Inspired by 4SRKT's blog from last year, thought I'd do the same.
2012 Blog
07/01/2012 – Northern Bash
First bash of the New Year was planned back in December, but due to work commitments it would have to wait until the first Saturday in January. Wanting to get in as full a day as possible, it was decided to get one of the first Northern services out of Newcastle – this being 06.30 to Glasgow Central. Up at half 5, quick cup of tea and shower and out the door by 6 to walk the mile or so to Central (Newcastle, that is). Annoyingly the service is put into platform 6, right at the other end of the station due to it arriving ECS from Heaton with 2x 142s in tow. Nothing waiting in any of the other through platforms, so could have been a bit closer to the entrance. A guy asks if this is the Glasgow train, and I reply that it is. Doors are opened and I set foot on the first train of 2012.
156601 is my steed for the journey as far as Carlisle, where Scotrail take over and return the unit back to its homeland. This is one of the only services which doesn’t call at the MetroCentre. Which is not good for that guy who asked if this was the Glasgow Central train. Shortly after leaving Newcastle I notice him pacing up the train (thinking he is busting for the toilet). However no, he was actually going to Edinburgh and had presumed that the 06.30 to GLC stopped at Waverley. Conductor sorts him out, getting times for trains back to Newcastle from next stop Wylam, and looks as if he’ll only be an hour late at most. He has learnt a valuable lesson – but I bet there are 000s more that don’t check the departure boards and actually see where the train is going to before getting on board.
Next train along the Cumbrian Coast line is about an hour and a half later, so good time for breakfast at one of two Wetherspoons on Botchergate, the Woodrow Wilson. Mr Wilson was a US president and also a character in The Simpsons, and this fine establishment is so named as his mother was born in Carlisle – good bit of pub trivia for you. So I find myself waiting with other early risers – one enjoying two double whiskies at 8 in the morning, another one polishing off a pint of bitter, a group of women who are going to Gretna Green to witness someone renewing their vows, and a chain-smoker who is making a sound that is a cross between a duck and a dog’s squeaky toy. I’m sure you probably see the same assorted alcoholics and vagrants in your local Wetherspoons propping up the bar counter.
Back to the station it is for some further 156 action – this time 448 which was just arrived into bay platform 2. At least this one has proper seats (unlike Scotrail’s), but has a thick layer of dirt caked on every window. The Cumbrian Coast line is a mixed bag – fields for the first leg then some good views over the Irish Sea, followed by stops at small towns until Barrow-in-Furness. Line speeds are excruciatingly slow in parts, and we are held for a late-running northbound service near Parton. This service is one of a handful that goes through to Lancaster, but loadings are relatively light until we reach Millom, where everyone and their mother seems to get on. Millom onwards is a nice stretch, especially when we get closer to Grange and Arnside. Good views across the estuary, and for those who know their avian friends, I spot a group of oystercatchers and shelducks. Alighting about 3 hours after I got on, here I am at Carnforth, and there is enough time to have a pot of tea and biscuit at the Refreshment Rooms – as seen in that awfully delightful film, Brief Encounter. Chin chin. Tea is served the proper way – leaves not bag – and I have a few minutes to have quick gander at the museum and purchase some tat in the ever-present gift shop.
Under the subway to pick up 13.58 as far as Hellifield. 144022 screeches into view, coming off Heysham Port. Again, this is lightly loaded with no-one boarding at the stations in between Carnforth and Hellifield, although a few people get off at Bentham and Clapham. Just me off at Hellifield after the first Pacer trip of the year, a whole 27 mi and 66 ch. Hellifield is one of those stations that shouldn’t be where it is – it looks far too impressive for what is basically a small village. Wikipedia informs me that it was built by the Midland Railway in 1880 and was a busy junction station (strange to think it once had direct services to London and Glasgow, now relegated to an unstaffed halt). Still, the Long Drag café is open and I get a cup of tea and quick bite to eat, just in case the trolley isn’t on the train to Carlisle. 158796 and 153360 on the back form the 15.37 along the S+C. This is due to get into Carlisle at 17.28. The next train to leave Carlisle for Newcastle is… 17.28. So a 0 minute connection at Carlisle, or a wait of over an hour for the next one. Strategically position myself at the first table at the front of the 158, knowing that the Newcastle train leaves from the platform next to ours at Carlisle. Light is fading fast as we go across Ribblehead Viaduct, with a few hardy walkers still out and others waiting to go back south at Dent. Running a few minutes late by this point, so no chance of the 0 connection so far.
We get past Armathwaite, and with the darkness I can’t make out much until I see the M6 come into view. Might just make this. Train lumbers its way across the Tyne Valley tracks and into the platform – 7 early. Talk about padding. I wonder how many people are put off from doing a day trip to stations on the S+C due to poor connection times in the timetables at Carlisle? 142087 is waiting to carry me home. Heaters on full blast is a welcome change from the 158, where the heating must have given up the ghost. Guard is good – advising people to buy the Northern Evening return instead of a single to save money. Birthday party gets on at Corbridge, going down to Wylam for a few jars no doubt. Slowly creep round the bend onto the King Edward Bridge – where I spot the theatre indicator showing 6 – so my day ends with another walk back to the entrance from the same platform where I’d left from that morning.
All in all, a good day out and some new stations visited. Also got in a part of the Northern network I still require (Barrow - Carnforth), although I'll have to revisit to get in Lancaster - Preston.
2012 Blog
07/01/2012 – Northern Bash
First bash of the New Year was planned back in December, but due to work commitments it would have to wait until the first Saturday in January. Wanting to get in as full a day as possible, it was decided to get one of the first Northern services out of Newcastle – this being 06.30 to Glasgow Central. Up at half 5, quick cup of tea and shower and out the door by 6 to walk the mile or so to Central (Newcastle, that is). Annoyingly the service is put into platform 6, right at the other end of the station due to it arriving ECS from Heaton with 2x 142s in tow. Nothing waiting in any of the other through platforms, so could have been a bit closer to the entrance. A guy asks if this is the Glasgow train, and I reply that it is. Doors are opened and I set foot on the first train of 2012.
156601 is my steed for the journey as far as Carlisle, where Scotrail take over and return the unit back to its homeland. This is one of the only services which doesn’t call at the MetroCentre. Which is not good for that guy who asked if this was the Glasgow Central train. Shortly after leaving Newcastle I notice him pacing up the train (thinking he is busting for the toilet). However no, he was actually going to Edinburgh and had presumed that the 06.30 to GLC stopped at Waverley. Conductor sorts him out, getting times for trains back to Newcastle from next stop Wylam, and looks as if he’ll only be an hour late at most. He has learnt a valuable lesson – but I bet there are 000s more that don’t check the departure boards and actually see where the train is going to before getting on board.
Next train along the Cumbrian Coast line is about an hour and a half later, so good time for breakfast at one of two Wetherspoons on Botchergate, the Woodrow Wilson. Mr Wilson was a US president and also a character in The Simpsons, and this fine establishment is so named as his mother was born in Carlisle – good bit of pub trivia for you. So I find myself waiting with other early risers – one enjoying two double whiskies at 8 in the morning, another one polishing off a pint of bitter, a group of women who are going to Gretna Green to witness someone renewing their vows, and a chain-smoker who is making a sound that is a cross between a duck and a dog’s squeaky toy. I’m sure you probably see the same assorted alcoholics and vagrants in your local Wetherspoons propping up the bar counter.
Back to the station it is for some further 156 action – this time 448 which was just arrived into bay platform 2. At least this one has proper seats (unlike Scotrail’s), but has a thick layer of dirt caked on every window. The Cumbrian Coast line is a mixed bag – fields for the first leg then some good views over the Irish Sea, followed by stops at small towns until Barrow-in-Furness. Line speeds are excruciatingly slow in parts, and we are held for a late-running northbound service near Parton. This service is one of a handful that goes through to Lancaster, but loadings are relatively light until we reach Millom, where everyone and their mother seems to get on. Millom onwards is a nice stretch, especially when we get closer to Grange and Arnside. Good views across the estuary, and for those who know their avian friends, I spot a group of oystercatchers and shelducks. Alighting about 3 hours after I got on, here I am at Carnforth, and there is enough time to have a pot of tea and biscuit at the Refreshment Rooms – as seen in that awfully delightful film, Brief Encounter. Chin chin. Tea is served the proper way – leaves not bag – and I have a few minutes to have quick gander at the museum and purchase some tat in the ever-present gift shop.
Under the subway to pick up 13.58 as far as Hellifield. 144022 screeches into view, coming off Heysham Port. Again, this is lightly loaded with no-one boarding at the stations in between Carnforth and Hellifield, although a few people get off at Bentham and Clapham. Just me off at Hellifield after the first Pacer trip of the year, a whole 27 mi and 66 ch. Hellifield is one of those stations that shouldn’t be where it is – it looks far too impressive for what is basically a small village. Wikipedia informs me that it was built by the Midland Railway in 1880 and was a busy junction station (strange to think it once had direct services to London and Glasgow, now relegated to an unstaffed halt). Still, the Long Drag café is open and I get a cup of tea and quick bite to eat, just in case the trolley isn’t on the train to Carlisle. 158796 and 153360 on the back form the 15.37 along the S+C. This is due to get into Carlisle at 17.28. The next train to leave Carlisle for Newcastle is… 17.28. So a 0 minute connection at Carlisle, or a wait of over an hour for the next one. Strategically position myself at the first table at the front of the 158, knowing that the Newcastle train leaves from the platform next to ours at Carlisle. Light is fading fast as we go across Ribblehead Viaduct, with a few hardy walkers still out and others waiting to go back south at Dent. Running a few minutes late by this point, so no chance of the 0 connection so far.
We get past Armathwaite, and with the darkness I can’t make out much until I see the M6 come into view. Might just make this. Train lumbers its way across the Tyne Valley tracks and into the platform – 7 early. Talk about padding. I wonder how many people are put off from doing a day trip to stations on the S+C due to poor connection times in the timetables at Carlisle? 142087 is waiting to carry me home. Heaters on full blast is a welcome change from the 158, where the heating must have given up the ghost. Guard is good – advising people to buy the Northern Evening return instead of a single to save money. Birthday party gets on at Corbridge, going down to Wylam for a few jars no doubt. Slowly creep round the bend onto the King Edward Bridge – where I spot the theatre indicator showing 6 – so my day ends with another walk back to the entrance from the same platform where I’d left from that morning.
All in all, a good day out and some new stations visited. Also got in a part of the Northern network I still require (Barrow - Carnforth), although I'll have to revisit to get in Lancaster - Preston.
id do same if i had one. Nice trip, 4 lines i have never done and all i really want to. Only got as far as ribblehead (hence my picture << ) before.
hock: I thought that they were only licensed to sell alcohol from 9am at the earliest at any of their outlets. I always knew they were made of sterner stuff back up north than this namby pamby 9am malarkey that we've got down here in Birmingham! 
Anyway, that is a very interesting little bit of pub trivia about the name of the place there. I only very rarely know the origin of the names of the Wetherspoons pubs, which quite often conceal some sort of local significance.
