I went for a proper bash today, good few shacks scored leaving only 5 left to do on the network!
Doing 2 more tomorrow, leaving the hourly served rural shacks for when I'm feeling braver!
I also have 3 or 4 to do on Metro Line 1, but the 90 minute frequency is a bit pathetic!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here's 2 days of the East Midlands Rover. Not as detailed as usual but hey, it's a start!
Day 2- 26/7/15
We’re starting with day 2 of the Rover, as day 1 wasn’t actually in the Rover area, rather in London.
It was a short drive into town as I made my way to the station for my first service, the 0925 to London Kings Cross which had dud 91132 pushing it. An unreserved pair of seats was sourced for the 150 mile dash south to Newark North Gate, which was also winning shack no. 1 of the day. From here, it was time to get down to business as I awaited the Cleethorpes service. This had quite a healthy crowd as a winning 156413 arrived in from Lincoln, with most passengers being headed to here. It emptied out at Lincoln for us to continue along the rather flat, albeit rather pleasant run to Grimsby Town where we had quite a long dwell time so I grabbed a few photos of the train and the station before jumping back on for us to run through the rather drab looking Grimsby Docks and New Clee stations before arriving into Cleethorpes 5 up at 1311.
By golly, the heavens had opened! I absolutely legged it to the other platform for a winning pair of 170303 and 170308 for the journey to Doncaster. This was a pretty peaceful journey as far as Scunthorpe where some of the local children/chavs joined us and insisted on being complete pains in the arse to everyone in the carriage. On the approaches to Doncaster, dud 91115 was just approaching the platform, and seeking a chance to avoid a dodgy +7 at Peterborough, I ran across the platform and onto it. It was heaving! An unreserved seat as far as Newark was found where I then found an aisle seat for the run to Grantham where I’d decided on a change of plan.
I tried to find food outside the station but in the end a bottle of Polish fruit juice was all I felt like buying. I trudged my way back up the station in the pouring rain and onto the platform to await the 1436 to Skegness. This was formed of double winners 153326 and 156403, and I opted to sit in the 153 for a bit of noise! One thing that struck me was the sharpness and length of the curve in order to join the Skegness line out of Grantham, before we then continued east through what was again pretty pleasant scenery, albeit a little damp! I bailed at Sleaford as this gave a nice connection heading back over. I took a walk over to the local chippy and a tray of chips were sourced for £1.90, before walking over to the Nottingham platform. I had been previously thinking to myself ‘I wonder if I’ll come across 156498?’ as this was the only EMT 156 I’d previously had, but in Northern guise.
I nervously laughed to myself as the 1539 to Nottingham pulled in, formed of a winning 156411, and erm, dud 156498. This had a fantastic guard on board who was one of the best I’d ever encountered, very friendly and professional bloke and he even issued someone’s tickets to Ramsgate for a later date. We reversed at Grantham for us to then continue onwards up more winning track to Nottingham. We called only at Bingham, and were shortly arriving into a soaking wet Nottingham, where the only real option was to head back to Grantham so I could scratch the line linking Doncaster to Selby!
I huddled into the shelter and got talking to a Sikh gent who was heading back to London for work purposes, and so we spent the journey onboard a winning 158813 discussing all manner of subjects before we parted ways with a handshake as I aimed to head north to Doncaster and he joined his train south. Double duds 43251 and 43317 were working the Hull service this evening, and I joined Coach G for a peaceful journey northwards, where we arrived into Doncaster at 1905. Short fester here for a winning 180109 which took me forwards to Selby. These struck me as being very nice units indeed, having never really used one on a journey exceeding 10 miles. The journey was very swift and relaxing as we arrived into Selby ready for me to starting heading home.
The train to York was formed of a very quiet dud 158815, which managed to get into York at 2021, enabling me to source a takeaway burger and chips before returning for the 2053 to Newcastle which was formed of double duds 43305 and 43306, getting me into Newcastle for 2149.
Total Mileage- 563mi 64ch
Total Winners- 8
New shacks- Newark Northgate, Grantham, Grimsby Town, Cleethorpes, Sleaford (5)
Total cost- £27.79 (As % of rover plus food cost)
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Day 3- 27/7/15
This was a pretty late start by my standards as I positioned myself at the Central for the 0859 to London Kings Cross, formed of last night’s duds 43305 and 43306. I could only find an aisle seat, but that would suffice for the 55 minute journey south to York where I had to change for an onward service to Doncaster, the 1003 to London Kings Cross which had a dud 91126 on the back. It was a very peaceful journey in Coach H as we raced southwards to Doncaster where I was to join the 1042 TPE. I also had the option to leg it for the 1026 stopper, but as this was formed of a mega dud 142020, I passed on it.
This didn’t quite go as planned as the TPE didn’t arrive until 1055, and it was completely rammed and formed of a fresh dud 170303. I had a seat but offered it to an elderly woman who was struggling to stand before positioning myself in the area by the doors for the very uncomfortable journey to Sheffield. It was a relief to be leaving the train, where I then headed for double winners 222014 and 222017 for the journey to Leicester. The Meridians struck me as being a world away from their Voyager counterparts, making the 66 mile run a pretty pleasant one, and it also presented the first of many chances to take a look at the variety of locos stabled in the depot just south of Derby. We arrived into Leicester at around 1225, where there was a short wait for another winner in the form of 222016 to take me south to Kettering.
It was a nifty +3 onto a winning 222009 up to Corby before there was a swift change of direction back south onboard the same unit as far as Bedford. I was now an hour ahead, so it was time to work out an alternative plan as there wasn’t much point being back in Newcastle at 1945! A plan was soon made and I found myself on the approach to Bedford where I took the chance to grab a shot of an incoming 319 pair before heading over to a winning 153354 for the journey to Bletchley. This was a thrashy little stagger, lots of stations to call at with quite a healthy load! I now planned to hang around and see what turned up on the Southern service to Milton Keynes as this was a nice chance to scratch a few 377s between the most northerly two stations that Southern must serve! Double winners 377203 and 377206 produced for the short run where I proceeded out of the station to go grab a donut from the local Greggs. This was a bit of a faff as the gate rejected my ticket then my railcard was then rather rudely demanded, which is a new one as I’ve never been asked for a railcard at a gateline!
However, on returning, it seems that the station is well frequented by chancers, as the same gent was dealing with three guys who looked about 20 travelling on child tickets. Seems he wasn’t up for taking any nonsense that day! I headed down for the 1519 Crewe which was formed of a winning 350116, a very busy service but a window seat was sourced for what was quite a sprightly run via Weedon and onwards through to Tamworth. I then swapped platforms and jumped onboard another winning 350123 back south to Nuneaton where I had some time to grab a couple of provisions from the local Asda before joining a winning 170519 to Leicester. I had originally intended to join an HST to East Midlands Parkway before dropping back onto the stopper to Nottingham, but the service to Nottingham, formed of double winners 43046 and 43066, was far too pleasant and quiet for me to leave and I continued all the way through to Nottingham on it.
This now gave me a good hour or so before there was a train heading to Grantham, so I joined a winning 222102 for a shack scratching move to Beeston. Only 4 coaches and a pretty busy train, but I was soon off and joining double winners 222018 and 222010 for the journey back to Nottingham. Not bad for about 25 minutes work, eh? We now had issues though. My intended 1837 to Norwich was increasing in delay and was now due at 1854. I only had something like a +20 so by the time the rear unit was detached it was going to be a connection out of the window. I instead chanced the 1844 to Skegness, which happily was a winner in the form of 156415. This was a slower run than the Norwich however and it turned out to only be something like a +3 onto the 1928 to Newcastle, a very convenient service being the only one of a handful to go direct there rather than having to change at Newark, Doncaster or York.
It was running 18 late so no need to panic in the end. I sat around the station awaiting its arrival which presented me with a dud 91113 but a carriage with about 3 people in it! This was a peak time departure from London! It did have a strange calling pattern (Peterborough, Grantham, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle) and it was an extra service, leaving at 1819 from London but I was expecting it to be far busier! Still, I wasn’t complaining and we raced north, arriving into Newcastle around 2145.
Total Mileage- 607mi 11ch
Total winners- 16
New shacks- Kettering, Corby, Bedford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes Central, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Beeston (8)
Total Cost- £27.37
Doing 2 more tomorrow, leaving the hourly served rural shacks for when I'm feeling braver!
I also have 3 or 4 to do on Metro Line 1, but the 90 minute frequency is a bit pathetic!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Here's 2 days of the East Midlands Rover. Not as detailed as usual but hey, it's a start!
Day 2- 26/7/15
We’re starting with day 2 of the Rover, as day 1 wasn’t actually in the Rover area, rather in London.
It was a short drive into town as I made my way to the station for my first service, the 0925 to London Kings Cross which had dud 91132 pushing it. An unreserved pair of seats was sourced for the 150 mile dash south to Newark North Gate, which was also winning shack no. 1 of the day. From here, it was time to get down to business as I awaited the Cleethorpes service. This had quite a healthy crowd as a winning 156413 arrived in from Lincoln, with most passengers being headed to here. It emptied out at Lincoln for us to continue along the rather flat, albeit rather pleasant run to Grimsby Town where we had quite a long dwell time so I grabbed a few photos of the train and the station before jumping back on for us to run through the rather drab looking Grimsby Docks and New Clee stations before arriving into Cleethorpes 5 up at 1311.
By golly, the heavens had opened! I absolutely legged it to the other platform for a winning pair of 170303 and 170308 for the journey to Doncaster. This was a pretty peaceful journey as far as Scunthorpe where some of the local children/chavs joined us and insisted on being complete pains in the arse to everyone in the carriage. On the approaches to Doncaster, dud 91115 was just approaching the platform, and seeking a chance to avoid a dodgy +7 at Peterborough, I ran across the platform and onto it. It was heaving! An unreserved seat as far as Newark was found where I then found an aisle seat for the run to Grantham where I’d decided on a change of plan.
I tried to find food outside the station but in the end a bottle of Polish fruit juice was all I felt like buying. I trudged my way back up the station in the pouring rain and onto the platform to await the 1436 to Skegness. This was formed of double winners 153326 and 156403, and I opted to sit in the 153 for a bit of noise! One thing that struck me was the sharpness and length of the curve in order to join the Skegness line out of Grantham, before we then continued east through what was again pretty pleasant scenery, albeit a little damp! I bailed at Sleaford as this gave a nice connection heading back over. I took a walk over to the local chippy and a tray of chips were sourced for £1.90, before walking over to the Nottingham platform. I had been previously thinking to myself ‘I wonder if I’ll come across 156498?’ as this was the only EMT 156 I’d previously had, but in Northern guise.
I nervously laughed to myself as the 1539 to Nottingham pulled in, formed of a winning 156411, and erm, dud 156498. This had a fantastic guard on board who was one of the best I’d ever encountered, very friendly and professional bloke and he even issued someone’s tickets to Ramsgate for a later date. We reversed at Grantham for us to then continue onwards up more winning track to Nottingham. We called only at Bingham, and were shortly arriving into a soaking wet Nottingham, where the only real option was to head back to Grantham so I could scratch the line linking Doncaster to Selby!
I huddled into the shelter and got talking to a Sikh gent who was heading back to London for work purposes, and so we spent the journey onboard a winning 158813 discussing all manner of subjects before we parted ways with a handshake as I aimed to head north to Doncaster and he joined his train south. Double duds 43251 and 43317 were working the Hull service this evening, and I joined Coach G for a peaceful journey northwards, where we arrived into Doncaster at 1905. Short fester here for a winning 180109 which took me forwards to Selby. These struck me as being very nice units indeed, having never really used one on a journey exceeding 10 miles. The journey was very swift and relaxing as we arrived into Selby ready for me to starting heading home.
The train to York was formed of a very quiet dud 158815, which managed to get into York at 2021, enabling me to source a takeaway burger and chips before returning for the 2053 to Newcastle which was formed of double duds 43305 and 43306, getting me into Newcastle for 2149.
Total Mileage- 563mi 64ch
Total Winners- 8
New shacks- Newark Northgate, Grantham, Grimsby Town, Cleethorpes, Sleaford (5)
Total cost- £27.79 (As % of rover plus food cost)
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Day 3- 27/7/15
This was a pretty late start by my standards as I positioned myself at the Central for the 0859 to London Kings Cross, formed of last night’s duds 43305 and 43306. I could only find an aisle seat, but that would suffice for the 55 minute journey south to York where I had to change for an onward service to Doncaster, the 1003 to London Kings Cross which had a dud 91126 on the back. It was a very peaceful journey in Coach H as we raced southwards to Doncaster where I was to join the 1042 TPE. I also had the option to leg it for the 1026 stopper, but as this was formed of a mega dud 142020, I passed on it.
This didn’t quite go as planned as the TPE didn’t arrive until 1055, and it was completely rammed and formed of a fresh dud 170303. I had a seat but offered it to an elderly woman who was struggling to stand before positioning myself in the area by the doors for the very uncomfortable journey to Sheffield. It was a relief to be leaving the train, where I then headed for double winners 222014 and 222017 for the journey to Leicester. The Meridians struck me as being a world away from their Voyager counterparts, making the 66 mile run a pretty pleasant one, and it also presented the first of many chances to take a look at the variety of locos stabled in the depot just south of Derby. We arrived into Leicester at around 1225, where there was a short wait for another winner in the form of 222016 to take me south to Kettering.
It was a nifty +3 onto a winning 222009 up to Corby before there was a swift change of direction back south onboard the same unit as far as Bedford. I was now an hour ahead, so it was time to work out an alternative plan as there wasn’t much point being back in Newcastle at 1945! A plan was soon made and I found myself on the approach to Bedford where I took the chance to grab a shot of an incoming 319 pair before heading over to a winning 153354 for the journey to Bletchley. This was a thrashy little stagger, lots of stations to call at with quite a healthy load! I now planned to hang around and see what turned up on the Southern service to Milton Keynes as this was a nice chance to scratch a few 377s between the most northerly two stations that Southern must serve! Double winners 377203 and 377206 produced for the short run where I proceeded out of the station to go grab a donut from the local Greggs. This was a bit of a faff as the gate rejected my ticket then my railcard was then rather rudely demanded, which is a new one as I’ve never been asked for a railcard at a gateline!
However, on returning, it seems that the station is well frequented by chancers, as the same gent was dealing with three guys who looked about 20 travelling on child tickets. Seems he wasn’t up for taking any nonsense that day! I headed down for the 1519 Crewe which was formed of a winning 350116, a very busy service but a window seat was sourced for what was quite a sprightly run via Weedon and onwards through to Tamworth. I then swapped platforms and jumped onboard another winning 350123 back south to Nuneaton where I had some time to grab a couple of provisions from the local Asda before joining a winning 170519 to Leicester. I had originally intended to join an HST to East Midlands Parkway before dropping back onto the stopper to Nottingham, but the service to Nottingham, formed of double winners 43046 and 43066, was far too pleasant and quiet for me to leave and I continued all the way through to Nottingham on it.
This now gave me a good hour or so before there was a train heading to Grantham, so I joined a winning 222102 for a shack scratching move to Beeston. Only 4 coaches and a pretty busy train, but I was soon off and joining double winners 222018 and 222010 for the journey back to Nottingham. Not bad for about 25 minutes work, eh? We now had issues though. My intended 1837 to Norwich was increasing in delay and was now due at 1854. I only had something like a +20 so by the time the rear unit was detached it was going to be a connection out of the window. I instead chanced the 1844 to Skegness, which happily was a winner in the form of 156415. This was a slower run than the Norwich however and it turned out to only be something like a +3 onto the 1928 to Newcastle, a very convenient service being the only one of a handful to go direct there rather than having to change at Newark, Doncaster or York.
It was running 18 late so no need to panic in the end. I sat around the station awaiting its arrival which presented me with a dud 91113 but a carriage with about 3 people in it! This was a peak time departure from London! It did have a strange calling pattern (Peterborough, Grantham, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle) and it was an extra service, leaving at 1819 from London but I was expecting it to be far busier! Still, I wasn’t complaining and we raced north, arriving into Newcastle around 2145.
Total Mileage- 607mi 11ch
Total winners- 16
New shacks- Kettering, Corby, Bedford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes Central, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Beeston (8)
Total Cost- £27.37
Next was to go clear some 319s on the North Thameslink and clear all the shacks in the process, as I only needed the ones north of West Hampstead in the zones. After that, get all the shacks Norwood Junction-New Cross Gate as I needed all of them except Sydenham, followed by a second stab at 313 bashing, getting the last of the shacks on the Hertford Loop within the zones (except Crew’s Hill) and the last ones north of Finsbury Park on the ‘core’. This was easily achievable with a lot of time to spare meaning that I could probably squeeze more in if I hurried up and the network was playing ball.
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