Thursday 1st November - A venture into the Northern Powerhouse
Part 4 - The Northern Spirit
We ended part 3 with 140 winners already logged so would my remaining few hours see me creep up above the 200 mark as I did with my last venture into Yorkshire?
Here's a reminder of 1 of the many winners from my initial hour or so at Leeds
Northern Rail sprinter 150119 departs Leeds station by
The_Train
I was straight back in amongst the winners as
333016 became the 8th of this class to be ticked off today before I hit yet another hot streak with no less than 7 winners in a row over the next 10 minutes. This started with
150135 before TPE threw more 185s in my direction with
185114 and
185119 going into the book. It was another double whammy next as well but this time with yet another of the classic sprinter units as
158758 and
158752 passed in opposite directions with
142050 and
185137 completing this little run which was ended by previously seen 333015 seen here departing Leeds after a short layover
Northern 333 units at Leeds by
The_Train
Having seen a few freights working around the curve outside the station, we were now finally blessed with a freight train working it's way through the station as dud FLR 66534 worked through with some very colourful hoppers with a working from Rylstone to Hunslet Tilcon
FLR 66534 heads into Leeds station by
The_Train
As the dud numbers started to increase at a regular pace I started to fear that my remaining time at Leeds might be wasted but, although not as frequent, winners did keep coming with
158843 being next to strike. Knowing how less frequent the LNER sets were at Leeds, particularly compared to my last Yorkshire visit, I'd not budgeted to improved my 91/DVT numbers but struck a nice little bonus when
91104 arrived with DVT
82227 on the rear. This was made all the more interesting as I was stood chatting to another spotter who happened to be noting coaches so I finally succumbed and decided to log the coach numbers with this set so the 9 coach numbers went into the book but I won't use them as part of my tally nor will I log them individually in this report. The big coach debate aside, this was more important as it carried on the good work of Doncaster and edged me even closer to completing the 91/DVT sets. There seems to be a lot of units in Northern land still showing off their previous life and next in the book was ex ScotRail
170460 as it arrived from Knaresborough
170460 arriving into Leeds by
The_Train
158757 also found its way into the book before another LNER set departed but this time it was dud power cars 43314 and 43307 heading back to the capital
LNER HST power car 43307 departs Leeds by
The_Train
More TPE 185 action next as
185129 became the 35th of this class to be chalked off before it was back to Northern units as
150205 found its way into the book. 35 class 185 winners soon became 36 thanks to
185101 and then it was my first 155 to be chalked off when
155344 arrived and departed with ex GWR
153373 attached to it
Ex GWR 153 in Northern land by
The_Train
158855 was next to get the bold treatment, with another 170, in the form of
472, following it into the book as the winners kept coming. It was now mid afternoon and 9 hours since my day had begun and there was still no let up with winners and yet another mini blitz struck me as
158791 was followed by
185121 and
333014 in a matter of minutes and I was suddenly up to 163 winners for the day with 2 and a half hours until my planned train back across the Pennines. The units just kept on coming and going and Northern definitely don't mind throwing any concoction together as was shown with duds 156426, 153360 & 153351 worked through towards Manchester Victoria
Northern Rail 156426 departs Leeds by
The_Train
The 185 winners seemed to be never ending and the next 2 into the book were
185112 and
185151 before attentions turned back to the lovely pacers with
144015 and
142062.
153363 is soon getting the treatment as well before my 2nd 155 -
155341 this time - is marked off. Dud LNER 91118 and DVT 82226 came and went before
322484 arrived to leave me needing just one more 322 to complete this small class
LNER Class 91 91118 departing Leeds by
The_Train
A 30 minutes lull struck me as I was flooded with duds and it would have been easy to suspect that this was the start of the end of my good fortune but Leeds wasn't giving up on me just yet.
185105 was soon chalked off, quickly followed by
150118 before I got some more luck with the LNER stock as winner
91117 arrived with dud 82219
91117 arrives at Leeds by
The_Train
TPE
185149 was next into the winners log before
158848 joined it. A triple whammy of sprinter units kept things ticking over nicely thanks to
153380,
153317 and
158909 before yet more LNER joy (and not just with coaching stock) as I was able to chalk off
91107 and
82213 as they arrived from London town. Northern clearly make use of their 333 stocks as even as the day turned to evening winners were still coming,
333004 in this instance before
144016 became the next Pacer to fall. It was a tandem working of 150s that supplied my next victory as
150274 and
150218 worked a service from Huddersfield. We were thrown a nice curve ball next as
801101 made a special guest appearance having worked a test from London before heading off to Doncaster with my 12th (and final) 333 success of the day, in the form of
333010, following shortly after. The day was closing to and end but not before a few more impacted upon my book of sights starting with
158842 and
153330 before the klaxons were sounding once again as
322482 arrived to signal the completion of the 322 class. Amazingly I was still chalking off 185 units although
185120 would be my final one of the day before
91131 took me to needing just 4 of the 91s and it's partner
82224 left me needing 5 of the LNER DVTs. By now I'd witnessed a few of the TPE services heading across the Pennines to be extremely busy so I decided to stroll down to the concourse to see what alternatives were available. Unfortunately whilst waiting for that last LNER service I'd missed my last alternative option meaning I had to head across to a very crowded platform 16 for my train back to Manchester although before doing this there was still time to mark off and final winner at Leeds thanks to
170476. My horsepower for the journey to Manchester was
185146 which was a first for haulage if not for sight and it was indeed busy although it thinned out at Dewsbury so I was able to nab a table seat for the remainder of the journey.
I spent most of the journey with my head in my book but thanks to a slow run through the Manchester stations, I was able to snag
156463 as it paused at Oxford Road before we eventually arrived into Piccadilly slightly later than scheduled. My Pendolino for the journey home was already platformed at Piccadilly but I had a bit of time to scout the platforms and was able to add a trio of pacers to the book as
142015,
142047 and
142052 each awaited departure. Knowing my phone needed some charge, I decided to jump on 390046, my steed for the journey home although not a first timer, so I could nab a table seat and grab a socket. Unfortunately as I did this I managed to miss a freight train that had crept through platform 14 but I knew there would be a couple of opportunities to grab a bit of late night freight at the local once I arrived back there. It was back to my book for the journey home on what was a fairly busy service although I was faced with 2 women sharing the table seats with me, 1 of whom decided that we should all listen to what she was watching on her phone and another who felt the need to cover herself in perfume as soon as she sat down - I can only assume it was an attempt at attracting my attention......
Anyway, my journey and day was soon at an end and as I saw one freight at Stafford passing by as we pulled in and then another blocked by the pendolino that I'd just arrived on I decided this was a sign to call it a day/night so I headed home for some well earned rest.
All in all, Leeds was a worthy place to go and eat and way at the unit requirements. Very busy station with lots of variety and a place I would definitely recommend, especially if new to this as I am. I also got what I wanted at Sheffield in the shape of the 20s so this one has to go down as a worthwhile outing.
Sight Summary
Winners:
197
Classes completed:
1 - 322
Sub classes completed:
1 - 321/9
Haulage Summary
Winners:
6
Total Mileage:
233 miles
Classes completed:
N/A
Sub classes completed:
N/A