Pantomime trains

A week ago, whilst staying in Manchester, I joined the anoraks on the 10.13 train from Stockport to Stalybridge. If I had missed it I would have had to wait for another weekly as that is how often it runs. Its called a parliamentary train as it is cheaper to maintain this basic level of service than to face the costs of going to parliament to seek closure of the line and having the costs of a public enquiry.

The principal services were withdrawn for a good reason. People from the Midlands and south used to travel that route to join the trains heading to Yorkshire and the East coast but once services from Picadillly started services those areas the line was redundant. But the anoraks were convinced there is a case for re-commencing passenger services.

My train journey back into Manchester was broken with a stop at Ashton-under-Lyne and  a walk over the river into Duckinfield - it used to be the boundary between Lancashire and Cheshire. I worked at a BRS depot next to the bridge in 1978 and this was the first time that I had re-visited. 

The Thameside area was pretty run down and like the rest of the country there were loads of pubs that had closed. Some of those remaining were pretty desperate for business - look at these prices.

The train from Ashton to Victoria was full of people heading for the pantomime. Had I got into the mood sooner I could have responded to the anoraks "Oh yes we can" when referring to the re-commencing of regular services between Stockport and Stalybridge with "Oh no you can't."

Can I maintain my ABC diet for three months? "Oh yes I can."