Noddy's Trip Reports

[Segedunum]

Sounds like an excellent trip up in my territory!

I still need British Steel Redcar, and your experience doesn't fill me with enthusiasm

 

[alexf380]

A great start to the trip, hopefully the rest is as good to you as this was.

 

[Cowley]

That looked great Noddy. Your Dad must be pretty nimble to be scaling fences like that!
4667 miles off 57605, I had to read that twice. Blimey.

 

[Techniquest]

4,667 off 57605 certainly makes my 2,913 off 43002 look like nothing!

An excellent first part to the FoNE, although it must be said I'll stick to my rule for British Steel Redcar!

 

[noddy1878]

Congrats on getting the private property shack cleared

Plus the two Gainsboroughs =

Thanks.

Sounds like an excellent trip up in my territory!

I still need British Steel Redcar, and your experience doesn't fill me with enthusiasm

I wasn't expecting it to be quite that difficult! I believe another member had done it and the gate was open! But the train crew showed no bother about letting us off!

A great start to the trip, hopefully the rest is as good to you as this was.

You'll have to carry on reading!

That looked great Noddy. Your Dad must be pretty nimble to be scaling fences like that!
4667 miles off 57605, I had to read that twice. Blimey.

My dad is pretty nimble to be fair!

4,667 off 57605 certainly makes my 2,913 off 43002 look like nothing!

An excellent first part to the FoNE, although it must be said I'll stick to my rule for British Steel Redcar!

I think you should change your rule with shacks that you know can be done !

On with day 2!

Sunday’s are always a slow to get going on the national rail network but me and Dad wanted to make the most of our time away. The Newcastle metro was already fired up by 0700 the time we agreed to aim for. Alarm set for 0600 I got up and had a shower. I made the teas whilst Dad had his and we were soon on the way to the Metro. It was a lot harder getting to Central than it was to the Premier Inn! An intense set of steps all the way back up to the top but were soon there. We went and got our day travel cards and set off. I know that we were not going to get a whole days value out of it but I should score a whole load of winners in both units and shacks. I hadn’t covered much of the Metro at all prior to this visit.

First up (and purely because it was the first train that came we headed south of the Tyne! We got on 4026/4046 and eventually fell off them at Brockley Whins. A short wait and we were back to Fellgate on 4078/4030. We then had a longish wait for 4033/4054 to St Peter’s before 4026/4046 returned and took us to East Bolden. From here we took 4048/4032 all the way to the end of the line (thus clearing the branch) to South Hylton.

20170319-South Hylton-4032 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

The same pair of units then took us to University where we walked to one of the Sunderland spoons for breakfast. After a large breakfast it was now time to squeeze a few more moves in. We walked to Park Lane and caught 4018/4075 to Millfield. 4058/4056 came soon enough and we took this to the Stadium of Light. For the final time that day 4026/4046 took us back towards Sunderland where we bailed. Eleven units in the book already and 9 Metro shacks.

Now for the next part of the plan! 142016 arrived and was a busy service with an early lunchtime kick off in Middlesbrough for the footy. We bailed at Seaton Carew for the six minute wait for 142079 and 142084 to arrive and onto Hartlepool. The two spoons were swiftly visited and then we went to find some lunch for later in the day. It was then back to the station where 142089 from the nights previous exploits was in the bay.

20170319-Hartlepool-142089 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We boarded the unit and before long we were off! The weather started getting better as we skirted the coast and headed southwards. After half an hour we were at Teeside Airport.

20170319-Teeside Airport-142089 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We were not the only people to get off. Another guy got off who had driven to the airport, caught the previous train to Hartlepool and then the return. We then set off towards Dinsdale. We arrived with plenty of time for 156438 to Darlington. That was the end of the plan!

From now onwards it was do whatever we wanted! We weren’t waiting long, six minutes in fact. 43296 came in with 43318 on the rear! We boarded and set off South to York eating lunch on the train. 66565 was at Thirsk where engineering work was taken place. Once at York I got a photo of 43296 and we had a look round to see if anything was required. There was a required 144 for myself but it was clearly going nowhere for the day parked up on the far side!

20170319-York-43295 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We decided to continue heading south and winning DVT 82218 (I count them if they’re in control of the train) with 91116 propelling. No jerky issues to report we were soon at Doncaster. The Colas Grids from yesterday were gone from the side of the station but a few minutes later we spotted two of them coming through the station.

20170319-Doncaster-56113, 56105 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170319-Doncaster-56113, 43423 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Also coming through the station was a required GC power car. Mental note made of that. After about 30 minutes a Hull Trains 180 came in that was required (180113). We hopped on and it was south to Retford.

20170319-Retford-180113 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

The next train North was also a Hull Trains 180 and we decided we would take it whatever it was. It happened to be winning 180111. Happy days! Once at Doncaster we took 185120 out to Scunthorpe for a shack score. A short wait for 185113 and we were back at Doncaster once more. We went and got a tea before 91131 arrived and took us to York. We were now waiting for the GC behind but I was dissapointed to see it wasn’t an HST. Nor was it my last GC 180! It was 180107. I thought the Sunderland turns were HSTs? Ah well. We took this to Northallerton where we should have had a 25 minute wait. It turned into an hour!

Our train turned into being on time to delayed and then 49 late by the time it arrived! I could see it on RTT arriving at Eaglescliffe on time but that was it! When it arrived 43423 was leading! Eh? 43467 should have been leading but was now on the rear. It turned out that a freight train had broken down and the train got diverted to Darlington to reverse. That compounded with a line side fire in the area caused a bit of delay! Anyway it was a winner and once at York it was time to get back to Newcastle. We made the the next northbound train with 8 minutes to spare and 43299 and 43307 took us back to Newcastle. We were going to hit the metro again but it had now gone 2200 and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet. We decided to get dinner and then just head back to the hotel.

Another good day. With one more awkward shack cleared and a couple of HST power cars scored very successful in my eyes.

 

[Cowley]

A good variety of trains in your photos. The 56s looked nice.

 

[Techniquest]

Quite a busy day really for a Sunday! Can't imagine that fester at Northallerton was much fun, hardly an exciting place at the best of times let alone in the cold weather. I'm surprised to realise it must be almost 10 years since the day I first went there!

 

[Kite159]

I've done that diversion on GC before when the direct line is closed, reversing in one of the Darlington bays with the doors remaining strictly closed.

The Sunderland GCs are 2x HSTs and 1x 180, and i need that bay at Hartlepool. Well done on Teeside Airport

 

[noddy1878]

As with the previous day we started out on the Newcastle Metro. Our FONE wasn’t valid until 0930 anyway as we were using a Two Together Railcard also. Up at the same time with the same routine we got to the Metro Central station just before 0700. The first train in was a northbound train consisting of dud 4023 and winning 4070. We took this to Jesmond before heading south on 4016/4064. Next for a winning shack was Gateshead Stadium. 4081/4043 behind were taken to Pelaw before 4021/4060 were taken to Pallion to wipe out an annoying shack requirement on the South Hylton branch. With that done it was back on the same pair, this time leaving it at Seaburn.

4045/4003 were next up and onto Heworth with double duds 4029/4010 to Felling. It was nearing breakfast time now so a quick winning move on 4042/4031 back to Heworth was had before 4032/4048 took us to Monument. We then went had got breakfast before walking back to Central station for the FONE to start!

Today there was no plan. Just get as many winners as I could. Leeds was an area where I hadn’t been to for ages and needed bits and pieces. With that decided we jumped on 185143 for the direct to Leeds train. We spotted 60002 just as we left the station and that was about all we saw as we headed south. I also put a request out for some gen on a few units once we left Newcastle. As we arrived into Leeds station I saw a winning 91. Quick check of RTT and it was leaving shortly. 91113 controlled by 82228 was a good start and this was taken to Wakefield.

We jumped not the first train back from here which was 43206 and 43317. I had already spotted my next move earlier on which was 321901 and once more back to Wakefield we went. As we approached the station a 142 was just outside the station and it was required. A trip on that next then as it was due back into the station shortly. But just as we got off, an East Coast train was pulling in! 91130! Get in! Very quickly we went over the stairs and back to Leeds. I know looked at where that pacer would be and where I could intercept it!

With that worked out we jumped on 150272 and off to new shack Deignton.

20170320-Deighton-150272 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Minutes later 142067 arrived and it was off to Wakefield once more. Originally we were going to get off at Kirkgate but my gen requests had come through. A quick check of what could be got and how changed the plan slightly and we continued on the pacer with the reversal to Westgate. It was then over to the other side for 142018 back to Leeds. Now armed with a bit of gen I was on the look out for my next train. 155347 was next to clear the 155s in their current form. I have probably (but as I have no record of it cant be certain and therefore say) cleared the entire class as when I was a kid my commute home from school involved 155s before they got mostly split up! How annoying I took no note of what I rode home on during my years of no interest!

20170320-Bradford Interchage-155347 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

The time I had allowed us to get to Bradford Interchange before 158787 back to Leeds. Ready and waiting in the station should be and was 321902! A very fast run on this to Shipley cleared the 321s entirely for haulage! Very pleased with that!

20170320-Shipley-321902 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

For the first time since I cleared them (I think) next up was a 333. 333005 was had back to Leeds. I got some info from a friend who had been at work and that would dictate the rest of the day. I needed to be at York for 1830. We had enough time to get winning 144015 to Bramley for 142096 back to Leeds. It was then 185139 to York where we had a bit of time. Like the other day there were no cheeky moves that could be made so we settled for a couple of ales in the York Tap. In between them we popped out to see what the passing freight that was due was. It was 66951 heading to Felixstowe.

20170320-York-66951 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

As 1830 neared we headed over to the correct platform and waited. It soon arrived and photo was got before we got on and headed to Doncaster on 91108, my penultimate 91!

20170320-York-91108 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Here we went to get some dinner. It had started raining so we were grateful that most of the walk was through the shopping centre. Once back at the station we waited for the next train to Newcastle. Whilst waiting shed 66750 stopped as it headed through the station.

20170320-Doncaster-66750 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Eventually for the second time this week 91109 arrived and to Newcastle we went. We decided to hit the metro before heading back to hotel so see what else we could score. 4058/4056 arrived and we took that to Wansbeck Road. A rammed (a flight had clearly landed a while before) 4048/4032 back to the Regent Centre before 4011/4024 back in the direction of the airport to Callerton Parkway. The temperature had really dropped and my hat came out! That was better whilst waiting!

4056/4058 returned and Banks Foot was next. Finally 4031/4042 arrived and it was to the Airport for clearance of the route and the same units back to Central.

20170320-Airport-4042 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

So that was day 3! No new Metro units in the evening but 11 in the morning. Quite a few more shacks knocked off too. By far the most successful in terms of the red pen! The 321s cleared, the 155s cleared (as they are now) and only one 91 is now needed to clear them!

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on a productive day seeing both the 155s and 321s cleared outright, along with several more metro shacks and other bits and bobs

 

[Techniquest]

Very impressive, to clear the 321s and 155s is just incredible going, as is needing just one more 91!

Very good going on the Metro too!

 

[FQ]

An excellent few reports there! Congrats on finally clearing the 155s and, partially, the 321s! I'm also glad to see that my stalker (and probably favourite unit of Newcastle's metro), 4042 made an appearance too.

 

[noddy1878]

I couldn’t believe it, the last full day of our FONE, and to be honest it wasn’t even going to be a full day. Up at the usual 0600 and the routine completed we were out by 0645. The bags were, annoyingly, with us once more but we had little choice. Up the steep steps for the last time too we were soon at Central station waiting for the Metro. On the way I spotted a required 185 making its way into the station.

First up was 4079/4037 which we took to Kingston Park. A short wait here and 4088/4087 were had onto to Fawden. That meant the stops on the airport branch were now cleared. We then decided that we would spend some time in the core section picking off winners. The moves we made are below.

4034/4051 Fawden - South Gosforth
4077/4071 South Gosforth - Ilford Road
4012/4086 Ilford Road - West Jesmond
4040/4083 West Jesmond - Jesmond
4074/4069 Jesmond - Haymarket
4036/4044 Haymarket - Monument

20170321-Jesmond-4083 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We had let quite a number of sets continue without us so time was now getting on. We then ventured to a part of the network we hadn’t touched at all since we had been here. 4055/4082 arrived and onto Wallsend we went in search for breakfast.

After breakfast we had a little bit of time before our next set move which saw us make these moves.

4071/4077 Wallsend - Walkergate
4075/4018 Walkergate - Hadrian Road
4060/4021 Hadrian Road - Chillingham Road
4062/4049 Chillingham Road - Hadrian Road
4058/4056 Hadrian Road - Manors

We chose Manors to end our metro adventure as we could get back to Central via the main network and get a shack score. 156479 duly arrived and 46 chain leap to the main station was made. Now after yesterday’s success on the East Coast fleet I needed one more HST power car and one more 91. I had got a little info on the where about’s of one of them so it was a case of not straying too far. The weather was amazing today too. Still very cold but sunny.

We had a wonder round to see what was about. Nothing required but a shack score was spotted so we jumped on 142079 and took this to Heworth for a mainline score. 142089 (for the third time this week!) took us back to Central. We had an hour now until a potential score arrived. Time for a cuppa and I popped into Smiths to get a copy of Railways Illustrated for later. We spent most of our time photing and enjoying the sunshine. For the first time ever I even got a photo of the Royal Mail EMUs. Nigh on all the ones I have seen have been in poor light.

20170321-Newcastle Central-156463 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170321-Newcastle Central-185103 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
Really not sure about this livery! I don’t like the lack of numbers on the front either!

20170321-Newcastle Central-325009 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170321-Newcastle Central-91114 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170321-Newcastle Central-43314 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170321-Newcastle Central-91110 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
Wanted a better shot of this but as it arrived an HST also came in and got in the way!

Midday was nearly upon us and hopefully a nice winner! 43238 came into view so it was what was on the back I would be interested in! 43313! Yes! My final East Coast Power car for haulage!

20170321-Newcastle Central-43313 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

This was taken all the way to York where hopefully the next move will work out. We had a little time so a few more photos were taken here.

20170321-York-43238 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
43238 with its NRM decals at York! Annoyingly the driver pulled right off the platform! Had I known this was going to happen I would have gone to the other side!

20170321-York-43313 by Steven Booth, on Flickr
My final East Coast Power car once again!

20170321-York-66422 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We then went over to wait for what should if I worked it out right (I had my doubts though as I seemed to lose track of it on RTT) a winning 185! It wasn’t. My doubts were correct. I had tracked the unit to Liverpool Lime Street but then there were no moves off the platform it was booked to go into for ages. Clearly the next move from that platform was not the unit I thought it would be. Ah well.

We didn’t have much time now and the train we needed for the next part of the day was soon due. 43312 and 43306 (previously very low mileage) were boarded and a bay of 4 found for our trip away from the FONE area! We saw nothing as we headed north but with the weather as it was it made the views along the coast amazing! One we had hit Berwick our mega £3.75 advance to Edinburgh kicked in as we raced towards Waverley. I say raced, we got there 17 minutes late but I can’t remember what the problem was.

We now had 20 odd minutes until our next train. So we went and got the tickets for what was required next. We had a look at what was about (thankfully nothing I needed because then I would have been frantically trying too work out moves that probably couldn’t have been made in the time we had!). I then noticed our next train was already in about 15 mins before departure! Sure it didn’t used to do this!

20170321-Edinburgh Waverley-68007 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Yes the 68s on the Fife circle! But 68007 was dud! We boarded anyway and after what felt like an eternity we were off and through the tunnels! What a noise! It was over all too quick as we were off at South Gyle for the ten minute or so wait for the one behind! 68020! This time a winner! It was a little busier than the previous but we got into the front vestibule ok and off we went again! Again it was only a short trip to Dalmeny.

20170321-Dalmeny-68020 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Would loved to have done more but annoyingly the second turn doesn’t go all the way round and we needed to be back at Waverley for our next train! We could have got a later one but it wouldn’t have been £7.50 each!

158739 soon arrived and we were on our way back to Edinburgh. I really need to come up here and look at knocking off some of my dwindling Scottish units. We went and got a sandwich and then went to get our next train. 43309 and 43277 (two more low mileage power cars) were up next. The last time I did this next part of the journey was behind two 20s! What a trip that was! We were off to Stonehaven! Darkness soon fell so I got my magazine out and started reading that! Thankfully the annoying kids behind us (4-16 I reckon) had got off. Why they insisted on singing (quietly I admit but was annoying either way) crappy 80s songs was beyond me! Very very annoying!

Once we got to Stonehaven we had an hour and bit to kill! Why Stonehaven? Mainly as it would be a shack score. Also I didn’t to cut the connection tight further north and allow for any delays. We took a wonder into the town centre and got a pint! It was then back to the station. A unit was in going north so I got a photo and then we waited to see what would arrive!

20170321-Stonehaven-170428 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

A minute or so down 73971 would be leading us back to Edinburgh! A dud! Ah well! We boarded the train and dumped our stuff! It was then to the lounge car and we had dinner! We both had soup and then I had chicken casserole and Dad lamb casserole. Washed down with two good beers from the Eden Falls brewery. The food was very good and quite reasonably priced in my eyes. We then went to our cabin and got our heads down!

A pretty good day with a lot of miles! One more 68 done and East Coast cleared for HSTs. Just one GC power car and three EMT ones left! Just a shame it was the beginning of the end of the trip!

 

[Kite159]

Congrats on another successful day, grabbing some cat thrash as well as some 73 action

 

[Cowley]

A very enjoyable read and great photos. A good bit of time doing something you love with your dad is great too.

 

[Techniquest]

Quite a productive day there! Nice work all round, and the 68 thrash I am ultra jealous of. Clearing your VTEC HSTs is excellent going, welcome to the club

 

[noddy1878]

Congrats on another successful day, grabbing some cat thrash as well as some 73 action

I was glad it was a 73. Been too long that they should have been on these properly!

A very enjoyable read and great photos. A good bit of time doing something you love with your dad is great too.

Thanks. I did something different this time in that all my photos were taken on my phone! Few reasons. So much quicker to get my phone out of my pocket, the iPhone 7 takes pretty good pictures very quickly and I can upload them straight away if choose. My SLR is about 10 years old now and whilst I can get good photos with time, unless the weather and light is perfect I don't always have time to use it. Bashing and photoing don't always mix!

Quite a productive day there! Nice work all round, and the 68 thrash I am ultra jealous of. Clearing your VTEC HSTs is excellent going, welcome to the club

Thanks! The 68 thrash wasn't long enough but they will be around for a while yet on TPE and once everything is clear (if I should say!) I can spend time on them!

Onto the last day!

After a good nights sleep south we woke around Milton Keynes with our breakfast bap and teas. I always sleep better on the Caledonian but I think that’s purely because its a longer journey. We had a discussion about what to do in the morning. We had till 1303 so we had time to do something but not a lot. Originally the plan was to look at heading out to Flitwick and then make our way back to London via all the station stops. With the 700s coming on stream quite quickly now it would be a win win. The problem was, how shall i sat it, a rip off until off peak with a railcard! No thanks! We stuck to a travel card and after deciding on no more than a Zone 6 decided to head out to London Bridge! We arrived into Euston and off we went obvisouly stopping to find out what had bought us down!

20170322-London Euston-92018 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Winner 92018 was at the front so I’ll take that for my third 92 for haulage! Down to a very busy Northern line we boarded 51538/51537 for what felt like an eternity to London Bridge! It was a tad warm down there! It was then the trek to the mainline station. We popped up to the terminating platforms to see what 171s were about. Nothing I needed and with nothing else required in the other platforms it was over to the through platforms.

After a very long time 375911, 375906 and 375711 was the first train we boarded. My usual leap to Waterloo East was made when the heavens opened! We found shelter and then waited to see what was coming behind. Another long wait and eventually 465908 and 465920 arrived and off we went to Charing Cross. Just in case anyone was wondering, Dad doesn’t really go for haulage so he was happy getting on whatever I needed. If anything it meant he saw more as you obviously miss stuff on a train!

We didn’t have to wait long at Charing Cross thankfully! Behind our train a pair of 376s arrived and I needed one of them. I looked at a move to take us to a new shack as I felt we needed to get some mileage off the travel card! So 376002 and 376004 were had to New Beckenham. 376001 and 376005 were the units coming in the opposite direction and we took these to Lewisham.

The next move was for a train that dad had spotted earlier and I needed one of the 466s in the consist. So we waited for the right train to head to Mottingham where I would get a shack scratch and then hopefully a winning unit. Whilst we were waiting shed 207 passed though.

20170322-Lewisham-66207 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

465152 and 465250 took us to Mottingham where we waited for the train behind. 66850 passed through whilst we were here but I was too slow with the camera! A few minutes later 465249, 466024 and winning 466014 were arriving and we boarded! This train was heading for Cannon Street so we stayed on it. We were kind of heading to Paddington now.

We took 21397 and 21398 to Blackfriars and up to the Thameslink core we went. 319s were kicking about so I left them to head south and we went north on the next unit that was in. 700030 to St Pancras.

20170322-London St Pancras-700030 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

We had a wonder round upstairs for Dad to see if anything he needed was kicking about. It was then down to the tube and like the start of the trip (once we got to London!) a pair of winning S7 half sets took us to Paddington. 21566 and 21565 were boarded and off to Paddington we went. We had a bit of time. I went and got a mothers day card to give to dad to give to mum a few days later! Then we went and got some food. Plenty of HSTs as you’d expect and a few I got photos of.

20170322-London Paddington-43144 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170322-London Paddington-43172 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

20170322-London Paddington-43185 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Only 43002 was missing out of the three really good ones (Harry and Swallow being the other two!)

It was soon time to board our train which was 43177 and 43144 taking us home. We were heading back first class. We were also going the long way round. Due to the derailed train in the Westbury area it was over to Bristol and then down to Plymouth. Added about 30 minutes to the journey but I think a bit of better planning could have only been 15 minutes. We should have been allowed to pass the 1300 PAD - BRI at either Didcot or Swindon but instead we had to slow every time it was due to stop en route to Bristol!

Anyway, we eventually got back to Plymouth. Dad had to continue to Truro but it was the end of the trip! And a great trip! 64 winners and 45 new shacks over the five days. I cleared the 321s outright and what remains of the 155s. I now only need one 91 and 4 HST power cars! I had bagged another two awkward shacks in British Steel Redcar and Teeside Airport. Finally made a big dent in my Newcastle Metro requirements both unit and shack wise!

Total mileage for the trip was 2776. Dad kindly paid for all the travel except the metro travel cards which I insisted I bought! I also bought all the meals but clearly I got the better deal! And with that, that was my annual trip away with my Dad! I said my byes to Dad and it was off to meet my wife who was just finishing work!

 

[FQ]

Sounds like one heck of a good trip! We were indeed on a couple of the same trains on the Tuesday - I was probably right behind you when you got that photo of 313 at York.

 

[alexf380]

A fantastic end to the trip, Noddy! Really glad you enjoyed yourself

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good end of your trip

 

[Techniquest]

You definitely had the better deal in terms of expenditure! A fantastic result all in!

 

[noddy1878]

23rd March
Back in February I was planning to visit one of my best mates in Southampton but I decided March would be a better time to meet. With tickets being just over £40 return with use of my Devon & Cornwall Railcard and my Network Railcard. I decided I could get much better value out of buying an 8 in 15 FOSS and relevant tickets to the boundary on the day I needed the ticket!

A much more leisurely wake up time than the previous five days saw me leave the house with my wife at just after 0800. She still had work for the rest of the week but we walked into town together. Once at the station I got my FOSS, a single to Axminster and an evening Devon Ranger for the next day. I usually head to Southampton via Honiton and normally go on the 0925 off Plymouth which should give me a +4 at Exeter. For some reason today I didn’t. I went up on the 0853 which meant a longer wait at Exeter but it also meant short of a disaster I would make the 1025 off Exeter to Salisbury.

20170323-Plymouth-43041 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

43041 and 43005 in GWR Green arrived from Penzance and we were off. We arrived into Exeter on time and I went and got a tea and had a wonder round. I took a photo of a Green 150 which are slowly becoming more numerous.

20170323-Exeter St David's-150202 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

159107 eventually came off Riverside Yard (not sure the side they come off is called that actually!) and I boarded for my first 159 haulage of the year. We arrived into Salisbury on time but my next train was running late but not late enough to miss my next train luckily.

158955 eventually arrived and it was onto Southampton. I id’d four 66s at the Freightliner terminal but there was definitely more there. What next? My mate was at work until 1630 so what would I be doing? Making use of my FOSS! There were plenty of SWT shacks I needed 23 at a count I had made back in Feb. So after grabbing some lunch I jumped onto 450543 for the quite laborious journey to Bursledon. Never really liked the slow route skirting the south coast between Southampton and Pompey. I’d better get used to it!

I didn’t have long to wait here before 450554 arrived and it was onto Sholing. I now took a walk to Woolston which was simple enough for the return of 450554 to Hamble. Now it was time for another walk but this was much tighter. I had 16 minutes to get to Netley. Now there was a muddy path running alongside the railway so I made my way down this but google maps suggested the road that I was getting closer to would be better. So I went for that. Problem was it was a private road and was something to do with the Hampshire Police! I had to retrace my steps and now needed to start running! Back to the muddy path which pretty much went parallel to the road. I was forced to the road at one point but that was after the gated private bit! Phew! Now I pegged it along the road and to the station. I had a minute to spare but if I hadn’t of pegged it I would not have made it!

450570 was the next unit to arrive and I took this to Bitterne. I didn’t have much choice about what I could do here so I waited for its return (Sky Q app came in handy here during the fester!) and to Bursledon once more for a fill in move before the Desiro that started the afternoon off 450543 arrived and it was back to Southampton.

That was it. I headed outside, got some cash and waited a few minutes for my mate. He soon arrived and we went off to his flat, dumped my stuff, he got changed and we headed back into town for a beer or 14 as it turned out! Don’t worry most were halves or thirds as we sampled the spoons ale festival and the Brewdog!

With 6 SWT cleared off the list as I made my way to meet my mate not a bad day!

24th March
I awoke at 0700 and after a shower and getting ready me and my mate headed into town for about 0815. We got breakfast before we said our goodbyes. With me armed with a FOSS I was going to make use of it once more. First up I needed one more shack between Southampton and Pompey, Swanwick! Or did I? I boarded 377446 which was a winner and off to Swanwick I went. I got off and it felt familiar! That’s because I had been here before! Doh! At least it was a winner to it!

377449 returned me to Southampton where I then boarded winner 450029 and 450079. Looking at the timetable I hadn’t realised this stopped at Brokenhurst for half a year! I obviously got off and got the fast train behind and took this too Branksome. 450029 and 450079 followed and it was on to Parkstone! I’d been here before too. What was going on? Clearly my PDF (from Project Maps) that I use to mark off the shacks I have been to (in theory to see clearly!), hadn’t been cross referenced with my shack list properly! Oh well.

444007 wasn’t long though and it was onto Hinton Admiral. Definitely a winning shack! It was then 444039 onto Poole where I had about 20 minutes to pop to ASDA to grab some lunch. 444038 was then had to Holton Heath. 59202 was spotted on the way coming off the branch to the stone terminal at Hamworthy. I ate my lunch at the pretty much nothingness station of Holton Heath. I didn’t venture anywhere knowing there was not a lot here having lived in the bournemouth area for 7 years earlier in my life. 444022 was the next Desiro I got and this time to Hamworthy for my final winning shack of the day. To save the fester I got 444042 to Wool. A few minutes later 444038 arrived and I stayed on this to Bournemouth. 444011 was at Bournemouth and we joined that. I pondered a couple of more shacks (I could have got them) but I was tired and wanted to just go home. The week was finally catching up with me (or was it the night before?)

I spotted more at the Maritime Freightliner terminal including a winner for sight in 47771! Not many 47s I now need for sight that still exist! At Southampton it wasn’t that long a wait for 158798 onto Salisbury. 159017 and 159005 were up next to Exeter. I had to stand for a couple of stops. Again I pondered a shack scratch but no I wanted to get home! At Exeter we rolled down the hill and it was pretty much straight onto 221128 for the final leg of the journey.

So another 4 shacks done. Now only 11 SWT shacks within the FOSS now to do if I counted correctly. Im not including infrequent shack calls like Chetnole, thats a GWR one. Better than the 23 I needed (or thought I needed) back in Feb! The biggest bonus was two winning units though as I really didn’t expect them!

 

[185143]

I simply walked out of Redcar British Steel-admittedly about 6 weeks after the steelworks closed. The fence wasn't there at the time!

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good couple days on a FOSS Noddy

 

[Techniquest]

For shack scoring that was a productive time, although after a heavy night on the beers that must have been tough going!

 

[Dhassell]

A nice trip report as usual! The sidings which SWT's layover in Exeter is called Exeter New Yard.

 

[Cowley]

A nice trip report as usual! The sidings which SWT's layover in Exeter is called Exeter New Yard.

You got there before me.
Nice report Noddy. An area I know well too. I can't help feeling that many different types of beer (halves or not) may not have been performance enhancing though.

 

[FQ]

Sounds like a great couple of days there! I do hope you're going to make more use of your FOSS too.

 

[noddy1878]

I simply walked out of Redcar British Steel-admittedly about 6 weeks after the steelworks closed. The fence wasn't there at the time!

What's odd is the fact they're quite happy to let you off the train but it then isn't that straight forward to get to the main road. Either don't let people off or let people get out easily without climbing round a fence!

Sounded like a good couple days on a FOSS Noddy

Slowly but surely clearing it!

For shack scoring that was a productive time, although after a heavy night on the beers that must have been tough going!

To be fair I think it was the week catching up with me rather than the beers. I certainly wasn't hungover just very tired!

A nice trip report as usual! The sidings which SWT's layover in Exeter is called Exeter New Yard.

That was it! I couldn't think of it!

You got there before me.
Nice report Noddy. An area I know well too. I can't help feeling that many different types of beer (halves or not) may not have been performance enhancing though.

As I mentioned to Tech, I think it just made me more tired! Some of them were very nice though!

Sounds like a great couple of days there! I do hope you're going to make more use of your FOSS too.

Don't worry! I managed a bit more out of the ticket.

 

[noddy1878]

My first day off since my return to work (the less said the better) and I had another FOSS day to look forward too. Well sort of. I would use the FOSS to get to Cardiff cheaply and then another Valley Lines Explorer ticket. Purely a shack scratching today. So short of anything going wrong with the timetable I knew what I was doing.

I got to the station for the 0925 off Plymouth. I got my Devon Day Ranger that would get me to Tiverton and a Valley lines Explorer. I then grabbed a tea before heading to 221137. We left on time and set off on an uneventful journey to Bristol. 37421 was spotted at Exeter St Davids and that was about it! At Bristol Parkway I crossed over and waited for 43139 and 43033 to arrive to take me to Cardiff.

One thing I noticed, although its probably because I haven’t been paying attention previously, you won’t be able to see anything at the new IEP depot in the triangle between all the railway in Stoke Gifford. They have constructed a massive wall between the mainline and the depot where there isn’t a bank obstructing the view! Maybe there is a very good reason, but I cant think what that would be!

With absolutely nothing to see en route with Newport Alexandra Dock Junction also devoid of any locos, we arrived at Cardiff a few minutes down, as congestion at the station saw us waiting for a platform. Once we were in I crossed over to the valley platforms and waited for the first train that would take me to the valley I was going to attack today!

150278 and 142073 were first up and I went all the way to Bargoed before returning on the same pair to Hengoed.

20170330-Hengoed-150278 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

Pengam was next on 150284. I had about 15 minutes here and took a wonder to see if there was anything where I could get some quick food. In luck, I found a sandwich shop round the corner from the station and got a Chicken Tikka Sub. Very nice it was too and ate it on the way to the station. It was that big I was still eating it when 142006 and 143612 arrived and took me to Ystrad Mynach. I stayed on the same side and waited for 150284 behind and went on to Energlyn & Chuchill Park.

After what felt like a small trek I made it to the other side. 143614 and 142074 were next and on to the next shack Llanbradach.

20170330-Llanbradach-142074 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

It was then 150279 behind that on to Pontlottyn. I waited for 150279 to return and took it to Brithdir. Now it was time for a walk. I walked back up towards Tir-Phil. 150284 was next up where I took it to the end of the line.

20170330-Rhymney-150284 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

I obviously returned on it for the 18 odd miles to Lisvane & Thornhill. Onto Aber next, on 150279, now with 150253. 142073 and 150278 were then caught to Llanishen. My last new shack for the day was Gilfach Fargoed one of the smallest shacks on the network where we had to get off from the very front of the 150213. I started to have a little wonder but decided against it when I saw a group of unsavoury people drinking cans of super strength lager/cider a little way from the station. Luckily it wasn’t a long wait for 150284 onto Bargoed before the same unit was had all the way back to Cardiff. I got off at Queen Street and went in hunt for some food. I ended up at Burger King and then it was back to Central for 43034 and 43169 to Bristol Parkway.

As I got off I saw 43002 at the far end of the platform and I headed in its direction to get a photo.

20170330-Bristol Parkway-43002 by Steven Booth, on Flickr

221121 was my unit back to Plymouth. A rather successful day I felt with 12 new shacks.

The end of a rather busy Q1 had seen me bag 232 wining trains for haulage, 149 new shacks whilst traveling 9,654 miles. I think that is my biggest first quarter haul ever in mileage terms.