Yesterday I intended to join the West Midlands Day Ranger meet but missed everybody and (since I already had the Day Ranger) ended up going alone.
I first went from Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street (and got my first taste of the Arriva Trains Wales refurbished 158), where I arrived a bit late and had to rush for the platform for the first train, the 1039 to Rugeley Trent Valley, which actually wasn't there (I thought it had gone, but it was late). I saw All Line Rover who told me that everybody was instead using the alternative itinerary starting with the 1049 to Droitwich Spa (the train going on to Hereford). He actually said he was going to the toilet (cutting it fine, as he only had about 5 minutes and had to go up the stairs). I got on the train and hovered near the doors hoping he would return but he didn't (or I didn't see him if he did - somebody got on with a buggy so I had to move from the vestibule area).
Anyway I sow nobody on the train so decided to get off at Droitwich Spa and see if anybody else got off then but I didn't see anybody else and first thought of continuing the itinerary but saw a 172 going to Worcester Shrub Hill so got on it. I thought it would go back soon after arriving but it didn't and so I consulted the board showing departures to different stations in alphabetical order and saw that to get the Birmingham Snow Hill I would have to get the 1215 and change at Worcester Foregate Street. I got on the 1215 (a 150/2 operated by First Great Western), but decided to stay on it all the way to Great Malvern. I had texted bb21 and hoped to meet them on the koco-hauled Chiltern service, so I thought I'd go on to Great Malvern to kill some time before heading back. I thought I might as well go on to Hereford while I was there and left a London Midland 170 for Hereford because I saw a First Great Western service which I thought would be be an HST. So I got the HST for Hereford (having a look at the Volo TV service and looking at the map but found it annoying that it did not stay on the screen), again thinking it would head back soon after but it didn't and I had to hang around nearly an hour at Hereford before I could get a train back towards Birmingham. What was worse, looking at the timetables meant that it was then impossible to get the planned loco-hauled service, so I ended up on my own all day.
Got the train back to Great Malvern, where I changed onto a FGW 165 to Worcester Foregate Street, then waited for a London Midland service towards Birmingham Snow Hill (which I knew was there, but I used the FGW 165 to break up the wait). Anyway, it turned out to be a 150 and I took it to Stourbridge Junction, where I waited for the next train (didn't do the PPM as I had done it before and didn't think I had time), which was another 172 which I took to Smethwick Galton Bridge. At this point I became rather indecisive and changed my mind a couple of times, getting on a 350 to Loiverpool Lime Street intending to go to either Stafford or Crewe but chickening out and bailing at Wolverhampton (it was beginning to get dark and I had no timetables with me so I decided against going 'out of the way' not knowing if there would be any connection).
I then saw that there was a service about to leave for Walsall via Birmingham New Street a bit delayed, calling at all the stations on the route and decided to get on it. It was a 170 instead of the expected 323 (why on earth did they use a DMU on an entirely electrified route? It started at Wolverhampton in the bay platform and terminated in the electrified bay platform at Walsall). I arrived at Walsall and saw that there was a train soon to Rugeley Trent Valley so took it and came straight back on the same train, which called at all stations and went via Aston back to Birmingham New Street (I thought that all the trains from Rugeley Trent Valley only called at Tame Bridge Parkway between Walsall and Birmingham New Street, so hoped to get the other route via Soho but didn't). Then I went home to Shrewsbury on another refurbished 158.
Overall I enjoyed the day but really needed to have a plan or timetables with me (which were surprisingly hard to find at stations - I couldn't find any timetable booklet to pick up that would have helped me) which made it a bit frustrating at times. I was expecting to meet the others on the meet which IMO was badly organised - changing it to Casual at the last minute seemed pointless and there was confusion about the meet point or which train to take first.
Anybody else want to tell me what the others did?
I first went from Shrewsbury to Birmingham New Street (and got my first taste of the Arriva Trains Wales refurbished 158), where I arrived a bit late and had to rush for the platform for the first train, the 1039 to Rugeley Trent Valley, which actually wasn't there (I thought it had gone, but it was late). I saw All Line Rover who told me that everybody was instead using the alternative itinerary starting with the 1049 to Droitwich Spa (the train going on to Hereford). He actually said he was going to the toilet (cutting it fine, as he only had about 5 minutes and had to go up the stairs). I got on the train and hovered near the doors hoping he would return but he didn't (or I didn't see him if he did - somebody got on with a buggy so I had to move from the vestibule area).
Anyway I sow nobody on the train so decided to get off at Droitwich Spa and see if anybody else got off then but I didn't see anybody else and first thought of continuing the itinerary but saw a 172 going to Worcester Shrub Hill so got on it. I thought it would go back soon after arriving but it didn't and so I consulted the board showing departures to different stations in alphabetical order and saw that to get the Birmingham Snow Hill I would have to get the 1215 and change at Worcester Foregate Street. I got on the 1215 (a 150/2 operated by First Great Western), but decided to stay on it all the way to Great Malvern. I had texted bb21 and hoped to meet them on the koco-hauled Chiltern service, so I thought I'd go on to Great Malvern to kill some time before heading back. I thought I might as well go on to Hereford while I was there and left a London Midland 170 for Hereford because I saw a First Great Western service which I thought would be be an HST. So I got the HST for Hereford (having a look at the Volo TV service and looking at the map but found it annoying that it did not stay on the screen), again thinking it would head back soon after but it didn't and I had to hang around nearly an hour at Hereford before I could get a train back towards Birmingham. What was worse, looking at the timetables meant that it was then impossible to get the planned loco-hauled service, so I ended up on my own all day.
Got the train back to Great Malvern, where I changed onto a FGW 165 to Worcester Foregate Street, then waited for a London Midland service towards Birmingham Snow Hill (which I knew was there, but I used the FGW 165 to break up the wait). Anyway, it turned out to be a 150 and I took it to Stourbridge Junction, where I waited for the next train (didn't do the PPM as I had done it before and didn't think I had time), which was another 172 which I took to Smethwick Galton Bridge. At this point I became rather indecisive and changed my mind a couple of times, getting on a 350 to Loiverpool Lime Street intending to go to either Stafford or Crewe but chickening out and bailing at Wolverhampton (it was beginning to get dark and I had no timetables with me so I decided against going 'out of the way' not knowing if there would be any connection).
I then saw that there was a service about to leave for Walsall via Birmingham New Street a bit delayed, calling at all the stations on the route and decided to get on it. It was a 170 instead of the expected 323 (why on earth did they use a DMU on an entirely electrified route? It started at Wolverhampton in the bay platform and terminated in the electrified bay platform at Walsall). I arrived at Walsall and saw that there was a train soon to Rugeley Trent Valley so took it and came straight back on the same train, which called at all stations and went via Aston back to Birmingham New Street (I thought that all the trains from Rugeley Trent Valley only called at Tame Bridge Parkway between Walsall and Birmingham New Street, so hoped to get the other route via Soho but didn't). Then I went home to Shrewsbury on another refurbished 158.
Overall I enjoyed the day but really needed to have a plan or timetables with me (which were surprisingly hard to find at stations - I couldn't find any timetable booklet to pick up that would have helped me) which made it a bit frustrating at times. I was expecting to meet the others on the meet which IMO was badly organised - changing it to Casual at the last minute seemed pointless and there was confusion about the meet point or which train to take first.
Anybody else want to tell me what the others did?
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