Techniquest
Veteran Member
Hey all,
It's finally upon me, the epic invasion of the Southern Region by the Western Region man! Shame the trip can't last more than a day and a bit but it'll have to do for now, but since I managed to book some time off finally after waiting for 2 months and 4 days, I have a feeling I'll be back soon enough finances depending
As usual, there will be a live trip report on Twitter too, with it properly beginning in the morning at 0630 depending on whether Orange will actually provide me with a mobile data signal up here...Hashtag is #SRinvader14
I also have got myself a second-hand laptop recently, and seeing if it can cope with the usual workload I need it to survive. So far so good, as it's allowing me to use YouTube in one Chrome tab and the forum in another, without having to separate them into different windows. It's not entirely fast granted, but for a fairly old machine it's doing well so far and not bad for £99.99! Having it will make typing these things up far easier for sure, less difficulty than on my phone I'd hope!
The rest of this will be coming up soon, I've got the alarm set for 0600 so it's time to finish the preparations!
EDIT: Just finished typing this lot up, took a while but here's day 1 of what's turned out to be an epic bash. Read on for the details...
10/03/2014 - Techniquest's Southern Region Invader
Well I may have only booked this trip about 9 days ago, but it felt like an eternity coming! Heavy and sore eyes await me with the 0600 alarm, just as well as I was having some bad dreams about work! As you do...Breakfast is formed merely of two crumpets this morning, and it's soon time to leave for what has become my usual Monday morning travel, the 0645 to Hereford. It's not VX12 FBO this morning, but instead YJ05 WCW, the Optare Tempo which was my most regularly travelled on bus in the first year of commuting to/from Hereford before VX12 FBO arrived. 6,916.3 miles have been had on VX12 FBO now in the 2 years it's been up here, way more than I've travelled on anything ever! Anyway...Arrival into Hereford is at 0745 and when Morrisons open a large bottle of Tango Cherry is sourced for just 99p. With still a fair few snacks in my bag from last week and now plenty of liquid refreshment, it's back to the station for some coffee and observations for the forum's "Trains you've seen working" thread. Oh, and I made sure there was time for some classic tunes too of course! It's a bit nippy in the breeze but still a lovely sunny day in Herefordshire.
170505 and 153356 are forming the 0849 Hereford to Birmingham New Street this morning, and it's time for Green Day to be pumped into the ear canals this morning for now, the still-legendary American Idiot album being played. I swear the Metro's getting worse, no content within it which I wanted to read! I note that, according to my RailMiles pages, I'll have had 459 miles off 170505 by the time I get to Birmingham New Street, which means I'm finally getting somewhere with clearing the LM 170s! As we approach Worcester-super-Mare (I must stop using that joke now!) it's out with the laptop to hammer this out. Also worth observing that the sunshine has been replaced with mostly overcast weather now in Worcestershire. Otherwise, little to note really on a mundane journey such as this one. Although one day, when the 170s are finished with, it'll be a nostalgic memory! Back to Altaria now as we continue heading north to Birmingham and as I type up the observations so far. As we struggle up the Lickey, I ponder what a Hereford to Birmingham New Street journey will be like in 10 or 20 years time. Certainly in 2024 the 170s will be getting old, very much so in 2034! Of course, it could be EMUs by then, which conjures up the odd image of an elderly 377 cruising through rural Herefordshire! Once we leave Worcestershire, the sun is back. Arrival into New Street is at 1018, and I’m gutted I’m not booked on the 1030 to Euston as it’s winner 390118! 
I finally end up at Subway opposite Moor Street station for my usual choice of sub, which ends up clearing my Subcard account for the magical thou in points! Very much needed and filling food that, with the drink it was well worth the £5! A trespass incident has caused delays and cancellations to many services today, with the 0843 Euston to Edinburgh being about 50 minutes late leaving New Street as the worst delay I observed. Sadly, it’s 221118 and 221103 on the 0652 Edinburgh to Euston and not the hoped for 390. However I’ve never had a 221 between Coventry and Euston so not a total loss. Only Stafford to Rugby remains as required on a 221 now then. Once the woman occupying another reserved seat moved to an available one, and got her stuff off my seat, I set up base camp on 221103, with us leaving just 1 minute late from New Street. The line through Coventry is open and we pass through the area with no issues. Meanwhile, the sunshine has gone to be replaced by clouds again, and I’m enjoying a latte in my Virgin Trains travel mug. Time to again update the observations as this trip report is now back up to date. Sure is easier typing up the trip report as I go!
Milton Keynes is soon enough out of the way and it’s RA to Euston (RA = Right Away, in this context non-stop), surprisingly it’s a smooth comfortable and enjoyable journey despite it being on 221s! Arrival at Euston is 1 minute late at 1234, and after a stretch of legs it’s straight off to the Victoria line for 11063+11064 on a 7 minute trip to Victoria. On the mainline station, a forum member had advised previously that I was almost guaranteed to see a 377/6 on platforms 9-12, which turned out to be correct and I couldn’t resist jumping on 377612 for a guaranteed win (since I’d not previously seen a 377/6) on the 1301 to Dorking. Especially since this gave me a chance to charge the laptop for 10 minutes which would have been useful, if later I’d found the time to get it out! 59202 is noted on the 1242 Acton to Purley at Clapham Junction, and I’ve already seen 9 of the 26 377/6s by the time I head onwards with 377139+377157 (139 wins) on a leap to East Croydon. I’m bailing here as a) it’s RA to Brighton afterwards and I need a coffee break and b) I want to get some stuff done on the East Grinstead and Uckfield lines. Costa is visited for a medium Americano, the first Costa coffee I’ve had in ages, possibly since mid-January if not before then!
hock: 2552 and 2557 are scooped for sight on the Tramlink system, 8 more to go now, before returning to the mainline platforms for winners 377442+377159 on the 1340 to East Grinstead.
I’d forgotten how far out zone 6 reaches, Upper Warlingham on this line. I swear Coulsdon South and Upper Warlingham never used to be in the Travelcard zones back when I did regular London bashes a few years back, but I could be mistaken. An independant coffee shop is noted at Sanderstead, and with so many 377s needed I’m amazed how many dud ones I’ve seen so far. I bail at Dormans for the shack scratch, and there’s absolutely nothing of note here. 377159+377442 come back to take me to my next shack scratch at Woldingham, from where I’d hoped to get the next East Grinstead train but no hope. Particularly wanted to get back for some winners I’d seen going to East Grinstead, instead I end up festering here for half an hour for them. I do get the chance to assist an elderly passenger plan her journey to London for tomorrow so she can visit her daughter for a 50th birthday bash, so that was nice. I note later too that the 1529 from here is booked for a 12-car train, which I hadn’t expected. So my first trio of 377s today is a triple win with 377140, 377132 and 377107, most appreciated that! En-route to East Croydon, I tot up the amount of 377s I need (not including the 377/7s as I’ve no gen on how many of those there will be) and it sits at 146 of them at that point. Lots of Victoria-Clapham, Clapham-Croydon and Victoria-Croydon leaps (and vice-versa) in the future I’m predicting! After noting it was 377107 on the rear of my trio, it was 7 winners so far (9 including LU) which was good going so far. A nice and easy cross-platform connection was now made, most conveniently, onto the 1548 to Southampton Central and Bognor Regis, with 377475+377467 (475 wins) providing the DC-age.
An uneventful run to Redhill was had, and I visit Puccinos on platform 2 for a large Americano, only my 4th coffee of the day which is shocking by my usual standards! The man serving was very friendly, and I got my coffee just in time to jump on 377111 for a leap to Merstham. Didn’t know if it was required as I got on, but my NREA confirmed it was. Dang this coffee is nice, I’d forgotten just how good the Puccinos coffee was, having not visited an outlet since the 2012 ALR and it was well worth the £2.55. Having scooped Merstham, it was next onto winner 377456 to Godstone for, you’ve guessed it, a winner shack. 143 more 377s to go now, slowly that number is coming down! 377468 rolls in from Tonbridge (last time I used a passenger train down this way it was in the hands of SET 375s, shows how long it’s been!) and, guess what, it’s a winner! A quick trip through the subway provides me with 377119 to Reigate, another winner shack. The 377 is also a winner for the short trip which was a nice surprise. I get it back to Redhill on the 1712 to Victoria, using the crossover to gain access from platform 2 to the Up line, required microgrice. 377119 is winner number 12 on the mainline today, Reigate the 5th winner shack.
377114,dud, is up next for an insect leap to Earlswood, and I was supposed to be going onwards on the next train to Horley, however I see winner 377438 on a trio of 377s going to London, so I can’t resist jumping on. Back at Redhill, I observe winners 377123 and 377146 were also in the consist, another trio of winning 377s! The winning spree continues after some more observations (I’m going on RTT a lot to get the service details, being as I am without timetables!) with 377411 on a leap to Salfords. I realise after getting there I was going to bail at Horley, then double-back to Salfords before returning south, oops. There seems to be a problem on the Down Main, trains are at a stop. 377451, extremely dud, takes me onwards to Horley, this 377 having been had something like SEVEN times altogether now! The queue of trains on the Down Main worked out well for me, as it meant I could still connect into one of them at Horley. 377203, 377135 and 377468 are on the delayed 1816 from Horley to Littlehampton, 203 and 135 winning. We use the new platform 7 at Gatwick Airport, another required micro-grice. I finally decide on which of the 4 stations, outside the Travelcard zones, I still need on the Brighton Main Line I’ll be scooping, in this case it’s Hassocks. Not that we stopped at Balcombe or Wivelsfield anyway so they weren’t options! I had intended to go mad on the shacks on the West Coastway today, until this point at least I hadn’t even got close to it! Much to my surprise, the next Southern service to Brighton was 442412+442416, both winning for me so a nice little bonus! A leap to Preston Park is had to score the shack there, leaving just 2 more stations outside the zones to get now, far better than how it was earlier!
A trio of winning 377s followed next with the 1911 to Littlehampton, scoring 377103, 377421 and 377426 in one go on the trip to Shoreham-by-Sea. A short wait here at yet another winning shack (I need absolutely loads on the West Coastway) gets me yet another trio of 377s, this time it’s 377147, 377455 and 377407 with 147 and 455 winning in the game of Electrostar Bingo I’m playing today, bailing at Lancing for the winner shack. Another short wait, but by now a rather cold one, gets me winning 377118 on the insect leap to East Worthing. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you by now why I got off here...Nothing much of note happened lately, except the guard on 377118 successfully getting rid of two fare-dodging youngsters, and that here at East Worthing I finally had some food, about 9.5 hours after the Subway in Birmingham! My first 313/2 is sampled next, and 313204 finally shows up on a Brighton stopper, with it being so nippy outside now I was glad to almost literally jump on in a motor coach into the warmth! The notebook finally comes out again to update this, and boy wasn’t it a bumpy ride on the move to Portslade! I note directions off the map in the confirmation e-mail for the hotel, and the final train of the day is coming up.
Shame to end the day on dud 377125, but by now I’m getting worn out and need to get to base camp for the night. We arrive at Hove at 2048 and it’s off I go using the maps function on my phone instead of the directions I noted, just as well as the roads aren’t clearly marked! Once I checked in, the kettle goes on and I call home to let them know I was safe and sound. After that, it was time to get some paperwork done and listen to some tunes. Bit of variety on, and indeed the first lot since just before London! So let’s quickly round up the day:
29 winners (27 excluding LU), 15 winner shacks and mileage TBC, as I’ve not got my moves all logged in my RailMiles app yet. Last one I had entered was the Woldingham to East Croydon one! Really enjoyed my very productive day on the Southern Region, although why I haven’t done a Southern Daysave like this before is beyond me. Shame the day’s already over, but over it is and I’ll be back as soon as I can! An epic shame to have to go back to work tomorrow, I could easily spend a week down here! At least I’ve got one more journey on the Southern Region in the morning to get me back to London.
Oh, and for anyone wondering (like I was when I finished typing this lot up!), I'm now down to 129 more 377s to get. When the 377/7s are all here, that number will skyrocket again but it's come down a long way since earlier!
It's finally upon me, the epic invasion of the Southern Region by the Western Region man! Shame the trip can't last more than a day and a bit but it'll have to do for now, but since I managed to book some time off finally after waiting for 2 months and 4 days, I have a feeling I'll be back soon enough finances depending
As usual, there will be a live trip report on Twitter too, with it properly beginning in the morning at 0630 depending on whether Orange will actually provide me with a mobile data signal up here...Hashtag is #SRinvader14I also have got myself a second-hand laptop recently, and seeing if it can cope with the usual workload I need it to survive. So far so good, as it's allowing me to use YouTube in one Chrome tab and the forum in another, without having to separate them into different windows. It's not entirely fast granted, but for a fairly old machine it's doing well so far and not bad for £99.99! Having it will make typing these things up far easier for sure, less difficulty than on my phone I'd hope!
The rest of this will be coming up soon, I've got the alarm set for 0600 so it's time to finish the preparations!
EDIT: Just finished typing this lot up, took a while but here's day 1 of what's turned out to be an epic bash. Read on for the details...
10/03/2014 - Techniquest's Southern Region Invader
Well I may have only booked this trip about 9 days ago, but it felt like an eternity coming! Heavy and sore eyes await me with the 0600 alarm, just as well as I was having some bad dreams about work! As you do...Breakfast is formed merely of two crumpets this morning, and it's soon time to leave for what has become my usual Monday morning travel, the 0645 to Hereford. It's not VX12 FBO this morning, but instead YJ05 WCW, the Optare Tempo which was my most regularly travelled on bus in the first year of commuting to/from Hereford before VX12 FBO arrived. 6,916.3 miles have been had on VX12 FBO now in the 2 years it's been up here, way more than I've travelled on anything ever! Anyway...Arrival into Hereford is at 0745 and when Morrisons open a large bottle of Tango Cherry is sourced for just 99p. With still a fair few snacks in my bag from last week and now plenty of liquid refreshment, it's back to the station for some coffee and observations for the forum's "Trains you've seen working" thread. Oh, and I made sure there was time for some classic tunes too of course! It's a bit nippy in the breeze but still a lovely sunny day in Herefordshire.
170505 and 153356 are forming the 0849 Hereford to Birmingham New Street this morning, and it's time for Green Day to be pumped into the ear canals this morning for now, the still-legendary American Idiot album being played. I swear the Metro's getting worse, no content within it which I wanted to read! I note that, according to my RailMiles pages, I'll have had 459 miles off 170505 by the time I get to Birmingham New Street, which means I'm finally getting somewhere with clearing the LM 170s! As we approach Worcester-super-Mare (I must stop using that joke now!) it's out with the laptop to hammer this out. Also worth observing that the sunshine has been replaced with mostly overcast weather now in Worcestershire. Otherwise, little to note really on a mundane journey such as this one. Although one day, when the 170s are finished with, it'll be a nostalgic memory! Back to Altaria now as we continue heading north to Birmingham and as I type up the observations so far. As we struggle up the Lickey, I ponder what a Hereford to Birmingham New Street journey will be like in 10 or 20 years time. Certainly in 2024 the 170s will be getting old, very much so in 2034! Of course, it could be EMUs by then, which conjures up the odd image of an elderly 377 cruising through rural Herefordshire!
Once we leave Worcestershire, the sun is back. Arrival into New Street is at 1018, and I’m gutted I’m not booked on the 1030 to Euston as it’s winner 390118! I finally end up at Subway opposite Moor Street station for my usual choice of sub, which ends up clearing my Subcard account for the magical thou in points!
Very much needed and filling food that, with the drink it was well worth the £5! A trespass incident has caused delays and cancellations to many services today, with the 0843 Euston to Edinburgh being about 50 minutes late leaving New Street as the worst delay I observed. Sadly, it’s 221118 and 221103 on the 0652 Edinburgh to Euston and not the hoped for 390. However I’ve never had a 221 between Coventry and Euston so not a total loss. Only Stafford to Rugby remains as required on a 221 now then. Once the woman occupying another reserved seat moved to an available one, and got her stuff off my seat, I set up base camp on 221103, with us leaving just 1 minute late from New Street. The line through Coventry is open and we pass through the area with no issues. Meanwhile, the sunshine has gone to be replaced by clouds again, and I’m enjoying a latte in my Virgin Trains travel mug. Time to again update the observations as this trip report is now back up to date. Sure is easier typing up the trip report as I go! Milton Keynes is soon enough out of the way and it’s RA to Euston (RA = Right Away, in this context non-stop), surprisingly it’s a smooth comfortable and enjoyable journey despite it being on 221s! Arrival at Euston is 1 minute late at 1234, and after a stretch of legs it’s straight off to the Victoria line for 11063+11064 on a 7 minute trip to Victoria. On the mainline station, a forum member had advised previously that I was almost guaranteed to see a 377/6 on platforms 9-12, which turned out to be correct and I couldn’t resist jumping on 377612 for a guaranteed win (since I’d not previously seen a 377/6) on the 1301 to Dorking. Especially since this gave me a chance to charge the laptop for 10 minutes which would have been useful, if later I’d found the time to get it out! 59202 is noted on the 1242 Acton to Purley at Clapham Junction, and I’ve already seen 9 of the 26 377/6s by the time I head onwards with 377139+377157 (139 wins) on a leap to East Croydon. I’m bailing here as a) it’s RA to Brighton afterwards and I need a coffee break and b) I want to get some stuff done on the East Grinstead and Uckfield lines. Costa is visited for a medium Americano, the first Costa coffee I’ve had in ages, possibly since mid-January if not before then!
hock: 2552 and 2557 are scooped for sight on the Tramlink system, 8 more to go now, before returning to the mainline platforms for winners 377442+377159 on the 1340 to East Grinstead.I’d forgotten how far out zone 6 reaches, Upper Warlingham on this line. I swear Coulsdon South and Upper Warlingham never used to be in the Travelcard zones back when I did regular London bashes a few years back, but I could be mistaken. An independant coffee shop is noted at Sanderstead, and with so many 377s needed I’m amazed how many dud ones I’ve seen so far. I bail at Dormans for the shack scratch, and there’s absolutely nothing of note here. 377159+377442 come back to take me to my next shack scratch at Woldingham, from where I’d hoped to get the next East Grinstead train but no hope. Particularly wanted to get back for some winners I’d seen going to East Grinstead, instead I end up festering here for half an hour for them. I do get the chance to assist an elderly passenger plan her journey to London for tomorrow so she can visit her daughter for a 50th birthday bash, so that was nice. I note later too that the 1529 from here is booked for a 12-car train, which I hadn’t expected. So my first trio of 377s today is a triple win with 377140, 377132 and 377107, most appreciated that! En-route to East Croydon, I tot up the amount of 377s I need (not including the 377/7s as I’ve no gen on how many of those there will be) and it sits at 146 of them at that point. Lots of Victoria-Clapham, Clapham-Croydon and Victoria-Croydon leaps (and vice-versa) in the future I’m predicting! After noting it was 377107 on the rear of my trio, it was 7 winners so far (9 including LU) which was good going so far. A nice and easy cross-platform connection was now made, most conveniently, onto the 1548 to Southampton Central and Bognor Regis, with 377475+377467 (475 wins) providing the DC-age.
An uneventful run to Redhill was had, and I visit Puccinos on platform 2 for a large Americano, only my 4th coffee of the day which is shocking by my usual standards! The man serving was very friendly, and I got my coffee just in time to jump on 377111 for a leap to Merstham. Didn’t know if it was required as I got on, but my NREA confirmed it was. Dang this coffee is nice, I’d forgotten just how good the Puccinos coffee was, having not visited an outlet since the 2012 ALR and it was well worth the £2.55. Having scooped Merstham, it was next onto winner 377456 to Godstone for, you’ve guessed it, a winner shack. 143 more 377s to go now, slowly that number is coming down! 377468 rolls in from Tonbridge (last time I used a passenger train down this way it was in the hands of SET 375s, shows how long it’s been!) and, guess what, it’s a winner! A quick trip through the subway provides me with 377119 to Reigate, another winner shack. The 377 is also a winner for the short trip which was a nice surprise. I get it back to Redhill on the 1712 to Victoria, using the crossover to gain access from platform 2 to the Up line, required microgrice. 377119 is winner number 12 on the mainline today, Reigate the 5th winner shack.
377114,dud, is up next for an insect leap to Earlswood, and I was supposed to be going onwards on the next train to Horley, however I see winner 377438 on a trio of 377s going to London, so I can’t resist jumping on. Back at Redhill, I observe winners 377123 and 377146 were also in the consist, another trio of winning 377s! The winning spree continues after some more observations (I’m going on RTT a lot to get the service details, being as I am without timetables!) with 377411 on a leap to Salfords. I realise after getting there I was going to bail at Horley, then double-back to Salfords before returning south, oops. There seems to be a problem on the Down Main, trains are at a stop. 377451, extremely dud, takes me onwards to Horley, this 377 having been had something like SEVEN times altogether now! The queue of trains on the Down Main worked out well for me, as it meant I could still connect into one of them at Horley. 377203, 377135 and 377468 are on the delayed 1816 from Horley to Littlehampton, 203 and 135 winning. We use the new platform 7 at Gatwick Airport, another required micro-grice. I finally decide on which of the 4 stations, outside the Travelcard zones, I still need on the Brighton Main Line I’ll be scooping, in this case it’s Hassocks. Not that we stopped at Balcombe or Wivelsfield anyway so they weren’t options! I had intended to go mad on the shacks on the West Coastway today, until this point at least I hadn’t even got close to it! Much to my surprise, the next Southern service to Brighton was 442412+442416, both winning for me so a nice little bonus! A leap to Preston Park is had to score the shack there, leaving just 2 more stations outside the zones to get now, far better than how it was earlier!
A trio of winning 377s followed next with the 1911 to Littlehampton, scoring 377103, 377421 and 377426 in one go on the trip to Shoreham-by-Sea. A short wait here at yet another winning shack (I need absolutely loads on the West Coastway) gets me yet another trio of 377s, this time it’s 377147, 377455 and 377407 with 147 and 455 winning in the game of Electrostar Bingo I’m playing today, bailing at Lancing for the winner shack. Another short wait, but by now a rather cold one, gets me winning 377118 on the insect leap to East Worthing. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you by now why I got off here...Nothing much of note happened lately, except the guard on 377118 successfully getting rid of two fare-dodging youngsters, and that here at East Worthing I finally had some food, about 9.5 hours after the Subway in Birmingham! My first 313/2 is sampled next, and 313204 finally shows up on a Brighton stopper, with it being so nippy outside now I was glad to almost literally jump on in a motor coach into the warmth! The notebook finally comes out again to update this, and boy wasn’t it a bumpy ride on the move to Portslade! I note directions off the map in the confirmation e-mail for the hotel, and the final train of the day is coming up.
Shame to end the day on dud 377125, but by now I’m getting worn out and need to get to base camp for the night. We arrive at Hove at 2048 and it’s off I go using the maps function on my phone instead of the directions I noted, just as well as the roads aren’t clearly marked! Once I checked in, the kettle goes on and I call home to let them know I was safe and sound. After that, it was time to get some paperwork done and listen to some tunes. Bit of variety on, and indeed the first lot since just before London! So let’s quickly round up the day:
29 winners (27 excluding LU), 15 winner shacks and mileage TBC, as I’ve not got my moves all logged in my RailMiles app yet. Last one I had entered was the Woldingham to East Croydon one! Really enjoyed my very productive day on the Southern Region, although why I haven’t done a Southern Daysave like this before is beyond me. Shame the day’s already over, but over it is and I’ll be back as soon as I can! An epic shame to have to go back to work tomorrow, I could easily spend a week down here! At least I’ve got one more journey on the Southern Region in the morning to get me back to London.
Oh, and for anyone wondering (like I was when I finished typing this lot up!), I'm now down to 129 more 377s to get. When the 377/7s are all here, that number will skyrocket again but it's come down a long way since earlier!
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I still have plenty of 313/2s to see but progress has been made at least.
. Arrival home is earlier than usual at 2205, and by 0030 Ive had food and its made me fall asleep watching TV so its off to bed for a proper good nights sleep. Flipping fantastic trip, which Ive loved every minute of. Wish I could have stayed on it for longer, but no such opportunity, and all good things must come to an end I suppose. Ill certainly be back on another Daysave as soon as is practical, sometime later this year in the summer seems likely. Only the two winners on the Tube today, but over both days there were 31 winners and 15 winner shacks so a pretty decent result and worth every penny of the £56.90 I spent on fares! 
