linking journey

[westcoaster]

this will be quiet simple, all you have to do is to link the journey and carry on;

example: i board the 05:39 london midland service from bletchley to bedford, i arrive at bedford and board the 0647 east midland service to sheffield.

next person i alight at derby (08:16) and board the 08:25 cross country service to plymouth.

next person i alight at cheltenham spa (09:51) and board the 10:45 atw service to maesteg, and so on.

ill start

i board the 07:00 emt service from wellingborough and alight at sheffield (09:05) and board the 09:25 northern service to scunthorpe

 

[1D53]

I leave the 0925 to Scunthorpe at Meadowhall and join the 0934 to York.

 

[westcoaster]

i arrive at york (1051) and board the 1123 tpx service to middlesborough

 

[1D53]

I wait at Middlesbrough and board the 1556 to Saltburn - I remain on the unit and alight at British Steel Redcar on the units return trip.

 

[Broken Viking]

Not knowing the local area at all, I seek the advice of a nearby FGW employee and ask him when and where I can catch the next train to Edinburgh.

After following his advice, I board the next train at that platform, realise the FGW employees error after departure when the guard announces the stopping pattern of the train, and am forced to alight several hours later in Taunton...

(This actually happened to me last year when I was travelling from Reading to Swansea. The dappy git at Reading told me to board the next train at that platform...Which turned out to actually be the Penzance train! It was a Valenta'd HST at least, so my necessary diversion via Bristol wasn't entirely in vain... )

 

[will1337]

Having no idea what time it is I ask the FGW employee for the next train to Bristol yet thanks to incompetence, I board a 220, and thanks to the broken automated announcements and a dead guard up in Edinburgh at 15:16.

 

[Broken Viking]

After enjoying a flying visit to Edinburgh, I take the 21:33 First ScotRail service to Perth to drop in on some old friends of mine who play in Alestorm...

 

[Techniquest]

I wait for the following morning and enjoy the delights of the Up Highland Chieftain all the way back down to London King's Cross, arriving 6 minutes late at 1604.

 

[Broken Viking]

After being annoyed at arriving six minutes behind schedule (And scaring the crap out of Techniquest when he saw me climbing out of the drivers cab after our arrival! ) I decide to have a brief cigarette break out on the Marylebone Road, before catching the (Proposed) 17:00 DB service from St. Pancreas to Düsseldorf Hbf...

 

[me123]

After a day in Dusseldorf, I catch a train to Dusseldorf Flughafen (there's one every few minutes) then board the 2100 Jet2 flight back to the UK (and normality) arriving Leeds Bradfor Intl. Airport.

 

[Techniquest]

Once I get back to Leeds, it's off to the hotel for a night's sleep before following one of the biggest HST diagrams on the ECML. Off we go on the 0710 LDS - ABD, 1351 ABD - KGX and 2330 KGX - LDS. Not content with the mileage accumulated, I do it all again the next day. Finally content with my mileage (for the duration), I get on the overnight 185 to Manchester Airport.

 

[me123]

Proud after completing t he best diagram ever! (Although it's the 1450 off ABD :razz O take the 0720 FTPE to Edinburgh and make a swift change to the 1115 to Queen Street. However, I haven't read the signs correctly, accidently board the rear 3 coaches on platform 15 and end up on the Inverness train. I alight at Perth.

 

[Techniquest]

Thanks for correcting me with the time, it was indeed at one point the 1451 off ABD actually, whoops...

From Perth, it's a leap to Aviemore on the Caledonian Insomniac for the Up Highland Chieftain again. However, I decide on diverting myself around to Sunderland for a Grand Central move so I bail at Newcastle. Due to an emergency in the South Huylton area, there are no Tyne & Wear Metro services in the immediate future, so I get back on to London. Now eager to do the track between Aberdeen and Inverness, I decide to get the 1600 KGX - ABD to Aberdeen. With both power cars failing at Inverkeithing, however, I bail off there.

 

[me123]

Stuck in Inverkeithing ain't great... Taking a 158 to Waverley, I then hop on the SB sleeper and arrive "refreshed" in... Polmadie depot!

Yes, they cancelled the sleeper and we're locked in the depot hock: Good news is that we have the buffet on board

 

[Techniquest]

Now rather out of it as a result of drinking lots of beer, we find that 92046 has been dragged into use and taking us to London. We arrive there in the early afternoon at Euston, so I decide to risk the odds of the 92 working again later and fester at Euston. Not before getting lots of shots and seminars of the 92 though. Sure enough, it's going back to Edinburgh with the 2115 Caledonian Insomniac. Having now got a ticket, I get on when the doors are unlocked and get some more sleep to Edinburgh. I wake up to find my mobile jittering. Gen is that 37416 is out and about on the Inverness sleeper, so I reply with a textual bellow and find a droplight to Inverness. Finally, it's onto Beauly to visit the smallest station in Scotland.

 

[Broken Viking]

After wandering around Beauly for half an hour, I find that a critical network-wide outage has completely incapacitated the entire UK signalling system! The outage is so bad, that even the semaphores still in use on rural and heritage lines have been affected! hock:

Not wanting to hang around any longer than necessary when I've got places to go, I hire myself a car with the intention of driving down to Bristol Temple Meads to pick up some more HST mileage. However, my car gives up the ghost in Chester city centre at 21:00, so finding that the network outage has been sorted (It was a single failed server running Windows NT! ) I wind up catching the ancient and decrepit 21:15 Pacer to Manchester Piccadilly. :razz:

 

[Techniquest]

I decide to now fester for the Voyager to Glasgow Central on the 0458 MAN - GLC. However, I decide to bail at Carstairs instead.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

at Carstairs I bail on the Sleeper (i went throught a drop light, guard didnt notice thank god!) and headed on the Glasgow portion to Central, I waited there to go to Edinburgh but forgot I was at Central, not QS. I jump on the Clockwork Orange but due to delays ahead I end up getting off at Ibrox

 

[Techniquest]

I find my way, somehow, to Queen Street for a 156 to to Conell Ferry.

 

[me123]

I take the next 156 back, realising that there's nothing to do here, and there isn't even a ferry (!), but decide to get off at Ardlui for a wee wander.

 

[Techniquest]

Thankfully by now the sleeper is due, and 37403 mysteriously turns up on it and works right through to Euston. Guess where I'm going...

 

[heart-of-wessex]

guess where...ok

Waterloo for some box machine thrash :P
I then take a 8 BOX from waterloo to Hampton court and back to Berrylands to tick it off.


(P.S julian, I guess you wanted the cross for GC :P)

 

[Techniquest]

Went to Euston on it, had to if 37403 was working right through!

From Berrylands, I jump on another Four-Slide-Slide and end up at Ash Vale.

 

[Broken Viking]

After wandering over to my house to chill out for a bit and post here (I only live eight miles from there! ), I walk back towards Ash Vale, but get prohibitively lazy as I'm crossing the North Downs line at North Camp, so I jump on 166045 on a through working to Oxford...

 

[Techniquest]

166045?! Dreadful!

I find my beast, 43002, working on a railtour to Stratford-upon-Avon, so I hop on it!

 

[me123]

I go to see a wee performance of Hamlet. I pop to the station, where I'm lucky enough to catch on eof the few Lundun Midlund services to Solihull.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

(sorry julian I thought you meant AFTER euston lol. How did you get a box from berrylands direct to Ash Vale?????)

anyway even though i think there was a mash up at Ash Vlae, so ill carry on from solihull anyway:

Solihul is a dump so I decide to get the next train to Birmingham and board a railtour.
Because I haven't got a ticket, Pathfinder soon find me and i get kicked off at Daw Mill P.S

 

[Techniquest]

Too many changes to work out on that Berrylands - Ash Vale movement for me James...Ambiguity is useful sometimes...

From Daw Mill P.S., I find 66158 is waiting to depart on a MGR towards Nuneaton. I jump onto one of the HAAs and jump off as we slow down for a signal check at Nuneaton.

 

[Broken Viking]

Hmmm...Berrylands to Ash vale is a doddle - Simply change at Woking!

Anyhow...Boarding 390006 at Nuneaton, I ride her as far as Crewe, where I alight to visit her sister - The train that opened the gates for enjoyable high-speed rail throughout Europe - At the Heritage Centre there.

 

[Techniquest]

After drooling at the beast in The Railway Age, I remember I prefer bashing than standing around all day. So I race back to the station, just in time to find 57301 is about to depart with a failed 390 headed for Glasgow Central. Required for haulage, so I jump on to scratch it in, determined not to bail off until the 57 comes off. Amazingly, I find we're routed via the Glasgow-Sou' Western, so I bail at Glasgow Central.