Minilad
Established Member
Well I have finally dipped my toe into the murky world of Foreign loco bashing!
Although I have travelled on foreign trains many times this was the first time I have gone to the continent specifically to bash locos.
Having had conversations with aficionados I decided Brussels was the ideal location for a first attempt. Easy to get to. Easily do-able for a day trip. Plenty of proper trains.
So. Yesterday was the day.
0400 alarm call and a drive to Leamington for the 0541 to Marylebone. I could have gone on a later one but this gave me options should there be a SNAFU
168107 did the honours. Arrival at MYB was on time at 0701 so a had a stroll to St Pancras arriving around 0750 in plenty of time for check in.
373221/222 took me to Brussels. The interior of E* is looking quite tired and dated IMHO and the breakfast in standard premier was nothing to write home about but the service was efficient and it was an uneventful journey.
On time arrival at Brussels Midi at 1205 local. So I had a quick wonder around to get my bearings and purchased a Brussels Jump Card. 24 hours for 7.50 euros.
Then the fun started. Basically I was going to be a tunnel rat for 7 hours. Backwards and forwards between Midi - Central - Nord which is basically 90% tunnel. Still it wasn't the scenery I was here for! It was the locos, and I found them. Lots and lots of them. It's like taking candy from a baby. Up and down and you never have to wait long for a loco hauled to show up. It's how bashing should be. Yes there are plenty of units around too but I didn't bother with them.
With a stop for a bite to eat around 15.00 and stopping at around 18.45 to check in for my train back to Blighty I managed 27 different locos on 23 journeys. Some are top and tailed hence the discrepancy.
Here is what I had during the course of the day
Class 13
1354, 1349
Class 18
1835, 1832, 1822, 1828, 1857, 1819, 1806, 1803, 1842 and 1871
Class 19
1907, 1909, 1921, 1906 and 1919
Class 21
2149, 2138, 2148, 2141 and 2135
Class 27
2732, 2734, 2725, 2721 and 2726
Most trains are in the hands of the newer 13s 18s and 19s but there are still plenty of 21s and 27s around particularly in the peak.
All that was left was the journey home. 373215/216 took me back to St Pancras. The evening light meal was a bit better than the breakfast, a nice cheese platter. Once again arrival was on time at 2105 allowing me plenty of time to catch the 2145 out of MYB back to Leamington with 168001
I finally arrived home at 2345 knackered but happy!!
I would recommend a trip to Brussels to anyone who likes their loco hauled trains it's like taking candy from a baby if you want an introduction to foreign bashing. OK not much in terms of mileage but plenty of red pen action!
Go to
https://www.flickr.com/photos/xcdrichard/
For a few pics of the day
Although I have travelled on foreign trains many times this was the first time I have gone to the continent specifically to bash locos.
Having had conversations with aficionados I decided Brussels was the ideal location for a first attempt. Easy to get to. Easily do-able for a day trip. Plenty of proper trains.
So. Yesterday was the day.
0400 alarm call and a drive to Leamington for the 0541 to Marylebone. I could have gone on a later one but this gave me options should there be a SNAFU
168107 did the honours. Arrival at MYB was on time at 0701 so a had a stroll to St Pancras arriving around 0750 in plenty of time for check in.
373221/222 took me to Brussels. The interior of E* is looking quite tired and dated IMHO and the breakfast in standard premier was nothing to write home about but the service was efficient and it was an uneventful journey.
On time arrival at Brussels Midi at 1205 local. So I had a quick wonder around to get my bearings and purchased a Brussels Jump Card. 24 hours for 7.50 euros.
Then the fun started. Basically I was going to be a tunnel rat for 7 hours. Backwards and forwards between Midi - Central - Nord which is basically 90% tunnel. Still it wasn't the scenery I was here for! It was the locos, and I found them. Lots and lots of them. It's like taking candy from a baby. Up and down and you never have to wait long for a loco hauled to show up. It's how bashing should be. Yes there are plenty of units around too but I didn't bother with them.
With a stop for a bite to eat around 15.00 and stopping at around 18.45 to check in for my train back to Blighty I managed 27 different locos on 23 journeys. Some are top and tailed hence the discrepancy.
Here is what I had during the course of the day
Class 13
1354, 1349
Class 18
1835, 1832, 1822, 1828, 1857, 1819, 1806, 1803, 1842 and 1871
Class 19
1907, 1909, 1921, 1906 and 1919
Class 21
2149, 2138, 2148, 2141 and 2135
Class 27
2732, 2734, 2725, 2721 and 2726
Most trains are in the hands of the newer 13s 18s and 19s but there are still plenty of 21s and 27s around particularly in the peak.
All that was left was the journey home. 373215/216 took me back to St Pancras. The evening light meal was a bit better than the breakfast, a nice cheese platter. Once again arrival was on time at 2105 allowing me plenty of time to catch the 2145 out of MYB back to Leamington with 168001
I finally arrived home at 2345 knackered but happy!!
I would recommend a trip to Brussels to anyone who likes their loco hauled trains it's like taking candy from a baby if you want an introduction to foreign bashing. OK not much in terms of mileage but plenty of red pen action!
Go to
https://www.flickr.com/photos/xcdrichard/
For a few pics of the day
