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Iskra's Odysseys

Techniquest

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It was, but yes it was needed and totally worth it! :)

Glad to hear it. In reply to your comment on saving money this year, I know how you mean. I cleared my credit card, built up some savings and bought a bike amongst other expenditures this year. I have spent a fair bit still, I could have had nearly enough for most of a deposit on a house if I'd not spent money on the above. That wouldn't have led to a vastly improved financial situation, nor to a moderately stress-free lifestyle either, so I'm not complaining.
 
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Iskra

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Glad to hear it. In reply to your comment on saving money this year, I know how you mean. I cleared my credit card, built up some savings and bought a bike amongst other expenditures this year. I have spent a fair bit still, I could have had nearly enough for most of a deposit on a house if I'd not spent money on the above. That wouldn't have led to a vastly improved financial situation, nor to a moderately stress-free lifestyle either, so I'm not complaining.

Yeah, there have been some positives to all this :) Buying a house is important, but it comes with a lot more expense that you don't expect!
 

Techniquest

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Yeah, there have been some positives to all this :) Buying a house is important, but it comes with a lot more expense that you don't expect!

I agree, when I looked into those costs it just isn't worth it. A house totally to myself would be heavenly, but all the other stuff makes it a pipe dream.

For now at least, I'll stay where I am. It's not perfect, not at all, but it's affordable and I get to work on my list of goals at the same time so it's all good. Quite, the latest rounds of health improvements have been implemented and I'm *finally* starting to see my 'dad bod' go away :D :D :D
 

Iskra

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I agree, when I looked into those costs it just isn't worth it. A house totally to myself would be heavenly, but all the other stuff makes it a pipe dream.

For now at least, I'll stay where I am. It's not perfect, not at all, but it's affordable and I get to work on my list of goals at the same time so it's all good. Quite, the latest rounds of health improvements have been implemented and I'm *finally* starting to see my 'dad bod' go away :D :D :D

It is worth it, unless you are living with your parents; as you are paying off a mortgage and you eventually get a house. If you're renting then you are just throwing money away each month. Buying a house does significantly reduce your disposable income however. I'm glad you are making positive progress Tech :)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ecclesbourne Valley Railway

October's loosely scheduled trip was due to be the Wensleydale Railway in a couple of weeks during a week away, but it appears to be closed. I've been wanting to visit Peak Rail for sometime, but there are no updates on whether it is re-opening on their website, which I posted on here and a member then suggested a trip to the nearby Ecclesbourne Valley Railway instead. This looked a decent option, not too far away and you could book online in advance. Currently they are running only a limited time table with diesel trains, but that wasn't an issue for me. Wikipedia was showing their active fleet as class 14, 20, 37 or 73- I would have been happy with any of those three, so the trip was on.

It was a fairly steady run down the motorway with the journey taking about an hour. As you get close the countryside becomes very pleasant to drive through. This was my first ever visit to the EVR. First impressions were good; it's quite a 'new' preserved line so the yard and approaches at Wirksworth station are quite tidy. Most of the buildings are quite newly built which feels a bit strange on a heritage line, although there was nothing wrong with them. I had a quick look around the small shop/museum before heading over to the platform, where I grabbed a coffee and a sausage bap. I took a few pictures before departure, including of one unexpected oddity:

class 101.jpgviva.jpg

Due to Covid, the coaches were BR Mk1 corridor compartment coaches. The loco, however was an unexpected item in the bagging area being a class 33 that wikipedia said was unavailable. I don't believe I've travelled behind a 33 before though so I was happy with this, although I do find the particular livery it was in a little drab:

33.jpg

Once settled in my compartment, we soon set off with an enthusiastic driver at the helm. I was very impressed with the thrash and clag from the 33 and the driver was certainly going for it, as much as you can on a 25mph line. See video here: https://twitter.com/Iskra1234/status/1312348500898836480?s=20

The line itself is scenic, passing through pleasant Derbyshire countryside throughout. The train called at the intermediate stops in both directions but nobody was able to board or alight at these as the only option was a full return journey to keep the booking process simple I assume. At the Duffield terminus there are connections to the mainline in normal times, but today we simply had a 20 minute wait before returning to Wirksworth. The engine ran-round during this time. The line is a nice one, but it does feel a bit too clean and new with how modern everything is, it's a bit different from most heritage railways. There is also a passing loop, which means more adventurous timetables could be supported in more normal times.

A good quick trip overall, scoring a new locomotive class. I would happily return to sample their 20, 37, 73 or 101 in the future :) It's also worth noting that there is a lot more to do in the area around the railway, so I will return when I have more time.
 
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xotGD

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Definitely a line I would like to visit when things return to normal.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your first Compton
 

Iskra

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Saturday 10th of April

I managed to hit the rails yesterday for the first time in a long time (excluding a Meadowhall-Sheffield return for work purposes), the main purpose of which was for one of the forum walks, which was very enjoyable and I managed to cover a new line while I was at it, meaning it was a productive day.

I started off at Meadowhall as it's very easy to park there these days and it has a substantially better service than Chapeltown, which is only really useful for me when heading North. The forecast for the day in the Shirebrook area was dry, sunny but cool but that wouldn't be a problem while we were walking.

1021 Meadowhall-Sheffield. Northern 150.

This train had originated from Huddersfield but was quiet. The guard managed to get down to check my ticket which is pretty rare on such a short journey.

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After alighting at Sheffield I was immediately confronted by a small army of RPI's, which I was glad to see as the Sheffield-Meadowhall-Barnsley corridor is a hotbed of fare evasion from my own observations due to the lack of barriers at the stations.

1054 Sheffield-Worksop. Northern 2 car 195.

I'm really enjoying the introduction of 195's on the Northern routes, they are quiet, comfortable and appear to have excellent acceleration.

At Worksop the sun was shining and the weather was briefly very pleasant. I then met a number of forum members before heading down to Sutton Parkway where the forum walk would start.

1138 Worksop-Sutton Parkway. EMR 170.

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This was my first trip on a 170 in EMR guise. The units look externally smart, but I was a little disappointing to find the interior was still Scotrail. The units do carry stickers saying they will be refurbished internally soon and the positive is that I find the Scotrail seats to be pretty comfortable ones. One of the plus points of todays trip was many journeys through the yards at Worksop which contain some really interesting stuff. I managed a quick shot of an Anglia class 47 that was doing some shunting- you don't see many loco's still in that livery!

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As mentioned this was my first trip down what is known as the Robin Hood Line. It's a line of real variety, the countryside is nice at the Northern end of the route and some of the smaller villages are pleasant. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worst while we travelled through Mansfield, with some unexpected and fairly heavy snow descending upon us. Sutton Parkway was a nice enough little station. After briefly waiting for some forum members from the South we set off in the snow on a pleasant walk involving some old railway lines in the area. Luckily, the snow did not last too long and the walk was an enjoyable one on good quality paths too. It was also nice to meet some new forum members as always. Thanks to @yorkie once again for organising it. A couple of photographic highlights below:

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The walk finished at Shirebrook with the Sports Direct warehouse looming over the landscape. I was wishing to cover the full line while I was in the area as it was new coverage for me, so I got the train South from there to Nottingham.

1558 Shirebrook-Nottingham. EMR 156.

The line changes as you head South, slowly becoming more and more urban in character. On a Saturday, the line did unfortunately have a feel of being a linear playground for the local youths, but it didn't spoil the trip. On the Southern section of the line we raced a tram (and won) for a little while. Having never really explored this area, I wasn't aware that the train and trams shared the trackbed for so long.

Once at Nottingham, rather than wait there for the next Worksop train, I opted to jump on the service that goes as far as Mansfield Woodhouse, mainly to keep moving and keep warm.

1653 Nottingham-Mansfield Woodhouse. EMR 156.

The 156 on this leg seemed to develop some engine trouble, losing one engine and really struggling to accelerate out of stations on the remaining one. We stopped at Newstead for around 10 minutes while the problem was looked into and the engine was restarted. This seemed to improve things, but not fully cure them. The train completed its journey, terminating at Mansfield Woodhouse, but I did notice there were cancellations on the line later that evening so I assume the unit was withdrawn after returning to Nottingham.

Mansfield Woodhouse.jpg

Mansfield Woodhouse is a curious little station with not much around it and an interesting shelter on the bay platform. I headed over to the through platform to wait for the train onwards to Worksop and avoid the local youths.

1809 Mansfield Woodhouse-Worksop. EMR 156.

Nothing really happened on this service apart from a couple of people flouting the lines' alcohol ban. I was actually quite surprised that this line had such a ban.

The connections at Worksop from the Robin Hood Line are frankly, terrible. So I had pretty much an hour to wait on the increasingly cold, closed-up and deserted Worksop station. It's quite a good looking station and I should imagine it's a decent station to use in normal times, but Covid has ruined it a little.

Worksop.jpg

1932 Worksop-Sheffield. Northern 150.

I was mildly disappointed it wasn't a 195 again, but at the same time I appreciated the 150 just for some warmth as I was freezing at this point. This was actually one of the busier trains I travelled on all day.

At Sheffield I didn't have long to wait for a train back out to Meadowhall.

2011 Sheffield-Meadowhall. TP 6-Car 185.

- - - - -

Overall it was a very enjoyable day apart from it being a bit more wintry at times than anticipated. It was really good to get out on the rails again, meet some new forum members, have a pleasant walk and to cover the full Robin Hood Line at the same time :)
 
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Cowley

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That looked great. I’ve never been on the Robin Hood line but I remember the fanfare when it reopened in the 1980s(?). My mum’s side of the family are from Nottingham and I’ve always had a real soft for the railways in that area. There were so many lines going to the various coal mines around there when I was a kid and used to see (and hear) pairs of class 20s on merry go round trains going past my grandmothers house in Lenton.

This is the Bakers atlas from 1977ish. You can see all the old freight lines and that most of the Robin Hood route was closed to passengers:

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Where was the photo of the pit winding gear taken by the way?
 

Iskra

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That's a really interesting map, the remains of Whitwell quarry are still very obvious from the current line and you can tell there are many abandoned mines in the area from the landscape, and usually in this part of the world where you have a Country Park, it's an ex pit. The pit buildings were at Pleasley (which is now a country park...) and we must have walked some of the old railway line that is on your map. That map is really helpful actually so thanks for sharing. I didn't realise the Robin Hood route had ever actually closed to passengers. I can imagine the Southern half is well used in normal times. I did actually see a pair of Class 20's at Worksop yesterday looking excellent in RF Large Logo livery, thankfully in a lot better nick than the Anglia 47.
 

Cowley

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Nice. That 47/7 was a regular on the Exeter - Waterloo services for a few years, I had plenty of miles behind that one. :)
 

Iskra

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Today I took a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby and return. Due to some disruption yesterday some rolling stock was in the wrong place, so instead of being on the same train there and back, a change was required at Grosmont outbound and a set was swapped during the middle of the day so I managed 3 different locomotives and carriage sets. I was very happy to have 3 steam locomotives instead of 1 and I was also very happy to sample some of the LNER Teak stock on the line which is absolutely glorious.

The weather was fantastic too, being warm and sunny until the end of my trip when the rain started.

I really rate the mainline running and I love the approach to Whitby too along the Esk.

Locomotive travelled:

Standard 4MT
Southern S 15 class
Black 5

A small selection of photos:

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Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers at the NYMR for a fantastic day.
 

Iskra

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Today I also uploaded my first ever videos to Youtube so, here’s a few videos from today:

 
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Peter C

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Today I took a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby and return. Due to some disruption yesterday some rolling stock was in the wrong place, so instead of being on the same train there and back, a change was required at Grosmont outbound and a set was swapped during the middle of the day so I managed 3 different locomotives and carriage sets. I was very happy to have 3 steam locomotives instead of 1 and I was also very happy to sample some of the LNER Teak stock on the line which is absolutely glorious.

The weather was fantastic too, being warm and sunny until the end of my trip when the rain started.

I really rate the mainline running and I love the approach to Whitby too along the Esk.

Locomotive travelled:

Standard 4MT
Southern S 15 class
Black 5

A small selection of photos:

View attachment 96601View attachment 96602View attachment 96603View attachment 96604View attachment 96605View attachment 96606View attachment 96607
Many thanks to all the staff and volunteers at the NYMR for a fantastic day.
Looks like you had a lovely day out! The NYMR really is superb: I was visiting family in t' North (I believe that's what the locals call it) and went for a ride there (Pickering-Whitby and return, like yourself). The interior of that LNER coach looks absolutely brilliant! A real credit to those who work on them. The engines all look lovely too. Things really feel as though they're starting to get back to normal now, and seeing your photos makes me feel more optimistic for better times ahead :)

Today I also uploaded my first ever videos to Youtube so, here’s a few videos from today:

Those videos are really nice. There's just something about a steam engine that makes them so special!

-Peter
 

Iskra

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Thanks Peter, and I totally agree with your comments. The effort that goes into those things really made it a special trip and today did feel a lot more normal again :)
 

Peter C

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Thanks Peter, and I totally agree with your comments. The effort that goes into those things really made it a special trip and today did feel a lot more normal again :)
Really nice to hear that it felt (at least somewhat) like normal; I've been thinking that, even without going near the railway. Lovely :)

-Peter
 

Iskra

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I was booked on the Pathfinder Tours 'Here, There and Everywhere' tour that was unfortunately cancelled. However, I decided to make the best of a bad situation and hit the rails anyway. Using split ticketing it worked out at quite decent value and I was able to cover some new track.

My route was:

Meadowhall-Sheffield. Northern 158.

Sheffield-Derby. EMR 222. Interestingly, this used bay platform 7 at Sheffield- I've never used a bay platform for a London service before. The 222's are getting a bit shabby inside now.

Derby-Gloucester. XC 170. This was the first time I've alighted at Gloucester, it's an adequate but unremarkable station that has seen better days.

Gloucester-Bristol Parkway. GWR 16X.

Bristol Parkway-Exeter. XC 221. This was absolutely rammed as there was a blockade on between Bristol Parkway and Bristol TM, meaning these were the only rail services connecting the two stations. I think there was 18 of us in a voyager end vestibule which is a new record for me. This took an interesting route, with a reversal around the triangle East of Bristol TM. Even the XC staff were in awe at how busy this train was arriving at TM. Luckily the train emptied out there a lot and the journey onwards was more reasonable.

Exeter-Barnstaple. GWR 158. This was mainly new line for me, although I had previously covered the bottom end on a railtour to Okehampton and Meldon Quarry. I really enjoyed this line, it has many immaculately presented country stations; for which the upkeepers of Crediton deserve a ton of credit in particular. Many of these stations are evocatively named and some of them being request stops just adds to the sleepy branchline mystique along with the passing places and swapping of tokens. The scenery is also excellent, so it was well worth the trip to cover. Barnstaple station is also pleasantly restored and unlike many branchline terminus stations it has retained passable facilities. In Barnstaple, I grabbed a Costa and had a meander. It was different to what I was expecting, I was expecting a more Dartmouth type place but actually it was more like a quainter, Devonian version of Lancaster. To clarify, there is nothing wrong with it, it just was different to how I ignorantly envisaged it to be.

Barnstaple-Exeter. GWR 158.

Exeter-Taunton. GWR 80X.

Taunton-Bristol TM. GWR Castle Class HST. I deliberately swerved the faster XC service in order to clear the Weston-Super-Mare loop which I needed to cover. I had planned to do it a long time ago but flooding scuppered that plan. This was a double win involving a move that involved my first trip on a Castle Class HST, so I was happy about that too. Unfortunately, doing this move meant a 50 minute wait at Bristol TM for the next blockade running XC service. I therefore broke my journey and headed down the ramp for a beer and sandwich at a trendy cafe bar. I sat outside in the fleeting sun and it was a very enjoyable break from the rails, also my first beer for three weeks so I enjoyed it even more.

Bristol TM-Bristol Parkway. XC 220. Wedged again, this time leaving passengers behind. It should have been a HST service, but wasn't. Again this involved a reversal to navigate the blockade. Bristol Parkway was chaos upon arrival. My connection was one minute away from departing, but it was conveniently right in front of me as I stepped off the XC train and I believe they held it a little longer to allow less mobile passengers to make it too.

Bristol Parkway-Cheltenham Spa. GWR 16X. Cheltenham Spa was a new station for me too and it was only a 10 minute wait with a refined Saturday evening crowd.

Cheltenham Spa-Birmingham New Street. XC 170. A very pleasant journey with the sun setting but moody clouds in the sky. This journey was the first time that I've really felt and noticed the Lickey Incline, with the sluggish 170 struggling up the gradient. I've done it with some classic traction, but this was actually one of the more interesting ascents. I probably noticed it more as the 22X and HST's seem to handle it with ease.

Birmingham New Street-Sheffield. XC 22X double set. Another working that is supposed to be a HST. At least this one was a double set so there was plenty of room. This was the first time any of the XC guards checked my ticket all day. GWR were very diligent in comparison.

Sheffield-Meadowhall. Northern 158. A bit of a vomit comet, but it was actually nice to see things getting back to normal.



- - - - - -

Overall a pleasant day out clearing the Tarka Line and Weston Super Mare loop, with a bonus Castle Class HST but sadly XC letting things down with their anticipated HST provision.

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Cowley

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That’s great that you covered the Barnstaple branch, as you know it’s a line that’s somewhat dear to my heart.
I’m hopeful that one day in the not too distant future the loop will be put back in at Barnstaple enabling the odd railtour to head up that way.
The 158s are a nice train to travel on and have made it feel a bit more upmarket which is good.
I did chuckle at you expecting it to be a bit like Dartmouth. :) I guess it’s basically like the capital of North Devon really, it’s actually a bit like Newton Abbot with a big river although there are some lovely buildings around the place.
Great report, really enjoyed it.
 

Iskra

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That’s great that you covered the Barnstaple branch, as you know it’s a line that’s somewhat dear to my heart.
I’m hopeful that one day in the not too distant future the loop will be put back in at Barnstaple enabling the odd railtour to head up that way.
The 158s are a nice train to travel on and have made it feel a bit more upmarket which is good.
I did chuckle at you expecting it to be a bit like Dartmouth. :) I guess it’s basically like the capital of North Devon really, it’s actually a bit like Newton Abbot with a big river although there are some lovely buildings around the place.
Great report, really enjoyed it.
I can see why, it's a nice one! A loop would be nice, but I'm not going to get my hopes up as you'd also need the second platform bringing back in to use at Barnstaple for tours to use it. I agree, they have done a great job with the 158's- they look the part in GWR green and are a pleasure to travel on too.

It's not a part of the world that I've visited before and it's about as far away as you can get from Yorkshire, so I admit to being entirely ignorant of the area! It was pleasant and I'd go back- hopefully on a railtour with something more exciting on the front in the future...

At least you made the most out of the cancelled tour trip :)

Thanks Kite- I see you were in Barnstaple just the week before!

- - - - - -

All being well I should have a few railtours coming up in the near future for some more trip reports so normal service can resume on this thread :)
 

Iskra

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I'm just going to do a quick update as I'm behind:

I travelled on the Pathfinder Blue Boys Merrymixer Tour on August 7th. The tour was excellent, providing 4 winning loco's- the 68, 37's, 66 and 88. I particularly enjoyed the run behind the 37's. In terms of track this tour gave me the Coalville freight line; completed Birmingham-Nuneaton-Leicester for me and Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton. The class 88 was a new traction type.

Photo's of the loco's in this thread to avoid duplication: https://railforums.co.uk/threads/blue-boys-merrymixer-august-2021.219731/post-5256690

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances I had to drop out of the Tinsley Tugger Tour and the Cambrian Coast tours, but I should be doing the Cumbrian Coast tour next week with ROG 37's so that's something to look forward to :)
 

Cowley

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Nice photos. It looked like a very good tour actually.
 

Iskra

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Retro Railtours Cumbrian Coaster II.

This tour required an early start from Chesterfield. We departed with ROG 37800 and 37510 leading the way. Shortly after we covered Dore West Curve which was new track for me. It was then a pleasant run over the Hope Valley to Stockport before taking the rarely used line and also new for me line to Stalybridge. The 37's struggled a little from here over the hill to Huddersfield where we encountered further issues in P8 fouling up the TP Core a little. We then proceeded on to Brighouse, Sowerby Bridge and Preston for a fast run up the WCML to Carnforth, before deviating and taking the Furness Line, then the Barrow avoider (new track) and continuing up the Cumbrian Coast to Ravenglass. A group of us alighted here for a specially chartered train up the line. The tour continued on to Whitehaven and Workington but I've never travelled the ratty before and those destinations did not appeal. The trip up the Ravenglass and Eskdale was pleasant, although I would not rush back. We then had lunch and retraced our steps to Ravenglass, having a quick stroll on the front before the railtour arrived, this time with the two 37's and 57312 at the head of the train. We then retraced our route back to Chesterfield with a welcome leg stretch break at Preston. Overall it was a cracking tour, aided by perfect weather and great traction which you could hear even in the Mk3's a few coaches away from the locomotives :)

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Iskra

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3-10-21- The Wirral Squirrel- BLS

Winners 40013 (D213) and 47614 top and tailed a BLS tour doing roughly: Crewe-Liverpool Lime Street-Helsby-Ellesmere Port-Hooton-Rock Ferry-Hooton-Chester-Wrexham General-Bidston-Wrexham General-Chester-Warrington BQ-Earlestown-Liverpool Lime Street-Crewe.

The locomotives and rolling stock were immaculately turned out, with the carriage rake in particular being very clean and well-furnished inside- we were even provided with cushions in our seats which was a first for me. The tour allowed me to travel some Merseyrail lines in comfort as well as a few rarer pieces of track such as the Halton Curve and some harder to achieve routes from Sheffield- the Ellesmere Port line for example. Overall it was an enjoyable tour and it was nice to do one that wasn't a ridiculously long day. The locomotives were on fine form and I was close to the class 40 so that was excellent. It was good to see a large number of photographers out and about as well. I also enjoyed the drive over- I've never driven to Crewe before but I will do again in the future as it was easy, scenic via Bamford and Buxton and not hard to get parked up at all.

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Iskra

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Hopefully, I will be embarking on my next trip tomorrow. Should be a good one so I will do a full report for that one, although it may be a couple of weeks before it lands...
 

Peter C

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3-10-21- The Wirral Squirrel- BLS

Winners 40013 (D213) and 47614 top and tailed a BLS tour doing roughly: Crewe-Liverpool Lime Street-Helsby-Ellesmere Port-Hooton-Rock Ferry-Hooton-Chester-Wrexham General-Bidston-Wrexham General-Chester-Warrington BQ-Earlestown-Liverpool Lime Street-Crewe.

The locomotives and rolling stock were immaculately turned out, with the carriage rake in particular being very clean and well-furnished inside- we were even provided with cushions in our seats which was a first for me. The tour allowed me to travel some Merseyrail lines in comfort as well as a few rarer pieces of track such as the Halton Curve and some harder to achieve routes from Sheffield- the Ellesmere Port line for example. Overall it was an enjoyable tour and it was nice to do one that wasn't a ridiculously long day. The locomotives were on fine form and I was close to the class 40 so that was excellent. It was good to see a large number of photographers out and about as well. I also enjoyed the drive over- I've never driven to Crewe before but I will do again in the future as it was easy, scenic via Bamford and Buxton and not hard to get parked up at all.

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I don't know what it is about a Class 40 (or 44/45/46 for that matter) that I like, but they just look like really cool engines. Never seen one on the mainline though.
Sounds like a lovely ride around - you had me sold at cushions on the seats! Very fancy ;)

-Peter
 

Iskra

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I don't know what it is about a Class 40 (or 44/45/46 for that matter) that I like, but they just look like really cool engines. Never seen one on the mainline though.
Sounds like a lovely ride around - you had me sold at cushions on the seats! Very fancy ;)

-Peter
They are cool engines, they are big loco's too and they make excellent sounds- they tick all the boxes really. I'm yet to sample a Peak, but I'm well-placed to do so when I have some free time as there's one at Peak Rail, which isn't a million miles away from me. I must admit today's 47 did a great job too, and was quite enjoyable coming out of the Liverpool cuttings.
 

Peter C

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They are cool engines, they are big loco's too and they make excellent sounds- they tick all the boxes really. I'm yet to sample a Peak, but I'm well-placed to do so when I have some free time as there's one at Peak Rail, which isn't a million miles away from me. I must admit today's 47 did a great job too, and was quite enjoyable coming out of the Liverpool cuttings.
Ah super. There's a 45 not too far from me - at the GWSR - so that's a must-see I think. Both engines look really well-polished in those photos; just goes to show how a little thing like a shine to a loco can really boost the overall image of the train!

-Peter
 

Kite159

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I wouldn't call the Halton Curve as rare these days (considering that it gets a 2 hourly service on the TfW Liverpool - Chester trains) ;)

Hope you enjoyed the day behind that class 40 (with the Duff at the other end)
 

Iskra

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I wouldn't call the Halton Curve as rare these days (considering that it gets a 2 hourly service on the TfW Liverpool - Chester trains) ;)

Hope you enjoyed the day behind that class 40 (with the Duff at the other end)
No, I agree. I don’t do track bashing in detail but apparently there were some genuinely rare bits done such as the Northern platform crossover to the Merseyrail network at Ellesmere Port.

I got quite a bit of new line in and it’s a bit of a trek to get to that patch on service trains so I found it worthwhile; especially when you put a 40 on the front :)
 

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