Another long and convoluted week at work, another hastily planned trip cobbled together at a moment's notice! Needed to blow away some cobwebs and get out and about. Lots to think about, and a nagging urge to get new track - harder and harder as time goes on of course. Settled on a circular tour centring on the Welsh border town of Wrexham.
So, having watched the inaugural Penzance train call, caught my usual 2M02 - the first northbound First Great Western Local service to leave Highbridge in fact. The guard was resplendent in new indigo uniform. Off at Weston to sort tickets, and found staff there also looking smart and tidy, and comparing notes on their new kit. A really optimistic feel about this new beginning. On time, 1M42 arrived and I found a spot in the Quiet Carriage to think and work my way to Birmingham. Breakfast once supplies came aboard in Bristol too.
Not long to wait at Birmingham for the 09:33 to Chester via Shrewsbury. A familiar 158, but a pleasant journey nonetheless. Leaving Wolverhampton, passing Oxley Depot and onto the old Great Western line via Telford and Wellington. Ominous delay at Shrewsbury drags on for a full 35 minutes when it becomes clear that a rostering error has occurred and our relief guard is nowhere to be seen! Doesn't affect my schedule much, and we're soon away via Gobowen and into Wrexham General.
I remember coming to Wrexham a long while back, and once oriented the walk into town was familiar. Quite a bit has changed though, including a lot of new retail development. A mission I'd completed last visit was to locate Wrexham Central station - then an isolated and bare platform behind the town centre, now the same platform is surrounded by a retail park and has a slightly overdone entrance given its a single platform terminus! This time, the mission was to go one better and actually catch a train. Planned to go as far as General, but hatched a cunning plan whilst waiting for the 153 to arrive!
It worked like this - if I caught the train from Central to Shotton, I could change for the North Wales coast line towards Chester, then to Crewe and home on 1V61 as planned. Boarded, booked and enjoyed a slow meander on the borders of Wales. Soon arrived at the curious Shotton station. On two levels, arranged as a cross, this station allows interchange between the line I arrived on, which then heads onto the Wirral, and the line from Holyhead to Chester. Needed food first, so I ventured out into the single street which is Shotton. A slightly tired, rather grim spot really. Couldn't find much of interest in the shops, and the couple of pubs I spotted didn't appear promising. A few specks of rain in an otherwise clear and bright day too made me feel unwelcome here. Back to the station for a ticket, then a strange slog alongside the tracks, over a bridge, and down onto the Low Level platforms in time for 175109 to arrive.
A short trip into Chester, with a quick change for the unit to Crewe. Flagging a bit here, perhaps not realising how tired the week and my early start today had left me. Found a bite to eat, and soon enough the Voyager was in and I settled into a comfortable first class seat for the homeward leg as far as Bristol, with some occasional interjections from a gent behind me who was having a spirited discussion with himself!
A fine day, some new track and some old haunts. Couldn't ask for much more - except perhaps a decent pint in Shotton!
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
