The_Train
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Scotland the Brave - Thursday 13th December 2018
Part 1 - Creeping up the West Coast Mainline
Today saw my biggest trip to date and my first ever venture to Glasgow for railway purposes. It was probably a sign that the hobby has well and truly grabbed me as well as I headed closer to the Arctic circle during our winter period. The day began with a 5am alarm call which allowed for plenty of time to get myself ready and head to Stafford station in good time for the 0638 LNWR service to Liverpool which would take me as far as Crewe. Arriving in good time also allowed me time to test the Stafford ticket office by asking for the Strathclyde Roundabout ticket which I would need once in Scotland. The very helpful member of staff duly obliged and having been her first ever customer asking for such a ticket, I was asked with all the tickets I needed and, having picked up a coffee, heading across to platform 5. It wouldn't be normal if I wasn't able to log a dud Voyager at Stafford and 221141 duly obliged before 66761 made it 2/2 for duds. There was also time for me to see 92014 (another dud) pulling the late running Sleeper service southbound, for some reason being pathed South through platform 5 (usually reserved for northbound movements) instead of through the fast lines. Once that anomaly had passed, there was finally space for 350247 to roll in to become a winner for haulage as it took me off to Crewe for my first layover of the morning. The morning remained in darkness so there was no chance of ID'ing anything in the yards/depots outside of Crewe station but upon alighting I could hear the glorious sound of a duff, a quick trek down platform 12 allowed me to ID D1924 (47810) sat in the goods line with 365507 behind waiting to head southbound. I also logged the couple of barrier coaches forming part of the set but i won't bore you with the details, as I won't with the TfW loco hauled set that crept into platform 11. My next train was running around 10 minutes late so this gave me chance to head over the footbridge to find that it was duds 67020 and 82308 (seen at both Crewe and Manchester during my recent trip over the Pennines. Despite this dudness it did allow me to chalk off the coaching stock that formed this set heading towards Chester
DVT 82308 at Crewe by The_Train
It was a quick hop back over the bridge to platform 12 where minutes later 390114 arrived, working a service to Edinburgh, which would take me to my next checkpoint at Preston. Unfortunately this was dud for everything having bagged haulage on it a couple of weeks earlier but I did grab my next winner of the day whilst we paused at Wigan North Western as 150210 was chalked off. My multiple layers (and a reluctance to remove any for the shortish journey) made for a fairly uncomfortable journey as the Pendolino's heating seemed to be on full whack but soon enough I was back out into the very fresh air as I made use of the 20 or so minutes at Preston to nab a few more winners. First it was my only Pacer success of the day as 142030 went into the book of sights, before a stroll around helped me to edge that little bit closer to completing the full 350 set as 350407 was sat parked up in one of the bays. I had high hopes of bagging more of these as the day went on.....Unfortunately things didn't bode well as the first Manchester-Glasgow TPE service I saw was being worked by dud 185107. My Manchester/Leeds trip had got my Northern requirements moving but it was nice to tick a few more off and Preston was assisting as 156451 arrived joined to dud 158784. 319379 would be my final success for sight at Preston with dud 66528 passing through with containers just before 390011 arrived to provide my final haulage on my trek North of the border and also become my 2nd winner of the day for haulage.
My reservation on the Pendolino gave me a table seat and more importantly a power socket which ensured I would arrive into Glasgow with a fully charged battery on my phone. I settled in opposite an Irish lad (well I assume he was Irish as he had an Irish football shirt on) who had either had a good night out or was struggling with the early start as he slept throughout the journey. There was little to see on the journey, well there were some lovely views, until we reached Carlisle where DR73914 was sat at Upperby. On the approach to Carlisle, and with my battery fully charged, I gave up my table seat so that I could be on the right side for the Kingmoor depot and this allowed me to spot dud DRS 57309 parked in Carlisle station, presumably on Thunderbird duties. There was plenty around Kingmoor but the winners weren't plentiful with only 68008 (11 of these still to go) and 66147 troubling the list of winners. We continued North and it was just outside Carstairs that I spied Colas 70814 being held for us to pass - this being a pleasant surprise as the Colas 70s have not been easy to come by for me. I knew that next on the agenda would be the Polmadie depot (thanks to the help on here) but with little to see before then, I found myself nodding a little and my tiredness nearly beat me as my 6th sense kicked in and I opened my eyes just in time to identify 86101 at the front of a rake of sleeper coaches and gronk 08764. Unfortunately my sleepiness did mean I missed out on another gronk I caught sight of so that will have to be for another day. Still, I'd made it in to double figures before reaching Glasgow and as expected Glasgow did not disappoint, particularly in the early period there. This started as we crept through the station approach with 380114 having the honour of the first of its class to be ticked off before 380006 also crawled past us as it headed into the Glasgow suburbs. As I alighted into the cool Glasgow air, I was blessed with my first sightings of ScotRail's 156 fleet as 435 and 430 were chalked off as they arrived into their destination
VTWC Pendolino 390011 at Glasgow Central by The_Train
185107 was quickly spotted for the second time today having reached its destination shortly before we pulled in but a quick glance around showed me that there was plenty to see already. A walk from platform to platform was required to start getting units marked down before they disappeared and 380013 was next before my first ever sightings of 314s was made with 203 and 207 making the first dents into this class. The 380s were clearly going to be prominent during my stint in Glasgow and 380104 was ticked off before 380009 joined it. I'd seen as much as I could at the buffers so decided I needed to find a platform to head down to check for any units parked at the front bit after checking with a friendly and helpful member of the ScotRail station staff it was off to the Network Rail reception to get myself signed in (a first for me). A swift and simple sign in process was completed with the handover of my platform pass and I was on my to platforms 9 and 10 which is where I would base myself for my duration at Central. From here I was able to nab more 156s with 156434 being followed quickly by 156442 before 380112 and 380018 became my next successes
ScotRail class 380 380112 departing Glasgow Central by The_Train
One thing that immediately struck me was that I was going to see quite the variety of differing units today, kind of summed up by the following photo
All about the units at Glasgow Central by The_Train
More 380s were soon chalked off as 022 and 113 fell in quick succession before more classic sprinter action with 156431 finding itself in my book for sights having arrived in from East Kilbride. It seemed that everywhere I was looking now there was a 380 to be seen and thankfully the next ones that arrived into Central were 109 and 111 which took me to double figures for these units in quicktime. 156504 was soon chalked off as it arrived and then departed quickly back out to East Kilbride
ScotRail 156504 departing Glasgow Central by The_Train
380012 was next to be marked off but then I was amazed to receive my first ScotRail dud early in proceedings as 380104 made a quick return having headed out to be re-platformed for it's next duties. After that minor blip we re-entered the land of the winners as 156511 arrived with a service from Edinburgh before 318259 was also chalked off as it arrived from Lanark. The 380s kept on rolling on and 380103 was next into the book before my first 320 of the day in the form of 302 which arrived from Newton. 390010 arrived to make me feel more at home before more winners came by with 314208 heading into the book before 156439 worked in from Barrhead and 380011 also got that special winners treatment when it arrived from Ardrossan Harbour. It was pretty relentless with only the odd few minutes between arrivals and the winners kept on coming as 314201 was chalked off before 314205 arrived from Paisley Canal (don't panic, it had dried out by the time it arrived into Central) to make it a double that dreams are made of....a 314 double. It was another double header next as not only did 380108 and 380003 arrive into Glasgow Central they both also arrived into my book of sights. 156495 was another arrival from East Kilbride before 314211 joined it in the growing list of cops (not used cop in my reports before but as it's Christmas) and these were quickly followed by 156509 which completed its journey from Auchinleck. It was soon back to the 380s as 380001 made an appearance with an arrival from Ayr and right on it's tail was 380116 before 318265 arrived from Lanark
ScotRail 318265 arrives into Glasgow Central by The_Train, on Flickr
That completes the first hour at Central and with those I'd picked up on my way North, the winner count had already reached 50 (55 including coaching stock). The plan was to spend another hour at Central before heading into the basement to head off to Hyndland and then across to Queen Street.....but plans are there to be destroyed as many of us know. See how I got on with the next instalment which will hopefully be available tomorrow evening
Part 1 - Creeping up the West Coast Mainline
Today saw my biggest trip to date and my first ever venture to Glasgow for railway purposes. It was probably a sign that the hobby has well and truly grabbed me as well as I headed closer to the Arctic circle during our winter period. The day began with a 5am alarm call which allowed for plenty of time to get myself ready and head to Stafford station in good time for the 0638 LNWR service to Liverpool which would take me as far as Crewe. Arriving in good time also allowed me time to test the Stafford ticket office by asking for the Strathclyde Roundabout ticket which I would need once in Scotland. The very helpful member of staff duly obliged and having been her first ever customer asking for such a ticket, I was asked with all the tickets I needed and, having picked up a coffee, heading across to platform 5. It wouldn't be normal if I wasn't able to log a dud Voyager at Stafford and 221141 duly obliged before 66761 made it 2/2 for duds. There was also time for me to see 92014 (another dud) pulling the late running Sleeper service southbound, for some reason being pathed South through platform 5 (usually reserved for northbound movements) instead of through the fast lines. Once that anomaly had passed, there was finally space for 350247 to roll in to become a winner for haulage as it took me off to Crewe for my first layover of the morning. The morning remained in darkness so there was no chance of ID'ing anything in the yards/depots outside of Crewe station but upon alighting I could hear the glorious sound of a duff, a quick trek down platform 12 allowed me to ID D1924 (47810) sat in the goods line with 365507 behind waiting to head southbound. I also logged the couple of barrier coaches forming part of the set but i won't bore you with the details, as I won't with the TfW loco hauled set that crept into platform 11. My next train was running around 10 minutes late so this gave me chance to head over the footbridge to find that it was duds 67020 and 82308 (seen at both Crewe and Manchester during my recent trip over the Pennines. Despite this dudness it did allow me to chalk off the coaching stock that formed this set heading towards Chester
DVT 82308 at Crewe by The_TrainIt was a quick hop back over the bridge to platform 12 where minutes later 390114 arrived, working a service to Edinburgh, which would take me to my next checkpoint at Preston. Unfortunately this was dud for everything having bagged haulage on it a couple of weeks earlier but I did grab my next winner of the day whilst we paused at Wigan North Western as 150210 was chalked off. My multiple layers (and a reluctance to remove any for the shortish journey) made for a fairly uncomfortable journey as the Pendolino's heating seemed to be on full whack but soon enough I was back out into the very fresh air as I made use of the 20 or so minutes at Preston to nab a few more winners. First it was my only Pacer success of the day as 142030 went into the book of sights, before a stroll around helped me to edge that little bit closer to completing the full 350 set as 350407 was sat parked up in one of the bays. I had high hopes of bagging more of these as the day went on.....Unfortunately things didn't bode well as the first Manchester-Glasgow TPE service I saw was being worked by dud 185107. My Manchester/Leeds trip had got my Northern requirements moving but it was nice to tick a few more off and Preston was assisting as 156451 arrived joined to dud 158784. 319379 would be my final success for sight at Preston with dud 66528 passing through with containers just before 390011 arrived to provide my final haulage on my trek North of the border and also become my 2nd winner of the day for haulage.
My reservation on the Pendolino gave me a table seat and more importantly a power socket which ensured I would arrive into Glasgow with a fully charged battery on my phone. I settled in opposite an Irish lad (well I assume he was Irish as he had an Irish football shirt on) who had either had a good night out or was struggling with the early start as he slept throughout the journey. There was little to see on the journey, well there were some lovely views, until we reached Carlisle where DR73914 was sat at Upperby. On the approach to Carlisle, and with my battery fully charged, I gave up my table seat so that I could be on the right side for the Kingmoor depot and this allowed me to spot dud DRS 57309 parked in Carlisle station, presumably on Thunderbird duties. There was plenty around Kingmoor but the winners weren't plentiful with only 68008 (11 of these still to go) and 66147 troubling the list of winners. We continued North and it was just outside Carstairs that I spied Colas 70814 being held for us to pass - this being a pleasant surprise as the Colas 70s have not been easy to come by for me. I knew that next on the agenda would be the Polmadie depot (thanks to the help on here) but with little to see before then, I found myself nodding a little and my tiredness nearly beat me as my 6th sense kicked in and I opened my eyes just in time to identify 86101 at the front of a rake of sleeper coaches and gronk 08764. Unfortunately my sleepiness did mean I missed out on another gronk I caught sight of so that will have to be for another day. Still, I'd made it in to double figures before reaching Glasgow and as expected Glasgow did not disappoint, particularly in the early period there. This started as we crept through the station approach with 380114 having the honour of the first of its class to be ticked off before 380006 also crawled past us as it headed into the Glasgow suburbs. As I alighted into the cool Glasgow air, I was blessed with my first sightings of ScotRail's 156 fleet as 435 and 430 were chalked off as they arrived into their destination
VTWC Pendolino 390011 at Glasgow Central by The_Train185107 was quickly spotted for the second time today having reached its destination shortly before we pulled in but a quick glance around showed me that there was plenty to see already. A walk from platform to platform was required to start getting units marked down before they disappeared and 380013 was next before my first ever sightings of 314s was made with 203 and 207 making the first dents into this class. The 380s were clearly going to be prominent during my stint in Glasgow and 380104 was ticked off before 380009 joined it. I'd seen as much as I could at the buffers so decided I needed to find a platform to head down to check for any units parked at the front bit after checking with a friendly and helpful member of the ScotRail station staff it was off to the Network Rail reception to get myself signed in (a first for me). A swift and simple sign in process was completed with the handover of my platform pass and I was on my to platforms 9 and 10 which is where I would base myself for my duration at Central. From here I was able to nab more 156s with 156434 being followed quickly by 156442 before 380112 and 380018 became my next successes
ScotRail class 380 380112 departing Glasgow Central by The_TrainOne thing that immediately struck me was that I was going to see quite the variety of differing units today, kind of summed up by the following photo
All about the units at Glasgow Central by The_TrainMore 380s were soon chalked off as 022 and 113 fell in quick succession before more classic sprinter action with 156431 finding itself in my book for sights having arrived in from East Kilbride. It seemed that everywhere I was looking now there was a 380 to be seen and thankfully the next ones that arrived into Central were 109 and 111 which took me to double figures for these units in quicktime. 156504 was soon chalked off as it arrived and then departed quickly back out to East Kilbride
ScotRail 156504 departing Glasgow Central by The_Train380012 was next to be marked off but then I was amazed to receive my first ScotRail dud early in proceedings as 380104 made a quick return having headed out to be re-platformed for it's next duties. After that minor blip we re-entered the land of the winners as 156511 arrived with a service from Edinburgh before 318259 was also chalked off as it arrived from Lanark. The 380s kept on rolling on and 380103 was next into the book before my first 320 of the day in the form of 302 which arrived from Newton. 390010 arrived to make me feel more at home before more winners came by with 314208 heading into the book before 156439 worked in from Barrhead and 380011 also got that special winners treatment when it arrived from Ardrossan Harbour. It was pretty relentless with only the odd few minutes between arrivals and the winners kept on coming as 314201 was chalked off before 314205 arrived from Paisley Canal (don't panic, it had dried out by the time it arrived into Central) to make it a double that dreams are made of....a 314 double. It was another double header next as not only did 380108 and 380003 arrive into Glasgow Central they both also arrived into my book of sights. 156495 was another arrival from East Kilbride before 314211 joined it in the growing list of cops (not used cop in my reports before but as it's Christmas) and these were quickly followed by 156509 which completed its journey from Auchinleck. It was soon back to the 380s as 380001 made an appearance with an arrival from Ayr and right on it's tail was 380116 before 318265 arrived from Lanark
ScotRail 318265 arrives into Glasgow Central by The_Train, on Flickr
That completes the first hour at Central and with those I'd picked up on my way North, the winner count had already reached 50 (55 including coaching stock). The plan was to spend another hour at Central before heading into the basement to head off to Hyndland and then across to Queen Street.....but plans are there to be destroyed as many of us know. See how I got on with the next instalment which will hopefully be available tomorrow evening
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ScotRail class 380s sat at Glasgow Central
ScotRail 158730 departs Glasgow Central
2M18 1254 Milngavie to Edinburgh
ScotRail 320306 departs Hyndland
ScotRail 334033 arriving into Hyndland
ScotRail 318263 departs Hyndland
ScotRail Class 385 385117 at Glasgow Queen Street
ScotRail 158724 at Glasgow Queen Street
385104 at Glasgow Queen Street
Ex GWR HST power car 43147 at Glasgow Queen Street
Ex GWR HST power car 43144 at Glasgow Queen Street
ScotRail Class 314 314205 departs Glasgow Central
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. I may have to find out what coaching stocks went with them, as I still need rafts of GWR HST stock and seen as i clicked a rake of them, when I saw 43035 and 43135 being transferred up, there's obviously a good chance, I'll need some of them too.