19:00

It may be Sunday night but there’s no rest for the wicked. I have a morning appointment to visit an HS2 construction site near Aylesbury tomorrow so I’m travelling South this evening in preparation. This late trip means I’ve been able to enjoy a leisurely day at home with Dawn, which has been lovely, especially as the pair of us were out late last night at a friend’s 60th birthday party. Kath had booked a meal for us all at the Astronomer in the Piece Hall in Halifax where we enjoyed a fantastic array of tapas dishes. It’s the first time we’ve eaten there in this incarnation, but it’s unlikely to be the last. Afterwards we adjourned to the Railway pub (an old favorite) for a last drink before heading home. The Railway has a disco night on Saturday, only this weekend with a Halloween theme. The music’s unashamedly 70s-80s but it always draws a good crowd. It was an ideal place to hide from the rail as it bucketed it down last night!

Thankfully, today’s been dry and sunny so I’ve had time to catch up with some gardening as well as other household chores, whilst still managing a few hours work.

Right now I’m on my way to Leeds on Northern’s 18:52 service from Halifax to Leeds. It’s a quiet, 2-car train as this is a neither here nor there time to be travelling.

20:00.

Leeds station was just as quiet as my Northern train tonight – although the fact it was chucking it doen with rain (again) may have had something to do with it. We’ve certainly had our fair share of the wet stuff over the past week. I was only passing through so didn’t even bother getting the camera out. Instead, I headed for the warmth of the LNER ‘set’Azuma’ set sat in the platform which was ready to form the 19:45 to Kings Cross.

This is another relatively quiet train, although my coach has been graced by a bunch of students who’ve obviously been out for a few beers and are now scoffing their vegan fast food aboard. Frankly, It smells just as greasy and unappetising as the ‘real’ stuff!

21:00.

We’re well on our way to our next stop at Peterborough right now – not that you’d know as it’s pitch black outside. Now the clocks have gone back daylight’s disappearing all too fast. I love the quality of winter light but I do miss those long summer days.

As there’s nothing to see I’ve been keeping busy working on the train. Trying to organise far too many picture folders into one coherent database for filing and to ensure everything productive has appeared on my Zenfolio website our gone out to clients. This is also a useful exercise for ignoring the depressing news that’s coming out of Israel, Palestine – and now Dagestan. Thanks to Homo Sapiens this planet is becoming ever more fcuked up. We seem to be beset by storms, political, social, economic and environmental – fuelled by populist politicians who haven’t got a clue what to do about anything other than cling to power, posture – and lie.

21:20.

We’re now South of Peterborough after being held in the station to let fast services to London overtake us. The trains still quiet although the station (being an important interchange) was full of people swapping between trains. This is like the old days for me. Back in the late 80s early 90s I’d often spend a weekend with an old friend from the Southport diaspora here in Peterborough. On Friday I’d travel up from London after work and return on trains like this. Well, not ‘exactly’ like this – the Class 91s were new in those days, so often it’d be a packed HST that would take me back to Kings Cross. Happy days in many ways.

22:25.

Arrived! I’m now indulging in a spot of night photography at Kings Cross, waiting for my steed in to return to Leeds as the 22:35. Not bad – a 30m turnaround. The weather’s been wet in London earlier but it’s dried out enough to deprive me of the puddles and reflections I’d have liked to have had. Oh, well. Blur shots it is then…

23:30.

And blur shots shots it is! Here’s my train returning to Leeds…

I find London stations fascinating places at night, but that maybe because I’ve spent over 40 years haunting them and seen some incredible changes – especially at the likes of Kings Cross. I first spent night-time here back in the 1970s when the area had a terrible reputation for drugs and prostitution. In that respect it was no different to any other gateway to capital cities but as a teenager it had a frisson of danger which made it quite exotic. It’s been cleaned up massively since those days. Back then you could go ‘off grid’ as soon as you left your house. Now, when I wander through the place I can spot the homeless and overnight travelers who gravitate to stations because they’re warm, safe and have power sockets, seats – and wifi! The modern world isn’t all bad – even if we as a developed country still have the stigma of homelessness – but that’s the Tories for you.

Ironic too when I think about it. There were always people exploiting the young homeless in London in those days, but word got around about who to trust or not. Now we know that some of the most untrustworthy people were media personalities. Funny old world…

Right now I’m updating this blog and posting pictures from the ‘Cross wifi. I was going to venture up the road to some old haunts but a signal failure at Finsbury Park has added too much of a wild card. Instead I’ll stay local.

00:30.

The last update. I’m now at Euston before calling it a day. It’s a nightmare of a sation nowadays as it’s far too small for the traffic it handles. The new ‘information’ screens don’t help. Commercial and political pressure has meant the vast majority of space has been given over to advertising.

Folk who’ve missed their trains or who have nowhere else to go are bedding down here too. I noticed one lovely act of human kindness. A young African woman laden down with suitcases is holed up in a corner. One of the station security guards ( who’re hardly paid a kings ransom) stopped to chat, then slipped her a fiver so she could get a coffee in the morning. I sometimes forget that humans can can actually display humanity – and charity.

Right. Enough from me. See you 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/

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

Today I’m travelling from Halifax to Swindon where I’ll be spending the night in a hotel ready for a commission tomorrow. In railway terms it’s known as a positional move.

Right now I’m on an LNER ‘Azuma’ from Leeds to London, having travelled to Yorkshire’s most bustling city on a busy 3-car Northern service via Bradford.

11:20.

We’re currently at Doncaster, waiting for the road South. This train’s fairly quiet so I’ve bagged a table bay to myself in coach C as most people never venture towards the back of the train. There may be a storm on the way and tomorrow’s job (outdoors) may get ‘interesting’ but here in Yorkshire we’ve high cloud and hazy sunshine. I’m hoping to be able to garner some library shots on my way but as I’m loaded down with a suitcase with all my PPE I’m not going to be venturing far from stations en-route.

Right now there’s time to settle down and do some work – as well as catch up with the latest copy of RAIL magazine which includes my article on HS2 and the bridge over the route near Aylesbury.

12:20.

With the train having called at Peterborough (and stood to time as we were four minutes early) my coach has filled out a bit with a mixture of American tourists, students and what look like day-trippers, all heading for the capital. The weather’s continuing to improve the further I head South. We’ve clear blue skies and cottonwool clouds with long periods of sunshine. Long may that continue! Right now we’re speeding across the Cambridgeshire flatlands ahead of time yet again.

There’s an interesting contrast in this coach. The party of middle-aged and younger Americans are sat chatting. I can’t see them as they’re sat behind me, but I can hear them. In the table bay opposite are three women students. There’s not a word being spoken. One’s sat there with headphones on, staring at her smartphone. Of the pair opposite her one’s on her phone whilst the other has it on the table in front of her as she gazes out of the window.

13:35.

My visit to the capital was brief. I didn’t hang around at Kings Cross because it’s a regular haunt so I immediately headed for the Underground

I decided to cut time short when I arrived at Paddington and saw how devoid of trains it was and how many services were shown as delayed. That was a shame as I rarely visit nowadays but there’s little to shoot in an empty station! In contrast trip across London on the underground was quick and easy. I only had a couple of minutes to wait at Kings Cross St Pancras before a Metropolitan line train arrived to whisk me away.

Right now i’m on the 13:31 hrading for Cheltenham Spa as it was the first available train I can use to get as far as Reading

17:25.

I’ve made it to Swindon via a few stopovers on the way, including one at Didcot where I came across evidence of another terminally stupid and short-sighted Tory transport decision. The line from Didcot to Oxford was being electrified when then Transport Minister Crhis (failing) Grayling cancelled the project. Contractors literally walked away from the sceme when it was half-completed, wasting £ms of pounds. Sound familiar? Yep, it’s the usual dither and delay we’ve come to expect from this rotton government. Here’s the legacy. Electric services from Paddington terminate here with a diesel shuttle to Oxford. Madness.

Right, it’s time for me to go to work and meet the good folks from the Permenant Way Institute who are here for their two day practical course which I’ll be shadowing.

22:00.

This blog’s no longer rolling! It’s time for me to call it a day and prepare for tomorrow as I’ve a busy day ahead. Breakfast kicks off at 06:30 before we head over to the training centre to don our PPE and for the students to get experience of what it’s like actually building and installing overhead electrification trackside. There’s a great bunch of participants from all areas of the rail industry so I’m really looking forward to the challenge of getting the pictures needed – despite the weather.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with on last picture from the day. This is how electrified Thames valley services look nowadays with the diesels displaced and sent to Bristol and beyond. Here’s a Paddington – Didcot service calling at Twyford earlier this afternoon.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

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