Glad you enjoyed it Stephen. Thats one of the very early videos.

Yes, the railway is a technological marvel really 👍

wow nice railway tunnel

There are occasions Peter where we are doing 100mph in zero visibility. It’s a weird feeling and we have to keep trust in the system.

@@doncoffey5820 No doubt about it Don if you didn't trust, you would be a nervous wreck. Looking back at History, we must have been the leading innovators in the World of the Railway system. Look at India, they still use the tried and tested British way of operating and they have one of the biggest passenger networks in the World.

That was me Geoff. All in a days work as Superman would say ;-)

@@doncoffey5820 Good man Don.

Thank you for being a regular watcher!

I’m late replying so now we’re even!!! Thanks for watching Brian.

Glad you enjoyed it Bob.

Hi Christopher. The railway architecture is my favourite aspect of the railway. I love to sit and ponder about how things were done. More Stalybridge action coming on Saturday!

Manchester reaches higher and higher into the sky every day Butch. Interesting to see the mix of buildings though.

Cheers Steve. There are later versions with captions.

@@doncoffey5820 - Are they on another channel, can't find here, also maybe Hull to Piccadilly, would love to watch with stations names when passing.

See if this takes you to them Steve. My community channel is on there too. kzfaq.info/love/8LH7xMAyCSqpClAvTHwJRw?view_as=subscriber

Thanks Henry.

Hi Harry. The videos have evolved over the years and you are looking at my second attempt ever. It was actually shot with a dashcam from a car and I wasn’t satisfied with the results at all. At that stage I was only dabbling with iMovie too but as I’ve got better I started to add the labels and comments to the point where I believe my videos are unique and you get most of the info I’d want to know if I was watching and some. I nearly removed my early attempts but then I thought that a few might like a little look and every little look makes a bit of advertising revenue that goes to charity. If you watch the Chat Moss video and the Manchester Oxford Road to York videos, you’ll see this route again with all the captions 👍

Crikey Chris, that sounds like my driver training days at Crewe. Caught the first train at 06:10 (station a very long walk up a big hill) then back at about 18:00. Something to eat then study until my eyes wouldn’t stay open and do it all again!

@@doncoffey5820 I forgot to mention that I was just 11yrs.old when I started at the Eccles school. It was a 2 mile walk up a very steep lane to the top of the valley, then another mile down to the bus stop for the first bus of the day down to Hebden Bridge, no comfy ride in a 4x4 and no-one accompanying me as happens nowadays, and worse in winter when the snow was at wall-top level on the lane back down to the bottom of the valley. The only nice part in winter was that I would call in at the farm at the top of the lane where we got all our milk and the farmer would give me a glass of milk, straight from the cow that had just been milked, and warm and creamy. No pasteurisation or homogenisation, just filtered.

Me too. It’s my job and I love every minute.

The 3rd and 4th track from Staly was via the Micklehurst Loop so I guess the first place we could expect to quadruple the line is really Marsden or maybe by using all three tunnels, Diggle. There is an existing plan to electrify the line from Staly to York and I’m not sure what this £600m upgrade is. I thought that had already been announced so we’ll have to wait for more details. All the best Mike.

Much appreciated Burt 👍

That’s an early video but they all have captions now. I’d love to see that footage of yours.

@@doncoffey5820 If you can find it, it is a 1992 VHS tape called Pennine Steam in the 60s featuring Huddersfield - Marsden and Bradford-Huddersfield, and contrasts scenes "now" and in the 60s. So, you could see the line as it was 30 and 60 years ago. Now it is all so clean and easy, almost sterile, compared to the dirt, smoke and toil of 60 years ago, but the old line had a passion and life which have now gone.

Oh yes, I’ve seen that. I thought it was footage of your own!

Now I have identified a decent SD card that doesn’t hang up every 5 minutes, I can zoom it in which gives a much more realistic experience!!! Got some good ones coming soon Neil.

Miles Platting has recently been remodelled and every trace of the old junction and station has gone now Steve. I’ll try and film it again soon.

​@@doncoffey5820 Thanks. I'm not (wasn't?) all that interested in trains. I only started learning the Leeds - Manchester route because, just before COVID, they brought back some old trains from the 1960s on my local line in South Wales (complete with an army of security guards because the carriages didn't have central locking and they didn't trust us not to throw ourselves out of the carriage as soon as the train started moving.). The class 45s and 40s in the TSW NTP pack, which were getting on even in the 1980s, were the closest I could get to the trains that I was commuting on more than 30 years later! If I got one of the early trains from my local station in the Summer of 2019, this is what I'd see parked up down there. :-). photos.app.goo.gl/Crz653TbJC2X9bdv8

It amazes me every time I see it.

I’m getting through them Drew. I’m just working on a revised Lime St to Vic which had no captions first time round.

@@doncoffey5820 I didn't realise you were going back through the videos, adding captions. That's going to be a big job but your hard work is greatly appreciated. If there were no captions at all, these would still be great programs but, as we've seen captions on the newer episodes, they are greatly missed on the earlier ones. Will we get notifications when an episode is updated, or do we just keep checking back to the older ones?

Now I’m hungry!

Fantastic weren’t they.

I noticed all the materials had been put out Aaron. Good job 👍

@@doncoffey5820 Week 29 they are doing the down 🙋

@@doncoffey5820 Do you have a dead man's switch in your cab

A pedal, yes.

Yes, Jerry. Each time I’ve tried so far its rained or there has been a succession of interuptions etc. I’m all geared up with a high def Gopro and one of these days, all the conditions will be right - bear with me!

5,500 yards (5,029 m)

If you follow it from the ends of the platforms and look to the left, there is effectively a ladder junction giving access in both directions from Platform 1 on the far left, Platform 2 (the bay), 3 which we pass through, four to the right (the down platform to Huddersfield) and the far right bay (Platform 5). Now continue through the junction towards Ashton and you can see there is a crossover from the Down Ashton giving access to any of those 5 locations. Just have a look at the video from Lime St to Huddersfield and it might make more sense viewed from the other direction. If you look at Piccadilly to Stalybridge you can see similar access via the ladder to all but Platform 5.

@@doncoffey5820 Thanks, Don. Will defo take a look.

Hi. We stayed with diesel throughout on this trip Bivolari as I shot it from a Class 185. After leaving Huddersfield the line was quadrupled all the way to Standedge Tunnel but the line has been rationalised progressively over the 60s and 70s. It’s a great shame as there are severe capacity problems on this line.

That’s one of the first videos I did and it was with a car dashcam so it might well.

The lights are on permanently Ken. I occasionally dim them down on night services so all my little cherubs can sleep 😴

Oh and the headlights are much better than the camera would suggest.

We have several services via Chat Moss now John. You’d have to change at Victoria for Eccles.

@@doncoffey5820 No I believe Eccles from Victoria is only during rush hour, they use the Chester service then after that its back to the Lime Street via Piccadilly

Not really. You can see the location as we pass and you can read a bit more here. I will be filming the return journey soon as that footage is quite old now. www.disused-stations.org.uk/c/cross_lane/

@@doncoffey5820 Thanks👍🏻

They do but the camera doesn’t pick it up.

I did notice that too. The lights appear to be almost non-existant in all the tunnels. Cameras do some weird things; tail lights often look white and the signal aspects can be hard to identify too.

Its a good question. A lot of the early videos were shot on a GoPro Hero which is hopeless in low light. The later camera is a GoPro 7 which is much better definition but it is temperamental to say the least and it hangs up. The trouble is these action cameras are really not right for low light situations but they handle motion very well and there is a limit to what clobber I can carry and set up in a few moments without delaying a train. I think you’ll find the latest videos are better but don’t expect too much. In reality, we can see much more than the footage would suggest.

Dana Mack it’s a Class 185 you can hear it’s unique exhaust note (something that makes the 185s sound really meaty) in the tunnels at the start

It was all planned John until this confounded pandemic came along. I really can’t promise anything at the moment.

One of the very first I did Norman. They’ve evolved a bit since then 😉

Its an advanced warning of a speed reduction - usually placed where the reduction in speed is greater than 10 mph and even if the reduction is in stages. In the case you have cited, the speed reduction warning is for 45 mph and the reductions on approach from the initial speed of 75 are 70, 60 then 45. The warning board always has an AWS warning that must be acknowledged - you can hear me do it.

OK, that makes sense. Thanks.

Ah, good. Hopefully it adds a different perspective.

@@doncoffey5820 With the 68's, 185's and 802's you tend to pay more attention to either a mobile or laptop screen than watch the scenery go by. With steam tours though it's a completely different story as you do intend to pay more attention to that and watch the scenery go by aswell as listen to the engine at work (especialy if your right at the front like I was). On Sat 29th Feb this year I traveled along the route behind LMS Jubilee no 45562 Alberta (45699 Galatea in disguise) onboard "The Cotton Mill Express". kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d5ObotuEtJvOmmg.html The tour started off in Lancaster and then ran down to Manchester Victoria via Preston, Wigan and Eccles. From Manchester Vic it followed the route shown in the video (in the opposite direction though) towards Huddersfield. From there the special continued onwards to Blackburn running via Brighouse and Copy Pit. After a short break in Blackburn the special then returned to Manchester Vic running via Bamber Bridge and Bolton. From there the tour then did a second circuit of the Stalybridge, Huddersfield and Brighouse route. From there the special then ran back to Manchester Vic via Rochdale. After Manchester Vic the tour then returned to Lancaster via the outward route of Eccles, Wigan and Preston. This is certainly a trip that I hope The Railway Touring Company will run again in the future as the Huddersfield line rarely sees steam tours.

I’ve got a mate who is arranging for me to film on the Welsh Mountain Railway at some stage. Its just a question of time.

Yes Chris. I sign Transpennine Express Class 185s. Glad you enjoy the videos.

It was planned but was postponed due to Covid. I might be able to resurrect it at some time in the future.

One and the same!

I’m going that way today with a Redcar to Victoria express then take it empty to the depot.

Some of the early ones didn’t have captions but they all do know - they’ve evolved!!!

Network Rail do weed killing but all their efforts are concentrated on water jetting at this time of year. Manchester drivers sign routes according to the link they are in. My link is Hull specific so I can’t film Scarborough. None of us sign north of York and the Hope Valley (we refer to as South Pennine) is all Sheffield and Cleethorpes drivers. A different Piccadilly link goes to Edinburgh.

Don Coffey That’s a shame, I would have thought you would do Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Scarborough. I was going to go to Scarborough a few years ago but I’m glad I didn’t as they are getting a depot there and also having to sign 68s too.

Those are Bridge identification plates , showing its bridge number the line and the distance , So drivers can use it as a reference in an emergency.

That's very helpful, thanks. I have seen them scattered around but never so many on just part of the route.

There is in various bits Ian. Look up Chat Moss and Oxford Road to York.

That’s Park Station. They talk about opening it from time to time but nothing seems to come of it.

I believe it was but that is one of the first recordings I made a long time ago so I can’t be sure.

The newer videos all have captions Tim. I’ll be revisiting the older ones when I get chance.

@@doncoffey5820 cheers, make very good viewing these winter days..

Might be better to watch this; kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h8ihi7GX3cWnfps.html

Felix is usually out on the prowl but she’s not always in the mood for socialising and is quite likely to take a lump out of anyone inclined to try. Bolt is another kettle of fish and just wants to play and be fussed.

@@doncoffey5820 Nice one! My wife bought the books and they are an excellent read. Now off to watch the York to Manchester diversionary clip.

@@vern1961 that’s lovely footage.

We do most of the time - mad as a box of frogs.

Painters don’t???

Very good Mark - I hope the same for you. That actually goes well off my patch so I’d need some help from EMR Regional if they are listening!!!

It’s one of the first videos I did Graham, they’ve evolved a bit since then!😉

You must have a spectacular view up there. It’s lovely.

@@doncoffey5820 we do thanks. The moors are beautiful. Made special having the Manchester to Leeds train line 6 foot from your garden fence.

It was one of my very early videos Alan and part of York to Liverpool I think. It peed down with rain so I cut it short.

It’s a long time ago, I can’t remember.

The route is about to get extensive modifications and if the government are good to their word, electrification.

@@doncoffey5820 it certainly needs modifications and overhead lines to be added. For too long this route has not been invested in. It should have been wired a long time ago. Would agree on more passing tracks being added? I just think it has an insufficient number of places for slow trains to be overtaken.

Well, like I say, it's going to get it if the government stay true to their word.

Maybe so Anne but its progress I guess.

That is Standedge Tunnel that passes under the Pennines from Marsden to Diggle. It is just over 3 miles long and is well over 500 ft below ground level in some places. I will be re-visiting some of those earlier videos with captions when I get chance.

That’s one of the very early ones I did. They’ve evolve somewhat since then.

You’ve chosen just about the oldest one in the collection Eric, try working backwards from the newest. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rdWTo7Jqz5rbY5s.html

@@doncoffey5820 I have seen some of your others and most are great i must admit.