Iskra's Odysseys

[Iskra]

A couple of updates from the last week. Firstly;

The Iskramobile was in for a service on Thursday, but I had some business to go about still. Thus after a pleasant walk, I took my first ever Class 399 Tram Train from Attercliffe to Rotherham Parkgate. This also scored me a small amount of new track. I was impressed by the interior of the tram train and it was a nice journey.








While In Rotherham I also filmed the RHTT train, and my next move was to Swinton South Yorkshire via nice electric bus to film some locomotive moves through the station, which I've combined with some Hallam Line footage from the previous day:

 

[Iskra]

On Saturday 12th, I used a Northern complimentary pass to film the Railway Touring Company's 'The Hadrian' railtour passing through Dent, at Carlisle and on the Tyne Valley Line. The tour was headed by Black 5 44871, who appeared to perform superbly and made an impressive sight.

I took the Northern service from Meadowhall to Leeds, then another Northern up to Dent. The journey was a pleasant one with the Autumn colours and the 3-car unit was sufficient, with the peak loading being between Settle and Ribblehead. Dent was a lovely atmospheric station, and it wasn't quite as cold as I had anticipated and prepared for. There is a waiting room on each platform should you need it. It was also great to see the steam locomotive approaching in the far distance along the valley side. As there is no phone signal at Dent, this advance warning is very useful.












After the tour passed through, I caught another Northern unit up to Carlisle, this had the trolley on board so I did my bit to support it. At Carlisle I did a bit more filming and then went to the excellent Fontana's fish and chip shop, where freshly-cooked 'small' cod, chips and gravy was only £7.80 and the portion was far from small! I then jumped onto a Northern 156 to take me out to Brampton on the Tyne Valley Line to hopefully film the tour passing at speed. It was a promising location for filming, but unfortunately the sun was problematic so this didn't come out as good as I'd hoped. I jumped on the first unit back to Carlisle and after a bit of a wait, took the Northern over the 158 back to Leeds in the darkness. This unit picked up a slight delay, I think because of adhesion issues on the Northern Settle-Carlisle. Unfortunately, there were already a few loud drunks around but luckily I'd brought my headphones so I just put those on to take the edge off the noise. Back in Leeds, Northern had laid on a 4 car 195 formation for me, which helped me avoid further drunks as I jumped in the lead coach, which barely anybody else had the initiative to do so it was a peaceful journey back down to Meadowhall. Overall, a nice day out in the fresh air over a scenic route and some enjoyable steam seen.

 

[xotGD]

Very nice. And great use of a Northern free ticket.

I'm keeping one back for a trip to Ashington, once it opens.

 

[Iskra]

Very nice. And great use of a Northern free ticket.

I'm keeping one back for a trip to Ashington, once it opens.

Thanks! They are useful aren't they, that's probably what I'll do with my next one although it's going to be a long day out from South Yorkshire via Carlisle

 

[Iskra]

North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) Autumn Visit
Regular readers may have noticed that I've been to the NYMR a few times this year, mainly due to having an annual pass. We've been so many times now, that the locomotive roster has become a bit samey, particularly on the Whitby trains for operational reasons. However, recently there's been a new arrival to the railway and a couple of the more interesting non-mainline registered locomotives have been out to play. Thus, with some interesting locomotives about and a desire to see the Moors in their autumn colours, another trip was planned.

The journey to Pickering was a smooth one, with it being early on a Saturday morning. However, it was raining quite heavily although we were assured this would ameliorate as the day progressed with some sunshine eventually promised. After paying for parking we heading to the cafe for our morning coffee. Here, in the cafe, the locomotive roster is posted and I was happy to see that things had fallen nicely for us to be able to get a couple of new locomotives in.

The first train of the train was to Whitby and was subsequently very popular with day trippers with virtually all seats taken. It was hauled by USA TC S160 class steam locomotive Omaha which looked smart in its maroon livery. I've had quite a few S160's recently and I've come to like them, and I've not had this particular example so I was happy with this.



The train was significantly delayed arriving into Pickering due to a technical issue, although it didn't really bother us much. We departed around an hour late in the end, with a nice run along the railway and the Autumn colours not disappointing on The Moors. The locomotive did seem to struggle a little due, presumably due to the slippy conditions and leaf residue on the line. On reaching Goathland station, word came down the train that the train would terminate early at Grosmont and not preceded to Whitby. Quite a few passengers were disappointed by this, with some choosing to leave the train immediately and return to Pickering there and then (presumably for home, or for their cars). Others continued and then took the service train from Grosmont to Whitby, and others waited longer still for the next NYMR service to Whitby.





We took this opportunity to visit tearooms near Grosmont tunnel, which was pleasant enough. Next, I filmed the The Moorlander dining train departing which was impressive as it was double-headed and those Pullman carriages always look nice don't they? After that, Black Five Eric Treacy took us down to Whitby and back, we simply stayed on the train at Whitby as we didn't want to chance the last NYMR train off Whitby.



At Grosmont, we had another lengthy wait so this time after a walk down to the engine sheds and shop, we headed to the Station Pub where a nice pint was enjoyed. It felt quite warm during this time, as the sun had duly appeared. This wait left us in a position to catch the penultimate service back to Pickering, which was an internal service hauled by new haulage for me, an LNER J27 class, with 3 carriages. This was a really nice run with the sun setting en-route and illuminating the landscape and the coolness of the air forming a mist in the valley bottoms- I really enjoyed this journey. The only minor disappointment here was that the light load meant the locomotive was barely challenged, but nevertheless the sight was impressive due to the coolness of the air, if not the sound.







Overall a very pleasant day out, with plenty going-on on the railway. The steam highlight reel is here:

Next up, should be some international loco-hauled journeys all being well Thanks for reading!

 

[Kite159]

A visit to that line is very much on my list for next year. Although like with many heritage lines my list is massive

 

[xotGD]

Looks like you had a good day.

some international loco-hauled journeys

Manchester to Cardiff?

 

[Iskra]

A visit to that line is very much on my list for next year. Although like with many heritage lines my list is massive

It’s a tough one to get to, but definitely worth it My list keeps getting longer, not shorter

 

[Iskra]

Looks like you had a good day.


Manchester to Cardiff?

That might happen in November, but I did TfW loco-hauled quite a bit in January.

This weeks trip should involve some English Electrics, but somewhere warm and sunny…

 

[Kite159]

It’s a tough one to get to, but definitely worth it My list keeps ferry longer, not shorter

Easier to reach compared to some lines which are more isolated from both railway & have a more limited bus service.

 

[D6130]

Great photos and videos. Looks like you had a good day out....despite the changeable weather!

 

[Iskra]

Easier to reach compared to some lines which are more isolated from both railway & have a more limited bus service.

True!

Great photos and videos. Looks like you had a good day out....despite the changeable weather!

Thank you! Hope you’re well!

 

[Iskra]

Just a brief update ahead of a much more major trip report that I'll do midweek when I have more time...

Bahamas on the Shakespeare Express
Earlier in the year I did a Castle Class from Derby to Stratford On Avon, at a bargain price with Vintage Trains which was very enjoyable. Thus, when they announced Jubilee Class locomotive Bahamas would be running a similar tour from Derby, I was quick to book. As a regular of the KWVR, I've always wanted to travel behind Bahamas, but to the best of my knowledge it has evaded me thus far, so now was a perfect opportunity, and even better it was that it was on the mainline. It was a glorious morning as I travelled on the train down from Meadowhall to Derby. On joining the train in Standard Class, it was announced that 1st class upgrades were available, so I took one of these and I was seated in an extremely comfortable 1st Class Compartment in a Mk1. It was only £20 for the upgrade, so another reasonable deal and well worth the small amount, considering that in Standard Class I'd been surrounded by loud youths who had come loaded with many cans. The fact that they were loud before they'd started drinking, made the upgrade a no brainer and a much more peaceful day was enjoyed. At Stratford I took the train out to Wilmcote, where I filmed Bahamas passing through the station at speed a couple of times as she ran a mini-tour, with a trip to the nearby pub inbetween, before catching the train back to Stratford On Avon for the return journey. Overall, a great trip out on a stunning autumn day. Unfortunately, I did get caught up in some delays on the Midland Mainline on the way home, arriving over an hour late. The silver lining of course is that there will be some delay repay heading my way.

 

[D6130]

A great day out indeed! Do you know what the significance was of the wreath on the smokebox door of the loco?

 

[Iskra]

A great day out indeed! Do you know what the significance was of the wreath on the smokebox door of the loco?

It's in memory of a former key volunteer of the Bahamas Locomotive Society, I'm led to believe.

 

[xotGD]

Bahamas has been short of opportunities to work on the main line this year, so nice to see it having an outing.

A great couple of photos you've uploaded, btw. Just a pity about the lamp posts.

 

[Iskra]

Bahamas has been short of opportunities to work on the main line this year, so nice to see it having an outing.

A great couple of photos you've uploaded, btw. Just a pity about the lamp posts.

Yeah, the coaching stock situation must be affecting the loco’s that do ad hoc charter work this year quite severely. It’s due out with Vintage Trains to Blackpool in the next few weeks, so hopefully it becomes a semi-regular with them.

Thank you!

 

[Cowley]

Very nice. I like the black and white shot too.

 

[Iskra]

Very nice. I like the black and white shot too.

Thanks Cowley

Porto & The Douro Valley
This was a trip that I've been meaning to do for a while, but have never quite managed until now. I took a bus down to Sheffield station, before a glorious run across the Hope Valley in the autumnal sunshine. Then it was another TP train to Manchester Airport before a bargain Easyjet flight to Porto. I'd gone hand luggage only, and I was dismayed to see that the Easyjet gate staff were actually checking bag sizes and entering into arguments with people. I don't know if anyone actually got charged extra, as I gingerly squeezed past the agents at the last minute so they wouldn't have time to accost me. I'd paid a small amount for seat selection, choosing a window at the back of the aircraft. This backfired as there wasn't actually a window on my row. However, the flight wasn't full so I was able to hop forward a row to have a proper window, and still get a row for myself. Subsequently, it was a lovely flight. I'd chosen the correct side of the aircraft for sunset views, and with us travelling South West, this prolonged the sunset for pretty much the duration of the flight creating stunning views all the way I then caught the tram into the city centre, although this was a little confusing as the wrong line information was being displayed on the tram PIS. However, it did only cost me one euro, by using my Apple Pay against the blue readers.

First impressions of Porto were positive as I walked up to my hotel.



On reaching the hotel, I was told I'd need to pay for the stay, but I was convinced I'd already paid. After a little while I managed to produce the booking confirmation and demonstrate payment, which put that issue to bed. I was on the 11th floor, which offered good views. The hotel Miradouro was cheap and very basically furnished, but all I needed was somewhere clean to sleep and it did fulfill that criteria. Unfortunately though, it was quite noisy overnight with a nightclub nearby booming the music out and then a lot of aircraft noise in the early morning, but it was just about acceptable.

I was up early for the walk down to beautiful Sao Bento station, via a good value espresso bar for an espresso and a bottle of water. Buying my tickets to Pochino at the end of the Douro Valley line was fairly easy at the ticket office. There's no advantage to buying in advance in Portugal. I had a brief look around the stunning station, but unfortunately there is a lot of construction work underway so nice photo's weren't available.



An electric locomotive of French origin dragged in the stock for my train, but I was far more interested in what was on the opposite end:



The Comboios de Portugal (CP) (Portuguese Railways) Class 1400 locomotives were designed by English Electric, and are basically more powerful Class 20's. Aside from the attraction of the traction, the Douro Valley Line itself is meant to be highly scenic and the trains run with rolling stock with opening windows, so the stars were aligning for a nice trip. I took a seat in the coach directly behind the locomotive, along with a small number of other British enthusiasts. This was one of the silver American-style silver coaches, and these were very comfortable. One of the English-peaking enthusiasts turned out to be in the midst of writing a 6-volume history of Portugal, so was extremely knowledgeable, and basically became my tour guide for the journey. The weather also played its part, sunny and 26 degrees on this day, whereas it had been overcast and miserable for preceding couple of weeks. Another stroke of luck!

The scenery, terrain and thrash were all stunning and it was well worth the effort of cramming this trip in.





At the end of the line, we set out for lunch but unfortunately one of the two restaurants has closed down, leaving the other one too busy to serve us in the time it took for the second loco-hauled set to arrive and run around ready for departure. A quick drink had to suffice, before I headed down to the more populous and tourist Pinhao.



At Pinhao I got wind of a tourist steam train, so I took the opportunity to film that (as well as some of the other Class 1400 locomotives at work).



By the time the steam train had returned, the sun was starting to set and the time of the last departure to Porto was approaching. It was this train I took, for another thrashy run, with the scenery still looking immense as the light faded.



I then headed for some food, and back to the hotel after an amazing day-trip.

The morning after, I had time for a look around Porto, which was very nice despite a fair bit of construction work, and then it was time to take the tram back to the airport.



I have to say, I really liked the airport. It was a nice, relaxing place to wait. I was with Ryanair this time and random seat allocation had given me an aisle seat near the front of the aircraft for the night flight back to Manchester. This flight managed to arrive early, which I hadn't bargained for. I'd anticipated a fairly standard 30-60mins delay and booked my advance ticket accordingly. I could either have a long wait for that and then endure a RRB back over the Pennines, or I could re-book at £19 for immediate travel. I felt this a reasonable price. It required a quick RRB as far as Stockport, before a 6-car TP back to Sheffield which would arrive well before my booked advance. The RRB left from the Airport bus station, and it was an easy trip to Stockport and up into the station there. During my short wait at Stockport, the auto-announcer was constantly apologising for train delays (TfW) and cancellations (Northern). My train rolled in, and I boarded the very quiet front set for a smooth run via the Hope Valley. We managed to arrive on the outskirts of Sheffield very early, but frustratingly, we were made to await our booked time into the station. I then took an Uber home, arriving 2 hours ahead of my planned arrival time, which was greatly appreciated as I had work at 0700 the next morning. It was certainly all worthwhile though, as the Douro Valley was amazing.

Here is the footage I took of the CP historical steam train (when viewing, please remember that there is a much more relaxed safety culture over there):

There will be a couple more videos of this trip, one featuring the locomotive hauled trains of the Douro Valley and one being more about the scenery, so if those sound of interest then please subscribe to my Youtube as that's where they will be found over the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading The next trip will (hopefully) be a special one, as it will be ten years of trip-reporting on here

 

[Cowley]

Fantastic stuff. I managed a run behind one of the 1400s last year and they’re really charismatic little locos. Quieter than a 20 but still with that EE sound. Porto is a lovely city too and the trams are great.

 

[50002Superb]

A great read that, very jealous

 

[D6130]

Fabulous photos and videos. Although I have been to other parts of Portugal more recently, I haven't been up the Duoro Valley for 41 years....and it's pleasing to see that the same locos and stock are still in use today! However, when I went the three narrow gauge lines up the side valleys from Regua, Tua and Pocinho were still operating and I had an early morning diesel loco-hauled trip from Tua to the remote city of Braganca and back in the afternoon....before continuing up the Duoro valley the following day to Barca d'Alva, where I changed onto a German-built RENFE 'schienenbus' for the spectacularly-scenic journey through arid, rugged mountain landscapes to Salamanca in Spain. Would I be correct in thinking that the rusting remains of the narrow gauge 'Mallet' steam loco were photographed at Pocinho?

 

[Iskra]

Thanks all for the comments

In that case @D6130 I think you are in need of a route refresher That does sound an amazing trip however. Yes that’s the loco at Pocinho, there was another one somewhere else on route.

 

[Iskra]

Firstly, it is ten years of me writing trip reports up on these forums. I'd just briefly like to thank everyone who has read, commented, advised, assisted or inspired in any way over all those years, not just in this part of the forum but throughout it- thank you all so much for your contributions! I thought for this minor milestone, I'd have a trip which would hit many of my personal rail travel cliche as well as trying something new for the first time, so here's what I got up to...

The Ten Years of Tripping Trip 13/11-14/11 Part 1

I started off with a £2 bus down to Sheffield Interchange, for the short walk over to the station on a glorious winters day.



I'd bought a walk-up RailSail ticket in advance of the trip, to give me ultimate flexibility (£57). My original vision for the trip was just to simply get on a Voyager down to the South West for a connection there, however none of the formations heading in the right direction were over 5 carriages so I went off that idea. ...But, I'd been keeping an eye on RealTimeTrains (RTT) for any opportunities for a winning locomotive that I could catch, using the rather vague routeing restrictions on my ticket to my advantage. Thus, I'd decided to cross the Pennines to Manchester, for a TfW loco-hauled train. My initial plan was to catch an EMR 4 Car 158 working, but this was dropping time, picking up a delay into the double-digits by Grantham. If these trains are running late, they are often diverted to avoid serving Sheffield. The previous EMR had also been cancelled, so there was a danger that the next would be very busy. Thus, I strolled across to Platform 8, where a Northern 3-car 195 was idling and I boarded it. Sure, it would be a longer journey, but it would probably be more peaceful than a 3-car 185 and actually get me to my destination. It was another stunning run through the Hope Valley, until we reached a tunnel near Chinley where we became shrouded in cloud for the rest of the journey into Manchester Piccadilly. Due to a previous landslip, it had also been a while since I'd travelled this route, so it was a nice change.

At Manchester, I got into position for a photo of the locomotive and boarded right behind it. My plan had paid dividends as winner 67014 had materialised, which was satisfying as I seem to keep getting the same 67's over and over again on the Welsh services.



I sat right behind the locomotive with a small number of other enthusiasts on the quiet train, this was one of the ex-GC Mk4's and these are really smart and comfortable. It was a blissful run, with the winter sun appearing again after Crewe. I'd considered an upgrade, but decided against it as I did a meal onboard at the start of the year, and I'd essentially be paying thrice since I already had a ticket that covered my journey, with an upgrade on top and then a meal on top again it just isn't a good value offering. As we progressed I reminisced about the glory days of post-privatisation Welsh loco-hauled restaurant trains, when you could get a first class ticket and a 3-course meal for £35. After Hereford the train started to busy-up a little as we approached the time that those in education start finishing, but the 5 carriages soaked up the crowds well and we arrived into Cardiff Central only a little behind schedule.



This is where things started to go wrong (I knew something would on this trip, with it being a slightly risky one). I filmed the 67 departing off to the depot, but noticed that it sat outside Canton for a while, and also that the incoming 197 to work my train to Fishguard Harbour had not set off, and remained that way. The passenger information screens displayed an ominous sounding 'delayed' message, with no time being specified being the concerning element. After some time, a platform alteration was announced. And still we waited. And still I refreshed RTT to see the 197 was not making any progress out of the depot. After a delay of 38 minutes, a sad looking 150257 trundled into the platform. I don't know if this was Canton's spare unit, or if they'd just robbed it off one of the many passing Cardiff Metro trains. Nevertheless, it was a train and we would soon be on our way. Class 150's are not to my liking, but I must say that this example was clean, and that the TfW refurbished example of the class are the least worse of all the examples out there. I managed to get a seat and I was content that the charging-point worked, others were left standing and the train stayed full and standing until Swansea.



I'd booked this route, and travelled on this service specifically to cover the track down to Fishguard Harbour as it is required. Services after this one were booked as buses. I was thus a little disappointed when the news was delivered to us between Swansea and Carmarthen, that the train would terminate at Carmarthen due to 'a mistake being made' (RTT) and it would be buses from there. I was happy that we would at least reach the destination, and it was dark at this point, so it gives me an excuse to go do the lines in this area during the day in the future at a nicer time of year. The coach was a comfortable one, about a third full with passengers and thankfully it ran express to Fishguard, with a minibus doing the intermediate stations instead. When I say it ran express, I really mean it- this driver was not messing about! I'm not sure whether I can claim delay repay for this, as I was on a Rail Sail and ultimately the ferry did arrive on time.

I had visualised an evening in Fishguard (or Goodwick at least), but the delay and me feeling a little under the weather going into this trip meant that I just visited Dolphin Fish and Chips where decent fayre was found and I could sit in for a while. I then took a quick picture and plodded towards the Harbour train station and port.







The signposts for pedestrians were a little ambiguous, so with some clarification from a runner I did find the deserted train station, where some more ambiguous signage lead me to a very down at heel looking foot passenger check in area, which was all but closed and deserted. There was one other passenger, in a sub-room cowering under an electric heater. I joined them for the additional warmth in the room, although somewhat regretted it as the heater failed soon after and the passenger was an overly talkative character. Next, the lights started intermittently cutting out every so often, creating an even more eerie atmosphere. Eventually another passenger arrived, and at around 11pm we were told that due to the continued loss of power in the building, special arrangements would need to be made to get us onboard. The staff were all very friendly, but it did seem a little chaotic. Rather than just check in at the foot passenger terminal, and walk on board (presumably); we were required to board a shuttle bus, and enter the port through the vehicle entrance where we checked in at one of the booths. We were then dropped off at the vehicle passengers lounge, which was much more modern, had a cafe, duty free shop and modern amenities. You could clearly see where the investment had been focused. At around 1am the bus came back to collect us (3 foot passengers in total) and drove us onto the vehicle deck, from which we climbed stairs up to the passenger decks. At guest services, I enquired how much a room was. '£50' was the answer, which was good because I'd already decided that this is the maximum I would be prepared to pay, the ferry crossing to Rosslare Europort only being around 4 hours in total. The cabin was basic, but clean and entirely adequate for the task. The main benefits were a proper bed, better quality sleep from the added security of a lockable cabin door and access to a shower.



To be continued...

 

[D6130]

To be continued...

Can't wait to hear about your adventures in Ireland!

 

[Iskra]

Can't wait to hear about your adventures in Ireland!

Thank you!

Part 2 - Ireland

The nights sleep was decent, albeit brief. At around 0450 the Captain came on 'the pipe' explaining that we would soon be arriving at Rosslare, and explaining the disembarkation process. I quickly jumped into the shower to do my ablutions, before hurriedly dressing and packing-up. At the lounge on Deck 4 one of my other passengers had a coffee, and pointed out that these were complimentary for customers who had booked cabins. I hadn't noticed a coffee voucher in my cabin, and at this point I'd checked-out and was awaiting the call to disembark. I went to try my luck at the cafe, and the friendly server was happy to give me a coffee with no fuss at all. Excellent service. The coffee was pretty decent quality too. We were soon alongside and not long after we were called to disembark. We headed down to the vehicle deck, where we were told that the bus driver had overslept, so they were still planning on how to get us off. They had provided a tractor and trailer for our luggage, but everyone decided that we'd just walk to the terminal with our luggage from there.



It wasn't too far to walk to the ferry terminal, and then it was probably another 10 minutes to the Irish Rail Rosslare Europort station, where you pass the turntable at the end of the platform and my onward DMU was stabled, ready to take me to Dublin. This would be my first experience of Irish Rail, and I was quite excited. Ahead of departure the friendly driver appeared and told us that it would be about 15mins before he'd have the train in the platform for us to board.





He was as good as his word, and we were soon able to board. The train was a Rotem design. I last sampled one of these back in Ukraine in January 2020, just before the world went mad, and I could see the similarities between the DMU's. These were comfortable, light and airy units allowing good views. The ride up to Dublin was nice and scenic for most of the way, and I enjoyed the train crawling literally along the pedestrian promenade at Wexford, which was a real novelty. Logically, the train got busier as we got closer to Dublin. I'd also assumed that the journey would get faster as we approached the capital, with the infrastructure improving, but I was wrong on this count. Once we reached the electrified part of the route at Greystones, the train actually slowed down even more as we presumably got stuck behind commuter EMU's calling at all stations. It was a real drag.

Changing platforms at Dublin was quite simple, and I soon found my service to Belfast as it's separated somewhat from the rest of the station, although there were no additional security checks or anything. The train wasn't ready to board when I arrived around 20mins ahead of departure, but I did ask the person controlling entry to the platform if I could nip down to take a photo, and they kindly allowed me to do so. Before I got back to the checkpoint, passengers were boarding, so I joined them.



When booking this trip, I was convinced via the seat selector (and lack of first class tickets being available to me) that I was booking onto a DMU rather than the loco-hauled service, but I went along with it anyway. I was thus pleasantly surprised for it to be a loco-hauled set, and when photographing the loco I was filled with genuine excitement, as I had a bit of a flashback to my youth where I'd been bought a book of locomotives in which these trains had featured prominently pictorially. On the seat selector, I'd found a nice single seat, next to a window which I'd booked. It was a good seat, but unfortunately someone had sat opposite me already, and sat in a really awkward way with their luggage which meant I couldn't sit normally forward without limiting my legroom and would basically have to sit diagonally away from the window to have any space. While I could have managed this, I really did want to be able to look out of the window comfortably. This is extra important to me on international journeys where I might never return to do them again. I had a solution though. This train had a restaurant car, open to Standard Class passengers. Thus I headed-down to it and ordered a Full Breakfast and a coffee, which came to £10.50, which was reasonable I felt. It was even more reasonable considering it would basically give me a first class quality seat and legroom for the rest of the journey too. It was also very sparsely populated until Belfast. This journey was surprisingly scenic, with some large lakes North of Dublin and mountains/hills around Newry. It was again, pretty slow going most of the way. One criticism of the Dining Car was that they windows were very high, but other than that it was a great experience and I'm very happy to have done this international loco-hauled service.





At the shiny new Belfast Grand Central station, I was quickly through the barriers and past a bunch of photographers and diplomatic protection officers in suits awaiting Royalty arriving. There is nowhere to be picked up or dropped off at this new station, which seems something of an oversight. Thus, I had to risk the wrath of my Uber driver by standing on a pavement adjacent to double-yellow lines. Luckily, he didn't have an issue at all and agreed the station is ridiculous to access. He sped me out to George Best/Belfast City Airport in no time at all. Here, I'd tick something off my bucket-list; a business class flight. The airport was very quiet so I was rapidly through security and checked in at the Aspire Lounge, with a buffet and free bar available to me, with runway views and the iconic Harland & Wolf shipyard cranes in sight. I enjoyed the lounge, the BA plane stables right next to it and you get a little secret exit onto the air bridge.





Onboard, the service was excellent. The food choice wasn't amazing, but more than adequate for the short flight, but the nice wine and personal service more than made up for it. The flight was smooth, and I was soon at Heathrow T5. On my original booking, I had around an hour here, which seemed tight. BA had however intervened and amended my booking, instead giving me around 3 hours, so this meant I could relax in their Galleries lounge and enjoy more food and wine ahead of my next flight up to Manchester.

This flight was a little ridiculous. We sat a while awaiting a slot for pushback, which delayed us somewhat. Once in the air, the flight was around 35 minutes and it was both comical and ridiculous watching the staff try and do a full meal service in that flight time. The meal on this shorter flight was actually nicer than the previous flight, and the service was just as good. I did just about finish my meal before landing preparations started, although I was forced to decant my wine into a plastic glass so I could keep drinking it during landing. This was another great flight, but it was noticeable how much louder the cabin was in this aircraft than the previous one was. The arrivals experience at Manchester was smooth and I was then in the hands of TP on a cheap first advance back to Sheffield changing at Manchester Pic for an uneventful run. At Sheffield, I took an Uber home.



Overall, it was a great trip over land, sea and air. A winning UK locomotive, some new UK track, a new ferry route, scenic Irish routes, Irish loco-hauled, a dining car and my first business class experiences all mean that while this isn't my most exotic trip ever, it will remain a memorable way of celebrating ten years of tripping.

Thanks for joining me on this journey

 

[D6130]

Thanks for joining me on this journey

A great short trip and excellent photos. Congratulations on your ten years of trips!

Interesting to see that Iarnroid Eireann loco no. 216 - which hauled you from Dublin to Belfast - is still in the unique blue livery of the former Belmond Grand Hibernian luxury land cruise train....the carriages of which have recently been transferred to Great Britain and regauged for use in Belmond's new 'Brittanic Explorer' luxury land cruise train.

 

[Iskra]

Thank you! I had contemplated the significance of that livery so thank you for explaining!

 

[50002Superb]

Great read @Iskra

If I’m not being rude would it be possible to confirm your journey to Ireland by timings and cost to understand how do-able it is?

You’ve definitely peaked my interest

 

[Iskra]

Great read @Iskra

If I’m not being rude would it be possible to confirm your journey to Ireland by timings and cost to understand how do-able it is?

You’ve definitely peaked my interest

Thank you!

Sheffield to Rosslare Harbour was £55 on a flexible Railsail ticket, a £47 fare is available but it’s an advance so removes all flexibility. The cabin upgrade was £50 payable onboard, there were some fairly comfy and quiet lounge areas onboard where you could sleep for free if you wanted to. I’m due £27.50 delay repay on this leg. This was on the 0100 sailing, although a daytime sailing is available.

Rosslare Europort to Belfast via Dublin was around 30 Euro booked in advance.

The flights home were £200, but obviously these were business class and via an unusual route. You could easily get a low cost airline fare or another Railsail ticket back from Belfast to England via Stranraer and this would be around £50 and make for an interesting circular journey.

TP Manchester Airport-Sheffield 1st Advance at about £10.

RailSail tickets are bookable online via the TfW website if you want to have a play around to see what you can do.

Hope that helps