Greek Easter 01/05 to 10/05 2002 "The Empties are available from Corinth"
This was definitely NOT a single manned trip! Forewarned that the Swiss Railway society were running their special around Greece at the same time as Greek Easter meant a large contingent of 31 bashers / Crompton bashers & a few Peak bashers were all keen to attend. You could pay by the day on the Swiss trip so ideal. Me & Howey had booked our flights while staying in Sibenik on 27th December, the night the flights first came available, thanks to Howey's mate in the UK who did a sterling job for us other the phone. (# = new loco)
Thursday 02/05/02
A positioning move to get us in place for the following days Swiss tour with A206 & A302. A day of unbelievable hay-fever, especially when we reached Stylis. Not sure who was worse me or Shovel!
A483# Athens - Lianokladi 1320 Athens - Stylis 212km
We were staying in Lamia as one of the few places where you could get a decent hotel and the tour was picking up the Swiss contingent here in the morning, also the branch was booked to be worked by one of these Caterpillar locos. I'm sure we would have found a pointy-pointy Greek restaurant to eat & drink in this evening.
Daily Total = 251km
Friday 03/05/02
Excellent start to todays Swiss tour with A206 (Baby Alco) & A302 both winners for me.
A206# Lamia - Stylis 0900 Lianokladi - Stylis 17km
For the first of many times today the cry of "Photo Halt!" rings out from the organisers, all de-train at Stylis so the train can be backed out for run pasts outside the station.
A206 does a run past "Photo Halt!" into Stylis on the Swiss tour. Yes there is a passenger coach on the rear!
A206 Stylis - Lianokladi 1100 Stylis - Lianokladi 22km
It was now time to swop traction to the Beast A302 for a run south over the mountains. Of course, "Photo Halt!" was a regular cry, de-train anywhere you like even if on a mountainside like the two following photos!
We were deposited at Inoi and the Swiss passengers did a trip to Chalkis & back on service DMU I believe, we went in search of sustenance & beer. On returning to the station we found an MLW bolted to the front of A302 which had presumably been declared a failure! Not good news for Shovel & co as they were heading to the Airport for a flight home so couldn't do it.
A458# Inoi - Athens (A302 DIT) 1145 Lianokladi - Pireaus Port 61km
Not only that it was another winner, that's what I call value for money. A long day but I'm sure we all went to the Brewpub happy!
Daily Total = 251km
Saturday 04/05/02
Back to service trains today for more Peloponnese Alco action.
A9112) Athens - Arachovitka 0604 Pireaus - Kipparissia 207km
A9111)
I don't remember what happened at Arachovitka but presume A9112 failed, as it's only a shack.
A9111 Arachovitka - Kipparissia 0604 Pireaus - Kipparissia 174km
A9111 Kipparissia - Krestena 1644 Kipparissia - Pireaus 44km
A9104 Krestena - Kipparissia 0906 Pireaus - Kipparissia 44km
Seminar photograph courtesy of Dan Cross
From left to right (top) Howey, Poodle (me) & Betty (bottom) Trog, Mike Tyrer, Dave Bugg, Sean Brazel, Flossie & Fraser, plus Dan Cross who took the shot. Quite a gathering this evening and the main topic was what move to do tomorrow as most of us were covering the Swiss tour again on Monday (not Flossie as it was booked an Alsthom!) which would be starting from Nafplion. Some decided to stay in Nafplion but the Swiss had arranged for the Empty stock to be available from Corinth. That'll do me.
Daily Total = 469km
Sunday 05/05/02
No immediate need to make a decision, you had to travel all the way to Corinth to catch a unit to Nafplion anyway.
A9104 Kipparissia - Corinth 1013 Kipparissia - Pireaus 291km
By the time we arrived here Mike Tyrer had decided to share a room at the hotel & do the empties as well. We booked in then I took Mike to the bar I'd used when visiting the Corinth canal a few years before, as Hoegaarden beer is available on draft.
Daily Total = 291km
Monday 06/05/02
A very early start, which was the main reason most of the others had decided to stay in Nafplion. I needed all the track via Nafplion & Tripoli to Kalamata hence the reason for doing this today. We walked over to the Yard and let the traincrew know we were doing the ECS
A9207 Corinth - Nafplion 0550 Corinth - Nafplion ECS 64km
It's a good job we did the ECS as after running the loco round outside Nafplion station the traincrew were all for heading off down the line. Without any of the tour passengers who were all stood on the platform with their luggage!
I dashed up the train to point out to the Guard that his passengers were all on the platform - then we propelled the train in to pick them up - a close call!
A9207 Nafplion - Leftkro 0800 Nafplion - Leftkro (via Megalopoli) 130km
A9408# Leftkro - Kalamata 1632 Leftkro - Kalamata 73km
A very successful day, especially when we found out those who'd stayed in Nafplion got even less sleep than us as the pub below their hotel rooms later turned into a Nightclub and they got virtually no sleep!
Daily Total = 267km
Tuesday 07/05/02
Back to normal service trains today so after breakfast in the hotel it was a Ganz unit to get back to Alco land (loco hauled trains had been banned from running through to Kalamata from Kipparissia for many years due to a dodgy bridge)
6461) Kalamata - Kalonero 0825 Kalamata - Kiparissia 62km
6466)
A9102) Kalonero - Athens 1013 Kiparissia - Athens 373km
A9101)
Another visit to the Brewpub tonight, it was here that I decided I was enjoying doing new track on this trip & I would deviate away from the Peloponnese and do some more winner track.
Daily Total = 435km
Wednesday 08/05/02
I had the night to reconsider my idea but, loss of Alco mileage aside, I think I am happy that i did go for the new track.
A9109 Athens - Isthmos 0604 Pireaus - Kipparissia 83km
A few tuts from the roadshow but off I got. The first order of the day the branch to Loutraki, still on the mainland - just!
1502 Isthmos - Loutraki 0659 Pireaus - Loutraki 5km
A "Weymouth Quay" moment on the outskirts of Loutraki as someone has parked his car on the railway. No bouncing it out of the way though, found the owner by knocking on doors & got him to move it. Took about 20 minutes.
When I say 1502 in the platform, the back half of the unit was still stuck out in the street. They had clearly been spending some money on the station but try as he might the driver couldn't get any further than this - no danger of the new blocks being damaged here!
1502 Loutraki - Pireaus 1037 Loutraki - Pireaus 98km
Time for some lunch & beer before my next move. Much to my shame I had never done the mainline from Pireaus Port to Athens, I'd only ever done the narrow gauge route. My next destination was Chalkis & the peak turn was hauled so gave me chance to rectify the situation, I also required the branch from Inoi through to Chalkis.
A489# Pireaus Port - Chalkis 1443 Pireaus Port - Chalkis 92km
A489 Chalkis - Inoi 1700 Chalkis - Pireaus Port 21km
A484# Inoi - Lianokladi 1710 Athens - Stylis 151km
Another night in a hotel in Lamia, single manned this time.
Daily Total = 455km
Thursday 09/05/02
I had checked the bus timetable at the station and found one to get me back to Lianokladi in time for my planned move today - new track to Kalambaka.
IC unit Lianokladi - Paleofarsalos 0800 Athens - Edena 81km
There had been huge changes since I last stood on Paleofarsalos station in January 1991. The station had been replaced by a concrete, soulless one. The whole route had been re-gauged from narrow gauge to standard gauge and all the stations rebuilt. At least the millions of Euro's were used for their proper purpose this time!
A476 at Paleofarsalos on the 1220 Larissa to Kalambaka
A476 Paleofarsalos - Kalambaka 1220 Larissa - Kalambaka 81km
A476 at Kalambaka off the 1220 from Larissa
So I'd finally made up for my great mistake in 1991, getting off a hauled train to Kalambaka when no-one had previously had the chance to do so since steam days. However a 3 hour run behind a narrow gauge Mitsi didn't appeal - it took about 90 minutes today. I still wish I'd stayed on back in the day with Graham Belton though!
A476 Kalambaka - Paleofarsalos 1438 Kalambaka - Paleofarsalos 81km
IC unit Paleofarsalos - Athens 0716 Alexandropolis - Pireaus Port 212km
Daily Total = 455km
Friday 10/05/02
Final day so a straightforward move to Diakopto & return.
A9102 Diakopto - Athens 1013 Kipparissia - Pireaus 168km
Daily Total = 336km
Total KM = 2919km Total Moves = 30km
Daily Average = 324km Average Per Move = 97.3km
A fantastic trip, the roadshow were back in Athens tonight before the flight home in the morning. I think we re-visited the Curry house, the food can't take as long to turn up as last time surely? Oh Yes it Can!
Cheers Poodle.
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