I was surprised at the crowds alighting at South Gyle when I did the morning loco service, quite a busy station.
You really don't expect it to be a busy place, although when Edinburgh Gateway finally opens it'll be interesting to see the impact it'll have on South Gyle.
Also, I like your new avatar (East Coast HST), at Carlisle isn't it? Been what feels like a billion years since I last went there, and my last trip through there last week I was fast asleep on the sleeper
Thanks for the trip report so far, always a cracking read - im more of a train geek than a spotter but your knack for storytelling makes it interesting
I'm glad you're enjoying the read these trip reports provide, always nice to hear apppreciation for the many hours these multi-day trip reports take to produce!
I managed to find time yesterday morning, after being rudely awoken an hour ahead of schedule, to finish off the write-up for Day 4 before I had to go to work, even though it meant missing breakfast until I got to town and hit Subway. Worth it though!
I'm going to carry on with Day 5, the final day, shortly as well so this will hopefully all be finished by lunchtime
Oh, and if the final part of Day 4 feels like a long read, it is. Encompasses 3 pages in Word on font size 11! Don't want to think about how many pages it would take up in the entirety of the trip report!
hock:
10/10/2014 – Day 4 continued
Several observations are made here at Kirknewton before joining winner 156495 back east to Kingsknowe. I note that’s it’s not far on the map to Slateford by foot, which leaves me pondering over whether to do that or not for a few minutes. I eventually decide to stick with the plan and get dud 158740 west again, this time to Curriehill. There’s a hefty +41 here for the next train east, however it’ll be worth it if what I expect is working the 1218 Glasgow Central to Edinburgh. I also take the opportunity to get a photo of the now-old First Scotrail livery before the chance goes. Many observations are made here before an announcement tells me my train is 8 minutes late. “Oh for…what now?!” I think out loud, then I see why, a pair of 350s on a Manchester Airport to Edinburgh were late and got in the way. All forgotten when winner 158704 is got heading back to Haymarket, and I now need just Slateford to clear the stations from West Calder to Edinburgh, a very significant improvement from what I needed prior to this trip! Out comes the notebook after Slateford when we ground to a halt waiting for a platform, as I had a good few bits to add to it now. “If I get started on it now, we’ll move, if I don’t we’ll stay here a while” I think to myself, bored waiting for the path into Haymarket. Sure enough, as soon as pen touched paper the engines roar away! The plan now is to do some stations and 334s on the Bathgate route, I’ll return to the Shotts route on another trip.
I go like the clappers now at Haymarket to p4 though, as winner 170418 is observed on the 1345 Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street, jumping on board as soon as I hit the platform. Turned out I could have walked slowly as we waited for some time here before leaving 4 minutes late. Not that I’m fussed at the moment, I’m on board and I’ve got WiFi working to my surprise. It’s also time for some tunes and my second can of Monster Khaos on the trip to Glasgow, the first time I’ve headed this far west since arrival into Scotland 2 days previously! It turned out to be a good decision, but let’s not spoil that, unless of course you read all the tweets at the time
It’s not long before I’m back on the move (within 10 minutes!) at Queen Street with winner 170475 from the rather short platform 1 on a stopper to Stirling. It takes a while for me to muse over where to bail, Bishopbriggs was a possibility but I declined that and went for the option of going the whole way to Stirling. Bishopbriggs is where the train right royally emptied out, it had been rather full leaving Queen Street, and it is where I would have got winner 158741 back to Queen Street if I had bailed. Never mind, it’s about time I got some proper mileage going on! We arrive into bay platform 7, a winner for me and last time I was here, an ex-Wessex Trains 158 (in ex-Wessex condition inside and out I should add) was stabled in this one so it goes to show how long ago this was! It’s not all that long until a fast train to Glasgow Queen Street turns up (and I mean fast, as in non-stop) which is rammed. A few others and me manage to squeeze on with the others having to settle for the slow train instead. Winner 170452 is on this one, ex-Aberdeen and apparently it’s been rammed ever since Aberdeen! It’s blamed on it being a Friday night and the riggers being back on shore, so everyone’s off to Glasgow for a night out. It’s not even 1600 at this point, seems dreadfully early to me to hit Glasgow for a night out!
After a 28 minute non-stop journey (it was 44 minutes on the stopper, not quite as drastic a difference as I thought) I’m back at Queen Street of the North (the other one of course being Cardiff Queen Street) and a pair of 158s seen earlier, both noted on Eastfield depot as required, were currently buffer-blocking on platform 2. Excitement builds and I keep waiting to see what they’re going to work. After a while I give up working that out for now and head to Burger King. The eagle-eyed of you may have noticed I’ve not stopped for food in quite a while, not since breakfast. Not that I didn’t want food earlier, it’s just I couldn’t find much about anywhere at the places I had long waits at. Several observations are made in the meantime including a 1633 to Lenzie. Why it only goes to Lenzie I have no idea, and I see nothing in the timetable to suggest a return working. It produces a 156 today at least, so might be worth a punt next time I’m here. I sit down to eat my lunch and tea for a while, then with the 1648 to Dunblane being 156s. “What on Earth are these 158s doing here then?!” I wonder, after all they’ve been sitting here for over 30 minutes now if not longer. All of a sudden I think to check my NREA and see if I need 156433 on the rear of the Dunblane train (welcome to the Dunblane train! That’s a reference to the Anglo-Welsh-Scottish Bash of November 2004, which only certain people will remember.
heart-of-wessex I think you’re the last one on here who’ll know it). I do, so my Burger King goes back in the bag and I attempt to navigate the barriers with my food and drink in one hand, the case in another with my ticket wallet and feed my ticket through. To my amazement the barriers don’t have an issue and I race up the platform to see what the other 156 is before we get going.
It turns out to be winner 156474, that’ll do quite nicely in place of the 158s! Right time departure and I can see why this train is a pair of 156s, it’s rather busy. As we head north I can’t help but check RTT to see if I can figure out what the 158s are doing. The only movement I can see out of platform 2 any time soon is the 1711 to Carnoustie, which I can do a leap on still for them, so that’s me most happy and time to finish my food. It’s an enjoyable run to Bridge of Allan, with the train having emptied out a fair bit by Croy (I can only assume Croy, Lenzie and Bishopbriggs are big commuter areas), by Stirling we could have all easily fitted in one 156. It’s time for another photo and, in addition this time, a video clip of the 156s leaving Bridge of Allan. They didn’t do much to begin with but the engines soon kicked in and sounded most enjoyable. It’s only an 8 minute wait for the Carnoustie train to get here (it had the advantage of running fast to Stirling, hence catching us up a bit) and sure enough it’s winners 158713 and 158716 this evening. It would be interesting to find out if the 1633 and 1648 off Queen Street are booked 156s and the 1711 booked 158s, as it would be well worth a punt another time. I should add I’m most grateful to
43094 on the forum for confirming which ones these were, as my notes and memory were most conflicting and confusing. Moves file said one thing, the observations file another and my memory something else altogether!
I’d noted by chance of being towards the front of the train (if I’d been in the back I’d have seen but not ID’d them), while on the 156s waiting for access to Larbert, 158727 and 158735 on an Edinburgh to Dunblane train and work out its next service to be the 1758 from Dunblane so I race over the footbridge to claim winner 158727 (those with good memories will recall this was my last 158 in the country to see a couple of years back) on a leap back to Stirling. Winner 170457 is noted rolling in with dud 158725 on the back on an Aberdeen and Perth service, which I’ve got to say looked a trifle odd on the screens. Into the 170 I jump and I discover the 158, normally ripped off at Dunblane, is staying on tonight for strengthening as it’s a busy Friday evening. I now want to go and see what did the peak-time Alloa train from Edinburgh (pretty much every other train comes from Glasgow) as it was a pair of 158s when I did it last. Dud 158867 and dud 158726 take me back to Stirling and I have 30 minutes to kill before the train to Edinburgh. It’s a good call going for this as it turned out, as winner 158732 was had on the back of dud 158734. Another Haymarket 158 down, good news! I’m on this all the way to Edinburgh, and as I write this section 8 days after the event I’m still annoyed I had to flag 170396 but I’ll hopefully get it next time I’m up here. It’s time for some tunes again to keep me going (note the lack of caffeine since the can of Monster on the way to Glasgow earlier!) on the long trip to Edinburgh on an all-stations run. 55 minutes after leaving Stirling, we reach Edinburgh at 2002, 1 minute late. Still a good bit of connection time into the 1530 London Kings Cross to Glasgow Central, and tonight it’s winner 91128 which is most pleasing! I’m on this move as I’m in dire need of charging my phone ahead of the sleeper journey home later, as there’s no chargers on that. It’s an enjoyable ride over to Glasgow, over before I know it though, and I got a good bit of charge out of the journey thankfully. We arrive at 2123, 2 minutes early which the guy that followed me off the train was glad of as he had only 8 minutes to get to the low level platforms! I wish him luck and see him running what feels like a marathon journey when in a rush.
I toyed with the idea of doing an Electric Run to Queen Street, this being Central Low Level to Partick then to Queen Street Low Level, both services being on EMUs hence the name Electric Run. However it was going to be ultra tight to make the 2148 off Queen Street High Level to Dunblane, as I know what my luck is like at Partick. Get to the eastbound platform and find the next train’s for Central not Queen Street. Doing the journey the other way around, it’s first train for Queen Street not Central! Once or twice it’s worked out the way I wanted it to but it’s more common for me to spend some time festering on the platforms. Which reminds me, I still need a 320 for sight, next time maybe eh? So I do the walk to Queen Street, and I swear 99% of the times I do this walk I get lost! Thankfully I ask someone and I’m not far away, with still plenty of time to kill yet. The 2141 off here is dud so I pop back into Sainsburys Local for some Fosters and chocolate doughnuts. The 2148 to Dunblane has produced a winner, 170478, which I’m incredibly happy with! Right time departure and I crack open a can of Fosters to celebrate the day, ending it on a winner is always nice. I also get on with updating my Quails a bit, and it’s then time for 2 of the 4 doughnuts, as I’m now rather hungry again. In all fairness, by then it had been around 5 hours since my breakfast/lunch so I did alright I reckon.
Right time arrival at 2244, and I go off in search originally of hot food but find The Riverside pub instead and pop in for a pint. Amstel’s £3.40 which I don’t have the change for so settle for a half, which is still fine at least as it got me out of the cold for a while. I also end up asking if there’s anywhere I can charge my phone, and they offer to do that for me behind the bar, which was most generous. I did first explain the situation of no chargers on the sleeper train and all that, so she was most understanding. I would highly recommend this place, very friendly staff and it’s quite nice inside. No idea what their food is like, but their pints weren’t that much more than Wetherspoon really (I used to pay £2.85 for Amstel there, so 55p more in an independent pub is most reasonable) and I shall be returning on my next visit to the area. After around 35 minutes later, drink finished well before then, I felt guilty about hanging around any longer without getting another drink so thanked the barmaids most sincerely for their help and went back to the station. Not even a 2 minute walk away, and I spot The Dunblane Hotel less than 30 seconds walk from the Glasgow-bound platform which has to be worth a go next time I’m up here. Another can of Fosters is devoured during the wait for the Inverness portion of the Down Highland sleeper to arrive, and every few minutes I noticed the time and how little of it I had before I officially started leaving Scotland! Dud 67021 rolls in with it and we leave 1 minute early at 2354, myself being the only passenger boarding tonight. By the time we reach Edinburgh at 0111 the Aberdeen and Fort William portions are already combined behind the 90, which tonight is dud 90028. I knew it was a lot to expect the 67 or 90 to be required, never mind! 0133 and the shunt moves are finished and we’re under way again, with myself well overdue some doss now I’ve finished all 4 cans of Fosters!
EDIT: Day 5 follows below, finally got this lot finished 6 days later than planned!
Mmkay, it might have taken me about 75 minutes to type up, including breaks for coffee and such like, but Day 5 is done and is below. A 3.5 page job this was, so again if it feels like it's a long read it is!
11/10/2014 – Techniquest’s Anglo Scottish Bash, Day 5
I honestly cannot believe how quick the last few days went, even the lengthy festers at rural stations like Fauldhouse went quick! During the night I wake up a few times, totally oblivious to my surroundings for a few moments each time, and I think I noticed heading south through Carlisle and somewhere else, wondering why we were heading south. Of course we’re heading south you *insert colourful language here*, I had to tell myself on each occasion, we’re going to London! I awake again a good while later, I believe it was just before Wolverton. I’m still yawning away a fair bit but decide it’s time to start shifting soon after. I do like that we were on the fast lines though, that was a nice surprise. Non-stop through Watford Junction too, that was even better. It must be one of the only times ever (and this includes when the FGW sleeper was MK2s on the seated sleeper, and that’s a trip down Memory Lane to June 2004!) that the MK2 noise – if you don’t know the noise I’m on about, it’s that hissing sound and some other sound they make when they’re braking – didn’t get on my nerves during the night while I was sleeping! A miracle although I do also attribute that to the copious amounts of alcohol consumed to knock me out. I hadn’t remembered the ear plugs so if I’d been totally sober I’d have doubtlessly had a rather different experience!
Arrival is at 0742, 5 minutes early, and I take the opportunity to get a few photos of the MK2 seated sleeper coach, MK3 sleeper coach and 90028 at the front, in case the opportunity doesn’t arise again. I only have 5 hours to crank in London, where on Earth do I start? I have an incredible amount of requirements on the mainline routes, let alone the Underground or London Tramlink lines. I go get my travelcard and have a stretch of legs before joining winner 378255 on the 0757 to Watford Junction. I reason that, with the announcement this week of new Tube stock due in the next few years, it wouldn’t be a bad shout to get going more on the Bakerloo line’s 1972 sets. I don’t need that many of these anyway, or so I thought before counting them up. I needed a lot more than originally expected, that’ll change today! I was going to leave the 378s until they all came back with their new carriages to make them 5 coaches long, as it’s widely expected they’ll be renumbered again (for those new to the scene, the 378/2s were renumbered from 378/0s when they went from 3 to 4 carriages) however if they don’t then at least 378255 is now in the book. Talking of, I could have sworn this one went to the works for its new carriage a while ago, never remembered that at the time and didn’t check. Extreme “D’oh!” moment there for me!
Queens Park and it’s time to hope for the right sets to turn up today. As it’s a Saturday, it’s going to be a case of lots of sets on depot. The first pair I find a winner on (the first two lots were double duds!) is dud 4-car set 3345 and winner 3-car set 3435, on I go then! I end up bailing at Warwick Avenue, not because I need the station as they’re all done on the Bakerloo line since Tuesday, but because it seemed a convenient place to crank at. I’m here for 11 minutes all in, noting the odd winner going north through the link to the other platform here, when double winners 3254 and 3463 roll in, I can’t turn those down then! Off to Edgware Road next, as I’m not certain where my best place would be for further cranking now. It’s only 3 minutes here before double winners 3299 and 3433 roll in, off I go then counting my lucky stars that I’m having some good luck this morning so far! I’m not certain how best to report the numbers on here, so I’ve gone for the end cars on sets for this (and others) line. The S stock and the Victoria line stock is different, as will be noted further on, but with those I note the 21xxx number on each set (S stock) and 110xx number on each set (Victoria line). If anyone can think of a better way to report these off, let me know. Another 5 minute wait at Oxford Circus gets me dud 3233 and winner 3465 for the BSB to Piccadilly Circus. Another wait, this time of 4 minutes, gets me dud 3258 and winner 3467 (the eagle-eyed of you will notice a lot of these winners are the 3-car sets of 1972 stock, thanks to my poor records on the Underground over the years) gets me down the road to Waterloo for another BSB. My memory tells me there’s a McDonalds here which will do nicely for breakfast this morning. After just short of an hour of cranking already this morning, and having not eaten yet, I’m starving!
Where on Earth it is then I have no idea, I couldn’t find it after much looking. I’m far from happy, Waterloo’s too much like St Pancras now, all these expensive shops that charge the sun and moon for anything at all. The new shopping complex up here in Hereford, The Old Market, is like that too. Far too much that the common man can afford, and since the council also cut back almost every bus after 1800 the place is deserted in the evenings as none of us can get home if we don’t drive or live in town. Oh well, at least it’s less of an eyesore than the former cattle market was! Anyway, I give up looking for food and manage to find Costa so they’ll be my saviour this morning! I find an exit I’ve never seen before, and now I’m armed with my large Americano I need to find a move as by now I have 4 hours until I need to be on the train homeward bound. I eventually find a winner that I can do, which was 455874 on the 0922 to Weybridge. The 455s were another class undergoing modifications that I was going to leave alone until they’re all renumbered, should that actually happen, but this Western man felt like he was on foreign territory and wanted to get away as soon as possible! Anyway, I’m off to Queenstown Road (Battersea) as it’s a required shack and hope it’s not too long to wait for the next train back out of here. It’s only a few minutes fortunately, but this provides dud 455919 for the leap back to Vauxhall, my ticket away from the LSWR. This 455 now has a status of Super Dud, as I’ve now done each of the 4 coaches on this one at various times. Not an awful lot of trains that have Super Dud status, although all the 175s have been Super Dud for years. I haven’t worked out what status an MU would get for being dud, all coaches (where relevant) done and cleared it for the magical thou, that’ll wait until I get an MU over that 1,000 mile target. I have got a few HST power cars cleared for that though, hmm, something to ponder when I’m bored at work next…
Onto the Victoria line and away from foreign territory, and I score double winners 11091 and 11092 for the trip to Warren Street. The Victoria line is another line with all the stations visited, but I had a niggling doubt about Warren Street so it’s definitely done now! I end up scoring double winners 11077 and 11078 for a BSB back south to Oxford Circus. Next, it’s another BSB with double winners 11093 and 11094 to Green Park. Time to belt it north, as by now it’s 1000, 3 hours until I’m needing to be at Euston for the train home. It’s time on this run to Highbury and Islington to fix an error in my Tube moves recordings and score winner 11087 and dud 11088. I had forgotten the Great Northern line from Moorgate was closed at weekends, good thing I only had to wait 7 minutes for double winners 11079 and 11080 for the BSB to Finsbury Park. Finally back above ground, I have text messages to answer and send, just as well I have a few minutes before the first northbound 313 is due then! It’s also noticed just how very quiet it is here compared to Tuesday, very little running anywhere. I must make sure I come back here on a weekday next time! Winner 313024 brightens up the day for my first mainline move since the 378, now just short of 2.5 hours ago! It’s a BSB to Harringay, and it’s dud 313054 leading winner 313059 back to Finsbury Park. Double winners 365534 and 365502 take me down the road to Kings Cross, and the crowds getting on an East Coast MK4 set are really making it difficult for the big crowd on the 365s to get past. I find winner 365511 is on a stopper to Cambridge, leaving in a few minutes, so I race over and get on that for sure. A 317 is noted in the distance on its way to Kings Cross, and as soon as I reach platform 4 for it (from platform 2), it’s been switched over to platform 2! It was dud 317341 anyway, so I wait for the pair of 313s due down. Good call as it turned out, winner 313058 leads dud 313030 for the trip back to Kings Cross. How many more times will I have the pleasure of doing a 313 to/from Kings Cross I wonder?
I need to figure out a move now, as its 1139 when I get to Kings Cross so too early to go to Euston yet. I pop back downstairs, after much pondering, to the Victoria line to carry on scoring Victoria line stock. Double winners 11059 and 11060 are scored for the trip to Tottenham Hale, a 10 minute journey on here but would have been much longer doing the Tube to Liverpool Street and heavy rail forward. I have a 13 minute connection as it turns out for a fast train to Liverpool Street, the 317 before it calling at Hackney Downs was dud so I was fortunate the 379 behind was winner 379008! It’s just a 13 minute ride to Liverpool Street, and I’m now in a rush as it’s 1231 and much to my surprise it’s onto double winners 21101 and 21102 on a Metropolitan line train to Chesham within 2 minutes of getting off the 379! I’ve never had that luck on the sub-surface lines before! 10 minutes later I’m at Euston Square at 1243, 30 minutes until my train leaves Euston and I still need to have a meal yet. I’m at Euston just over 6 minutes later, and I was going to do Burger King (I was going to do McDonalds at Liverpool Street but didn’t expect to have any time to spare for that) but I settle with The Pasty Shop. A gigantic pasty with Bite Card discount came to £4.49, and a can of Monsters from Sainsburys Local for £1.55, that worked out cheaper than Burger King at least!
Dud (obviously, if you’ve read all my past trip reports
) 350126 is on the 1313 to Birmingham New Street, and quite a few of us, myself included, are waiting by the doors for what felt like ages, waiting for the doors to be unlocked which they finally are at 1310. First Class is quite busy this afternoon, although one girl got kicked out for having a Standard ticket. I’d have offered her the upgrade if I had been the guard, although whether it was worth it for her I have no idea. With her eliminated from First, we all had more room to spread out and I could now have a forward facing seat as I wanted. We leave 1 minute late and start flying up the fast lines before we have to cross back to the slows just before Leighton Buzzard. During this trip I realise just how much I haven’t wrote my trip report up in my notebook, the task is so daunting I don’t touch it, enjoying some music instead and getting my NREA and ST Publications books up to date. That in itself took quite some time to do! Before I know it, we’re back in Birmingham arriving at 1520, 3 minutes late. I have a wander around and see works on the tram station outside New Street station are progressing well. Before I know it, it’s time to walk over to platform 12b for the 1549 to Hereford, which has 170634 on it today. It’s the last train of the trip sadly, and obviously another train of Super Dud status, which the entire LM 153 and 170 fleet have been for quite a long time now. I can’t believe I’m now on the way home, it’s gone far, far, far too quickly. I spend some time now tweeting and texting, before updating my Required EMUs and Required DMUs counts, the former now finally under 1,000 (until the new lot start arriving of course!) and the DMUs on 274 I think. Some very good progress this week that’s for sure! I was blown away when I saw 37175 in Colas Rail colours at Kings Norton, I needed that one for sight so rather happy about that!
I also tot up my winners for the trip, which came to a massive 137 all in (trams, Tube and mainline trains, not including the HST trailers that is though). 36 required stations, 2 winner buses and 1 winner coach. I guess my mileage would hit around 900 on this trip at the time, but since then I’ve processed all my journeys into RailMiles I can reveal the figure was a most surprising 1,600 miles and 28 chains! Very happy indeed with that, a figure that’s sent my 2014 total through the roof and I’m now well ahead of my target for the year so far! Even this leg of the journey back to Hereford goes well fast, and I’m getting a lift home tonight which was an epic win tonight. A stop at the chippy was most welcome, as I was now rather hungry (it was well gone 1800 by now, as we’d gone and picked up my sister too) since I had finished my breakfast/lunch around 1325.
I had an absolutely amazing trip, which over the 5 days cost me almost £330 all in (food, drink, other supplies, hotel and trains) which is not bad at all. Apart from the Megabus Gold ‘experience’ it was a fantastic trip, with so many winners, plenty of required stations and some fantastic company on the Thursday night with
blindtraveller. £330 for 5 days of heaven is exceptional value, it must be said. I could have made it better only if it had been a 7 day ALR, and if I hadn’t had the Megabus Gold ‘experience’. Edinburgh Trams are finally covered too, something I’ve been planning to do for months so I’m glad I happened to choose to go to Scotland on this trip. Bring on the next epic adventure, indeed bring on my return to Scotland in 2015!
Stay tuned next week for mention of my next trip, I have a hunch I'll be creating a thread to hunt down some gen for it. Tickets and hotel are booked for the next epic adventure, although this will be much shorter than the last trip sadly. All I'll say for now it's about time I filled up that massive blankness in my NREA!