Assistance on finding rarer rolling stock to ride on

[sansyy]

Hello, not sure if this is the right forum but been really wanting to get out there more and find the more rarer bits of railway and rolling stock. I currently live in Chester to localish to the Cheshire area recommended but I am interested in finding some rarer trains to ride and maybe some lines that aren't frequently used. Only one i've really been on is the Hooton-Helsby line but other then that I don't really know where to start. New to all this since its really started to peak my interest. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Two rarer bits of rolling stock close to you are the Class 230s that operate Wrexham - Bidston - the only line these units operate on - and the old Class 507s on Merseyrail are getting rarer and are mainly on the Southport route. Both can be done in one day on a Saveaway ticket (as far as Heswall on the Wrexham line).

 

[Iskra]

Another is the daily class 67 loco hauled service from Chester to Cardiff in the morning and Chester to Holyhead in the evening. There is a restaurant car and first class on board too.

 

[sansyy]

Two rarer bits of rolling stock close to you are the Class 230s that operate Wrexham - Bidston - the only line these units operate on - and the old Class 507s on Merseyrail are getting rarer and are mainly on the Southport route. Both can be done in one day on a Saveaway ticket (as far as Heswall on the Wrexham line).

Ahh yeah i've done these both already. Rode a Class 230 from Shotton to Wrexham Central and ive been daily commuting on merseyrail for a while now so been on lots of class 507s and 508s. was even on the last 508! Thank you though I appreciate it

 

[sansyy]

Another is the daily class 67 loco hauled service from Chester to Cardiff in the morning and Chester to Holyhead in the evening. There is a restaurant car and first class on board too.

ooh that one sounds interesting to ride, i didnt know it went to holyhead i thought it went to manchester piccadilly so an even better bonus. thank you for the suggestion

 

[Iskra]

ooh that one sounds interesting to ride, i didnt know it went to holyhead i thought it went to manchester piccadilly so an even better bonus. thank you for the suggestion

There did used to be a Llandudno-Manchester loco service. But, now they run on Holyhead-Cardiff through Chester, or more frequently on Manchester-Cardiff’s via Crewe.

 

[hue166]

There is a NT service Stockport to Stalybridge once a week. It only goes one way as well. Not sure what's on it but was 150/156 last time I seen it.

 

[hue166]

There is this service once a week.

 

[507020]

really wanting to get out there more and find the more rarer bits of railway and rolling stock

So are you just wanting to try out less common rolling stock, or are you also interested in the rarer bits of track to travel on?

Annoyingly, the majority of services in the north west and Wales are increasingly run with Sprinter (Class 150/156) and CAF Civity (Class 195/197/331) multiple units, but this doesn’t make the places they run to less any less worth visiting or exploring.

Both of Merseyrail’s classes 507 and 777 are unique, but also being so local you can find yourself wanting to find something further out. It’s a shame that Classes 175, 319 and 508 have gone recently since these offered a bit more variety.

“Parliamentary” services if that is the correct use of the term (which historically refers to something else) such as Ellesmere Port - Helsby or Stockport - Stalybridge which are notable for having only one train a day or one train a week are always interesting and there are quite a few in the north west. One of these is Heald Green North Junction - Heald Green South Junction, that is avoiding both Stockport and Manchester Airport. This is the route which some trains took to Wilsmlow before the Manchester Airport rail link opened and it has been seeing some use this weekend for Pendolino diversions with engineering works at Stockport.

As well as these, one thing I’ve been interested in is going on a certain piece of track on rolling stock that doesn’t normally do it. Engineering diversions can see trains doing all kinds of strange things. The next few weekends for example, all trains between Wigan and Manchester are going via Golborne Junction, meaning they will be using the curve between the West Coast main line and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, with 158s on some services, but the one Saturday they aren’t doing this, 17 February, the 158s will be getting sent via Bolton instead. Both routes are a good opportunity for them to get up to their 90mph top speed.

I should add, Northern have a small number of 3 car 158s numbered 158752-759 which still the original seats instead of the ironing boards found on 195s and can appear on certain services. So does 158889 with EMR, which can appear on services out of Liverpool Lime Street and this also has a declassified first class area, meaning you can sit in it with a standard class ticket. Class 170 Turbostars can also now appear on EMR services from Lime Street and from Crewe to Stoke-on-Trent and Derby, which are something you might not have seen before.

 

[hue166]

There is also the 139 Parrymovers at Stourbridge.

 

[sansyy]

So are you just wanting to try out less common rolling stock, or are you also interested in the rarer bits of track to travel on?

Annoyingly, the majority of services in the north west and Wales are increasingly run with Sprinter (Class 150/156) and CAF Civity (Class 195/197/331) multiple units, but this doesn’t make the places they run to less any less worth visiting or exploring.

Both of Merseyrail’s classes 507 and 777 are unique, but also being so local you can find yourself wanting to find something further out. It’s a shame that Classes 175, 319 and 508 have gone recently since these offered a bit more variety.

“Parliamentary” services if that is the correct use of the term (which historically refers to something else) such as Ellesmere Port - Helsby or Stockport - Stalybridge which are notable for having only one train a day or one train a week are always interesting and there are quite a few in the north west. One of these is Heald Green North Junction - Heald Green South Junction, that is avoiding both Stockport and Manchester Airport. This is the route which some trains took to Wilsmlow before the Manchester Airport rail link opened and it has been seeing some use this weekend for Pendolino diversions with engineering works at Stockport.

As well as these, one thing I’ve been interested in is going on a certain piece of track on rolling stock that doesn’t normally do it. Engineering diversions can see trains doing all kinds of strange things. The next few weekends for example, all trains between Wigan and Manchester are going via Golborne Junction, meaning they will be using the curve between the West Coast main line and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, with 158s on some services, but the one Saturday they aren’t doing this, 17 February, the 158s will be getting sent via Bolton instead. Both routes are a good opportunity for them to get up to their 90mph top speed.

I should add, Northern have a small number of 3 car 158s numbered 158752-759 which still the original seats instead of the ironing boards found on 195s and can appear on certain services. So does 158889 with EMR, which can appear on services out of Liverpool Lime Street and this also has a declassified first class area, meaning you can sit in it with a standard class ticket. Class 170 Turbostars can also now appear on EMR services from Lime Street and from Crewe to Stoke-on-Trent and Derby, which are something you might not have seen before.

Thank you for this information, I’m interested in riding rarer rolling stock rather the tracks right now and I noticed on the 156411 is still in its EMR interior which was a cool sight to see, also while riding the Ellesmere Port helsby line too! And I’ve also been on a 170501 EMR in LNWR livery from Crewe to Kidsgrove which also was interesting. This big trip I did with a Cheshire day ranger and finding these interesting pieces of rolling stock is what’s really peaked my interest here. The EMR 158889 seems really interesting and that’s definitely a train I’d like to target whenever possible so thank you

 

[sansyy]

There is this service once a week.

Thanks for this, will definitely check it out