Recent content by Revaulx

Blackpool South was never a grand station. It was thrust into undeserved prominence in the 1960s thanks to the truncation of the Blackpool Central line there. The original Blackpool North is the one that should have been retained. Perfect location, not over-large and not in bad condition when...

And the reason nearly all photos of the platforms were of the admittedly rather elegant Arrival side was because the high numbered Departure platforms were cramped, utilitarian and as grim as their replacements. I agree that pretty much every change that it’s endured over the past 55 years has...

Great video! Those of us who have found the glacial speed of progress on the short sections being electrified desperately frustrating can’t fail to be impressed by the scale and urgency of all that’s going on here :D

Not really; they ordered EMUs for both Manchester-Hadfield and Liverpool St-Sheffield electrification. They also had no money to fritter away unlike BR with the Modernisation Plan. I’m not sure what they could have tried to improve without any; electrification sounds sexier than resignalling...

Lovely! Shows how short the sections at either end are, which doesn’t fill one with confidence regarding the big bit in the middle. The easing of the curve at Miles Platting and remodelling of Stalybridge’s west end (again :rolleyes:) have obviously made that section less than straightforward...

@snowball yes the Deighton compound appears to be in the middle of the vast earthworks! The video shows something it’s hard to tell from maps and plans, or even Google Earth: how hilly the terrain is round there. I had never realised how much higher up the ex-Midland line was.

Fair enough! I suppose it’s quite refreshing to see passenger convenience prioritised for once :D 1712033962 Ah I understand; the line you mean is part of the Midland Railway’s freight route into Huddersfield. The big construction compound on that side of the line closer towards Huddersfield...

No you’re quite right. Which makes the scale of the earthworks even more remarkable. If only they’d reopened the original Bradley station back in the 80s rather than going for a new site they’d have saved a lot of trouble and expense. Though I suppose Deighton is better located.

The greater part of the earthworks are on the other side from the Kirkburton branch; i.e. on the left if going from Hudds towards Leeds. They seem to be widening the cutting to accommodate four platforms in addition to four tracks.

I’m not sure how much of the Woodhead freight actually ended up on the London extension. Most of the huge amount of coal traffic passing through Woodford Halse seemed to originate from the Notts/Derbyshire fields. Eastward and westward extensions would appear to be a lot more useful and...

The Deighton earthworks are indeed massive and I was wondering why, since the line was four-track until the mid-60s. From looking at an old OS map it appears that the original Deighton station was not on the main line, but at the start of the Kirkburton branch which diverged there. That...

Thanks! The spine of the fatter volume of my 2nd edition suffered a mishap at my hand but I’ve made what has so far proved to be an effective repair with invisible Sellotape.

Anyone know what the differences are between the second and third editions, other than the covers changing from green to red?

Oh I didn’t realise that. There were always plenty of DMUs in the north-facing shed at Longsight, and South Manchester’s were generally better turned out than those operating in the North; see the posts regarding the Blackpool 104s. I had always assumed that the Buxton 104s were a type of...

I never experienced a fire, but the Cravens units, which I particularly associate with the Sheffield area, always used to stink of exhaust fumes. Standards of maintenance varied significantly from depot to depot. The small fleet of 3-car 104s based at Longsight and solely used on the ex-LNW...