Tech - Yes, something more adventurous would be good, we're hoping to do the Cumbrian tractors and the S & C around Easter, already planning it and Ash Bridge has given me a few pointers as to where to stay. I'm not going to miss out on them and then regret it later...
Noddy - much agreed, that line has loads of potential but needs more double track and it would be nice to see a few faster services that get to London quicker.
One thing I noticed as we flashed by was how much Chard Junction had changed, there were some sidings there but no buildings anymore, does anyone know what it's used for now?
Mr Q - You're probably right, the irony also being that I was an only child! Oh and Mrs C is a childminder too, there's currently a load of three year olds bashing bits of Brio trainset around in the front room...
Anyway I wrote this one out last night and it took me flippin ages because I can't type very well
All line rover 1992:
Nostalgia time again folks. This was the second All Line that I did (people that don't like 47s had probably better look away now actually).
Life was changing quite a lot for me around this time and it was an interesting time anyway. At the end of the previous ALR that I'd done in 1991 I'd walked into the HGV garage that I worked in in Exeter, picked up my tools and essentially told them to stuff their job - I didn't want to spend a lifetime stinking of gearbox oil, having bad skin and a bad back and being completely exhausted all the time due to working six days a week for a pittance...
I drifted around for a bit before ringing up the volunteer people at the Mid Hants railway (a railway I'd got to know a bit due to having family in the area) and heading up there to spend a glorious summer living in a tent at Ropley and volunteering in pretty much all areas of the railway, I was 18 at the time.
When I returned to Exeter in late September 1991 I landed a pretty good job in an NHS run residential home for learning disabled people, on fairly good money (for the time), it was also dry, clean and fun.
Around this time Nirvana released Nevermind, I grew my hair, I became a roady for a friends band and in 92 I bought a VW camper and started going to festivals and it has to be said I lived a bit of a life
'.
So this was in the middle of all that, and they were very good times in my life, although my tastes were changing and rather than the relentless accumulation of mileage I possibly had slightly different aims this time.
That's the life story updated, on with the trains.
Day 1 10/02/92
I did this in Febuary because I was saving for the van and because I expected to probably be driving places after I'd got it (turned out to be true as I only did one ALR after this), I bought the van to make it easier to get to The MHR but actually it completely changed my life.
I also started this in Nottingham as I was staying up there with my Mum and the her side of the family.
The first train was a Sprinter from Nottingham to Grantham, a bit of new track for me along with 91001 (winner and still the only 91 I've had) on the ECML down to Kings Cross, I then tubed it across London to get a unit from Victoria to Dover Western Docks and unusually for me I recorded the number, it was 4cep 1501 (it may have been attached to another, can't remember)
At Dover Western Docks (fantastic station, now sadly closed) it was time to board 47813 on the 1422 to Lime Street which I took to Kensington Olympia (no doubt enjoying the noise through the third rail stations).
I somehow then got to St Pancras for the 1730 to Derby which was 47807 in the dark before getting another Sprinter from Derby to Crewe and then doing some strange time filling moves, this was an EMU (a 304 maybe?) to Manchester Pic and then a Pacer out to Bolton before another Sprinter to Preston. A bit strange but there you go.
This all put me in place to get 87029 on the Inverness sleeper taking me into day 2.
Day 2 11/02/92
I took this all the way and woke up behind 47676 (47586 Northampton in old money), the 47/6s had uprated ETH for the sleepers, a couple of years later they were replaced by NB tractors and generator cars, I ended up bashing them on my 94 ALR as I just couldn't help myself OK?
From Inverness I took a 156 to Aberdeen on new track for me and popped in to see my stepbrother Tom for the day.
A few beers later it was back to Aberdeen for the 2120 sleepers to Euston powered by 47675 (ex 47595 Confederation of British wotsits).
There were lots of oil rig workers on this and as we left Preston at ungodly AM, one of them who'd been slumbering opposite me surrounded by beer cans suddenly woke up and said "where are we?", "Preston mate" I said, "%U@#!" he said before grabbing his enormous rucksack and charging for the door. He opened the door and threw his bag out as we accelerated down the platform and then bottled it and shut the door leaving his bag to roll down the platform ramp at some speed, all quite exciting!
Anyway I did this all the way to London with 87016 doing the honours on the electric leg and that took me into day 3.
Day 3 12/02/92
In the morning I did the tube to Victoria and then who knows what EMU to Clapham Junction for another one to Waterloo, mainly because I wanted to get a fast 47/7 run in on the LSWR mainline, so it was 47706 to Woking for 47709 back, I then took another EMU (why didn't I record the numbers? Argh) back to Clapham Junction before picking up the 0918 Brighton to Glasgow which was 47846 to Brum and then 86225 onwards. I bailed at Crewe for an EMU to Liverpool Lime Street.
I then got on a rattly Pacer to Manchester Victoria and sat in red faced embarrassment as two girls sang 'He's a long haired lover from ahLiverpool' to me from a few seats away on a fairly busy train while other passengers smirked at me. Thanks girls
.
I guess it was worth it though for the 37 fix I'd set up.
37426 Manchester Victoria to Blackpool and then back to Preston on one of the Club trains. What a noise, head out the window all the way, shaking with cold
.
Once I'd got back to Preston I did a quick return to Blackpool again behind 47830 and a Sprinter to pass time and then took 47818 to Manchester Pic on the 1840 Glasgow to Manchester. It was then an EMU to Crewe for the Aberdeen sleepers this time (I was getting a bit tired by this point it has to be said.
87028 this time to Scotland which was swapped for 47672 (once 47562 and a proper Scottish beast) at I assume Edinburgh? (doing quite well with the 47/6 sub class here).
Day 4 13/02/92
Ah! Dundee at 5:30 AM or some such... Feeling rough.
I caught a 158 to Edinburgh and as it was almost empty I sat at a table of four, took my shoes off, put my feet on my coat on the seat opposite, put my stuff on the seat next to them and laid my head down on the seat next to me for a comatosed, hairy, snoring dribblefest of a sleep.
I woke up to the train arriving at Waverley completely rammed and standing with an aisle full of angry looking morning commutors glaring at me (did anyone even try to wake me?), I fronted it out by smiling back, although I didn't dare open my mouth and say anything
.
From Edinburgh I took an HST to York down the ECML (new track from Berwick) unfortunately I was in such a deep sleep that I missed pretty much the entire journey including Newcastle, gutted.
From York I took 47844 on the 1141 York to Swansea all the way to Neath picking up some new bits of track along the way, I again slept for most of this, it'd caught me up by now.
I got off the train at Neath and did a 125 back to Bristol Parkway, I hadn't had a proper wash though since seeing my stepbrother and things were not smelling good, so it was time for a high speed bath...
This involved, in no particular order - Having a shave, smoking a fag, cleaning the toilet seat, endlessly filling the sink with lukewarm water, reading a magazine on the bog, smoking a fag, washing hair, holding on to something during corners and braking, changing clothes, knocking the fag in the water, slipping on the floor and headbutting the hand dryer and so on until eventually the Toilet engaged sign goes out and you emerge like a majestic butterfly from a chrysalis... Sort of.
I digress. I went west on 47827 to Plymouth on a train from York. From Plymouth I got a unit to Bodmin Parkway (I think it was a class 101), ready for The Up Midnight which rolled in behind 47813 (the one I'd had out of Dover). And that was the end of day 4, phew.
Day 5 14/02/92
This was quite the mileage move in the end as when I got to Paddington and wearily transferred myself onto the 06:00 Paddington to Edinburgh which had 47841 The Institute of Stuff and Things on the front, I didn't expect it to work (via Manchester Pic) all the way to Edinburgh including up Shap etc, this remains the only time I've had a diesel up there I think, I don't know if this was normal but it was something like 439 miles behind one loco and over 700 with the two.
At Edinburgh I just turned straight round and headed back to Birmingham behind 86251.
Madness all of it (fun though). I couldn't do this today though, it'd drive me mad. :-x
At Birmingham I took 47843 on the 17:40 Lime St to Poole and hopped off at Oxford where I gratefully received my machine, 47521 on a Network Express all the way to Paddington (One of the loudest of all 47s for sure, I loved it and it was the oldest one on Network Southeasts books too you know, look it up if you want to(I know you won't)
).
Down Midnight time then. All the way this time too.
Day 6 15/02/92
It was a lovely warm cloudless day in Penzance when I arrived behind 47824, it didn't feel like February at all.
I caught the St Ives train to get the branch in as I hadn't done it before and it was a little blue and grey Bubble Car bless it
, the beaches were pure white gold in the sunshine, I had the window open, it was amazing.
I took it back to St Erth, a 125 up to Plymouth and then 47850 up to Birmingham on a Manchester train.
From there it was 47843 on a Poole bound cross country to Basingstoke (114 miles or so) and then 47801 (slightly unusually) on the 1915 Waterloo to Exeter.
I actually went back to my Mums in Topsham for a shower and a sleep then. I remember being pretty tired.
Only one trip left to do tomorrow...
Day 7 16/02/92
I had two weeks off, so the last day of the rover I was just going to head up to the Mid Hants to spend some time there.
When I arrived at St Davids I found sitting in platform 6 my train, formed of a rake of mk1s in NSE livery with my much loved 47521 attached to the front. It was the 0825 Exeter St Davids to Paddington (Sundays only) and I think I may have even had a compartment behind the loco to myself. The last loco hauled train of the week too!
I took this to Reading, watched it leave (I actually took a few photos on this trip including one of 47521 at Reading but alas I've no idea what happened to them), before taking a unit of some sort to North Camp, walking to Ash Vale (is he related to you Ash Bridge?
) and then an EMU (a vep maybe?) to Alton where I crossed the bridge and caught S15 number 506 up to Ropley where I was staying.
So there you go. If you're still reading this then thanks very much I appreciate it and I enjoyed writing it and remembering it all.
I only did one more trip like this. as I said they reintroduced a load of 37s on passenger work in 1994 especially around Scotland and I was drawn to them like a moth to a flame. This though was the last trip that I kept proper records of in a way. My books are easy to read and understand up to literally a few weeks after this trip, once I got the van life changed and I stopped properly bashing.
Never stopped loving railways though. Especially big noisy locomotives and good scenery...