Keith Jarrett
Member
You should have warned me of your visit! You might have ended up with the Red Carpet Treatment (better than red-penning anything these days). Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed your visit
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The Various Random Mutterings of Kite
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Kite159
Veteran Member
It was a nice visit, a nice bench to enjoy the afternoon sunshine when eating my lunch, one which has been a bit of a pain due to various services getting cancelled or disappearing from the timetable
I still need some 700s (4x RLU, 8x FLUs) so having an unexpected winner would have been nice
Kite159
Veteran Member
I forgot to mention, I've visited the latest station on the network, also a station which is getting counted due to having a national rail service (I had a spare few hours in Weymouth from a railtour so decided to get Corfe Castle out of the way).
My progress at revisiting has reached 302 stations which need to be revisited. Some are easier than others (half hourly service vice once a week!)
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Anyhow, I wonder if @gazr needs the platform 1 loop at Worthing
My progress at revisiting has reached 302 stations which need to be revisited. Some are easier than others (half hourly service vice once a week!)
----
Anyhow, I wonder if @gazr needs the platform 1 loop at Worthing
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Kite159
Veteran Member
As it is highly unlikely I will be heading off on the rails either on Monday or Tuesday, I might as well do my monthly summary of random travels:
July’s month in summary
I started the month overnight in Birmingham following a railtour, a couple flips of the coin before deciding a little trip to Merseyside was in order to visit the newest station on the network in the shape of Maghull North. Coming back I grabbed a couple more stations (Walton & Rice Lane) to clear that part of the Merseyrail network. I was being cheap and picked LNWR only tickets, and sadly it was a 350/2 for the trip from Crewe to Northampton, where I swapped to a newly attached 350/1 just for the comfort levels. As it was boiling hot I decided on a bus move to Waterloo just to try and avoid the furnace of the northern line.
The first Friday of the month was spent on a little shack revisiting trip to the Uckfield line as I needed 5 stations on that line, and it is easier to do in the evening peak with an half hourly service. The 7th July was a trip to Scarborough via a few stations on the Northern network; the main event was a trip on the summer Saturday 222 service, picking First Class on grounds that it was cheap for the distance. The Sunday was a trip to London to pick up some odds & sods, mainly Berrylands, Belmont, Clock House, plus a quick trip outside the zones to revisit Greenhithe & Stone Crossing, plus some tramlink stops. Not really the best day for it being rather toasty with a lot of non-AC stock!
A trip on the sleeper to Penzance was on the 10th July, the evening I spent in London picking up some Southern stations as a time wasting move before winner 57605 hauled me to Hayle, I prefer the seats on the Cally Sleeper in all fairness, but getting 57605 means all 4 GWR 57s have been ticked off. The Cornish trip was a mix between station revisiting and microgricing, so after Hayle it was a voyager move to St Erth before a quick trip to Penzance before revisiting the two stations in Lelant. A trip on the mini-HST set before I headed to St Columb Road on the Newquay branch, scoring the connection from platform 3 towards Penzance (summer weekdays only due to a Paddington – Newquay HST). Only other thing to note was a revisit to Pinhoe and use of the platform 2 loop at Honiton on the evening Exeter – Axminster short running. Needless to say coming back from Axminster the train was quite quiet due to the football!
Friday the 13th was a trip towards Guildford, picking up a few stations in that part of the network, London Road, Betchworth, Dorking West, Dorking Deepdene, Godalming & Farncombe all were revisited on a good evening spin. The 14th was a railtour to Weymouth, one I can’t remember why I booked onto it as it featured no required track at Baker level (and probably hardly anything at Quail level either). But it was a good trip behind a pair of 73/9s with 73961 becoming my latest winner (dud 73963 also featured). Scored Westbury & Frome as going through non-stop, but god those carriages were hot, and it didn’t help having a grumpy sod that refused to open his window as he was trying to read his newspaper. Faced with 4 hours in a busy Weymouth, I looked up timings and decided to head out to Corfe Castle on the summer Saturday SWR service, before returning to Weymouth. A hot trip back to Ealing Broadway (my seat location probably didn’t help as I was near to the buffet area so airflow was some-what more limited).
A day of rest was had on the 15th before an early finish on the 16th July allowed me to do something which has been on my wish list for a good few months, mainly visiting the so-called temporary platform at Theale. The 20th July was another trip to London which didn’t start well, but ended well with the Tattenham Corner branch falling to my revisiting pen, scoring a FLU 700 on a positioning move from East Croydon to London Bridge was also a nice bonus.
The Saturday I’ve posted in more detail a couple posts ago, but for the sake of this summary was a trip to London to pick up some odds & sods outside the zones in London North Western land, clearing my final station within the London Zones, and having an enjoyable walk in the Fens to revisit Shippea Hill. The Sunday was a later start than normal for me as I headed towards Sussex, scoring part of the platform 1 loop at Worthing, before revisiting Preston Park, and a trip to the Newhaven stations, followed by a trip to Seaford. A hot 158 followed to Barnham where I scored the connection from platform 1 towards Chichester, before 150126 fell to my renumbering pen as I only ever had it when it was 150926.
The final Friday of the month was a Thames Branches day rover, to get round to revisiting Marlow & Henley as when I previously visited I never logged the unit numbers. Also a trip to Heyford was a “why not” moment, before a required 800/3 took me to London, where I began a short night tube session, grabbing Wood Lane as an early entry using some of the last Hammersmith bound services of the night. A quick revisit to Morden followed (Hammersmith to Green Park on the Piccadilly, before a busy Victoria line service to Stockwell, as like Marlow & Henley I had only ever visited Morden before but had no numbers). I got lucky with timings as after a walk at Waterloo, it was to Canons Park in the northern reaches of the Jubilee line, before heading back to Bond Street and a central line service to Liverpool Street.
The main reason for having an all-nighter was to catch the 04:10 Stansted Airport service, which was down for starting from Stratford, so back to a warm underground for a central line service to Stratford, eventually reaching platform 12, before a proper Stansted express service took me to a busy Stansted Airport. A XC 170 took me to Cambridge, before another 170 took me to Harling Road for an hour fester before alighting at Spooner Row and walking to Wymondham, grabbing Attleborough before reaching Norwich for some 37 based fun. Had both 37s been dud I would have changed my plan but required 37409 was at the Norwich end (37419 was on the Yarmouth end). To be honest I couldn’t remember much of the trip to Yarmouth via Berney Arms as I had a short sleep in the warm busy coach. Back to Norwich before back towards Yarmouth to revisit Lingwood, before a quick visit to Diss for no reason other than it featured a low mileage 90. Once back at Norwich I had time to kill before a late running 170 (the Cambridge – Norwich services had fallen over most of the day due to level crossing issues, plus issues around Cambridge), and noting the next EMT service was both a low mileage 158 and called at Attleborough I was thinking of a time wasting linear move...
...big mistake as when I went to press the door open button at Attleborough they didn’t work, so was bowled out (it was a fault as at Thetford the guard asked the driver to try and open them and he couldn’t, pesky 158 caused me to miss out on alighting at Eccles Road (with a couple hour fester), but hey ho. The late running 170 eventually rolled in and turned round at Ely, but it meant having a 25 minute wait for a pair of low mileage 387s on a semi-fast from Ely, which got busy at Cambridge. I was fighting tiredness on the way to London, bailing at Finsbury Park for a pair of 313s to Highbury & Islington (both were annoyingly already above 10 miles), for a slow trip back to Waterloo and the 20:20 service back home to finish the month.
July in numbers
4573 miles covered
4 new units (1x 150, 2x 700, 1x 800)
3 new locos (1x 37, 1x 57 & 1x 73)
2 new stations outright
No new light rail.
Looking ahead to August
I know I say this every month, but August is looking to be a quiet month with my “advance ticket” box not being opened until the very end. A trip to the Bristol area, followed by a railtour to the West Midlands, the big trip being a long weekend based in Birmingham, and also a return to Greater Anglia land, a trip to Glasgow is right at the end of the month.
293 network rail stations to go. 151 left to board at, 142 left to alight at.
July’s month in summary
I started the month overnight in Birmingham following a railtour, a couple flips of the coin before deciding a little trip to Merseyside was in order to visit the newest station on the network in the shape of Maghull North. Coming back I grabbed a couple more stations (Walton & Rice Lane) to clear that part of the Merseyrail network. I was being cheap and picked LNWR only tickets, and sadly it was a 350/2 for the trip from Crewe to Northampton, where I swapped to a newly attached 350/1 just for the comfort levels. As it was boiling hot I decided on a bus move to Waterloo just to try and avoid the furnace of the northern line.
The first Friday of the month was spent on a little shack revisiting trip to the Uckfield line as I needed 5 stations on that line, and it is easier to do in the evening peak with an half hourly service. The 7th July was a trip to Scarborough via a few stations on the Northern network; the main event was a trip on the summer Saturday 222 service, picking First Class on grounds that it was cheap for the distance. The Sunday was a trip to London to pick up some odds & sods, mainly Berrylands, Belmont, Clock House, plus a quick trip outside the zones to revisit Greenhithe & Stone Crossing, plus some tramlink stops. Not really the best day for it being rather toasty with a lot of non-AC stock!
A trip on the sleeper to Penzance was on the 10th July, the evening I spent in London picking up some Southern stations as a time wasting move before winner 57605 hauled me to Hayle, I prefer the seats on the Cally Sleeper in all fairness, but getting 57605 means all 4 GWR 57s have been ticked off. The Cornish trip was a mix between station revisiting and microgricing, so after Hayle it was a voyager move to St Erth before a quick trip to Penzance before revisiting the two stations in Lelant. A trip on the mini-HST set before I headed to St Columb Road on the Newquay branch, scoring the connection from platform 3 towards Penzance (summer weekdays only due to a Paddington – Newquay HST). Only other thing to note was a revisit to Pinhoe and use of the platform 2 loop at Honiton on the evening Exeter – Axminster short running. Needless to say coming back from Axminster the train was quite quiet due to the football!
Friday the 13th was a trip towards Guildford, picking up a few stations in that part of the network, London Road, Betchworth, Dorking West, Dorking Deepdene, Godalming & Farncombe all were revisited on a good evening spin. The 14th was a railtour to Weymouth, one I can’t remember why I booked onto it as it featured no required track at Baker level (and probably hardly anything at Quail level either). But it was a good trip behind a pair of 73/9s with 73961 becoming my latest winner (dud 73963 also featured). Scored Westbury & Frome as going through non-stop, but god those carriages were hot, and it didn’t help having a grumpy sod that refused to open his window as he was trying to read his newspaper. Faced with 4 hours in a busy Weymouth, I looked up timings and decided to head out to Corfe Castle on the summer Saturday SWR service, before returning to Weymouth. A hot trip back to Ealing Broadway (my seat location probably didn’t help as I was near to the buffet area so airflow was some-what more limited).
A day of rest was had on the 15th before an early finish on the 16th July allowed me to do something which has been on my wish list for a good few months, mainly visiting the so-called temporary platform at Theale. The 20th July was another trip to London which didn’t start well, but ended well with the Tattenham Corner branch falling to my revisiting pen, scoring a FLU 700 on a positioning move from East Croydon to London Bridge was also a nice bonus.
The Saturday I’ve posted in more detail a couple posts ago, but for the sake of this summary was a trip to London to pick up some odds & sods outside the zones in London North Western land, clearing my final station within the London Zones, and having an enjoyable walk in the Fens to revisit Shippea Hill. The Sunday was a later start than normal for me as I headed towards Sussex, scoring part of the platform 1 loop at Worthing, before revisiting Preston Park, and a trip to the Newhaven stations, followed by a trip to Seaford. A hot 158 followed to Barnham where I scored the connection from platform 1 towards Chichester, before 150126 fell to my renumbering pen as I only ever had it when it was 150926.
The final Friday of the month was a Thames Branches day rover, to get round to revisiting Marlow & Henley as when I previously visited I never logged the unit numbers. Also a trip to Heyford was a “why not” moment, before a required 800/3 took me to London, where I began a short night tube session, grabbing Wood Lane as an early entry using some of the last Hammersmith bound services of the night. A quick revisit to Morden followed (Hammersmith to Green Park on the Piccadilly, before a busy Victoria line service to Stockwell, as like Marlow & Henley I had only ever visited Morden before but had no numbers). I got lucky with timings as after a walk at Waterloo, it was to Canons Park in the northern reaches of the Jubilee line, before heading back to Bond Street and a central line service to Liverpool Street.
The main reason for having an all-nighter was to catch the 04:10 Stansted Airport service, which was down for starting from Stratford, so back to a warm underground for a central line service to Stratford, eventually reaching platform 12, before a proper Stansted express service took me to a busy Stansted Airport. A XC 170 took me to Cambridge, before another 170 took me to Harling Road for an hour fester before alighting at Spooner Row and walking to Wymondham, grabbing Attleborough before reaching Norwich for some 37 based fun. Had both 37s been dud I would have changed my plan but required 37409 was at the Norwich end (37419 was on the Yarmouth end). To be honest I couldn’t remember much of the trip to Yarmouth via Berney Arms as I had a short sleep in the warm busy coach. Back to Norwich before back towards Yarmouth to revisit Lingwood, before a quick visit to Diss for no reason other than it featured a low mileage 90. Once back at Norwich I had time to kill before a late running 170 (the Cambridge – Norwich services had fallen over most of the day due to level crossing issues, plus issues around Cambridge), and noting the next EMT service was both a low mileage 158 and called at Attleborough I was thinking of a time wasting linear move...
...big mistake as when I went to press the door open button at Attleborough they didn’t work, so was bowled out (it was a fault as at Thetford the guard asked the driver to try and open them and he couldn’t, pesky 158 caused me to miss out on alighting at Eccles Road (with a couple hour fester), but hey ho. The late running 170 eventually rolled in and turned round at Ely, but it meant having a 25 minute wait for a pair of low mileage 387s on a semi-fast from Ely, which got busy at Cambridge. I was fighting tiredness on the way to London, bailing at Finsbury Park for a pair of 313s to Highbury & Islington (both were annoyingly already above 10 miles), for a slow trip back to Waterloo and the 20:20 service back home to finish the month.
July in numbers
4573 miles covered
4 new units (1x 150, 2x 700, 1x 800)
3 new locos (1x 37, 1x 57 & 1x 73)
2 new stations outright
No new light rail.
Looking ahead to August
I know I say this every month, but August is looking to be a quiet month with my “advance ticket” box not being opened until the very end. A trip to the Bristol area, followed by a railtour to the West Midlands, the big trip being a long weekend based in Birmingham, and also a return to Greater Anglia land, a trip to Glasgow is right at the end of the month.
293 network rail stations to go. 151 left to board at, 142 left to alight at.
Skymonster
Established Member
- Joined
- 7 Feb 2012
- Messages
- 1,739
Sound like fun... Good luck with the August moves
Kite159
Veteran Member
It's looking to be a busy month, but no rest for the wicked as they say.
47403
Established Member
Just caught up again kite. You really are relentless, your footprints must be ingrained into the foot path from Kites towers to Grateley station. When you can knock off those lesser used bays too, that'll really knock the ball out the park, when you eventually clear the stations for alighting and departing. Nothing really surprises me with your thread, your like a dog with a bone. Just a case of when everything you've already got, enters the 10 mile club too.
I'd be delighted to have ridden behind the 47s and 37s once, nevermind again but i know where your coming from.
Nice to see the odd winner thrown in too, obviously it must be the ultra new stuff.
Seeing on you Twitter feed that 37407 has seemingly been adopted by Crown Point makes me wondee if its been chosen to stay off the Cumbrian turns.
Great reads as usual and no doubt by the time I post this, I'll already be behind again
I'd be delighted to have ridden behind the 47s and 37s once, nevermind again but i know where your coming from.
Nice to see the odd winner thrown in too, obviously it must be the ultra new stuff.
Seeing on you Twitter feed that 37407 has seemingly been adopted by Crown Point makes me wondee if its been chosen to stay off the Cumbrian turns.
Great reads as usual and no doubt by the time I post this, I'll already be behind again
The_Train
Established Member
- Joined
- 2 Jun 2018
- Messages
- 4,358
More great adventures Kite. Can't believe the mileage you cover in your quest
Kite159
Veteran Member
Just caught up again kite. You really are relentless, your footprints must be ingrained into the foot path from Kites towers to Grateley station. When you can knock off those lesser used bays too, that'll really knock the ball out the park, when you eventually clear the stations for alighting and departing. Nothing really surprises me with your thread, your like a dog with a bone. Just a case of when everything you've already got, enters the 10 mile club too.
I'd be delighted to have ridden behind the 47s and 37s once, nevermind again but i know where your coming from.
Nice to see the odd winner thrown in too, obviously it must be the ultra new stuff.
Seeing on you Twitter feed that 37407 has seemingly been adopted by Crown Point makes me wondee if its been chosen to stay off the Cumbrian turns.
Great reads as usual and no doubt by the time I post this, I'll already be behind again
Footpath, what footpath :P (Only half the walk to the station is on pavement)
My unit requirements for the older stuff are basically a couple units long term out of use (334014, 483009) which will probably never return to service, plus 321448 which is back down south after an extended stay in Doncaster, hopefully it will actually enter service and not just make friends with 317722 at the rear of Ilford depot. No doubt if I decide to have a Farringdon fester in the peaks I could get a good number of my remaining 700s down, but that is a job for later in the year.
37407 was down in Norwich on Saturday, along with 3 other 37s in the sidings next to the station. Norwich certainly wasn't short of 37s
Enjoyable stuff, as ever - I'm playing catch-up so have just read a few reports.
Shippea Hill is a station I think about occasionally, but have never made any firm plans for it.
Maybe my wife and I need a holiday in the area
Shippea Hill is a station I think about occasionally, but have never made any firm plans for it.
Maybe my wife and I need a holiday in the area
Kite159
Veteran Member
This weekend I've been mainly alighting from a 800 at Finstock, doing some odds & sods in the Bristol area including boarding a 166 at Pilning & a visit to Norfolk to revisit Roughton Road & Buckenham
Needless to say my arms are a tad red from sitting in the sun
Newbury Racecourse is on my radar for a midweek trip
Pictures:
800023 departs Finstock
166203 arrives at Pilning
156417 departs Buckenham
Lots more random pictures on my Flickr account (see signature)
Needless to say my arms are a tad red from sitting in the sun
Newbury Racecourse is on my radar for a midweek trip
Pictures:
800023 departs Finstock
166203 arrives at Pilning
156417 departs BuckenhamLots more random pictures on my Flickr account (see signature)
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This weekend I've been mainly alighting from a 800 at Finstock, doing some odds & sods in the Bristol area including boarding a 166 at Pilning & a visit to Norfolk to revisit Roughton Road & Buckenham
Needless to say my arms are a tad red from sitting in the sun
Newbury Racecourse is on my radar for a midweek trip
Slightly embarrassed to say that I had to look up where Finstock actually was.
Kite159
Veteran Member
It's one of the Oxfordshire "Once a day" halts.
On Friday it appeared 3 people got off at Combe and 6 people (including myself) got off at Finstock, looked like there was another basher as he was taking pictures (although sadly as that service was 10 minutes late it cut my time for the walk to Charlbury, even though I didn't need to rush as that London service was held up at Worcester for a late running service towards Malvern, which meant it missed its path from Charlbury towards Oxford and as a final kick in the teeth the signallers around Oxford decided to put a terminating Chiltern service in front which added a further 10 minute delay).
Kite159
Veteran Member
I made use of some semi-enforced time off work (Directive from upper management that they wanted everybody to take some time off during the quiet months) the last weekend for a long weekend based in Birmingham, the target being stations, and platform 1 at Leamington Spa (my list of required bay platforms is slowly coming down, although most of them are in the north so take some thinking)
172334 at Leamington Spa
The Friday was spent on the Stratford Upon Avon lines, grabbing Adderley Park at the 3rd attempt and a Bordesley sized bonus (sheer luck that Birmingham were playing at home which cleared a large gap for the Saturday)
Bordesley Station
Also a trip on the West Midland Metro to revisit the Royal scored me the microgrice of the back platform of Wednesbury Parkway:
West Midland Metro Tram 32 at Wednesbury Parkway
The Saturday was an early morning trip to Nuneaton... and I think you could probably guess why...
350106 departs Polesworth
A bus took me to Atherstone to allow me to say "West Midlands Railway - Tick". Onward to Tamworth for a 170 to Nottingham for some tram shack revisiting where during the week I decided to change my plan from going towards Newark, instead I headed to Bottesford for a 3 and a bit mile walk back towards Nottingham to revisit Elton & Orston, the theory being this walk is better done during the hours of daylight whereas the Newark stations can be done during the darker months
Elton & Orston Waiting Shelter
Once back at Nottingham, it was onto a wedged out 153 on a Newark semi-fast to Carlton, before walking the short distance to Netherfield to get another annoying EMT station done (and looking at my list of EMT stations left to revisit, all bar 2 are in the "not hourly" area. Netherfield certainly is a bit bleak, not somewhere you want to be hanging around for long during dark
Netherfield Station
Back to Birmingham, where the Sunday was a trip to the Heart of Wales (random microgrice move as the junction of the line at Craven Arms is due to be shifted so it's beyond the station in the next couple months). Llanbister Road was visited for an 50 minute fester (no sign of life other than sheep), back to Bucknell for a walk to Hopton Heath, before heading back to Knighton with a walk to Knucklas (this time going via the back road via Skyborry which is a better walking route as that little lane is a lot quieter than the main road) finishing the day with something which I've never done before... a 175 to New Street!
175115 at Birmingham New Street
A lazy evening and morning before a 350 took me to Euston (thankfully it was a 350/1, the next couple services were 350/2s!), with a 800 taking me & Lewis to Charlbury for another walk (making use of the good weather), this time to Ascott-under-Wychwood to board, and alight a mile and a quarter later at Shipton to allow me to clear the Cotwolds Line. A bonus was scoring 800003 on the first day of service
800003 arrives at Ascott-under-Wychwood
Anyhow that be it for me
172334 at Leamington SpaThe Friday was spent on the Stratford Upon Avon lines, grabbing Adderley Park at the 3rd attempt and a Bordesley sized bonus (sheer luck that Birmingham were playing at home which cleared a large gap for the Saturday)
Bordesley StationAlso a trip on the West Midland Metro to revisit the Royal scored me the microgrice of the back platform of Wednesbury Parkway:
West Midland Metro Tram 32 at Wednesbury ParkwayThe Saturday was an early morning trip to Nuneaton... and I think you could probably guess why...
350106 departs PolesworthA bus took me to Atherstone to allow me to say "West Midlands Railway - Tick". Onward to Tamworth for a 170 to Nottingham for some tram shack revisiting where during the week I decided to change my plan from going towards Newark, instead I headed to Bottesford for a 3 and a bit mile walk back towards Nottingham to revisit Elton & Orston, the theory being this walk is better done during the hours of daylight whereas the Newark stations can be done during the darker months
Elton & Orston Waiting ShelterOnce back at Nottingham, it was onto a wedged out 153 on a Newark semi-fast to Carlton, before walking the short distance to Netherfield to get another annoying EMT station done (and looking at my list of EMT stations left to revisit, all bar 2 are in the "not hourly" area. Netherfield certainly is a bit bleak, not somewhere you want to be hanging around for long during dark
Netherfield StationBack to Birmingham, where the Sunday was a trip to the Heart of Wales (random microgrice move as the junction of the line at Craven Arms is due to be shifted so it's beyond the station in the next couple months). Llanbister Road was visited for an 50 minute fester (no sign of life other than sheep), back to Bucknell for a walk to Hopton Heath, before heading back to Knighton with a walk to Knucklas (this time going via the back road via Skyborry which is a better walking route as that little lane is a lot quieter than the main road) finishing the day with something which I've never done before... a 175 to New Street!
175115 at Birmingham New StreetA lazy evening and morning before a 350 took me to Euston (thankfully it was a 350/1, the next couple services were 350/2s!), with a 800 taking me & Lewis to Charlbury for another walk (making use of the good weather), this time to Ascott-under-Wychwood to board, and alight a mile and a quarter later at Shipton to allow me to clear the Cotwolds Line. A bonus was scoring 800003 on the first day of service
800003 arrives at Ascott-under-WychwoodAnyhow that be it for me
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Keith Jarrett
Member
Well done on getting some more shacks scratched as AB rather than just A or B. Nice bonus with 800003 at the end of proceedings ....
Kite159
Veteran Member
Although annoyingly it becomes my first 800 on my "Sub 10 miles" list (as all the other ones I've had to date have been above 10 miles) [Reading - Paddington/Cardiff - Newport/Bath - Bristol etc]
Kite159
Veteran Member
Thanks Noddy & Mr 13
(That 175 to New Street might have sounded like fun, had it not been for it was one of the service which calls at all the stations from Shrewsbury towards Wolverhampton, but I was certainly shocked when it was held at Shrewsbury for the late running 150 from Swansea and it was a 175)
(That 175 to New Street might have sounded like fun, had it not been for it was one of the service which calls at all the stations from Shrewsbury towards Wolverhampton, but I was certainly shocked when it was held at Shrewsbury for the late running 150 from Swansea and it was a 175)
Kite159
Veteran Member
I suspect the last couple to get revisited will be Dunrobin Castle & Falls of Cruachan on grounds they close over winter time.
Sadly my plans for September have taken a knock due to the Northern strike, mainly a trip to East Yorkshire & a Greater Manchester Day. I've made up rough ideas based on this week's timetable so not all is lost but still it be a bit of an annoyance (other than Dove Holes which becomes hourly with a nice fester of "wait for the same unit to return from Buxton")
Gazr, will you be on that GBRF 4-day tour?
Sadly my plans for September have taken a knock due to the Northern strike, mainly a trip to East Yorkshire & a Greater Manchester Day. I've made up rough ideas based on this week's timetable so not all is lost but still it be a bit of an annoyance (other than Dove Holes which becomes hourly with a nice fester of "wait for the same unit to return from Buxton")
Gazr, will you be on that GBRF 4-day tour?
palmersears
Established Member
- Joined
- 20 Sep 2011
- Messages
- 1,485
Nobody should ever have to spend 10 minutes in Dove Holes, let alone an hour. My sympathies to you in advance, Kite.
Sure will... Day 1 and 2; not a fan of spending overnight/next day on a train when it's a gamble on the amount of hygiene going on in the coach you're in! Also on BLS tour this Monday and the CFPS stock move via Hindlow.
Kite159
Veteran Member
That overnight is going to be interesting, thankfully I decided to pay the extra for 1st class just for the larger seat. Hopefully the toilets won't run out of water
Bit of a second home for me around there.
Kite159
Veteran Member
Another 4 day long weekend for me, and once more all 4 days were busy.
A slightly later than normal start on the Friday as I did a time wasting move via Reading for some 800 hunting, only for that to be cut short by required 800019 popping up pretty much straight away. Onwards to Paddington where I spotted required 345013 floating around so I grabbed that on a leap to Ealing Broadway, returning on another 345, they certainly fly on the GWMR.
The idea of today was a couple "hard" stations in Southern land (basically a few months ago when I decided to revisit the stations I gave them a ranking from "Easy" to "very hard" depending on level of service & location). A couple linear hops on mileage requirements and a fast run to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells, first up on my list was Pevensy Bay which was around a 45 minute fester with the services I picked. Back to Hastings and onwards to Ore before heading towards Doleham, being the only passenger to alight or board from the local door on the 171 (there was someone sitting in the shelter, hopefully not someone waiting for a Hastings bound service!)
171721 arrives into Pevensey Bay
The walk back to Three Oaks was pleasant enough, once I got up the mighty steep hill, a walk where it's best to do during summer as there aren’t any lights or pavements. I made it to Three Oaks in time before the rain arrived and also an Eastbourne service, this was wedged out so I bailed at Ore and waited for the Victoria bound service (and happy I boarded at Ore vice Hastings as it was a high density seated 377/1, so I grabbed one of the few tables. A decent run to Gatwick Airport where I bailed for a late running 387 on an express service because it's been a while since my last Gatwick Express and it was as expected quite empty in the rear coach.
At Victoria, I met up with Dan for a spot of bits around London (A trip to Finsbury Park via the Canal tunnels), before heading out to the eastern end of the Central line to clear my last 2 stations needed, via a very nice pizza at Woodford. Back towards London and it was a short fester at Blackfriars for an overnight northbound 700 which skips Farringdon (and for a novelty seemed to cross over after Blackfriars to change to AC on the southbound platform at City Thameslink before crossing back over to the regular line. A trip on the night tube Jubilee & Central line followed before heading towards Liverpool Street.
A few weeks ago I got bowled out at scoring Eccles Road due to a dodgy door on an EMT 158, so that was on my hit list with a Stansted Express to the airport (going non-stop via Seven Sisters), before a XC 170 to Cambridge, and then onwards to Eccles Road (I was the only person alighting or boarding both morning trains, although I think someone boarded at Harling Road on the first service). With my last limited served Greater Anglia shack out of the way it was to Norwich (RIP Norwich station Co-Op as it looks like it will become a Subway). A trip to Oulton Broad scored me the north station on a non-stop service, and a gentle walk to the South station for the trip to Ipswich. A bit of 153 based fun took me to Derby Road, watching a freight service pass before the 153 returned to Ipswich before a run to Cambridge, doubling back to Newmarket to then double back once more to Dullingham for a 45 minute fester in the rain, but the 170 returned for the short leap to Newmarket, back to Cambridge where I got lucky with a delayed non-stop Kings Cross service.
156422 crosses over the Oulton Broad Swing Bridge
170271 arrives into Dullingham Station
My bed was very much welcomed Saturday night! Sadly my plans had to change due to forthcoming weekend engineering works on the West of England as my original idea was to head to the Isle of Wight, instead it was a drive to the station (for it was raining) for the long trip out west to Exeter, a trip to Newcourt for time wasting before heading towards the Barnstaple line, scoring Kings Nympton, Eggesford, a quick hop to Barnstaple & back to Yeoford before an hour and a bit at Lapford. Not the best of days to score rural stations as none of the stations had any seats in the waiting shelters, but hey ho, the Barnstaple line is done.
143619 departs Kings Nympton
The Monday was a busy day, onwards to London, for a 700 to Rainham (more of a novelty factor if anything), my first 395 of the year to Faversham before I scored my last couple South Eastern stations on the Dover line, a tight connection at Dover saw me ahead of time as I headed towards Ashford only to be rewarded with a lovely high density 375/9 (I wouldn’t mind, but the other units on the Ashford – Tonbridge shuttles appeared to be 377/5s). It was onto the Redhill stopper to score my last couple Southern stations, and then to Redhill scoring the new(ish) platform 0 (why do I think Reigate would be better served with just a shuttle service from Redhill, hence allowing use of pairs of units for the busier stoppers). A 700 too me to London Bridge, before some 465s to Waterloo East, before heading out towards Shepperton to score my last couple SWR stations, returning to Clapham making a “man of steel” leap across to a pair of 159s back home earlier than expected.
375710 passes Leigh
A slightly later than normal start on the Friday as I did a time wasting move via Reading for some 800 hunting, only for that to be cut short by required 800019 popping up pretty much straight away. Onwards to Paddington where I spotted required 345013 floating around so I grabbed that on a leap to Ealing Broadway, returning on another 345, they certainly fly on the GWMR.
The idea of today was a couple "hard" stations in Southern land (basically a few months ago when I decided to revisit the stations I gave them a ranking from "Easy" to "very hard" depending on level of service & location). A couple linear hops on mileage requirements and a fast run to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells, first up on my list was Pevensy Bay which was around a 45 minute fester with the services I picked. Back to Hastings and onwards to Ore before heading towards Doleham, being the only passenger to alight or board from the local door on the 171 (there was someone sitting in the shelter, hopefully not someone waiting for a Hastings bound service!)
171721 arrives into Pevensey BayThe walk back to Three Oaks was pleasant enough, once I got up the mighty steep hill, a walk where it's best to do during summer as there aren’t any lights or pavements. I made it to Three Oaks in time before the rain arrived and also an Eastbourne service, this was wedged out so I bailed at Ore and waited for the Victoria bound service (and happy I boarded at Ore vice Hastings as it was a high density seated 377/1, so I grabbed one of the few tables. A decent run to Gatwick Airport where I bailed for a late running 387 on an express service because it's been a while since my last Gatwick Express and it was as expected quite empty in the rear coach.
At Victoria, I met up with Dan for a spot of bits around London (A trip to Finsbury Park via the Canal tunnels), before heading out to the eastern end of the Central line to clear my last 2 stations needed, via a very nice pizza at Woodford. Back towards London and it was a short fester at Blackfriars for an overnight northbound 700 which skips Farringdon (and for a novelty seemed to cross over after Blackfriars to change to AC on the southbound platform at City Thameslink before crossing back over to the regular line. A trip on the night tube Jubilee & Central line followed before heading towards Liverpool Street.
A few weeks ago I got bowled out at scoring Eccles Road due to a dodgy door on an EMT 158, so that was on my hit list with a Stansted Express to the airport (going non-stop via Seven Sisters), before a XC 170 to Cambridge, and then onwards to Eccles Road (I was the only person alighting or boarding both morning trains, although I think someone boarded at Harling Road on the first service). With my last limited served Greater Anglia shack out of the way it was to Norwich (RIP Norwich station Co-Op as it looks like it will become a Subway). A trip to Oulton Broad scored me the north station on a non-stop service, and a gentle walk to the South station for the trip to Ipswich. A bit of 153 based fun took me to Derby Road, watching a freight service pass before the 153 returned to Ipswich before a run to Cambridge, doubling back to Newmarket to then double back once more to Dullingham for a 45 minute fester in the rain, but the 170 returned for the short leap to Newmarket, back to Cambridge where I got lucky with a delayed non-stop Kings Cross service.
156422 crosses over the Oulton Broad Swing Bridge
170271 arrives into Dullingham StationMy bed was very much welcomed Saturday night! Sadly my plans had to change due to forthcoming weekend engineering works on the West of England as my original idea was to head to the Isle of Wight, instead it was a drive to the station (for it was raining) for the long trip out west to Exeter, a trip to Newcourt for time wasting before heading towards the Barnstaple line, scoring Kings Nympton, Eggesford, a quick hop to Barnstaple & back to Yeoford before an hour and a bit at Lapford. Not the best of days to score rural stations as none of the stations had any seats in the waiting shelters, but hey ho, the Barnstaple line is done.
143619 departs Kings NymptonThe Monday was a busy day, onwards to London, for a 700 to Rainham (more of a novelty factor if anything), my first 395 of the year to Faversham before I scored my last couple South Eastern stations on the Dover line, a tight connection at Dover saw me ahead of time as I headed towards Ashford only to be rewarded with a lovely high density 375/9 (I wouldn’t mind, but the other units on the Ashford – Tonbridge shuttles appeared to be 377/5s). It was onto the Redhill stopper to score my last couple Southern stations, and then to Redhill scoring the new(ish) platform 0 (why do I think Reigate would be better served with just a shuttle service from Redhill, hence allowing use of pairs of units for the busier stoppers). A 700 too me to London Bridge, before some 465s to Waterloo East, before heading out towards Shepperton to score my last couple SWR stations, returning to Clapham making a “man of steel” leap across to a pair of 159s back home earlier than expected.
375710 passes Leigh
Last edited:
Kite159
Veteran Member
Jumping into my time machine for the 2nd weekend of August (as I must have forgotten to actually post this!) (10 - 12th August)
The Friday was a quiet evening spin to finish the North Downs line, making use of the peak time extra services to linear hop along to North Camp, giving me an early finish which was needed for a rare return to the 05:27 service as the Saturday was a railtour.
165103 departs Crowthorne Station
This month’s tour was “The Walsall Concerto” from UK Railtours, a gentle potter around the West Midlands with required 66060 hauling the set from Euston towards Birmingham International, going round the back of New Street via Aston and rejoining the main line at Soho, the main idea was to head into the Wolverhampton Steel Terminal, but the men on the ground had other ideas. The other bit of new track scored was the line towards Birch Coppice (comes off the route towards Tamworth around Kingsbury metal recyclers) I wasn’t the only person to bail at Stourbridge Junction to get home early (after Stourbridge it went into Round Oak, before heading towards Worcester and making its slow way back to Euston via Bromsgrove & Nuneaton).
The Sunday I met up with Dan for a spot of Chiltern station visiting, mainly the two on the Princes Risborough – Aylesbury single line, topped off with a bit of 68 based noise from High Wycombe (as why not!), afterwards I revisited Kensington Olympia via LU (as I did it before I logged numbers) and New Addington on the tram, before heading home. A nice little social with a couple more stations done.
68013 rests at London Marylebone
The Friday was a quiet evening spin to finish the North Downs line, making use of the peak time extra services to linear hop along to North Camp, giving me an early finish which was needed for a rare return to the 05:27 service as the Saturday was a railtour.
165103 departs Crowthorne StationThis month’s tour was “The Walsall Concerto” from UK Railtours, a gentle potter around the West Midlands with required 66060 hauling the set from Euston towards Birmingham International, going round the back of New Street via Aston and rejoining the main line at Soho, the main idea was to head into the Wolverhampton Steel Terminal, but the men on the ground had other ideas. The other bit of new track scored was the line towards Birch Coppice (comes off the route towards Tamworth around Kingsbury metal recyclers) I wasn’t the only person to bail at Stourbridge Junction to get home early (after Stourbridge it went into Round Oak, before heading towards Worcester and making its slow way back to Euston via Bromsgrove & Nuneaton).
The Sunday I met up with Dan for a spot of Chiltern station visiting, mainly the two on the Princes Risborough – Aylesbury single line, topped off with a bit of 68 based noise from High Wycombe (as why not!), afterwards I revisited Kensington Olympia via LU (as I did it before I logged numbers) and New Addington on the tram, before heading home. A nice little social with a couple more stations done.
68013 rests at London Marylebone- Status