Your Last Train Journey?

[Pilot]

Well, the month of August ended yesterday, so it's time for my monthly review. It was looking like a quiet month until the Bank Holiday Weekend, where I made various last minute plans. As always, new track is in italics, and new units/locos for myself will this month be shown with underlining.

Saturday 3rd August
0511 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe on 221122, running via Stockport. An early start on the first CrossCountry of the day, one of their few services that runs via Crewe, and one of the few services that runs non-stop through Stockport.
0607 Crewe to Derby on 158865 and 158813. Due to the Hope Valley line being closed as there was a threat of a Dam collapsing and washing away the railway, East Midlands Trains (as it still was at the time) were strengthening services to/from Crewe to provide additional capacity on an alternative route to Manchester.
0753 Derby to Skegness powered by 43054 and 43046, running via Nottingham and the Grantham avoider. A Summer Saturday additional to/from Skegness using a full 8-car HST. This train was definitely busy enough to require the HST too, and declassified First Class was nice to sit in.
1235 Skegness to Nottingham powered by 43064 and 43045, again running via the Grantham avoiding line. The return working of the second Summer Saturday additional to/from Skegness. Again, definitely busy enough to warrant the use of a HST on this.
1441 Nottingham to Derby on 170110.
1542 Derby to Crewe on 158866. Not quite as large as the morning train, but still a great upgrade on the usual single car 153 on this route.
1730 Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly on 175105, running via Stockport.

Sunday 11th August - The Tri County Triple Tractor Railtour
0945 Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport on 156488 and 156441.
1006 Stockport to Crewe on 323231.
1213 Crewe to Lancaster, hauled by 37518, 37706, and 37669. This was an ECS move turned into a Railtour by the Branch Line Society, with the train being returned from their previous day's tour. With three Class 37s working in Multiple on the front of one train, and only costing £25, it was hard to say no!
1447 Lancaster to Preston on 158754.
1517 Preston to Wigan North Western on 221106 and 221107. A pair of winning Voyager's on one train? May as well!
1538 Wigan North Western to Preston on 390138.
1619 Preston to Kirkham and Wesham on 150115.
1634 Kirkham and Wesham to Preston on 319384.
1709 Preston to Manchester Piccadilly on 195115, running via Wigan North Western and Chat Moss. Another new 195 in the book for travel.

Saturday 17th August
0737 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 150118.
0820 Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge on 142045 and 142027.
0846 Stalybridge to Stockport on 142027, running via Denton. It had been a while since I had done Manchester's Parliamentary Train, and since I last did it, it has been doubled in frequency (instead of 1 a week in one direction only, it now runs once in each direction per week), and this was the direct in which I had previously not done it.
0918 Stockport to Hazel Grove on 150106 and 150140.
0935 Hazel Grove to Stockport on 150121 and 150111. 150121 was mid-refurb, with the exterior having been repainted but the interior still being that of First Great Western.
0945 Stockport to Guide Bridge on 142027, running via Denton. I just made this connection by 1 minute thanks to a slightly late Pendolino departure, which had delayed the arrival of my train also. If all had gone to plan, this would have been a 30 second connection.
1004 Guide Bridge to Manchester Piccadilly on 142056 and 150122.
1013 Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport on 195124. A heavily delayed Liverpool - Manchester service that I was fortunately able to make a connection to.
1110 Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly on 350406. A 10-mile run on my lowest mileage TPE Class 350 (at 32 miles now). Thought I would have a run on it given the opportunity.
1147 Manchester Piccadilly to Wigan North Western on 195115.
1224 Wigan Wallgate to Hindley on 142049 and 142031.
1247 Hindley to Salford Crescent on 142088, running via Atherton.
1324 Salford Crescent to Manchester Oxford Road on 150224 and 150145.
1351 Manchester Oxford Road to Wigan North Western on 195116.
1424 Wigan Wallgate to Salford Crescent on 150138, running via Atherton.
1506 Salford Crescent to Manchester Airport on 319368. This train ended up about 10 minutes late due to a signalling failure just outside Salford Crescent.
1550 Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly on 195001.
1635 Manchester Piccadilly to Hyde North on 150106 and 150140.
1659 Hyde North to Guide Bridge on 150141 and 142003.
1709 Guide Bridge to Manchester Piccadilly on 323236.

Sunday 18th August
0908 Rochdale to Leeds on 158794 and 158901, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange.
1105 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, powered by 43257 and 43251.
1125 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 158848.
1152 Leeds to Bradford Interchange on 158796.
1253 Bradford Interchange to Wakefield Westgate on 180103, running via a reversal at Holbeck Junction. This was diverted due to Engineering Works closing Wakefield Kirkgate.
1256 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 322482.
1324 Leeds to East Garforth on 158758.
1346 East Garforth to Leeds on 170474.
1412 Leeds to Menston on 322481. My last required 322 for travel.
1432 Menston to Leeds on 333006.
1529 Leeds to Bradford Interchange on 142071 and 144018.
1608 Bradford Interchange to Wakefield Westgate on 180104, running via a reversal at Leeds. Another diverted Grand Central service, this one going all the way into Leeds station to reverse (and we even made it to the very eastern end too, reversing in Platform 12D).
1656 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 322482.
1747 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, powered by 43307 and 43315.
1803 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds, powered by 43055 and 43049. A pair of journey's with a pair of winning HST power cars on both. This was also my first journey with the new "East Midlands Railway" franchise, operated by Abellio.
1825 Leeds to Knottingley on 153373 and 142096, running via Woodlesford, Turners Lane Jn, Calder Bridge Jn and Streethouse. Due to the aforementioned engineering works closing Wakefield Kirkgate, these trains were diverted to run this route instead, coming within about a quarter mile of Kirgate.
1912 Knottingley to Leeds on 142096 and 153373, running via the same route as described above.
2018 Leeds to Rochdale on 158901 and 158794, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange.
2143 Rochdale to Rochdale Town Centre on M5000 tram 3108.

Saturday 24th August
0650 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 158815 and 158792.
0732 Manchester Victoria to Leeds, propelled by 68027, using set TP09, running via Ashton-under-Lyne, Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
0911 Leeds to Sheffield, powered by 43290 and 43367. An LNER HST set on hire to CrossCountry for additional
1021 Sheffield to Leeds on 220021 and 221129.
1055 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds 331101.
1206 Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street, hauled by 68027 using set TP09, running via Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Chat Moss.
1356 Liverpool Lime Street to Leeds, propelled by 68027 using set TP09, running via Chat Moss, Ashton-under-Lyne, Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
1604 Leeds to Barnsley on 158791.
1640 Barnsley to Leeds on 158867.
1710 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate on 221126.
1747 Wakefield Westage to Leeds on 43321 and 43303.
1905 Leeds to Manchester Victoria, hauled by 68027 using set TP09, running via Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Ashton-under-Lyne.
2019 Manchester Victoria to Leeds on 158789.

Sunday 25th August
0854 Rochdale to Todmorden on 150103 and 150115.
0924 Todmorden to Halifax on 158845, 153378 and 153331.
0958 Halifax to Leeds on 150142, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange.
1100 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, hauled by 47746 with 47854 hauled idling on the rear. With CrossCountry striking, WCRC had been dragged in to provide some trains between York and Sheffield to increase capacity with the East Coast Main Line being closed as well.
1133 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 800102.
1212 Leeds to Guiseley on 322485.
1235 Guiseley to Leeds on 333001.
1321 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate on 331109.
1350 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds, hauled by 47854, with 47746 idling on the rear.
1417 Leeds to Castleford on 142013.
1444 Castleford to Leeds on 144017.
1523 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, hauled by 47746 with 47854 hauled idling on the rear.
1540 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 150276 and 153332.
1624 Leeds to Garforth on 170461.
1645 Garforth to Leeds on 158758.
1716 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, propelled by 91124.
1739 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 800102.
1812 Leeds to Menston on 333013.
1832 Menston to Leeds on 333014.
1919 Leeds to Rochdale on 158867 and 158850, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange.

Monday 26th August
0834 Rochdale to Bradford Interchange on 156461.
1022 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross on 180102, running via Brighouse, Wakefield Kirkgate, Pontefract Monkhill, Doncaster, Lincoln Central, Sleaford Avoider, Peterborough and Welwyn GC. Due to engineering works being underway to replace the Flat Crossing at Newark, these trains were diverted via the GN-GE Joint Line, so decided to book a cheap advanced ticket on this. Unfortunately, the carriage that I was in had suffered an air conditioning unit fault, which meant that the AC in the carriage was poor, whilst the outside temperature was around 30c. Fortunately the train crew came around and gave us some bottle's of water on a couple of occasions, and the AC started failing in other carriages too.
1733 London Kings Cross to Leeds on 800104, running via Welwyn GC, Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Swinderby, Boultham-Pyewipe Jn curve, Doncaster Decoy Flyover and Wakefield Westgate. Whilst the flat crossing at Newark was shut, North Gate station, and the curve avoiding the Flat Crossing, were not. This also meant that the LNER services were using a curve that is little used in Passenger service, between Boutham Junction and Pyewipe Junction, which is part of the reason I booked to return this way. We ran on diesel from Grantham, from where there was an isolation north of, to Doncaster South Yorkshire Junction, with the rest being done on Electric mode.
2119 Leeds to Rochdale on 142020, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange. This train ended up 37 minutes late upon arrival, due to a distressed member of the public on the Leeds-bound Platform at Littleborough, where we were held on the Manchester-bound Platform after an emergency brake application.

Just the 2,144 miles this month.

[Ittachi_Kawasaki]

When I have a train journey, most of my time is for sleeping or reading. I read some interesting books about business and Nihongo So-Matome - one of best books to learn japanese (http://questionjapan.com/blog/things-to ... -japanese/). And the time flies quickly, I come to the destination

[Arch9enius]

22-09-2019 Winchester to Amberley and return

SWR 444016 and 012 with the last unit slipping to Portsmouth at Eastleigh; got off at Cosham.
Southern 377 423 to Barnham
After a wait and bacon sandwich, Southern 377 419 to Amberley.

Bagnall 2091 'Wendy' was doing the rides around the museum site. Peter was in bits. So was 'Sticky' the treacle mine locomotive.

377119+415 back to Barnham, 377441 to Cosham, 444022 back to Winchester.

[Arch9enius]

22 Sept 2019

158 882 Salisbury - Bristol about 0640-ish. Class 50 'Thunderer' was in the sidings at Bristol, with a rake of Chiltern mk 3s. Don't know if that was a railtour or the stock had been somewhere for maintainance. Had a Chai Latte, basically a cup of tea tastes like cimmaron, with a meringue on top, which it didn't need.. Still prefer milk 2 sugars.

43 086 at the head of 4 coaches and another 43 to Taunton, all still in blue with scribbles. The last coach sounded like it had a flatspotted wheel. The train worked wrong line through Weston Super Mare as one track at the bridge nearest the station was buried under scaffolding.

Taunton to Bishops' Lydyard on 150 232.

Bishops' Lydyard to Minehead behind Pannier 7714 with 5 coaches, 2 of them Buffet cars.

Return journey behind 7714 (Kerr Stuart) leading 7752 (North British) on the same 5 coaches. If anyone at Crowcombe Heathfield offers you pigeon pie, turn them down because the one on the platform looked distinctly unappetising. The museum at Bishops' Lydyard had a couple of layouts on display, a good one of Bath Green Park which if it was to scale meant that passengers left trains well outside the stations overall roof, the track under there being used to remove the locomotives. The other was a project in 'T' scale, about half Z scale I have found out.

Returned to Taunton on 150 232.

Returned to Bristol on Crosscountry 220 021. You can't seem to go via Westbury like you once could, most trains going nonstop to Reading.

Bristol - Bath Spa on 800 012. A minute or two late leaving as drunks decided to knock the drivers' door or something?

Bath Spa - Salisbury on a crowded 166 210 (3 car) leading 166 127 (2 car). I could have been sitting in first for all I know, (just behind the cab), there were no signs.

[Pilot]

I haven't forgotten about you, just been busy travelling! Time for a bit of a bumper post, including all of September and a little bit of October. Hope you find some of this interesting. As always, new track is in italics, and new units/locos for myself will be shown with underlining.

Due to the extremely excessive length this month, I've used the "spoiler" function to hide this. Just click on where it says spoiler to open it up and have a read!

[+] Spoiler

Friday 6th September
0939 Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Oxford Road on 156403 and 156411. Whilst waiting for my train, a pair of EMR Class 156s turned up, which I thought I'd get for a quick hop to Oxford Road. Whilst 411 was a new unit for me, 403 was not, having previously travelled on it when it was hired to First Scotrail (from Central Trains) in 2007 on a Glasgow Central - Kilmarnock - Ayr train (been a while!)
0957 Manchester Oxford Road to Chester, hauled by 67010. For months this working was in the hands of the same 67, so when it finally changed, I was wanting to grab the new loco!
1115 Chester to Moorfields on 507030.
1158 Moorfields to Liverpool Central on 508143.
1213 Liverpool Central to Hunts Cross on 508128.
1233 Hunts Cross to Liverpool South Parkway on 156466 and 156459.
1251 Liverpool South Parkway to Liverpool Lime Street on 195007.
1316 Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool South Parkway on 195007. On returning to Liverpool South Parkway, I had been intending on getting the next LNWR service back to Lime Street in time for the 68+Mk5 run over to Manchester. Unfortunately (or so I thought at the time, more on this later) this was over 30 minutes late, so would have meant I would miss my connection, so I devised a new plan instead.
1343 Liverpool South Parkway to Runcorn on 350251. At least my new plan started with a winning 350!
1355 Runcorn to Chester on 158835.
1420 Chester to Warrington Bank Quay on 153317 and 158859. I hadn't been planning on catching this, but on arrival at Chester, seeing a pair of winning units going the same way I was intending to anyway meant I got this instead.
1512 Warrington Bank Quay to Earlestown on 142039 and 142043. A move done for nostalgia more than anything. These services are usually in the hands of the Electric Class 319 and 323 units nowadays, so seeing a pair of Pacers doing this service is a rarity nowadays. They were covering for the unavailability of a Class 319, which are apparently proving to be rather unreliable at the moment.
1530 Earlestown to Manchester Piccadilly, propelled by 67010.
1600 Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport on 195125.
1634 Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly on 195125. As I was aware the pair of 195s that would run the next departure from Manchester Airport were knackered, having seen them at Lime Street earlier, and had been replaced by a lone 2-car 150, I decided to get the same 195 straight back out. I was rather suprised to then see the pair of 195s back in service and pulling into the Airport as we departed! Fortunately, I had a plan still.
1710 Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool South Parkway on 195115 and 195122. And so I picked them up, and plonked my self at the very rear of the train. Due to these units being significantly longer than a more usual train here, passengers are yet to learn to spread out, so I had 2 tables to myself!
1815 Liverpool South Parkway to Crewe on 350259.
1856 Crewe to Chester on 221106 and 221114.
1927 Chester to Liverpool Lime Street on 150229.

After the above journey, I went to the Wetherspoon's at Liverpool Lime Street station for a quick pint and to await the arrival of a 68+Mk5 back to Victoria. Fortunately for me, I came out of the pub early enough to see it was cancelled, and to find an alternative. It turned out that the 68+Mk5 set had failed earlier in the day, and my early planned run on it had also been cancelled, so the aforementioned delay was actually a blessing in disguise. Instead, I went home as follows:

2035 Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe on 350248.
2123 Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly on 390154, running via Styal.

Friday 13th September
1742 Manchester Piccadilly to Nottingham on 158813 and 158846. The dreaded Friday the 13th... Chaos ensued at Piccadilly due to a points failure just outside the station which impacted trains throughout the day. Just as it seemed to be normalising, more stuff went wrong, with a TfW driver believing he had SPAD'ed (he hadn't), and a TPE unit then suffering a failure in the far end of P13, all whilst the points had yet again failed. My train eventually left about 40 minutes late, and thanks to some aggressive driving, pathing time, and a quick end change at Sheffield, we were into Nottingham only around 24 minutes late. Unfortunately this meant I had missed a planned connection at Nottingham that would have resulted in 4 winning locos and units, but hey ho, this happens sometimes!

Saturday 14th September - The Breckland Freight Railtour
0625 Nottingham to Brandon Down Goods Loop, hauled by 66088, with 66041 idling on the rear. We ran via Loughborough, Syston East Curve, Oakham, March and the Ely West Curve to reach Brandon Down Goods Loop for our first reversal, with 66088 having performed rather well on this stretch.
1035 Brandon Down Goods Loop to Brandon Sidings (DBC), hauled by 66041, A visit into a freight site, which was interesting to many, but not one of the main reasons I'd booked on this tour (previously known as the Bow Bells and greatly altered from the original itinerary for various reasons).
1050 Brandon Sidings DBC to Milepost 87 miles and 60 chains, hauled by 66088. A little over a mile away from the site, we came to a grinding halt. 66088 had suffered a major fault in one of it's traction motors, and, with the other one being isolated already due to another fault, had to be taken off the tour.
1119 (unscheduled) Milepost 87 miles and 60 chains to Brandon Sidings DBC, hauled by 66041, with a tiny amount of propelling by 66088 to the buffers, this being the most it could manage and being necessary to get 66041 onto the other end.
1229 (unscheduled) Brandon Sidings DBC to Eccles Road, hauled by 66041. Over an hour and a half after our initially booked departure time, we were back underway, with 66041 now in charge.
1125 (late running) Eccles Road to Eccles Road Exchange Sidings, propelled by 66041. Network Rail were kind enough to still let us do some of our booked moves, despite it meaning propelling moves without any form of DVT or other loco, a rarity on the modern railway.
1140 Eccles Road Exchange Sidings to Johnston's Siding, hauled by 66041. A tight S-Curve was required to reach this facility, and our train no doubt made quite the site coming round it for those on the ground.
1157 Johnston's Siding to Eccles Road Exchange Sidings, again propelled by 66041.
1214 Eccles Road Exchange Sidings to Norwich Carriage Sidings hauled by 66041. Due to our significant late running, which by this point was reaching nearly 2 hours, we had to make some sacrifices to our Itinerary. The leg stretch stop at Norwich, during which I had been planning to grab some food, was binned, instead the move into the sidings being required to water the train and allow the crew time for their PNB.
1435 (unscheduled) Norwich Carriage Sidings to Norwich Riverside Cemex, propelled by 66041. Despite not being scheduled in, this was a booked move for us, with the Cemex facility being where we took on the water.
1522 (unscheduled) Norwich Riverside Cemex to Norwich Carriage Sidings, hauled by 66041.
1452 (late running) Norwich Carriage Sidings to Cambridge, hauled by 66041 (after a run round), running via Ely. On arrival at Cambridge, we were in the Reception line, with the loco running round through Cambridge station.
1713 Cambridge to Nottingham, hauled by 66041, running via Ely, March, Oakham, Syston East Curve and Loughborough. Another victim of our lateness, but also necessitated by no longer having a second loco, was the run to Littleport, in order to traverse the Ely West Curve in the opposite direction. Due to plenty of pathing time however, we did make it back on time, and actually arrived into Nottingham around 7 minutes early, where I finally managed some food after only having had a Sausage Barm in the morning!

Sunday 15th September
0920 Nottingham to Leicester, powered by 43082 and 43049.
1020 Leicester to Derby on 222003.
1129 Derby to Burton-on-Trent, powered by 43304 and 43384.
1149 Burton-on-Trent to Tamworth on 170117 and 170111.
1207 Tamworth to Nottingham on 170104 and 170520, running via the usual Derby reversal.
1328 Nottingham to Mansfield Woodhouse on 156473, running via Hucknall. This move was to capture the route via Hucknall as an infill move for a railtour I knew I had coming up.
1411 Mansfield Woodhouse to Nottingham on 156473.
1510 Nottingham to Derby on 170639.
1602 Derby to Leicester, powered by 43043 and 43045.
1638 Leicester to Loughborough, powered by 43089 and 43052. I had been intending on getting a later HST, but this one pulled in first, and thought I could do a move on this up to Lougborough and still pick the second one up to East Midlands Parkway. Turned out I'd gotten that wrong, but didn't need any of the power cars on the second one anyway, so no biggie.
1712 Loughborough to East Midlands Parkway on 222018.
1750 East Midlands Parkway to Nottingham on 222023.
1840 Nottingham to Manchester Piccadilly on 156408. Due to an unpleasant odour on the 158 that should have formed the other half of this, that had caused it to be cancelled on it's Norwich-bound working at Ely, we had just a lone 156 for the run back to Manchester. Fortunately it was just enough capacity wise, and I had a table to myself all the way home. This is one of the few EMR services to use the terminus platforms at Manchester Piccadilly, as it then returns to Nottingham empty.

Saturday 21st September
0730 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe on 175010.
0819 Crewe to Wolverhampton on 350250.
0913 Wolvehampton to Smethwick Galton Bridge on 158835 and 158818.
0939 Smethwick Galton Bridge to Leamington Spa, propelled by 68013. One of my lower mileage Chiltern 68s for haulage, so was nice to get in the book.
1032 Leamington Spa to Hatton on 165002.
1101 Hatton to Leamington Spa on 165007.
1115 Leamington Spa to Birmingham New Street on 221130, running via Coventry. A required Voyager is always good I guess, even if it is a Voyager.
1230 Birmingham New Street to University on 170636.
1241 University to Bromsgrove on 323241. I had been intending to go on towards Worcester and Great Malvern, however due to a level crossing issue, the inward working for my train had yet to pass Bromsgrove when I had gotten there, so I abandoned that idea.
1313 Bromsgrove to Bournville on 323241. Disappointingly, no Chocolate was had.
1336 Bournville to Barnt Green on 323214.
1357 Barnt Green to Birmingham New Street on 323213.
1455 Birmingham Moor Street to Solihull on 168005. A quick ride out to Solihull to check into my B&B.
1521 Solihull to Smethwick Galton Bridge on 172340.
1547 Smethwick Galton Bridge to Jewellery Quarter on 172213.
1600 Jewellery Quarter to Birmingham Moor Street on 172002 and 172005. The former London Overground 172s are now in normal service in the West Midlands.
1615 Birmingham Moor Street to Leamington Spa on 168002.
1702 Leamington Spa to Coventry on 172007.
1737 Coventry to Leamington Spa on 172003.
1826 Leamington Spa to Kidderminster, hauled by 68014. My lowest mileage Chiltern 68 prior to this journey, and the first time I'd taken a Chiltern service out to Kidderminster.
2006 Kidderminster to Solihull on 172334.

Sunday 22nd September - The Birmingham Balti Bash Railtour
0956 Solihull to Warwick, hauled by 20142, with 20189 idling on the rear.
1034 Warwick to Bushbury Junction Down Goods Loop, hauled by 20189, with 20142 idling on the rear. Ran via Bordesley Junction, Landor Street Junction, the Sutton Park Line, Walsall and Portobello Junction.
1259 Bushbury Junction Down Goods Loop to Wellington, hauled by 20142. Ran via the Oxley Chord, which isn't used by any regular passenger traffic.
1347 Wellington to Telford International Railfreight Terminal, hauled by 20189. When originally advertised, this tour was meant to go down the Ironbridge line. However, due to a bridge strike in the week leading up to the tour, and no urgent need to repair the bridge due to a lack of regular traffic on the route, the tour was instead rerouted to visit the freight terminal on the old Wellington-Stafford route instead. A bit of a disappointment, but nothing that could be done in these circumstances.
1420 Telford International Railfreight Terminal to Shrewsbury, hauled by 20142.
1620 Shrewsbury to Bushbury Junction Down Goods Loop, hauled by 20189. Again, ran via the Oxley Chord, this time in the opposite direction. After a brief break in Shrewsbury, during which I found time to go to the pub and watch Manchester United get beat by West Ham (wasn't laughing... honest ), we were served our Balti Curry, from which this tour go it's name. It was rather nice to be fair, although maybe slightly too hot for my liking.
1731 Bushbury Junction Down Goods Loop to Stourbridge Junction, hauled by 20142. Ran via Bescot, Soho East Jn and Galton Jn.
1842 Stourbridge Junction to Birmingham Snow Hill, hauled by 20189.
1922 Birmingham Snow Hill to Smethwick Galton Bridge on 172340 and 172213.
1941 Smethwick Galton Bridge to Crewe on 350109. The 350/1s are certainly showing their age. Fortunately a refurbishment program is ongoing.
2055 Crewe to Wilmslow on 319379.
2129 Wilmslow to Manchester Piccadilly on 390121.

Thursday 26th September
0629 Manchester Piccadilly to Shrewsbury on 175010. Just 5 days later, I was back on Shrewsbury station.
0810 Shrewsbury to Cardiff Central, propelled by 67012. At least the next departure from Shrewsbury was also loco-hauled!
1018 Cardiff Central to Pencoed on 153333. This unit was rather confused in terms of what operator it was! On the outside, it had the new TfW livery, whilst the seating was FGW, whilst some of the stickers and handholds were still London Midland!
1045 Pencoed to Cardiff Central on 153327, running via the Leckwith Loop, a short link of track that allows trains from the mainline to access the route via Ninian Park, and also allows an alternative routing into Canton Depot from the west.
1134 Cardiff Central to Rogerstone on 175112. Went to complete the last of the Ebbw Vale line, as when I had previously done it, it had been from Newport. Bizarrely a 3-car 175 was put on this, although one of the engines didn't sound too healthy, so perhaps this was the reasoning behind it, with the unit that would have otherwise been used being utilised elsewhere.
1211 Rogerstone to Cardiff Central on 153367 and 153361.
1241 Cardiff Central to Aberdare on 150229, running via Cathays.
1351 Aberdare to Cardiff Queen Street on 150229. running via Cathays.
1512 Cardiff Queen Street to Cardiff Bay on 153369.
1518 Cardiff Bay to Cardiff Queen Street on 153369.
1530 Cardiff Queen Street to Taffs Well on 143625 and 143609, running via Cathays.
1549 Taffs Well to Grangetown on 143624, running via Ninian Park and a reversal at Cardiff Central. Quite a bizarre one, as this would usually run all stops via Cathays, however necessary to allow a path for the training run of the Class 37s used on the Rhymney line in the peak.
1620 Grangetown to Penarth on 143601 and 142002.
1632 Penarth to Cardiff Central on 142002 and 143601.
1701 Cardiff Central to Pengam hauled by 37418. The first of the Class 37 diagrams in an evening.
1750 Pengam to Energlyn and Churchill Park on 142080 and 142075. A dash back down the Valley to get some extra mileage on the next 37 diagram.
1813 Energlyn and Churchill Park to Rhymney hauled by 37421 with 37025 idling on the rear. Not much to do in Rhymney, with a limited bar choice (and the one I ended up in was very weird) and the odd shop. Certainly not somewhere I'd wait for any long period again!
2000 Rhymney to Brithdir on 150257. Needing the 150, but also knowing the next train was my last pair of required TfW 143s, I decided to have a quick run down to Brithdir to pick the 143s back up from there.
2022 Brithdir to Rhymney on 143602 and 143616.
2046 Rhymney to Cardiff Queen Street on 143616 and 143602.

Friday 27th September
0650 Cardiff Queen Street to Bargoed on 142073. A quick run up the Valley to grab the 37s coming back down.
0743 Bargoed to Aber, hauled by 37025 with 37421 idling on the rear.
0822 Aber to Cardiff Queen Street, hauled by 37418.
0930 Cardiff Queen Street to Pontypridd on 150278, running via Cathays.
1005 Pontypridd to Treherbert on 142081 and 142085. And so completed my last of the Valley's for travelling over.
1046 Treherbert to Cardiff Central on 142085 and 142081.
1226 Cardiff Central to London Paddington on 800009 and 800005. Thought I'd try GWRs First Class offering on an IET out. Rather poor if I'm honest. Seats are uncomfortable, very low on supplies by Newport (the train had only come from Swansea, and they only had to have supplies for a carriage and a half!), and due to issues with the kitchens, they couldn't offer a cup of tea, which had to be done by the normal trolley from standard class.
1442 London Paddington to High Street Kensington on the Circle Line.
1453 High Street Kensington to Wimbledon on the District Line.
1555 Wimbledon to South Merton on 700057.
1601 South Merton to West Hampstead Thameslink on 700001.
1701 West Hampstead to Brondesbury on 378256.
1709 Brondesbury to Brondesbury Park on 378201.
1716 Brondesbury Park to Willesden Junction (HL) on 378210.
1735 Willesden Junction (HL) to Shepherds Bush on 378202.
1749 Shepherds Bush to West Brompton on 377202 and 377208.
1759 West Brompton to Clapham Junction on 378228.
1823 Clapham Junction to Richmond on 5910 and 5716.
1837 Richmond to Twickenham on 458536 and 458531.
1841 Twickenham to Richmond on 458504 and 458509.
1848 Richmond to Twickenham on 707002 and 707013.
1904 Twickenham to Strawberry Hill on 456024, 5732 and 5724.
1911 Strawberry Hill to Shepperton on 458512 and 458527.
1936 Shepperton to Wimbledon on 458527 and 458512.

Saturday 28th September - The Cottam Farewell Railtour
0609 Wimbledon to Clapham Junction on 5857, 5735 and 456014.
0712 Clapham Junction to Worksop, hauled by 66199, with 66118 dead in tow on the rear. Ran via Chiswick, Dudding Hill, the Wymington Deviation (MML slow lines between Bedford and Wellingborough), Leicester, the High Level Goods into Toton, Mansfield Woodhouse, Worksop and the Cottam Power Station Loop. Most likely the last ever possible visit on a passenger carrying train to Cottam Power Station, I would share images however the ones taken were not allowed to be shared on social media for security reasons.
1527 Worksop to Hexthorpe Junction, hauled by 66199. Ran via St. Catherine's Jn and Bridge Jn. This allowed a run past the recently introduced Doncaster iPort freight terminal, which looked rather empty, on what is otherwise a freight only line.
1638 Hexthorpe Junction to Doncaster Roberts Road Depot, hauled by 66118, with 66199 idling on the rear. As part of this tour, a visit to the EMD depot at Doncaster Roberts Road was arranged. At first, there was uncertainty as to whether 66118 had done any powering, however it was confirmed upon arrival.
1655 Doncaster Roberts Road Depot to Clapham Junction, hauled by 66199. Ran via Thrybergh Junction, Beighton Junction, Tapton Junction (the Old Road route), Toton and then as per our outward route back.
2218 Clapham Junction to Wimbledon on 707009 and 707019.

Sunday 29th September
0612 Wimbledon to Clapham Junction on 707019 and 707009. Sod's law dictates this service had the same pair of units as the night before!
0647 Clapham Junction to London Victoria on 377114 and 377123.
0716 London Victoria to Battersea Park on 455807.
0726 Battersea Park to Canada Water on 378150. You may have been wondering why I was on the trains at 6am on Sunday morning, but this is why. One of the few possible trains over the original Atlantic lines into Waterloo, which are now no longer usable as a through route. London Overground operate around 3 trains per day to Battersea Park in order to keep the line open and enable the retention of route knowledge.
0753 Canada Water to Baker Street on the Jubilee Line.
0811 Baker Street to Queen's Park on the Bakerloo Line.
0827 Queen's Park to Willesden Junction on the Bakerloo Line.
0901 Willesden Junction Low Level to West Hampstead on 378217. One of the few passenger trains to start at Willesden Junction Low Level, this service changes from 3rd Rail DC Power to Overhead AC power on the link line to the higher level North London Line.
0926 West Hampstead Thameslink to London St Pancras Thameslink on 700003.
1003 London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, hauled by 91111. Initially, I had been booked to travel on the Caledonian Sleeper overnight, however, due to strike action, this was cancelled. Fortunately, ticket acceptance was in place with LNER, and I was able to find a 91 which I needed for haulage. This was also one of the special remembrance liveries that the 91s was put in, and still looks rather smart, this livery appearing better looked after than the Intercity on 91119.
1506 Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Park on 385031. A quick run out to Edinburgh Park to check in to my hastily arranged Hotel following the change in plan due to the Strike.
1524 Edinburgh Park to Haymarket on 385030.
1534 Haymarket to Linlithgow on 385112 and 385123.
1555 Linlithgow to Dunblane on 385009. A quick run up to the limits of the wires in Scotland, which got me the last curve I needed at the Carmuirs triangle.
1636 Dunblane to Stirling on 158704 and 170432.
1712 Stirling to Dundee, powered by 43163 and 43177. A traditional Slam Door HST rake, which ended up delayed and overcrowded due to an incident at a LC between Gleneagles and Perth. A tractor from a nearby farmers field had left a large amount of mud over the tracks, which caused us to be cautioned over the section. Unfortunately the train ahead was the first over since it had happened, and had ploughed through at speed and caused some damage to the train.
1817 Dundee to Edinburgh Waverley on 170409 and 170413, running via Kirkcaldy.
1940 Edinburgh Waverley to Edinburgh Park on 334033.

Monday 30th September
0603 Edinburgh Park to Edinburgh Waverley on 334004 and 334005.
0633 Edinburgh Waverley to Glenrothes with Thornton, hauled by 68016, running via Kirkcaldy. In the morning and evening peak, Scotrail run a loco-hauled peak busting service. One in the morning and one in the evening run in service around the full loop.
0743 Glenrothes with Thornton to Edinburgh Waverley, hauled by 68016, running via Dunfermline. After this journey, this 68 has become my highest mileage one, despite not being a regular passenger loco!
0936 Edinburgh Waverley to Perth on 158702.
1116 Perth to Inverness on 170417. An unrefurbished, unbranded 170, I believe this had originally been earmarked to go to Southern for conversion to a Class 171, however I think it's now earmarked to go to East Midlands Railway. The interior was certainly starting to show it's age, looking rather retro.
1335 Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh on 158722. A run in glorious weather down the amazingly scenic Kyle line. Was certainly worth doing!
1713 Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness on 158722. Only thing I regret is not having time to explore the Island of Skye.

And so concludes September's travel, with just over 3,700 miles covered, but that's not all in today's episode, as the travels continued!

Tuesday 1st October
0700 Inverness to Wick on 158715, running via Georgemas Junction (reverse) and Thurso (reverse). Not as great weather for the run up to Wick, but it was still a lovely run. My only criticism of the Scotrail 158s is the placement of the bar holding up the table, which is right where you would put your legs when in the aisle seat.
1234 Wick to Inverness on 158715, running via the outward route.
1712 Inverness to Aberdeen, powered by 43134 and 43131. A lovely run on a fully refurbished Scotrail HST. They're quite a pleasant experience.
2200 Aberdeen to Inverness, powered by 43026 and 43021. After a stop in Aberdeen for some food and to try and watch a football match which wasn't on anywhere in the town, it was back to Aberdeen on an empty, unrefurbished HST.

Wednesday 2nd October
0845 Inverness to Perth, powered by 43021 and 43026. And back on the same HST the next morning!
1102 Perth to Ladybank on 158734.
1130 Ladybank to Perth on 170393. A return to Ladybank with time to kill before my next train.
1218 Perth to Stirling on 170404. Was initially planning on going all the way to Glasgow, but due to a lack of seats, decided to change at Stirling instead.
1254 Stirling to Glasgow Queen Street (HL) on 385030.
1337 Glasgow Queen Street (LL) to Dumbarton Central on 334035, running via Yoker.
1547 Dumbarton Central to Partick on 320319 and 320318, running via Anniesland.
1619 Partick to Glasgow Central (LL) on 320303.
1651 Glasgow Central (HL) to Cathcart on 314205 and 314209. Was expecting these to be withdrawn by now, so getting a winning 314 in was a bonus.
1715 Cathcart to Williamwood on 314202.
1724 Williamwood to Muirend on 318255.
1729 Muirend to Neilston on 314210 and 314214.
1756 Neilston to Glasgow Central (HL) on 314214 and 314210.
1847 Glasgow Central (HL) to Giffnock on 156514 and 156493.
1914 Giffnock to Glasgow Central (HL) on 156439, 156450 and 156436.
1936 Glasgow Central (HL) to Paisley Gilmour Street on 380109.
1953 Paisley Gilmour Street to Glasgow Central (HL) on 380107 and 380014.
2021 Glasgow Central (HL) to Motherwell on 385012, running via Bellshill.
2106 Motherwell to Glasgow Central (HL) on 800111. A once a day LNER service that runs to Glasgow. Just a shame it transferred over to an 800 not so long back!
2139 Glasgow Central (LL) to Partick on 318258 and 320412.
2150 Partick to Dumbarton Central on 320404 and 320401.

Thursday 3rd October
This day, I had been booked to go to Fort William on the Caledonian Sleeper, where the seated car becomes an ordinary passenger service from Edinburgh northwards. Unfortunately, this was cancelled, as Caledonian were using the short time frame between the Strike and Engineering works on the WHL (4 nights) as an excuse not to run the service, and instead used the path for running the Mark 5s instead, as such, an alternative plan was required.

0917 Dumbarton Central to Dalmuir on 318251 and 318252.
0933 Dalmuir to Hyndland on 320411 and 320309.
0953 Hyndland to Partick on 320307 and 318254.
0958 Partick to Glasgow Queen Street (LL) on 334021.
1021 Glasgow Queen Street (HL) to Croy on 385022.
1040 Croy to Edinburgh Waverley on 385117 and 385038.
1125 Edinburgh Waverley to Tweedbank on 158711.
1229 Tweedbank to Galashiels on 158711. It was time to attempt an 11.5 minute lunch break to the Gregg's in Galashiels that, according to Google, was a 12 minute round trip away!
1243 Galashiels to Tweedbank on 170425. And I made it too, with no running required! Google really does over-estimate how long it takes to walk stuff.
1259 Tweedbank to Edinburgh Waverley on 170425.
1403 Edinburgh Waverley to Leuchars on 170417.
1521 Leuchars to Haymarket, powered by 43169 and 43033. I had to go for this train, as 43169 was the last ever HST power car I needed to see. We arrived at Haymarket around 7 minutes early due to be letting in early by the signaller, so I bailed there, expecting it to be held to time and another train to be earlier from the other platform. Unfortunately the HST left about 4 minutes early!
1621 Haymarket to Edinburgh Waverley on 385109. At least the train from Haymarket was a winning unit! And, in all fairness, we did actually arrive before the HST.
1711 Edinburgh Waverley to Glenrothes with Thornton, hauled by 68006, running via Dunfermline. The last none TPE, regular Passenger 68 I needed for haulage, fortunately it had been swapped during the day, as 68016 was allocated in the morning!
1822 Glenrothes with Thornton to Edinburgh Waverley, hauled by 68006, running via Kirkcaldy.
2019 Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central (HL) on 800102, running via Carstairs, where I got the final side of the triangle.
2128 Glasgow Central (LL) to Partick on 320301 and 320417.
2150 Partick to Dalmuir on 320310 and 320316, running via Yoker.
2213 Dalmuir to Dumbarton Central on 334013 and 334006.

Friday 4th October
0922 Dumbarton Central to Hyndland on 334036, running via Yoker.
1000 Hyndland to Partick on 334032 and 334030.
1007 Partick to Glasgow Central (LL) on 320317.
1020 Glasgow Central (HL) to Motherwell on 385007 and 385008, running via Bellshill.
1048 Motherwell to Glasgow Central (HL) on 385011, running via Bellshill.
1116 Glasgow Central (HL) to Fauldhouse on 380103.
1213 Fauldhouse to Bellshill on 385032.
1249 Bellshill to Glasgow Central (HL) on 385003.
1327 Glasgow Central (HL) to Barrhead on 156494.
1352 Barrhead to Glasgow Central (HL) on 156507.
1424 Glasgow Central (LL) to Partick on 320316.
1436 Partick to Hyndland on 334027 and 334002.
1445 Hyndland to Dalmuir on 334036, running via Yoker.
1512 Dalmuir to Glasgow Queen Street (HL) on 156499, 156476 and 156453. Included by highest mileage 156(499)!
1545 Glasgow Queen Street (HL) to Linlithgow on 385123 and 385009, running via Falkirk High.
1623 Linlithgow to Falkirk Grahamston on 385112.
1646 Falkirk Grahamston to Camelon on 385113.
1652 Camelon to Falkirk Grahamston on 385116.
1706 Falkirk Grahamston to Haymarket on 385109.
1742 Haymarket to Leuchars, powered by 43182 and 43152.
1859 Leuchars to Edinburgh Waverley on 158728 and 158716.
2019 Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central (HL) on 800103, running via Carstairs.
2139 Glasgow Central (LL) to Partick on 320319 and 320311.
2154 Partick to Dumbarton Central on 334040 and 334025, running via Anniesland.

Saturday 5th October
0711 Dumbarton Central to Glasgow Queen Street (LL) on 334018 and 334001.
0745 Glasgow Queen Street (HL) to Edinburgh Waverley on 385113 and 385029.
0844 Edinburgh Waverley to Carlisle, powered by 43290 and 43299. LNER services were diverted via Carlisle and the Tyne Valley due to engineering works on the ECML between Edinburgh and Newcastle. As Carlisle was a booked passenger stop, I felt it was only right to give it a go!
1016 Carlisle to Edinburgh Waverley, powered by 43306 and 43317.
1155 Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central (HL) on 385039, running via Shotts.
1315 Glasgow Central (HL) to Glasgow Central (HL) on 314216, running via the Cathcart Circle. And another 314 in for travel.
1357 Glasgow Central (HL) to Paisley Gilmour Street on 380022.
1413 Paisley Gilmour Street to Glasgow Central (HL) on 380017.
1434 Glasgow Central (HL) to Paisley Gilmour Street on 380006 and 380013.
1452 Paisley Gilmour Street to Glasgow Central (HL) on 380003.
1550 Glasgow Central (HL) to Paisley Gilmour Street on 380106.
1609 Paisley Gilmour Street to Glasgow Central (HL) on 380018. A bit of Class 380 bashing in order to get some units in, the run to Paisley being ideal for this.
1628 Glasgow Central (HL) to Kilwinning on 380009 and 380014.
1702 Kilwinning to Glasgow Central (HL) on 380116.
1747 Glasgow Central (HL) to Pollokshaws West on 156502 and 156478.
1806 Pollokshaws West to Barrhead on 156432.
1824 Barrhead to Glasgow Central (HL) on 156509.
1845 Glasgow Central (LL) to Argyle Street on 320412 and 320418.
1851 Argyle Street to Glasgow Central (LL) on 320417 and 320316.
1859 Glasgow Central (LL) to Hyndland on 318269 and 318267.
1924 Hyndland to Springburn on 318265 and 318257.
2001 Springburn to Greenfaulds on 385108.
2026 Greenfaulds to Springburn on 385114.
2054 Springburn to Glasgow Queen Street (LL) on 318256 and 320314.
2118 Glasgow Queen Street (LL) to Dumbarton Central on 334030 and 334032, running via Anniesland.

Sunday 6th October
0840 Dumbarton Central to Glasgow Queen Street (LL) on 334026, running via Anniesland.
0937 Glasgow Queen Street (HL) to Montrose, powered by 43141 and 43012.
1203 Montrose to Dundee, powered by 43028 and 43137.
1302 Dundee to Edinburgh Waverley, powered by 43311 and 43251.
1450 Edinburgh Waverley to York, propelled by 91128.
1738 York to Manchester Victoria on 185112.

And so concludes my October travel so far, with just over 2,600 miles so far this month. Quiet month so far

[Arch9enius]

You're gonna need to find a new forum avatar there.

A tractor from a nearby farmers field had left a large amount of mud over the tracks, which caused us to be cautioned over the section. Unfortunately the train ahead was the first over since it had happened, and had ploughed through at speed and caused some damage to the train.

First time I've heard of anything like that happenning .

[Pilot]

A tractor from a nearby farmers field had left a large amount of mud over the tracks, which caused us to be cautioned over the section. Unfortunately the train ahead was the first over since it had happened, and had ploughed through at speed and caused some damage to the train.

First time I've heard of anything like that happenning .

It was certainly a new one on me. The instructions given by the signaller appeared to be very precise too, as the nearest signal was quite a ways away from the area, and running at caution for all that distance would have been hell! Instead we ran at line speed before braking and slowing for the relevant, impacted crossing.

Certainly glad we were cautioned over it too, as it sounded rather bad when we ran over it.

[Pilot]

Time for the remainder of October, not too much here at least, just the two trips out. No new track in the remainder of the month, but winning units/locos will be underlined as previously.

Saturday 19th October
0553 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 142055 and 142094. Starting the day on a pair of 142s - won't be able to do this for too much longer!
0632 Manchester Victoria to Leeds, hauled by 68026 using set TP11. Another run on the new Transpennine Nova 3, which I've been led to believe have no been suspended from passenger service due to a technical fault.
0740 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, powered by 43048 and 43064
0828 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 331108
0915 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, propelled by 91127.
0942 Wakefield Westgate to Wakefield Kirkgate on 142065. This was the last Pacer I needed to see in 2019, as I had previously last seen it in December 2018 (when I travelled on it for the first time).
1005 Wakefield Kirkgate to Leeds on 144007, running via Wakefield Westgate.
1045 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate on 801101 and 801104. My first run on Class 801s. They're just as standard as other IETs, but a 10 carriage train was definitely nice!
1101 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 801109 and 801103. Another pair of 801s, despite being 10 carriages long, this train was full and standing, and not a single toilet on the train was working (something that has recently been raised by the RMT union).
1138 Leeds to Wakefield Kirkgate on 144006, running via Normanton. This train was rather late, having come ECS off the depot with a pair of units that went to Knottingley. You'd have thought the pair would have gone to Lincoln as this 144 was, but ah well! I stayed with this unit as it was the only one of the trio I needed for travel.
1204 Wakefield Kirkgate to Wakefield Westgate on 144015.
1234 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds, powered by 43317 and 43306.
1306 Leeds to Brighouse on 144004 and 142039, running via Bradford Interchange. The 144 turned up alone, and was to be coupled up to the 142 at Leeds. Main concern I had was the driver of the 142 coupled up to the 144 whilst Passenger deboarding was still taking place, which I'm sure is not standard procedure, as the 144 very clearly rocked as a result of the coupling procedure. Fortunately those getting off appeared to be steady on their feet. After the coupling, the train was then locked up to allow a fault to be rectified.
1404 Brighouse to Leeds on 150130, running via Bradford Interchange.
1515 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate, propelled by 91107.
1558 Wakefield Westgate to Doncaster, propelled by 91132. Always nice to get some winning 91s in for haulage, especially as their days are numbered now.
1644 Doncaster to Leeds on 801105 and 801112.
1730 Leeds to Castleford on 144023.
1756 Castleford to Huddersfield on 153301. I had been intending on getting this to Wakefield Kirkgate to get another train back to Leeds to connect into the second Nova 3 diagram of the day, however, both the train from Wakefield Kirkgate, and the second Nova 3 diagram were cancelled, so it was not worthwhile doing, and I stayed on to Huddersfield.
1852 Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria on 185101. A typically overcrowded 185, on a York - Liverpool Train (would normally have started at Newcastle but was cancelled north of there). The overcrowding was no doubt not helped by the cancellation of other trains around it, and it was 20 minutes late at Huddersfield due to a points fault near Ravensthorpe.
1941 Manchester Victoria to Rochdale on 150206 and 153358.

Tuesday 29th October
1650 Rochdale to Warrington Bank Quay on 195107. The other week, the Northern Connect services through my nearest sizeable station switched over to Northern's brand new Civity trains. Thought I'd give it a go, as I knew I needed the unit that was out. This train is the once a day Leeds to Ellesmere Port service, which is just a bizarre service in my opinion (these would normally go to Chester rather than Ellesmere Port)
1750 Warrington Bank Quay to Manchester Piccadilly on 175111. On arrival at Piccadilly, I had been intending on making a 4 minute connection to the other TfW service. Due to an issue further south, this was late, and I was hoping I would make it, however, we were held up at Ordsall Lane Jn, Deansgate, then in Platform 13B in Piccadilly, where trains don't usually deboard in normal service, as such, I reached the top of the stairs for the platform that my next train was on, just in time to hear it rev up and leave. If we'd have been allowed to alight in 13B, I may have made it!
1839 Manchester Piccadilly to Warrington Central on 158862 and 158858. All trains through Manchester were being delayed due to a plethora of issues across the network (in Birmingham and London) having a knock on impact onto Manchester's service. This was 12 minutes late leaving Piccadilly, which then resulted in the stopping train from Oxford Road then being delayed by us.
1932 Warrington Central to Liverpool Lime Street on 195002. That Stopping train then went on to delay this service, which ended up arriving at Allerton Jn 10 minutes late. Due to the on-time Chester-Liverpool train being booked over the junction at that time, it was allowed to go ahead of us, further adding to our delay. We then followed that train to Liverpool, but were delayed further by a Virgin service being crossed over to the slows at Wavertree Jn (to over take a stopper on the fasts), then by the InvisiTrain at Edge Hill meaning we weren't cleared down the hill towards the station. We eventually arrived into Liverpool Lime Street 16 minutes late at 2021. Due to a door issue, the doors weren't unlocked until 2023, meaning I had just 2 minutes to make my connection, so time to Sprint it was, along the length of a whole other train we had been on top of, then from P6 to P1, and through a barrier line.
2025 Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Victoria on 802207. And so I make it onto the train with seconds to spare, only to be told by the guard "don't worry, we're not going anywhere just yet". Fortunately, it was only a minor delay, and we left around 2 mins late, just after I found a nice table to myself. The run over Chat Moss was good, being done in Electric mode on the 802s, and I noticed just how much smoother than a 195 these units are. Seats are the same spec as GWR unfortunately though! Only 3 carriages of the 802 fit onto the platform at Newton-le-Willows, using SDO. This appeared to cause some issues as doors were locked, then unlocked, then locked again after a while and we were delayed by around 4 mins because of it (after an on-time arrival thanks to the superior acceleration of an electric train over a 185). Fortunately we didn't get delayed further on the run to Victoria, where the unit seamlessly switched into diesel mode for the run to York.

All in all, a bit of a farcial Tuesday, but still a productive day. These two days added a further 430 miles to my October total, bringing that up to nearly 3,050 miles for the month.

[Pilot]

So, it's that time of the month again, time for the November update! No new track this month (dreadful!), but winning units/locos will be underlined as previously.

Monday 11th November
1542 Rochdale Town Centre to Rochdale Railway Station on M5000 3071.
1614 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 150209 and 153332.
1702 Manchester Victoria to Leeds on 802209. A run to Leeds on an 802 is definitely an upgrade on a 185!
1815 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate on 801105. Due to disruption in the south, this train was short-formed, using 5 carriages instead of 10. Whilst a good thing to improve chances of service recovery, it certainly makes for some cosy trains. Still, better than a cancelled one!
1836 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds, hauled by 91113. The star of the night for me, one of the reasons I went out, being a 91 I still required for travel.
1905 Leeds to Manchester Victoria, propelled by 68027 using set TP09.
2019 Manchester Victoria to Ashton-under-Lyne on 142057. A lower mileage Pacer, worth a run before it's retirement.
2035 Ashton-under-Lyne to Manchester Victoria on 150203.
2032 Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield, hauled by 68026 using set TP11. Running significantly late due to the paths for the Liverpool - Scarborough trains being extremely susceptible to delay.
2123 Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria on 185124.

Thursday 14th November
1542 Rochdale Town Centre to Rochdale Railway Station on M5000 3096.
1550 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 150104.
1702 Manchester Victoria to Leeds on 802212. Chaos was reigning at Victoria when this train up, but the 802s just seem to have this ability to suck up passengers on this. I dislike the style of the seats, and the ride quality to a certain extent, but they do have this amazing knack of clearing platforms.
1815 Leeds to Wakefield Westgate on 801104 and 801108. Back to 10 carriages here.
1836 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds, hauled by 91102. Another 91 in the bag.
1905 Leeds to Manchester Victoria, hauled by 68028 using set TP06.
Between these, I had intended on doing an Ashton-under-Lyne return as a fill in move again, but due to difficulties finding train crew, I would not have made my connection back, so decided to give it a miss.
2102 Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield on 802210.
2152 Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria on 802212.

Saturday 16th November
0909 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 142045 and 142043.
0937 Manchester Victoria to Salford Crescent on 150109.
0948 Salford Crescent to Bolton on 150147.
1009 Bolton to Manchester Piccadilly on 142090 and 150114.
1047 Manchester Piccadilly to Wigan North Western on 195117.
1125 Wigan North Western to Preston on 390042.
1157 Preston to Kirkham and Wesham on 150107 and 150150.
1217 Kirkham and Wesham to Preston on 331001.
1229 Preston to Blackpool North on 331008.
1306 Blackpool North to Wigan North Western on 221101.
1353 Wigan North Western to Liverpool Lime Street on 331107.
1448 Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool Central on 508136.
1453 Liverpool Central to Moorfields on 507012.
1505 Moorfields to Kirkdale on 508112.
1514 Kirkdale to Kirkby on 507025.
1529 Kirkby to Wigan Wallgate on 142089. Arrived into the Bay platform at Wigan Wallgate, which is something I'd never done before.
1625 Wigan North Western to Manchester Piccadilly on 195118.
1723 Manchester Piccadilly to Newton-le-Willows on 323235.
1754 Newton-le-Willows to Manchester Victoria on 195121.
1855 Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street, propelled by 68027, using set TP09. This loco is becoming my stalker (in all fairness, it seems to be the most reliable set TPE have atm, which is why it is so common).
2025 Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Victoria on 185121. What is usually a 802 diagram, a 185 was running in it's place on this occasion.

Sunday 24th November
0826 Rochdale Town Centre to Rochdale Railway Station on M5000 3032.
0903 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 156425.
0952 Manchester Piccadilly to Preston on 195001.
1101 Preston to Manchester Victoria on 350408, running via Wigan North Western and Chat Moss. The once a week Scotland WCML service that runs into Manchester Victoria. This is likely to have been my last opportunity to have done it on a 350, due to the 397s now being introduced, which was why I headed out for it.
1231 Manchester Victoria to Preston on 350408, running via Ordsall Lane Jn and Bolton.
1317 Preston to Wigan North Western on 221111 and 221116.
1415 Wigan Wallgate to Manchester Victoria on 150205, running via Atherton.
1524 Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street on 802207.
1612 Liverpool Lime Street to Wavertree Technology Park on 319375.
1617 Wavertree Technology Park to Liverpool Lime Street on 319366.
1712 Liverpool Lime Street to Wigan North Western on 331103. The only winning unit all day. Rather disappointing from that perspective.
1825 Wigan North Western to Manchester Victoria on 195102.

Tuesday 26th November
0732 Manchester Victoria to York, propelled by 68028, using set TP06.
1409 York to Manchester Victoria on 802210. Had a meeting in York, planned my travel to/from it around new trains.

Thursday 28th November
1439 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 158853 and 158867.
1535 Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport on 390129.
1554 Stockport to Sheffield on 153385 and 158847.
1729 Sheffield to Chesterfield on 222002.
1801 Chesterfield to Nottingham on 156473 and 156497.
1945 Nottingham to London St Pancras, powered by 43484 and 43467.
2134 Kings Cross St Pancras to Great Portland Street on the Metropolitan Line.
2206 Regent's Park to Paddington on the Bakerloo Line. Due to a broken down train at Paddington, the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines were heavily delayed, so I made the decision to change to the Bakerloo instead.
2345 London Paddington to Penzance, hauled by 57602, with 57604 on the rear, dead, as far as Reading. We were booked to run via Westbury, however, due to no allowances in our scheduled being made for the Single Line Working in the area, we were diverted via Didcot, Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads.

Friday 29th November
1000 Penzance to St Austell on 802114.
1111 St Austell to Plymouth, powered by 43196 and 43161.
1225 Plymouth to Exeter St Davids, powered by 43384 and 43301.
1352 Exeter St Davids to Exmouth on 143617 and 143618.
1424 Exmouth to Teignmouth on 143618 and 143617.
1538 Teignmouth to Exeter St Davids on 143612 and 143603.
1624 Exeter St Davids to Taunton, powered by 43285 and 43207.
1704 Taunton to Exeter St Davids on 802022 and 802006.

Saturday 30th November
0611 Exeter St Davids to Dawlish on 150248.
0643 Dawlish to Exeter St Davids on 143617 and 143618.
0725 Exeter St Davids to Salisbury on 159003 and 159101.
0933 Salsibury to Southampton Central on 158958. Not long left for these Hybrid 3-car 158s (formed from two separate units).
1024 Southampton Central to Brockenhurst on 444027 and 444014.
1042 Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier on 450042.
1057 Lymington Pier to Brockenhurst on 450042.
1116 Brockenhurst to Bournemouth on 450024.
1147 Bournemouth to Brockenhurst on 220016.
1215 Brockenhurst to Southampton Central on 444010 and 450025.
1235 Southampton Central to Romsey on 158888, running via Romsey.
1321 Romsey to Bristol Temple Meads on 158950.
1453 Bristol Temple Meads to Weston-super-Mare, powered by 43156 and 43162.
1539 Weston-super-Mare to Newport on 150249 and 158750.
1715 Newport to Bristol Temple Meads on 150246 and 158749.
1823 Bristol Temple Meads to Newport on 43172 and 43191.
1940 Newport to Bristol Parkway on 800307.
2015 Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads on 158766.
2054 Bristol Temple Meads to Taunton on 802103, running via Weston-super-Mare.
2207 Taunton to Exeter St Davids on 802012 and 802016.

Just over 2,300 miles travelled in November.

[Arch9enius]

Due to the Hope Valley line being closed as there was a threat of a Dam collapsing and washing away the railway, East Midlands Trains (as it still was at the time) were strengthening services to/from Crewe to provide additional capacity on an alternative route to Manchester.

...!!!!

Indecently early on Sunday 01-12-2019, 159 103 Salisbury up to Basingstoke . Changed to 450 080 at the rear of a 444 and anther 450 to continue nearly all stations to Clapham Junction. Changed here to 458 054 and 517 which were doing the Richmond - Brentford - Barnes circle. Pretty sure these are the things that used to go to Reading, but the line wasn't open to Reading that day.

Visited the museum at Kew Bridge pumping station. There were no trains running despite the website , however the ticket is good for a whole year. Their perspex cutway pump demonstration thingys also seemed to need some tlc. Interesting all the same . Go visit the London Transport museum first though.

Kew Bridge - Clapham Junction 707 023. Clapham Junction is less well off for toilets than the starship Enterprise.
To Basingstoke on 044 034.
Return to Salisbury on 159 017.

[Pilot]

Happy New Year! As 2019 has now drawn to an end, it's time for me to share my December travels, and an end of year review as well! As always, new track is in italics, and new units/locos for myself will be shown with underlining.

Sunday 1st December
0845 Exeter St Davids to Teignmouth on 150238 and 150221.
0925 Teignmouth to Westbury on 802111. First time I've ever gotten on and off a train where the service is too long at both stations, with Westbury's platform extension yet to be commissioned.
1058 Westbury to Bristol Temple Meads on 166218 and 165127. A busy 5-car service, which emptied out at Bath Spa, as most folk were heading to the markets.
1225 Bristol Temple Meads to Swindon on 800305, running via Bath Spa.
1322 Swindon to Bristol Temple Meads on 800314, again running via Bath Spa. Due to a late running steam-hauled charter, we ran wrong road from Bathampton Jn to just beyond Bath Spa, to allow the charter to use the other platform and arrive alongside us.
1416 Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff Central on 166219 and 165120.
1515 Cardiff Central to Newport on 175006. My last 2-car 175 for travel.
1533 Newport to Bristol Parkway on 800004 and 800010.
1602 Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads on 166215.
1641 Bristol Temple Meads to Worcester Shrub Hill on 166210, running via a reversal at Gloucester.
1850 Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street on 170509 and 170631.
1957 Birmingham New Street to Stoke-on-Trent on 220013. Busy CrossCountry service out of New Street. Decided I didn't want to stand all the way to Manchester, and was also a bit peckish, so jumped off at Stoke for the Tilting Shop (Pendolino) just behind... little did I know how that would play out.
2050 Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester Piccadilly on 390040. So, I get on the Pendolino at Stoke, manage to grab a little bite to eat, and a drink, and end up getting talking to the crew. All was going well, until we passed Cheadle Hulme, suddenly the air conditioning drops out (a sign on a Pendolino there is no overhead power, fairly common at Neutral sections), but never comes back, and the emergencies are thrown in. Turns out we had had the automatic dropping device on the pantograph activate, and there were concerns that we had brought down the overhead wires. After a 35 minute wait, which included an empty Pendolino going to Oxley inspecting the line, we were back underway, using the front, non-preferred pantograph to get into Stockport. At Stockport, we were further held for 9 minutes, so the crew could check whether the rear pantograph was housed properly. So, we arrived into Piccadilly 44 minutes late, and I had to wait 50 minutes for the last bus home! Still, at least I got to some lovely arcing from the front Pantograph as we passed through Levenshulme!

Thursday 5th December
0835 Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston on 390122, running via Stoke. Unlike my last Pendolino journey, this one was uneventful!
1112 London St Pancras to Stratford International on 395007.
1314 Stratford International to London St Pancras on 395010.
1415 London Euston to Wembley Central on 710266. On arrival at Wembley Central, I had intended on making a connection onto the LNWR service, to do the St Albans Abbey line. However, due to a failed Freightliner at Harrow, these services were no longer calling at Wembley Central, so I had to carry on the DC lines.
1444 Wembley Central to Harrow and Wealdstone on the Bakerloo Line.
1458 Harrow and Wealdstone to Watford Junction on 378211.
1625 Watford Junction to Tring on 319457, 319012 and 319217. After a while waiting then, I had a run up to Tring on LNWRs 319s, which were later than scheduled due to the aforementioned failed 'liner.
1657 Tring to London Euston on 319217, 319012 and 319457. Due to the late running (about 10 minutes), a decision was made to run the 319s non-stop into Euston on their return, in order for them to be on-time for a peak service from the capital. This messed up my plans, which had involved a change at Bushey for another set of 319s.
2000 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on 390009. This would be my last ever journey with Virgin Trains, who ran their final services on Saturday 7th December.

Sunday 8th December - The Bootle Brush Railtour
0805 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe on 390130. And this was my first journey with their successor, Avanti West Coast. Coincidentally, this was also the first passenger departure of the new franchise, leaving 30 seconds before the 0805 from Wolverhampton. Purely coincidental that I ended up on this service, was the only service which worked for getting me to Crewe in time.
0900 Crewe to Nantwich, hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear.
0925 Nantwich to Seaforth and Litherland, hauled by 47245, with 47826 on the rear. We ran back via Crewe then onwards via Warrington Bank Quay, Earlestown, where we had a short break to await the route onto the mainline, Edge Lane Jn. Pretty much the only reason I booked onto this tour was the freight only line from Olive Mount Jn, round to Edge Lane Jn and on to Bootle Jn. Still need to complete it down to the Bulk Terminal one day!
1134 Seaforth and Litherland to Sandhills Reversing Siding, hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear.
1202 Sandhills Reversing Siding to Ormskirk, hauled by 47245, with 47826 on the rear. Had a short stop at Maghull North which allowed an opportunity to take some photographs whilst waiting for the single line to Ormskirk to clear.
1250 Ormskirk to Kirkdale Depot (Road 22), hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear. Another interesting section of track on the tour was a run into the sidings in Kirkdale Depot. Road 22 was originally in the maintenance shed, but this has since been removed due to the new Stadler facility that has been built at the depot.
1330 Kirkdale Depot (Road 22) to Kirkby, hauled by 47245, with 47826 on the rear. Another short stop was had at Fazakerley, again to await the single line to Kirkby to clear.
1356 Kirkby to Sandhills Reversing Siding, hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear.
1419 Sandhills Reversing Siding to Southport, hauled by 47245, with 47826 on the rear. On arrival at Southport, we had an extended break, to allow people the opportunity to grab some food, as we had limited facilities onboard the train (being limited to just 4 carriages).
1530 Southport to Liverpool Lime Street, hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear. Ran via Burscough Bridge, Wigan Wallgate, Newton-le-Willows and Huyton.
1703 Liverpool Lime Street to Chester, hauled by 47245, with 47826 on the rear. Ran via Runcorn and the Halton Curve. On this run, we did various crossing moves for those who had an interest in getting all the crossovers in, and then on arrival at Chester, we used the Parcel Siding (alongside platform 1).
1819 Chester to Crewe, hauled by 47826, with 47245 on the rear. And just a fast, straight shot back to Crewe to finish off.
1913 Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly on 390045.

Friday 13th December
0755 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe on 390042. If the diagrams on Friday worked the way they do all week, this should have been 390156, a required, Avanti liveried Pendolino. Unfortunately, Friday is the odd day out, so I ended up with a non-required one instead.
0901 Crewe to Wolverhampton on 221108.
0933 Wolverhampton to Sandwell and Dudley on 170514 and 170505.
1002 Sandwell and Dudley to Smethwick Galton Bridge on 350245.
1024 Smethwick Galton Bridge to Birmingham Moor Street on 170502, 153366 and 153364. 4 carriages and 3 separate units, it was rather overcrowded due to another train being cancelled.
1055 Birmingham Moor Street to Leamington Spa, propelled by 68010.
1132 Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway on 165037.
1207 Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway to Solihull on 172339.
1245 Solihull to Birmingham Moor Street, hauled by 68014.
1259 Birmingham Moor Street to Smethwick Galton Bridge on 172344 and 172213.
1322 Smethwick Galton Bridge to Kidderminster on 172006 and 172008.
1418 Kidderminster to Malvern Link on 172216 and 172215, running via a reversal at Worcester Shrub Hill.
1513 Malvern Link to University on 172219 and 153356. Chaos was brewing in Central Birmingham at this point, due to a combination of various factors, including a trespass incident, and I was now reliant on trains going in/out of New Street.
1555 University to Birmingham New Street on 323210.
1650 Birmingham New Street to Worcester Foregate Street on 170511, 153334 and 153365, running via a reversal at Worcester Shrub Hill. And so it took a rather long time to get on a train back out, due to them all being packed!
1808 Worcester Foregate Street to Malvern Link on 170503 and 170635. A quick pint, and a visit to Tesco later, it was onwards, out towards Malvern Link. Initially thought this would be a trio of 153s I'd see on multiple occasions that day, but it wasn't to be on this occasion.
1853 Malvern Link to Cheltenham Spa on 166203. Sat in what is currently declassified First Class on a set well in need of a refurb. Both Lavatories on the train were out of use, so the Cheltenham stop was also to be used as a Toilet stop for those who needed it. Apparently this is a common fault with the 166s.

Saturday 14th December - The Grotto Grid railtour
0630 Cheltenham Spa to Chaddesden Sidings Road 2, hauled by 66099. Ran via Birmingham New Street, Coleshill Parkway and Tamworth. And so, another early start for a railtour that had started at Trowbridge at 0452! The outward route took us over the route from Whitacre Junction to Kingsbury Junction which sees very little Passenger traffic, so was a nice bit of track for myself.
0950 Chaddesden Sidings Road 2 to Barnetby, hauled by 56113, with 66171 dead-in-tow inside it. Ran via Lincoln, about as direct as you can get, but I'd never been on a train to Barnetby, so it was good to finally clear one of the three routes of getting there! Sadly, the 56 for haulage was the one that hauled me up to Fort William (and back), last year during the GBRf 4-day tour.
1307 Barnetby to Roxby Gullet, hauled by 56113, with 66171 dead in-tow, now on the rear, after the 56 ran around on Barnetby. Roxby was one of the key reasons I booked on this tour. The freight only branch, associated with waste traffic, doesn't see too many passenger carrying trains, so was definitely worth doing.
1420 Roxby Gullet to Scunthorpe Anchor Sidings (Road 14), hauled by 66171, with 56113 on the rear. At least the 66 was a winning loco!
1510 Scunthorpe Anchor Sidings (Road 14) to Barrow Hill North Jn, hauled by 56113, with 66171 on the rear. Ran via the old station at Scunthorpe (around the back of the current station), the Doncaster Avoider and Swinton. When originally advertised, the tour was meant to run via Kilnhurst, however, due to heavy flooding in South Yorkshire in November, the line is currently out of action.
1644 Barrow Hill North Jn to Woodhouse Station Sidings, hauled by 66171, with 56113 on the rear. A quick reversal, and we headed up the link to the Sheffield - Lincoln line. We didn't actually run onto this though, instead going into the sidings that pass around the rear of the station building.
1710 Woodhouse Station Sidings to Toton Centre (Down Slow), hauled by 56113, with 66171 on the rear. Ran via Barrow Hill North Jn, Langley Mill, Radford Jn, Lenton Curve, Beeston and Meadow Lane Jn. The Lenton Curve was another draw for me as a track basher, with the small curve of track allowing trains to travel from Radford Junction to Beeston without reversing in Nottingham station. I believe it's main usage was back in the heyday of the East Midlands Coalfields, with very little traffic using it now. At Toton, we were originally booked to go into the Down Yard, but due to this being very busy with engineering trains preparing for a night's (and in some cases, as full day on Sunday) worth of work, it was decided to put us on the Down Slow, where we dropped off our Class 56.
1915 Toton Centre (Down Slow) to Cheltenham Spa, hauled by 66171. running via Sheet Stores Jn, Stenson Jn, Tamworth, Coleshill Parkway and Tamworth. Then it was a simple run back to Cheltenham, running back via our outwards pick-up stations. Or at least, we thought it would be simple, but alongside Blackwell loop, at the top of the Lickey Incline, we came to a halt. A broken rail at the bottom of the incline was causing havoc, with trains being caution over it. The driver had to fight the train on the way down the hill, the longest sustained mainline gradient in the UK (1 in 37.7 for 2 miles), to keep the speed down. Fortunately, we didn't still have 120+ tons of dead 56 on the rear pushing us down still! We were 30 minutes late as a result of this, but nothing too major for a railtour!

Sunday 15th December
0858 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon on 800005, running via a reversal at Gloucester. When originally planning this trip, this was a through train to London, however, due to additional traffic on the route from Swindon, caused by the diversion of trains from Exeter, some services were terminating at Swindon, this being one of them.
1009 Swindon to Reading on 800012 and 800018. And so it was onto a service from Bristol instead, managed to get a seat on what was a rather busy train.
1043 Reading to London Paddington on 800306. A change at Reading yielded another winning 800, although that wasn't the original reason I decided to make this change. According to the varied schedule, this train was to overtake my last one during the call at Reading, however, due to a delay somewhere on the diversionary route, it didn't arrive until my previous train departed.
1117 London Paddington to Kings Cross St Pancras on the Circle Line.
1135 London Kings Cross to Alexandra Palace on 717004. My first ride on a 717, with it also being diverted in/out of Kings Cross due to works on the Moorgate branch. As was expected, it just feels like a smaller 700.
1158 Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park on 717007.
1213 Finsbury Park to Harringay on 717024. There is method in the madness, I promise!
1234 Harringay Green Lanes to Barking on 710267. After a quick walk to change stations at Harringay, it was onto a 710 to Barking. These units are certainly a step up from a Class 172 on the GOBLIN when it comes to capacity!
1317 Barking to London Liverpool Street on 357026 and 357028. These Weekend-only services run into Liverpool Street with a stop at Stratford, in order to serve the Westfield Shopping Centre. I'd much prefer if they still terminated at Fenchurch Street but ran via Stratford personally! More unusual track that way
1339 London Liverpool Street to Kings Cross St Pancras on the Hammersmith and City Line.
1439 London St Pancras to Leeds, powered by 43049 and 43047. No fancy routing, just a nice cosy ride in First Class on a HST from London to Leeds, something that is rapidly disappearing, with just the EMR services remaining doing this now.
1818 Leeds to Rochdale on 158790, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange. Originally, I had been booked to take the 1918 (with a £2.50 advance), however, it's inward working had been cancelled, so I had to get this service back instead. Fortunately the guard accepted our advances, and this was delayed enough to be able to catch!

Wednesday 18th December
0827 Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Oxford Road on 397006. Having turned up early for my meeting in Manchester, I had an opportunity for a quick ride on a 397. Not much I can say given it was only half a mile!
0826 Manchester Oxford Road to Manchester Piccadilly on 319372. And I managed to do some time travelling! Nope, just another delayed Northern service, this one working in my favour however!
1156 Manchester Victoria to Liverpool Lime Street, hauled by 68019, using set TP08. With my meeting over, I had chance to get a winning Class 68 in for haulage with a hop to Liverpool. Thought I'd forgotten my railcard, so had to pay full fare, but later found it in the bottom of my bag!
1233 Liverpool Lime Street to Liverpool South Parkway on 350123.
1326 Liverpool South Parkway to Manchester Piccadilly on 195007 and 195101.

Sunday 22nd December
1117 Newton Heath and Moston to Manchester Victoria on M5000 Tram 3103.
1130 Manchester Victoria to Piccadilly Gardens on M5000s 3020 and 3041. A pair I was never going to need, being trams I travelled on in my youth. The first 60 of the M5000 trams are the only one's capable of running the Altrincham line, which I used every day to get to School and College, from where I once lived, so I got them in rather quickly.
1503 Manchester Piccadilly to St Peters Square on M5000 3089. After meeting an old friend for a couple of beers, I headed to Piccadilly. Unfortunately, Northern were in a mess as is fairly normal on a Sunday, so I headed elsewhere.
1519 St Peters Square to Manchester Victoria on M5000 3083, running via the First City Crossing (Market Street).
1551 Manchester Victoria to Lostock on 331008. A quick run out to Lostock on a 331, these services running fairly normally. On departure from Salford Crescent, the driver trundled to the next signal, in order to get a clear run behind the slower train that had left Victoria just before us, before opening the power right up. Boy did it fly! Acceleration on those trains is insane, accelerating up to the 100mph line speed (and according to my GPS speedometer, slightly beyond) very quickly.
1620 Lostock to Manchester Victoria on 319370. Unfortunately, the return working wasn't as impressive!
1702 Manchester Victoria to Rochdale on 156455.
1736 Rochdale to Rochdale Town Centre on M5000s 3065 and 3093.

Friday 27th December
0909 Rochdale to Manchester Victoria on 150201.
0930 Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield, powered by 68027, using set TP09. My stalker is back!
1012 Huddersfield to Barnsley, on 144016. I guess it was about time I finished the 144 fleet for travel.
1113 Barnsley to Sheffield on 158843. Another unit for the day in, was hoping for a 195, but unfortunately not. Still, we were only 4 mins behind my previous train into Sheffield, so not too major.
1153 Sheffield to Worksop on 144003. Not a track move, more a positioning move, just so happened to be over winning track, so I wasn't going to complain!
1243 Worksop to Sheffield on 144013 and 153317.
1343 Sheffield to Meadowhall on 158855. With an opportunity for a winning unit, and still being able to pick-up my next winning 144 at Meadowhall, a quick run was had on this 158.
1411 Meadowhall to Doncaster on 144008, running via Rotherham Central. Another winning 144, but would I get my last ever Class 144 for travel in?
1521 Doncaster to Sheffield on 170458. This run back to Doncaster was nearly scuppered by a points failure, which meant trains from Platform 3 couldn't cross to the Sheffield lines. Fortunately, thanks to some good regulation and juggling by the signaller, this train left on-time!
1615 Sheffield to Wakefield Westgate on.... 144002! And there it was, my last Class 144. This means I'm only left needing one Pacer that was in service throughout 2019 (143619), so keep an eye out for a move to Exeter in 2020 for this! Oh, and we ran via Rotherham Central and Moorthorpe.
1735 Wakefield Westgate to Leeds on 800210 and 800201. A new subclass for travel, with a quick hop from Wakefield to Leeds.
1812 Leeds to Rochdale on 195106, running via the usual Bradford Interchange reversal.

Pretty productive day for new units that one!

Saturday 28th December
0606 Rochdale to Hebden Bridge on 195102.
0642 Hebden Bridge to Halifax on 158869.
0657 Halifax to Bradford Interchange on 153331.
0721 Bradford Interchange to Leeds on 195110.
0800 Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street, hauled by 68022, using set TP13. Not unlucky on this occasion, set 13 delivered me bang on time into Liverpool!
0951 Liverpool Lime Street to Widnes on 158780 and 156470.
1006 Widnes to Liverpool South Parkway on 156473 and 158788.
1044 Liverpool South Parkway to Runcorn on 350242.
1056 Runcorn to Chester on 150250.
1152 Chester to Warrington Bank Quay on 175104.
1227 Warrington Bank Quay to Preston on 221142 and 221105.
1246 Preston to Bolton on 397003. First longer run on a 397, using the set-down only option at Bolton that TPE offer now. The 397s seem to be smoother than the other CAF units I've experienced, which is a positive. The interior design is very similar to the Mk5 fleet though.
1342 Bolton to Salford Crescent on 319385.
1406 Salford Crescent to Manchester Piccadilly on 331103. It's clear the drivers aren't used to their braking points or the braking performance on these units, as this one anchored up in the platform at Piccadilly, throwing people across the train.
1434 Manchester Piccadilly to Huddersfield on 802218, running via the Ordsall Chord. First time on an 802 from Piccadilly.
1535 Huddersfield to Halifax on 153373. From the 5-car 802 to a lowly 1-car 153. Certainly a downgrade!
1617 Halifax to Rochdale on 195104.

Sunday 29th December
0854 Rochdale to Blackburn on 150134 and 150131, running via Todmorden. My final Northern 150 in the bag. The remainder that I need are now with Transport for Wales and GWR.
1007 Blackburn to Leeds on 195124, running via a reversal at Bradford Interchange. I had initially planned to head further west from Blackburn, but the train to Preston was cancelled, and so an alternative plan had to be thought up.
1146 Leeds to Huddersfield on 185101.
1212 Huddersfield to Leeds on 185136. A quick run to Huddersfield and back to waste some time.
1300 Leeds to Liverpool Lime Street, hauled by 68025, using set TP06. A nice run across the Pennines with yet another winning 68 for power.
1447 Liverpool Lime Street to Runcorn on 390148.
1516 Runcorn to Chester on 158820.
1600 Chester to Capenhurst on 507006.
1617 Capenhurst to Chester on 507001.
1636 Chester to Warrington Bank Quay on 150235 and 158818. This was meant to have another 150 with it, that I required for travel, but when the service turned up, only 2 units appeared.
1716 Warrington Bank Quay to Wigan North Western on 390122.
1815 Wigan Wallgate to Rochdale on 156464, running via Atherton.

Tuesday 31st December
0939 Rochdale to Salford Crescent on 158901.
1011 Salford Crescent to Bolton on 331103. Arriving into Bolton, the train announced that the rear carriage would not fit onto the platform. Bolton station regularly sees 5-car trains, and has platforms set out for 9-car Pendolino's, so clearly there is a minor issue with the software here! The doors still released at least.
1026 Bolton to Salford Crescent on 150139.
1053 Salford Crescent to Manchester Victoria on 319379.
1108 Manchester Victoria to Salford Crescent on 150107 and 150131. You need it for years, then it turns up twice in three days!
1122 Salford Crescent to Stockport on 150105 and 142051. One glaring omission from this months travels was a Class 142, with many being withdrawn from service rapidly from December Timetable change. This put that right! The annoying part of the Pacer withdrawal is that, one of the replacement fleets, the Class 769, is still yet to enter service. As a result of this, lone 150s are now running services which would previously be a 150 and 142, leading to overcrowding. But hey, hitting targets to get the fleet withdrawn is clearly more important than actual customer service Not entirely Northern's fault this one either, the delays to the 769 project aren't their fault, but still, I'm sure most passengers would rather travel on a 142 than not be able to get on the train (especially if the PRM regs are met by the other half of the train, I don't really see the problem with it short term). Anyways, brief rant over.
1212 Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly on 331013.
1238 Manchester Piccadilly to Widnes on 158780 and 158770.
1310 Widnes to Warrington Central on 158774 and 158863.
1335 Warrington Central to Birchwood on 150138 and 150126.
1350 Birchwood to Manchester Piccadilly on 195002 and 195010.
1418 Manchester Piccadilly to Salford Crescent on 150209 and 150205.
1436 Salford Crescent to Stockport on 331001 and 331011. This one too, did the similar thing to the 331 at Bolton, this one being a bit more understandable with it being a 6-car service, but the Platform at Stockport is set out for 11-car Pendolino's. Again, the doors still opened in the rear carraige.
1517 Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly on 150109.
1558 Manchester Piccadilly to Stalybridge on 185126, running via Guide Bridge. I'd forgotten how much of a drag the route via Guide Bridge was. Just feels as though it takes forever!
1629 Stalybridge to Manchester Victoria on 156429. If the next train from Stalybridge to Manchester had been a 68, I'd have waited, but it was a 185, so decided to take the slightly earlier 156 instead.
1709 Manchester Victoria to Rochdale on 142090 and 158782. Only fitting that the last ride of the year for me should be on the train that has been so synonymous with my year, the 158... I'm kidding, obviously the 142!

So, throughout December, I added close to 3,300 more miles to my total for the year! Now, time for end of year stats, click the spoiler for these!

[+] Spoiler

Total Mileage: 35,328 miles - my target for the year was 24,000!
Number of different TOPS Classes traveled: 75
Highest Mileage Class for 2019: Class 43 (8,444 Loco miles, which equates to 4,222 journey miles) - last years winner, the Class 390, came in at 2,791 miles this year.
Most Mileage in one month: 4,230 miles (February)
Longest single journey: 523.65 miles (1452 Aberdeen to Kings Cross on 26/04, powered by 43313 and 43300)
Shortest single journey: 0.2875 miles (1249 Liverpool James Street to Moorfields on 27/05, on 507025)

List of train types traveled on/hauled by
TOPS Classes: 20, 37, 43, 47, 56, 57, 66, 67, 68, 73, 88, 90, 91, 92, 142, 143, 144, 150, 153, 156, 158, 159, 165, 166, 168, 170, 172, 175, 180, 185, 195, 220, 221, 222, 313, 314, 315, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 331, 333, 334, 345, 350, 357, 360, 375, 377, 378, 379, 380, 385, 387, 390, 395, 397, 444, 450, 455, 456, 458, 465, 507, 508, 700, 707, 710, 717, 800, 801, 802
Tube: S-Stock, 1972 stock, 1992 stock, 1995 stock, 1996 stock, 2009 stock (all London)
Trams: M5000 (Manchester)

And for anyone wondering, my Class 142 mileage for the year was: 2,218 miles! I may need some work on my back in a few years

[Arch9enius]

Fortunately, we didn't still have 120+ tons of dead 56 on the rear pushing us down still! We were 30 minutes late as a result of this, but nothing too major for a railtour!

Couldn't the 56 have assisted in braking (if it was there)? Or is dynamic braking strictly an American thing?

[Redirect Left]

So yesterday i went about London, doing lots of odd bits i felt like doing, and finally doing the GOBLIN, from Gospel Oak to Barking (although i did it from Barking to Gospel Oak, so more... BLINGO)

Here's my full route, and method used to get there,
Wakefield Kirkgate - London Kings Cross (Grand Central)
Kings Cross - Liverpool Street (Metropolitan)
Liverpool Street - Stratford (TFL Rail)
Stratford - West Ham (DLR)
West Ham - Barking (District Line)
Barking - Gospel Oak (Overground)
Gospel Oak - Camden Road (Overground)
then a short walk and food later...
Camden Town - Kings Cross (Northern)
Kings Cross - Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly)
more food and a very short walk later (why anyone chooses to do this bit by tube, i'll never know)
Leicester Square - London Waterloo (Northern)
Waterloo - Clapham Junction (South Western Railway)
Clapham Junction - Sheperds Bush (Overground)
Sheperds Bush - White City (Central)
White City - West Ruislip (Central - i changed at White City as the train i was on terminated at North Acton, incase anyone wonders why i didn't stay on to that point to start with)
West Ruislip - White City (Central)
a short walk later again...
Wood Lane - Baker Street (Circle)
Baker Street - Moorgate (Metropolitan)
Moorgate - Finsbury Park (Great(ish) Northern)
Finsbury Park - Moorgate (Great(ish) Northern)
Moorgate - Euston (Northern)
Euston - Oxford Circus (Victoria)
a short walk to Soho because... its me, also came across a McDonalds so more food and drinks...
Tottenham Court Road - Warren Street (Northern)
Warren Street - Kings Cross (Victoria)
Kings Cross - Wakefield Westgate (LNER)

All in all, a fun day in the capital. Although, up to now i thought tube nose was a myth. After spending nearly 10 hours in and out of the tube, i can confirm it is not, blocked nose with black bits in the flow, lovely. Was hoping to see and board a 315 before they all get retired, but alas, i didn't even spot one. I did however ride my first 717, and my first 365, so at least there's that. I'd also never been to Ruislip, so got that bit done, as well as the entire GOBLIN route. Might have to return on another day of cheap advance singles (maybe 2 if i can find an airbnb that doesn't make my eyes burn price wise) and explore more outwards of London, and fully learn where i can and can't go on oyster.

[Arch9enius]

Last Saurday before Christmas Salisbury - Swindon and back.

Salisbury 1337, 158 747 to Bath.
1437 800 036 to Swindon.

Now I had gone to |Swindon rather than Reading because of industrial action on SWR. however when I returned to Swindon Station, the vast majority of westbound services had been cancelled . Apparently due to 'shortage of staff', however it smelled like a wildcat strike to me.

Eventually, boarded a DElayed 1726 train to Bath, 800316.
From there, 166 209 to Westbury at 1802.
1902 166 207 To Salisbury.

08-02-2020
Trip to just below Templecombe to visit the Gartell Light Railway.
Basically a miniature railway despite the 2' gauge. They were running as 'one engine in steam' with the engine in question being an industrial type diesel. When in full operaton, the railway uses 3 trains, two signalboxes and a whole bunch of mechanical signals. Worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing.

[Arch9enius]

Romsey - Salisbury 166 129 at the rear of two Networker Turbos. Shortly after finding my seat I did what I had been worried about since the start of this whole mask-wearing business, and threw up (a thankfully small amount) whilst wearing one. Next stop Boak Spewington.
Salisbury - Basingstoke 159 003 on it's own.
Basingstoke - Waterloo 444 016 and 027, both crowded. Just before Clapham Junction the train performed a slighly more abrupt than usual stop. It turned out someone pulled the emergency cord, for reasons unknown. The train continued to Clapham and Waterloo without further incident.

Waterloo- Salisbury Return journey a less crowded 159 011 at the rear of a 3 unit consist. I wonder if by the time you've got 12 motors hammering away it might not be more economical to use a locomotive instead... The train left 011 at Salisbury.
Salisbury - Romsey SWR 158 883.

[Arch9enius]

Saturday 11th

Boarded 165 132 and 165 135 at Romsey, expecting to transfer to a bus replacement between Southampton and Fareham.

vehicles belonging to AC coaches, Xelabus, Stagecoach (Branded Coastway 700) aND others were parked on the north side of the station. However it transpired the buses replaced trains all the way to Portsmouth Interchange, the faster service running Southampton Central - Fareham - Cosham - Fratton - Portsmouth and Southsea - Portsmouth Harbour.

Boarded Wight Ryder I for the crossing to Ryde Pier Head, where 484 003 was waiting.

First impressions of these machines are, white plastic interior from a 1980s episode of Buck Rogers, crosswise seats a little too low for the windows, like a Walter Alexander bodied Pacer but a much better ride than the 1938 stock, which of course everybody preferred. The Metro-Cammel plates are still in evidence on the door steps. Some of the improved ride might be down to track work between Smallbrook Junction and Brading. 2 new loops in existance, trackwork a mix of flat bottom and bullhead jointed rail on wooden and concrete sleepers. However, only 003 was running, with 001 002 and 004 left outside in the rain at St. Johns. Maybe they were showing them off. From the footbridge it looks as though the roofs are held on with foam sealant.

Returned on Wight Ryder I to Portsmouth Harbour, where the stupid began. Boarded an Irizar owned by AC coaches , which set off for Portsmouth and Southsea, where the driver attempted to turn it into a convertible by driving directly up to the front entrance, which leads under the viaduct for the harbour branch. He then had to back up against the various taxis making their way in. After a while one of the supervisors appeared to help him reverse out, and direct him to the actual stop outside Matalan. After that we were directed to follow the all stations bus to Fratton. This worked until we lost it leaving Fratton, and picked up an identical Coastliner branded double decker going the other way. After that the driver simply followed the signs reading 'Out of City', which put us on the M275 rather than the A3 or the Eastern Bypass that we had come in on, which resulted in us mising Cosham altogether. The driver then decided to aproach Southampton Central via the M271 and A35, which may have been a consious choice to avoid the centre of town, but did result in me passing within touching distance of Romsey - I should have got out (err, on the motorway junction) and walked.

On arival at Southampton, it transpired the GWR service to Bristol was not running due to a cancellation (driver shortage? This was the case later throughout the week.) and buses were running from the front of the station. Instead I boarded the circular train to Chandlers Ford, which was signed as terminating there, but I figured if that was the case it would just reverse and head back to Salisbury. A minute of so before heading off, the chinless grandson of Michael Barrymore, Michael Flatley, Pingu and one of those toy cars built to bash into the skirting board, back up and head off at 90 deg slammed into the closed doors, and continued to do so until he was escorted away by the station staff. Only to return and continue to insert his own molecules between those of the doors. Again and Again. The last time whilst the train was in motion.

Eventually he was removed permanently, but a few minutes later we were advised to leave the train due to it having developed a fault, I'm guessing door related? So I ended up on a replacement coach to Romsey anyway. Apparently it is now the law to wear seatbelts , which the previous two coach drivers didn't mention.

All in all, I spent more time on buses than trains. Perhaps normal for this time of year.

[Arch9enius]

27-02-2022
158881 From Romsey to Southampton via Redbridge. Changed directly at Southampton to unknown 444 which met the Portsmouth portion at Eastleigh. A class 153 was standing in the yards north of the station, in what looked like the old SWT or Midland livery. What it was doing there I don't know. Also a 66 was in a dark livery with Royal Scotsman or Belmond Pullman or sometthing similar on the side.
Changed directly at Basingstoke to 220026 and 29 forming the Southampton - Manchester Piccadilly train. It was rammed as usual. A new station appears to be under construction just before the Newbury line joins, to serve a Premier Inn and some other stuff under construction. Changed directly across the platform to a class 800 heading to Malvern. It was also rammed, but there are bigger windows in the vestibules. It was promptly overtaken by the Cross Country train on the Didcot avoiding line, however the load thinned out at Didcot Parkway. At Oxford and maybe elsewhere it appears staring is now illegal. ??? At least two GWR class 769s were among the Networkers in the storage sidings . I need reminding how they got there without overhead. (Edit: Diesel motors at least.) Arrived at Hanborough, where the station has been lengthened enough to take the 5 car train at least.

Return journey was on 800 008 to Reading, toilet class on a 165 111 to Basingstoke, 444 014 and 041 to Southampton Airport Parkway before boarding 158 888 (!) to Romsey. Bus replacement services were in evidence at Romsey, Southampton and Southampton Parkway with work on the line between Andover, Salisbury and Romsey, and later in the day towards Bournemouth. However no insane or less than competant behaviour was in evidence today, I guess all that is going to earth elsewhere in the world. Infact, the smothness of connections on the outward journey meant that I arrived at Hanborough somewhat hungry, due to no grabbing a toastie or whatever whilst waiting.

[Arch9enius]

Sat 20th March. 166 Romsey – Southampton. Eastleigh is closed. As a result a Cross Country Voyager passes us northbound alongside the Test estuary. So it turns out with a little more foresight and planning I could have ‘done’ the Clarendon side of the Laverstock triangle.
Transferred to a 444 at Southampton, this will run via the Portsmouth Direct line to Woking.
Changed to 377 121? I believe at Clapham Junction, for East Grinstead. Failed to board the previous train because they didn’t open the doors? For some reason. Worth noting in the driving cars at least, Southern line the seats up with the windows. .
11-ish departure from East Grinstead behind Std 4 80151. Five mk.Is, two compartment 1sts, compartment 2nd, open 2nd nd and buffet. No idea why so much of the train was first class, unless the use of compartment stock was a hangover from COVID regs. Didn’t try to see if anyone was enforcing First class, on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway they lock you in.

Return from Sheffield Park to Horstead Keynes behind the same (It’s the only one running, apart from Camelot which is running some sort of dining train). The two intermediate stations on the Bluebell Railway are probably my favourites. if someone tries to sell you a chocolate frog during some sort of definitely- unrelated to a popular francise wizard event in October it most likely came from the underpass at Horstead Keynes.

Reboarded the same train as it returned from East Grinstead, for the journey back to Sheffield Park and then to East Grinstead. Just past Kingscote station, there are four MkII sleepers, one Caledonian sleeper and the rest New Zealand Railways?

East Grinstead to Clapham Junction . Tried to board four trains from platform nine, again, they don’t seem to be opening doors. Or stopping in one case. Eventually boarded the stopping / semi fast to Basingstoke, 450 008 and a 444 on the rear.

159 022 fr9om Basingstoke to Salisbury

158 880 from Salisbury to Romsey.

03-04-2022
377 209 From Southampton to Brighton. A signal failure just before the Hamble held the train until a westbound service presumably gave the driver the nod, even then the driver crawled presumably proceeding on sight. Brighton Station is pretty impressive , however the waiting room at has been evicted to the concourse with the pigeons by numerous fast food outlets.

377 426 to Lewes, another impressive station.

Return Journey 377 125 to Brighton. 377 423 Brighton to Havant. The train sat a while at Barnham, whilst some woman across the aisle had a conversation on her phone. At Chichester she wondered why she had missed Barnham. At Emsworth some numpties who were too old to be running up and down the train playing hide and seek fell out with the conductor, one of them calling him ‘disrespectful as f***’. It was maybe closer to the truth that he was being disrespectful as f***, while the conductor was being an officious little prick. So the train sat there with the doors open until they were persuaded to leave, Mr. Disrespectful as f*** banging everything he could on the way out. Fortunately 377 doors are made of sterner stuff than 158 doors. The train terminated at Havant due to the Portsmouth branch being shut, and the Southampton train followed directly behind onto the up line, probably held up, fortunately I was on that platform already seeking a working toilet.

377 141 onward to Southampton, and following a wait 444 038 to Totton. There were vague threats of bus replacement services throughout the journey , maybe I should travel some other day than Sundays.

10 Apr 2022
Unknown 158 Romsey direct to Eastleigh. Arrives close with the train going via Redbridge so required a hurried switch of platforms.

On the London side of the station , GBRF 66 763 is moving a breakdown crane, a thing I thought extinct, although it belongs to Balfour Beatty so is obviously paying for itself with construction work.

444 038 to Woking.

I board an unknown 450 for onward travel to Weybridge, but overshoot to Surbiton. I board 450 008 to backtrack to Weybridge.
Better luck on 455 705 Woking- Weybridge.

Returned Weybrige – Woking 455 724
444 035 and 022 From Woking to Southampton airport Parkway; It did not stop at Eastleigh so retraced my steps on 444 001, which looked it.
158 890 to Romsey via Chandlers’ Ford..

[maria411]

he last train ride ended 10 minutes ago. I took the train for just one stop from my home to the next station (Greco Pirelli). From there I took a bus for 5 stops and reached my publisher.

[JustMoreMemes]

Destination: Three Bridges, Crawley
From: Clapham Junction
Company: Southern
Train Class: Class 377
Details: This was my first time traveling in Rush Hour for years, it was just as busy as I expected and although I got a seat not everyone I was traveling with did. It was also quite a slow journey with a lot of delays and a weird transfer at Three Bridges as the train got stopped early (on a northbound platform too, despite going south) due to something police related.