These writings were first put on my old Rail UK thread,
archived, sorry for the lack of images and poor formatting.
5th
October – The Day before Cornwall
The idea
of this weekend’s trip to the South West was to pick up the odds & sods I
needed to revisit on the Newquay, Looe & Gunnislake branches, as well as a
small handful of stations on the main-line. After a search located a
hotel in the Devonport area of Plymouth, so my plan was based around
that. Plymouth isn’t the cheapest for hotels near the station itself, so
I think this was a lucky find, even at £40 for the night.
I was in
a couple minds what to do this evening, with several ideas in my head. In
the end I decided to do a Thames Valley Branches Rover to have an IET hunt,
plus do a novelty of that evening fast Didcot Parkway 387 service. I got
lucky with a few 800/3s falling into my book, before an incident between Bath
& Chippenham meant most of the inbound services were heavily delayed, so I
did a time wasting move to Slough & back to Reading on some 387s to pass
the time, when waiting for 800310 to return from Exeter.
In the
end I picked up 4x 800/3s plus another 800/0 so isn’t that bad considering my
time was limited (and some services weren’t running due to the Bristol Parkway
block). I had what could probably be my final HST from Paddington to
Reading with the 23:30 towards Cardiff, for a short fester at Reading before
57605 came in hauling the sleeper. My first experience with the
refurbished 2+2 seating seated coaches, where it is nice you no longer have to
play footsie with the person sat opposite, I just couldn’t get comfortable,
although a group of youngsters being unable to keep the noise down might have
also been a factor.
6th
October – Cornwall
I
alighted from the sleeper after not the best of nights at Par, thankfully the
sleeper was mostly on time (it had lost a couple minutes between Plymouth &
Par due to dwell times at Liskeard), so I could easily make the connection to
the first Newquay branch train of the day, with 150232 being the unit on the
branch line for most of the day. When the train was unlocked I boarded
and I think I was the only passenger boarding the service, as I changed my mind
with my plan to request Bugle (originally it was going to be Roche, but I was
hungry and my theory that the Spar at Bugle would be better than a BP garage
near Roche station).
A quick
walk up the road and into the little Spar shop, purchasing some bits for
breakfast, plus a sandwich meal deal for lunch later in the day, I decided to
fire up Google Maps to just have a look at the bus option (having spotted the
“bus connections” map at the station listing Roche station), and was happy to
see a connection available departing within 15 minutes, so I walked towards the
bus stop to wait for the route 27 bus (Truro – Bodmin), surprised to see it as
a double decker (fleet number 33305) going along some twisty country roads to
reach Roche village itself, before continuing for another mile or so to reach
Victoria, which is where Roche station is actually located (confused yet?).
I headed down the side street, crossed the track and went onto the platform,
what is good to mention is that it has a decent waiting shelter &
bench. 10 minutes later the 150 returned from Newquay, and I boarded, the
train skipped Bugle and called at Luxulyan, and due to the rain I headed
towards the waiting shelter.
I had
roughly an hour to fester before the 150 would return from Par, my only company
for most of that tine was a horse running around in a field opposite, I spent
the time relaxing and reading my book. Eventually the 150 returned from
Par, a lot busier than it was before with what appeared to be a Stag party
heading for a day to Newquay, the train calling at all the stations along the
way to pick up more folk. I remained on board at Newquay, changing
coaches to sit on the opposite side for the run back to Par. A HST
(43137/43015) took me to Bodmin Parkway where I made a connection to a slightly
delayed Penzance bound 150246 back to Par before 150244 took me to
Liskeard. This was mainly a time wasting mileage move to avoid a long
fester at Liskeard to a Looe train.
Unit
150247 was on the Looe branch today, as I requested the first of my request
stops on the branch, the train calling at both St Keyne & Causeland to drop
off a passenger, both stations being local door only, as I alighted at
Sandplace. Nothing of note around the station (not like I was going far
due to the pigging rain), other than it having WiFi fitted. I flagged
down the return of the 150 to take me back to Liskeard, remaining on board during
the 20-odd minute turnaround, departing a few minutes late due to a late
running HST, this time I requested Causeland, another station with nothing much
around (some holiday cottages being the only thing on the map), it was quite
chilly but at least the rain had stopped. After a walk around I returned
to the station to flag down the return of the 150 once more, taking it to
Liskeard where I had a fast walk (and I will admit to have broken into a run
for a short time before the hill became too steep), and 8 minutes later I had
arrived, annoyingly the train had just beaten me to Coombe Junction Halt as the
doors were released as I came up the path.
A trip to
Looe and back to Coombe Junction, where I decided to bail for a better picture
and mainly to reduce the fester I would otherwise have at Liskeard, and I had
forgotten how steep the hill is in places (made worse as the lane was busier
than it was before so I had to keep pausing to move into the side of the road),
but it took me around 15 minutes, which did reduce my fester at Liskeard before
the next Plymouth bound service was due.
The next
stopper was in the hands of a busy 150239 which I took to Saltash for a couple
reasons, firstly there was a steam engine at Plymouth so the station could have
been busy, secondary my Ride Cornwall ticket is valid on buses which cross the
border into Plymouth not on local buses within Plymouth, so it saves a 30
minute walk to Devonport. A Plymouth Citybus Route 5 service took me over
the bridge (with a lot of people with cameras for that steam engine, Keyham
looked very busy), as I alighted from the bus (fleet number 144) at the “UTC
Plymouth” stop, a nice little walk passed the school grounds where I checked
into my hotel to drop some weight from the bag.
Back out,
I headed towards a Co-Op for something to eat before walking towards Dockyard
station, a station where the Plymouth bound platform has no shelter (or seats)
and the Penzance bound platform had a shelter at one point, however it was a
shell with all the windows broken and even the bars from the seating removed
(only the brackets remained). I flagged down a Penzance bound 150249 (yes
I did have to check my picture to double check it was previously 150239 as I
was expecting to see that one coming back), back across the bridge to Saltash
once more, this time I stayed on the station, crossing over to the opposite
platform to have an enjoyable 25 minute break before 153325 & 153369 rolled
in to give me my first taste of Dog Box action this weekend. The next
stop for this service was Plymouth but it did mean Cornwall was clear, but I
wasn’t done for the day.
A short
fester at Plymouth, before 150246 rolled in from Exeter which took me to Par
for no reason other than a time wasting move before 150202 took me back across
to Devon where I alighted at Keyham for a short half hour fester before 150244
popped up to take me to Bere Alston for around a 50 minute fester. Once
folk had departed there was no sound other than a small fountain and the
occasional sound of the train horn rolling in from the hills where it has to
stop for open crossings. It was very peaceful, but quite chilly, so I was
glad in a way when 150244 returned, empty other than a group of slightly drunk
youths heading for a night out.
I bailed
from this 150 at St Budeaux Victoria Road, exiting the station and crossing the
road to head down the ramp to St Budeaux Ferry Road to board a Penzance –
Plymouth service, the final train of the day with 150261 taken for the near 2
mile trip to Devonport, which clears the main-line stations for GWR. With
nothing left to do today I walked the short distance to the hotel, and headed
to sleep.
7th
October – Devon
After a
very nice cooked breakfast in the hotel, I checked out and headed back down the
slight hill to Devonport station, I had 2 stations on my target list
today. 150244 was the first service calling at Devonport but I turned
that down instead waiting a few minutes for 150234 to pop up to take me to Bere
Ferrers and a near hour wait. The sun was out this morning so after a
wonder round I returned to relax and play cards on the tablet. The
station got busier as time passed and 150234 returned from Gunnislake to take
me to Plymouth and onto a HST (43022/43034) which took me to Newton
Abbot. A short wait before 221139 rolled in to take me to Exeter St
Davids, crossing over to board 153325 & 143620 to take me up the hill to
Exeter Central where I quickly made a dash outside to the Co-Op to buy lunch.
Back at
Exeter Central and it was onto the Exmouth bound 143618 & 143620 where I
might have accidently alighted at Lympstone Commando when it stopped there to
allow some army lads off, how on earth did that happen. I didn’t hang
around for long so after a quick photo I started my walk along the Exe-Trail
towards Lympstone Village, happy because GWR was complete. At Lympstone
Village I had a short wait before 153325 & 143620 took me to Exmouth, and
back out to Exeter St Davids where I got lucky with a delay to a Penzance bound
HST (43097/43160) which I took to Plymouth because a certain 150 was working
back from Penzance.
150244
was on the rear of this 6 coach formation, 150219 was in the middle and 150125
was leading, finally I was in a position to catch the bugger, and it was mostly
empty and gave a good run back towards Exeter St Davids where sadly the next
Waterloo service was cancelled, so it was a short walk to grab dinner before
returning to board the next Waterloo service, which got later & later
(diverted via Yeovil Pen Mill due to the line via Templecombe being closed),
but eventually got me into Andover a good 15 minutes late, so does mean I
should get some money back from SWR for the hour delay.
Tomorrow
I shall be celebrating the first anniversary of Roman Bridge Day, with a long
weekend coming up with some ECML Northern stations on the Friday (mixed up with
some Tyne & Wear Metro, hoping that 4002 will make an appearance) before
dashing north of the border for a relaxing Saturday trip to Breich before
returning towards Darlington on the Sunday with a short walk to an airport.
11th
– 14th October, A trip to the North East/Scotland
The original plan for this weekend was to focus on the stations north of Newcastle on the Friday (with the Tyne & Wear Metro stations I needed to revisit), heading towards Middlesbrough with the Saturday being Redcar British Steel & the handful of stations on the Esk Valley line I needed to revisit, with the Sunday being North Road and a station in the top 5 of awkwardness. However with the Northern strike, I decided to cancel the room at Middlesbrough, and head towards Edinburgh on the Friday night for a day of 385 hunting & the visit of a recently rebuilt station.
Yes the Esk Valley had services on strike days, but that was no reflection if levels would decrease or get replaced by buses (or become like many other northern lines, is ditched altogether). My accommodation in Edinburgh would be with my good friend Dan in his flat.
11th October – Onwards to Newcastle
I finished a bit earlier than expected allowing me to make the 16:59 service which was running late, I took this 159+158 combo to Basingstoke, changing onto a 220 to Reading for a short session of IET hunting. Nothing of interest came up within 30 minutes so I boarded a pair of 800s heading towards London, which got caught up with some congestion as it was a tad slow. I headed towards platform 16 to jump onto a Circle line service to Kings Cross, swinging via Boots before making my way towards platform 0 (hold your drinks everybody, the barriers at Kings Cross were in operation!).
I was thankful I changed my seat reservation from the default coach to coach F, as the front couple coaches looked busy in terms of seat reservation labels (whereas I had a private table). 43274 “Spirit of Sunderland” was leading 43272 on the 20:00 Kings Cross – Sunderland service, a nice fast to York sprint, although it lost time along the way so was around 15 minutes late into Newcastle. There wasn’t many folk left on board heading towards Sunderland but a good crowd waiting at Newcastle to board a fast service.
With options a tad limited for accommodation, I had booked a 4-bed dorm at the Euro Hostel a short walk from the station; somewhere I had previously stayed last December between tours so knew it had a 24 hour front desk. Somewhat expected I had a private room which was a nice little bonus as I didn’t have to keep the noise down when making the bed.
12th October – Newcastle area
An early start with a walk to Newcastle station for the 05:55 Chathill Express, I was making use of a Northern freebie ticket to save on the cost of the anytime fare, and boarded 156471 along with a small handful of others, all of which had gone by Morpeth allowing me the pleasure of a private 156 on the morning northbound fast service to reach Chathill where the unit soon carried on to reverse a few miles up the line. Chathill was as ever quite well kept with flowers on the northbound platform, and a decent shelter on the southbound platform, useful as it was raining (a theme which features a lot).
The 156 returned and I was joined by 3 students, a handful of folk boarded at Alnmouth as the service went into the loop at Wooden Gates to allow a fast LNER to overtake before carrying on, I alighted at Widdrington where a good half dozen boarded (untapped potential), and made use of the time to pop to the nearby Co-Op before heading towards the bus stop, handing over £10.50 for an “explorer” ticket, a very good value for money ticket as it covers bus travel in a very wide area (Carlisle, Berwick, Scarborough), plus the metro & rail services between Sunderland & Blaydon. Arriva bus 1579 was on the 08:05 Max X20 service to Newcastle, going via the coast (Ashington) before joining a dual carriageway for some speedy running. I bailed at the Regent Centre Interchange for a Metro service, jumping on board a service with a few seconds before the door buzzers went.
Anyhow it was a pair of Metro units which took me to Central Station where I had a short fester to see if 4002 was on one of the last few northbound peak time extras returning towards South Gosforth, before jumping on a pair to take me to Sunderland, mainly Park Lane, where I changed platforms for another service back around the corner to Sunderland station, where I stepped back to wait for a 156 to Newcastle, solely because I needed to use the toilet!
Once at Newcastle, it was downstairs to the metro platforms with another pair of units to Monument, going up the stairs to the coast platforms for a short wait for a coast bound service to take me to Walkergate, making a tight connection (for it was still raining, and I wasn’t going to walk back along the road if I could help it), with a leap to Chillingham Road, confusing some RPIs with going up the stairs from one platform to head towards the footbridge to the opposite platform (after a look at what is on Heaton, a few 156s & 142s, a random 158 plus a Mk4 set). A short wait before another pair of metro cars took me to Whitley Bay, changing over platforms (via the toilets) to board a train back one stop to Cullercoats to clear the Tyne & Wear Metro stops
I was now at a crossroads, as I had around 5 hours to kill before the evening Chathill train, and with 4002 unlikely to make an appearance (4001 & 4083 were floating around earlier, and the last I heard 4040 was being refurbished). I would decide after lunch at the Tesco Metro near West Jesmond, eventually deciding to go hunting for a pacer ride, so headed back towards Newcastle station. First up was a Carlisle bound 156 which I took to the Metro Centre going via the High Level Bridge, which intercepted a coast bound 156 which went back via the high level bridge to terminate into platform 1, with everybody being told to change to another 156 which would resume from platform 12, going via the King Edward Bridge. I remained on board to Sunderland where I decided to go out for a walk to see if there was anything of interest within the city centre area...
...The most interesting thing was a Stagecoach bus with “Here comes the SUNderland bus” written on the side, the city centre area was a bit run down, so I decided to return to the station with my fingers crossed for a northbound Pacer... it was another 156! I took this one to Metro Centre where I got my wish with a 142 back to Newcastle. A good little time wasting move before I was going to head towards South Gosforth for some Metro festering, jumping on the first northbound service to bail at Haymarket where I could ID the first timetabled Pelaw extra, had it been running. Nothing was showing on the destination board, so I headed back to the northbound platform to see everybody getting off the train, catching the end of an announcement that this train was going back south due to an incident around Jesmond. Unexpected microgricing move of the day with the crossover between Haymarket & Monument scored as I headed back to Monument to escape the chaos.
After a brief look around the area, I headed to Central Station where the Metro was back running but with some heavy delays. I took the first southbound service to Gateshead Stadium, grabbing a couple more low mileage units (my rule for “light” rail units is one mile), deciding to head towards Manors to catch an unknown southbound service to the Metro Centre where my plan was to board the Chathill service there for a better chance of getting a decent seat had it be a 142. A good decision as I made my way across the business park, up and over the footbridge to the island platform as 800201 rolled past on test, allowing me to photograph three generations of ECML traction.
A refurbished Scottish 156 rolled in from Morpeth as I jumped on board to make use of the charger for a quick boost to my phone, for the trip to the Metro Centre, intercepting a late running 156 from Carlisle to take me back to Newcastle (for it was a mileage requirement), before boarding 156469 which was on the evening Chathil service. I was worried with the large number of passengers at the platform, however they must have been waiting for the late running Middlesbrough bound service behind this one. As expected the train emptied out by Morpeth, with only a few left on board after Widdrington, but surprisingly myself & 3 others got off at Acklington (for I was expecting for it to be only me, as unlike the other two limited served stations, this one isn’t well located).
Nothing on the northbound platform, but thankfully there is a shelter on the southbound platform, which came in handy as it had started to rain once more, with the wind picking up. The only downside is that shelter lacks any sort of lights inside and due to the time of year it was dark, so my plan to waste the hour fester reading my book was soon ditched, instead I had the vocal delights of a 68 heading north on an engineering train. I decided to check on the progress of the southbound service to see how it was getting on...
....It was a bit confusing, looking at Open Train Times Maps, it was stuck outside Chathill for 15 minutes before seemingly crossing over to terminate in platform 1, where it was around 18 minutes late in departing, losing a couple extra minutes before it arrived, but the 156 sounded poorly. 20 minutes late would be fine for me as I had a +35 at Pegswood for a bus move to Morpeth. The unit lost more time being looped at Chevington for a southbound LNER service, but once more it was like it was only on one engine, as it lost even more time, arriving into Pegswood at 20:22. My bus connection would have been at 20:20 from the Co-Op, with the bus running 5 minutes late (and Google suggesting a 5 minute walk) it was with regrets I decided to remain on the train to Morpeth.
I did have a 2nd backup option, but that bus would have dropped me off in Morpeth town centre instead of by the station (roughly a 10 minute walk), in theory the northbound XC was running late at this point so with the RTT expected timings I could have done it, but didn’t want to risk it (also it was throwing it down with rain, I got soaked walking to a nearby Sainsburys Local for dinner options). (I was a bit annoyed because Pegswood for me is very annoying to visit as it needs an overnight stay; however as a post script I was playing with RTT last night and came up with a good revised plan involving the weekend I revisit Whitby & Redcar). My bad luck continued as the northbound XC service kept on getting later & later due to the increasingly worsening weather conditions, with the voyager eventually rolling into a wet & windy Morpeth 48 minutes late.
It didn’t make any of that time back, and got caught behind a stopper from North Berwick arriving into Edinburgh an annoyingly 58 minutes late, 2 minutes short of getting all my £7 fare back. On the bright side I managed to call at Dunbar heading northbound for an odd microgrice move. Heading towards Dan’s flat was a roundabout move due to the last direct bus route having run, with a route 25 taken towards Leith and then a route 16 taken, where I wasn’t soon enough before collapsing in bed, and for the first Saturday for a long time (excluding the Snow Saturday in March) I didn’t have my alarm set.
The original plan for this weekend was to focus on the stations north of Newcastle on the Friday (with the Tyne & Wear Metro stations I needed to revisit), heading towards Middlesbrough with the Saturday being Redcar British Steel & the handful of stations on the Esk Valley line I needed to revisit, with the Sunday being North Road and a station in the top 5 of awkwardness. However with the Northern strike, I decided to cancel the room at Middlesbrough, and head towards Edinburgh on the Friday night for a day of 385 hunting & the visit of a recently rebuilt station.
Yes the Esk Valley had services on strike days, but that was no reflection if levels would decrease or get replaced by buses (or become like many other northern lines, is ditched altogether). My accommodation in Edinburgh would be with my good friend Dan in his flat.
11th October – Onwards to Newcastle
I finished a bit earlier than expected allowing me to make the 16:59 service which was running late, I took this 159+158 combo to Basingstoke, changing onto a 220 to Reading for a short session of IET hunting. Nothing of interest came up within 30 minutes so I boarded a pair of 800s heading towards London, which got caught up with some congestion as it was a tad slow. I headed towards platform 16 to jump onto a Circle line service to Kings Cross, swinging via Boots before making my way towards platform 0 (hold your drinks everybody, the barriers at Kings Cross were in operation!).
I was thankful I changed my seat reservation from the default coach to coach F, as the front couple coaches looked busy in terms of seat reservation labels (whereas I had a private table). 43274 “Spirit of Sunderland” was leading 43272 on the 20:00 Kings Cross – Sunderland service, a nice fast to York sprint, although it lost time along the way so was around 15 minutes late into Newcastle. There wasn’t many folk left on board heading towards Sunderland but a good crowd waiting at Newcastle to board a fast service.
With options a tad limited for accommodation, I had booked a 4-bed dorm at the Euro Hostel a short walk from the station; somewhere I had previously stayed last December between tours so knew it had a 24 hour front desk. Somewhat expected I had a private room which was a nice little bonus as I didn’t have to keep the noise down when making the bed.
12th October – Newcastle area
An early start with a walk to Newcastle station for the 05:55 Chathill Express, I was making use of a Northern freebie ticket to save on the cost of the anytime fare, and boarded 156471 along with a small handful of others, all of which had gone by Morpeth allowing me the pleasure of a private 156 on the morning northbound fast service to reach Chathill where the unit soon carried on to reverse a few miles up the line. Chathill was as ever quite well kept with flowers on the northbound platform, and a decent shelter on the southbound platform, useful as it was raining (a theme which features a lot).
The 156 returned and I was joined by 3 students, a handful of folk boarded at Alnmouth as the service went into the loop at Wooden Gates to allow a fast LNER to overtake before carrying on, I alighted at Widdrington where a good half dozen boarded (untapped potential), and made use of the time to pop to the nearby Co-Op before heading towards the bus stop, handing over £10.50 for an “explorer” ticket, a very good value for money ticket as it covers bus travel in a very wide area (Carlisle, Berwick, Scarborough), plus the metro & rail services between Sunderland & Blaydon. Arriva bus 1579 was on the 08:05 Max X20 service to Newcastle, going via the coast (Ashington) before joining a dual carriageway for some speedy running. I bailed at the Regent Centre Interchange for a Metro service, jumping on board a service with a few seconds before the door buzzers went.
Anyhow it was a pair of Metro units which took me to Central Station where I had a short fester to see if 4002 was on one of the last few northbound peak time extras returning towards South Gosforth, before jumping on a pair to take me to Sunderland, mainly Park Lane, where I changed platforms for another service back around the corner to Sunderland station, where I stepped back to wait for a 156 to Newcastle, solely because I needed to use the toilet!
Once at Newcastle, it was downstairs to the metro platforms with another pair of units to Monument, going up the stairs to the coast platforms for a short wait for a coast bound service to take me to Walkergate, making a tight connection (for it was still raining, and I wasn’t going to walk back along the road if I could help it), with a leap to Chillingham Road, confusing some RPIs with going up the stairs from one platform to head towards the footbridge to the opposite platform (after a look at what is on Heaton, a few 156s & 142s, a random 158 plus a Mk4 set). A short wait before another pair of metro cars took me to Whitley Bay, changing over platforms (via the toilets) to board a train back one stop to Cullercoats to clear the Tyne & Wear Metro stops
I was now at a crossroads, as I had around 5 hours to kill before the evening Chathill train, and with 4002 unlikely to make an appearance (4001 & 4083 were floating around earlier, and the last I heard 4040 was being refurbished). I would decide after lunch at the Tesco Metro near West Jesmond, eventually deciding to go hunting for a pacer ride, so headed back towards Newcastle station. First up was a Carlisle bound 156 which I took to the Metro Centre going via the High Level Bridge, which intercepted a coast bound 156 which went back via the high level bridge to terminate into platform 1, with everybody being told to change to another 156 which would resume from platform 12, going via the King Edward Bridge. I remained on board to Sunderland where I decided to go out for a walk to see if there was anything of interest within the city centre area...
...The most interesting thing was a Stagecoach bus with “Here comes the SUNderland bus” written on the side, the city centre area was a bit run down, so I decided to return to the station with my fingers crossed for a northbound Pacer... it was another 156! I took this one to Metro Centre where I got my wish with a 142 back to Newcastle. A good little time wasting move before I was going to head towards South Gosforth for some Metro festering, jumping on the first northbound service to bail at Haymarket where I could ID the first timetabled Pelaw extra, had it been running. Nothing was showing on the destination board, so I headed back to the northbound platform to see everybody getting off the train, catching the end of an announcement that this train was going back south due to an incident around Jesmond. Unexpected microgricing move of the day with the crossover between Haymarket & Monument scored as I headed back to Monument to escape the chaos.
After a brief look around the area, I headed to Central Station where the Metro was back running but with some heavy delays. I took the first southbound service to Gateshead Stadium, grabbing a couple more low mileage units (my rule for “light” rail units is one mile), deciding to head towards Manors to catch an unknown southbound service to the Metro Centre where my plan was to board the Chathill service there for a better chance of getting a decent seat had it be a 142. A good decision as I made my way across the business park, up and over the footbridge to the island platform as 800201 rolled past on test, allowing me to photograph three generations of ECML traction.
A refurbished Scottish 156 rolled in from Morpeth as I jumped on board to make use of the charger for a quick boost to my phone, for the trip to the Metro Centre, intercepting a late running 156 from Carlisle to take me back to Newcastle (for it was a mileage requirement), before boarding 156469 which was on the evening Chathil service. I was worried with the large number of passengers at the platform, however they must have been waiting for the late running Middlesbrough bound service behind this one. As expected the train emptied out by Morpeth, with only a few left on board after Widdrington, but surprisingly myself & 3 others got off at Acklington (for I was expecting for it to be only me, as unlike the other two limited served stations, this one isn’t well located).
Nothing on the northbound platform, but thankfully there is a shelter on the southbound platform, which came in handy as it had started to rain once more, with the wind picking up. The only downside is that shelter lacks any sort of lights inside and due to the time of year it was dark, so my plan to waste the hour fester reading my book was soon ditched, instead I had the vocal delights of a 68 heading north on an engineering train. I decided to check on the progress of the southbound service to see how it was getting on...
....It was a bit confusing, looking at Open Train Times Maps, it was stuck outside Chathill for 15 minutes before seemingly crossing over to terminate in platform 1, where it was around 18 minutes late in departing, losing a couple extra minutes before it arrived, but the 156 sounded poorly. 20 minutes late would be fine for me as I had a +35 at Pegswood for a bus move to Morpeth. The unit lost more time being looped at Chevington for a southbound LNER service, but once more it was like it was only on one engine, as it lost even more time, arriving into Pegswood at 20:22. My bus connection would have been at 20:20 from the Co-Op, with the bus running 5 minutes late (and Google suggesting a 5 minute walk) it was with regrets I decided to remain on the train to Morpeth.
I did have a 2nd backup option, but that bus would have dropped me off in Morpeth town centre instead of by the station (roughly a 10 minute walk), in theory the northbound XC was running late at this point so with the RTT expected timings I could have done it, but didn’t want to risk it (also it was throwing it down with rain, I got soaked walking to a nearby Sainsburys Local for dinner options). (I was a bit annoyed because Pegswood for me is very annoying to visit as it needs an overnight stay; however as a post script I was playing with RTT last night and came up with a good revised plan involving the weekend I revisit Whitby & Redcar). My bad luck continued as the northbound XC service kept on getting later & later due to the increasingly worsening weather conditions, with the voyager eventually rolling into a wet & windy Morpeth 48 minutes late.
It didn’t make any of that time back, and got caught behind a stopper from North Berwick arriving into Edinburgh an annoyingly 58 minutes late, 2 minutes short of getting all my £7 fare back. On the bright side I managed to call at Dunbar heading northbound for an odd microgrice move. Heading towards Dan’s flat was a roundabout move due to the last direct bus route having run, with a route 25 taken towards Leith and then a route 16 taken, where I wasn’t soon enough before collapsing in bed, and for the first Saturday for a long time (excluding the Snow Saturday in March) I didn’t have my alarm set.
13rd
October – Edinburgh
As I mentioned on the mutterings for Friday it was a very unusual Saturday where for the first time for ages I hadn’t set an alarm for the Saturday morning, and it was nice to sleep in for a change. My original idea for this brief Scottish trip was to hunt down some 385s however they had been grounded a few days before so that idea was changed. The weather this morning was absolutely terrible with rain, so I was glad it wasn’t too long to wait before a route 37 bus took us towards the city centre.
After buying my ticket it was towards a Glasgow bound service formed of a pair of 365s to take us to Linlithgow, where we bailed to see if anything of interest was heading towards Edinburgh, but decided to carry on towards Falkirk High on another pair of 365s (365529 & 365517), along the way I had spotted a pair of 385s were floating around so it was operation to intercept them. But first a fast pair of 365s took us back to Edinburgh (they can certainly shift and make a wonderful noise), where after grabbing lunch it was back on 365537 & 365525 to Falkirk on another fast service. I think these services would benefit from having assistant ticket examiners located in the front unit as I noticed it a couple times with some folks heading straight towards the front unit when it was a pair of 365s.
Anyhow, a short wait in the rain before 385004 & 385122 rolled in for the 24 mile run back towards Haymarket, where we changed for an Inverkeithing bound 158, mainly to see if a white BMW was still on the top floor of the park & ride car-park which is a long running joke, shockingly it had finally gone (after a good couple years of being parked in the same place). At Inverkeithing it was a short wait before another 158 took us back towards Haymarket before a pair of 334s took us to Livingston North where we made use of a bus connection from a route 25 service to reach the Livingston Bus Terminal/large shopping centres. With a supply raid carried out me and Dan split up with Dan heading back to Edinburgh due to the poor weather (and to be honest I almost was at a point of ditching my main idea and leaving it for another day).
I took a Blue Bus Route 77 (towards Lanark, calls near West Calder station) to the 3rd of the bus stops in Breich village, a tiny village with nothing of real note, but thankfully the rain had stopped but the wind had picked up for my short walk along the pavement to reach the rebuilt station at Breich, saved from the chop with £2.5 million spent on upgrading it with new platforms & a footpath from a road bridge to the Edinburgh bound platform, and it is a good job the contractors of Network Rail have done, although the passenger information displays weren’t working with wrong times, a lack of bins, decent seats in the waiting shelters (more perch style than anything) [although there is a bench outside].
I probably shocked the driver & guard when 156505 arrived with the daily Glasgow service which currently calls, for the short leap to Fauldhouse, changing platforms for a refurbished 156431 back to Edinburgh, where I made use of the WiFi due to it being dark. Once at Edinburgh I met up with Dan once more and we went back to the flat via bus 328, to have some food and a general catch-up, a nice way to spend the remainder of the evening of a lazy day.
14th October – Return to the Airport
Getting back on track to my original Sunday plan was simple enough, so after saying farewell to Dan, it was bus 826 to take me back towards Edinburgh station, where after picking up some breakfast I headed towards platform 8 where the 09:08 service to Plymouth was due to depart, thankfully I arrived before the unit rolled in as it was short formed (was meant to be a pair of units), so I managed to grab one of the unreserved seats in Coach D pretty much as soon as the doors were released of 220026 (same voyager as I had on Friday!).
The voyager departed full & standing, and was a good run towards Darlington, where the rain had returned for my short walk towards North Road station (via a large Morrisons near the North Road station), the less said about Darlington the better. 142064 rolled in to take me back around the curve to Darlington station, although it was held for a good 10 minutes at the junction due to congestion. With the weather being a bit rubbish I decided to step back a train, and it was 142065 which took me to Dinsdale.
I had Google Maps up and running to show me the way to reach the airport station, making sure the destination was south of the railway (as it defaults to the main road behind the stations where there is no access) (as I didn't really want to be climbing over a fence like Mr @FelixtheCat did
). The weather was a bit horrid (and yes I was mad for
doing this walk), but I had two options, either turning right at a roundabout
to follow “Yarm Road” towards Durham Tees Valley Airport, or along a footpath
via a nature reserve which is between the railway & the A67. I decided to
go for the walk via the nature reserve which mostly was all fine, but the path
did turn a bit muddy near the end. The trees gave me cover from the rain, until
I decided to head towards a foot crossing to grab a random picture
After re-joining the main road, it was over the railway and into airport land, where the road quality did suffer as I walked via an industrial estate to reach the road towards the station, attempting to dodge the larger puddles, and eventually reaching the famous Tees Side Airport station, now served only by a single weekly train due to the poor state of the platform & footbridge, however access wasn’t blocked off, which I was thankful for because the disused platform has a little waiting shelter (which did shake whenever a HGV passed behind).
I returned to the Darlington bound platform (which has nothing on it) to await the return of 142065 from Hartlepool. Nobody else boarded or alighted this afternoon (and the only other life around this area was a learner driver going round the turning circle). Back to Darlington and onto a southbound LNER service which had DVT 82229 leading and 91107 pushing for the fast run towards Kings Cross (called only at Northallerton & York).
Back at Kings Cross, it was a Victoria line service to Oxford Circus, followed by a Bakerloo to Waterloo, swinging via Tesco for dinner before boarding the 18:45 fast service to Andover, getting a lift back home, where I could have a nice warm shower and a change of clothes as my trousers were a tad wet. All in summary a good weekend trip, nearly everything was done which I set out to do with my revised plan, Pegswood can wait until next year when I return to Middlesbrough, but at least with Breich revisited I have cleared the Central belt of Scotland and probably one of the most awkward stations in the country.
As I mentioned on the mutterings for Friday it was a very unusual Saturday where for the first time for ages I hadn’t set an alarm for the Saturday morning, and it was nice to sleep in for a change. My original idea for this brief Scottish trip was to hunt down some 385s however they had been grounded a few days before so that idea was changed. The weather this morning was absolutely terrible with rain, so I was glad it wasn’t too long to wait before a route 37 bus took us towards the city centre.
After buying my ticket it was towards a Glasgow bound service formed of a pair of 365s to take us to Linlithgow, where we bailed to see if anything of interest was heading towards Edinburgh, but decided to carry on towards Falkirk High on another pair of 365s (365529 & 365517), along the way I had spotted a pair of 385s were floating around so it was operation to intercept them. But first a fast pair of 365s took us back to Edinburgh (they can certainly shift and make a wonderful noise), where after grabbing lunch it was back on 365537 & 365525 to Falkirk on another fast service. I think these services would benefit from having assistant ticket examiners located in the front unit as I noticed it a couple times with some folks heading straight towards the front unit when it was a pair of 365s.
Anyhow, a short wait in the rain before 385004 & 385122 rolled in for the 24 mile run back towards Haymarket, where we changed for an Inverkeithing bound 158, mainly to see if a white BMW was still on the top floor of the park & ride car-park which is a long running joke, shockingly it had finally gone (after a good couple years of being parked in the same place). At Inverkeithing it was a short wait before another 158 took us back towards Haymarket before a pair of 334s took us to Livingston North where we made use of a bus connection from a route 25 service to reach the Livingston Bus Terminal/large shopping centres. With a supply raid carried out me and Dan split up with Dan heading back to Edinburgh due to the poor weather (and to be honest I almost was at a point of ditching my main idea and leaving it for another day).
I took a Blue Bus Route 77 (towards Lanark, calls near West Calder station) to the 3rd of the bus stops in Breich village, a tiny village with nothing of real note, but thankfully the rain had stopped but the wind had picked up for my short walk along the pavement to reach the rebuilt station at Breich, saved from the chop with £2.5 million spent on upgrading it with new platforms & a footpath from a road bridge to the Edinburgh bound platform, and it is a good job the contractors of Network Rail have done, although the passenger information displays weren’t working with wrong times, a lack of bins, decent seats in the waiting shelters (more perch style than anything) [although there is a bench outside].
I probably shocked the driver & guard when 156505 arrived with the daily Glasgow service which currently calls, for the short leap to Fauldhouse, changing platforms for a refurbished 156431 back to Edinburgh, where I made use of the WiFi due to it being dark. Once at Edinburgh I met up with Dan once more and we went back to the flat via bus 328, to have some food and a general catch-up, a nice way to spend the remainder of the evening of a lazy day.
14th October – Return to the Airport
Getting back on track to my original Sunday plan was simple enough, so after saying farewell to Dan, it was bus 826 to take me back towards Edinburgh station, where after picking up some breakfast I headed towards platform 8 where the 09:08 service to Plymouth was due to depart, thankfully I arrived before the unit rolled in as it was short formed (was meant to be a pair of units), so I managed to grab one of the unreserved seats in Coach D pretty much as soon as the doors were released of 220026 (same voyager as I had on Friday!).
The voyager departed full & standing, and was a good run towards Darlington, where the rain had returned for my short walk towards North Road station (via a large Morrisons near the North Road station), the less said about Darlington the better. 142064 rolled in to take me back around the curve to Darlington station, although it was held for a good 10 minutes at the junction due to congestion. With the weather being a bit rubbish I decided to step back a train, and it was 142065 which took me to Dinsdale.
I had Google Maps up and running to show me the way to reach the airport station, making sure the destination was south of the railway (as it defaults to the main road behind the stations where there is no access) (as I didn't really want to be climbing over a fence like Mr @FelixtheCat did
). The weather was a bit horrid (and yes I was mad for
doing this walk), but I had two options, either turning right at a roundabout
to follow “Yarm Road” towards Durham Tees Valley Airport, or along a footpath
via a nature reserve which is between the railway & the A67. I decided to
go for the walk via the nature reserve which mostly was all fine, but the path
did turn a bit muddy near the end. The trees gave me cover from the rain, until
I decided to head towards a foot crossing to grab a random pictureAfter re-joining the main road, it was over the railway and into airport land, where the road quality did suffer as I walked via an industrial estate to reach the road towards the station, attempting to dodge the larger puddles, and eventually reaching the famous Tees Side Airport station, now served only by a single weekly train due to the poor state of the platform & footbridge, however access wasn’t blocked off, which I was thankful for because the disused platform has a little waiting shelter (which did shake whenever a HGV passed behind).
I returned to the Darlington bound platform (which has nothing on it) to await the return of 142065 from Hartlepool. Nobody else boarded or alighted this afternoon (and the only other life around this area was a learner driver going round the turning circle). Back to Darlington and onto a southbound LNER service which had DVT 82229 leading and 91107 pushing for the fast run towards Kings Cross (called only at Northallerton & York).
Back at Kings Cross, it was a Victoria line service to Oxford Circus, followed by a Bakerloo to Waterloo, swinging via Tesco for dinner before boarding the 18:45 fast service to Andover, getting a lift back home, where I could have a nice warm shower and a change of clothes as my trousers were a tad wet. All in summary a good weekend trip, nearly everything was done which I set out to do with my revised plan, Pegswood can wait until next year when I return to Middlesbrough, but at least with Breich revisited I have cleared the Central belt of Scotland and probably one of the most awkward stations in the country.
19-21st
October:
A good
weekend, a couple more 800s fell into my book on the Friday. On the Saturday
was a tour to Scunthorpe Steel Works (UK Railtours "Man of Steel"),
66060 was leading to Barnetby where the train reversed (with winner 66055)
hauling the train to nearly the end of the Foreign Ore Branch, with 66055
returning to Barnetby (into the goods sidings), where 66060 returned the train
towards some old sidings north of the main-line, before an ultra slow run into
the coal unloading terminal. Another couple reversals and it was onto the main
site itself with a run towards the "Medium Section Mill", where a
Norwegian loco (Di8.702) attached to the rear to pilot the train back towards
the Redbourn Semi-Finished Sidings before detaching (they are used for internal
steelworks traffic), with 66060 back in charge for the run back towards the
mainline using the goods loop to bypass Scunthorpe station itself.
A couple other oddities on the way back (Doncaster Goods yard & Grantham goods loop [behind the platforms]), but it was quite late running in the end.
The Sunday was spent on a BLS trip to the Andover Model Railway Engineers Society track for an easy day of random 7.25" inch traction & track set in woodland, mix of steam/electric/diesel.
A couple other oddities on the way back (Doncaster Goods yard & Grantham goods loop [behind the platforms]), but it was quite late running in the end.
The Sunday was spent on a BLS trip to the Andover Model Railway Engineers Society track for an easy day of random 7.25" inch traction & track set in woodland, mix of steam/electric/diesel.
26th
– 28th October, A weekend away to Blackpool
This weekend was originally going to be a Lancashire Day Rover, however the Northern strike put that idea back until next year, so my plans changed to be a quiet weekend in Blackpool, the focus being on the trams.
Friday
My original plan (the 14:33) was cancelled due to the SWR strike, so it was the 14:59 service to Waterloo with a triple 159, for a quick trip on the Northern line to reach Euston just as the 16:57 to Glasgow Central was announced as boarding, allowing me to get a prime unreserved seat in coach U of 390127. This was a busy train and most of the seats in this coach were taken on departure from Euston for the fast run north, calling at Tamworth & Lichfield, for a race against a Liverpool bound 390 before this 390 shooting ahead to Warrington/Wigan & finally Preston.
Thankfully Northern hadn’t cancelled the Blackpool South service which was a nice low mileage 142 for the trip to Pleasure Beach, where I remained on the busy platform for the return of the Pacer to Squires Gate which cleared the Blackpool South branch line. A walk in the cold air to look at the lights as I kept my eyes peeled for southbound trams, noting that tram 17 was out to play, so a short fester at Burlington Road West saw that tram into my book for a required leap to Central Pier. I popped via a nearby Tesco before heading to the hotel, meeting up with Daniel.
Saturday
A late start with breakfast at 9am, but there was no rush as I needed to visit a branch of my bank to pay in a cheque from GWR (who ignored my request for vouchers). Over the next few hours me & Daniel revisited many of the stops I needed to revisit (as unlike some tram networks, some of the stops on Blackpool are very close together), tram 18 fell within the first few movements which was a nice bonus to clear the modern trams once again.
I had finished with the main task up in Fleetwood around half one, so after some hassle with football fans having a police escort, it was a busy tram back to Central Pier, to visit the hotel and to grab some late lunch, before returning out to the cold wind (but a very sunny day). Once back outside we headed towards the heritage stop on the loop south of the Pleasure Beach stop for a trip on the heritage trams out. Boat Tram 227 took us to “North Pier & Tower” which is located on the loop opposite ‘North Pier South’, before double deck 147 took us back to Pleasure Beach loop, returning to North Pier & Tower, intercepting the return of the boat from Cliffs Hotel on its final run of the day.
A time-wasting trip to Starr Gate and back as the lights were turned on, and we joined the large queue for the special services, getting onto the 4th departure which was a Millennium Balloon tram, 718 (one of the batch which were modified to be able to run on the upgraded network had there been issues with the new fleet). I would say it was a nice non-stop run towards the loop at Little Bispham, however it was very stop/start as we were caught behind a busy service tram (most of the regular trams were busy today). Around the loop before calling at a couple limited stops as we alighted at North Pier & Tower for a walk back towards the hotel.
On the bright side, the lights are ever so pretty, it is worth a visit just to see them. Once back at the hotel (and a visit to the toilet), we headed to a nearby Chinese restaurant for a very nice Chinese dinner. On reflecting this is probably one of my first Saturdays where I haven’t stepped foot on a railway station or on a network rail train for a good few years.
Sunday
Another late start with another excellent breakfast, before a 150+142 combo took us to Preston from Blackpool South (via a taxi from the hotel), saying farewell as I jumped to Wigan on a low mileage 221 (which was very busy, so I bailed). Onwards to Manchester Oxford Road on a 319 for some motor noise and a walk to Piccadilly (because for some strange reason someone in planning had the idea of turning back the services from Blackpool at Oxford Road giving a nice 30-minute wait before the next Piccadilly bound service).
Anyhow a nice walk to Piccadilly, as I grabbed lunch from Boots before boarding a 390 which went via Crewe (a low mileage one as well), the idea of going via Manchester was a better chance of a prime seat (one which has good shoulder space). After Crewe is where it went wrong as Paddington had fallen over due to overhead wire damage, which gave me a couple options. Either a highly likely 450 to Guildford (via Cobham) for a bus to Basingstoke or see how bad the Waterloo – Reading slow stopping service was.
By the time I reached Waterloo, the next Reading service hadn’t been advertised on the screens but was boarding by those with RTT (and being able to spot the train which said “Reading” on the rear. As you might have guessed from my picture last night it was a pair of 455s, not ideal but I managed to secure a bay seat in the motor coach. Needless to say, it departed Waterloo leaving folk behind, high peak levels of crowding, where it remained all the way to Reading (with an unusual weave at Ascot to go via platform 1).
But it was better than a bus. I grabbed some food from Tesco before a 165 took me to Basingstoke, where I could board a pair of 159s (Woking area was closed today) for the trip back to Grateley.
Other than the farce at the end of the trip, this weekend was quite relaxing, no early starts on either day, added on a good social. Clearing Blackpool trams means I only have a handful of light rail stops I need to revisit (and visit in the case of Sheffield).
Next weekend sees me having a lazy weekend, I was going to head to North Wales but decided last week to ditch that idea on grounds of “I can’t be bothered hanging around random Welsh request stops this time of year when it gets dark early”. The main reason for my winter slow-down. I might head to the Isle of Wight on the Sunday to clear that network.
------
October in Numbers
3785 Miles covered
11 new units (1x 150, 2x 385, 8x 800)
2 new locos (1x 66, 1x Di8)
5 new light rail (2x Blackpool Flexity, 3x Blackpool Heritage)
This weekend was originally going to be a Lancashire Day Rover, however the Northern strike put that idea back until next year, so my plans changed to be a quiet weekend in Blackpool, the focus being on the trams.
Friday
My original plan (the 14:33) was cancelled due to the SWR strike, so it was the 14:59 service to Waterloo with a triple 159, for a quick trip on the Northern line to reach Euston just as the 16:57 to Glasgow Central was announced as boarding, allowing me to get a prime unreserved seat in coach U of 390127. This was a busy train and most of the seats in this coach were taken on departure from Euston for the fast run north, calling at Tamworth & Lichfield, for a race against a Liverpool bound 390 before this 390 shooting ahead to Warrington/Wigan & finally Preston.
Thankfully Northern hadn’t cancelled the Blackpool South service which was a nice low mileage 142 for the trip to Pleasure Beach, where I remained on the busy platform for the return of the Pacer to Squires Gate which cleared the Blackpool South branch line. A walk in the cold air to look at the lights as I kept my eyes peeled for southbound trams, noting that tram 17 was out to play, so a short fester at Burlington Road West saw that tram into my book for a required leap to Central Pier. I popped via a nearby Tesco before heading to the hotel, meeting up with Daniel.
Saturday
A late start with breakfast at 9am, but there was no rush as I needed to visit a branch of my bank to pay in a cheque from GWR (who ignored my request for vouchers). Over the next few hours me & Daniel revisited many of the stops I needed to revisit (as unlike some tram networks, some of the stops on Blackpool are very close together), tram 18 fell within the first few movements which was a nice bonus to clear the modern trams once again.
I had finished with the main task up in Fleetwood around half one, so after some hassle with football fans having a police escort, it was a busy tram back to Central Pier, to visit the hotel and to grab some late lunch, before returning out to the cold wind (but a very sunny day). Once back outside we headed towards the heritage stop on the loop south of the Pleasure Beach stop for a trip on the heritage trams out. Boat Tram 227 took us to “North Pier & Tower” which is located on the loop opposite ‘North Pier South’, before double deck 147 took us back to Pleasure Beach loop, returning to North Pier & Tower, intercepting the return of the boat from Cliffs Hotel on its final run of the day.
A time-wasting trip to Starr Gate and back as the lights were turned on, and we joined the large queue for the special services, getting onto the 4th departure which was a Millennium Balloon tram, 718 (one of the batch which were modified to be able to run on the upgraded network had there been issues with the new fleet). I would say it was a nice non-stop run towards the loop at Little Bispham, however it was very stop/start as we were caught behind a busy service tram (most of the regular trams were busy today). Around the loop before calling at a couple limited stops as we alighted at North Pier & Tower for a walk back towards the hotel.
On the bright side, the lights are ever so pretty, it is worth a visit just to see them. Once back at the hotel (and a visit to the toilet), we headed to a nearby Chinese restaurant for a very nice Chinese dinner. On reflecting this is probably one of my first Saturdays where I haven’t stepped foot on a railway station or on a network rail train for a good few years.
Sunday
Another late start with another excellent breakfast, before a 150+142 combo took us to Preston from Blackpool South (via a taxi from the hotel), saying farewell as I jumped to Wigan on a low mileage 221 (which was very busy, so I bailed). Onwards to Manchester Oxford Road on a 319 for some motor noise and a walk to Piccadilly (because for some strange reason someone in planning had the idea of turning back the services from Blackpool at Oxford Road giving a nice 30-minute wait before the next Piccadilly bound service).
Anyhow a nice walk to Piccadilly, as I grabbed lunch from Boots before boarding a 390 which went via Crewe (a low mileage one as well), the idea of going via Manchester was a better chance of a prime seat (one which has good shoulder space). After Crewe is where it went wrong as Paddington had fallen over due to overhead wire damage, which gave me a couple options. Either a highly likely 450 to Guildford (via Cobham) for a bus to Basingstoke or see how bad the Waterloo – Reading slow stopping service was.
By the time I reached Waterloo, the next Reading service hadn’t been advertised on the screens but was boarding by those with RTT (and being able to spot the train which said “Reading” on the rear. As you might have guessed from my picture last night it was a pair of 455s, not ideal but I managed to secure a bay seat in the motor coach. Needless to say, it departed Waterloo leaving folk behind, high peak levels of crowding, where it remained all the way to Reading (with an unusual weave at Ascot to go via platform 1).
But it was better than a bus. I grabbed some food from Tesco before a 165 took me to Basingstoke, where I could board a pair of 159s (Woking area was closed today) for the trip back to Grateley.
Other than the farce at the end of the trip, this weekend was quite relaxing, no early starts on either day, added on a good social. Clearing Blackpool trams means I only have a handful of light rail stops I need to revisit (and visit in the case of Sheffield).
Next weekend sees me having a lazy weekend, I was going to head to North Wales but decided last week to ditch that idea on grounds of “I can’t be bothered hanging around random Welsh request stops this time of year when it gets dark early”. The main reason for my winter slow-down. I might head to the Isle of Wight on the Sunday to clear that network.
------
October in Numbers
3785 Miles covered
11 new units (1x 150, 2x 385, 8x 800)
2 new locos (1x 66, 1x Di8)
5 new light rail (2x Blackpool Flexity, 3x Blackpool Heritage)
