ash39's Trip Reports & Photos

[ash39]

FINALLY I've caught up with this thread. Some excellent reading there ash.
Shame about that required bouncing bomb being in half on Canton. However you seem to have more than made up for it. You've certainly had some very.productive days.
The FoSS is an excellent Rover, thoroughly enjoyed mine when I done one and wouldn't mind doing another, after reading your trip report. Hope it opens the barriers, only place mine worked the barriers was Newport and I sincerely hope you dont get the numpty on the barriers i did at Southampton.
Looking forward to reading the rest.

Thanks, you can imagine the expletives that were flying around the cabin of the empty 153 we were on when I realised it was 080 that was in bits!

I tend to try and avoid putting rover tickets through barriers where possible, as you say they hardly ever work and there's always a chance (in my head at least) that the barrier won't return it.

Sounds like a good day in Cardiff and a good start to the FoSS! Welcome to my local area of Weston as well :P

Thanks, I hadn't realised how quickly the 166's had taken over round your way. We couldn't get away from the things!

 

[Dhassell]

Thanks, I hadn't realised how quickly the 166's had taken over round your way. We couldn't get away from the things!

I am glad they have taken over! Alot more bearable than the older units! Alot more comfy as well!

 

[ash39]

Devon Day Ranger – Wednesday 30th May 2018

Woke up to the sound of torrential rain. Not what I’d hoped for on this trip, and bad luck considering how sunny the weather had been the previous week. I had wanted to do the run along the sea wall at Dawlish for some time, and with a Devon Day Ranger being a reasonable £12, we decided to effectively extend our FOSS for the day (the zones meet at Tiverton Parkway).

My mate had knocked up a plan the previous evening, but even shortly after waking up at 0730 it had already gone out of the window. The Cross Country HST we wanted to use to get to Exeter had been cancelled at Sheffield due to a train fault.

Undeterred, we picked up our breakfast from next door again and jumped in the car. This time I queued for a coffee at Costa whilst my mate got us a couple of sausage & egg McMuffins from McDonald’s. We were in the car by 0810 and made our way to Severn Tunnel Junction as we did the previous day.

We arrived at 0825, and there was a delayed 0826 Paignton service due imminently. As we were going to be late into Exeter, my mate suggested we try our luck with the guard and ask if we could board, even though the FOSS wasn’t valid until 0900. We would have had no complaints if he’d said no, especially as it was a busy service, but to his credit he let us travel. Winner 153329 was leading 158766.

The service emptied out almost completely at Bristol Temple Meads. There was a crew change here, but it was now just after 0900 so no issues with the ticket validity. We bought our Devon Day Rangers from the new guard and settled in for the rest of the journey. It passed quicker than expected, and the trip report was almost up to date by the time we alighted at Exeter St Davids.

We made our way over to platform 1 for the next Exmouth service, which was showing as ‘formed of 3 coaches’. Cue the usual speculation as to what it could be. We expected a 153/143 combo, and we were correct – 153382 leading 143617.

We left this train at Newcourt, notable as my 400th visited station in the UK. 143618 & 143620 took us back.


143617 Newcourt 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now couldn’t go back down the Exmouth branch without meeting the same units we had taken down, so to fill in a gap we took 159001, our first SWR service of the trip, round the corner to Exeter Central. 159103 took us back to St Davids.

We were heading back down the Exmouth line now. Northern-bound 150126 took us to Digby & Sowton. A very nice leafy single line station, it almost had a disused look to it. We enjoyed around 10 minutes here before 153333 & dud 150244 arrived. Nice clear views down the line in both directions allowed for a nice shot of our train arriving.


153333 Digby & Sowton 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We took the opportunity to bail at Exeter Central to find some lunch. After getting through the ticket barriers, easier said than done with a rover ticket, we made our way to a Co-Op just opposite the entrance. There were plenty of empty shelves, but only a handful of sandwiches. I ended up with a couple of pastries and a bottle of Liptons Iced Tea, a nutritious lunch if ever I saw one.

We made it back to Central in plenty of time to catch 159106 & 159006 back to St Davids. I was done with this line at this point, but my mate loves a 150 and wanted to cover the last of the Paignton-Exmouth-Barnstable diagrams, which was fair enough given he had put the time into working them out in the hotel the previous night. One more trip down the branch then, this time 150232 to Newcourt, returning on 150249.

We had left the 150 at Central again, as my mate had come up with a clever move. Even better, a pair of units we had seen earlier in the day but thought we’d miss out on were coming back from Barnstaple. 143621 & 143619 were in the book, albeit for minuscule mileage to St James’ Park.


143619 & 143621 St James' Park 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We walked back to Central, which took around quarter of an hour. It was more hilly than I'd bargained for though, a nice test for my recently repaired knee! The south entrance was a useful time saver, although we had to buzz the intercom to let us through the gates with our tickets – no surprises there.

Our final Central-St Davids leap was courtesy of new liveried SWR 158888 and 'old' liveried 159016.


158888 Exeter St Davids 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I knew I would have duds next but didn’t mind, as I would be having a run along the Dawlish sea wall on a HST. Cross Country 43301 & 43384 were our power cars, the latter a winner for my mate which was a bonus.

I took a few tourist snaps from the droplight whilst my mate worked on our next move. It involved a minus connection, but he expected the Paignton stopper to he held for us. We bailed at winner station Newton Abbot, where we barely touched the ground before dashing cross platform to board dud 153368 & winner 153377.

We took the 153 pairing to the last stop Paignton. This was a nice shack to get as my first ever holiday just before my second birthday was to Paignton, not that I can remember it! We had a comfortable 20 minutes or so to pick up an early tea. There were plenty of options around the station, but what else would you get at the seaside but fish and chips?

Chips obtained, we made our way back to the station to view our HST pulling in ECS from the stabling point beyond the station. 43171 was on the front, and as a result we knew 43131 was on the rear as we’d seen the set already.


43171 Paignton 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We had plenty of time to enjoy our food on board in a pretty much empty coach, as the HST stopped at Torquay, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Dawlish, where we left the train.

We had a bright idea to walk up to the footbridge at the east end of the station to get a photo of a passing HST before our next train. We somewhat misjudged this though, it was further than it looked and the HST beat us. We then had to get back to the station in time for our train but rather than go back the way we came, we did a full lap of the station returning on the inland side (which I swear was longer...). We made it with a couple of minutes spare, and were lucky enough to catch 800034 heading for Plymouth, presumably on a training run.


800034 & 150232 Dawlish 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We took dud 150232 for the hop along the line to Dawlish Warren. We were glad it was a bus stop hop, as it was rammed with holidaygoers and we were still roasting hot from our pointless lap of Dawlish station. The 150 sat in the platform for 7 minutes to let a HST through on the main line. A nice result, as we thought it looked like 153333 approaching, but it was actually winner 153361 that would take us to Newton Abbot.

This time we had more than 20 seconds here, and I managed to get my obligatory ‘I was here’ station photo.


153361 Newton Abbot 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

A spot of bad luck next, as a HST set we had the day before caught up with us again. Unfortunately we had to take 43028 & 43155 in order to start getting back east. It was busy and loud too, we were sat in a backwards facing airline seat next to a family playing some kind of board game, and a teenage girl and her mum. My mate said afterwards the girl was in tears the whole time (I never noticed). Something unusual was happening though, she kept stretching and sticking arms and legs into the aisle catching people, seemingly deliberately, as they walked past. After some people left at Exeter she then moved two rows back to sit on her own. I don't know what was going on, don't suppose I ever will!

We knew we’d have to ensure a Voyager to get us back to Bristol, and we had a choice of two required stations to make the change. Logically we should have stayed on the HST for as long as possible and left at Taunton, but we did the unthinkable and left at Tiverton Parkway.

It was the right call, despite a fair crowd awaiting the Leeds-bound service we managed to upgrade to forward facing seats on our new steed 220008. The noise levels on board were a lot lower than the HST we’d left behind, and as far as Voyager journeys go we both agreed it wasn’t bad at all. Stating the obvious, but the shacks along the Bristol to Weston-super-Mare line certainly sail by a lot quicker on a non-stop service!

Back in Bristol, we had one eye on the Warminster-Gloucester service that we’d caught the previous day. Another 5-coach mix of units would almost definitely have something in it for us. It was due to arrive from Warminster at 1828 and leave at 1836, meaning we could catch the 1830 HST towards London instead if it was no good. The screens said ‘formed of 2 coaches’ so it looked like the previous evening was not the norm.

It was late arriving, so when we saw that the HST was winners 43005 & 43091, we jumped on for the 11 mile run to Bath Spa. On the way out of Temple Meads we ID’d the Gloucester train as a pair of 153’s, one being required 153318. It may not have escaped us yet though...

There was enough time in Bath to grab a drink before our next move, but it looked like Starbucks was closing as all the outside chairs were being stacked up and moved inside. They were open until 1900, but seemingly doing their best impression at looking closed to avoid any more customers. Another customer asked if they were open and got a positive response, though service with a smile it most certainly was not. He was only picking up a bottle of water so I let him in front before ordering my coffee. To be fair the girl doing the drinks was more pleasant than the girl doing the chairs, who I suspect will have had the key in the door counting down at 18:59...

800006 & 800024 returned us to Temple Meads. They do feel modern after stepping off a HST. The acid test will be when they start on the ECML and people start taking 4-5 hour journeys on them, but from the brief experiences I've had with them I think they will be more than up to the job. They also cut a fine sight rounding the curve into Bath station, possibly my favourite shot of the trip...


800006 & 800024 Bath Spa 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now had our end to the day planned out. It was therefore a bonus that our next move was formed of winner 166220.

We left the 166 at Patchway. We were now retracing our steps from the previous day. It was a real long shot, but on our way down to Exeter we had passed 150002 at some point. Without working it out properly, we figured that given the time of day and direction it was heading, there was a good chance it would end up on the same service we had 001 on the previous day.

Our hunch turned out to be correct, and 150002 shuttled us back to Bristol.


150002 Bristol Temple Meads 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now had an opportunity to catch one of the 153’s heading back from Gloucester. We had now worked out that part of the train continues to Great Malvern and part of it forms a return working from Gloucester to Bristol. That explained why the middle of the train came back the previous day. Therefore, we were hopeful it would be the one we required, 153318.

To get to Filton Abbey Wood in time to meet it required another Voyager move (I think my mate likes them really). 220019 did the honours to Bristol Parkway, where we joined 166216 which was already waiting on the adjacent platform.

We had noticed some of these units had been in a questionable state, but the centre car of this particular unit was the worst we had seen. Two seat back cushions were totally detached from the frame, and other seats had torn/slashed fabric with foam sticking out. Given this unit had already been given the green GWR exterior treatment, and the song and dance GWR were making on various posters about the 'new' Turbo trains, you'd think they'd be more keen to patch up issues like this.


166216 Interior by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We were only on the careworn turbo for the curve back to Filton Abbey Wood, where we would learn if we were right about the Gloucester service. Sure enough 153318 came back solo, quite the winning streak we were on now. The guard on this train offered us a Gloucestershire Heritage Railway flyer upon seeing our rover tickets.

We now had a direct train back to the car. Unfortunately our luck had expired, and it was down to shabby 158959 for the third time of the trip to ferry us back to Wales. Neither of us had the inclination to double back at Newport for the second day in a row, so this time we called it a day at Severn Tunnel Junction. I was more than happy, 32 winners for the second day in a row but more importantly an enjoyable day with some great scenic journeys.

Day summary:

153329 & 158766 STJ-EXD
153382 & 144617 EXD-NCO
143618 & 143620 NCO-EXD
159001 EXD-EXC
159103 EXC-EXD
150126 EXD-DIG
153333 & 150244 DIG-EXC
159106 & 159006 EXC-EXD
150232 EXD-NCO
150249 NCO-EXC
143621 & 143619 EXC-SJP
158888 & 159016 EXC-EXD
43301 & 43384 EXD-NTA
153368 & 153377 NTA-PGN
43171 & 43131 PGN-DWL
150232 DWL-DWW
153361 DWW-NTA
43028 & 43155 NTA-TIV
220008 TIV-BRI
43005 & 43091 BRI-BTH
800006 & 800024 BTH-BRI
166220 BRI-PWY
150002 PWY-BRI
220019 BRI-BPW
166216 BPW-FIT
153318 FIT-BRI
158959 BRI-STJ

10 new stations: Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Digby & Sowton, Exeter Central, Exeter St Davids, Newcourt, Newton Abbot, Paignton, St James’ Park, Tiverton Parkway

32 new units/power cars: 4x HST, 5x 143, 4x 150, 6x 153, 2x 158, 5x 159, 2x 166, 2x 220, 2x 800

8 dud units/power cars: 4x HST, 2x 150, 1x 153, 1x 158

Day mileage: 337 miles

 

[Dhassell]

A very productive day in Devon and Bristol! You seem to make the most of each day! 10 shacks and 32 new units/power cars is brilliant going!

 

[ash39]

A very productive day in Devon and Bristol! You seem to make the most of each day! 10 shacks and 32 new units/power cars is brilliant going!

My mate Cumbriansausag has to take credit for the logistics - he knows how to put a plan together! If it involves a minus connection, he's all over it...

 

[Kite159]

Another productive day in the South West

 

[ash39]

Another productive day in the South West

Indeed it was.

Forgot to mention in the report as I wrote it last week, but I since learnt that cactustwirly of this forum was in our coach on the HST out of Paington... small world, hopefully the fish didn't smell too bad

 

[AnthonyRail]

Devon Day Ranger – Wednesday 30th May 2018

Woke up to the sound of torrential rain. Not what I’d hoped for on this trip, and bad luck considering how sunny the weather had been the previous week. I had wanted to do the run along the sea wall at Dawlish for some time, and with a Devon Day Ranger being a reasonable £12, we decided to effectively extend our FOSS for the day (the zones meet at Tiverton Parkway).

My mate had knocked up a plan the previous evening, but even shortly after waking up at 0730 it had already gone out of the window. The Cross Country HST we wanted to use to get to Exeter had been cancelled at Sheffield due to a train fault.

Undeterred, we picked up our breakfast from next door again and jumped in the car. This time I queued for a coffee at Costa whilst my mate got us a couple of sausage & egg McMuffins from McDonald’s. We were in the car by 0810 and made our way to Severn Tunnel Junction as we did the previous day.

We arrived at 0825, and there was a delayed 0826 Paignton service due imminently. As we were going to be late into Exeter, my mate suggested we try our luck with the guard and ask if we could board, even though the FOSS wasn’t valid until 0900. We would have had no complaints if he’d said no, especially as it was a busy service, but to his credit he let us travel. Winner 153329 was leading 158766.

The service emptied out almost completely at Bristol Temple Meads. There was a crew change here, but it was now just after 0900 so no issues with the ticket validity. We bought our Devon Day Rangers from the new guard and settled in for the rest of the journey. It passed quicker than expected, and the trip report was almost up to date by the time we alighted at Exeter St Davids.

We made our way over to platform 1 for the next Exmouth service, which was showing as ‘formed of 3 coaches’. Cue the usual speculation as to what it could be. We expected a 153/143 combo, and we were correct – 153382 leading 143617.

We left this train at Newcourt, notable as my 400th visited station in the UK. 143618 & 143620 took us back.


143617 Newcourt 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now couldn’t go back down the Exmouth branch without meeting the same units we had taken down, so to fill in a gap we took 159001, our first SWR service of the trip, round the corner to Exeter Central. 159103 took us back to St Davids.

We were heading back down the Exmouth line now. Northern-bound 150126 took us to Digby & Sowton. A very nice leafy single line station, it almost had a disused look to it. We enjoyed around 10 minutes here before 153333 & dud 150244 arrived. Nice clear views down the line in both directions allowed for a nice shot of our train arriving.


153333 Digby & Sowton 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We took the opportunity to bail at Exeter Central to find some lunch. After getting through the ticket barriers, easier said than done with a rover ticket, we made our way to a Co-Op just opposite the entrance. There were plenty of empty shelves, but only a handful of sandwiches. I ended up with a couple of pastries and a bottle of Liptons Iced Tea, a nutritious lunch if ever I saw one.

We made it back to Central in plenty of time to catch 159106 & 159006 back to St Davids. I was done with this line at this point, but my mate loves a 150 and wanted to cover the last of the Paignton-Exmouth-Barnstable diagrams, which was fair enough given he had put the time into working them out in the hotel the previous night. One more trip down the branch then, this time 150232 to Newcourt, returning on 150249.

We had left the 150 at Central again, as my mate had come up with a clever move. Even better, a pair of units we had seen earlier in the day but thought we’d miss out on were coming back from Barnstaple. 143621 & 143619 were in the book, albeit for minuscule mileage to St James’ Park.


143619 & 143621 St James' Park 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We walked back to Central, which took around quarter of an hour. It was more hilly than I'd bargained for though, a nice test for my recently repaired knee! The south entrance was a useful time saver, although we had to buzz the intercom to let us through the gates with our tickets – no surprises there.

Our final Central-St Davids leap was courtesy of new liveried SWR 158888 and 'old' liveried 159016.


158888 Exeter St Davids 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I knew I would have duds next but didn’t mind, as I would be having a run along the Dawlish sea wall on a HST. Cross Country 43301 & 43384 were our power cars, the latter a winner for my mate which was a bonus.

I took a few tourist snaps from the droplight whilst my mate worked on our next move. It involved a minus connection, but he expected the Paignton stopper to he held for us. We bailed at winner station Newton Abbot, where we barely touched the ground before dashing cross platform to board dud 153368 & winner 153377.

We took the 153 pairing to the last stop Paignton. This was a nice shack to get as my first ever holiday just before my second birthday was to Paignton, not that I can remember it! We had a comfortable 20 minutes or so to pick up an early tea. There were plenty of options around the station, but what else would you get at the seaside but fish and chips?

Chips obtained, we made our way back to the station to view our HST pulling in ECS from the stabling point beyond the station. 43171 was on the front, and as a result we knew 43131 was on the rear as we’d seen the set already.


43171 Paignton 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We had plenty of time to enjoy our food on board in a pretty much empty coach, as the HST stopped at Torquay, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Dawlish, where we left the train.

We had a bright idea to walk up to the footbridge at the east end of the station to get a photo of a passing HST before our next train. We somewhat misjudged this though, it was further than it looked and the HST beat us. We then had to get back to the station in time for our train but rather than go back the way we came, we did a full lap of the station returning on the inland side (which I swear was longer...). We made it with a couple of minutes spare, and were lucky enough to catch 800034 heading for Plymouth, presumably on a training run.


800034 & 150232 Dawlish 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We took dud 150232 for the hop along the line to Dawlish Warren. We were glad it was a bus stop hop, as it was rammed with holidaygoers and we were still roasting hot from our pointless lap of Dawlish station. The 150 sat in the platform for 7 minutes to let a HST through on the main line. A nice result, as we thought it looked like 153333 approaching, but it was actually winner 153361 that would take us to Newton Abbot.

This time we had more than 20 seconds here, and I managed to get my obligatory ‘I was here’ station photo.


153361 Newton Abbot 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

A spot of bad luck next, as a HST set we had the day before caught up with us again. Unfortunately we had to take 43028 & 43155 in order to start getting back east. It was busy and loud too, we were sat in a backwards facing airline seat next to a family playing some kind of board game, and a teenage girl and her mum. My mate said afterwards the girl was in tears the whole time (I never noticed). Something unusual was happening though, she kept stretching and sticking arms and legs into the aisle catching people, seemingly deliberately, as they walked past. After some people left at Exeter she then moved two rows back to sit on her own. I don't know what was going on, don't suppose I ever will!

We knew we’d have to ensure a Voyager to get us back to Bristol, and we had a choice of two required stations to make the change. Logically we should have stayed on the HST for as long as possible and left at Taunton, but we did the unthinkable and left at Tiverton Parkway.

It was the right call, despite a fair crowd awaiting the Leeds-bound service we managed to upgrade to forward facing seats on our new steed 220008. The noise levels on board were a lot lower than the HST we’d left behind, and as far as Voyager journeys go we both agreed it wasn’t bad at all. Stating the obvious, but the shacks along the Bristol to Weston-super-Mare line certainly sail by a lot quicker on a non-stop service!

Back in Bristol, we had one eye on the Warminster-Gloucester service that we’d caught the previous day. Another 5-coach mix of units would almost definitely have something in it for us. It was due to arrive from Warminster at 1828 and leave at 1836, meaning we could catch the 1830 HST towards London instead if it was no good. The screens said ‘formed of 2 coaches’ so it looked like the previous evening was not the norm.

It was late arriving, so when we saw that the HST was winners 43005 & 43091, we jumped on for the 11 mile run to Bath Spa. On the way out of Temple Meads we ID’d the Gloucester train as a pair of 153’s, one being required 153318. It may not have escaped us yet though...

There was enough time in Bath to grab a drink before our next move, but it looked like Starbucks was closing as all the outside chairs were being stacked up and moved inside. They were open until 1900, but seemingly doing their best impression at looking closed to avoid any more customers. Another customer asked if they were open and got a positive response, though service with a smile it most certainly was not. He was only picking up a bottle of water so I let him in front before ordering my coffee. To be fair the girl doing the drinks was more pleasant than the girl doing the chairs, who I suspect will have had the key in the door counting down at 18:59...

800006 & 800024 returned us to Temple Meads. They do feel modern after stepping off a HST. The acid test will be when they start on the ECML and people start taking 4-5 hour journeys on them, but from the brief experiences I've had with them I think they will be more than up to the job. They also cut a fine sight rounding the curve into Bath station, possibly my favourite shot of the trip...


800006 & 800024 Bath Spa 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now had our end to the day planned out. It was therefore a bonus that our next move was formed of winner 166220.

We left the 166 at Patchway. We were now retracing our steps from the previous day. It was a real long shot, but on our way down to Exeter we had passed 150002 at some point. Without working it out properly, we figured that given the time of day and direction it was heading, there was a good chance it would end up on the same service we had 001 on the previous day.

Our hunch turned out to be correct, and 150002 shuttled us back to Bristol.


150002 Bristol Temple Meads 30/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We now had an opportunity to catch one of the 153’s heading back from Gloucester. We had now worked out that part of the train continues to Great Malvern and part of it forms a return working from Gloucester to Bristol. That explained why the middle of the train came back the previous day. Therefore, we were hopeful it would be the one we required, 153318.

To get to Filton Abbey Wood in time to meet it required another Voyager move (I think my mate likes them really). 220019 did the honours to Bristol Parkway, where we joined 166216 which was already waiting on the adjacent platform.

We had noticed some of these units had been in a questionable state, but the centre car of this particular unit was the worst we had seen. Two seat back cushions were totally detached from the frame, and other seats had torn/slashed fabric with foam sticking out. Given this unit had already been given the green GWR exterior treatment, and the song and dance GWR were making on various posters about the 'new' Turbo trains, you'd think they'd be more keen to patch up issues like this.


166216 Interior by Flash 3939, on Flickr

We were only on the careworn turbo for the curve back to Filton Abbey Wood, where we would learn if we were right about the Gloucester service. Sure enough 153318 came back solo, quite the winning streak we were on now. The guard on this train offered us a Gloucestershire Heritage Railway flyer upon seeing our rover tickets.

We now had a direct train back to the car. Unfortunately our luck had expired, and it was down to shabby 158959 for the third time of the trip to ferry us back to Wales. Neither of us had the inclination to double back at Newport for the second day in a row, so this time we called it a day at Severn Tunnel Junction. I was more than happy, 32 winners for the second day in a row but more importantly an enjoyable day with some great scenic journeys.

Day summary:

153329 & 158766 STJ-EXD
153382 & 144617 EXD-NCO
143618 & 143620 NCO-EXD
159001 EXD-EXC
159103 EXC-EXD
150126 EXD-DIG
153333 & 150244 DIG-EXC
159106 & 159006 EXC-EXD
150232 EXD-NCO
150249 NCO-EXC
143621 & 143619 EXC-SJP
158888 & 159016 EXC-EXD
43301 & 43384 EXD-NTA
153368 & 153377 NTA-PGN
43171 & 43131 PGN-DWL
150232 DWL-DWW
153361 DWW-NTA
43028 & 43155 NTA-TIV
220008 TIV-BRI
43005 & 43091 BRI-BTH
800006 & 800024 BTH-BRI
166220 BRI-PWY
150002 PWY-BRI
220019 BRI-BPW
166216 BPW-FIT
153318 FIT-BRI
158959 BRI-STJ

10 new stations: Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Digby & Sowton, Exeter Central, Exeter St Davids, Newcourt, Newton Abbot, Paignton, St James’ Park, Tiverton Parkway

32 new units/power cars: 4x HST, 5x 143, 4x 150, 6x 153, 2x 158, 5x 159, 2x 166, 2x 220, 2x 800

8 dud units/power cars: 4x HST, 2x 150, 1x 153, 1x 158

Day mileage: 337 miles

I’ve always found the Devon day rover great value, which takeaway did u go for chips at Paignton?

 

[CumbrianSausag]

I’ve always found the Devon day rover great value, which takeaway did u go for chips at Paignton?

It was Mariners. Not too bad. Chips were fine, batter was a little weak.

 

[ash39]

Freedom of Severn & Solent – Thursday 31st May 2018

Three nights had flown by, and the last day was upon us already. We considered a few different starting points for today, but settled on Bristol Parkway. The parking was double the cost of Severn Tunnel, but it cuts a bit of time off the drive home later in the day, and means we start in a more central location in terms of the rover area.

As was now tradition, we hit the service station next door. I forewent the Costa on this occasion as the queue was the biggest I'd seen it, but we picked up a McMuffin again for the road. We got to Parkway in plenty of time, watching 66531 leave the yard (where it had been sat for the past 3 days). The first train we could catch on our ticket was the 0903 from Swansea to Paddington, and that's what we did. Unfortunately, it was dud 43005 & 43091 from the day before.

We got off at Swindon, where we left to station to find the Costa. Google makes it appear like it's in the station, but it's actually on the other side of the barriers. Coffee & fruit cooler obtained, we made our way back through and took a couple of pictures before our next train arrived. 59206 was in the loop, probably the first 59/2 I've seen in about 20 years since they left Yorkshire.


43022 Swindon 31/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

More bad luck, double duds from Paignton 43171 & 43131 were up next. Somehow the set had been turned since the previous day, 43171 now on the Western end. We decided to split up at this point, my mate was going back to Cardiff to try and find his last 142. I decided not to bother, as it would most likely still be in bits. I left at Bristol Parkway again, and took a wedged but at least required 150248 towards Bristol.

It was quite unpleasant on board, so as I knew there was a Cardiff-Taunton service behind us, I left at Filton Abbey Wood for dud 166207 to Bristol.

800016 & 800031 took me to Bath Spa. My mate had been in touch to say he'd found his pacer, and mine was still in bits as expected. I carried on in the same direction back to Swindon, unbelievably on another dud HST set - 43176 & 43030.

I thought I'd have a bit of a wait at Swindon, but there was a HST pulling in on the other platform with required 43015 on the front. It must have been delayed, and given my luck today I decided I was getting on it. I had to run under the subway, totally forgetting the 'no sports for 6 weeks' message my surgeon gave me, before realising I was running and actually it wasn't sore. Made the HST as well, winners 43015 & 43153 to Chippenham.

I got lunch at Chippenham from the Sainsbury’s Local which is conveniently located just outside the station entrance. I was back on the platform just in time to see 66529 power through on an intermodal. I knew it was due through but the speed surprised me. Going the other direction a few moments later was 66775 which we saw at Westbury on Tuesday, still on the same job.


66529 Chippenham 31/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

A Bristol bound HST arrived, but there was no way I was boarding 43091 & 43005 for the third time this week. Instead, I waited a couple more minutes for solo 800021 back to Swindon. I suspect this was meant to be a 10-car diagram due to the lack of reservations, but for this leg of the journey at least, there were still plenty of unoccupied seats.

I wasn’t having the best of luck, considering I was meant to be after HST’s today. I was ready to give in and go for a beer instead, but the bad luck threatened to become a farce at Swindon. It’s never good when you’re at the most easterly point of your rover area and suddenly everything heading west switches to ‘delayed’ on the departure boards.

I checked RTT and the service at the front of the queue had been sat near Uffingdon for over 20 minutes. Auto announcements were going loopy, an almost non-stop barrage of confusion as it kept re-ordering the trains in the queue, and staring various amounts of delay. It claimed the delay was due to ‘a fire on a train earlier in the day’.

No idea what happened, but all of sudden everything cleared up. I’d been at Swindon around 40 minutes, but at least winners arrived in the form of 43170 & 43056. Neither power car appeared to be charred so I can only assume the delay message was wrong, or referring to another train. Who knows.

Slightly rejuvenated by the winner HST, I decided I ought to tick off at least one station today. The expresses would be best avoided for the next few hours anyway, as the delay had knocked everything out of sync (the 1600 to Paddington was cancelled already).

I headed to platform 1 to catch 166219 on an Avonmouth service. I could have made it out to Redland, but I liked the French sounding Montpelier and bailed there instead. It was fairly busy, most people remaining on the platform to catch the train into Bristol. A woman and her children were inexplicably playing basketball on the platform – predictably the ball ended up rolling off the platform and she had to jump down to get it just a couple of minutes before the train was due.


166209 Montpelier 31/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Dud 166209 took me the other way. I was heading for Cardiff next, and the Paignton-Cardiff service offered a good connection. I had time to pick up a bottle of water from Starbucks under the subway - £2!! I might as well have got a coffee for what difference it would have been.

I made my way to the platform – and there was a single 153 waiting, with 150243 arriving from Paignton into the same platform. I assumed they would be joining, but unfortunately neither were required. At that point though, I noticed a 158 in the opposite platform also displaying 'Cardiff' on the front. It was required, and a nicer proposition than a long run on a 150. I ran (second time today, oops...) under the subway to board it, but I needn't have rushed – a 150 was being attached to the front of this service too. I managed to get the very last airline window seat on the 158, after walking from the full and standing front coach. I would have to wait to Cardiff to ID it, I wasn't about to give up the seat in a hurry!

We finally left 28 late, arriving into Cardiff at 1612. The reason I was so keen to get on Bristol, other than the comfort of a 158 over a 150 or 153, was because it was required 158798. After walking to the front of the train it transpired the 150 was also needed - 150266! I still need plenty of the GWR 158's, but I was happy that I'd got 763, 766 and 798 on this trip, as they are intertwined with the Northern & EMT ones on my sheet, so they fill the gaps nicely.

I had an hour to kill before the 67 hauled Holyhead train, so I went to Brewdog for a beer before the final few moves of the trip. Even though I'd not had the best of luck chasing HST's, I couldn't complain – I was on 85 winners overall, and 35 new stations visited. I tried a half of Riptide, very rich dark stout from a nitro keg, very smooth but a bit boozy at 8%!

I was back at the station to meet back up with my mate in plenty of time to get the first loco of the trip, 67010. It was very busy, a lot busier than when I'd caught this service in November last year. We were in the front vestibule where it was at least nice and cool next to the droplight, though I kept getting dripped on. We could only go as far as Newport on our ticket anyway, and we left the train there. Once again, the heavens opened. Newport currently only has about half of its canopy roof, so avoiding the rain (and the massive puddles) took some skill.


67010 Newport 31/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Once the 67 left we noticed it was short formed 3 vice 4 mk3's, which explained the overcrowding.

We were heading home now, and left Wales for the final time on winner 150263 and dud 158763 to Filton Abbey Wood, where were going to finish in style on our favourite Warminster-Gloucester service.

A fairly hefty storm was brewing, the clouds were so thick and dark that it looked dark enough to be 9pm. The train was delayed, and the information screens couldn't decide if it was formed of 2 or 4 coaches. They were also warning of expected delays beyond Cheltenham due to the weather.

Eventually, a quite busy 153325 & 153329 turned up. The guard said they were meant to get an extra 2 at Temple Meads but for whatever reason that didn't happen. A bit of an anti-climatic end to the trip!


153325 Filton Abbey Wood 31/05/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Other than an Upper Crust, there's very little choice for food at Bristol Parkway and we both wanted something warm, so instead we stopped at Gloucester services on the way home. I had a small homemade chicken & mushroom pie which was spot on. Despite the awful weather trying to slow things down, it cleared up around Birmingham and by waiting until the evening, there was no real traffic to speak of and we were back up north by around 2230.

Day summary:

43005 & 43091 BPW-SWI
43171 & 43131 SWI-BPW
150248 BPW-FIT
166207 FIT-BRI
800016 & 800031 BRI-BTH
43176 & 43030 BTH-SWI
43015 & 43153 SWI-CPM
800021 CPM-SWI
43170 & 43056 SWI-BRI
166219 BRI-MTP
166209 MTP-BRI
150266 & 158798 BRI-CDF
67010 CDF-NWP
150263 & 158763 NWP-FIT
153325 & 153329 FIT-BPW

1 new station: Montpelier

13 new units/locos/power cars: 4x HST, 1x 67, 3x 150, 1x 158, 1x 166, 3x 800

11 dud units/power cars: 6x HST, 2x 153, 1x 158, 1x 166

Day mileage: 269 miles


Overall new stations visited: 35
Overall winners: 87
Overall mileage: 999 miles!

 

[fishquinn]

An excellent read there. Just a few things:
1. I always enjoy reading your reports - they're incredibly well written.
2. Montpelier isn't pronounced in the French way
3. [Canofworms]How was the 67 your first loco of the trip with all those HSTs?[/Canofworms]

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good end of your FOSS, good news on getting a required 67 into the book (pretty sure that 010 is in the half which I require but will likely won't get in any sort of hurry)

 

[ash39]

An excellent read there. Just a few things:
1. I always enjoy reading your reports - they're incredibly well written.
2. Montpelier isn't pronounced in the French way
3. [Canofworms]How was the 67 your first loco of the trip with all those HSTs?[/Canofworms]

Haha, you will notice I split the summary up into locos/units and power cars, I'll leave that debate for someone else

Sounded like a good end of your FOSS, good news on getting a required 67 into the book (pretty sure that 010 is in the half which I require but will likely won't get in any sort of hurry)

I'm on 13/30 now. Unfortunately I need one of the Colas pair and a few of the long stored ones, so not looking good.

 

[55013]

Well, I'm playing catch-up and have just read your last few moves.
You've reminded my that I need to re-visit Anglia soon, also it's been far too long since I visited Devon and Cornwall; it's been three years since my last FoSS and ages since I last went to Cardiff.
Aaaaaargh!
I won't mention my 67 totals, though

 

[noddy1878]

Sounds like a great trip was had! I see you had my final 166 which I've been waiting to be returned to service. Shame about the weather but as always, great photos.

 

[ash39]

Well, I'm playing catch-up and have just read your last few moves.
You've reminded my that I need to re-visit Anglia soon, also it's been far too long since I visited Devon and Cornwall; it's been three years since my last FoSS and ages since I last went to Cardiff.
Aaaaaargh!
I won't mention my 67 totals, though

Too many places to go and too little time - I know the feeling. At least being Yorkshire based nowhere is more than a few hours away.

Sounds like a great trip was had! I see you had my final 166 which I've been waiting to be returned to service. Shame about the weather but as always, great photos.

Apologies! Which one is it?

Anyway, onto the next one. Not done much since the FOSS, other than a trip to Headingley with the family for a meal, which got me spotty 170476 ticked off. So June started properly with this...


South Yorkshire Connect Plus - Friday 15th June 2018

It’d been a good while since my mate and I last did this ticket, but with the weather looking reasonable we pencilled a Friday post work session to try and clear the last few stations we required in the area. I finished work earlier than my mate, which was useful as I needed a few more than him. My plan was decided upon, and after a swift exit from the office (and getting changed in a lay by!), I drove to winner shack Goldthorpe.

I got here a lot quicker than expected, so had a bit of a wait before 142095 took me to Bolton-on-Dearne. A nice +9 here before 142087 and 142086 arrived to take me back the way I came. Never had consecutive numbered pacers before, but I’d have swapped both for next in sequence, and required, 142088!


142087 Bolton-on-Dearne 15/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I stayed on past Goldthorpe to Thurnscoe. That was job done for this section of line, and rather than wait half an hour for a train back, I decided to walk the mile or so back to the car at Goldthorpe.

Driving through the middle of Barnsley on a Friday evening was the downfall of this plan, but despite a bit of traffic, I made reasonable time. Instead of meeting my mate at Penistone as planned, I decided to stop at Dodworth as it was on the way anyway, and closer to the M1 for getting home at the end of the evening. However, after watching 144015 come and go (wouldn’t be the last we would see of this unit today...), I realised by doing this I’d miss out on Penistone station. My mate had done a plan which involved getting Dodworth anyway, so I jumped back in the car, sat nav now estimating a 1614 arrival for a 1619 train, which was tighter than I would have liked given I didn’t know what the parking arrangements were like.

After a minor scare with some more traffic in the middle of Penistone, I made it with a few minutes to go. I hadn't noticed, but my mate had also been in the traffic a few cars behind me. After he eventually shunted his car into a parking space, we could both tick off Penistone as 144019 arrived on time to take us to rover boundary at Denby Dale.


144019 Denby Dale 15/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

This also put us one step closer to clearing the West Yorkshire Day Rover area, as Denby Dale is valid on that ticket too.

Zero winners and four shacks up, we boarded 144014 to take us to Dodworth. There was a chippy option here, but we arrived 3 late and would never have made it there and back in less than ten minutes. 144015 took us to Silkstone Common, clearing Sheffield-Denby Dale for stations. My mate only needed Darnall to finish South Yorkshire, but I required both Darnall and Thorne North.

We had over half an hour at Silkstone, it was the only way to fit them all in. Unfortunately it was also the station with the least amenities nearby. A pub (which was absolutely heaving), a closed bakery and very little else, we could do nothing but wait it out. Eventually 144019 made its way back from Huddersfield. Rather than spend any longer on this unit, we bailed at Barnsley Interchange.

My mate engaged his dog-like senses and managed to sniff out some chips just outside the bus station. We wouldn’t have enough time to wait for a fish as it was cooked to order, but chips would do just fine. Service with a smile it was not, but the chips looked good.

158816 was next for the run towards Sheffield. We had a plan to get Darnall but had around an hour to kill beforehand. Thorne North would have to wait for another day, as it would take too long to get over to Doncaster and back. We bailed at Meadowhall, as this would give us the best vantage point to spot any required units. Having finished the chips en-route, and me being overzealous with the salt, I was also in real need of a drink, so I headed into the shopping centre to pick up some liquid refreshment whilst my mate stayed on lookout duties.

I forgot how long the walk was, and the queue at Starbucks wasn't the quickest moving, but when I got back nothing of real interest had been through. The only winner I could have had was 185132, but I would have had to take it to Doncaster, which would have meant missing out on Darnall.

After watching a parade of mostly 144's and 158's, we had let every possible service go until the final one we could catch arrived. Still no winners for either of us, 158859 took us into Sheffield. This would also be forming the Darnall train we were aiming for, but we hopped off for a few minutes at Sheffield, seeing 66523 passing through in the few minutes we were there.

158859 did the job and got us to Darnall, clearing South Yorkshire for my mate, and putting me within touching distance.


158859 Darnall 15/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

150218 took us back. Winners were thin on the ground for either of us, but my mate had seen 150149 earlier which he required, and if he had worked it out correctly we could meet it at Meadowhall. We jumped on 158851 back to Meadowhall.

Unfortunately, something had gone wrong as 150149 was in platform 1 as we arrived, about to leave for Sheffield. No way were we going to make it over in time. It turned out it had been late arriving into Leeds, and had dropped onto a later service. This ended up coming back to Sheffield sooner, as it had taken the faster route via Wakefield Westgate rather than via Wakefield Kirkgate.

The unit on the service we had been aiming for was also a white 150, but 150144 was no use to either of us. We took it back to Sheffield anyway.

We were heading back to the cars on the 2135 Barnsley to Huddersfield service, but we could get a Sheffield-Beverley service ahead of it to break up the journey. This left from platform 1, which was occupied by 150149 which my mate had been after, and 158909, apparently not going to Beverley but on a mystery excursion instead...



158909 Sheffield 15/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Somewhat fortuitously for my mate, it turned out the mystery excursion was a stroll down the platform to join up with 150149, and the two units were to form the Beverley service. We took these to Meadowhall and crossed to the Barnsley-facing platforms one last time in order to wait for 144015 to take us back to the cars at Penistone.

A decent run home for once with no diversions, just an alarming number of middle lane hoggers to dodge on the M1 and a short section of 40mph average speed zone for some barrier replacements on the A64.

Day summary:

142095 GOE-BTD
142087 & 142086 BTD-THC
144019 PNS-DBD
144014 DBD-DOD
144015 DOD-SLK
144019 SLK-BNY
158816 BNY-MHS
158859 MHS-SHF
158859 SHF-DAN
150218 DAN-SHF
158851 SHF-MHS
150144 MHS-SHF
150149 & 158909 SHF-MHS
144015 MHS-PNS

8 new stations: Bolton-on-Dearne, Darnall, Denby Dale, Dodworth, Goldthorpe, Penistone, Silkstone Common, Thurnscoe
No new units
16 dud units: 3x 142, 5x 144, 3x 150, 5x 158

Day mileage: 72 miles

 

[Kite159]

A productive afternoon/evening in South Yorkshire

 

[noddy1878]

Apologies! Which one is it?

166211

 

[ash39]

West Yorkshire Day Rover - Saturday 16th June 2018

The morning after the South Yorkshire shack attack, I was back out again. We had a rare child free weekend, and my wife had planned to go to a food festival in Leeds. This worked out well for us both, so we drove to Garforth as usual, arriving around 1240. Just enough time to pick up my day rover from the ticket office before 158849 rolled up with winner 153307 on the rear. A bit of unexpected good fortune after a run of 20 duds since my last winner!

I wasn't bothered for the food festival, but I needed some lunch. Since only the indoor part of the festival was subject to admission fee, I decided if nothing of interest was at Leeds when we arrived, I'd go pick up some food. Much like the previous evening, there was nothing required in sight so we set off for the walk up to the town hall.

A vegan burger was purchased, and I briskly made my way back to the station, as I was planning to catch the 1333 Ilkley service to finally clear the Airedale & Wharfedale lines by ticking off Ben Rhydding. I made it through the barriers in time, but 333016 was locked up ready to go. I'll keep waiting for the day that everything aligns and 333014 is on an Ilkley service...

I noticed a required 185 sat shut down in platform 13. It was due to form the stopper to Huddersfield at 1356, and in absence of anything else worth chasing, I decided I'd be on it. I had a bit of time so I sat and ate the burger, which was a) very nice, and b) quite messy. By the time I'd returned from washing my hands in the station facilities, the unit was unlocked and I could tick 185123 off my requirements list, leaving just 185132, 185134 and 185146 to go.

I saw a 158817 in platform 17 as we pulled out, one of my last three Northern 158's. It must have snuck in when I was sat eating my burger. A plan was made to catch it later in the day.

Felt weird stopping at Morley on a 185. We also stopped at Batley, where I quickly realised was the best place to get off, and hastily gathered my phone charger and camera bag and bailed before the doors locked. There were two services back in the space of 20 minutes, but with the odds of a winner 185 quite slim I decided to take the first one, which was 185133.

We pulled back into platform 13, where I'd left on 123 around 40 minutes earlier. Immediately next to us I spotted another winner, and thanks to a 2E arrival I managed to make a zero connection onto one of the new Leeds-Knottingley via Wakefield services, formed of 153378 & 144007.

As seemed to be the theme today, I spotted one of my last three required VTEC HST power cars as we left Leeds. Unfortunately, there'd be no way to get this one later on in the day.

I had another stroke of luck here. Despite leaving Doncaster on time, a Kings Cross-Leeds service had lost 12 minutes south of Wakefield and was just arriving as I hopped off the 153. 91128 was at the helm, one of my handful of sub-100 mile 91's which I want to clear before the end of the year. Thanks to an 80 mile York-Newcastle run and a 10 mile Leeds-Wakfield run previously, this particular one was on 90 miles, and by the time we reached Leeds was bang on 100!

I realised after arrival that this would also be forming the train I needed to get back to Wakefield to meet the 158 I had seen earlier, so it wouldn't remain on 100 for long. With only around 15 minutes instead of the usual half an hour to turn around the set, the cleaners were stood at the doors raring to go. I vacated my seat in coach B and took the opportunity to go get a coffee, plumping for a Cold Foam Iced Cappucino for a change from my usual. Verdict, not bad!

The return looked a lot busier than the inbound service. Rather than wedge myself back into coach B with the rest of the crowds, I headed down to the unreserved half buffet area and grabbed a seat in there, where there was plenty of room. Soon enough I was back in Wakefield, again.


91128 Wakefield Westgate 16/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Rather than the old way of getting to Kirkgate, which was on the Wakefield Westgate to Huddersfield service, the only way to do it now is on the new Leeds-Knottingley service. One such service was following me out of Leeds, and I wasn't at Westgate very long before mega dud (yesterday!) 142087 came in to ferry me round the curve to Kirkgate.

This worked out nicely, giving me ten minutes or so to cross platforms and wait for my required 158. Carrying on the theme of the day, required ex-GWR 150131 turned up heading the other way to Meadowhall.


150131 Wakefield Kirkgate 16/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I couldn't have caught the 150 even if I'd wanted to, as it was next stop Barnsley. I soon forgot about it when, as hoped, 158817 turned up to take me back to Leeds. Just 158861 and recently transferred 158870 to go to clear the Northern 158's, at least until the rest of the ex-Scot's arrive.

I had one more move planned. After hearing from the TOPS request thread that 142050 had been seen working the 1120 LDS-MCV, I attempted to track its next moves via RTT. This can be hit and miss, especially where services go into larger stations where they can split/join other sets. It was definitely worth a punt though, with only 8 Northern 142's to get and the clock very much ticking.

I had a bit of time before my outward move. I was tempted to do a Headingley leap on 170477, but unlike the 142's they'll be around for a good while yet. I stayed put and took a couple of photos instead, in the middle of a huge rain storm which lasted about quarter of an hour.


158902 & 321903 Leeds 16/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr


142032 & 142087 Leeds 16/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

It was time to roll the dice and see if I could tick off my first 142 since April. On that occasion it was 142005 at Dewsbury, and that's where I was heading to meet this one. 150201 & 150269 took me there.

I crossed the footbridge at Dewsbury to find only a handful of people waiting. Presumably a faster service had just hovered up the Leeds-bound passengers. The boards were saying 'formed of 4 coaches' - I was just hopeful two of them would be 142050!


142028 Dewsbury 16/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

In the end it was double winners 142028 & 142050 - not a bad way to end the day! Fortunately 050 managed to hold onto its engine on this occasion (this unit had an 'operational incident' a couple of years back), and I made it back to Leeds needing just 7 142's outright to clear the lot. We won't talk about the Welsh one...

Approaching Leeds, required 158870 was spotted with a required 153. It was going empty to Neville Hill after arriving, otherwise that would have been a nice icing on the cake.

I met back up with my wife, picked up a couple of drinks from Sainsburys Local and made our way to the platform, which unsually was 8A, for our train back to the car at Garforth. I'd seen a lot of 158/153 combinations out today, and our final train was another one. Unfortunately double duds, 153316 & 158844, but 6 winners on local turf in a few hours is a successful day by any measure.


Day summary:

158849 & 153307 GRF-LDS
185123 LDS-BTL
185133 BTL-LDS
153378 & 144007 LDS-WKF
91128 WKF-LDS
91128 LDS-WKF
142087 WKF-WKK
158817 WKK-LDS
150201 & 150269 LDS-DEW
142028 & 142050 DEW-LDS
153316 & 158844 LDS-GRF

No new stations
6 new units: 2x 142, 2x 153, 1x 158, 1x 185
10 dud units/locos: 2x 91, 1x 142, 1x 144, 2x 150, 1x 153, 2x 158, 1x 185

Day mileage: 93 miles

 

[Kite159]

A good day for your red pen in your local area

 

[47403]

Thoroughly enjoyable few more reads there Ash. Just making me wanna do another FoSS now. Dont worry about 142080 they'll ALL be in bits soon enough

 

[55013]

A good couple of moves, there.
I need about half a dozen South Yorkshire shacks; I must get out and do them soon.

 

[barrowjack]

Just caught up on these excellent reads as always and sounds like some good trips there

 

[ash39]

Greater Manchester Wayfarer – Saturday 23rd June 2018

Another Saturday, another opportunity for a bonus afternoon out. The wife was meeting a friend near Hebden Bridge and was planning to go by train, but with no other plans I offered to drive instead and head into Manchester to have another crack at finding my last few Newton Heath 142’s.

We arrived at Hebden Bridge around 1200, in good time for the 1215 service I was hoping to catch. Unfortunately it was a strike day, and Northern services were decimated with big gaps in service and an early finish. I’d erroneously believed the last train back to Hebden Bridge arrived just before 8pm, but the ticket office informed me it was actually 1815. That lost me over 90 minutes, not a great start to the day.

I purchased my wayfarer, and a return from Hebden Bridge to the boundary at Littleborough. I was originally going to drop the family off and continue in the car and start at required shack Smithy Bridge, but the last train of the day didn’t stop there. Annoyingly, the new earlier ‘last train of the day’ did, so I could have done that (and saved the £4.60 Hebden Bridge to Littleborough return).

158758 was my unit for the first leg to Rochdale. I don’t record track or platforms, but thanks to the reduced service I have now cleared Rochdale. My 158 went into east facing bay platform 2, and I walked down to my already waiting Manchester train in west-facing bay platform 4, which was formed of low mileage 142004 and 142009.


142009 Rochdale 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Once again I’d cheated and asked for allocations for my last 5 Newton Heath based pacers. Unfortunately, only one was out to play. I saw 067 on depot on the way to Victoria. Maybe next time...

The one unit I could get was on Rose Hill shuttles all day. The only way to make the first one would be to walk to Piccadilly, which I didn’t fancy. I worked out a better plan to meet it later in the day, and instead decided to go try a nitro cold brew from Starbucks. I’ve wanted to try one for a while, but they are only available in a select few stores in London and Manchester. It was certainly smooth and rich, and has enough of a buzz to wake the dead, but I wasn’t bowled over by it.

As I left the Arndale, there was a tram approaching Exhibition Square. In a spectacular show of laziness, I decided to get on rather than walk to Victoria! After waiting for a platform for longer than it would probably have taken to walk, I eventually made my way back onto the station. 185109 was the next train I would board, becoming the first unit to carry me round the Ordsall Chord.

No Manchester trip is complete without an Oxford Road leap, so I left the 185 there to wait for a preceding service. Dud 175105 came and went, but following behind was a Northern service formed of 6 coaches. This was intriguing as I expected a 319 on this service, but it was very unlikely to be one and a half of them. Sure enough, the face of a 156 appeared, with 2 more for company. 156429 and 156428 became the first winners of the day. Dud 156461 was the rear unit.


156461 Manchester Piccadilly 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Even though I had around 25 minutes to kill before my next move, there was no out and back leap I could do (not even back to Oxford Road), so I went to get some water from Boots before joining dud 323233 ten minutes or so before departure out of platform 1.

As the 323 only stopped at Ashburys, I could only make the change to the 142’s at Guide Bridge. Officially it was a +4, but I couldn’t see how it could go wrong as there was also an ex-Hadfield service due in 1 minute before it, also heading for Manchester. I’m not sure if the stopping pattern is like this on non-strike days but two trains an hour within a minute of each other isn’t ideal.

It’s quite a walk to change platforms at Guide Bridge. I peered over the wall on the road bridge and knew I’d be OK, as not even the EMU was in sight yet. I let the 323 go, watched a 185 crawl through before finally my train arrived around 6 late. Sub-10 mile 142047 was on the front, with winner 142033 on the back. Another one off the list.

142047 Guide Bridge 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

It was a slow trundle back to Manchester, stopping at Fairfield and Gorton. I used the time to work out what I would do with the rest of my afternoon. New stations would be difficult due to the Northern strike, so I decided I would catch the 1515 London Euston service if it was a required Pendolino.

It was, so I made my way over onto 390131. The idea was to see if I could spot any of the new TPE mk5 stock at Longsight, and by bailing at Stockport it gave me the option of scoring either Macclesfield or Disley before having to make my way back to Manchester.

No mk5 stock could be seen at Longsight, they were tucked away in a shed on photos I had seen so I should have known! Stockport soon arrived - I always forget how short a journey it is.


390131 Stockport 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I knew I could get another winner 390 to Macclesfield in 20 minutes time, as I had seen it 390043 entering Manchester as I left. The Buxton service I could catch to Disley would be first in though, and I waited to see if it was worth catching. It was 150220 & 150210, the latter was required. I decided to flag them and do Macclesfield instead.

I used the facilities before my train arrived, and overheard a staff members walkie talkie discussing single line working and a points problem around Cheadle Hulme. I started to doubt whether it would be a good idea heading that way, when I had to be back at Victoria in under 2 hours to catch my last train of the day.

I rolled the dice anyway, and boarded white 390043. The livery looks drab compared to the original one. We didn't seem to be going particularly slowly, and arrived at Macclesfield more or less on time. I wanted to get over the bridge for my station photo but I was in totally the wrong part of the train, so had to get a shuffle on.


390043 Macclesfield 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Winner 220002 was up next. No real danger of missing my train home any more - it was only 2 late, and I could stay on all the way to Manchester if there was any further delay. I'd started to warm to Voyagers after a couple of reasonable journeys recently, but this one smelt particularly bad, so I was pleased when we arrived at Stockport still only 2 down, the issues I overheard earlier seemingly sorted out (though I did see a southbound Pendolino waiting for the road just south of Stockport, so perhaps not)

Three following trains in quick succession could get me back to Manchester. The first was a pair of dud 150's, and the next should have been another Pendolino, but a late running ATW service appeared first. I'm not a big 175 fan, but I was on a winning run so I took 175115 back to Manchester Piccadilly.

It was now 1635, so I had 45 minutes to get to Victoria and pick up some food on the way. The timings had worked out perfectly in the end, and I grabbed a Five Guys from the Arndale. Conscious of the fact I had a fairly long drive to do afterwards, I didn't want to be too stuffed so went for the 'little' burger for the first time.

I took it with me back to Victoria (walking this time), and joined the ranks of people waiting on platform 1 for the train. A bit of confusion ensued, as a TPE 185 rolled in and terminated. Everyone tried to board, but I realised there was bound to be a platform change. They were leaving it late though, it was 1715 when they announced a platform change to platform 6!

It actually worked in my favour, as I was halfway there, and was first to board 142009 & 142004 (again). The front coach remained fairly empty, nobody being bothered to walk to the front unit for a better chance of a seat. The burger went down a treat, finishing just in time before Rochdale.

Almost an exact reverse of my moves on the way in, I walked up to the east facing bay to board 158755 back to Hebden Bridge, bringing an end to another enjoyable day.


158755 Hebden Bridge 23/06/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Day summary:

158758 HBD-RCD
142004 & 142009 RCD-MCV
185109 MCV-MCO
156429, 156428 & 156461 MCO-MAN
323233 MAN-GUI
142047 & 142033 GUI-MAN
390131 MAN-SPT
390043 SPT-MAC
220002 MAC-SPT
175115 SPT-MAN
142009 & 142004 MCV-RCD
158755 RCD-HBD

1 new station: Macclesfield
7 new units: 1x 142, 2x 156, 1x 175, 1x 220, 2x 390
10 dud units: 5x 142, 1x 156, 2x 158, 1x 185, 1x 323

Day mileage: 95 miles

 

[Kite159]

A good day for your red pen Mr Ash

 

[ash39]

Greater Manchester Wayfarer – Monday 2nd July 2018

Another week, another trip across the Pennines. Today was a little different, as the main event was a driving experience at the Trafford centre in the morning. I hadn’t really thought it through properly when I booked it, choosing the 0800 session as it was the cheapest and would give me the afternoon/evening to get a few moves in. I got a bit of a shock when I put the route into Google and it reckoned I would need to leave at 0515 to guarantee arriving for 0800.

So after a very early alarm, I had a quick breakfast and was on the road for just before 0530. Somewhat annoyingly, I had a clear run all the way and arrived at the Trafford Centre at 0700. The experience was great fun though, drifting a Focus RS and Mustang round a car park. In fact, I was so pumped full of adrenaline by the time I’d started to get a tension headache, and nearly didn't bother doing the Wayfarer.

I left the Trafford Centre at around 1130 and made my way to winner station East Didsbury, which from my research the previous evening seemed to be the best combination of parking and frequent services. After failing to find a spot In the 300-space Metrolink car park, I almost didn’t bother with the mainline station car park (15 spaces) but somewhat fortunately, there was a spot free.

I made my way over to the Manchester-bound platform and attempted to buy my Wayfarer from the ticket office. The card machine wasn’t working, and after resetting it a couple of times to no avail, 323224 arrived so he told me to buy my ticket on board.

No guard passed through the train en route, so I eventually had to purchase my ticket from the kiosk on the platform at Piccadilly.

I needed some lunch before anything else, so I made my way to Oxford Road. I nearly boarded 350410 before noticing they no longer call at Oxford Road or Wigan North Western. An EMT service was following not far behind, formed of duds 158856 and 158865.

I picked up some lunch and got my phone fully charged whilst enjoying a coffee. I decided on a leisurely move to start with, it was too hot to be going flat out. I made my way back to Oxford Road station to board winner 150120 and dud 142009, a unit I can’t seem to escape recently. I had a fairly long run on these to winner shack Westhoughton.

Westhoughton is a pleasant, well kept station. Similar to Hindley which is just a little further along the line. The locals do a great job of maintaining the flower beds and plants, a credit to them. My return was delayed leaving Wigan Wallgate, but eventually arrived around 7 minutes late. Dud 150205 leading winner 156441.


150205 Westhoughton 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I bailed at Bolton, as there are plenty of options for trains back towards Manchester, plus I needed a photo at Bolton as I must have forgotten on my previous visits. The ex-GWR Class 150’s seemed to be everywhere, and it was another, 150104, to take me back into Manchester.


150104 Bolton 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Shortly after I arrived at Victoria, I saw another. 150127 was leading 150204 heading back the way I came, so I jumped on board to Salford Crescent. I didn’t have to wait long for a winner back, 142016 leading 150119.

I spotted a chance to do a shack score, and took white 153305 (another former GWR unit) paired with 150268 to Mills Hill. I already knew it would be dud 150104 from earlier returning from Rochdale to take me back.

I’d spent enough time around Victoria and hadn’t seen any of my primary targets, my last 4 Newton Heath pacers. Decided to switch to the other side, and jumped on 185117 round the Ordsall Chord to Piccadilly.

After checking none of the required 4 were at Piccadilly, I had a quick stop off at Sainsburys local for some water and painkillers, as I still couldn’t shake off my headache. I was stuck for what to do next when required 185134 turned up, bound for the airport. As I had no better offers, and it was fairly quiet, I jumped on. Ironically, I had seen both my other remaining ones, 132 and 146, earlier in the day.

I spotted a chance to visit Heald Green, but that went out of the window when I saw on RTT that the service had been cancelled. Instead, I jumped off to check the platforms to see if there was a more worthwhile move than staying on the same unit back. The choice was a dud 156 and a pair of dud 185’s. As the Cleethorpes-bound pair looked much quieter, I opted for those. Firstly boarding rear unit 185147 before realising the air con was bust/ineffective, so I moved down into 185115 which was a lot more pleasant.

After a nice quiet run, my next move was a complete contrast. Crammed into a hot, stuffy and busy pacer pair of 142058 and 142048 back to Salford Crescent.

I then boarded 153351 and 150134 to my last required shack from the three between Victoria and Rochdale, which was Moston.


150134 Moston 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

142013 and 142036 were my units for the return journey.

I’d made a note of a required 153 I spotted earlier in the day. I figured it was worth going out of my way for now I was down to around half a dozen Northern ones required. I had time to walk to the Arndale Centre for a some tea, followed by another nitro cold brew from Starbucks. I thought I’d give it a try without the cold foam this time, and it was better for it.

Suitably refreshed, I left the Arndale just before 1855. It would be tight for the 1905 service I wanted to catch, but there was a backup 1909 service if needed. No trams were due so I set off power walking. I made the 1905, and it was winner 150121 back out to Salford Crescent.

I had around 15 minutes before the 153 was due. 142087 arrived, with another on the back. I almost didn’t bother to check, but I’m glad I did as it was required 142037! It would only be tiny mileage, but by taking them to Salford Central, I could also still get the 153.


142037 Salford Central 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I enjoyed a ten minute wait in the sun checking out the construction work on what looks like two huge towers just north of the station, before as hoped 153363 and 150276 arrived to take me back to Victoria one last time.


153363 Salford Central 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

My luck was in once again, as I thought I’d have to walk or catch a tram across town to Piccadilly but a late running TPE came to my assistance. 185149 took me round the curve once again, maintaining my accidental record of only doing the Ordsall Chord in one direction and on 185s!

There was nothing of interest at Piccadilly, and after seeing the state of the airport line service on RTT, with a number of delays, cancellations and part cancellations, I decided to play it safe and get myself on the next East Didsbury train. I was worn out, and getting home 45 minutes earlier would be welcome. My decision was made easier for me when Northern kindly laid on double winners 156423 and 156464.


156464 East Didsbury 02/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I nipped into the Tesco next to the station and got a couple of bits for work the next day, and a large bottle of Innocent smoothie to try redress the balance of all the beige food I had consumed all day. Once back in the car I stuck the sat nav onto ‘shortest route’, as I like to avoid spending hours on motorways if I can help it. It took me on a tour of maintenance depots, passing Longsight and Newton Heath before joining the M62 near Rochdale. With no traffic it only added a few minutes onto the journey, and was more interesting than slogging round the M60. I was back home before 2230.


Day summary:

323224 EDY-MAN
158856 & 158865 MAN-MCO
150120 & 142009 MCO-WHG
150205 & 156441 WHG-BON
150104 BON-MCV
150127 & 150204 MCV-SLD
142016 & 150119 SLD-MCV
153305 & 150268 MCV-MIH
150104 MIH-MCV
185117 MCV-MAN
185134 MAN-MIA
185115 & 185147 MIA-MAN
142058 & 142048 MAN-SLD
153351 & 150134 SLD-MSO
142013 & 142036 MSO-MCV
150121 MCV-SLD
142087 & 142037 SLD-SFD
153363 & 150276 SFD-MCV
185149 MCV-MAN
156423 & 156464 MAN-EDY

4 new stations: East Didsbury, Mills Hill, Moston, Westhoughton
13 new units: 1x 142, 5x 150, 3x 153, 3x 156, 1x 185
20 dud units: 7x 142, 6x 150, 2x 158, 4x 185, 1x 323

Day mileage: 99 miles

 

[Kite159]

A good day for your red pen in the Greater Manchester area

 

[55013]

An excellent day around Manchester; some thoroughly enjoyable reading - thanks.

 

[The_Train]

Some great reads throughout this thread. Keep up the good work ash

 

[ash39]

Strathclyde Daytripper – Thursday 5th July 2018

A long awaited return to the Glasgow area, after an enjoyable day last October. I booked the standard class advance tickets back in May, but managed to snap up a bargain First Class upgrade on the Seatfrog app on the morning of travel.

I parked the car at my usual spot and walked to the station. I'd made good time, not a lot of traffic at such an early hour.

37401 was an unusual visitor to the parcels sidings at York. I then saw my first LNER branded stock (91127) head south on the 0631 to Kings Cross, before my 0639 Edinburgh service arrived a few moments later. Sub-100 mile 91118 was up top, a good start to the day.

Breakfast orders were taken and delivered before Darlington, very efficient service though there were very few people in first class. I had the full English which was OK, but slightly annoying that you only get half a slice of toast with it. Another attendant came down the train with just toast a while later, when I’d finished the rest of it! As I was the very last seat at the end of coach M next to the DVT, he offered me every slice of toast left in his basket. I didn't think six slices were necessary, so I just took the one.

I was amused to see that despite most of the trains still running around with Virgin branding, the wooden flower box at Berwick (a nicely detailed recreation of 43300 complete with Craigentinny vinyls) had had its Virgin logo blanked out!

Arrival at Edinburgh was a couple of minutes late at 0922. Unlike last time I visited, this time I had no issues finding platform 12. On that occasion it was a single Class 170, today it was double winners 365537 and 365525.

It was a very chilly run with the windows open, despite the recent warm weather the sun hadn’t quite fully broken through yet. HST’s were spotted at Haymarket station, Haymarket depot and Eastfield depot. Looking forward to them entering service.

I purchased my Daytripper from the strange ticket office at Glasgow Queen Street, which isn’t actually in the station. Straight away my plans had to change, I wrote my plan a month or two ago and it appears the Anniesland shuttle had been part bus-replaced, so I gave that a miss. I walked to Central, and was now an hour or so ahead of where I needed to be.

The next 314 leaving would be on the 1045 Neilston service. As it was required 314210, that would do nicely.

I needed to work out where to alight, easier said than done as I didn’t want to revisit any stations I already had, or indeed duplicate any I had in the plan for later in the day. In the end it was a short hop to the second stop on the service Maxwell Park.


314210 Maxwell Park 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Another carmine & cream winner 314201 took me back a stop to Pollokshields West.


314201 Pollokshields West 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

The streak continued, 314209 next, which I enjoyed for a slightly longer run to Mount Florida.


314209 Mount Florida 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

First ScotRail dud of the day, 314204 took me back a stop once again to Cathcart.

I had 15 minutes here for the following service. I was now left with only three stations remaining to clear the Cathcart circle. Both Langside and Shawlands are in walking distance of Pollokshaws East, I just had to decide which would be easiest to get another time. Logically, the closest to Glasgow would like be the shortest out and back move, so I decided to leave Shawlands for another time.

Dud from earlier 314209 took me to Pollokshaws East, and I set off on a steady walk to Langside. I was surprised how busy this station was in comparison to the other circle stations. Another fresh dud from today, 314210, took me back anticlockwise round the circle back to Mount Florida.

I was now heading up the Neilston line. I’d spotted a walk from Williamwood to Clarkston which was a neat way of switching from the Neilston line to the East Kilbride line. Firstly though, I could tick off a couple on the Neilston line. To my surprise it wasn’t a 314, but 318268.


318268 Mount Florida 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I took this to the penultimate stop on this line, Patterton.

Dud 314202 took me back past Williamwood to Muirend, before finally 314204 took me to my intended stop Williamwood.

I set off on the walk to Clarkston town centre, which was mostly uphill. I was warm and more than ready for some lunch by the time I arrived around 15 minutes later, and Costa was looking favourite as I needed to charge my phone as it was down to around 30% already.

I had a toastie and an iced latte, and was ready to go again. 156504 collected me from Clarkston, and lo and behold it had plug sockets! I took this all the way back to Glasgow Central.

It was winner unit, route and station next, as I took 314208 all the way down the branch to Paisley Canal.


314208 Paisley Canal 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I walked up towards Paisley town centre, rescuing a young girl’s Minnie Mouse soft toy that had fallen overboard from her pushchair along the way. The mother seemed grateful but surprised by my 'foreign' accent! I reached Paisley Gilmour Street well ahead of my predicted time, and this allowed me to get a bonus station and unit in. There was a 380 already platformed - I had no chance to ID it and it was busy, but I got on anyway.

I had to be careful, as this service had a different calling pattern to the service I was meant to catch. I could only make the switch at Johnstone, the first stop, or Glengarnock. The train looked like it was about to empty out a bit at Johnstone, so I got a seat and stayed on to Glengarnock. The unit I’d been carried by was 380009, a winner was almost guaranteed as I’d barely scratched the surface with the 380 fleet.

I got back on plan again now, catching the Largs service which was just five minutes behind after skipping some of the stops I had done on the the previous train. Time to rethink that last paragraph, dud 380102 (Edinburgh to Carstairs in 2015) was my next unit. I took this one to Ardrossan South Beach.


380102 Ardrossan South Beach 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

Thankfully we were on time, as I only had 12 minutes to do a 10 minute walk. The beach looked surprisingly nice in the sunshine. No time for sandcastles though, as I motored on to Ardrossan Town, making it fairly comfortably in the end (I wasn't sure if I'd have to cross the level crossing to get to the platform, turns out not). I was surprised to be the only person boarding here, presumably Ardrossan Harbour and South Beach are the busier stations. 380109 was my unit back towards Glasgow.


380109 Ardrossan Town 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I bailed at Kilwinning, where I planned to nip to Irvine and catch a train back to Glasgow from there. Unfortunately I took my eye off the ball and failed to notice how tight the connection was, and not realising this station had four platforms, I made a half-hearted attempt to over to board the pair of 380’s I saw arriving into the furthest platform, but realistically I was never going to make it.

No real harm done, it just meant I would miss out on Irvine station on this occasion. It was only a few minutes until the Irvine-Glasgow train arrived anyway, this time it was 380012.

Earlier in the day when I had boarded 314208 at Central, 314212 was leaving on a service to Gourock. I was never going to finish the 314’s today, especially as I’d seen three of my required ones at Shields depot, but I could meet 314212 with a nice cross-platform change at Paisley Gilmour Street. As I’d also failed to get a photo there earlier, I decided that’s what I would do.

314212 turned up as hoped, though a little busier than I’d have liked. Luckily I only had to go one stop to find a reasonable connection, to Bishopton.


314212 Bishopton 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

380014 took me back into Glasgow. I was a bit short of options for what to do with my remaining time, and I wanted to be at Queen Street in plenty of time to make sure I didn’t end up on the same pair of 365’s as earlier.

Tight connections at Glasgow Central are not advisable, especially with a Daytripper which needs a barrier attendant to let you out (and then back in again...). Somehow, I made a +2 from platform 11 to platform 6. The reason was I’d seen winner 314216 about to leave to Neilston, but I was even more glad I made it when I discovered 314214 on the back.

I couldn’t get a required station without venturing out to Whitecraigs, but there was a good connection at Queens Park. This was another good move, as winners 314203 and 314206 were on the return. Just like that, I was down to just 207 and 211 to get, but I had mixed feelings about it. Whilst I’d done well to get 9 of them today, the farewell poster on board reminded me this was quite possibly my last journey on a 314 before they’re gone. So close, but so far.

I walked up to Queen Street, stopping to pick up a tuna baguette and Iron Bru (when in Scotland...) from Greggs for my tea. I got lost as I always seem to do on this walk, but eventually found my way. There had been some track problems around Haymarket earlier in the day, and the 1900 Edinburgh service was showing as cancelled. The 1845 was delayed but formed of 8 coaches, so as long as it wasn’t my train from the morning, that would be the one I’d get.

It wasn’t my train from earlier - double winners 365517 and 365509 would do me fine. Very strange seeing ‘Glasgow QST’ on the front of one of these ugly faces.


365517 Glasgow Queen Street 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

I was now going to be in Edinburgh 75 minutes before my train, but better that than late. The Starbucks on Waverley steps closes at 2030, which is pretty inconvenient when the last long distance train of the day leaves at 2100. Instead I walked to a different one on Leith Street which was open until 2100.

I was back at the station in plenty of time for my train, headed by 43272.


43272 Edinburgh 05/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr

It arrived on time, but due to the driver being late arriving on another service, we didn’t leave until 2122. It was a lot busier than when I'd previously used this service, though it emptied out a bit after Newcastle.

We arrived back at York at around 0015 - technically on time, but usually this service arrives before midnight and sits at York until 0016. Dud 43315 was on the rear.


43315 York 06/07/2018 by Flash 3939, on Flickr


A late arrival home, and I was in work the next morning...

Day summary:

91118 YRK-EDB
365537 & 365525 EDB-GLQ
314210 GLC-MAX
314201 MAX-PLW
314209 PLW-MFL
314204 MFL-CCT
314209 CCT-PWE
314210 LGS-MFL
318268 MFL-PTT
314202 PTT-MUI
314204 MUI-WLM
156504 CKS-GLC
314208 GLC-PCN
380009 PYG-GLG
380102 GLG-ASB
380109 ADN-KWN
380012 KWN-PYG
314212 PYG-BPT
380014 BPT-GLC
314216 & 314214 GLC-QPK
314203 & 314206 QPK-GLC
365517 & 365509 GLQ-EDB
43272 & 43315 EDB-YRK

17 new stations: Ardrossan South Beach, Ardrossan Town, Bishopton, Cathcart, Clarkston, Glengarnock, Kilwinning, Langside, Maxwell Park, Mount Florida, Muirend, Paisley Canal, Paisley Gilmour Street, Patterton, Pollokshaws East, Pollokshields West, Williamwood

19 new units: 1x 156, 9x 314, 1x 318, 4x 365, 4x 380

10 dud units/locos/power cars: 2x HST, 1x 91, 3x 314, 1x 380

Day mileage: 604 miles