Month: August 2019

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Club Members Travels

Scarborough 30/08/19

On the 30th August myself and John Dodds made the trip over to the seaside resort of Scarborough for the day. Not fun getting over there as the Transpennine service was full and standing on leaving Leeds.

We arrived in Scarborough at 11:40. The weather was overcast, but warm. Scarborough itself is a very nice and rather popular destination! We headed off down to the seaside to find somewhere to sit in and have something to eat, a chip shop on the sea front, before spending a bit of time at the local arcades and having a walk along the sea front.

As we returned to the station we stopped off in the local model rail shop which offered a good range of stuff at a decent price, however unfortunately they didn’t have anything that took my fancy this time.

We then headed off back to the station, before catching a train to Bridlington, another seaside resort, and had a walk down the sea front. Not as busy as Scarborough was, but was a lovely little harbour with many families playing in the sea.

We then headed off back home via Hull and York, mainly to sample the brand new Transpennine Express Class 68 and Mk5 set. That was a great little experience, travelling in first class. Unfortunately the day was somewhat marred by our train being involved in a fatality

Here’s some photos from an enjoyable day.

TPE Class 68026 with a brand new Mk5 rake at Leeds.
Class 158790 stands under the grand canopy at Hull station.
Class 155343 on our service from Scarborough to Bridlington.
Class 155343 ready to depart Bridlington.
The stunning Bridlington station.
Categories
Club Members Travels

Arnside 16/08/19

On the 16th August I decided to take a little photography trip up to Arnside on the border of Lancashire to try and get some pictures of the new Northern Class 195 units crossing the viaduct over the river Kent estuary.

The weather was heavily overcast when I arrived, however started to clear up in the hour I had to wait for the next trains. ‘Great’ I thought, as the conditions improved. I definitely thought too soon!

Around 10 minutes before the first train it would normally come into view across the estuary over in Cark and Cartmel however a very heavy rain shower made its way over from Barrow and quickly obscured any view I’d see of it approaching!

It made its way across the viaduct in horrendous weather conditions on a Manchester Airport service, the heavy rain making for a rather moody photo. I’m still not convinced it was worth getting as wet as I did for these pictures though!

Now drenched, I had another few minutes to wait for the next northbound train before my train home in another hours time. The weather quickly cleared up again after this brief shower, much to my annoyance, however just in time for the second train. Much better shooting conditions for this one.

It crossed the viaduct to Grange over Sands and onwards, clearly visible making its way along the Furness Coast across the estuary. I headed off back to the station suitably soaked head to toe to await for my Class 156 back to Preston and home from there.

Here are a couple of photos from my brief but wet stay in Arnside.

A Class 195 heads across Arnside Viaduct in atrocious weather conditions.
A northbound Class 195 departs the station and passed the starter signal leading to the viaduct.
The northbound train crossing the viaduct, the remnants of the shower on the distant fell.
Class 195 on Arnside Viaduct.
The northbound Class 195 across the estuary at Grange over Sands.
Categories
Ecclesford Our club news

Norwich Show 13/04/19

On the 12th April 2019 a number of club members made the long journey from our base in Brierfield to Norwich with the layout Ecclesford Junction for the annual Norwich show, which was held for one day, the 13th April.

We arrived mid afternoon and immediately started to unpack and set up the layout. This is a task that usually takes approximately an hour to assemble it and another hour to stock it up with trains. Testing went without hitch and the layout was ready for the next day.

The show itself was very busy for the relatively small size of it. There was a number of layouts and traders spread across two halls, which is held at a local school, with a fair amount of variety. Many people came through the doors throughout the day with lots of positive comments about Ecclesford. We even came away with the ‘best layout in show’ award!

After the last of the viewing public had left, we dismantled the layout, loaded it into the trailer and retreated to the hotel for the night ready for the long return journey back home. We couldn’t come all the way to Norwich however without going out trainspotting nearby!

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

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Whoops

Who did that…?!

During testing of layout Ecclesford Junction a big gust of imaginary wind came howling through the town of Ecclesford, causing a tree to topple on to the track, right into the path of an oncoming 2 car Class 158 unit. The result? It was a draw – the tree was destroyed, and the train was derailed straight into a signal!

Categories
Club Members Travels

Morecambe 26/08/19

On Monday 26th August, myself and fellow club member John Dodds decided to have one of our usual days out, but somewhere a bit different this time.

Normally we would focus our trips on visiting more distant model railway shops such as Going Loco in Outwood (Leeds), Cutty Blacks in York (unfortunately now permanently closed) and C&M in Carlisle, however this time we decided on a day out to Morecambe.

It was a beautiful day and made for a very nice, albeit a bit warm, walk down the sea front with views right over across the bay to Arnside, Grange over Sands, Barrow in Furness and once the haze lifted even Scafell Pike!

We took a walk up to the Eric Morecambe statue in the north of the town before having an hour in one of the arcades before returning home.

We will be out again on Friday visiting Going Loco in the morning before heading off on one of Transpennine Express’ new trains to Scarborough for the afternoon.

Categories
Club Members Travels

What I do…

One of the multiple things that I do when I’m either not working or attending exhibitions is volunteering on the world famous Settle Carlisle Railway line. My role? On train guiding and photography.

On train guiding consists of pretty much just engaging with the travelling public – talking to them about the route, answering questions and mainly trying to improve their journey. Being such a world famous railway though, we get lots of group booking from excursion holidays with many people coming to see the lines stunning scenery, and of course Ribblehead Viaduct. As on train guides our role is also to stand up in front of the group and tell them about what they see, where to see it, some of the history of the line etc. In the 4 years I’ve been doing this role, I’ve accumulated approximately 130,000 miles on the S&C alone!

I’m also a photographer for not just the Settle Carlisle Railway, but Northern too. I travel across the network looking for good photo opportunities and try and capture them where possible – not as easy as it sounds! However, well worth it when it pays off.

You may have already seen my pictures on the cover of Northerns ‘delay repay’ forms and the Settle Carlisle Railway timetable. They are also attached below for you all to see here too.

The cover of Northerns Delay Repay form –
155346 returning from refurbishment through Settle.
The Settle Carlisle Railway timetable cover photo –
Dentdale viewed from Dent Station.
Categories
Club Members Travels

Northerns New Train Introduction

On the 1st July 2019, Northern launched their fleet of brand new trains, Class 195s and Class 331s. They launched 9 new units that day, 5 in Cumbria, 2 in Liverpool and 2 at Leeds.

I decided that I had to take a trip out on one, being a historic moment – the north getting new trains for the first time in many many years – so decided to take a trip up to Ulverston after work and catch one from there back down to Preston and change for the usual pacer back home.

First impressions were good. Clean, comfortable, plugs and WiFi, aircon and very well spaced out, even seats that align with the windows. Acceleration for a diesel unit was fantastic…0-60mph within a matter of seconds.

Well worth the late night for the scenery of the stunning Furness Coast line and the experience of a proper modern train on Northern.

One of the new Class 195 units at Preston, 195112, on a test run accumulation fault free mileage.
A small snippet of the gorgeous scenery of the Furness Coast line – Morecambe bay from between Carnforth and Silverdale.