24th July – A day trip to Devon

24^th July – A day trip to Devon

Today was going to be a more relaxing trip with my mum, just to take her out of the house following the events of a couple weeks ago, mainly a day of looking out of the window of various trains in Devon with some minor exploring of a couple places.  Compared to my previous weeks it would be a more relaxing trip for me as well (no early start, nor long walks), and after checking the website in the morning before leaving home, noticing that there was issues in Basingstoke due to a large signalling failure, but the 08:28-odd Exeter train was due to run but starting from Andover (instead of London) so we left the house, and headed to the station (thankfully getting lucky with the weather not being that wet).

 

Although once we arrived at the station, the Exeter train was showing as cancelled and the following train towards Salisbury was showing as delayed [before that changed to Cancelled] so I put a call into the help-point and got told they would order a taxi to take us to Salisbury.  The taxi never came but around 09:00 I spotted a blue coach coming down the road for an unexpected replacement coach service to Salisbury (featuring a driver who needed directions to reach Salisbury as he was meant to be heading to Farnborough).  Arriving at a busy Salisbury where we purchased the tickets (I didn’t want to buy them from Grateley when the trains were showing as cancelled as during the time waiting I was coming up with an alternative idea of where we could have headed just in case nothing arrived [for I didn’t have high hopes on the taxi actually arriving]).

 

The unexpected Rail Replacement Coach

On the (busy) platform at Salisbury, it was a wait until the unit arrived from the depot, and a late notice platform change [from platform 3 to 4] before we boarded the Exeter service, quite busy from the word go, but at least it wasn’t just SWR having issues as trains from Warminster towards Salisbury were also being heavily delayed with a single 2 coach 165 spotted heading towards Portsmouth [assuming it made it there!] running 65-odd minutes late with the following service being 30+ minutes late.  However for the 159 towards Exeter the damage was done with a 15 minute late start as it was held for ~10 minutes near the former Wilton South station due to the single track towards Tisbury, then again at Gillingham for a late running service from Yeovil Junction, but it was nice to look out of the window.

 

Another delay as the unit got put into Chard loop, then again as it was held at Honiton before heading towards Exeter Central where it emptied out and running down the hill to Exeter St Davids where it went into platform 1 for a short turnaround [personally I was expecting it to get spun at Exeter Central and dumped in the bay platform].  Along the way after the delays I came up with an alternative plan as the Barnstaple train was already gone, however when we got into St Davids I noticed it was still sat on platform 3 waiting for a late running voyager allowing us to somehow made the connection to a 3 coach 158 for the run towards Barnstaple.  My first time on this line with a 158 and where they do suit the “end to end” nature, I do feel the 90mph top speed is slightly wasted.  The train called at all the scheduled request stops and was only a minute or 2 late by the time it reached Barnstaple, where we had a little break.

 

A 158 at Barnstaple

 

After a walk to the nearby Tesco for lunch & supplies, we went towards the river, passing the new leisure centre under construction to reach the “Long Bridge” before heading back towards the station to have lunch before the next 158 arrived from Exeter which took us back to Exeter St Davids for a short wait before a busy 166 arrived from Exmouth to take us to Paignton [lots of suitcases of people alighting at both Dawlish stations].  Seeing a 166 in this part of the world just looks so out of place, especially considering it hasn’t been that long since they were working out of London on stopping services towards Reading & Oxford.

 

A 166 at Paignton

 

A fast connection at Paignton (somewhere on my list to revisit for a decent look around one of these days) over to the opposite platform to take a seat on a 800 for the short run back towards Newton Abbot where we left the station, and I headed to a nearby KFC which was very slow, so slow that the 25 minutes I gave ourselves was missed (however after noticing the Waterloo train it would have connected with had been cancelled at Yeovil, it wouldn’t have mattered even if we made the connection!)  We had the food sitting on a bench outside Newton Abbot station before taking a pair of 150s to Dawlish where we exited the station to get some sea air (and an Ice-cream, because you need to have an ice-cream when sitting by the sea)!

 

Back at Dawlish station, it was a short wait before a short HST set arrived from Penzance which took us back to Exeter St Davids for another short wait before a pair of 159s rolled in from the siding.  Considering the previous service got cancelled I was expecting it to be busy, but it wasn’t that bad for loadings in coach 4 of 6 and by the time it reached Yeovil the coach only had a couple other passengers in.  Time passed before it arrived at Grateley, and once more we got lucky with the weather as it wasn’t raining (unlike those who alighted at Honiton into a heavy downpour!).  A gentle walk home and a relaxing remainder of the evening, where I didn’t rush to unpack my bag because due to the poor weather forecast for the Sunday I decided a day at home (featuring a trip to the dump to get rid of some old stuff from clearing out an old cupboard) would be more of benefit.  The main thing is that mum enjoyed her day trip to Devon :)

 

The Sea at Dawlish

 

16th – 18th July Trips (West Midlands & Cheshire)

16^th – 18^th July Trips (West Midlands & Cheshire)

A bit of background to this weekend, I had originally  booked accommodation in Crewe due to a railtour on the Saturday.  However that tour got pushed back to the end of August (where annoyingly I can’t do it), I had the option of either cancelling the accommodation booking or keeping it and doing a few small bits & bobs on my “slight novelty” list.  When I say accommodation, it was one of those “rooms in a converted house” Air B&B style places, although it was quite good with a shared kitchen & lounge area.

 

Friday 16^th

 

I had booked today off work, and got a lift to Andover station (after doing some food shopping with mum).  The 10:05 service took me to Basingstoke, where I changed over to a pair of 444s to Clapham Junction, where I spotted a new 701 hiding in the sidings between various other SWR units.  My original idea was to take an Overground service to Willesden Junction to take a chance with a required 710 to Euston, but my eye caught a low mileage 378 on the next Dalston Junction service, which I took to Clapham High Street.

 

After grabbing something to eat from a nearby Sainsburys I headed to Clapham North Underground station, to take a Northern Line service to Moorgate, heading upstairs to board a 717 with lovely AC for the run to Highbury & Islington before finally a Victoria line service to Euston.  I managed to get my rover from the ticket office before the Crewe service was announced for boarding on platform 12, where I had my fingers crossed not to get given a pair of lovely 350/2s for the run to Crewe…

 

 

"Hi, I'm new here, how do you do?"

 

…I was in luck as it was a pair of 350/1s, as I took a seat in the leading coach for the speedy run north, although it wasn’t that fast on departure from Euston as a late running Pendo got put out in front which delayed the 350s by a few minutes.  Some more delays along the way due to congestion caused by the hot weather but it was a nice enough trip towards Crewe, although I did have to laugh at the train connection screens on the train completely ignoring the high level platforms at both Tamworth & Lichfield, giving only “connections” to the following Crewe service or a London Euston service!

 

At Crewe, I was surprised that the ranger operated the ticket barriers (both ways!) as I headed towards my accommodation to pick up the room key (self-check in, with the security codes sent via text), dropping off some weight from my bag and being impressed with the room.  I returned to the station and with some time to waste before the next train towards Birmingham managed to pick up my Cheshire Day Ranger from the ticket office for the Saturday.

 

Baby Hippo at Crewe

 

I had my fingers crossed for something reasonable on the Liverpool – Birmingham service (although this time the back-up option was a 9 coach 390 from Edinburgh), getting lucky with a 350/3 leading a 350/4, as I grabbed a seat in the /3 for the run to Birmingham New Street, where I had time to swing via Tesco Metro, noticing that the ticket gates on the Navigation Street overbridge were wide open.  After grabbing both things for dinner & a couple bits for the following morning I headed over to Birmingham Moor Street, to take the 2 coach 165 on the Leamington Spa stopper.

 

165 at Leamington Spa

 

At Leamington Spa I had an extended wait due to delays from London, however there is a very nice waiting room area on the platform 2 side, with church pew style seating, a relaxing place to sit and wait as a 3 coach 165 arrived on a Birmingham service, taking up most of the passengers, followed by a pair of 168s which I took to Warwick Parkway for another short wait before 68010 purred in on the daily loco hauled Kidderminster service (my original idea was to catch the 168 an hour later to Kidderminster, but there was a lot of cancellations on the Snow Hill Lines).  Needless to say I was in the front coach for maximum noise from the 68 as it looped the 165 at Hatton (I need to feel sorry for anybody for Dorridge, Solihull or Birmingham who boarded that 165 at Leamington as it got looped twice).

 

Cat O'Clock at Warwick Parkway

 

After Birmingham Snow Hill, this Kidderminster service is semi-fast, calling at Rowley Regus & Smethwick only, which is nice to get something reasonably fast along the Snow Hill Lines.  At Kidderminster I had a short break before a 2 coach 172/0 arrived from Snow Hill to take me to Worcester Foregate Street where I spotted one of the hired in Chiltern 172s operating a service towards Hereford (looks a bit out of place!)  I returned back to the 172 for the trip back to Droitwich Spa for a short break before a pair of 172s arrived from Hereford to take me to New Street for a bit of different scenery.

 

I arrived at Birmingham New Street on time (felt like we were sitting at University for a good few minutes waiting for the correct departure time), and headed towards a 158 heading towards Wales, just for a time wasting move to Wolverhampton, returning to New Street on a pair of 350s from Liverpool (a /2 & a /4) before the pair of 158s arrived from Wales which would form the Holyhead train which goes via Stafford, just for the novelty of a Transport for Wales service along that route.  [There is normally 1 train a day in each direction Monday – Fridays & Sundays]

 

The pair of 158s departed Birmingham New Street and was very lightly loaded, sitting at Wolverhampton for 15 minutes before heading towards Stafford for some high speed running, there can’t be many places on the TfW network where the 158s can get to max speed.  Arrival into Crewe was a few minutes early allowing me to head back to my accommodation, and crashing out ready for an early start on the Saturday.

 

"This is the Chiltern Railways Service to..."

 

Saturday 17^th

 

I woke up from my accommodation and headed towards Crewe station, for it was an early start for me as I wanted to catch the random XC service which goes via Alsager to reach Stoke on Trent, solely for the novelty of a voyager on that route. It would also give a nice connection with the daily Stoke – Blackpool service for another novelty of 331s from Stoke towards Manchester (and a Northern call at Longport).

 

At Crewe I noticed a charter train was on platform 12, with a 47 hauling some West Coast coaches and a steam engine on the rear (looked like it was heading towards the S&C reversing at Liverpool so the steam would be leading).  Another oddity was seeing a Northern 323 in platform 3 (guess it must stable there overnight), before the voyagers rolled in.  I took a seat in nearly empty rear coach for the run towards Kidsgrove before arriving at Stoke on Trent, where I had a short 15 minute wait before the pair of 331s arrived from Macclesfield, terminating on platform 2 due to being too long for the bay platform.

 

331s at Stoke

 

A dud 331 was leading a required 331 (always nice to get a bonus), picking up a few along the way, including a group of females who I assume were heading all the way to Blackpool on a Hen Party for they were drinking already (bear in mind this was before 7am!)  I alighted from the 331s at Stockport and popped out of the station to the Sainsburys Local to grab breakfast (mmm Bacon Sandwich) before returning to see another charter train, this time the “Midland Pullman” HST set heading towards the Heart of Wales line [nice to see charter trains back out on the network].  This was only possible as the EMR service to Liverpool was running 15 minutes late, as a single 158 rolled in from Nottingham which took me all the way to Liverpool Lime Street (as I wanted to cover the Warrington Central line once more).

 

At Liverpool Lime Street I had a short wait before the next Newcastle bound TPE would depart, which was a low mileage 802 (solely from when I visited Chester Le Street last year), which I took to Manchester Victoria for another break, broken up with a time wasting move to Salford Central & back.  I was waiting for the next Chester service, which was formed of a required 195.  The 195 rolled in from Leeds pretty full, as it emptied out to be refilled again, as I noticed the AC had failed in the front coach so it wasn’t the most comfortable trip towards Chester, after Warrington it was full & standing for the non-stop run to Chester.  I don’t think I was the only one happy to feel the fresh air when it arrived at Chester!  I spotted several new Merseyrail units being stored in some sidings to the south of Warrington station, and they do look nice.

 

How many passengers can you squeeze onto a 195 challenge?

 

Anyhow at Chester I crossed over towards platform 2 to await the train from Birmingham, a pair of voyagers did take some of the waiting crowd, but the 158s were still very busy on the Holyhead train (complete with failed AC).  I was only going as far as Shotton, to start my little walk back towards Chester, going via the former Chester and Connah's Quay Railway route, now turned into a popular mixed use path.  I started by walking part of the former line towards Connah’s Quay itself before swinging back via the River Dee to cross the Hawarden Bridge, having good timing as a Bidston bound 150 was a couple minutes behind allowing me to photograph it passing the lightly used & limited served Hawarden Bridge station.

 

150241 passing Hawarden Bridge station

 

Now onto the “Chester Millennium Greenway” as it’s signposted, on the former south facing curve of the railway junction, having a quick double back via the north facing curve before I headed towards Chester.  It’s tarmacked all the way and I would say follows the route of the old railway other than for a footbridge over a busy dual carriageway (carrying the A494), but there was no real evidence of the former life, none of the stations platforms survive (unless they are hidden deep within the hedges).  A few signs around the settlement of Blacon where I would imagine the station would have been.

 

It was a nice little walk, although the signs into England/Wales on the border are a bit damaged, I walked underneath some nice old railway bridges and once into Chester over the canal I came off the former railway near Ermine Road, going via a McCoys for lunch & some cold drink, before heading towards Chester station, the end of my little walk, some nice scenery along the way of farmland along the old railway route itself.  It was back to the trains, as I boarded a pair of 153s taken to Crewe, making use of the toilet to change my walking leggings back to trousers before looking out of the window at the scenery.

 

A former EMR 153 in platform 9 at Crewe, looks odd this end of the station!

 

At Crewe I had a short wait before a pair of voyagers rolled in to form the next Holyhead service which I took back to Chester, first time on a refurbished Avanti Voyager and they have done a good job with the interiors.  A tight connection at Chester saw me jumping onto a 507 which I took to Capenhurst (very warm inside, the restricted opening windows don’t help), I exited as a bylaw enforcement officer was taking details of someone who decided to skip the lesson in school at how to sit properly and was caught feet on the seat opposite.  A short wait at Capenhurst before a 508 arrived to take me back to Chester, I would have gone further but the following service was cancelled, as was the Northern service from Helsby to Ellesmere Port meaning I dug out an alternative idea, as I sat on a bench waiting for the next Leeds train to arrive as it was meant to be required.

 

As expected it was indeed required, as I took the 195 to Newton-Le-Willows for a short wait before the next Newcastle bound 802 as that was showing as required (another one into my book).  I took the 802 to Manchester Victoria, popping out of the station to visit a nearby Co-Op for dinner items before returning to the station catching a 156 to Salford Crescent to intercept a pair of 331s from Blackpool as one of them was on around 8 miles so the run to Manchester Piccadilly pushed it over ten miles.  Another short wait before a required 397 rolled in from Edinburgh which took me to Manchester Airport, followed by a 319 to Wilmslow.

 

A 319 & 175 at Wilmslow

My final train of the day (for I was getting a bit tired and wanted a nice shower to wash the sweat) was another 319, this time calling at all the stations towards Crewe.  I exited the station, and headed back to my accommodation, to have a well needed shower and relaxing evening (even though it was quite hot, even with the windows open in the room).

 

Sunday 18^th

 

The rough plan I had for today went into the bin after looking at the list of Northern cancellations, including the entire Leeds – Doncaster stoppers.  I needed to be in Doncaster for the 15:47 service to London so I came up with some ideas, eventually narrowing it down to a trip the long way round.  I was using a Northern freebie single ticket so route options were more open (than just using the Hope Valley line stoppers which I would have expected would be wedged out from the word go)

 

I checked out of my accommodation (somewhere I will use again if I need to be in Crewe for 2 nights), and headed to Crewe station via Tesco Express (the one on the roundabout near the Best Western) to grab something for breakfast and also supplies for lunch.  My first train of the day was the first Manchester bound stopping service, formed of a 323 for the trip to Piccadilly, where I made a connection onto a busy pair of 331s heading towards Blackpool, which I took to Salford Crescent for a short wait before a 150 arrived from Clitheroe to take me to Manchester Victoria.

 

This was more a “can’t be bothered walking to Victoria in the hot weather” move, pure laziness from me.  Next up was a 3 coach 195 which I took all the way to Leeds via the scenic Calder Vale line, arriving at Leeds to have a short break on the over bridge to have my lunch before heading down to platform 17 to await the doors on the Nottingham bound 195 to get released, allowing me to get a decent seat (I don’t mind the airline seats on these units as they have good legroom).

 

195001 at Leeds

 

Departure from Leeds was on time as the train headed towards Sheffield via Wakefield Kirkgate & Barnsley, I forgot how nice this line is in parts for looking out of the window on Yorkshire scenery.  Changing trains at Meadowhall, it was a short wait before a 170 rolled in on a Scarborough service.  There must have been a set swap during the morning as this service was showing a 158 earlier in the day, but as this was a 170 with the former first class seats I headed that direction for a bit of extra comfort on the fast run to Doncaster.  I arrived on time giving me around 45 minutes or so to waste so I popped to the shops for something cold & some more drink before returning to Doncaster station.

 

Back at Doncaster, I awaited the train from Newcastle as the 802 from Hull soaked up a lot of the waiting passengers before a late running 91 arrived from Leeds before finally my 801, I located my seat for the run towards London, but sadly it was so going due to that late running 91 being slow to accelerate as it called at extra stations due to the previous Leeds getting cancelled.  Anyhow arrival into London was 10 minutes down, as I headed down to the depths of Hell, known as the Underground during summer and onto a Victoria Line service to Stockwell.

802302 at Doncaster

 

 

It kept mentioning that there were severe delays on the Northern Line so I was a bit worried, but I had less than a minute at Stockwell before a Northern Line service rolled in (seemed to be running the usual 3 minute frequency) for the short hop to Clapham North, where I exited and headed towards Clapham High Street to board a 378 for the run to Clapham Junction, the AC felt amazing!  I was ahead of my rough plan, and when at Clapham I saw the next Exeter service was running a few minutes late decided to jump on.  Sadly the AC was broken (in all 9 coaches by a glance) so it wasn’t the most comfortable for the run to Andover where I exited the train and had a 20 minute wait before the following Salisbury service (a single unit) which took me the final 6 and a bit miles to Grateley where I headed home.

 

The end of a good weekend, certainly got good use from my rangers!

 

Welcome to Wales!

 

10th July – Another trip to South Wales

10^th July – Another trip to South Wales

This week I had plans for another trip to South Wales, to focus on the stations I need on the Maesteg line as well as a couple other stations, finishing off with hopefully a walk along the River Taff from Radyr to Cardiff.  The trip began like it did a couple weeks ago with an early morning drive to Salisbury station, picking up breakfast from Sainsburys & my ranger from the ticket office before the 07:30 Cardiff Central service arrived.  Like a couple weeks ago it was quite busy in the leading coach, before it ran into another 165 at Westbury to form 5 coaches for the remaining trip, I was sensible to jump from the warm 166 to the cold (and quiet) 165.

 

Unlike a couple weeks ago, the service didn’t go via Bristol Temple Meads due to the start of the multi-week Bristol blockade (when they are replacing & remodelling the tracks) so the train turned right over the lesser used “Rhubarb/Dr Days Curve” to head towards Bristol Parkway where it reversed following a Swansea bound IET set through the tunnel and into Wales, arriving into Cardiff on time giving me around 15 minutes to wait before the next train towards Bridgend.

 

165 during the reversal at Bristol Parkway

 

A single 150 rolled in from Manchester, and it looked rather wedged out.  Thankfully Cardiff is a station where a good percentage of travellers change so I managed to get a decent seat for the short run to Bridgend, where it was starting to fill up again.  I also noticed another 150 on the next Manchester train departing Bridgend again looking rather full, the new Welsh stock can’t come soon enough, putting an end to 2 coach units on busy services.  Anyhow I was at Bridgend to await the next train towards Cardiff via Barry, which was a nice pair of 150s which I took to Llantwit Major Station, where I had 30 minutes to have a little walk around this little town before the next Bridgend train.

 

I returned to the station and caught the next Bridgend service, another pair of 150s, arriving on time where I noticed the next Maesteg service was showing as delayed by around 20 minutes, sadly not quite enough time to grab a bonus station but I took the next Gloucester train (a 2 coach 170) to Pencoed, solely as a time wasting move before a pair of 153s rolled in from Cardiff which took me to the end of the line at Maesteg, where I had a gentle walk to Tesco for lunch before heading towards the other station in Maesteg at Ewenny Road, which isn’t actually accessed off the road of the same name!

 

153s at Maesteg

 

A pretty area I will return to, solely to have a decent walk towards the hills as there seems to be some interesting looking paths showing on the map, anyhow I took the following Maesteg train from Ewenny Road to Maesteg itself returning on the same unit (a 3 coach 170 this time) to the dump (sorry anybody who lives in that area) of Wildmill.  Thankfully I didn’t have long to wait before another 2 coach 170 arrived which took me to Garth, a much nicer station near a river, allowing me time to get away from the mask, even if was for only 10 minutes before the 170 returned from Maesteg to take me to Pontyclun where I had another short break and another little walk around the area.

 

Back at Pontyclun station, it was onto another 170 this time taking me back one stop to Llanharan, for a short wait before a 3 coach 170 arrived (quite busy) which took me to Cardiff Central, where I had a short walk over to platform 6 to take a required 769 up the hill to Cardiff Queen Street, swapping over to my last Welsh 150 needed for mileage working a Cardiff Bay – Pontypridd service, which I took to Taffs Well for a short wait before heading back towards Llandaf as a time wasting move before the next Merthyr Tydfil service arrived.

 

For some reason, today the Merthyr Tydfil services were calling additionally at Trefforest Estate which normally would only be served by the hourly Cardiff Central – Pontypridd services, in the current timetable (yes I know before covid arrived, both Merthyr Tydfil services called at Trefforest Estate giving it an half hourly service).  When I saw it on RTT earlier in the week I was expecting they were calling there with the Pontypridd short services axed due to staff/unit shortages.  Anyhow I wasn’t going to miss this chance to get a slightly awkward station (normally a +2 from the north), so I alighted at Trefforest Estate (along with a couple others who got confused as the train was announcing it as Trefforest).

 

A 150 departing Trefforest Estate under the very tall signs

 

I didn’t have long to wait at Trefforest Estate (with the super tall signs!) before the Cardiff Central train arrived from Pontypridd, which took me back to Radyr, where on exiting the train, removed my mask and went for my walk towards the Taff Trail, walking along the river, although I did get lost at one point and didn’t fancy going down a steep bank for some stepping stones over a fast flowing stream near the railway bridge between Radyr & Llandaf.  I backtracked to find the right path, but not before walking onto the river bank underneath the railway bridge in an attempt for a photo of a passing train, but it wasn’t the best :(

 

A 150 crosses the railway viaduct over the River Taff north of Llandaff

 

I crossed over the river on the footbridge attached to the railway bridge and went along the path before crossing back over making use of an old railway viaduct built for the “Llandaff Loop Line” which has been converted to be used by walkers/bikes.  I followed the river some more, with Hailey Park to one side, the river views were very hit & miss due to hedges/trees on one side, but there was some nice views when it opened up or areas opened up to go down onto the stones by the river bank.  Continuing along the river heading towards Cardiff City centre, crossing over once more at the “Black Weir” bridge to continue towards the city centre, the path getting busier as time went on, but for parts it split into a tarmacked section and a walked section closer to the river.

 

Blackweir Bridge over River Taff, near Maindy Cardiff

 

Sometime later I reached the millennium stadium before reaching the railway line, going via Tesco for dinner items (and a cold drink!), before heading to the station, where I decided to keep it simple and waited on platform 1 to eat my dinner and relax waiting for the 166 to arrive, to take me back to Salisbury.  A random 20 minute delay at Westbury meant I was late getting into Salisbury but the train was quiet enough (I suspect not going via Bristol Temple Meads might have helped with loadings).

 

It was a nice relaxing drive home, before I had a nice cool shower.  The Sunday was a day-off due to the local services on my line being replaced by buses due to staff shortages due to the kickball final, also for a day to carry on sorting out stuff at home.

2nd – 4th July Weekend (Cambrian & Shropshire)

2^nd – 4^th July Weekend

The idea of this weekend was to visit the wonderful Cambrian coast, mainly to visit the country’s newest station of Bow Street, revisit a couple stations I needed for photographs and to take in the beauty of the line.  This being the first weekend where the line was reopened after a 6 week closure to replace a bridge near Machynlleth where leisure hotel stays in England was allowed.

 

I managed to get a booking in the Premier Inn at Wolverhampton (the one next to the station) for the standard rate which was a bonus, and got booked on the 21:03 service from Euston to Wolverhampton for some Pendoling.

 

Friday- The trip to Wolverhampton

Nothing really exciting, with a single 159 taken from Grateley to Basingstoke, followed by a pair of 444s to Waterloo, I was toying with the idea of walking towards Blackfriars along the River Thames, but it had gotten very humid so headed across to Waterloo East to take a South Eastern service to London Bridge, followed by a couple Thameslink services to St Pancras (stopping at Blackfriars to keep my eye out for anything needed for mileage).

 

After St Pancras, it was a gentle walk across to Euston, locating the platform the Pendo was sitting on to get my reserved seat for the run towards Wolverhampton, my first decent run on a Pendo for a few months.  At Wolverhampton I decided to take a risk with a late running train from Holyhead which was meant to go via Bescot, but due to how late it was the 158 went via the regular route (via Sandwell) both ways [it was more for the novelty of a Welsh unit on the tour via Bescot].  That was a waste of £2.60 (although I have no idea why I bothered purchasing a ticket due to the Welsh guards hiding away in the rear cab and not doing revenue at the moment)

 

Returning to Wolverhampton for the 2^nd time, I headed out towards the hotel, getting checked in and making myself at home for a couple nights, although it didn’t last as due to a cock-up at reception they had somehow given me the wrong room and someone else entered it around 1am, but soon left after noticing that someone else was in there.  At the time of writing I’m still waiting on a response from Premier Inn about this incident as it did wake me up.

 

Saturday – Cambrian Coast

 

The main event of the weekend, something I had been looking forward to because the Cambrian Coast is beautiful (in parts) as the 158s make their slow way along the coast to reach rural communities & towns on the way to Pwllheli & Aberystwyth.  The day began with a walk to a wet Wolverhampton station to board the first train towards Aberystwyth, formed of a single 158 calling at the usual stations towards Shrewsbury where it reversed before carrying on into Wales, getting busier along the way but emptied out at Machynlleth (for a connection for a coastal service).

 

I remained on board and alighted at Bow Street, the newest station in this country, featuring a nearly empty car park and a busy road.  Nice scenery from the station but with only 20 minutes before the unit would return, I didn’t go exploring that far before I returned to the basic platform taking the same 158 back towards Machynlleth where I had a ~ 50 minute wait before the next train for Pwllheli, time I spent having a walk to a Co-Op in the town centre (lots of 2^nd hand book stores) to pick up both a late breakfast & also bits for lunch.

 

A 158 departing Bow Street

 

Back at Machynlleth station I had a short wait before the next service arrived, front unit going towards Aberystwyth, middle unit to Pwllheli with the rear unit going out of service, I took a seat in the middle unit, making sure I was on the left hand side in the direction of travel (all the better for sea views).  It was a few minutes late departing but the delay was made up along the way.  The train was well used with passengers heading towards Barmouth, and then towards Harlech and a couple other stations along the upper section before the 158 arrived at Pwllheli pretty much on time giving me around 20 minutes to have a gentle walk around.  This is an area I will return again for a decent look around because the line is beautiful, one of the best in Great Britain in my eyes

 

End of the Line for this 158

I returned to the 158 for the trip back south, this time taking a seat on the land side for some different views from the train, before alighting at Fairbourne for a spot of walking back towards Barmouth, going via the coastal path, which comes out near Morfa Mawddach station.  A nice walk with good views, before I joined the path leading towards the Barmouth viaduct, which was quite busy with both walkers & cyclists, a few people parking in a car park near Morfa station and walking across the bridge to visit Barmouth to avoid the long detour due to the river I would imagine.

 

Due to the next northbound train being delayed, it allowed me the chance to grab a photo of it crossing over the viaduct, before I continued towards Barmouth where the weather had turned to be a bit drizzly, but it didn’t stop me carrying around walking towards the beach area, although I did turn back before reaching the end of a breakwater for it was a bit wet with the waves, before I reached Barmouth station I went via the Co-Op to grab bits for dinner before waiting at a very busy station.  The 158 arrived and did empty out before filling up again, but by Fairbourne the majority of the crowds had gone [emptied out a bit at Morfa as well].

 

A 158 crossing the Barmouth Viaduct

The 158 arrived at Machynlleth pretty much on time, and passengers for stations towards Shrewsbury were told to change to the opposite platform for it would form a slightly unusual service in being non-stop to Aberystwyth (tight turnaround at Aberystwyth so it can’t call at the likes of Dovey or Borth).  I alighted from the train at Aberystwyth and had another little walk around the town (doing a little loop) before returning to the station to await the last train which goes towards Shrewsbury and it was quite busy with people who have had a bit too much to drink.  It departs Aberystwyth around 15 minutes down, and even with a random set swap at Machynlleth by the time it reached Shrewsbury it was back on time.

 

It was another enjoyable trip with good scenery, and it did quieten down due to the kickball game, but I was glad to alight at Wolverhampton as I was a bit on the tired side, so I walked to the hotel, went to the room I was in the night before but the card didn’t work, so back to reception where the issue from the previous night where I got given the wrong room came back and it took 45 minutes (sitting in a warm reception area) before they gave me a room (and my clothes back).  On the bright side this room was on the side away from the station (overlooking the restaurant) so it was a bit quieter, but not the best way to end the day.  At the time of writing I’m still waiting to hear back from Premier Inn about these issues as I was expecting a better experience.

 

The Afon Rheildol in Aberystwyth

 

Sunday – Back to Grateley, the long way round

The idea for my return home came from a knowing that there is a Castle-set (2+4) HST set which works Worcester – Bristol services on Sundays only, which allowed me to make a rough plan to also visit a couple of the stations I needed on the line between Hereford & Shrewsbury, so with a plan in my head I departed the hotel and headed to Wolverhampton station for a West Midlands stopping service towards Shrewsbury, at least I got a decent seat on the 170 for the slow journey, as some of the seats have collapsed due to overuse.

 

 

Canal near Wolverhampton Station

 

At Shrewsbury I had a short wait before a 3 coach 175 arrived from Manchester which took me to Leominster, heading back one stop on a busy 150 to Ludlow for an hour break at this lovely little town (which is quite hilly).  After visiting Tesco and walking to a bridge over a river for some photos, it was back to the station where the rain had returned, before a 158 took me to Hereford where I met up with a good friend for a general chit-chat as I headed across to Worcester Foregate Street on a pair of 172s (terminating at Worcester due to engineering works).

 

River Teme from Ludford Bridge, Ludlow

 

Sadly the weather was still poor not to allow a walk towards the viaduct (no point getting soaking wet in the rain), so it was a case of waiting for the HST to arrive from Bristol (I got lucky as the other HST diagram was replaced with a 166) taking up a seat for the trip to Bristol Temple Meads (I was ignoring the instruction on my advance ticket to change at Filton Abbey Wood as I didn’t fancy a 45 minute wait at a station which doesn’t have much in the way of comfortable shelters, whereas Temple Meads has nice benches under the canopies and even waiting rooms.)

 

43172 at Worcester Foregate Street

 

My time at Bristol Temple Meads passed as a pair of 165s arrived on the Portsmouth train, quite busy until Bath where it emptied out for the enjoyable trip to Salisbury where I headed to a nearby Pizza place to order a takeaway pizza for dinner, returning to the station to eat the pizza on an isolated bench before a pair of very busy 159s arrived from Exeter to take me the one stop up the line to Grateley, the end of a varied day and an enjoyable weekend (other than being messed around by the Premier Inn at Wolverhampton).

 

View from footbridge at Machynlleth station