Return to Croydon

On the 8th, 9th and 10th April 2022, I visited my friend Rita in Croydon, travelling by train. Prior to this trip, I'd been to Croydon in September 2021 (described here).

The journey to Croydon

On Friday, 8th April, I caught the first bus to Wolverhampton at 07:30 giving me plenty of time to walk to the railway station, clutching my pre-booked tickets. On this occasion, I'd booked via Stafford so the first 'leg' was to head back by train, on almost the reciprocal of the heading I'd just arrived by bus! When I was young, there was a station within a couple of miles (around 3 km) measured in a straight line 'as the crow flies' from where I now live. Of course, country roads (unless the legacy of the Romans) tend not to be straight so I'm sure the distance by road was probably around twice the figure I've quoted. This minor station was called Four Ashes but was closed in 1959, with the signal box surviving a few years longer.

I'd intended to catch the 08:21 West Midland Trains service from Wolverhampton to Liverpool as far as Stafford but my slightly earlier arrival at the station allowed me to catch the prior Cross Country Trains 'Voyager' service to Manchester which also called at Stafford. On arrival at Stafford, I went to platform 1 for a connection providing another reversal of direction. My general heading would be south-east and the straight-line distance from Stafford to Euston is about 122 miles (just under 200 km). I was quite surpised that the train I intended catching (a Liverpool to Euston express) was preceded by a Crewe to Euston stopping service and I wondered whether this would delay my train.


Stafford Station looking north from platform 1 with Crewe-Euston stopping train arriving.

The stopping train departed and my train followed - an Avanti 'Pendolino'. I snuggled into a quiet corner in Standard class for the non-stop journey to London. We didn't appear to be baulked by the preceding local which I think we passed either at Lichfield or Tamworth when the local was on a platform loop. We arrived at Euston within one minute of 'right time'. Normally, I'd head to Victoria by Tube and there catch an East Croydon service. But, presumably because of 'engineering works', passengers were being advised to travel from London Bridge, rather than Victoria. To add to the misery, there was no Tube service from Euston via London Bridge to Moorgate. Since my friend Rita would not be available until the afternoon, before continuing to East Croydon I'd decided to try out the new Northern Line Extension which now branches from the Northern Line south of Kennington to serve a new intermediate station at Nine Elms and a new terminus at Battersea Power Station. My company had supplied control equipment for this extension which had opened to the public in September 2021 but I'd not yet travelled on it.

At Euston Underground Station I descended to the Charing Cross Branch Southbound platform. All the escalators appeared to be working but the various areas were thronged with the usual mass of bewildered passengers unsure as to which way to go. The first arrival was for Morden, so I waited for the next train, shown as bound for Battersea Power Station. I took this train to the end of the line at Battersea Power Station, about two miles beyond Kennington. I noticed the new Step Plate Junction where the southbound tunnel has been modernised and broadened to accommodate the turnout leading to the extension but otherwise the new tunnel was relatively featureless. As we paused at Nine Elms and its single island platform, I was able to see that the architectural style at platform level was similar to other recent station modernisations with clear signage, uncluttered layout and lots of stainless steel panelling.

Battersea Power Station also has an island platform and trains can arrive at and depart from either platform. The far end of the platform lines terminate in stop blocks but planning has allowed for the line to be extended to Clapham Junction in the future.


Battersea Power Station underground station: Platform 2 with High Barnet train of '95' stock

The control equipment cubicles my company had supplied are locked-away inside the various Traction Sub Stations serving the the line but I did find the Traction Current Discharge Plungers associated with our system, neatly accommodated behind stainless steel hinged doors integrated into the stainless steel wall cladding. These plungers allow staff to isolate the traction current in an emergency and, to discourage unwanted use, the hinged doors are fitted with a plastic seal.


Battersea Power Station underground station: Modular stainless steel wall cladding allowing various items of equipment to be integrated.

I spent a few minutes on the platform studying the trackwork entering the platform before taking the escalator to the intermediate concourse level.


Battersea Power Station underground station: View from platform 1 towards Nine Elms showing pit alongside platform, conductor rail ramps, turnout with point machine and backdrive.


Battersea Power Station underground station: Concourse level, with the Station Supervisor's Office on right.


Battersea Power Station underground station: View across concourse level from near Station Supervisor's Office, showing Ticket Gate Line.

Having passed through the Ticket Gate Line to the 'unpaid area' of the Concourse, signs pointed to a group of three escalators leading to the surface offering destinations 'The Power Station', 'New Covent Garden Market', 'Buses' and 'Battersea Pier', whilst a row of five ticket machines (with glowing display screens) stood ready to serve arriving passengers. I found myself quite impressed with the Northern Line Extension.


Battersea Power Station underground station: Concourse 'unpaid area' showing three escalators to the surface.

Once above ground, without a clear plan, I headed in the general direction of the original power station building. There's a Wikipedia article here with history of this iconic (Grade II* Listed) building, plus an outline of the indignities it suffered after closure as a generating station.

Back in 2009, I managed a reasonable aerial view of the then part-dismantled power station as I landed at Heathrow after a memorable trip to the Middle East (described here and the picture's title, written at the time, reads:-

Returning from Amman on 24-Mar-2009, we initially stooged around over London and then made an East to West pass over the city to land on runway 28L at Heathrow.

Battersea Power Station (or what's left of it). Top left, Chelsea Bridge, top middle Grosvenor Bridge taking the railway lines to Victoria. Coal-fired Battersea Power Station 'A' was built in 1930 and caused some consternation. The architect Halliday provided many Art Deco features but the external 'brick cathedral' appearance was due to Giles Gilbert Scott. The 'B' station was added in the 1950s, giving the present appearance. The building was listed Grade II in 1980 when closure was threatened and generation ceased in 1983. Although it remains a much-loved icon, a sustainable future has not yet emerged.

Battersea Power Station from the air
Click for larger views

Later in 2009, I took the picture below showing the part-dismantled structure from a train leaving Victoria station (using the camera on a 'Blackberry' mobile phone).


The skeleton of Battersea Power Station, viewed from a train leaving Victoria.

At that time, the building dominated the skyline but, since then as I've travelled to and from Victoria station, I've watched the huge structure disappear from view as modern apartment blocks have been constructed on all sides except the river elevation. The aerial picture below illustrates this.


Battersea Power Station, aerial view (Photo:Battersea Power Station 2022)

As I continued my walk from the new Northern Line station, the Power Station building came into view, although sightlines were cramped and the modern apartment block on my left overhung my route in a rather disturbing manner.


Battersea Power Station

Further on, the buildings at least had walls that were vertical (matching the massive power station building to my right) but I was not tempted to call in at the estates office to enquire about the attractions of apartments available on the site but the website here lists all the advantages. And so, I arrived at the River Thames and Battersea Pier, a modern, rectangular floating pontoon allowed to move up and down two massive steel restraining posts sunk into the river bed, according to the river level. A link span provides pedestrian access from the bank at all states of the river level.

The Pier is a little downstream of Grosvenor Railway Bridge which carries the eight tracks approaching Victoria Station. I was surprised to see a train of Pullman coaches crossing the bridge, heading for Victoria and failed to identify the locomotive at the head, but it might have been a Class 73 'Electo-Diesel'. At the rear of the train, there was a Rebuilt Bullied Pacific being unceremoniously dragged tender-first. So then I realised, this was the British Pullman empty stock from Stewarts Lane to Victoria prior to working a Belmond train. Back in 2013, I visited the carriage workshops at Stewarts Lane and there's a short post here.

I was too slow to take a picture of the British Pullman on Grosvenor Railway Bridge, but took one of the bridge a few minutes later which also shows, in the background, the imposing chimney and main building of the Western Pumping Station built by Bazalgette as part of his improvements to the London Sewer System.


Grosvenor Railway Bridge, with Bazalgette's Western Pumping Station in the background, viewed from Battersea Power Station.

From my position adjacent to the Pier, it was finally possible to get a reasonable view of the huge Power Station structure.


Battersea Power Station viewed from Battersea Pier

I walked onto the Pier as a gentleman was struggling to complete a ticket purchase from the automatic machine. When I followed, I understood his problem. For the convenieince of wheelchair passengers, the solitary machine has been installed at low level, necessitating adopting a crouch position during the transaction. Further, the display device was a liquid-crystal device, apparently without backlighting which, in daylight, can be difficult to interpret. After a while, the machine, satisfied with my fumbling, issued me with a paper ticket. I had a few minutes to wait before the River Bus arrived. For some years modern catamarans have provided the service which preferred to style itself 'Thames Clippers' - sorry, MBNA Thames Clippers. MBNA started in 1982 in the USA as the Maryland Bank National Association. Since 1993 MBNA, which provides credit cards and loans, has been based in Chester (yes, Chester, England) and in 2017 became part of Lloyds Banking Group. But now, the River Bus service additionally calls itself 'Uber Boats'.

When my Uber Boat arrived, it was appeared to be one of their newer vessels and certainly more appealing than the rather care-worn Thames Clipper I travelled on some time ago. I found a large a large enclosed passenger cabin (with shop and toilets) towards the front but, on impulse, I selected a seat on the semi-open deck at the rear. Although I had no view ahead, I had unobstructed views astern for photography and this proved a good move because, when I finally checked out the front cabin, I discovered that although the windows gave good views, spray thrown against the glass when moving at speed gave a rather mottled appearance when attempting photography.

We set off down-river, commencing a series of pick-ups at the frequent piers on both sides of the river.


Vauxhall Bridge on the River Thames with Vauxhall (St. George Wharf) Pier visible through left arch.


Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Building at Vauxhall on the River Thames.


St. Thomas' Hospital, River Thames


The London Eye and Waterloo Pier: River Thames (Battersea Power Station to North Greenwich)


The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Pier: River Thames

By the time we'd called at Westminster Pier, the boat was quite full and I was pleased with my choice of seating location. More stops followed, as we passed the familiar landmarks - Tate Modern, the pedestrian Millenium Bridge, Blackfriars Railway Bridge, H.M.S. Belfast, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge.


Tate Modern Gallery (converted from redundant Bankside Power Station): River Thames


Tower Bridge with The Shard in the background on the left: River Thames>

As sea transport has moved to containerisation and larger ships, London's once-famous docks have been largely given over to office and residential use. There's an article on 'The Container Revolution' here.

Deptford once had an important power station, designed by Sebastian Z. de Ferranti and opened in 1889. Ferranti was convinced that generation of alternating (rather than direct) current was the way forward at a time when direct current had many proponents. To allow generation to be further from the point of consumption, he also proposed high-voltage transmission at 10,000 volts which many considered unsafe. The project encountered many problems but Ferranti is now regarded as far-sighted and the site is regarded as the first centralised, high-voltage power station in the world. There's a brief history on Wikipedia here. The plant was coal-powered and the large jetty for receiving coal by ship survives but, after final closure in 1983, the site has been redeveloped, apart from the remaining high voltage switchyard.


Deptford from the river. L-R: modern housing, former coaling jetty, high voltage switchyard (River Thames)


Deptford Creek (River Thames)

Our penultimate stop was at Greenwich, adjacent to Greenwich Foot Tunnel (opened 1902 with a Wikipedia article here and the famous 'Cutty Sark' clipper ship built in 1869. There's a Wikipedia article here. The ship is now managed by Royal Museums Greenwich, along with the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House and the Royal Observatory.


Greenwich, with (foreground) domed stairway leading to Greenwich Foot Tunnel and (background) preserved 'Cutty Sark' (River Thames)

After a lot of passengers had left the ship at Greenwich, we carried on to the final stop at North Greenwich situated on the 'Greenwich Peninsula' formed by the sharply-bending river. This is the site of the curious Milennium Dome which originally formed the centrepiece of the 'Milennium Experience' exhibition intended to celebrate the new Milennium in 2000. This proved rather underwhelming but, now owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (ARG) and called, curiously, 'The O2' (since the mobile phone company O2 purchased 'naming rights') the area is has been developed as a "large entertainment district".


'The O2' (showing February 2022 storm damage to the roof fabric) viewed through the windows of a Uber Boat arriving at North Greenwich Pier, with apologies for the 'mottled' appearance.

On disembarking, I headed towards where I imagined North Greenwich Underground station would be, passing more modern apartment blocks in a rather curious range of designs. In 1999 my company was involved in site commissioning control equipment we'd supplied for the Jubilee Line Extension project and I'd spent many hours (usually at night) working at North Greenwich when the area around the station was completely undeveloped. I arrived at the large Tube station without incident. After checking out the new line to Battersea Power Station and spending around 90 minutes on the Uber Boat, my appetite for exploring London was satisfied, so I decided to catch a Jubilee Line train to London Bridge and catch a further train to East Croydon.

I'd not been on the Jubilee Line since before the Covid Pandemic but it seemed little changed. This line is fitted with full-height Platform Edge Doors, generally referred to as 'Peds' by technicians, so it's important that trains stop accurately with the train doors correctly aligned with the platform edge doors. This is controlled automatically and, once achieved, both sets of doors open to allow passengers on and off.

At London Bridge, there was a fair walk to get from the Underground station to the concourse of the rebuilt main line station but I discovered that a Thameslink service to Brighton, first stop East Croydon, was due in a few minutes, so I happily caught this train to my destination.

High spot of the weekend was an excellent lunch on Saturday at the Horseshoe, Warlingham, accompanied by Rita's friend Douglas.


Douglas and Rita at The Horseshoe

The journey home

On Sunday afternoon, I caught a well-patronised bus to East Croydon where I waited for the next Thameslink service heading north, which are all now operated by Siemens Class 700 trains. The train was quite crowded. Bearing in mind the closure of part of the City Branch of the Northern line, I decided to stay on the Thameslink train until St. Pancras Thameslink. Emerging above ground on the west side of St. Pancras station, I then walked along Euston Road to Euston station. As soon as the platform for my Avanti 'Pendolino' was announced, I headed for the train, along with a large crowd of passengers. I walked the length of the train to reach the Quiet Coach at the front and found a corner seat where I was able to relax on the journey back to Wolverhampton.

Related posts on other websites

Northern line extension to Battersea (Wikipedia)
Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides: Northern Line
Battersea Power Station - THEN & NOW (Wikipedia)
Battersea Power Station - NOW
Deptford Power Station (Wikipedia)
Greenwich Foot Tunnel (Wikipedia)
Cutty Sark (Wikipedia)
Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides: Jubilee Line

Related posts on this website

By Train to Croydon

My pictures

Northern Line
River Thames


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New Brighton, again

In early 2022, the United Kingdom was attempting to 'Live with Covid'. Pandemic restrictions imposed by law had been largely removed, although differing attitudes to social mixing existed amongst the population, according to their experiences over the previous two years. I decided to have a day out by rail. Since I was a child, Liverpool and New Brighton has been a favoured destination. My most recent visit had been in August 2021 (described here).

Events of Friday, 1st April 2022

March straddles the end of winter and the beginning of spring in the U.K. and the old adage has it that the month 'Comes in like a Lion, goes out like a Lamb'. But that didn't seem to work in 2022 when we experienced unusually balmy weather in the middle of the month which turned bitterly cold with snow in places at the end of the month. The last day of March struggled to raise the temperature much above freezing where I live, despite weak sunshine, and we experienced a number of snow showers. None-the-less, I determined to make a day trip to New Brighton the following day, despite the possible weather conditions. I booked a First Class railway ticket on-line, partly because the early booking offered useful discount compared with booking at the station, partly to discourage me from changing my mind and cancelling the trip.

It was a cold, frosty but dry morning on 1st April. With some reluctance, I arose early and caught the first bus from Brewood to Wolverhampton at 07:30. This gave me plenty of time to walk to the railway station where the huge, new building on platform 1 appalled me yet again before I made my way over the older of the two footbridges to platform 2 to wait for the 08:21 to Liverpool Lime Street.

I believe passenger figures nationwide are still only around 60 or 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels so I was fairly surprised at the numbers waiting to board the train, formed of two 4-car Class 350 'Desiro' Electric Multiple Units (EMU). I made myself comfortable in the First Class section and we made an on-time journey to Liverpool.

To my delight, on arrival, sunlight was flooding in through the impressive train shed roof at Liverpool Lime Street so, as usual, I purchased a 1-day All Zones 'Saveaway' ticket from the booking office on the main concourse. Although Railcards are not valid for this ticket, at £5.65 for virtually unlimited travel by bus, train and Mersey Ferry within Merseyside, this is an attractive choice.


Liverpool Area Rail: Lime Street station Main Concourse in 2017

Armed with this ticket, I went down the escalator to the pedestrian passage leading under busy Lime Street to access the deep-level single Merseyrail platform situated on the Liverpool Loop via another escalator. I'd decided not to visit Liverpool Museum first, but to head straight to New Brighton. Services are still provided by elderly Class 507 and 508, built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at York, since refurbished but overdue to be replaced by Statler Class 777. For more information on all these electric trains, see 'Related posts on other websites' below. On previous journeys through Crewe and on my way to Liverpool that morning, I'd seen Class 777 at Crewe Traincare Depot but I've not yet seen these units in the Liverpool area, where test running with 'ghost trains' is supposed to be happening prior to introduction on public services later in 2022.


New Class 777 at Crewe Traincare Depot (Return to New Brighton)

I boarded the first train to arrive, a careworn but game Class 507/508 heading for West Kirby. I pondered whether to stay on this service to West Kirby but as we made our way under the River Mersey through the remarkable tunnel first opened in 1886 (described in a post here), I decided to alight at Birkenhead Park and wait for the next New Brighton Train.

Birkenhead Park now has just one island platform but was originally the interchange between the Mersey Railway and the Wirral Railway and must have once been a frantic place with trains from both directions terminating and steam locomotives running round. The LMS electrification of the Wirral Lines in the 1930s ended this activity and allowed trains to run through to Liverpool. I walked up the long, stepped ramp to the street to check out the undistinguished modern station building but decided not to walk to the famous park (which claims to be the first publicly-funded park in the world) giving the station its name but instead returned to the platform for the New Brighton Service and a speedy (if noisy) journey to my destination. I always admire the simple, airy design of the booking hall at New Brighton station, but I'd not seen the piratical character swinging from the roof before, whose significance, other than to reinforce the maritime credentials of the location, eludes me.


Piratical figure hanging from the roof at New Brighton station (Return to New Brighton)

Immediately outside the station, the promenade is visible, about 400 yards away, looking north down Atherton street.


Looking north down Atherton Street from the station (Return to New Brighton)

I normally prefer to take the longer route east down Victoria Road, passing one of New Brighton's examples of modern public art (a series of mermaids). Bewilderingly, the figure near the staion is extensively tattooed and titled 'The Inked Siren of Black Rock'. The road leads past St. James Church (1856, Gothic Revival style by George Gilbert Scott) and Wallasey Post Office.


The Inked Siren of Black Rock (Return to New Brighton)

On my previous visit in August 2021, I saw my first knitted 'postbox topper' at Wallasey Post Office: I discovered it now showed a topical Easter theme.


Easter-themed 'postbox topper' at Wallasey Post Office (Return to New Brighton)

I continued on Victoria Parade to the promenade where it was near high tide but I still couldn't resist spending a few minutes on the small patch of golden sand remaining.


New Brighton Beach: Fort Perch Rock, Lighthouse and Seatruck Ro-Ro ferry departing for Dublin (Return to New Brighton)

This part of the beach provides views across the estuary of the River Mersey to Seaforth Docks just 1 mile away and the Liverpool 2 Deepwater Port where container ship MSC MANDY was berthed. Built in 1993 and Panama-flagged, this ship is 237m long and 32m wide with a DWT of 48,852. Afterwards, I learned she'd arrived late the previous evening and after a 2-day stay left for Portugal, Spain and Montreal.


MSC MANDY berthed at Liverpool 2 (Return to New Brighton)

Fort Perch Rock is still closed but a banner promises 'The Ultimate Live Action Escape Room Experience' once the website at 'escapethefort.com' is open. I made my way onto the north-facing beach to admire the lighthouse and then take in the less-admirable appearance of the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm to the west. I still haven't identified the intriguing maintenance vessel in amongst the wind turbines.


New Brighton Lighthouse, decommissioned 1973 (Return to New Brighton)


Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm showing maintenance vessel with jack-up legs and crane (Return to New Brighton)

The pleasant weather had encouraged lots of people to take a stroll but the between-the-wars block of cafes and amusement arcades facing the Marine Lake remained firmly shuttered.


"... the between-the-wars block of cafes and amusement arcades facing the Marine Lake remained firmly shuttered." (Return to New Brighton)

I walked back to the station, pausing for an enjoyable English breakfast at the Smuggler's Cave cafe I'd used on my last visit. The timetable was showing four departures every hour to Liverpool but the next was shown as cancelled so, whilst waiting, I studied, with approval, the building repairs which have been completed.

The 3-car electric arrived and discharged quite a few passengers. By the time we left, there was a fair passenger loading and we returned, stopping at all stations, losing and gaining passengers at each stop. I got off at Birkenead Hamilton Square and took an electric lift to the surface. Originally, the lifts were hydraulically worked and the impressive tower housed the hydraulic accumulator.


Hamilton Square station, Birkenhead, viewed from Hamilton Square (Return to New Brighton)

Checking the time of the next ferry to Liverpool, I decided I'd time to first briefly re-visit nearby Hamilton Square which lends its name to the railway station.

The 63 elegant late-Georgian houses erected between 1825 and 1844 were designed by James Gillespie Graham and all are now listed Grade I. Even the parked cars, wheelie bins, rooftop television aerials and a myriad satellite dishes fail to destroy the impact of these well-proportioned buildings. The serried ranks of chimney pots atop the roof serve as a reminder of just how labour-intensive such dwellings were in the age of heating by coal fires, necessitating armies of servants.


Hamilton Square, Birkenhead (Return to New Brighton)

Satisfied with my short visit to Hamilton Square, I walked towards Woodside Ferry Terminal, passing Shore Road Pumping Station. This impressive building was built by James Brunlees and Charles Fox around 1886 to house two large Grasshopper Beam engine pumps supplied by Andrew Barclay needed to remove water from the Mersey Railway Tunnel. Following the installation of electric pumps in 1959, one of the original pumps was restored and, known as the 'Giant Grasshopper' the building was opened to the public as a museum. I was fortunate enough to visit once years ago and, despite being the only visitor, the attendant operated the pump mechanism for me (using compressed air rather than steam). Sadly, by 2014 public opening of the museum had ceased.


Shore Road Pumping Station, Birkenhead (Return to New Brighton)

I discovered that a number of wooden sheds had appeared adjacent to the Ferry Terminal at Birkenhead Woodside forming a retail initiative called 'Woodside Food & Market' and 'Woodside Makers Bakers & Creators Market'. It was closed on my visit but I believe opened over Easter (and, sorry, I think the organisers, Woodside Ferry Village, call the sheds 'chalets').


'Woodside Food & Market' and 'Woodside Makers Bakers & Creators Market' adjacent to the Ferry Terminal at Birkenhead Woodside (Return to New Brighton)

After a few minutes, the ferry 'Snowdrop' appeared, heading upstream towards the landing stage. Seacombe terminal remained closed so the ferry had come directly from Pier Head, taking a downstream loop so that passengers had had a view of some of the riverside features during the journey.


'Snowdrop' arriving at Birkenhead Woodside Landing Stage (Return to New Brighton)

On the ebb tide, the ferry came directly alongside (starboard side to the landing stage) and passengers quickly disembarked. Once on board, I took up my usual position on the upper foredeck ready to study the departure.


'Snowdrop' at Birkenhead Woodside Landing Stage (Return to New Brighton)

On the return journey, the ferry makes an upstream loop, whilst the pre-recorded commentary describes the riverside features. As we passed Monk's Ferry, I decided I really must plan a visit to the remains of Birkenhead Priory and St. Mary's Church. There's a detailed website here.


Monks' Ferry, Birkenhead with St. Mary's Church in background (Return to New Brighton)

There was the usual cluster of Royal Navy vessels at the Cammell Laird shipyard. In the Wet Dock, Replenishment Tanker A136 'Tidespring' was back. I'd seen it there on a 2019 visit (report here). Also in the Wet Dock was Type 45 Destroyer D33 'HMS Dauntess'. A second, unidentified Type 45 was in dry dock.


L-R: D33, A136, unidentified Type 45 at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead (Return to New Brighton)

The ferry continued past Tranmere, where EVA MAERSK was moored, with the usual attendant tug. Afterwards, I found that EVA MAERSK, a crude oil tanker, was built in 2017, registered in Denmark, 274m long, 50m beam. She'd arrived a couple of days before from Ingleside, Texas and departed later the day I saw her for Scapa Flow.


EVA MAERSK at Tranmere (Return to New Brighton)

The ferry then made a wide turn to port so as to cross to the Liverpool side of the river. A chill wind then hit the exposed deck and, within a minute or two, I was the only passenger left outside. Our turn offered a view of Seacombe Landing Stage with the new linkspan bridges fitted. Afterwards, I found pictures of the installation taking place in October 2021 in the 'Wirral Globe'. The heavy lift was carried out by Liverpool's resident floating crane, LARA 1 (mentioned in my earlier report here).


Seacombe Landing Stage, still closed but showing the new linkspan bridges installed in October 2021 (Return to New Brighton)

Tug/Fire Fighting Ship SVITZER AMAZONAS, going upriver, crossed behind us and I managed a reasonable picture. The Peel Ports website offered fairly comprehensive technical data here.


Tug SVITZER AMAZONAS, going upriver (Return to New Brighton)

Approaching the landing stage at Pier Head, I was surprised to see another naval vessel moored at the Liverpool Cruise Terminal. Although oddly anonymous and without flags, it still carried the identity A386 so, afterwards, it was a simple task to identify the vessel as the former Royal Fleet Auxiliary dry stores ship 'Fort Austin', decommissioned with sister ship 'Fort Rosalie' in 2021 and sold to the Egyptian Navy. I'd seen 'Fort Austin' in the Cammell Laird shipyard back in 2016 (see report here) and, previously in 2014, found 'Fort Rosalie' in the West Float at Birkenhead (see report here).


Former former Royal Fleet Auxiliary dry stores ship A386 'Fort Austin' at Liverpool Cruise Terminal, decommissioned and sold to Egypt (Return to New Brighton)

Because the tide was still ebbing, the ferry first went downstream of the landing stage and then turned to starboard so as to put the port side of the vessel against the landing stage. As we moored, I took (another) picture of the iconic Liver Building and noted that, once again, there seems to be a problem with the clock.


The Liver Building, Pierhead, Liverpool, with clockface facing river showing wrong time (Return to New Brighton)

Passing the statue of the 'Fab Four', I finally took my own picture showing the compulsion people seem to have to be photographed with the rather oversized figures of the Beatles.


Photograph with the Beatles, Pier Head, Liverpool (Return to New Brighton)

I made a quick visit to Liverpool Museum to check on the locomotive 'Lion' in the Great Port Gallery (discovering that not all the audio-visual presentations were working).


The Footplate of 'Lion' in the Museum of Liverpool (Return to New Brighton)

It was only a little after two o'clock and I pondered what to do next but, noting that my energy levels were falling rapidly, I decided that the sensible course would be to go to Lime Street and catch the 15:05 West Midland Trains back to Wolverhampton. It didn't take as long as I allowed to walk to James Street Merseyrail station, descend to the platforms by lift, catch the electric train to Liverpool Lime Street Low Level and take the escalators to the main station so I was back on the main concourse for about half past two with a while to wait for the planned 15:05 departure. The arrival of an Avanti 'Pendolino' prompted me to check its departure time (14:47) and stops (Runcorn, Crewe, Stafford). The second member of platform staff I asked confirmed my ticket was valid on Avanti (the first, although dealing with passenger enquiries didn't know) so I plodded down the platform towards the remote First Class section. I discovered Avanti now have a section of Standard Premium seating and, with legs aching, I decided that would do.


Avanti West Coast Standard Premium seating (Return to New Brighton)>

The journey to Stafford was comfortable and uneventful. I finally managed a reasonable picture of the now-decommissioned Fiddler's Ferry Power Station which could produce a staggering 1,989 MW of power from its four 500 MW alternators. Don't start me on the national self-harm caused by deliberately destroying proven plant like this before robust replacement solutions are in place.


Fiddler's Ferry decommissioned power station viewed from train approaching Runcorn

Apart from some expected wind chill on part of my ferry crossing, the weather had been grand but we arrived at Stafford on time in a heavy sleet storm. My intention had been to change at Stafford for a Wolverhampton train but I suddenly felt very cold so decided I'd take a taxi home. But it was not to be - there were no taxis - so I doubled-back into the station and located the platform for a Wolverhampton train in just a few minutes. At least there was no sleet on arrival at Wolverhampton and I gratefully climbed into a taxi for home having had a most enjoyable day.

Related posts on other websites

Class 507 (Wikipedia)
Class 508 (Wikipedia)
Class 777 (Wikipedia)
Birkenhead Priory
Svitzer Amazonas data.

Related posts on this website

A day trip to Liverpool (2021)
On foot around Liverpool Docks (2) (2014)
Merseyside in December (2016)
Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 2)
To see all my Merseyside posts Click here or select label 'Merseyside'.

My pictures


Liverpool area rail Earlier pictures
Merseyrail Earlier pictures
Return to New BrightonPictures on this trip

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Hands-on a Class 86

When I was growing up after World War II, railways in Britain went through major changes. There's a very brief introduction to this period here.

British Rail started to electrify part of the network at 25kV a.c. using Electric Multiple Units (EMU) for generally shorter-distance passenger services but a series of 100 electric locomotives were initially produced in 1965-1966 for haulage of conventional passenger coaching stock and freight trains. Sixty locomotives were built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows and a further forty by British Rail at Doncaster. Originally designated 'AL6', they were re-classified Class 86 in 1968 with the introduction of the 'TOPS' fleet management system.

With the Privatisation of the railway network in 1994, operation of trains and track was split, with trains franchised to a miscellany of Train Operating Companies and the ill-starred Railtrack taking over the network. In January 1997 Virgin Trains acquired the Cross Country and Inter City West Coast franchises which it operated until November 2007. The Virgin CrossCountry franchise had 19 Class 86 locomotives in the fleet with the Virgin livery being applied from 1998. One locomotive-hauled electric service ran from Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham International and the events described below were in this period. Later, in 2001, Class 220 'Voyager' and Class 221 'Super Voyager' diesel-electric multiple unit trainsets built by Bombardier started to displace the loco-hauled passenger services from Manchester and this changeover was complete by the end of 2002.

Only once have I had a 'hands-on' experience with a Class 86 electric locomotive. It happened like this. A few days before my Class 86 experience, I'd been driver at Peak Rail when we had a private charter for a group of railwaymen. Our motive power at the time was the customary 'Austerity' six-coupled saddle tank. In addition to the catering on the train, it had been arranged that a few of the group would be allowed to have the opportunity to drive under supervision. As far as I could tell, they were all serving or retired locomen. It was interesting to see how the younger drivers, without previous experience of steam traction, were fascinated by the techniques of managing a steam locomotive. It was quite a jolly occasion and I'd enjoyed meeting this group of professionals.

On the day of my own 'hands-on' experience, I intended to travel from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street for some long-forgotten but not-very-vital purpose and the first train to Birmingham was a Virgin CrossCountry Manchester to Birmingham service. As the train arrived with a Virgin-liveried Class 86 at the head, I was surprised to see the driver wave at me, so I walked to the leading cab by which time the driver was standing at the open cab door. I was amazed to find it was one of the drivers I'd met on the Peak Rail private charter. He apologised that we hadn't time to talk but explained that his destination was Birmingham International where he'd run round and, a little later, work back to Manchester. I decided to abandon my original plan and instead travel to Birmingham International so that we might have a chat. I jumped aboard the train and for most of the journey pondered the chances that the train I decided to catch was driven by somebody I'd met and that the driver had recognised me standing on the platform as I watched the train arrive.

When the train arrived at platform 2 at Birmingham International, I walked up to the cab and was welcomed inside. My friend explained that, once uncoupled by the resident shunter, he would run round to the north end of the stock and then have a break in the train's buffet car. I offered to meet him at the other end of the train after the run round but, instead, found myself ushered into the driving seat. I was given a rapid course in moving the locomotive. I recognised most of the controls and indications on the driver's desk but found the large six-position Main Controller Handle (Off/Run/Notch Down/Hold/Notch Up/Run) rather odd.


Click for larger view
Arrangement of Class 86 driver's desk (from Proceedings of B.R. Electrification Conference 1960)

Checking that the signal was 'off' for us to proceed, I followed the instructions and the locomotive moved ahead. I was happy with the speed for a shunting move, but my friend instructed me to 'notch up' to a higher speed saying "They don't like us to hang about on the main line carrying out shunting moves". I could see the point. My experience is generally on fairly short run-rounds on preserved lines but Birmingham International is designed with generous proportions and turnouts for quite high speed running. From the time the signalman set the route for us to move away from the train until the time we approached the other end of the train, the Down line remained unavailable for any other movements. We travelled forward about a quarter of a mile before we cleared the turnout which needed to switch to allow us to change direction and run past our coaches on an adjacent platform road. As well as clearing the turnout itself, we needed to move beyond the end of the track circuit protecting the turnout otherwise track circuit occupation would prevent the signalman from setting the route for us. The signalman was miles away from us at Birmingham New Street Power Signal Box and so relied entirely on the local interlocking to safeguard the moves and the remote indications presented to him to interpret the situation. Having successfully stopped in the right place using the 'Straight Air' brake, we then had to 'close the cab' and 'change ends' to the cab at the other end, walking along the passage through the equipment room past a mass of complex control equipment, deafened by the noise of the various blower motors and compressors.

I was placed in the new driving seat and given a series of instructions to 'open the cab', check the signal, get the locomotive moving and 'notch up' to the required speed. As we approached the station, the driver slipped back into the driving seat and I stood nearby, not hidden but clearly not driving. This subterfuge made me think of an unofficial footplate ride many years before on a steam locomotive approaching Crewe (described here) when I learnt that 'There's always somebody at Crewe on the look-out for trouble'. "Maybe Birmingham International too" I thought to myself. As we passed clear of the platform, we changed roles again and I was allowed to bring the locomotive to a stand clear of the signal which, when 'off', would allow us to move onto our train. We changed ends again, having travelled around three-quarters of a mile along the down line from where we first changed ends.

For the final time, I set us in motion but, again, as we approached the platform the driver resumed his seat and finished the move, braking gently and firmly buffering-up to the coaches, allowing the resident shunter to 'hook on' to the waiting train. Having checked that the locomotive was safe to be left the driver invited me to join him in the buffet car for a chat.

The buffet crew were very friendly and, as the driver and I talked, I was plied with various refreshments. After a very agreeable time, I decided I'd not outstay my warm welcome but take the next train back to Birmingham New Street and carry out my original planned leaving the driver to his break before he drove the train back to Manchester. A marvellous, unexpected experience and I was very grateful for the generosity of my driver friend.

I'm sorry, I can't confirm the date or the locomotive involved and there are no photographs. That was, I think, the third electrically-powered locomotive I'd driven (as distinct from diesel-electric power). The first was the Dick Kerr battery shunting locomotive at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry - a very useful machine with control gear similar to early electric trams. The second was not a conventional electric locomotive but a narrow-gauge prototype tram made by Parry People Movers. When in the station, a connection to an electric supply powered an electric motor connected to a large flywheel which absorbed energy by being spun at high speed. This stored energy was then used to drive the tram to the next station, where the flywheel was 'spun-up' again electrically. I'd also spent some time in the cab of Manchester-Sheffield-Wath Class EM2 at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry when all the auxiliaries and pantograph could be exercised and 'driving' practised, without actually moving the locomotive, so I don't count that (but there's a brief description in the post here.


Privately-owned Class 86 electric 86259 'Les Ross' at 'Tyseley 100' in 2008.

Related posts on other websites

British Rail Class 86 (Wikipedia).
British Rail Class 86 Electric Locomotive (rail.co.uk site).
The Life and Times of Locomotive 86259

Related posts on this website

The Modernisation of British Railways
'Black 5' to Birmingham
Class 'EM2' D.C. Electric

[Links added: 22-Dec-2023]