Kite's Transport Potterings: 21st August - 23rd August

21^st August - 23rd August - A Yorkshire Weekend

Using up some more ‘enforced’* leave from work, in addition to the BOGOF sale for Travelodge saw me book up a two night stay in Leeds city centre with the idea to focus on my required West Yorkshire stations (plus a couple on the outside in the South & in the North) with a trip towards Carlisle on the Sunday.

21st August

The Friday didn’t go all to plan, I made it to Kings Cross for my booked train to Leeds, only to end up going to York where it took 2 hours to clear the queue of trains around the Newark area due to a fallen tree (shame the driver/guard didn’t sign the route via Spalding to bypass the area with issues, making use of the diesel engines of the 800). At York it was a short wait for a required TPE 802 to take me to Leeds, where I finished the day doing part of what was my original plan, in visiting the stations I needed towards Steeton & Silsden, before heading towards Wakefield on a required 331.

Overnight was in the Leeds Central Travelodge, one I won’t recommend as you might end up with a room overlooking the station at the eastern end, where you get a few train movements towards the depot, and the points are not the quietest. At least I know for future, if I ever need to stay in Leeds city centre again.

91101 going nowhere at York

(*enforced as we have been told we need to have used up 50% of the yearly entitlement by the end of September so I'm having the odd day here & there)

22^nd August

Bit of a bad start as the ticket office at Leeds doesn’t open until 6am, not much good when you want a 6am train and can’t buy the rover from the TVMs and the staff on the ticket gates were in a very anti-passenger attitude, “what do you want us to do about it”? Ended up having to buy the cheapest single I could find in a hurry to bypass the barriers to try and get the ranger at another station with a ticket office. The day when more ranger/rover products are available on TVMs will be the day I celebrate, also the day Leeds gets rid of its idiotic one way system (complete with shouting bouncers) will be a cause of celebration.

Back to the trains, it was a trip towards Ilkley, before heading towards South Yorkshire with Darton, before scoring a low mileage 158 from Wakefield Kirkgate to Leeds [via Westgate]. Next up was East Garforth, before scoring the temporary platform (minus) 1 at Leeds on a trip to Headingley (and back). A complete random hired in GC 180 was up next to take me to Hebden Bridge (more for the novelty factor, but a complete “what the heck” moment when I saw that unit, but gave me a chance to sample declassified first class. A 158 was up next to Walsden in the rain before returning towards Brighouse, then Mirfield before heading towards Marsden making use of additional calls by the Hull trains. Back at Huddersfield before a trip towards Shepley, making a tight connection to take me back to Stocksmoor before a random walk back to Shepley (for the lack of something better to do).

A 802 passing Marsden

A pair of 153s took me back to Huddersfield (luxury compared to the 150s) before a required 802 took me to Leeds where I was going to head back to Huddersfield behind a 68 but my eyes caught my last 170 for mileage on platform 14 so my plans changed for a trip to Micklefield (in the pouring rain), before a 801 to Bradford Forster Square with a fast walk to Interchange for the final train to Halifax before a required 195 all the way back to Leeds.

One busy day but everything was done that I wanted to do, as I made my way back to the hotel dodging the drunks being turned away from the station as “there are no more trains tonight”, I suspect the taxi companies were busy.

An unusual sight for a Saturday with a 180 at Hebden Bridge

23^rd August

One advantage of staying in Leeds city centre is that it allowed me the chance to do the first Carlisle train, something you can’t do if you stay in Bradford due to the timings of the first trains from Bradford. Towards the station for a busy 158 on the first service towards Skipton (calls everywhere from Shipley towards Carlisle, other than Long Preston which seemed to be a random station to skip), I alighted from the 158 at Armathwaite for an hour wait in the rain (thankfully there was a decent shelter) before the same 158 took me back towards Kirkby Stephen for another wait in the rain.

I was a bit nervous as there was meant to have been a steam charter service due, but on RTT it was still sitting at Hellifield, but that stormed through when I was out in the car park looking for a good photo of the scenery, you win some, you lose some. An empty pair of 158s took me to Carlisle where I got to sample my first 397s doing a linear hop to Oxenholme via Penrith before a 195 took me to Staveley before returning to Lancaster (scoring the link from platform 3 at Oxenholme heading south).

The masked Pendo took me to London, I was very lucky because my assigned seat was one which had a lovely view of plastic and was an airline seat, but I found an empty table which was ‘available if unoccupied’ to allow me to charge my devices and watch some things on my tablet. On time into Euston which meant getting the 21:15 back home was easy.

Other than the farce on the Friday which cost me Settle, it was a good weekend, although my bed was very welcome after 2 noisy nights.