The 2017 UK City Of Culture
Hull is going to be the 2017 UK City of Culture
I walked across Hull twice from my supposedly City Centre hotel, which seemed to be almost closer to Grimsby than the railway station.
The first time was in the dark and there were no signs or maps, so I had to climb up on a dual-carriageway bridge, as the direct route across the footbridge was blocked due to demolition. The taxi-driver who brought me to the hotel said that all other routes were dangerous.
Despite the hotel saying it would take twenty minutes to get to football at the KC Stadium, It took me over an hour.
The pictures were taken in the morning and it was very wet, as they show.
I had hoped to find a paper shop to buy my copy of The Times, but in the forty minute walk, I didn’t pass one open shop selling newspapers. They was also no nice cafe for breakfast.
So instead of looking around Hull, I made an executive decision to go to Meadowhall to get some breakfast.
I know it was eight o’clock, but round here in East London, most things start at seven. Even my local Carluccio’s opens at eight in the week and nine at the weekends.
I got lost both times and I couldn’t even find a taxi to take me to the station.
I have never seen a city so badly signposted in my life.
But then to many of these towns and cities, maps are a waste of money, as everybody uses smart phones.
I don’t as my left hand isn’t good enough to hold it steady enough. Also as it was raining, the screen doesn’t appear to be too readable underwater.
UK Capital of Culture 2017?
They’re having a laugh or are they trying to lure visitors into those unsavoury areas my taxi driver warned me about?
I shan’t be going back to Hull again.
The place is an absolute disgrace as regards welcoming visitors, who don’t have cars and prefer or have to walk.
York Station
York station is a busy station as both the East Coast Main Line and Cross Country services pass through. It is also quite large with eleven platforms.
The pictures show how you can look out along the Scarborough Bridge and the bay platform 2, where trains from Scarborough can be turned back.
The last shot is the car park where the three mobile cranes were positioned to lift the bridge into place in Dancing With Cranes And A Bridge With Help From Lego.
It is worth taking a look at this Google Map of the station.
York Station
Note the island platform poking out from under the roof at the top, with Platform 4 on the left and Bay Platform 2 on the right.
There is another simple Bay Platform 1 at the southern end, which serves the line to Hull.
Both platforms 1 and 2 could be electrified, if it was decided to run IPEMU trains to Hull and Scarborough respectively. I think that East Yorkshire services could be electrified in this manner using the power at York, Doncaster and Leeds, with perhaps some form of top-up at Hull and Scarborough.
Scarborough
I’d never been to Scarborough before so I took the opportunity to visit on my way from York to Hull.
Looking back from a few days away, I think that Scarborough, would be a better place to stay than Hull.
I came to Scarborough station on one a Class 185 train and left in a Class 158 train, so I didn’t have to experience a Pacer. According to Wikipedia the Hull to Scarborough Line is usually worked by the very acceptable Class 158 trains, sometimes coupled to something else for more capacity. This is said.
Services are usually worked by Class 158 DMUs. Summer weekends see services operated by a Class 158 coupled to a Class 153 or extra Class 158 providing a 3/4-car unit for additional capacity. Sundays also see a variety of traction traversing the line to retain crew knowledge; this can include Class 153, Class 150, Class 142 and Class 144.
You do wonder how much traffic this route could generate if it was electrified and run by a new four-car electric train.
It would be very expensive to electrify, as until Hull is electrified, it would be a stand-alone system for about forty miles, that was a long way from any other electrification.
But if some means were to be provided to charge the trains at Scarborough and Hull, I suspect that IPEMUs could provide services between Scarborough and Hull and Scarborough and York with ease, given the easy nature of the lines.
This would also allow the TransPennine services from Scarborough to Manchester and Liverpool to be run by high-speed IPEMUs, which could bridge the electrifdication gap between Leeds and Manchester.
In an ideal world, a service should be provided between Scarborough and Whitby, which if there was an improved service around Scarborough would probably be needed to serve the tourism industry.
That area of East Yorkshire needs to be developed with respect to the leisure and tourism opportunities it offers.
A Circular Walk Through York
At York station, I took a circular walk to the City Centre and back to get some lunch.
The return route from the centre was as follows.
- Through the Museum Gardens
- Along the River Ouse.
- Across the Pedestrian Bridge by the York to Scarborough Line
- Directly into the station through the cycle parking.
The installation of the new bridge was talked about in Dancing With Cranes And A Bridge With Help From Lego.
My return route along the river and over the new bridge was a lot easier, as you’re away from the traffic on pavements that are better.
This map shows the area where I walked back to the station.
York Minster To York Station
The Scarborough Bridge is the most westerly one over the River Ouse.
I would also think it’s easier to go this way between the National Railway Museum and York Minster and the City Centre.
For a city that relies on tourism, it is not blessed with decent and numerous, maps and information.
Of the major cities in Yorkshire that I’ve visited only Sheffield seems to have a large number of decent maps. None are up to the standard of Glasgow, Krakow and Preston.
The Flat Crossing At Newark
I took these pictures as we crossed over the Nottingham to Lincoln Line on the flat crossing North of Newark North Gate station.
A few months ago, I took pictures from the other line
All Wired Up And Ready To Go?
I took these pictures of the Canal Tunnels as we left Kings Cross for York.
As the title implies the Canal Tunnels look almost ready.
I wonder when the first trains will go through the tunnels. Wikipedia says that the Class 700 trains will enter service between 2016 and 2018.
More On The Camden Town Station Upgrade
This document on TfL’s web site gives more details of the proposed capacity upgrade at Camden Town station. This schematic of the tunnels, platforms and walkways shows how the station could look in a few years time.
Camden Town Station Schematic
Note the following.
- The Northbound platforms are above the South ones.
- The triple escalators (7) and double lifts (8) at the left, leading down the the circulation space (9), which is shared with two escalators of the existing station.
- There is a new cross passage between the two Northbound platforms, which means that the interchange between the Northbound High Barnet and Edgware branches is a simple walk across, as it is now in the current station.
- The cross passage between the two Southbound platforms, is a bit more complicated, as the platforms are beneath the level of the circulation space. Judging by the large ends of the passage in the schematic, I suspect that as at Angel short escalators will give access to the platform.
- These short escalators would also help those passengers, who’ve gone the wrong way, as we all done from time to time, change direction.
- Would the current cross-platform connections with their steps down to the Southbound platforms just be refurbished or would they be changed to give a direct step free connection between the two Southbound platforms?
- The current emergency stairs are shown and I suspect that a bit of remodelling in this area, could improve cross-platform connections.
At a first look I see two problems with the design.
Obviously, the route between the two Northbound platforms and to the circulation space and the lifts is step-free, but I can’t see how this is the case for the Southbound platforms. It could be that lifts will be provided to access the platforms from the circulation space, or the main lifts will go down another level to what appears to be a a second cross passage, which appears to connect the two Southbound platforms and by-pass the stair or escalators to the circulation space.
I also can’t see how the station could be connected to Camden Road station. Unless the route from say escalators and lifts down from the London Overground station feed into a tunnel, which is an extension Northwards from the lift lobby.
An uncovered walking route between the two Camden stations, is not a solution that is acceptable, in the present and passengers in the future will demand something a lot better.
I shall be going to the exhibition in the next couple of days and all will probably be clear.
The Bermondsey Dive-Under
For some time I’ve been looking for a good article about the Bermondsey dive-under. This article on Ramboll’s web site is a good one. But then I think it was written by one of the designers of the scheme that is currently being built.
Walking Between Surrey Quays And Queen’s Road Peckham Stations
My walk this morning was between Surrey Quay station and Queen’s Road Peckham station along the South London Line.
I wanted to look at progress on the Bermondsey dive-under and also the New Bermondsey station site.
Nothing was happening at the station site and this Network Rail video makes a bit of sense of the work at the dive-under.
I would appear that the long concrete ramp has now been completed and there has been some demolition of the brick viaducts in the site.
Thoughts On Credit Cards
I have recently been trying to buy something on IKEA using my John Lewis Partnership Card, which is managed by HSBC.
Twice it has gone through IKEA’s site, but then HSBC have deemed the transaction to be fraudulent and have cancelled it. In one case I waited in all day for a non-existent delivery.
My other preferred on-line card is American Express, which seems to have developed a clever way of card checking. They ask if they can look up your location using your connection, as obviously, if that corresponds to the card and delivery addresses, there is a high chance that the transaction is genuine.
But IKEA doesn’t take Amex and as I don’t use my Visa card on-line because of the dreaded Verified-by-Visa waste of time and space, I was a bit stumped on how to order the next phase of my kitchen.
Then this morning, I tried the Visa and guess what? The Verified-by-Visa didn’t kick in. So perhaps, Nationwide and IKEA have come to my conclusion, that it is a hindrance to business against their joint interest.
Let’s hope the delivery gets through this time!
The Anonymous Widower 