18th September – A trip to South Wales

 18^th September – A trip to South Wales

With a Saturday with nothing booked, after looking at a few options I decided on taking a little day trip towards South Wales, solely to revisit some stations I needed for photographs, along with having a nice walk.  I had a rough plan for the day, but that didn’t last long due to various cancellations.

 

The day began with an early morning drive to Salisbury, to catch the 06:40 SWR service towards Bristol Temple Meads, which gave a tight connection with a Bristol – Cardiff service, but as the ECS from the depot was running late, the connection to a pair of Turbos was easily made as I took a seat in the front coach (because most of the crowd waiting for the train were at the opposite end, I had a private coach until Newport).  The 166+165 combo took me towards Cardiff Central where I headed towards platform 6 to catch the next train towards Merthyr Tydfil, a single 150 which was lightly loaded.

 

The 150 took me along the line towards the town of Merthyr Tydfil, quite scenic in places, but I was glad to alight at the end, solely due to the automatic announcements being turned on.  A minute long announcement about “travel safe” stuff after every station does get annoying after a while, and after exiting the station I popped to the nearby Tesco to grab items for lunch to save me a job for later.

 

A 150 at Merthyr Tydfil.

 

My main walk of the day began as I made my way slowly towards the river Taff, getting lost due to construction work closing the “River Walk” passageway from one of the shopping areas to the river.  I eventually gained access to the river near the fire station before heading in a southern direction following the Taff Trail, crossing over the river on “St Tydfil’s Bridge” and doing a short dogleg to access the path.  I continued along the path as it followed the river passing a leisure centre before heading away from the river passing behind a leisure park & a really old looking Travelodge.

 

Weir on the River Taff in Merthyr Tydfil[

Continuing with my walk as it went underneath an old railway bridge and was quite nice with the trees, mostly all tarmac as it crossed some minor roads along the way reaching the area near Pentre-Bach where I went down from the path to head towards the station for a couple photos before I headed back towards the path (up a steep hill) to continue heading south along the path.  The next settlement I reached was the area around Troed-y-Rhiw, which was another station I headed down from the Taff Trail to reach for some photos, including one of a train departing heading north.

 

A 150 departing Troed-y-Rhiw

 

After the brief visit to the station, I retraced my tracks back up the hill to reach the Taff Trail, continuing along the path, passing some workmen doing some work (the path along here does seem like it used to be an old railway line).  Eventually I reached the village of Aberfan, known sadly for a disease nearly 55 years ago when a coal colliery spoil pile collapsed killing 144 people.  I had a moment of reflection in the memorial gardens, having learnt about the disease at secondary school many years ago.  After the moment of reflection, I returned back to the Taff Trail path.

 

I continued my walk along the path, coming off the Taff Trail to head down towards the River Taff, passing what looked like an old railway bridge which had been removed.  Crossing the river and a brief climb saw me reaching Merthyr Vale, the passing loop on the line.  I joined a footpath which ran alongside the railway line, crossing over at a bridge (which I guess at some point in the past used to be a foot crossing of the railway).  Continuing my walk, I joined the alignment of the old “Merthyr Tramroad”, signposted as the “Trevithick Trail”, one of the earliest places for railway history, complete with original stone sleepers on the ground.

 

Trackbed of the old Tramroad

 

With the river (sadly hidden by many trees) to my right hand side and the railway high on an embankment on the left I continued along the tramroad path, as the Taff Trail rejoined the path I was on.  Soon I reached an area where a poorly marked path went up a hill to reach Quakers Yard station for a photograph, before heading back to the path to continue my walk along the old Tramroad.  I went underneath a lovely looking railway viaduct (where the railway went over the River Taff & a valley), but sadly due to the trees photos I attempted to take turned out to be a bit rubbish.

 

I continued on the road, as it followed the river in a large loop, reaching a residential area, continuing along a path as it crossed the River Taff once again, and going underneath a couple road bridges before I reached Abercynon station, the end of my large walk.  I passed the site where I think where the old Abercynon North station was located, before reaching the island platform at Abercynon catching a busy 150 to Pontypridd.

 

Quakers Yard Station from foot crossing

 

Due to signalling issues around Mountain Ash the Aberdare line had been reduced to hourly (something with the signalling not allowing the trains to pass at Mountain Ash), so my original idea for a short walk between stations on the Aberdare line went into the pile to do at a future date as I took a 150 towards Aberdare (noticing the speed of the electrification with poles popping up).  During the 5 minute dwell at Mountain Ash I jumped out for a quick photograph (it will do for now!), before heading to Aberdare.  I wonder if the line beyond Aberdare towards the old Tower Colliery will ever get reopened to passenger use with a couple more stations built along the line, although I guess the big limiting factor will be the single track.

 

I returned to the 150 for the run back along the Aberdare branch to reach Pontypridd, changing over platforms (after going via the Tesco Express located outside the station for some more drink), and boarding a Treherbert bound 150.  However this train got cancelled due to an obstruction on the track near Porth, so my little plan to grab the stations I needed on that line went into the bin, as it started to rain.  I crossed back over to platform 2 at Pontypridd watching as the 150 I was just on reversing back towards the crossover to the south of the station to access platform 1 to get it out of the way.

 

Another 150 went through the station ECS, before an empty 150 rolled in from the loop towards Abercynon (would have been from Aberdare), as I took it towards Cardiff Central, changing over to platform 0 to board a 3 coach 170 bound for Ebbw Vale Town.  The front coaches were busy but the rear former first class area only had 2 passengers in, so I took a seat in comfort for the run towards Rogerstone, where once more I set out for a walk, this time back towards Pye Corner.

 

A 170 departs Rogerstone bound for Ebbw Vale

 

I went a slightly longer route (compared to going via the road) from the housing estate to reach a bridge over the River Ebbw where I joined a footpath which ran alongside the river bank, going underneath a busy sounding road and reaching a large recently built housing estate (Jubilee Park I think it was called), the footpath came to an end as I joined a mixed use path, but this path dropped behind a flood defence wall so sadly no decent views of the river were available.  I continued along this path, coming to an end before joining the road, and because I had time I decided to swing via a Co-Op in the hope of getting something for dinner, but alas they didn’t have anything I liked left.

 

After leaving the Co-Op I continued my walk, going over the A467 dual carriageway and walking along another road which went over the railway and reaching Pye Corner station, arriving just as the next northbound train was arriving which allowed me to grab a photo of it departing, before taking a nice bench seat and relaxing (my legs were telling me they had enough).  The 170 I had earlier returned, this time there was nobody in the former 1^st class area as I took a seat for the run back to Cardiff Central.

 

I exited the station once more, swinging via Tesco to grab something to eat for dinner, before returning back to the station.  I decided on a little time wasting move with a Taunton bound HST for the run to Bristol Temple Meads (better than just hanging at Cardiff for an extra 30 minutes for a 3 coach 166).  At Bristol I waited for the 166 to arrive (sadly a charter train from Penzance got caught behind a late running stopper from Taunton meaning it wouldn’t arrive until after the 166 from Cardiff would have done).

 

43027 at Bristol Temple Meads

 

The only issue I have with trains at Bristol Temple Meads is that there doesn’t seem to be a standard stop mark, but I got lucky with the 166 as it stopped close to where I was standing, also the rear former 1^st class area was unlocked so I took a better seat with a table (where I could eat my dinner I got from Cardiff earlier).  The guard caught out a chancer who had boarded at Bath without a ticket (who was heading towards Trowbridge and looked a bit drugged up).  An unexpected unit swap happened at Westbury as we got told to change to another 166 which was waiting on platform 1 as I joined several others in heading into the rear FC area (including one family with 2 youngish kids).

 

All was going well until a member of off-duty staff marched in, shouting at passengers to “GET OUT” of the area, resulting in the kids bursting into tears.  To make things worse he did a disappearing act (I guess he buggered off to the front FC area away from a group of loud kickball drunks heading back home).  There are ways of asking people nicely to move so they could have their own private section (because ya know, they can’t be sitting with the general public on a train as it’s highly dangerous, even though if the train was a 158 they would have to), but the attitude of that member of staff was truly rotten.  On the complete contrast the guard was ever so nice with her duties and when she saw nobody was in the rear FC area she released the door allowing that family to get a seat.

 

Anyhow, the train continued along the way to Salisbury, where I alighted, having a short walk back to the car to drive home, where it featured someone who must have wanted to smell my socks I took off and put in the car boot along with my boots based on how close he was driving (I tend to change from my walking boots to a pair of trainers when driving, and normally socks as well after a long day).  Overall a good day, I did what I had planned to do (although my rough plan had myself doing Ebbw Vale first), the stations I need on the Treherbert branch & Ebbw Vale itself will get done on a long weekend based in Cardiff.  Although Treherbert will need to be done on the Friday to avoid a rail replacement bus from Radyr.

 

Scenery from Taff Trail near Troed-y-Rhiw

 

10 – 12th September – North Wales & Stratford Greenway

 10 – 12^th September – North Wales & Stratford Greenway

 

Back in May time I called off a trip towards the Conwy Valley due to it being closed due to flooding on the Friday and it was going to be a bit of a risk if it reopened on the Saturday (in the end I booked a trip to Manchester on the Saturday), so this would be a bit of a recovery from that trip.  I changed the plan around a bit with a trip to Holyhead replaced with a walk from Llandudno (to Llandudno Junction), which allowed me to save money on tickets.

Friday

The trip began with the 17:59 service from Grateley, with a reasonably loaded single 159 taking me to Basingstoke, where I changed to platform 5 to board the 165 on the Reading stopper (taking up a seat in the declassified first class section for that bit of extra comfort).  The heavily delayed Reading Green Park station seems to be coming along well with the foot/overbridge being built.  At Reading I had a short walk to board a pair of busy voyagers on the Manchester service for the run to Oxford where a good number of the passengers alighted from the train, some exited the station but a fair few remained on the platform to await the GWR Hereford service (which skips Reading), a 9 coach 802.

 

I took a seat in the front coach (no engine, making it a bit like standard premium!) and it was very quiet (5 others in the coach after it departed Oxford).  I spent the time on my tablet as darkness had fallen, as I was weighing up the options for how to get to Birmingham, NRE was being helpful in saying that both the Snow Hills Line stopper & Hereford – Birmingham trains were cancelled (whereas the stopper was running, but terminating short at Birmingham Snow Hill, and the train from Hereford was starting from Worcester Shrub Hill).  However the XC connection would have been onto a 2 coach 170 from Cardiff, where the previous Cardiff – Nottingham had been cancelled so I would dread to think how busy that would have been.

 

In the end I alighted from the 802 at Worcester Foregate Street and walked back towards Worcester Shrub Hill, being a bit foolish going via the canal, although I suspect the railway viaduct over the canal might make for some half decent photos in the daylight.  Eventually I reached Worcester Shrub Hill and waited for the train to roll in from the middle siding, for it was a hired in Chiltern 172/1 on the fast Birmingham service.

 

Hired in Chiltern 172102 at Worcester Shrub Hill

 

The reason for wanting to do this particular service is that it’s one of those late evening oddities which go via Kidderminster to use the chord at Smethwick to approach Birmingham New Street from the Smethwick direction (not like I needed the track, more of a novelty of a 172 at Smethwick Rolfe Street).  As it started at Shrub Hill loadings in my coach could be counted on one hand so a relaxing last train of the day, other than some delays before it joined the WCML at Smethwick caused by other trains being delayed.

 

At Birmingham New Street, it was a short walk to get checked into the Easy Hotel, sadly not getting a good room this time round.  The AC wasn’t working and felt like I was right above the pub so was a bit noisy (although thankfully the pub closed after midnight).  When I was in bed researching my moves for the Saturday I noticed the first train from Birmingham gave a connection to a Shrewsbury – Holyhead train, as previously that train departed Shrewsbury 2 minutes after the train from Birmingham would arrive, an unofficial connection.  This allowed me to make a last minute change of plan.

 

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Saturday – North Wales

 

After getting some early morning supplies from the Tesco Metro in Birmingham city centre, my day began with the 06:24 service towards Aberystwyth, which was unusually formed of a 150 (at Shrewsbury it swapped over with a Aberystwyth – Birmingham 158 so that the 158 could return towards the coast).  I took this 150 to Shrewsbury, having a bit of nice engine noise on the fast section after Wolverhampton, and at Shrewsbury I swapped over to the 175 working the retimed 07:26 Holyhead train which was a 2 coach 175.

 

The train got quite busy along the way to Chester (where Chester Races were happening), and had a large passenger turnover at Chester, before it headed towards the North Wales Coast, a line which is pretty in parts (where it runs alongside the sea).  I alighted from the 175 at Llandudno Junction where it used platform 4, after swinging via the ticket office to buy my 2 zone North Wales Rover,  I jumped onto another 2 coach 175 for the run to Llandudno (where I couldn’t help thinking a 2 coach 175 for the shuttles is slightly overkill for a short journey).

 

I exited the station at Llandudno and headed for a gentle walk towards the sea front, doing a short loop before heading back to the station to board the same unit to take me back to Llandudno Junction, where I couldn’t help noticing how busy platform 3 was getting, with announcements saying they expected the train to be extremely busy and for it to be full & standing after Rhyl.  At least Transport for Wales ran it as a 3 coach service, but for me I was waiting for the 150 to roll in from Llandudno to take me towards the Conwy Valley.

 

Llandudno Bay at Llandudno

 

The 150 rolled in from Llandudno and was lightly loaded, as I took a seat for the scenic run towards Betws-y-Coed, a place I wanted to revisit as the last time I visited it was a dark October morning.  The village was very busy with tourists, but I located a little footpath which follows the river Conwy circling the outside of a golf course.  A pleasant little path with areas with good views of the river, however before it reached the railway bridge the path was closed so I had to take another footpath to come back towards the station area, before heading towards a little bridge in the village centre to waste a bit of time.

 

The platform got quite busy before the train returned, but I got a seat on the return as I requested the stop of Dolgarrog, a station rebuilt in the last couple years due to the previous station getting damaged in some floods.  However due to an old railway bridge across the river being closed by the water company for being unsafe has cut the station off from the village it is meant to serve.  There is an upmarket 5 star hotel nearby Dolgarrog station, plus a handful of houses, but other than that nothing.  The road near the station was pretty much constant with traffic (60mph with no pavement so not somewhere you want to walk along).  [There was 2 people who boarded the train at Dolgarrog, the same pair I'm pretty sure alighted at Dolgarrog heading south, no idea who they might have been]

 

150 departing Dolgarrog

 

After a little walk to the closed bridge, I returned to a nice bench on Dolgarrog station, and relaxed for the hour fester, before the 150 returned.  This time I remained on the 150 all the way to the end of the line at Blaenau Ffestiniog, the landscape changing massively after the long tunnel, as well as the weather as it started to rain.  This change in the weather meant I cut down my little walk around the village, but I still managed to get to a bridge to photograph the overgrown line towards the disused power station (which I would imagine saved this line from getting axed in the 60s & 80s).

 

A 150 at Blaenau Ffestiniog

 

I returned to the 150, sheltering from the rain waiting for departure time (as unlike other services, the 14:35 arrival sits at the station for 20-odd minutes allowing time for a little explore, other services tend to depart straight away).  I remained on this 150 all the way to Llandudno, picking up quite a few passengers along the way, but emptying out at Llandudno Junction, this time the train went into platform 1 at Llandudno which allowed me to tick off all 3 platforms at the station, as I set off on foot for another walk.

 

This time I headed away from Llandudno station, heading towards the Great Orme, passing the base station of the Great Orme tramway (a job for another day), and onto a footpath which gave wonderful views of the town & West Shore, before I came back down to sea level for a walk on a path alongside the West Shore beach, going onto the beach a couple times.  I think I made a wrong turning at some point as the path went sandy and at the bottom of a sandbank, but it gave good views of the water.  I continued heading along the path as it reached Deganwy.  [Another thing, when I was walking towards the tramway, I walked along a street with many B&Bs, all were showing "No vacancies" to show how popular this area is for Domestic Holidaymakers)]

 

Worth the climb

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I continued along the path, although this time it went between the Deganwy Marina & the railway line before the waterfront was regained, with the railway to one side and the River Conwy to the other side.  The railway was lost as the path went round the headland and over the Conwy Tunnel (for the North Wales Expressway), before reaching the main railway line, which was crossed via a footbridge as I continued walking alongside the River Conwy to reach the car park of the RSPB Conwy nature reserve, the end of my river walking.

 

175003 departs Deganwy Station

 

 

Onto the road, as I headed towards a nearby McDonalds for something to eat, and via Iceland for a bottle of drink, before reaching Llandudno Junction station, using a shortcut not shown on Google Maps.  An enjoyable little walk along the water, but it was time to put my mask back on and wait for a late running Shrewsbury service, formed of a 158 & a 153.  The 153 is one of those which have been refurnished inside (former GA unit) but hasn’t had the large toilet unit fitted (the original toilet remains in place, but locked out of use).

 

Llandudno Junction from road bridge

 

I sat in the 153 as it was quieter (in terms of passenger loadings) for the run towards Chester, where once more there was a good turnover of passengers as the train departed towards Wrexham rather full of race goers in various states of drunk.  I alighted from the train at Wrexham General to have another short walk, this time heading towards Wrexham Central for a photograph of the stations (which is currently only served by a handful of trains a day as most of the Bidston services turn round at Wrexham General).  After grabbing the photographs I returned to Wrexham General and relaxed for a 3 coach 175 to roll in from Chester.

 

This is a service which starts at Chester and sits at Wrexham for nearly 5 minutes, shame they couldn’t push back the departure from Chester to allow it an official connection with a train from Holyhead (rather than an unofficial & very tight +2).  The front couple coaches were busy with race goers but the rear coach was strangely lightly loaded as I took a seat and relaxed again, catching up with some internet browsing until I reached Shrewsbury for my final train of the day, a reasonably busy 158 from the Cambrian for the run to Birmingham New Street (it was quiet in the front coach on departure, rear coach looked to be busy as it was the closest to the buffers).

 

The 158 took me to Birmingham New Street with no real issues, other than being held up outside Wolverhampton for a late running XC Voyager to go in front.  At New Street it was a short walk from the platforms to reach the hotel where after a shower I relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

 

Wrexham Central "Station"

 

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Sunday – Stratford Greenway Walk

 

I started the day by trying out breakfast from the Tim Horton’s near New Street, before heading to Birmingham Snow Hill to board the first Stratford on Avon train, the one which runs non-stop to Stratford Parkway (and is quite good fun to speed along the Whitlock’s End line).  Today this was a 5 coach service, and I think I had the rear 3 coach unit pretty much all to myself for the run to Stratford Parkway, where I exited the train and started my walk by heading towards the canal.

 

I joined the canal and headed along the towpath, the service quality started off a bit rough before it went tarmac on the outskirts of the town, I carried on underneath the railway bridges (one in use, the other I assume used to be for the goods area).  My canal walk ended near the Premier Inn near the station, where I headed onto the road heading towards the station, joining a narrow footpath leading towards a mixed used path section on the old track bed which took me towards a roundabout and a busy road (which I believe got built on the old railway line).

 

Stratford Canal in Stratford Upon Avon

 

A short section of walking on a pavement before the walking route went away from the main-road to a residential street before re-joining the main-road near another roundabout, where the sign posted Stratford Greenway began, a mixed use path on the old track-bed towards Long Marston.  The path was busy in places (especially at the racecourse end) but soon it went a bit quiet with only the odd cyclist passing.  Some nice views along the way of the countryside and platform at an old station (Milcote I believe), certainly a nice little walk along a disused railway line.

 

Soon I had reached the end of the greenway at Long Marston, where there was some old tracks still within the road surface, but I was still a few miles away from my final destination of Honeybourne, and when I was looking at the map I marked out a route along various footpaths which would take me towards Honeybourne, so I headed along the road for a short section before locating the start of the footpath.

 

Old tracks in the road near Long Marston

 

Straight away the path wasn’t the best, slightly overgrown hedges and long grass, but it only got worse as I carried on.  I came across broken stiles, navigate hidden wooden planks across ditches, and trying to find the right direction as the path went across fields with no real evidence on the ground where the path actually went (OS Map open on my phone as I walked along to make sure I was heading in the right direction).  Eventually the first section was complete as I reached the village of Broad Marston, for a short break before carrying on.

 

The second section from Broad Marston started off better, for it was marked out and had stiles which weren’t broken; although the hedges were a bit overgrown in places as I reached the bottom of the railway embankment and some woods.  I continued along the path as it climbed a small hill before a downhill section as I reached the road on the outskirts of Honeybourne.  I went underneath both the Long Marston branch & mainline, ignoring a footpath on the left to carry on with the road (looked overgrown and I was getting hungry), before going via a housing estate to reach a Co-Op for some lunch.

 

After my shopping trip I headed towards the station, crossing over to the London bound platform to have my lunch on a nice bench, and resting my legs.  There was an idiotic youth who couldn’t be bothered crossing the railway via the footbridge and crossed it by jumping from the platforms onto the tracks (his girlfriend sounded like she wasn’t impressed), but soon a 9 coach 802 arrived from Hereford to take me towards Oxford, where I jumped off the train for another short walk.

800004 departs Honeybourne

 

 

Due to engineering works there was buses north of Oxford towards Leamington today, also from Andover towards Gillingham so I worked with the timetable to board the next XC service from Oxford to Basingstoke as it would make no difference to the timings.  I exited Oxford station and headed towards the Oxford Canal for a gentle walk north towards a place called Port Meadow.  I carried on with a footpath at the southern end to meet up with the River Thames to walk back towards the station.

 

Although I did mess up and come off the Thames Path earlier than I was meant to (original plan was to come off to go underneath the railway to come up near the site of the old swing bridge on the Sheepwash Channel, but instead I came up on the Roger Dudham Way road, behind the back of Oxford station (near the peak time exit), doing a short loop underneath the railway at the southern end of the station to re-enter, the end of a little loop.  Oxford is a place on my list to revisit again, for the history of the area.

 

Two Arriva operated TOCs side by Side at Oxford

Anyhow the voyagers were already on the platform, idling away as I headed towards a coach near the rear (as they were a lot quieter than the ones near the entrance), grabbing a table seat in a coach with 2 other passengers for the run towards Reading, reversing and heading towards Basingstoke.  At Basingstoke I hung around on the platform waiting for the 159 to arrive from London. The train arrived around 5 minutes ahead of schedule, and as expected it was very busy.  I ended up sitting on a fold down seat in one of the wheelchair areas for the run to Andover.

 

I exited the station at Andover and headed towards the replacement buses, but unusually there was only one bus (in previous times there had been 2 or more, with one running non-stop to Gillingham), a service bus from “South West Coaches” which departed pretty much full.  A bus with no legroom and the driver following the Sat Nav instructions on how to reach Grateley station, going via the A303 (I guess it is the fastest route due to a higher speed limit, but most bus drivers tend to go on the A343 out of Andover).  Nobody boarded the bus and 1 other passenger alighted with me in the empty car park, as I walked slowly home to relax the remainder of the evening, the end of another weekend trip away.

 

South West Coaches Replacement Bus

 

 

3rd - 5th September – GBRF Overnight Tour & Scotland

 3^rd - 5^th September – GBRF Overnight Tour & Scotland

When the details of the multi-day GBRf Railtour came out, originally in 2020 the only day which ticked my box as being interesting (for me personally) was the overnight leg.  Although sadly the novelty of a 86 hauling a train from Bromsgrove was dropped due to pathing reasons, it was still a good plan.  The Saturday I was undecided what to do, other than using up a SPT Daytripper scratch card I had at home which expired at the end of 2021.

 

Friday & Overnight Tour

 

I had a half day at work, so after finishing work and doing a couple bits at home (the luxury of a trip to the local dump to get rid of some hedge cuttings) I set off in my car to reach Andover and catching the 15:36-odd service towards Clapham Junction.  At Andover I noticed the work to disconnect the sidings towards the “Switch” yard to put in a new run-round loop for the Ludgershall branch is moving along well.  Along the way I was trying to decide what to do for the charter was due to arrive at Kensington Olympia around 19:00 so I would have 2 and a bit hours.

 

In the end I decided on a little walk, heading towards the River Thames from Clapham Junction, reaching it near “Planation Wharf” for a walk along the river bank on the south bank, pausing to watch as a Helicopter took flight from the London Helipad which meant a short detour inland before I rejoined the Thames Path, carrying on underneath the Battersea Railway Bridge (the one used by London Overground services on the West London Line), carrying along the path some more, passing some flats  which I dare say would cost an arm & a leg to rent, let alone buy!

Battersea Railway Bridge and a Helicopter.

 

 

My river walk ended at the Battersea (Road) Bridge, crossing over to the north bank for a walk along the A3220 road towards Chelsea (oh how very posh!), going via a path near the World’s End Health Centre, before walking through Brompton Cemetery (noticing how much detail went into some of the graves from the late Victorian times).  After the peace of the cemetery it was back onto the road for the walk towards Kensington, passing Earls Court Underground station and the sad sight where the old Earls Court Exhibition Centre once stood.

 

Traffic was very bad leading up to the junction with the A4 road, passing a large Tesco before I continued heading north eventually reaching the side entrance of Kensington Olympia station, and getting let onto the platform to sit down after the 4 and a bit mile walk.  Certainly wasted some time and was quite nice along the river bank and in the cemetery (as strange as that sounds).  I relaxed, having dinner & making use of the toilets before the charter train was due to arrive.

 

Northern entrance to the Brompton Cemetery

 

The train of Mk1 coaches arrived near enough on time, with a pair of 73s leading (73201 & 73136 in case anybody was wondering), although they didn’t last on the train for long as it went into the Acton Lane sidings (alongside the WCML near Willesden Junction) to get replaced with 86101.   I had paid extra to upgrade to 1^st class, and with the tour 3 years ago getting lucky with a table for 2 so extra nice, during the loco changed I was also lucky to have a view of the passing trains on the WCML during a gap in some freight wagons so it wasn’t that bad waiting for the 86 to get attached and back on the move.

 

It was a storming run behind the old 86, crossing over from the slow lines to the fast lines before Leighton Buzzard and towards Rugby via Weedon (which for me was a bit of a surprise as I would have expected it to go via Northampton).  A brief pause at Rugby to allow a pair of voyagers to go in front, before the 86 continued towards New Street, pausing at New Street to pick up some more passengers, before it headed towards Tame Bridge Parkway where things went a bit wrong as it went into a loop in the Bescot area, due to waiting for a route conductor for Walsall – Rugeley and for trespassers.  During the break we were paused alongside a 70 which I felt made for an interesting night time shot.

 

70817 in Bescot Yard

 

Eventually we got moving away from Bescot, passing the station (could swear there was some kids sitting on the platform edge itself, legs hanging over the edge because they are idiots), going via platform 3 at Walsall before a fast run towards Rugeley Trent Valley, slowing down at in the Rugeley Town area for an ECS from Trent Valley to clear the single track section.  Once it joined the main line, the speed increased for another speed run towards Crewe, where the 86 gave way to 92032 for the slower run north.

 

86101 at Crewe

 

With the main event over, I settled down to attempt to get some sleep, drifting in and out (it didn’t help that the person sat opposite me had placed his rucksack underneath the table instead of a luggage rack overhead).  We had some time at Carlisle before heading towards Scotland, going via Motherwell and towards Mossend, where the 92 gave way to a pair of 37s (37425 & 37407).  This is when (I think) the announcement was made about the Norovirus outbreak (and I did notice there was a couple empty seats where there had been people earlier, but didn’t put two and two together, thinking they might have gotten off at Carlisle).

 

The 37s departed late, so the run towards Glasgow wasn’t the fastest (via the Kirkwood line) as it was caught behind a stopper, although the driver did make up for it by opening up in one of the tunnels before Glasgow City Centre, and soon enough Exhibition Centre had been reached, the end of the overnight section of the tour, and where I would alight.  A good tour for me as all the locos were winners, with the unusual sight of being behind an 86 on the Chase line.

 

73201 arriving at Kensington (Olympia)

 

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Saturday

 

During the section waiting around at Mossend, I was using RTT to see if any of my last few 385s were floating about, making a list at the ones which were gettable.  Also I checked for my last Scottish 158 needed for mileage as that was down in the Central Belt earlier in the week and ended Friday night in Glasgow so I had my fingers crossed that it would be out and about (always a small risk of it ending up in Glasgow, and going to Corkerhill depot to spend the day on maintenance).

 

I was in luck as it was due to work some Anniesland shuttles in the morning before it headed to the sidings north of Queen Street, so that was my first priority.  Sadly due to the delay in reaching Exhibition Centre meant my original idea went into the bin as I jumped on the first service towards Glasgow Central (a pair of 334s), where I could still smell the gases from the 37s.  I exited the station and headed towards Queen Street via a couple supermarkets, looking for something to eat for breakfast (and something cold to drink).

 

At Queen Street, I had a short wait before the unit returned from Anniesland, as it went in on top of a 385 so my fingers were crossed (just in case RTT was incorrect), doing a woohoo when I saw “710” at the end, as I took a seat on board after a little celebration photo (what were the odds of my final Inverness based 158 ending up working one of the only 158 operated services out of Glasgow on the Saturday I was visiting?  I was expecting to have to pay out for a return ticket to Edinburgh then somewhere like Inverkeithing to get it into the book for over ten miles).  Anyhow I took it out to Anniesland, returning on the same unit back to Glasgow Queen Street to get it over ten miles.

 

158710 at Glasgow Queen Street

 

I had a tight connection to make at Queen Street to the low level platforms, as I went the wrong way and ended up in the lift, but I still made the connection to a pair of 334s for a time wasting spin to Dumbarton Central & back (some nice views between Dalmuir & Dumbarton).  This was merely to waste some time before boarding a pair of 385s for the run to Croy, the front unit needed for mileage.  With some time to kill before another winner would arrive from Alloa, I had a little walk in the Croy area, looping on a couple mixed use paths towards a large looking Tesco, then a housing estate before returning to the station.

 

The next Glasgow service was an outright required 385 leading another low mileage 385, which I took back to Queen Street, exiting the station for a gentle walk across to Glasgow Central via a Co-Op for lunch supplies, before jumping on a 380 bound for Ardrossan Harbour for the nice speedy run towards Ayrshire (for I do like the line near Saltcoats, as it’s on my list to revisit for a walk in the future).  At Ardrossan South Beach, I had a brief mask break by dashing towards the beach for some photos before heading back to the station to board a 6 coach service (and all 6 coaches were needed as it was a busy train!).

 

The pair of 380s arrived back at Glasgow Central, and I headed over to a TPE 397 which was needed and also called at Motherwell, so it would have been rude to turn it down, gets another unit into my book.  At the building site of Motherwell station I exited and went in search of something to drink, eventually getting a bottle of 7Up from an Iceland and doing a small loop back to the station.

 

397009 departs Motherwell

 

Sadly a set-swap must have happened as the pair of units which rolled in on the Lanark bound weren’t the same pair it was meant to have been, so a bit disappointed as I took a seat for the run to Lanark, where for some unknown reason the trains have a 70 minute layover (at least both platforms are coming in use), and I headed over to the opposite platform to board a required 385 for the run back towards Glasgow.

 

At Motherwell I passed the next Lanark train, which was the 385 I wanted, so a quick play on RTT saw me changing at Cambuslang, a lot tighter than I had hoped due to being delayed by a late running Pendo, but I made it onto a 320 which was going via Hamilton to reach Motherwell again (change of scenery with some motor noise).  I exited the station once more and did another little loop, this time going via a footbridge at the Glasgow end of the station before the long route to reach platform 2.

 

A 318 at Motherwell

 

Required 385002 rolled in along with another 385, and this took me back to Glasgow Central, the end of playing with trains for the time being as I headed towards the Euro Hostel for my £13 room (yes Thirteen Pounds, for a private room, abit with shared bathroom).  Although I didn’t go straight to the Euro Hostel as I went via the river bank, but sadly there was no decent views of the railway bridge (as the Pride Pendo would be forming the 16:40 service to London, and I was hoping to get a photo of it across the river).

 

I checked into my cheap room, (yes they are very basic, but functional for just a room, even though it does look like a prison cell!) And headed to the recently opened Premier Inn (which I had a lovely view of from my room), meeting up with my good friend Dan to have a little catch-up and a yummy burger from the restaurant attached to the hotel.  After the catch-up I headed towards Queen Street station boarding a busy pair of 334s on a Helensburgh Central service (so busy that I was in the centre coach with 3+2 seating!).

 

The daylight was starting to fade along the way to Helensburgh, giving me some nice views of the river.  At Helensburgh Central I had another gentle (ha!) walk up the hill to Helensburgh Upper, where I boarded a busy triple 156 for the run back towards Glasgow Queen Street, having a brief catch-up with Stu (Every Last Station), before saying farewell as he headed towards Aberdeen on the last HST and I headed back towards the Euro Hostel, and settled down for the remainder of the evening.

 

43136 at Glasgow Queen Street

 

Sunday

 

With no trains due to the ongoing issues with overtime payments, it was a day on the buses.  Nice late start before a Stagecoach Route 4 bus took me & Dan to Kilmarnock, via the Glasgow suburbs before some speed on the A77 before it reached a run-down Kilmarnock bus station.  At Kilmarnock we had a break before returning to the bus station, this time boarding a X76 service towards the bus station at Glasgow, this was a former Megabus double decker coach, and after calling at a few stops on the outskirts of Kilmarnock it joined the M77 motorway for the speedy run towards Glasgow (where it lost time stuck in the city centre traffic).

 

Certainly a nice little spin to Kilmarnock & back via two different routes, you see more of the countryside from a bus window in places.  The next bus for us was a Glasgow Airport Express 500 service, a nice double decker bus with leather seats, although once again the traffic in the city centre impacted on journey time, especially with heavy loadings due to this route being only half hourly instead of the usual every 15 minutes.

 

River Clyde from M8 bridge in Glasgow

 

 

Eventually the bus reached the motorway and sped towards Glasgow Airport, and after some lunch I said farewell to Dan as he headed back towards Glasgow and I went to post security.  The sole reason for flying was down to cost, the flight cost me around £28, and when I was looking Avanti were slow at confirming weekend timetables and as a rough guide something back towards London would have been at least £55 (and that would have been a slower service).  I cleared security and due to arriving early I had some time to sit down and relax before the flight gate was called.

 

Purple Bus!

 

Gate 7B was the gate I needed to aim for, and it felt like it was the furthest possible gate from the main waiting area, as I hung back (I had an aisle seat assigned so there was no rush to board), taking a photo of the plane from the window.  I boarded plane G-EZFI “Spirit of Bristol”, located my seat, being a bit naughty and putting my luggage in the overhead luggage rack rather than under the seat in front (it was empty and I doubt the cabin crew care).  The plane took flight and just over an hour later landed at Gatwick Airport, with a short wait before the air-bridge was attached and doors opened.

 

Easyjet plane G-EZFI at Glasgow Airport

 

A reasonably fast walk through the corridors of the North Terminal to reach the shuttle train to the South Terminal and to the station, although sadly my original route was cancelled (was going to take the GWR service to Guildford for something to Woking), so it was a case of waiting for the first train to London.  This turned out to be a late running triple 387 which had run non-stop from Brighton and was due to skip Clapham Junction, but it gave a connection at East Croydon for something from East Grinstead, so I decided it would be better to do that than waiting for the next train (which was delayed).

 

The triple 387 took me to East Croydon, where I joined a lot of passengers in changing over to platform 4 to board a 10 coach 377 service (woohoo comfy seats of a 377/3!) for the run to Clapham Junction.  Due to engineering works there was a reduced frequency of services towards Basingstoke, so I had to board the stopper for a slow trip via Isleworth and Virginia Water (although not as slow as a 444, we actually arrived early at West Byfleet).  At Woking 12 coaches became 8 for the slow trip calling everywhere to Basingstoke, but at least I had a bay of 6 to relax.

 

At Basingstoke I had a short walk over to platform 2 as a pair of 159s rolled in from the sidings to take me to Andover, where I had a relaxing drive home (via a garage to put some petrol in my car).  The end of a busy and varied weekend, thankfully I seemed to have escaped the virus from the charter train, my last Scottish 158 is cleared for mileage as well as 5 more 385s.

 

159 at Basingstoke on the Salisbury Train