ALR Advice

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!

At the moment, sleeper reservations are available until 10th June. You need reservations for both sleepers, and they don't convey standing passengers. However, seated sleeper reservations are free. If you want a berth, you pay the supplement for the berth as needed.

Aye...I'd already looked up berth prices as I was planning on having at least two nights rest in a "prone" position, but after seeing the £36,- cost per night - Even though it's cheaper than the average Travelodge - I'm not sure if I can afford it, and Bargain Berths for next week or the week after will have probabally all sold out by now. :?
As it is, I'm planning to do a lot of my sleeping during the day on longer runs (NXEC, VT and GWR runs should be ideal for this!) and stay awake at night, so seated accommodation will be fine. I presume the seats on a sleeper would be similar to the ones in BR fitted HSTs, right?

You can take the ferry over to Armadale on Skye if you so wish, and buses to Kyle. (NOT included in the price of an ALR) Problem is the connections aren't always great due to the low frequency. I don't know Mallaig too well, but giving local taxi firms a quick call to book your cab may be worthwhile. It'll also let you compare prices.

That's probabally the part of the route that I've been concentrating on the most, as I'm hoping to do it in the least possible time. Although I still havn't settled on a confirmed plan yet, here's the current timetable that I've crafted for my ALR journey (Currently only up to the third day, though.)

ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SWT   FNB > WAT   0556   0634    39mi 60ch
LuL   WAT > EUS   0640   0715     2mi 40ch   ALR not valid - Use Oyster.
VWC   EUS > GLC   0730   1201   401mi 20ch   The APT would do it in 2h30! ;-)
 -    GLC > GLQ   1201   1215     0mi 40ch   On foot - Beware tight connection.
FSR   GLQ > MLG   1221   1743   164mi 20ch
 -    MLG > ARA   1800   1830     5mi 00ch   Caledonian McByrne ferry - £3,75.
 -    ARA > KYL   1845   0615    23mi 20ch   On foot - Min. average speed: 2.25mph.
FSR   KYL > INV   0621   0853    82mi 20ch
FSR   INV > WCK   1038   1455   175mi 00ch
FSR   WCK > INV   1600   2007   175mi 00ch
FSR   INV > EUS   2038   0747   582mi 00ch   Inverness - London sleeper service.
VWC   EUS > LLJ   0810   1104   255mi 00ch
ATW   LLJ > BFF   1333   1433    31mi 00ch
RHF   BFF > PTM   1510   1630    13mi 40ch   Rheilffordd Ffestiniog NG steam service.
ATW   PTM > PWL   1642   1709    13mi 00ch
ATW   PWL > MCN   1738   1958    57mi 40ch
ATW   MCN > BNS   2003   2227   104mi 20ch
[b]       Mileage to this point:  2125mi 00ch[/b]

Incidentally...What do people think of this schedule? I'd like to keep the section between Farnborough and Inverness (First arrival) intact as that took a lot of planning, but after that I don't know if I should do a return to Wick as above (For the coverage) or dart straight to London via Aberdeen and catch the sleeper from Euston back to Inverness overnight?

This is the first time I've ever actually tried planning out an ALR, and though I'd like to do every line in a week, I believe that Coxster and co had enough trouble doing that on two - So I'm really out of my depth here! hock:

I'd have thought that a laptop would be just about as heavy.

Well, I have a small and light Asus Eee-PC here that's not used for much at the moment. However, the thing still needs a lot of setting up done on it (I still havn't got it out of the box yet - And it needs XP Professional, Avantix, Adobe Acrobat and numerous other applications and remote management software installed on it before I use it!) and this model of Eee-PC seems to have a reputation for being unreliable and easily damaged...So taking that with me on a weeks intense ALR travel is not really an option, especially as I can watch movies and make brief Internet updates from my more durable W200i 'phone!

Even with the bookmarks provided, I find navigating through the eNRT a right pain in the ass, whereas the paper version can be addressed and looked-up so much quicker. Moreso, I could read the paper NRT on board ferries and in bad weather without worrying too much about rain and handling damage! 8)

Incidentally - Given that I'll be taking my ALR right at the end of the 2008CE timetable - Is it still even possible to get hold of a paper copy of the current timetable, and if so is it available really cheaply at the moment, given that it's only got three weeks left to run?
Although the £15,- cost of the paper NRT might be worth it for the printing costs and convenience, I'm not really willing to spend cash on a timetable that's just about to go out of date - Even though a copy of the 2008CE one would be very useful to have with me on the journey! :?
I don't suppose they'd throw in a copy of the current 2008CE timetable with purchase of the 2009CE one, would they?

Finally: I'm finding it a bit of a pig to plan my ALR out for the most part, as I cannot decide whether I should go for coverage or mileage! Although I've got some major "red line disease" going on in Scotland, south Wales, the West Country and East Anglia, I've already figured out that I could cover 1,605 miles in a day with just four quick Pendo runs! hock::?
How do people normally play their ALRs? Do they plan out a schedule well before travelling (Like I'm trying to do at the moment) or do they simply grab an ALR from the ticket office, and chain trains together like some smokers do with their cigarettes?

Farewell for now, apologies for the long post, and cheers for any further advice!
>> Death <<

 

[me123]

For the cross-Glasgow transfer, walking is definitely the best option; don't bother with the 398 bus for such a tight connection, because it can be stuck in traffic and I've known it to wait around a lot.

But do make sure you know the route before going. Streetview is extremely helpful in this, because one wrong turn in Glasgow can slow you down a lot because of the traffic lights.

Starting here. When you get out, turn to your right until you reach Borders. Borders is at the end of this pedestrianised street. At Borders, turn left and continue North along Buchanan Street until you reach Nelson Mandela Place. Turn right, following the road. That will take you to George Square and the Main Entrance to Glasgow Queen Street Station. I'd recommend, however, the Side entrance which will probably be quicker.

That's the quickest route. It's pedestrianised, and all your traffic lights are quite well swung in favour of pedestrians. I recommend the Side Entrance because the main entrance isn't fantastically located, and on the way in on the side entrance you'll be able to see what platform you're on whilst you're walking into the station. As I say, the wee free bus (398 ) isn't the quickest, and the subway at St. Enoch isn't worth the risk either. The taxi will spend too much time sat at traffic lights to be of any use. On such a tight connection, every second counts, so make sure you are ready to jump from Carriage A of the Pendolino as soon as you stop at Glasgow Central. Also, watch for idiots stopping you on Buchanan Street.

 

[Techniquest]

Indeed, you'll be relying on Virgin making it dead on time or early! I hope they do for you, as otherwise you'll be stuck with a swift re-plan!

Looks like a good 'un there so far Death, plenty of coverage and plenty of mileage. If I were you, I would get the Far North done and dusted whilst you're up there (and you can enjoy the FC seating if it's there as it's declassified on the Far North Lines), no need to trek all the way there again in the future like Jordy had to! I was lucky in that I got to do it with 40145 on a SRPS tour, and I have NO intention of going all the way there again any time soon!

As for how do other people do ALRs, I've yet to do one, but every year I create some sort of plan. Sometimes I fancy doing one which involves spending all of at least two days on GC (one day on one diagram, the next day on the other one), with the last 5 days dedicated to doing as much far away track as possible. Which means I plan to finish the North West and Scotland primarily, with plenty to do in the East Midlands and Anglia still, not to mention Kent. Other times like my last plan involved doing track more than anything, to the extent I only had 4 HST moves in it (Bath to Paddington, Kings Cross to Sunderland, Sunderland to Kings Cross and Paddington to Bath)! I suspect I'll make another plan soon, I do enjoy doing them sometimes. I can see me ditching an entire week's plan mind because I see something I wanted to get (like a required power car and thus going after that vice some Essex branch or something) in the book!

Anyway, if you come through Trowbridge on your ALR plan Death, drop us a line!

 

[John @ home]

Bargain Berths for next week or the week after will have probably all sold out by now.

The following Bargain Berths are available for dates before 17 May:
London - Aberdeen: May 6(£49), 11(£49)
London - Glasgow: May 5(£49)
Inverness - London: May 13(£39)
Aberdeen - London: May 14(£49)
Glasgow - London: May 11(£49), 13(£49)
There are also 'ordinary' Advance Sleeper fares (route CAL SLEEPER ADV) which start at £49.50

I presume the seats on a sleeper would be similar to the ones in BR fitted HSTs

They are comfortable, reclining seats set out like a First Class carriage on an InterCity day train.

VWC EUS > GLC 0730 1201 401mi 20ch
- GLC > GLQ 1201 1215 0mi 40ch On foot - Beware tight connection.
FSR GLQ > MLG 1221 1743 164mi 20ch

You do need a contingency plan in case this connection is missed. Perhaps you could tackle northern Scotland anti-clockwise instead of clockwise.

me123's advice on Glasgow Central to Queen Street is excellent. If the Virgin train is no more than 1 minute late, and you are not familiar with central Glasgow, it may be simpler for you to catch a train to Dalmuir instead and avoid Queen Street:
12:07 Glasgow Central - Dalmuir 12:32
12:42 Dalmuir - Mallaig 17:43
You will arrive at Central on Platform 1 or 2. Trains to Dalmuir leave from the low level platforms, and the escalator down to these is on the way to Platform 11.

The APT would do it in 2h30!

I think APT took 4 hours in the 1970s. Did you mean a future High Speed Line?

What do people think of this schedule?

I think it's very good so far. It's good to start with what's most important to you. In the 1970s, I left the trip via Skye to the last day, thinking it would be a great ending, but was too tired by then, overslept and missed it!

I'd like to do every line in a week

It's just about possible to do every line in Scotland in 6 days, but you wouldn't reach your mileage target.

Is it still even possible to get hold of a paper copy of the current timetable, and if so is it available really cheaply at the moment, given that it's only got three weeks left to run?

I saw a plentiful supply at a London station's WH Smiths a week or two ago, but these will probably be replaced with the new version soon. I have never seen a current timetable discounted.

I don't suppose they'd throw in a copy of the current 2008CE timetable with purchase of the 2009CE one, would they?

Unlikely

I cannot decide whether I should go for coverage or mileage!

Go for enjoyment! Be flexible. Don't get upset when a vital connection is missed. It's likely to happen sometime in the week. Make sure you are equipped to re-plan on the move.

Good luck!

John

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!

For the cross-Glasgow transfer, walking is definitely the best option; don't bother with the 398 bus for such a tight connection, because it can be stuck in traffic and I've known it to wait around a lot.

But do make sure you know the route before going. Streetview is extremely helpful in this, because one wrong turn in Glasgow can slow you down a lot because of the traffic lights.

Thanks very much for the info, Me123! 8)
My main plan was to walk between the two stations anyway, as I wasn't aware of the link bus that ye mentioned, and chances are my legs'll be faster than the Subway for that route!

I can't seem to get StreetView working on my browser for some reason, but looking at Google Maps the shortest and least complicated route looks to be Gordon St. > Buchnan St. > St. Vincent Pl. > George Sq. > GLQ side entrance. Although it involves some non-pedestrian roads, I'm a very fast walker compared to most people and tend to use the carriageway as well as the footpath to keep moving as I'm more comfortable sharing space with vehicles than pedestrians. That, and (If I remember the Highway Code correctly) vehicle lights don't apply to pedestrians, so I should be able to pull careful SPADs and go point-to-point without stopping at all! 8)

Also, watch for idiots stopping you on Buchanan Street.

Cheers again for the tip...I'll keep an eye out and either charge or deviate as appropriate. I can hold a surprising amount of momentum if necessary, and - Despite being quite small and light - I once sent a pretty burly 1/2 ton security guard flying (By accident) because I was rushing in to a BAL-SAGOTH performance! hock:
I presume the people ye are referring to are either Big Issue sellers, or game/trinket stall operators like those found in Blackpool?

Indeed, you'll be relying on Virgin making it dead on time or early! I hope they do for you, as otherwise you'll be stuck with a swift re-plan!

me123's advice on Glasgow Central to Queen Street is excellent. If the Virgin train is no more than 1 minute late, and you are not familiar with central Glasgow, it may be simpler for you to catch a train to Dalmuir instead and avoid Queen Street:
12:07 Glasgow Central - Dalmuir 12:32
12:42 Dalmuir - Mallaig 17:43
You will arrive at Central on Platform 1 or 2. Trains to Dalmuir leave from the low level platforms, and the escalator down to these is on the way to Platform 11.

Aye, cheers for the tips again! I've normally found Virgin to be pretty good for punctuality in recent years, but only having ten minutes of slack time over a 401.5 mile route is probabally going to be a bit tight, despite my ability in changing stations quickly. John; Thanks for finding that route...I'll add that in as a contingency for GLC-MLG as my effective departure time using GLQ is around 12:09, and I might be able to get them to hold the Dalmuir train if I'm still within a minute or two! 8)

Worst comes to the worst though: If we're no more than thirty mins down by the time we reach Carlisle and they let me take the controls, we'll be into Central 15 minutes early!

Talking of tight connections: Does anyone know if the connection between the Mallaig train and the ferry to Skye is a timetabled one? It looks like I should be able to switch from train to ferry in no more than a minute, but the thing I'm not sure about is if they'll hold the ferry for late running trains...One might think they wouldn't, but CalMac include the train connections in their ferry timetable, and I can't imagine their regulars being happy if they don't wait about for checked trains...

Looks like a good 'un there so far Death, plenty of coverage and plenty of mileage. If I were you, I would get the Far North done and dusted whilst you're up there (and you can enjoy the FC seating if it's there as it's declassified on the Far North Lines), no need to trek all the way there again in the future like Jordy had to! I was lucky in that I got to do it with 40145 on a SRPS tour, and I have NO intention of going all the way there again any time soon!

Well, I've been throwing routes around both in my mind and on paper, and although I can get INV > WCK > EUS done in a day starting out from Kyle, I'm still having a think about doing INV > ABD > EDI > KGX, and leaving the Wick leg as a following out 'n' back between Euston and Wick.

The trade-off between the two workings of course is that the former allows me to cover the northernmost bit of Scotland and start off back down to Euston that night, saving a day...But the latter route allows me to cover Aberdeen and Dundee, do the whole ECML, then catch the sleeper from Euston back up to Inverness that same night - Which allows me to ching an extra 1064 miles, but costs me an extra day. :?

In all honesty - Given the plan thus far - I'll probabally stick with the initial workings and take the sleeper down to Euston after doing Thurso/Wick, as that tidies up a "loose end" whilst I'm there. The downside of course is it means I might have to cut Aberdeen out of the whole picture - Especially as I'm now toying with a run to Penzance after returning from Inverness, and doing the Welsh lines clockwise! hock:

As for how do other people do ALRs, I've yet to do one, but every year I create some sort of plan. Sometimes I fancy doing one which involves spending all of at least two days on GC (one day on one diagram, the next day on the other one), with the last 5 days dedicated to doing as much far away track as possible.

I must admit that this is the first time I've ever tried planning something like an ALR. Although I've been wanting to do one for ages now, it's mainly the impending fares increase that's spurred me into high gear...And having a month or two more notice than we've been given would've made planning a much easier and less stressful process!

Incidentally, what would people consider the minimum decent mileage for a 7-day ALR? I know it depends on whether one goes for mileage or coverage, but I'm thinking that my desired minimum would have to be 10,000 miles or so. Is that a reasonable figure, considering I'm also planning to do a lot of the slower Scottish and Welsh lines?

Anyway, if you come through Trowbridge on your ALR plan Death, drop us a line!

Will do mate, will do! I wouldn't be stopping there unless I need to change trains, but if I know what service I'm using I'll let ye know beforehand! 8)

The following Bargain Berths are available for dates before 17 May:
London - Aberdeen: May 6(£49), 11(£49)
London - Glasgow: May 5(£49)
Inverness - London: May 13(£39)
Aberdeen - London: May 14(£49)
Glasgow - London: May 11(£49), 13(£49)
There are also 'ordinary' Advance Sleeper fares (route CAL SLEEPER ADV) which start at £49.50

[The seats on Sleeper services] are comfortable, reclining seats set out like a First Class carriage on an InterCity day train.

Cheers for doing the lookup John! Looking at the NR site, the suppliment for those who already hold a valid travel ticket or ALR is £36,- for the Caledonians, but the above might come in handy for a kick-start North if I need to do one! As it is, if the sleepers have first-class style seating in the seated car then I should be more than comfortable sleeping in those, and a berth probabally won't be necessary after all. 8)

You do need a contingency plan in case this connection is missed. Perhaps you could tackle northern Scotland anti-clockwise instead of clockwise.

I've already looked into doing both directions, and the main reason I'm going to try for clockwise is because it gives me a decent amount of slack time on Skye...Pretty useful for me, as I'm going to be walking the 23 miles between Aberdale and Kyle.
The timings I've got for the other way around do give me an hours extra slack coming the other way, but looking at it in timetable terms it doesn't look as efficient.

The headache though will be trying to make that connection between Central and Queen Street...But what I might try doing is informing the relevant ToCs about the change beforehand and see if there's anything they can do to help me make the connection. On the other hand if I can make the 05:47 ex Euston insted of the 07:30, that'll give me 90 minutes total slack and time for a smoke in Glasgow. 8)

I think APT took 4 hours in the 1970s. Did you mean a future High Speed Line?

Nay, I'm referring to the 370 running along older BR lines with me at the controls! hock:

In my book there's no such thing as a "safety allowance" in speed terms...So if a curve is signposted 100mph for non tilting trains, the "safe" signposted limit for tilters is 150mph, and the "hard" limit (The speed at which a train will leave the bend sideways) is 195mph, I'll be aiming for 190mph minimum. :eek:

Is it any wonder that VT aren't too keen on the idea of me driving for them? I'm very tempted to apply, but I'm too fearful of rejection... :?

I think it's very good so far. It's good to start with what's most important to you. In the 1970s, I left the trip via Skye to the last day, thinking it would be a great ending, but was too tired by then, overslept and missed it!

Cheers for the tip and the comments John! The intense running that I'm aiming for with this will probabally take it out of me quite badly, which is why I'm trying to keep the Skye walk at the front of the trip, when I'll have enough energy for a 23 mile walk! 8)

As it is, my schedule is intense enough that I'll be literally living on trains for the whole week and won't be using hotels or anything like that. 95% of trains have on-board lavatories where one can easily have a face wash, brush their teeth, shave, and change clothing if need be...So the only "shore" facilities I'll need to use will be the pay showers at the London termini. Indeed - Talking of showers - I don't suppose they have them on sleepers do they? If so (And if they're available to seated passengers) that'll save me a lot of time!

I saw a plentiful supply at a London station's WH Smiths a week or two ago, but these will probably be replaced with the new version soon. I have never seen a current timetable discounted.

Well, as the new fare doesn't apply to ALRs started on the 16th, I might buy the 2009CE timetable insted and start my ALR on the 16th using hand-written notes for the Saturday, especially as that leaves me half a month to get the planning done! The obvious headache with that though - Given that my Hebredian Loop coverage is planned to run Mon/Tue - Is that I'll need to figure out a decent coverage schedule for the weekend that'll work with Sunday services and engineering works. Given the web of lines and decent Sunday coverage down here though, I might save Sat/Sun for doing the southern and Western Regions. 8)

Go for enjoyment! Be flexible. Don't get upset when a vital connection is missed. It's likely to happen sometime in the week. Make sure you are equipped to re-plan on the move.
Good luck!

Hence why I'd like a paper copy of the timetable - Especially as I was pretty hot with instant journey planning back when I used to keep a copy of the full SWT timetable!

Aye, I'm planning for this to be a relaxing and pleasurable experience for me...Although for me "relaxing and pleasurable" normally means flying through twisted scenic lines at speeds of over 300mph! I'm going to try and make the whole journey as structured but relaxed as possible, as I don't want to spend my week constantly stressed over whether I'll catch the next connection or not!

One approach I'm trying to sort out at the moment is crafting "blocks" of workings that I could mix and match on the fly, using London (And decent connections) as a central interchange point. That means I could plan my ALR as a series of unconnected timetables and run them A-B-C-D, A-C-B-D, B-A-D-C, or however I choose.
It would also allow me to place each individual timetable in a hat and draw the next set of runs at random as I come back into London if I choose...Although the downside of that would mean I couldn't book my sleepers in advance.

Ah well, I'm sure I'll figure out some kind of plan to do decent mileage and get some much needed coverage done! 8)

Farewell for now, and many thanks again for the assistance!
>> Death <<

 

[glynn80]

Thanks for finding that route...I'll add that in as a contingency for GLC-MLG as my effective departure time using GLQ is around 12:09, and I might be able to get them to hold the Dalmuir train if I'm still within a minute or two! 8)

The headache though will be trying to make that connection between Central and Queen Street...But what I might try doing is informing the relevant ToCs about the change beforehand and see if there's anything they can do to help me make the connection. On the other hand if I can make the 05:47 ex Euston insted of the 07:30, that'll give me 90 minutes total slack and time for a smoke in Glasgow. 8)

The problem you are going to have on this part of the journey is that catching the 07:30 ex Euston is not a booked connection onto the 12:21 ex Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig

From your posts I'm still not sure what day you are starting your ALR on.

But if you are travelling on the 15th (Friday) then you would need to catch the 0547 ex Euston to make it a booked connection. If you are travelling on the 16th (Saturday) you will need to travel on the 06:05 ex Euston to make it a booked connection.

If it is not a booked connection you have really no hope of gaining any help from the TOCs in question here. If it was a booked connection I'd say they would either hold the Fort Bill service if there were quite a few passengers travelling onto Fort Bill from the VT service or they would get you a taxi up there as the next service is way past two hours later.

And just as a cursory point they won't be able to hold any trains within the Glasgow Central Low Level platforms as they are through platforms running a very frequent suburban service, so one service stopping will delay many others.

Talking of tight connections: Does anyone know if the connection between the Mallaig train and the ferry to Skye is a timetabled one? It looks like I should be able to switch from train to ferry in no more than a minute, but the thing I'm not sure about is if they'll hold the ferry for late running trains...One might think they wouldn't, but CalMac include the train connections in their ferry timetable, and I can't imagine their regulars being happy if they don't wait about for checked trains...

Having done this journey quite a few times, I have only once, seen one wait for the other. This was for a few minutes around 3 years back when there were quite a lot of people connecting off the Scotrail service on to the ferry and luckily they agreed to hold it for us.

I would certainly not bank on them holding the ferry for you and definitely have a back up plan if it all goes wrong.

I've already looked into doing both directions, and the main reason I'm going to try for clockwise is because it gives me a decent amount of slack time on Skye...Pretty useful for me, as I'm going to be walking the 23 miles between Aberdale and Kyle.

You do know you can catch a bus 16.4 miles of the way!

The 5C bus connects into the 1830 arrival from Mallaig at Armadale and I can confirm the bus does wait for the ferry whenever I have caught it. It leaves at 1835 and heads to Portree (north Skye), you can catch it as far as Broadford which is the junction to the road to Skye and it arrives at 1902.

You then have two options either an 8.9 mile walk to Kyle of Lochalsh or a 7.9 mile walk to Kyleakin on the other side of the bridge and if you can do that in two hours you can catch the 2110 55 bus (or 2210 if you miss that) from Kyleakin Youth Hostel to Kyle of Lochalsh arriving in at 2117 (2217).

The 5C bus runs both Monday-Friday and Saturday but the 55 bus only runs on Saturdays on the later services at 2110 and 2210, so if you were travelling on Friday you would have to walk all the way from Broadford to Kyle of Lochalsh.

Also bear in mind the roads you will be walking on have little to no pavement for the whole journey. It may be advisable to carry a hi-viz vest with you just so you stand out, as you will be walking on an A-road- the A87.

 

[Techniquest]

Hail once again Death!

As I'm a lazy individual who's still not woken up properly yet (the coffee and chocolate digestives haven't kicked in yet hock, I haven't quoted the relevant bits of your post, so if I miss something then apologies!

I had a quick look for Monday 18th May regarding the 0547 and 0730 EUS - GLC (chose that day to ensure that the fastest trains would appear), and based on your love of travelling at high speed for a relaxing journey (and I don't blame you, storming along at 125mph is often when I'm most relaxed myself) the 0730 is the better bet as it's booked RA Euston to Warrington BQ, with further stops at Wigan NW, Preston, Lancaster, Penrith and Carlisle before eventual arrival at 1201. Whereas the 0547 is very much more of a stopper, calling at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Crewe, Warrington BQ, Wigan NW, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Carlisle and Glasgow Central, with an eventual arrival at 1036. Both of course offer some good bits of high speed running, but obviously the latter is better for that, with the connection off the 0730 EUS - GLC of course being the big negative there.

As a point of interest, however, I looked up London Euston to Mallaig to see if there was an advertised connection onto the 1221 from GQS. Sadly there is not, there is of course off the 0547.

As for your plan to do Wales in a clockwise direction, I am mighty curious as to how you'll do that. As I'm currently unaware of what lines you still need (I'll have a look at your map in a minute to find out), or for that matter what time you would get to Wales, I cannot currently formulate a plan for you. However, I'll have a look at your map and throw together some ideas. Having been previously based virtually right by the Welsh border and travelled virtually over every bit of it on NR metals (Maindee Curve and Shotton High Level to Hawarden Bridge excluded), I might be able to offer advice on walks, bus connections and so forth. One thing I might suggest though is to avoid much of the Cardiff Valleys on your ALR as these are rather slow which'll eat into the available time for cranking. I can still offer some advice in this area, although I'm not overly familiar with all parts of it.

Tough call as to whether to do the extra mileage and clearing of NE Scotland or getting the Wick line done there. As I previously suggested, clearing the Far North would probably be more beneficial sooner than later because a) of the huge distance from the Southern Region to Inverness to do it on a seperate trip and b) Inverness to Aberdeen and thus around to Edinburgh is much more frequent (double the frequency between Inverness and Aberdeen compared to the Far North, if not better) thus easier to fit in again.

Nice to see someone else is planning to practically live on the trains all week, this is something I usually plan because of the extra mileage and the comfortable seats on the sleepers are good enough for some decent sleep for me anyway. I can sleep on floors, so sleeping in a reclinable First Class-style seat is luxury in comparison!

The connection via Dalmuir is actually not a bad idea, I certainly hadn't thought of it. Still allow 5 minutes for the transfer though, because Glasgow Central has a habit of having slow moving passengers everywhere, not to mention a series of stairs (one to the barriers, one after to the platforms) and of course the barriers to deal with. I have noticed you appear to be a fast walker used to tight connections though, so I would imagine you'll be OK.

Never seen the expired (or soon to be expired) NRTs be reduced myself, so I wouldn't expect it. As you'll be crossing into the new timetable for most if not all of your ALR, then you'll be just as well getting that. The Middleton Press version, in 2008 at least, does have pretty small print. Even though I have no real problems with my eyes, I did often have to get pretty close to the text to read it with the smaller tables. It put realism to the term 'Got your head in a book'! Never used the TSO version myself, so I cannot pass comment there.

Still on timetables, you may find local timetables to be rather handy for quick journey searches whilst on the move. If nothing else, they can be handy for spotting moves you might not have seen in the NRT or if when you get bored on long journeys then they can be an interesting read to see how ludicruously slow some journeys are and the bizarre calling patterns in places! I especially do this when the new copies of the timetables are released, to check for changes of times to services I use regularly, connect into or whatever as well as the previously mentioned check for bizarre/interesting moves. There's only so many times you can play the music on your MP3 player or read books for. Of course, local timetables will add weight to your luggage, so when leaving an area for the last time I would normally either bin them, recycle them (if facilities exist) or just leave them on the table for anyone who might fancy looking at them to do so.

I doubt I need to tell you, but I would expect to make some swift movements when making interchanges. I'd also be prepared to alight a train quickly before a station stop in case of a sudden change of plan/delay. As a basher, I know full well I've had to do this a number of times!

Same as with Wales, if you need some interchange information or whatever on the Western Region, I'll be happy to provide assistance. And if you have a 1 minute connection at Bristol Temple Meads, it CAN be done, just. I've done it before (admittedly with only a backpack and everything secured in it first as I expected to run madly) off the Weymouth to Bristol 67s onto the Newquay to Manchester HST. Bristol Parkway can be done in about the same time (again, with a fair bit of a run mind), same applies to Cardiff Central. But you need to be at the right door when alighting at these places to line up with the stairs to the subway/footbridge.

Anyway, enough of me going on and on, you might have guessed I'm a bit jealous! If I can be of any help at all, then feel free to either PM me or whatever and I'll do my best to give you the most practical advice possible!

Kind regards,

Julian, Chief HST Frother

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!
Just a quick poke up to say that I'm still here and reading this thread (When I get the time that is!), but I'm still having a pig of a time trying to work out a decent plan for my ALR. I've been up all night working at it, but all I've been able to add is an emergency backup plan for missed ferries at Mallaig, and a conclusion that Wales would probabally be best done clockwise! hock:
I was thinking of starting out next Monday...Until I looked at the calendar and spotted that it was a bank holiday! As I'd rather get my main workings in on week-day timetables (Especially as Sunday timetables are useless in remote areas!) I'd rather not "lose" a day of running to an extra day of Sunday running!

Anyhow...Just another few questions if I may, mainly about Sleeper services this time:

• Assuming that I have my ALR start on the 5th, would it be valid on an 00:06 service to London from Farnborough (Originates Weymouth, 21p10) that very morning?
  .
• Is there any kind of come-back on me if I take a sleeper reservation but don't actually use it?
  I'm coming up with contingency plans for dodgy connections (Such as taking the 1950 sleeper from Fort William if I miss the ferry at Mallaig) but with sleepers needing to be reserved at all times, I'm going to have to book myself seats that I won't be using unless the main schedule stuffs up...A practice that I'm not all that keen on, admittedly. :?
  .
• What's the shortest amount of notice (lead-time) that I have to make a reservation on a sleeper? I know that reservations on VT can be made up to three hours before departure, but sleepers will probabally run to different rules and regs...And might need as much as 24h for all I know.
  .
• Looking at the timetables, I note that some sleepers appear to do double-duty as late night stopping services in parts of Scotland. Are reservations still required for those though, or can they be used like any day train along those sections?

Anyhow...My brain is now rapidly turning to mush, and all this talk of sleeper trains is making me yearn for my own bed!

Farewell for now...And thanks again for advice both given above, and to be given below!
>> Death <<

 

[me123]

I think it's only the Highland Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William that also carries passengers Edinburgh-Fort William. The train also calls at Westerton, with a connecting service to/from Queen Street in both directions. It is still essential to make a reservation on the train for any journey.

 

[Techniquest]

Especially in the summer time. In the winter time, I've been lucky enough to turn up for the Down Lowland to Edinburgh and get on board having bought my ticket earlier that afternoon. Was rather lucky there was capacity free though.

So yes, if you can do get reservations remembering FSR charge £5 or something if you reserve without buying a ticket at the same time now, so do so at a large station if possible.

Bank Holiday Monday, with ATW and FGW, is *usually* the Saturday timetable (for the latter, but they usually do have works on too so check their website carefully) and a normal service with ATW bar any BHX services. Again, check carefully though in case they've got works on and have changed their minds!

If you're starting the ALR next week, then you'll be a couple of weeks too early for the Bristol to Weymouth extras, which are showing in the system now with traction appearing to be 67s again. If you still need some of that (and I recall seeing Bath to Westbury as a red line in your map still), then that might be worth doing later this summer. I'll be in a position of strength, for once, to do them in case a required 67 lands on it. No doubt someone will post somewhere when it's confirmed.

EDIT: AXC are still diverting between Bristol and Taunton, going via Westbury, this weekend coming (probably the 5th of May too) and I assume the weekend after, which should be the final weekend of the blockade and the timetable, again this might be worth doing since there's required track there for you and you could use it as an excuse to do some of the South West at the same time.

Only other comment to make would be, assuming your ALR is set to start on 5th of May then the 0006 from Farnborough to Waterloo will be valid.

Good luck with the continuing effort on the ALR planning!

 

[John @ home]

Assuming that I have my ALR start on the 5th, would it be valid on an 00:06 service to London from Farnborough (Originates Weymouth, 21p10) that very morning?

Yes. I was intending to suggest something like this. Lots of sleep during the day before it starts. Then 0006 Farnborough to Clapham Jn. Then Brighton. Then London in plenty time for the first train to Glasgow. Then probably some north Glasgow electric coverage such as Milngavie and Helensburgh Central which could be dropped if running late. Perhaps pick up the Mallaig train at Dumbarton Central at 1248.

Is there any kind of come-back on me if I take a sleeper reservation but don't actually use it?

Just losing any money you may have paid for the reservation.

I'm coming up with contingency plans for dodgy connections (Such as taking the 1950 sleeper from Fort William if I miss the ferry at Mallaig)

I think you'll be OK with the 19-minute connection into the 1625 ferry but even if that fails Calmac's summer 2009 timetable and fares booklet shows a 1800 Mallaig - Armadale 1830 ferry so you would still be able to get on to the island that day.

What's the shortest amount of notice (lead-time) that I have to make a reservation on a sleeper?

Don't know. Scotrail's webite on sleepers just says Advance reservations are required for all seats and then links to a page that will sell tickets but not reservations only.

 

[16CSVT2700]

Bank Holiday Monday, with ATW and FGW, is *usually* the Saturday timetable (for the latter, but they usually do have works on too so check their website carefully)

That is correct. I'll double check with my supervisor for you today

 

[me123]

So yes, if you can do get reservations remembering FSR charge £5 or something if you reserve without buying a ticket at the same time now, so do so at a large station if possible.

I was under the impression that reservations were free for all ticket holders. They at no point mention a charge for any passengers. However, there is a charge for cancellations. Presumably this is taken off any refund provided, so I'm not sure what would happen for an ALR seated sleeper passenger.

This page has some very confusing details on how to book your sleeper. Presumably the random times indicate the latest booking time for that sleeper train. (Eg, bookings from anywhere covered by the Fort William Sleeper must be booked by 18:30).

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!

I think it's only the Highland Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William that also carries passengers Edinburgh-Fort William. The train also calls at Westerton, with a connecting service to/from Queen Street in both directions. It is still essential to make a reservation on the train for any journey.

Especially in the summer time. In the winter time, I've been lucky enough to turn up for the Down Lowland to Edinburgh and get on board having bought my ticket earlier that afternoon. Was rather lucky there was capacity free though.

So yes, if you can do get reservations remembering FSR charge £5 or something if you reserve without buying a ticket at the same time now, so do so at a large station if possible.

Don't know. Scotrail's webite on sleepers just says Advance reservations are required for all seats and then links to a page that will sell tickets but not reservations only.

I was under the impression that reservations were free for all ticket holders. They at no point mention a charge for any passengers. However, there is a charge for cancellations. Presumably this is taken off any refund provided, so I'm not sure what would happen for an ALR seated sleeper passenger.

Aye, once I've figured out exactly which sleepers I'll be using, I'll be booking my places on them when I buy my ALR to ensure I don't get chinged for reservations that I might not use.

Looking at the way things are going, it's currently looking like I may be starting out on the 11th to avoid the bank holiday and to get the best chance of reservations on all of the sleepers I'll be using, thus I'll be trying to get my ALR about 1-2 weeks before travel (Even though I know it'll fail) but they should allow me to make the reservations at that time - At no charge - As I was attempting to buy my ticket at that time.

Only other comment to make would be, assuming your ALR is set to start on 5th of May then the 0006 from Farnborough to Waterloo will be valid.

Yes. I was intending to suggest something like this. Lots of sleep during the day before it starts. Then 0006 Farnborough to Clapham Jn. Then Brighton. Then London in plenty time for the first train to Glasgow. Then probably some north Glasgow electric coverage such as Milngavie and Helensburgh Central which could be dropped if running late. Perhaps pick up the Mallaig train at Dumbarton Central at 1248.

That's probabally going to be a crux of the plan, as it'll allow me to rise at 21:00 on the Sunday, still get an excellent kick-start from Farnborough, take a leasurely walk across London to save being chinged on my Oyster card, and make the 05:47 ex Euston with plenty of time to spare!

John: Cheers for adding in the bit about a Brighton leg! I'll bear that in mind as an extra (Although I already have coverage between Clapham Jct and Brighton via Lewes, so it's not essential) although I'll be allowing myself at least two hours to walk from Waterloo to Euston (Or 2.5 hours from Victoria) so such an extra would need to be completed by 03:45 at the latest.

Bank Holiday Monday, with ATW and FGW, is *usually* the Saturday timetable (for the latter, but they usually do have works on too so check their website carefully) and a normal service with ATW bar any BHX services. Again, check carefully though in case they've got works on and have changed their minds!

Admittedly, I'm trying to do all of the major stuff on the weekday timetables as I'd rather not try and cover rural lines on Sundays, when the service will be much less frequent than during the week. Indeed, my current plan is to save Saturday and Sunday for doing East Anglia and the Southern Region as the high density of lines down here will give me a much greater number of options, plus - Given that Sunday might be my last day - It'll put me at the right end of the country for the last minute dash home.

Although I havn't paid much heed to the Sunday timetables for Scotland North and Wales yet, I'd much rather cover them on a weekday if possible. That, and basic contingency planning suggests that being in Scotland on my last day or two might be unwise just in case severe difficulties arise (Such as a major event like the Penmaenshiel Tunnel collapse) and I find myself stranded away from home when my ALR runs out!

I think you'll be OK with the 19-minute connection into the 1625 ferry but even if that fails Calmac's summer 2009 timetable and fares booklet shows a 1800 Mallaig - Armadale 1830 ferry so you would still be able to get on to the island that day.

My current plan is to arrive in Mallaig on the train from Queen Street at 17:43 and catch the 18:00 ferry. However, CalMac's website says that all passengers have to be aboard ten minutes before departure to allow safety checks to be carried out which reduces time for transfer and ticket purchase down to a paltry seven minutes. Therefore I'm going to make sure I have a seat booked on the sleeper from Fort William that night just in case I'm denied boarding onto the ferry. Incidentally, would it be possible for me to buy my ferry ticket on board the Mallaig train?

By the by; Did ye get those timings from the 2009CE timetable? I can't find any trains scheduled to arrive in Mallaig at 16:06 on the 2008CE timetable at any rate!

Good luck with the continuing effort on the ALR planning!

Cheers for that mate...In all troth though, trying to plan this out has really got me flummoxed left right and centre, and my brain keeps crashing whenever I try and plan my journey past the Scottish leg! There are so many options for getting from here to there and everywhere in between, that I'm simply being swamped under by it all...And NR's online journey planner is being about as much use to me at the moment as a condom is to a eunuch! :roll:

Although I've tried building my plan in fixed constructs that start and terminate in London (So I can "bolt" my whole schedule together any old how, using sleepers for night rest and without worrying about taking intermediate connecting services across the Pennines or whatever) to simplify the planning, I'm still having a pain of a time trying to figure out what goes in between. Although the Scottish leg is a relatively easy one on the current plan (Covering MLG, KYL, INV, WCK and EUS; Fail condition MLG, FTW and EUS) I worked out a reverse working last night which isn't ideal for me as it involves a long overnight at Wick and a taxi from Kyle to Armadale, but it does get me coverage via Glasgow, Gretna Green, Hexham and Newcastle (And back again) which is another route that I need! hock:

I did initially think of making the whole ALR an "off the bat" one without any pre-made plan whatsoever, based on the simple principle of catching any available train from any available interchange on an ad-hoc basis. However - Even though I'll be taking a sleeping bag and stout bin-liner with me for emergency use - I'd much rather do my nights on board sleepers if I could so I can get the extra coverage and a pleasant nights sleep at the same time...And of course, sleepers have to be booked in advance, hence why I need a well formed plan! :?

Dear Gods...This whole thing is blowing my skull apart again, and despite the numerous attempts I've made to simplify the process, I'm still no closer to having a definite workable plan to hand...And I need it formulated in time to do it all before the forthcoming fare hike and timetable change! I'm going to try and dig out the trip report that Gizzy and LittleRedTrain posted a while ago for their ALRs and see if their schedule will work for me in any capacity, although my main aims are to cover the Scottish Highlands in full and most of central Wales. (I can do the SR on a seperate day Rover and serious abuse of the NRRG with cheap day returns! )

I must admit that the planning has been such a headache for me thus far that it has crossed my mind to drop the whole idea...But I'd rather not as it's something that I've been wanting to do for ages now, and I don't want all of the above advice kindly offered to me to go to waste either!

Oh well, I'll try and get something figured out for after Scotland - Probabally the clockwise Welsh loop (Anticlockwise is a right pain, with too much waiting around!) if I can find some good connections along the Heart of Wales and Rheilffordd FFestiniog. Best get my head jammed back into the timetable, I suppose! 8)

Farewell for now, and many many thanks again for thy kind advice!
>> Death <<

 

[Chester025]

You might also might want to take advantage of the many Loco Hauled trains this year:

57s WAG Express

67s to Weymouth

67s Fife Circle

67s Taunton - Cardiffs

67s WSMR

XC HSTs

GC (Real) HSTs

??? Although this may complicate things even more!

 

[John @ home]

it's currently looking like I may be starting out on the 11th to avoid the bank holiday

I don't think you will get the best out of the ALR by starting on a Monday. The 0006 from Farnborough runs 6 days a week, but not on Sunday night / Monday morning.

to get the best chance of reservations on all of the sleepers I'll be using, thus I'll be trying to get my ALR about 1-2 weeks before travel (Even though I know it'll fail) but they should allow me to make the reservations at that time - At no charge - As I was attempting to buy my ticket at that time.

I don't think this will work.

Cheers for adding in the bit about a Brighton leg! I'll bear that in mind as an extra

0006 Farnborough Main - Clapham Jn 0105 (Journey Planner) or 0054 (printed timetable)
0108 Clapham Jn - Three Bridges 0151
Bus replacement south of Three Bridges, so ignore my Brighton suggestion.
0159 Three Bridges - Victoria 0249 or, if missed,
0258 Three Bridges - Victoria 0349
Probably worth doing if you make the Clapham connection, and not worth worrying about if you don't.

By the by; Did ye get those timings from the 2009CE timetable? I can't find any trains scheduled to arrive in Mallaig at 16:06 on the 2008CE timetable at any rate!

Sorry, my mistake. I was mis-reading from the Calmac summer 2009 timetables and fares booklet, which I picked up on one of their ferries last week.

The May - December 2009 timetable is now available here http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/4178.aspx

My current plan is to arrive in Mallaig on the train from Queen Street at 17:43 and catch the 18:00 ferry.

The good news is that the leaflet shows the 1221 from Glasgow Queen St is an advertised connection into the 1800 ferry to Armadale.

However, CalMac's website says that all passengers have to be aboard ten minutes before departure to allow safety checks to be carried out

It's not possible for Calmac to enforce this strictly because their timetable has only 10 minutes between the arrival and departure of their ferries at Armadale. My experience last week (on a different route) was of a friendly and relaxed operation.

would it be possible for me to buy my ferry ticket on board the Mallaig train?

No, and http://www.calmac.co.uk/reservations states Reservations are not required for foot passengers. I don't know whether this actually means Advance reservations are not possible for foot passengers but you could ring them on 0800 665 000 and ask. A single from Mallaig to Armadale is £3.65

sleepers have to be booked in advance, hence why I need a well formed plan!

Table 135 of the Timetable shows the seated part of the Paddington - Penzance sleeper as reservable, but not reservations compulsory.

You might want also to use these overnight trains which don't have to be booked in advance:
2318 Manchester Airport - York 0143
0100 Manchester Airport - York 0313
0400 Manchester Airport - Scarborough 0730
2147 Newcastle - Manchester Airport 0110
0146 York - Manchester Airport 0415
0252 York - Manchester Airport 0515
0400 York - Manchester Airport 0624

 

[glynn80]

You might want also to use these overnight trains which don't have to be booked in advance:
2318 Manchester Airport - York 0143
0100 Manchester Airport - York 0313
0400 Manchester Airport - Scarborough 0730
2147 Newcastle - Manchester Airport 0110
0146 York - Manchester Airport 0415
0252 York - Manchester Airport 0515
0400 York - Manchester Airport 0624

Another useful journey overnight service that doesn't require you to get off the train so you can get a good kip is the Fishguard service.

2015 London Paddington - Swansea 2336
2345 Swansea- Fishguard Harbour 0126
0150 Fishguard Harbour - Swansea 0345
0359 Swansea- London Paddington 0732

The Holyhead has a similar service but requires you to wait in the ferry terminal for just over 2 hours.

 

[me123]

I use Calmac frequently to visit my Aunt, who lives on an Island in the Clyde. You do need to buy beforehand where available, and you won't get on the boat without a ticket. They're very strict because of shipping laws requiring all persons to be accounted for before departure. Thus, for most services the deadline to be on board is a strict deadline. In my experience, where there is a ticket office (and there is at Mallaig) you need to buy your ticket there.

Because of the tight connection, I'd advise at least trying to get a ticket beforehand. If you've got no ticket you risk being stuck. You can book a ticket for a vehicle on the Skye ferry, but for some reason not for a person. I'd contact them and see if you can buy your ticket in advance. However, you're just down the road so if the train's on time you'd get away with it.

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!
Well...I've had my head stuck in the timetable all afternoon and after experimentally dropping the MLG > KYL > INV part of the route, I think that I might've come up with a set of workings that gives me a good deal of new coverage (And half-decent mileage too) without an overnight walk across Skye and a dodgy ferry connection!

Following is the version that I've drafted up tonight, worked out as far as the third day again. Is this good in mileage and coverage terms, or am I shuttling about on stoppers too much? I've managed to remove the tight connections from the schedule at least! 8)
(By the by: I'm using the 2008CE PDF version of the timetable, downloaded off of the NR website. I'd like to get this all done before the new timetable comes into effect if possible, as otherwise I'll have to redo all of my workings from scratch again! :?)

[color=#000099][b]Day 01[/b] - Tuesday 05th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SWT   FNB > WAT   0006   0102    39mi 60ch
 -    WAT > EUS   0115   0345     2mi 40ch   On foot.
VWC   EUS > GLC   0547   1036   401mi 20ch   *Very* slow working, might be 86 hauled.
FSR   GLC > KIL   1103   1141    24mi 20ch
NTH   KIL > NCL   1150   1457   153mi 00ch
NXC   NCL > EDI   1535   1709   124mi 40ch
FSR   EDI > ABD   1733   2006   130mi 40ch
FSR   ABD > EUS   2140   0747   624mi 60ch   Aberdeen - London sleeper service.
     [b]Planned mileage - Today:  1500mi 40ch[/b]
     [color=#AA0000][b]Planned mileage - Total:  1500mi 40ch[/b][/color]


[color=#000099][b]Day 02[/b] - Wednesday 06th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -    EUS > WAT   0750   0900     2mi 40ch   On foot.
SWT   WAT > EXD   0920   1238   172mi 40ch
AXC   EXD > PLY   1245   1348    52mi 00ch
FGW   PLY > SER   1358   1545    73mi 60ch   Changeover not possible at Penzance.
FGW   SER > PAD   1611   2123   299mi 40ch
FGW   PAD > SWA   2245   0214   192mi 60ch
     [b]Planned mileage - Today:   793mi 00ch[/b]
     [color=#AA0000][b]Planned mileage - Total:  2293mi 40ch[/b][/color]


[color=#000099][b]Day 03[/b] - Thursday 07th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATW   SWA > SHR   0436   0823   121mi 40ch   Heart of Wales line.
ATW   SHR > MCN   0927   1047    61mi 00ch
ATW   MCN > PTM   1100   1247    44mi 40ch
RHF   PTM > BFF   1335   1445    13mi 40ch   Rheilffordd Ffestiniog NG steam service.
ATW   BFF > LLJ   1452   1551    31mi 00ch
ATW   LLJ > CHS   1625   1717    44mi 20ch
VWC   CHS > EUS   1735   1938   179mi 00ch
FSR   EUS > FTW   2115   0954   525mi 00ch   London - Fort William sleeper service.
     [b]Planned mileage - Today:  1019mi 60ch[/b]
     [color=#AA0000][b]Planned mileage - Total:  3313mi 20ch[/b][/color]


[color=#000099][b]Day 04[/b] - Friday 08th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [color=#AA0000][b]TO BE ARRANGED[/b][/color] - Day to cover either MLG > KYL > WCK > INV, or INV > ABD > ECML.


[color=#000099][b]Day 05[/b] - Saturday 09th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [color=#AA0000][b]TO BE ARRANGED[/b][/color] - Day to cover central Midlands and/or Yorkshire via EMT routes.


[color=#000099][b]Day 06[/b] - Sunday 10th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [color=#AA0000][b]TO BE ARRANGED[/b][/color] - Bad timetable and works expected. Ad-hoc mileage bumping day.


[color=#000099][b]Day 07[/b] - Monday 11th May 2009CE:[/color]
ToC:  Route:      Dep:   Arr:   Mileage:     Remarks:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  [color=#AA0000][b]TO BE ARRANGED[/b][/color] - Return to London/southern region by 18:00 latest.

I use Calmac frequently to visit my Aunt, who lives on an Island in the Clyde. You do need to buy beforehand where available, and you won't get on the boat without a ticket. They're very strict because of shipping laws requiring all persons to be accounted for before departure. Thus, for most services the deadline to be on board is a strict deadline. In my experience, where there is a ticket office (and there is at Mallaig) you need to buy your ticket there.

And this is what I was worried about. Although I would normally expect to be able to buy a ticket on boarding the ferry, I noticed CalMac's policy on ticketing on the website and took note of it.

With the ten minute safety checks (Which I'd be wise to make allowances for) and not being able to save time by getting my ticket on board the train, I'd probabally have to sprint like an olympian between the station, ticket office and ferry...Not easy for a 20/day smoker who's going to be carrying close to 25Kg of rucksack around with him!
Even though I've already allocated £3.75 in exact change for the fare to save time at the port, there's still too great a risk I'll miss the connection and I'll have to look at working it in backwards from Kyle insted.

On the bright side though, working backwards from Inverness should give me plenty of time to complete the Hebridean loop and catch the sleeper down from Fort William. On the downside though, I'll probabally have to leave the Wick branch for a future ALR...

Farewell for now...
>> Death <<

 

[Techniquest]

Crikey, you're having a mission going through this plan, makes my complicated plans seem unworkable, even with a hostel in London and another in Nottingham! You've persuaded me to re-work my plans now!

As for the suggested TPX overnighters, if you do go for them remember to take a jumper and other general warm clothing, as even a gentleman with plenty of bodyfat such as myself struggles to keep warm on early evening 185s due to the incessant nature of the air-con. The middle of the night ones are worse for that, I nearly froze on my 185 from Manchester Airport to Middlesbrough in November 2008CE!

On the same subject, the overnight TPX runs are alloxed around an hour to get to/from Huddersfield to/from Manchester Piccadilly. This is because they are still booked via Salford Crescent and Manchester Victoria. Done this twice now myself from Manchester and will doing it again on Monday morning on the 0400 from Manchester Airport (picking it up at Piccadilly). So if you need that bit, which is possible from vague memory of your map, might be worth bearing it in mind. They're usually fairly quiet in terms of passenger loading, so should be easy to find a quiet spot for some doss!

As for the 0547 EUS - GLC, as I mentioned in my last PM this is much more of a stopper to Glasgow than the 0730, with calls at Watford, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Crewe, WBQ, WNW, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Carlisle and Glasgow. Whereas the 0730 is RA EUS - WBQ, then WNW, Preston, Lancaster, Penrith, Carlisle and Glasgow Central. So the 0547 will be good for dossing on too, which I daresay you'll need some of after the trek across London in the early hours. Since you'll no doubt be at Euston before it opens (for any point of interest, London Bridge to Victoria can be done in a little over an hour, as I did without really knowing where I was going in January, which was with a few kilos of weight, so at a guess I'd estimate Waterloo to Euston would take no more than 2 hours - which I've estimated to include a couple of 5 minutes break in between the two stations to allow for muscles to recover from the weight on your back), you ought to be able to get into position for the best seats as well.

Such a lengthy leg will allow for charging of the mobile and batteries for MP3 player or whatever too of course. Which will no doubt come in handy!

I doubt I need to tell you, but do ensure you've got a reasonable sum on your Oyster just in case of an emergency fast move on the Tube because of delays on inbound journeys. Even if you don't use it, you can always keep it for the next London trip. Same applies to ensuring you've got a few quid of credit on your mobile, again for emergencies. Doubt I need to tell you that either, but always worth remembering.

I don't know if you like your food much whilst on the move, but still worth pointing out that it's better to avoid fast food and the empty calories/poor nutrition in such meals. Not only is it extremely expensive but it won't keep you going for long. Trips to Tesco, Asda and the like are a much better idea as you'll be much more in control of your spending as well as being able to stock up on high energy food and drink. Although I'd avoid Red Bull and the supermarket-branded versions if possible because it's very easy to get addicted to it (my brother is testamont to that, thankfully he gave it up before it got too bad). High energy foods would be things packed with protein and carbohydrates, so potatoes and bread are two things that come to mind. I'm not saying you shouldn't have something like Burger King meals or whatever now and again, because you're not always going to have time to visit supermarkets, but don't rely on them. And for reference, there is a Tesco Express about 5 minutes walk from Fort William station (might be closer actually, been a few years since I went there) and about the same from Manchester Piccadilly, both locations are on the left hand side of the road when coming out of the stations.

Final piece of advice for now that I've just remembered is that if you do find a need for the Internet when you're in Glasgow, the easyinternet cafe as of July 2008 charged £2 for 2 hours of access. I didn't need 2 hours, but that's the minimum they give you. So if you can, avoid it and double check you've got every single required piece of printing before you leave Farnborough!

Hope the above is of some use to you!

 

[MCR247]

Ireference, there is a Tesco Express about 5

There was a morrisons right next to it when I was there, nr where the buses go from

 

[paul1609]

The problem you are going to have on this part of the journey is that catching the 07:30 ex Euston is not a booked connection onto the 12:21 ex Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig

From your posts I'm still not sure what day you are starting your ALR on.

But if you are travelling on the 15th (Friday) then you would need to catch the 0547 ex Euston to make it a booked connection. If you are travelling on the 16th (Saturday) you will need to travel on the 06:05 ex Euston to make it a booked connection.

If it is not a booked connection you have really no hope of gaining any help from the TOCs in question here. If it was a booked connection I'd say they would either hold the Fort Bill service if there were quite a few passengers travelling onto Fort Bill from the VT service or they would get you a taxi up there as the next service is way past two hours later.

And just as a cursory point they won't be able to hold any trains within the Glasgow Central Low Level platforms as they are through platforms running a very frequent suburban service, so one service stopping will delay many others.



Having done this journey quite a few times, I have only once, seen one wait for the other. This was for a few minutes around 3 years back when there were quite a lot of people connecting off the Scotrail service on to the ferry and luckily they agreed to hold it for us.

I would certainly not bank on them holding the ferry for you and definitely have a back up plan if it all goes wrong.



You do know you can catch a bus 16.4 miles of the way!

The 5C bus connects into the 1830 arrival from Mallaig at Armadale and I can confirm the bus does wait for the ferry whenever I have caught it. It leaves at 1835 and heads to Portree (north Skye), you can catch it as far as Broadford which is the junction to the road to Skye and it arrives at 1902.

You then have two options either an 8.9 mile walk to Kyle of Lochalsh or a 7.9 mile walk to Kyleakin on the other side of the bridge and if you can do that in two hours you can catch the 2110 55 bus (or 2210 if you miss that) from Kyleakin Youth Hostel to Kyle of Lochalsh arriving in at 2117 (2217).

The 5C bus runs both Monday-Friday and Saturday but the 55 bus only runs on Saturdays on the later services at 2110 and 2210, so if you were travelling on Friday you would have to walk all the way from Broadford to Kyle of Lochalsh.

Also bear in mind the roads you will be walking on have little to no pavement for the whole journey. It may be advisable to carry a hi-viz vest with you just so you stand out, as you will be walking on an A-road- the A87.

Further to what Glynn 80 says I wouldnt recommend walking any of the way between Armadale and Kyle of Lochalsh by the main roads especially after dark. The road starts off as a single track road from the ferry but very quickly becomes a very fast modern road it was all realigned about 10 years ago with european funding. Theres no street lights until you get to Broadford and the locals wont be expecting to find a pedestrian walking in the roadway. From Broadford the A87 as the trunk road to the Western Isles has a surprising amount of heavy goods traffic and is very narrow for a trunk road until you get to the Skye Bridge approaches. Although the Skye Bridge at least has a footway down to Kyle of Lochalsh Station it is very exposed and would be very miserable on a dark wet night

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail again!
Just a quick yawp again to say that I managed to buy my ALR earlier this afternoon (That's worth a saga in itself...See the ALR thread over in Tickets, Fares and Routing for an overview! hock and I'm starting out next Tuesday, the 5th.

I'll have to make some slight changes to my train schedule given that two of the sleepers I needed were already fully booked (So I'm now going from Edinburgh insted of Aberdeen, for example) but it shouldn't stuff up my journey too much. Once I've got everything organised as neat 'n' tidy as I can get it, I'll post a new thread for the journey itself over in Stories, Reports and Nostalga for completion either after the fact, or en-route if my credit and GPRS coverage allow it. 8)

Crikey, you're having a mission going through this plan, makes my complicated plans seem unworkable, even with a hostel in London and another in Nottingham! You've persuaded me to re-work my plans now!

Hmmm...I wouldn't have said that my plans were overly complex or difficult at all. On average, I have about half an hour wait between trains at most stations, and I've been trying to fit in hour long waits for sleepers where possible as the extra slack gives me a chance to use the pay showers at main termini if I don't get too badly delayed!

As for the suggested TPX overnighters, if you do go for them remember to take a jumper and other general warm clothing, as even a gentleman with plenty of bodyfat such as myself struggles to keep warm on early evening 185s due to the incessant nature of the air-con. The middle of the night ones are worse for that, I nearly froze on my 185 from Manchester Airport to Middlesbrough in November 2008CE!

Ooooh...Although I've got myself booked onto sleepers for every night bar Saturday (When I'll hopefully be staying with a friend near Derby) I'll have to see if I can work at least one of those into my schedule. I love cold places with a passion...And my being content with just a t-shirt on one Winters afternoon spent aboard a Pendo with the air conditioning running at 14°C just proves what I'm like with colder realms! I will be taking a jumper and a jacket for emergencies, though. 8)

As for the 0547 EUS - GLC, as I mentioned in my last PM this is much more of a stopper to Glasgow than the 0730, with calls at Watford, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Crewe, WBQ, WNW, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Carlisle and Glasgow. Whereas the 0730 is RA EUS - WBQ, then WNW, Preston, Lancaster, Penrith, Carlisle and Glasgow Central. So the 0547 will be good for dossing on too, which I daresay you'll need some of after the trek across London in the early hours. Since you'll no doubt be at Euston before it opens (for any point of interest, London Bridge to Victoria can be done in a little over an hour, as I did without really knowing where I was going in January, which was with a few kilos of weight, so at a guess I'd estimate Waterloo to Euston would take no more than 2 hours - which I've estimated to include a couple of 5 minutes break in between the two stations to allow for muscles to recover from the weight on your back), you ought to be able to get into position for the best seats as well.

Nice! As it happens, I'm a fairly rapid walker and should be able to cover WAT > EUS in just over an hour if I need to. Mind ye though, I havn't got anything to do before 05:30 on Tuesday, so I won't be rushing!

Incidentally - As I still have a number of seat reservations that I want to make - What time does Euston normally open? I'm thinking of using the slack there to do the rest of the reservations, though that depends on the number of people trying to renew season tickets that morning!

I doubt I need to tell you, but do ensure you've got a reasonable sum on your Oyster just in case of an emergency fast move on the Tube because of delays on inbound journeys. Even if you don't use it, you can always keep it for the next London trip. Same applies to ensuring you've got a few quid of credit on your mobile, again for emergencies. Doubt I need to tell you that either, but always worth remembering.

Final piece of advice for now that I've just remembered is that if you do find a need for the Internet when you're in Glasgow, the easyinternet cafe as of July 2008 charged £2 for 2 hours of access. I didn't need 2 hours, but that's the minimum they give you. So if you can, avoid it and double check you've got every single required piece of printing before you leave Farnborough!

I'm planning on loading at least £5,- onto both my Oyster and my mobile for general use...Although in a dire emergency, one is never far away from a telephone anywhere on the railway! The phone should be loaded up well before I go, although I plan to load the Oyster either at Waterloo or at Euston as I pass through them on Tuesday. I'm also planning to use my phone for very limited Internet access. I may post the occasional update here by it, but Orange's GPRS charges and the struggle of writing UBB code via the 'phone keypad will mean such updates will be short ones.

Further to what Glynn 80 says I wouldnt recommend walking any of the way between Armadale and Kyle of Lochalsh by the main roads especially after dark. The road starts off as a single track road from the ferry but very quickly becomes a very fast modern road it was all realigned about 10 years ago with european funding.

Cheers for the advice Paul! As part of the original plan involved such a night-walk, I was going to pack (And will still pack for emergencies) a torch, a jumper and jacket, a green hi-vis and a couple of other handy essentials just in case it all goes boobs-up. I'm fairly experienced in walking such roads thankfully, and generally speaking I've never had trouble being about such roads at night with oncoming traffic doing 80-odd mph. hock:8)

Aside from that, I adjusted my schedule to remove the Hebredian loop a couple of days ago once I realised that it was too costly in time terms, and I can always cover those lines at another date.
My current plan is structured for the first four days, but I had to rush the last part as I needed to get my sleeper bookings in...So now the last three days are all defined as "Ad-Hoc" which could see me going anywhere, and the only bookings I have to meet on those days are on sleepers from Euston and Glasgow!

Anyhow...Many thanks to everyone here for all of the much appreciated advice, and I'll post a full known working over in Stories, Reports and Nostalga before departure if time allows! 8)

Farewell...And see ye all somewhere around the network soon!
>> Death <<

 

[anthony263]

Good luck on your travels.

after reading this thread i am starting to become very tempted to attemp something like this when i finish university in 4 weeks time.

I have always wanted to take the sleeper from Taunton to Penzance and spend the day traveling all of the local lines around that area.

plus i have just got to take a trip on grand centrals hsts

 

[Techniquest]

That you do...

Death: I ought to clarify I wasn't thinking your plans are overly complex (indeed, a good idea to add slack in places that!), just that the mission it's been to get the plan sorted appeared to be proving somewhat more of a mission than I'd have thought. If that makes sense.

As for Euston, I think it's 0330 or 0400 for the opening of Euston, but having not been there for a long time I can't be sure. Should be mentioned somewhere in Virgin's timetables or on the National Rail website, but I haven't time to check (so much to do today it's unbelievable).

I look forward to reading your other threads later today, once I get back from town.

 

[flymo]

What time does Euston normally open?

Info from the National Rail website

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/eus/details.html

Opening Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 04:30-01:35

Friday, Saturday 04:30-02:00

Sunday 05:00-01:35