Thursday 10 July 2014

Where not to be when a steam train comes in

28th June 2014

On my bike-train-bike trip back from Worcester I thought I'd try to take photos of canal from the train. I took two which, amazingly, came out rather well (if I say so myself). Shortly after leaving Worcester Foregate Street Station we crossed the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. A few milliseconds later with the shutter and the greenery would have obscured the shot. There's the entrance to Lowesmoor Basin on the right.

33 minutes later I was ready for the new aqueduct carrying the same canal over a road at Selly Oak. A shame there's no boat on it.

My slightly tortuous route had me changing trains at Birmingham New Street, Nuneaton and Peterborough. I had an hour to kill at Nuneaton, so I cycled off to find the canal. Nothing too exciting there, but on the way back to the station I saw this. (The sign is headed Nuneaton and Bedworth: United to Achieve. What meaningless tosh!)

The fountain is spectacular.

I was getting hungry. I spotted an Indian takeaway near the station so I checked they would be able to come up with something before my train left, and bought a very tasty lamb Bangalore (I think it was) and rice for £4. When I got to the waiting room there was still ten minutes before the train was due, so I started on the curry. Yum yum!

A diesel loco pulled up on my platform with a load of stone, so I put the lid on the food and took a couple of photos. Back in the waiting room out of the cold I became aware of a strange hissing noise above the sound of the diesel. Then the unmistakeable whistle of a steam loco. Where was it? About five platforms away, that's where.

I had a laden bike, my rucksack was on the ground, and I was juggling a container of Indian food. Before I had a chance to work out how to get closer the steam train started to move off. All I could do was take these poor photos from where I was.

Oh well. At least I saw something of it. My train, which left (with me on it) shortly after this excitement took a different route so I didn't see it again.

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