If Virgin hadn't wanted something like £1,000 each for our return flights we'd have used them. Indeed, I'm not sure how come we didn't check out BA in the end. I'm still waiting to hear back from Norwegian, which is disappointing. As is awaiting the arrival of my AFQR 2016 still!
I've got FlightRadar24 on my phone now, so I anticipate filling my AFQR quicker now
Well jealous of your 747 experience, would love to have a go!
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21/03/2016 - Tech's Evacuate The Lists
Having not got to sleep til at least 0200, it was hard to get up just before 0600! Still, I soldier on and get up for a nice coffee. Gosh I missed Douwe Egberts when I was in New York! I make another one for the trip to town, just as well that I also took my warm hat, it was very cold this morning. I could have gone for the 0753 off Hereford, but my stomach now took over, and thanks to my sister having cash on her [I owe her £4.70 now, must remember that! - Ed] we get breakfast in The Walk Cafe, Hereford. A quick supply raid for some pop in Morrisons is carried out then I check for gen. Sadly I will still need a 507 after today if it all sticks, and to get my last 508 I will need the 1704 off Lime Street, so after all the split ticket planning I end up shelling out for an Off Peak Return straight through after all. As I had £46.50 in RTVs [from 3 seperate occasions earlier this year, and only that much due to Virgin and Northern being generous! - Ed] I pay only £7.70 for my ticket, very nice! I also redeem my full Pumpkin collector card, then join 175006 on the 0908 to Manchester Piccadilly. It's pretty busy, so I was lucky to get on fast and get a seat. Time to get Tech's Mobile Disco on and get the notebook updated from the New York trip, which takes until just before Nantwich. At Crewe I meet up with Fishquinn, and they can't issue a Saveaway here much to our surprise. Eventually dud [surprise surprise! - Ed] 390134 arrives and takes us to Lime Street, where we eventually arrive 8 down. After getting our Saveaways surprisingly quick, we end up on dud 319383 for a leap to Edge Hill.
Dud 319363 takes us onwards to Wavertree Technology Park, where a short wait gets us 319367 in all its dudness [not much luck for me today eh? - Ed] takes us back to Lime Street. A Costa move follows and it's downstairs for some MerseyRail action! My memory of the gen got mixed up, expecting 507017 for some reason, but winner
508139 is scored on a Bus Stop Bash to Liverpool Central. From here we change to the Northern line, hoping for some good luck for Fishquinn. We take dud 507006 to Bootle Oriel Road, my final MerseyRail shack, finally it's scored! Super Dud 507016 is taken back to Sandhills, as Fishquinn needs the Ormskirk branch, and we identify a possible filler move involving the walk from Rice Lane to Walton. Google Maps confirms it's a 5 minute walk, and he scores 508125 on the leap. Platform to platform it is about 6 minutes walk, not bad at all. Next up is 508124, and I remember just how far it is to Ormskirk! After a PNB, we re-join 508124 and it becomes a Super Dud for me.
We bail at Maghull so Fishquinn [for the purposes of typing this, I'm now abbreviating that to FQ - Ed] can score the shack, and 508111 is taken back to Town Green, a scored 508 for FQ as well as a shack score. 507002 is another score for FQ, which brings it one step away from Super Dud status, with 508111 now in the League of Super Duds. The journey back to Sandhills feels like a long one, and I devour a ham roll kindly made by my Mum this morning [I also have a sandwich too, which as I type this I need to eat! - Ed] which silenced the stomach. As we roll into Sandhills, I spy 507017, which clears the MerseyRail fleet for sight at long last! Thing is, it was meant to be sat in Southport at this time, so much examining of RTT occurs today as the afternoon wore on to figure out moves. Next up was 507024 to Central, another score for FQ. Moorfields' platform 1 is currently closed for refurbishment, so we go through non-stop, an odd feeling for sure. We decide to examine the Wirral line, in case 507029 has also not stuck to the plan. We get 508134 to James Street first, pushing it closer to Super Dud for me, then 507026 to Wallasey Grove Road for FQ to score the shack. A tight +2 is only just made onto Super Dud 507005 back to Wallasey Village, another FQ shack score, and in case 507029 turns up we switch platforms.
Back to Grove Road on 507019, it again becoming closer to that magical membership. A more manageable +4 this time gets us back onto 507026, with a successful application to the League of Super Duds. We bail at Birkenhead North, on a prospective leap, and I turn 507013 into a Super Dud on a leap to Leasowe, which is a shack score for FQ. Super Dud 508138 takes us back east, and FQ bails at Birkenhead Park as he needs to get back to Bidston for a Borderlands bash. I was going to join him, but I just can't turn down the chance to get that 507! I feel bad for leaving him on his own mind, but as it turned out it was just as well I didn't go home via Wrexham, as an issue on the Borderlands line was causing delays! It's a tense journey to Liverpool Central, as I just don't know whether 507017 will produce or not. I move it like crazy after alighting, and I make it just before it arrives with 507023 on the 1543 from Southport.
507017 is therefore winner number 2 today, leaving just 507029 to get out of the MerseyRail fleet! I bail at Brunswick, obviously a dud shack, and 508130+508136 take me back to Central, 508136 getting one step closer.
I move it fast here as it's 1640 by the time I'm upstairs, and my last available move homewards is the 1704 from Lime Street. I'm outside Lime Street by 1644 though, and although 507029 didn't produce I'm happy with how today went. I join 350253 on the 1704 and get Tech's Mobile Disco back on while I update the trip report, which takes until just after Winsford. Before I know it we're in Crewe, and I try that Nescafe Alegeria [I think that's how you spell it! - Ed] from WHSmith for £1. I see they've got a good selection of railway fleet books here, including some for multiple European countries. Oh how I was tempted to get the Italy and the Austria ones, an insight into how much I want to go abroad again! 175112 is taking me home tonight, and I was lucky to find a seat on this busy service. The coffee's not bad either, especially for the money! Once back in Hereford after a slow journey, it's time to get some food and a pint, then the bus home. So some stats:
Winners: 2
New sights: 4
Shack scores: 1
Rail fares: £12.90 (after taking off the RTVs!)
Bus fares: £6.20
General expenditure: £13.29 (before Hereford)
Total: £32.39 (before Hereford)
Cheapest bash I've had in a while!
hock:
Never flown Norwegian, they only briefly served Liverpool flying to Copenhagen.
I had a very comfy exit seat with 6' of legroom, and no-one nearby at all. (I still have no idea how that was a viable flight for VS! Must have been full going out to JFK).
!! That's a view and a half!
