Your all-time favourite trip (and why?). Reports welcome.

[Iskra]

This thread has potential for making people very envious and, Calthrop, your contribution certainly does that to me -- but even before your latest post, I was thinking that you would probably be similarly envious of those who saw the Réseau Breton in full operation.

I can't really complain too much, as I have been fortunate enough to have had various memorable rail trips, steam and otherwise, and for someone born two years after the end of main line steam in the UK (and with other interests as well as railways), I have seen a reasonable amount of 'real' non-preserved working steam -- but most of it was very much the last remnants, and some of it only semi-'real'. I think one has to accept that the feeling of 'it would have been so much better if I'd been there a few years earlier' is an inevitable consequence of taking an interest in 'real' steam, or in anything else (on or off the railways) that's in decline.

One contender for best-ever trip was my first visit to Poland in October 1995. By then the standard-gauge steam operation at Wolsztyn was deliberately kept going for its historic interest and probably wouldn't have satisfied purists like Calthrop, but it was a very good approximation to the completely-real thing for anyone who hadn't got there sooner -- I describe it as being like an African national park which was deliberately protected from being turned into farmland but within which the animals were living their lives much as they always had done. And the narrow-gauge line at Środa was pretty much 100% 'real' steam (as was the similar but freight-only line at Gniezno, but that had to wait for a later visit as I was unaware of its existence in 1995).

The trip began with my first experience of Eurostar, followed by an overnight journey from Brussels to Poznań on the Ost-West express, which had been one of the trains that most caught my imagination when I discovered the Thomas Cook timetable in the 1980s. On my first day in Poland I visited Środa, where the locomotive crew saw me with my camera and invited me into the cab for the journey over track some of which reminded me of pictures of the Talyllyn Railway in the early 1950s; then over the next 3 days I travelled over 200 miles on steam-hauled trains around Wolsztyn, in beautiful autumn weather. Over half of this distance was on the footplate, including most of a day on a pick-up goods, and a journey beginning in the pre-dawn darkness on what became a busy commuter train by the time it reached Poznań. The historic cities of Poznań and Wrocław (to clarify, the latter not reached by steam) were a bonus.

The German part of the trip, involving the Zittau and Freital Hainsberg narrow gauge lines, a day's walking in the Zittauer Gebirge, sightseeing in Dresden and a short paddle steamer journey, was also interesting, albeit a bit tame compared with the Polish adventure.

(Here is a video -- not mine -- showing the Środa line in 1995).

Another very different and interesting recollection, thank you for sharing! I can imagine that even the early Eurostar was an interesting experience. Wow, that must have been amazing in the cab too! I am indeed envious. The only steam cab ride I've ever had was a Black 5 at what is now the WCRC Steam Depot at Carnforth in the late 90's. My parents had taken me to the old steam town site, but unbeknown to them it had closed down. The crew of a Black 5 manoeuvring around the site took pity on me and gave me a ride

 

[Calthrop]

This thread has potential for making people very envious and, Calthrop, your contribution certainly does that to me -- but even before your latest post, I was thinking that you would probably be similarly envious of those who saw the Réseau Breton in full operation.

I can't really complain too much, as I have been fortunate enough to have had various memorable rail trips, steam and otherwise, and for someone born two years after the end of main line steam in the UK (and with other interests as well as railways), I have seen a reasonable amount of 'real' non-preserved working steam -- but most of it was very much the last remnants, and some of it only semi-'real'. I think one has to accept that the feeling of 'it would have been so much better if I'd been there a few years earlier' is an inevitable consequence of taking an interest in 'real' steam, or in anything else (on or off the railways) that's in decline.

I feel certain that -- assuming that railway-enthusiasm first became known to humanity approximately 1840: any railfans born much after the mid-point of the 19th century, experienced this bittersweet feeling. I envisage folk of our persuasion, born in the last decade of the "19th": regretting and resenting their having come along just too late to know first-hand, action on Brunel's broad gauge...

One contender for best-ever trip was my first visit to Poland in October 1995. By then the standard-gauge steam operation at Wolsztyn was deliberately kept going for its historic interest and probably wouldn't have satisfied purists like Calthrop ...

Yep -- for my money, Wolsztyn went down the pan with effect from 23/5/1993, when PKP withdrew passenger services on the lines from there to Sulechow, and Nowa Sol (though I've been to Wolsztyn more than once since that evil day, and enjoyed it).

And the narrow-gauge line at Środa was pretty much 100% 'real' steam (as was the similar but freight-only line at Gniezno, but that had to wait for a later visit as I was unaware of its existence in 1995).

I've managed to travel over a goodly amount of Polish narrow gauge -- mostly with diesel traction, but that's the way things went -- but the Gniezno line has all-but eluded me. Saw it at the Gniezno end in 1987 -- exchange-yard shunting with a couple of Px48, and a Ty43 -- but passenger trains weren't running on that day. Despite hopes and attempts, never got to that one subsequently. Did Sroda -- Zaniemysl in 1990 and '91 -- altogether, a delight. And -- grand video -- thanks.

The German part of the trip, involving the Zittau and Freital Hainsberg narrow gauge lines, a day's walking in the Zittauer Gebirge, sightseeing in Dresden and a short paddle steamer journey, was also interesting, albeit a bit tame compared with the Polish adventure.

I've largely missed out on the (East) German narrow gauge (not that I've done any n/g in former West Germany either !) -- have travelled on most of the Freital Hainsberg line; but Zittau, sadly, never.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

I have a few, which I remember I particularly enjoyed.

• August 2011 - Me and my dad were staying in London to spend a few days spotting at photting at all of the London stations (back in my spotting days!) on the way home we caught the Wrexham & Shropshire (RIP) set from Marylebone to Wrexham General and I remember it was an old Intercity (Also RIP) coach, which was very comfortable and a pleasant journey experience coupled with the best on-board bacon butty I’ve had to date. This trip is memorable because it was my first real loco-hauled experience.
• October 2012 - Friday night me and my dad travelled from Capenhurst to Alfreton, stayed at my grandmas, then up early the Saturday morning and caught the HST to St Pancras, then onwards to Bexleyheath from there for a removal job we were assisting with. It was a nice trip as I got to see my grandma, quality time with my dad and a nice HST journey, plus it was my first time to cover the Midland Mainline .
• February 2013 - I met up with member @TrainBoy98 in London for the first time and we bashed a good chunk of the tube map in a day. The trip was memorable because it was the first time that me and Callum had met after months of contact through the rail forum, and we are still good friends to this day! That said, I haven’t seen him for a while, he lives in Worthing and I live in Ellesmere Port!
  
• August 2013 - I travelled on the Paddington to Pembroke Dock HST for our family holiday that year, which was an amazing experience. I recall I was in First class too which made it better! Memorable because it was my longest HST ride!
  
• October 2014 - The last Pretendolino trip. It was also a forum meet, and I headed down London early to clear some lines on a first-class travel card (Also RIP), and then met the forum gang at Euston for a London-Birmingham jaunt in First class. I remember the actual Pretendolino trip costing me around £8! How I miss the days of child-rate fares..

 

[181]

Another very different and interesting recollection, thank you for sharing!

Thankyou for taking an interest. (And thankyou to the other contributors to this thread for sharing their experiences).

I can imagine that even the early Eurostar was an interesting experience.

Yes, getting on a train at familiar Waterloo and ending up in a foreign country felt very novel.

I feel certain that -- assuming that railway-enthusiasm first became known to humanity approximately 1840: any railfans born much after the mid-point of the 19th century, experienced this bittersweet feeling.

And maybe stagecoach enthusiasts before that, one could speculate.

I've managed to travel over a goodly amount of Polish narrow gauge -- mostly with diesel traction, but that's the way things went -- but the Gniezno line has all-but eluded me. Saw it at the Gniezno end in 1987 -- exchange-yard shunting with a couple of Px48, and a Ty43 -- but passenger trains weren't running on that day. Despite hopes and attempts, never got to that one subsequently.

My Polish narrow-gauge travels were limited to the two remaining steam lines, although one of my memories from 1995 is seeing a railcar, on what I later discovered to be the Śmigiel line, in the bay platform at Stare Bojanowo when I passed through on an all-stations e.m.u. from Poznań to Wrocław. I visited Gniezno in August 1998 and was lucky enough to get a footplate ride on a freight train to Witkowo and back. I understood from the crew that the previous day they had gone a few miles further, but as the information I had was that trains to Witkowo were less than daily and those beyond there quite unusual, I was pleased with what I got rather than regretful about not going further.

(Off-topic, but it appears that the Gniezno line is not quite dead (scroll down to get past the advertisements), although Google Translate indicates that the revived operation was limited to going 20 minutes down the line on September weekends, with no immediate prospect of expansion).

How I miss the days of child-rate fares..

One thing I didn't mention about my Polish trip was how cheap it was (unlike the German part). Apart from modest tips to footplate crew when appropriate, all my Polish travel after I left the international train at Poznań was covered by a Polrail pass, which at the reduced rate for people under 26 gave up to 8 days' unlimited travel throughout Poland for something like £29 -- I can't remember the exact amount but it was certainly a fairly modest 2-figure number. Even for older people I think it was still cheap by west European standards.

 

[Iskra]

I have a few, which I remember I particularly enjoyed.

• August 2011 - Me and my dad were staying in London to spend a few days spotting at photting at all of the London stations (back in my spotting days!) on the way home we caught the Wrexham & Shropshire (RIP) set from Marylebone to Wrexham General and I remember it was an old Intercity (Also RIP) coach, which was very comfortable and a pleasant journey experience coupled with the best on-board bacon butty I’ve had to date. This trip is memorable because it was my first real loco-hauled experience.
• October 2012 - Friday night me and my dad travelled from Capenhurst to Alfreton, stayed at my grandmas, then up early the Saturday morning and caught the HST to St Pancras, then onwards to Bexleyheath from there for a removal job we were assisting with. It was a nice trip as I got to see my grandma, quality time with my dad and a nice HST journey, plus it was my first time to cover the Midland Mainline .
• February 2013 - I met up with member @TrainBoy98 in London for the first time and we bashed a good chunk of the tube map in a day. The trip was memorable because it was the first time that me and Callum had met after months of contact through the rail forum, and we are still good friends to this day! That said, I haven’t seen him for a while, he lives in Worthing and I live in Ellesmere Port!
  
• August 2013 - I travelled on the Paddington to Pembroke Dock HST for our family holiday that year, which was an amazing experience. I recall I was in First class too which made it better! Memorable because it was my longest HST ride!
  
• October 2014 - The last Pretendolino trip. It was also a forum meet, and I headed down London early to clear some lines on a first-class travel card (Also RIP), and then met the forum gang at Euston for a London-Birmingham jaunt in First class. I remember the actual Pretendolino trip costing me around £8! How I miss the days of child-rate fares..

Some fantastic trips and memorable journey's. I'm envious of a few of those, I never managed to travel with Wrexham & Shropshire, on the Pretendolino or get a HST to Pembroke Dock!

 

[Calthrop]

My Polish narrow-gauge travels were limited to the two remaining steam lines, although one of my memories from 1995 is seeing a railcar, on what I later discovered to be the Śmigiel line, in the bay platform at Stare Bojanowo when I passed through on an all-stations e.m.u. from Poznań to Wrocław.

That bit of Polish n/g has long been a cause of some niggling frustration to me. I've visited the area twice: circumstances of those visits were such that I was able to travel over only the 5 km. section between Smigiel and Stare Bojanowo. In times past, routes ran very respectable distances further on, eastward of the former and north-westward of the latter (this section at one time, connecting with the Poznan -- Wolsztyn s/g line). Over the past fifty-odd years, withering-away happened bit-by-bit at both ends. Until the early-ish 2000s anyway, 18 km. of the line north-west out of Smigiel, continued in action to a place called Wielichowo: for freight and passenger, but the passenger service was only a few workings each way per day -- much sparser than that between Smigiel and S.B. I never had an opportunity to travel over the section to Wielichowo, and would have loved to do so.

When PKP shed all its remaining narrow-gauge parts in 2001: a number of lines were taken over by their areas' local-government authorities, including the Smigiel one (operation contracted out to a third party). I've been given to understand that often, such taking-over events were in fact, about corrupt local councils' seeking to generate money from their acquired n/g lines by making them over to various other uses: this would seem to have happened gradually over a fair number of years, with the Smigiel line. The local authorities gradually choked traffic on it: the section to Wielichowo fell into ruinous condition and was given up on for good; freight traffic on the line ceased; so far as I'm aware, the line has been completely defunct for some years. Never, I feel, one of Poland's most exciting n/g sections; but still, a shame.

(Off-topic, but it appears that the Gniezno line is not quite dead (scroll down to get past the advertisements), although Google Translate indicates that the revived operation was limited to going 20 minutes down the line on September weekends, with no immediate prospect of expansion).

It would seem that a fair few of Poland's nowadays notionally surviving narrow-gauge venues; are reduced to tiny remnants, of that order. I can't help feeling: a sad come-down from the time -- still obtaining say 35 years ago -- when Poland had more narrow gauge still running, and in genuine commercial service, than any other country in Europe -- and on four different gauges.

One thing I didn't mention about my Polish trip was how cheap it was (unlike the German part). Apart from modest tips to footplate crew when appropriate, all my Polish travel after I left the international train at Poznań was covered by a Polrail pass, which at the reduced rate for people under 26 gave up to 8 days' unlimited travel throughout Poland for something like £29 -- I can't remember the exact amount but it was certainly a fairly modest 2-figure number. Even for older people I think it was still cheap by west European standards.

The Polrailpass -- which no longer exists, surprise surprise -- was in my experience a Godsend: both for its being a financial bargain, and for liberating the holder from the "palaver" of buying tickets for each journey. No other Eastern European country in the Communist era offered, to my knowledge, a similar "railrover" facility. Standard fares in Eastern Europe then, were ludicrously cheap for a Westerner; and it wasn't beyond the wit of man to learn in the appropriate local tongue, "Single / return to *****, please" (or point at the relevant item in the phrasebook; and German was often useful for communication in many parts of Eastern Europe) -- and booking clerks were usually patient and helpful; but the tickets-for-each-journey gig was nonetheless somewhat wearisome.

 

[181]

...Stare Bojanowo. In times past, routes ran very respectable distances further on, eastward...

I remember seeing the narrow-gauge track passing under the main line, although I don't know if anything still used it by then.

so far as I'm aware, the line has been completely defunct for some years.

There are some signs of life here.

It would seem that a fair few of Poland's nowadays notionally surviving narrow-gauge venues; are reduced to tiny remnants, of that order. I can't help feeling: a sad come-down from the time -- still obtaining say 35 years ago -- when Poland had more narrow gauge still running, and in genuine commercial service, than any other country in Europe -- and on four different gauges.

Indeed; but as a bright spot, at least it appears that the Środa line as you and I knew it (itself of course a remnant of a once much larger system) has (so far, at least) survived intact as a tourist attraction:

Official website
Unofficial site with English, and last year's timetable.
Video from last summer.

We probably shouldn't monopolise the thread talking about Poland. Iskra (sorry, I don't know how to do the @ thing), have you decided yet which was your favourite trip?

...the Paddington to Pembroke Dock HST...

I seem to remember seeing a timetable once (late 1980s?) in which the HST working to Pembroke Dock included the request stops. Did anyone here ever have the experience of flagging down one of Britain's fastest train types?

 

[Iskra]

Well, after much deliberation, I have come to a decision. To help me decide I managed to knock it down to a shortlist of 5, the runners-up being;

2) A free of charge 1st class round trip HST on the Highland Chieftain from London-Inverness, courtesy of LNER, plus a trip to the very historic and beautiful Fort George; https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/page-9#post-3951754
3) The Transpennine Deltic Reprise Railtour; A Deltic to Liverpool, tremendous noise as we left the Lime Street cutting and a fast run over the Pennines; https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/page-8#post-3266635
4) The Torbay & Dart Explorer Railtour; Double-Headed Class 50's on a storming run down to Kingswear, which is a fantastic destination; https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/page-7
5) Double-headed steam at speed up the WCML at a bargain price; https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/post-4302800

But in first place;

1) A multi-day trip to The West Highland Line; HST haulage York-Edinburgh and London-York (inc breakfasts, featuring black pudding!), Loco Haulage Crianlarich-London via Bathgate & Edinburgh (73 and 90), I got to experience the WHL during a period of 'proper snow.' It's a fantastic line, the best in Britain and it competes with the Scandinavian countries for sheer breath-taking beauty and there's a lot of it too. The traditional sleeper cheeseboard and ale combination that I always go for, the panto flash as you travel down the WCML in the early morning winter frost, droplight stock. I also took in some amazing railway walks which were particularly nice around Banavie, Corpach, Mallaig and Oban. Oban is a great little town too. And for a change, I travelled at a relaxing pace, which I often seem to omit when doing my reports, so perhaps that's something to focus on more in the future. https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/page-9#post-3950494

Sadly the pictures have deleted, but here are a handful from that trip;

 

[181]

But in first place;

1) A multi-day trip to The West Highland Line; HST haulage York-Edinburgh and London-York (inc breakfasts, featuring black pudding!), Loco Haulage Crianlarich-London via Bathgate & Edinburgh (73 and 90), I got to experience the WHL during a period of 'proper snow.' It's a fantastic line, the best in Britain and it competes with the Scandinavian countries for sheer breath-taking beauty and there's a lot of it too. The traditional sleeper cheeseboard and ale combination that I always go for, the panto flash as you travel down the WCML in the early morning winter frost, droplight stock. I also took in some amazing railway walks which were particularly nice around Banavie, Corpach, Mallaig and Oban. Oban is a great little town too. And for a change, I travelled at a relaxing pace, which I often seem to omit when doing my reports, so perhaps that's something to focus on more in the future. https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/iskras-odysseys.108357/page-9#post-3950494

That looks like a good first choice (pity about your photos having disappeared from the site). Although I've been on the West Highland quite a few times, I've never done it in the snow, let alone the combination of snow and (for some of the time) good weather.

 

[Iskra]

That looks like a good first choice (pity about your photos having disappeared from the site). Although I've been on the West Highland quite a few times, I've never done it in the snow, let alone the combination of snow and (for some of the time) good weather.

Yeah I got pretty lucky. I think I would like to see the line in the Autumn, so I will have to go back It's a brilliant line, but it's just a bit of a pain to get to from South Yorkshire.

 

[xotGD]

Yeah I got pretty lucky. I think I would like to see the line in the Autumn, so I will have to go back It's a brilliant line, but it's just a bit of a pain to get to from South Yorkshire.

A Northern Delay Repay free ticket to get to Crewe or Preston, then the overnight there and back

 

[Iskra]

A Northern Delay Repay free ticket to get to Crewe or Preston, then the overnight there and back

That's true, and maybe worth exploring in the future.

I'm not sure how I feel about joining at Crewe though, it has always been the same price from both Crewe and London and I can usually get to London at a similar price (and time probably too) to Crewe on an EMR or LNER advance on a more comfortable train. I feel like you're missing out on part of the experience too joining at Crewe. I might give it a go and see how I like it though.

 

[JohnW1]

In the spring of 1968 I had a dilemma and that was on which of two possible railway tours I would spend my pocket money on. One was a tour to London to visit all the main London MPD’s, the other was a tour to the North West to visit the last remaining steam MPD’s. I could not afford both. I chose the trip to London and on that trip I saw a lot of diesel locomotives that did not make it into the 1970’s and I would not have seen if I had choose the North West, for example the class 16 NBL type 1’s D8400–03/05-09 (withdrawn July 1968, broken up by December 1969), lots of class 15 BTH Type 1’s D8200-43 (withdrawal commenced September 1968, all withdrawn by March 1971), class 22 NBL Type 2’s (withdrawal commenced December 1967, all withdrawn by October 1971), class 23 “Baby Deltics” (withdrawal commenced September 1968, all withdrawn by March 1971), class 42/43 Warships (withdrawal commenced August 1968, all withdrawn by December 1972) and numerous of the “non standard” shunters which were starting to be withdrawn in droves. Did I make the right choice?

Whilst I seem to have lost the detailed records of that London trip in April 1968 I still have a couple of “solid” reminders of that day, one of which is in the form of this extremely poor image of a British Thompson Houston Type 1 (class 15) D8221 stabled at Stratford.
D8221 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/16260564840/

The second is this again poor image of Western Region diesel hydraulics stabled around the turn table at Old Oak Common. From left to right we have a class 52 Western, a green liveried with small yellow warning panel a class 43 Warship (which is probably D833 Panther), a green liveried with small yellow warning panel class 22 and a rail blue liveried class 22 (possibly D6328 or D6332 or D6340, all Old Oak Common allocated, rail blue livered and with the numbers above the arrows).
D833 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/15505687363/

They were taken using a Kodak Instamatic camera and the negatives have been lost years ago. In the mid 1970’s I still had a print and I copied it on to a 35mm transparency by basically taking a photograph of the print and these are a scan of those 35mm transparencies.

 

[Esker-pades]

It's been difficult to choose a single trip, mainly because most really good railway experiences have been parts of trips, not the whole thing.

Moments:

• < Date>: Sleeper from Paris to Nice. Waking up confronted with that coastline is one of my favourite railway moments.
• Jul 2017: Final day of a 7 day ALR with my then boyfriend. It had been a trip with difficult moments. This final day of bashing locos on the Wherry Lines (after a very early start from Shrewsbury) was stonking.
• First ever 'Least Used Stations' trip to Breich back in September 2017. The sheer excietment of the visit was something that has turned into a full project.
• Jan 2018: Braystones and Nethertown. In fact, I loved Nethertown so much I returned there in September 2019.
• Aug 2018: Day trip to Cornwall; Causeland station. I'd fallen off the sleeper onto the Looe branch service. Causeland was so fresh and lonely. The rest of the day was excellent right up to the point I had a 42 minute delay back into London (and had to get some night buses home rather than the tube and train).
• Jan 2019: Stromeferry and Lochluichart. Probably some of the best scenery I've come across. The calm beauty of the Highlands at that time of year appeals.
• Mar 2020: Corrour. Life had been getting progressively worse for ages, and I needed a day out. I went for some rural stuff to clear my head. Corrour in the snow with everything shut for the winter just about does it.

In terms of an actual trip, there are two options.

My season ticket tour of Scotland. On the Saturday, I had a proper 'bash'.
Basic summary: Edinburgh - Glasgow - Kilmarnock - Stranraer - Ayr - Lochwinnoch - Ardrossan Harbour - Stevenston - Largs - Glasgow - Aberdeen - Edinburgh. The weather was top quality. The scenery in various places (south of Girvan, the Largs branch, Dundee to Perth, and Montrose station) was utterly brilliant. I discovered Lochwinnoch and Montrose stations (which are sexy). And, the pictures I managed to take were rather good.
On Sunday, I visited Falls of Cruachan, which was brilliant. The station was ace, and the impromptu walk up to the Cruachan Dam was an unexpected bonus. (Originally, I had just wanted to go above the station to get a picture. I just forgot to stop climbing.)
Reports: Saturday #1, Saturday #2, Saturday #3, Sunday.

Another one in Scotland: A very long weekend with my now ex (previously BF - see Jul 2017 entry). LNER had given me free first class return tickets to apologise for screwing stuff up. Of course, I chose London to Inverness. We went up on the Thursday and stayed overnight in Inverness next to a Flat Earth Society shop. They also believe in chemtrails, and probably other mad theories. We invented the game "Hotel Lucky Dip".
On Friday, we whacked down to Edinburgh (170 - boo) and did the Tweedbank thing. We then dumped our suitcases before returning to do the Fife Circle 68s. Well, he did. I forgot my ticket, and so had to run all the way back to the flat, go up to Kirkcaldy on a fast service, and then pick the loco on the way back down. We then tanked to Glasgow, hoping to get to Helensburgh in order to do the sleeper back from Upper to Edinburgh. Everything to Helensburgh was cancelled, so we pissed around on the North Clyde Line before going back to Edinburgh.
Saturday was HST day. We went to Stonehaven, back to Edinburgh, back to Dundee, to Glasgow, back to Dunblane, and then home.
Sunday was the Strathspey Railway day. We got to Larbert, a HST to Aviemore, a lovely return journey behind 46512, then returned via Glasgow (to get more HST mileage in).
Monday was our final day. We went as far south as possible (Carlisle), mucked around in Glasgow clearing some lines I hadn't done (and also so that he could do 314s before they were all killed), got a non-stop service to Perth from there, and then did the last stretch up to Inverness.
Tuesday was the Highland Chiefton back to London. We even had 43308 ("Highland Chiefton") as a power-car.
Wednesday, I went back to Edinburgh. From London.
I know it doesn't sound that interesting, but it was great fun.


That's my lot.

 

[Iskra]

In the spring of 1968 I had a dilemma and that was on which of two possible railway tours I would spend my pocket money on. One was a tour to London to visit all the main London MPD’s, the other was a tour to the North West to visit the last remaining steam MPD’s. I could not afford both. I chose the trip to London and on that trip I saw a lot of diesel locomotives that did not make it into the 1970’s and I would not have seen if I had choose the North West, for example the class 16 NBL type 1’s D8400–03/05-09 (withdrawn July 1968, broken up by December 1969), lots of class 15 BTH Type 1’s D8200-43 (withdrawal commenced September 1968, all withdrawn by March 1971), class 22 NBL Type 2’s (withdrawal commenced December 1967, all withdrawn by October 1971), class 23 “Baby Deltics” (withdrawal commenced September 1968, all withdrawn by March 1971), class 42/43 Warships (withdrawal commenced August 1968, all withdrawn by December 1972) and numerous of the “non standard” shunters which were starting to be withdrawn in droves. Did I make the right choice?

Whilst I seem to have lost the detailed records of that London trip in April 1968 I still have a couple of “solid” reminders of that day, one of which is in the form of this extremely poor image of a British Thompson Houston Type 1 (class 15) D8221 stabled at Stratford.
D8221 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/16260564840/

The second is this again poor image of Western Region diesel hydraulics stabled around the turn table at Old Oak Common. From left to right we have a class 52 Western, a green liveried with small yellow warning panel a class 43 Warship (which is probably D833 Panther), a green liveried with small yellow warning panel class 22 and a rail blue liveried class 22 (possibly D6328 or D6332 or D6340, all Old Oak Common allocated, rail blue livered and with the numbers above the arrows).
D833 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/15505687363/

They were taken using a Kodak Instamatic camera and the negatives have been lost years ago. In the mid 1970’s I still had a print and I copied it on to a 35mm transparency by basically taking a photograph of the print and these are a scan of those 35mm transparencies.

Personally, I would have chosen the other option! However, I can imagine seeing the first generation diesels in action was still pretty good and as long as you enjoyed yourself, that's the main thing. Thank you for sharing, a very interesting trip and interesting photo's too!

 

[Iskra]

It's been difficult to choose a single trip, mainly because most really good railway experiences have been parts of trips, not the whole thing.

Moments:

• < Date>: Sleeper from Paris to Nice. Waking up confronted with that coastline is one of my favourite railway moments.
• Jul 2017: Final day of a 7 day ALR with my then boyfriend. It had been a trip with difficult moments. This final day of bashing locos on the Wherry Lines (after a very early start from Shrewsbury) was stonking.
• First ever 'Least Used Stations' trip to Breich back in September 2017. The sheer excietment of the visit was something that has turned into a full project.
• Jan 2018: Braystones and Nethertown. In fact, I loved Nethertown so much I returned there in September 2019.
• Aug 2018: Day trip to Cornwall; Causeland station. I'd fallen off the sleeper onto the Looe branch service. Causeland was so fresh and lonely. The rest of the day was excellent right up to the point I had a 42 minute delay back into London (and had to get some night buses home rather than the tube and train).
• Jan 2019: Stromeferry and Lochluichart. Probably some of the best scenery I've come across. The calm beauty of the Highlands at that time of year appeals.
• Mar 2020: Corrour. Life had been getting progressively worse for ages, and I needed a day out. I went for some rural stuff to clear my head. Corrour in the snow with everything shut for the winter just about does it.

In terms of an actual trip, there are two options.

My season ticket tour of Scotland. On the Saturday, I had a proper 'bash'.
Basic summary: Edinburgh - Glasgow - Kilmarnock - Stranraer - Ayr - Lochwinnoch - Ardrossan Harbour - Stevenston - Largs - Glasgow - Aberdeen - Edinburgh. The weather was top quality. The scenery in various places (south of Girvan, the Largs branch, Dundee to Perth, and Montrose station) was utterly brilliant. I discovered Lochwinnoch and Montrose stations (which are sexy). And, the pictures I managed to take were rather good.
On Sunday, I visited Falls of Cruachan, which was brilliant. The station was ace, and the impromptu walk up to the Cruachan Dam was an unexpected bonus. (Originally, I had just wanted to go above the station to get a picture. I just forgot to stop climbing.)
Reports: Saturday #1, Saturday #2, Saturday #3, Sunday.

Another one in Scotland: A very long weekend with my now ex (previously BF - see Jul 2017 entry). LNER had given me free first class return tickets to apologise for screwing stuff up. Of course, I chose London to Inverness. We went up on the Thursday and stayed overnight in Inverness next to a Flat Earth Society shop. They also believe in chemtrails, and probably other mad theories. We invented the game "Hotel Lucky Dip".
On Friday, we whacked down to Edinburgh (170 - boo) and did the Tweedbank thing. We then dumped our suitcases before returning to do the Fife Circle 68s. Well, he did. I forgot my ticket, and so had to run all the way back to the flat, go up to Kirkcaldy on a fast service, and then pick the loco on the way back down. We then tanked to Glasgow, hoping to get to Helensburgh in order to do the sleeper back from Upper to Edinburgh. Everything to Helensburgh was cancelled, so we pissed around on the North Clyde Line before going back to Edinburgh.
Saturday was HST day. We went to Stonehaven, back to Edinburgh, back to Dundee, to Glasgow, back to Dunblane, and then home.
Sunday was the Strathspey Railway day. We got to Larbert, a HST to Aviemore, a lovely return journey behind 46512, then returned via Glasgow (to get more HST mileage in).
Monday was our final day. We went as far south as possible (Carlisle), mucked around in Glasgow clearing some lines I hadn't done (and also so that he could do 314s before they were all killed), got a non-stop service to Perth from there, and then did the last stretch up to Inverness.
Tuesday was the Highland Chiefton back to London. We even had 43308 ("Highland Chiefton") as a power-car.
Wednesday, I went back to Edinburgh. From London.
I know it doesn't sound that interesting, but it was great fun.


That's my lot.

Loving the Scottish stuff. And yes, I like the emptiness of it in certain place that you found. What's so good about Montrose and Lochwinnoch? (I've never heard a station described as 'Sexy' before )

I think London-Inverness is par for the course if you get an LNER free ticket, I'm glad it's not just me that milked those

Is the Strathspey Railway any good? I've been considering a trip in that direction for a while now.

Thank you for sharing those reports, gives me something to read now (or re-read, probably).

 

[aviator]

My best one was a complete holiday rather than a specific 'trip':

London Waterloo - Brussels - Cologne; sleeper Cologne-Warsaw; sleeper Warsaw-Moscow (with Belarus 'champane' brought on board by locals at Terespol ); Moscow - Yekaterinburg; sleeper Yekaterinburg - Novosibirsk; sleeper Novosibirsk - Irkutsk; Irkutsk - Ulan Ude; Ulan Ude - Ulaan Bator (Mongolia); Ulaan Bator - Beijing. Three weeks of breathtaking architecture and scenery (and people), and it cost less than the Beijing-London flight!

Favourite parts of the journey were speeding across Siberia at dusk/dawn, and the climb down from Mongolia passing through the Great Wall. Oh, and the Moscow Metro!

 

[Esker-pades]

Loving the Scottish stuff. And yes, I like the emptiness of it in certain place that you found. What's so good about Montrose and Lochwinnoch? (I've never heard a station described as 'Sexy' before )

I think London-Inverness is par for the course if you get an LNER free ticket, I'm glad it's not just me that milked those

Is the Strathspey Railway any good? I've been considering a trip in that direction for a while now.

Thank you for sharing those reports, gives me something to read now (or re-read, probably).

No problem!

Lochwinnoch is surprisingly rural for the line its on. The town is the other side of the lochs, so it's only green around. Without the road over the top, it would be wonderful.

Spoiler: Lochwinnoch

Montrose had a very unexpected and brilliant view west of the station.

Spoiler: Montrose

As I volunteer on the Strathspey, I am obliged to say it's the best thing ever. More seriously: It's a very leisurely trip. ~19 miles are covered in about 1h40m, which means there is plenty of opportunity for pictures of engines and stations. The views are good, the traction is good. I enjoy volunteering there.

 

[Iskra]

My best one was a complete holiday rather than a specific 'trip':

London Waterloo - Brussels - Cologne; sleeper Cologne-Warsaw; sleeper Warsaw-Moscow (with Belarus 'champane' brought on board by locals at Terespol ); Moscow - Yekaterinburg; sleeper Yekaterinburg - Novosibirsk; sleeper Novosibirsk - Irkutsk; Irkutsk - Ulan Ude; Ulan Ude - Ulaan Bator (Mongolia); Ulaan Bator - Beijing. Three weeks of breathtaking architecture and scenery (and people), and it cost less than the Beijing-London flight!

Favourite parts of the journey were speeding across Siberia at dusk/dawn, and the climb down from Mongolia passing through the Great Wall. Oh, and the Moscow Metro!

That is a journey I would love to do! Maybe one day

 

[Iskra]

No problem!

Lochwinnoch is surprisingly rural for the line its on. The town is the other side of the lochs, so it's only green around. Without the road over the top, it would be wonderful.

Spoiler: Lochwinnoch

View attachment 76735

Montrose had a very unexpected and brilliant view west of the station.

Spoiler: Montrose

View attachment 76736

As I volunteer on the Strathspey, I am obliged to say it's the best thing ever. More seriously: It's a very leisurely trip. ~19 miles are covered in about 1h40m, which means there is plenty of opportunity for pictures of engines and stations. The views are good, the traction is good. I enjoy volunteering there.

Ah, very good. I will aim to visit the railway in the next couple of years, any excuse for a trip to Northern Scotland...