In contrast to the past couple of days which has been mostly about new trains, today’s visit is going to be about building bridges – HS2 style. I won’t say just where yet, but all will be revealed soon. But first I’ve got to to to where I’m going, which means a cross-London journey from here in Clapham then a trip along the Chiltern line…
07:42.
The weather’s so good this morning I was up and out early in order to bank some time (and pictures en-route). Here’s how the changing skyline of Clapham Junction looks.
08:40.
Having arrived at Victoria I took a trip on the tube line of the same name as far as Oxford Circus where I changed to the antique line – sorry – the Bakerloo line, which operates the oldest and most decrepit trains on the network.
Now I’m at Marylebone, waiting for my next train. The station’s celebrating its 125th birthday this year so is decked out with bunting as a consequence. Not that many in the constant ebb and flow of passengers seem to notice!
At least the trains aren’t 125 years old…
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Another dull day in Düsseldorf – well, as far as the weather’s concerned, anyway! For me, it’s time for breakfast and a short stroll before we catch the coach to the Siemens test track at the former RAF base at Wildenrath, where we’re going to be treated ro a preview of the new Desiro for Egypt. After that, it’s time to head back to the UK, so I’ll be blogging as and when I can throughout the day…
12:15.
Having left the hotel at 0900 we arrived at Wildenrath just over an hour later. This was a flying visit, we didn’t enter the main site. Instead we went to the small station on the larger test track where the Desiro Egypt was waiting for us. This train is essentially a four-car Desiro HC (High Capacity) with double-deck centre cars. When you board you feel like you’ve stepped onto a normal DB train as the interior (including the seat mocquette) is identical. The only give-away are the multi-lingual signs in English and Arabic.
Here’s a couple of phone pics. I’ll add camera ones later.
94 Desiros are being built for Egypt, along with 41 high speed Velaros and 41 Vectron freight locomotives. The country is in the middle of a railway renaissance on both sids of the Nile (more about that later).
Right now we’re back on the coach, which is dropping people off at Düsseldorf station and airport.
15:30.
Having kicked my heels at yet another shopping centre with an airport attached – and with a confusing, labyrinthine layout due to new bits added – I’m about to board my flight back to Brexit Britain.
17:15 (UK time).
I’m back in Brexit Britain. Did I miss anything? My Eurowings flight was fine – apart from the obligatory screaming baby. I’d booked a window seat and was looking forward to admiring the scenery but the whole of Europe was covered in clouds. It was only when we crossed the channel that skies cleared. Flying in from Europe meant we followed the Thames estuary and crossed my old home in Crouch End, North London before doubling back across Berkshire to approach Heathrow from the West.
Passport control.and baggage reclaim were a doddle. I was through in no time. Now, havng negotiated the subterranean arteries of the airport I’m on a Lizzie line service into the city.
22:50.
Time to bring this blog to a close. I’m staying with an old friend in Clapham yet again. In fact, I’ve not been able to avoid people. As I passed through Waterloo earlier I paused to get a couple of shots like this.
As I turned around to look elsewhere the driver of 5913 leaned out of his cab and said ‘alright you miserable bugger, not going to say hello then?’ Said driver proved to be the inimitable ‘Driver Potter’ of VEP preservation fame. I’ve known Steve for more years then either of us care to remember so it was a pleasant surprise to be greeted by familiar abuse! I used Steve’s train to get to Clapham. As he neither broke it nor derailed on the way I count that as a win!
The lesser spotted Potter in its natural environment…
Hassard and I have had a quiet night here in Clapham as both of us have been returning from different destinations, he from Glasgow and me from Germany. Plus, tomorrow’s another busy day. I’m up early again as I’ll be looking at more High-Speed 2 construction work tomorrow, so expect another rolling blog. Until then – goodnight!
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I reaisted the temptation to stay up and play with the Lego in my room (see yesterday’s blog) and had a good night’s sleep instead. The hotel’s very quiet and the curtains thick so I wasn’t disturbed. Now I’m making the most of the day with an early start. Here’s the view from the 16th floor restaurant where I’m enjoying breakfast. As you can see, it’s dull and overcast here. The view’s not bad tho!
Having had my caffeine fix I’ve time for a little wander before the bus picks us all up from the hotel.
08:25.
My stroll took me around the area you see in the picture above. A network of abandoned rail underpasses that lead to the area where I’m staying lead me to the concusion that my hotel and all the adjacent new buildings surrounding it are built on the site of an old railway yard. I’ll add some camera pictures later. I also came across this bit of history.
Right now I’m waiting in the rather eclectic hotel lobby…
09:55.
Our bus trio has taken us to Dortmund, where the weather’s far better. I find the difference in architecture interesting. Dortmund seems to have a real mix of old and new – and great pride in its football team! Their banner can be found all over the city. We’ve stopped outside the Hauptbahnhof to pick up more of the group. Across the road from the staion is the football club fanshop.
11:10.
We’re off! Today’s event is being held in one of the most modern train depots in Germay whic was built by Siemens for the new Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) fleet – and others…
An ICE 3 set on No 1 road, which is equipped with jacks for lifting a complete train for bogie swaps.
17:00 (German time).
An interesting day.The Dortmund chapter’s now over and the whole crew (Journo’s and Siemens staff) are being bussed back to Düsseldorf before this evening’s group meal. I’ve lots to blog about later, such as the 150 million euro Siemens are making in the Dortmund depot, building a new 400m long building to service ICE trains. After the lunch we were given guided tours of the existing facility which dates from the introduction of the RRX Desiro’s in 2018. The depot building is far more solid than the UK style ‘tin shed’ construction. It’s also fully digital. There’s no paperwork here. The site also has its own 3D printer (one of 40 used by Siemens) which can print otherwise obsolete parts for trains. Despite the modern depot, automation and work practices there were a couple of surprises. One was the underfloor wheel lathe. It’s a single-axle machine supplied by Spanish company TALGO rather than German manufacturers. Apparently, wheel lathes are less common in Germany than they are in the UK, but then DB doesn’t have quite the same problem with wheel-flats caused by leaf fall. The other was the absence of a bogie drop. Instead, one road is equipped with jacks which can lift an entire train.
18:40.
We’re back at the hotel and enjoying a short break and chance to freshen up before the meal, so I’ve taken the time to download a few camera pictures. More will follow later.
A pair of RRX Desiros inside the shed. Inside the automated train washing plant. RRX sets are cycled through here every 10 days, when they receive a full nose and and body wash. The water is then washed and reused. Literally washing the washing water!
19:45.
Time for a beer on the 17th floor restaurant and chance to admire the view before dinner.
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After a very sociable weekend which included a wedding on Saturday and a long family lunch on Sunday (hence no blogs) I’m on my travels again – this time heading from Halifax to Düsseldorf in Germany as part of a Siemens press trip. Over the next few days the company will be showcasing some of its rail products as a preview of what will be on offer at the vast Innotrans rail trade fair in Berlin in September.
Right now I’m on Northern’s 10:54 from Halifax, the first leg of the trip. Today may be a bank holiday but it’s business as usual in Germany. I’m heading to Leeds, then forward to London as I’m booked on a flight from Heathrow later this afternoon as Siemens have made travel arrangements and hotel bookings. Weatherwise it’s a good day for travelling, although I’ve no idea how busy the trains are going to be. Feel free to pop back to see how the trip goes…
11:45.
Phew! Leeds was busy. There’s lots of people milling around who aren’t regular travellers so have no idea where they’re going. Add into the mix that many of them are staring at their phones rather than looking were they’re going, making getting around an obstacle course. I made my connection to London with 15 minutes to spare. The 11:45 is packed, not helped by the fact the next London-bound service has been cancelled so we’re carrying some of the 12:15’s passengers too. I’m glad I opted for this one and added some padding to my timetable, otherwise things could have been a little fraught!
13:15.
I’ve just looked up from my laptop and realised we’re already at Peterborough. I’ve been busy all the way down editing wedding pictures so the time’s flown. I’m not talking about formal wedding photographs but candids. All the stuff that’s much more fun to shoot – like this.
Apparently, we’ve been running ahead of time all the way here but congestion in the station area’s turned that into a four minute deficit. We’re now fast to London so have chance to make some of that up.
13:35.
We’re now dashing towards London under skies that are looking very ominous. The sunshine’s been crowded out by a bank of thunderous looking, leaden skies moving in for the East. This could get interesting. I knew Yorkshire was due for a thunder and lightning show this evening but it looks like the South may be in for the same…
14:45.
As suspected, it’s a gray and wet day in the capital. Still, my trip across the centre was seamless. I literally walked off the train at Kings Cross onto a Circle line underground train for the short hop to Paddington. Now I’m on a far busier ‘Lizzie line’ service to Heathrow.
16:35
I’d forgotten just how much I have a love/hate relationship with airports. They’re gateways to some amazing parts of the orld that you just can’t get to any other way. But so many of them are just expensive shopping centres that just happen to have aircraft attached. The days when flying had a cachet are long gone. I’ve mentioned this before, but as soon as one of the biggest aircraft makers calls itself ‘Airbus’ you know those days of exclusively and luxury are long gone.
The shopping centre known as Heathrow terminal 2…
Of course, it’s very convenient that you’re told to turn up several hours before you depart so that you can be corralled in said shopping centre. Imagine if railway stations tried to get away with that? Sure, security is an issue – but. When was the last major incident involving people boarding an aircraft? Nowadays you’re more likely to suffer from problems caused by drunks.
21:45 (22:45 German time).
I’m nor relaxing in my hotel (more about which shortly) after a reasonable trip here with ‘Air Baltic’ whom I’ve never flown with before. The plane looked very new but of the no-frills variety. Don’t expect TV screens or anywhere to charge stuff but hey ho. That said Heathrow T2 isn’t exactly full of sockets either, so if you’re reliant on gizmos – make sure you’re carrying a battery pack. I’d booked a window seat on for the trip but there wasn’t much to see. The whole of Europe was covered in cloud and things were no better in Dusseldorf. We arrived late due to congestion at Heathrow but it wasn’t a problem. I breezed through passport control and baggage reclaim so I was soon on the way into the city.
Our group is booked into the 25hours hotel which is a modern, but quirky hotel. I’ve never had Lego to play with in a hotel room before!
I really wasn’t kidding about the Lego. Some of the books scattered around the room a worth a look too…
There’s a rooftop bar on the 17th floor which would give great views if the weather wasn’t so crap, but such is life. Instead, I’m relaxing in the room and catching up with a bit of work in preparation for the next couple of days which will be packed with interesting things to see/do.
A rainy night in Düsseldorf as a pair of trams stop outside the D-Wehrhahn S-Bahn station on Grafenberger Allee, just around the corner from my hotel. Public transport in German cities puts the UK to shame.
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It’s a lovely German word that has no equivalent in English. It means pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune. Not something to boast about most of the time, but looking at the election results that have come in so far I’m going to indulge myself! Not only have the Tories lost their Parliamentary seat in Blackpool North, they’re getting hammered across the country in the local elections. Here’s the scores on the doors at the time of writing.
The cherry on the cake was Boris Johnson, the architect of the voter ID gerrymandering scheme hoist by his own petard. He was turned away from a polling station for – not having the correct ID! Honestly, you couldn’t make this stuff up. It’s a perfect metaphor for the shambolic incompetence of the modern Tory party and its leaders.
The Tory’s agony isn’t over. This election is a long, drawn-out affair. Results will continue to come out until Sunday when the results of Mayoral elections will be announced. I’d really like to be a fly on the wall at Conservative Party Headquarters at the moment as I expect the atmosphere is akin to the last days of the bunker. No amount of spinning can disguise how bad these results are. Oh, their might be a couple of positive results where they don’t lose seats, but the trend is clear. They’re doomed.
In this report and video from ITV Anglia the leader of the Tories on Harlow council desperately tries to spin losing as ‘we’ve bucked the trend’. Err, the party’s majority was cut from nine to a single seat! That IS the trend!
Another amusing thing is Reform PLC, the limited company that pretends to be a political party. Despite their polling numbers (they almost beat the Tories into 3rd place in Blackpool South) they’ve not won a single council seat. The only thing they’re good for is abstracting votes from the Tories.
I’ll watch the rest of the results with interest, but today’s a good day…
If you want an intelligent and informed analysis of the results so far (and later) I’d recommend following Britain Elects on Twitter. Here’s a link to their early analysis of performances across the country.
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/
Dawn and I are out with friends from the world of community rail this evening so there’ll be no time to blog. Instead, I’m scribbling thoughts now whilst I can. May’s started well here in the Pennines, Spring feels like it’s finally here and temperatures are getting to the stage where it’s time to start discarding layers of clothing like a snake shedding its skin. Hopefully, the winter kit can finally be put away for another year.
Things are hotting up politically too. Today, many parts of the country go to the polls in a mix of elections. 1000s of local council seats are up for grabs, as are Police Consultative Committee (PCC) Chairs, London and regional Mayors and one Parliamentary seat – Blackpool South. The results won’t all come through tomorrow. Manchester’s Mayoral result won’t be declared until Saturday – which means the Conservative party meltdown is going to be a long, drawn out affair! Because whichever way you look at it, these elections are going to make grim reading for the Tories.
All their political performance art over Angela Rayner, Rwanda and the war on ‘woke’ has failed to move the political dial. Exactly the opposite in fact. Pollsters YouGov Tweeted this earlier today.
The irony here is that Reform stand little chance of winning any Parliamentary seats and few local Council seats. They’ve no chance in any of the Mayoral elections either! Whichever way you look at things, tomorrow can’t help but be a grim day for the Tories.
I’ll be buying popcorn as I expect the aftermath and meltdown could be fun to watch!
Away from politics I’ve been busy arranging and re-arranging my diary for the rest of the month as plans come and go or are changed. Next week should certainly be interesting as it has the added complication of rail strikes, most of which I’ll avoid as I’ll be away on a press trip to Germany.
In the meantime I’ve been clearing the decks of pictures i’ve taken over thje past few days, which you can find in these galleries on my Zenfolio website.
Right, time to go. See you tomorrow – if I’ve not choked on popcorn!
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As the weather’s picked up and we’re being treated to some blue sky today I’ve journeyed back to Manchester to pick up where I left off yesterday by exploring the rail lines to the East of the city in order to get shots of some of the trains, but also the stations they serve as community rail volunteers are very active in this area. They’re doing some great stuff, both with gardening and artwork. So, here we go – on the train from Piccadilly to Marple…
14:00.
Phew! Back again. I’ve been doing a lot of walking and exploring since my last update. Getting to Marple was the easy part. But, as the line’s closed beyond New Mills services are restricted and I really wanted to get a shot of the return train working ‘bang road’ – a railway term I’ll explain later.
Having an hour to kill gave me time to explore and take pictures around Marple. Did you know that the place is famous because of the writer Agatha Christie? She visited snd decided to name one of her most famous fictional Detectives after the town. The station contains history boards which tell all about it the connection – and more. I’ll add pictures later.
14:45.
Right now I’m back at Piccadilly, basking in the sun (yep, sun, In Manchester!) after heading back from Rose Holl Marple via a stop at Romily – another station with some fascinating and informative history boards. Some are railway related – others not.
Did you know this about sign language? No, neither did I…Here’s something a little more railway related fom Romily…
18:45.
Back again! I’ve been busy. After leaving Romily I headed back to Piccadilly in glorious weather. The sun was shining and temperatures were in their mid teens for the first time this year. It actually felt like spring for a change. I took a break at Picc in order to grab a bite to eat, get a few pictures and spend 30 minutes doing my best basking lizard impression at a platform end. Suitably rejuvenated I headed abck down the Buxton line, changing trains at Hazel Grove before arriving back at New Mills Newtown. Unlike yesterday I disn’t cross between stations. Instead I headed back to Woodsmoor in order to get pictures of the station artwork. Realising I’d 30 mins to wait for a train but the next station was only 25 mins walk I elected to explore and walked between the two through the leafy backstreets that make up these affluent suburbs.
When I got back to the city it was rush-hour and a good time to think about heading home. I wore out some more shoe leather walking from Picc to Vic where I was in time to catch the 18:21 to Leeds. Right now I’ve got my feet up, relaxing before the last leg from Halifax to home.
22:30.
I’m home and editing a few pictures which give more of a flavour of today. Here they are.
One of the history boards at Marple station explains all about Agatha Christies links with Marple, the North and also railways…195125 arrives at Marple, working ‘bang road’ from Mills Hill Central.A lovely bit of whimsy from the friends of Rose Hill Marple station.
I’ve lots more pictures to edit, so that’s tomorrow’s working from home sorted out…
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Today should have been a rolling blog sort of day, but to be honest, my heart wasn’t really in it. So, although I’ve been on my travels this afternoon after working from home this morning, I gave myself the afternoon off. Instead of blogging, I simply enjoyed getting out and about – even though the weather did a volte face. Recently, we’ve had wet morning and lovely afternoons/evenings. Only – as I was travelling – the weather Gods pulled a fast one on me and reversed that!
Not that it mattered too much. I’d headed over to the South-East side Manchester to check out some locations for future pictures. This took me out on the Buxton line as far as New Mills Newtown where I walked across the village to New Mills Central to head back along the route via Romily. It was just as well I wasn’t planning to head further into Derbyshire as the line From New Mills towards Chinley and on to Sheffield has been closed for several days due to track defects. This means trains from Manchester are terminating at New Mills Central, then running ‘bang road’ (wrong line) back to Marple where there’s a crossover that allows them to access the correct running line.
Having deposited me at New Mills Newtown a pair of Class 150s continue their journey to Buxton. As you can see, spring has very much sprung here in Derbyshire. All change! A pair of Class 156s from Manchester wait time at New Mills Central before running ‘bang road’ back to Marple.Haven’t I seen you somewhere before? One of the former West Midlands Class 323s that are being cascaded to Northern is seen at Manchester Piccadilly before working a service to Crewe.
Maybe I’ll have better luck with the weather next time…
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The pair of us decided to take a trip into Manchester this afternoon for a spot of clothes shopping and a bite to eat. Personally, I’m not a great internet shopper when it comes to clothes. I much prefer to be able to touch and feel things first, examine the quality and try things on for size whilst also checking for defects. In recent years I’ve found sizes don’t seem to conform to reality and the same measurements can vary considerably depending on who’s making something.
We took the train over to Manchester from Sowerby Bridge. The 3-car set was busy but after stopping at Rochdale it was packed – a portent of what was to come as Manchester city centre was heaving! Neither of us had expected it to be as busy as it was – or as noisy. In Market St various buskers with portable amplifiers competed for attention with the ‘God Squad’. Both Christians and Moslems had stalls pitching their own brand of salvation in the hope of signing up a few more folks to their respective faiths. Add in delivery cyclists whizzing through the milling crowds and you really had to keep your wits about you. Oh, and the occasional shoplifter doing a runner and bulldozing people whilst being chased by shop security guards! This was the human zoo in all its diverse glory!
After a couple of hours the pair of agreed to call it a day. The place was just too busy. Instead we adjourned to the Old Wellington pub in Wellington Square for a drink whilst and kill some time before the table we’d booked in a nearby restaurant became free. Sadly, sitting outside the ‘Wellie’ led to suffering another aural assault as someone nearby had set up a PA which was playing repetitive ‘boom boom’ music that might be fine in a dance club but is hardly conducive to enjoying a quiet drink. So, rather than stay for a second we adjourned to the Victoria Tap in the nearby railway station. They had music in there to, but it had lyrics, a tune, was melodic – and didn’t make your ears bleed or your table vibrate. They also had decent drinks at decent prices. Oh, and some lovely old black and white pictures of the station back in BR days, like this.
Soon it was time to eat so we headed over to the old Corn Exchange building and the restaurant we’d booked ‘Mowgli’ which bills itself as Indian street food. That’s a slight exaggeration as some of the dishes it serves you certainly wouldn’t find as street food in India. That quibble aside, the food is really very good. The restaurant’s spread over two floors and is clearly very popular. Dawn tells me the creator (an Indian woman from Ormskirk called Nisha Katona) has been a guest on some TV cooking programmes. I’d no idea, I just liked the sound of the place.
Served Tapas style, we ordered several different dishes, starting off with chat bombs – crispy balls stuffed with spicy yoghurt and chickpeas. Our waiter advised us to pop a whole one in our mouths as biting into then could cause a messy explosion! Our main courses consisted of the house chicken, which is cooked in coconut milk, Keralan style. The spicy house lamb, slow cooked and spicy and the Goan fish curry with Tamarind and Ginger. All the dishes were served in classic stainless-steel tiffin tins. As an accompaniment we ordered rice and roti.
On the left is the Goan Fish. Centre is the Lamb, with the chicken on the Right.
We don’t often eat Indian food when we go out as it’s something I cook a lot of at home. This was a worthy exception to that rule. All four dishes were delicious, each had its own unique blend of spices, flavours and textures. It’s worlds apart from the bog-standard dishes you’ll get in your average high street Indian restaurant. India has some fantastic regional cuisine that rarely makes its way onto ‘normal’ Indian (in reality, actually Bangladeshi) restaurant menus.
My food was washed down with sparkling water whilst Dee enjoyed a coke with hers. The bill wasn’t cheap. With a tip included in plus a £1 donation to the charity of their choice it came to £55 for the pair of us. But as a treat it was worth it. Besides, I’d half expected to have shelled out on a new suit but only bought chinos, so I felt I was ahead!
Suitably stuffed we made our way back to the station for a last drink before heading home on the 18:21 – which was absolutely rammed. It’s good to see so many people out and about again, it’s good for the railways, it’s good for Manchester and it’s good for the wider economy.
Now we’re back at home, enjoying the peace and quiet after a busy day – with more to come as we’ve work to do around the house. We’re not eating out on Sunday. Instead we’ve acquired some stewing beef from our local butcher. This is going into the slow cooker along with a selection of veg – and some red wine – to be transformed into a stew that can cook whilst we work. See you tomorrow…
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We made the trek from Surrey to West Yorkshire this afternoon, but beforehand we took a walk around the village where we’d been staying. ‘Tilly’, the Platt family’s dog needed walking which was a great excuse to get the two of us out and about around the leafy lanes and golf course in Tilford. The weather was mild, the paths mostly dry and the rain held off. We even got some sunshine – which made our four mile stroll rather enjoyable – as did knowing there was time for coffee and cake at the lovely ‘little latte’ cafe in the grounds of the Barley Mow pub on our return.
Here’s a few pictures from the ramble.
A new family on the River Wey in Tilford. Like green bottles, there were once 10 ducklings. There’s now 8…Tilly the Cairn Terrier enjoying being let off the leash. She’s 10 now, so less likely disappear like a rocket chasing squirrels.I found this little patch of Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) growing alongside a footpath opposite Tilford Church.
Having enjoyed getting out in different surroundings it was time to load up the car and drive back across country. Sadly, the weather deteriorated. The first part of the journey wasn’t much fun for Dee as she had to drive through persistent rain which only dissipated when we hit the M4. The rest of the way along the A34/M40/A43 wasn’t as bad but the pictures I’d hoped to get of the HS2 construction work had to be canned due to poor weather and heavy traffic. I did manage one rail related shot – in the unlikely place of Watford Gap services on the M1 motorway where we stopped for a break. Just as we were leaving I spotted the load on this HGV.
A pair of newly overhauled locomotive bogies for a vintage Class 37 (or 55) locomotive heading North to an unknown location.
The rest of the trip up the M1 was a chore due to heavy traffic and roadworks which added an extra hour to the trip. Still, the weather improved, which was something! Now we’re back at Bigland Towers, having amused ourselves en-route from the motorway to home by picking out which country pub we’ve never visited we fancy sampling for our next lunch date. Simple pleasures!
See you again tomorrow…
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Paul Bigland 