Friday 12th August -
An early start put me on the 07:31 service to Milton Keynes Central on a pair of 350/1s (350 128 + 350 123) arriving 5 mins late into my destination. I tried my luck on the 08:06 Avanti service to Manchester Piccadilly even though my ticket prevents boarding here until 10:00. I figured that it would not hurt to ask, worst case I would just take the 08:19 service to Crewe for which my ticket was valid. Upon arrival I asked the first class host who said to hop on board and speak to the train manager who she called over. He had no problem with it and said something along the lines of not seeing one of these before. I think that the odds of a member of staff knowing about this ticket, let alone reading up on and enforcing the restrictions are very slim as I doubt this would be taught in training. I took a seat in coach J, very quiet with just 2 other passengers which I found surprising as 2 of the previous Manchester services had been cancelled this morning. Breakfast was served promptly and I had the full English with toast which I found to be really good.
A quick change put me onto a pair of TFW 153’s, 153 968 + 153 361, for the shuttle service to Chester. I just missed the connection for the mk4 hauled set to Holyhead with my original plan to go all the way and back to try out the catering. I had to settle for Bangor station on the 13:14 Avanti service instead (221 101). I had a bacon sandwich and an apple juice, to which I was given the whole carton. He said I was welcome to finish it but it was practically full which I found a little strange.
One of my objectives today was to try TFW’s premium service in first class. These trains are T&T by a 67 and DVT with ex-VTEC MK4 coaches including a buffet car. This is one of only a few trains with onboard chefs, providing a unique service on the UK’s railways. Upon departure from Bangor I was greeted by the friendly host who provided a drink and menu for the journey. Unlike most first class meals, these had to be paid for rather than included in the ticket price. £17 for 2 courses or £20 for 3 may seem a little steep to some, especially on top of the first class fare but the food is well worth it. I went for the sirloin steak with baby potatoes and the fudge cake for dessert. The steak was cooked perfectly to my liking with the prominent taste of the garlic butter complimenting it well. The fudge cake was really nice as well, served warm with cream. I finished the meal just before arriving at my next interchange of Chester. The views along the coast are worth a visit in itself but if you can time it right onto one of these services I would highly recommend trying the food offering.
A 10 minute change put me on the 13:22 Northern service to Leeds. This was worked by one of Northern’s new toys 195 110. I will try not to start an argument but I find them to be perfectly adequate to the role they serve. The train was bright, clean, fast and comfortable. That is enough for any non-enthusiast I would imagine.
Due to TPE failing to run a service, the next Avanti service was late after having to make an extra stop at Lockerbie allowing me to make a connection. This was another refurbished set, operated by 390 157. Problems arose further down the line north of Stafford, where we suffered a traction fault causing us to only be able to run at half speed. We were diverted into platform 6 at Stafford to, in the TM's words, “Turn it off and back on again”. Thankfully it worked and we were back on the move after 10 minutes. Arrival into Birmingham New St was around 40 minutes late.
My next train was also around 40 mins late which meant I had to spend more time than anyone should have to spend at Birmingham New St. It didn’t help that the 1st class lounge was closed too. My next haulage was the very delayed 16:03 Plymouth to Edinburgh service, operated by Intercity liveried 43 184 leading and 43 303 on the rear. No food or drink was provided on my journey to Sheffield, I didn't even see a member of staff. What I found even worse was when boarding, someone in a wheelchair was stuck onboard without access to a ramp. I talked to a member of the platform staff who appeared to just nod and do nothing. Eventually a member of XC staff came along and told the same guy after he was still standing there doing nothing. I did not like the atmosphere of the HST and I would take a voyager any day. All the disruption threw a spanner in the works and in the end I just began to work my way home. A quick run to platform 8 put me on the late running 17:32 to London St Pancras, worked by 222 006. The service was much better with 2 drink services and a meal service offered before Derby where I got off. I went for a chilli chicken pasta which was alright. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t had such a good meal on TFW today.
A 1 minute change at Derby was made and I hastily boarded XC 170s, 170 112 + 170 114 to Gloucester. Although being small, I found first class to be alright. The seats reclined and the table lights functioned too. I saw upon arrival at Birmingham New St that the inbound service for my train to London Euston was 45 minutes late, arriving at the time we were supposed to board. What made this worse was that the aircon was non-functional in 9 of the 11 coaches. My coach (K) was unaffected thankfully but we had to sit for 30 mins to allow them to be reset. They then declassified first class as 4 of the coaches were deemed a safety hazard due to the heat and made out of bounds. What really annoyed me was the fact they chose not to serve food or drinks despite not a single person coming into our coach from standard. What was stopping them from at least providing a drink or snack?
Arrival into Watford Junction was 40 minutes late providing a good cross-platform interchange for my local LNWR service home.
I hope you enjoyed my report today, let me know if you have any observations/ideas
