If you haven't already, check out part 1 of this series of posts, which went live on Wednesday.
So, up first today.... the class 170 turbostar.
This type of train can be found on many routes across the country, but I've used them for various journeys between Nottingham and Birmingham New Street or stations in between the two, such as Derby and Tamworth. The main memory I have of these is how busy they were when I went to Birmingham; whilst the online booking system gave us seat reservations apparently these weren't valid, and I was very lucky to get a seat both ways. The trains were packed full of people, on both a Sunday afternoon and a Monday afternoon, and I had a small suitcase with me as well, which didn't help matters. These trains could really use being doubled up to increase capacity and prevent people from packing all the way down the aisle of the train, as happened on most of my journeys on them.
And next up, the class 185.
This was a few years ago now, when I travelled between Manchester Piccadilly and York with family as part of a holiday in the north of the UK. And when I say a few years ago, I mean 3 years ago, a full 2 years before I even started thinking of doing GirlOnRails. And we booked first class tickets for a Sunday lunchtime, more than anything because between the 3 of us, we had 2 relatively big suitcases (we were away for a week and a half). It was quite nice to be fair, the train wasn't too busy and there was more than enough space to store our belongings on board. The train was right in the middle of the day, with us leaving a hotel in Manchester just before check out at 12 noon, and arriving in York to check in just after 2pm (although I think we got a drink/lunch at York station after arriving) and I had worried that it would be busy, but certainly first class was fine, although there may have been a few people standing in standard. We'd managed to use our railcards to get a discount on the tickets, which made them very affordable.
Next up, is one of my favourite trains in the country, the class 230 D-train, produced by vivarail from old District line D stock, which operates on the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley. This was one of the first official trips I did after starting GirlOnRails, albeit before the blog started, back in the summer of 2019. I'd just finished my exams for the end of my second year at uni and had a couple of weeks in Nottingham before I went home for the summer, with various events dotted around it such as end of year awards/parties for various activities that I'd been part of during the year. I decided to make the most of the time I had in Nottingham and got myself a 3 out of 7 days East Midlands ranger ticket. The first day featured a trip down to Bedford (the southernmost limit of the ticket on the Midland Main Line) and across to Bletchley before heading North. I remembered these trains from their days on the tube (just about) and was amazed by the transformation - they were really nice to ride on. I also believe a few D-trains, albeit with a different class number, will be heading over to the Isle of Wight in the next couple of years, and I'm looking forward to heading back over there when they are in service to give them ago. It's a great idea to re-use the bodyshells of trains which have been withdrawn before the end of their lives to make a new unit to continue serving the rails.
The fourth train for today is, unfortunately, one that I'm not all that fond of - the class 222 Meridians operated by EMR. I've only been on one twice, and the first time was 2 weeks after moving in to uni, when I'd come home for the night after an event in London (leaving home at 6.30am and getting home at 10pm wasn't really my idea of fun). I'd also been quite poorly with the so-called freshers' flu, which in my case turned into a bout of bronchitis which, despite my GP saying I'd likely cleared the infection by the point of this trip, left me with a cough for almost 2 months. I'd barely slept and felt grim and really quite wanted to not go back to uni so wasn't in the best mood seeing as I'd just left my mum behind at St Pancras. The second time was at the end of a university holiday period and I'd got my luggage with me (a medium sized suitcase, laptop case and handbag) We'd plumped for a first class ticket so I could get the free refreshments and more space (we'd established by now how to get a cheap advance first class ticket - middle of the day - and with my railcard we paid less than £20). I was pretty disappointed to discover that there was no luggage rack in my first class carriage (the one with the cab on the end of it) - I had to leave my suitcase in the next carriage's rack and spent most of the journey worrying it would go astray, which it thankfully didn't. The best suggestion of the staff on this service when I queried it was to put my case in the wheelchair space, which of course I didn't. There weren't any valuables in my case but it was still annoying and I hope all new train designers ensure that there are racks, particularly in first class intercity carriages. Since this trip I've stuck to HSTs, although now those are on their way out I'm not sure what I'll do (and if the pandemic means I never get to ride a HST again I'll be very displeased).
And talking of the HST, that is my final train for today. I love these. That's all there is to say. I'm not a fan of opening the door, particularly not with my hiking rucksack on my back (I'm a guide leader, I use it when I go camping for all of my kit). I did nearly fall out of the train on one occasion whilst trying to open the door, which wouldn't have been a pretty sight. I've been lucky enough to travel in first class both on Virgin East Coast (as it was at the time, now LNER) and on EMT/EMR. The catering is better on the East coast (although there's no beating the franchise now held by Avanti West Coast), but I've loved travelling on the MML. I have used the MML in standard class on a couple of occasions, most recently heading to London in January to watch a theatre show in the West end , and it's just as nice. But when it's around £10 in standard or £18 in first with my railcard, I'm always going to take first. The journey from my accommodation at uni to the station could be very varied in length so I always allowed plenty of time, and therefore use of the lounge at Nottingham was always well appreciated, as was the drink on the train (although I always got a sandwich at the co-op at the station for lunch rather than buying a meal on the train). I'll miss them when they go.
That's all for today, but on Wednesday we will be visiting some units found more locally to home in the South East.
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