12th December – The Only Way is Braintree/Southminster

12^th December – The Only Way is Braintree/Southminster

 

This was another trip I threw together within the last couple weeks as I did have a plan to head towards Yorkshire, staying in Bradford overnight with the hope of clearing Northern for station pictures, but hotels have to close in tier 3 so a change of plan was needed.  To avoid wasting the advance ticket to Bradford I shifted it to the 2^nd January (for the lack of a better idea for a day trip).  After looking at potential options I noticed this weekend Greater Anglia had no engineering work taking place so after a quick play with RTT a plan was thrown together to allow me to revisit a couple of the Essex branchlines.

 

The day began with the 05:24 service from Grateley (it felt like a good idea at the time to save on the cost of a hotel!); this took me all the way into Waterloo, where I made my way across to Liverpool Street (Northern line to Tottenham Court Road for a 6 minute (!) wait for a busy Central line (seemed to be running every 5 minutes this morning).  My first Greater Anglia train of the trip was a dud 745 on a Norwich service which took me to Chelmsford, before a former Northern 321 (and another 321) took me the short leap to Witham, where I changed onto the branch line platform for a single 321 to the remote Cressing (which had people waiting for it both ways!), doubling back to a quiet White Notley.

 

The quiet White Notley

 

30 (or so) minutes later (thankfully White Notley had a nice bench under cover as it was a bit damp), another pair of 321s arrived to take me to the shopping centre station of Braintree Freeport, where I had a gentle walk towards the main station, via Tesco for some lunch supplies and also by the entrance to the Flitch Way (a path towards Bishop Stortford which mostly runs along the old railway formation, something to go onto my “to-do” list at some point.  Next up for me was on another pair of 321s which took me to Shenfield, changing over to the Southend branch for a service to Wickford changing over to the Southminster line.  I spotted a former Northern 322 working a London service, which looks a bit out of place!

 

"Welcome aboard this Northern Electrics service to London Liverpool Street"

 

The unit on the Southminster train took me to a wet Burnham on Crouch, for a short wait before it returned to the remote Althorne.  A short wait before the 2^nd unit on this branch line took me to the end of the line at Southminster, for a short turnaround before heading back towards North Fambridge, the passing loop on this otherwise single track line so a 40 minute wait.  I noticed on the “onward travel connections” map there was a round trip possible so I had a time wasting walk via a couple slightly muddy footpaths (probably not the best idea considering what the weather has been like for the last couple days!), a foot crossing of the line before returning to the station via the road.  I did notice another poster advertising a riverside walk towards Althorne (which looking at the map continues towards Burnham) which also goes onto my to-do list as it looks interesting.

 

Passing Dusty Bins at North Fambridge

 

The 321 returned from Southminster to take me to Battlesbridge for one more double back to South Woodham Ferrers in the pouring rain, thankfully it wasn’t too long to wait before the other 321 arrived to take me back to Wickford, clearing the line.  Crossing over to the London bound platform to board a pair of units from Southend to take me to Billericay for a 20 minute wait (nice waiting room with a sofa) before another pair took me to Shenfield where I bailed onto a pair of 360s from Colchester for what will likely be my last trip on a 360 from Shenfield towards Stratford.

 

At Stratford it was a short wait to the Jubilee line platforms for a 5 minute wait before the first departure (I boarded in the front carriage and that got busy after Canada Water).  Talking about Covid, is the wearing of masks optional in Essex? (Solely based on the percentage of those not wearing a mask because “the virus only kills old people”, quoting some youngsters which I overheard).  Anyhow at Waterloo and a case of boarding the first train towards Basingstoke, which was a Wareham bound pair of 444s, fast to Basingstoke after Clapham (speedy!), swinging via the nearby KFC for dinner before boarding an Exeter bound pair of 159s to Andover, solely to waste time and to have a look at the bridge strengthening works.

 

Back at Andover station it was a short wait before the stopper rolled in from Basingstoke to take me the final 6 (and a bit) miles to Grateley, the end of another trip.  I was going to have a farewell to the 332s on Heathrow Express, but the timings didn’t work out as I didn’t want to stay out too late (the days a couple years ago when I was younger and could do the 05:25 service to London, do something before heading home on the 23:40 are gone.  As for station requirements for photographs, for Greater Anglia land it is down to Marks Tey, a few on the Clacton/Walton branch, Dovercourt plus a couple on the Ipswich – Lowestoft line, which with any luck will be visited on the 23^rd/24^th December.

 

A foot crossing of the Southminster branch near North Fambridge

5th & 6th December. Dawlish, Ivybridge & Nutbourne

A post lockdown return to the rails (again)

So the 4 week lockdown has ended, so after 3 nice walks in the Andover area (plus a trip to Salisbury in the rain to get some shopping) it was time to head back to the rails.

 

Originally this weekend would have been a long weekend staying overnight in Stockport, but due to the current restrictions where Stockport is in the highest level with hotels having to close that plan went into the bin.  After looking up various options I decided to head to Devon to get an awkward station done, but a walk along the Dawlish sea wall (which had been on my list of things to do for a while).

 

Nice to be back

 

5^th December – A trip to Devon

 

The day began with the 07:52 service from Grateley (car park had a mere 4 vehicles in) to take me to Sherborne, after an extended wait at Gillingham allowing me time to grab a photograph.  The next Exeter train was delayed (due to a late running Exeter – London service, such is the joy of the single track sections on the line west of Salisbury), so I missed my hopeful connection with a XC HST.

 

As the station was a bit cold I jumped onto a Paignton bound pair of 150s to take me to Newton Abbot where I had a short wait before a Cornwall bound 158 arrived to take me a couple stops to the awkward Ivybridge, annoyingly this 158 was before a late running Plymouth bound IET which I had wanted to take to Totnes to grab a photograph of that station.  I met up with a good friend who was down this neck of the woods on a holiday which made the time at Ivybridge go fast (made faster with the unusual event of having 2x IET sets changing drivers at the station).

Driver change in an unusual location

 

 My next move was on a Castle HST set to take us back to Newton Abbot for a short wait before a 143+150 combo to Dawlish, which is likely to be my final pacer move on the mainline in England as the GWR 143s are due to be retired at the end of this week, bounce no more.  Due to the works around Dawlish with the new wall being installed part of the footpath was closed meaning a walk along the road before joining the path at the first available point.

 

A couple things which jumped out at me when we walked along the wall is there is a large drop one side with no protection and the wall between the path & the railway isn’t the tallest, in the climate of health & safety overkill it was a refreshing change.  We managed to take a couple pictures of passing trains before reaching Dawlish Warren.  I would recommend walking the wall, although maybe wait until the works are complete so you can access it at the Dawlish station end.

 

Sprinters passing the Dawish sea wall

 

 

 

It was onto another pair of 150s to take us to Exeter St Thomas where my plan changed due to the next Waterloo train being cancelled from Exeter (started at Yeovil) [as I was going to walk to Exeter Central via the Tesco for some dinner supplies].  So it was a short fester at the forgotten Exeter station before the next Paignton train took me to Starcross, saying farewell to my friend before a short wait before the following train to take me to Exeter Central to grab some dinner supplies before a busy pair of 159s took me to Yeovil Junction, doubling back on the next service to Crewkerne for a short fester at this quiet station.

 

My last train of the trip was a 158+159 combo to take me direct to Grateley, and it was quite quiet onboard, like most of the trains have been.

 

An IET passing Starcross

 

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6^th December – Going Nutty

 

The idea for today was to revisit the handful of stations I needed in Hampshire, plus the couple on the line towards Chichester, having changed ideas from visiting East Sussex.  It was an early morning drive to Romsey to catch the delayed 08:38 service to Southampton Central where I had a 40-odd minute wait before the next Portsmouth stopper would depart (had it been warmer I would have wasted the time and walked across to Woolston, but it was quite cold, and the doors on the warm 450 were unlocked).

 

I took this 450 to the quiet Bursledon returning to Bitterne (which wasn’t so quiet) before the following stopper took me to the industrial Hilsea, where I returned to Cosham to board the next Southern service to take me to Havant, where I exited the station to have a short walk to Warblington, where I was surprised at how soon the barriers dropped for the train (it was a good 5 minutes before it was due).

 

Warblington station

 

The next Brighton train soon arrived which took me to Nutbourne, and I had a short walk along a nearby road to take me to Southbourne, arriving a bit earlier than expected allowing me to take the Portsmouth train from London to Portsmouth & Southsea for a short wait before a GWR Turbo took me to Portsmouth Harbour.  Another short wait before a 377 took me to Fratton (where in the process of trying to get a photograph of the new footbridge/life combo spotted some youths attempting to bypass the gateline by jumping the night gate.

 

Anyhow it was soon onto a 444 to take me to Hedge End, a station I will probably return to next year as there seems to be some interesting looking paths (judging by the map), but my time was short before the next train took me back to Botley, which featured some bored looking youths smoking/drinking in the waiting shelter.  Thankfully my time here wasn’t for long before the next train took me to Eastleigh, passing an old EMR HST and an old Northern 142 in the sidings to the south of the station.

 

When 2 units become 1 at Eastleigh

 

My time at Eastleigh was short and soon a very quiet 158 rolled in to take me to Romsey via Chandler’s Ford, where I shifted my car from near the station to a car park in the town centre (yes I’m lazy) in order to walk into the town centre to pick up a takeaway pizza (part treat, part needing something hot), before driving home, and relaxing for the remainder of the evening.

 

I am happy with the only SWR stations I need are Upwey near Weymouth plus 3 stations on the Salisbury – Exeter line, with the only station needed on the Havant – Brighton line being Fishersgate.  It was nice to get back on the rails after a month away, plans might change due to the restrictions as things are fast moving, i.e. if London goes tier 3 I will need to change my plans for that week between Christmas & New Year as I've got a couple hotels booked solely as rail replacement bus reduction services as my local line has no trains between Christmas Day & the 3rd January due to bridge works in Andover.

31st October & 1st November – A trip into Southern diesel land

 31^st October & 1^st November – A trip into Southern diesel land

No overnight stays for me this weekend, home both nights (with a lazy day on Friday), originally I was going to have the Sunday off as a day of rest, but due to the announcement on Saturday that lockdown was returning I decided to head out, as I am see more days of rest happening in the next 4 weeks (especially if the weather remains poor).  It was time to switch my focus away from the north, and to the south where the majority of my required stations for photographs were located (in England).

 

31^st October – Coastways

 

The idea of today was to linear hop along the south coast, with an early morning drive to Romsey, having to park in a council run car park due to the inability to pay for parking at the station car park unless you used “RingGo” (a company I do not trust).  An empty 166 rolled in from Westbury to take me to Fareham, going via Eastleigh for the novelty factor (engineering works in the Southampton area), where I did some linear hops to Porchester, then to Cosham, before a longer trip to West Worthing, walking back to Durrington on Sea before the next London train took me to East Worthing.

 

A 30 minute break allowed me time to visit a nearby Tesco Express for some supplies before returning to the trains with another 377 taken to Southwick before a busier unit took me to Brighton, changing over to platform 8, linear hopping to Moulsecoomb where it started to rain, before a 313 took me one stop to Falmer before another 377 took me to Pevensey & Westham (via Eastbourne, where I managed to get a couple photos).  A delayed service to Ore from London was following close behind the Brighton – Ore service which I took to Cooden Beach before a 171 took me to Ham Street.

 

A 313 departs Falmer

 

Another break (although the poor weather meant I was more restricted to the shelter) before the same 171 returned from Ashford to take me to Rye where I managed to connect with the next Ashford train (which lost around 7 minutes between Bexhill & Hastings) allowing me to head back towards Appledore for another 30 minute break, listening to the rain coming down.  The 171 returned which took me to Bexhill (originally it was going to be Cooden Beach but I got that earlier in the day).

 

A 171 at Rye

 

A short break before I was back on the electrics with a Victoria service taken to Eastbourne where it attached with another unit to take me to Polegate for a short wait before a Brighton service took me all the way into Brighton, where I popped out of the station to dash to a nearby Tesco for more supplies, this time for dinner, before returning to Brighton station for a short leap to Hove before a fast walk along the streets to reach the bleak Aldrington station to catch a delayed Littlehampton service, arriving into Lancing.

 

A couple minutes later the Southampton train arrived to take me to Goring By Sea, followed by another short wait before the next Littlehampton service took me to Angmering before the next train took me to Chichester for a short wait before an empty unit for Southampton arrived from London to take me to Cosham, where I changed onto a 165+166 combo to head back to Romsey, once more going via Eastleigh.  I made use of a few minutes dwell at the station to grab a couple photos.

 

Thames Turbos at Eastleigh

 

I arrived at Romsey, for a quiet drive home, ending the day an hour earlier than I had expected due to making that connection at Rye.  A good day (other than the wet weather, making looking out of the window a bit hard at times), certainly my list of stations on the coastway lines have come down.

 

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1^st November – Uckfield & Edenbridge

 

For my final day trip for at least a month (assuming leisure travel is allowed again at the end of the 4 weeks period), I decided to head towards the Uckfield line, as I could tick off the stations I needed from Purley towards Edenbridge (on the Tonbridge line) as well.

 

First time in a while it was a pair of 159s on the 07:36 service from Grateley taking me to Clapham Junction, where thanks to it arriving a few minutes early due to the Sunday timetable (timed for a 2-track railway) I made a connection to a triple 377 on the next East Grinstead service which took me to Oxted, slipping on the rails.  Slightly funny with the display in the coach I was in was telling passengers about a closure of the lines into Victoria which happened back in February!

 

A short connection at Oxted before the 171 arrived from East Croydon which took me to Buxted for a short wait before returning to take me to Eridge (where I note a new path is being built to create step-free access).  Another short wait at the home of the Spa Valley Railway before a pair of 2 coach 171s arrived to take me to the end of the line at Uckfield, returning me back to Crowborough for an hour fester (where I visited a nearby Sainsburys, deciding it wasn’t worth attempting to visit the Tesco as I had a picture it would be busy).  Returning to the station I was treated with a pair of 73s passing working a RHTT.

 

A pair of 73s passing Crowborough.

 

The 171 returned from Uckfield to take me to Edenbridge Town where I had a gentle walk along the road to reach the other station in Edenbridge, with a 377 taken to Nutfield for another short wait before the 377 returned to take me to Godstone for another short wait before the other 377 on Reigate – Tonbridge services returned from Tonbridge to take me to Redhill where I had a tight connection from platform 0 to platform 2 to reach a Thameslink service to take me the one stop to Merstham.

 

A 700 departs Merstham

 

Another short 30 minute wait before a low mileage 700 arrived from Three Bridges to take me to East Croydon, changing over to a trio of 377s from East Grinstead (the same trio I had earlier in the day) to Clapham Junction, where I jumped onto a triple 450 to Woking (mainly for the novelty of terminating in platform 1 due to engineering works), before a pair of 159s took me to Andover for another short fester (I prefer waiting around at Andover than Basingstoke as it’s more peaceful).  My final train before lockdown was a pair of 158s from Reading which took me the 6 and a half miles to Grateley for a gentle walk home.

 

Overall a successful day revisiting stations for photographs, another part of the Southern network cleared.  With any luck come 2^nd December the lockdown will be relaxed to allow leisure travel as the next 4 weeks are going to be hard for me mentally, especially if the weather is crap.

 

Walking in the countryside in the warm summer months where the ground is dry is different to walking in the countryside with a strong chilly breeze and rain, where the ground is muddy in places.  I just need to try and get a few things which were booked up cancelled or rearranged.  For the meanwhile, try and keep safe and hopefully the lockdown will only last 4 weeks.  Although I might need some bread from the Sainsburys in Salisbury at some point ;)

23rd October – 25th October. Flirting in Suffolk & Norfolk

 23^rd October – 25^th October.  Flirting in Suffolk & Norfolk

 

A couple months or so ago I was randomly checking prices for hotels in the Ipswich area with the idea of doing the connection between platform 3 and the main-line at Marks Tey, which only gets used by the first & last Sudbury trains of the day, the last train gives a couple options to get back to Ipswich (which is a lot cheaper than staying in Colchester).  I booked a couple nights in the Easy Hotel located around 15 minutes from the station, with the idea on the Saturday & Sunday to do some of my required stations in the Anglia Plus area, plus a couple little bits.

 

Friday 23^rd October

The trip began with the 15:59 service to London Waterloo, swinging via Tesco for some supplies (including a 2 week out of date biscuit bar which I only noticed on the Saturday) before the Jubilee line took me to Stratford before a pair of 321s took me to Ingatestone for some linear hopping.  A short wait before a pair of 317s took me to Hatfield Peverel for another short wait for a pair of busy 321s to Colchester, changing onto my first 745/1 (the Stansted Express layout) for the run to Ipswich, getting welcomed with the sound of a 37 on a RHTT service in the through line.

 

I headed towards the quiet town centre (for it was like a ghost town) and got checked into the hotel, before returning to the station to board a seemingly random Peterborough – Colchester service for the novelty of a 755 to Colchester from the north, needless to say I had a private coach on this 3 coach unit (and saw only one other passenger in the middle coach).  On arrival into Colchester, the station was in a state of chaos due to an incident at Chelmsford (RIP) with nothing going south until further notice so I decided to abandon my journey towards Sudbury and head back on the first train heading back towards Ipswich (which was a 745 from Norwich which got terminated at Colchester to form a short notice Colchester – Norwich train).

 

 

A 755 at Colchester

 Back at Ipswich, it was a short walk back to the hotel where I relaxed for the evening.  Writing this has reminded me I need to send my tickets into SWR for a refund due to the disruption.  These things happen; somebody lost their life which puts my issue of missing out on rare track as low.

 

Saturday 24^th October

An early start (well 06:55, which compared to previous Saturdays is late!) from Ipswich for a service towards Felixstowe to revisit Trimley for a photograph before returning to Ipswich for some breakfast from Greggs (not like I had many other options available) before a run to Wickham Market (which had I known now has a delightful looking café in the station building would have used for food).  A short wait at Wickham Market for the same unit to return to take me to Melton for a short wait before the next train to take me to Saxmundham where it terminated due to engineering works.

 

Work in progress at Saxmundham

 

The replacement bus was an unbranded (former London) double decker bus (LK04 NLZ) and I got a seat on the top deck for the run towards Oulton Broad South station for a few photographs before walking to Oulton Broad North, catching the next Norwich service to the remote Haddiscoe station returning towards Lowestoft on the next service.  A short wait at Lowestoft before the unit headed back towards Norwich where I had a short break for lunch from the nearby Morrisons.

 

Back at Norwich station it was onto 755335 which I had earlier in the day to Haddiscoe as the run to Brundall would be enough to clear it for ten miles, returning to Norwich on another 755 which I remained on board as it formed the next Great Yarmouth train going via Acle and into platform 4 as it returned towards Norwich via Berney Arms, which is the first time along that line for a couple years.  2 passengers boarded at the isolated Berney Arms and I alighted at Reedham for a 40 minute wait for the next Norwich service from Lowestoft to take me back to Norwich.

 

A 755 at the Yarmouth of Greatness

 

My original (revised) plan needed to change due to EMR falling over with the cancelation of the 17:50 Nottingham service which would call at March so a quick play on RTT after a visit to Morrisons for dinner items saw me onto a required 745 for the run to Ipswich, changing onto a Peterborough train for the long run to March, changing over to the opposite platform for a XC service to Ely for a ~ 40 minute fester for the same 755 to return from Peterborough to take me back towards Stowmarket for a short wait before a required 745 arrived to take me the 11 miles back to Ipswich, for a gentle walk back to the hotel and relaxing for the remainder of the evening.

 

Big Red Double Decker

 

Sunday

 

I checked out of the hotel and headed to the station (via McDonalds for a lovely sausage muffin) to board the first Cambridge bound train of the day, which I took all the way to Cambridge, remaining on the same unit for its return leg back towards Bury St Edmunds for this is an off-pattern departure which is booked to use the platform loop at Dullingham so the next Cambridge train can pass, sadly my attempt at a photo of the Cambridge train passing came to nothing as it was speedy.

 

This is a loop I attempted to do back in February time but got bowled out with the first Cambridge – Ipswich train getting cancelled due to overrunning engineering works around the Ipswich area so I was glad to get the loop done.  Anyhow at Bury it was a short wait for another 755 back towards Cambridge (and my luck with required 4 coach 755s on this trip has been bad!).  A trip to a nearby Co-Op to grab lunch before heading to the next King’s Lynn service (getting shocked to see a 3 coach 755 being used on the Cambridge -> Cambridge North GA shuttles to connect with replacement buses for Audley End, as I would have pictured that being a 379, or even a 317).

 

It's never dull at Dullingham

 

A quiet 387 was waiting on platform 7 (engineering works everywhere today!) which I took to Littleport for a short wait, making use of the new entrance to the southbound platform as the barrow crossing has been closed due to the northbound platform getting extended to allow 8 coach units to call.  A busier 387 arrived from Kings Lynn which I took back to Ely, changing over to a required 755/4 on the next Ely – Ipswich service which I took all the way to Ipswich where it would be a replacement bus to Stansted Airport as means to escape, as pretty much the entire line from Liverpool Street to Ipswich was closed today!

 

Littleport station

 

Outside Ipswich station it was a choice of 2 double deck coaches, I picked the first option which was an older bus (V66 SUN) by Barker Bus, slightly unusual with the entrance door being nearer the rear, but I managed to bag the prime seat at the front of the bus for excellent views of the trip out of Ipswich, then onto the A12 before the A120 to reach Stansted Airport with time to spare before the next Stansted Express service.  Annoyingly it was the same 745/1 I had on Friday evening but never mind, my red pen will come back out to play another time.

 

A big Flirt at Stansted Airport

 

I took this service to Tottenham Hale, changing over to the Victoria Line (first time I think I’ve used the direct passageway link) for the run to Oxford Circus, changing over to a busy Bakerloo for the run to Paddington.  First option (out of 3) was a 802 for Plymouth (via Bristol) which I took to Reading, changing over to a pair of 158s on the Salisbury stopping service for the speedy run back home, for a walk home.

16th – 18th October, Whitby, North East & a mystery tour on a 802

16^th – 18^th October, Whitby & North East

A couple months ago I booked up a night in a Premier Inn in Middlesbrough on the Friday night, getting my advance on Grand Central at the same time; the idea was to revisit a few stations I needed in that area plus have a bus ride to Whitby for a little walk around the seaside town.  My original idea was to stay overnight in Newcastle on the Saturday and make my slow way back to London via Carlisle & the Cumbrian Coast line; however a few weeks ago I decided to look up prices of hotels in the Manchester area.  Little did I know that the Covid cases in Manchester would sky rocket so was a case of taking extra care when I was in the city.

 

Friday 16^th October

 

The trip started with the 15:59 service from Grateley to Woking, changing onto a pair of 444s for the following leg to Clapham Junction.  As I had some time to play with I was being a bit creative with my route taken for my oyster card so it was over to platform 17 just to see which 377s would roll in to head towards Milton Keynes and I was quite happy my last 377 for mileage was on the rear.  Sadly due to an issue with a rail around Harrow & Wealdstone, London Northwestern had done their usual and threw in the towel in providing any sort of service so I had to bail at Wembley Central for a 710 all the way into Euston. 

 

My original idea was based around the return of a triple 319 from Watford Junction to Euston, just for some motor noise.  Anyhow at Euston it was a short walk via Sainsburys to reach Kings Cross where the Sunderland bound 180 was waiting to take me towards Eaglescliffe changing onto a 156 for Middlesbrough.  Loadings of the Grand Central service in my coach was low, emptied out at York replaced with some drinkers returning home to Middlesbrough after an afternoon/evening on the alcohol, boosting they had no tickets.

 

For an open access operator whose main source of income is from ticket sales, I am still very surprised the guards on Grand Central are not checking tickets; they must be losing out on some revenue from the “pay when challenged” travellers.  Anyhow arrival into Middlesbrough was on time, a good dozen were waiting for the final train towards Saltburn, but walking through the town was quite spooky, the places where in the past would be buzzing were silent, no groups of smokers outside the pub doors etc.  Anyhow I located the Premier Inn, got checked in and relaxed for the short time I had before sleep, usual Premier Inn standard of room, a touch of road noise from the road outside but nothing major.

 

Late night at Eaglescliffe

 

Saturday 17^th

 

An early start (thankfully not as early as previous weeks) as I checked out of the hotel and headed to Middlesbrough station for the 2^nd Whitby service of the day (the 1^st is that very early morning ‘fast’ service which only calls at a couple stations along the way).  There was a small number of passengers waiting for the 156 to be unlocked, and I was happy for it was a low mileage 156 (only one more to try and locate).

 

I took this 156 to Great Ayton where I was the only person around the station for the 25 minutes wait for another 156 to take me back to Middlesbrough where I headed out in search of breakfast.  Nice station Great Ayton, although the picnic area was a bit overgrown.  After returning to the station at Middlesbrough it was onto the next Saltburn train to take me to Marske for a short wait before another Saltburn service arrived (completely empty) for the final leg to Saltburn itself.

 

156s at Saltburn

 

After a swing via the supermarket, I headed towards the bus stop to await the next X4 bus service (which the ranger I was using was valid on).  It was a lightly loaded bus going via such places as Brotton, Loftus & Boulby (following the single track freight line towards the Potash mines).  Some good views of the sea were had around Sandsend before the bus headed inland to terminate at the bus station at Whitby.  A nice little run from Saltburn, certainly one I would recommend.  Anyhow I had around 90 minutes to waste before the next train so I headed towards the swing bridge before the beach front, walking along one of the piers to the river mouth. 

 

The weather was beautiful and the town was busy with tourists, certainly a nice town to explore with some history.

 

Whitby in October.

 

Anyhow back to the trains, and I headed to the station to have some lunch with a heritage train on platform 2 (job for next year is to try and do that line towards Pickering) before the 156 arrived from Middlesbrough.  It looked quite busy judged on the number of passengers getting off, but the return was lightly loaded, at some point along the way I had a private coach.  I do like the Esk Valley line as it has some beautiful views along the way, one of my favourite lines in England.

 

I alighted from the 156 at Marton for a short walk along a footpath (covered with litter) to reach James Cook where I nearly got run over by an idiotic cyclist riding like a bat out of hell over a footbridge with a blind summit (there are signs saying “cyclists must dismount” at either end, but we all know some cyclists cannot read).  Back at the station and it was a short wait on a nice bench for another 156 to take me to Gypsy Lane for a short wait before another 156 (surprisingly that!) took me back to Middlesbrough.

 

Another line complete for station photographs, just leaving a couple in North Yorkshire to hopefully do in December time, assuming we are still allowed to travel (I’m dreading if another lockdown comes, as I don’t think my mental health will cope, especially as the days are getting short and weather turning more cold & wet meaning less chance of being able to escape for a nice walk in the countryside).  Anyway it was a short connection in Middlesbrough before boarding a pair of 185s to take me to Redcar Central for a gentle fast walk along the streets to reach Redcar East for another 156 to South Bank, returning to Redcar Central a short while later.

 

185s at Redcar Central

 

This time at Redcar I had a walk towards the water front for a couple photos before the next TPE arrived, running a tad late and it had a short turnaround before departing back towards Manchester.  I was on this service as far as York but sadly due to some faults requiring it to be turned off & turned back on again twice the (unofficial) connection at York to a Blackpool North train was missed so I had some time to waste, so I headed out to KFC for some dinner (saves a job when in Leeds) before returning to board a required 195 for the run to Leeds.

 

At Leeds I had two options to reach Manchester Victoria, either a 195 via Bradford or a 3 coach 158 via Brighouse, I decided to go for the 158 via Brighouse as whilst it was slower it gave the better ride, and meant I didn’t have to do a tour of Leeds station due to the idiotic one way system.  The sprinter was pretty much empty in the front coach; I don’t think it got more than 4 other passengers all the way to Manchester Victoria, where the first thing which hit me as I got off was the smell of diesel fumes.

 

Exiting the station and it was a walk towards the Easy Hotel, trying to avoid the busy areas where social distancing would be very hard due to roads being closed off with outdoor drinking areas, reaching the hotel, checking in and relaxing for the remainder of the night.  A quiet evening until I got woken up in the morning by the sound of a couple in a nearby room above making sweet love, with the lady being on the noisy side.  Still it beats getting woken up to the sound of a street party playing loud noise which could be classed as music by some, or drunks setting the fire alarm off during the middle of the night for a laugh.

 

Anyhow it was a good day trip to Whitby, a few more stations revisited for photographs, plus the bonus of a required 195 & a low mileage 156.

 

The level crossing at Redcar Central

 

Sunday 18^th October

 

The plan for today changed when I was travelling towards Manchester on the Saturday when I randomly decided to check for fares to get to Doncaster and onwards to St Pancras on the Hull Trains divert (due to Kings Cross being closed), with a couple splits I got it down to around £45 which was more than suitable for a late notice trip for the novelty factor of a 802 going over some unusual routes (nothing new for me, solely due to the various railtours I’ve done over the years).

 

The day began with walking to Manchester Piccadilly via a Tesco Express & the Co-Op for some supplies before boarding the 08:45 stopper towards Sheffield, which was a 195.  I got a seat near the front of the unit which emptied out along the way, and was an enjoyable way to reach Sheffield, better than a 150, although I feel the interior layout of a 195 is not suitable for a stopping service, needs less table seats more airline seats.

 

Trams in Sheffield

 

I had a 90 minute wait at Sheffield before my next leg, so I headed towards the city centre for some tram photographs before returning to the station with a 170 to take me to Doncaster on a Hull service, giving me around 20 minutes at Doncaster before the 802 would arrive from Hull so I stayed on the station for a couple photos of passing freight before 802305 arrived a couple minutes late and annoyingly first class was at the front (as I was aiming for a seat in coach A, solely for the lack of an engine underneath).

 

The Hull Trains 802s are nearly the same as the GWR in terms of first class (coach D is split) but has the TPE style USB sockets in addition to the plug sockets below the seats.  Friendly guard soon checked tickets after departure but a quick wonder saw loading was only around 25 passengers in standard class (plus 2 who got kicked out of first class).  Anyway the ‘mystery’ tour went via the Swinton avoider line, then via “The Old Road” after the former Rotherham Masborough station (going via Barrow Hill and avoiding Sheffield) to re-join the mainline at Chesterfield before heading towards the Erewash Valley line to go via Toton before finally rejoining the mainline at Trent Junction, for a speedy run towards London.

 

Passing Wellingborough we were 45 minutes (or so) ahead of time, and with limited platform space available at St Pancras we had to wait so got put behind a 700 after Bedford and another 700 after Luton before the unit from Corby could pass before the 802 went onto the fast lines for the final run into St Pancras arriving around 15 minutes early.  Certainly it was a good run and more interesting than a 350 from Crewe!

 

Ever get the sense you've gone to the wrong station?

 

Anyhow I decided on the Victoria line to Victoria, navigating the maze of tunnels to reach the district line to Earl’s Court (jumped on the first service which was bound for Richmond), before an unannounced Olympia train arrived for the trip to Olympia on a private S7 before a low mileage 378 took me to Clapham Junction (sadly not enough to push it over 5 miles, but gives a good boost).  I jumped on a pair of 444s to Basingstoke changing over to a busy single 159 on the Andover service, where it terminated due to engineering works.

 

The fast coach departed and eventually the bus on the stopper (a service bus from “Newbury & District”) arrived to take me back to Grateley, the end of an interesting weekend.  One positive is on the Saturday when I was in the North East my ticket was checked on the majority of the Northern services, so some sense of normal is returning.