GWRjake
Member
I did this as a return trip today to celebrate the end of term and as a sort of early Christmas present to myself, and thought it might be an idea to share my first trip report on here.
0940 Cholsey-Didcot Parkway 166213 2N17 4mi 53ch
My first train of the day was 166213, which, excellently, had declassified First Class at one end of the unit; such comfort (even on such a short journey) more than made up for the 7 minute delay! As tends to be the case with the local stoppers between Paddington and Oxford, it was fairly lightly loaded.
1012 Didcot Parkway-Bristol Temple Meads 43015 & 43012 1C08 65mi 40ch
The first HST of the day was a hefty 8 minutes down by the time we left Didcot, but, impressively, we arrived into Temple Meads bang on time. The service was decently loaded, but I only had someone next to me as far as Swindon.
1130 Bristol Temple Meads-Bristol Parkway 221137 1S45 5mi 69ch
The busiest train of the day, although not really an issue, so short was the journey. Ran pretty much on time as far as I'm aware, so, whereas the journey could be knocked for comfort, it couldn't be knocked for punctuality. Would have been nice to have got a HST, but life goes on.
1154 Bristol Parkway-Bristol Temple Meads 221119 1V49 5mi 69ch
A Super Voyager rather than a HST once again, but very lightly loaded (the service was terminating at Temple Meads), so a better journey than the outward leg. Not to mention the fact that Bristol Parkway is less than inspiring as a station (especially in comparison to Temple Meads), so really it was just nice to get away from there as well. Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium could be seen to the right on this journey, which further added to the journey.
1230 Bristol Temple Meads-Didcot Parkway 43140 "Landore Diesel Depot" & 43185 "Great Western" 1A17 65mi 40ch
The most pleasurable leg of my trip, this HST set was lightly loaded and punctual; furthermore, the light at the time of day made the surrounding landscape particularly aesthetically pleasing. Good bit of heads out on approach to Didcot too, to round off a thoroughly pleasing ride.
1331 Didcot Parkway-Cholsey 166210 2P54 4mi 53ch
My HST pulled into Didcot pretty much parallel to the Turbo onto which I would connect, but, thankfully, it stopped at Didcot for a few minutes, making the connection easy enough. Yet again, I was able to experience the joy of declassified First Class, and, as an added bonus, we arrived into Cholsey just in time to see the steam train depart for Wallingford on a Santa Special.
Overall a very nice day out, and a good way to start my Christmas holidays.
Total mileage: 152mi 04ch.
Thanks for reading, and merry Christmas!
0940 Cholsey-Didcot Parkway 166213 2N17 4mi 53ch
My first train of the day was 166213, which, excellently, had declassified First Class at one end of the unit; such comfort (even on such a short journey) more than made up for the 7 minute delay! As tends to be the case with the local stoppers between Paddington and Oxford, it was fairly lightly loaded.
1012 Didcot Parkway-Bristol Temple Meads 43015 & 43012 1C08 65mi 40ch
The first HST of the day was a hefty 8 minutes down by the time we left Didcot, but, impressively, we arrived into Temple Meads bang on time. The service was decently loaded, but I only had someone next to me as far as Swindon.
1130 Bristol Temple Meads-Bristol Parkway 221137 1S45 5mi 69ch
The busiest train of the day, although not really an issue, so short was the journey. Ran pretty much on time as far as I'm aware, so, whereas the journey could be knocked for comfort, it couldn't be knocked for punctuality. Would have been nice to have got a HST, but life goes on.
1154 Bristol Parkway-Bristol Temple Meads 221119 1V49 5mi 69ch
A Super Voyager rather than a HST once again, but very lightly loaded (the service was terminating at Temple Meads), so a better journey than the outward leg. Not to mention the fact that Bristol Parkway is less than inspiring as a station (especially in comparison to Temple Meads), so really it was just nice to get away from there as well. Bristol Rovers' Memorial Stadium could be seen to the right on this journey, which further added to the journey.
1230 Bristol Temple Meads-Didcot Parkway 43140 "Landore Diesel Depot" & 43185 "Great Western" 1A17 65mi 40ch
The most pleasurable leg of my trip, this HST set was lightly loaded and punctual; furthermore, the light at the time of day made the surrounding landscape particularly aesthetically pleasing. Good bit of heads out on approach to Didcot too, to round off a thoroughly pleasing ride.
1331 Didcot Parkway-Cholsey 166210 2P54 4mi 53ch
My HST pulled into Didcot pretty much parallel to the Turbo onto which I would connect, but, thankfully, it stopped at Didcot for a few minutes, making the connection easy enough. Yet again, I was able to experience the joy of declassified First Class, and, as an added bonus, we arrived into Cholsey just in time to see the steam train depart for Wallingford on a Santa Special.
Overall a very nice day out, and a good way to start my Christmas holidays.
Total mileage: 152mi 04ch.
Thanks for reading, and merry Christmas!