Recent content by LiftFan

It was a very good tour, and a big bonus for me was plenty of 125mph running too! It's so nice to ride the HST doing what it was built to do, credit due to whoever does the pathing for that one as quite often NR like to stick the charters on the slow lines and leave them there (understandable...

Put it this way- the Premier Inn right next to the station was over £300 for two nights. Not exactly cheap!

Problem I find with a lot of BLS tours in particular is that they seem to be announced way too close to the dates to secure annual leave/hotels or have already made other plans. Otherwise I would have loved to have done this tour in it’s entirety.

Not many out today. Seems like a few in needing repairs at once and one on an exam (how long does an A exam usually take?)

Sadly it seems as though they've found themselves caught in a loop- a large amount of cancellations at relatively short notice as well as other issues dampening things somewhat - though no fault of their own - (4TC to Morcombe, South Wales Industrial Explorer, as well as the Romic HST falling...

What actually happened to HD03? Incident on depot seems to cover a lot...

It does make me wonder why they've not been making more use of LSL. Good rolling stock and a decent selection of locos, not to mention a relatively central location to send stock from/to (unlike the trek all the way to Carnforth and back)!

Anyone know what’s going on with the 4TC set that’s been dumped in a siding since the end of September? Rather surprised nothing seems to have happened, given last year it was in high demand for galas and railtours…

I'm not sure where I saw it now but I could have sworn it wasn't long ago due to OLE issues Scotrail coupled a Class 156 to a 318/320 to rescue it. That being said, it doesn't quite beat the HST which ended up being rescued by a loaded 59!

Hi, this weekend I’m trying to get from Westbury to Derby and back (up on Friday back on Sunday) and doing it via London to avoid CrossCountry disruption on Sunday. I’m also hoping to get to London via Salisbury into Waterloo, as the 159s are far more comfortable even if the journey takes...

I'd rather like it if they re-ran the Euston - Kings Cross trip they did early this year. That was an absolute bargain and lovely day out, even if the pathing was a little too relaxed for a 110mph set (not helped by signallers routing freights in front either!).

Echoing the comments of some others, I do regret not having the chance to ride the 442s before they went. The one Mk3 derived EMU which eluded me somehow... (managed plenty of 455s, a limited number of 456s, made a point of riding 317s and 321s before they were all retired, 319s with plenty of...

I'm almost rather surprised a 158 or 159 hasn't been added to the lineup, given these units essentially brought the West of England line back from near death and significantly improved a substantial amount of regional routes throughout the country.

I do also wonder, how many staff are now pushing that 40% tax bracket meaning an overtime shift isn’t worth sod-all after the tax man has taken it? Hardly an incentive to look at your payslip and see that your extra shift and lost personal time has only put a few extra quid in your pocket…

Ended up being that the Portsmouth-Cardiff didn’t fare too much better either. Final train towards Westbury left Salisbury just after 18:30… Is it really still cheaper to pay for this many taxis rather than just hire more staff?