West Yorkshire 30/12/14

[cactustwirly]

I'm in Bradford on Tuesday, and I'm thinking of getting a Day Rover.
I was thinking of doing Forster Square-Ilkley-Leeds-Steeton-Forster Square.
What do you think/ Is there anything else worth doing?

 

[yorkie]

Get off at Keighley and get the bus to Hebden Bridge. It's very scenic. Once at Hebden Bridge, you have a wide choice of routes.

 

[55013]

Depends what you want to get and how long you've got.
The move you've planned will be mainly/all 333s, with the possibility of 321/9 and 322 appearing.

If it's DMUs you prefer, then you could do something like Interchange - Huddersfield (departures from there on the hour), then TPE to Leeds and something back to Bradford.
Alternatively you could do a combined EMU/DMU move by doing Forster Square - Leeds - Interchange and back.

If it's just a nice run out you fancy, then the move you've got planned looks fine to me (Ilkley is a bit more scenic the Bradford).

Don't forget the new rules banning the use of Day rovers in the evening peak!

 

[cactustwirly]

Get off at Keighley and get the bus to Hebden Bridge. It's very scenic. Once at Hebden Bridge, you have a wide choice of routes.

Great suggestion! I may not have enough time though :cry:

I've only got 4 hours unfortunately, I could detour to Wakefield, to ride some Dusty Bins!

 

[yorkie]

Don't forget the new rules banning the use of Day rovers in the evening peak!

Which don't apply if you have scratch cards that don't have a time restriction on them. Some of us have supplies to last a few years

 

[185143]

Don't forget the new rules banning the use of Day rovers in the evening peak!

Which don't apply if you have scratch cards that don't have a time restriction on them. Some of us have supplies to last a few years

are these still available?

 

[yorkie]

are these still available?

I don't know, and I can't easily fuind out as I live in a prohibitively expensive county to live in, where we are encouraged to drive rather than use public transport. Perhaps someone in West Yorkshire can find out - I'll send some PMs

If there are, I'd suggest stocking up (some are dated up to 2017 but mine only go up to 2016) and I'd be happy to buy some 2017 ones too.

We have bought quite a few group ones with the intention of having some forum trips in future, so keep an eye out for that as there may be a place going spare.

 

[John @ home]

are these still available?

I don't know whether the scratch-off version available from West Yorkshire Post Offices is still the one with "may not be used before 9.30am" printed on the back. It has been confirmed that these remain valid throughout the evening peak.

But if they are, you have only three more days to buy them. Post Offices stop selling Metro products from 31 December 2014. After that, Family DayRover and Train & Bus DayRover 'scratch-off' tickets can be bought from Bradford Interchange, bus stations at Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds and Wakefield, First Travel Shop Leeds and some Tourist Information Centres. See Where to buy Day Rover.

Unfortunately the Post Office where I normally buy Day Rovers may not open on Monday due to an attempted robbery on Christmas Eve.

 

[Condor7]

As 55013 indicates, you may get lucky and pick up a dusty bin anyway on your suggested route although I wouldn't hold your breath.

There would be a bit more chance if you went to Skipton, which is also a lovely run and a lovely town to visit, with a great station to spend a while on, although a little cold at this time of year. There is usually a couple of freight through late morning and mid afternoon, and odd ones at other times.

 

[cactustwirly]

Thanks for the advice. Seeing as it is only £3.60 to go to Skipton, I will ad that to the itinerary.
,

 

[cactustwirly]

In the end I decided to go to Keighley instead of Skipton so that I could go on a 158 towards Carlisle to add a bit of variety. I also felt that Northern are a good TOC and don't deserve their criticisms. I was also surprised at how fast and comfortable the class 333s were.

However the woman at Bradford was reluctant to sell me a Day Rover, Interrogating me about where I was going, and trying to sell me normal tickets to those places.

But on the whole it was a nice day out, with nice trains(the 158 seats are so comfortable!)

So here are some pictures.

 

[ash39]

I agree on the 158's and 333's. Unfortunately, everything else they have is pretty terrible. You were lucky not to end up on knackered 144s or 150s!