26th June – A trip to the Welsh Valleys

 26^th June – A trip to the Welsh Valleys

The last time I visited Wales was back in August 2019, which feels so long ago, back when the pacers were still floating around on the Valley lines services (so it was going to feel strange being at Cardiff and not seeing any pacers floating around).  I managed to book reasonably cheap advances to Cardiff from Salisbury (and vice versa) so a day in the Valleys was on the cards, with a focus on the Rhymney, Coryton & Barry line for stations I needed to revisit for photographs, along with a few walks.

 

The day began with a drive to Salisbury station, leaving home around half six, giving me time to pop to Sainsburys for breakfast and also to pick up my rover from the ticket office.  I was booked on the 07:30 departure to Cardiff which was a single 166 until Westbury where it crashed into a 2 coach 165, I swapped units at Westbury as the AC on the 166 was a bit pants, ending up on a cool 165 for the run towards Bristol Temple Meads, reversing before carrying on towards Filton & the tunnel under the Severn to reach Wales and onwards to Cardiff arriving pretty much bang on time giving me a chance to get ahead of my rough plan with a 4 minute connection to a Rhymney service.

 

A connection which was easy to make and I took a seat on a refurbished 150 (new seat covers, repainted parts on the inside etc) for the run to Rhymney, although the constant hanging around at stations due to the slack timetable did get annoying after a while (60-90 second dwells).  At the end of the line with the empty sidings it was a case of changing ends on the 150 to head back south to Pengam, the train getting quite busy along the way.  I dread to think how busy it would have been by Caerphilly or even Heath.

 

End of the Line

Anyhow I had a short wait at Pengam, before the next Rhymney train rolled in, another 150 (this time still in Arrive Trains Wales colours) to take me back north to reach the very basic Pontlottyn station, a station which features what must be a completely pointless “shelter”, basically 4 pillars holding up a roof, no side walls, no seats (not even perches).  Something I dare say won’t offer much in the way of shelter unless the rain is coming vertically.  Another busy train as the 150 returned (a good 20+ boarding) which took me one stop to the passing loop of Tir-phil (maybe one of these days it will actually see use as a passing loop with 2 trains passing there!).

 

It was time for the first of my walks of the day, heading towards Bargoed going via the Tir-Phil village centre crossing over the railway and towards Brithdir station (another basic station), before doubling back on myself underneath the railway, over the river and up a steep hill to reach a mixed use path which uses part of the former “The Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway” line turned into route 468, a quiet and peaceful woodland walk on one side of the steep valley, although not much evidence of its former life until near the end where it went straight on onto a bridge which no longer exists.

 

I came back out onto the road in the Bargoed area, coming down a hill to cross the river Rhymney), giving good views of the Bargoed viaduct before climbing back up to reach the station which was quite busy.  Thankfully the next southbound train was a 769, mighty odd seeing a 319 in this part of the country, although I didn’t have long to sample it nor enjoy the motor noise for the short hop to Hengoed where I had a short break.  I spent this time doing a little loop over the Hengoed viaduct (from the former “Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway” line before coming back underneath the viaduct to reach the station.  This is an area on my list to return to walk the former railway line towards Crosskeys or Quakers Yard, along route 47.

 

Hengoed Viaduct

 

Back at Hengoed station, it was another busy 150, this time taking me to Aber to clear the line for photographs.  I went back on my feet to walk the mile or so to Caerphilly station, via Greggs, to board the Cardiff Bay shuttle, a pair of 153s, one refurbished with the new toilet & a former EMR unit (which itself was a former Great Western unit) for the run towards Cardiff Bay. Seems strange seeing services to Cardiff Bay which don’t start at Queen Street, but I suspect Cardiff Bay is very popular with those who think payment is optional due to no ticket barriers.  There was RPIs at Caerphilly and the guard checked tickets on the Bay service when it was between Heath & Queen Street but couldn’t sell tickets, how much revenue is being lost?

 

Anyhow after a quick photo at Cardiff Bay (another place I will revisit one of these days, solely to have a look around), before I returned to Cardiff Queen Street on the pair of 153s, changing over to a Coryton bound 150 to take me to Rhiwbina where I set off for another gentle walk via Whitchurch & Coryton stations before joining the track bed of the old “Cardiff Railway” line for a mile or so before the walkable section comes to an end near an old bridge.  I carried along a wooden area to reach the River Taff to walk along the busy riverside, passing the Radyr Weir (where I waited to try and get a photo of a passing train, but the sun was in the wrong place).  I crossed the river and passed the old entrance to Radyr station going underneath the line to the new entrance, now roughly an hour and a bit ahead of my rough plan.

 

End of the Line...

 

I decided to make a slight change to my rough plan, and ditch Taffs Well and instead board the 150 (the one I saw departing Coryton) for the run via the City Line to reach Ninian Park, where I had another gentle walk along the roads to reach Cardiff Central (it was a toss-up between walking to Cardiff Central or towards Grangetown, deciding on Cardiff Central so I could go via the Tesco Express outside the station for a nice cold drink).

 

At Cardiff Central I headed towards platform 8 to board a Bridgend service, it was a pair of 150s (only pair of 150s I saw all day) with a low mileage unit on the back (150285).  I took this pair of Cogan for a short wait before a Barry Island bound 150 took me to Cadoxton, before another 150 took me back one stop to Dinas Powys where I set out on my legs again to follow the road to reach Eastbrook, returning to Cardiff Central, pretty much an hour ahead of my rough schedule so my rough idea was to change at Cardiff Central to take a service towards Caerphilly to intercept that 769 I had earlier in the day to push it over 10 miles.

 

150278 rests at Dinas Powys

 

Well that was the idea as I changed at Cardiff Central to take a seat on a 150 starting from platform 7 (a time wasting move before the next Caerphilly), however this service got delayed as I noticed the next Portsmouth service had my last 165 on, so with the announcement was made that it the Pontypridd train was getting delayed due to a signal problem so my idea to grab that 769 went into the bin as I headed over to platform 1 to take 165135 attached with another 166 to Newport, returning on a 2 coach 170 (sitting in the posh seats) to find Cardiff Central in chaos as the signal problem had shifted from the Valleys platforms to the entire station with trains on all the platforms.

 

I headed over to platform 1, taking a seat and just watched the chaos unfold, eventually things started moving, which did clear some of the passengers (at least the Aberdare train was a pair of 150s!), although hats off to the announcement being made for any passengers wanting the Derby train to board a London bound 800 to Newport just as the doors were closing being mistimed (as a XC service to Derby & GWR towards Exeter got spun at Newport).  Eventually the 166 rolled in from the sidings and departed around 25 minutes down, thankfully the seats in the former 1^st class area were available (the door was locked open) so I had a little bit of luxury for the run back to Salisbury.

 

A Masked 800

 

The train got busy in the first class area after Bristol and remained busy until Salisbury, where it was a nice gentle drive home, the end of a busy and productive day in South Wales.  Certainly my map of the area looks better and I can count myself lucky that I didn’t get stuck on a train when the signalling broke.

 

Everything is broken!

 

19th June & 20th June – A trip in the North West (Settle, Morecambe, Leeds)

 19^th June – A trip towards Settle & Morecambe

Casting my mind back to last August on a trip to West Yorkshire, I got massively delayed heading towards Leeds due to the wiring on the ECML falling down around Newark meaning I had to ditch some of the plans I had for the Friday evening to head towards Skipton & Settle for a photograph. So back in March/April time the announcement that hotels were reopening meant I looked into booking a couple stays in Stockport solely to use up some Travelodge vouchers.  As for Travelodges go, the one in Stockport is better than average (close to the station, has AC and is generally quiet).

 

The day began with an early start from the hotel, a nice feeling of being able to leave clothes & other bits behind when I have 2 nights in the same hotel, and less of a rush to leave to ensure I haven’t left anything behind, i.e. chargers. I headed to the station to catch the first train towards Manchester (06:15 from Hazel Grove) which had a required 331 leading a dud 331, sadly even taking to Salford wouldn’t have been enough to clear for ten miles so it will have to be left for another day.  At Piccadilly I popped to the Sainsburys for breakfast before heading to Victoria on the TPE service, changing over to begin some linear hopping towards Leeds.

 

First up was a 2 coach 195 from Chester which took me to Rochdale, followed by a 158 to Smithy Bridge (more a time wasting move).  Next up was a pair of 2 coach units (one needed outright, one for mileage) which took me to Hebden Bridge, noticing a Blackpool 3 coach unit looked very busy.  Thankfully a required 195 from Blackpool was quiet for the leap to Bradford Interchange, followed by another train from Chester to take me to Leeds, sadly not enough to clear for ten miles but 9 and a half is better than nothing!

 

A 150+158 combo bound for Kirkby wait at Smithy Bridge

 

At Leeds I noticed the idiotic one way system from last year has gone (the one which forced anybody to walk down platform 8 to use the footbridge at that end of the station), making it more passenger friendly.  I had a ~ 45 minute wait before heading on the Skipton train, formed of a 4 coach 331 for the trip into North Yorkshire (I always forget how pretty the line is nearer Skipton, certainly an area I will try to return to one day for a decent explore).  I had a short wait at Skipton before a busy 158 arrived on the Carlisle bound to take me to Settle, where a good number of passengers alighted.

 

"Welcome to the Skipton Train" is what this would have said had it been a 333 ;)

 

 

I had around 50 minutes before the next Leeds train, so with the nice weather I went for a little walk in the area, following the River Ribble for a short section, a gentle little potter away from the mask in a beautiful area.  I returned to the station noticing that a charter train was running early allowing me to take a photograph of it (top & tail 47s with Statesman coaches), before the Leeds train arrived.  Good timing of the charter train as it was less than a minute before the 158 popped up, which I took to Hellifield for a 25 minute wait before the next Morecambe train which was another 158.

 

A 47 heading towards Appleby passing Settle

 

It’s been a few years since I last covered the line towards Lancaster (the so called “Little North Western” and I had forgotten how scenic it is.  The train headed west crossing over the WCML before a long pause at Carnforth before heading towards Lancaster to reverse before going towards Morecambe.  I returned to Bare Lane to tick off platform 2 before crossing over to platform 1 to take RAF branded 156480 for the short spin back into Morecambe where I set off for a gentle walk along the old railway line (the old “North Western Railway” line towards Lancaster Green Ayre station (then onwards to Wennington).

 

The RAF 156 at Morecambe

This line has been turned into a busy mixed use path between the Morecambe area & Lancaster, although I saw no evidence of the old station at Scala Hall.  Some nice views of trees and the River Lune nearer Lancaster itself, it was a nice easy gentle walk along tarmac, a couple old railway bridges with evidence I assume of either signal mounts of mounts for the overhead wires, but other than that it was hard pressed to see any evidence of former railway use.  Anyhow I reached the “Carlisle” railway bridge which has a footbridge attached to one side allowing walkers to cross the river, and headed along the river front to reach the millennium footbridge, doubling back onto the formation of the old chord which connected the main WCML to the line towards Wennington (the mixed use path continues for another few miles to reach a village called Caton, which is a job for another day).

 

I reached Lancaster station with time to spare before the next southbound service which was formed of my last Pendo I needed for mileage, previously I had only had 390136 for the short hop between Haymarket & Edinburgh so I was glad the hunt was over.  At Preston I had a short wait (spotting the Network Rail ‘950’ unit on platform 5) before a required 195 arrived from Windermere which took me to Wigan.  Next up was a 319 for the short run to St Helens Central to intercept a pair of 331s on the next Liverpool train which I took to Preston, making a tight connection (for the 331s were running late) onto a required 195 for the short spin back to Lancaster where I exited the station to head to a busy Maccies, meeting up with my friend, Mr Stu who was in the area taking photos from a riverside location of the bridge.

 

I headed with Stu back to his spot on the river bank as the Pride Pendo was due to head south, and I think my photo came out reasonably.  We headed back towards Lancaster station saying our farewells as he headed back home on a magic bus (as Northern had cancelled a Barrow train) and I boarded a Manchester bound 195, which unusually goes via Bolton (non-stop), just a bit of a novelty of a 195 along this route (the usual route is via Wigan).  Surprisingly it wasn’t that busy on board, even after Preston, and it arrived into Piccadilly on time allowing me time to get to a Crewe stopper (which was a busy 323), however 5 minutes after it was meant to have departed the announcement was made that the unit had failed and passengers to transfer to another unit.

 

Instead of heading to the other 323 I jumped across to board a pair of 150s on a Buxton service, and the 2^nd coach was lightly loaded (it was empty after Heaton Chapel!), it even got ahead of the late running Crewe service so a good decision in my eyes.  At Stockport I headed back to the hotel room via the recently reopened Sainsburys Local to grab a light snack, and chilled out in the hotel room, the end of a productive day which saw my last handful of Northern stations I needed for photographs ticked off, plus a couple platform requirements.  Also it was a nice day out looking out of the train window over some scenic lines before a little walk along an old railway line.

 

390119 crossing the Carlisle Bridge in Lancaster

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20^th June – Onwards to Doncaster

A more laid back day as I was booked on the 14:45-odd departure from Doncaster to London so had a couple options how to reach Doncaster, my first option was ditched due to a Hope Valley service being formed of a pair of 150s, so I decided to go via the Calder Valley.  Although the fact that the 09:56-odd Manchester Victoria – Leeds service was formed of a 158+153 combo had nothing to do with it, honest ;)

 

I exited the hotel, and headed to Stockport station for the train from Buxton, a 156+150 combo which took me into Piccadilly, followed by a gentle walk across the city to Victoria, where I had a short wait before the 158+153 combo arrived from Leeds, before I took a seat in the 153 because they are on borrowed time on Northern, this could easily be my last Northern 153.  The service randomly called at the 3 stations before Rochdale (the previous Blackburn service was cancelled) but not Smithy Bridge which limited the dog box thrash, but the tunnel made up for it, afterwards the train started to fill up (I was pretty much alone in the 153 from Manchester).

 

Dogbox 330 at Manchester Victoria

 

I alighted from the 153+158 at Sowerby Bridge as I wanted some better photos and the 195 from Blackpool a few minutes behind was required for mileage, so I took that to Bradford for a short fester before the following Leeds train which had a low mileage 195 on to clear that one for ten miles, more a time wasting move as I had time to waste in Leeds (spent watching various movements sitting on a bench) before I boarded a 331 for the run to Doncaster.

 

At Doncaster I popped outside to visit Sainsburys, and it has certainly changed.  Outside the station is now traffic-free and a set of traffic lights across the dual carriageway has changed to be one set for all 4 lanes rather than 2 different sets, less walking required.  I grabbed the bits I needed from the supermarket before heading back to the station to await the arrival of the train from Newcastle.  It was going from platform 1 which lacks any signs at where to stand for what coach so a lot of passengers were hanging together near the entrance to the platform before the pair of 801s arrived.

 

The front of Doncaster station

I got my seat in coach D, having to shift someone out of it, and it was a speedy run to London calling only at Peterborough (where it looked like the train emptied out).  At Kings Cross I headed along Euston Road to reach Euston station to take a Watford stopper to Willesden, I noticed it was a 378 when I went down the ramp at the busy station.  It was my last dual-voltage 378 needed for mileage so I was quite happy as I took a seat for the run towards Willesden Junction, a nice surprise indeed.

 

At Willesden Junction I headed to the high level platforms to take another 378 for the run to Clapham Junction where I had 25 minutes to fester before boarding a quiet triple 159 for the run back to Grateley, relaxing and catching up with some internet stuff.  The end of another trip, and at least an earlier arrival home than the previous week!

A Pendo passing the Willesden Junction area

18th June – An Electrostar to Bristol

 18^th June – An Electrostar to Bristol

This was a short notice idea I had on the Wednesday evening to allow me to sample the novelty of the 387s to Bristol Parkway from Reading, when getting a couple bits done in that area for photographs before ending the day in Stockport via XC.  Sadly the weather was a bit rubbish so parts of my rough plan went into the bin as I didn’t see much point in getting soaked walking from Reading West to Reading when that part of the Thames Path can wait for another day.

 

The day began with the 09:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke, a single 159 which was already busy when it rolled in and got busier along the way, the previous Waterloo service from Exeter was running late so had all the stops after Salisbury ripped out pushing the passengers onto the stopper.  At Basingstoke I popped out of the station to visit the nearby supermarket for some food before returning to the station to take the GWR stopper to Reading West (could have taken a pair of voyagers but the 165 was quiet in the first class area allowing me space to have my food).

 

I had around 10 minutes at Reading West, during time at least 4 freight services passed, before the Newbury – Reading stopper arrived, which currently is formed of a borrowed C2C 387 (due to some IETs being out of use due to cracks).  It looked a tad out of place but shows how parts of the rail industry out each other out at times of need.  I got a bit wet waiting at Reading West as the platform doesn’t have that much in the way of shelter and what it did have featured someone who decided to start smoking cannabis.  I suspect when barriers go in at Reading West with the new station entrance it will reduce antisocial behaviour.

 

"This is the C2C service to Reading"

 

Once the 387/3 arrived at Reading I had some time to fester, so with the rain continuing I decided to take up a seat underneath the bridge on platform 8-9 watching the various movements before a pair of 387s arrived on the Bristol Parkway service, which were reasonably busy, at least in coach 3 of 8.  The 387s were a bit bumpy over some of the points but was good fun at top speed, calling at Didcot, Swindon then the long run to Bristol Parkway, must have been a good few years since I lasted used a train covering this part of the GWR network in the daylight hours, passing all the disused stations which I reckon could bring benefits if they were to reopen and served by 387s.

 

Electrostar in the South West

 

At Bristol Parkway I made my way over to platform 4 to take a 9 coach 800 back to Swindon changing onto a pair of 800s for the run to Chippenham, my photo at Swindon wasn’t the greatest but it’s a station I will be returning to around August time to visit the stations on the line towards Gloucester.  I alighted at Chippenham noticing that since I was last here (a good few years ago) a new footbridge/lift bridge has been constructed at the Bath end and 3 sets of ticket barriers have been installed.  Although with only one set closed it seems a tad on the pointless side as anybody who thinks payment for fares is optional will simply use an open set.

 

I had a short wait at Chippenham before another 800 rolled in to take me to Bath, before a 165+166 combo took me to Bristol Temple Meads, getting caught behind a 3 coach 158 from Weymouth which had an engine out.  I had a another short wait at Bristol Temple Meads before boarding a 9 coach 800 for the run back to Reading, changing over to a Penzance bound 802 (which was a lot quieter than I was expecting, oddly I noticed it skips St Erth).  This 802 took me one stop to Newbury where it crossed over to go into platform 2 (due to a pair of 387s sitting on platform 1).  This gave me a chance to make a tight connection with the 387/3 on the next stopper to take me one stop back to Newbury Racecourse.

 

Newbury Racecourse from the stairs leading to platform 1 [Newbury bound]

The reason for wanting to do the stopper back to Newbury Racecourse was the next London train was due to call a few minutes later, using the platform on the loop, so a bit of a novelty to board at the longer platform before heading back to Reading once more, where I exited the station to grab dinner from a nearby KFC before returning to the station to await the arrival of the 20:15 service to Manchester, which I was on for the long trip to Stockport (it was a lot cheaper than going via London and to Stockport on Avanti).

 

A pair of voyagers rolled in, with a 5 coach unit leading a 4 coach unit, however the rear unit was locked out of use due to staff shortage, but the rear coach of the front unit never really got that busy (busiest was between Oxford & Banbury).  A relaxing trip to Stockport, on time until Birmingham where it went behind a late running Wolverhampton bound Avanti service (which called at Sandwell), but nothing that major by the time I alighted at Stockport, and headed towards the Travelodge using up one of my vouchers from earlier in the year.

 

This is a hotel I’ve used a few times in the past, however the AC in my room did sound a bit rough (not as bad at St Albans), but at least I could open the window to allow fresh air in to turn the AC off overnight.  This was the first time I had a room which overlooked the Stockport viaduct which made a chance because it is a lovely viaduct.

 

My adventures for the Saturday & Sunday will be continued

11th – 13th June, An East Midlands Rover Trip

 11^th – 13^th June, An East Midlands Rover

Friday

The main plan for this trip was formed a few months ago and modified when the timetable changed on the EMR regional services, changing from a long single day trip to a more relaxing 3 day East Midlands Rover which would allow me to do a couple more things within the area.  First night was in Loughborough with the Saturday night in Sheffield, so two more hotels I could sample.

 

The day began with getting a lift to Andover station to purchase my rover from the ticket office (making use of some RTVs I had from cancelled trips last November time), also because I use on a Network Railcard which only becomes valid after 10am, the 09:59 departure from Grateley is annoyingly 1 minute short of being valid.  Anyhow it was a reasonably busy 3 coach unit to take me to Basingstoke, where I changed onto a pair of 444s for the run towards London; this on the morning where the signalling cables on the country bound lines at Surbiton had gone wrong.

 

A pair of 444s arriving at Basingstoke

 

All was going well on the 444s until the Wimbledon area where they got caught up with delays heading towards London due to lack of platform space at Waterloo (I assume), took around 30 extra minutes to reach Waterloo than normal so it was a fast walk to the underground to head towards St Pancras, thankfully both Bakerloo & Victoria were running without issues as I arrived at the EMR platforms with a few minutes to spare before the Corby train departed to give my first taste of a 360 on the Midland Main Line.  Needless to say for some extra comfort I sat in the leading former First Class area and they can certainly fly, especially after Bedford when they can do 110mph (although it was a bit noisy with the wind).

 

I stayed on the 360 all the way to Corby, and exited the station to pop to a nearby Tesco for some lunch, before returning to the station to await the arrival from Melton Mowbray just in case it was my last 222/1 needed for mileage, but alas it wasn’t.  I stayed on this unit to Kettering (where due to the timetable it sits there for ~15 minutes to sit in a standard path southbound), and switched over to platform 1 to board a 222 for the run to Leicester for a 30 minute wait before the next XC Birmingham starter.

 

The Future is Electric!

 

This warm 170 (AC wasn’t the best) took me to Narborough where I had a short wait before the following Leicester arrived to take me to South Wigston, why this station only has a 2 hourly service is a mystery to me considering it has a lot of housing nearby, including a few shops.  I returned to the station to await the same 170 to return from Leicester which I took to Hinckley, making a tight connection to the following Leicester service which took me back to Leicester, ahead of my rough plan (for I had planned on that connection not being met).  My first option was to take a local stopper to Sileby, but the southbound service had been cancelled so that idea went into the bin, so for lack of a better idea I took a Nottingham service to Loughborough.

 

A Birmingham bound 170 departs Hinkley

 

A few minutes after arriving at Loughborough I had departed again, this time heading south, staying on the 222 to Market Harborough for some more photos (as my photos I took last September weren’t the best due to getting delayed).  Next southbound was a 180 which I took to Kettering, a slow approach as it used the connection at the northern end of the station to go into platform 4, where it terminated due to a train fault.  I headed out of the station and found a Morrisons Garage (I was heading towards a Morrisons) which had food items for both dinner & also something for breakfast in the morning).  I returned to the station and took a 360 (same unit as I had earlier in the day) to Corby, setting back to await the arrival of the 222 to take me towards Oakham over the lovely Welland Viaduct.

 

Arriving into Oakham on time, I stepped back to wait for a following XC Birmingham service to take me to Melton Mowbray for another short fester before an EMR service arrived from Peterborough which took me to Leicester, it was a former West Midlands reformed 170, this service in the old timetable used to run directly towards Loughborough than Nottingham, but now runs into Leicester to form a stopper to Nottingham.  I alighted at Leicester and waited for a 222 to take me to Loughborough as the stopper was quite busy (as the Nottingham train had been cancelled, due to it being the 180 which broke down earlier).

 

 

A broken 180 at Kettering

 

At Loughborough I exited the station and walked towards the Travelodge, although not the direct route via the roads, instead I went via the canal to reach Loughborough Wharf which the hotel overlooked (sadly also including a pub which was open to late, so not a quiet night due to the room lacking AC meaning the windows had to be open due to the warmth).

 

Canal in Loughborough, a more relaxing route to reach the hotel

Saturday

It was a very early alarm for me this morning (04:30!) to make my way to Loughborough station (this time going via the road) in order to catch a Nottingham - Peterborough train which ran via Loughborough, solely for the novelty of doing Oakham – Peterborough on an EMR service.  Unsurprisingly the 158 rolled in quite empty, the few passengers which were on it alighted at Loughborough (I believe it gives a connection into a London train from Derby).  It was an enjoyable ride heading towards Peterborough via Oakham and to see the progress of works around the dive-under north of Peterborough (although it’s a tad slow!).

 

At Peterborough I had a short wait before boarding one of the reformed XC 170s (former 2 coach unit which got a centre coach from a West Midlands unit), allowing me to have a look at what has been done to the “new” centre coach.  New seat covers & stickers, with the carpet given a deep-clean, some of the seats bases were still collapsed.  Anyhow I took this unit to Stamford to clear the “XC served” stations returning to Peterborough on another 158 solely as a time wasting move.  Next up was the following Birmingham train (another reformed 170), where I aimed for the centre coach for the trip back towards Leicestershire along this mostly boring line.

 

Stamford Station

 

I had around 55 minutes to waste at Leicester before the next Nottingham stopper, which was time spent popping to a nearby Tesco to grab supplies and something cold to drink (for it was quite warm).  I returned to the station and relaxed until a 158 rolled in from Lincoln, I took this 158 a couple stops to Sileby on the “Ivanhoe Line”, changing platforms to take the next Leicester stopper back to the single platform at Syston.  A station with good views of the passing trains as I spotted my last 222 I needed for mileage heading towards Sheffield allowing me to track it’s movements to see if I could intercept it later in the day.

 

Due to the current issues with staffing on EMR, the Robin Hood line (Nottingham – Mansfield – Worksop) was due to somewhat collapse after 3pm dropping down to roughly one train every 2 and a bit hours.  So my original plan for the line went into the bin (it involved walking between Newstead & Hucknall along an old railway line) and during my wait at Syston I made a rough plan which would see me complete the line, however it did involve a couple tight connections.  With my rough plan, I waited for the 158 to return from Leicester to take me to Nottingham where I had a short wait before boarding a Mansfield Woodhouse bound 170 which I took to Mansfield Town.

 

A 158 departs Syston bound for Leicester

 

A short wait at Mansfield Town before the same unit returned from Woodhouse to take me back one stop to Sutton Parkway, a station which isn’t the easiest to get between platforms (although there might have been a shorter way going via a bridge at the southern end of the station).  I made it to the other platform with time to spare before a 158 rolled in which took me to Mansfield Woodhouse for another tight connection, which was easy enough to make onto another 158 which took me back towards Kirkby in Ashfield for a 30 minute wait (as the trains pass here as it’s single track towards Nottingham).

 

I decided to change my plans once again and head one station further south to the hourly served Newstead on a 156, before heading back towards Mansfield Woodhouse on a 158.  I was hoping the next southbound service might have been running a couple minutes late to allow me to make a negative connection at Kirkby for a bonus move, but it was on time.  I arrived back into Mansfield Woodhouse into the bay platform, giving me 30 minutes to have a little walk around, noticing a sign for “Oxclose Wood”, which seems to be a wooded area near to the station.  It is something to go onto my list to revisit (along with quite a few old railway lines in this area), but when the service levels were a bit more reliable!

 

A 158 taking shelter from the sun in the train shed at Woodhouse

Back at Mansfield Woodhouse I awaited the last Worksop departure before a near 4 hour gap which I took to Shirebrook and had a little walk to waste some time, walking what seems to be an old railway trackbed which went underneath the freight line towards High Markham, before I turned right to do a loop via the village of Warsop Vale, returning to the station along the road (on a pavement) before the 156 returned from Worksop, which I took to Hucknall which cleared East Midlands Railway.  I noticed there were a lot of passengers waiting for a northbound train (which would have been the same unit I alighted from returning in around 40 minutes, I dread to think how busy that would have been!).

 

I escaped back to Nottingham Station by making use of the trams (asking earlier if tickets were being accepted), and that tram got very busy when it hit the city centre, leaving passengers behind at the last couple stops (although the longer dwell in the Market Square was nice for watching the activities of some 18-20 year olds [at a guess] in the fountain area).  At the station I swung via Tesco outside the station for another cold drink, before taking a 195 to Langley Mill, to intercept a required unit heading towards Nottingham (RTT allocations is good for that sort of thing!).  Although 2 coach 195s are hopelessly small for these services, considering the 158s they replaced were busy.

 

A 195 departs Langley Mill

 

Back to Nottingham with another 195 into my book, and I crossed over to board a London train which I took to East Midlands Parkway (it is very strange being in this part of the world and not seeing HSTs).  I got lucky with a nice shot (in my view) of a DB 66 heading south with the backdrop of the cooling towers, before I took the unit from Sheffield to Leicester to relax before 222103 returned from London to allow me to take it to Nottingham, and clearing for 10 miles in the process (saves keeping my eyes out for these 222s in the future, wherever they might head to once the new EMR bi-modes enter service).

 

A 66 passing East Midlands Parkway

 

I crossed over to board another required 2 coach 195 for the run towards Chesterfield, with the idea of catching the Nottingham service which randomly goes via Derby, just for the novelty factor of taking a Northern service via Derby, but alas it was cancelled.  I wish I noticed it was cancelled before alighting from the 195 for there was a 30-odd minute gap in northbound services.  I had a silly idea of jumping on a Birmingham bound voyager to Derby which would give a 5 minute connection into an Sheffield bound EMR service, just to waste some time.

 

That plan backfired as the Birmingham train lost 10 minutes before it reached the junction with the Matlock branch (no idea why) which gave me a 20 minute wait at Derby before boarding a pair of voyagers bound for Leeds (unusually via Doncaster) to take me to Sheffield.  I headed out of the station towards the tram lines and followed the path alongside the tram lines towards the city centre, where I was booked into the Easy Hotel, which compared to the Travelodge was in another league of comfort.  Although that might have been solely down to the AC making the room nice & chilled, all hotels should come fitted with AC by default these days.

 

A long day, but I was happy because everything I wanted to do was done, with the benefit of my last 222, only thing I missed off was that 195 via Derby, but hey-ho, gives me something to do on a future trip.

 

A pair of Nottingham Trams passing at the Station

 

Sunday

 

A lazier day planned for today, making use of the area the East Midlands Rover covered to revisit a few lines I haven’t covered for a while. I exited the hotel swinging via a nearby Sainsburys & McDonalds for supplies before heading towards the station to board the first train towards Nottingham.  A 2-coach 195 which was departing from the bay at the end of platform 2 (2C), it got reasonably busy in the front coach along the way to Nottingham, where I changed over, spotting the unusual sight of 4x156s attached to each other (ECS from the depot, would split to form other services).

 

The Cleethorpes train got switched over from platform 1C to platform 4B, meaning a long walk, but there was some confusion as an unit arrived into platform 4A, the screens kept saying 4B but I was hanging around the 156 on 4A until it got announced as being the Cleethorpes train.  I grabbed an airline seat with extra legroom for it looked busy (after opening as many windows as I could, for it was very warm).  The train emptied out at Newark, with another good changeover of passengers at Lincoln, before it headed towards Market Rasen.  I notice the new road which I saw being constructed the last time I was in this area has been completed, but nothing else of notice along the way to Cleethorpes.

 

A Busy Cleethorpes

 

After a quick visit to the waterfront (very busy) I headed back to the station to board a pair of 185s for the slow journey towards Doncaster, having a quiet coach (4 out of 6).  I alighted at Doncaster for a short wait before a required 9 coach 801 rolled in which took me to Retford (don’t worry I had a seat reservation!), this gave a tight connection into a Hull Trains unit heading towards Hull with a backup option in case the connection was missed.  I made the connection, but the Hull unit was 802305 which I had last year into St Pancras so I gave that a miss and headed towards the town centre and a nearby Asda, crossing over the Chesterfield Canal to reach the supermarket.

 

I returned to the station, noticing that it seems a new covered walkway is being constructed linking the low level platforms to the main entrance, which should be good when they are done.  Back to the northbound platform and onto a pair of required 5 coach 801s for the short run to Doncaster, for a short break before a required Hull Trains 802 (which looked busy in the rear coaches, but quiet in the 2^nd coach) took me back to Retford for another short wait (this time spent sitting in the sunshine) before another required 802 arrived to take me back to Doncaster.

 

A 150 pauses at Retford Low Level

 

Another short wait at Doncaster before I took a 9 coach 801 to Newark North Gate, crossing over to platform 3 for a required 5 coach 800 from Lincoln to take me to Grantham, where I had the option of a pair of 156s from Skegness to Nottingham (which looked busy in one coach, quiet in the other coaches) or a pair of 158s nonstop (from Peterborough).  I decided on the 158s where I had a quiet coach for the run to Nottingham, where I had time to pop out of the station to the Tesco for something to eat before heading back to take a seat on a 7 coach 222 for the run towards London.

 

After Kettering I decided on a change of mind, due to the coach I was in being busy and the seat collapsed, and alighted at Wellingborough, changing over to the recently added platform 4 to take a pair of 360s for the run into St Pancras, the front coach was empty and remained empty (as I was sitting in the former first class area for that bit of extra comfort).  It only cost me around 10 minutes but was a better way to arrive, also allowed me to tick off the new platform & crossover to the south of the station.

 

An Intercity Train at Wellingborough!

 

At St Pancras, I had a short walk over to the Sub surface line platform to take a Met service to Baker Street, before a Jubilee line service to Waterloo, mainly to avoid the Bakerloo which probably would have been like an oven.  At Waterloo I had a short wait before a pair of 159s arrived from Exeter to form my going home train, I took a seat in the 2^nd coach (where the AC was working) and settled down to relax for the speedy run back home.  Yes it was a much later finish than I was hoping for, but I got carried away with ticking off units.

 

I suspect at some point later in the year (or next year) I will do an East Yorkshire Round Robin to try and grab my last couple Hull Trains units, but that is just an idea in my head as who knows what the future will hold.