21st December – Central Scotland Rover Day 1
The day begins between Carstairs & Edinburgh when I woke
up from my sleep for the approach into Edinburgh Waverley, passing through the
station and ending up somewhere near Dunbar, for the sleeper had come to a rest
on platform 7. Dud 92043 had hauled me
for the run to Edinburgh, but I knew the odds of getting another winner 92
would be small. With time to grab some
breakfast before I headed over towards the Tweedbank train, as I decided to try
and get the stations I needed on the Borders Line done early before the trains
get mega busy (after-all it was the Saturday before Christmas, and the
Edinburgh Christmas market was in full swing).
First unit up was 158740 which I took to Shawfair, noting
there was a potential +3 connection, so over the footbridge I went and waited
for 170393 to roll in from Tweedbank to take me back underneath the wires at
Brunstane, and for a short wait for 158729/158715 to appear to take me towards
Gorebridge, a short wait before 170470 rolled up to take me to Eskbank, noting
this was a busy train. At Eskbank I had
a short wait before 170401 arrived to take me back one stop down the line to
Newtongrange, where I managed to grab my last station photograph. 158740 was back from Tweedbank and I was
expecting the worse, but it turned out to be quiet, I even had a private table
in the 2nd coach until Newcraighall!
I was expecting to have to stand for the trip back to Edinburgh so to
get a seat was a nice surprise.
 |
| A warning of cold weather! |
I met up with Dan when in Edinburgh and jumped on a low
mileage 385119 for the run to
Edinburgh Park, for a short wait before 334020 & 334028 took us one stop to
the noisy Uphall, before 334035 took us to Blackridge, with 334014 & 334040
returning us to Edinburgh, a couple more stations done for photographs (my aim
was to get the stations I needed for photographs which were within the Central
Scotland Rover area, but outside the Daytripper/Roundabout areas, and as my
remaining stations needed were at the Glasgow end they were doable on another
trip). After a visit to Boots we walked
over to platform 7 where winner 385041
was on the next North Berwick service which we took all the way to North
Berwick for a thirty minute fester before the next service arrived, with 385009
leading winner 385043 for the run
back to Edinburgh. This featured an
assistant ticket examiner who pounced on some folk straight away who had
boarded without tickets, oops.
 |
| 385041 at North Berwick |
Back at Edinburgh, with nothing better to do we decided to
jump on a Glasgow Central stopper with the aim of visiting Breich as I needed
the Edinburgh bound platform, but sadly 385005 kept on losing time so the +6 at
Breich had vanished as, so we decided to remain on board to Cleland for a
station photograph. Winner 385037 was up next to take us back
towards Edinburgh to Curriehill (including a 10 minute dwell at Shotts), with
385045 & 385031 taken back towards Glasgow to Carfin. 385026 was up next to take us to Breich where
I got the platform I needed, and a half hour wait before winner 385032 arrived from Edinburgh to take
us to Glasgow Central. I was happy
because I don’t have to do a stopping 385 via Shotts again! At Glasgow we headed to a nearby Pizza Hut,
for dinner (and I went to check into my accommodation for the next couple
nights, getting lucky with a room on the back of the building which reduces
road noise).
After I dropped Dan off at the bus station, I headed to
Glasgow Queen Street and took winner 385001
to Croy, followed by 385010 to Lenzie and a late running (required) 385021
& 385033 to Bishopbriggs, sadly the connection to the next northbound
service had been lost so faced with a thirty minute fester, I headed to a
nearby Morrisons for some drink. I have
no idea what happened to 385021 as 385033 returned on its own, so it was back
to Queen Street on the return of 385001, where it was a case of dodge the
drunks heading home, for it was nearly time for the last trains. I crashed in the private room at the hostel
and reflected on a good day.
 |
| HST at Queen Street |
--------------------------
22nd December – Central Scotland Rover, Day 2
I had a few options at what to do this morning, deciding on
doing some of the stations needed for photographs on the Airdrie line before
heading further afield, so it was a gentle walk to Queen Street to board an
Edinburgh bound 334006 & 334004 to take me to Garrowhill, returning to
Carntyne on 334011 & 334033 before 334010 & 334003 took me to
Shettleston, with 334023 & 334024 taken back to Queen Street where I headed
up to the high level station to board a 170+158 which was on the Aberdeen
bound. Sadly due to an incident around
Larbert, all trains heading in that direction had been cancelled, so it was
onto another plan, as I took a seat on 385043 & 385009 for the trip to Linlithgow,
going via Cumbernauld (engineering works on the line via Croy). As this was the final Edinburgh train going
via Cumbernauld, it meant I only had a 15 minute wait at Linlithgow for 385118
& 385123 to take me to Haymarket, where we run in alongside a pair of 170s
from Dundee, the front unit ringing a bell as being required for mileage.
I popped out of the station to grab lunch from a nearby
Co-Op before returning, noticing a diverted Perth – Edinburgh service (I assume
it ran non-stop from Perth to Haymarket via Ladybank due to the issues at
Larbert) and the rear 170 also rang a bell as being required for mileage. Plans formed in my head as I waited for the
Dundee train to arrive. 170429 was
leading low mileage 170425 which I took to Inverkeithing, the rearmost
coach being lightly loaded as this pair departed from platform 1 at Edinburgh. At Inverkeithing I had two options, either
wait for the other 170 to return from Edinburgh (for it was on the Fife Circle
services), or see what 800 rolled in from Aberdeen. That 800 was winner 800112 which I took to Haymarket, once I managed to get on board
(for it was very busy). Sadly due to the
delay it missed an unofficial connection with a Glenrothes service which I was
going to use to intercept that 170 in Fife.
 |
| 800112 departs Haymarket |
I decided to take 334024 & 334023 for the run into
Edinburgh, and a short break, before returning to South Gyle on 158727 &
170418 and a short fester before 170411 popped up to take me to Dalmeny and
another short fester (might as well get these two stations out of the way)
before low mileage 170407 rolled in with 170415 on the rear, back to
Edinburgh. I was quite pleased I got my
last two Scottish 170s needed for mileage, as it means no more keeping my eyes
peeled for them. The next Aberdeen bound
800 wasn’t needed and nothing else was of interest within the station, so I
decided to jump on 170393 for the run to Dunfemline Town, returning to
Edinburgh on 170415 & 170407 (again!).
The Inverness bound LNER was running late, and sadly the
Dunblane stopper was put out first so it was time to make an adjustment to my
plan as winner 800105 rolled in from
London to take me to Stirling (running on electric). I had a short fester at Stirling before the
next Alloa service which was 385035 leading winner 385044 for the short run
to Alloa, where I visited the nearby Asda for a snack before returning to the
station with 385044 & 385035 taken to Larbert. Swapping over platforms and back to Stirling
on a pair of winners on the next Alloa service, 385008 & 385039, not
cleared for ten miles but the 8 miles is a good start. It was a short wait at Stirling for a random
Perth terminating service formed of 170413 & 170411, these lightly loaded
units took me to Bridge of Allan and I had an extended fester due to a late
running Inverness – Glasgow train before 385007 took me to Linlithgow, the
train getting very busy at Stirling from that unit from Inverness.
 |
| 385s at Alloa, last time I came here it was covered in snow! |
I swapped platforms at Linlithgow and boarded a busy 385041
to Falkirk Grahamston, returning to Edinburgh on 385033. I had hoped to grab Falkirk Grahamston from
the Inverness LNER but it was behind the Dunblane stopper earlier, hence why I
needed to go back, otherwise it would have been an annoying gap. At Edinburgh I visited a nearby McDonalds for
dinner before heading to platform 8-9 where a late running XC HST mopped up a
lot of the waiting passengers for Motherwell & Glasgow Central, before
winner 801209 arrived to take me to
Glasgow Central, being my first 9 coach 801 and also marks off a bit more of
the LNER network map (for I had Edinburgh to Motherwell on a 91 a few years ago
when I changed for the XC which goes via the Edinburgh Sub). This 801 was very lightly loaded, which made
a nice change from the last few busy trains, it certainly put on some speed as
it attempted to regain some lost time.
 |
| A 801 at Glasgow Central |
At Glasgow Central, I wasn’t quite ready to call it a night,
as I headed to the low level platforms with 318268/320317 taken to Exhibition
Centre before 320311 & 318251 took me back to Glasgow Central. I headed back to the hostel, relaxed and
reflected on another good day in Scotland.
--------------
23rd December – Central Scotland Rover Day 3
I was booked on the sleeper back to London so I had the full
day to do stuff, a later start due to the rover not being valid until after
9am, as I checked out of the hostel into the rain and to Glasgow Central where
385015 took me to Uddingston before a pair of winners in the shape of 385046 & 385040 rolled in to take
me to Carluke for a short fester before 380113 arrived to take me to Carstairs
for a platform score. Carstairs makes
for a good station to spot at, although it is a bit bleak in terms of facilities.
 |
| Freight at Carstairs |
Winner 385023
arrived from Edinburgh which took me to Motherwell (where I met up with Dan)
and we headed over to platform 4 for 320411 to take us to Cumbernauld,
returning on the same unit to Greenfaulds.
A short fester at this park & ride station before 385107 rolled in
from Edinburgh to take us to the newest station on the network in the shape of Robroyston. The station itself is basic, and is more a
park & ride site as it’s near to the motorway network. It wasn’t long before 385028 & 385043
arrived from Glasgow to take us to Gartcosh, with a light shower as we headed
over to the opposite platform for 385037 for the tiny leap to Stepps, returning
towards Falkirk on 385107.
 |
| Robroyston, Tick |
 |
| Somewhere under the rainbow... |
We remained on this 385 to Haymarket, turning down a Perth
bound 170, in exchange for a Glenrothes bound 170403 which we took to Dalgety
Bay, returning to Inverkeithing on 158735 where me and Dan parted ways for he
didn’t fancy an afternoon full of 170 based fun. For me 170408 was up next on a Cowdenbeath
terminator, where I made the most of the time to visit a nearby Morrisons for a
late lunch, before returning to the station with 170432 taken to Cardenden
before 170426 took me back one stop to Lochgelly. This is the time of day the timetable goes a
bit strange as these two stations are normally hourly served, but the unit
which would turn back at Glenrothes continues on the inner circle, meaning I
had a thirty minute wait before 170450 arrived to take me to Dunfermline Queen
Margaret.
A short 15 minute (or so) fester before I heard 68016
rolling in on the Fife commuter set which I took a seat in the leading coach
for the trip towards Glenrothes, continuing to Burntisland, my last station in
Fife needed for a photograph (and last station needed in the Central Scotland
rover area which wasn’t covered by the Glasgow area tickets). A tight connection at Burntisland saw me onto
170430 for one stop to Kinghorn before 170428 took me to Kirkcaldy. A short wait at Kirkclady before 170426
reappeared to take me back towards Edinburgh, the time I spent sitting in first
class catching up with bits on the tablet.
I was looking at RTT to give me ideas at what to do next,
where I noticed the Stirling LNER service was running late and a connection
would be available at Haymarket. I was
expecting an Azuma so I was surprised when 91128 rolled in (with 82212 on the
rear), and with nothing better to do I decided to board for the novelty of a 91
loco to Stirling (as it probably would be the only time I would get the chance). Local door only at Falkirk Grahamston before
the loco continued to Stirling, just a bit of a novelty to arrive behind an
electric loco!
 |
| 91128 rests at Stirling |
The next Edinburgh bound service wasn’t of interest, but in
the bays was a low mileage 385039 which I took to Croy (as the Edinburgh
bound service due to follow also wasn’t of interest). At Croy it was a short wait before 385116
& 385115 arrived to take me back to Edinburgh, the final Scotrail service
of the trip, as there was nothing else of interest around the station, so it
was to a nearby KFC for dinner, relaxing on the concourse before I made my way
across to the sleeper with 92033 hauling the Edinburgh portion to
Carstairs. The Edinburgh seats were
quite busy considering it would arrive in London on Christmas Eve, I will admit
to getting thrown at Carstairs as I was expecting to be behind the loco, but
the Glasgow portion was behind the loco, which was 92038. In a way I was glad as the 92s can be quite
loud at full speed. I swapped over to a
pair of seats after Carlisle just to spread out a bit more, and ended up
getting some good sleep.
On reflection, I revisited a few stations needed for
photographs in Central Scotland, got a few more Azumas ticked off, along with
some more 385s, sadly my next trip north of the Border probably won’t be until
April time as there is a rumoured multiday BLS tour.
 |
| 68016 at Glenrothes with Thornton. Purr Purr |
------------
24th December – A short day in London
As I had a deadline to be home for 3pm due to a family
related event, it meant having to come home on the 13:20 service from Waterloo,
which gave me a couple options at what to do for the few hours I had in London
after arriving around 06:50 on the sleeper.
In the end I decided to do some station photographs staying within zones
1-3. So after grabbing breakfast from
Sainsburys it was to the London Overground platforms with 378232 taken to South
Hampstead with a 15 minute wait for 710263 to Willesden Junction. I made a tight connection to a late running
low mileage 378228 on a Stratford service to take me to Gospel Oak.
 |
| Disused platforms at South Hampstead |
710105 was up first to take me to Crouch Hill returning to Upper Holloway on winner 710260,
before 710268 arrived to take me to South
Tottenham and a short fester with 710260 returning from Gospel Oak
which took me to Wanstead Park, where
I made use of the 15 minute gap before the next train to walk to Forest Gate
station for a photograph (not needed, but gave a gap in the oyster
system). Back at Wanstead Park it was
one stop to Woodgrange Park with 710266
to clear the Gospel Oak – Barking line for photographs, and a gentle walk to Manor Park with 315847/315829 taken a
couple stops to Maryland and a ten
minute wait before 345044 rolled in to take me to Stratford, which was an ideal
place to break my journey and have a PNB in a nearby shopping centre.
Back at Stratford, it was onto the Jubilee line with
96104/96017 taken to Canada Water, heading upstairs to jump on 378233 to take
me to Brockley for a short linear
fester before 378139 arrived to take me to Sydenham,
and another short fester before 377440 & 377153 arrived to take me to Crystal Palace where I made use of the
extended dwell to head over to platform 1 for 455825 & 455837 to take me
the short distance to Gipsy Hill before
377440 & 377153 arrived to take me to Streatham
Hill.
 |
| 377s depart Streatham Hill |
I had another short break before 377324, 377312 & 377460
rolled in to take me to Clapham Junction, walking over to platform 1 for a busy
378218 to Imperial Wharf followed
shortly by 377212 & 377206 to West
Brompton and a short wait before 378222 arrived to take me back to Clapham
Junction, where I exited the oyster network for the final time of the trip,
changing over to paper tickets as I made my way over to platform 9. I was at the front of a lightly loaded 159103,
with 159108 & 159014 bringing up the other two units for the run back home
to Grateley, where after a gentle walk home I could relax.
Overall a productive few hours in London, I only need a
couple of the 378 served stations for photographs (on the West Croydon route),
plus a handful of the LO stations from Liverpool Street, I wish I could have
stayed for longer to make the most of the oyster capping but it wasn’t to be.
 |
| Imperial Wharf Station |
No comments:
Post a Comment