Trips on the 4th & 5th November

Happy November everybody!

 4^th November – An afternoon on the buses in Andover

 

Due to the damp weather putting a damper on any walking plans I had for this Saturday, I decided to swap over a planned ‘rest day’ (aka doing odds & sods at home) to the Saturday, spending the morning doing said odds & sods before getting a lift to the nearby village of Over Wallop to board the route 17 bus into Andover.  I needed to do a couple of tasks in Andover, and this gave me an excuse to cover some more of the Andover bus routes (just to give me something to do),

 

This is an odd bus route which has a better service on Saturdays than it does during the week (3 round trips compared to 1 trip to Andover & 2 return services), although I can remember (going back 20-odd years) when this area had a better service (served by a long-gone Winchester – Andover bus service). I was glad to get out of the heavy rain onto bus 47926, an Optare Solo where I was joined by a 17ish year-old female (also heading to Andover) with one passenger already on the bus who alighted in the housing estate as the bus does a little loop.  Nobody else joined until the village of Abbots Ann, an area I haven’t been to in quite a while.

 

Anyhow arrival into Andover bus station was pretty much on time around 14:30 as I headed into the town centre to do the couple tasks I required, returning to the bus station 20 minutes later thinking what to do first.  I noticed a couple Enviro200 buses from Chichester (branded as “The Witterings”) which I presume are transfers from Chichester depot to Andover depot which haven’t been de-branded yet.

 

Not the bus to East Wittering, Stagecoach 36918 at Andover Bus Station

 

I decided to board bus 47310, one of the old Optare Solos based in Andover on a route 3 service towards Charlton.  Half a dozen other passengers also boarded at Andover bus station, all of which alighted in the housing area around ‘Artists Way’ leaving just myself on board for the trip into Charlton doing a little loop before heading back towards the town centre picking up 1 extra passenger on the outskirts of Charlton and a couple more near Artists Way.  An interesting service looking out of the various styles of housing, both modern & old.

 

Back at Andover bus station, I was a bit worried about making a connection into the 2 hourly route 12 service, but it was the same bus which I had arrived on.  This was another town service which is a big loop going via the housing areas to the south of the town centre, like with the previous bus this did have a handful of locals using it on the trip, picking up a couple of passengers along the way.  Another interesting trip into part of Andover that either I’ve never been to or haven’t been for a while, with various styles of housing and front gardens/driveways.  Although I feel the 2 hourly nature of that bus route probably puts some passengers off using it to get into the town centre.

 

An oldish Solo outside Andover Bus Station

 

Once more I found myself back at Andover bus station, where after visiting the toilets, I decided to turn down the next bus route that Solo would be working (a route 10 which I part needed) and instead boarded bus 27780 (an Enviro300) on a route 1 service which went towards the housing area to the north of the town centre at King Arthurs Way & Roman Way.  A reasonably busy route with passengers alighting in the housing estate plus boarding, I can see why this is every 15 minutes during the day (when the buses are not cancelled).

 

Back at the bus station for the last time of the day (making good use of my £4 Andover day ticket) and it was onto a route 4 bus (operated by 36255, an Enviro200) on what was the busiest bus of the day heading towards the housing area to the west of the town centre (The Drove).  I took this bus for the round trip via the housing area and decided to bail outside the hospital (noticing since my last visit to this area, it’s changed from Pay & Display to barriered controlled pay on exit style).  I set off on a gentle walk towards the railway station doing a larger loop to waste time before a busy 159008 took me up the hill to Grateley where I managed to get home before the rain resumed for the evening.

 

A short afternoon on the buses in Andover, nothing too exciting but ticked off 5 more of the Stagecoach operated bus routes in the Andover area, leaving 1 route required outright (route 6) plus part of routes 5 (weekday only to Grateley) & part of town route 10.  Since the summer the once/twice daily “C” prefixed routes into the rural areas seem to have been withdrawn which is bit of a shame but it’s just the way things are with rural bus routes and funding from councils being cut (I suspect after I finish Andover, I will probably focus on the Salisbury local routes to give me something to do on days where the weather is a bit changeable).

 

A 159 at Andover Station from the road bridge

 

5^th November – Parkland Walk & Grand Union Canal Walk

 

A trip to London was called for, as the weather was fine and there was no engineering works happening on the mainline between Grateley & London.  As always with my London trips my list of potential walking ideas was quite long but, in the end, I decided on a couple medium distance (5 – 9 mile) walks, only deciding on the Saturday night itself.

 

The trip began with the 07:37 service towards London Waterloo, with 159022 leading 159001 on the uneventful journey to London, arriving at Clapham nearly 10 minutes early but departing on time after an extended dwell (I dislike the Sunday morning timetable for having padding for 2 track operation).  Arrival into Waterloo was during a fire alarm test (I presume they do it in the morning rather than at 9pm at night) and so after swinging via Sainsburys for something to munch I headed to the underground with a Bakerloo line service (3536/3250) taking me to Piccadilly Circus for a Piccadilly line service (133/200) to Wood Green where my first walk began.

 

A piccadilly line service at Wood Green

 

I followed the road towards Alexandra Palace station, crossing over the ECML to be met with a security fence as my planned walk was to follow the Parkland Walk towards Finsbury Park via Highgate.  However due to the fireworks the night before Alexandra Park was closed to the public until 3pm (and I wasn’t the only person to be buggered with this news).  I guess I could have found a way round the park to pick up the path, but I decided against that plan and instead headed back towards Alexandra Palace station to jump onto 717001 for the short ride to Finsbury Park for an alternative idea.

 

I exited the station at Finsbury Park, and headed towards the park of the same name, crossing over the ECML (one of those bridges where I dread to think how many hundreds of times, I’ve been underneath on a train in the past 10 years) where the southern section of the Parkland Walk began. This walk is along part of the track bed of the old Edgware, Highgate and London Railway.  The path itself was reasonable, a few puddles along the way due to the rain the day before but it was very busy (with both walkers, runners & joggers).

 

Remains of platforms at Crouch End Station on the Parkland Walk, London

 

A couple miles later I reached Highgate where the old railway line path disappears into tunnels and I headed towards Highgate Underground station, taking a Northern line service to the bank branch platforms at Euston (units 51590/51589).  Felt strange pausing at the closed Kentish Town station with all the “Station Closed” stickers on the roundels.  At Euston I had a couple of options, either head towards Euston Square for a Met line service towards Pinner to walk the short link to Headstone Lane for an Overground service or to head towards the main platforms for something towards Bushey.  Having investigated an Overground service (a 710/2) I headed towards a very busy 350240 & 350258 on a Birmingham train which seemed to stop nearly everywhere to Marston Green (Sunday morning timetable).  The guard was talking about front 4 coaches for Bushey which got me interested as it might have used the “alighting only” platform on the fast line (which is only big enough for 4 coaches), but sadly it went slow line.  So, no rare(ish) platform score for me today.

 

My 2^nd main walk of the day started with heading away from Bushey station, towards Oxhey Park & following some roads to reach the Watford Fields before reaching a footpath going over the platforms at Watford High Street station, getting lucky as an Overground service (same one I turned down earlier at Euston) was rolling in just as I arrived to allow a photograph.  I carried on heading via the high street area of Watford to reach Cassiobury Park.  I followed the “Carriage Drive” path via this quite nice park, passing the little railway I rode back in December to reach the Grand Union Canal to pick up where I left off in December, doing a section I had hoped to do during the summer but had to ditch due to the towpath being closed in the Nash Mills area.

 

Cassiobury Park in Watford

 

I headed north along the canal; the towpath was reasonable (a few puddles in places but nothing major, worse were the wet leaves).  The first section where it was within Cassiobury Park was very scenic with woodland, felt very rural.  I carried on as the woodland gave way to fields (and various moored boats) as the towpath flipped over sides a few times as the peaceful sound of the wind gave way to the sound of traffic as it ran close to the A41 and also the railway.  The canal towpath went underneath the M25 viaduct (which also crosses the WCML) heading towards Kings Langley where I did have an option to break away had the weather turned nasty.  But the rain hadn’t arrived, so I continued northwards with another rural-like area near some fishing lakes and sports pitches before going underneath the WCML for the final section to the Red Lion Lane bridge, where the towpath swaps side and where I reached in the summer.

 

The gap now filled, I looked up times for trains from Apsley station, putting on a bit of a fast walk going via the road reaching the station with a minute (or so) to spare before 350237 rolled in running solo.  I managed to get a seat in the former 1^st class area (for some charge for my phone, also so I could have my late lunch) as this 350 took me back towards London to Harrow & Wealdstone where I jumped off to see what other Overground units were floating around (as I needed 710379 plus maybe 374/375 if one of those has entered traffic, I’ve lost track on the comings & goings of these overground units).

 

A Bakerloo service arriving at Harrow & Wealdstone

 

Nothing of real interest (other than the Pride 378 popping up which I couldn’t get a decent photo off) as I jumped onto 710376 for the run to Willesden Junction, changing to the high-level platforms for a short fester before jumping onto 378204 for the run to Clapham Junction for I had noticed that some of my required 450s for renumbering (because I’m a bit strange like that) were gettable.  First up was the departure of the Pride 444 (019) on a train for Southampton Airport before 450124 rolled in with 450066 on the rear from Guildford.  066 was the unit which I wanted, and it was busy at the front but quiet at the rear for the short journey into Waterloo.  I popped out to grab some bits for dinner to waste some time before my next move (mmm Christmas sandwich).

 

I returned to Waterloo, taking a seat on 450069 & 450086 on an Alton/Basingstoke splitter to Surbiton, for a leisurely walk to the opposite platform for 450020 & 450044 on the next London train (from Alton & Basingstoke, where 044 was needed).  During the trip to Surbiton, I came up with a cunning plan, so cunning that it could have been written by the fox who used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University but has moved on to working for the UN at the High Commission of International Cunning Planning.  This revised plan saw me taking these 450s to Wimbledon for a fast walk towards the district line platforms to board an Edgware Road bound service formed of 21331/21332 to East Putney, nearly getting bowled out with the barriers (could swear when I visited East Putney in January, it didn’t have barriers).

 

450044 at Surbiton

A fast walk took me along the road in Putney to reach Putney station itself, arriving with a minute to spare for 450064 & 450113 to roll in from Reading (064 was needed for renumbering).  I took this pair of busy 450s one stop to Clapham Junction for a relaxing walk across to platform 9 for what would be the 17:45 Waterloo – Salisbury, with 159013 leading 158880 & 159007.  I took a seat in a lightly loaded 2^nd coach for the journey back to Grateley for a gentle walk home.  An enjoyable day, other than the issue at Alexandra Park being closed causing a late notice revision, with the bonus of getting 3 of my last 4, 450s which I needed for renumbering (leaving just 065 to try and hunt down before I no longer need to keep my eyes peeled for those 3+2 seated units.

 

More photos taken for this weekend can be found here Flickr, thank you and goodnight :)

27th – 30th October, A long weekend in the North West

 27^th – 30^th October, A long weekend in the North West

 

When the Branch Line Society announced details of a “Mainline EMU Tour” I decided to book my usual place in Crewe for a long weekend considering it had free cancellation so if the tour wasn’t that interesting, I could still do something else.  Needless to say, when the details came out for a 508-farewell covering not only the main terminals (less Kirkby) but having some more unusual track thrown in (sidings/depots) I decided to book the tour, just to say farewell to the old Merseyrail units as they are slowly getting replaced by the modern Stadler units.

 

27^th October – Onwards to Crewe

 

The trip began with the 17:59 service from Grateley towards Basingstoke, unusually formed of a single 158881 (usually this service is a single 159), so it was a bit busier than usual.  Arrival into Basingstoke was on time so making the connection to the 18:35 was quite easy as I did my usual trick in moving towards the rear of the train as 444030 rolled in with 444016 on the rear.  The front coaches looked quite busy (based on when it rolled into the station), but I managed to get a private table in the 9^th coach which was lightly loaded.

 

These 444s took me to Waterloo, even featuring a ticket check.  At Waterloo I had around 75 minutes to reach Euston for my booked LNR service so with the weather being dry I set off on one of my usual Underground avoidance walks.  Nothing too exciting as it was the usual route (across Waterloo Bridge, then towards Holborn & Russel Square), might not be the shortest but it’s the easiest.  A beautiful view of the buildings from the River Thames when I crossed it on Waterloo Bridge and around 40 minutes later, I arrived at Euston.

 

444016 at London Waterloo

 

After popping to the toilets, I hung back until the 350s which would form the 20:46 to Crewe would roll in, taking a seat as soon as the platform got confirmed (just in case LNR decided to do a set-swap).  350126 was at the front with 350373 on the rear as I took a seat on the extra legroom table seat behind the drivers cab on 126, settling down to waste some videos on my tablet for the journey to Cheshire.  A quiet service which was uneventful, arriving at Crewe a couple of minutes early.

 

I headed towards the shared house, locating the key to the single room and sorted my bag out for the long weekend (always feels nice to take all the weight of clothes & bottles of water out).  Sadly, there was a couple in one of the other rooms who decided to watch TV in the early hours (2/3am) before moving downstairs to talk loudly, the lady having a really annoying high-pitched laugh which she laughed at nearly everything the gentleman said.  So, sleep was a bit rough trying to drown out that noise.

 

28^th October – The Walk to Wigan Pier

 

Today I decided to walk the Bridgewater Canal to its end at Leigh before the Leigh of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.  This was after some research using Google Maps to the towpath quality as this time of year the more rural towpaths (based on grass/soil) start turning muddy (especially after all the rain the country has had recently).  The weather forecast was quite changeable but was mostly overcast in the morning with rain moving in come the afternoon, I had the potential break point at Leigh (to make use of the guided busway) in the event the weather did turn nasty.

 

The day began with the 06:29 service towards Stockport, formed of 197007 & 197018 where I quickly exited the station to acquire a GM Rail Ranger from the Avanti TVMs before returning to the platform to jump on a quiet pair of 150s (115 + 225) on a train from Buxton.  At Piccadilly I made a tight connection onto a pair of 331s (024+022) which were heading towards the Airport to alight at Heald Green, simply as a time-wasting move before 331012 rolled in from the Airport on the Liverpool stopper which I took to Patricroft.  At one stage I was considering bailing at Eccles but that can wait for another trip.

 

331012 departs Patricroft Station

 

I soon joined the Bridgewater canal where I turned north underneath the railway line following the towpath towards Worsley where it headed west away from the urban area and into a very rural area with some moss land to the south of the canal (sadly this did mean this part of the canal was noisy from road traffic from the M62, being carried across the wilderness).  This section of the canal also featured dual towpaths which unusually both looked decent quality.  My walk continued reaching Astley Green and Leigh with some more beautiful countryside, unspoiled by modern developments.

 

All good things sadly must come to an end as countryside gave way to the town of Leigh, which looked a bit rough round the edges, both with older industrial buildings left to rot & tall fences.  Anyhow I continued along the towpath as the Bridgewater Canal came to an end with the junction with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, these days the junction simply being a couple of signs between the privately owned Bridgewater Canal & Canal + Riverboat Trust owned Leeds & Liverpool Canal.  I managed to get a photo of the “Welcome to the Bridgewater Canal” sign but the “Welcome to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal” sign was covered in various artwork.

 

The start of the Bridgewater Canal in Leigh

 

 The weather was still reasonable, the sun had even attempted to come out a few times, so I continued my walk along the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, heading towards the settlement of Plank Lane alongside the Pennington Flash.  A flash is a body of water that forms where the land below it has subsided (to quote Wikipedia). Quite beautiful in places with the autumn colours of the trees and peaceful as the canal went into more countryside, before passing an old pub (Dover Lock?) which was part destroyed.

 

I continued along the path, swapping banks north of the Abram area before the path headed underneath the WCML (I dread to think how many times I’ve been on a train on that bridge over the years).  The area went quite scenic with some more ‘flashes’ before going underneath the Wigan – Liverpool railway line (a bridge which looked like it used to be 4 tracks by the width of the brickwork).  Next up was the Wigan Flashes Country Park, a beautiful area before the outskirts of Wigan was reached in the Poolstock area.  One minor dislike with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal I found was with the distance signs, rather than giving an actual distance they gave a time which I found was a bit worthless because everybody walks at different rates.  I would rather the sign said, “3 miles” rather than ’60 minutes’ (for an example).

 

Wigan - Liverpool railway line bridge over the Leeds & Liverpool (Leigh Branch) Canal in Wigan

 

Anyhow signage rant over, the canal continued with more industrial buildings before it reached the junction with the main Leeds & Liverpool Canal and I headed towards Wigan Pier where the rain did eventually start.  At Wigan Pier where my walk ended, I headed along the road to reach Wigan North Western station (passing a revenue block and via the Morrisons Daily outside Wallgate station for some lunch).  319368 took me one stop to Bryn (as I needed some better photos of the station) where I could relax on a station bench before 319385 rolled in to take me to Wigan North Western.  Who knows that could be the last time I travel on a 319 in Northern.

 

319368 departs Bryn

 

Back at Wigan I walked the short distance to Wigan Wallgate to board 150122 & 156411 on a Manchester Oxford Road service from Southport, which I took to Deansgate (after wasting around 10 minutes caught up in congestion).  I dashed to the tram stop for trams 3043+3020 to take me towards Victoria for I had noticed something a bit unusual with TPE today.  It would have been quicker to walk due to congestion in the city centre caused by some sort of protest march (I wasn’t really paying attention).  This tram was meant to go via Exchange Square but was diverted via Market Street causing extra delay (had I known Manchester city centre was that bad I would have changed at Salford Crescent for something towards Victoria!

 

Anyhow the tram made it to Victoria as I had a fast walk towards platform 3 to board a slightly late running 802202 on the next Manchester Airport service, busy in places but I managed to get a seat for the trip towards Piccadilly for the novelty of an 802 via the Ordsall Chord (and first time I’ve been on a train which made use of the overhead wires on the white elephant chord).  Another slow crawl caused by congestion the train even randomly getting put into platform 14 at Piccadilly (using 14B) which I think is the first time I’ve used a train from 14b (think it was due to following an EMR service which was doing the usual EMR trick in having a 90% turnover off passengers causing delays due to the narrow doors of a 158).

 

802202 at Manchester Piccadilly

 

For lack of a better idea, I headed towards the main train shed to take a seat on 323239 for the run to Flowery Field station for a short walk via a housing estate to reach Hyde North, a station I needed for some better photos.  It wasn’t long before 150144 & 156405 arrived so I could escape Hyde (which isn’t the nicest area of Manchester), I still think it’s strange how the Hadfield electrics skip Gorton + Fairfield whereas the slower diesels call at those stations.  Anyhow this 150+156 combo took me back towards Piccadilly where I had a short walk back over to platform 13 as winner 197008 rolled in along with dud 197002.  Onwards to Manchester Airport, probably the first of many runs to the Airport on required 197s when I’m on a GM Rail ticket).

 

197008 at Manchester Airport

 

Arrival into the Airport was on time, allowing an easy connection onto 331028 on the next Blackpool train, unusually running solo, and needless to say it was quite busy after Oxford Road where I alighted to wait for winner 197106 to eventually pop up as once more the Castelfield corridor had somewhat fallen over with delays.  The 197 was on time when it passed Eccles but lost 10 minutes by the time it reached Oxford Road.  I took this 3 coach 197 (aka the Kit Kat Carrier) to Manchester Airport, remaining on board for the return to Piccadilly, where I made a tight cross platform leap onto 158864 + 158785 on the next Nottingham service to take me towards Stockport to intercept a required pair of 197s on the next Manchester service which would split at Piccadilly to form the 19:30 & 20:30 services (due to the loco hauled set which arrives at 20:10 going ECS to Crewe).

 

Winners 197046 & 197042 rolled in to take me back to Manchester Piccadilly, where I remained on 197042 on the 19:30 service which I took to Wilmslow.  I was originally meant to alight at Stockport, but I couldn’t get off the train due to the overcrowding.  Anyhow a quick change of platform at a very wet Wilmslow (for the heavy rain had finally arrived) for DVT 82201 leading a former GC set with 67015 on the rear giving it a good push on the next Manchester service.

 

A big red skip at Wilmslow

 

This loco hauled set took me back to Manchester Piccadilly for the last time and I climbed onto 197046, managing to get one of the few seats remaining as it departed Manchester rather cosy (for it was the last direct train for stations beyond Shrewsbury).  The train did the usual trick in emptying out at Crewe as I headed back towards the shared house, swinging via Tiger Bite for a meaty pizza (and garlic bread) which was consumed in the lounge when it was quiet.  Sadly, the quiet in the house was short lived as the loud couple returned and resumed the loud high-pitched laughing at everything.  Although I think the gentleman in the downstairs room asked them to be quiet around midnight as they soon went to bed, and the house went quiet.

 

Anyhow a good day in Manchester, an enjoyable canal walk from Eccles towards Wigan, a decent towpath near enough throughout (a few puddles but no waterlogged muddy sections).  A few more 197s into my book plus some other sprinter-based noise (for they do make a nice noise on the fast section between Bolton & Salford).

 

29^th October – Saying farewell to the 508s.

 

The main event of this weekend trip, the “5:08 Sunset” tour run by the BLS as a little farewell to the old 508s on Merseyrail.  The day began for me with a walk to Crewe station to board 158840 on the first TfW service for Holyhead to Chester where I made a tight (and unplanned) connection to the 09:00 Merseyrail service (only because said Merseyrail service was running a couple of minutes late).  I was surprised when 507033 rolled in to take me to Hooton.  As I was thirty minutes ahead of my plan (to reach Birkenhead Central) I hung back to photograph the tour as it passed Hooton (going via platform 2) before jumping onto winner 777015 for the run to Birkenhead Central for the next official pick-up (the 777 overtook the tour as it reversed into one of the bays at Rock Ferry).

 

After popping out of the station at Birkenhead Central (being surprised at the lack of barriers considering its location) for a photo, I returned to the platform with the tour train, formed of 508141 & 508139 arrived.  I was in coach C, so thankfully a motor coach as I grabbed a seat as the tour set off towards the tunnels.  The first bit of unusual track was the Stock interchange line linking James Street & Liverpool Central, as the tour paused for the final pick-up at Liverpool Central before heading into the reversing siding to the south of the station (well it wouldn’t be a BLS tour without the odd siding thrown in for good measure).

 

508139 passing Hooton

 

The tour continued with the unusual use of the bi-directional track by travelling northbound on the normally southbound track via Moorfields (some confused looking faces on that platform) before heading towards Ormskirk.  A quick reversal at Ormskirk and it was back towards the Kirkdale direction, reversing outside the station near the junction to head towards Kirkby.  Another reversal was made on the single-track section between Fazakerley & Kirkby (as 6 coach 507/8s can’t run into Kirkby these days as part of the 3^rd rail got pulled up).  The tour headed back towards Sandhills with a little trip via Kirkdale depot.

 

Another unusual move was made at Sandhills as the train reversed on the platform to head north (using the bi-directional track) passing Bank Hall the wrong way before gaining the regular northbound line near Bootle Junction (where there is a connection between the Liverpool docks branch & the Merseyrail network).  The tour continued heading north and into the wall siding just beyond Hall Road, reversing twice to carry on north towards Southport (both driving cabs had drivers in, to make the multiple reversal moves a lot easier).

 

Arrival into Southport was near enough on time, giving around 40 minutes for a break.  After some photos and seeing the queue for the toilets I noticed a Northern 150 on platform 6 which wasn’t due out for 15 minutes, so I popped onto the 150 to make use of the toilet on there (sneaky I know, but better than waiting for 10+ minutes).  I exited the station, noticing there was a Tesco Express outside the station (which will be useful for future trips) and popped into Boots for some food before returning to the station to eat said food on one of the station benches before going back on board.

 

508141 alongside 507032 at Southport

 

Departure from Southport was made with a reversal to the south of the station to access one of the sidings on the former 3^rd side of the triangle (in the olden days used to be a direct link between Birkdale & Meols Cop avoiding Southport, but this area lost a lot of railways in the 60s).  After a visit to the carriage siding, it was back heading south (some nice noise from the motors at high speed), the next unusual bit of track was going via the northbound platform at Moorfields going south before a break at Liverpool Central.  The tour continued towards Hunts Cross where it headed into platform 2 for another short break before heading back into the city centre.

 

The Stock interchange line was traversed once more as the train headed underneath the river and onto the Wirral with a run towards Bidston, reversing into the reversing siding (the remains of the former 3^rd side of the triangle which gave access towards New Brighton).  After a further reversal it was a trip to West Kirby for a short break before heading back towards Birkenhead North, using platform 1 and reversing on the opposite side of the station to head towards New Brighton for a longer break as darkness had fallen.

 

507004 & 508131 at New Brighton

 

Back on the move once more as the train did a little reversing move outside the station at New Brighton to access one of the carriage sidings (number 1) before heading towards Birkenhead North, heading into the main shed within the depot itself.  Another couple of reversals saw the tour back onto the main network and heading towards Liverpool, pausing at Lime Street where a good few passengers alighted before the tour continued (very slowly) towards Birkenhead North where I decided to bail.  I would have liked to have continued towards Chester but I noticed the train it was following was running quite late so the run wouldn’t have been that fast.  Just meant I missed out on going via Hooton P3 heading south, but I can live with that.

 

The next train at Birkenhead Central was a slightly late running 777001 on an Ellesmere Port service which I took to Bebington, intercepting 777015 to take me back towards Lime Street, just to push 015 over ten miles.  At Liverpool Lime Street, I headed out of the station to grab some dinner, noticing that Northern were having a bad evening with a couple trains for Manchester via Chat Moss cancelled as well as a Blackpool stopper.  I turned down the option of the direct route to Crewe (either on a pair of 350s or a 390) to head back to the Merseyrail platform for an unknown unit on Chester services.

 

777015 at Liverpool Lime Street

 

The gamble paid off with winner 777004 (which seemed to have run nonstop from Hooton to Moorfields as this would have been the late running unit the tour was stuck behind).  I took this all the way to Chester, for a short 20-minute wait (turning down a busy looking 158+150 on a Holyhead – Birmingham via Crewe & Shrewsbury train, which I swear used to be the Sundays booked 175 via Stafford before TfW changed the timetable and ditched going via Stafford).  The wait paid off with winner 197001 on the Crewe shuttle, with around 4 other passengers in the leading coach.  This 197 took me to Crewe, ending up on platform 10 (first time in quite a while I’ve been on a train which used platform 10 at Crewe).

 

I exited the station, walking slowly back to the shared house where thankfully there was no sign of the noisy couple, and it was peaceful throughout.  Staying in Crewe on the Sunday night was a wise decision as it meant I didn’t need to rely on Avanti to get back to London for the 23:35 Salisbury train.  An enjoyable tour, covering much of the Merseyrail network plus the depots & a few sidings.  A good way to say farewell to the older units as I’m not sure when the next time I will be in Liverpool will be, probably won’t be until February at the earliest, by which time the newer units might be in the majority of services.

 

197001 resting on platform 10 at Crewe

 

30^th October – Heading home via the West Midlands

 

I was in a few minds what to do on this Monday, originally, I was considering walking the Trent & Mersey between Northwich & Sandbach to fill in a gap but decided that would be better waiting until the new year and to head towards Birmingham.  The main goal would be to cover the latest extension to the West Midlands Metro network, the short section at the Wolverhampton end to the station.  The day began with leaving the shared house (back in 3 weeks with any luck) and catching 390011 towards Wolverhampton (after catching 805005 passing the station on test, looking quite good in Avanti colours).

 

At Wolverhampton I managed to catch eyes on a dud 196 on a late running train to Birmingham before hanging back before dud 196104 rolled in (originally, I had it as a winner, but I forgot to remove it from my list back in August, oops!).  This 196 took me to Birmingham (where it would go ECS to the depot) and I popped out of the station (after buying a Daytripper from the Avanti TVMs).  First up was winner tram 58 which I took to Edgbaston Village, where it used the platform on the left-hand side on arrival (previously I’ve used the platform on right hand side, so a little bit of new track).

 

West Midlands Tram 58 at Edgbaston Village

 

I remained on the same tram for the run back towards the city centre, alighting at Corporation Street to walk back to New Street station (for no reason other than to waste time).  I had time to kill before winner 196106 rolled in from Shrewsbury around 20 minutes late, and thankfully it departed before the stopper.  I took this 196 to Wolverhampton, exiting the station and having a walk to Pipers Row (just outside the bus station) for tram 58 to the Wolverhampton Station stop.  Once more I remained on board for the trip back to Pipers Row as earlier, I saw tram 50 following this one, but it must have been swapped over for tram 44.

 

I took this tram to The Royal stop, changing platforms for tram 46 for the slow journey back towards the station stop, just to cover the new track in both directions.  At Wolverhampton I headed towards platform 5 to board 350258 on the Walsall stopper to take me to Tipton where a little walk began.  This walk was following some paths which I think followed part of the old route of the Wednesbury Oak Loop canal, leading towards the Willingsworth Linear Park & the remains of the Gospel Oak branch of the Walsall Canal.  Nothing really of interest along this section other than evidence of old bridges which have been infilled.

 

350258 alongside 350261 at Tipton Station

 

The first part of the walk ended when I reached the Walsall Canal, going underneath the tramway and coming away on a path alongside the remains of the Bradley Lock Branch (now part of the Moorcroft Nature Reserve).  This area was quite scenic with trees and a partly watered canal which came to an end near some old locks near a railway bridge carrying the tramway.  After this point the canal has disappeared with some evidence of old bridges at the roads.  The path continued towards the Weddell Wynd and Bilston, where the canal resumed with the Wednesbury Oak Loop.

 

West Midland Metro bridge over the remains of the Bradley Locks Branch Canal, Bilston

 

I continued along the towpath of the Wednesbury Oak Loop canal, no evidence that is gets used by boats (well it is a dead-end) but the towpath was good quality.  I had a little detour towards Loxdale tram stop where I did consider calling an end to the walk but as the next tram wasn’t required, I returned to the canal to follow the towpath which was in no means straight to the end of the canal where it met up with the Birmingham Canal Main Line.  I headed south along this canal, keeping my eyes on the sky as it was looking more and more moody as time went on, reaching Coseley station just as a Walsall train had departed, not to worry I was thinking as a Wolverhampton bound train would be following a few minutes later.

 

Well, that train wasn’t running, neither was the following service as both were showing as cancelled on the PIS, so it was backup plan as I headed towards the main road (the A4123) as the heavens opened, jumping on a National Express West Midlands route 8 bus (6779) for the trip to Wolverhampton bus station.  Quite a nice interior to these buses as it made its way towards the bus station, and I had a short walk (via Sainsburys for some late lunch) to the railway station to board 350374 leading 350255 on the train from Liverpool.

 

Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line from top of Coseley Tunnel

 

This service took me to Birmingham New Street, where I made an easy connection onto the next London train formed of 350253 & 350108 (no prize at which unit I was sitting in).  Both toilets on 108 were out of use with a few announcements from the guard to say the toilets in the leading unit were available.  That was until Northampton where the guards changed over and the first thing the replacement guard did was to lock out the gangway doors to prevent anybody walking between the units.

 

Arrival into London was near enough on time, and I set out on a gentle walk towards Waterloo, going via Gordon Square, Russell Square before heading into theatreland towards the Strand.  I cut via Charing Cross station to reach the Golden Jubilee Bridge across the Thames and then towards Waterloo, going in via the Sidings entrance.  Just to waste some time as the weather was dry.  At Waterloo I took a seat on the 19:20 to Exeter, formed of 159019, 159002 & 158880 for the journey to Grateley, before walking home in the mist.

 

River Thames at night (from Golden Jubilee Bridge towards city)

 

An enjoyable day, a couple more bits I can remove from my “West Midlands” list, and an enjoyable weekend away.  A good end to October with some more photos taken from this weekend available here Flickr Link:  Have a good day :)

Trips in October 2023, Part 2

 Trips in October 2023, Part 2

 

I’m trying to keep on top of my trip reports a lot better than previously, to spread the time it takes to upload and insert the various pictures.  Anyhow here comes 2 weekends worth of day trips.

 

14^th October – Thanet Parkway & Pretending to be a Train.

 

Today was going to be the day I visited the recently opened station near Ramsgate called Thanet Parkway, first day where the weather was suitable for walking, there was no engineering works & I wasn’t elsewhere in the country.  The day began with a walk in the darkness (beautiful stary sky) to Grateley for the 05:24 service with 159009 taking me to London Waterloo.  The usual with this service being reasonably quiet until Basingstoke where it picks up passengers from Southampton.  After arriving in Waterloo, I popped to Sainsburys outside the station for breakfast before making my way to the underground to head towards St Pancras.

 

Due to a large gap in service on the Bakerloo (next northbound service was showing as 13 minutes) I took the northern line a handful of stops to Leicester Square, changing to the Piccadilly line to Kings Cross St Pancras where I had a short walk to the South Eastern platforms at St Pancras, meeting up with a friend who was joining me for the trip along HS1.  395008 took us away from London and along HS1 towards Ashford before turning into the slow train (in comparison to the speed on AC).  Emptied out at Canterbury West before we were the only passengers to alight at Thanet Parkway (with one passenger boarding).

 

Better late than never, 395008 departs Thanet Parkway

 

We crossed over to the opposite platform (ticking off the lifts) which was busier (although not by much) as a busy 395024 & 395029 rolled in from Margate to take us to Canterbury West where I left Dan to travel back towards London and I stepped back to board a pair of 375s to Wye, returning to Chartham on another pair of 375s.  At Chartham my walk began, a walk of 3 (and a bit) parts as I headed towards the Great Stour river picking up a (mostly) tarmacked path which ran alongside the river for around 3 miles to reach Canterbury, with some lakes & marsh on the opposite site.  Along the way I went underneath the remains of the Elham Valley Railway bridge over the river before going underneath the Canterbury East line.

 

I reached the end of the path near the Westgate to the Canterbury city walls, where I headed onto the road towards the university campus, using a couple of footpaths to reach the start of the Crab & Winkle Way path.  The first section was via the campus of the university before going into the Kent countryside, where I decided to pause for some lunch on a bench outside the St Cosmus & St Damian Church in Blean which had a lovely view.

 

River Great Stour between Chartham & Canterbury

 

After lunch I carried on, passing some farmland before entering some woodland, eventually picking up the route of the old Canterbury – Whitstable railway line nearing the Winding Pond (provided water for the steam engines used to pull trains up the steep hill).  Beautiful woodland (Clowes Wood) with a few paths heading further into the woods which I was considering for another explore but decided that could wait for another trip when the ground wasn’t so muddy.  The woodland ended as I passed over the A299 dual carriageway and alongside a field to reach a section of road near South Street on the outskirts of Whitstable.  A sign marked the sight of the former South Street Halt, but nothing remains due to modern developments.

 

The next section was mostly flat with an old railway bridge underneath the “Thanet Way” road and soon I reached the end of the railway path near Whitstable station.  I went via the station to go underneath the railway tracks and followed a footpath leading towards the harbour & waterfront where the 3^rd part of my walk started.  After a couple of photos around the harbour area, I followed the roads to join the waterfront path for an enjoyable walk towards Herne Bay.  I went via Tankerton & Swalecliffe to reach the short pier at Hampton, where the path continued but behind beach huts, so views of the water were more limited.  The views did improve the closer to the pier at Herne Bay I got, which was a suitable end to my walk (leaving a gap between Herne Bay & Birchington via Reculver).

 

Waterfront in the Herne Bay area (From Hampton Pier)

 

I headed towards the station at Herne Bay, via a Morrisons & the Herne Bay Memorial Park.  At the station I didn’t have long to wait for a pair of 375s to take me towards Margate (the plug sockets coming in useful to give my phone a boost as it had dropped to under 20% after the 18-odd mile walk).  At Margate I crossed over to platform 4 (the bay platform) to board 395024 & 395009 to settle down for the trip back towards London.  The train getting quite busy at Canterbury (all the tourists heading home after a day trip), after Ashford the train changed to AC and speed shot up as it ran along HS1 to reach St Pancras, where I headed towards the underground with a reasonably tight connection to a Salisbury train at Waterloo (32 minutes).

 

Thankfully both the Victoria & Bakerloo lines were behaving with short waits and soon I was at Waterloo, with time to swing via the new Sainsburys in the former Eurostar area before heading to board 158888 & 159019 on a busy train for Salisbury.  In my eyes these XX:50 trains should either skip Woking or have Woking as a pick-up only call heading away from London to avoid the train getting crowded out with Woking folk wanting to avoid the deluxe 3+2 seating of a Portsmouth train.  Anyhow nothing of interest along the way back to Hampshire, other than the temperature dropping once I alighted to walk home.  Winter is coming.

 

An Eurostar (374032) at St Pancras, been far too long since my last Europe adventure

 

An enjoyable day trip to Kent, finally ticked off Thanet to put me back to 100% of National Rail stations in Great Britain (until Brent Cross West & many others open), still need to tick off the 2 new tram stops in Wolverhampton (a job for a couple weeks’ time).  The weather was sunny, bit chilly in the wind/shade but I soon warmed up with walking.  I suspect that the gap of the coast will be done over winter time, assuming I can find the time & weather is suitable for a coastal path walk.

 

21^st October – A trip to South Wales

 

A trip to South Wales was the plan for this Saturday morning, to do some walking & to hunt down some 231s (and 197s).  The day started with a morning drive to Salisbury (forgetting about a one-way system in place on the main road from the station towards Sainsburys after swinging to get some breakfast), parking in my usual place on a side street where the single yellow line restrictions are only Monday to Fridays (a good thing as well as I noticed since the last visit parking had jumped up from £3.50 to £5.30 a day.  However, this is where things went a bit wrong as the 07:30 Cardiff train was heavily delayed due to overrunning engineering works in the Portsmouth area.

 

To waste some time, I jumped onto my first refurbished 166 (new seat covers, vinyl floor, same 3+2 seating) for the run to Westbury where it terminated (was originally due to run to Bristol).  A short wait at Westbury with various movements before a busy 165132 + 166221 rolled in around 75 minutes late with the following Cardiff train being 3 minutes behind it.  I was surprised GWR control didn’t rip out any stops to try and recover some time (I’m not the biggest fan of stops getting ripped out but when the next train is right behind it stops everybody piling onto the late running train delaying it further).  This service in particular called at all the stations towards Bristol (other than Avoncliff) and I noticed at Freshford it was modified to terminate at Newport, which is further than I had originally predicted [I was half expecting it to get spun at Bristol].

 

The train did empty out at Bristol with passengers heading to the Cardiff train which was right behind us (but lost time due to no platforms being available at Temple Meads) meaning the trip into Wales was more relaxing.  The train terminated on platform 1 at Newport with a large movement of passengers towards platform 2 for the next available Cardiff train with a 2 coach 197 rocking up from the Crewe direction.  Completely rammed on arrival and I think only a tiny handful of the waiting passengers managed to board it.

 

166221 at Newport, ready to head back towards Portsmouth

 

Thankfully the next train (166215) wasn’t that rammed in comparison, and it cleared the platform for the short journey to Cardiff Central, where the weather was a lot wetter than was forecasted.  Anyhow I popped out of the station to grab some lunch before trying to decide what to do as originally my plan was to walk from Cross Keys on the Ebbw Vale branch towards Hengoed along the old railway route, but I decided with the weather being wet to push that idea back and instead boarded winner 231005 for the run to Llanbradach to clear that 231 for 10 miles.

 

The next northbound (a Ystrad Mynach terminator) was also a winner, but I was a bit restless so went for a little walk (as I noticed a couple paths showing on the map) into the woods to the west of the station.  I was glad I did as those woods were quite nice (path a bit muddy but that’s to be expected this time of year), it even had a couple waterfalls.  I went underneath the railway on a steep path leading to the roads where I looped back towards the station, getting lucky to catch a passing freight service from Cwmbargoed.

 

66015 passing Llanbradach station

 

Anyhow 231010 returned from Ystrad Mynach as I took a seat for the ride back towards Cardiff, remaining on board to head to Penarth where I started the first of my days planned walks (as the rain had ended and sun had arrived).  This walk took me along the remains of the old railway line beyond Penarth towards Cosmeston, before a path via the scenic Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, followed by an old road & various footpaths to reach the main road between Dinas Powys & Eastbrook stations (after crossing the railway on the foot crossing).  I decided to head towards Dinas Powys as I had time, even exploring the “step free” access path to the westbound platform.

 

Walk over, and it was onto 150237 to take me to Grangetown where my fortunes must have aligned as next up was winner 231006 which I took to Hengoed for a connection to winner 231011 coming the opposite way to leave me with just 003 to locate (and it wasn’t showing as out today).  This 231 took me to Cardiff Queen Street where for the lack of a better idea I jumped onto 153921 on the Cardiff Bay shuttle (to see how much things are slowly changing on this branch line, ready for the trams).  Potentially this could be the last time I come to Cardiff Bay on a 153 as I headed out of the station for a shorter walk (amazing how many passengers a secondary guard caught out without tickets on the short journey).

 

153921 at Cardiff Bay Station.  Woofastic

 

This walk took me towards the Bute East Dock and the Canal Feeder channel to reach the city centre area, where it was a short walk towards Cardiff Central, swinging via Tesco for some dinner items for later that day.  I headed towards platform 3 where the next train to Shrewsbury (would have been Holyhead but line was closed north due to flooding) was departing from with winner 197049 pretty much rolling in and straight back out again due to the inbound being delayed.  I took this 197 to Newport where I was aiming for what RTT was saying was another required 197 on the Cardiff bound but it must have been swapped over so I waited for 170208 on the next train for a mini farewell to the Welsh 170s.  Originally, I was going to stay with this unit towards Bridgend, but it arrived a few minutes early at Cardiff allowing me to board a very busy (managed to get a seat after asking a grumpy lady to move her oversized handbag) 150262 on the Carmarthen train to Bridgend, returning on a late running 150284 (featuring some unhappy passengers as the connection to the Cardiff – Manchester train wasn’t held).  Anyhow that 150 was my last Welsh train of this trip as I made my way across to platform 1, sitting on the benches on platform 2 to have my dinner before boarding 166215 on the 19:30 service towards Portsmouth Harbour.

 

I got a seat in the former first-class area at the front (knowing where the train stops on the platform helps) and spent the journey walking some videos.  A couple of hours later the train arrived at Salisbury, a couple minutes early as I made my way back to my car for a relaxing drive home.  Nearly had a nonstop drive, all the traffic lights (of which Salisbury had many) were green, only coming to a stop at the last junction.  Once home, after making a fuss of my brother’s dog who mum was looking after this week, I sorted my bag out, did a couple bits on the laptop before heading to bed.  A partly successful day, some more 231s into my book (along with another 197) but the poor weather [and delay in the morning] forced the Crosskeys – Hengoed walk to be delayed until another trip.

 

231011 arriving at Llanbradach station

 

22^nd October – Exploring the Capital

 

It had been a good couple of months since my last visit to London on a Travelcard to do some exploring (and some unit hunting), and with good weather forecast I decided to put some unit hunting on the back burner to do some walking to explore some areas either I’ve never visited before or have only been via by train.  I was toying with the idea of doing the walk from Groombridge towards Three Bridges (on the old railway line path), but the timings don’t work out that well with the buses on the current Sunday timetable, so that is a walk I suspect will happen next year.  Anyhow the day began with a drive to Andover (as the first couple trains for London were starting from Andover instead of Salisbury due to engineering works) with 159108 taken for the run to London Waterloo, arriving a good few minutes early due to the Sunday timetable padding.  I noticed that the car park at Andover station like with Salisbury has been hiked in car parking charges, no wonder why the side road I use was busier.

 

In London, I grabbed something to eat from the new Sainsburys Local before heading towards Waterloo East to jump on a pair of 707s to take me to Lewisham (South Eastern Metro Unit Bingo) where my first walk began.  Originally, I was only going to walk towards Greenwich to change to the DLR but I got a bit carried away and ended up doing a bit of an unplanned walk adding bits on which looked interest.  Out of the station and via the bus station area, going underneath the railway to follow the Waterlink Way path next to the Ravensbourne River.

 

707014 departs Lewisham

 

This path took me passed Elverson Road DLR & Brookmill Park, arriving at a main road next to Deptford Bridge DLR.  It was a section of road walking to take me towards a footbridge over the river which is alongside the railway lift bridge, and I headed towards the River Thames picking up where I ended up last November time after walking the Thames Path from Slade Green, my new aim was to plug a gap in the coverage on the south bank as I followed the Thames with a detour inland before picking up the Thames next to Pepys Park.  I followed the Thames with the sun behind me towards Surrey Quays meeting up with a walk I did back in June as a pre-sleeper time waster.  I carried on alongside the Thames going via the Surrey Docks community Farm as I missed that short section as the farm was closed.

 

I headed away from the Thames towards the Russia Dock Woodland doing a loop towards the Greenland dock before heading north via this quite nice area.  I headed back towards the Thames near the posh looking Doubletree hotel to do part of the Thames Path I missed in June due to a badly signposted side street.  This meant I had finished doing the Thames Path on the south bank of the Thames in the London area where it runs along both banks, I just need to focus on the north bank for the section in West London, which will probably be a job for the winter months as I suspect the path will be mostly roads or tarmac.  Anyhow I returned towards the Russia Dock woodland before heading towards Surrey Water.

 

River Thames from the Thames Path in Deptford

 

At Surrey Water I picked up the Albion Channel, following this 1980s canal towards the lake at Canada Water.  After doing a round trip of the water (although some parts were fenced off for works) I headed back towards Surrey Water along Deal Porters Walk, heading towards the Surrey Basin Bascule Bridge (on a road called Thameslink).  After reaching the Thames once more I headed towards Rotherhithe station, the end of the first walk of the day, King's Stairs Gardens & Southwark Park could wait for another day.

 

Rotherhithe Station Building

 

I headed towards the southbound platform saying to myself that I would give it around 30 minutes to see if any of my last 4x 378s needed for mileage popped up, just to give me a break from walking (although not the best station for a fester due to no seating).  I got lucky as 378140 popped up on a New Cross working, my last DC-only 378, which I took to New Cross, staying on the train as it headed back north, alighting at Whitechapel where the 2^nd of today’s walks started as I headed out of the station, via a large Sainsburys for a PNB.

 

This walk took me north towards Bethnal Green overground station, then via Bethnal Green Gardens to the underground station of the same name.  After some road walking, I entered Meath Gardens, crossing over the Regent’s Canal to enter Mile End Park, heading north via some nice woodland to join the very busy Regent’s Canal for a short section to where the short Hertford Union canal joined.  I followed this canal towards the Hackney Wick where I had the option of breaking the walk and heading to the station (or even doubling back on myself to visit Victoria Park) but I decided to carry on.

 

Hertford Union Canal, Bow

 

I headed towards the Olympic Park, picking up a path which ran alongside the River Lea, heading north towards the Hackney Marshes, the path started off alongside the river but soon moved a bit more inland (after the A12 road bridge) meaning views of the river began more limited, but some beautiful woodland (even if the path wasn’t peaceful due to what sounded like a sporting competition being held on the open space.

 

The path continued, leaving behind the Hackney Marshes and the river Lea and towards the Lee Valley Park & the Walthamstow Marshes.  I will admit this path wasn’t the best for views as parts were between hedges limiting views, but the views where the hedges did open up were quite nice.  A change from the last time I walked in the Walthamstow Marshes doing the Navigation towpath where it was all white from snow.  I carried on going underneath railway line bridges (the Stratford – Tottenham Hale line & the Chingford branch) as the path ended in Coppermill Fields, near a very low (5 foot of clearance) railway bridge.

 

A Low (5 foot) bridge underneath railway at Coppermill Lane, London

 

My walk continued as I entered the Walthamstow Wetlands, passing the Coppermill Tower (lovely old building) and headed up to join a path alongside the East Warwick Reservoir with views of GA trains in the distance.  I dread to think how many times I’ve passed this reservoir over the years, and it was beautiful.  I carried on north reaching the Engine House, thinking to myself this area is worth a revisit as there are other footpaths available, even to the north of the road (which was part of my original plan, but I ran out of time and energy).

 

I walked alongside the A503, heading towards Blackhorse Road station for the sole reason of never being outside this Victoria line/Overground station.  This was a fitting end to a nice walk, as I narrowly missed a sub ten-mile 710 heading towards Gospel Oak due to the footbridge being busy.  So, after resting for 15 minutes, I joined 710264 to Upper Holloway to intercept 710271 on the return from Gospel Oak, taking it to Walthamstow Queen’s Road to push it over ten miles.

 

Blackhorse Road Station Building

 

The walk to Walthamstow Central is short (took me less than 5 minutes) as I decided to see if any of my last handful of low mileage AC-only 710s were around, sadly the first couple London trains weren’t needed so I decided to head to the Victoria line for a faster way into zone 1, changing at Oxford Circus for a Bakerloo line service to Lambeth North, where I had another walk with the short walk towards Waterloo, swinging via a Co-Op near the railway bridge for some more drink.  I boarded the 17:45 Salisbury train, which was a 158+159+159 combo for the uneventful run to Andover, where I drove home (via a Burger King for a nice juicy burger) to relax for the remainder of the evening.

 

A good day in London, covering just over 19 miles with some walking in the sunshine.  Got to make the most of the sunshine and some more paths within London I can take off my massive list.  Anyhow some more photos taken for October can be found here (from page 5 for these trips):Flickr