Trips in January 2023
January was a busier month
compared to previous months with more overnight stays due to the lower prices of hotels in January time (compared to November/December)
1st January – Boating in London
The new year started with a trip to London with mum on a more tourist themed day. A quiet triple 159 took us from Grateley to Clapham Junction where we were delayed by around 10 minutes due to congestion. We headed over to the Windsor line side for a pair of 458s to Putney (as there was a sizeable gap to the next Wimbledon train), followed by a short walk to East Putney underground station before my first underground service of the year to Wimbledon.
We crossed over to the tram platforms taking an Elmers End tram to Easy Croydon to grab something to eat for lunch before a Beckenham Junction tram took us to Beckenham Junction, where a route 162 bus took us to Bromley South before a triple 375 to London Victoria. At Victoria we headed to the Victoria line to take a Victoria line service to Blackhorse Road with a delay at Seven Sisters, before 710262 rolled in on the next Barking Riverside service which we took to Barking Riverside.
A district line service departs East Putney LU station
After leaving the station, we
headed towards the pier buying a single to Battersea Power Station on the
Thames Clipper service, something which had been on my list to do for a while. My first Thames Clipper (or Uber Boat
whatever the branding name is these days) was Monsoon Clipper which was taken
to North Greenwich pier where we changed to Neptune Clipper for the trip along
the Thames to Battersea Power Station pier (the boats from Barking only run as
far as Westminster, hence the need for a change of boat). Maybe one day I will do the peak time
extension out west towards Putney but that probably won’t happen until the
summer time (as there are rumours of an extension towards Gravesend as well).
Neptune Clipper (Thames Clipper) at North Greenwich
Anyhow we left the pier and walked to the Northern line station, taking a Northern line service to Embankment, changing to a District line service to Blackfriars where we did a little loop out of the north side, onto the river bank to cross over the Millennium bridge (mum has always wanted to walk that bridge) and returning to Blackfriars via the south bank entrance taking a 700 to Farringdon, followed by a 345 to Bond Street before finally a Jubilee line service to Waterloo.
The final train of this trip was the same triple 159 we had earlier in the day (107, 004 & 015) for the trip back to Grateley. Lightly loaded other than the rear coaches but good that we didn’t need to change at Basingstoke as it had gotten chilly. An enjoyable day in London doing some bits & pieces, the boat was quite good fun (we managed to get seats at the front). It was also nice to meet up with my good friend Daniel for the boat trips as well, just for a general catchup of things.
Battersea Power Station
2nd January – Kennet & Avon Canal Walk
My last day of freedom before returning to work on the Tuesday (time flew by) and as the weather was quite nice, I decided to head towards Thatcham to walk the Kennet & Avon canal towards Reading. I rode along the towpath many years ago, but my memory was a bit faded so would be a nice revisit.
The day started with a triple 159 to Basingstoke, followed by a 165 to Reading (after visiting Sainsburys for some lunch items to save a job for later on). At Reading I changed onto a 387 working the stopper to Newbury to take me to Thatcham where I started my walk, gaining the canal near enough straight away from the station.
Kennet & Avon Canal in the Thatcham area
The next few hours I walked the towpath of the canal, with a small detour to pay my respects at the site of the Ufton Nervet crash before carrying on the canal. The surface quality varied massively along the way, getting a bit muddy around Theale but on the whole decent enough. All changed in the Southcote area where the flooding started near the railway bridge, which continued along the way towards Reading. Just flooding from where the river had burst the banks, thankfully it was a tarmac service so just a case of slowly walking through the water trying to avoid the deep sections.
Around County lock in Reading town centre, it was a case of trying to actually see the lock island due to being underwater, the noise of water at the weir was loud. I continued via the shopping centre area to reach the Duke Street bridge, linking into the part of the river/canal (it’s hard to tell) I walked with mum on Christmas Eve. I joined the road network and made my way to the station with around 5 minutes before the next Basingstoke train departed.
River Kennet in Reading, there is a path there honest
165108 took me to Basingstoke where I popped to Sainsburys to waste some time before a busy pair of 159s took me back to Grateley to relax for the remainder of the evening getting ready to return to work.
8th January - Jubilee River Walk
After a day playing with the buses due to the rail strike, I was back on the rails and heading towards Berkshire with a plan I had formed a few months back. The first train from Grateley took me to Reading (a pair of 158s, getting busy at Basingstoke due to passengers avoiding the replacement buses) where I made a 7-minute connection onto a very busy Elizabeth line service (from memory it was a 35-minute wait for the next fast London train which was running 10 minutes late). This 345 took me to Langley where I started my walk.
Outside the station I headed north to pick up a path which came alongside the canal before heading south into Langley itself, carrying on reaching a path near Ditton Manor, where the rain started. I headed towards Upton Court Park, crossing the M4 and picking up a path alongside the Jubilee River (basically a man-made flood relief channel for the Thames). I took this path underneath the Black Potts railway viaduct, and along the edge of a golf course to reach the mouth of the Jubilee River where it flowed back into the Thames.
Black Potts railway viaduct & Weir over Jubilee River
I doubled back towards the railway viaduct (sadly there was engineering works so no photo of trains) crossing over the Jubilee river to follow the path (variable in places in terms of service, not much in the way of mud but more issues with flooding due to the rain). The rain was on and off and in hindsight I could have ended the walk at Windsor but decided to push on with the walk. The hardest section was the bridge underneath the Windsor - Slough branch as that was flooded (and no real alternative route) so my boots got a bit wet.
After the flooded bridge, it was a nice gentle walk with the waterway to my right-hand side, sadly not the best for views due to being heavily tree-lined, the best photos coming from the various bridges which crossed the waterway (both footbridge & road bridge). I hid underneath the M4 bridge for a few minutes due to a heavy downpour (with the sound of thunder in the distance), thankfully I reached the end point of the jubilee river path, and onto a muddy footpath leading towards the road in the Taplow area.
Jubilee River in the Eton area
I went into the Tesco located on the small retail park before heading to the station, cutting it quite fine for the next train as it arrived less than a minute after I got onto the platform (thankfully Taplow is half hourly so it wouldn’t have been the longest of waits). This 345 took me to Reading where I transferred to a 159 on the next Salisbury service to take me back to Grateley where I had a nice warm shower to dry off. In hindsight not the best days for walking due to the weather but it was an enjoyable walk, as it was quite peaceful & scenic in places.
13th January – Onwards to the Ness
I originally planned this trip with the hope that the new station at Inverness Airport would open on time, but sadly the opening of that station was delayed by around 7 weeks (due to open in early Feb at the time of writing) so my original plan for the trip went into the bin and I came up with an alternative plan.
The trip began with a drive to Andover (solely for the Sunday due to buses) with a 159 to Basingstoke (quite busy as the train from Exeter was running quite late, eventually running nonstop to London from Salisbury from the looks of RTT). This 159 took me to Basingstoke where I transferred to a pair of 444s, getting a decent seat for the trip to Clapham (a trip I spent looking up accommodation options for a UK railtour at the start of April). This train was delayed along the way due to a late running service from the Portsmouth branch at Woking. At Clapham I headed towards platform 1 to board 378201 on the next Stratford train which took me to Camden Road where I was being a cheapskate and not wanting to pay for zone 1).
Entrance to Camden Road Overground
I was playing with Google Maps the other day and noticed it was only a mile from Camden Road station to Euston, a way to boost my steps and also to waste some time before the sleeper. A walk I will need to do again in daylight hours so I can have a little explore of a couple small parks along the way (St Martins Garden & Oakley Square Gardens). Anyhow I made it to Euston with plenty of time to spare, noticing the 20:46 to Crewe was a single unit (potential of an ouch!) and took my seat on the highland sleeper with 92018 up top.
It had been a while since my last trip on the Sleeper Seats, other than a lady eating something quite smelly close (seriously, couldn’t she eat it off the train?) it was a decent enough trip, although very cold.
92018 at London Euston
14th January – Inverness Day
The train lost around 40 minutes in the Carlisle area, time it never gained back due to the single-track sections on the Highland Main Line, being held at Dalwhinnie, Aviemore & Moy for southbound trains to pass. The pause at Moy was grateful for me as it pushed the delay over the magical 30 minute mark (annoyingly there is a 7 minute difference between the working timetable & public timetable so where the train made back a couple minutes to be 36 minutes late that wouldn’t have qualified for money back.
Anyhow arrival at Inverness was 43 minutes late (to the working timetable) with required former Colas 67023 up front with 73971 providing the power for the coaches, and I exited the station for a short wait for my good friend Jules who had arrived from the airport via the bus. We had a gentle catch-up when doing a loop towards Morrisons, following Milburn Road & Harbour Road to come back into the city centre before the next Kyle train was due.
67023 at Inverness
158711 was the unit on the next Kyle train, which was lightly loaded in the front coach, and took us to the remote Achnashellach station where unsurprisingly we were alone in alighting at this peaceful station. A place someone could easily spend a few hours exploring the paths to the north of the station if the weather was good. We didn’t have long here before 158719 rolled in from Kyle to take us to Dingwall where we had a little walk following a path alongside the river Peffery, before a path alongside the river Conon (signposted as “Dingwall Round Walk”). We returned to the station just as it started to drizzle and 158711 returned us to Inverness where I went to my hotel (the Travelodge) to get checked in and to drop off my bag before heading out for a meal in the Spoons and a post meal little loop in Inverness heading south along the river Ness before up a steep hill.
After I said farewell to Jules who was staying at the hotel at the airport, I headed back to the hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening.
158711 departs Achnashellach
15th January – Return Home
I was in two minds what to do on the Sunday, either a canalside walk towards Dochgarroch (and returning back the same way) or a little explore of the city and the suburbs to head towards Cullloden which had an interesting looking path on Google Maps. I checked out of the hotel, heading to Spoons for breakfast before deciding on my little explore, so after grabbing something to eat for lunch later from the Co-Op I headed towards the bank of the river Ness, following that north towards the harbour area, carrying on passing Cromwell’s Tower and onto the path leading to the Kessock Bridge.
I walked across the Kessock Bridge (very windy!) to North Kessock, crossing over the dual carriageway at the crossing and back to the Inverness end of the bridge on the other path. I took the pavement to the roundabout (A9 & A82), taking Stadium Road back towards the bridge for views of the north bank (called stadium road due to passing a football ground). After going underneath, the Kessock bridge, I made my way towards the Raigmore part of the city via the industrial estate and followed a path over the railway towards the shopping park (where a lot of houses are being built).
Coastline of Black Isle, from Kessock Bridge
Continuing along the path (along what looked to be an old road), I headed to the Cradlehall part of the city, swinging via Maxwell Park before following an old road back underneath the railway line leading towards Smithton. Some good views of the Moray Firth before I picked up the “Smithton – Culloden Active Travel Route”, which turned into Culloden Avenue, some nice woodlands on a road leading towards Culloden House (now a hotel). I soon joined the road, heading towards the bus stop for the route 11 at Culloden Academy, deciding to carry on to Balloch to wait for the bus at the bus stop on the main road (not like there was much there, just a pole).
The route 11 bus was running around 10 minutes late when it arrived to take me to the airport (along with a dozen others). I was hoping it would be one of the new electric buses Stagecoach were running in this area, but it was an older bus. I had planned to arrive earlier than required as a safety net, also to allow me the chance to walk the path alongside the perimeter fence to the site of the new station.
Entrance to Culloden Avenue
I had a little look at the station (going onto the road bridge over the platforms) before heading back to the airport, making it through security in no time and I found a seat to wait for the plane to arrive & to board. Easyjet plane G-EZGO was my ride to Gatwick, deciding to fly due to the cost (£15 compared to £60 for the train which would take 9 hours due to going via the Durham Coast). A busy plane with a delayed take-off due to snow arriving, but 90 minutes (or so) later it had landed at Gatwick Airport, and I made my way through the airport, onto the little shuttle train to the south terminal and to 165104 working the next Reading train.
165104 at Gatwick Airport Station
I took this busy 165 to Guildford, where I had a short wait before the next rail replacement coach for Andover arrived. It was a coach operated by WestBus, the legroom was quite poor but otherwise was a nice vehicle on the stopper. At Andover I had a short walk to my car and a drive home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening. A good trip to Inverness, some little exploring, shame that the airport station hadn’t opened but that can be a job for another trip.
20th January – Onwards to Fort William
I was booked on the sleeper to take my mum on a late Christmas present, heading towards Fort William for the views of the West Highland Line. The trip was meant to begin with the 17:59 service to Basingstoke, but for whatever reason that got cancelled with an additional call put into the train from Exeter (which was only running to Basingstoke due to the landslip at Hook). At Basingstoke we had around 25 minutes before the next Reading train, so popped to Sainsburys for some dinner before 165114 took us to Reading where we got lucky with a late running train from Plymouth (a pair of 802s) which took us to Paddington.
165114 at Reading
No time to hang around as we headed to the Elizabeth line for a 345 to Tottenham Court Road, followed by the northern line to Euston itself, arriving around 21:00 so far too tight for my comfort, I relaxed as we headed towards platform 1, as I grabbed a photo of 92023 at the head of the train before boarding coach F to locate our club berth, selecting breakfast in the club car for 8am. A bit of a stressful trip to London, caused by SWR cancelling that first train, but thankfully it worked out.
21st January – Fort William & Glasgow
We had breakfast in the club car enjoying the sunrise as we remained at the table until the car closed after Spean Bridge, the sleeper arrived pretty much on time at Fort William with 66737 providing the power with 73971 for the power for the 4 coaches. After visiting the lounge, we had a gentle loop in Fort William along the high street returning via the waterfront, swinging via Morrisons for lunch items, meeting up with Dan at the station to take 156500 back towards Glasgow to enjoy the scenery in daylight.
66737 at Fort William
At Crianlarich, 156446 ran into the rear of the train to carry on towards Glasgow as we bailed at Dumbarton Central onto a pair of 334s behind (which were a lot warmer than the 156 we had left as the heating wasn’t the best). We took these 334s to Partick changing to a 320 to Argyle Street for a short wait before a 320/318 combo on the next Cumbernauld service, which we took all the way to Cumbernauld via Motherwell. At Cumbernauld we changed platforms to board a 385 for the run into Queen Street, followed by a 320 to Charing Cross where we headed to the hotel, the Britannia outside the station.
This was a former Premier Inn which is quite tired inside, but it was reasonably priced. Although the £7 per device for WiFi was a bit on the steep side, but thankfully we had mobile data. After dropping the bags off we returned out to the station with a 318 to Partick, changing to the subway doing a full ring on the outer circle, followed by a trip to Buchanan Street, where we changed to Queen Street for a pair of 334s to Charing Cross and dinner.
318262 at Partick Station
After dinner I headed out for a little walk, doing a large loop towards Exhibition Centre and Anderston, before returning to Charing Cross where I had a nice sleep. The bed wasn’t moving tonight!
22nd January – Glasgow & Manchester
We took a taxi to the Crystal Palace (Wetherspoons) for breakfast (better than paying £12 for a hotel breakfast of unknown quality), before leaving our bags with Dan at the station before doing a loop towards Anderston doing the footbridge over the motorway and heading to the river front for a little walk along the riverfront towards the West Portland Street bridge, after swinging via Tesco for lunch we returned to the station to collect the bags from Dan and to say farewell as he headed on a little adventure of his own. It was to platform 9 for the 11:35 service for London, 390001 was in charge as we took our seats in standard premium (shifting to an empty bay of 4 for that bit of extra room).
I think the last time I did the run from Glasgow via the Lowlands in daylight was in 2020 time, so a nice way to rediscover the scenic views, topped off with some snow. We took this 390 to Wigan North Western, changing to a 156+150 combo from the bay platform on a service to Manchester via Bolton, staying on to Manchester Victoria (originally, I was going to head to Ashton, but Man City were at home so wanted to avoid the crowds).
390001 at Glasgow Central
We headed to the Metrolink platforms getting a day travelcard (just safer than using contactless), and boarded a very busy tram for Bury, a tram which remained quite busy until nearer the end. I can’t help thinking that Metrolink should make sure Bury line services are double trams on Sundays. A quick turnaround at Bury and we took the same tram back to Victoria, changing to an airport tram to Cornbrook then a Trafford Park tram to the end of that line.
Another turnaround and we headed to Imperial War Museum for a walk across the millennium bridge and alongside the Central Bay & Ontario Basin of the quayside to reach the tram tracks, and a little shorter to the Travelodge at Salford Quays. After checking in, we decided to have dinner in the hotel to save trying to find somewhere else, also to have breakfast. After dinner, we headed back out to take a tram from Salford Quays all the way to Ashton under Lyne, stepping back to get a tram from the opposite platform (the one closer to the bus stop).
Metrolink Tram 3110 at Bury
We headed back to the hotel, to relax for the remainder of the evening, an enjoyable day where I was glad that both the Avanti & Northern legs went without issue.
23rd January – Manchester & Journey Home
After breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and headed to Salford Quays tramstop, waiting for the clock to hit 09:30 where I could buy my off-peak tickets, just as well as winner 3147 rolled in from Eccles to take us to Cornbrook, stepping back to a tram to Rochdale town centre, getting good seats for the long run via Oldham. We remained on the same tram as it returned up the hill to Rochdale station, changing to board a pair of 150s on the first service towards Manchester, changing at Salford Crescent (passing the remains of the platforms at Salford Central which is finally getting normal height platforms).
Metrolink Tram 3147 at Cornbrook
A pair of 331s took us to Deansgate, changing over to an unusual double tram on a Manchester Airport service, first time I have seen a double set on the airport line. Needless to say, it was very empty as we headed to Manchester Airport (had there been a 197 out following the 331s we would have done a train first, tram second but it was a 2 coach 175). We had a break at the Airport, heading towards the bus station to use the toilets before taking a 397 to Manchester Oxford Road, and walking the Rochdale Canal path towards the Piccadilly area.
Rochdale Canal in Manchester City Centre
When we got to Piccadilly, the boards were showing the next trio of London trains as being cancelled, so we sat down to have lunch with around 14:10 the 14:15 getting uncancelled allowing us to board 390117 in coach F (I still haven’t sampled a refurbished set). The train departed late due to the late boarding and stayed around 5 minutes most of the way, dropping a few more minutes around Rugeley where it was kept on the slows for a late running train from Glasgow to pass. Compared to other Avanti services, we were lucky to only be 5 minutes late when it arrived at Euston.
We walked towards Waterloo, following Tottenham Court Road, swinging via Trafalgar Square and the Golden Jubilee footbridge over the Thames. After swinging via Sainsburys for dinner we headed to Waterloo to wait for the 19:20 service, the first train we could catch with our super off-peak returns. A train which lost a bit of time due to signalling issues at Wimbledon, and eventually arrived at Grateley around 40 minutes late.
River Thames from Golden Jubilee Bridge
A gentle walk home, and we relaxed for the remainder of the evening. Mum enjoyed her little getaway to Scotland & Manchester (she loves trams), and it was a good relaxing trip with no long walks. It was a bit cold at times but hardly any rain which was a bonus.
27th January – An evening in Manchester
Due to a miscalculation with my annual leave, I found myself with an extra couple days of annual leave I needed to take before the end of March, as I had already booked a 2-night stay in my usual accommodation in Crewe on the Friday night, I decided to take the day off work and head up earlier with an evening in Manchester hunting down my last few trams.
The day began with the 07:28 service to London as I managed to get a cheap advance on it, since I booked the landslip happened at Hook and so this triple 159 called additionally at Fleet & Farnborough which I think is the first time I’ve called at those stations on a sprinter heading into London (I’ve done it a couple times on a Sunday night as the last London – Salisbury train calls there on Sundays). Once into London I set off on foot towards Euston heading via Embankment Gardens, Covent Garden, Holborn & Russell Square on a little tour to photograph some more underground stations.
Red Lion Square Gardens
At Euston I had a short wait before train to form the 10:46 service to Crewe arrived, and thankfully I avoided the dreaded pair of 2s with 350409 leading 252 for the run to Crewe, where due to a failed freight train between Rugby & Nuneaton it ran on the up fast to bypass the issue, calling at Nuneaton on platform 4 before re-joining the regular down slow (all the random bi directional running). The train arrived at Crewe around 10 minutes late, but the next Welsh train to Manchester (I was using an LNR+TfW only ticket) was running 30-odd minutes late giving me a chance for a little walk to pick up lunch before returning to find the train was getting spun at Wilmslow due to late running.
DVT 82200 eventually arrived with 67013 giving it a push with a former Grand Central Mk4 set (the ones which Grand Central were planning to use on the London – Blackpool trains had Covid not arrived). Quite a nice interior for the short run to Wilmslow where it terminated on platform 2, I changed to platform 3 to take the next Manchester train, a busy 9 coach Pendo to Piccadilly, where I headed to the Metrolink platforms to start my little hunt.
67013 at Wilmslow Station
Near enough straight away I saw a required tram on an Eccles service, but I couldn’t get it for needing a ticket, deciding on a zone 1-2 travelcard to give chase. During the wait I saw another required tram heading towards Ashton, before the next Eccles service arrived with winner 3146 on the back (3089 was at the front). I took this to Langworthy (with a bit of a delay due to someone falling out of a Piccadilly bound tram near Piccadilly Gardens) with the reversal at MediaCity giving time for a quick photo. Along the way I saw another required tram heading towards Ashton so another one to add to my list, as I took 3140 back towards Cornbrook (3035 was the other tram of this pair).
Metrolink Tram 3146 at MediaCity UK
I was at Cornbrook for less than a minute before required 3143 rolled in (with 3132 for company) on an Airport service which I took to Firswood, returning on a dud single tram to Cornbrook for a short wait before 3144 popped up on a Shaw tram which I took to St Peter’s Square. I was down to needing just the 2 trams and both I knew were out on Eccles – Ashton services. I stayed at St Peter’s Square for around 25 minutes waiting for required 3141 (with 3067) to return from Ashton which I took to Anchorage, jumping on a pair of trams for the long run to Edge Lane out in the east, the boundary stop between zone 2 & 3, and had another little fester, watching the traffic jam.
Eventually tram 3145 rolled in from Ashton (with 3108 along for company) which I took to Deansgate Castlefield, I was quite happy that I had cleared Metrolink with some good luck. My last move was a pair of trams back to Piccadilly, fighting my way through the kickball crowds (the tram was pretty much wedged out after Piccadilly Gardens). I grabbed some food (both for dinner & also for breakfast items) and jumped on the 19:30 TfW service to Crewe, solely due to being a required 153/9 for renumbering (913). A good thing I did as the 20:30 service (which was meant to be a loco hauled set to Crewe) was running hopelessly late (it passed us on the outskirts of Crewe station). That 20:30 got cancelled due to a train fault and I wouldn’t have liked to be on the 21:30 service due to being a 2 coach 175.
Metrolink Tram 3145 at Deansgate Castlefield, Metrolink, Tick
Anyhow back in Crewe, I headed to the shared house, eventually getting access (a minor issue with my code for the digital door lock.) I relaxed for the remainder of the evening in a quiet room, happy that I had cleared Metrolink with all 147 trams cleared for over a mile. No more Cornbrook festers or keeping my eyes peeled at passing trams.
28th January – Cheshire Day
Due to finishing earlier than expected on the Friday, I started the day with the 06:12 Northern train towards Wilmslow (a nice 323), where I alighted and had a little explore (in the darkness) to a footbridge to the south of the station (somewhere I will return to in the daylight), and back via a little Tesco Express (for lunch items). I returned to the station to catch a pair of XC voyagers on the run into Piccadilly, where due to engineering works in Stockport they were going via Styal and the airport avoider (annoyingly XC were running nonstop from Stafford to Wilmslow meaning the early start).
390046 at Wilmslow Station
At Piccadilly I didn’t have long before heading to platform 14 to board 197015 on the Llandudno train, sampling my first of the new DMUs for TfW Rail. First impressions were good, other than the fixed armrests by the window the seats were reasonable, only dislike was the space wasted by the catering cupboard (should have only been fitted to the 3 coach units) and the tap in the sink cutting out as soon as the hand was removed from the sensor. Anyhow I took this service into Wales, alighting at Shotton where I started my walk.
A TfW 150 crossing the railway at Shotton
Today I walked along the River Dee towards Chester, before walking the towpath of the Shropshire Union canal towards Ellesmere Port. An enjoyable walk with decent quality of path. At Ellesmere Port I headed up at the National Waterways Museum next to the Manchester Ship canal, before making my way towards the station to board a 507 towards Liverpool. A journey I didn’t enjoy due to the anti-social behaviour by some feral kids. Anyhow once I was at Lime Street, I found myself using the lift, fighting my way through the crowd waiting for it to go down (and I’m sure they all had tickets and weren’t simply using the lift to bypass the ticket gates). I had a short wait before taking 197021 on the Chester train to Chester, noticing the large crowd waiting for the Crewe shuttle due to Avanti being Avanti and cancelling most of the trains from Crewe towards Chester.
197021 at Chester
My next move was on a 3 coach 175 towards Piccadilly (so much more peaceful in comparison to the announcements on a 197 which does everything in Welsh first before English). I was toying with the idea of a quick spin to the Airport and back, but delays meant I decided to remain at Piccadilly to grab some items for breakfast (and lunch) for the Sunday (making use of the fridge at the shared house). It was onto a very busy 390006 on the next London train (Manchester – Crewe was reduced to 1 fast Avanti and 1 stopper (via the Airport), the stopper getting looped by the London train when it went into the Airport so effectively 1tph.
I took this 390 to Crewe, finally ticking off the Airport avoider line going from north to south (I’ve done it countless times heading south to north due to the Sunday morning TfW services and various charters only the years). At Crewe I picked up dinner from Tiger Bite (making use of a £10 off a £20 spend voucher) which sadly defeated my big belly (I was all pizzed out). After a quick visit to my room to drop off some items I was back out on the trains with a 170/2 taken to Stoke on Trent for a 30-minute wait (spent doing a little loop towards the canal) before 170533 arrived from Nottingham to take me back to Crewe, another 170 needed for renumbering. I headed back to the shared house, swinging via Tesco Express for a bottle of pop before relaxing for the remainder of the night.
170533 at Stoke on Trent Station
29th January – The journey home via Trent & Mersey Canal
My original idea for the Sunday was to walk towards Sandbach before following a disused railway route towards Alsager but I decided to put that on hold due to the uncertainly about the path condition between Crewe & Sandbach, so looked up alternative ideas. In the end I picked the Trent & Mersey canal between Stoke & Kidsgrove as it was a reasonable length (8 miles) following my 18 mile walk on the Saturday.
After departing the shared house, I headed to Crewe station, taking a 350/2 on the first train towards Stoke (noticing the first Northern train towards Manchester had been cancelled so I was glad I wasn’t heading towards Manchester today). At Stoke I exited the station, picking up the canal towpath to walk along the towpath via the Stoke districts, passing the area where the units involved in the Salisbury tunnel crash were being stored (one coach of each train visible from the canal which surprised me considering the lengths they went to hide them from passing trains).
Trent & Mersey Canal in the Cliffe Vale area of Stoke on Trent
I continued the walk passing
Middleport & Westport Lake (something on my list to revisit as it looked
nice). The canal towpath came to an end
at the southern portal of the Harecastle tunnel forcing a diversion (all marked
up) via the roads to Bathpool Park, running alongside the railway route. After another short road section, I re-joined
the canal for a short section from the northern portal of the Harecastle tunnel
underneath the railway arriving at Kidsgrove station with a few minutes to spare (a bit tight for comfort but at least I made it).
It was an enjoyable canal towpath walk with decent quality paths as well. Anyhow at Kidsgrove a 350/3 rolled in to take me towards Wolverhampton where I stepped back in the hope of scoring a 196 from Shrewsbury, sadly that was 196107 which I had back in December. This took me to Birmingham New Street where it was a short walk to board the next London train, a 350/2 leading a 350/1. I sat in the 2nd to last coach which was nice & quiet (as it was far away from the entrance).
Southern Portal to Harecastle Tunnel, Trent & Mersey Canal
After a quick catch-up with my good friend Jules who was in Birmingham on a cycling trip, I headed to London on this 350, departed a bit late but by the time it departed Northampton it was on time. I think it even arrived at Euston a couple minutes early. Due to SWR only running 2 trains an hour between Waterloo & Basingstoke today I decided to go via Reading to avoid the potential of a massively overcrowded 444.
The underground took me to Tottenham Court Road, where I changed onto the Lizzy for the run to Paddington, heading to board a Cardiff train (I think) which was the next available departure for Reading. Sadly, it not the fastest of journeys arriving into Reading around 15 minutes late (congestion caused by earlier signalling problems was the reason given). This pair of 800s was very busy, even in the front coach, and at Reading the queue for the 165 on the Basingstoke stopper was also quite long.
I turned the GWR stopper down for a pair of XC voyagers which themselves were busy, but I managed to get a seat for the run to Basingstoke for a short 30-minute wait for a pair of 159s on the next Salisbury stopper (which itself was running late).
800005 at Reading
I took the 159s to Grateley,
followed by a walk home to relax for the rest of the evening doing my logs
& other bits + pieces I needed to do before the week ahead. More photos taken throughout January can be found here: Flickr Album
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