Re: Birmingham R15
Posted: 30 Apr 2020, 16:39
For those who are interested here is a summary of my day out on Birmingham R15; the last before lockdown!
Eight teams met at Birmingham New Street #1 ready for the start at 11:00. Tufnellpark, xcooler, kingrat and the lunatics headed down to catch the Walsall train, which left 6 mins late. Not a good start. A quick change at Dudley Port #2 but our train arrived back at New Street, also 6 mins late. A furious rush to two different platforms for the Cross City line (north and south) ensued. Trains were missed, so tufnellpark, xcooler and kingrat headed south on the next train. Presumably the lunatics went north. We reversed at Kings Norton #4 and then again at Sutton Coldfield #5. Due to late trains, we had dropped one train and a late arrival back at New Street (yes you guessed it 6 mins late) meant Plan A (13:31 from Moor Street) was scuppered, so on to plan B. Comparing notes, tufnellpark and xcooler had the same revised plan, so we would be enjoying each other's company now for the whole day.
But first a run as tufnellpark and xcooler left New Street on foot and headed up past the cathedral to Snow Hill #6. We lost kingrat who headed to Moor Street. xcooler is faster and my heart rate higher on these runs but we both made the 7 min connection with seconds to spare. We reversed at Kidderminster, our train calling at Blakedown #8 on the return journey. We arrived back at Snow Hill at 15:03, with plenty of time to purchase a Tesco meal deal. Next train was the 15:28 to Stratford-on-Avon which departed 6 mins late! Maybe West Midlands Trains are still on Birmingham time. It was 'Much Ado About Nothing' as we had a leisurely connection at Stratford-on-Avon for the Chiltern line. And who should we meet on that train, yes kingrat, who had unfortunately not made it out to Blakedown and so was a station down. Good news for us.
We left Stratford-on-Avon at 16:40 with stops at the two tricky stations Bearley #12 and Claverdon #13, which only have four trains a day. xcooler flashed his Avanti staff card at the guard which seemed to work after a promise that the guard could travel on Avanti West Coast any time he wanted to. "We're all in this together" was his parting comment. tufnellpark assured the boys that we would make our 2min connection at Art Deco Leamington Spa #14 on to a Cross Country train which whisked us to Coventry. One more train to catch to Tile Hill #15 and we arrived at 17:37, 6 hours and 37 mins after we had started. The early delays had cost me one hour as my Plan A was due to finish in 05:37. We jumped off the train at Berkswell and had a well earned pint in the Brickmakers Arms before heading back to New Street and a post match curry. A lamb balti since you asked!
A fine day out on West Midlands Trains and we will do it all again, same time next year.
Eight teams met at Birmingham New Street #1 ready for the start at 11:00. Tufnellpark, xcooler, kingrat and the lunatics headed down to catch the Walsall train, which left 6 mins late. Not a good start. A quick change at Dudley Port #2 but our train arrived back at New Street, also 6 mins late. A furious rush to two different platforms for the Cross City line (north and south) ensued. Trains were missed, so tufnellpark, xcooler and kingrat headed south on the next train. Presumably the lunatics went north. We reversed at Kings Norton #4 and then again at Sutton Coldfield #5. Due to late trains, we had dropped one train and a late arrival back at New Street (yes you guessed it 6 mins late) meant Plan A (13:31 from Moor Street) was scuppered, so on to plan B. Comparing notes, tufnellpark and xcooler had the same revised plan, so we would be enjoying each other's company now for the whole day.
But first a run as tufnellpark and xcooler left New Street on foot and headed up past the cathedral to Snow Hill #6. We lost kingrat who headed to Moor Street. xcooler is faster and my heart rate higher on these runs but we both made the 7 min connection with seconds to spare. We reversed at Kidderminster, our train calling at Blakedown #8 on the return journey. We arrived back at Snow Hill at 15:03, with plenty of time to purchase a Tesco meal deal. Next train was the 15:28 to Stratford-on-Avon which departed 6 mins late! Maybe West Midlands Trains are still on Birmingham time. It was 'Much Ado About Nothing' as we had a leisurely connection at Stratford-on-Avon for the Chiltern line. And who should we meet on that train, yes kingrat, who had unfortunately not made it out to Blakedown and so was a station down. Good news for us.
We left Stratford-on-Avon at 16:40 with stops at the two tricky stations Bearley #12 and Claverdon #13, which only have four trains a day. xcooler flashed his Avanti staff card at the guard which seemed to work after a promise that the guard could travel on Avanti West Coast any time he wanted to. "We're all in this together" was his parting comment. tufnellpark assured the boys that we would make our 2min connection at Art Deco Leamington Spa #14 on to a Cross Country train which whisked us to Coventry. One more train to catch to Tile Hill #15 and we arrived at 17:37, 6 hours and 37 mins after we had started. The early delays had cost me one hour as my Plan A was due to finish in 05:37. We jumped off the train at Berkswell and had a well earned pint in the Brickmakers Arms before heading back to New Street and a post match curry. A lamb balti since you asked!
A fine day out on West Midlands Trains and we will do it all again, same time next year.