Keith goes wandering

[Keith Jarrett]

Monday 1st February 2016 – What a Pleasant Surprise!

Having the usual couple of hours free after work, I made the decision to go chasing Underground units for 10 miles. I felt that the evening peak might be the best chance to bag the few remaining sets of 1972 tube stock that I wanted so I pitched up at Embankment immediately after work and resigned myself to a long wait.

But second train up was formed 3432+3236. Well that’s one that I need (3432) and a rattle up to Queens Park was the order of the day. Queens Park is a reasonable place to observe the comings and goings on the Bakerloo Line along with a smattering of 378s to keep you on your toes. Sets of 1972ts were arriving and departing at a decent frequency but nothing matched my wants list until 3466+3238 arrived from the south. 3466 was needed for a few miles to clear it for the requisite 10 miles.

First though, I had to wait for the terminating train to be turned out, go into the north end car sheds, the driver to change ends and to re-emerge in service. This all took about 10 minutes but at least having the working timetable with me, I knew how long I’d have to wait! Bang on cue 3238+3466 came back out of the car sheds and yours truly promptly leapt aboard. Two down, two to go. Or so I thought. The Bakerloo does not seem to be the fastest of tube lines and it seemed to take an age before I bailed at Regents Park with 3466 now over 10 miles. Now the wait began. All of the sets that I had not seen in traffic were behind me so out came the deckchair! After about 25 minutes, 3454 shows up with partner (which I forgot to log) - that was my last three car unit. I hopped on and went through to Elephant & Castle. But 3454 had still to stagger over the 10-mile barrier – a Bus Stop Bash was all that was needed so achieve the requisite mileage so I returned back to Waterloo. Here I waited for the last two sets that I had not seen. Alas no signs of 3267; my last Bakerloo Line unit required for 10 miles.

I thought nothing more of it and went upstairs to the mainline platforms with a view towards turning for home. A suitably placed 455+456+456 combo on a stopper to Hampton Court seemed infinitely more attractive than the standard fayre of 2*455. 5725+456006+456023 were taken as far as Wimbledon. The journey was noticeable by some chap obviously trying to deal with a distressed ladyfriend because all you could hear was “Charlotte this, Charlotte that …. Now don’t be silly blah blah Charlotte this, Charlotte that …” Message to Charlotte’s boyfriend – keep your conversations personal and don’t share them with everyone!

On the way back home from Wimbledon (had to be the bus as no Thameslink due), while happy at the thought of getting three out of four 1972ts that were sub the 10-mile marks, I was disappointed not to pick up the last one. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. When I got back home and marked up the mileages in The Haulage Book, I noticed that my spreadsheet was not properly pulling through the correct totals for some of the 1972ts sets that had been renumbered. 3264/65/66/67 and 3464/65/66/67 were all renumbered back in the 1990s when some redundant Northern Line 1972ts was sent over to the Bakerloo to maintain a common sequence. Once I had corrected the formulae in my master spreadsheet, I found that the mileage for 3267 vastly exceeded 10 miles as I had previously had some trips with it when it was numbered 3210 and patrolling the Northern Line. Excellent new as far as I was concerned – I have now cleared every set of 1972 tube stock, including the reformed sets (3299 and 3266), for 10 miles. As a result, 1972ts joins 1967ts, 1995ts, C69/C77 and D78 as all being cleared for 10 miles.

 

[Techniquest]

Very much well done there! Personally if it had been me, 3210's renumbering would have meant I started again with the mileage. Same (for example) for 168322, it's previous mileage as 170302 stays with 170302 and I've reset the clock.

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on getting Angelic Road into the book, didn't you fancy staying around to sample the delights of the scrapyard?

Plus on the Bakerloo stock, it might be slow but does make a good noise

 

[jayalongtheway]

1972ts joins 1967ts, 1995ts, C69/C77 and D78 as all being cleared for 10 miles

Wow, what an achievement!

 

[FQ]

Congrats!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Sunday 7th February 2016 – It’s Party Time

One of my longest standing friends had the dubious honour of turning 60 last week and he opted to celebrate the passing of the years by treating us all to Sunday Lunch followed by a spin on the Bluebell Railway. Unfortunately, Mrs KJ had to send her apologies as she was unable to arrange a shift swap.

As I don’t drive, my mate offered to give me a lift from his nearest station to the Bluebell. With the service on the Brighton Main Line thinned out due to various weekend engineering works, I opted to ditch the usual route via Wimbledon and Clapham Junction in favour of using Tramlink to East Croydon. Having bussed it up to Morden Road Tram Stop, I had a substantial wait before 2542 showed up. Passing Therapia Lane depot, I could see at least five Stadler trams parked up so I was not too hopeful of finding any winners today. I bailed off 2542 at Centrale and almost immediately behind was 2558 – at least I’ll get one Stadler in today. Conscious that I had to get to Three Bridges at a fixed time so as not to hold my mate up going to his own birthday party, I went through to Woodside before bailing and a short wait for 2533 back to East Croydon.

Thameslink was its normal shambles regarding timekeeping so I ended up on the Southern service behind with 377441+377445 which conveyed me to Three Bridges. My mate was just arriving in his car - good planning or what? Thirty-five minutes later and having travelled many of the Sussex lanes, we arrive at Sheffield Park, the Bluebells southern terminus. The plan was lunch in the restaurant at the Bluebell followed by a train ride. Sunday lunch was of the carvery type and all of the guests - over 30 of us – all commented that it was top notch. Then came the best bit; our ride on the train. I’d been keeping an eye on the Bluebell’s loco roster and it looked as though I might end up with a dud. But walking out of the restaurant, I could not see any tank locos in steam, only a tender loco; more importantly it was a winning loco!

As we clambered aboard into our reserved carriage, I instinctively made for a window while most of the guests (who Tech would class as “normals”) politely took their seats. My winning loco was 73082 which became the second BR Standard Class 5 to enter The Haulage Book. As we progressed northwards, two large birthday cakes were produced for my mate and he responded by producing a suitably quantity of drink. After a couple of renditions of “Happy Birthday” and the threat (not carried out) of 60 bumps, the cake was distributed and the drink began to flow. Back on the rails now guys. At Horsted Keynes we passed the other train in service and I wanted that loco as well – but that will have to wait for another time. Then came the fun part – for me at least. It was over 20 years since I had visited the Bluebell at that time trains did not run north of Kingscote so I was in line for some new track into East Grinstead. Arriving at the Bluebell’s northern terminus, I was surprised how basic the station was – just a single platform with run round loop. The adjacent National Rail station seemed to be full of Southern 377s which were going nowhere on account of engineering work. I then racked my brain as to when I was last in East Grinstead and all the old memory would tell me was “a long time ago” so I made a mental note to check The Haulage Book when I got home. The check revealed only one previously recorded visit to East Grinstead and that was 7th April 1979 when I visited with 50016 Barham on the Southern Invader railtour.

Getting back to year 2016, 73082 ran round the set of five Mark 1 coaches and set off back to Sheffield Park. I took in all the work that the Bluebell had done in order to reach its goal of East Grinstead and in particular, the excavation of Imberhorne cutting. It did not seem long before we were back at Sheffield Park and effectively the party was over. My mate said farewell to his guests and we set off back towards Three Bridges. On the approach to Three Bridges, he took a slight deviation to show me the new Thameslink depot and in the distance we could see two 700 class units. Hopefully it will not be long before they’re in traffic and I can add a new class to The Haulage Book!

I was deposited at Three Bridges station and had two minutes to get to the platforms for a northbound train. 377207+377506 provided the traction. The original intention had been to return to East Croydon and see if I could find any required trams but I was distracted passing Gatwick Sidings as 387127 plus friend were present (the 387 being required for 10 miles). Not having enough time to check RTT before Gatwick station, I bailed lest they might be on the move shortly. However, I could not identify any Thameslink moves in the near future but by then the 377 duo had been and gone. It was not until I entered up my travels in The Haulage Book, did I realise that in the short journey from Three Bridges to Gatwick, both 377s tipped the 100 mile scales. Brucie bonus or what? I had only a couple of minutes to wait before 377430+377465 showed up to convey me to East Croydon where I bade farewell to the National Rail network.

Leaving East Croydon, I espied 2558 heading to Elmers End but could not get to it and that sighting was closely followed by 2555 heading for West Croydon. At least 2555 would be back within ten minutes. No other Stadler Tams appeared until 2555 chugged up the slope from Croydon Town Centre when I then saw 2562 heading for Wimbledon. But I was in position for 2555 so took that to Arena to meet 2558 coming back from its trip to Elmers End. The game was mileage accumulation in the absence of any winners so 2558 was taken back to Croydon and around the loop and retracing my steps, I bailed at Addiscombe where 2558 cleared for 10 miles. Thankfully, the dodgy -1 on to 2555 made so it was a quick dash to the opposite platform. I scrambled onto 2555 for the second time in the afternoon and headed for Central Croydon. Again I stayed on around the loop – a Revenue Protection Officer who I had seen earlier gave me a funny look when asking to see my ticket again – after all, you probably don’t get many cranks doing mileage jobs on the Tram network! I had to go back to Arena in order to clear 2555 for 10 miles but that suited me fine as I knew that I would in all likelihood drop onto 2562 which I had seen working earlier. A dud 2538 conveyed me back to Sandilands where, by my calculations I had between four & seven minutes wait for my final prey. It ended up being the seven minutes wait for an almost empty 2562 heading for Therapia Lane depot. I stuck with 2562 all the way until Therapia Lane and knowing that there were no more Stadlers out, I simply waited for the next tram, 2540, to take me to Morden Road and the bus homewards.

I’d had a very enjoyable day out, particularly celebrating my long standing mate’s birthday but there were other bonuses too. A new loco, albeit of the tea making variety, some new track [Ed: don’t forget that East Grinstead (Bluebell) is a shack score!], breaching the 100-mile barrier with two more 377s and getting my first two Stadler Trams over 10 miles. In fact, a fab day out!

To round off, here’s a list of the day’s moves

2542 Morden Road to Centrale ---
2558 Centrale to Woodside ---
2533 Woodside to East Croydon ---
377441+377445 East Croydon to Three Bridges ---
73082 Sheffield Park to East Grinstead New, cleared for 10 miles
73082 East Grinstead to Sheffield Park ---
377207+377506 Three Bridges to Gatwick Airport Both cleared for 100 miles
377430+377465 Gatwick Airport to East Croydon ---
2555 East Croydon to Arena ---
2558 Arena to Centrale ---
2558 Centrale to Addiscombe Cleared for 10 miles
2555 Addiscombe to Centrale ---
2555 Centrale to Arena Cleared for 10 miles
2538 Arena to Sandilands ---
2562 Sandilands to Therapia Lane ---
2540 Therapia Lane to Morden Road ---

Milestones
Winners 73082
Cleared for 10 miles 73082, Trams - 2555, 2558
Cleared for 100 miles 377207, 377506
New Shacks East Grinstead (Bluebell Railway)

 

[Kite159]

What no 387201 yet? :-P

Sounds like a good day out, I wonder if that tram RPI handed out many PFs that day

 

[FQ]

Sounds like a fun day! Shame it was a kettle that was the winner and not some excellent diesel but a winner's a winner.

 

[Techniquest]

A nice little day out there. I need the Bluebell line in its entirety, one day I'm going to get down there and colour it green in my Baker, but that seems a long way off yet. That was quite the gap between one visit and the next to East Grinstead!

Nice bit of work on getting more stuff done for 10 miles too, and quite a Brucie Bonus indeed on clearing two more 377s for 100 miles!

 

[James Wake]

A nice little day out there. I need the Bluebell line in its entirety, one day I'm going to get down there and colour it green in my Baker, but that seems a long way off yet. That was quite the gap between one visit and the next to East Grinstead!

Nice bit of work on getting more stuff done for 10 miles too, and quite a Brucie Bonus indeed on clearing two more 377s for 100 miles!

How about on the Diesel weekend, lots of GBRf locos. I should be there in the Saturday.

Keith glad you enjoyed your trip on Camelot, the only loco I didn't work behind at our Giants of Steam gala, still for me to do. And visiting one of my local station, Three Bridges.

 

[Techniquest]

When's that diesel weekend? I would be down on the Sunday no doubt due to work commitments.

 

[James Wake]

The Sunday is the 17th April. I should be there working on the Saturday.

 

[Techniquest]

Cheers, I'll try and remember to arrange travel for that!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

How about on the Diesel weekend, lots of GBRf locos. I should be there in the Saturday.

Keith glad you enjoyed your trip on Camelot, the only loco I didn't work behind at our Giants of Steam gala, still for me to do. And visiting one of my local station, Three Bridges.

I've visited Three Bridges countless times over the years with several purposes -
1. Visiting my mate whose party it was last week -at one time I was going down almost every weekend to help him build his model railway
2. I used to have to go to the old Paymaster Generals Office nearby on business at one point
3. To get to the old Crawley Swapmeet that used to be held in the leisure centre
4. As an unwilling attendee of the regular bus rallies that are held at TBD - i.e. changing to/from rail replacement buses

I'm very tempted by Diesel Gala at the Bluebell but Saturday is the least likely day for me to attend. Friday is looking like a possibility but it all depends whether I can secure some time away from work.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Friday 19th February 2016 – Tough Going

It seemed like a good idea at the time – at least to me. Take a Friday afternoon off of work and try to clear up some of those irritations in and around The Smoke that require a bit of effort. No, I had absolutely zero thoughts of heading to the North London Line and looking for 378s. Instead, my targets were a certain quartet of 317s operating out of Liverpool Street with my last two GN 317s as back up should I get lucky and clear things up early. “A quartet of 317s?” I hear the faithful reader ask. Yes, the three Greater Anglia 317s and the last remaining Overground 317 that have still to reach the 10-mile status. And amongst that bundle of fun is a 317 that is still required outright.

Leaving work and making my way to Embankment tube station, the first train up was a Circle Line via Liverpool Street. That would save a trek through the subways of Embankment to get to the Northern Line followed by a hike at Tottenham Court Road to the Central Line – it’s been an absolute age since I’d done that interchange so I’d have to play tourist and follow the signs; no shortcuts for me! I also had a few West Anglia units which whilst over 10 miles, had not featured in The Haulage book for at least 10 years. The eagle-eyed amongst you will note that the criteria for long-term absence used to be set at “prior to 1 January 2000” but following a review, I decided that 10 years is more than ample to be Absent Without Haulage for passenger carrying multiple units. S-7 21339+21340 provided the traction around the Inner Rail of the Circle Line to Liverpool Street – I’d rather hoped for a winning set of S-7 stock but I suppose that was greed given that 21509+21510 had made themselves known to my notebook on the way into work only a few hours previously.

Arriving at Liverpool Street, I immediately espied a 315 that fell into the Absent Without Haulage category – 315810 being the offending unit. This particular unit had not been worthy of an entry in The Haulage Book for over a quart of a century. Its last appearance was in July 1989 when I had it from Hertford East to Rye House with the latter being a shack score! 315810 was bound for Chingford and I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to go all the way to Chingford and see whether my Overground 317 was hiding in the sidings. I’ve often ventured up the Chingford branch but it has been many a year since I have been all the way to the end – The Haulage Book tells me that it was way back in 1985 [Ed: 26th May to be precise] when I had 315860 there and back. Ironically, it was also in the early afternoon that I made the trip all those years ago!

After the stagger to Chingford, I wondered what I might see. I did not even have to look as far as the carriage sidings as my prey was sitting in the platforms coupled to 317732 – while I was pleased to see 317732, I was far more interested in looking at 317709. A quick dash across to the waiting 317s and it was not long before we were on the move. I opted to stick with the 317 pairing of 317709+317732 all the way back to Liverpool Street and 317709 tipped the 10 mile scales in the process. 317709 was also a long term absentee from The Haulage Book (last had 2 October 1994) and required for current number. Good score all round!
On my way into work that morning, I caught sight of my last 465 that I needed for 10 miles. A quick check of the southeastern Carriage Working Notice revealed that it should go ECS to Victoria before taking a well-earned rest in Grosvenor Carriage Shed before coming out to play again around 15:15. While I was supposed to be concentrating on getting West Anglia stuff, I could not let my last 465 slip the net so I left Liverpool Street and went over to Victoria – 92029+92052+92176+92015 to Oxford Circus followed by 11039+11040 to Victoria. I arrived at Victoria just as the ECS was coming out of Grosvenor Shed. I was not pleased to see 465917 bringing up the rear. I was expecting 465924! I did not have the CWN with me so I could not even hazard a guess as to what my 465 might have done instead. That mortal blow set the tone for the rest of the afternoon – it was going to be tough going.

I retraced my steps to Liverpool Street with 11039+11040 (again) to Oxford Circus – at least that allowed 11040 to clear 10 miles. 92007+920218+92224+92163 took me forward to Liverpool Street and while the front two sets were dud, the rear two managed to stagger over the 10-mile barrier by the time I had returned to Liverpool Street. More importantly, I had lost over an hour’s worth of 317 workings so could not cover all the off peak workings before the rush hour only units emerged from their daytime siesta. The last thing I wanted to do was to sit at Liverpool Street so a sill in move to Hackney Downs was undertaken, going out with 317719+317892. This would also allow me to observe a couple of ECS moves before they reached The Street. But I had all of three minutes to wait at Hackney Downs before 315813 arrived with an interesting unit tagging on for the ride – 315804! This particular unit was definitely not in the mileage requirement category (over 50 on the clock) but it was by this stage of the afternoon, the only Overground 315 that still fell into the Absent Without Haulage category. I had no choice but to head straight back to Liverpool Street with 315804+315813.

This turned out to be a good move as we ran up alongside a pair of 317s – 317887+317891. While my mileage requirements were noticeable by their absence, it seemed that the Absent Without Haulage 317s were not nearly as shy. All the way up to Liverpool Street, we played tag with the 317 duo and in the end, the 315s edged it. Upon arrival, I walked round to the 317s as 317887 was on my target list – it’s only previous entry in The Haulage Book was 20 years ago almost to the day when I had it new as 317330 from Kings Cross to Hatfield so I had another renumbering hit on my hands. It was not long before 317887+317891 left full of commuters. First stop was Cambridge Heath and that’s where I went.

Within minutes 317708+317890 arrived to take me back to Liverpool Street. Then I had to do a double take. Were my eyes deceiving me? 317504 had appeared! At last, one of mileage requirements with only a couple of Bus Stop Bashes to its credit, I simply had to sort this out. Thankfully by now I’d seen the majority of the 317 workings so I could afford to go the reasonable distance. This unit was on a weird working – Greater Anglia stock on a London Overground working but it seems to be regular as after a return trip to Cheshunt via Seven Sisters it then goes to Hertford East via the more normal route of Tottenham Hale. I boarded 317504+317658 (the latter being totally dud) for an all stations run up to Edmonton Green clearing 317504 for the requisite 10 miles in the process. Here I had a quick dash through the subway saw me dive into the closing doors of 315812+315817. Instead of heading back to Liverpool, Street, I bailed at Seven Sisters for a Bus Stop Bash on the Victoria Line with 11079+11080 to Tottenham Hale. This move would allow me to see the Greater Anglia services to & from Stratford, just in case my last two 317s were hiding out there. I also had my sights set on a certain shack on the Lea Valley line which while outside Greater London, is still within the Travelcard zones. Trains through Tottenham Hale were running slightly late which meant that I was able to scramble onto 317663+317664 for the run up to Waltham Cross and the first (and only) shack score of the day. The theoretical +8 had been reduced to about a +3 but that was still plenty of time to leap over the footbridge to await the arrival of 317656 to return me to Tottenham Hale. I still had a few 317 diagrams to see so I set up camp on the off chance that I’d score. I seemed to be letting a good number of 379 hits go but today was all about 317s.

After an hour, I’d seen all the 317 workings so resolved to take the next train to Liverpool Street. This appeared almost spot on time – the first train through Tottenham Hale in an hour that had been right time – and no, I did not have a 379 mileage requirement. Neither was it one of the two offending 317s that I wanted. Instead I was blessed with 317513+317515 for the six-mile journey back to The Street. 317513 was of no interest in any way to me save being a requirement for the year but 317515 was more interesting as it fell into the Absent Without Haulage category. Like 317887 from earlier, it had been absent from The Haulage Book for 20 years after scoring it new from Hatfield to Kings Cross when numbered 317320. In fact, 317320 (317515) and 317330 (317887) had been scored new on the same day back in February 1996 and then 20 years later both succumb as renumber hits.

After a good run back to Liverpool Street, I decided to throw the towel in. Logic would dictate that my route home would entail the Northern Line from Bank but London Underground had other ideas. I went down to the Central Line but could not board the first train due to a huge gaggle of suitcase wielding folk blocking the platform. Having successfully negotiated the blockage, I made my way down the platform and within the seconds the next train was rolling in. As usual, I logged down the four 92xxx numbers on my notepad before boarding but one looked rather familiar [Ed: don’t you mean unfamiliar?]. 92034 was the offending number. Then very slowly, the penny dropped – “My Lords, we have a winner!”. Given that I only need six (now five) sets of 1992ts, I was rather pleased with myself. I had to do 92034 justice so rather than taking 92123+92034+92008+92159 for a Bus Stop Bash to Bank, I stayed on to Oxford Circus. Switching to the Victoria Line, 11005+11006 showed up to take me south to Stockwell with 11005 clearing 10 miles. Finally, 1995ts 51528+51529 took me on to Morden and home.

On the last leg home I reflected on the afternoon/evening. OK, it was not the string of successes that I usually seem to have but there were some positives. Another two 317s cleared for 10 miles, three renumber hits as well as a good number of Absent Without Haulage units eliminated from my lists. There was the downer of my last 465 not doing as the Carriage Working Book suggested but the cherry on top of the cake has to be a winner 1992ts unit, 336 down and only five to go!

Here’s a list of the day’s moves -

21339+21340 Embankment to Liverpool Street ---
315810 Liverpool Street to Chingford ---
317709+317732 Chingford to Liverpool Street 317709 cleared for 10 miles
92029+92052+92176+92015 Liverpool Street to Oxford Circus ---
11039+11040 Oxford Circus to Victoria ---
11039+11040 Victoria to Oxford Circus 11040 cleared for 10 miles
92007+92218+92224+92163 Oxford Circus to Liverpool Street 92163/92224 cleared for 10 miles
317719+317892 Liverpool Street to Hackney Downs ---
315804+315813 Hackney Downs to Liverpool Street ---
317887+317891 Liverpool Street to Cambridge Heath ---
317708+317890 Cambridge Heath to Liverpool Street ---
317504+317658 Liverpool Street to Edmonton Green Cleared for 10 miles
315812+315817 Edmonton Green to Seven Sisters ---
11079+11080 Seven Sisters to Tottenham Hale ---
317663+317664 Tottenham Hale to Waltham Cross ---
317656 Waltham Cross to Tottenham Hale ---
317513+317515 Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street ---
92123+92034+92008+92159 Liverpool Street to Oxford Circus 92034 new
11005+11006 Oxford Circus to Stockwell 11005 cleared for 10 miles
51528+51529 Stockwell to Morden ---

Milestones
Winners 1992ts - 92034
Cleared for 10 miles 317504, 317709, 1992ts - 92163, 92224, 2009ts - 11005, 11040
First time current number 317504, 317515, 317887
New Shacks Waltham Cross

 

[Techniquest]

Despite the 465 not producing as booked, it still went well thankfully, and that 92ts producing must have been most welcome!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Saturday 20th February 2016 – A Night on the Town

Finding myself with a completely spare evening, I decided that it was no good staying at home when I could be roaming the rails. The weather was sort of decent for the time of the year and there was an annoying itch or five on the boundaries of Zones two and three which needed to be scratched. Three months ago, I had a major clear-out of DLR shacks and ended up needing just five all clustered in the Stratford area. I recollect Techniquest commenting on my trip report that clearing the last few should only take an hour or so and would be ideally suited for a post-work jolly. But opportunities for those post-work jollies do not seem to have been as frequent as I would have liked so when presented with a whole evening, I immediately thought that I should get those DLR shacks out of the way.

As the whole evening involved travelling around The Smoke on the Underground and the DLR, I am going to adopts a slightly different type of trip reporting.

1995 tube stock 51513+51514 Morden to Bank – At Bank I dived down the stairs from the Northern Line platforms just to see a Lewisham train disappearing out of the platform

DLR 112+115+150 Bank to Westferry

DLR 56+76 Westferry to Canning Town – Switching from the high level DLR platforms to the low level is a bit of a hike and if my last DLR bash (21 November 2015) was anything to go by, I was certain to miss a train. Thankfully the Railway Gods were smiling on me this time and I had a three minute wait.

DLR 41+25 Canning Town to Stratford High Street – I missed Stratford High Street on that last trip as a result of a unit failure so this time, I wanted to make sure of it. A little annoying in that 41 is one of a smallish number of DLR units cleared for 10 miles but at least 25 was still required. And Stratford High Street is annoying as when it’s a 10 minute service, trains more or less pass here and it takes a good 30 seconds or more to switch platforms. So I took the easy option and did a linear bash, waiting the 10 minutes for the next train.

DLR 128+146 Stratford High Street to Stratford - A bit of a Bus Stop Bash which I probably could have walked if I was bothered. Anyway, after the thrilling (?) short journey, I orientate myself to the other set of DLR platforms (4A & 4B)

DLR 122+142 Stratford 4A/B to All Saints – Last time I used this branch of the DLR into Stratford was many years ago when trains were still running into the old platform 4 which was a bay at the London end of the up Great Eastern platform. Since then the alignment from west of Pudding Mill Lane has changed to accommodate Crossrail so technically it’s new track for me and with All Saints a shack score along with DLR 122 clearing for 10 miles, nothing but smiles all round!

DLR 65+72 All Saints to Devons Road – A quick dash over to the other platform sees me heading back to my third shack score of the evening at Devons Road where I listen out for the sound of diesels at the nearby shed but one slight problem – I’m over 50 years too late as the shed closed in 1964!

DLR 107+141 Devons Road to Langdon Park – Langdon Park is shack score number four and as the trains cross here, I just ambled over the footbridge to wait for the following train. Not too bad though as it’s a five-minute headway on the DLR tonight.

DLR 122+142 Langdon Park to Pudding Mill Lane – Pudding Mill Lane is my final DLR shack score of the evening and in fact the last on the current network. I never did get the original shack in which was on a different alignment.

DLR 15+59 Pudding Mill Lane to Stratford – Trains cross at Pudding Mill Lane so no chance if you wanted to double-back but I was on a linear bash so not a problem for me.

92057+92446+62264+92047 Stratford to St Pauls – 92264 and 92047 clear for 10 miles

92031+92128+92148+92327 St Pauls to White City – The train terminated in the middle platform so I could go no further with these mileage requirements.

92245+92020+92126+92075 White City to North Acton – A micro-grice here as the train terminated in platform 2 at North Acton; a first for me.

92217+92150+92452+92225 North Acton to Notting Hill Gate – Allowed me to clear 92217, 92150 and 92452 for 10 miles.

92027+92252+92134+92103 Notting Hill Gate to Marble Arch – 92134 & 92103 cleared for 10 miles.

92107+92158+92226+92219 Marble Arch to Ealing Broadway – All bar 92158 cleared for 10 miles. I risked the +1 at Ealing Broadway. I had about 30 seconds in the end to dash across the platform.

92141+92341+92044+92343 Ealing Broadway to Holborn – All cleared for 10 miles.

92227+92220+92098+92081 Holborn to Liverpool Street – 92220 cleared for 10 miles

92085+92140+92138+92169 Liverpool Street to Oxford Circus – 92138 & 92169 cleared for 10 miles

2009ts 11033+11034 Oxford Circus to Stockwell

1995ts 51652+51653 Stockwell to Morden – Home!

Well that was another big itch now fully scratched with all the DLR shacks out of the way as well as scoring the new alignment in & around Stratford. Add in seventeen more sets of 1992 tube stock cleared for 10 miles [Ed: Only 269 more to get!] and I certainly went home happy. I’ll definitely have to do another evening bash again – so much better than starting out in the full blown rush hour! So what’s next? Stay tuned and watch this space as it is not long until the first long distance trip of 2016. But where am I headed and what’s on the target list?

Milestones
Cleared for 10 miles DLR 122
1992ts – 92264, 92047, 92217, 92150, 92452, 92134, 92103, 92107, 92226, 92219, 92141, 92341, 92044, 92343, 92220, 92140, 92169
New Track Stratford 4A&B to Pudding Mill Lane
New Shacks All Saints, Devons Road, Langdon Park, Pudding Mill Lane, Stratford High Street

 

[Techniquest]

Crikey that shows how quick this year has gone, it doesn't feel like all that long since your last long distance trip!

A very productive time there had, congratulations on joining the club with all the DLR shacks. I note you say the current network, are there plans to extend it again? I never did the old Pudding Mill Lane either, through it of course but never actually stepped off onto the old platform.

Quite the tidy little clearout all in, and your 10 mile requiremente are only 5 less than my outright winners! Talking of, the 10 mile thing seems to be catching on, as I've noticed Fishquinn is doing it too and I think even the mighty Kite159 is too. I'm toying with it, but I only tend to note anything over 1,000 miles. Travelling in each and every coach on the network is enough, and I am thankfully getting there slowly with the LM network and not that far off on ATW either!

 

[FQ]

Congratulations with the DLR shacks! I am doing the 10 mile thing but not to such an extent as you, that's for sure!

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on the DLR shacks.

I've got an DLR itch so might head over to that area on Sunday (if I decide to head up to London, depends if SWT decide to replace the 23:40 to Andover with a bus from Basingstoke instead of Andover)

 

[andyb2706]

Congrats on the DLR shacks.

I can only but dream, but then again I have only just started with them.

As to the 10 mile thing I'm doing something similar but 100 miles with the Class 185 as I have ridden on them all, already have a few over that figure but need to set it up for the 333 units too, think that will be either 25 or 50 miles.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Friday 26th February 2016 – More than Halfway

With the alarm set for 05:20, that only means one thing; we’re going out on a train jolly! More importantly, it’s the first one of the year having not ventured too far from The Smoke. Those folk who know me well will be aware that I generally do not venture far before the middle of March but the East Coast seat sale was just too much of a temptation. After all, for a £10 return ticket to Yorkshire, it would simply have been rude to refuse. Making my way to Kings Cross via the Northern Line (1995ts 51591+51592) and the Victoria Line (11021+11022) I arrived in plenty of time for my train which was already boarding. I made my way up the platform to the front of the train to identify the loco – 91126 was the loco in question. While my one and only required 91 (91130) would have been preferable, 91126 had only one previous entry in The Haulage Book and that was back in 2003 when I had it new from Doncaster to Kings Cross so this was definitely one of my lower mileage machines.

After a relatively uneventful journey, I alighted at Doncaster and may my way to the ticket office and purchased a South Yorkshire Travelmaster – the whole of South Yorkshire be it Bus, Tram or Train for just £7.70 sounds like good value these days. I did not have long to wait for the single 153 turn on the Sheffield line and in rolled 153332. Unfortunately, it was dud despite no less than 13 Northern Skateboards appearing on my lists. However, I was not hanging around for a winner as there were more important things in my sights. But as soon as we left Doncaster, my plans for the day were compromised as we passed one (of three) Class 142s that I still need to heave over the 10-mile barrier. A quick consultation with RTT tells me that I will have two hours in Sheffield before it reappears, having to make a visit to Scunthorpe in the interim. Staggering on towards Sheffield, I do not pass anything else of note until just before Meadowhall, what appears to be a pair of 153s pass by heading towards Doncaster. Alas, I did not get to identify anything. As I bailed at Meadowhall, I thought nothing of this as my attention was distracted by the presence of a tram at the Meadowhall Interchange stop. I bailed off of 153332 and hot-footed it round to the tram stop – I was now in virgin territory so guaranteed a fistful of winners if I stayed put. I leapt aboard Supertram 124 and within about a minute we were on the move so that’s one tram and Meadowhall Interchange already scored. I knew that getting all the trams in one day was out of the question but I hoped to score all the track and as many shacks as possible. I stuck with 124 as far as Attercliffe where I doubled back on 103 to Carbrook. This section of the tram network runs parallel to the Rotherham Central to Woodburn Junction freight only line which I have traversed on railtours and also on a service train back in 1978. 55022 was the traction on the 29th of September for the 21:20 Bradford to Kings Cross which I recorded as being attached at Doncaster and travelling via Kilnhurst, Darnall & Lincoln to Peterborough where I alighted.

Anyway, back to 2016, I had all of 20 seconds to admire the surroundings of Carbrook before 120 rolled in to take me to Nunnery Square where this time the wait was slightly longer. I managed to get a tantalising glimpse of the first Tram-train, 399201 which had a few orange attired men crawling over it. Tram 122 soon arrived to take me to Valley Centretainment where I changed directions again and made a mad dash for 115 which I took as far as Cricket Inn Road. Here I should have passed the next tram heading back to Meadowhall Interchange but the indicator board was insistent that it was 10 minutes away. So I took a punt, fired up Google Maps and walked to the next shack, Hyde Park. Google Maps estimated seven minutes but I managed it slightly quicker than that. The indicator board was telling me that I had a tram in 3 minutes followed by one a further minute behind. 108 appeared within about three minutes and even though it was cosy, I jumped aboard. I bailed at Woodburn Road as I could see that the next service was almost immediately behind. In contrast, 123 was eerily empty and I had the conductor and one other passenger for comfort. Without realising it, I only needed two more shacks to clear the Meadowhall branch.

At Arena, 123 drew up behind the stationary tram in front. The crew of 123 alighted and went forward to talk to their counterparts on 108. After a short discussion and a call of some sort to control the conductor announced that the front tram only was going through to Meadowhall while the rear one was terminating at Arena. The crews then swapped over and ordered myself and the one other passenger onto the leading tram. As a consequence of this, I ended up scoring Arena as a Brucie bonus. I reboarded 108 and we set off towards Meadowhall but I bailed at the remaining shack in this part of town that I still needed; Tinsley/Meadowhall South. I had only a few minutes to wait for 108 to return from Meadowhall and with all shacks cleared on the Meadowhall branch, I went through to Fitzalan Square where I crossed over to the opposing platform and soon boarded 119 for the run up to Spring Lane. I was now conscious of time and did not want to go far as I had an appointment with a certain class 142 in about 15 minutes. Coming back down the hill with 116, I had enough time to split the journey in half at Park Grange Croft where 111 took me to Sheffield Station.

I still had a few minutes to wait before my required 142 came in from “sunny Scunny” so took a well-needed PNB. Emerging back onto the platforms, I espied 158816 which was one of only a few Northern 158s required for 10 miles. But a 142 will trump a 158 any day! I made a mental note of 158816’s working in case I could run into it later. Bang on cue 142089 showed its ugly mug and I leapt aboard while the unit reversed and a new crew took over. 142089 was my lowest mileage 142 as the only previous entry in The Haulage Book was a Bus Stop Bash back in June 2012 between the two Salford shacks so a good run was needed to heave it over the 10 miles. I opted to go to the extent of the Travelmaster validity at Kiveton Park. It had been a fair time since I had last been down the line towards Worksop and I hardly recognised anything. Having dealt with 142089 appropriately, I bailed at Kiveton Park for the +18 for whatever the Railway Gods deemed appropriate to take me back to Sheffield – 142016 was deemed to be appropriate. Another uneventful journey passed but on the approaches to Sheffield, a pair of 153s went by [Ed: remember them from earlier]. I managed to identify one but the other’s identity eluded me. I made a mental note that they’d be back from Lincoln in three hours so I had better get on with the trams.

Leaving 142016 behind, I made for the Sheffield Station stop and boarded 110 which I took to Arbourthorne Road. Here the indicator boards told me that a Herdings Park service was just behind so it was a short wait for 105 which thankfully allowed me to cover the Herdings Park part of the network without a huge wait as the service on this bit of the network is only half-hourly. Rather than wait for 105 to return from Herdings Park, I was able to walk to the next stop Leighton Road which of course added to the shack score. I only stuck with 105 back to the point where the branch joined the Halfway line at Gleadless Townend. As there was a reasonable wait for a service down (or should it be up?) to Halfway, a bus stop bash to Hollinshead with 109 gave me the opportunity for another shack score. 104 soon appeared to take me all the way to Halfway [Ed: KJ, you were already half way there, weren’t you?]. At Halfway the indicator board told me that the next tram was a way off so I doubled back to Donestk Way on 104, passing 121 on the way. 125 soon showed up and I did another Bus Stop Bash back to Moss Way where I boarded 121 for the journey northwards.

Time was pressing on and I was conscious that there was the 153 that would be on its way back from Lincoln so a plan was formed. Forget the remaining shacks on the Halfway branch and focus instead on getting all the track out of the way. Consequently, I stuck with 121 all the way to Malin Bridge only to double back almost immediately on 121 to Hillsborough Interchange but as we pulled in, a service to Middlewood pulled out so I carried on to Langsett/Primrose View. Here I had about a minute for a reunion with 123 from earlier which took me up to Middlewood and again I retraced almost immediately with 123 to Hillsborough Interchange. This time, I alighted and was half tempted to tick off the Spoons right by the tram stop but the nearby chip shop got my custom instead. Tram 116 with its advert for East Midland Trains soon appeared to take me back towards the city centre. I worked out that I had time for a couple more shacks before my appointment with the Nation Rail network so it was off at Shalesmoor where 107 was waiting to take me back to Bamforth Street. Here I had just enough time to dash over to another EMT-liveried tram, 111 for the run back to Sheffield Station.

I checked my watch. Perfect timing, my pair of 153s were due in in around seven minutes. Just enough time for a PNB. As the 153s arrived, I espied a required 158. The brain quickly went into overdrive and yes, with a bit of luck, I could sort out the 158 and still bag the 153s. By now, I had the identity of the other 153 and it was an outright winner. 158787 was on a Sheffield semi-fast and I only needed a decimal mile to clear it for 10 miles – thank the Lord for a Meadowhall stop, especially as the 153s were only three minutes behind, also with a Meadowhall stop. The 158 took me through the Sheffield suburbs to Meadowhall and with the job done, I made a rapid bail over the bridge to the Doncaster platforms. Within a minute or two, the 153s rolled in – 153301+153351 being the pair in question. I’d had 153301 back in 2014 between Leeds and Headingley (twice) but 153351 was a full blown winner so needed for the 10 miles. I had to go at least as far as Conisborough in order to clear 153351 for 10 miles but what to do afterwards?

Then came the lightbulb moment, I need several shacks in the Travelmaster area north and east of Doncaster – let’s see if I can get some of those sorted. This resulted in me staying with 153301+153351 all the way to the final stop of Adwick. Here the 153 pairing left ECS for Doncaster the long way round (via the freight line to Hatfield & Stainforth). Fortunately, I had about a +10 for an EMU back to Doncaster. 322484 showed up bang on time and I could have bailed at Bentley for a second shack score but elected to go to Doncaster instead, sit on 322484 and return to Bentley rather than have a mega-fester. Sitting on a warm EMU was more preferable and then a +6 than a +30 in the cold at Bentley. Bailing from 322484, I have about the right amount of time to cross over the level crossing before 322485 arrived to take me back on the short trip to Doncaster.

If my reading of RTT had been correct, the 158 (816) that I had seen much earlier in the day at Sheffield should now be back in the area and available. Alighting from Doncaster - unusually we went into platform 7 whereas most Leeds EMUs seem to us platform 6 – I wandered over to platform 1 where I was hoping for my 158 to appear. I was in luck as 158816 was just pulling into the platform from the sidings. Despite having been once a familiar sight around Bristol and Cardiff 158816 had eluded me for haulage until last summer when I managed to bag it between Meadowhall and Sheffield. Now I had the opportunity to clear it for 10 miles so I scrambled on board for the run out to Thorne North. Here I had a +18 onto an unknown unit back which materialised as dud 158861. The original plan was to go back to Doncaster but checking RTT, I noticed that there was a stopping train from Scunthorpe about five minutes behind. This lead me to bail at Hatfield & Stainforth where I had the final shack scratch of the day. My friends 153301+153351 from earlier provided the traction. While completely dud, I was not complaining at some additional Skateboard mileage!

Back at Doncaster I had around 20 minutes before my train back to London; this gave me sufficient time to wander over to Sainburys and source some sustenance for the journey home. The booked traction was a HST but I’d seen the working go up to Leeds earlier on with an electric so was not surprised when 91132 appeared to take me back south. 91132 was dud for almost everything but after an excellent day out, my main focus was devouring supper and heading for home. We touched down in Kings Cross a few minutes late and then the homeward journey started. 2009ts 11055+11056 took me south to Stockwell on the Victoria Line where I had a decent connection onto 1995ts 51520+51704 southwards to Morden. I had a fantastic journey home taking a mere 43 minutes from arrival at Kings Cross to walking through my front door. Not sure if that’s a record but it was pretty good going.

I reflected on the day. I’d had my first taste of the Supertram network which was an outstanding success as I had got all the track, 17 of the trams and 28 of the available shacks. I still need another visit but as 118 is currently out of traffic, I may wait until it returns. Hopefully then I’ll be able to mop up most of the remnants. I was pleased to bag one of my last 142s required for 10 miles (only 142042 and 142093 left before all 96 142s will have topped 10 miles). But the score of the day has to be 153351 – it’s always good to get a 153 over 10 miles but to get a winner, that’s even better. And I cannot forget the two 158s that were nudged over the 10-mile barrier – only eight of those left to get of which four are required outright. Neither can I forget the five unplanned shack scratches leaving 14 still to get in South Yorkshire; that’ll be something else to look at when I do another Travelmaster.

Finally, to round off, here’s the day’s moves together with a summary of notable milestones.

51591+51592 Morden to Stockwell ---
11021+11022 Stockwell to Kings Cross, St Pancras ---
91126 Kings Cross to Doncaster ---
153332 Doncaster to Meadowhall ---
124 Meadowhall Interchange to Attercliffe WINNER
103 Attercliffe to Carbrook WINNER
120 Carbrook to Nunnery Square WINNER
122 Nunnery Square to Valley Centertainment WINNER
115 Valley Centertainment to Cricket Inn Road WINNER
108 Hyde Park to Woodburn Road WINNER
123 Woodburn Road to Arena / Don Valley WINNER
108 Arena / Don Valley to Tinsley/Meadowhall South ---
108 Tinsley/Meadowhall South to Fitzalan Square ---
119 Fitzalan Square to Spring Lane WINNER
116 Spring Lane to Park Grange Croft WINNER
111 Park Grange Croft to Sheffield Station / Sheffield Hallam University WINNER
142089 Sheffield to Kiveton Park Cleared for 10 miles
142016 Kiveton Park to Sheffield ---
110 Sheffield Station / Sheffield Hallam University to Arbourthorne Road WINNER
105 Arbourthorne Road to Herdings Park WINNER
105 Leighton Road to Gleadless Townend ---
109 Gleadless Townend to Hollinshead WINNER
104 Hollinshead to Halfway WINNER
104 Halfway to Donetsk Way ---
125 Donetsk Way to Moss Way WINNER
121 Moss Way to Malin Bridge WINNER, cleared for 10 miles
121 Malin Bridge to Langsett / Primrose View ---
123 Langsett / Primrose View to Middlewood ---
123 Middlewood to Hillsborough Interchange ---
116 Hillsborough Interchange to Shalesmoor ---
107 Shalesmoor to Bamforth Street WINNER
111 Bamforth Street to Sheffield Station / Sheffield Hallam University ---
158787 Sheffield to Meadowhall Cleared for 10 miles
153301+153351 Meadowhall to Adwick 153351 WINNER, both cleared for 10 miles
322484 Adwick to Doncaster ---
322484 Doncaster to Bentley ---
322485 Bentley to Doncaster ---
158816 Doncaster to Thorne North Cleared for 10 miles
158861 Thorne North to Hatfield & Stainforth ---
153301+153351 Hatfield & Stainforth to Doncaster ---
91132 Doncaster to Kings Cross ---
11055+11056 Kings Cross, St Pancras to Stockwell ---
51520+51704 Stockwell to Morden ---

Milestones
Winners 103, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 115, 116, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 153351
Cleared for 10 miles 111, 142089, 153301, 153351, 158787, 158816
New Shacks Arbourthorne Road, Arena / Don Valley, Attercliffe, Bamforth Street, Carbrook, Cricket Inn Road, Donetsk Way, Fitzalan Square, Gleadless Townend, Halfway, Herdings Park, Hillsborough Interchange, Hollinshead, Hyde Park, Langsett / Primrose View, Leighton Road, Malin Bridge, Meadowhall Interchange, Middlewood, Moss Way, Nunnery Square, Park Grange Croft, Shalesmoor, Sheffield Station, Spring Lane, Tinsley/Meadowhall South, Valley Centretainment, Woodburn Road
Adwick, Bentley, Hatfield & Stainforth, Kiveton Park, Thorne North
New Track All of Supertram Network (Meadowhall, Halfway, Herdings Park, Middlewood, Malin Bridge)

 

[Kite159]

Very productive day in South Yorkshire there Keith

(Better not mention I had 91130 on a linear leap on Friday coming back from Stevenage )

 

[Techniquest]

Wow that was a good day, surprised you've never been on Supertram before mind!

Nicely done with the winner 153 and indeed pushing two more 158s over the 10 mile target too. Looks like an excellent start to the long distance trips this year!

 

[47403]

Wow, just caught up with this lot, congraulations indeed on clearing the DLR and a great deal of productivity in Yorkshire, especially on the tram link. 158787, has certainly put a smile on a few faces this year and getting 153351, was a mega bonus too. Great read as always Keith,

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I like 153301+153351.

By Reformation Rules (TM), you are entitled to a bonus flourish of your Red Pen for 155301

I'm also going to try and include St Helier in my travels next week, having never been to Jersey...

 

[55013]

As always, some excellent reading.
It looks like a long day, mind.
It seems trams are back in vogue, I've got a report to write involving light rail, although I went a bit further South than Sheffield.

 

[andyb2706]

It is a wowzers from me!! That looked such a good and productive day. What an enjoyable read. There is one thing that has annoyed me though....you got to travel on 322484 and 322485. They are the only two I need and every time I'm in those neck of the woods one is nowhere to be seen and the other is sat on the blocks of platform 1 and doesn't move all day.

 

[FQ]

That was one heck of a productive day! Lots of Supertram stuff and lots of shacks and heavy rail winners! I really enjoyed the read.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Wow that was a good day, surprised you've never been on Supertram before mind!

Nicely done with the winner 153 and indeed pushing two more 158s over the 10 mile target too. Looks like an excellent start to the long distance trips this year!

Up until now, I have had very little to do with tram & light rail networks outside The Big Smoke so the Sheffield jolly will just be the first of many this year. I already have tickets booked to Manchester and Nottingham. And the Midland Metro will get my attention sometime as well. Now, if the mooted work trip to Edinburgh actually comes about, that might give me an excuse to do the Edinburgh tram network.

The two main networks that do not yet feature in plans are Tyne & Wear and Blackpool but there again there's a lot of vacant dates in the trip planner for the second half of the year.

 

[Kite159]

Don't forget about the Glasgow Subway