09/01/2017 - Tech's Big Bang 2017, Day 3
Well that was a surprise, having gone to sleep early last night I still didn't expect to be awake by 0340! Howling winds, an angry stomach and the cage door being open now got this lion out of bed just after 0400. The trip report was brought back up to date, forum and Twitter caught up on and final preparations saw me out in plenty of time for the first bus of the day on route 37. Lothian's 807 did the honours, and what surprised me was that there were 5 other people joining me for it. That was nothing compared to the dozens who got on at the next few stops, wow this run is popular! Where they're all going and what they're doing keeps the brain occupied while I drink coffee.
Nice and wet in Edinburgh this morning, and some early morning spotting gets me 6 MK4s scored for sight. Bizarrely, I rather enjoyed the racket 66740 made on departure, 50 minutes late for an unknown reason, on the 0450 to Fort William! 73966 on the back, providing train supply only, was a score for sight which was welcome. As was the observation of 43303+43304 arrive ECS to form the 0606 to Plymouth! Duds but the sound helped the ears recover from 170s droning on idle. A much needed PNB was 30p well spent, and I spend some time waiting for the empty stock to arrive with the 68s so I could ID which ones are out today. I must have been too early as I didn't see them before going for my train. The Nescafe Algeria coffee machine in WHSmith is out of service, and I didn't fancy Nero coffee and definitely not Costa's stuff. No wonder it was doing a good trade today!
220031 is joined for my first move of the day, and I spend most of the journey getting the books up to date. We arrive 1 minute early, and after some spotting I go to Tesco Express then to Pizza Crolla for a crusy bacon roll. The breakfast was OK but I've had better. Coffee is sourced from Via Italia, where between 0730 and 1100 any single or double shot coffee can be got for just £1, sit in or takeaway. A nice little find that!
At Queen Street, I observe 156496 which I need. After chinging out £5.90 for a piece to Dalmuir, imagine my dismay when I see it wasn't attached to the 0821, and that Super Dud 156445 was also in the formation! Thankfully I was saved from disaster, not by International Rescue, but winner 156476 for the thrashy ride to Dalmuir. I just make it over the bridge in time for winner 334006 to winner shack Singer. Dud 334036 then takes me to winner shack Drumry where, as it's now gone 0900 I get my Roundabout for £6.80. Dud 318262 takes me forward to winner shack Drumchapel and my gen request has been answered! Super Dud 320301 and dud 318263 take me towards the city centre to hunt shacks on the other side of town. 318254 is annoyingly noted just after Westerton, where if I'd bailed I would have got it in the book instead of waiting for it to come out later! 318263 joins the Super Dud Club, the membership of which I believe is close to 600 members now. Winner shack Shettleston is settled upon once I discover the lavatory on the 318 is out of use and the phone was back to full charge.
Good choice as it turned out, as the next westbound train was winner 334018 with dud 334017! Onwards then to winner shack Carntyne and I end up heading to winner shack Blairhill on double 318268+320304. A short wait gets me, however, to winner shack Coatdyke with dud 334012 and winner 334027. 3 more 334s to go, and one of them was racing to Edinburgh just before I left for winner shack Easterhouse with double duds 334012+334002. A shame no Easter eggs were found at Easterhouse, tut tut! A short wait felt like forever here, with double duds 320304+318268 to winner shack Garrowhill. The rain and cold strike hard here and my 19 minute wait felt like a long time. Double duds 334005+334031 take me to winner shack High Street and 334005 joins the Super Dud Club.
A revenue block is navigated just in time to get to 318258 for a leap to winner shack Bellgrove, this 318 now also into the Super Dud Club. Double duds 318250+318263 take me west to Partick, where I have a +5 for a Motherwell service of particular importance. All will be explained...How 318263 got onto this train, however, I have yet to work out. I had it earlier, then I swear it was one I noted at Blairhill going west. Confused isn't the word right now, and a search on RTT doesn't help.
GRR! BOWLED OUT! 318254 failed to stick to diagram, although it appears the working had major issues in the morning so that didn't help. Instead I get a pair of duds with 320306+320311, the fact 311 is now one step closer to Super Dud is not much of a consolation prize! Anyway, after a short fester at Glasgow Central Low Level which produced nothing worth doing, I head upstairs for a quick supply raid, I met up with BT after his long endurance run on 380101 from Edinburgh. Sandwiches for lunch were gratefully received, and 156478 failed to produce as well. So we head back downstairs and BT clearly acted as a good luck charm, as next up were double winners for everything 320411+320412 to Partick! After getting BT a day pass for SPT Subway, the ticket office cheekily charging 50p extra to pay by card, we head down to the Subway, as I need 31 sets down there and BT wanted a final spin before the modernisation kicks in majorly on the Subway.
Winner 133 led dud 204 with winner for everything 103 on the back takes us for a Bus Stop Bash to Kelvinhall. Next up were winners 119+202 led dud 102 to Hillhead, and dud 113 led double winners for everything 207+118 for a longer run and a sit down to Buchanan Street. Surprisingly comfortable the seats are too! Triple winners 120+205+115 take us for another Bus Stop Bash to St. Enoch, after which the sets on the Outer Circle were all dud. We swap to the Inner Circle via the barriers here, and triple winners 130+201+101 take us back to Buchanan Street. Double winners 124+208 led dud 126 on our leap to St. George's Cross, and we get triple winners 107+121+105 to Kelvinbridge. 127+129+132 are triple winners to Hillhead, and 130+201+101 are already back so we get them to Partick. It only took between 1400 and 1515 to score everything out down here, although obviously at peak time that will no doubt be different.
Back up at ground level, we visit Bean2Cup near the exit for what turned out to be 2 very nice coffees. We then end up joining dud 320309 to winner shack Hamilton Central where it's gone quite cold so the 15 minutes there were less than enjoyable! Super Dud 318257 is up next to take us to Motherwell, and we make our way hastily to the waiting room on platform 1 for the XC run to Edinburgh, as I was on XC Only tickets. Very good value in my eyes, just a shame it's Voyagers! 221136 takes us east and after arrivial in Edinburgh it's a 15 minute wait for the bus back.
Very productive day there!
I thought it was almost on 3,000 miles but not so sadly. I was bouncing with joy mind, I hadn't had it in years!
