crehld's travels

[crehld]

I've enjoyed reading the trip reports others have written on here, so I thought I'd give it a go myself! I'm still new to the forum so do bear with me! I'm mainly interested to keep a record of where I've been going and what my experiences have been - so far this year I've worked out I've travelled nearly 4,000 miles. I was surprised how quickly it can add up, although it's no where near as much as others on here!

Where possible I use the train. This is mainly because I don't particularly like driving. That said I have never got round to bashing whole routes - I simply haven't found the time. One day maybe! So I use the train to get from A to B and as will probably become clear I have a few regular routes. My coverage won't be as extensive as others, but I hope it will be interesting.

Anyway a very short trip coming up this weekend, so first report coming soon!

 

[Techniquest]

Welcome to the trip report writing community!

Looking forward to seeing your first one

 

[crehld]

First trip report logging a very short journey - longer trips coming up!

Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November 2014

I have a part-time job which occasionally means having to head to Chester. I was called in to work Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Got to Crewe just before lunctime on the Saturday. The station was unusually quiet when I arrived. Aside from the usual 390s and 350s, I did catch a glimpse of a Class 319 in full FCC livery hiding behind the wall opposite platform 11. No dount this was on its way up north for Northern duties.

I made my way to platform 9 for 11:23 Arriva Trains Wales to Chester. This was a class 150 which serves as a shuttle between Crewe and Chester. I don't have a problem at all with the 150s - they seem to work very hard. But this wasn't the most comfortable ride, mainly because window I sat next to wouldn't close and it wasn't exactly a warm day. Had I realised more quickly I would have moved but it was a busy service and only had to put up with it for 20 odd minutes. Another passenger and I attempted to wedge it shut with an old leaflet but to no avail. Despite this the journey to Chester offered some superb views of Beeston and Peckforton Castles. We passed an old station at this point - platforms overgrown but still in situ. It seems a shame this isn't opened (even if only on the weekends) to provide a more sustainable way for tourists to visit. We arrived into Chester just in time to see a Network Rail railhead treatment train working its way through the other side of the station.

Ideally I would have come home on the Saturday evening and then made the journey again on the Sunday, but given I had to be in work by 9am, and because there are no trains between Crewe and Chester until about 9:30 I had to stay round a friends in Chester overnight.

Depite the lack of Sunday morning services I was spoilt for choice in the evening. I went for the 18:35 Virgin Train, destined for Euston. A much more comfortable ride (and about five minutes quicker) than my outward journey, especially in coach D where there is an abundance of tables!

All in all two very short and uneventful journeys. This weekend I'm off to Portsmouth so will have more to write home about!

Total mileage: a measly 42m, 16c
Classes travelled: 150, 221
TOCs travelled: AW, VT
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Sunday 16 November 2014: to Portsmouth

I arrived at Crewe ready to catch the 12:30, a class 390 Virgin Pendelino. Unfortunately I was pressed for time so didn't have much of an opportunity to see what was going on elsewhere in the station. The train was non-stop to London, but was absolutely rammed. I had to kick someone out of my reserved seat which I always feel bad about, but I did go to the effort of making the reservation so I could be guaranteed a seat. We had Virgin's poet in residence manning the on board shop. If you've heard it five times before it's a little wearing. Some of the rhyming was a bit suspect too but all harmless in the end I guess. Passing Norton Bridge it seems like work has begun on the flyover - plenty of excavations and construction-like activity visible when we went past. We were also held up between Rugby and Milton Keynes for a bit - the reason soon became clear as we slowly made out way past some ballast trains which seemed to be heading up the Northampton loop line. By the time I arrived at Euston I had an hour to get to my connecting train from Waterloo. The weather was dry and I needed the exercise so I decided to walk it!

40 minutes later I arrived at Waterloo and made my way to the concourse to wait for the 15:00 South West Trains service to Portsmouth Harbour. The platform number wasn't displayed until 4 minutes prior to departure. This led to the inevitable crush at the platform gateline as everyone rushed for the train. Having become accustomed to the speed of the service from Crewe to Euston, it was a bit frustrating to be on a service which took longer, but only had to cover half the distance :roll: I was glad however this was a Class 444 and not a class 450, as is often assigned to this route. I was dreading the possibility of high density 3+2 seating for a two hour journey! After a slow journey were arrived into Portsmouth Harbour pretty much on time.

Monday 17 November 2014: back to Crewe

The advance ticket for the return journey to Crewe cost £6.60, which is incredible value (a little over 2p per mile). The down side is its routed Southern and London Midland only, so it takes a more circuitous and slower route. On the plus side it provided a good opportunity to travel the West London Line, which I've never done before, as well as a way to get this year's mileage up!

I headed to Portsmouth Harbour to get the 13:12 heading to London Victoria. This was a Southern Class 377. The ride along the West Coastway was rather uncomfortable. I don't know if this is because I sat directly over the wheels or if this line is just bumpy, but every set of points we went over made the carriage bounce. Moving off the West Coastway after Barnham and onto the Arun Valley Line offered some excellent views of Arundel Cathedral and Castle. A passenger on the other side of the carriage mentioned this line had recently been resignalled. Indeed the last time I travelled it (a couple of years ago now) it was using semaphores - all trace of this seems to have gone, except for a rather empty looking signal box at Pulborough. At Horsham we attached to another 377 unit which had been running just in front of us to pick up passengers on stations along the Arun Valley Line and then we set off towards London via Three Bridges.

I alighted at Clapham Junction and had a 30 minute wait for my next train. While waiting I was treated to a pair of Class 73s top and tailing what looked a railhead treatment train. It passed through the platform I was waiting at before making another appearance a few minutes later in the other direction on the platform opposite. As nice as it was to see something different other than the usual SWT and Southern stock, it was soon apparent this was holding up the 15:39 to Milton Keynes - my next train. This eventually turned out to be another class 377, but obviously a more recent build. It seemed pretty empty until I sat down and realised I was in first class - nothing to tell it apart from standard class except for tiny sticker on each window and a man in a suit with a disapproving look. Moving into the next carriage, it was packed and standing room only. There was a long wait outside Shepherd's Bush while we switched from third rail power to the overhead lines. Finally managed to grab a seat after we left Wembley Central. Our journey up the WCML was pretty speedy until we hit Tring when we were reduced to a crawl for the rest of the journey. This meant we arrived into Milton Keynes several minutes late and the inevitable worry about missing connections began to kick in.

As it happened my connecting train, the 17:19 London Midland to Crewe, was also delayed (no doubt by the Southern train I was on) so any fear I might miss the train turned out to be unfounded. A class 350 pulled into the station and I made my way to the front of the train. This was because at Stafford the rear unit was detached, while the front one continued on to Crewe via Stoke-on-Trent. We somehow managed to make up a lot of the delay, although we still arrived 10 mins late.

Summary
Total mileage: 483m, 57ch
Classes travelled: 350, 377, 390, 444
TOCs travelled: LM, SN, SW, VT
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Welcome to the trip report writing community!

Looking forward to seeing your first one

Thanks for the welcome I'm still new to it so try and bear with me for a while!

 

[Kite159]

I believe the Southern West London services are standard class only when it is within the London Zone area (so up to Harrow) with First Class coming in after that. I agree the First Class area on the 377/7s are not the best marked out, what was wrong with keeping the FC area to the small sections at the front & rear, like the other 377s?

 

[Techniquest]

Another good read, sorry it's taken a while to reply!

£6.60 to do PMH-CRE is beyond impressive!

 

[crehld]

I believe the Southern West London services are standard class only when it is within the London Zone area (so up to Harrow) with First Class coming in after that. I agree the First Class area on the 377/7s are not the best marked out, what was wrong with keeping the FC area to the small sections at the front & rear, like the other 377s?

It is confusing, both in how it's marked and whether or not it is declassified - this was coincidentally picked up on another thread yesterday.

£6.60 to do PMH-CRE is beyond impressive!

Indeed it is! It's obviously a way for Govia to pinch some revenue from Virgin/Stagecoach. I have to go back in December and I've booked another, this time via Birmingham and the Northampton loop line (the latter being another untravelled bit of track). Reports to follow! Getting a new phone in a couple of weeks so I might even be able to include some pictures!

 

[Kite159]

It's cheap, but very slow compared to SWT/Virgin.

 

[crehld]

It's cheap, but very slow compared to SWT/Virgin.

Yes - over 6 hours in the end. Still I managed to get loads of reading done

 

[Techniquest]

Northampton loop is nothing exciting lol, done it way too many times to count!

Sounds like a good bit of action coming soon!

 

[causton]

Yes - over 6 hours in the end. Still I managed to get loads of reading done

Not that bad if you said it took almost 2 hours to do Crewe - Euston, 1 hour to get to Waterloo and 2 hours for Waterloo - Portsmouth. So not the end of the world in terms of time!

 

[crehld]

Northampton loop is nothing exciting lol, done it way too many times to count!

Sounds like a good bit of action coming soon!

Not exciting no, but now I've embarked on a route coverage challenge now so it has to be done! Have the joys of Leicester before then!

 

[crehld]

Sorry about the delay in writing up my latest journeys. Work has taken over a bit! Anyway we'll be back on track soon.

28 November 2014: to Leicester and back
A trip to Leicester beckoned today. A bit of research the night before highlighted a nifty split at Derby which would save me over £10. An RTV courtesy of a delayed Arriva Trains Wales service a couple of months ago got the return fare for the journey down to £6.75. Bargain!

Tickets in hand I made my way to platform 4 at Crewe where I boarded the single car class 153 EMT service heading to Derby. It looked rather shabby from the outside and initially I was expecting an uncomfortable ride. But when I stepped in I was pleasantly surprised by the interior. It had obviously been recently refurbished. The journey was pleasant enough except the bloke sitting opposite who insisted on asking me and other passengers every two minutes what time we were supposed to arrive in Derby. He kept asking the guard too who was obviously getting a bit annoyed by it so just wrote the time in big letters on a spare piece of A4 paper for him. I had heard that outside peak hours this line was very quiet. Given this was a mid-morning service I was expecting this to be the case, but it was remarkably full and there were people left standing in the aisles.

I had quite a long wait at Derby. I was hoping to have a bit of an explore, but to be honest it was too cold and I made do with a coffee, sat down in the warmth. Nevertheless I did spot a couple of class 56s towards the south of the station.

Eventually the train to Leicester pulled in. A class 222 this time. As the train pull out we were treated to a good view of the Network Rail depot. The new measurement train (a converted HST) was in town, along with a host of other converted mark I and mark II coaches, all painted in garish yellow. I sat down in one of the table seats opposite a couple. When the guard came round to check tickets there was an awkward conversation as it looked like this couple were on the wrong train for their advance tickets. This led to a rather awkward conversation which started to get heated... by which time we were pulling into Leicester.

I lost track of time in Leicester, causing me to run for the train home. I luckily managed to make it to the platform just as the doors of the HST were being slammed shut. Now I like mark III coaches for the simple reason that they feel spacious inside. I've never felt cramped or crowded on an HST. Their dimensions can't be that different from other rolling stock - maybe its the way they're laid out or lit inside?

Back at Derby I made my way to the class 158 waiting on the other platform, bound for Crewe. Again this was in remarkably good nick and looked as if it had recently been refurbished - I've travelled on some real shabby examples before (we won't mention FGW and Northern!). Like the outward journey this was well patroned, despite being quite a late train.

Overall a good if short trip. I got to travel on a different class of train each time which made it interesting at least. I have also come away with a good impression of EMT's care for the interiors of their trains. Hopefully my experience is the norm, and not the exception!

 

[Techniquest]

Work is tough on a lot of us at the moment, it's that time of year after all!

EMT refurbished their fleet a few years ago now IIRC. Certainly their 158s were all done by mid-2012!

I've been on very busy HSTs in the past, even in First Class, which has led to less than comfortable journeys!

 

[crehld]

Well it's been a while. Thanks to the arrival of a lovely little girl over Christmas I've had my hands full somewhat! Except for a short hop to Manchester the other day I haven't had a chance to get out on the rails in 2015, but I thought now would be a good time to take stock of last year's travels.

Review of 2014
Last year I, like many others, decided to keep track of of rail journeys, what lines I'd covered (see attached) and how many miles I've travelled. I was interested to work out exactly how much I use the trains and keep some sort of record of the lines I've travelled on.

I managed a total of 5,244 miles this year. No where near some fellow forum members (my hat off to you), but not bad considering I wasn't really bashing routes and only taking the train when I had to be somewhere. Also not bad considering I didn't set foot on a train until April! Most of this is down three regular journeys I make. Between Crewe and Chester, between Crewe and Hellifield and between Crewe/Stoke-on-Trent and Portsmouth. But there are other little journeys here and there too. From memory, only a couple of journeys I've been on were delayed beyond ten minutes, so pretty impressive performance too.

I spent £533.60 in total. That works out at about 10p per mile - no doubt less than this when a couple of delay repay refunds are factored in! People moan a lot about the cost of rail travel, but that to me seems very good value. Yes I have a railcard, but even without, I'm pretty sure it beats what it would cost in my car. This has been helped by some rather good ticket deals, such as Crewe to Portsmouth for £6.60, or Glasgow to Crewe for £7.40 - bargains!

Looking to 2015...
I already have some trips planned to various destinations. In a bid to increase my track coverage and get more of the map filled in red I'm going to try and explore some 'creative routes' to my destinations this year. I'm also hoping to get a couple of leisure trips in; just travelling for the sake of it rather than to get from A to B. A lack of spare time (something in short supply) has prevented me from doing this.

I'm also going to record a little more detail in my mileage spreadsheet, so I know how mar I've travelled with which operators and on which classes of trains.

Here's to 2015!

 

[Kristofferson]

Just found this topic - an enjoyable read Congratulations on the new arrival and I hope to see some more reports from you soon!

 

[Techniquest]

Congratulations from me too on the arrival of your daughter!

You didn't do too badly last year then all things considered. Hopefully you'll get those leisure trips and some more bargains in!

 

[crehld]

So my goal this year is to address my rather abysmal route coverage. To be fair I only started recording it last year, but I wasn't too impressed with my efforts. Today I had to get up to Clitheroe. If you ask National Rail Enquiries it will send you up to Preston, across to Blackburn then up to Clitheroe - Boring! It's track I've covered already! So it got me wondering: what other routes would my ticket be valid along? I spent some time the night before going through the routing guide maps and this highlighted a number of novel options,. To confirm the routes I had selected were indeed valid I put the itineraries into National Rail Enquiries and printed them off - just in case!

Also I don't normally record unit numbers, but I thought I would give it a go today and see how I got on. Given this was my first time at doing this, everything was going to be a winner... or so I thought!

24 February 2015: To Clitheroe!

The early morning bus to Crewe gave me 40 minutes to kill, so I made my way to a local cafe for a bargain breakfast baguette and a coffee. I then had a wander around the station. Of particular note was a solitary class 92 at platform 2 sporting a fine new Caledonian Sleeper livery. I also caught sight of class 325 Royal Mail train on its way north.

My first train of the day was 390131, which would take me swiftly to Warrington. Alighting at Bank Quay I then had to walk to the central station. Initially this was much easier than I thought it would be thanks to some really good signposting in the town - this appeared to stop in the town centre, resulting in a wrong turn and faced with walking along a dual carriage way or through a bus station to get back on track. Despite the "no pedestrians" signs I opted for the bus station, and eventually caught sight of the railway - the station was in sight shortly after. After finally finding Warrington Central I caught the Northern service to Deansgate. This was formed of 142062 and 150148 - for the purpose of comfort I decided to sit in the 150. Looks like everyone else had the same idea as the pacer was empty, but the 150 was pretty full. Well I guess if you have a choice, eh? Arriving at Deansgate I switched platforms to get the next available train to Bolton. This was a TransPennine Express 185 - 185103 to be precise. This train was absolutely packed and I'm lucky to have boarded. Whose idea was it to limit the 185s to only three coaches on such a busy route?! Fortunately, I only had to stand for 10 minutes or so as I was off at Bolton.

After a few minutes wait, 156440 pulled in to take us to Clitheroe. Clitheroe itself is a really nice market town in the shadow of Pendle Hill, with plenty of independent shops and a mediaeval castle thrown in for good measure - well worth a visit in my opinion! Lunch meetiong with a friend over, however, it was time to move on. Had it been a Sunday I would have headed up to Hellifield, one of my regular haunts. However there being no train service on weekdays (a real shame) and not fancying the 15 mile walk (I've done it before - not one for the winter months!), it was back to Crewe for me.

It was 153315 coupled to 150207 back to Bolton. This time it looked like the 153 had the more comfortable seating so I put myself in there. I had a really tight connection at Bolton and the long wait outside Blackburn started to get me worried. All for nothing as it turns out as we arrived with plenty of time to spare. Rather than heading back towards Manchester, I was this time destined towards Wigan to pick up the WCML back to Crewe. Yet more coverage to be had! 142033 turned up - another train packed to the rafters! Fortunately most people alighted at Bolton so I was able to grab a seat.

We arrived into Wigan Wallgate, sufficiently 'bounced'. As the train approaches the station it looks as if you are about to call into the North Western station, only to turn away at the last minute. No problem however, as it's only a 30 second walk between the two and no chance of getting lost this time! It was a short wait for the Pendelino back to Crewe. It was 390131 - I can't believe it! I've only been recording numbers for 6 hours and I've hit a dud!

Despite this, a good trip overall. Almost 145 miles covered, and everything between Warrington to Deansgate, Deansgate to Bolton, Bolton to Blackburn and Bolton to Wigan was all new to me so I can adjust my map accordingly. I kept having to remind myself to make a note of the unit numbers. I think I'll keep at it though - although I doubt I'll ever get them all!

 

[Techniquest]

First of all, welcome to the army of spotters and bashers!

Secondly, looks like you had a very good day! So many rangers and rovers to recommend for coverage in your area, the Lancashire Day Ranger and Cheshire Day Ranger being just two.

You and andyb2706 on here have really got me wanting to get up north again asap!

 

[crehld]

First of all, welcome to the army of spotters and bashers!

Secondly, looks like you had a very good day! So many rangers and rovers to recommend for coverage in your area, the Lancashire Day Ranger and Cheshire Day Ranger being just two.

You and andyb2706 on here have really got me wanting to get up north again asap!

Yes - the Cheshire Day Ranger is particularly good value! It's just a case of finding the time to spend a day on the train! In the meantime I have a few more A to B trips to do, and have managed to find ways to vary the routes for each, so at least I'll gradually be able to fill in some of the coverage map at least.

 

[Kristofferson]

A good read - it's always good to vary your route and stock, even on "A to B" journeys - makes for a much more interesting trip!

 

[crehld]

1 March 2015: Hellifield to Crewe

It was time for another of my regular journeys today. Hellifield to Crewe. Usually I take the Bentham line to Lancaster, change there and . If I get the connections right it can be done within two hours. However, as my goal is coverage, a different route would be required. It being a Sunday I could have made use of the excellent Ribble Valley Rambler service which sees two services a day between Hellifield and Preston via Clitheroe. But I'd been to Clitheroe the week before and the track to Hellifield is rather well travelled for me, despite the Sunday-only service. So I was to go via Leeds - routing guide and journey planner checks confirmed the route and a little bit of research identified the usual nifty splits, saving a fiver.

Walking towards Hellifield station I soon notice that Network Rail have had the chainsaws out again. What they have left the place looking rather barren. It used to be quite a nice spot surrounded by trees on one side and the Yorkshire Dales on the other. Now the trees have gone and the wind, rain and hail wasn't helping me remember how nice this place usually is when the sun is out. I consoled myself with the usual bacon sandwich at the station cafe and had my usual walk round this once busy station. In the distance I notice the rake of MkI travelling post office coaches are still stabled in the West Coast Railway sidings... what could they want with them? My tour was cut short as 150268 turned up - a welcome sight as it's usually the Pacers on Bentham line duty on Sundays! This made its way through the Aire Valley, arriving into Leeds a few minutes early.

At Leeds I took note of Virgin East Coast's first day, to mark the occasion they had applied a big red strip to the two 91s sitting in the station - I imagine a full new livery is in the pipeline. My time here was short as 185120 to Manchester Airport showed up. I grabbed myself a table seat and settled down for the journey. I had to make a choice however: should I change at Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Airport? I asked the guard for advice who suggested the Airport - a less frequent service, but fewer platforms and an easier interchange. The advantage of this would mean adding the track between Piccadilly to the airport to the coverage map. It would also give an opportunity for some 323 action.

Arriving at Manchester Airport however meant an hour wait for my next train so I made my way into the airport terminal for a cup of coffee. Eventually 323237 turned up. This would only take me as far as Alderley Edge. The guard advised me to change at Wilmslow, but I decided to stay on for the extra stop to Alderley Edge... that's another station in the bag! At Alderley edge I helped a tourist who had got on the wrong train at the airport. Fortunately he was going to Cardiff, so he was going the right way. Just ten minutes on and 323231 showed up to take me the rest of the way to Crewe.

All in all a different but good take on an otherwise familiar journey and has added 112 miles to this years mileage count. I have also decided I quite like the 323s - more comfortable than they look.

Anyway, it's going to be more A-B for the next month or so... but I have just planned a big trip for the end of April. The East Coast rewards had to be used, so that's first class Kings Cross to Inverness thank you very much! I think I will make my way to London via the Midland mainline for something a bit different too...haven't figured out how I'm getting back yet though! Tips most welcome!

 

[Techniquest]

Inverness to Hellifield, that's an interesting journey! Either way you've gonna have to do Inverness to Perth again, then I would go via Glasgow. Depends how much time you've got to spend getting home and how much money you have to spend really!

Welcome to the fanclub for the 323s

 

[crehld]

Inverness to Hellifield, that's an interesting journey! Either way you've gonna have to do Inverness to Perth again, then I would go via Glasgow. Depends how much time you've got to spend getting home and how much money you have to spend really!

Time and money ... two things I have not a lot of! That said I was thinking train to Kyle of Lochlash, bus to Isle of Skye, ferry to Mallaig, train to Fort William and then sleeper down to Crewe... but that all depends on cost, and if I can justify another night away from the family! And if I was to go to the Highlands proper I'd want to make at least a week of it and get some walking in too!

Welcome to the fanclub for the 323s

Having read your trip reports avidly, I'm guessing you like the noise they make?

 

[Techniquest]

Inverness to Hellifield, that's an interesting journey! Either way you've gonna have to do Inverness to Perth again, then I would go via Glasgow. Depends how much time you've got to spend getting home and how much money you have to spend really!

Time and money ... two things I have not a lot of! That said I was thinking train to Kyle of Lochlash, bus to Isle of Skye, ferry to Mallaig, train to Fort William and then sleeper down to Crewe... but that all depends on cost, and if I can justify another night away from the family! And if I was to go to the Highlands proper I'd want to make at least a week of it and get some walking in too!

Funnily enough that was one route I was thinking of! I was also considering working it to go via Aberdeen and clear out a rather large chunk of Scotland's railway.

Welcome to the fanclub for the 323s

Having read your trip reports avidly, I'm guessing you like the noise they make?

Oh yes, guilty as charged! Does this apply to yourself as well good sir?

 

[Kristofferson]

Love some 323 noise! It's been a while

 

[crehld]

Oh yes, guilty as charged! Does this apply to yourself as well good sir?

Love some 323 noise! It's been a while

It's distinctive to say the least!

Well finally booked tickets for the mammoth run to Inverness - unfortunately the finances won at the end of the day. Also I think I'm going to leave a lot of the Highlands stuff for another time. I'd want to go walking as well so will consider the various rover options in the future. So the plan is shaping up as follows:

Crewe to Derby, Derby to Leicester, Leicester to St Pancras, Kings Cross to Inverness, overnight at Inverness. Then its Inverness to Haymarket, Haymarket to Carlisle, Carlisle to Hellifield (with a break of journey at Settle for provisions). Not bad for a total of £54!

I'm leaving Hellifield to Crewe open for the moment as I haven't decided yet how long I will stay there for. The next stage is to find some decent cheap accommodation in Inverness!

 

[Techniquest]

£54 is exceptional value for that lot! hock:

 

[crehld]

£54 is exceptional value for that lot! hock:

Indeed! Largely thanks to the free rewards ticket on the Kings Cross to Inverness leg!

 

[Techniquest]

Ahhh figured that was the case. Lucky to get one on that service, since it's such a popular one!

 

[crehld]

27 March 2015: To Norwich!

Well it's been a few weeks but I finally had a trip to Norwich coming up which got me back out on the tracks. The only reasonably priced tickets available were Virgin advances... and that meant going via London.

I took the usual bus to Crewe which gave me plenty of time to grab a cup of mediocre coffee (there are no decent places at Crewe station). I then made my way to the platform where 221111 and 221104 had just arrived from Chester destined for London Euston.

Arriving at Euston I my way to Euston Square underground station. Here I caught a Metropolitan line train towards Liverpool Street. This took ages and I swear we spent more time stationary than we did moving - I started to worry about making the next train... When we finally made it into Liverpool street I had just ten minutes to make the Norwich train. Unhelpfully the departures board at Liverpool Street is split into services heading east and services heading west... this is completely unhelpful. Why can't they just put it in time order? Luckily I found out which platform to head to, where 90014 (thanks to the people on the TOPS request thread for clarifying that one - it was either 90014 or 90004... I was rushing a bit and didn't have my glasses on!) was waiting to push us to Norwich. I hastily made my way to coach B towards the front of the train. This was a bit of a trek considering I had luggage in tow. Once on board finding my allocated seat was not difficult as I appeared to have the only reservation in the entire carriage! I'm glad I did have a reservation, however, as the train was packed.

28 March 2015: The Bittern Line

Today the plan was to meet a friend in the afternoon who lives just outside of Cromer. This presented the perfect opportunity to get a bit of Norfolk branch line bashing in! I made my way to Norwich station and purchased my ticket to Sheringham. 156412 took us all the way. I should say when I somewhat younger I used to live just outside Norwich, and this particular line used to go right past our house... I can still remember the sound of late night tanker trains rolling by!. I therefore sat myself in a seat I knew would give me a good look at the old house. As we went past the house looked much the same, although it appears the chainsaws had been at all the nice old trees we used to play in as kids. Arriving at Sheringham, I spent a little time taking in the smell of steam trains on the North Norfolk Railway (I'd have to leave a journey on this for another day) and decided to go for a short walk along the coast. Before I knew it I was in West Runton. The station here is a small unstaffed halt, which, as the many signs dotted around the place indicated, had won best unstaffed station many times (and when they hadn't won it they were usually second best). I can see why; it had a certain charm about the place, and the volunteers who look after it hadn't gone over the top with the pot plants and hanging baskets! Eventually 156416 showed up heading towards Cromer. I still had a couple of hours to spare before meeting up with my mate, so decided to bail at Cromer and went for fish and chips on the peir (when in Rome and all that!). Lunch complete it was back to Cromer station to catch 156409 for the short ride to Roughton Road and to my mate's house.

Overall, not a bad for 3 hours 15 mins work! The Bittern Line complete, 35 miles on the rails, three different 156s and four new stations ticked off!

29 March 2015: Back home

Well my foray into Norfolk was short lived and it was time to head back. For some reason my ticket home was routed via Cambridge. I'm not complaining as it's more track to be marked off the coverage map! Arriving at Norwich I noticed a rake of four three coach 170s coupled together on the relevant platform. This seemed like a bit of overkill until I noticed the men in orange decoupling the unit at the front - the others were obviously going to be used for other services. The train at the front destined to take me to Cambridge was 170208 (my first 170 of the year). The journey made me somewhat anxious as I had a six minute connection. Knowing the wacky layout of Cambridge and how long the platforms were this was tight.

Arriving at Cambridge, though, I needn't have worried about the tight connection time as my service to Kings Cross was late... very late! 365502 and 365531 pulled in 15 minutes late due to "train staff being unavailable". We all boarded (I chose the front unit) but we remained stationary for at least another ten munutes. Turns out a new driver was supposed to take over and they too were arriving late into work... perhaps they'd forgotten to move their alarm clocks forward the night before. By the time we made it into Kings Cross I only had 7 minutes to make the connection at Euston this clearly wasn't doable so I decided there was no point in rushing.

At Euston I tried to fuind a member of staff to give me permission to take the next available service to Crewe. I was eventually directed to the ticket office where a moody clerk initially refused to give me permission to travel, saying I had an advance ticket which meant I could only travel on the train allocated to me, and if a connecting service was late then that was tough. I pointed out that this was not the case at all and I should be allowed on the next available service. I was then told that even if this was the case a seven minute connection between Kings Cross and Euston was perfectly feasible and I should have tried much harder to get there in time... what plant was this guy on? His colleague next to him (who we shall call 'friendly ticket clerk') overheard and basically told him he was being an idiot. Friendly ticket clerk then offered to authorise my journey and stamped the back of my ticket. I was directed to 390138 which would take me non-stop to Crewe. Overall I arrived 33 minutes later than initially scheduled. I don't care about that too much (at least I'll get some delay repay from Great Northern to put towards another trip) but it was the attitude of the moody ticket clerk at Euston which put a real downer on the day.

Well another short jaunt. Here are the stats:

Total mileage: 595m 21ch
New shacks: 7
Total cost of tickets: £50.05
TOCs: VT, LU, LE, GN
Classes travelled 90, 156, 170, 221, 365, 390

At the end of March my coverage map is now looking much more respectable!

Looking to the future, April is looking just grand. I of course have my trip on the Highland Chieftain booked towards the end of the month, and also a work trip to Brussels in a couple of weeks, for which I'm planning a different route down to London and should provide for a small amount of bashing in London the day before. I've also just secured a London Midland Great Escape voucher for next week, so the process of trip planning is about to begin!