Day trip to the South Pennines

[mwh_mike]

Hi all, I am coming to the UK for a week next week, and I would like to take some trains, some old ones that are going to leave soon, and some new ones that I want to try. I realised most of my targets are up in the North, so I chose the South Pennines for my region of travel.

My targets are as follows (ordered by priority):

• Class 142/144
• Class 43
• Class 323
• Class 195
• Class 802
• Class 68 + Mark 5A
• (Class 397 optional)

I am travelling from London, so my initial plan is to buy a single from St Pancras to Sheffield, then the South Pennines Rover, then head to Manchester (possibly meeting a friend there), and back to London.

Questions:

- Should I get the Rover?
- Which services on the EMR runs on the HST?
- Where can I find the Pacers?

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Bevan Price]

Hi all, I am coming to the UK for a week next week, and I would like to take some trains, some old ones that are going to leave soon, and some new ones that I want to try. I realised most of my targets are up in the North, so I chose the South Pennines for my region of travel.

My targets are as follows (ordered by priority):

• Class 142/144
• Class 43
• Class 323
• Class 195
• Class 802
• Class 68 + Mark 5A
• (Class 397 optional)

I am travelling from London, so my initial plan is to buy a single from St Pancras to Sheffield, then the South Pennines Rover, then head to Manchester (possibly meeting a friend there), and back to London.

Questions:

- Should I get the Rover?
- Which services on the EMR runs on the HST?
- Where can I find the Pacers?

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!

Class 142 is very much on the way out. You may possibly see a few in the Manchester or Leeds area.
Class 144 you are most likely to see in the Leeds area. You may possibly see some at Sheffield on stopping services to/from Leeds.
Class 43 - unlikely to see any except during your trip on the southern part of MML.
Class 323 - Manchester Piccadilly has plenty.
Classes 68 & 802 - Between Leeds, Huddersfield & Manchester Victoria. (beware of possible cancelled trains)
Class 195 - Leeds, on some services via Calder Valley; Sheffield on some Northern services: both Manchester Victoria & Piccadilly.
Class 397 - Manchester Piccadilly - may see one or two if you are there at the right time.
For Trans Pennine nominal allocations, look for TPE 68, 802 & 397 threads elsewhere in this forum.

If you are going to use a South Pennine Day Ranger, your best option might be to go from Sheffield to Manchester via Barnsley. Leeds, and Huddersfield (or Bradford) to Manchester, possibly stopping off at some intermediate stations. Note it is not valid on Manchester Metrolink, and not valid on XC services out of Sheffield (you can use XC services between Wakefield & Leeds).

 

[30907]

The HST workings are here, though may have changed slightly, and they used to be on the EMT (as was) pdf timetable:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/frequently-requested-diagrams.170615/

 

[mwh_mike]

The HST workings are here, though may have changed slightly, and they used to be on the EMT (as was) pdf timetable:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/frequently-requested-diagrams.170615/

Thanks for the reply. I realised HSTs only run to Nottingham, so I'm going to get that and another train to Sheffield. I'm planning to get the 0934, arriving at 1114.

The ticket quoted a 30-min connection. What's worth visiting at Nottingham? Will there be enough time to explore the Nottingham Trams? Is it possible to get an Advanced ticket that gives me a later connection to Sheffield?

 

[mwh_mike]

Class 142 is very much on the way out. You may possibly see a few in the Manchester or Leeds area.
Class 144 you are most likely to see in the Leeds area. You may possibly see some at Sheffield on stopping services to/from Leeds.
Class 43 - unlikely to see any except during your trip on the southern part of MML.
Class 323 - Manchester Piccadilly has plenty.
Classes 68 & 802 - Between Leeds, Huddersfield & Manchester Victoria. (beware of possible cancelled trains)
Class 195 - Leeds, on some services via Calder Valley; Sheffield on some Northern services: both Manchester Victoria & Piccadilly.
Class 397 - Manchester Piccadilly - may see one or two if you are there at the right time.
For Trans Pennine nominal allocations, look for TPE 68, 802 & 397 threads elsewhere in this forum.

If you are going to use a South Pennine Day Ranger, your best option might be to go from Sheffield to Manchester via Barnsley. Leeds, and Huddersfield (or Bradford) to Manchester, possibly stopping off at some intermediate stations. Note it is not valid on Manchester Metrolink, and not valid on XC services out of Sheffield (you can use XC services between Wakefield & Leeds).

Thank you for this. I am very glad to say that the trip went extremely well, and I got to go on all of the above.

If anyone is interested, I can post a trip report, here or on another thread.

 

[87electric]

Thank you for this. I am very glad to say that the trip went extremely well, and I got to go on all of the above.

If anyone is interested, I can post a trip report, here or on another thread.

I for one would be very interested on a trip report. It's always interesting seeing peoples choices on a day out.,

 

[mwh_mike]

My trip was on a Wednesday. Originally I wanted to go directly to Sheffield, so that I can get to Pacerland as soon as possible. However, the trains that go direct are all Class 222 Meridians, and I wanted to take an HST, so then I sought for a train to Nottingham, where the HSTs run to.

But, going to Nottingham would be a big diversion, so I decided to buy a ticket that involves an interchange at Leicester, where both trains stop. Thus my trip began.

09:34 London St Pancras - Leicester

This is actually the first time I've been on an East Midlands Trains / Railways train, and I have always been looking forward to it. Personally I quite like the old Stagecoach livery on the HST, as well as the Meridian. Nevertheless, I am thrilled to see it going to be covered with a nice purple skin.

I took First Class on this HST, and I ordered a Ham and Cheese Toastie for breakfast. It was a very good start to the day, and the lady serving me was very friendly. The Class 43 was travelling at maximum 100 mph, which felt fine to me. I always treasured my past journey on an HST on LNER though, where it reached 125 mph.

Upon arriving at Leicester, turned out my next train to Sheffield was delayed by a few minutes, so I took the pleasure of going to the First Class Lounge at Leicester. Although it's just about 10 minutes, the sofa was comfy and the room was cozy.

The next train was a bit weird. It was supposed to come from St Pancras, but "due to a problem of the train crew" it started from Kettering. Not sure what that means, so if anyone could enlighten me on that would be great.

11:04 11:12 Leicester - Sheffield

It's my first time on the Meridian, and I must say, it is quite a good ride. I really like diesel-powered trains, and especially expresses, so I enjoyed this part a lot. As for the seat, it was comfortable as expected.

More to follow...

 

[mwh_mike]

Sorry for the late update, been through stuff this week...
The Northern Sheffield-Leeds Trek

Sheffield! I was planning to go on the Sheffield Supertram, but due to the previous train being delayed for 15 minutes (which I got my refund from EMR), I realised there would not be enough time for me to travel into the city and walk back. So, I just hanged out around the station. It was a nice station, and I didn't get the supposedly industrious vibes (I assume Sheffield has transformed herself into a modern city?).

My next destination was Leeds, as I was heading for some Pacers. (In hindsight, I could've just stayed at Sheffield, but the reason comes later, and it will be totally justified.) I was wondering which train I would get. Real Time Trains told me it would be a 150/153/156/158, which I'm personally fine but not very fond of. And...

12:45 Sheffield - Leeds Wakefield Kirkgate

Surprise, surprise! It's a brand new Class 195. I never thought I would get to get on board on this so quickly on my journey, so I was elated to take this to Leeds. It was a very enjoyable journey, and it was surely a massive improvement from the Pacers or the Sprinters in terms of ride quality. It was warm, and there was still the new furniture smell.

Some time ago I saw an ad for The Hepworth Wakefield, so I had been wanting to go there, without significantly comprimising my trip. I looked up the timetables, and turned out I would have a chance of catching a Pacer on the way from Wakefield Westgate to Leeds. Of course, that would mean travelling from Kirkgate to Westgate, so I took a convenient 20-minute trip to the Hepworth. Unfortunately/fortunately, half of the galleries were being installed for a new exhibition, so I didn't miss much from the gallery.

I went back to Kirkgate for the connection, and I found myself on a Class 158.

14:07 Wakefield Kirkgate - Wakefield Westgate
14:12 Wakefield Westgate - Leeds

Unfortunately, the said 14:12 train was not a Pacer, but another Class 158. So, it was kind of a disappointment (can't say that to a Northern commuter). Still, I arrived at Leeds at 14:30, in preparation to the big event of this trip. I had half an hour to get a oversized pie and a hot beverage on the station bridge, and having been to Leeds for the third time I was still in awe of the size of the station. The next post, hopefully soon, will cover this main event, which I call, the "Triple-nova"...