Out For The Long Haul

A couple of weeks ago Harry of Norfolk Scene asked me if I wanted to join him observing and photographing the first day of the Summer services to Great Yarmouth, which involve a full Mainline set being pulled by a Class 47 loco. I have wanted to do this for years so was pleased to accept the invitation. What I didn't know is Harry knew of a lineside path that gave us excellent views far away from the multitude of enthisiasts who had gathered together at Yarmouth Station. The sun came out to warm us up - really warm us up and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Got some pics I really like and next aim is to spend a few hours at Berney Arms one Saturday during the Summer getting some picturesque shots while supping a decent pint!

The duty loco today was 47501, and here she is with the first drag of the day - not the best pic but.......

If at first you don;t succeed - some hours later with the second drag a much better effort

The star of the show switches tracks at Yarmouth to get to the front of the set for the return journey.

Other highlights included a double Class 153. 153322 leads 153335 heading into Yarmouth

Operating the other fast Norwich services was 170270

For the record Mr Anonymous First Eastern Counties have done nothing to annoy me today, therefore by your reckoning today is the first day in the blog's history I haven't "slagged them off". Put it in your diary!

Scottish Trip Part 3

And so to the main event, at least it was for me. An early start saw Grace and I aboard the 0633 from Edinburgh to Perth, on the first leg on our day trip to Skye via the Inverness - Kyle of Lochalsh line. However, before that I spent a rather novel 15 mins at 6am taking pics of buses in the early Edinburgh sun - how many buses can you take pics of at 6am round here!!

Lothian 936 Volvo B9tl Gemini 2 SN09 CVX taken at 6am by Waverley Station

So off we went in the comfort of 3 car DMU 170421 on the journey to Perth. A short wait there and another 170 came in on the long jorney to Inverness, which passes through some really spectacular and changing scenery.

First Scotrail 170415 at Perth en route to Inverness

At Inverness we had the chance of a short break so out came the camera for the most Northerly bus pic taken by a blog owner I have seen so far!

Stagecoach 27906, E200 SN63 VUE close to Inverness Station

We then boarded DMU 158 for the trip to Kyle of Lochalsh, and it didn't disappoint. It is simply stunning, and it is a continuous niggle that I was 6 weeks away from a transfer to Kyle depot when my eyes gave out on me. I can't believe I would have been paid to travel that glorious line day after day. The only downside was that the weather changed while we went from East Coast to West Coast and it was a howling gale when we got there, with rain following later. However, I still got a pic of our 158 at what is my favourite terminus in the UK.

Scotrail 158713 at Kyle of Lochalsh with the mountains shrouded by cloud

It was gone half past midnight by time we got back to Edinburgh, and I was amazed at the number of night buses in operation. Unfortunately my camera didn't manage to get a pic worth publishing, but it only enhanced my respect for the Edinburgh public transport system.

The next day I rather sulkily headed back to London, this time by train, and an experience of the East Coast Main Line. No problems to report - again there was a powerpoint at my seat - Greater Anglia please note - and we arrived in Lindon on time. I was hoping for an HST set, but the Class 91 that pushed us all the way did a more than adequate job.

Unusually on a normal set Sky HD liveried 91125 sits at Kings Cross after arriving from Edinburgh

Three companies impressed me no end on this trip. Stagecoach's Megabus service is that cheap I can see myself being quite a regular on it in the future - I already have my next trip booked. Lothian Buses and now Trams give Edinburgh a transport system a lot of places would do well to take inspiration from. Cheap - very cheap, accessible, regular and well publicised. Can't fault them. A highly varied fleet too. And finally First. First Group seem to make a better job of running trains than they do buses. Scotrail operated faultlessly for us over the 18 hours we were travelling. Clean trains, punctual trains, quality staff, great information. Just don't charge 30p to use loos in places like Inverness - pointless when you can wait and go on the train!

I'll finish this series of posts with the cutest train you'll ever see. A lot of Scottish stations have them, and I think they really add something. I hope you've enjoyed this series and I hope for another one in a couple of weeks.

Altogether now - Awwwwwww!! Seen at Kirkcaldy Station

Customer Service???

Today I intended to go to Ipswich to photograph the newly returned 69008 in her new paint job to see if I liked it better in real life than I do in the pics I've seen so far. This was going to prove awkward as I had a minibus booked to Halesworth and had to double back. So I caught the train to Saxmundham, decided not to get on 69427 going the long way round via Aldeburgh and waited for the 1027 64 from Tesco at Saxmundham.

And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Luckily there was a lady with a baby also waiting for that bus on a morning that seemed more like March than July, who I was able to talk to. So when the bus was 25 mins late I tweeted First Ipswich, who 10 mins later informed me that according to the depot everything was out and there were no probs. I replied that it was now 33 mins late to which I was offered the contact email to register a complaint and a repeat that the depot knew nothing. So obviously the bus was lost missing in action. The 1127 was 3 mins late, and the driver told us immediately he had passed the 1027 at Leiston where it had broken down with air problems. So effectively that was 80 mins after it had broken down and First Ipswich didn't know about it, at least that is what we were led to believe. I decided against going to Ipswich after all and caught the 196 shoebox home.

That is the second time in 3 weeks that bus has failed to turn up on a route that is an hourly service. It is twice in three weeks I have known what has happened to the bus before First Ipswich have allegedly known. No tweet ever went out about that cancelled service. As customer service goes it is nonexistent. Is it any wonder their reputation is so low it would win the World Limbo Dancing Championships?

So in the absence of 69008 here is a picture that rather summed it all up

X1 Analysis

I have just been looking at the new timetable for the X1 commencing at the end of the month and I'm confused. First are saying that the reason for splitting the route at Norwich is to help punctuality during the roadworks on the A47 at Postwick. OK so taking that into account here a few comparisons between the old timetable and new timetable.

1.  Currently along the affected section the X1 is allowed 38 mins off peak 40 mins peak to get from Yarmouth to Norwich. After the new timetable starts taking into account the possible delays the X1 will be allowed erm 38 mins off peak and 46 peak to get from Yarmouth to Norwich.

2. Currently the vehicles operating the X1 shorts get 22 mins turn round time at Norwich. Taking into account the possible delays caused by the roadworks it seems that in the new timetable the vehicles operating the Lowestoft - Norwich section of the route will be allowed erm 8 mins turn round time.

3. Currently the journey time between Lowestoft and Yarmouth is 42 mins operating limited stop.  once the new timetable comes into operation and all stops will be observed the new time allowed for the journey will be 44 mins - just 2 mins extra.

It looks like the off peak vehicle requirement for the Norwich - Lowestoft section will be 10 vehicles, unless I have got the layover at Norwich wrong and in fact it will be 28 mins to allow for the roadworks in which case it will be 11 vehicles. I've forgotten if 7 or 8 E400's are coming over to Yarmouth from Kings Lynn but either way including the 4 vehicles normally on the X1 shorts it shouldn't leave Yarmouth short of vehicles unless there are serious shortages due to maintainace etc.

I guess time will tell how successful this split will be, but since the connections at Norwich are not guaranteed I still think that this decision may not have been taken with the passenger's best interests at heart, but with half an eye on Anglian instead. If the maximum extra delay First envisage is only 6 mins, if the timetableis to be believed, was that really sufficient reason to split the route? It will be interesting to see what happens in 18 months when the roadworks are complete.

Scottish Trip Part 2

So after emerging bleary eyed from St Andrew's Bus Station in Edinburgh I was looking forward to seeing a true plethora of vehicles and colours. So naturally the first bus I saw was a First 52 reg President. After pinching myself to make sure I wasn't still on Megabus in the middle of a nightmare (bad dream not the journey) one of Edinburgh's new trams came gliding round the corner from Princes Street. My word they are smart and I love their livery. After meeting up with my Scottish correrspondent, Grace, which was a thrill in itself, we decided to spend a few hours just riding around. Of course we had to start with the trams, so a day ticket was purchased, of which more later, and we boarded the tram going the wrong way to theYork St terminus so we could bag the best seats for the trip to Gyle. Quiet, smooth, maybe a little warm but that won't be a problem often in Scotland. They also go extremely well on the non road sections. I must mention the on board staff, who were a real credit to Lothian Transport. We had a long chat on the way back with a Conductor and her trainee, and it was a real treat.

One of Lothian's trams turns off Princes Street into St Andrew's Square

Drivers cab of an Edinburgh tram

And here is a short video I took at Gyle of the tram departing. Not the best but a bit spur of the moment!

So after lunch there were a couple of things I wanted to do, and a ride on a no.1 was top of my list. So we boarded one of Lothian's Volvo B7 hybrids for the short trip to Easter Road,so I could see Hibs football ground. Now I am a fan of B7rle's - love them, but these hybrids are a bit disconcerting. The way the engine cuts out every time the bus stops just makes you think it's continually stalling. There is also a big gap between the electric motor cutting out and the diesel engine firing back up. The sudden variance in engine/motor noise makes it impossible to hold a conversation without either sounding like you're shouting when the engine cuts out, or not being able to hear what's being said when the engine is active. They do look good though!

One of Lothian's Volvo B7 hybrids taken last year by Grace

After catching another one to the other side of the City so I could see Heart's ground too, Grace said she had never been on a 10, which is operated by rather grandly liveried E400's. I too was interested to see how the E400's were like in Scotland, since they are built in Scotland. Alas it was the same old story - they look magnificent but it all goes downhill once they start moving. The usual rattles from components that just should not be rattling for at least another 10 - 15 years. A nice trip through the posher parts of the city though and a good photo opportunity at the other end.

A Lothian AD E400 at Torphin terminus

My fav pic of the day, however, was taken while waiting for the above vehicle in the City centre. Routemasters look good regardless of where they are, and this example is no exception

RM 242 on an Edinburgh tour

Finally back to the cost of all that. Lothian do a day ticket that is valid from the first "day bus" till the last "day bus", so everything except night buses. It is also available on the trams all day, except to the airport. A pic of the ticket is below and it is worth remembering that day buses operate from around 5am - 1am 7 days a week. It is also worth remembering that an Anglian day ticket is £7 and a First network ticket is £14, although that is being reduced when the X1 changes come into effect.

Now how cheap is that. Makes you want to spit at the prices in our region.

In the next post an 18 hour day trip to Skye. Stay tuned!