06/01
So, time for my first trip report it seems...
Earlier in the week I decided that I'd go out on a trip this weekend. I had no plans and didn't really fancy a weekend stuck at home. A quick search of rovers on the National Rail site led me to find the Heart of England 3 in 7 rover. Certainly not a rover I'd used before, and being £20.80 with priv it represented very good value for money given the area covered. It also covers a number of routes that I've never traveled on before.
Having a look on BR fares, I found that VTWC were doing £3.75 singles from London Euston to Rugby, even cheaper than travelling with London Midland. A plan was forming...
The week slowly went past, until it was time to get up at five am on Friday morning. No matter how often I get up at five am for work, it still is definitely a chore. The walk to the station at half five wasn't much fun either, with it being a little on the frosty side. The 05:54 service to Swindon always provides a nice o4pportunity to sleep, as it is generally pretty lightly loaded as far as Swindon, and no-one is hugely talkative at that time in the morning. 43164 and 43094 were my two power cars, both of which I've had on numerous occasions.
After surviving the eight hours at work until three pm, it was time to set off on the actual adventure. I boarded the 15:11 from Swindon, going just to Didcot Parkway. 43092 was a leading power car on this service. Having traveled on all bar two of the GWR power cars, luck would definitely need to be on my side to get one I actually needed...
*Just little note, when I decided to keep track of what I was traveling on I decided that I'd go for the following:
- In the case of units, I'd only count the unit I was actually sat in.
- In the case of power cars, I'd only count the leading power car. If it reversed then I'd count both. The only exception being that if a loco was propelling a train led by a DVT, then I'd count that loco.
The only reason I've done this was to give myself more of a challenge, especially when I was commuting nearly 350 miles a day last year.*
Now, back to the trip report...
At Didcot Parkway I had a ten minute connection onto a Turbo to Oxford. After a few minutes waiting in the cold, 166213 rolled into view. Even though I traveled a lot with GWR last year, I've never spent much time on turbos. This is something I'm wanting to change this year, as my main aim is to clear the rest of the GWR fleet.
At Oxford I had quick chance to stretch my legs, and purchase the rover ticket that I would be needing later. It was then time to board the 16:10 service to London Marylebone. This was formed of 168216. I very much like the Chiltern 168's, as they've got a decent number of tables and the airline seats have a great deal of legroom. I would love to travel on them more often. I caught this train as far as High Wycombe, before waiting a boarding the train behind, which I knew to be one of the loco hauled services.
The DVT 82301 was leading the 17:11 from High Wycombe to London Marylebone with 68011 providing the motive power at the rear. Having never been on one of the Chiltern loco hauled services, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. I do like the seat layout. To me their standard class feels like other operators first class, just without the drinks and snacks. It was a shame it was such a short hop.
On arrival at London Marylebone I used the underground to get to London Euston. Being rush hour the tube was reasonably busy, but I've certainly had far worse. Because I had made sure to give plenty of time crossing London and my ticket wasn't valid until after 18:44, I had a half hour wait. This was the perfect opportunity to grab some food and a couple of drinks for the next few trains.
My next service was the 19:03 to Birmingham New Street, that I was catching as far as Rugby. It was formed with 390125. This was also my first time on a class 390, and I have mixed feelings about them. The train was very busy, eleven coaches that was full and standing. The journey to Rugby went quickly enough, I finished the book I was reading. Sadly I didn't have a second book, so part of the journey was spent looking at my phone. The seats where I was sat didn't have a window, so watching things go past wasn't an option.
At Rugby it was a ten minute wait for my next service, where I caught 350103 on the 2006 as far as Stafford. Here I was given the option, of either a CrossCountry voyager to Birmingham, or a London Midland 350 to Birmingham. Wanting to avoid Voyagers as much as possible and the fact that my next train would be a voyager, I opted for 350246 to take me on the 21:11 service to Birmingham New Street. We arrived five minutes late, but not only was my last train not booked for twenty minutes, it was also ten minutes late. I had a little walk around the station and I still think it is one of the oddest station layouts going.
My last train of the night was the 22:12 service which would be taking me to home in Cheltenham. This was formed of 221134. It was pretty empty at that time of night, so no issues getting a seat. The train manager came through pretty soon after leaving Birmingham. I realised that this was the first time since leaving work that my ticket was checked. Eight trains and 300 miles, but only one ticket check...
All in all a pretty good trip. I was glad to have a delay free night, although wasn't looking forward to having to get up at six in the morning for day two...
New traction: 166213, 168216, 68011, 390125, 350103, 350246, 221134 (7)
Days Mileage: 351mi 31ch
So, time for my first trip report it seems...
Earlier in the week I decided that I'd go out on a trip this weekend. I had no plans and didn't really fancy a weekend stuck at home. A quick search of rovers on the National Rail site led me to find the Heart of England 3 in 7 rover. Certainly not a rover I'd used before, and being £20.80 with priv it represented very good value for money given the area covered. It also covers a number of routes that I've never traveled on before.
Having a look on BR fares, I found that VTWC were doing £3.75 singles from London Euston to Rugby, even cheaper than travelling with London Midland. A plan was forming...
The week slowly went past, until it was time to get up at five am on Friday morning. No matter how often I get up at five am for work, it still is definitely a chore. The walk to the station at half five wasn't much fun either, with it being a little on the frosty side. The 05:54 service to Swindon always provides a nice o4pportunity to sleep, as it is generally pretty lightly loaded as far as Swindon, and no-one is hugely talkative at that time in the morning. 43164 and 43094 were my two power cars, both of which I've had on numerous occasions.
After surviving the eight hours at work until three pm, it was time to set off on the actual adventure. I boarded the 15:11 from Swindon, going just to Didcot Parkway. 43092 was a leading power car on this service. Having traveled on all bar two of the GWR power cars, luck would definitely need to be on my side to get one I actually needed...
*Just little note, when I decided to keep track of what I was traveling on I decided that I'd go for the following:
- In the case of units, I'd only count the unit I was actually sat in.
- In the case of power cars, I'd only count the leading power car. If it reversed then I'd count both. The only exception being that if a loco was propelling a train led by a DVT, then I'd count that loco.
The only reason I've done this was to give myself more of a challenge, especially when I was commuting nearly 350 miles a day last year.*
Now, back to the trip report...
At Didcot Parkway I had a ten minute connection onto a Turbo to Oxford. After a few minutes waiting in the cold, 166213 rolled into view. Even though I traveled a lot with GWR last year, I've never spent much time on turbos. This is something I'm wanting to change this year, as my main aim is to clear the rest of the GWR fleet.
At Oxford I had quick chance to stretch my legs, and purchase the rover ticket that I would be needing later. It was then time to board the 16:10 service to London Marylebone. This was formed of 168216. I very much like the Chiltern 168's, as they've got a decent number of tables and the airline seats have a great deal of legroom. I would love to travel on them more often. I caught this train as far as High Wycombe, before waiting a boarding the train behind, which I knew to be one of the loco hauled services.
The DVT 82301 was leading the 17:11 from High Wycombe to London Marylebone with 68011 providing the motive power at the rear. Having never been on one of the Chiltern loco hauled services, I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. I do like the seat layout. To me their standard class feels like other operators first class, just without the drinks and snacks. It was a shame it was such a short hop.
On arrival at London Marylebone I used the underground to get to London Euston. Being rush hour the tube was reasonably busy, but I've certainly had far worse. Because I had made sure to give plenty of time crossing London and my ticket wasn't valid until after 18:44, I had a half hour wait. This was the perfect opportunity to grab some food and a couple of drinks for the next few trains.
My next service was the 19:03 to Birmingham New Street, that I was catching as far as Rugby. It was formed with 390125. This was also my first time on a class 390, and I have mixed feelings about them. The train was very busy, eleven coaches that was full and standing. The journey to Rugby went quickly enough, I finished the book I was reading. Sadly I didn't have a second book, so part of the journey was spent looking at my phone. The seats where I was sat didn't have a window, so watching things go past wasn't an option.
At Rugby it was a ten minute wait for my next service, where I caught 350103 on the 2006 as far as Stafford. Here I was given the option, of either a CrossCountry voyager to Birmingham, or a London Midland 350 to Birmingham. Wanting to avoid Voyagers as much as possible and the fact that my next train would be a voyager, I opted for 350246 to take me on the 21:11 service to Birmingham New Street. We arrived five minutes late, but not only was my last train not booked for twenty minutes, it was also ten minutes late. I had a little walk around the station and I still think it is one of the oddest station layouts going.
My last train of the night was the 22:12 service which would be taking me to home in Cheltenham. This was formed of 221134. It was pretty empty at that time of night, so no issues getting a seat. The train manager came through pretty soon after leaving Birmingham. I realised that this was the first time since leaving work that my ticket was checked. Eight trains and 300 miles, but only one ticket check...
All in all a pretty good trip. I was glad to have a delay free night, although wasn't looking forward to having to get up at six in the morning for day two...
New traction: 166213, 168216, 68011, 390125, 350103, 350246, 221134 (7)
Days Mileage: 351mi 31ch
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Loco hauled up the Luxulyan valley is immense! It's 1in37 up there up reverse curves!
