45135's Occasional Trips Out

[FQ]

Vote rat! It sounds like a few more decent days there!

 

[55013]

Preserved lines are brilliant.
I do units & shacks as a stress relief because I need the whole experience of anticipation and chasing to keep me chilled out, but a good day at a diesel gala - preferably with mates, but with or without winners, can't be beat.
I'll be paying a few visits to different heritage lines this year, probably with 45135 himself, and if that means I miss my targeted number of winners for the year then so be it.

Anyway, another good write up there, it's nice to see you're getting into the swing of trip reporting

 

[45135]

I didn't know 03371 had migrated to Devon.

I must admit, it took me by surprise.

Vote rat!

Gets my vote every time

it's nice to see you're getting into the swing of trip reporting

Cheers, just wish I had more trips to report on! Still, not long till April and the choice of about 34 galas...

 

[47403]

Cracking read that, how jealous am I of the rat and triple teddys, for haulage.

 

[Techniquest]

Jealous of the 25 and the trio of 14s, phwoar that must have been great fun!

Some interesting reads there, it must be said. I passed on the cruise (funnily enough!), and it's been years since I did the DFR. 73101 was there at the time, phwoar what a beast it was...

 

[45135]

After a busy few weeks I decided to take last Wednesday off for a spot of railway related relaxation. I fancied a trip over to the North West for the ATW 67 hauled 'Pauper's WAG', possibly interspersed with a beer or two. Also, I wanted to try out my latest purchase, a Sony RX100 camera.

Checking the gen at breakfast time it was good to see 67002 reported on the first part of the ATW diagram, as it seems to have been substituted by units a fair bit lately.

From Guiseley it was 333008 to Bradford Forster Square, where the yarn bombing was a pleasant surprise

Yarn bombing Bradford Forster Square 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

then 158755 from Interchange to Manchester Victoria and 3004+3047 to Deansgate. Realtime Trains told me that a Trafford Park bound intermodal was due, which turned up soon afterwards with 66716 at the helm.

66716 Deansgate 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

There was a wait of ten minutes or so before the next train to Oxford Road, so time to get a few photos of trains and trams from the new footbridge. (New to me anyhow - a winning bridge, you might say )

3037 Deansgate 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

150268 Deansgate 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

156488+156455 turned up for the bus stop move, with 319383 right behind.

319383 Manchester Oxford Road 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

With almost perfect timing the Salisbury was just opening - it's an interesting place if you like pubs with historic interiors, oh, and nice beer - I had a couple of Robinson's, Beerdo and Trooper. Even Bon Jovi's greatest hits playing on the jukebox seemed nostalgic. Sign of getting older I suppose...

The Salisbury Manchester 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

Anyway, back up the stairs, the 156s which had brought me there had been to Manchester Airport and were off back to Blackpool.

156488 Manchester Oxford Road 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

I was heading for Warrington though, courtesy of 175011,

175011 Warrington Bank Quay 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

(pausing for a shot of 66200 with its faded numbers)

66200 Warrington Bank Quay 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

and the Friar Penketh at the far end of Museum Street. This 'Spoons has its own piece of history, in the form of the foundations of the Friary which previously occupied the site, under a glass panel on the floor. My first beer was nearly as old so it was swapped (for a typically Marstons-ish One is 90), followed by a blueberry beer to wash down some Chicken Wednesday grub.

Suitably fortified I wandered back, via a diversion to get a photo of a trainless Arpley Junction

Arpley Junction 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

to meet 67002 for a blast (well, a blast then a stagger) back to Manchester.

67002 Manchester Piccadilly 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

What to do for just under an hour before the return working? Down the lift and taking my life in my hands over the road junction, there was time for a couple of halves in The Bulls Head. Help for Heroes Blonde (another Marston's special) was £1.98 for a half, a worthy cause but pricey even for a city centre I thought. It got worse later though...

Back up the lift, and on platform 14 my old 156 chums were off to the seaside again, laden with commuters this time

156455 Manchester Piccadilly 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

and 67002 followed them in to take me to Warrington once more.

67002 82308 Warrington Bank Quay 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

The main event over, it was 175116 to Newton-le-Willows then a fast and rather noisy 319382 to Victoria

319382 Manchester Victoria 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

and a walk round the corner to the 16th Century Old Wellington Inn.

The Old Wellington Inn Manchester 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

Nothing old fashioned about the prices though, at £2.10 for a half of average strength beer (Celt Otherworld)! Oh well... RTT told me that the binliner was due shortly, although what it didn't know was that a game of musical platforms was taking place, so instead of the scheduled platform 3, where I was stood, it went through platform 5, meaning that this was about the best picture I could get:

66524 Manchester Victoria 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

158756 took me, after many, many station stops, back to the land of (relatively) cheap beer and a half of Wilson Potter Boon Don Doon at the Jubilee at Sowerby Bridge. Dusk was drawing in now and that's where the camera really came into its own - it's still early days but I'm impressed with how it dealt with the light levels in the next couple of photos.

158904 Sowerby Bridge 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

After 158904 I called in at the Ginger Goose in Bradford (Naylor's Toffee Mild, beer of the day, followed by Geeves Captain Gingerbread), and finally 322485 took me to Guiseley for the short bus ride home.

322485 82213 Bradford Forster Square 11/5/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

 

[Techniquest]

Quite a nice day out there, plenty of beer! Clearly more hardened to it than me, I'd be out like a light before the end of that day That being said I'd have not had much at those prices, £2.10 for a half is insanely expensive. In London yes I'd be expecting those sorts of prices, but not Manchester.

175116 I am a little jealous of, as I need less than 20 miles off it to clear it for 1,000 miles. The time will come...

 

[Keith Jarrett]

I like the idea of combining bashing with a few beers but trouble is once I get started on the beers, I tend to stick. And likewise, once I start bashing, then there's no stopping me!

But those pubs in Manchester look interesting - if I fancy a break from bashing, I'll bear them in mind.

Those prices though you'd think you were down here in The Smoke!

 

[55013]

A nice move there, I know you've been wanting to do a Manchester 67 trip for a while.
Excellent phots as well.
I see you had 319382, which is my last 319 required for sight.
I saw all the others around London but that's always eluded me.
I did think that when it came up North I would see it, but all that's happened is that it's started taunting me

 

[FQ]

Score on getting the shovel! Next time you need to get there earlier to get the 09:50 with it to Holyhead and then back to Mancc. Sounds like a fun day!

 

[45135]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I should probably mention that most of those beers were halves and were consumed over nine and a half hours or so - drink sensibly folks. I'd heard rumours of the gentrification of Manchester and the knock on effect on beer prices but over 4 quid a pint was still a bit of a shock!

The prospect of a decent loco hauled run along the North Wales coast (for the first time in five years, or ten years for a service train) is enticing but getting to Manchester for 0950 on anytime fares, or even worse the M62, less so... maybe one day though.

I must admit 319382 turning up was a surprise, I was expecting a diesel unit so evidently I'm behind the times on Manchester Victoria's knitting!

 

[sprinterguy]

Being a Nicholson's, the Old Wellington is at the more upmarket end of the scale of Mitchell & Butlers' different brands: The chain seems to be congregated primarily around London and seems fond of charging Londonesque prices even in the provincial cities where there pubs can be found, as characterful as they commonly are.

It is unnerving though that the price of a pint is routinely creeping up to very close to or even at £4 in cities such as Birmingham and Manchester now in a lot of real ale pubs outside of the budget or family orientated chains.

The Salisbury is a cracking pub, I enjoy making my way through most of whatever they happen to have on the hand pumps whenever I get the opportunity. Similar can be said for the Bull's Head, and it's an excellent place to while away some time before catching a train. I particularly like it when they put out a free platter of mini sausage rolls on a Friday teatime, although I'm not in there frequently enough to know if that's a regular thing.

 

[Kristofferson]

Your new camera did a great job! Enjoyed the reads and, as a beer fan (not a beer ticker, yet...), I can see how combining new adult beverages (thanks Tech) with trains can be a good day out

* drink responsibly and safety first of course!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RichmondCommu]

Your new camera did a great job! Enjoyed the reads and, as a beer fan (not a beer ticker, yet...), I can see how combining new adult beverages (thanks Tech) with trains can be a good day out

* drink responsibly and safety first of course!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Instead of adult beverages why not just type alcohol? Surely that's easier? For what it's worth I refuse to pay £4.00 for a pint outside of London no matter what the pub looks like. No excuses for that, I just walk out and look for something cheaper and more often than not more cheerful.

 

[Techniquest]

I blame my using the term 'adult beverage' from watching an episode of Shipping Wars USA ages back, the one where Jennifer ships that crayfish (or whatever the things were called) and the buyer says at the end to her "You have EARNED an adult beverage".

Kris, it won't be long until you become a beer ticker I reckon!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Mr 45135, you are definitely a credit to the beer drinking fraternity!

Based on your recommendation, I directed a work colleague in the the direction of The Bull's Head for some recuperation after a particularly arduous meeting in Manchester earlier today. He's been in touch to say that he really likes the place and is planning on coming back South somewhat later than planned.

 

[45135]

After a busy summer (well, they called it summer) I've just returned from a week's holiday in Paris with the family. We stayed at a Eurocamp in Maisons-Laffitte, in the suburbs, and travelled there by Eurostar so a fair amount of train travel was involved...

The site is about 10 minutes' walk from the station, so looking for a Parisien equivalent of the Oyster card, I first found the ridiculously priced Paris Visite then the far cheaper Navigo Découverte, which for a one-off fee of €5 for a photocard (you supply your own photo) offers unlimited travel within Paris zones 1-5 between Monday and the following Sunday for the bargain price of €22.15.

I couldn't find much about the railways of Paris (or indeed France) on the internet - it seems that 'les cranks' are a rarity - so most of the following is mostly based on my own observations, and corrections and clarifications are welcome.

The holiday started with a taxi to Leeds for what was booked as a 91+Mk4s to Kings Cross. In rolled in an HST (43208+43238) minus coach E and our reserved seats. (The next two East Coast arrivals at Leeds were also HSTs so it looks like 91/Mk4 availability is lower than diagrammed at the moment.)
43208 Leeds 26/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
Oh well, we found an unreserved bay of four and snacked our way to Kings Cross, crossing the road to St Pancras and passing through the inevitable security checks on to 4018+4017. The 374s have had mixed reviews and the ride was a little fidgety in places as the in-coach screens boasted a speed of 301km/h but generally the journey was on a par with the better modern UK stock, although the seats were on the firm side.
4018 St Pancras 26/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
Arriving at Gare du Nord, a "taxi despatcher" tried to rip us off with a €140 fare so we headed for the RER lines, paying a much less extortionate €16 and arriving at Maisons-Laffitte on 1796+1795+1684+1683. The taxi rank was empty (a common thing outside the city centre, apparently) but after a pleasant evening stroll we checked in and, being in France, cracked open the wine.

The park is situated on an island in the middle of the Seine with the background noise of trains whooshing by every few minutes - this is the view from the park restaurant:
Maisons-Laffitte 27/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
As we'd arrived on a Friday, the next couple of days were spent exploring the local area with its ubiquitous pavement cafes, a fantastic cake shop and the hidden gem of Château de Maisons, the inspiration for the Palace of Versailles.
Château de Maisons 28/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
Although few to no loco hauled trains call at Maisons-Laffitte, plenty were observed passing through. As well as double deck EMUs on the suburban RER (line A, the busiest line in Europe apparently), the line sees a mix of single deck EMUs and double deck EMUs and push pull sets on Transilien (outer suburban) and TER (regional) workings plus traditional hauled stock (without driving trailers!) on Intercités (you can guess that one) services. A bit of web searching revealed that by travelling two stops in either direction there was a half hourly loco hauled(/pushed) service, so a move emerged...

The ticket purchase was unhindered by my very basic to poor GCSE French, so on Monday we boarded 1758+1757+1604+1603 to Poissy (well done if you've spotted that the first leg of the journey was travelling away from Paris!). Passing the yard at Achères (a bit like Toton crossed with Wembley) and the PSA Peugeot/Citroen factory with several car trains ready to depart, we were soon heading back towards Paris behind 827345, a member of the Prima family and loosely related to the UK class 67.
827345 Poissy 29/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
This was taken to St Lazare, passing over and under various busy lines, and on the approaches to St Lazare an ECR ex-UK class 66 was sighted parked up in the yard a couple of times over the week (none of my three requirements for sight though, so there's another reason to return!)

The many artistic, cultural, historical and gastronomic attractions of Paris have been written about loads of times so I'll try not to go on about it, apart from to mention the best kebab I've ever eaten at a Greek restaurant just round the corner from the Louvre. Inevitably the scammers were out and I was accosted in the street by a young woman with a fake deaf and dumb petition (sign it and a donation is demanded from you), after several firm no's she got the message though! We saw the Mona Lisa of course, although it has to be said that it's not even the best painting in that particular room. And I've seen it before, so it's dud.
Mona Lisa 29/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
I have units 177 then 019 recorded (possibly wrongly) for the Metro journeys to St Lazare, for 827348 to Huilles Carrières-sur-Seine then 1713+1714+1643+1644.

On Tuesday we headed for Disneyland on 1772+1771+1609+1610. The late night journey back ended up being, well, interesting, in a typically Gallic shoulder shrugging way but it also reminded me of our own beloved Modern Dynamic Thrusting Railway. Our train, 1807+1808, was only going as far as La Défense, with a vague footnote on the information screens telling onward passengers to go to St Lazare. Online journey planners were giving conflicting information involving long station waits and/or long moonlit walks. On the basis of heading in the direction of home, we boarded 827335 as far as Huilles Carrières-sur-Seine, where again, no taxis were to be found, but thankfully after a few minutes a wedged Z6400 unit rolled in heading for Sartrouville. (Getting the unit numbers wasn't the first thing on my mind by this time!) It quickly became apparent that we had to make mad dash across the station forecourt for a rail replacement bus service, driven in stereotypical Parisien (i.e. lunatic) fashion, but we got back in one piece some time after midnight. Trains could still be heard crossing the bridge at speed so I've no idea what was going on!
827335 St Lazare 30/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr
To be continued...

 

[55013]

Great stuff.
I see you got a phot of the Mona Lisa - when we were there the huge number of people viewing it were almost outnumbered by the security women who's sole job seemed to be yelling "No photo!" at anyone that raised a camera above waist height.
Not that I was bothered, as you say it's not that impressive - I've viewed many paintings that in my opinion are far superior.
The journey back from that there Disney place sounds like a nightmare, I'm sure I've told you the tale of our French experience and the somewhat hair-raising taxi drive through the streets of Paris.

 

[FQ]

I'm enjoying the read and I'll look forward to the rest!

 

[45135]

I'm enjoying the read and I'll look forward to the rest!

Thanks, the cranking bit will be coming up next!

Great stuff.
I see you got a phot of the Mona Lisa - when we were there the huge number of people viewing it were almost outnumbered by the security women who's sole job seemed to be yelling "No photo!" at anyone that raised a camera above waist height.
Not that I was bothered, as you say it's not that impressive - I've viewed many paintings that in my opinion are far superior.
The journey back from that there Disney place sounds like a nightmare, I'm sure I've told you the tale of our French experience and the somewhat hair-raising taxi drive through the streets of Paris.

Thanks. I think someone at the Louvre must have twigged that since everybody carries a camera with them all the time nowadays, people might actually want to take photos of one of the most famous paintings in the world. It's now in the centre of the room with a viewing area to fight your way through.

Was your mad taxi journey that one where he took you to the wrong airport and you ended up catching a train to Italy instead? I reckon that deserves a trip report all its own (unless you've already written about it and I've missed it, of course ).

 

[55013]

Was your mad taxi journey that one where he took you to the wrong airport and you ended up catching a train to Italy instead? I reckon that deserves a trip report all its own (unless you've already written about it and I've missed it, of course ).

It was indeed and no, I haven't written it up (well, I don't think I have)

 

[Kite159]

Sounds about right with the helpful 'scammers' by ticket vending machines trying to sell the most expensive ticket available.

Especially with the 'charity' donations folk.

Sounded like a good trip to France so far

 

[Techniquest]

It was indeed and no, I haven't written it up (well, I don't think I have)

I haven't seen it, so I'd be 99.9% positive you haven't shared it yet. Good excuse to do so...

45135: Apart from the farce in the evening, it sounds like good time on the rails. The arty farty bits, not my thing, but I am looking forward to the cranking bits next!

 

[55013]

I haven't seen it, so I'd be 99.9% positive you haven't shared it yet. Good excuse to do so...

45135: Apart from the farce in the evening, it sounds like good time on the rails. The arty farty bits, not my thing, but I am looking forward to the cranking bits next!

OK, I'll cobble something together about our Italian jaunt.

As for a bit of culture, you can't beat it (well, maybe trains just edge it).

 

[Techniquest]

I'd rather some Pacer mileage than staring at paintings!

 

[55013]

Fair enough, don't do what you don't enjoy.
Personally, I think the world would be a lot grimmer if there weren't wonderful works of art and architecture to see.
What exactly constitutes good art is, of course, subjective.

 

[45135]

No paintings in this bit! (And no nodding donkeys either).

A trip up the Eiffel tower and a boat cruise were booked for Wednesday, and 1540+1539+1531+1532 took us into town. I was pleased to find that the route chosen by the journey planner included a bus journey across the infamous Arc de Triomphe roundabout, a white knuckle ride with its ten or so lanes, twelve exits and reversed give way rules! Having survived that, we ascended the tower which from a railway point of view has a nice view of the Metro crossing the river.
Paris Metro 31/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

Sitting on a boat watching the city go by is an enjoyable way to spend an hour, especially in the heatwave Paris was experiencing during our stay, and after that a bus then Metro unit 051 (possibly) returned us to St Lazare for 827334 followed by 428+427+401+402.
827334 St Lazare 31/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

These Z6400 units are actually quite spacious and comfortable - the more generous loading gauge helps of course.
402 Maisons-Laffitte 31/8/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

For the last full day of the holiday, Mrs 45135 and the kids decided to have a rest while I squeezed some more value out of my ticket. I'd managed to download a timetable (not so easy when the internet connection is rubbish and the Transilien website automatically redirects to the mobile version!) which suggested that Mantes la Jolie is a position of strength featuring several (about 4-5, as it turned out) loco hauled trains an hour to Paris via various routes. 1723+1724+1746+1745 was duly taken to Houilles Carrières-sur-Seine and no sooner had I crossed the footbridge than 827365 pulled (OK, pushed) in heading for Mantes la Jolie, passing the Renault factory (sidings but no car trains seen there), another large yard at Vernouillet and a Colas depot near Les Mureaux en route.
827365 Mantes la Jolie 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

The route I chose was the Montparnasse line, a mixed train consisting of a few wagons and a coach providing some entertainment in the few minutes I was waiting before 827322 arrived from the sidings.
469451 Mantes la Jolie 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

At Versailles Chantiers it quickly became obvious that here could also be found frequent loco hauled services in both directions so 807601, a classic SNCF loco with the 'broken nose' body style, was done to Rambuillet and back.
807601 Versailles Chantiers 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

Again, only a short wait before 827324 turned up for a non-stop run to Paris Montparnasse (a dingy place, almost as bad as Birmingham New Street), although not before this beast clagged its way through Versailles on a ballast train.
664623 Versailles Chantiers 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

The lines out of Montparnasse are 1500V DC and locos were noted with one or both pantographs raised, sometimes changing configuration during the journey. Also of note (well, to me, anyway) is that push-pull rakes have the loco on the buffer end at St Lazare but the country end at Montparnasse.

Down to the Metro next towards St Lazare, taking a brief detour via Gare de l'Est. The Paris rail system is notorious for fare dodging and at Gare de l'Est someone pushed through the barriers behind me, with the excuse of rushing for his train, only to be promptly apprehended by the station staff! Although security measures are much in evidence following the terrible atrocities the French have suffered, I was able to take photos without any hassle.
4718 Gare de l'Est 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

The next stage of my circular(ish) journey was a fast run to Mantes la Jolie, shoved by 215044, another nez cassé. I wonder what the Franciliens heading home would've thought of a pair of 142s for their commute instead?
215044 Mantes la Jolie 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

115055 hauled me back to Paris, non-stop again, the 57km (about 35½ miles) taking around half an hour both times. By now it was almost time for tea, heading for the campsite on the day's first loco again, 827365, then 421+422+407+408. Some of the stock is in need of a good clean and 827365's driving coach was no exception.
Driving coach Huilles Carrières-sur-Seine 1/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

All holidays must come to an end, and it was 1841+1842+1723+1724 (changing RER lines onto an unrecorded unit) followed by 4019+4020, 43308+43300 (reserved seats in nonexistant coach E again!) and finally a 333 that took us home.
4019 Gare du Nord 2/9/16 by Carlos_45135, on Flickr

 

[Kite159]

Some good pictures

 

[FQ]

Sounds like a good few days! The mention of 43308 had me screaming - it's my last required VTEC power car (and one of my last 5 overall including the NMT ones) and constantly avoids me.

 

[Segedunum]

An excellent few days in Paris there. I did end up bashing the line to Rambouillet a few years back, but never ended up going to Mantes la Jolie. Seeing those 827 things did bring back some fond memories, and i'll never forget the damn bizarre door buzzers on those Z6400s.