Sprinter
Member
In atendance: Yorkie, Seth, myself, Jordy, Ascot, Harry Potter
My day started a fraction after 0800 whereby I walked to Walthamstow Central to catch a southbound Victoria Line train. The train was unusually terminating at Victoria, which was alright for me as I only wanted to go as far as King's Cross.
I arrived at King's Cross a little after 0830, thus I had 15 minutes to purchase a CDR to Ely, which with a Railcard was a good £14.40. My intended train was the 0845 to King's Lynn, which was formed of 365507 and left from platform 9.
Had a very good run up pretty much running at line speeds, until just after Shepreth Branch Junction where the train crawled to a halt due to the "Cambridge Effect"- too many trains for too few platforms! After Cambridge the train called at Waterbeach and then Ely, where I alighted to await the others who would be on the 1022 off Ely to Norwich.
Whilst at Ely I noted a few other units, including 170117, which has the centre coach of accident damaged 170101 inserted into it to make it a three coach unit. Whilst I was at the ticket office to buy a Anglia Day Rover, a GBRF shed passed through the staion, unfornately where the ticket windows are located, I couldn't get the number of the loco!
At 1020, 158862 pulled in with the train to Norwich, whereby I boarded and soon found Yorkie, Jordy and the others gathered around a table in what was now the rear coach. This train wa signalled into platform 1 at Norwich, which as we pulled into it, I noted 31190 poking out from behind the wall which separates platform 1 with the little yard area next to the station.
At Norwich we had nearly 30 minutes to kill, so firstly it was down to the London end of the platform 2, to photograph a full refurbished Mk3+Skoda set on the Norwich-Diss shuttles, what a waste of resources! Would of been better to put units on these diagrams,as the loadings weren't exactly that heavy!! Nick W joined us at this time.
The 1145 to Sheringham was due off platform 6, we readily twigged that the unit that was already in the platform was not in service, so we walked down the platform to where in the incoming unit would stop. This turned out to be 156402 in all over white. On board the train we noted a perfect candidate to put on Stoatface, sitting a few rows behind us, thankfully one of the group took a picture of him before he alighted the train at Cromer. Returned on the same unit back to Cromer and Norwich, which by Hoveton & Wroxham was quite heavily loaded!
When we returned to Norwich, Harry Potter was waiting for us (who drove down all the way to Ely in his car) and joined us for the rest of the meet. The next train on the plan was the 1357 to Lowestoft, this was yet another Sprinter, but this time ONE liveried 156409. At Lowestoft, since the Flymo (170206) for the East Suffolk Line was already in the opposite platform with its doors open, decided to board whilst it was still relatively empty in order to get good seats. However departure wasn't until 1500, so Yorkie and Harry Potter both got out thier railway magazines and we talked about various articles contained within, most notably the news about 143615 (the Pacer that caught fire) is to be broken up for spares! Harry Potter seemed well chuffed about this!!
1500 was soon upon us and the Flymo departed, with a good load. The journey seemed to take ages, as the Flymo wasn't able to go at anywhere near its maximum speed, due to the East Suffolk Line having many open level crossings and TSRs! Also worthy of note was that this train had no functioning toliets on board. We alighted at the quiet station of Westerfield, in order to go down to Felixstowe (or Flexistone as our group called it)!
The reason for Felixstowe being called Flexistone by the group was because someone typed Felixstowe as "Flexistone" on thier plan by mistake, which made all of us chuckle. Anyway, 153322 soon appeared to whisk us to Felixstowe, the train seemed to be mostly full of the local teenagers, hence we were not able to sit together on the ride down. The driver of unit was good, as he thrashed it out of every station! Lovely!!
Nick W, left us here at Felixstowe to go home, whilst the rest of us remained on the 153 for the 1656 departure to Ipswich. At Ipswich, I went over to the other platforms to see what was in Ipswich yard (a few 66s, a 57 and 47370) whilst the others photted another Skoda before we all met up again at the bus stops outside the station for the Rail Replacement Bus to Bury St Edmunds via Stowmarket. This was an East Lancs bodied Olympian operated by Chambers of Haverhill, as with most of thier double deckers it had heavy duty metalwork across the front upstairs window to ward off rogue tree branches!
Even though the bus was running along the A14 daul carriageway most of the way between Ipswich and Bury St E (except to serve Stowmarket), it was still touch and go whether we would catch the train to Peterborough at Bury St Edmunds. This train being the last from Bury St E with GNER connections at Peterborough, fortanately the bus got into Bury St E a few minutes before the train was due to go, so no expensive taxis this time!!
The train was the 1831 Bury St Edmunds- Peterborough via Ely, formed of 156417. At Ely, me Seth and Harry Potter left the train whilst Yorkie, Jordy and Ascot remained on the train to Peterborough. Harry Potter left at Ely, has he had his car parked nearby to drive back home. Me and Seth waited for the 1905 WAGN train to London.
My day started a fraction after 0800 whereby I walked to Walthamstow Central to catch a southbound Victoria Line train. The train was unusually terminating at Victoria, which was alright for me as I only wanted to go as far as King's Cross.
I arrived at King's Cross a little after 0830, thus I had 15 minutes to purchase a CDR to Ely, which with a Railcard was a good £14.40. My intended train was the 0845 to King's Lynn, which was formed of 365507 and left from platform 9.
Had a very good run up pretty much running at line speeds, until just after Shepreth Branch Junction where the train crawled to a halt due to the "Cambridge Effect"- too many trains for too few platforms! After Cambridge the train called at Waterbeach and then Ely, where I alighted to await the others who would be on the 1022 off Ely to Norwich.
Whilst at Ely I noted a few other units, including 170117, which has the centre coach of accident damaged 170101 inserted into it to make it a three coach unit. Whilst I was at the ticket office to buy a Anglia Day Rover, a GBRF shed passed through the staion, unfornately where the ticket windows are located, I couldn't get the number of the loco!
At 1020, 158862 pulled in with the train to Norwich, whereby I boarded and soon found Yorkie, Jordy and the others gathered around a table in what was now the rear coach. This train wa signalled into platform 1 at Norwich, which as we pulled into it, I noted 31190 poking out from behind the wall which separates platform 1 with the little yard area next to the station.
At Norwich we had nearly 30 minutes to kill, so firstly it was down to the London end of the platform 2, to photograph a full refurbished Mk3+Skoda set on the Norwich-Diss shuttles, what a waste of resources! Would of been better to put units on these diagrams,as the loadings weren't exactly that heavy!! Nick W joined us at this time.
The 1145 to Sheringham was due off platform 6, we readily twigged that the unit that was already in the platform was not in service, so we walked down the platform to where in the incoming unit would stop. This turned out to be 156402 in all over white. On board the train we noted a perfect candidate to put on Stoatface, sitting a few rows behind us, thankfully one of the group took a picture of him before he alighted the train at Cromer. Returned on the same unit back to Cromer and Norwich, which by Hoveton & Wroxham was quite heavily loaded!
When we returned to Norwich, Harry Potter was waiting for us (who drove down all the way to Ely in his car) and joined us for the rest of the meet. The next train on the plan was the 1357 to Lowestoft, this was yet another Sprinter, but this time ONE liveried 156409. At Lowestoft, since the Flymo (170206) for the East Suffolk Line was already in the opposite platform with its doors open, decided to board whilst it was still relatively empty in order to get good seats. However departure wasn't until 1500, so Yorkie and Harry Potter both got out thier railway magazines and we talked about various articles contained within, most notably the news about 143615 (the Pacer that caught fire) is to be broken up for spares! Harry Potter seemed well chuffed about this!!
1500 was soon upon us and the Flymo departed, with a good load. The journey seemed to take ages, as the Flymo wasn't able to go at anywhere near its maximum speed, due to the East Suffolk Line having many open level crossings and TSRs! Also worthy of note was that this train had no functioning toliets on board. We alighted at the quiet station of Westerfield, in order to go down to Felixstowe (or Flexistone as our group called it)!
The reason for Felixstowe being called Flexistone by the group was because someone typed Felixstowe as "Flexistone" on thier plan by mistake, which made all of us chuckle. Anyway, 153322 soon appeared to whisk us to Felixstowe, the train seemed to be mostly full of the local teenagers, hence we were not able to sit together on the ride down. The driver of unit was good, as he thrashed it out of every station! Lovely!!
Nick W, left us here at Felixstowe to go home, whilst the rest of us remained on the 153 for the 1656 departure to Ipswich. At Ipswich, I went over to the other platforms to see what was in Ipswich yard (a few 66s, a 57 and 47370) whilst the others photted another Skoda before we all met up again at the bus stops outside the station for the Rail Replacement Bus to Bury St Edmunds via Stowmarket. This was an East Lancs bodied Olympian operated by Chambers of Haverhill, as with most of thier double deckers it had heavy duty metalwork across the front upstairs window to ward off rogue tree branches!
Even though the bus was running along the A14 daul carriageway most of the way between Ipswich and Bury St E (except to serve Stowmarket), it was still touch and go whether we would catch the train to Peterborough at Bury St Edmunds. This train being the last from Bury St E with GNER connections at Peterborough, fortanately the bus got into Bury St E a few minutes before the train was due to go, so no expensive taxis this time!!
The train was the 1831 Bury St Edmunds- Peterborough via Ely, formed of 156417. At Ely, me Seth and Harry Potter left the train whilst Yorkie, Jordy and Ascot remained on the train to Peterborough. Harry Potter left at Ely, has he had his car parked nearby to drive back home. Me and Seth waited for the 1905 WAGN train to London.