7th - 9th August (Trip to North West) (Part 2)

 7^th August (Saturday) (Greater Manchester Wayfarer)

When I was doing the rough idea for today, the Saturday was going to be a walk along the Middlewood Way, between Rose Hill Marple & Macclesfield, however with the expected bad weather most of the day (as well as the rain from Friday) I decided to give it a miss, for it isn’t much fun getting soaked or hitting bad mud.  So with that in mind I had a quick scan of RTT for any of my required units making a few notes before heading out with the first train of the day from Stockport heading towards Manchester, the 06:15 Blackpool.

 

I took this pair of units to Salford Crescent, stepping back to a required 769 on the next Southport working which is booked to go via the Atherton line (instead of the more usual via Bolton), and after a false start when the engines didn’t want to start the first time round, the 769 departed as I enjoyed looking out of the window at a line less frequently travelled.  I remained on the train until Appleby Bridge as the next train back towards Bolton was also a couple minutes late, which was a single 150 which I took to Bolton, changing platforms to take the next Blackpool train to Horwich Parkway, mainly as a time wasting move.

 

A pair of 331s depart Horwich Parkway bound for Blackpool North

 

A required 331 was on the next Manchester Airport service which I took to Manchester Oxford Road, popping out of the station to visit a Sainsburys Local to grab something to drink, before returning to the station with a required 397 taken to Manchester Airport, the train emptying out quite well at Piccadilly.  After a short fester at Manchester Airport I was bound for Alderley Edge on a Crewe bound 319, although from the looks of the signalling diagram it did look like there was some issues further along the line.  At Alderley Edge I had 30 minutes to waste so ended up doing a little time wasting loop, getting caught out by the rain (but saved hanging around the station).

 

The reason for visiting Alderley Edge was to take the same 769 I had earlier back towards Manchester Oxford Road, this time instead of sitting in the motor coach I sat in the former first class area (which is 2+1 seating).  The train got busy along the way (departed in front of a late running Manchester bound TfW service so took the passengers at Wilmslow), but it did empty out by Oxford Road, where I had a short wait before another required 397 rolled in from Edinburgh to take me back towards the Airport.  Having TPE on RTT makes things easier when it comes to hunting down the 397s as I'm over halfway there!)

 

A 66 running light engine passing a very wet Alderley Edge

 

I made the connection onto a Blackpool bound pair of 331s which took me back to Oxford Road, where I had a short wait before boarding a Liverpool bound 195 for the slow run towards Warrington Central, where the train got very busy, but I swapped platforms to await the arrival of my last 156 needed for ten miles, attached with a 150.  This unit has evaded me a couple times in recent trips as being out on the Friday but having a day in the depot on the Saturday, so I was pleased to finally get 156424 taken over the ten mile line.

 

Back at Manchester Oxford Road it was a short wait before a pair of EMR units arrived from Liverpool for the short hop to Piccadilly, where it was a fight to get off due to the waiting crowd wanting to board (the units from Liverpool were very quiet, I think most of the passengers who were on them when they arrived from Liverpool also alighted at Manchester).  Another short wait at Piccadilly before a required 195 rolled in from Barrow in Furness which took me towards the Airport, leaving me with just one more 3 coach 195 to get (sadly wasn’t out on the Saturday).

 

195111 "NHS Train" at Manchester Airport

 

I returned towards Salford Crescent on a pair of 331s, having a short wait before a 156+150 combo rolled in to take me to Manchester Victoria, where I took a seat on the reformed 150004 for the run to Bolton, changing platforms to take the same 156+150 combo to Wigan Wallgate, where I crossed over to Wigan North Western to take a seat on a Manchester bound 158.  Why on earth these services don’t call at the interchange station of Hindley to allow passengers from the Southport – Alderley Edge services to change at Hindley [same platform] rather than having to dash across the road if they want stations towards Swinton is a bit of a mystery.  Surely a call at Hindley will be used more than calling at the nothing station of Hag Fold!

 

Anyhow rant over, it was on the 158 for the trip to Salford Crescent, where I had a short wait before a Hazel Grove bound pair of 331s took me to Piccadilly where I changed to board a Chester bound 2-coach 175 (which was very busy).  I had hoped when looking at the timetable TPE would be sensible to used 802s on the hourly Liverpool – Manchester Airport services making use of the overhead wires, but instead they were using pairs of 185s, burning lots of diesel.  Nearly as wasteful as Avanti running voyagers under the wires on Edinburgh – London services when they have spare Pendos due to running a reduced timetable.  I noticed when paused at Newton-Le-Willows there was a lot of passengers waiting for the Liverpool train following a few minutes behind, so I was glad to be heading to Earlestown for some peace.

 

A 397 arrives at Wigan from Liverpool.

 

The idea of heading to Earlestown was to catch the daily Wigan North Western service which uses the rarer side of the Lowton triangle giving access to the West Coast Main Line for the run into Wigan North Western terminating on platform 1.  An earlier idea was to catch a 150 from the bay platform to Salford to intercept a 195 bound for Wigan Wallgate (according to RTT), but that train got cancelled so it was onto another idea as I crossed the road and headed to Wigan Wallgate to jump on a 769 for the run to Parbold and a short break before a 158 arrived from Southport.  I was originally going to take this back to Bolton and have a break to hunt down some dinner, but due to a late running Airport TPE this service got put out first at Lostock junction and went via platform 4 at Bolton (allowing the 397 to overtake).

 

So I stayed on the 158 for the sake of completing the trackwork (BLS hat on), taking it to Salford Crescent for a tight connection onto a busy 150 heading back towards Bolton, crossing over to the opposite platform to await the Manchester Airport service which featured a required 331 (my last 3 coach 331 needed outright, just one more left to clear for ten miles).  I took these units back to Manchester Piccadilly where I had a fast walk towards the Co-Op outside the station (the Sainsburys was bare bones) to grab a sandwich meal-deal before coming back to jump on a pair of 150s bound for Buxton, which I took the end of the wires at Hazel Grove.

 

Unexpected Microgrice to go into platform 4 at Bolton heading towards Manchester

 

My last train move of the day was a single 331 (wisdom of Northern, run pairs most of the day but only singles late at night when all the drinkers start heading home!), which I took back to Stockport, solely to tick off Stockport – Hazel Grove for 331 coverage.  After arrival I had a gentle walk back to the hotel after a productive day, sadly not much walking but a decent enough day in my eyes, the highlight is getting that final 156 for ten miles and the novelty of a 769 via the Atherton line.

 

 

Stockport Viaduct at Night

 

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Sunday 8^th August

 

The main aim of today was to take the Sundays only Dalesrail Carlisle – Blackpool service, for the  chance to revisit the line between Clitheroe & Hellifield, however that was a planned cancellation from the Saturday, so I spent the Saturday evening after arriving back at the hotel coming up with a couple plans.  I eventually picked the one which didn’t involve much walking or festering (as I didn’t fancy 90 minutes at Appleby in the pouring rain!) and after checking out of the hotel, headed to Stockport station to board the first Northern service towards Manchester, a pair of 150s from Buxton.  I avoided the crowd and boarded the rear unit for the run into Piccadilly where I had a short wait before a busy 195 rolled in from the Airport to take me towards Barrow in Furness.

 

The unit got very busy after Lancaster (platform 2 at Preston for a York train looked very busy!) as it headed along the Furness line arriving at Barrow in Furness pretty much on time, sadly a late notice cancellation of the next Carlisle service meant I had an hour to waste at this station (spent popping out to a nearby Tesco and relaxing).  The doors on the former Scottish 156 were released for my first chance to experience the new style seats on a 156 (similar seats as found on the Northern 158s), noticing that the legroom for the table seats was a bit rubbish!  My friend Stu joined me as he made a tight connection from a late running train from Manchester to this 156 as we had a little catch-up.

 

A 195 at journeys end at Barrow in Furness

 

I noticed as the train went along the coast, some of the stations have been rebranded into the plain “GBR” style station names, black text on a white background, functional I would guess.  Anyhow the 156 headed towards Carlisle, picking up/dropping off passengers along the way calling at a couple of the request stops, along a beautiful line along the coast, there is a few places along this line on my big list to revisit one of these days to have a decent explore, but that has to wait for the weather to get better (for sudden heavy downpours was the order of the day).  Arriving at Carlisle we popped out to the Tesco to pick up some food before heading back to board the Leeds semi-fast service (only calls at Kirkby Stephen & Appleby between Carlisle & Settle).

 

This was a pair of 158s creating 5 coaches (however the rear unit seemed to be locked out of use when we alighted at Skipton), we sat in the front coach (where it was quieter) for the run towards Skipton along the beautiful Settle & Carlisle line.  I said my farewell to Stu as he headed back west on a Morecambe train and I was welcomed on board the Leeds train for my first 333 for a while, where I noticed the flooding in some fields south of Skipton.   Arriving into Leeds where I had a short wait before a low mileage 195 took me to New Pudsey, returning to Leeds on a 158 where I headed towards the Nottingham train.

 

View of the Sea near Whitehaven

 

Due to engineering works, the line around Barnsley was closed so the hourly Leeds – Nottingham services were going via Wakefield Westgate & Moorthorpe, even though it departed in front of a late running Birmingham bound XC service, it was lightly loaded, at least in the front coach, as the 195 had a chance to get up some speed on the faster route between Leeds & Sheffield.  At Sheffield it was another short wait before I boarded a 3 coach 195 on the Manchester Piccadilly service, which I was surprised at how busy it was, considering this one randomly ran non-stop to Manchester.

 

I settled down on the 195 for the run across the Hope Valley, sadly in the dark with the odd fast of light when it passed a station, slowing to a crawl for a couple of them (New Mills Central), but it arrived into Manchester 9 minutes early (I was expecting for it to pass Adwick 9 minutes early but then sit outside the station for 10 minutes waiting for a platform!).  I exited the station and headed towards the Easy Hotel, and relaxing for the remainder of the evening (other than the noise of a couple in a room nearby making love, and some drunken Scottish girls arriving back in the early hours being quite loud).

 

Other than the delay at Barrow (which didn’t make much difference in the end), it was a nice day spent looking out of the window at the scenery

 

Platform 7 for the 21:35 Northern Service to Manchester Piccadilly... Calling at Manchester Piccadilly Only

 

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Monday 9^th August

 

I wanted to be on the 11:35-odd service towards South Wales at the latest so the Monday morning was going be spent having a Metrolink session, hunting for the newer trams (3121 onwards) as well as some of my “sub-mile” trams, deciding to run between Cornbrook & St Peters Square as that gets some speed up on the section towards Deansgate (better than a crawl in the city centre!).   Although at first I wanted to do a little walk along the canal, but my first idea went into the bin as the towpath was closed for “filming” [was going to walk towards Deansgate], the second part was blocked [Ashton Canal] so I ended up walking along the Rochdale canal towards the junction where the New Islington Basin came in for a walk towards New Islington Metrolink stop.  A nice gentle early morning potter before playing with some trams, although I did notice on the map there might be an access point to the Bridgwater Canal near Cornbrook, but it could be blocked by a gate.

 

New Islington Basin in Manchester

 

I was surprised at how cheap an all-day “Zone 1” travelcard is as I jumped on the first tram to Piccadilly, where I exited to swing via Sainsburys for breakfast before heading back to the tram platform, jumping on a tram to St Peters Square.  Over the next couple hours I spent going back & forth between the two stations, mixed up with a trip into Piccadilly and back out again, and only saw 2 of the new trams out in service.  After swinging into Victoria before heading to Piccadilly, it was time to say farewell to the trams, I think from memory I got 2 new trams plus around 10 more pushed over the mile mark.  Oddest sight was seeing a Pendo (ECS from Preston) crawling towards Deansgate, and a very busy single 150 from Warrington Central [as that line passes next to Cornbrook station].

 

Metrolink Tram 3126 at Cornbrook... Mmm New Tram Smell

 

I got a seat on the 11:35 service, an un-refurbed 175 for the run to Crewe, the train picking up a good load along the way and I was glad to exit at Crewe to have a short walk along to platform 7, my fingers crossed, to board a 350/1 leading a 350/3 on the next London Euston service.  Needless to say I was in the front coach of the 350/1.  Where the train did pick up some passengers along the way it never got that busy and a couple hours or so later I arrived at London Euston, and I headed towards the Overground platforms to take my first 5 coach 710 for the run to Willesden Junction.

 

 

A 5 coach 710/3 at London Euston

 

 

A short wait at Willesden Junction before a 378 arrived from Stratford to take me to Clapham Junction, where with around 30 minutes before the next Basingstoke bound service (large scale engineering works around Weybridge) I exited the station and popped to a nearby large Asda for another drink & something snacky to munch on.  Back at Clapham Junction (where passenger flow has returned to normal now the idiotic one-way system in the subway is gone), I had a short wait before a single 458 soaked up a lot of the waiting passengers before a pair of 444s arrived to take me on the crawl via Staines.  Once more I sat in the front coach and it was lightly loaded, as I settled down.

 

Eventually the 444s arrived at Basingstoke, where I had a short wait before some sprinters arrived from the Salisbury direction, discharging its passengers before heading back out towards Salisbury, the last train of this trip, although it was nice to get home.

 

159s at Basingstoke

5th - 9th August – A trip to the North West (Part 1)

5^th - 9^th August – A trip to the North West

The idea for this long trip came from wanting to use up a Travelodge voucher (from when the country got put into lockdown in November), however due to the value (it was around £70 including the “25% bonus”) meant I used it on a 3 night stay in the hotel in Stockport (topped off with a Sunday night in the Easy Hotel in Manchester).  Ideas came and went for what to do for the trip, eventually coming up with a rough idea with some "want to do XYZ", along with some walks.

Sadly due to the poor weather (sudden heavy downpours mixed with more rain) meant my original idea to do some walking was put on hold for future trips.  I had planned to walk from Stockport towards the Ashton canal along part of the old “Stockport and Woodley Junction” railway & Stockport Canal on the Thursday, Middlewood Way on the Saturday and have an explore of the Sankey Viaduct near Earlestown.

 

5^th August (Thursday)

 

The trip began with the 07:25-odd service to London Waterloo where I had been able to secure a cheap advance ticket on.  A pair of 159s and I had a table seat for the run into Waterloo on an uneventful run, a sign of the times as in pre Covid times this would have been 9 coaches and very busy with commuters.  Anyhow on arrival into Waterloo I had around 2 hours to reach Euston for the 10:46 Crewe service, the first train valid for use with the £35 super off-peak return to Manchester.

 

So with time to kill, I headed out on foot towards the Jubilee footbridges over the River Thames (a pair of footbridges attached to the railway bridge for Charing Cross) before walking along the north embankment of the Thames, underneath Waterloo Bridge, and having to divert before Blackfriars due to works.  Underneath Blackfriars railway bridge and across to the South Bank via the Millennium Bridge, before I continued heading along the Thames, although the path does  move away from the river bank due to various buildings.

 

Millennium Bridge

I reached London Bridge, using the wrong entrance (should have walked along the road a bit more, it would have been quieter!) and onto a 700 to Blackfriars stepping back for another 700 to St Pancras, where I walked to Euston.  I got to the station just as the platform had been announced so it was a bit of a rush to head towards the platform and get a decent seat for the long trip to Crewe.  My heart sank when I saw a 350/2 on the rear, but improved as a 350/3 was leading, needless to say I sat in the /3, in the front coach [less of a walk at Crewe!]

 

An uneventful trip towards Crewe, train picked up a few passengers at Rugeley but they alighted at Stafford, but it was nice and quiet in the front coach.  At Crewe I exited the station in search of lunch from the nearby Tesco Express and also to pick up a GM Wayfarer as I made a rough plan for the next few hours as I wanted to do the slight novelty of a pair of 331s which ran non-stop to Manchester Victoria from Earlestown.  Anyhow back to the trains as a 3 coach 175 rolled in from South Wales, getting lucky due to a tree coming down on the line between Shrewsbury & Crewe blocking the Shrewsbury bound line (a train to South Wales got diverted via Chester and the stopper cancelled).  I managed to get a seat for the run into Piccadilly, the train arriving roughly on time to complete my journey to Manchester.

 

A 175 at Manchester Piccadilly

 

I headed across to platform 13 to board a pair of 331s from Blackpool, as one of them was a low mileage unit, so it was cleared for mileage by the time I reached the Airport, returning to Piccadilly on a 175, which was a bit chaotic due to a late running freight train getting in the passenger trains way causing delays before a required 195 rolled in from the Lancaster direction, which took me back to Manchester Airport, where once more I boarded the Chester bound 175.

 

This time I took the Chester train towards Earlestown, the train getting quite busy at Piccadilly with more passengers boarding at Earlestown when I alighted for a short walk to Tesco to grab dinner before returning to the station to await the Manchester Victoria train, noticing that there was issues around Huyton, which meant the 331s arrived a few minutes late, but were lightly loaded as I headed to Manchester Victoria arriving a few minutes behind schedule.

 

 

Platform 1 at Earlestown with the Manchester Victoria Express

 

At Manchester Victoria I crossed over to platform 3 to board a very busy 2 coach 158 (with no working toilet) for the short leap to Salford Crescent, returning to Manchester Victoria on a required 769.  My original idea was to catch the Clitheroe train to Bolton, but the allocation for that unit had been swapped due to the Clitheroe trains arriving and departing within a couple minutes (rather than sitting at the station for an hour) so it was back onto the 769 for the run to what would have been Bolton.

 

This service called at all the stations towards Bolton, including a wet and miserable Clifton; however after Farnworth the train came to a stop, lights went out as the overhead wires had tripped, a few minutes later the driver started the engines to carry on the journey towards Bolton, with the overhead wires broken I decided it would be safer to remain on board the 769 towards Wigan Wallgate (also allowed me to tick off the northern end of platform 5 at Bolton).

 

A Southport bound 769 departing Wigan Wallgate

 

At Wigan Wallgate I crossed over to the opposite platform to board the next 769 back towards Manchester, as the problem had been fixed and trains were back moving (with some delays).  I took this one to Bolton, changing platforms to board a Blackpool bound pair of 331s to Horwich Parkway, solely as a time wasting move before another pair of 331s took me to Salford Crescent (another one over ten miles).  Back to Bolton for a short break (where I popped out to Sainsburys) before heading towards Manchester on the next Airport bound service (a required unit & one needed for mileage).

 

However things didn’t go swimmingly, as this train got terminated at Oxford Road due to a staff shortage, so before it got announced as being cancelled I hopped over to platform 2 to board a TPE service bound for the Airport back to Piccadilly.  At Piccadilly I headed towards platform 12 for the final train of the day with a Crewe bound 175 for the short run to Stockport, where I headed to the hotel to get myself checked in and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

 

A 323 alongside a 175 at Manchester Piccadilly

 

6^th August (Friday)

 

My original idea for the morning got put on hold as the Wilmslow – Warrington Central - Liverpool 195 isn’t running at the moment due to staff isolating etc, so this gave me a later start as I headed towards Stockport station, purchasing my South Pennies Day Ranger and waiting for 9am to come round so it would become valid.  My first train of the day was a Southport bound 769 for the non-stop run to Manchester Piccadilly, where after swinging via the Co-Op outside the station I headed towards the low numbered platforms to board a Newcastle bound 802, which due to large scale engineering works between Victoria & Stalybridge was starting from Piccadilly.

 

A 802 in the Main Shed at Piccadilly

 

I got a decent window seat for the nice run towards Yorkshire, arriving into Leeds pretty much bang on time, where I set myself a little plan to take a required Blackpool bound 195 to Hebden Bridge which would intercept a low mileage pair of units from Moston.  I managed to get a seat on the required 2 coach 195 but it was very busy after New Pudsey with more passengers boarding at Bradford Interchange so I believe the decision was made to rip out the stops between Hebden Bridge & Preston due to the severe overcrowding.  I alighted from the train at Halifax as yet more people tried to squeeze on, and I exited the station for a quick break (noticing that the next Blackpool – York train looked busy when it departed Halifax).

 

 

A York bound 195 departing Halifax

 

After my break it was back to the platform with a 150 taken to Low Moor (more of a time wasting move) before the pair of 195s rolled in from Moston to take me to Leeds, another 195 cleared for ten miles.  At Leeds after looking at RTT for ideas for required units, I decided on a time wasting spin to Wakefield on a 800+801 lash up, returning to Leeds on a 150 from Knottingley (busy in the rear coach, empty in the front!).  I had some spare time before the 801s arrived from the depot so popped out of the station for some fresh air, before returning to take the required pair of 801s to Wakefield.

 

A pair of Azumas at Wakefield

 

I noticed that during the day since I checked in the morning, one of the 4 coach 331s had swapped over for the Doncaster services, so I had a little time wasting move back to Leeds on a 158 from Knottingley, returning to Wakefield on the same 158 which had attached to another unit, for another short break before the 331 rolled in from Doncaster to allow me to tick it off for my book.  The next Harrogate – London train was due to be a required 800 so with some more time to kill I headed to Dewsbury on a 158, returning to Leeds on another 158 (the original idea was to take a 802 to Huddersfield, but that was running around 10 minutes late so would have missed the connection coming back).

 

Once more at Leeds, I headed over to board an Azuma for the run to Wakefield Westgate, making a fast connection via the footbridge to board a required 9 coach 801 heading back towards Leeds, where I had another short wait before boarding a Nottingham bound 195 from platform 17, another 2 coach 195 which was busy from the start.  I took this 195 for the fast run to Sheffield (via Barnsley) and with around 35 minutes to wait popped out of the station and up the hill to a Tesco Express to grab some dinner, returning to the station to eat the food watching some unhappy passengers being told they couldn’t board a Lincoln stopper as they didn’t have a ticket.  It wasn’t long before a 7 coach 222 rolled in from St Pancras to form the token EMR Leeds train and judging by the passenger loadings (2 others in the leading coach and not that many in the other coaches) I can’t see it lasting long.

 

I alighted from the 222 at Wakefield Westgate to wait for a required 800 on the next Harrogate service with a very slim chance of making a Sheffield stopper at Leeds but it wasn’t to be (I was going to take that stopper back to Wakefield to intercept a required 5 coach 800 on the token Skipton train).  So it was time for another plan as I boarded a 195 for the spin to New Pudsey, returning back to Leeds on a pair of 195s and headed over to platform 5 to board the 222, which I took back to Wakefield (solely to complete Leeds – Swinton for 222 coverage).

 

The daily EMR 222 at Leeds

 

At Wakefield I made a connection onto a late running XC HST to take me back to Leeds for the final time of the day, before a required 802 took me to Huddersfield where I had a short wait before some Mk5 coaches rolled in with 68019 on the rear on one of the very few 68 hauled services which escapes York – Scarborough.  I managed to get a seat in the 2^nd to last coach (the last coach being first class), and listened to the sound of the loco as it pushed the set towards Manchester, sadly ruined somewhat by someone having an argument on his phone, so loud that he was sat near the front! [I was glad when the tunnel arrived so he shut up!]

 

A slow run towards Piccadilly after Guide Bridge due to not having a good path (follows a stopper from Hadfield & something from New Mills at Ashburys junction), but meant the service arrived into Piccadilly on time, allowing me time to head over to board a pair of 150s on the final Buxton service which I took to Stockport and headed back to the hotel.  It might not have been a varied day but was productive for some more units ticked off (plus a 68 pushed over ten miles as I had previously had that one when it was in Anglia).

 

68019 at Manchester Piccadilly

 To be continued

 

1st August – A trip to the Essex Coast

 1^st August – A trip to the Essex Coast

After a trip a couple months ago I had 2 Greater Anglia stations left to revisit for photographs, which I was leaving for a trip where the weather forecast was promising so I could walk along the coast between Walton on the Naze & Clacton as it looked like an interesting walk along the promenade then a sea-front path.

 

The trip began with the 07:35-odd from Grateley which took me towards London Waterloo, however after Fleet we were delayed due to overrunning engineering works in the Woking/Brookwood area, eventually getting moving to head towards London but it wasn’t the fastest of journeys as the 159s got caught up behind a stopper from Basingstoke so arrival into London was around 20 minutes late, enough time for me to ditch my original idea of a fast connection towards Stratford for the 09:37-odd Liverpool Street – Clacton service (an unofficial connection because the minimum connection time for cross London journeys are long).

 

With around an hour to get to Liverpool Street, I first swung via the Tesco Express outside Waterloo to grab lunch items, before heading towards the Jubilee line for a Jubilee service to Bond Street, however when I got to the Central line platforms to see the next train was in 9 minutes (with the one following being in 19 minutes) I decided to head back to the Jubilee line to take another service one more stop to Baker Street, and headed towards the Hammersmith & City line platforms as that was the next train heading west, which I took to Liverpool Street and exited the underground and headed towards the mainline platforms.

 

I decided to have a look to see which 745 was running the 10:30 Norwich service, and I was in luck as it was a required “Airport” 745 (one with no first class or tables in the bays), which I took a seat on and settled down for the run to Colchester.  Along the way I was a bit shocked to see a pair of 315s heading into Liverpool Street (didn’t think those ran at the weekends anymore), but things went wrong as on the approach to Chelmsford the train called additional and we were told it was terminating there due to a broken down train in front.

 

745 running to the loop ECS

 

The platform got very busy with everybody off that Norwich train as it departed to the loop and a pair of 321s arrived.  I got lucky to get a seat, but it did sound like the rear unit was more busy, eventually the 321s departed but didn’t get that far before coming to a stop to allow a train from Norwich to clear the single track section (bi-directional working around the broken down train), before carrying on towards Colchester, the driver not hanging around with the motor noise.  The train emptied out at Colchester (I wouldn’t have liked to see how busy the next Ipswich or even Norwich train would have been!) and continued towards Clacton.  Due to it being a Sunday it calls at most of the stations along the way, arriving around 23 minutes late into Clacton (arriving after it was meant to have departed).

 

After a couple photos I exited the station and headed towards the beach, reaching the path and turned left to head in a northerly direction along a busy promenade (at a guess a mix of locals and tourists on holiday).  Quite a lot of beach huts and a nice sandy beach with a few little bays, it was an enjoyable walk other than a short section near a place called Holland on sea where the tarmac promenade was closed due to cliff strengthening works forcing me to walk onto the beach itself, finding something a bit solid to walk on (very loose sand).

 

Clacton Beach

 

After Holland on Sea, the path turned more rural as it went onto a sea defence wall, the water below me on the right and rural land to the left, very peaceful, even with the wind.  Some good views from the top of the wall before I arrived on the outskirts of Frinton where the rural land/golf course gave way to beach huts (and some of those looked very posh), with the beach being busy (which is good to see people out enjoying themselves on the beach, rather than staying indoors to play video games).  I reached Walton pier and swung up towards the station arriving just as the train was rolling in from Thorpe Le Soken.

 

A Pair of 321s at Walton on the Naze

 

I was very surprised to see the train being a pair of units, a bit overkill in my eyes as I had a private coach all the way to Thorpe Le Soken where I changed over to board the London train for the run to Colchester (as it started to throw it down with rain).  I was a bit foolish to change at Colchester to board the 745 from Norwich as it was the same one I had in the morning, but mainly because it was rammed, but I got a seat by asking someone if they didn’t mind if I sat opposite them.  I noticed when I was at Colchester a Norwich service where the first-class area at the back looked quite busy (but standard class nearer the front was a lot quieter).

 

Anyhow the 745 was speedy as it took me back towards London as I alighted at Stratford for the Jubilee line to take me to Waterloo where I had a short wait before boarding the Salisbury service to take me back towards Grateley, the end of an enjoyable day on the Essex coast.

 

Seaside near Holland on Sea

 

31st July – A trip to East Sussex

31^st July – A trip to East Sussex

The idea of today was a day trip towards East Sussex to pick up the few stations I had left on the bottom part of the Hastings Line plus a couple others along the way broken up with a walk along the sea front between St Leonards & Bexhill.

 

The day began with an early morning drive to Romsey where SWR was charging £3.60 to park from the TVM but the signs said £2.30 (a complaint has gone into SWR, I suspect £3.60 is the rate it is being increased to but the signage hasn’t been updated).  Anyhow at the station it was a short wait before the 06:50 Portsmouth service arrived from Westbury, a 3 coach 166 (the same unit as I had the week before in Paignton!), this took me to Southampton Central where I noticed the Brighton service had been cancelled.

 

However luck was on my side as the Southampton – Victoria service was still running, and due to engineering works in the Horsham area it was going via Littlehampton, attaching to a Littlehampton – London service to go via Hove.  It was a lightly loaded 377, from the batch of 1s which had mostly all 3+2 seating [with some 2+2 seating in the areas above the wheels], getting busier as the journey went on as it went into Littlehampton, attaching to another couple 377s (both were high density units, but I did swap from the leading unit to the centre unit which was quicker, although it did pick up more passengers along the way to Hove as not only was the Southampton – Brighton service cancelled [that one would have overtaken this when it was at Littlehampton] but the previous West Worthing – Brighton stopper.

 

Changing at Hove onto the 313 working the Brighton shuttle, it was quite busy as it took me the short distance into Brighton itself, sadly missing the connection with the Hastings train, but with both the following Brighton – Ore & Hastings train cancelled it was a bit annoying, but I came up with another idea to jump on the next Seaford 313 to take me to Lewes (one very slow approach into Lewes station), although thankfully luck was with me as a London – Ore service was running around 5 minutes late, allowing me to make a negative connection onto a busy pair of 377s for the speedy run towards Eastbourne (where 8 became 4) before heading towards St Leonards Warrior Square.

 

A high density 377/1 on the London bound

 

I exited the train at St Leonards Warrior Square and set out for a walk towards West St Leonards going via a path which looked interesting on the map, but turned out to be between fences but it was worth it as it came out overlooking Bo-Peep Junction so after a couple photos of passing trains I headed towards the station to await the next Charing Cross stopping service to take me towards Robertsbridge (as I needed the northbound platform).  At Robertsbridge I had another gentle walk, doing a mile loop to the north of the station, although it was a bit muddy in places but certainly wasted some time.

 

The Charing Cross semi-fast passing West St Leonards

 

Next train took me back towards the quiet Crowhurst, for a short wait before the following London train took me into Battle to clear the line.  Another gentle loop (via a nearby Tesco Express for a late lunch) returning to the station to catch the next Hastings service to take me back to St Leonards Warrior Square, where once more I set out on foot, this time heading south towards the sea front (via Warrior Square gardens).  Once I gained access to the path next to the pebbled beach it was a gentle walk west, pausing now and again for some photos.  A detour was needed around Bulverhythe Beach onto the pebbles along the way due to the path being closed for emergency repair works but thankfully that didn’t last long (I don’t particularly like walking on that sort of ground).

 

 

I continued on my walk along the path, deciding to go up Galley Hill for some photos of both the beach and passing trains, before heading into Bexhill reaching the station with time to relax before the next Brighton service.  It was a nice gentle walk, some good views of the sea (and of passing trains from a footbridge near the St Leonards depot).  At Bexhill I caught a Brighton bound 377 (I did see a 387 floating around earlier in the day so was hoping to get that one) which took me to Hampden Park where I popped out to Tesco, my original idea was to connect with a Victoria train to visit Cooksbridge but that had been cancelled.

 

A 171 near Bexhill

 

Back at Hampden Park station, I reboarded the 377 from Hastings (as it called both ways) which took me to Brighton, where I had a tight connection to board a West Worthing 313 which took me to Fishersgate (noticing that there was a dad with 2 kids, all which had their feet on the seat opposite).  Fishersgate is a bit of a “nothing” station, as I walked the half mile back along the road to Portslade for no reason other than wanting to push my walking distance for the day over ten miles.  I would imagine Fishersgate is popular with those who think payment for rail travel is optional on grounds that it has no barriers (and Portslade does).

 

No trip involving Brighton is complete without a PEP...

 

 

The next West Worthing 313 arrived which took me to Worthing, before a Portsmouth bound 377 rolled in to take me to Portsmouth & Southsea, it was quite busy on board but emptied out as time went on.  At Portsmouth & Southsea (noticing a new Sainsburys Local outside the station which could come in handy one of these days) I had a short wait before a pair of 158s arrived from Portsmouth Harbour to take me back to Romsey, in a bit of luxury.

 

View of beach from Galley Hill

The GWR arrived at Romsey on time, as I walked back to the car and drove home, to relax for the remainder of the evening, an enjoyable day other than the various delays & cancellations at the start of the day.  Thankfully other than a spot of rain when I was walking to West St Leonards the day remained dry (although it was a bit of a chilly breeze from the sea).