This time of year always brings a few days of unexpected leave as I try to ensure I don't lose too much time off. I've one or two trips and excursions planned for the weeks ahead, but hadn't seriously looked at doing much with these two days. An excursion to Manchester to complete the tram lines was a thought, but Thursday was taken up with family duties, and Friday yielded few cheap travel opportunities. Decided instead to stay local and to finally have a look what was going on with all these locomotive movements at Gloucester.

Didn't bank on half term producing so many additional passengers, with standing room only on the 143 into Bristol - suprising outside the peak. A little quieter on the ride up to Gloucester however. Gloucester was, many years ago, one of the first ventures I made outside my Highbridge to Bristol comfort zone. It felt quite liberating to be visiting a strange city remembered partly from childhood road-trips to the South West. However there was little of railway interest around then, save for a few unfamiliar units disappearing down the bank towards the mysterious line to South Wales! Over the past few years, with Cotswold Rail and now Advenza Freight, much has changed and locomotives are a more common sight at Gloucester. There has long been a minor allocation of Class 47s, and today there were representatives of three classes in evidence. Firstly, and the star of the show for me, was 57006 freshly outshopped in Advenza's colours and ready for work. It's good to see this class continuing to find work despite outliving it's usefulness with Freightliner in favour of yet more green 66s!

A more sobering sight however were the pair of rusting 37s laying over en route to what will likely be their final destination. 37704 which recently appeared at Bristol Temple Meads was almost hidden, but 37898 was visible and in a sorry state following it's recent extraction from Margam. 47237 presented a happier aspect, being rebranded from DRS to Advenza and seeing some fairly regular use in move locos and stock around.

Took an indirect route home, travelling via Lydney to Newport on fully Crosscountry rebranded 170102. Uncomfortably warm on board, and not too unhappy to get out into the rather drizzly cold at Newport only to find the 1415 to Taunton inexplicably delayed with no expected time of departure. Wandered around the new platform 4 before being redirected to the very late running but recently refurbished 158771 which took me all the way home in rather cramped style. A pleasant enough afternoon out on what nearly qualifies as home turf.

An unintentionally deceptive article today, given we had no intention of going to Hull at all, and in fact got nowhere near it! I'd been thinking of today's trip for a while - certainly since the disaster with the Class 87 Farewell tour cost me a good few miles behind an electric loco. Despite having had 86101 on more traditional territory at the end of last year, something about Hull Trains' audacious plan to hire in the Cargo D rake of blue and grey stock and put the 86 on one end appealed, and I found myself booking a couple of us onto today's train. A very early start today, just like the old days! Walked to the station in freezing conditions and caught the first train of the day as far as Weston. The first real challenge was getting to Kings Cross on time though. With the mainline to Paddington closed, we travelled via the Berks and Hants. As ever on this route, the early morning sun bought the mists down around us, and we sped through agreeable views of hazy Wiltshire countryside. Initially we made good time, but a couple of frustrating checks between Reading and Paddington made for nothing better than an on-time arrival or thereabouts. From there, a dash onto the Circle Line and a frustratingly slow creep around to Kings Cross. We arrived about 12 minutes before departure was due. However, 86101 didn't.

We used the delay well enough, buying breakfast and checking out the rest of the action Kings Cross. A fair few cranks in evidence for the trip and numerous photographers out, annoying the Network Rail staff! It seemed that the DVT on the set had suffered a damaged headlamp, but it was on route and we just had to wait. As soon as the stock arrived we grabbed a seat - a sensible policy in fact as once the train was announced the tide of people pouring on began to cause problems. No reservation tickets meant lots of squabbles, and we found ourselves near to one young mum who was almost hyperventilating with fear at the need to change at Doncaster today and the fact it wasn't a proper 'Hull Train' - their Pioneer units have clearly won some fans. Hull Trains, previously paragons of good service in my experience, rather let themselves down on the information front today - and it can't help having the company named after the destination. The question "Is the the Hull train?" being followed up with "Well why is it only going to Doncaster then?".

Soon off, about 30 down and proceeding well until a further stop just outside Kings Cross. We plodded on along the Up Fast until we came to a halt south of New Barnet. A failed train was blocking the line and we'd need to reverse. Quite how we'd managed to get signalled behind the troubled service when other National Express service were diverted onto the slow lines and whizzing past at a fair whack was beyond me. Must say, the reversal to Wood Green South and the run past the stricken 91128 and her glum looking passengers was accomplished quickly and without undue delay. However we now found ourselves just over an hour down. From here though, running was very swift and we had a really fine trip through bright sunshine towards Doncaster.

Spent a frustrating time at Doncaster. Despite the cold, the weather was wonderful and it was pleasant to wander the platforms watching goings on with our set moving to the yard to lay over and a mostly HST service working on the East Coast. However, photography was near impossible due to the low winter sun - but if it had gone in, it would have been far too dark. I suppose it's difficult to win in the British winter. Settled on a chance to wander, eat and drink coffee while the world went by. All too soon it was time to head for the platform for our Crosscountry service back to Bristol.

Amazingly, the service was on time and we had a quiet run back in First Class via Sheffield and Birmingham. I wasn't alone in noting that a complicated day out which could have fallen at the first hurdle had actually worked out rather well despite Hull Trains and Network Rail's best efforts to cock things up spectacularly. Another early arrival at Bristol and a short wait for the unit home. Lots of miles, some very unusual crossovers and a morning spent with 86101. A good old fashioned day out.

I've been looking forward to a trip to Ebbw Vale for a long time. I've considered a number of tours over the years which took in the branch during its time as a freight-only line, but they never seemed worthwhile, since the destination was fairly local. In any event, the long-standing Welsh Assembly aim of reopening the line has been on the cards for years. Sure enough, at the end of 2007 publicity started, and the line's reopening - albeit to Cardiff only despite it's proximity to Newport - was scheduled for the end of the year. Then it wasn't. Then no-one knew quite when it would open.

So it was something of a surprise to hear it would open on Wednesday 6th January 2008, with little fanfare and a couple of the initial set of stations still incomplete. It may have been because of the major Wales rugby match at the Millenium Stadium today, or perhaps it genuinely was the earliest that the remaining concerns and temporary speed restrictions could be resolved in order to run the hourly timetable. The important thing was the branch was open, and that necessitated a rather unexpected trip today. Things started in a rather unlikely fashion too - much had been written about a pair of Class 20s lingering at Temple Meads for a while, but they'd been seen disappearing yesterday. Not having checked my mail much before this morning, we were pleased to see they'd returned - even more so when we saw what they'd extracted from Margam in the process of their jaunt to South Wales!

Onward to Cardiff on a busy diverted Swansea service, reversing at Bristol Parkway before arriving at a packed Cardiff complete with crowd control provided by a throng of attractive young women - presumably because they had more chance of actually convincing the rugby fans to head in the right direction! Noted the delayed 0935 service to Ebbw Vale Parkway still on the board and proceeded to the platform expectantly.

Here things started to go wrong. The 0935 was simply 'Delayed'. A couple of platform switches followed, including a move to Platform 0, inaccessible at the best of times but exceptionally so with barrier checks, crowd control and masses of people to negotiate. Eventually Arriva owned up and sent us to catch the 1035 instead, which was promptly platformed behind the 1100 Taunton! Much consternation followed among platform staff, and another change finally saw us onboard a pair of Class 150s and heading out along the mainline to Ebbw Junction. The guard indicated there had been a fatality earlier, but it was anyone's guess as to why the Ebbw line was so badly affected much later.

At Ebbw Junction we took the long curve to Park Junction, joining the single line to Newport trailing in from Gaer Junction. Looked longingly back, before concentrating on watching the Machen Quarry branch diverge to the west. Wonderful sunshine and warm weather made for a pleasant, rather drowsy trip up the branch enjoying the tight curves and challenging gradients. Couldn't help wishing I'd taken advantage of a loco up here on a tour now I'd seen the branch for myself. Soon ground to a halt at the site of Cross Keys station. In the unseasonable warmth three workers were apparently ineptly laying concrete. We waited. Finally heard that the 0935 had been sent up empty to ensure it collected the crowds of rugby fans which we'd seen waiting at Rogerstone and Risca on the way up. The unit finally passed us, and we pressed on up the valley. Rather unexpectedly after the long slow climb, we soon reached Ebbw Vale Parkway. A mile or two shy of the town (but with an extension tentatively planned) we arrived at a simple single platform roughly on the site of the town's former Victoria Station. Any plans for a wander around were scotched by the waiting crowds. We kept our seats and headed back to Cardiff, even sleepier than on the way out.

Arrived back at Cardiff having missed all the Rugby Special action due to the delay in getting up the branch. No sign of locos or coaches so we headed to Newport for a quick wander into town, before meeting a couple of other local reprobates and heading back to Bristol for more photos of 37704 which seemed to be attracting a fair bit of attention from staff and spotters alike. An interesting trip out - the first for ages, with some surprises and some new track. Looking forward to next week's exploits now...

Since the disappointment of the Glasgow trip, I've been sick and felt pretty dejected. Somewhere this past week I decided I'd check to see if there were any cheap tickets left which would get me out and about to blow away both my persistent cough and the attack of the drabs which seemed to have descended. The first journey I tried was one which popped up in my browser history having been attempted before, and gave some encouragingly low fares I suspect because of the high profile news stories about delays and overrunning engineering works. So once again I would attempt to cover the branch to Rose Hill Marple, for the sake of 1m 2ch of new track!

So today I found myself doing something I'd not done for awhile in struggling down to the station for an early train on a Saturday morning. Last year, with it's challenges, meant less frequent and more carefully thought out trips. It was good to get back to the 'book and go' culture of times gone by, and to just head for some curious destination. While I waited for the train I tested my voice - still weak and strained and my cough still barking furiously if a little less often now. Decided to explore a map of my destination via GPS. Not inspiring - a small suburban terminus at the end of a tiny branch. To me though, it was new track and therefore a goal worth seeking out. Also noted that the 07:00 from Weston was in a confused state - in one entry in the departure list it was cancelled to Leeds, and it then reappeared as running to Manchester Piccadilly. Decided to check at Weston and set off hopefully. On arriving, checked the boards to see the train (definitely Leeds bound now) delayed by around 50 minutes. A quick check of Crosscountry's website revealed this was due to lineside equipment failure delaying the ECS to Exeter. Hopped back on the unit which luckily waited a few minutes for a passing down service, with the intention of trying my luck at Bristol.

Arrived at a dark and cold Temple Meads to find it stuffed with locomotives - a pair of Class 31s top and tailing a test train in the through siding, 66726 lurking in the loco spur and a bunch of Freightliner 66s huddled on the edge of the station. No alternatives here in terms of getting northwards - remembered that all XC services were via Newport and Gloucester, and that the service seemed much reduced. Got coffee and waited at a near deserted platform 7 for 50 minutes or so whilst our train slogged along behind local units. Amazed at how few people appeared to be travelling today. On arrival, found myself a seat in the Quiet Carriage and dozed through the Severn Tunnel. A little after we reappeared from the darkness, a passenger a few seats back leapt from his seat and cursed loudly. It seemed he'd spotted the 'Croeso y Cymru' sign and thought he'd caught the wrong train. Sorted him out and all was again quiet for the pleasant ride alongside the estuary to Gloucester, where again many locos were evident - if not immediately identifiable.

Arrived at Birmingham having made up a fair bit of our lost time, but far too late for my connection to Manchester. Out to customer reception where my request to travel on the 10:48 Pendolino seemed to cause a fair bit of trouble. The Crosscountry representative didn't seem concerned at all, and the Virgin chap decided to grill me thoroughly about my journey. I tried to spell it out simply - 9S49 was delayed by 50 minutes, in fact most services from the South West were late, and I'd missed the 10:20 to Manchester. At this point the Crosscountry uniformed individual awoke and pointed out that these were XC services and the 10:48 was a Virgin service. Cue much slapstick silliness as they jostled to decide which stamp should be applied to validate my ticket, then to find the stamp pad. Throughout this, the Virgin person (who was now quite friendly as it was all XC's fault) was yelling "quick, or this gent will lose his train". It would have been pretty funny, had it not been so indicative of much which is wrong with the railway. Made the 10:48 by the skin of my teeth, and spent an interesting journey listening to a travelling soap opera being conducted by mobile phone a few seats back.

Arrived at Piccadilly with minutes to spare. I'd feared that I'd not make Rose Hill again due to the delays, and I'd almost resigned myself to a couple of hours in Manchester instead which is never unpleasant. However, managed to reach the unit in time and set off for a bumpy ride through the suburbs. Familiar track to Woodley from last year's Branchline Society tour which reversed at Bredbury waste terminal. Then, immediately after crossing the River Goyt on the impressive Marple Viaduct we took the branch to Rose Hill - and finally after several attempts, I scratched one of the few tiny bits of track I still need in this part of the world.

Had a wander around the immediate environs and made a quick 'phone call. Not much here, but there was a reasonable looking Robinsons' pub which I managed to avoid for fear of getting too comfortable in the warm. Tried to figure out instead, why this branch merited a double lead at the junction trailing into a single line? Suspected it was to avoid a crossover on the viaduct. Made mental notes to research where this branch went before it was cruelly curtailed in this rather quiet cul-de-sac. Soon time to board for the trip back to Piccadilly. Again very little time in Manchester, enough to buy provisions for the trip back and to find a comfortable seat. Decided to upgrade to First Class since I had a fairly long trip ahead of me. Some confusion, and my tickets were taken back to be discussed with the small group of train managers onboard. The TM returned to tell me that upgrades to Value tickets were no longer allowed but I could have an upgrade today because the changes were not known to all XC staff yet. I pointed out that they were also not made clear in the announcement that upgrades were available, which the TM conceded was the case. I asked if it was all about generating revenue, and he politely declined to disagree. I pointed out that with overcrowded trains, an empty First Class carriage was wasteful. Again he shrugged his frustrated agreement. Settled in for a quiet ride back to Bristol which reminded me of the old days of catching Manchester-Paignton Class 47 hauled services for the fun of the exotic route via Camp Hill and the 5mph creep around St Andrews Junction.

It was good to get out today, and to exorcise some of the ill-feeling from last week. As we passed Wolverhampton this morning, almost a week to the minute we learned the tour was cancelled I think I gave up feeling angry about it! The urge to get out and do these little trips is strong again, and provided the finances hold out and the cheap tickets stay available, I think I'll try a few more this year.