Turbo's Green Lining

[Turbo004]

Every month for the last 30 years or so I've travelled by train to travel over a line I've never travelled on before. As you can imagine I'm not far off going over all the passenger lines in the UK now. I plan to post on here my plans and whether they are successful. My planned April trip is a bit extreme even by my standards. Highlights include Hyndland West Junction to Hyndland North Junction near Glssgow Copenhagen Junction near King's Cross to Wembley Yard. In terms of haulage I'm hoping for a 73 + 66 on the sleeper from Falkirk to Edinburgh. I've never had haulage from either a 73/9 or 66. I may extend the trip to get a 455 or 317 in London.
My planned itinerary is:
Chester dep 1536
Warrington BQ arr 1603 dep 1616
Carlisle arr 1752 dep 1805 by bus
Glasgow Central arr 2000
Glasgow Queen Street dep 2050
Scotstounhill arr 2103 dep 2118
Anniesland arr 2122 dep 2133
Glasgow Queen Street arr 2145 dep 2200
Falkirk High arr 2219
Falkirk Grahamston dep 0008
London Euston arr 0905 dep 0940
Crewe arr 1110 dep 1124
Chester arr 11.49
A couple is there a decent pub in Falkirk which stays open late on Sunday night. I plan to leave on Sunday 24th April. Is there any reason that there is no 16.36 train from Chester to Warrington on this date? It's a bit of a pain as I could theoretically spend more time with family on the Sunday and less time in Falkirk.

 

[Kite159]

Good luck with the trip

 

[D6130]

is there a decent pub in Falkirk which stays open late on Sunday night.

The Good Beer Guide and WhatPub recommend the Wheatsheaf Inn, 16 Baxters Wynd, FK1 1PF. It's about 0.3 miles from Grahamston Station and is open until midnight on Sundays. This is Falkirk's oldest pub - a cosy, welcoming 18th eighteenth century local down an alleyway just off the High Street, with three rotating real ales. If you want to phone them nearer the time to confirm this information, their number is 01324 638282.

 

[xotGD]

I'm sorry but I just can't accept this "Green Lining" malarkey. Everyone knows that the approved term is "Yellow Penning"

Enjoy your trip. You might end up with a 67 + 73 combo, rather than a 66.

 

[NorthWestRover]

My Baker has primarily yellow but some green and even a little pink. It is also very out of date.

 

[Turbo004]

Many thanks for that information about the Wheatsheef Inn in Falkirk, D6130. Thanks for the heads up about the 67+73 combo xotGD. I hope not as I see 67's a lot on passenger living in Chester. On the subject of the sleeper I believe if it also changes 92's in Willesden yard it must be one of the rare instances where you could have four loco's on an ordinary train.

 

[Turbo004]

All set for my trip tomorrow with tickets bought. Incidently the 16.36 Chester - Warrington is now shown as running. I'm not going go on it though as I think the connections would be too tight.

 

[Turbo004]

Below is a delayed trip report going off memory.
The trip started well with a 3 car 175 to Warrington followed by an 11 coach Pendolino to Carlisle. There was a fairly lengthy wait for my coach onward to Glasgow. A pair of DRS locos on a Tesco train were observed from the coach near Gretna Green. I also managed to get the number of an 08 which I needed hidden away at the back Polmodie from the coach. Arrival at Glasgow Central was on time. After batter haggis and chips and a quick look at Glasgow Central I then walked over to Glasgow Queen Street where I was most impressed with the new station area.
Onwards to Scotsounhill via a change at Partick to get some extra haulage. The train from Scotsoundhill to Anniesland was running late. I was glad I had caught the 15.36 train from Chester at this point as it gave some leeway if things went wrong. We left 20 mins late approximately with many people on board confused that the train wasn't going to Glasgow. Meanwhile I was delighted as the train took the Hyndland curve to Anniesland.
On arrival at Anniesland my planned train to Glasgow Queen Street was also late. There were a quite a lot of people waiting including people who had completed a Glasgow Walk dressed in kilts. Whilst waiting for the train Anniesland I saw a fox and it's cub by the track. I'd never seen a fox cub before so was pleased to see one.
When the train for Glasgow arrived about 30 minutes late a big cheer went up from the people waiting that it had finally arrived.
On arrival at Queen Street I walked up to the High level for my onward train to Falkirk.
Not only has the station changed a lot since I was last here 10 years ago but the type of trains seen has changed too. Last time it was 156's, 158's and 170's. Now it is 385's and HST's while I was there although I know 156's and 153's must be seen on occasion.
Catching a 385 to Falkirk 30 mins behind schedule worked out fine. I'd never caught a 385 before and felt these units were fine for the services they work.
With arrival into Falkirk Iate I didn't bother with a pub stop particularly as they all seemed very lively for a Sunday night. I changed stations fine though and observed a very big cat which looked like a Scottish Wildcat. On looking Wikipedia afterwards it almost certainly wasn't.
The sleeping arrived with Class 66 Evening Star in Green livery and a Class 73 hauling it. I was only passenger to board here. I found seats to be comfortable and ordered a bacon butty for the morning.
Passing through Doncaster I woke up briefly to see a Class 365. This would probably be the last time I will see one of these units.
At Peterborough a Class 91 passed by on passenger. As we approached King's Cross we went right and I could see that we were at the back being hauled by a GBRF liveried 92.
After a slow crawl through North London we stopped in Wembley Yards. Another 92 was attached to the back which hauled us into Euston. It must be a rare occasion that on an ordinary passenger train you get haulage by 4 locomotives. Arrival into Euston was 58 mins early.
Not much to report on my journey back to Chester other than seeing some new Class 777's in Crewe Carriage Sidings. Overall a great trip.

 

[Kite159]

A good result, especially with the rare Hyndland West - North curve

 

[Turbo004]

May's green lining was off to do Gaer Junction to Park Junction on the Newport to Ebbw Vale line. I travelled with a friend on this trip with nothing fixed in stone. The plan was catch the loco hauled 07.16 Chester - Cardiff service. Checking real time trains the previous night it appeared to be a loco heading North to Holyhead so all looked good. Sure enough 67014 pulled into the station heading South. 70812 and 3 Class 97/3 were observed stabled at Shrewsbury Coleham depot with the Class 70 needed.
Food on board the WAG in standard class has gone downhill. When it was first introduced in about 2006 you got a full breakfast brought to your seat on a proper plate. In latter Mark 3 days this changed to being served in polystyrene. Now you can't get a full breakfast but at least I could still get a hot sausage sandwich.
Arrival at Newport was just 4 minutes late with the plan to catch a HST to Cardiff. However there appeared to be problems on the line to Cardiff with trains delayed so we decided to head to Bristol instead. I didn't mind waiting at Newport as it is one of my favourite stations with plenty of trains to see. Whilst there we saw a Class 60 on an oil train, 170210 (new for sight and yet to travel on a TfW 170), 2 387's (both new and rare on a Cardiff - Paddington service) and a Class 231 (never seen a 231 before) on test.
Off we went to Bristol on a HST. Whilst at Bristol we had a nice coffee and sandwich before deciding to head for Bath. The train to Bath was two 165's on a Cardiff - Portsmouth service. Whilst in Bath we saw a tiny spa in a small Grade 1 listed building before viewing the old Bath Midland Station. After a quick pint we caught a 166 to Bristol TM. There was a unit swap at Bristol onto two 158's which were both needed for travelling on. However there was a door fault so we decided to catch the following HST instead. In the end the 158's left ahead of us though. I didn't mind too much as I still needed one of the power cars for haulage and we made our connection at Newport.
Whilst travelling from Newport to Bath and back I managed to see various new 802's, 166's, 165's, 800's , another 170 and even a new Class 60 in East Usk Yard.
We finally managed to go on the stretch of track I needed from Newport to Pye Corner. We travelled onto Rogerstone from Newport on a single 153 with only one other passenger on board. The line reopened to regular passenger trains in Dec 2021 and seemed very lightly used. Meanwhile I can't remember the last time I caught a single 153. They used to be so common on lines near me.
From Rogerstone we walked to The Tiny Rebel brewery which was in the middle of an industrial estate. The bar though was massive and very impressive. If you like real ales I can highly recommend it. From the brewery we walked quickly to Pye Corner to catch the same 153 to Newport.
On the way home we caught the returning WAG to Shrewsbury which had 67015 for haulage. Finally we caught a 158 home from Shrewsbury to Chester. A good day overall and another line completed.

 

[Kite159]

I guess demand is quite low for Newport to Crosskeys (with the buses being more frequent and I believe cheaper) that a 153 is more than enough.

 

[Turbo004]

I guess demand is quite low for Newport to Crosskeys (with the buses being more frequent and I believe cheaper) that a 153 is more than enough.

I hope over time this service becomes more popular. It certainly saved a lot of time travelling from the Tiny Rebel brewery to Shrewsbury as we didn't have to travel into Cardiff first. I believe there are plans to extend the service North to Ebbw Vale once the line North is redoubled.

 

[Turbo004]

My next train trip is planned to travel from London Fenchurch Street to Stratford on the line through Bow Junction. Has anyone got any tips for the fastest / best way to get from Euston to Fenchurch Street? I'm guessing Euston Square to Tower Hill on the circle line at the moment.

 

[Non Multi]

My next train trip is planned to travel from London Fenchurch Street to Stratford on the line through Bow Junction. Has anyone got any tips for the fastest / best way to get from Euston to Fenchurch Street? I'm guessing Euston Square to Tower Hill on the circle line at the moment.

Metropolitan line to Aldgate, only a minute or so further away in walking time than Tower Hill. Best option if it's the first train from Euston Square. Far fewer meandering tourists too.

 

[Turbo004]

Metropolitan line to Aldgate, only a minute or so further away in walking time than Tower Hill. Best option if it's the first train from Euston Square. Far fewer meandering tourists too.

Thanks for that idea. I'd not thought of going via Aldgate.

 

[Turbo004]

My June trip is all planned for next Saturday. The plan is still to do Gas Factory Junction to Bow Junction. My plan is as follows:
Chester dep 1554
Crewe arr 1619 dep 1629
London Euston arr 1801
Tube to either Aldgate or Tower Hill depending which arrives first.
London Fenchurch Street dep 19.11
Stratford arr 1922
Walk to Stratford International
Stratford International dep 20.14
London Saint Pancras arr 2021
Walk to London Euston
London Euston dep 21.01
Crewe arr 22.59 dep 23.21
Chester arr 23.43

After reading the thread about Avanti cancellations just hoping all goes to plan.

 

[Techniquest]

I looked at your timings from Euston to Fenchurch Street, and it's interesting to note that Maps confirms my suspicions. You could walk it between the two stations in an hour, which could be a more enjoyable idea than cramming onto LU. It would be a far longer way of doing it, granted, but I would consider it personally.

Good luck I say, the London bits will probably all go smoothly but Avanti, well I wouldn't rely on them for much at all these days!

 

[Turbo004]

I looked at your timings from Euston to Fenchurch Street, and it's interesting to note that Maps confirms my suspicions. You could walk it between the two stations in an hour, which could be a more enjoyable idea than cramming onto LU. It would be a far longer way of doing it, granted, but I would consider it personally.

Good luck I say, the London bits will probably all go smoothly but Avanti, well I wouldn't rely on them for much at all these days!

Good idea to walk from Euston to Fenchurch Street. It's nice to have leg stretch with so long on trains. If and it's a big if, if I arrive into Euston on time I'll do it.

 

[Techniquest]

Good idea to walk from Euston to Fenchurch Street. It's nice to have leg stretch with so long on trains. If and it's a big if, if I arrive into Euston on time I'll do it.

An alternative, if pushed for time and only a 10 minute delay would knock out the option for walking from Euston, could be the Northern line to London Bridge and walk from there. I can't remember how long that takes, but it could be a handy alternative if the sub-surface lines are up the wall. Especially given you'll need to walk either to Euston Square first or Kings Cross St Pancras for the sub-surface lines, which although not far does add time to the journey.

Obviously it's all subject to weather conditions on the day, and what LU is like.

I've just looked again at your route, I see you have a large amount of time to get onto the train out of Stratford International. I doubt I need to tell you but there is the DLR available between the two, assuming it's running. In theory you will need nowhere near as long as that to walk between the two stations, although I've never done it. I have rode from the Westfield side of Stratford up and around to elsewhere, but I seem to recall International was not that far away if I'd been going there. Not one I've looked at personally, when I did it on an ALR in 2011 it was before the DLR opened, so there was a free bus shuttle running.

Final thought, if you're a keen cyclist you could potentially cycle between stations. You do need a bit of courage to do so mind, it is still cycling in a capital city after all, but you can cycle from Euston to Fenchurch Street in less than 30 minutes. I haven't used the Santander bikes yet myself, as I normally have my own beast with me and when I don't I haven't got a helmet, so I haven't used them.

Perhaps more importantly, I hope your trip for the unusual track all works out and you won't be the victim of Avanti letting the team down!

 

[Turbo004]

An alternative, if pushed for time and only a 10 minute delay would knock out the option for walking from Euston, could be the Northern line to London Bridge and walk from there. I can't remember how long that takes, but it could be a handy alternative if the sub-surface lines are up the wall. Especially given you'll need to walk either to Euston Square first or Kings Cross St Pancras for the sub-surface lines, which although not far does add time to the journey.

Obviously it's all subject to weather conditions on the day, and what LU is like.

I've just looked again at your route, I see you have a large amount of time to get onto the train out of Stratford International. I doubt I need to tell you but there is the DLR available between the two, assuming it's running. In theory you will need nowhere near as long as that to walk between the two stations, although I've never done it. I have rode from the Westfield side of Stratford up and around to elsewhere, but I seem to recall International was not that far away if I'd been going there. Not one I've looked at personally, when I did it on an ALR in 2011 it was before the DLR opened, so there was a free bus shuttle running.

Final thought, if you're a keen cyclist you could potentially cycle between stations. You do need a bit of courage to do so mind, it is still cycling in a capital city after all, but you can cycle from Euston to Fenchurch Street in less than 30 minutes. I haven't used the Santander bikes yet myself, as I normally have my own beast with me and when I don't I haven't got a helmet, so I haven't used them.

Perhaps more importantly, I hope your trip for the unusual track all works out and you won't be the victim of Avanti letting the team down!

Many thanks for your ideas Techniques.

The option of tube to London Bridge sounds quite good. I imagine the walk is quite nice over the Thames.

Whilst not a keen cyclist I do use a bike from time to time as a mode of transport to get me places and have cycled often through Newcastle and Chester City centres. I think I'd be fine in London but have never tried it. I'd use a Santander bike as I don't like the idea of lugging mine on all the trains.
The alternative of cycling appeals as well as it may give me a chance of catching the 18.41 from Fenchurch Street to Stratford. This appeals as I may eventually then be able to catch an earlier Avanti service North from Euston.

I'm aware of the DLR between Stratford and Stratford International but fancied a leg stretch. I've walked it before and from what I recall it isn't far at all. I've added some extra time in case any of my planned trains are running late. If I end up catching an earlier 395 to St Pancras this might give me some more options for heading North.

 

[xotGD]

If planning to walk across Tower Bridge check for bridge openings. I've been stuck on the south side before when a tall masted vessel was sailing through!

 

[Techniquest]

If planning to walk across Tower Bridge check for bridge openings. I've been stuck on the south side before when a tall masted vessel was sailing through!

Ah yes I think I got booked by that trying to cross it recently, traffic was pretty appalling so either that or just a random traffic jam!

Turbo: Fair enough that with the walk in Stratford, makes sense. I haven't used it myself, so I'd look into the Santander bikes yourself to make sure you know how it works. There's a decent size bay of them just outside Euston, although where the nearest one to Fenchurch Street would be I can't say. There should be one nearby, but worth checking.

 

[Turbo004]

New Lines Travelled On: zero
New Trains: 6 (4 on onward, 2 on return)
Trip Report On London Fenchurch Street - Stratford attempt.
The day before my trip I bought my tickets and reservations. Disappointingly the 23.21 Crewe - Chester was no longer running. However there was 23.58 Crewe - Chester so potentially there would be a long wait at Crewe.
The day arrived and I got to Chester station in plenty of time. The 15.54 Chester - Crewe was on time formed of two Class 153's as usual. I was rather hoping it would be a four coach train as it was a Chester Race day. On Chester Races they often put on a four coach unit on the Chester - Crewe shuttles. I guess with recent unit shortages this was not possible. Not to worry I still had a table to myself.
At Crewe 47614 was on the up and down through road whilst 60019 was heading North on Platform 6 on an empty stone train persuamably from Longport. I quickly made it over to Platform 5 where I got on 390124 on the 16.22 Euston service. This was earlier than planned and was not an official connection.
A new Merseyrail 777 was spotted as we left Crewe in the Arriva Traincare Sidings. After someone pulled the emergency chord after their child was sick the train came to an abrupt halt just South of Nuneaton. We soon got going again and arrival into Euston was on time. The only other thing of note was DCR 60055 on a stone train to the South of the line near Wembley. Both the Class 60's seen were new sights for me which was a surprise as I've seen so many of them.
Arrival into Euston was a few minutes earlier than planned after catching the earlier train from Crewe. As I had time I decided to walk to Fenchurch Street. Not having an A-Z though I found myself frequently stopping to look at maps which are now found at many places in London for pedestrians.
I meandered along going past Farringdon station, watching a nude bike ride of about 100 men! and going past St Paul's cathedral. Near St Paul's there was a major fire alert with possible fire. I've never seen so many fire engines and other emergency vehicles go to an incident before. Later I looked online to see if I could find out what had happened to no avail.
By this time I realised I still had a little way to go to Fenchurch Street so ended up jogging between maps a bit. I got to Fenchurch Street which is a little difficult to find with about 10 minutes to spare. Much to my disappointment though the 19.11 train to Shoeburyness was showing as stopping all stations to Barking. I asked station staff why this was and apparently there had been a linside fire.
Not really knowing what to do and seeing little prospect of being able to travel over Gas Factory Junction - Bow Junction I decided to make my way back to Euston. I also aware I definitely wanted to get back to Chester tonight and didn't want to risk going to Stratford via West Ham which station staff had advised.
I made my way back then to Euston via Liverpool Street and Euston Square getting to Euston in plenty of time for the 20.11 to Crewe. Whilst waiting for my train back I saw a couple of new Class 710's. I was surprised that the 20.11 service was so quiet on the journey back to Crewe as the sunset. I think that possibly as Avanti have been cancelling so many services this is putting people off. The Pendolino back was the first time that I had caught a refurbished Pendolino which was nice to see.
On arrival at Crewe the 2 153's which I caught previously were waiting for the 22.24 Crewe - Chester which was punctual. All in all its a long while since I've had a trip that I've failed to do a line I wanted to do so I can't complain too much.

 

[Techniquest]

A big shame the line coverage didn't happen after all, that's a mighty long (and expensive) way to go for a bit of track that didn't happen! Good news though on Avanti behaving themselves enough to provide you with a decent service though!

 

[Turbo004]

I quite enjoyed the walk across London - thanks for the tip. I noticed how many people were cycling. I ruled it out beforehand as being a little too risky. Having looked at it yesterday it didn't look too daunting so I think when u try it again I'll cycle across London. I won't try to do Fenchurch Street - Stratford for at least another year. I have a little rule that if I fail on a route I'll try it in a years time. The last time this happened was in December 2019 when a Glasgow - Liverpool service failed to do Mossend North - Mossend East as booked. When I looked at it a year later all booked services on this route had been withdrawn. Hopefully Fenchurch Street - Stratford won't be like this.

 

[Kite159]

It pops up every now and again when there is works at Liverpool Street reducing the number of platforms available.

It's good C2C try and run that way rather than the easier route via West Ham, forcing any passengers for Stratford to change at West Ham for the Jubilee (or DLR).

 

[Techniquest]

Fenchurch Street-Stratford will be fine, of that I'm pretty sure. If it gets totally withdrawn from passenger use, that would surprise me.

Glad you enjoyed the walk, and cycling in London can be surprisingly decent. If you want advice on routes through London, I will be happy to try and help as I've done a fair bit of cycling through London. One I do like is Cycle Superhighway 3 (the whole network of Superhighways and Quietways is slowly being rebranded to simply Cycleways), which goes from Hyde Park to Barking. Definitely one I'd recommend looking at, and in my eyes one of London's most useful routes. I still have some to try out like CS1, all in the pipeline of course!

 

[Turbo004]

After the attempt at London Fenchurch Street - Stratford last weekend I've been making plans for my next trip on Friday 1st July. I'm planning to have a go at Doncaster Flyover East Junction - Loversall Carr Junction. This line has very few trains but one is the 07.37 Harrogate - London Kings Cross. Whether it uses this route on the day is always a gamble but I'm going to have a try.
My planned route is:
Chester dep 03.36 Replacement Bus
Manchester Piccadilly arr 04.26
Manchester Pic dep 04.49 Class 185
Leeds arr 05.50
Leeds dep 06.05 Class 91
Doncaster arr 06.35
Doncaster dep 08.49 Class 801
Grantham arr 09.21
Grantham dep 09.41 Class 801
Doncaster arr 10.13
Doncaster dep 10.35 Class 150
Sheffield arr 11.14
Sheffield dep 11.43 Class 158 x 2
Stockport arr 12.25
Stockport dep 12.39 Class 175
Crewe arr 13.07
Crewe dep 13.24 Class 153 x 2
Chester arr 13.49
Im planning to set off early so if anything goes wrong I should still get the train I want from Doncaster to Grantham. Bizarrely most of the time the 03.34 train to Manchester misses the connection to Leeds in Manchester. However the bus is actually quicker on that week it makes the connection in theory.

 

[Techniquest]

I don't envy the ultra early start, but I do wish you luck with getting it covered! I'm guessing this is being done on multiple day returns, otherwise would it be more sensible to stay in the area overnight and do some other stuff while over there as well? The problem with the pre-dawn rises tends to be that by lunchtime one gets hit by a wall of tiredness, and the entire body is thrown out of sorts for the whole day. It sure happens to me on Mondays, when I have to be at work at 4am, by 12pm when I'm out of there I don't have the energy or patience for much else. Which sucks, especially in the summer time and when the weather is good!

 

[xotGD]

I think a cheap Travelodge room would be a more relaxing way to do it than an 03.36 bus!

Good luck scratching the required track.