Day Two of the Branch Line Society's big weekend away started at a much more reasonable hour, and I was pleased to find that breakfast and coffee were available at Crewe despite it being Easter Sunday. This set the tone for a nice, easy day's travel which was again focused on points east of here. This train had suffered even more than yesterdays with changes, mostly due to late notification of possessions, or odd knock-on effects from issues elsewhere. Thus, our first target was Peterborough - travelling initially via the line to Stoke-on-Trent, taking in the very rarely used Alsager loop at the same time. With this under our belts we set off again in good spirits for the Midlands. The air-con had been fixed overnight, and things were looking pretty good for today. Then we stopped near Rugby....and waited. Waited for quite a while in fact. Our driver had realised that the route into the sidings at Peterborough wasn't set correctly. Credit to him, he reported this back along the train, with the message eventually reaching the Tour Organiser. Not all drivers are particularly attentive or bothered about the details, but this one clearly was. The instructions were clear - we were to traverse these sidings. And so a fifty minute stand-off ensued as the signaller insisted he knew nothing of our trip, but the rest of the world did it's utmost to convince him.

We finally proceeded into the sidings around fifty minutes late. It's testament to Gas Hill's persistence that this happened at all - because quite amazingly, given that we were blocking the flyover at Rugby on a day when a lot of services were diverted to use it, the signallers seemed content to let us sit there. So we covered the stub of the former Peterborough line as far as the link back into the Track Machine depot sidings, before reversing into the North Side sidings, not far from the alignment of other former branches in this once even more important junction station. Briefly back into the much remodelled station before setting off, very late but satisfied that justice had been done.

Our next reversal took place near Castle Bromwich Junction, again due to works elsewhere, but we were soon off and heading for Burton-on-Trent. Here things got very interesting, as at Barton South Junction we deviated into Bombardier's purpose built Central Rivers facility where the Voyager and Meridian units receive maintenance. Slowly passing through the site using Line 13 - usually reserved for tilt testing - we were quite a curiosity to the few workers on site on a Sunday afternoon. Quite an unusual bit of track, and again credit to the organiser for getting permission to do something so unique. After leaving the site, we took the Stenson to Sheet Stores Junction line to head into Nottinghamshire and the Toton area. I'd covered the Stanton Gate Branch on a trip some time back, surprisingly reaching the limit of the passable line - so it was pleasant to sit back and note the changes here. Surprisingly there were few in fact, with the area as desolate and abandoned as it had been on my last visit in fact. However, for some this was new track and it's always a good atmosphere on these trips when the excitement about rare track surfaces. My own excitement was somewhat tempered by the sight of the rows of redundant locos at Toton - an utter waste of usable assets which seems plainly criminal. Another chance to view them as we made slow progress back along the Mapperley Goods line into the sidings to reverse once again and head north to Sheffield.

Our business in the Sheffield area was with some fairly unusual sidings. Firstly though we passed through the station, entering on the through line before crossing to Platform 1 via the crossover between the 'a' and 'b' ends of the platform face. From here we turned east and passed through the former Brightside station on the Goods Lines before reaching Holmes Junction. Here the train reversed on the short stretch of line leading into C.F.Booth's scrapyard, otherwise known as Westgate Siding. It really wasn't a long piece of track, with the train barely clearing the mainline as we waited to reverse. Next, heading back towards the city, we curved away from the mainline once again into Attercliffe Sidings. This fairly lengthy branch has clearly received some attention lately, not least the installation of a new bridge span. What use it's destined for is as yet unknown, but it was good to see a survival in this area, given the evidence of long since removed lines around the Tinsley area. Reversing again we crossed over to the line tucked behind the now disused platforms at Brightside station, rendered unnecessary when Meadowhall Interchange opened nearby.

And so we began the long trek back towards Crewe, travelling via Heeley Loop - much to our organiser's very evident delight - and the Hope Valley, before skirting the southern suburbs of Manchester via the 'ghost train' route through Denton and Reddish South to Stockport. One last loop was traversed at Chelford - a veteran of previous railtours in fact - before we arrived at Crewe a few minutes early despite leaving Sheffield around 33 minutes behind time. It had been another successful day visiting the less travelled corners of the network - where the more prosaic bits of industrial line become our exotic destinations. Testament must once again go to Gas Hill for pulling off what other tour operators neither dare or desire to undertake. Lets hope for more of these trips soon.

It's always been tricky to get to East Anglia, and that was reflected in today's early start which found me blearily trudging around Crewe station a little before 05:00. No hope of coffee at this time of day either, and with no kitchen car in the already complicated formation of the train, no chance of the customary bacon roll either. However, all miserableness was dispelled when the eerie silence of the station, which had literally only just opened it's doors, was broken by the racket made by 37423 hauling the stock in from the south. A quick check at the other end revealed that 37059 was leading a very tidy looking 20305. Found my seat with the usual configuration of faces scattered around coach K, and settled in for what was sure to be a fine day out. A bit chilly at first with no ETH, but I confess I also had the window wide open to listen to the locos. Once the sun started rise things soon warmed up however. The run out to Norwich should have been fairly standard stuff - down the WCML to Wolverhampton, then Birmingham New Street and out to Leicester. However, the first surprise - and indeed new track - of the day occurred when we took the connection to the Trent Valley lines at Nuneaton Abbey Junction. After calling at platform 5 of the 'old' station we took the recently restored connection to the Leicester lines. From here, the route is something of a stagger - and having the Class 20 in the line up limited our speed somewhat - however, the atmosphere on board was fun and the ale was already flowing, so I settled back to enjoy the sunshine and a line I don't often get to travel on.

After a burst of activity at Peterborough with a busy series of sheds and sidings, we curved east again and headed for Ely. A brief reversal here saw 37423 take over, hauling a load of eleven coaches and two dead locos with ease - but making an impressive noise as it did so! Out onto the fens, and the long flat and straight stretch of line into Norwich. Here, things got complicated! Firstly, the train was to split - the Class 20 and six coaches would head for Great Yarmouth. Meanwhile, the 37s would top and tail the remaining five coaches, and would head north to Sheringham and the North Norfolk Railway. Spent the hour before this second portion departed getting some much needed coffee and reacquainting myself with Norwich station - since the last visit was so very brief! Soon underway again, passing Crown Point depot then taking the line north to Cromer. I'd done this branch once before on a quiet Sunday of an All Line Rover, but it seemed to slip by much more quickly without the stops. Fantastic weather as we reversed in Cromer, heading for Sheringham and perhaps the highlight of the trip - the traversal of the new 'occasional crossing' between the Network Rail boundary and the North Norfolk Railway. Amazed by the huge crowds at the station and level crossing waiting for us to pass, as we crept slowly through the centre of town and into the NNR's fine old station. A brief pause before we were off again, thundering along the coast towards Holt. On route we passed resident 31207, which the more dedicated among the passengers leapt to do to Weybourne as soon as we arrived at our destination. Contented myself with a wander in the sun and some pictures of the locos.

After a brief pause, we headed back to Sheringham and stopped at the platform on the North Norfolk Railway side of the crossing, the original station here. Whilst the stock cleared the station for an incoming steam service, wandered down to the sea front for fish and chips in the sunshine. A surprisingly civilised and traditional turn of events - but it was that kind of day. Contemplated the British seaside holiday for a bit too - before wandering back to the station, with members of the merry band stopping to purchase an unsavoury selection of items including oversize stale whelks, a carrier bag full of rock, and two ice creams. Arrived at the station to see a unit which had previously been declared a failure just leaving somewhat late. We left a little down, and made good progress as far as Cromer where we stopped to await the incoming service. The limited passing opportunities on the branch meant that the earlier failure was snarling things up further down the line, and we finally left about 14 minutes down. Nothing to worry about though, and an another enjoyable, rather sleepy run back to Norwich.

Shopped for beer and supplies whilst the two portions of the train were shunted together again, with the Great Yarmouth portion arriving a little late too, due to brake problems on the coast. The train was soon shunted back into one though, and we set off homeward with 37423 and 37059 leading. The tour still had some track highlights in store though, as we were booked to use the avoiding curve at Ely. This unusual bit of track is signalled westbound only and avoids a reversal in the station. Duly ticked this off, and snoozed my way back to the Midlands, waking just in time to get the connection at Nuneaton in the opposite direction, traversing the crossings north of the station once again to regain the Birmingham lines. New Street itself posed an interesting spectacle too - we'd heard earlier that there had been a power failure both during last evening and this morning, and there were still problems. As we paused to set down passengers, the never particularly bright platforms were bathed in an eerie half-light from the emergency lamps. No displays were working, and people appeared to be wandering aimlessly about like some post-apocalyptic zombie film. Not sad to leave the station and complete our journey to Crewe, arriving a few minutes early, and very sleepy indeed.

Thinking back over my moans and groans earlier in the year about lazy tours which don't cater for the enthusiast, I'm amazed how ambitious this tour was. Trains aren't split and joined like this on the railway in 2010, and doing so was a huge gamble. The possibility of a number of ways of achieving the various trips seemed to work well too, with people reporting coaches arriving on time and the journey being pretty decent as road trips go. It's fantastic to see some risks being taken and some new ground being broken, and it's really good to see Spitfire silencing some of their critics with great itineraries like this one.

Up late last night, trying to decide what to do today. Not much inspiration on offer. Finally decided to travel to Horsham, via Epsom - a previously elusive new bit of track for me. This route would take me via Box Hill where Gissing visited Meredith, and Dorking where Gissing lived for a time. I needed to do a bit more research before wandering Dorking, but a quick pass through would be interesting.

Despite the late night, and a rude awakening when some neighbours had a vehicle returned by a breakdown truck at 1:30am, managed to get up for the 0640. For reasons of economy, travelled on a Cheap Day Return to Reading and rebooked - something I recommend to anyone visiting somewhere in the South East for a day. Shaping up to be a very pleasant day as we zipped along through misty fields towards Reading. Once there, changed for the next Paddington service arriving in London only 15 minutes later than the through service. Found the Underground in disarray, with no Circle to Victoria and queues everywhere. Hopped on the District, originally planning to go to Wimbledon, but decided to change at West Brompton for the West London Line. This seems a very different place from my last visit, eight years ago. Now, the regular Willesden to Clapham Junction service is supplemented by Rugby to Brighton trains, and Silverlink services from Watford Junction. Spent a pleasant few minutes on the tidy, refurbished platform in warm, bright sunshine.

My longer than planned interchange meant a bit of time at Clapham Junction. Arrived on Platform 17 - which only serves the West London Line through trains, a new one on me. Explored the station a bit, enjoying the atmosphere of "Britains' busiest railway station". Finally caught the 10:39, which made a slow start, crawling along to Sutton, then picking up pace into the countryside to Dorking and Horsham.

Changed platforms at Horsham - was tempted by a London Bridge service, but its calling points didn't betray much detail about its route, so played safe and headed for East Croydon on a very comfortable pair of Victoria bound 377s. Since the weather was pleasant and time not pressing, waiting awhile at East Croydon for a London Bridge (via Crystal Palace) stopper was no great hardship. Again, a crawl to Norwood Junction, then a pleasant trundle through South London, which always seems so benign and interesting in good weather, but takes on a wholly different character in less clement periods!

I find London Bridge a strange, magnetic, rather mysterious place for some reason and want to spend more time exploring - perhaps an exploration of the South Eastern suburban services will give me the chance soon? Realised I'd just made the same journey in reverse that the newlyweds make in the "Io Saturnalia" chapter of Gissing's "The Nether World" (London Bridge to Crystal Palace).

Quick change onto a pair of 465s to Waterloo East, and the long trudge onto the main station concourse. Grabbed some refreshments, and just about made the late running 1452 to Reading. It was a pair of slammers - 423s to be exact, which was a pleasant change - this trip has always been 455s or 458s for me. A long, slow journey punctuated by signal checks.

While waiting for the 1610 to Bristol at Reading, noticed a London bound service which had just left had stopped, fouling the points. Lots of orange jackets running around on the track. The 1600 Penzance slipped omionously from 'Expected 1603' to 'Delayed'. More people ran around. The 1610 also became 'Delayed'. An announcement spoke of 'Operating difficulties'. Finally the orange jackets climbed back onto the departing service, and things started moving. Later discovered it was a lineside fire - perhaps the secrecy was down to some residual twitchiness after last weeks serious bomb alert?

Finally got home, still in blazing sunshine, on a packed 143 from Temple Meads. A long and rather warm, but very pleasant day.

Slept really well - much needed after trials and tribulations of past few days. Spent the morning tweaking the config of <<lionel>>, which is pretty much setup how I want it now. Setup a CVS server on > so I can work on stuff and merge it when I get home. Mid afternoon, a random wander to spidermonkey reveals Ximian GNOME 1.4 packages! All hell breaks loose, and by the time unmetered access begins, getting a connection is highly random. Finally got a slot via FTP at 18:30, and still it trundles on... Spotted first commercial for Antitrust tonight - wonder if it will come to Weston Odeon?