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Established Member
Went around South Yorkshire on one of these yesterday, for something to do I decided I was going to cover the whole of the network available to me, I forgot how many pacers this would involve but at least the weather was nice ...
First train in the morning was the 06:40 TPE to Manchester Airport, the usual 185 but it called at Dore & Totley on the way, so my journey there from Doncaster was uninterrupted by having to change to a 142 at Sheffield and I got to go on the Rotherham Central avoiding line. There was also an EMT 158 to Liverpool that stopped there in the half hour or so while I was waiting for the return to Sheffield.
Returned to Sheffield on a 150/1, it looked a bit tatty and I thought the old style blue door open/close lights would've been replaced now by something more DDA friendly?
Sitting waiting for me to travel to Darton on it was a 142, it rattled its way up the line to Barnsley and gave me half an hour or so to get another 142 back to Chapeltown - I went there as it was still a bit cold and meant less standing about waiting for the next train.
A 158 to Denby Dale, result!, I went to Penistone a few months back and there was one on then rather than the 4-wheel stuff I've always experienced this line on. They're a great improvement, which meant imminent disappointment when a 3-car 144 turned up for the journey back to Sheffield.
142 time again to go to Kiveton Park, rail services are terminating at Worksop due to overrunning engineering work and I forget to take a note of the units number. I think it was the same one back, only with different staff on, it was the same ugly green seats and an interior that suggested little had been done to it since the late 90's when I was going to work on these. Seriously, a look at the panels on the roof looked like either they were going to fall off or that the frame of the thing had distorted and made them not fit quite properly.
Delays into Sheffield just before 1pm and there's announcements about a train from Adwick being delayed due to trouble with passangers (it was cancelled in Doncaster) which reminds me: its the local derby between Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday.
Luckily I didn't need to go back into Sheffield for anymore lines, unluckily the train to Moorthorpe was another 142 that was running a few minutes late. This time it had newer purple seats that appear to have had an armrest between them that was either removed or never fitted. Some Peterborough supporters are on the train, it was a bit noisy and sweary but they got off at Rotherham.
Moorthorpe station has changed since I last went there a few years ago, looked so posh coming in that I nearly didn't realise it was Moorthorpe - also, the old path over the line has gone and a footbridge has replaced it. I had to walk to South Elmsall to get a 322 back into Doncaster, can't remember the last time I got one of the 321/9's on the Don-LDS service.
Plenty of time to get the 144 to Thorne South, despite it being advertised as leaving just as the Doncaster train was due to arrive. First time over the new track at Hatfield & Stainforth, and Thorne South station has evidently been improved since the last time with a new footbridge and no path over the line anymore.
It's walking time to get to Thorne North, and last train of the day is a 158 which reaches Doncaster at 16:27, nearly 10 hours to do the whole of South Yorkshire on a train
First train in the morning was the 06:40 TPE to Manchester Airport, the usual 185 but it called at Dore & Totley on the way, so my journey there from Doncaster was uninterrupted by having to change to a 142 at Sheffield and I got to go on the Rotherham Central avoiding line. There was also an EMT 158 to Liverpool that stopped there in the half hour or so while I was waiting for the return to Sheffield.
Returned to Sheffield on a 150/1, it looked a bit tatty and I thought the old style blue door open/close lights would've been replaced now by something more DDA friendly?
Sitting waiting for me to travel to Darton on it was a 142, it rattled its way up the line to Barnsley and gave me half an hour or so to get another 142 back to Chapeltown - I went there as it was still a bit cold and meant less standing about waiting for the next train.
A 158 to Denby Dale, result!, I went to Penistone a few months back and there was one on then rather than the 4-wheel stuff I've always experienced this line on. They're a great improvement, which meant imminent disappointment when a 3-car 144 turned up for the journey back to Sheffield.
142 time again to go to Kiveton Park, rail services are terminating at Worksop due to overrunning engineering work and I forget to take a note of the units number. I think it was the same one back, only with different staff on, it was the same ugly green seats and an interior that suggested little had been done to it since the late 90's when I was going to work on these. Seriously, a look at the panels on the roof looked like either they were going to fall off or that the frame of the thing had distorted and made them not fit quite properly.
Delays into Sheffield just before 1pm and there's announcements about a train from Adwick being delayed due to trouble with passangers (it was cancelled in Doncaster) which reminds me: its the local derby between Doncaster Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday.
Luckily I didn't need to go back into Sheffield for anymore lines, unluckily the train to Moorthorpe was another 142 that was running a few minutes late. This time it had newer purple seats that appear to have had an armrest between them that was either removed or never fitted. Some Peterborough supporters are on the train, it was a bit noisy and sweary but they got off at Rotherham.
Moorthorpe station has changed since I last went there a few years ago, looked so posh coming in that I nearly didn't realise it was Moorthorpe - also, the old path over the line has gone and a footbridge has replaced it. I had to walk to South Elmsall to get a 322 back into Doncaster, can't remember the last time I got one of the 321/9's on the Don-LDS service.
Plenty of time to get the 144 to Thorne South, despite it being advertised as leaving just as the Doncaster train was due to arrive. First time over the new track at Hatfield & Stainforth, and Thorne South station has evidently been improved since the last time with a new footbridge and no path over the line anymore.
It's walking time to get to Thorne North, and last train of the day is a 158 which reaches Doncaster at 16:27, nearly 10 hours to do the whole of South Yorkshire on a train
