The summer we’ve never had arrived with a vengeance today. Here in the middle of nowhere we woke up to clear blue skies and mist over the fishing ponds, which made for quite a sight. Breakfast over we piled into the car to drive to the Madingley Road park and ride site to the West of Cambridge, where we swapped the car for a bus to get us into the centre of town. It’s a great service. Good quality double-decker buses run every 10 minutes and cost £3.50 return. Helping to keep Cambridge traffic and pollution free and be the sort of city I wish more UK towns aspired to, rather being in the thrall of the motoring lobby.
. Once in the centre of town we had a wander to find options for onward travel. I’ve visited Cambridge several times although I’ve not explored the city centre for a while. The Platt’s have never done so. Dawn had hit on a plan of taking her parents on the open-top bus tour, which would allow them to see the sights and save their legs. So, whilst they did that I took the camera for a walk to indulge two of my other loves, architecture and street photography.
I love looking around a place where you come across completely random stuff like this. Ever wonder where the expression ‘Hobson’s Choice’ came from? Wonder no more…
My perambulations took me back to Bridge Street which was familiar territory. I was only when I got there and sat down to watch the world go by that I realised ‘familiar’ was 22 years in the past! The last time I’d been here was when I was living in London and I took my ‘daughter’ here. I should explain. I don’t actually have a daughter but a young lady whom Lynn and I first met in Australia and who came to stay with us in London called us ‘Mum and Dad’ so we reciprocated.
Here’s how Bridge St looked during our visit in 2001. Here’s how it looks today.
I hung around here as I wanted to catch pictures of the way people travel in out and around a city that isn’t choked by cars. Here’s a couple of examples.
Active travel. A carry bike that can be used for numerous things, from children to shopping, business to leisure. Inactive travel and a form I have issues with. E-scooters. What problem are they actually solving? Even the regulated ones litter the streets. Unregulated ones are even worse as they’re not speed limited (you really don’t want to get hit by either) and from my experience in various countries they’re mostly used by young people for joyriding rather than as an alternative to other transport modes – except walking.
Here’s an inactive mode Cambridge has become synonymous with, but what the hell! It only expends someone’s muscle power and adds a lot of money to the local economy as hiring these punts ain’t cheap!
Tomorrow we’re having a different experience as we’re visiting the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. John (Dawn’s dad) did his National Service in the RAF, so there’s family history as well has national history here.
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/
It may be tardy but summer’s finally arrived. We’ve had great weather all day here in Cambridgeshire, although looking at the stressed state of some of the local trees I suspect there’s been a lot less rain here over the summer than we’ve had up in God’s own country.
After a leisurely morning we headed over to Ely, a town I’m very familiar with but one the Platt family had never visited before. On the way in I gave the folks a bit of a run-down on local history, including that of why there’s now a Southern bypass due to the number of HGVs that used to get stuck on the level crossing or jammed under the adjacent low bridge. I’d no idea how useful a lesson it would be until we parked at the station and prepared to walk down to the river. All of a sudden there was a hell of a bang and crunching noise from behind the trees masking the road. I knew what had happened straight away. This…
And the moral of the story is – always know the height of your vehicle…
To add to the drivers distress and embarrassment, there was a weeding party a few meters away who were about to board this vehicle. Needless to say, the wedding guests phone cameras were out capturing pictures of the added entertainment. Nice bus tho’…
Walking into town the Platt’s first stop was Costa coffee, which gave me chance to dash to the tourist office for leaflets, check out a few of the sightseeing opportunities and grab a swift pint before we moved on to the Cathedral. You don’t have to be religious or an architectural buff to appreciate the magnificence of Ely cathedral (although they’d help) as it’s truly a stunning building with a fascinating history.
Looking up into the cathedral tower…
The family were all impressed and moved by the building and the atmosphere within it. If you ever get chance to visit – do. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Having done our spiritual duties we moved onto more temporal concerns by stopping for a drink by the river Great Ouse at the Cutter Inn which has a great selection of food and drink – as well as great views along the river. We managed to bag a table outside which allowed views like this.
Two excellent forms of transport meet at Ely.
Whilst we were relaxing we were rudely interrupted by this critter above us – which we hadn’t even noticed until it started cooing like it was auditioning for a part in a Cuckoo clock!
Good to see those anti pigeon spikes work. Having seen the way this Dove’s defeated static defenses I can only assume it must be Ukrainian…
Now we’re back at home, relaxing and digesting the excellent coq au vin that Dawn had set up in the slow cooker before we left. Tomorrow we head to Cambridge – another first for the Platts…
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Good morning from Saxon mound (as this collection of chalets is named). I was up first and had a lovely solo interlude sitting on the balcony overlooking the lakes, sipping coffee whilst watching the Coot, Ducks and Herons on the fishing lakes. Now the house is awake and the rest of the family are indulging in the same sport. Thankfully, I remembered to bring the binoculars this time!
Now it’s time for a leisurely breakfast before heading out to explore. Feel free to pop back and see what we get up to…
19:30. Well that was a crap ‘rolling blog’, wasn’t it? The reality was we were too busy moving around and I was too busy acting as tour guide and Dawn’s navigator to be able to update the blog. So from now on I’ll only do a daily update – bearing in mind I’m in company and meant to be on holiday. I could write volumes about today as we visited some really interesting places, many of which I’ve never seen before. Our first stop was to explore the nearby village where we just had to stop so that I could get a picture of this.
Moving on our first proper stop was at St Ives (no, not the one in Cornwall) which is a lovely little place with shedloads of history, a relaxed feel and some lovely buildings. There’s also a very rare bridge across the river in that it’s only one of four left in the country that contains a chapel as part of its structure.
The bridge across the Ouse at St Ives has a fascinating history. The old chapel in the centre is one of only four left and that’s had an interesting and varied life too… “You – boy” – the statue of Cromwell in St Ives.
We really enjoyed our visit to St Ives – a place we’ll be popping back to again before we go as it’s only up the road. Our next stop? Maybe not – although Huntingdon was interesting in a different way. The old county town certainly has a lot of history. It was the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, became a battleground between Royalists and Cavaliers during the English Civil War, and has later political ‘form’ as the constituency of former Conservative Prime Minister John Major. The town centre’s been knocked about a bit since I was last here 30 years ago, but there’s still a lot of old buildings that remain, including a lovely old pub called the Falcon Tavern at the back of the market square. I spotted it so popped in for a pint when I was checking out the sights whilst the rest of the family had gone for their Costa coffee fix. Having seen the Falcon had Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’ on tap and outside seating in the sun I couldn’t resist. As usual, my camera proved a talking point and I soon ended up in conversation with some of the pub regulars who were an interesting and eclectic bunch. Lets put it this way, I don’t think any of them voted for John Major when he was the sitting MP!
Once the combined coffee/beer break was over I took the trio to the Cromwell museum in the square. Its’ only small but a really interesting place as it makes you realise some what you thought you knew about Cromwell (and the Puritans) was Victorian make-believe. The very helpful and informative young lady staffing the single-room museum really added to our visit thanks to her own knowledge and interest in Cromwell. There’s good reasons for the Scots, Welsh and Irish to have an intense dislike of him but the idea that he ‘abolished’ Christmas (that was Parliament, not Cromwell) or that he was intolerant of other faiths and denominations (he wasn’t) are fictions. Oh, the idea the Puritans always wore black is cobblers too. Apparently, black dye was expensive, so they were far more colourful than people think.
Versions of Cromwells death mask on display in the museum. A single-room museum that fits a lot in. I’d certainly recommend a visit.
Suitably enlightened we headed home to enjoy the rest of the evening rejoicing in the dying rays of the sun before Dawn got her chef’s hat on and cooked the evening meal. Nothing fancy today – we just had fish and chips, but what a great end to the day!
Relaxing after tour guide duties.Time to eat…
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Well, almost! I’m sat at Dawn’s parents. Having repacked the car with all our stuff we’re just waiting for Madame, who’s gone off to have her nails done whilst we sorted out the jigsaw of suitcases, shoes and jackets plus the bags of condiments and spices we always take with us. The weather’s done its best to delay us by throwing the odd shower our way but the job’s done. Now we’re waiting on our driver…
13:20.
We’re now en-route…
13:55.
The joy of the M1 motorway – but only for 11 miles before we cut across country to the A1.
14:45.
Having left the M1 we cut across country on the A57 which passes South of Worksop.It’s not the most scenic of routes, it’s also very busy. But anyone who remembers the miners strike of 1984-85 will recognise some of the names – like Manton, and Thoresby.
A lot of housing in the area looks like it was built by the council or National Coal Board. Unlovely houses for the most, many haven’t improved as now it’s like living in a car-park as what once were gardens have been concreted over.
Right now we’re heading South on the A1, fortunate that we’re not going in the opposite direction as an accident by the junction where we joined the road has caused a tailback several miles long.
17:00.
We’ve made a slight detour to a very pleasant place to stop for coffee where you can admire the scenery. Rutland Water.
19:00.
We’ve arrived, unloaded the car and started to settle in. We’re all really impressed with the accommodation, which is one of a new group of five chalets just outside the village of Elsworth.
There’s certainly plenty of space…Both bedrooms are doubles. This one’s en-suite. The other has a bathroom opposite. The chalets are constructed from ‘timber’ made from recycled plastic so both hard wearing and eco-friendly. The view from the deck which overlooks a pair of well-stocked fishing lakes. There’s a tackle shop on site. The woods in the background are a SSSI so protected and off limits.
It seems that even here I can’t get away from railways! In 1946 the local church recruited a new Rector. His name? The Reverend Wilbert Awdry, who wrote the ‘Thomas the tank engine’ children’s books! Apparently, there’s a blue plaque in his honor on the vicarage, which I’ll have to seek out.
22:15.
Time to bring this blog to a close. The trip down here was pretty good and what we’ve seem on our foray to the Waitrose supermarket in St Ives makes us want to spend tomorrow reconnoitering the area so we can decide where we’d like to spend more time. The weather’s certainly a lot better than where we’ve come from and the forecast is looking good. I might even be able to break out the shorts and sandals!
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 last blog of August’s only a short one as the pair of us are preparing for a few days away in Cambridgeshire starting tomorrow which means there’ll be a series of blogs and pictures from a different neck of the woods for a while. Dawn found an interesting opportunity at some new lodges where the price was just too good to resist, so we’re heading down there with her parents for a few days R&R in the hope we might actually get some summer weather. The place we’re staying at is just 30 mins away from the Imperial War Museum at Duxford which Dee’s dad (who did his national service in the RAF) has always wanted to explore. We went once to see the recreation of a WW2 ‘big wing’ which brought 22 Spitfire aircraft together but we’ve never explored the museum building or static aircraft exhibits so we thought. it’s time we did. Mind you, I’m the only one who knows Cambridgeshire, for the Platt family it’s pretty much virgin territory, so I’m going to be wearing a tour guide’s hat for the next week as I show them around the likes of Cambridge and Ely.
I’ll be having one day off to do some railway stuff which will give me another opportunity for blogging as I explore, although I’ve no firm plans for where I’m going yet, that depends on a client’s shot list arriving in my inbox tomorrow.
Right now it’s time to go. I’ve got stuff to prepare and a cottage to sort out for the folks who’ll be looking after it whilst we’re away. I’ll leave you with an image from the last time we visited Duxford. The chance to see so many vintage Spitfires is a rare one, but in 2015…
10 of the 22 Spitfires in flight at Duxford in September 2015. If you’ve any interest in planes powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin engines you can just imagine how this sounded.
You can see some more pictures of the aircraft we saw at Duxford here.
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/
Not quite the sort of day I’d hoped for here at Bigland Towers, but I know Dawn feels exactly the same because poor Dee’s spent most of the curled up in bed as she’s been struck down by a migraine. Enter ‘nurse Paul’ stage left to try and persuade that sleep is the best thing and I’ll take care of the rest. I’ve not suffered from migraines since I was a teenager so I really count myself lucky – especially when I can see the effect they have on Dee. I really feel for her – especially when they’re as bad as this one, which is (thankfully) a rare occurrence but shit when it happens.
This means much of my day’s been spent in the office opposite the bedroom so I’m close at hand. That’s not been a problem as I’ve lots to do and the day’s been productive as I’ve all the archive pictures I’d mentioned edited and up on my Zenfolio website. You can find them here.
Tempting as it is – I’m not going to get into a political spleen-venting, despite there being so, so much to rant about right now. Rishi flying from London to Norwich by helicopter (don’t get me started). Nigel Farage advising his slack-jawed supporters how to avoid inheritance tax? Former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith from the party of ‘law and order’ endorsing vigilantes smashing ULEZ cameras? The list is endless. This country’s becoming beyond parody. Still, in a couple of days I’ll be able to take a step back from the madness – sort of – to take a break in Cambridgeshire and act as guide for Dawn and her parents in a part of the country none of them know. I’ll still blog, but my spleen will be restrained – honest!
For now I’ll leave you with today’s picture. Well, when I think what it is – because right now I’ve no idea which one to use *quickly rummages through the files*. Ah, how about this? One of today’s tasks was to look up hotel recommendations for friends who’re off to India in December. I mentioned that when you’re staying in Delhi a hotel with a rooftop restaurant is ideal. This is the place I’ve recommended, in the Paharganj area. I’ve stayed there many a time. On this particular occasion back on the 7th December 2010 I was in the city arranging an interview with the head of the Delhi Metro Corporation whilst also proofreading a friends book. IIRC it was Michael Williams first ‘on the slow train’ series.
You can find many more pictures of that trips Indian adventures here. It’s a shame I wasn’t blogging then as they were very interesting times! Hopefully, I’ll be out in that neck of the woods soon – ish!
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/
No late trains for me today. In fact no trains at all – unless you count pictures. Much of my day’s been spent editing yesterday’s images which you can find divided between the following galleries;
As well as the pictures I’ve relisted railway memorabilia and old slides on eBay which you can find here. I’ll add some new bits before the weekend but tomorrow I’ll be back out on the railways, ending up in Sheffield in the afternoon to discuss his forthcoming trip to India, a country I’ve spent rather a lot of time exploring in the past. There’s several places I want to have a look at tomorrow but my itinerary very much depends on the weather which isn’t looking great, especially out East so I may be visiting a few locations where sunny weather would actually be a handicap. Whatever I get up to I’ll be rolling blogging throughout the day.
In the meantime, here’s a picture from one of the locations I’ve been looking at. It’s 9 years since I was last taking pictures here and the railway scene’s changed quite a bit. This is a town where the railroad literally does run through the middle of the house. Well, town anyway. This is Belper, Derbyshire where the coming of the Midland Railway in 1840 split the town in two with this deep cutting.
On the 4th July 2014 a Northbound East Midlands Train to Sheffield passes a loaded coal train heading South. Once the lifeblood of freight on the old Midland Railway, you won’t see many coal trains thundering through Belper nowadays. In fact, looking at the timings for tomorrow (Thursday) I can’t find a single one. The Meridians are living on borrowed time too as they’re due to be replaced by new Hitachi built trains over the next couple of years.
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/
I’ve had an eventful day so far. Having been up early to finish penning my Blyth and Tyne article for RAIL magazine I had to walk down to our Doctors for an appointment. Whilst sitting in the waiting room idly scrolling through websites I found that – not only were the new Merseyrail trains running in passenger service on the Wirral to West Kirby, but one of the Vivarail ex-London transport trains was definitely running on the Borders line from Bidston to Wrexham. It seemed like too good a chance to miss…
Within 5 mins of leaving the Docs I was at the station and soon heading Westwards to Manchester Victoria where I had scant minutes to wait for a Trans-Pennine service onwards to Liverpool Lime St, working on the trains all the way thanks to their wifi (are you listening DfT?). Tempting as it was to join Merseyrail at Lime St I walked to Central instead as it gave me chance to buy a cheap supermarket butty rather than pay station prices. Plus I got more steps in!
First stop on Merseyrail was Bidston where I was just in time to snap one of the Transport for Wales Class 230s arriving from Wrexham four minutes late. I’m told timekeeping is a real issue with these sets, especially towards the end of their diagram when they’ve banked delays on each circuit.
Plodding onward to the lovely Art Deco station at Hoylake and finding a 777 was on the service behind I realised this wasn’t the best place for photography due to sun, heavy shadows and the waiting room canopy. I wanted shots of passengers with the train so I ended up catching it to West Kirby.
Day 2 of Class 777 passenger services on the Wirral, with obvious teething problems. Not in service?
There’s clearly teething problems introducing the sets. Not only is the set in use running late on each run from Liverpool but the destination blinds show “not in service”, much to passengers confusion! I let the 777 return to Liverpool and took a break to photograph some of the older units before catching up with set 004 on a return run at Meols where the same late running and PIS screen problems persisted.
17:15.
I’ve had another run on the 777 but this time I’ve had channce to chat to the crew. Late running is due to two sets of doors being locked out of use because the level boarding steps are stuck. Apparently, this *may* (but don’t quote me, I’m only the messenger) be due to the floor panels in the vestibules above flexing under weight. So it’s taking longer for passengers to embark/disembark, hence the late running. Whatever, this doesn’t detract from the overall quality of the trains which Pip Dunn and I reviewed in a recent RAIL article. Let’s face it, the 507s weren’t without issue when they were introduced and the fleet underwent a series of modifications during its lifetime.
Now I’m making my way back towards home, although I do have a stop off in mind on the way…
20:00.
Ever had one of those days? Again? After typing my last update I left the train at Conway Park so I could get a last shot of the 777 before adjourning to a fabulous old nautical pub near Hamilton Sq. Just as the train pulled out I thought ‘hang on, my pockets feel light’…
I’m wearing a Barbour fleece which is great apart from one thing. The pockets are as deep as the sinks in a Chiltern Railways Mk 3 coach loo. I’d managed to lose my phone on the train. Cursing under my breath I caught the next train to Hamilton Square so I could drown my sorrows if nothing else. As I passed through I told the barrier staff what I’d done. Straightaway Peter, the guy on the gateline made some phonecalls and established that a phone matching mine had just been handed in to the ticket office at James St. So, I caught the next train there with fingers crossed. Sure enough, George in the ticket office at James St had my phone. Some good Samaritan had found it and handed it in.
My faith in humanity restored I decided I’d had enough adventure for the day, but I did have a quick pint in the Crown Hotel outside Lime St just to unwind and indulge in some people – watching before heading home.
The ceiling in the Crown’s a sight to behold.
20:20.
I’ve been kicking my heels in Manchester Victoria for nearly an hour as my Leeds connection was cancelled – just to put the icing on the cake! Now I’m praying the 20:21 just *might* be on time…
20:25.
Yay! Homeward bound. This train’s on time and not too crowded so I’ve the luxury of a seat in a saloon. I’ve had an interesting if rushed day – and I’m still in possession of my phone (which is a bonus). I’ll add a few more pictures to the blog this evening just to round things off. Tomorrow will be a day for working from home without the pressure of jumping on and off trains. Instead I’ll be able to edit today’s pictures and get some filing done – as well as adding a few more items to eBay..
21:00.
Ho hum. We’re 20 mins late leaving Rochdale due to being stuck behind another service. This is really not turning out to be my day, but it is an all too typical day on the railways at the moment.
22:00.
Home at last! Now I’ve time to edit a few of today’s pictures for your delectation. Here’s a small selection.
One of Transport for Wales ex-London transport tube trains rebuilt from electric to diesel-power by Vivarail is seen at Bidston before working a Borders line service to Wrexham.
The old order at West Kirby. 1978 built 507011 arrives at the town having worked a service around the Liverpool loop and return.Ignore the PIS, 777004 was very much in service, having deposited me at Manor Rd on the Wirral line to West Kirby, where this picture was taken. More old electric trains, this time in the shape of former Thameslink units 319383 and 319386. Built by BR in 1988 these 4- car sets are living on borrowed time as they’re due to be replaced by ex-West Midlands 3-car Class 323s just as soon as the units are released from their time around Birmingham.
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 weekend at home here at Bigland Towers but it could hardly be described as a relaxing ‘feet up in front of the telly’ kind of weekend as both of us have kept busy. Dawn’s been on a mission. Having borrowed a carpet cleaner from her parents (think of a Dyson, in that it looks similar, weighs about the same – but works) Dee’s been methodically going from room to room, washing each carpet. The cottage is only small but these things still take time. Whilst Dawn’s been occupied thus I’ve kept out of the way and worked in the garden or on the outside of the house. For once the weather’s been conducive to such activities – despite the tail the end of storm ‘Betty’ which brough gusting winds to the Pennines. I’ve managed to fill several bin-bags with plant based detritus, including the trimmings off a Jasmine plant which was blocking a lot of light from the front of the cottage. The only problem was as soon as I saw how much extra light was coming in through the windows I also realised how dirty they were! Cooking when the kitchen is stacked full of exercise weights and office equipment was fun but I still managed to rustle up a typical Indonesian Nasi Goreng which has kept us going over the weekend.
Today’s been occupied finishing off the chores from yesterday, with one major difference. Dee wanted to watch the football world cup match between England and Spain whilst she was working. This involved plugging herself into the commentary via her phone whilst having the video on her iPad. Me? I was outside up a ladder cleaning windows, which was quite amusing as the expletives and exhortations coming from inside the house made me think Dee had suddenly contracted Tourettes!
Now it’s Sunday night, the carpets are drying and the cottage is slowly coming back together ready for another working week. The kitchen’s no longer an obstacle course and all the rubbish has been taken to our local recycling centre so it’s time to relax. The only thing left for me to do is post a picture of the day but as the camera’s been tucked away all weekend, the question is what to choose from the archives. How about this one which is completely random and not related to anything I’ve been talking about?
I’ve been crap at finishing scanning all my old slides this year because other things (modern life, mostly) have got in the way. Well, that and trying to earn a crust. But, I have a stack of already scanned slides I’ve just never got around to editing and sticking on my Zenfolio site. This is one, from February 1998, taken just after sunrise at the ghats in Varanasi, India.
A Brahmin (an upper caste Hindu – evidenced by the sacred thread he wears) gets his head shaved by a barber at the ghats in Varanasi.
Tomorrow’s the start of another busy week (as if this weekend wasn’t active enough) so expect pictures from one or two locations around the UK that I’ve not covered recently…
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/
Apologies for the lack of a blog yesterday but the time was taken up with a family funeral. My Mother-in-Law’s sister, known to the family as Aunty Dorothy passed away. A church service was held for her in Marsden, West Yorkshire before a private family cremation, after which everyone returned to Marsden to rejoin the other mourners for food and drinks – and chance to reminisce and celebrate her life.
Today, life goes on and I’m about to leave for Goole to meet up with my RAIL colleague Paul Stephen for a visit to the new Siemens factory there. I’ll update the blog throughout the day as and when…
09:55
I’m on the way. In contrast to yesterday the weather in the Calder valley’s very gloomy today with the clouds threatening yet more rain so I accepted Dawn’s offer of a lift to the station. This allowed me to catch an earlier train (the 09:37 instead of the 09:54) which was just as well as the 54 is already running 11 mins late, leaving me little time for my connection at Leeds.
My train was busy but not overcrowded – until it got to Bradford Interchange where families with gaggles of kids were waiting to join. I’d forgotten about the school holidays! The decible level aboard has now increased dramatically!
11:30.
My steed to Doncaster from Leeds. Another busy LNER ‘Azuma’ heading for London Kings Cross. According to an IPA report these trains were ‘unachievable’!
I’ve just left Doncaster. Getting here was painless as a quick dash between platforms allowed me to catch an earlier LNER service to Doncaster. Joining the train at the last minute was fun as I had to wade through confused families trying to work out where their seat reservations were. There’s lot of ‘newbie’ travellers around at the moment as it’s the season for them!
Having banked an extra 30 mins I was disappointed there was nothing of interest to photograph at Doncaster. The yard was virtually empty and the works siding contained nothing more than a couple of rusting Class 47s and a pair of Cross-Country Mk3 coaches – all in unphotogenic locations behind wire mesh fencing.
Now I’m aboard a Northern Class 170 heading for Scarborough via Hull which will get me to Goole…
16:45.
When I titled this blog I had no idea how appropriate it would be…
I arrived in plenty of time to walk to the new Siemens train factory to meet Paul Stephen and be given our guided tour of the new plant. The site’s impressive. It’s not often you see a new railway centre rise from a brownfield site like this. The first trains for Transport for London won’t begin to roll off the production line until March 2024 but there’s work going on at the centre already and employment will begin to increase from September. I won’t go into detail (you’ll be able to read the full story in a future edition of RAIL) but the site’s already about far more than just building trains – a view confirmed with the discussions we had with the new Siemens joint MD – Sambit Banerjee. Here’s a mock-up of what the new TfL deep level tube trains will look like.
The revised front end for the production line trains. Inside the train commissioning and testing shed, where the car bodies will be mounted onto their bogies and the trainsets tested as one unit.
Things started to go ‘Pete Tong’ when Paul dropped me off at Goole station where all services were shown on the information screens as delayed or cancelled. Apparently Hull has suffered a major signal failure and all services to from the city are disrupted. So here I am, with no idea when I’ll be able to leave…
17:40.
Escaped!
I’m now on the first train from Goole since lunchtime apparently. Lucky me! It’s a two car unit and its rammed – and sweaty!
19:00.
The homeward leg. Having made it to Doncaster I didn’t hang around but jumped the first available LNER service to Leeds. Today’s problems made it unwise to tarry. The train was busy but not unbearably so as I still found a seat.
Once at Leeds I made a beeline for my train home which was a stark contrast to a 10 car LNER.
Nice!
Northern had thrown out a 2-car 195 on a York-Blackpool North service. It’s ‘cosy’ to say the least – especially as some folk insist their bags entitled to a seat yet some folk would rather stand than challenge them. Not me, so some young bloke’s been told to sling his bag! I’m sat opposite a rarity nowadays and something I’ve not seen (or heard) for ages. A Grandmother’s reading a book to her Granddaughter. It’s ‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’…
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Paul Bigland 