Piccadilly then and now

[martin adamson]

Any visitors to my site the past few days may have noticed a rather unusual photo on there. Thought for fun since I have uploaded this I would start this thread.

Basically I have uploaded a photo of DVT 82149 (no longer in service) at Piccadilly in 1998. This shot was taken on my first ever Virgin Trains journey 9 years ago.

http://www.davidhicks.fotopic.net/p42298788.html

Anyway I thought it would be fun to do a 'spot the difference' between that photo and a more recent shot at Piccadilly 8 years later:

http://www.davidhicks.fotopic.net/p28972984.html

So far I have found 4 differences between the two.

[swisstrains]

David,
Have they built an extra platform at Piccadilly since your first photo was taken? I could be mistaken but the nearest platform now looks narrower and there appears to be more of them. The design of the nearest platform also looks slightly different.
The platform canopies are noticeably different and the bullhead track in the foreground on your earlier shot has been replaced with flat bottom.
It also looks like the glass in the main station overall roof is of a slightly different style.

[martin adamson]

The platform canopies have changed as you said John and so have the designs of the platforms from what I have noticed. As for the extra platform idea. You may be right as I have looked closely at them both now and ther appears to be an extra platform on the second photo.

I chose those two pictures for comparison as I took the 2006 one from pltfrom 13, and from what I remember, when I went to Piccadilly in the 1998 one I got there by a service vound for Liverpool Lime Street (the original Manchester Airport-Liverpool 'stopper' which was a 156) so that photo must have been taken from the same Northbound platform. It looks like there has been an added platform but I don't know where.

Other changes I noticed were the signs (white in 1998, but network rail colours in 2006). The introduction of ATP devises on the track at platform 9 in second photo. And probrably the most obvious being the change in VWC traction.