23rd November – A trip to Yorkshire
The idea of this weekends trip was to head to Yorkshire,
mainly for some platforms, station photos and some units for mileage, the idea
wasn’t to focus on the new stuff (LNER Azumas, TPE Novas, Northern CAFs) as
they can wait for another time. Due to
LNER being late in releasing advances I was heading up via a strange route
involving a Friday night in Macclesfield, the Saturday night was originally
going to be in Bradford but I switched it over to Dewsbury as the prices were
better (my usual stay at the Ibis Budget was quite expensive, I’m not paying
£38 for the sound of racing cars all night long).
Anyhow the day began at the Macclesfield Travelodge, a hotel
I’ve used a few times because it is ever so handy due to the location, and it
was onto the first northbound service of the day, a service which starts at
Macclesfield (after arriving ECS from Stoke, why it can’t run in service from
Stoke I do not know, there must be no demand).
This morning this service was in the hands of 323225 as I took a seat in
the front coach and waited for departure, in the meanwhile the first Stoke
bound service had arrived from Manchester, and like previous times it featured
some party goers in various states of undress, special mention to that lady in
a sports bra, you must have been a bit chilly ;).
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| Early morning 323 based noise. |
The train departed calling at all the stations heading
towards Stockport, but as it kept on losing time I decided to bail at
Stockport, crossing over to platform 3 to board 150106 & 150223 which ran
nonstop to Piccadilly (overtaking the 323 at Heaton Chapel), this gave me an
extra couple minutes for a fast walk to Victoria, arriving with a few minutes
to spare for the Chester – Leeds train, hoping my luck would be in with a 195
as they have taken over some of the services on this route, and I was in luck
as 195115 rolled in, sadly not required but better than a high density
150! Due to congestion it was running a
few minutes late, time it never gained back (which surprised me as I was
expecting it to claw back some of the time due to being faster). I bailed from this unit at Bramley as I needed a photograph, and
due to the timetable the services from Bradford Interchange to Leeds are
grouped together so it was only a booked 5 minute fester, sadly the unit from
Huddersfield was running late so it was some time in the rain before 142092
bounced in to take me the final 4 miles to Leeds, where after grabbing
breakfast from Sainsburys it was over to platform 1 to board the next Harrogate
semi-fast.
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| The tunnel at Knaresborough. |
A lightly loaded 170475 was on this semi-fast service,
calling at Horsforth and Hornbeam Park
only, I alighted at Hornbeam for a picture and a 20 minute wait (in the rain in
a small shelter which soon filled up).
Next up was 170472 to take me to Knaresborough
I station I needed for the southbound platform, and also a picture, hard to
believe it has been 5 years since I last used this station when I was covering
the track. It is a nice station, but the
grim weather meant I didn’t go out that far before returning to the station,
getting a shock as the next Leeds wasn’t a 170, but a triple 153. 153373, 153332 & 153331 for the tiny leap
to Starbeck and a 28 minute fester
(time spent visiting the nearby Co-Op for lunch). Next up was 170458 which took me to Leeds
where after a brief scan of the platforms I returned to for the run back out to
Headingley for a picture, normally a
tight connection but due to a late running York train it meant the next Leeds
train was running late, and it kept on getting later. Eventually 170472 returned to take me to Leeds,
where I had a short walk to board a York bound 158790 which was quite busy (due
to a cancelation of a TPE service) which itself was delayed waiting for a
driver, departure was around 15 minutes late with the driver making the unit
work hard to regain some of that lost time for the run to Church Fenton.
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| Sprinters at Church Fenton |
A Hull – York service wasn’t of interest neither was a pacer
from Sheffield. I foolishly turned down
a Blackpool bound service to wait for the Sheffield service (as it looked like
on RTT it wasn’t the same unit back), but that service got delayed by around
thirty minutes, eventually 142039 returned from York. It was nice and peaceful in the waiting
shelter at Church Fenton, listening to the rain and the roar of a passing TPE
service, at least the delay meant a shorter wait at Swinton for low mileage 142071
to roll in from Adwick to take me to Sheffield, where my plan was to catch a
Nottingham – Leeds service. What I
failed to notice is said service failed to track as the inbound service was
cancelled, giving me a thirty minute wait at Sheffield before the next
semi-fast Leeds service (turning down a busy 158 working a “Via Moorthorpe”
stopper). Although what annoyed me more
was my last 2x 222s were together (222010 & 222103), however they were
going back to the depot. Had they been
working a St Pancras service I would have changed my plans & purchased a
day return to Chesterfield just to get both of them over the ten mile
line. (In case anybody was interested,
both are on the 3 miles from Nottingham – Beeston leaps).
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| Pacer 071 at Sheffield. |
The 158 from Lincoln arrived, and it was 158851 with
collapsed seats, but still better than a high density 150, and nice to cover
the line via Barnsley before darkness fell.
The unit got busy at Meadowhall with all the shoppers heading home (the
previous service to Huddersfield got cancelled so there was a gap in Barnsley
services). I was on the unit all the way
to Leeds where I made a tight connection to a Carlisle bound service, which was
delayed waiting for a stopper from Sheffield to arrive to attach, it was the
same 158 I turned down at Sheffield earlier on!
158796 & 158849 eventually departed 8 minutes late for the run to Bingley (photo stop), where I noticed a
low mileage 333 on the Leeds bound, and noticed that on arrival at Leeds it
would work one final trip to Skipton before heading to the sidings, so my plan
got changed. 333014 rolled in from Leeds
to take me to Keighley where I
crossed over to board 321902 which
was a very low mileage unit (Doncaster to Bentley!)
I bailed from the 321 at Shipley, not enough to push it over
10 miles, but I had a tight connection to reach platform 5 to board a Skipton
bound service to take me around the curve to Saltaire, only when alighting I noticed it was low mileage 333006, so it was another change of plan
time as I waited a few minutes before 333015 rolled in from Leeds to
take me to Keighley, where I crossed over to the opposite platform to board
333005 for the run to Bradford Forster Square, crossing over to reboard 321902
for the run to Baildon. I had noticed there had been some cancelled
services and this unit would have been cleared for ten miles by Shipley had the
next Bradford train been cancelled, but it was running so I decided to get this
station done for a photograph (makes life easier for a future trip). I was happy I got 321902 over the line as
this trip would have been the last chance, and means I’m down to only 2 more
321s needed for ten miles, and one of those I know I won’t get (321448 which
was last reported to be broken at Clacton depot). 333011 rolled in from Ilkley to take me back
to Bradford Forster Square, where it was a cross platform onto 333006 to
take me back to Leeds, and the last of the 333s for mileage needs. Slightly happy I don’t have to keep an eye
out for these nice units at Leeds in the future as they are not the easiest to
ID due to the off-set unit numbers.
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| New CAF EMU meets old CAF EMU at Bradford Forster Square |
At Leeds it was time to grab dinner from Boots before
jumping onto 185120 for the trip to Dewsbury
where I eventually found the pub I was staying in for the night, checked myself
in and dropped off things from my bag before heading back to the station with a
couple ideas in my head, eventually deciding to focus on the stations on this
line I needed for photographs. A short
wait at Dewsbury before 185131 rolled in from Huddersfield, this was quite
empty, and took me to Morley where I
noticed the rain had resumed, more of a drizzle than anything. A short wait before a Manchester Victoria
bound service rolled in, 142055 & 150111 and I was shocked to find the
pacer pretty much empty (the 150 looked busy).
Needless to say I picked the pacer as it was better than a high density
150! I took these units to Mirfield where I changed platforms. I was told the platform change at this
interchange station was “hard”, but I don’t know what all the fuss is about,
down some stairs from the Huddersfield/Brighouse bound platform, a short walk
along a road, crossing over and up some stairs to the Leeds/Wakefield bound
platform. It isn’t in the same league as
Guide Bridge for hard interchange stations, which is for sure!
185149 rolled in to take me back one stop to Ravensthorpe where I think I shocked the
guard by being a passenger alighting at this quiet station, and I had a short
wait before 185131 returned from Leeds to take me to Deighton, where I made a
mistake as I didn’t need this station (note to self, look up list of
requirements!), but never mind. A few
minutes later a late running 153328 & 153315 arrived from Castleford, a
line which had been hit by a few cancellations, and a pause outside
Huddersfield as the units went into platform 4.
My original idea was to board the 23:00 towards York, but that was
running quite late so it was back onto 185131, making use of the plug sockets
& WiFi as it departed first, called at Deighton before coming to a stop
outside Mirfield as a pacer which had been wheeled out of the sidings to work
the last Wakefield service “was having issues”.
25 minutes later, the 185 was back on the move, dropping me off at a
busy Dewsbury station, where I had a short walk back to the pub to unwind
before heading to sleep.
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| A wet Deighton |
Overall a productive day, a few more platforms scored, some
stations revisited for photographs, one more pacer cleared for ten miles (for
it will be a miracle if I get 001 & 033), my last Northern “bin” and my
last couple 333s.
24th November
The day began with a nice breakfast before checking out of
the pub for a gentle walk to the station, but I wasn’t going to be catching a
train, but a rail replacement bus. Yes
when booking I failed to carry out research and ended up with the line being
closed until around half nine, on the other hand it allows me to head to Leeds
via a different route than normally. The
08:05 Leeds bus was running around 10 minutes late and rolled in (Bus UUI 4798)
to take the awaiting crowd to outside Leeds station. After a quick scan of the platforms
highlighted nothing much of interest, I waited for the Doncaster service hoping
it would be a required 331.
Lady luck must have been looking the other direction as it
was dud 331106, the one I had a couple months ago for my first experience, ah
well. I took this 331 for the short run
to Sandal & Agbrigg returning to
Leeds on 144019 which was randomly working Leeds – Doncaster stoppers this
morning, Northern must be short on EMUs (shame they sent a couple away for
storage at Newcastle). I took this pacer
to Leeds, remaining on board for the next trip to Outwood for a short linear hop before the next Sheffield stopper
rolled in, formed of 158870 for the run to Fitzwilliam. A short fester here at Fitzwillaim (nothing
much of note around the station), before a busy 158910 rolled in from Sheffield
to take me back to Leeds once more, I must have failed to notice that these
services are now hourly on Sundays, as they used to be 2 hourly, although not
all of them call at Outwood/Sandal.
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| Luxury on the Sheffield stopping service! |
I had some unfinished business with the Leeds – Huddersfield
TPE stoppers, so it was a short connection to board 185131 (again!) to take me
a few stops to Batley, returning to
Leeds once again on 185114. I had
noticed the previous week there was a Newcastle – Liverpool service which was a
802 and that was the next service due into Leeds, so I decided to wait on
platform 16 as winner 802210 rolled
in, my first TPE 802 in the colours and they do look the business. And so for the first time (but highly likely
not the last) it was a Huddersfield leap, returning to Leeds yet again on a
busy Scarborough bound 185135. I got a
seat in the ballroom which was an extra bonus, at Leeds I had around 15 minutes
to grab something to eat from Boots before my booked train to Manchester.
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| I wonder what Felix things of all these new shiny trains passing her station? |
When I returned to the platform, that train was showing as “delayed”,
it hadn’t reported on RTT since the Hambleton junctions area, a check on the
Journey Check highlighted there had been a points failure, so I decided to
board the next Manchester Airport bound service, no announcements from the
platform staff regarding the issues which was a bit of a poor show. Thankfully I got an unreserved seat on 185111
for the trip to Manchester Piccadilly, going via Manchester Victoria which
meant a bit of new track coverage for TPE with the section between Victoria
& Stalybridge. At Piccadilly I had
some spare time before boarding 185121 to take me to Stockport to await a short
formed voyager.
Yes it was another trip to Basingstoke using multiple split
tickets on XC, and no I didn’t think of checking the price from Leeds, but £22
for Manchester – Basingstoke on a Sunday afternoon isn’t to be turned
down. This service was meant to be a
pair of voyagers, but once again it was short formed, thankfully I was smart
enough to put myself in coach F, which wasn’t really that bad on departure from
Stockport, a few empty seats which remained until Stafford. 221120 was doing the honours, as usual it got
busy at New Street, but this time didn’t really empty out until Reading, but
got busy again with Basingstoke goers. I
was glad to alight at Basingstoke, for some fresh air, as I headed to KFC for
some food (didn’t fancy a pizza as there was no decent promotions on). I sat on the bench at Basingstoke, ate the
food and used the WiFi to catch up on stuff before 159002 rolled in to take me
to Andover (featuring a good fight with a couple drunks decided someone “looked
at them”).
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| Voyager at Basingstoke |
The day started with a bus, and ended with a rail
replacement bus. Passengers for
Salisbury were told to board a double decker service bus, and the two
passengers for Grateley were told to board a nice coach (JL09 RSL) for the trip
back to Grateley, the driver going a very weird route compared to usual, and I
had my usual walk home (picking up a couple bits of rubbish along the way, as
it bugs me seeing rubbish on the side of the road).
Overall a productive weekend, certainly the next time I’m in
West Yorkshire I can focus on getting those remaining stations I need for
photographs, hopefully this time getting the connection from Huddersfield
platform 4 to the Sheffield line (I was aiming for it on the Saturday but it
got cancelled)
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22nd November – The Road to Macclesfield
I decided to have a short session on South Eastern before my
booked train to Macclesfield, mainly as that area is the largest I need for
units for mileage needs. The day began
with the 14:59 from Grateley to Waterloo with 158888 & 159012 doing the
honours, it was held at Andover for around 12 minutes due to signalling issues
(waiting for a freight train to clear a long section in front), at Waterloo it
was a gentle walk over to Waterloo East and I will summarize the moves
Waterloo East -> London Bridge, 375612, 375305 & 375613
(last of the 375/6s)
London Bridge -> Lewisham, 465235 & 465020
Lewisham -> Eltham, 465237 & 465050
Eltham -> Abbey Wood, 465928 & 465017 (very
low mileage 465/9, sat on the chord before Slade Green for ten minutes which
got boring quickly!)
Abbey Wood -> Bexley,
376020 & 376031 (also managed to grab a photograph of Crayford
when the units sat there for 5 minutes changing headcode before heading to
London)
Bexley –> London Bridge, 465920, 466036 & 465905
(a very rare triple low mileage set)
London Bridge -> Hither Green, 466010, 465192 & 465908 (mileage boosting
move for 192)
Hither Green -> Charing Cross, 466042, 465177 & 465028
Charing Cross -> London Bridge, 465902, 466043 & 465930
London Bridge -> St Pancras: 700141 (breaking my run of
low mileage units)
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| 375s passing Hither Green |
I walked across to Euston, and boarded the 21:00 to
Manchester, for it will be an end of an era for the last time I will be
departing Euston on a Virgin Trains service.
390002 was going the honours and all was going well (other than a grumpy
Milton Keynes person who can’t read the screens saying “Reserved” until Stone
when the unit lost around 8 minutes due to a late running 350, and hence
keeping up my poor record with this service of it always being late, maybe it
will be 10th time lucky in the new year! On arrival at Macclesfield, it was a short
walk across the road to check myself into the Travelodge, and a nice shower
before heading to the land of Inverkip.
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| Naked Pendo! |
Overall a productive evening in South Eastern land, 9 units
pushed over ten miles outright, with 3 more networkers given boosts to
mileages.
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