Techniquest
Veteran Member
Attached here is a selection of photos to finish Day 5, after lunch I'll come back with Day 6!
-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Juliano's World Frenzy/Tech's Trip Reports
- Thread starter Techniquest
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Techniquest
Veteran Member
I finally got around to posting Day 6, I got a bit busy after lunch yesterday. Day 7's re-write is on the to-do list for today!
05/11/2022 - Tech's First In His Class, Day 6
The penultimate day of the adventure, and it was effectively a national railway strike day. Yes they got called off mid-afternoon the day before, but there was no chance of reinstating anywhere near much of a service in time for this day. Whether or not this was a deliberate ploy by unions, government bodies or anyone else is an opinion I'll hold off on, the way I was looking at it is that I was affected but others will have been in a much worse position.
0609 and I was wide awake after nearly 7 hours of heavy sleep. Much planning was done before 7am, when it was deemed to be time to get up for coffee. My sister was up soon after, and I think she was happy enough to have a casual day indoors, there wasn't a huge amount we could go and do anyway really. With her expert knowledge on local buses, I was soon out of the house and onto route 31 to Crewe. Arriva North West threw out one of their older double deckers, 4107 for anyone curious. I think the Optare Solo from Sandbach on Day 5 was 702, it's been a long time since I did buses for fun, so excuse my lack of knowledge!
I chose the lower deck and a seat by the engine, for the noise, as a result. Normally I would be upstairs on a double decker, but with a rather noisy machine like this I was willing to make an exception! This could well be my last journey on such a bus after all, and yes I was also tripping down Memory Lane with all the step-entrance Darts that I used to enjoy many years ago. Such a thing sounds rather antiquated now, but then this was 17 years ago! 4 minutes early at Crewe Bus Station, which was finally undergoing some renovation. It was a dump for a long time, and still was, however it was good to see that finally being changed.
12 minutes later, I'd finished my fast walk to the railway station and I had plenty of time before any of my options. The 1004 to Glasgow Central was running late, having been on time up to Nuneaton, for reasons unknown, but the London trains were going OK so far. I made my first visit to the First Class lounge at Crewe, and not only is it a big place but it's nicely modern and well stocked. At 1014, I decided to see what the loadings on the 1019 to London Euston were like, as the Glasgow train was at least 23 minutes late. With just an hour and a bit in Glasgow if it had been on time, I decided it wasn't worth going north, so had to run to coach K on 390045, as the train pulled into platform 1. It's quite a long way from the lounge to the front of a 9-car 390 when it's on that platform!
To my surprise, there was a limited First Class service on board, and I got some snacks, a coffee and a bottle of water. I could hardly complain at that, on was effectively a strike-not-strike day! By Lichfield Trent Valley, it was onto the slow line, no wonder it was scheduled to take 1 hour and 51 minutes to London! It was thankfully back to the fast line after Rugby, and I happened to see that 390s were on diversion between Crewe and Liverpool via Earlestown. Manchester services were going via the Manchester Airport avoiding line, both of which I was mighty tempted by for the unusual track on a Class 390 Pendolino. I would have to alight at Milton Keynes Central, where I'd have 20 minutes before heading north.
I'd also taken a fancy to a quick blast up and down HS1 on some Class 395 'Javelin' workings, as the original plan to try out Greater Anglia's 745/1 First Class would mean a long wait at London Liverpool Street, with the risk of missing my last option back to Crewe. That was the 1540 London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly, and ideally I'd leave before that in case of issues. As I approached Milton Keynes Central, I decided not to alight, and I saw on the screen that the 1201 to Manchester Piccadilly was delayed. That was taken as a 'do not alight here, stick with London' message. If I'd realised the unusual routes were in use earlier on, I'd have waited in the lounge at Crewe a bit longer for a northbound train. Still, the way I see it is that I was clearly destined to head to London on this train, so I'll go with it. The gut feeling is not normally wrong!
4 minutes late at London Euston's platform 3 at 1214, I was soon outside and on the march via Somers Town to St Pancras International. I only just made it onto the 1225 to Ramsgate, which, I discovered at Stratford International, had winner 395002 up front and dud 395012 on the back. That was a relief when I found I'd got the day's first score! A number of dud 395s were rejected, and the absolute highlight of my time in Stratford was seeing 373221+373222 make a racket through the station on the 1231 London St Pancras-Paris Gare du Nord. Phwoar!
Double duds 395021+395001 were up next to take me to Ebbsfleet International, where I was due to see the 1301 London St Pancras-Bruxelles Midi fly through. Which it did, and while I got 374018+374017 watched it was not as great if only because the domestic platforms on High Speed 1 don't have the best view of Europe-bound trains. It could have been much worse, granted, but the video clip will not be as clear as the one of the Class 373. If I'd waited at Stratford, I'd have scored a 395, but the run to Ebbsfleet got some serious Javelin racket enjoyed! This was definitely better than going after 745s!
Winner 395015 and dud 395026 took me back to London St Pancras, and initially I was in an end coach. After the urgent business was dealt with, a ton of liquid refreshments had been enjoyed today, I realised I was in a non-motor coach, so moved up and gave the ears some aural pleasure. London arrived in no time at all, and I was soon out marching over to Euston. My logic now was that I could visit the lounge and warm up, as it was a bit chilly today, and grab some snacks to tide me over until an evening meal with my sister. Sadly, unlike the Crewe lounge, this one was closed due to the strike-not-strike day. So I went to Pret for a coffee, and decided to investigate the options. I had the 1430 Preston, 1437 Manchester Piccadilly and 1456 Liverpool Lime Street to choose from.
Initially, I was going to do 390141 on the Preston, but I looked and 390131 was a refurbished Pendolino, and I had not yet been on one of those. So I went and found a seat to drink my coffee with some biscuits, as soon as I did that I saw the crowd head to platform 2. OK then, lid back on, let's go! I made my way to coach K to investigate the new look First Class, and I loved it. I love the original First Class too, but this was really nice. Amongst other things, like wireless phone charging which I couldn't try as my phone does not support that, the power socket is now by the window above the table, so more accessible, and there's two USB ports too. The seats have been completely replaced, and the airline seats feel less claustrophobic now. I had the solo seat nearest the kitchen, and the recline is still very good. New narrower but improved armrests too, and proper headrests unlike the old fabric covers. Overall, I really like it and I felt the teams at Widnes did Avanti West Coast proud!
There was no proper catering available, but I did get a menu to look at which showed that breakfast on Avanti looks good too, even for vegans. There was a hot drink service available, and I got a flapjack and bottle of water to set me up for the first stage of the journey. Later on I got an Earl Grey, and the lemon flapjack I got was really good, highly recommended whether you're vegan or not. At Rugby the train was routed from the Down Fast and over to platform 4, and 66076 on a container train was overtaken. I didn't know such a routing was possible, but that being said I'm not all that well versed with the West Coast Main Line.
Back over from the Up Fast to the Down Fast (engineering works in the Nuneaton area caused some changes) at Lichfield Trent Valley, but then before Stafford it was over to the Down Slow before Stafford to use platform 5 unexpectedly, then we were put over on the Up Fast again. All over the place we were before then crossing over to platform 6 at Crewe, about 10 minutes late. Thankfully I had plenty of time to walk to the bus station to join the bus (3161 I think), a single decker Eclipse I do believe, on route 31 back to Winsford. It was much busier than the bus I'd had in the morning! A meal out was organised instead of a takeaway, a mutual decision for me and my sister as we'd both had a takeaway twice in one week. A third might be a bit much! So she joined me on the bus, we changed for another one to the railway station and did the short walk over to Brighton Belle, a Hungry Horse pub.
After a great meal, we got a bus from the station back up to Winsford town centre, did some shopping in Asda and got one last bus back to near her house. The evening was finished off by watching the two Sonic The Hedgehog movies! A very different way to spend a day on an ALR!
More photos from Day 6 later on, then the conclusion of the last big adventure of 2022!
05/11/2022 - Tech's First In His Class, Day 6
The penultimate day of the adventure, and it was effectively a national railway strike day. Yes they got called off mid-afternoon the day before, but there was no chance of reinstating anywhere near much of a service in time for this day. Whether or not this was a deliberate ploy by unions, government bodies or anyone else is an opinion I'll hold off on, the way I was looking at it is that I was affected but others will have been in a much worse position.
0609 and I was wide awake after nearly 7 hours of heavy sleep. Much planning was done before 7am, when it was deemed to be time to get up for coffee. My sister was up soon after, and I think she was happy enough to have a casual day indoors, there wasn't a huge amount we could go and do anyway really. With her expert knowledge on local buses, I was soon out of the house and onto route 31 to Crewe. Arriva North West threw out one of their older double deckers, 4107 for anyone curious. I think the Optare Solo from Sandbach on Day 5 was 702, it's been a long time since I did buses for fun, so excuse my lack of knowledge!
I chose the lower deck and a seat by the engine, for the noise, as a result. Normally I would be upstairs on a double decker, but with a rather noisy machine like this I was willing to make an exception! This could well be my last journey on such a bus after all, and yes I was also tripping down Memory Lane with all the step-entrance Darts that I used to enjoy many years ago. Such a thing sounds rather antiquated now, but then this was 17 years ago! 4 minutes early at Crewe Bus Station, which was finally undergoing some renovation. It was a dump for a long time, and still was, however it was good to see that finally being changed.
12 minutes later, I'd finished my fast walk to the railway station and I had plenty of time before any of my options. The 1004 to Glasgow Central was running late, having been on time up to Nuneaton, for reasons unknown, but the London trains were going OK so far. I made my first visit to the First Class lounge at Crewe, and not only is it a big place but it's nicely modern and well stocked. At 1014, I decided to see what the loadings on the 1019 to London Euston were like, as the Glasgow train was at least 23 minutes late. With just an hour and a bit in Glasgow if it had been on time, I decided it wasn't worth going north, so had to run to coach K on 390045, as the train pulled into platform 1. It's quite a long way from the lounge to the front of a 9-car 390 when it's on that platform!
To my surprise, there was a limited First Class service on board, and I got some snacks, a coffee and a bottle of water. I could hardly complain at that, on was effectively a strike-not-strike day! By Lichfield Trent Valley, it was onto the slow line, no wonder it was scheduled to take 1 hour and 51 minutes to London! It was thankfully back to the fast line after Rugby, and I happened to see that 390s were on diversion between Crewe and Liverpool via Earlestown. Manchester services were going via the Manchester Airport avoiding line, both of which I was mighty tempted by for the unusual track on a Class 390 Pendolino. I would have to alight at Milton Keynes Central, where I'd have 20 minutes before heading north.
I'd also taken a fancy to a quick blast up and down HS1 on some Class 395 'Javelin' workings, as the original plan to try out Greater Anglia's 745/1 First Class would mean a long wait at London Liverpool Street, with the risk of missing my last option back to Crewe. That was the 1540 London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly, and ideally I'd leave before that in case of issues. As I approached Milton Keynes Central, I decided not to alight, and I saw on the screen that the 1201 to Manchester Piccadilly was delayed. That was taken as a 'do not alight here, stick with London' message. If I'd realised the unusual routes were in use earlier on, I'd have waited in the lounge at Crewe a bit longer for a northbound train. Still, the way I see it is that I was clearly destined to head to London on this train, so I'll go with it. The gut feeling is not normally wrong!
4 minutes late at London Euston's platform 3 at 1214, I was soon outside and on the march via Somers Town to St Pancras International. I only just made it onto the 1225 to Ramsgate, which, I discovered at Stratford International, had winner 395002 up front and dud 395012 on the back. That was a relief when I found I'd got the day's first score! A number of dud 395s were rejected, and the absolute highlight of my time in Stratford was seeing 373221+373222 make a racket through the station on the 1231 London St Pancras-Paris Gare du Nord. Phwoar!
Double duds 395021+395001 were up next to take me to Ebbsfleet International, where I was due to see the 1301 London St Pancras-Bruxelles Midi fly through. Which it did, and while I got 374018+374017 watched it was not as great if only because the domestic platforms on High Speed 1 don't have the best view of Europe-bound trains. It could have been much worse, granted, but the video clip will not be as clear as the one of the Class 373. If I'd waited at Stratford, I'd have scored a 395, but the run to Ebbsfleet got some serious Javelin racket enjoyed! This was definitely better than going after 745s!
Winner 395015 and dud 395026 took me back to London St Pancras, and initially I was in an end coach. After the urgent business was dealt with, a ton of liquid refreshments had been enjoyed today, I realised I was in a non-motor coach, so moved up and gave the ears some aural pleasure. London arrived in no time at all, and I was soon out marching over to Euston. My logic now was that I could visit the lounge and warm up, as it was a bit chilly today, and grab some snacks to tide me over until an evening meal with my sister. Sadly, unlike the Crewe lounge, this one was closed due to the strike-not-strike day. So I went to Pret for a coffee, and decided to investigate the options. I had the 1430 Preston, 1437 Manchester Piccadilly and 1456 Liverpool Lime Street to choose from.
Initially, I was going to do 390141 on the Preston, but I looked and 390131 was a refurbished Pendolino, and I had not yet been on one of those. So I went and found a seat to drink my coffee with some biscuits, as soon as I did that I saw the crowd head to platform 2. OK then, lid back on, let's go! I made my way to coach K to investigate the new look First Class, and I loved it. I love the original First Class too, but this was really nice. Amongst other things, like wireless phone charging which I couldn't try as my phone does not support that, the power socket is now by the window above the table, so more accessible, and there's two USB ports too. The seats have been completely replaced, and the airline seats feel less claustrophobic now. I had the solo seat nearest the kitchen, and the recline is still very good. New narrower but improved armrests too, and proper headrests unlike the old fabric covers. Overall, I really like it and I felt the teams at Widnes did Avanti West Coast proud!
There was no proper catering available, but I did get a menu to look at which showed that breakfast on Avanti looks good too, even for vegans. There was a hot drink service available, and I got a flapjack and bottle of water to set me up for the first stage of the journey. Later on I got an Earl Grey, and the lemon flapjack I got was really good, highly recommended whether you're vegan or not. At Rugby the train was routed from the Down Fast and over to platform 4, and 66076 on a container train was overtaken. I didn't know such a routing was possible, but that being said I'm not all that well versed with the West Coast Main Line.
Back over from the Up Fast to the Down Fast (engineering works in the Nuneaton area caused some changes) at Lichfield Trent Valley, but then before Stafford it was over to the Down Slow before Stafford to use platform 5 unexpectedly, then we were put over on the Up Fast again. All over the place we were before then crossing over to platform 6 at Crewe, about 10 minutes late. Thankfully I had plenty of time to walk to the bus station to join the bus (3161 I think), a single decker Eclipse I do believe, on route 31 back to Winsford. It was much busier than the bus I'd had in the morning! A meal out was organised instead of a takeaway, a mutual decision for me and my sister as we'd both had a takeaway twice in one week. A third might be a bit much! So she joined me on the bus, we changed for another one to the railway station and did the short walk over to Brighton Belle, a Hungry Horse pub.
After a great meal, we got a bus from the station back up to Winsford town centre, did some shopping in Asda and got one last bus back to near her house. The evening was finished off by watching the two Sonic The Hedgehog movies! A very different way to spend a day on an ALR!
More photos from Day 6 later on, then the conclusion of the last big adventure of 2022!
Attachments
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Some more photos from Day 6, and I have edited Day 7. It'll go up shortly, a few things to go and do first but the conclusion of 2022's big adventure is nearly ready to be shared!
Attachments
Kite159
Veteran Member
At least the day wasn't wasted and you managed to do some travels 
Techniquest
Veteran Member
At least the day wasn't wasted and you managed to do some travels
Indeed, and given how tired I was (despite endless amounts of caffeine!) at the end of Day 6 it was probably just as well that it wasn't a long day of travel!
Day 7 is finally ready to go, be prepared for a shocking conclusion!
06/11/2022 - Tech's First In His Class, Day 7
The final day had arrived! Just after 7am, following 7 hours of seriously deep sleep, I was up and getting organised. My washing had been done for me while on my travels on Day 6, so I was going back with very little to do in that respect. An easy morning was had until 1003, when I had to begin a fast walk to Winsford railway station. I had it in my mind as being a 3.1 mile walk, and I had 44 minutes to do it. Thankfully after a few days in jeans, I was back in my athletics gear today, which I was very pleased about!
2.67 miles later, with a lot of luck on the road crossings, and I arrived at the platform entrance after 31 minutes and 37 seconds. 5mph average, and the 1047 to Birmingham New Street was 7 minutes late. That just gave me time to de-sweat and scrub off and re-apply roll-on! 350249 and 350238 rolled in, and thankfully the disgusting men dealing with business behind the waiting room, drinking cider and smoking all got on elsewhere on the train. A mental note was made to avoid travel at weekends whenever possible, and never have I been so glad to see First Class on a 350/2! It really isn't anything special, but it got me away from the nasty specimens of the male species!
At Crewe, I had a handful of minutes spare before the 1114 to London Euston, so I relaxed for the short time in the First Class lounge. A quick caffeine hit to refresh the mind (back to Vitamin B supplements after this trip!) and 2 bananas to get some badly needed potassium in me, but what I really needed was a good source of protein to help the muscles recover from the intense walk, I had put them through some significant effort. 390044 was in charge of taking me to London, which I had wanted to go to as the final bits of the CrossRail/Elizabeth line were opening at long last. There was no way I could not go and do them! This 390 was on a bit of a mystery tour of the West Midlands, running between Stafford and Rugby via Penkridge, Bushbury Junction, Bescot Stadium, Aston, Stechford and Coventry.
I hadn't expected any catering, but the hot food offer was on and I could hardly say no. I fancied the breakfast hash, it had to be sampled. I'd tried LNER's breakfast, Avanti's offer wasn't attempting to be as posh but I can confirm it was absolutely incredible! Onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, kale and some root vegetables (tasted like potato and swede, my palette is not refined enough to be sure with so many flavours going on), served with wholemeal toast. So now I had to choose, which was my favourite breakfast out of the big long-distance operators. GWR came last, as there was no hot food on my journey at least. LNER third, EMR second and Avanti a clear winner. That was amazing! A special mention must be made of Hull Trains' offer though, all the way back on Day 1, which was incredibly tasty. As much as Avanti annoys me with their making a mess of timetables, driving staff morale to new lows and everything else bad that they're doing, I have to say the breakfast was so good I'd buy a First Class ticket in the future for that breakfast hash! Put simply, it helped inspire me to be more creative in the kitchen, and just thinking about it made the mouth water!
A slow crawl was had until Rugby, with the speed and tilt fully back on until somewhere between Bletchley and Leighton Buzzard. A passcom incident on the train directly ahead of us was causing delay, great! Out of the window went the plan to bail out at Watford Junction after all! It's like the saying goes 'the greatest plans of mice and men do often go astray'. I'd planned to change at Watford Junction so I could finally sample a 710 on the northerly stretches of the Watford DC Line, but that plan was gone! Arrival at London Euston's platform 6 was 13 minutes late at 1356, and the rain was unpleasant. So was the wind, so instead of walking to Tottenham Court Road I went to St Pancras.
I genuinely had lost count of how many times I'd walked between London Euston and London St Pancras during the adventure! 6 minutes and 4 seconds from Euston's main entrance to St Pancras' Thameslink entrance, an average of 5.2mph according to Strava. Not my best, but I'll take that! Eventually, the 1409 Three Bridges arrived but it was dud 700114, so I voted to wait an extra 8 minutes for the 1424 to Brighton in the hope of a winning 700. Getting frustrated with the delay all the while, and as I had plenty of time to position for it I actually went and used the First Class section at the front of the train. This frustration was just the simmering of a pot waiting to boil over!
My wishes for some red pen action were granted, as I scored 700116 for the short journey to Farringdon. By the time it had turned up I'd have probably got to Tottenham Court Road on the walk, but no matter. I was very aware of the fact I had little time left before my intended train to Hereford, and I still had so much I wanted to get done! A relatively quick connection to the Elizabeth line (it still doesn't sound right to me) was made and in no time I was on winner 345018 to Stratford. After Whitechapel, it was onto the new bit of the tunnels towards Stratford, and after arriving at the station I'd remembered the advice given to me by Kite159 that there was a football game nearby. So it was pretty busy, however by some fortune I'd got over to join 345003 back west. Sadly, despite wanting that one, a fault on the train meant it couldn't go through the tunnels and would be diverted to Liverpool Street's mainline station. More frustration, the pot of which was bubbling away ever closer to the top!
As that was no good to me, I alighted and joined dud 345052 to Liverpool Street's CrossRail platforms in the tunnels. The new bit of track now done in both directions at that end, I was now wanting the new bit at the Paddington end. I first, however, went to Bond Street on winner 345034. Why Bond Street? Purely because I could say I'd done both platforms there, which really was silly. Winner 345062 was on a Heathrow Terminal 4 service behind it, and I took this to Acton Main Line. There was a modest plus there, and it was good to see the drastically improved footbridge and lifts there, the place was a right ol' dive in the days of Turbos on Paddington to Greenford trains!
It was up to 345029 to take me out of the sunshine (the weather decided to clear up after I got to St Pancras, clearly!) and down to Paddington's CrossRail platforms. I just can't get used to calling it the Elizabeth line! Bad news though for me, as the 1546 to Hereford had been cancelled due to a shortage of train crew. So I went to the First Class lounge, and I was asked when my train was leaving. This hadn't happened anywhere else, so it threw me a bit. I grabbed a much needed coffee, some Seabrook crisps and some peanuts, as well as a can of Diet Coke for later and some water. Purely in case GWR had no on-board catering you understand, and I could easily have consumed them in the lounge anyway but I wanted to get a couple of photos from one of my most favourite places in the world. If I'd been valid on Heathrow Express, I'd have been on that as I'd seen at least one of my last two 387/1s with the operator in service. By now the pot of frustration's lid was bouncing around and ready to blow!
Instead, I went with my gut and joined 802104 in coach L on the 1603 to Plymouth. Some refreshments were had, and by now I was hitting the wall. I'd had enough, I wanted to get to base and end the rover. I'd done the latest bits of passenger track to open on day 1 of operation, but I wasn't in the mood to celebrate. My mind was in a completely different place, I don't exactly know where said place was, but it wasn't on the railway. Frustration with the day had got past the melting point, all I wanted to do now was to get back to base. If I'd had my head screwed on, I'd have gone back to St Pancras and done some more Javelins, or I'd have gone and done some Gatwick Express 387/2s, of which I want plenty. Clearly, none of that was considered at the time, I had very much non-railway objectives on my mind!
After some Squeaky Bean Co tikka flavoured pieces I'd sourced from Asda at the end of Day 6, and after they'd had a bit of time to digest, I was eventually past Westbury on the avoiding line. Taunton was reached perfectly on time, and the fresh air did me well to wake me up. Brr! It was so fresh I had to dig my hat out of the bag!
The Voyager was so busy, and my mind still not even remotely focused, that I forgot to check which one I'd got on! The rest of the train was full and standing throughout, not helped by cancellations caused by signalling issues between Taunton and Weston-super-Mare. I was of course in First Class, and now I was awake again I got to the punnet of black grapes from Asda, which went down beautifully. I still needed to make a decision by Bristol on which route I was taking. Options were: go via Cheltenham, to join a 170 to Worcestershire Parkway and a GWR IET back to Hereford arriving at 2155; go via Bristol Temple Meads for a pair of Turbos to Newport and TfW up to Hereford, arriving at 2043; go via Bristol Parkway for a GWR IET to Newport and TfW to Hereford, same arrival time of 2043 just with longer in Newport.
All those went out of the window, as I'd seen a late-running Castle Class 'GTi HST' was available to Wales. That was that, I was off the Voyager at Bristol Temple Meads, the +40 and +35 or so in Cheltenham Spa and Worcestershire Parkway respectively were not happening. I discovered that the Voyager was 221136, and it left a few minutes late due to the crowd getting on. The signalling issues had barely affected the train, excess passengers did! 43097+43198 pulled in and we were off. I was back with the masses, the great unwashed, whatever you want to call them. I was on a GTi HST, which given my HST enthusiast background made sense. I had absolutely ahead of me in Newport, something like 46 minutes, but I would find something to do, I had convinced myself.
Did I make the right decision? Honestly, I think I bowled myself out, I'd gone from a nicely comfortable seat in First Class to a GTi HST with no First Class. The other options meant more hanging around in the cold, but I'd have been in First Class all the way via Cheltenham. Later on, it was realised I could have had a nice meal in Cheltenham then carried on. It was too late now, I had left my last First Class journey of the rover. I did that to have this journey, and as much as it makes me a snob I can't say I was pleased with my brain. It did mean getting to Hereford quicker, and on the way to Taunton I'd realised I had so many options in London. It was a bit late to realise that when I was racing through Somerset!
I had plenty of time, blocking out the noise around me as much as I could, to reflect on the week's adventures. I was questioning my life choices with the decision to leave the Voyager, but I'm hoping there's a good reason for that decision! For all I know, not going via Worcester will have meant my keeping away from some rather unpleasant situation. I can't say going via Newport felt like a good idea, but it happened for a reason beyond my understanding, and I'm sure in the fullness of time I will be glad of it. I'm not currently glad, even 5 days later as I edit this, but I'll get over it!
So, the week overall, not including the time with the masses, how had it been? Was it worth the money? Had I wanted to go to the USA instead, or indeed Malta? These and many other questions came up! In terms of value, did I feel I got my money's worth? Yes and no, the first 4 days I did rather well for value, the final 3 days I can't say I did all that well, especially so with Day 6. I certainly didn't do as much exploring as I'd have liked, not helped by the weather. I did however get lots of First Class lounges done which was good.
I got to score a fair number of trains on a good variety of routes, with a good variety of operators. I only really missed Greater Anglia for the bigger operators, so that's not too bad. I cleared the 333s at long last, I got to revisit a lot of the best of Scotland, and saw some places I hadn't expected to go to. I nearly cleared the 444s, made great progress with the 222s and Scarborough was finally revisited too. I revised my accommodation policy too, and I will be much more strict with my Airbnb selections in the future, using them very much as a last resort. The ScotRail HSTs were good fun to do, I discovered how unappealing LNER's food offering is and how good EMR and Avanti are with theirs. I'd had a LOT of time to do the brain work I had needed to do, and I'd spent some time with my sister which I think she appreciated, so overall it was a week off well spent.
Had I wanted to go jetting off around the world instead? At times yes, such as when on those 185s from York to Scarborough, that journey was so dull and boring I honestly can't put into words. At other times, when I've tried to work out how I'd pass the time on a long-haul flight when there's not really the option to get up for a seriously good walk, then no I was glad to have had the flexibility to change journeys at short notice. Such as on the last part of Day 7, I would have had ages to wait in Newport but I had the option to go to Cardiff and pick up the train there instead. It would be tight, as the HST left at 1917, but the signallers had given us a mainline path which meant we could fly along to Cardiff Central. As long as there was no hold-up outside the Welsh capital's main station, it would be fine!
We had some very slow running from Pengam sidings, so finally arrived at 1931. That meant running from the front of the train, where I'd moved to at Newport, at the western end of platform 3 to the eastern end of platform 1. The 1935 to Shrewsbury was in the hands of 153935+153353, this was one of the key reasons for going via South Wales for the final journey of the rover. Thankfully, 153935 was pretty quiet at one end, the other end had plenty of drunks. They got off at Cwmbran, which was good news as far as I was concerned!
So what was my favourite moment of the rover, and what was the least enjoyable moment? These were tough to determine, I have to say. There were thankfully many good moments and not that many bad ones. Choosing to go via Newport was definitely the major bad moment, as it had reminded me just what train travel can be like. It is expensive, but it does help put some people off First Class which is fantastic. Most First Class accommodation, away from the South East, on the railway is worth paying extra money for, that much I discovered quite happily. To travel in Standard Class now, well quite honestly I'm not too interested in that now. I have become a little bit of a snob now, that's for sure! So, the favourite bits! Like I say, there were a lot of those.
To choose just one though, that is a big ask. The journey up the Highland Main Line in the beautiful autumnal colours was a huge highlight, so was the exploring in Inverness. Exploring Scarborough was another highlight, and the 68 from Scarborough to Manchester was a big highlight. The unexpected nice town of Nairn was a pleasant surprise, Day 2's day of ScotRail HST action was definitely a highlight, and the fact that I could have done a Spirit of Scotland and connecting journeys for much less money is not lost on me. I had made a farewell to the 319s on LNWR (and yes, I did have to flick through my photos to go back through everything I did!) and of course I finally got the 333s all finished.
So if I was to pick one bit and one bit only as a favourite? I had to go with the Glasgow to Inverness journey up the Highland Main Line. My least enjoyable bit? The final few hours, if I'm honest. The York to Scarborough journey was really boring, but the last bit from Bristol to Hereford has to be the choice here. I just completely lost all focus after finding the 1546 to Hereford was cancelled. It was as if a wire had come loose in the brain! I mean, seriously, leaving a comfortable First Class journey to go in Standard Class for the final two journeys? Madness, utter madness! As I mentioned in the edit of this final day further up, I'm sure in time I'll be glad of the decisions made and grateful that I didn't go via Worcester.
My league of First Class then, well this was easier to decide! At the bottom of the pile, ScotRail 385, it's so uncomfortable it's unbelievable. Above that is 350/2, it's barely better than Standard in terms of comfort. 700 First Class comes in next, with ScotRail 170 above that. I was genuinely surprised, it was rather nice! Now we're getting to the big hitters, and 185 First Class is absolutely bottom of the long-distance operator list. It used to be much nicer than it is now! A little above that is 397 and then Mark 5, but there's not much in it between any of the Transpennine lot, although, the 802/2 First Class is decent enough. I'd pay the extra on those if I had a solo seat for sure, so I'd actually place LNER Mark 4 First Class below Transpennine Express' 802/2 offering.
Next up, LNER Azuma as the interior is not eye-burning as it is in Standard Class. Initially I had forgot about SWR and their First Class! I've put them just below LNER Azuma, 450 being slightly inferior to 444 due to the smaller seats on a 450. Above the Azuma, I put ScotRail Inter7City HST First Class, the interior is fantastic but the seats are a little firm. Just above them, thanks to an increased level of comfort, EMR Meridian First Class. Those of you playing at home will realise there's only three options left, and it's close between the three. One leads the way in terms of service, another in terms of comfort and I have to not use personal bias for the third. So on the podium I put in third place GWR, in second place despite a higher level of seat comfort is Avanti and the overall winner is Hull Trains. Nice and modern trains, good comfort, excellent food and drink (although I do wish I'd seen the non-breakfast food options, to make a more balanced view) and great First Class service.
Out of the many lounges I did, which were the best? I'll just do a top 3 here, but in third place would be LNER's London Kings Cross lounge. Second place, I'd have to give that to Edinburgh's LNER lounge. First place, and taking the title for me, and bear in mind all the opinions shared here are entirely based on my experiences only, someone else may have different tales, was the Avanti lounge in Crewe. The space was huge, it felt pretty modern, it wasn't hidden away in a secret corner of the station, however perhaps most importantly of course it was stocked with a good variety of items. Let it be known across the land, stocking fruit in a First Class lounge should be considered essential! Crisps, shortbread, peanuts, that kind of thing is all fine and good, but give us some fruit! Avanti, thank you for that!
Worst lounge? No contest, Wakefield Westgate. It's far too small and it feels like an after-thought. I'm not even sure I saw the point in having one there!
2050 and I had arrived at Hereford to horrible weather. The Met Office forecast had called for light rain for much of the day in Hereford, and none by the time I got back. This was absolutely NOT the case, but as I typed up the last of this at 2123 the rain got heavier than when I'd been outside. It was bad enough then! To top it off, Strava crashed after a few minutes so much of the walk did not log correctly. I hate it when Strava messes up! The rain had been so severe even the pavements were swimming in water!
So then, my final thoughts? Well I have to say that right now, I felt like that was enough train travel for a good long while, a time period of undetermined length was required before my next rail journey, I was 100% not ready to go back to Standard Class! I decided on the walk back that I had no plans whatsoever to go on a train again for the rest of November, this rover trip has wiped me out. I just completely hit the wall when I got to Paddington, something just made me give up on the trip! If there is an urgent need to travel, then fair enough. Entirely for leisure purposes? Not any time soon, that's for sure. Would I recommend an All Line Rover, in either class of travel? It completely depends on the individual and their desires. Now I've done this one, I don't think I could actually ever do another one. For the most part, it's been great, but for now the only train in my future is Eurostar in January, and of course the connecting journeys. Will I do another ALR, and overall was it worth the £818 on just the ticket?
I have to be honest, I do not know. I do not think I could justify that sort of expense ever again, but I must say that despite all the negative bits and feelings going on at the end of the trip, I'm glad I did it and listened to the gut feeling. It was telling me that this is going to be my last chance to do such a trip, and with non-railway developments in recent weeks I think that feeling was accurate. The next adventure, to Amsterdam in January 2023, is going to be a completely different sort of trip, and I have a feeling after that one then things will change further still!
Oh and I forgot to mention my total scores! Across the 7 days, I got my red pen out for 41 trains. Perhaps not as many as I'd have liked, but still not too bad!
So yes, that ends the enormous summary! Thank you all for reading, a shame it didn't end quite the way I thought it would! It was the last big adventure of 2022, on the railway at least!
Attachments
Kite159
Veteran Member
Nice bit of classic BR dog box thrash to end the trip, shame the mini HST was busy.
alexf380
Established Member
Well that certainly was a good read! A good bit of variety had over the week. I certainly know the feeling just wanting to get home, sometimes when a holiday is coming to an end you do just look forward to your own bed.
Iskra
Established Member
That's interesting that you had a poor experience with the breakfast out of Inverness, I had a similar encounter a few years ago also out of Inverness. I was feeling a little ill, but ordered the Full English (/Scottish) hoping it would fix me, but unfortunately it didn't and I couldn't eat it (incredibly unusual for me, I virtually always clear my plate), on clearing away my plate the hostess rudely chastised me for wasting my meal! It seems the breakfast service out of Inverness is more school dinners than first class! I agree that the left side is better heading North.
Good work on getting some delay repay
Iskra
Established Member
I've finally finished reading it all Tech. You sure covered some ground. I agree the Wakefield Westgate 1st class lounge is rather small, but it's better than nothing and good in winter as it's a very cold station. I'm glad you made it to Sheffield and found the First Class offering decent on EMR. It is a shame the EMR lounges are still closed, especially at Sheffield as it's another very cold station with limited waiting facilties. I'm surprised you don't rate the 185's First Class, I find it very comfortable, the only negative is STD passengers walking through to get to the toilets. Looks like you had a good walk in Scarborough and I'm glad you enjoyed the 68 thrash!
An interesting conclusion. I can relate to feeling a bit train-fatigued after my US trip, and it does put you off for a little while. This is also why I've never done an ALR, I'm not sure I'd enjoy the intensity required to get value for money.
An interesting conclusion. I can relate to feeling a bit train-fatigued after my US trip, and it does put you off for a little while. This is also why I've never done an ALR, I'm not sure I'd enjoy the intensity required to get value for money.
Last edited:
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed the read! That's a good point on Sheffield and Wakefield Westgate, they are rather open stations. One day the EMR lounges may re-open, the one in Derby certainly looked nice when I observed it recently.
I have to stand by my view on the 185 First Class, in my opinion what was fitted in the mid to late 2000s was far superior. These days, I'd rather travel Standard Class on a 185 for a more comfortable seat!
The conclusion I also stand with, especially the wondering if I'd recommend an ALR. In years gone by, absolutely no question of recommending one. I loved the freedom of the ALR, no arguments on that, and it's a shame it ended the way it did, but even now a week and a bit later I don't know if I would do another one. If I actually did what I set out to with this last one, and did some proper exploring with less trains, I think I'd have been more open to another ALR.
I am however looking at doing a Spirit of Scotland in 2023, and at some point in 2023 I also want to do a regional rover in the North East to focus on the exploring up there as well as clearing out a whole ton of train wants. I've no idea how I'll deal with that bright red LNER interior though
Final thought is that I *might* be back on trains again tomorrow. It depends primarily on the weather, those 196s are getting tempting. As is a proper good explore of places like Lichfield. We will see what happens!
NorthWestRover
Established Member
- Joined
- 24 Aug 2018
- Messages
- 1,613
Yay, Lichfield!!
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Very much inspired by your recent comments on Lichfield!
I've bought a new OS map today, which might be getting used tomorrow instead. The forecast has dramatically improved here, so it would be silly not to take advantage of it!
D6130
Established Member
You'll get used to it....just like we regulars did. You could always buy a pair of blue sunglasses....then the seats will look purple!I've no idea how I'll deal with that bright red LNER interior though
Techniquest
Veteran Member
You'll get used to it....just like we regulars did. You could always buy a pair of blue sunglasses....then the seats will look purple!
Certainly one way to deal with the issue! Cheaper than buying a Leeds to Wakefield First Class season ticket for a week
Ayman Ilham
Member
Just finished reading the entire trip report; was very engaging and fun to read, definitely felt as if I was travelling with you! Granted, there are loads of things I could've done differently on this trip, but I'd say you made a decent use of the rover for what you did, and the last few hours don't sound like something that'd work me up as much as it did to you to be fair, but I imagine you were shattered and just desperate for that direct train home at that point!
Right, now to get to the more interesting bit; what I could've done differently if I was in your position throughout the week. Assume I lived in Hereford and stayed in the same accommodation as you did (apart from Winsford, which we'll substitute for Manchester where I actually live, assuming my family still do in this alternate universe scenario) and did this rover with the exact same starting train out of Hereford to Paddington:
DAY 1: After arriving into Paddington, I make my way to the Millenium Bridge (probably by bus) and enjoy a Pret by the riverside, before walking to Blackfriars and getting a train to Brighton, explore city for a bit at the pier, followed by another back up to St Pancras then head to Kings Cross for an LNER up to Newcastle or straight to Edinburgh for another quick city break at the other end of the country. Afterwards, get a Scotrail service straight up to Aberdeen and check in to hotel.
DAY 2: Just head straight to Inverness, check into AirBnB, go up Far North to Thurso/Wick then back to Inverness to explore city before bed. Alternatively, I could just do what you did but allow more time to enjoy Glasgow, Nairn and/or Elgin then the AirBnB.
DAY 3: Highland Chieftain down to Newcastle or York, hour break in either city then CrossCountry straight down to Southampton, possibly a break at Oxford on the way.
DAY 4: Explore Southampton and Portsmouth (Gunwharf doesn't seem like it'd be too bad in the rain) followed by Weymouth to enjoy a full 444 bash, then GWR up to Bath to explore that city then any train to Bristol to get a CrossCountry straight up to Manchester Piccadilly, where my mum would give me a lift.
DAY 5: Start at Manchester Victoria to get a TPE to Scarborough to explore, then Northern 170 full route to Sheffield, relax in city centre them get 222 to St Pancras and if there's time, HS1 to Canterbury/Dover and back, followed by Pendolino back up to Manchester from Euston.
DAY 6: Train to Crewe followed by LNWR to Nuneaton (avoiding Birmingham) for XC 170 to Cambridge to explore East Anglia (Norwich, Lowestoft, Colchester/Chelmsford) then London and back to Manchester.
DAY 7: XC to Bristol, then XC/GWR connecting to Plymouth to explore city and Penzance if there's time, then Castle back up to Newport, chill in the city, then final TfW to Hereford.
Right, now to get to the more interesting bit; what I could've done differently if I was in your position throughout the week. Assume I lived in Hereford and stayed in the same accommodation as you did (apart from Winsford, which we'll substitute for Manchester where I actually live, assuming my family still do in this alternate universe scenario) and did this rover with the exact same starting train out of Hereford to Paddington:
DAY 1: After arriving into Paddington, I make my way to the Millenium Bridge (probably by bus) and enjoy a Pret by the riverside, before walking to Blackfriars and getting a train to Brighton, explore city for a bit at the pier, followed by another back up to St Pancras then head to Kings Cross for an LNER up to Newcastle or straight to Edinburgh for another quick city break at the other end of the country. Afterwards, get a Scotrail service straight up to Aberdeen and check in to hotel.
DAY 2: Just head straight to Inverness, check into AirBnB, go up Far North to Thurso/Wick then back to Inverness to explore city before bed. Alternatively, I could just do what you did but allow more time to enjoy Glasgow, Nairn and/or Elgin then the AirBnB.
DAY 3: Highland Chieftain down to Newcastle or York, hour break in either city then CrossCountry straight down to Southampton, possibly a break at Oxford on the way.
DAY 4: Explore Southampton and Portsmouth (Gunwharf doesn't seem like it'd be too bad in the rain) followed by Weymouth to enjoy a full 444 bash, then GWR up to Bath to explore that city then any train to Bristol to get a CrossCountry straight up to Manchester Piccadilly, where my mum would give me a lift.
DAY 5: Start at Manchester Victoria to get a TPE to Scarborough to explore, then Northern 170 full route to Sheffield, relax in city centre them get 222 to St Pancras and if there's time, HS1 to Canterbury/Dover and back, followed by Pendolino back up to Manchester from Euston.
DAY 6: Train to Crewe followed by LNWR to Nuneaton (avoiding Birmingham) for XC 170 to Cambridge to explore East Anglia (Norwich, Lowestoft, Colchester/Chelmsford) then London and back to Manchester.
DAY 7: XC to Bristol, then XC/GWR connecting to Plymouth to explore city and Penzance if there's time, then Castle back up to Newport, chill in the city, then final TfW to Hereford.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
You'd have had an epic trip there with that plan! Bear in mind your day 6 plan would have had to factor in the strikes that day, the last train to Manchester was 1540 Euston to Manchester Piccadilly so you'd have had no time for all that exploring!
Gunwharf, yes it would have been OK in light rain but this was much more than that. It was more the sort of rain where you'd get soaked in just a couple of minutes, it just wasn't worth going outside in it without good reason!
Gunwharf, yes it would have been OK in light rain but this was much more than that. It was more the sort of rain where you'd get soaked in just a couple of minutes, it just wasn't worth going outside in it without good reason!
Ayman Ilham
Member
Ah I see, I was trying to remember which day was strike day. In which case, just a quick trip to Bristol if XC services were running that way followed by some way back to base (Hereford), which would allow more time in Penzance for Day 7. As for the heavy rain in Day 4, was it any better in Weymouth or Exeter?
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Honestly, I don't remember. I think it was meant to be pretty wet everywhere that morning in Dorset, which had put me off exploring Bournemouth as it was. If my stomach hadn't been screaming at me, same for my desire for coffee, by Southampton on the 444 I took from Bournemouth I'd have taken it to Waterloo. Instead I ended up chasing the only other 444 I wanted, which was on the other line.
As for XC, I'm pretty sure you'd have had to change in Birmingham for Bristol and you'd have had a very limited service even then if it was running.
All platforms
Established Member
What an adventure - even (or should that read as especially) if it might turn out to be one of your last epics. With real life intervening i have had to keep all rail activities to a few pre-booked days out these last 2 weeks and have only now had chance to read about Day 6 + 7. You really seemed to be running out of steam by the end of it all, and travelling on a strike/non strike Day even in 1st Class doesn't seem to be the greatest fun in the world.
It started so well with some really big mileage and variety experienced in the first part of the trip. I hadn't ever considered one the ALR's personally, but i may revisit this thought after reading your reports. Would i have the nerve to wing it as much as you did albeit with a destination in mind each evening? Moot point as one of your aims was to get the red pen/marker out as much as was practical whereas my focus would be elsewhere. Also interesting, fascinating even, is to read about the sheer variety of the various First Class offerings available on the mainland and i am not that surprised with your findings and observation here (apart from LNER - read on). First Class on Avanti and LNER always struck me that they should be the top of the tree given the flagship nature of the lines they use so a bit of a surprise to see LNER fall down the pecking order somewhat. GWR have some really long distances too so one should expect great things there too. Now bear in mind i have never stumped up the cash to go 1st class, but my mind works so that the longer the distance the better the service/offerings should be. Weird huh?
Food also seems to be a staple of all reports and and this had it in spades. Yay, a man after my own heart. Don't know what i was expecting as a first class complimentary offering but boy do the vary from TOC to TOC. Extra - or emergency supplies would be needed by yours truly were i to venture far however. One thing that does interest me is spending 4 hours or more in the same seat and i may even be tempted by the Aberdeen to Plymouth type of thing just because you can! I suspect i would be right at home on some of the Continental or American long distance offerings too. Not sure about the Trans Siberia variants though...
So many questions about the minutiae of doing the ALR are whizzing around in my head it could get very geeky and messy very quickly but i do admire that you have done this and reported back on the reality of it all. Good on ya!
It started so well with some really big mileage and variety experienced in the first part of the trip. I hadn't ever considered one the ALR's personally, but i may revisit this thought after reading your reports. Would i have the nerve to wing it as much as you did albeit with a destination in mind each evening? Moot point as one of your aims was to get the red pen/marker out as much as was practical whereas my focus would be elsewhere. Also interesting, fascinating even, is to read about the sheer variety of the various First Class offerings available on the mainland and i am not that surprised with your findings and observation here (apart from LNER - read on). First Class on Avanti and LNER always struck me that they should be the top of the tree given the flagship nature of the lines they use so a bit of a surprise to see LNER fall down the pecking order somewhat. GWR have some really long distances too so one should expect great things there too. Now bear in mind i have never stumped up the cash to go 1st class, but my mind works so that the longer the distance the better the service/offerings should be. Weird huh?
Food also seems to be a staple of all reports and and this had it in spades. Yay, a man after my own heart. Don't know what i was expecting as a first class complimentary offering but boy do the vary from TOC to TOC. Extra - or emergency supplies would be needed by yours truly were i to venture far however. One thing that does interest me is spending 4 hours or more in the same seat and i may even be tempted by the Aberdeen to Plymouth type of thing just because you can! I suspect i would be right at home on some of the Continental or American long distance offerings too. Not sure about the Trans Siberia variants though...
So many questions about the minutiae of doing the ALR are whizzing around in my head it could get very geeky and messy very quickly but i do admire that you have done this and reported back on the reality of it all. Good on ya!
Techniquest
Veteran Member
I'm glad you enjoyed the read, and please feel free to fire away any questions. I'd go into more detail now, but I've read your reply at the end of break at work, so this quick message is the best I can do for now!
All platforms
Established Member
No probs - i will see what i can do to unlock more info! Lets face it, to utilise an ALR and unlock its full potential its no use pootling about in a 50 mile radius of somewhere - it demands a grand adventure which i am absolutely sure you have had. Great swathes of the UK were covered but with the secondary goal of red penning some missing stock did you find that became the main goal as time went on? Finding unticked/unpenned stock with a first class service can't always be easy at certain locations perhaps, so how challenging did you find this? Its a great feeling to reduce targets but i am unsure just how much you have still to go. I sometime wish there was a resource out there where we can share our wants and successes. It would probably be way too unwieldy to achieve in reality so perhaps not. A top 10 requirement might work though?
I digress, not being in a position to warrant 7 days away from home currently it is probably premature to start planning something but if it didn't cover both Penzance and Inverness (at least the first time i succumbed to the lure) i would be lying.... I have just spent a chunk of time re-reading your Day 1 report to remind me of your goals for the week and hadn't appreciated how much freestyling was going on. My tiny mind can't seem to retain as much info as it once could so i needed to refresh and find that you have anticipated quite a few queries by predicting them and putting them in the original report! This is why re-reading certain books doesn't bore me too much as i don't retain the detail just the overview. I am going to read the whole shebang again later today in one sitting - it will all make a lot more sense then i'm sure.
What a week though - i am sure most peeps who shell out the big bucks for these must experience the buzz for the first half, but then keeping the same momentum for the last few days becomes more of a challenge. I am sure i would absolutely be in the same camp in this. Lots to ponder on and thanks again for the big share.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
You're most welcome I will have to re-read the whole thing too, it's nearly a month since the trip began and I'm starting to get the desire to go on a train again. Almost 3 weeks after the ALR finished, I think I might be ready to mingle with the masses on a train again, I'm not sure yet on that though.
Unfortunately I have got to this post only a few minutes before I have to go to work, so a full-on response will have to wait. I can tell you that it was a big adventure, but I hadn't planned quite as much red-penning as I ended up doing. I had expected much more exploring, but in fairness at times the weather just didn't behave enough to do so. I probably should have just braved it anyway in Dorset, but it is what it is now.
My wants list is huge, not as big as it was and most of my list is formed of the newer fleets. If I took out everything from the 345s and newer, my list would be significantly smaller. There are exceptions though, the 455s I never got close to cleared and a lot of them have now gone. 456s were similar, as are the 465s and 466s. There's also too many 375s and 377s on my list to be satisfied with that, and don't even ask about how many 450s I want! I still want some 155s for that matter!
One thing that I definitely did do though was such a trip before the opportunity to do so is gone forever. What it will be that stops me doing so again, I don't know as this has not yet materialised, but if it is what I think it might be then I'm perfectly happy with that. As far as I'm concerned, I never need to do an ALR again, and I still don't think I could stomach a 14 day ALR anyway. A First Class ALR for 14 days would be interesting, and maybe something that could be done in the distant future when the body is too worn out to do a lot of exploring. It might even be something I do as part of an adventure in good company, but that's not entirely likely. All I know is that I took advantage of the chance to do it, and I'm looking forward to finding out what is about to change!
For now, I really must fly though, work begins in less than 30 minutes!
I will have to re-read the whole thing too, it's nearly a month since the trip began and I'm starting to get the desire to go on a train again. Almost 3 weeks after the ALR finished, I think I might be ready to mingle with the masses on a train again, I'm not sure yet on that though.Unfortunately I have got to this post only a few minutes before I have to go to work, so a full-on response will have to wait. I can tell you that it was a big adventure, but I hadn't planned quite as much red-penning as I ended up doing. I had expected much more exploring, but in fairness at times the weather just didn't behave enough to do so. I probably should have just braved it anyway in Dorset, but it is what it is now.
My wants list is huge, not as big as it was and most of my list is formed of the newer fleets. If I took out everything from the 345s and newer, my list would be significantly smaller. There are exceptions though, the 455s I never got close to cleared and a lot of them have now gone. 456s were similar, as are the 465s and 466s. There's also too many 375s and 377s on my list to be satisfied with that, and don't even ask about how many 450s I want! I still want some 155s for that matter!
One thing that I definitely did do though was such a trip before the opportunity to do so is gone forever. What it will be that stops me doing so again, I don't know as this has not yet materialised, but if it is what I think it might be then I'm perfectly happy with that. As far as I'm concerned, I never need to do an ALR again, and I still don't think I could stomach a 14 day ALR anyway. A First Class ALR for 14 days would be interesting, and maybe something that could be done in the distant future when the body is too worn out to do a lot of exploring. It might even be something I do as part of an adventure in good company, but that's not entirely likely. All I know is that I took advantage of the chance to do it, and I'm looking forward to finding out what is about to change!
For now, I really must fly though, work begins in less than 30 minutes!
shredder1
Established Member
What an enjoyable read, you write in far more detail than me, it makes enjoyable reading and also brings back my memories of UK ALR`s back in the day. Overnight sleepers to Milford Haven, Barrow and Stranraer, even Glasgow Queen Street to Inverness had a sleeper service in the 70`s, I can remember freezing in a mark 1 and didnt get any sleep, but a bunk around Inverness depot soon made me feel better. Sorry to hear about the LNER brekkie, I must admit the brekkies in Europe are quite good.
Ayman Ilham
Member
If only non-London-centric sleepers could make a comeback, maybe something along the lines of Manchester to Inverness (via York from the terminus platforms to avoid the notorious Castlefield Corridor) or Penzance. It would be a good idea to create a new market for people in the North to travel to the far-reaches of the country, not just London. New overnight coach routes have opened from Manchester (Flixbus to Paris) and Birmingham (NatEx to Penzance), why not trains (okay, anything outside the UK like Paris is obviously out, but what about Devon/Cornwall or even North Scotland)?
This discussion pops up every so often. Essentially:
1) the market is tiny (and comfortably covered by overnight coaches)
2) the costs of such an operation are huge
Bear in mind that the Caledonian sleeper loses over £100 per passenger….
Ayman Ilham
Member
Oh wow, imagine how much the Night Riviera would be losing if that's the case!
Techniquest
Veteran Member
I meant to get back to you properly yesterday, but I have more time today. Especially as the fog is in town, which has disrupted my plan to go cycling. 66km to do in order to clear the 400km challenge this month, so it's annoying that I can't go out yet but there's thankfully a day off tomorrow! Let's get a proper reply done then:
Frustratingly, yes. Perhaps that was always the plan subconsciously, to have one last big blow-out. More exploring would have been great, equally so there were a lot of railway things done. Touring some of Scotland's beautiful scenery on HSTs in First Class was incredible, and every so often I wonder if I would have been better off doing a Spirit of Scotland and connecting journeys.
However it's worth noting that I am still glad I did the ALR, I won't get a chance to do another one and to be honest I don't know if I want to do one like that again anyway.
With much experience of the UK railway, I knew roughly where it's just Standard Class trains, so that wasn't too bad. Places like the West Highland Line are Standard Class only, so I didn't take a trip up one of the UK's most scenic lines. Another I would love to go and do again is the Kyle of Lochalsh line, but I have that one planned for a tour of Skye.
There is an annual red-pen thread on the forum, same for stations and new track, even new sights. I normally only frequent the red pen thread, given I don't really do stations these days. We have some discussion in said thread, nothing like a trip report of course but you might enjoy the Shack Attack thread
I have always said, and always will, that part of the fun with an ALR is the freedom to change plans on the fly. To rock up at York with the intention of heading to Newcastle but caving to impulse and going for a trip across the Pennines instead, or whatever it might be.
I think you'd enjoy an ALR given it'll be your first one, and you'd get a whole ton of track done for that part of your mission. There is something special about holding such a ticket in your hands, especially so if it's been a while since your last journey. That's what I did, after 19 days between one train and another the magic was back.
Similarly, that applied on Sunday just gone, I was on the way to Gloucester on a ride to do my first trains in 3 weeks. With the news that the GTi HSTs are starting to be withdrawn very soon, only in limited numbers to begin with, I was going to combine some HST action with a big cycling adventure. That was until I suffered a bang in the front tyre shortly after leaving a supply mission in Tesco Ledbury, so it became a bit of a 'distress purchase' for a Ledbury to Hereford journey with GWR. It did feel a bit special after 3 weeks away from the rails at least!
10 years ago, I would have kept that buzz all the way through, and I remember ending the 2011 and 2012 ALRs happy. Well, the last bit of the 2012 one less so by the time I got to Hereford on a 172, but that was after 2 weeks of touring and it was my first time away from home for so long. So I was clearly not wanting it to end, and in fairness it was at a time when I was so far from maturity I can't believe how much so!
I think if someone gave me, right now, 2 weeks off and a 14 day First Class ALR, I think I would go with it. I would prefer to spend 2 weeks exploring the world instead though, it must be said!
That's quite a few sleeper/all-night trains that have gone! Once upon a time I'd have been wanting to do such a thing, I wouldn't like going without a bed for the night now though!
I'd love to do a trip report that didn't go into such detail, but I don't think that will ever happen. It would take so much of the effort out of it all, perhaps I should go back to writing it up after the event like I used to, rather than typing up notes as I go. Food for thought! Glad you enjoyed the read
I have to agree, as nice as the idea sounds of all-night trains on cross-country routes, it just would not be sensible. I'd not use such a train terribly often personally, I like my day train and hotel combination too much.
Quite, the existing sleeper trains don't even appear on my radar! In January, I'm doing London to Inverness (one of the parts of the trip is now delayed, ugh) but I immediately jumped onto BA and got an amazing deal. Return flights for £90 with a few pence change (hold luggage included) and two nights in a high quality hotel for £110, a far superior deal to anything the Cally Insomnie can offer me!
Put simply, I didn't even think of the sleeper until some time after I booked the flights. When I realised I could have done that, the over-riding feeling was 'oh well, never mind'!
shredder1
Established Member
Yes it would make sense, they event built the Nightstar sleeper rake of coaches at one point and sold them cheaply to Canada, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightstar_(train)
shredder1
Established Member
"That's quite a few sleeper/all-night trains that have gone! Once upon a time I'd have been wanting to do such a thing, I wouldn't like going without a bed for the night now though!
I'd love to do a trip report that didn't go into such detail, but I don't think that will ever happen. It would take so much of the effort out of it all, perhaps I should go back to writing it up after the event like I used to, rather than typing up notes as I go. Food for thought! Glad you enjoyed the read"
In September I did 8 days on a Interrail in Norway, Sweden and Denmark and slept on the trains every night, no sleepers just on the cushions and then showered in the stations the next mornings, I slept well each night from memory, but Im a light sleeper these days and keep funny hours when Im travelling
I'd love to do a trip report that didn't go into such detail, but I don't think that will ever happen. It would take so much of the effort out of it all, perhaps I should go back to writing it up after the event like I used to, rather than typing up notes as I go. Food for thought! Glad you enjoyed the read
"In September I did 8 days on a Interrail in Norway, Sweden and Denmark and slept on the trains every night, no sleepers just on the cushions and then showered in the stations the next mornings, I slept well each night from memory, but Im a light sleeper these days and keep funny hours when Im travelling
xotGD
Established Member
- Joined
- 4 Feb 2017
- Messages
- 7,904
That's what it's all about! Proper bashing!
- Status