Kite159
Veteran Member
However Northern + Sunday is always a dangerous game owing to the large number of cancellations due to staff not wanting to volunteer to work overtime. But that's for another topic
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How difficult is it to arrive or leave at all timetabled platforms. 5 year project to achieve this.
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Day 432: Thursday 16/01/2025 - Warrington Bank Quay to Crewe - £18.00 - Anytime Short Return. Crewe to London Euston - £35.05 - Off-peak return (WM only). Milton Keynes to BZ6 - £16.10 - Anytime Single. London Zones 1-6 Day Travelcard - £10.40 - Off-peak. BZ6 to Leighton Buzzard - £11.55 - Off-peak Return. BZ5 to Watford Junction - Off-peak Return. CP for once is not applicable as travelling from a local station to me and i got a lift!
Total time today 684 mins - time on trains 389 mins and time waiting 295 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2175. Platforms completed at completed stations 4980.
"Euston is going to bankrupt me before i complete all track there"
The decision to take todays trip was only made in the early morning after i had done a recap of a long held target which is/was P4 at Kent House. I had put together a 2 day itinerary the previous day with the hope there was a reasonable chance of it coming off. Essentially a near 1am call by SE to allow an express service to pass was in force mon/thur evenings all week. On Monday the service i was due to arrive on ended up in p4 due to lateness but the signaller put the stopper i wanted into P3 and the express had to do the loop. Odd. Same oddness on Tuesday. Hmm. Wednesday the move did come off and as the weather was in an acceptable state and i had a little bit of stir craziness into the mix i went for it.......
My short notice planning wasn't checked as much as i would like so i did what i occasionally do on London trips in that i have random blindness to the afternoon peaks. Not intentional but i would have paid over £100 which would probably make that the most expensive (non sleeper) day ever for me. I still think it was in actual fact. Euston will bankrupt me if i don't take more care with so many possible routings on offer. At least 13 crossovers remain which on the face of it are regularly used. The 3 remaining platforms are not difficult but i do notice that there are semi frequent platform alterations most days which will no doubt take its toll on my plans over time. Maybe a MK/Euston season ticket may be a decent shout so more research needed on that.
A real hotch potch of short notice tickets to get to London but it did save me at least £60 in petrol and car park fees (a resonable guess i think) as well as the hassle factor, so that maybe a consideration to repeat sometime - especially when doing Euston. No advance tickets available so it was a case of what i could get. A crossover after Tamworth was my first win and then a fortuitous platform alteration on arrival in London saw me ticking off P4 as well as a crossover to get there. Ditto in reverse getting up to Leighton Buzzard with a P12 win on departure and another crossover to gain the Down Fast at Camden South. This was a packed service with only a few alighting despite it being the first calling point. Another crossover on arrival back at Euston kept things ticking along. A needed route did not materialise on departure to Watford Junction but i needed to turn there and use the Southern service to get to Clapham Junction and avoiding the underground to do so (petty rules i have....). A bit of a convoluted route to get to my hotel at Bromley so Clapham to Victoria to Bromley South. I wanted to check in now rather than post 1am.This was important as the only realistic way to use P4 at Kent House under my rules was to board there and alight where i could find a cheap hotel. Cue the Premier Inn just a few minutes from Bromley South where the service was terminating due to engineering works.
Did i get to use P4 at Kent House at the 4th attempt? Yes is the answer and probably one of the more difficult things to get these last few years in London is now in the bag. A big relief when the signal at P3 remained Green as the due time arrived. TL do use the P4 loop on engineering days but they don't open the doors so it has to be a SE service to board/alight there.
Was it worth it? Yes depite the cost. Quite a few more bits and bobs are also in the bag with the prospect of quite a few more tomorrow. Impulsiveness sometimes works.
Total time today 684 mins - time on trains 389 mins and time waiting 295 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2175. Platforms completed at completed stations 4980.
"Euston is going to bankrupt me before i complete all track there"
The decision to take todays trip was only made in the early morning after i had done a recap of a long held target which is/was P4 at Kent House. I had put together a 2 day itinerary the previous day with the hope there was a reasonable chance of it coming off. Essentially a near 1am call by SE to allow an express service to pass was in force mon/thur evenings all week. On Monday the service i was due to arrive on ended up in p4 due to lateness but the signaller put the stopper i wanted into P3 and the express had to do the loop. Odd. Same oddness on Tuesday. Hmm. Wednesday the move did come off and as the weather was in an acceptable state and i had a little bit of stir craziness into the mix i went for it.......
My short notice planning wasn't checked as much as i would like so i did what i occasionally do on London trips in that i have random blindness to the afternoon peaks. Not intentional but i would have paid over £100 which would probably make that the most expensive (non sleeper) day ever for me. I still think it was in actual fact. Euston will bankrupt me if i don't take more care with so many possible routings on offer. At least 13 crossovers remain which on the face of it are regularly used. The 3 remaining platforms are not difficult but i do notice that there are semi frequent platform alterations most days which will no doubt take its toll on my plans over time. Maybe a MK/Euston season ticket may be a decent shout so more research needed on that.
A real hotch potch of short notice tickets to get to London but it did save me at least £60 in petrol and car park fees (a resonable guess i think) as well as the hassle factor, so that maybe a consideration to repeat sometime - especially when doing Euston. No advance tickets available so it was a case of what i could get. A crossover after Tamworth was my first win and then a fortuitous platform alteration on arrival in London saw me ticking off P4 as well as a crossover to get there. Ditto in reverse getting up to Leighton Buzzard with a P12 win on departure and another crossover to gain the Down Fast at Camden South. This was a packed service with only a few alighting despite it being the first calling point. Another crossover on arrival back at Euston kept things ticking along. A needed route did not materialise on departure to Watford Junction but i needed to turn there and use the Southern service to get to Clapham Junction and avoiding the underground to do so (petty rules i have....). A bit of a convoluted route to get to my hotel at Bromley so Clapham to Victoria to Bromley South. I wanted to check in now rather than post 1am.This was important as the only realistic way to use P4 at Kent House under my rules was to board there and alight where i could find a cheap hotel. Cue the Premier Inn just a few minutes from Bromley South where the service was terminating due to engineering works.
Did i get to use P4 at Kent House at the 4th attempt? Yes is the answer and probably one of the more difficult things to get these last few years in London is now in the bag. A big relief when the signal at P3 remained Green as the due time arrived. TL do use the P4 loop on engineering days but they don't open the doors so it has to be a SE service to board/alight there.
Was it worth it? Yes depite the cost. Quite a few more bits and bobs are also in the bag with the prospect of quite a few more tomorrow. Impulsiveness sometimes works.
| Warrington Bank Quay | Depart | 13.43 | ***** | VT | stations | platforms | ||
| Crewe | Arrive | 13.59 | P5 | VT | wait 16m | completed | completed | |
| Crewe | Depart | 14.15 | P7 | LM | ||||
| Milton Keynes Central | Arrive | 15.52 | P4 | LM | wait 25m | |||
| Milton Keynes Central | Depart | 16.17 | P4 | VT | ||||
| London Euston | Arrive | 16.53 | P4 | VT | wait 34m | |||
| London Euston | Depart | 17.27 | P12 | LM | ||||
| Leighton Buzzard | Arrive | 18.05 | P3 | LM | wait 7m | |||
| Leighton Buzzard | Depart | 18.12 | P4 | LM | ||||
| London Euston | Arrive | 19.04 | P11 | LM | wait 20m | |||
| London Euston | Depart | 19.24 | P11 | LM | ||||
| Watford Junction | Arrive | 19.42 | P8 | LM | wait 10m | |||
| Watford Junction | Depart | 19.52 | P10 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 20.33 | P17 | SN | wait 13m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 20.46 | P14 | SN | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 20.53 | P9 | SN | wait 20m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 21.13 | P5 | SE | ||||
| Bromley South | Arrive | 21.29 | P4 | SE | wait 34m | |||
| Bromley South | Depart | 22.03 | P3 | SE | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 22.21 | P5 | SE | wait 20m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 22.41 | P11 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 22.46 | P15 | SN | wait 45m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 23.31 | P4 | SN | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 23.41 | P6 | SN | wait 16m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 23.57 | P2 | SE | ||||
| Kent House | Arrive | 0.18 | P3 | SE | wait 35m | |||
| Kent House | Depart | 0.53 | P4 | SE | 1 | 4 | ||
| Bromley South | Arrive | 1.07 | ***** | SE |
All platforms
Member
Day 433: Friday 17/01/2025 - London Zones 1-6 Day Travelcard - £20.40 - Peak. BZ6 to Sevenoaks - £9.40 - Anytime Return. BZ6 to Swanley - £6.30 - Anytime Return. BZ6 to Littlehaven - £11.05 - Off-peak Return. Crawley to Three Bridges - £2.50 - Off-peak Return. BZ6 to Watford Junction - £4.10 - Off-peak Return. CP - again not applicable for once.
Total time today 762 mins - time on trains 451 mins and time waiting 311 mins. Stations completed today 1 (it would have been more!). Total completed 2176. Platforms completed at completed stations 4982.
"Problems at Hitchin cause me problems on the line down to Horsham"
I wanted to clear the stations down to Horsham today and before that i thought i would see if i could clear anything else in the morning rush hour. In theory i had quite a few targets to aim for but with a limited amount of time to research tis properly i quickly plumped for 2 sets of double crossovers either side of Grove Park and not far therefore from my start point of Bromley South. At this stage i don't know if i was just unlucky on the day or if its another example of planning and actual just not aligning. Not the first time for that for sure.
It is now no surprise that neither of these moves worked, one from Sevenoaks and the other as a first stop Swanley away from London Bridge. I did gain another needed double crossover north of Hither Green on the first of these two journeys, but one ostensibly not rare - though it has eluded me thus far.
And so to the stations between Three Bridges and Horsham. My intended service was about 7 mins down at London Bridge and with a tight turnaround at Crawley i plumped for the previous Horsham service which was more than 20 minutes adrift. Apparently there was a power loss in the Hitchin area and all the Peterborough TL units were affected. I decided to alight at East Croydon to see if there were any alternatives and i jumped on a Southern service that was calling at Crawley. I wouldn't have to worry about the turnaround time but i would lose 2 crossovers into P3 at Gatwick Airport. Almost 11am and nothing on the board. Zut....
At Crawley it was clear that the Thameslink services were in big trouble with all the ones i could see either terminating early at Three Bridges or running fast to Horsham with some of the Southern services down to Bognor and Portsmouth & Southsea filling in - but not at Faygate. There is one easily done out and back at Faygate in the middle of the day with other services relegated to the peaks, but there was no way i was risking anything so i had to see if i could rescue the day in any way. Once back at Three Bridges i could see a P1 departure down to Horsham was available so went for that forgetting i had a ticket only as far as Littlehaven - but it wasn't calling there!
So what did i rescue from this jaunt? The crossover to gain the down Horsham from P1 for one. Then the crossover into P1 Horsham followed by a P1 return at Three Bridges (whole P1 line in fact). The icing was a repeat use of the Up Loop into P1 at Gatwick Airport before then using the crossovers to reach the fast line on departure as the service was now going fast to East Croydon. So nothing i was expecting basically..... Be thankful for small mercies i guess.
Even so i was a few minutes later than i wanted at East Croydon and so missing my connection back to Watford Junction. Eureka, i could try and overtake it. Luckily a service from Ore was due and so i crossed to p1 and onto the service in for a me a bold decisive move. It worked as we passed the Southern service and i had a few minutes to switch platforms at Clapham. A long slow trip back up to Watford Junction was next before taking the third service to Euston to try and get more Euston goodness. Nope we did something done previously.
There was one last, long tried for bit of track to savour however as i finally got the one a day service up to Albans Abbey and thus crossing over into P11 from the main lines at Watford. This made up for the losses earlier as this ostensibly easy bit of track was finally scored. All that remained was to get myself back to Bank Quay, so via Milton keynes and Crewe again. I may do some more of these Bank Quay jaunts but not tomorrow as i will be driving down to Ally Pally where i have spotted quite a few needed moves with the line between Alexandra Palace and Stevenage being shut. Not sure if i will be staying over so research hat needed now to scope out the Monday possibilities. The London grind continues.
Total time today 762 mins - time on trains 451 mins and time waiting 311 mins. Stations completed today 1 (it would have been more!). Total completed 2176. Platforms completed at completed stations 4982.
"Problems at Hitchin cause me problems on the line down to Horsham"
I wanted to clear the stations down to Horsham today and before that i thought i would see if i could clear anything else in the morning rush hour. In theory i had quite a few targets to aim for but with a limited amount of time to research tis properly i quickly plumped for 2 sets of double crossovers either side of Grove Park and not far therefore from my start point of Bromley South. At this stage i don't know if i was just unlucky on the day or if its another example of planning and actual just not aligning. Not the first time for that for sure.
It is now no surprise that neither of these moves worked, one from Sevenoaks and the other as a first stop Swanley away from London Bridge. I did gain another needed double crossover north of Hither Green on the first of these two journeys, but one ostensibly not rare - though it has eluded me thus far.
And so to the stations between Three Bridges and Horsham. My intended service was about 7 mins down at London Bridge and with a tight turnaround at Crawley i plumped for the previous Horsham service which was more than 20 minutes adrift. Apparently there was a power loss in the Hitchin area and all the Peterborough TL units were affected. I decided to alight at East Croydon to see if there were any alternatives and i jumped on a Southern service that was calling at Crawley. I wouldn't have to worry about the turnaround time but i would lose 2 crossovers into P3 at Gatwick Airport. Almost 11am and nothing on the board. Zut....
At Crawley it was clear that the Thameslink services were in big trouble with all the ones i could see either terminating early at Three Bridges or running fast to Horsham with some of the Southern services down to Bognor and Portsmouth & Southsea filling in - but not at Faygate. There is one easily done out and back at Faygate in the middle of the day with other services relegated to the peaks, but there was no way i was risking anything so i had to see if i could rescue the day in any way. Once back at Three Bridges i could see a P1 departure down to Horsham was available so went for that forgetting i had a ticket only as far as Littlehaven - but it wasn't calling there!
So what did i rescue from this jaunt? The crossover to gain the down Horsham from P1 for one. Then the crossover into P1 Horsham followed by a P1 return at Three Bridges (whole P1 line in fact). The icing was a repeat use of the Up Loop into P1 at Gatwick Airport before then using the crossovers to reach the fast line on departure as the service was now going fast to East Croydon. So nothing i was expecting basically..... Be thankful for small mercies i guess.
Even so i was a few minutes later than i wanted at East Croydon and so missing my connection back to Watford Junction. Eureka, i could try and overtake it. Luckily a service from Ore was due and so i crossed to p1 and onto the service in for a me a bold decisive move. It worked as we passed the Southern service and i had a few minutes to switch platforms at Clapham. A long slow trip back up to Watford Junction was next before taking the third service to Euston to try and get more Euston goodness. Nope we did something done previously.
There was one last, long tried for bit of track to savour however as i finally got the one a day service up to Albans Abbey and thus crossing over into P11 from the main lines at Watford. This made up for the losses earlier as this ostensibly easy bit of track was finally scored. All that remained was to get myself back to Bank Quay, so via Milton keynes and Crewe again. I may do some more of these Bank Quay jaunts but not tomorrow as i will be driving down to Ally Pally where i have spotted quite a few needed moves with the line between Alexandra Palace and Stevenage being shut. Not sure if i will be staying over so research hat needed now to scope out the Monday possibilities. The London grind continues.
| Bromley South | Depart | 6.53 | ***** | TL | stations | platforms | ||
| Sevenoaks | Arrive | 7.25 | P4 | TL | wait 31m | completed | completed | |
| Sevenoaks | Depart | 7.56 | P1 | SE | ||||
| London Bridge | Arrive | 8.24 | P3 | SE | wait 13m | |||
| London Bridge | Depart | 8.37 | P6 | SE | ||||
| Swanley | Arrive | 8.58 | P2 | SE | wait 49m | |||
| Swanley | Depart | 9.47 | P1 | SE | ||||
| London Bridge | Arrive | 10.13 | P9 | SE | wait 18m | |||
| London Bridge | Depart | 10.31 | P4 | TL | ||||
| East Croydon | Arrive | 10.48 | P3 | TL | wait 6m | |||
| East Croydon | Depart | 10.54 | P3 | SN | ||||
| Crawley | Arrive | 11.23 | P2 | SN | wait 6m | |||
| Crawley | Depart | 11.29 | P1 | SN | 1 | 2 | ||
| Three Bridges | Arrive | 11.31 | P2 | SN | wait 53m | |||
| Three Bridges | Depart | 12.24 | P1 | TL | ||||
| Horsham | Arrive | 12.36 | P1 | TL | wait 7m | |||
| Horsham | Depart | 12.43 | P1 | TL | ||||
| East Croydon | Arrive | 13.15 | P2 | TL | wait 5m | |||
| East Croydon | Depart | 13.20 | P1 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 13.29 | P12 | SN | wait 10m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 13.39 | P16 | SN | ||||
| Watford Junction | Arrive | 14.21 | P10 | SN | wait 14m | |||
| Watford Junction | Depart | 14.35 | P7 | LM | ||||
| London Euston | Arrive | 14.52 | P3 | LM | wait 26m | |||
| London Euston | Depart | 15.18 | P11 | LM | ||||
| Watford Junction | Arrive | 15.39 | P11 | LM | wait 23m | |||
| Watford Junction | Depart | 16.02 | P8 | LM | ||||
| Milton Keynes Central | Arrive | 16.46 | P2 | LM | wait 35m | |||
| Milton Keynes Central | Depart | 17.21 | P5 | LM | ||||
| Crewe | Arrive | 19.03 | P7 | LM | wait 15m | |||
| Crewe | Depart | 19.18 | P11 | VT | ||||
| Warrington Bank Quay | Arrive | 19.35 | ***** | VT |
Kite159
Veteran Member
A busy couple of days in the capital & WCML area.
All platforms
Member
Day 434: Sunday 19/01/2025 - London Zones 1-6 Day travelcard - £10.40 - Off-peak. BZ6 to Peterborough - £13.25 - Super off-peak Return x2 (TL only). London Kings Cross to Peterborough - £31.35 - Off-peak Return (Basically LNER only). I confess i made a right pigs ear for todays ticketing and others were purchased which i will have to see i can obtain refunds for..... CP Barrett Avenue Alexandra Palace - free. Nightingale Road Harlesden - free.
Total time today 590 mins - time on trains 314 mins and time waiting 276 mins. Nothing completed stationwise but lots of lovely rare stuff as i stay close to civilisation in the colder months.
"A rip-roaringly successful day on the MML"
The ticket debacle apart, today has been very successful which all started when i realised the line would be shut between Alexandra Palace and Stevenage on the ECML today and all sorts of track weirdness would result. What could go wrong? well not a lot in truth. So what is the plan?
Making an exception of the no driving 200 miles rule (kind of a rule anyway) in Jan/Feb because of just how much was available i was in the car c2.30am after only a couple of hours sleep (don't ask) and felt surprisingly refreshed upon arrival. There are fewer parking restrictions on Sundays in London so i parked up fairly close to the station in a quiet residential street and had just over 10 mins to wait in the dark for the first move of the day, which was going to Moorgate but i would be switching at Old Street. It may not be the most interesting thing to just list all the crossovers, but there was some rare stuff included so it makes sense to give a flavour of what happened.
I don't think many Moorgate starters end up in P7 at Finsbury Park but that's what was in RTT and it actual happened. A great start to the day then. Well, it wasn't the actual start - just the planned start. An even rarer and unplanned move was experienced upon leaving Finsbury Park on the first move. I was most puzzled when we arrived in P2 and were then held there a while before moving off again and hard left onto a piece of track i have never seen timetabled and which RTT names as UME to gain the Up Moorgate. Use of P2 was not planned, but i guess i gain from that. Going back to the move from Old Street this would terminate in P4 at my original start point so the return gained me another not seen before move from the Slow Line to get there. I mean why would you... It would get even better later on when an Azuma did the same thing, but from the Down Fast so yet another rare crossover - and its not even 9am yet.
Boy i really messed up my tickets today but i had what i needed to rescue the thing after i realised my Peterborough tickets were Thameslink only so an expensive mistake as i had to get an Azuma friendly one in addition. Enough of such foolery - suffice it to say i also scored 3 rare crossovers at various times north of Stevenage today as well as one at Hitchin. Also most (not all mind) of the remaining bits of track i need into/out of Kings Cross. A few more bits of pieces not mentioned also. What a day. I actually finished earlier than anticipated when i realised i already had my targets in the bag so i got myself back to base and headed off to another of my cheap Sunday night hotels. I was also pretty tired so i would get my head down for a few hours and consider if i wanted to play out again later.
Everything up to and via Peterborough was going via Cuffley and Hertford North so that forced all services doing this via Alexandra Palace P4 and the slow lines before/after. An exceptional day really with so much scored. I still need all the crossovers at new Barnet but there are no other glaring hotspots, just the odd thing here and there. if only the Midland Main Line would behave itself like the ECML has today. Wishful thinking perhaps.
There was one final twist in that after some sleep i decided i would go out again after all with an 11.30pm visit to Willesden Junction as i have wanted to do the New line there for such a long time but logistically its an awkward one to plan for. As such it has long evaded me. Rife with beggars at that time of night it was an odd 10 minute wait on the high level. They all departed at Kensal Rise but i deemed it safe to stay on until Brondesbury and a 9 minute wait for the return. It was only after i got back that i realised i had missed a trick. If i had got an earlier service i could have turned at Gospel Oak and scored a bonus as the last train was departing there from P2 unusually. As it was i was more than happy as we crawled down the new line to the Low Level part of Willesden Junction. Enough reflected light to see enough outside as we traversed this short piece of track and another PSUL scored.
Things wouldn't go quite so well on the Monday but lots of bits and bobs done nevertheless.
Total time today 590 mins - time on trains 314 mins and time waiting 276 mins. Nothing completed stationwise but lots of lovely rare stuff as i stay close to civilisation in the colder months.
"A rip-roaringly successful day on the MML"
The ticket debacle apart, today has been very successful which all started when i realised the line would be shut between Alexandra Palace and Stevenage on the ECML today and all sorts of track weirdness would result. What could go wrong? well not a lot in truth. So what is the plan?
Making an exception of the no driving 200 miles rule (kind of a rule anyway) in Jan/Feb because of just how much was available i was in the car c2.30am after only a couple of hours sleep (don't ask) and felt surprisingly refreshed upon arrival. There are fewer parking restrictions on Sundays in London so i parked up fairly close to the station in a quiet residential street and had just over 10 mins to wait in the dark for the first move of the day, which was going to Moorgate but i would be switching at Old Street. It may not be the most interesting thing to just list all the crossovers, but there was some rare stuff included so it makes sense to give a flavour of what happened.
I don't think many Moorgate starters end up in P7 at Finsbury Park but that's what was in RTT and it actual happened. A great start to the day then. Well, it wasn't the actual start - just the planned start. An even rarer and unplanned move was experienced upon leaving Finsbury Park on the first move. I was most puzzled when we arrived in P2 and were then held there a while before moving off again and hard left onto a piece of track i have never seen timetabled and which RTT names as UME to gain the Up Moorgate. Use of P2 was not planned, but i guess i gain from that. Going back to the move from Old Street this would terminate in P4 at my original start point so the return gained me another not seen before move from the Slow Line to get there. I mean why would you... It would get even better later on when an Azuma did the same thing, but from the Down Fast so yet another rare crossover - and its not even 9am yet.
Boy i really messed up my tickets today but i had what i needed to rescue the thing after i realised my Peterborough tickets were Thameslink only so an expensive mistake as i had to get an Azuma friendly one in addition. Enough of such foolery - suffice it to say i also scored 3 rare crossovers at various times north of Stevenage today as well as one at Hitchin. Also most (not all mind) of the remaining bits of track i need into/out of Kings Cross. A few more bits of pieces not mentioned also. What a day. I actually finished earlier than anticipated when i realised i already had my targets in the bag so i got myself back to base and headed off to another of my cheap Sunday night hotels. I was also pretty tired so i would get my head down for a few hours and consider if i wanted to play out again later.
Everything up to and via Peterborough was going via Cuffley and Hertford North so that forced all services doing this via Alexandra Palace P4 and the slow lines before/after. An exceptional day really with so much scored. I still need all the crossovers at new Barnet but there are no other glaring hotspots, just the odd thing here and there. if only the Midland Main Line would behave itself like the ECML has today. Wishful thinking perhaps.
There was one final twist in that after some sleep i decided i would go out again after all with an 11.30pm visit to Willesden Junction as i have wanted to do the New line there for such a long time but logistically its an awkward one to plan for. As such it has long evaded me. Rife with beggars at that time of night it was an odd 10 minute wait on the high level. They all departed at Kensal Rise but i deemed it safe to stay on until Brondesbury and a 9 minute wait for the return. It was only after i got back that i realised i had missed a trick. If i had got an earlier service i could have turned at Gospel Oak and scored a bonus as the last train was departing there from P2 unusually. As it was i was more than happy as we crawled down the new line to the Low Level part of Willesden Junction. Enough reflected light to see enough outside as we traversed this short piece of track and another PSUL scored.
Things wouldn't go quite so well on the Monday but lots of bits and bobs done nevertheless.
| Alexandra Palace | Depart | 6.42 | ***** | GN | stations | platforms | ||
| Old Street | Arrive | 7.01 | P4 | GN | wait 13m | completed | completed | |
| Old Street | Depart | 7.14 | P3 | GN | ||||
| Alexandra Palace | Arrive | 7.34 | P4 | GN | wait 8m | |||
| Alexandra Palace | Depart | 7.42 | P1 | GN | ||||
| Finsbury Park | Arrive | 7.51 | P1 | GN | wait 8m | |||
| Finsbury Park | Depart | 7.59 | P2 | TL | ||||
| London Kings Cross | Arrive | 8.04 | P8 | TL | wait 23m | |||
| London Kings Cross | Depart | 8.27 | P5 | TL | ||||
| Stevenage | Arrive | 9.02 | P4 | TL | wait 23m | |||
| Stevenage | Depart | 9.25 | P4 | GR | ||||
| Peterborough | Arrive | 9.54 | P4 | GR | wait 40m | |||
| Peterborough | Depart | 10.34 | P2 | TL | ||||
| Stevenage | Arrive | 11.24 | P1 | TL | wait 25m | |||
| Stevenage | Depart | 11.49 | P2 | GN | ||||
| Hitchin | Arrive | 11.54 | P2 | GN | wait 15m | |||
| Hitchin | Depart | 12.09 | P2 | TL | ||||
| Peterborough | Arrive | 13.00 | P2 | TL | wait 32m | |||
| Peterborough | Depart | 13.32 | P1 | GR | ||||
| London Kings Cross | Arrive | 14.31 | P7 | GR | wait 57m | |||
| London Kings Cross | Depart | 15.28 | P8 | TL | ||||
| Finsbury Park | Arrive | 15.33 | P7 | TL | wait 24m | |||
| Finsbury Park | Depart | 15.57 | P8 | GN | ||||
| Alexandra Palace | Arrive | 16.07 | ***** | GN | drive + | |||
| Relocate to | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | wait lots | |||
| Willesden Junction | Depart | 23.21 | ***** | LO | ||||
| Brondesbury | Arrive | 23.27 | P2 | LO | wait 8m | |||
| Brondesbury | Depart | 23.36 | P1 | LO | ||||
| Willesden Junction | Arrive | 23.46 | ***** | LO |
All platforms
Member
Day 435: Monday 20/01/2025 - London Z1-6 Day travelcard - £22.60 - Anytime. BZ5 to Woking - £4.85 - Evening Out Return. CP Nightingale Road Harlesden - free. Elstree & Borehamwood - £9.10.
Total time today 592 mins - time on trains 290 mins and time waiting 302 mins. No stations completed but i did score 1 new platform!
"Bouncing between Waterloo and Clapham Junction"
It would be rude not to go back to Willesden Junction after last nights jaunt to do the reverse and go up the hill (rise?) this time. Another early start of course to do so but i have enough in the tank to do this so a pre 6am service started proceedings today. Still dark of course which is a pity. If i can i may return in the summer to do this again but no promises as its just a short bit of track in the scheme of things. All too soon i am turning at Finchley & Frognal Road and i am back where i started. Time to shoot off to Elstree & Borehamwood and try for some shuteye on a very busy commuter service. Just about got a seat so yes i did. I was making my way to Clapham Junction via Herne Hill and Victoria. It quickly became clear that things may be interesting as some lines were closed near to Vauxhall due to a points failure. Whether this helped me get my last remaining line near Clapham remains to be seen but i did score the Windsor reversible twice this morning, when twice before it has eluded... happy days then.
I have only single digit bits and bobs left to do at Waterloo and i scored 5 of them today included my penultimate platform line being a P24 departure. Man, that has been a tricky one whenever if have previously visited - but it really shouldn't be. Just the luck of the draw i guess. I should also have scored the last one in the guise of P10 but that was scuppered by a platform alteration - of course. And so the bouncing between Waterloo and the Junction was on. It got so mesmerising i took my foor off the ball on one of my terminus visits and dawdled too long taking pictures when i should have been hotfooting it to the other side of the station. Result two lost opportunities. Nothing that is unicorn so its just my bad...
The line closures also cost me a couple of things but i did score a couple of things on my trip to Woking (only way i could find of doing this!) but a darn sight cheaper than most out of zone journeys i have done.
I count today as another win, as in the end i was almost in double figures for new bits of track and the winters quest to get as much as i can weather permitting continues. I think i have 4 London terminals with only one platform left now, and the other (Euston) has 3 remaining. One at Vauxhall too now come to think of it....
With all that said if something comes up that i like the look of i could go anywhere and make a mockery of my own pronouncements... and not for the first time. I think my main difficulties now lie with the sheer number of crossovers on the main lines out of London (in particular). The vast majority are probably attainable but i can see i will be making many more trips here for the foreseeable. I just want to get the numbers down as best i can. Not my main gig i know but as said before long waits with no facilities at this time of year excite me not. No idea about this next weekend yet but i know there will be a 2 week gap after that (mostly), as our midwinter break in Yorkshire awaits.
Total time today 592 mins - time on trains 290 mins and time waiting 302 mins. No stations completed but i did score 1 new platform!
"Bouncing between Waterloo and Clapham Junction"
It would be rude not to go back to Willesden Junction after last nights jaunt to do the reverse and go up the hill (rise?) this time. Another early start of course to do so but i have enough in the tank to do this so a pre 6am service started proceedings today. Still dark of course which is a pity. If i can i may return in the summer to do this again but no promises as its just a short bit of track in the scheme of things. All too soon i am turning at Finchley & Frognal Road and i am back where i started. Time to shoot off to Elstree & Borehamwood and try for some shuteye on a very busy commuter service. Just about got a seat so yes i did. I was making my way to Clapham Junction via Herne Hill and Victoria. It quickly became clear that things may be interesting as some lines were closed near to Vauxhall due to a points failure. Whether this helped me get my last remaining line near Clapham remains to be seen but i did score the Windsor reversible twice this morning, when twice before it has eluded... happy days then.
I have only single digit bits and bobs left to do at Waterloo and i scored 5 of them today included my penultimate platform line being a P24 departure. Man, that has been a tricky one whenever if have previously visited - but it really shouldn't be. Just the luck of the draw i guess. I should also have scored the last one in the guise of P10 but that was scuppered by a platform alteration - of course. And so the bouncing between Waterloo and the Junction was on. It got so mesmerising i took my foor off the ball on one of my terminus visits and dawdled too long taking pictures when i should have been hotfooting it to the other side of the station. Result two lost opportunities. Nothing that is unicorn so its just my bad...
The line closures also cost me a couple of things but i did score a couple of things on my trip to Woking (only way i could find of doing this!) but a darn sight cheaper than most out of zone journeys i have done.
I count today as another win, as in the end i was almost in double figures for new bits of track and the winters quest to get as much as i can weather permitting continues. I think i have 4 London terminals with only one platform left now, and the other (Euston) has 3 remaining. One at Vauxhall too now come to think of it....
With all that said if something comes up that i like the look of i could go anywhere and make a mockery of my own pronouncements... and not for the first time. I think my main difficulties now lie with the sheer number of crossovers on the main lines out of London (in particular). The vast majority are probably attainable but i can see i will be making many more trips here for the foreseeable. I just want to get the numbers down as best i can. Not my main gig i know but as said before long waits with no facilities at this time of year excite me not. No idea about this next weekend yet but i know there will be a 2 week gap after that (mostly), as our midwinter break in Yorkshire awaits.
| Willesden Junctiom | Depart | 5.51 | ***** | LO | stations | platforms | ||
| Finchley Road & Frognal | Arrive | 6.05 | P2 | LO | wait 11m | completed | completed | |
| Finchley Road & Frognal | Depart | 6.16 | P1 | LO | ||||
| Willesden Junction | Arrive | 6.26 | ****** | LO | drive + | |||
| Relocate to | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | wait 53m | |||
| Elstree & Borehamwood | Depart | 7.19 | ****** | TL | ||||
| Herne Hill | Arrive | 8.04 | P4 | TL | wait 34m | |||
| Herne Hill | Depart | 8.38 | P2 | SE | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 8.48 | P3 | SE | wait 15m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 9.03 | P13 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 9.09 | P13 | SN | wait 10m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 9.19 | p3 | SW | ||||
| London Waterloo | Arrive | 9.30 | P18 | SW | wait 19m | |||
| London Waterloo | Depart | 9.49 | P24 | SW | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 9.58 | P6 | SW | wait 25m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 10.23 | P13 | SN | ||||
| East Croydon | Arrive | 10.35 | P3 | SN | wait 14m | |||
| East Croydon | Depart | 10.49 | P1 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 10.58 | P12 | SN | wait 43m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 11.41 | P3 | SN | ||||
| London Waterloo | Arrive | 11.53 | P22 | SN | wait 11m | |||
| London Waterloo | Depart | 12.04 | P8 | SW | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 12.10 | P9 | SW | wait 8m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 12.18 | P7 | SW | ||||
| London Waterloo | Arrive | 12.26 | P8 | SW | wait 25m | |||
| London Waterloo | Depart | 12.51 | P17 | SW | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 13.02 | P6 | SW | wait 4m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 13.06 | P7 | SW | ||||
| London Waterloo | Arrive | 13.15 | P9 | SW | wait 14m | |||
| London Waterloo | Depart | 13.29 | P12 | SW | ||||
| Woking | Arrive | 13.53 | P5 | SW | wait 10m | |||
| Woking | Depart | 14.03 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Wimbledon | Arrive | 14.33 | P5 | SW | wait 6m | |||
| Wimbledon | Depart | 14.39 | P9 | TL | ||||
| Elstree & Borehamwood | Arrive | 15.43 | ***** | TL |
Kite159
Veteran Member
All the pinging back & forth on the ECML & in London
All platforms
Member
Day 436: Saturday 25/01/2025 - Heart of Wessex Day Ranger - £17.30 - Valid all day at Weekends. CP Westbury - £3.00
Total time today 818 mins - time on trains 408 mins and time waiting 410 mins. Stations completed today 7. Total completed 2183. Platforms compled at completed stations 4994.
"A day on the Heart of Wessex Line"
Apart from my days in London I have largely spent the last 9 months or so focusing on the areas of the country that do not offer Ranger or Rover tickets, and constantly moaning about the subsequent price of a day out as a result. With todays forecast of sunny weather and no frost or rain in sight i toyed with the idea of returning to a Ranger area in order to curb the ever mounting cost of days out. My gut feeling is that i am spending almost double now compared with when i started in late 2020, even after taking into account that i started off nearer to home so travel costs were lighter then. Even so when i totted up this weekends expenditure as a reality check, i am not sure if these weekly escapades can continue in their present form. This may in turn make the original question of doing this within a 5 year time period a more difficult thing to answer as a yes even though i am ahead of schedule with an almost 85% completion score whiich equates to 401 more to complete in number terms. This is a bit of a freeform discussion which i wasn't intending to start when i sat down at my keyboard this morning but part of the problem i think is the sheer number of things that get planned which then don't happen for whatever reason, which means an inevitable unplanned return at some stage, and sometimes two returns.
The Heart of Wessex line is a case in point, although storm Bert in November is largely to blame for a number of fails here. The performance of GWR has also not been stellar this last few months which adds in a few reluctance points to the equation, but after drafting out a day focusing on the southern section i held my nerve and decided to go for it. The bonus was i also scored a cheap hotel room in Swindon for the Saturday night which meant i could also plan for the Sunday. Still a bit nervous about GWR on a Sunday so i went for something that offered flexibility. More on that in my Sunday report.
After studying the timetables for a few hours i committed to one of my very early starts with a pre 7am commencement in Westbury which is about 190 miles away. A straight forward trip thank goodness and i was well on time in the end and on the platform awaiting the first train to Weymouth. There was an even earlier train coming from Weymouth, but i had dismissed this because even i baulked at the even earlier start that would have had to be made. A good job as this was cancelled, though in fairness only one of two i saw on the boards all day. Still pitch black so i got some catch up shut eye on the almost hour run to Chetnole which i had chosen as my first turn point - mainly becasue it was the shortest wait possible on the services today.
Chetnole i had all to myself (unsurprisingly). It had a decent enough shelter with bench seating, so a another kip was possible if it was a tad warmer but as it was only 20 mins or so till the return i took the opportunity to have a good look around on the singled platform. I think it was here that a local artist had very colourfully painted the inside of the shelter with a bee theme - and i think the same artist did a similarly themed underpass on the Sunday (Pangbourne perhaps) on the line down to Reading. My memory as always fails to commit me in this area.
On a warmer day it would have been perfect - an unmanned deserted single platform piece of excellence as it was becoming fully light! Safely back on board i gradually thawed on the trip back to Castle Cary which was my next choice for turning. With services being every 2 hours on this line it was important to minimise wait times wherever possible which was helped by the trains passing at Maiden Newton. It was because of this the 3 request stops were all done from the North. A word about the creamery at Castle Cary. An upmarket cafe and farm shop just a few steps from the station concourse and one reason my costs this weekend were more than usual. I had a bacon butty there whilst waiting and also purchased some supplies (cruffin anyone?) which may well have been worth the exorbitant cost. hey ho you only live once as they say. The ambience was done to perfection and there was even an old railway carriage in the garden.
Back down to earth then on my second request stop today, this one being Thornford. The way GWR do these request stops is to use the front door of the leading carriage only. Anyone wanting to get off has to meet the guard there in time for him to double buzz the driver or not depending. Worked a treat today and made simpler than it could have been by all 3 request stops being quite close together. A lot of horn action too for these stations with loads of crossings nearby to be tooted at. At Thornford i did my usual explore before keeping warm and striding off up the road for 10 minutes before returning and waiting the balance of minutes remaining on the platform. Quiet roads and still no-one joining me on the platform however.
My next station would be Bruton back up on the main line, which was populated with people and a good dozen awaiting to board upon departure. Not much to say about the station really, it just is. The busiest by far of the three request stops is Yetminster which is another of the places around here which has a faded old time vibe going on. The pub has been taken over by a Motor sales business which seemed a little odd. Maybe they did so for the Car Park as this is where some of the cars were. I think only the very first service today didn't stop at Yetminster, with quite a few boarding/alighting as the day wore on. I get ahead of myself as before all this i had to bag P1 at Weymouth which eluded me at least twice in November, so off to the terminus it was and an hours wait before returning up the line. I did go and walk to the promenade which overlooked the beach, which was rammed. It took me a few minutes to work out that every party walking along the beach had a dog with them and quite a few encounters lets call them were seen as it was difficult to navigate in some places without there being a tangle of leads or freeform canines causing mayhem. All very entertaining as i consumed an obligatory seaside ice cream despite the season. I did toy with the idea of fish and chips but as i had sufficient supplies this just seemed greedy even though it would have warmed me.
The really busy station on this line was Yeovil Pen Mill with a big turnover of passengers each time i passed through. Castle Cary was also busy as i recall. Pen Mill was a big enough station to explore with a rather jovial Signaller who bounced down the platform on each arrival to give/receive a token for the next section and exchange words with each driver. I did go and have a wander, and whilst i didn't walk all the way into the town centre it passed the time in good fashion. By the time i got back to Westbury with all targets ticked off it was about 5.30pm. Time for a few more moves the first of which was down to Warminster, though it had gone fully dark by this time of course. I have passed this station on a few services now but this was my last completed station of the day with only a short walk to Lidl in my memory as it was a good place to keep the warmth in.
Back at Westbury once more a little more forward planning would have told me that the trip to Swindon and back via Melksham would turn out to be superfluous given the remaining track requirements at Westbury, especially as the return service would terminate in P1 not P3 which i needed for track (and which was being used all day prior to this point). Also the line was done in the dark which doesn't sit well with me. The wait at Melksham was too long for me at this time of night hence the Swindon turn point. Its no biggie but there is lots to do round here anyway so a return would have happened regardless. I do like Westbury as a base. Its not outside my travelling comfort zone and uses the quieter M5 to get there and its a junction station so lots of options. It would be a 40 minute trip to gain my hotel which was in the general direction of my Sunday wanderings and i made it in time for a nightcap. Tomorrow is my first visit to Didcot, and one of my last Parkway stations.
Total time today 818 mins - time on trains 408 mins and time waiting 410 mins. Stations completed today 7. Total completed 2183. Platforms compled at completed stations 4994.
"A day on the Heart of Wessex Line"
Apart from my days in London I have largely spent the last 9 months or so focusing on the areas of the country that do not offer Ranger or Rover tickets, and constantly moaning about the subsequent price of a day out as a result. With todays forecast of sunny weather and no frost or rain in sight i toyed with the idea of returning to a Ranger area in order to curb the ever mounting cost of days out. My gut feeling is that i am spending almost double now compared with when i started in late 2020, even after taking into account that i started off nearer to home so travel costs were lighter then. Even so when i totted up this weekends expenditure as a reality check, i am not sure if these weekly escapades can continue in their present form. This may in turn make the original question of doing this within a 5 year time period a more difficult thing to answer as a yes even though i am ahead of schedule with an almost 85% completion score whiich equates to 401 more to complete in number terms. This is a bit of a freeform discussion which i wasn't intending to start when i sat down at my keyboard this morning but part of the problem i think is the sheer number of things that get planned which then don't happen for whatever reason, which means an inevitable unplanned return at some stage, and sometimes two returns.
The Heart of Wessex line is a case in point, although storm Bert in November is largely to blame for a number of fails here. The performance of GWR has also not been stellar this last few months which adds in a few reluctance points to the equation, but after drafting out a day focusing on the southern section i held my nerve and decided to go for it. The bonus was i also scored a cheap hotel room in Swindon for the Saturday night which meant i could also plan for the Sunday. Still a bit nervous about GWR on a Sunday so i went for something that offered flexibility. More on that in my Sunday report.
After studying the timetables for a few hours i committed to one of my very early starts with a pre 7am commencement in Westbury which is about 190 miles away. A straight forward trip thank goodness and i was well on time in the end and on the platform awaiting the first train to Weymouth. There was an even earlier train coming from Weymouth, but i had dismissed this because even i baulked at the even earlier start that would have had to be made. A good job as this was cancelled, though in fairness only one of two i saw on the boards all day. Still pitch black so i got some catch up shut eye on the almost hour run to Chetnole which i had chosen as my first turn point - mainly becasue it was the shortest wait possible on the services today.
Chetnole i had all to myself (unsurprisingly). It had a decent enough shelter with bench seating, so a another kip was possible if it was a tad warmer but as it was only 20 mins or so till the return i took the opportunity to have a good look around on the singled platform. I think it was here that a local artist had very colourfully painted the inside of the shelter with a bee theme - and i think the same artist did a similarly themed underpass on the Sunday (Pangbourne perhaps) on the line down to Reading. My memory as always fails to commit me in this area.
On a warmer day it would have been perfect - an unmanned deserted single platform piece of excellence as it was becoming fully light! Safely back on board i gradually thawed on the trip back to Castle Cary which was my next choice for turning. With services being every 2 hours on this line it was important to minimise wait times wherever possible which was helped by the trains passing at Maiden Newton. It was because of this the 3 request stops were all done from the North. A word about the creamery at Castle Cary. An upmarket cafe and farm shop just a few steps from the station concourse and one reason my costs this weekend were more than usual. I had a bacon butty there whilst waiting and also purchased some supplies (cruffin anyone?) which may well have been worth the exorbitant cost. hey ho you only live once as they say. The ambience was done to perfection and there was even an old railway carriage in the garden.
Back down to earth then on my second request stop today, this one being Thornford. The way GWR do these request stops is to use the front door of the leading carriage only. Anyone wanting to get off has to meet the guard there in time for him to double buzz the driver or not depending. Worked a treat today and made simpler than it could have been by all 3 request stops being quite close together. A lot of horn action too for these stations with loads of crossings nearby to be tooted at. At Thornford i did my usual explore before keeping warm and striding off up the road for 10 minutes before returning and waiting the balance of minutes remaining on the platform. Quiet roads and still no-one joining me on the platform however.
My next station would be Bruton back up on the main line, which was populated with people and a good dozen awaiting to board upon departure. Not much to say about the station really, it just is. The busiest by far of the three request stops is Yetminster which is another of the places around here which has a faded old time vibe going on. The pub has been taken over by a Motor sales business which seemed a little odd. Maybe they did so for the Car Park as this is where some of the cars were. I think only the very first service today didn't stop at Yetminster, with quite a few boarding/alighting as the day wore on. I get ahead of myself as before all this i had to bag P1 at Weymouth which eluded me at least twice in November, so off to the terminus it was and an hours wait before returning up the line. I did go and walk to the promenade which overlooked the beach, which was rammed. It took me a few minutes to work out that every party walking along the beach had a dog with them and quite a few encounters lets call them were seen as it was difficult to navigate in some places without there being a tangle of leads or freeform canines causing mayhem. All very entertaining as i consumed an obligatory seaside ice cream despite the season. I did toy with the idea of fish and chips but as i had sufficient supplies this just seemed greedy even though it would have warmed me.
The really busy station on this line was Yeovil Pen Mill with a big turnover of passengers each time i passed through. Castle Cary was also busy as i recall. Pen Mill was a big enough station to explore with a rather jovial Signaller who bounced down the platform on each arrival to give/receive a token for the next section and exchange words with each driver. I did go and have a wander, and whilst i didn't walk all the way into the town centre it passed the time in good fashion. By the time i got back to Westbury with all targets ticked off it was about 5.30pm. Time for a few more moves the first of which was down to Warminster, though it had gone fully dark by this time of course. I have passed this station on a few services now but this was my last completed station of the day with only a short walk to Lidl in my memory as it was a good place to keep the warmth in.
Back at Westbury once more a little more forward planning would have told me that the trip to Swindon and back via Melksham would turn out to be superfluous given the remaining track requirements at Westbury, especially as the return service would terminate in P1 not P3 which i needed for track (and which was being used all day prior to this point). Also the line was done in the dark which doesn't sit well with me. The wait at Melksham was too long for me at this time of night hence the Swindon turn point. Its no biggie but there is lots to do round here anyway so a return would have happened regardless. I do like Westbury as a base. Its not outside my travelling comfort zone and uses the quieter M5 to get there and its a junction station so lots of options. It would be a 40 minute trip to gain my hotel which was in the general direction of my Sunday wanderings and i made it in time for a nightcap. Tomorrow is my first visit to Didcot, and one of my last Parkway stations.
| Westbury | Depart | 6.49 | ***** | GW | stations | platforms | ||
| Chetnole | Arrive | 7.44 | Single | GW | wait 25m | completed | completed | |
| Chetnole | Depart | 8.09 | Single | GW | 1 | 1 | ||
| Castle Cary | Arrive | 8.37 | P3 | GW | wait 44m | |||
| Castle Cary | Depart | 9.21 | P2 | GW | ||||
| Thornford | Arrive | 9.40 | Single | GW | wait 37m | |||
| Thornford | Depart | 10.17 | Single | GW | 1 | 1 | ||
| Bruton | Arrive | 10.45 | P1 | GW | wait 30m | |||
| Bruton | Depart | 11.15 | P2 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Weymouth | Arrive | 12.25 | P1 | GW | wait 64m | |||
| Weymouth | Depart | 13.29 | P1 | GW | 1 | 3 | ||
| Yeovil Pen Mill | Arrive | 14.18 | P1 | GW | wait 73m | |||
| Yeovil Pen Mill | Depart | 15.31 | P3 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Yetminster | Arrive | 15.39 | Single | GW | wait 31m | |||
| Yetminster | Depart | 16.10 | Single | GW | 1 | 1 | ||
| Westbury | Arrive | 17.01 | P3 | GW | wait 32m | |||
| Westbury | Depart | 17.33 | P1 | GW | ||||
| Warminster | Arrive | 17.42 | P2 | GW | wait 21m | |||
| Warminster | Depart | 18.03 | P1 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Westbury | Arrive | 18.11 | P2 | GW | wait 24m | |||
| Westbury | Depart | 18.35 | P3 | GW | ||||
| Swindon | Arrive | 19.18 | P2 | GW | wait 29m | |||
| Swindon | Depart | 19.47 | P2 | GW | ||||
| Westbury | Arrive | 20.27 | ***** | GW |
All platforms
Member
Day 437: Sunday 26/01/2025 - Oxfordshire Day Ranger - £13.95 - Valid all day at Weekends. CP Julians CP Stations Road Didcot - £3.00
Total time today 439 mins - time on trains 251 mins and time waiting 188 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 2185. Platforms completed at completed stations 4998.
"(Almost) all the track at Didcot"
One of the reasons i contemplated a two day trip was that first thing today was an opportunity to get the fast line platforms at one of the three stations that have them between Didcot and Reading. I think these are the last ones i have not looked at in any detail and certainly the last ones i have still to get both fasts anywhere. Perhaps i am further along than i realise..
All was not quite so well as we only gained access to the 8 car set a few minutes to departure and then realise it was freezing inside. No announcements were made as we passed our departure time and i had to revise my turning point twice as a result. After about 10 mins the lights came on and 5 mins later some heating type noises were discerned. Phew after about 20 mins just sat there we set off without any fanfare and i am still unaware what the problem was. I had no choice now but to turn at Cholsey in order to ensure i could get the fast platform return. Todays weather was certainly colder and with nowhere to shelter effectively on P1 at Cholsey it was a miserable 10 minutes there. I have to say the condition of the steps to/from the subway were in poor condition with no attempt having been made to clean the Autumn leaves or the plaster that had come off the walls as i traversed. there was a canopy after emerging onto P1 but no escape from the weather was possible. Its been a while but there was no P1 sign up on the platform, another of my pet grievances on this journey. I will do an analysis of these at some future point but i have previously found GWR to be very good with platform signage. I haven't been to the other fast line platforms yet but P2 sported a very old and faded sign from at least 20 years ago. Perhaps some TLC is now required at this station at least.
I did score a brace of crossovers to gain the fast lines after departing Didcot which was good news and once back at Didcot i alighted at P3 and waited for one going up the line towards Oxford. This also went from P3 so i have the full line here as well now. Appleford and Culham do not benefit from services on a Sunday so Radley it was for the win. I wandered off station to garner some supplies from the local shop but little of note was at hand there other than snacks so i was a little in short supply until i reached Reading which i did via an alight and then board at Didcot P4 to complete that line. Its going well so far. There was some late running today but thankfully not enough to cause my plan to go melons up and i score two bits of track at Reading with a P11 arrival from the West and a P8 departure going to the West. I still have things to do at Reading but the vast majority is done now. Another reason to think that things are on the up.
One of my bugbears from my early days is the walking in and walking out thing to stations with a very sparse service and i have two stations that i need to revisit as i only did them on this basis when i could have done them in normal service. Hanborough is one of these as i walked out/in to Combe a few years ago now, and today is the day i will alight then board a service with no walking involved. Swinton (Manchester) is the other by the way. No drama other than it had started raining quite heavily as i alighted and it was a pretty miserable wait in the shelter which was allowing the rain to blow in. I resolved that the remainder of the afternoons activities would have to wait for another time as i had considerable waits to look forward to in out of the way stations but i did make one exception as i contemplated matters on the journey back to Didcot. So it was i did one further trip which was to Pangbourne and a single digit minute wait which was just about acceptable. Actually was it here that had an excuse for a canopy rather than Cholsey earlier. Again my memory is sieve like.
So what remains at Didcot other than the fast line platforms which are easily scored. I need a P4 arrival and departure from the East for track and one crossover at East Moreton Cuttings i think. I did score the other two in a somewhat unusual (well i thought so) P3 departure to Pangbourne which crossed over to the fasts before immediately switching back to the relief line at Moreton. I have nothing planned going forward apart from some targets to aim for in the diary which include P2 at Doncaster Mid Feb and the Fast line at West Byfleet (P2) at the beginning of March. (Been waiting for this one for 2 years). Also the Up Leigham Spur is in play Mid March albeit a post midnight play. Many other less important offerings are also under consideration but with me being away this next weekend for 5 days all that will all have to wait. I have finally figured out something with my other rail project which will mean my attention swivels in that direction for the next few days.
Total time today 439 mins - time on trains 251 mins and time waiting 188 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 2185. Platforms completed at completed stations 4998.
"(Almost) all the track at Didcot"
One of the reasons i contemplated a two day trip was that first thing today was an opportunity to get the fast line platforms at one of the three stations that have them between Didcot and Reading. I think these are the last ones i have not looked at in any detail and certainly the last ones i have still to get both fasts anywhere. Perhaps i am further along than i realise..
All was not quite so well as we only gained access to the 8 car set a few minutes to departure and then realise it was freezing inside. No announcements were made as we passed our departure time and i had to revise my turning point twice as a result. After about 10 mins the lights came on and 5 mins later some heating type noises were discerned. Phew after about 20 mins just sat there we set off without any fanfare and i am still unaware what the problem was. I had no choice now but to turn at Cholsey in order to ensure i could get the fast platform return. Todays weather was certainly colder and with nowhere to shelter effectively on P1 at Cholsey it was a miserable 10 minutes there. I have to say the condition of the steps to/from the subway were in poor condition with no attempt having been made to clean the Autumn leaves or the plaster that had come off the walls as i traversed. there was a canopy after emerging onto P1 but no escape from the weather was possible. Its been a while but there was no P1 sign up on the platform, another of my pet grievances on this journey. I will do an analysis of these at some future point but i have previously found GWR to be very good with platform signage. I haven't been to the other fast line platforms yet but P2 sported a very old and faded sign from at least 20 years ago. Perhaps some TLC is now required at this station at least.
I did score a brace of crossovers to gain the fast lines after departing Didcot which was good news and once back at Didcot i alighted at P3 and waited for one going up the line towards Oxford. This also went from P3 so i have the full line here as well now. Appleford and Culham do not benefit from services on a Sunday so Radley it was for the win. I wandered off station to garner some supplies from the local shop but little of note was at hand there other than snacks so i was a little in short supply until i reached Reading which i did via an alight and then board at Didcot P4 to complete that line. Its going well so far. There was some late running today but thankfully not enough to cause my plan to go melons up and i score two bits of track at Reading with a P11 arrival from the West and a P8 departure going to the West. I still have things to do at Reading but the vast majority is done now. Another reason to think that things are on the up.
One of my bugbears from my early days is the walking in and walking out thing to stations with a very sparse service and i have two stations that i need to revisit as i only did them on this basis when i could have done them in normal service. Hanborough is one of these as i walked out/in to Combe a few years ago now, and today is the day i will alight then board a service with no walking involved. Swinton (Manchester) is the other by the way. No drama other than it had started raining quite heavily as i alighted and it was a pretty miserable wait in the shelter which was allowing the rain to blow in. I resolved that the remainder of the afternoons activities would have to wait for another time as i had considerable waits to look forward to in out of the way stations but i did make one exception as i contemplated matters on the journey back to Didcot. So it was i did one further trip which was to Pangbourne and a single digit minute wait which was just about acceptable. Actually was it here that had an excuse for a canopy rather than Cholsey earlier. Again my memory is sieve like.
So what remains at Didcot other than the fast line platforms which are easily scored. I need a P4 arrival and departure from the East for track and one crossover at East Moreton Cuttings i think. I did score the other two in a somewhat unusual (well i thought so) P3 departure to Pangbourne which crossed over to the fasts before immediately switching back to the relief line at Moreton. I have nothing planned going forward apart from some targets to aim for in the diary which include P2 at Doncaster Mid Feb and the Fast line at West Byfleet (P2) at the beginning of March. (Been waiting for this one for 2 years). Also the Up Leigham Spur is in play Mid March albeit a post midnight play. Many other less important offerings are also under consideration but with me being away this next weekend for 5 days all that will all have to wait. I have finally figured out something with my other rail project which will mean my attention swivels in that direction for the next few days.
| Didcot Parkway | Depart | 8.37 | ***** | GW | stations | platforms | ||
| Cholsey | Arrive | 8.42 | P2 | GW | wait 11m | completed | completed | |
| Cholsey | Depart | 8.53 | GW | |||||
| Didcot Parkway | Arrive | 8.58 | P3 | GW | wait 35m | |||
| Didcot Parkway | Depart | 9.33 | P3 | GW | ||||
| Radley | Arrive | 9.40 | P1 | GW | wait 55m | |||
| Radley | Depart | 10.35 | P2 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Didcot Parkway | Arrive | 10.43 | P4 | GW | wait 10m | |||
| Didcot Parkway | Depart | 10.53 | P5 | GW | ||||
| Reading | Arrive | 11.05 | P11 | GW | wait 14m | |||
| Reading | Depart | 11.19 | P8 | GW | ||||
| Hanborough | Arrive | 11.55 | Single | GW | wait 24m | |||
| Hanborough | Depart | 12.19 | Single | GW | ||||
| Didcot Parkway | Arrive | 12.41 | P5 | GW | wait 30m | |||
| Didcot Parkway | Depart | 13.11 | P3 | GW | ||||
| Pangbourne | Arrive | 13.25 | P2 | GW | wait 9m | |||
| Pangbourne | Depart | 13.34 | P1 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Didcot Parkway | Arrive | 13.56 | ***** | GW |
Kite159
Veteran Member
A productive weekend 
Siemens Staines
Member
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2015
- Messages
- 1,014
I think that all Up departures from Didcot P3 go on to the Up Main first, irrespective of whether they subsequently use the Up Main or Up Relief. I am not sure if the Down Relief between Moreton and Didcot East is reversible or not, and I certainly have not done it if it is.
Correct, the Down Relief is bi-directional only between the station and Didcot East Junction.
All platforms
Member
Day 438: Saturday 08/02/2025 - Warrington West to Manchester Stations - £7.45 - Off-peak Return x2. Manchester Oxford Road to Deansgate - £2.25 - Off-peak Return. CP Warrington West £1.20
Total time today 257 mins - time on trains 148 mins and time waiting 109 mins. No new platforms or stations today.
"victory snatched from the jaws of defeat"
I had spotted a couple of opportunities at Manchester today, one early one an the other in the early evening and at short notice i decided to go for it given the nature of the targets. Looking back there are probably other opportunities that might have produced better results but i was getting itchy feet so i made the short trip to my local station and into Manchester i went. No idea why, but the service i was on (and the following one from Blackpool) was booked to cross onto the Down line after Oxford Road and continue into Piccadilly P14. Didn't make a lot of sense given the time of day but it was a shot to nothing. I did alight at Oxford Road as i saw the Up line was signalled and again unfortunately for the Blackpool train. I took the ride one stop anyway before returning on the 8.45 and back home for breakfast. My thoughts were that in addition to the crossover it would probably have stopped in p14b which has eluded me (again) at Piccadilly. I do see other possibilities in the next few weeks to do this so maybe i will revisit this.
The second part of the day would again see me on a TP to Oxford Road, where i would need a reposition to Deansgate to await the service from Southport that was going to terminate in P1 at Oxford Road and use a needed crossover to get there. A short notice cancellation saw me foiled on this too so i got back to Oxford Road on the next available service in order to catch my intended return to Warrington. So a wasted day right? Well...... yes and then a resounding NO as we crawled out of Irlam station and into the Glazebrook Down Passenger Loop to allow a late running EM service to Lime St to thunder past at full line speed. I have done this on two previous occasions when full, standing and then some evening rush hour services get put there in similar circumstances. Both the best part of 10 years ago now. Something that's impossible to plan for unless you hang around to find that sweet spot late running EM or TP service. Always on NT services that call at nearly all stations if memory serves. A big bonus however you judge things. The two missed targets can be attempted at other times. Out early in the morning so an early night for once.
Total time today 257 mins - time on trains 148 mins and time waiting 109 mins. No new platforms or stations today.
"victory snatched from the jaws of defeat"
I had spotted a couple of opportunities at Manchester today, one early one an the other in the early evening and at short notice i decided to go for it given the nature of the targets. Looking back there are probably other opportunities that might have produced better results but i was getting itchy feet so i made the short trip to my local station and into Manchester i went. No idea why, but the service i was on (and the following one from Blackpool) was booked to cross onto the Down line after Oxford Road and continue into Piccadilly P14. Didn't make a lot of sense given the time of day but it was a shot to nothing. I did alight at Oxford Road as i saw the Up line was signalled and again unfortunately for the Blackpool train. I took the ride one stop anyway before returning on the 8.45 and back home for breakfast. My thoughts were that in addition to the crossover it would probably have stopped in p14b which has eluded me (again) at Piccadilly. I do see other possibilities in the next few weeks to do this so maybe i will revisit this.
The second part of the day would again see me on a TP to Oxford Road, where i would need a reposition to Deansgate to await the service from Southport that was going to terminate in P1 at Oxford Road and use a needed crossover to get there. A short notice cancellation saw me foiled on this too so i got back to Oxford Road on the next available service in order to catch my intended return to Warrington. So a wasted day right? Well...... yes and then a resounding NO as we crawled out of Irlam station and into the Glazebrook Down Passenger Loop to allow a late running EM service to Lime St to thunder past at full line speed. I have done this on two previous occasions when full, standing and then some evening rush hour services get put there in similar circumstances. Both the best part of 10 years ago now. Something that's impossible to plan for unless you hang around to find that sweet spot late running EM or TP service. Always on NT services that call at nearly all stations if memory serves. A big bonus however you judge things. The two missed targets can be attempted at other times. Out early in the morning so an early night for once.
| Warrington West | Depart | 7.40 | ***** | TP | stations | platforms | ||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Arrive | 8.06 | P4 | TP | wait 8m | completed | completed | |
| Manchester Oxford Road | Depart | 8.14 | P4 | NT | ||||
| Manchester Piccadilly | Arrive | 8.16 | P13 | NT | wait 5m | |||
| Manchester Piccadilly | Depart | 8.21 | P14 | TP | ||||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Arrive | 8.23 | P4 | TP | wait 13m | |||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Depart | 8.46 | P5 | NT | ||||
| Warrington West | Arrive | 9.19 | ***** | NT | ||||
| Home for a rest | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | ||||
| Warrington West | Depart | 17.42 | ***** | TP | ||||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Arrive | 18.18 | P4 | TP | wait 35m | |||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Depart | 18.53 | P2 | NT | ||||
| Deansgate | Arrive | 18.56 | P2 | NT | wait 27m | |||
| Deansgate | Depart | 19.23 | P1 | NT | ||||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Arrive | 19.24 | P4 | NT | wait 21m | |||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Depart | 19.45 | P3 | NT | ||||
| Warrington West | Arrive | 20.30 | ***** | NT |
Last edited:
All platforms
Member
Day 439: Sunday 09/02/2025 - Guildford to Havant - £10.85 - Super Off-peak Return. Petersfield to Havant - £4.15 - Sunday Out Return. Guildford to Surbiton - £8.05 - Sunday Out Return. Byfleet & New Haw to Boundary Zone 6 - £6.45 - Off-peak Return. Swanley to London Zones 1-6 Day Travelcard - £11.30 - Off-peak. Netley to Fareham - £3.10 - Sunday Out Return. Other tickets were prepurchased but refunds have been applied for. CP Guildford £4.00. Netley - free.
Total time today 930 mins - time on trains 565 mins and time waiting 365 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2186. Platforms completed at completed stations 5000!
"Plans in tatters after an unauthorised use of the emergency exit" aka "what an idiot"
It was another of my early starts in order to get to Guildford for a 7am service to Havant and the promised use of the crossover to gain P1 before returning from P2 via another crossover. Unfortunately this did not work out as planned and i decided to try again for the P1 arrival which i did via an extra ticket at Petersfield and at the additional cost of an hour out of my day. I did try for these crossovers on a late night visit to Havant quite a few months ago, where platform alterations were in full force and i ran out of time to sit them out. So, an hour down but i have my 2 crossovers that are not normally timetabled.
This will be a theme for the rest of the day and my next four targets were all at Surbiton with a line block to the east of there. However the signallers are the only ones who can give explanations as to why the early services were all replatformed before reverting back to the planned ones later on. I of course got caught up in this and instead of arriving in P2 via the Effingham Junction route we ended up in P1. Thus my planned departure from P1 was from P2 instead and i only got 2 of the three promised crossovers to gain the Down Slow and return via Woking this time. I missed out entirely on the crossover to arrive in P2. I did look long and hard to see if i could do this again somehow but i was an already an hour behind and i thought my Chislehurst based targets might be rarer. I decided to continue my plan and turn at Byfleet & New Haw which is i think the nearest station to London i haven't yet visited. A short visit it turns out as i made my way through the underpass to gain the other side and hopped on to a Waterloo bound train although i was alighting at Clapham Junction as i needed Victoria to get to Swanley. With me so far??
When i got to Swanley i noted that the TL services shuttling between there and Sevenoaks today seemed to be turning in P1 and so there was an additional target to go for as an otherwise unused crossover was used to gain the Down line on the curve upon leaving the station. By the time i realised what was happening i had missed the opportunity even though the service i wanted was already 20 mins or so adrift.
There was an idiot on a bike riding on the platform whilst shouting on the phone something to the effect "see you shortly" before spooking the punters waiting on the P3/P4 island platform. It just looked odd and i ensured i was not in the same carriage. All was well until we passed St Mary Cray when the train ground to a halt with my carriage underneath a road bridge. Turns out the idiot used the emergency stop, forced the doors open and deposited himself and his bike onto the track before heading odd - presumably back to St Mary Cray. Staff were great keeping us advised - although it took a good 2 hours for the track to be searched and the power turned back on. It was getting rather cold by that time. Fortunately our carraiage was full of upbeat passengers so the wait could have been much worse. Trains started to pass us again eventually but our train had to be reboot 3 times before we got going again. Just my luck the required crossovers would not be used, but hurrah they were, so i guess worthwhile albeit i was 4 hours down by the time i got back to my car. What were the crossovers. the doubles after St Mary Cray to gain the Up Chatham Loop and then the doubles after Chislehurst to gain the Up Slow. Oh, and on the way into Victoria i forgot to mention the crossovers after Battersea Park from the Up Fast to Up Slow. Not sure how rare these are but it is one of my few remaining targets in/out of Victoria.
It was after 8pm before i set off for Eastleigh but by then i knew my targets at Fareham could not be completed as planned so i decided to quickly check in to my £27 hotel room (Tlodge) at Eastleigh before heading off to Netley where i could just about do a trip to Fareham p3 and gain the rarer (i think) of the 2 crossovers on offer to return from P3. I did want the in and out of P2 also but that will have to wait (maybe even next weekend). Oh i forgot something else which was the crossover to gain the Down Fast after the use of the Byfleet Curve on my way back to Guildford. So at least 10 never normally used crossovers today and a few other less rare perhaps as well. The bonus at the end of it all was that the Wetherspoons was still open at 11pm and i got a welcome nightcap.
Total time today 930 mins - time on trains 565 mins and time waiting 365 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 2186. Platforms completed at completed stations 5000!
"Plans in tatters after an unauthorised use of the emergency exit" aka "what an idiot"
It was another of my early starts in order to get to Guildford for a 7am service to Havant and the promised use of the crossover to gain P1 before returning from P2 via another crossover. Unfortunately this did not work out as planned and i decided to try again for the P1 arrival which i did via an extra ticket at Petersfield and at the additional cost of an hour out of my day. I did try for these crossovers on a late night visit to Havant quite a few months ago, where platform alterations were in full force and i ran out of time to sit them out. So, an hour down but i have my 2 crossovers that are not normally timetabled.
This will be a theme for the rest of the day and my next four targets were all at Surbiton with a line block to the east of there. However the signallers are the only ones who can give explanations as to why the early services were all replatformed before reverting back to the planned ones later on. I of course got caught up in this and instead of arriving in P2 via the Effingham Junction route we ended up in P1. Thus my planned departure from P1 was from P2 instead and i only got 2 of the three promised crossovers to gain the Down Slow and return via Woking this time. I missed out entirely on the crossover to arrive in P2. I did look long and hard to see if i could do this again somehow but i was an already an hour behind and i thought my Chislehurst based targets might be rarer. I decided to continue my plan and turn at Byfleet & New Haw which is i think the nearest station to London i haven't yet visited. A short visit it turns out as i made my way through the underpass to gain the other side and hopped on to a Waterloo bound train although i was alighting at Clapham Junction as i needed Victoria to get to Swanley. With me so far??
When i got to Swanley i noted that the TL services shuttling between there and Sevenoaks today seemed to be turning in P1 and so there was an additional target to go for as an otherwise unused crossover was used to gain the Down line on the curve upon leaving the station. By the time i realised what was happening i had missed the opportunity even though the service i wanted was already 20 mins or so adrift.
There was an idiot on a bike riding on the platform whilst shouting on the phone something to the effect "see you shortly" before spooking the punters waiting on the P3/P4 island platform. It just looked odd and i ensured i was not in the same carriage. All was well until we passed St Mary Cray when the train ground to a halt with my carriage underneath a road bridge. Turns out the idiot used the emergency stop, forced the doors open and deposited himself and his bike onto the track before heading odd - presumably back to St Mary Cray. Staff were great keeping us advised - although it took a good 2 hours for the track to be searched and the power turned back on. It was getting rather cold by that time. Fortunately our carraiage was full of upbeat passengers so the wait could have been much worse. Trains started to pass us again eventually but our train had to be reboot 3 times before we got going again. Just my luck the required crossovers would not be used, but hurrah they were, so i guess worthwhile albeit i was 4 hours down by the time i got back to my car. What were the crossovers. the doubles after St Mary Cray to gain the Up Chatham Loop and then the doubles after Chislehurst to gain the Up Slow. Oh, and on the way into Victoria i forgot to mention the crossovers after Battersea Park from the Up Fast to Up Slow. Not sure how rare these are but it is one of my few remaining targets in/out of Victoria.
It was after 8pm before i set off for Eastleigh but by then i knew my targets at Fareham could not be completed as planned so i decided to quickly check in to my £27 hotel room (Tlodge) at Eastleigh before heading off to Netley where i could just about do a trip to Fareham p3 and gain the rarer (i think) of the 2 crossovers on offer to return from P3. I did want the in and out of P2 also but that will have to wait (maybe even next weekend). Oh i forgot something else which was the crossover to gain the Down Fast after the use of the Byfleet Curve on my way back to Guildford. So at least 10 never normally used crossovers today and a few other less rare perhaps as well. The bonus at the end of it all was that the Wetherspoons was still open at 11pm and i got a welcome nightcap.
| Guildford | Depart | 7.00 | ***** | SW | stations | platforms | ||
| Havant | Arrive | 7.58 | P2 | SW | wait 7m | completed | completed | |
| Havant | Depart | 8.05 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Petersfield | Arrive | 8.21 | P1 | SW | wait 16m | |||
| Petersfield | Depart | 8.37 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Havant | Arrive | 8.51 | P1 | SW | wait 17m | |||
| Havant | Depart | 9.08 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Guildford | Arrive | 10.07 | P5 | SW | wait 52m | |||
| Guildford | Depart | 10.59 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Surbiton | Arrive | 11.34 | P1 | SW | wait 4m | |||
| Surbiton | Depart | 11.38 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Byfleet & New Haw | Arrive | 11.57 | P2 | SW | wait 3m | |||
| Byfleet & New Haw | Depart | 12.00 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 13.04 | P3 | SW | wait 16m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 13.20 | P12 | SN | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 13.28 | P9 | SN | wait 27m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 13.55 | P4 | SE | ||||
| Swanley | Arrive | 14.29 | P2 | SE | wait 71m | |||
| Swanley | Depart | 15.40 | P3 | SE | ||||
| London Victoria | Arrive | 18.29 | P6 | SE | wait 11m | |||
| London Victoria | Depart | 18.40 | P17 | SN | ||||
| Clapham Junction | Arrive | 18.45 | P13 | SN | wait 26m | |||
| Clapham Junction | Depart | 19.11 | P6 | SW | ||||
| Guildford | Arrive | 20.04 | ***** | SW | drive + | |||
| Relocate to | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | wait 110m | |||
| Netley | Depart | 21.54 | ***** | SW | ||||
| Fareham | Arrive | 22.10 | P3 | SW | wait 5m | |||
| Fareham | Depart | 22.15 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Netley | Arrive | 22.30 | ***** | SW |
All platforms
Member
Day 440: Monday 10/02/2025 - Netley to Southampton Central - £5.70 - Anytime Single. Southampton Central to Bournemouth - £17.40 - Anytime Single. Bournemouth to Southampton Central - £6.40 - Advance Single (XC only). Bournemouth to Southampton Central - £17.40 - Anytime Single (Yes i know but read on for why). Southampton Central to Woolston - £3.70 - Off-peak Return. Southampton Central to Chandlers Ford - £4.10 - Off-peak Return. Swaythling to Romsey - £5.45 - Off-peak Return. Swaythling to Mottisfont & Dunbridge - £4.15 - Evening Out Return. Romsey to Dean - £2.45 - Evening Out Return. Romsey to Millbrook (Hants) - £2.75 - Evening Out Return. St Denys to Netley - £2.70 - Evening Out Single - £2.70 - Evening Out Return. CP Netley - free.
Total time today 526 mins - time on trains 312 mins and 214 min. Stations completed today 7. Total completed 2193. Platforms completed at completed stations 5013.
"More platform alterations at Bournemouth cause my wallet to melt" - but it would have been worse if i had to return
My thoughts today were to target a few more hard to get stuff before going station hunting again. Mixed results as i have come to expect unfortunately. Maybe i should have sucked up the Car Park prices in Southampton rather than go for the free option at Netley as it would have saved me time and ticket money. However, i also want to progress with the platforms at Southampton Central and my first service promised a P2b arrival which i still need. True to form we landed in p3a and a short walk down the platform to get me a P3b departure to Bournemouth. I had decided to have another go at a p3 departure from there back to Southampton and another target that has previously eluded - twice in fact in Autumn of last year. I have been keeping an eye on this XC departure of late and it has behaved itseld by and large for the last three weeks. Not today as it was switched to P2, but there was a saving grace in that the service from Weymouth would use it instead. As i had a cheapish Advance i had to buy a full price Single if i wanted to ride this. I went for it as to not do so would mean far greater expense in having to visit on another occasion. A bit of an ouchie nevertheless but there was a silver lining as we arrived back in P1a before joining the back of another set before it continued as a 10 car to Waterloo. Now that would count as a full fat P1 - note to self... I did get to use a small part of my advance single as i waited for it to catch up at Central before riding to the Airport Parkway. It should have use the slow line to St Denys - but didn't. Another thing that wan't planned was my first service which also promised Slow Line usage but in fact crossed to the Fast Line for an unexpected win at 06.15...
One final target was the Southern service (liveried as Gatwick Express) that was due in from the East so i took a turn to Woolston (for the win) as this was the only realistic turning point to get me back for the promised crossover into P1. Does anything go to plan here as p2a was the arrival platform??? Once again i forget to mention that i did get another unexpected bonus with the service back from Parkway before i went to Woolston landing in p4a for the win. Confused? You betcha..
And now for part 2 of the day where i would be ticking off as many stations between Central and Salisbury as i could. I immediately got off to a winning start as i realised that another platform alteration allowed me to catch the service going to Chandlers Ford if i hopped across the platform smartish - which i did. So an hour ahead and looking back i had an Evening Out ticket for later on which i used a few minutes early.... Not intentional as i do like to ensure i have the corrrect ones. Chandlers Ford is a Single Platformed station and just up the hill away from the station was one of those independent sandwich shops which i love so supplies were obtained which included a hot Lamb Samosa. Yummo... Next up was Swaythling just a few stops back towards Central and a 20 minute wait for a trip all the way to Romsey which would terminate and start from P2 and the attendant track that comes with it. Now for some sleep time as i would be going to Mottisfont and Dunbridge the long way round via Romsey P2 (revisit from another direction). M&D is a small station with half barriers at the exits but not a lot of cover to shelter from the elements. This was not helped by a bloke older than myself singing at the top of his voice to some 50's numbers on his phone in the confined space. he couldn't hold a note!
Romsey for the win with P1 gained and another set of yobs to contend with didn't help my mood as the rain came down. Next was a slightly risky move to Dean as it would be a tightish turnaround but as we were on time i went for it. the barriers here were raised for only 2 minutes before they came down again. One of my fellow passengers appeared to have stayed on after his stop as he was also returning - just one stop for him and a few more for me as i realised i could fit Millbrook (Hampshire variant) into my itinerary so a bonus ticket was obtained on arrival. It reminds me a little bit of the Hillington stations West of Glasgow Central with a massive walkway across many lanes of traffic to exit the station. One final trip to Romsey before heading for base via St Denys where i scored a brace of platforms before reaching Netley once more. Another day doing the stations between Fareham and Central will see most of this part of the world in the bag, but i do need some track at Central to be done also. Lets see - i may return this weekend for this....
I still seem to be spending a chunk of time and effort on the obscure right now, but if i can put together a sequence of things i am a believer in doing the hard stuff as and when i can get it.
Total time today 526 mins - time on trains 312 mins and 214 min. Stations completed today 7. Total completed 2193. Platforms completed at completed stations 5013.
"More platform alterations at Bournemouth cause my wallet to melt" - but it would have been worse if i had to return
My thoughts today were to target a few more hard to get stuff before going station hunting again. Mixed results as i have come to expect unfortunately. Maybe i should have sucked up the Car Park prices in Southampton rather than go for the free option at Netley as it would have saved me time and ticket money. However, i also want to progress with the platforms at Southampton Central and my first service promised a P2b arrival which i still need. True to form we landed in p3a and a short walk down the platform to get me a P3b departure to Bournemouth. I had decided to have another go at a p3 departure from there back to Southampton and another target that has previously eluded - twice in fact in Autumn of last year. I have been keeping an eye on this XC departure of late and it has behaved itseld by and large for the last three weeks. Not today as it was switched to P2, but there was a saving grace in that the service from Weymouth would use it instead. As i had a cheapish Advance i had to buy a full price Single if i wanted to ride this. I went for it as to not do so would mean far greater expense in having to visit on another occasion. A bit of an ouchie nevertheless but there was a silver lining as we arrived back in P1a before joining the back of another set before it continued as a 10 car to Waterloo. Now that would count as a full fat P1 - note to self... I did get to use a small part of my advance single as i waited for it to catch up at Central before riding to the Airport Parkway. It should have use the slow line to St Denys - but didn't. Another thing that wan't planned was my first service which also promised Slow Line usage but in fact crossed to the Fast Line for an unexpected win at 06.15...
One final target was the Southern service (liveried as Gatwick Express) that was due in from the East so i took a turn to Woolston (for the win) as this was the only realistic turning point to get me back for the promised crossover into P1. Does anything go to plan here as p2a was the arrival platform??? Once again i forget to mention that i did get another unexpected bonus with the service back from Parkway before i went to Woolston landing in p4a for the win. Confused? You betcha..
And now for part 2 of the day where i would be ticking off as many stations between Central and Salisbury as i could. I immediately got off to a winning start as i realised that another platform alteration allowed me to catch the service going to Chandlers Ford if i hopped across the platform smartish - which i did. So an hour ahead and looking back i had an Evening Out ticket for later on which i used a few minutes early.... Not intentional as i do like to ensure i have the corrrect ones. Chandlers Ford is a Single Platformed station and just up the hill away from the station was one of those independent sandwich shops which i love so supplies were obtained which included a hot Lamb Samosa. Yummo... Next up was Swaythling just a few stops back towards Central and a 20 minute wait for a trip all the way to Romsey which would terminate and start from P2 and the attendant track that comes with it. Now for some sleep time as i would be going to Mottisfont and Dunbridge the long way round via Romsey P2 (revisit from another direction). M&D is a small station with half barriers at the exits but not a lot of cover to shelter from the elements. This was not helped by a bloke older than myself singing at the top of his voice to some 50's numbers on his phone in the confined space. he couldn't hold a note!
Romsey for the win with P1 gained and another set of yobs to contend with didn't help my mood as the rain came down. Next was a slightly risky move to Dean as it would be a tightish turnaround but as we were on time i went for it. the barriers here were raised for only 2 minutes before they came down again. One of my fellow passengers appeared to have stayed on after his stop as he was also returning - just one stop for him and a few more for me as i realised i could fit Millbrook (Hampshire variant) into my itinerary so a bonus ticket was obtained on arrival. It reminds me a little bit of the Hillington stations West of Glasgow Central with a massive walkway across many lanes of traffic to exit the station. One final trip to Romsey before heading for base via St Denys where i scored a brace of platforms before reaching Netley once more. Another day doing the stations between Fareham and Central will see most of this part of the world in the bag, but i do need some track at Central to be done also. Lets see - i may return this weekend for this....
I still seem to be spending a chunk of time and effort on the obscure right now, but if i can put together a sequence of things i am a believer in doing the hard stuff as and when i can get it.
| Netley | Depart | 6.00 | ***** | SW | stations | platforms | ||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 6.17 | P3a | SW | wait 5m | completed | completed | |
| Southampton Central | Depart | 6.22 | P3b | SW | ||||
| Bournemouth | Arrive | 7.08 | P3 | SW | wait 18m | |||
| Bournemouth | Depart | 7.26 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 7.55 | P1b | SW | wait 20m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 8.15 | P1a | XC | ||||
| Southampton Airport Parkway | Arrive | 8.21 | P1 | XC | wait 14m | |||
| Southampton Airport Parkway | Depart | 8.35 | P2 | XC | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 8.41 | P4a | XC | wait 11m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 8.52 | P2a | SN | ||||
| Woolston | Arrive | 9.02 | P2 | SN | wait 18m | |||
| Woolston | Depart | 9.20 | P1 | SN | 1 | 2 | ||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 9.31 | P3a | SN | wait 4m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 9.35 | P2a | SW | ||||
| Chandlers Ford | Arrive | 9.54 | Single | SW | wait 20m | |||
| Chandlers Ford | Depart | 10.14 | Single | SW | 1 | 1 | ||
| Swaythling | Arrive | 10.27 | P2 | SW | wait 21m | |||
| Swaythling | Depart | 10.48 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Romsey | Arrive | 11.08 | P2 | SW | wait 2m | |||
| Romsey | Depart | 11.10 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Mottisfont & Dunbridge | Arrive | 12.01 | P2 | SW | wait 13m | |||
| Mottisfont & Dunbridge | Depart | 12.14 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Romsey | Arrive | 12.19 | P1 | SW | wait 32m | 1 | 2 | |
| Romsey | Depart | 12.51 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Dean | Arrive | 13.01 | P2 | SW | wait 7m | |||
| Dean | Depart | 13.08 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Millbrook (Hants) | Arrive | 13.30 | P1 | SW | wait 9m | |||
| Millbrook (Hants) | Depart | 13.39 | P2 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Romsey | Arrive | 13.50 | P2 | SW | wait 16m | |||
| Romsey | Depart | 14.06 | P2 | SW | ||||
| St Denys | Arrive | 14.30 | P2 | SW | wait 4m | |||
| St Denys | Depart | 14.34 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Netley | Arrive | 14.46 | ***** | SW |
Last edited:
Kite159
Veteran Member
Lovely Dean and the level crossing. One of those stations a lot easier to visit on Sundays when the trains pass between Romsey & Dunbridge. Especially risky as the time keeping on those rounders are not the best.
St Denys is one of those stations where connections between the lines is a bit rubbish, something like a +1 between the stopper from Portsmouth & the stopper to Eastleigh.
St Denys is one of those stations where connections between the lines is a bit rubbish, something like a +1 between the stopper from Portsmouth & the stopper to Eastleigh.
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Member
It certainly got my vote as the prettiest station of the day. As i was an hour ahead i may well have still decided to tick off Dean as i did, if the timings were not as optimal as they were, but this would have been at the expense of Millbrook which is easy to do being so Southampton adjacent.
Kite159
Veteran Member
The bleak Millbrook
Western Sunset
Established Member
I don't like heights, so always find the long footbridge approach a worry. I just look straight ahead and not at the dual-carriageway below...
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Member
I see what you mean with the connections at St Denys now after wrestling with them for what seemed like an eternity yesterday. Best part of an hour waits for most combinations and with Bitterne so close its an hour there too in the planning world. Connections of less than 5 minutes are not to be trusted if the rest of your day depends on them.
I think its the open nature of the bridge that makes it worse, apart from the actual bit over the rails that at least has proper sides to it. You do however get a decent view of the thousands of new cars and vans on the quayside just beyond the tracks. How many millions of pounds sitting there i wonder. Oh and if Dean was my favourite station on Monday then Millbrook gets the least favourite accolade of the year (so far). There is nowehere to shelter from the wind and it don't half whistle through the open platform. What a soulless place.
Kite159
Veteran Member
In answer to your question you asked me earlier, Grand Central 180s only have one set of passenger doors on the driving coaches (the other is for staff only) and maybe you can include Pendos as the front door at the coach A end is only for bike storage and not available for regular use.
swt_passenger
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Apr 2010
- Messages
- 32,862
Last time they were doing major work in Southampton Tunnel only peak trains from the Netley line ran through to Central. So offpeak it was a booked change from a 450 in P4 over to P2 to get a 158 to Central. Timetable was temporarily altered to give a 3 min connection. So when we were about half way over the bridge the 158 left at its normal departure time, the driver waving from the window across towards the 450 we’d just got off. Taxis all round…
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Member
Day 441: Sunday 16/02/2025 - Bicester North to Leamington Spa - £12.85 - Anytime Return. St Albans City to Chislehurst - £9.55 - Super Off-peak Return. Eastleigh to Brockenhurst - £6.65 - Sunday Out Return. Southampton Central to Romsey - £2.75 - Sunday Out Return. Southampton Central to Hamble - £3.10 - Sunday Out Return. Hamble to Bitterne - £2.75 - Sunday Out Return. Hamble to Bursledon - £2.05 - Sunday Out Return. CP Buckingham Crescent Bicester - free. St Albans City - £3.50. Romsey Road CP Eastleigh - free.
Total time today 867 mins - time on trains 325 mins and time waiting and relocating 542 mins. Stations completed today 3. Total completed 2196. Platforms completed at completed stations 5019.
"A day of 3 halves - kinda"
With my winter modus operandi hat firmly on it was another case of trying not to wait in freezing conditions overlong in places without waiting rooms - and which was less than successful late evening, but you can do anything once right? I have been busy searching out the unusual and i thought i had a strong start to the day in hand with 4 unusual moves planned at Banbury and Bicester North. RTT promised this would be in place all day but in reality only the early services benefitted in full.
First off was a start north from Bicester North, thus using the crossover there to gain the Down Main Northwards. A through use of the Banbury P1 line also brought mea tick for the northwards departure and time to dwell a while at leamington Spa. A check of RTT showed the use of P1 going South was working (2 crossovers to gain/depart P1) but of course by the time i got there they were using P3 as would be normal. It is possible to use these crossovers as they are timetabled, but not in daylight i think. Time to relocate.
My goal was a P4 departure from Chislehurst for the super rare crossover on departure and with cross London transfers at a premium today i chose to use St Albans City as my base and change at London Bridge. I am happy to report this move worked so that's 3 for 5 on the day so far. Time to relocate once more and down to Eastleigh again in a repeat of last weeks move.
Due to more traffic then i would like on the M25, it was squeaky bum time and i was able to park up, check-in and move smartly across the road to catch my service to Brockenhurst with a mre 10 seconds to spare. That was a bit stressful i have to say but i did get to use P1 at Brockenhurst from the East as was promised for another set of rareish bits of track. Once back at Southampton i was rewarded with a P4a departure up to Salisbury via Millbrook and thus using the crossover to gain the slow line. It is a timetabled this move but not often. I would be turning at Romsey and a change of platform to get back to Southampton. I would be spending the rest of the evening in the cold on the line down to Fareham. I did have to rejig a few things but my tickets were still OK so i plumped for visits to Hamble, Netley and then Bursledon with a longer than expected wait at Hamble causing the change of plan. I had planned to do Bitterne with a 5 minute changeover but was foiled by the delay. Cold enough for sure so i kept moving on the platforms to stave off the low temperatures. Bursledon interested me greatly with the Marina there though the full views would have to wait until tomorrow. Pretty enough in the dark with the twinkling lights. I did also try for a P2 visit to Fareham but the timings meant almost an hour wait so i axed that until the following day with the extended closures in the Portsmouth area still ongoing.
Once back at Southampton i had the promise of a P2b departure for the ride back to Eastleigh which seemed a little counter intuitive as the A Platform is normally used, and sure enough it did indeed dwell there for 20 minutes or so in the B end of P2. An unexpected result and an unexpected chance meeting with forum member Kite who recognised me somehow from the few words we initially exchanged. Our paths have almost crossed on a few occasions so it was great to say hello in person! Cheers, and cheers for the chance to have what seems to be an obligatory nightcap for overnights these days as the Spoons was still open next to the Travelodge. Super handy for the station and the CP round the corner (Romsey Road CP) is free on Sundays and up till 8am Monday. A highly recommended combo. Final score for my targets today was 8 out of 10. No cats were involved however.
Total time today 867 mins - time on trains 325 mins and time waiting and relocating 542 mins. Stations completed today 3. Total completed 2196. Platforms completed at completed stations 5019.
"A day of 3 halves - kinda"
With my winter modus operandi hat firmly on it was another case of trying not to wait in freezing conditions overlong in places without waiting rooms - and which was less than successful late evening, but you can do anything once right? I have been busy searching out the unusual and i thought i had a strong start to the day in hand with 4 unusual moves planned at Banbury and Bicester North. RTT promised this would be in place all day but in reality only the early services benefitted in full.
First off was a start north from Bicester North, thus using the crossover there to gain the Down Main Northwards. A through use of the Banbury P1 line also brought mea tick for the northwards departure and time to dwell a while at leamington Spa. A check of RTT showed the use of P1 going South was working (2 crossovers to gain/depart P1) but of course by the time i got there they were using P3 as would be normal. It is possible to use these crossovers as they are timetabled, but not in daylight i think. Time to relocate.
My goal was a P4 departure from Chislehurst for the super rare crossover on departure and with cross London transfers at a premium today i chose to use St Albans City as my base and change at London Bridge. I am happy to report this move worked so that's 3 for 5 on the day so far. Time to relocate once more and down to Eastleigh again in a repeat of last weeks move.
Due to more traffic then i would like on the M25, it was squeaky bum time and i was able to park up, check-in and move smartly across the road to catch my service to Brockenhurst with a mre 10 seconds to spare. That was a bit stressful i have to say but i did get to use P1 at Brockenhurst from the East as was promised for another set of rareish bits of track. Once back at Southampton i was rewarded with a P4a departure up to Salisbury via Millbrook and thus using the crossover to gain the slow line. It is a timetabled this move but not often. I would be turning at Romsey and a change of platform to get back to Southampton. I would be spending the rest of the evening in the cold on the line down to Fareham. I did have to rejig a few things but my tickets were still OK so i plumped for visits to Hamble, Netley and then Bursledon with a longer than expected wait at Hamble causing the change of plan. I had planned to do Bitterne with a 5 minute changeover but was foiled by the delay. Cold enough for sure so i kept moving on the platforms to stave off the low temperatures. Bursledon interested me greatly with the Marina there though the full views would have to wait until tomorrow. Pretty enough in the dark with the twinkling lights. I did also try for a P2 visit to Fareham but the timings meant almost an hour wait so i axed that until the following day with the extended closures in the Portsmouth area still ongoing.
Once back at Southampton i had the promise of a P2b departure for the ride back to Eastleigh which seemed a little counter intuitive as the A Platform is normally used, and sure enough it did indeed dwell there for 20 minutes or so in the B end of P2. An unexpected result and an unexpected chance meeting with forum member Kite who recognised me somehow from the few words we initially exchanged. Our paths have almost crossed on a few occasions so it was great to say hello in person! Cheers, and cheers for the chance to have what seems to be an obligatory nightcap for overnights these days as the Spoons was still open next to the Travelodge. Super handy for the station and the CP round the corner (Romsey Road CP) is free on Sundays and up till 8am Monday. A highly recommended combo. Final score for my targets today was 8 out of 10. No cats were involved however.
| Bicester North | Depart | 8.52 | ***** | CH | stations | platforms | ||
| Leamington Spa | Arrive | 9.26 | P2 | CH | wait 55m | completed | completed | |
| Leamington Spa | Depart | 10.21 | P3 | CH | ||||
| Bicester North | Arrive | 10.52 | ***** | CH | drive + | |||
| Relocate to | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | wait 95m | |||
| St Albans City | Depart | 12.27 | ***** | TL | ||||
| London Bridge | Arrive | 13.07 | P4 | TL | wait 15m | |||
| London Bridge | Depart | 13.22 | P6 | SE | ||||
| Chislehurst | Arrive | 13.45 | P4 | SE | wait 12m | |||
| Chislehurst | Depart | 13.57 | P4 | SE | ||||
| London Bridge | Arrive | 14.20 | P9 | SE | wait 16m | |||
| London Bridge | Depart | 14.36 | P5 | TL | ||||
| St Albans City | Arrive | 15.13 | ***** | TL | drive + | |||
| Relocate to | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | wait 129m | |||
| Eastleigh | Depart | 17.22 | ***** | SW | ||||
| Brockenhurst | Arrive | 17.51 | P1 | SW | wait 18m | |||
| Brockenhurst | Depart | 18.09 | P1 | SW | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 18.24 | P1 | SW | wait 46m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 19.10 | P4a | SW | ||||
| Romsey | Arrive | 19.24 | P2 | SW | wait 7m | |||
| Romsey | Depart | 19.31 | P1 | SW | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 19.45 | P2a | SW | wait 44m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 20.29 | P3a | SW | ||||
| Hamble | Arrive | 20.51 | P2 | SW | wait 33m | |||
| Hamble | Depart | 21.24 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Netley | Arrive | 21.26 | P1 | SW | wait 19m | |||
| Netley | Depart | 21.45 | P2 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Bursledon | Arrive | 21.50 | P2 | SW | wait 26m | |||
| Bursledon | Depart | 22.16 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 22.38 | P4a | SW | wait 27m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 23.05 | P2b | SW | ||||
| Eastleigh | Arrive | 23.19 | ***** | SW |
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Member
Yes, well remembered. I knew another TOC apart from SW had this operationally. It doesn't seem to bother NT as i have seen multiple trips outside by their drivers on the 15x classes, and of course not sure how that would have worked in the old pacer days haha. Not done the GF at Combe Junction Halt yet but the GF at Morecambe saw the driver outside i seem to recall. Are there others in normal use?
All platforms
Member
Day 442: Monday 17/02/2025 - St Denys to Southampton Central - £3.60 - Anytime Single. Southampton Central to Sway - £11.10 - Anytime Return. Southampton Central to Winchester - £9.10 - Anytime Return. Eastleigh to Fareham - £7.80 - Anytime Single. Fareham to Sholing - £4.65 - Off-peak Return. Swanwick to Southampton central - £4.45 - Anytime Single. Southampton Central to Sway - £7.30 - Off-peak Return. Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier - £3.45 - Off-peak return. Southampton Central to Fareham - £4.85 - Evening Out Return. Southampton Central to Netley - £2.75 - Evening Out Return. CP Horseshoe Bridge St Denys - free.
Total time today 450 mins - time on trains 269 mins and time waiting 181 mins. Stations completed today 5. Total completed 2201. Platforms completed at completed stations 5030.
"Always read the boards"
Enough sleep was enjoyed that the 6am start from St Denys was not too much of a chore and i parked on the Horseshoe Bridge for free before walking the 2 mins to the station. Immediately i arrived in Southampton i scanned the boards to check my intended target was on time. I had hoped for a full fat P2 on a 10 car towards London but it was showing as a 5 car. Rats. But what's this, there was another 10 car going the other way from P2 in just a few minutes. Decision made i scarpered pretty quickly to obtain a ticket to Sway, and made it back to the platform just in time. Front 5 only for most of the stations to Bournemouth where it would divide and it was slightly ironic the guard was semi apologising that it was a 10 car today. Sway reminded me of some other stations i have been to and i had a bit of deja vu moment here because of this. It will come to me but i can't quite remember the other stations. I can visualise them however.
One other reason this was a good move for me was it was just a small wait before returning up the line and alighting at Winchester. I had intended to do this via St Denys for a P1 tick but that would have necessitated an hours wait and i think that is best left for another time the more i thought about it. I had intended to do Sway later in the day so now i had an extra ticket, but i had an answer for that too.... In the meantime however i would have another go at the Slow line between Winchester and Eastleigh via P3 Shawford. Timetabled a few times during the day but only 4 or 5 services a week actually get put there. I think it is something to do with the XC services, but unless they are on time the stopper stays on the fast. It didn't work (the law of averages say i need another 5 or 6 goes) but the XC did thunder past as we were sat at Eastleigh so it must have been a close call. With the slow line being a target and P3 at Shawford also (can't do both on the one train of course) it will be quite a while before those are ticked. Additionally there is a bit of track into both P2 and P3 to complicate this further. For now i will maybve have anmother go as i still have a few things left in the area to do.
Today will see me complete all the stations on the South Coast between Weymouth and Worthing (excepting P3 at Southampton and i am not sure yet if 10 cars are timetabled for this). With the slow line fiasco behind me i ended up at Fareham P2 with the blocks still in place to the East and the chance to get something warm from the cafe type place being a welcome bonus. Another P3 departure saw my next target hove into view at Sholing and a palatable 12 min wait there helped my mood. Suitable shelter was obtained at Swanwick and i had the chance to reacquaint myself with a book i seem to have been reading for ages as the day warmed slightly and i was out of the wind. Not a fan of sitting still in the depths of winter.
Not wanting to risk the timings at St Denys i decided to take a trip to Lymington Pier (via Brockenhurst of course). The timings for once worked in my favour and i could use my spare Sway ticket for this with an extra obtained for the Brockenhurst/Pier portion of the journey. I said at the time i visited Lymington pier in the dark last year i would return in the daytime for the views, and although it was only 5 minutes worth of them i am glad i made the effort. Once back at Brockenhurst it was just 10 mins and away back to Southampton once more. GWR have been turning at Fareham P2 for a number of days on and off and i always knew i would have to avail myself of this and now was the time. A direct service and in no time at all another visit to P2 was in the bag. The overbridge was being painted today and standing on platform 2 there i was nearly showered with rust chippings that were periodically being swept off the bridge, landing on the roof of the carriage, and which because it was curved then slid down the side and onto the edge of the platform. Quite the pile was forming and i had to avert the guards intended path or he would have got a scalpful as he timed his visit to that part of the platform unluckily.
What i also needed for my bag of ticks was a P2 departure which was duly obtained and a final visit today to Southampton was seen through. Just a 20 minute wait saw me depart for the last time this trip and a visit to Bitterne and a near obligatory hour wait as the services are timetabled to cross here. One final bit of good luck then as the return was a few minutes down and i was able to cross the bridge in time to gain an hour back albeit my pics were a bit hurried.
So what's left that i haven't already mentioned? Just P1 and P4 at St Denys which for some reason i just didn't want to do today and it will give me something else to do when i inevitably return for that pesky Down Slow line north of Eastleigh. Also i think 2 other timetabled crossovers at Southampton might keep my interest going there also.
I am off tomorrow for some Lincolnshire delights, with a few bits of track to tick off before i finally complete Yorkshire with a promised visit to Doncaster P2. Not seen that timetabled properly so far on this journey so that will be an important milestone if it works out. It worked yesterday so fingers crossed. Looking further ahead i have another visit to Westbury on the cards and another one to Didcot as the fasts down to Reading are being used on another one off. I may even take a trip to the South West with a view to completing Gloucester and other nearby choice cuts. P2 at West Byfleet also beckons in early March. A busy time then before more holiday nights away interrupt.
Total time today 450 mins - time on trains 269 mins and time waiting 181 mins. Stations completed today 5. Total completed 2201. Platforms completed at completed stations 5030.
"Always read the boards"
Enough sleep was enjoyed that the 6am start from St Denys was not too much of a chore and i parked on the Horseshoe Bridge for free before walking the 2 mins to the station. Immediately i arrived in Southampton i scanned the boards to check my intended target was on time. I had hoped for a full fat P2 on a 10 car towards London but it was showing as a 5 car. Rats. But what's this, there was another 10 car going the other way from P2 in just a few minutes. Decision made i scarpered pretty quickly to obtain a ticket to Sway, and made it back to the platform just in time. Front 5 only for most of the stations to Bournemouth where it would divide and it was slightly ironic the guard was semi apologising that it was a 10 car today. Sway reminded me of some other stations i have been to and i had a bit of deja vu moment here because of this. It will come to me but i can't quite remember the other stations. I can visualise them however.
One other reason this was a good move for me was it was just a small wait before returning up the line and alighting at Winchester. I had intended to do this via St Denys for a P1 tick but that would have necessitated an hours wait and i think that is best left for another time the more i thought about it. I had intended to do Sway later in the day so now i had an extra ticket, but i had an answer for that too.... In the meantime however i would have another go at the Slow line between Winchester and Eastleigh via P3 Shawford. Timetabled a few times during the day but only 4 or 5 services a week actually get put there. I think it is something to do with the XC services, but unless they are on time the stopper stays on the fast. It didn't work (the law of averages say i need another 5 or 6 goes) but the XC did thunder past as we were sat at Eastleigh so it must have been a close call. With the slow line being a target and P3 at Shawford also (can't do both on the one train of course) it will be quite a while before those are ticked. Additionally there is a bit of track into both P2 and P3 to complicate this further. For now i will maybve have anmother go as i still have a few things left in the area to do.
Today will see me complete all the stations on the South Coast between Weymouth and Worthing (excepting P3 at Southampton and i am not sure yet if 10 cars are timetabled for this). With the slow line fiasco behind me i ended up at Fareham P2 with the blocks still in place to the East and the chance to get something warm from the cafe type place being a welcome bonus. Another P3 departure saw my next target hove into view at Sholing and a palatable 12 min wait there helped my mood. Suitable shelter was obtained at Swanwick and i had the chance to reacquaint myself with a book i seem to have been reading for ages as the day warmed slightly and i was out of the wind. Not a fan of sitting still in the depths of winter.
Not wanting to risk the timings at St Denys i decided to take a trip to Lymington Pier (via Brockenhurst of course). The timings for once worked in my favour and i could use my spare Sway ticket for this with an extra obtained for the Brockenhurst/Pier portion of the journey. I said at the time i visited Lymington pier in the dark last year i would return in the daytime for the views, and although it was only 5 minutes worth of them i am glad i made the effort. Once back at Brockenhurst it was just 10 mins and away back to Southampton once more. GWR have been turning at Fareham P2 for a number of days on and off and i always knew i would have to avail myself of this and now was the time. A direct service and in no time at all another visit to P2 was in the bag. The overbridge was being painted today and standing on platform 2 there i was nearly showered with rust chippings that were periodically being swept off the bridge, landing on the roof of the carriage, and which because it was curved then slid down the side and onto the edge of the platform. Quite the pile was forming and i had to avert the guards intended path or he would have got a scalpful as he timed his visit to that part of the platform unluckily.
What i also needed for my bag of ticks was a P2 departure which was duly obtained and a final visit today to Southampton was seen through. Just a 20 minute wait saw me depart for the last time this trip and a visit to Bitterne and a near obligatory hour wait as the services are timetabled to cross here. One final bit of good luck then as the return was a few minutes down and i was able to cross the bridge in time to gain an hour back albeit my pics were a bit hurried.
So what's left that i haven't already mentioned? Just P1 and P4 at St Denys which for some reason i just didn't want to do today and it will give me something else to do when i inevitably return for that pesky Down Slow line north of Eastleigh. Also i think 2 other timetabled crossovers at Southampton might keep my interest going there also.
I am off tomorrow for some Lincolnshire delights, with a few bits of track to tick off before i finally complete Yorkshire with a promised visit to Doncaster P2. Not seen that timetabled properly so far on this journey so that will be an important milestone if it works out. It worked yesterday so fingers crossed. Looking further ahead i have another visit to Westbury on the cards and another one to Didcot as the fasts down to Reading are being used on another one off. I may even take a trip to the South West with a view to completing Gloucester and other nearby choice cuts. P2 at West Byfleet also beckons in early March. A busy time then before more holiday nights away interrupt.
| St Denys | Depart | 6.10 | ***** | SW | stations | platforms | ||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 6.14 | P3a | SW | wait 8m | completed | completed | |
| Southampton Central | Depart | 6.22 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Sway | Arrive | 6.45 | P2 | SW | wait 12m | |||
| Sway | Depart | 6.57 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Winchester | Arrive | 7.48 | P1 | SW | wait 31m | |||
| Winchester | Depart | 8.19 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Fareham | Arrive | 8.49 | P2 | SW | wait 22m | 1 | 3 | |
| Fareham | Depart | 9.11 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Sholing | Arrive | 9.31 | P1 | SW | wait 12m | |||
| Sholing | Depart | 9.43 | P2 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Swanwick | Arrive | 9.55 | P2 | SW | wait 23m | |||
| Swanwick | Depart | 10.18 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 10.47 | P3a | SW | wait 5m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 10.52 | P4 | SW | ||||
| Brockenhurst | Arrive | 11.05 | P3 | SW | wait 6m | |||
| Brockenhurst | Depart | 11.11 | P4 | SW | ||||
| Lymington Pier | Arrive | 11.21 | Single | SW | wait 5m | |||
| Lymington Pier | Depart | 11.26 | Single | SW | ||||
| Brockenhurst | Arrive | 11.37 | P4 | SW | wait 10m | |||
| Brockenhurst | Depart | 11.47 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 12.02 | P1 | SW | wait 6m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 12.08 | P2a | SW | ||||
| Fareham | Arrive | 12.29 | P2 | SW | wait 19m | |||
| Fareham | Depart | 12.48 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Southampton Central | Arrive | 13.08 | P4a | SW | wait 20m | |||
| Southampton Central | Depart | 13.28 | P3a | SW | ||||
| Bitterne | Arrive | 13.36 | P2 | SW | wait 2m | |||
| Bitterne | Depart | 13.38 | P1 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| St Denys | Arrive | 13.40 | ***** | SW |
Kite159
Veteran Member
Although I think that's more a design feature of the train rather than any special methods of working.
On SWR it's probably historic due to the 3rd rail and the driver not having a separate door in case they ever need to go lineside.
A productive couple of days
----
As for that service on the Sunday which uses 2B at Southampton, it seems in a normal timetable a Southern service arrives & departs during the 20 minute dwell (1N34 2100 Brighton to Southampton Central & 1N93 2258 Southampton Central to Littlehampton).
Last edited:
All platforms
Member
Day 443: Thursday 20/02/2025 - Barnetby to Lincoln Central - £11.05 - Anytime Return. Lincoln Central to Peterborough - £31.35 - Anytime Return. Lincoln Central to Doncaster - £15.25 - Anytime Return. CP Barnetby - £2.50.
Total time today 400 mins - time on trains 303 mins and time waiting 97 mins. One additional platform added to the list today!
"A great on trains to wait ratio for once"
I have been waiting for a long while for the opportunity to put P2 at Doncaster into the book, and all this week there are 3 services per day in and out that promise that. Last chance is tomorrow. I will be back in Lincolnshire in just under 2 weeks time to see if i can tick off the awkwards i never went for the first time around but i also wanted to see if i could add anything to my Doncaster visit today, which is why i found myself at Barnetby station well before 5.30am this morning.
My first of three targets today was the crossover to enable the service from Barnetby to land in P1 at Lincoln, which is the only booked use of this and this early use is very probably the reason i haven't attempted it before now. Still fully dark on arrival of course and just enough time to pop into the Co-op across the road to get some breakfast supplies before re-boarding the same units for a trip to Peterborough. Not the cheapest ticket in the world but it would use the full P3 line at Sleaford both ways to tick off target number 2. In a first for me i would be staying on the same units at Peterborough, and again at Doncaster, though i did finally alight at Lincoln on the way back. A total of 5 hours sat on the same train as i followed the early part of todays diagram. Totally not planned that way and this also accounts for the low wait times. Services back to Barnetby are not too frequent so i had an hours wait at Lincoln but a solid 3 for 3 today with a few more offerings to come in 12 days time.
On the basis of P2's rarity value i must have counted Doncaster as complete some years ago, but i have added 1 to the platforms total so that becomes 5031. I do finally feel that i have made sufficient progress to make the remaining targets just that little bit less daunting than it has looked so far. Still a little jittery about the track between Crianlarich and Mallaig which will need more time away to do effectively than i am happy with, and to find somewhere to stay that isn't too eye wateringly expensive. I am also not over happy with the amount of crossover stuff left to do on pretty much all the 4 lines routes in/out of London. A lot of of effort for not that much reward at long distance prices. I will still have a go if i see a series of opportunities on a particular day, but as the days start to get a bit longer and temperatures back above freezing for the most part i will increasingly be turning my attention back to the main thrust of the project, so new track, new stations and above all new platforms. A mix of all the above for the next week or so has been planned.
Actually its 4 for 4 today as i forgot to mention the crossover traversed to gain the link track between Bessacarr Jn and Black Carr Jn on the way in! I have a greater appreciation of just how disruptive the use of P2 would be be in normal use but with long distance trains to/from the North not shown on the boards in the short time i was there it was doable at the planned time. It seemed P5 was in use by Northern so the usual platform was not available.
Total time today 400 mins - time on trains 303 mins and time waiting 97 mins. One additional platform added to the list today!
"A great on trains to wait ratio for once"
I have been waiting for a long while for the opportunity to put P2 at Doncaster into the book, and all this week there are 3 services per day in and out that promise that. Last chance is tomorrow. I will be back in Lincolnshire in just under 2 weeks time to see if i can tick off the awkwards i never went for the first time around but i also wanted to see if i could add anything to my Doncaster visit today, which is why i found myself at Barnetby station well before 5.30am this morning.
My first of three targets today was the crossover to enable the service from Barnetby to land in P1 at Lincoln, which is the only booked use of this and this early use is very probably the reason i haven't attempted it before now. Still fully dark on arrival of course and just enough time to pop into the Co-op across the road to get some breakfast supplies before re-boarding the same units for a trip to Peterborough. Not the cheapest ticket in the world but it would use the full P3 line at Sleaford both ways to tick off target number 2. In a first for me i would be staying on the same units at Peterborough, and again at Doncaster, though i did finally alight at Lincoln on the way back. A total of 5 hours sat on the same train as i followed the early part of todays diagram. Totally not planned that way and this also accounts for the low wait times. Services back to Barnetby are not too frequent so i had an hours wait at Lincoln but a solid 3 for 3 today with a few more offerings to come in 12 days time.
On the basis of P2's rarity value i must have counted Doncaster as complete some years ago, but i have added 1 to the platforms total so that becomes 5031. I do finally feel that i have made sufficient progress to make the remaining targets just that little bit less daunting than it has looked so far. Still a little jittery about the track between Crianlarich and Mallaig which will need more time away to do effectively than i am happy with, and to find somewhere to stay that isn't too eye wateringly expensive. I am also not over happy with the amount of crossover stuff left to do on pretty much all the 4 lines routes in/out of London. A lot of of effort for not that much reward at long distance prices. I will still have a go if i see a series of opportunities on a particular day, but as the days start to get a bit longer and temperatures back above freezing for the most part i will increasingly be turning my attention back to the main thrust of the project, so new track, new stations and above all new platforms. A mix of all the above for the next week or so has been planned.
Actually its 4 for 4 today as i forgot to mention the crossover traversed to gain the link track between Bessacarr Jn and Black Carr Jn on the way in! I have a greater appreciation of just how disruptive the use of P2 would be be in normal use but with long distance trains to/from the North not shown on the boards in the short time i was there it was doable at the planned time. It seemed P5 was in use by Northern so the usual platform was not available.
| Barnetby | Depart | 5.27 | ***** | EM | stations | platforms | ||
| Lincoln Central | Arrive | 6.00 | P1 | EM | wait 23m | completed | completed | |
| Lincoln Central | Depart | 6.23 | P1 | EM | ||||
| Peterborough | Arrive | 7.37 | P1 | EM | wait 3m | |||
| Peterborough | Depart | 7.40 | P1 | EM | ||||
| Doncaster | Arrive | 9.38 | P2 | EM | wait 8m | 1 | ||
| Doncaster | Depart | 9.46 | P2 | EM | ||||
| Lincoln Central | Arrive | 10.30 | P5a | EM | wait 63m | |||
| Lincoln Central | Depart | 11.33 | P3a | EM | ||||
| Barnetby | Arrive | 12.07 | ***** | EM |
Kite159
Veteran Member
Good stuff with getting platform 2 at Doncaster done
All platforms
Member
Day 444: Saturday 22/02/2025 - Freedom of Severn & Solent Rover - £50.60 - 3 in 7 days - Day 1. Westbury to Pewsey - £7.05 - Off-peak Return.
Total time today 742 mins - time on trains 404 mins and time waiting 338 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 2205. Platforms completed at completed stations. 85.26% complete.
"Some new track today - for once"
Another return to Westbury today as my base, and this is a station that is growing on me. Lots of variations possible here with lines firing off in all directions, much of it bi-di, and even an avoiding line within sight. Today, there was a spate of reversals at the country end being used by SW on the engineering route to get to the West country via Salisbury, Westbury, Castle Cary and the 2 Yeovils. I noticed there were reversing boards on P2 and P3 (didn't look for one on p1) and this enables GW to bring something into the London end of the platforms if required, although i didn't see an example of this whilst i was passing through. The dwell times of the SW services were quite generous and i was able have a few words with a driver as we walked past to confirm the above supposition.
All that happened over a few visits but the first order of business was to get to Salisbury and onto the Gillingham (Dorset version) shuttle that was in operation today. This promised multiple uses of the Tisbury Loop though by no means every service there was included in this. For some reason we were held just before the singled line, so much so it was the opposite service that was looped instead. (First there is looped) I think the drivers comments summed up my own thoughts and something to the order of "when the signaller finally realises we are here we will be on our way again" Just no reason to be held basically and two strikes now at Tisbury is the result. I still have a small amount of unfinished business at Salisbury so hopefully not a big deal. The other services i looked at were looped going to Gillingham of course. A small section of needed track into p3 slightly lifted my mood however.
It was time to turn to the SW diversions today and so back up to Westbury, a c/e reversal and off to Yeovil Junction but using the track at Castle Cary via P3 rather than the stopper that mostly uses P2. An hours wait at the Junction but i discovered the lovely cafe place there and had a wonderful bacon roll as well as a couple of sweet treats as i whiled away some time. A lovely spot and most welcome.
The through services were all using P2 (both ways) so use of the crossover got me another tick as well as completing the station. Probably something that is fairly rare in normal working. Back to Westbury and the long trek up the platform. Throughout today i was lucky enough to almost complete the needed track bits at Westbury including a P2 departure to Salisbury late on that gained another crossover on the curve just beyond the station. I was probably happier with this than any other achievement on the day. Small things io know....
Time now to grab some core action by taking a trip up to Avoncliff which certainly gets the accolade as prettiest location of the day with the canal just above, and on another day i would have been very happy to have more of a wander. The weather today was probably the best of the year so far and the sun was out for much of the day - more of this please as we move into March next week. Much cheered by my visit to Avoncliff and my second completed station i returned to Westbury and waited for the Exeter train that was going to call at Taunton and a section of new track for me.
Some 40 mins later i set down at Taunton after a much enjoyed trip and on of the few bigger stations i haven't yet visited. Maybe the 2 Exeter ones and Plymouth are the only big ones left in England now with Stirling, Perth and maybe Dundee in Scotland being the other biggies. Taunton is a big and rather sprawling station and my research says that P1 is not signalled for passenger use so out of scope for this project. If anyone can tell me any different i would love to know. P6 is another oddity i understand with departures only in passenger use, and not many of them to boot. I was very happy to find one such departure in the planning stage and settled myself in for the short journey to Bridgwater which proudly proclaims itself as a rebel town with legend saying Queen Victoria used to draw the curtains/blinds on approach so she didn't have to look at it. A good story for sure if true. As this is my first visit to the area i am unsure how typical the station was round here but lots of info on the walls. Not long enough to explore properly however, but its more than possible i will revisit here if Taunton work allows. Back at Taunton it was time for my third platform and a trip on the London bound service via Pewsey, where i would be alighting an hour into the journey. Pewsey only receives a limited service on a Saturday but there are a few times you can visit without having to endure a 2 hour wait or longer for the return Southwards. The Car Park was surprisingly busy however given the gaps in service.
One reason i chose to go to Pewsey at this time was to tick off the track to/from Westbury, but also the station itself as its the awkward one on the line with the stopping services now starting/terminating at Bedwyn one stop away. I still need the Westbury avoiding lines so those will be long distance services. I haven't researched this yet however.
Once back at Westbury it was time to get to Salisbury for the awkward crossover from a P2 departure back to Westbury. However i wasn't sure why this was timetabled but had to give it a go anyway. It was still showing as that on RTT, but on arriving at Salisbury it had been changed to P4. I had also dallied with the idea of visiting Bradford-on-Avon as well but realising how late this would see me still travelling about i decided to cut things short and get the first service back to Westbury. I still had a near hour long journey to get to my cheap hotel in Marlborough and a semi decent amount of time to get a good sleep under my belt. Not something i usually experience. Just don't have the Coors at the hotel (Prem Inn). Bland and weak as dishwater. I ended up abandoning that and trudged to the adjacent petrol station for a bottled variant. Asleep by 11pm which is almost a first on these trips.
A successful day as i chipped away at my targets.
Total time today 742 mins - time on trains 404 mins and time waiting 338 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 2205. Platforms completed at completed stations. 85.26% complete.
"Some new track today - for once"
Another return to Westbury today as my base, and this is a station that is growing on me. Lots of variations possible here with lines firing off in all directions, much of it bi-di, and even an avoiding line within sight. Today, there was a spate of reversals at the country end being used by SW on the engineering route to get to the West country via Salisbury, Westbury, Castle Cary and the 2 Yeovils. I noticed there were reversing boards on P2 and P3 (didn't look for one on p1) and this enables GW to bring something into the London end of the platforms if required, although i didn't see an example of this whilst i was passing through. The dwell times of the SW services were quite generous and i was able have a few words with a driver as we walked past to confirm the above supposition.
All that happened over a few visits but the first order of business was to get to Salisbury and onto the Gillingham (Dorset version) shuttle that was in operation today. This promised multiple uses of the Tisbury Loop though by no means every service there was included in this. For some reason we were held just before the singled line, so much so it was the opposite service that was looped instead. (First there is looped) I think the drivers comments summed up my own thoughts and something to the order of "when the signaller finally realises we are here we will be on our way again" Just no reason to be held basically and two strikes now at Tisbury is the result. I still have a small amount of unfinished business at Salisbury so hopefully not a big deal. The other services i looked at were looped going to Gillingham of course. A small section of needed track into p3 slightly lifted my mood however.
It was time to turn to the SW diversions today and so back up to Westbury, a c/e reversal and off to Yeovil Junction but using the track at Castle Cary via P3 rather than the stopper that mostly uses P2. An hours wait at the Junction but i discovered the lovely cafe place there and had a wonderful bacon roll as well as a couple of sweet treats as i whiled away some time. A lovely spot and most welcome.
The through services were all using P2 (both ways) so use of the crossover got me another tick as well as completing the station. Probably something that is fairly rare in normal working. Back to Westbury and the long trek up the platform. Throughout today i was lucky enough to almost complete the needed track bits at Westbury including a P2 departure to Salisbury late on that gained another crossover on the curve just beyond the station. I was probably happier with this than any other achievement on the day. Small things io know....
Time now to grab some core action by taking a trip up to Avoncliff which certainly gets the accolade as prettiest location of the day with the canal just above, and on another day i would have been very happy to have more of a wander. The weather today was probably the best of the year so far and the sun was out for much of the day - more of this please as we move into March next week. Much cheered by my visit to Avoncliff and my second completed station i returned to Westbury and waited for the Exeter train that was going to call at Taunton and a section of new track for me.
Some 40 mins later i set down at Taunton after a much enjoyed trip and on of the few bigger stations i haven't yet visited. Maybe the 2 Exeter ones and Plymouth are the only big ones left in England now with Stirling, Perth and maybe Dundee in Scotland being the other biggies. Taunton is a big and rather sprawling station and my research says that P1 is not signalled for passenger use so out of scope for this project. If anyone can tell me any different i would love to know. P6 is another oddity i understand with departures only in passenger use, and not many of them to boot. I was very happy to find one such departure in the planning stage and settled myself in for the short journey to Bridgwater which proudly proclaims itself as a rebel town with legend saying Queen Victoria used to draw the curtains/blinds on approach so she didn't have to look at it. A good story for sure if true. As this is my first visit to the area i am unsure how typical the station was round here but lots of info on the walls. Not long enough to explore properly however, but its more than possible i will revisit here if Taunton work allows. Back at Taunton it was time for my third platform and a trip on the London bound service via Pewsey, where i would be alighting an hour into the journey. Pewsey only receives a limited service on a Saturday but there are a few times you can visit without having to endure a 2 hour wait or longer for the return Southwards. The Car Park was surprisingly busy however given the gaps in service.
One reason i chose to go to Pewsey at this time was to tick off the track to/from Westbury, but also the station itself as its the awkward one on the line with the stopping services now starting/terminating at Bedwyn one stop away. I still need the Westbury avoiding lines so those will be long distance services. I haven't researched this yet however.
Once back at Westbury it was time to get to Salisbury for the awkward crossover from a P2 departure back to Westbury. However i wasn't sure why this was timetabled but had to give it a go anyway. It was still showing as that on RTT, but on arriving at Salisbury it had been changed to P4. I had also dallied with the idea of visiting Bradford-on-Avon as well but realising how late this would see me still travelling about i decided to cut things short and get the first service back to Westbury. I still had a near hour long journey to get to my cheap hotel in Marlborough and a semi decent amount of time to get a good sleep under my belt. Not something i usually experience. Just don't have the Coors at the hotel (Prem Inn). Bland and weak as dishwater. I ended up abandoning that and trudged to the adjacent petrol station for a bottled variant. Asleep by 11pm which is almost a first on these trips.
A successful day as i chipped away at my targets.
| Westbury | Depart | 7.03 | ***** | SW | stations | platforms | ||
| Salisbury | Arrive | 7.30 | P2 | SW | wait 42m | completed | completed | |
| Salisbury | Depart | 8.12 | P3 | SW | ||||
| Gillingham (Dorset) | Arrive | 8.42 | P1 | SW | wait 8m | |||
| Gillingham (Dorset) | Depart | 8.50 | P1 | SW | ||||
| Salisbury | Arrive | 9.13 | P3 | SW | wait 11m | |||
| Salisbury | Depart | 9.24 | P4 | SW | ||||
| Yeovil Junction | Arrive | 10.32 | P2 | SW | wait 61m | |||
| Yeovil Junction | Depart | 11.33 | P2 | SW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Westbury | Arrive | 12.10 | P2 | SW | wait 32m | |||
| Westbury | Depart | 12.42 | P1 | GW | ||||
| Avoncliff | Arrive | 12.59 | P1 | GW | wait 14m | |||
| Avoncliff | Depart | 13.13 | P2 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Westbury | Arrive | 13.30 | P1 | GW | wait 60m | |||
| Westbury | Depart | 14.30 | P1 | GW | ||||
| Taunton | Arrive | 15.09 | P2 | GW | wait 14m | |||
| Taunton | Depart | 15.23 | P6 | GW | ||||
| Bridgwater | Arrive | 15.33 | P2 | GW | wait 10m | |||
| Bridgwater | Depart | 15.43 | P1 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Taunton | Arrive | 15.54 | P2 | GW | wait 14m | |||
| Taunton | Depart | 16.08 | P5 | GW | ||||
| Pewsey | Arrive | 17.05 | P2 | GW | wait 32m | |||
| Pewsey | Depart | 17.37 | P1 | GW | 1 | 2 | ||
| Westbury | Arrive | 17.53 | P1 | GW | wait 27m | |||
| Westbury | Depart | 18.20 | P2 | SW | ||||
| Salisbury | Arrive | 18.45 | P2 | SW | wait 13m | |||
| Salisbury | Depart | 18.58 | P4 | SW | ||||
| Westbury | Arrive | 19.25 | ***** | SW |