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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 14, 2020 12:50:11 GMT
I've been pitching out a few books recently. It's a fairly regular occurrence and often therapeutic. There's several reasons "why", one of which is a long-standing impulse-buy issue.
That's nowhere near what it once was but one example was "The Great North Road Then And Now" which I remember snuffling off the shelves of WH Smith in Sheffield in a flash. It's a modest but good-looking publication that is a joy to hold and flick through. I'm broadly interested in transport even though the Great North Road isn't one of my prime routes. That's probably because it's been the third side of the triangle - or occasionally just a little off course - for much of my life. Likewise I'd not expect anybody from the Chesterfield or Sheffield area to be au fait with the A303 of my childhood. Mind you that road has been a subject for a rather more prominent author than Chris "Wolfie" Collins, a Malton lorry driver, the man behind the Great North Road book. The A303 was the Londoner's "Highway to the Sun" (we consider it to be the road to London of course) which was enough for the book to be turned into a BBC 4 film and for Waterstone's to prominently display it in many of their stores (including Sheffield). It's not a bad book although I wish "Wolfie" had done the A303 instead.
Anyhow I've enjoyed several hours with Wolfie's book before passing it on to the charity shop who I hope will give it the window display it deserves. As a map addict from an early age I knew the Great North Road had been predominantly dual carriageway from the mid 1960s. I'd long admired its route on maps when I finally got to travel it, in a coach no less, in August 1970. Strangely enough my most recent experience of the road south of Doncaster was also travelling in a coach. That's a long story. I was off to see Newcastle United at PSV Eindhoven. The chap behind wore a NUFC lampshade on his head all the way from Gateshead.
Wolfie tells the story of the road since it was numbered the A1 in the 1920s. It's all too complicated for this space but it does appear the road was notorious by the 1950s. Indeed, four weeks before I first saw the light of day, Picture Post published a photo essay entitled "The Great North Road: 400 Miles of Death".
What I'd not realised was who used the road in those days. I'd certainly imagined earlier coachloads of Newcastle United supporters navigating the narrow streets of Stamford on the way to all those 1950s cup finals. But, when I look at a "through routes" map in an AA publication of the 1960s, I see the A1 was the recommended route between Sheffield and London; out to Worksop and down to Newark to join the Great North Road. London to Glasgow? A1 to Scotch Corner then turn left. The mind boggles.
We often travelled the A303 to London when I was child. We occasionally swopped to the A30 through Yeovil and Salisbury if we fancied a change. We only once went north of Bristol before the motorways and concocted a route via Radstock (where we had breakfast cooked on a camping stove), Bath and Stroud to avoid Bristol and the A38. Had we been heading to the north west of England we'd have gone through Kidderminster and Wolverhampton. The AA's recommendation was Lichfield and Ashbourne to get to Sheffield, a place that was never on our radar. For Tyneside we'd have been advised to take the London road to near Yeovil and then - more or less - follow the Fosse Way to the East Midlands. This must all appear completely alien even to people a few years younger than myself.
One day coming back from an away game we were discussing the old roads of South Devon and my mate confessed that, when he has having trouble sleeping, he'd run the early 1960s route between Torquay and Exeter through his mind. That's a belter because that road changed utterly over the following fifteen years. I walked a short section near Beggars' Bush recently and found it hard to comprehend how this tiny road used to convey traffic in both directions. That would have been substantial at the best of times let alone August Saturdays. Mr Mad Hunt is younger, and didn't join us in South Devon for a while, so perhaps the A380 had progressed somewhat by his time. It's certainly the case that, for curious children of a slightly earlier generation, there was a certain magic about those long journeys which probably doesn't exist these days. There's also fewer tangled wreckages in the middle "suicide lane" and fewer damaged shop fronts in places such as Stamford and Wincanton.
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Post by CC on Feb 14, 2020 13:50:46 GMT
My dad worked on the railways so we could travel by train for free a few times every year. It was on one such trip to London that I learned the pronunciation of Leicester.
When he passed his test and got a car every holiday became much grumpier and less like fun. Maps enraged him so much that one occasion we had travelled no more than a mile before he had torn out Map 22 from the AA Yearbook and hurled it out of the window.
On the Birmingham ring road he became so convinced that the road to Bromsgrove was not the one that the sign said it was that he stopped the car, got out and bent the sign to make it point in a different direction. He didn't even want to go to Bromsgrove in the first place.
There were three of us sitting in the back and if someone let off a fart there was hell to pay. We would all deny responsibility. One day I said it could have been him who had dropped one; I never made that mistake again.
I never liked the A66. It's different now because I can stop in Brough or Barnard Castle if I want to, but such stops were anathema to my dad. If he had a destination in mind he would go for it and nothing and nobody would be allowed to get in his way. All other drivers were clowns. Sometimes, an hour or so after the event, he'd say "I can't get over what that clown did" and we would wonder which clown he was referring to. He once had a stramash with another driver who had to wind his window down before he could let rip. Our car had a wee tag that you could use to pull down the window without winding, so by the time the other guy was ready to begin my dad was already well into giving him a piece of his mind.
Occasionally my mum could persuade him to take us on another free train journey. We once went to Cheltenham, which is a very handsome town but one which, as a child, I found really really boring. The trip down there was grand, though, and far less fraught than going by road.
All the A and B roads down here begin with number 7. The A75 is said to be the most haunted road in Scotland; it's certainly one of the most complained-about. The A77 must be one of the most picturesque. The A76 from Dumfries to Kilmarnock is going to be pretty busy for the next month while the railway line is closed because of a landslip which was a gift from Storm Ciara last weekend.
Incidentally, unless you happen to be staying in the Flow Country the road to Wick is a very long one. It's a cracker, though, even if Wick itself could be considered a wee bit austere. Lots of Scottish roads are reminiscent of English ones 50 years ago, which suits me just fine. Getting stuck in urban traffic is horrible but when it happens in the countryside it should be seen as a chance to relax, sit back, sniff the cowshit and enjoy the view.
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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 14, 2020 16:13:36 GMT
It was the opposite for me. My father was a motorist first and foremost and had a sales job spread over the south-western counties. We lived twenty minutes walk from the football but he'd drive and park at least five minutes from the ground at a time when the club had some of the biggest crowds in its history. We'd then get home later than had we walked.
My mum didn't drive so it was a big change when my father died. Shortly afterwards I remember my mother and myself going to Exeter on the day decimal currency was introduced. The railways had actually "gone decimal" the day before. Since then it's been the railways for me and I guess I was introduced into a post-Beeching world where the network was largely as now but with the four regions melded into one as opposed to the current twenty-odd companies. Long-distance trips for me started in 1974 when I became a student; the journey to Sheffield was as now via Cheltenham. I think the trains were direct from Newton Abbot but I'm sure they weren't so frequent. They had more seats but didn't run at the same time past each hour as now. It was all rather grubby to be honest; I don't think it was a Golden Age. And, whenever I've looked at pre-Beeching timetables, they've looked slow and irregular often with more changes when travelling from the south-west to the north of Birmingham. I gather there was a choice in those days between travelling via Cheltenham or Stratford-upon-Avon.
Whereas my parents never travelled by train in the 1950s or 1960s, or seriously considered it, I had an uncle who was a railway enthusiast. I remember being taken to Didcot when they lived on the Berkshire Downs. In retrospect I would have loved to have travelled all those Westcountry branch lines. But again, when I see the timetables, they weren't much cop and hadn't been for years. I guess part of the problem was the location of the stations which had nearly always been decided by the lie of the land and nineteenth century considerations. I thought of this recently when walking the old track between Moretonhampstead and Bovey Tracey. Once you're on the train it's fine enough but it's the tooing and froing at either end. I'm able to cope because I adjusted years ago and usually have time to spare. There must have been a time when people went from being thrilled to have a rail service to moaning about where the station was and the frequency of the service.
Down here the talk is of reopening one of (the two) Plymouth-Tavistock routes together with Exeter-Okehampton. You could then consider Tavistock-Okehampton to complete an alternative Exeter to Plymouth route. That would also offer a diversionary way when Dawlish is closed although, with reversing required at both ends and missing out South Devon, it would be a lousy main line. As with most proposals there are blockages on parts of the route so it's not all plain sailing.
Other than that I'd like to see Barnstaple to both Bideford and Ilfracombe although both are problematic with obstacles and poorly-located stations. Furthermore to travel outside of North Devon means going down to Exeter, changing and heading back up country. I'd say the direct route between Barnstaple and Taunton is a non-starter. Generations of people are now accustomed to driving to Tiverton Parkway to take the train to London (I've heard people say they've driven from Bude which makes sense when the alternatives are Plymouth and Exeter). They probably carry on up the motorway when going anywhere else.
Brixham to Paignton would be nice too but, with the stations at Brixham and Torquay not being ideally sited, you're probably talking about the bus between the two being better for many people. Then you're looking at a market that's prepared to take time getting to the station in Brixham to travel to the main line at Newton Abbot or the centre of Exeter. They might not be fussed just going to Paignton or Torquay
All of which puts me back to improving what we have. More stations on the existing lines but, crucially, doubling of track and extra passing places (which, again, aren't always easy to implement). Then you can have more capacity and are able to run a variety of fast and stopper services to keep most people happy. We've just had a doubling of services between Exmouth, Exeter and Torbay but - with stretches of single track and local services jostling with expresses on the main line - it's a fragile operation. Part of the objection to HS2 is the destruction of woodland and houses. I can't see how you'd totally avoid that when making smaller improvements.
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Post by CC on Feb 15, 2020 11:14:20 GMT
Never knew Brixham had a station, Drew. I know Dartmouth got as far as building one because I've been there; it's just a shame no-one got around to putting some track next to it. Stranraer station is situated on the dock. This used to be really convenient for people using the ferries, but now that those ferries go from Cairnryan it's not handy at all for train passengers so (a) everyone goes by road and (b) Stranraer itself has lost its main purpose in life. This is why the once-impressive George Hotel is now a wreck. It also means that if you want to park your car anywhere in Scotland then Stranraer is the town for you, because it has acre upon acre of concrete wasteland where the ferry traffic used to sit. This is the part of town that could be turned into a paradise for the discerning traveller, and for less than 1% of the likely cost of the Boris Bridge, with the small problem of climate change threatening to drown the whole harbour area within the next century. Should someone produce a plan to turn the harbour area into an arts and leisure resort, which would be much more feasible if the line to and from Dumfries were restored, I expect the Free Press would complain about the loss of essential parking spaces. Have you ever played Great Game of Britain? It's a board game based on railway travel in England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland. You can trap your opponent in Stornoway by blocking the ferry route to Mallaig. But be careful because you might be cheerfully heading for the races at Newton Abbot only to be blown off course and finish up in Boulogne. A lucky card might give you the right to send all your opponents anywhere you like. Stornoway and Penzance feature a lot on those itineraries. Or you might be unlucky, pick a card that tells you that you long to see a leprechaun, and be dispatched to the Irish Republic where you might have a long wait to get a ferry back again. If there were a Great Game of Scotland there would probably be a card that said Naeb'dy cares aboot ye at aw. Go tae Stranraer. Even better, you could have one in there that just says Get tae Falkirk! |
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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 15, 2020 12:49:39 GMT
Never knew Brixham had a station, Drew. I know Dartmouth got as far as building one because I've been there; it's just a shame no-one got around to putting some track next to it. Brixham's station closed in May 1963 six weeks after the first Beeching Report. Knowing how other Westcountry lines were already closing it's probably fair to describe the closure as pre-Beeching. It was a two-mile effort from Churston Ferrers and would have involved a reversal for trains to and from Paignton. Brixham's station was high above the harbour and in an awkward place for most residents. Around ten years ago a suggestion came from within the railway industry that Brixham would be one of the more plausible places to re-connect to the system. That's all very well but a fair chunk of the line has disappeared and the only place for a station would be on the edge of the town where the local roads are a maze because of post-1963 housing. A better solution might be to reinstate proper services on the steam railway line which runs from Churston on to Kingswear. Even then I'm not sure how it would all stack up with respect to Brixham. Apparently the railway station without trains at Dartmouth did a roaring trade in parcels for the naval college. The only way Dartmouth could have had trains is if the river had been bridged - on a diagonal - a mile or so upstream. This would have resulted in the line running along the shore between town and water (somewhat in the fashion of Dawlish). Maybe this was considered and rejected; any alternative would have involved a tunnel most of the way from Totnes. |
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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 17, 2020 12:26:28 GMT
I heard a discussion about the railways on Radio Scotland yesterday. They were talking about the reopened line between Edinburgh and Galashiels and how, because it's so popular, the lack of passing places is causing capacity issues. There you go: one track good; two tracks better. Or at least double track at each station. We have a section of single track between Topsham and Exmouth. It's ten minutes between each station with a turnaround time at Exmouth of around ten minutes. That's a whole thirty minutes when only one train can run on a dozen or so miles of track (there and back). Late running trains impact on services all the way through to Paignton. They may then have to wait for a late-running Cross Country - delayed by cows on the line near Dunbar - to use the main line first. Yes, Scottish cattle can mess up our trains. And the other way round.
The radio discussion also included the Levenmouth rail link between Thornton, Cameron Bridge and Leven in Fife. It looks like this is going to happen largely, I suspect, because sections of track are either in place or haven't been converted to other uses. That's mainly because freight services continued to a distillery and a power station long after passenger services finished.
Population density helps with this one. Somewhere else we discussed that, in the context of East Fife FC's catchment area, there are 35,000 people in the three towns of Buckhaven, Leven and Methil. And, with an almost readymade link to existing busy rail routes, this is exactly the sort of scheme that should be relatively straightforward and viable.
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Post by CC on Feb 17, 2020 16:57:24 GMT
I heard a discussion about the railways on Radio Scotland yesterday. They were talking about the reopened line between Edinburgh and Galashiels and how, because it's so popular, the lack of passing places is causing capacity issues. There you go: one track good; two tracks better. Or at least double track at each station. We have a section of single track between Topsham and Exmouth. It's ten minutes between each station with a turnaround time at Exmouth of around ten minutes. That's a whole thirty minutes when only one train can run on a dozen or so miles of track (there and back). Late running trains impact on services all the way through to Paignton. They may then have to wait for a late-running Cross Country - delayed by cows on the line near Dunbar - to use the main line first. Yes, Scottish cattle can mess up our trains. And the other way round. The radio discussion also included the Levenmouth rail link between Thornton, Cameron Bridge and Leven in Fife. It looks like this is going to happen largely, I suspect, because sections of track are either in place or haven't been converted to other uses. That's mainly because freight services continued to a distillery and a power station long after passenger services finished. Population density helps with this one. Somewhere else we discussed that, in the context of East Fife FC's catchment area, there are 35,000 people in the three towns of Buckhaven, Leven and Methil. And, with an almost readymade link to existing busy rail routes, this is exactly the sort of scheme that should be relatively straightforward and viable. Aye, there were delays caused by cows on the line at Annan last year. The trouble with cows is that you can tell them it's dangerous to wander onto the railway tracks and they just take no notice; it's like people diving into the sea when there's a Force 10 storm taking place, or ignoring "No Parking" signs next to a river when the likelihood is that their cars will be not next to but in the water when they come back to drive away again. As if..... Just come back from a trip to Dumfries and passed by Newton Stewart, Creetown and Castle Douglas. In some places you can see where the line used to go. There were branch lines to Kirkcudbright and Portpatrick as well. Whether they would be under water today after Storm Dennis I don't know, but it would be grand to see them back. Of course, I'm looking at it from the starting point that public services are a great thing no matter whether they are profitable or not, and that's a view that went out of fashion in 1964 apart from when it comes/came to Concorde, HS2, rescuing banks and taking part in wars. To back up my case, though, when we got to Dumfries, via the A75, I had an MRI scan in a lovely clean, new, beautifully equipped hospital. We pay taxes, we get good services. It's a good deal in my opinion. To be fair to Dr Beeching, he was just the guy selected to wield the axe that Ernest Marples had sharpened and placed in his hand; the mission he was given was to close down loss-making lines and that's what his recommendations amounted to. Any line whose passenger numbers didn't economically justify its continuing existence bit the dust, except for those in a very few areas whose Home Counties MPs were worried about losing their seats. Beeching also wanted the lost lines to be replaced by new bus services but in the vast majority of cases that never happened and in fact that particular suggestion was barely mentioned ever again. Interestingly, although the A75 is mainly single track it took only about 90 minutes to cover the 75 miles from Stranraer to Dumfries, although we did have the wind behind us. It might not be so easy at the weekend when a portion is closed for maintenance and a long diversion will be required. A number of folk might yearning for the old railway line when that happens, including me because I'll be travelling to Sheffield and coming back within that period. This is going to require a nostalgic ride along the A66 from Penrith to Scotch Corner, which although sometimes slow and partly above the clouds is at least through pleasant countryside and a lot less noisy than the motorways, which will speed me most of the rest of the way at a non-stop 70 mph. |
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Post by CC on Feb 18, 2020 18:53:11 GMT
Not driving to Sheffield this weekend after all. The weather forecast is almost as bad as for the last two weekends and, besides, I've not been very well recently and I don't want to pass any infections on to my pregnant daughter-in-law or my nonagenarian mother. I shan't miss making the journey, for sure. Lorry, coach and van drivers would scoff but the thought of a 7 hour road journey isn't one I relish.
Journeys are now much quicker than they used be in the 1960s but there has been no consequent increase in happiness. Driving at speed on motorways is not a pleasurable experience, and no matter how much time is knocked off a long trip most drivers will never be satisfied. The fact that roads don't mend or maintain themselves still sends your average driver into a rage and if they could sacrifice a goat in order to save another 10 minutes I'm sure they'd jump at the chance. Put a normal human being behind the wheel of a vehicle and a previously-hidden monster might well emerge.
Cars are just too smooth and comfortable the day. Basically, you get into the driving seat, turn on the engine and then go into a trance till you reach your destination. Once upon a time you had to actually be awake in order to drive because you had to look out of the windscreen to see whether you were still heading the right way, change gear without your car doing it for you, turn your own lights and wipers on and off &c. You don't even have to change your own CD any more because new cars don't have CD players any more; the modern way is to create your own compilation on an I-pod and just let it play away without any input from anyone inside the vehicle.
I would love to be able to make the trip from Stranraer to Sheffield by train. It would be great to have a comfy seat and to be able to get up and leave it whenever I felt like going to the toilet or for a cup of coffee or just wanted to stretch my legs a bit. Then there's the views from the windows; I've seen foxes and hares from train windows and taken the opportunity to point them out to other passengers, even those I've never met before and never will again. Imagine! A ride inside one of those old-fashioned carriages with compartments that held 6 passengers each with a corridor outside was a treat when I was wee. I recall reading the Dandy inside one of those compartments, getting the giggles and making everyone else in there start laughing as well. Much better than getting annoyed by the lorry driver slip-streaming your car on the M6 and/or suffering from a panic attack when it suddenly starts raining cats and dogs while you are driving at 70 mph. One of many reasons to consider HS2 as a criminal waste of money is the fact that it's only intended to knock half an hour or so off the journey; it's taken for granted that we believe that extra half hour to be worth the ludicrous cost, people's homes being flattened and the destruction of vital natural habitats.
The only vehicles that need to move really quickly are ambulances, paramedics' cars and fire engines. In other words, emergencies come into a category of their own and the vast majority of car journeys are not emergencies. Shopping expeditions, business meetings, football matches and family gatherings don't come into that category, any more than cruise passengers who are quarantined on luxury boats off the coast of Japan should be a priority for repatriation by the UK government. There's an unattractive sense of entitlement about some folk and the attitude of many car owners exemplifies this. In fact, I could bring other examples in here but the tendency to become boring and repetitive, which the tiny handful of readers of the SO might already have recognised, makes it necessary to end this particular contribution right here.
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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 24, 2020 11:40:29 GMT
You've three advertised turn up-and-buy Stranraer to Sheffield returns.
The £201 fare allows early morning travel through Ayrshire and Glasgow.
The £166 fare allows for off-peak travel either via Dumfries or Glasgow (you could choose to travel one way and return the other).
The £150 fare is via Dumfries (changing at Kilmarnock) both ways.
In each case you might as well buy a Senior Railcard, should you be eligible, because the one-third saving on any of these journeys will cover the cost of the railcard.
Beyond that I'll email you with more save to say it's a complex business. Trainline has sent me several emails recently championing their "split ticket" website. That's the first encouragement we've had to weave our way around the system.
We're told there are 55 million train fares and how that is plain daft. Some of this dates back to the Victorians but, to my mind, has been exacerbated by train companies thinking they are airlines.
But what would be a sensible figure given there are 2,563 (or so) stations? By my reckoning that's over 3 million A to B singles between each and every station, 3 million B to A singles, 3 million A to B returns and 3 million B to A returns just for starters.
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Post by CC on Feb 24, 2020 13:28:52 GMT
You've three advertised turn up-and-buy Stranraer to Sheffield returns. The £201 fare allows early morning travel through Ayrshire and Glasgow. The £166 fare allows for off-peak travel either via Dumfries or Glasgow (you could choose to travel one way and return the other). The £150 fare is via Dumfries (changing at Kilmarnock) both ways. In each case you might as well buy a Senior Railcard, should you be eligible, because the one-third saving on any of these journeys will cover the cost of the railcard. Beyond that I'll email you with more save to say it's a complex business. Trainline has sent me several emails recently championing their "split ticket" website. That's the first encouragement we've had to weave our way around the system. We're told there are 55 million train fares and how that is plain daft. Some of this dates back to the Victorians but, to my mind, has been exacerbated by train companies thinking they are airlines. But what would be a sensible figure given there are 2,563 (or so) stations? By my reckoning that's over 3 million A to B singles between each and every station, 3 million B to A singles, 3 million A to B returns and 3 million B to A returns just for starters. That's kind of you, my friend. It's necessary to go to Kilmarnock before turning south again and heading for Dumfries and/or Carlisle, but in all honesty the train might as well go to Sheffield via Thurso because I don't have a spare £150 for even the cheapest tickets. This is where those cheap fares because of my dad being a railwayman would have come in handy. If only he were still alive, I were still in full time education and British Rail still existed. An alternative might be to catch a bus to Dumfries and then another to Carlisle, and then get a train from there. The whole of the Kirkcolm to Carlisle part of the journey would cost nothing because I'm over 60 and the proud owner of a Saltire Card. If you could find me a Degman-style cheap package between Carlisle and Sheffield that would be grand. My bahookie would be aching pretty badly but it would be better than paying between £150 and £201 any old day. |
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Post by Drew Steignton on Feb 24, 2020 14:43:33 GMT
An alternative might be to catch a bus to Dumfries and then another to Carlisle, and then get a train from there. The whole of the Kirkcolm to Carlisle part of the journey would cost nothing because I'm over 60 and the proud owner of a Saltire Card. If you could find me a Degman-style cheap package between Carlisle and Sheffield that would be grand. My bahookie would be aching pretty badly but it would be better than paying between £150 and £201 any old day. Here we are finally, I think. There are advance singles, sometimes in the £23-£27 range, from Stanraer to Manchester but seemingly not to Leeds or Sheffield. |
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