DonnyDave's wanderings

[Donny Dave]

As I've just had a week off work, I decided to do a North East 4 in 8 rover, my first for quite some time...

Anyway, I started this on the 23rd June, and my plan(s) were to cover the less frequent services at some point during the week, and for the Monday at least, start off by covering the area around Newcastle.

0942 Doncaster - Sheffield 185109
1018 Sheffield - Leeds via Barnsley.
On arrival at Leeds, I was making my way to p15 for a TPE to York and beyond, but I noticed the train to Carlisle was still on the departure boards, leading to my first change of plan of the week.

1049 Leeds - Carlisle 158851/792, with a healthy loading for the entire journey. As the train approached Carlisle, the 135x service to Newcastle passed us, as the train was 30plus minutes down all the way, giving me chance to find something to eat and have a much needed pit stop. I took 1 look at the prices in WHSmith, and decided to look elsewhere for a sandwich and a drink before making my way back to the station about 20 minutes later.

1435 Carlisle - Morpeth 158816.
Between Newcastle and Morpeth, I noticed that there was very few options out again. I could wait 30 minutes for the same unit back to Newcastle, about an hour for the Lumo to Newcastle, or do something else.

1631 Morpeth - Berwick-upon-Tweed 802209
1712 Berwick-upon-Tweed - York 801224
1930 York - Doncaster 802206

The seat on the TPE was horrendous. No padding, with the frame digging into me all the way. In comparison, the seats on the Azuma's were more than adequate, causing no discomfort at all.

Anyway, that's day 1 done, part 2 to be posted in the next day or 2.

 

[Kite159]

Ah that WH Smiths in Carlisle where once I got shouted at by the staff for daring to want to come in 15 minutes before closing time to grab a drink.

 

[Donny Dave]

A few days later than I planned on posting, but day 2, Wednesday 25th June, of my rover. My plan was to cover mostly east and west Yorkshire, and while I did stick to this plan, I did make a couple of changes.

On arrival at Doncaster, 180101 had just terminated in p6 after failing on 1A60 Sunderland- KX.

0915 Doncaster - Leeds 800111
1013 Leeds - York 185115/132
1043 York - Leeds via Harrogate 170453
Quick wander to find coffee and food.
1227 Leeds - Hull 185102/114
1358 Hull - Bridlington 155344
1503 Bridlington - Scarborough 170476

It was slightly depressing to see how big Hull and Scarborough stations are but with their limited services, which only highlights how busy they must have been in the past, in particular during the summer months. Also, Bridlington must be a bit of a shell compared to what it used to be, as it is 3 platforms, but p4 has no trains scheduled to used it, p5 is for all through trains, and p6 is the bay fir trains to/from Hull. Obviously there used to be more platforms, but they have long since disappeared.

1554 Scarborough - Huddersfield 185101
1740 Huddersfield - York via Wakefield Kirkgate 185134
1832 York - Doncaster 801212

On the train from Scarborough, I was intending to change at either Leeds or York and head to Halifax, but I noticed on arrival at York, there were delays due to a trespass incident (which I later read on here was at Durham), so a quick check of RTT showed I could get to Huddersfield and get the TPE back to York which avoids Leeds. I did have to hope that when I got back to York, there would be some residual delays, otherwise it would be a near hour long wait for the next train back to Doncaster. In the respect, I did get lucky, as the 1832 was delayed by about 20 minutes, which meant I was able to comfortably make it.

Day 3 to be posted later.

 

[Donny Dave]

Day 3 of my NE rover, Thursday 26th June.

A slightly earlier start, which needed a cheap TPE only single from Doncaster to Meadowhall, as the rover wouldn't be valid before then, as the 0915 from Doncaster would have been very tight for what I was intending.

0844 Doncaster - Sheffield 185116/127
0954 Sheffield - Barnetby via Brigg 150220

I decided to change at Barnetby, as it was a 0 minute connection at Grimsby, and I didn't fancy being stuck there for an hour.

1153 Barnetby - Doncaster 185145/133
1305 Doncaster - York 801215
1355 York - Darlington 800102
1454 Darlington - Thornaby 156468

It was around here I started loosing steam, so after looking at RTT for the best optiomn for getting back home and having an early finish for the day.

1526 Thornaby - York 185136/113
1634 York - Doncaster 801211

Final day to be posted soon, with my general observations from my travels, plus I attempted to cover Pontefract Baghill and Whitby in the same day.

 

[Donny Dave]

Saturday 28th June, 4th and final day of my NE rover.

0926 Doncaster - Wakefield Westgate 333002
1004 Wakefield Westgate - Sheffield 195019/011
1142 Sheffield - York via Pontefract 150270
1310 York - Scarborough 802218
1420 Scarborough - Whitby X94 bus
1557 Whitby - Middlesbrough 158861/851
1748 Middlesbrough - Darlington 158848
1818 Darlington - Leeds 802216
1945 Leeds - Doncaster 801109/103

Now for my observations. Firstly, most of the services I used had generally good loadings, with the odd exception. The TPE to Edinburgh was very quiet, and the brigg service, while it had a passenger or 2 for most stations, was generally quiet. The most surprising 1 for me though was the direct Sheffield to York service. Yes, it was helped by the fact there were people using it to get to York races, but it still had a healthy passenger count throughout, which begs the question, should this service be more frequent?

I've read quite a few posts on this forum about the seating quality on the Azuma's, usually saying they are poor and need replacing ASAP. However, that wasn't my experience. I found them to be acceptable on every occasion I used them, the same can be said for the Hull Trains 802s when I have used them in the past. In contrast though, the seats on the TPE 802s are dire. On the 3 occasions I used them, the seats had no padding, with the frame digging into my backside. The other seating issue I noted is the 3+2 arrangement on the Northern 150s and 333s. With the seats being low, and no tables, they are very uncomfortable for journeys of more than a few minutes, and that even I, being of average height and biild struggled for leg room unless I sat in 1 of the bays. In contrast to this, the rest of the Northern fleet had seating that while it wasn't great, was perfectly acceptable for the journeys made.

in terms of the Northern fleet, the 156s and 158s are still their best units in my opinion. Very good, reliable workhorses that provide efficient transportation. The 195s are a welcome upgrade on the pacers, but for me the jury is still out. The 2 car version, while having plenty of tables, seems to be a bit cramped fir passenger space on the services they are used on. On the occasions I have used a 3 car 195, it seems to be reasonable, and probably better than a 170.

However, I still believe that the 185s are still the best DMU available, and if/when TPE get an all bi-mode fleet, Northern should be at the head of the queue to take them on so that they can be used on routes such as Leeds/Newcastle to Carlise, and services over the Calder Valley.

 

[Kite159]

I would agree with the passenger loading between Sheffield & York on Northern, I did a northbound service earlier in the year (to connect with the fresh air carrier known as the LNER to Middleborough), boarding it at Moorthorpe and being surprised at how busy it was. I guess Northern sell good value advance tickets to get people to use the 150 rather than XC.

As for the 185s, remember they are heavy trains, so are not good for lines which have higher speed limits for certain units.

 

[Donny Dave]

I guess Northern sell good value advance tickets to get people to use the 150 rather than XC.

As for the 185s, remember they are heavy trains, so are not good for lines which have higher speed limits for certain units.

Not just Northern advances, as there was couple opposite me going to Stirling on LNER + connections AP tickets from Sheffield.

And the reason I suggested the routes I did for the 185s is purely because of their speed and hill climbing ability. If they were to be transferred for said routes, how much weight could be lost with a good refurb?

 

[Willie Bee]

As I've just had a week off work, I decided to do a North East 4 in 8 rover, my first for quite some time...

I have never heard about that ticket, but your trips seem very interesting.

Had you planned everything in advance, or did you just 'wing it' so to speak ?

I suppose it would be best for someone living more central, but I might give it a go although I do live near the top end of the map, in Whitley Bay (10 miles east of Newcastle)

 

[Donny Dave]

While I didn't fully plan what I did, I did have a general idea of what I wanted to do each day. Yes, I did change my plans around a bit, for example, when I saw the service to Carlisle was still at Leeds when I arrived there on the Monday. The only parts I did plan properly was covering the services via Brigg, Pontefract and Whitby, as I wanted to know how to get into position, and what was available after each move.

 

[Donny Dave]

As this week is probably my last chance this year to get out and about for more than a few hours at a time, I've decided to get myself an East Midlands 3 in 7 rover, which I started today.

Monday 13th October

0947 Doncaster - Peterborough via Lincoln 170530
1154 Peterborough - Nuneaton 170107
1337 Nuneaton - Coventry 196003
1404 Coventry - Milton Keynes via Northampton 350123/103
1524 Milton Keynes - Stoke 390006
1632 Stoke - Derby 170501
1730 Derby - Sheffield 220023/103
1829 Sheffield - Doncaster via Thryburgh Junction 220013

At Milton Keynes, I had chance for a vape outside. However, there was a revenue block just started, where I had my ticket examined, as in the words of several inspectors, they had never seen a ticket like it before. I explained what it was, and showed them the area of validity using the map on the NRE website, and they were happy with that.

Throughout the day, trains were punctual, or even a minute or 2 early, allowing me to make the slightly dodgy connections I had planned. Things fell apart a bit towards the end though, as the train from Stoke was about 7 minutes late arriving at Derby, but this wasn't too much of a problem as the EMR service to Sheffield was running a few minutes behind schedule due to earlier delays between Luton and Bedford. This is where some strange regulating decisions took over. Some superb work all round allowed 1F55 to depart Derby at 1741 after only being stood for just over a minute, only for the train to crawl to St Mary's Jn where it was then held. This allowed 1S53, which departed Derby right time at 1745 to overtake the EMR service, which was then held to allow 6M76 into P2, despite running a few minutes early at this point, and nothing behind it. This didn't affect me too much though, as I was able to catch 1E56 at Sheffield, getting me to Doncaster at 1856, only about 20 minutes later than I had planned.

Wednesday will probably be my second day of the rover, but as yet, not plan has been formed.

 

[Donny Dave]

Today was the second day of my rover, and what I had planned seemed uneventful (on paper at least), became slightly problematic at times.

I started off by using my SY Connect on the 0844 Doncaster - Sheffield TPE, as the rover isn't valid until 0900, and the rest of my moves, and comments/observations are as follows:

0937 Sheffield - Leicester 222021
1043 Leicester - Kettering 222018
1119 Kettering Bedford 360109/121

On a direct route, 2 changes required from Sheffield/Chesterfield/Derby to reach Bedford or Luton which perhaps gives an indication of how poorly EMR value connections. Also the planned 7 minutes between trains at Bedford turned into a 'Man of Steel' move, as the ex Corby service was held at Wellingborough for a 222 to pass before switching to the fast lines. Myself and another passenger literally had to run across the footbridge to get the next train. Fortunately, the guard was observant, and spotted us running, and held of on closing the doors until we were on board.

1147 Bedford - Bletchley 150141
1239 Bletchley - Milton Keynes 350106/376 - Time for a much needed pit stop for a coffee and sandwich from Greggs.
1319 Milton Keynes - Stafford 350114/406
1503 Stafford - Stoke 221131
1532 Stoke - Nottingham 158 158846
1717 Nottingham - Sheffield 195001

It was just after this set off, that I read about the mobile barbeque at Tamworth, and the subsequent disruption, as I had noticed on the boards at Nottingham all the Birmingham/Cardiff trains were massively disrupted. Because of this, I was able to help several others on board with updates and alternatives, as some were planning on going to York and beyond. Approaching Sheffield, I spotted that the TPE was still in the station at Dore, so that helped me get home about 10 minutes earliier, as I was planning on getting the 1829 XC service from Sheffield.

1810 Sheffield - Doncaster 185109/147

Friday will probable my third and final day of the rover.

 

[Donny Dave]

Due to plans for this evening and tomorrow, the 3rd and final day of my rover was shorter than previous days

0939 Doncaster - Barnetby 185115/117

During this leg, I noticed the 20 TSR at Crowle has been converted into a PSR. The only downside to this leg was a 40 minute wait at Barnetby, which was compounded by the lack of coffee, as the machine at Coop was broken.

1059 Barnetby - Nottingham 170533
1239 Nottingham - Peterborough 170417
1402 Peterborough - Doncaster 801206

Unless something expected happens, that was probably my last day of travelling this year.