Make ours a double! Rover 2…

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Our occasional series of reader photo travelogues continues, with best friends Barry Gill and Richard White braving a seven-day All-Line Rover two years in a row. All words and pictures by the authors.

DAY 1: Now just a memory on the Midland Main Line, HST power cars Nos. 43075 and 43059 stand at Leicester.No. 43075 is working the 16.15 from London with No. 43044 on the rear.

ROVER 2: 2016 (1st Class)

  • Day 1: Newcastle–Newcastle via Worcester and London
  • Day 2: Newcastle–Norwich via Hull and Lincoln
  • Day 3: Norwich–Norwich via East Anglian branches
  • Day 4: Norwich–Eastleigh via Ashford and Brighton
  • Day 5: Eastleigh–Westbury – Penzance–London [o/n]
  • Day 6: London–Birmingham via Holyhead and Llandudno
  • Day 7: Birmingham–Newcastle via Nuneaton, Coventry and London
DAY 2: Greater Anglia’s No. 90007 at Norwich. A year on and this loco has changed colour since we last saw it at this location (see previous page). All loco hauled services on the GEML have since been replaced by Stadler Class 745 EMUs.
DAY 2: DRS ‘Growlers’ Nos. 37422 and 37405 await their next duties at Norwich. Stadler Class 755 ‘FLIRTs’ now cover these workings.
DAY 3: Freightliner’s No. 70009 shunts the weekly diesel arrival to keep the stabling point well fuelled. The fuelling point recently closed, after Freightliner opened its new Ipswich VMF nearby.
DAY 4: Former Great Northern electrics, now rebuilt as third rail DC only units, Nos. 313212 and 313209 rest at Brighton.
DAY 5: Leaning out of windows is now strictly forbidden (and often impossible) making shots like this – of Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge at Plymouth – a thing of the past. An HST with power cars Nos. 43078+43170 heads into Cornwall on its way to Penzance.
DAY 6: In shiny Arriva Trains Wales colours Mk.3 DVTNo. 82308 with No. 67008 on the rear stands at Llandudno with the 19.34 to Crewe. The Mk.3 stock has now been replaced by former East Coast Mk.4 vehicles.
DAY 7: In the final iteration of VTEC colours, an HST led by No. 43308 and Class 91 No. 91108 keep No. 91130 (nearest the camera) company at London King’s Cross, as the latter prepares to work the 19.00 to Newcastle.

Are you planning a journey?

If you are considering embarking on a rail-based trip anywhere in the UK and wish to share your experience with other readers, Rail Express would like to hear from you! Whether you have a single day, a multi-day or week-long extravaganza in mind, using one of the huge range of UK rail rovers, we will provide a printed record of your journey with images you have taken en route. Email with an outline of your itinerary and we’ll contact you to discuss.

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