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Trip to Liverpool & Manchester, for Merseyrail & Class 155s

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boiledbeans2

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All of them within Merseyside

Thanks!

And the ferry! It really is an excellent ticket that Saveaway
You can use a saveaway on the river cruise services, they depart Liverpool on the hour from 10am, however you have to break your journey, with Seacombe terminal closed at present that means you can use the river cruise to Woodside (Birkenhead). You can then wait an hour for the next ferry or continue your journey by train from Hamilton Square which is only a few minutes walk from Woodside. To use the ferry using a saveaway you need to show it at the ticket office and ask for a boarding pass. Hope this is of help.

Thanks for that info! So actually, I can use the River Cruise for tourists, except that I can't do it in one go. I think this is a real hack to ride the tourist ferry for half the price.

Probably I will ride the ferry to Woodside, ride Merseyrail to New Brighton & West Kirby, then go back to Woodside 3 hours later for the return ferry.
 
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Bevan Price

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A note of caution - Arriva bus drivers in the area are on indefinite strike, so do not plan to use them to get to or from stations.

CLC route, Liverpool to Manchester Oxford Road via Warrington Central. Provided there are no cancellations, there are 6 diagrams, one of which is normally a 3 car Class 195. The others are a mixture of Classes 156 & 150, often in 4 car formations (156+156 or 156+150).

Liverpool - Manchester Airport - Crewe locals are usually a mixture of Classes 319 & 323. Class 331 are currently rare on these services.
Class 331 work a lot (but not all) of the Liverpool - Wigan/Blackpool services - the others are 319s.

The TfW Liverpool - Runcorn - Chester services run every 2 hours approximately, the same unit sticking all day unless there is a failure.
This can be anything - Class 175, 158, 150, or even a pair of 153s.

Merseyrail Electrics photographs possible at most stations, or from bridges adjacent to stations - it depends what sort of location you prefer - urban or rural. I suggest make a journey and get off at a station you think looks interesting. Even Liverpool Central platforms are feasible if you wait a minute or so until passengers move away from the trains. Ormskirk & Kirkby line trains reverse and spend a few minutes there.

Note - no tripods to be used on Merseyrail platforms.
 
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Lloyds siding

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It looks like you are in Liverpool for a few days. One station I would recommend is James Street (central Liverpool) on a weekday. It has two entrances, one on James St, that uses large passenger lifts to take you underground (very like London Underground), the other, on Water Street is only open weekdays between 7-10am and 3-6pm, it goes down some stairs, then a long ramp with handrails and restored original signage. Unusual.
Platforms 2 and 3 are on the original Mersey Railway station whereas Platform 1 is part of the 'Loop line'. Platform 3 is modernised in Merseyrail underground style, Platform 2 is rarely used and has not been modernised, but brought back to a pastiche of an olde station. It is now dimly lit (usually in purple) and looks a fitting place for a ghost train! Very atmospheric! You can see it from Platform 3.

Southport line
Once out of the underground tunnels the line runs mainly on viaduct/embankment giving views over industrial/commercial areas and the docks and River Mersey until reaching Seaforth.
Further on there's lots of overbridges good for photography. Mersey Road, close to Blundellsands and Crosby is good for shots in either direction. An interesting one is further down towards Waterloo at Manley Road/Somerville Road, a footbridge with good views of the track...the bridge is built of steel plate and has bullet holes through the plates from when a Messerschmidt shot up a freight train in a low level attack in WWII!
If you get off the train at Waterloo, Blundellsands or Hall Road then you can take in Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' on the beach.
The road overbridges at Formby and Hillside have near identical station facades onto the bridge, with original L&Y decoration. More photo opportunities of the trains from here.
Between Freshfield (alight here for red squirrels) to Ainsdale the line has heathland on one side, followed by an RAF base (edit: and a golf course, open grass fields then pine woodland on the other side).
Edit: Between Ainsdale and Hillside there are golf courses on both sides of the track!). In fact, there are golf course all over this area, with several visible from Merseyrail.

Ormskirk line
Walton and Orrell Park have good views along the track (and are very close together) and can make a good shot looking towards the other station.
Aintree has a road overbridge and a passenger footbridge for photos. Aughton Park is in a wooded cutting, often full of birdsong, very different from other Merseyrail stations.
 
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boiledbeans2

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Thanks @Bevan Price and @Lloyds siding for the detailed replies!

It looks like you are in Liverpool for a few days. One station I would recommend is James Street (central Liverpool) on a weekday. It has two entrances, one on James St, that uses large passenger lifts to take you underground (very like London Underground), the other, on Water Street is only open weekdays between 7-10am and 3-6pm, it goes down some stairs, then a long ramp with handrails and restored original signage. Unusual.

Does James Street have ticket barriers? If it does, then is the long ramp & original signage of the Water Street entrance on the train-side or public-side?

If it's on the public-side, I may visit on a day where I'm just walking around the city centre without a Saveaway ticket.
 

Lloyds siding

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Thanks @Bevan Price and @Lloyds siding for the detailed replies!



Does James Street have ticket barriers? If it does, then is the long ramp & original signage of the Water Street entrance on the train-side or public-side?

If it's on the public-side, I may visit on a day where I'm just walking around the city centre without a Saveaway ticket.
Train side I'm afraid. I've added a bit to my post.
 

J-2739

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I was also in Merseyside today (just left for home now!) so this thread was especially useful for me, especially the tip on buying the saveaway by @Kite159. Very productive day overall! :)
 

boiledbeans2

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Yes, very useful! I can confirm the paper saveaway ticket still exists from the Northern office.

Also the Water street entrance at James Street is unbarriered. Maybe that's why it's such a popular entrance/exit despite the long walk... There were quite a few going uphill to exit!
 

Lloyds siding

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Yes, very useful! I can confirm the paper saveaway ticket still exists from the Northern office.

Also the Water street entrance at James Street is unbarriered. Maybe that's why it's such a popular entrance/exit despite the long walk... There were quite a few going uphill to exit!
Apologies for that...I realised that the last few times I used it there was a physical barrier there...of ticket inspectors!
 

boiledbeans2

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If on a standard GM rail ranger it will be the Airport, Styal is outside the area. For Crewe via Stockport it is Cheadle Hulme.

A GM Wayfarer might be better value, depends if the OP will be traveling in the evening peak on a weekday as that's valid
Quicl question.

Am I right to say that the GM Rail Ranger ticket comes in both yellow Metrolink ticket stock and orange NR stock?

If I want yellow ticket, the only way is to buy at a Metrolink ticket machine, and not at an NR station?
 

Djgr

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Thanks!




Thanks for that info! So actually, I can use the River Cruise for tourists, except that I can't do it in one go. I think this is a real hack to ride the tourist ferry for half the price.

Probably I will ride the ferry to Woodside, ride Merseyrail to New Brighton & West Kirby, then go back to Woodside 3 hours later for the return ferry.
That's correct. Also many tourists will break their journey for an hour at Woodside anyway.

For completeness worth saying that the All Zones Saveaway is valid as far as Heswall on the TfW Borderlands line.
 

boiledbeans2

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Yes that’s correct
I was trying out the Metrolink machine today in advance (after my earlier post) so I know what to purchase.

I could only see a £9.50 tram/train or £10.40 tram/train/bus. No £7.70 option. So I double checked, the £7.70 option is for trains only. So I guess I need to decide if I want the trams as well.
 

boiledbeans2

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That's correct. Also many tourists will break their journey for an hour at Woodside anyway.

For completeness worth saying that the All Zones Saveaway is valid as far as Heswall on the TfW Borderlands line.
Many thanks, I've already been on the ferry and have left Liverpool now.

Yes, probably half the ferry unloaded at Woodside! I was expecting most would be unaware they could break, so would stay on for the full circle.
 

boiledbeans2

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I was trying out the Metrolink machine today in advance (after my earlier post) so I know what to purchase.

I could only see a £9.50 tram/train or £10.40 tram/train/bus. No £7.70 option. So I double checked, the £7.70 option is for trains only. So I guess I need to decide if I want the trams as well.
The System One tram/train £9.50 ticket states on its website

From 09:30am Monday to Friday & all day at weekends & Bank Holidays. Valid until 03:59am the following day. Any train & any tram, anywhere in Greater Manchester. Restrictions in place on the use of Northern and GMTL off-peak tickets. The restrictions will apply to all journeys, irrespective of direction, departing between 16:01 and 18:29, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays and also cover other operators’ services on Northern routes.

I've bolded part of it. What does it mean? Does it simply mean I can't use it from 16:01 to 18:29 weekdays?
 

Kite159

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The System One tram/train £9.50 ticket states on its website



I've bolded part of it. What does it mean? Does it simply mean I can't use it from 16:01 to 18:29 weekdays?
Only on trams can you use it during that 2.5 hour block.

If you want to use trains in that window you will need the GM wayfarer
 
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