Great Escape advice

[tractakid]

I want to do a Great Escape rover ticket on Tuesday.

Any advice on some odd trains I can catch?

Bordesley- Saturday only.
Wolverhampton-Walsall- Saturday AND too early!
to Gloucester- (departs) Friday only
Bearley/Claverdon too early!

I have already been on LMs stopping at Wembley Central and Queen's Park.

I'll be starting from Milton Keynes Central, and I may buy a ticket to Rugby so I can get into the area free from time restrictions.

Considering being on the Polesworth train if I can make myself wake up in time to catch the 0622 from MKC!

I'd like to do the Stourbridge Town line. Also considering the Rugeley Trent Valley to Stoke not via Stone train.

Are there any other LM oddities that operate? I'm interested in any rare through train opportunities, but i'm not necessarily bothered by 'rare track', so if there's one train a day that uses a rare crossover, but to the average passenger is still a train from A to B like all the other A to B trains, i'm probably not interested.

If all oddities are exhausted, i'm open for suggestions about nice places to go, nice lines to travel on, where to take a break from train riding, and other general pieces of advice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bevan Price]

Uncommon - you could use one of the handful of trains that call at Hartlebury each day. But check the timetable to avoid getting stranded if you want to alight there.

Worcester to Hereford line has some nice scenery.
Worcester, Hereford & Shrewsbury have some nice old buildings, etc., if you are interested in that sort of thing. Also, useful places to take meal breaks, etc.

 

[tractakid]

Uncommon - you could use one of the handful of trains that call at Hartlebury each day. But check the timetable to avoid getting stranded if you want to alight there.

Worcester to Hereford line has some nice scenery.
Worcester, Hereford & Shrewsbury have some nice old buildings, etc., if you are interested in that sort of thing. Also, useful places to take meal breaks, etc.

Thanks- i'll factor that in.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I'm thinking of Bletchley-Hereford-Worcester-Kidderminster-Stourbridge-Brum-Bletchley next saturday

 

[tractakid]

Been to Hereford, managed to stop at Hartlebury, and am now on my way home (via Liverpool)

 

[Trainfan344]

To save creating a new thread, I have a ticket for a great escape valid tomorrow, am based in stoke-on-trent and was wondering if anyone has any ideas where to go for photography locations

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Somewhere on the WCML surely?

 

[Trainfan344]

I've no idea, hence why I asked...

 

[Crossover]

It depends what you are after. starmill has recently asked about WCML stations that are worth hopping off at, and Berkhamsted was a front-runner. I have been there before and the station is on a tight curve and 125mph track - so Pendos go through full tilt too
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here's the thread

http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=91768

 

[Mojo]

When I was younger I often used to go vegging at Cheddington station. It's fairly good for photography being a quiet station with dead straight track for a couple of kms each side so you can clearly see trains approaching from some distance.

 

[tractakid]

So- Here's where I went.

0954 from Milton Keynes to Rugby
1047 from Rugby to Birmingham New Street having missed the 10:42 to Crewe (and therefore also the BHM train I got off)
1148 from Birmingham Moor Street to Stourbridge Junction (was late running)
1219 from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town (was late running)
1224 from Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction
1238 from Stourbridge Junction to Great Malvern
1345 from Great Malvern to Hereford
-bit of a break here, bought some chips and wondered about-
1513 from Hereford to Worcester Foregate Street (GW- paid a single fare. My first trip on an HST!)
1607 from Worcester Foregate Street to Smethwick Galton Bridge
1708 from Smethwick Galton Bridge to Liverpool Lime Street
1911 from Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street
2110 from Birmingham New Street to Milton Keynes (VT- on advice after I the LM train I intended to catch was cancelled)

Enjoyed my day out. Wish I could have spent more time in Liverpool, i'll have to go there first next time. I didn't really know where I was heading even after the first train. Big thanks to the wonderful BRTimes website for being the best way to view connecting trains!

Other bits- Had an interesting conversation with 'Ryan', a random guy after he took interest in my MK Dons bag I was carrying. He was bemused I was heading to Liverpool and then straight back!

I think I counted 7 ticket checks throughout the day. The conductor on the Liverpool train was also bemused to see me on both the out and return trip!

Saw two other people having ticket troubles, one boarded without a ticket and expected to buy on board. He refused to give details or pay the penalty fare. Saw another who had an expired day return, thinking they had a period return. Both incidences each Guard dealt with really well. Saw another guy who did have a ticket, but had to sift through a whole pile of expired tickets in order to find it. That was quite amusing.

Was really really pleased with how the itinerary worked out. Got lucky really. Lots of stuff ran late, but it didn't cost me majorly.

 

[yorkie]

LM guards issue Penalty Fares? (that's how I read it, or did I misunderstand?)

 

[tractakid]

That seemed to be what was happening. I may have misunderstood, I was eavesdropping after all.

 

[Mojo]

LM guards issue Penalty Fares? (that's how I read it, or did I misunderstand?)

That seemed to be what was happening. I may have misunderstood, I was eavesdropping after all.

The London Midland Penalty fares policy states that their guards will not be authorised Penalty fare collectors.

Not that this is definitive of course; Capital Connect have been incorrectly issuing Penalty fares to customers of Greater Anglia (and before that National Express) at Cambridge station for years, even going as far as putting on their Authorised Collectors badges that they can charge Penalty fares to GA customers.

When this was brought to the attention of the DfT they did nothing, merely stating that "anyone who was issued a Penalty fare notice by First Capital Connect on behalf of Greater Anglia may lodge an appeal, as normal."

 

[tractakid]

I'm not sure the guard was collecting money, or just mentioning there would be a fare. I don't know.

 

[Class172]

I presume you are referring to the conductor and not one of the RPIs that often frequent my line.

I have seen in the past a LM conductor issue some sort of written information and ask details when a passenger didn't have a ticket - I'm sure it wasn't a penalty fare but I don't know what else it could have been: perhaps some instructions to take to the ticket office at New Street?

 

[Trainfan344]

Unpaid Fare Notice prehaps?

 

[tractakid]

Well, I did another great escape today! No cancellations/Virgin troubles whatsoever.

1119 from Milton Keynes Central to Crewe
1332 from Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street. Wondered around Liverpool for a bit.
1519 from James Street to Lime Street (ME, just because I wanted to. £1.05 fare)
1543 from Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street
1738 from Birmingham Moor Street to Leamington Spa
1912 from Leamington Spa to Coventry (XC- first trip on an XC voyager! £2.95 for the privilege. Ran very late but connection at Coventry was fine)
1943 from Coventry to Nuneaton
2030 from Nuneaton to Northampton
2137 from Northampton back to MK. (first 350/2 from both trips!)

Accompanied for lots of the day by my friend Laxmeesh, it was less lonely than my trip on Tuesday which was good. Also meant my phone wasn't used as much and lasted comfortably.

Did quite a lot of stuff I hadn't done before- going via Stoke to Crewe, going via Bedworth, going to Leamington, going on Merseyrail and going on CrossCountry, so I have ticked quite a few things off!

 

[the sniper]

Just to confirm, LM Guards don't do Penalty Fares. They're not even issued with TIR forms. The only thing an LM Guard could have issued would be an UPFN.

Could have been an RPI though.