A feast in the East - Thursday 2nd August 2018 (Part 3)
Before getting back to the story of my day, I can now add
50008,
37003 &
47847 to my list of winners at Leicester having now found out the numbers having been able to see them but unable to identify them from the platform edge as they sat in the yard. So my Leicester winners goes up to 45 which is not a bad return for 3 and a bit hours there.
Back to the day, and I was enjoying a nice trip back to Nuneaton on a 170 turbostar when I left you at the end of part 2. Arriving back into Nuneaton just before 4pm, it seemed that the heat had gone up a notch but I had chance to regroup as it was a slow start to my afternoon session there. 70002, 66124 and 66534 were my first freight sightings but all were duds so it was down to
66759 to get my Nuneaton winners up and running again as it passed through on its way to Hams Hall having travelled up from Felixstowe. My next winner was another pleasant surprise as another turbostar went into the log thanks to
170519 before we got to see the daily Crossrail test train, this time it being winner
345046. Just a couple of minutes after the Crossrail train came a freight winner as
66712 went by on route from Felixstowe to Birch Coppice before
66420 came over the flyover and through platform 7 with the opposite service to 712
66420 runs off the flyover at Nuneaton by
The_Train
My phone battery was getting really low by now (amazed it was still going considering the first 50% drained within the first couple of hours) so photo opportunities had to be rationed, as did my phone usage in general. So it was old fashioned spotting now with no RTT and just a pen and notepad and having been tested by yet more flying Pendolinos my next success came thanks to the 1113 Felixstowe to Trafford Park Freightliner which was lead by winner
86639 and dud 86608.
66732 kept the winner numbers ticking over running the London Gateway to Hams Hall containers but a period of flying Pendolinos, Voyagers and dud 350s slowed things down a bit so I decided to head over to platform 1 to hunt some fluids down. Unfortunately I missed the little coffee shop first time around and only spotted it having left platform 1 to hunt a shop on 2 or 3. So having finally found my way to the shop, a couple of refreshing drinks were purchased and one was consumed quickly whilst I slumped against a support pillar back on platform 5. The heat and the early start were really starting to take their toll on me now but having rested for a short time, I pulled myself together and went back on the hunt.
I was rewarded and rewarded well as my next winner would be a first success for the class 59 locos as
59003 headed down the flyover on its way through to Cliffe Hill Stud Farm. The only annoyance from this was the fact that I was distracted by the mail train and only spotted the 59 when it was too late to sort my phone for a photo (even more annoyed when I realised the 2x 325 units I'd been able to identify were both duds). But nonetheless it's another class up and running and something I'd not expected to see so a nice little bonus. Things were slowing in respect of winners so my mind was now turning to my journey home and having a run of over an hours with of duds made home even more tempting but I decided to wait for the Holyhead/Chester service at around 2015 as this would allow me to put some charge into my battery which was now completely dead. It was to be a worthwhile decision to hang around as I enjoyed a decent last hour starting with
90048 heading the Daventry-Coatbridge run with dud 90041 in support. I always see 70007 wherever I go and today was to be no different as it ran north to Garston but
66952 was a first time for sight as it headed through to Lawley Street, and this was quickly followed by a quickfire double as winners
66515 and
66413 passed through at the same time. That would be it until I headed across to platform 3 for my journey home when the 1358 Dagenham Dock Recep to Mossend Down Yard service came through platform 2. My sight of the number was obscured but I was sure it was 90035 which would be a winner if proven to be true. I thought that I could clarify it on TOPS so marked it down with a question mark for now.
So it was on board the VT Voyager service to Chester/Holyhead for the short hop to Stafford, 221112 and 221109 providing the traction and more importantly the power to my phone. I took up position in the vestibule at the front of the rear set and had to inform a couple of people that they had reached the end of this particular unit and couldn't navigate between the 2 units (1 woman tried at least 3 times) and as we moved northwards we overtook the Dagenham-Mossend headed by the 90 where I was unsure of the number. I missed it again but knew I'd have another chance at Stafford. Alighting on platform 3 at Stafford, it was quite noticeable how many spotters were still around which usually meant there was still a bit to see so I headed to the south end and did a quick check on RTT which told me there was indeed quite a bit of activity over the next hour so I decided to extend my day even further. The first thing I was able to do was to confirm that it was indeed
90035 at the head of the Dagenham-Mossend train as it caught me up once again and this was followed by
66552 on the Ditton-Felixstowe Freightliner. An unexpected surprise came next as 1O34 1927 Manchester Piccadilly to Southampton Central arrived 43 minutes behind schedule meaning I got to chalk off my penultimate 220 Voyager as
220005 rolled in (just 220026 to find now)
220005 sits in platform 4 at Stafford by
The_Train
Stafford was providing a good end to a nice day out and this was proven when
350242 made an appearance to bring my 350 requirements down to 5 LNWR units and 15 in total left to find. With the light fading and my energy levels sapped there was still time for more winners as
66061 headed through platform 3 with the 1418 Middleton Towers-Ince & Elton Encirc Works (a service I'd not seen before)
66061 lit up at Stafford by
The_Train
We were getting on for 2130 now but 4 freights in 15 minutes was too much to give up so I hung on and was let down by the first as duds 57007 and 57002 took the Toton-Crewe Engineers train through the goods line but then it was another double to justify my staying power with first of all
66591 heading southbound to Felixstowe quickly followed by
66556 with a northbound containers to Trafford Park. I got to see 345046 continuing it's testing and the final loco for me was dud 66562 which I'd seen at Leicester earlier so I felt that at 2145 it was time to call time on a successful day. The short walk home was followed by a well earned pizza and a very good nights sleep
My stats
Successes today: 76
Completed sets today: None
Highlight of the day: The 2x class 37s hauling the GWR HST power cars
My day rating: 5/5 Great day which ate away at my 222 requirements, added HSTs to my collection and saw some bonus moves
Nuneaton stats
Nuneaton rating: 4/5 (plenty of activity, particularly freight with a good variation of traction)
What classes you can expect to see: 66, 68, 70, 86, 88 (twice per day on the Tesco train), 90, 153, 170, 221, 350 & 390
Facilities: Coffee Shop, Toilets
Leicester stats
Leicester rating: 3/5 (this could have easily been higher but I wanted to judge it based on more than my amount of winners. Plenty of activity but passenger services would become very repetitive if spending a day there. Good place to eat into EMT stocks if chasing them and always in with a chance of bonus activity in the yard. Freight through the station can be hit and miss.)
What classes you can expect to see: 37, 43, 47, 56, 66, 156, 158, 170, 222 (and anything else sat in the yard at the time of your visit)
Facilities: didn't really look around to find out
DRS 88007 at Stafford
90044 pulling the Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper at Nuneaton
66951 and 66534 at Nuneaton
haha)
Class 56 action at Leicester
37611 leads 43170 & 43189 into Leicester
37611 with GWR HST power cars at Leicester
43059 departs Leicester
156414 departs Leicester
37800 leaving Leicester L.I.P.
222103 arriving into Leicester
158774 leaves Leicester
66775 heads into Leicester
66775 at Leicester
Locos stabled at Leicester
thanks for the heads up though