In the ‘Rail 200 Tour‘ I join the Railway Touring Company‘s Charter train marking the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

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On 27 September 1825, 12 waggons of coal travel across the two Brusselton incline planes. They are hauled by stationary engines to Mason’s Arms Crossing at Shildon.

Locomotion No. 1 then takes over. The load is 12 wagons of coal, another wagon with sacks of flour and 21 wagons with seats for passengers. Around 600 passengers board with some on seats, others on top of the coal and in amongst the flour sacks and some clinging on to the sides of the wagons.

The train sets off along the 21 miles of track, following a man on a horse with a flag. It stops when the waggon carrying the company surveyors and engineers loses a wheel; it then stops again for 35 minutes for minor repairs.

It reaches 15 mph. When it reaches Darlington there is an estimated audience of 10,000 people.

The journey continues until the train reaches Stockton where it is greeted by a crowd of around 40,000 people and a 21-gun salute. 102 people then attend a banquet to greet the world’s first steam-hauled passenger train!

Our train starts its journey in Carnforth, well before a civilised breakfast time. There are further stops to pick at Skipton, Keighley and Woodlesford before we reach York where our final passengers board.

At York our Class 57 diesel locomotive leaves the train and the ex LMS Black 5, number 44871, takes over the rest of our journey north.

We pass through Darlington on our way to our stop at Shildon, crossing over the Skerne Bridge which is the world’s oldest railway bridge.

After passing through Bishop Auckland we join the Weardale Railway where we stop at Stanhope to service the Black 5. After this we travel to Newcastle and then return to York where the Black 5 leaves us and we continue homeward with the Class 57.

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my journey on this historic day for our railways.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway for use in this podcast.

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In ‘Leeds and Ribblehead‘ I spend time in Leeds and take a trip to Ribblehead to watch the Railway Touring Company‘s Cumbrian Mountain Express cross the viaduct.

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It is a beautiful spring evening and I set off from my hotel to find two historic railway buildings. I stop to look at City Square. Relatively quiet this evening unlike when I was a student in Leeds. Then it was full of traffic.

As I walk down Wellington Street I find the Great Northern Railway Station Hotel building. This dates from 1869. Today it is a shadow of its former self, converted into flats with a fish and chip shop on the ground floor.

The bars in this modern square are busy with lots of people taking the opportunity to sit outside.

I’ve come to see the Central Station Wagon Hoist which remains although the rest of the station is long gone. Sadly I’m a couple of days too early as it is opening as a museum the next week.

The stub end of this 1846 viaduct has been converted into a lovely urban park. It will be magnificent once everything matures.

Saturday trains on the Settle Carlisle lines are only every few hours. I arrive early and spend some time looking at the visitor centre and having a light lunch in the cafe.

The scenery is lovely and enhanced by the Cumbrian Mountain Express crossing the viaduct. A really worthwhile visit!

Listen to the podcast to hear all about my evening in Leeds and my trip out to Ribblehead.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Joseph McDade licenses Backplate for use in this podcast.

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In ‘On to Leeds‘ I continue my journey to Leeds. Today only part of my journey is on the true route of the Thames Clyde Express as a nine-mile section of the traditional route no longer exists.

Once a hive of industry with mile after mile of collieries, coke ovens, marshalling yards and sidings, coal mining subsidence causes speed restrictions in the 1960s. In 1968 trains move to other routes and in 1985 part of the line closes.

Today one section, from Oakenshaw South Junction near Wakefield to Redfearn’s Glassworks, a part of the Ardagh Group, at Monk Bretton remains. A weekly sand train goes to the glassworks and sometimes Northern Rail use the section for training.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast:

Since the 1980s a number of stations have reopened on this route. We pass through Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe, Thurnscoe and Moorthorpe on our way to Fitzwilliam. Here the Friends of Fitzwilliam station provide local art work including a mural about the area.

Next comes Sandal and Agbrigg railway station serving the southern Wakefield suburbs. Originally dating from 1866 it is on the route of the Leeds branch of the East Coast Main Line.

The station closes in November 1957, remains closed for the next 30 years, and reopens on 30 November 1987.

Although I don’t pass through Normanton I have to tell you about the station. Over the years the once semi-rural station hosts Queen Victoria, US President Ulysses S. Grant, the Emperor of Brazil and Prime Ministers Gladstone and Disraeli.

Why? They all stop for lunch at the Midland Railway’s Normanton station because, in the days before dining cars, express trains stop here for lunch. The menu offers a  six-course meal for 2/6 (half a crown = 12.5 pence); a world away from the Travellers Fare of my youth.

The journey continues across the 99 arch viaduct into Wakefield Westgate station. We then travel on to Leeds and the end of today’s journey.

Listen to the podcast to hear about my journey and the magnificent lunches in Normanton.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Funny Corporate for use in this podcast.

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In ‘Sheffield Railway Station and on to Swinton‘ I visit Sheffield Station and then start my journey with Northern Rail to Leeds. Today only part of my journey is on the true route of the Thames Clyde Express.

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The ‘railway mania’ sees the Manchester Sheffield and Lincoln Railway, the London and Northwestern Railway and the Midland Railway building lines across the steep hills and valleys into the city..

Sheffield (Midland) station opens in 1870 as Pond Street. There are extensions in 1905 and a major redevelopment completes in 2006.

I want to see the Sheffield Tap which runs a brewery on the station. It is in the former First Class Edwardian refreshment and dining rooms. Restoration means that the rooms are now in their original condition.

In the 1970s British Rail converts the refreshment room into a waiting room and pushes the damaged front bar to the rear of the room. They remove the ornate fireplace and other features. Vandals soon get to work!

In 1976 it is and left to decay. In 2008, the restoration began. Private investment and grants lead to repairs and replication where required. The barrel plaster ceiling is a replica of the old one. Handmade, the work  of a local contractor.

The operators of the Sheffield Tap say that they’re only the caretakers of the publicly owned Grade II listed building.

I take the train for the short journey to Meadowhall station which serves the Meadowhall Shopping Centre. The Centre is built on land that used to be part of the Sheffield steel industry.

I then take the train for Leeds passing through the rather depressing Rotherham Central station. By the end of the episode I have reached Swinton station.

It is not possible to follow the route of the Thames Clyde because of mining subsidence in the area which has resulted in the removal of parts of the track.

Listen to the podcast to hear about Sheffield Station and the journey to Swinton.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Podchaser, Spotify, YouTube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Lovin’ It for use in this podcast and The Tavern is licensed from Joseph McDade.

The post UKRJ S2 Ep07 Sheffield Railway Station appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘On to Sheffield’ my journey continues with the East Midlands Railway from Trowell to Sheffield along the original route of Thames Clyde Express.

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In 2013 Ilkeston was the largest town in Britain with an operational passenger railway line running through it, but no station. The government’s New Stations Fund, managed by Network Rail provides funds for such developments.

The building work is repeatedly delayed; there are a number of issues at the site. There is the potential for flooding, ground instability from historic mining activity, and its home to some endangered species.

Work finally commences in April 2016. It includes several bespoke designs for the site conditions and is completed in ten months. The new station opens in  April 2017.

This is one of only two remaining wrought iron railway viaducts in the UK. This magnificent viaduct is the result of the rivalry between the railways in the nineteenth century.

At the time the Midland Railway has a great deal of control over the movement of coal by rail. Although the Midland is based in Derby, local businesses and city councillors feel that it’s monopoly is holding back the development of Derby.

They lobby Parliament to allow for another railway company and let the Great Northern Railway build a line through the heart of the city. To reach Derby the Great Northern builds a line from Nottingham to Derby and the on to Eggington Junction. They also build branch lines running into the Erewash Coalfield.

The biggest obstacle is crossing the Erewash Valley, an area honeycombed with mine workings. This leads to the design of the Bennerley Viaduct. It is built in 18 months during 1877 and 1878.

We pass through the depressing 1970s station in Alfreton and then on to Chesterfield.

There is a statue to George Stephenson outside Chesterfield station. He settles in this town with the famous crooked Church spire towards the end of his life. His grave is in the church, next to that of his wife.

I leave the train in Sheffield where I am staying the night. Sheffield station used to be called Sheffield Midland, when there were multiple stations in the city, is the northernmost point of the Midland Mainline.

My train is going on to Manchester and then Liverpool Lime Street.

The stone built Sheffield station looks well restored. It receives 3 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

I’m going to walk from the station to my hotel, the comfortable and friendly Premier Inn at St. Mary’s Gate, and then go and find something to eat, probably at El Paso which has a mix of Mexican and Italian food.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey from Trowell to Sheffield.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Forward for use in this podcast.

The post UKRJ S2 Ep 06 On to Sheffield appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘Leicester to Trowell’ my journey continues with the East Midlands Railway from Leicester, via Nottingham, to Trowell. This gets me back onto the original route of Thames Clyde Express.

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My train passes through Loughborough with the BRUSH Falcon works next door. BRUSH is famed as a major supplier of diesel locomotives. In 1957 Hawker Siddeley buys the BRUSH group of companies. This includes BRUSH Traction.

During the 1960s they build 310 Class 47 locomotives, out of the total of 512 in the class, at the Falcon works.

A relatively new station that has many green credentials. However, there is no bus service to East Midlands Airport which is only 4 miles away.

The station is next to the recently closed Ratcliffe on Soar coal fired power station; the last operating coal fired power station in Britain.

Trent station closed on 1 January 1968, a victim of Dr. Beeching.

Situated near Long Eaton at the junction of the Midland Railway line from London to Derby and Nottingham, it didn’t serve any community, being simply an interchange.

For many years trains would stop here for people to dine and change train.  Those who didn’t want a full meal could get a lunch basket, these could be handed back at a station later in the journey.

Today the track layout is simpler than in the station’s heyday. There are still junctions allowing trains to go to Derby, London, Nottingham and Sheffield but no station.

Our final stop on the journey to Nottingham is Beeston station just over 3 miles from Nottingham.  Over half a million passengers use the station in 2023 / 2024.

I leave the train in Nottingham so that I can catch a train to Sheffield. This brings me on to the Erewash Valley Line, the original route of the Thames Clyde Express.

Nottingham station is a magnificent terracotta building; the quality of the brickwork is stunning.

The architecture at Nottingham receives 4 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey from Leicester to Trowell and the story of Nottingham’s magnificent railway station.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Summer Island for use in this podcast.

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In ‘We reach Leicester’ my journey continues northwards, and reaches the Thames Clyde’s first stop in Leicester.

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We pass the remains of the old Handley Page aircraft works at Radlett. In 1937 the pilot of a Harrow bomber misjudges his approach to the airfield. His undercarriage rips off part of the roof of the kitchen car of a London to Manchester express.

The kitchen car continues to Leicester where it is replaced with another. The delay? Only one hour.

We pass the remains of huge gashes in the landscape. These are the result of extracting clay for brick making. At the peak of brick making in 1936, the Stewartby Brickworks, the world’s largest, makes 500 million a year.

Today a thousand homes and a business park are being built as part of the redevelopment of the site.

We cross the river Ouse seven times in the Bedford area, and pass a stretch of the A6 called the Paula Radcliffe Way. The train is passing through beautiful countryside as we travel north.

At the stop at Kettering I marvel at the ironwork in the canopies over the platforms. In the 1970s British Rail submits plans to cut the supports off part way up and put on a plastic roof. The local Civic Society protests and saves the day!

I leave the train at our stop in Leicester. This is the first stop on the traditional route of the Thames Clyde Express.

The modernisers have ruined much of Leicester station. However, the baroque façade remains and it is stunning. The domed clock tower is vaguely Indian in style. The clock is the only hand wound station clock on the railway network.

There is a porte cochere behind the façade. Today you can get a taxi there and go through the entrance to buy a ticket.

The architecture at Leicester has 3 stars in the Simon Jenkins book Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey to Leicester and the story of this magnificent railway station.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Summer Party for use in this podcast.

The post UKRJ S2 Ep04 We reach Leicester appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘Northward Bound’ I start my journey, leaving St. Pancras on an East Midlands Railway Class 222 Meridian train.

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I am following, as far as is possible today, the route of the Thames Clyde Express. The London, Midland & Scottish railway introduces the express on 26th September 1927.

The Thames Clyde took the longer, and slower, Midland Railway route from London St. Pancras to Glasgow St. Enoch. A route running via Sheffield, Leeds, the Settle to Carlisle line and the Glasgow South Western route north of Carlisle.

As we leave St. Pancras we pass, on our left, St. Pancras Old Church, with its clocktower, and, on our right, the fully refurbished gasometers, or more correctly gasholders, that are part of the Kings Cross revival.

We soon pass through Kentish Town station and the site of the old engine sheds. These sheds, opening in 1875, provided the locomotives for the Thames Clyde Express on its London to Leeds leg.

With 3 brick-built roundhouses and workshops the locomotive allocation in March 1959 was 100 locomotives, all of them steam.

The last locomotives are maintained there in 1963 when the site closes. The civil engineers Murphy use some of the surviving buildings today.

We pass through West Hampstead, Cricklewood, Hendon on my journey from the suburban sprawl of outer London towards the north.

Listen to the podcast to hear about the journey through north London and into the countryside.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Political Dawn for use in this podcast.

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In ‘Around St. Pancras’ I walk up Midland Road on the west side of the station and visit St. Pancras Old Church.

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Midland Road runs up the western side of St. Pancras station splitting the station from the old goods yard. Today the British Library stands on part of the site at the junction of the Euston and Midland roads.

The move to the current building, Grade 1 listed since 2015, started in 1997. Currently the library has facilities here and at Boston Spa in Yorkshire.

The next building I come across is the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research centre. It is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Imperial College, King’s College, the Medical Research Council, University College and the Wellcome Trust.

Opposite is the modern extension to the hotel and the new platforms for the semi-banished East Midlands Railway.

As I walk up the road I pass a row of shops in arches. These are the last visible remains of the buildings from the old goods depot.

St. Pancras Old Church is an ancient seat of Christian worship. Although the building underwent a major restoration in the middle of the 19th Century, it still incorporates material, believed to be, from Roman times.

The building of St. Pancras station resulted in many exhumations from the Churchyard. It is estimated that 10,000 of the 100,000 graves were dug up.

I pass under the tracks and reach the Camley Street Natural Park which has the Regent’s Canal on one side and the railway tracks on the other. I recommend this tranquil park to anyone visiting the area.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about the area.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and News Night for use in this podcast.

The post UKRJ S2 Ep 02 Around St Pancras appeared first on The MrT Podcast Studio.

In ‘St. Pancras’ I arrive at the station to start my journey along the route of the Midland Railway’s Scotch Expresses and the LMS Thames Clyde Express.

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The Midland Railway was a proud organisation. From their base in Derby their powerbase is between Birmingham and York; however their services stretch as far as Carlisle and Bournemouth.

Their ambition is to reach London. For many years they have to share tracks with other companies. At one stage they are paying the Great Northern £20,000 a year to use Kings Cross.

The involvement of George Hudson, known as the Railway King, means that they can’t get approval for a London terminus. However, once the disgraced Hudson is out of the way, they win Parliamentary approval for a terminus.

The Midland purchase land from the estate of Lord Somers on the north side of the New Road. Like Kings Cross, Euston and the much later Marylebone, the station is between the New Road and the Regent’s Canal.

The chosen area houses many people, has a gasworks, is on the course of the buried River Fleet and has the ancient church of St. Pancras, with a burial ground. A site with a great number of difficulties!

William Barlow, the Midland’s engineer, is told to build something dramatic. His roof is a single span, 243 feet across which, until 1888, is the largest in the world.

The station is built of the finest materials, all transported from the Midland’s heartland. The building work leads to many evictions, with little notice, from slum homes and the exhumation of 8,000 bodies from the churchyard.

On the 1st October 1868 the first trains arrive.

George Gilbert Scott wins the competition to design the grand hotel to stand in front of the train shed. The budget is £316,000.

When the hotel opens it is the most expensive railway hotel in London. For a charge of 14 shillings you get dinner, bed and breakfast; however there is only one bathroom on each floor!

In the 1960s and 1970s see plans to demolish the station and hotel buildings. This leads to uproar and a Grade 1 listing. The introduction of Eurostar services  leads to a £800 million renovation.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about ‘St. Pancras’.

This podcast is also available through Amazon Music,  Apple Podcasts,  Castbox, Deezer, Podchaser, Spotify, You Tube and others.

AKM Music licenses Steam Railway and Corporate Winners for use in this podcast.

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