Rail Re-Openings - Dr Beeching

Post by **cnosni** » Wed 08 Oct, 2008 11:59 am

Si wrote: I thought Huddersfield's problem was with Halifax? I'm married to a Huddersfield lass, and she likes Leeds (apart from driving through it!) Weve got some Huddersfield lads at work who hate Leeds.Ask em why and they have no answer except that they just do.Perhaps its a football thing as they support town as well,though i cant think of instances of rivalry until last year

Si · Post by Si » Wed 08 Oct, 2008 12:10 pm

cnosni wrote: Si wrote: I thought Huddersfield's problem was with Halifax? I'm married to a Huddersfield lass, and she likes Leeds (apart from driving through it!) Weve got some Huddersfield lads at work who hate Leeds.Ask em why and they have no answer except that they just do.Perhaps its a football thing as they support town as well,though i cant think of instances of rivalry until last year Envy, mate.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Thu 09 Oct, 2008 12:35 am

Si wrote: cnosni wrote: Si wrote: I thought Huddersfield's problem was with Halifax? I'm married to a Huddersfield lass, and she likes Leeds (apart from driving through it!) Weve got some Huddersfield lads at work who hate Leeds.Ask em why and they have no answer except that they just do.Perhaps its a football thing as they support town as well,though i cant think of instances of rivalry until last year Envy, mate. I suppose older Town fans remember the days in the early seventies when both teams were in the old 1st Div. When Town were relegated, Trevor Cherry signed for Leeds, Frank Worthington signed for Leicester (I think) and the Town team disintegrated. They plummeted through the various divisions. I think that in my lifetime there was a time when Town were in Div 1 and Leeds weren't.

String o' beads · Post by **String o' beads** » Thu 09 Oct, 2008 1:04 am

I would think the rail lines closed by Beeching would be profitable these days. It was short sighted. People were buying cars, motorways were being built - ergo rail travel became unprofitable. Rail was probably taken for granted. But now people would actively prefer a rail trip to work, given frequent services at peak times and good parking at the station. Who wants to sit in a traffic jam? The Metro up here is jammed full at peak time and extremely well used throughout the day. Though there are gaps in the system [there are campaigns to re-open old lines to extend the network] it was very well planned and serves many, many suburbs.

Si · Post by Si » Thu 09 Oct, 2008 8:51 am

Trojan wrote: Si wrote: cnosni wrote: Si wrote: I thought Huddersfield's problem was with Halifax? I'm married to a Huddersfield lass, and she likes Leeds (apart from driving through it!) Weve got some Huddersfield lads at work who hate Leeds.Ask em why and they have no answer except that they just do.Perhaps its a football thing as they support town as well,though i cant think of instances of rivalry until last year Envy, mate. I suppose older Town fans remember the days in the early seventies when both teams were in the old 1st Div. When Town were relegated, Trevor Cherry signed for Leeds, Frank Worthington signed for Leicester (I think) and the Town team disintegrated. They plummeted through the various divisions. I think that in my lifetime there was a time when Town were in Div 1 and Leeds weren't. Didn't they drop from Division 1 to Division 4 in four seasons?

Telstar · Post by **Telstar** » Mon 13 Oct, 2008 8:47 pm

Hi. Yes I did see the series about railways on BBC4 ,which included Beeching. I wonder if he was just a scapegoat for the government at the time, as the minister in charge of transport was more interested in roads then?I thought that the former Cross Gates to Wetherby track was under scrutiny to see if a park & ride system at Scholes was viable. Whatever happened to this plan ?There are some more good railway programmes on BBC4 this Thursday.

LS16 · Post by **LS16** » Mon 13 Oct, 2008 9:41 pm

Saw an interesting article in a magazine in the doctor's surgery today. (Don't ask - it still hurts!).Apparently the Government have poored a shed load of cash at looking at the feasibility of setting up two way guided bus routes on old railway track beds. The thinking is that it would be cheaper and allow more flexible working. Have to say I like the idea. It's being trialled somewhere in Cambridgeshire (Cambridge - St Ives perhaps)Should have pinched the magazine to read further as I'm likely to be off work tomorrow recovering!

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Mon 13 Oct, 2008 11:18 pm

Geordie-exile wrote: I would think the rail lines closed by Beeching would be profitable these days. It was short sighted. People were buying cars, motorways were being built - ergo rail travel became unprofitable. Rail was probably taken for granted. But now people would actively prefer a rail trip to work, given frequent services at peak times and good parking at the station. Who wants to sit in a traffic jam? . We went to London by rail yesterday. It wasn't cheap but it was quicker than by car. We went from Wakey - parking's better at Wakey and it's not much further from Morley. If there'd been a train to Wakey from Morley we could've accomplished the entire journey by rail. Travelling by rail from Morley to Leeds is an option I suppose but then there's the problem of a return connection late at night. If the line from Wakey to Bradford was still there who knows, occasional Bradford trains might stop at Morley. However, it took 2 hours and 40 minutes to London (engineering works at Peterboro) and two hours back. Brilliant. I know I complained last year about GNER but I'm not complaining about National Express.

Post by **cnosni** » Tue 14 Oct, 2008 12:19 pm

Trojan wrote: Geordie-exile wrote: I would think the rail lines closed by Beeching would be profitable these days. It was short sighted. People were buying cars, motorways were being built - ergo rail travel became unprofitable. Rail was probably taken for granted. But now people would actively prefer a rail trip to work, given frequent services at peak times and good parking at the station. Who wants to sit in a traffic jam? . We went to London by rail yesterday. It wasn't cheap but it was quicker than by car. We went from Wakey - parking's better at Wakey and it's not much further from Morley. If there'd been a train to Wakey from Morley we could've accomplished the entire journey by rail. Travelling by rail from Morley to Leeds is an option I suppose but then there's the problem of a return connection late at night. If the line from Wakey to Bradford was still there who knows, occasional Bradford trains might stop at Morley. However, it took 2 hours and 40 minutes to London (engineering works at Peterboro) and two hours back. Brilliant. I know I complained last year about GNER but I'm not complaining about National Express. Same drivers,same guards,same platform staff,same timetable.No ones changed except the people who take the profits home.National Express are real comedians,they are out of their depth.The first five months of their tenure has bee the most disrupted i have come across.They brought in their people(who lost them the other rail franchises incidentally) who couldnt cope when things went wrong.They disempowered those who had been running the show and made monumental cock ups.Luckily they did two things,firstly recognised the best people to deal with the situation are those in the know and secondly,they padded out extra time into the timetable with particular services to reduce the PPM.Trojan,please please dont think that the new operators have come in and waved a magic wwand,you have,on this instance,travelled when things are going well,which is most days.It seems that your other two GNER incidents were unfortunate coincidences.By the way,which one did you travel on from Wakey?

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Tue 14 Oct, 2008 10:06 pm

cnosni wrote: Same drivers,same guards,same platform staff,same timetable.No ones changed except the people who take the profits home.National Express are real comedians,they are out of their depth.The first five months of their tenure has bee the most disrupted i have come across.They brought in their people(who lost them the other rail franchises incidentally) who couldnt cope when things went wrong.They disempowered those who had been running the show and made monumental cock ups.Luckily they did two things,firstly recognised the best people to deal with the situation are those in the know and secondly,they padded out extra time into the timetable with particular services to reduce the PPM.Trojan,please please dont think that the new operators have come in and waved a magic wwand,you have,on this instance,travelled when things are going well,which is most days.It seems that your other two GNER incidents were unfortunate coincidences.By the way,which one did you travel on from Wakey? We travelled down on the 8-36 and back on the 20-30. I know the ticket machines, trolleys etc all still bear the GNER colours and logo, and so does Wakefield Westgate, so you're probably right. But the fact remains that the last time we travelled with GNER (as detailed earlier) the GNER platform staff told us a downright lie. It was true that the delay had been caused by Midland Mainline, we bought our ticket from GNER and our claim was with them not Midland Mainline. She must have known that and yet she deliberately misled us, it was that that really annoyed us. Anyway least said soonest mended. The trip on Sunday went off without a hitch whether it was down to National Express or just the diligence of the staff.