Detailed trip reports

West Yorkshire DaySaver 28/9/19

I enjoyed doing one of these last time so I decided to do one again, pretty much.

Boarded the 05:35 from Hull to Leeds - formed of winner 185112. I then headed off to purchase the rover and grab breakfast from McDonalds. I then awaited the 07:40 to St Pancras, which dropped winning power cars 43048 and 43058. I bought an extra return from Wakefield to Sheffield since I saw the opportunity to clear the Dearne Valley line. Off that at Sheffield and onto the next service to Leeds - a full and standing (but thankfully winning) 158843 arrived, which I alighted from at Wakefield Kirkgate due to it being crowded. Knocked off the Barnsley line so not all bad. I then decided to walk to Wakefield Westgate (Wakefield town centre seemed perfectly acceptable from what I saw) and boarded winner 800104 to Leeds (on that note some kids stood in the vestibule of an IC225 on the opposite platform gave me a middle finger for some reason - quite why I don't and probably never will know). I'd also opted to clear the line between Leeds and Doncaster that day - so boarded winning locomotive 91113 (which has since been sent off-lease so a lucky grab) and on the return took a HST set - unfortunately dud 43316 and 43272 dropped on that. After that I wasn't quite sure what to do - so improvised for the rest of the day. Winner 150105 took me to Mirfield (still in full ex-LM guise back then) which after a roughly 30 minute wait I then boarded winner 185127 to Huddersfield. Quick change at Huddersfield to a rammed winning 185150 back to Leeds, where I then spent an hour festering not quite sure what to do with myself. However, I then found 153328 and 150104 (both winners) heading to Manchester Victoria, so I eventually boarded them to Bradford Interchange with a new line being scored. Winners 158860 and 158903 arrived to whisk me back to Leeds, where I then boarded winning Pacers 142047 and 142050 (the latter having been scrapped since) to Wakefield Westgate before quickly crossing the footbridge to grab my first XC HST set - with winning power cars 43303 and 43378. I'd then decided enough was enough and boarded dud 185112 back to Hull (the unit I'd had that morning to Leeds).

Cheshire Day Ranger 05/10/19

After going to West Yorkshire, I'd then decided my next target would be tackling Greater Manchester. So hopped on the 05:35 to Hull again, this time all the way through to Manchester. Winning chariot 185145 carried me there. Purchased my rover (annoyingly the ticket office at Piccadilly printed in bog roll, which was useless in the barriers). I then decided to board my first Pendolino (390114) to Stoke-on-Trent, where I alighted (and as far as my ticket was valid). Thought the 390s were alright, not bad but not exceptional to be honest. Then awaited a train to Crewe which was formed of a late 350116 - was unrefurbished at the time and by then the ex-Silverlink/Central Trains interiors were properly worn. Then at Crewe I quickly went from Platform 4 over to Platform 11 to catch my first ever Voyager to Chester (221113). Didn't think Voyagers were nearly as bad as some make them out to be, although we did arrive at Chester a little late (Crewe-Chester has nice scenery though). Headed over to Platform 7 to board my first PEP, Merseyrail 507003 to Liverpool Lime Street (then I learned how truly pitiful the window alignment on them was, and I banged my head on the flimsy little luggage rack three times as well - not a fan of that part of the Wirral Line either, slow and grim is the best way I'd describe it). Went from Lime Street Low Level to High Level (the bog roll not working on any of the barriers - again rather annoying) and boarded my first 323 - 226 - to Lea Green (you might notice that firsts are a common theme on this trip). A short wait at the rather basic Lea Green followed before catching 185117 to Manchester Victoria (which I have to say I find myself agreeing with the notion that Victoria is a rather drab and dingy place). It was rather annoying that there were seats on the 185 empty yet they were all reserved out (although I concede as an enthusiast on a rover I'm hardly a priority passenger for any TOC). Got lunch at Victoria (the bog roll worked on the barriers there oddly enough) before ticking off the Ordsall Chord on 185106 to Oxford Road. Then decided to head to the Airport (new line again) on my first 195 (117), before my first 319 took me back to Piccadilly (364, now in storage). From there I got winner 220017 to Stockport, where I could've got winner 156480 to Crewe (on an EMU substitute) had I not decided to observe the Voyager leaving Stockport. Oops. Thus I had half an hour at Stockport, where I grabbed a snack from Starbucks before finally getting a service to Crewe, 175103 (first 175). Was a nice enough ride. Now, I wasn't quite sure what to do when I got to Crewe but since we arrived on Platform 6, I saw a pair of 350s sat in P11 heading to Liverpool (107 and 247, both winners) which I boarded. I sat in the /2 obviously - you might consider me a little odd for doing so, but in fairness I wanted to sample the experience - didn't think they were bad at all. Then from Liverpool, I got winner 195120 to Manchester Oxford Road, scooping the second Liverpool-Manchester route in the process. From Oxford Road I ended up getting 319364 (again) to the Airport, before then briskly hopping on winner 175105 back to Piccadilly. A quick leap to Stockport and back followed (producing winners 323229 and 390124) before getting my train back to Hull (winner 185105). All in all a decent day, plenty of new classes ridden and new lines covered. Definitely encouraged me to return to GM.

Trip of Multiple, Vague Purposes 12/10/19

So I don't really know what this trip was for. I caught the 05:35 to Leeds again (winner 185123), and I was then hoping to ride another EMR HST down from Leeds like I'd done 2 weeks ago. However I hadn't checked that on that day the MML between Market Harborough and Bedford was shut so the train I would've got was now starting short at Sheffield. So as an alternative, after getting breakfast I boarded winner 221138 to Sheffield (that ride allowed me to coin the units as Vibrators which I shan't indulge any further). I decided to clear my remaining section of MML from Sheffield to East Midlands Parkway that day (I'd done the latter to St Pancras the previous year on a Megabus deal). Alas I ended up with winner 222010 to the Parkway (knocking off the route via Erewash and Nottingham) before spending an hour there and getting winner 222102 back to Sheffield (this time via Derby). I then decided to head to Manchester on the Hope Valley, netting winner 185130. The Hope Valley is very scenic, however I got to enjoy it while pushed up against one of the doors, it was extremely full (so busy in fact it was delayed for around 5 minutes at Sheffield due to the sheer volume of people getting on). I bailed at Stockport and grabbed winning pair 150206 and 142031 (latter now scrapped) to Oxford Road before heading to the Airport on winner 185128. I proceeded to grab another winner, 319382 (now in storage) to Bolton before walking to the nearest McDonalds and back and taking winner 150115 back to Piccadilly. From there I got another winner, 319380 on a mega leap to Salford Crescent before winner 142049 (now scrapped) took me on another mega leap to Victoria. From there I got winner 185142 to Leeds (my previous complaint about seat reservations applied here). I then ended up on 185123 again which took me back to Hull. All in all a bit of a mess but oh well, got some new lines and winning units out of it so can't complain too much.

Blackpool Visit 24/10/19

This was a VSTP (previous day) organised trip to Blackpool North. It started by me boarding winners 185140 and 185148 (then the only booked 6 car TPE service out of Hull) to Manchester. From here it went to pot. I had booked myself onto a TPE 350 to Preston, however TPE did TPE things and cancelled the service, which was very kind of them. Thus I had to get the next Northern service to Preston. Winner 319378 was a minor conciliation prize. It got slightly more problematic from there, as I had an advance for the VT service to Blackpool, but that was running around 25 minutes late. Eventually it arrived and winner 390044 took me to the resort. Annoyingly, I had another advance to Liverpool (to knock off the route via St Helens Central) from there but the late running Pendolino caused me to miss it (to rub salt into the wound I saw the 319 to Liverpool going the other way as my train pulled into the station, ugh). I had nearly an hour at Blackpool North station, woo. I can safely say the poor reputation of the station is justified, which is a bit of a shame. Anyway, I got the next service to Liverpool, winner 331007, where I'd gone to explain to the guard the situation but I had said not 5 words before I was told in no uncertain terms to "just get on". Problem solved. Another issue developed where the train was held outside of Preston station for around 5 minutes. This required yet another alteration to the plan, where instead of going all the way to Lime Street I'd get off at the penultimate stop Huyton and get a train to Manchester from there (I had an advance on the previous service, again utterly missed). I eventually got dud 323229 to Piccadilly, where I then headed home on winner 185109. However, it was very busy so as such I had to stand all the way from Piccadilly to Hull. That was fun.

Joint Line Diverts 26/10/19

Another VSTP trip, this time to cover the Joint Line (Peterborough-Lincoln-Doncaster for avoidance of doubt) on LNER diverts. This one started off poorly when I overslept by an hour and missed my train to Doncaster as a result (all advance tickets by the way). Not to be deterred, I forked out another 30 quid for a set of walk-up tickets to Peterborough. All for a good cause though, don't worry. Winner 170476 took me to Doncaster, where I then got my second winner of the day, 800106, to take me to Peterborough. I had to stand in the vestibule due to the crowds on the train (at least I got the new route (plus the reasonably uncommon-for-passenger trains Sleaford Avoider) and the Train Manager was rather nice). Eventually I got off at Peterborough and boarded my first 365s - 530 and 538. Quite nice trains to be honest, wouldn't mind them running around my local area if the strings got put up (although let's not descend too far into fantasy). Got off at Stevenage and acquired lunch before getting my first 387s back to Peterborough (107 and 120). In contrast, 387s are awful (in my opinion). Extremely uncomfortable, rough riding suspension and lots of lurching about - probably the worst trains I've ridden so far. Anyway, once I got to Peterborough I had a rather wet hour to spend there so I watched some of the passing trains before hopping on 800112 to Doncaster. On this occasion, due to flooding around Lincoln, we were held outside of the station for an hour. As a consequence I arrived into Doncaster 53 minutes late. To compound the problems further, the River Don had flooded at Kirk Sandall and the line was shut. Meaning I had to take dud 180111 back to Hull, it in itself running 51 minutes late by the time it arrived in the fatherland. As such, I believe the word to describe this day in bashing terminology is "farce".

Back to Cheshire 02/11/19

The previous outing had left me rather penniless but thanks to an unexpected cash injection I was able to pay for this trip. In contrast to waking up an hour late last week, this time I woke up 2 hours early. Such is the life. I made my way on the 05:35 from Hull to Leeds on an unknown 185 before swapping onto another 185, dud 142 to Manchester Victoria. From there I decided to buy my rover before doing some short hops, winner 156440 to Salford Crescent (my first ride on the class) before getting winner 319374 to Oxford Road. From there I got winning pair 156425 and 156461 to Hunts Cross (the Lime Street and Edge Hill area was shut on that day due to a resignalling project) before then getting another winning pair (508139 and 508112) to Moorfields. From there I then got 507001 to West Kirkby and back to Birkenhead North (second branch of the Wirral cleared) before getting winner 508122 back to Bidston. I shan't be going there again if I can help it, quite a bleak station to be honest. From Bidston I then got winner 150253 (my first and to-date only non-Northern 150) to Shotton, before heading down to the low level and getting winner 175112 to Warrington Bank Quay (ticking off the Frodsham line). I then waited at a wet Warrington before getting winner 390138 to Crewe (ticking off Warrington-Weaver) before boarding winner 323226 to Manchester Piccadilly (this service helped me tick off Wilmslow-Ringway), where due to my aforementioned early start I fell asleep before being woken up by the guard doing a ticket check (I had a valid one don't worry). I then did a quick Piccadilly-Victoria hop over the Ordsall Chord (on 185142 again) before getting winner 195119 to Leeds (to tick off the Caldervale Line). I then got winner 185113 to Hull where my day ended. All in all, a fairly successful outing.

Going Toon 09/11/19

My delay repay from the Joint Line trip finally arriving, I decided to go on a little trip to the canny cool land of Tyneside. However, my problems had already started when the Don at Sandall flooded again. And Northern were being particularly helpful by not running any diverted services via Selby. They were running services to Goole and from then were just leaving any passengers for beyond Goole to fend for themselves, as there were no RRBs to Doncaster. Very polite showing. And due to Hull Trains running a reduced frequency (and the Hull Executive not running at all) as a result of another weekend of Joint Line diverts, there was 4 trains in the whole day between Hull and Doncaster. Amazing. So I ended up on winner 180109 to Donneh, where I had an hour before getting on winner 91118 (now stored) to Darlington. Bought a Tyne & Tees Day Ranger at Darlo before boarding winner 220014 to Newcastle. From Toon I then got on winner 156443 to Morpeth and back, before going to buy some lunch. Then I got winning XC HST power cars 43207 and 43285 to Durham (on the last slam door set possessed by XC - my main memory of the ride was that an elderly lady in an extremely posh accent came over and told me to close the droplights) where I had a short recess before boarding winner 185135 to Darlington. There I had a wait, before getting on winner 142013 to Middlesbrough. I saw visibly rusting seat supports and had my back impaled by the chrome bars on the bench seats but it was a rather fun journey nonetheless. Off at Middlesbrough before boarding ex-ScotRail winner 156447 up to Newcastle via the Durham Coast - it got very busy past Stockton, which solidifies my opinion that the Durham Coast really deserves a better frequency of services above the current hourly set up. Ultimately, the unit broke down at Heworth, which although it got going again, meant the service was delayed and caped beyond Geordieland. I then boarded winner 91121 (now stored) to York before getting to enjoy the comfort of winner 142020 back to Hull. Quite enjoyed the north east personally and I was ultimately incentivised to revisit it.

Anglian Antics 14/12/19

I had spent quite some time wanting to do an Anglia Plus Day Ranger, however I only got round to organising it on the 14th December. I also used the opportunity to meet a friend of mine from Lincolnshire. I got winner 170474 to Doncaster before getting winner 91130 from there to the Cross (my friend got on at Grantham). We then had advance tickets for the 09:30 Greater Anglia service from Liverpool Street to Norwich, however that plan was scuppered when that was cancelled. We then contemplated trying to gun for the 09:00 or going more slowly and getting the 10:00, however both the 09:00 and 10:00 were cancelled so we ultimately didn't need to make that decision. This was at the height of the 90 fleet's unreliability. We ultimately decided to get the 10:02 service to Ipswich, formed of winner 321343 and 2 unknown units, which was a hellfire ride - plenty of motor noise. We then awaited the full and standing 10:30 from Liverpool Street to Norwich, getting off from there. My friend ultimately had to go and meet family in Cromer, whereas I decided to knock off the Breckland Line due to it presenting the least risk of leaving me stranded at the time. I boarded winner 158770 (my first EMR Sprinter) to Ely, where I hung around for 40 minutes before getting my first FLIRT, 755420 back to Norwich. The FLIRTs are quite cool and quirky trains in my opinion, as well as the power pack producing some nice thrash. I look forward to riding more of them in the future (when I tackle the Anglia branches). I then boarded winner 158788 to Peterborough, where I then awaited winner 800110 to Doncaster. From Doncaster, I snubbed a recently-repainted, dud and graffiti-attacked 170454 back home, and instead got the stopper back to Hull, which dropped the winning PRM 144012 (now stored). It had quite bad wheelflats, but otherwise was an interesting ride. This trip was definitely a farce.

LNER HST 15/12/19

When the 15th December was announced as the last day of LNER HSTs I seized the opportunity to go and ride them. However, Northern tried their best to stop this from happening by cancelling the service I was going to board between Hull and York. So I boarded a TPE service to Leeds, politely asking the guard if I could stay on with my Selby-York single, before quickly running across at Leeds to winner 221135 to York. Risky move but it paid off and allowed me to knock off Micklefield-Church Fenton. I alighted at York and then got on winner 150123 to take me to Harrogate, in preparation for the 17:05 HST. There were a few other people I knew online who were going on it, however due to our combined poor social skills we just stood around awkwardly for a while before finally saying a few words with one another. The HST (with winning power cars 43317 and 43290) finally pulled in 20 minutes after it was due to leave and set off 24 minutes late. This was then amplified due to a Northern stopper being signalled in front of us, leading to the train arriving at my alighting point of Doncaster 34 minutes late. I then boarded winner 800108 back to Hull to finish the day. Another farce.

LNER HST V2 21/12/19

I got a little excited when I heard the announcement of the LNER HST Farewell Tour. However when the prices were announced I baulked at them and was dissuaded from going on it as a result (I am not paying £125 for Leeds-London even if it's formed of a sextuple 142 consist thank you very much). However, I decided to see it going on its way, and chose Newark North Gate as my location (new station for me). I boarded winner 158871 at Hull to take me as far as Doncaster, before taking winner 91129 to Newark. There I watched the HST Tour pull in, which one of my friends was on. As I'm thoughtful and he's rather poor at spelling I decided to purchase a dictionary for him at Doncaster as a Christmas present. After hanging about at Newark for some time longer I then boarded winner 91115 (now stored) back to Doncaster, before catching dud 170476 back to Hull. Basic trip but it was alright.

First visit to London 04/01/20

I decided to kick off the new year in the new decade by making my first visit to the capital. I took dud 185140 on the new 05:06 service to Leeds, before catching the 06:35 EMR service to St Pancras (since by then it had been announced that the VP185 ex-EMT sets would be replaced by the MTU ex-LNER sets) as I wanted to get as many VP185 power cars as I could before the switchover. Winning power cars 43060 and 43076 took me to London then bought a Zones 1-6 Travelcard before getting winner 700124 to London Bridge. From there I got my first 376 (020) to Lewisham before getting my first 465 (001 and an unknown classmate) from there to Dartford. From Dartford I then got Met-Cam 465919 (and an unknown classmate) back to London Bridge. I then decided to get the Jubilee Line to Stratford before getting my first 360 (class pioneer 101) to Liverpool Street before getting my first 317 (719) to Seven Sisters. From there I got the Victoria Line to Finsbury Park, then I got the Piccadilly Line back to St Pancras before getting on an unknown 700 to Finsbury Park. From Finsbury Park I got an unknown 717 to Old Street before going on the Northern Line back to St Pancras. I then boarded winning power cars 43050 and 43055 to Nottingham before getting my first XC Turbostar (170523) to Derby. From Derby I got winning 220020 to Doncaster before getting winning 158759 on the stopper to Hull (quite rare).

Second visit to London 18/01/20

I quite enjoyed the capital, enough that I went back there 2 weeks later. I boarded winner 185133 on the 05:06 to Leeds again before again taking the 06:35 to St Pancras, formed of dud 43055 and winner 43083. From St Pancras I bought a Zones 1-6 Travelcard before I got the Underground to Liverpool Street and then boarded winners 317514 and 317657 to Enfield Lock. From there I walked to Turkey Street where I got on my first 315 (812) to Liverpool Street. Due to a signal failure just before Turkey Street station, it was late so ran non-stop from Edmonton Green which was quite fun. From Liverpool Street, I did a return to Stratford (got winners 321408 and 321326) before hopping on the Central Line to Bank and the Drain to Waterloo. At Waterloo I hopped onto an SWR 455 which was cancelled due to there not being a driver. Due to the month-long strike by the RMT that had just happened the previous month over driver-only operation, I found this most amusing. So I walked to Waterloo East, where I got an unknown 375 pair to London Bridge before getting winner 455837 to Sydenham. Wasn't too keen on the Southern 455s to be honest. I then got my first 378 (135) to West Croydon which I also wasn't particularly keen on, before getting the Tramlink to East Croydon. From East Croydon I got my first 377 (448) to Victoria before boarding winners 465157 and 465041 to Herne Hill. From there I then boarded winner 700042 to St Pancras, before walking to Kings Cross and getting winner 180103 to Doncaster. From Doncaster I then got dud 170475 back to Hull. A good day out in my books.

Merseyrail Day Out 25/01/20

On this day I decided to head over to Liverpool and cover more of the Merseyrail network. I boarded winner 170459 to Sheffield, before catching the EMR service to Lime Street. It dropped dud 158788 and winners 153302 and 153376. I sat in the 153s of course. Got into Lime Street and headed straight down to the Low Level. I boarded winner 507010 to Conway Park to scratch off that station, before getting winner 507030 to Moorfields. I then waited a few minutes and got winner 508104 to Liverpool Central, before going to purchase food. When I got back I got winner 507025 to Ormskirk to tick that part of the Northern Line off, which I returned to Moorfields on. I then boarded an unknown unit to Liverpool Lime Street, before heading to the mainline station and boarding dud 323229 to Huyton. I then boarded winner 319386 to St Helens Central, before getting winning 319383 back to Lime Street. I only found out several months after this trip that the ticket I possessed (a Merseyrail Day Saver) was not valid on Northern services, only on Merseyrail ones. I was under the impression I could use it on Northern, and in my defence the barrier staff at Lime Street accepted it when I showed it to them without question (it was an E-Ticket). I then went back to the low level before getting winner 508138 to Hamilton Square. From there I got dud 507010 to Birkenhead Park (2 shacks scratched off) before getting winner 507024 to New Brighton and from there back to Lime Street. 3/4 Wirral Line branches done (just Ellesmere Port remains). I then got winners 150135 and 150148 to Deansgate, before boarding winners 331011 and 331008 to Salford Crescent and from there winner 158754 to Mirfield. I then got an unknown 185 to Leeds before catching winner 158757 back to Hull. Not too bad a day then.

Pacer Bashing 01/01/20

On the day of us having left the EU, I decided to go and sample some 142s (by then they had been restricted to the north west). I boarded winner 150106 to Bradford Interchange (which arrived into Bradford 31 minutes late, wouldn't be a Northern service without that). From Bradford I took winners 195009 and 195015 to Rochdale, before taking winners 142090 and 150128 to Blackburn. A short wait at Blackburn resulted in dud 142047 and winner 150124 taking me to Clitheroe and back to Blackburn, before hopping onto winner 142035 (and dud 158872) to Bolton. From Bolton I took winner 331112 to Salford Crescent and winners 153360 and 150140 back to Bolton. I then took 319385 from Bolton to Salford Crescent and back, before boarding winner 150272 and dud 150105 back to Victoria. A sprint across to P1 for a 3 minute connection onto an unknown 195 took me to Halifax, where I alighted to take winner 153378 to Bradford, where I then took winner 195125 to Leeds, where I then piled onto a full winning 158758 back to Hull.

Northern Trip 17/02/20+18/02/20

Since a friend of mine happened to know a Northern employee and get some of their rovers, we decided to do a trip that attempted to go round the edge of the Northern network. So we caught dud 170475 from Hull to Scarborough, before staying on the same unit down to Sheffield. Quite a long trek I must say. We then caught winner 150142 to Romiley, before alighting there after finding out there was a 142 out on the Rose Hill services. Winners 142078 and 156466 took us to Rose Hill then back to Manchester via Hyde. When we got to Piccadilly we hung around for a bit before boarding winner 156452 to Chester. Now, despite some people speaking of it highly, if I'm going to be honest the Mid-Cheshire Line has to be one of the most boring lines in the country. It's slow, takes forever, the trains stop every 2 minutes and the scenery is rather bland. Not a fan. Anyway, we quickly hopped off the 156 and onto winner 195116 to Warrington, before walking between the two Warrington stations to ride winner 195113 to Lime Street. Once we got to Lime Street, we boarded dud 331112 to Wigan North Western, before walking to Wigan Wallgate and boarding winner 150126 and dud 150214 to Southport. From Southport it was rather chaotic as trains were cancelled due to late running and nobody really knew what was happening. Eventually though, we boarded winners 150131 and 150218, where as the others were staying overnight at Preston and I was going home for the night, I stayed on to Salford Crescent. From Salford I then did some bashing on the Castlefield Corridor, which netted me winning units 331006, 158810 and 195111 before boarding dud 185135 back to Hull.

The second day wasn't so successful. I had food poisoning throughout the day which meant I was unable to properly do the trip. Nevertheless, I pulled myself together and went out. Dud 158790 took me to Doncaster, where winner 144006 took me to Sheffield. From Sheffield, winner 150225 took me all the way to Piccadilly, where I hung around for some time before getting winning 319366 to the Airport and then back to Salford Crescent. From Salford I then got winning 153358 and 158902 back to Leeds, before getting some grub and boarding winning 322485 to Skipton and back. I then from there boarded winning 322481 to Ilkley and back, it was on this train that I ultimately ended up vomiting in the toilet on which led me to return home instead of joining the others on bashing overnight TPE services. Winner 155342 took me from Leeds to Hull. A bit disappointing but oh well, not everything can be planned for I suppose.

West Yorkshire DaySaver 07/03/20

I took advantage of TPE's £1 ticket sale in February to book a few trips. One of which was a West Yorkshire DaySaver again (since I hadn't done one of those in a while). I boarded the 05:06 to Leeds, formed of dud 185145. I went to buy my rover and get breakfast before getting the 06:35 to Wakefield Westgate. I was hoping for some winning VP185 power cars, but no! Instead I was bowled with double dud 43055 and 43046. This was rather annoying. Winner 331110 from Westgate back to Leeds was a minor conciliation prize. I then waited for the 07:40 EMR service, which at least dropped one winning power car in 43054, even if 43060 was dud. After alighting from that I boarded winner 158910 back to Leeds. I then boarded dud 322483 to Bradford Forster Square before walking over to Bradford Interchange and riding winner 153301 to Huddersfield. After a lengthy wait I got on winner 153324 to Castleford (ticking off that line) before then boarding dud 150206 to Knottingley and then back to Leeds to tick off those lines. After a wait of some time I got on winner 321903 to Fitzwilliam and winner 150273 back to Leeds. After another wait (due to crowds) I got on winner 331106 to Bingley, before getting winner 333013 to Shipley and winner 333002 to Leeds from there. My plan after this was rather precarious - I had a tight 4 minute connection at Leeds to get a service to Wakefield Westgate, where I had a similarly tight connection to catch some XC HST power cars back to Leeds. It all seemed to fall apart when winner 150137 left Leeds 5 minutes late, however the HST was running even later so I managed to catch it at Wakefield. Thankfully both power cars (43321 and 43384) won. I then decided to take a little detour by boarding winner 144023 to Wakefield Kirkgate, before getting another winner 144004 to Huddersfield. From there I got dud 185105 to Leeds, which was late leaving Leeds due to it not getting a route for a while, before I got the busy winner 185120 back to Hull.

Now, I had also purchased tickets to go to Glasgow for a few hours and ride some ScotRail services, however lockdown was announced and so all trips had to be suspended as a result. I'd also planned to do some more EMR HST bashes as well as some Northern Pacer rides before they were withdrawn. All of which came to nought obviously. I didn't go out on the trains again until July, by which point the railway landscape had changed quite considerably stock-wise. On Northern, the 144s had been withdrawn as well as the 321s and 322s, meaning I couldn't clear either of those fleets (I'd missed my last required 322 on the 7th March, drat) as well as there being far less IC225 sets out and the VP185s had started to be replaced by MTUs. The service levels were much reduced as well. So as such, I had to change the focus of my outings (more so when local restrictions started to kick in again in certain areas).

First post-lockdown trip 22/07/20

For my first post-lockdown outing I decided to keep it fairly short. I boarded winner 170457 to Sheffield, ticking off the line via Kilnhurst (thanks to 1J42 having since been diverted to go that way), and arrived at Sheffield. From there I greeted one of my friends who had decided to come with me, before boarding winner 150122 and dud 150124 to New Mills Central. From there we were hoping to get a Pacer but instead got winner 150113 and dud 150142. 150113 had a rather amusing engine fault - it would idle and initially rev up on departure, but above a certain rev limit it would shut down and the coach would move completely dead. As soon as it arrived at the next stop it would restart and the cycle continued all the way. When we got to Piccadilly, we spent some time observing the departures around the station before boarding winning pair 142004 and 150120 to Rose Hill Marple and then back to Romiley. At Romiley we hung around and had a conversation before boarding winning pair 150129 and 150110 back to Sheffield. From there we parted ways, where I boarded winning 150269 to Doncaster (I saw my friend's last required 185 for sight at Swinton which I quite literally gasped at upon seeing) and when I got to Doncaster I took 170457 again to Hull. A fairly decent return to the railways I think.

Manchester area bashing 29/07/20

I decided to return to Manchester, mainly to attack the remaining 142s in the area. I took winner 170478 on the 05:16 to Sheffield (this will become a bit of a recurring theme from now on) before boarding winner 150116 and dud 150110 to Romiley. From Romiley I boarded winner 150125 and dud 150142 to Fairfield before boarding winners 142065 and 156464 to Rose Hill and then back to Piccadilly (well-timed given the then-recent announcement of the suspension of Rose Hill services from September). From Piccadilly I then boarded winners 331025 and 331026 to Preston before hopping over onto winner 319361 to Victoria. From Victoria I hopped onto winner 150226 and dud 142004 to Kirkby and back to Salford Crescent, before catching dud pair 150126 and 156466 to Oxford Road. From there I caught winners 331002 and 331019 to the Airport and back to Piccadilly before taking a photo of the triple Pacer lineup at Piccadilly and hopping on dud 142078 and 150106 (oh well, mileage accumulation I suppose) to New Mills Central. I then got on winner 142071 and dud 150128 to Sheffield, before hopping on winner 150203 to Doncaster and 170478 (again) to Hull. Quite a productive day in my opinion.

Cumbrian Roundabout 12/08/20

Bit of a random outing this one but I thought I'd go for it regardless. I took winner 170458 on the 05:16 to Doncaster before getting on winner 331105 on an enjoyable ride to Leeds. From Leeds I got winner 158908 over the S&C all the way to Carlisle, where after a short wait I finally caught 156480 (after missing it all the way back in October) down to Barrow-in-Furness. Really enjoyed the Cumbrian Coast, nice scenery helped by me enjoying the engine notes of the 156. When I got to Barrow another short wait was had before taking winner 195102 down to Preston, before taking winning pair 195019 and 195025 over Copy Pit to Hebden Bridge. An hour's wait there was had before taking winner 180114 to Leeds, where I then ended up on the cursed 170475 back to Hull.

North East Rover 18/08/20+20/08/20+22/08/20+24/08/20

I'd planned doing a North East Rover for a little while (in fact I'd considered it back in December but ultimately didn't go through with it) however only in August did I get to properly do it. On the first day I set about heading back to the North East for the first time since November. So I boarded winner 185124 and dud 185113 to Leeds. Now I'd planned to get a TPE Nova to Newcastle, however ultimately I boarded the earlier XC service since I managed to catch it by going from P16 to P8 rather quickly. Winners 220003 and 220033 (enjoying the new double units era of XC) took me to Morpeth, where I then got winner 156448 back down to Newcastle. From Newcastle I had a short wait before getting winner 156451 on the 12:39 service to Whitby. Yes I did do the full journey, as well as a return to Middlesbrough. The Durham Coast and the Esk Valley are both rather nice lines so that helped. After returning to Middlesbrough I boarded winning pair 185108 and 185121 (again, enjoying the new double 185 era of TPE) to Redcar Central then back to York. Dud 155346 took me back home to Hull.

The second day involved me heading to Lincolnshire to clear the South Humberside network. I got winner 170460 on the 05:16 to Sheffield (paid for it separately since the rover wasn't valid until 09:00) then winners 158868 and 150275 (the former still with its Wessex Trains auto announcements despite it not having operated in the area for over 10 years and having a TrainFX system installed on top to boot). I then when I got back to Sheffield boarded winners 185117 and 185136 to take me all the way to Cleethorpes. I then quickly hopped over to the Barton train, formed of winners 153355 and 153357 which took me there. I must say as a Hull native it did feel rather strange looking over the Humber and at the fatherland from the south side - a new perspective if you will. I then hopped onto the 153 pair back to Grimsby Town - and successfully risked a 0 minute connection there onto winner 185119 and dud 185140 to Doncaster. From Doncaster I then caught the stopper to Sheffield - this being formed of dud 150116. However, this wasn't such a negative as since the pandemic struck 150/1s are exceedingly rare east of the Pennines, so this was a somewhat special occasion (I know, getting excited about subclasses of 150, all the main men will be lining up to call me a saddo insect autist obsessive or whatever). After alighting at Sheffield, I then set about clearing the Penistone line, with dud pair 153358 and 153360 helping me achieve that (they're 153s though, so them being dud is fine since the traction is quality ;) ). After that, I took another dogbox pair to Bradford Interchange (this time being winners 153363 and 153330) before quickly running over to dud 180114 to take me to Leeds. From Leeds I then did a return to Dewsbury to try and scrape some more 185s (got dud 185113 and winner 185138) got dud pair 185128 and 185130 back to Hull.

The third day involved me heading back to the north east. I took dud 185130 and winner 185143 on the 06:04 to Leeds (it was a Saturday so the ticket was valid). From Leeds I then took dud pair 185113 and 185120 to Thornaby, where I quickly crossed over to take dud 158853 to Bishop Auckland, staying on the unit to Saltburn then back to Middlesbrough. 158s do seem like quite a poor fit for the Tees Valley line if I'm honest. At Middlesbrough I awaited the service to Newcastle which was showing as being 15 minutes late which I was rather anxious about as I had a 6 minute connection planned at Newcastle. Winning pair 156491 and ex-ScotRail 156485 pulled in and gave a nice ride to Newcastle. Miraculously it went from being 15 minutes late to arriving at Newcastle 3 minutes early. I easily made my connection, winner 156489 taking me to Carlisle and then from there to Riding Mill. From Riding Mill I took winner 158786 to Hexham and then from there to Newcastle. Now, I had a tight connection (3 minutes) between the Northern and TPE service to Leeds planned, however since the service from Hexham arrived slightly early I managed to rush onto the XC service (formed of winning 221122) to Leeds instead. I then had a fairly long layover at Leeds before getting my train home (formed of the same unit pair as in the morning). I managed to, in my mind at least, prove the poor quality of the Leeds one-way system there. My train was showing as being booked for P16 on the boards, however there was a Manchester-bound TPE showing as arriving into P16 at the same time. I stayed on P15. The Manchester train arrived and left and it turned out the Hull train was coming into P16. So I had to quickly navigate the one-way system and only just made the train. It took a good 5 minutes to go from P15 to P16 which was ridiculous. No other station does this to my knowledge so I don't know why Leeds is any different.

The fourth day involved me doing some bashes around Yorkshire. Winning pair 185103 and 185129 took me to Huddersfield, where I was greeted by dud 153330 and winning 153351 to Bradford Interchange. From there I took winning pair 195011 and 195024 to Leeds, before boarding winner 221119 to York. I then boarded winning pair 185126 and 185111 from York to Scarborough and back (I admit to planning this day so I could cover that line without going on 68s, oh the sacrilege) where on the way to the seaside I saw someone being Penalty Fared by a revenue inspector and feebly trying to claim they couldn't buy a ticket (when they got on at York of all places, if you're going to make excuses at least make them somewhat believable). From York I'd then planned to get an XC service to Leeds however since that was late I then quickly hopped over and grabbed winner 802211 to Leeds (the opposite of the 18th and the 22nd). From Leeds I did a return to Skipton, nabbing winners 158755 and 333008 before doing a return to Dewsbury nabbing winners 185146 and 185131 before returning home on winner 185104 and dud 185121. This concluded the trip, which overall was very good, thoroughly enjoyable in my opinion.

Lincolnshire Day Ranger 05/09/20


Since I had some spare change left and because I fancied going over to visit the scary unknown lands across the Humber again, I quickly threw together a plan and went into action (this day was the first Saturday Lincs Day Rangers were valid again. Dud 170477 took me on the 05:16 to Sheffield, where I then changed onto winner 158907 to Nottingham. At Nottingham I went to purchase my ranger before heading back to the platform to await the Jolly Fisherman/Vegetable Magnet (delete as appropriate) to Skegness, formed of winning power cars 43318 and 43307. The most interesting aspect of this ride was listening to a couple sat opposite me arguing from Sleaford - the Poacher Line isn't particularly interesting, especially in the insulated environment of a Mk3. Off at Skegness and took my place in the queue for the service back to Nottingham (same train I'd caught from Nottingham). Managed to find a seat in the declassified first class section, which in the coach I was sat in at least seemed to be full of other enthusiasts - make of that what you will. I noticed there was rather studious patrolling of the train to prevent people from window hanging - I can understand why given I'm aware of an incident in July where one of the HST services was filled with window hangers. Bailed at Sleaford (my interest extends beyond HSTs oddly enough) and awaited the next service to Lincoln in the midst of the rather irritating text-to-speech announcements at the station, formed of winner 156404 (my first EMR 156). Thought it was rather nice to be honest. Arrived early at Lincoln, had a quick look around to see what else was in the station (a 158 in P1, an 800 in P4 and then-recently graffiti-attacked 156414 in P5) before hopping on the Leicester service as far as Nottingham, formed of winner 156473. When I arrived at Nottingham I was unsure of what to do next, hence I decided to go back to Lincoln. Grabbed winner 156918 to Newark Castle (first sample of an ex-Greater Anglia 156, didn't find it too bad to be honest) then awaited winner 158774 from there to Lincoln. A quick walk over the footbridge at Lincoln before boarding winner 158863 to Grimsby Town (last full line in the rover area I needed so I decided to cover it there and then) and back to Lincoln. I then awaited winner 156401 to take me to Doncaster before quickly walking over to winner 170456 to take me back to Hull. Overall, I thought my first proper visit to the East Midlands went quite well and was a rather enjoyable outing.

Lincolnshire Day Ranger (again) 10/10/20


With that in mind, I planned another one (my usual haunt of Greater Manchester was off-limits so had to make do). Dud 170478 on the 05:16 took me to Sheffield (slipping quite heavily on the way, I noted it only stopped slipping when it exceeded 50mph) before changing on to winner 158855 to Nottingham. The interior was in a rather poor state, which extended to it having some Chapman seats in NatEx ScotRail moquette haphazardly fitted to it. Alighted at Nottingham, bought my ticket then got on a service to Lincoln formed of winning pair 156414 and 158865 (the 158 was locked out). It was interesting to observe the local door procedure in use at the intermediate stations (on this occasion Newark Castle, Collingham and Hykeham if memory serves). Alighted at Lincoln and quickly walked over to the Newark Northgate service (formed of winner 158799) as I needed the curve. Quick blast to Newark and back saw me then head over to grab a service to Peterborough as far as Sleaford, formed of winner 156405. I was considering doing the service all the way to Peterborough but decided to alight at Sleaford to see what would turn up on 2S10 to Nottingham. Lo and behold, it dropped winning pair 153383 and 156922. I sat in the 153 of course as I know what quality traction is ;). This also allowed me to tick off both the curves from the Poacher Line into Grantham which was convenient. I got off at Nottingham, had a look around the station to see what units were there (a 153+156 combination on a Worksop service and a CrossCountry 170 was all there was) before heading into Nottingham city centre to grab lunch. It seemed alright (not particularly awful but not awe-inspiring). After getting lunch, I returned to the station and awaited the service to Peterborough, formed of winner 158854. I struggled to stay awake to be honest, that's all I remember. After alighting at Peterborough (the service terminated there due to engineering works) I again took a quick look around to see what trains were there (a 700, that's it) before turning my sights onto the service for Lincoln (it was either that or get the service back to Nottingham). It was formed of 158799, the same unit I'd had on the Northgate return in the morning. Oh well. The journey to Lincoln passed, watching the various changes of weather as the train advanced northwards. Off at Lincoln and I had around 2 hours where I didn't really know what to do with myself. So I looked on RTT, found I could get a service to Collingham and get another service back to Lincoln in time for my service to Doncaster. Winner 158773 took me to Collingham, which I found to be rather basic (a bench on each platform, a small car park and a help point being everything that was there). 156405 pulled in to take me to Lincoln (again rather annoying given I'd had the same unit to Sleaford in the morning) where I then awaited my service to Doncaster. Saw some units come and go, a few freights come in on the through lines, then I saw 158865 (one of the units I'd had from Nottingham to Lincoln in the morning) come and go before my unit to Doncaster arrived. Somewhat fittingly, it was 156414, the other unit I'd had from Nottingham to Lincoln in the morning. Sat on it to Doncaster before heading over to the Hull service, formed of dud pair 170456 and 150206. I seemed to be rather unlucky in capturing units on the same diagrams on this day, but it was still rather enjoyable.

Lincolnshire Day Ranger (I know) 29/10/20


With the news that South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire were put into Tier 3, I decided to do another trip to Lincolnshire, but this time avoiding Nottingham. I captured dud 158901 to Doncaster (although this was the first time since August 2017 that I'd ridden on it) which had quite a noticeable power/wheelslip issue (worse than usual) before awaiting the service to Scunthorpe formed of winner 150204. This helped to remind me of the poor quality of Northern's 150s. At least it was warm though - unlike its destination station. Scunthorpe station was rather drab and cold - I was not keen on it. I then boarded the TransPennine Express service to Grimsby Town, formed of dud pair 185109 and 185124 before getting off at Grimsby, getting lost trying to find somewhere to get some food before giving up and returning to the station. I bought my ticket before heading to the EMR Lincoln service, formed of winner 156410. This unit had just received a graffiti attack, which seems to unfortunately have become a bit of a trend on EMR units (I was also aware of 414 and at least one other unit being hit up). Off at Lincoln before having a roughly hour's long wait there. I popped into the station Costa to grab a drink and some proper food (I'd eaten 2 chocolate bars up until that point, a very healthy and nutritious diet I'm sure you'll agree) before boarding the service to Sleaford, formed of winner 156413. Had a short wait at Sleaford before boarding winner 156907 to Skegness. It had left Nottingham 15 minutes late but arrived to Skegness on time, quite impressive. At Skegness I queued up to head back on the same unit, this time to Grantham. The Poacher Line was a bit less boring in the less insulated environment of a Sprinter I thought - I could hear the jointed track sounds quite nicely. It was also rather wet that day. I alighted at Grantham and awaited the service to Peterborough, trying to remain dry. Unfortunately this was dud 158854 (again). I then got off at Peterborough, bought another chocolate bar and awaited the other reason I had come to Lincolnshire on this day. A pair of 153s, 357 and 384 arrived into the station. I boarded them and spent the next 4 hours on them. Went from Peterborough to Lincoln, then from Lincoln to Sleaford, then from Sleaford to Doncaster. Conveniently enough, a friend of mine who was in the area covering the Barton branch, was booked onto the same service from Lincoln to Doncaster, so he joined me at Lincoln and we had a nice conversation on the way back up to Yorkshire (it felt refreshing being able to physically talk to someone about trains and such instead of just doing it through the medium of text). I had to quickly move at Doncaster, given my train had come into P2 and I had a 3 minute connection onto the Hull service at P8. I bid my friend farewell from dud pair 170458 and 150214 before heading home, another good day on the railway. This was ultimately my last trip of the year.


Congratulations for getting to the end of this.