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Paul Bigland's blog page.

D6130

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Here's a bit of nostalgia, remember when many towns had these dominating the skyline and when they 'graced' the background of many a railway picture? https://paulbigland.blog/2020/11/07/the-changing-railway-background-where-have-the-gasometers-gone/
Excellent! Going back further into history, I can remember when every large town and city had its own coal-fired power station, which was nearly always situated alongside a railway for ease of coal delivery and their chimneys and cooling towers often featured prominently in the background of railway photographs. Notable examples were Pinkston (Glasgow) alongside the Northern portal of Cowlairs Tunnel, Nechells (Birmingham), close to Saltley Depot and Washwood Heath Yards and Westwood (Wigan), alongside the WCML. Of course these establishments were later dwarfed by the massive base-load stations such as Didcot, Ferrybridge, Fiddlers Ferry and Longannet, which are themselves now being - or have been - phased out.
 
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Snapper

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Snapper

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Yesterday the Public Accounts Committee released their latest report on their investigations into the High Speed 2 rail project. It's not a bad bit of work. It's (rightly) critical of some aspects of the project but it doesn't descend into hyperbole in the way the PAC used to do under a previous Chair. Instead, it's objective and balanced - which is why it's been almost completely ignored by opponents of HS2 as it's shot their fox when it comes to their hysterical and exaggerated claims for the 'true' cost of HS2....
http://paulbigland.blog/.../the-latest-public-accounts.../
 

Snapper

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If anyone fancies a laugh at just what some are willing to claim about HS2 this is worth a read:


Including costs of £160bn and phase one not opening until 2041.
Bridgen isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. This is the Brexiter who (in)famously claimed anyone English could qualify for an Irish passport! 'Everyone in England is entitled to an Irish passport' - British MP displays staggering ignorance over Ireland in radio interview | The Irish Post
 

D6130

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A very good article which captures the history and essence of the line in photos and prose. One small correction though....the booking office at Hebden Bridge has never closed AFAIK.
 

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