Tuesday’s the new Monday here at Bigland Towers, at least for this week due to a long weekend. I’ll blog about our final day in Chester and environs tomorrow. I’d hoped to have written it up today but I’ve been up to my eyeballs in picture editing, paperwork, fixing lights in the house and keeping an eye on a poorly wife! Poor Dawn’s coming down with some form of lurgi, so I’m dusting down my nurses uniform…
To add insult to injury, her car is playing up too. We started getting error messages from its computer yesterday, but they cleared and we drove back without an issue. This afternoon they returned – with a vengeance! Everything that could flash red did – and then some. Yet again, they mysteriously disappeared and we were able to complete our mission of picking up a new light-switch to replace the one that had blown the other day. But tomorrow the phone line to Honda is going to be buzzing. Dee’s only spent over £1600 on a new timing belt and other gubbins for her Honda Civic but it’s been a PITH ever since and had to go back for rectification once already after it started burning so much oil you’d have thought someone had elected a new Pope! Ho Hum…
We have another ‘treat’ in store for tomorrow – a trip to the dentist and hygienist, so it won’t just be the car getting some attention. So, as you can see, today’s not quite gone to plan…
I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is from yesterdays explorations. I’ll leave you guessing where this was taken until tomorrow. Unless you want to post a guess?
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The pair of us have had a really good day rediscovering Chester. Despite the weather not being as good as billed (hey, at least it didn’t rain) we’ve covered a lot of ground, which started with us working off breakfast by walking along the Shropshire Union canal from our hotel into the city centre. Let’s face it, after a huge breakfast like this, is it any wonder it needed working off?
For much of the walk the canal towpath was busy with dog-walkers and runners. Hardly surprising, as it’s a linear oasis compared to walking along the adjacent A41 road, which is a congested, noisy, nightmare.
We had a couple of hours to kill before we saw Tim Peake’s show, so we indulged in a rare spot of shopping. Neither of us are great shoppers, ‘retail therapy’ really isn’t our bag. But Chester has all the shops we frequent huddled together in a very small area – and there was stuff we needed to get to prepare for winter, so time wasn’t wasted before we had to head off to listen to Tim Peake at the storyhouse, a venue we were both really impressed by. Storyhouse is a library, theatre, cinema, restaurant, bar and social space all rolled into one. It’s a real community asset. The theatre isn’t huge, making it a great place to see one person delivering a lecture – and Tim Peake packed it out. His talk on the history of space travel was riveting. He told a lot of stories that were less well known as well as covering all the historical landmarks. It was funny, exciting and inspirational at the same time and the two hour show flew by. He opened the second part of his show with a 10 minute Q&A session, answering questions texted in by the audience earlier in the show. Sadly, he ran out of time before answering the one about what happens to a fart in a spacesuit…
Afterwards we headed back to the Brewery Tap for a drink and chance to talk about what we’d heard and learned before hunger overtook us. Having eaten Indian last night we opted for Thai today. The restaurant we choose was Thai Baan, and we weren’t disappointed. We opted for the Thai tapas, sharing four different dishes accompanied by Jasmine rice. Here’s a few of the ones we chose…
Crispy seabass, lettuce, diced shallots, ginger, limes served with a spicy peanut sauce.Soft shell crab salad with peanuts and a spicy lime dressing – a real favourite of ours.Roast duck breast with thai herbs and spicy lime dressing.
Having been disappointed by our earlier trip to Chester we both agreed to revise our judgement. We’ve really enjoyed this trip and plan to come back soon – even if it’s just for a day trip. The place has a lot to offer. The architecture is fascinating plus, there’s some great pubs and restaurants. It’s a also good place for shopping if that’s your bag. Whilst the atmosphere can get a bit edgy on a Friday/Saturday night in certain areas if there’s large groups of drinkers around, it’s generally relaxed and quite cosmopolitan.
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Today, we drove over to Chester to begin a two-night stay outside the city, at a hotel and pub in the nearby village of Rowton – a 15 minutes drive from the centre of Chester. The journey across from West Yorkshire took around 100 minutes, we’d have cut at least 15-20 off that if the motorways around Manchester hadn’t been so congested. The traffic was the worst we’ve seen for quite some time, although we’ve no idea why that was.
Fortunately, we were in no rush and the glorious weather made up for any minor inconvenience. Having checked in and dumped our bags we headed into the city. We were both a little disappointed by Chester during our last visit together. The city had a down at heel air, with rubbish strewn city walls suggesting neglect of one of its most historic assets. So, on this visit we were relieved to find the place feeling somewhat improved. Oh, it still has its problems. Like any other UK city it has its fair share of vagrancy, shuttered shops and anti-social behaviour, but this was offset by a vibrant atmosphere, with the city centre buzzing with people out shopping, eating or drinking.
As it was late in the day we had little time to do much other than explore and check out some shops for later in the trip. Then it was time to eat.
We eschewed the famous names and food-chains to head for a small Indian vegetarian bistro on Brook St called ‘chai station‘, which had taken our fancy. Chai station has an excellent selection of home cooked Gujarati dishes, many of which are vegan. Dawn and I decided to order the thalis (minimum order, two people) and we weren’t disappointed. The food was really very good. We had time to chat to Bobby, the owner, who is Ugandan Indian, he came to the UK when Idi Amin through out the Ugandan Indian community in the 1970s. Bobby’s wife Anna is Kenyan Indian and does all the cooking. We’d certainly come back as there’s so many other dishes on the menu we’re dying to try.
Having stuffed ourselves we walked back into the town centre to head to an amazing old building which has only been a pub since 2008 when it taken over by Spitting Feathers brewery. The Brewery Tap (originally called Gamul House) has a long history, with parts of the building dating back to the 1500s. There’s few pubs that can boast such an impressive, high-ceilinged interior. There’s a great range of real ales on offer too.
Tempting as it was to try other venues we both decided to call it a day and head back to Bigland Towers in exile. Now we’re having a quiet night catching up on various bits (like blogging!) before a busy day tomorrow.
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After a hectic and much-travelled week I’ve had a relaxing day here at Bigland Towers. Well, when I say relaxing, static is probably a better word as much of my day’s been spent staring at a computer screen as I continue to edit hundreds of pictures that I’ve taken over these past few weeks. That said, there’s quite a variety, so I’m never going to get bored! One minute I’m looking at the Duoro valley in Portugal, then conference attendees in Nottingham and the next – lots of us dressed in PPE as we wander around a rail training school in Swindon!
Most of the important pictures are now done, which allowed me time to nip up to my local pub to indulge in the Friday quiz with friends – a luxury I’ve not had for a while. Now I’m back at home to spend some quality time with Dawn and enjoy the latest series of ‘Have I Got New For You’ on TV.
The weekend will see us both travelling. A while ago Dawn booked tickets for us to see former UK astronaut Tim Peake giving a lecture in Chester on Sunday afternoon. We’ve decided to make a weekend of it so we’ve booked a hotel in the town for Saturday and Sunday night. Expect a blog or two whilst we’re there…
For now, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which was taken in Swindon on Wednesday.
800314 arrives at Swindon whilst working 1C18, the 1430 London Paddington to Weston-super-Mare.
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It’s the start of a long day here in Swindon. Our group’s about to assemble in the hotel lobby before heading over to the Network Rail training centre to begin today’s activities. I’ll post a few pictures when I’m able.
At day’s close I’ll be heading back to West Yorkshire, hopefully with as easy a journey as I had yesterday. Let’s see…
17:30.
I’m back! Apologies for the gap but it’s been a busy day with the PWI and wifi at the centre wasn’t up to snuff. I’ll post some pictures later. The delegates certainly enjoyed themselves learning more about the dark art of installing and maintaining the railways overhead electrification systems – and got the chance to get their gloves dirty carrying ot a range of tasks. Running contact wires, then tensioning them. Installing droppers and drilling rails to install bonding – and that was just a few of the activities. There were also demonstrations of tools and other kit by Cembre, Gripple and Mosdorfer. At the end of the day, delegates were presented with a course certificate and their very own section of copper OLE contact wire by Gary Keenor of the PWI/Atkins, the man who wrote ‘the’ book on OLE systems.
Now I’m heading back North. On leaving Swindon I caught a GWR train to Didcot Parkway where I changed for the local service to Banbury as far as Oxford, where the station was packed due to it being rush-hour. I was lucky enough to catch a late-running Cross-Country service (1M58, the 14:45 from Bournemouth).
17:50.
We’re now between Leamington Spa and Coventry, an area I know well for various reasons (people and High Speed 2 mainly). This train’s quietened down as we’ve dropped more people off than we’ve picked up, but I suspect that’ll soon change as ‘Cov’ is always a busy place.
19:00.
We’ve passed through the Cov-Brum- Wolves corridor and (as expected) the train was heaving. This area sees an intercity train become little more than a jam-packed local service. It’s popular with locals because of its speed as it omits all the smaller stations. We’re still busy heading for Stafford, although this is the outer limit of the Black Country commuter belt.
20:40.
My plan for getting home earlier was frustrated by a 31 min late arrival at Piccadilly. The closer we got to the city, the more congestion we encountered. My dash across the city was to no avail as I missed my connection by 2 minutes. It was leaving from the far side of the station, which left me no chance. To add insult to injury, the next train (20:36) was running late and not due until 21:04, leaving me no option but to catch the 20:57 to Halifax. There’s only one thing to do – seek refuge in the Victoria Tap…
Mine’s a pint…
21:00.
The last leg. Having enjoyed a pint and indulged in a spot of people watching (divorced dads in their mid 30s who’re obviously struggling with the reality) and being thankful I’m not in that position, I’m now on a quiet 4-car service heading across the Pennines. It’s been a long day – but a really interesting one that’s presented me with a few challenges from a photographic perspective. But that’s what makes the job interesting. That said, I’m looking forward to a day working from home tomorrow. But I’m not there yet…
22:30.
Home again! Now it’s time to relax, but before I do that I’ll post a few pictures from today for your delectation.
Delegates, trainers and members of the PWI pose at the Cocklebury training centre. Teamwork. Pulling out a contact wire run off its cable drum before it’s secured to masts and tensioned. Although it wasn’t strictly park of the course, delegates got to see a MEWP (Mobile Elevated Work Platform) in action. This ex-London Midland Class 153 has appeared at the training centre, although none of us can work out why, or even how it got there as there’s no physical connection with the national network.
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After a welcome night at home, I’ve repacked my bags (which are now full of my PPE) and begun my journey across country to Swindon in Wiltshire to join the rest of the PWI team abd delegates for this year’s electrification challenge at the Network Rail training school at Cocklebury sidings.
My route avoids London, which means I’m taking a truly Cross-Country route to Leeds. From there, I pick up an XC train that goes via Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham and Cheltenham to Bristol Parkway. On arrival, I change for a GWR train for the hop to Swindon. What could possibly go wrong?
I’m about to find out…
Off to Swindon. Me that is, this train’s off to York!
The first leg of my journey was easy. Dawn was a star and dropped me off at Halifax station, which allowed me to bank some time in Leeds as I was able to catch an earlier train than I’d planned. A busy 3-car heading for York carried me to Leeds via Bradford – without any of the problems we encountered yesterday.
The ‘mobile office’ had to stay in my camera bag, meaning this first part of the blog was typed on my phone.
10:40.
I’m relaxing at Leeds and making use of the free station wifi to post this blog.
Checking real time trains it seems my next train is (mercifully) made up of two four-car Voyagers and is (almost) on time on its journey from Scotland.
Leeds platforms 15-16 used to be almost exclusively used by Trans-Pennine Express. I still do a double-take when I see a Northern service using one.
11:11.
All’s well with the world. OK, admittedly I’m really on a cramped 4-car Voyager, but we’re on time, I have a window seat, working plug socket, and WiFi- so I’m counting that as a win – despite the fact I now have a bum-numbing 3 hrs 12 mins on this train.
Ready for the road…
Now it’s time to set up the mobile office to get some work done…
12:15.
I’ve retraced yesterday’s steps as far as Chesterfield. We’re running a couple of minutes late but that’s hardly a problem. My car on this train is blissfully quiet. We’ve had people come and go at Wakefield or Sheffield, but there’s been no major influx. One of the ironies of Cross-Country services is that – despite the length of the diagram (this train’s travelling from Glasgow to Plymouth) most passengers are taking far shorter journeys. I don’t know what the statistics are now, but the average used to be about 50 miles. It’s no wonder the moquette gets so worn, that’s a lot of bums on a single seat in the course of the diagram!
Room to breathe. Unusual on Cross-Country.
12:55.
We’re now past Tamworth and well into the Midlands, heading West. This has been one of the most relaxed cross-country journeys I’ve had in a long time. After leaving Derby we passed the old Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, where the giant cooling towers overshadow the railway. It was the UKs last coal-fired power station and closed last year. Now it’s been slated for demolition. These structures dominated a lot of the skyline around where I now live but are vanishing one by one. Of course, the collieries that once fuelled them have already vanished. The line’s skyline’s changing. A new landmark is the viaducts of HS2’s triangular junction for the lines out of Birmingham, which is really taking shape. In fact, HS2 construction dominates much of this route into (and out of) Birmingham.
13:20.
We’ve left Birmingham to follow a far more relaxed and less contentious form of transport construction – a canal! Well, I say that, but I know Nimbys still existed in the 18th century – but they were landowners and the gentry rather than ordinary people! Despite an influx of passengers in Brum this train’s still got plenty of free seats – thank God for a double set. If this had been a single 4-car Voyager we’d be playing Sardines. I’ve had a walk-through this train. There’s three people in 1st Class, whist Standard class has loadings of around 20%
One of my reasons for a walk-through (other than curiosity) was to grab something to eat. Foolishly, I hadn’t prepared anything before I left so was reliant on on-board catering. Only the trolley service as far as Birmingham was bereft of anything substantive. It was snack-bars or nothing. But, after a crew change – we had butties from Brum!
It may be white bread, but it was still a decent sandwich.
17:00.
I’m in Swindon after a fault-free journey. Sadly, I have to report that the town’s not got any better and is still a sh*thole. That said, I have gone for a walk uphill into the old town in order to get my steps in. The old town’s much nicer. You know a town’s a mess when the only thing that brightens it up is street art. Here’s a few pics from my stroll…
A lovely, relaxed pub with a modern interior.This brightens up your day… I passed a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside BBC Wiltshire. I wonder if they’ll report on it? More street art..Yet more street art..Are you sure? I suspect that with some clients, a verbal announcement may be more useful…
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After a very busy day at the community rail conference (hence no rolling blog this time) myself and many other staff members and delegates were heading North on Northern’s 16:14 to Leeds. All was going to plan until we entered West Yorkshire, where we started to get news of a problems in the Leeds and Halifax area which mean that no trains are running through the Calder valley, which has buggered up several of us.
Rather than get stuck in Leeds four us decided to jump ship at Wakefield Kirkgate in order to catch Grand Central’s 18:36 which was shown as still running through Halifax to Bradford, having avoided the Calder valley route. This would have got two of three of us home, whilst our colleague heading to Accrington would be nearer his.
So much for cunning plans. A further signalling fault at Greetland Junction (just South of Halifax) put the mockers on that idea. Fortunately, our intrepid Grand Central crew and Grand Central’s control team were up to the challenge. We’re now running direct to Bradford Interchange via Wakefield Westgate and Leeds. It will involve a reversal at Whitehall Junction in Leeds, but at least we’ll get to Bradford in comfort! After that? Who knows? It would seem that trains have started running through the Calder Valley (and Halifax) again, so something will turn up sooner or later.
I’ll be happy to get home as I’m on the rails again tomorrow heading down to Swindon for another job with the Permanent Way Institution. Hopefully that trip will be incident free!
19:24.
We made it to Bradford Interchange in good order. Needless to say, there was a melee on the platforms as people milled around, hoping for a train going in their direction. I was one of the lucky ones as a service bound for Wigan was following behind us. It’s busy, but not unbearably so – and at least I’m on the move again.
The welcoming sight of approaching headlights!
21:00.
Phew! I finally made it home. Dawn offered to pick me up from the station which saved me a 30 minute walk and got me home earlier. Now I’ve put my feet up to relax before another busy day tomorrow. I’ll leave you with a few pictures taken in Nottingham today.
A cyclist passes a tram on Middle Hill in central Nottingham. The area contains some very colourful murals which certainly brighten the place up. It’s leaf-fall season on the railway, so Network rail has deployed its fleet of railhead treatment trains (RHTTs) which blast leaf mulch off the rails with high pressure water jets. Here’s one passing through the station earlier today.
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The start of a new week sees me back on the rails, this time heading for Nottingham and the two-day Community Rail Network conference. Sadly, I’m travelling solo. Dawn was hoping to attend but decided to stay behind at the last moment due to pressures of work.
So, I’ve left home early in order to get a few pictures en-route and at Nottingham before this afternoon’s kick-off. Having walked into sunny Halifax I found a Hull bound service waiting at the platform, so I’m already on my way to Leeds aboard a mostly empty 2-car class 158 which is providing a relaxed mobile office environment!
I’ve worked in busier offices!
11:35.
After a brief stop in Leeds to change trains, I’m on my way again. Oddly, on another Class 158. The Leeds – Nottingham route is normally worked by the more modern CAF built Class 195s. Today, we’re having to slum it without the benefit of power-sockets. Ho hum! At least the weather’s staying good.
Not what I expected…
16:00.
Sorry for the gap, but I’ve had a busy day. I’m now settled into my hotel with time to breathe before stuff kicks off. Despite the train being busy, the trip to Nottingham was rather relaxed. Normally, there would be a gang of us, but today I was flying solo. This meant that I had a couple of hours to explore the city and get some pictures (which are downloading from the camera now). I like this city. It’s a really interesting place, full of life. Like any UK city, it’s not without its problems (homelessness and substance abuse, for example), but it’s thriving university town with a vibrant city centre – and trams – which is always a good start!
Now my camera’s downloaded I’ve a small selection of pictures for you.
DBs diversity branded Class 66 passed through hauling 6E02, the 1230 Toton Up Sidings to Boston Sleaford SidingsTo reinforce the message that the railways celebrate diversity EMRs version of a ‘trainbow’ passed through a few moments later! London Rd overbridge to the East of the station provides a great vantage point of Eastcroft depot and the running lines out to Grantham and onwards to Skegness. The view’s changed a bit over the past few years now that EMR have dispensed with their older Class 153 and 156 units. Trams on Cheapside in the centre of town.
17:10.
The stage is set, and the buffet is almost ready…
23:00.
Time to call it a day. The conference has produced lots of talking points for tomorrow, people have been busy networking and a few dozen of us have been enjoying a drink out in Nottingham. Tomorrow’s another (busy) day…
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For various reasons there’s a very short blog from me today. The weekend’s almost over and I have a busy week which begins with heading to the community rail conference in Nottingham tomorrow.
Part of my day’s been engaged in editing many more pictures from our Portugal trip, so I though I’d leave you with this one from the Douro valley.
Not so much the grapes of wrath as those of Port…
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It’s a damp and dreary day as I depart God’s own country (other epithets are available) for Derby in order to meet up with a bunch of old railway friends to remember one of our number who’s passed away. Neil Howard was an old railwayman of the BR school. Founder of the Aspergers/Tourettes Railway Touring club and leading light of the Kosovo ‘train for life’*, the stories of his life are legendary (as well as libellous). We’re meeting to swap stories of some of our exploits together around the UK and Europe and toast his memory.
Here’s Neil (left) with another sadly departed railway legend, Ray (Matey) Towell.
Right now, I’m on my first leg of the trip aboard a train from Halifax to Leeds.
*The ‘train for life’ was a brilliantly madcap scheme that saw a group of UK railway staff and others take a train of humanitarian aid from the UK across Europe to Kosovo via the channel tunnel. Hauled by a pair of Class 20s, their adventures included being held to ransom and death threats.
11:30.
After a short stay at Leeds I caught a Lincoln bound service, which has just left Meadowhall en-route to Sheffield. The further South I get the wetter the weather is. Sheffield’s looking distinctly damp, which means my camera may not see much use just yet.
21:15.
Well, that was a blast! An afternoon in the ‘Akex’ full of remiscing and laughter. Many of the stories aren’t for publication. Folks travelled from far and wide to be there, but I’m glad I wasn’t one of them as the latest storm has shut parts of the network North of the border.
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 