An unexpected Devon Ranger on a Sunday because my wife was away at a reunion (I couldn't go due to work the day before). I wasn't really sure how long I was going to be out but in the end it was a lot less than i initally thought it maybe. I got the first possible train from Plymouth (quite late on a Sunday 0840). This left 25 odd minutes late due to a train fault at Laira. Without going into details i had to change my plans due to this and worked out what I would do before lunch. I did a few trips on different trains and picked up a winner in the form of 43177. My plans changed again though when a Voyager I was on got held outside Exeter St Davids. This meant i missed my connecting train. The reason it got held would appear was 153368 (my final fgw 153 incidently) being let out of Exeter TMD and back in! At first having seen it on the main line i thought my luck was in but it was well and truly shut off and stabled in the depot. I quick nip up the hill for lunch and then back to St Davids. I then decided one winner will do for the day. I had things to do at home and a Grand Prix (which was brilliant!) to watch.
So a short day but a good one. Winner in red.
43009 1A78 (0840) PLY - TOT
150246 1C04 (0952) TOT - PLY
221135 1S43 (1025) PLY - EXD
43177 1C76 (1130) EXD - NTA
221122 1S47 (1203) NTA - EXD
150248 2F25 (1233) EXD - EXC
150248 2T17 (1320) EXC - EXD
220006 1V50 (1348) EXD - PLY
192 miles travelled in a short day. I was home by 1500!
Monday, 18 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
12/13th April - Daytrip to London!
Hold on! This is gonna be a long one! April was looking a bit too quiet for my liking. So far I had only been out once (and that was with my wife so it wasn't strictly a day trainspotting!) and with my next possible day out looming into the middle of the month I decided a trip to the capital was needed. This would be my first trip to London that was for the sole purpose to train spot this year. I decided that I would maximise my day by getting there as early as possible and leave as late as possible. To achieve this would mean my first trip on the Night Riveria from Plymouth. I finished on Tuesday night and this gave me about 45 minutes at home before the walk to the station ready for the 2345 to London Paddington. 57602 was doing the honours.
I had a brief plan to achieve the following on my trip to London. Get as many 378s in as possible, get the 172s that were running and get as many 450/5s on the Windsor/Hounslow commuter runs.
I started off leaving Paddington on the first Underground train to Willesden Junction where I would alight to get onto 378s. My plan was to capture all the trains on the Watford Line. This went out of the window when the first train that came in I saw was heading to Stratford. This enabled my to get from Willesden Low Level onto the North London Line. A new bit of track without even planning. I stayed on the train until Gospel Oak as nothing was connecting properly. From here I spent the next hour getting the 172s that were running. I have had haulage on one 172 before and as usual with my haulage luck it was the one i already had that was waiting at Gospel Oak! Anyway I proceded to pick off the remaining 172s working with a little break of a 378 from Gospel Oak to Kentish Town and back. This meant i didn't have a repeat haulage on a 172.
After the 172s were ticked off it was as many 378s as possible. Now I had nearly done them all when they were first delivered but most 378/2s have had an extra carriage inserted (a few already had four from the start) so in hindsight I did this wrong. I shouldn't have bothered with them so much before. Anyway I spent most of my time in the area where the NLL and ELL are now connected via a spur from Canonbury and Dalston Junction. This meant if any of the remaining few 378/1s I needed were around I would get them too. Most 378/2s were now required again. I did mini moves for about 2 hours with break for breakfast at The White Swan Wetherspoons.
I again abandoned my plan early. I was getting pretty bored with the same thing so decided to head to Stratford where there was more variety and freight. If any 378s I needed came in I decided I would catch it from there and then back. This was a very wise decision.
Startford was alive with freight! In fact I don't think i have ever been when it was so busy! I saw 11 frieght trains during my time here 6 of which were new for sight. Two of these were 90s, my last two Freightliner ones. I now only need two 90s to complete the class. I finally got a second picture of a Class 70 (I have seen a few now but never in any way shape or form photographable!).
I was going to head to the Goldengrove Wetherspoons for lunch but a 90 heading to Liverpool Street came in and stopped so I jumped on. I attempted to get Lunch at The Hamilton at Liverpool Street Station. However the kitchen was closed so a quick pint and back to my original plan (although about 45 minutes behind plan now). I did spot my first sighting of the newest train in Britain, the Class 379 at Liverpool Street which was good.
During lunch I discovered that my last EMT HST power car was on hire to East Coast and was seen heading south earlier in the day. I couldn't find any conrete evidence of what diagrams it was running on but made a guess and if i guessed correctly it would be back in London that night at 2130ish!
After lunch it was time to head HS1 for a bit of Javelin riding. I still wanted to do some 450/5 bashing so i made sure that I would be on the relevent train from St Pancras to London Bridge at the planned time. So a few trips on the Javelins (all new for haualge) was completed. Then i headed to Kings Cross to see if any my remaining East Coast power cars were present. None were nor either of my last two 91s. The Thunderbird was 67017! This rolled in whilst i was there as a light engine! I know Peter was pleased when i told him as this meant it was unlikely to be on a tour he was due to go on this coming Saturday!
It was then over to Waterloo via London Bridge. I then spent one and half hours on trains in the Clapham area. I managed to spot my last two 450/0s which was good and am now down to just two 450/5s. I had dinner in The Asparagus Wetherspoons (and scarily met an old house mate from about 5 years ago in Bournemouth who i have not seen or been in contact with since! And she now lives in Witney!). After that i decided to head to Wembley, then Euston then Kings Cross and hope for the best!! Whilst waiting for my train to Wembley from Clapham I saw what i thought was a train in store! A Class 460 was approaching Clapham. Now i needed one of these before I read that there were going into store as the Class 442s were repacing them on Gatwick Express duties. So as this approached I saw it was number 7. I couldn't remember which was my last so a quick look at my sheet and it was what i wanted! Brilliant! I didn't think i would get them all as there was another rumour that there were to be broken up and inserted into the 458s. This meant i would be unlikely to see the driving cars as these couldn't be inserted so i was pleased about this spot!
Over at Wembley I saw a new 92, a new 66 and a couple of dud 67s. Then off to Kings Cross. How pleased was I when I arrived and saw the EMT hire in. And there was my last EMT power car. Also present was my penultimate Class 91 and a winning Class 180.
I wasn't really sure what to do now. I had about 2 hours till I needed to be at Paddington. So I took a longish way round. I went from St Pancras International - Stratford International - Startford - Liverpool Street - Paddington. When I arrived I got a very pleasing photo of 57602 which would be returning me home ready for my 0730 start at work! A long long long day but very worthwhile. Plenty of photos and big wins for sight. And plenty of new trains for haulage.
The trains I went on (winners in red)
57602 1A40 (2351) PLY - PAD
UG 3364
378209 2L06 (0611) WIJ - GPO
172004 2J03 (0635) GPO - CRH
172002 2J98 (0645) CRH - UHL
172008 2J05 (0654) UHL - CRH
172006 2J00 (0700) CRH - GPO
378228 2L64 (0707) GPO - KTN
378218 2Y01 (0722) KTN - GPO
172001 2J11 (0735) GPO - CRH
172007 2J13 (0757) CRH - BHO
UG 14037 Blackhorse Road - Highbury and Islington
378149 9A15 (0840) HHY - DLJ
378137 9B12 (0848) DLJ - HHY
378207 2Y11 (0855) HHY - CIR
378219 2N25 (0901) CIR - CMD
378221 2L40 (0912) CMD - HHY
378233 9A18 (0925) HHY - DLJ
378144 9B15 (0933) DLJ - HHY
378136 9A19 (0940) HHY - CNN
378209 2N33 (0949) CNN - HHY
378140 9A22 (1025) HHY - DLJ
378135 9B19 (1033) DLJ - HHY
378215 2N38 (1039) HHY - SRA
378214 2N49 (1136) SRA - HKW
378209 2N46 (1151) HKW - SRA
378220 2Y27 (1221) SRA - HKC
378229 2W52 (1232) HKC - SRA
90013 1K59 (1239) SRA - LST
315823 2W98 (1350) LST - MYL
315843 2W01 (1436) MYL - SRA
395017 1F41 (1500) SFA - STP
395005 1J42 (1512) STP - SFA
395001 1F43 (1530) SFA - STP
319452 1T43 (1610) STP - LBG
376008 2L50 (1629) LBG - WAE
450544 2R47 (1645) WAT - VXH
450559 2S51 (1656) VXH - QRB
450563 2R43 (1701) QRB - VXH
5726 2O49 (1705) VXH - QRB
5720 2V49 (1714) QRB - CLJ
5705 2O96 (1723) CLJ - PUT
450549 2R49 (1731) PUT - BNS
450117 2V47 (1741) BNS - PUT
450547 2R47 (1752) PUT - CLJ
450555 + 450557 2S55 (1802) CLJ - WNT
450568 + 450554 2S54 (1810) WNT - CLJ
450558 + 450569 2V53 (1817) CLJ - WNT
450543 2R49 (1825) WNT - CLJ
377206 2M62 (1939) CLJ - WMB
UG 3444 Wembley Central - Willesden Junction
378202 2L46 (2032) WIJ - EUS
UG 4059 Euston - Kings Cross
395001 1F68 (2155) STP - SFA
315858 2W95 (2234) SRA - LST
UG 6070 Liverpool Street - Paddington
57602 1C99 (2345) PAD - PLY
The total mileage for the whole trip was 585, boosting my yearly total to 11606.
I had a brief plan to achieve the following on my trip to London. Get as many 378s in as possible, get the 172s that were running and get as many 450/5s on the Windsor/Hounslow commuter runs.
I started off leaving Paddington on the first Underground train to Willesden Junction where I would alight to get onto 378s. My plan was to capture all the trains on the Watford Line. This went out of the window when the first train that came in I saw was heading to Stratford. This enabled my to get from Willesden Low Level onto the North London Line. A new bit of track without even planning. I stayed on the train until Gospel Oak as nothing was connecting properly. From here I spent the next hour getting the 172s that were running. I have had haulage on one 172 before and as usual with my haulage luck it was the one i already had that was waiting at Gospel Oak! Anyway I proceded to pick off the remaining 172s working with a little break of a 378 from Gospel Oak to Kentish Town and back. This meant i didn't have a repeat haulage on a 172.
After the 172s were ticked off it was as many 378s as possible. Now I had nearly done them all when they were first delivered but most 378/2s have had an extra carriage inserted (a few already had four from the start) so in hindsight I did this wrong. I shouldn't have bothered with them so much before. Anyway I spent most of my time in the area where the NLL and ELL are now connected via a spur from Canonbury and Dalston Junction. This meant if any of the remaining few 378/1s I needed were around I would get them too. Most 378/2s were now required again. I did mini moves for about 2 hours with break for breakfast at The White Swan Wetherspoons.
I again abandoned my plan early. I was getting pretty bored with the same thing so decided to head to Stratford where there was more variety and freight. If any 378s I needed came in I decided I would catch it from there and then back. This was a very wise decision.
Startford was alive with freight! In fact I don't think i have ever been when it was so busy! I saw 11 frieght trains during my time here 6 of which were new for sight. Two of these were 90s, my last two Freightliner ones. I now only need two 90s to complete the class. I finally got a second picture of a Class 70 (I have seen a few now but never in any way shape or form photographable!).
I was going to head to the Goldengrove Wetherspoons for lunch but a 90 heading to Liverpool Street came in and stopped so I jumped on. I attempted to get Lunch at The Hamilton at Liverpool Street Station. However the kitchen was closed so a quick pint and back to my original plan (although about 45 minutes behind plan now). I did spot my first sighting of the newest train in Britain, the Class 379 at Liverpool Street which was good.
During lunch I discovered that my last EMT HST power car was on hire to East Coast and was seen heading south earlier in the day. I couldn't find any conrete evidence of what diagrams it was running on but made a guess and if i guessed correctly it would be back in London that night at 2130ish!
After lunch it was time to head HS1 for a bit of Javelin riding. I still wanted to do some 450/5 bashing so i made sure that I would be on the relevent train from St Pancras to London Bridge at the planned time. So a few trips on the Javelins (all new for haualge) was completed. Then i headed to Kings Cross to see if any my remaining East Coast power cars were present. None were nor either of my last two 91s. The Thunderbird was 67017! This rolled in whilst i was there as a light engine! I know Peter was pleased when i told him as this meant it was unlikely to be on a tour he was due to go on this coming Saturday!
It was then over to Waterloo via London Bridge. I then spent one and half hours on trains in the Clapham area. I managed to spot my last two 450/0s which was good and am now down to just two 450/5s. I had dinner in The Asparagus Wetherspoons (and scarily met an old house mate from about 5 years ago in Bournemouth who i have not seen or been in contact with since! And she now lives in Witney!). After that i decided to head to Wembley, then Euston then Kings Cross and hope for the best!! Whilst waiting for my train to Wembley from Clapham I saw what i thought was a train in store! A Class 460 was approaching Clapham. Now i needed one of these before I read that there were going into store as the Class 442s were repacing them on Gatwick Express duties. So as this approached I saw it was number 7. I couldn't remember which was my last so a quick look at my sheet and it was what i wanted! Brilliant! I didn't think i would get them all as there was another rumour that there were to be broken up and inserted into the 458s. This meant i would be unlikely to see the driving cars as these couldn't be inserted so i was pleased about this spot!
Over at Wembley I saw a new 92, a new 66 and a couple of dud 67s. Then off to Kings Cross. How pleased was I when I arrived and saw the EMT hire in. And there was my last EMT power car. Also present was my penultimate Class 91 and a winning Class 180.
I wasn't really sure what to do now. I had about 2 hours till I needed to be at Paddington. So I took a longish way round. I went from St Pancras International - Stratford International - Startford - Liverpool Street - Paddington. When I arrived I got a very pleasing photo of 57602 which would be returning me home ready for my 0730 start at work! A long long long day but very worthwhile. Plenty of photos and big wins for sight. And plenty of new trains for haulage.
The trains I went on (winners in red)
57602 1A40 (2351) PLY - PAD
UG 3364
378209 2L06 (0611) WIJ - GPO
172004 2J03 (0635) GPO - CRH
172002 2J98 (0645) CRH - UHL
172008 2J05 (0654) UHL - CRH
172006 2J00 (0700) CRH - GPO
378228 2L64 (0707) GPO - KTN
378218 2Y01 (0722) KTN - GPO
172001 2J11 (0735) GPO - CRH
172007 2J13 (0757) CRH - BHO
UG 14037 Blackhorse Road - Highbury and Islington
378149 9A15 (0840) HHY - DLJ
378137 9B12 (0848) DLJ - HHY
378207 2Y11 (0855) HHY - CIR
378219 2N25 (0901) CIR - CMD
378221 2L40 (0912) CMD - HHY
378233 9A18 (0925) HHY - DLJ
378144 9B15 (0933) DLJ - HHY
378136 9A19 (0940) HHY - CNN
378209 2N33 (0949) CNN - HHY
378140 9A22 (1025) HHY - DLJ
378135 9B19 (1033) DLJ - HHY
378215 2N38 (1039) HHY - SRA
378214 2N49 (1136) SRA - HKW
378209 2N46 (1151) HKW - SRA
378220 2Y27 (1221) SRA - HKC
378229 2W52 (1232) HKC - SRA
90013 1K59 (1239) SRA - LST
315823 2W98 (1350) LST - MYL
315843 2W01 (1436) MYL - SRA
395017 1F41 (1500) SFA - STP
395005 1J42 (1512) STP - SFA
395001 1F43 (1530) SFA - STP
319452 1T43 (1610) STP - LBG
376008 2L50 (1629) LBG - WAE
450544 2R47 (1645) WAT - VXH
450559 2S51 (1656) VXH - QRB
450563 2R43 (1701) QRB - VXH
5726 2O49 (1705) VXH - QRB
5720 2V49 (1714) QRB - CLJ
5705 2O96 (1723) CLJ - PUT
450549 2R49 (1731) PUT - BNS
450117 2V47 (1741) BNS - PUT
450547 2R47 (1752) PUT - CLJ
450555 + 450557 2S55 (1802) CLJ - WNT
450568 + 450554 2S54 (1810) WNT - CLJ
450558 + 450569 2V53 (1817) CLJ - WNT
450543 2R49 (1825) WNT - CLJ
377206 2M62 (1939) CLJ - WMB
UG 3444 Wembley Central - Willesden Junction
378202 2L46 (2032) WIJ - EUS
UG 4059 Euston - Kings Cross
395001 1F68 (2155) STP - SFA
315858 2W95 (2234) SRA - LST
UG 6070 Liverpool Street - Paddington
57602 1C99 (2345) PAD - PLY
The total mileage for the whole trip was 585, boosting my yearly total to 11606.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
4th April 2011 - Trip to Torbay
Well my first miles of the month weren't that many. Usually i go out midweek as my wife is working but for this Tuesday she was off work. We decided (eventually due to the horrible looking weather) to go out and visit Brixham and Torquay. I hadn't been to Brixham before and she wanted a look round Torquay. We decided not to drive and it would be a combination of train and plusbus (first time i have used it). On the way to Plymouth Rail station we popped into a Wetherspoons for a cup of tea (The Mannamead). It was then onto Brixham. We caught a train to Newton Abbot and the connecting service to Paignton wasn't for 40 minutes. I saw a number 12 bus outside the station which is what we would have caught from Paignton to Brixham so we got on it then. I'm not a bus fan and this proved why. Stops are too frequent and in some cases too long. Ironically had we waited for the train and caught the bus at Paignton it would have been the same one!!!! Anyway we didn't have any waiting on a station and we eventually got to Brixham. First port of call was lunch in The Vigilance. After that we had a wonder round Brixham. We then headed back towards Torquay on the bus. In between wondering round Torquay we visited both Wetherspoons (The Green Ginger and The London Inn) for a drink. It was then homewards bound and no more buses! We walked to the station along the sea front and it was a ride on newly painted 142064 before surprise of the day 221124! My penultimate Super Voyager.
So it wasn't a day of trains but i did get one winner and my April mileage kicks off with 69 miles.
221141 (1125) 1S47 PLY - NTA
142064 (1840) 2E48 TQY - NTA
221124 (1907) 1V60 NTA - PLY
Now I have to decide what I am going to do for the rest of the month. My days off are changing and friends/family visiting will give me fewer days to get out. Is a day trip further than Devon on the cards?
So it wasn't a day of trains but i did get one winner and my April mileage kicks off with 69 miles.
221141 (1125) 1S47 PLY - NTA
142064 (1840) 2E48 TQY - NTA
221124 (1907) 1V60 NTA - PLY
Now I have to decide what I am going to do for the rest of the month. My days off are changing and friends/family visiting will give me fewer days to get out. Is a day trip further than Devon on the cards?
Friday, 1 April 2011
31st March 2011 - Devon Day Ranger
So for the last day of March I was back onto a Devon Day Ranger! To be honest this is a bit of a come down after being on a Freedom of the South West Rover as you are obviously limited to Devon and the chances for winning trains are now getting few and far between! But for £6.60 you can't complain about the price.
I decided that the day would include a visit to Exmouth for lunch in The Powder Monkey Wetherspoon but the rest of it would be searching for the winning trains. Would this be my first day without a single winner for haulage (excluding days where it's not a ranger or rover)?
I set off on the usual 0925 XC service from Plymouth. Just as my train was approaching Newton Abbot I saw a winning 150243 heading West. It was heading to Penzance. I managed to work out that it was then returning to Gunnislake, then to Plymouth, back to Gunnislake before heading on to Liskeard. Due to the times involved (and still wanting to go to the Wetherspoons) I worked out that I would need to be in Plymouth for the 1638 to Gunnislake. Ok!
I met Peter at Newton Abbot on another XC service where we changed at Dawlish for the Cardiff - Paignton service. This is sometimes made up of 2 Class 150 units. They were duff so now it was time to make our way to Exmouth. On the way as we stopped at Topsham for the crossover i saw 150130. This was my other required 150 for haulage! Onwards to Exmouth and trying to work out how i can get both units in I worked out that 150130 should be on a service that I could make a quick move on to get it in before heading to Plymouth.
That plan went out the window when we returned from Exmouth and at Exeter St Davids was a winning Voyager. Now seeing as these can be anywhere in the country I went for that to Tiverton Parkway. The return service would allow me to meet 150243 at Plymouth which is what i did.
Now my attention turned to working out where 150130 would now be! My calculations suggested that 1825 off Plymouth would allow me to meet it at Exeter St Davids. This turned out to be correct and i got it! I finished the day by returning to Tiverton from Newton and then back to Plymouth. Seeing as though i was already late out i went for a big mileage day on a Devon. 394 miles in total and that was with a big chunk of time spent on two branch lines!
The moves i made are here and winners highlighted in red.
221123 1S39 (0925) PLY - NTA
220010 1M41 (1013) NTA - DWL
150131 2C67 (1050) DWL - TRR
43005 1A82 (1116) TRR - EXD
143603 2F25 (1218) EXD - EXM
142009 2B78 (1353) EXM - EXD
159020 1L56 (1426) EXD - EXC
159103 1L29 (1436) EXC - EXD
220021 1M93 (1444) EXD - TVP
43190 1C84 (1501) TVP - PLY
150243 2G77 (1638) PLY - GSL
150243 2C51 (1729) GSL - PLY
221135 1M83 (1825) PLY - EXD
150130 2T27 (1928) EXD - NTA
43181 1A35 (2022) NTA - TVP
43033 1C94 (2058 7 late) TVP - EXD
43179 1C95 (2124 3 late) EXD - PLY
What a totally unexpected day! I wasn't expecting much and to be home by my normal time of 1900. But i managed to finish my FGW 150s for haulage and one more 220. It did mean it was a long day but it was worth it.
All that's left on current stock allocations that may come down here is 10 HST power cars, 1 Class 153, 1 Class 220 and 2 Class 221s for haulage. Will my next Devon Ranger produce any thing?
I decided that the day would include a visit to Exmouth for lunch in The Powder Monkey Wetherspoon but the rest of it would be searching for the winning trains. Would this be my first day without a single winner for haulage (excluding days where it's not a ranger or rover)?
I set off on the usual 0925 XC service from Plymouth. Just as my train was approaching Newton Abbot I saw a winning 150243 heading West. It was heading to Penzance. I managed to work out that it was then returning to Gunnislake, then to Plymouth, back to Gunnislake before heading on to Liskeard. Due to the times involved (and still wanting to go to the Wetherspoons) I worked out that I would need to be in Plymouth for the 1638 to Gunnislake. Ok!
I met Peter at Newton Abbot on another XC service where we changed at Dawlish for the Cardiff - Paignton service. This is sometimes made up of 2 Class 150 units. They were duff so now it was time to make our way to Exmouth. On the way as we stopped at Topsham for the crossover i saw 150130. This was my other required 150 for haulage! Onwards to Exmouth and trying to work out how i can get both units in I worked out that 150130 should be on a service that I could make a quick move on to get it in before heading to Plymouth.
That plan went out the window when we returned from Exmouth and at Exeter St Davids was a winning Voyager. Now seeing as these can be anywhere in the country I went for that to Tiverton Parkway. The return service would allow me to meet 150243 at Plymouth which is what i did.
Now my attention turned to working out where 150130 would now be! My calculations suggested that 1825 off Plymouth would allow me to meet it at Exeter St Davids. This turned out to be correct and i got it! I finished the day by returning to Tiverton from Newton and then back to Plymouth. Seeing as though i was already late out i went for a big mileage day on a Devon. 394 miles in total and that was with a big chunk of time spent on two branch lines!
The moves i made are here and winners highlighted in red.
221123 1S39 (0925) PLY - NTA
220010 1M41 (1013) NTA - DWL
150131 2C67 (1050) DWL - TRR
43005 1A82 (1116) TRR - EXD
143603 2F25 (1218) EXD - EXM
142009 2B78 (1353) EXM - EXD
159020 1L56 (1426) EXD - EXC
159103 1L29 (1436) EXC - EXD
220021 1M93 (1444) EXD - TVP
43190 1C84 (1501) TVP - PLY
150243 2G77 (1638) PLY - GSL
150243 2C51 (1729) GSL - PLY
221135 1M83 (1825) PLY - EXD
150130 2T27 (1928) EXD - NTA
43181 1A35 (2022) NTA - TVP
43033 1C94 (2058 7 late) TVP - EXD
43179 1C95 (2124 3 late) EXD - PLY
What a totally unexpected day! I wasn't expecting much and to be home by my normal time of 1900. But i managed to finish my FGW 150s for haulage and one more 220. It did mean it was a long day but it was worth it.
All that's left on current stock allocations that may come down here is 10 HST power cars, 1 Class 153, 1 Class 220 and 2 Class 221s for haulage. Will my next Devon Ranger produce any thing?
28th March 2011 - The final FGW Class 57!
Having found out that 57604 (my final FGW Class 57 required for haulage) was in Penzance this meant only one thing, it would be hauling the Night Riviera back to London on Monday night. I decided that tonight I would finally try and get it. I didn't have time to get to Penzance for the start but I made it to Redruth before returning to Plymouth. The HST down was not required but I managed i respectable 125 miles for the trip there and back.
Winner in red!
43179 1C89 (2027) PLY - RED
57604 1A40 (2214) RED - PLY
Winner in red!
43179 1C89 (2027) PLY - RED
57604 1A40 (2214) RED - PLY
Thursday, 24 March 2011
23rd March 2011 - FOSW Last Day
For the final day of my FOSW I decided another trip to the south coast was required. I would be going after as many winners as possible. Again to make the most of the FOSW a £3 advance ticket to Exeter was purchased and the FOSW became valid. A dud HST followed by an expected dud 159 and 158 got me Fratton.
From here I spent some time between Fratton and Portsmouth and Southsea. The aim was to get as many winners as possible. My bad luck with 444s continued despite a higher chance of a winner than a dud. After an hour I decided to get a drink from the Wetherspoons in Fratton so I could knock that one off.
Back to the trains and a few more moves before breaking for lunch. Two Wetherspoons (The Swan and Isambard Kingdom Brunel) near Portsmouth and Southsea station were visited with the later being the one I ate in. I decided during lunch I would take a quick trip across the harbour to Gosport to complete that one too! This required a train to Portsmouth Harbour.
Once done it was back to the trains. I got the gen that my penultimate SWT 158 was running the Lymington branch so it was off to Brockenhurst. I went via Eastleigh and spotted E6005 (73005) outside Eastleigh works.
Upon completion of the Lymington branch it was time to head home. There was some emergency engineering works at Sway and I ended up catching a train back to Southampton which was running 1 hour 47 late. I only just got Southampton on time for my train to Westbury. I didn't get off here however as I fell asleep and woke up too late. So onto Bristol Temple Meads for the XC to Plymouth. This left 30 mins late so not a good end to the day as I got back a lot later than planned.
It's the end of the FOSW. I only managed 5 full days but was still good value for money. Plenty of winners despite my dreaded luck with 444s (I even saw 444015 again but didn't ride it!). There is nothing major planned now until May when I have a weekend trip to London planned with my Dad and my next rail tour on Cornish and Devon Freight lines with Peter. I'm sure something will come up in April but it'll definitely be the quietest month of the year so far.
Moves made below and winners in red.
43146 (0553) 1A74 PLY - EXD
159003 (0726) 1L28 EXD - SAL
158959 (0932) 1F07 SAL - FTN
377309 (1037) 2N59 FTN - PMS
450023 (1103) 1T38 PMS - FTN
444003 (1108) 1T21 FTN - PMS
377426 (1116) 1C41 PMS - FTN
444009 (1125) 1P25 FTN - PMS
313209 (1133) 2N18 PMS - FTN
444041 (1159) 1P27 FTN - PMS
450071 (1203) 1T42 PMS - FTN
444037 (1208) 1T25 FTN - PMS
377441 (1216) 1C49 PMS - FTN
444027 (1225) 1P29 FTN - PMS
313217 (1233) 2N20 PMS - FTN
444004 (1240) 2P27 FTN - PMS
444008 (1350) 1P46 PMS - FTN
450111 (1359) 1P35 FTN - PMS
444034 (1403) 1P46 PMS - FTN
450113 (1408) 1T33 FTN - PMH
313217 (1529) 2N26 PMH - PMS
450027 (1538) 2E48 PMS - FTN
158763 (1542) 1F17 FTN - PMS
450028 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
450079 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
450031 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
158882 (1649) 2B91 ESL - SOA
450083 (1705) 2B47 SOA - SOU
444042 (1724) 1W73 SOU - BCU
158888 (1742) 1J47 BCU - LYP
158888 (1757) 1J48 LYP - BCU
450039 (1633) 2B60 BCU - SOU (1 Hour 47 minutes late)
158766 (1842) 1V96 SOU - BRI
220017 (2047) 1V66 BRI - PLY
Total miles travelled was 472.
From here I spent some time between Fratton and Portsmouth and Southsea. The aim was to get as many winners as possible. My bad luck with 444s continued despite a higher chance of a winner than a dud. After an hour I decided to get a drink from the Wetherspoons in Fratton so I could knock that one off.
Back to the trains and a few more moves before breaking for lunch. Two Wetherspoons (The Swan and Isambard Kingdom Brunel) near Portsmouth and Southsea station were visited with the later being the one I ate in. I decided during lunch I would take a quick trip across the harbour to Gosport to complete that one too! This required a train to Portsmouth Harbour.
Once done it was back to the trains. I got the gen that my penultimate SWT 158 was running the Lymington branch so it was off to Brockenhurst. I went via Eastleigh and spotted E6005 (73005) outside Eastleigh works.
Upon completion of the Lymington branch it was time to head home. There was some emergency engineering works at Sway and I ended up catching a train back to Southampton which was running 1 hour 47 late. I only just got Southampton on time for my train to Westbury. I didn't get off here however as I fell asleep and woke up too late. So onto Bristol Temple Meads for the XC to Plymouth. This left 30 mins late so not a good end to the day as I got back a lot later than planned.
It's the end of the FOSW. I only managed 5 full days but was still good value for money. Plenty of winners despite my dreaded luck with 444s (I even saw 444015 again but didn't ride it!). There is nothing major planned now until May when I have a weekend trip to London planned with my Dad and my next rail tour on Cornish and Devon Freight lines with Peter. I'm sure something will come up in April but it'll definitely be the quietest month of the year so far.
Moves made below and winners in red.
43146 (0553) 1A74 PLY - EXD
159003 (0726) 1L28 EXD - SAL
158959 (0932) 1F07 SAL - FTN
377309 (1037) 2N59 FTN - PMS
450023 (1103) 1T38 PMS - FTN
444003 (1108) 1T21 FTN - PMS
377426 (1116) 1C41 PMS - FTN
444009 (1125) 1P25 FTN - PMS
313209 (1133) 2N18 PMS - FTN
444041 (1159) 1P27 FTN - PMS
450071 (1203) 1T42 PMS - FTN
444037 (1208) 1T25 FTN - PMS
377441 (1216) 1C49 PMS - FTN
444027 (1225) 1P29 FTN - PMS
313217 (1233) 2N20 PMS - FTN
444004 (1240) 2P27 FTN - PMS
444008 (1350) 1P46 PMS - FTN
450111 (1359) 1P35 FTN - PMS
444034 (1403) 1P46 PMS - FTN
450113 (1408) 1T33 FTN - PMH
313217 (1529) 2N26 PMH - PMS
450027 (1538) 2E48 PMS - FTN
158763 (1542) 1F17 FTN - PMS
450028 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
450079 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
450031 (1603) 1T58 PMS - ESL
158882 (1649) 2B91 ESL - SOA
450083 (1705) 2B47 SOA - SOU
444042 (1724) 1W73 SOU - BCU
158888 (1742) 1J47 BCU - LYP
158888 (1757) 1J48 LYP - BCU
450039 (1633) 2B60 BCU - SOU (1 Hour 47 minutes late)
158766 (1842) 1V96 SOU - BRI
220017 (2047) 1V66 BRI - PLY
Total miles travelled was 472.
Monday, 21 March 2011
20th March 2011 - FOSW Day 4
Today would see us get back to Devon via FGW and their diverts so we would get a rare curve in between Yeovil Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction. The plan was also to visit 4 more Wetherspoons.
We did the first one in Southampton for Breakfast (The Giddy Bridge). A fill in move to Eastleigh before heading to Poole and waiting for the train to Dorchester South was completed before The Royal Oak was visited. Then off to Weymouth to do the two there (The Swan and The William Henry). We then did another fill in move to Moreton and back to Upwey before our required train to Castle Cary. We stayed on it to Bruton though as this gave us a connection back to Castle Cary and therefore less waiting time at the station.
From Castle Cary our FGW HST headed down the single line track to Yeovil Pen Mill before the rare curve up to Yeovil Junction. It was then onwards to Exeter St Davids before reversing to Plymouth.
Not a lot of miles today as the services were slow but a rare curve completed. 258 miles and 2 winning trains for haulage. I also had a not so surprising ride on 444015 again!
444015 (0755) 1B24 SOU - ESL
444032 (0822) 1B11 ESL - POO
444026 (0952) 1W11 POO - DCH
444012 (1125) 1W19 DCH - WEY
444012 (1248) 1W48 WEY - MTN
444013 (1317) 1W27 MTN - UPW
158763 (1344) 2V83 UPW - BRU
150233 (1511) 2O91 BRU - CLC
43034 (1601) 1C86 CLC - EXD via Yeovil Junction
43133 (1749) 1C86 EXD - PLY
We did the first one in Southampton for Breakfast (The Giddy Bridge). A fill in move to Eastleigh before heading to Poole and waiting for the train to Dorchester South was completed before The Royal Oak was visited. Then off to Weymouth to do the two there (The Swan and The William Henry). We then did another fill in move to Moreton and back to Upwey before our required train to Castle Cary. We stayed on it to Bruton though as this gave us a connection back to Castle Cary and therefore less waiting time at the station.
From Castle Cary our FGW HST headed down the single line track to Yeovil Pen Mill before the rare curve up to Yeovil Junction. It was then onwards to Exeter St Davids before reversing to Plymouth.
Not a lot of miles today as the services were slow but a rare curve completed. 258 miles and 2 winning trains for haulage. I also had a not so surprising ride on 444015 again!
444015 (0755) 1B24 SOU - ESL
444032 (0822) 1B11 ESL - POO
444026 (0952) 1W11 POO - DCH
444012 (1125) 1W19 DCH - WEY
444012 (1248) 1W48 WEY - MTN
444013 (1317) 1W27 MTN - UPW
158763 (1344) 2V83 UPW - BRU
150233 (1511) 2O91 BRU - CLC
43034 (1601) 1C86 CLC - EXD via Yeovil Junction
43133 (1749) 1C86 EXD - PLY
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