Palmersears' Jaunts

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Sounds like some really good trips out!

 

[Cowley]

Just caught up with this. Well done on seeking out all the 90s. Hope the hip's healing up well.

 

[Techniquest]

As much as a ride on the Cally Insomnie doesn't really appeal, it appeals far more than a ride north on Megabus overnight. I did just that recently, not suffering that again, those seats are not, despite Blindtraveller's assurances, comfortable!

Fingers crossed the sign-off is coming up!

 

[palmersears]

Thank you all for your kind words. Five weeks in now and the crutches have been shed so things are looking promising.

Since last I posted I've cooled substantially on the idea of the Caley sleeper, I think I'll save it for a slightly warmer month! However plans are forming nicely for at least another three days out before the year's end.

Firstly I'll be off to the south west again in three weeks. After my 8 week check-up I'm hoping to be out in time to Uber it to Stockport to catch the 1016 to Exeter St Davids for a wee bit of 143 hunting (although most are currently on St Philips Marsh with wheel flats!). Not sure how long I'll need there given I've never been and have little idea as to service patterns, but I'll give it a good three hours I think before heading back to Bristol to meet a friend for the evening. Bonus there is I now have a free place to sleep for the night. The Saturday will be the 0530 to Paddington before a day in the capital. That will either be a dash around numerous spots for the handful of EMT, Great Northern and GWR requirements or, more likely, a relaxed affair at a combination of Dalston Junction, Fenchurch Street, Herne Hill, London Bridge and Marleybone where requirements are more weighty. Then it's the 1820 home from Euston and a long bath I would imagine!

The week after I think will be another early start up to Scotland, probably the 0513 from Stockport to Crewe for the 0557 up to Glasgow, and then back via the same route leaving about 1830. That'll give enough time to hopefully hunt down the remaining 314s and 318s I need, as well as maybe hitting Edinburgh as well.

Finally a more relaxed day the week after (mainly as the wife will have the car), so probably the 0741 to Sheffield from New Mills, then over to Nottingham to see if I can get the last two EMT units/locos. If they show up early doors I'll pootle back to Chesterfield/Derby for some freight (Crossing fingers the 20s on the RHTT through Sheffield are still going as well).

Then that be it for 2017 I think!

 

[Kite159]

I think 3 hours at Exeter St Davids should be more than enough to cover all the Exmouth/Barnstaple/Paignton diagrams

 

[Cowley]

I think 3 hours at Exeter St Davids should be more than enough to cover all the Exmouth/Barnstaple/Paignton diagrams

I’m no expert in 143 bashing but you should be able to cover quite a bit with short return runs to Crediton, Exeter St Thomas/Exeter Central even Newcourt (I’d say Topsham but it’s a bit awkward with the level crossing).
I’ve seen plenty of 143s this week with your name all over them .

 

[Dhassell]

Good luck with your GWR 143's! Lets hope they are out of SPM soon enough! 4/8 are there at the moment!

 

[Cowley]

Good luck with your GWR 143's! Lets hope they are out of SPM soon enough! 4/8 are there at the moment!

Leaf fall skid damage I assume?
(Probably on the drivers seat too)

 

[palmersears]

Leaf fall skid damage I assume?
(Probably on the drivers seat too)

Indeed so, so half of them are at SPM currently to get this addressed. Might cut it fine to get them all back out for when I go down in three weeks!

 

[Techniquest]

Good news on the crutches being sent back!

Some good plans there for the rest of the year, more organised than me as I have zero plans for all of the final 2 months now. 2 socials to attend but other than that I might try to squeeze in a mini London bash somewhere. This time of year it's always difficult to do much!

 

[palmersears]

Good news on the crutches being sent back!

Some good plans there for the rest of the year, more organised than me as I have zero plans for all of the final 2 months now. 2 socials to attend but other than that I might try to squeeze in a mini London bash somewhere. This time of year it's always difficult to do much!

Indeed so. The dark mornings and evenings don't really lend themselves to standing still picking off winners. Certainly not in comparison to the day back in July when I got rather sunburnt at Bethnal Green! Add in the fact that money is tight in the run up to Christmas now (thankfully the VTWC 30% codes have helped out) and it's certainly not the most productive of times.

Speaking of which, tickets now booked for Scotland on 1 December (I must be mad going up there at that time of year). 0513 from Stockport to Crewe, 0557 Crewe to Glasgow, few hours there then across to Edinburgh for more of the same, before the 1852 back to Crewe and finally the 2213 back to Stockport. Slightly more expensive than a straight return ticket to Glasgow (by about £4), but means I save an hour by not having to travel back there from Edinburgh in the afternoon.

 

[Techniquest]

I sympathise with the dark mornings/evenings thing, it feels so much later than it is tonight!

That's going to be an exhausting day to Scotland, equally it sounds like it could be good fun!

 

[Kite159]

It does sounds like fun, hopefully the weather will be nice as it probably won't be much fun if it be raining with heavy chilly winds

 

[palmersears]

A not so perfect plan – 24/11/17

After an early morning 8-week check-up at the hospital (all going well apparently!), I was straight off to Stockport, arriving far too early as the mother actually drove well for a change. As such I was on platform 2 awaiting the 1016 to Bristol with a good 25 minutes to spare. I was heading to the waiting room when I just happened to take note of the departing Buxton service for a change, and what would you know, it was only a dud 150 dragging 156479 along! I’ve tried to hunt this down for a good 18 months now as it hid in Carlisle for a prolonged spell, but it finally fell to signal the clearance of the Northern diesel fleet. Not a bad way to start.

With that 220013 rolled in, and I eventually found coach C but, with an old lady in my seat, I sat across the aisle until she got off at Wolverhampton before taking up my seat. Drama was also occurring opposite her, with a lady kicking off as somebody had activated her mobile ticket the day before and the Train Manager was, rightly, insistent on her buying a new one. This continued all the way to Stafford, where she eventually decided she would rather get off than buy a new ticket to New Street. Virtually everybody alighted in the Bat Cave, leaving me opposite a horrendously hung-over woman and her daughter for the rest of the run to Temple Meads.

Arriving 2 late it was thankfully a short walk down the platform to the waiting pair of 150239+153361 and I opted for some dogbox thrash into new territory, Exeter St Davids. I’ll be honest, I dozed for most of the opening stretch, waking as we stopped outside Taunton to allow 800004 out and back up towards Bristol on test. The station itself threw up 150266, whilst Tiverton Parkway provided 43035 just as we pulled in.

Eventually, Exeter arrived as we pulled into the bay platform and I had a wander round to get my bearings. A nice little station, if a little cold, but after a quick trip to Starbucks for a chicken salad I soon settled in to watch the comings and goings. Things started well with the recently arrived 158883 kicking off the winners before 143617 became the first GWR in the book. 143619 then poked its nose out of the depot to take second spot, whilst 612 and 618 also made appearances. As the sun began to fall away dogboxes started to venture out to strengthen the rush hour with 153333, 153369 and 153382 all winners. 150238 also made its way into the winner’s enclosure mid-afternoon. Bonus freight was also scored as 70803 rumbled through on its way to Westbury for the weekend. Sadly that was about it after 3 hours, with the GWR local stuff just repeating, and the SWR DMUs not bearing any further fruit. I had come to learn at least two of the remaining four 143s were in Bristol having attention for serious wheel flats, but I’ve no idea where the other two were. Means I might need another trip down here in the New Year. I made my way over to platform 5 for what was supposed to be an HST, but instead 221124 arrived. Seat reservations not working it was a bit of a free-for-all, particularly with one woman seemingly trying to reserve four seats for here AWOL friends, but I bagged a seat on the right-hand side in order to catch 43078 as we pulled in to Tiverton. After that the pitch-black lulled me into a nap, and I awoke as we pulled in to Bristol again.

By the time it was half six, and I was getting a bit tired, the hip was aching slightly, and I was hungry. That said I battled on manfully until 1930, mainly in order to get the remaining GWR 158, 954 in the book, as well as to see the arrival of some IETs, namely 800011+013. Oh and 150238, but that was slightly less impressive! Now regular readers will know I was supposed to meet with a friend whilst in Bristol, but sadly he had to head to Scotland for family reasons, so instead I was in the IBIS Budget on Temple Quay. Full review in the appropriate thread soon, but safe to say it was well worth the surprisingly small amount of £45. I had a couple of beers and a curry in the hotel restaurant and then hit the hay in preparation for a busy day tomorrow. Not the mega haul I had hoped for, particularly disappointing not to get all the 143s, but getting that 156 at last meant the rest of the day could have been dud and I don’t think I would have cared!

Coming along nicely – 25/11/17

Up at 0450 after a decent sleep I was on 43136+43002 at 0530 for the surprisingly busy trip to Paddington. The faint whiff of alcohol suggested most people in coach D were ending their night instead of beginning it! Engineering work meant we were diverted after Bath and avoided Swindon and Didcot, but it was still dark as we approached Reading so I mainly dozed again until this point. 800005 and friend were pulling in as we did, which was nice of them. Loads of 387s at Maidenhead and West Ealing, the only winner from those I could ID was 387149, and we were then soon slowing for Paddington. This allowed a good view of North Pole depot, and a plethora of new IETs. I grabbed numbers for 800006, 800012, 800014 and 800017, but there were also a good few in the sheds I couldn’t get. Line closures on the fasts meant lots of Colas 70s were present, of which 70812 was required, and we pulled in opposite the sleeper. 57306 was on the back, a surprising winner given I thought I’d got all the DRS ‘Thunderbird’ pool, and after a fruitless search for my last 165 I headed to the underground destined for Victoria via a change at Oxford Circus.

Victoria was heaving considering it was half 7, and as I’d just missed an Orpington service I did a quick sweep of the platforms to get a lone winner in the form of 375304, before settling down on 465165+052 for a short journey out through my old stomping ground of Brixton to Herne Hill. Here I grabbed some abysmal porridge and settled in at the London end of platforms 1&2, making the most of the rising sun to warm my frozen core. A very successful couple of hours ensued, particularly if you are of a Thameslink/ persuasion.

Really did enjoy my time here, always nice to get a steady stream of winners, but eventually the Sutton loop services began returning, the Brighton’s were experiencing a bit of trouble with icy third rail, and I sensed it was time to move on. 700008 did the honours for a quick hop to Elephant & Castle, before the Northern line to London Bridge.

I was last here in May, and things have certainly progressed since then. You can see all the way across from platforms 6 & 7 to what will be 1 & 2, making it much easier to spot the services that pass through without calling, and when finished it will be an excellent place to spend a day racking up sightings. I took a seat at the country end of 6 & 7 with a tea and spent the next two or so hours chalking these up. Not all that much, and a distinct lack of much needed 466s, but engineering work further out on the network meant services were reduced slightly. Not to worry, as I’ll be back soon enough (more on that later).

I was a bit bored now, so decided on a slightly elongated route to Clapham Junction, going via East Croydon. 377604+613 did the honours for the first leg out to East Croydon, and I picked up a few winners along the way. 378140 was on New Cross depot, while 375710 fell through New Cross Gate itself. I was slightly thrown by its appearance away from Southeastern land, but it was definitely correct. Diversion perhaps? Or possibly working for Southern for the weekend? I could ask the same questions of 375814 and 375829, both at Norwood Junction, whilst 377506 and 700023 were more familiar winners for the area. East Croydon was rammed as I arrived, with large numbers heading the same way as me to Clapham for an interchange over to Twickenham for the rugby, so I let a couple of services go before plumping for 377116+377439 for the quick blast to the Junction.

A quick stop for a couple of pretzels upon arrival, but I then headed for the overbridge to see what winners lurked in the yard, which included 56301 and its barrier wagons following its early morning arrival with two more 707s. I then ventured down to a busy London end of platforms 9/10, where I recognised a few faces from previous trips. The old boys were anticipating the arrival of the 73s on the RHTT, but I left them to it and spent a few hours until the sun descended whittling down my SWR and Southern requirements further, most of which were 707s as they were brought out of the yard in pairs for a wash before returning. A bonus 66 was also copped.

It was now approaching 1600, the sun had gone and I was getting cold. With a couple of hours until my train back North I decided to check out West Hampstead to see if it was a decent spot for Marylebone traffic in the future (after my run in with security at Marylebone last time I’m not returning), so it was aboard 458501+504 in to Waterloo, and then the Jubilee line up and out. I took up residence at the London end, which was decent enough. You do run the risk of getting bowled by both Jubilee and Met line services but, in daylight, it’ll be much easier than it was in the dark. I may even go for the overbridge just south of the station if it’s not too windy when I next visit. I stayed for 45 minutes to get a feel for things, and got 165021, 165033 and 168219 in the process, before it was time to begin the journey home with the Jubilee line one stop south to Finchley Road, then the Met back to Euston Road. I went via M&S for a salad and some chocolate peanuts, before taking my seat on 390008 back to Stockport. A bonus of 345002 was spotted at Crewe LNWR, meaning I've now seen more 345s outside of London than in it.

Here things went bit wrong, with two broken down trains in quick succession around Levenshulme truly stuffing things up. Eventually, at 2010, the 2001 to Buxton arrived, and everybody was told to get off. They did so, and I then got on, rather bemused, and off we set to New Mills Newtown. The guard appeared at Hazel Grove and it transpired the inbound Buxton to Piccadilly (which then forms the train I was sat on) had only made into the block behind the second defective DMU, and was told to head back to Stockport to then run fast lines to Piccadilly. Sadly, after relaying this to his passengers, the guard was then told they would instead be terminating at Stockport, hence why everybody got off as I waited to get on. The result? An empty 150142+156444 to take me back home.

All told, a decent two days. Final Northern DMU has gone (just 1 in service 319 to get), a trip to pastures new, and a very productive day in London by current standards. Shame I couldn’t get all the 143s, but I might be able to get them done next year. To be honest I doubt I’ll get all the 153s before they disappear anyway, so adding a few 143s to that pile isn’t the end of the world.

Next up it be Scotland on Friday! Best dig out my thermals...

 

[Cletus]

Southeastern services from Hastings divert at Tonbridge along the line to Redhill and up through East Croydon, etc during engineering works.

Saw a 375 at the Windsor side of Clapham Junction a couple of weeks ago, although it was being dragged by a 37

 

[palmersears]

Southeastern services from Hastings divert at Tonbridge along the line to Redhill and up through East Croydon, etc during engineering works.

Ahh that explains it! I thought that was the case but I couldn't be 100% sure.

 

[Techniquest]

Clearly a very good day in the South West and London! The operation must have gone well to cope with all that!

 

[palmersears]

Clearly a very good day in the South West and London! The operation must have gone well to cope with all that!

Given I've spent all day sat down I think it's safe to say I did a bit too much! Thankfully I've a quiet week at work before Scotland.

 

[Kite159]

A busy couple days for your book of sights

 

[palmersears]

North of the Brrrrder - 1/12/17

December! Which was apparently the perfect time to hit Scotland again. I couldn't sleep the night before, and found myself at Stockport for 0445, a good 30 minutes before 390009 rolled in, complete with new livery (which I quite like), for the 20 minutes through to Crewe. Another 15 minutes wait here before 221114 arrived fresh from Crewe LNWR to form the 0557 up to Glasgow Central. A seat in the old first class coach was secured, with the service getting progressively busier through until Carlisle where it thinned out again. It was here that I picked up the first winner of the day, 70811 on the Dalston tanks, followed by a plethora of winners on Kingmoor depot. Indeed I'm now down to just 88010 in order to clear the 88s already.

A Fairly mundane final hour after that, and I alighted at Glasgow Central to decent winter sunshine. After a quick PNB and some porridge from Pret it was to the end of platforms 9/10 for a good 90 minutes. A number of 380s fell, whilst the class clearance cannon was also unleashed with the arrival of 314215. At this point gen arrived for my final 318, so it was down to the low-level platforms and aboard a rather mucky 334039 for the 10 minutes out to Hyndland, which was far more pleasant in the winter sunshine than my trip in February. I'd not long settled in with a nice cuppa than 318263+253 arrived, allowing me to let the cannon off for the second time in less than an hour. The plan had been to head to Queen Street now, but it was too nice a day to sit inside, so I decided to stay put for a while longer. This paid dividends throughout said hour, with three of the final four 320s making appearances, as well as the somewhat rare sight of a 158 on a route refresher halfway through.

Eventually, 334039 returned from Milngavie to take me back into the city, and I picked up 334015 at Charing Cross as we returned. Queen Street was next up and, after picking up a Croy-Edinburgh single to compliment my Strathclyde Roundabout, I wandered around Queen Street as DMUs rolled in and out. Despite only waiting 45 minutes before hopping aboard 170476+433 I still managed to cop four further winners; 158711, 158728, 170404 and 170406. I then took up residence at the very front of the aforementioned 170s, and promptly fell asleep until just before Haymarket.

Another quick PNB upon arrival, and then into the waiting room on platforms 2/3, which was full of people awaiting the delayed 43s up to Inverness, but after that arrived and they left I had the place to myself as I sipped on a hot chocolate and watched the Scotrail workings pass through. I learned from last time to ignore everything going out, just focusing on those services heading to Waverley, which allows for less moving to try and pre-judge when the westbound services are coming in to platform 2, which isn't easy to see fully from the end of the waiting room furthest from the door (and therefore warmer!). A productive 90 minutes followed, by current standards, but with the sun now starting to set it was off to Waverley via a quick hop on 220019.

Arriving on platform 7 I was taken by surprise with all the building works to lengthen platform 12, so had a quick look at all that (it's coming on quite well according to the orange army chap I chatted to), before heading off to platform 5 for 380114 to Musselburgh. Done purely to see what was on Craigentinney the outbound service was too rammed for me to get a proper look, but I popped over the bridge and back down just in time for 380116 to take me back to Edinburgh. This time I secured a seat on the left and managed to pick up 73968 and 73971. Couldn't see a 385 sadly, but no rush on that front I suppose.

Back at Waverley, I spent a couple of hours strolling leisurely around the station, picking up a few winners, including two further 68s on the evening Fife Circle diagrams, and just generally doing a good bit of people watching. This is always fun in the run-up to Christmas, with locals in various states of inebriation heading to and fro. I wandered out up to the Christmas markets for a bit as well, reassured that it is not just Manchester that loves a good bit of over-priced German sausage and mulled wine, before heading back via M&S to the waiting pair of 221101+142 for the run back to Crewe. Pretty busy initially, it thinned at Carlisle and was almost dead by the time we reached Preston, where the delays further down the WCML began to bite as we waited 20 minutes for our driver to arrive.

Things deteriorated further as I alighted at Crewe, with my intended 390 back to Stockport canceled to ease the pressure on Euston. Sadly this means a 60-minute wait (The 390 in between goes via Styal), but every cloud has a silver lining, as the delay meant I did pick up 68033+034 arriving from Gresty Bridge on their way to Sellafield for the flasks. Eventually, 158824 chugged in, and it was a slow crawl to Stockport, weaving our way around a 66 which had sat down at Chelford en route to Tunstead. I finally made it into my bed at 0015, 20 hours after getting up!

Another good day though, 67 winners, two classes cleared and a serious dent made in the Scottish fleet. It's nearly all DMUs that I need now, save for two 334s and six 380s, so I foresee a decent trip next year to hopefully get them done.

Final trip of 2017 is this Friday, with 30% of VTWC utilised to get a full day in London. 0820 arrival and 2100 departure means over 12 hours to get as much as I can, which if gen arrives will see Great Northern done, as well as a couple of classes. I also want to do London Bridge in one of the peaks to get some 466s out of the way, and Fenchurch in the evening to hopefully clear c2c. I'm farily fexible though, I'll go wherever the winners are!

 

[Kite159]

That was a random 158 spotted at Hyndland, a productive day in Scotland

Anyhow good luck on Friday, if I see you I will tip my hat off. Might be worth waiting until January for London Bridge when it reopens as you can see more stuff coming in & out of Cannon Street that way

 

[palmersears]

I was going to bore you all with a long post detailing how I'd done with each class in 2017 but decided that was far too much effort. Instead, have a brief summary of progress as we approach the end of year two of the challenge. The MK1 eyeballs did well again for me this year (Bold indicates class cleared, red indicates less than five remaining):

Locomotives:

• 43 - 190/194 - 98%
• 50 - 2/18 - 11%
• 56 - 23/34 - 68%
• 57 - 20/33 - 61%
• 59 - 9/15 - 60%
• 60 - 88/100 - 88%
• 66 - 337/390 - 86%
• 67 - 24/30 - 80%
• 68 - 25/34 - 74%
• 70 - 32/36 - 89%

Locomotives (DC electric)

• 73 - 9/39 - 23%

Locomotives (AC electric)

• 86 - 19/22 - 86% (All in service 86s cleared)
• 87 - 2/3 - 67%
• 88 - 9/10 - 90%
• 89 - 0/1 - 0%
• 90 - 50/50 - 100% (Cleared 17 August 2017 at Acton Bridge)
• 91 - 31/31 - 100% (Cleared 17 February 2017 at Kings Cross)
• 92 - 23/36 - 64% (All in service 92s cleared)

DMUs

• 139 - 2/2 - 100% (Cleared 13 September 2016 at Stourbridge Junction)
• 142 - 93/94 - 99%
• 143 - 18/23 - 78%
• 144 - 23/23 - 100% (Cleared at Sheffield on 1 August 2017)
• 150 - 125/135 - 93%
• 153 - 61/70 - 87%
• 155 - 7/7 - 100% (Cleared at Leeds on 4 August 2017)
• 156 - 105/114 - 92%
• 158 - 152/169 - 90%
• 159 - 27/30 - 90%
• 165 - 71/75 - 95%
• 166 - 21/21 - 100% (Cleared at Reading on 8 September 2017)
• 168 - 25/28 - 89%
• 170 - 108/119 - 91%
• 171 - 11/20 - 55%
• 172 - 39/39 - 100% (Cleared at Marylebone on 5 May 2017)
• 175 - 27/27 - 100% (Cleared at Chester on 17 June 2016)
• 180 - 14/14 - 100% (Cleared at Doncaster on 4 August 2017)

DEMUs

• 220 - 34/34 - 100% (Cleared at Crewe on 31 May 2016)
• 221 - 44/44 - 100% (Cleared at Manchester Piccadilly on 24 November 2017)
• 222 - 27/27 - 100% (Cleared at St Pancras on 8 September 2017)
• 230 - 1/1 - 100% (Cleared at Tyseley on 30 November 2016)

EMUs

• 313 - 43/64 - 67%
• 314 - 16/16 - 100% (Cleared at Glasgow Central on 1 December 2017)
• 315 - 61/61 - 100% (Cleared at Stratford on 8 September 2017)
• 317 - 61/72 - 85%
• 318 - 21/21 - 100% (Cleared at Hyndland on 1 December 2017)
• 319 - 77/86 - 90%
• 320 - 28/29 - 97%
• 321 - 108/117 - 92%
• 322 - 5/5 - 100% (Cleared at Leeds on 10 August 2016)
• 323 - 43/43 - 100% (Cleared at Birmingham New Street on 13 September 2016)
• 325 - 14/15 - 93%
• 332 - 14/14 - 100% (Cleared at Old Oak Common on 8 September 2017)
• 333 - 16/16 - 100% (Cleared at Leeds on 2 August 2017)
• 334 - 39/40 - 98%
• 345 - 8/66 - 12%
• 350 - 87/87 - 100% (Cleared at Penkridge on 8 September 2017)
• 357 - 70/74 - 95%
• 360 - 26/26 - 100% (Cleared at Southall on 16 February 2017 )
• 365 - 40/40 - 100% (Cleared at Peterborough on 20 June 2017)
• 373 - 14/58 - 24%
• 374 - 7/34 - 21%
• 375 - 88/112 - 79%
• 376 - 36/36 - 100% (Cleared at London Bridge on 8 December 2017)
• 377 - 227/239 - 95%
• 378 - 47/57 - 82%
• 379 - 29/30 - 97%
• 380 - 32/38 - 84%
• 385 - 0/70 - 0%
• 387 - 81/107 - 76%
• 390 - 56/56 - 100% (CLeared at Crewe on 3 June 2016)
• 395 - 14/29 - 48%

EMUs (3rd rail)

• 442 - 13/24 - 54%
• 444 - 38/45 - 84%
• 450 - 124/127 - 98%
• 455 - 135/137 - 99%
• 456 - 13/24 - 54%
• 458 - 36/36 - 100% (Cleared at Clapham Junction on 3 July 2017)
• 465 - 140/147 - 95%
• 466 - 32/43 - 74%
• 507 - 25/32 - 78%
• 508 - 22/31 - 71%

EMUs

• 700 - 55/115 - 48%
• 707 - 13/30 - 43%
• 800 - 11/80 - 14%
• 801 - 0/42 - 0%
• 802 - 0/36 - 0%

Sightings in 2017: 2066

Classes cleared (2017): 19

Classes cleared (all-time): 25

A good year, all things considered, and many a good trip was had, including my first ever visit to Exeter and Reading. I’m tantalisingly close to clearing a few classes now, and these will be the priority in the first half of 2018. I’ve deliberately targeted units that are due for withdrawal in 2018 in the hope of getting these done soon, but I’m realistic enough to know I’ll probably win a few (142, 143, 317) and lose a few to (153, 313).

For the first couple of months of 2018, I’m off to pastures new and old. January I’ve got a trip to the South Coast for the 313s (Am I right in assuming I’ll need to go to Brighton and Littlehampton to grab them all?), followed by a day on Merseyrail soil for my birthday to get that ticked off at last I hope. February brings Exeter/Bristol/Cardiff, followed by London, and possibly a cheeky East Midlands day ranger to grab the last EMT 153 and some 60s.

Thank you for all the kind words of support and advice in 2017 hopefully, I can make further strides in 2018!

 

[Kite159]

Brighton will be a good place for 313s, as well at Barnham

 

[Dhassell]

You are doing brilliant! Keep up the good work!

 

[Techniquest]

That is some very good going it must be said!

313s, yes Brighton will get you most of them but a visit to Barnham will get the rest of them. Think there's a weekdays diagram that keeps one at the Hastings end still mind.

 

[Kite159]

That is some very good going it must be said!

313s, yes Brighton will get you most of them but a visit to Barnham will get the rest of them. Think there's a weekdays diagram that keeps one at the Hastings end still mind.

I think the one which does that Ore diagram returns to Brighton around 11:45 before going to "Littlehampton Shed" judging by RTT

 

[palmersears]

Thanks for the 313 advice chaps, much appreciated as always.

Plan for Friday is formed! 0513 from Stockport to Euston, then I think it'll be to Clapham Junction to see if I can get the last few 456s mopped up during the rush hour (Do they work elsewhere, I can't remember?) before utilising my Southern DaySave to get to Brighton for around 11. Once the 313s here dry up I'll head to Barnham, hopefully pick up the rest fairly quick-sharp, then get back into London for around 1600ish where, gen permitting, I'll see about ticking off the final two Great Northern 313s (and final two 387s if they fall right), possibly the final 357s and hopefully the last two 455s. Planning to end with some 375 and 466 hunting at the new London Bridge. All done for 2100 when it's back home!

 

[Kite159]

456s are all in London now, the Ascot - Guildford services are back in the hands of 450s.

 

[Techniquest]

Crikey you have a long intense day ahead there!

 

[palmersears]

Crikey you have a long intense day ahead there!

When the wife says I can have a full day out I have to make the absolute most of it!

Got an even longer one planned for February...