Juliano's World Frenzy/Tech's Trip Reports

[Techniquest]

I do believe the 1227 from Southampton Central to Great Malvern was 158884 pretending to be a FGW unit

[actually I have no idea what it was, just think if it was though, you would be kicking yourself]

Indeed I would be, and it did cross my mind. I also had expectations it would be any of 150120, 150131, 150216, 150925, 150926 or 158960, just to really annoy me. Those are my last FGW West DMUs, although I also need some 165/1s and 166s with FGW too. The above I'm going for on my FoSS and hopefully a Devon Day Ranger/Ride Cornwall bash later in 2015, the Turbos I'm hoping to chase down on a North Downs Ranger at some point.

Hopefully London Midland will have some sort of Great Escape as I can feel a Sunday's worth of 350 bashing between Euston & Watford Junction coming along.

Sounds like you had an interesting day, although lack of winners

I hope so too, it's been ages since the last Great Escape. I'll finally get Tring in the book and hopefully get my last 2 350/2s and make good progress on the 350/3s as well. Don't forget not all 350s stop at Watford Junction, although what happens on Sundays I don't really know. Weekdays at least a lot of them are RA Euston to Leighton Buzzard, certainly the xx13 EUS-BHM are, then of course there's the EUS-CRE which are RA EUS-MKC!

An interesting and varied day was indeed had, a lack of winners was always likely to be fair. At least it was more productive than 2014's Derbyshire Wayfarer trip, let's not go there. I'm pretty sure the trip report has that more than covered!

I've now got my journeys processed in RailMiles so can unleash the statistics, as well as unveil some new ones I'm starting this year:

Mileage for the day: 168 miles 65 chains
Mileage move: 55 miles 05 chains on 153366 and 150105
Bus Stop Bash: 31 chains on both Midland Metro 22 and 06
Highlight: Getting started on 2015's epic adventures!
Low point: No winners had on heavy rail

As for the new ones, well when the trips start involving hotels, they'll also be mentioned below but for now:

Rail fares: £24.30
Food/drink: £8.80
Total cost of trip: £33.10
Total cost of 2015's bashing: £33.10

Obviously the last figure there will go up a LOT during the year!

 

[Kite159]

Looking at a random Sunday this month, 4 tph 350s stop at Watford Junction on a Sunday, spread across the hour, whereas only 2 tph stops at Harrow, so potential of more 350s.

IIRC a travelcard including Watford Junction is only valid for one return journey so using a Travelcard 1-9+WJ won't work.

 

[Techniquest]

I'm not sure on that Watford Travelcard issue, surely it would make sense to go to/from Watford Junction on it as per any other Travelcard, but I'd seek expert advice there first!

4 services an hour there isn't bad for a Sunday service fair dos, should be able to get a good handful in then

 

[noddy1878]

I understand your frustrations on no heavy rail winners. I need to do a West Mid at some point. Only did one last year. As you already know, and like you I have to travel hell of a way to get going and that costs quite a bit, especially in the peak. I'm tempted to start driving to places and start from boundaries when the rangers/rovers have started. One thing I use to do was drive to Droitwich and do West Mids from there. But thats a 2h30 drive. But petrol price has dropped massively in the last few months so i may have to look at it.

 

[Techniquest]

Not a bad shout, if I could drive I would do the same thing. Not an option sadly though. Will have to do it for the shacks on the Far North and West Highland lines though lol

 

[37038]

Altnabreac will be interesting! only double figures on usage I do believe! Plenty of stations which will be a right pain to get in by the looks of it!

 

[Techniquest]

Indeed so, something to keep me busy in the 2030s lol

 

[Kite159]

I'm not sure on that Watford Travelcard issue, surely it would make sense to go to/from Watford Junction on it as per any other Travelcard, but I'd seek expert advice there first!

4 services an hour there isn't bad for a Sunday service fair dos, should be able to get a good handful in then

I think as Watford Junction is in it's own special zone, you can only get a travel-card from Watford Junction to London Zones 1-6 (AAA 7-9) which is treated like an outer boundary card allowing for one trip from Watford to London and back out again. Although I would happily be corrected if it's treated like a regular travelcard with unlimited use for that day from Watford to zones 1-9

 

[Blindtraveler]

Altnabreac will be interesting! only double figures on usage I do believe!
Plenty of stations which will be a right pain to get in by the looks of it!

If your lucky enough to get an enthusias friendly guard and theres someone getting off then you may be able to just step off for a few seconds to scratch it off. I got the above done that way!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
sounds like you had a good day Techniquest, despite no new heavy rail wins

 

[Techniquest]

Good day indeed And now, as promised, some details on the February trip that I've been banging on about for a while! The first major bash of 2015 (I have no idea how many more there will be yet, I also have two 'norm' trips to make, one to Ireland and one to northern Scandanavia) is as follows:

2nd February 2015

Hereford to Gravesend via Newport and FGW HST to Paddington, no doubt Bakerloo and Victoria moves to St Pancras, then a 395 onwards.

Kent Rover from Gravesend onwards, with the mission for Day 1 being to clear out more shacks on the Strood-Tonbridge line, as well as the obvious hunt for as many 375s, 395s and Networkers as possible, before setting up base camp in Faversham at The Railway Hotel for 3 nights.

3rd February 2015

Day 2 of the Kent Rover, and the plan being to clear out the required shacks on the route to Dover, with at least some done on the Ashford to Ramsgate via Dover route. Of course, hunting down required 375s and 395s is the accompanying mission! End Day 2 at base camp in Faversham.

4th February 2015

Day 3 on the Kent Rover, hunting down 375s and 395s, plus Networkers if possible, being the primary goal, as well as getting the remaining shacks on the Otford to Ashford route sorted (or at the least leave just a couple to do). End Day 3 at base camp in Faversham, hopefully celebrating getting my 375s finished for sight (I only need 375901 to do that)!

5th February 2015

Faversham to London Victoria, then Victoria line to KXSP. Breakfast time either at Victoria or KXSP, then onto the 1130 Kings Cross to Edinburgh as far as Newcastle, which will form my East Coast farewell as I don't anticipate many opportunities if any afterwards.

Tyne and Wear Metro bashing next, shack scratching as well as covering Byker to North Shields as that was closed when I was last up there due to modernisation works. End the day at base camp, Hebbern Guest House, which is also base camp for the next night.

6th February 2015

Following breakfast, a couple of Tyne and Wear Metro moves to get me onto a long-desired bash, a Tyne and Tees Day Ranger. Principal goal being to clear out as many of the 21 Heaton 142s that I need as possible, as well as some of the Heaton 156s. Shack scratching is also a mission for the day, before ending the day back at base camp in Hebbern.

Of course, if I find any or all of my 4 required GC HST power cars I'll be after them too!

7th February 2015

Breakfast then a couple of Tyne and Wear Metro moves to take me to Centraal Station.

Newcastle to Hereford via an XC move to York (journey planners refused to give me a TPX move to York) then a 185 to Manchester Piccadilly before a 175 to Hereford and the bus home.

All in all, it's going to be an epic bash just on hotel costs (£192 I'm set to pay out for them for the 5 nights!) but it's so going to be worth it! I'm expecting to score off quite a bit during the 6 days, although only the TPX move on the way home and the London/SET moves on Day 1 will have any chance of providing a winner.

Exact moves aren't known on the Metro or Kent Rover until I'm actually on them, as it'll depend totally on what turns up when and where.

25 days to go and I'm already more than excited, full of anticipation! Hashtag for the trip will be announced by the end of January 2015, as I haven't figured out what to use yet. Could well be I use multiple hashtags for the different sectors of the trip, of course in the meantime if you desire to keep up with the action, follow me on Twitter with my handle being @Techniquest2003

The full trip report will end up on here eventually too, don't worry, no doubt accompanied by many photos and video clips! The only other thing to mention is the trip title will feature a return to pop culture references, although what will partly depend on music I'm listening to at the time or what I'm watching on TV etc!

 

[Kristofferson]

That's going to be a pretty epic trip! Looking forward to the updates and report

 

[Techniquest]

Oh there will be plenty of tweets! I have a feeling that report will take a long time to do lol

 

[Kite159]

Sounds like an epic trip

 

[47403]

wow thats one helluva trip, when your doing the metro bash and hunger strikes before you return to base camp in Hebburn, i suggest a takeaway in Pelaw, Jaz n Jays, good food, reasonably priced and they certainly dont skimp, afternoon munchies, 11am-2pm, re-opem at 4.30pm-12. Aldi opposite too, just in case you need to stock up supplies on a morning, 5 mins walk away from the Metro, also McDonalds 5 min walk from Gateshead Stadium metro too.
As for HT's 142's, there's usually at least 4 of them knocking about Darlington on local turns, so keep your eyes peeled on the bays at the South end of the station, sure I'm preaching to the converted on this though.

 

[55013]

By a strange coincidence, my wife and I have just this evening booked a week's holiday for April and we'll be based at the Premier Inn in North Shields.
As it's for our wedding anniversary, there'll not be much cranking, but we do tend to use the train where possible to get to various places we fancy visiting.
I will be reading your reports with even more interest than usual as I'm sure we'll make good use of the Metro.

 

[Clip]

Good luck with the trip fella. Nice choice of hotel in Faversham too

 

[Techniquest]

wow thats one helluva trip, when your doing the metro bash and hunger strikes before you return to base camp in Hebburn, i suggest a takeaway in Pelaw, Jaz n Jays, good food, reasonably priced and they certainly dont skimp, afternoon munchies, 11am-2pm, re-opem at 4.30pm-12. Aldi opposite too, just in case you need to stock up supplies on a morning, 5 mins walk away from the Metro, also McDonalds 5 min walk from Gateshead Stadium metro too.

It had to be a big trip, the first big one of 2015! Heck at the rate things are going it'll be the only big one of the year! I was going to use only a few days of the week off, or have a couple of days away, back home for a couple of days then use the rest of it up, but I went a bit crazy lol.

I MUST remember that takeaway, it sounds hellfire! Aldi will be useful for stocking up on supplies too, so I am grateful you shared the gen

As for HT's 142's, there's usually at least 4 of them knocking about Darlington on local turns, so keep your eyes peeled on the bays at the South end of the station, sure I'm preaching to the converted on this though.

Ah yes that's a good point, I need 3 of the shacks on the Bishop Auckland branch (North Road and the other two after it before Shildon), so I'll be having a look at Darlington for sure. HT 142s do quite a bit if memory serves, pretty sure I'll be having to make several trips to clear them. Don't they also turn up in the Sheffield area?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Good luck with the trip fella. Nice choice of hotel in Faversham too

Cheers, I might need it with the current weather conditions!

Aye I stayed there on 2014's Kent Rover on one of the nights, liked it so returning for this trip
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

By a strange coincidence, my wife and I have just this evening booked a week's holiday for April and we'll be based at the Premier Inn in North Shields.
As it's for our wedding anniversary, there'll not be much cranking, but we do tend to use the train where possible to get to various places we fancy visiting.
I will be reading your reports with even more interest than usual as I'm sure we'll make good use of the Metro.

Can't think of much to go to Newcastle for for an anniversary trip, but hopefully you'll be able to score off some stuff during the trip

Aye the Metro is an excellent way of getting about in Newcastle, hopefully my trip report will provide something useful for your trip

20 days to go now until the epic trip, and before anyone asks, no I haven't yet decided on the trip title or the hashtag for the trip. That I'll probably be doing next week.

 

[55013]

Can't think of much to go to Newcastle for for an anniversary trip, but hopefully you'll be able to score off some stuff during the trip

Oh, there's lots within striking distance that will keep us amused - Alnwick. Tynemouth, Hylton, Prudhoe and Bamburgh Castles, Bede's World, Beamish, Durham, Hadrian's Wall, etc, etc.
We're members of English Heritage, because history is one of our joint interests.
So visiting historical sites and museums is our top priority, I just try and do as much of it as we can by train
We'll definitely be using the Metro, not to mention the ferry to South Shields.
I'm hoping your trip report gives me some inspiration for other places to visit in the area.

 

[Techniquest]

Fingers crossed, and fair games about the history interest. Not something I'm terribly interested in personally, if that wasn't obvious

 

[47403]

It had to be a big trip, the first big one of 2015! Heck at the rate things are going it'll be the only big one of the year! I was going to use only a few days of the week off, or have a couple of days away, back home for a couple of days then use the rest of it up, but I went a bit crazy lol.

I MUST remember that takeaway, it sounds hellfire! Aldi will be useful for stocking up on supplies too, so I am grateful you shared the gen



Ah yes that's a good point, I need 3 of the shacks on the Bishop Auckland branch (North Road and the other two after it before Shildon), so I'll be having a look at Darlington for sure. HT 142s do quite a bit if memory serves, pretty sure I'll be having to make several trips to clear them. Don't they also turn up in the Sheffield area?

Your welcome mate, used to live in Pelaw, just come out the metro station, turn left over the bridge, walk down the road, turn left, about a 100yds Jaz n jays is on the right hand side, walk another 20yds and on the left you'll find Aldi.
Also if the call of nature occurs, there's some public toilets outside Heworth Metro Station, the Gents, smell rank, not sure what the womens smell like but if your desperate, your not really bothered.
Yeah HT's 142's get everywhere, took me a dogs age to catch up with 023, think it spent more time on Sheffield turns, case in point, when I was on that fated North East Round Robin and I'm almost positive 142079 was at Leeds or Donnie.

 

[37038]

Ah yes that's a good point, I need 3 of the shacks on the Bishop Auckland branch (North Road and the other two after it before Shildon), so I'll be having a look at Darlington for sure. HT 142s do quite a bit if memory serves, pretty sure I'll be having to make several trips to clear them. Don't they also turn up in the Sheffield area?

Heaton 142s are more regular than their Newton Heath cousins in and around Sheffield and NH 142s are practically non-existant in the north-east so you're guaranteed HT 142s up there! Speaking to the right man here seeing as I'm from Darlo but living in Sheffield :P

Your shacks on the Bishop Line are North Road (one platform job), Heighington and Newton Aycliffe.
The latter is the easiest as it's a bog standard two platform job however, Heighington is staggered and you need to jog down one side and across the LC and up the other side so not good for tight connections. North Road is a single platform so my advice would be to bail and exit the station onto North Road itself. If you look to your right at the bottom of the stairs, there should be a petrol station just down the road and this is the direction you should get a bus back into the town centre. You can then walk up the hill to bank top station again. Just aim for the clock tower on the skyline :P That is if you actually want to do it! There's a McD's, Burger King and Subway in the town centre amongst other places.

Your problem is that it's one unit at a time on the branch so returns to Darlo only. If I were you I'd take your first unit as far as Newton Aycliffe then twiddle your thumbs for 25mins before taking the same one back to North Road. You've then got 50mins to make your way to bank top on foot OR, if it's open and you're willing to pay £3 something, have a look round the adjoining Head of Steam museum and the original S&DR station! You can then leap on the following unit (different one) up to Heighington and have a swift pint in the Locomotion pub attached to the up platform (towards Darlo) during your 30min ish wait. Head back to Darlo and off and away to your next spot

Thanks

 

[Techniquest]

Some very useful advice there 37038, many thanks! I will be making notes of all this lot before my arrival in Tyneside

47403, excellent bit of advice there fair dos I'm familiar with the gents outside Heworth station, yes the smell is rank but as it was when I used up there on my last Metro bashing session (I had been on the beers a lot in Newcastle so understandable desperate before a 1.5 mile walk lol) it doesn't matter when it has to be done lol!

Oh and I had 142079 on my 2011 ALR on a Thornaby to Newcastle via the Coast trip

Bring it all on I say, I should be making a budget day out on Monday to keep me going until this trip, as things are tough going at the moment so need a trip to boost the spirits and morale again!

 

[Segedunum]

Heaton 142s/156s generally work Newcastle-Metrocentre with the odd Newton Heath unit in the mix. You have...

xx15 to Metrocentre (Terminates) Works xx31 back to Newcastle
xx22 to Carlisle, then xx46 back to Newcastle
xx44 to Metrocentre, formed from xx31 from Metrocentre, works xx02 back to Morpeth
xx54 to Hexham, then xx16 back to Newcastle

There are a few exceptions, as the 0646/1323/1716 Carlisle's keep going to Glasgow and are SR 156s.

 

[Techniquest]

Nice one rg177, I'd forgotten about the Hexham options. Quite, I'd forgotten SR 156s will also be down, starting to wish I'd planned more days in Newcastle now!

 

[CC 72100]

Oh, there's lots within striking distance that will keep us amused - Alnwick. Tynemouth, Hylton, Prudhoe and Bamburgh Castles, Bede's World, Beamish, Durham, Hadrian's Wall, etc, etc.

Beamish was a good visit when I went there.... probably 12/13 years ago now.

 

[Kite159]

What ticket will you be using in Newcastle area? (I was thinking of a Newcastle trip to use up some east coast freebies and was thinking the Nexus Day Rover for some bashing, might even make a weekend of it with a cheap hotel in the Newcastle area )

 

[Techniquest]

Whatever the Metro day ticket's ticket is then a Tyne and Tees Day Ranger too

 

[Kite159]

I forgot about the Tyne & Tees Day Ranger

*goes off pondering to try and book a couple nights in a cheap hotel with a late check-in to go up Friday night and come back on the Sunday*

 

[Techniquest]

Decided tonight what the hashtags for my upcoming Kent and Tyneside trip will be! I was going to use a reference to pop culture again, but I like what I've now finally settled on. Yes I'm using two as it is technically two trips in one!

#techsgardening for the Kent Rover portion (2nd-4th February)
#techsonthetoon for the Tyneside portion (5th-7th February)

 

[Blindtraveler]

Sounds good mate. Should be an epic as will my upcoming trip to London 7th(9th Feb which is now all booked including Ryanair Flight home <shudders>