Two lines left in the north of England are my targets for today, one of which has a low frequency service (Habrough to Barton on Humber) and one has an almost non-existent service (Knottingley to Goole). They've both eluded me on previous trips where it was just impossible to squeeze them in, so the time has come. This one was going to be a long day, rising at 4.30am and getting home at 11.30pm, and I wasn't too well in the week, so could do with a rest. But, the tickets have been bought now, so I have to grin and bear it. Being up that early had an unexpected benefit. The planet Venus was at that time of the morning hanging huge and bright in the sky, more luminous than I've ever seen it before. It seemed to follow me up the road to the station and I could see why it's been reported as a UFO. There were a surprisingly large number of people on the first train out of New Beckenham. Some of them were destined to be disgruntled that morning as at Ladywell a points failure was announced and we were routed up the Lewisham avoiding line, which meant going fast to London Bridge and missing three stations.
I scramble on to the second GNER out, the 7.00 to Edinburgh. Today the 225 train is being diverted due to engineering works, and this may be something to do with the extra stops it makes. This is to my favour today because it means I can get to my first destination, Cleethorpes, about 2 hours earlier than usual, which gives me plenty of recovery time later in the day. I get out at Retford which is one of the extra stops today. Retford is a junction for two lines that cross but are not connected, the platforms being at two levels. In days of yore it would have been called High Level and Low Level but this seems to be too clunky for the modern streamlined world. A year ago I'd wondered if I'd ever get to the Low Level, having soared over the High Level track so many times - and now I'm changing trains there on this mild but very foggy Autumn day. It's quite a walk from one level to the other, and it takes most of the connecting time to do it. It's not long before the single coach Sprinter creaks round the bend. The guard greets the handful of us getting on - back in the friendly North! - and we set off across the vaguely eerie Lincolnshire flats. Ironically I'm now covering the rarely served line from Gainsborough Central to Barnetby again, which gave me so much trouble earlier in the year (see Lincolnshire!) including a tiny new stretch connecting Retford to Gainsborough Central. At Barnetby there are DOZENS of spotters, surely expecting something more interesting than the Sprinters and 185s passing by. It's refreshing to see many of them are teenagers (and tracksuited ones at that) but I can't imagine it's worth sprinting up the platform with a camcorder to shoot our train. Each to their own.
We then head through an empty Grimsby Town station, another train presumably having called just before us, and then I’m into new territory. The line snakes through the sprawl of the docks, today silent as we go fast through the docks halt. In no time at all we’re pulling into the terminus at Cleethorpes. The two towns seem to pretty much run into one another, something I was not expecting. I’m told by a local that Grimbsyites that do well for themselves generally move to Cleethorpes. And I can see why. The fog that is totally obscuring the sea beyond the end of the pier does not help to disguise the fact that the place has its share of seaside tat. But away from this, there are pleasant little coffee shops and second-hand shops. There are decent looking pubs and trendy bars. There are unexpected sights too. Or sounds. I hear a clip clop ahead of me and a line of people on horseback suddenly emerge from a side street - clearly some sort of riding school but it's a rare sight in such an urban environment. And they are going past a corner shop, the windows of which are rammed with salvaged equipment from the Air Force, totally obscuring the interior of the shop. There are cameras watching every inch of the shop front, so I suspect the shop may have something to do with weapons.
I expect I'll come back to the place someday in better weather hopefully, but for the moment the rest of the day's travels await. I approach the station from a different angle and notice it's quite a large building with a clock tower, as well as an inviting-looking pub on the platform. Sadly I must pass on this. The place looks like a Class 153 Gala Day with the one I got off still humming gently and a newly arrived one ready to take me to Barton On Humber. At first the other passengers are no problem, chiefly comprising older people talking about the service on the line - I think they may be from the local line users group. By the time we arrive at New Holland the thing is full of youths who are not quite as bad as the ones on C2C but could certainly give them a run for their money. I'm really sick of them always appearing and turn my I-Pod up full. Thankfully there's not many going into Grimsby on the way back, and it's a peaceful journey back. It's just the stretch between Habrough and Barton that I've not done and the landscape is not unexpected - marshlands! Sadly the view from the south of the Humber Bridge that I have this week is spoiled by the fog and there is little else to see. I contemplate changing at Habrough but it's a long wait and I can see just one faintly unwelcoming hostelry from the train that I already know is the only one there. So I continue to "Great Grimsby" and go to the Wetherspoons that I visited before. It's very full and the food I order takes ages. I'm on the verge of cancelling when it arrives and I foolishly gulp it down.
Next I'm heading back to Doncaster on a three coach 185, a route I've covered before, which affords me the chance to get some sleep, though not before I see a fish shop on the other side of the station's level crossing, which would have been a far better choice for lunch. I wake up when Scunthorpe is announced. Sights of interest include a cement works with piles of raw materials so white they almost dazzle as well as a vast yard of rusting weed-infested tracks, showing that there was significant activity here once. Wonder how long before it's housing?
At Doncaster I am determined to see something other than the station for a change and head out to a pub that has a good write up - The Leopard. This boasts that it can be reached without crossing roads which is significant in the context of the station. Outside the pedestrian is greeted with a road tunnel on one side and no pavement on the other, though there is a direct passage into the Frenchgate shopping centre - great! The Leopard is a live music venue of some repute too and in those one of those coincidences that life throws up I discover the next day that my brother has taken a tour there a few times. I have a pint of something with a daft name from the Glentworth Brewery which is very pleasant and it's good to know that there is life at this most important of railway sites for the future!
Next I'm on another GNER 225 to Leeds. It's rammed. Are there any empty trains left? It's a good thing that demand for rail is high but it's a shame we don't respond to it as we try to in...well, every other sphere of economic life. I realise that I've also not been to many pubs in Leeds so today is the day to put that right. The Scarbrough Hotel (note spelling) is apparently the Leeds CAMRA's pub of the year. I've passed it many a time and not known it was a pub! Inside it's packed, and has been refurbished in a modern style, but retains a large range of beers. Problem is, I'm now so tired that I can't enjoy it at all, especially as it's the second pub I've had to stand in that day, and I really just want to go home! However there's some way to go before the day is over. I leave earlier than intended and have one of the guest beers in the station Wetherspoons instead, watching the tail end of the England-Estonia Euro 2008 qualifier. We win and I head over to get on the packed Pacer which will take me to Goole over the little used route through Knottingley.
Much of this is familiar territory to me, though I have never seen the station at Glasshoughton before, as this opened after my last visit to this line in 2005. To my annoyance it serves an enormous out of town shopping and leisure complex rather than a settlement, and though it's good that it's connected to the network, I can't be the only one who doesn't see these ghastly places as a sign of progress? At Knottingley, nearly everyone gets out and I see a bus marked "Railway Replacement Service." Do they know something I don't? Surely not...I'm so close to finally crossing this line off. To my relief the train roars into life again. With a combination of dozing and the fading light, I don't see much of the ride, not even when we cross the East Coast main line. A few people do get on at the intermediate stations heading for Goole.
Goole used to be a relatively important port on the Humber, and had numerous freight lines connecting it to the rest of the network in the North of England, as well as a direct passenger link to Selby. Now it is chiefly served by Hull to Sheffield trains. The island-style canopy on platform 1 betrays that it had certainly had more platforms in the past. It also has a curious feature - subways on either side of the road for pedestrians to cross the level crossing - usually this is a footbridge if anything. I'm still sleepy and decide I need chips in curry sauce to wake me up rather than another drink. If anyone can explain my reasoning I'd be grateful. Anyway I find a Chinese Takeaway chippy and go in after a struggle with the door. None of the friers are going and the reaction to my order for chips makes me think I've done something wrong. I don't like to ask for the curry sauce too. I settle on a tiny sofa next to another customer and comment on the lack of chip frying apparently going on. He assures me this is the best place for miles around. We have a brief chat. He's a fence erector who lives in a village about ten miles away and is surprised that I've bothered to go to Goole. I just say rather mysteriously that it's a long story, not everyone would understand the quest. I certainly understand his reaction - it would be like something going to London and visiting Penge. I say my farewells as the chips arrive and head for the intriguingly named City and County, Goole's very own Wetherspoons. I start on a pint of John Smiths before realising I have about 7 minutes to drink it. Why can't I just leave them in these situations?
A pint heavier I head back to the station to await the train as Goole's twenty-somethings head for the nightlife of Doncaster, none of them realising that it's a two coach 158 they're travelling on. At Doncaster I can't face a trip to the other pub I was going to visit and get a coffee instead and just sit in the cool night air for an hour and watch the sights. This includes a group of southern football fans being bollocked by the British Transport Police, a man told off for smoking and several trains passing in and out. I listen to the announcements and marvel at how many of these routes I now have under my belt. My train is late but I'm not worried, it's been nice collecting my thoughts and sobering up a bit.
I've booked first class on the 225 back to London for a bit of peace which I certainly get, the coach being pretty empty until a pair of tossers get on at Stevenage and start arguing. A wobbly bloke keeps coming out of second class and returning with cans of cider from his mates in first class, explaining to any member of staff that it's all right, he has a first class ticket, but he's downgraded and is just going to see his friends. He's clearly thought it all through. I decide not to take any of the crockery or antimacassars as souvenirs as we head towards the capital. The conductor announces that we have beaten France 14-9 in the Rugby World Cup semi-final as I realise that this really could be my last trip on GNER...
Itineary:
London King's Cross-Retford
Retford-Gainsborough-Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes-Barton-upon-Humber (new)
Barton-upon-Humber-Grimbsy Town
Grimsby Town-Doncaster
Doncaster-Leeds
Leeds-Knottingley-Goole (K-G new)
Goole-Doncaster
Doncaster-London King's Cross
Monday 15 October 2007
Sunday 7 October 2007
7 October 2007: London-Hull-Scarborough-York
I've been saving this one up. It's a straightforward bash, forming a giant Yorkshire loop, so it's a sort of reward for doing some of the more difficult ones first. It's also easy to do within a day and have a bit of a look round some of the stops, so it almost feels like a proper day out! An added bonus is that it's not an early start for a change. The first line of the day is to Hull via Selby, and the easiest way to do this is to use a Hull Trains service. The first of these doesn't leave London until 9.30, so I'm pretty much up at my normal time for work. I head into town and decide to find a cafe near Kings Cross to await the train rather than use the appalling facilities at the station. See my earlier rants on railway catering!
Hull Trains is one of the (rare?) success stories of privatisation. BR tended to concentrate their direct London services on the most lucrative established routes, ie, York, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham etc, so cities off the main lines tended to have scant direct services, Hull being an obvious one. Privatisation has of course massively increased services on the main routes, these being increasingly remunerative, but has allowed niche markets to be exploited also. Open access operators apply to run services on routes they have chosen, rather than bidding for a franchise that compels them to provide a minimum level of service on all routes that form part of it. Hull Trains is such an operator running just between London and Hull and giving other East Yorkshire stops a link to London. Launched in 2000 with 3 trains a day, it now runs 7 with plans for more, using its own Pioneer trains similar to the Virgin Voyagers and Midland Meridians. Other open access operators are gradually coming into being. Grand Central is about to start running direct to Hartlepool and Sunderland, with stops in North Yorkshire largely ignored by GNER. They also want to run to Halifax, Huddersfield and Bradford. Most recently Shropshire and Warwickshire is launching in 2008 and will provide Wrexham and Shrewsbury with London trains again.
So at 9.34 the Hull Trains Pioneer sets off. The layout is better than I remember from the Meridians and much better than the Voyagers. The upholstery, whilst modern, has an old-fashioned look about it that really works - reminds me of original Mk1 carriages on preserved railways! The train is fairly full but I have a peaceful journey and am able to do a bit of reading, though I look up after Peterborough just in time to see a sign marking the spot where the Mallard broke the world steam record on Stoke Bank which still stands at 138mph. How did I miss this before? We go fast to Grantham, and after Doncaster leave the electrified line and head into Selby. Until the 1980s, this was still part of the main line. Due to the discovery of the "super pit" in the Selby area, mining activities were to increase there and this presented stability risks to the line. Hence the lines was diverted between Doncaster and York, and Selby came off the main line and on to a branch. Though the pit was inevitably closed, evidence of the coalfields is still all around us, this being almost a power station belt, the smoke winding up like mini-tornadoes into the grey clouds above. Arrival at Selby ticks off this stretch that I have never travelled before.
I've already travelled along here as far as Brough, so beyond here it's new territory. We cross the marshy flatlands that tend to characterise England's eastern edge, the wide plain of the Humber coming into view at last. We could almost be in south Essex or north Kent and this could be the Thames. There's even a suspension bridge like the QE2 - but the Humber bridge got there first! I'd wanted to see this ever since I heard about its opening from a teacher who knew I was into such oddities, and it doesn't disappoint. In the future I hope to walk across it. It might have been nice to come back by ferry but that's been gone for over 25 years - ie when the bridge opened! Before long we're pulling into Hull.
Hull Paragon is a proper city station, with a great wide arched roof and a spacious concourse. It is currently being transformed into a transport interchange, the bus station bays being part of the north side of the station, a great idea - EXACTLY what was needed at London Victoria instead of the mess we have there now. Shame the new shelter being added at the front is totally out of sympathy with the ornate Victorian station. Hull, like many cities, appears to be receiving a face lift, ie, new shopping centres. I find my way to a pub that I've looked up - The Wellington Arms. It's amazing! Despite being almost next to a horrible ring road, and amongst grilled windows and barbed wire, signs proclaim its pub of the year status. I cautiously go inside. It has a string of ales and ciders on as well as the favourites. It actually boasts a giant shelved cool area at the back of the bar, with glass sides so that you can see what they have, which is packed with bottled beers from all sorts of places. A shelf running around the wall brims with empty bottles of a dazzling variety. The wall space is covered with beer mats. There are copies of local CAMRA newsletters from various parts of the UK. I've never seen anything like it!
Regrettably I've time for just one before heading back via a bakery (love Northern bakeries!) to the waiting 2 coach 158 that will take me to Scarborough. This has been refurbished with nice deep seats - dare I say, almost as good as the old trains! This line spurs off from the main line and heads north. The running is very slow almost as far as Beverley. I'm guessing that the track has recently been relaid. Beverley has a lovely atmospheric station with an overall roof - very rare now - which suits the ambiance of the town as I've heard about it. I snatch a look at the Minster - somewhere I will visit in the future. Then we wind through the countryside to our first coastal stop - Bridlington, one of the famous names along this coast. It has an interesting station with through and terminus platforms. As we leave I see the sea for the first time, a newly emerging sun lighting white cliffs.
After another famous name - Filey - we join the line from York and pull into the most famous name of all along here - Scarborough. The line used to continue along the coast through to Whitby, Saltburn and Middlesbrough in happier times, a sadly missed link. After crossing the road I am plunged into the shopping centre crowds, and nip down a side street to avoid them. I reach the cliff top and take a path down to the front. It reminds me of a much bigger Whitby, with a harbour, a church and castle dominating the cliffs, and a gaggle of pleasant buildings along the foreshore. I am heading for a Sam Smith's pub overlooking the harbour, The Golden Ball. Sadly it's a disappointment - three bars, one closed, one full and the remaining one like an empty common room. I then grab some haddock and chips next door and walk up to the castle walls and look over the North Bay before heading down to the town once more. I head to the Alma pub, a hidden gem near the station that I found on the internet. It's small but very friendly, though there's something of a wait as only one barmaid is on. It also boasts the rare sight of a student drinking bitter! This is in contrast to the grizzled, balding man in his 50s downing a bottle of WDK - not exactly dignified.
I head back to the magnificent station - a beautifully intact town hall like building with a clock tower - and clamber on to a 3 coach 185 Trans Pennine Express to Liverpool to take me to York. We call at Seamer before splitting off the Hull line on to the line to York and on to Malton. This used to be the junction for the line to Whitby. This is a huge loss to my mind. You can now only reach Whitby from Darlington or Middlesbrough, a very long way round compared to the old route from York, which would be so useful today for just about everywhere south of Darlington, given the ease of reaching York from most of the UK. You can still catch a regular bus from York along this more direct route, which almost in recognition of this closure being a mistake, is listed amongst the trains on York's departure board! The North Yorkshire Moors railway has a chunk of the route between Pickering and Grosmont, and it runs more trains through to Whitby than Northern Rail! Let's hope they extend all the way to Malton again.
It's a beautiful evening as we cross the magnificence of North Yorkshire. In less than an hour the houses start to build up around us and we cross the Ouse bridge into the city of York. I have a 90 minute wait here, but I never tire of the place. It's such a beautiful place just to be. I am looking for a pub called The Maltings, but sadly it's so full that I don't even try to get a drink. Instead I head to Ye Olde Star Inn, where I'd been before. The staff are as friendly as ever and there is a good choice of beers. I sit outside, pleasantly chilled by the early Autumn darkness before heading back to the station. There are a good few people collapsing drunk already, the place seems livelier than I've known it before. The station is quite rowdy, though more than I'd realised - our train is held for some minutes as the police remove some presumably drunken passengers. It's a 125, the only time I think I've got one coming back on the East Coast, nicely refurbished. I make full use of the free first class coffee, an antidote to a day of drinking. It's a shame that GNER are going next month. Hopefully National Express won't paint the trains in an undignified colour scheme a la First and Stagecoach. Next week could be my final GNER trip...
Itineary:
London King's Cross-Selby-Hull
Hull-Scarborough
Scarborough-York
York-London King's Cross
Hull Trains is one of the (rare?) success stories of privatisation. BR tended to concentrate their direct London services on the most lucrative established routes, ie, York, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham etc, so cities off the main lines tended to have scant direct services, Hull being an obvious one. Privatisation has of course massively increased services on the main routes, these being increasingly remunerative, but has allowed niche markets to be exploited also. Open access operators apply to run services on routes they have chosen, rather than bidding for a franchise that compels them to provide a minimum level of service on all routes that form part of it. Hull Trains is such an operator running just between London and Hull and giving other East Yorkshire stops a link to London. Launched in 2000 with 3 trains a day, it now runs 7 with plans for more, using its own Pioneer trains similar to the Virgin Voyagers and Midland Meridians. Other open access operators are gradually coming into being. Grand Central is about to start running direct to Hartlepool and Sunderland, with stops in North Yorkshire largely ignored by GNER. They also want to run to Halifax, Huddersfield and Bradford. Most recently Shropshire and Warwickshire is launching in 2008 and will provide Wrexham and Shrewsbury with London trains again.
So at 9.34 the Hull Trains Pioneer sets off. The layout is better than I remember from the Meridians and much better than the Voyagers. The upholstery, whilst modern, has an old-fashioned look about it that really works - reminds me of original Mk1 carriages on preserved railways! The train is fairly full but I have a peaceful journey and am able to do a bit of reading, though I look up after Peterborough just in time to see a sign marking the spot where the Mallard broke the world steam record on Stoke Bank which still stands at 138mph. How did I miss this before? We go fast to Grantham, and after Doncaster leave the electrified line and head into Selby. Until the 1980s, this was still part of the main line. Due to the discovery of the "super pit" in the Selby area, mining activities were to increase there and this presented stability risks to the line. Hence the lines was diverted between Doncaster and York, and Selby came off the main line and on to a branch. Though the pit was inevitably closed, evidence of the coalfields is still all around us, this being almost a power station belt, the smoke winding up like mini-tornadoes into the grey clouds above. Arrival at Selby ticks off this stretch that I have never travelled before.
I've already travelled along here as far as Brough, so beyond here it's new territory. We cross the marshy flatlands that tend to characterise England's eastern edge, the wide plain of the Humber coming into view at last. We could almost be in south Essex or north Kent and this could be the Thames. There's even a suspension bridge like the QE2 - but the Humber bridge got there first! I'd wanted to see this ever since I heard about its opening from a teacher who knew I was into such oddities, and it doesn't disappoint. In the future I hope to walk across it. It might have been nice to come back by ferry but that's been gone for over 25 years - ie when the bridge opened! Before long we're pulling into Hull.
Hull Paragon is a proper city station, with a great wide arched roof and a spacious concourse. It is currently being transformed into a transport interchange, the bus station bays being part of the north side of the station, a great idea - EXACTLY what was needed at London Victoria instead of the mess we have there now. Shame the new shelter being added at the front is totally out of sympathy with the ornate Victorian station. Hull, like many cities, appears to be receiving a face lift, ie, new shopping centres. I find my way to a pub that I've looked up - The Wellington Arms. It's amazing! Despite being almost next to a horrible ring road, and amongst grilled windows and barbed wire, signs proclaim its pub of the year status. I cautiously go inside. It has a string of ales and ciders on as well as the favourites. It actually boasts a giant shelved cool area at the back of the bar, with glass sides so that you can see what they have, which is packed with bottled beers from all sorts of places. A shelf running around the wall brims with empty bottles of a dazzling variety. The wall space is covered with beer mats. There are copies of local CAMRA newsletters from various parts of the UK. I've never seen anything like it!
Regrettably I've time for just one before heading back via a bakery (love Northern bakeries!) to the waiting 2 coach 158 that will take me to Scarborough. This has been refurbished with nice deep seats - dare I say, almost as good as the old trains! This line spurs off from the main line and heads north. The running is very slow almost as far as Beverley. I'm guessing that the track has recently been relaid. Beverley has a lovely atmospheric station with an overall roof - very rare now - which suits the ambiance of the town as I've heard about it. I snatch a look at the Minster - somewhere I will visit in the future. Then we wind through the countryside to our first coastal stop - Bridlington, one of the famous names along this coast. It has an interesting station with through and terminus platforms. As we leave I see the sea for the first time, a newly emerging sun lighting white cliffs.
After another famous name - Filey - we join the line from York and pull into the most famous name of all along here - Scarborough. The line used to continue along the coast through to Whitby, Saltburn and Middlesbrough in happier times, a sadly missed link. After crossing the road I am plunged into the shopping centre crowds, and nip down a side street to avoid them. I reach the cliff top and take a path down to the front. It reminds me of a much bigger Whitby, with a harbour, a church and castle dominating the cliffs, and a gaggle of pleasant buildings along the foreshore. I am heading for a Sam Smith's pub overlooking the harbour, The Golden Ball. Sadly it's a disappointment - three bars, one closed, one full and the remaining one like an empty common room. I then grab some haddock and chips next door and walk up to the castle walls and look over the North Bay before heading down to the town once more. I head to the Alma pub, a hidden gem near the station that I found on the internet. It's small but very friendly, though there's something of a wait as only one barmaid is on. It also boasts the rare sight of a student drinking bitter! This is in contrast to the grizzled, balding man in his 50s downing a bottle of WDK - not exactly dignified.
I head back to the magnificent station - a beautifully intact town hall like building with a clock tower - and clamber on to a 3 coach 185 Trans Pennine Express to Liverpool to take me to York. We call at Seamer before splitting off the Hull line on to the line to York and on to Malton. This used to be the junction for the line to Whitby. This is a huge loss to my mind. You can now only reach Whitby from Darlington or Middlesbrough, a very long way round compared to the old route from York, which would be so useful today for just about everywhere south of Darlington, given the ease of reaching York from most of the UK. You can still catch a regular bus from York along this more direct route, which almost in recognition of this closure being a mistake, is listed amongst the trains on York's departure board! The North Yorkshire Moors railway has a chunk of the route between Pickering and Grosmont, and it runs more trains through to Whitby than Northern Rail! Let's hope they extend all the way to Malton again.
It's a beautiful evening as we cross the magnificence of North Yorkshire. In less than an hour the houses start to build up around us and we cross the Ouse bridge into the city of York. I have a 90 minute wait here, but I never tire of the place. It's such a beautiful place just to be. I am looking for a pub called The Maltings, but sadly it's so full that I don't even try to get a drink. Instead I head to Ye Olde Star Inn, where I'd been before. The staff are as friendly as ever and there is a good choice of beers. I sit outside, pleasantly chilled by the early Autumn darkness before heading back to the station. There are a good few people collapsing drunk already, the place seems livelier than I've known it before. The station is quite rowdy, though more than I'd realised - our train is held for some minutes as the police remove some presumably drunken passengers. It's a 125, the only time I think I've got one coming back on the East Coast, nicely refurbished. I make full use of the free first class coffee, an antidote to a day of drinking. It's a shame that GNER are going next month. Hopefully National Express won't paint the trains in an undignified colour scheme a la First and Stagecoach. Next week could be my final GNER trip...
Itineary:
London King's Cross-Selby-Hull
Hull-Scarborough
Scarborough-York
York-London King's Cross
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