Here we go gang, the results of my Nottingham tram bash!
08/06/2015 - Tech's NET Gain
Finally, after more than 11 years since my last visit, I'm returning to the trams in Nottingham! It's been on my list of stuff to do for a long time, part of the motivation for doing it now was having seen how bare my NREA is [that is, completely empty! - Ed] and that I have a lot of shacks to get on the NET system. Finding some reasonable fares to do this trip cemented the trip into 2015's 'Must Do' list, which has come down OK since the year began, but there's still loads to get done. So why's my NREA empty, despite having covered all the track in 2004? That is simply because I didn't record my moves anywhere until 2005. "No video footage?" I hear you ask. No, because I was using my Mum's 8mm tape camcorder at the time, and the tapes have become a bit corrupted over the years sadly. So I'm basically starting again, although thankfully I did tick off the trams for sight as I went in 2004, leaving just 209 of the original batch to see.
The trip title, as promised, is not a pop culture reference this time. It refers of course to NET as in the name of the trams system in Nottingham, and bizzarely to Net as in Gross and Net when referring to profits etc. Slightly strange I know but it just sounded right when it came to mind on a commute to work!
As usual, the bag prep and de-rancification is done the previous afternoon, and at 0600 the alarm is going off. I've been looking forward to this one for a while, especially since things have been, well, tough lately. This will have been noticeable in recent posts on this trip report thread, but let's not go there again! This trip report was started on the work-bound commute two days ago, as I knew I'd have no opportunities to charge my phone all day. Therefore doing what I could beforehand made sense, so as to save battery charge levels on the day! As always the time flies by in the morning and it's soon time to go after breakfast, travel mug [can you guess its contents? - Ed] in hand. Sadly my earphones have gone missing, so it's no tunes until I find a new pair. Gutted as that pair's gone here, there and everywhere with me and have been so reliable! My phone is also playing up this morning, no doubt as a result of dropping it and the battery falling out on the walk to the bus stop, but eventually it works properly again!
Costa time upon arrival into Hereford, then it's off to Morrisons for a supply raid, as I didn't bring much with me somehow! Sadly Morrisons don't sell earphones anymore, gutted! I get overcharged on my chocolate bars, refunded at least but still not the point. Meal deal for later sourced and it's 153354+170507 on today's 0849 to Birmingham New Street, or as
47403 called it recently Birmingham Bat Cave!
Time for 55 miles and 33 chains of DBT! With nothing much to do, after a flick through today's Metro [I don't know why I look at it, never anything of interest to me in it! - Ed] I read my 2011 ALR trip report out of my A4 book for the journey to Birmingham. I can't believe it's not far off 4 years since that trip, and I enjoyed the nostalgia! Arrival into the Bat Cave [again, thanks 47403 for that! - Ed] is at 1021 and I visit a traditional stop in Birmingham, the Tesco Metro, in search of earphones. No luck here either, so I return to the platforms via a Costa move. When I hear the 1049 to Nottingham is formed of 2 coaches I'm filled with dread, as it's bound to be rammed as a result.
Super Dud 170113 rolls in, thankfully my Advance provides me a seat reservation and I'm more than happy to use it! Amazingly we leave on time, and sadly no sign of my last two Freightliner 70s or last 66 [70018, 70019 and 66953 - Ed] on Landore Street FLT. I really hope I can get some earphones later before the journey home, this is such a boring journey! RTT confirms my fears that there is nothing else to Nottingham, from Derby, after this 170 until the 1119 from New Street. So I'm on it all the way to the hub of the East Midlands, oh well. I devour my meal deal for an early lunch, and the vibrations on this 170 are grating on my nerves on the crawl from Peartree to Derby! 37605 and 37607 make a very pleasant sight as we arrive into Derby, and they may not have made much noise on their light engine move onto the RVEL site but the bit of noise they did make was more than welcome! To my surprise, I score 37407 [previously on the Churnet Valley Railway - Ed] and 73139 on the RVEL site, as well as a couple of coaches. I couldn't ID the 31s apart from 31459, which I didn't need. Onwards to Nottingham, can't wait to get off and get started on the main event now! Arrival into Nottingham's platform 7 (former platform 6) is bang on time at 1203, and I waste no time in heading to the tram stop. Winner for everything 223 kicks off the fun and games, with Lace Market being the first of 17 shacks that I need being scored.
It's winner 210, one of the original batch of trams, next to take me to Noel Street. Beaconsfield Street's tram stop is within a 4 minute walk, so naturally I do that before the next tram, one less shack to get! 201 is a winner on the leap to Shipstone Street, where I see two NET employees cleaning the shelter. Clearly NET are proud of their system! Winner for everything 217 is up next for the trip to Basford [it's all about the bass...ford! It made me smile at the time! - Ed], continuing from Wilkinson Street after a few minutes wait for a driver change. There's loads of trams on the depot, but sadly they're all too far away to be ID'd. My last tram from the original batch, 209, is seen as we roll into Basford, that confirmed the bailout from 217 then! I score it back to Wilkinson Street for yet another shack scratch [station grice in old money, and how I used to describe it, according to my 2011 ALR trip report! - Ed]. All of them, with exception of Highbury Vale, are required so as you can imagine I'm pleased with progress today! Winner 212 is up next to Cinderhill, or at least that had been the plan. For some reason I don't pay attention to where I am and end up alighting at Highbury Vale instead, oops! Turned out to be a good choice, despite the unplanned 10 minute fester for the next Phoenix Park tram, as the next one was winner 215, so I make sure I get on it and stop looking at photos on my phone!
When I arrive at Cinderhill, my fear that I had actually done this one on my 2004 visit is confirmed as I immediately recognise the curve and incline under the road bridge. Yes, I remember standing on the platform filming a tram coming in from Phoenix Park. Oh well, never mind! 215 is soon back to take me to David Lane, and I'm only here for a couple of minutes before I join winner 202 for a trip to Bulwell Forest. Winner for everything 225 takes me back to Bulwell, and it's 33 minutes until a mainline train so I decide not to do that after all. It would have meant extra expense anyway. 209 is back next to take me to Butler's Lane, and 12 minutes after I get off it I escape the suburb on 209 [typical, it takes me all these years to get it and now I've had it 3 times! - Ed!] for a short journey to Moor Bridge. 223 is also back next to take me towards the city centre, and I'm alighting at Radford Road. 212 is also back for my BSB to Hyson Green Market. Here I decide to replenish supplies of pop, and get a new pair of earphones from Asda. It's worth noting the loop lines aren't at all spread out much, so much so Noel Street is on one side of Asda and Hyson Green Market the other! With supplies purchased, I make the short [approximately 4 minutes - Ed] walk to The Forest. Hardly anytime later I'm on 215 for a leap to High School (Nottingham). It's finally back to winner trams, with winner 207 taking me one stop to Trent University.
"Should I or shouldn't I?" I ask myself. "Hmm, yeah go on then" I eventually decide. What's this complicated decision, I hear you ask. Whether or not to have a Costa break! I decide it's coffee time again, and once inside I vote to have a takeaway one. Another 10 points [crikey, that's now 30 points added today! - Ed] added to my Costa Club card, which is building up the total nicely for my next big trip. Good thing I went for a takeaway after all, as I score winner 204 to Royal Centre. My good deed done for the day here, as I assist an elderly gentleman work out how to tap in with his pass. Why they don't properly explain these things when such changes are introduced I'll never know! Winner 221 is next for the trip to my last shack to get, prior to the new lines opening of course, at Old Market Square. Quite a nice area here, it has to be said. I just have enough to update my NREA with the results so far before the next tram to Station Street [it was tempted to call it Station Square, in reference to Sonic Adventure - Ed] rolls in with winner for everything 224. That'll do me nicely, and much to my surprise we don't call at Lace Market! It's now 1458, so it took all in 2 hours and 48 minutes to do all the shacks, not bad at all. 12 winner trams and 17 winner shacks [well, 16 as it turned out after that Cinderhill thing, but it wasn't marked off so still counts as a winner! - Ed], well chuffed! I now fancy scoring some mainline winners.
So I look to the 1505 Nottingham to London St Pancras. Surely I'm likely to get a winner 222, seeing as I need 16 of them. Ha, yeah right, it's dud 222012, which I had in October 2007 [yes that long ago! - Ed] to Burton-on-Trent before MML [now we're really getting into nostalgia territory! - Ed] stopped running Meridians to Barnsley and Burton-on-Trent! OK, new plan, as I still have an hour until my latest move home. 1520 to Matlock as far as Beeston then onto a 170 to Derby at least, good there's a plan. Good choice there, as winner 156403 is on the Matlock! Still we leave 4 down for some reason, which wasn't explained. I'm grateful to the trolley lady as she lent me her T key to open my earphones packet! I watch 43082 and 43073 race through Beeston, and it's Super Dud 170397 forward. RTT is out now and there's no bass off these JVC Gumy earphones to begin with, but once I get used to pushing them into the ear canals sufficiently they do a good job. The Sheffield train that should have been in front of us is delayed and will be at Long Eaton after us, a fact confirmed on the PIS at Long Eaton so I bail and try again to score a 222. This time I am in luck, winner 222011 takes me to Derby and the phone charger goes in sharpish. At Derby I have a while to wait, and in the end I end up doing what I wasn't going to do, in this case that's getting on a Voyager. With the amount I'm going to need my phone for now, a charge was deemed vital.
65% would probably be enough, but as I also want to use YouTube for some tunes it's not going to be. 221132 takes me to Birmingham Bat Cave [it's really not going to be forgotten that! - Ed] and on with the charge. Just after Burton on Trent I see 20314+20311 with a new S stock train for delivery to London Underground, but it doesn't twig I could probably bail at Tamworth to see it until it's too late, d'oh! I'm getting off this 221 before I know it, I had really got stuck into the bookwork so barely noticed the journey to my surprise. Off to McDonalds for a coffee break next, and eventually I head to platform 10b for the 1749 home. "Train is formed of 2 coaches" is on the PIS, oh dear this will be fun [if it's not obviously there was a gazillion tons of sarcasm implied there! - Ed] then! Eventually, once XC get moving from platform 10a, the ECS rolls in from Tyseley and I have my fingers crossed as the crowd is enormous. Fortunately it's a pair of 170s, 170513+170512 on it tonight, and I work my way to the back of 170512 and find a table seat. We leave 1 minute down, not bad considering the ECS didn't arrive until 1748! Time to crack on with this trip report, and it takes until Ledbury to get back up to date. The Cornish pasty I'd defrosted last night and brought with me was more than unappealing, I could really taste the rancidity of it. There's a lesson to be learnt, don't freeze Ginsters pasties as they are right proper minging afterwards!
All of the journeys on the mainline are added to the RailMiles app ready to be uploaded, I can't add the many NET moves as they're not recognised locations sadly. Mileage figures are already known though, thanks to the very useful Miles and Chains book by Stuart Clarke. So there's not a lot of bookwork to do now, and I'm getting a lift home so no festering in Hereford after all, bonus! I post this trip report, and apologies for barely statistics, as I haven't got them all figured out. I can tell you I'm on 6,038 miles for the year though so a little ahead of the target. 14 winners all in, including the 2 mainline winners. 18 winner shacks (when including Beeston) and a fair bit of mileage so I'm very pleased indeed with how today went!
The rest of June has been thrown into disarray, as a family holiday is supposed to be happening all of a sudden in less than 2 weeks. I can only do half of it due to work, but who knows what's happening now. My planned trip to Ebbw Vale Town is out of the window currently as a result!
Enjoy the read gang!
I've already started work on the trip report, as I've got no opportunity to charge my phone tomorrow during the day, so it made to crack on ahead of time!
