Cactus' UK & European rail travels

[fowler9]

Cracking photos mate. Thanks for sharing.

 

[cactustwirly]

A Loophole 19/02/2018

I discovered a loophole which allowed me to score some Wessex shacks quite cheaply

I caught winner 387132 to Reading, where I caught winners 43185 & 43098 to Bath Spa.
I was actually quite lucky, since this train is supposed to be a 800 diagram.
Whilst onboard I treated myself to a Latte, GWR do the best on train coffee IMO, well until the IETs are in full service.

IMG_20180219_132526 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_143014 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had a bit of a wait here, before the 1506 service towards Bradford-on-Avon, which was formed of winner 158882

IMG_20180219_150627 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had 20 minutes to kill here, so I had a walk around, and purchased a drink from the Co-Op.

I headed back to the station to catch the 1547 service to Westbury, formed of winner 158954

IMG_20180219_154643 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_161012 by litecactus, on Flickr

It did seem very weird seeing turbos at Bath and Westbury.

I arrived just in time to catch dud 43165 and winner 43175 to Reading via Pewsey. The service was delayed by 9 minutes because of a late running freight service.
I was glad to be in the B&H once again, since It's been over a year since I've been west of Bedwyn

IMG_20180219_161357 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_172156 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_172209 by litecactus, on Flickr

I caught dud 387134 & winner 387151 back home.

Ching: £17.70
Winners: 7
Mileage: 151

 

[cactustwirly]

Time to head back 20/02/2018

I caught winners 387165 & 387156 to London Paddington, since it was still peak time, this service ran fast from Maidenhead.
This was my first experience of 387s at 110mph on the fast lines.

IMG_20180220_092017 by litecactus, on Flickr

I made my way to St Pancras via the Bakerloo & Met lines.

At St Pancras I got myself a Latte, from Pret (only vile instant coffee onboard)

I boarded duds 43047 & 43081 (again!) on the 10:15 toward Leicester.

IMG_20180220_100058 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180220_100305 by litecactus, on Flickr

The journey was smooth, but we caught up with the Kettering stopper at Wellingborough.


Mileage: 131
Winners: 2
Ching: £12.20 + £2.45

 

[cactustwirly]

Spot the difference... 25/02/2018

Due to another weekend of engineering works there were only 2 HST diagrams out, both arrving into Leicester within 30 minutes of each other.
So I had to make a choice between them, I chose the 1050 ex Leeds service.

I took winner 222008 to Loughborough, where I had 20 minutes to kill before my HST back.

DSC_0094 by litecactus, on Flickr

After 20 minutes duds 43052 & 43054 took me back to Leicester

DSC_0096 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0097 by litecactus, on Flickr

PS you might notice something different about the photos

Ching: £3.95
Mileage: 25
Winners: 1

 

[Kite159]

Poor you heading to Loughborough, it isn't the most exciting place

 

[cactustwirly]

Poor you heading to Loughborough, it isn't the most exciting place

I quite like the station, miles better than East Midlands Parkway.

If you haven't noticed, I've invested in a dedicated camera (a DSLR too!) to improve the quality of my photos. Hence the reason for today, I was practising using it on trains.

 

[D841 Roebuck]

Poor you heading to Loughborough, it isn't the most exciting place

Great Central Railway is well worth a visit. And possibly the Bell Foundry museum - saw it on the tellybox and it looked fascinating.

 

[cactustwirly]

It's all just a big game of bingo! 04/03/2018

I got a tip off that required powercar 43083 would be spending Saturday night at Etches Park, so I decided to out to try and get it.
On a Sunday 5 of the 8 HST diagrams start at Etches Park, so I'd only have a 2/5 chance of getting it.

I caught duds 43052 & 43058 to East Midlands Parkway, ah well my bingo numbers didn't come up this time, but I'd have another shot at it.

DSC_0184 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0187 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had an agonising 25 minute wait here, to kill the time I decided to practice my photography skills on the power station.

DSC_0191 by litecactus, on Flickr

Eventually mega dud 43081 & not quite so mega dud 43047 made an unwelcome appearance. This round of bingo was very dissapointing, with the worst 2 numbers coming up!

DSC_0196 by litecactus, on Flickr

I've still got 2 more chances coming up in the next 2 weeks, so all is not lost!

Ching: £4.90
Mileage: 36
Winners: big fat 0!

 

[AnthonyRail]

A Loophole 19/02/2018

I discovered a loophole which allowed me to score some Wessex shacks quite cheaply

I caught winner 387132 to Reading, where I caught winners 43185 & 43098 to Bath Spa.
I was actually quite lucky, since this train is supposed to be a 800 diagram.
Whilst onboard I treated myself to a Latte, GWR do the best on train coffee IMO, well until the IETs are in full service.

IMG_20180219_132526 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_143014 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had a bit of a wait here, before the 1506 service towards Bradford-on-Avon, which was formed of winner 158882

IMG_20180219_150627 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had 20 minutes to kill here, so I had a walk around, and purchased a drink from the Co-Op.

I headed back to the station to catch the 1547 service to Westbury, formed of winner 158954

IMG_20180219_154643 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_161012 by litecactus, on Flickr

It did seem very weird seeing turbos at Bath and Westbury.

I arrived just in time to catch dud 43165 and winner 43175 to Reading via Pewsey. The service was delayed by 9 minutes because of a late running freight service.
I was glad to be in the B&H once again, since It's been over a year since I've been west of Bedwyn

IMG_20180219_161357 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_172156 by litecactus, on Flickr

IMG_20180219_172209 by litecactus, on Flickr

I caught dud 387134 & winner 387151 back home.

Ching: £17.70
Winners: 7
Mileage: 151

What’s loophole?

 

[cactustwirly]

What’s loophole?

I'll PM you, I won't post it publically or else it won't be a loophole for much longer!

 

[AnthonyRail]

I'll PM you, I won't post it publically or else it won't be a loophole for much longer!

Understand thxs.

 

[cactustwirly]

Yes I finally got it!

Just got 43083 on a quick spin to Loughborough, thanks to fishquinn for the gen!

I got winner 156406 back to Leicester.
'406 was pretty clapped out tbh, with absolutely shot suspension (bouncing and squeaking all over the place); threadbare and ripped seats & just generally grubby.
It was worse than the GWR 165s, but not in the same league as Northern or ATW!

 

[cactustwirly]

DIY Railtour take 2! 11/03/18

A good way of geting rare track is to go on a railtour, but they are very expensive, and the stock is likley to be a clapped out loco hauling horribly uncomfortable Mk1s.
An even better way is to get a diverted service, especially if it's formed of a HST!
One such diversion was happening this Sunday, because of the Market Harborough blockade.

I was originally planning to get the 1158 ex Leeds service, but I woke up early so I caught the 0916 ex Nottingham service.

It was formed of duds 43052 & 43058
DSC_0202 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0203 by litecactus, on Flickr

This service was taken south 64 miles to Wellingborough, however the train headed north out of Leicester towards Melton Mowbray & Oakham.
The train then branched off from the 'mainline' and headed south towards Corby, this part of the line is very scenic, especially the bit over Harringworth viaduct.
After Corby the train headed to Kettering, where we had a 10 minute fester, before proceeding south to Wellingborough.

I alighted at Wellingborough and had a walk around to kill 40 minutes.

I then caught duds 43048 & 43066 back to Leicester by the same route.

DSC_0204 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0206 by litecactus, on Flickr


Mileage: 128
Winners: 0
Ching: £10.90

 

[xotGD]

' a clapped out loco hauling horribly uncomfortable Mk1s.'

Oh dear.

 

[Kite159]

hauling horribly uncomfortable Mk1s.

I would agree in parts with the uncomfortable Mk1s, bench seats where some springs have gone, leaky windows and buzzing PA systems.

Ah the Corby divert, agreed it is a nice little run, although not that common for railtours

 

[cactustwirly]

Another Loophole bash 24/03

I was originally planning to to a Cherwell valley day ranger with fishquinn, but due to some engneering works we decided to do a loophole bash to Avoncliff instead.

I took a dud pair of 387s to Reading, where I collected the tickets and met up with fishquinn.
We then took dud 43165 and winner 43171 to Bath Spa, this service was diverted via Newbury and Bradford on Avon.
I'm glad we reserved seats on this service as it was exceptionally busy.

DSC_0433 by litecactus, on Flickr

Our seats were not the best, but better than nowt.

DSC_0437 by litecactus, on Flickr

We arrived into Bath on time and spotted the Tornado and the Hastings thumper, before boarding winner 150232 which took us to Avoncliff.
This service was absolutely rammed, we were very glad to alight it at the pretty station of Avoncliff.

DSC_0440 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0442 by litecactus, on Flickr


A few trains were photted, before we had a wander around

DSC_0450 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0454 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0462 by litecactus, on Flickr

We were supposed to catch the 1304 to Bath, however this train skipped our stop, so it was back to the pub for a coffee to kill an hour.

Eventually dud 166206 took us to Bath

DSC_0485 by litecactus, on Flickr

It felt quite weird being on a turbo in the West Country.
The train arrived at Bath on time, and we caught dud 43191 and winner 43094 back to Reading.

DSC_0489 by litecactus, on Flickr

The train was busy, however we found some alright seats.

The train arrived into Reading 2 minutes early, even though we caught up with the stopper in the Theale area.

DSC_0490 by litecactus, on Flickr

We parted ways and I caught winners 387174 & 387152 back home.

Ching: £14
Winners: 5
Mileage: 174

 

[cactustwirly]

There are a lot more photos on my Flickr page

 

[Kite159]

Nice pictures

 

[cactustwirly]

Thanks
The DSLR does make a huge difference, though I need a bit more practice with the night shots.

 

[cactustwirly]

Attack of the Saucepan lids! 03/04/2018

I had to run an errand in Reading at about lunchtime, so I made use of the afternoon to get some more HST powercars in the book.

I caught the 1301 towards Pewsey with dud 43094 leading winner 43087

DSC_0645 by litecactus, on Flickr

This train was empty except for a bunch of screaming kids running up and down the aisle!
Apart from that it was an enjoyable journey, especially between Hungerford & Pewsey

I had about 10 minutes at Pewsey, before getting the 1345 ex Paignton to Reading.

DSC_0650 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0654 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0657 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0649 by litecactus, on Flickr

I took duds 43147 & 43151 back to Reading.

DSC_0659 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0662 by litecactus, on Flickr

This train was very busy, and the only available window seat was in front of a family up small kids

I caught winner 387146 home.

Ching: £11.95
Mileage: 90
Winners: 2

 

[cactustwirly]

Return to Anglia 06/04

I caught winner 387138 & dud 387146 to London Paddington.
Since this was the pek time, the train ran fast from Maidenhead. 110mph down the main lines is very fun on a 387!
My train arrived 3L at Paddingtonz after waiting for a HST to vacate our platform.

I headed down to the Bakerloo line, I met fishquinn at Marylebone (he happened to board the exact same train as I was on)
We took a bit of a detour as we had plenty of time to kill, heading on the Jubilee to Green Park, then the Victoria to Kings X, finally getting the met to Liverpool Street.
I purchased the usual boots meal deal.

We then caught winner 90003 all the way to Norwich.

DSC_0737 by litecactus, on Flickr

It got a bit tense, as we only had a 10 minute connection time at Norwich, and we were delayed twice at Chelmsford & Ipswich by 2 late running freight trains.
So we arrived into Norwich 10 minutes late, giving us a +0 connection! Luckily it was held for us to board.
We caught winners 37419 & 37405 to Great Yarmouth.
Unfortunately the coach we boarded was a bit of an oven!
The 37s are insane! With a an awesome noise and really powerful acceleration!

DSC_0741 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0742 by litecactus, on Flickr

We chose a cooler carriage for the journey back to Norwich.

We caught winner 90002 back to Ipswich.

DSC_0750 by litecactus, on Flickr

We had 10 mimutes to kill, before our dogbox arrived, which turned out to be winner 153309 which took us to Felixstowe and back to Ipswich.

DSC_0766 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0768 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0772 by litecactus, on Flickr

We had a bit more time to kill at Ipswich so we spotted the numerous 66s at the stabling point opposite the station.

DSC_0770 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0769 by litecactus, on Flickr

We then caught dud 90008 to London Liverpool Street (we'd only had it on a Stratford leap so it was nice to get some more miles on it)

DSC_0777 by litecactus, on Flickr

On arrival at Liverpool Street, I caught the met & Bakerloo lines to Paddington, where I caught winners 43122 & 43097 to Twyford.

DSC_0780 by litecactus, on Flickr

DSC_0790 by litecactus, on Flickr

Mileage: 353
Winners: 8
Ching: £36.40

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Sounds like a great day. I was also out and about yesterday but on nasty GWR HSTs not awesome 37s, jealous of the 90s too!!!

 

[cactustwirly]

Sounds like a great day. I was also out and about yesterday but on nasty GWR HSTs not awesome 37s, jealous of the 90s too!!!

Nice! Where did you go?
There were some cheap first advances when I looked to Norwich & Ipswich

 

[fishquinn]

A good read there with some decent photos. Thanks for a funky day!

 

[backontrack]

Some nice photos there! The Class 90s look very shiny and clean.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Nice! Where did you go?
There were some cheap first advances when I looked to Norwich & Ipswich

Ah just an Oxfordshire Ranger. Mainly for the IETs, don’t like the HSTs very much.

 

[cactustwirly]

Bits & Bobs April 2018
It's gone a bit quiet on here, but don't worry I haven't abandoned my trips completely!
I'm nearing the end of term at Uni, which means I've had a load of exams, therefore I just haven't had the time to do proper trips.
However I've been out an about a few times so here's what I've been up to (sorry about the lack of pictures!)

1.) 11th April.

This was my first rail trip after my Easter break.
I had a bit of time after Uni, I originally decided to do a EMD leap, but my train was running late.
I decided to go to Nottingham and do some Tram bashing instead.

Duds 43055 & 43083 took me to Nottingham (I was pleased about the low mileage pairing)
Unfortunately I saw required 43044 at East Midlands Parkway!

IMG_20180411_145500 by litecactus, on Flickr

I purchased my tram ticket, and took an Incentro tram to Nottingham Trent University.
I then took a newer Citadis tram back to the station, where I rejoined the HST to Leicester.

IMG_20180411_145643 by litecactus, on Flickr

2.)16th April

This was another sunday Loughborough leap, to try and get either 43044/050/082
Alas both runs returned dud HST pairs.
With 43089 & 43048 on the outward journey, and 43076 & 43066 on the return.

3.)23rd April

I wasn't planning to do anything, but fishquinn texted me some gen on my required powercars.
So I took the 1425 from Leicester to East Midlands Parkway, formed of winner 43082! & dud 43059.
I had duds 43049 & 43060 for the return journey.

 

[cactustwirly]

This is not Grantham! 02/05/2018

As my last trip in Leicester for several months I had planned to go to Grantham, & then get a VTEC HST.
Except I was a plonker, and planned a -1 connection at Grantham.
After discovering this error, I replanned and decided to go to Sleaford instead, to get 2 more winner shacks, and 17 miles more of winner track.

I set off on the 1125 towards Nottingham, hoping for either 43044 or 43050, but alas it was duds 43076 & 43047

IMG_20180502_115427 by litecactus, on Flickr

I had 50 minutes to kill (I didn't want to subject myself to a 222, even though it was a winner!)
So a coffee was grabbed from the mediocre "pumpkin", I'm sure this used to be a nice independent coffee shop, when I used it back in November.

Spying the Northern random unit generator at work, saw ex GWR 150123 on the 1217 Nottingham - Leeds service, such an appropriate unit

Anyway winner 158774 arrived, which took me 39 miles east to Sleaford.
I was a bit dissapointed even though it was a mighty 158 (the best DMU), I was hoping for a superior Perkins engined unit!

IMG_20180502_122843 by litecactus, on Flickr

The journey to Grantham was alright, it had a bit of fun high speed running.
On the way, Leicestershire joined Rutland, Herefordshire & Berkshire, the counties I had completed for shacks!

At Grantham I spied my originally planned HST to Newark, but typically the doors locked as soon as my 158 entered the station!

The journey to Sleaford after Grantham was a bit of a stagger, however there was plenty of jointed track! I also managed to score Ancaster on the way.

Eventually I arrived at Grantham, over an hour after I departed Nottingham.
I killed time by walking around the small town, before joining winner 156404 back to Nottingham.
Scoring Aslockton on the way.


IMG_20180502_141130 by litecactus, on Flickr


This is for TT-ONR-NRN, his favourite train! (and his favourite TOC)

IMG_20180502_144230 by litecactus, on Flickr

I caught duds 43055 & 43083 back to Leicester.

Mileage: 135
Winners: 2
Ching: £12.15

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Great report & photos.

Not sure who said I like HSTs though, I really don’t!

Do like Virgin Trains though!

 

[hexagon789]

I've read your reports for a wee while now but this is the first time I got round to replying/commenting, whatever you want to call it.

As my last trip in Leicester for several months I had planned to go to Grantham, & then get a VTEC HST.
Except I was a plonker, and planned a -1 connection at Grantham.
After discovering this error, I replanned and decided to go to Sleaford instead, to get 2 more winner shacks, and 17 miles more of winner track.

Quite often doing something unplanned works out better than doing what you'd planned in the first place. Certainly I've had a few trips where doing something unplanned has turned up an unexpected unit or something.

So a coffee was grabbed from the mediocre "pumpkin", I'm sure this used to be a nice independent coffee shop, when I used it back in November.

They are mediocre, the one in Haymarket seems to give you either a cup of watery hot milk where you search for the coffee or a cup of bitter liquid of questionable origin

I was a bit dissapointed even though it was a mighty 158 (the best DMU), I was hoping for a superior Perkins engined unit!

The Perkins units sound better but some drivers seem to dislike them because of the dodgy throttle set-up.

The journey to Grantham was alright, it had a bit of fun high speed running.

I love 158s running flat out, so much smoother than a 170 and they sound great as well

This is for TT-ONR-NRN, his favourite train! (and his favourite TOC)

Definitely my favourite train but unless I'm mistaken I'm sure TT-ONR-NRN would rather have a 225!

A very interesting read there and some cracking photos, I think the first shot is marginally my favourite. I also like the way you end your reports with: mileage, winners and ching!