To reward me for my mile-long walk towards town, TGV Réseau (series 38000) no.4533 was waiting for me on Platform 3 of Gare Bourg-Saint-Maurice. This would form Eurostar (formerly Thalys) train 9983 to Lille-Europe, 6.5 hours later, where I had a booked connection. Before I boarded, I noticed on the platform there were two passport control points, for the days when there were direct trains to London. Certainly a lot simpler! The operation was still very organised, with some official looking people in hi-vis assisting with storing luggage (including in the power car). I boarded and found my seat in Standard Premier (Comfort on Thalys)...Coach 11, Seat 2. Unfortunately, I'd be backwards all the way from Albertville to Lille, after the change of direction. I was however grateful for the single seat, as I have a phobia of seat neighbours!
We pulled away 1E and started through the beautiful scenery, with calls at Aime-le-Plagne, Brides-les-Bains & Moûtiers-Salins-Brides, before reaching Albertville on-time. Many skiiers boarded at all of these stations (many British) after their break in the Alps. Certainly much more convenient for them than flying, especially when taking into account baggage allowance. It was then on to Chambéry (again, on time) before our non-stop, 4 hour run to Lille along LGV Sud-Est, along which we passed a train graveyard in Béon. I'd travelled the opposite direction on this LGV line last year, on my way to Lausanne, in Switzerland, with TGV Lyria. As I was in Standard Premier, the complimentary coffee, wine, and meal was appreciated as we sped through France. The meals are served cold - today organic basmati rice with vegetables and oriental pork loin or Organic Chinese Noodles, followed by French almond tea cake with grapefruit and vanilla. Not too bad, considering it was included. The wine it was paired with was the best part! I wasn't actually expecting a meal on this leg, as this'd be 'Comfort' on Thalys, but Eurostar recognise it's sold as their Premier offering throughout. A nice touch. We skirted the outskirks of Paris (thankfully) by running through Marnee-La-Vallée, where Disneyland is located, and then passed under Airport Charles de Gaulle, where I was a few days prior. We were running a few minutes early, so were held here for 'operational reasons' (I think there was a crew change). I was a bit concerned that we were waiting for a late running TGV, even though we were both RA Lille. Thankfully, we got away on-time and ahead of this, and we arrived in Lille-Europe on time. It was then time for the entire train's patronage to head through the Eurostar terminal for our departure to London. Another issue with having to change trains, rather than creating a secure zone in Bourg with passport control. However, there were plenty of staff to direct us through the well oiled machine, and as I didn't have luggage I was one of the first ones through security and passport control, awaiting our 1535 departure (after stopping to buy my last proper baguette!). 'Boarding' was started early, so it was down to the Eurostar platforms (same one I arrived on), which are directly below the lounge, but only one set of stairs leads down to the dingy platforms at the moment due to escalator works. My Class 373s (373229 & 373230, two halves) screamed in from Brussels-Midi at 15:25. "It is both the second longest—387 metres (1,269 ft 8 in)—and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).". The new 374s pips 373s to the post! As I boarded, I very nearly got rained on by seagulls. Good luck for the final leg of my journey? This was my first experience of Standard Premier on an E300 (unfortunately I never got the chance to ride an un-refurbished set). My first impression was that my Standard Premier seat was large and comfortable. I was offered another meal and drink upon boarding, I of course opted for a pale ale specially brewed for Eurostar. One benefit of changing trains was getting two meals! ("It's only wafffer thin". "I couldn't eat another thing, I'm absolutely stuffed"). We were well looked after onboard, even for this short part of the journey. I got this fare for £149 when they were first released - the same journey is now £199. Also, it was well worth the extra £50 to upgrade - for the 588 miles of refreshments! We departed Lille-Europe 4L as we sped towards the Coquelles entrance of the Channel Tunnel. We reached this in no time, and I was dumped back into the UK around 6L. We flashed through the Kent countryside (I love riding HS1), before arriving into London St Pancras International 7L. I always enjoy arriving here - I imagine how it must be for a tourist's first time, due to the grandeur and cleanliness of the train shed. I had plenty of time to make it down to the Thameslink platforms for 9T45 to take me towards home. (This was packed due to a 30 min gap between this and the last BTN service). So ends another epic trip. Thanks very much to those who have read this far, and I hope to be out again soon!
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My penultimate day in France. The early departure (0459!) from Briançon this morning had been cancelled due to last minute industrial action on this line only (local depot?). After watching my units from my hotel room window, I made my way to la Gare in good time for the 08:06 departure of my train, TER17366. I was most worried about getting a seat on this service, as it was showing "full" online (Meaning it was now overbooked, but I could still board). This is why I made sure to arrive at Briançon Gare early enough to get a seat. I arrived in enough time to see my two units shunted around from Briançon sidings. (8 cars in total, thankfully, thanks to SNCF's proactiveness. Imagine if a single car X7390 unit had showed up!).
I quickly found a single seat in the First Class area of the rear unit, as this is declassified on this route. I could relax for the next 4 hours, despite my initial worry that the two units would be split somewhere, and I'd be left alone in rural France with (rightfully) angry farmers. We got underway RT, before being held at L'Argentière - Les Écrins for a couple of extra minutes, because the oncoming Intercitiés de Nuit (5789) was delayed by a few minutes. Last night, from Briançon, this was replaced in its entirety by a coach😳. Many people (with ski gear) boarded at Mont-Dauphin - Guillestre, so I again praised SNCF for providing an 8 car train. There is a slow 30km/h temporary speed restriction on a lot of the line from Briançon to Gap, due to persistent bad weather in recent months. Thankfully it didn't result in a full line closure, like landslides at the Fréjus rail tunnel, near Modane. Although, it's lucky I didn't do the journey a couple of weeks later, else it'd had been a partial replacement bus (whilst the route is properly rectified). I enjoyed the varying mountainous scenery (seen the previous day from the top deck of a coach), before we arrived in Gap for our booked 30 minute booked stop, to enable connection to TER17435 to Marseille (which departed ahead of us), which seemed a popular 'correspondance' (as announced) for many travellers. On our way from Gap, we passed over many double track bridges and through double track tunnels, reduced to all but a single line. This line is still popular with skiers, but the service isn't as intense as to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, where I'd be ending up later. Much beautiful scenery, many tunnels and flashes of sunshine later, we stopped at the happily named 'Die'. Better than being named 'Mort' (Dead, in French). Later on in the journey, as we accelerated hard away from Livron, I noticed the eerily quiet Autoroute next to us. The farmers' movement was still happening (and still is as I write this). Thank goodness for rail transport! Although, one unnamed rail line was temporarily blocked by farmers, an act I am fully against as it could have resulted in a derailment with serious consequences. We passed a large freight yard, with a wide variety of French locomotives, on our approach to Valence. Don't ask me to identify them all! I'm barely catching up with the numbering of new examples at home - and the French have a more confusing numbering system. We then arrived at Valence-Ville a few minutes early, giving me a bit more time in town. It was here I obtained some expensive French chocolates, and my first baguette of the day (from a local café), something I came to enjoy during my time in France. I enjoyed this whilst sitting in 'Parc Jouvet' (there is a miniature railway here, which I unfortunately didn't have time for) with a view overlooking the River Rhône. (Hence 'Rhône-Alpes' region). I made my way back to la gare (another classic French trainshed) for departure of TER17576 (service through to Annecy), where BB22200/Class 22 Locomotive (nicknamed 'Nez Cassés ("broken noses") No.22393 was waiting for me. (Class 22 locomotives were briefly used for hauling freight through the Channel Tunnel, before Class 92s were delivered). This was my first experience of these locomotives and of French compartment stock. They are ageing a bit, but are still very comfortable. I made sure to open the window to experience the full electric thrash! This service was quiet upon departure, but, as I expected, quite a few people joined the train at Valence TGV from high-speed connections. Whilst this station is out of town (like a lot of high speed stations), it's good there's a rail connection to the main town. Like back at home, all these pax joined just a couple of coaches of this long (7 coach) train, rather than spreading out along the platform! My coach was still fairly empty as a result, until we reached the main town of Grenoble, where I'd love to come back to ride the tram network. So many places being added to my ever-growing list - I shan't ever be bored! After about 45 minutes, we arrived into Montmélian. This station is laid out on a triangle - like Shipley in Yorkshire, but its mountain scenery is fairly different! It was here I alighted (along with many others) to make an onward connection "WELCOME...TO THE BOURG-SAINT-MAURICE TRAIN". Whilst awaiting the arrival of TER83225 (Lyon Part Dieu - Bourg-Saint-Maurice), I admired the distant alpine scenery from the platforms. TER83274 (the opposite working to my train) arrived just over an hour late, apparently due to an "obstruction on the line" between Albertville and Bourg. Thankfully trains were still running, but I was immediately concerned about a delay to my train later in the journey. My service pulled in RT, and I found a seat in one of the many busy compartments (I had to ask people to move bags off seats, which I didn't appreciate). We got underway to our first stop of St-Pierre-d'Albingy, before arriving on-time into Albertville, where the driver would change ends. On SNCF's app, I noticed that a preceeding TGV from Paris arrived into Bourg 2.5 hours late, due to the previously mentioned obstruction (farmers?). Because of this, we waited at Albertville for a long while, awaiting the arrival of a delayed TER from Bourg. We therefore departed Albertville 17 minutes late, now with loco no.22356 leading (there is a DVT at t'other end of these loco hauled sets). On our way, we passed yet another delayed TGV awaiting us in a loop. This was two units coupled together (16 cars in total!), one half for Rennes and the other for Nantes, to cope with skier demand. These extra Winter trains is why this is a very busy single line, thankfully with many passing loops. The timetabling team must have a nightmare! Eurostar (ex-Thalys) 9987/9979 to Amsterdam/Brussels passed us at speed in the platforms of Moûtiers - Salins Brides-Les Bains. This is also where we had an extended wait, but a reason wasn't given in English (despite this being an area with much tourism). Due to the many passing trains, it didn't take much to work out why! On our way to our next stop (at Aime - La Plagne) we passed late running TGV6436 in yet another loop. We were then held in a loop ourselves, at Centron, to enable 16 car TGV6436 to pass. From here, we proceeded at caution to our next stop at Aime-la-Plagne, where we passed TGV6438 (heading to Paris). At our penultimate stop of Landry, a 16 Car OUIGO (low cost TGV) train (7894) was passed, again heading to Paris. We finally arrived into Bourg, 45 minutes late. I snapped a few photos of various sets, and decided what to do next. Despite the delay, I still rode the Les Arcs Funicular in the dark, to see Bourg at night. I was always planning to ride this (I am a Funicular fan), and so even due to the extensive delay (subsequently arriving in darkness), the fact that it's free with a rail ticket made me curious to see the town at night. It was a decent way to spend a few minutes, and made me curious to try skiing out in the future. The complex at Les-Arcs is owned by French ski resort company Compagnie des Alpes, who also own theme parks, such as Parc Astérix and Walibi Rhône-Alpes (both required), along with the other Walibi parks around Europe. After my 800m/2624 feet descent, I walked around a mile to McDonald's (I couldn't afford to eat in an expensive tourist resort), and then about 1.5 miles to my accommodation for the night. There was no sign of public buses around here! I had chosen La Petite Auberge for my hotel for my last night. This also proved to be good value, with a lovely couple running it. Join me for my last day tomorrow! Friday. Nice, Gare des Chemins de Fer de Provence. Departure time of my train came and went - where was the inbound working? Nobody informed the many people on the platform what was going on. My metre-gauge, AMP800 no.803 rolled in around 24 minutes late, but the driver made a very quick change of ends for but a 2 minute late departure. I'll have to come back to ride on the old single car X Railcars on the shorter commuter runs. My first spot was that there are front seats, but unfortunately the view through the cab is permanently blanked out, and seats further back have a vinyl pasted over them. Never a good thing on a scenic journey! On our way out of Nice, the line crosses Boulevard Joseph Garnier on the level; where we nearly took out a lorry which crossed in front of us. A few stops later, many commuters left the train, so I could move to better seats further back. The full run is an infrequent service, but there are many short trips to cater for locals from the many small stations along the route.
At Lingostière (by the river Var), we passed the line's main depot, where many different examples of rolling stock was present, including an AMP800 unit still out of service following a derailment caused by a falling 10-tonne boulder back in 2014, near Annot. As we made our way up through the misty French Alps, through the delights of various shacks of notable example: Touët-sur-Var and Entrevaux, I noticed the very rough ride of the metre-gauge track. We seemed to travel at a considerable speed, and the rough riding was the worst I've experienced. I guess the scenery made up for it... Disappointingly, there was still a replacement bus between Saint-André-Les-Alpes and Digne-les-Bains due to the collapse of the Moriez tunnel 5 years ago. Progress has been slow, but rectification work is starting again next month. The line mostly follows the main road, so I didn't miss much. I finally reached the terminus town of Digne-les-Bains (the baths). This is a significant town, yet the onward SNCF rail line has been mothballed for regular traffic since 1972 (apart from the Alpanzur, which saw its final service in 1989). I walked from the Gare (CPZou now use the old SNCF building, and there are onward SNCF buses) to a local Wine Cave. The owner didn't speak much English, but we both understood each other's love for fine wine! I came away happy with an €7 bottle (which was lovely, as I found out back at home). I also visited a local boulangerie. Again, not much English spoken, but the fact I came away with a baguette in hand was a good sign! From the bus station, it was a New DAF Irizar on route 400's full length to Veynes (over 2 hours). Two buses needed on the same run due to demand. This wouldn't be needed if the rail service was in operation! This was coach journey to remember due to the erratic driving. We were nearly in multiple crashes due to the Driver's lack of forward planning. Also, we were held up in traffic due to the ongoing farmer's protest (they blocked the motorways, causing tailbacks on regular roads). "Crates of tomatoes, cabbages and cauliflowers that one group of farmers said had been imported were strewn across the A7 highway that links Marseille and Lyon, France’s second and third-biggest cities. On the southwestern edge of Paris, dozens of tractors led a go-slow during the morning rush-hour.". Traffic was held up through a roundabout with an Autoroute junction. In typical strike fashion, farming materials and tractors were strewn all over the roundabout in protest. "French retailers are locked in annual price negotiations with suppliers, which the government wants concluded by the end of the month. Farmers say they will be on the sharp end of efforts to haul prices lower." Due to this, we arrived in Sisteron 20 minutes late, and didn't catch any time up into our terminus. Still, I had quite a bit of time before today's short train ride. I took the opportunity to walk up to the local fromagerie, run by a very nice elderly French lady. It was here I found the best fromage I have ever eaten (Crottin de Chevre, goat milk cheese produced in the Loire Valley. Incredibleu!). Fromage obtained, it was back to the Gare. My train, TER885611, from Grenoble rolled in around 5 minutes late. This was formed of single car X73636 (this reminded me of a Class 153 'Dogbox'/'Skateboard' back home). It was booked to wait in Veynes for a passing train from Briançon on the single line, but despite having a long dwell, we didn't make up any time. Connection once again in trouble! Thankfully, I did make, despite a slow arrival (7L) into Gap. Bus No.69 (a Van Hool Altano, with a panoramic 'top deck' window) took me to Saint-Clement-Sur-Durance. A really scenic journey, with the imposing French Alps in the background. This is the first time I've been on a bus when a rally car has overtaken us! (As they drive public roads between stages). We arrived nearly 30 minutes late due to traffic, and a frustrating extended stop at Gare Embrun, which meant I arrived in the dark. The reason I was here was rather special; this was the finish line for that day's Rallye Monte-Carlo Special Stage 7! I was lucky to have timed my trip so perfectly. I walked up the hill in search of a great vantage point. Unfortunately, I was informed by some English speaking spectators that the nearest spectator zone was a one hour hike away, so I settled for viewing the action from further down the valley. I could still hear the roar of engines and the flashes of headlights speeding around the landscape, still closer than I've ever got before! Rallye Monte Carlo is a big challenge on EA Sports WRC, but I'll definitely give it another go. I watched a few drivers make their way down from the finish line, on their way to Special Stage 8. If I had a hire car, I'd had followed! I walked back down to the bus stop to ride the remainder of Route 69 to Briançon. I waited for nearly 40 minutes for a bus...and two turned up at once! I arrived in Briançon, where my hotel for the night was Hôtel de Paris. A bit dated, but decent value. Speak again tomorrow! A more reasonable start this morning, as I was to catch TER88140 (formed of two units - 265084 and 265028) at 09:17 to tick off a new country: Monaco. A lot of services have a booked 5 minute stop at my boarding point of Menton Garavan when heading from Ventimiglia, due to border checks (this is the first stop away from the Italian border). This is a really nice line to ride. Fast, frequent, double check trains and lovely scenery. I'm looking forward to doing the entire run to Marseille one day! Just before reaching Monaco-Monte Carlo, French Revenue Protection boarded. I had nothing to worry about (despite my FIP Coupons and passport being scrutinised), but witnessed two others receive fines. "You pay now, 50 Euros. Later is 100 Euros.". It's good to see chancers being caught out.
As Monaco is so compact, an underground travelator took me out to the city. My first impressions was how lovely and clean the city is, and there are lots of escalators and lifts for accessibility. My first stop was Jardin Animalier de Monaco (Jardin Animalier Rainier III). I saw a couple of cabybaras, a python named Monty (not really his name - I wish), and some adorable lovebirds (to name a few). I generally agree with zoos/wildlife parks, as they generally aid conservation efforts. My least favourite was Basel Zoo (the lions looked very unkempt), but I really like Kolmården (due to the vast spaces afforded to the well looked after animals). This zoo in Monte-Carlo is small, but the animals looked happy. After just over an hour here, I walked onwards. My walk took me uphill towards Le Palais Princier de Monaco. From here, I got a spectacular view over the country & city. I continued walking up, to marvel at the Prince's Palace (who reigns/rules over Monaco). ("The principality is home to 38,682 residents,[11] of whom 9,486 are Monégasque nationals;[12] it is widely recognised as one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world.[13][14] The official language of the principality is French. In addition, Monégasque (a variety of Ligurian), English and Italian are spoken and understood by many residents."). Another very clean area of Monte Carlo, although...it's all clean! After parting with a few € for souvenir coins and notes, (and with a brief stop outside Chapelle de la Visitation), I entered another grand building - Musée Océanographique de Monaco - the local aquarium. The main tanks are located in the basement, which is perched over the clifftop! A viewing window (in front of the main tank, where scuba divers were cleaning from the inside) afforded a scary look down. I made friends with a friendly stingray (who reminded me of Noel Fielding/Tony Reason in Luxury Comedy - unfortunately Todd, with his crayfish salad, wasn't with him...must have "popped to Pret"!. https://youtu.be/E9UTZnaxOTM?si=Zvw1dyOhK4sJmxbU). On the middle floors of the building is an exhibition space, which was currently housing one about Polar expeditions, something which the Royal Family (Grimaldi family) is very keen on. This included a large projection space, which was awe-inspiring. Lastly, on the top floor terrace, is a spectacular view over Monaco, made even better by the sunny weather being experienced at the time. I appreciated the view for a while, then exited via the gift shop. As I descended back into the city centre, I could see World Rally Championship cars lined up along the harbour front. Only after reading a post on Facebook did I realise I was lucky enough to be in the city for the opening ceremony of Rallye Monte Carlo (or 'The Monty' for short). I walked along Boulevard Albert 1er, which is where paddocks are set up for the start/finish 'straight' of Monaco F1! It's very inconspicuous - the only clue being the starting positions and start/finish line. It's amazing how it's all set up in time for the F1. Both the F1 and the rally are organised by Automobile Club de Monaco. From Wikpedia: "The club serves as the governing body for motorsport within Monaco, and organises the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix and Monte Carlo Rally...Founded in 1890 as an association of cyclists, the Sport Vélocipédique Monégasque, the club began to incorporate motorists in 1907 and was renamed the Sport Vélocipédique et Automobile Monégasque. Alexandre Noghès, the SVAM's president, started planning the principality's first international motorsport event, the Monte Carlo Rally, at the behest of Albert I, Prince of Monaco. The rally would start at points across Europe, and converge on Monaco to finish. The club ceased to organise cycling events following the First World War and was renamed the Automobile Club de Monaco in 1925. The ACM applied to the AIACR (the forerunner to the FIA) to be upgraded from a regional French club to a full national member, but had their application refused because no motorsport event was held entirely within Monaco's borders.[2] Antony Noghès, the son of the club's President, organised the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 on a circuit around the streets of Monaco, and the ACM was promptly admitted to the AIACR.[1] The Monaco Grand Prix was part of the European Championship in the 1930s, and was included in the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950. The Grand Prix has been held continuously since 1955, and despite minor modifications over the years, it is still largely run over the same circuit as the inaugural race in 1929" I walked around to admire rally cars up close, and saw the car of Lorenzo Bertelli & Simone Scattolin (both Italian), No.37 Toyota GR Yaris Rally, being prepared. I was asked (in Italian) to move for their photoshoot! I couldn't believe I was this close to famous cars, which I've only seen in-game up until now. It was but a short walk to La Collection Automobiles de S.A.S. le Prince de Monaco, a chic 'underground' car collection from various eras and genres. Small, but nicely laid out (on two levels) with every vehicle and surface in a pristine condition. If you're a car fan, I'd recommend a visit to this compact collection. After spending just over an hour here, my task was walking the Grand Prix circuit. My walk took me along the harbour front, then through the famous Tunnel Larvotto (via a 'conveniently located' souvenir shop next-door. They had some interesting merchandise, including a magazine about Princess Grace of Monaco (or "Princess Monaco of Kent" as coined by Gary Delaney)). From here, I walked up to view the very famous Fairmont Hairpin. Standing here was very interesting - imagine spending thousands on a hotel room overlooking here to view the race...luxury! I still had around an hour to kill before the commencement of the conveniently timed WRC Opening Event, so I stopped in the very fancy Metropole Shopping Centre. I had a look at wine - the most expensive being a mere €1420. I then reached the courtyard of Monaco's famous Casino de Monte-Carlo (and am happy to say I didn't gamble any money away - not that I know how!) for the start of the ceremony. There were interviews with drivers, Monarchy VIPs turned up, then at precisely 16:52, the first car was up on the podium for the ceremonial start. A very exciting event to watch live - if only there was a lap of Monte-Carlo to celebrate! I videoed a few cars departing on public roads to their first stage (including Toyota Car No.33, crewed by British pair Elfyn Evans (Driver) and Scott Martin (Co-Driver)), before heading back to the local gare. I left Monaco in Rush Hour, on TER88150 at 17:37. Bad idea! It was a bit of a scrum getting on, much to the dismay of the one lady alighting. When we arrived in Nice-Ville, I did debate catching a delayed diesel operated TER to Breil-sur-Roya, but didn't see the point of doing the route in the dark. I walked to my hotel, via O'Tacos (a French customisable taco chain - which comes with fries inside as standard!), that night being Hotel 66 (I think the same chain as Hotel 64 two nights ago, as the decor looked very similar). Another day ended, three more to go! See you tomorrow. A second early start this morning, as I was to catch TER86003 from Nice-Ville to Ventimiglia in Italy. I arrived at Nice-Ville, and the station lighting seemed to be playing up (flickering on and off). Not a great start! SNCF double-deck EMU Z26527 (in service from 2005) was my traction. A quick note from Wikpedia about French numbering: "Vehicle numbers are three to six digits long. The first (not always present) digit indicates the sector in which that vehicle operates:
- 1: SNCF Voyages: high-speed services, including the TGV - 2: Intercités: medium-distance services - 4: SNCF Fret: freight operations - 5: Transport Express Régional (TER): urban, local and regional services - 6: SNCF Infra: maintains rail infrastructure, the assets of Réseau ferré de France (RFF) - 7: Departmental use - 8: Transilien: commuter services serving Île-de-France[1] ... The next (possibly first) two or three digits of a vehicle's number indicate its class, in loose bands corresponding to the traction and power output of the stock. Multiple units are numbered the same as locomotives, but prefixed by X for DMUs or Z for EMUs. Diesel shunters are prefixed Y. A now discontinued practice was to prefix the class number by the wheel arrangement". We pulled away bang on time to our first stop at Nice-Riquier. It was unfortunately still dark at this time, but I looked forward to the sunrise later in my journey. We stopped at Beaulieu-sur-Mer ('By the sea') of no relation to Beaulieu Road (back at home) with its limited service. We also stopped at the underground Monaco-Monte Carlo, a seemingly popular spot for alighting (and commuting), and where I'll be tomorrow. We arrived at Ventimiglia, where I noticed IC505 bound for Roma Termini. Perhaps a trip for another time! For the first Italian portion of my journey, an ETR425 Jazz (all of Trenitalia's new units are named after music genres) no.425 was my traction on R12255 to Savona. (Do ya like Jazz?). This line (Ventimiglia - Genoa) is an interesting one, because the once single line skirts the coast. However, the line is has been doubled (in sections) by "building an entirely new double track line parallel to the existing railway, because the original line often runs through towns where there is no space for a second track. The new line has fewer stations than the old, leaving some towns without a railway service. Due to it being mainly in tunnels, the new line does not feature views of the Ligurian coast, making it less attractive for sightseeing.". Despite being in tunnels for 80% of the journey, I still caught glimpses of the sunrise over the Tyrrhenian Sea. The train got very busy with students heading to Imperia. Reminded me of the College Special trains I work back home! A section of single line still survives between Andora & Albenga. I wish I did this line 10 years ago, when it was all this coastal single line. Whilst the speed would have been considerably slower, the scenery would have made up for it. Upon arrival into Savona, I had time for a quick espresso and pastry break, before heading to Platform 6 for my 09:31 RV3122 loco hauled departure to Torino Porta Nuova. 464586 was at the sharp end, and I found a comfortable single seat in the bike coach. All of you regulars will remember; I've had 464 haulage before, operated by Trenord, last year (from Torano to Milan), as Trenord use ex-Trenitalia stock. We departed on-time, to take the route via Ferrania, rather than the spiralous route via Altare. (Both routes join back up at San Giuseppe, I'll have to come back again!). Here, there is an interesting looking cable car back to the port of Savona. Unfortunately, this is for transporting coke (not Fanta), not people! An ingenious solution all the same. This used to be the longest air transport line in the world. All in all, this was a very enjoyable journey; the train was lightly loaded, there were lovely views and a nice breeze through a recently opened window. What more could one ask for? The journey was uneventful until our approach into Torino Puerta Nuova, where we had emergency stop approaching the buffer stops. Too fast? I don't know a great deal about Italian signalling or safety systems. I had a couple of hours in Turin to take in the sights. I covered the Metro from Porta Nuova to the end of the line at Fermi, then back to Re Umberto. (Named after "Umberto I (Italian: Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary."). I then took a slow walk back to the stazione ferroviaria, stopping at Gallerio San Federico on the way (The Italian Job was filmed here - I was only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!!). I had a brief pizza slice stop (and at the Lego Store) before heading into the grandeur of Porta Nuova station. My couple of hours in Turin was nowhere near enough. I'd love to come back to the city, especially to ride the trams, and to tick off the other end of the city's only metro line, where there's the national motor museum. From here, it was 464624's turn to haul me to Cuneo as RV3227. We again departed on-time, but made slow progress towards Torino Lingotto and out to the suburbs. We were about 7L, including out of Fossano (where we branched off). Connection in trouble! It was at this train's terminus, Cuneo, I was to change to R22959, with a 5 minute connection. Services from Cuneo are very sporadic, with only 3(?) services in this direction each day. This required very careful planning! When I had my FIP coupon checked, I asked the Conduttrici (I do not know what the official Italian Job title is!) that the next service would wait. She advised me that it's a booked connection. We actually only arrived into Cuneo 3 minutes late, Trenitalia 452093 (a Diesel Multiple Unit) was waiting for our arrival. Another comfortable, clean, continental train! Despite again being in tunnels for a lot of the journey, the parts that are out in the open are spectacular. Valley passes awaited, with their winding roads and rivers. Also, this service had a very local feel. At Vievola (briefly back in France, blame history) someone took their shopping off the train, and then reversed their van onto the "platform" to pick it up! Due to dipping into France, most of the small, rundown, shacks are operated by SNCF. We arrived back at Ventimiglia approximately on-time, so then at precisely 17:47, 26513 took me to Menton as TER86064. I walked from here (via French McDonald's, I've mentioned before why I choose it sometimes - I don't like to eat in full service restuarants alone) along the seafront. There was a French Funfair in town, so I took the opportunity to tick off an interesting coaster credit (a toboggan coaster, which was fine until a small drop in the midcourse!), then continued my walk to the Garavan area of Menton. My 'digs' for the night was IBIS Budget, which was perfectly reasonable for the price. Thanks again if you've stayed with me so far - speak tomorrow! My day started early today (as usual). 700033 (9R00) took me on an uneventful excursion to Farringdon, where I changed for the Liz line to Heathrow Terminal 4. 345027 (9H20) took me there uneventfully. I still marvel at the architecture every time I go down to the platforms. Unfortunately, due to train times, I had to choose between arriving 2.5 hours early or 1.5 hours early. 1.5 would be fine, but that's assuming I get there on-time! I chose to play it safe. One of my main reasons for this trip was to tick off airside 'Star Light' (another example without 'the' in its name). This occurred without incident, as it was a good opportunity for breakfast. Significantly more expensive than other 'Spoons, but this is due to airport rents. On the way to my expected gate, I noticed a sign for 'View Heathrow'. This pricked my ears up, so I made my way up and was greated with a spectacular view of Arrivals on 27L. I could also spot Concorde G-BOAB in the distance. I watched the incoming Air France flight arrive (F-HPNA, an Airbus A220 not even a year old (its first flight on 13/06/23). This was a great benefit of having my original (A320) flight cancelled, just after I booked it. I made my way to my gate for AF1681 to meet F-HPNA. We boarded on-time, and I marvelled at the chic 2-3 interior. I took my window seat, and once baggage was loaded (I don't mean my emotional baggage), we pushed back roughly on-time to taxi to the runway (finding a slot to cross the busy 27L). We turned onto 27R, The Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines spooled up and we were in the air. I really liked these new A220s (ex-Bombardier design, purchased by Airbus), and so I hope more airlines order them.
The flight was uneventful, and we landed 10 minutes early, which I thought afforded me extra time to make my connection. Unfortunately, it took us over 10 minutes to taxi to gate (arriving on-time), and changing from Terminal 2E to 2F at Charles de Gaulle requires re-clearing security! I had to exit the sterile zone in order to re-enter it. I made sure to meticulously follow signs, so despite this unnecessary delay, I made it through passport control and to my bus gate, below the grandeur of Terminal 2F. With the Paris Olympics coming up, they want to look their best. (I never want to do a connecting flight again. I was grateful for the variety today though!). This bus took us to a remote stand, onto AF9394, today performed by F-HBLR, an Air France Hop Embraer 190. At 14 years old, this was not quite as young as the A220! We pushed back about 20 minutes late, and queued up behind a couple of other Embraer 190s, before we powered up into the air. I got a spectacular view of the French Alps as we soared over Valence. It just reminded me of how much I miss Switzerland! I'm fairly certain I spotted the famous Matterhorn slopes in the far distance, as well as Mont Blanc. It was then back to earth again, where we landed just under 15L after a sweeping approach above the French Riviera. A very enjoyable flight - especially marvelling at the weather, which was spectacular when compared to the UK! I made a quick exit through the airport, where I immediately got on tram Line 3 to Saint-Isodore, then back to Digue les Français to tick off the branch of Line 2 to CADAM Centre Administratif. I then headed down to Grand Arénas, so I could tick off the third side of the triangle (that's how dedicated I am). From there, I went to the terminus of Port Lympia (where I took some good photos of the excellent architecture gleaming in the sun). I then went back one stop to Garibaldi/Le Château, as I wanted to have a look at one of these underground stations, where the line runs under the streets of Nice. Trams are a great way to see cities (on above-ground sections!) and Nice trams are battery operated through the streets, which is a strange phenomenon to me. From here, I walked up to street level, up Mount Eberlé to Le Château itself. There was a spectacular view of the harbour ("if you sit over there, there's a lovely view of the harbour" - Sean Lock (RIP) doing his Michael Jackson tea shop impression). If you're ever in Nice; I highly recommend this vantage point of the Côte d'Azur, Mediterranean Coast. The landscaping up there is lovely, with lush green plants and clean fountains. You get awesome views of both Nice Harbour, and the entire city of Nice. Certainly nicer than Paris! After taking in the views, I made my way down through the streets to Cathédrale - Vieille Ville, and rode Line 1 (above ground) to Hôpital Pasteur. From here, I rode back the entire length of Line 1 to the opposite terminus of Henri Sappia. It was a mere few stops back from here to Gare Thiers, where my hotel was located (Hotel 64, which I highly recommend in the low season, as I only paid about £40). I'd successfully cleared the Nice tram network in just a few hours! A brief bit of rolling stock watch before I sign off: "The cars of the Nice tramway are unique and have been designed to blend in with the Niçois architecture. They are based on the Alstom Citadis family of tramcars and were built near La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes. A standard 5-car tram measures 35 m (114 ft 10 in) but two extra carriages were added, bringing the length to 45 m (147 ft 7+5⁄8 in). The tram is 2.65 m (8 ft 8+3⁄8 in) wide and can carry 200 passengers at an average speed of 18 km/h (11 mph) compared to an average speed of 11 km/h (6.8 mph) for the bus. It uses the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in). For T2 and T3 lines new Citadis 405 were built. They consist of seven cars and are equipped with a Ground-level power supply and batteries" I quickly stopped at Speed Burger (a French chain), which I highly recommend. They had my order ready to the minute. I then had an early night, as I was to be up at 0500 the next day. See you then! Another cold morning. I was intending to catch 9R08 but this was running severely late and subsequently caped due to overnight OHLE issues at Luton. Thankfully, 1R85 could take me to East Croydon 3 minutes earlier. 377203 & 208 formed this service this morning. From East Croydon, I caught 2M13, the 07:10 to Watford Junction (377707), as far as Balham, where it was a simple cross-platform change to for 2F05, 06:58 London Bridge - London Victoria, as far as Streatham Hill (377703 & 377708). The reason I went this long way round was to change for 2W94, the 07:50 to London Bridge via Tulse Hill, which is a new twice daily service via my required curve at Leigham Junction (this used to be used by a once per day parliamentary service to Kensington Olympia). Upon arrival at London Bridge, I caught late running 9T82, 06:56 Brighton - Bedford (700152, vice my planned 9R12) to St Pancras International.
I made my usual walk to Euston to catch 1H09, today operated by 9 car 390045. You wouldn't know it's 18° outside, as 390s are *always* warm! The journey was uneventful until Stoke-on-Trent, where we caught up with late running 1M25, which was also due to call at the same stops we were. We subsequently arrived into Piccadilly 9L. I headed downstairs to the Metrolink platform, where I tapped in with my Contactless card (there's a very distinctive tap in sound) and waited for my Yellow Line tram to Bury. There are great views out of the pointy end from the front seats. I'm sure the general speed of trams has been drastically reduced in recent years, I think in wake of the Croydon tram crash (the news from that fateful day is still ingrained in my memory). We emerged into the clouds as far Queens Road (where one of the Metrolink depots are located). It was then a 10 minute walk to the Museum of Transport. This is only open on Wednesdays and Sundays (aside from special events), hence my visit today. A really nice transport museum, with a large collection of buses and a reasonably priced tea room. There's the original mock up of the now retired Firema (Indian) T-68 tram type, but that's as far as the tram exhibits go. This is a historic tram then bus depot, including preserved facilities such as the Traffic School and management offices, so there is an abundance of buses around from all eras. There's also exhibits covering things like ticket machines and fare collection (speaking of fares, Adult entry is only £6). Pictures speak louder than words, so you may find pictures of my visit more interesting. Don't ask me to name all the bus types from memory though! I definitely recommend a visit here, perhaps on a running day (which I may return for). The best part is that it's all indoors - a welcome relief from the Mancunian rain! I enjoyed a sausage roll (when in the North) in the preserved staff canteen, before heading off. I made my way back to Queens Road tram stop (I wouldn't want to walk these back alleys at night!) to catch a tram to Deansgate-Castlefield, then a change for Weaste via Pomona (not 'Pomona the Vampire'). Trams were terminating there this week, so I took the opportunity for rare track! It was then a short backtrack to MediaCityUK for a short walk, via the BBC and ITV at MediaCity, across the River Irwell to Imperial War Museum North which was next on my list of places to visit. I enjoyed the London branch of the IWM, along with Duxford, Churchill War Rooms and HMS Belfast, so it was interesting to visit this part of their collection. This is set in a large, modern building (opened in 2002, but it still looks new) alongside the Manchester Ship Canal. There are many interesting exhibits here, in a timeline covering wars from WW1 to the present day, including the cause, course and consequences of these. Every so often, a projection show is presented on the museum's walls, telling stories of those involved in wars. When I visited, there was an exhibition called 'Generations' showcasing Portraits of Holocaust Survivors, a very moving subject. Upon finishing my visit, I caught a couple of trams (via a change at Deansgate-Castlefield) back to Piccadilly. My mission here was to visit a local burger chain, Archie's which I've always seen but never visited. A nice burger, but very pricey, much like Five Guys. It cost me near enough £18 for a burger, fries and a milkshake (although this was very nice). I then headed back to Piccadilly for the 16:55 back to London. Un-refurbished, 9 car, 390049 was my traction back. I try to stick to 11 car Pendolinos where possible, partly for the refurbishment and partly for the increased amount of available seats. All was going well until we were delayed at Milton Keynes Central due to the Up Slow being blocked by failed freight 4L18 (Its hot axle box detector being set off), so a stopper was put in front of the ex-Birmingham service in front of us. This meant we arrived into London Euston 18L, meaning I had about 20 minutes to make it across to Victoria. No problem, I've done it in 10! From here, I caught 1L60 home. Thanks again for reading! It has been a while. Having recently moved, it was a slightly longer walk to my local station to join 700103 on 9R06 as far as St Pancras International. This was running a few minutes late due to 1R83 (all shacks from Redhill to Purley) running a few minutes down, as there just isn't enough time to attach the Peak time portion from Gatwick. I remember a few years back, when I used to commute into London, that one day this service turned up as a 4 car vice 12. That was fun! I got to Hull Trains 803301 just after door release, but someone had already taken my favourite seat in Coach A, a single seat. Not to worry, as I choose this service (1H01, 07:27 King's Cross - Hull) as it's usually always lightly loaded. We departed King's Cross Right Time, but were held outside Finsbury Park for a late running Horsham - Peterborough Class 700. We reached my destination, Retford, RT thanks to some pathing allowance for catching up with 1N80, the LNER "Stopper" to York. From Retford, it was a journey on 158791 on 1L44, 08:26 Lincoln - Leeds, as far as Worksop. I walked just under 15 minutes to 'The Liquorice Gardens'. "Worksop's jewel in the crown is its priory church, where liquorice was grown in the gardens for medicinal purposes. Worksop was well known for its liquorice industry; this died out around 1750". I elected to miss this on my last trip up here to get more time in Nottingham, as train times weren't ideal. My chosen drink of pineapple juice (a tiny bit too early to start drinking) was served very quickly as the pub was lightly loaded. A seemingly older style 'Spoons but with a fresher feel. Not a sticky table in sight!
I then meandered back to the railway station for 195024 on 1L48, 09:15 Lincoln Central - Leeds, as far as Sheffield. I find the new CIS announcements interesting. "...service t'Leeds". Now officially Northern! We arrived into Sheffield 2L, as we sat at Woodburn Junction for a few minutes (we had a pathing allowance of 5 minutes, a 1 minute performance allowance and a 1 minute engineering allowance!), then sat awaiting a platform for another few minutes. I duly exited the open station. Sheffield must be one of the largest stations in the country without ticket barriers. Armed with a great value PlusBus, a number 44 bus took me to 'The Woodseats Palace' in Woodseats (funny enough) in the South of the City of Sheffield. On the way, we passed 'Heeley People's Park', but there was no-one eating mushrooms in this people's park. "This pub is a former cinema. Woodseats Palace was the name of the cinema built on this site in 1911. Reconstructed as a supermarket, 50 years later, it is now a Wetherspoon pub bearing the building’s original name.". Another older style pub with a local feel to it. Table service time wasn't too bad, despite there being a few morning drinkers at the bar. I didn't have a reason to stay too long (a standard affair Spoons), so I caught a No.25 bus (which I had to carefully look out for due to an idiot parked in the bus stop) to finally visit Rails of Sheffield (Wallet in trouble), which I forgot, until I passed it, is in this area of town. I then caught a No.25 bus to 'The Sheaf Island'. A very student orientated pub (seeing as Sheffield is a University city) in a very large building. "A pub on the site of an old brewery? What could be better!...Wards was the last of Sheffield's major local breweries, closing down in the summer of 1999. For almost 160 years, Wards produced a range of beers well known to Sheffield's pub-goers, with names such as Sheffield Best Bitter, Kirby Strong and Waggledance. Kirby Strong immortilised John Kirby, who started it all back in 1840 when he established the Sheaf Island Brewery, on Effingham Road". It was here that I had my first alcoholic drink, a half pint of Thornbridge Jaipur, which I've had a keg of in my PerfectDraft machine. It wasn't too busy, so this was served quickly. I then walked a mile to 'The Francis Newton'. "This pub is named after The Master Cutler, head of Cutlers. Broombank House was built for the wealthy cutlery manufacturer Francis Newton, as his family home. The Georgian-style house was within easy walking or riding distance of his Portobello Works. In 1844, Newton was elected Master Cutler, the head of the prestigious Company of Cutlers. Sheffield is the cutlery capital of the world." Here, I rewarded myself with a glass of orange cordial (an entire 38p, I was thirsty from the walk, need to save money and it still counts as a drink!). This is a large pub in an old manor house, with bay windows looking out onto a large tree lined beer garden. Lovely on a Summer's day, not so lovely on a wet and windy day like today! It was then time for my first tram ride of the day (Included with my PlusBus, I completed the tram network here many years ago), up to Hillsborough. Apart from the new 'Class 399' tram-trains for the Rotherham-Parkgate extension, Siemens-Duewag trams dating back to the network's opening in 1994 still operate the services. Vossloh (Stadler Rail Valencia) 399207 was my tram-train traction. I quite literally stepped off this into 'The Rawson Spring'. Conveniently located right next to the tram stop, a welcome relief! "This pub can be classed as watering hole, in more ways than one...The former Hillsborough Baths takes its name from the area which developed from the 1860s and 70s. The Ordnance Survey map of 1855 shows that Langsett Road (then called New Road) crossed a sparsely populated area outside the city limits. The military barracks had recently been completed on the north side of New Road. On the south side – where this pub is – there were only the low-lying fields of Rawson Spring Farm and Rawson Spring itself which supplied the barracks with fresh water". I opted for J20 (served quickly) and a Southern Fried Chicken Wrap (a slightly reduced 'Deli Deals' 'student price') to keep me going. It was then onwards aboard classic (from system opening) Siemens-Dueweg no.104 all the way through Sheffield City, down to the terminus at Halfway Park & Ride, before heading a couple of stops back down to Beighton/Drake House Lane. The purpose of my visit to 'out of town' Crystal Peaks shopping centre here was to visit 'The Scarsdale Hundred', a lovely newish pub opened back in 2021. I really like new openers, this one a former American diner in a round building. "Situated on the west side of Beighton, this centuries-old village is now one of the city of Sheffield's 28 electoral wards. For hundreds of years, Beighton had historically been in Derbyshire, in the Administrative area known as the Hundred of Scarsdale. In the Domesday Book, from 1086, it was one of the 71 places recorded in the Scarsdale Hundred.". Here, I had a half of real ale 'Lancaster Black' from Lancaster Brewery. I then walked back to the tram stop, to catch another tram (No.120) to Castle Square in the City Centre to visit 'The Bankers Draft'. "This pub is named after its previous use as a bank. The building was designed and built in 1904 for the York & County. It became the Midland Bank in 1918, which it remained until it relocated in 1989.". Another older style Spoons pub (complete with creaky stairs up to the 'mezzanine', three levels if you include the basement bogs), a typical large City Centre Spoons. My half pint of guest ale, Cameron Brewery's Cameron Road Crew, was served quickly. Afterwards, I caught another tram a couple of stops to City Hall, to tick off 'Sheffield Water Works Company'. This Palazzo-style building was designed by the architects Flockton and Abbott as offices for the Sheffield Water Works Company. The sculpted heads of Greek and Roman water gods are above the ground-floor windows. The now grade II listed building opened in 1867 and was later the home of the hugely successful Graves Mail Order Empire. It was founded by John George Graves, whose many gifts to the city included Graves Park and Graves Art Gallery.". Interesting fact: one of the only Wetherspoon without 'The' in the name! Another historic building saved by the Wetherspoon company (one of their many strengths), an ex Lloyds No.1 bar (the clubbing arm of Wetherspoon, which means music is allowed to be played, usually Tim Martin doesn't want that). In here I tried the new Iced Salted Caramel Mocha. F to the old Lavazza Iced Coffee cans, the Jimmy's ones just aren't the same. However, this new version is served from the self service coffee machine! Unfortunately, it took a while for my glass for the iced coffee (with syrup) to be delivered to my table. It was worth the wait though, it really beat the old Lavazza cans which I used to love! It was then only a short walk round the corner, past City Hall (now a gig venue) to 'The Benjamin Huntsman'. "This is named after the inventor of the famous crucible steel-making process which made Sheffield famous. The pub now faces Cambridge Street, originally called Coalpit Lane, which was renamed when the duke of Cambridge, in 1857, laid the foundation stone of the nearby Crimean War monument.". In here I had another favourite of mine, orange juice and lemonade. This two level branch (with an upstairs beer terrace) is very clearly geared toward the local student population, who keep them in business! Another pub with slow table service, despite there being nobody waiting at the bar. I was running ahead of schedule, so it was back to Sheffield Railway Station in time for 1L73, 16:38 Leeds - Lincoln. This had conveniently (for me) been cancelled between Leeds and Sheffield, meaning it was slightly less loaded than what I assumed to be usual. I was on this as far as Retford, where I walked for just under a mile to 'The Dominie Cross'. I had a bit of time here, so I opted to take advantage of Steak Club. "This pub is named after the stone cross which marked Retford’s southern boundary in medieval times. The base of the southern cross (the Dominie Cross) was later moved to Market Square and became known as the Broad Stone. It still stands in front of the Victorian town hall, not far from the Wetherspoon pub in Grove Street. Grove Street was added to the town plan in the 13th century, when it was known as New Gate. During the 19th century, it was the location of the town’s annual horse fair, held in March.". My 'Gourmet' steak was very nicely cooked, and came out hot contrary to popular belief. A suitable chip count made the meal most acceptable. 802304 took me from Retford back to London as 1A97 (A service which I frequent as it's usually quiet). We reached the grandeur of London King's Cross 9L, due to a very questionable signalling decision between Stevenage and Woolmer Green junction. We were put on the slows behind a late running 2C stopper AND an early freight service, despite the ex-Leeds service following us staying on the Fast then catching us up through Welwyn North & Garden City! These sorts of decisions are frustrating. 700114 (which we overtook on the East Coast Mainline) took me towards home as 9S65, and so ended another day. Thanks for sticking with me! I started today off with the Premier Inn breakfast then headed to Essen Hauptbahnhof. Another pair of P89s (5224 & 5236) started me off to Margarethenhöhe to tick off the rest of the U17. The 'trains' again do a lot of street running here, and there is a single line section just before the terminus.
After a few pictures, I then took the same pair back to Holsterhauser Platz, where I changed for tram line 106 to Moltkestraße (No.1618). I'd actually planned to take this to in the other direction (as far as Helenstraße) but as both trams were due at once I boarded the wrong one! Not to worry. From Moltkestraße, I changed to line 105 to Rellinghausen Finefraustraße after an 18 minute wait. This gave me a chance for a few photos before the nice ride out to the suburbs. It was then back on Line 105 all the way back to Rathaus, where I made my way from the tram tunnels to street level. Shops in Germany are geschlossen (closed) on all Sundays! So walking through the City Centre was earily quiet. Therefore, Sundays are a good day for local travelling around some Stadts (cities). I walked half a mile across the city centre to Berliner Platz, from which I ticked off Line U18 to Mülheim Hauptbahnhof (I'd already ticked the Northern half of the U18 day before as it shares a core section with the U11). Stadtbahnwagen Bs built between 1976 & 1985 No.5016 were my traction for this run. This line is the only one not to run on roads, it is separated throughout. Around half of it is sandwiched between both directions of Bundesautobahn 40, which makes for an interesting run. After running between the lanes, some stations are subterranean; with the line emerging above ground onto bridges to cross gaps. This'd make a great Train Simulator route! Around halfway into our run the front set of doors wouldn't close properly, so the Driver got out of his cab to lock these out of use. Not the worst fault considering these units are nearly 50 years old! (Although still newer than London Underground's Bakerloo 1972 stock). I rode the same units again back to Essen Hauptbahnhof. Essen is certainly one of the most interesting cities for transit I've visited, so I'd love to come back to tick off the remainder of the tram lines, and to try to tick some P86s (there were none out and about on my visit). From Essen Hauptbahnhof I caught ICE109 to Köln (it continues to Basel). An ICE 4 (I forgot to get the number, grrrr) did the honours. After a slow run to Duisburg, we sped up to the max line speed of 200km/h (125mph). This was short lived however, as we seemed to be running behind something between Dusseldorf & Köln (as in ZUSI 3!) as we were only running at about 120km/h, and we were held on the Hohenzollern Bridge (hello again) into Köln for about 4 minutes awaiting a route into Köln Hauptbahnhof. We therefore arrived 13L, which cut my time short to view the main tourist attraction, even more important than the Döm (cathedral)! This is a reference to this video: (https://youtu.be/oI9B7qWXV9Q), I was visiting the exact spot. I can sense your excitement! I had a quick look down at the U-Bahn platforms, where a Croydon Tram (K4000) rolled in, which unfortunately I had no time to ride. I say Croydon Tram because the C4000 is heavily based on Cologne's K4000s. Even the old red liveries of both looked similar! It was then back into the grand Hauptbahnhof for ICE14, which would take me to Bruxelles Nord. ICE 3 406583 (An International Version with Belgian safety systems) was my traction for this journey. I had again booked in the panorama car but this time the driver didn't unfrost the glass for us. I don't think panorama seats should be sold if drivers can frost the glass more often than not. There used to be a ruling that they weren't able to in normal running, but this seems to have been recinded. I respect the rights to a driver's privacy but perhaps panoramic seats should no longer be sold as such. I could see through a small bit of glass from where I was sitting though, thanks to the position of the sun. I was grateful for the motor sounds though! There was another driver change at Aachen (we arrived there a bit early surprisingly!), I tried my best German asking the new driver "Könnten Sie bitte das Glas entfrosten?" ("please could you unfrost the glass", although he may have been Belgian!) and he was happy to oblige, kudos to him. We crossed the border into Belgium and then sped down LGV 3 at 260km/160mph for which I had a great view. We branched off to Angleur (we came to a stand on the viaduct just before it as we were joining conventional lines). An SNCB driver (Société nationale des chemins de fer belges) was sat in the cab from here (we made an additional stop at Waremme to drop him off, lucky him!). Usually we'd call at Liege-Guillemins but we were diverted off the LGV line today due to planned works. Our penultimate stop was at Leuven, not normally served by ICEs, so there were a few Belgian trainspotters out and about to witness our rare run. It was then back on the high speed line for the shortish distance from Leuven to Brussels-Nord. Usually we run through to Brussels-Midi but we only (inconveniently) were booked as far as Nord today. We arrived into Nord 13L and I made my way immediately to catch an SNCB service two stops to Brussels-Midi. On this S8 service was a Siemens Desiro ML. Upon arrival at Midi I was a bit lost, due to no immediate signage for the Eurostar terminal. I eventually found my way, and enquired about availability on the immediate departure but there unfortunately was none. Therefore I had no option but to explore part of Brussels before my booked service at 20:55. I caught metro Line 6 to Elisabeth, then walked the short distance to Simonis to complete the stub of Line 6 (it's a spiral sort of shape, like the Circle Line at home) to Roi Baudouin/King Baudouin. At a few stations, the doors are opened on both sides for an easy interchange. From Roi Baudouin (near the same-named stadium, there had been a match earlier in the day so I'm glad I was there in the evening!) I caught the No.250 bus back to Ijzer, which ran down tram tracks for part of the route with some other segregated running with separate signals. Then Bombardier T3000 No.3072 took me back to Gare du Midi on Line 51. Unfortunately, my first impressions of Brussels were rather grim. Perhaps another trip will change my mind. Back at Gare du Midi, I obtained some frites (unfortunately I didn't have time to try Belgian burger chain 'Quick') before heading through the Eurostar Terminal, which was an easy process. My Eurostar service (no.9167, 9I67 on British soil) was showing as delayed from its origin at Amsterdam Centraal, but actually arrived in Bruxelles on-time. 374014 & 374013 did the honours. The journey home went without a hitch, and we arrived 1E which I was grateful for, as it was a tight walk through customs (nothing to declare) to the Thameslink platforms. 2141 miles & 35 chains later (excluding local trips around cities), I arrived home on 9R61. Thanks for reading my entries from the past 6 days (I hope I hadn't bored you by the first!). I waited for 70 minutes for a shortish (but worth it) ride on the footplate on Dampflok (Steam locomotive) no.382267 (a Prussian P 8 recently overhauled, built in 1918, first based in Erfurt). This cost €10, it would have probably cost a few hundred £ at home! This was well worth the wait and the cost. I enjoyed the atmosphere for a bit longer, visited the Essen Model Railway Club's layout in their club coach then it was unfortunately time to leave. I'll have to come back for a ride behind a Dampflok on the preserved Ruhr Valley Railway. I planned to walk to Essen-Horst S-Bahn station, as I'd used all my cash at the Eisenbahnmuseum so couldn't pay for a ride back to either Dahlhausen S-Bahn nor Essen Hbf. This walking route took me over the Ruhr, past the site of an old railway bridge from Dahlhausen Bahnbetriebswek. The S-Bahn train I wanted to catch from Essen-Horst was cancelled, and the next one 30 minutes after! So, I caught the No.184 bus to Essen-Steele then the S1 to Essen Hauptbahnhof.
The reason for my visit to Essen was for the ageing Ex-DLR P86 & P89 trains (P standing for Poplar depot) which first arrived in Essen from 1991. "the P86s were created by Linke-Hoffman-Busche - so they were effectively returning home...however, since they did not meet British safety standards for use in tunnels, the DLR could not use these vehicles on the DLR’s extension to Bank, which was opened in 1991. Therefore, DLR sold its 11 P86 vehicles, which at that time were only a few years old, to EVAG, which at the time needed more vehicles for its planned route extensions. In 1989, DLR procured ten P89 vehicles from British Rail Engineering Limited for route extensions. These cars were very similar to the P86 vehicles, but could be operated to Bank. Due to strong traffic growth and other route extensions, DLR procured new, more modern vehicles that could be used in trains of up to three sets. The installation of DLR’s new Alcatel SelTrac train control system would have meant that the P89 sets would have had to be rebuilt in order to maintain them in operation. They also could not be operated in coupled sets in the DLR’s tunnel sections due to their lack of connecting doors. As a result, after only a few years of operation in London, the P89 sets were also sold to EVAG. All the acquired DLR vehicles were converted by EVAG for their use in Essen. Among other things, driving cabs and rooftop pantographs had to be retrofitted, as these cars had been driven automatically in London and used bottom contact third rail while the Essen Stadtbahn uses overhead electrification." I entered Essen Hbf U-Bahn/Stadtbahn station and was immediately amazed at how smart it looked. U Bahn & Trams run on parallel tracks underground, and share track through core sections. There are low platforms for trams (which have extendable steps), with a ramp to the high end for U-Bahn (although all trams now stop at the high end now), much like at Rotherham Central back in the UK (although it's no competition with Essen!). Thankfully a pair of P89s (5227 & 5228) rolled in almost immediately, so I caught these to the end of Line U11 at West Süd/Gruga (for Grugapark where there is a miniature railway, which I didn't have time for this time). I then ticked off the rest of Line U11 to Altenessen via some on-street running. It's odd to see these ex-DLR P86s running on roads! From Altenessen Bahnhof I ticked off the entirety of tram line 108 to Bredeney on Duewag M8C no.1154 (built 1982). Intending passengers for these services have to cross a lane of traffic to the tram in the centre of the street, and steps extend when the doors open. This ran through the central core section tunnels, shared with U Bahn services. I then returned on the same tram back to Hauptbahnhof, where I made the "long" walk back to my Premier Inn room for the night, ready for my final day in Germany. |
About Me
I should have started writing a travel blog a long time ago considering how much I am out and about. I work on the railway as a Guard so my travels are rather a Busman's holiday! Having Asperger's Syndrome, trains are my intensive interest so I love being around them. I love travelling to different places and seeing the sights. Having discounted rail travel certainly helps. Years before writing this, I had First Class free travel throughout the entire country thanks to my Step-Dad. I have therefore already travelled most of the UK rail network (Ireland and Northern Ireland are still on my list of places to visit). I don't want to stop travelling, so my new mission is travelling round the country visiting every Wetherspoon pub. These are located mainly in town centres, so doing this has enabled me to see things I would never have seen from trains. When I check for directions on Google Maps, I often come across places I've not known about before so I add them to my 'To-visit' list. This should in theory mean I never run out of places to go! Through doing this I've discovered publicly open caves (one of my favourite types of tourist attraction, I love that rugged sort of nature!), museums, and beauty spots just to name a few. Watch this space! I'm not one for vlogging (only vegging) so my content will all be written, along with pictures to go with it. (hover over for captions) |