Norton your life

12th February 201213th February 2012 ~ Robert ~ 6 Comments

“BRITAIN GRIPPED BY BIG FREEZE” screamed the headlines in the tabloids. Grim-faced newsreaders warned of severe disruption. Earnest weather presenters pointed at chromakeyed maps, excitedly pointing out where and when the next load of snow was due to be dumped. It was, the statisticians agreed, the coldest period of weather since the last one.

The perfect time to go out and visit some stations, then.

I hadn’t planned to head out this early in the year. In February it’s still fairly dark and cold; conditions not conducive to fannying around limited service railway stations. I changed my mind, however, when London Midland reintroduced their Great Escape offer, tempting trainspotters with the prospect of a day’s unlimited travel on their shiny Desiro EMUs for just 15 quid.

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An exercise in democracy

2nd January 20121st January 2012 ~ Robert ~ 4 Comments

Hello again! No, I haven’t been out and about any more yet, although I will be doing so soon. Last year was just a warm up – this year the real roaming of the country begins!

As is my style, I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen this year. I have vague plans to “do” the bustituted stations between Stafford and Stoke (Wedgwood, Barlaston and Norton Bridge). I also hope to spend a couple of days in Cornwall visiting the branch lines there.

Beyond that, however, I have no real plans. So I’m throwing the blog open to questions from the floor. Is there an unusual station that I should put at the top of my list? A place that gets one train a week? A station inexplicably located in the middle of nowhere? A piece of rural loveliness? Comments welcome.

Pause

4th December 2011 ~ Robert ~ Leave a comment

I’ve decided that cold days and dark nights are not conducive to roaming the backwaters of the British railway network. Therefore there will be a hiatus until the weather becomes a bit more friendly – probably February. If you want to be the first to know when this blog springs back to life again, you can subscribe to my RSS feed in the reader of your choice. Alternatively, you can click the “Follow” button on this page to receive an e-mail the next time the site is updated.

In the meantime, here’s a shameless plug for another rail-related project I’m involved in. I am a member of the Friends of the 502 Group, a group of railway enthusiasts who have custody of two vintage electric train carriages.

These two vehicles represent the the last surviving example of the Class 502 trains which ran on what is now Merseyrail’s Northern Line for the best part of 40 years. The 502s were built between 1939 and 1941 and were an early pioneer of features such as automatic sliding doors and the seating layout which became the de facto standard for suburban trains in the UK for the next 50 years. As such they are an important piece of British railway history and need to be saved for posterity.

Unfortunately we now find ourselves without a home as we have been asked to vacate the premises by our current landlords. The full story is over at the Friends of the 502 Group blog, but to summarise: we need money (a lot of it), and soon. We have just twelve weeks to raise £4,000.

We have an online donation page. Any amount, no matter how small, would be appreciated.

Thanks, and see you in the New Year.

Friendly Woodlands Creatures

19th October 201119th October 2011 ~ Robert ~ 3 Comments

When I embarked on my Cheshire Day Ranger trip, I had thought that buses would be the weak link in my plans. As it turned out, while delayed trains had (briefly) thrown my plans into disarray, the buses had worked much better. My second bus of the day was just as good as the first, and turned up exactly on time. I was relieved as I had been waiting at the stop for some time – so long, in fact, that I actually saw the same bus go past on its inward journey some twenty minutes earlier.

As I gazed out of the window, picturesque Cheshire villages soon gave way to runway landing lights and budget hotels, as the number 200 made its way along the Manchester Airport approach roads. I alighted at the airport’s transport interchange complex and made my way to the railway station, where things were in slight disarray, with trains cancelled, passengers confused by the departure boards, and an unattended suitcase on platform 3 causing some consternation.

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Styal Icon

8th October 20118th October 2011 ~ Robert ~ 1 Comment

“How much is it to Northwich?”

“How much do you want it to be?”

My bus driver was a comedian. Marvellous. I eventually negotiated a fare of £2 and sat down for an enjoyable 20-minute ride through country lanes and small villages.

The number 48 is an infrequent rural bus service, making just five return trips a day between Frodsham and Northwich. It looked like the sort of bus which has “regulars”, who get on the same bus every day and probably sit in the same seat. I took a seat near the back, probably occupying someone else’s usual spot. I’m sure I got scowled at by at least one other person who got on.

I arrived in Northwich with plenty of time to get the next train, which was fortunate as, unknown to me, the railway and bus stations are some distance apart. A brisk walk across town ensued, but in the end I arrived in plenty of time for my train. The plan was to take a train from Northwich to Manchester Piccadilly, then onward to my next destination, Styal.

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Acton Stations

30th September 20113rd October 2011 ~ Robert ~ Leave a comment

I wish I could have recorded the noise made by the booking office clerk at Aigburth station when I asked for a Cheshire Day Ranger. It’s hard to describe, but was a sort of “ooh” – not, “ooh no, I’m going to have to search through 15 different menus to find it on my ticket machine,” but, “ooh that’s an interesting ticket I’ve never heard of.”

Having successfully acquired my ticket, I set off for Liverpool South Parkway for an onward connection to Crewe. My goal was Acton Bridge, a small Cheshire village with a small station to match.

This is probably going to be my last Station Master trip this year. Autumn brings with it short days and wet weather, as well as those pesky falling leaves that make train travel so unpredictable. However, I decided to go out for one last hurrah, an ambitious trip to bag a few more (relatively) local stations before going into hibernation. I like to keep my audience interested. Also, I didn’t want to leave the phrase “FUCKING CUNT” floating at the top of my blog for the whole winter.

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Croxley Music

18th September 201118th September 2011 ~ Robert ~ 2 Comments

“FUCKING CUNT!”

The angry-looking man from whom this utterance came turned around and noticed Ian and I staring incredulously at him.

“Not you,” he said, apologetically, “I mean me.”

He stormed off to his car, which he proceeded to kick and punch several times, in a scene reminiscent of Basil Fawlty at his frustrated worst. Having dented the bodywork, he got into the vehicle, cursed loudly to himself several more times and then drove off with engine roaring, at a speed completely inappropriate to the residential area in which we found ourselves.

Ooo-kay then.

Scott was still inside the corner shop and missed this entertaining tableau. As soon as he rejoined us, we soldiered on towards the end of the line at Croxley Green.

More side streets beckoned, where terraced houses rubbed shoulders with small industrial units in various states of dereliction. Our attention was drawn to this lovely sign on one of the still-functional factories.

I have no idea what a Fibrerod Pultrusion is, even after reading their web site (yes, I Googled it). Still, I wish the firm all the best with their Pultrusion-related endeavours.

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I’ll give ’em Watford!

10th September 201110th September 2011 ~ Robert ~ 5 Comments

I made one of my occasional trips to London last weekend, and amidst a whirlwind of tourism, theatre and Soho-based frolicking, I made time for a Station Master trip.

I also met up with an old friend from school, Seb Patrick. We spent a good deal of time catching up, and during the conversation I mentioned that I was planning to take the London Overground out to Watford.

“You’ll love the Overground,” he advised, “everyone loves the Overground.”

He was right, of course. Ever since the launch of “London’s new train set”, as the initial publicity described it, I have been in love with the idea of the Overground. Transport for London took a disorganised collection of neglected, unloved railway lines and invested wisely in them, creating a useful transport network for the 21st century. It’s been a huge success with passenger numbers increasing dramatically in the four years that the system has been in operation.

Certainly as I trundled up the line from Euston, I was impressed. The new Capitalstar trains, with air-conditioning and wide gangways between coaches are light years ahead of most other commuter trains, although it is strange to see Tube-style longitudinal seats on a “main line” train. I alighted at Watford High Street, which felt cared for and welcoming, as did all the other stations the train passed through. In short, the Overground is the standard to which other suburban rail networks should aspire.

However, amidst all this life, there is death. I was here to explore a forgotten part of the system, which has not benefited from the recent investment. That is the Croxley Green branch, a short stub which leaves the Watford DC Line just south of Watford High Street station.

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Clifton suspense

27th August 201128th August 2011 ~ Robert ~ 3 Comments

I was feeling cocky as my train powered through the Lancashire countryside en route to Bolton. The day had gone perfectly so far: I’d had a good couple of hours at Hebden Bridge; Salwick station had been successfully bagged; and I’d managed to get a bonus sugar rush from a very sweet Mars milkshake that I’d bought on impulse from the WHSmith shop on the platform at Preston.

I thought the rest of the afternoon would be nice and straightforward. All I had to do was get to Salford Crescent in time for the 1743 to Wigan Wallgate, one of the two trains each day which stop at Clifton.

I was feeling especially smug after spotting that, by taking an earlier train from Preston and changing at Bolton, I would get to Salford earlier than if I took the direct Preston to Salford train. I would have a twelve minute connection into the 1743 – ample for Salford Crescent’s single island platform.

It was an uneventful run to Bolton, where I duly alighted and searched the departure board for my next train. My heart sank: the Manchester Airport train I needed was running late.

Twelve minutes late, to be precise.

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Salwick-ipedia

20th August 201130th September 2011 ~ Robert ~ 2 Comments

“Sorry, I’ve turned the hot chocolate machine off.”

That was the reaction from the apologetic staff member at the coffee kiosk at Preston station. I found it slightly bizarre that they would start to switch off the equipment at around 3.30pm when the platforms were still teeming with passengers – especially when the server directed me to a rival café at the other end of the platform and told me to give my money to them instead. These are the sort of decisions that make sense to people in distant head office.

Having finally tracked down a chocolatey beverage, I took a moment to study the timetable for my next destination: Salwick.

I am already a compulsive nail-biter, but this section of the trip had me nervous enough to chew off my entire fist. I was about to get on board the 1602 to Blackpool South, which would drop me off at Salwick at 1609. My return journey from Salwick to Preston (the last train of the day) was due to depart at 1615. Therefore I had just six minutes to grab my pictures and get back to the train. If I dawdled, I would find myself stranded in the village, facing either a hefty taxi bill or the prospect of camping outside the British Nuclear Fuels plant overnight.

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