theblackwatch
Established Member
- Joined
- 15 Feb 2006
- Messages
- 10,889
Last Saturday we held our Chinnor & Princes Risborough meet at the 'Haversham & Friends' gala, a celebration over 3 weekends around the 60th birthday of resident Class 08 D3018/08011 'Haversham' and the 175th anniversary of Wolverton Works.
I had an early start to get there - the alarm went off at 03.50 to enable me to get to Leeds for the 05.05 departure to King's Cross. I managed some sleep, despite the attempts by the PA to do ensure I didn't, with announcements before and after every station stop. Wakefield, Doncaster, Retford, etc.... Arrival at King's Cross was on time, and I had 90 minutes to spare before the train from Marylebone to Princes Risborough. This gave me time for breakfast in 'The Metropolitan Bar' Wetherspoons at Baker Street, after which I ambled up to Marylebone for the 09.09 Chiltern departure.
At Princes Risborough, Chiltern 'bubble car' 55034 was passing through as I arrived, on a through charter from Aylesbury to Chinnor for the event. I managed to grab a shot of the unit as it headed off to Chinnor - Jordy was on board but I didn't spot him. I met up with Andy and class47, along with a friend of theirs, who had arrived from Birmingham just before me. After obtaining our tickets for the day, we boarded the vintage bus (well, not that vintage,a G reg Dennis Dominator which now appears to be used on school work) to Chinnor. Once at Chinnor, we headed straight for the rather full bubble car for a trip back to Princes Risborough (and into the temporary platform which had been constructed especially for the event). Jordy, having arrived on the vehicle a few minutes earlier, decided to give it a miss, opting for a run on the shuttles instead. At Princes Risborough, there were another 20 or so people waiting to join the DMU for the trip back to Chinnor - luckily, there was room for everyone to get on, otherwise some would have had to use the bus instead.
Once back at Chinnor, we all met up for the 11.50 departure to Thame Junction (the CPRR's normal operating limit) behind the birthday shunter, D3018. The loco ran round here before returning to Chinnor. Once here, we had a break from travelling - a trip to the shop was made to buy a pack of 3 special bottled ales produced for the event (I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a collection of railway beer bottles!), after which we joined a guided tour around Chinnor Yard to see the various items of rolling stock stabled there including the Class 37 which had been booked to work but had failed.
After the tour round the yard, we got back in time for a short trip on a shuttle behind the railway's own bubble car, 55023, which ran within station limits and in the direction of the yard. It was then time to visit the buffet for a pasty, and the beer tent for a drink and I also purchased a copy of the new book on Wolverton Works as well as having a chat with its author, Phil Marsh. (Anyone interested in a copy, please see http://www.wolverton175.co.uk/#/w175-book/4575714313 )
We then had a ride on some more shuttles, doing 4 short trips with 'Clayton' D8568 (which was standing in for the unavailable Class 37) and 'Iris' in top and tail formation. A longer trip behind the 'Clayton' would be nice at some point, particularly when it's back running on 2 power units. I'd previously last ridden behind it at the Severn Valley back in 1998.
My final run on the CPRR was behind what was a major attraction for many (including me) - Wolverton Works pilot 08649, which had been brought to the line especially for the event. The loco carries a new livery of Green/White/Blue, reflecting the takeover of the works by Knorr-Bremse a couple of months ago. The loco hauled 3-CEP EMU 1198 to Thame Junction and back, the blue liveried unit being a relatively new arrival on the line - it was previously located at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway.
Once back at Chinnor, we went our separate ways, Jordy waiting for the 'bubble' car which returned to Aylesbury, while the rest of us caught the bus back to Princes Risborough. The bus arrived here a few minutes early, which meant I was able to get an earlier unit back to Marylebone (17.54 instead of waiting for the 18.40), then across to St Pancras for the 19.55 HST back to Leeds. I arrived home around 23.45 - some 19 1/2 hours after I set off.
I had an early start to get there - the alarm went off at 03.50 to enable me to get to Leeds for the 05.05 departure to King's Cross. I managed some sleep, despite the attempts by the PA to do ensure I didn't, with announcements before and after every station stop. Wakefield, Doncaster, Retford, etc.... Arrival at King's Cross was on time, and I had 90 minutes to spare before the train from Marylebone to Princes Risborough. This gave me time for breakfast in 'The Metropolitan Bar' Wetherspoons at Baker Street, after which I ambled up to Marylebone for the 09.09 Chiltern departure.
At Princes Risborough, Chiltern 'bubble car' 55034 was passing through as I arrived, on a through charter from Aylesbury to Chinnor for the event. I managed to grab a shot of the unit as it headed off to Chinnor - Jordy was on board but I didn't spot him. I met up with Andy and class47, along with a friend of theirs, who had arrived from Birmingham just before me. After obtaining our tickets for the day, we boarded the vintage bus (well, not that vintage,a G reg Dennis Dominator which now appears to be used on school work) to Chinnor. Once at Chinnor, we headed straight for the rather full bubble car for a trip back to Princes Risborough (and into the temporary platform which had been constructed especially for the event). Jordy, having arrived on the vehicle a few minutes earlier, decided to give it a miss, opting for a run on the shuttles instead. At Princes Risborough, there were another 20 or so people waiting to join the DMU for the trip back to Chinnor - luckily, there was room for everyone to get on, otherwise some would have had to use the bus instead.
Once back at Chinnor, we all met up for the 11.50 departure to Thame Junction (the CPRR's normal operating limit) behind the birthday shunter, D3018. The loco ran round here before returning to Chinnor. Once here, we had a break from travelling - a trip to the shop was made to buy a pack of 3 special bottled ales produced for the event (I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a collection of railway beer bottles!), after which we joined a guided tour around Chinnor Yard to see the various items of rolling stock stabled there including the Class 37 which had been booked to work but had failed.
After the tour round the yard, we got back in time for a short trip on a shuttle behind the railway's own bubble car, 55023, which ran within station limits and in the direction of the yard. It was then time to visit the buffet for a pasty, and the beer tent for a drink and I also purchased a copy of the new book on Wolverton Works as well as having a chat with its author, Phil Marsh. (Anyone interested in a copy, please see http://www.wolverton175.co.uk/#/w175-book/4575714313 )
We then had a ride on some more shuttles, doing 4 short trips with 'Clayton' D8568 (which was standing in for the unavailable Class 37) and 'Iris' in top and tail formation. A longer trip behind the 'Clayton' would be nice at some point, particularly when it's back running on 2 power units. I'd previously last ridden behind it at the Severn Valley back in 1998.
My final run on the CPRR was behind what was a major attraction for many (including me) - Wolverton Works pilot 08649, which had been brought to the line especially for the event. The loco carries a new livery of Green/White/Blue, reflecting the takeover of the works by Knorr-Bremse a couple of months ago. The loco hauled 3-CEP EMU 1198 to Thame Junction and back, the blue liveried unit being a relatively new arrival on the line - it was previously located at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway.
Once back at Chinnor, we went our separate ways, Jordy waiting for the 'bubble' car which returned to Aylesbury, while the rest of us caught the bus back to Princes Risborough. The bus arrived here a few minutes early, which meant I was able to get an earlier unit back to Marylebone (17.54 instead of waiting for the 18.40), then across to St Pancras for the 19.55 HST back to Leeds. I arrived home around 23.45 - some 19 1/2 hours after I set off.
