There was no blog from me yesterday as we were too busy recovering from Monday’s Community Rail Awards and travelling back home from Swansea. Ourselves, the rest of the CRN team and the 440 people attending the event enjoyed a great night with some richly deserved awards presented, followed by fun in the main hall where a band kept people entertained (and dancing) until late in the evening, followed by a mixture of staff and attendees adjourning to our hotel bar until the small hours.
However, my job wasn’t over as I spent most of the train trip back slaving over a hot laptop, editing the pictures in order to get them ready for circulation and out to the winners themselves. Today’s been spent catching up with other work and clearing the decks as tomorrow Dawn and I are taking a break for a few days. We’re heading off to the Whitby area of North Yorkshire to recharge our batteries and enjoy coastal walks, good food and the odd real ale. There may even be time for the occasional bit of blogging…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is from Swansea.
The beach and breakwater at Swansea with Port Talbot steelworks in the background. It’s hard to imagine, but at one time, millions of tonnes of Welsh coal in hundreds of ships of all sizes was shipped from this harbour every year. Huge quantities of Tinplate were shipped in the Edwardian era whilst millions of tonnes of oil from refineries at Llandarcy and Baglan Bay left here right up until the 1990s. Now the harbour sees mostly leisure traffic. The steelworks at Port Talbot is also being reduced in size and importance.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After one more soggy day in the Pennines yesterday I’ve made another bid for freedom, thus time heading Westward to Preston and district in the hope of getting some library shots and bits for a client. The forecast isn’t promising sunshine, just no rain!
Having walked down to Sowerby Bridge station I waited for the train to Hebden Bridge and my connection to Preston. Whilst I was there I noticed this local history board which tells the story of a musician few will have heard of, but you will have heard of some of the famous film scores he played on – and the major artists he recorded with. Then there was Mike Batt…
11:15 we’re on our way from Accrington now, one of those Lancashire towns I’ve never really explored. I keep meaning to as the serried streets of traditional terrace houses look like they’d make an excellent photographic opportunity. Maybe this summer…
The train I’m on is busy, but strangely subdued. Normally these Blackpool services can be rather riotous with families heading to Blackpool, but this one’s obviously too early in the season. I’m sharing a table with a young chap sat diagonally opposite. He appears to be suffering from the advanced stages of ‘Liquormortis’ – also known as a hangover! The rest of the passengers are a real mix – although a large percentage seem to be solo women travellers of all ages.
12:45.
Wonder of wonders – the train I was hoping to get pictures of actually ran – and ran to time, giving me the opportunity to get a shot of it in Preston. The new Hitachi built Class 805 bi-mode sets for Avanti West Coast are currently on test on the West Coast Main Line before they enter service and replace the company’s diesel-only Class 221 ‘Voyager’ fleet. I’ve seen a few 805s but never been in the right place at the right time to get pictures. Today I was.
Still without Avanti vinyl livery, set 805002 passes through Preston on a Lancaster – London Euston test run.
14:00.
Whilst at Preston I couldn’t resist taking a minor detour/backtrack to Bamber Bridge to photograph a structure that’s seen better days. Here’s the old signalbox, with some new(ish) additions…
Talk about a supporting role…
The box is coccooned by suppurting girder to stop it collapsing completely. The facr many of its timbers are rotten doesn’t help. Neither does its narrow base, but the road crossing is also suffering from subsidence too.
16:30.
Mind the gap…
Sorry about that but I’ve been busy and too busy observing things to live blog. After getting back to Preston, where the weather was indifferent I decided to make my way back via Wigan so that I could check on progress with electrifying the line between there and Bolton.
Bad move.
Catching a packed Pendolino to Wigan was OK, it’s only a 15 minute trip. It was the fact that when I arrived it was chucking it down through leaden skies and all trains to Manchester from both stations were cancelled due to signal failure that I thought, bugger!
There was only one thing for it, a pint in Wigan’s metaphorical version of the Winchester whilst I waited for the whole thing to blow over (sans Zombies, thankfully).
Choose your poison.
Fortunately, there was one train running even if everything else either side had been cancelled. I’m aboard the 16:07 from Wallgate to Victoria (ex Southport) worked by one of the bi-mode class 319 conversions. I’d expected it to be packed but that was far from the case.
Photographically this part of the trip was a bust but now I’ve seen the changes along the route I know where to return to. OLE mast bases have appeared between Winan and Hindley along with a smattering of masts. The biggest visual impact is 4-5 decades of tree and vegetation clearence whic has really opened up some vistas. I’ll be back…
17:30.
Getting home is proving to be fun today as the railways are not having a good one. On arrival at Manchester Victoria I thought I’d just miss the 16:57 to Leeds. Fear not! Due to yet more disruption it’s only just left – 23 mins late. Many other trains are still waiting, with passengers none the wiser as no-one’s making any announcements. The Internet’s no help either as there are no realtime updates. I was waiting on a following train (the 1704 to Rochdale) before taking a punt based on my railway knowledge.
Halfway home…
22:45.
Time to bring this blog to an end from the comfort of home. Thankfully, there were no more problems after Manchester. Mind you, as the last leg was via shank’s pony – what could possibly go wrong? Tomorrow I’ll be working from home, sorting out today’s pictures and preparing for Sunday’s trip to Swansea and the Community Rail Award, so expect a few more pictures and possibly a beer-pump clip or two…
Goodnight!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Despite the dreich weather here in the Pennines, or rather because of it – I’m having a day out and heading back to Merseyside where the rain’s forecast to clear for the day. We might not get wall to wall sunshine but time’s running out for me to document the final days of the old Merseyrail electric trains. The Class 508s have already gone along with half of the 33 Class 507s. Meanwhile, the last of their Stadler built replacements are on their way across Europe from Switzerland and Poland.
As someone who grew up on Merseyside roving the areas rails is something I’ve been doing since I was a young teenager. In those days we used to be able to buy a ticket names after the title of this blog. It was valid from 18:00 on a Friday all the way to Midnight on Sunday and presented excellent value. Here’s an original.
Note the typos. ‘Rook Ferry’ and ‘Halsby’?
Feel free to pop back during the day to see where and what I get up to…
10:00.
I’ve escaped the valley aboard Northern’s 09:22 from Sowerby Bridge to Chester which is a reasonably busy pair of 2 car Class 195s. Ensconced in the rear car I’ve set up the mobile office for the trip. For once, crossing the Pennines hasn’t improved the weather – it’s just as miserable around Manchester as it is in West Yorkshire!
The forecast is that the rain is gradually clearing from the West so I’ve decided to stay on this service all the way to join the Merseyrail network at its most Southerly point.
10:20.
I’m now heading West from Victoria where this service pretty much emptied out. I’ve just taken a quick walk through the rear unit and counted 16 other passengers. Next stop is Newton-le-Willows which always seems busy, so I’ll be interested to see how many folks leave the service at journey’s end. The weather’s slowly brightening up. The oppressive low cloud that’s hemmed in the Calder Valley for the past week has given way to higher. more diffused formations, with a band of brightness on the horizon. I doubt I’ll see more than the watery sunshine I’m experiencing now, but there’s contrasting skies and actual cloud patterns. Plus, from a photographers perspective, the light’s improved by several stops.
10:50.
I’m handing back my weather forecaster’s badge. I’m as bad at predicting it as the professionals! We’re leaving Warrington under blue skies – which wasn’t on anyone’s card! Our next stop is our final one – Chester – and I count 20 people aboard for the final leg, although I’ve no idea how many are in the front unit. This Leeds-Chester service started in May 2019 and it’s proved to be a valuable service as it allows easy access to Wales via a historic old town – and provides a useful connection with the West Coast Main Line at Warrington Bank Quay.
12:15.
I didn’t stay in Chester long as there wasn’t much around to photograph despite the sunshine. It’s a far cry from the 1970s wgen I used to come here on a Merseyrover. Chester loco shed was known as an easy depot to ‘bunk’ as the staff were very relaxed. I remember turning up at the shedmaster’s office with a couple of friends one weekend around 1973. On asking if we could look around we were told. “Yes, just don’t wander onto the main lines and don’t fall into the pits”. In those days the shed would house old class 24s and 25s used on freight workings and the occaisional Class 40, along with some 08 shunters and dozens of diesel units. It’s unrecognisable now as it was first rebuilt by Alstom back in the early 2000s and now it’s run by CAF who maintain their new DMUs for Transport for Wales.
Right now I’m making my way up the old Great Western Main line to Birkenhead. Once four-track it was reduced to two in the 1970s.
Blogging may get a bit patchy now as I’m stopping off en-route. Plus, services are so frequent there’s lots to photograph. Like this service at Bromborough Rake.
14:00.
I’ve made it into Birkenhead but not without difficulty as Merseyrail are cancelling several services today. My kast stop was Rock Ferry, once tge terminus of the Mersey Railway electric services from Liverpool until electrification was ecentually extended to Chester and later, Ellesmere Port.
Get the message? One unit didn’t recently…
15:10.
Remember those cancellations I mentioned? They got worse. At Birkenhead I found that due to Police dealing with an ‘incident’ on the railway, New Brighton services were cancelled with trains turning back at the scenic location of Birkenhead North. To add to the fun the weather reverted to forecast type – making the scene even duller! Undeterred, I caught a 507 to Birkenhead and managed to get a reasonable picture of 507001 passing Birkenhead depot. I’ll add the pic later. Right now there’s little more for me to do but head back into Birkenhead aboard 001 and work out my next move.
Gotcha…
And again.
15:55.
It seems my trip today quite literally bombed, according to the Liverpool Echo…
19:30.
I’m back in West Yorkshire, making my way home via a slightly convoluted route in order to drop in to Huddersfield station so I can see what’s afoot with the route upgrade work. The old wooden building on the island platform is being carefully dismantled so that it can be rebuilt at a different location on the station in the future.
The stripping process has revealed many old posters from the BR era, including gems like this!
Now I’m on the final rail leg, aboard Northern’s Huddersfield – Bradford shuttle which will carry me back to Halifax. It’s a quiet train this time of night and week, but then the station’s not exactly buzzing either. I’ve not been into either of the station pubs but both look empty.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Another bleedin’ Baltic day here in the Pennines where our section of the Calder Valley’s spent the entire day bathed in haze under gloomy skies, accompanied by temperatures and wind that’s made it feel like January, not March. The ‘Man flu’ I’ve been suffering from has mutated into a common or garden cold, sans sore throat and the ague – which is a relief! Having recovered enough to venture out I sallied forth to the supermarket to pick up some shopping – which is why I know just how cold it is out there. I wasn’t tempted to tarry…
Now I’m happy to be back in the warmth. Having finished penning my latest article for RAIL magazine this evening’s one for relaxing. Neither of us fancy venturing out, so tonight’s going to be a quiet one at home with some good food (Dawn’s already busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen) and a movie. We’ve time to enjoy a weekend at home together for a change. The next one will be different as we’ll be travelling to Swansea on the Sunday to get ready for the 2024 Community Rail awards. Plus, I’ve plans for a couple of trips this next week (weather permitting) to catch up with some recent changes on the rail network. But for now you’ll have to make do with another archive shot for today’s picture. Like yesterday’s, this has been dusted off for a special book.
If you think UK preserved railways have some major structures to maintain, then imagine what it’s like for this one! Here’s a train on the Taieri Gorge railway which is on New Zealand’s South Island. It runs from Dunedin all the way up to the plains at Middlemarch. To say it’s a spectacular trip is an understatement!
Locomotives 1240 and 1222 double-head our train on the return to Dunedin on the 16th January 2019.
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Bugger, I have ‘man flu’. I woke up in the early hours with a throat that felt like I’d been gargling with sandpaper. After a restive night I decided a day of rest was in order. As a precaution the flag over Bigland Towers is flying at half-mast and we’ve painted a red cross on the front door. This time it’s Dawn’s turn to wear the nurses uniform. Mind you, it fits her far better than me – especially the stockings…
Whilst I’ve taken to my sick-bed I’ve not entirely given up the ghost and I’m continuing sorting out bits and bobs in-between having my fevered brow mopped. My Zenfolio website’s been updated with all the pictures from the last week’s travels and events which you can find in the following galleries.
There’s still plenty of pictures for me to sort out as well as writing for a living which I’ll be doing later. What I’m not doing is listening to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt deliver his latest budget. I heard enough flannel and buzzword bingo (“hard choices”…”growing the economy” etc) from him in person on Monday.
Insert own caption here…
I’ll wait for the expert analysis which always picks up what matters but is never mentioned in his speech. Judging from the reactions I’ve seen so far, the idea that this budget is going to somehow improve the Tories electoral chances and ‘shift the dial’ of their piss-poor performance in the polls is a forlorn hope. Just like when you grow up and stop believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy, voters have stopped believing in the Tories – at last! Now we have to wait to see if Sunak will call a May election. The last day on which he can do that is when Parliament goes into recess on the 27th March. There’s no point in trying to second-guess him as that’s applying logic to a man who’s proved to be immune to logical though and decision-making.
On that same lack of logic vein, I’ve been amused to see how the far-right English racists have embraced AI on social media – always with unintentionally hilarious results as what most of ’em actually know about English (never mind British) history could fit on the back of a postage stamp. As for their lack of fluency (both written and oral) in their mother-tongue – or dear! Here’s an absolute classic, but not untypical of the genre as they do love cosplaying Crusaders…
What’s so funny here is that the Knights Templar were actually French! Oh, and only 10% of them were actually knights. So what this buffoon is really calling for is a million people marching through London led by Frenchmen! It’s not gonna happen. Wetherspoons could never cope with the rush, and as for trying to pee through chainmail after twelveteen pints of foreign lager…
Needless to say, the best of British humour has been deployed in spoofing these idiotic IA images, with producing some absolute corkers featuring (amongst other things) knights and lions, golf and Greggs!
Right, one last thing before I go. As it’s another month I’ve restocked my eBay account with more railway memorabilia and old slides for sale. You can find it here. This is a sample of one of the new additions.
See you tomorrow – if the ‘man flu’ hasn’t seen me off!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Another Sunday and another day where part of it’s spent getting into position for the next day. When arranging their events people sometimes forget that – whilst the media is notoriously ‘Londoncentric’ not everyone actually lives in the capital anymore! I have to be in Chippenham at 09:00 tomorrow morning. Whilst that’s doable from London, it’s impossible from West Yorkshire.
So, much of today’s been spent at home. We’ve finally had a respite from the rain. Today (whilst it’s still been chilly) there’s been clear skies and sunshine. Ideal conditions for the pair of us enjoying a long canalside walk after a leisurely start to the day.
Now – fortified by a large slab of Dee’s home-made lemon meringue pie – I’m on the move again, this time aboard a Northern service to Leeds where I’ll catch an LNER train to Kings Cross. Having spent the past few weeks travelling the West Coast route I’ll be back on the East Coast for a change. Let’s see how the trip goes…
I don’t often travel at a weekend except for pleasure. Unlike my normal trips today’s Northern fellow travellers are mostly people having a day out sightseeing or visiting family and friends. Not that the train’s quiet – far from it. Sunday’s a busy day on the railways nowadays. It make you wonder why we still have a separate and very distinct Sunday timetable.
18:10.
London bound! There was a frustrating moment when I arrived at Leeds as I saw the next London train on the adjacent platform. It was worked by Mk4 loco-hauled set but there was no way I was going to make the connection. Instead, I watched as the train powered out of the station, pushed by ‘Battle of Britain memorial flight’. The next Southbound service was worked by an LNER ‘Azuma’ and I was concerned that it might be packed. As it is – it’s not too bad.
My chariot awaits…
I managed to find a vacant seat in coach C and set up the mobile office. We’ve just left Wakefield where as many passengers left as joined. Next stop is Doncaster, which should be interesting. Sadly, we’ve lost the light now although I’m grateful that’s taking longer as each day passes. I’ve had enough of winter’s long nights.
18:30.
To my surprise we’ve still lots of empty seats available after Doncaster. Coach C’s filled up but there were nowhere near as many passengers waiting as I’d thought there might be. We have two more stops to make before London, at Newark Northgate snd Peterborough.
19:20.
We’re now accelerating away from Peterborough, our last stop before Kings Cross. This brings back loads of memories for me as – back in the late 1980s, early 1990s – this was one of my regular journeys. I still lived in London then and would often come up to Peterborough on a Friday night after work to spend the weekend with Nancy, an old friend from Southport. How things have changed since then! Peterborough was the edge of the London commuter belt and obviously still is. During the week I often see people wearing Transport for London uniforms joining trains here as they commute into the capital. Key workers who’ve been priced out of the city. What surprised me today wasn’t the number of people joining the train – it was the number disembarking – and their ages. They were overwhelmingly young. What’s the new demographic I’m no longer aware of?
00:15.
Really? Is that the time? Bugger. Here endeth today’s blog. I’ve got to be up at silly o’clock in the morning to make my way to Chippenham. I’ve no idea where the time – or years, went as the pair of us have been immersed in watching old British Transport Commission films from the 50s-60s. I’ll leave you with one last picture from my trip over to Clapham from Kings Cross. Spot the interloper at Victoria…
Expect another rolling blog tomorrow as the day unfolds…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
March? Where the hell did February go – other than underwater? We’ve gone from the wettest February on record to another month that seems determined to carry on in the same vein. The past two days here at Bigland Towers have seen miserable weather as we’ve had a combination of snow, sleet and rain. The snow’s clung on to the valley tops but the rest of the valley can be summed up in one word. Soggy. The ground’s so saturated any extra rainfall runs straight off, clogging roads and drains. The roads are already in an appalling state but constant flooding’s making them worse as fractured tarmac and gravel is washed away, making potholes both deeper and wider. Still it’s OK, Rishi Sunak’s potholes won’t exist as he’s spending £bns ‘diverted’ from HS2 to fix ’em. And if you believe that I have this really nice tower in Paris to sell to you…
Today the pair of us decided to have a day out and bugger the weather, so we drove over the border into Greater Manchester to a place called Uppermill. The idea was to have lunch somewhere, but the town was packed – despite the weather. We fell back on plan B and travelled the short distance to Delph and stopped at the Old Bell Inn where we found a table without a problem. We’ve eaten here before but not for a year or two. We weren’t disappointed. I ordered a local delicacy – rag pudding. It’s similar to a steamed pudding in that it comes in a suet case, it’s also delicious! Dawn decided to go for the fish and chips which was equally tasty. Here’s the rag pudding…
As we were on the Huddersfield road we decided to come back via Marsden and the Colne valley, calling in at the Riverhead pub on the way. This popular brew-pub on the rail ale trail has only just reopened after a major refurbishment. Here’s how it looks now.
The upstairs room in the RiverheadAt the back of the upstairs is a kitchen area and hatch which serves Asian-style steamed bunsBrew tanks at the back of the ground floor. The revamped downstairs bar area looking out towards the main street.
Now the pair of us are relaxing at home before another busy day tomorrow. We couldn’t have fitted in a dessert course earlier but Dee’s decided to make one at home. So, whilst I’m penning this, Dawn’s in the kitchen making one of her divine lemon meringue pies!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After a lovely evening in Clapham where I spent time with Irish friends on an Internet chat group it’s time to come back to the real world and head off to the Chilterns to record a major event in the construction of High Speed 2. Today, the one of the two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) will break-through and complete the first of the two 10 mile long Chiltern tunnels and I’m privileged to have been invited along to witness it. But first I’ve got to get across London and out to Great Missenden.
Here’s how the South portal of the tunnel looked in July 2021.
08:00.
My cross-London journey was stress free as I keft in plenty of time. Hassard had to be on the 07:15 from Euston so the pair of us were up early. I caught a train into Victoria then used the Circle and Bakerloo lines to get to Marylebone. I rarely use the underground nowadays, preferring to stick to national rail – or even walk. What a difference compared to when I lived here when I’d often spend several days a week traversing the tube. Some things haven’t changed, such as the ancient Bakerloo line stock which is well past its sell-by date. It’s a sad reflection on this Government’s priorities (they have some, other than being re-elected? Ed) that our capital city has such aged trains in daily service with no sign of replacements.
Now I’m making my way on younger stock, the 1992 built ‘Thames Turbos” to Great Missenden.
09:20.
On the way..
10:08.
In position…
10:20.
There’s a real party atmosphere here. HS2’s set up a barbecue area and staff who’ve been working on the project are taking selfies in front of the tunnel.
11:27.
It’s here!
13:55.
Wow! What an amazing event and what a privilege to be part of it. I’ll add more pictures (and a video) this evening. The atmosphere was brilliant as workers from all around the world celebrated together. You can see the flags of the nations workers hail from either side of the TBM. The crew were Irish whilst the TBM ‘driver’ was a young Frenchwoman.
Right now I’m on my way back into London the slow way. Myself, Youtube star Geoff Marshall and Modern Railways Philip Sherratt were given a lift to the station at Great Missenden only to find no trains were running due to a track defect. Instead the minibus driver took us to Amersham where we caught a Met line.
18:45.
Homeward bound up the West Coast Main Line to Manchester after a long day and the mobile office is open and in full swing…
22:00.
Home again! It’s been a long old day so I’ll leave you with a last couple of pictures that I edited on the way home. There’s literally hundreds for me to edit over the next few days, so watch this space.
Breakthrough! After 3 years tunnelling 16km, ‘Florence’ emerges into the sunlight. The TBM crew pose on the cutting head after the machine had come to a halt. Now ‘Florence’ will be stripped down. What can be refurbished and reused in other TBMs will be, what can’t will be recycled as scrap.
And finally, a short video…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The pair of us have had a real mix of a day here at Bigland Towers thanks to different appointments and the improving weather. I’d planned to stay at home this morning whilst Dawn went off to an appointment in Ossett but once the early morning cloud that blanketed the bottom of the Calder valley cleared and we were treated to wall to wall blue skies and sunshine it became obvious that it was too nice a day to be stuck at home. Instead, I packed the camera bag and joined Dee for the journey Eastwards. I didn’t go all the way to Ossett, instead I got dropped off in nearby Horbury Bridge, the nearest place to the old Healy Mills railway marshalling yard. Built as part of British Railways 1955 modernisation plan this huge yard was once the centre for sorting coal traffic from the vast Yorkshire coalfields. Now it lies abandoned. But, recently, parts of the yard have been cleared of Silver Birch and other trees that have taken over, to expose the tracks once more. The grapevine suggests part of the yard will be brought back into use as a staging area for the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) but I’ve yet to see this confirmed. Here’s how it looked today.
Horbury Bridge itself is cut through by the River Calder, the Calder and Hebble navigation – and this magnificent old railway viaduct, which once carried the Midland Railway’s eight-mile route from Royston Junction to Thornhill. The line closed in 1968 and the 17 arch viaduct has been disused ever since.
I’ve passed under it so many times but never been able to get pictures, so today was an ideal day to try. To be honest, it’s difficult to do it justice from the ground. Really, you need a drone as it’s hemmed in by buildings and there’s no public vantage points that give you the sense of scale.
After walking from Horbury to Ossett (a great way of getting exercise as its all uphill) I spotted something else of historical interest. Ossett has a fine collection of Victorian buildings in the centre. This one caught my eye as its an old Liberal Club. That political party vanished decades ago in a merger with the then SDP to form the Liberal-Democrats, but as a teenager I remember Liberal clubs all over the place and sometimes used to play snooker in one in Southport. Like the one in Ossett, it’s been closed for years. Mind you, with the way the Conservative party’s tearing itself apart at the moment I wonder if soon many ‘Con’ clubs will be following the Liberal ones into the history books…
The former Ossett Liberal club on Station Rd. Neither the club or the station exist anymore.
On the way home Dawn was kind enough to stop and allow me to get pictures of TRU upgrade work at a place I’d never managed to get to before. Colne Bridge Rd overbridge East of Deighton, just before the junction of the lines from Huddersfield and Brighouse. here’s how it looks today.
Looking East towards Heaton Lodge Junction. This section will regain four-track status with the new fast lines from Huddersfield being laid to the right of the existing tracks. In the middle foreground the railway passes over the Huddersfield canal. The view looking West towards Huddersfield with Bradley Junction and the site of the former station obscured by the overbridge in the background.
Once back at home the tempo changed. I indulged in some DIY before heading out for a walk and a pint in our local (The Big 6) whilst Dawn began to cook up a storm in the kitchen. So, whilst I quaffed one of these..
The Attamire Pale was lovely…
-Dawn rustled up two very different vegetarian dishes. Here’s one – a Caulifower and Chick-Pea curry (although it has many more ingredients than that).
Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of Dawn’s labours whilst we enjoy a quiet Saturday night at home, watching a good film. See you all tomorrow…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Having had an enjoyable evening with an old friend I’m taking time to explore some old haunts and byways of the capital – and a new train. Old friends brought me from Clapham to Waterloo.
Life in the old girls yet. 4 years after they should have gone to the scrapyard the BR built Class 455s still carry passengers in and out of London Waterloo.
Now I’m waiting to join one of their replacements – albeit four years later than planned! The Bombardier class 701 ‘Arterio’ has finally entered service, but only in a very limited fashion. They work a diagram on the line from Waterloo to Windsor, and I’m about to catch one…
10:11.
I can’t quite believe that 17 years have passed since I was photographing the very last Eurostar to depart from here the night before services moved to their new home at St Pancras.
11:00.
Well, I *was* planning on catching one of the new Arterios but SWR had other ideas. The service is running a ‘shadow’ path on the Windsor line, only today it decided not to play ball. Having arrived late the set was run as empty stock. I’m now chasing it in one of the Class 455s it was designed to replace. I’m hoping it’ll run back from Windsor as a service train and I can pick it up en-route. Watch this space…
Not an Arterio…
14:45.
S’cuse the gap but I’ve been moving – a lot! Having made it out to Staines in hot pursuit of the Arterio I managed to catch it on its way back from Windsor.
Not a 455…
First impressions? From a passenger’s perspective they’re not bad. They’re a modern train with all the amenities you’d expect and (unlike the 455s) they have toilets onboard.
17:30.
Grr…I’m now on my way back to Yorkshire via the West Coast Main Line on another Avanti Pendolino. I’d hoped to have been able to relax and spent some time blogging my thoughts, but the wifi’s knackered, leaving me typing on my phone which is hardly conducive to reporting on all the things I’ve been up to today. Plus, I’ve enjoyed the lengthening days and the opportunity to watch the (flooded) world go by so blogging was taking a backseat until now.
I’ve certainly had an interesting couple of days. As an ex-Londoner I’ve been surprised at how quieter the city seems right now. Euston yesterday and Clapham Junction today were far quieter than they used to be. But then – when I catch a train to faze into people’s back garden and see all the home offices/sheds folk have built that’s hardly surprising. The world of work’s evolved. Especially office work.
Another thing I noticed which was also really annoying was the fact so many folk wander around whilst completely disconnected from this world. I’m not talking about the ones who never look up from staring at their smartphones (although they’re bad enough) but the ones who compound that by wearing earbuds or headphones as well – so deprive themselves of another of their senses. Several tines I had to stop on station stairs as the person coming up them was too busy staring at a screen whilst listening to whatever they had playing via their headphones to engage with the real world and realise someone (me) was stood in their way. I’ve started doing it deliberately now just to see their reaction when reality intrudes on them. Is it just me getting old, or do other folk find this annoying?
17:50.
We’ve just left Stoke (on Trent) on our way to Manchester and I’ve realised I’m back in the wet weather band. Bugger! It’s been so mild these past few days I’ve ditched my waterproof. Walking home could be fun…
22:15.
Fortunately, I made it home without getting soaked. My timing was impeccable as I arrived in Manchester after the rain had departed. It was the same story back in Halifax. Now I’m relaxing with my feet up, editing one or two pictures to finish this blog off with. Here’s a look at the interior of this beastie.
701037 calls at Staines on its return working to Waterloo.Lino flooring and basic seats without seatback tables or armrests but there’s plenty of plug sockets and some small tables. The overall impression is that the sets are spacious. They also seem reasonably quiet and the ride was good. I suspect passengers will like them provided they prove to be reliable.
I’ll be adding many more pictures to my Zenfolio website over the next few days, but for now – it’s goodnight!
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 