8th Decr – The Bootle Brush Railtour & 9th Dec - A Day in Zones 7-9

8^th December – The Bootle Brush Railtour & 9th December - A Day in Zones 7-9

When this railtour went on sale back in September, it didn’t take me long to decide to book on it, the main reason for some required track in the Liverpool area, the line from Broad Green towards Liverpool Docks, plus the connections to the Merseyrail network at Bootle and at Southport.  There was some more quail level bits which would be required so after a quick scan of my regular hotel booking site highlighted the Waverley in Crewe being £49 (sadly due to the time of year there wasn’t anything else which would be a suitable option based on the starting time, other than hotels which would require a taxi to reach the station).

The day began with breakfast, because if it’s included within the price you might as well take part if you can, before swinging via the little Tesco Express near to Crewe station before heading towards platform 6, with the tour being changed to being from platform 7.  47245 was on the blocks with 4 coaches and 47826 on the southern end, sadly both 47s were not required, but my run with required locos on railtours had to come to an end at some point.  I took my seat in the standard class getting lucky and avoiding one of the narrower bench seats (getting extra lucky as the person who was due to sit next to me either was a no show or shifted elsewhere, or wasn’t booked up).

47826 at Crewe

The tour departed heading towards Nantwich for a reversal (where I noted the rubbish Sunday service of large gaps), before 47245 took the train back towards Crewe going via the non-platform goods line (between P11 & P12) before carrying on towards Warrington (using the goods line opposite platform 4), a brief pause at Earlestown for pick up & pathing (although the train we were booked to follow had been cancelled!).  After departure it was a fast run towards Liverpool turning onto the Olive Mount chord on the track which will lead to Liverpool docks.

The tour continued until the Bootle Junction area where there is a short connection onto the Merseyrail line towards Southport (and another connection for the disused North Mersey line towards Aintree which runs behind the platforms at the Bootle stations), the tour joined the third rail network to head towards Seaforth & Litherland to reverse to head back south into the Sandhills reversing siding to reverse with the run towards Ormskirk, pausing at Maghull North for a few minutes for a photograph stop (also for pathing due to the single track at the end of the line).  Certainly I would imagine it was the first time passengers alighted from Mk1 coaches at the newest station on the Merseyrail network!

First Loco Hauled service to call at Maghull North?

Everybody back on board for the run to the end of the line at Ormskirk for another photograph stop and reversal back towards Liverpool, this time turning off before Kirkdale to go into the carriage sidings, going to the end of one of the roads within the maintenance depot, reversing with 47245 back in charge to rejoin the passenger network (with the announcement that the real ale bar had now opened), a brief pause at Fazakerley (again for pathing & photograph, which allowed me to grab a station photograph to knock it off my list), before the tour continued to Kirkby.

No time to alight due to the timetable, and it was back to Sandhills reversing siding, before a fast run towards Southport.  Certainly was a novelty going non-stop through some of the stations on this network and at Southport we had around 45 minutes to grab supplies etc, which was nice to be able to get away from the train (as the legroom isn’t the best in the world).  The wind was quite strong and chilly so I didn’t go that far before heading back to the station and waited for departure.

The tour under the train shed at Southport.

The train used the connection to the Wigan line from platform 3 to leave the Merseyrail network for a run towards Wigan Wallgate, pausing a couple times along the way (I guess to drop off staff who didn’t want to use a rail replacement bus due to Northern collapsing onto itself), before passing Wigan Wallgate and joining the WCML, using the goods line to dive underneath and coming off the WCML at Golborne Junction, taking the lesser used side of the triangle to head towards Newton-Le-Willows and for a run towards Lime Street, going into platform 10 for another short break.  After the break the tour continued with 47245 leading for the final time to head towards Chester, doing a little weave around Liverpool South Parkway and using one of the reception lines in the Ford Sidings at Halewood before taking the Halton curve for the trip to Chester, using the parcels bay (the one next to platform 1).

It was one final reversal with 47826 on the front for the run back to Crewe where the train terminated, the end of a good little railtour, arriving pretty much bang on time which is always a nice bonus.  I had time to pop to Tesco for some food before returning to the station to hang around for my booked service to London, a service from Manchester which was formed of 390010 for my first Avanti West Coast service, non-stop to Euston (other than pausing in the Stafford area for a late running service from Liverpool to get back up to speed).  Nothing uneventful happened on the way to London, other than having no WiFi.  At Euston my original idea was to head home but due to the strike timetable I decided to look up options finding a cheap Travelodge in Romford so to avoid the worry of making the revised last Salisbury service, I booked the hotel up.

Avanti West Coast meets West Coast Railways

A trip on the Northern line took me to Moorgate (51645/51646) followed by a Hammersmith & City line service to Liverpool Street (21327/21328).  The first 345 wasn’t of interest, neither was the 2^nd departure so I took a seat on 321305 & 321437, only for the next TfL Rail service  to be a required 345 so I bailed at Stratford, waited for a few minutes before winner 345040 rolled in from Liverpool Street to take me to Romford.  Not quite enough to push it over ten miles, but the 8 and a bit mile run to Romford gave it a good start, and once at Romford I headed towards the hotel, checked myself in and made myself comfortable.

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9^th December – A Day in London Zones 7-9

I needed a few stations to revisit for photographs in zones 7-9, and with a Zone 1-9 travelcard not costing that much more than a 1-6 card (and being in Romford allowed easy access to purchase one from a TVM) I decided it would be a good idea to focus a day on those stations, to make my life easier for future trips.

A later than normal start (waiting for off-peak to start) saw me at Romford station for the first Shenfield bound departure where my ticket was valid, noting that the London bound platform was quite busy!  345009 rolled in to take me a few stations into Essex with Brentwood where an attempt to photograph the various style of platform signs got photobombed by a 90 from Norwich!

Collection of signs at Brentwood, plus a 90

Lady luck was smiling as 345040 from last night appeared on the next Liverpool Street service (also noting there were at least 4 pairs of 315s out this morning on the off-peak service), this was pushed over ten miles with the run to Goodmayes where I stepped back a train for 345009 to take me to Stratford.  A quick change at Stratford saw me boarding the modified 317341 & 317670 for the short run to Lea Bridge, enough time to look at the new toilet fitted to the 317, plus other modifications to allow it to work from January.  Anyhow I had a 15 minute wait at Lea Bridge (noticing some old industrial thing nearby) before 317664 & 317347 rolled up to take me to Cheshunt, where I connected onto 315806 for the run to Turkey Street.  Gobble Gobble.

315810 was up next to take me back out of zone 6 to Theobalds Grove (which I didn’t need, but was under the impression I did, doh!), for a gentle walk through a town centre (passing a bus station) to reach Waltham Cross, and 317884/317653 for the non-stop run to Tottenham Hale, where I walked to the Victoria line with 11041/11042 taken for the fast trip to Euston, where it was lunch time before the next Tring stopper which was formed of 350251 where I was going to take to Bushey before having a last minute change of heart at Harrow & Wealdstone as a northbound Watford stopper was running a few minutes late.

317s at Tottenham Hale

378203 took me a couple stops to Hatch End, returning south one stop to Headstone Lane on 710263, before 710264 gained a few extra miles for the run to Bushey, returning to Carpenders Park with 378203 and a 15 minute fester for 710264 to return from Watford to take me to South Kenton. Carpenders Park is good for spotting of WCML traffic including some Royal Mail Postal EMUs.  I returned there from South Kenton on 378225 which was enough to push it over 5 miles, intercepting winner 710268 for the run back to South Kenton, returning to Kenton on 710257, where I exited the Watford DC line and had a short walk to Northwick Park taking 21095/21096 to Harrow on the Hill

How long before these are extended to 5 coach units I wonder?

I transferred over to the Chiltern platforms with 165007 & 165013 taken to Amersham, not needed for a photograph but for platform 1, unusually this Chiltern service used platform 2 as there was a southbound Metropolitan line service sitting on platform 1 (normally the Met services arrive into P2 before shunting to reversing sidings to the north of the station, returning to P3 to head back towards London).  The next southbound Chiltern service was due and it was a change of plan with low mileage 165029 (and 165018) taken to Rickmansworth, making a tight connection onto 165014/165011 back to Amersham.  I turned down the next southbound Chiltern and took a seat on 21075/21076 as it departed from P1 using the crossover at the southern end of the station, these took me to Chorleywood where my plan changed again with low mileage 165006 leading 165001 & 165028 on the next Chiltern, the run to Chalfont wasn’t quite enough and to avoid leaving my last 2 coach Chiltern 165 on something like 9.7 miles, it was back to Amersham, connecting onto the return of 165013 & 165007 for the run to Chalfont & Latimer.

Chiltern Turbo at Chalfont & Latimer

With one eye on the time, I boarded 21031/21032 to Rickmansworth for a photo (didn’t need one, but was nice to get a nice fast S8 again), I stepped back to board 165013 & 165007 which was following to take me fast to Marylebone.  3241/3540 took me one stop to Baker Street, before 96017 & 96104 took me to Waterloo, swinging via Tesco for dinner before heading to the main station to wait for the arrival of the 18:20 service to Salisbury.  This was delayed due to signalling issues in the Weybridge area and didn’t roll up until nearer half pass.  I decided to head to the front coach with the theory that it would be quieter, and was right as I had a private table on 158890, with 159002 & 159018 on the rear.  A slow trip back home to Grateley, arriving around 20 minutes late, and with the temperature dropping so much that cars in the carpark had frost on the windows (I overheard a couple commuters cursing at having to remove said frost before driving home).

Certainly my main target of the zones in 7-9 was mostly complete, only Dartford escaped me, but that can easily be done on the day I head to that area for the two stations I need towards Gravesend.  Certainly a varied day, nice to get another 710 outright, with some more units cleared for ten miles (or 5 miles for the LO stock).  Only one more Chiltern 165 to locate which was a nice bonus.  I will leave you with this picture of a triple 325 postal units heading south at Carpenders Park, because who doesn’t like the red 325s?

325001 passing Carpenders Park area

7th December – Farewell Virgin Trains & Cheshire Day Ranger

7^th December – Farewell Virgin Trains & Cheshire Day Ranger

Due to a BLS tour on the Sunday I needed to end the night in Crewe which gave me a couple options as I had booked up in Walsall overnight on the Friday.  My original idea was to do an East Midlands Day Ranger, but that got put aside instead the idea of a Cheshire Day Ranger came to mind.  The main reason was to revisit Sankey for Penketh for a photograph before it got made limited served (replaced with Warrington West).

6^th December – Onwards to Walsall

With the SWR strikes, it meant a different time from Grateley with services departing on the XX:33 of the hour instead of XX:59, this meant a slightly relaxed time at home, before walking to the station.  I headed to Clapham Junction on the 15:33 service formed of 159009, 159004 & 159012 (the middle unit was busy, but the front was very lightly loaded), it was delayed along the way due to congestion.  Once at Clapham, I touched into the Oyster network, headed to platform 2 with 378150 taken to Peckham Rye, followed with 455816 & 455810 to Queens Road Peckham.  378140 followed to Canada Water, before 378143 rolled in to take me under the river to Whitechapel, followed by 378144 to Dalston Junction.

Capitalstar 378221 at Queens Road Peckham

All those hops were for station photographs, and with low mileage 378146 given a little boost to Highbury & Islington, I exited the system to visit a nearby Tesco before returning with 11041/11042 taken to Euston (my original idea of catching a 717 to Moorgate went into the bin due to severe delays on the Northern City Line).  I wanted to catch the first London North-western train towards Birmingham in which the cheap super off-peak tickets are valid on, this being the 19:15 to Crewe & Rugeley.  The rear unit was already on platform 7 when I arrived, but the front unit didn’t actually arrive until 19:15 so it was a delayed departure.  My luck was in as the front unit was my last low mileage 350, the refurbished 350115 (with 350260 on the rear).

It was a good run towards New Street, delayed at Northampton where it went via platform 1 (normally the southbound platform), so before Coventry an announcement was made that due to the late running it would run non-stop to New Street and passengers for the stations it was due to call at were to change to a train on platform 2.  The non-stop run lasted until after Birmingham International where it caught up with another late running service in front (one which called at all the stations) so the run only regained 3 minutes, which was lost during the split.  After Stechford I shifted to the 3+2 seated unit (as the 350/1 would continue to Crewe), and eventually the units split at New Street and 350260 reversed to head towards Rugeley.

I noticed on RTT that the next Rugeley bound train was only a few minutes behind so I decided to bail at Hamstead for a photograph, waiting 5 minutes before 350240 rolled up to take me the remaining distance to Walsall, where it was a gentle walk to the Travelodge, to check myself in and relax for the rest of the evening.  I was happy I cleared some more stations needed for photographs, with the bonus of a decent 350 for the run to New Street (as it could have easily been a pair of 350/2s with the luxurious 3+2 seating).

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7^th December

The day began with a trip to Tesco in Walsall for some supplies before the 06:03 stopping service towards New Street, formed of a familiar looking 350260.  At Birmingham I had around 40 minutes before my booked train towards Warrington Bank Quay, so decided to pop out of the station for some fresh air, noticing the trams using the new extension (which appears to have opened up on the Wednesday so something to aim for next week).  After some fresh air I headed back to New Street and over to the Glasgow bound service formed of 221101 & 221142.  221101 looks odd all in white for the Virgin branding had been removed.

A naked 221101

Coach D on this pair of voyagers was lightly loaded for the fast run towards Warrington Bank Quay, where I had a gentle walk to Warrington Central, boarding winner 195104 for the short leap to Birchwood, where I attempted to use the old footbridge to access the opposite platform but it no longer gives access (has a locked gate), instead the only access is via the new footbridge at the Warrington end.  Thankfully I had a good fester but it is something to keep in mind for future visits for 195 hunting, the next Liverpool stopper was formed of the former Scottish 156496 leading 156484 which took me to Sankey for Penketh.

A pair of 156s depart the soon to be limited served Sankey for Penketh

An extended wait for the next Manchester train was running late (shock horror!) as 150203 rolled in to take me back to Warrington Central, as I transferred to the opposite platform with a nice low mileage 156490 & 156423 combo rolled in from Oxford Road, the run to Widnes was just enough to push the 156 over the ten mile line.  However my planned linear hop of around 10 minutes turned into 28 minutes as the East Midlands train behind was running hopelessly late (shock horror again!).  Eventually a single 156408 rolled in, I was one of the lucky passengers who managed to squeeze on (I guess one of the units got stolen for the Lincoln Christmas market).  Onwards the Liverpool South Parkway where I alighted and changed over to the opposite platform to await the next Crewe service, for I had noticed a good chance to grab Acton Bridge without too much of a wait.

A semi-busy 350129 rolled in from Lime Street to take me the couple stops to Acton Bridge where I had roughly 10 minutes to wait (good place for photographs) before 350372 rolled in from Crewe to take me to Runcorn.  I made a tight connection onto 350248 for the next Crewe bound service, only to Hartford to get it out of the way.  A busy 350241 was up next (only an hourly Birmingham – Liverpool service today, with the other service running to/from Crewe) and I was glad to bail at Runcorn again (this time for a better picture!)

A London bound Pendo speeding past Acton Bridge

I turned down a 150 from Chester, before boarding a quiet 390115 from London (I even got a table seat for a quick charge of my phone).  Next stop was Liverpool Lime Street, where I had time to pick up some lunch before heading over to a Newcastle bound 802, with a grey 802218 getting ticked off in my book with the run to Newton-Le-Willows.  The rear coaches were busy but coach D was very quiet, but another TPE 802 bites the dust.  I changed over to the opposite platform to board a busy 323230 one stop to Earlestown, more of a time wasting move for the Leeds service.  Sadly hopes of a 195 were dashed with 150110 on this service, onwards to Manchester Victoria where I changed onto 150116/150204 to Salford Crescent changing onto 319366 for the run to Manchester Piccadilly.

I had news of a low mileage pacer being on the Wigan - Alderley Edge service (sadly 142033 was having a day off on the depot, now gone off-lease).  A delayed arrival into Piccadilly (lost 10 minutes waiting for some delayed services from the hopelessly unreliable Warrington Central line, meant a couple of the options had gone, but my eyes picked out a 331 on the next Crewe service so it was onto winner 331013 for a quick look at where I could take this unit, with one eye on the requirement for the pacer behind.  I bailed at Cheadle Hulme (8 and a quarter miles isn’t a bad start), crossed over to await a wedged out 323231 to roll in from Crewe which took me to Levenshulme, allowing me time to cross over to the opposite platform to wait for 142054 to roll in with 142001 behind.  I remained on this pacer until the end at Alderley Edge, for a short wait before the next Crewe service.

142001 at Alderley Edge.

It was time to give the Northern Random Unit Generator (NRUG) a spin with the next Liverpool – Crewe stopper, the one an hour ago was a single 156, but these services can throw out any of the electrics, this time it landed on 323232 for the run to Sandbach for a 15 minute wait before 323231 returned from Manchester (thankfully less busy this time!) to take me the final few miles into Crewe, where I headed to my hotel to get myself checked in for the night.

Less than 20 minutes later, I was back on Crewe station and not wanting to go towards Manchester due to the football, decided to head towards Chester on 150257, changing onto a busy Manchester bound 175004 to Frodsham for a photograph.  The next Chester service was running late, and kept on getting later & later before 175105 rolled in to take me one stop to Helsby, my silly idea of doing the Northern Parli to Ellesmere Port went in the bin as it was cancelled.  Eventually 195122 rolled in from Leeds (the PIS couldn’t decide between this service or a service from Liverpool arriving first) which took me to Chester, where after a quick scan saw me reboarding the 195 for the run to Warrington Bank Quay.  My original idea was to walk across to Warrington Central to try and intercept that 195 I had earlier in the day, but my eyes turned to winner 331111 which had arrived empty from Preston and would form the next Liverpool stopper.  I took a seat for the trip towards Lime Street (which I believe is the first time I have departed Warrington Bank Quay heading north from platform 1, and also first time with an EMU towards Earlestown.

331111 at Warrington Bank Quay.

At Liverpool Lime Street I nearly got knocked flying by a prat on a bike riding like they were in the Tour De France.  First up was to see what 158s were on a delayed Nottingham service, neither were required and when 802218 rolled into platform 10 which was showing as the platform for the next Airport service I headed back towards the concourse, only for the 195 to go in on top of the 802.  At least it meant I managed to walk alongside the train to get a decent seat on 195104, and it was quieter than expected, although a bit slow in places as the EMR service was behind a stopper, which itself was delayed, and unlike heading west where there is a loop before Glazebrook, there is nothing for services heading east, and some lengthy signal sections.  Eventually the 195 arrived into Oxford Road where I decided to bail to see what was following, turned out to be nothing other than 319369, so a trip to Piccadilly where due to a delay to an inbound service I had time to pop out to grab something from Sainsburys before walking a 68 accelerate away from the mainshed.

185119 alongside 68019 in the main shed at Manchester Piccadilly

One thing I noticed is that a Stoke bound stopper was formed of a pair of 323s, something I’ve never seen before on Northern.  Also it was a dry train with barriers at the main concourse where bags were being searched, but nothing stopping someone boarding from the overbridge.  Eventually 175116 rolled up, as I managed to get a seat for the trip back to Crewe where I was originally going to head back to the hotel for the night but decided to photograph the final Preston bound Virgin Trains service, which got me looking on RTT, as I could catch the final Manchester bound Virgin Trains service to Stockport for a +15 to the final Crewe stopper.  It would get me back into Crewe late, but feck it I said to myself.

390132 was doing the last Manchester bound Virgin service and it wasn’t that badly loaded, I managed to get a table seat in coach U for the trip towards Stockport, where I alighted into the pouring rain, I headed towards the southern end of the platform to grab a picture, and hopefully a picture of it departing, but it didn’t move.  Only until I walked back to the canopy I saw a lot of passengers alighting and being told to board a train from Buxton for the unit had failed with broken windscreen wipers and due to the storm wasn’t going anywhere fast.

390132 at Stockport (it was a bit wet!)

I noticed a contractor putting on new vinyl signage for the handover to Avanti West Coast, as I headed over to platforms 1 & 2 to await the final Crewe stopper, itself being a few minutes late allowing time to grab another picture of the final Euston – Stockport Virgin Trains service, just the sake of history.  Eventually a very busy 323225 rolled in from Manchester, I was lucky enough to get a seat, but the train never really emptied out until Crewe.  At Crewe it was a short walk to the hotel, to relax and reflect on a busy day.

"This Franchise Terminates Here, all change please"

29th Nov - 1st Dec. London, Barlaston/Wedgwood, London

30^th November – A trip to Barlaston & Wedgwood

Visiting these two stations has been on my “to-do” list for the last couple years, but I never got around to doing them (although the one day I did have it pencilled in in 2018 the weather was shockingly wet so it got ditched).  Barlaston & Wedgwood are two stations between Stone & Stoke on Trent, the services were removed back in 2004 when the line was closed for engineering works but services never resumed.  There are rumours of Barlaston regaining a regular service at some point but for the time being the only way to visiting them is via the service bus, where rail tickets are accepted.

The day began on a freezing cold morning walk to Grateley station, where a nice warm 159008 rolled in to take me to Basingstoke, followed with a voyage on 220005 to Banbury, where due to my gold card I had to change over to Chiltern.  A few minutes later 168216 & 168322 rolled in to take me to Leamington Spa, where I had a silly plan to revisit Warwick for a photograph, so it was onto 165021 working a Stratford Upon Avon service for the ~2 miles to Warwick, followed a few minutes later with 165012 & 165011 on the stopper to Solihull, where I purchased my Daytripper.  I wasn’t expecting a pair of 165s on the Leamington – Moor Street local service, maybe Chiltern had put on extra coaches to cope with the Christmas shoppers.

Cold and Frosty Morning at Solihull

A short wait at Solihull before 172337 & 172213 rolled in from Dorridge to take me to Snow Hill, where I picked up something to eat from the Tesco outside [both the Co-Op & Sainsburys were a bit bare bones).  A gentle walk to New Street, with 350118 taken on a linear hop to Sandwell & Dudley (station photo), followed by 390128 to Wolverhampton.  I was prepared for a busy XC service to Manchester, but when 220029 rolled in, I was very surprised that coach F had a few spare seats for the trip to Stoke on Trent.  Needless to say it probably didn’t have any spare seats after Stoke as the platform was very busy, all the Christmas shoppers!

I met up with Paul (TrainStationsUK) outside Stoke, and we headed to the bus stop to wait for the route 14 bus service to Stafford.  It was a “D&G” operated, and was 174.  Due to the kickball at the stadium, it was a bit slow getting out of Stoke due to traffic congestion, but eventually the countryside arrived and eventually the bus reached the Orchard Place bus stop in Barlaston village.

The first thing I noticed is a sign pointing towards the “railway station”, which seems pointless.  A few minutes later we had arrived at the station itself, and it looked to be in good state.  The totem pole was still standing, with Central Trains era platform signage.  The entrance to the platforms are locked closed with information about the timetable of buses, and after a few trains passed (sadly the sun was shining to prevent a decent shot of a Pendo at tilt going round a curve south of the station), and we moved onto the nearby pub for a drink.

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The disused station of Barlaston

 After the drink, we set off for a gentle walk along the canal towpath, pausing for passing trains, before reaching the station of Wedgwood, unlike Barlaston this one looked to be in poor repair, with signs on the platform access gates saying “Access to platform prohibited due to condition” and it did look rough from a footpath behind the Stone bound platform [featuring a platform sign at an angle].  Another couple photos of passing trains with the level crossing, before heading back towards the main road for the bus back to Stoke.  It was the same bus as before, and like before the kickball traffic made for slow progress before reaching the station.

Wedgwood Station

I noticed the Crewe bound EMR service featured my last East Midlands Railways 153 for mileage, so it would be a shame to turn down the chance of grabbing it (because they do work over a large area), so it was to Kidsgrove on 323236 and a gentle walk to the canal for a photograph of a passing Virgin train (they look so different all white), before heading back the station.  I said farewell to Paul who was heading to Crewe, before boarding 153383 leading 153355 for the run back to Stoke, before waiting for 220001 which again to my surprise wasn’t that bad for overcrowding, I even got a pair of seats to charge my phone up.  The voyager did get busy after Wolverhampton, but nothing unusual there.

Kidsgrove

Once in Birmingham, it was a short walk to Moor Street where I was aiming to board the next Marylebone service.  I was shocked that on a Christmas market Saturday Chiltern could only bother to put on a single unit, a single 2 coach 168323.  To say it was cosy on departure would be an understatement, remained busy until Warwick Parkway, but when I bailed at Banbury it looked busy again [dread to think how bad it would be after High Wycombe].  A short wait at Banbury before 221136 rolled in, and yet again it wasn’t that bad.  At Basingstoke I had time to pick up bits for dinner before a busy 159014 rolled in from London to take me home.

Overall, it was a nice relaxing day, the weather improved for the walk along the canal, plus I’ve visited the two ‘open’ stations.  I suspect if anything happens Wedgwood would close with Barlaston served by the West Midlands service, but demand might be limited due to lack of parking.  Who knows what the future will bring.

Trent & Mersey Canal with a Pendo in the background.

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29^th November – Getting lucky with a Friday in London

My original idea for this little evening trip to London was to focus on Heathrow Express units, but earlier in the day I put a request in for my last active 321 and GA 90 and for a longshot my last LNER 43 (for mileage needs), just on the off-chance that 43 would be on a service which called at Stevenage.  My luck must have been in, as not only was my last GA 90 was working a service which called at Stratford heading towards Liverpool Street (I know these are technically set down only in the timetable, but they get advertised at Stratford), which would give a nice connection to my final 321 [which called at Stratford, as there is a couple services in the evening which are fast to Chelmsford].  The icing was my final 43 was on the Kings Cross – Lincoln service which called at Stevenage, so I would be able to grab something which avoided me when I was in the North East* and Yorkshire.

With my last 802/0 still out of action, it was straight to Waterloo after a drive to Andover, one of the schools in Sherbourne must have broken up for Christmas judged on some luggage and kids on this service (159104, 159006 & 159015).  This is when news broke about the incident around London Bridge which changed my route due to issues on London Underground.  3559/3242 took me to Oxford Circus on the Bakerloo, followed by a long walk and long wait for 91073, 92226, 92062 & 91239 on a Central line working to take me to Liverpool Street, where I headed to the mainline station to jump on 345047 for the trip to Stratford, giving me a good ten minutes spare before the train from Norwich was due.  In rolled 90014 with the usual selection of coaches with DVT 82136 bringing up the rear, so I jumped on board for the short run back to Liverpool Street for a quick photograph before heading over to check a triple 321.

90014 at rest at Liverpool Street

321341 was leading, 321347 was on the back, with  321330 sandwiched in the middle, my last active 321 required for ten miles (I missed out on 321448, but to all accounts it has moved from Clacton to Ilford, so maybe it will be returning to traffic).  It was the traditional Stratford leap, where I left it and headed over to the inbound TFL Rail platform, the first couple services weren’t of interest, but low mileage 345039 popped up, so it was a case of taking the unit to Liverpool Street, remaining on board for the ten minute turnaround in order to push it over ten miles with the run back to Stratford.  I headed over to the London Overground platforms and board a low mileage 378203 for the run to Highbury & Islington, where I headed to Finsbury Park on winner 717024 (one I will need to return to for mileage needs).  Time to pop out to a nearby Tesco for some food before returning to watch 43238 passing, before jumping on a low mileage 700033 giving it a little mileage boost (every little helps).  This was the danger zone in case the HST got swapped over, but thankfully it was sitting on platform 8.

The Flying Tomato at Kings Cross

I took a seat on 43238 (43316 was on the rear) for the trip to Stevenage, happy that it had been covered, just in case it wasn’t one of the powercars not heading to East Midlands.  At Stevenage I exited the station for a short while before returning as there was a service from Leeds which was meant to be an Azuma, and my luck was in with my first pair of 801s with 801103 leading 801102.  In terms of inside, nothing really of note, similar to the 800s, and 20 minutes (or so) later, I was back at Kings Cross.  I wanted to get across to West Ham as there was a low mileage 357 due, so it was a linear hop with 21023/21024 taken to Farringdon, followed by 21093/21094 to Liverpool Street, both were sub mile S8s which was a bonus (I suspect that will be a job for over Christmas to create lists of LU stuff needed for a mile).  21397 & 21398 took me to West Ham for a short wait before 357046 & 357034 rolled in to take me to Fenchurch Street.

A gentle walk over to Tower Hill with 21513/21514 taken to Embankment, followed by 51588/51714 on the northern line to Waterloo, before waiting for the stock to form the 22:20 Waterloo – Gillingham service to appear, for it was running a few minutes late due to earlier delays.  Eventually 159008 & 159002 rolled in (with a third unit which was detached, and looking on RTT would attach to the 22:50 Salisbury local) and I took a seat in a mostly empty carriage for the fast spin back to Andover, where it was a short walk to my car which was covered with frost.  Part of me was tempted to leave the car where it was and come back to it on the Saturday, but in the end I de-iced the windows and drove home.  Sign of the times with the cold weather, but it was the end of November, winter had arrived.

Overall a very productive evening in London, certainly my luck was in with both 43238 & 90014 in being on services easy enough to do.

Random picture of Andover station in the daylight

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1^st December – A return to High Speed 1

I was looking at my logs for the last time I had a spin on High Speed 1, and was shocked to see it was back in October 2017 (when I had a short spin to clear my last 395s), so I decided to have another spin as it would score me a crossover in Gravesend as due to engineering works Thameslink services were running as a shuttle, also it will give me a chance to revisit a couple of the stations in that area for photographs.  The trip will also be a farewell to the “Andover Express” services on Sunday evenings, as they get changed from the new timetable to provide Salisbury stopper services.

The day began like Friday ended with me deicing my car for the drive to Andover, parking up and walking to platform 1 where 159103 was sitting waiting [starting from Andover due to engineering works].  It was a good run to Waterloo, where after grabbing breakfast it was onto the Jubilee line (96116/96029) to Green Park, followed by the Victoria line to Kings Cross St Pancras [11051/11052], where it was a short fester before heading to the South Eastern High Speed platforms.  The first option was an Ashford bound service which wasn’t of interest, so it was onto 395001 for the run to Gravesend.  I think next year I will try and do the full run to Ashford on HS1.

A high speed dash from London followed by a low speed potter round Kent

 A short fester at Gravesend before 700040 arrived from Rainham to reverse on platform 1, this took me to Higham for a 30 minute fester (photograph stop), next up was low mileage 700001 getting some extra miles for the run to Strood, and next up was 395019 to take me round the bend to Chatham returning to Rochester on 700040.  The next Cannon Street (engineering works around Victoria) was formed of 7 coaches, but my eyes caught a Canterbury East bound service as being a pair of networkers, both being ultra low mileage.  For me it was non-stop to Swanley on 375304 leading on 375304 leading 375902, before 700034 took me to Ravensbourne, before returning to St Mary Cray on 700032.

A 700 departs Ravensbourne

Another short fester before 466024 & 465187 returned from Canterbury to take me to Cannon Street, using the reversal chord to the slow lines at Chislehurst (was expecting it to use the various chords to join on the fast line side).  At Cannon Street it was a short hop back to London Bridge on 465185 & 465190 for my plan was to head to Heathrow for some 332 hunting, but my eyes caught on a low mileage 465 heading into Cannon Street and I gave chase with 376019 & 376023 taken back to Cannon Street, taking up a seat on 465192 leading 466032 on the next Hayes service.  I decided to take these to Ladywell as the next service from Hayes was running a couple minutes late allowing me to make the tight connection with ease.  376036 & 376012 were up next, with the 376 getting cleared for ten miles with the run to London Bridge.

Ladywell has a nice footbridge

On the approach to London Bridge, we were running alongside a pair of 375s, where the rear one took my attention as it was a low mileage 375/9, and knowing how hard the high density units can be (there is a few which only do one run in the evening peak, and some of those run fast from London Bridge to High Brooms or even Rochester).  Needless to say I gave chase, turning down the first service before boarding 465177 & 465018 for the run to Charing Cross.  Time for a spot of lunch before I returned to board 375916 & 375825 (needless to say I sat in the 375/8 because I dislike the 3+2 seating).  It was a nice run to Orpington, where I had a few options, noting a low mileage 465 on the next Charing Cross stopper, but also the next fast services being not required, so it was a short wait before 465018 & 465177 arrived from earlier to take me to Knockholt for a short fester before 465030 & 465028 rolled in to take me to Orpington before 375717 & 375615 took me to London Bridge.

A short fester at London Bridge before the next Sevenoaks stopper, with 465022 leading 465249, this needed a run to at least Hither Green to be cleared for ten miles, but as there weren’t any good connections I decided to remain on board to Elmstead Woods for a station photograph.  465246 & 465193 took me back to Lewisham where I jumped between the London bound platforms a couple times before a ten coach set rolled in with 466015 leading 465250 with 465010 on the rear.  The run back to Waterloo East wouldn’t be enough for 465250 but would give it a nice boost.  After swinging via Tesco, I took my seat on the 18:45 Salisbury service, formed of 158886 & 158880, nice private table in the leading unit and oddly no ticket check.  I know these are fast services, but not that fast as they catch up with services in front (mainly the Southampton bound service), but going non-stop allows for a more relaxing trip.

At Andover, it was a short walk to the car, and a nice drive home.  I know I had hoped to reach Heathrow, but I got carried away on the South Easte7rn Metro again, oops.  More South Eastern units took over the ten mile line anyhow which is always a good thing.  I will leave you with a picture of a single 375/3 on a Tunbridge Wells service, yes it did look busy!

3 coaches to Tunbridge Wells...