Western Sunset
Established Member
Just had another thought. Has anyone ever walked the entire length of every station platform face in the UK? Just wondering...
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How difficult is it to arrive or leave at all timetabled platforms. 5 year project to achieve this.
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Techniquest
Veteran Member
Making good progress I see! I haven't much to add except for wishing you good luck for tomorrow!
All platforms
Member
That wouldn't count under my strict criteria but in any event i haven't attempted Pilning yet. I have done Polesworth for boarding and alighting however.
For Pilning this would mean walking in from and out to Severn Beach which is not that far to walk if memory serves. Sounds like a job for the summer.
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Member
Who knows.. I personally can't claim that achievement, although i am fairly certain i have done so at all the very quiet/small/less served stations where there is a lot of waiting to do and exploring in full becomes a habit. I think Stanlow & Thornton, Havenhouse and perhaps Rauceby have been particularly interesting to do especially as these were all very early morning visits and you have the place - and its environs completely to yourself. Sugar Loaf in the rain was also up there although the platform itself can be walked in about 10 seconds - tiny.
Kite159
Veteran Member
Hopefully one day Northern will bring back the hourly Liverpool to Warrington Bank Quay stoppers to give those stations between Huyton & Earlestown 2tph (other than Lea Green).
I'm surprised that Northern didn't ditch the Ellesmere Port services, similar to the Brigg line & Scunthorpe stoppers citing staff shortages.
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Member
It was there during all the hullabaloo and then it was pulled after covid. I thought it an easy task near to home i could do any time. Those stations really could benefit with an extra train or too, especially Whiston with its large hospital.
I think the early Ellesmere Port used to turn into the Leeds train, but now it does a double shuffle to Helsby before running empty to Chester. With Stanlow & Thornton closed until further notice and Ince & Elton hardly a magnet destination the only reason can be the connectivity to Liverpool via Ellesmere Port. Still chatter about Merseyrail extending to Helsby, so perhaps that's why they can't pull it rigfht now.
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Day 126: Sunday 05/06/2022 - Manchester Piccadilly to Salford Crescent - £2.15 - Off-peak return. Doncaster to Leeds - £6.40 - Advance Single. Leeds to Wakefield Kirkgate - £1.95 - Advance Single. Wakefield Kirkgate to Leeds - £1.65 - Advance Single. Leeds to Wakefield Kirkgate - £1.65 - Advance Single. Wakefield Kirkgate to Leeds - £1.95 - Advance Single. Leeds to Doncaster - £6.40 - Advance Single. CP Travis Street Manchester + Bay in Portland Place Doncaster both free.
Total time today 327 mins - Time on trains 163 mins and time waiting 164 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 734.
I still have quite a few Sunday morning only things to do in the North West but with Victoria shut over the weekend it lends itself to the unusual, and so i had the opportunity to tick off the now quite rare platform 3 at Oxford Road. Originally i was going to do a leisurely return from Warrington West but with the Hambleton curves in action i was going to be out for most of the day so an earlier start was necessary. No problems then in the shortest of hops into Oxford Road from Piccadilly. Still quite a few revellers from the night before struggling home of course. The unit doing the P3 run to Southport was already in situ, and it was just a waiting game till then. The board showed it would be late due to train crew issues which didn't bode well, but at the last minute we had activity and we were off pretty much on time. Woes at salford crescent however as the boards were just a sea of cancellations with nothing returning toi Oxford Road for well over 90 mins. I walked back to Piccadilly in the rain. Not a difficult decision as i had to be elsewhere. I am still not sure whether i have broken my own rules in walking back. perhaps the spirit is intact then if not the letter. still undecided. No matter i can always have another crack if i get a guilt trip over it.
Off to Doncaster then and a new station for me. I quite like it with its very up to date bright display screens and even the robbing franchises are located in a more genteel setting than elsewhere. I had time to have a good explore before my LNER service rocked up and we were off to Leeds via the lesser spotted Hambleton South and West curves. This is only my second time on a LNER and the first time i had the opportunity of a seat given i had to stand between Grantham and Peterborough last year. As you may know my traction knowledge is pretty woeful but this 2x5 car unit was extremely comfortable and on first impressions preferable to anything Avanti can offer. I shall be returning to LNER for sure.
My goal with Leeds is to concentrate efforts to do as many of the lesser used platforms as possible within my time constraints and at the same time doing new track and stations - if possible. Most platforms today would be new to me including P9 for arrival and P11 for departure on the Azuma - the latter quite a rare occurence. Gotta love engineering works! In between i had the opportunity to do the Wakefield circular both ways with the timetable falling very nicely at Kirkgate in particular both times. A station that needs some love so it was good to see there will be a largeish new waiting area/room on the island platform before too long. With track coverage ticked both ways it will be a cinch to do the few interim stations at some future time. It was interesting to see the contrast between Manchester and Leeds with so few cancellations in evidence on the east side of the Pennines - and a good reason to return tomorrow for one last bash before real life intervenes for 10 days or so. Something different today then which goes in the very enjoyable category (if we ignore that early walk in the rain).
Total time today 327 mins - Time on trains 163 mins and time waiting 164 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 734.
I still have quite a few Sunday morning only things to do in the North West but with Victoria shut over the weekend it lends itself to the unusual, and so i had the opportunity to tick off the now quite rare platform 3 at Oxford Road. Originally i was going to do a leisurely return from Warrington West but with the Hambleton curves in action i was going to be out for most of the day so an earlier start was necessary. No problems then in the shortest of hops into Oxford Road from Piccadilly. Still quite a few revellers from the night before struggling home of course. The unit doing the P3 run to Southport was already in situ, and it was just a waiting game till then. The board showed it would be late due to train crew issues which didn't bode well, but at the last minute we had activity and we were off pretty much on time. Woes at salford crescent however as the boards were just a sea of cancellations with nothing returning toi Oxford Road for well over 90 mins. I walked back to Piccadilly in the rain. Not a difficult decision as i had to be elsewhere. I am still not sure whether i have broken my own rules in walking back. perhaps the spirit is intact then if not the letter. still undecided. No matter i can always have another crack if i get a guilt trip over it.
Off to Doncaster then and a new station for me. I quite like it with its very up to date bright display screens and even the robbing franchises are located in a more genteel setting than elsewhere. I had time to have a good explore before my LNER service rocked up and we were off to Leeds via the lesser spotted Hambleton South and West curves. This is only my second time on a LNER and the first time i had the opportunity of a seat given i had to stand between Grantham and Peterborough last year. As you may know my traction knowledge is pretty woeful but this 2x5 car unit was extremely comfortable and on first impressions preferable to anything Avanti can offer. I shall be returning to LNER for sure.
My goal with Leeds is to concentrate efforts to do as many of the lesser used platforms as possible within my time constraints and at the same time doing new track and stations - if possible. Most platforms today would be new to me including P9 for arrival and P11 for departure on the Azuma - the latter quite a rare occurence. Gotta love engineering works! In between i had the opportunity to do the Wakefield circular both ways with the timetable falling very nicely at Kirkgate in particular both times. A station that needs some love so it was good to see there will be a largeish new waiting area/room on the island platform before too long. With track coverage ticked both ways it will be a cinch to do the few interim stations at some future time. It was interesting to see the contrast between Manchester and Leeds with so few cancellations in evidence on the east side of the Pennines - and a good reason to return tomorrow for one last bash before real life intervenes for 10 days or so. Something different today then which goes in the very enjoyable category (if we ignore that early walk in the rain).
| Manchester Piccadilly | Depart | 8.00 | ***** | NT | stations | platforms | ||
| Manchester Oxford Road | Arrive | 8.01 | P2 | NT | wait 24m | completed | completed | |
| Manchester Oxford Road | Depart | 8.25 | P3 | NT | 1 | 5 | ||
| Salford Crescent | Arrive | 8.29 | ***** | NT | ||||
| no trains - walked to Mcr Picc | ***** | ***** | ***** | ***** | ||||
| Relocate to | ****** | ***** | ***** | ***** | ||||
| Doncaster | Depart | 11.54 | ***** | GR | ||||
| Leeds | Arrive | 12.31 | P9 | GR | wait 38m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 13.09 | P17 | NT | ||||
| Wakefield Kirkgate | Arrive | 13.25 | P2 | NT | wait 11m | |||
| Wakefield Kirkgate | Depart | 13.36 | P3 | NT | ||||
| Leeds | Arrive | 13.54 | P11a | NT | wait 31m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 14.25 | P11a | NT | ||||
| Wakefield Kirkgate | Arrive | 14.45 | P3 | NT | wait 9m | |||
| Wakefield Kirkgate | Depart | 14.54 | P1 | NT | 1 | 3 | ||
| Leeds | Arrive | 15.13 | P17 | NT | wait 51m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 16.04 | P11 | GR | ||||
| Doncaster | Arrive | 16.52 | ***** | GR |
Kite159
Veteran Member
Other than the issues at Manchester sounded like a good trip 
No doubt @Techniquest will be jealous of the unusual track covered
No doubt @Techniquest will be jealous of the unusual track covered
All platforms
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Day 127: Monday 06/06/2022 - Newton-le-Willows to Leeds - £6.90 - Advance Single. Lees to Garforth - £2.50 - Anytime Single. West Yorkshire Day saver Train - £8.60 - Valid between 9.30 and 16.00 weekdays. Leeds to Newton-le-Willows - £6.90 - Advance Single. CP Newton-le-Willows free.
Total time today 690 mins - time on trains 366 mins and time waiting 324 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 738.
Perhaps i should have mentioned P17 yesterday as this is a platform in itself that is never timetabled. It is always an a or b variant. There is just enough room for 2 - 2 car units - fair enough, but when they are coupled together and utilise the whole platform there is no way in hell it should be labelled as P17b (or17a). There was another example today at the other end of the station with P14 but this time it was labelled P14a not b. I deduce from this they use the variant nearest the centre of the station so it's the bit of the train you first encounter when walking to it. I did see 2 separate units in P17 later in the day and correctly identified as a and b departures so no problem with that. To my pedantic eyes this doesn't feel right so i have decided to add P14 and P17 to my list which are now ticks and will now see if i can use the actual variants at some future stage.
I get ahead of myself. The journey in to Leeds is now known to me sufficiently i have no qualms about getting some extra shut eye although it does get full as we near our destination - pesky travellers... First off then is the afore mentioned P14 for the TPE service going to York. Its a 3 car set so it fills three quarters of the platform and on my now arbitrary Leeds station criteria, deem it sufficient to be classed as a "full length" platform. This reminds me I am going to have to revisit Manchester Airport at some stage which also finds it difficult to use whole numbers even when most of the available platform is used. I digress - again. Setting off just 3 minutes before my day saver kicks in but its less than 10 minutes to Garforth for my first look at a new station today. It is a manned station with rather a large and full car park so obviously a hive of activity in peak times. Bit of a wait before my return so time to do a Soduku or two meantime in the conservatory like waiting area. This fills with ladies of a certain age over the next 50 minutes all keen for a bargain in the city judging by the sole topic of conversation overheard.
Back at Leeds and into P7 which is another mislabelled one, this time as 7a when the whole platform is utilised by the 4 car set. Tsk.. Better luck at the a b c d variants perhaps of which P8 is sub-divided. I think the sub-sections are not labelled as accurately as they could be here given the stop signs and signalling lights, but the 3 car unit that does arrive stops where it should, but some way from the end of the platform. The latter part of this service backs someway into 8c territory but inthis case i am inclined to say P8d as this is where th front of the train sets off from. Yes i know i am not being wholly consistent with the bays but i don't know what else i could class this. More was in c than d but direction of travel decides i feel.
It was delayed of course, not long, but long enough to consider stopping short of Micklefield as originally intended. It would be tight at Garforth east so i chickened out and settled on Cross Gates instead. The off-peak service at this time here is hourly with random extras that may shorten this, but not when i was visiting so i was happy that the retuirn appeared on time after just a short wait. Not really long enough to explore the area, but it seemed well served with shops/services as i crossed over the bridge to the other platfom. The service back into Leeds was a 2 car and we correctly arrived in P7a. How difficult was that. 2 variants completed then in an hour.
Next up was a trip to Huddersfield from another less frequent used platform - this time P16a. I think this must have been a platform alteration as it only gets used very late in normal circumstances, so the Gods smile benevolently for once. Another easy tick as we arrive in P1 and just enough time to get a cheapish sandwich from one of the outlets there (they make up for it with oulandish prices for drinks however). Time to polish off Morley and then Dewsbury to complete this section of line although P5 at Huddersfield remains a challenge with the Castleford (or is it Knottingly) services currently suspended. P4 only gets a few early morning calls too but i am not overly concerned with these just yet.
With my fourth and final new station of the day in the bag it was time for more new platforms at Leeds. Hurrah for weirdness as we land back in P15b which is another one not normally used during the day and then a decision as to what to do next. P6a wins out as the next rarely used, but only because i say it was 6a. The board said 6b but only the last carriage of 4 was sitting in there so 6a it was given 3 of the 4 carriages were sat there. My problem is now that this is the only service advertised as using 6b so more future ponderting required. One trip to Guiseley later i was back in the big shed and scratching my head over my next move when i saw another 4 car arrive in P2. This definitely landed in 2a territory which is a non timetabled offering and so i rushed over just in time for the trip outwards. Defintely 2a no matter what anyone else says. A short hop and back to Apperley Bridge and my last new platform of the day as we landed in P10, fully utilising the space. No a or b nonsense.
As i think more on this phenemenon i wonder if a and b (and c) for the bays are used to denote the trains itself. If 2 trains are in, the second one gets the a if going east and b if going west with some east facing bays having an additional "a" variant in P1 P2 P5 and P6. Perhaps thats where i am going wrong with all this, although a straw poll of 6 dispatchers over the 2 days, couldn't enlighten me. I would be very interested to know of course. That's all now until the 18th at the earliest when i shall be back hopefully. Sleep on the return journey was a bonus after using up all that so called brain power as i pondered the curiosity that was Leeds.
Total time today 690 mins - time on trains 366 mins and time waiting 324 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 738.
Perhaps i should have mentioned P17 yesterday as this is a platform in itself that is never timetabled. It is always an a or b variant. There is just enough room for 2 - 2 car units - fair enough, but when they are coupled together and utilise the whole platform there is no way in hell it should be labelled as P17b (or17a). There was another example today at the other end of the station with P14 but this time it was labelled P14a not b. I deduce from this they use the variant nearest the centre of the station so it's the bit of the train you first encounter when walking to it. I did see 2 separate units in P17 later in the day and correctly identified as a and b departures so no problem with that. To my pedantic eyes this doesn't feel right so i have decided to add P14 and P17 to my list which are now ticks and will now see if i can use the actual variants at some future stage.
I get ahead of myself. The journey in to Leeds is now known to me sufficiently i have no qualms about getting some extra shut eye although it does get full as we near our destination - pesky travellers... First off then is the afore mentioned P14 for the TPE service going to York. Its a 3 car set so it fills three quarters of the platform and on my now arbitrary Leeds station criteria, deem it sufficient to be classed as a "full length" platform. This reminds me I am going to have to revisit Manchester Airport at some stage which also finds it difficult to use whole numbers even when most of the available platform is used. I digress - again. Setting off just 3 minutes before my day saver kicks in but its less than 10 minutes to Garforth for my first look at a new station today. It is a manned station with rather a large and full car park so obviously a hive of activity in peak times. Bit of a wait before my return so time to do a Soduku or two meantime in the conservatory like waiting area. This fills with ladies of a certain age over the next 50 minutes all keen for a bargain in the city judging by the sole topic of conversation overheard.
Back at Leeds and into P7 which is another mislabelled one, this time as 7a when the whole platform is utilised by the 4 car set. Tsk.. Better luck at the a b c d variants perhaps of which P8 is sub-divided. I think the sub-sections are not labelled as accurately as they could be here given the stop signs and signalling lights, but the 3 car unit that does arrive stops where it should, but some way from the end of the platform. The latter part of this service backs someway into 8c territory but inthis case i am inclined to say P8d as this is where th front of the train sets off from. Yes i know i am not being wholly consistent with the bays but i don't know what else i could class this. More was in c than d but direction of travel decides i feel.
It was delayed of course, not long, but long enough to consider stopping short of Micklefield as originally intended. It would be tight at Garforth east so i chickened out and settled on Cross Gates instead. The off-peak service at this time here is hourly with random extras that may shorten this, but not when i was visiting so i was happy that the retuirn appeared on time after just a short wait. Not really long enough to explore the area, but it seemed well served with shops/services as i crossed over the bridge to the other platfom. The service back into Leeds was a 2 car and we correctly arrived in P7a. How difficult was that. 2 variants completed then in an hour.
Next up was a trip to Huddersfield from another less frequent used platform - this time P16a. I think this must have been a platform alteration as it only gets used very late in normal circumstances, so the Gods smile benevolently for once. Another easy tick as we arrive in P1 and just enough time to get a cheapish sandwich from one of the outlets there (they make up for it with oulandish prices for drinks however). Time to polish off Morley and then Dewsbury to complete this section of line although P5 at Huddersfield remains a challenge with the Castleford (or is it Knottingly) services currently suspended. P4 only gets a few early morning calls too but i am not overly concerned with these just yet.
With my fourth and final new station of the day in the bag it was time for more new platforms at Leeds. Hurrah for weirdness as we land back in P15b which is another one not normally used during the day and then a decision as to what to do next. P6a wins out as the next rarely used, but only because i say it was 6a. The board said 6b but only the last carriage of 4 was sitting in there so 6a it was given 3 of the 4 carriages were sat there. My problem is now that this is the only service advertised as using 6b so more future ponderting required. One trip to Guiseley later i was back in the big shed and scratching my head over my next move when i saw another 4 car arrive in P2. This definitely landed in 2a territory which is a non timetabled offering and so i rushed over just in time for the trip outwards. Defintely 2a no matter what anyone else says. A short hop and back to Apperley Bridge and my last new platform of the day as we landed in P10, fully utilising the space. No a or b nonsense.
As i think more on this phenemenon i wonder if a and b (and c) for the bays are used to denote the trains itself. If 2 trains are in, the second one gets the a if going east and b if going west with some east facing bays having an additional "a" variant in P1 P2 P5 and P6. Perhaps thats where i am going wrong with all this, although a straw poll of 6 dispatchers over the 2 days, couldn't enlighten me. I would be very interested to know of course. That's all now until the 18th at the earliest when i shall be back hopefully. Sleep on the return journey was a bonus after using up all that so called brain power as i pondered the curiosity that was Leeds.
| Newton-le-Willows | Depart | 6.57 | ***** | NT | stations | platforms | ||
| Leeds | Arrive | 8.40 | P10 | NT | wait 46m | completed | completed | |
| Leeds | Depart | 9.26 | P14 | TP | at completed | |||
| Garforth | Arrive | 9.35 | P1 | TP | wait 58m | stations | ||
| Garforth | Depart | 10.33 | P2 | NT | 1 | 2 | ||
| Leeds | Arrive | 10.47 | P7 | NT | wait 23m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 11.10 | P8d | NT | ||||
| Cross Gates | Arrive | 11.17 | P1 | NT | wait 22m | |||
| Cross Gates | Depart | 11.39 | P2 | NT | 1 | 2 | ||
| Leeds | Arrive | 11.50 | P7a | NT | wait 16m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 12.06 | P16a | TP | ||||
| Huddersfield | Arrive | 12.26 | P1 | TP | wait 23m | |||
| Huddersfield | Depart | 12.49 | P6 | NT | ||||
| Morley | Arrive | 13.16 | P1 | NT | wait 10m | |||
| Morley | Depart | 13.26 | P2 | NT | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dewsbury | Arrive | 13.34 | P2 | NT | wait 10m | |||
| Dewsbury | Depart | 13.44 | P1 | NT | 1 | 2 | ||
| Leeds | Arrive | 14.00 | P15b | NT | wait 33m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 14.33 | P6a | NT | ||||
| Guiseley | Arrive | 14.45 | P1 | NT | wait 10m | |||
| Guiseley | Depart | 14.55 | P2 | NT | ||||
| Leeds | Arrive | 15.07 | P5c | NT | wait 5m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 15.12 | P2a | NT | ||||
| Apperley Bridge | Arrive | 15.22 | P2 | NT | wait 21m | |||
| Apperley Bridge | Depart | 15.43 | P1 | NT | ||||
| Leeds | Arrive | 15.55 | P10 | NT | wait 47m | |||
| Leeds | Depart | 16.42 | P6c | NT | ||||
| Newton-le-Willows | Arrive | 18.27 | ***** | NT |
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There is another opportunity to do the Hambleton curves on Sunday 4th September - all day in fact. Seems an opportunity that can be combined with a Leeds based cycling opportunity - if time allows of course.Other than the issues at Manchester sounded like a good trip
No doubt @Techniquest will be jealous of the unusual track covered
Kite159
Veteran Member
All the platform variants at Leeds.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Other than the issues at Manchester sounded like a good trip
No doubt @Techniquest will be jealous of the unusual track covered
Just a little bit! In years gone by, back when I had a railcard (my last one expired in November 2011, so quite a long time ago), I'd have finished work on the Saturday, got changed and headed up to Leeds on overnight trains for the track. Or gone up on the first train north these days on the Sunday morning to quickly knock out the required track before returning for work at 4am on Monday. Back then of course, I didn't have the convenient living space in Hereford and didn't work on Sundays or Mondays, so there was more flexibility. Not to mention more affordable fares!
You clearly know me too well already
I might have to remember this and get some time off work booked! It might be a bit difficult to fit it all in otherwise, given I finish work at 9pm on Saturdays and I'm back in at 4am on Mondays. It would have to be literally straight up to Manchester on the first train of the day, over to Leeds, hope for a good connection onto the diversions in both directions then race back to Hereford. With no time for anything else.Thanks for the heads-up there, I will have to make an effort to do it so Kite can stop taunting me with it
I seem to recall there is an absolute boatload of cycling up that way I want to do, so a week off could easily see a lot of that done!Cricketer8for9
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I’m looking forward to your travels to South London. I can’t work out whether the task will be harder because of the number of stations and some large stations or easier because of the relatively high train frequencies.
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Once i work out the logistics of travelling to and from the London area as a whole without either taking too long or at too high a cost, i feel the actual ticking off the stations there will generally be a higher number per day than anywhere else i am likely to visit. I am still to scope out anything seriously or to work out the oddball platforms satisfactorily however so this may be actual pie in the sky stuff. My only real worry currently is the sheer number of lines that exist which means that obtaining track coverage may take longer than expected. Then again it might be easier than expected... Essentially, it am leaning on the easier side until i prove otherwise.
Cricketer8for9
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Thanks. I feel, like you, that stations per day will be high, but there are a lot of stations…
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Day 128: Tuesday 14/06/2022 - Loch Awe to Taynuilt - £2.35 - Anytime Single. Taynuilt to Falls of Cruachan - £1.70 - Anytime Return. Taynuilt to Connel Ferry - £3.95 - Anytime Single. Taynuilt to Tyndrum Lower - £10.65 - Anytime Single. CP Loch Awe free.
Total time today 553 mins - Time on trains 109 mins and time waiting 444 mins. Stations completed today 5. Total completed 743.
A weeks holiday in Oban. How rude would it be not to have a look at the line whilst in the area? The original intention was to do the Sunday only platform 4, but it was traded for a day on the line proper in exchange for a trip on the Paddle Steamer Waverley which was going to the Corryvreckan whirlpool on Sunday. All in all a very worthwhile experience by the way and a very enjoyable day out. However, with the weather being shockingly wintry and windy, most folk were sheltered in the copious indoor saloon areas and therefore a strong potential for a super spreader for you know what - as my partner unfortunately found out. Drat and double drat.
My appointed day out was Tuesday, after a day trip to Campbeltown to indulge one of my other passions - Springbank distillery. A far more expensive hobby than bashing by the way. Craving satisfied it was time to take a trip back up the road for my starting point at Loch Awe, which is the current scottish midgie capital, a fact i was not aware of until i rocked up with 15 minutes to spare. Before Scotrail hacked a very active red pen through its services recently, it would have been possible to do the whole line down to Crianlarich in one day but the gaps get rather long after 2.00/2.30pm in the current temporary timetable. So... Loch Awe and midgies. What would have been the very early service from Queen Street now becomes the "scholars train" from Dalmally, with the set running ECS from Oban to get there. It arrived on time with the 4 people joining the train at Loch Awe all school children apart from your truly. Looking back the relentless swatting by all for 10 minutes prior to setting off must have been amusing to watch by anyone ensconsed indoors, but assuredly no fun at the time for the losing combatants. Actually, situated where it is there is no chance of being overlooked, although there is a Mark 1 holiday camping coach just offset from the end of the platform on the other side.
First stop for me was Taynuilt and due to lack of planning what i though would be my only realistic option for supplies though i was somewhat non-plussed by the dour female in the grocery store who in a rather flat monotone advised my she couldn't sell me a twirl unless i did a twirl!! Err... I shouldn't have encouraged her as she then proceeded to tell a really dirty joke. Retreat back to the station seemed appropriate and the first of my long enforced waits of the day. All of the stations on the line have a waiting shelter but man the bit where you park your bum is unncessarily thin and as uncomfortable as i have encountered. Nevertheless i made big inroads into my latest book during the day.. Also a lovely chat with a lady going to Glasgow for a hospital appointment and some interesting tidbits about her father who worked at the station in the war years. The line was very busy then not the least because of the Sunderland Flying Boat base in Oban at that time.
The return working from Oban arrived and another very short hop, this time to the summer only (and prime daytime at that) Falls of Cruachan. It serves the Hydro Electric experience there which i first experienced as a scout in the 1970's when we drove into the mountain in our diesel coach. Immense is probably under selling it and certainly under appreciated at the time by a spotty 14 year old. Our intention was to do the tour at some stage during the week but events overtook us. What it does have after negotiating the steps down to the main road and spending a few minutes walking west, is a lovely visitor centre and cafe which catered for my capacity for bacon rolls as the scots insist on calling them. In Glasgow that also translates into a "roll and bacon". Whose to say which variant is the best - i try to be fluent in them all. very quiet at that time of day so i had the place to myself and by far the most comfortable stopover for months. I even took away with me what turned out to be the perfect tuna sandwich. Back on the platform after an hour in air conditioned loveliness, it was grit your teeth time for the next train west as the quest for world domination by the tiny tiny midgies continued unabaited. A whole 20 minutes of train time was awaited as Connel Ferry was next to have my full attention.
In the end i didn't go exploring as the heavens opened which kept the flying things at bay and it was a place i already knew from previous trips. Yup, more reading.
Last but one stop of the day was to be Tyndrum Lower where 2 others alighted and who then proceeded to suit up into something akin to beekeepers outfits. Time to move swiftly off the platfom and onto the main road before a short walk up the hill to the Green Welly Stop - a very real place to the uninitiated. Actually, yet another place i could have stocked up if needed of course.. An almost obligatory stop for those travelling to Oban or Fort William (depending which way you go) but i have never lingered previously so had time for a good rummage around given the alternative was the infested platform. The almost constant light rain invariably evaporated just before the trip westwards which invoked curses before my trip to Dalmally. I thought long and hard as to how best to fit this station in as there are just a few through trains going west and so the uncomon use of platform 2 currently. In the end i plumped for an epic wait for the afternoon scholars train which would return the school kids and arrive and depart from platform 1. The station buildings are now privately owned and it still retains the canopy which the local bird population have taken over with nests and more avian activity than i can recall. Very unfazed by us humans and one cheeky young sparrow tried to alter my parting so close did it get as it zipped over my head. Alternate dozing and reading on one of the two full fat scotrail benches (hurrah no thin bench seat in a shelter) helped pass the time and long before full boredom set in the 2 car set eased itself up the steep last bit into the station and disgorged a surprising quantity of school/college kids. The shortest journey of the day finished proceedings for the return back to Loch Awe.
With the whole day coming in just over 9 hours it didn't feel too tiring and the scenery for the most part was top notch. This is a line i have done once before, when i lived just north of Glasgow in the 1990's. It was a summer only special ticket from Queen Street to Duart Castle, so the train, the ferry to Mull and the narrow guage railway from Craignure to the Castle (now sadly long gone - the railway not the castle) were all included in the one ticket. I remember the kids having a whale of a time collecting armfuls of conkers there - a long way to go for these some may venture, but it was a good day out all round. So, Oban still to do as well as Loch Awe under my rules, and of course Crianlarich where everything interchanges. No real intention to do any of these as a full program of events was in place for the rest of the week but i returned to find my partner not feeling 100%. Nothing serious but a precursor of things to come.
Total time today 553 mins - Time on trains 109 mins and time waiting 444 mins. Stations completed today 5. Total completed 743.
A weeks holiday in Oban. How rude would it be not to have a look at the line whilst in the area? The original intention was to do the Sunday only platform 4, but it was traded for a day on the line proper in exchange for a trip on the Paddle Steamer Waverley which was going to the Corryvreckan whirlpool on Sunday. All in all a very worthwhile experience by the way and a very enjoyable day out. However, with the weather being shockingly wintry and windy, most folk were sheltered in the copious indoor saloon areas and therefore a strong potential for a super spreader for you know what - as my partner unfortunately found out. Drat and double drat.
My appointed day out was Tuesday, after a day trip to Campbeltown to indulge one of my other passions - Springbank distillery. A far more expensive hobby than bashing by the way. Craving satisfied it was time to take a trip back up the road for my starting point at Loch Awe, which is the current scottish midgie capital, a fact i was not aware of until i rocked up with 15 minutes to spare. Before Scotrail hacked a very active red pen through its services recently, it would have been possible to do the whole line down to Crianlarich in one day but the gaps get rather long after 2.00/2.30pm in the current temporary timetable. So... Loch Awe and midgies. What would have been the very early service from Queen Street now becomes the "scholars train" from Dalmally, with the set running ECS from Oban to get there. It arrived on time with the 4 people joining the train at Loch Awe all school children apart from your truly. Looking back the relentless swatting by all for 10 minutes prior to setting off must have been amusing to watch by anyone ensconsed indoors, but assuredly no fun at the time for the losing combatants. Actually, situated where it is there is no chance of being overlooked, although there is a Mark 1 holiday camping coach just offset from the end of the platform on the other side.
First stop for me was Taynuilt and due to lack of planning what i though would be my only realistic option for supplies though i was somewhat non-plussed by the dour female in the grocery store who in a rather flat monotone advised my she couldn't sell me a twirl unless i did a twirl!! Err... I shouldn't have encouraged her as she then proceeded to tell a really dirty joke. Retreat back to the station seemed appropriate and the first of my long enforced waits of the day. All of the stations on the line have a waiting shelter but man the bit where you park your bum is unncessarily thin and as uncomfortable as i have encountered. Nevertheless i made big inroads into my latest book during the day.. Also a lovely chat with a lady going to Glasgow for a hospital appointment and some interesting tidbits about her father who worked at the station in the war years. The line was very busy then not the least because of the Sunderland Flying Boat base in Oban at that time.
The return working from Oban arrived and another very short hop, this time to the summer only (and prime daytime at that) Falls of Cruachan. It serves the Hydro Electric experience there which i first experienced as a scout in the 1970's when we drove into the mountain in our diesel coach. Immense is probably under selling it and certainly under appreciated at the time by a spotty 14 year old. Our intention was to do the tour at some stage during the week but events overtook us. What it does have after negotiating the steps down to the main road and spending a few minutes walking west, is a lovely visitor centre and cafe which catered for my capacity for bacon rolls as the scots insist on calling them. In Glasgow that also translates into a "roll and bacon". Whose to say which variant is the best - i try to be fluent in them all. very quiet at that time of day so i had the place to myself and by far the most comfortable stopover for months. I even took away with me what turned out to be the perfect tuna sandwich. Back on the platform after an hour in air conditioned loveliness, it was grit your teeth time for the next train west as the quest for world domination by the tiny tiny midgies continued unabaited. A whole 20 minutes of train time was awaited as Connel Ferry was next to have my full attention.
In the end i didn't go exploring as the heavens opened which kept the flying things at bay and it was a place i already knew from previous trips. Yup, more reading.
Last but one stop of the day was to be Tyndrum Lower where 2 others alighted and who then proceeded to suit up into something akin to beekeepers outfits. Time to move swiftly off the platfom and onto the main road before a short walk up the hill to the Green Welly Stop - a very real place to the uninitiated. Actually, yet another place i could have stocked up if needed of course.. An almost obligatory stop for those travelling to Oban or Fort William (depending which way you go) but i have never lingered previously so had time for a good rummage around given the alternative was the infested platform. The almost constant light rain invariably evaporated just before the trip westwards which invoked curses before my trip to Dalmally. I thought long and hard as to how best to fit this station in as there are just a few through trains going west and so the uncomon use of platform 2 currently. In the end i plumped for an epic wait for the afternoon scholars train which would return the school kids and arrive and depart from platform 1. The station buildings are now privately owned and it still retains the canopy which the local bird population have taken over with nests and more avian activity than i can recall. Very unfazed by us humans and one cheeky young sparrow tried to alter my parting so close did it get as it zipped over my head. Alternate dozing and reading on one of the two full fat scotrail benches (hurrah no thin bench seat in a shelter) helped pass the time and long before full boredom set in the 2 car set eased itself up the steep last bit into the station and disgorged a surprising quantity of school/college kids. The shortest journey of the day finished proceedings for the return back to Loch Awe.
With the whole day coming in just over 9 hours it didn't feel too tiring and the scenery for the most part was top notch. This is a line i have done once before, when i lived just north of Glasgow in the 1990's. It was a summer only special ticket from Queen Street to Duart Castle, so the train, the ferry to Mull and the narrow guage railway from Craignure to the Castle (now sadly long gone - the railway not the castle) were all included in the one ticket. I remember the kids having a whale of a time collecting armfuls of conkers there - a long way to go for these some may venture, but it was a good day out all round. So, Oban still to do as well as Loch Awe under my rules, and of course Crianlarich where everything interchanges. No real intention to do any of these as a full program of events was in place for the rest of the week but i returned to find my partner not feeling 100%. Nothing serious but a precursor of things to come.
| Loch Awe | Depart | 7.56 | ***** | SR | stations | platforms | ||
| Taynuilt | Arrive | 8.09 | P2 | SR | wait 71m | completed | completed | |
| Taynuilt | Depart | 9.20 | P1 | SR | 1 | 2 | ||
| Falls of Cruachan | Arrive | 9.28 | Single | SR | wait 85m | |||
| Falls of Cruachan | Depart | 10.53 | Single | SR | 1 | 1 | ||
| Connel Ferry | Arrive | 11.13 | Single | SR | wait 70m | |||
| Connel Ferry | Depart | 12.23 | Single | SR | 1 | 1 | ||
| Tyndrum Lower | Arrive | 13.19 | Single | SR | wait 71m | |||
| Tyndrum Lower | Depart | 14.30 | Single | SR | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dalmally | Arrive | 14.37 | P2 | SR | wait 147m | |||
| Dalmally | Depart | 17.04 | P1 | SR | 1 | 2 | ||
| Loch Awe | Arrive | 17.09 | ***** | SR |
All platforms
Member
Day 129: Thursday 16/06/2022 - Dalmally to Loch Awe - £1.80 - Anytime Return. Dalmally to Crianlarich - £9.15 - Anytime Return. Interestingly i was charged 5p extra for each ticket at Oban station i have just realised - strange. CP free at Dalmally.
Total time today 175 mins - time on trains 64 mins and time waiting 111 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 745.
With our Wednesday trip to Mull cancelled due to illness i was able to get out Thursday morning to complete 2 more stations in the hope we could do something in the afternoon. Starting point was Dalmally for the very short hop to Loch Awe and the dreaded small flying objects, a fact which the guard strongly reminded me of as i alighted. Man eating he called them. Not much to see near the station apart form a couple of hotels and surprisingly a general store which promised hot filled rolls. Light drizzle was the order of the day and after an over generous bacon roll (and i don't say that lightly) 10 minutes either side of the station was soon covered and so i resolved to see if the wet stuff was keeping the flying things at bay. Kinda. When i ventured here on Tuesday i saw no sign of a shelter but as i explored up the station platform (stone chippings actually) one eventually hove into view recessed as it was not far from the S stop sign. The last 40 minutes or so was in perch mode reading for the last time on this journey which soon whiled away the time given the weather. Apart from Monday the weather for the whole of our Scottish stay was wet and wild for the most part with only brief interludes of dryness. I realise anyone reading this from the southern half of the UK will wonder what i'm smoking given the cracking the flags type of weather you will have been seeing last week but believe me it was constantly sodden and frequently blustery+.
The longest single trip of the week followed, a whole 30 mins+ of lovely but rain filled scenery on the drift down into Crianlarich. There we would cross with the Oban/Fort Wiliam train which would split into 2/4 from the 6 car set going north, Oban being the new 2 car set of course.
Given the reduction in services i was surprised to note that most of the Oban based services had 2 or even 3 guards on board with 1 of these doing the rounds and the other(s) in the back cab. Not really sussed out why yet but i never really saw the same face on returns from Oban. There was something else i wanted to raise but it wholly escapes me despite pondering this a while.
Got back to our holiday flat late morning, which i have to say had the best view of anywhere we have stayed being right on the seafront. Great fun watching the ferries go back and to. We were greatful we stocked up on supplies on the saturday as i too felt less than 100% come thursday evening and we never moved outside again till home time. Weather was crap in any event - thats our excuse but what we thought was summer flu has been confirmed as the big C despite doing super careful for over 2 years. The drive home took far longer than i would have imagined and i really can't recommend catching the latest variants. Feel like crap to be honest. No Sunday trip today therefore and with the strikes planned for this week it will be next sunday at the earliest before i consider venturing forth again. Hiatus meantime..
Oh. just remembered my last point. There is a Sunday summer only service from Edinburgh to Oban (the first few i think are planned from Linlithgow this year) which is the only service to use the North to West curves at Cowlairs which will allow me to tick these as well as platform 4 at Oban. An extra afternoon in Oban when its not raining will be the icing on the cake of course. Crawls off to bed......
Total time today 175 mins - time on trains 64 mins and time waiting 111 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total completed 745.
With our Wednesday trip to Mull cancelled due to illness i was able to get out Thursday morning to complete 2 more stations in the hope we could do something in the afternoon. Starting point was Dalmally for the very short hop to Loch Awe and the dreaded small flying objects, a fact which the guard strongly reminded me of as i alighted. Man eating he called them. Not much to see near the station apart form a couple of hotels and surprisingly a general store which promised hot filled rolls. Light drizzle was the order of the day and after an over generous bacon roll (and i don't say that lightly) 10 minutes either side of the station was soon covered and so i resolved to see if the wet stuff was keeping the flying things at bay. Kinda. When i ventured here on Tuesday i saw no sign of a shelter but as i explored up the station platform (stone chippings actually) one eventually hove into view recessed as it was not far from the S stop sign. The last 40 minutes or so was in perch mode reading for the last time on this journey which soon whiled away the time given the weather. Apart from Monday the weather for the whole of our Scottish stay was wet and wild for the most part with only brief interludes of dryness. I realise anyone reading this from the southern half of the UK will wonder what i'm smoking given the cracking the flags type of weather you will have been seeing last week but believe me it was constantly sodden and frequently blustery+.
The longest single trip of the week followed, a whole 30 mins+ of lovely but rain filled scenery on the drift down into Crianlarich. There we would cross with the Oban/Fort Wiliam train which would split into 2/4 from the 6 car set going north, Oban being the new 2 car set of course.
Given the reduction in services i was surprised to note that most of the Oban based services had 2 or even 3 guards on board with 1 of these doing the rounds and the other(s) in the back cab. Not really sussed out why yet but i never really saw the same face on returns from Oban. There was something else i wanted to raise but it wholly escapes me despite pondering this a while.
Got back to our holiday flat late morning, which i have to say had the best view of anywhere we have stayed being right on the seafront. Great fun watching the ferries go back and to. We were greatful we stocked up on supplies on the saturday as i too felt less than 100% come thursday evening and we never moved outside again till home time. Weather was crap in any event - thats our excuse but what we thought was summer flu has been confirmed as the big C despite doing super careful for over 2 years. The drive home took far longer than i would have imagined and i really can't recommend catching the latest variants. Feel like crap to be honest. No Sunday trip today therefore and with the strikes planned for this week it will be next sunday at the earliest before i consider venturing forth again. Hiatus meantime..
Oh. just remembered my last point. There is a Sunday summer only service from Edinburgh to Oban (the first few i think are planned from Linlithgow this year) which is the only service to use the North to West curves at Cowlairs which will allow me to tick these as well as platform 4 at Oban. An extra afternoon in Oban when its not raining will be the icing on the cake of course. Crawls off to bed......
| Dalmally | Depart | 7.51 | ***** | SR | ||||
| Loch Awe | Arrive | 7.55 | Single | SR | wait 101m | |||
| Loch Awe | Depart | 9.36 | Single | SR | 1 | 1 | ||
| Crianlarich | Arrive | 10.10 | P1 | SR | wait 10m | |||
| Crianlarich | Depart | 10.20 | P2 | SR | 1 | 2 | ||
| Dalmally | Arrive | 10.46 | ***** | SR |
Kite159
Veteran Member
I suspect the easiest way to deal with London is to get a hotel booked up for a couple nights, maybe have one day covering the track then the next day visiting the stations
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Terribly sorry to hear you both have the dreaded C-word 
I hope the recovery goes well for you both and fingers crossed for a speedy one!
Despite the midges, it was clearly a productive time all in. A shame it was so wet and unpleasant, of course, but it does sound like you did well to enjoy the adventure. The long drive south sounds awful!
I hope the recovery goes well for you both and fingers crossed for a speedy one!Despite the midges, it was clearly a productive time all in. A shame it was so wet and unpleasant, of course, but it does sound like you did well to enjoy the adventure. The long drive south sounds awful!
All platforms
Member
Day 130: Tuesday 28 June 2022 - East Midlands 3 in 7 Days Rover - £65.90 - Day 1. Bottesford to Elton & Orston - £1.95 Anytime Single. Bottesford to Sleaford - £7.45 - Anytime Single. CP Bottesford - free.
Total time today 616 mins - Time on trains 214 mins and time walking and waiting 402 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total stations completed 747.
Well, the world and his dog seems to have the dreaded C at the moment and it has taken me out of the game for almost 2 weeks. It has given me a chance to catch up on a few non essential things but compiling future itineraries was not one of them - far too taxing for my befuddled brain. However, i have sparked into life again finally and have some thing a tad diffeernt planned for each of the next 3 weeks.
Todays trip was essentially to complete as far as possible basic track coverage left over from my Skegness extravaganza from last year (sheesh but that's a slow line), and then try and fit some new faces into the mix. I thought it was going to work out quite well until very near the end when i realised i had arrived at Bottesford from a different (and therefore wrong) direction than what i was expecting. Grrr...
It all started so well with a clean trip down and arriving at the appointed start point at Bottesford with plenty of time to have a look around. I quite like this station and i am still trying to quantify why. It just seems right somehow is about the best i can come up with. It has a bridge connecting the staggered platforms and also a crossing point at the far end of platform 1 and a long path back to platform 2, the station buildings look impressive enough for such a small village it would have been back in the day. Maybe it was because it was sunny - something i haven't seen for a good while being a bit grim up north this sumnmer.
A 4 minute trip down the line at.. lets call it a modest speed, and in no time at all i was alighting at Elton & Orston being situated as it is, roughly between the 2 villages. The only facilities were 2 very decent shelters and a barrow crossing which i would need later on. That's it! In my eagerness to return to the rails i had been a bit sporty in thinking i could beat Google's suggested timing for the walk at 68 mins and after factoring in taking the obligatory pics and seeing the train off the station i was already eating into that. I may have mentioned this before but my natural walking speed is more of an amble and briskness was never an attribute i could claim in all honesty, but i do have stamina in that i i wouldn't have to stop en route. With my trusty backpack on my.. err... back off i strode. I had taken the trouble to note the route beforehand just in case phone signal issues arose, and this did help in that i could keep moving and not consulting as it were. I was super glad the level crossing just before the halfway point wasn't in use to slow things down and Bottesford hove into view not long after. It took longer than expected to traverse through to the station however, and the sun has his hat firmly in place by this time so i was pleased my blind faith had paid off as i arrived at the station gate within 60 seconds of my due departure. It was delayed 2 minutes but it would have been a tight run thing if it was bang on time given the bridge i had to use. Never again will i use such tight timings i muttered to myself as i melted into my seat for the reasonably long haul to Sleaford.
This gave me the opportunity for reverse track from Grantham around the Allington curve (way more than 90 degrees) and then after a short hiatus off to Lincoln Central for my first visit where i had an ice cream reward for my perambulations earlier. Lincoln is a place i have always wanted to spend more time in, but a 50 minute stopover was too short to explore much although i did find an independent sandwich shop which sorted my lunch requirements for later on. I will be back (many times) to Lincoln later in the week as i have spotted 10 active platform variations currently in play. For now P4a and P5a have been ticked off. The long trip down to Peterborough ticked off more reverse track with the stations already in the bag from last year. Delays and cancellations were in action at Peterborough with OLE problems between York and Doncaster causing a bit of mayhem. My next intention had been to tick off another section of the ECML but that particular train was cancelled. For once lady luck was on my side in that i could still get to Newark Northgate and back on a later service and still keep to my original itinerary. It was getting very busy on platform 4 (another required platform) so i wandered up to to the very front and managed to find a seat without any issues for the blast up to Newark. Northagte is another station that will be seeing more of my patronage at the weekend although i may have to plan a further visit as the return leg was from platform 3 which i was not expecting. This was a loco hauled LNER branded service which allowed 2 other services to pass on the main line P2 before it moved off again quite a few minutes late. These things have as much acceleration as a slug and it seemed an age before we were up to speed.
Off at Grantham and a reasonable wait for the Nottingham service. This was a semi fast stopping only twice so off at Bingham it was for the obligatory 60 minute wait given the service patterns invariably cross here. A short wander into the village/town centre - it could be either... and decision time. Do i take time out to have an outdoor pint or do i see if that nice cake shop over the other side of the square still has something with my name on. I do not ordinarily stoop to such things but about twice a year the siren call proves too much and so i soon came into possession of an inflated cream puff with some sticky caramel type glaze on top. Impossible to eat however without carnage incarnate being invoked and so it was i had managed to deposit significant quantities of said glaze on my shirt in an effort to prevent the cream element doing likewise. Bah... but it was worth it so no complaints really.
Time enough to wander back and read for a bit as i was not far off completing it, but it wasn't long before the hour was up and i was on my way back to Bottesford where i got off scratching my head. This wasn't platform 1. Talk about being turned around in the planning stage. Serves me right for not double checking i guess, but i needed to do the reverse of this mornings walk - and this time i had allowed myself a full 2 hours before the second and last service of the day at Elton & Orston would hove into view - hopefully. I knew by this time if that i tried a repeat of this mornings pace i would end up with blisters given my very normal walking attire so it was a much more leisurely approach to proceedings this time. This time i was stopped at the level crossing for nigh on 5 minutes and this was a small contribution to the extra 35 minutes it took in comparison. Sore feet is the excuse!
I still had nearly 25 minutes reading time at Elton, which is another of those stations in the middle of nowehere, and i can attest i was the only person to use the station all day. Definitely a least used station. What i hadn't realised yesterday is you cross between Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire when you walk between the 2 stations but no County signs were in evidence. Oh and 2 double decker buses were not on my expectation of things to see either, but there you go. Rest day Wednesday before more East Midlands madness ensues on Thursday. The feet are fine again but thankfully no more hikes this week.
Total time today 616 mins - Time on trains 214 mins and time walking and waiting 402 mins. Stations completed today 2. Total stations completed 747.
Well, the world and his dog seems to have the dreaded C at the moment and it has taken me out of the game for almost 2 weeks. It has given me a chance to catch up on a few non essential things but compiling future itineraries was not one of them - far too taxing for my befuddled brain. However, i have sparked into life again finally and have some thing a tad diffeernt planned for each of the next 3 weeks.
Todays trip was essentially to complete as far as possible basic track coverage left over from my Skegness extravaganza from last year (sheesh but that's a slow line), and then try and fit some new faces into the mix. I thought it was going to work out quite well until very near the end when i realised i had arrived at Bottesford from a different (and therefore wrong) direction than what i was expecting. Grrr...
It all started so well with a clean trip down and arriving at the appointed start point at Bottesford with plenty of time to have a look around. I quite like this station and i am still trying to quantify why. It just seems right somehow is about the best i can come up with. It has a bridge connecting the staggered platforms and also a crossing point at the far end of platform 1 and a long path back to platform 2, the station buildings look impressive enough for such a small village it would have been back in the day. Maybe it was because it was sunny - something i haven't seen for a good while being a bit grim up north this sumnmer.
A 4 minute trip down the line at.. lets call it a modest speed, and in no time at all i was alighting at Elton & Orston being situated as it is, roughly between the 2 villages. The only facilities were 2 very decent shelters and a barrow crossing which i would need later on. That's it! In my eagerness to return to the rails i had been a bit sporty in thinking i could beat Google's suggested timing for the walk at 68 mins and after factoring in taking the obligatory pics and seeing the train off the station i was already eating into that. I may have mentioned this before but my natural walking speed is more of an amble and briskness was never an attribute i could claim in all honesty, but i do have stamina in that i i wouldn't have to stop en route. With my trusty backpack on my.. err... back off i strode. I had taken the trouble to note the route beforehand just in case phone signal issues arose, and this did help in that i could keep moving and not consulting as it were. I was super glad the level crossing just before the halfway point wasn't in use to slow things down and Bottesford hove into view not long after. It took longer than expected to traverse through to the station however, and the sun has his hat firmly in place by this time so i was pleased my blind faith had paid off as i arrived at the station gate within 60 seconds of my due departure. It was delayed 2 minutes but it would have been a tight run thing if it was bang on time given the bridge i had to use. Never again will i use such tight timings i muttered to myself as i melted into my seat for the reasonably long haul to Sleaford.
This gave me the opportunity for reverse track from Grantham around the Allington curve (way more than 90 degrees) and then after a short hiatus off to Lincoln Central for my first visit where i had an ice cream reward for my perambulations earlier. Lincoln is a place i have always wanted to spend more time in, but a 50 minute stopover was too short to explore much although i did find an independent sandwich shop which sorted my lunch requirements for later on. I will be back (many times) to Lincoln later in the week as i have spotted 10 active platform variations currently in play. For now P4a and P5a have been ticked off. The long trip down to Peterborough ticked off more reverse track with the stations already in the bag from last year. Delays and cancellations were in action at Peterborough with OLE problems between York and Doncaster causing a bit of mayhem. My next intention had been to tick off another section of the ECML but that particular train was cancelled. For once lady luck was on my side in that i could still get to Newark Northgate and back on a later service and still keep to my original itinerary. It was getting very busy on platform 4 (another required platform) so i wandered up to to the very front and managed to find a seat without any issues for the blast up to Newark. Northagte is another station that will be seeing more of my patronage at the weekend although i may have to plan a further visit as the return leg was from platform 3 which i was not expecting. This was a loco hauled LNER branded service which allowed 2 other services to pass on the main line P2 before it moved off again quite a few minutes late. These things have as much acceleration as a slug and it seemed an age before we were up to speed.
Off at Grantham and a reasonable wait for the Nottingham service. This was a semi fast stopping only twice so off at Bingham it was for the obligatory 60 minute wait given the service patterns invariably cross here. A short wander into the village/town centre - it could be either... and decision time. Do i take time out to have an outdoor pint or do i see if that nice cake shop over the other side of the square still has something with my name on. I do not ordinarily stoop to such things but about twice a year the siren call proves too much and so i soon came into possession of an inflated cream puff with some sticky caramel type glaze on top. Impossible to eat however without carnage incarnate being invoked and so it was i had managed to deposit significant quantities of said glaze on my shirt in an effort to prevent the cream element doing likewise. Bah... but it was worth it so no complaints really.
Time enough to wander back and read for a bit as i was not far off completing it, but it wasn't long before the hour was up and i was on my way back to Bottesford where i got off scratching my head. This wasn't platform 1. Talk about being turned around in the planning stage. Serves me right for not double checking i guess, but i needed to do the reverse of this mornings walk - and this time i had allowed myself a full 2 hours before the second and last service of the day at Elton & Orston would hove into view - hopefully. I knew by this time if that i tried a repeat of this mornings pace i would end up with blisters given my very normal walking attire so it was a much more leisurely approach to proceedings this time. This time i was stopped at the level crossing for nigh on 5 minutes and this was a small contribution to the extra 35 minutes it took in comparison. Sore feet is the excuse!
I still had nearly 25 minutes reading time at Elton, which is another of those stations in the middle of nowehere, and i can attest i was the only person to use the station all day. Definitely a least used station. What i hadn't realised yesterday is you cross between Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire when you walk between the 2 stations but no County signs were in evidence. Oh and 2 double decker buses were not on my expectation of things to see either, but there you go. Rest day Wednesday before more East Midlands madness ensues on Thursday. The feet are fine again but thankfully no more hikes this week.
| Bottesford | Depart | 6.59 | ***** | EM | stations | platforms | ||
| Elton & Orston | Arrive | 7.03 | EM | walk + wait | completed | completed | ||
| walk to | n/a | 0.00 | n/a | n/a | wait 72m | at completed | ||
| Bottesford | Depart | 8.15 | P2 | EM | stations | |||
| Sleaford | Arrive | 5.59 | P1 | EM | wait 19m | |||
| Sleaford | Depart | 9.18 | P1 | EM | ||||
| Lincoln Central | Arrive | 9.45 | P4a | EM | wait 50m | |||
| Lincoln Central | Depart | 10.35 | P5a | EM | ||||
| Peterborough | Arrive | 11.44 | P1b | EM | wait 40m | |||
| Peterborough | Depart | 12.24 | P4 | GR | ||||
| Newark Norhgate | Arrive | 12.49 | P1 | GR | wait 11m | |||
| Newark Norhgate | Depart | 13.00 | P3 | GR | ||||
| Grantham | Arrive | 13.11 | P1 | GR | wait 30m | |||
| Grantham | Depart | 13.43 | P3 | EM | ||||
| Bingham | Arrive | 14.02 | P1 | EM | wait 60m | |||
| Bingham | Depart | 15.02 | P2 | EM | ||||
| Bottesford | Arrive | 15.11 | P2 | EM | walk + wait | |||
| walk to | n/a | 0.00 | n/a | n/a | wait 120m | |||
| Elton & Orston | Depart | 17.11 | EM | |||||
| Bottesford | Arrive | 17.15 | ***** | EM |
Kite159
Veteran Member
Good to see you back on the rails, visiting an awkward station (especially for the Nottingham bound platform)
All platforms
Member
7 walks to/from awkward stations done so far and another 4 definites to come - 3 of which are on the Ely to Norwich line, the other being Pilning of course. Teesside Airport is another if it ever comes back into play and i could argue either way for the 3 most awkward ones between Dundee and Arbroath. Its possible i may have missed one but its not a need to know yet. It feels good to be back out on the rails but i think i have set myself some stiff challenges in the near future although tomorrows planned escapade on the Castle line is not one of them. Tomorrow is all about tickage - mainly stations but a little love also being given to a few Nottingham platforms.
Kite159
Veteran Member
At least those 3 awkward ones between Dundee & Arbroath are slightly easier these days (unless it changed in the may timetable changes) get 2 trains each way rather than just the 1. And unless it has changed you can stay in Dundee overnight rather than needing to be out in the Carnoustie area as there was a train from Dundee towards Carnoustie which gave a reasonable 15 minute connection to the stopper.
Techniquest
Veteran Member
Welcome back! 
Good to see you active again! I trust the recovery is complete, given you had a rather long walk there, twice!
Can't say as much as I blame you for getting the decadent treat, even if it made a big mess! I do the same often on my rides, or at the end of a big day of cycling when it's an amazing reward. I'd also say it was better, and probably cheaper, decision than getting a pint as well!
You have certainly done well there, I hope the next day is as productive!
Good to see you active again! I trust the recovery is complete, given you had a rather long walk there, twice!Can't say as much as I blame you for getting the decadent treat, even if it made a big mess! I do the same often on my rides, or at the end of a big day of cycling when it's an amazing reward. I'd also say it was better, and probably cheaper, decision than getting a pint as well!
You have certainly done well there, I hope the next day is as productive!
All platforms
Member
That's good to know - thanks, but its unlikely i will be doing much in that part of Scotland this year so it all may change again when the time comes. That's a given of course..
Yes, the option is to do 4 trains a day at each of Barry Links, Golf Street and Balmossie as the wait is not crazy long, or walk in and out of each station, none of which is too long either from memory when i first looked at this. I think my preferred option may be to do the 4 trains a day gig if its still available and doable. Walk in/out when there is no option has been the rule i have been working to.All platforms
Member
Thanks. Nothing like a treat after a lot of effort, but i do try to be (slightly) sparing in the reward department. Report on Thursday to follow, which i would say was also quite productive all in all. Progress has been slower this year i feel due to my track requirement also now being in the mix - but no regrets haha.Welcome back!
Can't say as much as I blame you for getting the decadent treat, even if it made a big mess! I do the same often on my rides, or at the end of a big day of cycling when it's an amazing reward. I'd also say it was better, and probably cheaper, decision than getting a pint as well!
You have certainly done well there, I hope the next day is as productive!
Techniquest
Veteran Member
I agree with the reward thing, it depends what the effort was in my opinion. Although I feel I should perhaps take a leaf out of your book and consider what the reward is. An entire 465ml tub of Ben and Jerry's ice cream might be a bit much sometimes
I had a really nice piece of cake and coffee as a reward yesterday (effectively it was my lunch too) after a decent length ride in less than brilliant weather, but it was also in celebration of clearing a big challenge. All to come in the trip report, which should be up by half 2.Fair enough on progress slowing down, but all for a worthy cause of making it more fun. From what I've seen you're doing really well with it anyway!
All platforms
Member
Day 131: Thursday 30/06/2022 - East Midlands 3 in 7 Days Rover - £65.90 - Day 2. Carlton to Rolleston - £4.40 - Anytime Single. Rolleston to Thurgarton - £2.90 - Anytime Return. CP Carlton free.
Total time today 667 mins - Time on trains 294 mins and time waiting 373 mins. Stations completed today 9. Total completed 756.
An exploraration of the Castle line today between Nottingham and Lincoln with one small extra towards the end. New fact learnt today - the flat crossing at Newark! I must have been living in a dungeon not to have come across this before. Slighlty disconcerting to suddenly find yourself crossing the ECML at a jaunty angle...
Digression as always before even starting my report which today has Carlton as its start point. Close to Nottingham and the fact its free were factors in deciding this. Not all stations on this line are treated equally so i decided to knock out the most awkward ones early doors which is how i found myself trundling up the line to Rolleston before 7.00am. I have been a critic of the p.a. systems on the network from the start - there must be some inherent design flaw as so few of them work as intended. Inaudible or too crackly being the main culprits. Amazingly the refurbed 158 i was on had the loudest bing bong in creation and was veering towards being a health hazard it was so loud. The guard was doing his rounds at first so Burton Joyce came and went without a murmur, but the same couldn't be said for the next (and subsequent) stations. I thought it quite ironic my peace was shattered by the announcement we were now approaching Lowdham station. Well i thought it was funny... The 158 was in great nick by the way and i am a fan of how it was decked out - other than the bing bong of course.
Off at Rolleston, which has very long platforms for this line, and a whack of a step down on the side going to Lincoln if you are not at the back where the Harrington hump comes into play. A momentary scratch of the head as there was no immediately apparent way to swap platforms, but logic won out after about 5 seconds and so, over the level crossing it was and then all the way round back on yourself past 3 houses before coming to an old British Rail sign and an almost boulevard type entrance to the other platform - but right at the rear of it. Allow 5 minutes between platforms! Probably my station of the day actually.
Thurgarton was next up which has split platforms due to the level crossing (there are 3 others with this feature on the line), and had a neat alcove element in that there was a recess in the station house on the platform which served as a shelter with proper bench seating albeit dusty due to lack of use i'm thinking. The waits for the next service so far had been very acceptable but the next one at Bleasby would be less so. Time to catch up on some reading for the 90 minute hiatus. A decent bench here too helped matters along. Next element was for track and an attempt at some new platforms at Nottingham. I acheieved this with the 3 inward services today but not with any of the outward services due to continual platform alterations with dispatchers manually guiding services into the P3b slot. Incidentally different dispatchers had very different ideas where this should be but it clearly wasn't an issue so i didn't get too nosy and ask why. So, P6b, P6a and then P6 full length were added to the book at various times today which i think completes all the P6 variants with P6c already present and correct.
A need to stretch the legs allowed me to have a bit of explore at Nottingham. I think i counted 23 variants of platform here so i will be no stranger for quite a while yet. Back on board for the trip all the way to Lincoln to ensure full track coverage and bag another (easy) platform there - P3a. No time today to explore so it was on to the next task which was to do the 3 most northerly stations on the line which are only served by the semi fasts to Lincoln Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Thinking more clearly now i could have done these more efficiently but what is done is done. Swinderby is the most rural of the 3 having what some might call a cute feature in that there is a manually operated gate crossing there with the road crossing the line at an angle. Probably the most picturesque of these dinosaurs i have encountered so far.
A long wait at Hykeham was my next reward with a return to the cheap and uncomfy seats that the more recent station upgardes seem to revel in. It might deter the itinerant traveller having a kip but it most certainly deters the average traveller having a sit down. If you rock up a few minutes before your train i guess its not too much of a faff, but the less well abled must struggle at times. The trio was completed at Collingham with a quick scoot over the level crossing necessary given the short turnaround. An unnecessary trip back to Lincoln ensued with another shortish wait. The trains today have all been well populated but not too packed so this line is clearly in good health passenger wise with a good proportion boarding/alighting at Newark Castle. Anyway, another trip to Nottingham was next, and then to Carlton to tick off my 7th station of the day. Interestingly the station is situated nearer to Netherfield than Netherfield station is, and which has a much poorer service being on the Grantham line.
Beeston was station number 8 and where i realised the inward London train was running late and i should take advantage, which is why i found myself back in Nottingham in no time at all and ticking off the full fat platform 6 into the bargain. Time to reposition myself on P3b for the third and last time of the day and after only a moment or two i was off to Newark Castle being my 9th and final station completed today. I should really have done this earlier when doing the other 3 stations between here and Lincoln but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Oh well. A quick turnaround and change of platforms for both the train and myself and 7 minutes later it was time for the run back to Carlton.
I managed a bit of shuteye on the last 2 services which is not surprising given the early start but Saturday's start promises to be even earlier as i centre my focus on the Lincoln variants. Saturday is the best time to attempt this craziness but a return will inevitably be required also.
Total time today 667 mins - Time on trains 294 mins and time waiting 373 mins. Stations completed today 9. Total completed 756.
An exploraration of the Castle line today between Nottingham and Lincoln with one small extra towards the end. New fact learnt today - the flat crossing at Newark! I must have been living in a dungeon not to have come across this before. Slighlty disconcerting to suddenly find yourself crossing the ECML at a jaunty angle...
Digression as always before even starting my report which today has Carlton as its start point. Close to Nottingham and the fact its free were factors in deciding this. Not all stations on this line are treated equally so i decided to knock out the most awkward ones early doors which is how i found myself trundling up the line to Rolleston before 7.00am. I have been a critic of the p.a. systems on the network from the start - there must be some inherent design flaw as so few of them work as intended. Inaudible or too crackly being the main culprits. Amazingly the refurbed 158 i was on had the loudest bing bong in creation and was veering towards being a health hazard it was so loud. The guard was doing his rounds at first so Burton Joyce came and went without a murmur, but the same couldn't be said for the next (and subsequent) stations. I thought it quite ironic my peace was shattered by the announcement we were now approaching Lowdham station. Well i thought it was funny... The 158 was in great nick by the way and i am a fan of how it was decked out - other than the bing bong of course.
Off at Rolleston, which has very long platforms for this line, and a whack of a step down on the side going to Lincoln if you are not at the back where the Harrington hump comes into play. A momentary scratch of the head as there was no immediately apparent way to swap platforms, but logic won out after about 5 seconds and so, over the level crossing it was and then all the way round back on yourself past 3 houses before coming to an old British Rail sign and an almost boulevard type entrance to the other platform - but right at the rear of it. Allow 5 minutes between platforms! Probably my station of the day actually.
Thurgarton was next up which has split platforms due to the level crossing (there are 3 others with this feature on the line), and had a neat alcove element in that there was a recess in the station house on the platform which served as a shelter with proper bench seating albeit dusty due to lack of use i'm thinking. The waits for the next service so far had been very acceptable but the next one at Bleasby would be less so. Time to catch up on some reading for the 90 minute hiatus. A decent bench here too helped matters along. Next element was for track and an attempt at some new platforms at Nottingham. I acheieved this with the 3 inward services today but not with any of the outward services due to continual platform alterations with dispatchers manually guiding services into the P3b slot. Incidentally different dispatchers had very different ideas where this should be but it clearly wasn't an issue so i didn't get too nosy and ask why. So, P6b, P6a and then P6 full length were added to the book at various times today which i think completes all the P6 variants with P6c already present and correct.
A need to stretch the legs allowed me to have a bit of explore at Nottingham. I think i counted 23 variants of platform here so i will be no stranger for quite a while yet. Back on board for the trip all the way to Lincoln to ensure full track coverage and bag another (easy) platform there - P3a. No time today to explore so it was on to the next task which was to do the 3 most northerly stations on the line which are only served by the semi fasts to Lincoln Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Thinking more clearly now i could have done these more efficiently but what is done is done. Swinderby is the most rural of the 3 having what some might call a cute feature in that there is a manually operated gate crossing there with the road crossing the line at an angle. Probably the most picturesque of these dinosaurs i have encountered so far.
A long wait at Hykeham was my next reward with a return to the cheap and uncomfy seats that the more recent station upgardes seem to revel in. It might deter the itinerant traveller having a kip but it most certainly deters the average traveller having a sit down. If you rock up a few minutes before your train i guess its not too much of a faff, but the less well abled must struggle at times. The trio was completed at Collingham with a quick scoot over the level crossing necessary given the short turnaround. An unnecessary trip back to Lincoln ensued with another shortish wait. The trains today have all been well populated but not too packed so this line is clearly in good health passenger wise with a good proportion boarding/alighting at Newark Castle. Anyway, another trip to Nottingham was next, and then to Carlton to tick off my 7th station of the day. Interestingly the station is situated nearer to Netherfield than Netherfield station is, and which has a much poorer service being on the Grantham line.
Beeston was station number 8 and where i realised the inward London train was running late and i should take advantage, which is why i found myself back in Nottingham in no time at all and ticking off the full fat platform 6 into the bargain. Time to reposition myself on P3b for the third and last time of the day and after only a moment or two i was off to Newark Castle being my 9th and final station completed today. I should really have done this earlier when doing the other 3 stations between here and Lincoln but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Oh well. A quick turnaround and change of platforms for both the train and myself and 7 minutes later it was time for the run back to Carlton.
I managed a bit of shuteye on the last 2 services which is not surprising given the early start but Saturday's start promises to be even earlier as i centre my focus on the Lincoln variants. Saturday is the best time to attempt this craziness but a return will inevitably be required also.
| Carlton | Depart | 6.56 | ***** | EM | stations | platforms | ||
| Rolleston | Arrive | 7.18 | EM | wait 24m | completed | completed | ||
| Rolleston | Depart | 7.42 | EM | 1 | 2 | |||
| Thurgarton | Arrive | 7.51 | EM | wait 26m | ||||
| Thurgarton | Depart | 8.17 | EM | 1 | 2 | |||
| Bleasby | Arrive | 8.19 | EM | wait 92m | ||||
| Bleasby | Depart | 9.51 | EM | 1 | 2 | |||
| Nottingham | Arrive | 10.15 | P6b | EM | wait 22m | |||
| Nottingham | Depart | 10.37 | P3b | EM | ||||
| Lincoln Central | Arrive | 11.27 | P3a | EM | wait 10m | |||
| Lincoln Central | Depart | 11.37 | P4a | EM | ||||
| Swinderby | Arrive | 11.51 | P2 | EM | wait 20m | |||
| Swinderby | Depart | 12.11 | EM | 1 | 2 | |||
| Hykeham | Arrive | 12.17 | P2 | EM | wait 89m | |||
| Hykeham | Depart | 13.46 | P1 | EM | 1 | 2 | ||
| Collingham | Arrive | 13.57 | EM | wait 7m | ||||
| Collingham | Depart | 14.04 | EM | 1 | 2 | |||
| Lincoln Central | Arrive | 14.23 | P3a | EM | wait 14m | |||
| Lincoln Central | Depart | 14.37 | P4a | EM | ||||
| Nottingham | Arrive | 15.26 | P6a | EM | wait 30m | |||
| Nottingham | Depart | 15.56 | P3b | EM | ||||
| Carlton | Arrive | 16.03 | P2 | EM | wait 17m | |||
| Carlton | Depart | 16.20 | P1 | EM | 1 | 2 | ||
| Beeston | Arrive | 16.36 | P2 | EM | wait 8m | |||
| Beeston | Depart | 16.44 | P1 | EM | 1 | 2 | ||
| Nottingham | Arrive | 16.50 | P6 | EM | wait 7m | |||
| Nottingham | Depart | 16.57 | P3b | EM | ||||
| Newark Castle | Arrive | 17.29 | P2 | EM | wait 7m | |||
| Newark Castle | Depart | 17.36 | P1 | EM | 1 | 2 | ||
| Carlton | Arrive | 18.03 | ***** | EM |