Richard's Trip Reports

[55013]

Quite right too.
Breaks are an important and beneficial part of any work, including revision!
Good luck on the bash

 

[rg177]

Well I'm now on 1H10, the 1710 Kings X-Hull as far as Donny where I'll pick up 1N27 to Newcastle.

Yeah, it's been good. Cleared the following track-

District line Olympia branch
Gunnersbury-West Hampstead
Willesden Jn-Shepherds Bush
Canonbury-Shadwell
Whitechapel LU-West Ham LU
West Norwood-Sydenham
Gipsy Hill-Penge West

And a ton of units as you would expect

 

[Techniquest]

Good lad, sounds like an excellent way to get motivated for the last part of the exam season!

Rather unusual to get an Allerton machine up there!

 

[rg177]

I've had stranger things, Mersey 142046 has ended up at Morpeth before!

I also made myself quite proud by stepping onto a 171 at East Croydon at 1539 for London Bridge and being sat on 317649 at Liverpool Street by 1606!

It was part luck with the Central/Northern tubes requiring either a 1 minute wait or no wait, and me sprinting between the two lines!

 

[Techniquest]

That is pretty good going to be fair, could easily have taken longer if Bridge had gone belly up!

 

[rg177]

Well I've apparently done 37 moves today (34 from 0920 to 1650 on a Travelcard) so this should make for an interesting report once my exams are over.

My next London bash is a Thursday from 1100 to 1930 so i'm looking forward to playing with some rush hour services.

 

[Techniquest]

Keep an eye out for the 1813 from Kings Cross, booked for triple 321s!

As always, looking forward to the trip report, once the exams are out of the way of course!

 

[rg177]

London- 30/5/15 (Part 1)

It’s been a while since I produced a trip report, but with my exams starting to wind down (I’ve got 10/14 of them over with, and not another one until Monday morning with no lessons tomorrow) I've decided to produce one on London from last Saturday while it’s still pretty fresh in my memory!

This was certainly not a cheap trip, costing close enough to £100 with a split at Peterborough to tack on a Travelcard to save myself a few bob. But, I needed a chance to get away for the day so a proper bash around London seemed like just the ticket.
So, with my Dad starting a new job close to Newcastle with a pretty reasonable start time, I hitched a ride to the Central Station, getting there for around 0535 to find my train waiting. This was the 0559 to London Kings Cross with 43316 leading and 43290 trailing. I walked through Coach B to find only a dozen seats reserved in the whole carriage, and put myself in seat 61 at the back of the coach before awaiting departure. It was a quiet run out of Newcastle as the sun continued to rise and we ate up the miles heading south, picking up only a few passengers on departure from Durham, Darlington and York. At Doncaster, we passed a few sorry looking carcasses of Class 460 driving cars before proceeding southbound through Retford, Newark and Grantham and making a call at Peterborough where another few dozen or so joined the train. It was then non-stop to London, where we arrived in bang on time at 0906. Now was the tricky question: How do I spend 9hrs in London?

I decided that a clearance of the Overground within Zones 1-6 would be a good start, as I didn’t require a great deal more. And with that, I sauntered over to St Pancras to find that there was a 15 minute wait for a train calling at West Hampstead. ‘Sod that’ I thought, and I opted to tackle the network from a different direction and head to Highbury and Islington instead. It was down onto the Tube for a Victoria Line for the one stop hop to there. This section of the line heading away from London was pretty quiet at this time on a Saturday, so a seat was even easily found! The journey was soon over as I jogged up onto the Overground platforms and found 378207 waiting on the 0932 to Clapham Junction. This was taken to Shadwell in order to complete my coverage as far as Canada Water. An interesting sight as we passed near to Dalston Junction was the 83 stock carriages positioned on the roof of a building! We then progressed underground through Shoreditch, Whitechapel and into Shadwell where I had a +1 onto a train back to Whitechapel. This was formed of 378215 and I was soon standing on the curiously overground Underground platforms awaiting another track scratching move from Whitechapel to West Ham. A train of D78 Stock vintage eventually appeared and I, somewhat unusually, grabbed a bay of 4 seats for the relatively peaceful journey to West Ham. I was glad to be getting as many moves on the D Stock as possible before their eventual demise which is likely to be fast approaching. It was then across the platform and onto a train of relatively busy S7 Stock back to Mile End. My intention was now to make my way to Waterloo to go play with some mainline trains. It was a smooth journey to Mile End where I must say that the cross platform interchange with the Central Line is incredibly convenient as I stepped off just as a train of 1992 Stock was approaching. This was pretty well loaded for the journey to Bank where it was over for an eerily quiet journey on the Waterloo and City Line to Waterloo.

I then looked at my onward options. There was a 1042 to Twickenham that was calling only at Clapham and Richmond so I decided to join it, formed of 458524 and 458532. This became very busy after Clapham with it being a Rugby extra, but it was a relatively fast journey compared to the Hounslow loop service which left before us. We slowed to a stand at Mortlake for a minute or so before proceeding into the platform at Richmond where I headed over to the Overground platforms for the 1108 to Stratford formed of 378233. This turned out to be a good decision doing it in the direction that I did as services heading back towards Richmond were completely wedged due to the Rugby. We then had some inspectors join us at Gunnersbury, which proved to be a little pointless as their oyster readers weren’t working! They stayed on until Acton Central where the change was made to AC, and we proceeded to West Hampstead where I made a dash for Clapham Junction service, formed of 378202. This was a pretty slow journey as we crawled our way out of Willesden Junction and into Kensington Olympia where I noted a District Line train in the platform. As I still required the Olympia branch, I made a beeline for it and was pretty glad to be on it too with me not doing having any plans to return to London on a weekend any time soon to do the line. It was a short journey to Earl’s Court where I made the most casual 10 second connection of my life. We pulled in alongside a Tower Hill service which I sauntered over to join just as the driver was announcing to stand clear of the doors. I stepped on just as the door closed behind me, only just realising that I’d pulled off a pretty nice bit of timing there! It was onwards to Victoria where I decided to focus on the Southern and the bits of line I have left to do closer to London, particularly West Norwood-Sydenham.

I joined 455821 which was working an Epsom service as far as Clapham Junction where I decided to do a short unit/mileage move to Wimbledon and back. And with the umpteen trains an hour working down this corridor, there was no real wait as I stepped onto 455867 for the journey down to Wimbledon, and 455703 for the journey back. These were pretty busy both ways, with me having to stand on the journey. This had taken up only 25 minutes as I joined 377414 for the journey to Balham to position myself for the next move to Sydenham. Balham is a pretty decent station for watching the busy nature of the Brighton Mainline, with plenty of fasts in the 10 minutes or so I while I was there. Soon enough, 455839 was pulling in on the 1302 to London Bridge which I took to the aforementioned Sydenham where I then opted to join 378214 for the journey to Norwood Junction, and subsequently 377605 for the short hop to West Croydon. I wanted to be over at East Croydon next, so I headed outside for the Tram, my service being worked by 2542 for the two stop hop to East Croydon where I had the idea of doing the Thameslink diversion in mind, as it would clear the curve through Crystal Palace from the Norwood Jn, but there was a late running Thameslink to London Bridge pulling in formed of 387123 and 387129, and having never had a 387 before, I found it hard to turn down this move. They are certainly bright and airy trains, despite the slightly hard seats! We arrived into London Bridge 9 minutes late and I proceeded to head over for a service to Cannon Street. This was formed of 465906 and 465048 and we were arriving into Cannon Street a few minutes later. I noticed a sleeping bloke in the carriage, and so I gave him a quick ‘scuse me mate, this is the last stop’ as we pulled in. It was then down onto the District Line for the couple of stops to…-

And that seems like an appropriate place to end for now :P

 

[Kite159]

Sounds like a varied and busy day so far

 

[Techniquest]

A very busy day there, an excellent bit of variety all in already. £100 for a long distance trip like that is not bad going to be fair, considering the ching to London alone must have eaten up a lot of that!

Agreed on the 387s, very much brighter than the 319s and even the 377s.

Good to hear progress through exam season has been going well

 

[47403]

Good read so far echo the comments above.

 

[rg177]

Right then! Onwards!

London- 30/5/15 (Part 2)

It was down onto the District for a service to Blackfriars where I then intended to do the Thameslink diversion to cross off some more track. It was a D78 Stock taking me there, unusually with no screens or PA working, and with the carriage being completely empty it was a slightly eerie journey through Mansion House and into Blackfriars. On leaving the train there I couldn’t help but notice that the front carriage was completely full! That is most certainly sheep mentality at its finest. It was up the stairs and walking onto the very bright and airy mainline platforms at Blackfriars just as 377507 and 377211 were arriving on the 1438 to Brighton. The first part of the journey seemed pretty quick but we then absolutely crawled through Herne Hill and back through Gipsy Hill and Crystal Palace. Nontheless, my carriage was quite quiet so I wasn’t really complaining. We were into East Croydon at 1506 where I ran across for the 1507 to London Bridge formed of 377411 and 377443. This was just to Norwood Junction where what seemed like an excellent bit of timing came into play. A 378 for Dalston Junction pulled in alongside us and I stepped off only to realise that it was a double sided platform with the doors not opening on my side! So I ran for the other platform by which time both services had departed. Muttering a few expletives under my breath, I decided to do a short loop around to East Croydon via West Croydon again to scratch a Tram in the process, joining 378152 on the 1520 to West Croydon. It was then over to 2534 for the journey to East Croydon. I put myself on Platform 5 at East Croydon only to realise that the next London Bridge service, the delayed 1530, was due in on Platform 4 instead! I was starting to have my patience wear thin as I absolutely belted it down the ramp onto Platform 4 to join what was certainly a nice surprise, 171805! Only my second 171 ever for haulage! By this point I’d grown a little sick of the people’s republic of Croydon and with my intended train being at 1730 I decided to do a quick swoop over onto the West Anglia to scratch something before heading over to Kings Cross via the tube.

We arrived into London Bridge at 1554 and I ambled my way into the Underground for a Northern Line to Bank, followed by a dash onto a ready to depart Central line to Liverpool Street. I’d pulled off Platform to Platform in 12 minutes from the Bridge to Liverpool Street which didn’t seem bad at all for a Northerner who’s never done the journey before! I was going to try and scratch off Walthamstow-Chingford, but with the next one not being until 1618 it seemed like a push to get to Chingford, go back to Walthamstow then get a Victoria line, so I opted for the 1612 to Hertford East formed of 317649 for the 6 miles to Tottenham Hale. This was a pretty decent move as I’ve only again had one other 317 for haulage! This was encouraging me to do a good bash on the West Anglia with the number of 379s and 317s available to play with, maybe next time eh? We arrived into Tottenham Hale where I decided that I had enough time to go scratch something on the ECML out of Finsbury Park, so I took a Victoria line to there, before awaiting the 1643 to London Kings Cross, formed of 365516. The front coach provided a bit of noise as we negotiated the tunnels into the Cross where I took a break to grab some food for the journey home. This was a Boots stopoff as I picked up the usual meal deal for £3.79, plus a 50p markdown salad and a free bottle of water! That would do nicely.

I still had a while, and being on flexible tickets, I decided to go have a look at the 1710 to Hull, with 43311 leading and 43310 trailing. This was a good choice as Coach F and G were basically empty and unreserved as I found myself a table in Coach F for the journey north to Doncaster. We were calling only at Peterborough and Grantham and so it was a pretty painless 156 mile jog up the ECML, not that I remember much of it I dozed off after Peterborough, waking up to the sound of ‘we’re now approaching Doncaster’ so I hastily grabbed my things and leapt off there and then! It was then a 10 minute wait for the 1911 to Newcastle, with 43277 leading and 43308 trailing. A much busier service indeed, but I located an unreserved table in Coach D and we proceeded to York. From here things went…downhill. It was the day of the York Races, and the platform was packed with adults acting like people half their age. As they piled on, a moved to a pair of unreserved airline seats as the carriage turned into a mobile club, with people running down the aisles and yelling at each other, as I turned up my headphones and scrolled through Twitter for the next hour. The rowdiest left the train at Darlington, as we then proceeded into Newcastle 1 minute down at 2041. I was however thankful that I wasn’t heading south at this hour! The 2043 to Doncaster and then subsequently Leeds was completely full down the aisles and in the doorways with security at every door. A lot of folk missed this train and EC ended up putting on extras to York and Leeds later on in the evening as it turns out!

So yes, a varied day leaving me with a few aims for both my July and August visits to London-
-Clear the last bit of London Overground (at the time of visit, not counting the West Anglia additions) within Zones 1-6 (New Cross Gate-Surrey Quays).

-Clear Caterham, Tattenham Corner and Beckenham Jn on the Southern.

-Have a good bash on the West Anglia, cross off a good few 379s and 317s and go clear Cheshunt (fine on a Bushey-London Travelcard I do believe) as well as Enfield Town and Chingford. This should be doable with a leap on the Vic line between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow, the lines having been cleared south of the aforementioned stations.

-Have a play around with some of the tube lines north of London, perhaps a fast run on a Met Line to Wembley Park?

So-
Total Mileage- 649mi 33ch (Of which 113mi 01ch was on the Travelcard)
Total Cost- £97.14 (Including food and drink)

 

[47403]

Another good read, mate, a right old mix of stuff i those two reports and for the money cheap as chips.

 

[rg177]

Cheers What made the day all the more interesting is that I only came up with the idea on the previous night

 

[Techniquest]

Implusive trips are often the best ones to make, as it appears you discovered here!

A very good time had, you certainly had a good variety! That trip from Bridge to The Street was rather quick, done very nicely indeed there!

 

[Kite159]

Nice busy day with some HST action

 

[rg177]

Aye arriving at a large station early in the morning to the sight of this has quite the sense of adventure

43290 at Newcastle, 30/5/15 by Richard Green, on Flickr
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
The Metro shack scratch- Part 1 of ?

So here's a new thing, I had an idea during my second maths exam today (Well I did have 10 minutes spare ) which was that, despite having cleared the normal passenger track on the Metro and the stock many times over, I hadn't scratched all of the stations. I still had a dozen or so to do, so I decided that I could make use of the last of my dirt cheap travel by completing this task!

My required shacks as of 1100 today were as follows:

Howdon
Percy Main
Meadow Well
West Monkseaton
Wansbeck Road
Ilford Road
Fellgate
East Boldon
Stadium of Light
University
Bede
Simonside
Tyne Dock

And with that list, I left my exam (when I was meant to, obviously ) and having been given confirmation that I didn't have any other lessons, I signed out at 11:05 and headed for Hadrian Road Metro Station where 4063 and 4036 were conveniently arriving on a Coast bound run. I jumped on board as we did the mile and a half to Meadow Well, my first required shack. A decent enough station, but in an awful area. Not particularly bad at 11am on a school-day though as I swapped platforms and had a short wait for 4045 and 4050 for the short trip back around the curve to Percy Main, required shack no. 2!

A dog without a leash accompanied by a chavvy bloke then proceeded to stop in front of me and urinate which was quite charming . It was then a case of exiting the station and crossing the road, through a bizarre tunnel and up the stairs back to the Coast platform for my last required Yellow line shack north of the Tyne, West Monkseaton. The journey was in the hands of 4029 and 4087, and I even bagged the front seat for the trip along the coast, making for some pleasant views in the summer sun! I wasn't sure how good my connection time back over at West Monkseaton would be, but it was actually perfect! It was a jog over the bridge and back over to the St James' platform for 4069 and 4024 to Whitley Bay. This was just a move to minimise time spent standing around as I crossed the bridge and onto 4090 and 4064 for one last shack attack as the others (maybe except Wansbeck Rd) were a bit far for me to be bothered today! This shack was Ilford Road. This was a pretty easy one as it was served by both lines, so I sat back for a bit with a Metro paper as we trundled over a few level crossings and into stations like Palmersville and the newer Northumberland Park. The section between Four Lane Ends and Whitley Bay isn't as well traversed by myself as other sections, and it's pretty interesting as it shares the track alignment with Network Rail for a short section!

Anyway, off we get at Ilford Road. Absolutely useless for quick platform changes as you have to leg it a few hundred metres down a street, over a bridge and back down a parallel street to change platforms. So, I opted to wait out the 6 minutes for 4059 and 4041 to take me over the river to Heworth where I decided on one final rail move, mega dud (Every Heaton 142 is mega mega dud to me ) 142018 to Metro Centre where I joined the bus to Newcastle for another home to commence History revision!

So, 4 down and 8 to go! Looking likely that i'll do Howdon and Wansbeck Road tomorrow..

Total mileage- 30mi 51ch
Total cost- £1.10

 

[Techniquest]

£1.10, an absolute bargain! Good call on getting cracking on the shacks, some of them should be easy enough to do at least.

I really need to get back up there and do some more Metro bashing, certainly could be done relatively cheaply but not including much rail mileage!

 

[rg177]

£1.10, an absolute bargain! Good call on getting cracking on the shacks, some of them should be easy enough to do at least.

I really need to get back up there and do some more Metro bashing, certainly could be done relatively cheaply but not including much rail mileage!

It's essentially free as i'd be paying that £1.10 anyway to reach school too

Aye, just not going to be 'easy' doing Stadium of Light if you know what I mean

 

[Techniquest]

Ah, yeah I know what you mean, not easy for a Toon lad!

 

[rg177]

The Metro shack scratch- Part 2 of ?

So, as of 0800 today I required:

Howdon
Wansbeck Road
Fellgate
East Boldon
Stadium of Light
University
Bede
Simonside
Tyne Dock

I set off for a usual school commute in the hands of a Dennis Trident this morning, but I ended my journey short and continued it by Metro from my first required shack of Howdon. It was a familiar sight of yesterday's 4036 and 4063 taking me to Wallsend, quite busy too with it being morning rush hour.

After my lessons, I headed to Hadrian Road at 1200 with the intention of ticking off a couple of shacks down in the Sunderland area. I observed a couple of workers painting yellow lines down the platform, too. Bit awkward though when people are boarding trains as I was reminded to watch my step as I headed for Monument on 4026 and 4082. I had a tight connection with the 1230 Nunthorpe as we arrived into Monument at 1217 and I had a 6 minute wait onwards to Central. The wait was soon over as 4064 and 4090 arrived for the 26 chain, 40 second hop to Central where I legged it to the mainline station.

156482 was waiting on Platform 5, which did surprise me as it's normally a 156 seen over on the west side despite having a Heaton/Northern Spirit interior, much like 156483/489 etc. But with 156448/463, usual Heaton regulars, having been sighted on TPE workings, I can only assume that the 156s have been shaken up a little. Anyway, back to the action and we proceeded to sprint down to Sunderland. I was now quite hungry as I nipped upstairs for a Mince Pie from Milligans before I aimed for my next shack, University. This journey was in the hands of 4007 and 4084 where I crossed platforms to join 4014 and 4088 to Stadium of Light (The horrors ). This certainly wasn't a station for quick platform changes as I had to run up out onto the street over a long, wide bridge in order to return to the other side. It was then 4038 and 4054 back to Sunderland.

It was now just a case of awaiting 142086 on the 1330 to Hexham, which I took to Heworth in order to join 4004 and 4018 for the stagger to Haymarket for a bus home.

Another successful 2 hours!

Total Mileage- 34mi 17ch
Total cost- £2.10

 

[Techniquest]

Almost done now then!

 

[rg177]

Fellgate, East Boldon and Wansbeck Road on the Green Line and Bede, Simonside and Tyne Dock on the Yellow.

Plan of action is likely to be Hadrian Road-Monument-Wansbeck Road-East Boldon-Fellgate-East Boldon-Pelaw then the three Yellow line stops before heading for the Ferry.

So aye it would be good if I could get them all done tomorrow, then I've just got Dunston of the mainline stations in TW to do

 

[Techniquest]

Should be easy enough to get that lot done in one day, especially since places like Simonside and Bede are quite close together.

I need too many shacks in the Tyne and Wear area to count, I'm glad it's not just me who needs Dunston though!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

It seems like a fair few of us who shack scratch for a pastime need Dunston. Last month, I flagged it in order to clear another 142 for the magical ten miles. Nevertheless, it's on my radar (like so many shacks)!

 

[rg177]

Well I finished my exam at 1100, headed home and dropped my things before heading out again.

That's East Boldon, Fellgate, Bede, Simonside and Tyne Dock done. On my way to South Gosforth on 4005/4021 now for Wansbeck Road.

Who knows, I might go do Dunston yet!

 

[Kite159]

It seems like a fair few of us who shack scratch for a pastime need Dunston. Last month, I flagged it in order to clear another 142 for the magical ten miles. Nevertheless, it's on my radar (like so many shacks)!

Your not missing much at Dunston

At least its easier to do now than previously

 

[rg177]

The Metro shack scratch- Part 3 of 3

Let the final instalment begin!

It was a case of another exam this morning before heading home and changing into something that wasn't all black. Not good in this weather! I joined the 1145 bus of Arriva vintage into Newcastle before descending onto the platforms at Haymarket for a service to East Boldon, formed of 4047 and 4066. This incurred the maximum 12 minute wait as I headed off to the Sainsbury's for a cheap lunch. One Cornish pasty later, it was back to the platforms for a leap back to Fellgate with 4013 and 4053 in charge. The sun was now getting pretty intense as I just opted to sit and await the next service while devouring a rather disappointing pasty. Still, at 45p, I wasn't expecting much . 4038 and 4054 were soon appearing in the heat hazed distance and I jumped on for the two miles back to Pelaw.

It was now onto the trio of stations on the Yellow line. I considered walking Bede-Simonside but that wasn't really worth the half mile jog, especially as Google Maps couldn't find a route between the two! I took 4007 and 4084 to Simonside, the newest station on the network. This was another faff ridden platform change as I had to go out onto the street, but pretty stress free as I had 4 minutes to change. Soon enough, 4017 and 4081 were pulling in to take me to Bede. I had always wondered why nobody ever seemed to use this station and I got my answer when I had to take a little detour to get to the other platform (they're staggered). There's sod all there! All I could see were industrial units, there was no sign of life otherwise as I joined 4005 and 4021 for the journey to Tyne Dock where 4026/4082 were also pulling in. Fat chance of making that! I took a seat in the sun for a 12 minute wait at what has to be one of the last unrefurbished stations on the network. Cadmium yellow and white is still all the rage here! To my surprise, it was 4005 and 4021 again to take me back north. The turnaround at Shields must have been tight! I could change at any station I liked up to South Gosforth as I had one final station to scratch. I chose the quietest and most pleasant shack of them all, Ilford Road. It's very under utilised for a station with a 3-7 minute frequency.

The final station was Wansbeck Road and 4044 and 4072 had the honour of taking me there. And that was me done. I grabbed a few shots of this final station and made my way to the Newcastle platform for 4025 and 4042 to take me to Haymarket. And now, for something a little different! I required one last station in Tyne and Wear and i'd just missed the hourly outbound service so I took a massive gamble on me knowing my way around Dunston! I took Wright Streetlite 5410 on the 1455 to Consett as far as Chainbridge Road, Dunston. There looked to be some kind of old rail bridge above my head as I fired up Google Maps. It just looked like a straight road and a short right. Seemed easy enough. It was a pleasant 15 minute through what seemed like a right dump, although Dunston is hardly glamorous . I found Dunston eventually, and was surprised to be joined by a few other folk on the platform awaiting the Newcastle service! With the umpteen buses an hour available from here, it's surprising that the station is that well used. The advantage of course is the mere 5 minute journey time to Newcastle. 142090 eventually pulled in on the 1534 to Newcastle where I joined 4004 and 4018 back where I started to Haymarket for the bus home.

And that's it! A successful three days with every Railway/Metro station in the county scratched.

Total Mileage- 42mi 22ch
Total Cost- £2.10

-

3 Days mileage- 107mi 20ch
3 Days cost- £5.30

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on clearing the network

 

[rg177]

And here's a photo of the 'momentous' occasion

Wansbeck Road Metro Station, 10/6/15. by Richard Green, on Flickr
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Your not missing much at Dunston

At least its easier to do now than previously

Aye but there's a 45 minute fester unless you hop on a bus as it forms the xx02 to Morpeth which doesn't stop at Dunston. You have to await the xx34 back to Newcastle.