I've been off this week because of my profession so wanted to indulge in a bit of train action.
Originally, I had only planned to spend a shorter period of time going on a local parly service but The Friends of The Brigg Line had posted on my news feed on Facebook which caught my attention.
The Brigg Line is sadly not the most user friendly, not least for the people who live along the line. With this in mind, I had to think whether to take the morning, afternoon, or last service and figure out links to Manchester and Wigan. The choice was made when a family engagement required me to be home for 5pm - the morning service it is then!
I am not a morning person but as some of you on the forum may know, I am a person who can stay awake all through the night punctuated by an array of pulling up at stations. I would instead have to think of what on earth to do to occupy my time from Friday evening to Saturday morning - 7.09am from Sheffield to be precise...
After watching the first Die Hard at the better partner's house, I bid farewell and drove along the A577 through Ince, Hindley, Hindley Green, Atherton, Tyldesley, Boothstown and Worsley. (lovely areas but horrific to drive during the day as it is a 9 miles long and is pretty much house after house after corner shop) I was tempted to keep the journey motorway free but the prospect of a late night drive through the core of Manchester made me indicate right to join the M60 and half-circle to the Stockport Tesco turn-off to continue my slow journey.
I drove over Rose Hill (Marple) in the dark. I also took the train here earlier in the week because I've never done this stub before. My journey was now increasing in height and reducing in orange and white glow as I headed out of Manchester in a Chesterfield direction.
After a dog-leg turn through New Mills, I was on the A6 and was looking forward to the next bit. Before I joined the A623, I paused at Dove Holes station to have a couple of sips of water and check my phone. I don't believe in texting/calling whilst at the wheel. I also had got to Dove Holes by 11.30pm which was my target. Whilst I had plenty of time to get to Sheffield, I didn't fancy being in certain parts of Manchester at this time or any later. I didn't realise Dove Holes had a service at such a late time but the next stop is the much bigger Buxton. It was incredibly windy up here, so much so that I felt sorry for the homeowners if I had awoke them by slamming my car door shut.
The next part of my journey was to endure a couple of late night country-side overtakers. I'll go to the limit but my backyard is not the Peak District so some corners I do take a bit more care with. It's a lovely journey and the sky was clear so you could make out the dominating hillside and some constellations too.
I chose the A623 as unlike the A628, A635 and A57, the A623 is hardly ever shut for bad driving conditions and as it is more indirect, it would help pass time. I must say the descent into Baslow and Chesterfield are pretty good fun in a car!
Chesterfield is great to drive through, so much so that by the time I was in it, I was out of it and climbing, quite steeply, to Bolsover. This was a nod to one of the great and, as I type this, living, MPs, Dennis Skinner. I thought this area was rather flat and not up on a ridge. I also was unaware of the housing situation (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-35604776) - quite concerning.
Time was now about 1.30am. I pulled up in Langwith-Whaley-Thorns for another drink and some travel sweets that I had picked up at a garage earlier. In this area I wanted to go to Retford and check out the situation with the platforms as some people on this forum have said it's awkward to get from the ECML platforms to the lower line. I drove through Clumber Park which was charming and lined for miles with large trees and a group of deer whose eyes reflected my headlights. I would go back as I'm a National Trust member.
On reaching Retford, I checked the side of the building and the gate was closed but it wasn't unlocked. I thought I probably should keep it that way and follow the public footpath to the side. From what I could tell, it seemed like quite a walk so you'd have to run for it with a tight connection.
Now it was 3.30am and time to scoot up to Sheffield via Blyth and their fantastic Spartans and Rotherham. There was another person who wanted to get home a bit quicker and so overtook me on a quiet straight stretch beside the ECML. There are a number of level crossings in this part of the world.
For some reason I had thought Sheffield would be quiet at 3am on Saturday morning!! Really? Not at the McDonalds near the Leadmill Bar. I had googled cheap car parks in the vicinity and knew the adjoining casino had some availability for non-customers at the cheap price of £3 for the day so I would have to linger nearby for some time. I first went into the Maccys for a small snack but it was very, very busy with drunk students and other party-goers. I didn't want to eat in, so I drove my goodies to Dore & Totley, just a 15 minute drive away and a good location to get a couple of winks undisturbed. 2 hours later, I pulled into the car park at the casino and with 45 mins to kill, I walked up to those flats at the top of the hill and see what Sheffield station looks like from above. The whole city scape is great by the way. I saw plenty of Northerns stock and an EMT Meridian (I think that's what they are called - with a curved bit at the front??)
Coming down Park Hill, I see two footbridges over the railway, one unattached to the station and the platform bridge with entrance for the trams. I did walk over the unattached one and it was quite terrifying at night! Anyone could have been down there and it's like a black hole. On the other hand, the tram stop bridge is quite hospitable and that's where I bought my ticket for Barton-on-Humber for £14.90. The trams are every 10 minutes which isn't bad compared to the Metrolink.
My route from Sheffield would be the TPE to Grimsby and change for the Barton line, rather than take my chances with the slim connection at Cleethorpes. The train was swift up the Don Valley and through Conisbrough but we became held for a few minutes outside Doncaster waiting for a clear platform. It was great to be surrounded by so much freight and to see what Virgin are doing over on the ECML. After Doncaster, I was pretty disappointed with the slow line speeds. This would be a continuing trend all day.
After Scunthorpe, I reached a very industrial landscape which has been scoured by man for decades and until recently, was a major centre for steel manufacture. There were so many freight units around here, it would be paradise for an enthusiast. We crawled over the hill and back down it towards Habrough. There was a freight train waiting on a red on the curve to the Barton line waiting to come westward after we had cleared the junction.
It was a good job I disembarked at Grimsby Town because here I found out that the Barton train had been cancelled. I almost had my head in my hands. All this way and one of my two aims knocked off already. The 2-hourly nature of the line meant I couldn't get back in time to Wigan if I waited to take another Barton train and go back via Brigg. Now I had to enjoy Grimsby until 11.17am.
I don't know what the local reception is to the film Grimsby (The Brothers Grimsby) starring Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G/Borat/Bruno) but the posters haven't been ripped from the advertising boards here. I spent my time here having a sausage bap at the Greggs in the shopping centre and then walked around town and decided to walk to Grimsby Docks and possibly New Clee station in order to pass time. I see how poor Grimsby is when I walk around the area beside Grimsby Docks. I turn around at this point, in fear of, missing out on the Sheffield via Brigg line.
With plenty of time, I sit and watch people go by at the station. It's not fully covered as there is a middle bit of the roof that is open to the elements. An EMT single unit arrives from Lincoln and sheds it's load of visitors. The train for Barton squeals and grinds into town as it does again and again at Great Coates, Healing and Stallingborough. The single unit is cosy and half-full. It still is half-full after Habrough. I wait with a woman my age, an older lady and an older bloke who seemed to be an enthusiast. We await the Brigg service which is only 10 mins behind. In a way I have been on the Barton line but the commuter friendlier half. The four of us enter this train which is empty but for 9 people. Four leave at Barnetby. I am told to get off here as it is an extra 25 minutes on this train than on TPE but I insist and am wished well by the friendly guard who talks to the enthusiasts as well.
We now journey on to new track for me!
We start pretty quick out of Barnetby and watch the Lincoln and Scunthorpe lines curve out into the distance and it's only a mile until we slow right down and crawl all the way to Brigg. Two enthusiasts in the front of the train appear to be father and son but both quite old, another is sat in the middle and in the back car is a woman and a man in a hi-vis cycling jacket who I think could be part of the Brigg Line Facebook group as he speaks to the enthusiasts up front.
At Brigg I see the new footbridge. Quite impressive but for all that money, they could have just spruced up the station. It still looks like a dump with a nice footbridge!
There are travellers in the car park. At Brigg 2 people join, 1 leaves.
We continue and the line rises to go over the water channel and it looks like the embankment has been worked extensively. Preparation for line doubling around here maybe? Anyway, we are moving but I can't help but feel that we aren't flooring it like we would be if this unit was on the Wigan line.
Through a tunnel we stop at Kirton Lindsey where noone gets on or off. I see the village is far larger than I originally thought which is a further shame that this is just a Saturday service!
Now to the stunning Gainsborough Central, the enthusiasts station of choice! Here we stop for a good while. The hi-vis guy steps off as does a guy with a big digital camera who's been talking to the enthusiasts since Barnetby. He is also an enthusiast from what I overhear and spends time talking to the conductor and admiring the footbridge. The footbridge is in a light blue colour. It's a shame that money wasn't also found for the minor job of tidying up the platform and replacing the shelter.
A woman joins at Gainsborough in a bit of a rush and giving the conductor tickets for a journey from nearby to London which at first glance looks expired and possibly off-route but the conductor gives benefit of the doubt and says you may be checked again at Sheffield. Fair enough I thought to myself.
Now the fun part of my day is over, I snooze until Retford which gives me time to see the lower platforms from the train. Retford is chock full of passengers who stay on until Sheffield. I fall asleep again until Darnall. The enthusiasts and I disembark with the rest of the population at Sheffield.
I walk back past the McDonalds I was at earlier and an emplyee is handing out vouchers for a Mac or Nuggets and fries for £1.99. Who am I to refuse? I eat in store now it is more sedate and full of families. Now is the time to leave Sheffield and this side of the Pennines.
A matrix sign and the filling up of the social club indicated that Sheffield United were at home. Not knowing where they play in the city, I decide to return to Manchester via Dore, Hathersage, Bamford and then take the Snake Pass. Windy, raining, lots of cyclists and scenery that would make you want to stop and stare. Further I travelled up into the low cloud and I descended on the other side of the pass into my home county. I got home for 4pm sharp!
Originally, I had only planned to spend a shorter period of time going on a local parly service but The Friends of The Brigg Line had posted on my news feed on Facebook which caught my attention.
The Brigg Line is sadly not the most user friendly, not least for the people who live along the line. With this in mind, I had to think whether to take the morning, afternoon, or last service and figure out links to Manchester and Wigan. The choice was made when a family engagement required me to be home for 5pm - the morning service it is then!
I am not a morning person but as some of you on the forum may know, I am a person who can stay awake all through the night punctuated by an array of pulling up at stations. I would instead have to think of what on earth to do to occupy my time from Friday evening to Saturday morning - 7.09am from Sheffield to be precise...
After watching the first Die Hard at the better partner's house, I bid farewell and drove along the A577 through Ince, Hindley, Hindley Green, Atherton, Tyldesley, Boothstown and Worsley. (lovely areas but horrific to drive during the day as it is a 9 miles long and is pretty much house after house after corner shop) I was tempted to keep the journey motorway free but the prospect of a late night drive through the core of Manchester made me indicate right to join the M60 and half-circle to the Stockport Tesco turn-off to continue my slow journey.
I drove over Rose Hill (Marple) in the dark. I also took the train here earlier in the week because I've never done this stub before. My journey was now increasing in height and reducing in orange and white glow as I headed out of Manchester in a Chesterfield direction.
After a dog-leg turn through New Mills, I was on the A6 and was looking forward to the next bit. Before I joined the A623, I paused at Dove Holes station to have a couple of sips of water and check my phone. I don't believe in texting/calling whilst at the wheel. I also had got to Dove Holes by 11.30pm which was my target. Whilst I had plenty of time to get to Sheffield, I didn't fancy being in certain parts of Manchester at this time or any later. I didn't realise Dove Holes had a service at such a late time but the next stop is the much bigger Buxton. It was incredibly windy up here, so much so that I felt sorry for the homeowners if I had awoke them by slamming my car door shut.
The next part of my journey was to endure a couple of late night country-side overtakers. I'll go to the limit but my backyard is not the Peak District so some corners I do take a bit more care with. It's a lovely journey and the sky was clear so you could make out the dominating hillside and some constellations too.
I chose the A623 as unlike the A628, A635 and A57, the A623 is hardly ever shut for bad driving conditions and as it is more indirect, it would help pass time. I must say the descent into Baslow and Chesterfield are pretty good fun in a car!
Chesterfield is great to drive through, so much so that by the time I was in it, I was out of it and climbing, quite steeply, to Bolsover. This was a nod to one of the great and, as I type this, living, MPs, Dennis Skinner. I thought this area was rather flat and not up on a ridge. I also was unaware of the housing situation (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-35604776) - quite concerning.
Time was now about 1.30am. I pulled up in Langwith-Whaley-Thorns for another drink and some travel sweets that I had picked up at a garage earlier. In this area I wanted to go to Retford and check out the situation with the platforms as some people on this forum have said it's awkward to get from the ECML platforms to the lower line. I drove through Clumber Park which was charming and lined for miles with large trees and a group of deer whose eyes reflected my headlights. I would go back as I'm a National Trust member.
On reaching Retford, I checked the side of the building and the gate was closed but it wasn't unlocked. I thought I probably should keep it that way and follow the public footpath to the side. From what I could tell, it seemed like quite a walk so you'd have to run for it with a tight connection.Now it was 3.30am and time to scoot up to Sheffield via Blyth and their fantastic Spartans and Rotherham. There was another person who wanted to get home a bit quicker and so overtook me on a quiet straight stretch beside the ECML. There are a number of level crossings in this part of the world.
For some reason I had thought Sheffield would be quiet at 3am on Saturday morning!! Really? Not at the McDonalds near the Leadmill Bar. I had googled cheap car parks in the vicinity and knew the adjoining casino had some availability for non-customers at the cheap price of £3 for the day so I would have to linger nearby for some time. I first went into the Maccys for a small snack but it was very, very busy with drunk students and other party-goers. I didn't want to eat in, so I drove my goodies to Dore & Totley, just a 15 minute drive away and a good location to get a couple of winks undisturbed. 2 hours later, I pulled into the car park at the casino and with 45 mins to kill, I walked up to those flats at the top of the hill and see what Sheffield station looks like from above. The whole city scape is great by the way. I saw plenty of Northerns stock and an EMT Meridian (I think that's what they are called - with a curved bit at the front??)
Coming down Park Hill, I see two footbridges over the railway, one unattached to the station and the platform bridge with entrance for the trams. I did walk over the unattached one and it was quite terrifying at night! Anyone could have been down there and it's like a black hole. On the other hand, the tram stop bridge is quite hospitable and that's where I bought my ticket for Barton-on-Humber for £14.90. The trams are every 10 minutes which isn't bad compared to the Metrolink.
My route from Sheffield would be the TPE to Grimsby and change for the Barton line, rather than take my chances with the slim connection at Cleethorpes. The train was swift up the Don Valley and through Conisbrough but we became held for a few minutes outside Doncaster waiting for a clear platform. It was great to be surrounded by so much freight and to see what Virgin are doing over on the ECML. After Doncaster, I was pretty disappointed with the slow line speeds. This would be a continuing trend all day.
After Scunthorpe, I reached a very industrial landscape which has been scoured by man for decades and until recently, was a major centre for steel manufacture. There were so many freight units around here, it would be paradise for an enthusiast. We crawled over the hill and back down it towards Habrough. There was a freight train waiting on a red on the curve to the Barton line waiting to come westward after we had cleared the junction.
It was a good job I disembarked at Grimsby Town because here I found out that the Barton train had been cancelled. I almost had my head in my hands. All this way and one of my two aims knocked off already. The 2-hourly nature of the line meant I couldn't get back in time to Wigan if I waited to take another Barton train and go back via Brigg. Now I had to enjoy Grimsby until 11.17am.
I don't know what the local reception is to the film Grimsby (The Brothers Grimsby) starring Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G/Borat/Bruno) but the posters haven't been ripped from the advertising boards here. I spent my time here having a sausage bap at the Greggs in the shopping centre and then walked around town and decided to walk to Grimsby Docks and possibly New Clee station in order to pass time. I see how poor Grimsby is when I walk around the area beside Grimsby Docks. I turn around at this point, in fear of, missing out on the Sheffield via Brigg line.
With plenty of time, I sit and watch people go by at the station. It's not fully covered as there is a middle bit of the roof that is open to the elements. An EMT single unit arrives from Lincoln and sheds it's load of visitors. The train for Barton squeals and grinds into town as it does again and again at Great Coates, Healing and Stallingborough. The single unit is cosy and half-full. It still is half-full after Habrough. I wait with a woman my age, an older lady and an older bloke who seemed to be an enthusiast. We await the Brigg service which is only 10 mins behind. In a way I have been on the Barton line but the commuter friendlier half. The four of us enter this train which is empty but for 9 people. Four leave at Barnetby. I am told to get off here as it is an extra 25 minutes on this train than on TPE but I insist and am wished well by the friendly guard who talks to the enthusiasts as well.
We now journey on to new track for me!
We start pretty quick out of Barnetby and watch the Lincoln and Scunthorpe lines curve out into the distance and it's only a mile until we slow right down and crawl all the way to Brigg. Two enthusiasts in the front of the train appear to be father and son but both quite old, another is sat in the middle and in the back car is a woman and a man in a hi-vis cycling jacket who I think could be part of the Brigg Line Facebook group as he speaks to the enthusiasts up front.
At Brigg I see the new footbridge. Quite impressive but for all that money, they could have just spruced up the station. It still looks like a dump with a nice footbridge!
There are travellers in the car park. At Brigg 2 people join, 1 leaves.We continue and the line rises to go over the water channel and it looks like the embankment has been worked extensively. Preparation for line doubling around here maybe? Anyway, we are moving but I can't help but feel that we aren't flooring it like we would be if this unit was on the Wigan line.
Through a tunnel we stop at Kirton Lindsey where noone gets on or off. I see the village is far larger than I originally thought which is a further shame that this is just a Saturday service!
Now to the stunning Gainsborough Central, the enthusiasts station of choice! Here we stop for a good while. The hi-vis guy steps off as does a guy with a big digital camera who's been talking to the enthusiasts since Barnetby. He is also an enthusiast from what I overhear and spends time talking to the conductor and admiring the footbridge. The footbridge is in a light blue colour. It's a shame that money wasn't also found for the minor job of tidying up the platform and replacing the shelter.
A woman joins at Gainsborough in a bit of a rush and giving the conductor tickets for a journey from nearby to London which at first glance looks expired and possibly off-route but the conductor gives benefit of the doubt and says you may be checked again at Sheffield. Fair enough I thought to myself.
Now the fun part of my day is over, I snooze until Retford which gives me time to see the lower platforms from the train. Retford is chock full of passengers who stay on until Sheffield. I fall asleep again until Darnall. The enthusiasts and I disembark with the rest of the population at Sheffield.
I walk back past the McDonalds I was at earlier and an emplyee is handing out vouchers for a Mac or Nuggets and fries for £1.99. Who am I to refuse? I eat in store now it is more sedate and full of families. Now is the time to leave Sheffield and this side of the Pennines.
A matrix sign and the filling up of the social club indicated that Sheffield United were at home. Not knowing where they play in the city, I decide to return to Manchester via Dore, Hathersage, Bamford and then take the Snake Pass. Windy, raining, lots of cyclists and scenery that would make you want to stop and stare. Further I travelled up into the low cloud and I descended on the other side of the pass into my home county. I got home for 4pm sharp!
