I can't see how the high platforms create an issue?
350403/404/409 for me.
It just doesn't feel so much like a tram network. I like it when the platform is just a little ramp (like the NET) because it feels more like you are just running down the road and stopping off at random areas on the pavement.
403 also sticks away from me.
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Here is part 3.
June big bash day 3: Home via... Where?
After spending time with Granny, Gramps and my uncle on the Sunday I was ready to get back out on the rails again, even if this day was the end of my 3-day bash. By Monday morning, I had no idea how I would get home but I knew I had to be at Moor Street in time for the 15:55 back to Leamington. I could go for Liverpool (as usual) or I could do what I did for my bash at the end of January and get a Cheshire Day Ranger to do a bit of spinning around Mancc. Hmmm. What shall I go for?
By 07:15 on the Monday morning, I was packing my bag again. On the Friday I had decided to take 2 bags, a big purple one and my usual green camo bag, putting all of my clothes in the purple bag with my day bag in there too for the journey up and back and just having the green bag for the Cheshire day ranger in between. That didn't take too long and by about half 7 I was down-stairs getting breccie. I went on the I-pad, which Granny had let me use while I was up there, to decide if it would be better to go for Liverpool or Manchester timing wise and after about 5 minutes on Real Time Trains, I had reached a decision which involved the 08:49 from Penyffordd, the same train I had got on the Saturday. An hour and 10 minutes later, I was at the station waiting for my 150 to Bidston.
Dud
150252 was in charge of my train to Merseyside and it wasn't too long (well it was compared to what I am used to on 168s/68s to Brum) before I was at the island platform of Bidston, watching 150252 head back to Wrexham. I had my tickets ready to get me to Crewe, where I would buy a WMDR to get me home. Dud
508143 arrived on-time. Keen readers may notice that this is the same 508 that I had on this same service 2 days before. Why, I don't know. The only real difference was that it wasn't so busy so I managed to get a right hand side seat, shifting over to the left side to get a view of the units in Birkenhead North depot.
It would be a 10 minute wait for the ex New Brighton train at Conway Park, my last required shack between Liverpool and Bidston, so, copying the move I had done a couple of days before, I baled at Hamilton Square and waited for the ex Chester train which arrived promptly with yet another dud,
508138. I took this most of the way around the loop, alighting at Lime Street, ready for some more non Merseyrail action (hopefully including a few winners). After getting onto the station I headed over to the lower numbered platforms and had the misfortune of hearing a 142 arrive, sounding kind of like any song by Kylie Minouge: foul sounding, screechy, ear killing rubbish. In order to get away from the horrid unit and the thousand people piling off it, I ran over to the winner on platform 6 and leaped on getting a seat in the front coach for my onward journey with
185140. It left bang on time at 10:12 and after 35 minutes on it I was getting off at Manchester Victoria.
Manchester would have beat Liverpool on winners, fun and getting back to Brum around 15:45 so there was no contest. I headed over to the Metrolink platforms to grab the same ticket I had on the Saturday and get a few pictures of the new station before catching my tram across the city. Or so I thought. The first thing I noticed about the Metrolink set heading towards St Peters Square is that it was a pair of dud trams. I walked over to the door of the front unit but before getting on; saw a set with double winners on it heading in the other direction. Dibs! I quickly changed direction and headed over to
3012 leading
3022 for the winner track to an unknown stop.
First thing. I was surprised at how long it was until the tram was arriving at the first stop on its way to Rochdale. I noticed that it was something like 8 minutes until the next tram towards the city center so I continued a little further on this pair and got off at Central Park (obviously a winner tram stop). Central Park is a station with a foot crossing at the Victoria end of the platform and a big bridge at the other side, which I watched my pair of trams come over on their way towards Mancc. This pair was another double winner set with
3001 and
3043 providing the power for my journey to St Peters Square where I got off and took another winner to Piccadilly Gardens, this time a single set with
3054. I got off at Piccadilly Gardens because I noticed that there was another tram right behind us, and by right behind us I mean that we were both occupying the platform at the same time. I hopped off the tram I had got on less than 2 minutes ago and walked to the other end of the platform to board winner
3041. After 3054 had departed, the tram I was on rolled forward to the other end of the platform and unlocked the doors again. If my rule was that I had to travel at least 10 chains or 1 station if that was less than 10, I couldn't just get off here and wait for the next one so I stayed on for the very short ride to Piccadilly.
It was now about 11:27 so when I got up to the concourse I immediately ran over to the 175 on the 11:30 to check if it was required and sure enough it was so I leaped aboard
175003 just before the doors closed and took it to Stockport where I tried to make a very tight connection onto a 323 heading back to Piccadilly but missed it due to the stupid ticket checks. No winner starship for me then
.
The next train heading back to Piccadilly was a Northern 150 which was also needed so I boarded
150277 for the run to Oxford Road, stopping everywhere on the way. I couldn't get a seat on it until Piccadilly there wasn't really any point as I would only be on it for another couple of minutes.
After getting to my destination, I headed over to the other platform for the Scarborough bound 185 which had winner
185122 on. Doing my usual move when I end up on the Scarborough bound diesel dez, I got off at Piccadilly and boarded the double 350 heading back over towards Oxford Road. This pair was dud 350405 leading equally dud 350404, 404 being one of the 4 that I had got on Saturday. It was when I got to Oxford Road that the problems occurred. First I noticed that the 350 heading to Manchester Airport was just 'delayed' along with everything else heading off the Chat Moss line or coming from Bolton. 10 minutes later I realized that nothing was leaving Oxford Road either. This was the second time I had been caught up in problems at MCO, the first time being when I was in Mancc with Nathan. And just like the time before, a pair of EMT 158s came to the rescue on the 14:39 to Norwich. Unlike the pair before, this one was double winners, with 158852 and 158810.
I needed to be on the 13:30 from Piccadilly to Crewe and since I didn't want to risk another Oxford Road leap, I just did a bit of spotting for 20 minutes before taking a look at what was on the 15 minutes past to Euston, 17 minutes past to Chester and 20 minutes past to Cleethorpes. That was where I had another problem. The 185 was a boring dud one but the Chester had a winner 150 on it and the Euston a winner Pendo on it. And I had no idea which one I wanted more. I gave dad a ring to see what he thought and then decided on the 150 as I am more likely to get 390107 again than 150205. I got a good seat on board and 20 minutes later I was alighting at Stockport for (hopefully) a short wait until the Tenby train arrives.
I had a plus 13 at Crewe onto my train back to Brum (I had to buy my ticket to get me back home in that time too), which wasn't aided by winner 175104 being 5 late from Stockport but thankfully it made up time instead of losing it and I was at Crewe station 3 minutes later than planned after a rather uneventful journey.
I headed upstairs to get a West Mids Day Ranger and I was back on the platform about 5 mins before my dez arrived. I was hoping for a 350/1 or a 350/3 so I wasn't very happy when dud 350244 (KMN) arrived for my hour long southbound trip. Easy to say that it was a very boring journey and I was very glad when the auto announcer was saying that we were approaching the bat cave. If put in the same situation now, I would have baled at Wolverhampton for something else to either Smethwick or New Street as I had plenty of time to get over to Moor Street. So much that I also had time to do a Snow Hell leap with dud 172343 out for another dud, 172338 back.
I had arrived back at 39 minutes past, just enough time to go to the Centenary Lounge to grab dad a large latte, get a few photos of the Cat ready to take us home on the 15:55 and meet him on the other side of the barriers. We then walked past the Cat at the blocks, winner 68014, the best of the bunch, and get a brilliant table seat for the 22.75 mile journey home with some excellent thrash. It was definitely a very nice trip with a lot of different classes and given the chance, I would certainly repeat this trip another time. My next planned bash was one on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for the diesel gala. That report is a completely different one and will be along soon (I hope).
