Friday 5th August -
I started my day on the
07:47 London Northwestern Railway service from Tring to London Euston formed of 3x 350 units (350 120 + 350 253 + 350 236). I had the 1st class section in 350 236 all to myself apart from one fellow passenger boarding at Watford and disembarking at Harrow. We arrived a few minutes late into platform 2 at London Euston where my first journey ended.
My next booked train left from Kings Cross just down the road at 10:03, hauled by 91 106 in VTEC livery. Knowing I had time to spare I decided to pay a visit to the 1st class lounge. I was greeted by friendly staff and sat down at a table with a bottle of water. I found that the snack offerings were substandard, consisting of packets of shortbread or crisps, not food I usually associate with breakfast.
The inbound working arrived some 25 minutes late due to a safety inspection near Grantham. A quick visit to the top of the platform for a photo was needed before boarding. Despite the late arrival of the inbound service we only departed a minute late. Food and drink was offered promptly after departure, with the choice of various juices, hot drinks and water. Being one of LNER ‘Dine’ trains meant that I was choosing from the only menu that actually deserves to be called 1st class. They have massively reduced the 1st class offering after covid hit with no desire to return. A full English breakfast used to be available on almost every morning service out of Kings Cross, now it's just a handful. As you can guess I went for the LNER full English which I found to be alright, not the best breakfast but satisfactory. Multiple drink services were offered but I don’t think any more food orders were taken so not sure if you would receive a meal if you boarded at any intermediate stops. We arrived at Peterborough on time but ended up leaving 12 minutes late due to police removing a passenger refusing to pay for a ticket, making for an interesting view out of the carriage window.
Upon arrival at Leeds, I made my way over to platform 15, awaiting the 12:42 TPE service to Newcastle, taking me as far as Northallerton. This was a class 802 operated service (802 204) a 1st for me. People give the 80x series a hard time but in my opinion they are perfectly adequate for the job. I think that you have to remember that most people will not care about individual details that enthusiasts spot and instead primarily care about if it gets them from A to B or if it runs on time/at all. I found the seats to be incredibly comfy with good legroom, charging ports and a generous amount of recline. Despite having an onboard host I did not receive any refreshments for the 40+ minute journey which I found a little disappointing.
A 25 minute spotting session at Northallerton was had before heading back on myself to York. The 12:50 TPE service from Northallerton was formed of 2x class 185 units (185 142 + 185 118) however I made the mistake of boarding the rear half of the train meaning there was no onboard host. It was nice however having the 1st class section to myself.
Upon arrival at York I made my way to check out the new lounge. I was greeted upon entry and took a seat after grabbing some refreshments. The lounge was quiet and I made myself comfortable. I didn’t stay long as I left to go have a look at TPE’s 68s having seen one arriving from Scarborough. They appear very impressive from the outside but will have a better judgement once I travel on one (hopefully in a few days time).
From York I took another TPE 802(802 212) to Chester-le-Street with the goal of seeing Colas 70 814 hauling an oil train from Jarrow to Lindsey, a new route for Colas having taken over from DB Cargo at the start of July. A much better service was provided on this journey suggesting I was just unlucky before. A 50 minute wait was needed for the train to terminate at Newcastle before heading back to pick me up again and take me to Manchester Victoria.
Upon attempting to exit the barriers, my ticket despite having a QR code would not scan, forcing me to ask a member of staff for assistance. This was one of the 3rd party ticket inspectors and based on the look on his face and how long he looked at my ticket I don’t think he had seen one of these before. I then took the tram from Victoria to Piccadilly via a change at Market Street, sadly not included in the ticket price.
Having seen that Avanti had struck again and cancelled both the 20:15 and the 21:15 I headed promptly to the
19:55 service for London Euston operated by an unrefurbished pendolino (390 135). Very quiet in first class and was left a little confused when the guard said it might be standard premium or might be 1st? How does it work with the changes, especially considering the headrests say 1st class? Thankfully he said that he would keep it first class for me. It appears to be a regular occurrence as another passenger asked me what class this coach was.
Food was served as we left Crewe, the ham and cheese croque monsieur was very good and quite filling too! First class was then declassified as the last 2 trains from Manchester to London were cancelled making our service the last of the night, hence it ran full and standing.
Upon arrival at Milton Keynes Central I changed for a LNWR service to head home
Have a beast of a time, you never forget your first ALR!
