Crewe

Crewe station is heaving - it is doing what Crewe station is there to do, namely welcoming folk debarking from trains, accommodating them for a short time and packing them off towards their eventual destination. The platform markings implore you to “Stay safe, Stay apart” but there is little chance of that today. Station staff are actually bellowing at travellers to stand behind the yellow line. An announcement claims that a Manchester-bound train is 30 minutes late “because of over-crowding” and suggests that, if their ticket allows them to do so, they should consider an alternative train. I walk across the bridge to the most westerly platform 12 where Clun Castle is being pathed. It is an oasis of calm, compared to 5 and 6, which are both being used bidirectionally, as required. I have a bit of a wander around to reacquaint myself with the lie of the land. I’m struck with the amount of land the railways used at Crewe in the past that is not being used today, but which could be brought back into service with HS2 in mind. I eat my sandwich and crisps on one of the now very infrequently provided seating areas, keeping my bag close to my feet so that it does not end up being swept up as unaccounted for and then “destroyed or damaged by the security services”. Clun Castle puts in her brief appearance and she is bang on time.  She glides effortlessly through the station and rounds the curve towards Chester. She is resplendent, but the event is short-lived, very quiet and curiously low key, with only a smattering of fans at the platform end to pay tribute to her. At least I made the effort, I thought, as I turned for home. 

 

Evesham

The current station at Evesham was built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and opened in 1852. It later became part of the Great Western Railway’s route between Oxford and Hereford via Malvern and is known today as the Chilterns line. The former Midland Railway station building [1864-1964] sits opposite the main station on the other side of the car park. On the wall is a blue plaque for Sir Henry Fowler, a former CME of the LMS Railway, who was born in the town. Fowler designed the Patriot and Royal Scot classes.

 

Nuneaton

 Nuneaton station was built for the London North Western Railway and opened in 1847. As the rail network developed, so the station buildings were replaced and the current frontage including the clock tower dates from 1915. It was known as Nuneaton Trent Valley until 1969. Though a little plain, it is a marked improvement on Tamworth. The Birmingham to Leicester services, including a substantial amount of freight, have used the flyover to the north of the station since 2004 and a more recent chord to the west of the flyover has enabled traffic from Felixtowe to join the WCML going north since 2012, without impeding other traffic on the main line. 

I settle down on my platform end bench for lunch, while the formerly Virgin and now [since 2019] Avanti West Coast Pendolinos sail through regularly and at speed, interspersed with Class 66s on container freights, including No. 66050, which had stopped at platform two for a crew change, the cross-country passenger services and the electric multiple units that augment the longer distance expresses on the West Coast Main Line.

The modern station benches are not in a house style. They are lightly varnished wooden slats on a sturdy green metal base and noticeably splinter free. I have to settle for one without a back support, as all the others are taken by small groups of enthusiasts, as always, deep in conversation about their common purpose. West Midlands Trains, who run the station, have made a bit of an effort with the provision of some recently added flower displays, including one in which new shoots are rising from an old travel trunk with an open lid. The sides are adorned with some random travel stickers. Though it shows positive intent, it may take a bit of developing to qualify for the Chelsea Flower Show any time soon. LNR on the side of the trolley presumably stands for local nature reserve.