriving on a Northern service from Sowerby Bridge which was worked by one of the increasing number of refurbished units, this time a 150/2.

My LNER service is very busy. I’m assuming this is because it’s the first post peak train, although to be fair, most of these trains seem to be well loaded. Today the trains worked by one of the three Class 90 locomotives hired in from DB, 90036 named after the train driver who was badly injured in the ‘great train robbery’, Jack Mills.11:12.I changed trains at Doncaster in order to grab a shot of one of LNER’S new ‘Azuma’ trains that was sat in the station, ready to head to York, then caught a following service, so I’m on the move again..12:23.I made another stop at Newark Northgate where I was in time to catch another Azuma working North. This one stopped in the station, allowing the crew and platform staff to practise dispatching the train, which looked very smart in the sun. Here it is, pulling away from the station. For the number crunchers, it’s 800113, the last of the LNER 9-car Azuma’s

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Afterwards I caught 1B86, the 12:56 service to London, which is on of the Newark terminators. Out of curiosity I walked through the train to see what the loadings were like. It seemed to be 25% full but I noticed a lot of seat reservations from Grantham, suggesting it would fill up later. 1B86 is also due to call at Peterborough and Stevenage, so I expect it’ll be busy getting into London. Unlike the other weekend when trains were kept busy moving hundreds of thousand of people to the anti Brexit march in London I’ve only seen two men who looked and sounded like they were going to today’s UKIP/Far- right and ‘March to Leave’ bunfight in Parliament Square. They were easy to spot by the gammon colour, beer guts and a loud voices complaining of ‘left wing’ newspapers!14:19I’m now basking in the sunshine at Welwyn Garden City, where the new Siemens Class 717s have entered service. Well, a pair of them anyways. Here’s one of them.

19:05

Well, that was an interesting day! After having a spin on one of the new class 717s for the first time in the UK I narrowly missed meeting up with two friends who were in London on business. Instead I took a detour to Parliament Sq to have a look at the pro Brexit demonstrations. Yes, there was more than one due to the factionalism in the Leave camp. Two stages faced each other. One was the Leave campaign’s, the other UKIPs. It was like a gammon Glastonbury, only no matter which stage you went to, the acts were shit! In truth, the whole atmosphere felt weird. As I arrived, so did the “football lads alliance”, who marched in under a West Ham banner, singing “God save the Queen” whilst escorted by police. Looking around the crowd I could see that they were exactly who I suspected they would be: overwhelmingly white and old. This was the Daily Mail and Express letters page brought to life. The placards didn’t exactly fill you with joy either. It was hate, not humour that filled them. MPs were ‘traitors’, apparently and the EU was some sort of dictatorship that was determined to abolish the UK. It was all a bit bonkers to be honest. The stage on Whitehall was the UKIP one and that had the most poisonous atmosphere as it had attracted to football hooligan and far-right element. There’s no doubt that UKIPs new leader, Batten, has turned them into a far-right party. You only had to look at their audience to see that. Here’s a few shots from the event to give you a flavour of it.

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The ‘Democratic Football Lads Alliance marched into the square under this banner and with a police escort. ‘Lads’? They’re all old men!

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This was a depressing and common theme on many placards. Teresa may should hang her head in shame after her address to the nation the other week pitted the country against its elected MPs and encouraged this sort of intimidation.

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– the narrative again. This has also been fostered by certain newspapers…

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Having spent much of their time between Sunderland and London being bussed around and without Farage in attendance, the ‘March to Leave’ walkers approach the stage. Note the fact the only non-white faces to be seen are those of the staff hired to steward the event. Their expressions say it all.

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The ‘March to Leave’ walkers waiting to go on stage. They were introduced as the ‘core group’. It was a small stage. They all fitted on it.

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1940 was 79 years ago, but for many leave supporters time has never moved on. They’re stuck in the past and perpetually fighting a war.

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One of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon’s supporters. Quite what the EU has to do with their Islamophobia is a mystery to anyone with half a brain, but there you are.

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Paranoia was another common theme.

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By Downong St on Whitehall was a small (100 plus) counter demonstration. This had been moved here due to the demonstration being attacked and abused earlier. It was guarded by dozens of police. At one point an angry older man was remonstrating with officers as he wanted to ‘give them a piece of his mind’. I suspect he hadn’t got much to spare. I was only allowed through the police cordon to join the demonstrators after producing my NUJ Press card.

20:20

I’m now back in Yorkshire after catching the 17:33 from London to Harrogate as far as Leeds, where it arrived 20mins late. The set was an HST and it had a poorly power car which meant our acceleration was pedestrian to say the least! Fortunately, this time of night trains to Halifax are frequent, so I only had a few minutes to wait before catching this, the 20:18 to Manchester Victoria.

Under the weather…

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in Down memory lane, Musings, Railways, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire

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Not me you understand, that’s all of us. Storm ‘Freya’ has been providing some wet and windy weather here in the Calder Valley so I’ve been perfectly content to spend the day working from home. It hard to credit that this time last week we were basking in sunshine and temperatures that would have been more appropriate for May rather than February. Now the central heating’s back on!

My work at home’s very much been focussed on picture editing, uploading pictures to the RDG Flickr account for much of the day (God, I hate keywords!) before spending this evening catching up on scanning some more old slides in an effort to steadily whittle down the pile. Working at the current rate it’s going to take me at least 5 years to get the majority scanned, and as I’m not getting any younger…

Looking back at old pictures from September 1996, almost 23 years ago, is an odd experience for two reasons. One is seeing how much has changed on the UK railways in that time, the other is being transported back 23 years to the moment in time when I pressed the shutter to think “I remember that”. Here’s a pair of pictures from this evening’s batch, taken at Peterborough on Thursday the 19th September 1996.

06185. 37885. 37057. 37054. 37220. 08529. Depot Christmas tree. Peterborough.19.9.96.crop

The above view shows the EW&S depot (well, small servicing shed and fuelling point really) with mixed bag of Class 37 locomotives in a variety of liveries, whilst one of the yard shunters sit on the depot road. The view was taken from the Mayor’s Walk road bridge, just North of the station. Here’s the view looking the other way.

06176. 31466. 31407. 31xxx. 31271. Peterborough.19.9.96.crop

An equally mixed bag of Class 31s are stabled in the dead end road known as the Carriage Siding, waiting to be used on weekend engineers trains. As both pictures show, the assets weren’t exactly being sweated in those days! Now, in 2018, you’d be lucky to see one locomotive on the EWS (now DB Cargo) depot and the carriage siding’s mostly disused.

Somnambulant Sunday

03 Sunday Mar 2019

Posted by in Memory Lane, Musings, West Yorkshire

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Today’s never really taken off for a whole host of reasons, one of which has been the weather. This time last week it was glorious, now it’s back to being cold, dismal and wet, with another storm (this one’s called ‘Freya’) on the way. We’d various chores planned and the hope was we’d get out for a walk afterwards, but the weather kyboshed that. Instead we sought refuge in our local pub for an hour and enjoyed a few laughs with some of the other locals. One (whom I won’t name) kept us all laughing with stories of his antics in his earlier years when he was still in the army (but on leave). Anyone who’s ever spent much time with ex-squaddies will have an inkling of what I mean! To say it’s not all ‘for Queen and country’ would be an understatement! For beer aficionado’s, here’s what was available at the Big 6 today.

Afterwards we drifted home and decided to have a relaxing afternoon that involved less activity and more care-free time. That said, Dawn’s been busy cooking and I’ve managed to get the slides I started scanning yesterday edited and on my Zenfolio website. You can find them via this link but here’s a taster. It’s another shot of London Kings Cross in 1996 in the very early days of privatisation, when the late, unlamented Railtrack was in charge of the network infrastructure.

06166. 43116. 14.00 to Aberdeen. Kings Cross.17.9.96.crop

Nowadays the station looks very different. Railtrack was abolished in 2002 and infrastructure became the remit of Network Rail. They spent several hundred million pounds on rebuilding the station, renewing the roof you see here and expanding facilities to the West. It’s a very different place now. Behind the clock (which has moved to the opposite side of the station) a new platform (0) has been installed where the old taxi rank once was. HSTs like this still visit, but they’ll begin to be replaced later this year by new Hitachi Azumas.

Now I’ve got the pictures scanned it’s time for a quiet night in front of the TV watching Netflix. We watch very little terrestrial TV nowadays as it’s mostly dozens of channels of rubbish.

Rolling blog: The Chester caper…

09 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by in Huddersfield, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel

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Having survived this morning’s battering from storm ‘Eric’ (No, really, that’s what I told it was named!) I’m on the rails again today as I’m off to Chester to meet up for a meal and some drinks with many of the other folk who volunteer to run the Railway Children’s annual 3 peaks by rail event. We’re always so busy over the 3 days we don’t normally get chance, so – as there’s no train to run…

Despite the fact today’s Northern Rail strike was called off earlier in the week it’s not proved possible to reinstate a normal timetable, which has meant no Calder Valley services today. Instead Dawn was good enough to take time out and give me a lift to Huddersfield where I could catch Trans-Pennine Express service instead. I’m now aboard the 13:08, heading for Manchester – and it’s actually running to time!

Huddersfield station was rammed, I can only assume the local footy team are at home today. I still can’t get used to the sight of 100mph TPE Class 185s sitting in the platform used by Northern’s Manchester shuttles now that they’ve taken over most of the services. It’s lovely having a 185 instead of a 150, but I can’t help feeling it’s a mis-match of resources.

13:25.

This is my first trip across the Colne Valley route since returning from New Zealand. It’s interesting to see the precursors to the forthcoming route modernisation and electrification. Lineside vegetation received quite a prune last year, now new cable troughing is appearing – much of it elevated. I suspect I might be kept quite busy documenting the changes to the route over the next few years…

Meanwhile, on board my train is as busy as ever. Lots of folk are heading to Manchester for the weekend, including a couple of Geordie lasses sat opposite – one of whom has has had quite a bit of ‘work’ done. Blonde hair extensions? Check. ‘Trout pout? Check. Boob job displayed by a low top? Check. Trump ‘tan? Check. I’m sure they’ll have a wonderful time in the city!

Their replacement at Manchester Victoria was a portly middle-aged man carrying a plastic bag full of beercans but no sense of personal space or spatial awareness. He immediately spotted a lone woman in the vestibule whom he buttonholed, pouring out a life-story that included divorce, the inability to hold down a job and a persecution complex that includes the courts and the DWP. Luckily for her, he got off at the next stop, Oxford Rd. So did I as I’m changing the TfW’s 13:56 to Llandundo.

Despite the fact it’s a 3-car, it’s another busy train. There’s a few empty seats but some people, including myself, opt to stand. My excuse is that people-watching is more fun that way!

14:26

We’re just leaving Warrington Bank Quay where half the folk in my coach retrained, only to be replaced by an equal number of new folks. As we pulled away I was surprised to see a Colas liveried Class 60 (002) on a rake of Drax power station biomass hoppers. Isn’t that a GBRf operated service? Thanks to the power of social media I’ve now found out Colas flogged this loco to GBRf last year. I clearly don’t pay enough attention to fleet news these days!

16:11.

I’m now ensconced in Chester – and it’s packed! The station was busy enough, it’s on odd melange of old and new that doesn’t quite work due to the piecemeal nature of the improvements carried out over different decades. My personal belief is it needs a master plan redevelopment to turn it back into the gateway to the city it once was – and fix that leaky roof! Notice the mats and cones everywhere?

My hotel was only a few minutes walk away, which will be handy for tomorrow. It’s cheap and cheerful and in the throes of a refurbishment in the hands of new owners – which could account for the cheap!

As I wandered further into the city it was full of Saturday shoppers, gawkers and ordinary tourists. Here’s the view from the old city walls.

Despite the crowds it’s good to be back. I’ve fond memories of Chester stretching right back to the 1970s. I’d also forgotten what an interesting town it is due to the mix of architecture. Hopefully, tomorrows weather will permit me to get some pictures. In the meantime, here’s a couple of tasters.

Here’s some of our merry band dining at the Botanist in the city centre.

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Finally, after a very convivial evening, I managed to get a shot of the group before we headed off to our respective abodes.

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Rolling blog: stir crazy no more…

08 Friday Feb 2019

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

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10:35.

Despite the lousy weather in the Calder valley this morning I’m going to tear myself away from my desk and get out and about in order to grab a few pictures and blow the cobwebs away. The high winds we’ve got this morning should be ideal for that!

Watch this space to see where I go and what I get up to…

11:22

I’m now on the 11:23 from Sowerby Bridge to Leeds via Mirfield which is made up of two of an endangered species: the Pacer! Over half the fleet should have already gone off lease but delays in electrification of other routes and problems with commissioning new trains has seen them soldier on. Here’s 142053 and 142094 arriving on my train.

Set 094 is one that’s had its original bus style bench seats replaced with more modern high-backed ones.

I abandoned the Pacers at Dewsbury, where I was sorely tempted by a visit to the excellent West Riding refreshment rooms on the station. Instead, I grabbed a couple of pictures in the mixed weather before heading on to Leeds. Dewsbury’s some classic old Victorian building’s as it was once a wealthy town, making it’s money from the production of ‘shoddy’. Nowadays it’s more famous for poverty & social ills. Still, there’s an interesting double footbridge across the station which makes for good pictures.

14:06.

The weather’s not entirely played ball so whilst I’ve waited for it to pick up I’ve enjoyed some Pacer perambulations, catching a 142 from Leeds to Wakefield Kirkgate via Castleford. The train traverses some interesting and varied tracks, first passing the Freightliner loco depot at Balm Rd where at least 10 class 70s are in store. They’re expensive bits of kit to leave idle, but many haven’t turned a wheel for some time. Once past the intermodal terminal we hit the section of route towards Woodlesford which will be shadowed by phase 2b of the new HS2 railway into Leeds. The area’s a mass of old industrial scars and closed railways so It will be good to see expansion for a change. At Castleford our crew changed ends as the train reverses here. The lines continues on but few passenger services use it except on diversions. On departure we headed for Normanton, another old industrial area that once had a famous steam engine depot and thriving goods yards. All are long gone and the station’s a shadow of its former self – unlike my next port of call: Wakefield Kirkgate.

The station’s undergone a renaissance in the past 10 years, going from a derelict building to a thriving hub with a cafe and 1st Class lounge for Grand Central passengers. I didn’t have time to visit either as my next train was only a couple of minutes behind. This time it was a later version of the Pacer, the Class 144, the interior layout is less like a bus and more like a train.

I was heading back into Leeds via the connecting line from Kirkgate to Westgate stations and the direct line to the city, which took around 20 mins. The weather had picked up in Leeds and we were following one of the new Hitachi Class 800 ‘Azuma’ trains that was on a test run so I was keen to get some shots but I found an embarrassment of riches when we pulled in. Not just one but two Azumas, closely followed by one of the loco’s they’ll displace, 91119, which has earned celebrity status after being repainted in the original Intercity livery it carried when it entered service with BR in the early 1990s. Here’s 800202 just before departure.

14:55

I couldn’t resist a ride and chance for a decent pic of 91119, so I’m heading back to Wakefield behind it…

15:12

LNER trains don’t hang around in platforms long! I barely had enough time to leg it across the exceedingly high footbridge (with lots of steps) to the opposite platform try and get my shot before the train was pulling away.

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Now I’m retracing my steps into Leeds for the final time before beginning to head towards home. This time My conveyance is one of the old Class 155s built for Calder Valley services back in the 1980s. This example’s been refurbished.

But, if you look above the doors in the vestibules you’ll still find this.

15:39.

Off again, this time back to Dewsbury. I ended up playing hide and seek with the sun at Leeds, which was rather frustrating. On the plus side – I may have made a young lad’s day…

I was approached by a train driver who’d seem me taking a shot of his train as it arrived. He explained that his young son is always scanning the internet for pictures of his dad driving – and would I be able to help? A quick look at the cameras LCD confirmed I’d a clear shot of Tom at the controls, so I’ve arranged to email him a copy of the picture for his son!

15:56.

Back at Dewsbury, and this time I didn’t resist! Well, it IS Friday…

16:52

Now heading home to meet the wife and spend the evening together as I’m away over the weekend (see tomorrow’s rolling blog). Whilst waiting at Dewsbury I noticed this around a few doors on the Westbound platform.

This is what can happen when you you raise the platform edge on an old Victorian railway station and alter the camber!

Right now I’m on my last train- a pair of 150s on a Leeds – Manchester service via Sowerby Bridge. I’m on an old friend, set 130 which used to work on the Gospel Oak-Barking line in London when that was one of my local lines. How things come full circle!

I’ve a favour to ask…
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Rolling blog: Picking up where I left off…

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in Northern Rail, Railways, Rolling blogs, Transport, Travel, West Yorkshire

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11:15.

It’s time to shrug off the jet-lag and hit the ground running now that I’m back in the UK. First off is meeting up with friends and colleagues in Manchester to find out what I’ve missed over the past month and to sort out some projects for the coming months. Of course, there’s a social side to it too!

I’m currently on my first Northern Rail service of the year, the 11:06 off Sowerby Bridge to my old home town, Southport. It’s a good start as it’s on time and it’s made up of two refurbished units, a 150/156 combo. I’m travelling on the 156 as I much prefer them to the 150s, it’s good to see them becoming regular on the Calder Valley line again nowadays.

The walk down to Sowerby station wasn’t too bad, despite the fact there’s fresh snow on the ground. The weather’s turned milder so I don’t feel like a fish out of water after being used to New Zealand’s summer temperatures!

The dusting of snow we’ve got on the hills around us is thicker and lower as I’ve journeyed West, so this is also a valuable reduce trip as I need some snow pictures for a client. Hopefully the snow will hang around for a day or two.

11:44.

We’re now on the Eastern outskirts of Manchester, where the snow’s thinner but still present and the weather brighter. After being used to an Island with less than 5 million inhabitants it feels rather odd being back in the far more populous UK.

14:10

People familiar with Manchester pubs might know where we are now…

16:52.

After a very convivial afternoon I’m on a train back across the Pennines. To be honest – it’s bleeding freezing! Clear skies have seen the temperature plummet. Even this trains HVAC system’s struggling to cope…

17:37.

A quick pit-stop at the Hogshead before I tackle the hill home. One thing I did miss in New Zealand was the one thing the UK is unique at – pubs. Nowhere else in the world comes close. It was one of the things UK expat (in New Zealand & elsewhere) always mention with a wistful expression.