Notices by Dominic Stucki (dominicstucki@urbanists.social), page 2

Manchester's contrast between old and brand new will never be not fascinating for me. And to the person coming up with the idea of combining an Indian restaurant with a craft brewery: You've won the gastronomy game! 😋
#BrelephantAndCastle

Morning from Manchester in a sunny spell, where a lack of sleep from the ferry, a slight hangover and rainy weather delayed the start of #BrelephantAndCastle. Already the third day on this tour and no proper photo yet - I start to get impatient. But breakfast first.

The weather forecast predicted a sunny intermezzo in the north. And if MetOffice says so, you better believe it. Off to the North! With Metrolink, as the railway to Rochdale is closed for work. My bad planning resulted in a one hour wait in Rochdale. Luckily, this is the UK, where you can get tea to fill the time even at smaller stations. 🍵😊
#BrelephantAndCastle

A class 150 double consist, Northern's infamous old BREL diesel units, takes me on the 30 minutes journey to Hebden Bridge, which I've randomly chosen as my next stopover. And the railway station already indicates, that I might've had the nose for the right town...
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From the popular series «No, I'm not a heritage railway station». Insanely beautiful! 😍
But I've got no time to lose, as the weather seems to stay stable for the next few hours. On the next train and some stations back towards Manchester.
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Finally! 📷
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This thread is not dead! But as usual, it already lags behind. Not sure, this will get any better. Anyway, where were we? 
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Ah, yes, in the Calder Valley near Todmorden, chasing the Northern BREL DMU. At the bottom of the picture, you can spot Rochdale Canal. Before the railway arrived, it transported up to 1m tons of goods a year across the Pennines.
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Evening stroll in the lovely area. Found an even better photo spot, which only works on summer evenings. Goes on the list for the next visits.
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A class 150 is finally taking me back from Todmorden to Hebden Bridge.
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More impressions from Hebden Bridge station. Situated outside of town, at a calm spot on the opposite side of the canal and the river at the foot of a forested hill. This has some serious Transport Fever vibes here.
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Blue hour along Rochdale canal.
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Small town Britain! 🥰 Why is it, that so often, good photo spots are near to picturesque villages? 
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And it gets even better: Heben Bridge is also home to the fantastic Vocation Brewery, including a Brew Pub in the centre. Totally obvious where to end this day. Cheers! 🍺
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Good night! 🦆
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Would've loved to stay longer in the town of Hebden Bridge, but according to the forecast, the sun wasn't going to stay out for long that day. Again a short hop to Todmorden (apparently pronounced Toddm'd'n), a quick leg on the bike and up a steep hill.
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Too late. Clouds were blocking the sun behind me when I arrived, while there was a blue sky in the photo direction. Bad conditions for railway photos.
I decided to wait and after nearly two hours, my patience paid off. A mixed Northern DMU train, consisting of a class 150 and 156, passed the village of Lydgate on the viaduct in a rare sunny spell.
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Luckily for the customers, even the notoriously old Northern fleet got some modern additions by CAF recently. All York–Blackpool services seem to be worked by the new class 195 trains. But the diagrams might've been be a bit unusual due to the closure of the Manchester-Rochdale section.
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As the clouds came to stay and were still there after a long tea and cake break in a coffee house, I decided to move east. I needed a thicker pair of outdoor pants as it was freezing cold and a quiet evening to plan the next days. Off to Leeds, not without an unexpected photo opportunity from the platform end.
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Ok, now: Focus! I need to plan for the next few days!
*opens OS maps app*
Alright, just a quick look at the Leeds area out of curiosity before I start... Hey, what's this?! 👀
...
Planning? What planning? An hour later, I found myself in a suburban village, ready for a walk.
#BrelephantAndCastle