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Merseyrail 507 and 508s

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Razor1967

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2 Feb 2009
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I am planning a trip to Liverpool to try and clear my remaining 507 and 508 units which I require. I know Sandhills is the best place to go on the Northern line. I am also planning a trip to New Brighton to pass Birkenhead North depot. However which is the best station for getting the other units not passing Sandhills (The Wirrall line ?).
I know Liverpool Central is closed so therefore am I right in thinking Moorfields is the best bet for me.

Many Thanks !
 
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BlythPower

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If you don't mind sitting underground rather than basking in the sun like you can at Sandhills, then either Moorfields or Lime Street loop platforms will get you everything that's operating on the Wirral lines if you stick around long enough.
 

507 001

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Theres actually nowhere above ground that you could get all of the units operating on the Wirral, You could also go to James street.
 

Razor1967

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Thanks for the replies. If I go to Moorfields, can you see the Northern and Wirrall lines on the same level/platforms or are they in seperate locations. As I am spending about an hour at Sandhills I am more interested in the trains I won't see there (ie) the Wirrall line.
Which platforms do they run from ?

Thanks again !
 

Green Lane

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Thanks for the replies. If I go to Moorfields, can you see the Northern and Wirrall lines on the same level/platforms or are they in seperate locations. As I am spending about an hour at Sandhills I am more interested in the trains I won't see there (ie) the Wirrall line.
Which platforms do they run from ?

Thanks again !

All Wirral Line trains stop at platform 3 at Moorfields, which is a separate platform, lower down than than the two Northern Line platforms. The Wirral loop line runs at a greater depth than the Northern Line link tunnels.

You can't really miss the Wirral Line platform, as it is clearly signed as "Wirral Line" throughout the station. If you keep going down all escalators till you get to the bottom, then you will be there. :D

Also as Liverpool Central is currently closed, there are extra staff there to assist in almost all parts of the underground station.

Just bear in mind that if you are spending a long time at any of the Merseyrail underground stations, then it can start to feel a little cool after a while, even if it's warm outside. Particularly it gets breezy due to the trains constantly pushing air through the tunnels.

Personally I'd prefer to sit at an outside station, but as others have said none of them will let you bag all Wirral Line trains in one sitting. You'd have to go to two outside stations minimum, one on the northern branch of the Wirral line, and one on the southern branch.
 
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John55

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South East
Thanks for the replies. If I go to Moorfields, can you see the Northern and Wirrall lines on the same level/platforms or are they in seperate locations. As I am spending about an hour at Sandhills I am more interested in the trains I won't see there (ie) the Wirrall line.
Which platforms do they run from ?

Thanks again !

To see all the trains operating on the Wirral you need to stay at one of the underground stations for at least 90 minutes as the Chester trains for example take that long to reappear. On a weekday there will be usually be trains at Birkenhead Central (not in the depot) and Rock Ferry.

To see all the trains operating on the Northern Line you need 135 minutes at Sandhills. Many units are stabled at Southport so outside the peak M-F you will not see those or any at Kirkdale (which is one stop north of Sandhills).

During the day the trains stick to the same route so you cannot stay at Kirkby and see more than 3 EMUs for example. The same is true on the Wirral.
 

Pen Mill

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I did a similar trip last year.
An hour at Birkenhead North will clear everything running on the West Kirby & New Brighton circuits, likewise an hour at Birkenhead Central will clear everything on the Chester & Ellesmere Port routes.
You could clear them quicker at Hamilton Square but it's pretty dismal down there !
I didn't find anything stabled at New Brighton but didn't have time to check out West Kirby.
There were 4 sets on depot at North when I passed to New Brighton.

As far as North of the river goes , an hour at Sandhills will clear everything running there but a run upto Kirkdale will probably reveal a couple of sets. Units do stable at Southport , there were 3 up there when I went but it's about an hour and half round trip from Sandhills.
I managed to get 46 out of the 59 on my day out up there !
I know for certain that I didn't get 2 from inside North Shed and one from Kirkdale and 507002 was at Doncaster so I was left with 9 unaccounted for !!

I didn't have time to go to Chester,West Kirby or EP so I don't know if there was anything up there.
 
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Razor1967

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Thanks for all your helpul replies, they are much appreciated.
I have 4 hours in Liverpool and am taking the first train from Lime St underground to New Brighton to tick off Birkenhead North depot. Then same train back to Moorfields to spend an hour on Platform 3 for most of the Wirrall line trains (about an hour underground is my limit !!!). Then up to Kirkdale to pass that depot and back to Sandhills for an hour an a half to get Northen line trains.
Don't have time to get up to Southport and back and hopefully the ones I miss will be the ones I have seen before (need about half of the fleets for sight) !
Will purchase the Saveaway ticket from Lime St station (£4.70 ?) before taking my descent to the tunnels !!
 

Tramfan

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.
Can't offer any better advice in terms of actual locations, but I would suggest Sandhills in particular at peak time if possible, as there are quite a few double sets used which pass though on Southport and Ormskirk services. I can't remember off-hand exact numbers of how many double sets are used on the Northern line compared to the Wirral line though.
 

Green Lane

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Thanks for all your helpul replies, they are much appreciated.
I have 4 hours in Liverpool and am taking the first train from Lime St underground to New Brighton to tick off Birkenhead North depot. Then same train back to Moorfields to spend an hour on Platform 3 for most of the Wirrall line trains (about an hour underground is my limit !!!). Then up to Kirkdale to pass that depot and back to Sandhills for an hour an a half to get Northen line trains.
Don't have time to get up to Southport and back and hopefully the ones I miss will be the ones I have seen before (need about half of the fleets for sight) !
Will purchase the Saveaway ticket from Lime St station (£4.70 ?) before taking my descent to the tunnels !!

It might be worth noting that West Kirby trains also go past Birkenhead North TMD. So if a West Kirby train arrives before a New Brighton one, then you could get that instead in order to save a bit of precious time. The two routes don't diverge until you're already almost half a mile west of the main depot building. You could then just get off at Bidston. Who knows, you could even get lucky and see a Borderlands DMU on Merseyrail track! :D

I think it's still £4.70 for a saveway. Although, things are going up that quickly at the moment, I tend to lose track.

There's also the alternative option of a Merseyrail Day Saver ticket, which I think is 10p cheaper than a Saveaway at current prices but valid on rail only. Neither ticket currently has evening restrictions as far as I'm aware.

Having said that, the Saveaway is clearly the better option for you, as if any (rare) disruption occured on Merseyrail, you could at least get a bus or ferry back to Liverpool and not end up stranded on the Wirral. :D

Good luck anyway! I'll probably be around and about on the network myself tomorrow as fortunately, I'm off work this week - nice!
 
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table38

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Will purchase the Saveaway ticket from Lime St station (£4.70 ?) before taking my descent to the tunnels !!

Top tip - buy it from the Merseyrail MtoGo shop at the entrance to the Low Level Station at Lime Street. Last time I queued up at the ticket office for one in the main station, they didn't have any!

If you are going in the week and you fancy a blast of fresh air, the Saveaway is valid on the Mersey Ferry too (walkable from Hamilton Square and James Street) although I think you have to go to the ticket office first and get a pass.
 

Pen Mill

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Here's part of my planning spreadsheet for that trip !
1 hour will clear everything moving on the Northern line at Sandhills ...
that's 17 consists.
Merseyrail.jpg
 

ukrob

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Top tip - buy it from the Merseyrail MtoGo shop at the entrance to the Low Level Station at Lime Street. Last time I queued up at the ticket office for one in the main station, they didn't have any!

If you are going in the week and you fancy a blast of fresh air, the Saveaway is valid on the Mersey Ferry too (walkable from Hamilton Square and James Street) although I think you have to go to the ticket office first and get a pass.

Must have been quite a few years ago then?

Saveaways are printed on standard ticket stock.
 

ukrob

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Here's part of my planning spreadsheet for that trip !
1 hour will clear everything moving on the Northern line at Sandhills ...
that's 17 consists.
Merseyrail.jpg

No, as I already said, it won't.

If you just miss a unit at Sandhills heading to Southport, the return journey to Sandhills is well over an hour and a half including stabling at Southport. So how can you possibly clear everything in an hour?

Also, there should be 10 diagrams for Southports, not the nine you state.
 

table38

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Must have been quite a few years ago then?

Saveaways are printed on standard ticket stock.

Couple of years maybe? They were those ones where you scratched the date off and folded the sticky-backed-plastic cover over when I last bought one!

-- Edit --

http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/articleimages/Saveaway%20Jan%2011.pdf says the old "scratch and sniff" tickets still exist but are sold only at "Merseytravel Centres, at some libraries and over 400 corner shops across Merseyside". So ignore my previous advice!
 
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