Here in the Calder Valley October began exactly where September left off – in the rainclouds! The rain’s hardly stopped all day except for a few moments when you feel emboldened enough to set foot outside, then it creeps back laughing and soaks you! I went for a walk up through our local woods earlier, all the paths had been turned into rivulets as the ground’s so sodden the water’s nowhere else to go. Apart from me, a few soggy squirrels and a couple of determined dog-walkers the woods were deserted. For the past few days I’ve been lucky to see the other side of the valley, never mind further afield.
I’ve not minded too much as I’ve got plenty to do at home. In fact, this enforced sojourn has allowed me to catch up on a huge amount of paperwork and also led me to have a bit of a clear out of stuff I’ve been hoarding for years but never looked at for decades – and certainly not since I left London. You see, this month hold a rather significant birthday for me. It’s my 60th, and it’s make me somewhat introspective. When you’re younger you collect all sorts of ephemera and stuff you physically clutter your life up with. I’m now of an age where I’m thinking “do I really need this stuff anymore? What value is it going to add to my remaining years”? It’s not as if I haven’t got enough to keep me occupied with all the pictures that I still need to scan so that they see the light of day after decades of sitting in albums. Some of this decluttering is actually a catharsis, allowing me to focus on what’s really important.
Tomorrow all this changes as we escape the valley and me the office to head down to Telford for the ACoRP awards. The weather forecast promises something other than continual rain, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get a few library shots to add to the collection as well as everything else. No doubt there’ll be a rolling blog or two coming your way at the same time. In the meantime, here’s a couple of pictures from last years awards which was held in Glasgow.
Compare Richard Salkeld (left) of LNER with Scotrail MD and awards presenter Alex Hynes.
Enjoying the drinks reception before the serious business of the night starts – the awards themselves.
I’ve already had a varied day at home, sorting out a selection of pictures for my show at tonight’s Bradford Railway Circle title “from contraction to expansion” which will take a look at the way the railways fortunes have changed in the last few decades. I’ve also been sorting out pictures for a couple of clients. Now it’s time to escape the house for a few hours as I make my way over to Bradford. After the torrential rain we had yesterday things are brightening up, we’ve actually got some sunshine to keep the dark clouds that are looming company. Hopefully, I might even be able to get a couple of decent pictures on my travels.
It’s not just over the Calder Valley where the weather’s stormy. I’ve just been watching some of the proceedings in the reconvened Parliament. To say that some MPs are angry is an understatement! I expect more thunder and lightning when Johnson appears at the Dispatch Box later this afternoon. This would make great theatre if the consequences for the rest of us weren’t so damned serious. All will be revealed later, but don’t expect Johnson to have any answers, or apologise for breaking the law.
15:56.
It looks like I made a mistake in trusting the weather forecast, which said we’d be getting some sunshine this afternoon. This was the view as I headed up the hill from home earlier. That’s more rain heading my way, not ‘sunny spells’! I managed to walk to the station without copping for more than coating of drizzle, but this is hardly ideal weather for photography…
17:00.
As often happens, once I left the valley behind the weather picked up. Not so much in Bradford, but I decided to sally forth to Shipley once more to kill some time and add to my gallery of CAF built Class 331 shots. For once, everything fell right with the two sets in traffic following each other on Skipton services, one from Leeds, the second from Bradford.
Now I’m making a move back to Bradford to try and grab a few more shots before heading out to my show. If only the weather was like Saturday, when for a few brief hours we returned to the summer!
18:10.
I’ve managed to bag a few library images. Nothing special as the weather wasn’t playing ball, but useful nonetheless. I also had the opportunity to see how recent track alterations have cut out conflicting movements to allow trains from Leeds and Halifax to arrive simultaneously. Now I’m waiting for my train out to Low Moor, the sole station between Bradford and Halifax that reopened in 2017. I’ve never visited before but now I have an excuse as it’s the nearest station to tonight’s venue.
18:32.
My train to Low Moor is being worked by my old friend, the e-Pacer!
23:21.
The show seemed to go well, although it’s always slightly unnerving when you have such a famous railway photographer as Brian Morrison in the audience. No-one fell asleep, there were several questions and I was invited back! I’m very lucky that my line of work gets me to places the public don’t normally see, so it’s always great to be able to share the pictures and anecdotes with aporeciative people. Heading back from Low Moor the e-Pacer arrived again to take me back to Halifax and I’m now home and ready to call it a day.
There’s another busy day ahead of ne tomorrow, plus an early start in order to fit everything in. Watch this space…
S’cuse the absence from blogging yesterday. The mundane caught up with me and demanded my full attention!
On Friday, as I was ready to make my way back from the National Rail Awards one of our neighbours who was popping in to look after our cat reported that we had a leak from the bathroom into the kitchen. Her timely intervention with towels and basins meant that it did very little damage but it did mean I had to start pulling the bathroom to pieces when I got home. Sod’s law being what it is, the leak was on the most inaccessible tap! To get to it meant stripping out the wash-hand basin. as I had to do that it seemed like a good idea to tackle another job which needed doing and repair the bathroom floor.
With Saturday being such a wonderful day weather-wise I left the bathroom to dry out before tackling the floor. Now, two days later and after much cursing, head-scratching and skinned knuckles, the bathroom’s back together again just in time for Dawn to return from her trip to her brothers this evening.
Now I can get back to the job of editing all the pictures I took last week and on Saturday. The weather since then has been mixed to say the least! Sunday brought torrential rain in the morning, stayed warm and wet through much of the day but then produced to most glorious sunset that was made more special by the mist slowly building in the valley.
Today’s been very different. We had a misty morning, glorious afternoon but a damp and dismal evening. As I sit in my office typing this I can hear the rain dripping off shed roofs and drumming on the cobbles in the alley at the back of the house – as if I haven’t had my fill of dripping water! I suspect I’m going to be a captive of the weather again tomorrow. At least I have an excuse to catch up on paperwork!
To brighten the evening, here’s a small selection of pictures from the past week.
West Coast Railways 57601 leading and 57313 trailing work an excursion from Preston to Scarborough through Sowerby Bridge on Saturday.Northern Rail’s 333014 passes Cononley en-route to Skipton. With Skipton in the background and the bridge of the A629 bypass in the foreground, 331110 heads for Bradford Forster Square.
Tomorrow I’ve a presentation to prepare for Wednesday as I’m doing a picture show to Bradford Railway Circle. You can find details here.
Unusually for a Saturday I’m on the rails again today to take advantage if what may be the last sunny day for a while as the forecast has changed. Yesterday was stunning as I made my way back to Yorkshire from London and the National Rail awards. As usual, I didn’t get chance to talk to half of the friends and colleagues I’d hoped to because it’s such a huge event with 1200 people in the room.
I’m hoping to get some of the pictures online this evening. Right now I’m Breadford bound after a slow start due to the valley being shrouded in cloud and mist which only burned off in the past hour. I was down in Sowerby Bridge by 10:00 to photograph the passing of one of West Coast railways charter services which was working from Preston to Scarborough.
11:30.
My next choice of destination was made up for me by the fact the next two Northern services West were cancelled, so East it was! I caught a York bound train as far as Bradford, then walked across from Interchange to Forster Square. Sadly, the city has lost both its magnificent old train sheds and neither replacement is a showcase to match some of the lovely old Victorian buildings like this, the Midland hotel.
The graceful trainshed and massive goods yards that it fronted have been replaced by a tiny station that’s all the aesthetic appeal of a car crash.
I’ve added some links that show you what the city’s stations used to look like. Here’s Exchange station, that was demolished and replaced by Interchange. There’s a lot more on Bradford’s railways here.
12:08.
I’ve moved on as far as Shipley where I’ve changed trains. Whilst I’ve been here I’ve noticed this footbridge and the damage caused to it by our outdated insistence on using rock salt for gritting in the winter. Look at the state of this..
14:34.
From Shipley I stopped briefly at Bingley to pick up a snack for the next leg of my trip, which was out to the pretty little village of Cononley aboard one of what I was hoping to photograph, a new Northern Class 331. On arrival in the village I trekked up the back road towards Skipton that climbs the valley side, allowing some great views across the valley – and the railway. Conditions are perfect today, so this is where I’m spending the next half hour before walking on into Skipton – which is all downhill!
17:27.
I’m on the homeward leg via Bradford, retracing my earlier route, only this time I’ve stopped off in the city centre for a quick drink and to get some pictures. This is nothing to do with the railways, this is street photography and architecture. Bradford has some beautiful buildings and today, the square by the Town Hall us oacked with people of all ages, colours and religions making the most of the sunshine and the fountains. I’ll add some pictures later. I don’t really know this city at all as I’m normally just passing through, but I’m encouraged to learn more and make some more photographic forays. One thing that does stand out is this is a resolutely working class city nowadays. This isn’t the affluent South-East. The amount of casual ‘effing and jeffing’ you hear is noticable, even if you don’t have delicate ears! Oh, and did I mention the bloke who’d turned up on a horse which had a habit of knocking over and slurping up people’s alcoholic beverages?
18:16.
I’m now heading home on the voyage of the damned, otherwise known as the 18:02 to Chester. Only it’s 12 minutes late due to the Constabulary having to be called to remove an incontinent drunk earlier. Other passengers who left at Bradford didn’t seem to be in much better state. For some mysterious reason they’ve left the wheelchair area of the train scattered with dog biscuits. Fortunately, two genuinely disabled people (both with white sticks) arrived to take their place. They say love is colour blind. In this case they’re genuinely blind – and a lovely couple they make too – and it shines though…
22:30.
It’s time to say goodnight folks as I’ve been settled down at home for several hours, getting to grips with editing the pictures. As promised, here’s a couple from the camera..
One of Northern’s new Class 331’s works a service from Skipton to Leeds through the Aire valley.
Kids cool off in the fountains outside Bradford Town Hall.
Having been too busy sorting pictures out at home for a client whilst eyeing the indifferent weather, I’ve finally made it out of the house for a few hours in order to get some exercise – and a few pictures.
Now that the nights are drawing in other photographic oportunities arise, such as dusk or nightime long exposure shots. With that in mind I’m heading over to Bradford for a little while in the hope of capturing some. Let’s see how it goes…
18:08.
I’m now on a half-empty Northern Rail service bound for York as far as Bradford. This 3 car train will have carried commuters home from Preston to Blackburn and the Lancashire towns before heading across the Pennines. At Bradford it became busy again with folk hwading to Leeds, whilst I decamped to see if there were any decent shots in the offing…
19:02.
Sadly, things haven’t panned out due to a combination of clear skies and too many Pacers and other trains in the old Northern livery, so I’m moving on to Leeds – and possibly Huddersfield. I’ve got a coupke of usable shots ‘in the can’ as it were, but not what I’m after. This location would be better on a wet winter’s night. I’m heading to Leeds on another of Northern’s unrefurbished Ckass 158s which is almost empty, i’m not used to this as I’m not normally swimming against the tide but caught up with the flow of commuters heading home from Leeds! It certainly makes a pleasent change.
20:47.
I’m now in Huddersfield and heading home, having finally got the type of picture I wanted. There’s plenty of opportunities at Leeds and I’ll return later when the nights have drawn in more but I need a pitch black night there for what I had in mind. Huddersfield proved to be a challenge due the old-style lighting installed on the platforms which flares quite badly, but other shots and angles were available which worked – as you’ll see later. Right now I’m spending the next half an hour on this!
It’s midnight and time for bed, but I thought I’d add just a couple of pictures from tonight’s foray.
A pair of Pacers compete to enter Bradford Interchange. The leading unit is working from Leeds to Huddersfield, the unit in the background in the opposite direction. Both will reverse here. The line to the right is to Halifax, that to the left to Leeds.
The skies are blue today so I’m making a bid for freedom from the office to head out hunting some of the new Northern trains that were introduced into public service from Monday. The Class 331 electrics have spread their wings from operating solely on the Leeds to Doncaster route. They’re now on diagrams between Leeds, Bradford and the Aire Valley services. They’re also out and about on the Blackpool North to Liverpool Lime St route, displacing more old diesel units to allow more Pacers to head to the scrapyard. I’ll update this blog throughout the day. Let’s see what happens and where I get to…
10:35.
I thought I was being clever by hitching a lift into Huddersfield with Dawn, but it’s all gone pear-shaped at the station. Track-circuit failures at both East and West mean hardly anything is running to time. Delays are averaging 15-20m. My next service to Leeds is 16m late, leaving me lots of time to admire Northern’s shiny new Class 195s which are stood idle in the sidings.
11:08.
My trip to Leeds was spent standing in a vestibule aboard a 3-car Class 185, so no change there then! The service was busy with holiday makers including a gaggle of middle-aged professional women who were already on the Prosecco, but they were very well behaved, so no bother to anyone. Once in the city I caught the first available train for the Aire valley, the 11:12 to Bradford Forster Square which is worked by a refurbished Class 333. In fact it’s the first of the class – 001!
11:30.
My first port of call was the new station at Kirkstall Forge, a brownfield site that’s rapidly redeveloped. As I stand here all I can hear is the clanking of catapillar tracks and the warning horns of earthmovers. A new 7-storey office block immediately outside the station’s already open for business.
12:18.
I’ve moved on a couple of times now, first tk Shipley, then down to Bradford Forster Square for a brief photographic stop before returning to Shipley, which is a rare beast on the UK rail network. It’s a station built in the middle of a triangle of railway lines that has platforms on each side of the triangle. Only one other exists, at Earlestown on Merseyside. There did used to be several others, including nearby Queensbury, but they’re long gone. Shipley still has 5 out of the original 6 platforms as well as an old Midkand Railway station building which contains a booking office and traincrew depot.
14:10.
After several stops heading West up the Aire valley I’ve pitched up in pretty Skipton for lunch.
Frustratingly, the only Class 331’s I’ve found are all here – laid up in the carriage sidings! On the bright side, I’ve git several decent library/client shots and recorded the imminent demise of the trains Northern will be surrendering – the BR built Class 321/322s, known affectionately as “dusty bins”.
Skipton still retains most of its classic Midland Railway platform canopies
They have an interesting history. The Class 321/9 fleet were bought by the local passenger transport Executive especially for Aire Valley and Leeds-Doncaster services. The 322/4s have had a peripatetic existence. Originally built for ‘Stansted Express’ services from Liverpool St in London, they were displaced and ended up in Scotland where they worked Edinburgh – North Berwick services. Displaced once again, they ended ul being transferred to Leeds Neville Hill depotto strengthen services in the Aire Valley.
15:02.
Having ‘acquired’ copies of the two diagrams Class 331s are meant to be operating it’s clear that there are a few issues. I’ve found one running at Skipton but that’s on a training run to Shipley, which is where I’m going to head for as almost everything passes through there!
16:37.
Despite my best efforts 331s in traffic proved elusive. Services were’t performing well today so it was very muuch the luck of the draw. However, my luck did hold at Keighley where I managed an interesting historical comparison which I’ll upload this evening. As it’s Friday I called it a day early and headed into Bradford. A sprint between the two stations meant I made the 16:30 from Interchange back to my starting point in Huddersfield. It’s worked by one of the Pacers formerly based up at Heaton in Newcastle, so I’ve a vintage ride home and chance to enjoy one of these old workhorses before it takes its final trip to the scrapyard.
There’s not much blogging from me today as I’ve been spending another day cooped up at home for most of it, trying to get catch up on DIY, chores and paperwork. Add to this the fact the weather here’s been ‘mixed’ and there’s been little opportunity for photography. Here’s the view across the Calder Valley and Sowerby Bridge earlier when I wandered out to do some shopping. The latest rain shower’s sweeping up the valley from the West.
I do love the view from here. It’s a cobbled hill just above our home. You’d recognise it if you’ve ever watched the opening episode of the TV series “Gentlemen Jack” which is based on the life of Ann Lister. Let’s face it you don’t often get views like this walking to and from the supermarket – or the local pub!
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be out and about again. Let’s see what happens…
After the fun of rush-bearing yesterday today’s a bit of a come-down. The procession does continue but its focus is more rural and I’ve got other things to do – like edit the hundreds of pictures I took yesterday, as well as houshold chores, cooking and some DIY. It’s not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle, but it keeps me occupied!
That said, so does trying to keep track of the latest iplosions/resignations/floor crossings in UK politics! Today the headlines are all about the latest Cabinet Minister to abandon Johnson’s sinking government. That would normally be extraordinary enough but we live in such bizarre times we also have news that the Prime Minister is allegedly prepared to break the law to deliver Brexit. Meanwhile, the Lib-Dems gain their third defector in a week in the shape of former Labour MP Angela Smith. Truly, the old political party system is broken. Tribal allegiances have been torn apart. Brexit’s broken everything as both Labour and Tories have drifted to the extremes of left and right but neither have any answers to the mess we’re in. All we have now is voices of reason on both sides who cut through the crap and deal with the realities of the situation. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be on the side of Michael Heseltine and Ken Clark, but that says it all really.
The depressing thing is seeing how many UK citizens are so ignorant of the trouble we’re in. As long as ‘Eastenders’and ‘Coronation St’ are still being broadcast, all’s well in their world. Apparently, we’re British, so we’re immune to all the world’s normal travails. Shit will never happen to us. Only it is and sticking one’s head in the sand isn’t going to help.
On the bright side, I’ve managed to start uploading yesterday’s pictures to the rush-bearing gallery. You can find them here. For now, here’s a couple of samples. I’ve a lot more to add over the next few days.
Today’s the first full day of the Sowerby Bridge rush-bearing festival. A two day annual event that dates back to 1977 when an old local tradition of delivering rushes to churches was resurrected. It’s a day full of fun and a great event to take a camera to -so watch out for pictures throughout the day. Here’s a starter from 2012. Right, I’m off to catch the rush-cart, see you later…
12:47.
It’s been all go so far! I decided to catch the procession in some different locations this year so I walked uo to Warley village and caught the procession at St John’s church, Warley just before they started off. It’s quite a climb from there to their first stop outside thd Maypole pub in the village so I hooe i’ve managed to get some decent pictures. The weather’s been ideal, dry but not too sunny. Here’s a couple of shots I’ve taken on the phone. I’ll add camera pictures later.
Starting off from St John’s church.
Morris dancers performing outside the Maypole pub in Warley village.
Right now I’ve got ahead of the procession ready to get shots of them dropping down into Sowerby Bridge.
15:25.
It’s been a great day so far with a real carnival atmosphere in Sowerby Bridge as the cart goes from location to location. Some of the cart pullers are on their 9th pint by now. Notice the tankards they have clipped to their belts?
17:50.
What a cracking day! The weather got better as the day went on, so the turnout increased. The procession’s now over but the town is absoluteky buzzing. Many of the pubs have laid on outside bars and barbecues so the carnival atmosphere continues. Admittedly, I’ll be calling it a day soon and heading home to sort out today’s pictures, that said, I’ll bet the ‘Bridge’ will be having a busy night tonight. Rush-bearing continues tomorrow but I’ve got domestic things to focus on.
Every year a commemorative leather badge is produced to celebrate the event. You’ll see them on the hats and waistcoats of those taking part. Here’s this years.
I’ve been meaning to blog about this for ages but never had the time. Today’s miserable weather’s put a damper on other photographic activities as it’s chucking it down here in the Calder Valley so I’ve finally found the opportunity.
Some of you may have noticed the old station building at Mytholmroyd as you passed by on the train. It’s on West end of the Leeds bound platform. What you may not have appreciated from the train is just how big a building it is! Here’s how it looked from the platforms in April 2015.
Here’s a recent view showing what it looks like from ground level. In effect it’s two buildings. The back part of the building (to the left of the drainpipe) was the stationmasters residence. The public part of the building is to the right of the drainpipe.
It’s spread over three-floors and there’s a warren of rooms inside. Built in 1871 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, it was given a grade 2 listing back in 1984 when it was closed by British Rail. It’s been derelict for over 30 years but the friends of Mytholmroyd station have been trying to get it reopened as a community space and waiting rooms ever since 2007. It was a long process as the building is owned by Network Rail. In 2015 the station building was specifically included in the successful Arriva North Franchise Agreement, which stated that (no later than 2025) the franchise shall ” redevelop for social use redundant or under- utilised buildings at stations including Mytholmroyd and Cottingham”.
With that commitment agreed, negotiations continued with various interested parties, including the Railway Heritage Trust. The original group of station volunteers was joined by representatives from the local community and a Northern Rail director; and an application for Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was granted in September 2017.
The negotiations culminated in work commencing in March 2018 by Network Rail contractors CPMS who removed asbestos and made the building safe in preparation to repoint and plaster parts of the interior. Local interior designers JSB Ltd assisted with the restoration of the original woodwork, fireplaces and windows.
Northern Rail is planning to include the building within
their (operational) station lease from Network Rail. The Station Partnership
and CIO would have a licence from Northern – with no responsibility for
building maintenance etc.
Northern are planning a public Waiting Room and toilet on the second floor with access from the station platform. They would welcome suggestions for a small trading outlet within the building that would be relevant for rail passengers and be suitable for the general community/social use concept.
Northern envisage that the operation of the building will be through a Management Board consisting of themselves, the Station Partnership together with the CIO and users / tenant(s).
Proposals include –
Second Floor – step-free access from the station platform. Welfare
accommodation for Northern Rail staff. A General Waiting Room – which may include
an Art Gallery and station history display. Toilet. Rooms for Railway Education
project.
First floor – steps only access. Studios for local artists
and office/meeting room for Station Partnership, the CIO and the building
Management Board.
Ground floor – step-free access. Flexible use which could include a small trading unit, a Reading Café incorporation of a library, meeting/conference facilities including a small catering area. Secure storage area for the Station Partnership equipment including an accessible water supply.
In March 2019 the first phase of the restoration of the building was complete. In May I was lucky enough to be invited along to have a look inside. Here’s what we saw.
The tour group gather in the booking hall on the ground floor as Geoff Mitchell from the station friends group gives us a run-down on what’s been happening with the building. Looking behind me from the last picture. The wooden structure to the right is the old ticket office. Note the original stone steps leading to the second floor. The restoration work has been done to a very high standard.Here’s the original ticket office desk which was still in-situ. It’s been cleaned and restored. Climbing the stairs from the ground floor. One of the top-floor rooms that have a doorway out onto the platform. This one is on the street side of the building. You can see the way it’s changed uses over the years. Looking to the right of the previous pictures you can see through to the other top-floor room that opens out onto the platform. Some of the original plasterwork and paint colours remain.One of the top-floor stone fireplaces that have been lovingly restored. Another of the fireplaces. None of us could work out what the wooden framework above had been used for. One of the rooms in the old Stationmaster’s residence. One of the winding staircases in the old stationmaster’s residence. This side of the building had been abandoned since the last stationmaster had departed.Shadows and light on exposed brickwork. The ground floor of the old stationmasters side of the building had been altered over the years with one of the walls having been taken out to give access to the exterior hoist up to the Leeds bound platform. Thousands of chickens were shipped through here in the days of the railways being a general carrier. A goods train would pull up at the platform and boxes of chickens would be loaded straight onto it. Now the lift has gone and the doorway’s been bricked up as part of the restoration.A view taken from the yard outside where the lift used to be. The quality of the restoration work is evident. Another relic that remained on the premises. The station safe!
Paul Bigland 