Day 6 – Saturday 17th May

Manchester Victoria – Stalybridge – Stockport – Manchester Piccadilly – Halifax – Bradford Interchange – Bradford Forster Square – Leeds – Appleby – Ribblehead – Bolton – Manchester Piccadilly

I was nearing the end of my quest but much will depend on how kind the train gods are to me today. This is the last day that I’ve fully planned. I’ve known all along that there would be places I’ve missed and I do have tomorrow free, but getting things right today is crucial. Two of the lines I will use only operate on Saturdays so those journeys must take absolute priority. On the other hand I don’t want to spend ages sitting around doing nothing. What can’t happen is that I take off on some long side trip and then discover that a problem will prevent me from getting back to my next ‘important’ train.

I have thinned out todays’ plan already. Originally I’d planned to visit Hadfield and Rose Hill but I went on Monday instead. So I didn’t have a particularly heavy schedule. Fingers crossed.

Metrolink 3 – Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Victoria

First, I needed to get across to Victoria. The trams are frequent and reliable, but I do find the location of the touchpads – on the platforms rather than at the entrance/exit – makes it easy to forget to use them.

Train 46 – Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge

This train is an end in itself in that I don’t think I’ve ever caught a train from Victoria to Stalybridge, but I have certainly passed though the latter on trains from Piccadilly. But we’re only on this train for 13 minutes and call at a single intermediate stop, Ashton-under-Lyne, now a tram interchange and almost certainly a tick for me. The train was another Northern class 156.

I got the impression that this train had started its journey at Victoria. There were no more than eight passengers on board. It seems an odd service. But I may have misunderstood or maybe engineering works has truncated what was normally a longer journey? The current timetable has this service beginning its journey at Southport, well over an hour from here. Looking at the timetable in force when I made the journey supports the idea that the train didn’t arrive empty. Except – I’m almost certain that I did not board at a through platform. I used platform 2 at Victoria so the train MUST have started there. Ah – I made a note at the time that the starting signal was cleared for us several minutes before our departure time. That showed how quiet Victoria was early on a Saturday. Had the train been on a through route it was unlikely to have arrived more than a handful of minutes before its departure time, so I would not have made such a note. Rail forensics over.

It was noticeable that electrification work was well under way at Stalybridge. That would be part of the upgrading of the TPE line through here. I got off at Stalybridge at a bay platform that was set into an island with tracks on each side. On platform 4 I saw the buffet/bar. It was obviously too early to use such a facility even if it were open, which it wasn’t, but that was a shame as it has long had a very good reputation. Mr. Portillo sampled its goods on one of his outings. There were several polite but very firm notices suggesting that punters should not take their drinks onto the platform.

I used the subway to get to the other side of the station as I was to head back towards Manchester.

Train 47– Stalybridge to Stockport

My next train was a key target for this week. It’s a parliamentary train; a service that only runs because it’s easier to continue to provide the service than it is to jump through the hoops of the formal closure procedures. I was about to travel on The Denton Flyer. It runs once in each direction on a Saturday morning. Over the years its time and day of week has varied, as has its direction of travel. At times it’s been restricted to a single one-way journey each week. Being able to choose the direction of travel, as I have been able to today, is a luxury.

The Northern class 156 was to leave from the other bay platform at Stalybridge, and it appeared that I was not the only customer. There were, perhaps, a dozen or 15 of us? I’d bet that not a single person was using the service for a genuine journey that couldn’t be made more easily by another method. But the reasons for travel don’t really matter. We helped reduce the losses that this train would make (by a tiny amount) and it was all business for the rather good coffee shop on the platform. They probably needed it. There was a lot of engineering going on this weekend. The through TPE services to the north-east were going no further than Huddersfield so were inevitably much quieter than usual. The station was still quite busy with trains; it’s just that many weren’t going to anywhere near as many destinations as usual.

The Flyer set off. As we departed I noticed a TPE service arriving at Stalybridge, running a few minutes late. At one point I’d planned to use that service – it’s a good job I didn’t or I’d have missed my weekly service.

We’d arrived at Stalybridge from the west but were now heading south-west. We arrived at Guide Bridge – our third visit this week – seven minutes later. So far we’d done nothing that isn’t done by dozens of trains every day. One person entered my car here. On leaving Guide Bridge we take a junction to our left. This is a single-lead junction but we’re soon double-track again. We merge with another double-track line from our right. This is a goods line that’s branched off of the line we travelled earlier, somewhere near Ashton-under-Lyne.

Denton station is next. Somebody got off! I’m not certain but I think another person got on. Not sure what Edward Thomas would have made of it. After Denton we become single track again then cross over another line on a bridge. That’s the line towards Marple and New Mills Central that I arrived on last Monday.

A bit later we call at Reddish South. The station was a delight. The flowers made a fantastic display and all looked well-cared for. But. It’s a single platform that sees one train per direction per week. There are probably fewer than five passengers a MONTH use this station. Yet volunteers have put in enough time and effort for the station to have won Best Kept Station in Cheshire for 2022. Is it really a good use of their time, money and energy? I genuinely can’t decide, but their hearts are in the right place.

After a few more minutes we reached Heaton Norris Junction where we joined the very busy lines into Stockport.

So what’s the story with the Flyer? How is it that a line with two intermediate stations has been reduced to a token service? Well, it’s complicated. As you know there are two remaining major stations in Manchester. The problem was they served two distinct networks, one to the north and and one to the south of the city.

Piccadilly served the main line to London and the (now closed) Woodhead Route towards Sheffield. This latter set of lines carried a very intensive peak hour commuter service. From Piccadilly there were various routes via Stockport including those to London, Buxton, Chester and parts of Wales. Not far north of Piccadilly a pair branched off towards Styal. This was a quietish commuter line until the spur to Manchester Airport was built, making it a major destination.

Piccadilly is known as a terminus but it has a pair of through lines that allow trains to head north-west. These tracks led to Manchester Oxford Road station then on towards Liverpool, Sale and Altrincham. The line to Sale and Altrincham was electrified in a unique non-standard way but was closed in the 1990s so that the trams could take over.

Manchester Victoria was a terminus for trains from the east but also had through lines. These allowed trains to run to Liverpool via Eccles and to Bolton for access to Preston and Wigan on the WCML as well as other routes to the north and west.

So trains from the north could not get to or from Piccadilly. The Manchester rail network was in two islands and just about the only way to get from one part to the other was by using the link between Guide Bridge and Stockport. This carried a regular, every day, passenger service and was well-patronised. But then catastrophe struck in the form of the Windsor Link Line. They built a new station at Salford Crescent, on the Victoria lines, then a new 700m double-track railway to Ordsall Junction. This joined up the lines between Salford and Piccadilly so now the two networks were joined: trains from the north and Scotland could get to Piccadilly and the new Manchester Airport station. More and more traffic was diverted this way until the biggest problem facing the area’s railways was congestion on the approaches to Piccadilly. But that’s a story for another day; the key message is that the Guide Bridge to Stockport shuttle was no longer needed. Worse, on a railway that was getting busier and busier it was difficult to fit trains between Guide Bridge and Stockport into the timetable. So it became as it is today, a unwanted shadow of its former self.

Train 48– Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly

I could have simply gone back from Stockport to Stalybridge but that seemed a bit of a daft idea. I needed to get to another Saturdays-only line as well as a station on a spur I’ve somehow missed in the past. Both are in Yorkshire. I decided that I needed to get back to Manchester to maximise my options.

So I caught the next train back along the busy four-track line to Manchester Piccadilly. This train was formed of a Class 156 coupled to a class 150 unit. It had come from Buxton and arrived on time but was, inexplicably, late leaving Stockport. The signaller had cleared the signal some time ago but we’d tarried. Even so we were back in Manchester less than 15 minutes later.

Metrolink 4 – Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Victoria

And back to Victoria …

Train 49– Manchester Victoria to Halifax

For the first time in a while I was on a modern train, a pair of class 195s. It was sitting waiting to depart but the idling was noisy and not particularly pleasant. It was fine once we got moving. The route was as Tuesday, out to the north-east to Rochdale and the Calder Valley. Happy Valley country: Rochdale, Todmorden. On Tuesday we’d turned towards Rose Grove but this time we continued to Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge and Halifax.

The section between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge may be new for me, although I suspect I’ve travelled it several times in the past. I’ve certainly ridden on the part from Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is one of those stations with historical associations that have retained many period features. They’ve done it well. There’s a proper signal box, as well.

Detour – Halifax and the Piece Hall

I’ve come to Halifax for a reason. I’ve long wanted to visit the Piece Hall, an 18th Century Grade 1 listed building built as a wool market. In photographs it looks very grand, and somehow not British. It would, perhaps, feel at home in Milan.

Halifax Station has been modernised. According to Wiki it was in a sorry state until a campaign by the local paper forced Network Rail and Northern to act. It now has a modern glass ticket office. The original station buildings were far more impressive and can still be seen. They were used as a nursery by Eureka!, a children’s museum in Halifax, but that use ended some time ago. I don’t know what they’re for currently which is a shame because they are rather grand.

It was a short walk to Piece Hall, along a cobbled station approach road then past the bus stop being used by those folk whose trains were bustituted today because of the major engineering projects in the area.

Piece Hall is, as you can see, a square. Each side has galleries and the whole thing is full of small businesses. Food, art, gifts, vinyl records, crafts, magic, games and comics. There seemed to be several comic and games shops, so maybe there’s a hub for afficionados growing up. The building has been tastefully modernised so there are lifts to access the upper floors, and modern toilets. The square in the middle hosts events of various kinds, but when I was there was mainly being used by children to play in.

I spend quite some time wandering around all of the galleries and I stopped for a very nice breakfast sitting in the square watching the world come and go.

The Wikipedia image of P:iece Hall I posted above is showing the place from the very best vantage point. Unfortunately modern building intrudes more than it should.

So, my verdict? I’m glad I came here. It’s impressive, there’s no doubt. I like the idea of providing a space where a large number of small traders can sell side by side. Yet in the end I was a little underwhelmed. For a start it’s smaller than I thought. But it’s definitely an asset to this perfectly pleasant small Yorkshire town which is a very long way from Madrid. I was also slightly pessimistic. I wonder how Piece Hall will do in the next recession?

Train 50– Halifax to Bradford Interchange

My next train was another pair of Northern Class 195s. The train was for York and ran non-stop the short 15 minute ride to Bradford. There was a very noisy group of women at the end of my carriage obviously priming their bloodstream for a day out. The quiet young couple sitting opposite were drinking beer and Bacardi Breezer. It was almost midday.

I’ve been to Bradford Interchange in the past. On one occasion we were trying to get to Wakefield on a weekend, so there was, of course, engineering. Seeing a bus in the bus station with Wakefield on the front we stupidly got on. It took about two hours in the rain. By the time we reached Wakefield it was too late to visit the Hepworth Gallery so we had a quick late lunch then caught a train back to Leeds.

Bradford Interchange isn’t a bad station. it’s more than a station. It really is a large, comprehensive, modern integrated transport terminal combining railway station with a large well-appointed bus station, shops and toilets. On the upper, railway, level it is a terminus with four platforms. There’s no electrification and all trains are operated by Northern except for a few a day to London operated by the open-access operator Grand Central. These London services take a fairly leisurely route via Halifax, Wakefield Kirkgate and one of the Pontefract stations before joining the ECML for a fast run to King’s Cross.

Just outside the station there’s a junction. It was once a triangle so it was possible for trains to bypass Bradford Interchange. Now everything has to visit and reverse if necessary. The train I arrived on was doing just that on its way to York.

I’m becoming an expert on getting from station to station in towns and cities, but Bradford was a new one on me. The timings were poor – my train from the other station wasn’t for about 50 minutes. I looked around, The map seemed to show a park nearby but I couldn’t find anything that I’d call a park on the ground. I loitered a while in Centenary Square, a large open space that was being prepared for an event. Eventually, but still early, I made my way towards Bradford Forster Square. There’s some decent architecture in Bradford, including the City Hall.

Eventually I found Forster Square. It’s hidden away as if ashamed of itself. And well it might be. The original station site was sold in the 1990s, so the railway was truncated and an unimpressive glass box was built. This has three terminal platforms until this year (actually this week) when platform 0 was added.

The plan was to build a shopping centre on the old station site. Well, of course it was. But in the end the shops went elsewhere and the old station became first a car park then HMRC offices. They did leave the Midland hotel alone. It probably gives an idea of the station before greed was allowed to destroy it although I wouldn’t want to stay there. It belongs to Britannia Hotels and they really are dire.

The station staff were, as usual, needed to allow me through the ticket barriers. I have to say they seemed a little dispirited. There was a lady running the booking office, although I only heard one demand made of her: is there a toilet my child can use? I pitied her. Most booking office staff I come across are nice people and I assume she’s just the same. But what a depressing place to work.

I was now on the Wharfedale Line which runs from Leeds and Bradford to Skipton and Ilkley. I’m was on the Bradford branch that leaves the main route at Shipley and comes down to Forster Square. I had planned to catch a train from here towards Ilkley but decided to postpone that until tomorrow. I walked along the platform to the far end where I found my train to Leeds.

Train 51 – Bradford Forster Square to Leeds

About the only thing going for Forster Square is that it was electrified back in the 1990s. As usual, the sparks effect has led to greatly increased traffic. The train was a Northern Class 331, so almost identical from a passenger point of view to my last two trains, although electric. We headed out of Bradford, calling at Frizinghall then Shipley where we joined the main Wharfedale line into Leeds. I know this line quite well so paid little attention, but I was distracted by a child playing close to me. His preferred game was to take his toy car and smash it into the train table as hard as he could. I noticed Kirkstall Abbey on my right so knew that I’d soon arrive at Leeds. Once there I could seize the toy car and throw it under the train. Followed by the child.

I had a few minutes to spare so left airside at Leeds to find a sandwich. People seemed to have stripped the shelves of the M&S franchise bare – unless I was seeing an effect of the cyber-attack?

Train 52 – Leeds to Appleby

By the time I was back on the station my train was almost ready to leave. I was heading up the Settle and Carlisle Line. I first travelled along what is usually described as England’s Most Scenic Line on my very first Rover in 2006. I’ve ridden it many times since then, once on the ‘Plandampf’, the time when the steam engine Tornado was operating ordinary service trains to celebrate the reopening of the line after lengthy repairs.

The train was, of course, operated by Northern. It was a three-car example of a Class 158, far from new but comfortable, In fact probably the most comfortable of that generation of units.

I saw a table seat. The train wasn’t that busy. I decided to risk it and took my place at the window. A couple of minutes before departure two men entered the car. They decided to sit at the first table they encountered. There would have been several more further up the train and the one they chose was partially occupied. By me.

They needed a table because they wanted to play a board game. They set it up, leaving me with a handkerchief sized square of table in front of me. Then they played. The game was completely new to one of them so multiple, repeated instructions were given. Dozens of questions were asked, and answered. To play they repeatedly needed to stretch across and place/move items in front of my face. They did apologise. I considered shaking a can of Guinness I had in my bag and allowing it to flood the table. I would, of course, have followed up with an apology.

I walked along the train looking for the toilet. On the way I looked for empty tables. There were several. I’d move. But when I returned for my bag the men had moved across the aisle. They apologised to me, again.

I could now enjoy the view. There are things worth seeing on the early part of the journey but I’ll be back for those tomorrow.

We reached Skipton., the end of the electrified Wharfedale Line. We waited here for several minutes. I think there was a crew change. There’s a fairly frequent commuter service from Leeds (and Bradford?) to here, but from now on the service is infrequent, consisting of diesel trains to Carlisle via the S&C and to Lancaster via the unjustly-neglected Bentham Line. A bit later we called at Hellifield, once a large and important station.

The scenery is good for almost all of this line. The Pennines rise in earnest on the right just after Skipton. I see from the map that Malham is here, the site of school geography field trips that I, as a scientist, didn’t go on. Perhaps I should still make an effort to visit?

After Settle the scenery gets even better. The line threads its way along the valley between Pen-y-Ghent and Ingleborough. At Ribblehead we crossed the famous viaduct and turned slightly right to avoid the third of the Three Peaks, Whernside. We passed Blea Moor and its notoriously remote wooden signal box then after a short tunnel we passed along a valley between more high moorland until we reach Kirkby Stephen. We were now in a wider valley which we followed until Appleby, or more formally Appleby-in-Westmoreland. The heights of the Lune Forest are still fairly close at hand but there’s no longer the feeling of being in wild country.

I got off at Appleby. Why? I did need to get back to my Saturday-only train before too long. If I stayed on the current train I couldn’t get to Carlisle and back in time so I might as well visit this small picturesque market town.

So I did. I walked along the river bank, pausing for a while to watch the cricket. I considered trying to walk out to the moors but I didn’t have long and the A66 was in the way. So some time before I needed to I walked up the hill towards the station. These days I always allow plenty of time to get up hills following a rush to catch a train at Dalmeny after a climb of over 50m from South Queensferry last year. My heartbeat has yet to return to normal.

I still had half an hour. There was a pub by the station, the Midland. It was quiet so I bought a pint and sat in the front garden. I noticed a sign dated January. The pub would close in June unless someone could be found to take it on. It’s very sad. I asked the barman if there was any interest. No, there wasn’t. He was the licensees’ son. He thought they’d continue to live there after closure and maybe open on special occasions.

Back on Appleby platform I had time to look around. It’s nice.

Train 53 – Appleby – Ribblehead

My train arrived. I don’t where I’d got the idea that I didn’t have time to get to Carlisle and back because this was the same train I’d been on earlier. Maybe I just fancied getting off for a wander?

I got off 40 minutes later at Ribblehead.

Train 54 – Ribblehead to Bolton

I had 20 minutes to wait for my Saturdays-only. The weather was fine and warm so it was no hardship. There was a pub nearby but I’d just had one. I wasn’t the only person on the platform, which was good,

Ribblehead station has a small visitor centre and cafe, but they were closed. There’s an external door on the building that claims to lead to toilets but that, too, was locked despite several people trying the door. I would guess that the station facilities are run by the Friends of the Settle and Carlisle Line. On a previous trip the train had a refreshment trolley, also run by the Friends. Today’s trains had none, despite it being advertised. I suppose they’re short of volunteers, like everybody else.

My train pulled in to the platform, on time. It had arrived at Ribblehead about half an hour ago and had sat out of harm’s way in a goods loop at Blea Moor. I bet the signaller welcomed the chance of a chat.

This may be another Saturdays-only service, but it isn’t a parliamentary. It’s to promote tourism on the Settle and Carlisle Line. An infrequent Sunday service up from Bolton ran for some years, at least during the summer. In recent times it came all the way from Blackpool. Last year it disappeared from the timetable entirely due to Northern’s chronic crew shortage, but is now back as the Yorkshire Dales Explorer. It runs as two trains each way on a Saturday from Rochdale via Manchester Victoria to Ribblehead. Or it would, if engineering work today hadn’t closed the line the other side of Bolton.

This is another Class 156. We headed back along the most scenic part of the S&C past Settle to Hellifield. After Hellifield we turned to the right/south along the Ribble Valley Line. The view from the window is very rural and slightly hilly. It’s nothing on the Settle and Carlisle but on most days you’d consider it a very nice ride. After 20-odd minutes we stop at Clitheroe. Clitheroe is at the end of a branch from Blackburn. The entire line was closed to passenger traffic in 1962 but was reopened as far as Clitheroe in 1994. The line between Clitheroe and Hellifield remains closed to this day for passengers apart from this twice a week service. There is a campaign to reopen Clitheroe – Hellifield and to reinstate closed stations.

We join a busier line and call at Blackburn for the second time this week. After Blackburn we peel off to the south again for the line to Bolton. This is an odd’un. You’d think this line, though a developed part of Lancashire, would see more traffic than the line up to Clitheroe, yet the latter is double-track throughout and the line down to Bolton is largely single-track. This is another line I’ve wanted to visit for some time. Part of the attraction may be the station names: Entwhistle, Hall i’ th’ Wood. Anyway, another tick.

So we arrived at Bolton. It’s a shame that we couldn’t continue to Victoria, but so be it. I considered a longer route back to Manchester but it was quite late and I wanted food and a rest. So out to the bus stop.

Railway Bus 1 – Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly

The rail replacement bus stop was easy to find and I didn’t have long to wait. Most passengers caught the first bus, to Victoria, but I waited for a Piccadilly. The coach was comfortable, the only problem being the light traffic. We arrived at Salford Crescent about 20 minutes early so had to wait. I think we also called at Deansgate and Oxford Road but in any case we reached Piccadilly before long. It occurred to me that I’d never seen this side of the station before, having always previously used the Fairfield Street entrance/exit.

So how has the day gone? Very well, in short.

It’s possible that I’d never travelled between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, or Bradford Forster Square and Shipley before, but there’s no doubt now. I’ve travelled the Denton Flyer and the Yorkshire Dales Explorer, the Clitheroe Line and the odd little line between Blackburn and Bolton.

It’s a shame that so much is closed for engineering but the Trans-Pennine Update Project is a major piece of work. At least I wasn’t travelling the following week when much more was shut.

And I had a decent breakfast at Piece Hall.