boiledbeans2
Member
I'm planning a day trip to Birmingham to ride the Class 323s, sometime within this month.
I'm unfamiliar with the area so here's what I understand so far from reading the internet.
1) According to Wikipedia, Class 323s are only used on the Redditch/Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent Valley route, and are the sole type of trains on this route, is this right? So that means I could just turn up at random and ride, without much need for planning.
2) From searching tickets on the WMT website, it seems there are only 2tph from Redditch to Four Oaks, and 2tph from Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent, is this right? I assume this is a Covid timetable, since it is drastically reduced from what is written on Wikipedia.
3) When is a quiet time to ride the trains? I would like to make some audio recordings of the motors, so it would be good if the train is relatively empty.
4) There is a West Midlands Day Ranger at £28.80, but according to the WMT website, I can't use a 26-30 railcard with it, so it seems very expensive.
5) I'm coming from Guildford, so this seems to be the cheapest way to do it (with 26-30 railcard):
a) Off-peak day return Guildford to Lichfield Trent, £48.55 (same price to New Street. Also same price for weekends and weekdays)
b) Off-peak day return Lichfield Trent - Bromsgrove, £8.35
c) Off-peak day return Birmingham New Street - Redditch, £4.35
The above should allow me to do Guildford - New Street - Lichfield Trent - Bromsgrove - Lichfield Trent - Redditch - New Street - Guildford
6) Would anyone have additional advice or suggestions for this trip?
Thanks in advance!
I'm unfamiliar with the area so here's what I understand so far from reading the internet.
1) According to Wikipedia, Class 323s are only used on the Redditch/Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent Valley route, and are the sole type of trains on this route, is this right? So that means I could just turn up at random and ride, without much need for planning.
2) From searching tickets on the WMT website, it seems there are only 2tph from Redditch to Four Oaks, and 2tph from Bromsgrove to Lichfield Trent, is this right? I assume this is a Covid timetable, since it is drastically reduced from what is written on Wikipedia.
3) When is a quiet time to ride the trains? I would like to make some audio recordings of the motors, so it would be good if the train is relatively empty.
4) There is a West Midlands Day Ranger at £28.80, but according to the WMT website, I can't use a 26-30 railcard with it, so it seems very expensive.
5) I'm coming from Guildford, so this seems to be the cheapest way to do it (with 26-30 railcard):
a) Off-peak day return Guildford to Lichfield Trent, £48.55 (same price to New Street. Also same price for weekends and weekdays)
b) Off-peak day return Lichfield Trent - Bromsgrove, £8.35
c) Off-peak day return Birmingham New Street - Redditch, £4.35
The above should allow me to do Guildford - New Street - Lichfield Trent - Bromsgrove - Lichfield Trent - Redditch - New Street - Guildford
6) Would anyone have additional advice or suggestions for this trip?
Thanks in advance!