Okay, now closed folks! And well done to those who guessed Station Lima was
Okehampton. Those being:
tubeguru,
trains500,
Michael Churchill and
Sam. And most of these also got the bonus too: Why was my visit so significant?
Well, the clue was I’d made a special trip to Barking Riverside a few weeks previously. As this station and branch had opened in July, I wanted to ‘tick it off’ quickly, as I’d already ticked off every other NR station apart from – Station Lima. So when I travelled into Okehampton station, that was it – for the first time, I could say
I’ve travelled from/to/through every station on the National Rail network! Yes, I finally made it! For now at least.
To clarify the way I ‘play the game’: All NR stations with current, regular scheduled passenger services are now ticked off. I didn't initially set out to do all the stations per se (like Geoff), but want to travel all the
routes (which obviously includes all the stations anyway...) I don't have to stop at every station, but must pass between, or along, its platforms. When a new station opens on a line I've already travelled, I don't need to re-visit it to tick it off. Some recent examples include Soham and Robroyston, and more recently Bond Street (opening just four days after my Okehampton visit).
But new stations on new or untravelled lines need to be visited (e.g. Barking Riverside). The next ones I need to tick off when they open will probably be Willenhall and Darlaston. (Though there are now regular passenger services on this route, so I may travel it before the stations open anyway.)
As for track-bashing, well yes, I'm continuing to do that. In August I booked on the Lumo 1448 from KX to Newcastle, just so I could travel the York Avoiding line. Never guess what? We were diverted through York station at the last minute... Grrrr! BUT – I’m having another shot at it this Wednesday, as I head up to Scotland for Christmas.
So, for your next challenge: should I set station November in December? Or wait until January? Yes, let’s do that. Have a break for a few weeks, and we’ll re-group when I’m back from Scotland.
Have a fantastic Christmas, folks!