Tag Archives: rail travel

Train driver (pastel)

Friday 14th March 2025, 3.40pm (day 4,950)

Once again, I am off somewhere different, mainly because it sustains my interest in this blog, the world, life, etc. Leg one ended at Leeds railway station, where this is taken. It occurred to me while sitting waiting for my second train to depart that I had the chance to capture this incognito shot of the driver getting ready to leave on platform 9 next door. The ‘pastel’ scribblings to the left are then the latest reflected self-portrait. Possibly, then, this is a terrible photo, but I’ll move on.

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In our own worlds

Monday 3rd March 2025, 8.25am (day 4,939)

Commuter portraits, 3/3/25

Onto the 7:56 from Hebden Bridge we pack, a cattle truck most days. But the physical intimacy doesn’t mean social contact. Taking photos in these circumstances is some kind of transgression, isn’t it? But wrapped in their worlds, no one noticed.

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On Lancaster station

Monday 30th December 2024, 5.20pm (day 4,876)

Lancaster station, 30/12/24

2024’s penultimate picture might be better focused, but what the hell, I think it gives it something of an enigmatic feel. And perhaps I wanted to take a picture of the scaffolding. What’s she doing? Who knows, but let’s hope that if it involved getting a train somewhere, she has patience.

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Train at Blea Moor

Monday 11th November 2024, 9.45am (day 4,827)

Train at Blea Moor, 11/11/24

The 09:47 service from Ribblehead (ex Carlisle) to Leeds is more or less on time. This is the Settle-Carlisle railway, one of the country’s finest. In the background, Ingleborough, definitely the best-looking English mountain outside the Lake District — it’s 3,730 days (or 10 years, 2 months and 16 days) since it made its first appearance on here, on my 45th birthday day out (26/8/2014). And as it’s a good place to come for a day out, on the first appearance of sunshine for about two weeks — it was worth coming back.

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Friedrichstraße station, Sunday morning

Sunday 22nd September 2024, 7.35am (day 4,777)

Sunday morning, Friedrichstrasse, 22/9/24

This being one of the world’s great party cities, I am sure there were a reasonable number of Berliners who were comfortably still on their Saturday night out at 7.35am: but I will never be a person like that again. Personally, I was on the way to the airport. It’s been a good and potentially transfomative trip.

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Cloudscape from the train

Wednesday 5th June 2024, 5.50pm (day 4,668)

Cloudscape from train, 5/6/24

More weather, but it was better today, and anyway I don’t care as once again I am leaving the country. Whether conditions will be improved where I’m going, who knows. The first part of my journey was by rail — this shot was snapped at about 90mph somewhere in the vicinity of Peterborough.

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Crossing the Forth

Thursday 30th May 2024, 4.10pm (day 4,662)

Was sat in an office for all the first part of the day and a train for all the second part of it. But at least, when travelling home from Scotland, the Forth Bridges usually make an appearance, and they’re almost always worth photographing. The monochrome, as so often, conceals colour balance crimes caused mainly by the scene being viewed through the windows of the 13:59 from Aberdeen to Edinburgh (arrived 16:20).

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The Forth Road bridges

Friday 22nd March 2024, 2.50pm (day 4,593)

Forth Road bridges, 22/3/24

On the journey to Dundee, whether made by car or train, crossing the Firth of Forth is always a highlight. Today, a mostly sunny train journey was interrupted by occasional heavy showers and one of these kicked in just as we left Inverkeithing, but that didn’t matter, this shot will still do (particularly as to get any picture from the rail bridge itself involves timing it very well to avoid getting big, red chunks of steel in the way). Here, you in fact see both road bridges: the roadway in view is that of the first, 20th century version, since superseded by the 21st century bridge whose stanchion and (just) cables are the ones behind.

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Waiting on platform 2

Monday 4th March 2024, 9.30am (day 4,575)

Waiting on platform 2, 4/3/24

A metaphor of some kind? Quite possibly. We are all waiting for something. But at least the sun was shining on Hebden Bridge station this morning.

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The Tay Bridge, from Dundee Law

Monday 25th December 2023, 11.55am (day 4,505)

Tay Bridge, from the Law, 25/12/23

Ummed and ahhed over this one for a while (two days, as you can see) but in the end I decided to go for something without a Christmas reference at all. Except, of course, in what I’ve just said. Anyway — a view from my morning exertion up Dundee Law, the walk I usually try to take on Christmas morning in advance of the food bloat that is to come. This is only the second Christmas of my life that I have spent in Scotland, after a not-so-fondly remembered time in a cabin on Loch Awe in 1992.

Anyway — if a bit belatedly, a I hope you all had a happy Christmas, however you spent it. 

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