21st August – Another bounce in the Valleys

21^st August – Another bounce in the Valleys

When I learnt that Transport for Wales had introduced a couple peak time 37 hauled sets in Wales, I decided to give them a go, plus it allowed me to finish a job I started earlier in the month and hopefully clear my last trio of Welsh Pacers for 10 miles, as this could potentially be my last trip to the Valleys before the end of the year.  The original idea of this day changed to start from Grateley instead of starting from Salisbury, which limited my end time to being the 19:30 Portsmouth service, and my start time to the 09:07 service from Grateley.

Like on the Tuesday it was walk to the station, noting the TVM was out of order (I was glad I picked up my tickets yesterday at Basingstoke), watching the London train pull in with a good number boarding, before 159105, 159013 & 159016 arrived from London.  I took a seat in the leading unit as this continued towards Yeovil via Westbury, only as far as Warminster, before a short fester for 158951 to roll in to take me all the way to Cardiff.  It got caught up in some delays around Southampton, regained some of the time, but lost more time after Newport when a late running pair of 153s from Ebbw Vale were put out in front, but I had a rough plan because some kind souls on the WNXX forum had put up the workings for my pacers, plus one of my last couple Welsh 150s.

At Cardiff Central, I met up with my good friend, Jules, and we set about chatting and putting the world to right with 150281 on the run to Pontypridd, where we crossed over to the opposite platform for a service I highlighted as a must-do move as once this unit got back into Cardiff it looked like it run to the depot, so I was glad when 143622 rolled in, the ten mile mark being passed between Radyr & Llandaf, so we bailed at Llandaf.  Sadly I couldn’t work RTT and it wasn’t 142076 on the next service but 150254/143607.  A quick call for gen found out it was a set swap earlier on so a replan was in order, after popping out to grab lunch at Cardiff Queen Street.

Up next on my rough plan was 143601 which we took to Penarth, remaining on board for the trip back towards Cardiff, this being a weird service which doesn’t carry on towards Caerphilly like most other services from Penarth does, but goes towards Pontypridd, the unit was cleared for 10 miles (and clears the class), but sadly due to an ECS being late from the depot, with this pacer being put in front at Cardiff Central, it was 3 minutes late leaving Queen Street when the Bargoed was put in front.  My hopeful +4 at Taffs Well was broken as we played it safe and bailed from the 143 at Radyr.

143601 departs Radyr

The next southbound service was low mileage and final Welsh Pacer, 142076, but the run to Cardiff Central wasn’t quite enough, so we remained on board for the trip back to Radyr, via the City line.  A short wait at Radyr before it was back towards Cardiff Central, again via the City line, on 150279 and it was time to change to something a bit more modern and fast, in the shape of 802008 & 802012 with the run to Bridgend, returning to Cardiff Central on 175105, wasting time before the main event of the evening as we walked towards platform 6 to await the inbound ECS for the 17:01 Rhymney.

We heard it before we saw 37418 rolling in, nearly getting caught out as the guard van was behind the loco, but we got on board and stood by the vestibule.  The security guard allowed us to open the window to get some fresh air (as the toilet was a bit smelly), it was busy from Queen Street but we were only on for a single stop to Heath High Level, giving us time to watch it depart and slowly make our way slowly towards the southbound platform for low mileage 150285 getting a little boost back to Cardiff Central, giving us some more time before the 2^nd loco hauled set rolled in, this was with 37421 leading and 37025 on the back running but not providing power.  This time we took a seat in the 2^nd coach to enjoy the noise for the run to Caerphilly; stepping back for 150285 to get some extra mileage (not quite enough to push it over 10 miles, but 9.5 miles is better than 0.5 miles!) to Ystrad Mynach, where we were surprised to see a loaded coal train wasting time on the nearby freight line.

37418 at Heath (High Level)

37421 at Caerphilly

150262 was on the Ystrad Mynach – Cardiff express service tonight, and unlike a couple weeks ago when I had a private pacer, this one had around half a dozen other passengers on board.  Back to Cardiff Central, where we parted ways with Jules boarding a required 800 to Newport and I took a seat on 158956 for the long run back towards Salisbury, followed by 159018 on the 21:47 Salisbury – Reading service.  A gentle walk home where I could relax after a good day in South Wales, both my main missions were successful, plus I managed to increase the mileage for 150285.  Probably the last time I will be heading into the Valleys for a while though L

20th August – Another trip to London

20^th August – Another trip to London

Originally on my rough idea for my week off, this was going to be a 802 hunting day with a Thames Valley rover, but I decided that hanging around Reading for what could be an hour+ between services wasn’t my cup of tea today so I decided to head to London to carry on with some random platforms in overhead wiring land.  Also gives me an excuse to try out two new classes of trains, the 717s on Great Northern and the 710s on London Overground.

A walk to the station for the 08:59 service towards Waterloo, formed of a busy 159108 & 159005 (when commuters meet families on day trips, never a pretty sight), where I changed at Basingstoke onto 165117 for the run to Reading, popping out of the station for some brunch, before heading towards platform 10/11, taking my usual seat underneath the overbridge for some unit watching.  Straight away I spotted a required 802/1, which was heading towards Penzance and wouldn’t be back until much later.  A few minutes later I spotted another required 802/1 on an Oxford fast service, so I made a note of that one for later.  There was nothing of interest on the London bound and I waiting for a pair of units from Penzance as a pair of units rolled in from Bristol, the unit number of the front 800 caught my eye, for it was winner 800002, on the first day of service.  800007 was on the rear as I took a seat in 002 for the fast run into Paddington.

My time at Paddington wasn’t long before jumping on winner 345029 to take me to Hayes & Harlington where I made use of a TVM to purchase my BZ ticket to Slough to intercept that 802 later.  387150 & 387148 rolled in to take me to Ealing Broadway giving me a chance to ID the other 345 out, which wasn’t of interest so it was onwards to Slough on 387136 for around a 10 minute fester before 802110 returned from Oxford to take me back into Paddington.  It was straight to the Hammersmith & City line platforms, with 21339/21340 to take me to Moorgate where I made a tight connection for a Hertford North service formed of winner 717008.  Inside it is very much like a 700 in terms of seat layout, with plug sockets located underneath the seats.  Decent WiFi once it left the tunnels and felt nippy between stops as it took me to Enfield Chase, a required platform and also just over 10 miles from Moorgate.

717 out in the Open

 I crossed over to the opposite platform, nearly got knocked over by a prat on a bike who decided to ride it along the busy platform instead of pushing it, my next few months were for some platforms, just to get them out of the way to save having to come back when I eventually get round to hunting down the 717s (which will probably be over winter time).  313061/313057 to Bowes Park, 313035/313059 back one stop to Palmers Green, 313064/313122 to Alexandra Palace, 313044/313039 one stop northbound to New Southgate & 313037/313033 to Harringay.  During this time I only saw one other 717 floating around so in a way I guess I was lucky with that Hertford service at Moorgate.  But it was time to leave the 313s along and go for a gentle walk down a street to reach Harringay Green Lanes on the Gospel Oak – Barking line, with a short wait before winner 710266 rolled in to take me to Leyton Midland Road.  First impression of the new Overground stock is that it seems to be nippy, the AC was ice-cold.  Seats were a tad hard (like a 345), but they seem to work well with the loadings.

At Leyton Midland Road, I crossed over to the opposite platform to get a short hop on 710264 to Walthamstow Queens Road, for a walk to Walthamstow Central (via Tesco for something to eat), I will have to return to this line at some point to get both those units over 5 miles (using my “works mostly within London Zones” rule), plus to sample one on the overhead wires for the remaining part of the line.  At Walthamstow Central it was a short wait for 317732 to take me one stop northbound to Wood Street for a short fester (this station has many benches!) for 315858 & 315810 for the run to Liverpool Street, time for a short hunt of 321s, and straight away my luck was in with 321355 & 321365 on the next Southend service, a leap to Stratford to allow me to try and ID any inbound ECS workings, plus anything heading towards Liverpool Street.  I noticed both my remaining TfL Rail 315s were together (which was too good of a chance to get them both), but first I returned to Liverpool Street on 321425, 321343, 321324, the middle unit getting a mileage boost.

Take a seat...

A short turnaround at Liverpool Street before I was back out Stratford bound with 321444, 321336 & 321317, giving me time to intercept the return of 315837 & 315824 to take me back to Liverpool Street, which means I no longer have to keep my eyes out for the 315s.  A short turnaround at Liverpool Street before heading back towards Stratford with 321407, 321305 & 321422, before one final move to Liverpool Street with 321333 & 321358, before I made my way towards London Underground, with a regret that I couldn’t return to Stratford to take 321358 over the line, but that will have to wait for another day.

First up at Liverpool Street was a Metropolitan line service formed of 21059/21060 to take me to Farringdon as a Hammersmith train was 1 minute behind it, which was 21333/21334 which took me back to Paddington, where I was aiming for 19:22 Hereford service which is one of the first non-stop services to Reading where off-peak travelcards are valid, and I was in luck as it was winner 802101.  At Reading I had a fast walk from platform 8 to platform 3 to board 221144 for the run to Basingstoke, giving me 28 minutes to pick up some supplies from Tesco for the Wednesday and also to pick up my ranger for the Wednesday, just to save a job.  I returned back to the platforms with 159011 taking me home, the end of a good day in London.  I even got to sample some 37 based noise...

"The train approaching doesn't stop at this station"

19th August – A long day in London

19^th August – A long day in London

For the previous few days I was trying to decide between using Oyster for today, or buying the full-fat Anytime Travelcard, in the end I decided for the travelcard, I know it was more expensive than the Oyster daily cap, but would give me a lot more flexibility without the need to remember to tap in/out every hour or so to avoid maximum charges.  Today was mainly some random platform scores, plus some microgricing around London

The day began in the Hackney Travelodge, located a stone’s throw from Hackney Central station so an ideal base for the first Liverpool Street – Enfield Town service, which is the only train booked to use platform 3 at Enfield Town.  I missed the chance last year when I was overnight in this area (after doing the Woodford Bay LU service) as I forgot about the Enfield service, and I was going to do it a couple months ago but was too tired.  Anyhow it was a short walk to pick up my travelcard from the TVM outside Hackney Central and use the walkway to Hackney Downs.  Sadly my planned linear hop failed as the previous Cheshunt service was cancelled, so when 315811 rolled in, it was a bit busier than normal.

7 and a bit mile later, I felt the train use the crossover outside Enfield Town to terminate in platform 3, and I had a short walk across to platform 1 to board 317732 & 317891 to Silver Street, double backing to Bush Hill Park on 315815 & 315817.  315811 was back to take me to Bruce Grove where I had to fight my way off the train due to the crowding (platform 3 at Enfield can only take a single unit unless additional staff are used due to the positioning of the platform equipment).  I noticed the next southbound service was another single unit which looked to be wedged out, as I doubled back to White Hart Lane on 317888 & 317887.  315817 &315815 returned from Enfield to take me a couple stops to Stamford Hill, returning to Seven Sisters on 317891 & 317732.  The reason for the linear hops was for platform scores as I did a few of these stations linearly.

A train in Platform 3 at Enfield Town

Time for me to leave London Overground and head underground, expecting a crush but I managed to get a seat on 11027/11028 (must have been a Seven Sisters starter), got crush loaded after Highbury & Islington, and the crowds heading towards the underground at Euston when I alighted were massive.  I had time to grab breakfast before spotting my last 350/2 for mileage working ECS to Tring (damn you wee 350240!) before boarding 378221 for the run to Queens Park.  Crossing over to the Bakerloo platform for 3567/3240 to take me one stop to Kensal Green, returning to Queens Park on 3243/3541 before heading towards Wembley Central on the 4-coach 378206 (the shorten trio are working on the Watford DC lines as a temporary measure when the 710s bed in).  After a visit to the toilet I headed outside to catch a route 92 bus (TE1995) for a few stops to reach Sudbury & Harrow Road, spotting a lot of route 18 buses floating around the station.  After a short walk around, I headed up to the island platform at one of London’s least used stations, where I was joined by around half a dozen other passengers for the 3^rd (of 4) London bound services, formed of a busy 165007 for the non-stop trip to Marylebone.

Back to the Underground with 3261 & 3548 taken to Charing Cross before I headed to the main concourse to have a look at what was around, I needed a few odds & sods of South Eastern stations within the zones, the first option was a triple 465 bound for Dartford via Welling, formed of 465048, 465039 & 465159 which I took to Welling, heading back towards London with 465191/465190 to Eltham, 465034 & 465919 to Kidbrooke before 465161 & 465236 to New Cross.  I made a tight connection over to board 465929 & 465193 for the leap to Hither Green, with a track machine passing northbound before 465179 & 465160 took me to Chislehurst, with 466028, 465042 & 465018 taken to Grove Park, where I made my way across to 466035 working the Bromley North shuttle, which as expected went into platform 1 at Bromley North (majority of services use platform 2, but there is a couple hours during the middle of the day which use platform 1).  Back to Grove Park on 466035 with 466033, 465185 & 465154 taken to London Bridge, where I just miss a Hayes train so it was plan B with 465171 & 465016 taken to Woolwich Dockyard where it started to rain.  376035 & 376007 took me back to London Bridge where I decided to change focus with 455830 & 455826 taken to Forest Hill.

I crossed over to the opposite platform, turning down a 10 coach 377 formation before 378145 rolled in to take me to Wapping (very narrow platforms!) to start some linear hops.  378215 to Shoreditch High Street, 378139 to Hoxton, 378150 to Haggerston & 378211 to Canonbury, sadly 211 was running a couple minutes late which meant a connection to a Clapham Junction train was lost, as I hung back for 378207 for the run trip to South Acton, where it terminated.  I remained on board for the reversal back towards Acton Central (scoring the crossover at the northern end of the station), and made a connection for 378201 to Gunnersbury, followed by 21501 & 21502 to take me to Richmond.  I made a tight connection onto 707014 & 707003 forming a Waterloo bound stopper which took me to Clapham Junction.  A short walk over to the Southern platforms as 377422, 377142 & 377419 rolled in for an East Croydon run (enough to push 422 over the line, plus I needed the toilet after a couple hours on the Overground!)

Trains & Cranes at Hoxton

377463 & 377148 were up next to take me to Sanderstead, where I popped out of the station to buy my next ticket, just as the heavens opened, so I took shelter to await for the next East Grinstead bound service which was formed of 700042.  This is when I noticed I made a mistake as I needed platform 1 at East Grinstead and had assumed that is where the peak time additional Thameslink services would use, but it seems they use the more regular platform 2 with the Southern services having to use the lesser used platform, so I alighted from the 700 at Dormans, for 377101 & 377424 to take me the final step to East Grinstead, where it was a gentle fast walk over the footbridge to reboard 700042 to take me back towards East Croydon.  Yes having a 700 in this part of the network felt a bit unusual.

Heavy Rain

At East Croydon, I awaited the next Victoria bound service formed of 377133 & 377416 to take me to Clapham Junction, for 444033 & 444026 to take me to Basingstoke.  I was going to step back to the 442s at Woking, but they were behind the sprinters [which are pick-up only at Woking so would probably be busy].  A short wait at Basingstoke before 159101 & 159018 rolled in to take me home, where I could relax after a busy day within London

18th August – Return to the Heart of Wales & London

18^th August – Return to the Heart of Wales & London

The idea of today was a nice easy day to tick of a random platform at Knighton (the Shrewsbury bound platform) before heading towards London for a few hours before retiring to the Hackney Travelodge for an early start on the Monday.

I checked out of the Walsall Travelodge, going via McDonalds for a breakfast bite before heading to the station for the first southbound service, a semi-fast Euston service via Soho.  This was a busy 350243 which was late working inbound, so was a few minutes late departing, but a speedy run and before I knew it I was at Birmingham New Street with a couple units to ID but nothing of interest so after swinging via Boots for lunch for later on, it was onto 158824 & 158833 for the slow trip to Shrewsbury, fast to Wolverhampton but then all stops to Shrewsbury (I had hoped these trains would drop the smaller stops due to there being a West Midlands Railways service doing an hourly stopper on Sundays now).

Impressive Station

Once at Shrewsbury I had around 45 minutes to kill, so I headed into the shopping area to have a browse, for I was just looking, not buying.  I returned to the station, to await the 1^st Swansea via the Heart of Wales line, and in rolled 150235 (same unit as I had on the Conwy Valley the day before!), I got a decent seat for the trip towards Wales, a few passengers on/off at the first two stations, no demand for the three request stops before I alighted at Knighton, just as the rain started...

Waiting time at Knighton

I hung back at the station for 5 minutes for the rain to clear up before heading into the town centre for a general potter, noting the Co-Op seems to be a bit of a mess interior lay-out wise [seems to be 4 buildings joined together] but in between the showers I had a good wonder before returning to the station to a decent shelter being joined by a few others before 150240 crashed the party with the service to Shrewsbury.  With thanks to Jules I knew which service was on the Cardiff – Holyhead so I was happy enough to give that a miss and remain on board the modified 150 to Shrewsbury.  Noting that the 158s from the Cambrian were heavily delayed (again), I took a seat on a busy 221107 for the run to Wolverhampton  [once more a gentleman from Telford was unhappy he got asked to buy a ticket for the trip to Wolverhampton, the sooner ticket barriers are installed at Wolverhampton the better!].

Anyhow for me, I had noticed earlier in the day a low mileage 350 working Walsall – Wolverhampton stoppers, so it would be rude to turn it down, firstly the service from Crewe wasn’t anything of interest, so it was over to 350238 working the stopper, gets another 350 over the ten mile line.  Once at New Street it was over to the next Euston service which was formed of 350127 & 350261 which took me to Milton Keynes Central (no prizes at which unit I sat in!), going the direct line and also being semi-fast to Coventry (called at Birmingham International only) which made a nice change.  At Milton Keynes Central my eyes were fixed on the train on the stopper to Euston, for it was a triple 319.  Northampton was closed for engineering works ‘trapping’ several units on the depot so the 319s were out to play, and the motors of 319005 were singing (319441 & 319216) for the run to Tring.  No real reason for picking Tring as a place to stop other for a random platform scratch (only ever done it linearly heading northbound).

350250 & 350375 were up next to take me all the way to Euston (again no prizes at which unit I sat in), where after grabbing food from Sainsburys I headed across to Euston Square, jumping on the first service towards Liverpool Street, a sub mile 21095/21096 on the Metropolitan line.  At Liverpool Street my hunt for anything low mileage didn’t get off to a flying start eventually 321435 & 321304 appeared on a Southend service to take me to Stratford, making a tight connection onto 345011 back to Liverpool Street, where my eyes picked up the next C2C service which had low mileage 357004 leading 357039, the run to Barking was enough for this 357.  I saw my first 710 in the flesh (all be locked up on platform 1 due to engineering works), the next Shoeburyness & Liverpool Street services weren’t needed, so with one eye on the time I awaited the next Fenchurch Street service for what would be a required move to West Ham.  Luck must have been on my side as it was a pair of low mileage units, both on 8-9 miles so the run to West Ham was enough to push both 357044 & 357026 over the line, taking me to only needing 9 of the class to clear them all for 10 miles, and considering a good number of them only work during the peaks is quite good.

Having just missed a Jubilee Line service, and the next not being in 5 minutes (must have been a North Greenwich terminator), it was a long wait (for LU) before 96033/96040 rolled in to take me to Stratford.  Nothing of interest on the Liverpool Street bound, but a low mileage 378256 was on the next Camden Road service, so putting my BLS hat on, I took a seat for the trip to Camden Road where the train terminated in the Stratford bound platform, before returning me back east to Hackney Central, where I had a short walk to the hotel, checked in and turned in for the night after doing some bits.

"This is the London Overground service to Camden Road"