Welcome to Trentside's Travels. I'm going to use this thread to document some of the trips I take, I hope you enjoy reading them.
15th & 16th June 2011
The first trip I'm going to write about was one I took last month. It was originally supposed to follow a flying trip to Dublin and Stockholm, which included two sectors on SAS MD80s and a BA 767 (this is my other hobby!) but sadly it wasn't to be, as I'd booked one sector on the wrong date. Sadly, the booking wasn't refundable or amendable, and the available fares were too high to book a replacement ticket. Luckily, East Midlands Trains sailed to the rescue with a cheap advance fare on the 14:28 fast service from Nottingham to St Pancras, which would take me to London ready to start my trip the next morning. Before catching the train, I decided to get some food, and found the Cosy Teapot Cafe near Nottingham station. A massive plate of egg, bacon and chips later I was ready to set off.
The journey down to London was busy, but uneventful, arriving into St Pancras on time, just at the start of rush hour. I decided to buy some food from M&S before getting the Piccadilly Line out to Heathrow, where I'd found a cheap hotel room (and where I should have been arriving by plane). After topping up my Oyster card I went down to the Piccadilly platforms, and the first train in was an almost empty service bound for Terminals 1, 2 and 3 via Terminal 4. This was my first time travelling on the Heathrow branch, though I was actually returning there that weekend for the 1938 stock trip. I eventually got to my hotel room just before six, having got the Metroline 140 bus to the end of the road (why pay £4 for the Hotel Hoppa?). Despite the room having no window, I had a pleasant evening - with cheaper than advertised Wi-Fi I could get online and onto RailUK. I also changed my plans for the next day slightly, and booked relevant tickets to collect from Marylebone the next morning. A terrible nights sleep followed (always the way in hotels for me) and I was up at 05:45 ready to go back to Heathrow and the Piccadilly line.
It was the first time I'd used the Underground so early in the morning, but the train was already busy with people arriving from the far east, heading to their hotels in Central London. The train filled up with commuters as we neared the city, but the central area stations were eerily quiet. I arrived at Marylebone quite early, and collected my Crewe to Lincoln ticket, as well as getting some breakfast from one of the many eateries on the concourse.
My first non-LU train of the day was the 08:20 Marylebone to Moor Street, Chiltern service, formed of an ex-W&S set with 67012 ('A Shropshire Lad') pushing from the back. By this point it was throwing it down with rain, so I headed off down the platform, decided that others would congregate at the back rather than walk in the rain. I was right, and on departure only a few other people were in the carriage with me. Having never been able to travel with W&S I was pleased to travel on one of their trains, and the refurbishment appears to have been carried out to a high standard. My only complaint related to the toilet, where the tap was spitting out water onto the floor every time the train went over a joint in the track.
I'd not travelled on the Chiltern main line before and I was glad I'd decided to take this route. The on train staff were excellent - the TM did keep announcing how to open the doors on the MK3s before arriving at stations, which I found a bit unusual, but given the amount of people who stand and stare at them, maybe it was a sensible idea. A large number of passengers joined at Bicester North and Banbury, and the train was very busy on arrival at Moor Street - which is a delightful station. The weather had also improved, so with a couple of hours I went to look around Birmingham city centre.
My next journey was from New Street on the 12:42 XC service to Bristol. I'd arrived slightly early and waited on the concourse, in a seating area that was signed as being only for ticket holders (is this actually enforced?). I'd been hoping for a HST service, but sadly the fares weren't cheap enough, so I knew I was on a Voyager for the next leg of my journey. This actually turned out to be better than expect, a 221 working the service. A strong smell of toilets in the vestibule, so I decided to sit in an unreserved seat away from this - which turned out to be the right decision, as I had the seats to myself, while my reserved seat was an aisle next to another passenger.
Arrival into Bristol Parkway was on-time at 13:57, after a more pleasant than usual Voyager journey. My next train was the 14:07 FGW service bound for Swansea with 43037 (front) and 43012 (rear), taking me as far as Cardiff Central. This arrived a couple of minutes early, which I was quite glad of - as Bristol Parkway seemed a little windswept. My first FGW journey, and my first trip into Wales (shameful, I know!) passed off without incident. I know the FGW HSTs come in for a great deal of criticism, but I didn't find the travelling environment too unpleasant - though maybe the lighting was a bit harsh. I'm basing this on a 40 minute journey though - maybe I'd feel differently on a longer trip?
A wait of 90 minutes in Cardiff Central (or should that be Pacer central?) and my next train was the 16:15 'WAG Express' to Holyhead, which would take me as far as Crewe. This was being worked by 57313 and a rake of MK2 stock. I'd never been on a MK2 before, and although it was clear Arriva had made attempts to modernise them, they still had a 'retro' feel. I grabbed a seat around a table, and two ladies conversing in Welsh joined me - we had a brief chat in English, and I learned they were travelling back to Bangor. They were surprised when I said I was heading all the way back to Lincoln, via Crewe, Derby and Nottingham. I really enjoyed my trip on the WAG Express, the scenery was interesting and we passed into and out of heavy rain along the way. I was planning on heading to the buffet for some food, but the ladies insisted I shared some of theirs - which I was grateful for. After leaving Shrewesbury the weather improved and I headed to the vestibule window for a few minutes. It didn't seem to take much longer for us to be approaching Crewe - where I was leaving the train. My original plan was to head to Chester for the night, but I'd changed this the night before and decided to head home that day.
My train was 19:07 EMT service from Crewe to Derby, formed of a 158. As I've mentioned elsewhere, these follow me around the EMT network so after a sigh of annoyance, I was on my fifth new route of the day. This wasn't the most scenically interesting journey, and by the time we arrived at Derby I was ready for home - an early arrival allowing me a connection onto 156414 which was ready to depart for Nottingham. Sadly, my connection there was a long one with my final journey of the day being the 22:25 to Lincoln aboard two 153s, one of which was refurbished. We arrived back on-time, and I managed to get a lift back home from the station.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this trip report. I'm not a great story teller, and sometimes can't get out of the 'essay writing' frame of mind so if this is a bit formal, I'm sorry!
Next report should follow soon.
15th & 16th June 2011
The first trip I'm going to write about was one I took last month. It was originally supposed to follow a flying trip to Dublin and Stockholm, which included two sectors on SAS MD80s and a BA 767 (this is my other hobby!) but sadly it wasn't to be, as I'd booked one sector on the wrong date. Sadly, the booking wasn't refundable or amendable, and the available fares were too high to book a replacement ticket. Luckily, East Midlands Trains sailed to the rescue with a cheap advance fare on the 14:28 fast service from Nottingham to St Pancras, which would take me to London ready to start my trip the next morning. Before catching the train, I decided to get some food, and found the Cosy Teapot Cafe near Nottingham station. A massive plate of egg, bacon and chips later I was ready to set off.
The journey down to London was busy, but uneventful, arriving into St Pancras on time, just at the start of rush hour. I decided to buy some food from M&S before getting the Piccadilly Line out to Heathrow, where I'd found a cheap hotel room (and where I should have been arriving by plane). After topping up my Oyster card I went down to the Piccadilly platforms, and the first train in was an almost empty service bound for Terminals 1, 2 and 3 via Terminal 4. This was my first time travelling on the Heathrow branch, though I was actually returning there that weekend for the 1938 stock trip. I eventually got to my hotel room just before six, having got the Metroline 140 bus to the end of the road (why pay £4 for the Hotel Hoppa?). Despite the room having no window, I had a pleasant evening - with cheaper than advertised Wi-Fi I could get online and onto RailUK. I also changed my plans for the next day slightly, and booked relevant tickets to collect from Marylebone the next morning. A terrible nights sleep followed (always the way in hotels for me) and I was up at 05:45 ready to go back to Heathrow and the Piccadilly line.
It was the first time I'd used the Underground so early in the morning, but the train was already busy with people arriving from the far east, heading to their hotels in Central London. The train filled up with commuters as we neared the city, but the central area stations were eerily quiet. I arrived at Marylebone quite early, and collected my Crewe to Lincoln ticket, as well as getting some breakfast from one of the many eateries on the concourse.
My first non-LU train of the day was the 08:20 Marylebone to Moor Street, Chiltern service, formed of an ex-W&S set with 67012 ('A Shropshire Lad') pushing from the back. By this point it was throwing it down with rain, so I headed off down the platform, decided that others would congregate at the back rather than walk in the rain. I was right, and on departure only a few other people were in the carriage with me. Having never been able to travel with W&S I was pleased to travel on one of their trains, and the refurbishment appears to have been carried out to a high standard. My only complaint related to the toilet, where the tap was spitting out water onto the floor every time the train went over a joint in the track.
I'd not travelled on the Chiltern main line before and I was glad I'd decided to take this route. The on train staff were excellent - the TM did keep announcing how to open the doors on the MK3s before arriving at stations, which I found a bit unusual, but given the amount of people who stand and stare at them, maybe it was a sensible idea. A large number of passengers joined at Bicester North and Banbury, and the train was very busy on arrival at Moor Street - which is a delightful station. The weather had also improved, so with a couple of hours I went to look around Birmingham city centre.
My next journey was from New Street on the 12:42 XC service to Bristol. I'd arrived slightly early and waited on the concourse, in a seating area that was signed as being only for ticket holders (is this actually enforced?). I'd been hoping for a HST service, but sadly the fares weren't cheap enough, so I knew I was on a Voyager for the next leg of my journey. This actually turned out to be better than expect, a 221 working the service. A strong smell of toilets in the vestibule, so I decided to sit in an unreserved seat away from this - which turned out to be the right decision, as I had the seats to myself, while my reserved seat was an aisle next to another passenger.
Arrival into Bristol Parkway was on-time at 13:57, after a more pleasant than usual Voyager journey. My next train was the 14:07 FGW service bound for Swansea with 43037 (front) and 43012 (rear), taking me as far as Cardiff Central. This arrived a couple of minutes early, which I was quite glad of - as Bristol Parkway seemed a little windswept. My first FGW journey, and my first trip into Wales (shameful, I know!) passed off without incident. I know the FGW HSTs come in for a great deal of criticism, but I didn't find the travelling environment too unpleasant - though maybe the lighting was a bit harsh. I'm basing this on a 40 minute journey though - maybe I'd feel differently on a longer trip?
A wait of 90 minutes in Cardiff Central (or should that be Pacer central?) and my next train was the 16:15 'WAG Express' to Holyhead, which would take me as far as Crewe. This was being worked by 57313 and a rake of MK2 stock. I'd never been on a MK2 before, and although it was clear Arriva had made attempts to modernise them, they still had a 'retro' feel. I grabbed a seat around a table, and two ladies conversing in Welsh joined me - we had a brief chat in English, and I learned they were travelling back to Bangor. They were surprised when I said I was heading all the way back to Lincoln, via Crewe, Derby and Nottingham. I really enjoyed my trip on the WAG Express, the scenery was interesting and we passed into and out of heavy rain along the way. I was planning on heading to the buffet for some food, but the ladies insisted I shared some of theirs - which I was grateful for. After leaving Shrewesbury the weather improved and I headed to the vestibule window for a few minutes. It didn't seem to take much longer for us to be approaching Crewe - where I was leaving the train. My original plan was to head to Chester for the night, but I'd changed this the night before and decided to head home that day.
My train was 19:07 EMT service from Crewe to Derby, formed of a 158. As I've mentioned elsewhere, these follow me around the EMT network so after a sigh of annoyance, I was on my fifth new route of the day. This wasn't the most scenically interesting journey, and by the time we arrived at Derby I was ready for home - an early arrival allowing me a connection onto 156414 which was ready to depart for Nottingham. Sadly, my connection there was a long one with my final journey of the day being the 22:25 to Lincoln aboard two 153s, one of which was refurbished. We arrived back on-time, and I managed to get a lift back home from the station.
I hope you've enjoyed reading this trip report. I'm not a great story teller, and sometimes can't get out of the 'essay writing' frame of mind so if this is a bit formal, I'm sorry!
Next report should follow soon.