Instead of just putting gates up under the arches to stop the homeless from using then , put the gates up and give the homeless keys to lock the gates for their protection , they obviously like living there as it’s dry and out of the wind , of course you could put them into a nice hotel somewhere and let the government pay the bill ,give them a bike and mobile phone free food etc.

When they originally got rid of the tram system in Manchester in the 1950s (I think). When reintroducing the new system they came across many old tram lines that has similarly been tarmac-ed over,only for the engineers having to cut through the old to make way for the new.

years ago, I spent a while working in the old telephone exchange in Bradford. The town square was quite nicely laid out, with a real "piazza" feel to it and a huge TV at one end, but It was so superficial - step away and off down the side streets and the buildings were so dilapidated. Bradford is a town with a gret future behind it.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

It's still very much a city of contrasts. Sit in City Park near the Mirror Pool to eat your lunch and hear the chimes of City Hall, it can feel quite idyllic. Walk for 30 seconds and you'll see somebody down a snicket off their head on Spice. Every city has its urban decline and addicts (Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester is not great), but the current roadworks in Bradford are keeping well-meaning folk away, so the percentage of unpredictable characters goes up and you notice them more. Better times ahead hopefully.

I remember on a visit to Derby during the 1990s seeing old tram rails unearthed during road works and the Derby trams ceased running in the 1930s.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

It's really quite interesting. In reality, it's just a bit of metal beneath a section of dug-up road. However, when you think that it hasn't seen the light of day since around the Second World War, and that the last tram ran on them possibly a century ago, it kind of gets you going if you like history!

@reggiesmith3866

2 ай бұрын

@@sarahandwills Very true. I like to look for other clues like old poles which once supported overhead wires for trams or trolleybuses too

For those of us from the states, these videos are really interesting. Again,thanks for sharing.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

Many thanks. I'm glad you're finding it interesting. There's a lot of engineering projects going on in Yorkshire right now as the Government is finally putting some investment in transport into the North of England.

Though the tram system did close in 1950, an electric tram survived as the scoreboard at Odsal. This was restored at Thornbury works and was able to run on a section of track using the trolleybus wires, it ran occasionally until the works closed and is now on display in the Bradford Industrial museum. A few years ago a horse tram that was bei g restored in Ipswich was discovered to have ruin Bradford before moving to Cambridge. It's now on display at Ipswich.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info. It's always intriguing when a bit of history unexpectedly comes back to the surface. It would be fascinating to know how much of Bradford's tram network still survives beneath the city's streets. If this example is anything to go by, it looks like they simply laid a thick layer of tarmac over the top of the tracks, so there might be many miles still lurking beneath the surface, potentially.

@stewartellinson8846

2 ай бұрын

@@sarahandwills I have seen tram tracks at the top of church bank, complete with cobbles in the section - it very much looks like the rails were just tarmacked over, cobbles and all. I've also seen them on Mannigham lane similarly so I suspect much of the system survives. note that it's (I think) 4 foot gauge - unlike leeds' standard gauge, which meant there were "convertible" cars used for through journeys (apparently)

Interesting to see what is going on. I'm visiting West Yorkshire in July and will see for myself what the crack is.

@sarahandwills

2 ай бұрын

Well, if you like noise, workers, disruption and construction vehicles, you won't be disappointed in Bradford, Huddersfield, Ravensthorpe or Mirfield! To be fair, it's nice to see some long overdue investment in transport in West Yorkshire.

Really like visiting Bradford, though I haven't been there for a few years which is a shame as my mum, her parents and both sets of my gr.-grandparents came from city, with one side going there via Northowram and Queensbury. Live in East Yorkshire now, which isn't too far away but would have to rely on train or push bike to get there - which isn't too bad, done it a couple of times.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

I probably wouldn't visit for the next few months, unless you're interested in seeing construction work underway. However, by the end of this summer, I imagine some of the pedestrianisation of historic streets will have started to take shape and it might be worth a look. Personally, I actually enjoy a bit of chaos - the rough with the smooth, the good with the bad, the old with the new etc. It would be a boring world if every city was perfect.

It is a shame the proposal to connect the two lines and build one station that formed a through route north to south got abandoned. This sort of money would have helped acheive it

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

That would have been a real game changer for Bradford's connectivity. Once the shopping centre was built, I guess the opportunity was lost. They keep talking about some fanciful journey times to Hudds and Manchester, but I can't see how it's possible without a major new section of track, perhaps even reinstating the missing link to Brighouse via Pickle Bridge and Bailiff Bridge.

@stewartellinson8846

2 ай бұрын

That's never been a seriosu possibility. If the victorians couldn't do it and it couldn't be done in the postwar period when so much was being redveloped, not only it won't be done now, but it doesn' need to be done now. It has few, if any, benefits

@rikkilamb

2 ай бұрын

​@stewartellinson8846 It was a serious proposal, land was bought and construction started but WW1 and money problems at the Midland Railway put an end to it. Like you say, it has no real benefit these days.

I don't know why but Bradford always seems to have big ideas and big problems that halt them, so I have my doubts already about the new improved stations. It's a shame such a big city has two poor stations and both were replacements for the old much better ones they demolished.

@sarahandwills

3 ай бұрын

Yes, they're both very functional basic stations - not really befitting of an arrival in a big city. When you see the old photos of Exchange Station, it's a shame that didn't survive.

@nope.0.

3 ай бұрын

The new train station has been in and out of rail plans for years. We'll see on Saturday who the mayor is, but unless mr "carbon emissions are plant food" gets elected it's likely to be something they push for. Still, it's in the gift of central government, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it cancelled again.

Well. After spending all the money they did, demolishing the old Forster Square station, building the "new one" that's atill there now, which had all the charisma of a plank of wood, tney could have done a better job in the first place and not need to spend so much now. I remember when they first built the lift block and it was covered in profiled steel cladding, which looked awful. They then spent more money a few years later, building it in stone. Still doesn't look great. The arches used to be parking. Instead of gating them off, turn them into small units for artisan shops, like a bakery or coffee stop for weary travellers along with a book store, tourist information point etc. Far more enticing. The interchange was never very appealing. Right idea, marrying bus and train links, but poorly executed. It's a shame that there couldn't be a modern tram system linked to the interchange as well, but it would be limited in operation because of the steep routes around the centre. It could have been a link between the two stations perhaps? Lived in Bradford and surrounding areas for around 25 years from 1985. Even then, a fair bit of the historical buildings in the city were demolished. Lets hope this has stopped. I think even now there are still derelict buildings from the riots that happened in 1995 and again in 2001. I and a few other vehicles inadvertently drove between the police line up of horses and riot police and the growing line up of rioters on that day in 2001 around Manningham that evening. I still think how close we came to being innocently involved. The mess I had to drive around the following day was unreal, especially all the burnt out Minis from the BMW garage. It was like an obstacle course! I'm digressing, but I eventually escaped Bradford!