Noddy's Trip Reports

[Techniquest]

You've already had the rest of my comments off-forum, but they were before I read the last part. It's entirely up to you what you do with trip reports, but I will miss them should you discontinue them. I consider the same thing occasionally, but I enjoy doing trip reports so the feeling never lasts for me. I guess there's a benefit of being a part-timer, and have a lengthy commute each way, more time to do these things!

Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and while an EMDR is expensive at £36 it must be borne in mind a WMDR is around £26 and covers less territory from what I can remember. I must go and have a look actually...

 

[Segedunum]

At least you managed to have the button working at Peartree. I did it on the night of New Years Day 2016 and had to the phone the control centre to get myself let out as neither the button nor the intercom did anything!

And while I do enjoy your reports, don't let it get in the way of real life. I've got a backlog of reports simply because I don't have the time at the minute.

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good day in the East Midlands, well done on getting a few additional shack scores, and units going blind. I will miss your reports if you do decide to reduce the number you create

(BTW, I had forgotten how good a tune Bring Me to Life is)

 

[alexf380]

A very productive time in a part of the world I have yet to discover, so some of the moves are being stored on the spreadsheet for future reference.

I, too, will miss your trip reports should you decide to pack it in. If that is the case, then perhaps just one or two every now and then to keep your foot in the door? You never know, things may change and you might even miss it yourself!

 

[FQ]

The East Mids day ranger is an absolute rip off for what it is and I'd pretty sure the West Mids covers more area. Congrats on clearing the EMT powercars too!

I too will miss your trip reports if you decide to stop doing them but it's up to you - if you don't have enough time then maybe do a bit every now and then like I tend to do and after a week or so you may have a full report put together by just a couple of minutes at a time.

 

[55013]

Well, I'm certainly glad I visited the SVR on the Friday!

The most recent report was very interesting and I concur with my report writing colleagues.
Should you choose to drop the write-ups I'll miss them.
Having said that, I fully understand that they can be quite time consuming to create and sometimes other things are more important.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Noddy, fully understand if the trip-reporting has to go by the wayside although, like many others we will miss reading about your antics up and down the national rail network. I know with my change in circumstances that trips, let alone trip reports have had to take somewhat of a back seat but hopefully I will be more active in months to come.

 

[Cowley]

I must admit that when I've done any reports old or new it's been very time consuming, I'm very slow at typing too which doesn't help. The thing is fortunately (or unfortunately) I don't do many trips so it's quite enjoyable when I just do the odd one.
I'm full of admiration for the people on here that are always out and about and still have the time to post interesting and varied reports of the trips they've been on and I like catching up on them when I've got a bit of time spare.
Just to echo what others have said, your most recent one and all the others I've read that you've written have been excellent.
Just do what feels best for you Noddy.

 

[noddy1878]

Firstly thanks to you all for your kind comments! I don't know why I have suddenly felt like I did and as a friend has said to me, the feeling may pass. I certainly won't be giving up the bashing as it offers me a way of escaping the real world i.e. work for a while!

I have some trips planned and will continue to post in the shacks scratched and red pen threads so you can see what and where I have been that way. Maybe brief monthly summary's is an option if I can be bothered! Maybe I'll go back to full blown reports!

But thanks again for the kind comments.

You've already had the rest of my comments off-forum, but they were before I read the last part. It's entirely up to you what you do with trip reports, but I will miss them should you discontinue them. I consider the same thing occasionally, but I enjoy doing trip reports so the feeling never lasts for me. I guess there's a benefit of being a part-timer, and have a lengthy commute each way, more time to do these things!

Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and while an EMDR is expensive at £36 it must be borne in mind a WMDR is around £26 and covers less territory from what I can remember. I must go and have a look actually...

A lot of the East Mids is quite slow and not that regular. The core mainline routes on an East Mids is quite small where as on the West Mids is a larger area. Also there is way more to go after on a West Mids. That said I will still do East Mids with the ching as there is still plenty to do.

At least you managed to have the button working at Peartree. I did it on the night of New Years Day 2016 and had to the phone the control centre to get myself let out as neither the button nor the intercom did anything!

And while I do enjoy your reports, don't let it get in the way of real life. I've got a backlog of reports simply because I don't have the time at the minute.

That sounded like a nightmare! It's the first time I have come across such setup at an unmanned station.

Sounded like a good day in the East Midlands, well done on getting a few additional shack scores, and units going blind. I will miss your reports if you do decide to reduce the number you create

(BTW, I had forgotten how good a tune Bring Me to Life is)

I think Evanescence were very underrated. They have only ever done 3 proper albums though plus a live one and a few EPs.

A very productive time in a part of the world I have yet to discover, so some of the moves are being stored on the spreadsheet for future reference.

I, too, will miss your trip reports should you decide to pack it in. If that is the case, then perhaps just one or two every now and then to keep your foot in the door? You never know, things may change and you might even miss it yourself!

I was fortunate to be able to do it on a Sat as it opens up more opportunities due to the longer day.

The East Mids day ranger is an absolute rip off for what it is and I'd pretty sure the West Mids covers more area. Congrats on clearing the EMT powercars too!

I too will miss your trip reports if you decide to stop doing them but it's up to you - if you don't have enough time then maybe do a bit every now and then like I tend to do and after a week or so you may have a full report put together by just a couple of minutes at a time.

Not quite. One EMT power car left to get but I didn't see it.

Well, I'm certainly glad I visited the SVR on the Friday!

The most recent report was very interesting and I concur with my report writing colleagues.
Should you choose to drop the write-ups I'll miss them.
Having said that, I fully understand that they can be quite time consuming to create and sometimes other things are more important.

Wish I could have managed the Friday and Saturday. Then I could have also done some more full line runs behind the likes of the Deltic and Western. These things happen though!

Noddy, fully understand if the trip-reporting has to go by the wayside although, like many others we will miss reading about your antics up and down the national rail network. I know with my change in circumstances that trips, let alone trip reports have had to take somewhat of a back seat but hopefully I will be more active in months to come.

I fully understood your reasons for taking a back seat. I haven't really had a change in circumstances to be honest, time was always a squeeze in the first place.

I must admit that when I've done any reports old or new it's been very time consuming, I'm very slow at typing too which doesn't help. The thing is fortunately (or unfortunately) I don't do many trips so it's quite enjoyable when I just do the odd one.
I'm full of admiration for the people on here that are always out and about and still have the time to post interesting and varied reports of the trips they've been on and I like catching up on them when I've got a bit of time spare.
Just to echo what others have said, your most recent one and all the others I've read that you've written have been excellent.
Just do what feels best for you Noddy.

I agree with your comment. Some people are excellent at getting there reports done pretty quickly after a trip!

 

[noddy1878]

It’s been over two months since my last post on this thread. I have been lurking in and out of the forums in that time but after my trip last week I felt the urge to write another report! First a little catch up of what I have been up to since the end of May.

- A trip to London and then a Southern DaySave with a mate. I cleared my 171s and 313s during this trip.
- A mad dash to the Bodmin and Wenford railway before my late shift at work saw me bag Tornado for haulage
- An unexpected visit to the South Devon railway when friends were down (their son is 2 and half and train mad!) bagged a kettle.
- A trip to London for the Great Central Lament railtour with the following day spent in London.
- An unexpected week off work saw me do a FOSS to mainly clear shacks within the Rover area. I also used the opportunity to use the new Wareham - Swange service and scored 37518.
- A week in the lake district with my wife saw several shacks fall (mainly on Cumbrian coast) and 37403, 37424 and 37425 being scored.
- A trip to Sheffield with a mate saw a few more Northern units fall along with a handful of trams.

During that time a total of 61 locos/units have been scored and 85 shacks visited. Stay tuned for the the trip where I have the urge to report properly on.

 

[Cowley]

I saw your haul of shacks last night and thought it mightily impressive Noddy. Good getting those three 37s in Cumbria too.

 

[Techniquest]

Ooh I am looking forward to your trip report! It'll be days before I read and reply to it mind, you don't want to know how much bookwork I've got already to do! If I get caught up before the end of the month it will be a miracle!

In advance, welcome back!

 

[noddy1878]

7/8th August 2017
My first multi day trip since my FONE with my dad came about after a discussion with a mate who was attending the Great British Beer Festival in London on the 11th August. I said I would try and get the day off work and go with him. The day off was granted and seeing no one else off work then I requested the two days before it too which meant with my day off on the Tuesday, I had a few days to do something. After a bit of thinking and planning tickets were purchased. The trip was booked several months before it happened.

After a one of the toughest weeks at work in a long time, Monday finally came. I made sure I finished pretty much on time and was home by 1800. So where was I heading? Scotland with the focus mainly on Glasgow and Edinburgh with the intention of hunting out some required units and clearing Scotland for route! Originally the trip was too start on the Night Riviera from Plymouth but my wife is always out on a Monday night so decided I pull forward the start of my trip. I headed to the station after I had a quick shower (bag was already packed) and got a £6.85 return to Penzance and boarded the HST worked by 43177 and 43139. Neither were required for the year but I didn’t care and for the first time this year headed to Penzance on the train (actually I think its the first time I’d been to Penzance on any form of transport).

A few minutes down by the time we arrived, I pondered what to do for the 57 minutes before my next move, the first time I will have done the Night Riviera from Penzance to London. Before heading into town I grabbed a photo as the light was better.

20170807-Penzance-57602 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170807-Penzance-43129, 57602 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

It was then into town to find something to eat. In the end I settled for a Chilli Cheeseburger and Chips. I couldn’t be bothered to go to far and with that had I headed back towards the station and thought about getting a pint before the train. With a quick check on Untppd and discovering nothing new on in the pubs near the station I gave it a miss and went and got my seat. Now I am going to be controversial here. I had a choice of coach A (unrefurb) or B (refurb). I actually find the refurbs more comfortable. Yes the seats are harder but there is better head support. Only problem is, coach B never had it’s lights turned down! No idea why. So I settled for A (it wasn’t a great night’s sleep as I couldn’t get comfortable for reasons already explained).

We were off on time and it was to London behind 57602. The 329 mile journey would see me finally clear 602 for over a thousand miles, still a long way off the 4,900 odd of 605 mind you. We actually arrived a few minutes late into Paddington. Didn’t matter as I had a while until my next booked train. I went to McDonalds for a Double Sausage meal and then headed to the tube. The next 70 minutes were fruitless. I spent most of my time at King’s Cross but nothing in either direction was required. My time was nearly up so headed above ground to Euston.

Dud 390043 (why couldn’t it be 042) was boarded. Although a relatively decent table seat was allocated to me I moved to the more private bay of 2, also with decent views. We left on time and sped north. I like Pendos (as long as I can see out the window). I don’t have issues with them like others (and i’m sure people only have issues with them for what they replaced) and they did improve the frequency and speed of the WCML. I settled down and had a go at the BEAM service. It worked for one program and after that nothing would stream. Most odd.

It wasn’t until Carlisle things got interesting train wise. Passing Kingmoor was very productive for me. For sight I bagged 66430, 68029, 88007 and 88008. The 66 was my final DRS 66 required for sight so that was pleasing. We eventually arrived a few minutes down and I went off to get my required tickets for the rest of the week (I already had several advances picked up). I had put in some gen request on the forums but nothing had come through so I decided to get out of the way something I had yet to do (despite planning too on several occasions before!) and that was to head to Stranraer.

I picked up a meal deal at the Sainsbury’s outside the station and then I boarded the next Ayr train which was 380009. As we headed south I realised I could bail at Troon as my next train was behind at this point. With that, Troon became my first new shack of the trip.

20170808-Trron-156508 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

A few minutes later a pleasant surprise in winning 158508 arrived and it was off to Stranraer. The train was well loaded all the way and I was pleasantly surprised at how scenic the route was. Ok, its not the West Highlands but its certainly one of the more scenic lines in Britain! Signalling problems between Ayr and Maybole was causing trains to be late (in fact one got cancelled later so was very glad I had done this early to get it done!). We arrived at Stranraer 9 late and I barely had time to get a photo before we were heading back North.

20170808-Stranraer-156508 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We got to Ayr 16 late where a change of plan took place. I was originally heading to Kilmarnock and then onto Glasgow as it was quicker. The signalling issues meant that was no longer the case and I boarded 380022 for Glasgow Central. By now I had also got a little gen on three of units I needed. With that it was down to Glasgow Central Low Level.

I didn’t have to wait long. I wasn’t waiting for it but needed it, 320412 turned up. A quick check of the times and all was ok. I took it to Argyle Street where I should meet what I was expecting, 318270. The best bit was required 320417 was also part of the consist! This was taken to Hyndland where the second piece of gen should fall into place. Winning 334004 arrived and it was a leap to Partick! My next winner was due but we were late! We came in and there was no sign of the train in the opposite direction. I pegged it down the escalator and up the other side! For whatever ever reason I don’t know but the train lost time before Partick and I made it! 334006 led 334024 for my fifth winner on four trains and more importantly I had cleared my 334s. I took this to Bearsden where I then took the short walk to Hillfoot.

318251 and 320304 was the next train to arrive and I went up to Milngavie instead of waiting for it to return. I bailed at Anniesland on the return as I wanted to intercept a unit I had seen earlier. 318264 and 320303 then took me to Westerton. 320320 with 320415 arrived (so that worked then!) and I thought about checking in to my hotel to get rid of my bag. I decided that was the best thing to do and also consider getting food.

I bailed at Partick and headed down to the Subway. Duds 112, 203 and 131 took me to Cowcaddens. A short walk later I found the EasyHotel and checked in. Now bagless I went in search of food. Untappd suggested a verified venue with was also a brewery and pizza place. That’ll do! Shilling Brewery was where I went and ordered a Calzone Pizza and the flight of four thirds of their own brews. I was quite impressed with the beers and once I had eaten I went for two more guest halves before leaving, Cloudwater IIPA Simcoe Mosaic and the Weird Beard Peat Rock. Both were very good! I also spoke to my wife whilst here.

It was now back to the trains. The main aim was to get the sleeper later but until then I would shack scratch. 318258 and 320310 took me from Glasgow Central Low Level to Yoker. 318269 onto Kilpatrick, with 320306 back to Garscadden. 334002 was then had to Bowling before it returned to take me to Dalmuir. 14 minutes later and I could hear a 73/9. It was 73968 which was very nice as it was a winner! Onto Glasgow Queen Street and then back to the hotel! A long day but good start to the trip!

9th August 2017
With time being precious I always try to cram in as much as possible. With that in mind it was an early start. The alarm went off at 0530 and I was into the shower straight away. I was ready out of the hotel in 20 minutes and it was down the hill to Glasgow Central. I had my singles for the morning moves and boarded the 0615 to Stevenson with 380004 and 380008. I used the time to request some gen (sadly I didn’t get any, in fact nothing came for the rest of the week except for a tweet from Scotrail). Half an hour later I was on 380016 to Ardrossan Town. I then had a wonder round to Ardrossan South Beach. Great views across the beach, probably helped by the glorious weather!

From Ardrossan South Beach, 380101 arrived and I went all the way to Largs. Time for breakfast now at the recently opened spoons. I had a fantastic large Scottish breakfast with great views across the waterfront. What next? I was in two minds. As I mentioned I had tweeted Scotrail and now knew my final 314 was out on the Gourock services all day. I also had ages until the next train back from Largs. I looked at buses to Fairlie and West Kilbride but nothing tied in with trains from there. So I went for a bus to Inverkip. Annoyingly I had to pay as the bus that served that route (despite having STP all over the bus stops) did not accept the Day Tripper. I wasn’t impressed and just over £5 lighter I went north. It saved me a lot of time and the views were good though.

314203 arrived at Inverkip and to Wymess Bay I went before returning on it to Drumfrochar.

20170809-Wemyss Bay-314203 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

It was now a walk back to Branchton. I just made it, but to be fair wasn’t rushing, and 380013 arrived to take me to IBM Halt. The buildings behind the station must have been once part of the IBM are in a complete state of disrepair and I assume are being knocked down. I didn’t wander far as to be honest the place didn’t look that appealing. I am assuming there is something nearby as the station has more trains stopping now than it did when IBM were there! No sense!

380013 returned and it was onto Port Glasgow. Over the bridge for the next Gourock train. 314201 was indeed working on the line and I boarded it to clear the 314s to Fort Matilda.

20170809-Fort Matilda-314201 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

This was the one class I really wanted to clear on this trip as I believe the 314s are on borrowed time. With that done it was now time to head to the other side of the Clyde to see if my other required units were out. 380017 took me to Glasgow Central and I headed downstairs. I was going to head out towards Helensburgh to shack scratch in that direction and the chance of a winner was higher (I think) as most lines the cross the city end up this side where as south they seem to split more. I think that makes sense!

Whilst waiting for the westbound train and eastbound one turned up with a winner on it! 318254 led 320413. I could make it to Argyle street (like the night before this was!) before the train westwards. I made it and rather nicely winning 320411 led 320316 turned up! I took this to winning Clydebank. With those two moves my Scottish EMU requirements (for now) were down to two units!

318258 soon arrived and it was to Dumbarton Central.

20170809-Dumbarton Central-318258 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

My attention now turned to the shacks on the Balloch branch. Winner from last night (always the way!) 320320 took me to Renton where I then walked to Alexandria. I missed the train back by 10 seconds so had to wait for 334032 which I took to the end of the line and then back to Dumbarton Central.

My next plan was now to wait for the 156s off Oban and Fort William. That went out the window (and my first silly move of the trip!) when I saw 320414 coming in the other way! I didn’t think and pegged it to the otherside and got on! I had cleared the 320s! That was good! I took this to Dalreoch. Why was this silly? The 156s passed me here and I needed two of the three! I completely lost track of what they were doing next. I could have easily got the 320 as it’s next moves were obvious! Ah well!

20170809-Dalreoch-320414 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

I now decided to go further west and get the last two shacks before Helensburgh. 334039 to Craigendoran before its return took me to Cardross. 334015 and 334013 then took me to Helensburgh before I returned on them to Dalmuir. I took 318266, 318269 to Drumchapel before returning to Dalmuir on 334028. Now I could see what 156(s?) would be returning. Now on its own, 156496 turned up and I took it back to Dumbarton Central. At least I got one of them. I then decided I wanted to go 156 hunting. I headed back to Queen Street on 156450. I saw required 170429 leaving and its next move was ECS so that wasn’t going to fall today and with nothing else around I headed through the city centre to Central. Now I would see what 156s were kicking about on the East Kilbrides/Barrhead. I looked at clearing the shacks on the East Kilbride branch at the same time.

156449 and 156510 took me onto Thornliebank. Behind that was 156458 took me the short distance to Giffnock. The usual East Kilbride branch issues were in full swing (I assume its always like this because every time I have been on this branch its the same!) and the trains were late as they waited for each other. 156478 and 156462 took me to Crossmyloof. I let a couple of trains pass here as I was hoping for one being a winner. Finally a winner in 156465 took me back to Glasgow.

It was nearly 2000 so I decided i needed feeding. Another check on Untappd and a nearby verified venue was found and they did food. Republic Bier Halle was a great venue for trying worldwide beers. I had a quite a few with my awesome Chilli Dog. I pondered whether to hit the rails again and scratch a few more shacks but the beers were too good. I decided to move on to the BrewDog and enjoy a couple there and I am glad I did! I discovered BrewDog Tokyo *! Wow! An amazing American Imperial/Double Stout! It was more than enough for the day though at 16.5% and it was to the hotel after that and to speak to my wife at the agreed 11pm! Before that though what an amazing five minutes happened!

I couldn’t be bothered to walk so got the subway from Buchanan Street to Cowcaddens. 114, 206 and 116 were had first with one winner on it. As we arrived another train was arriving. 115, 118 and 108 was in the consist and I needed two of them! Back south then! A couple of minutes later 119, 128 and 106 turned up which contained another winner!

I couldn’t believe it! Four winners taking my Subway requirements down to four! So the trip continued to be very productive and my last day in Glasgow, as tomorrow would be spent in Edinburgh!

10th August 2017
Not as an early a start as the day before the alarm went off at 0630. I needed a bit more time this morning as I needed breakfast before the day started properly. I was up, showered and ready to leave in 20 minutes. I checked out of the East Hotel (I would use again by the way) and headed to Central station via McDonalds. It was then onto the 0715 to Edinburgh via Shotts. I bailed at Breich however for the awkward and possibly closing shack!

20170810-Breich-156503 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

From here I had just under an hour to get to Fauldhouse which was more than enough time. I just had to decide how to do it. I opted for what in theory was a quieter road. I came out of the station and turned right (going over the line). No pavement at this point, I walked along the verge where after five minutes a pavement appeared. That was good but got better. I came across a public footpath that was signposted as Railway Path to Fauldhouse. Even better! The path, as expected from the description, was an old railway line and took me straight into Fauldhouse. I stopped at a local shop (well the only one I saw that was actually still in business) for a drink. Fauldhouse clearly suffered as a result of the mine closures (sorry. not sure when) and has suffered as a result. I feel very sorry for places like this and from all my travels it looks like this place is one of the hardest hit from its local industry closing.

At the station I boarded 156478 and it was onto Edinburgh. I was on the look out for my final 170s and any 156s or 158s that I needed. I was also at some point looking to finish off most of the tram route. Potentially I could have been spending all day stood at Edinburgh waiting for them but thankfully that didn’t happen. I arrived and straight away spotted a required 170. 170457 was waiting to go and I saw I could bail at Edinburgh Gateway for the shack score.

20170810-Edinburgh Gateway-170457 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

With the next train back running late I took the opportunity to get a tram day ticket. I then took 251 to Edinburgh Park Central, 263 back to Ingliston P&R, 272 to Gogarburn, 253 to Gyle Centre and then 262 back to Gateway for the heavy rail.

20170810-Gogargurn-272 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170810-Edinburgh Gateway-262 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

I missed the original train I was going to get so looked at the next one. I never got it though as winner 158719 and 158720 were going the other way. I took this to Inverkeithing. My next attempt to head back to Edinburgh failed again as 158729 was behind heading North. It was a late stopper and ran fast to Kirkcaldy. Finally (well I was at the limit of the ticket) I went south and this time made it to Edinburgh on 158870. I went to have a little wonder, but didn’t even make it through the gates. 158738 and 158736 caught my eye and it was back over the Forth, this time to Dalgety Bay. I knew there was a 158 coming back this way that I had seen earlier heading to Dundee so Inverkeithing was my next stop and as expected 158717 turned up and into Haymarket I went. So far so good.

My attention turned to lunch now and I went to the newest spoons in Edinburgh for lunch. After that it was to Haymarket again and 170412 through the tunnels to Waverley. With nothing i needed about a shack score was looked at and I decided on Musselburgh. 380106 took me out and 158717 (on a North Berwick turn???) took me back. With nothing kicking around once more I went up to the trams and onto Princes Street. Amazingly this stop I hadn’t done so I took 254 to Haymarket to claim it and then back to the trains. 170430 took me to Waverley and I waited to see what 68 would be turning up for the first fife turn.

Yes! 68006. Very much required. I also whilst waiting spotted another two 158s I needed and my last two 170s! This was going to get interesting and planning went into overdrive!

20170810-Edinburgh Waverley-68006 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170810-Edinburgh Waverley-158709 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

So I took 68006 to Haymarket. I know it was only a short leap, but it’s now in the book and I couldn’t do what I needed to do any other way.

20170810-Haymarket-68006 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

156510 took me back into Waverley for my next two moves. I was a bit worried as we were held outside for ages! Finally we were on the move and dropped into Platform 16! Behind that was this!

20170810-Edinburgh Waverley-170429, 170458 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

My last two 170s! 170429 was heading to Inverness. Only stop I could get it to was Haymarket. 170458 was heading to Aberdeen! Excellent! Haymarket to Edinburgh Gateway!

With those moves done I had cleared the 170s in their entirety! I was happy with that! 158870 took me back to Haymarket and I had time for a shack scratch before the next move that should work out based on what I had seen earlier. 334032 and 334004 (from the other day) were had to Uphall. What a horrible station to change platforms! I have a recollection from someone else report this was the case. Luckily I had a few minutes. 334016 and 334037 I took back but only to Edinburgh Parkway.

It was now time to wait for 158724 and 158709 to Haymarket for a half hour wait for 158726 and 158721, the later being my final 158 for sight too. Wow! What a day! Hunger was now kicking in so BK was visited. What now? It had gone 2000 and I wanted to complete the tram network shacks (except the Airport as that can wait until I actually fly!) so did the following moves. I used the app to track any required trams too.

272 St Andrews Square - Edinburgh Park Central
265 Edinburgh Park Central - Bankhead
261 Bankhead - Saughton
266 Saughton - Balgreen
254 Balgreen - Saughton
259 Saughton - Princes Street
255 Princes Street - Haymarket

With that done and all required trams had I got 158867 back to Waverley. I went and checked what would be my next move. 92044 had bought the Lowland ECS in and 90042 was to take it to Carstairs.

20170810-Edinburgh Waverley-92044 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170810-Edinburgh Waverley-90042 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

I didn’t need it and would have to wait until I got to London to see what took me to London. Before that though I headed up to the Royal Mile and got a couple of drinks in the Jolly Judge. It was then back to the station and the train. What an awesome few days I had had and very productive! Tomorrow was the Great British Beer Festival but there would be time for a little something!

11th August 2017
We got into Euston early and I was off straight away. 92023 had bought me south which I needed. Good start. I went to the Virgin lounge and had a shower. Feeling a lot better I then headed to Paddington on a dud S7. I dumped my bag at the Shakespeare hotel (Citystasher location) so I didn’t have to worry about it at the festival. I then went back to the station and decided to clear the shacks on Greenford branch. 387145 and 387131 took me to West Ealing. Passing North Pole I saw two require IEPs in 800001 and 002. At West Ealing I walked to Castle Bar Park. 165121 then ambled to Drayton Green before returning to take me to South Greenford. Then it was a wait for the same unit to West Ealing. Whilst here 47848 passed through.

20170811-West Ealing-47848 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

387140 and 387141 arrived shortly and it was back to Paddington. It was then to Baker Street on another dud S7 for breakfast. Next up I decided to do some shacks on the LO network that were annoying gaps. Partly because it sort of put me in the right place to get to Kensington Olympia. Jubilee dud to West Hampstead and then the short walk to the Overground station for 378220 to Kentish Town West. Now to linear hop to Hampstead Heath and then Brondesbury Park on 378202 and 378232 respectively. It was ages before the next train direct to Kensington so I went the longer way. 378210 to Gunnersbury for another dud S7 to Barons Court. It was then the short walk to the festival where I met up with a mate (and where I made two more!)! It was a great day and many beers and laughs were had!

After a very quick 7 hours I started to make my moves home. 378210 took me to West Brompton before, you guessed it, a dud S7 up to Paddington (sorry can’t be bothered to type all the tube trains I got on this trip out!). Back to the hotel for my bag and then the chippy before finding my last train of the trip. 43158 and 43131 were my ride home and the week had taken it’s toll, or was it the beer? I slept pretty much all the way to Plymouth. We arrived a few minutes down and then it was the not particularly appealing walk home! I was knackered but didn’t want to pay for a taxi!

What a week! 37 new trains. Four classes cleared. 46 new shacks! I had a really enjoyable time and felt like sharing it.

 

[Kite159]

A very productive trip to Scotland

You got very lucky with those 170s

Good to see tram 255 out and about, my final Edinburgh tram for haulage

 

[Techniquest]

Holy fudgebuckets that was an intensely awesome few days for you!

Many congratulations on clearing 4 classes in that time up there, and good to hear the easyHotel is worth staying at. I am jealous of GBBF but maybe next year!

 

[Cowley]

I echo the above, that looked excellent and with lots of variety too.

 

[noddy1878]

It's been a while and I can't sleep so thought I would post a summary of basically what happened between the last trip report I wrote and the end of 2017!

18th August - Cleared the shacks between Yeovil and Chetnole.
29th August - Cleared the shacks between Fishbourne and Havant & Chandlers Ford and Salibury.
6th September - Day in Manchester and Liverpool. Cleared four shacks in Manchester area and picked up five 142s in the process along with another 508 (just two to go!)
14th September - Day with a South Yorkshire Connect+. Picked up a couple more trams, four stations and 13 tram stops. Also flew from Donny airport to Newquay which was a first!
27th September - Headed to Hereford to meet Tech for a few (ok maybe more!) beers! Used the opportunity whilst he was at work to clear five more shacks required up that way.
5th October - West Yorkshire Rover. Cleared my 322s and got another four more shacks.
11th October - Midlands Daytripper. Finally scored 68008. Bagged another 168/3 and a hatful of shacks.
18th October - The temptation of the 800s starting was too great! A trip to Cardiff to clear some shacks with some planned moves to get there and back bagged the first four that were out!
26th October - Cleared all the c2c shacks and the shacks on the Wimbledoon loop.
7th December - A trip to Newcastle for a Tyne and Tees saw me clear the 91s (at last!), bag another pacer (they will fall...) and a few shacks.
16th December - A not planned until very late in the day rail tour, The Jolly Grid bagged me the 56 and two 66s plus a load of random bits of track.
28th December - Finally cleared the Freedom of the Severn and Solent area for shacks with Calidicot being the last to get!

So for the year I travelled 26,008 miles. March was by far the most productive month with 4962 miles and November saw only 33 miles!
I scored 415 new trains/trams of which that included 38 locos!
I also scored 413 new shacks/tram stops.

My total required trains/trams is now 779 and I need 1282 stations/tram stops. I need 1007 national rail stations.

I pretty good year I reckon and 2018 has already started well!

 

[Keith Jarrett]

Noddy, that summary was excellent as it shows you are still about. 2017 was kind to you with all those winners. Hopefully 2018 will be equally kind to you and see further serious dents in your wants lists. Thankfully, there's enough new stuff coming in to keep us all busy. Those 800s for starters - I can see lots of Thames Valley Day Rangers and Freedom of Severn/Solent being used to grab the newcomers.

 

[Kite159]

Good to see you are still out and about on the rails Mr S

I bet you can't wait until the 802s start arriving to give you something local to hunt once more.

 

[noddy1878]

Noddy, that summary was excellent as it shows you are still about. 2017 was kind to you with all those winners. Hopefully 2018 will be equally kind to you and see further serious dents in your wants lists. Thankfully, there's enough new stuff coming in to keep us all busy. Those 800s for starters - I can see lots of Thames Valley Day Rangers and Freedom of Severn/Solent being used to grab the newcomers.

2017 was indeed kind Keith. I have diminished my needs for ex BR stock to about 100 units and hopefully this year I can knock a few more those classes on the head. New stuff is grateful as some of it is getting closer to home.

Good to see you are still out and about on the rails Mr S

I bet you can't wait until the 802s start arriving to give you something local to hunt once more.

Yes. Devon Dayrangers and Ride Cornwalls will once more be a thing! Especially as I will also need most of the reformed GWR 158s once back in two car formation. I can be home for tea too!

 

[Techniquest]

An excellent summary there, has it really been over 3 months since you came to Hereford? By gum that only feels like a few weeks ago, it was quite the enjoyable afternoon!

It occurs to me it'll only be a matter of months now until the HSTs finish, well apart from the mini sets, on the GWML. I must get back out there for a decent run soon...

Your needs in the UK are far less than mine, but I need far less shacks. You'll already be aware that my (admittedly part time) return to the UK rails is imminent...

 

[noddy1878]

An excellent summary there, has it really been over 3 months since you came to Hereford? By gum that only feels like a few weeks ago, it was quite the enjoyable afternoon!

It really is that long and it was. Some very good beers were had that day!

It occurs to me it'll only be a matter of months now until the HSTs finish, well apart from the mini sets, on the GWML. I must get back out there for a decent run soon...

...and I'm lucky enough to be in the prime position to use them Not that I need any of them!

Your needs in the UK are far less than mine, but I need far less shacks. You'll already be aware that my (admittedly part time) return to the UK rails is imminent...

I was aware and yes your shacks needs are less than mine but I have plans to make inroads into that

 

[Cowley]

Really good to hear that you’re still enjoying it all Noddy. I’m hoping to do a bit of local bashing this year too. Still need the Falmouth branch surprisingly, and a couple of other branches in our neck of the woods haven’t been covered since the 1980s!
Something to look forward to though I reckon.

 

[noddy1878]

Really good to hear that you’re still enjoying it all Noddy. I’m hoping to do a bit of local bashing this year too. Still need the Falmouth branch surprisingly, and a couple of other branches in our neck of the woods haven’t been covered since the 1980s!
Something to look forward to though I reckon.

I’m still enjoying it. Now xmas is out the way should be able to ramp things up a bit. I always start the new year with a bang! Certainly the first quarter.

I can’t believe you’ve not done the Maritime line! It’s one of the easiest to do now with a thirty minute frequency! Plenty of watering holes in Falmouth too!

 

[Cowley]

I’m still enjoying it. Now xmas is out the way should be able to ramp things up a bit. I always start the new year with a bang! Certainly the first quarter.

I can’t believe you’ve not done the Maritime line! It’s one of the easiest to do now with a thirty minute frequency! Plenty of watering holes in Falmouth too!

Yeah it’s high on my list this year. I think trip down there in March on a sunny weekend would be good

 

[noddy1878]

Lets give these a go again then. Not sure how long it’ll last.

2nd January

So my first trip of the year would start in a similar fashion to how 2017 ended. I had one more day left that I could use on a FOSS. Having now cleared the shacks for the entire area the only thing left, and thankfully just in time so I had some thing to go after locally (well sort of local!) was the IETs that were coming into service. I was also planning to add a Valley Ranger so I could clear a few more shacks there too.

I left Plymouth on 221128 at 0925 so I could get to Tiverton using a day return with my Devon and Cornwall railcard and continued to Bristol Parkway. Normally I get the HST to Cardiff from here as it normally connects but today I was going to let that go and wait for the 800 behind. This was also the first time I had seen the new platform. At least now Bristol Parkway feels like it has a bit more balance to it. The four tracking between Dr Days Junction and Filton also seems to be progressing well.

After grabbing a drink, required 800017 and dud 800008 arrived and I was soon off to Wales. Nothing of note until the approaches to Cardiff. I spotted a 150 but noticed it had three carriages! I then noticed it was a GWResque Hybrid. 150978 had been created whilst one half of another unit recovered from a meeting with a tree it turns out. A quick check of RTT and I worked out what it was doing. Well that changed my plans slightly but I guess I would get more value out of my ranger than I thought.

20180102-Cardiff Central-150978 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

150978 duly arrived into Cardiff and I was soon off to Risca & Pontymister. It was here the crossover for 150284 was made back to Cardiff. Once back here it was time to head off to clear the shacks on the Aberdare branch. 150262 was first up and took me to the penultimate station on the branch, Cwmbach. I went for a wonder to kill time, not really finding much at all, before 150262 returned for the two stop trip to Penrhiwceiber. A 17 minute wait here and 150231 arrived to take me back up the line to Fernhill. I now had a walk to Mountain Ash which wasn’t that far. The weather had turned cold and slightly damp so I’m glad I didn’t have to wait long for 150231 to return. Upon it’s return I had now cleared the branch and headed back to Cardiff.

I had about half an hour before my next train so popped to Smiths for a little look to see if there was anything worth getting. I decided against buying anything and returned to the platforms. 800018 and 800012 were up next and I decided to head to Swindon to see if I could make a connection there which should be another two 800s, after all, they all run late apparently. I had tried this move the week before and failed as they were running to time. It looked like I was going to fail again. The Bristol bound train had been running late but made all it’s time up before Didcot. I have no idea what caused it to loose it just outside Swindon but it did, so I made it! The additional bonus was not only did I need 800016 and 800010 I would now be able to get an earlier train back to Plymouth, hopefully.....

I had half an hour at Temple Meads so grabbed a pasty and a few photos.

20180102-Bristol Temple Meads-800010 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20180102-Bristol Temple Meads-150243 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20180102-Bristol Temple Meads-800010, 166202 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

A check on RTT and everything was good. My train was arriving into Parkway on time. Then it started to go a bit wrong. A couple of trains already in the station which were heading north started showing as Delayed. To cut a long story short, eventually every train on the board was delayed (eventually some cancelled) because there had been fatality at Lawrence Road. Thoughts went out to the driver and everyone involved and to be fair all passengers were good about it. The only downside was the length of time it took for this information to get to us and the auto tannoy announcements needlessly giving wrong info! Eventually someone must have turned them off too!

220003 eventually arrived 107L. It was all a bit bizarre. I have to say I didn’t feel like I had been waiting that long! We were soon off but it was to get worse. Storm Eleanor was about and a TSR was in place after Taunton. Luckily the Dawlish wall wasn’t shut to Voyagers but I eventually arrived into Plymouth 138L. The two other XC services behind were also subject to delays but somehow were even worse by the time they got to Plymouth.

Anyway, despite all that, it was a good start to 2018. Five winning trains and four shacks.

 

[Kite159]

A good start of 2018, apart from the issues later on in the day

 

[Cowley]

Great report Noddy. I liked the photo of the 166 and 800010 at Temple Meads.

 

[Techniquest]

A bloody good start to the year, and I'm glad you posted a report. As always, an enjoyable read was had, I'm told only 800007 is left to be finished at the factory, so not long really until the entire sub-class is available. Which should knock out pretty much all 165/166 operations on my patch which will be an end of an era.

Nice work on the Welsh shacks too!

 

[noddy1878]

Thanks guys! Temple meads is definitely changing! As for the 800s I thought there were couple that haven't been fitted out yet but maybe wrong!