It was never my intention to spend every Bank Holiday this year in Paignton. However, thinking about the progressing plans to replace the currently locomotive hauled services with cascaded units, and since the UK doesn't have another weekday holiday this side of August, I thought this could be the last chance I get! Add to this the chance to finally get a snap or two of 'celebrity' loco 67018 in it's DB colours, and it seemed a sensible way to spend the day. Fantastic weather also helped.
The issue of what to do once I got to Paignton was solved by the opening of a new Costa Coffee. I swear this branch wasn't here just under a month ago when I visited, and bemoaned the lack of decent coffee in the town. I queued up behind a long string of locals who hadn't quite figured out how to use the store yet. After stifling a chuckle at someone who complained that her latte was "too milky" I began to experience a degree of middle-class guilt, and sat quietly writing and sipping my coffee. Back to the station for a much more honest bacon sandwich from the excellent little cafe at the station, then a quick but rather warm dash back home on the loco-hauled service. Why don't they use the air-conditioning on these sets?
So, after a brief break at the seaside it's back to work - and the nail-biting wait for tour timings to come through for the rest of June's entertainments. As someone recently pointed out, this site seems to be obsessed with weather, food and trains. Guilty!
The dearth of decent railtour opportunities this summer has driven me to desperate measures! This weekend, having booked a couple of days of leave and not really planned much, I decided to get away. After wrestling with the trainline website came up with a plan - a trip to Sheffield today, on to Newcastle tomorrow and an epic trek back on Monday. Lots of opportunities to progress my target of covering Light Rail systems in the process and a couple of nights away in areas I don't get to see often. So, in fairly good weather I found myself zooming through familiar territory from recent weeks through the Midlands and Derby. A nice, relaxing trip with no great worry about getting anywhere by any particular time. Had planned my rambles on the Stagecoach Supertram network, but frequencies meant it wasn't desperate if this slipped a bit. Arrived at Sheffield and immediately made my way over the bridge to the tram stop to start my ramble.
I visited Sheffield soon after the tram network opened in 1995, and had a short run from the station to the City Centre. It was busy then with people eager to try the new form of urban transport, and it remained busy today, but seems to have become part of the fairly robust network here - with people happy to make journeys skipping between bus, tram and train as necessary. For someone who works in transport, a joy to see! Started with the southern branches of the network, soaring up into the hilly south west of the city via some impressive gradients and interestingly engineered viaducts. The network appears to cover a fair bit of open country or at least post-industrial land, and makes some quite spirited runs on open track at times. After terminating at Herdings Park, doubled back to cover the longer branch to the strangest name for a terminal station - Halfway.
Back into the city centre with far more people on board, but plenty of space and no feeling of overcrowding. Having not strayed into Sheffield much over the years, good to see a fairly bustling and pleasant central area. Hillsborough too had the feeling of a small town in itself and with the sun shining it was pleasant to wait at the tram stop after making the short run out to Malin Park, for my tram to Middlewood. Another reversal, back through the city and over the triangle of junctions at Ponds Forge. Here, the impressive but much maligned Park Hill flats tower above the line, currently derelict and awaiting regeneration - but still listed buildings despite their modern brutalism. We rose above the city again, passing the tram depot at Nunnery Square and eventually running alongside the freight-only railway which served as the western access to the mammoth Tinsley depot. Now closed, with a small freight terminal on it's site, there is little activity on what must have been an incredibly busy railway.
A final curve brings us to Meadowhall Interchange, where again bus, tram and rail meet at the local mecca for shoppers. Considered a train back, but confusion over ticket validity makes it easier to head for the next tram into the city centre. After a brief wander, time to check into my hotel for the night, relax a bit and enjoy the surroundings. Perhaps these unplanning weekend wanders are no bad thing after all...
In an effort to support the Friends of the Highbridge campaign which has started on burnham-on-sea.com, I've taken a few pictures of the current state of the Highbridge Hotel. It's frankly not pretty, and with a week of fairly inclement weather the building is beginning to suffer from neglect and remains easily accessible by vandals. The pictures are here.
Really wasn't sure if the Class 31s would be out and about today, since Bank Holidays seem to play havoc with their diagramming. Reasonably assured from some mailing list posts, so set out at 0745 for Bristol. As we crawled through Bedminster awaiting a platform at Temple Meads, noted 31454 and 31128 sitting outside the station - a good sign, but a shame it wasn't the freshly painted Wessex Trains liveried set - which I think looks pretty good, whatever others might say!
Just time to grab a coffee before heading for the train which hadn't been cleaned. Aside from that, both locomotives sounded in good form. As ever the first coach was full of cranks - with a subtle alteration from the norm - it seems some cranks "other halves" had demanded a day at the seaside today!. Took my usual seat half way along the coach - close enough to hear the locomotive, and far enough back to see it on the curves.
Ran to time all the way down, with some stretches of very good running indeed. Noted how the Mark 2 coaches seemed to load and unload much quicker than a DMU. Quite busy as we progressed toward Weymouth too. Very pleasant Wessex countryside views too.
Weather had deteriorated on arrival. Had the choice of staying for a few hours and getting the service on its second trip of the day, or returning on the 1100. Decided that I'd see how the weather was later, and hopped back abord behind 31128. Wise move, as the 31s returned to Barton Hill after arriving at Bristol and didn't work the afternoon trip at all - I'm guessing availability of suitable drivers isn't great on Bank Holidays.
Over to Cardiff to see if anything interesting was happening around the Third Division Playoff. Arrived a few minutes before kick-off to find Cardiff City Centre in disarray. The walk along the Bus Station to the shops is never pleasant - a sort of beggars alley with greasy pavements and a drab look about it. The main streets were a really dreadful mess - can only imagine what the two more major games produced. Eerily deserted except for clumps of Heddlu Trafnidiaeth Prydeinig near the station and in the streets, with more security guards than shoppers on what is normally a busy day I'd imagine. Strangely, as three'o'clock passed, the people of Cardiff appeared slowly, blinking into the devastation of their city centre. Must be awful to have to endure this several times each year.
After a brief farce with the 15:30 Portsmouth Harbour service being delayed whilst a very sick looking 143611 was tacked on the front, headed back to Bristol. 143611 formed the Taunton service too, so stayed in my seat back to Weston, wondering if the ailing unit would make it home. It did, just...
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.
