Liam’s All Line Rover

[Liam]

I’m currently doing an All Line Rover - a legacy of British Rail, the All Line Rover is one of those brilliant tickets which are not widely promoted, or at least not as much as regional rover tickets. I have done several All Line Rovers before; some with my dad back in 2014/15 when I qualified for a child ticket, then some of the more recent ones on my own as an adult.

 

Previously my All Line Rovers have been done in July, but due to work commitments this week is the earliest point I’ve been able to do one this year. Any later in the year and it wouldn’t be as enjoyable to do an All Line Rover on account of the diminished daylight and it being dark by the time you reach your destination, which isn’t ideal if you’re staying with people you know.

 

Nonetheless, last night I stopped in Northamptonshire with some friends, having started the day in Montrose, going via Stirling, Glasgow Queen Street, Glasgow Central, Kilmarnock (where I had lunch with a family friend), Carlisle, Crewe and Milton Keynes.

 

So far I have covered around 1,250 miles after three days of travel. With my railcard bringing the cost of the ALR to £376.80, I believe I have now covered the cost in terms of what I would have paid ordinarily for the train journeys I’ve been making - it might sound a lot of money but with careful planning you easily get that money back. 

 

All Line Rovers are genuinely a brilliant way to get around the country to visit attractions, take in scenic routes and meet up with family and friends who live in different areas. Today I’m meeting up with one of my old lecturers in Oxford (he lives there but that’s not where I went to university!) then on Friday I’m paying a visit to Shepherd Neame Brewery. 

 

I’ll try and post some pictures later, but it would be great to have a discussion going here about All Line Rovers, and feel free to ask any questions about my routes and planning.

[woodenhead]

I did one many years ago when BR was still recognisable as a single company.

 

I did a sleeper from Aberdeen to Euston - managing to spill coffee all over the bed in the morning due to the spring loaded flip down tray, did an early morning at Stratford, wasn't quite as busy as the previous time I did an overnighter there and it did feel less safe as well.  Cardiff was another early job having gotten a parcels/passenger train down from Crewe, again like Stratford it was not as busy as it had been in the late 1970s, a trip up the valleys had me falling asleep amongst a load of bemused commuters.

 

In the end I did not do as much mileage as I had hoped, too much lost sleep at Stratford and Cardiff did me in and I had to return home earlier than planned to rest which rather curtailed the mileage ultimately.  But it was good fun being able to go where I wanted when I wanted.

 

Not sure I'd do it today, the interest is not there for me, but I can see you're using it to visit family and friends all over the country which sounds like a jolly good idea.

Edited September 21, 2023 by woodenhead

[Nearholmer]

I never used an ALR, largely because by the time I might have I was working for BR, so could use ‘priv’ or free tickets, but I did make a fair few ludicrously epic train trips in the mid/late 70s (many free tickets were booked Penzance to Wick, which gave a huge variety of permitted routes!), including continental ones. Now I’m sort of mostly retired, I don’t, despite having jolly good free travel perks. So, why not?

 

Well, age is clearly a part of it, in that one’s appetite for discomfort and loss of sleep diminishes with time, but the biggest factor is the trains. Wandering about Britain by Mk1 was a pleasant experience, and TBH many trains were more than half empty, so bagging a table or a compartment was simple. Bagging a compartment on night trains was very easy indeed. Travelling in a high speed, air-conditioned cylinder with fifty or so fellow human beings is better for getting places quickly, but it just isn’t pleasurable ….. it’s dull, and it’s detached from the real world, which seems all too like a VR projection on the windows. So, when I use the train, it’s to arrive somewhere, not for travelling hopefully.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Rivercider]

I have never done an all-line rover, but back in August 1975 did do a Scottish Region weekly rover. It was organised by a Dalescroft railway society, with the intention of covering all the passenger lines in Scotland during the week.

As I recall due to late running and failed connections we did not cover Ayr to Stranraer, and possibly also missed a small bit of the Glasgow suburban network. It was good fun but tiring.

 

 

 A blurred instamatic snap from the week long Scottish rover in August 1975. At Inverness 26033 waits with a departure for Kyle of Lochalsh, 4/8/75

 

cheers

Edited September 21, 2023 by Rivercider
tidying up.

[DY444]

They're brilliant unless you live in the South East and want to go north because you can't use them on departures from Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross before 10:00 Mondays to Friday.  If you live in Manchester and want to go to Euston you can catch an 08:00-ish train and arrive in Euston some time after 10:00.  If you live in London and want to go to Manchester then you can't depart until after 10:00 and thus won't get to Manchester until after 12:00. 

 

Yes there are ways around it but they are a pain and the restrictions are another legacy of the gone and definitely unlamented ATOC's greed first, everything else second standard modus operandi.  What makes it worse is that Brit Pass has no such restrictions so foreign visitors can travel when they like but UK residents (and thus tax payers) who foot much of the bill for the railways can't.  And yes it is a very sore point for this particular London resident. 

[Liam]

3 hours ago, woodenhead said:

I did one many years ago when BR was still recognisable as a single company.

 

I did a sleeper from Aberdeen to Euston - managing to spill coffee all over the bed in the morning due to the spring loaded flip down tray, did an early morning at Stratford, wasn't quite as busy as the previous time I did an overnighter there and it did feel less safe as well.  Cardiff was another early job having gotten a parcels/passenger train down from Crewe, again like Stratford it was not as busy as it had been in the late 1970s, a trip up the valleys had me falling asleep amongst a load of bemused commuters.

 

In the end I did not do as much mileage as I had hoped, too much lost sleep at Stratford and Cardiff did me in and I had to return home earlier than planned to rest which rather curtailed the mileage ultimately.  But it was good fun being able to go where I wanted when I wanted.

 

Not sure I'd do it today, the interest is not there for me, but I can see you're using it to visit family and friends all over the country which sounds like a jolly good idea.

Thanks, yes that’s exactly my purpose for doing an ALR and a few people have said that it’s a great idea to do that. The last person to do that was on an Avanti Pendolino this morning - one Nick Hewer! His initial response was “Why would you want to do that?” But when I told him of visiting friends and family, and taking in scenic routes he changed his tune and said that it sounded fantastic doing it this way.

 

I imagine it would have been great to do an ALR in the 1970s or early 80s with loco hauled Mk1s and Mk3s together with HSTs in their infancy. Tomorrow night I’m on the Night Riviera - to think that it’s Britain’s last scheduled slam door stock working.

[young37215]

As a youthful haulage basher I did a number of all lines between the early 1980's and early 1990's. The transformation in the rail network over that timescale was huge, early ALR's were spent on steam heated Mk1 rolling stock with numerous overnight trains running to a variety of destinations. With these made up of large numbers of sparsly populated compartment stock a reasonable nights sleep could be had using one side of the compartment as a bed. Changes of train in the early hours at obscure places like Pitlochry and Retford stick in the mind, the larger stations like Crewe and York usually had a buffet open 24 hours a day where a hot drink could be obtained.

 

By the 1990's all trains were electrically heated, overnight trains were substantially less in number and choice of destination comprising Mk2 bucket seats in which sleeping was a challenge. Second generation units were everywhere having largely replaced loco hauled trains which were few and far between compared to the halcyon days of the early 80's. For some reason my interest in bashing waned! 

 

I hope to do a ALR in the next year or two to see how the network has changed over time using hotels rather than trains for my sleeping arrangements. There is still some passenger track that I have not travelled over although I will not be doing much by way of loco hauled travel.  

[Liam]

Day 1: Alvechurch to Macclesfield via New Street, Bletchley, Bedford, Leicester, Oakham, Derby and Stoke-on-Trent. 
 

Ozzy the Bull.

 

Oakham.

 

 

 

In the Grainstore Brewery at Oakham.

 

 

A rather famous signal box.

 

 

The Pendolino that was just seconds off breaking the WCML record for fastest run from London to Glasgow.

[Liam]

Day 2: Macclesfield to Montrose via Stockport, Doncaster, Newark and Edinburgh.

 

 

Newark - were the first criminal to receive the death sentence in King James I’s reign was executed (Horrible Histories fact of the day!).

 

 

Durham Cathedral

 

 

 

Looking over towards Holy Island - a place that has extra significance to me as at Ampleforth I was in St Cuthbert’s House. 
 

 

Crossing the Forth Bridge.

 

 

A nice view of Montrose Basin as seen from the station.

[lmsforever]

Lovely selection of photos thank you

[Liam]

Day 3: Montrose to Weedon Bec (Northamptonshire) via Stirling, Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Carlisle and Milton Keynes. 
 

 

The shortened HST arriving into Montrose - they’re lovely inside!

 

 

 

Going through the Lowlands between Kilmarnock and Dumfries.

 

 

Invariably, every All Line Rover bring you to Crewe!

 

 

Oh the sacrilege of drinking LNER’s ale in the spiritual home of the LMS… 😂

 

When some of my colleagues go on holiday, they like to go to a hot sunny beach resort in Spain, Greece or Turkey. My holiday took me to a very wet Milton Keynes Central! 😂

 

 

 

But all is well at The Plume of Feathers in Weedon. 

 

[Liam]

Day 5: Weedon Bec to Bromsgrove via Northampton, London Euston, London Marylebone, Oxford and Worcester Foregate Street.

 

 

These will replace the 323s on the Cross City line - bring on that day!

 

 

The History Faculty of Oxford University, where my old university lecturer lives. We met up for lunch at the Covered Market.

 

One can easily see Endeavour Morse pulling up on this street in his Jaguar.

 

[Liam]

Day 6: Alvechurch to Paddington (for the Night Riviera sleeper) via Euston, St Pancras, Ashford International, Canterbury East, Faversham, St Pancras, Blackfriars and Farringdon.

 

 

A 350 with a very poignant livery at New Street.

 

 

Between Ashford and Canterbury, with a crown carved out of the chalk hill.

 

 

Canterbury - no time to explore the city sadly! 
 

 

Faversham town centre.

 

 

What brought me to Faversham beyond the lovely architecture of the town was Shepherd Neame Brewery, and the brewery tour I was booked on! This is the bar inside the visitor centre.

 

 

The first building you enter as the tour gets going has this sign above it - for three days James II was held prisoner in the house that is now part of the brewery. We all walked through a door that a king has also walked through!

 

 

Bodie, one of six hawks employed by Shepherd Neame to keep the pigeons at bay. 
 

 

[96701]

My friend and I did an Scotland Railrover, and due to getting the wrong train at Kilwinning, we missed the Fairlie High to Fairlie Pier line, the only then passenger line in Scotland that we missed. I was really annoyed at that, and never managed to get back there before the line shut.

[Liam]

Some more photos from the tour of Shepherd Neame Brewery.

 

The left stained glass window depicts the history of beer production, while the one on the right depicts the history of Shepherd Neame and aspects of Kent history it is linked to.

 

 

 

 

 

The most important part of any brewery tour!

 

We sampled Five Grain Lager, Whitstable Bay Blonde Lager, Bear Island East Coast Pale, Bishops Finger, 1698 and Whitstable Bay Stout.

[Liam]

Then it was via Strood and HS1 back to St Pancras, and after plans to visit a pub between the two Dorking stations fell through I had dinner at a pub next to Smithfield Market in Farringdon.

 

This lent itself to a much smoother ride to Paddington. 
 

 

Anyone who has booked a cabin on the Night Riviera is welcome to use the First Class lounge at Paddington. If you ever find yourself here, head through to the right down the corridor after you enter, as that’s where the real beauty lies - designed as Queen Victoria’s private waiting room.

 

 

I had a very enjoyable hour or two in here with refreshments and marvelling at all the furnishings inside the room, and then at 22:30 we were invited to board the train. 
 

 

 

This was my room for the night - it was genuinely lovely!

 

I then wondered to the bar car to watch the train leave Paddington and soak up the atmosphere, and around Pewsey I decided to turn in…

[Liam]

Day 6: Penzance to Gillingham Dorset via St Ives, Exeter St David’s, Westbury and Salisbury.

 

 

Good morning from Par!

 

 

Not long after that the steward came round with my breakfast - the roll for the sausage bap was a bit on the crusty side, but otherwise a nice breakfast.

 

 

A view of St Michael’s Mount as we approach Penzance.

 

 

After making the most of the facilities at the Night Riviera lounge at Penzance I hopped on a 150 bound for St Ives - the views are spectacular!

 

Then at St Erth I hopped on an eastbound IET as due to family commitments I couldn’t be too late arriving into Gillingham. I had hoped to instead go via Southampton and Bournemouth to Poole and bus to Blandford from there, but unfortunately a shortage of drivers who signed south of Westbury meant that the train I was catching from there was delayed and I would have missed my connection at Southampton Central, so I shortened my route by heading via Salisbury to Gillingham instead.

 

Though there was this 47 at Bodmin Parkway in a nice Railfreight livery.

 

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Liam