Manchester’s Railway Heritage

After a first trip on an Avanti from Stoke, we soon arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, Britain’s 10^th busiest station in 2022 and 2^nd outside London after Birmingham New Street. Outside the entrance is the bronze statue, Victory over Blindness, by Johanna Domke-Guyot. It remembers the 3,000 World War One veterans who were affected by blindness as a result of the conflict.

It’s easy to find examples of Manchester’s railway heritage by just walking around the city. On the west side, the massive old LNER and GNR goods depots still stand. The impressive and recently refurbished Midland Hotel is straight opposite the GMEX Exhibition and Conference Centre - formerly Manchester Central station.

We took a boat trip from Ralli Quays, near to the People’s History Museum on the River Irwell, to Media City at Salford, the starting point of the Manchester Ship Canal, which was opened in 1894. The boat took us beneath George Stephenson’s 1830 bridge that was built for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway’s approach to Liverpool Road station. Across the city centre to the north, the refreshment room and the wooden façade of the booking office at Victoria station are both beautifully restored.

 

Buckfastleigh station

We spent a couple of hours on the station and the nearby riverside walk on our way to Cornwall recently. It is quite an idyllic spot and typical of so many country stations, with a single platform and solid stone buildings. The approach road winds its way down into the valley of the River Dart and the station is separated from the riverside path by a spacious car park. The pedestrian overbridge gives grandstand views of the activity on the track and platform, as well as the station yard and sidings. 

On a bright and sunny Saturday morning, ex-GWR 0-6-0 panier tank No. 5786 was taking the 10.30 departure to Totnes Riverside and Type 3 diesel No. 33002 Sea King was repositioning itself for a later duty. We wandered down to see grey wagtail and dipper busying themselves through dappled sunlight on the glittering river, and could hear blackcaps and chiff chaffs from deep in the, now well-developed, foliage at the river’s edge. What a great way this is to start a holiday, I thought.

The Devon Banks

I have always had an awareness of the significance of the Devon banks in the days of steam but I had never witnessed them as a spectacle. When Jubilee No. 45596 Bahamas was due to take a charter from Bristol to Plymouth on Saturday 27/5/23, my time to experience it had come at last, as we had just spent an overnight at Buckfastleigh. But, where to go? I knew the names – Whiteball, Dainton, Hemerdon, and Rattery but did not know precisely where they were or how I could access them by road to establish a suitable viewpoint. Whiteball is a long way east, in fact, where the Taunton to Exeter stretch crosses the Blackdown Hills near Wellington, so we were way past that one. Between Newton Abbott and Plymouth, however, Brunel’s main line skirts the lower slopes of Dartmoor, and this is where we found ourselves on the Saturday lunchtime.

Straight out of Totnes west-bound, trains are climbing Rattery bank and making their way to the highest point at Wrangaton. Looking at the OS map of the area, we needed a convenient overbridge where we could park the car safely and get a good view of the line. Tigley, off the A385, looked promising and it turned out to be so. We were only 3 miles or so west of Totnes but the loco’ would have been working hard all the time it took to get there. We had a good view of its approach and we could hear it well before we could see it. Many westbound trains were double-headed on this route in the past. Bahamas was tackling it alone and without a diesel at the back.

Two local ladies, who have made following steam over the banks an important part of their recreational activities, had also chosen this spot, so I thought our choice had been vindicated. One or two other enthusiasts arrived just in time, as well, as Bahamas put in her appearance a few minutes early. Chris took a video on her phone, while I tried to get some distance shots through the 300mm telephoto lens. The bridge parapet was uncomfortably high and when I closed the lens down to 55mm as Bahamas approached, I lost my final shot to a great slab of stonework which blocked off the bottom half of the photo. Must try harder.

   

The Railway Adventures

I picked up this book by Vicki Pipe and Geoff Marshall without much optimism to be honest. I was expecting light-weight and trivial, a bit like some of my own stuff. Prejudices pushed aside, I really enjoyed it. I found out some things I didn’t know and had reinforced some noteworthy things that I did know, but were certainly worth flagging up. More than that, though, this is an accessible, warm and well-constructed jaunt around the country by train. I’d heard of the likeable couple, having seen a few bits and bobs of theirs on You Tube and maybe even an interview on mainstream telly. Informative and considered, its thoughtfully illustrated, too, appreciative of our rich railway heritage, communicating a real love of place - a biggy, for me, too – and most of all, emphasising the impact the railway has on people, both to talk to, to listen to and to be shown round by, and without whom the railway as a wonderfully dynamic entity would not exist. Mind you, neither would we, come to think of it. It’s a lovely book and perfect bedtime reading.