Today was all a bit of a luxury really compared to some of the endurance tests I willingly undertake - firstly, having a weekend off between tours meant needing to decide where to go. First Great Western helped here by running their 'Take A Mate' promotion for season ticket holders once again. Realising that this was the one week during the promotion I'd be able to take advantage of a £20 First Class return on the FGW network, I booked a trip to Paddington, regardless of not having any mates to take on this particular occasion! This also meant that after a late night last evening, I didn't have to disappear from home in the dark on the earliest possible train - and so I decided on the 07:13 direct from Highbridge to Paddington. It was very good to be settled with breakfast, coffee and bright sunshine before arriving at Weston, and I was content to watch the scenery pass lazily and catch up on the week's podcasts as we thundered through Bristol and onwards towards London.
Having had an ill-fated attempt at getting around London for work purposes earlier in the week, I'd given up on planning much for my day today. A look at the Weekend update from Gensheet had confirmed lots happening tomorrow and some fun with WSMR services out of Marylebone - but with their first stop at Tame Bridge Parkway and no advance fares, I needed something cheaper if equally diverting. Instead decided on a quick trip out east (picking up long due Oyster refunds at last at the ticket gates on the way). Firstly, over to Liverpool Street and then, via Clapton to Tottenham Hale. This positioned me for a very pleasant coffee in the sunshine and a chance to watch the fairly intensive service here before heading back to Stratford via one of the direct services. A crawl around Temple Mills gave excellent views of both the Olympic site and the Eurostar depot, before we arrived at the curving platform 12 at the far edge of the station, now dwarfed by the fast developing Westfield Stratford City shopping complex. Right now its extremely hard to imagine how this area will look in a couple of years time - but it will certainly have changed a great deal. Wandered out to the station front for a taste of a rather older, less sanitised Straford, before heading back to the platforms to watch a couple of freight trains pass while awaiting my train to Liverpool Street.
Another idea which had occurred was a visit to the southern end of the East London Line where new units were lurking! Squeezed onto a 149 bus to London Bridge and then, after dodging both Millwall and Charlton fans, onto a train to New Cross Gate. Got a glimpse of the depot as we passed, completely built now and sporting a clutch of shiny new 378/1 'Capitalstar' EMUs! Rather surprisingly as we came to a halt, I found one sitting in the platform beside us awaiting the signal for a test run south towards West Croydon. Took the opportunity to get a quick shot before heading for the neighbouring supermarket for greeting cards!
Whilst waiting for my train back to the city, another 378 passed through the platform, with several confused passengers having a crack at boarding before it whirred quietly off to the depot. Once on a London-bound unit I had another fly-past of the depot, wryly noting other platform enders with similar ideas to me, before arriving once again at London Bridge. Waited time here for a departure to Victoria via Crystal Palace, which I meant to take as far as Clapham Junction. More football related silliness going on as we left for the spin around Streatham Hill and Balham into the vast, busy turmoil of Clapham Junction. Found a little newly-built but roofless shelter where a lot of enthusiasts has clustered around the end of the platform - so joined them for a pleasant hour in the sunshine noting the passing tide of units. Once the same ones started heading back, I bade them goodbye and headed for platform 2 which was already getting busy for the next departure to Willesden Junction. I've used this shuffle via West Brompton and the District Line to get home many times, but the opening of Westfield at Sheppherds Bush has really boosted usage and the trains were incredibly busy once again. Hopped off at West Brompton thinking I might get home early...
However, I'd not thought about the Chelsea vs. West Ham game going on nearby. As train after train of District stock filled to crush loadings passed by, it became almost amusing - not least the large party of French students who skittered from one end of the platform to the other and back each time an equally wedge set arrived. Once final bunch of fans were brought down - possibly the noisiest, drunkest or just plain least appealing to the general public - and squashed onto a train by a copious amount of Met and BTP officers. A minor escape attempt led to a bit of brute force being deployed and the train was soon off. Happily the next one had room for everyone waiting - including the hapless French students!
After a relaxing coffee watching the station go about it's business I boarded the 19:00 from Paddington heading all the way back to Highbridge. In many ways it had been a quiet day - but there was, as always, plenty to see and hear in London so I was more than happy with my wandering. Sometimes it's not about epic mileages or elaborate itineraries, but just a good old fashioned wander around the railway network, watching people as much as trains.
Last year seemed to end with a mad dash around the country, which of course dried up over Christmas with little prospect of a programme of events beginning until now. Thus, eager to snap up any opportunity of a trip early in the year, I booked myself onto a number of tours the moment they were announced. Today's excursion was one of them - and from it's inception it sounded like a fairly good prospect. Eschewing the early start down south, a respectable time off New Street, a trundle down into South Wales and up the elusive Gwaun-cae-Gurwen branch, then up the Heart of Wales line back to the Midlands - with a brief break at Llandrindod Wells for good measure. However, the snow and rain which began the year soon put paid to the GCG routing, with the track now in poor condition thanks to the weather. It also seems like the trip had proved popular with the normals, as Pathfinder kept the remainder of the timings with a much longer break at Llandrindod. Cancelling wasn't a smart financial move, so I found myself making an uncharacteristically late start from the usual digs in Birmingham this morning. Time enough for a relaxing coffee and some contemplation of the busy scenes in the station before getting some breakfast and heading down to the platform for our train, which arrived on time despite it's long journey up from Eastleigh.
Once on board, noted that there were only a handful of familiar faces, and plenty of rather troubled looking normal folk who seemed to find the chatter among the enthusiasts distasteful. Contrasted this with last weeks equally mixed trip which seemed a little more temperate by comparison. Contented myself with quaffing the free coffee and getting warm again after the chill of New Street's platforms. Once out of the tunnels and past a bottleneck at Kings Norton, we gathered pace via the Lickey Incline and pressed on towards Gloucester and then Newport via the Severn Estuary. The morning was alternating between threatening clouds and pleasant bright spells, and it was good to be skirting the river with 66031 at the front as we headed for South Wales.
After passing through both Newport and Cardiff on non-platform lines we again gathered speed along the South Wales mainline towards Port Talbot. At Court Sart Junction we turned for the Swansea District Line, skirting the city and taking a curve north to Dynevor Junction, now in glorious sunshine. With the GCG branch out of the plan, the one little section of new track for me was the few chains between Grovesend Colliery Loop Junction and Hendy Junction - in other words, the curve from the District Line onto the Heart of Wales. I'm actually certain it must have been in the plan for a previous tour - but since it wasn't inked it was worth considering as new! From here we began the slow stagger up the Heart of Wales, passing increasingly rugged scenery outside the window until we reached the summit at Sugar Loaf among mountains still capped with snow. From here it was a short descent to Llandrindod, which we reached under some fairly bleak skies and dark clouds.
Once off the train, I joined a small bunch of keen types who were walking along the road out of town in order to get a picture of the loco. Despite the bushes being aggressively flailed, there was no clear shot until the train drew forward into the siding north of the platform. Watched as the Fire Tender arrived to water the coaching stock, then walked to the level crossing and finally got a respectable view. Turned back towards town, and skirted the other side of the track, where opportunities for pictures were even more sparse. The next couple of hours in Llandrindod passed very slowly and coldly. It is, I confess, an attractive little town. However, most of it seemed closed today. The only cafes open seemed to be of the rather twee variety, and a decent coffee was out of the question. Circled the town, and found the entrance to the spa and Y Gwalia offices which occupy an impressive former hotel building. The history of tourism here was evident, and persisted in a stream of coaches which seemed to be arriving for a break on their scenic progress through the Elan Valley. Sought refuge in Somerfield, before heading back to the station where half of the train seemed to be waiting, having come to the same conclusion that Llandrindod on a March Saturday afternoon wasn't a great prospect. Noted that the Fish and Chip shop which had done a huge trade on my last visit was already closed. Waited for the train, cold and a bit confused by the purpose of the trip.
The train finally arrived in a complicated flurry of manoeuvres to satisfy the RETB signalling - first passing through the platform and going beyond the stop board, then pulling in again, before drawing up further to let the rest of the train board. It was all managed rather well, but it still angered an elderly chap who expressed his lack of understanding and unhappiness to Mr Paget in no uncertain terms! Once back on board, settled in for more free coffee and the rest of the line to Shrewsbury. Hung from the window a little here before the light finally failed, noting 97302 on the new depot at Sutton Bridge. Soon away into the gloom, around the curve at Abbey Foregate, and back to Birmingham via Bescot. A rather short day by my standards once again, but a pleasant enough trip which kept to time.
I don't want to sound ungrateful or elitist - but I'm still not sure what this trip was for. Over two hours in Llandrindod seemed to alienate more punters than it pleased, although they were happy enough on board the train, watching the scenery go by. The lack of a replacement for the GCG branch seemed to alienate the 'crank' element too. I enjoyed my day - it's a rare event for me to travel the Heart of Wales line, and interesting to see the changes over the past few years - but, it was an expensive way of doing the trip for sure. The year seems to be picking up now, and the dark days of December with it's desperate bookings is a distant enough memory. An outing with the Western beckons, and that's always an interesting experience!
Remarkably, today's trip was the first railtour of the year as such. It's easy to postulate that the recession is biting, and that the tour operators are needing to be a little more careful in what they run - but given the poor weather and widespread possessions across the network at the start of the year, it's perhaps not quite that simple. Certainly, today's tour seemed to be balanced just right. An easy day out in York on offer for the 'normal' punter, a trip to the somewhat hard to access Locomotion extension of the National Railway Museum at Shildon for the enthusiast, and for the track bashers a trip over the recently reconnected Weardale Railway to Stanhope. It'll surprise no-one I'm sure that I opted for the latter. Another advantage of this jaunt, just to ease us in gently to the year's festivities, was a set of reasonably sensible timings. However, descending to platform level at Crewe at 06:00 to find the coffee shop still locked up was not a good start. However I soon fell in with a bunch of very familiar faces who were also awaiting refreshment - and discovered perhaps unsurprisingly that we were located in the same coach! In fact, with the market being starved of tours for quite a spell now, there were lots of familiar faces about as we finally made the coffee run and boarded for a right time departure.
The run to York was a gentle re-introduction to the madness which will fill a fair number of weekends in the coming months: a jaunt down the West Coast Main Line to Birmingham New Street, then the familiar route via Derby and the Old Road to York. Amazed to note that Freightliner are still insisting on hiding their new Class 70s from me behind rows of wagons - be it at Stoke Gifford or Lawley Street - but perhaps their relatively poor reliability to date is making them a little shy about their new acquisitions? As the sun came up in the Midlands, there was a hint of some possibly decent weather - but really it was good just to be out and about in daylight! Munched the ever excellent breakfast from the Kitchen Car as we whizzed past Kingsbury, taking in the solemn sight of a row of ex-Healey Mills 56's awaiting the cutters' torch. After a fine performance from 37038 and 37607, we arrived in York on time - with surprisingly few leaving the train here for the delights of the city, and a healthy number boarding for the mini-tour north to Stanhope.
The next stage of the journey took us along the East Coast Main Line to Darlington. Not a particularly inspiring stretch of line in some ways, but over recent journey's I've grown to enjoy the trip a little more. It certainly made for some fast running, and with a low winter sun finally shining it was good to be racing north with the promise of new track. It was also great to note that West Coast Railway Co. had produced a pretty solid rake of Mk I stock for the trip. In particular, the lights and PA were working well, and the heating - although a little slow to get going - was just about right too. After an absolutely riotous thrash under the impressive roof of Darlington's fine station buildings we curved onto the Bishop Auckland branch and made more sedate progress along the line towards Weardale. A brief halt at Shildon to let Locomotion passengers disembark, before pressing on to Bishop Auckland and taking the recently reconnected stretch of line between Network Rail and the Weardale Railway's property. Although the Weardale line is fairly long, trains only usually operate between Stanhope and Wolsingham - making it all but impossible to access without road transport. So this trip was particularly welcome, both in traversing the currently unused stretch of line to Wolsingham as well as a rare chance to visit the preserved railway. The Weardale has had a difficult time with recent ownership changes, but as it's smartly turned out staff passed through the train with literature and one of their number gave a commentary on the line over the PA, it was easy to see the dedication which had kept it running through turbulent times. A slow, but pleasingly noisy journey up the branch, passing the depot at Wolsingham which is currently being redeveloped for future freight use of the line - and was also home to a lonely looking 56022! Crossed and re-crossed the River Wear, which here in the hills was fairly fast-flowing which made for some stunning views with a little snow still on the hill tops. Finally arrived at Stanhope a little later than planned due to hold ups down at Bishop Auckland. This meant only a few minutes here - which wasn't unexpected but was a little disappointing. Particularly as the railway had gone to the effort of producing their Class 73 and Pacer unit in apparently ex-works condition for the occasion. However, we dutifully retraced our steps on time down the branch with 47826 now leading to avoid missing a path on Network Rail metals. Definitely a railway which needs another visit - especially if the opportunity to push further to Eastgate is available!
With a longer break in York, stepped out and directed a party to The Maltings before heading for the beer shop. Intended to pop in myself, but with time pressing and the sounds of our locos manoeuvring in the station, decided to slip back to get some shots of the running round. Soon back on board for another thunderous start from the pair of 37s. Our route home was largely a retracing of the earlier run north, aside from a deviation into Bescot. A pleasantly sociable and relaxing trip back with some of York Ales' finest, plenty of industry gossip and silliness! This reminded me exactly why I've enjoyed these trips so much over the last year or so. Plenty of talk also of forthcoming trips and some exciting new plans.
Back into Crewe a few minutes down, and at a respectable hour by recent standards. Another excellent Spitfire trip, and it was really pleasing to see WCRC ironing-out the stock problems which have unfairly been reflected on the operator in the past. Trudged off to my hotel for the night, pondering the best way to sort out a trip to Scotland this summer...
All over the country people seemed to have been talking about snow this week - however, aside from a lacklustre flurry which barely even touched the ground it's been mercifully free of the white stuff here. However, as thoughts turned to today's trip I wondered how far I'd get. I woke to a light dusting of sparkling frost but nothing to get too concerned about, and made it to the station without incident. It was, however, incredibly cold and I was pleased to see the early train to Bristol crawl in. Settled myself into a warm corner and began my trip feeling oddly placid and relaxed. It had been a very strange week - school holidays are always a bit quiet and uneventful, but spending the week tying up loose ends and preparing for new challenges had left me feeling a bit reflective and troubled. Today however, was all about travelling - putting distance between me and my thoughts and getting some mileage under my belt. Spent as little time as possible in the cold at Bristol, pausing long enough to get breakfast before finding my seat in the pleasantly warm Voyager and settling back for the trip north to Manchester. I've grown to really enjoy this useful train - it connects into a variety of things, and is generally reliable. Good to settle back and sleepily enjoy the amazing sunrise which broke somewhere in Gloucestershire with the snow-covered Malvern Hills just visible in the distance.
Snoozed just a little too comfortably as we headed north, and found myself missing plenty of interesting locations. Not concerned though - I come this way relatively often, and it was good to just be travelling. The sun was bright outside, reflecting back off the snow and warming the carriage pleasantly. Managed to doze off again, missing Birmingham New Street entirely which was quite a surprise - not entirely an unpleasant one in some ways! Having reversed there, we pressed on northward, and despite some slow running around Macclesfield due to an ailing unit, we made fairly good progress arriving only a few minutes late at Piccadilly. With no family members in attendance today, decided to stock up on provisions and make my way to the platform for the next train. A little concerned given the incredibly busy loadings I'd witnessed on Transpennine Express services from here previously. However, once the 170 had deposited the incoming passengers it was a fairly quiet train - especially in the little first class compartment. Again I found a corner and settled in for a quiet, comfortable ride east. The industrial landscape gave way to the bleak, wintry Pennines just before we disappeared underground at Standedge Tunnel. Still snowy when we emerged, but the sun was stronger and we passed Huddersfield and Leeds in glorious weather. I hadn't covered the line from here onwards for some time, and it was good to be visiting again and seeing the signs of increasing passenger numbers, some modernisation and more frequent services. After Selby we sped onward through the flat, empty lands beside the Humber. Somewhere around here I found myself feeling incredibly content - warm, untroubled and watching an impressively wide, open landscape in the winter sun. To cap it all, I was surprised by the remarkable music of Quickbeam in my headphones. A memorable journey indeed.
And so I arrived in Hull. A lot has been said about my trip this weekend - not least there have been many puns on the city's name and it's similarity to 'hell'. The wiser heads among my colleagues and acquaintances have noted that the 'h' is silent in local parlance and thus the puns don't work at all well. In any case, I arrived at 'Ull and the impressive Paragon Station to find things much changed since my last visit. Firstly, the northernmost spans of the overall roof now covered the city's bus station. The whole concourse was clean and tidy and the passenger information was improved and integrated with the bus services. There was still an incredible amount of space, but now with the building opened up and the area around the bus station filled with retail units, there was a buzz about the place which had always seemed missing. The impressive, tiled booking hall was now home to a community project providing a 'shopmobility' service - but the area was still public, allowing access to this wonderful example of 19th century railway architecture. Wandered around the station, and out onto the broad pavement which skirted the formerly busy and impossible-to-cross Ferensway. A large supermarket had opened up with a bunch of other stores next door, and people were walking by on their way to the shops. It struck me that I'd not really seen people walking along this street at all before! The station front was a little obscured by a modern covered area, but this didn't detract too much from the atmosphere which was, as ever, of an important and busy station. Hull hadn't quite been what I expected - and it's regeneration gave me plenty to think about. I've been hugely critical of similar projects in the past - but here was one working and delivering on promises. Bought a coffee from one of the new outlets and wandered back to the platform in a thoughtful frame of mind. I was feeling something of an object of ridicule among the relatively young, well turned out Hull folk around the station and its environs, which was a bit of a surprise. I wasn't in fact heading back a little earlier than planned for this reason however, but mainly because I couldn't resist a bit of platform-ending at Doncaster - the one place where it's never uncool to be a spotter! I wasn't disappointed either, with well over thirty unashamedly populating the choice spots at the south end of the station on my arrival. Others mingled, chatted and shared notes and photographs over tea, or popped into the waiting room for a warm. Wandered down myself and got the camera out for a happy few minutes just watching trains and enjoying it without fear of abuse or harassment. Given my experience when buying cakes for my team at work in Tesco yesterday, it was good to feel vaguely normal for a change, however briefly!
The Birmingham train arrived a little early and I was glad to get on board where it was warm. Noted the pair of former Cotswold Rail locomotives dumped in the sidings as we left, thinking what a waste it was given that these had put in a fine performance on a jaunt to Glasgow just a couple of years back. The train was again, fairly lightly loaded - but enjoyed people-watching and the pleasant weather as we headed south through Sheffield. Despite the coffee, managed to doze again - and also missed the first passing of Lawley Street in anything like daylight this year! Not a good day for getting numbers, but it's rare I'm ever this relaxed - so I resolved to just enjoy the trip. Out into the cold at Birmingham for a brief wait before boarding the 17:12. I'd booked a first class seat on this as it's often a busy train - and the crowds on the platform indicated this was wise. Found myself seated next to a few CrossCountry employees returning from a trip, who inadvertently provided some entertainment as far as Cheltenham Spa! Here we turned for Gloucester and set off along the banks of the Severn via Lydney to avoid engineering between Swindon and Bristol Parkway. Enjoyed the longer trip home, despite the deepening gloom which had descended into full darkness long before we made the Welsh border at Chepstow. A reversal at Newport, and then onwards to Bristol. No need even to change platforms, but once again a single carriage Class 153 appeared for the 19:53. This is a bit of terrible diagramming on the part of First Great Western and all the more amazing because continued overloading seems to be ignored completely. Squished in, finding a seat after Yatton, and didn't let the relative lack of comfort detract from my calm and quiet day.
Hull surprised and amazed me today, and even made me feel a little guilty for the jokes I'd shared at it's expense. Mostly though, today was an effortless zoom around the country taking in about 580 miles - but which does nothing to make this blog any more exciting of course! Next week, all being well, sees a return to the railtour circuit with a relatively late start to the season. It'll be good to be on the move again...
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.
