Hi everyone,
I've been wanting to do a Heart of England rover for ages, and finally found the chance to squeeze a 3 in 7 day rover into this week. I started on Saturday 14/07/12 and aim to finish on Thursday of this week. Hope you enjoy these reports - they will hopefully be all up by next weekend.
Day 1 - 14/07/12 - A Surprise HST!
The day before starting my HoE rover, I'd headed over to my mum's flat in Nottingham onboard 153313+379, forming the 1728 from Lincoln. My plan for an early night didn't go well, and I got to bed just before midnight - the alarm going at 0515 wasn't welcome. Luckily, it was a nice fresh morning and a brisk walk down to the station for the 0557 XC service to Birmingham New Street produced a winner with 170110. I'd already got my ticket, so it was straight onboard for an on time departure. This run always seems slow, even slower when you're tired - we were checked at Trent Stores Junction but still reached Long Eaton 5 minutes early.
The north end of Etches Park revealed DCR 56311 - looking far less forlorn than the various examples at Burton on Trent. While we waited at Derby a Reading bound Voyager came in from the south, having come via the Erewash Valley and Toton. I wonder if any of its few passengers appreciated the PSUL move? Still one I need to do myself. I dozed on the way to Birmingham, and woke as we left Wilencote for the run into New Street. Unsurprisingly, arrival was on time at 0724. The walk to Moor Street got me lost as usual - worse as I'd seen the station, but lost it again. The signage is so unclear around Birmingham - or maybe I'm just useless with signs!
The real day began from Moor Street, where I bought a foul coffee from a place on the concourse. To warn others, it's the place directly to the right of the main entrance - the coffee was so bad it left a foul taste in my mouth for quite awhile afterwards, and it was £1.90 for a minuscule cup (I got the same for £1.40 at Lewes last week, and it was lovely!). Still, never mind - Chiltern produced 168219 and 168111 on the 07:55 to Marylebone, both new for me as I've never done any 168s. Journey passed far too quickly, on these very comfy trains, and I was deposited at a deserted Warwick Parkway at 0818. Nothing for it but to cross to the opposite platform and wait in the cold for the Stratford train.
The wait was passed with half a chapter of Jeeves & Wooster and 165031 rolls in with the 0836 to Stratford-upon-Avon, which seems entirely filled with American tourists. Not sure I really like the Chiltern 165s - but it's not a long journey and we reach Stratford a whole 5 minutes early at 0902. I'd done the triangle through Stratford on the Farewell 150 tour, but it had been pitch black outside, so I'd wanted to re-do it in daylight. Mission partially accomplished, and at 0920 172342 appears to form the 0926 to Stourbridge Junction. My first 172 ride and I have to describe it as 'not too bad' - the seats are probably a little hard for my liking, but you can't have everything. The train fills up on the way into Birmingham, but after Snow Hill I'm the only passenger in the carriage until Rowley Regis - where a family join.
Stourbridge Junction results in a +/- 0 minute connection onto the 1049 PPM to Stourbridge Town with 139002 working today. I didn't note out exact arrival time, but it must have been around 1047, unless the PPM was briefly held for us. The ride up to the Town is interesting, but I couldn't get this out of my head. There were plenty of enthusiasts gathered at the Junction and the driver asked if I knew what was coming through - I didn't have a clue, but after out arrival back I got a shock as 43049+066 pulled in working the 'Black Country Museum 125 Special' from St Pancras. To think I thought I'd be having an EMT free day! Most of the passengers departed here, but some stayed on to venture up the SVR from Kidderminster.
East Midlands Trains - 43049 by Trentside Traveller, on Flickr
After the tour had departed, and a couple of 172 headed for Dorridge and Kidderminster, 172336 arrived with a Worcester train and I jumped on bound for Droitwich Spa. Not much activity here, but an impressive array of semaphores which signalled a slightly delayed 170630 in on the 1220 Hereford service. The first significant new stretch of line of the day (other than SBJ-SBT) from Foregate Street to Hereford, and as we went along the weather brightened up. It was obvious that this area had suffered badly with flooding - and the rivers were full to bursting, and a few over bridges were now running over flooded roads and fields. An FGW HST was leaving Great Malvern as we arrived, and I contemplated running over to it - but as we stopped it accelerated away, so onto Hereford it was.
At Hereford, I considered my options, had a cup of tea from Pumpkin (very friendly staff at HFD), and in the end headed back to Great Malvern with 170630. From there, I had the option of waiting for the Weymouth service at 14:50 or taking a short hop to Worcester Foregate Street and picking up the Weymouth there and getting some extra 165 mileage courtesy of 165111 (second 111 of the day!). The latter won out, so I jumped on the 1434 to Paddington, and hopped out at Foregate Street after we were held for around 5 minutes waiting for a 172 to clear the viaduct. This short jump done, it was only a couple of minutes wait for 158961 on the 1502 to Weymouth, which I was taking as far as Cheltenham Spa. The 3 cars felt like overkill at this end of the route, but no doubt it reaches Bristol close to the rush hour where the capacity will be welcome. The FGW refurb makes these units feel dark and unwelcoming in my opinion, the uncomfortable Richmond seating didn't help either - give me an EMT 158 anytime!
The run to Cheltenham mostly covered old ground, and when we arrived I had a choice to make between the 1542 Voyager to New Street to the 1557 Turbostar to University. Guess which one I decided on... you're wrong, I took the Voyager as it turned out to be 221131 - and I've yet to log a 221. In all, it wasn't too bad - it didn't smell, and the unreserved coach was not busy at all. Arrival into New Street was punctual at 1626, and I was able to connect onto 323305+214 working the 1633 Longbridge run. Another uneventful run, and by now it was getting quite cloudy outside so the wait at Longbridge wasn't the warmest. Next it was 323215 on the 1706 to Redditch, and the 1727 back to New Street. We waited at Alvechurch for quite a few minutes and there seemed to be some sort of incident on the platform that the guard went to investigate. No explanation forthcoming and we ran about 5 minutes late all the way to New Street.
My final plan for the day was to clear the Birmingham to Nuneaton line, but this wasn't to be as the 1822 Stansted Airport service was a no show by departure time, and would've caused me to miss my connection at Leicester. I was also getting hungry, having only eaten a horrible chicken wrap from the newsagents at Stourbridge and a bag of crisps. Options now were limited, the Nottingham XC service also seemed to be delayed, so I jumped on the 1830 Voyager to Newcastle - formed of 220029. As I was boarding I took a glance at the number, and confused a poor Network Rail guy who was directing people to the right train. He'd assumed I was lost, but when I explained he laughed and wished me a pleasant journey.
After depature, I got myself an over-priced cuppa from the trolley (£2.10!) and relaxed until we arrived into Derby at 1905. Two options here, the previously mentioned late running XC service or the 1925 EMT from Matlock. The latter proved the right choice, even though it was formed of dud 153834 - the evil 153 that caused me to miss a day in London earlier this year. The train filled with revellers on their way to get plastered in Nottingham and was quite noisy. The delayed XC was held to let us go out first, so I'd made the right choice - being deposited back in Nottingham at 1951, and heading straight to the Chinese to eat far too much food.
The day covered 364mi 21ch and only produced one dud from EMT. I'm looking forward to doing the remaining two days and hope you've enjoyed this report.
I've been wanting to do a Heart of England rover for ages, and finally found the chance to squeeze a 3 in 7 day rover into this week. I started on Saturday 14/07/12 and aim to finish on Thursday of this week. Hope you enjoy these reports - they will hopefully be all up by next weekend.
Day 1 - 14/07/12 - A Surprise HST!
The day before starting my HoE rover, I'd headed over to my mum's flat in Nottingham onboard 153313+379, forming the 1728 from Lincoln. My plan for an early night didn't go well, and I got to bed just before midnight - the alarm going at 0515 wasn't welcome. Luckily, it was a nice fresh morning and a brisk walk down to the station for the 0557 XC service to Birmingham New Street produced a winner with 170110. I'd already got my ticket, so it was straight onboard for an on time departure. This run always seems slow, even slower when you're tired - we were checked at Trent Stores Junction but still reached Long Eaton 5 minutes early.
The north end of Etches Park revealed DCR 56311 - looking far less forlorn than the various examples at Burton on Trent. While we waited at Derby a Reading bound Voyager came in from the south, having come via the Erewash Valley and Toton. I wonder if any of its few passengers appreciated the PSUL move? Still one I need to do myself. I dozed on the way to Birmingham, and woke as we left Wilencote for the run into New Street. Unsurprisingly, arrival was on time at 0724. The walk to Moor Street got me lost as usual - worse as I'd seen the station, but lost it again. The signage is so unclear around Birmingham - or maybe I'm just useless with signs!
The real day began from Moor Street, where I bought a foul coffee from a place on the concourse. To warn others, it's the place directly to the right of the main entrance - the coffee was so bad it left a foul taste in my mouth for quite awhile afterwards, and it was £1.90 for a minuscule cup (I got the same for £1.40 at Lewes last week, and it was lovely!). Still, never mind - Chiltern produced 168219 and 168111 on the 07:55 to Marylebone, both new for me as I've never done any 168s. Journey passed far too quickly, on these very comfy trains, and I was deposited at a deserted Warwick Parkway at 0818. Nothing for it but to cross to the opposite platform and wait in the cold for the Stratford train.
The wait was passed with half a chapter of Jeeves & Wooster and 165031 rolls in with the 0836 to Stratford-upon-Avon, which seems entirely filled with American tourists. Not sure I really like the Chiltern 165s - but it's not a long journey and we reach Stratford a whole 5 minutes early at 0902. I'd done the triangle through Stratford on the Farewell 150 tour, but it had been pitch black outside, so I'd wanted to re-do it in daylight. Mission partially accomplished, and at 0920 172342 appears to form the 0926 to Stourbridge Junction. My first 172 ride and I have to describe it as 'not too bad' - the seats are probably a little hard for my liking, but you can't have everything. The train fills up on the way into Birmingham, but after Snow Hill I'm the only passenger in the carriage until Rowley Regis - where a family join.
Stourbridge Junction results in a +/- 0 minute connection onto the 1049 PPM to Stourbridge Town with 139002 working today. I didn't note out exact arrival time, but it must have been around 1047, unless the PPM was briefly held for us. The ride up to the Town is interesting, but I couldn't get this out of my head. There were plenty of enthusiasts gathered at the Junction and the driver asked if I knew what was coming through - I didn't have a clue, but after out arrival back I got a shock as 43049+066 pulled in working the 'Black Country Museum 125 Special' from St Pancras. To think I thought I'd be having an EMT free day! Most of the passengers departed here, but some stayed on to venture up the SVR from Kidderminster.
East Midlands Trains - 43049 by Trentside Traveller, on Flickr
After the tour had departed, and a couple of 172 headed for Dorridge and Kidderminster, 172336 arrived with a Worcester train and I jumped on bound for Droitwich Spa. Not much activity here, but an impressive array of semaphores which signalled a slightly delayed 170630 in on the 1220 Hereford service. The first significant new stretch of line of the day (other than SBJ-SBT) from Foregate Street to Hereford, and as we went along the weather brightened up. It was obvious that this area had suffered badly with flooding - and the rivers were full to bursting, and a few over bridges were now running over flooded roads and fields. An FGW HST was leaving Great Malvern as we arrived, and I contemplated running over to it - but as we stopped it accelerated away, so onto Hereford it was.
At Hereford, I considered my options, had a cup of tea from Pumpkin (very friendly staff at HFD), and in the end headed back to Great Malvern with 170630. From there, I had the option of waiting for the Weymouth service at 14:50 or taking a short hop to Worcester Foregate Street and picking up the Weymouth there and getting some extra 165 mileage courtesy of 165111 (second 111 of the day!). The latter won out, so I jumped on the 1434 to Paddington, and hopped out at Foregate Street after we were held for around 5 minutes waiting for a 172 to clear the viaduct. This short jump done, it was only a couple of minutes wait for 158961 on the 1502 to Weymouth, which I was taking as far as Cheltenham Spa. The 3 cars felt like overkill at this end of the route, but no doubt it reaches Bristol close to the rush hour where the capacity will be welcome. The FGW refurb makes these units feel dark and unwelcoming in my opinion, the uncomfortable Richmond seating didn't help either - give me an EMT 158 anytime!
The run to Cheltenham mostly covered old ground, and when we arrived I had a choice to make between the 1542 Voyager to New Street to the 1557 Turbostar to University. Guess which one I decided on... you're wrong, I took the Voyager as it turned out to be 221131 - and I've yet to log a 221. In all, it wasn't too bad - it didn't smell, and the unreserved coach was not busy at all. Arrival into New Street was punctual at 1626, and I was able to connect onto 323305+214 working the 1633 Longbridge run. Another uneventful run, and by now it was getting quite cloudy outside so the wait at Longbridge wasn't the warmest. Next it was 323215 on the 1706 to Redditch, and the 1727 back to New Street. We waited at Alvechurch for quite a few minutes and there seemed to be some sort of incident on the platform that the guard went to investigate. No explanation forthcoming and we ran about 5 minutes late all the way to New Street.
My final plan for the day was to clear the Birmingham to Nuneaton line, but this wasn't to be as the 1822 Stansted Airport service was a no show by departure time, and would've caused me to miss my connection at Leicester. I was also getting hungry, having only eaten a horrible chicken wrap from the newsagents at Stourbridge and a bag of crisps. Options now were limited, the Nottingham XC service also seemed to be delayed, so I jumped on the 1830 Voyager to Newcastle - formed of 220029. As I was boarding I took a glance at the number, and confused a poor Network Rail guy who was directing people to the right train. He'd assumed I was lost, but when I explained he laughed and wished me a pleasant journey.
After depature, I got myself an over-priced cuppa from the trolley (£2.10!) and relaxed until we arrived into Derby at 1905. Two options here, the previously mentioned late running XC service or the 1925 EMT from Matlock. The latter proved the right choice, even though it was formed of dud 153834 - the evil 153 that caused me to miss a day in London earlier this year. The train filled with revellers on their way to get plastered in Nottingham and was quite noisy. The delayed XC was held to let us go out first, so I'd made the right choice - being deposited back in Nottingham at 1951, and heading straight to the Chinese to eat far too much food.
The day covered 364mi 21ch and only produced one dud from EMT. I'm looking forward to doing the remaining two days and hope you've enjoyed this report.