11th – 13th 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 2nd 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 2nd 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.
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