55013's Contemporary Trip Reports

[Segedunum]

Micklefield is a faff, when I did it, in the end, it was a +27 reduced to a +15 by just doing a linear move from the 1925 Leeds-York onto the 1952.

I've been bowled out on it by a delay too, although instead of festering I jumped straight back on board the train!

 

[47403]

Good read again there 55013. Does the e-pacer sound any different, from the pictures I've seen of the interior, it looks a helluva lot more comfy, however, as my Granny used to say, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

 

[55013]

47403 - 144012 has those "Ironing board" seats, so not really that comfortable!

Anyway, I'm off and running with 2016 now, so here we go.

The new year began in the same way that the old one finished, with a West Yorkshire shack scratch.
Once again, I had a few hours to kill, this time on Sunday the 3rd of January and so thought the best thing to do was make a start on one of my aims for 2016, namely getting my last 12 West Yorkshire stations in the book.
Last week I had intended to rope in West Yorkshire’s newest station but had been thwarted by the weather.
This time, however, my mission met with success and 333009 became both my first haulage of the year and my first train from Apperley Bridge.

Once at Leeds I intended to go to East Garforth.
Unfortunately, I had just missed a service that stopped there and it was nearly an hour before the next one.
That was too long for me so I headed West.
I enjoyed the novel experience of sitting down on a TPE to Huddersfield, worked by 185140, before boarding the Manchester Victoria stopper, in the hands of 150277 and 142064.

I had noticed that on a Sunday there is a fifteen minute wait at Marsden for a train back to Huddersfield, far better than the one minute which is what you get the rest of the week.
Marsden is one of the stations that has bugged me the most, so it was nice to get it out of the way so early in the year.
And there had been no need to rush between platforms 3 and 1, which was nice as it’s quite a way between the two.
It was another 142/150 pairing, 142047 and 150223, that took me back to Huddersfield.
Now was the time to go for East Garforth.
Or so I thought.
I was surprised to see that the next Leeds train was over half an hour away.

I did notice that one of the infrequent Sunday trains to Sheffield was stood in and, given that six of my twelve (now ten) requirements were on that line, I looked on RTT and formulated a plan to get two of them done.
I boarded 142023 and did this to Honley before embarking on a two mile walk back towards Huddersfield.

Pre walk:
DMU 142023_2016.01.03_Honley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I had an hour and a half to do the walk and managed it in just under half that, leaving me with a fester at Berry Brow of fifty minutes.
I used the time to make plans for the rest of the day and decided to keep on the Penistone line and get another two, possibly three, stations ticked off.

My fester is coming to an end:
DMU 142031_2016.01.03_1_Berry Brow by Phil Wood, on Flickr

142031 eventually produced and I took this all of one mile to Lockwood.
My wait here was much shorter and after half an hour 142031 re-appeared and I took it to Stocksmoor.

142031 again:
DMU 142031_2016.01.03_2_Lockwood by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I had two possible moves from Stocksmoor.
There was a plus one for something back to Huddersfield but if that was missed I planned on walking a mile and a half to Shepley for the following service.
I toyed with the idea of doing that anyway but I made it to Stocksmoor in plenty of time to catch the return and by now the weather had taken a turn for the worse.
It was chucking it down, which put me off the walking option, so I caught 142025 back to Huddersfield.

Once again I managed to get a seat on a Trans-Pennine unit, this time 185149, which I took to Leeds.

I was going to have another go at East Garforth but had just missed the hourly service (again!) and so when I heard an announcement saying that the new South entrance was open I decided to have a mooch over and check it out.
There were loads of staff by the gates but no punters and I was the only person heading out that way.
I like it, I must admit.
It’s a far more interesting area than the other side of the station and you come out next to the River Aire.
The river was a raging torrent and it was still chucking it down, which made me re-think my plans.
I had missed getting Apperley Bridge in the previous week because the line had been closed by flooding.
Looking at the swollen, violent, river I worried that the same thing might happen again, leaving me unable to reach my car stranded at the new station.
I made the decision to leave East Garforth for another day and head home instead.
It’s quite a way from the entrance at ground level to the ticket barriers, up two escalators.
I was most irritated to hear the message “Hold on to the handrail, stand still and look forward” being played as I ascended.
What have we become?

It had only been a few minutes since I had passed through them but in that time, the gates had broken!
Luckily there were about twenty staff stood there so I had no problem getting through.
333009, Dud for the year , was taken back to Apperley Bridge and my first move of the year was over.
I’m now down to six West Yorkshire stations – Darton, Denby Dale, East Garforth, Moorthorpe, Pontefract Baghill and Shepley.
So, not a bad start to the year.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Nice to see you get some Pacer action

 

[55013]

Oh aye, I like a bit of 142 activity.
Only this morning I had 142066 on my commute to work

 

[FQ]

That sounds like a good start to the year with quite a few new shacks!

 

[DarloRich]

My moves for 20/01/1991 (nearly 25 years ago!) were:
47443 Huddersfield - York
47422 York - Leeds
47597 Leeds - York
47640 York - Leeds
47492 Leeds - Newcastle
47443 Newcastle - Huddersfield

And that was that. I remember it very well - 47443s train was a paltry load 4 due to an earlier service failing (47704 I believe) and was absolutely wedged with cranks.

I was on the last service from Darlington to York ( i think - records long gone!) wedged into a vestibule with lots of other people. I pity any real people on that train.

it was dark, cold and BR turned out a suitably grubby, careworn 47443 to do the honours.

then I heard about 47's on the Bristol turns, I'd take that down to Darlo, now and again.

I stopped being interested in about 5th form and really didn’t have any interest for the first few years of privatisation. I remember being at University and getting Virgin XC trains back to Darlo, mainly as I had heard their ticket checks weren’t very thorough. I think it was most often a Friday evening Bristol/South West hauled set with a Sunday afternoon return and it always had a smoky 47 seemingly at deaths door doing the honours.

It was only about 5 years ago that I took any interest in railways once again.

 

[45135]

The photos of 142031 caught my eye - the area around the destination blind looks like a throwback to the original Provincial Sector livery. Heritage machines...

Good to see you've got the new escalators at Leeds in the book

 

[Kite159]

Sounds like a good Sunday trip.

Interesting to note that Marsden is a +15 on a Sunday, I'm up in Leeds early next month so I might aim to grab that shack to give me something to do

 

[Techniquest]

Like Kite159, I made particular note of that thing about Marsden

A good start to the year, many of my West Yorkshire stations are on that line too. I need to get on with them actually...

 

[Keith Jarrett]

A good start to the year. New shacks and some Pacer action seems to be a very acceptable way to begin 2016's bashing. And thanks for the heads up about Marsden on a Sunday. Like others, I'll bear this in mind for future reference.

 

[55013]

I was on the last service from Darlington to York ( i think - records long gone!) wedged into a vestibule with lots of other people. I pity any real people on that train.

it was dark, cold and BR turned out a suitably grubby, careworn 47443 to do the honours.

It was a bit cosy alright.
I believe the four coaches 47443 had were supposed to have been used to strengthen the rake being brought North by 47704.
That didn't happen due to 704 bursting somewhere and not making it to Newcastle.

The photos of 142031 caught my eye - the area around the destination blind looks like a throwback to the original Provincial Sector livery. Heritage machines...

Good to see you've got the new escalators at Leeds in the book

Oh aye, both ways an' all
There are a few 142s kicking around with light blue roofs.
Don't ask me why.

Sounds like a good Sunday trip.

Interesting to note that Marsden is a +15 on a Sunday, I'm up in Leeds early next month so I might aim to grab that shack to give me something to do

Like Kite159, I made particular note of that thing about Marsden

A good start to the year, many of my West Yorkshire stations are on that line too. I need to get on with them actually...

A good start to the year. New shacks and some Pacer action seems to be a very acceptable way to begin 2016's bashing. And thanks for the heads up about Marsden on a Sunday. Like others, I'll bear this in mind for future reference.

Thanks chaps, the +15 was a nice discovery.
It's good to know, not that I'm likely to ever revisit Marsden!
Glad you find the gen useful.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Once again my wife decided to head to London to join a protest about the destruction of the NHS and once again I put my own health first and elected to go out on the trains instead.
For the avoidance of doubt, I fully support her but after working in the NHS for nearly thirty years I’ve reached the stage where I’m weary of being used as a football by politicians of all parties and just want to go to work, do my job to the best of my ability and then go home and forget about it, using my hobby to keep me sane/alive.
Mrs 13 on the other hand, still has some fight left in her

Anyway, with that out of the way, on with the fun stuff.
I told 45135 of my plan to do a move on the 9th and he was up for one too.
He came up with a move that was something a little bit different to the norm and so we were Crewe bound on Saturday morning.
He picked me up at half past eight and we reached the one time mecca of railway enthusiasm around ten-ish.
As we walked onto the station I lamented the lack of locos at Crewe these days.
I then had to eat my words as we walked down to the platform and saw Northern Belle liveried 57305 arrive towing 37422, the Anglia short set and 37425. 57307 was parked up nearby and a Freightliner 66 was trundling through on an intermodal.
So still a few locos around Crewe, then.

The proof:
57305_2016.01.09_1_Crewe by Phil Wood, on Flickr

We had purchased West Midlands Day Rangers and the first move of the day was my first winning unit of the year, 350252.
Passing Basford Hall I spotted 66956 which was nice as it was my last Freightliner loco required for sight.
The 350 was taken to New Street and we managed to navigate our way out of shopping centre with attached railway station before walking over to the much more aesthetically pleasing Moor Street.
165005 was next on the agenda and we did this to Leamington Spa as some Cat action was on our minds.
I actually had 165005 on my phone as being dud, so was very pleased when I got home and found out it was a winner – although it does mean I’ll have to double check my list of requirements.

68008 proved to be my first loco of the year.
I’ve had at least one loco for haulage, not necessarily a winner, every calendar month since October 1996 and I’m quite keen to keep that going, so January 2016 joins the list.

The usual shot of 68008:
68008_2016.01.09_3_Birmingham Moor Street by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Whilst I was sat at home waiting for 45135 to arrive I had come up with an idea.
I had noticed that Birmingham City were playing at home and, thanks to reports I read on here, I knew that meant something.
Bordesley.
I looked on RTT and found out that it could be done as an easy fill in move between runs on the 68.
The first train from Birmingham that stopped there was a Dorridge service leaving Moor Street at 13.40.
We could make the same service at Snow Hill and so jumped aboard 172337 for the short hop.
It was a five coach rake that appeared and we were expecting it to be wedged.
It wasn’t.
We boarded in coach 50215 of 172215 as this was the only vehicle in the set that I needed.
172342 was on the rear.
We bailed as planned and Bordesley was in the book.

Bordesley, note the masses of Birmingham City fans:
DMU 172215_2016.01.09_Bordesley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

And again:
DMU 172342_2016.01.09_Bordesley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

A few minutes later 172345 arrived to take us back to the 68.
A run of less than a mile and of three minutes duration saw us back at Moor Street a good five minutes before the 13.55 departure, so on a match day Bordesley can be done in ten minutes without losing an inch of 68 haulage.

Unsurprisingly, our next move was 68008 back to Leamington.
Today’s forty-five miles beat the paltry six we had got out of 68008 a few weeks previously.

The next part of 45135’s plan was a visit to Bescot as there was a shunter there that he required for sight.
168002 was taken back to Moor Street, which was nice as the 168001 – 168005 batch are my favourites.
We reversed our earlier walk to “Grand Central” as it’s now apparently called and made our way down to platform 1.
323213 was our power to Bescot where 45135 scored his gronk (08888) and we got a few shots before re-boarding 323213 for the short run to Tame Bridge Parkway.
My second winning EMU of the day, 323201 then took us to Walsall as we were returning to Crewe via a different route to that we had used to come down.

A winner:
EMU 323201_2016.01.09_1_Walsall by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Dud 170510 was taken to Rugeley Trent Valley and after a short wait, made much longer by the teeming down rain, 350126 arrived to take us back to the car.

New station number two:
DMU 170510_2016.01.09_1_Rugeley Trent Valley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

This reached Crewe via Stoke and was, I believe, the first time I had done electric traction over the route between the two places.

In summary, a very enjoyable day out with two winning EMUs, one new DMU and a couple of stations added to my totals

I’ve decided to join the club and keep a running total of my scores for the year.
Winners in 2016:
Locos: 0
HSTs: 0
DMUs: 1
EMUs: 2
Stations: 8

 

[Keith Jarrett]

A good day out with a few winners along the way to keep things going! Those pesky 165s can be awkward to pick up so you did well to grab 165005 up in Birmingham.

 

[55013]

Yeah, I think that Chiltern 165s are my most required type of DMU and I always try and cover the one that works around Moor Street when I'm down that way.
It's the three car ones that will cause me the most problems, I reckon.

 

[Techniquest]

A nice little adventure there, fair dos. Jealous like mad of Bordesley, I'm hoping BCFC are playing at home on my possible weekend off next month! Bordesley and Polesworth are the only shacks in the WMDR I need (until Bermuda Park and Coventry Arena open) which has frustrated me for years!

 

[55013]

It was most enjoyable.
I've just had a look and Birmingham City are at home on the 6th and 20th of February, 3 o'clock kick off for both.

 

[Techniquest]

Much grr, I've put in for time off on the weekend after that first one! Mind you it might just work out yet, depends on what they can offer me!

 

[FQ]

I'm hoping to head out on the 23rd of Jan for it. A great read as always!

 

[sprinterguy]

Does the e-pacer sound any different, from the pictures I've seen of the interior, it looks a helluva lot more comfy, however, as my Granny used to say, you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Coming a bit late to this conversation, but the e-pacer sounds just the same as ever: I was alerted to its' imminent arrival while sat in the Sheffield Tap yesterday lunchtime by the usual piercing shriek of brakes, and it's departure was heralded by the familiar high revving of the Cummins LT10 engine. The only sound that's different would appear to be the door chimes.

Having had the opportunity to examine it up close a couple of times now, I'm not convinced that the new ironing board seats will offer any improvement over the comfy Richmonds fitted to the rest of the 144 fleet. It looks very clean inside, though.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It's good to know, not that I'm likely to ever revisit Marsden!

Shame that; it's a nice place, Marsden. Cracking pub down by the river (The Riverhead) with it's own brewhouse, too.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

It's the three car ones that will cause me the most problems, I reckon.

Possibly so - they are after all limited to the reaches of the Chiltern route south from Banbury these days.

 

[55013]

I'm hoping to head out on the 23rd of Jan for it. A great read as always!

Thanks. Good luck on the 23rd.

Shame that; it's a nice place, Marsden. Cracking pub down by the river (The Riverhead) with it's own brewhouse, too.

Sorry, I didn't explain it very well.
I was referring to the station. Marsden itself has been visited many times before and no doubt will be again

 

[sprinterguy]

Sorry, I didn't explain it very well.
I was referring to the station. Marsden itself has been visited many times before and no doubt will be again

Ah fair enough, that's all to the good then.

 

[Kristofferson]

Looks like a cracking day out. There's something about the warmth of a train (and the sound of a 323!) in poor conditions...

 

[55013]

Well, a nice little post work move has seen another station conquered.
We’re on holiday in Wales next week and so I thought I’d start my break with a station that has gradually made its way to the top of my needs list.

I started after leaving work by doing 150211 from Halifax to Leeds and then it was 158906 on a Selby service to East Garforth before taking 142025 back to Interchange and home.
So five West Yorkshire stations to go, until Kirkstall Forge opens, of course

 

[Segedunum]

Excellent little move, similar to my requirement for the illusive Cramlington. Sadly there's a half hour fester required, not something i'll be doing in this weather

 

[FQ]

Congrats on East Garforth!

 

[Techniquest]

More good work on clearing out West Yorkshire, won't be much longer until it's all done!

 

[55013]

Thanks chaps.
I had another short notice trip out today.
A report will appear in due course but suffice to say I had a tramtastic time in Sheffield

 

[jayalongtheway]

Look forward to reading all about it Phil

 

[55013]

You're in luck, then

Once again I was presented with an opportunity to go out for a few hours whilst my good lady did some packing for our holiday.
Contrary to how it might appear from these reports I do actually do my share, indeed it’s the Brownie points accrued for going above and beyond that are redeemed on extra train moves

My initial plan was to drive to Pontefract Baghill and get a return to Ulleskelf, thus getting two lightly served stations in the book.
The problem was what do I do after that.
As usual I looked at the football fixtures and immediately saw a problem
Leeds United were playing away at Sheffield Wednesday, this meant trains to two of my requirements, Darton and Moorthorpe, could be less than pleasant travelling experiences and so my thoughts turned to outside of West Yorkshire.

I had a look on Railrover.org and found the South Yorkshire Travelmaster at £7.70.
Valid on all trains and trams in, well, South Yorkshire, it looked like a good deal.
I have done a handful of Sheffield trams but that was many years ago and, as per usual, I have no record of moves, just three units ticked off.
I know that Sheffield was where the Leeds fans were heading but I figured I could stay on the other side of the city and avoid too much congestion.
So when I went to bed on Friday night my plan was to cover Baghill and then drive to Meadowhall.
The trouble with the Ponte plan was that the York service leaves there after 10 o’clock and I was up and around several hours before I needed to set off.
I was itching to get out and so decided to leave Baghill for another day and went straight to Meadowhall instead.

My thinking when I drove down was that I would do a tram from Meadowhall to Sheffield Station, then nip to a tram stop that had caught my eye, for reasons that I’ll come to later, before catching a train to Doncaster and getting Bentley and Adwick in the book.

Doing moves last minute can present problems with poor research and once at Meadowhall and with my ticket clasped in my sweaty palm I made my way to the tram stop, only to see a notice informing passengers that no trams were running from there due to work on the new Tram-train project.
So, it was on to plan C (or was it D?)
158901 was taken to Sheffield and I mooched outside as I still wanted to visit one particular tram stop.
My first Sheffield tram of the 21st Century was 112 and I was pleasantly surprised to find it empty when I boarded at Sheffield Station.
Taking my usual approach of making it up as I go along I decided to stay on board all the way to Halfway (or was that halfway to Alltheway?), meaning I could clear the line and visit a shack that has an amusing name for a terminus.
Well, it amuses me

112 at the end of the line, or is it only Halfway? Oh, I’ve done that:
Sheffield Tram 112_2016.01.16_3_Halfway by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I enjoyed most of the run but it’s quite a way and I had begun to get bored a few stops from the end.
It made sense to get the shacks on the branch in, then I never need to come this far out again.
103 was next up, taking me to Donetsk Way

A series of short leaps then followed, 113 to Westfield and then back to Beighton, 124 to Waterthorpe and then White Lane and 116 to Crystal Peaks and Birley Lane.

Cresting the hill:
Sheffield Tram 116_2016.01.16_4_Birley Lane by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I had now cleared the shacks at the far end of the line, meaning that I no longer had to wait for the same tram coming back, which meant a bit more variety.
117 took me from Birley Lane to Moss Way and dud for the day 103 was utilised for the run to Birley Moor Road.

Now things went slightly pear shaped.
The PIS showed an arrival due in a couple of minutes, it would go down to “Due” and then disappear.
Meanwhile, no tram was in sight.
Then the whole thing would be repeated.
It wasn't exactly balmy weather and I was a little bit chilly to say the least.
Eventually 121 appeared and I managed to thaw out a bit on the way to my last required stop on the branch, Hackenthorpe.
As soon as 121 left cream liveried 120 pulled in behind it.
I took a photo of it then, as it pulled away, realised that the smart move would have been to actually be on it.

Hang on, I should be on that:
Sheffield Tram 120_2016.01.16_2_Hackenthorpe by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I was a bit surprised when 121 reappeared quite soon after and, thinking I must be closer to the end of the line than I actually was, decided to reject it and wait for required 120 that I knew would be next.
This was a mistake.
In all likelihood 121 had terminated short and been sent straight back.
It was empty.

When 120 eventually arrived, about half an hour later, it was wedged.
With the Halfway branch out of the way my plan was to take 120 to the stop that had started all this.
During my fester at Hackenthorpe a couple more sets had gone up after 120 and as it left Birley Lane I spotted another one right behind.
I’d had enough of being wedged and so decided to bail out at White Lane.
Sure enough, virtually empty 124 followed it in and this was what I took to Granville Road.
So why was Granville Road of special significance?
Well my paternal grandfather was called Granville and as 2016 sees the 25th anniversary of his death I fancied the idea of visiting this stop just to tip my hat to him

Grandad RIP:
Sheffield Tram 124_2016.01.16_5_Granville Road by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I decided that I was still enjoying the trams and I could get a few more shacks in and so it was on to dud 117 for a run to Park Grange.
It was then back to winning ways with 114 all the way to Park Grange Croft.
I had been looking at the map and the short branch to Herdings Park had caught my eye.
Might as well get that in while I’m here.
122 duly took me to the end of the line.

122 at Herdings Park:
Sheffield Tram 122_2016.01.16_2_Herdings Park by Phil Wood, on Flickr


The same set then took me from Herdings Park to Gleadless Townend, although even the platform signage doesn’t agree on if it’s “Townend” or “Town End”.
119 then took me to the other stop on that line, Herdings/Leighton Road and that was that.
Oh wait, I now only need four stops this side of Sheffield Station.
I might as well carry on
119 was used again, to Spring Lane before 116 took me to Hollinshead.
A new tram for the day, but one of three that I’d done at some point in the distant past, 109 was the traction to Arbourthorne Road and another fester.
With just one stop left to get I wasn’t going to give up easily and so I watched a stream of trams going towards the city and nothing coming out.
Eventually 112 arrived and it was absolutely rammed.
I managed to squeeze on board and folk were saying that there had been several tram failures, which had caused chaos.
Luckily I was only going two stops and so at Manor Top I literally fell out of the door and that was it, every tram stop South of Sheffield Station was done.
Needless to say, a virtually empty tram followed immediately behind 112.
Bah.
Of course, I had no way of knowing that it was coming, otherwise I would have waited for it.
The PIS seems to tell you what should be coming rather than what actually is, which can be a bit annoying.

It just remained for me to get 116 back to the station and 150146 from there to Meadowhall.
I had gone out with the intention of just spending a bit of time on the trams and ended up doing all day.
I said recently that I could never do an all-day tram move.
Well it seems I could and what’s more I enjoyed it, which is just as well as I still need 12 trams and 26 stops on the Sheffield network, so a return visit will have to take place at some point

So, in summary, 11 trams scored and a colossal 22 new shacks roped in.

YTD:
Locos: 0
HSTs: 0
DMUs: 1
EMUs: 2
Light Rail: 11
Stations: 31

 

[FQ]

That sounds like a very fun time on the trams! I found the Halfway branch to be really quite boring when I did it so credit to you for sticking to it and getting the shacks!