OK then here we go gang! Now the photos are uploaded, I was going all out with this trip report but my Mum has now got the laptop so the photos will be added later. If you're reading this and there are no photos, please do come back later and they *should* be there. Depends how long my Mum takes on the laptop!
EDIT: As of 2030, 13/03/2017, the photos have now been added! The full collection can be found here:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskSskCPJ
10/03/2017 - Tech's World Frenzy, Day 2
I didn't get to sleep in the end until around 0100, as it took me some time to unwind. At 0530 the alarm was sounding and it took me a few moments to realise why I was getting up so early. With the bag mostly packed just after midnight, I get a much needed de-rancify going on and after planning a couple of moves, I was soon on the way to the station. I'm only on the platforms for 5 minutes, resisting the urge to go to Pumpkin [just as well... - Ed], and much to my incredible surprise it's double winners
377418+377462 which took me to London Victoria! An excellent start to the day, and I got Tech's Mobile Disco going on as I celebrate getting down to just 59 377s to get for haulage, 53 of which are with Southern.
It was a surprisingly pleasant run into Central London, and I vote with my feet to go S stock hunting. Good call too, as my first available option got me onto double winners
21399+21400, 108 S7 half-sets to go! I jumped out at Temple as it was an ultra quiet station, and I wanted to see if the District line behind was a winner. It wasn't so I obviously wait for another option, which turned out to be double winners
21313+21314 for a leap to Mansion House. After a 9 minute fester, I score double winners
21425+21426 to Monument, where I heard an announcement advising Ealing Broadway to Marble Arch on the Central line was suspended due to a derailment, which I hope caused no major injuries or worse. Double winners
21505+21506 took me to Tower Hill on a terminating train. My luck was out now, as I join double duds 21394+21393 to Liverpool Street. I could have kept going, without a doubt, but I was after some breakfast. Both pairs of S8 half-sets in Aldgate were dud, so I stayed where I was. Still, down to 102 S7 half-sets left to get, which from memory is approximately 58 less than at the end of 2016!
It was time for a Totty Hale Leap next, a leap which will become world-famous in the coming years as I hunt my GA EMUs! Annoyingly 315813, one of my last 3 LO 315s, was out to play today, much grr. I got on dud 379016 and winner
379029 to Totty Hale, which leaves me with 16 379s to go. Double winners [yeehaa, my luck improved! - Ed]
317655+317505 take me to winner shack
Broxbourne. I get my paper ticket to travel onwards, then join dud 317670 in the motor coach onwards to winner shack
Roydon. There is nothing worth seeing here, unless canals are your thing, and after a 29 minute fester, noting lots of 379s that I need flying through, I joined dud 317651 to winner shack
Harlow Town.
With only one winner 379 on the next Stansted Airport, I return to my plan to continue shack scratching! Double duds [bah, what happened to that good luck?! - Ed] 317883+317502 take me onwards to winner shack
Sawbridgeworth. I finally have chance for a coffee here, as there's a coffee cart [similar to the one on Carlisle station - Ed] and she accepts cards with a 20p charge. That's more than fine, I'd gone nearly 4 hours since waking up without coffee! The lady running it was very friendly and deserves more business from cranks, so if you're there between 0530 and 1030, do go and pay her a visit. OK so my coffee cost me £2.80 for a large cup, roughly the same size as a Pumpkin medium cup, but OH MY LORDZ it went down beautifully!
Sadly it's double duds 317659+317665 forward to winner
Bishops Stortford, and I score platform 3 here although I was near the back so not much of it. Overhead wire problems were causing considerable delays, and I had to race over to platform 1 to make the delayed 0921. OK so that wasn't the one I intended to get but I had seen a winner on it so wanted to get it in. Winner
379028 and dud 379017 take me forward on a very busy train but I manage to fight through and find seats. Very much a case of norms and 'jump in the nearest set of doors regardless of how busy it is' clearly, as once I got to the next coach it was easy to get through!
It was now time for breakfast, and I visit Burger King for a Bacon Double Cheeseburger meal. I swear they've changed their coffee in the last 5 years as it is now much more tolerable than it used to be. £8.19 for a regular size meal mind, but oh it was nice and so needed! Eventually it's to security and I'm through in 10 minutes, and it's time to get some Pepsi Max for the plane [as I doubt they'll take cards on-board - Ed] and a coffee from Pret. I was surprised they charge the same prices here as they do on the high street, no wonder it was popular here!
To gate 81, and it takes some time to get the boarding queue moving but eventually it's on, and I see why Ryanair are getting annoyed with the norms taking too much stuff on with them as there was no room above my seat and I only just had enough room in the opposite locker. "Tech, people don't really take that much into the cabin do they?" I know you're asking. Oh they do, and some of these bags are very obviously bigger than the specified dimensions. It's as if people WANT Ryanair to go back to their roots and not be customer-focused! No thanks, I like Ryanair as they are, especially now the scrum for good seats doesn't exist anymore. Anyway, we finally get pushback at 1203, 8 minutes late, and 10 minutes later we've thrashed our way down the runway and are in the air. Much to my surprise, card payments were accepted [it must have been a while since I last flew Ryanair as I'd forgotten! - Ed] so I got one of those funky Lavazza coffees which use the SuprFilter lids. For the uninitiated, this is ground coffee and the lid acts as a filter while letting the liquid through. It's a clever idea and I remain shocked other airlines insist on using Frothbucks still!
Mountains of Norway as we flew over them, 10/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Ryanair EI-FIF at Oslo Gardenmoen airport, having flown in on FR1396 1155 from London Stansted airport, 10/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Flytoget Airport Express Train at Oslo Lufthavn, 10/03/2017. Ugly to look at and not much fun to travel on, I can assure you! by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
The notebook was finally updated, which is when I realised how much I'd scored so far on this trip. Be warned, everything will be a winner for everything to begin with on this trip! At around 1322 UK time, the snow-topped hills and mountains of Norway came into view and wow they looked impressive even from up here! The captain made a mumbled announcement but the only bit I could hear for sure was that it was 1C for the local temperature, good thing my new coat is warm then, as it will be a culture shock what with it having been more around 15C lately at home! Back on the ground at 1457 and arrived at the terminal at 1501, 1 minute late. It's a long walk to the arrivals area, and it is still under refurbishment in places but otherwise a nice and modern feel. It didn't feel as cold as I expected it to at this point, and 93kr [approximately £9.30, as 1 Kroner is roughly £1- Ed] later I have my ticket to Oslo S, the main station in Oslo.
My days aren't the Flytoget trains ugly! 71015 was my first Norwegian train for sight, soon followed by 71001 and then 71009. My first NSB trains fell to double winners for everything
75512+75545, and wow these things are so quiet, so smooth, and when you get used to it being all fold down seats you realise the legroom is massive! Even though these are 3+2 seating, they are incredibly nice and put a lot of British trains to shame! Scenery wise so far, it's a bit like it is racing past the M6 in Cumbria. These trains have free and surprisingly decent WiFi, so I had to share some updates! I have a look at my change in coins when we get into the tunnel, they will take some getting used to! I also looked briefly at the map for the regional/suburban NSB services, that would take a good few days to cover!
After arriving into central Oslo, I find my way to the tram stop. What I didn't know [and was told by a NSB staff member - Ed] was that my ticket was valid after arrival on trams and Metro until it expired 2.5 hours after purchase. A ridiculously useful thing to know! Winner for everything tram
146 took me to winner shack
Biermanns gate on tram line 12, this being the stop after mine because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going! It was a short wait on the platform the other side of a crossroads, getting on winner for everything tram
112 back to winner shack
Birkelunden. A 5 minute walk to Anker Apartment and I got myself checked in. Bed linen and towels are 50NOK and 20NOK for a loan, which I didn't know about before. Quite, I've never made my own bed in a hotel before! Kitchen utensils etc can also be loaned from reception, but without them my cooker is useless. I do have a fridge as well, and my bed is surprisingly comfortable. The room is huge, and the bathroom a very good size too. So far I was happy enough with my accommodation.
AM8 tram number 152 in Oslo city centre, 10/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
After the break, I head back to the trams and board winner for everything
138 to winner shack
Kirkeristen. I got a snap of the cathedral before a coffee from Navessen for 20NOK [£2 - Ed] and go for a walk, taking some more snaps on the way. I ended up after snapping the royal palace down by the commuter ferry port. I decided to look at why there's no trams running on this line, and see that Aker brygge and the line through it is closed until June! It was by now a long time since breakfast at Stansted Airport, so I go to Burger King. 86NOK for a small meal, no thanks! McDonalds, however, wanted 112NOK for a meal! Absolutely NO chance! A walk to Oslo S [Oslo's central station, the S standing for Sentrum- Ed] to pick up tickets for Day 3 saw me end up in Subway. A footlong ham and cheese sub was sourced for 84NOK, way more than I would have liked to pay but never mind, it was filling.
Oslo Royal Palace, 10/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Nobel Peace Center (argh, American spelling!), Oslo, 10/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Coop is visited for snacks and a bottle of pop. I ended up walking out with a 3 pack of chocolate croissants for 40NOK, as I wasn't paying their prices for Pepsi Max, no way at 31NOK! I considered now walking back to base camp, but as I hadn't yet had a spin on the Metro I go for that. 33NOK later and I had my single ticket, and I start with winner for everything
3159 to winner shack
Grønland. A few minutes later and I joined double winners for everything
3148+3136 to winner shack
Töyen. They were followed 5 minutes later by double winners
3164+3168 to winner shack
Carl Benners pass. I then got lost on the walk back, realising eventually I must have gone the wrong way. Thankfully I eventually found my way back to the hotel, but I was far from impressed with Oslo. Quite, I was ready to go home to be perfectly honest!
Apologies for the blur, it was impossible to get a clear shot! This is taken on the Metro at Toyen, Oslo, 10/03/2017. Don't get me started on the seats... by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
After chilling out and catching up [eventually, thanks to some crap WiFi - Ed] on people on Twitter, it was time to de-rancify and eventually sleep just after 2330.
11/03/2017 - Tech's World Frenzy, Day 3
0600 and the alarm sounded, much to my displeasure, and it took a minute to realise where I was. Bag packing and getting onto Twitter was next up before heading out at 0626. 26 minutes later I had walked to Oslo S, and so began a bit of tramspotting. A coffee was sourced soon enough from Navessen before some more tram spotting. Good thing I did all that spotting as I scored a good amount more trams, so not that many really left to see now! It was soon time to avoid more of the homeless people and get another coffee for the long [well, it was meant to be... - Ed] journey north on the 0802 NSB Regiontag to Trondheim. Winner for everything
73004 was in charge of taking me away from my least favourite city, and oh dear the seats on these things are not comfortable! Legroom is excellent, but the interior is pretty dim unless you also have a reading light on. 2+2 seating and power sockets, not to mention WiFi, but it's just the discomfort of the seats that annoys me!
73004 (of NSB fame!) at Oslo S on the 0802 to Trondheim, 11/03/2017. Or at least that's what was supposed to happen... by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
To use fishquinn's terminology, I got "wedged in" at Lillestrøm by another passenger also going to Åndelsnes. We end up chatting and she came in handy for translating the Norwegian announcements, and she even shared some of the coffee she'd brought with her and chocolate bar that she bought on the train! We have some slow running after a good while, and eventually we're told there'd been an accident between Hamar and Lillehammer, so we'd have to change and get a replacement bus between the two. So it was off at winner shack
Hamar and onto nettbuss' 22543, a rather nice coach. Power socket didn't work though, and after a 53 minute journey, during which we'd found out that a train had collided with a crane [or something like that - Ed] but with no injuries to the crew or the 4 passengers on board, we alighted at winner shack
Lillehammer and joined winner for everything
74123 to winner shack
Otta. This train was the type more generally found on local work, so it was disappointing not to get a suitable train. Still, better to have a train than no train!
nettbuss' 22453 at Hamar, 11/03/2017. Replacement buses were in operation to Lillehammer due to a collision with a mini JCB in the morning! by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
The HUGE frozen and snow-covered lake (yes, all that white is normally a lake!) as viewed from the coach, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
NSB 74123 and NSB 18.2551 are overshadowed by the mountains at Otta, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
So why are we getting off at Otta? The train we were on was needed to go back to Oslo, so we end up on a loco-hauled train going north! Winner for everything
18.2551 took us to winner shack
Dombås where we changed once more onto winner for everything
93.55 for the branch line to winner shack
Åndalsnes. This is the world-famous ultra-scenic branch line that brought me to Norway, so how is it? Well for the first part of the line it's like the south end of the West Highland Line, but then after Brolji it starts getting much better and more like the rest of the West Highlands. In fact, I'd go one better and say this line is BETTER than the West Highlands! We went through a tunnel probably about halfway down the line [approximately 45 minutes into the journey - Ed] and the jaw dropped. The snow-covered mountains, which on their own would look impressive, with frozen rivers coming down them, the huge valley and just in general wow. I'm not doing the line justice whatsoever, but if you think the West Highland Line is impressive come and see this! We follow the mountains down and around the valley, there is literally no other way down apart from by road and it does the same thing we did.
On board NSB 93.55, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
It's safe to say the camera was very busy indeed, as had been my mouth. No, not doing anything like you're thinking, just chatting. We spent almost all the way talking and I really enjoyed Jeanette's company! She gets onto her coach to somewhere beginning with S before a lengthy car journey to her final destination, and it has to be said it felt quite strange not having her there with me in Åndalsnes! I go and get food from Coop Xtra, and never before have 2 chocolate croissants, a 1.5L bottle of orangeade, a 200g bar of that amazing chocolate [thanks for letting me have some Jeanette! - Ed] from earlier and a big bag of Norwegian's version of Wotsits cost me £9.40 (94NOK)!
The croissants were devoured for a combined breakfast and lunch, then I finish wandering around, taking more pictures as I went. There was virtually nothing worth seeing here, and I end up back at the station after just 45 minutes in the very small town. I found some free WiFi and got back in touch on Twitter, then after a while went for a coffee. Not before a snap of the former railway carriage now in use as a chapel!
Mix is visited for a coffee at 25NOK, and as much as the guy there tried to sell me a muffin or other stuff, I didn't budge. More usefully, on the condition I sit in for a while I could refill my coffee. Now that I can do! The notebook got itself updated, and Day 2's trip report finished at last, around 1550 I figured I had been there long enough and left with the rest of my second coffee. It had gone more than cold outside with that wind, and I had to put my hat on for the first time since 0750! I use the free WiFi again to get YouTube going on and I'm now finally feeling a lot better, amazing what a bouncy tune can do!
It was finally time to board the 1637 to Dombas [I had arrived at 1355, imagine how bored I'd have been if I'd arrived on time at 1323! - Ed] and it was 93.55 again, leaving on time. The epic scenery is enjoyed of course, and by 1710 I was after a coffee from the vending machine on the train. Yes, this is one thing NSB have done right! The seats may be uncomfortable [no better than those on 387s, except these recline but not by much! - Ed] and they may be dull as ditchwater DMUs, but at least they have a coffee machine and a snacks machine too! Arrival was at 1757, bang on time, and after only a few minutes rolled in dud 18.2551 from earlier! This machine was to take me back all the way to Oslo, leaving on time at 1808.
NSB 93.55 at Andalsnes, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Looking north in Andalsnes with the dock in the foreground, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Raumabahn scenery, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
NSB 18.2551 at Dombas, 11/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Now I do have to mention I'm not in agreement with all these people who say European railways run things better, that the trains are better and so on. I believe I've already demonstrated that this is not the case, but here comes more evidence. 35 or so minutes into the journey I hear we're 5 minutes behind schedule already, but more importantly was the lack of coach 3 on this set. It had confused me, walking up and down a few times looking, but the guard confirmed that he didn't have a coach 3 today and I should just sit anywhere. So I did just that, and plugged my charger in. I started on the trip report, but stopped for a while to enjoy some tunes and to devour the crisps. The UK does Wotsits better, even Asda's own brand are FAR superior to these things. Still, they helped fill a big gap in a very hungry stomach, which it should be pointed out hadn't been fed for about 4 hours by that point, and it was hungry at 0630!
Lillehammer marked the point where we were only 2 hours from Oslo, oh my days it was nice to know where I was again, and that this 3 hours and 54 minutes journey was getting slowly covered. I was now on winning track again until Hamur! At 2145 I was on the way into Lillestrøm, nearly there then! Thank Goodness for free WiFi, power sockets and YouTube! Arrival is 4 minutes early at 2200, and it's fairly quickly off by foot to base camp. At Joker, the Norway version of Spar, I recycled my empty large bottle from yesterday and claimed back my 2.5NOK. No way was I letting Norway keep that! A snack was badly needed [well, a full meal was but hey ho! - Ed] and I got a chocolate muffin for 12.90NOK. This is what I don't understand, why don't they round that up to 13NOK and advertised it as 13NOK, the price charged?! My bottle recycling got me the pant [a fee on all plastic bottles charged in all shops, which you get back if you recycle the bottle in their machines - Ed] back which was round up to 3NOK, so my chocolate muffin cost me 10NOK, so £1 in GBP. Much more like it!
Back in the room, a few notes and this trip report were updated after a much needed de-rancify, and I set two alarms. One for 0400 and the other for 0410, and I had plans to get down into town for a Flytoget express train at 0500!
12/03/2017 - Tech's World Frenzy, Day 4
0400 and my alarm was silenced, and as much as staying in bed another 30 minutes would have been welcome, I knew I would still struggle to get up. 0421 and I've checked out, and you don't get the bed linen or towel ching back, so factor that in unless you take your own if you come here. 0446 and I'm on the station, and I find the TVMs for Flytoget by track 13-16. Now this was where I got annoyed [nothing new - Ed], as I'd kept 200NOK ready in my wallet for this journey, but the machines are card only and no ticket office around to pay by cash. Annoyingly out came the card, and that's something else that Norway's annoyed me with. As gorgeous as the Flåm Railway looks, I'm not coming back to Norway!
Winner for everything Flytoget
71005 produced on the 0500 departure, which starts further west. I noted on the news on the TV that it was a mini digger, the sort used on roadworks in city centres [if that makes sense! - Ed] involved in the accident with a NSB train yesterday. So what are these Flytoget trains like? Really dim interior, power sockets, seats that recline a bit, but really aren't comfortable. Really dull EMUs and not worth paying the extra for unless there's no NSB trains at the time you're travelling! Coffee is sourced from Navessen for 20NOK, then I spied a Norwegian 737-800 that I could ID. It's this point when I realise I'm not wearing my hat and that I left it on the train, there was less than polite language coming out of my mouth!
Here's a Tech's Tip [new thing in my trip reports - Ed] for my fellow coffeeheads that are thinking about visiting Norway. Navessen do a loyalty card, which you get scanned on each purchase of coffee. Scan it 4 times and your 5th coffee is free! Don't waste money in 7-Eleven, who charge 28NOK for an Americano, when you get to the airport off the train, walk that little bit further and visit Navessen to get coffee for 20NOK! This price is the same on the high street, so that loyalty card is well worth getting. I did just that and my second coffee before security, as I had a lot of time to spare [should have got the 0600! - Ed] and it was worth picking up that card! After that coffee I made my way through security, easily passed in just 5 minutes which must be a new record for me. I do a quick sweep of the planes around gates area D, missing a couple due to not being too sure on the registrations, then do the long walk to gates area F. A few more planes were noted before passport control, which was dead quick due to no-one in front of me.
There is nothing but NewsBar for refreshments here, and I end up breaking a 200NOK note to buy a drink, as there was nothing I could source for the 26NOK I had in coins. 35NOK for a 500ml bottle of Pepsi Max, including a 1NOK Pant fee [another one I'll not get back including the one from yesterday's big bottle! - Ed] which is £3.50, an insane price and I suspect even New York would blush at that ching! I managed to find a seat near gate F27, and if I hadn't been so thirsty I would have waited until I got to Stansted for a drink. Eventually I'm through the gate and on the bus to the plane. EI-FTC took me back to England, and it's one with that new interior. Less yellow, as promised, with different seats that have much thinner backs than previously. Luggage lockers are like those on Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliners, unsurprisingly, and it feels brighter somehow.
Ryanair's new Skyliner interior, as seen on EI-FTC, 12/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
The take-off and landing lighting on Ryanair's new interior, seen on Ryanair's EI-FTC, 12/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
Pushback was 2 minutes early at 0753 [0653 UK time - Ed] and we were in the air at 0800. 2 hours to go until arriving at Stansted! You're probably thinking I hated Norway, and to be fair this trip report doesn't go into enough detail about how much I hate how expensive everything is in the country. Rail fares were reasonable all things considered, apart from Flytoget of course, which is Oslo's version of Gatwick Express. Both are rubbish and over-priced for what they are, but at least GX is bright and airy! The scenery was good on the branch, but nothing overly special between Oslo and Dombås.
So would I go back? In a word, no, not unless I was a millionaire, and even then I'd prefer to tour the USA! Ooh now that would be fun, a return to New York would be heavenly! I've also decided to revise Tech's Bucket List [what do you mean you haven't got one?! - Ed] from visiting all European countries to all of Western Europe. This means I still require Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Denmark. I will still visit other countries I require, but they aren't a priority. The rest of the Bucket List, for anyone curious, consists of:
- See more of the USA (Grand Canyon, Seattle, San Francisco for the trams and Washington DC are my top choices)
- Japan (mostly for Bullet Trains, I'm not into all the culture)
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Canada
Lavazza SuprFilter coffee on Ryanair, 12/03/2017 by
Julian Whitby, on Flickr
I'm very much not interested in the rest of the world! Tech's Mobile Disco is on within 25 minutes of the flight, with boots off as there's enough room to do so on this flight. I couldn't resist a Lavazza SuprFilter coffee, and I knew I was hungry as the hot food orders which went past me smelt so good! No, not this time, I'll wait until England for food. My Red Pen, New Sights and Shack Attack update files were done next, and with all the books I had with me [that moves book will take some filling in... - Ed] I had an hour left until arrival, so it was back to relaxing. We touch down at 0847 UK time, with a bit of a hard landing but nothing to be concerned with. Arrival at the terminal was held up due to another plane at our stand, and eventually after a 13 minute wait we arrived at 0905, 5 minutes late.
Whichever part of the terminal we eventually arrived into, it meant the need to use the transit shuttle to the arrivals area, which I have never done before! That was a funky ride it must be said, and after passport control I can't decide on breakfast, so I go to pick up my ticket home. Just as well I went down early, as there's power issues here today so no trains running! Ticket collected from the ticket office and the queuing system for the rail replacement coaches is disorganised, as private tour groups are also in the way and no queuing system had been arranged. Thankfully I found a spot to queue in with others, strictly speaking I had queue jumped, and got on the second coach during my wait to leave. V24 ROM of Roman Coaches took me to Bishops Stortford, where I was promised a train would take me forward.
First things first after the 14 minute journey, I spied a WHSmith with a Coffee House machine. Oh yes please! £1.70 for a large coffee is good value and it went down beautifully! Eventually the 1028 rolls in and it's winner
317501 and dud 317504 which took me to Seven Sisters. The 1039, normally starting at Stansted but terminated in platform 3, was formed of a pair of winner 379s, hence bailing after a nicely enjoyable run in the motor coach of 317501. A few minutes later, I joined double winners
379023+379004 for the run to London Liverpool Street. 13 379s to go, and we run on the slow lines south of Hackney Downs [trains were diverted via and calling at Seven Sisters due to the line being closed for engineering works via Tottenham Hale - Ed], which was an unusual chance to run non-stop through the platforms of London Fields and Cambridge Heath.
The barriers don't like my Advance so join a long queue to get out, then it was straight to the Central line via the entrance next to platform 1. This was because the ticket hall was being refurbished this weekend. I joined winner for everything
91187 which had winner
92450 and dud 92008 in the middle of the formation and winner for everything
91181 on the back. There was no leaping today, I bailed at Oxford Circus and made the long walk to the Bakerloo line. Double duds 3458+3266 took me to Paddington, where I went straight to Burger King and got my usual choice of meal. £6.83 very well spent in my eyes! After demolishing that, it was to Sainsburys for a bottle of flavoured water and chocolate doughtnuts.
I had noticed on the PIS that my train home, the 1242 London Paddington to Hereford, was formed of 6 coaches. My timetable had it down as an HST, but this would explain why I got a counted-place reservation. Eventually the platform is called at 1236, with just 6 minutes to get everyone through the barriers. Eventually it's onto double duds 166220+165111, with the 165 to be taken off at Oxford. 66759 was scored for sight, as were 7 387/1s as we went along the GWML. The electrification works are coming on well now, surely it can't be much longer until the final few miles to Reading are done?! Even just south of Appleford posts are up, I don't know the terminology for the stuff they've already done.
Eventually the 165 is taken off and we leave 8 minutes late from Oxford, and by Chipping Camden Tunnel my doughtnuts are gone and I'm ready for a nap! A sleep was had from Honeybourne to Worcester Foregate Street [I blame the heat on this 166, been roasting all the way from London! - Ed], briefly noticing Evesham and not seeing anything else until the approach to the city centre. Further sleep wasn't happening, and I was now back on home territory. Arrival in Hereford was at 1600,1 minute early, and it wasn't long before I got picked up. With very little to do that didn't involve a pub in Hereford on a Sunday afternoon, we ended up in B&M to kill time until 1630. I got myself a can of Rockstar Xdurance Blue [naughty! - Ed] to get through the rest of the day, and at 5pm we pick up my sister from work and head home. A roast pork tea went down beautifully, and after a de-rancify a while later it was off to bed at 2040. Much to my disgust, I didn't sleep amazingly well for a couple of hours, and when the alarm went off at 0545 I really didn't want to get up! Finally doing so at 0609 it was time to get ready for work!
So that was Norway, by far not my greatest trip!
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