Good morning everyone. Over these next few months I plan on visiting the 3 Capitals of Great Britain with overnight stays to make the most of it, not the UK as someone pointed out because that would include Belfast. So London later on this month and Edinburgh in May means my destination today is Cardiff.
Monday 7th March 2016
Finishing my nights this morning I had decided to head off out to get my body clock switched back over, plus I can get genned up for the day so I have different starting point for this trip so board a service from Salford Crescent to Manchester Piccadilly formed of a pair of dud 142’s in the form of 142051 and 142066, I board the former.
We arrive at Piccadilly 3 minutes early which gives me +15 for the 0730 to Milford Haven and I really want to get it because it is a required 175110 and what a way to start the day, but I need some breakfast so I take the gamble and nip to Greggs but keep an eye on the time as there is no way I want to miss this train and have to wait another hour. Today I also decide to be healthier and instead of the bacon roll (which I might have tomorrow instead for breakfast -ED) I have a golden syrup porridge, which if I am honest about makes a really nice change, anyhow I head back to the station and arrive back on the platform at 0726, just enough time to get a photo before climbing aboard the train, my earlier service arriving 3 minutes early made a big difference. I am amazed at how many empty seats there were around me and people were still standing, don’t they want a seat? We are all humans; we don’t bite......actually some might but that is only a handful. I’ve remembered why I don’t do this trip to Cardiff often....it is a long and tedious trip to Cardiff, over 3 hours on one train and a 175 at that, not a bad unit but not the greatest. That is another thing, I thought the 175/1 were 3 car units however 175110 is only formed of 2 cars? During the journey I planned my moves for the day with the gen I have resulting in new units and shacks starting 7 minutes after I arrive, however on arriving at Cardiff I have my sensible head on and decide to give the first move a miss for a PNB and to grab some lunch, I can pick up the same unit about 35 minutes after my arrival and only miss out one shack which I can grab either later today or tomorrow. On leaving Newport I see the first signs of the electrification scheme as the piles have started going in, maybe this is the time to clear my pacer trains in South Wales as it may be another couple of years before I get round here again.
On arriving at Cardiff I do have my sensible head on so after a PNB and a visit to Subway to get a sandwich for lunch I return to the station to start my trip, first on the agenda is a good 142006 to Llanishen. (which I thought was a required shack but turned out to be a dud....doh!!) Where I have a 15 minute wait for 142077, which I don’t just need for haulage but is also the last 142 I need for sighting and is also coupled to 143604. I remain on the 142 to my first proper ne shack of Bargoed where the train terminates and I just hop off the 142 onto the 143604 and within 4 minutes I am heading back along the line.
At Aber I bail from the train and proceed to the opposite platform as I am going to grab a couple more stations heading back towards Bargoed. Required unit 143625 arrives to take me onto my next new shack of Llanbradach where I leave the train but don’t say goodbye to it because I will pick it up again in a little while, here I have 15 minute for another required 142 in the form of 142083 which takes me as far as required shack of Hengoed.
At Hengoed I have a +6 wait for the returning 143625 which I remain on back into Cardiff. Back at Cardiff I have a +7 for my next service which is formed of required 142073 which is my last ATW 142 I need for haulage (just 7 Northern 142 unis to go!) which I take as far as Taffs Well.
At Taffs Well I have the shortest wait time of +3 so of course I am most nervous now that I was not delayed on 142073, thankfully I wasn’t and on arriving I crossed to the opposite platform and as I watched the train I had just got off disappear around the bend my train came around the same bend and approached the station with dud 142076 leading and required 143601 on the rear, which I have to say is looking rather drab and in need of a paint job. Down to two ATW 143 unit now, I’m doing splendidly today if I do say so myself. Back at Cardiff my gen fails me for the first time as my next train should have been one of the required 143 units, however when the train turned up it was a dud 150217, well at least when I get off the train it will be at a new shack.
At Llanharan, shack number six I disembark and cross to the opposite platform for an unknown unit and to my pleasure it is a required 158819 which kind of makes up for the dud 150. I’m now beginning to feel tired and consider calling it a day at 1630 and checking in, but no. It is not every day I am in Cardiff so I have to make use of the time while here. So I hang on for the 1636 to Treherbert for a trip out to new shack of Pontypridd on board required 143616....success!!
At Pontypridd I leave the train and cross to the opposite platform and have a short wait for my next train which I take as far as Taffs Well and is formed of a required 150252, at Taffs Well for the second time today I don’t have long to wait for another required unit in the guise of 150245 which takes me as far as Cardiff Queen Street where I leave the railway and go and check in at the ibis hotel only to find my room overlooks the railway. After settling in I head off out and walk to the spoons near to Cardiff Central station to grab some tea. I was going to watch some of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark on my phone while having tea but there was too much background noise and just as I had my food put in front of me the scene with the tarantulas came on and nearly put me off my food so I turned the film off. After finishing tea I headed to Cardiff Central station for a train back to Cardiff Queen Street, couldn’t be bothered walking back and I am glad I didn’t as a required 150284 was waiting to take me the short hop to Cardiff Queen Street and there sat on the opposite platform was a required 150213 so I thought, go on then and jumped aboard for a ride to the new shack of Eastbrook where after a +8 a dud 150256 arrived to take me to Cardiff Queen Street to wrap up the day.
Tuesday 8th March 2016
This morning I wasn’t too sure how it was going to go, again I woke up before my alarm went off and got myself prepared to check out. I could have had breakfast at the hotel....for £8.50!! Instead I had got a tub of Porridge and a banana for £1.18 and had that in the room before departing. As I had said I had no idea how today was going to go as I had originally planned to walk to Cardiff Central but when I opened my curtains I decided to go to Queen Street instead as it was that very fine drizzle that soaks you through.
I arrived at Queen Street at 0800 and I made my way to platform 2 and see the first train was 0806, then platform 3 was 0805, getting closer so I thought I would remain on platform 3. Then I looked at platform 5 (Q: where is platform 4, have I been going around with my eyes closed?-ED)there was a train was a train due at 0800 but was running 3 minutes late, so I make a dash for platform 5 to see if it was required, and it was so I boarded 150253 to take me through to Merthyr Vale and with the train running 3 minutes late I would only have a minute or two to wait for the return trip. Unfortunately, we lost a few more minutes along the way and it was important I got the return train (all will become evident in a short while) so I decide to get off at the previous station.
At Quakers Yard, my first new shack for the day I disembark and have only a +7 for my return trip which turns out to be dud 143623.
I leave the train at Trefforest Estate, with its hourly service you have to time this right otherwise you could have a long wait. The next train was due in 4 minutes, but was running 4 minutes late on top of that. While on the station I noticed a lot of contractors standing around scratching their heads looking at a hole. It appears that they had put tarmac into it and it has fallen through and the hole has re-appeared, which reminds me of a story I heard when they built the Manchester arena over Manchester Victoria station. One evening they poured a concrete pile and thought they would leave it overnight to start to set and they could carry on working the following morning, however when they came back the following morning the pile had gone! They were puzzled beyond belief, how do you lose a concrete pile? So a little digging was done (sorry for the pun- ED) and it transpired that unknown to the planners that a few feet below were they had stopped digging for the pile was a top secret world war 2 railway control centre bunker with a corrugated tin roof and of course it could not the weight concrete. Anyhow back to today and when the train arrives it is a required 150259 to take me to the end of the line and a new shack.
On arriving at Merthyr Tydfil I leave the station for a brisk 25 minute walk back to Pentre-Bach for another new shack and with the time it took me to walk it hopefully a fresh unit. I even had time to get a coffee from a burger van, but no burger. The unit urged up on time and was a required 150260, I’m knocking these of my requirements quite easily this morning where I do a two top hop to the missed station from earlier Merthyr Vale for another new station. Just one to go on the Merthyr Tydfil branch now.
At Merthyr Vale I have a +21 for my next train. I have learnt to be patient this trip and my next stop will be no exception with a +25!!
My final station on the Merthyr Tydfil branch is Troed-y-Rhiw, where with a +25 I have a wander around the village in the drizzle. Back to the station for super dud by 150256 for a trip to Abercynon which now completes Al my stations between Cardiff Central and Merthyr Tydfil.
At Abercynon I had planned a +32, however on checking the board I notice there is a train towards Merthyr Tydfil in about 6 minutes and realise that the train I am waiting for is coming from Merthyr Tydfil so I checked the old fashioned way by the use of the station timetable (data connection here is not that clever for RTT- ED) and realise I can get the 1204 train as far as Merthyr Vale and have only about minutes to wait to pick up the planned train, now cold damp platform or warm train what do I pick? It probably doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess I decided on the train and what result as it as a required 150267.
Back at Merthyr Vale, I think this is my third visit of the day – I’ve lost count and I transfer to the opposite platform for dud 150217 to take me back to Cardiff. I now think it is time to concentrate on unit bashing and if I get the odd station that will be a bonus. While pulling into Pontypridd I notice something exciting out of the window (no not Margot Robbie -ED) but 143602 my last remaining ATW 143 I need for haulage heading towards Treherbert so a quick scan of RTT and I figure out where to pick the unit up later on in the day.
Back at Cardiff Central I only have 10 minutes to wait for 150253 to arrive which is a requirement to new shack of Dinas Powys where with a quick hop across to the opposite platform there appears a dud 142082 to take me back towards Cardiff, but not quite as I bail out at Cogan for another scratch in my book and after a 15 minute wait dud 150217 took me finally back to Cardiff Central and after a short wait two turned up that I needed, one was the 1421 to Coryton while the second was the 1436 to Treherbert. So I got on the former which was 153327 for a one stop hop to Cardiff Queen Street where I then waited for the second train to turn up which was my last ATW 143 in the guise of 143602 to take me to Radyr when I crossed to the opposite platform for a 2 minute wait which turned out to be a required 150280 to take me back to Cardiff Queen Street, my next move was a unit I had spotted earlier in the day so I knew I only had about a 15 minute wait for required 150236 to arrive to take me to new shack of Lisvane & Thornhill, while waiting for this train I spotted another required unit heading in the other direction so more examination will be needed of RTT.
At Lisvane & Thornhill I leave the train and cross to the opposite platform for a 142077 to take me back to Llanishen were I pick up the aforementioned unit that I spotted at Cardiff Queen Street which means another 150 is knocked off my list and this one is 150279 to Caerphilly where I have a +7 for dud 150251 to take me back to Cardiff Central.
Back at Cardiff Central there is only 45 minutes until my train to head back up towards Manchester so I just hang around the station taking photos of trains and realising I could do with doing a major GWR HST trip before I is too late. My train arrives but I am only going as far as Shrewsbury on it as it is the 1716 to Holyhead being pulled by 67001.
At Shrewsbury there is a 35 minute wait for my train back to Manchester so I hang around watching all the comings and goings of ATW units. When train arrives it is dud 175109 that will take e back to Manchester. At Crewe we are held outside for some time and after consulting RTT it appears we have got caught up in the back log of trains following a fatality that looks like it might have occurred somewhere between Crewe and Runcorn resulting in us being 20 minutes late leaving Crewe. While n Crewe platform though I spotted 90018 dragging a 325 unit on the through road.
NEW LINES
Monday: Pengam to Bargoed.
Treforest to Pontypridd.
Tuesday: Pontypridd to Merthyr Tydfil.
NEW SHACKS
Monday: Aber, Bargoed, Eastbrook, Hengoed, Llanbradach, Llanharan, Pontypridd, Taffs Well.
Tuesday: Abercynon, Cogan, Dinas Powys, Lisvane & Thornhill, Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Vale, Pentre-Bach, Quakers Yard, Trefforest Estate, Troed-y-Rhiw.
NEW UNITS
Monday:142006, 142073, 142077, 142083, 143601, 143604, 143616, 143625, 150213, 150245, 150252, 150284, 158819, 175110.
Tuesday: 67001, 143602, 150236, 150253, 150259, 150260, 150267, 150279, 150280, 153327.
