Early January London Trips

 Early January London trips

1^st Jan

2022 started carrying on where I left of on the Friday, with another trip to London, however today the weather looked decent enough to do a walk (because walking in the rain isn’t much fun!)  SWR were running a revised Sunday timetable so it was the first train from Grateley to take me to Basingstoke (with 159101 & 159021 getting the ‘honour’ of being my first train of 2021).  A short wait at Basingstoke before a 158+159 rolled in to take me to Reading, where I changed over to a pair of 387s on a semi-fast London train.

 

These 387s took me to Slough, where I exited the station and headed north to reach the Slough Basin of the Slough Branch of the Grand Union canal.  The towpath was mostly quiet with only a few others out and about this time of the morning, got busier the closer I got to London, although the towpath was a bit muddy in places, especially when it narrows to go underneath bridges.  I reached the main Grand Union canal near Yiewsley, heading south on the good quality path passing West Drayton station.  Eventually I reached Hayes Town, where I left the canal and headed towards Hayes & Harlington station.

 

Slough Canal in the Langley Area

 

After my enjoyable walk (although one to do in the spring/summer where there is less in the way of mud), it was time to play with some trains.  A pair of GWR 387s was up first which took me to Paddington, where I decided I would head south of the river to South Eastern land for I did need a few Networkers for mileage, plus some 376s.  It was down to the Bakerloo for a busy train to Charing Cross where due to engineering works services were only 2tph from this London terminus!  A low mileage 465 was in the middle of a 10 coach set which was taken to London Bridge, where I spent some time bouncing between platforms before the next Charing Cross – Dartford train arrives, which had 2 required units for mileage (465162 & 466001).

 

I took these to Charlton to clear the 466 for ten miles and had a short wait before a low mileage 466 arrived to take me back towards Lewisham, for a short wait for a pair of low mileage 376s to Eltham.  I bounced back to Blackheath to fester in the sunshine but nothing else was needed so I headed to Charlton for a low mileage 376 to Woolwich Arsenal.  Considering the limited number of trains out today I was happy with my results (3x 376, 2x 465 & 2x 466s), so it was down to the DLR for the run to Shadwell.

 

466001 at Charlton

 

It must have been a good couple years since my last decent length trip on the DLR (excluding last May when I used it from Stratford to Stratford International to tick off the lesser used platform).  I forgot how bouncy it is at speed, but still good fun.  At Shadwell I headed towards the Overground station, going to the northbound platform arriving just as a low mileage 378 was spotted heading north to Highbury so I was going to give chase with the following Highbury train (the Overground was a reduced timetable with no New Cross trains and only 2tph to Clapham Junction).

 

Lady luck must have been shining on me as the following northbound train was also a low mileage 378 (146), which I took to Highbury & Islington connecting onto 378149 which I took to Surrey Quays, keeping my eyes peeled on the northbound trains just in case 148 was out and about, but alas I didn’t see it, even during my ~ 30 minute fester at Surrey Quays (which has a nice bench seat).  Eventually I called it a day and headed to Canada Water for the Jubilee to Waterloo.

 

Shadwell Station Entrance

 

 The Salisbury stoppers were starting at Basingstoke today, so it was onto a pair of 444s for the fast run to Basingstoke, changing over to a 158+159 combo for the last leg back home.  An enjoyable day with a walk in the morning and some 466 motor thrash :)

 

3^rd January

My final day before having to return to work on the Tuesday, and with a good weather forecast it was once more a case of heading to London to walk.  Today started with the 07:27 service which took me all the way to Waterloo, this was a 8 coach 159+158+159 combo and was very lightly loaded pretty much all the way (at least in the coach I was sitting in).  At Waterloo I headed to the Bakerloo taking a Bakerloo service to Warwick Avenue station to begin my walk.

 

Today my aim was to walk the Regent’s Canal which ran from the Maida Hill area of London to reach the River Thames at Limehouse.  I located the start of the canal in an area called Little Venice and started my walk.  Although the first section along the towpath didn’t last for long as it was soon onto a pavement of a road next to the canal (the towpath was closed off to the public as it was used for moorings), then the canal disappeared into a tunnel.  The path on the road was easy enough to follow and soon I re-joined the canal at the other end of the tunnel.

 

A Pendo crossing the Regent's Canal in the Camden area

 

I continued along the towpath, going underneath the Chiltern main line (with the soundtrack of a 68 hauled set heading towards Birmingham), underneath the Met line and continued on the outer edge of Regent’s Park.  Carrying on as I reached Camden area where the path got a bit busier, something which remained for the rest of the walk (walkers, joggers & bikes). In the Islington area, once more the canal disappears into a tunnel meaning the towpath disappears, although this time the signage wasn’t the best in places as I ended up trying to get back on track to join the canal side once more at the other end of the tunnel.

Regent's Canal near the eastern portal of the Islington Tunnel

 

 

Once the towpath was reached after Islington tunnel it was straight forward to head towards Limehouse, going underneath various railway lines, passing Victoria Park and Mile End Park.  An enjoyable walk as I reached the canal lock giving access to the Limehouse basin, and decided to do a loop around the basin to reach the lock to the River Thames, before heading towards the DLR station, catching a DLR service to Bank.

 

River Thames near Limehouse Basin.

 

The path quality was quite good, a couple areas where it was a bit slippery (mainly caused by leaves, in the Regent’s Park area) with a couple of the bridge having puddles underneath, certainly a good path to do all year round, although I would imagine during the summer months the towpath will get very busy in places, especially at the points where it narrows to go under bridges.  Anyhow back to the trains as I caught a train from the soon to be disused southbound platform at Bank, only one stop to reach London Bridge where I was due to meet up with my good friend Dan who was down from Scotland on business.

 

Current Southbound Northern line platform at Bank

 

Similar to the Saturday I was planning to spend a few hours on South Eastern to see if I could get any of my mileage requirements, thankfully there were more services today.  After a trip to Tesco it was to platform 6-7 and the first service featured a low mileage 465 in the middle of a 10 coach formation.  This was taken to Lewisham where it was cleared for 10 miles and we had a gentle wait keeping eyes on anything moving when having a good catch-up, eventually jumping forward to Blackheath on a pair of 465s, before a low mileage 376 took us to Bexleyheath, followed by another short wait before another 376 arrived which we took to Abbey Wood.

 

A short wait at the future terminus of Crossrail and it was onto a very low mileage 376 (sub mile) to Slade Green where we had a short wait for that 376 to return from Dartford to take us all the way back to Charing Cross.  After a short break we headed back towards Waterloo East with Dan staying on a Gravesend bound 376 and I crossed the road to board a triple 159 which took me back home to Grateley, the end of an enjoyable day.  I got another 4 South Eastern units into my book for ten miles (my list of requirements is coming down now), with a morning enjoyable walk along the Regent’s Canal.

 

700024 at Abbey Wood

 

8^th January

 

The weather today was wet, so sadly no walking today (not unless I wanted to end up getting soaked), so it was another trip to London with my little red pen.  Due to engineering works (between Woking & Surbiton I believe) the Salisbury stoppers were being diverted to Reading to make a change from the usual terminating at Basingstoke.  I took 159015 for the run to Reading, changing over to a pair of 387s on a nonstop service to Paddington.

 

At Paddington I headed to Ealing Broadway on the next 345, but my luck wasn’t in with anything being spotted which I needed so I decided to head back to Paddington on another 345, changing to a Hammersmith & City line train to Moorgate.  I arrived at the Great Northern platforms just as a required 717 was spotted heading towards Welwyn, but first I jumped on the next Stevenage train to Drayton Park to get into the fresh air, returning to Essex Road (complete with NSE signage) before jumping on 717023 for the run to Hadley Wood.

 

I foolishly decided to do a little walk to the north of the station, the first part was a mixed used path but soon it gave way to a muddy & waterlogged path via some woods coming back towards a sports club.  After this walk I returned to the station as winner 717011 was ticked off for the run to Moorgate, I gave it a few minutes before the following 717 from Stevenage arrived but that wasn’t needed so I headed to the sub surface line platform taking a Circle line train one stop to Liverpool Street (had the weather been better I would have walked).

 

Old NSE signage at Essex Road

 

When I got to Liverpool Street I noticed the next Southend train featured a required 720 (567) and called at Romford, so I took a seat for the trip to Romford to get another 720 into my book.  I exited the station to pop to a Tesco Express close by for lunch, although I walked out without food due to the checkout operator being a d*ck.  I picked up a packet of coconut which said “Meal Deal Snack” on the packaging, the shelf edge label said it was part of the meal deal, but for whatever reason the self-service checkout didn’t take off the discount and the member of staff point blank refusing to listen about the coconut being in the meal deal, a “Computer says no” sort of person who probably shouldn’t be working on the shop floor with a customer attitude like that.

 

Anyhow I returned to Romford, spotting another required 345 heading towards Liverpool Street, but my focus was on the next 720 from Southend, getting lucky with it being winner 720577, quite busy on board but I got a seat, however sadly my plug for my charger must have fallen out of my bag when I was trying to get out my iPod to listen to music (rather than listen to the plans of a group of youngsters at which places they were going to visit and who was sleeping with whom).  I spent the time working out a rough plan which would see me taking a 345 to Harold Wood to return on another required 345.  Once I was at Liverpool Street, I swung via Tesco for something to eat as I was hungry, and waited to board winner 345025 for the run out to Harold Wood.  A few minutes wait at the zone 6 stations and winner 345046 arrived from Shenfield which I took to Stratford.  2 more Crossrail units into my book for 10 miles, taking me down to 5 units needed outright plus 2 for mileage (and I’m not sure if any of those 5 have entered passenger use)

 

"This is the Northern Service to..."

 

Time for a change of scenery as I headed towards platform 4 at Stratford, taking a DLR service to Poplar, changing over to a Tower Gateway train to Shadwell for I was going to have a short hunt for my last 378 needed for mileage.  I decided to go to the southbound platform, arriving with a couple minutes before a New Cross train, and I couldn’t believe it when low mileage 378148 rolled in!  Seriously what were the odds on the first train I saw being the one I wanted, as I took a seat for the run to New Cross, remaining on board the unit for the run back to Wapping which cleared it for mileage needs.  No more hanging around the East London Line for the DC only 378s, I was quite pleased as I took the next New Cross train back to New Cross, to transfer to South Eastern.

 

I decided the best thing to do was to take the next train to Lewisham, that way I would have more options, so it was onto a pair of 465s for the run to Lewisham, spotting a low mileage 376 heading the other way towards Charing Cross.  Sadly nothing of interest at Lewisham as I took another pair of 465s towards London Bridge, for a short wait before low mileage 376023 rolled in (along with 376018) which I took to Blackheath.  When at London Bridge I noticed a very low mileage 466 on a Charing Cross train, but sadly my plan to intercept it on its return working failed due to a delay to the next London train at Blackheath caused by a late running freight train.

 

378148 at New Cross.

 

 

Thankfully that 466 was only heading to Plumsted so I gave chase with another pair of 465s, giving me a few minutes at Pumsted before 466003 rolled in on the back of a pair of 465s.  I took this trio of units to Waterloo East, pushing the 466 over ten miles (it was a sub mile unit, scored back in 2015 on a Hither Green – Lee move when I was scoring stations the first time round).  Anyhow I returned to London Bridge on the next service, a pair of 375s, and crossed over to Thameslink, with a leap towards Blackfriars, then finally Farringdon, for it was time to head back towards Paddington then home (as I didn’t want a very late finish tonight)

 

466003 at Waterloo East

 

A Metropolitan line train took me to Baker Street, where I transferred to the Bakerloo for the final mile to Paddington, swinging via the Sainsburys store (which has massively changed since my last visit), before jumping onto a 9 coach 800 for the run to Reading.  I had a little walk at Reading to waste time (I could have had an extra 15 minutes at London, but that would have been a 5 coach unit which called at Slough).  I returned back at the station and waited for the 159 to arrive from Salisbury, before taking a seat on 159014 for the run to Grateley, finishing off with a walk home.

 

It was a good day in London, a few more units into my book, both outright and for mileage.  Couldn’t help with the poor weather, next weekend sees the return of some longer distance trips.

 

Western Bays at Reading

 

Christmas Holiday trips (Part 1, Dec 2021)

 Christmas Holiday trips

 

I was off work between the 22^nd December & 3^rd January when both my sites closed up for Christmas, so I decided to have a few day trips to London, mix between walking, new units hunting & mileage building on other units,  depending on the weather (as some days were a bit on the wet side).

 

22^nd December

 

The temperature had dropped, with frost on the ground/car, I walked to the station, starting with the 08:59 service, which I took to Basingstoke changing over to a pair of 444s for the run into Waterloo.  At Waterloo I headed to the Bakerloo Line towards Edgware Road, exiting the station to start my walk along the Paddington branch of the Grand Union canal, finishing off the area I left in November time.

 

The path quality was good as it changed from commercial buildings around Paddington basin, to residential, a bit of rural before industrial use around the Willesden area, a couple decent views of the Great Western Main Line, plus of the Crossrail depot.  An enjoyable walk along the canal, seeing parts of London you wouldn’t otherwise see by train (or even bus).

 

Edgware Road Station, edgy

 

At Harlesden I left the canal, passing the station and walked along the side streets towards Stonebridge Park, crossing over the busy North Circular and entering the “Brent River Park”.  A mixed used path which follows the River Brent in a northerly direction towards an industrial area of Wembley, I joined onto the road network to head towards Wembley Stadium station carrying on to join a footpath which ran near a school before reaching a footbridge over the WCML.

 

Overground over the Canal

 

 This bridge has been on my radar for a while as I wasn’t sure what it would be like, would it give good views of the WCML or will it be encased in a cage with high walls to prevent idiots throwing things onto the tracks below.  Thankfully (for photo wise) it was open to allow for some decent photos, the best location being near the Watford DC line bridge where the DC line dived underneath the WCML tracks.  I carried on reaching Wembley Central station, and after a visit to Tesco & the toilet I headed down to play with some trains.

 

A Pendo passing a 350 going over the Overground

 

I jumped on the first southbound train to Stonebridge Park (because Wembley Central is horrible to hang around at), jumping on the next Bakerloo service to Willesden (after IDing a northbound service).  The next 30 minutes was spent bouncing between the platforms on the hunt for my last couple active 710/2s, after seeing all the 8 units out, I jumped onto a 378 for the run to Gospel Oak, jumping to Upper Holloway on the first train so I could visit a nearby Tesco to get some more to drink.

 

Winner 710273 was up next which I took to Leyton Midland Road, returning to South Tottenham on the next train.  I spent 20-odd minutes at South Tottenham to ID the remaining units out, but neither were needed, so I exited the station and had a short walk to Seven Sisters station, jumping on a pair of 710s to Hackney Downs (this trip was done when I was still under the impression that 710131 existed, but wasn’t all wasted because I was also keeping an eye out for 710272 as the dual voltage units do work out of Liverpool Street as well).

 

Mind The Step at Willesden

 

After a short wait at Hackney Downs I took a service to Bethnal Green which had a nice bench seat allowing me to keep an eye out for anything returning towards London, also for any required 345s on the Shenfield services.  Sadly my luck wasn’t in so I took another pair of 710s to Liverpool Street, jumping on a 345 for the long run to Romford, solely to ID the unit on the Upminster shuttle, but that was 710112.  I decided to take it anyway to take me to Upminster, changing over to a pair of 357s for the run to West Ham, solely for a change of scenery (not like I could see anything from the window!).

 

At West Ham it was a short trip on the Jubilee to Canada Water, where I decided to jump on a New Cross bound 378 and onto a trio of networkers to London Bridge, changing over to board another trio of networkers to Waterloo East, giving a small mileage boost to a 465 along the way (every little helps).  My final train of this trip was a pair of 159s on the 20:20 Exeter service, taking me back to Grateley with a short walk home.  Not the best of days for my red pen with only a 710 falling, but the morning walk made up for it.

 

27^th December

 

After a few days with my family, it was back onto the rails starting with the 07:27-odd service to Basingstoke (engineering works between Basingstoke & London).  The GWR Reading train I was going to catch was cancelled giving me an extra 20 minutes to play with in Basingstoke so I went to get some breakfast from Sainsburys before the next 165 to Reading.  A pair of delayed 802s took me to Paddington where I decided against looking out for 345s at Paddington instead headed towards Kings Cross.

 

Engineering works meant the Moorgate services were starting at Kings Cross and my luck was in with the first Welwyn train being required 717010 which I took to Hadley Wood pushing it over ten miles, getting lucky with a low mileage 717007 (Bond, Moorgate Bond) back to Kings Cross.  During my fester at Hadley Wood I picked up some extra tickets, I got lucky with the first LNER service being a pair of winners, 800203 & 801108 for the run to Stevenage (last minute set swap from a dud 9 coach 801).  The next southbound was also showing as a pair of required units so I did a time wasting leap to Hitchin, scoring a low mileage 8 coach 700 in the process pushing it over ten miles.

                                                                                                                                        

717010 heading out of the zones at Hadley Wood

 

Back to Stevenage before getting a pair of required 800/2s for the run back to Kings Cross, where I had a short break for lunch, before returning to Stevenage on a required 9 coach 801.  Another low mileage 700 was following so I took that to Letchworth Garden City which pushed it over ten miles.  After a short walk around Letchworth I returned towards Stevenage for another required 9 coach 801 back to Kings Cross, where I gave a small mileage boost to 717009 with the run to Palmers Green.  Sadly the next unit back wasn’t needed (it wasn’t the one I was thinking it was).  I ended the day with a required 717 which I took to Kings Cross, just under 5 miles so not cleared for ten miles but it’s better than nothing.

 

Nobody expected a photo of a 180 ;)

 

 

As the Sub surface line was in a state of delays, I headed onto the Victoria line to Oxford Circus, followed by a long 8 minute wait for a Bakerloo service to Paddington.  A 9 coach 800 took me to Reading (where I was glad to have caught an earlier train as everything was getting delayed due to going on the relief lines between Southall & Slough).  A short wait at Reading before a 165 took me to Basingstoke, where I changed onto a pair of 159s for the service back to Grateley.

 

An enjoyable day, nice bit of walking around Letchworth with some more LNER azumas ticked off, Stevenage to London is more fun than Wakefield to Leeds!

 

"Welcome onboard this C2C service to Newbury"

 

31^st December

 

My final trip of the year started earlier than expected when I managed to get some dirt cheap advance tickets, starting with the 07:27 London train, a triple 159 which was empty in the coach I sat in (in the middle of the train).  This train arrived into London around 08:45 so to waste some time before off-peak started, I headed out for a little walk along the River Thames.  After reaching the Thames, I started from the Hungerford Railway Bridge heading towards Vauxhall, going underneath Westminster Bridge, carrying on to reach the Vauxhall area.

 

The riverside path is diverted away from the river front due to works for the new sewer so it was onto the road, returning towards  the river at Vauxhall Bridge where I continued to Pimlico underground station, arriving just as the clock hit half 9.

 

Nice clock tower next to somewhere which generates a lot of hot gas

 I took the Victoria line to Oxford Circus changing onto a Central line service to Liverpool Street where I decided to have a little hunt for some 345s, but first a required 720 was on a Southend service which called at Romford.  I spent the next few hours going up and down the line between Liverpool Street & Brentwood, with a little detour to Barking to rope in a low mileage 357.  I got very lucky with my requirements as I managed to score 7 of the Purple Trains [plus 4x 720s and a 720 for mileage] so quite a good day on the Great Eastern.

 

357006 at Barking... Woof

 

After I got into Liverpool Street for the last time, I decided to have a little walk to Moorgate (mainly for a mask break) and the streets were quiet and I headed down the Northern City Line platforms.  The first 717 wasn’t needed but the 2^nd service was a low mileage unit (717024) which I took to Bowes Park, returning to Highbury & Islington on another 717.  I swapped to the East London line, jumping on a 378 to take me round the corner to Dalston Junction.

 

Once more my luck was in, as sitting in one of the bays on the next departure was a low mileage 378 (154), which was cleared for mileage by Wapping (with the bonus novelty of going nonstop through Shadwell.  I gave it another 20 or so minutes keeping my eye on both northbound & southbound trains before taking another 378 to New Cross on a time wasting large loop to get back to Waterloo East.

 

Platforms at New Cross Station

 

As an extra bonus the first Cannon Street train was a low mileage 465 which would be cleared for ten miles by London Bridge, where I had a short wait before joining a pair of 375s for the leap to Waterloo East, before making my way to Waterloo for my final train of 2021, 159004 leading 159011 on the 21:20 service to take me back to Grateley.  Farewell 2021, my red pen has been busy today and the year ended a lot better than 2020 did!

17th & 18th December – Visiting Soham

 17^th & 18^th December – Visiting Soham

 

The idea for this trip was to visit the recently opened station at Soham on the Saturday with a little evening in London on the Friday (having secured a reasonably priced hotel in Croydon on the Friday night).  My Friday evening would also feature the recently introduced random direct train from London Euston to St Albans Abbey, solely to tick off the little bit of track which leads into platform 11 at Watford Junction from the south (BLS hat was on!)

 

Friday

 

I managed to finish a bit earlier than usual to allow me to catch the 16:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke for the usual change to a pair of 444s for the run to Waterloo (at least the 444s allowed me to give my phone a quick boost of electricity!).   At London I decided to head towards Liverpool Street at the last moment (my original idea was to head towards Stratford for some 345 hunting).  I went via the peak time subway which was completely empty (which felt very strange), and onto a W&C Line service to Bank, having a private coach.

 

An empty Waterloo & City Line carriage

 

Next up was a busy Central line train to Liverpool Street, where my luck must have been in as one of my last 3 required 710/1s was on the back of a train towards Enfield (although I will admit at the time I had 4 required units, as my list failed to take into account that 710131 didn’t exist and was a dual voltage unit instead!)  Anyhow winner 710110 took me to Seven Sisters, where I took a seat with the next couple southbound trains not being needed; thankfully my wait was worth it as winner 710112 soon rolled in (attached to another 710/1).

 

This took me back to Liverpool Street, where I managed to ID what was heading back towards Enfield [as the Overground units interwork at Liverpool Street] and was surprised to see it was winner 710106 which I took to Seven Sisters, clearing the AC only 710s (although at the time I was still under the impression that 131 existed so didn’t celebrate so to speak).  With one eye on the time I decided to head down to the Victoria Line, taking the train to Warren Street.

 

AC only 710s, Tick

 

The reason to take it to Warren Street (other than to waste some time) is because I knew there was a Tesco Express located outside the station, but alas that Tesco Express was pretty much bare bones for meal deal items (only things left were some spicy chicken pasta pots), so I decided to head towards Euston, discovering a little Sainsburys Local which had some bits for dinner.  After my supply raid I headed towards Euston via the back streets, entering the station via the back entrance near to platform 18.

 

After I confirmed the St Albans Flyer was actually running (i.e. it was being advertised) I purchased my boundary zone ticket to Watford North (which is cheaper than buying to Watford Junction), I know not the cheapest of ways to do the flyer (but at least I made use of my new Gold Card to reduce the cost by a third!).  350114 was on the flyer this evening which had (at a guess) around 20 passengers on, most like me alighted at Watford Junction (replaced by another 20 or so passengers heading towards the stations on the Abbey Line).  I made my way across to platform 7 to board the first train back to London, this being a pair of units from Crewe.

 

"This train is for St Albans Abbey"

 

This train went in on top of another 350 so when I was walking towards the gateline to exit, required 710256 rolled in alongside me, as it only entered passenger service a couple days ago I couldn’t quite bring myself to saying no, so I took it to Willesden Junction to clear for 5 miles.  The next London train wasn’t needed, so I decided to head to Clapham Junction on a 378, changing over to board a pair of 377s for the run to East Croydon.  I headed to the hotel to find that the lifts were broken (again!), and it was a long climb to the 7^th floor!

 

A productive evening in London, lucky I did that London – St Albans service when I did as due to staff issues the branch has gone back to being buses.

 

Saturday

 

An early start for me this morning with the 05:40-odd Thameslink service to St Pancras, where after going via the nearby Tesco at Kings Cross, I jumped on a pair of 387s for the non-stop run to Cambridge, carrying on to Ely, where I had around 35 minutes before the next Ipswich train was due to depart.  It was starting short at Ely this morning due to the previous service running late so it was a short wait before required 755408 rolled into platform 1 from a little siding to the south of the station.

 

Departure was on time and little under ten minutes later I had alighted at the country’s newest station of Soham.  Not really a lot around the station itself, bit like Bow Street in Wales in being quite basic.  Anyhow I soon began my walk, departing the station via the footbridge to reach a footpath (which previous crossed the railway, a crossing which has been replaced by the footbridge).  This footpath (which was muddy in places) took me along the Soham Lode, a water channel which lead towards the River Great Ouse.

 

755402 at Soham Station

 

I continued my walk, heading along the banks of the River Great Ouse, reaching the Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve (which was quite pretty and quiet).  I continued reaching a very muddy farm track, which I will admit was tough work safely navigating the path, avoiding slipping in the mud, thankfully the mud did give way after a while and soon I was near the Wicken Fen Nature Reserve, another pretty area.  Reaching the small village of Wicken and it was another path leading towards the southern part of Soham, where it was a short walk through the town to reach the station approach road, arriving with time to spare to see the next Ipswich service before the next Peterborough train rolled in, allowing me to tick the station of for boarding & alighting.

 

A pair of 387s heading towards Ely near to the Great Ouse

 

This 755 took me all the way to Peterborough, as it had been a few years since I covered the line between Ely & Peterborough in the daylight.  Also I wanted to cover the track between Whittlesea & Peterborough on a Greater Anglia service.  At Peterborough the next EMR service towards Norwich was running very late, and it eventually rolled in very busy on board.  What didn’t help things was the EMR 158s not having much in the way of luggage space for larger bags so people were putting their suitcases on the seat next to them.  Anyway this 158 took me back to Ely, where I changed to score a required 755 for the run to Cambridge North, changing over to a required 720 for the run to Audley End.

 

755402 at Peterborough

 

A short break at Audley End and another required 755 took me to Stansted Airport, where sadly my luck with the airport 745s struck again and I landed a dud unit for the run to Liverpool Street.  I took a Met line service to Farringdon for a 700 to London Bridge, changing over to a pair of 465s for the run to Waterloo East.  It was onto the 20:50 Salisbury service (nice to get a direct train, without needing a 30 minute fester at Basingstoke!) to Grateley, the end of a good day.  Just over 12 miles walked on a little loop starting/ending at Soham station, some of the paths were hard work with the mud but it was worth it, for my last “long distance” trip of the year (and also my last hotel stay of the year).

 

Cambridge North Station Building

 

10th – 12th December – Manchester & Sheffield

 10^th – 12^th December – Manchester & Sheffield

 Friday 10^th December – The Trip to Stockport

I had 2 nights booked in the Stockport Premier Inn, somewhere I haven’t stayed for a good few years, but for this weekend it was cheaper than the Travelodge at Stockport where I usually stay.  Originally I was booked to travel to Stockport all the way from Basingstoke on a voyager, but due to the issues with XC that service got cut back to Birmingham instead of Manchester and where there was an option to reach Stockport it would involve boarding a late Pendo at Stoke (or Crewe) which was set-down only.

 

So after a quick scan for fares found that I could do that Pendo all the way from London to Stockport for £20 (splitting at Nuneaton) I requested a cancellation of the XC fare and decided to go via London.  The downside of this cheap fare was an arrival into Stockport for 00:50! (Don’t worry I did give the hotel a ring to tell them I would be arriving very late).  Anyhow the trip began with the 17:59 service from home, with the usual change at Basingstoke for a pair of 444s to London Waterloo.  I did have a rough idea to waste the time and walk to Euston but it was either cold or wet (can’t remember which) so I used the underground to Euston.

 

Before using the underground I managed to get the staff at Waterloo to add my new gold card discount onto my oyster card for all those little savings do add up over time (this year I went for the Pevensey Bay – Pevensey & Westham season, a bit more expensive than Lapworth – Hatton, but came with free postage from the GWR website where I got some nectar points thrown in).  At Euston it was a short wait before a required 5 coach 710 took me to Willesden Junction, where for the first time I exited the station.  An area I wouldn’t mind having a look around in the daylight, for there seems to be a footbridge which goes across the WCML which could make for some interesting photos.

 

378257 in the bay platform at Willesden Junction

 

I returned to Willesden Junction, jumping up to Harlesden on a Bakerloo service before returning to Euston on a dud 710, and had some time waiting for the 22:00 Manchester to arrive (as the WCML was in a bit of chaos).  Eventually the 390 which formed the 22:00 Manchester arrived around 22:10 and I managed to get my seat for the long run to Stockport, departing around 20 minutes late.  However this train does have quite a bit of padding time between London & Milton Keynes so made up 10 minutes, before calling at all the intercity stations along the way (Nuneaton, Lichfield, Tamworth).

 

A Bakerloo Line service at Harlesden Station

 

This train is set-down only at all the stations after Nuneaton and unusually goes towards Crewe after calling at Stoke (little bit of new coverage for Avanti for me!).   Felt odd going nonstop through Wilmslow on a Pendo but due to a lot of timetable allowances it arrived into Stockport 10 minutes early.  I had a gentle walk towards the Premier Inn, getting checked into with my room being in the annex building.  A reasonable hotel but not somewhere I would want to stay in the summer due to the lack of AC.  Only issue I had with the hotel being the heating was either off or set for 27C (which is a tad warm for me!)

 

Saturday 11^th December – Stockport Canal, Fallowfield Loop & Unit Hunts

 

The day was a social with some of my friends to have a pre-Christmas catch up, sadly one was working and another was feeling under the weather.  My day began with a 769 from Stockport to Piccadilly; where we were due to meet up before jumping on a tram to Clayton Hall to start the walk.

 

The walk took us along part of the Ashton Canal to the junction where the disused Stockport canal branched off, now turned into a mixed use path.  This took us through parts of Openshaw, going over the railway near Gorton station.   We carried on reaching the end of the path near Gorton Reservoirs, before carrying on via Debdale Park along a path which ran near the lower reservoir before reaching the upper reservoir where the path gave good views of the body of water (and was very peaceful).  We carried on rejoining the road network in the Fairfield area, meeting up with another friend at Fairfield station.

 

195106 at Fairfield Station

 

Now it was onto the Fallowfield Loop, a mixed used path built on the old railway line. The path was well used in places and was a good surface quality.  We continued along the path crossing over some railway lines, going underneath the WCML at Levenshulme (where we were in two minds to carry on or to finish due to the forecast wet weather).  We decided to carry on and it only started to drizzle nearer the end.  The path around Fallowfield itself goes via the road but other than that short section it was traffic free (well other than lots of bikes).

 

Fallowfield Loop Info Board

 

 

We joined up with the Metrolink system at St Werburgh's Road and carried along with the walk on a path alongside the track to reach Chorlton where the walk came to an end and it was time for a late lunch.  First pub we tried was the Spoons but they had a limited menu, so we tried a Green King pub called the Royal Oak and I had a lovely pie.  We came out into the rain and after swinging via Morrisons for some supplies it was a tram to Deansgate Castlefield, stepping back to a tram into Piccadilly.

 

Metrolink Tram 3068 in the Chorlton Area

 

As my last low mileage 331 was due to be heading towards Blackpool from Hazel Grove, I jumped onto a pair of 150s to Stockport, saying farewell to another friend who was heading towards Stoke on a busy 323.  A short wait at Stockport and the pair of 331s arrived with low mileage 331024 on the rear which I took to Salford Crescent pushing it over 10 miles (and hence clearing the Northern 331s for 10 miles).  This is where I made a bit of a mistake for how I was going to hunt down my last couple reformed 150/0s (one needed outright, the other needed for mileage).

 

A pair of 156s took me to Manchester Victoria (which I was going to carry on to one of the stations between Victoria & Rochdale) but a set swap meant I decided to ditch that move as it would have been a bit tight.  Eventually winner 150003 rolled in which I decided to take to Hall i' the' Wood as a time wasting move due to a gap in services back towards Manchester, I returned to Salford Central on 150002 as the connection at Manchester Victoria was a bit tight, although I could have easily made the connection as low mileage 150005 departed 10 minutes late, and was very busy.  I ended up standing in the vestibule area behind the cab of the /2 centre coach, but at least for now the Northern 150s are done [until they decide to create more 3 coach hybrids to work on those lines which can only take 3 coach trains due to short platforms].

 

I took this 150 to Bolton where the next Piccadilly bound train was cancelled so I took 150004 for the run to Victoria.  I took a sub mile tram to Exchange Square where I decided to walk to Market Street, scoring one of the new trams on a Piccadilly terminator, sadly not cleared for a mile but hey-ho, I had a required 397 coming from Scotland.  I headed to platform 13 for a short wait before winner 397012 arrived which I took to Manchester Airport, returning to Piccadilly on a pair of 331s (solely because they were the first available train back towards Piccadilly).

 

For my final train of the evening, I took a seat on a pair of 150s on a Buxton train, ignoring a 4 coach voyager on a Birmingham service, sitting right at the front of the unit.  This plan worked as I had a comfortable run to Stockport with the voyager rolling in alongside the 150s which looked completely wedged out, standing down the aisles and in the vestibules.  Anyhow I soon walked back to my hotel, a bit of an issue with my key card not working was resolved pronto and I turned in for the night.  A good social day with a decent walk done (I would recommend the Fallowfield Loop for anybody if they want a nice walk), plus the bonus of some of my last few Northern units being ticked off.  Only Northern units left now are a handful of 769s.

 

Sunday 12^th – Sheffield

 

I managed to get a cheap advance booked on an LNER train from Doncaster to London, so my destination was Doncaster, but unlike previous trips where I’ve headed to Doncaster using a Northern freebie single ticket via unusual routes I was keeping things simple today and was going to use the Snake X57 bus route before it got withdrawn in early January.

 

My day started with checking out of the hotel and having a walk to the station, where I managed to get a TPE only single to Manchester and boarded a single 185 for the run into Piccadilly.  The bus would depart from the bus stops at Chorlton Street, but as I had time I decided to go via the canal tunnel (something I was going to do in the summer, but the tunnel was closed for filming).  I came away from the canal towpath and headed towards the bus stop for a wait.

 

Rochdale Canal Tunnel

 

The 09:30 bus arrived a couple minutes late, and there were 3 passengers on board from Manchester, 1 of those got off before Glossop with a couple more boarding at Glossop.  It was a nice bit of motorway speed along the M67 (going via Hyde bus station); I do like a good bus route as it gives a chance to see parts of the country you wouldn’t otherwise see by rail.  After Glossop the bus went onto the “Snake Pass” route which headed towards Sheffield.

 

View from Bus across Snake Pass

 

The bus turned off to run alongside a reservoir leading towards the Derwent Dam viewpoint before doing a large U-turn back to the A57 and carried on towards Sheffield (picking up a family at a bus stop opposite the Ladybower Inn).  The bus entered Sheffield and made its way towards the bus station, where thankfully the toilets were free as I needed to visit them after an enjoyable bus route.  Shame it’s getting withdrawn due to low passenger numbers, would have been a good route to do during the summer time when it wasn’t so cloudy.

 

Hulleys of Baslow Bus

 

I now had around 3 hours to kill before needing to catch a train to Doncaster, so decided to walk along the towpath of the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal which headed towards Meadowhall (it was either the canal path or the “Five Weirs Walk” alongside the River Don).  The towpath was a bit muddy in places but was an enjoyable walk, especially in the areas it ran close to the tram track.  I reached Meadowhall and with time to kill did a little loop to exit the station at the Tyler Street exit and back via the Travelodge.  The former railway line route is on my list of things to do (Blackburn valley Trail), but that will be next year I reckon.

 

Meadowhall bound Tram from the canal towpath

 

Back at Meadowhall and I managed to get a cheap (£2 I think) advance booked on the day for a Scarborough train, which turned out to be a 170 where I took a seat in the former 1^st class area for the run to Doncaster.  With time to kill at Doncaster I popped out to the Sainsburys to pick up some drink (as my water was nearly out), this wasted some time before I returned to the station and waited for the train from Newcastle.  This was a pair of 5 coach 801s and from the looks of things most of the reservations were loaded in the rear unit, as I boarded the front unit to find it very lightly loaded.  In direct comparison to a 5 coach 800 which went before hand from Harrogate which looked very busy.

 

150273 departs Meadowhall

 

I took a seat in the composite coach with one other passenger in standard class (looked like there was more in First class), but it was a day where the ECML wasn’t behaving itself and there was signalling issues around Newark.  At one point we were something like 12^th in a queue of trains north of Newark, so it was very stop-start for the next 90 minutes.  Eventually the train paused at Peterborough before running nonstop to Kings Cross.  I didn’t hang around Kings Cross for long and did a fast walk to the underground changing from the Victoria line at Oxford Circus getting lucky with trains both times (just rolling in as I reached the platform).

 

It was onto a 159/158 combo on the 18:45 service (I think) for the run home to Grateley, where I ended up with a home cooked pizza as I didn’t have enough time in London to pick up food.  An enjoyable day, a nice bus route, shame about the 90-odd minute delay in reaching London but those things can’t be helped (my view on that would have been different had the coach been busy mind).

 

159011 at Waterloo