alexf380
Established Member
A good day in the Valleys there Noddy. My Pacer-envy is in full force now...
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Noddy's Trip Reports
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
I still love that photo of 43002, phwoar!
A very productive day on one of my former stomping grounds, and I see you had 'my' Voyagers 221137 in the morning!
Top read as always!
A very productive day on one of my former stomping grounds, and I see you had 'my' Voyagers 221137 in the morning!
Top read as always!
Why is it your voyager?
Kite159
Veteran Member
A very good day in the Valleys 
Absolutely.
I've seen 43002 at the north end of St David's twice this week and it always makes me nearly crash the van in surprise.
Great report Noddy, glad you stayed away from the unsavoury types.
This would be last day I could use my FOSS on. Annoying I can never get all 8 days of use but even half them make the ticket reasonably priced I feel at £17.80 a day. Originally the plan today was to head back towards the Solent and try and clear a few more shacks from that area. Over the course of the weekend before though, I heard that GWR had created a new 150/9. When created they do seem to exist for at least a year or more but obviously no guarantee so my plans changed to try and find it. They tend to operate the 3 car hybrids in the Bristol area so that would be where I would go.
I got the station, having walked into town with my wife, for the 0925 off Plymouth. This was today being worked by 221133 and I took this to Bristol. Rather easily I walked straight into a waiting 150916 in Platform 1! Result!
20170404-Bristol Temple Meads-150916 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
It was heading to Gloucester which led me to me next move. I caught 150916 to Gloucester and went out to find something to eat. I grabbed a sandwich and drink and back to the station 43156 and 43177 arrived with a service heading to Paddington. I jumped on and went on to winning shack Kemble. A handily placed pub next to the station was welcome for the killing of time until the next train.
150106 was had back to Gloucester where I then waited for 158837 to head down alongside the Severn. The plan was to go to Caldicot and then back to Lydney. That all went wrong when I dozed off and all I heard was the on board announcement say Caldiot! I jumped up and got off. Then realised I was at Chepstow and it was too late! I was so annoyed with myself! The announcement obviously said ‘the next stop was Caldicot’! I’m still annoyed about this today!
I went for a wonder and decided to cut my losses. I was planning on doing Lydney but that could now wait. I headed on to Cheltenham on 150278. I got a tea and then waited for 211139 to take me on to Bristol for the next move that I did not want to mess up!
At Bristol I waited for the next Severn Beach service which was worked by 150244. I got on and got a seat. It was a little busy but I knew it would empty out by the time I needed to get off. I got off at St Andrews. A very industrial location and not a lot else. Sidings of now disused coal wagons next to the station is a sad sight but a short while later 150244 returned and it was back to Bristol Temple Meads with the Severn Beach branch now cleared for shacks.
I went and got a pasty and then went and waited for 220002 to take me back to Plymouth. So a mixed day. Well good I guess! The GWR 150s cleared once again and two new shacks. I was annoyed about Caldicot but I easy enough to do in the future.
I got the station, having walked into town with my wife, for the 0925 off Plymouth. This was today being worked by 221133 and I took this to Bristol. Rather easily I walked straight into a waiting 150916 in Platform 1! Result!
20170404-Bristol Temple Meads-150916 by Steven Booth, on FlickrIt was heading to Gloucester which led me to me next move. I caught 150916 to Gloucester and went out to find something to eat. I grabbed a sandwich and drink and back to the station 43156 and 43177 arrived with a service heading to Paddington. I jumped on and went on to winning shack Kemble. A handily placed pub next to the station was welcome for the killing of time until the next train.
150106 was had back to Gloucester where I then waited for 158837 to head down alongside the Severn. The plan was to go to Caldicot and then back to Lydney. That all went wrong when I dozed off and all I heard was the on board announcement say Caldiot! I jumped up and got off. Then realised I was at Chepstow and it was too late! I was so annoyed with myself! The announcement obviously said ‘the next stop was Caldicot’! I’m still annoyed about this today!
I went for a wonder and decided to cut my losses. I was planning on doing Lydney but that could now wait. I headed on to Cheltenham on 150278. I got a tea and then waited for 211139 to take me on to Bristol for the next move that I did not want to mess up!
At Bristol I waited for the next Severn Beach service which was worked by 150244. I got on and got a seat. It was a little busy but I knew it would empty out by the time I needed to get off. I got off at St Andrews. A very industrial location and not a lot else. Sidings of now disused coal wagons next to the station is a sad sight but a short while later 150244 returned and it was back to Bristol Temple Meads with the Severn Beach branch now cleared for shacks.
I went and got a pasty and then went and waited for 220002 to take me back to Plymouth. So a mixed day. Well good I guess! The GWR 150s cleared once again and two new shacks. I was annoyed about Caldicot but I easy enough to do in the future.
Sounds like a good little day.
St Andrews Road is indeed rather industrious with not much else around. Can't recommend the walk from Avonmouth to there either!
Shame you couldn't do shacks around the Solent today, because guess what I've been doing this morning!
Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk
St Andrews Road is indeed rather industrious with not much else around. Can't recommend the walk from Avonmouth to there either!
Shame you couldn't do shacks around the Solent today, because guess what I've been doing this morning!
Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk
The drive through Avonmouth didn't inspire much so can well understand the walk being unrecommended!
I had seen you had cleared loads of Solent shacks!! Very productive!
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An unusual Saturday where I could do what I wanted! Normally if both me and my wife are both off work we do something together but she was with a friend for the weekend as it was her birthday and I needed to work on Sunday. So what could I do? I had couple of ideas. One involved heading to the Nene Valley and the other the Avon Valley. I decided on the later as it was closer, therefore easier to do and cheaper. It also led to another idea!
As my attack on the shacks in the FOSS area continues, I would soon have a very annoying blot on my map and I needed to fix that! So I set my alarm for 0430! I got up showered and headed out. It was still dark but I could see clear skies! Today was going to be a scorcher by the looks of it! The drive up towards Bristol was an easy one, but youd expect it at this time. I stopped off my a McDonalds breakfast on the way. It soon became very foggy which I didnt expect at all but after a couple of hours I ended up coming off the motorway and driving towards Severn Beach station.
Once I got there I parked up and headed off for an early morning stroll! 2.7 miles to be precise! It was cold even though the sun was out but I knew that would change as the morning went on. After 45 minutes I ended up at a building site for the GWR electrification, Pilning station. I had about 15 minutes to wait for my train. About five minutes before it came someone arrived in a car and joined me on the station. Turns out he catches the train every week from here and is on a one man mission to promote the station! Good luck to him!
Soon enough 150234 could be seen and it slowed down. We got on and with that Pilning station was cleared! I took this to Bristol Temple Meads. The other guy had got off at Filton. I had a short for the next service to Seven Beach on 150202. Once we arrived I headed to the car and headed off to Bitton on the Avon Valley Railway.
I got my ticket and first up was 31101!
20170408-Bitton-31101 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
I took this to Avon Riverside. We waited here for a while whilst the freight demonstrator behind came in and ran alongside. 08202 was on the back and this was taken off and headed to the front of my train. This then took us to the other end of the line at Oldland Common. I stayed with it all the way back to Avon Riverside before another return on it but I bailed at Bitton.
20170408-Avon Riverside-08202 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
It was now time for the third winning loco of the day (but I havent included it in my yearly figures as its industrial) was 446 Kingswood. A jumpy start and we were soon off to Avon Riverside once more. Now the next thing that happened I had never seen before! We were on the platform waiting for it to run round the train. Flames were pouring out the top of the funnel! Then lumps of what looked like charcoal was being spewn out the funnel! What was this a diesel that wanted to be a steam train. There were a few concerned looks but they eventually ran the loco round!
We were soon off once more. I got off at Bitton once again and waited for 31101 to come in and took this to Riverside once more. D8059 was on the back so no running round this time.
20170408-Avon Riverside-D8059 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
I was going to take this to the end of the line but it made an unscheduled stop at Bitton as Kingswood that was now at Oldland Common had failed. Another loco was sent (I think it was Grumpy) to rescue it. I decided to call it a day now. It was at least 30 mins away from anything going again. The drive home was a little more tedious as there was more traffic and the weather (now into the 20s) was bringing people out.
I got home after a 2 and half hour drive and settled down to watch the Qualy form the F1 with a beer! That was a perfect result too so all in all a very good day!
As my attack on the shacks in the FOSS area continues, I would soon have a very annoying blot on my map and I needed to fix that! So I set my alarm for 0430! I got up showered and headed out. It was still dark but I could see clear skies! Today was going to be a scorcher by the looks of it! The drive up towards Bristol was an easy one, but youd expect it at this time. I stopped off my a McDonalds breakfast on the way. It soon became very foggy which I didnt expect at all but after a couple of hours I ended up coming off the motorway and driving towards Severn Beach station.
Once I got there I parked up and headed off for an early morning stroll! 2.7 miles to be precise! It was cold even though the sun was out but I knew that would change as the morning went on. After 45 minutes I ended up at a building site for the GWR electrification, Pilning station. I had about 15 minutes to wait for my train. About five minutes before it came someone arrived in a car and joined me on the station. Turns out he catches the train every week from here and is on a one man mission to promote the station! Good luck to him!
Soon enough 150234 could be seen and it slowed down. We got on and with that Pilning station was cleared! I took this to Bristol Temple Meads. The other guy had got off at Filton. I had a short for the next service to Seven Beach on 150202. Once we arrived I headed to the car and headed off to Bitton on the Avon Valley Railway.
I got my ticket and first up was 31101!
20170408-Bitton-31101 by Steven Booth, on FlickrI took this to Avon Riverside. We waited here for a while whilst the freight demonstrator behind came in and ran alongside. 08202 was on the back and this was taken off and headed to the front of my train. This then took us to the other end of the line at Oldland Common. I stayed with it all the way back to Avon Riverside before another return on it but I bailed at Bitton.
20170408-Avon Riverside-08202 by Steven Booth, on FlickrIt was now time for the third winning loco of the day (but I havent included it in my yearly figures as its industrial) was 446 Kingswood. A jumpy start and we were soon off to Avon Riverside once more. Now the next thing that happened I had never seen before! We were on the platform waiting for it to run round the train. Flames were pouring out the top of the funnel! Then lumps of what looked like charcoal was being spewn out the funnel! What was this a diesel that wanted to be a steam train. There were a few concerned looks but they eventually ran the loco round!
We were soon off once more. I got off at Bitton once again and waited for 31101 to come in and took this to Riverside once more. D8059 was on the back so no running round this time.
20170408-Avon Riverside-D8059 by Steven Booth, on FlickrI was going to take this to the end of the line but it made an unscheduled stop at Bitton as Kingswood that was now at Oldland Common had failed. Another loco was sent (I think it was Grumpy) to rescue it. I decided to call it a day now. It was at least 30 mins away from anything going again. The drive home was a little more tedious as there was more traffic and the weather (now into the 20s) was bringing people out.
I got home after a 2 and half hour drive and settled down to watch the Qualy form the F1 with a beer! That was a perfect result too so all in all a very good day!
I still need to do the Avon Valley and it's not that far away really. What sort of speed do they do on the line Noddy? Is it 25mph or just a 15mph trundle (not that 25 isn't a trundle anyway)?
The 31 looks superb. I like the steps up the side of the body.
The 31 looks superb. I like the steps up the side of the body.
Iskra
Established Member
Looks like a good trip out there with a nice mix of traction, I'd never even heard of that line until now. Unusual to see a 20 the wrong way around, even on a preserved line.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Mmm, 20 thrash! I think I need 20059, must keep an eye on that. Same for the 31.
'My' Voyager should really have had read "my pet Voyager" as 221137 is my most travelled Voyager and became a favourite after a Birmingham to Glasgow run many years ago. Yes there was a time I enjoyed a Voyager run...
150916 is much required here, the chase will be on soon to find it. Hopefully no more 150/9s will be created!
Top reads as always, which were welcome on my commute home earlier.
'My' Voyager should really have had read "my pet Voyager" as 221137 is my most travelled Voyager and became a favourite after a Birmingham to Glasgow run many years ago. Yes there was a time I enjoyed a Voyager run...
150916 is much required here, the chase will be on soon to find it. Hopefully no more 150/9s will be created!
Top reads as always, which were welcome on my commute home earlier.
Kite159
Veteran Member
Sounded like another couple good days, bar bailing at the wrong station 
It's not a long line but it felt like we got up to 25mph on the southern end!
What about these? At Severn Valley!
20160519-Kidderminster-20205, 20142 by Steven Booth, on Flickrand then the same pair at Swanage!
20160507-Swanage-20205 by Steven Booth, on Flickr20059 will be at Swanage this year.
Sounded like another couple good days, bar bailing at the wrong station
Tell me about it!
Keith Jarrett
Member
Noddy, Nice couple of trips there, especially around my native Bristol. Good on you getting 150916. I might have to go on a hunt for it some time!
Glad you enjoyed the Avon Valley save for the fireworks with Kingswood - the AVR is the closest railway to my childhood home, like about 10 minutes walk! And I need to go and get 08202 sometime although the nomadic 20059 can be had almost anywhere.
For those trying to get to the AVR on public transport, the best way is to use Keynsham station (that's spelt K E Y N S H A M but pronounced Cane-shum - fans of Radio Luxembourg will know what I am going on about) and either walk for about 25 minutes or use the 19A bus. AVR is also served by buses 19 and 37 and the rather roundabout 42. Bear in mind that AVR HQ at Bitton is about 1 mile away from the village of the same name - it's actually in Willsbridge. And the northern terminus is pronounced Olun' Kommun (neither d is pronounced by the locals!). And the AVR is just within the Bristol PlusBus area.
Glad you enjoyed the Avon Valley save for the fireworks with Kingswood - the AVR is the closest railway to my childhood home, like about 10 minutes walk! And I need to go and get 08202 sometime although the nomadic 20059 can be had almost anywhere.
For those trying to get to the AVR on public transport, the best way is to use Keynsham station (that's spelt K E Y N S H A M but pronounced Cane-shum - fans of Radio Luxembourg will know what I am going on about) and either walk for about 25 minutes or use the 19A bus. AVR is also served by buses 19 and 37 and the rather roundabout 42. Bear in mind that AVR HQ at Bitton is about 1 mile away from the village of the same name - it's actually in Willsbridge. And the northern terminus is pronounced Olun' Kommun (neither d is pronounced by the locals!). And the AVR is just within the Bristol PlusBus area.
AnthonyRail
Established Member
- Joined
- 11 Jan 2015
- Messages
- 1,223
Is it walkable? Or busy roads.
AnthonyRail
Established Member
- Joined
- 11 Jan 2015
- Messages
- 1,223
can you purchase F.O.S.S rover on the day or does it need to be advance, thinking that I should make good use over easter days off
Keith Jarrett
Member
Yes, walkable from Keynsham to the AVR - footpath available all the way. Road is reasonably busy and most of it is rural. The only bit in built up areas is the last bit once you enter the settlement of Willsbridge when you have a 30 speed limit
FOSS can be bought on the day
For a long time me and my most frequent bashing mate had talked about trying to get to other areas other than London. We need a lot in London still and is easy for us to get too but we decided we wanted a change. We knew our next bash day and I looked at the cost of advances to Manchester. With the Virgin Seat sale on I managed to get some some good tickets to and from Manchester from Euston and with the friends and family ticket to London it would be a nice £50 odd quid trip for me (my mate has his pass!).
I got a lift to the station on the Wednesday night from my wife and waited for 57604 to arrive. This was 3 of the 4 GWR 57s had for this year from my third sleeper trip this year so that wasnt bad! Another 240 miles and 57604 was now sitting pretty on 4010 miles! I got into one of the newly refurbished seater coaches. Ive read a lot of bad things about these but I will say I think a good job has been done with them. Yes 2+2 makes it feel tighter but i felt there was plenty of leg room and whilst the seats dont recline, this didnt bother me. My mate joined at Exeter and as we hadnt seen each other for well over a month we had a bit to catch up on. We finally got our heads down after Temple Meads and I actually slept all the way through to London waking on the approaches to Paddington. So in my eyes the refurbed coaches are better for sleeping than the old ones where I feel the seats are to soft and eventually you get uncomfortable.
We headed over to the Hammersmith line and jumped on mega duds 21325/326 and headed to Euston Square. It was then the short walk onto Euston where some of the previous days problems were still evident. For those that dont know there was a line side fire the day before and sent Euston into a meltdown! Whilst most trains were now running, London Overground services werent and there was still power problems in the station itself where some of the concessions were shut.
We didnt have long before our train was announced and we headed down to the platforms and boarded 390020. We left on time and after passing Wembley where there were four dud locos for sight there was not a lot else to report!
We arrived into Manchester on time and I went and got my Manchester Wayfarer ready for later. It was then off to get breakfast. With a large one devoured we headed out to the trams. My mate got his tram travel card and we set about bashing. Im just gonna list the moves from here.
3007, 3006 Market Street Piccadilly Gardens
3115 Piccadilly Gardens New Islington
3107 New Islington Piccadilly
3009, 3045 Piccadilly Market Street
3091 Market Street St Peters Square
3032 St Peters Square Deansgate
3080 Deansgate Cornbrook
3095 Cornbrook Pomona
3079 Pomona Cornbrook
3116 Cornbrook St Werburgh's Road
3063 St Werburgh's Road Airport
At this stage my mate had found out where his last 185 was so we were heading to Piccadilly on the train for him to meet it there. Annoyingly I needed it too. Why annoyingly? It wasnt stopping anywhere within the boundary of my ticket! I decided against buying any extensions and we arranged to meet back at Stalybridge later. He had a little while before his train so we hit the city centre trams once more.
3059, 3017 Piccadilly Piccadilly Gardens
3078 Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly
3011, 3041 Piccadilly St Peters Square
3074 St Peters Square Deansgate
3035 Deansgate Newton Heath & Morton via Exchange Square
3056 Newton Heath & Morton Central Park
3112 Central Park Monsall
3053 Monsall Victoria
We had split half way through this session and I was able to scratch a few shacks. Annoyingly my mate is not interested in shacks so short of splitting for the whole day I wasnt gonna get many, that was clear. I guess thats the problem with social basing!
From Victoria I caught 156428 to Stalybridge. From here I popped into the Buffet for a drink whilst waiting for my mate who was running a couple late. We then reboarded 156428 to Ashton-under-Lyne. A short walk down the road saw us at the trams once more, this time for some new route.
3095 Ashton-under-Lyne Etihad Campus
3049, 3043 Etihad Campus New Islington
3018, 3022 New Islington Holt Town
3069 Holt Town New Islington
3059, 3017 New Islington Piccadilly
It was here I was desperate for a PNB so popped upstairs. I was about to head back downstairs and I saw required 142049 so quickly showed my ticket and jumped on. I rang my mate to tell him and said I would meet him for the 67 later. With the 142s on borrowed time I wasnt going to turn one down. I took this to Navigation Road for a new shack and then a new shack for the trams! I also used this time to get a few more tram shacks.
3017, 3059 Navigation Road Brooklands (Id caught up with it!!)
3011, 3041 Brooklands Timperley
3018, 3022 Timperley Dane Road
3041, 3011 Dane Road Picadilly
It was now time to meet my mate for the 67. We met on the platform but when he saw what it was he decided to head back to the trams. Hed had it a few days before. Thats was fine with me as it gave me more options later. I boarded and stayed in the front vestibule. 67020 was my first 67 in a long time. I took it to Earlestown where I then walked to the required spoons before 150136 took me to Eccles. Now was the chance to clear the Eccles branch for shacks and get the last bit of Metrolink track I needed (except the Oldham diversion which I dont think has regular services on it). A couple of walks between shacks meant less waiting around and speeding up what I needed to do.
3061 Eccles Weaste
3105 Ladywell Harbour City
3092 Media City Anchorage
3090 Anchorage Broadway
3114 Broadway Piccadilly
Back at Piccadilly I met my mate once more and got a BK. We then found the train we needed and 390155 would be our train home. We were about 5 down approaching Milton Keynes but lost another 5 there arriving into Euston 10 late. My mate was now heading off from here as he had a plan for tomorrow which meant he wasnt heading home. I would be heading to Paddington on my own but not before a brief meet up with Tech in the Euston Tap. He bought the pints (Cheers Tech) and what a fantastic pint Harpoon IPA is! The meet up was very brief but welcome. We then headed to Euston Square where we headed in opposite directions.
21509/510 were duds taking me to Paddington but I spotted 21463/464 at Edgware Road so I got off and joined them for Paddington. 57603 was my ride home where once more I boarded the refurbed coach home. I was asleep before we had even left Greater London and slept well. I woke briefly at Exeter but managed to sleep again before Plymouth. We arrived on time and it was then the walk home.
A good and packed trip was had then despite one problem, as my needs dwindle. Social bashes are good but does restrict what you can do at times. If I had been on my own I would have gone after tram shacks. Only once they were all done I would sit about waiting for winning trams. But I wouldnt want to stop the social bash completely as it offers a diffferent kind of day out. Hope that makes sense!
Over the course of the trip I had travelled 952 miles, scored 22 wining trains/trams and 14 new shacks.
I got a lift to the station on the Wednesday night from my wife and waited for 57604 to arrive. This was 3 of the 4 GWR 57s had for this year from my third sleeper trip this year so that wasnt bad! Another 240 miles and 57604 was now sitting pretty on 4010 miles! I got into one of the newly refurbished seater coaches. Ive read a lot of bad things about these but I will say I think a good job has been done with them. Yes 2+2 makes it feel tighter but i felt there was plenty of leg room and whilst the seats dont recline, this didnt bother me. My mate joined at Exeter and as we hadnt seen each other for well over a month we had a bit to catch up on. We finally got our heads down after Temple Meads and I actually slept all the way through to London waking on the approaches to Paddington. So in my eyes the refurbed coaches are better for sleeping than the old ones where I feel the seats are to soft and eventually you get uncomfortable.
We headed over to the Hammersmith line and jumped on mega duds 21325/326 and headed to Euston Square. It was then the short walk onto Euston where some of the previous days problems were still evident. For those that dont know there was a line side fire the day before and sent Euston into a meltdown! Whilst most trains were now running, London Overground services werent and there was still power problems in the station itself where some of the concessions were shut.
We didnt have long before our train was announced and we headed down to the platforms and boarded 390020. We left on time and after passing Wembley where there were four dud locos for sight there was not a lot else to report!
We arrived into Manchester on time and I went and got my Manchester Wayfarer ready for later. It was then off to get breakfast. With a large one devoured we headed out to the trams. My mate got his tram travel card and we set about bashing. Im just gonna list the moves from here.
3007, 3006 Market Street Piccadilly Gardens
3115 Piccadilly Gardens New Islington
3107 New Islington Piccadilly
3009, 3045 Piccadilly Market Street
3091 Market Street St Peters Square
3032 St Peters Square Deansgate
3080 Deansgate Cornbrook
3095 Cornbrook Pomona
3079 Pomona Cornbrook
3116 Cornbrook St Werburgh's Road
3063 St Werburgh's Road Airport
At this stage my mate had found out where his last 185 was so we were heading to Piccadilly on the train for him to meet it there. Annoyingly I needed it too. Why annoyingly? It wasnt stopping anywhere within the boundary of my ticket! I decided against buying any extensions and we arranged to meet back at Stalybridge later. He had a little while before his train so we hit the city centre trams once more.
3059, 3017 Piccadilly Piccadilly Gardens
3078 Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly
3011, 3041 Piccadilly St Peters Square
3074 St Peters Square Deansgate
3035 Deansgate Newton Heath & Morton via Exchange Square
3056 Newton Heath & Morton Central Park
3112 Central Park Monsall
3053 Monsall Victoria
We had split half way through this session and I was able to scratch a few shacks. Annoyingly my mate is not interested in shacks so short of splitting for the whole day I wasnt gonna get many, that was clear. I guess thats the problem with social basing!
From Victoria I caught 156428 to Stalybridge. From here I popped into the Buffet for a drink whilst waiting for my mate who was running a couple late. We then reboarded 156428 to Ashton-under-Lyne. A short walk down the road saw us at the trams once more, this time for some new route.
3095 Ashton-under-Lyne Etihad Campus
3049, 3043 Etihad Campus New Islington
3018, 3022 New Islington Holt Town
3069 Holt Town New Islington
3059, 3017 New Islington Piccadilly
It was here I was desperate for a PNB so popped upstairs. I was about to head back downstairs and I saw required 142049 so quickly showed my ticket and jumped on. I rang my mate to tell him and said I would meet him for the 67 later. With the 142s on borrowed time I wasnt going to turn one down. I took this to Navigation Road for a new shack and then a new shack for the trams! I also used this time to get a few more tram shacks.
3017, 3059 Navigation Road Brooklands (Id caught up with it!!)
3011, 3041 Brooklands Timperley
3018, 3022 Timperley Dane Road
3041, 3011 Dane Road Picadilly
It was now time to meet my mate for the 67. We met on the platform but when he saw what it was he decided to head back to the trams. Hed had it a few days before. Thats was fine with me as it gave me more options later. I boarded and stayed in the front vestibule. 67020 was my first 67 in a long time. I took it to Earlestown where I then walked to the required spoons before 150136 took me to Eccles. Now was the chance to clear the Eccles branch for shacks and get the last bit of Metrolink track I needed (except the Oldham diversion which I dont think has regular services on it). A couple of walks between shacks meant less waiting around and speeding up what I needed to do.
3061 Eccles Weaste
3105 Ladywell Harbour City
3092 Media City Anchorage
3090 Anchorage Broadway
3114 Broadway Piccadilly
Back at Piccadilly I met my mate once more and got a BK. We then found the train we needed and 390155 would be our train home. We were about 5 down approaching Milton Keynes but lost another 5 there arriving into Euston 10 late. My mate was now heading off from here as he had a plan for tomorrow which meant he wasnt heading home. I would be heading to Paddington on my own but not before a brief meet up with Tech in the Euston Tap. He bought the pints (Cheers Tech) and what a fantastic pint Harpoon IPA is! The meet up was very brief but welcome. We then headed to Euston Square where we headed in opposite directions.
21509/510 were duds taking me to Paddington but I spotted 21463/464 at Edgware Road so I got off and joined them for Paddington. 57603 was my ride home where once more I boarded the refurbed coach home. I was asleep before we had even left Greater London and slept well. I woke briefly at Exeter but managed to sleep again before Plymouth. We arrived on time and it was then the walk home.
A good and packed trip was had then despite one problem, as my needs dwindle. Social bashes are good but does restrict what you can do at times. If I had been on my own I would have gone after tram shacks. Only once they were all done I would sit about waiting for winning trams. But I wouldnt want to stop the social bash completely as it offers a diffferent kind of day out. Hope that makes sense!
Over the course of the trip I had travelled 952 miles, scored 22 wining trains/trams and 14 new shacks.
Kite159
Veteran Member
I think the old route at Oldham has been closed & lifted.
Sounded like a very productive day in Manchester with many new trams entering your book as well as another delightful 142. Harsh on missing out on that 185
Sounded like a very productive day in Manchester with many new trams entering your book as well as another delightful 142. Harsh on missing out on that 185
Techniquest
Veteran Member
The old route at Oldham has been gone for a long time! You can happily remove it from your needs
Thanks for your company, albeit brief, last week! You clearly slept better than I did
Thanks for your company, albeit brief, last week! You clearly slept better than I did
Techniquest
Veteran Member
It was left in for a while after the Oldham Town Centre route opened, but I think it closed by 2015. Dud from when it was part of the Oldham Loop with Northern thankfully!
5th May 2017
15 days since my last bash this day was well overdue! What I would do also up in arms until quite late in the day! What ever it was initially meant a drive (no cheap advance tickets to anywhere) but the drive meant I had several options. For a long time a West Mid Day Ranger was on the cards but having read that the Chiltern Bubble was to be withdrawn, my plans changed and that nearly fell over before I started! Having decided on the Bubble I also looked at shacks I needed in the area. The route between Oxford and the Chiltern Mainline was also required so I was planning to knock quite a bit off and hopefully some winning traction would drop too. Oxford Parkway would be my starting point.
So what was the first problem! When I was planning the trip I had inadvertently left RTT on the bank holiday! Good job I looked as my leisurely start to the day would have meant a monumental mess and being stuck at a shack not served all that often! So I needed to leave the house three hours earlier than I had planned! At least I double checked the time of the awkward shack the night before!! The next problem unfolded when I received an email from Railcard telling me my network railcard was out of date! So I needed to renew that too! The final problem was the drive itself. Initially it was fine and once I left the M5 the traffic suddenly got really slow. This turned out to be some sort of farm vehicle that was causing really long tailbacks.
I got to Oxford Parkway with about 8 minutes to spare. I got the car park ticket (needed my reg plate and I have a new car so don’t know it off the top of my head yet!) then got my travel tickets for the day out of the machine. Then I went to renew my railcard! Time was ticking! Got it all sorted and got to the platform with a minute to spare. Phew! The previous 8 minutes had been a mad rush! I looked up at the PIS and the train that was showing was not what I expected! It wasn’t stoping at Islip! I opened up RTT and checked what the hell was going on! It said it would be and was a couple of minutes late! I looked back up and the PIS had changed. The time was now correct and we were stopping at Islip!
168107 arrived 4 minutes late and I got my new headphones out of my bag and set them up it was also a test to see if they worked as they should (wireless and I didn’t want any dropouts or they’d be going back!) We passed 59104 at the virtual quarry near the station and four minutes later were at Islip! Off I got and crossed for the five minute wait for the next train out of here!
20170505-Islip-168107 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
168111 soon arrived and it was a winner onto Oxford. Nice! Only one more 168/1 required.
20170505-Oxford-168111 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
I thought we were arriving early but got held outside the station for ages. This meant I didn’t quite make it onto the train about to leave so had to wait for 168111 to makes it’s way south. I had no choice but to bail at Biceseter Village as it’s next stop was Marylebone. My plan wasn’t that rigid for the bulk of the day outside of scoring Islip and the bubble anyway and I had an extra three hours to play with now anyway! Next up was a 168/3. Until today I had only had two so was a bit miffed when 168329 rolled in.
As we left I spotted a required 168 heading to Oxford. Plan changed again to pick that up late then! I took 168329 to Haddenham & Thame Parkway. I had an hour here now so went for a wonder and got a drink to kill time. Once back at the station I didn’t have much longer to wait for 168216! That was the 168/2s cleared! I took this to High Wycombe where not long after 165015 was then had to my next winning shack Beaconsfield. 66013 took me by surprise here as it thundered through heading North.
My next unit was a dud (I’d already seen it at High Wycombe where it starts) 165038. This was had to Gerrads Cross. From here I had another 20 odd minutes before 165003 left the siding just north of the station heading on the stopper to Marylebone. I took this to Denham Golf Club. I was now going to walk to Denham. Initially I was going give my self the hour or so it gave me to get there and probably wonder into the town. But I looked at Apple maps and it suggested it would take 27 minutes to walk the 1.2 miles. I decided to see if I could do it in the 18 minutes until the next train off Denham, and I made it! Who needs the Gym when you can go bashing instead?
20170505-Denham Golf Club-165003 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
The walk/run was mostly on non pavemented roads but I’m very glad I did it as it bought me time to open up moves later that day! 168325 was the next train as I started heading North once more to Gerrads Cross. It was 165020 that took me further North to Princes Risborough where we meandered over to the branch to Aylesbury. I bailed at Little Kimble where the next brisk walk would be required. This time 1.8 miles was required to be walked in 34 minutes. This was easier but I went past the road I should have gone down so think I added about 0.4 miles to my walk! What a donut! Nevertheless I made it and Monks Risborough was in the book!
168219 arrived with 165020 on the rear. This was taken to Saunderton for the final new shack of the day!
20170505-Saunderton-165020 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
165013 paired with winning 165021 arrived a few minutes later and it was onto Princes Risborough. I had an hour to kill now so I went in search of refreshments in the town centre. It was then back to the station for the main event of the day. The last time I attempted to do this (on my ALR back in 2015) it didn’t run so I held my breath as the time neared for its arrival! Soon enough 121034 came round the corner! At 1700 we left! It bought back memories! The last time I had done a Bubble on the mainline was over 20 years ago as it was my usual ride home from school until the 155s replaced them (latterly 150s). They had been bought back after the ill-fated Skippers (142s) arrived and couldn’t manage the Cornish curves.
The train was well loaded, mainly with enthusiasts! We arrived 1 early and then we headed back to Princes Risborough.
20170505-Princes Risborough-121034(2) by Steven Booth, on Flickr
20170505-Princes Risborough-121034 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
Because I had got ahead of myself earlier in the day I was now waiting for the Banbury 68! Unless the diagrams had been changed I knew I didn’t need it. I had already seen a 68 I needed earlier in the day, 68008. If the diagrams stuck it would be on the Oxford service later! 68009 duly arrived and I took this to Haddenham & Thame Parkway.
20170505-Princes Risborough-68009 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
Next up, after a 40 odd minute wait would be my train. It started running a few minutes late until it said Delayed. Trespassers apparently near High Wycombe. After an hour of waiting and 20 minutes late I could see the 68 approaching. Gutted! They had swapped the sets! I’d already let a double winning consist go and now wished I hadn’t! Tech was right in a message he’d sent me about getting on something that you need when you see it!
20170505-Hadenham & Thame Parkway-68011 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
So it was back to Oxford behind 68011. I decided I would take it to Oxford to clear the line for loco haulage. I was going to get it back Oxford Parkway but the next train arrived before the 68 returned. It consisted of 168216 (again) and 168327! 68011 had annoyed me so I let it go and ten minutes later bagged my last winner of the day.
I got back to the car just after 2030. The supposed 3hr 8 minute drive would mean I would be back before midnight. However the traffic got bad and several motorway closures meant I finally got home at 0045! Ouch!
The next day was knackering but it was worth it! I scored the Bubble and five other units. I also scored ten new shacks and 20 odd miles of new route. The 68 escaped me but I’ll get it someday! My headphones also worked very well indeed!
15 days since my last bash this day was well overdue! What I would do also up in arms until quite late in the day! What ever it was initially meant a drive (no cheap advance tickets to anywhere) but the drive meant I had several options. For a long time a West Mid Day Ranger was on the cards but having read that the Chiltern Bubble was to be withdrawn, my plans changed and that nearly fell over before I started! Having decided on the Bubble I also looked at shacks I needed in the area. The route between Oxford and the Chiltern Mainline was also required so I was planning to knock quite a bit off and hopefully some winning traction would drop too. Oxford Parkway would be my starting point.
So what was the first problem! When I was planning the trip I had inadvertently left RTT on the bank holiday! Good job I looked as my leisurely start to the day would have meant a monumental mess and being stuck at a shack not served all that often! So I needed to leave the house three hours earlier than I had planned! At least I double checked the time of the awkward shack the night before!! The next problem unfolded when I received an email from Railcard telling me my network railcard was out of date! So I needed to renew that too! The final problem was the drive itself. Initially it was fine and once I left the M5 the traffic suddenly got really slow. This turned out to be some sort of farm vehicle that was causing really long tailbacks.
I got to Oxford Parkway with about 8 minutes to spare. I got the car park ticket (needed my reg plate and I have a new car so don’t know it off the top of my head yet!) then got my travel tickets for the day out of the machine. Then I went to renew my railcard! Time was ticking! Got it all sorted and got to the platform with a minute to spare. Phew! The previous 8 minutes had been a mad rush! I looked up at the PIS and the train that was showing was not what I expected! It wasn’t stoping at Islip! I opened up RTT and checked what the hell was going on! It said it would be and was a couple of minutes late! I looked back up and the PIS had changed. The time was now correct and we were stopping at Islip!
168107 arrived 4 minutes late and I got my new headphones out of my bag and set them up it was also a test to see if they worked as they should (wireless and I didn’t want any dropouts or they’d be going back!) We passed 59104 at the virtual quarry near the station and four minutes later were at Islip! Off I got and crossed for the five minute wait for the next train out of here!
20170505-Islip-168107 by Steven Booth, on Flickr168111 soon arrived and it was a winner onto Oxford. Nice! Only one more 168/1 required.
20170505-Oxford-168111 by Steven Booth, on FlickrI thought we were arriving early but got held outside the station for ages. This meant I didn’t quite make it onto the train about to leave so had to wait for 168111 to makes it’s way south. I had no choice but to bail at Biceseter Village as it’s next stop was Marylebone. My plan wasn’t that rigid for the bulk of the day outside of scoring Islip and the bubble anyway and I had an extra three hours to play with now anyway! Next up was a 168/3. Until today I had only had two so was a bit miffed when 168329 rolled in.
As we left I spotted a required 168 heading to Oxford. Plan changed again to pick that up late then! I took 168329 to Haddenham & Thame Parkway. I had an hour here now so went for a wonder and got a drink to kill time. Once back at the station I didn’t have much longer to wait for 168216! That was the 168/2s cleared! I took this to High Wycombe where not long after 165015 was then had to my next winning shack Beaconsfield. 66013 took me by surprise here as it thundered through heading North.
My next unit was a dud (I’d already seen it at High Wycombe where it starts) 165038. This was had to Gerrads Cross. From here I had another 20 odd minutes before 165003 left the siding just north of the station heading on the stopper to Marylebone. I took this to Denham Golf Club. I was now going to walk to Denham. Initially I was going give my self the hour or so it gave me to get there and probably wonder into the town. But I looked at Apple maps and it suggested it would take 27 minutes to walk the 1.2 miles. I decided to see if I could do it in the 18 minutes until the next train off Denham, and I made it! Who needs the Gym when you can go bashing instead?
20170505-Denham Golf Club-165003 by Steven Booth, on FlickrThe walk/run was mostly on non pavemented roads but I’m very glad I did it as it bought me time to open up moves later that day! 168325 was the next train as I started heading North once more to Gerrads Cross. It was 165020 that took me further North to Princes Risborough where we meandered over to the branch to Aylesbury. I bailed at Little Kimble where the next brisk walk would be required. This time 1.8 miles was required to be walked in 34 minutes. This was easier but I went past the road I should have gone down so think I added about 0.4 miles to my walk! What a donut! Nevertheless I made it and Monks Risborough was in the book!
168219 arrived with 165020 on the rear. This was taken to Saunderton for the final new shack of the day!
20170505-Saunderton-165020 by Steven Booth, on Flickr165013 paired with winning 165021 arrived a few minutes later and it was onto Princes Risborough. I had an hour to kill now so I went in search of refreshments in the town centre. It was then back to the station for the main event of the day. The last time I attempted to do this (on my ALR back in 2015) it didn’t run so I held my breath as the time neared for its arrival! Soon enough 121034 came round the corner! At 1700 we left! It bought back memories! The last time I had done a Bubble on the mainline was over 20 years ago as it was my usual ride home from school until the 155s replaced them (latterly 150s). They had been bought back after the ill-fated Skippers (142s) arrived and couldn’t manage the Cornish curves.
The train was well loaded, mainly with enthusiasts! We arrived 1 early and then we headed back to Princes Risborough.
20170505-Princes Risborough-121034(2) by Steven Booth, on Flickr
20170505-Princes Risborough-121034 by Steven Booth, on FlickrBecause I had got ahead of myself earlier in the day I was now waiting for the Banbury 68! Unless the diagrams had been changed I knew I didn’t need it. I had already seen a 68 I needed earlier in the day, 68008. If the diagrams stuck it would be on the Oxford service later! 68009 duly arrived and I took this to Haddenham & Thame Parkway.
20170505-Princes Risborough-68009 by Steven Booth, on FlickrNext up, after a 40 odd minute wait would be my train. It started running a few minutes late until it said Delayed. Trespassers apparently near High Wycombe. After an hour of waiting and 20 minutes late I could see the 68 approaching. Gutted! They had swapped the sets!
I’d already let a double winning consist go and now wished I hadn’t! Tech was right in a message he’d sent me about getting on something that you need when you see it!
20170505-Hadenham & Thame Parkway-68011 by Steven Booth, on FlickrSo it was back to Oxford behind 68011. I decided I would take it to Oxford to clear the line for loco haulage. I was going to get it back Oxford Parkway but the next train arrived before the 68 returned. It consisted of 168216 (again) and 168327! 68011 had annoyed me so I let it go and ten minutes later bagged my last winner of the day.
I got back to the car just after 2030. The supposed 3hr 8 minute drive would mean I would be back before midnight. However the traffic got bad and several motorway closures meant I finally got home at 0045! Ouch!
The next day was knackering but it was worth it! I scored the Bubble and five other units. I also scored ten new shacks and 20 odd miles of new route. The 68 escaped me but I’ll get it someday! My headphones also worked very well indeed!
Last edited:
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Good news on the new earphones working well!
A mega shame about the 68 not producing, but what a top haul overall! I've been there and done it flagging winners while waiting for something, admittedly I forget what right now, and getting mighty tamping when the expected winner failed to turn up! I believe it was Kite who originally said about getting the winners as they appear, and I obviously nicked that philosophy from him!
You've right proper got me wanting a spin on Chiltern territory, as I'm sure you've guessed. Quite, I've got some ideas floating around now...
A mega shame about the 68 not producing, but what a top haul overall! I've been there and done it flagging winners while waiting for something, admittedly I forget what right now, and getting mighty tamping when the expected winner failed to turn up! I believe it was Kite who originally said about getting the winners as they appear, and I obviously nicked that philosophy from him!
You've right proper got me wanting a spin on Chiltern territory, as I'm sure you've guessed. Quite, I've got some ideas floating around now...
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