Posted in Railways on Saturday 7th June 2008 at 9:06pm


Despite starting our journey from relatively close at hand, set out early and arrived in Stratford in time for a stupidly expensive breakfast courtesy of The White Swan. Stratford is, after all, a town designed to fleece passing heritage hungry tourists of their cash - and early on a Saturday morning there are few options but to dig deep. Ate lots to make up for it, and hoped there wouldn't be any queasiness on the bus to Long Marston. Made our way back to the station in time to start the queue for the bus, which despite a lack of information arrived bang on time to meet the train. A short trip through the Warwickshire countryside to the former MOD base, and we were soon queueing to enter Long Marston with it's untold riches of stored locomotives and rolling stock.

Sneezed my way into the site, clearly finding lots of unfamiliar pollen we just don't get down south. Greeted by the site of a single Class 87 reminding us of the purpose of today - to bid a sad farewell to an entire class of West Coast Mainline workhorses which it seemed would just keep going on! However, they sit here in the countryside, miles from the nearest overhead line, awaiting shipment to Bulgaria and a new useful life.

The past...a line of Class 87s awaits export...
The past...a line of Class 87s awaits export...

The scale of the site was simply vast. After working our way up and down the lines of stored locos and wagons, we continued to find new things hiding in corners - I can honestly say that few open days have held my attention for so long on the basis of the exhibits alone. Once we'd photographed, noted and discussed all the stock we could, headed for the small platform near the East Gate for the DMU ride around the site to the West Gate and a little beyond. A decent run, around some very tight curves. More stock and wagons spotted on the run. The only things remaining out of sight being a group of 31s we'd seen a while back at Meldon Quarry and the ill-fated Pendolino 390033 which was stored, respectfully out of view given it's recent history.

Mid-afternoon the UK Railtours service arrived on site, with a pair of 66s creeping around the busy area. As the railtour guests swelled the ranks in the site, we decided to consider leaving having had a happy, dry and fruitful day.

The future...saved by the AC Loco Group, 87002 may work on the mainline again soon.
The future...saved by the AC Loco Group, 87002 may work on the mainline again soon.

The highlight for me was to hear about the possibility of 87002 'Royal Sovreign' working future railtours on classic electric mainline routes. A re-enactment of the Electric Scot Farewell might be fun?

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Railways

Posted in Railways on Sunday 1st June 2008 at 10:55pm


The second day of my unexpected weekend dawned with an early start, and a checkout from my comfortable warm hotel into a drizzly and grey Sheffield Sunday. The pedestrianised plaza rising from the station to the hotel which had been full of students lolling around in the warm evening was now empty. Still, it gave me an opportunity to grab a picture of 'What If?' - the poem installed in huge letters on the side of Sheffield Hallam University, written by none other than Andrew Motion - our current poet laureate. I'm no great fan of Mr Motion usually, but the impressive concept and the rather fine words struck me enough to make me curious - and indeed to spend a few moments thinking on the poem before I pressed onward, towards the station and inevitably, breakfast!

Andrew Motion's 'What If?' at Sheffield Hallam University
Andrew Motion's 'What If?' at Sheffield Hallam University

Today's itinerary, from a heavy rail perpsective, was gentle. The first train off Sheffield for Leeds, reversing at Castleford - and involving some required track. Then a dash up to Newcastle on a Transpennine Express service. Started strangely - with an unexpectedly busy service from Sheffield, many of the passengers apparently having not made it home from the previous night. A nagging door fault, resulting in the guard or driver needing to repeatedly kick the unit back into life, didn't delay things much and we rolled into Leeds a few minutes before time after a decent run along the final stretches. After a quick wander around this station which I get to far less often than I'd like, a bit of a platform farce. We were moved over the bridge onto another platform, then back - despite a silent and switched-off Voyager blocking our exit. A few minutes late we reversed, paused, crossed over and took the middle road through the station. More track I suppose, and hardly expected!

On arriving at Newcastle, descended straight onto the Metro, buying my day ticket and making my way via carefully researched escalator-free routes down to the platform. Covering the entire system wasn't a quick proposition - but it promised to be interesting, involving sections of purpose-built track alongside long chunks of former heavy rail routes. Started with a trip out to the Airport, before returning south to cover South Hylton and South Shields. Some freight action on the lines near Pelaw despite being Sunday.

Back under the city next to complete a circle of the coast, via the formerly rather grand stations at Whitley Bay and Tynemouth (home in fact to a rather interesting looking book sale). All that remained was a short stretch into St. James. All but deserted outside matchday, and oddly quiet. Not sorry to get going again to return to Central and surface in the station before checking into my hotel - tired, but pleased to have finally done this trip.

And so the business end of my Lost Weekend comes to a close, a wander around Newcastle - my first in a few years in the City Centre - noting the changes and exploring new parts of the city. Tomorrow I have the fun of a long run back to the south west to look forward to. Maybe I should do this kind of trip more often?

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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.

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