23rd February – A mostly unplanned spin to Greater Anglia

23^rd February – A spin to Greater Anglia

I have no idea what I was looking for on RTT when I noticed the 09:00 Cambridge – Ipswich service on Sundays was booked to use the platform 1 loop at Dullingham (where it had a book wait for a Cambridge service to pass), normally the only other booked use of this loop (where trains pass) is early morning on a weekday.  However with this knowledge in mind I formed a rough plan for a Sunday trip to Greater Anglia, the downside meant needing to be on the 07:10 service from Liverpool Street towards Stansted Airport for a Norwich service (alternative was something like the 06:55 from Kings Cross which calls everywhere, but that wasn’t running due to engineering works).

Liverpool Street, strangely quiet at 06:40 on a Sunday morning!

This early start from Liverpool Street on a Sunday limited options at where to stay, in the end I picked a hostel near Kings Cross (which as per the Saturday writings wasn’t the best nights).  The day began waiting for a route 205 bus service towards Liverpool Street (bus 12333) where I sourced breakfast from McDonalds before heading to board an earlier Stansted Airport service, 379011 & 379004 for a speedy trip to Stansted Airport, although along the way I discovered that due to overrunning engineering works between Ipswich & Stowmarket the first Ipswich – Cambridge & return services had been cancelled so my plan for the day went in the bin.  Ah well those things happen as some would say.

At Stansted I had a quick walk around to waste some time before winner 755336 rolled in, the only thing I dislike about these new units is the fixed armrest by the window, which for me is useless and would be so much better if they could be lifted out of the way, especially when the window sill is quite wide.  Anyhow with a quick plan with RTT on the way from Stansted I came up with a rough new plan, staying on this 755 all the way to Norwich, they certainly made light work of the line between Ely & Norwich and unless you are sat near the power carriage it is very quiet.

The Norwich Train at Stansted Airport

I decided to pick up some supplies for an early lunch, noting the changes to the little Co-Op shop on the station before boarding winner 755423 on the next Sheringham stopping service for the run to Sheringham, making use of the dwells at Cromer to grab some pictures of the station to allow me to tick both off, to save a job for another visit.  My rough idea when back in Norwich was to wait for the next Cambridge service to take it to Ely to head back on myself for Brandon & Thetford, however when the 755 arrived back at Norwich my eyes noticed that the next Shenfield service (engineering works) was formed of a 745.  A quick play on RTT and I threw together another new plan to recover a station I missed out on earlier, so it was onto winner 745007 for the speedy run to Stowmarket.  My first impression is that these things can certainly shift, interior wise pretty much the same as a 755 bi-mode, but with a buffet counter.

The Bond Electro-Flirt departing Stowmarket

Alighting from the 745 at Stowmarket, I crossed over the footbridge to board winner 755404 on the next Cambridge service to alight at Bury St Edmunds giving me time to grab something to eat from the Tesco (and also for something cold to drink as the water in my bag was quite warm) before heading back to board (winner) 755422 for the run to Ely, where once more my plans changed as the next Norwich service was showing as cancelled, so I decided to call it a day with winner 755409 for the run to Cambridge North, transferring over to 379003 & 379024 on the Liverpool Street semi-fast service (board at the start, better selection of seats).  I remained on these 379s to Broxbourne, changing over to a Stratford bound 317348 & 317340 as I fancied a trip on the Jubilee line (and had time to kill).

At Stratford, it was a battle through the weekend crowds to reach the Jubilee line with 96058/96109 taken to Waterloo, followed with 159002 & 158886 on the 18:45 Salisbury local service (was meant to be going on to Yeovil Pen Mill, but was cut back at Salisbury due to driver shortage, and I was impressed with the guard gathering number of passengers travelling beyond Westbury for rail replacement taxi/buses).

Once home, I had an early night as two long days without much sleep had taken my energy out (must be getting older), today wasn’t a waste as I got 5 more 755s plus a 745 into my book, along with revisiting a small handful of stations for photographs.  My idea for Dullingham loop will go back onto the “things to look into” pile.  I will leave you with a picture of a classical 37 hiding behind the wall at Norwich, because who doesn’t like a tractor?

37402, remembering the time last year it went to Windsor & Eden Central

22nd February – A Trip to Cheshire

22^nd February – A Trip to Cheshire

The idea of this trip was to revisit stations I needed in Cheshire, mainly on the Mid Cheshire line plus the Manchester – Crewe line with a couple other Cheshire stations.  I headed up to Stockport on the Friday night, although unusually on the 21:40 service from Euston (the cheap fares had already gone on the 21:00 service), although this was around 45 minutes late into Stockport (arrived around 20 minutes past midnight) so I didn’t get a lot of sleep before the first Chester train.

The Friday was spent in London, hunting down units for mileage, sadly I got bowled with my last 377/5 as it got cancelled due to signalling issues, but managed to pick up my last trio of 377/3s, plus a 700, and 3 more 717s (although 2 of those not cleared outright, but every little helps).  Another after having the previous weekend at home due to the storm, it was nice to be back out on the rails.

I was out of the hotel, swinging via McDonalds for breakfast, and onto the first Chester train which was a very lightly loaded 150204, which I took to Lostock Gralam, one I wanted to get out of the way as it’s the station where the normal hourly services pass.  Not a lot around this station, with the shelter looking worse for wear and car-park looking more like a lake in places.  A short time later (for there will be a few festers on this line with its rough hourly service) 150102 arrived to take me to Mobberley featuring its level crossing and nice signal box.  Funny how today was raining when the last time I did these stations in September 2016 it was also wet.

Signal Box at Mobberley

Less than ten minutes later 150124 rolled in to take me to Cuddington, with the confusing signage about if someone can use the barrow crossing (has both the standard “Stop, look & listen” boards as well as “passengers must not cross the line” signs, considering the PIS on the train announces that passengers should not use the foot crossing until the train has departed so I assumed it was OK to use.  Reminds me a bit like the station on the Walton on the Naze branch which has 2 platforms with the Colchester platform only being accessible by a foot crossing with similar signage telling passengers not to cross the lines.  Anyhow back to Cheshire, the rain had gone away for the moment as I had a short wait for 150204 to return from Chester to take me to Greenbank and another short wait before 150127 arrived (for it was all the 150s today) to take me back towards Chester to reach Mouldsworth.

Although sadly the rain had returned, and that does limit the area you can explore during the festers, so it was a case of hanging in the shelter for 150124 to return from Chester to take me to Northwich.  A short connection here for 150102 to take me back towards Delamere, the forest station as the signs mention, and it was a nice fester for the rain has cleared away for the time being and a gentle walk before 150127 returned from Chester to take me back towards Greater Manchester with Hale.  With it being nearly lunchtime it was time to pop to a nearby Sainsburys for some lunch before the next Chester service, which is where I noticed the following service was showing as cancelled which meant I wouldn’t complete this line today.

No hail at Hale

On the bright side, at least the 2 stations I would be missing can be revisited on a GM Wayfarer, as I took a seat on 150124 for the trip to Plumley, heading back to Stockport with 150102.  Being an hour ahead of my rough plan was nice, but sadly the next Stoke bound Avanti service was running late due to earlier issues so by the time 390011 arrived at Stoke the connection to the stopper back to Manchester had already gone.  I decided to go for a walk before returning to catch the next stopper, formed of 323229 to Congleton featuring some youths smoking something smelling quite strong.  A short wait here before 323236 arrived to take me to Kidsgrove, where I connected onto 156917 for the run to Crewe.  This was one of the former Greater Anglia 156s, but as they can’t work with the other East Midland 156s (issues with the on board PIS being different and other bits) they have been renumbered.  Although like the 450/5s which have been renumbered back to their original numbers I’m not chasing these down again.

At Crewe I had a short wait before boarding 319383 for the run to Holmes Chapel, featuring a couple of fare dodgers who were clearly hoping not to get gripped with their tickets to Sandbach (they were heading to Handforth, so not even on the right train as this one goes via the airport, not the brightest in the world, but shows that barriers have limitations at reducing fare evasion).  Anyhow it was a short walk over to the opposite platform for a time wasting move with 323227 to take me to Sandbach, where I was treated to the return of the rain and also of a convey of 4 Freightliner 66s and 2x 70s heading (I assume) to the maintenance facility in Crewe yard).  In all fairness on that 319 I was expecting it to get looped at Sandbach by a late running Manchester bound Pendo, but it looked like it got looped in the loop before Chelford, losing time in the process (which probably meant it would lose its path via the Castlefield corridor and cause more delays).

 A late running Pendo passing Holmes Chapel (very slowly)

My time at Sandbach wasn’t very long before 323239 returned from Crewe to take me to the rural Chelford station for a nice wait in the shelter (not a station to visit with a tight connection) before 323238 arrived from Manchester to take me back one stop to Goostrey, another rural station, but another one with a decent seat in the shelter.  Next up was 323223 to take me to Wilmslow where I connected via the cross platform to the service from Liverpool, with winner 331102 for the run to Crewe.  This would be my final service operated by Northern under Arriva, as the next time I will be catching a Northern service it will be operated by DOR, seems like an end of a short era.  Anyhow at Crewe I took a seat on the London Northwestern service on platform 4, nice refurbished 350/1 so the plug socket came in handy, and I was lucky to overhear a station announcement that it was due to run fast to Stafford, not go via Stoke.  No announcements on-board, but considering that London Northwestern drop the “Via Stoke” leg of these services for any reason it wasn’t surprising.  Heck Stone had a 4 hour gap earlier in the day of Stoke bound services due to the 350s going fast.  I suspect any remaining passengers of Stone will be glad come May when it should get more reliable (ha!)

Last "Arriva" Northern service I will catch

Anyhow, it was over to a very busy 156917 on the Derby service to take me the one stop to Alsager for a short wait for 350375 to arrive from London, only a couple minutes late as well, to take me back to Crewe for the last time of the day.   With time to kill I headed to the nearby Tesco Express to grab some dinner, sitting down and relaxing waiting for my booked train home.  Sadly it wasn’t on the lightly loaded train from Liverpool (which did help clear away the platform at Crewe) but onto 390039 from Manchester to take me non-stop to Euston.  I managed to grab a table seat in coach B which was a bonus, and also as the Pendo went onto the fast lines after Milton Keynes it arrived into Euston around 10 minutes early.

Due to my planned trip to Anglia on the Sunday I was spending the night in a hostel near Kings Cross, not a good stay due to having a very loud snorer in the dorm room, someone who arrived around 1am, throwing on the room light to sort their bag out and a street party kicking off in the early hours with loud music.  Certainly not a place I would use again in a hurry (and a reminder why I prefer hotel rooms over hostel dorms).  Anyhow today was productive, other than that cancelled Chester train meaning I will need to return to Ashley & Plumley, but they are within the GM Wayfarer area so it could be worse.

Trains at Crewe (156, 221, 390 & 350)

8th February – West Anglican Main Line & the Fens

8^th February – West Anglican Main Line & the Fens

The line from Broxbourne towards Cambridge is a bit like the Portsmouth Direct Line in being awkward to visit the stations on, due to there being no day ranger products available, likewise the line from Ely towards King’s Lynn, so it takes some planning with some festers at the hourly served stations (and a large pile of tickets).  This plan was revised with the removal of a couple stations due to wanting to get home before the storm started to hit hard.

I can’t remember the last time I used the 05:27 service from Grateley, probably last summer time, so it was a bit of a shock walking to the station in darkness (and calm) with 159010 taking me all the way to Waterloo (haven’t done that for a few months either!), where I had time to grab breakfast from Sainsburys before making my way across to Kings Cross (Jubilee to Green Park (96034/96093), then the Victoria to Kings Cross St Pancras (11004/11003).  I made my way over to 387110 working the 07:42 service to Kings Lynn, getting myself a nice table seat in the front coach, and enjoying the non-stop run to Cambridge (although I still prefer the 365s as they ride so much better). After Cambridge, I carried on heading north to reach Watlington for a short wait before 387110 returned to take me to Downham Market.

This station has been done-up to be like it was in the late eighties when it was run under Network South East, so looked excellent, much better than the mismatch of styles in other stations (i.e. elements of First Capital Connect, elements of WAGN and other operators from the past).  I didn’t have long here before 387113 arrived from London to take me to the end of the line at King’s Lynn, with a 317 being stabled overnight (from the peak time Greater Anglia services).

1980s style branding at Downham Market

1950s style branding at King's Lynn

I returned on 387113 to Ely, changing over to winner 755337 from Norwich to take me to Whittlesford Parkway, for a short wait for 317505 & 317342 to take me to Audley End, returning north with 317511 & 317510 to Shelford where it was time to grab some lunch from a nearby Tesco Express, waiting for the same pair of 317s to return from Cambridge North to take me to Great Chesterford for a nice hour fester in the sunshine before 379015 & 379021 arrived to take me to Elsenham featuring one very tall footbridge (I guess it’s tall due to the wires being high with the manual level crossing, one fit crossing keeper with the 4 trains an hour!

A Stansted bound 755 passes Elsenham

Next move for me was with 379006 & 379005 to Newport (the one in Essex, not the one in South Wales, for that would be very unusual for a pair of 379s to be!), featuring a lovely footbridge and some dodgy looking youths who must have missed the lessons on how to sit properly.  A short fester here before 317505 & 317342 arrived to take me Stansted Mountfitchet, where I visited the nearby Co-Op for items for dinner (wastes some time), before returning to the station, getting a bit of shock with the next Stansted Airport – London service being 317651 & 317502 (for I was expecting it to be the more usual pair of 379s).  These took me non-stop to Harlow Town, giving some excellent motor noise.

Station entrance to Stansted Mountfitchet

I changed over to the northbound platform, for 317660 & 317654 to take me to the very dodgy Harrow Mill, for an extended fester due to a late running Cambridge service with 379014 & 379029 to take me to Sawbridgeworth, for a short fester before 317338 & 317664 arrived with the next Bishop’s Stortford terminator.  317511 & 317510 were up next to take me to Roydon where I had a nice fester in the darkness (looking at the waterway next to the station) before 317664 & 317338 returned from Bishop Stortford to take me one stop to Broxbourne.  A short fester here before 317650 & 317662 arrived from Cambridge to take me all the way into Liverpool Street, where I boarded 321421 & 321304 for a time wasting move to Stratford with 96046/96057 taken all the way to Waterloo with the Jubilee line.

Platforms at Harlow Mill

At Waterloo, it was a short wait before I boarded 159003 working the Salisbury service to take me back home, walking home before the storm hit (more a case of watching the clouds moving fast across the sky with the wind).  Overall it was a successful day with only one minor delay, all the stations from Broxbourne towards Kings Lynn covered for photographs (just need Littleport for the southbound platform, and Stansted Airport for a photo).

Early morning at Grateley, roll on summer!