Day 3- FoSSing Hell look at the time
Today the plan was get up early, get breakfast and make tracks to Eastleigh, where I'd have a bit of a spotting session, hoping to bag some of those elusive freightliner 70's, of which I'll explain later, going via Salisbury, to hopefully bag some SWT units for sight, then on to Romsey to Eastleigh, coming back via Southampton, to go past the Freight Terminal up and back through Westbury, bail and have half an hour there and try and get some winner in for haulage, while seeking out more cops. That was the plan.
The plan failed at the first hurdle, I didnt even hear the alarm go off at 07.15 but I awoke at 8.15, with a jesus h christ, look at the time. I bolted outta bed and went straight for a shower, brushed my teeth, hoyed some clothes on, quickly packed the bag, made a flask up and charged downstairs for breakfast. Again I had a mega full english, with a pot of cofffee, grabbing an apple to throw in my bag. About 5 past 9, I was marching up to the Station in a rather brisk fashion. Even though I had planned to be at the station 20mins ago, the extra kip had done me a world of good, I really needed a supply raid but wanted to make tracks, my coffee, apple and Large bag of Gressington Duck with plum sauce and Spring Onion Kettle Chips, which I strongly reccommend by the way, werent gonna last very long. I especially needed a cold drink too, even at 09.15, it was warm and shaping up to be a hot one.
I arrived to find the next train outta WSM was about 10mins late and due apparently in 3 mins. Result. Shame then the first journey up to Shirley was on fresh duds from yesterday, 43093 & 43126. Well you can't win em all, I got an unreserved table seat and settled in, guess which fred was at Bristol Railport, if you guessed 66541, congratulations, you won a prize, just send your bank details a pin number and we'll arrange to send your specisl prize to you immediatley. It wasn't all bad news because today
66505 was there too and duly copped, whey hey!! After bailing at Shirley, I went straight to the PIS and found a train going to Southampton in about 20mins, so I whizzed off the platform, well I say whizzed, for the umpteeth time the FoSS didn't let me through the barriers, I did tell the guy at the gate, it wouldn't work but he insisted I try and looked at me, when I said, told you. I went into Smiths and got a meal deal but also got a bottle of Dt Pepper, which I drained, whilst standing outside having a ciggy.
The same guy saw me walking back towards the barriers, this time he just let me through the barriers and I didn't have far to walk as my train was leaving from this platform, winner
158798 was my chariot to Salisbury, where I managed to get a table seat on the right hand side, on this lightly loaded service. I sat back updated the hashtag and read a bit of Railways Illustrated until about Trowbridge.
We were appeoaching Westbury when 47749 went in the opposite direction, to where I'm not sure. On leaving Westbury I cop 70802 70810 70801 70808 woo hoo, meaning I've copped 7 out of the 10 Colas 70's, unfortunately 803 is knackered and on Laira apparently, so I doubt that'll get a chance to be seen anytime soon. There's a few other DB Sheds on, however no 59's floating round which was a shame, still stuck needing all the 59/1s and 59005, I was hoping to get at least 1 but the haul of Colas 70's copped, more than made up for that, no point getting to greedy.
Bailing at Salisbury, I quickly got amongst whatever SWT units were about, I copped all 4 that were there, going great guns on that front today. How I'd have loved to get on that far platform to have a look see over the wall into the depot, that would've certainly batted a few requirements right out of the park. Afterwards I went off the station for a ciggy, by god it was warm now. I made my way back onto the platform and was eventually let through, after the Rover again failed to open the barier, the guy said, ah this Rover, its one thats got through the system, never works the barriers, I said, tell me about it, its amazing, we can put a man on the moon, speak to people on the opposite side of the earth via a phone but you cant get a valid ticket to open a barrier on a station, he agreed and laughinly said, thats progress for you and let me through. I looked on the PIS and saw a train to Romsey about 5mins away, then noticed it was a GWR service, oh well, bang goes the chance of a winning 158 or 159.
To my surprise in rolled dud 150120, which ironically was my first ever 150 for haulage, many many moons back and triggered another nostalgic memoir.
I'd done an overnighter at Carlisle the night before and had staggered down from Carlisle, bashing the electrics, getting off at Preston, Wigan and Warrington, I'd bailed off at Crewe, from whatever electric it was, wandered down the platform, probably to pick off whatever was on view at CD and found myself face to face with 37408
Loch Rannoch on either a Crewe-Derby or Nottingham run, though I can't be totally sure about to Nottingham but something rings true about it. My plan that day, was to bash back n forth on the 86's, 87's and 90's on the Manchester Picc to Euston trains but having been confronted by a 37 with 3, maybe 4 coaches, saw where it was going and with, I can't miss out on this ringing in my head, bolted to the ticket office and promptly bought a return to Derby. I returned pretty much staright away from Derby on none other than 150120.
Today my ole friend was taking me to Romsey and without thinking I just jumped aboard and off we went, I had an after thought, I fired up RTT and found, I had about a plus 5, I'd never been to Romsey before, hopefully its not one of them silly staggered platforms like Frizinghall, unless I'm knackered. I needn't have worried, it was through the underpass, wait a couple of mins and onto winner
158885 down to Eastleigh, the shortish journey saw me reaching for LSGs Black Box of Doom, as the stop after Romsey, may have been Redbridge, not totally sure, 3 young chavs, had my head done in, in a matter of minutes, so I drowned them out with Metallicas-Battery, Dead Kennedy's-Moon over Marin, Placebo's-Meds and Judas Priest-Painkiller, how apt was the last song and by the time they'd finished, I was bailing at Eastleigh.
I crossed over the bridge to see what was stabled in the station and was met by these lovelies, sorry its not a great photo, there off my phone, plus Im crap at this photography lark, anyhow I'm met by cop
73109 Borough of Eastleigh and 73119, behind them was Colas shed
66848, which unlike 73119, joined the ever growing cops list too.
I needed a cold drink, the weather was glorious but had really started to get hot, so I made over the platform and was halfway over it, when I noticed something coming through the glass on the bridge, I flew down the stairs and made it in time to see,
73952 and
73962 plus stock, on a test train to add 4 more cops(the 2 73s + plus 2 of the coaches) to the list. Now I could go for a cold drink, I went to the coffee vendour just off the platform and bought a large Strawberry milkshake topped with squirty cream, by did that hit the spot, I drank ravenously, to the point I got brain freeze, it was the best £2.80 I spent in a while.
I walked up Platform 1 and got halfway up and sat on the floor with my back against fence (the Southampton end of the platform) and was counting up the cops so far today(i'll leave you all in suspenders till the end of last day for the totals but I was doing well to say the least) the first 450 and 444 I saw, surprisingly weren't cops but as the day wore on I snared a fair few of them too, there was a fair bit of freight came through, more bloody planes but I'm not an aviation fan, however only
66504 66556 and
70020 were added to the loco cop list. I was especially pleased to see 70020, as it's only the 2nd Freightliner 70 to go into the NREA. How I dunno because it's not for a want of trying, I've seen a few but couldn't ID them, they were too far away, eg- far side of Basford Hall, on my HoE, I also stood at Stafford, Nuneaton, Leamington Spa and Rugby for hours on end, awaiting for at least one to pass by, no show. North West Rover, I stood at Piccadilly to see if one came off or went to Trafford Park, no show either, before that when they were passing through Carlisle, my mate snared a few there, I went, was there all day and night, again nowt. The only 1, I actually saw was 70003 at Midland Road, why do they go into hiding, even today, it was just 1 but a welcome one at that. it maybe a crap pic but here it is for prosperity.
As I got up to take a pic of that 70, I soon realised my left leg had gone numb, I went to stamp down on the floor, to get the blood rushing through my leg and foot, it was weird, it felt like my leg was missing and I tumbled backwards into the fence, like I'd just drank 10 pints of Stella
, also the heat was starting to get to me, I was frying, well my face and arms seemed to be, so I decided to go to Tescos/Sainsbury's, whichever I cant remember, on a supply raid and enjoyed a break from the opressive heat whilst in the chilled isle. 10 mins later, I'm suitably stocked up and on leaving said supermarket, I guzzled some of the ice cold fresh orange, I'd just purchased from the Carton, it was sheer heaven.
I done another hour or so, seeing the resident gronk in EWS livery, go up into the virtual quarry, however I need your help here, although I saw it, I didnt say the number into the dictaphone, Im sure it was something like 08904 but I've totally forgot now, anyone the wiser?, its in EWS maroon or whatever you'd call it. After 66718 flew through, an AR winner in
159108 arrived with a train to Southampton Central, I thought, lets get outta here, I remembered kites words, declassified first class, folk obviously aren't aware of this and walk through, I sat and charged my phone in comfort, in relative tranquility, till we got to Southampton, where the rest crammed ito the rest of the train, on arrival I bailed the train and the station for a welcome ciggy.
to be continued
Look forward to reading more.
