The Various Random Mutterings of Kite

[Keith Jarrett]

Well done on bagging those last two 171s. Two very productive days and it must make a change to go unit scratching instead of all out on the shack attack.

You've even managed to make me think again about getting my last two 171s (pesky two-cars that I often seen but am unable to get at).

 

[Techniquest]

Two excellent days there, I wish I could have done one of the HSTs to/from Marylebone!

Well done on the 171s and indeed for nearly finishing the 377s. Not at all jealous...

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

171s are nothing in the scheme of things

Try spending twenty blooming years chasing one unit

 

[Kite159]

Well done on bagging those last two 171s. Two very productive days and it must make a change to go unit scratching instead of all out on the shack attack.

You've even managed to make me think again about getting my last two 171s (pesky two-cars that I often seen but am unable to get at).

The problem with the 2-cars is that 5 are used on a weekday down in the south (4 doing Brighton - Ashford with the 5th being used in the peak to do a Hastings - Doleham International - Ashford service before going back & forward to Rye).

Good luck with the 171s if you decide to go after them, evenings when it's half hourly services to Uckfield are probably the best time to try and grab them (unless one is down on the branch working Oxted shuttles)


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31st December – A New Year’s Eve Challenge

I set myself a small challenge today, to try and get 20 required units/locos from at least 10 different classes, so no staying around Liverpool Street/Stratford grabbing 321s all day long. I also had gem that my last 172 and 168 would be out to play today, but it was an earlier start with the 08:59 from Grateley towards Waterloo, formed this morning of 159015 & 159010. I was sat on the left hand side and decided to stay on until Woking, this service overtakes a service from Basingstoke and I saw the leading 450 was required, so I turned down a pair of dud units from Alton and waited and waited and waited some more, those 10 minutes dragged out as winner 450562 rolled in with dud 450567 behind, where after Surbiton I changed from my day return ticket to my 1st class travelcard, oh yeah I was seeing out the year in style.

Fast after Surbiton and into Waterloo, where I decided to head up to Euston on winners 51714 & 51588 to see what was on the Tring diagrams, I was in luck as winner 350109 sat leading dud 350237, so employing a technique last seen in April, a Harrow & Wealdstone leap, with a +5 (or so) before the next service arrived, nice enough run seeing various stuff in Wembley depot, and before I knew it I was departing at Harrow and across to platform 6 and in rolled dud 350107 leading winner 350266, both services called at Wembley Central, which I’m assuming is to do with the Southern WLL services being redrawn for the duration. Anyhow it was soon down to Euston and a fast change on winning 2009 stock 11009/10 for the short hop to Kings Cross St Pancras and it was to Kings Cross. A dud 365 had just departed, the next service due out in 15 minutes was also dud (a dud 317), a required 321 was sat on platform 11 but had nothing against it (or RTT had anything from platform 11), so I decided to head across to St Pancras.

Thameslink services this morning were 2 fast an hour, St Pancras to Bedford which were fast to St Albans, and 2 services an hour East Croydon – Bedford stopping at West Hampstead (plus 4 stoppers an hour from the Sutton loop, the Sevenoaks services being capped at Blackfriars), I had news that my 2 required 319s were sitting on the depot today (one was at Bedford and the other down on the sidings around Catford), and the trio of 387s were dud, so I decided to call it a day and head back to Kings Cross, and sitting on platform 9 ready to depart in 10 minutes was a pair of winners, 321418 & 321405, so sitting in the first class area (which is quite nice), and a short run after departure I had reached Finsbury Park, with a +2 for a delayed southbound service. Leading was winner 365519 with dud 365512 behind, and straight into Kings Cross and a leap across to dud 317343 working the next Finsbury bound service to get me back to Finsbury to intercept two more southbound services. 1st up was a dud 321 and 2nd was a pair of dud 365s, so I headed to the underground, where duds 11077/78 took me forward to Tottenham Hale.

Tottenham Hale station itself needs a lot of loving as frankly it is a dump, for an interchange station for the Stansted Express services it lacks any sort of disabled access from platform 1 to the exit, and it isn’t in the nicest area with walls topped with some spikes. However I noticed my 2nd last 379 working out towards Stansted so I checked RTT and formed a plan to intercept that 379 an hour and a half (or so) later when it was due back, so my options were more limited, but it was to Liverpool Street on dud 317507 leading winner 317513 and a fast change saw me bagging 317652 working a busy Cambridge train. Back to Tottenham Hale and across to await, first up was a pair of dud 317s from Hertford, so I gave them a miss and decided to board duds 379012 & 379003 back to Liverpool Street, which gave me a couple options, either the same pair of dud 317s from earlier, or duds 379018/379015, and because the FC on a 379 is quite nice (and you even get a free bottle of water), I sat in the 379 and waited for it to depart.

Once at Tottenham Hale, I noticed the portacabin of a ticket office was open and had no queue (other than someone renewing their season ticket), so I purchased my BZ6 – High Wycombe ticket for later, when I had finished I noticed a particular 317 rolling in bound for Stratford, the 317/7 demonstrator which has very recently returned to traffic, so I formed a plan... well you could probably guess the rest. Anyhow as predicted dud 379019 rolled in with winner 379017 behind to take me to Liverpool Street, where the plan was to catch either the next Stansted bound service or even the next Cambridge bound 379s, however we came to a stop around the junction where the line towards Stratford comes away from the main line and eventually rolled into Liverpool Street 11 minutes down, the Stansted service had already departed and so it was a mad dash to jump onto duds 379005 & 379002 to take me back out to Tottenham Hale, before 317722 rolled in to take me to the edge of zone 6, Enfield Lock. 10 minutes later 317883 & 317653 rolled up to take me back to Tottenham Hale where I went down to the underground (thinking it would be easier as I was under the impression the sub-surface lines were closed).

Fresh dud 11009/10 arrived to take me the distance to Oxford Circus, and required 3543 & dud 3259 on the Bakerloo line took me to Marylebone, a good 15 minutes to spare before the 16:30 to Oxford Parkway was due to depart, the queue at the ticket office was rather large, so thankfully I got my tickets before, as I went through the barriers to “holding area A” the area near platforms 4-5 & 6 as 168004 rolled in onto platform 5, had my gem failed? Nope, it was a 8 car and at the back were the pair of 172s (which compared to a 168 in terms of interior are completely basic, no tables, no armrests, plug-sockets or even Wi-Fi, I can’t really see Chiltern holding on to their 172s once the London Overground units disappear to wherever they are going, probably try and swap them for some Scotrail 170s to give a level playing field in terms of interior quality. Anyhow it was dud 172101 leading my final 172, 172104 and once the units split from the 168 the doors were released and I managed to grab a seat in one of the bays, at least the cup holder is sort of useful to hold my iPod!

I was happy with it being the 16:30 rather than the 16:00 as this one calls at Gerrards Cross, which is where I alighted into the pouring rain (for it was absolutely pouring), and gave me some time to spare, no required 165s around for a quick hop, and sort of hiding underneath the canopy, noting that the stop board for a 2 car 165 is in the wrong place, as the footbridge is right above the exhaust pipes! Anyhow time passed and it was time for a Snow Hill bound service which after noticing a loco hauled set in Marylebone which hadn’t yet gone passed got me thinking, and 3 minutes before it was due I heard the sound of thunder, but that was just the weather, then I saw the lights, but that was just the lightning, and Titan rolled in, DRS livery 68009 with new DVT 82301, although I could only stay on for the short hop to Beaconsfield, but what a lovely noise.

Anyhow it was another fester before 168001 rolled up to take me to High Wycombe, my final 168 as I’m counting the 168/3s as already counted if I had them under 170s at TPX as nothing has changed apart from the interior (similar to the 357/3s, if I’ve had it as a 357/2 then I’m not counting it as an outright win, so until 170308 comes down and gets turned into 168328 then they are cleared for the time being). Across the very wet horrible footbridge and to the up platform for the next fast to Marylebone service, in the shape of 168005, which was a nice run arriving pretty much on time. I worked out I had the potential of 4 165 moves to try and grab a required 165, first was a peak-time extra towards Aylesbury via Stoke, but that was dud, next up was a pair heading towards Banbury, and was formed of dud 165012 with required 165026 on the back, so it was back to Gerrards Cross, with dud 165038 rolling in to take me back to Marylebone.

Now time for a brief break, and as I had a 1st class travel-card and was close to a certain station in which a Peruvian bear was named after, it was down to the Bakerloo line and required 3561 attached with dud 3261 (yes that did confuse me at first) taking me to Paddington for the sole reason to visiting the first class lounge. 10 minutes later after a couple cans of pop and some snacks (and use of the toilet) I was back out and headed for the massive walk to platforms 15 & 16, and required S7 stock 21433/434 working a Hammersmith & City line service took me to Liverpool Street, where I was still short of my target of 20 winners, but had cleared the 10 classes (14 winners from 10 classes), and with RTT in hand to highlight those services on the GEML side of Liverpool Street which called at Stratford (mainly everything apart from some Ipswich bound services which I’m guessing would have been the Norwich Loco hauls if they were running). I didn’t have long to wait before I made it 15 from 11 classes with required 357202 leading dud 357034 to Stratford, keeping an eye out on the 315s for any of the final 4, but I noticed a loco from Norwich was due to “set-down” at Stratford, and it had a required 90 on the front...

90011 made it 16 from 12, along with DVT 82136 and after a fester it set off towards Liverpool Street, and I was the only person in the leading coach, and the refurbishment is very nice, even has power sockets now! However my luck had changed as the next couple departures were dud 321s, with nothing of interest on the West Anglia side which had fallen over (signalling problems or points failure was 2 reasons given over the PA), and with the GEML side reduced to single units I wasn’t looking good, until I spotted required 360103 heading towards Colchester Town, which made it 17 winners from 13 classes, and first time into the tiny first class area of a 360. Has 8 seats in 2 bays of 4, half tables and little armrests, nothing really worth shouting about, but it was a 360 which did have new seat covers. Anyhow to Stratford where the island platform came in handy as 321442 became winner 18, with a short wait before 321306 became winner 19 back out to Stratford followed by 321428 back into Liverpool Street, 20 winners. But with the 22:20 departure being a dream, I noticed the next C2C service had a required 357 on the back, so 357036 made it 21 attached with dud 357007, and with 2 options to get back to Liverpool Street, or a nice trip on the Jubilee line, the arrival of 321426 meant I didn’t have to go on the Jubilee line tonight and it was back to Liverpool Street.

It was to the Central line where winners 91129, 92192, 91311 & 91039 took me the 36 chains to Bank, and exiting the station before going over to the entrance to the Waterloo & City line I got caught behind some drunken idiots on the moving walkway who were too busy taking many selfies, which meant I had just missed a service, so a 5 minute wait and duds 65505 & 65506 rolled in and eventually was on the way back to Waterloo which was in partial lock-down due to the fireworks, I was hungry but the only thing open was Burger King (McDonalds and Tesco were closed and Sainsburys had no sandwiches left), the barriers were wide open and there was nothing of interest departing before the 23:40 which tonight was formed of my lowest miled 159, 159103. Departed a deserted station, and arrived into Clapham Junction, which normally this time of night is quite busy with passengers wanting the final trains, but was like a ghost town, I had a brief count and there was 7 passengers (including myself) after Clapham. Nice enough run with some good fireworks when the clock stuck 00:00, and the service got quieter and quieter, stood at Andover for 5 minutes waiting the proper departure time (the planners should make the Andover call a set-down only stop as well), and after Grateley I noticed there appeared to be nobody on the train (other than the driver and the guard).

However it was rather chilly walking home, but a smile on my face with 22 winners from 13 different classes, 2 new DVTs, a handful of new LU stock, a good end of the year.

The 2nd most least expected winner of the day...


The most least expected winner of the day:


------------

2nd January – The Mini Tug tour

For my first trip of the new year, it was a railtour to Round Oak Steel Terminal in the West Midlands, plus the Morris Cowley branch to the Mini factory on the outskirts of Oxford. However it was a 06:47 departure from Bristol Parkway and after considering various options (even at one point having a room in a guest house in Cheltenham booked) decided to drive to Bristol Parkway which meant a 04:45 departure, with the terrible weather meant lots of puddles and spray, north on the A338 then onto the A346 to reach the M4 at Swindon before heading west. Took me around 85 minutes to reach Bristol Parkway, paying the parking money and heading to the station.

First service I spotted was the Green HST set heading to Paddington (came from Swansea), and then a XC bound for the north, before the sound of winner 66001 rolling in with the old carriages. I was in the 2nd last carriage and with warnings on the drop-lights that they “Must not be opened when the train is moving” as a result of some idiotic youths messing around on a previous tour, anyhow away we went with the only issue is that we didn’t go into Haresfield loop around Gloucester due to a points issue, instead got put over into the other line to allow a XC to overtake, pick up at Cheltenham Spa, Worcester, Kidderminster & Stourbridge (where the train soon filled up, although looking at the plan I wished I stayed on until the end at Birmingham New Street and got a hotel in Birmingham as it covered some track I needed (Smethwick West to Smethwick Rolfe, Soho North & Perry Barr West).

Anyhow after Stourbridge it was onto the freight only line towards Round Oak, and to be honest it was rather boring, back of houses or view of trees/walls. Anyhow at Worcester required 60020 was attached (after the train having to be moved forward due to the points at the Oxford end of the platform), and now it came into live to pull us back out of the freight line (but it has been covered) and with a nice non-stop run passing Stourbridge & Kidderminster, going around the goods line at Worcester Scrub Hill before continuing for a nice non-stop run via Middle Earth, which was a bit wet, but felt good doing the Cotswolds line without stopping everywhere, straight onto the main line, but we were held outside Oxford station until the allocated time to pass, strangely not using the middle through tracks but the track next to platform 1 as we went into the loop to the south of the station, another GWR station I’ve gone non-stop through (just need Reading now to clear Paddington – Moor Street in terms of non-stop running), we had good news the XC to Reading we were waiting for was cancelled so we could have got into the platform a bit early, however the turbo from Malvern was delayed in the station (attachment of the additional unit not go as planned?), which hence delayed the stopper, and we rolled into a wet and windy Oxford a couple minutes late.

I now had some time to kill, and was hoping 166219 which I had spotted in the sidings north of Oxford would come out to play, as either the semi-fast to Paddington or as the stopper, either way it would be a trip to Didcot, sadly it remained hiding in the sidings as both potential services were dud 166s, so after watching 165102 heading into the disused parcel platform (future Chiltern bay) I went out into the rain to source food from the Sainsburys Local (which happens to be next to a Tesco Express), and back to the station, where we were delayed arriving and departing. We were told that a condition of passage onto the BMW owned track into the Cowley factory that we were not allowed to take pictures (of car transport wagons or off many new Minis?) and had to remain seated. Departing the main line after Oxford and it was much better in terms of scenery and reached the gate and after a pause we crossed into the factory area itself, getting to the points where the various lines come together.

The 66 was in charge for the final time and it was out of the factory and back onto the main line crossing over before heading into Hinksey yard, where a little treat in the shape of my first shunter action as 08742 attached to the front of the 60 (and with the 66 being detached) and piloted the train (with a little help from the 60) for the 40 or so chains in Hinksey yard before detaching and headed away, no more loco changes or reversals now, so it was back onto the main lines on time and down using the Foxhall curve to reach the GWML and pausing for a good 10 minutes in a relief line around Challow for 3 late running HSTs to come rushing pass, something had gone wrong with Paddington (I blame Richard ) anyhow with a nice non-stop via the platform run through Swindon and Chippenham, Box tunnel passed without much of an impact, and Bath was reached. The HST we were pathed to allow pass in the Bath Goods Loop was running 25 minutes down at this point so we didn’t stop in the Bath Goods Loop and carried out, pausing into the East Depot Down Goods Line before continuing around the Rhubarb curve to rejoin the line at Dr Days after allowing a voyager pass.

Into Bristol Parkway on platform 4 where I alighted the end of the tour for me (for it continued back up towards Worcester and Stourbridge before running into New Street arriving at 22:24, which would have meant a train back to Leamington Spa from Moor Street, my only regret is being unable to do that Mersey Weaver tour in the end of January as I had already booked to go to Glasgow, as it sounded good to cover some little red curves in my atlas. Anyhow as it was still raining I decided to head back via the “back road” via Bath and the A36 and god that Bristol Ring Road is very changeable in speed limits, one minute 70 mph dual carriageway before 30 mph for another traffic light controlled roundabout, but even through it took 10 minutes longer (ok 30 minutes longer as I diverted to a McDonalds at Amesbury services on the A303 for food and rested), it felt safer than the spray fest of the M4.

A couple pictures:
The Green HST departing Bristol Parkway early morning:


In rolls 66001:


60020 at Worcester, 172341 not on fire behind it:


165102 into disused platform at Oxford, driver training?



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Looks like I will be heading up to Glasgow via the East Coast on the 29th January down on the 31st January, that's changed my plans, sadly looks like my hotel is non refundable so I can't really ditch my plans

 

[FQ]

Two excellent reads. I'm sure that Glasgow will get you quite a few winner units though and it's via the East Coast so you will get some decent tram/milkfloat thrash on the way up.

 

[ac6000cw]

Sounds like two good trips

 

[Kite159]

Two excellent reads. I'm sure that Glasgow will get you quite a few winner units though and it's via the East Coast so you will get some decent tram/milkfloat thrash on the way up.

Or because I'm on an open "saver half" off peak single, might see what is on the GC to Sunderland at 11:20 which is a 180, if not either the 11:30 to Edinburgh or the 12:00 highland chieftain to Edinburgh (depending on if the 43s are needed)

Was planning on the 11:30 VT to Glasgow,

 

[FQ]

That sounds like a good plan. But I'd go for the Chieftain anyway - better to be on a tram than a Milkfloat and (of course) a 180 when you have the choice!

 

[Techniquest]

Two excellent reads Kite, I was going to reply the other night but was super tired.

I echo the call for the Chieftain if possible!

 

[alexf380]

An impressive haul over the festive season there Kite. I hope Santa was as good to you as the railway Gods were!

 

[Kite159]

I was happy tonight when I walked up to Liverpool Street with Crehld, and my final London Overground 317 was sat on platform 5, bit of a squeeze to board but London Overground is completely cleared

(for a few years before the new stock starts arriving)

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Congratulations...

 

[Techniquest]

Jammy so and so! If I hadn't been having to go home I'd have joined you

 

[FQ]

Congrats! Which TOCs have you cleared?

 

[47403]

I was happy tonight when I walked up to Liverpool Street with Crehld, and my final London Overground 317 was sat on platform 5, bit of a squeeze to board but London Overground is completely cleared

(for a few years before the new stock starts arriving)

Wow, well done, Top effort kite

Finally got through your thread, another great read, from someone else who's one who's been extremely busy. Congrats are in order with clearing the 171's and numerous shacks and lines. Not be long before the bike comes out of warm storage too.
At this rate, your gonna have to move further North to need something to see and visit.

 

[Techniquest]

I reckon that's all it'll be in 2017, trip reports from Scotland and the North from Kite

 

[Kite159]

Congrats! Which TOCs have you cleared?

Hull Trains & London Overground for units.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

I suppose the easiest class to clear is class 139

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I suppose the easiest class to clear is class 139

Not necessarily, as only one works at a time.

Not sure on maintenance cycles, but if all seven 155s are in service they could be easier.

 

[47403]

I reckon that's all it'll be in 2017, trip reports from Scotland and the North from Kite

on his bike from fort william to malaig, sure kite could do it with ease.

 

[Techniquest]

On that little Brompton thing? Nah

 

[Kite159]

My Brompton is getting some new wheels when it is in 'warm' storage, probably will be back out and about come March/April time

10th January – A trip to London

For my first real bash of 2016 and I had decided to go up to London, meeting up with my good friend Techni later on in the day, but gave me a few options at what to do before his cat would arrive from the West Midlands, so deciding to focus mainly on the Croydon Tramlink in the morning, as I need pretty much all the stops outside the terminals and a couple in Croydon town centre itself (and with only 2 trams recorded in my book, a good way to start with a lot of winners).

A nice drive to Andover where I dumped my car in the usual place on the side of a street, and purchased my super off-peak day travelcard, noting it has gone up 20p (now £25.10 with my railcard), and went under and boarded 159001 being my 2nd 159 of the year (the 1st was an unexpected 159014 tipping up the day before in Southampton working a Salisbury – Southampton stopper), anyhow an uneventful trip to Clapham Junction arriving pretty much on time, so it was across to P11/P12 to keep an eye out for Hampton Court services which are formed of 6 coaches on Sundays, so either a 455+456 or 456+456+456. First trio spotted were all dud, so I spent 25 or so minutes festering around, keeping my eye on anything in the green heading to/from Victoria, and anything required heading towards Wimbledon.

Unsurprisingly nothing required popped up, so I went over to P10 to see the next inboard working from Hampton Court and was a trio of dud 456s, and a quick dash back to P11 as I jumped onto a 456+455 combo which pulled in, sadly it was dud 456019 leading 455734 for the short hop to Wimbledon, deciding to make a start with the trams, required 2555 was sat on platform 10a so I jumped on board 30 seconds before it was due to depart, to take me to my first new stop of the day at Merton Park, a quick platform change saw me onto the other platform as required 2552 rolled in to take me the 30 chains back to Dundonald Road. I got chatting with someone from Oxford down to meet up with others to go for a nice walk, which passed the time before fresh dud 2552 rolled back in from Wimbledon to take me to Phipps Bridge.

I noticed the next stop was within viewing distance and with 7 minutes before the next tram I powered up Google Maps who suggested it would take a 10 minute walk as it didn’t think there was a direct path between Phipps Bridge & Belgrave Walk, so I gave that walk a miss and stayed put on the island platform as 2538 rolled in for the short hop back to Morden Road. Another short fester before winner 2540 rolled in for another new stop in the shape of Mitcham, going over the short section of interlaced track. A tight +1 was easily made by crossing over the tracks behind 2540 to get 2544 into the book for the spin back to Belgrave Walk.

The services were starting to pick up now as it was getting near “shop” time, where it is every 8 minutes on the Wimbledon branch instead of every 15 minutes, however I still had a good 10 minute walk before 2538 popped up again to take me to Therapia Lane, passing the depot where a few of the new trams look all shiny and well, new (has 2563 entered service yet?). Bit of a delay here as a terminating tram had to wait for another tram to come out of the depot before it could go into the depot, with the next Wimbledon sitting waiting for the platform with its hazard lights flashing, before 2546 rolled in to take me to Beddington Lane.

Nothing much of interest, nor much of a wait before 2544 returned for the short trip to Waddon Marsh. Having just missed another Wimbledon bound service, I fired up the maps and found that the preceding stop was a 7 minute walk away, and so walking along a path which runs alongside the track I walked back to Ampere Way (for Ikea), where a few minutes later a new tram arrived 2562 to take me to Wandle Park with a short 5 minute wait before 2543 rolled in to take me to the one-way served Reeves Corner (served only by trams from Wimbledon towards Croydon). A couple minutes walking later saw me finding Church Street which was a dud stop, but winner 2542 rolled in to take me to Centrale where I had a PNB at the nearby shopping centre.

Back to the stop and next up was 2535 to take me to Wellesley Road skipping West Croydon as I’ve already got that one, a brief wait before 2539 rolled in to take me around the corner to East Croydon, where I exited the network for a quick dash to the little Sainsburys Local located outside the station as I was feeling a bit hungry. Sadly they had no sandwiches which looked interesting, so it was a hot pasty for me, and back to the stop outside the station to jump onto 2553 to take me to Lebanon Road, before fresh dud 2555 reappeared to take me to Sandilands. A brief wait and looking at the tight bend as it is a junction station passed the time before winner 2549 rolled in to take me to Addiscombe and a short wait before 2558 made itself into the book for a leap to Woodside.

Doubling back on myself saw the return of the red 2542 to Blackhorse Lane, where I had a brief wait before 2530 rolled in to take me to Arena where the Elmers End branch peels away. A brief wait and without knowing the passing point on the Beckenham Junction branch, I played it safe with 2547 as it took me to the slope at Harrington Road. Brief 15 minute wait before 2542 returned for the 3rd time of the day to take me to Avenue Road, where I had a brief walk along the road to reach Beckenham Road. A quick check of RTT suggested a Sevenoaks bound service (the line around Grove Park was closed today so one of the half hourly Victoria - Orpington stoppers was being extended to call at all stops down to Sevenoaks (which either there is a fault with RTT or quite a few services “fail to call” at Sevenoaks (displayed as “non stopping” on RTT)) would be doable with a tight +3 at Beckenham Junction, so it was to the end of the line (leaving just the stops down towards New Addington to get).

On the run into Beckenham Junction, I noted a pair of required units heading towards Victoria, so my plan changed as I boarded busy dud 465197 to Bromley South, which gave me two options, either a service back via Catford (departing from P3 which suggested to me like it would be using the chord to the Catford line rather than the dive-under) which would give a +5 to the next Sevenoaks departure at Victoria or to catch the next stopper and switch at Brixton. In rolled required 465914 with dud 465038 so it was to Victoria with getting a seat near the front of 465914. Track scored as we branched off and down the chord to join the Catford loop with a waiting Thameslink service held up, however Thameslink were being their usual self with regards to time keeping and the preceding service was running a tad late, as we caught up with it at Peckham Rye. Bang went the +5 with a 4 minute delay before rolling into Denmark Hill, and just as we were rolling into Victoria the other service was rolling out. Banana it!

Anyhow as I was getting hungry I headed across to the Southern platforms, where I saw a solo 442 working an East Croydon service, and being unable to grab an id from the gateline, I went onto the platform and it was dud 442401, which took me to Clapham Junction. A quick visit to Sainsburys scored me lunch, and back onto the station, noting the other 442 was also dud, and jumping onto duds 455736/455854 to take me to Vauxhall. To the underground (so much easier to join the Victoria line at Vauxhall than at Victoria), however the next service was due in 1 minute...

5 minutes later, winners 11051/52 rolled in to take me to Oxford Circus, with a nice easy cross platform to a Bakerloo service, which was due in 1 minute, but it was another 4 minutes before dud 3550 rolled in with required 3236 behind to take me to Marylebone, running a bit later than I had hoped, and a bit of miss-communication saw me onto dud 165023 rushing to Harrow on the Hill, where Techni & Hassaanhc were instead in Burger King, doh! Anyhow it was over to the other side of Harrow on the Hill to join the first thing heading south (although in retrospect it would have been quicker to meet half way), anyhow annoyingly the next service south wasn’t a S8, but a S7+1, 21327/28 which I believe is a S7 but had an additional coach fitted, so all sideways seating for the run back to Baker Street.

Another bit of miscommunication saw me carry on to Great Portland Street (as I through they would jump on board to get a S7+1 in the book), but they didn’t need it, so finally meeting up with Techni & Hassaanhc at Great Portland Street, deciding to stay on with the next metropolitan service rather than head back to Marylebone (which annoyingly would have scored me a required 165 ), saw us onto a proper S8, this time required 21091/92 for the run north overtaking various Jubilee line services to reach Northwood Hills. Across the platform and it was a short wait before 21109/10 rolled in to take us to Pinner where we spotted a Sainsburys nearby for a PNB and also to grab some drink. Back to the station and the PIS suggested a 8 minute wait before the next service, so I through it would be a good time to get the man in the ticket ‘office’ to load my gold card discount back onto my Oyster card via the TVM. That 8 minutes suddenly became meaningless as a S8 rolled in and Techni ran to board when I was still at the TVM, so another short wait and required 21005/06 rolled in to take me and Hassaanhc to Harrow on the Hill where Techni rejoined for the run to Preston Road, a required shack for him.

Nice island platform and it wasn’t a long wait before 21059/60 rolled in to take us back to Harrow on the Hill, and a short wait before 21075/76 heading towards Uxbridge rolled in, to take us to West Harrow, a strange station where one side is gated but the other side (Uxbridge bound) is open, but with no PIS at all, we had no idea how long before the next service would arrive, and in rolled 21017/18 to take us to Raynes Lane where the Piccadilly line comes in, but there was no Piccadilly line today so we decided to call it a day, and with a fast crossing of the platforms saw me onto the return of that S7+1, 21327/28 to take us back to Harrow on the Hill, where we changed over to the Chiltern platform to await the arrival of the next 165, sadly it wasn’t 165013 but dud 165038 for a slow trip back to Marylebone.

A walk via Costa for a coffee break and it was to Baker Street for some 96 stock noise! In rolled required 96111 & 96070 for the noise back to Waterloo, and up to the main-line side, the next Hampton Court appeared to be only a 4 car, but I spotted a pair of 458/5s working the next Hounslow service and both were required for Techni, so it was to Vauxhall on 458535 & 458523, crossing over to the main-line side at Vauxhall and in rolled 456007 & 455920, with the 456 required for Techni I believe, so it was to Clapham Junction, where I spotted with RTT a service from East Grinstead with a chance it would be a quad of 377/3s, so crossing over and in rolled 377324/377320/377308 & 377310 of which 3 were required for Techni so he was happy for the run to Victoria. Across to the South Eastern side and onto a rammed 465197 for the 2nd time of the day to take us to Sydenham Hill, a required shack for Mr Techni, and an ideal time for a brief break before a pair of units which escaped me earlier on in the day would be next up.

In rolled winners 465190 & 466035 for the short hop to Herne Hill, where after some dud 319s, in rolled required 466027 & dud 465013 to take us to Kent House, another required shack, and it was down to the ‘road’ for the walk towards Clock House, but the trams pulled us and for the 2nd time of the day I walked up the stairs at Beckenham Road tram stop to await the next Beckenham Junction service, it was running late so a Croydon bound service which would have been looped to the east of the station would be overtaken at Avenue Road instead. In rolled 2542 for the short run to Beckenham Junction, and onto dud 465029 to take us to Brixton (after explaining to Techni that it was a completely different station to Brixton underground, like Bethnal Green), where option 1 was back to Herne Hill if the next service was required or to the underground if dud. In rolled 465174 & 465157 which I believe was required for Techni, so it was to Herne Hill, and in rolled 319421 to take us to Elephant & Castle.

Going via the chargeable toilets in the shopping centre (seriously?) and to Elephant & Castle underground, the lift was out of service so it was down the hundred or so steps, walking along the northern line platform to get more steps and eventually getting down to the Bakerloo platforms, not the easiest to get around. Required 3557 & 3244 took us forward to Waterloo, where I was aiming for the 20:15 departure, and sitting next to the trio was Techni’s favourite 158 (158884) which was meant to form the 20:45 express (fast after Clapham to Salisbury) which he was thinking of taking to Clapham to get it finally in the book, but i said farewell and got a nice seat onto a trio of units, led by 159108 with 159008 in the middle and 159102 at the rear, another 66 and a quarter miles for 102 pushing it towards 800 miles, but 159108 cleared the magical thousand miles, which is always a bonus .

Anyhow a busy day, and very enjoyable, just what the doctor would have ordered after a rubbish week at work, the remaining tram stops can wait for another Sunday, wouldn’t think it will take that long (6 stops with a tram every 8 minutes).
-------------------------
11th January – A weekday trip to London

The idea behind tonight’s little bash to London was to meet up with the legend known as crehld as he was down from sunny Crewe for a couple days in the south, and having failed to meet him last time I didn’t want a similar issue. After a drive to Andover (needed to get a couple bits before hand) it was to the station where 159017 & 159004 provided the power for a nice easy trip to Waterloo and other than a 5 minute fester outside the station to allow a lightly loaded Haslemere train to clear out of the way (the front coach was empty!), it was through the barriers were I met up with Crehld.

The aim of the day was a visit to Liverpool Street, so down to the Waterloo & City line where stalkers 65505 & 65506 took us to a very busy Bank, fighting out of the gateline with my ticket not deciding it wanted to work, and up the walkway before re-entering at the Central line entrance (so much easier) and it was to a rather busy Central line platform, allowing the first service to go before the next one rolled in a minute later, and it was a squeeze onto winners 91195, 92066, 92408 & 91003 for the short hop to Liverpool Street.

The platform seemed to be rather quieter and we exited via a peak-time exit (comes out next to P1, where did that come from?), and a quick walk down mentioning that it would be great if either my last LO 317 or 379 would be waiting saw us dive through the gateline and onto a rather busy 317887 leading winner 317889, my last LO unit (woohoo!) for the short hop to Bethnal Green. A quick dash up the platform to grab the ID of the leading 317 for the notes, and it was a short wait as we decided what to do next. Focusing on getting a couple shacks done saw us onto duds 317710 & 317723 to Rectory Road, where we had a 10 minute wait before 315808 & 315807 took us to London Fields.

For the first time I was getting off a service at London Fields, my only previous use was early last year when I did the South Tottenham curves on a Saturday morning before a trip to Scotland, it was a short wait before 315802 rolled in for the 43 chain leap to Hackney Downs, where we decided to wait for the AGA service and if that wasn’t needed head to Stratford via the North London Line. Thankfully the walk to Hackney Central wasn’t needed as in rolled dud 317665 leading winner 317662 back to Liverpool Street and over to the GEML side of the station.

A bit of a break between services, first up was a pair of dud 315s to Shenfield, or it was a decision between a required 360 or a required 321, the 321 winning as we boarded dud 321314 & winner 321432 for the short run to Stratford, the idea of getting some Jubilee line action in, however that changed when winners 321429 & 321310 rolled in, and I couldn’t turn down a pair of winning dusty bins, so back to a quiet Liverpool Street, and to the underground.

A central line service formed of winners 91247, 92464, 92204 & 91215 took us for the 36 chains to Bank (so a mere 9 miles 44 chains to go to clear all 4 for 10 miles ), and down to the Waterloo & city line where we just made it to jump onto 65509/10 for the trip back to Waterloo (as no doubt the next service would have been my stalkers), grabbing dinner from McDonalds and having a good chat about various things before saying goodbye with Chris heading off towards Heathrow and I ended up on 159012 & 158885 for the trip back to Andover.

A nice little evening, 5 winners from the main-line, finally meeting Chris and having a good chat

 

[Techniquest]

The perils of organising a meeting point while one party is on the Tube! If my tickets hadn't been a farce there would have been no issue and we'd have been on the 1357. Really should have texted you to say I didn't need the S7+1!

Good point on meeting halfway, I was devouring my BK at the time, plus I had other people texting so I was a little distracted I know how you felt last week, I had a tough week and this one has been no better!

As always, some excellent reads

 

[hassaanhc]

The perils of organising a meeting point while one party is on the Tube! If my tickets hadn't been a farce there would have been no issue and we'd have been on the 1357. Really should have texted you to say I didn't need the S7+1!

Good point on meeting halfway, I was devouring my BK at the time, plus I had other people texting so I was a little distracted I know how you felt last week, I had a tough week and this one has been no better!

As always, some excellent reads

However, I'd have missed the 1357 :P so it would have to be a Metropolitan Line to Harrow-Hill for me . It turned out that 165038 was actually dud for me. Typical!

 

[Techniquest]

Harsh, dud for all of us! I take it you're updating your lists now Hassaan?

 

[Kristofferson]

Just caught up here cracking group bash by the sounds of it, and it's good to know a cat can be done on a Travelcard. I'm sure I'll have another reason to pop to London soon..!

 

[crehld]

Productive times in London! Was great to meet you finally, and thanks for indulging me with those shack scratches in the cold air! I'd like to think I played a pivotal role in grabbing your last LO unit, even if I was in a different carriage

 

[FQ]

Two great reads and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Congrats on your last LO unit and I think that you made the right choice with winner Dusty or winner 360.

 

[Kite159]

Greetings from a snowy Stow

It be freezing!

 

[FQ]

A wee bit cold up there then ? It's quite cold down here but no snow as of yet