AnthonyRail
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- 11 Jan 2015
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Carlisle looks good for trains. Hoping you stop on route to Scotland next year.
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50s were on Bristol temple meads to Newcastle tour. Brilliant pictures.
Aberystwyth. Saturday 2nd November 2019.
No events on this weekend, but I noticed Transport for Wales had a Club 50 ticket on offer, I`d never used one of those before, but used to use the Arrive Club 55`s a few years ago. The rules on the new Club 50 however have changed in that you have to use the return portion of you ticket on the same day as you start the journey, and you can no longer use other rail company trains that travel on the same lines, plus it’s a lot more expensive now at £29. Not bad value though if you are travelling a distance.
I checked TfW route maps and first decided on a run up to Holyhead, but noticed bus replacement services were operating, because of planned engineering works, so my second choice was Aberystwyth because it has a funicular and one I`d never visited before. I also noticed on the Vale of Rheidol website the following information, “Sorry there are no trains running today, Aberystwyth, Booking Office and shop open. Workshop Tours please enquire at booking office”. So great I thought, I can do the funicular and also have a workshop tour on the VoR.
I was up at 03.30 and drove down to Manchester Piccadilly to catch the 05.11 Cross Country Voyage to Southampton alighting at Crewe, this was the first train I could catch to get me down to Aberystwyth for 09.30. I booked my £29 TfW Club 50 ticket, (to Pwllheli, as I wanted a run up the Cambrian Coast line after my Aberystwyth trip, time permitting), plus another £9 to get me down to Crewe on the Cross Country voyager now the rules have changed, I also booked an addition ticket from Machynlleth to Aberystwyth return, £4.80, so it was becoming more expensive, but a good day out was planned.
The day started going wrong early when I realised I`d knocked the autofocus button off on my camera, and didn’t find out until I was at Shrewsbury, by which time I`d lost a few pictures, including a Class 56 at Shrewsbury on engineering work. I changed trains at Crewe and Shrewsbury, where I had a horrible sausage muffin for breakfast from Starbucks with a latte which cost over £7 quid., (I`ll starve next time). I then caught a direct TfW service into Aberystwyth.
On arrival, I made my way out to the Funicular Railway and I was very impressed, it climbs Constitution Hill, quite high above the town and offers some excellent photographic opportunities from the top, its actually the longest electric powered rope hauled funicular in Britain and only £3.50 for a senior return journey. I took a latte at the café at the top and waited for the gift shop on the top of the hill to open at 11.00pm. It was quite nice inside and it had a children’s model railway, with the addition of a model of the funicular. They didn’t sell fridge magnet totems, but they did sell the keyring ticket magnets, so that’s another one for the fridge.
I returned to the town and went out to visit the Vale of Rheidol Railway for the workshop tour, but was told they didn’t run workshop tours when the railway wasn’t running, so I explained the wording on the website, and the chap in the shop was very apologetic and said he would have a word with those in charge of the website. So, I didn’t see any locos, but did buy a Devils Bridge fridge magnet which I didn’t get on my last visit.
I returned to the town to see if they had a guitar shop, surprisingly they did, although it is a university town. I needed a strap for my new Gibson Explorer, but they didn’t have any decent ones and only as few guitars in stock, they did however have a second-hand PRS Santana SE in Tobacco Sunburst, a Korean model, (the Korean`s have never been noted for building great guitars, but they have been improving in recent years), going for £375, it was in excellent condition and I plugged it in and ran it through its spaces, quite an impressive guitar for the price and for saying its Korean built under license, it played well, but these things are only £480 new, so no great deal really.
I had lunch at the large chip shop facing the station, Express Fish and Chips and later arrived on the platforms in time for the 12.30 back to Machynlleth. After waiting 5 minutes or so, the board came up saying it was cancelled and the next train would be 13.30, great. I went to the bus station next door and was just in time for a bus to Machynlleth, they didn’t except cancelled train tickets, (so much for integrated transport), and it cost me another £4.80 on the bus, more that a return ticket on the train in fact.
I eventually arrived at Machynlleth railway station and found out that trains were only going as far as Barmouth and then a replacement bus service was operating up to Pwllheli, so I aborted my trip, another washed out weekend, still not a bad day. I caught a TfW back to Shrewsbury and then a TfW Class 175, still in old Arrival colours, back directly to Manchester Piccadilly, arriving at 17.15 and after running down to Piccadilly Garden`s and into Dawson’s Guitar shop, just before it closed at 17.30, I picked up a Gibson guitar strap, phew! After the drive back home, I was in the house for 18.40, so despite being my second wash out in two weeks, it wasn’t a bad trip really.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberystwyth_Cliff_Railway
https://www.facebook.com/nick.melling.104/media_set?set=a.2525723404141830&type=3
Doncaster and South Pennine Day Rover. Saturday 4th January 2020.
After a short week back at work, it was weekend again and the first trip of 2020. With no events happening I decided to have a run over to Doncaster and give my mate Grimsby Steve a ring to see if he fancied meeting up. I set the alarm for 05.00 and was on the 07.18 from Manchester Piccadilly direct to Doncaster on a class 185 TPE Cleethorpes service. I`d slept for most of the journey.
On alighting at Doncaster I went into Starbucks on the platform for an expensive coffee to revive myself, I sat down organised myself and asked the lad behind the counter if he could put the coffee in a take-out cup as I was going out on the platform, he said it would be an extra 5 pence for a take away cup, which I thought was a bit cheeky as I`d already been charged over £3 for the coffee, so I walked out with the pot cup in my hand and sat outside the café. Strangely, this kid followed me out and said I couldn’t take the cup outside, I said I`d return it once I`d finished, but he said if I didn’t take it back right away, he`d call one of the station staff, so I told him to call one them. He just went inside the cafe and another lad came out and just stood there while I drank my coffee, once I`d finished I handed him the cup back and said thanks.
I met Steve on the platform and I had also phoned my mate Rob, who was now living in Yorkshire, Rob caught up with us later. Not much freight moving really, in fact it was the slowest I`d seen it, I think we had 3 Class 66`s through and that was it, the 67 Thunderbird was parked up under the footbridge and an unnumbered class 47 ex RES livery in part undercoat was in the works yard and a couple of Colas class 56`s parked up down near the road bridge. Still a few Class 91`s operating, but mainly Azuma`s now through Doncaster.
Rob arrived just after 11.00 and at lunchtime the 3 of us went for lunch in the Turkish, Frenchgate Café, we must be regulars there now, great food though and plenty of it. We left Steve just after 14.00 as he was driving back to Grimsby, Rob and I boarded the 14.27 Northern Class 331, a first for me, these units have now taken over from the 321`s that operated the Doncaster Leeds stoppers. Quite impressive and good acceleration, the usual hard seats though with new trains.
I left Rob at Leeds and I took a unbranded TPX Nova 1 to Huddersfield, my intention was to have another run down to Sheffield via Penistone, I like that line, sadly though a bus replacement was operating, so instead I noticed a Northern Dogbox class 153 in the platforms heading for Castleford, and as luck has it, a light engine Class 70 went through the platforms just before I got on board.
On arrival at Castleford I boarded a 158 Sprinter down the Dearne Valley line to Sheffield where I changed for a TPE Class 185 back into Manchester Piccadilly and home, not a bad first day for 2020.
https://www.facebook.com/nick.melling.104/media_set?set=a.2667604403287062&type=3
Thanks very much Tech, Happy New Year too by the way, I must try the McCartney sausage, sounds interesting.
Called in to Spoons yesterday to see a fella order a build your own breakfast that was a plate full of sausages