May Madness part 3 – Spicing it up in Manchester, 31st May 2019
“What’s this?”, I hear you saying. “KJ out on three trips in the space of five days? That's a throwback to 2015 or 2016!” OK, it’s taken me a little longer to write up the third one but it’s true, three trips in a week.
Making my way to Euston, I wondered what the day would hold. 390011 was kindly provided for my trip up to Stockport. Virgin have an irritating insistence of providing high mileage 390/0s for my trips out of London when all I want 390/1s. Ah well, more miles with my highest mileage wobble. The trip was uneventful, but I was certain that it could only get better.
390011 Euston to Stockport
I did not have long to fester at Stockport before 158773 arrived bound for Liverpool being pushed by 156404. Better climb aboard, we have a low mileage dude on our hands. My only previous trip with 404 being a Beeston to Nottingham Bus Stop Bash five years ago. Trouble was, I’d have to go to Warrington Central to clear it for ten miles (and twenty as well) so I bailed at Piccadilly, making a mental note to incept the pair later in the morning to get the job done.
156404+158773 Stockport – Manchester Piccadilly
158810+158858 appeared heading the opposite way and 158858 was another that was short on the necessary for membership of the Ten Mile Club. So straight back to Stockport was the name of the game. I had put out a request on the TOPS Requests page for my last four required Northern units (well one was a genuine Northern need, another was one I missed with Great Western and the final two were reformed units).
158810+158858 Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport
I had put out a request on the TOPS Requests page for my last four required Northern units (well one was a genuine Northern need, another was one I missed with Great Western and the final two were reformed units). It did not take long before 37078xotTE (thank you, kind sir) posted that one was resident in Doncaster Works – presumably being mated with a 21st Century lavatory and the other three were working. What’s more, I was about to meet one unit at Stockport!
A comfortable +10 turned in to the usual + something very small at Stockport for 142028 being piloted by reformed 150125. While I’d had 150125 in three car format as 150925 a few times, I’d never had it as a two-car. Until now that is. 142028+150125 were taken through to Bolton in order to well and truly clear the 150 for 10 miles.
142028+150125 Stockport - Bolton
One down and it would not be too difficult to get one of the others as I had about an hour to get to Victoria for it Here are the time-wasting moves.
142049 Bolton – Salford Crescent
142019+150206 Salford Crescent – Salford Central
142079+150110 Salford Central – Manchester Victoria
150215 Manchester Victoria - Salford Central
142028+150125 Salford Central – Manchester Victoria
I was now in pole position for the second winner of the day. It was with some relief that bang on cue a Skateboard appeared being dragged by a toiletless 150. Yes, my lords, I had scored!
150209+153358 Manchester Victoria – Bolton. New and immediately admitted to the Ten Mile Club. While I had managed to get most of the second generation multiple units that were scrapped before their time due to accidents etc., 150209 and 150212 evaded me.
Now it was time for my first electric train out of Bolton. The last time that I had encountered this unit was on 8 January 2015 when it was a Thameslink regular and it was on the daily commute.
319382 Bolton – Salford Crescent
Then a pair of Pacers took me on to Victoria
142031+142037 Salford Crescent - Manchester Victoria
Now it was time for a piece of new track. Yes, the new (ish) Ordsall Curve was about to fall into my lap .
185146 Manchester Victoria – Manchester Piccadilly
Now it was dilemma time. My last Northern 158 (and in fact my last 158) was working out of Leeds on the Little North Western over to Lancaster/Morecambe. I could comfortably intercept it at Shipley if I left now but getting it would occupy most of the rest of my day before I needed to head back home. The decision was made and it could wait another day. As the following moves show, the Membership Secretary of The Ten Mile Club was kept rather busy.
390128 Manchester Piccadilly - Stockport. Cleared for 10 miles
158810+158812 Stockport - Manchester Piccadilly. 158812 Cleared for 10 miles
323230 Manchester Piccadilly - Stockport. Cleared for 10 miles
323235 Stockport - Manchester Piccadilly. Cleared for 10 miles (last Northern 323 to join The Ten Mile Club
175104 Manchester Piccadilly – Newton-le-Willows. Cleared for 10 miles
175112 Newton-le-Willows - Manchester Piccadilly. Cleared for 10 miles
185151 Manchester Piccadilly - Manchester Airport. Cleared for 10 miles. My second lowest 185 which I’d only ever had from Oxford Road to Salford Crescent
I was now fully expecting either a long wait or to leave on a dud but in the event, it was neither. Having arrived on my second lowest mileage 185 I was about to leave on my lowest mileage 185!
185125 Manchester Airport - Manchester Piccadilly. Cleared for 10 miles. That leaves just two 185s to go before the whole class are members of that prestigious organisation, The Ten Mile Club.
Now in the absence of anything better to do, what about a little bit of shack bashing.
156421+156488 Manchester Piccadilly – Mauldeth Road. Shack score
323235 Mauldeth Road – Burnage. Another shack score!
319370 Burnage – Manchester Piccadilly
I had about an hour or so left before my train home and was not expecting a lot so just planned some time-wasting moves with a couple of Stockport leaps
150136 Manchester Piccadilly – Stockport
220032 Stockport - Manchester Piccadilly
175004 Manchester Piccadilly – Stockport. New – in its current formation of 175109 missing its centre car
158799+158856 Stockport - Manchester Piccadilly
158783+158854 Manchester Piccadilly – Stockport. 158854 cleared for 10 miles.
Time had run out and with under 20 minutes to go, I popped over the road to Sainsburys for a quick refuelling stop and then as they say, “after The Lord Mayor’s Show comes the dust cart”. Virgin excelled themselves again with their choice of Wobble for the run back to London
390049 Stockport to Euston. Dud for almost everything but at least it was not 390011 again.
Well, what did I think of the day? Three winners were not to be sniffed at even if 150209 and 175004 were simply reformed units. More importantly, two of the winners were former BR units which brings me down to needing just 6 DMUs (spread over four classes) and six EMUs before all ex-BR stuff is clear. Likewise, 12 new admissions into The Ten Mile Club did not prompt any calls to the Complaints Department. Two shack scores and a new bit of track as well, I came home happy. Just a pity that I could not contrive to run into 156404 again but that'll have to wait until I get over to East Midlands territory later in the year. That's becoming increasingly the front-runner for the destination of my next long-distance outing.
And what of the title? During the course of the day, there were an ever-increasing number of ladies travelling into Manchester with T-shirts proclaiming support for a particular girl band who were at their peak some 20 odd years ago. I think the same could be applied to many of the wearers of said T-shirts!
