Anglia Plus Day Ranger - Tuesday 4th June 2019
Part 3 - Heading South
After an interesting run down to Ipswich, where we went past 66569 on the approach, we were welcomed into the station by 86607 and 86639 which were stabled just outside the station. Both are duds but it's always nice to see these workhorses as opportunities may be limited in the not so distant future
86607 & 86639 stabled at Ipswich by
The_Train
Unfortunately the other thing that had welcomed us to Ipswich was a torrent of rain so I decided to make a quick pit stop at Starbucks (not my favoured choice of coffee outlet) for a latte, before I had a roam around the 4 platforms to get my bearings.
170272 became my first winner here but a bit of repetition kicked in as the 82107/90003 combo became my first repeat of the day. A venture over the footbridge onto P4 saw me grab my first 360 as
106 arrived before
153335 also headed into the book. I'd also spied a shed hidden at the far end of the FLR sidings and it took a good wander out into the rain to find out it was dud 66540 but the next unit was definitely not a dud as
170205 went into the book. A couple more dud LHCS sets came and went before
360110 was next to be chalked off
360110 at Ipswich by
The_Train
170207 only affected the dud count, but a triple 321 set certainly had a better part to play as
321440,
321326 &
321430 all went into the book of sights. A dud dogbox came and went before a GBRf shed made an appearance into enemy territory as winner
66724 passed by to take my GB shed requirements down to 14 (16 when the other 2 Swedish sheds arrive)
GBRf 66724 heads through Ipswich by
The_Train
After another repeat sighting of a 90 set, 90015 became yet another dud 90 that I'd previously ticked off during stints at the local but it did at least come with a rake of required carriages as well as DVT
82105 which was chalked off
90015 at Ipswich by
The_Train
90009 was the next dud (having sighted it earlier on my way into Norwich) but it did produce another set of carriages for the book of sights as well as
82103 at the other end. This was quickly followed by more dudness thanks to 90014 and 82121 but the next 170 did provide a winning score as
170208 was ticked off and this was quickly followed by a double combo of 360s as
107 and
116 also went into the book. I'd headed back across to P2 by now as I'd caught sight of a freight move that was due only to be disappointed to see dud FLR 66592 emerge from Ipswich Tunnel with a rake of containers
66592 emerges from Ipswich Tunnel by
The_Train
After a PNB, it was back to the duds as another 90 set came and went before
170203 became the latest of this class to fall into the winner category. Having seen off dud 153335 I noticed that a FLR shed had crept into the loco sidings and after a quick dash over the footbridge was able to see that it was dud 66951 arriving home.
170204 kept my winner count ticking over but it was duds galore in both P2 and P3 as 2x London Liverpool Street services through up dud 90 sets. By this time, signalling problems at Shenfield were causing issues with most services being delayed by approx 40 minutes through the area and it left me with a decision to make about my departure from Ipswich. I plonked myself down, and whilst shoving more sandwiches down my throat I made the decision to now head back to Norwich on the 1707 service which would now be arriving into Ipswich just 15 minutes before my planned haulage home at 1800. That left me with another 45 minutes in Suffolk which was time to see 66540, the shed that had been parked up all of the time I'd been there, head out from its slumber
66540 by
The_Train
My next sighting was a much needed winner as
170270 went into the book to bring a halt to a long run of duds, but I was soon back to it when dud 90012 rolled in. Also, heading into the dud book was a pair of FLR sheds on their way home as 66555 and 66505 ventured into P2 before heading back out to reverse back into the FLR yard
A pair of sheds by
The_Train
It wasn't long after this that
82127 rolled in being powered by
90007 to haul me back up to Norfolk but Ipswich had one last gift for me as
156409 became the final winner of my time in Suffolk.
It was a very busy service so I decided to remain in the vestibule, particularly as my first point of call upon boarding was to make use of the facilities on board considering cleaning staff at Ipswich had closed off the gents for cleaning. It was an enjoyable ride as we were pushed back North by the 90 on the rear and passing Crown Point saw me bag an additional winner as
82114 was spied along. I didn't have a massive amount of time at Norwich but there was enough time to snaffle
170201 which was sat on the blocks as I arrived back. A quick wander around the platforms found me the pair of 321s which had taken me to Ipswich earlier along with a dud 170 and just before I went to find my next haulage, I spotted duds 82143 and 90002 creeping into P1 with a working that had pretty much followed us from Ipswich. With nothing else of note to see, I went off to P3 to jump aboard
158808 for my first trip on this EMT unit as I headed back to Ely. There was nothing new on Crown Point for me to grab on departure but I did see 66192 parked up and waiting departure from Trowse after I'd seen it going through the loading process earlier. It was an uneventful journey back into Cambridgeshire but my arrival at Ely was greeted by 66532, unfortunately another dud. After a quick PNB I headed through the underpass to P1 where I made it just in time to grab some crisps from the shop and whilst munching on these, I was able to chalk off
387119. Another shed, in the form of dud 65534, came and went before dud EMT 158847 was also added to the dud list. My haulage for the penultimate leg of my journey home would be courtesy of XC
170107, required for haulage if not sight and having found a table seat on the lightly loaded service I was able to nab a final 387 for the day as
117 was marked off.
There wasn't much to see on the journey until we crept past a NR test train in the sidings at March with required
67023 at the helm. Things got even more interesting as we headed into Peterborough as I was able to grab a couple of 365s that were stabled,
365506 and
365510 both getting the treatment. Departure from Peterborough took us past the GBRf yard and having seen just the 1 loco there in the morning, I was happy to see no less than 5 stabled there now. Unfortunately 66758, 66735, 66775, 66776 & 66736 were all duds so with the light fading it was time to stick the earphones in and enjoy the rest of the ride to Nuneaton. I had a near 60 minute layover here unless the previous LNWR service to the one I was scheduled on was running a few minutes late and I was amazed to see a pair of 350s in P2 and after having made a mad dash across the footbridge from P6 I found the units to be locked out. The service I'd hoped they were for was in fact stuck at Rugby, with a trespass incident (staff at Nuneaton told me someone had been train surfing on a container train) at Atherstone earlier in the evening still causing chaos.
This delay did allow me to see a bit of late evening freight action as 66553 went by on route to Felixstowe before 66740 went through P7 with a working to London Gateway. The staff at Nuneaton kept me informed of the goings on and it was good news as the service being held at Rugby had been cleared and was on its way to Nuneaton and even better news (for me anyway) was that it was to run fast from Nuneaton to Stafford meaning I'd be home a good half hour earlier than expected. Whilst awaiting the arrival of this, 70002 went past with a working to Scotland and 66076 headed North towards Grangemouth before
350109 arrived to take me on the final leg of my journey and not so long afterwards, and 17 hours after departing Stafford, I was back on home ground with plenty of fond memories of a day in Anglia.
Day summary is below:
For Sight
Winners:
72
Coaching Stock Winners:
98
Classes completed:
N/A
Sub classes completed:
N/A
TOCs completed:
N/A
TOC sub classes completed:
N/A
For Haulage
Winners:
11
Total Mileage:
512 miles 34 chains
Classes completed:
N/A
Sub classes completed:
N/A
Didn't quite get the 90s cleared with 4 still to find along with 4 DVTs. Just 202 left from the GA 170 fleet and a few 153s and 156s but plenty of 321s left to find - I assume these tend to run different routes of Liverpool Street? Not a bad outing though with plenty of winners and worth it for the ride behind the 37s if nothing else