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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
Thank you for the reply on "68's on the Fife circle ". I will be implementing it on Wednesday, should be an interesting trip. Afain thank you. I will write a report on it to let you know how it goes.
This was a bit of a short notice decision to head to Birmingham as I was originally going to head towards Plymouth for the novelty of something other than sprinters via Honiton, but decided to randomly look up cost of accommodation, ending up in the Hatters Hostel in Birmingham, a bit quieter than the Central Backpackers (well in terms of outside noise, most of the noise was from party goers preloading on booze before heading out to various nightclubs).
I decided to head via Reading, just as a time wasting move, with the novelty of a non-stop 166 from Basingstoke to Reading as it was running around 15 minutes late (even with several announcements there was still some people who didn’t realise it wouldn’t be calling at Bramley as the train sped through the station). I can’t remember how long I spent at Reading before getting 802007 in my book as the rear unit of a pair (802012 was at the front). Once into Paddington it was a first as I used my contactless card at the barriers (my Oyster needed more credit, and I didn’t have time to wait for a machine to become available, besides it was evening peak so my railcard wouldn’t be of benefit). A Bakerloo line service took me to Oxford Circus, where I managed to squeeze onto a Victoria line service for the run to Highbury & Islington (little did I know it was 11083/11084 which leaves me with just the one pair of Victoria line stock for a mile).
A pair of 313s took me to Drayton Park for a 10 minute fester before my last GN 313 for mileage rolled in, 313062 had avoided me on my previous trips to this area so I was glad it was finally over the line (especially since it was on 9 miles already). Into Moorgate with a Metropolitan line service taking me to Baker Street where I tapped out and walked to Marylebone (where I made use of some spare time to top up my Oyster to save a job on the Sunday). Chiltern was treating the travellers of the 19:15 to Birmingham Moor Street to a 7-coach set (168219 & 168003), the last couple times I’ve used this service it’s been a 4-coach. I took a seat near the front (using the theory that most will board nearer the rear to avoid a long walk), and it went well. I popped out for a few supplies before returning on a Snow Hill leap on 172331 which was just about enough to push it over 10 miles (which was a nice bonus).
Saturday
My area of attack today would be the Cambrian line, some long festers but hey-ho, nobody say station revisiting would be easy. The first service towards the coast was in the hands of 158827 featuring a seat reserved from Birmingham New Street to Smethwick Galton Bridge (which made me laugh as it’s nearly as pointless as a Brighton – Hove seat reservation on a GWR service I saw last year). All I can say is I made use of the free WiFi to catch up with various bits as it was still dark outside, returning to watching out of the window after reversing at Shrewsbury for the nice run towards Machynlleth where it was terminating due to engineering works towards Aberystwyth, it was a walk forward on the platform to board another 158 for the run to Aberdovey, where after a quick photo it was a quick walk back along the road to climb the steps at Penhelig station, my theory being that the weather was meant to turn bad later on so I wanted to get my walks done.
A busy 158 took me back to Machynlleth where I had around 70 minutes to fester, so after the Birmingham train departed I headed to a nearby Co-Op (in the garage opposite the station) to pick up supplies for lunch. I took up a seat on the station to await the next coast train to arrive from Birmingham which took me along the pretty coastal route to Penrhyndeudraeth, the train getting busier as it went on. I had around 90 minutes to walk across the bridge to reach my next station but god it was windy as I walked towards the seemingly pointless Llandecwyn, which had some nice bar seats in the modern bus shelter. During my fester it had started to rain, rain which would remain for most of the day, as I was joined by a walker and reboarded the 158 to take me back along the line to Llanaber, local door only at the platform by the sea, and that sea was rough.
The seat in the shelter was rusted, as was the shelter, although it was strong enough to support me as I sheltered from the rain, watching as the waves crashing on the rocks below. My time watching the sea ended as I flagged down and boarded another 158 (getting a tad wet in the process) for the bus stop leap to Talybont. The rain still was with me so once more I took shelter in a decent shelter, not a lot else I could have done as I waited for the next southbound service to roll in, to take me to Morfa Mawddach. My original idea was to walk back across the viaduct to Barmouth for a quick supply raid for dinner, however I couldn’t even see Barmouth across the water due to the mist. After a potter around (finding some toilets) I returned to the shelter which would have been good had it not been for the horizontal rain making the bench soaking wet, there was a small patch right in the corner which was mostly dry so I sat there, outside the wind. The wind soon hitting me as I headed to the platform to flag down the train (nearly lost my hat!), I was thankful for the warmth for the short run back towards Barmouth and to Dyffryn Ardudwy which allowed me to say “mission complete”.
Another short fester in a dark shelter as I flagged down 158825 for the long run back towards Birmingham, it was quite busy until Fairbourne where I grabbed a table seat. At Machynlleth it ran into another 158 for the run towards Shrewsbury where that unit was detached and the train got busy as I decided to bail at Wolverhampton for no reason other than wanting a break from some singing folk, it was onto a voyager for the run back to New Street, where I grabbed food from a busy McDonalds and walked back to the hostel, via sitting on a bench next to a church to eat said food. I returned to find my room had been changed due to a fault with the shower, which worked in my benefit as my replacement room was cooler.
Sunday
It would be back to Wales today, with a bit of unfinished business with the northern end of the Heart of Wales line, so it was to New Street for a pair of 158s to Shrewsbury, calling at all the stations between Wolverhampton & Shrewsbury where I had around a hour fester, so I pottered into the town centre for some supplies & a general look around, returning to the station to board the first (of two) southbound services which unusually was heading to Carmarthen due to engineering works, and with the number of passengers on platform 7 waiting for the train I was dreading it if a single 153 popped up, but it wasn’t a 153, but a pair of 150s.
I was expecting an announcement to stand back as the train would divide, but I was surprised when all 4 coaches were open as I took my seat in coach 3 for a fast run towards Craven Arms crossing over at the new crossover and onto the Heart of Wales line. Sadly the rain from yesterday hadn’t gone away as the train called at a couple of the request stops before I alighted at Llangynllo, and walked the train pulling away, and to a hour fester, at a station where the village of Llangynllo is around 1 and a bit miles away down a steep hill, and the only things at the station is a couple houses, but thankfully a decent bench in a shelter, as I sat listening to the rain, very peaceful it was until a genuine passenger turned up.
Anyhow my time passed as a busy 150 rolled in from the south to take me back towards Shrewsbury and for a short wait as a 153 was passed between services, as I took a seat in 153312 for the novelty of a Welsh dogbox to New Street (also it was a lot quieter than the 158). Once at New Street it was over to Moor Street for a 168/1 for the long run to Marylebone, a nice and fast run arriving pretty much bang on time, allowing me to make a quick walk to the Bakerloo for a hop to Baker Street followed by a Jubilee service to Waterloo, before boarding the 19:15 service to take me back home to Grateley.
All in all a productive weekend, the Cambrian line is done as is the Northern part of the Heart of Wales line (everything north of Garth is done), although the weather was rubbish, but at least it wasn’t snowing like it was this time last year!
I walked Morfa Mawddach to Barmouth across the bridge last summer (well, both ways actually), fantastic ... although I'm not sure that you want to do it if you actually want to feel easy catching the train. The bridge has seen better days when you look at it close up. We were staying in Talybont for the week but there were an awful lot of cancellations on the line at the time ... I got a feeling that it would be a nightmare if you had to rely on it for travel. Dyffryn Ardudwy seems a little bit too far from the village from what I remember (the village itself has some nice stone age burial chambers which are worth a squint if you like that sort of thing).
I walked Morfa Mawddach to Barmouth across the bridge last summer (well, both ways actually), fantastic ... although I'm not sure that you want to do it if you actually want to feel easy catching the train. The bridge has seen better days when you look at it close up. We were staying in Talybont for the week but there were an awful lot of cancellations on the line at the time ... I got a feeling that it would be a nightmare if you had to rely on it for travel. Dyffryn Ardudwy seems a little bit too far from the village from what I remember (the village itself has some nice stone age burial chambers which are worth a squint if you like that sort of thing).
From what I can remember from 2017, it was a good 10 minute walk from the village shop to Dyffryn station. One thing which sprung out that the field next to the station at that time was busy with caravans/tents but this time was empty.
I've walked across the bridge from Barmouth to Morfa a couple times on the same trip (as I was staying in Barmouth at the time and it was a sunny Sunday morning)
My last day of annual leave to take of the 2018/19 holiday year, I was originally going to plan to head towards Anglia land but the weather forecast looked troubling so I put that idea on the backburner. With nothing else on my radar I decided on a trip to London to try and recruit some more members to my Ten Mile Club (TMC). I was thinking of trying out a 707 on the afternoon preview service but that didn’t happen.
The 08:59 service formed of a busyish pair of 159s took me to Basingstoke for a 166 to Reading where I broke out the deckchair for a traditional wait for anything required heading towards London, sadly like the last time I was at Reading for nearly 80 minutes before 802001 & 802014 popped up, the first 802 being required so a run to Paddington was had. During my fester I was trying to decide which part of London I should head, eventually deciding on South Eastern, so it was to Charing Cross on a Bakerloo service. I got lucky with the first service from Charing Cross as it featured 465042 on the rear, as I walked up to ID the other two units in this 10 coach set. 465176 was leading with 466038 sandwiched in the middle. It was on a Sevenoaks stopper which ran fast to Hither Green after London Bridge, which meant both 465s were now in the TMC. A couple hops between platforms before another triple unit rolled in from Sevenoaks, 465005 & 465245 were leading 466007 which gained membership on the run to Waterloo East where I was going to intercept a 375 I saw passing, however the appearance of 465009 put an end to that idea as this unit needed a run all the way to Falconwood to enter it into the TMC. (a lot of my Networkers are on tiny mileages between Charing Cross & Waterloo East or Cannon Street & London Bridge).
465181 & 465247 took me back to Lewisham, the next service was showing as cancelled so I cut my losses. A few leaps between platforms at Lewisham (not helped as the screens were not showing how many coaches services were being formed off), before 465161 popped up with 465038 on the rear on a Cannon Street service, the run wouldn’t be enough, neither would popping back to London Bridge. However 465919 & 465923 were spotted working another service which needed a good run to New Eitham to clear the 465/9 for membership. The rain was coming down strong now as I crossed the footbridge getting lucky with a 6-coach working from Gravesend which was fast to London Bridge, as it featured 466011 leading 465031. I decided that was a good point to transfer across to the low level platforms at London Bridge to have a look at the green units.
Nothing of interest popped up straight away, a low mileage 377/3 on an Epsom however that wasn’t leaving for 25-odd minutes, with a pair of 377s on a Cat-Tat service, low mileage 377615 leading 377705 on the fast run to East Croydon. I had spotted a required 455 on a stopper towards Coulston Town so once into East Croydon it was onto 377205/377212 for the short leap to Selhurst before 455821/455803 rolled in, the run to Purley being enough for 803. I hung back for the 377s for another pair of 455s which was 455843 & 455820 which I took to Thornton Heath, the run wasn’t enough for 820 but I knew the next Victoria stopper would be a pair of low mileage units (which I saw earlier at Selhurst). It was onto 455810 & 455833 for the run towards Victoria, where on the route I noticed a triple 387/2 passing which looked like the rear two units were required and at Victoria when I noticed the other unit was also required I pottered over to the TVMs to buy a BZ6 – Gatwick ticket (thankfully the option has been restored!) to board 387223/387222/387226, all 3 gaining membership into my TMC (leaving just 2 more red 387/2s plus the hired in 387105 for the 387s which operate south of the river. My good fortune continued as the next Victoria service was 387220 leading 387217 for a fast run to Victoria, as I enjoyed a private coach at the front of 220 as I needed a fast getaway.
Once at Victoria I headed towards London Underground deciding against the new improved tourist route to the Victoria lines as I headed towards the sub surface lines as a circle line service had just rolled in, which took me to Paddington, to allow me to rope in my first 802/1 in the shape of 802102. At Reading it was to Basingstoke on 220009 where I purchased a day return to Reading to fester before 221124 took me back to Reading. This was my last XC voyager to get for 10 miles (previously only had on a Southampton Central – Southampton Airport leap) so saves a job at looking for it at New Street for whenever I’m next in the area.
Back to Reading on 166202 followed by a short delay for 159106 & 158884 back to Grateley, the end of a good day for my TMC membership.
9th March – Rocking that Ferry across the Dee
When news came out in the Branch Line Newsletter that various places of the Merseyrail network were closing for platform modifications for the new rolling stock and that one period was Rock Ferry – Hooton, that got a mark in my diary as it potentially meant that the bays at Rock Ferry would be in use (and in general the only public use are the first trains of the day which would meant a couple hotel stays in that area). I managed to get some decent priced advances for Virgin services to Liverpool (09:07 there and 18:47 back) and had a rough idea to recover some stations I ditched last year when the Borderlands line went down to 2-hourly due to a lack of rolling stock.
Heading towards Euston I did some linear hops to get some more SWR units in the book, as well as a 377 on a run to Croydon. 390148 was the service to Liverpool which was busy due to the seat reservation system not working, I ended up in coach C due to the table seat I was on getting invaded by a family with young kids. At Lime Street it wasn’t a long queue at the upstairs ticket office to pick up my Saveaway and I hopped onto a 319 on a fast run to St Helens Central, just because they make a nice noise. Back into Liverpool Lime Street as I made my way down to the Wirral line, having a small mileage boost for a 507 before 507024 rolled in to take me to Rock Ferry where it terminated into platform 4, and I went for a walk to pass the time (as the timetable has one in, one out, so to score both bays meant a 30 minute wait unless you got lucky to make the zero connection). 507017 appeared into platform 3 which I took to Hamilton Square with around 35 minutes to kill before heading towards Bidston.
Sadly lady luck wasn’t shining with nothing matching my mileage needs list heading towards Liverpool, so I jumped on a 508 for the trip to Bidston (via the city centre circle), where I had a short wait before 150229 rolled in to take me into Wales as I alighted at Caergwrle. Thankfully the rain hadn’t arrived so I walked along the road to Cefn-Y-Bedd, although the youths drinking & smoking in the waiting shelter on the northbound platform might have been another reason. The 150 returned from Wrexham as I took it to Shotton, where I had roughly an hour to walk the tiny distance across the bridge to reach the limited served Hawarden Bridge. Seriously this station is a right old dump, looks like during works to install wires for the platform information screens they couldn’t be bothered putting tarmac on the trench, instead having loose stops, the shelters rival that of those in the Plymouth suburban stations for being smashed up. Anyhow 150255 rolled up running late to take me to Bidston where I connected onto a low mileage 508 (it missed the original connection and as TfW Rail pays out after 15 minutes I put a claim in, getting £7.30 back [no idea where they got that amount from]).
Back into Lime Street I hoped out to Edge Hill on a pair of 150s pretending to be a 319, returning on a low mileage 319, and onto 390117 for the run to London. A few more units entered my TMC (sorry Mr 13!) before 159002 took me home.
15th March – Another Friday afternoon in London
I got finished from work and drove to Andover for the 14:37 service towards London (159005/159107 & 159012), I was originally going to bail at Woking but there were some issues on the Portsmouth branch line which meant some delays. Instead I jumped off at Clapham Junction and headed over to the suburban platforms as I knew a low mileage 456 was coming up. 455738 was leading 455907 & 456015, the run to Waterloo would clear the 456 for membership to the TMC, but the middle 455 would require another run to Clapham Junction to gain membership. At Clapham it was a short wait before another 10 coach set with 455912 leading 455704 & 456024 with both gaining membership with a Wimbledon leap.
Back to Waterloo with 456022, 455726 & 455916, returning to Vauxhall to get the 456 into the TMC, linear hopping to Earlsfield with 456019, 455712 & 455730, before a run to Surbiton on 707017 & 707014, the 6 and a half mile run not enough for the 707 but as it ran out of the zones I didn’t have much other choice than to leave it for another day. After a PNB, it was back to Clapham with a triple 450 lead by 450107 with 450124 & 450121 joining the triple for a short fester before 450090 arrived from Basingstoke with 450042 for company.
At Waterloo, next up was another triple unit with 450013 leading 450565 & 450097 which I took to Clapham Junction, returning to Waterloo with 455906, 455917 & 456010, the run being enough for 906 but not quite enough for 917 but I had a more important matter to deal with, as I headed to Paddington on a Bakerloo service, before 387143 & 387170 took me to Ealing Broadway, which cleared the GWR 387s for membership of the TMC. 345013 took me back to Paddington where it was back to Waterloo changing at Baker Street (one of these days I will time it to see if it is quicker changing for the Jubilee).
I leapt on the first service heading out towards Vauxhall, sadly nothing of interest with 456023, 455854 & 455727 (456s are awful trying to ID from the set numbers in a hurry), but I was rewarded a couple minutes later with 455717 & 455708 which would gain membership of my TMC with a run to Raynes Park, making a tight connection to 456001/455856/455910 for the run to Clapham, where I crossed over to platform 7 with 450027 leading 450017 to Waterloo, returning to Clapham on another triple 450 heading towards Basingstoke 450550/450547/450072, sadly not enough for the leading 450 but every little helps. With my final move of the day to Andover on the 21:27 (which overtook that triple unit between Weybridge & Woking) which was 159103 & 158882.
Overall a productive few hours in SWR land, certainly my list of requirements has decreased (a little bit).
16th March - The Somerset Strimmer
When this railtour became active last year I booked on it straight away as it featured some required track, plus a bit of semi-required. One of my earliest railway memories is visiting the East Somerset Raillway in Cranmore probably 20 or so years ago with my parents so it was a nice ‘revisit’. I was toying with the idea of picking the tour up in London but in the end went for the cheaper option at boarding at Reading (as it would allow me to grab some supplies). 159006 took me to Basingstoke with 165124 taken to Reading as I headed out of the station for said supplies and a gentle potter before returning.
Winner 59201 was leading the tour of Mk2 coaches (yippee half-decent seats!) with 59206 on the rear, it was a run towards Westbury, turning off to head towards Trowbridge to do a loop via Avonmouth before heading towards the East Somerset Junction, passing Merehead quarry and onto track which until a couple months ago looked like a forest. The train terminated in the platform at Cranmore and after some re-watering of the stock it set back beyond the ground frame to allow the steam engine to roll in. LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 “46447” was the steam engine in operation today as I was one of the lucky people who managed to board for the run to Mendip Vale
I joined the guard van for the return (more standing space) and decided to hop off at Cranmore West to have a look at the various shunters & other bits under various stages of restoration, before grabbing a shot of the steam engine heading back towards Mendip Vale, and walking back to Cranmore station to have a sit down.
Once the steam engine had departed, the tour train could come back in, with 59206 becoming my 3rd member of the class for haulage as it did some reversals to do the departure & arrival roads of Merehead quarry, it couldn’t do the full triangle due to a weighbridge. Once it was back on the main-line it was back towards Reading where I bailed, due to the weather being wet I grabbed a sandwich from WH Smiths before 165125 took me to Basingstoke for a short fester (the timetable had been changed due to the wind speed, however the speed restrictions had been lifted which meant a lot of dwell time (as in the 159s sat at Basingstoke for nearly 20 minutes and probably a good 3 minutes at the other stations). 159016 & 159107 took me back to Grateley with announcements by the guard that there would be taxis for any passengers travelling towards Exeter!
Overall a nice relaxing day trip railtour, having Mk2s had better seats but the sealed windows are not the best, a couple new 59s ticked off in my book, and compared to some tours quite reasonably priced (no hotel costs and only £6.30 for travelling costs)
17th March – A Sunday Day Trip to Taunton
My last Sunday day trip was back at the start of November when I went to the Isle of Wight so it was about time after several Sundays at home to head out for a little day trip, and with XC diverting via Westbury it was for some novelty based fun.
I drove to Andover for the 09:30(ish) service to Exeter, which due to engineering works around Basingstoke departed from platform 1 to use the crossover, 159010 & 159019 did the honours for the run to Salisbury where I had a 30 minute fester before the first train towards Bristol, which was also a first for me as it was 165134 leading 166207 which were my first Turbos south of Westbury. I managed to get a seat in the former first class area of my last 166 for membership of the TMC (a Brucie Bonus). The train got busy as time went on but emptied out at Bath (for some running event), and carried on to Bristol Temple Meads.
A short wait at Bristol Temple Meads before the Plymouth service arrived from Leeds, 43378 arrived with 43321 on the rear (so after reversal 43321 was leading), it was a sliding door set and the front coach was quite quiet (I think maybe half a dozen in there after Bath). It was a good run back towards Westbury before heading down to the main-line for some speed on the trip to Taunton. Once at Taunton I had roughly 35 minutes to fester so I popped out of the station to head to Morrisons, before returning. The auto announcements were a bit silly “this train has 4 coaches, first class is in coaches 1 & 5”, as a pair of voyagers rolled up, 220034 leading 220002 and the 2nd coach once more had around half a dozen passengers in for the non-stop run to Bristol Temple Meads.
But this is where things went wrong as the voyager an hour earlier decided to sit down between Bath & Bristol, a storming run towards Westbury but congestion and a slow run, passing the very busy platforms at Bath Spa at what felt like 5mph. Sadly in the congestion the SWR unit got turned around at Westbury and disappeared from RTT (didn’t show as cancelled) and when at Bristol it was showing as “On Time” one moment with the next moment vanishing from the screens (there was a few confused passengers asking the staff what happened to the train to Basingstoke, how hard would it have been to leave it showing as cancelled so passengers knew what was happening)?
It was onwards to Salisbury with 166217 & 165120, thankfully a 5-coach set as after Bath it was wedged out, however it did mean a 50 minute fester at Salisbury (along with around 20 other passengers) before the next Basingstoke service which was 159016/159107 which took me back to Andover, the end of an easy day trip, and a revisit to a line I hadn’t been along for a few months.
22nd March – A 67 on tour, day 1
Last year when I was at Euston I noticed service alternations poster from Cally Sleeper which mentioned that on this weekend services to Inverness were going via Aberdeen, I mentioned this to Dan who came to the same conclusion that it would make a good farewell to the old sleeper stock on a random jolly to Inverness via Aberdeen. I was due to meet Dan at St Pancras from a HS1 train from Margate so had a few hours in London to play with.
I headed to London, 159108 taking me to Basingstoke, followed by 165117 to Reading and a delayed 802108 to Paddington (this was from Hereford and due to delays it ran fast from Worcester so was mostly empty, sadly it was a slow trip to Paddington as a Turbo from Bedwyn was put out in front at Reading, but hey ho, a required 802 won the day. Once into Paddington I headed towards Liverpool Street via Baker Street, and tossed a mental coin to focus on the West Anglia side. The first few departures weren’t of interest but an ECS to form an Overground extra to Cheshunt was of interest as low mileage 317707 was leading 317723, so to get this 317 into my TMC it was a trip to Edmonton Green, returning to Hackney Downs on 315815 & 315816. The appearance of 816 meant all my orange 315s are now over the line for my “Five mile club” (basically reserved for classes which operate mostly within the London zones, other classes are 376s & 378s).
At Hackney I had a couple hops between platforms before a pair of GA 317s popped up with 317650 leading 317883, and doing my brief fester spotting a low mileage 379 heading towards the airport so I took a note when it was due back. At Liverpool Street a triple Kings Lynn bound 379 was the first departure with 379007 leading 379006 & 379013, the run to Tottenham Hale was enough to put 013 into my TMC (and spotting a pair of 317/5s heading to Stansted Airport!). The next southbound service was a Stratford bound 317659/317509 which is that odd service which goes into platform 12 at Stratford, anyhow that run wasn’t enough for 509, so it was back to Tottenham Hale to push it over the line.
Nothing else of interest was spotted on platforms 3 and 4 of Tottenham Hale, other than a 317/5 bound for Kings Lynn which was fast to Audley End after Tottenham Hale, max power 317!, a pair of low mileage 317s were spotted passing Tottenham Hale from Broxbourne, before 379012 & 379021 returned from the airport, which meant I only need one more 379 to clear the class for membership (and probably easier to clear them on Tottenham Hale leaps than it will be if they do head to EMT for Corby electrics, first stop Luton Airport). After a crawl to Liverpool Street I popped out to grab some dinner before returning to the pair of 317s I saw earlier working a Cambridge train, however due to an issue further up the line, this train was cancelled.
Back-up option was a Metropolitan service to Farringdon followed by 700131 getting a small mileage boost to St Pancras. I met up with Dan as we made our way towards Euston, checking into a busy seated coach with winner 92018 up front, which I think is my last Caledonian Sleeper liveried 92, which was a nice bonus as I was expecting a 90.
23rd March – Day 2
The heating in this coach was dodgy as anything, one minute blowing up hot air, the next blowing out freezing cold air, but the coaches are old so it’s something I should expect by now. I suspect if the train wasn’t so busy the staff would have bumped everybody up to a berth. Nothing unusual on the way to Edinburgh, as the 92 was replaced by 67007 for the non-stop run towards Dundee, first time I’ve had a 67 over the Forth Bridge and first time of passing Leuchers without stopping. At Dundee I woke up with the noise of passengers transferring to buses, and enjoyed a sun-rise for the non-stop run to Aberdeen where we went via platform 7 (little bit of track scoring) for a driver change.
Next stop on the sleeper tour was Huntly were we had roughly an hour pathing stop, the guard local door was opened on arrival and I wasn’t the only passenger making use of the break to get some fresh air. The trains we were waiting for passed and we set off, running non-stop to Inverness, with a bonus score of the new platform 2 loop at Forres. The 67 was making a nice noise with some speed over the jointed track, arriving into Inverness pretty much bang on time. It was now breakfast time as we popped to Co-Op for both breakfast & items for lunch, before making our way to the bus station.
We were booked onto the 11:10 Citylink M90 coach to Edinburgh, which was coach number 54123, and ran semi-fast calling at Aviemore, Pitlochy, a park & ride near Perth plus a couple other Park & Ride sites towards Edinburgh, the highlight being scoring the new Forth bridge for travelling across (although sadly due to high sides it’s hard to get pictures of the other bridges). We alighted a few hours later near Queensferry Street near Princes Street, as I said farewell to Dan as he caught a bus back home and I walked to Haymarket, bumping into an old friend as I headed to Edinburgh Park on 334032 & 334033, the run being enough for 032 to be removed from my list. Since when did the barriers at Edinburgh Park operate on weekends I wonder?
385009 took me to Edinburgh, as I grabbed something to munch on (and drink) before making my way across to 390130 working the London train, the plug sockets in coach E didn’t appear to be working so I shifted to coach U where they were working (for some much needed phone charge). Due to when I booked my ticket, the option of changing at Crewe to board the service from Liverpool wasn’t showing, so I was on this 390 all the way to Euston, via Birmingham. The train was put onto the fasts for the 2-track section which meant it arrived into Euston a good 10 minutes early.
A northern line service took me to Waterloo, where I grabbed a picture of a 50 tour arriving from Penzance before taking a seat on 159103 for the trip back to Grateley, where I collapsed into my bed after a relaxing day of travelling.
Wow, plenty of stuff to read here.
I see you were in the Southeastern area on one of the days I was chasing their EMUs (the 8th of March).
It doesn't look like we had any moves in common, though.
I jealous of you getting 59201, one of three 59s, and the only 59/2, that I need.
As usual, very interesting moves and I'm reminded I need to re-visit Wales some time soon.
Although that was my longest trip on a Pendo both in terms of time & distance, I popped out onto the platform during the dwell at Wolverhampton for some fresh air
I still say you should try and book onto the Highlander from Crewe to Stirling before the end of May to say farewell to the old stock with the chance of getting Mr Bond
I still say you should try and book onto the Highlander from Crewe to Stirling before the end of May to say farewell to the old stock with the chance of getting Mr Bond
Yeah but I've changed jobs at work and it's now likely I'll have to be a bit thrifty with my money. Going from what I used to earn to what I expect to earn on a normal month, it's going to be quite a change. How I will fund my travelling on top of my usual lifestyle remains to be seen, so as much as I might fancy a farewell to MK2s (there's so many noisy beasts I'd rather listen to!) it is unlikely I'll make a farewell to the old Cally Insomnie stock.
Tonight has been a good little session, 3 more Orange 317s are now in the TMC (leaving just two left to locate and annoyingly both were together, however both are around the 8 mile mark so it will be easier with a Hackney leap). I intercepted my final 379 for mileage which means I no longer have to keep my eyes out (also as they are rumoured to be heading to future EMT for Corby electrics it is easier getting them on Tottenham Hale leaps than to Luton (and a bit cheaper as well). I can sense some more Tottenham Hale leaps coming up with 317s.
Sadly it seemed 387105 got swapped out during the day (it was showing as working a Southern Brighton - Victoria service) but I ended up with a couple more SWR units and a 377 during my brief stay at Clapham.
Anyhow summary of moves, bold means new member of the ten mile club, italic means it is still below that magic mark.
Andover -> Woking 159007/159009/159020
Woking -> Clapham Junction 450118 (could do with being a pair as it got quite busy with school kids at Weybridge)
Clapham Junction -> Waterloo - 707027/707029
Waterloo -> Bank - 65501/65502
Bank -> Liverpool Street - 91335/92434/92254/91087
Liverpool Street -> White Hart Lane - 317719/317891 (719 was on a sub mile leap so I took it to the best station for connections)
White Hart Lane -> Liverpool Street - 317888/317889 (888 was left on 9.9 miles after this move)
Liverpool Street -> St James Street - 317709/317892
St James Street -> Bethnal Green - 317714/317729 (made a pigs ear with the interchange)
Bethnal Green -> Hackney Downs - 315812/315808
Hackney Downs -> Seven Sisters - 317719/317891 (hello again 719)
Seven Sisters -> Tottenham Hale - 11017/11018
Tottenham Hale -> Liverpool Street - 379001/379029/379010 (All 379s cleared for 10 miles, the idea was originally going to head to Farringdon and then down to East Croydon to intercept what I had down as being 387105, but that triple 379 arrived a couple minutes early allowing me to make a dash for a pair of 317s)
Liverpool Street -> Hackney Downs - 317889/317888
Hackney Downs -> Liverpool Street - 317891/317719
Liverpool Street -> Bank - 91049/92130/92004/91139
Bank -> Waterloo - 65502/65501 (went from the opposite platform than usual)
Waterloo -> Clapham Junction - 456015/455735/455853 (where I got bowled by that 387 not popping up, but I saw a low mileage 377/1 heading into Victoria so I gave chase)
Clapham Junction -> Victoria - 377603
Victoria -> Clapham Junction - 377134/377328/377302 (where I took a moment to buy some food from Sainsburys outside the station)
Clapham Junction -> Basingstoke - 444035/444005 (mainly for the plug sockets under the table for a quick boost of electricity & also there was some dodgy looking characters hanging around Clapham)
Basingstoke -> Andover - 159015/158888
Oh yes, I agree. Not as much fun whatsoever, been forever since I did Bishops Stortford to Seven Sisters on that diverted train on the way back from Stansted. Must have been on the way back from Milan in October 2017
I booked onto this tour when it first got announced as it had some bits and pieces within London I needed, mainly little connections, plus another attempt at visiting Angerstein Wharf (as the first time failed due to a broken track within that area). It was a walk (in daylight!) to the station for the 05:59 service to take me to Woking, 159006 doing the honours, a short session at Woking got me 450099 & 450559 into my TMC with the run to Clapham (with a couple other services IDed for potentially later on). A short session at Clapham before low mileage 455869 popped up, now around half-way to the magic mark with the run to Waterloo. Grabbing some supplies before I headed to the underground with 51577/51588 taken to Embankment followed by 21525/21526 to Blackfriars, the starting point of today’s tour.
Winner 73128 was leading the London Transport 4TC set with 73109 on the rear, I was in the rear coach (featuring an annoying wheel flat). The first destination of the tour was Hayes, setting off towards Denmark Hill, going via Lewisham and then down the branch. With 73109 in charge it was back towards central London, going via the Ladywell spur to run to platform 10 of London Bridge (little connection between the sets of lines scored). Another short break and reversal before 73128 was back in charge for a highlight (for me anyhow) with a trip to Bromley North, however we missed the path due to congestion so went into platform 2, with 466017 departing from platform 1 just as we arrived. Annoying because I need platform 1 and that 466 would have been entered into the TMC with a trip to Grove Park & back, but the connection from the branch to the main-line was now ticked off.
Everybody back on board for the long run with 73109 going back onto the main-line, via the Lee Spur for a spirited run via Mottingham and Crayford coming back towards central London via Abbey Wood and Charlton, taking the freight line of Angerstein Wharf for one of the lines, getting further than before which was good. 73128 was back in charge, back towards Charlton (where the train paused to switch back to electric mode), and onwards towards Dartford & Gravesend, carrying on onto the Medway Valley line (doing some speed as well). A brief pause at Paddock Wood before carrying on towards Redhill, however after Tonbridge the train came to a stop. 73128 decided it wanted to pretend to be a 47 and broke down, with 73109 pushing from the rear, firstly on diesel before switching over to electric. Eventually we arrived into South Croydon, crossing over into platform 4 to reverse to head towards Tattenham Corner, arriving into platform 3.
The train staff tried their best to get 73128 back working but it wasn’t to be, so 73109 pushed the train back towards Purley, using the little used connection to arrive onto platform 4, before a nice run towards Herne Hill via Norwood Junction, I decided to bail here, not only was my back hurting from the horrid Mk1 coach seats, but other than a couple little minor bits there wasn’t anything else. The first Victoria service was a pair of 465s both already over the line, so I will summarised my remaining moves:
Herne Hill -> West Hampstead Thameslink – 700011 (would have been cleared at Kentish Town, but I stayed on to West Hampstead as it would have been the same Sutton train, also gave me the option of a Three Bridges or escaping on the NLL)
West Hampstead Thameslink -> London Bridge – 700126
London Bridge –> Purley Oaks – 377605 & 377706 (taken to Purley Oaks to intercept the next northbound service as 703 was floating around earlier)
Purley Oaks –> East Croydon – 377708 & 377702
East Croydon –> Purley Oaks – 377703 & 377626 (all the 377/7s now in the TMC)
Purley Oaks -> London Bridge – 377607 & 377601 (A nice surprise, only one more 377/6 left to locate for the TMC and that is already at 9 miles so if it pops up on a stopper it won’t take that long to do
London Bridge -> Waterloo East - 465922 & 465933 (2 units which were on sub mile leaps so a small boost)
Waterloo -> Clapham Junction – 455873 & 455865 (another Red devil bites the dust)
Clapham Junction -> Woking - 450548 & 450041 (one of the 450s I saw earlier in the day, the other I missed due to going to Croydon on those 377s)
Woking -> Basingstoke – 450569 & 444017 (first time having a 444+450 combo)
Basingstoke -> Grateley – 159103 & 159005
Overall a rather good little tour, a couple required 73s plus some little odds & sods in London.
March in Numbers
4485 miles covered
4 new units scored (4 x 802)
5 new locos (2x 59, 2x 73, 1x 92) plus 1 steam engine
12 stations revisited
Coming up in April:
A trip to Manchester with the main goal of catching a bus to Denton (then afterwards probably some stations on the Preston – Colne services). A long weekend in Swansea for some 153 based fun on the Heart of Wales. Easter weekend with Good Friday being a trip to Lincolnshire, followed by a Northern day on the Saturday (Brigg line & Barton on Humber), I suspect Easter Sunday will be a trip to Exeter, with Easter Monday being a London trip. Last weekend is a trip to Scotland with a random day on the Friday followed by some West Highland Line station revisiting and a Monday in London. I might even squeeze in my first Sunday day trip to London for a good few months in
Glad the tour was a success, despite 73128 doing its best to stuff it up. A very successful day all in, that's for sure, and some busy times ahead this month. Certainly more hectic than my April will be
The idea for this weekend was a trip to Manchester area for the main reason for revisiting Denton & Reddish South, my plans for these stations getting put on ice last year due to the Saturday strikes. As this was later booking than usual I selected the Travelodge in Macclesfield as being the best value hotel to stay (it wasn’t the cheapest but as the cheapest had early check in times or weren’t on the station door-step it won). I was booked on the 21:00 Virgin service to Manchester so I had a few hours to kill in London.
In my mind I weighed up the various option and in the end decided on TfL Rail out of Liverpool Street, the 315s won’t be around forever and only really come out to play during the peaks. For the purpose of the report it wasn’t the more usual 10 mile club, but a special 5 mile club, reserved for units which operate mainly within the London zones (The other member are 376, 378 & 710s). However I linear hopped my way to London, picking up some SWR units along the way before heading over to Stratford.
Grateley -> Woking – 159108
Woking -> Surbiton – 450113 & 450009 (took around 40 minutes of festering, turning down a low mileage 456 in the process on grounds it was on 9.5 miles so should be easier to grab in London)
Surbiton -> Wimbledon – 455710, 455737 & 456014
Wimbledon -> London Waterloo – 455874, 455920 & 456020, as the 456 was on a tiny mileage at the start, I decided to remain on board, the service getting stepped up due to a late running service from Surbiton
London Waterloo –> Clapham Junction – 456020, 455920 & 455874
Clapham Junction –> London Waterloo – 455728 & 455913 (another super low mileage 455, I decided to break from it as otherwise I wouldn’t get to 315 land like what happened a few weeks ago)
Waterloo –> Stratford – 96021/96058 (mmm 96 motor noise)
Stratford -> London Liverpool Street – 315843 & 315856 (the only pervious entry for 843 was the 36 chains from Maryland to Stratford)
London Liverpool Street -> Stratford – 315842 & 315849 (having seen this pair heading in towards Liverpool Street ECS)
Stratford –> Ilford – 315856 & 315843 (Due to the skip-stop pattern, Ilford was the best place)
Ilford -> Seven Kings – 315827 & 315858
Seven Kings -> Romford – 315819 & 315839
Romford -> Gidea Park – 315822 & 315844 (where I made use of the toilets at Gidea Park for a quick PNB)
Gidea Park -> Romford – 345014
Romford -> Gidea Park – 315830 & 315837 (an extra mile and a bit for 837, it was on a Gidea Park terminator and it was the time where they went back to bed)
Gidea Park –> Chadwell Heath – 315825 & 315823
Chadwell Heath -> Romford - 315859 & 315847
Romford -> Harold Wood – 315838 & 315833
Harold Wood -> Manor Park – 345011
Manor Park -> Ilford – 345015 (must have misread this one earlier)
Ilford -> Stratford – 345017 (I headed across to see what 317s were sat on platform 12 and also what was rolling in on the mainline platform but no luck)
Stratford -> London Liverpool Street – 315836 & 315852
Liverpool Street -> Kings Cross St Pancras – 21491/21492 (light rail stuff is targeted for a mile, I changed at Kings Cross St Pancras to avoid a long walk from Euston Square)
Kings Cross St Pancras -> Euston – 11019/11020
Once at Euston I managed to buy my GM Wayfarer from the ticket office (to kill some time), before making my way to the top of the ramp at platform 4 where the inbound service was running late, and it was my last 390/0 for mileage, in the shape of 390049, just leaves me 3 x 390/1s left for mileage. A late departure from Euston, and called additionally at Nuneaton (due to someone boarding the wrong train), so arrival into Macclesfield was around 15 minutes late. I headed straight to the Travelodge to relax and unwind.
Overall I’m quite pleased with my 315s, down to 4 of the blue 315s which still are in use (lost out on 840, 859 & 861 but hey-ho, I’m never going to get everything before they head off to become razor blades). And all 4 of those remaining are around the 4 mile mark so shouldn’t be that difficult to grab them on another evening peak session.
After a so-so night (unlike last November I was at the front of the hotel so there was a bit of road noise), it was time to head to Macclesfield station to board the first Manchester bound service of the day. The ticket office was closed (so lucky I did buy my rover yesterday to avoid having it issued on bog-roll), and it was quite chilly. 323237 was the unit for the stopper to Stockport where my evil plan to grab breakfast from the nearby Sainsburys was thrown in the bin as it didn’t open until 7am. Back to platform 3 with a pair of 150s from Buxton, which were 150223 & 150277, the run to Manchester wouldn’t be enough for 150223 to gain membership of the TMC but pushed it closer to the magic marker.
Grabbing breakfast from Sainsburys it was over to the low level platforms, turning down a 323 and seeing what was heading to New Mills, before boarding 150210 for the run to Rose Hill Marple and back to Hyde Central, a station I was holding back on for these moves. I headed down the stairs to the road and walked towards the bus stop to wait for a route 201 bus (fleet 10484) to take me to Denton Sainsburys, where I wasted some time popping to the store to grab bits for lunch. After my supply raid I walked underneath the main-road and across to the island platform of Denton to await the weekly southbound service. To be honest when I found out that these stations were getting a Southbound service on a Saturday I was quite happy, as otherwise it would have been staying in Stockport at 2 different times to get the Friday morning “Denton Flyer”.
Nobody alighted but myself and 3 others boarded 142044 at Denton, at a rough guess there was around 18 or so others on board, looked like one person boarded at Reddish South with 5 alighting (including myself). I had 3 or 4 options to get back to Manchester, either bus it all the way, bus towards Heaton Chapel, bus towards Reddish North or bus to Stockport. The Manchester bound platform at Reddish North is required* however I didn’t want to risk not being able to board a wedged out single pacer from Sheffield so it was a bus on a route 203 (fleet 10482) taken to the Stockport bus station, where I had a quick walk up the hill to the railway station, misreading the ID of 319362 as 319382 for the run to Piccadilly (382 is needed for mileage, 362 isn’t, and as another kick a 323 from Crewe (I think) which overtook me was required. (* a side-challenge which I’m working out to do once all the stations have been revisited and more units are in the TMC).
Anyhow Reddish South meant I was now in double digits for stations to revisit, during my time at Piccadilly I purchased my next ticket and went over to the dreadful platform 14 with the staff shouting at anybody who dares step outside the little red box. A nice surprise was up next on the Preston train as 319446 rolled in, to give my first taste of the wires via Bolton. At Bolton I crossed over from platform 4 to platform 1 for 150135 to roll in to take me to Blackburn (scoring bay platform 3 in the process). A pair of pacers had also rolled in from Southport and were due to head back out so it was a linear hop to Accrington on 142042 & 142058, getting both into the pacer TMC. 150146 was on the next Colne service which I took to Nelson, where I had a little walk around the bus station, before returning with the same 150 taken to Burnley Barracks, which featured a couple examples of the local youth playing noise which they could loosely define as music (rap where every 4th word was swearing etc).
142061 & 142034 were up next to take me to Brierfield, where I had an enjoyable 20 minutes sat in the sunshine before the pacers returned, with 142061 gaining membership of the TMC with the run to Cherry Tree. Crossing over the platform it was a short wait for 150141 for the tiny distance to Mill Hill for another fester in the sunshine. I knew the next Preston train was a pair of pacers as I saw them heading towards Colne earlier, so I was happy as it turned out to be 142047 & 142032, with 032 becoming the 4th of the class to gain membership of the TMC today on shack scoring moves. This move also scored me bay platform 3C at Preston (which means the only bay I need which sees timetabled use is platform 2 at Doncaster [platform 3 at Worcester Shrub Hill has lost its booked service]. A very vocal 319373 took me to Leyland, before 142004 & 156427 taken to Bolton, losing time at Horwich Parkway, my original idea to bail at Buckshaw Parkway was thrown in the bin as the next Buckshaw starter had been cancelled (along with several other services in this area).
My wait at Bolton wasn’t long before 153324 & 150209 popped up to take me to Salford Crescent where after a short fester 150149 popped up to take me back to Bolton. This service was only previously on a Oxford Road – Deansgate leap so would remain underneath 10 miles, however there wasn’t any decent connections available [it being the time of day where the Blackburn – Bolton – Manchester – Rochdale services stop running], so sadly it would have to wait for another day. 156459 took me back to Salford (the next service would have been a 150 I saw earlier with the following one showing as cancelled). A short fester before 319446 taken to Oxford Road, stepping back to an Airport bound 185148. Had that been needed for mileage a run to the airport would have featured, but instead I headed over to the main train shed to see what was floating around, before noticing a familiar looking pair of 150s on a Chester service.
150277 & 150223 were taken to Stockport, where I made a tight connection onto 185145 back to Piccadilly, a bit of a claw back from this morning so I was happy. Time to grab food before I headed over to 390104 working the 19:35 Manchester – Euston service, delayed by around 15 minutes due to a group of rival football fans causing trouble, the majority of the time was made up by the time it reached London due to the fasts being open, but the tiny chance of being able to make the 22:20 to Salisbury from Waterloo had gone. Faced with the back-up of the 23:40 to Andover followed by a bus, I decided to walk to St Pancras with 700142 taken to London Bridge, followed by 466035/466015 & 465191 to Waterloo East.
Crossing the footbridge to Waterloo, it was a short wait before 450039 & 450019 were taken to Clapham Junction, followed by 450118 & 450550 to Woking, before 444026 & 450095 were taken to Basingstoke where I had a half hour fester, so I made use of the time to pick up some tickets for future trips from a TVM before heading to the warm waiting room. 159108 took me to Andover followed by coach WJ67 MWO (Amport & District) to Grateley and a walk home.
Drawing a conclusion, I did everything I wanted to do station wise, Preston to Colne is now cleared for stations, as is Greater Manchester. A few more Northern units joined the ten mile club, and I sampled a 319 to Bolton. I suspect I might do something similar later in the year for another Manchester trip (in staying overnight on the Friday in Macclesfield, to allow me to make a good 12 hour day in Manchester).
Quite an intensive day there! A very productive session for sure, despite the poor fortune in a few places.
As always an excellent read, kept me occupied on my long run to Worcester today. Which, for the record, got more scenic eventually but I've spent so much time in Wales it's still kinda 'meh, been there done that' for me. At least this bus route is now almost cleared (20 minutes to go as I type), it's one I've wanted to do for ages and good value at £5 single. Still a couple I want to do one day!
Sounds a good trip. Out of interest why did you need to revisit Reddish? Well done on covering the newly electrified Bolton line. I'm yet to do it on an EMU.
