Don’t read the time from the light here. Victoria station is much improved from twenty years ago, when I first started using it, but platforms 3-6 are still mere warrens, skulking under the overhead bulk of the Arena. Dark holes in which one can wait a while to find out if they’re running your service today.
Pulled duty on the 06:31 train out of Hebden Bridge and it was still dark by the time it finally ambled into Manchester. This looming darkness will briefly be relieved this weekend when the clocks go back, but all the same, winter draws inexorably nearer each day.
First time I’ve pulled a duty on the 06:59 for a while. First time I’ve been at the station before sunrise in an even longer while. The world turns…
Some pictures make it onto here for the novelty value more than anything else — so here’s what the Summit Tunnel (the longest railway tunnel in the world when it was opened in 1841, dontcha know) looks like from the inside when the driver forgets to turn the interior lights on in the carriage. Which he then realised, and corrected, some two seconds after I pressed the shutter. Bet you are glad then that I was able to capture this fascinating study of Victorian tunnel architecture.
Of course, it’s around this time of year that it becomes not only easier, but more obligatory, to take photos in the hours of darkness — because there’s just that much more darkness around. On top of that today was a day spent mostly working at home (yes, I know it’s Sunday, but I’m busy)… so not much opportunity for anything exciting. I like this shot because it’s sharp, not always easy without using a flash, and the general gold-and-black colour scheme.
Being 42 