Too Much Information

I haven't had too much to say to Robbie in the last few days because he is still in the dog house, but I happened to mention to him that I saw a train when I was driving back from Stratford the other day, it was near Warwick I think. I told him it was high up on a viaduct type thing. It was a bad move on my part, Robbie bombarded me with questions about the livery. At the time I was trying hard not to get lost and focusing on road signs and roundabouts not trains! That didn't bother Robbie, he didn't give up until he had identified the toc and worked out the time of the train, where it came from and where it was heading. He can remember whole chunks of timetable, if he could apply his mind to something other than trains he could probably take over the world - so maybe it is a good thing that he restricts his attention to railway related matters!

XC Refurbished HST

On Thursday the BBC Midlands Today news program had a clip about the return of the HST. We don't get that TV channel in Northampton so on Friday Robbie sent me a link so that I could watch the clip. It was good, I still think the Cross Country livery lacks sparkle, in fact it is downright dull, but I can see the attraction of the HST, it looks as if they have done a very good job with the refurbishment of the trains and they certainly seem to be popular with the passengers. The HST's are the same age as Robbie, but after their twenty million pound upgrade they are looking better than ever. Hopefully they will continue in service for many years because Robbie loves them and anything that keeps him happy gets my vote. Talking of upgrades there was a news item last week about the staggering amount of money that the Republican party have spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. In her case I think they wasted their money, she is still very scary. Andy Cooper the MD of Cross Country appeared in the news clip about the HST what he said was interesting, but it crossed my mind that the company could learn from the political parties and use a stylist to make him seem a little more 'cuddly' and exciting.

To Birmingham and Back Again

Yesterday passed me by in a blur of agony. Clearly I insulted my flu bug by referring to it as 'just a cold' on the blog on Thursday, and it decided to show me exactly who was boss. By Thursday evening everything ached and my thermostat had gone mad, and by Friday morning I was ready to curl up and die. It is now Saturday evening, I am still feeling fragile and breathing is a bit of a challenge, but at least I can face the bright lights of the computer again. So rather than dwell on my aches and pains I will write about something completely different instead.

Last week Robbie took me to Birmingham for the evening. This may not sound very exciting but it is a big event for me because it involves passing through that God forsaken place known as New Street Station – I really hate it and I avoid it at all costs. Our journey started at Northampton Station, it is a while since I have been there and it will be a while before I go there again, the parking charge is a rip off! I hoped it would be a more pleasant experience than when it was in the hands of Silverlink. The best thing about the station was the hot chocolate from the coffee shop. The station staff seemed a little more cheerful and they has swapped the severe 'border guard' look of the Silverlink uniform for the 'slept in look' of what must be the most boring uniform ever. The station itself looks more unloved and shabby than ever, I'm not sure anyone could love a building that looks and feels like a farm shed, but I feel sad that this is the first impression that travellers get of my home town. Oh well, it could be worse, Coventry station takes 'grim' to a whole new level.

The journey to Birmingham was good, we travelled on a 350, it was surprisingly comfortable and it was a pleasant journey. I can't complain, but however perverse it sounds I miss the good old 321's and I miss the Silverlink livery that always reminded me of a Cadburys Dairy Milk wrapper. So there you are you have proof that Robbie is not the only weird one in our family when it comes to trains. All good things come to an end and all too soon I found myself in New Street Station. It didn't seem to have changed, there were the usual announcements about platform alterations and breathless and confused passengers with a demented look in their eyes sprinting from platform to platform in search of their trains. I know they have to announce platform changes, delays and assorted misery, but why do thy choose someone with such a grating voice that it sounds like nails being dragged over a blackboard?

We made our escape from the gloom of the station to the grim reality of the street. I never feel safe in Birmingham and I struggled to keep pace with Robbie, nothing would slow him down because he was heading in the direction of food. He took me to The Big Wok because he was sure I would like it – I didn't really, but to be fair I was probably coming down with the flu by then. Robbie made up for my lack of enthusiasm, in the interests of good taste I will not detail all that he ate but I can't resist mentioning the beef curry. I watched him polish it off incredibly fast, it looked as if he was melting like an ice cube in the sun, but he said he enjoyed it. I am sure that man would eat absolutely anything!

We enjoyed our evening out at the theatre, but afterwards we had to head back to the glories of New Street Station. The 'welcoming committee' defending the ticket barriers looked distinctly unapproachable and uninterested. Their uniform also had that 'slept in look' - obviously London Midland are a bit lacking in the imagination and style department! We had a while to wait for our train but I was happy enough on the platform watching the train dispatcher (he was rather nice) and having a good look at the 323 that was waiting to depart. The London Midland livery was hideous, the world should not have to endure that much green, but as soon as the engine started I cold tell that under all that war paint it was still the loveable, quirky 323. I love the way it sounds like a slot machine when it pulls away, you can hear it best from inside the train, but even from the platform there was no mistaking the sound.

Finally our Pendolino arrived and we were safely settled on board. For the first time that evening I felt safe, I'm not sure what it is about Virgin, but I love travelling on their trains. Unfortunately we had to abandon the Pendolino at Rugby in favour of a smelly old coach. Virgin failed to announce that passengers for Northampton needed to leave the train at Rugby, but at least they had a couple of friendly looking 'care bears' on the platform to point us in the right direction. Rugby Station looks like a bomb site, hopefully it will all come good in the end, but it is hard to imagine it happening in my lifetime! The coach journey was cramped, uncomfortable and scary, the driver threw it around as if his sole intention was to scare us to death. We arrived at Northampton safe but shell shocked, and I can honestly say I have never been so glad to see my car and to feel in control once more.

Uninspired

Robbie got so cross with me yesterday. He is full of enthusiasm for the newly refitted Cross Country HST, he had been rather doubtful about the refit and he says it has turned out better than he expected and it doesn't feel cramped. He has talked about little else for the last couple of days, but after a while I stop listening – everyone has there limits!

Robbie showed me some photos of the new HST yesterday and he was furious when I said I was unimpressed. The Cross Country livery is OK but it is a bit dull, it isn't going to turn any heads and as far as I'm concerned that is how the new interior feels. From the pictures it looks cramped, maybe it doesn't feel like that when you are there, but it is so dull and boring, I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to travel on it. There again, I am writing from a female point of view, Robbie would travel on it all day long if he could – but he's unique. There are so many good things about Cross Country and in many ways they can be quite imaginative, so why do their trains have to be so dull!

Does it Really Matter?

Robbie and I don't see much of each other during the week, but even in the short time that we are together we end up talking about trains! Yesterday evening there was an advert on TV, I think it was for insurance, but it had a brief shot of a train and then you saw the people inside the train discussing insurance or whatever it was. I made the foolish mistake of asking Robbie about the livery of the train, he confidently told me what it was and then he got one of his books out to show me. I told him he was wrong and we got into a pantomime argument of "yes it was, no it wasn't" with neither of us willing to give in. Robbie decided to prove that he was right by rewinding the TV to check - he was wrong!! Then he spent an age debating (with himself) whether or not the interior shots were from the same train, he decided that he didn't think they were, I couldn't care less, I had lost the will to live by then!

Train Troubles 11.12.07

I have been busy moving the blog to a new site, the task of transferring all the old posts is taking longer than I expected, partly because I stop and read the entries and partly because it involves finding and moving photos too. The new space allows me more freedom to set out the blog the way I want it and I can add additional sections to the blog. During my train journey on Saturday I was able to read an article about adding news feeds to a blog and I was keen to have a go. Adding the feed was easy enough but I haven't quite mastered the next step, specifically excluding articles. I decided to have a UK railway news link on the new blog, so i entered all the target labels, but when i entered the name Barry Doe I got loads of dubious american stuff and I couldn't exclude it so I had to remove that target for the time being. No doubt I will get the fine tuning sorted out in the end. At least there is a news feed on the new blog now.
There was a very good article about train rebranding in the Times online, it is worth a look.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article3031169.ece