View allAll Photos Tagged electrifying
Over the night of 14th/15th May 2018 Network Rail and Virgin Trains ran three out and back test electric trains between Preston and Blackpool North. The trains' reporting numbers were 1Q01 (Preston to Blackpool) and IQ02 return, followed by IQ03/4 and IQ05/6.
These trains were the first to run to Blackpool under electric power.
The set used was eleven car 390 152 Virgin Knight. The train crew were supplemented by staff from Alstom who were undertaking electrical tests and by a cleaner, as the set would be returned to normal service first thing in the morning.
Photos A136 depict the first ever electric train - IQ01/2.
This shot shows three Network Rail staff who have been heavily involved in the Preston to Blackpool North electrification project. Any resemblance to the crew of Apollo 13 is entirely coincidental.
Wrinkley kindly sent this photograph for publication.
Over the weekend f 6-8 April 2018 the HV switching station was brought to Lostock and craned into position on the "ziggurat" off the station platform's eastern end.
This sequence of shots shows the crane being assembled.
Copyright Wrinkley 2018.
TBSchenker kindly released this photograph for publication.
There has been puzzlement and debate for some time about where a base or fixing would be installed towards the northern end of Platform1.
Here's the answer.
Copyright TBSchenker 2018.
Compositionally Challenged Week 10 is Minimalism. I took this picture with my mobile phone while it was being electrified.
A Metra Electric Train makes its stop at the Homewood Station. These Gallery Cars were the replacements for the famous "Highliners" used by the Illinois Central in this territory until their retirement in 2016.
Definitely not the "prettiest" shot of me but it's too funny Haha Oh I had so much fun with this photo! This is the first time I have used a Strobe outdoors..I never got the chance in university to experiment with this type of photography but I have to say It is fun and I can’t wait to use my strobe with clients. I wish the sun wasn’t hiding in the clouds though because it would have been more of a challenge for me to work with. Oh well! Next time! As you can see, my hair lasted through the night making this photo possible. Enjoy and have an Electrifying Tuesday!! :)
On Monday 14 December 2015 the All Stations Liverpool Lime Street to Warrington Bank Quay via Huyton and Earlestown went electric, nearly putting a tin hat on Phase 2 of the NW Electrification Scheme, with finishing Allerton Depot Phase 3, Roby-Huyton 4th track and two footbridge guards the only things left to do.
On the first day of the Bank Quay electric service a Northern Electrics Class 319 approaches Earlestown from the west.
Taken from the western end of Platform 1.
Looking out over some recent work from the Morphett St Bridge. These copper cables oxidize quickly; cables put in a few weeks ago are already quite dark.
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88007 'Electra' heads south in some great mid June evening sun at Elvanfoot with 4M48 Mossend - Daventry 'Tesco' intermodal. 12/06/18
Tynemouth is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the coastal town of Tynemouth, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network as a terminus station on 11 August 1980, following the opening of the first phase of the network, between Haymarket and Tynemouth via Four Lane Ends.
The station, designed by architect William Bell, was originally opened by the North Eastern Railway on 7 July 1882. It was designated as a Grade II* listed building on 2 November 1978.
Following a significant decline in the number of passengers using the North Eastern Railway's services in North Tyneside during the early 1900s, the line was electrified as part of the Tyneside Electrics network, using a 600 V DC third-rail system.
Owing to falling passenger numbers during the 1960s, as well as rising costs, and the need to renew life expired infrastructure and rolling stock, the Tyneside Electrics network was de-electrified and converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1967.
The station has remained in constant use since opening, with British Rail continuing to use the station's former bay platforms for services from Newcastle via Wallsend until the day before the first section of the Tyne and Wear Metro opened.
Tynemouth joined the Tyne and Wear Metro network on 11 August 1980, with the opening of the first phase of the network between Haymarket and Tynemouth via Four Lane Ends. Prior to the introduction of through services to St James via Wallsend on 14 November 1982, all trains used the present platform 2.
In 2007, English Heritage placed the station on the Heritage at Risk Register. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for action and funding decisions.
Work on the £3.68 million regeneration project began in early 2011, and was completed in the following year. On 2 July 2012, the station was officially reopened by Anne, Princess Royal, and subsequently removed from the register.
The station has two platforms, both of which have ticket machines (which accept cash, card and contactless payment), seating, next train audio and visual displays, timetable and information posters and an emergency help point.
There is step-free access to both platforms by road bridge, with platforms also linked by a pre-grouping wooden footbridge, which is similar in design to that at nearby Cullercoats.
The station has a pay and display car park, with 71 spaces. There is also cycle storage at the station, with four cycle pods and five Sheffield stands.
As of April 2021, the station is served by up to five trains per hour on weekdays and Saturday, and up to four trains per hour during the evening and on Sunday.
Rolling stock used: Class 599 Metrocar
A weekly market is held at the station every Saturday and Sunday, which doubles as a farmers' market once a month. The Friends of Tynemouth Station also hold book fairs several times a year at the station. The first book fair took place in August 1993.
Tynemouth is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is best known[dubious – discuss] for Tynemouth Priory.
Historically part of Northumberland until 1974, the town was a county borough which included the nearby town of North Shields.
In 2001, the population of the town was recorded at 17,056. In the 2011 census, it along with North Shields had a population of 67,519. Which makes it the largest settlement in North Tyneside.
History
An aerial shot of Tynemouth Castle, taken in 1917, which was a major coastal fortress and the control centre of the Tyne defences, which stretched from Sunderland to Blyth.
The headland towering over the mouth of the River Tyne has been settled since the Iron Age.[3] The Romans may have occupied it as a signal station, though it is just north of the Hadrian's Wall frontier (the Roman fort and supply depot of Arbeia stands almost opposite it on the southern headland of the Tyne). In the 7th century a monastery was built in Tynemouth and later fortified. The headland was known as Pen Bal Crag.
The place where now stands the Monastery of Tynemouth was anciently called by the Saxons Benebalcrag
— John Leland at the time of Henry VIII
The monastery was sacked by the Danes in 800, rebuilt, and destroyed again in 875, but by 1083 it was again operational.
Three kings are reported to have been buried within the monastery: Oswin, King of Deira (651); Osred II, King of Northumbria (792); and, for a time, Malcolm III, King of Scots (1093). Three crowns still adorn the North Tyneside coat of arms. (North Tyneside Council, 1990).
The queens of Edward I and Edward II stayed in the Castle and Priory while their husbands were campaigning in Scotland. King Edward III considered it to be one of the strongest castles in the Northern Marches. After the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Edward II fled from Tynemouth by ship.
A village had long been established in the shelter of the fortified Priory, and around 1325 the prior built a port for fishing and trading. This led to a dispute between Tynemouth and the more powerful Newcastle over shipping rights on the Tyne, which continued for centuries. For more history see North Shields.
Prince Rupert of the Rhine landed at Tynemouth in August 1642 on his way to fight in the English Civil War.
Tynemouth was incorporated as a borough in 1849. The first Town Clerk was Thomas Carr Leitch.
Tynemouth was later administered as a county borough with its headquarters at Tynemouth Town Hall in North Shields until 1974.
Tynemouth was listed in the 2018 Sunday Times report on best places to live in Northern England.
Climate
Tynemouth has a very moderated oceanic climate heavily influenced by its position adjacent to the North Sea. As a result of this, summer highs are subdued and, according to the Met Office 1981–2010 data, average around 18 °C (64 °F). Due to its marine influence, winter lows especially are very mild for a Northern English location. Sunshine levels of 1515 hours per annum are in the normal range for the coastal North East, which is also true for the relatively low amount of precipitation at 597.2 millimetres (23.51 in).
Attractions and amenities
Beaches
Tynemouth Longsands
In the late 18th century, sea-bathing from Tynemouth's east-facing beaches became fashionable. King Edward's Bay and Tynemouth Longsands are very popular with locals and tourists alike.
Prior's Haven is a small beach within the mouth of the Tyne, sheltered between the Priory and the Spanish Battery, with the pier access on its north side. It was popular with Victorian bathers and is now home to Tynemouth Rowing Club and the local sailing club.
King Edward's Bay (possibly a reference to Edward II) is a small beach on the north side of the Priory, sheltered on three sides by cliffs and reached by stairways or, by the fit and adventurous who understand the weather and tides, over the rocks round the promontories on the north or south sides.
Longsands is the next beach to the north, an expanse of fine sand 1,200 yards (1,100 m) long, lying between the former Tynemouth outdoor swimming pool and Cullercoats to the north. The outdoor pool opened in 1925 and was considered a major tourist attraction in its heyday.
In 2013, Longsands was voted one of the best beaches in the country by users of the world's largest travel site TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor users voted the beach the UK's fourth favourite beach in its 2013 Travellers' Choice Beaches Awards. The beach was also voted the 12th best in Europe.
King Edward's Bay
Front Street
A statue of Queen Victoria by Alfred Turner, unveiled on 25 October 1902, is situated at the edge of the Village Green which is home to the War Memorials for the residents of Tynemouth lost during the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. Designed by A.B. Plummer, it was unveiled on 13 October 1903 by William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton.
The larger central memorial is made of white granite with a cruciform column rising from between four struts in a contemporary design for its time. The front face has a relief sword and wreath carved onto it with the inscription below. The other three faces hold the honour roll for those lost during both World Wars. It was unveiled in 1923. DM O'Herlihy was named as the original designer but a press report stated that a Mr Steele designed the monument and credited O'Herlihy with preparatory works on the village green. The 82 names from World War II were added in 1999.
Tynemouth Clock Tower on Front Street was erected in 1861 by William Scott, esq., a native of the town. Designed by Oliver and Lamb with carvings by Robert Beall, the tower housed a clock by Joyce of Whitchurch. At ground level there were drinking fountains (and drinking troughs for dogs) on the north and south sides, a marine barometer (by Negretti and Zambra) to the west and an access door to the east. Made of polychrome bricks and ashlar, the tower (which has been Grade II listed since 1986) is described as being in the Venetian Gothic style.
Kings Priory School
Located on Huntingdon Place, Kings Priory School (formerly The King's School and Priory Primary School) is a co-educational academy with over 800 pupils aged between 4 and 18. Though founded in Jarrow in 1860, the school moved to its present site in Tynemouth in 1865 originally providing a private education for local boys. The school has an Anglican tradition, but admits students of all faiths. Formerly a fee-paying independent school, in 2013 the school merged with the local state Priory Primary School to become a state academy.
Former King's School was named in reference to the three ancient kings buried at Tynemouth Priory: Oswin, Osred and Malcolm III. Its most famous old boy is Stan Laurel, one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Hollywood film director Sir Ridley Scott, and racing driver Jason Plato also attended the school.
Tynemouth Pier and lighthouse
This massive stone breakwater extends from the foot of the Priory some 900 yards (810 metres) out to sea, protecting the northern flank of the mouth of the Tyne. It has a broad walkway on top, popular with Sunday strollers. On the lee side is a lower level rail track, formerly used by trains and cranes during the construction and maintenance of the pier. At the seaward end is a lighthouse.
The pier's construction took over 40 years (1854–1895). In 1898 the original curved design proved inadequate against a great storm and the centre section was destroyed. The pier was then rebuilt in a straighter line and completed in 1909. A companion pier at South Shields protects the southern flank of the river mouth.
A lighthouse had built on the old North Pier (first lit in 1895, it displayed three lights mounted vertically: green over white over red, with a range of 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)); however, when the pier had to be rebuilt to a new design, an entirely new lighthouse was required. The work was undertaken by Trinity House, beginning in 1903; the lighthouse was finished before the pier itself, and was first lit on 15 January 1908. The revolving optic, manufactured by Barbier, Bénard, et Turenne, displayed a flash three times every ten seconds; it remains in use today. The light source was an incandescent oil vapour lamp, which (together with the optic) produced a 70,000 candle-power light with a range of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi). The lighthouse was also equipped with a reed fog signal, powered by compressed air, which was mounted 'on the cupola'; it sounded one long blast every ten seconds. It was manned by four keepers, with two on duty at any one time. In September 1961 a new, more powerful electric light was installed by the Tyne Improvement Commissioners (powered from the mains). Then in 1967 the lighthouse (by then staffed by six keepers on rotation) was automated; a diesel generator was installed along with an electric foghorn.
Before the pier was built, a lighthouse stood within the grounds of Tynemouth Priory and Castle. It was demolished in 1898. It stood on the site of the now-disused Coastguard Station.
On 20 October 2023, the dome of the lighthouse was "forcibly removed by the relentless combination of sea and wind" caused by Storm Babet.
The Spanish Battery
The Spanish Battery c. 1870.
The headland dominates the river mouth and is less well known as Freestone Point. Settlements dating from the Iron Age and later have been discovered here. The promontory supposedly takes its name from Spanish mercenaries who manned guns there in the 16th century to defend Henry VIII's fleet. Most of the guns had been removed by 1905. It is now a popular vantage point for watching shipping traffic on the Tyne.
Beyond the Battery, and commanding the attention of all shipping on the Tyne, is the giant memorial to Lord Collingwood, the Collingwood Monument. Collingwood was Nelson's second-in-command at the Battle of Trafalgar, who completed the victory after Nelson was killed in action. Erected in 1845, the monument was designed by John Dobson and the statue was sculpted by John Graham Lough. The figure is some 23 feet (7.0 m) tall and stands on a massive base incorporating a flight of steps flanked by four cannons from HMS Royal Sovereign – Collingwood's ship at Trafalgar.
The Black Middens
These rocks in the Tyne near the Monument are covered at high water, and the one rock that can sometimes be seen then is called Priors Stone. Over the centuries they have claimed many ships whose crew "switched off" after safely negotiating the river entrance. In 1864, the Middens claimed five ships in three days with many deaths, even though the wrecks were only a few yards from the shore. In response a meeting was held in North Shields Town Hall in December 1864 at which it was agreed that a body of men should be formed to assist the Coastguard in the event of such disasters. This led to the foundation of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade.
Tynemouth Aquarium
Blue Reef Aquarium
Undersea aquatic park, containing seahorses, sharks, giant octopus, frogs, otters and many other creatures. Its Seal Cove is a purpose-built outdoor facility providing an environment for a captive-bred colony of harbour seals. The 500,000-litre (110,000 imp gal; 130,000 US gal) pool includes rocky haul-out areas and underwater caves, specially created to ensure marine mammals are kept in near natural conditions. It was previously known as the Blue Reef Aquarium Tynemouth.
Transport
Maintaining transport links between Tynemouth and Newcastle is Tynemouth Metro station, originally opened in 1882 as a mainline station catering for the thousands of holiday-makers who flocked to the Tynemouth beaches. Its ornate Victorian ironwork canopies have earned it Grade II listed status. They were restored in 2012, and the station now provides a venue for a weekend "flea market", book fairs, craft displays, coffee shops, restaurants, exhibitions and other events.
Tynemouth is the end point for the 140-mile (230 km) long Coast to Coast Cycle Route from Whitehaven or Workington in Cumbria.
Religion
Tynemouth's Parish Church is the Church of the Holy Saviour in the Parish of Tynemouth Priory. It was built in 1841[45] as a chapel of ease to the main Anglican church in the area, Christ Church, North Shields. In Front Street there were two other churches, the Catholic Parish of Our Lady & St Oswins, opened in 1899, and also Tynemouth Congregational Church, which closed in 1973 and is now a shopping arcade.
Notable residents
Susan Mary Auld – naval architect
Thomas Bewick – engraver, spent many holidays at Bank Top and wrote most of his memoirs there in 1822
Septimus Brutton – played a single first-class cricket match for Hampshire in 1904
Toby Flood – England rugby player, was a pupil at The King's School
Ralph Pake – professional footballer
Ray Slater - (1931–2005), professional footballer
Andy Taylor – former lead guitarist for the new wave group Duran Duran was born in Tynemouth in 1961 at the Tynemouth Jubilee Infirmary.
John of Tynemouth (canon lawyer) – (died 1221), Canon lawyer, author, teacher at Oxford University later canon and judge.
John of Tynemouth (chronicler) – (fl. c. 1350), vicar of Tynemouth, author of world history and of British hagiography.
John of Tynemouth (geometer) – (fl. early 13th century), author of a book on geometry later relied on by Adelard of Bath and Roger Bacon. Possibly the same man as the canon lawyer.
Notable visitors
Charles Dickens visited Tynemouth and wrote in a letter from Newcastle, dated 4 March 1867:
'We escaped to Tynemouth for a two hours' sea walk. There was a high wind blowing, and a magnificent sea running. Large vessels were being towed in and out over the stormy bar with prodigious waves breaking on it; and, spanning the restless uproar of the waters, was a quiet rainbow of transcendent beauty. the scene was quite wonderful. We were in the full enjoyment of it when a heavy sea caught us, knocked us over, and in a moment drenched us and filled even our pockets.'
Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed into the mouth of the River Tyne in 1854 and briefly stayed in Huntingdon Place. The house is marked by a commemorative plaque.
Lewis Carroll states in the first surviving diary of his early manhood, that he met 'three nice little children' belonging to a Mrs Crawshay in Tynemouth on 21 August 1855. He remarks: 'I took a great fancy to Florence, the eldest, a child of very sweet manners'.
Algernon Charles Swinburne arrived hot foot from Wallington Hall in December 1862 and proceeded to accompany William Bell Scott and his guests, probably including Dante Gabriel Rossetti on a trip to Tynemouth. Scott writes that as they walked by the sea, Swinburne declaimed his Hymn to Proserpine and Laus Veneris in his strange intonation, while the waves 'were running the whole length of the long level sands towards Cullercoats and sounding like far-off acclamations'.
Peter the Great of Russia is reputed to have stayed briefly in Tynemouth while on an incognito visit to learn about shipbuilding on the Tyne. He was fascinated by shipbuilding and Western life. Standing 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm) and with body-guards, he would not have been troubled by the locals.
The Mouth of the Tyne Festival currently continues the local festival tradition. This annual free festival is held jointly between Tynemouth and South Shields and includes a world-class open-air concert at Tynemouth Priory.
Tynemouth pageant
Tynemouth Pageant is a community organisation in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, devoted to staging an open-air dramatic pageant every three years in the grounds of Tynemouth Castle and Priory, by kind permission of English Heritage who run the historic monastic and defensive site at the mouth of the River Tyne.
Reg kindly sent this photograph for publication.
Reg added: "I missed this from the photos I sent earlier today, it looks west from Gt Moor Street bridge to a pretty full set of masts or bases."
Copyright Reg 2018.
The helicopter regularly flies the power lines to look for issues
...or maybe it's a new eco-electric chopper??
..This is called glenwood it is an old generation station that i belive was last operated by con edison, this place is a shrine it is simply amazing and dangerous @ The same time......Photographed by:©RICH ZOELLER AKA THAT KID RICH 2009
Joe Callaghan kindly sent this photo for publication.
Night views in the dead of winter.
Taken from the northbound platform.
Copyright Joe Callaghan 2015.
Paul Gaskell kindly gave this film for publication.
The complicated lines through the station were a backwater for years, used for diversions and a lone daily Northern Wigan North Western to Lime St stopper, southbound only.
This all changed with the NW Electrification Programme when most FTPE services from the north west to Manchester Airport were diverted to call at Wigan North Western instead of Bolton, then continue south to Golborne Junction, Lowton Junction (in the foreground in this shot), Parkside Junction (beyond the train out of sight to the left) and the Chat Moss route to Manchester.
When Phase 1 was completed Class 350 electrics such as the one in this film were introduced to Scottish destinations on the route, but Class 185s continue to unelectrified destinations such as Barrow and Blackpool.
Taken looking southeast over the bridge parapet. The train is travelling east to north. The lines branching right lead to Newton-le-Willows Junction and Newton-le-Willows station. The Stephensons' Liverpool and Manchester line and the Huskisson memorial form the third side of the triangle out of sight beyond the Vee dead ahead.
The station's southbound platform continued under the bridge and would have been visible to the left of this shot directly behind the near mast as we look at it, though we have found no evidence of stopping trains using the north to east curve on which this train is running. That short length of platform housed the station building.
The station signal box was a very tall affair which enabled signallers to see over the bridge. It was sited where the two signalling equipment boxes stand to the right of this shot. It long outlived the station, surviving well into the diesel age.
Copyright Paul D Gaskell 2015
Wrinkley kindly sent this photo for publication.
Spades have his the ground on Platform 5.
Copyright Wrinkley 2017
1.8.2025.
The BR Class 799, known as 'HydroFLEX' is the UK's first hydrogen powered passenger train.
Developed by Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham's Centre for Railway Research and Education.
HydroFLEX is a bi-mode multiple unit retrofitted from a Class 319 EMU - it combines hydrogen fuel cell technology with electric systems allowing operation on both electrified and non-electrified lines.
The 'Greatest Gathering' was a celebration of 200 years of modern railways.
A Utah Transit Authority 'Green Line' train glides through South Salt Lake while storm clouds build over the Wasatch Front.