Exploration: The Fallowfield Loop (A Christmas Adventure)

GalleryJanuary 12, 2015October 7, 2017Andy Carter 1 Comment

This Christmas (2014) I was visiting family in South Manchester. Whilst plotting my route for the drive from London I discovered on the map a long strip of empty land near their house that looked suspiciously like an old railway bed…

The Fallowfield Loop formerly provided access to Manchester Central Station from the Hope Valley Line to the east and Sheffield via a 10 mile sweeping detour of the city centre. The line is now an answer to London’s Northern Heights and is a footpath and cycle parkway which even has it’s own website and organisation.

Well of course I had to check it out… My time in Manchester was limited, so fresh from opening presents (most of which were train related of course), we stepped out for a crisp Christmas Day stroll. This was in no way a ruse to check out The Fallowfield Loop…

Full Loop

As it was Christmas Day I felt it was perhaps mean to subject Leah to the full 10 miles, so we just explored a short section in Levenshulme. It’s my intention to one day return to do the full loop so I will save the full history lesson until then, but for now – click on a photo to find out more:

At some point I shall return to complete the other 9 or so miles and visit the other 3 stations on the line. Until then, if you want to check out the loop yourself, here’s the full route:

CAS Weekly: 26/12/14

December 26, 2014August 23, 2016Andy Carter 1 Comment

Image by Alan Murray-Rust

Modelling

LocoYard has more of the low down of what steam locos are going to be on offer in 2015.

UK Rail

Edward Kendal delves into the unseen world of Nottingham Station.
Ghost Trains and Steam Jets – See how Network Rail will keep us moving during the winter months.
The InterCity 125 and it’s replacement – check out the interactive video from the BBC.
More Crossrail construction exploration from The Londonist, this time at Victoria.
How was your Christmas dinner yesterday? Unless it was cooked by a steam train it wasn’t as good as this…

World Rail

The NBC Supertrain has this week been brought to my attention.
Remember the Chicago Christmas Train from last week? How about Budapest’s Streetcar named Christmas?

Image by Thaler Tamas

CAS Weekly: 19/12/14

December 19, 2014August 23, 2016Andy Carter Leave a comment

Croxley Green Station by Nigel Cox

Modelling

Hornby announce new 2015 range.

UK Rail

Network Rail are offering unique tours to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge next March to mark the bridge’s 125th anniversary.
The Londonist’s Secrets Of The Underground DVD by Geoff Marshall is now shipping.
Derailed train travels at 100mph as passengers report bumpy ride! Network Rail to investigate.
Diamond Geezer takes a trip to abandoned Croxley Green station.
UK Rail Freight is in boom.
Northern Rail’s Guide Bridge station gets major revamp…
…whilst South West Trains’ The Island Line gets a £2million boost to help repair recent storm damage.
Manchester Metrolink trams are to be kitted out with free wifi.
and an impromptu Erasure sing along breaks out at Kentish Town Tube Station.

World Rail

Poland’s first high-speed train, an Alstom Pendolino, entered service on Sunday.
Have you seen CTA Chicago’s Christmas Train? Time Out want TfL to introduce something similar in London.

Image by Douglas Rahden

* * * Merry Christmas from Calling All Stations * * *

Side Tracked: The Mist Beneath The Smoke

October 30, 2014Andy Carter Leave a comment

The London Underground carries over a billion passengers each year, but what happens after the commuters depart, the escalators are shut down and only a handful of staff are left to patrol the desolate stations?

Image by www.CGPGrey.com

Find out this Halloween weekend as John Mabey tells the story of real life accounts of unexplained phenomena on the worlds oldest underground railway in: The Mist Beneath The Smoke.

Friday October 31st and Saturday November 1st @ The Reading Rooms, Great Baddow, Chelmsford.

Side Tracked: Off The Map (Part1)

September 5, 2014March 9, 2015Andy Carter Leave a comment

Much is being added to London’s Tube map at the moment. Recently we saw the addition of The Overground Network, in it’s distinctive ex-East London Line Orange, sprawling over the capital like a spider web. In the not to distant future we shall see The Overground’s continued expansion as Suburban routes, such as the Liverpool Street – Chingford Line, start to fall under TfL’s control. Further on still, and many graphic artists and TfL alike are currently beginning to speculate how Crossrail might appear on Harry Beck’s famous map.

So, The Tube Map – always adding, never shrinking?

Perhaps not… Continue reading →