Phillips Park to Ashbury. Last service.....

[MackemPacer]

After a long time waiting on the Forum platform, I've finally bought a ticket (Split obviousley).

Sunday 20th Octber appears to be the last date that the TransPennineExpress (Tipex) will be running over the line from Phillips Park to Ashburys West junction. (No service advertised after the 20/10/19 through the next timetable change).

I hope this is of some use to the forums members.

All I have to do is work out how to be 'down south' for this trip. (I will be there.)

 

[paddington]

Thanks for this update, I managed to take this train in July, but for various reasons I had to drive up from London in order to get it.

I would like to travel this route in the other direction if a passenger service ever operates this way in the future.

 

[STANDISH]

Some times there is a rail tour on these lines, which might help your quest. The last service train I travelled both ways was a DMU Service running Manchester Victoria to Glossop. There were engineering works at Man Picc over the Christmas holidays.

 

[paddington]

There were engineering works at Man Picc over the Christmas holidays.

Yes I often only find out about these after it's too late to get there. Also it isn't worth travelling 7 hours just to take a single rare train route, so there needs to be a few other things for me to do there...

 

[Rob F]

Last time I did this was on the European in the 80s!!

 

[Whisky Papa]

After a long time waiting on the Forum platform, I've finally bought a ticket (Split obviousley).

Sunday 20th Octber appears to be the last date that the TransPennineExpress (Tipex) will be running over the line from Phillips Park to Ashburys West junction. (No service advertised after the 20/10/19 through the next timetable change).

I hope this is of some use to the forums members.

All I have to do is work out how to be 'down south' for this trip. (I will be there.)

Do you have a time (or ideally headcode) for this service please, pardon my ignorance?

 

[LowLevel]

Do you have a time (or ideally headcode) for this service please, pardon my ignorance?

0746 Man Airport to Scarborough

 

[Whisky Papa]

0746 Man Airport to Scarborough

Many thanks, I assume that is to retain competence over the line?

I was merely checking because I though it might have involved a routing via the Calder Valley (the OP didn't specify Phillips Park West), which I had just realised is blocked tomorrow from Rochdale to Hebden Bridge.

 

[Llama]

TPE shouldn't have any trouble keeping competence over Philips Park - Ashburys, there are plenty of ECS that way and I suspect Scarborough and possibly York drivers don't sign it, there's probably another reason.

 

[Whisky Papa]

TPE shouldn't have any trouble keeping competence over Philips Park - Ashburys, there are plenty of ECS that way and I suspect Scarborough and possibly York drivers don't sign it, there's probably another reason.

I thought after I'd posted, is there still a signal box on the Ashton route that is not open that early on a Sunday?

 

[Llama]

There is Baguley Fold signal box but that doesn't close.

Although oddly, since last April when Ashton Moss North Jn box closed, Baguley Fold is adjacent to Manchester ROC Manchester North Workstation and... Manchester ROC, Manchester North Workstation. Its current situation is a bit of an oddity being a short patch in what is otherwise a fairly long stretch controlled from one workstation in the ROC, and I suspect Baguley Fold SB might have been abolished if it wasn't for Clayton Bridge CCTV level crossing.

After the section controlled by the ROC, a couple of signals out before Stalybridge, the control passes to Manchester East SCC which again wouldn't close.

 

[tynesider]

Well that was a complete waste of time, wasn't it.
Ashton, here we come!

 

[paddington]

Well that was a complete waste of time, wasn't it.
Ashton, here we come!

lol I hope you didn't waste too much money... I did it on a rover. But I spent far too much trying to go through the Sharnbrook tunnel at 5am until they started sending an 8am service through it all the time.

 

[MackemPacer]

It was unfortunate for it not to operate as planned, but hey ho ! It's not that I had to travel down on Saturday, stay overnight in Manchester (had forgotten how busy and expensive it can be !) ....... but there you go.

 

[tynesider]

Haha. That makes two of us!

Anyway from an overheard conversation, I believe it was due to the Guard not being conversant with the route.

Not to worry - It was a morning out if nothing else

 

[Old Yard Dog]

I remember when there was just one train a week at about 2010 on a Saturday night - a short working from Victoria to Ashburys. I had great difficulty getting the man in the ticket office to sell me a ticket as he kept insisting I had to go to Piccadilly. Eventually I persuaded him and he sold me a return from Manchester Stns. I then found it very hard to locate the train as it didn't appear on the departure boards.

The train eventually ran with just myself on board. It pulled into a siding behind the platform at Ashburys as the driver didn't realize anybody was on board. I told the conductor I would be quite happy to be taken back to Victoria but he said it wasn't allowed. So they did a shunting manoevre into the platform and I caught a train back to Piccadilly.

 

[Merle Haggard]

Just in case anyone doesn't know, there's a website Passenger Services over Unusual Lines (PSUL) which lists just that. It's the work of Richard Maund who some may remember from the freight marketing organisations at Euston and Paddington. Open access but charitable donation suggested.
Personally I find it much more interesting to cover the rare routes either on the services shown in PSUL or on 'diverts', rather than on railtours; nowadays, there's very few freight only routes that don't ever see passenger services.