The Various Random Mutterings of Kite

[87electric]

059 is one of my last blighters as well.

 

[Kite159]

700154 fell into my book this afternoon on a London Bridge - East Croydon service, so one left Plus I fell straight onto a required 800/3 at Reading this morning, one which I only made because a Newcastle bound voyager was running late [allowing me to make a connection at Basingstoke].

A random day in London, no real plan just a list of wants, mainly silly little microgrice moves:
Hayes & Harlington - Heathrow Central from the relief lines
Departing North Acton P2
The crossover on the London end of Bromley South [used by the Bromley South - Victoria stoppers]
The crossover from Barking P7 back towards Gospel Oak [pretty sure I might have already done this a few years ago as I have memories of boarding a 172 on that side]
Deptford - London Bridge P5
Kentish Town P3, plus departing southwards for the crossover.

Plus various unit hunting for ones needed for 10 miles. I was going to do a Thames Valley Branches Rover today to hunt down IETs, however decided to ditch that idea because of the bitterly cold wind.

Anyhow random picture:

Spoiler: Big picture ahead

 

[Mills444]

Well done Kite bet that last 700 will be a bugger to get, out of interest how many 345s have you had yet?

 

[Kite159]

Well done Kite bet that last 700 will be a bugger to get, out of interest how many 345s have you had yet?

All the 7-coach 'reduced length' examples.

I suspect I shall be asking for assistance from the magic box for that final 700, only because there is a handful which work solely from Kings Cross, a handful which work solely from Blackfriars [Sevenoaks], so there is no best place to stay. A bit like the South Eastern units where they can be spread out across different terminus

 

[433N]

Nice to see you still braving the elements and getting out there, Mr Kite.

Congrats on bagging one of your 700 needs.

 

[Kite159]

Nice to see you still braving the elements and getting out there, Mr Kite.

Congrats on bagging one of your 700 needs.

Oh yeah, the weather yesterday was horrid. Cold wind with rain which got heavy at times.

Not as bad as the previous week when I was at Rugeley mind, where the platform flooded!

Spoiler: Large Pictures

 

[djpontrack]

Oh yeah, the weather yesterday was horrid. Cold wind with rain which got heavy at times.

Not as bad as the previous week when I was at Rugeley mind, where the platform flooded!

It certainly looked wet in your photo of the pendolino passing through rugeley. I laughed at the person on the opposite platform with the suitcase above his head trying not to get wet.

 

[Kite159]

059 is one of my last blighters as well.

And the chase is over

Spoiler: Large picture

 

[Esker-pades]

"And in taking that photo, I missed the train...."
(I jest.)

 

[Kite159]

"And in taking that photo, I missed the train...."
(I jest.)

That was taken after I had alighted (boarded at Wimbledon Chase)

 

[Esker-pades]

That was taken after I had alighted (boarded at Wimbledon Chase)

Wimbledon Chase wouldn't be my first choice of Thameslink station.

 

[433N]

Congrats on a job well done, Mr Kite.

 

[Kite159]

Wimbledon Chase wouldn't be my first choice of Thameslink station.

It was originally going to be Wimbledon but I caught an earlier train from Waterloo. I wanted my last 700 to have a decent mileage (i.e. not a core leap), and needed to plan it around a move towards the Beckenham Junction peak time services which use the bay platform (4).

 

[87electric]

And the chase is over

Spoiler: Large picture

View attachment 56900

Well done Kite.
I actually got it today as well. 3 left for me.

 

[Kite159]

Well done Kite.
I actually got it today as well. 3 left for me.

Hopefully those 3 fall for you sooner than later

 

[Kite159]

A "I'm bored" moment on Boxing Day saw me booking a last minute trip to Glasgow this past weekend. Mainly to make a decent start with the 385s.

Things got off to an excellent start last night when the (very lightly loaded) voyagers arrived early so I managed to grab 320404 & 320401 in the space of 10 minutes before grabbing some 385s on Queen Street - Croy leaps.

Today I decided to end my session with 10 winners, before pottering around, ending my Roundabout with a 314 run, as it will probably be the last time.

My red pen is happy

(Plus I've spotted a very shiny 320420 at Shields, so that will have to wait until my next Glasgow trip (with the hope that some more of the 2nd batch of 320/4s are in use)

 

[Kite159]

New Year's eve & day was spent with Dan (Blind Traveller), overnight in a holiday Inn near to Birmingham NEC. Basically some random bits & pieces in the West Midlands (Boarding a train at the massive gap at Barnt Green P2, a 390 on a tour via Bescot and my first Transport for Wales operated service.

The main point on the Tuesday was to tick off the connection north of Nuneaton where the line from Birmingham joins the WCML on the platform 1/2 side, as due to engineering works between Wolverhampton & Stafford there was an hourly XC going that way.

And meanwhile in Newbury the train to London is about to depart (unusually from platform 1, crossing over to the regular line after Newbury Racecourse)

Spoiler: Large picture

 

[Mills444]

Kite is that 387 the Newbury train?

 

[A Challenge]

That is at Newbury, and I presume it is a similar working to one that started from Platform 1 heading back into London before electrification which I remember seeing when I came through Newbury late evening.

 

[Kite159]

There must be a reason for that particular service (16:48 Newbury - Paddington) starting from platform 1 instead of crossing over towards P2/P3.

(I don't think the inbound service is the one which goes via the loop at the Racecourse due to being overtaken by a Penzance bound service so can't gain access to the bay or P2, might just be a rusty rail move with that crossover the other side of the Racecourse station, probably causes confusion for non-regular folk, especially since the new footbridge hasn't got lifts installed yet)

 

[Kite159]

Looking back in December

This December compared to previous Decembers was going to be quieter, at the start of the month there was no overnight stays (other than the first weekend), my little advance ticket box was empty.

The first weekend was a trip to West Yorkshire, the plans changed massively due to the ongoing Northern strikes, but I managed to depart from platform 14 at Leeds (an unexpected bonus), board at Glasshoughton & alight at South Milford, before some time wasting bits & pieces (a run to Ilkley on my first 333 of the year, a trip to Hedben Bridge & Huddersfield on some mileage requirements, ending the day with a Grand Central 180 from Mirfield to Bradford. The Sunday was spent heading towards Sheffield to cover the extension to Parkgate, before some time-wasting mileage moves (as once again I had run out of things to do). A bonus of a required 800/3 took me to Reading on a bus avoidance move.

The 8th December was a simple West Midlands Day Ranger, basically to recover some lines I hadn’t used for a while. The usual 159 to Basingstoke followed by a 220 to Banbury (the Reading stopper had been cancelled), a pair of 168s to Dorridge, before a 172 on the long trip to Worcester. A linear hop on a 158 to Malvern before a 170 to Hereford where I met up with Mr Jules for the first time in ages, as he was heading towards the Christmas markets, we had a little catch up on a 800 to Worcester, before a very crowded pair of 170s to Bromsgrove for another all-station stopper, the 323 up the hill to Lichfield Trent Valley. A 350 took me one stop to Rugeley Trent Valley before a 170 rolled in with a massive thunderstorm to take me back to Birmingham, probably the last time I will be using a DMU on this route. A very busy single 3-coach 168 took me to Banbury, before a quiet 221 took me to Basingstoke, attaching to a 220 which had terminated short of Guildford due to staff issues at Reading, before a 159 back home.

The 14th December I was going on a 700 hunt, but sadly it didn’t go to plan as there was a set-swap earlier on with my final 700/1 ending up somewhere else, but I ended the day with 2 of my 4 into my book, and a triple Networker to Orpington, sadly lost time for a series of random moves, so I decided to cut my losses and head home.

The 15th was a day trip to London, previously I was going to do a Thames Valley Branches Day to hunt down various 800 & 802s, but the wind was very chilly, so I ditched that plan to do a travelcard day. I got lucky at Basingstoke with a late running voyager allowing me to reach Reading earlier than expected, and to score a required 800 pretty much on the first service heading to London. A pair of 387s took me to Hayes & Harlington before a 360 took me to Heathrow, followed by my first & only 332 of the year (332007) to Terminal 5 on a “there & back” move. 360205 took me to Terminal 4, before returning to Hayes & Harlington with a mileage requirement 387 taken to Ealing Broadway. Some Central line moves followed with the aim of departing from the centre platform at North Acton, before heading towards Victoria.

A pair of 377/5s took me to Bromley South, so I could cover the crossover from the half hourly Bromley South – Victoria stoppers, before returning to Bromley with a pair of busy 375s returning me to Victoria. Some time wasting before my final 700/1 was scored on a run from London Bridge to East Croydon, returning on a pair of 377/6s, with a busy 465 taken to Deptford to intercept the hourly service from this line towards Kentish Town. Back to Farringdon before a hop to Liverpool Street with a triple 321 taken to Stratford, a pair of 357s taken to Barking before a mileage requirement 172/0 taken to Blackhorse Road from platform 7 at Barking. A Victoria line was taken to Tottenham Hale with a pair of 317s to Hackney followed by a mileage requirement 315 to Liverpool Street. A pair of 357s to Stratford before heading towards Waterloo and a busy pair of 450s to Clapham Junction before a pair of 707s taken to Brentford, returning to Barnes on a pair of 458s for another pair of 707s to Waterloo, before heading back home on a 159. A varied day in London and a good one as it was mostly unplanned (I just had a mental list of “things I wanted to do”).

I finished work early on the 17th December, which allowed me to have a random trip to Hungerford for no real reason other than I wanted a little trip on the rails (and, I wanted to visit the bank to pay in a cheque). A 158/159/159 combo took me to Reading where due to late running missed the connection to the Reading Turbo, so it was to Reading on a busy 221, followed by my jobs in Reading town centre, before a 800/3 took me to Hungerford, returning to Reading on a 165, with another 165 taken to a very busy and manic Basingstoke where eventually a 159/159/158 combo rolled up to take me to Grateley.

With my Christmas leave starting on the 19th December, it was time to head out to London to do some bits & pieces, so it was onwards to Basingstoke with a busy pair of 159s, followed by a 166 to Reading, a short fester drawing blanks ending the session with a 165 to Paddington. A 345 took me to West Ealing, before boarding 165004 operating the “Wycombe Wanderer” service, the rush from the first couple days had reduced so it was just myself and a group of 3 on the service. A pair of 168s took me from High Wycombe to Oxford (mainly to score the new layout for services from Oxford Parkway into Oxford), before a 165 took me to Didcot (which departed from platform 4 due to a late running voyager). A required 800/3 took me to Reading, before another short dud session with 800306 taken to Paddington, for I had a date with a certain 700 at Wimbledon.

I did my usual changing of trains at Baker Street from a Bakerloo to Jubilee as it is a bit quicker, and boarded a pair of 455s to Wimbledon, arriving with time to spare to take a Sutton bound 700 to Wimbledon Chase (mainly so I could grab a decent seat in the 1st class area). My final 700 rolled in from Sutton which I took to Blackfriars to clear the class. A trip to Herne Hill on a 466/465 put another couple networkers above 10 miles (heck I have nothing else to hunt down), with a hop to Beckenham Junction to sit on the previous pair of Networkers to eventually depart late (due to a trespasser) from the bay platform to Herne Hill, before heading towards St Pancras and then towards Paddington for I had news on another required 800/3 floating around (one someone else had asked for, but I saw it was gettable for me so a happy bonus move). Once at Reading it was onto the 166 back to Basingstoke, then back home on the 159.

The Thursday was just a random shopping trip to Basingstoke, featuring the same 159 each way, as happens when I spend 2 hours in Basingstoke.

The 21st December was another London trip, but this time an add-on with a trip to Stevenage. A similar start to the Wednesday with a pair of 159s to Basingstoke (a lot quieter this morning as I suspect some of the commuters had finished work for the year already or were “working from home” with a hangover). This time however was a 2-coach 165 to Reading, followed by a fester for a service from Bristol which produced a pair of 802s to Paddington, next up was a trip to Moorgate before grabbing a couple 313s for miles on linear hops to Gordon Hill, before another pair took me all the way to Stevenage, mainly to recover the Hertford loop. A break in Stevenage before a 700 took me back to Welwyn Garden City, scoring a pair of 313s from platform 1 to Potters Bar, with another 700 taken to Finsbury Park (sadly my gamble didn’t pay off as this 700 was already above 10 miles). Another 700 took me to Farringdon before making my way to Liverpool Street on Barking service, grabbing a low mileage 321 to Stratford.

A quick hop on the Jubilee line took me to West Ham with a pair of mileage required 357s took me to Fenchurch Street where a quick glance found nothing else of interest as I took the same pair back out to Upminster to intercept the triple 387 service, sadly this was the “odd” trio so not required for miles, but still a nice change. A quick hop to West Ham got another 357 (357019) closer to 10 miles, with 2 more joining the club (357043 & 357324) back to Fenchurch Street, where 357014 got another 4 miles & 7 chains under its wheels for a hop to West Ham (sadly not enough to clear it for 10 miles). A short wait before the other triple 387 set appeared, and it was the triple even set to clear the sub-class. Once at Upminster 387321 rolled in to join the 10-mile club on a run to Barking, followed by 357024 to West Ham. 357208 was next up to join that club with a run back out to Upminster (along with 357201, as I was making use of the quieter loadings). A 315 took me to Romford before 345015 rolled in to take me to Liverpool Street, followed by a run to Paddington to intercept 800319 (which I had seen earlier in the day at Reading). At Reading it was onto a voyager to Basingstoke before a pair of 159s to Grateley.

The 22nd December was my only railtour of December & final tour of the year, Pathfinders “The Festive Frolic”. Due to the late arrival into Basingstoke I decided to drive to Basingstoke (as it would have only given me a +25 to the final Salisbury service which is a tad tight for my liking). Required 66077 was leading as I took my seat in the posh seats for the run to Bescot yard, where it was replaced by 56105 (dud from a previous railtour) and 66075 on the back, which hauled the coaches into Wolverhampton Steel Terminal (2nd time lucky for me as the last time the tour stopped well short due to communication issues). The 56 took charge for the run to Chester (back out towards Soho, before heading via Bescot and back towards Wolverhampton, heading towards Shrewsbury & finally Chester, via some loops). A brief hour at Chester as I headed to Tesco fighting the crowds, before returning, covering the Chester interdependent line before heading towards Rugeley, and into the Dudley Siding. 66075 was back in charge for the run back to Basingstoke via the Sutton Park line, a roundabout trip into New Street via Selly Oak before heading back towards Basingstoke, thankfully the train emptied out by Birmingham International allowing the remaining folk to spread out. A good final railtour of the year with a couple bits of Baker Track covered, along with some odds & sods at Quail level.

Christmas Eve was a random trip to Bedwyn, no reason other than I fancied a day trip and Bedwyn was cheap. A pair of 159s (which were quite empty) took me to Basingstoke, before a 221 took me to Reading. A 165 took me to Newbury on a stopper, before 165108 took me to Bedwyn and back to Reading, where I did some shopping before making my way slowly back to Grateley via 165130 to Basingstoke & 159017.

After a quiet & peaceful Christmas & Boxing Day I was itching to get back out on the rails, and with it being a strike day meant an earlier start with the 09:33 service, which I took to Basingstoke with 166221 taken to Reading which is where I made a bit of a mistake. The first couple Paddington bound fast services were rammed, the service from Bedwyn was a case of “how many folk can you squeeze onto a 165 challenge”, so I decided to take a stopper to Hayes & Harlington (although the rear unit was 387150 which was required for mileage might have helped). At Hayes & Harlington, it was a long walk round to access platform 1 before 360204 took me to Heathrow Terminal 4, returning to Paddington as it was nice to get my last 360/2 for 10-miles into the book, also part of the new layout around Airport junction using the connection to the mains). A Bakerloo & Jubilee line service took me to Waterloo) (changing at Baker Street), where a 455 for mileage was waiting to take me to Wimbledon where I took a break for some lunch. Returning to the station and it was 700043 which took me to Blackfriars, before a trip to London Bridge, returning to Blackfriars on 700029 which was terminating on platform 1 (microgricing move). Back at London Bridge, a trip to Lewisham on a triple Networker, before a pair of 376s took me to Grove Park for a run to Bromley North (and back). Another pair of 376s took me to Petts Wood before a pair of 465s took me back to London Bridge, annoyingly neither of these moves were mileage requirements. Once at London Bridge it was a case of doing a few runs to/from East Croydon for mileage needs. 700148, 377622, 377619, 377452, 377415, 377602, 377624, 377459 all joined the club, sadly all the 387/2s I saw weren’t needed for miles. A pair of 465s took me to Waterloo East before a triple 159 took me back home.

On Boxing day I got bored, and hence looked up prices for a little weekend spin to Glasgow, and it was cheaper than expected (especially after using the Ticket Split website to get it to show fares of the more slower route of changing at Crewe, so I booked up to head back to Glasgow on the 28th December, returning on the Saturday. A 158+159 combo took me to Basingstoke where I decided to step back a service to board a pair of 444s on a fast to Clapham Junction, before changing to a 10-car suburban service where the 456 was needed for mileage but even the near 4 mile run to Waterloo wasn’t enough to push it over. Grabbing lunch from Tesco before heading across to Waterloo East for a short wait before 375606 & 375704 took me to London Bridge, and 700126 to St Pancras, the extra miles helping but both 606 & the 700 remain underneath 10 miles. At St Pancras I walked across to Euston and waited for the Chester service to get announced. A busy (until Milton Keynes) 221107 was taking me to Crewe where I had a 20 minute wait before 221102 & 221101 arrived to take me all the way to Glasgow, new coverage for voyager and coach K was quite empty, and only got emptier as time went by. After Carlisle there was only 4 other passengers in the nice coach, where after Motherwell I started to move forward as I had a tight connection to grab one of the new 320s, but due to the voyagers arriving early, no queue at the downstairs ticket office and a Dalmuir train running a couple minutes late I got 320404 on a leap to Anderston (attached with 320310). A brief wait at Anderston before winner 320401 rolled in with 320414 in tow. I took this pair to Rutherglen making a tight connection onto 320311 for the run to Partick.

My hotel was located in the Kelvinbridge area, so it was downstairs to the subway, leaping onto 102/205/104 as they just rolled in to take me to Kelvinbridge, checking in & grabbing something to eat before returning with 114/207/107 back to Partick. 334029 was taken to Queen Street (after the novelty of seeing a 365 running through ECS), where I had a brief wait before winner 385109 joined my club of winning 385s on a stopper to Croy, sadly it was late arriving and late departing so it missed the +9 at Croy giving me a 20-odd minute wait. However the service I missed was a DMU and the one I caught back to Queen Street was 385104 & 385003, making a tight connection onto 385115 back out to Croy, and then onto 170429 & 158732 back to Queen Street. With one eye on the clock for the last subway services, I called it a night and headed back to Kelvinbridge on 106/203/125.

An early alarm on the Saturday saw me heading to Kelvinbridge for the first service which took me to Partick, the same triple I had last night. At Partick it was onto 318252 & 318260 for the run to Queen Street, and 158736 took me to Ashfield as a time wasting move, returning to Queen Street on 158712 (158736 was completely empty other than myself!). Back at Queen Street and it was a few unit grabbing moves, with 385014, 385107, 385113, 385012, 385112, 385114, 385007, 385031, 385118 & 385108 falling into my book. I decided to call it a day and catch 380105 out towards Cumbernauld. A 25 minute wait at this station before 320414 & 320401 rolled in to take myself (and Dan) to Motherwell, where we changed over to 318257 from Lanark for a fast service to Glasgow Central.

Grabbing lunch and it was a trip to Clarkston on 156514 & 156467, returning on 156494 & 156504, heading out to Cardonald on 314208, returning to Glasgow Central on 314215 which is the same unit we took next to Paisley Gilmour Street to intercept 314214 on a fast service for some noise (because this could be the last time I have a 314 on this route). At Glasgow Central it was a return to Paisley Gilmour Street on 380016 (mileage requirement) returning on 380022, with 380107 taken to Mount Florida (feels strange not being on a 314 on the Cathcart circle), 380112 was taken back to Pollokshields East with 320315 for the short hop to Crosshill, intercepting 314211 from Newton which could be my final 314 move. I had time to pop to the First Class lounge to grab some drinks & snacks, before boarding 390151 (a mileage requirement), as when I was booking seats in 1st class were only a couple pound more expensive and all the table seats in standard class were taken, and it was very peaceful in the posh seats as I settled down for the trip to Euston. Arriving a few minutes early was a nice bonus, as I headed down to the Northern line with 51509 & 51510 to Waterloo for a fester before boarding the 22:20, formed of 159108 & 159008 (as yes finally SWR have doubled the 22:20 service on a Saturday as it can be very busy to Basingstoke).

My final day on the rails of 2018 was New Year’s Eve, and due to the strike, it was onto the 09:33 service which I took to Clapham Junction, changing onto a 455+455+456 combo (sadly all above 10 miles). I changed over to Waterloo East and got onto a pair of 465s, the rear one (465905) getting a nice boost but still keeps being ‘blue’ (I highlight units which are below 10 miles in blue on my spreadsheet, ones which go above 10 miles in a Salmon colour). This is where I made a mistake, for some reason I had it in my head I was booked on the 13:23 Virgin service to Coventry, but was in fact booked on the 12:23 service, something I should have checked before boarding 377433/377142/377415 to East Croydon, returning to London Bridge on 377411/377474/377106 (nothing required here). 700127 took me to St Pancras where I walked across to Euston, buying an off-peak LNWR single (at least it was only £10 I was wasting, but a worthwhile lesson to check your tickets!). 350102 took me to Rugby where I made a connection onto 350262/350254 to Coventry, this is the service which starts from Northampton around 10 minutes after another Birmingham service, and hence was very empty (and sits at Coventry for 10 minutes). I picked up my Daytripper (and one for Dan), and boarded 390151 to New Street. I met up with Dan (Blindtraveller) and we headed to the tram stop for a busy tram 32 to take us all the way to Wolverhampton St George.

Walking to Wolverhampton station, it was onto 221111 from Shrewsbury to New Street, changing onto 170515/153375 to Tame Bridge Parkway (for the 170 was needed for miles). Changing over the platform and it was onto 323203 to Aston, followed by 323242 to Northfield, followed by 323211 & 323207 to Barnt Green, as I fancied the novelty of boarding a service on platform 2, which before June time was pretty much impossible other than early morning. 323219 rolled in to take us to Bromsgrove, remaining on board for the run up the hill all the way to New Street, where I noticed a Virgin service to Wolverhampton which went via Bescot, which was a nice novelty with 390157 taken on the slow trip to Wolverhampton. At Wolverhampton it was onto 158825 which would form my final train of 2018 and also my first under the “Transport for Wales” operator. We took this to Birmingham International, grabbing a taxi to the hotel where we had a socialable evening until the clock stuck midnight, to mark the end of 2018...

...Oops that went on for longer than expected!

December in numbers

4389 miles covered (this being the first December since I started logging journeys in 2014 where I hadn’t cleared 5000 miles in December)
27 New Units (2x 320, 14x 385, 4x 700, 5 x 800. 2 x 802)
2 new locos (2x66)
2 stations revisited (plus 2 new Light Rail Stops)

2018 in Numbers

53423 miles covered
Locos:
3 x 20; 10 x 37; 1 x 41; 3 x 47; 2 x 50; 1 x 55; 1 x 56; 2 x 57; 1 x 59; 1 x 60; 14 x 66; 2 x 67; 2 x 68; 6 x 73; 3 x 86; 1 x 87; 1 x 88; 5 x 90; 1 x 92

Units:
3 x 150*; 2 x 168*; 2 x 320*; 1 x 321; 9 x 345; 6 x 357*; 18 x 385; 16 x 387; 42 x 700; 10 x 707; 33 x 800; 6 x 802

(* for renumbering)

Light Rail:
5 x Blackpool Trams; 1 x 1992 LU Stock; 6 x 1973 LU Stock; 7 x Sheffield Citylink Trams; 2 x 1995 LU Stock; 2 x Tyne & Wear Metro Units

Looking ahead to January

My winter slowdown continues, a London trip was had on the 5th January (report to follow), a question mark weekend this coming weekend (12th January, where I suspect I will probably head to London again), my first big trip of the year with a trip to Perth on the sleeper on the 18th Jan, with some bits & pieces in Edinburgh (grumbles about the withdrawal of the Edinburgh Days Out Pass forcing me to fork out £49 for a Central Scotland Rover), and a trip to Nottingham on the 26th with the idea of clearing my last few stations on the Lincoln line and Doncaster platform 2!

 

[Techniquest]

Wow that was a long summary! Are you learning from me how to write essays?

Those 170s we did from Worcester to Bromsgrove, they weren't that busy at our end of the train. Busy but not rammed, I've seen far worse I can assure you!

 

[Iskra]

For a 'quiet December,' you achieved a lot! Very varied too.

 

[Kite159]

Wow that was a long summary! Are you learning from me how to write essays?

Those 170s we did from Worcester to Bromsgrove, they weren't that busy at our end of the train. Busy but not rammed, I've seen far worse I can assure you!

They departed Bromsgrove quite cosy at the front of the train, but I suspect that is more down to the entrance being at the Birmingham end.

 

[Kite159]

Having a little catch up:

1st January – “What time does this train reach Wolverhampton?”

Carrying on from the socialable evening in the Holiday Inn Express near the Birmingham NEC, the main aim of today was to cover the connection into Nuneaton platform 2 from the line from Birmingham, which is my last bit of track to score in the Nuneaton area. So after checking out of the hotel and getting a taxi back to Birmingham International, the first order of business was with the “Airtrack” cable car system to Birmingham Airport just for the novelty of doing it. After a quick trip there & back it was down to the platforms for one of the first Euston services of the day, a nice double Voyager formed of 221103 & 221109 for the run to Coventry, giving a nice connection onto 220018 working the Reading – Manchester service, I had previously reserved seats via Twitter but where it was busy there was plenty of options. A nice run to Birmingham New Street where the train reversed and headed towards Water Orton (this is when a gentleman asked “what time does this train reach Wolverhampton?”). I will admit it was a bit slow in places but eventually the voyager reached Nuneaton where the doors were released (not a booked call on RTT, but it was announced on the PIS).

A quick reversal and the 220 got up some good speed on the WCML racing towards Stafford and onwards to Stoke where we changed onto 156405 for the run to Crewe, making a tight connection onto 390153 working from sunny Blackpool for some more fast running to New Street, where we headed out of the station to get some lunch before returning to board 390042 which we took to Euston. Swinging via the TVMs at the Underground station so the member of staff could put on my gold card discount for this year (all those 80p savings add up). My first LU service of 2019 would be 11023/11024 to Oxford Circus, followed by 3537 & 3232 to Paddington. Up to the main concourse and required 800320 was sat working a Bristol service so happy days with another 800/3 into my book. Onwards to Reading where I said farewell to Dan, and boarded 165109 to Basingstoke, and to Andover on 159010/159101/159104 where due to SWR running a Sunday timetable meant I got a lift home.

A short and sweet little trip, that link at Nuneaton was one of my last bits of Baker track in the West Midlands area so to get it on a service train was good.

2nd Jan – A failed attempt at a Newbury electrics

Electrical services have started running to Newbury, on the off-peak Newbury stoppers, so with wanting a quiet day before my return to work I decided on a little trip to Bedwyn to sample a 387 from Reading to Newbury, just for the novelty of it all. I worked out a little plan which involved changing at Newbury on the way back for an IET service. I believe it was the 10:59 service from Grateley formed of 159022 to Basingstoke, with 165103 onwards to Reading. A 387 was sat on platform 1 as expected and I had 10 minutes to take a potter to Boots for some lunch, returning to see “delayed” flash up before news came round that the service had been cancelled due to the previous 387 having issues with the overhead wires being a tad high.

Not one to waste a trip, it was to Bedwyn on 165109, changing platforms to reboard the unit as it returned from the siding, and back to Newbury (I do like this line when it runs alongside the Kennet & Avon as it brings back memories of my youth). Anyhow lady luck was shining as 800316 popped up to take me to Reading. I decided to purchase a day return to Oxford to see if I could get lucky with someone heading to either Oxford or calling at Didcot. The first couple services were dud with a required unit heading towards Plymouth but first stop Taunton, but I was lucky with a pair of 802s, winner 802019 leading 802008 for the short hop to Didcot, where I didn’t hang round for long before winner 800318 took me back to Reading where I popped out of the station to do a bit of shopping, returning to take a busy 165112 to Basingstoke for 159008/158890/159006 back to Grateley.

3rd Jan – A successful attempt at the Newbury Electrics

An early finish on my first day back at work, meant I could have another attempt at a Newbury electrics service. 159015 took me to Basingstoke, with 165106 onwards to Reading. This time the 387s were behaving so I took a seat on 387151 working the next Newbury stopper for a nice quiet fast run, with a bit of dwell times at each station as the 387s are still working to diesel timings. The 387 went into the bay platform at Newbury and I went off for a little walk, returning for the final electric service which operates to Paddington and fits into the semi-fast pattern. Unusually this service departs from platform 1 (387145) so uses the crossover the opposite side of Newbury Racecourse station, and was a very nippy run. One for me to remember as it is booked to run on the mainline beyond Reading so I suspect a good 110mph non-stop run.

165110 took me back to Basingstoke, followed by 159001/159003/159102 to Grateley

Spoiler: Large Picture

4th Jan – London bits & pieces

Before Christmas I gave myself a list of bits in London I wouldn’t mind trying to do, either for the novelty factor or for some microgricing, I did most of it before hand but left out a few bits due to getting caught up in trespassing related delays or due to the C2C 387s being the wrong way round.

Anyhow it was home and to the station for the 13:59 service formed of 159005 to Basingstoke where I stepped back a train to board 444002 to Clapham Junction, where I had a couple options to reach East Croydon, the first had been missed due to a delay but was a single unit to Reigate (seriously run the Reigate services as a half-hourly shuttle and extend the Victoria – Reigate services to Three Bridges so they can be run as pairs, gets rid of single units using up paths). The first was to Eastbourne and didn’t feature on my list, the 2nd was to East Grinstead and featured a mileage need, 377452, 377412, 377438. To East Croydon where it was a same platform change to a pair of 455s bound for Coulsdon Town, formed of 455813 & 455843 which I took to Coulsdon Town for a short wait before they returned back towards London. I bailed at Purley and had a couple options, the first was a 377 from Reigate which I turned down, followed by former foe 700059 which I took to East Croydon, changing back to board 700141 for the fast run to London Bridge.

I somehow made a tight connection to platform 3 for 465178 & 465044 to Cannon Street, spotting a pair of mileage requirements on the opposite platform, so it was to Lewisham, sadly not enough to put 465189 or 465910 above 10 miles. I crossed over to the Hayes bound platform and waited for 465044 & 465178 to return from Cannon Street to take me all the way to Hayes, the train remaining busy to the very end. The reason for coming to Hayes is that the 17:45 & 18:15 services back to Charing Cross run fast to London Bridge and I was waiting for the 18:15 to arrive. A pair of 376s with 376007 leading 376016 on the 18:15 service, and it was good fun, the train was mostly empty and fast 376s are quite rare. At London Bridge I stepped back a train to get 375606 & 375810 to Waterloo East, the 375/6 getting very close to the 10 mile club (on 9.9 miles now, had I noticed I would have stayed on to Charing Cross and doubled back).

Spoiler: Large Picture

To Waterloo via Tesco, and it was onto a trio of units to Vauxhall (455904, 455701, 456011), with 455850, 455854 & 456014 back to Waterloo, where I headed towards platform 5 where the Hampton Court Express was due to roll in. 455874 & 455857 were on this service which goes on the fast lines, runs fast to Surbiton before heading to Hampton Court, so it be a novelty of a fast 455. They don’t do speed that well, it was a bit shaky especially when a fast service rushed past, but a novelty never the less. Back to Clapham on 450009 & 450092 (which was being advertised as formed of 12 coaches), but sadly due to delays meant I missed a connection to a Weybridge train so that will have to wait for another day. Back to Waterloo on 455910 & 455870 making a connection onto the 20:20 service which was formed of a triple unit, 159015, 159108 & 159016 and after Woking the coach I was in only had a couple other passengers.

A walk home, the end of a good spin to London

 

[Kite159]

5th January – All the (London) Terminals

Originally I was going to drive to Romsey and have a little trip to Wye & back [out via Redhill, back via Eastbourne], but due to the cold weather I decided to ditch that idea and have a little trip to London instead. But as my London needs are not the greatest I decided on a random challenge to visit all the London terminals, just for some variety. There was something else on my list to do which was the diverted London Bridge – Orpington trains via the Beckenham curve, just for some quail level bits [as my only previous use of that curve was with the afternoon Beckenham Junction starter a couple years ago when that ran]. (Any unit numbers in italics are new members of the 10 mile club, seeing as I don’t need much else I’ve decided to semi-focus on clearing units for 10 miles as there is a lot on tiny bus stop leaps)

Annoyingly when I was walking to the station the temperature had risen so the car windscreens weren’t iced over (they were all frosted over on the Friday evening), but never mind, as it was the 05:59 service to Basingstoke (formed of 159103), giving me a nice connection into the first Reading shuttle formed of 165128 to take me to Reading (as going via Reading is cheaper as I can split there, and also gets rid of the ‘weekend super-off peak’ restrictions found on the SWR priced routes. First service was a pair of 800s from Swansea which were both dud, the next was the unit from Bedwyn which was 165117, my last 3-coach 165/1 for 10 miles so I took a seat for the non-stop run to Paddington.

A quick hop out to Ealing Broadway & back for no reason other than for some 387 based speed (387166 & 387153 out, 387157 & 387132 in), with a walk to the underground for the tiny leap to Marylebone (3264/3554) where I had a couple options to ‘tick’ off Marylebone, either a pair of units towards Harrow on the Hill or an unit towards Wembley, neither option gave me something of interest [mainly something I need for more miles as I’ve got a few Chiltern 165s on Wembley Stadium leaps], so it was onto 165019 to Wembley Stadium. Originally I was going to stay on to South Ruislip but the inbound service gave a bad connection to a Tring service at Euston. Walking from Wembley Stadium to Wembley Central for a Southern service to Harrow & Wealdstone (which is the first time I’ve boarded a train on the “AC” platforms at Wembley Central. 377201 & 377210, with the rear unit nearly cleared (as I’m sure Mr Keith will know when an unit gets to 9.8 miles it is annoying when you can’t take it that little bit further to get it over the line).

15 minutes of festering at Harrow & Wealdstone before the next service from Tring arrived, formed of a busy 350256 for the fast run to Euston. For some reason I decided to use the Victoria line to Kings Cross St Pancras (11051/11052) as it is quicker to walk to the Thameslink gate line at St Pancras from Euston. A Bedford service was already in so I leapt on (after checking it stopped at West Hampstead), sadly it was 700140, the next Herne Hill stopper was a 700/0 already above 10 miles so it was a short wait for a Brighton service formed of 700134 which I took to London Bridge, sadly not enough to clear it for 10 miles but another 700/1 on half-decent mileage. At London * Bridge it was a short walk over to platforms 6 & 7 for the next Hastings service, which was formed of 375616 & 375820, for the run to Orpington going via Ladywell & Beckenham Junction. At Orpington I made a tight connection onto the next London Charing Cross service (only half hourly, the services from Ashford were going into Victoria), which was 375907 & 375812 and was full & standing, but like most 3+2 seated units there was some spare middle seats. I alighted at London Bridge to step back a service with 465022/465168/466031 to Charing Cross, returning to London Bridge on 465035 & 465248. At the Bridge after a quick scan of the Southern bay platforms it was onto 700115 to East Croydon to grab some lunch from Sainsburys.

My train back to London Bridge fell to my first 171 of the year, in the shape of 171401 where I made a tight connection to a Cannon Street service for a triple networker (466020/466001/465193) which had they not sat at Cannon Street for nearly 20 minutes before forming another service I would have stayed on as I needed all 3 for decent mileage. It was down to the underground with 21525/21526 working a circle line service taken to Victoria where I headed across to the South Eastern platforms, spotting the next departure featured a low mileage 375, so it was onto 375829/375808 for the run to Bromley South, returning to Victoria on 377516 & 377503, as I made use of the plug sockets in the former 1st class area on 377516. Sadly I had no luck with the Southern side of the station for anything on my list, so it was to Clapham Junction on 377434/377405/377146 changing over to the SWR platforms, where I got lucky with the first Waterloo service being 456023/455742/455851 as it meant another 455 could be removed from my list and I can tick of Vauxhall & Waterloo from my “all the terminals” challenge.

Jubilee line time with 96015 & 96026 taken to West Ham, where I ran into crowd control measures due to football & the district line being closed so more folk were using C2C to Barking to ‘double’ back to avoid a bus. Thankfully I managed to get to the island platform to jump on a Fenchurch Street bound service formed of 357028/357328, changing over to the opposite platform to board 357033 & 357010 which I took to Upminster, with 315803 taken to Romford. For some time wasting I leapt onto a Shenfield bound pair of 315s to Gidea Park, both 315837 & 315829 remains on small distances but every little helps. 315830 & 315854 took me back to Romford, where I changed to platform 2 for a fast GA service with 360121 & 360104 to Stratford followed by a triple 321 from Southend, 321440, 321441 & 321435 for the run to Liverpool Street. I would have liked to take a London Overground service from the lower numbered platforms but I was working to a deadline (of a required 800 from Paddington).

A seemingly pointless leap to Moorgate on 21081/21082 before heading down to the Northern City Line platforms with 313056 & 313040 working the next departure, which I took to Harringay, heading back to Finsbury Park on 313029/313039, more of a time wasting move as options to Kings Cross from Finsbury Park were a bit limited, but the first service was lucky with 387124 & 387107 working a “Thameslink” service from Cambridge, and into Kings Cross to complete my challenge. A quick walk to the sub surface line platforms having just missed a Hammersmith service I leapt onto 21053/21054 to Baker Street, followed by 3536/3246 on the Bakerloo to Paddington (as I find this is quicker than waiting around Kings Cross for 5 minutes for the next Hammersmith service). At Paddington I was in for a nice surprise, as expected 800308 was working a service towards Malvern, but alongside was another required 800/3 which after checking RTT called at Didcot Parkway...

...a quick visit to the ticket office to purchase a Reading – Didcot day return later (because it is another 800/3 off my list). 800308 took me to Reading, where I swapped platforms and waited a couple minutes before 800317 appeared for the run to Didcot. Returning to Reading on 800025/800003 before boarding a near empty coach on 221138 for the run to Basingstoke with a 25 minute fester in the waiting room for 159103 to appear from Waterloo to take me back home, the end of a very varied day.

I shall leave you with a picture of 165117 at Paddington

Spoiler: Big Picture

 

[Kite159]

12th January – A completely unplanned London trip

2nd week in a row I’m heading to London on a Saturday, although unlike last weekend I’m trying to be more focused, mainly on Moorgate & Liverpool Street services. I was originally going to buy a BZ6 – Biggleswade return to do a random microgricing move with the various crossovers south of Biggleswade (as it looked like the half hourly service was starting from P4), but that idea went out of the window as I couldn’t find a TVM which sold Boundary Zone tickets and the queue at Kings Cross was long. I was going to buy it at Grateley in the morning but the TVM had broken down so that idea went up in flames.

159010 took me to Basingstoke, with 165120 taking me to Reading, one of the 2-coach 165s which hasn’t been touched inside to remove the posh seats in exchange for a pointless bike rack. I knew from yesterday a required 800/3 would likely feature on a Malvern – Paddington service which arrived into Reading around 07:55, so to waste time it was a trip to Aldermaston & back with 387151 & 387160. My feeling was correct with 800303 rolling in from Malvern to take me down to only 2 more 800/3s left to find. A nice fast run to Paddington, via stopping at Slough, and good I got this unit now as it disappears to the depot after arriving at Paddington. Anyhow I had a short wait before 387168/387155 took me to Ealing Broadway (where I note the new stairs to the concourse at the West Ealing end are open), with 387130 & 387173 taken back to Paddington, a good little move as it clears 2 more GWR 387s for 10 miles, leaving just 387143 on that list. Both 345s out were already above 10 miles as that would have been my next move had one been on that list.

Onwards to Kings Cross St Pancras on a Barking bound 21463/21464 which sat at Baker Street for what felt like 5 minutes waiting for a path across the junction. Once at Kings Cross it was over to the suburban platforms to board 387101 & 387128 for a Finsbury Park leap, both needed for mileage, but as the next stop was Stevenage and I couldn’t buy a Boundary Zone ticket (because the option had been removed from the Great Northern machines for some unknown reason) they will have to wait for another day. A time wasting leap to Harringay was up next with 313048 & 313057, the front 313 being needed for 10 miles, so I took a note at when they were due back to intercept. The first Kings Cross service was 700034 which I took in, before returning to Finsbury Park on the same unit (for it was heading to Ely, a long way on a 700!). I headed across to the platform 1-2 Island to await the next Moorgate service, the problem is at weekends it is only 4 an hour at an uneven frequency. 313046 & 313054 were both required for miles and were running late so I bailed at Old Street. The next service heading towards Hertford weren’t of interest, so I stepped back to reboard 313054 & 313046. My original idea was to take to Alexandra Palace as it gave a +4 to the return of 048, but a late departure at Highbury & Islington (caused by an idiot keeping the door open to allow their mates to board) meant I bailed at Hornsey instead.

Lots of lovely shiny new 717s around the depot, along with various other units, but the wait in the rain was worth it as I got my calculating head on and worked out that 048 would be cleared by Drayton Park, which would give a nice connection to a northbound service. 313057 & 313048 returned to take me to Drayton Park where I crossed over to board 313063 & 313018, both featured on my list with 018 being very low down, this being the first time I’ve had it on AC power. My brain went into calculating mode, deciding to chance a +3 at Oakleigh Park; it wouldn’t clear it for 10 miles but would put it on 8 and a bit miles. I made the tight connection, considering this was only the 2nd ever time I’ve visited this station, and the first was a good 3+ years ago I guessed the location of the footbridge. 313037 & 313044 returned me to Finsbury Park with the motors on 044 making a lovely noise. A visit to the toilet on platform 4 before I headed to the underground, time for a change of scene, with some more PEPs, this time of the orange type.

11045/11046 took me to Seven Sisters for some high speed Victoria Line running, and via a RPI block I headed to the mainline platforms at Seven Sisters, the first northbound 315 was already in my club, likewise was the first southbound 315, I hung back for the engineering blockade GA service from Cheshunt, expecting a 317 I was surprised to see 379022 out and about. I alighted at Hackney Downs and spent the next 15 minutes hopping between platforms before finally 315801 arrived to take me to Bethnal Green, enough to push it over the edge. Following suit was 315807 which I took to Liverpool Street, heading over to the Shenfield side with 345005 taken to Forest Gate for a quick hop back to Maryland on 345014 to intercept 315851 & 315818, with 818 only needing a little bit of an extra push. 345015 returned me to Stratford where I decided to stay on the same platform to see what would roll in from Shoeburyness. 357015 & 357036 appeared, with 036 needed for mileage I jumped on board to Liverpool Street.

These 2 units attached to another unit which had been dumped on the buffers to form a triple unit (football was on). 036 was still below 10 miles, and with the extra unit being needed for 10 it was a no brainer, so back to Stratford with 357036, 357015 & 357203, making a tight connection to a pair of 317s from Braintree, with 317653 leading 317338, and it was a race alongside another triple 357, something you don’t see every day. Alas the 317s were delayed outside the station so a planned tight connection onto a triple 360 was missed, never mind as I made a note at what time they would return. It was over to that triple 357 I saw racing in alongside as it was 357035/357201 & 357317. Annoyingly a run to Stratford wasn’t quite enough to push 317 over the line so it was onwards to Barking, the next Gospel Oak service had been cancelled and the next Southend was a pair of units not on the list. The next Fenchurch Street service was a single 357 from Grays which was required but my eyes were focused on the next Gospel Oak service which was 172007. It was on 2 miles (not as bad a 008 which is sub 1 mile) so it was a calculation session to work out where it would be cleared, South Tottenham wouldn’t quite be enough but Haringay Green Lanes would be enough, and I could walk to Harringay on the ECML for another spin with the 313s.

The walk from Green Lanes to Harringay main isn’t one I would recommend, where they are close by, it is a long uphill climb. But it was worth it as I was rewarded with 313018 & 313063 which I had earlier, the run to Old Street was enough to push 018 over the line. The next northbound pair weren’t needed so it was a leap to Moorgate on 313060 & 313123, where 123 was needed for mileage it was another super low one and as it wouldn’t depart for 20 minutes I decided to leave it for another day. A little jump to Liverpool Street was taken on 21317/21318 where I leapt to Stratford on a triple 321, with 321357, 321408 & 321437, the extra 4 miles wasn’t enough for 437 but it will have to do. Back to Liverpool Street with 321433 & 321436 which arrived in something like platform 6, to attach to another 321.

Next Stratford bound service was a pair of 357s, both on my list but like 357317 earlier the 4 miles wasn’t quite enough so it was onwards to Barking once more, at least 357005 & 357016 would be cleared, the next Southend service was 357006 & 357012 so the run to Upminster would clear another couple 357s for 10 miles. I had the option of either heading back towards Barking or heading towards Romford, I hung around the base of the stairs as the 315 arrived from Romford and as it was 315815 I jumped on board, only 814 & 816 left of the LO 315s (plus a lot of the 317s, I can see a Friday afternoon being spent out of Liverpool Street again). Onwards to Romford where I transferred to 345005 to Stratford before 321328, 321361 & 321402 took me to Liverpool Street (both 328 & 402 needed for 10 but this leap didn’t clear them). It was over to a triple 360 which I missed earlier, 360110, 360118 & 360114 which meant I was down to only 360116 to locate to clear the class for 10 miles. Back at Stratford it was a short wait for 321366 & 321406 to appear to take me back to Liverpool Street for the final time, 366 going over the line but sadly 406 is still below it, but time to call it a day with a central line move to Bank (91329, 92088, 92192, 91007) followed by a Waterloo & City line service to Waterloo (51507 & 51508), with the final move taken care off with the 20:20 to Axminster formed of 159019 & 159108.

Another varied and productive day in London. Next weekend sees a return to Scotland where annoyingly I have to fork out for a Central Scotland Rover instead of an Edinburgh Days Out ticket as the Days Out ticket has been dropped.

A picture (or 2) to follow

 

[Kite159]

Where are we now?

A brief summary of my remaining bits in January, as I lay on a bed in a noisy room in a Bristol hostel.

The 18th was a London trip, after an unsuccessful attempt at a required IET towards Paddington it was a fast 387, before grabbing a few more 313s for mileage requirements (ended up with a good run of them). My first loco haulage of the year was a 90 to Edinburgh followed by a 67 to Perth.

I got bowled out as the service which is meant to start from platform 3 went from platform 5, but a good day in central Scotland as I roped in 7 more 385s (on decent runs mind, no Haymarket leaps here), with a nice couple runs via Shotts on noisy 156s (if by luck avoiding the issues caused by a failed 365 at Edinburgh Park). A couple more mileage requirement units entered my book along with platform 0 at Haymarket as an unexpected bonus.

The Sunday was a XC to Markinch via the inner circle, and a 365 to Stirling, before a HST took me back to London where for a time wasting move I decided to go from Highbury & Islington to Clapham Junction on a 378 (via Canada Water!).

The following Friday was another little trip to London where I picked up 172008 for mileage (shameful was only previously had for less than a mile), followed by a few 317s for mileage requirements and also a 379 (unexpected microgricing move also into Stratford platform 12 from the Lea Bridge direction)

The Saturday was my first station revisiting day, as before Christmas time XC sent me a discount voucher and I looked up fares to Nottingham. The main idea was going for another attempt with Doncaster platform 2 but that was ditched early on as open train times map had a "Unit" sat there (most likely a pair of northern pacers).

My revised plan involved the smaller more remote stations on the Nottingham - Newark Castle line, plus Aslockton & Radcliffe (which involved a bus move from Bingham). Just reduces my EMT station needs to 6 (4 between Grantham & Skegness and 2 on the robin hood line).

The moment you know, You know.

Looking ahead to February sees my first railtour, from Lancaster to Bristol on the Saturday and from Bristol to Plymouth via Looe on the Sunday. A trip to Bristol with an overnight tour of the Thames Valley branches (and probably a loose day in London on the Saturday) followed by a long weekend involving a hotel near Golf Street and a Tyne & Wear metro tour on the Sunday. Maybe a trip to Redcar British Steel on the Monday morning as I'm in Newcastle on the Sunday night.

-----

Meanwhile in Cornwall

Spoiler: Large picture

 

[Kite159]

But February made me shiver – summary of February

The first trip was thankfully not called off due to the snow as I was staying in the Travelodge near Stonebridge Park (London Wembley I think its called) for an early start on the Saturday as a positioning move for the positioning move. Anyhow the Friday evening was spent in London knocking some more units over the 10-mile line before retiring for the night for not the best of sleeps (next to the North Circular). The Saturday was a 378 to Euston before a 390 on a fast run to Lancaster before boarding the BLS “Positioning Move” tour, a one-way trip to Bristol hauled by 47772 along the WCML to Stafford, heading towards Wolverhampton taking the Oxley chord towards Shrewsbury before the Abbey curve to head south towards Hereford & Bristol.

Spoiler: Picture of Snow

The main event was the Sunday, with the tour heading from Bristol towards Liskeard via some loops, reversing after the station with 47826 in charge for the ultra-rare connection to the Looe branch and the run up towards Moorswater, before heading to Looe for a break. Coming back it was back out of the branch and a run to Plymouth, the stock turning around at the Laira triangle (something to do with 47826 being low on power and not wanting to risk taking it over the hills). I left the tour here as it continued towards the South Devon Railway, for I had planned on the Friday to drive to Salisbury but the snow put that place to one side. I got my first taste of the future with a pair of 802s on a fast to Exeter service (scoring 802022) before a single 159 took me back home to Grateley.

Spoiler: 47 at Looe

The 8th February was another trip to London for unit hunting for mileage (hey I need something to do before all that lovely new stock starts to arrive), ending up in South Eastern land. The Saturday was a random trip to Bristol, where I scored a pair of 802s on a Bath – Bristol leap before getting one more 166 over the 10-mile line. The main idea was scoring the new layout around Filton, before a random trip to Pilning.

The 15th February was an overnight railtour of the Thames Valley, and once again I ended up unit hunting, grabbing a winner 802 before my final 171 for mileage (the 171s joining the 159s & 220s in my club where all the members are over 10 miles). Various other units were scored in Southern land, before I made my way across to Paddington. 37402 was leading & 37409 was on the rear of the tour, the first destination was the soon to close Heathrow Express depot, before a trip to Hayes & Harlington reversing in the bay before heading to Brentford Goods. Maidenhead reversing siding & carriage sidings in a zig-zag move to gain access to the Bourne End branch, before a visit to Henley and finally a visit to wake up the queen at Windsor & Eden Central. The tour arrived back at Paddington nearly an hour early, which allowed me to grab a required 802 on a Slough leap.

The remaining of the day was spent hunting units, ending the day on a busy 159 back to Grateley where my bed was very much welcomed after a long day.

Spoiler: Picture of 91 at Finsbury Park

The 21st February I headed up to London, another 800 fell before some more Networkers fell for 10 miles, saw me ending up in Barnehurst. Back towards the centre of London with another couple 377s falling, before 90042 continued my poor luck with Cally sleeper locos, a free upgrade to a shared berth was taken for the run to Carstairs. 90041 hauled me to Edinburgh where with knowledge that both 68s were dud, I made my slow way across to Glasgow picking up another trio of required 385s (annoying 385018 for only 3 miles). The next few hours were spent hunting Scottish units for mileage, plus getting 320420 in my book on a Bellgrove – Dalmuir leap. Nearly got caught up in chaos caused by a bridge strike in the Haymarket area, but it was my first Scotrail HST on the 15:50 Glasgow – Aberdeen (43012/43143) which is non-stop to Perth. A bit slow after Perth due to signalling issues, but the main event was still to come. A 170 took me to Broughty Ferry for a 50 minute fester before a 158 took me to Barry Links, finishing the day with a walk to the hotel I selected. Needless to say I was the only person who got off the train at the former least used station in Britain (and I didn’t see anybody boarding).

Spoiler: Picture of 158 at Barry Links

The Saturday was an early start as I walked to Golf Street for a private 158 to Balmossie, walking back to Monifieth (this would be a good walk to do during the summer time as it’s along a footpath overlooking the river mouth). Tayside covered it was back to Glasgow on 43150/43183 for some more random unit hunting, this time focusing on Glasgow Central high level, where probably my last 314 move was had with 314216 enjoyed on the fast run to Paisley Gilmour Street, before a voyager took me to Newcastle. When I was booking this trip I was hedging my bets if Northern were still going to be on strike, thankfully those strikes ended which allowed me to take a 156 to Pegswood, a station I was aiming for in October but got bowled out with a poorly 156. A hellfire pizza was had from a local takeaway as I sat on a bench waiting for the 156 to return.

Spoiler: What's that coming from the tunnel?

The Sunday was a BLS tour on the Tyne & Wear Metro, the main draw for me was the depot avoiding line (plus the disused bay platform at North Shields). 4030/4085 was on the tour as it did various bits of the network (Pelaw reversing sidings, the siding near North Shields, the disused bay platform, some more of the sidings next to the ECML). The Manors curve was covered towards West Jesmond, before the depot avoiding curve. This time I aimed for the sideways seats near the centre of the train, just for the extra legroom. After the tour I was shocked when a Hartlepool service was a 156+158 (was expecting a pair of 142s), nothing else of interest popped up other than a pair of required metrocars for mileage.

The Monday was an early start with the 05:25(ish) LNER service to Darlington, followed by a 185 to Middlesbrough (for the novelty of a 185 via Dinsdale), with a 156 to Saltburn, followed by a 142 to British Steel Redcar for a half-hour fester for a 142 back to Saltburn. A trip to Redcar East followed by a low mileage 142 back to Saltburn with a walk towards the pier, before returning with another 142 to Middlesbrough with a 156 to Egton, returning to Battersby for a short fester for the Danby Express for a private 142 on a fast to Danby. Back at Middlesbrough I had time for one more trip to Saltburn returning to Eaglescliffe for 180106 to Kings Cross, where it arrived 6 or so minutes early (I think a 387 was delayed from Cambridge and the 180 got put in front of it at Hitchin). I took a Victoria line service to Vauxhall, with a low mileage 707 to Clapham Junction which was in chaos due to a failed train. I got a low mileage 450 to Woking followed by a triple Sprinter to Grateley arriving just over an hour late.

Spoiler: 142 departing Redcar British Steel

Spoiler: Saltburn Pier

So that was February, better weather than expected, so some random numbers:
3887 miles covered
9 stations revisited
1 new loco (47)
10 new units (1x 320, 3x 385, 1x 800, 5x 802)

Coming up in March:
A trip to Birmingham with a trip to the Cambrian Coast (and a random Heart of Wales line station), a trip to Liverpool (mainly for the bays at Rock Ferry and probably my remaining triple of stations on the Borderlands line), The Somerset Strimmer on the 16th March, with a random trip to Inverness on the 22/23rd March via Aberdeen. The 30th March is another railtour “Ye Olde Black Friar”. I might even have my first Sunday daytrip since early November as well.

 

[Techniquest]

A very busy month for you there! I dread to think how much that lot will have cost, and I have to say reading that about the pizza made me hungry for one!

Doesn't look like long until everything is all done, bar mileage needs, now. Former FGW HSTs in Scotland sounds odd to me, and looks a trifle out of place, but they must be more than welcome