21st - 23rd January – Trip to the North West + 30th January - London
Friday
The idea behind this trip was to have a day in Liverpool, mainly for a nice walk but also for some hunting of my last few Merseyrail units I needed for mileage. I managed to get 2 nights in a shared house in Crewe (stayed there last summer time and found it very reasonable) which would be my base for the two nights (saves carrying around luggage on the Saturday). The trip started with the 16:33 service from Grateley which took me all the way into Waterloo, where with time to kill I decided to set out on a little walk from Waterloo towards Euston.
I took a slightly less direct route, going across Waterloo Bridge and via back streets, there was a couple places along the way I wouldn’t mind visiting again during daylight hours when the parks are open (Tavistock Square Gardens). At Euston with still time to kill I did a little loop towards Mornington Crescent (mainly to see what sort of view could be had from a road overnight, but alas no real view due to high walls). After this detour I arrived back at Euston and headed towards the platform the train to Crewe would be departing from, ready to spin Desiro Roulette.
Mornington Crescent Underground Station
Thankfully I was in luck as tonight was a 350/4 on the back of a 350/2, needless to say I was aiming for a table seat in the front coach of the /4, ready to give my phone a good boost of electric and also to watch some shows on my tablet for the run towards Crewe. Nothing unusual along the way (although at least 2 passengers got caught without tickets when the guard made an appearance before Milton Keynes), at Crewe I had a short catch up with Stu who was staying in a nearby hotel before I made my way to the shared house.
Saturday
It was an early start for me this morning with the first Crewe – Liverpool train, formed of a pair of 350/3s. This was fast to Runcorn then South Parkway so a nice speedy run with the bonus of a private coach. At Lime Street I purchased my Saveaway from the Northern run ticket office (available on paper without the £1 smartcard fee if you purchased it at a Merseyrail ticket office), swung via Sainsburys for breakfast, where I noticed a Tesco Express near to the station which could come in handy.
Back at Lime Street and it was a short wait before winner 802202 departed on a Newcastle train which I took to Newton Le Willows for a short wait for a 319 to roll in from Crewe to take me back towards Lea Green before a short wait before a low mileage 802201 arrived from Liverpool which I took back to Newton Le Willows. I had a short walk along a shared used path which runs alongside the railway line to reach Earlestown, arriving in time to take a 2 coach 175 back to Newton Le Willows
Newton Viaduct
The next Liverpool train was unusually a single 3 coach 185, which thankfully wasn’t wedged out like I feared; I even got a seat in the front coach [although I suspect the rear coach would have been busier]. I took this 185 to Lime Street, and headed to the low level platform to take a 508 to Liverpool Central, before a 508/507 combo all the way to Hunts Cross where I set out for my main walk of the day, but before I reached the Liverpool Loop Line I headed towards “Halewood Doorstep Green” with a small loop in a nice wooded area.
After I returned to the main-road, I headed towards the start of the Liverpool Loop Line (a mixed used path on the trackbed of an old railway route towards Aintree). The first section was within Halewood Park, a very scenic wooded area (somewhere I will probably return to), and soon I joined the trackbed of the old railway route. I took the old railway route towards the junction where an east facing chord came in (from the Halewood direction), which I took towards Halewood, before returning back towards the junction (I did a bit of zig-zagging on the way taking in more of the woods).
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Old railway junction in Halewood Park
My walk continued along the Liverpool Loop line heading in a mostly northern-westerly direction, passing some of the Liverpool suburbs. The path quality was quite good, a bit rough in places (mainly tree roots). I passed underneath the railway near Broad Green station before carrying on heading along the path, the only station which had old platforms still in existence was West Derby. I had lunch from a large Sainsburys along the route near East Prescot Road (Broad Green area). I continued with my walk along the old railway line via a couple tunnels before reaching the end of the route, where the old railway continued towards Aintree, the mixed used path curves away to join another old railway route.
Remains of West Derby station
The 2nd old railway route I believe is part of the “North Mersey branch”, passing the site of the old Aintree Racecourse station. I came off the old railway route in the Fazakerley area and headed towards Fazakerley station, to mark the end of my long and very enjoyable walk. Not so much for old railway related but some nice views of an area I’ve never been to before. But it was time to rest and play with some trains, my main goal was to intercept a required 802 from Newcastle before looking for some 507/508s I needed for mileage.
I got lucky because the first train was a low mileage 508 (122) (which I only discovered when I alighted at Moorfields because I was in the front unit). A short walk to the Wirral line platform and a pair of 507s took me round the bend, where for the 2nd time of the day I took a seat on 802202 for the run out to Newton Le Willows (the plug socket coming in handy). I crossed over to the other platform and took a seat, my legs needed the rest. Time went along before winner 802219 arrived which I took back to Lime Street, another TPE 802 into my book.
Back to Merseyrail and a little spin out to Green Lane on an Ellesmere Port service before a pair of 507s took me to Port Sunlight, returning to Hamilton Square before doing the city centre loop to head out to Wallasey Village before finally returning to Moorfields, sadly no required units for mileage but I had managed to spot everything out working on the Wirral, so it was time to head to the Northern line platforms to see if my luck would improve.
508111 departs Port Sunlight
First Southport wasn’t needed, but a pair of units to Liverpool Central from Ormskirk had a low mileage 508 (139) on the back so I took that to Liverpool Central, remained on board for the run to Maghull North. A short wait before a busy low mileage 508141 arrived from Ormskirk (the pairs split at the terminal with one of the units going ECS to the depot, which seems strange considering how busy the trains were). I took this 508 to Sandhills for a short wait before low mileage 507033 arrived on a Southport train (along with another 507). I took this pair to Freshfield for another short wait for another Hunts Cross bound train.
Back to Sandhills with a short wait to take another 507 round the corner to Kirkdale to intercept the final unit out on Ormskirk services, just in case it was one of the last 3 I needed. Alas it wasn’t but I took it back to Liverpool Central regardless. I managed to get some food from a McDonalds (where the queue wasn’t outside the door, I needed something warm), before I walked back to Lime Street to catch the last train to Crewe.
This service is a bit of a novelty for it runs nonstop to Crewe, one of the very few passenger trains which go nonstop through Runcorn. I boarded in the front coach, which I had all to myself (all the drunken passengers waiting for the train probably boarded the rearmost coach). It was an enjoyable fast run back to Crewe, where I hung back on the platform to allow those drunks to leave the station before I followed. I had a gentle walk back to the house, where I relaxed for the remainder of the day. It was an enjoyable day, plus I met my target of getting 4 of the 7 Merseyrail units needed for mileage ticked off. I’m back in the area in April time so hopefully those last 3 will all be out.
350124 at Liverpool Lime Street
Sunday
Today due to engineering works TPE were diverting services from Manchester to Sheffield via Wakefield on a little tour of Yorkshire, and for the lack of something better to do I decided to have a little spin, deciding a South Pennies Day Ranger would be the best ticket (as well as a TfW Only day return to Manchester from Crewe).
The day started with the first Manchester train, which was a 2 coach 175, which due to being a Sunday went via the airport line after Wilmslow. At Piccadilly I had around 40 minutes to waste before the next Sheffield train so I did a short walk in the city centre area, nothing too major (for I had a blister from all the walking on the Saturday). Back at the station and I made my way across to platform 1 to board a pair of 185s, getting a seat in the front coach (where it was nice and quiet).
The route taken by the Sheffield train was towards Huddersfield (where I had a novelty of a non-stop run) turning away before Ravensthorpe running towards Wakefield Kirkgate, going via platform 3 to use that bit of track which connects with the Leeds – Doncaster line [the route used by Grand Central when they are not calling at Pontefract. The 185s continued towards Fitzwilliam and then towards Moorthorpe for the run towards Sheffield in that direction, arrival was pretty much on time. A nice little “185 on tour” trip (saves trying to do it late on a Saturday night as Sheffield city centre on Saturday nights can be expensive).
185113 & 185146 at Manchester Piccadilly
I had a short wait at Sheffield before a 158 rolled in from Lincoln to be the next Huddersfield train, very unusual this service being a 158 as it’s usually a solid 150 (not like I’m complaining because a Northern 158 is in a whole different league than a Northern 150!). I took this 158 all the way to Huddersfield on the scenic Penistone line, before a dud 802 on a little time wasting move to Dewsbury before winner 802213 rolled in from Newcastle to take me back towards Manchester Piccadilly (going via Guide Bridge due to engineering works between Victoria & Stalybridge).
158902 at Huddersfield
At Piccadilly I had a short walk towards the next TfW Rail service towards Milford Haven & Pembroke Dock, a 150+153 combo. For the novelty I sat in the 153 for the run towards Crewe, having an unofficial connection to the next London via Trent Valley service, an connection which was easily made [it’s near enough cross platform!] with a 350/4 leading a 350/1. The train got busy along the way (as expected for a Sunday afternoon), but the final 15 minutes was a bit of a crawl due to engineering works around Euston closing some of the platforms.
After arriving at Euston I headed towards the underground, and straight onto a Victoria line service to Oxford Circus, changing for a Bakerloo to Paddington arriving with time to spare to board a 9 coach 800 on a busy Penzance train for the run to Reading. I had a short wait before a 165 arrived from Basingstoke to take me to Basingstoke (quite a busy train), and at Basingstoke I popped out of the station to grab a KFC.
A 800 at Paddington
Back at Basingstoke it was onto a pair of 158s on a Basingstoke – Salisbury train which was quiet (the connection for this train from Waterloo was hopelessly late as the route via Staines had fallen over). These units took me back to Grateley for a gentle walk home, the end of a nice gentle day of looking out of the window at the passing scenery (must be a good few years since I did the Ravensthorpe – Wakefield line during daylight hours). I even had the bonus of a required 802 taking my needs down to just 2 of the TPE examples.
30th January – London
Only a little report for today as it was a trip to London to do some walking around Canary Wharf finishing off with the Thames Path towards Limehouse around the Isle of Dogs. The highlight for trains was the novelty of a DLR service to terminate into the bay platform at Mudchute as I headed towards Cutty Sark to walk the Greenwich Foot Tunnel.
I
also did the Northern line departure at Moorgate from platform 8 heading North
due to the Northern line block at Bank to tick off that random crossover as a
time wasting move before reaching Paddington with a very busy 5 coach 802, the train I was aiming to catch got cancelled. This connected into the final direct Reading - Salisbury train.
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| Mudchute Bay Platform 3, Tick |
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