Crikey it's all got a bit competitive here.
Anyway, more trips!
28 January 2016
Thursdays are my day off work and over the next few weeks I intend to make the most of the sitution! Today it's out and about with Northern's excellent day ranger offer.
You all know how it starts now... bus to Crewe, visit to the ticket office, coffee time and onto the mandatory move. However today, as I hear the distinctive 'buzzing' of a 323 coming into platform 1, I'm delighted to see its
323229 - I finally managed to get the elusive sod, thus clearing my Northern 323 requirements
I celebrate by taking a seat and enjoying the coffee (so nothing different than usual then) and enjoying the ride to Manchester Piccadilly. The weather is great today and this offers stunning views over as we cross the Holmes Chapel viaduct. At Piccadilly, it's time to get down to business. I head up to the through platforms to pick up
319365 to today's first new station,
Newton-le-Willows. There's only a couple of minutes to wait before
319363 shows up to take me to
Broad Green.
It's then across to the other platform to pick up
319375 to
Whiston.
Over the tracks again and it's onto
319380 to Roby, followed by 319365 for the very short hop to Huyton (probably could have walked it to be fair). There's a very short wait here before
319362 shows up to take me to
Euxston Balshaw Lane (I thought it was pronounced Euxton as in Euston, but the automatic PIS on the train insisted it's "Exton").
There's a bit of a wait here so I go off exploring in the hope of finding some provisions for lunch. I first happen across a fish and chip shop which smells delightful! But no! I must be good and eventually find a Spar shop offering a £3 sandwich meal deal. Purchases made I head back to the station where there's still a little festering, but eventually 319362 returns to take me to Wigan North Western. There's just enough time to grab another caffine fix before
319366 shows up, taking me to Preston.
That enough 319 action for today, as I board 158752 to Blackburn. We arrive a little late meaning it's platform dash time to board 142013. A quick chat to the guard to stop the train allows me to alight at
Pleasington (and pleasant it is!). I walk over the road bridge and onto the other platform, sticking my hand out to ensure 150275 stops, taking me the short journey to
Mill Hill (which definitely isn't a pleasant station!).
My task now is to walk the short distance back to Blackburn station. There's a bit of a wander through an industrial estate before things get better for a stroll along the canal. In fact I'm enjoying the canal walk so much I end up missing the place I'm supposed to turn off the tow-path. I quickly double back and find the exit, but it's not enough. I'm going to just miss my next planned move. I was supposed to be on the next train to York for a forum meet, but my sense of direction has now made me an hour late.
Not one to get too hung up about these things I decide to get a couple more shacks struck off the list. So it's onto 142047 to
Cherry Tree.
The weather has turned now and what started as a nice fresh sunny morening has become stormy, windy, wet and cold. So I'm very pleased to see
142090 appear, and not just because it's required! This takes me all the way to
Burnley Barracks. As I step off at this request stop I realize I'd forgotten to ask the train to stop, but fortunately several others want to get off too. I then make the short walk up the road to
Burnley Manchester Road (getting very wet in the process).
I make it with some time to spare, so I pick up my ticket for tomorrow morning (I was hoping to have a couple of days in Yorkshire, but I got called in to work). My ticket print fine but for some strange reason the collection receipt sticks itself to the back of the ticket, which will make going through the barriers at Crewe tomorrow morning fun! Anyway, it's 158795 for the long run to York.
After meeting up with several forum folk (and a few beers and food later), it's time to head back. I walk back to York station with samgeorge965. samgeorge965 heads for his TPE train, while I join
158849 back to Leeds. There's a little wait here before 333013 takes me to Skipton, where a friend is on hand to take me to Hellifield.
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4 February 2016
Another Thursday, another Northern Day Ranger. The plan today was to head towards Sheffield and grab a few shacks in South Yorkshire. Right from the off, however, things are going wrong. To begin with my bus turns up 10 minutes late, and then we get further delayed waiting in traffic in one of the villages before Crewe. The result is I'm delayed by some 20 minutes upon arrival to Crewe and miss my first train of the day. Not to worry, I think, as I can still get to Sheffield and catch up with my schedule if I miss the shack scratch at Strines. But venturing onto the platform reveals all manner of delays and issues. Something's gone wrong between Manchester and Crewe and everything is running 10 to 15 minutes late.
So it's time to make things up on the cuff (which I hate doing). I recall when I met up with Kite159 last month his horror that I still have several local shacks to tick off, so I make the decision to do something about that. First up it's 323233 to
Sandbach.
There's a little wait here before 323225 arrives for
Chelford. There's a twenty minute wait here which I'd normally use to have a good old explore, but heavy rain puts me off, so I just settle for a walk to the other platform and a sit down in the very basic shelter. It's then onto 323234 to
Goostrey, where there is yet more rain and more basic shelters.
Eventually it's 323229 (having spent a whole year trying to track it down it now decides to show up all the time!) to Cheadle Hulme. There's a bit of a fester here so I head to the ticket machine and pick up a load of tickets for some upcoming journeys then head into the nearby Waitrose to make use of the facilities and purchase a takeaway coffee and my favourite Danish pastry, a Belgian bun (which I guess is actual Belgian, not Danish). Back at the station I head to the Stoke platforms to pick up 323226 to
Macclesfield. A dash across the footbridge to the other platforms sees me board 323227 to
Bramhall.
There's a bit of a wait, but at least the rain has stopped now. Eventually 323231 rolls in to take me to
Prestbury.
There's another footbridge dash to pick up 323236 all the way back to Manchester Piccadilly. There are a couple of errands to run here, including getting a new battery for Mrs crehld's watch, but it's not long before I'm back at Piccadilly, where I decide to check off another Mid-Cheshire line shack. I board 150135, getting off at
Hale.
Here it was onto 142042 for the journey back to Stockport. It's still quite early on, but I make the decision to call it day and get back home at a reasonable time. But there's still a bit of time before the next train towards Crewe, so I decide to take a short hop to Heaton Chapel on 323225. This pays off as on the other platform I find double winners
150270 and
150276 to take me back to Stockport.
It's then onto 323236 which terminates at Alderley Edge. There's a short wait here while I wait for the next south bound Northern train. I can see it coming, but for some reason it's on the other set of tracks. So there's a mad dash as we all cross the footbridge to board 323225 to today's last shack attack at
Holmes Chapel (leaving just Styal on the requirements list between Crewe and Manchester - might need to get the bike out for that one!).
It's not long before 323227 shows up for the final leg back to Crewe. So a much shorter day than initially planned, but at least I managed to get a load of local shacks marked off the requirements list (they had to be done at some point I guess)
One day, preferably Saturday, I will get cure that itch (ooh now that reminds me of a future trip title...) 390114 has bugged me for too long. 68012 has been irritating me for only a 2 day period but it's become quite the irritance already!
