Cactus' UK & European rail travels

[cactustwirly]

Railjetting across Europe; Day 2 19/06/2018

It was an early start at about 8:30 am, where we took a Regional train for a non stop ride into the Hbf.
It was a Br442 'Talent 2' (ie continental 377) complete with rock hard 'ironing boards'

DSC_0035 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0036 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0038 by litecactus, on Flickr

We had a few minutes here so breakfast was purchased.

Munich stations is absolutely huge, it has a population similar to Manchester, but the station is much larger with 36 platforms!

Our platform was easy to find, each service has a set platform, there's a poster on each platform listing the day's services and where each carriage stops on the platform.

Anyway our Austrian Railjet arrived, it was curiously formed of 2 sets, the rear was shortformed and locked OOU, so we were in the front unit.
These are actually very good trains, more like a class 91 with a Taurus loco and a fixed set of carriages and a cab car.

DSC_0039 by litecactus, on Flickr

Departure was a few minutes late, and we had a nice fast run to Rosenheim, to drop off the rear Railjet, before continueing to our first stop Salzburg.

Along the way the train passed through the edge of the Alps.

DSC_0040 by litecactus, on Flickr

After Salzburg the train trundled through some pleasant, but rather flat countryside to Linz.
After Linz the train speeds along a high speed line, hitting 140mph!
Taurus locos are awesome (I think I prefer them to HSTs!) they sound amazing, but they are very powerful, the acceleration is just immense!

Arrival in Vienna is on time, and we drop off the Railjet set that was attached at Salzburg.

DSC_0050 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0051 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0052 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train departs towards Budapest, this bit is quite boring, with slow line speeds and very flat countryside with a ton of wind turbines.

The Hungarian stock is quite new (for the most part) but the infrastruckture and stations feel quite run down.

Arrival in Budapest is 3 hours after leaving Vienna. Keleti station is run down, but very impressive!

DSC_0055 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0062 by litecactus, on Flickr

We take the very cheap and efficient Metro to the city centre.
The city is very pretty and well worth seeing!

DSC_0076 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0087 by litecactus, on Flickr

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DSC_0114 by litecactus, on Flickr

It was back to Keleti for our sleeper train.

DSC_0121 by litecactus, on Flickr

Our sleeper coaches were hauled in by this shunter locomotive.

DSC_0129 by litecactus, on Flickr

Oh apparently walking across the tracks is normal here!

DSC_0136 by litecactus, on Flickr

We find our birth, which was unfortunately on old hungarian stock, the berth looks like it's seen better days, however the bed was comfortable!

An Austrian Taurus loco is attached and the train departs back towards Austria.
Um the stock is very loud, with the bogies sounding more like Mk2s than Mk3s!
So I didn't really sleep much!

Here's Meidling at 11:30pm!

DSC_0143 by litecactus, on Flickr

There's a big depot there, with a ton of Railjets, locos and coaches stabled there!

 

[87electric]

Enjoying the pictures and report so far. Keep it coming.

 

[fowler9]

Great stuff. Budapest is a great city. How long did you have there?

 

[cactustwirly]

Great stuff. Budapest is a great city. How long did you have there?

About 4 hours, the train from Munich is very long!

 

[cactustwirly]

**** the West Highlands; Day 3 20/06/2018

We start the day at Zuerich HB, which is where we alight the sleeper, after pretty much 0 hours of sleep!
Hungarian sleeper stock is very noisy, and the there was a lot of shunting at Salzburg.

DSC_0154 by litecactus, on Flickr

Anyway our next train is in the adjacent platform, but I get some breakfast before boarding.

This train, unlike yesterday, is a proper old school loco hauled train!



Our intial traction is a Swiss Loco, which took us as far as Buchs (on the border with Liechtenstein)

DSC_0155 by litecactus, on Flickr

It's a pleasant journey, including running along several lakes!
The water from the rivers etc, is crystal clear which makes a change from the brown Thames!

DSC_0156 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0158 by litecactus, on Flickr

The Swiss loco is detached, and 2x Austrian Tauruses are attached on the rear.

DSC_0160 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train changes direction and proceeds through Liectenstein and Austria.
Soo we climb up the amazing Arlberg pass!
The train climbs up through the Alps, winding its way around mountains.

DSC_0166 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0168 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0174 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0188 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0200 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0206 by litecactus, on Flickr

Apparently, the summit of the line, St Anton-am-Arlberg is higher than the summit of Mount Snowdon, and the station is just a few metres short of the summit of Ben Nevis!

DSC_0212 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0217 by litecactus, on Flickr

Arrival at Innsbruck was on time, and the second Taurus was detached here.

The train proceeded, over the old lower inntal railway, I was surprised about this, as most Intercity services use the new high speed tunnel route.
After Woergl the train takes the Salzburg-Tyrol railway via Kitzbuehel and Zell am See, this is the only IC/EC train to take this route, as everything else takes the route via Rosenheim.

DSC_0221 by litecactus, on Flickr

At Schwarzach-St Veit we have a 10 minute layover so lunch is bought from the station shop.

DSC_0227 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train then takes the pleasant Ennstal railway, which runs along the river enns.

DSC_0235 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0238 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival at Selzthal, there is another change of direction, therefore another loco swap takes place.

This time a OeBB 1144, in a vintage livery, is the traction.

DSC_0239 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0241 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0242 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0243 by litecactus, on Flickr

We then have a pleasant run to Leoben, with a 'traditional' Austrian driving style.
Ie approach stations at speed, and brake hard to a stop.

At Leoben we change for a RJ to take us to Vienna.

DSC_0249 by litecactus, on Flickr

Which takes us across the historic Semmering railway.

DSC_0263 by litecactus, on Flickr

Arrival into Vienna is on time at 1935

DSC_0270 by litecactus, on Flickr

We take an old BR 4020 unit on the S-Bahn to our hotel on the edge of the city centre.

BTW Ibis Budget hotels are very spartan...

 

[fowler9]

Looks an amazing trip.

 

[cactustwirly]

Looks an amazing trip.

It was!
I don't think I'll be going on any ALRs soon, when I can do this!

 

[fishquinn]

It was!
I don't think I'll be going on any ALRs soon, when I can do this!

Agreed, once you try it there's no going back!

 

[DanNCL]

**** the West Highlands; Day 3 20/06/2018

We start the day at Zuerich HB, which is where we alight the sleeper, after pretty much 0 hours of sleep!
Hungarian sleeper stock is very noisy, and the there was a lot of shunting at Salzburg.

DSC_0154 by litecactus, on Flickr

Anyway our next train is in the adjacent platform, but I get some breakfast before boarding.

This train, unlike yesterday, is a proper old school loco hauled train!
Our intial traction is a Swiss Loco, which took us as far as Buchs (on the border with Liechtenstein)

DSC_0155 by litecactus, on Flickr

It's a pleasant journey, including running along several lakes!
The water from the rivers etc, is crystal clear which makes a change from the brown Thames!

DSC_0156 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0158 by litecactus, on Flickr

The Swiss loco is detached, and 2x Austrian Tauruses are attached on the rear.

DSC_0160 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train changes direction and proceeds through Liectenstein and Austria.
Soo we climb up the amazing Arlberg pass!
The train climbs up through the Alps, winding its way around mountains.

DSC_0166 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0168 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0174 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0188 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0200 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0206 by litecactus, on Flickr

Apparently, the summit of the line, St Anton-am-Arlberg is higher than the summit of Mount Snowdon, and the station is just a few metres short of the summit of Ben Nevis!

DSC_0212 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0217 by litecactus, on Flickr

Arrival at Innsbruck was on time, and the second Taurus was detached here.

The train proceeded, over the old lower inntal railway, I was surprised about this, as most Intercity services use the new high speed tunnel route.
After Woergl the train takes the Salzburg-Tyrol railway via Kitzbuehel and Zell am See, this is the only IC/EC train to take this route, as everything else takes the route via Rosenheim.

DSC_0221 by litecactus, on Flickr

At Schwarzach-St Veit we have a 10 minute layover so lunch is bought from the station shop.

DSC_0227 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train then takes the pleasant Ennstal railway, which runs along the river enns.

DSC_0235 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0238 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival at Selzthal, there is another change of direction, therefore another loco swap takes place.

This time a OeBB 1144, in a vintage livery, is the traction.

DSC_0239 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0241 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0242 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0243 by litecactus, on Flickr

We then have a pleasant run to Leoben, with a 'traditional' Austrian driving style.
Ie approach stations at speed, and brake hard to a stop.

At Leoben we change for a RJ to take us to Vienna.

DSC_0249 by litecactus, on Flickr

Which takes us across the historic Semmering railway.

DSC_0263 by litecactus, on Flickr

Arrival into Vienna is on time at 1935

DSC_0270 by litecactus, on Flickr

We take an old BR 4020 unit on the S-Bahn to our hotel on the edge of the city centre.

BTW Ibis Budget hotels are very spartan...

Another great trip report, the Alps certainly do look much better than the West Highlands!

 

[cactustwirly]

Day 4; 21/06/2018

I was a bit of a zombie in the morning, so I apologise for the lack of pictures.
We walked to Praterstern, and caught a loco hauled train (yes on the S-bahn too)
It was an OeBB 1144, but in the standard livery this time, with a set of Dostos, on a Regional train towards Payerbach-Reichenau.
We alighted at the Hbf, with breakfast and a much needed coffee were purchased.

We walked upstairs to platform 9 D-F, I like how German/Austrian platforms are split up in to sections it tells you where to wait for the standard, first or restaurant coaches.
Our traction was another Railjet, but this time it was of the Czech variety.

The journey was ok, it was nice around Brno, but it got a bit flat around Pardubice, and unfortunately we couldn't see anything at Velim.
But the Czech Republic looks a lot better than Hungary.

Here's Praha Halvani Nadrezi (Prague Central Station?)

DSC_0275 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0276 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0277 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0279 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0283 by litecactus, on Flickr

As you can see it's very impressive, and so is the city.

DSC_0296 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0309 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0327 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0329 by litecactus, on Flickr

 

[eastwestdivide]

Day 3 20/06/2018

Only 4 days earlier I was on the westbound Transalpin EC train - quite a journey. We had the same selection of locos too, 1144 in eastern Austria, Taurus from the reversal at Selzthal and another added for the Arlberg pass stretch (but I got off at Feldkirch).
View from the rear window on the Arlberg, got the Wiesberg from the Trisanna viaduct thanks to a tipoff from another enthusiast who was videoing:

 

[30907]

My wife and I did the trip eastbound from Feldkirch last summer with the same selection of locos but without the brilliant weather. Innsbruck-Woergl was at least partly on the new line, but we "surfaced" for Jenbach. Waiting for the next instalment

 

[cactustwirly]

All good things must come to an end.. Day 5, 22/06/2018

So this was the final day, quite a sad moment really.

We hit a problem, our planned train to Munich was partially replaced by an RRB.
However I came up with a plan B...

We took an LHCS Express train to Cheb via Plzen (home of the brilliant Pilsner beer!)

This was a cool train, hauled by an ex Soviet electric electric loco, and a rake of Eurofima coaches, including some compartment cars.
We sat in the compartment cars, where the aircon was a little too 'efficient'.

DSC_0406 by litecactus, on Flickr

It was a pleasant journey through the bohemian forests, and we arrived in Cheb 3 hours after leaving Prague.

DSC_0416 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0419 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0421 by litecactus, on Flickr

Here it was cold and wet! A complete contrast to the baking hot Prague we left.
Cheb was a bit depressing, and our hour wait here felt like an eternity.
Eventually 1225 came and we boarded our Stadler RegioShuttle (aka 153 equivalent) to take us across the border to Marktredwitz in Bavaria.

DSC_0423 by litecactus, on Flickr

Here we had a few minutes wait until our Regional Express to Nuremburg.
This was a BR612 'RegioSwinger' (aka tilting 175)
It was a fun 90 ride on this through some pleasant Bavarian countryside.

DSC_0426 by litecactus, on Flickr

At Nuremburg a much needed coffee was bought before we boarded our ICE 3 to Munich.
Nuremburg is a very big and busy station.

The ride to Munich was fun, hitting 186mph towards Inglostadt.

On arrival at Munich we took a BR245 (unfortunately not a 218) hauled Dosto set to Munich-Pasing.

DSC_0429 by litecactus, on Flickr

We then, very luckily got a BR420 on an S20 service to Heirmeranplatz. (joining the elite BR420 club!)
The BR420s were the original S bahn stock until they were replaced by BR423s in 2003.
The city of Munich bought some second hand ones from Stuttgart in 2015 to increase capacity, and operate the newly elictrified line to Altomuenster.
Here and Cologne/Dusseldorf are the only place you can get them now, as they have been completely replaced in Frankfurt & Stuttgart.

DSC_0431 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0433 by litecactus, on Flickr

We then took an S7 423 into the city (Marienplatz)
We had a look round this impressive and very underrated city.
I think Munich is my 2nd favourite city after Prague.

DSC_0439 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0460 by litecactus, on Flickr

Later we took an S8 train to the Airport, to catch our flight home.
21:55 easyJet to London-Gatwick

DSC_0476 by litecactus, on Flickr

 

[cactustwirly]

02/07/2018

This was a gentle Monday morning trip to Cheltenham, whilst it's still a HST.

I caught winner 43016 and dud 43070, from Reading.

DSC_0494 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0500 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0509 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0511 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0517 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0523 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0524 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival I got lunch from Tescos.

There were quite a few late running XC services, and the 1159 XC HST clogged up the platform so the 1236 GWR HST 8 minutes late.
The XC Powercars included 43321 which seems to follow me around.

DSC_0529 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0533 by litecactus, on Flickr

I then re-boarded '016 & '070 back to Reading.

DSC_0536 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0538 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0541 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0544 by litecactus, on Flickr

 

[Mag_seven]

02/07/2018

This was a gentle Monday morning trip to Cheltenham, whilst it's still a HST.

I caught winner 43016 and dud 43070, from Reading.

DSC_0494 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0500 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0509 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0511 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0517 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0523 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0524 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival I got lunch from Tescos.

There were quite a few late running XC services, and the 1159 XC HST clogged up the platform so the 1236 GWR HST 8 minutes late.
The XC Powercars included 43321 which seems to follow me around.

DSC_0529 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0533 by litecactus, on Flickr

I then re-boarded '016 & '070 back to Reading.

DSC_0536 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0538 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0541 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0544 by litecactus, on Flickr

Sounds like a good little out and back.

 

[cactustwirly]

It's good to be back! 11/07/2018

I caught a single 387, on the 0929 towards London Paddington.
This is the last fast train of the morning.
When I arrived I headed over to Kings X to get my HST to Peterborough.
It was winners 43061 and 43075!
The set is almost complete.

DSC_0577 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0581 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0583 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0587 by litecactus, on Flickr

Despite being a coach short, this service wasn't too busy.
The journey to Peterborough was good.

DSC_0593 by litecactus, on Flickr

Since I had an hour to kill, I headed over to the Cathedral.
I was quite surprised, the city centre actually looks really nice!

Anyway I caught dud 170639 to Leicester.
It felt really good to be back, god have I missed the place!
After an emotional reunion, I headed back to the station.

To catch an ex GC HST, formed of dud 43467 and winner 43423

DSC_0689 by litecactus, on Flickr

I wasn't too impressed with the GC HSTs, the seating layout isn't dense enough, so getting a seat on a busy service looks difficult.
And the interior looks very tired and dated (have they been touched since the 1990s?)
The large legroom was very much apprieciated though.

And of course, I was back on my favourite intercity line, for a fun non-stop run to London!
Unfortunately the new timetable isn't quite so reliable as the old one, with a slow Thamelink train right in front of us!
It arrived into St Pancras 10 minutes late.

I spotted that '423 still has it's Valenta plates

DSC_0697 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0700 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0704 by litecactus, on Flickr

I rushed to Paddington, but unfortunately my Bakerloo line train was held outside Paddington, whilst some lost property was retrieved from the track.
Luckily I rushed to the surface and ran to the train to get the 1703 to Penzance with mega dud 43017 on the rear.

DSC_0709 by litecactus, on Flickr

Mileage: 282
Ching: £40
Winners: 3

 

[cactustwirly]

I don't care: 17/07/2018

For a variety of reasons, I'll admit I really wasn't trying hard for this, I'll probably get a bit of stick for it but I don't care.
I'm happy with what I did for the day.
BTW this is probably one of my least favourite 'Day Ranger' tickets, but with the HSTs dissapearing off the GWML at a rapid rate I finally decided to do one!

I caught the 1043 train to Reading, where I caught winner 43159 and dud 43056 on the 1108 from Oxford to Paddington via Slough.

DSC_0722 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0723 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0727 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0728 by litecactus, on Flickr

Since this was the only HST at Padingotn, I had a 40 minute wait for the 1230 towards Penzance, which was fun!
Especially when the platform is announced only 8 minutes before departure!
Winners 43155 & 43028 BTW

DSC_0744 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0745 by litecactus, on Flickr

This service was really busy, with reservations throughout to coach E, and coach F the unreserved was standing room only, was quite a fight to alight at Reading.

I then caught duds 43156 and 43161 to Slough

DSC_0748 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0751 by litecactus, on Flickr

At this point I really couldn't be bothered with another 40 minute wait for a rammed West Country HST!

So I went home for a break, however I came back out again to Slough to get winners 43144 and 43063 to Reading.
This service had the most pointless pick up only restrictions, which may or may not have been ignored...


DSC_0753[1] by litecactus, on Flickr

Mileage: 114
Winners: 5
Ching: £13.60

 

[cactustwirly]

A Little Cotswolds Spin: 26/07/18

I took dud 387138 to Reading, and for once I actually had a short connection here.
Anyway I caught duds 43056 & 43159
The train was actually quite busy, well until Oxford anyway...
The train turned off the mainline at Wolvercote, and onto single track as far as Charlbury.

DSC_0801 by litecactus, on Flickr

The journey from Hanborough to Charlbury is actually quite fun!

DSC_0811 by litecactus, on Flickr

I alighted at Moreton-in-Marsh, had a pleasant walk round the town, before catching the 1246 back to Reading, formed of winner 43023 and dud 43087.

DSC_0824 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train was delayed a bit at Oxford, so I had to run for my connection at Reading which was 387138 again!

 

[fishquinn]

Some good photos there. The run from Hanborough to Charlbury is indeed a good run, and is very fun with fairly high speeds and single track.

 

[Cowley]

Nice to read about the UK stuff Cactus, but that European trip looked wonderful.

 

[cactustwirly]

Nice to read about the UK stuff Cactus, but that European trip looked wonderful.

Thanks!
It was great, I'm planning to do a more ambitious one next year

 

[cactustwirly]

The Usual Loophole: 01/08/2018

As it was the final week of a long Newbury blockade, I used the usual tickets to score the Transwilts line on a HST.

I took dud 43016 and winner 43177 to Westbury via Swindon, sitting in the nice composite coach

DSC_0881 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0885 by litecactus, on Flickr

I did find it hilarious, that some Americans acccidentally sat in the Standard class bit, mistaking it for first class!
Anyway the transwilts was actually quite fun, and the train arrived into Westbury on time.

DSC_0890 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0894 by litecactus, on Flickr

I also spotted a blue 67, on a pullman service.

DSC_0900 by litecactus, on Flickr

I headed into town, to kill 45 minutes.
I arrived back to the station, still with ages to kill, so I could have taken an ex Weymouth stopper formed of 2x winner 150s, but I flagged it hoping for a nice comfortable 158.

What actually turned up was a full and standing 150, I was not amused!
At least it was a winner...

DSC_0903 by litecactus, on Flickr

I got some lunch from the Sainsburys opposite the station in Bath, when I re-entered the station my tickets got a "how very interesting" comment from the barrier staff, but they let me through with no issues.

I caught winners 43025 & 43188 back to Reading.

DSC_0913 by litecactus, on Flickr


DSC_0918 by litecactus, on Flickr

 

[cactustwirly]

Another TVDR: 08/08/2018

Before I start, a slight confession, my usual phone is getting repaired on Poland, so I'm using a cheap temporary phone, so I apologies for the bad pictures.
In hindsight I should have used my DSLR, but at the time I cba to carry it around.

I caught the 0953 from Reading, formed of winners 43024 and 43086, this train came from Newbury, and heads straight to OOC on arrival at Paddington.

IMG_20180808_102322[1] by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival at Paddington I caught the 1030 to Weston-Super-Mare, which had duds 43097 and 43147.

On arrival at Reading, I caught an ex Paignton service formed of dud 43098 and winner 43160, this was a good powercar, as it is one of the 'condemned' 40.
There wasn't much choice in terms of HSTs on the return, the set on the Penzance service was a double dud pairing, so I caught the 1245 Swansea service formed of winners 800020 and 800021.
Dare I say I quite like the 800s, the interior is bright and modern, and the HSTs feel very dated and old fashioned in comparison

Anyway, I was considering heading to Marlow, but I saw 43151 and 43161 roll in, and so I headed back to Paddington.

We arrived adjacent to a 345, so I boarded winner 345017 which took me to Ealing Broadway.
I was going to board the next train to Paddington, which was a TfL 345, however some dodgy RPIs boarded, so I flagged it and took the GWR 387 behind it.
My ticket was accepted by a GWR RPI with no problems...
TfL have a track record of denying that they are part of NR, and if it's not a TC/or Oyster they don't want to know, so I didn't want to risk a confrontation

On the way into Paddington, I spotted 43053 my favourite powercar, however it ran ECS to OOC!
I grabbed lunch from Sainsburys, and saw a juicy winner (43172!)
Which departed on a Boardmasters special to Newquay
Anyway a new set arrived from OOC, which formed the 1400 to Bristol, formed of winners 43129 and 43197 (another condemned powercar)

When I arrrived at Reading there were 2 possible HST services, the first was duds 43087 and 43086, but the second was dud 43138 and winner 43002!

IMG_20180808_152313[1] by litecactus, on Flickr

It was a quick turnaround at Paddington for dud 43018 and winner 43030 on the 1536 to Cheltenham, I alighted at Reading and headed home.

 

[Mag_seven]

Glad you got some HST power car winners, especially the one that's condemned! Time is running out fast for the HSTs to/from Paddington!

 

[cactustwirly]

Glad you got some HST power car winners, especially the one that's condemned! Time is running out fast for the HSTs to/from Paddington!

I know, I've watched the steady demise over the past few months!
They seem to be concentrated on the far South West services, but if you time it right, you can get one towards Oxford or Bristol.
The diagrams to South Wales are very thin on the ground.

 

[Kite159]

Dare I say I quite like the 800s, the interior is bright and modern, and the HSTs feel very dated and old fashioned in comparison

I think I can heard someone sharping a pitchfork at the dare of you saying something positive about the 800s

 

[cactustwirly]

I think I can heard someone sharping a pitchfork at the dare of you saying something positive about the 800s

Haha several I imagine

 

[cactustwirly]

11/08/2018

I wanted to revisit the Hereford line again, so I booked some dirt cheap advances on the 1053 HST (must have come from a parallel universe, given GWRs normal lack of advances).
I was going to book the 0853, but realised at the last minute it would be an IET, actually most of the Saturday and Sunday Hereford diagrams are mostly IETs now.

I met fishquinn and Nat67 in Reading, where we caught the 1053 service formed of winner 43071 and dud 43185.
Unfortunately this train was rammed full of tourists going to Oxford so we didn't initially get a seat.
However the whole train emptied out, and was only half full upon departure.
We however managed to secure a table seat in coach K after Moreton-in-Marsh

Here's the curve between Worcester Shrub Hill and Foregate Street:
DSC_0939 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0940 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0944 by litecactus, on Flickr

After which we enter the best bit, the Hereford line, this has a more 'branch line' feel than even the Cotswolds line.
There's something somewhat satisfying about a HST over secondary lines.
The journey to Ledbury was a bit slow as ever, after Ledbury was the best part of the journey!
About 12 miles of fast, but poor track, passing through some pretty scenery (including lots of Orchards, well it is Cider country afterall)

DSC_0958 by litecactus, on Flickr

After arrival in Hereford, we got lunch from the Morrisons opposite the station, and walked into the city centre.

DSC_0966 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0972 by litecactus, on Flickr

Hereford has a nice Cathedral, better than Leicester's but not as good as Peterborough's.

DSC_0993 by litecactus, on Flickr

It was back to the station to catch the 1513 back, sitting in coach K again.

DSC_0012 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival in Oxford, I spotted my favourite GWR powercar, which had been teasing me all year (seen it loads of times, but never at the right times!)
So I bailed at Oxford, and bought a single to Reading (most expensive ticket of the day )


DSC_0025 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0043 by litecactus, on Flickr

As you can tell, it was a bit wet!
Duds 43160 and 43053 , took me to Reading, it was a good run getting up to quite some speed, east of Didcot

DSC_0047 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0052 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0050 by litecactus, on Flickr

I bid farewell to fishquinn and Nat67, and got a 387 home (sitting in the 'first class' area)

 

[Mag_seven]

dud 43185

I would never regard a "celebrity" PC as "dud" but I know what you mean.

 

[nat67]

43053 is the celebrity power

I would never regard a "celebrity" PC as "dud" but I know what you mean.

car as we went to its named saken place. But 43185 did well for me on that trip putting up to 812.75 miles for me.