Weather was awful until about 1703...
Trip report is done, as is the full detail of moves and the observations, will look to post it all in the morning as it's all on the laptop and I'm exhausted!
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Well then, now I've got the chance finally to post this here's the tale of how Monday went. Spoiler alert, it didn't go the way I had envisaged...
7th April 2014 - Derbyshire Wayfarer
After not getting to sleep until gone 0300, and a fitful sleep at that, it wasn’t easy to get up when I did a little before 0600. No idea how I’d have got ready in time if I hadn’t done a fair bit of the prep last night! With incredibly heavy eyes that were also stinging, it was out of the house just after half 6 to get the bus to Hereford. An uneventful journey was had, and after picking up my tickets (bought in advance for the LM online sale and for RSH loyalty points on the other tickets) it was time for the usual coffee. 170517 and 153354 are carting me off to Birmingham New Street this morning on the 0849 from Hereford, and I get busy sorting out my Platform 5 EMU book, which takes until Bromsgrove to finally finish! This bash will be the first one in a fair bit of time getting (just over a month in this case, so not as long as I thought originally) that will not feature travel on EMUs, which will be weird! Other than that, there was nothing of interest whatsoever about the journey, except to add we were 6 minutes late arriving at 1028. I was going to try for a quick connection onto the 1030 going north, however I’d got my CrossCountry calling patterns wrong as it was fast to Derby. Time to pop to Tesco Metro then, and it was back downstairs to find 170104 on the 1049 to Nottingham, naturally dud as all the XC and LM ones have been dud for years. Considering the refurbishment of the XC 170s was now about 6 years ago they’re still looking decent and rather fresh.
I manage to get my Derbyshire Wayfarer from the TM on board which will save me some effort later. Off at Derby and I manage the tight +2 onto the 1137 to Cardiff back to Burton on Trent. Why the rush back there? It’s the only way for the time being to be able to get Willington visited without a very long fester, so after the dash back on 170102 I have half an hour to kill before 170113 carts me off to the poorly served station. Not before 60092 is seen on a Kingsbury to Humber freight, sadly the 60 was idling through so no beasty noise sampled. Very little to do here for nearly an hour, so I get a bottle of Irn Bru from the Co-Op and end up getting a coffee from the tea room by the station for £1.50. On the platforms, I happen to engage in conversation with an ex-Bombardier worker who also likes his trains, so I had some company until I alighted at Burton on Trent. Had to come back here for a train to Derby as there was nothing going north from Willington until 1526! I have the same TM on 170104 for this leap and he didn’t expect to see me again today! A lucky dash over to the other side of the island platform gets me onto 170116 and 170112 for the dash to Derby, where it’s coffee time again (I know, I’m addicted to the stuff!) before I join my first winner of the day, 156414, on the 1352 to Matlock. Nice bit of noise enjoyed after the first part of the day being dominated by 170s, and I score Matlock Bath. Didn’t realise there was a cable car system here, but I have no patience for such a thing today and rejoin 156414 for a trip to Ambergate.
Absolutely no luck next, as 153326 and 153321 are on the next Matlock service, both dud. 153326 is dud from when it was with ATW, if not before! Can’t recall when I’ve had 321 off the top of my head, but dud it is. That spoiled the mood, but nevertheless it’s off to Cromford for another scored station. Here the rain really starts coming down massively, which destroys the mood even more. Really should have stayed in bed I think...Back on the 153s and I’m in need of music so the MP3 player goes on. All the way to Derby (I’m leaving Whatstandwell until I return for the Crich Tramway) I hope for better luck with the 222 I’m due to get up to Chesterfield. With the rain still coming down massively, I end up on dud 222004 for the next move. This is now the third time I’ve had this one, really not having any luck! Coffee time to drown my sorrows and keep me going, however it turns into a celebratory coffee as 158794 is a winner on the 1657 to Leeds! Thank Goodness for that, and the mood lifts significantly for the trip to Dronfield for station score number 5. Even better, the sun’s out now for the first time that I can recall all day!
It’s a very well presented station, credit to Northern for that one. Dud 158845 returns my luck to the state it was before, however I’m not so miserable now. Back at Chesterfield, I end up on 220026 and 220033 on a rather late Plymouth service, and I find a seat with no effort whatsoever, including one with an excellent view and a power socket. It’s a bit of a slow journey though as we end up following the 1742 Derby to Crewe for a good while, and were slowed by 66427 on a ballast train for some time too. Took 36 minutes to do Chesterfield to Burton on Trent on this occasion, quite a while. Out came the laptop on the way south to get this written up, with just the Birmingham to Hereford leg and the bus home left now. Very disappointed I only got 2 winners and 5 station scores, worse than the Cardiff Valleys bash scores. Yes I scored a couple of 73s and a couple of 08s for sight too at Washwood Heath and Nemesis Rail’s depot, but I haven’t had that low a number of winners in a day for ages. Especially not in an area where I need plenty! The journey goes well smoothly to my surprise and we’re in Birmingham before I know it. High time I had some food, it’s been forever since those ham rolls I took with me! McDonalds does the job where I have my usual meal, and I drop my phone on the pavement outside New Street so I have a rather cracked screen now. D’oh! Eventually 153356 and 170505 roll in from Hereford and it’s a dash on to get a table seat to finish the bookwork whilst travelling home on the 1919 from New Street, my usual train home after a bash in the Midlands.
Just observations to process, filling in the moves book and putting some colour on page 53 of the Baker to do, that won’t take long! Observations all processed by Worcester Shrub Hill, the last bits of bookwork are then done. Can’t recall being even close to this point to finishing the bookwork on any bash recently, shows it’s not been a good bash! Shockingly, I’m actually looking forward to getting home, which is very unusual for me on a bash, certainly normally I dread the homeward journey but not today. Hereford is finally reached at 2057 and it's a fast walk to the City store of Tesco for the bus station there, as the buses start/finish there tonight and for some more days yet due to a major road closure. The road workers were trying to block off the pavement I was using to get up there, he soon moved back the barrier as I came charging across the road! Home is eventually reached later on and I have to hear all about how work went on the journey home, thanks to being on the same bus as one of my colleagues. Time to collapse onto the settee with a hot chocolate in front of the fire now, it's freezing outside and I'm exhausted. Still took ages to get to sleep but once it came round it was heavenly...
So yeah, not the best day I've ever had. Doubt very much I'll be on a Derbyshire Wayfarer again for a while, my luck when on EMT is normally poor but this was even worse than usual!
