Vive Le Tour!
That is the headline on the wrap around The Times today.
Vive Le Tour!
I do think that Yorkshire has shown how to do a Grand Depart. I suspect that Utrecht next year, will follow Yorkshire’s lead.
In some ways it’s all a bit sad, as there aren’t many events like the Tour de France, that can be used to build a great event around.
Yorkshire is apparently starting the Tour de Yorkshire, London has the Marathon, Liverpool the Grand National and Newcastle the Great North Run, so perhaps we ought to get our thinking caps on, to create some more iconic events.
Grand Central Up And East Coast Down
I went up to York on Grand Central in First and came back down in Second on East Coast.
As you can see, both trains were forty-year-old InterCity 125s.
First Class on Grand Central might have been affordable at £49.50 and it was a convenient train in that it got there just before the museum opened, but it was a very poor offering. I got an uncomfortable seat with a narrow table in a group of four and the only refreshment I had was two cups of tea.
Coming back I’d booked an open Off Peak ticket at £32.00, so I could come back at a convenient time.
I managed to get a more comfortable window seat in a group of four, with a bigger table than I had on the way up. The train seemed to be fairly newly refurbished and was probably in better condition, than it had been in all of its long life. The trolley came through twice and I bought just a bottle of water.
Both trains were on time.
It is interesting to compare these two journeys with the Copenhagen to Hamburg trip I did recently in a diesel German ICE TD.
I was in First on the German train and the seat was marginally more comfortable, than that of the seat in Second on my journey home yesterday. I also had a bigger table. But the ride was no better on the newer German train, which incidentally tilts, and there was nothing to choose between the views through the wide windows on both trains.
But the real problem on the German train, was the total lack of a decent drinks service. The trolley on East Coast was much better. But I have feeling that the layout of German ICE trains effectively rules out a trolley. food on all three journeys didn’t include anything that was gluten-free, but that is coming if my taste of Virgin is anything to go by.
I doubt I’ll be travelling on Grand Central again, and certainly never in First. Unless I have no choice!
Going North And Going South
These two paintings were on display in the Nation Railway Museum at York.
The artist was George Earl and the paintings are mentioned in his Wikipedia entry.
I found the paintings notable, as there were certainly Red Irish, English and Gordon Setters in the paintings. There could also have been Red and White Irish Setters too!
There Were Crowds At York
To say the crowds at York were big would be an understatement,as you can see from the previous post.
These pictures were taken outside. Bear in mind that I timed my trip to get there as the museum opened.
But at least my only cost was getting to York, as the entry to the National Railway Museum was free.
Engineering Pornography At York
I went to the National Railway Museum today to see the Mallard 75 event or the Great Gathering as it is named by some.
Here are some pictures.
Sadly only three of the six iconic A4 Pacifics designed by Sir Nigel Gresley are still capable of steaming.
Crossrail Looks To Yorkshire
Crossrail has made an appeal for firms in Yorkshire and Humberside to become suppliers to Europe’s biggest construction project. It’s all reported here in the Yorkshire Post.
I did write a post about Custom House station, which is being built in Sheffield and transported to London and installed on site. That sounds like a clever and affordable way to create stations.
Will Harvey Smith Salute the Torch into York Racecourse?
It may seem a controversial choice, but Harvey Smith is carrying the torch on the final leg into York racecourse tonight.
So will he give the torch one of his special signature salutes?
Let’s hope he keeps both hands on the reins!
I once saw him give an equestrian demonstration with anecdotes of his life. If ever there was a larger-thsan-life Yorkshireman it’s Harvey.
Yorkshire Cannyness?
The railway between Leeds and York via Harrogate is severely overloaded and is run using the the dreaded Pacers.
Now it is being proposed that the line be electrified using a simple third rail system and reuse ex-London Underground, District Line trains.
It is an idea that might work and provide a better service.
Although I’m generally in favour of overhead electrification, there are lines like this where less intrusive third-rail electrification may be more suitable. On this line there is also a two mile long tunnel, Bramhope Tunnel, which would be prohibitively expensive or impossible to electrify using overhead wires.
Although this proposal is based around using London Underground D Stock, which are generally about thirty years old, there is no reason to believe that as CrossRail and Thameslink progress throughout London, that other suitable trains will be released.
Reflections on the Train Trip to York
It was a good trip and East Coast played their part.
- The trip up was uneventful, except that I probably annoyed my companions in the set of four seats, by talking on the phone too much, because of Brian‘s death. We left on time and arrived at York dead on the scheduled arrival time. The coffee was excellent.
- If I want to nit-pick, I needed to know the time that the train arrived at York, so my friend’s son could meet me. But I’d left the details in my bag, which was in the luggage rack and I didn’t want to disturb everyone by getting it down. I seem to remember being on a train, which told me the time it would arrive at the various destinations. This may have been the TGV I took to Nice.
- Before returning, I did get into a bit of a panic, as I thought I’d lost one of the seven orange tickets that I needed for my trip. Surely one ticket printed with an itinerary could be designed, but then you’d probably need a smart mobile phone, which I won’t carry, as they break too easily. In the end, I found I’d mixed the outward and return leg tickets and found the one I needed in my jacket pocket.
- The return train was an hour late at York, due to a problem with another company’s train and I was kept informed by East Coast’s staff. So they didn’t fail in the way that some companies did in the snow.
- I was able to get a gluten-free snack at the AMT coffee stop in the station, so although it was late, I wasn’t unduly troubled, especially, as I live only fifteen minutes from King’s Cross on a bus.
- Staff on the train were handing out claims form and we were informed, when we were over an hour late, which effectively meant that the trip was free. My claim went in the post this morning.
- At least we weren’t too late for the buses to get me home and five minutes after the train arrived, I was on a 476 for home.
To sum up the return journey – We were late, but I didn’t suffer any serious problems. It was all rather less stressful and problematic, than some journeys done in the snow lately. I also think that quite a few people were surprised at the handing out of claim forms.
Death of a Friend
The trip to York yesterday was to visit my old boss from ICI and his wife. He has not been too well lately after a stroke and some complications, but his mind is still all there and just as when I went to Liverpool, we discussed engineering and put the world to rights. He also filled in some of the gaps in some of my stories, like the invention of plastic string.
However, the trip was overshadowed by learning about the death of one of my colleagues in Metier in a phone call on the trip north. Brian was the Finance Director and we couldn’t have wanted for a better one. Or a funnier and witty one for that matter! He had also been a good friend and confidant since the death of my wife and until a few months before his death, he could be relied upon to call regularly.
He will be missed by all who knew him.
The Anonymous Widower 