Iskra's Odysseys

[Iskra]

Certainly a varied day there! A 156 over the Hope Valley definitely sounds good, although I'm quite happy with a 185 on it too.

Sounds like you love Blackpool there too! I have 3 trams to do up there, and one day the new extension when it opens, but I'm not rushing!

I like the refurbished 185's, they are good. I think I just appreciated big windows and legroom compared to the usual 142/150.

It isn't my favourite place

Sounded like you had good use from the northern newspaper ticket with a varied day

Thanks Kite, it's a great deal really.

 

[Iskra]

A collection of recent travels

27/5- To the airport

I got an Uber down to Sheffield station, where I picked up a coffee and was impressed with the traction for my brief journey to Doncaster;

1130 Sheffield-Doncaster. Northern 170 (Scotrail Livery).

A hurried picture of a 170.

This was my first journey on a Northern 170, which was mildly exciting. Being an ex-Scotrail example I was able to sit in the declassified 1st class compartment which remained pretty empty compared to the rest of the train. It was quite a fast journey apart from being held at Swinton.

At Doncaster I had some time to kill before the train South, so I went to find the much heralded Draughtman pub on the station. It's quite small but well worth a visit and features LNER locomotive drawings on the walls that would have been built at Doncaster Works. On approaching the bar I was asked if I was drinking in or taking away, which is a first! I had a couple of pints and although it was quiet, some good conversation was had between me, the barmaid and the other two occupants mainly about foreign travels as two of us were heading off to different airports. While in the pub two steam locomotives and a support coach passed on the adjacent platform heading South but I couldn't ID them as I could only see the very tops of them. Just before my train was due I took advantage of a pint to takeaway and headed to the platform, which was shortly changed. Many Azuma's were around Doncaster on that day, I was hoping to catch one, but instead I would be on an LNER HST.

1319 Doncaster-Peterborough. LNER HST.

I got a couple of bemused as well as a few envious looks as I boarded with my takeaway pint in one hand and suitcase in the other. The interior of the HST was in great shape. I was in STD for this journey it was pretty quite, I was sharing a bay of 4 with an absolute hipster. I most often travel in coach M, but it was noticeable how much smoother and quieter the journey was away from the powercars so I really enjoyed the ride. My ticket for the days entire journey was around £17, in the build up to this trip LNER had emailed me offering a 1st class upgrade for £35, for around an hour on board. Needless to say I didn't take them up their offer. As we approached Peterborough we overtook the aforementioned two kettles. One was the Flying Scotsman and the other was a Black 5 which were on the way to Southall. I managed to grab a quick photo before my train obscured the view, I didn't have time to move to a different platform for a better photo as I would have risked missing my train.

Flying Scotsman and an unidentified Black 5

Just before my train arrived a class 90 flew through the station heading North on a Mk4 set. Probably a sight I won't see again.

1419 Peterborough-Stansted Airport. XC 170.

This train was busy, but not rammed as previous journeys on this route have been. At Ely, I could see parked up HST's ...last time I passed through, it was 442's and look at those now, back in service!

28/5

I flew out to Lamezia Terme, Italy on a Ryanair 737-800. It was quite a cloudy flight so you couldn't see much until we came in to land. Unusually, the cloudy skies had turned the Tyrrhenian Sea an eery flat calm. On landing passport control was unusually slow. It was then onto the shuttle bus to the train station. On arrival at the station I checked the display sceens- everything was good so I went to the bar to kill time. I did take a couple of photos on the platform of some trains but the Italians don't really understand rail enthusiasts so I kept it quick and discreet as there is a police station on this station.

1551 Lamezia Terme Centrale-Locri. Trenitalia Class ALn 663 (its only taken me 10 years to work out Italian train classes). 9 Euros. Train Regionale 22611.

An ALn 663 (above). Although these trains look scruffy on the outside, they are quite nice inside (below) as they are configured for medium distance services:

The ALn 663 railcars were built between 1985 and 1995, but they were based on the Aln 668 which date from 1956 hence the dated aesthetics.

Lamezia Terme Centrale as a mainline station sees a good mixture of trains, including, freight, high speed, intercity, regional and night trains using a variety of mainly electric units and locomotives. However, over on the Ionian Coast (where I was heading) Aln 66X railcars form the backbone of services. The line from Lamezia to Locri is not yet electrified, which is a bit strange as the line as far as Catanzaro is quite new having only been completed in the 2000's. Last year when I tried to travel this line it was subject to rail replacement buses, it was notable how much vegetation has appeared on the line since my previous journeys on it when it looked new. There have been some service improvements recently, previously you had to change trains at Catanzaro Lido but now the train continues directly to Locri where it terminates, albeit with a reversal. It's good to see the train service in the South of Italy is now moving in the right direction after years of decline. Much of that decline was however self inflicted, as when I first started visiting about 12 years there was a very relaxed attitude to fare payment, whereas now tickets are always checked. It's amazing how the service improves when people actually pay for it! This line is single track with passing places, it is scenic and traverses mountains before reaching the opposite coast and the historic Ionian Railway mainline at Catanzaro Lido. This was the original main line from Rome to Sicily, before the modern mainline through Lamezia was built. Although a mainline, it is still only single track but it does have a lot of passing loops. I imagine it was very busy in steam days before the modern mainline was built. The line down to Locri is coastal with excellent views of the Mediterranean as well as the mountains that are never far away on the landward side of the train.

5/6 Intercity Travels

Locri station is a 3 platformed station serving a town in Calabria. As previously mentioned it is primarily served by Regionale Services comprised of single ALn 66X railcars. However, traditionally there has always been a once a day express Intercity Train to Taranto. At 400km on a single track line, it is quite a journey. There is an Intercity working to Reggio Di Calabria in the opposite direction. These two services were the last remaining diesel LHCS operated Intercity services in Italy. This service was recently suspended due to electrification works North of Sibari and at the time of booking there was speculation that the Intercity service may be axed after the engineering work. As a temporary solution the Intercity trains were running to Sibari and passengers were being bussed the rest of the journey. I decided I needed to take a trip on this service.

On reaching Locri, I did the Italian thing and had an espresso at a neighbouring bar before taking some photo's.

Another quick photo to avoid getting in bother with the authorties. The station shows the Greek influence on this coast. There are actually some ancient Greek tablets on the wall behind that perspex to the right of the station entrance.

Trackside

The current, rationalised and improved timetable from Locri. It shows that the IC trains are not getting withdrawn and actually they are upping the service to 2tpd in each direction. That's quite a surprise. In the 12 years I've been visiting the timetable has gone full circle; originally it was a ridiculous crayonista timetable which included a direct sleeper service to Rome. Then it got completely cut back to just a sparse number of painfully slow all-stop regional services plus the daily IC service in each direction. Now, we've thankfully come full circle and got a vaguely sensible time table including a mixture of all station stoppers, semi-fast services and now a whopping 2 IC service per day. See earlier point about improved services following people actually paying there tickets...

Anyway train time; just before its arrival my train was switched from P1 to P3 for no apparent reason. Here it is:

2 Car LHCS IC trains are pretty novel!

0854 Locri - Sibari 1240. Trenitalia IC 564. 8 Euros. LHCS D445.

This train was hauled by a D445 class diesel locomotive, which were first built in 1975.

The interior is comfortable and the carriages are air conditioned. The journey up to Sibari was excellent, it is rugged coast most of the way, with small towns, fishing boats, nice beaches, castles, mountains, churches, some WWII fortifications, vineyards and olive groves all the way. The Ionian Railway is best described as like an Italian version of the Cumbrian Coast. After Locri you immediately reach the bigger neighbouring town of Siderno. After Catanzaro Lido I was onto new track and I found the depot stacked out with an endless supply of ALn 66X railcars in varying states, determined to run on in these parts for ever. After that it's small towns and few station stops for the IC train as the landscape becomes more rural. The train busied up at the next big town- Crotone- probably due to it having an international airport. After which it becomes rural again and you reach the small town of Sibari. Somehow we managed to arrive about 20mins late. The problem with single lines is that one delayed trains delays everything else on the line.

Sibari is a strange place for the train to terminate. Obviously, this was only a stopgap measure due to the ongoing electrification works. It's like the Italian Oxenholme Lake District. It's got a branchline to Cosenza, the historic capital of Calabria, but that is pretty much it. I will make a trip to Consenza one day. Most of the other passengers got onto the rail replacement bus to continue the journey. I watched the engine run round for the novelty value, then went to see what the locality had to offer.

Newly installed electrification and a line of hopper wagons

Outside the station.

The answer to what Sibari has to offer within walking distance when it's 30+ degrees is: not a lot.

I found a kebab shop, which is actually quite rare as the Calabrian Italians don't really value non Italian cuisine. I went in, for the novelty. I then found a cafe and had a coffee to kill some time.

On walking back to the station I checked the departure boards and was mortified to read 'CAN' next to my precious IC service home. You don't need to be an expert in Italian to understand that one. The Italian rail network is not the most reliable and trains often run late or are replaced by buses. For that reason my itinerary for the day was pretty conservative, so that if things went wrong I could get home. It was quite easy to work out what to do next. There was a Regional train back to Catanzaro Lido in just 30 mins time so I would get that and change there for a train to Locri. The good people of Trenitalia had also sent me an email explaining which trains to catch to get home, which is a useful feature. No prizes for guessing what rolling stock would be forming my train home...

Sibari-Locri. Trenitalia ALn 663. Trains Regionale 22463 and 3673. 8 Euro.

I'd got pretty lucky only being delayed by 30 minutes. Needless to say the journey home wasn't as comfortable on an overcrowded railcar with substandard air conditioning, but at least I got home. The biggest issue for me was that you don't get phone charging sockets on the regionale trains and my phone was becoming critically low on juice as I didn't charge it on the way up, expecting to be on an IC train back. Lesson learned. Luckily, I had just enough battery left to arrange my lift home as I approached Locri.

19/6

For a change, I flew home to Manchester with Easyjet via Milan Malpensa. The flight from Lamezia to Malpensa was formed of a plain white Estonian hired in aircraft. The flight from Milan was a normal easyjet aircraft.

I'd bought my ticket via the LNER app while in Italy. This somehow corrupted the start time on my mobile ticket to be an hour earlier than on my itinerary, meaning I was forced to buy a new ticket (see thread in Disputes and Prosecutions sub-forum for more on that one). I was a bit annoyed and I've raised it with both TP and LNER. I ended up on the 1653 TP Manchester Airport to Sheffield that was absolutely rammed as an Airport-Glasgow train was cancelled and then when that lot got out at Piccadilly a load of angry commuters swamped the 3 car 185 and did not take the guards apologies for the over-crowding very well at all.

I've been a bit quiet recently on here in terms of trips, but I've got at least 3 trips coming up in the not too distant future

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a nice little trip to Italy

 

[Iskra]

10/7/10

Today I ventured forth on a final (for now) Northern Day Ranger from Meadowhall. The aim was to cover some fairly local lines that had been neglected, possibly pick up some new traction in the process and then if I was feeling up to the task heading over the Pennines to bag the Kirkby Branch.

0927 Meadowhall-Lincoln Central. Northern 158.

This is a fairly new direct service, so I jumped on it for the novelty. The train continues to Sheffield, where it has a quick turnaround before heading back out to Lincoln via Worksop and Retford as a semi-fast service. It's a nice run through green and pleasant countryside. Worksop station is surprisingly nice too. Worksop is also a minor hive of railway activity, featuring lines of abandoned HHA wagons contrasted with brand new 345's on the opposite side of the line. After Retford I was onto new track. Approaching Gainsborough we passed 2x GBRF 66 on a container train. It then started to get pretty warm on board and other passengers were commenting on this too, so I asked the guard if he could turn the air cooling on. He couldn't get it working (and also half of the lights weren't working either), but he did kindly unlock the windows, which solved the problem. The line from here seemed very nice and Saxilby seemed worth a visit in the future. The approach to Lincoln station was a really interesting contrast of modern buildings juxtaposed with old railway signal boxes and infrastructure, which looked completely out of place. Lincoln station seemed very pleasant and it was a hot bed of EMT 153's and tampers if that's what interests you.

1129 Lincoln Central- Gainsborough Lea Road. Northern 158.

This was the same unit that I arrived on. This time I sat in the opposite coach, which was much cooler.

Gainsborough Lea Road is an interesting station. It's a lot more basic than I expected for a station that has quite a decent service. The platforms have just a basic shelter each and their are no other facilities at all. Not even a TVM. It's looking a bit scruffy too. I sat in the waiting shelter for a bit, but got absolutely covered in very small flying insects trying to hitch a ride, so I gave that up and stood out on the platform instead. There was major disruption on the ECML due to OHLE issues/, which explained why I'd seen lots of freights today. During my wait at Gainsborough I was expecting to see absolutely nothing, but an unexpected Hull Trains 180 came through on a divert, which took me by surprise.

Shortly afterwards, my pocket-rocket dogbox lurched around the corner for some thrash to Doncaster.

1215 Gainsborough Lea Road-Doncaster. EMT 153.

Although on a Northern Day Ranger, I needed to cover this line. It's the nearest line to my home that I haven't covered, so I bought a Single to get it out of the way. I was surprised how busy the train was, not full but a good load. Perhaps the ECML disruption had improved its custom. It's a good and spirited run to Doncaster. With no stations to stop at, the driver was really going for it. It's quite nice countryside you pass through and you head right past Doncaster Airport where you get a good view of the planes including the Avro Vulcan.

Doncaster station was in a fairly calm meltdown, with 91 sets dumped all over the place. I grabbed a quick lunch from the Costa pod then headed over to where the Northern EMU's depart from for Leeds. The 1325 was diagrammed for a class 331 so I was going to jump on that to Leeds to bag some new traction. However, a 32X pulled in instead so I abandoned that plan. I then saw my back-up option of a quick first ride on an Azuma was also out due to it being cancelled. It then seemed like a very long way to go (on Northern stopping trains) to get to Wigan Wallgate to bag the Kirkby branch and as I was feeling tired, I decided to call it a day and head home instead.

1320 Doncaster-Meadowhall. Northern 170.

So I didn't get a ride on a nice, shiny, new 331, but Northern kindly provided me with an immaculately refurbished 170 for the journey back to Meadowhall, so that was a nice little trip home.

It was then back to the car. Annoyingly, my junction on the M1 was closed on the way back home due to a police incident so I had to drive past it and then back South on the local roads.

So, not the most ambitious use of a Day Ranger, an unusually short day by my standards and a bit of bad luck with traction, but I got some much needed bits covered all the same

Not too long until my next trip either now

 

[Techniquest]

Short day indeed, but at least it was productive!

 

[Iskra]

20/7/19- The Luca Pezzulo Express

A fairly quick report for this one as there is only so much you can say about being sat on one train all day. I had a quick and easy drive up the M1 for this one to Wakefield Kirkgate. Although the station is now okay, the area around is still pretty interesting and the 2 derelict pubs are an eyesore. Today, my first Branchline Society (BLS) tour. They had kindly arranged a tour that would deal with most of my remaining required Yorkshire coverage and visit some freight installations, including my local freight only line, all in one go. Throw in a couple of 37's and how can one say no?

The tour pulled in bang on time at Wakefield Kirkgate platform 1, with Colas Rail 37521 leading having originated from Lancaster:



Due to the short platform I had to walk down the train to carriage A, but this did fortunately put me right behind 37521, which would do most of the work today and sounded excellent We then reversed with WCRC 37669 leading around the Westgate curve, which wasn't needed. We then took the through-road through Westgate which is rare, but not needed for me due to a diverted 144 I once travelled on. We then headed into the now purposeless Wrenthorpe Reception sidings. These once accommodated the newly delivered 333's and then served as the reversing point for the defunct Huddersfield-Wakefield Westgate Northern service. Now they have no use. We generated much interest heading back South through Wakefield Westgate station, and due to a brief stop a small number of passengers briefly thought we were a service train, to the amusement of the LNER staff. We then reversed and headed South to Hemsworth Loop. Once back under way we then headed to Tinsley SS via Bolton-upon-Dearne, Swinton and Rotherham Central. The sidings at Tinsley are now in a pretty poor state and some of the forgotten wagons are starting to sprout vegetation. From Tinsley, it was past Sheffield Victoria of which very little remains and onto the freight-only branch up towards Stocksbridge.

As a Sheffield resident who works in Stocksbrige, this part of the tour proved particularly interesting to me. The former Woodhead line provides impressive views of Sheffield City Centre and its' decaying post-industrial inner city. We passed Tramlines festival at Hillsborough park where I had been the night before and had perhaps enjoyed myself a little too little (note to self, don't do long railtours with a hangover again). The football ground looks very impressive from the railway. The track was in good nick but it was very difficult to imagine that this was once a 4-track mainline due to the encroaching vegetation. The line climbs up the Don Valley and it soon becomes very forested. We paused at Deepcar station at the NR boundary, not much remains of the station. There is a platform in there somewhere:



The station building has fared better and is now a private dwelling. Apparently, the points needed clipping into the steelworks and this hadn't been done so we were delayed entering the Liberty Steel works. Once moving we diverged on the remaining track while an empty trackbed continued towards Penistone. We were permitted to travel 60 chains into the steelworks, which took us over a very high bridge with no railings, which was an interesting experience for me as I don't like heights. 60 chains took us to the run-round loop for the normal DB freight train. We couldn't travel any further due to some bridges ahead that our 37's weren't able to cross, but just getting into the site was a good result. The Liberty Steel site shunter YE 2635 came out to meet us for a photo op. I've seen it many times but hadn't realised it is 60 years old!



Due to the delay accumulated from the un-clipped points our planned route to Hull was amended. Instead of going via Selby we now travelled via the primarily freight Thrybergh/Kilnhurst line and the Doncaster avoiding line, which were rare and interesting. It was then via Goole and Gilberdyke. Due to the delay our break in Hull was shortened to 20mins. This was just enough time to see all Hull has to offer, I mean use the facilities, grab some food and take a few photos.

There was a great variety of traction at Hull on this brief visit: Hull trains HST, 142, 153, 156, 158, Scotrail 170's, Northern 170's and a 185.






On re-boarding at Hull we departed the station and then reversed back into Hull station sidings, into the former platform 15(?) which is now out of use. Here, we took on water.

We then headed back to Goole before taking new track for me through Snaith and into the former Kellingley Colliery.



After that we then headed into Drax and did a slow lap there, which was most interesting and we went through both a biomass and coal unloading shed.







It was then a speedy run back to Wakefield Kirkgate via Knottingley which completed my new coverage from Goole.

A really interesting tour, with 2 winning 37's, 2 freight lines including my local, visits to a steelworks, a former colliery and a power station and an awkward limited service branchline all in one day! Thanks to all who contributed, it must have taken a lot of organising! And £15k for charity is amazing too!

 

[xotGD]

An interesting day out on a "Tour de Yorkshire". The lap of Drax is particularly dreadful.

Oh, and I require 521

 

[Cowley]

That looked great Iskra, especially the bits of unusual track.
Very interesting.

 

[Iskra]

Thanks for the comments gents.

An interesting day out on a "Tour de Yorkshire". The lap of Drax is particularly dreadful.

Oh, and I require 521

Someone on the tour said it was 521’s first passenger working for 15+ years.

 

[Iskra]

The Times They Are A Changin' 24/7/19

There's a bit of new traction around at the moment, so this trip was an effort to get the new traction types in along with some new coverage to uncharted lands, clearing a few tricky bits and riding some slightly interesting services.

I drove down to the station and unsurprisingly found a parking space at 0520 in the morning. It was set to be a very warm day, but it was actually chucking it down at this point and we'd had a vicious lightning storm overnight, but it was still strangely hot and humid. The ECML had had a meltdown the evening before so I was expecting delays to my journey. Having arrived early at the station and obtained a Promise to Pay from the newly more-complicated TVM, I saw an opportunity to catch a mildly interesting service that was due in before my intended service.

0530 Chapeltown-Barnsley. Northern 2 car 144.

This service is rare as it is one of only a very small number of services to terminate at Barnsley. The pleasant guard was promptly upon me to take my cash for the short journey. Later in the day I would read the inevitable news that 144's have received a stay of execution in South Yorkshire. After I alighted the unit prepared to head back South on a Sheffield service:

0557 Barnsley-Leeds. Northern class 158.

This is another slightly rare service, it's rare for a 158 to call at Chapeltown and this stopper service bucks the trend as it omits the annoying Hallam-line Castleford diversion, running 'fast' after Normaton to Woodlesford. It was interesting to note that the hopper windows had already been opened in preparation for the days heat, as I'm guessing the air cooling was defective.

0700 Leeds-London Kings Cross. LNER Class 91.

The platform was busy ahead of the arrival of this service from Bradford Forster Square, for two reasons: firstly, it's theoretically the fastest train of the day to London from Leeds as it omits Doncaster as a calling point and secondly the 0715 train to London had been cancelled so some of those passengers were onboard our train too. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight 91110 would be doing the honours today. The overnight lightning had caused signalling issues and we ground to halt at Outwood, making very slow progress from there to Wakefield Westgate where we arrived an impressive 29L. Wakefield was our final calling point as were due to pass through Doncaster fast from the Leeds line. This was my first time passing through Doncaster non-stop from the Leeds spur, it was good to do so but not a particularly fast move on this day. I was today travelling on a free ticket provided due to a lightning strike, so I found it very fitting that this journey should itself be delayed by a lightning strike. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but I beg to differ. The first class breakfast service was prompt and I opted for the Full LNER, which was nice, well-cooked and hot as I was sat close the kitchen. The service was a bit 'off' the staff not being particularly friendly on this trip and the drinks trolley only passing through a minimal number of times. I do feel this had something to do with the crew from the cancelled train being onboard, who spent the trip distracting their colleagues and loudly moaning about their jobs. LNER crew are normally pretty decent, so hopefully just a one-off. Progress was pretty slow going South and we ended up 39 minutes late into Kings Cross which was going to make making my connection fun on an already hot and sweaty underground.

It wasn't my favourite trip over to Waterloo, but I made it, just.

1005 London Waterloo-Upwey. SWT Class 444 10 Car.

Luckily, I'd jumped into a carriage with really good aircon, which meant I cooled down after my charge across London. I generally find 3rd rail EMU's to be pretty dull but 444's are pretty good and probably my 2nd favourites after 442's of course. The interior was newly refurbished and was pretty nice. Good units. After Basingstoke I was onto new line. The line was quite nice, although a lot of the journey was in cuttings and tunnels but I was pleasantly surprised by the rural landscape. At Southampton we accrued a 9 minute delay due apparently to a passenger being taken ill, but I didn't see anything myself. At this point I walked down to the first 5 carriages as only those carriages would be continuing onwards after Bournemouth, where the train emptied-out substantially. The line around the coast was really pleasant from here. Due the delay I had to put my back-up plan into operation to avoid missing my connection at Weymouth. This was to alight at Upwey where I would then meet my connection coming the other way.

Upwey station is very basic and almost entirely unremarkable.

1315 Upwey-Westbury GWR 158 3 car.

I jumped onto the leading carriage which had fantastic air-con. The refurb on these units is nice but I'm not sure about the colour scheme. This train took an interesting route through very classic GWR country and it was mainly new coverage for me too. At Maiden Newton we were delayed waiting for an oncoming train from the single line section ahead. The delay only got worse, but the very helpful conductor kept everyone informed. This service also helped me cover the Frome loop, which is a bit awkward to do from Sheffield. Once it was clear that I was going to miss my connection to London at Westbury as it overtook us while we were in the Frome loop, the very friendly and helpful conductor worked out a new itinerary for me telling me to stay on this train to Bath and take a London train from there, endorsing my ticket for that journey. This lady was an absolute star, and has subsequently made it onto the podium of my recently dreamt-up 'list of favourite conductors/TM's ever,' taking 3rd place. I will send a nice email to GWR at somepoint. We arrived at Westbury 25 minutes late and passengers for Bath were advised over the PA to take a 166 on the opposite platform as it would be quicker.

1510 Westbury-Bath Spa. GWR Class 166.

This was new traction, although I have previously done 165's, so not the worlds biggest win. This was a Portsmouth-Cardiff service. Delays were a theme of the day and this train was no exception, losing a further 3 minutes and busting my connection at Bath. which I just missed. My ticket was subsequently re-endorsed on headed paper this time and I checked with the TM on the next service if I was okay to travel as I was technically way off-route at this point. I was pretty hungry so I grabbed some food at Starbucks for convenience.

1614 Bath Spa-London Paddington. GWR Class 800 9 Car.

The TM was happy for me to travel, which gave me some more new traction. ...yes, I know, it has taken me a while. I thought these were really great units, the acceleration was incredible, it was comfortable, smooth, had a light interior, the view out was good from my seat, the seats were comfortable. Obviously, they are a bit bland and plasticy compared to an HST, but overall I was happy with it. This journey gave me more new coverage Bath-Swindon via Chippenham. This was also my first trip down the electrified GWML. I think a great job has been done. It was a very smooth ride and an impressively rapid run with us arriving at Reading 4 early. We got caught in a little congestion approaching Paddington, but nothing major.

It was then back over to Kings Cross on the now very busy tube. I was pretty much an hour behind on my itinerary due to all the delays. I was wanting to catch one of the evening meal services out of Kings Cross and I was now expecting to miss the Skipton which was an Azuma, so would be destined for some classic traction instead.

However, the Skipton Azuma turned out to be delayed, which meant I was able to catch it, another nice piece of luck.

1803 London Kings Cross-Leeds. LNER Class 800 9 Car.

Again, I was pretty happy with the new 800, but I would say the ride didn't seem as smooth on this one and it was a little rattly compared to the GWR one. The evening meal service was really good and I enjoyed the chicken with chorizo sauce, not the most impressive presentation wise but it was certainly tasty and the chicken was well cooked and had a lot of meat on it.

The cheeseboard was also excellent, containing a pair of really nice cheeses. The service was good and plentiful. We ended up at Leeds about 27L.

2104 Leeds-Barnsley. Northern 158.

2200 Barnsley-Chapeltown. Northern 142.

It was then onto a quiet 142 that arrived from Huddersfield. I suppose I should enjoy the pacer action while it lasts.

All in all a really good day with some new traction and quite a lot of new route coverage. There were a lot of delays but I can claim some delay repay and although it was disappointing not to get all the way to Weymouth, I gained more miles of unexpected bonus coverage than I lost, so I can hardly complain.

 

[Techniquest]

Certainly a most varied day, in terms of odd workings, varying motive power and of course routes.

I hadn't heard the 144s are staying on, interesting.

It's been a long time since I was last in that part of GWR's empire, so I got a good few memories there too which was nice. Glad to hear you enjoyed the 800s!

 

[Iskra]

Certainly a most varied day, in terms of odd workings, varying motive power and of course routes.

I hadn't heard the 144s are staying on, interesting.

It's been a long time since I was last in that part of GWR's empire, so I got a good few memories there too which was nice. Glad to hear you enjoyed the 800s!

Yeah it’s good when you manage to squeeze a bit of everything in, especially when there’s a few railway hiccups too.

Yeah it was only announced this week, think it will only be for a couple of years and on the more local services.

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good few trips

As for Wrenthorpe there is a couple late evening services which use them to head back towards Knottingley for example http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y60602/2019/07/27/advanced

And I guess if the unit from Knottingley is running late it can be spun round at Wakefield to attempt to get it back out on time (as they don't have a long turnaround time)

 

[Iskra]

Sounded like a good few trips

As for Wrenthorpe there is a couple late evening services which use them to head back towards Knottingley for example http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y60602/2019/07/27/advanced

And I guess if the unit from Knottingley is running late it can be spun round at Wakefield to attempt to get it back out on time (as they don't have a long turnaround time)

Ah, thanks for the info! Yes, there is that too!

 

[Kite159]

Ah, thanks for the info! Yes, there is that too!

Good to hear from someone else on the BLS tour from the standard class end of the train. It was a good little tour raising a lot of money for charity

 

[Iskra]

Good to hear from someone else on the BLS tour from the standard class end of the train. It was a good little tour raising a lot of money for charity

Yes it was a great tour, it was my first time with BLS and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Iskra]

Elsecar Heritage Railway 31/7/19

Ever since I moved to Sheffield 3 years ago I've been meaning to visit my local (and South Yorkshire's only) preserved steam railway, but as I generally work weekends and have a season ticket at the football, it's been a struggle actually getting there. Luckily, over the summer holidays the Elsecar Heritage Railway do some midweek running. The railway runs both steam and diesel shunters over part of the former freight only branch between Barnsley and Mexborough. Today diesel traction was advertised, that didn't bother me and I actually thought it would be beneficial as it would be quieter. As well as a railway, there is an industrial museum, cafe, a real ale pub, free parking and some nice walking to be done in the local area.

The railway has a small fleet of locomotives which are on view:

The station isn't original, but is a collection of random items, it did however feel original which is the main thing I suppose.

The ticket price is £5 for an adult for the mile or so journey out to Hemingfield basin, although the railway does a bit more by returning almost back to the station so that you essentially cover the line twice. It was £15 for a cab ride, which I thought was proportionately very good value, so I went for that. My only previous cab ride was an 8F, so I was looking forward to this.

Hunslet Engine Company 0-6-0DH No. 6950 Louise would be our traction for the day. I climbed on board a diesel-stained shunter. There had been a slight accident while fuelling that morning, a reminder that the work is done by hand with jerry cans on a small railway such as this. Although the cab looked spacious enough from the outside it was a different story once inside.

The internal colour scheme is a nod to the locomotive's past- it used to work for BP. The friendly, knowledgeable and funny crew explained the key features to me. The most novel part being the hand-operated windscreen wipers, which I had a go on. The crew also suggested I come down to get more involved. I'd love to but I just can't commit to reliably attending, so might just become a member to support from a distance.

Upon leaving the station, you immediately come across a level-crossing that requires the crew to press a plunger and wait for the lights to display to cars and a white light for the crew to proceed. Just over the crossing, a work-gang from a private company were doing some training, the railway seems to do a good business out of private companies.

The line is a surprisingly pleasant, rural and green one down to a former coal-mine pumping station. The crew pointed out all the key features to me on the journey. The line was also surprisingly hilly.

Just after the former pumping station you reach the lines' terminus where the driver showed-off the consists impressive braking abilities. Immediately after the current terminus the line reaches another level crossing that can't currently be crossed due to dithering by the local council. The line continues past this crossing for a further mile towards what is now a busy retail park at Cortonwood. It is hoped that trains will eventually run to Cortonwood. If Cortonwood can be reached and a platform built then I think the railway will really take off as it is a very busy area, linking two important local attractions. Currently, there is no run round loop and this train had only a single locomotive, so we propelled on the way back with the guard in radio contact directing us.

We propelled back towards the station, but stopping short where the lamps were changed, we then proceeded back to the colliery end of the line before reversing again and passing back into the station. This is to make the journey a bit more worthwhile.

I really enjoyed my visit and I think I'll be back another day to try some steam haulage, hopefully they do cab rides on those loco's too.

 

[Techniquest]

That looks like a rather funky little line, fair play

 

[D841 Roebuck]

The Elsecar Railway looks rather tempting - especially a cab ride!

 

[Iskra]

Wow, it's been quite some time since I did an update, but the famine is now over and there is much more in the pipeline over the next few months Sadly, tinypic has met its demise so my thread has lost all its photos. I will now be attaching photos instead via the forum.

24/11/19

Today's trip was courtesy of WCRC offering some too good to be true fares on their santa specials. £30 return Lancaster-Carlisle with mainline steam, mulled wine and lunch thrown in was too good to turn down. The WCML between Lancaster and Carlisle is one of my favourite lines too.

It was a 7am alarm for the drive over Woodhead, around Manchester and then onto the worlds most boring motorway (M61) to North Lancashire. I was setting off pretty early to avoid the traffic and to secure a free on-street parking spot around Lancaster station that I was aware of from when I lived near the station in my student days. The drive across the pennines was traffic free, pleasant enough but a little gloomy in places. I did arrive early enough to secure an on-street parking spot, but it turns out it's all residents permit holders only around there now. I can't really argue with that, as it should have been made like that 10 years ago. Into the station car park it was then, which was cheaper than I anticipated at £4 all day. I then made the short walk to the station, bought a coffee from Costa and sought to get a picture of the incoming ECS. The platform-end residents gave me the good news that the tour was to be double-headed, which was a nice bonus. At this point though nobody knew exactly which locomotives would be provided.

47746 led the stock in and I tried to get a couple of pictures of the steam locos from the middle platform at Lancaster, but it wasn't possible to get a decent shot, so I walked over the bridge and boarded. I was in coach G which put me pretty much in the middle of the train. On my bay of 4 were a pleasant middle aged couple and a bit of a character who took exception to the vinyl carriage name obscuring his view for the journey and subsequently disappeared for the duration. This suited me just nicely as I'd now got 2 seats to myself and a window seat. Progress was rapid with our two locomotives up front: Alberta 45562 a Jubilee Class locomotive (yes I know it's merely Galatea in disguise) lead the way with Scots Guardsman 46115 a Rebuilt Royal Scot class tucked in behind. Both were winners and both added a new class to my traction enjoyed list. I was very happy with this turnout as I was expecting a single Black 5 so to get two more 'expressy' locomotives was a great result. It must be said they were both stunningly presented too. After our speedy start we soon reached Oxenholme Lake District, where we were held in a loop just before the station for a couple of services to overtake (new loop for me). As you would expect, onboard there were a significant number of children/families and I must say the festive entertainment for them was non-stop and of good quality, adding to the value of money. As a table of adults, we were well catered for by the crew, but were spared the festive entertainment.

After the restart I stood by the droplight to listen to the two locomotives working hard, and it sounded phenomenal (my previous two mainline steam experiences didn't exceed 45mph) so this was something I hadn't experienced for a long time. This is also where the scenery becomes fantastic, which combined with the last traces of autumn colours and a slowly lifting gloom created an atmospheric journey through the Lune Gorge with steam drifting passed the window. The fields were well-appointed with photters and sheep running scared from rarely seen steam engines working hard. Shap was the tackled and the two engines combined made pretty light work of it. Mulled wine and a mince pie was distributed at this point. At Upperby Jct Goods Line (new track) we had a long wait while the two locomotives were watered. A very tasty lamb hotpot was delivered at this point. We then took the chord towards the Settle/Newcastle Lines (new track) where we halted and 47746 (winner) drew us into Carlisle P4 this was also appreciated as a 3rd winning locomotive and my first 47 haulage for a couple of years.

At Carlisle I used the facilities while the elf and safety coach stewards did a dance on the platform for the children. Then I checked out the engines and crossed platforms to get a better angle. Two Colas 67's were running around their test train in the middle road meanwhile. The return leg was much the same as the outward leg with more spirited running. I purchased a Lancaster Bomber (ale) from the buffet for the journey back. We were looped at Grayrigg (new loop) this time for two services to pass. Back at Lancaster I got a hot chocolate from Costa, paid my parking and headed back to the car. Getting out of the carpark and Lancaster was a struggle as I think it must have been the city's Christmas lights switch on that night too so it was very busy. The roads were much busier on the way back and it was a bit a bit of a tedious drive to be honest.

A good-value and great day out though, with 3 new loco's and some new track

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good low price trip to Carlisle

 

[Iskra]

9/12/19

A partial report for a partial trip. The railway gods intervened to ruin this one, but I managed to salvage something from it nonetheless.

I had a civilised start from Meadowhall on a perfect sunny winters morning.

0918 TP 185 Meadowhall-Doncaster

I sat in the metro-style bit on the other side of first class with the compartment to myself and it was really nice sat their with the warm glow of the sun on my back, absolute bliss. The guard (who saw me get on at Meadowhall) emerged from the first class section, took one look at me then disappeared back down the train without saying a word, which I found amusing- I'm not that scary and I did have a ticket.

It was quite a cold wait at Doncaster, which was busy as always but with nothing particularly interesting around, just units and a class 70 on a train of tanks.

1018 Doncaster-Peterborough. LNER 91 Set

I was thinking this was going to be formed of 2 Babyzuma's as one was in the platform being replenished a few minutes before my train was due. I was expecting another to join it for the run towards London. However, it shuffled off just in time to clear the platform for a 91 set to arrive. I was quite happy with a 91 with them being phased out. After upsetting a lady by politely asking to get past her to reach my reserved seat, it was a really pleasant journey and although it was reasonably full it was peaceful so I read my book about the Battle of Britain. I normally like to look out of the window but this is a well-travelled, boring line so none of that on this leg.

When booking this day of travels, I'd deliberately left some generous padding in case of delay. However, even that wasn't enough to solve the situation I now found myself in. My next train was the XC service to Birmingham New Street, but it was cancelled and it's only an hourly service. No replacement transport was being provided so that left me with a long wait and there are no other options to get to Birmingham from Peterborough any quicker. The LNER team were as helpful as they could be, but short of a magic wand I wasn't getting to Birmingham any time soon. I left the station and went to the nearby Waitrose cafe to have a detailed look at my options. I did find that if I got the Birmingham train the hour after my cancelled train, I could theoretically plead my way on to another XC to get me to Cardiff. But, I would only have 4 minutes to change at Birmingham and I would be in the perilous position of relying on XC being on time. Thus, I abandoned my planl; some more new track, a potential winning 67 and my nice 3 course dinner on the TfW Premier Service Looking at the departure boards I could see an opportunity to head in the general direction of home, while scoring some new track at the same time, so I bought a ticket to Gainsborough Lea Road with my railcard for around £13, which I felt was reasonable good value.



1150 Peterborough-Doncaster via Lincoln. EMR 153.

The line from Peterborough to Lincoln via Spalding and Sleaford was going to be new coverage for me, so that's what made this move worthwhile. It would also be my first time travelling with EMR, although apart from a couple of posters it was exactly the same experience as on a EMT 153. It was a single 153 but I got a table of four in the middle of the carriage so it was actually quite a nice journey. I bought a Gainsborough-Meadowhall ticket off the guard on board- this is one of those false flag services; on the destination boards it is announced as Gainsborough Lea Road, but it actually continues all the way to Doncaster. The line is pretty flat and not exactly exciting. Spalding station was interesting, you could see that at one time it must have been a lot bigger station and while half of the station is nicely restored, the other half is abandoned so it's an interesting contrast. Approaching Lincoln you get good views of the Cathedral. The train busied up a bit at Lincoln, as we pulled into the platform the waiting passengers had that 'oh no, another totally inadequate train' look on their faces, but they need not have worried as everyone found a seat in the end. On leaving Lincoln I noticed some interesting shaped clouds in the sky, soon all was revealed- it was the RAF's red arrows practising which was good to watch for a few minutes. At Doncaster we pulled into the only remaining South facing bay platform that I needed (P5), so that was a nice bonus.

1420 Doncaster-Meadowhall. Northern 170.

I dodged a 144 also heading to Sheffield as it was taking the detour via Rotherham Central before catching a fast 170 service. I really like these units since their refurbishment, they are actually better than the 185's in my opinion.

- - - - - -

Okay, so it wasn't as exciting as the day that I'd originally planned, but at least I managed to salvage something from it without it costing a fortune!

 

[Kite159]

I'm surprised you needed platform 5 at Doncaster rather than the harder platform 2.

Shame XC cancelled the Flymo to Birmingham meaning you missed out on some 67 based fun

 

[Iskra]

I'm surprised you needed platform 5 at Doncaster rather than the harder platform 2.

Shame XC cancelled the Flymo to Birmingham meaning you missed out on some 67 based fun

I got platform 2 earlier this year off the same service when the ECML was having one of its meltdowns

Flymo, I’ve not heard that one before!

 

[Techniquest]

Really? You've not heard the nickname of Flymo for the 170s? I thought everyone knew that one, clearly I was wrong!

Ouch to having to replan your day significantly there due to a cancellation, but I am a little confused as to why it needed to be done. My first coffee of the day has not yet kicked in, so probably missed something obvious, but I'm guessing that the following Birmingham train with its tight connection onto a Cardiff train was the big clincher. Missing the Cardiff train, I assume, would mean missing the 67?

What I'm not getting more than anything else is the binning of almost the entire day, I mean I'm guessing it was mostly Advances, and a fair bit of money spent. With the WAG-Ex being a significant highlight, I'm surprised at the choice to go to Cardiff via Peterborough.

Even so, at least you got something out of it in the end

 

[Iskra]

Really? You've not heard the nickname of Flymo for the 170s? I thought everyone knew that one, clearly I was wrong!

Ouch to having to replan your day significantly there due to a cancellation, but I am a little confused as to why it needed to be done. My first coffee of the day has not yet kicked in, so probably missed something obvious, but I'm guessing that the following Birmingham train with its tight connection onto a Cardiff train was the big clincher. Missing the Cardiff train, I assume, would mean missing the 67?

What I'm not getting more than anything else is the binning of almost the entire day, I mean I'm guessing it was mostly Advances, and a fair bit of money spent. With the WAG-Ex being a significant highlight, I'm surprised at the choice to go to Cardiff via Peterborough.

Even so, at least you got something out of it in the end

Believe it or not, they are a class I've not had much exposure to until recently. I travelled on them a bit on the TP core in my pre-enthusiast days before they disappeared, and more recently in Scotland and to Stansted Airport. Only now that they have come to Northern am I regularly travelling on them for the first time.

So I was originally going via Peterborough on XC to give me new coverage of Peterborough to Birmingham via Leicester and Nuneaton. When originally planning the trip I was hoping to get Gloucester-Cardiff via Chepstow too, hence Cardiff being my ultimate destination. I couldn't make the Gerald Express without risking a 4 minute connection at New Street (if the next XC 170 actually ran, and was on time), which was too risky for me. If I'd have missed the WAG express off Cardiff I would have had difficulty getting back to Sheffield from Chester on the following train and faced buying an XC anytime ticket home. There was also travel disruption reported in South Wales due to a storm at the time which put me off even more.

Because of the cancellation of the XC train, I am able to claim all my other booked advance tickets back as an abandoned journey refund. If I'd have continued towards Birmingham/Cardiff and become marooned, getting back to Sheffield on an itinerary that made no sense to a railway worker would not get me much sympathy, be difficult and costly, so I cut my losses and took a productive train off Peterborough. Once back in the South Yorkshire area, there was nothing easily accessible in terms of track that I need to cover (a good thing I suppose). Only the Brigg branch, but that's got no service midweek.

 

[Techniquest]

Thanks for the explanation

I've had too much Flymo experience, you can have my thousands of miles with them happily It will be strange when they are gone, and as much as I moan about them the seats are at least of a decent size and relatively comfortable. Certainly so compared to other newer trains!

I'm surprised all the tickets you didn't end up using could be claimed back as an abandoned journey, didn't know you could do that. For the Peterborough to Birmingham journey, yeah that makes sense of course, but I'm glad it all worked out

Personally, I don't think you missed out with the WAG-Ex anyway. The 67 haulage of course would have been nice, but I wouldn't waste my money on the dining bit. A better meal can be had for sensible prices off-train anyway! I'm not into all this arty food nonsense to be fair, what is so wrong with a more traditional meal on board? I just don't get it, or indeed the rave reviews it gets on this forum.

 

[Iskra]

Thanks for the explanation

I've had too much Flymo experience, you can have my thousands of miles with them happily It will be strange when they are gone, and as much as I moan about them the seats are at least of a decent size and relatively comfortable. Certainly so compared to other newer trains!

I'm surprised all the tickets you didn't end up using could be claimed back as an abandoned journey, didn't know you could do that. For the Peterborough to Birmingham journey, yeah that makes sense of course, but I'm glad it all worked out

Personally, I don't think you missed out with the WAG-Ex anyway. The 67 haulage of course would have been nice, but I wouldn't waste my money on the dining bit. A better meal can be had for sensible prices off-train anyway! I'm not into all this arty food nonsense to be fair, what is so wrong with a more traditional meal on board? I just don't get it, or indeed the rave reviews it gets on this forum.

I too do find 170’s to be comfortable to travel on and compared to the usual 14X/150/153 that usually serve my local station, they are a massive upgrade.

Yeah it’s a good policy, it only applies if you abandon due to railway disruption though.

1st class, LHCS Cardiff-Chester on mk3’s with a 3 course dinner and nice beer available for £3X, is excellent value. You can’t get a decent 3 course meal for that price, nor could you travel a similar distance on a 1st advance for much less so I think it’s a very good offer, even if you do end up buying a bag of chips from the chippy to fill you up!

 

[Techniquest]

Clearly your appetite is not as big as mine! Personally I don't think the meal served is worth the money, although to be fair food is more subjective than seating comfort!

Anyway this is a debate not worth having!

As for the abandoned journey thing, fair enough, definitely good to know. Not that I use the railway often these days, and you have reminded me my annual travel insurance policy expires soon!

 

[Iskra]

I'm probably not going to make it out onto the rails again this year, so that means it's time for the end of year review. My first thoughts were that it has been a quiet year, but not so once I went back through this thread.

The Annual Review

New Bits of Line

Glasgow Queen Street-Mallaig
Crianlarich-Oban
Glasgow Central Low Level-Edinburgh via Airdrie/Bathgate
Preston-Blackpool North
Blackpool South-Preston
Preston-Ormskirk
Southport-Manchester Victoria
Meadowhall-Lincoln
Gainsborough Lea Road-Doncaster
Some Yorkshire Freight only lines, including; Tinsley Yard, Deepcar/Stocksbridge Branch into the steelworks, Thrybergh/Kilnhurst freight line, Doncaster avoider, a lap of Drax, Kellingley Colliery sidings.
Knottingley-Goole
Basingstoke-Upwey (nearly Weymouth) via Southampton Central
Upwey-Castle Cary
Frome Loop
Bath Spa-Swindon via Chippenham
Elsecar Heritage Railway (preserved)
Some minor track around Carlisle
Peterborough-Lincoln via Spalding
Catanzaro-Sibari (Italy)

Traction- new classes in bold.

142
144
150
153
155
156
158
166
170
185
37
43/HST
47
73
90
91
220
221
319
385
444
800
'Alberta' 45562
Scots Guardsman 46115

Highlights

- Finally covering the West Highland lines which I say I'm going to do every year, in the snow too and with a final trip on the Caledonian Sleeper Mk3's and the lounge car cheeseboard!
- Lots of HST miles this year, the highlight being doing the full length return journey on the LNER Highland Chieftain route.
- Making good progress on clearing lines in the north.
- Italian diesel 2 car IC LHCS on the Ionian Coast line.
- The Branchline's Luca Pezzulo Express railtour, giving me 2 37's and much desired coverage of the Stocksbridge branch, which is where I work, is very local and is also on the remnants of the Woodhead Route. Doing a lap of Drax PS was also very interesting so that was a pretty special tour.
- My two first class 800 journeys
- Doing an LNER dining service in first.
- Elsecar Heritage Railway and getting a cab ride with two very pleasant crew.
- Double headed mainline steam for a bargain price with WCRC up one of my favourite stretches of track- Lancaster-Carlisle. Mainline steam is much better than preserved stuff.

My route coverage has now improved massively from basically nothing when I started this thread a few years back, to the below, I feel like I'm making good progress for a part-time hobby.

The reports will keep coming in 2020. Thank you to everyone who has read my reports, contributed or been of any inspiration.