Trips 3-6th May 2024

 Trips 3-6th May 2024

3rd May - Return of the Shedi Tour

When this late notice tour came out in early April, I decided it was worth doing as it would be a nice little day out with the bonus of some hopefully winning locos.  The day for me began with the 07:27 service for Waterloo formed of 159004, 159018 & 159104 which I took to Basingstoke popping out of the station to grab some supplies for lunch before catching a reasonably busy 221141 to Southampton Airport Parkway (which emptied out at Winchester).  I had a few minutes at Southampton Airport before 158880 took me the mile and a bit to Eastleigh where I popped out of the station for a little stroll to waste some time before the charter would depart.

33012 (D6515) rolled into the station with the London Transport 4TC set (Mk1 coaches) and I took my seat in coach D on the bouncy bench seat with has a lot more legroom than on a Mk2 coach.  33012 departed heading towards Chandlers Ford before going via Romsey and taking the Laverstock curve to head towards Basingstoke via Andover where a second pick up was made.  After Basingstoke the train continued towards Reading making use of the Oxford Road curve to head towards Tilehurst after Reading West before carrying on towards Didcot Parkway where another pick up was made as well as a 15-minute break for pathing.

33012 (D6515) at Eastleigh Station

After Didcot Parkway the train continued towards Oxford going into the Hinksey Yard to the south of the city for the first reversal of the day with DB Cargo’s 66205 & 66114 attaching to the rear, both were winners for me as the train headed back towards Didcot bypassing the station using the west curve to head towards Swindon and the Golden Valley line to Gloucester where there was a longer break for the locos to change in the rain (the charter causing a bit of chaos with late running services being forced to use alternative platforms, oops).

66205 & 66114 detached and headed back light engine towards Didcot where Freightliner’s 59005 arrived (running late due to earlier issues) to attach to the front of the train to head into Wales, running via the loop near Lydney and towards Cardiff going via platform 4 at Newport (well it is a BLS tour, so all the random crossovers).  At Cardiff the train arrived at a busy platform 2 causing more chaos as we had a longer (around 90 minutes) break, time I spent having a little stroll towards Bute Park & Blackweir Fields returning to the station via Cardiff Castle and Boots to grab some dinner items.

Bute Docks Feeder Canal within Bute Park, Cardiff

Back at Cardiff Central and back onto the charter with 33012 back in control for the run towards Bristol Parkway, pausing for 15 minutes outside Severn Tunnel Junction for some GWR services to go in front before heading underground (via the loop between Severn Tunnel Junction & the tunnel, plus via the loop before Pilning where the train got held for a late running London train to pass.  At Bristol Parkway the train reversed in the passenger loop with Freightliner’s 66541 attaching onto 59005 for the run towards Westbury where they detached from the train, with an unexpected trip via the Bathampton loop.

Another reversal in Westbury with 33012 (which did make a lovely noise) as the train made its way towards Reading via Newbury, however sadly darkness had fallen at this point so my time of looking out of the window was over.  The train went via the loop in Hungerford and arrived at platform 3 at Reading for the final loco to join with GBRf’s 66797, one of the recent(ish) European imports.  Thankfully a set-down at Basingstoke was added soon after the tour went live to allow me to take the charter to Basingstoke (originally it was nonstop to Eastleigh), giving me around 30 minutes at Basingstoke before 159012 & 159013 rolled in from London to take me back to Grateley and a gentle walk home, sorting my bag out ready for an early start on the Saturday morning (and not a lot of sleep).

66797 at Basingstoke Station

An enjoyable relaxing tour towards Cardiff via Gloucester, nice to see the BLS doing a “Super Raffle” with tickets at £10 for some ‘money can’t buy’ prizes (cab rides, guided tours of depots, trip on Caroline (the inspection saloon)) rather than doing it as a silent auction like on previous tours for Martin House, giving a better chance to win for those not flushed with a spare few hundred pounds.

4th May - May the Fourth Be with You Tour

Day 2 of the BLS tours involving the London Transport 4TC set and 33012 and it was an early start for me with a drive to Eastleigh railway station arriving with plenty of time to spare before 73136 rolled in with 33012 on the rear, sadly a dud loco from a tiny trip on the overnight GBRf tour in 2021 (from Kensington Olympia to Acton Yard).  Since the day before coach D had swapped ends to be behind the 73 rather than the 33 and this tour was a lot quieter than the Friday’s tour, my estimate was that coach D was half full, giving people the chance to spread out a bit more.

73136 at Eastleigh Station

Anyhow the first destination for today was towards Portsmouth Harbour for a brief break (and pick up of passengers) before 33012 taking over with the run towards Westbury via Southampton’s Up Goods Loop, sadly this is where the train lost some time due to having to wait for a late running Portsmouth – Cardiff service before it could continue.  At Westbury there was a surprise as Freightliner had provided not just 1 class 59 loco, nor 2 but a trio of 59s, all 3 were winners for me with 59202 leading 59101 & 59104 with all 3 powering (so at this point there was more locos than coaches!).

Sadly, the earlier delay into Westbury meant a late departure and following a Bristol stopper which only increased the delay.  A trip via the Goods loop between Bath & Oldfield Park before the train continued towards Bristol Temple Meads going on the non-platform line alongside platform 14 and onwards to the loop after Yatton where the train was looped for a Plymouth bound XC service.  The train continued as booked via Weston Super Mare before carrying on to Taunton & Tiverton Parkway where it was put into the loop at the former Tiverton Junction station for some GWR services to pass.

59101 (Village of Whatley) at Westbury Station (BLS Charter)

After the loop it was onwards to Exeter St Davids where I was surprised they didn’t hold us outside the station to allow the 13:25 service for Waterloo to depart first but the 59s went in first for a brief stop to allow some passengers to alight before climbing the hill towards Exeter Central reaching a point between Exeter Central & St James Park with 73136 firing up to haul the train into the bay platform at Exeter Central causing the 13:25 to Waterloo to be 12 minutes late and causing a bit of delays for the next few hours on the West of England line.

Anyhow at Exeter Central, we had around an hour break, time for a little stroll and visit of Boots to pick up items for dinner before I returned to the train.  The 59s had detached and headed back towards the quarries leaving 33012 to take the train forward towards Waterloo, with pauses at Honiton, Chard loop & Gillingham due to pathing requirements on the mostly single-track line between Exeter & Salisbury.

73136 alongside 159009 at Honiton Station

The first set down was made at Salisbury with a handful of passengers alighting before the train continued towards London Waterloo with a further pause at Basingstoke & Farnborough before a fast run to platform 17 at Waterloo, time for a quick visit to Sainsburys for something cold and fizzy to try and keep myself awake.  73136 was back in charge and running on electric heading towards Eastleigh going via Twickenham, Woking & Guildford, the train did empty out a bit more at Waterloo allowing more time to spread out as darkness had fallen.

A brief pause at Havant to drop off some passengers (I suspect those who boarded at Portsmouth) before the train carried on towards Eastleigh where it terminated, a nice run behind 73136 arriving near enough on time.  A short walk back to my car before driving home, getting a bit lost heading out of Eastleigh as I turned left instead of going straight on (ending up joining the M3 at junction 13 rather than junction 12), unlike in the morning I decided to play it a bit safer and stuck to the motorway & dual carriageways to reach Andover before heading back to Grateley.

33012 (D6515) at London Waterloo

It had been a long couple of days which had taken its toil on my body as I headed to bed for a relaxing Sunday (other than an eye test), a planned local area walk being paused due to the rain arriving.

6th May – Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Walk

The Birmingham & Fazeley canal runs from the centre of Birmingham via Aston & Minworth towards the small town of Fazeley (on the outskirts of Tamworth) via a couple small villages and countryside.  I had previously walked the section from Old Turn Junction towards Aston in various sections so today I decided to focus on the section from Aston towards Fazeley where I could make the most of the £2 bus fares rather than paying out whatever XC want for a train from Tamworth (or Wilnecote).

My day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke formed of 158886 & 159015 where I had a short wait before 221139 & 220018 rolled in from Southampton (diverted via Laverstock due to engineering works between Winchester & Basingstoke) arriving a good 10 minutes ahead of schedule so it was nice to take a seat in an empty coach on the 221 for the run towards Banbury, the coach only filling up after Oxford and even them it was quieter compared to usual.  At Banbury it was another short wait before the next Chiltern service formed of 168218, 168328 & 168327 and I took a seat in one of the former TPE units which again was lightly loaded (bank holidays for you).

At Dorridge my good friend Jules joined me as we had a short catchup and continued towards Birmingham Moor Street, heading to New Street via Tesco to grab some supplies for lunch and jumping on 350246 working a Walsall stopper.  This took us to Aston where we began the walk heading out of the station, crossing the road and up a short road to pick up the canal.  The first section took us towards Salford Junction where the Birmingham & Fazeley canal meets up with the Tame Valley & Grand Union Canal underneath the Gravelly Hill Interchange.  We continued moving away from the M6 and roughly running alongside the A38 towards the Bromford & Tyburn area of the city of Birmingham.  The towpath quality in this section was quite good, but I think we were both thankful when the canal moved away from the main road in the Minworth area, crossing underneath the Sutton Park freight line.

350246 departs Aston Station

After Minworth the canal turned more rural heading towards Curdworth with the towpath also changing from solid to more rural canal.  Some beautiful areas along this walk with birds singing and a short tunnel in the village of Curdworth itself.  After crossing underneath the M6 Toll the canal ran close to the M42 but was still quite beautiful.  We reached Bodymoor Heath, passing a busy looking pub and entering an area close to the Kingsbury Water Park with various pools on the right-hand side as the canal started to head north.

This area was very peaceful heading past the various lakes near Cliff and towards Drayton Bassett, passing the Drayton Manor Footbridge with the castellated towers with spiral staircases inside.   A quirky bit of architecture.  We continued beyond the footbridge and back into a more urban landscape reading the end of the Birmingham & Fazeley canal at Fazeley Junction where it meets the Coventry Canal.  We joined the Coventry Canal for a short section to end the walk near Fazeley Town Hall to await the next Arriva route 110 bus between Tamworth & Birmingham, formed of a busy double decker 4411 as it headed towards Mile Oak before following the A453 towards Whitehouse Common and diverting to serve Raddicap Heath & Sutton Coldfield.  Due to a group of youths at the back of the bus playing some sort of noise which they probably believed was music we jumped off in Sutton Coldfield making our way to the station to board 323207 to Birmingham New Street.

Drayton Turret Foot Bridge over the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal between Drayton Bassett & Fazeley

After a visit to the toilets (the one on the 323 was locked out of use), we headed outside the station, following the tram tracks towards St Chad, the trams having some delays.  At St Chads we took tram 51 to Grand Central New Street station and headed for a Shrewsbury service formed of 196106 to take us slowly to Wolverhampton (seemed to be some signalling issues around Sandwell & Dudley).  After a brief break 196111 took us to Smethwick Galton Bridge (I was hoping for a pair of 2 coach 196s but hey ho).  At Galton Bridge we headed to the Snow Hill line platforms to take 172345 & 172008 the short distance to the Hawthorns before tram 49 took us to Bull Street.

A supply raid at the shops outside Snow Hill before taking 172217 & 172212 to Solihull (so Jules could grab his bike), we parted ways at Solihull as I boarded a reasonably busy 168217 & 168107 to Banbury for a short wait for a busy 220002 (was glad to have had a seat reserved, but it did empty out somewhat at Oxford).  This train terminated early at Reading, so it was across to platform 2 to take a seat on 165104 working the stopper to Basingstoke thankfully not costing me any time as it gave a nice connection into 159015 working the next Salisbury stopper.  This 159 took me back to Grateley which judging by the roads had quite a bit of rain, back home to relax for the remainder of my bank holiday Monday.

172008 departing The Hawthorns Station

It was an enjoyable walk with a good friend along a beautiful canal, also good to have a little catch-up ready for a stressful week at work.  The two rail tours on Friday & Saturday were also good for looking out of the window.  Some more photos can be found on my Flickr, link is *here*.  Thanks for reading, next week sees a return to Cheshire.