This week I have successfully attempted to return to travelling by rail on two occasions after a 7-month gap. Even more excitingly on one of the trips I ticked off some new route to aid my lifelong fundraising challenge of travelling on every railway line in Britain! Right let’s go back to the start of the May Half Term and I can begin my blog there!
On the Sunday before the Late May Bank Holiday Monday, my mum and dad posed a question that they have asked many times over the past few months, “Do you fancy going on a train journey this week?”. Normally the answer I give is a hesitant “Maybe” followed by an evening of anxiety and stress about all the irrational what ifs and buts that my head produces which leaves me unable to actually execute going on a train journey.
However, when they asked the question today, it received the usual unsure response, but the anxiety didn’t spike quite as much as it usually does. I think there were many reasons for the anxiety not being as heightened, the big one being that I had been slowly getting used to being back around the railways over the previous weeks and months.
If you’re a long-time everythingtrains blog reader, then you’ve probably read something similar to this at the start of each year about me not feeling able to freely get out and about on the trains. However, I feel it is important to keep talking about it as it is a fight I regularly battle internally and I hope it may help someone whose passions and hobbies also feel distanced because of mental, or physical, illness and that you can slowly bring yourself back closer to them. Even if this blog just helps one person, then that is priceless to me. I’m living proof that it is doable, but the journey to reengaging with your passions isn’t always a straightforward one… it is possible though.
The start of this year hasn’t been easy for many reasons. Some were completely unexpected and so very hard to deal with as well as things I could somewhat predict. The winter and autumnal months for the past few years have always been much harder as there are several anniversaries of traumatic events; so, I could somewhat predict that for the end of last and the beginning of this year. My mum also unexpectedly became ill and that had a substantial and sustained impact on me. The aftereffects of the treatments are still present in the current day and have led to a different way of completing day-to-day tasks. However, during all this, I have still been trying to feed my love of the railways in whatever way felt most accessible.
One of my first railway projects this year was designing an Art Deco-esque poster for Great Western Railway for them to gift to a couple getting married onboard one of their trains at 125mph! Yes, you did read that right; a couple tying the knot on a train! If you would like to read more about the print I created for Great Western Railway, then here is a link to a short blog I wrote over on my sister website, Sam’s Design Productions!
Along the same creative lines, I have been trying to get out and about when I could and learn more about, as well as experimenting with, railway photography.
This year I initially started taking photos at the ‘lineside’, standing on bridges, at level/foot crossings and in other public spaces near the railway line. These felt safer given that generally there aren’t huge numbers of people there and if there are other people they are usually fellow rail enthusiasts themselves and are there for the same, or similar, reason. At times just being near trains felt too much with my head was telling me I wasn’t safe around them, but after a lot of perseverance and support from my parents and other people around me, I was beginning to feel ready for the next step.
That next step was venturing into the train stations themselves. At times being at a station can feel quite daunting, partly because of the sheer amount of people that tend to mill about stations as well as the unpredictable nature of them. I found going at quieter times was a good starting point, and not with the intention of travelling. The staff at train stations are usually wholly understanding of rail enthusiasts and are content with you being at the station as long you are judicious and aren’t posing a risk to the railway. I also found that sometimes not planning these trips to stations was helpful and just doing it at the spur of the moment (although my autistic brain doesn’t like doing this quite as much as I would like it to!).
An example of visiting a train station was an encounter with a Branch Line Society heritage rail charter at Gloucester station on a rainy, grey day at the start of May.
I had just had an emotionally intense appointment, and my head wasn’t in the best place. However, the night before I spotted a rail charter was due into Gloucester station pretty much directly after my appointment, but I didn’t give it much thought as I wasn’t sure if I would be up to it after my appointment. The idea was still floating around the edge of my brain though. Coincidently, I found out one of my railway friends, Tony, was due to be travelling on the tour which was potentially a good reason to make the effort to go and see it.
After I came out of the appointment, I needed something to take my brain to a different place so I asked my parents if we could drive the few minutes to Gloucester station and take a look at the charter. My mum and I wandered up to the station from the car park and there in front of me was a stunning class 33 ‘Crompton’ diesel locomotive in a heritage British Railways Southern green and cream paint scheme along with a set of London Transport maroon liveried coaches. Seeing the captivating coach and locomotive consist really brought back that spark inside me that I have for the railways. It sounds strange how much these relatively little, and to the majority of the British public inconsequential, moments with trains can bring me such a delightful feeling. But they do. My mum and I had a great, albeit brief, catch-up with Tony before he reboarded the train for the journey west and I watched the train depart Gloucester, whilst getting soaked I must add (but that just added to the experience)!
The Chepstow Trip
Looking back now it makes some kind of sense how all these little, and some big, steps enabled me to begin to feel ready for the train journey my parents were suggesting. My mum thought it might be best to aim to complete the journey sooner rather than leave it as I wouldn’t have time to fester over and overthink it. I agreed and we decided that we would attempt the train adventure the next day, Bank Holiday Monday. I looked at all the various options of places to travel to, but eventually, I settled on somewhere along the Gloucester to Newport line, which follows the Severn Estuary.
My mum really likes that journey as she loves the scenic aspect of it and the big expanse of water (even if it is just the rather murky River Severn!). It interested me partly for that reason as well, but also because it would enable me to hopefully travel on one of Transport for Wales’ new class 197 ‘Civity’ trains for the first time. The Civity trains have been dominating the Gloucester to Newport line over the past few months and after seeing a few of them on my aforementioned train photography sessions, I have had the desire to have a trip on them. They are scheduled to work pretty much every Transport for Wales service on the line, but as with anything when it comes to the railways nothing is guaranteed and there can be short notice ‘set (train) swaps’. However, the idea of travelling on a train I hadn’t travelled on before provided a reason to make the effort to try and undertake the little train trip.
The next decision was where to travel to on the line! I didn’t want to journey as far as Newport as I knew the station would likely be crowded and I didn’t want to commit to the considerably longer trip. I looked at the various train options and the stations on the line and eventually settled on Chepstow. The timings worked out well and there was less chance of getting stranded (which is something I worry about) as the majority of CrossCountry trains on the Cardiff Central to Nottingham route also made a call at Chepstow along with the Transport for Wales services.
We planned to take the 09:58 Gloucester to Chepstow which was scheduled to arrive at Chepstow at 10:26 and then, depending on how I was feeling on the day, catch either the 10:45 or 11:45 service back to Gloucester. The other deciding factor was which services would be operated by the new Civity trains and we wouldn’t know that for sure until the morning, so there was going to have to be a bit of flex in the plan.
I couldn’t be sure how busy the trains would be on a Bank Holiday, but my parents and I thought that travelling earlier in the day would be the best way to try and mitigate the busyness, which as you will read was the right assumption to make.
The morning came and I was woken up by my mum to say she had checked if the trains we were planning to catch were going to be operated by one of the new Civity units; and she confirmed they were! That caught me pleasantly by surprise, not so much about the fact the new trains were running but instead, that my mum had managed to go on to the website RealTimeTrains (which shows what type of train are running pretty much every Transport for Wales’ service) and check what type of trains were running on the services we were looking at catching. I had never shown her how to do that nor expected her to! I’m very lucky to have mum (and dad) who are so supportive!
So, I got up and my mum, dad, Bella (our dog), and I set off promptly at about 09:20 to allow time to get to the station, park and purchase the relevant train tickets for our journey.
On arrival at the station, at about 09:40, we parked in a very empty car park and walked up to the gateline on platform 4. Gloucester station is having a programme of major work completed at the front of the station and that, therefore, means the main car park at the front entrance is temporarily closed and all passengers travelling by road have to use the overflow car park at the rear of the station. This means you are unable to access the ticket office without, presumably, contacting a member of staff so we opted to use the ticket vending machine positioned directly adjacent to the ticket gates.
I had a bit of a battle with the machine to get the correct railcard discounts, but after a little bit of persistence we had a set of tickets in hand, and we entered the station through the gateline. The station was moderately filled with passengers, but it was manageable for me.
After checking the station departure board, I noted that our train to Chepstow (towards Cardiff and eventually Maesteg) was running on time and would be departing from platform 2. So, we walked up to the footbridge on platform 4 to cross over to the necessary platform.
When we crossed over the footbridge my mum fancied a coffee, so she went to source one for her and my dad to share. I wasn’t sure how Bella would be when my mum left her sight (as she can get, shall we say, vocal when one of us leaves her side) but thankfully she seemed fairly settled today and only gave out a little customary whimper.
A few minutes later my mum returned with coffee in hand. The departure board on the platform was displaying that the 09:58 Transport for Wales service was formed of two coaches, which was consistent with what RealTimeTrains was stating. The station departure boards don’t typically show the type of train that is operating a service, but it was a good start that the number of coaches was matching that of RealTimeTrains. However, as I mentioned earlier the railways are prone to short-notice alterations and websites don’t always reflect set swaps. So, it was still uncertain whether this train would be a new Civity class 197 train.
However, before long a set of dazzling, crisp white headlights appeared on the horizon. Typically, new trains have unexpectedly bright sets of headlights, and I knew the class 197’s weren’t an exception to that. So as the train was gracefully gliding into the platform, I knew we had struck lucky; we were travelling on a Civity!
Going by some measures Gloucester station has Britain’s longest unbroken platform (it’s technically two platforms (Platform 1 & 2) but both platforms are joined together seamlessly so I always personally count it as the longest). Therefore, it took a little while for the train to make its way past Platform 1 and into Platform 2. Soon enough the train came to a smooth stop and the train doors were released.
The train had only started one stop previously at Cheltenham Spa, so it was relatively quiet. As the train passed us on the platform, we looked through the windows of the train and formed a plan to head to the very front of the set as it looked the sparsest of passengers. That was the right call.
At the very front and rear of Civity’s, there is an area with just 16 seats which are separated away from the main seating in the coach by the door vestibule. On this service every seat in that section was vacant so we took one of the two table seats on the left-hand side of the train to ensure we could get the best views of the scenery and Severn Estuary.
As I took a seat on one of the very contemporary-looking seats I felt my body relax a little. I rested my head against the black moulded leather headrest and felt my back sit back against the firm yet comfortable trendy moquette-covered fabric seat. It still had a faint aroma of that new train smell (very similar to that of when you ride in a new car or after you have repainted a room).
The train was due to arrive at Gloucester at 09:53, which it accomplished so it meant we had a 5-minute wait until our departure time of 09:58. That allowed me to settle a little before embarking on our journey along the Severn to Chepstow. This train (197 015) was working 2L51 the 09:58 Gloucester to Chepstow.
As the clock ticked to 09:58 the train departed on time, and we were heading out of Gloucester and making a break for the countryside. As we departed the train passed over the iconic viaduct which crosses above the hustle and bustle of Gloucester City Centre below and after passing over the River Severn, we were fully emersed in the tranquil surroundings with just fields, and the occasional sheep, horse or cow for company.
The train sped past field after field whilst gradually edging closer to the Severn Estuary (which had transitioned from the River Severn soon after leaving Gloucester). After passing through Newnham Tunnel, we caught our first, albeit brief, glimpse of the Severn through the patchy thicket. It was surprising how much the shrubbery and trees had expanded since our previous journey on the line so I was slightly concerned that we might not have full views of the Severn that we have had on previous journeys.
That was a short-lived concern as only a matter of minutes later the train had emerged from the overgrowth, and we were directly parallel to the impressively vast Estuary. The views were wonderful, and it reminded me of how lucky we are in the UK to have such scenic train journeys.
Above our train, the sky was bright with broken clouds, but as my gaze drifted to the other side of the Estuary it changed the atmosphere to feel somewhat mystical. There looked to be heavy rain showers over the towns and villages that run alongside the opposite bank of the Severn. It was almost as if the Severn Estuary was acting as a clear barrier from the unfavourable darker weather conditions. Very peculiar weather. But so very typically British!
The train weaved its way back inland before we made our first station call at Lydney. The platform had a sea of passengers waiting to, what I could only assume, board our train. That assumption was correct, and the train soon filled out with passengers and the opposite table seats were swiftly occupied by fellow passengers. Given where we had positioned ourselves at the very front of the set the busyness behind us didn’t impact me too much.
Soon enough there was an audible beeping and hissing which signified the closing of the train doors. We departed Lydney on time and this Civity train sped away from the platform and over Lydney Level Crossing.
As the train continued, once again we were treated to some more beautiful views of the Severn. However, it seemed the inclement weather had crept its way over the Estuary to our side of the Severn. Rain droplets started streaking across the adjacent window, which had been drawn around to the side of the train after hitting the driver’s cab window.
I took a brief stroll down to the second coach to pop to the toilet. As I was walking through the train it became clear actually how bustling the train was with passengers populating the majority of the seats in both the front and rear coaches.
A nice touch on these new trains is the gangways between coaches are completely open with no internal sliding doors partitioning the coaches. It makes for a much airier feeling environment, and you haven’t got to battle with the doors to get them to open. And for me, it takes away the worry of getting stuck in between the coaches (even though I know in my rational brain that is impossible, to extremely unlikely at worst).
As I walked back up to our seats, I noticed on the passenger information screens that we were about 5 minutes away from Chepstow. The passenger information screens on these Civity trains are extremely advanced compared to some of the older systems that other trains use. They depict the standard information, like; what the next stations are and the safety information, but they also show information that improves the passenger’s experience, for example, showing the live departure board of the next station and a diagram of the train showing where all the various facilities are. As we are on a Transport for Wales train all the information was in both Welsh and English, which I thought was a nice touch, even if it did mean for some rather long announcements!
The Passenger Information Screen onboard the class 197 trains
Before long we passed through Chepstow Tunnel and then after the train ran parallel to the A48, which is the main road into the Chepstow, and over the vast River Wye, we were pulling into Chepstow station. Similar to Lydney, Chepstow station was rather busy, but that didn’t matter given we were alighting the train there.
We stepped down off the train and stood at the end of the platform to watch the train depart. Once again, the train doors were closed and locked, before the train was powering away from the station.
Luckily the rain had stopped, and we were back to the much more pleasant blue(ish) skies and sunshine. So, I managed to take a couple of photos in Chepstow before we decided what to do next.
A selection of photos taken at Chepstow
As it was a bank holiday, we weren’t sure if there would be much open in the seemingly sleepy town of Chepstow, but my mum had found a local bakers the night before online and given it was only a brief 5-minute walk from the station we thought it was worth a look. I was hesitant about whether the bakery would be open, and sure enough, after navigating the streets of Chepstow we found it was well and truly closed!
Given our unsuccessful bakery trip, we thought we would cut our losses and just head back to the station with the intention of catching the next train back to Gloucester at 10:45. We let Bella have a little wander on some grass and then walked the few hundred meters back to the station.
We arrived back at Chepstow station with about 5 minutes to our train. Perfect timing! I took a pleasing photo of my mum, dad and Bella sitting on a wall and then after a few more minutes, our train was pulling in from Maesteg right on time. The platform was surprisingly busy given the train was only heading as far as Cheltenham Spa (which is only three stations away).
In the distance, I could see the train was once again one of Transport for Wales’ new Civity class 197 trains, which was some luck to have been able to ride on two in one day!
As the Civity train pulled into the platform, we headed to the front of the unit once again in the hope of being able to sit in the same set seats as on our outward journey. We boarded the train at the very front set of doors before turning left to the aforementioned small seating section in the leading coach of the train. Unfortunately, as the train was considerably busier it meant we were unable to sit in a table seat on the ‘right side’ for views of the Severn, but nevertheless, we managed to occupy a table seat on the opposite side of the train.
Soon enough at exactly 10:45, our train departed, heading back towards the bustling cities of Gloucester and Cheltenham. Our train (197 047) which is now working 2G50 the 10:45 Chepstow to Cheltenham Spa.
The train followed the same route as on the outward leg and after calling at Lydney we were within 15 minutes of Gloucester.
As the guard made the announcement to say “We are now approaching Gloucester” we started to prepare to vacate our seats and gathered our stuff together.
After a few minutes, our train was pulling into Gloucester station on Platform 4 where our journey would end. The doors opened one final time and we alighted the train onto the adjacent platform.
There were several trains in the station at Gloucester, so I walked down the platform to get a better view of the various trains. It’s a bit like a game of chess where they are all awaiting their next move to reach their destination. I took a couple of more ‘experimental’ photographs, before walking back up the platform to exit the station. As we had arrived in on Platform 4, we didn’t need to cross over the footbridge like we had done earlier, so we simply exited the station and walked back to our car.
A selection of photos taken at Gloucester
Today’s adventure really aided in reigniting the spark inside of me that I have for the railway. It was lovely to be back onboard the trains and it provided me with a much-needed confidence boost! Thanks as always go to all the staff we met on our journey and my parents for supporting me in every way possible to get me back on the trains.
This blog took considerably longer than expected to write, as you can probably tell given I undertook the journey on 27th May and I am writing this on 22nd June! I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and it didn’t drag on for too long!
I had intended to write about my second trip in that same week, but unfortunately, I ran out of time, and I also didn’t want this blog to go on any longer.
So instead, here’s a little graphical summary of that trip!
Date of travel: 30/05/2024
Origin: Stonehouse
Destination: Bridgend (via the Vale of Glamorgan)
New route?: Yes – Bridgend to Barry Docks
Train operators: Great Western Railway & Transport for Wales’
Highlights:
- Travelling in first class on GWR (reduces the chance of the stress and uncomfortable nature of busy trains)
- Experiencing the scenic Vale of Glamorgan line for the first time
- Spending some quality time with my dad
- Travelling on the Golden Valley Line and seeing a wild deer
- Boosting my confidence further
Both these trips had a secondary purpose, which I will reveal in my next blog! You might have already seen a little teaser on my X (formally Twitter) account that could give you a clue as to what the next blog will be about. Think food, tablecloths and trains! That’s enough said for now… stay tuned!
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