How difficult is it to arrive or leave at all timetabled platforms. 5 year project to achieve this.

[All platforms]

Day 119: Saturday 28/05/2022 - Lancashire Day Ranger - £17.70 - Valid all day at Weekends. CP Poulton-le-Fylde Free.
Total time today 680 mins - Time on trains 268 mins and time waiting 412 mins. Stations completed today 8. Total completed 721.

I cannot complain too much that 8 stations were completed in full today - but it could and should have been quite a few more. A day when platform roulette was in full swing right from the off with a good mix of delayed services thrown in for good measure. Cancellations of course because its Northern added a further hurdle to overcome - I think i was on plan E come the end of the day. Oh and perhaps i should mention personal brain fade in the planning department - and a touch of sunburn has rounded out the day nicely.

I have been wanting to tick off the pesky bay at Blackburn for quite a few months now with the 1 a day early bird service to Blackpool North being the sole opportunity. Its been a well behaved service of late so i was confident that saturday morning was the perfect opportunity. Yes and no. They don't stable in the bay overnight but when i arrived from Poulton which was my chosen start position i was relieved to see a unit in place. However it wasn't the 6.13 to Blackpool but the 6.55 to Preston. Apparently the first trip to Colne was abandoned and the unit ended up in the bay to layover. No real option then but to wait it out and instigate plan B. I could get back on track but an hour would have been wasted, and the opportunity to do both the Blackpool lines in one day was probably lost.

Once at Preston the long walk from P3c to P1 left me with just a few minutes to see if a rejig was possible whilst at the same time trying to avoid the drunken masses all trying to get home from the previous night. Sheesh. Next stop then was Blackpool North and platform 6. Confession: i have never been to this station before but much has been written about the place over the years, so i was pleasantly surprised to find a modern station with decent facilities and no sign of the famed "staff attiutude".

RTT just shows a swathe of red for Blackpool North yesterday indicating platform changes which meant out of 6 services i was intending to use into/out of, only 1 would use its intended lane. This makes planning somewhat redundant although i did alter my plans to try and alleviate this and effectively try and do the intended things, but in a different order. When i first looked at this some time ago Layton was an awkward little thing but the new timetable has made it much easier and it was ticked off without incident and back to Blackpool. The suitcases had started to emerge by now with almost everyone trundling one around. It reminded me a lot of Skegness although there it was multiple suitcases and extended families. Here it was the dinkly airline cases and couples/groups. The analogy with Skegness extends to the fact that platforms are "locked" until 8/10 minutes before departure which is a feature i have only seen at these 2 stations so far.

Anyway, i saw an opportunity to claw back some time by doing the normally awkward platform 2 which the roulette wheel had placed a service in, and off i went to Preston once more (a feature of the day!) as i cleverly thought i could start the line down to Blackpool South and kill off 2 of the platforms at Kirkham & Wesham. I emerged onto the platform there with a sense of deja vu. Having had time to check upon my return i realised i had good reason for this as i had previuosly done 2 of the 3 last year but very foolishly hadn't updated my map for some inexplicable reason. The faffing around Kirkham today could all have been avoided and i am fairly sure this would have allowed more stationage elsewhere as a result. Stupid boy.

All was well on my first 2 trips which the randomometer had decreed were to Squires Gate and Moss Side with the latter being very much an idyll of a rural halt in the middle of nowhere. A chap turned up on his bike to film the return train across the level crossing but after 30 minutes got bored and bailed. Yes, the next train down the line was very late, and full. In retrospect i should have realised there is very little scope on the line to play catch up and gone all the way to the South terminus. Instead i bailed at the Pleasure Beach and had the very great pleasure in watching the return service plow through at full line speed. Hmm.... time for an ice cream then so off i went to procure said item with the walk along the prom fairly bracing. A block back from the coast where the station was located it was toasty.

Another hour lost then, and it became clear i had to return at some point so i had to make a decision as to what were the easier bits to leave for another day. A 3 station shuffle on this line is an easy thing to do so i decided to travel on the next service to Blackpool South just in case this too was going to run hot to Preston. A very quick turnaround then with no time to explore - just a quick pic and off to Preston once more as Kirkham wasn't offering anything to Blackpool at this time and i needed some time to plan (ha). Back to Blackppool on the first available saw platform 3 ticked but there was a unit that had been blocking lane 4 most of the day and the normally prolific platform was letting me down. The awkward platform at Blackpool is currently P1 although easier than before so this was best going to be achieved via a visit to Poulton albeit with a 2 chapters read of my book wait there. Hurrah it turned up only a few minbutes late and 5 of the 6 platforms at Blackpool were in the bag. I did notice that P4 was back in action at 18.00, but did i really want to trust that roulette wheel. No, and quite rightly as the service was eventually cancelled anyway. With the Gods clearly not favouring me today i thought it best to turn for home via Kirkham as at this time i still wasn't sure if i needed it.

In the end i had done most of what i intended albeit by a very circuitous route and i had the following left to do another time none of it onerous:
Platform 4 at Blackpool North
The spur line leading to platform 1 at Kirkham
Lytham
St Annes-on-the-Sea
Ansdell & Fairhaven
If i add in Platform 4 at Leyland and some bits of track down to Bolton i have enough to warrant another Ranger although probably not a full days worth.

Bonus Sunday is in play this week so i have a little out and back planned mid morning to tick off one of the more unusual platform offerings in these parts - and held over from last week when lateness due to overcrowding and stopping short as a result wrecked those plans.

Poulton-le-Fylde	Depart	5.25​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Blackburn	Arrive	5.59​	P4	NT	wait 56m		completed	completed
Blackburn	Depart	6.55​	P3	NT			1​	4​
Preston	Arrive	7.21​	P3c	NT	wait 11m
Preston	Depart	7.32​	P1	NT
Blackpool North	Arrive	7.55​	P6	NT	wait 31m
Blackpool North	Depart	8.26​	P5	NT
Layton	Arrive	8.29​	P1	NT	wait 17m
Layton	Depart	8.46​	P2	NT			1​	2​
Blackpool North	Arrive	8.49​	P5	NT	wait 9m
Blackpool North	Depart	8.58​	P2	NT
Preston	Arrive	9.21​	P2	NT	wait 9m
Preston	Depart	9.30​	P1	NT
Kirkham & Wesham	Arrive	9.38​	P2	NT	wait 23m
Kirkham & Wesham	Depart	10.01​	P1	NT			1​	3​
Squires Gate	Arrive	10.22​	Single	NT	wait 18m
Squires Gate	Depart	10.40​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Moss Side	Arrive	10.56​	Single	NT	wait 45m
Moss Side	Depart	11.41​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Blackpool Pleasure Beach	Arrive	11.59​	Single	NT	wait 51m
Blackpool Pleasure Beach	Depart	12.50​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Blackpool South	Arrive	12.52​	Single	NT	wait 4m
Blackpool South	Depart	12.56​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Preston	Arrive	13.34​	P1	NT	wait 13m
Preston	Depart	13.47​	P1	NT
Blackpool North	Arrive	14.08​	P3	NT	wait 49m
Blackpool North	Depart	14.57​	P3	NT
Poulton-le-Fylde	Arrive	15.02​	P2	NT	wait 58m
Poulton-le-Fylde	Depart	16.00​	P1	NT			1​	2​
Blackpool North	Arrive	16.05​	P1	NT	wait 14m
Blackpool North	Depart	16.19​	P6	NT
Kirkham & Wesham	Arrive	16.35​	P3	NT	wait 4m
Kirkham & Wesham	Depart	16.39​	P2	NT
Poulton-le-Fylde	Arrive	16.45​	*****	NT

 

[All platforms]

Much yikes to the bad weather! I think getting platform 1 at Oxford Road will have been the sensible call, in my experience it's a challenge to get done whereas platform 3 is much more likely to receive use. Of course, I base all this purely on my own experience and things could well be very different up there now.

It looks like you did well despite cancellations across the board! Hopefully your next day will go smoothly

It would be boring if it all went smoothly.. actually that's a lie.

Platform 3 was never that awkward when i was commuting as i have used it countless times, but these days not much is timetabled with its use confined to stopping short or as an additional platform if Piccadily is getting too busy and they will rotate 3 and 2 to play catch up. Actually, looking again, Sunday morning is a good bet so that's that one sorted some time down the line. Edit: Actually its just next Sunday!

 

[All platforms]

Sunday 29/05/2022 - Newton-le-Willows to Manchester Piccadilly - £5.50 - Off-peak Return. CP Newton-le-Willows free.
Total time today 51 mins - time on trains 42 mins and time waiting 9 mins. No stations completed today (but 1 new platform).

I try hard not to do a Saturday and a Sunday for keeping the peace reasons but i have realised there are a number of Sunday morning opportunities still to do, so permission granted if back late morning. Challenge accepted.

I have already done a few of these out and back mini trips and today was no exception. I have half an eye on strike action that may or may not materialise so am not wasting any time in the next 10 days when holidays will certainly intervene.

I have been aware that P13b has been a possible target for quite some time and i think i did mention it early on but it has been off my radar for a while until timetable doodling brought it back into focus. There is currently a once a week opportunity from Holyhead that terminates and then reverses back to Chester that uses this and i grabbed at the opportunity. This is a platform that really doesn't get talked about too much so how much awareness is there in the wider community of this i wonder. P14b does exist but used as often as you can find teeth in a hen.

After last weeks debacle with the service not even reaching Piccadilly i was relieved to see it all go smoothly and i was there and back in under an hour. Tick. Also an inadvertant photobomb on the way back when the young couple in the seats in front of mine decided to take a selfie of themselves just as i was leaning left and in the space between the seats as i retrieved my phone from my jeans pocket. I was very briefly staring at the camera unknowingly when it flashed. A disappointed "oh" resulted from the seats in front but i did briefly see the result and if i say so myself it was a classic! Couldn't do it better if i practised for a thousand years and therefore worthy of mention...

Newton-le-Willows	Depart	10.21​	*****	AW			stations	platforms
Manchester Piccadilly	Arrive	10.43​	P13b	AW	wait 9m		completed	completed
Manchester Piccadilly	Depart	10.52​	P13b	AW
Newton-le-Willows	Arrive	11.12​	*****	AW

 

[Turbo004]

Still finding your trip reports very interesting. Some may find it interesting that prior to the Metrolink Platform 1 at Manchester Oxford Road saw regular use on I believe an hourly basis. Chester - Manchester Oxford Road via Northwich services generally terminated in Platform 1.

 

[All platforms]

Still finding your trip reports very interesting. Some may find it interesting that prior to the Metrolink Platform 1 at Manchester Oxford Road saw regular use on I believe an hourly basis. Chester - Manchester Oxford Road via Northwich services generally terminated in Platform 1.

I do find it fascinating as i learn more about the stations i am visiting just how much some platforms come into vogue and just as quickly go out of vogue - or vica versa of course. I don't have the depth of knowledge that so many have in these forums but i'm getting to know quite a bit about the places i have visited in the last 2 years (less actually) and how every timetable brings new opportunities and of course missed opportunities - but it might be back next time!! Or wait for an opportunity brought about by engineering works of course.

P6 at Wolverhampton is one such case. It hasn't been used since the first covid timetable was cobbled together but it will be back for 4 days only 21 to 24 June so that has gone in the diary. Long way to go mind for an out and back but that's the rub you have to contend with i guess.

 

[Techniquest]

Do you have more details about p6 at Wolverhampton? I have to confess interest in doing that one!

 

[All platforms]

Do you have more details about p6 at Wolverhampton? I have to confess interest in doing that one!

Found this on uttracker where you can search the whole database in one go rather than RTT which is a specific day search only.
However RTT does confirm if you search on the days in question Tue 21st to Fri 24th June.

Its the early starter to Shrewsbury which is back again in P6 for these 4 days, although i will be checking back much nearer the time before travelling as more updates can occur of course meanwhile.

06.10 P6 from Wolverhampton arriving Shrewsbury 07.00 also in p6 as it happens.

 

[Kite159]

Fingers crossed that bay at Wolverhampton will see use on those days for you

Good news on getting platform 13B at Piccadilly and some other platforms/stations in Lancashire, hopefully platform 4 at Blackpool North will be easy enough to get on another visit, as well as the other stations on the South loop.

 

[All platforms]

Fingers crossed that bay at Wolverhampton will see use on those days for you

Good news on getting platform 13B at Piccadilly and some other platforms/stations in Lancashire, hopefully platform 4 at Blackpool North will be easy enough to get on another visit, as well as the other stations on the South loop.

Thanks. I don't think any of my remaining North West targets hold many terrors.

After 2 days of madness from Northern this week i thought i would see if any of the really obscure platforms i still need have appeared on the uttracker database with some of these listed below. A smile has returned.

Wolverhampton P6 - as mentioned
Mirfield P2 this next saturday and sunday afternoons
Penrith P3 sunday 19 June at 16.44 and 18.48. Actually i am a little skeptical of this one. I can't see a reason why anywhere and staff there say nothing for years except failed units. Do Avanti have SDO??
Cardiff Queen St P1 seems to have been reconnected and back in daily use
Exeter Central P1 on saturday 18 June - a 20.52 terminator from Exmouth. This one i am looking seriusly despite arriving back from Oban the previous day.
There was something showing for Marsden P3 but this has now disappeared although strangely 2 non stopping services appear to be routed via P3 on 2+3 June 10.45. very odd.
Fareham P2 again but this sunday morning at 00.47 is a bit rich for my blood currently
Wellington P3 sees a one off service sunday 12 June but i am in Scotland

I am sure there are many others in Scotland, East Anglia, Kent, and London and the South East generally but they will have to wait their turn before my beady eye swivels in those directions.

 

[Kite159]

Pendos have SDO (main use is at Haymarket for 11 coach sets)

That 0952 Wellington (Shropshire) to Wolverhampton on the 12th June is a bit random, an extra train for the Airshow at RAF Cosford I would guess (with the rest of the extras turning in platform 2. Although from memory that bay isn't the longest.

 

[Turbo004]

As far as I can remember Platform 6 at Wolverhampton has rarely been used. I vaguely remember using it in the 1980's persuamably for a service to Shrewsbury.

The only regular time it may have seen use was when Arriva Trains Wales ran Wolverhampton - Shrewsbury all station shuttles. These ran two hourly on Sundays for a couple / few years before West Midlands Trains (or whatever they were called at the time) started running Sunday services. This allowed other Arriva Trains Wales services to run limited stop between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury as they did / do on other days of the week.
I never actually caught any of these all station shuttles so do not know for sure that they used Platform 6. They were always diagramed though for single 153's.

 

[gazr]

I managed to do Wolverhampton P6 a few years back... one of the first services of the day. Unfortunately, it was 2 x 2 car 170s which was too long for Bilbrook so the back unit was locked OOU until the station after. I believe all the stations have been extended for eventual use of class 196s? It's lack of use if due to no direct access inbound, requiring a empty shunt.

 

[Kite159]

Platform 6 at Wolverhampton is one of those platforms (like Leamington Spa P1) where you can only depart, you can't arrive into due to the signalling. I'm not too sure about those old dogbox stoppers which platform they used at Wolverhampton to depart.

I managed to do it on a Saturday morning as there used to be a 07:XX Shrewsbury stopper which started from there, so compared to during the week where it was very early morning, could easily be done by staying overnight in Birmingham. I recall I did it on the same day as the old random Platform 4 starter at Hereford (which is long gone)

@gazr I believe Bilbrook is getting extended to allow for 3 coaches for the new 196s, still will be SDO with 4 coaches but at least there won't be anybody trapped on the wrong unit unable to alight

 

[Techniquest]

Ooh Wellington's bay platform is getting used soon? Interesting, I have a little bit of interest in that one. P6 at Wolverhampton more so, I must say. If the spirit is willing nearer the time, I may have to get in on that action!

Exmouth's bay platform, I'm surprised it isn't used more often, I know it used to be even if it was just on Sundays. If it was me, I would absolutely not be racing so far south for it, especially after a trip to Scotland. It's not that rare a platform in my experience, and I'm sure the honourable gentleman of Grateley will soon support my hypothesis!

Good news on the bay platform coming back at Queen Street though, not that I can remember why it was out of action. I still have memories of the Class 121 Arriva Trains Wales used to use on the Cardiff Bay line

 

[All platforms]

That 0952 Wellington (Shropshire) to Wolverhampton on the 12th June is a bit random, an extra train for the Airshow at RAF Cosford I would guess (with the rest of the extras turning in platform 2. Although from memory that bay isn't the longest.

Yes this makes sense and there will always be next year (hopefully) to be put in my diary.

Exmouth's bay platform, I'm surprised it isn't used more often, I know it used to be even if it was just on Sundays. If it was me, I would absolutely not be racing so far south for it, especially after a trip to Scotland. It's not that rare a platform in my experience, and I'm sure the honourable gentleman of Grateley will soon support my hypothesis!

I think this is one of the platforms that really doesn't see much use at all these days. As said previously platforms come and go in the fashion stakes and this is dowdy + frumpy for now haha.

Good news on the bay platform coming back at Queen Street though, not that I can remember why it was out of action. I still have memories of the Class 121 Arriva Trains Wales used to use on the Cardiff Bay line

Something about gauging issues with the bridge and it was accordingly disconnected for quite a while. AS you say good news on its return, and i think its main use will be to return to the Cardiff Bay shuttles.

 

[Techniquest]

I definitely still feel you'll be better off waiting for the rare platform in Devon for now, as you say these things chop and change often. For all any of us know right now, it could end up getting regular use all weekend due to a blockade at St David's and coinciding with you being in the area on holiday!

Before I forget, good luck in Scotland!

 

[All platforms]

Day 121: Monday 30/05/2022 - Lancashire Day Ranger - £17.70 - Valid after 9.00am Weekdays. CP Dover Street Moses Gate free.
Total time today 483 mins - time on trains 248 mins and time waiting 235 mins. Stations completed today 7. Total completed 728.

A bit of a bonus day today in an attempt to fill in the North West gaps before holidays intervene. It nearly fell over at the first hurdle as the intended first service was cancelled and it had decided to rain even harder than promised. I therefore decided in a fit of pique to do what was not intended for the day and promptly set off in the opposite direction and into Victoria station where i was determined to polish off the last platform. Thankfully there was a Leeds train already sitting in P1 and we were off to Rochdale first stop and just enough time to walk to the other side of the island platform before returning on the reverse service back into P1.

It was at this stage that common sense prevailed and i decided to see if i could salvage anything from the original itinerary. A quick hop to Salford Crescent and onto the Blackpool North service that should land in P4 to complete the set there. Success then, and just enough time to pop into the Sainsburys which is just outside the entrance as i was in need of sustenance by now. Another cancellation meant i has to abandon hopes of Leyland P4 due to gaps in service and realised i had enough time to get to Preston and return on the Blackpool South line. This way i could also include the longish line that leads into P1 at Kirkham & Wesham.

No real worries on the South line today thankfully and St Annes, Lytham and Ansdell were all in the book before i decided to head back down to Bolton. At Preston yet another cancellation allowed me to consider a bonus station at Lostock as it wouldn't add to the day due to the connection times at Bolton, and so i risked the tiight connection, which in the end was fine due to the return offering being a few minutes late. I had also completed all track requirements in the Blackpool area together with the line to Bolton so i had to be happy in the end.

One final bonus at Bolton was the train from Clitheroe which was additionally going to stop at Moses Gate and with no time to consider anything else i was on board and arriving in Moses gate just a few minutes later. Bit of a whirlwind in the last few moves but it did allow me to complete Bolton - and not in the way i would have planned. I still have track connected with P1 to complete but as i still have a few stations on the line to complete, this would have to be done in any event. I am not gricing every crossover and blade of grass generally, but i will see what i can do in Bolton as its my home town station (well it was). There are two more possible moves in particular that have caught my eye but they will have to wait for another time. I am in Bolton on other business pretty much every week in any event so it shouldn't be an imposition to slot these in - as they become available of course.

Moses Gate	Depart	9.21​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Manchester Victoria	Arrive	9.38​	P6	NT	wait 20m		completed	completed
Manchester Victoria	Depart	9.58​	P1	NT			1​	6​
Rochdale	Arrive	10.10​	P1	NT	wait 4m
Rochdale	Depart	10.14​	P3	NT
Manchester Victoria	Arrive	10.25​	P1	NT	wait 25m
Manchester Victoria	Depart	10.50​	P5	NT
Salford Crescent	Arrive	10.56​	P2	NT	wait 16m
Salford Crescent	Depart	11.12​	P1	NT
Blackpool North	Arrive	12.26​	P4	NT	wait 39m		1​	6​
Blackpool North	Depart	13.05​	P6	NT
Preston	Arrive	13.28​	P2	NT	wait 10m
Preston	Depart	13.38​	P2	NT
St Annes-om-the-Sea	Arrive	14.06​	Single	NT	wait 22m
St Annes-om-the-Sea	Depart	14.28​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Lytham	Arrive	14.35​	Single	NT	wait 21m
Lytham	Depart	14.56​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Ansdell & Fairhaven	Arrive	14.58​	Single	NT	wait 27m
Ansdell & Fairhaven	Depart	15.25​	Single	NT			1​	1​
Preston	Arrive	15.49​	P2	NT	wait 34m
Preston	Depart	16.23​	P2	NT
Lostock	Arrive	16.50​	P2	NT	wait 11m
Lostock	Depart	17.01​	P1	NT			1​	2​
Horwich Parkway	Arrive	17.09​	P2	NT	wait 3m
Horwich Parkway	Depart	17.12​	P1	NT
Bolton	Arrive	17.18​	P3	NT	wait 3m
Bolton	Depart	17.21​	P1	NT			1​	5​
Moses Gate	Arrive	17.24​	*****	NT

 

[Kite159]

Ooh Wellington's bay platform is getting used soon? Interesting, I have a little bit of interest in that one. P6 at Wolverhampton more so, I must say. If the spirit is willing nearer the time, I may have to get in on that action!

Exmouth's bay platform, I'm surprised it isn't used more often, I know it used to be even if it was just on Sundays. If it was me, I would absolutely not be racing so far south for it, especially after a trip to Scotland. It's not that rare a platform in my experience, and I'm sure the honourable gentleman of Grateley will soon support my hypothesis!

Good news on the bay platform coming back at Queen Street though, not that I can remember why it was out of action. I still have memories of the Class 121 Arriva Trains Wales used to use on the Cardiff Bay line

The bay at Exeter Central in days of old used to be used by a few Exmouth - Exeter Central services on Sundays, roughly hourly with a few gaps when trains extended to Paignton.

Agreed, it might see use on a day of engineering works between Exeter Central & St Davids.

@All platforms I guess the unusual bits at Bolton is the connection towards the Darwin line from Platform 3 & being on a train heading towards Manchester which uses platform 4 (which I'm sure there used to be a booked service which did that move to allow a TPE to overtake)

 

[43172]

Ooh Wellington's bay platform is getting used soon? Interesting, I have a little bit of interest in that one. P6 at Wolverhampton more so, I must say. If the spirit is willing nearer the time, I may have to get in on that action!

Exmouth's bay platform, I'm surprised it isn't used more often, I know it used to be even if it was just on Sundays. If it was me, I would absolutely not be racing so far south for it, especially after a trip to Scotland. It's not that rare a platform in my experience, and I'm sure the honourable gentleman of Grateley will soon support my hypothesis!

Good news on the bay platform coming back at Queen Street though, not that I can remember why it was out of action. I still have memories of the Class 121 Arriva Trains Wales used to use on the Cardiff Bay line

I'd give it some consideration to head down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central, especially as it'd help being based in Exeter for the following day to tackle stations like Chapelton and Portsmouth Arms, both of which have a better service on a Sunday than any other day of the week. Wether you decide to race down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central is up to you, you may decide not to and could get lucky in the future with engineering work or distruption, reguardless whatever causes it (signaling, weather, even the chance of a Second World War bomb being found can't be ruled out). But I would recommend using a Sunday to deal with the lesser used stations on the Tarka line, the extra service calls will help out. Ive provided a couple of links showing Chapelton's service pattern on a normal weekend to show what I mean.

Saturday:https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...18/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt

Sunday:https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...19/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt

I think that the bay platform at Cardiff Queen Street having a lack of services might have been a covid related thing, I seem to recall a reduction of services down to Cardiff Bay at that time, with those services being extended further than normal times but can't remember where they where extended to.

 

[All platforms]

@All platforms I guess the unusual bits at Bolton is the connection towards the Darwin line from Platform 3 & being on a train heading towards Manchester which uses platform 4 (which I'm sure there used to be a booked service which did that move to allow a TPE to overtake)

The attempt at mystery has been foiled. Yes i have done P3 in both directions previously during my commuting days but one last time for old times sake..... The real winner for me however is using P4 from the North and the little used piece of track to crossover (and back). In fact i may attempt that particular move today.

 

[Kite159]

I'd give it some consideration to head down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central, especially as it'd help being based in Exeter for the following day to tackle stations like Chapelton and Portsmouth Arms, both of which have a better service on a Sunday than any other day of the week. Wether you decide to race down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central is up to you, you may decide not to and could get lucky in the future with engineering work or distruption, reguardless whatever causes it (signaling, weather, even the chance of a Second World War bomb being found can't be ruled out). But I would recommend using a Sunday to deal with the lesser used stations on the Tarka line, the extra service calls will help out. Ive provided a couple of links showing Chapelton's service pattern on a normal weekend to show what I mean.

Saturday:https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...18/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt

Sunday:https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...19/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=pax-calls&order=wtt

I think that the bay platform at Cardiff Queen Street having a lack of services might have been a covid related thing, I seem to recall a reduction of services down to Cardiff Bay at that time, with those services being extended further than normal times but can't remember where they where extended to.

Coryton - Cardiff Bay was the service before May, at one timetable last year it was hourly coryton - Bay & hourly Caerphilly - Cardiff Bay

 

[All platforms]

Day 122: Tuesday 31/05/2022 - Lancashire Day Ranger - £17.70 - Valid after 9.00am Weekdays. CP Dover Street Moses Gate free.
Total time today 531 mins - Time on trains 217 mins and time waiting 314 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 730.

Sheesh. Talk about grinding down the last few targets North of Manchester the hard way. I have never seen no many cancellations on boards as i have today although the morning did turn out as intended. I wanted to do the track into and out of P1 at Bolton even though i have done it well over a thousand times when i commuted but this is a separate and self contained project. There are very few places i would leave my car for the day in these parts so once again Moses Gate got my patronage. Off to Salford Central so i could do the track into P1 and off up the line to Darwen - purely for track tickage. Back to Hall i' th' Wood where all station and on board announcers get it wrong. Its northern for "Hall in the Wood" and named for the building where Samuel Crompton invented the Spinning Mule or Jenny. Its a museum these days... but... where does the mispronounciation come from? Its Hall not Hal!! As someone raised less than 2 miles as the crow flies from here it rankles. End of rant.

Its a new(ish) station built on stilts on the embankment there and has very little provision for travellers so i was very happy to leave there and trundle a couple of minutes up the line to Bromley Cross where i have less than wonderful memories from commuting on crammed pacers more often than not, although the station and its environs have had over 5 or 6 sets of small improvements over the years, all with an eye to "elf and safety" It also has a bespoke bijou waiting room so somewhere to while away the time one last time.

Back to the Crescent, and another wait, this time for the Wigan train as i needed track to Walkden before returning for a third time to the Crescent. I was hoping to nip down to Oxford Road next but no.. it was cancelled. No chance to do the crescent avoiding line northwards then as the next one was too late to make it. What about going north so i could do the southward version. There were 4 consecutive Preston bound trains cancelled on the line through Bolton so once again i was off up the Atherton line to get to Preston via Wigan. The first one was cancelled but the next was OK and got me into Wigan in plenty of time to get to Preston. Despite delays and cancellations littering the board at Wigan i was able to get there with time to spare only to find my target south had also been cancelled. Not only that it was expunged entirely from RTT as something that did not exist. It was there earlier so why not a cancellation instead of a Houdini act.

Moses Gate gets a super patchy service from the North at this time of day so i found myself at salford Crescent for the fourth time today before waiting for the all stations stopper back to my starting point. It would not distress me if i never did this line again but i still have the 2 avoiders at the Crescent plus the errant p4 at Leyland on my list so i will have to come back at some time. I am not sure i will do so until things have settled down and Northern have found a few more drivers and guards to actually run the timetable. Lets see.

Moses Gate	Depart	9.21​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Salford Crescent	Arrive	9.30​	P1	NT	wait 18m		completed	completed
Salford Crescent	Depart	9.48​	P1	NT
Darwen	Arrive	10.24​	P2	NT	wait 32m
Darwen	Depart	10.56​	P1	NT
Hall I' th' Wood	Arrive	11.13​		NT	wait 53m
Hall I' th' Wood	Depart	12.06​		NT			1​	2​
Bromley Cross	Arrive	12.08​	P2	NT	wait 61m
Bromley Cross	Depart	13.09​	P1	NT			1​	2​
Salford Crescent	Arrive	13.30​	P1	NT	wait 31m
Salford Crescent	Depart	14.01​	P2	NT
Walkden	Arrive	14.16​	P2	NT	wait 26m
Walkden	Depart	14.42​	P1	NT
Salford Crescent	Arrive	14.54​	P1	NT	wait 18m
Salford Crescent	Depart	15.12​	P2	NT
Wigan North Western	Arrive	15.47​	P3	NT	wait 30m
Wigan North Western	Depart	16.17​	P5	NT
Preston	Arrive	16.34​	P1	NT	wait 22m
Preston	Depart	16.56​	P4	NT
Salford Crescent	Arrive	17.34​	P1	NT	wait 23m
Salford Crescent	Depart	17.57​	P2	NT
Moses Gate	Arrive	18.12​	*****	NT

 

[All platforms]

Day 123: Wednesday 01/06/2022 - Buckshaw Parkway to Leyland - £2.55 - Off-peak Return. CP Bucksahw Parkway free.
Total time today 17 mins - Time on trains 9 mins and time waiting 8 mins. Nada achievements.

This was a shot to nothing. I had to be in Bolton by noon and it wasn't much of a detour for me to pop into Buckshaw Parkway for the quickest of out and back's to Leyland for that elusive platform 4. Nothing much to report other than the outbound was late so cutting down wait time at leyland, but for some unknown reason we had a platform alteration and so for the 4th attempt at this slippery target a fail was most firmly achieved. I may try again for this in the next day or so but my enthusiasm wanes.

Buckshaw Parkway	Depart	11.17​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Leyland	Arrive	11.22​	P1	NT	wait 8 mins		completed	completed
Leyland	Depart	11.30​	P2	NT
Buckshaw Parkway	Arrive	11.34​	*****	NT

 

[All platforms]

I'd give it some consideration to head down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central, especially as it'd help being based in Exeter for the following day to tackle stations like Chapelton and Portsmouth Arms, both of which have a better service on a Sunday than any other day of the week. Wether you decide to race down to clear the bay platform at Exeter Central is up to you, you may decide not to and could get lucky in the future with engineering work or distruption, reguardless whatever causes it (signaling, weather, even the chance of a Second World War bomb being found can't be ruled out). But I would recommend using a Sunday to deal with the lesser used stations on the Tarka line, the extra service calls will help out. Ive provided a couple of links showing Chapelton's service pattern on a normal weekend to show what I mean.

Thanks for the links. Yes agreed there are more services on a sunday but the waits at both Chapelton and Portsmouth Arms then are both quite a bit longer than the 2 morning and 2 evening offerings on other days at c.30 mins. I am only now looking (very tentatively) to see if a trip to Devon would make sense and what could i also realistically expect to do whilst there.

To my mind doing Devon - or a part of it at least, would make more sense to me if i could ensure i can do the super awkward stuff at the same time. Otherwise it would only mean returning at some other time just to do one or two things.

What i have learnt in trying to tidy up the North West and the West Midlands of late is that i need to be more efficient in my planning and not go out unless i can base it around the weird and the wonderful and have a full day out rather than bits and pieces tacked on to the end.

 

[Gathursty]

What i have learnt in trying to tidy up the North West and the West Midlands of late is that i need to be more efficient in my planning and not go out unless i can base it around the weird and the wonderful and have a full day out rather than bits and pieces tacked on to the end.

I echo the same thing. It's hard to justify long journeys to new stations and lines I've left to ride unless they are all in the same area or can be done in one day but some of the times of diversion services particularly are hard to plan around however WMR have got hourly services on Wolverhampton - Walsall direct so that's a rare bonus.

 

[All platforms]

Day 124: Thursday 02/06/2022 - Buckshaw Parkway to Leyland - £2.55 - Off-peak Return. CP Buckshaw Parkway free.
Total time today 14 mins - Time on trains 6 mins and time waiting 8 mins. Stations completed today: 1. Total completed 731.

Perseverance wins out. I carved out a spare hour to pop up to Buckshaw Parkway and complete the stubborn Leyland P4 and the grand total for today time wise was 14 minutes. I find it hard to believe the shortness of today will be beaten on this adventure. Still quite a few cancellations showing on the board when i arrived but i guess the law of averages will eventually be on my side - and it was.

I have an early unusual move planned for saturday morning. This is another example of a move that was relatively common just a few years ago - and now it isn't... Then a relocatioon to Yorkshireland and an attempt at Mirfield P2. I don't have particularly high hopes of this coming off but there is plenty to do close by so it will not be a wasted visit either way.

Buckshaw Parkway	Depart	14.16​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Leyland	Arrive	14.19​	P3	NT	wait 8m		completed	completed
Leyland	Depart	14.27​	P4	NT			1​	4​
Buckshaw Parkway	Arrive	14.30​	*****	NT

 

[Kite159]

I have an early unusual move planned for saturday morning. This is another example of a move that was relatively common just a few years ago - and now it isn't.

I'm a bit curious, good luck on Saturday

Good news on getting platform 4 at Leyland in your book

 

[All platforms]

Day 125: Saturday 04/06/2022 - St Helens Junction to Warrington bank Quay - £3.30 - Off-peak Return. Stalybridge to Stockport - £3.00 - Off-peak return. CP St Helens Junction + Stalybridge both free.
Total time today 163 mins - Time on trains 71 mins and time waiting 92 mins. Stations completed today 1. Total completed 732.

I had a change of heart about today and chose to do just an early morning workout so i could concentrate on a full day tomorrow as the Hambleton South/West curves are in action, and i wasn't confident at all about my Mirfield plans for today. Good call as it happens as my target has landed in P3 not P2!

Its hard to believe there is a piece of track still left on my list not 3 miles from my home station, but its become an awkward so and so of late. I refer to the bit of track from the Chat Moss Line that goes through Earlestown P3 and then onto Bank Quay. I have done P3 itself and also the track from the Warrington direction some time ago, but of late there are only 2 services a day that do it from the Liverpool direction, one of which is the very early service to Ellesmere Port via Helsby. So it was i found myself on such a service starting from St Helens Junction, a station i have never had time to look around as services cross here. Nothing to write about as a station and is much in need of some TLC.

I keep thinking surely this is is the last time i need to use Bank Quay on my travels but here we are again - and probably on Monday too if my other plans come to fruition. In retrospect i should have changed at Earlestown P4 as good look in finding a return service via P3, but i stayed on till Newton-le-Willows and an acceptable wait for the service back to base. From here it was a very leisurely drive up the M62/M60 and before long i was in Stalybridge - or Stalyvegas as local wags often refer to it. No idea why though.

The Parliamentary once a week return to Stockport needs to be done 3 times to satisfy the challenge requirements, one each for Denton and Reddish South and the other for Stoclport P3a, and this last one was my intended target having done Denton when it was very cold. No such problems today and with over a dozen on board each way i don't think that's too shabby for such a woeful service. All stations represented too. Lots of camers in evidence of course but perhaps only half the passengers could be accounted for this way. It really should get a better service - i am certain there is a demand.

Tomorrow finds me doing a start of service stint at Piccadilly trying to catch another elusive platform this past 12 months which is Oxford Road P3. Another leisurely drive follows, this time to Doncaster for only my second LNER action for the Hambletons both ways and sandwiching 2 round robins via Wakefield Kirkgate into the middle of these. A few more platforms at Leeds too.

St Helens Junction	Depart	5.28​	*****	NT			stations	platforms
Warrington Bank Quay	Arrive	5.40​	P2	NT	wait 40m		completed	completed
Warrington Bank Quay	Depart	6.20​	P4	AW				at completed
Newton-le-Willows	Arrive	6.30​	P1	AW	wait 17m			stations
Newton-le-Willows	Depart	6.47​	P2	NT
St Helens Junction	Arrive	6.53​	*****	NT
Relocate to	******	*****	*****	*****
Stalybridge	Depart	8.45​	*****	NT
Stockport	Arrive	9.07​	P3a	NT	wait 35m		1​	6​
Stockport	Depart	9.42​	P3a	NT
Stalybridge	Arrive	10.03​	*****	NT

 

[All platforms]

I'm a bit curious, good luck on Saturday

Good news on getting platform 4 at Leyland in your book

In hindsight perhaps i should have said a much less frequent move thanm before, rather than unusual - though i guess if you were coming at it new you might think it unusual perhaps.

 

[Western Sunset]

A Pilning, did you just jump out of the train and get straight back on? Any comments from the guard?