Depends how keen you are to cover the UK entirely I suppose, although it takes some effort. To be fair, some of the bits I needed on SET were weekdays only, so would have never have managed to finish it all whilst there. Still, everything happens for a reason!
I've been a bit of a busy ol' bee today and done about 3 hours of typing, so here then are days 7 and 8. As for day 9, well we'll see when I get time for that!
10th June 2012 - All Line Rover, Day 7
Grr, gotta pay a £1.85 charge to use the ATM at the Travelodge! Should have made the effort to look for a free-to-use one at the airport last night, but naively assumed I had enough change in my wallet for the time being. Far from it! A good night’s sleep was had though until 0700, although I still woke up feeling tired. AF56 MBU is on the shuttle bus again (do they only have one?) and I get off at the South Terminal for quicker access to the railway station. Winner 442417 is out on the 0750 to London Victoria. The journey is nice and smooth, and more enjoyable this time as I chose to sit in the motor coach after checking which one it was in the NREA. We use the Quarry line vice going straight through Redhill, which I thought was the reason for it taking 5 minutes longer on Sundays. We also cross from the fasts to the slows just after Balham, although I already have that done from years ago. I decide it’s way too much effort to try and get to Glasgow and back to London tonight to get the sleeper up to Edinburgh, and with the rare track up there happening again next week (well, so the plan goes) then I’ll do it when I’m further up north already. There’s no Crystal Palace to Beckenham Junction service today, it’ll have to wait for another day then.
Breakfast is from BreadBox today, my first visit. It proves to be a good call as I get a proper, decent quality bacon roll and a coffee for £3. Must remember to come here again sometime. I join winning 465906 on the 0836 to Ashford International, as far as Otford for me. We don’t do the bit I expected to do at Shortlands Junction, dang. A reasonable plus at Otford is had for dud 465019 to Sevenoaks for some winning track. It’s only a few minutes journey and I rejoin 465019 on the 0951 to London Blackfriars via Otford and Catford, all the way through as the bay platforms are in use today at Blackfriars. We have a small delay at Bat and Ball whilst the driver races to the back of the train to put the correct lights on, and this time we do the dive under at Shortlands Junction that I wanted. Another bit in the PSUL done then, excellent. Other than that, I was surprised to see I needed the curve around from Denmark Hill towards Elephant and Castle, that’s out of the way unexpectedly then! We use bay platform 3 as 319219 was stabled in platform 4, with no services due to leave platform 4 any time soon. I need to get to Denmark Hill, so I rejoin 465019. There’s no trains leaving platform 3 at Denmark Hill for Victoria, or at least today, and I discover it’s a PSUL trip for the bit I wanted through Cambria Junction.
Onwards and upwards with winner 465181 (the red pen comes out of retirement!) on a leap to Petts Wood to get one of the many bits in the junctions around Chislehurst in that I want. It’s successfully done and with the shack scratched it’s on for an insect leap to Chislehurst next with double winners on 465175+465173. I check that trains are still running from here to Otford or beyond, which thankfully they are. 375821+618 have joined forces today on this working, which did the top curve as hoped towards Swanley. Excellent! I’m glad I saw the delayed 0912 from Otford to Charing Cross earlier, noting it called at Chislehurst then London Bridge, otherwise I’d have not known the rare curves at Chislehurst were in use today. I see mention of diverted London to Kent services later on in the weekend gensheet, but it hadn’t suggested, to me at least, these curves were being used.
I decide to treat myself to a coffee from the trolley when it came around (see EMT, trolley services can be provided on inter-city workings! Yes I’m still fuming about that!), despite the fact it’s Starbucks Via it turned out to be most reasonable for £2.10. Was needed since the last coffee was at least 4 hours ago! There’s a really annoying buzz on this train, so to block it out the tunes are back on. When we get to Otford, I should have bailed for the next one back to London, however I don’t on the grounds that I didn’t want to get off at a dud shack and told myself there’ll be another one from Maidstone East. So I bump up the mileage a bit and scoop the winner shack, then check when the next train to Chislehurst will be. None direct, so I need to change at Otford. OK, fair enough, I’ll happily take winner 465908 back then!
On my arrival there, I discover I should have bailed earlier as the 1312 was the last one direct and now involves going via Sevenoaks to get to Chislehurst. Unfortunately the curve that it should have done is the one that is rarer, with just the 0608 SSuX Faversham to Cannon Street booked to use it. Oops! I change plans and decide to finish the domestic bits of HS1 instead since I’m not all that far away from Ashford and there’s another train going that way shortly. Double dip into the ink then with 375917+609 to Ashford International. I notice as I update my moves book that I’ve a LOT to add to RailMiles yet, can’t wait to get my next data allowance on Tuesday! The second Pumpkin so far not to have loyalty cards when I get a coffee from the outlet on platform 5, never mind it’s time to fly up HS1 and the red pen goes away again when 395012 turns up to rush me like a lightning bolt to Ebbsfleet International. CHARRRRRRGE! I love travelling up HS1, it’s such fun! During my wait at Ebbsfleet International I see some Eurostars fly by, and phwoar, what a noise! When I get onto winning 395011, I decide I’d best charge my phone as it’s down to 58% and I’ve got a need for it on all night for the sleeper tonight! It’s raining now in Ashford, glad I’m not outside in it! I spy 465927 stabled on sidings, leaving me with two more 465s to get for sight to finish them! 373022+021 roll in from France, 022 a winning sight. 395018 is a winner on the 1613 to St Pancras International, and we’re held for a couple of minutes to allow the Eurostar to depart ahead of us, the farce with luggage/passengers having finally finished.
It’s been at least 8 hours by now since breakfast, so I’m getting really irritable. It takes a mahoosive 12 minutes to get from the 395 to the Victoria line, including a few minutes for topping up the Oyster again (I honestly don’t want to think about how much these Tube moves would have cost this fortnight if I’d paid cash for all of them…), and 12023 whisks me off to Oxford Circus in just 4 minutes, with 3331 on the Bakerloo having been made on a super quick connection surprisingly. Burger King is visited for the umpteenth time this week, and after spending a fortune in WHSmith I pop outside and happen to see my last 465/0, 465036, heading to Charing Cross. Excellent stuff, with just 465930 to see to finally finish the class! I join 450123+104 (123 win) on the 1807 to Basingstoke and Aldershot, as I needed the crossover from the Down Main to platform 3 at Surbiton. Time for some more tunes now as I update my notebook with the gen on the 455s I couldn’t ID recently (I’m so glad I joined the UKmodernEMU group on Yahoo! Groups some time ago!), one of which was a winner so I’m glad I checked. We eventually get to Woking, and it’s 455904 on the 1852 to Waterloo via Addlestone and Brentford. When I discovered it went via Brentford, I revise plans and decide to bail there to get the curve around to Whitton Junction in then carry on back to Woking, which would finally finish the SWT network. I hadn’t thought to check if the Hounslow loopers were running today, so imagine my dismay when I discover they weren’t! I have to wait until 2026 to head back to Woking, so I walk into town and get some cash and a drink from McDonalds, that visit having two purposes…
It decides to pour down now when I walk back to the station, how lovely! 455908 finally gets the red pen out again on the trip back to West Byfleet. That finally gets those two Sundays Only bits in, leaving just that curve I wanted to do earlier now. Dud 455859 puts the red pen back in my pocket for the trip to Vauxhall. There’s some screaming brat not far behind me, thank Goodness for earphones! Today’s been quite productive, to think if I’d gone and done that bit of freight-only track in Glasgow I’d have missed out on the Chislehurst curves and much more! I’d only originally planned to spend one day on the Southern Region too, boy wasn’t I wrong when I assumed that would be enough time! Tomorrow I predict the North West will be almost finished [the plans of mice and men… - Ed], concluding on Tuesday. 14036 zips me up to Euston in just 11 minutes (isn’t that how long you had to wait outside Edgware Road on a Circle line train in years gone by? Lol) and at Euston I get a couple of bottles of water for £2.20 and call home, then join the sleeper behind 90039. Three or four people are lucky tonight’s sleeper isn’t wedged full, as they didn’t have reservations! I abandon my booked seat to give the other guy more room as there were some seats I could spread out at instead. I go through my 378s properly and discover I actually still need three of them (210, 213, 214) for sight yet, dang. Slow lines to Watford Junction, and I start on the epic pile of paperwork I’ve had building up all week. The day’s review then:
Pretty good and productive, with more track done than expected. Had a couple of fails, probably the biggest being not getting the rare curve at Chislehurst. A good few winners for sight and haulage, hopefully a reasonable amount of mileage considering it’s all been on the Southern Region. Hopefully tomorrow proves to be as productive, and I score the day at 8/10, and it‘s been an excellent first week. Shocked it‘s over so soon! So then, the stats:
Day 7 mileage: 770 miles 06 chains
Mileage move of the day: 380 miles 59 chains on 90039
Insect leap of the day: 1 mile 34 chains on 465175+173
Best bit: Finishing off the domestic (ie, non Eurostar) bits of HS1 and watching those 373s making a racket at Ebbs fleet
Worst bit: Allowing myself to get so hungry and therefore irritable I think
Bargain of the day: The breakfast from Breadbox, proper quality bacon from a station outlet is quite unusual in my experience, and for only £2!
Rip-off of the day: Not really any to speak of, having not been to Upper Cost all day!
11th June 2012 - All Line Rover, Day 8
And so begins week 2! How fast did week 1 go, it only felt like a couple of days! We are indeed routed via Northampton tonight, and by 0043 I’m getting pretty tired. I was when I first woke up at 0700 yesterday mind, weird. Apart from the trip report, the paperwork is eventually completed. Having been awake for 17.5 hours by now, I reckon the tiredness is kicking in far quicker due to it being so very hot on here. I must have a seat right next to a heater, although it’s still a stark contrast to the other day! We head left at Rugby, which means we’ll be going via Aston and Bushbury Junction again to get to Crewe. It’s a PSUL trip but I’ve done it so many times it feels like a normal route! I need the northbound track after Bescot Stadium to Bushbury Junction though, so quite fortunate. 0139 and I can’t focus on the trip report any further and start trying to doss. I manage some before Carstairs, although as per usual it’s interrupted by rough accleration/braking. Seriously, why did I bother with booking any sleepers? Still got one more to go this week as well…
I discover it’s 90019 taking us forward to Edinburgh, so the same locos as the other night’s trip down from Edinburgh to London, just the other way around. I had hoped for 90036 to make an appearance somewhere. Time to change clothes and finalise preparations for alighting, with a little more doss coming after we finally leave Carstairs at 0632. Having been there since around 0600, that seemed excessive. I reawaken we we get to Princess Street Gardens and arrival is eventually into Edinburgh Mazerley (sic)’s platform 7 at 0713. I really miss my Travelodges, I’d just be getting up after a decent night’s sleep now if I’d had one up here. Alas, I didn’t and now I’m furious at myself for it. Imagine how fed up I’d be if I was doing sleepers every night (well, bar Saturday nights that is) for the fortnight, I’d have thrown in the towel and gone home for some sleep! It’s time to try and find out when the loco-hauled turn is, and I couldn’t find the gen online or anywhere around Edinburgh, so I do a leap to Haymarket first on double winning 170428+406 to try my luck there. Nope, no helpful response so I do a leap on 170394 for another win and scoop the shack at South Gyle. I could have no doubt gone further, but I had visions of missing the 67-hauled train after making uber efforts to get up north for it. It’s not on the next one to Mazerley (sic) but I jump on 170432+158725 for another winning 170 to Haymarket. I’ve about half an hour here, and you can see why it’s necessary to have 5 coaches on this working I’ve just got off, the crowds alighting here were pretty massive! During the fester I get my last 380, 380107, for sight as it comes in from Glasgow on a Glasgow to North Berwick service, leaving just 2 320s to get for sight to finish every MU for sight in Scotland. Very happy with that!
67011 eventually shows up on what I discovered later to be the 0715 Cardenden to Mazerley (sic - yes I’ll stop making that joke now…), winner 67 thankfully. Last time I came up north on a sleeper booked to have a 67 on it, in August 2011, it was a super dud royal one! 23 67s in the book, and I can’t resist having a listen to the GM sound as we leave for Edinburgh. I eventually find my way around the station to platform 8E for the 0852 to Birmingham New Street, and find it’s the same as usual, a dud Virgin 221. When will I get my last two 221s?! 221117 leaves on time and I can’t wait for the shop to open as I’m dying for a coffee and indeed some food. My phone finally goes on charge, it having got down to just 39%. I’ve been advised not to drink the water up here in Scotland as there’s apparently been an outbreak of Legionaires disease, so no coffee for now. I was also too busy trying to ensure I didn’t miss the loco-hauled service! [And at this point, I’m shutting the laptop down to sort out my lunch, get a coffee and have a break. Been typing for nearly 2 hours now! After a little over an hour‘s break, it‘s time to brew up a coffee,boot up YouTube and get started again!- Ed]. Time to wake myself up with some banging tunes and catch up a fair bit with the trip report. As we pass into England, I can’t help having a mini scissors flail! Nowt I need on Kingmoor, shame.
I visit Pumpkin for a sausage bap thing (not sure what you call a bread roll up here) and a large coffee. Ahhh, I feel human again! Carlisle hasn’t changed much in the last few years by the looks of it, the only major difference I noted was the removal of the old Lemon Tree building next to platforms 5 and 6. 156438 is up next for some dud mileage over winning track on the 1043 to Barrow-in-Furness. Something’s causing a banging headache, so it’s time to rip out the painkillers. Good thing I got a decent size pack the other day! We leave on time and the Metro gets read over the less scenic part of the route, and it’s nice to have jointed track for a change. I see Workington Yard and the Corus plant are all totally gone, wonder how long it’ll take to put a massive supermarket/shopping centre/entertainment complex up in its place. The coastal bits of this route are especially scenic, and I can see why it takes so long to go round this way with lots of 15mph running, single line sections and a ton of stations as we almost literally hug the coast and the cliffs in places. Taken quite a few photos on this journey, certainly I’ve not been disappointed with the highlight of the day. Whitehaven, and it’s 46 miles to go until Barrow according to the Quail. The highlight in particular of this journey, Sellafield, produces no winners for sight but more here than I expected. I discovered some days later 37510 and 37087 were to be taken for scrap, the useful parts to revive a couple of 37/4s. At least they’re not totally being scrapped. Page 65 in the Baker finally has colour on it, taken long enough! By some measure this line is the longest line I still need, the rest is considerably shorter, both in distance and journey time.
We arrive at 1310, 2 up and I visit the cafexpresshop for a large coffee for £2.50. Another loyalty card for my wallet then! 185128 provides duddage onwards to Lancaster, at least it’s not an all-shacks service. Finally, the Cumbrian Coast is complete as we reach Carnforth! There I note a lot of stuff on the WCRC depot, including 37214 which I needed apparently! As we wait for a southbound path, I film 390051 from on-board the train belting it northwards. From Lancaster I see an old friend, the red pen, for winner 185150 to Manchester, from which I hope to either get Buxton or Ashburys to Chinley finally done. I form a plan that should see both routes get covered, will it work? Sainsburys at Piccadilly is visited, my first supermarket visit in some days, and a big bottle of Pepsi Max for £1 will certainly sort out my need for liquid refreshment for a while! Newton Heath put faith in 150201 solely working the 1552 Manchester Piccadilly to Buxton, which was a winner so that’ll do me! Winning platform 10 too, as was platform 0 at Stockport. 08454 is noted on Longsight, and I make a terrible joke about not needing long range sight for that one. If you’re shaking your head, I’m already doing that…Buxton is one of those lines I’ve been waiting to do on a rail tour, but I’m sick of waiting for my chance to do so. At least I can actually hear the engines working on this 150, better than being stuck at the back of a tour away from the racket or having to endure a 66!
I apologise to the regular travellers on the Buxton line, as you may have been delayed by one of my plans for the day being on the line, following it being chucked out of the hopper window on 150201...Why the need for more changes to the plan? 150201 shuts down at Woodsmoor, and the Hellfire players amongst you will probably have “Dreadful! Something’s blown up!” in your head too as you read this. The 57 car that I’m in restarts, but not the 52 car. All the way to Buxton you’d think we were climbing the Lickey from a standing start at Bromsgrove, it really was slow! We have a hissing sound coming from our end of the train that goes on and off whenever the engine’s under power, making it sound like a cross between a 150 and a steam loco! We eventually arrive 19 late into Buxton, and the 150’s to be coupled in holy matrimony to 156466. Clearly Newton Heath will need to file divorce for the couple as 156466 also has an engine isolated today and the two units were refusing for a few attempts to bang together. So we have 2 engines out of 4 running, this is going to be fun! We leave 29 late with the 1659 to Blackpool North, at least the 156 is also a winner. Until I saw it in the Quail I didn’t realise we’d climbed to 1,140 feet at Bibbington Summit!
Stops are ripped out left, right and centre as we go along due to the severe delay, and after Piccadilly we’re only calling at Oxford Road and Bolton now, much less than the original stopping pattern for this service and definitely no need for 4 coaches anymore! All of the time we recover, not that there was much of it, is lost again as we have to allow passengers to bail once they learn of the revised stopping pattern. Even the carriage lights struggle to keep going at points, something tells me Newton Heath will be having fun trying to batter these two back into life tonight! I’ve not eaten since 1020 now so I’m feeling beyond tired (it’s gone 1800 as I wrote this) now, so despite having time I don’t get any more of the trip report done. We’re terminating in Preston now, where we arrive at 1912. I’ve no idea how late we were, but I’d assume at least 35 late. With Preston city centre appearing to be ages away, I settle with getting the 1941 onwards for the leap to Lancaster. 390048 is a winner on it, that’ll do me. Soon after I get on, 2 20s and 2 37s (by the looks of it 087 and 510) open up under the massive roof of the station with an almighty thunder of English Electric racket. Mmm, very nice! I get tea in Lancaster and is my usual meal from…wait for it…McDonalds (ha, bet you thought it was going to be Burger King!). Large Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal for £4.19 which went down a storm! I get a little lost finding the Travelodge, but finally get there and check in with home.
Chilling out time whilst getting everything organised in the bag. I end up booking another Travelodge during my stay here, the reason being two-fold. First, I can’t face another night on a sleeper, even if it’s the Night Riviera, I need decent sleep. Second, I remember there’s those two little single line bits at Retford linking the ECML station with the Sheffield to Lincoln line that need doing. So after a bit of searching around I find a Travelodge in Worksop for £30.25. Considering it’s only a few days away, that’s a good deal. Less than half the price of the one in Sheffield! The evening concludes with watching The Inbetweeners, The IT Crowd and The Big Bang Theory, before collapsing into a deep sleep around 0020. So then, the day’s review:
All in all, a pretty good day for track. Getting my 23rd 67 in the book was quite welcome, even if it was bus stop mileage. Not too much was planned for the day, and only missed out on Ashburys to Chinley which can be easily enough done on another day. 9 winners for haulage and some required sights about the place too. A score for the day of 8/10, so the stats:
Day 8 mileage: 414 miles 70 chains
Mileage move of the day: 101 miles 28 chains on 221117
Bus stop move of the day: 1 mile 19 chains on 170428+406 and 67011
Best bit: Finally covering the Cumbrian Coast
Worst bit: The endurance mission on the sleeper
Bargain of the day: Pepsi Max for £1 from Sainsburys
Rip-off of the day: Going with the coffee from Barrow, £2.50 is a lot of money for that size cup!
Can't believe how long that lot took to type! Day 9 is two and a bit sides of A4, so going to take an absolute age to go through. We'll see what today brings, but it's back to work tomorrow so might not be much progress with it all for a bit now. Enjoy!
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Well I'm bored off my face now, so let's get moving with day 9 as I really want to get this write-up finished! I apparently have some vodka coming up tonight though, but in the meantime it's coffee time!
12th June 2012 - All Line Rover, Day 9
Up at 0500 and after a quick coffee I leave at 0515. Only a 10 minute walk from the Travelodge to platform 2 at Lancaster, not bad at all. 185148 provides the first win of the day on the 0542 to Windermere via Morecambe. It uses platform 2, the last one I needed in Lancaster so very happy with that. It's a stunning day up here in Lancashire, a theme that wasn't to last on the wrong side of the Pennines later! We do the top line into Morecambe, which was required as was Hest Bank Curve, this being one of the few trains booked to do it and another PSUL move done. As we arrive into Windermere 4 up at 0637, it's time for a celebration as I've now finished the TPX network finally! A victory coffee is called for, but it'll have to wait until Oxenholme. We arrive ever so slightly early into Oxenholme and I'm straight into the cafexpresshop for a large coffee for £2.50 - is everyone rich in the North West? - and another stamp on t'card. Dud from years back 390021 is on the 0724 to Euston which I'm on to Preston. It's tilting timeeeeeee! (best said in the voice of Pauly D from Jersey Shore)
Breakfast time in Preston and Upper Cost is the best option for me today. I could probably have gone to Preston Hero next door, alas I don't have time for a full-on breakfast. Mini sausage baguette and medium coffee was eventually got, and somehow it doesn't get spilt on the way to platform 6, but I still don't see much of my coffee as unfortunately it gets knocked over when I put my books down onto the table on the 185! I do feel sorry for the poor young lady opposite me who got a significant amount of it on her, and fortunately the lady next to me had some tissues to clear up the mess. Waste of money that coffee was! More trip report writing is done and I'm making slow progress but at least I'm getting there, and after arriving into Manchester off 185105+145 (105 winning) I visit Upper Cost again. If Pumpkin had been findable I'd have gone there. Indeed, don't know why I didn't go to BreadBox now I look back...£2.04 for a large coffee here too, if I had the receipt from last week's visit I'd confirm if they'd seriously jacked up the price in the meantime. I'm thankful to whoever allocated 185103 to the diagram involving the 0905 Manchester Airport to Newcastle, a winner so thanks to Ardwick/York depot! I'm down to just 2 more 323s to see for the year now too, quite surprised. Annoyingly platform 2 was dud, never mind.
My coat comes flying off the overhead rack near Mirfield, as I had been busy with my trip report I'd initially thought something had come flying through the window! By Church Fenton I'm most of the way through yesterday, getting there now with the trip report. 144007 is in charge of the 1105 York to Sheffield via Pontefract Baghill, one of only two services a day per direction to use this route. This 144 is a winner, splendid stuffings. It's rather busy down this route for freight, having noted 3 Freightliner coal trains and a GBRf one by the time we got to Pontefract. As we roll into Moorthorpe at 1151, I see there's an 1153 to Leeds. As I'm not even remotely ready to bail, will I make it? A split second decision needed to be made and I chuck everything in as fast as possible and have to run as 144013 (dud) is already arriving to go up to Leeds as I get off. I discover later in the timetable that it suggested we'd be here at 1159, so I didn't think anything of planning any moves involving alighting here. I can see why it's a limited service, hardly anyone using it, it's a bumpy as anything ride along much of it and it's so slow!
Sainsburys is visited in Leeds for some supplies, then after a cash move it's to KFC for a popcorn chicken snackbox for £1.99. Enough time wasted not racking up the mileage, back to it! 185138 is provided on the 1255 to Manchester Airport, another winner! In the past I've had very poor luck getting my required 185s in, not so this fortnight! Really needed that food, and to be fair it was only 25 minutes in Leeds at the most. That snackbox proved to keep me going well for quite some time too, well worth the money. Off then on this to Huddersfield to line myself up for another annoyingly fiddly bit, Mirfield to Wakefield Kirkgate. I've gone the other way before, but the line around the other side of Healey Mills counts as two seperate lines in the Baker so got to be done. But first 144020 offers an unexpected bonus red pen move with a leap to Deighton, where my train of choice also stops a few minutes later. That'll do me then! 155345+153378 (345 win) rolled in and the driver evidentally stopped too short and had to pull up. I thought they were leaving without me for a moment, definitely a moment where I saw red! Fortunately I got on though and calmed down. Time now for that can of Monster from Sainsburys, and crikey how different Healey Mills looks compared to my first time past here when it was chock-a-block with 37s, 47s and 56s! November 2005 that was, and a long time ago clearly...
We get to Wakefield Westgate and I change for 142019 which gave me a need to rip out the relevant pen on the leap to Leeds. More platform gricing at Leeds, dunno if I'll ever get it all done! 158753 is another winner (seriously, how many winning 158s and how much mileage on the class am I getting this fortnight!) on the 1437 to Manchester Victoria via Bradford Interchange (Exchange for you older bashers), that'll do me and I get it in on a leap to Halifax, from where I get required 158758 (this was my last Northern 158 to get for sight some years back, nice to finally pen it in) on the 1526 from Halifax to Blackpool North as far as Preston. I'd hoped for required platform 4 at Bradford Interchange, sadly not. I've got a fair bit of time on here, so it's writing time again and I make more progress than I expected. At Preston I fuel up again with a couple of chocolate bars (to keep me going until tea time in Glasgow) and a medium tea. Finally found a Pumpkin with loyalty cards! An unexpected pleasure with a bonus red pen move on 150142 for the shack scratch at Kirkham & Wesham, that'll make my NREA look a bit better! I see the previous Blackpool South train was 142056, and mine's winner 156459. Lucky me then, last time I was up here much (February and August 2011) it was pretty solidly 142s with little to nothing else. Much prefer my noisy 156!
My Twix gets dunked into my tea, made it so much nicer! Squires Gate station really is close and walking distance to Blackpool airport, gonna have to get it in one day. Same sort of thing for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, never been and passing some of the rollercoasters has got me really wanting to jump off and have a go! Apparently Blackpool North is 3 miles from South, good thing I didn't stay on 158758 and hope for a quick walk! We go past what looks to be an abandoned long ago holiday village, makes the area look neglected and poor. Still, another corner of the massive Northern empire is done, smaller bits remain but I'm almost there. Some really rough, nasty sounding and horrible people have joined the train, their language and attitude even towards each other was disgusting! I move to the vestibule a little earlier than planned, and the peace and quiet was heavenly! I top up my hydration with a bottle of Dr Pepper from WHSmith, as I refuse to pay the prices in the shop on Virgin again! Dud 390017 rolls in on the 1630 Euston to Glasgow, however this is still one of the highlights of the day as beyond Preston it's non-stop to Glasgow Central. I find a table seat but the plug socket appears to be broken, so I switch to another table and thankfully that one works.
Now the question is of course will we actually go non-stop through Carlisle? When the TM comes around I ask her and she's actually really friendly and we chat briefly about trains and the ALR. A credit to Virgin, proof that Virgin do take on decent people for their crews. And YES! We do indeed go non-stop through platform 3 at Carlisle, which means I've now gone non-stop through all stations between Glasgow and London, very happy with that! Kingmoor provides a winning sight for a change too, with 20302 being observed there. Just need 20306 to complete the collection...Finally my new data allowance has landed, I can go online again! Arrival into Glasgow after quite a fun journey, on which plenty of writing got done and up to date, is at 2036, 2 up and it's time for tea which is formed of my usual sub from Subway and a Diet Coke for £3. It's leaping time, and first up is winning 320313 on a move to Rutherglen. Dalmarnock is closed for redevelopment until 24th November 2012, wondered why we belted it through there. 66732 is seen in the yard next to Rutherglen station, finally a winner with GBRf! I make sure I get a photo of it as I return into town, as far as Argyle Street with 320307+318252, the 318 a winner. 320311+318258 join forces on a leap to Bridgeton for 2 more winners, and after scooping the shack I head to Anderston with winning 320312. Services are becoming fewer in number now, gonna have to call it a day soon. 318261+320308 come out of the spin 'n' win machine for a tiny leap to Exhibition Centre for a quick/lucky plus onto winning 320318 back to Glasgow Central.
318265 is had for a quick spin to Partick for 320303 to also win coming back. A Tenacious D show was on at the nearby SECC so all of a sudden the train became packed. Fortunately the barrier staff at Glasgow Central had the sense to open the gates up otherwise we'd have been there forever! Sadly didn't see either of my last 320s for sight, but they could have been on the Queen Street Low Level lines. Back upstairs at Glasgow Central High Level, I call home to let them know what's going on before picking up a few bits and bobs, then join the sleeper right at the front of the train this time. 90019 dragged the stock in and 90028 was at the helm. Winner 90, crikey it's been a while! This makes me glad I'm on the sleeper, but then I discover I'm sat opposite someone, so not glad I'm on it now. There's seats unreserved back down the coach, so I take up one of them. Despite not being ticketed as such, they are reserved according to the TM. Great, and all the other seats after Glasgow are apparently reserved from Carlisle. Hopefully they're not a noisy bunch getting on in the middle of the night then! We leave on time and I try to settle down with some tunes and get some writing done before attempting to find a comfortable position to sleep. So then, the day's review:
All in all, a good day with the TPX network finally being completed. Good progress also made elsewhere on the Northern empire, and going non-stop through Carlisle was quite funky, glad I made the effort to do that train now. Lots of winners and mileage give the day a score of 9/10. Stats:
Day 9 mileage: 984 miles 79 chains
Mileage move of the day: 401 miles 34 chains on 90028
Bus stop move of the day: 0 miles 41 chains on 318261+320308
Best bit: Finishing the TPX network at long last!
Worst bit: Again, the uncomfortable experience on the sleeper
Bargain of the day: The Subway meal and drink, good value for the money
Rip-off of the day: Small bottle of Dr Pepper, £1.59 in WHSmith.
Another 90-odd minutes of typing down, hopefully the last 5 days worth don't take so long! Time for a proper break away from typing as I've got to help get the house prepared for the women of the house to come back to!