Trips, trips, and yet more trips

[Kristofferson]

Welcome to the club! Some crazy journeys there - the things we do for trains, eh? I don't envy your commute times either...

Congrats on the GWR HSTs as well - an achievement for sure.

 

[LordCreed]

Welcome to the club! Some crazy journeys there - the things we do for trains, eh? I don't envy your commute times either...

Congrats on the GWR HSTs as well - an achievement for sure.

Funnily enough I don't actually mind the commute. I generally will sleep, or will read or do some work on my tablet. I find them to be two hours where I can relax and not spend in front of a computer (which I do at work, and often at home). I used to commute around three hundred miles a day, which wasn't so fun. I'd typically leave at 06:30 in the morning and get back at 22:00.

January Review:

Now, I'm going to take a leaf out of both Techniquests and Kites book to do a little review, as well as list my aims (if I list them here, I might try to keep to them...)

The highlight of this month has to be the Heart of England ranger, which was a very good three days exploring some lines I've never been on. It's definitely something I'll be doing again, as there are a number of lines I still need to cover in that area. It was nice to also get some new traction in, especially the 68's. I'm also so happy to get the final GWR power car. It has taken long enough!

The worst thing this month had to be when an army of football fans boarded my train at Stourbridge Junction. I definitely need to look at fixtures next time!

Aims:

- Travel 40,000 miles on trains this year. (3890 miles in January - 9.75% of target)
- 240 new UK haulage (36 so far this year - 15% of target)
- 240 new UK buses (5 so far this year - 2% of target)
- Clear the GWR fleet (57 to go, plus the 387s as they enter)
- Clear the ATW fleet (too many to count currently)
- Clear the AXC fleet (53 to go)

I would really like to clear all the HST power cars, but might be a challenge.

So, what is planned in February and March? Portsmouth Harbour, Bournemouth, Portsmouth Harbour, Southampton, Reading, Cardiff, Preston, Cardiff, Norwich and Sheffield. And this is why I have no free weekends any more!

 

[Techniquest]

Those are some intense targets! I thought mine were bad!

Some mental amount of bashing coming up, putting me to shame that lot will be. I certainly need to get going and get the requirements falling...

 

[LordCreed]

03/02

Not long into February and it was time for my first trip of the month. I unfortunately won't get a lot of opportunities this month, as I'm away for a couple of the weekends.

As always, I started with my trip to Swindon for work, with 43158 and 43156 being todays power cars on the 08:31 from Cheltenham. A much more sane start time than my usual trips!

After work, I boarded the rather packed 153369 on the 15:12 to Westbury. It seems that every time I use one of the Melksham services they're a bit busier than the previous time. At this rate they'll need a 150 for capacity!

I served my time at Westbury, with a joyful thirty minutes wait for my next train. I really wish Westbury had a decent coffee shop, as it's a fairly busy interchange and there is nothing around. I used to change there a lot when I travelled from Exeter to Salisbury, and I always dreaded the wait.

Eventually 43003 turned up at 16:28 to take me all the way to Penzance. It was an uneventful trip. I slept, I read, I even did a little bit of work. The train was pretty full to around Plymouth, then soon thinned out. By Penzance only a handful were left.

In Penzance there was just enough time to pop up the hill to the Tesco and grab myself some food (it was now nine pm, I was pretty hungry!), before returning to the station to catch the sleeper. 57602 was on the front today, a success because it means I've now cleared the GWR 57s!

For once I decided I'd pay for a berth, instead of sleeping in the day carriages. I needed all the sleep I could get! Seven and a half hours later and we had teleported into London. We arrived a couple of minutes late, mainly due to a slight scheduling mess-up had meant we ended up going through platform 4 (the down relief) at Slough due to the wrong platform being specified.

After a quick PNB / chuck my head under a tap to wake up, it was time to catch the 05:50 to Slough. This was formed of 165111, one of my many needed turbos. A quick change at Slough for 165119 the 06:17 to Windsor meant I wasn't in the cold for too long (hooray!).

Windsor was my chance to grab some food, with a McDonalds opposite the castle. It was nice and empty, and the bacon roll was definitely much needed. I used this opportunity to log my miles thus far, before heading to Windsor and Eton Riverside to catch the 07:23 to Staines. This was formed of 455847, a helpful reminder of just how much of SWTs fleet I have left to clear. Changing at Staines for 450091, the 07:52 to Reading. It was now time to go home, as I had things to do in the afternoon.

I was faced with a choice, either change at Bristol Parkway, change at Swindon, or change at Worcester Shrub Hill. I picked the last of these options, as I find trains to Worcester to be fairly quiet, as well as the route being reasonably scenic. I made this decision as 43176 was already sat in the platform, but I'm glad I went for this option as I had two seats to myself the entire way.

At Worcester I changed for 158798 the 11:06 to Cheltenham.

It wasn't a bad little trip, it meant I could tick off a few more units and the last of the 57s. It also meant that I've now finally cleared off the two Windsor branches. Only Twyford and Bourne End remain of our branches. I'm slowly getting there!

A trip to Bristol later in the weekend meant I could add 220018 and 220006 to my list of cleared traction. All helpful to clear my goals this year!

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on clearing the GW 57s

 

[noddy1878]

Well done on 57602! Its back out then. My lowest mileage GWR 57 with a measly 585 miles. In comparison to 57605 which is on 4,667 miles! Definitely a varied route from home and back!

 

[LordCreed]

Well done on 57602! Its back out then. My lowest mileage GWR 57 with a measly 585 miles. In comparison to 57605 which is on 4,667 miles! Definitely a varied route from home and back!

It is indeed back out, although did have problems starting a couple of nights ago! Luckily, my journey was nice and uneventful. I seem to be fairly lucky with the sleeper!

Yesterday there was a rather unfortunately incident on the Kemble line, meaning the route was closed for the afternoon / evening (and all of today). Because of the ticket acceptance, I decided to catch the Stagecoach 51 back to Cheltenham, as to meet my goals I definitely needed to get a few more buses in. 15972, a 14' plate Enviro 400 took me for the one hour, forty minute journey home. Definitely not the quickest, but better than a full and standing voyager. The bus was a quarter full at best, and made for quite a pleasant journey.

I now face the decision of what to do tonight to get home. Do I go on the bus again, hoping to clear another of the fleet? Or do I go back on a rail replacement coach to Gloucester and then into Cheltenham by either train or Stagecoach Gold service. Final option is to go via Parkway, and endure the forty minutes on what will be a full and standing Voyager. Answers on a postcard please...

Towards the end of the month I had three days annual leave where me and a friend were going to do a little trip to Bournemouth, Cardiff and Reading. Mainly for buses, but also to do the much needed Cardiff Valley lines. Unfortunately he has had his annual leave cancelled, so I'm now at a loss as to what I want to do. I'm tempted to go to my parents and spend a few days travelling on Wilts and Dorset services. Once again, suggestions on a postcard!

 

[Techniquest]

Nice work on getting 57602 in I had it way back in June 2004 from Taunton to Paddington (via Bristol Temple Meads and Trowbridge) and it took a fair while to get the sub-class cleared.

Ridiculously good little trip had there, certainly most productive!

 

[LordCreed]

14/02

Having not been out anywhere for a few days due to work and other commitments, and having received word that the Chiltern slam door set was top and tailed, I decided that I would have a little trip out after work.

The day started with my alarm waking me up at 05:00 as per usual, and like normal I didn't want to get up... A brisk walk to the station in what was another fairly chilly morning got me there in time for the 05:54. Todays power cars were 43174 and 43169, and the trip was pretty uneventful. Arriving two minutes early into Swindon, it was now time for work.

Fast forward eight hours, and it was time to escape. The 15:11 to Paddington was my choice, with power car 43196 leading. As always, I opted for a seat in the reasonably empty coach B. The journey went pretty smoothly and we arrived three minutes early. All going well so far. On arrival at Paddington I purchased the tickets I would need later, before heading out on the street to get a bus to Marylebone. Whilst getting the tube or walking are also good options, I need to get my bus scores up as at this rate I will never ever reach my goal.

Stagecoach 12315 (a 14 plate Enviro 400 Hybrid) on Route 205 was todays vehicle for the short hop round the corner. Literally eight minutes later and I was at Marylebone. With a hour to go, this meant I was in no rush. After making a few phonecalls it was getting to be nearly five, so I decided to head in and have a look as the screens. This was the moment things decided to get suddenly worse. "This Service is Formed of 4 Coaches" was not the message I wanted to see. It turns out that the set had been graffitied earlier in the day and was instead replaced with a unit. To make things worse, this unit was 168001, one of the very 168s I'd actually caught.

With this sudden turn of bad luck, I decided to wait out for the 18:15 and catch it as far as Birmingham Moor Street. 68008 took the lead, with 82305 being the DVT at the London end. This provided a far better journey than the rather crammed unit I could have caught. I was glad I waited and got a 68 I needed.

The journey went smoothly, and we arrived into Birmingham Moor Street on time at 19:59. A brisk walk to Birmingham New Street gave me time to grab some food before boarding the 20:12 back home to Cheltenham. This was formed of 221137, sadly not a winner. Definitely not helpful in my quest to clear the XC fleet.

I'm planning another little outing on Thursday evening, this time to Wales (although work might get in the way), but it'll probably be a quiet rest of the week other than that.

I'm all too aware that to meet my goals, I'm going to have to seriously increase the number of new bus scores, as with just seven this year it's not going so well! If anyone fancies a random trip in London or the South West, then let me know, as it is much needed!

 

[Kite159]

68002?

Don't you mean 68012 unless one of the non-Chiltern batch has popped up on a Silver set with the DVT?

 

[LordCreed]

68002?

Don't you mean 68012 unless one of the non-Chiltern batch has popped up on a Silver set with the DVT?

Oops, I did infact mean 68008. Because I was originally intending to get 68002, but sadly that was the one that wasn't out.

 

[Kite159]

*grumbles at 68008 being out for it be my last 'Chiltern' Cat*.

 

[noddy1878]

Bad luck with the replaced train! Even more so with the replacement being dud! At least you did get some 68 action even if it wasn't the one you wanted.

 

[37038]

68002/018 are out on the Banbury set at the moment

 

[LordCreed]

The VSTP Trip Out:

Today is the first day of four that I'm off, having booked a couple of days annual leave. My original plan was a short break to Poland to play on the trains and planes out there. Sadly this hasn't happened for a number of reasons, but luckily I hadn't spent lots on flights so it wasn't any major loss. The question was what to do now? My original plan for today was to catch the 05:54 into London, then spend a little bit of time on the 387s before catching a few of the more unusual buses in London.

At 05:00 my alarm woke me, and a quick look out of the window confirmed that it was both rather rainy, and rather windy. Any motivation to go out at such an early time also went out of the window. Back to bed it was, opting to rise again at the much more normal time of 09:00. And I'm glad I did, as I would have been shattered if not (I'm already fairly tired!).

After waking up second time, packing and getting my lunch together, it was time to depart. I'd opted with the 11:26 to Bristol, as I figured for a voyager it shouldn't be too terribly overcrowded. On arrival at the station I noted that the 11:00 was running nearly twenty late. Perfect, I could catch this all the way to Exeter. I was also pleasantly surprised that on boarding 220009 there was a number of empty seats. Doubly perfect! Five minutes out of Cheltenham and the train decided it would enjoy the company of a piece of storm pipe. Luckily it didn't take the crew long to fix and we were on our way again. The rest of the journey was uneventful, and we arrived into Exeter St Davids just 14 minutes late. Not bad considering the weather up north! I think if I'd have waited for the 11:26, I might still be waiting now!

At Exeter I had a little bit of time to kill, so I figured I'd catch a bus to the bus station so I could pick up some of the new, rather smart, Stagecoach timetables. 19109, an Enviro 400, did the honours on the way up the hill. I've never seen a bus with such dirty windows, it's a good job that I didn't need to look out of them! For the return to Exeter St Davids, I caught 34862 a 2006 registered Dart. I quite like the darts, and certainly much prefer them to the Solos that Wilts and Dorset loved so much.

Back at Exeter St Davids it was time to catch the 13:57 to Teignmouth. This was formed of 143612 - certain members should stop reading now - and I realised that I actually miss the pacers now I've moved a little more north. Maybe I should move north to Northern land so I can catch some more pacers! The other thing I've realised today is that I do miss the lovely scenery in Devon. I don't think I realised how lucky I was living in Exeter for those couple of years.

After killing a couple of hours, I caught 150128 back to Exeter on the 16:56 before then waiting for the slightly delayed 17:37 down to Penzance. The leading power car on this one was 43088. Here I had another little bit of luck, as there was a declassified first class coach in the formation. This was perfect, as it gave me a table to use to type up this!

Tonight I'll be doing my usual sleeper move back up to London ready for tomorrow. My plan is to get one of the Hull Train 180s up to Doncaster and then spend the day on TPE before returning to Cheltenham. I have no clue how far north I'll make it given the weather, but we will see how many more VSTP paths are needed!

 

[Cowley]

A nice day out. Nothing like a declassified 1st class coach and a good view.

 

[Techniquest]

Considering the late start to the day, that was a good bit of work! 143612 is special to me as it was my last 143 to get for haulage many years ago. Looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip mind!

 

[LordCreed]

Time to continue with where I left off..

I'll begin with the Up Sleeper, which once again was hauled by 57602. Always nice to add a few more miles to one of the 57s. This time I opted to sleep in the day coaches, as I'm normally able to sleep pretty well in them and saves me a few pennies. The trip was fairly quiet, no drunks between Plymouth and Exeter for once, although there was one old gentlemen who was removed from the train by the police due to the fact he smelt rather bad. First time I've ever heard that reason used!

We arrived into Paddington on time, and it was soon time to head off to Kings Cross. I opted to catch the bus, as being 05:30, it is often slightly quicker than the tube. At 05:45 a very quiet 12320 arrived on route 205. Like my last trip across London, this is a Stagecoach Enviro 400H. Not exactly my favourite bus, but they do the job...

Twenty minutes later and we were at Kings Cross Station. I had plenty of time to pop to McDonalds for breakfast before boarding the 07:22 Hull Trains service all the way to Hull. This was formed of 180110 and it was a very nice, quiet jouney the entire way. I'd go so far to say that it was one of the best journeys I've had in a little while.

Arriving into Hull at 10:01, a right time arrival, I had half hour to have a quick look around before catching my next train. I've decided I need to plan a trip back to Hull to go on some of the buses there, as the fleets seem to be a lot more varied compared to Exeter and Cheltenham. Maybe in a month or two!

After my quick look around, it was time to catch the 10:38 TPE service, which I caught as far as Leeds before bailing. This was formed of 185124. It was a same platform change onto 185118, the 11:44 service to Liverpool Lime Street. These were my first two trips on 185s, and my only thought is that they suffer from the same issue as voyages - not enough carriages on the services they run.

Another short break was taken at Liverpool Lime Street, where I made the most of the time to grab some food ready for the long journey back home. I started by catching the slightly delayed 13:20 to Manchester Piccadilly, formed of 185106. I had my eye on the time for the entire length of this journey, as I had a rather tight connection to make, given we were seven minutes down. Not ideal, as if I missed my connection then I'd be home over two hours later!

We arrived into Manchester at 14:16, and my next train was 14:19 from the other side of the station. After a little bit of jogging, I made it on time. The service was formed of a full and standing (for my entire jouney) 185121. This train most definitely could do with a couple more carriages. Just over a hour of standing later and we arrived at Doncaster. Once again, with half hour to kill I went and found some more food.

At 16:07 180113 arrived to take me back to London. The journey was uneventful like the morning, except somehow we were six minutes late arriving into Kings Cross. Rather odd given we didn't seem to stop or slow down anywhere.

Like the morning, I opted to cross London by bus. Sadly this time wasn't quite so easy, as there was some disruption on route 205. The first bus (15100) I boarded was cancelled at the British Library, just two stops down the road. The following two buses were only going to Warren Street, and finally the next bus (12312) was going all the way to Paddington. Due to a road closure we went ona bit of a detour after Marylebone, meaning I missed the 18:47 back to Cheltenham.

Instead I caught the 19:00 as far as Swindon, with 43146 leading. Here I changed onto the unit to Cheltenham. For once my luck was with me, as it was formed of 158953.

It had been a good yet tiring day. I was looking forward to having a relaxing weekend before going back to work.

Total Mileage: 1291mi 22ch for both days

 

[Kite159]

Lots of 185 action on that day, good news you got onto that Doncaster service, bad that you had to stand.

 

[Techniquest]

Piccadilly to Doncaster is a fair way to stand!

Otherwise it was clearly an enjoyable trip, the 185s were meant to be made into 4 car trains but that was cancelled. A shame as they're certainly more than capable of the job they do otherwise!

 

[LordCreed]

Time for my February Review:

Goals:

The following progress has been made on my goals so far:

- Travel 40,000 miles on trains this year. (8355 miles at the end of February - 20.88% of target)
- 240 new UK haulage (55 so far this year - 22% of target)
- 240 new UK buses (12 so far this year - 5% of target)
- Clear the GWR fleet (52 to go, plus the 387s as they enter)
- Clear the ATW fleet (115 to go)
- Clear the AXC fleet (50 to go)

Overall, pretty happy with the above. Need to spend some serious time on both buses and ATW to meet those goals. March will be a reasonably busy month (my first trip is on Friday, which should see a couple of new buses and trains).

New haulage this year:

Trains:

[B]Class 43[/B] | 43027 | 43091 | 43207
[B]Class 57[/B] | 57602 | 57603
[B]Class 67[/B] | 67012
[B]Class 68[/B] | 68008 | 68011
[B]Class 139[/B] | 139001
[B]Class 150[/B] | 150002 | 150938
[B]Class 153[/B] | 153366
[B]Class 158[/B] | 158881 | 158953
[B]Class 165[/B] | 165016 | 165111 | 165119
[B]Class 166[/B] | 166213
[B]Class 168[/B] | 168001 | 168107 | 168216
[B]Class 170[/B] | 170501 | 170523
[B]Class 172[/B] | 172212 | 172335
[B]Class 175[/B] | 175101
[B]Class 180[/B] | 180102 | 180110 | 180113
[B]Class 185[/B] | 185106 | 158118 | 185121 | 185124
[B]Class 220[/B] | 220004 | 220006 | 220011 | 220018 | 220022 | 220027 | 220028 | 220031
[B]Class 221[/B] | 221110 | 221129 | 221134
[B]Class 350[/B] | 350103 | 350113 | 350234 | 350237 | 350246 | 350371
[B]Class 387[/B] | 387132 | 387133
[B]Class 390[/B] | 390002 | 390125
[B]Class 450[/B] | 450091
[B]Class 455[/B] | 455847

Buses:

[B]Stagecoach London[/B] | 12312 | 12315 | 12320 | 15100
[B]Stagecoach South West[/B] | 10454 | 19107 | 19109 | 24146 | 24149 | 34862 | 36224
[B]Stagecoach West[/B] | 15972

 

[Techniquest]

Certainly you're making good progress towards your goals! You've also reminded me that I have a RailMiles update that I need to get on with!

 

[LordCreed]

Certainly you're making good progress towards your goals! You've also reminded me that I have a RailMiles update that I need to get on with!

Indeed, I'm certainly not lacking in the mileage or new haulage categories. Buses are definitely another matter, and I need to plan a day or two on ATW to seriously reduce that number. I think it might be a slightly unreachable goal.

The Long Way Round

Last weekend I had to make a trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, and rather than enduring a voyager up to New Street, I decided I would go in quite a big circle.

On the morning of the 3rd, my alarm woke me at the usual time of 5am. For once I wasn't travelling via work. I packed and headed to Cheltenham station for the 06:30 to London Paddington. Due to an issue with the drivers taxi, the 05:54 hadn't yet arrived. This meant that when the 05:54 did arrive, it ended up with both sets of passengers. As I was in no rush, I opted for a rather empty 06:30 departure. With power cars 43155 and 43129 for haulage, we got no busier as the journey went on. Even when we arrived at Paddington we barely had more than a dozen people in my coach. What a perfect journey!

Next was my usual move on the 205 to Marylebone. I often prefer travelling on the buses around London, as they're far less crowded. Todays bus was 12307, yet another Enviro 400. I'm slowly clearing Bow depots fleet!

I now had some time to kill, so went and had breakfast before joining the 10:10 to Birmingham Moor Street. With 68015 for haulage and a quarter full train, it was another lovely journey. I got quite a lot of work done whilst travelling.

We arrived on-time into Moor Street and it was time to find the bus stop for my next move, the X20 to Stratford-upon_Avon. Turning up slightly late was SN65 OJB (Johnson Excelbus don't seem to use fleet numbers). This was a very well presented Enviro 400 MMC with the cleanest windows I've ever experienced on a bus. It meant that for once I had a clear view out of the top deck windows for the entire journey. It surprised me that the bus barely had a dozen people on at any one time, which is a shame as it provided a cost effective and comfortable journey. The at seat phone chargers were also pretty handy. The only downside was the free WiFi didn't seem to want to work, but hopefully that is just a off day.

The journey went pretty quickly and I was soon at Stratford-upon-Avon, changing onto my next Johnson Excelbus to Ettington. This time I had SN65 OJA, an identical sister to the bus I had just left. Once again the bus was fairly empty, but maybe it's just that time of day...

All in all, a pleasant journey to Ettington, and it was nice to try another bus operator. One thing I noticed whilst leaving Birmingham is that there appears to be quite a few small operators around. When I lived in Bournemouth, you sadly had the choice of just Wilts and Dorset or Yellow Buses.

The Long Way Back

After finishing the conference on Sunday, I got a lift back to Banbury station. From here I caught 165039 all the way to London Marylebone. I'm not a huge fan of 165s for anything more than short hops, as the lack of tables does make it a challenge to do any work. Would much rather one of Chilterns 168s instead.

At Marylebone, as per usual I caught 12310 to London Paddington on route 205.

Finally I was on the home stretch, with 43091 and 43196 being the power cars on the journey to Cheltenham. I wasn't half glad to get home!

Next Plans

This week is going to be a busy one. Tomorrow night I'm aiming to catch the last of our 180s, hopefully it will be out. If not then I'll probably catch the loco hauled ATW service from Cardiff to Hereford which is always enjoyable.

On Wednesday I'm planning on finally clearing the Henley branch. Thursday will see me on a few buses in London, and then I'm off to Paris for the day on Friday.

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good day to visit the birthtown of Shakespeare

And a busy week ahead

 

[LordCreed]

And a busy week ahead

Definitely so!

And off to a good start, with 150129 on the service home tonight. Only one last GWR 150 to go...

 

[FQ]

I've just caught up on these - all great reads as usual . Ouch to a Chiltern 165 all the way from Banbury to Marylebone - you're crazy!

 

[LordCreed]

I've just caught up on these - all great reads as usual . Ouch to a Chiltern 165 all the way from Banbury to Marylebone - you're crazy!

Sadly the line between Banbury and Warwick was shut, so a limited choice of stock was to be had.

 

[LordCreed]

LordCreed Goes International - Day 1 - Thursday 09 March

It was time for my first international trip of the year, albiet not the first one I booked (I had some flights to Poland in February that I was unable to use sadly). This trip was a very quick trip to Paris, primarily to make use of the great deal Air France had for their B789 training flights between London Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle. Not only would I get two new types of plane, but also fout airports in. Not bad for a days work!

The Thursday was my positioning move, as well as a chance to clear a little bit of new track and a number of buses. It would also be finished off with a visit to my favourite pub in central London, where a pint of cider is less than £3.50!

Catching the 06:30 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon service (a slight lie in from my usual 05:54), which had power cars 43070 and 43151. After the usual day of work, it was time to catch the 15:11 into London (with 43183 leading). Taking a seat in Coach B (always quiet on this service), I had a very nice journey / sleep.

Next was a journey on route 205 (it wouldn't be a trip to London without a journey on this route!), with Stagecoach number 12329 as far as King's Cross Station. Enroute I noticed that there was a few Enviro 400MMCs out on route 205, which surprised me as I didn't think the current vehicles were due a replacement.

At King's Cross, I changed onto DLD709, a Go Ahead dart on route 214. I was originally aiming to catch this bus all the way to Moorgate, but due to the heavy traffic we terminated short at Angel Islington. Just a few minutes later and DE1336, a Go Ahead Enviro 200, turned up to complete the journey. The bus dropped us off at Finsbury Square as the route is currently shortened due to the crossrail works currently taking place (Route 214 used to go to Liverpool Street station).

A brisk walk down the road and I was at Moorgate station. 313042 was my unit of choice between Moorgate and Finsbury Park on the 17:42 service. This was a number of firsts for me. It was the first time I'd travelled on a Great Northern Service, the first time I'd been on a 313, and the first time I've ever done the Moorgate branch.

The train wasn't so busy, which was surprising given it was a friday evening, and it certainly wasn't long before I arrived at Finsbury Park. Here I left the station and boarded WVN13, a Go Ahead London Gemini 2 on route 259 back to Kings Cross station.

Here it was a fairly quick change onto LT717 on route 59 to Waterloo station. I try and avoid the NB4L if I can, although this was my first of several tonight, as I feel that they'll be in service for a while yet and there is so many of them. I quite like them, especially with the slidding windows upstairs that give better ventilation than the typical windows used on buses.


Next up was LT709 on route 211 which I caught as far as Westminster Station. At Westminster Station I met up with my friend that I would be spending tonight / tomorrow with, and we boarded another 211 service to Victoria Coach station. This time the bus was number LT609.

After dropping off my case at my friends house, it was time to catch SEe28 to Millbank. This was one of Go Aheads electric Enviro 200MMCs on route 507. They're nice buses and I love the at seat chargers. It's odd that they use these chargers on what is a very short bus route and not some of the longer routes. Because my friend has an adversity to walking, we caught EH2 from Millbank to Westminster Station on route 87. It was now time for the pub!

After a couple of hours drinking, it was time to return to my friends flat, so we caught LT65 on route 11 from Westminster Station to Westminster Cathedral for a short McDonalds break, before then catching another 11 to Westminster Coach Station (LT43). It was now 00:30, and I was very much ready for bed!

Quite a productive day, especially with the eleven new buses. Although I'm still way behind target on buses!

Day two will be typed up soon...

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good little Friday on the buses

 

[Techniquest]

Sounds like an excellent day, although it is a shame you couldn't do those flights to Poland! If you had booked Ryanair you could have changed your flights, although I confess to having never done so before so I don't know the process.

Really looking forward to the international part of your trip!