The Heart of Wales Line! 4 hours on a TfW Diesel Railcar!
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2021
- Up this week, we take a 4 hour ride on a diesel railcar up the rather picturesque Heart of Wales Line!
Date of Travel: May 2021
Class of Travel: Standard Class (2nd Class)
Rolling Stock: Class 153 Super Sprinter
Cost of Ticket: £65.35 ($92.15, €75.85 including railcard discount of ⅓ for "Explore Wales 4 in 8" pass)
Origin: Swansea, United Kingdom (Wales)
Destination: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, United Kingdom (England)
Other info: For this I was travelling on an "Explore Wales 4 days in 8" pass, which, as the name suggests, allows you to travel anywhere in Wales and to select destinations in England on any 4 days in an 8 day period. This pass costs £99 ($136, €115.45) or £65.35 ($89.80, €76.20) with a railcard. More information regarding this can be found here: tfwrail.wales/ticket-types/ro...
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[1] www.openstreetmap.org under Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL) opendatacommons.org/licenses/... opendatacommons.org/licenses/... opendatacommons.org/licenses/...
[2] Nigel Brown / Cynghordy viaduct / CC BY-SA 2.0
Link: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
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[3] Chris Eaton / Approaching Knucklas Viaduct / CC BY-SA 2.0
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30 years or so I did this in a Met-Cam 101. I think it went Swansea to Crewe. The journey was notable for the engine overheating, being filled up with a station watering can and belting through a request stop at 75ish (trying to make up time) to the consternation of the passenger standing there. The full service brake and then reverse 1/4 mile back along the track were probably against all sorts of rules. On the plus side the drivers sang a lot (welsh...) and the cab blinds were open so we could share the drivers view. Happy times!
You prove that even a traintrip in the rain can be nice. I like the voiceover as there are no disturbing titles in the sceen. Keep on going!!
I travelled this line in 1979 on an old DMU.I managed to get a seat at the front looking straight ahead through the driver's cab.I did it with my then 4 year old son, and he's still a rail nut at 46! The scenery was amazing and the weather was lovely.The view through the cab dead ahead really made the journey unforgettable especially over Cymgordy viaduct.Your video was really good.Pity they don't run the occasional old dmu's over some of these scenic routes.Blaenau Festiniog to Llandudno Junction downhill was phenomenal.
That would probably have been one of the old class 120 units. They were really nice to travel on.
I miss those old chuggy DMUs. As you say, the view dead ahead was a real treat. I found them comfortable to ride on, ample luggage space, room for quite a few bikes when there was a guard's compartment and I used to enjoy the slight rocking and rolling suspension. New is NOT the same as better in my opinion, although the Sprinters do have windows you can open, which is infinitely better than the "canned" air conditioned muck. Finally, have they forgotten how to upholster seats so you don't get saddle sores ? The old sprung seating was so superior
@@andrewwilliams2353 I’m not old enough to have experienced the old 1st gen dmu’s (except a few short rides on heritage lines) but I really loved travelling on the pacer trains. I loved the engine sound, the bumpy ride (on jointed track), the low backed seating gave excellent visibility. I have travelled on really old slam door carriages on heritage lines with the individual compartments which have really comfortable springy seats. Yeah I prefer opening windows to air con because if the air con fails the passengers roast but windows never fail.
Once again Dylan your voiceovers are spot on and you mixture of facts and humour is brilliant. Considering the difficulty of Welsh place names, this was a brave one to voice! You coped very well and most of us Welsh people will laud you for trying. You've really added value with voiceovers.
Not being British had to playback a couple of times to understand all you were saying :D
.
@@roysuarez5588 LOL.😅😆💜🥁🐉🎤🎵🎶💞
Yeah, I was having second thoughts as to why I chose this one when I was making it 😅
@@DylansTravelReports At least you made an effort to speak a bit of Welsh
@@DylansTravelReports you should Get Heart of Wales line dvd
This is probably one of your fastest carriage walk-throughs😂😂👍👍
Wonderful voice over Dylan! And beautiful work as always. 😉
Enjoyed this one very much!!! The Request stops here in the USA we tend to call them flag stops or whistle stops but no matter what you call them I find charm in a train service that still caters to small rural communities!
Well done.
I do as well. For some reason I noticed that the US doesn’t have any Dmu trains, they only have diesel locomotives, I’m not sure why this is.
Lane of the green meadows?
Something satisfying abour being on. A train in the rain 😂
I'd reccomend doing the RIVIERA Line in Devon! It is the most scenic route in my opinion in Britain!!
That sounds very good !! 👍👍💜🥁🐉🎤🎵🎶💞
Even the Avanti train on the WCML I was on the other day didn't have USB or plug sockets. Weird. I was surprised not to see Geoff Marshall at a request stop.
The *table* seats on the Pendolinos have mains sockets, but not the "airline" seats. This is disappointing but is what it is; presumably it wasn't considered as important when first introduced?
@@seprishere thankfully this will change when the set goes through its refurb.
I love the pacing and style of the commentary.
I would love to see more videos like this in the future.
I like the Brick and Stone Stations, they are just awesome...! The Landscape is fantastic too... a very useful and dynamic narration, thanks for the ride...!
Another great video. I have travelled this route many times from when I used to live in mid wales. Very scenic route. Great attempts at the pronunciation at some of the town names. You did forget to mention you passed Sugar Loaf station, which is one of the most remote and unused stations in the UK. Wish you had said you was doing this run. I live in swansea so would have been glad to travel with you.
If you could manage to find a sunny day, this would be a fantastic trip.
You have such a pleasant voice, Dylan. I much prefer listening than having to miss a little of the visuals while I read your commentary. 😊
I love the way you described the trains as ‘poorly’. It was such a nice way of putting it!
Nice voice over again and thanks for remining me of many happy holidays in Wales, whatever the weather is like........
Have you considered doing a video comparing the various routes available between Glasgow and Edinburgh. There are at least four different routes between the two cities.
think it’s 5 between the 2
Interesting. Back in the day when I was touring everywhere on a pass there were only 2 direct routes -- the express route through Falkirk and Croy and the slowslowslow multi-stop train through Shotts. What are the others?
First of all, I'd like to appreciate your wonderful voice over, Dylan. You sound so natural and entertaining yet still manage the good articulation.
I enjoyed this video immensely, instead having stopped the video several times to read the subtitles which also inhibits the view, i had the pleasure of unobstructed scenery, plus I'd like a train ride on a rainy day
Nicely done Dylan. Thank you. I love the UK but I've never been to Wales so this is a good plan for me. I appreciate the voiceover so I can focus on the scenery.
What a lovely scenic route! Thanks, Dylan, I really enjoyed it!
Absolutely love the little class 153s love the grumbling roar as they pull away they also look fantastic with that refurbishment! Scotrail seem too have done a great job with this aswell !
i used to live in a house on that line, just before you reach Llangadog. during most winters when the rain was really coming in from the Atlantic, the rail line and my house were the only things in the valley above the water. many a day i left the car on the A40, donned the waders and walked thigh deep down my drive, over the rail and to the house. good times!
btw the pronunciation of Llanwrda was hilarious but spirited. :)
Hilarious but spirited seems to be how most of my attempts at Welsh pronunciation go too. Glad it’s more funny than offensive (usually). Though I have had the misfortune on being on the end of what sounded like some spirited invective whilst visiting, I unfortunately looked like a local from behind. I did get a pint out of it so not all bad.
Fascinating trip report. I regret that I never got the chance to travel this line as the scenery is stunning. It was obvious from your footage of raging and overflowing rivers that the rainy weather had been going on for quite a while already!
I was hoping you'd get one of the ex EMR 153's. Also, "cracking trains" haha I see what you did there.
May do at some point!
Just the right amount of interesting information without distracting from the pictures, and giving plenty of time for the listener to take it all in. You are getting rather good at this! In spite of the awful weather it made an excellent video.
Thanks 🙂
Really liking the voiceovers and enjoy the facts along the journey. Great video!👍🏻
An excellent video (part rail trip, part travelogue) enjoyed the journey on this line which I must admit as someone who travelled from Manchester to Swansea regularly I was unaware of. Well done !
Lovely ride with lots of beautiful countryside views. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for a rainy trip
Nice memories. Lived in Swansea and used this service.
In Italy we still have something like this, they're called "ALn 668", but they're so much older and cramped
I could imagine that this trip would be brilliant on a sunny day or a fall day to admire the changing leaves. I must say, Dylan, I have to give you a billion 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 on this format with the voice as it allows me to view the presentation without subtitle description as distractions whilst listening to your commentary. Well done!
Thanks for another great video, Dylan. And yep, I'm caught up now lol
Cheers Dylan! Fantastic journey this week as always.
The tiniest train with the largest toilet I've ever seen😄
I prefer the tables over the, sometimes flimsy, fold outs.
Thanks for the little facts and anecdotes and I hope you stick with the voice over comments!
Glad you enjoyed!
Another great video, and I like the voiceover ones. Beautiful scenery and a cute train.
Wonderful commentary, Dylan !
Very informative.
A very scenic route, too
Bravo! Great trip through Wales. Great barebones trip and the narration was fantastic and easy to listen to.
Beautifully narrated Dylan and a good video
Beautiful country. Have to admit, the lush green was a nice change from the heat wave we're having in Texas..
Should have sent you some of the rain from this trip 😅 Glad you enjoyed 😁
Hello Texas. Greetings from a Texan in Amsterdam 🙋♀️
Nice scenery and route but these trains are long past the time they took their place in the great railway depot in the sky. If I recall, the windows are too high up the sides in this class of train. The trains were put together from Leyland National bus body components, which explains the window spacing. There was also an experimental mark 1 vehicle rebodied also with Leyland National bus body components. It ran on the Brighton-Manchester through service.
After that British Rail Technical Centre got its act together and the result was the class 158.
Outstanding content, really enjoyed it. Especially loved the overcast and rain.
Loads of interesting info in this one - nice work 👍
As a Swansea boy, I've been waiting for this one. Hoping to hear all the Welsh place names
Yeah, no, they were butchered about as well as I thought they'd be. Always entertaining to see people try, though
Fun ride. Thanks for all the historical info.
Glad you enjoyed 😁
Excellent job my good man.
Thanks for the narrated vid!
Great video Dylan . As a Welshman fair play to you for trying the pronunciation of the villages . Da iawn ( very good ) 😄😄.
Thanks Steve 😁
I find myself waiting for your videos to come out, that’s a sign of good quality entertainment
Pleased to hear!
Ah, this video takes me back. I used to get the Swansea - Llandrindod service when coming home from uni during the holidays. Seems TFW has updated the trains a bit since I got them with Arriva. I know when it comes to catering they used to have a little trolley with tea/coffee, snacks etc but that would only be on a couple of services a day and it used to swap trains in Llandrindod or Llanwrtyd, that was a few years ago now so I guess it's changed. Great video and nice try pronouncing the names! :D
Probably due to the pandemic
Well done Dylan a good commentary. Love your reports mate. Keep them coming. Steve
I really enjoyed that video
another awesome video - love it with commentary
Thanks!
Nice video, very nice scenery, the inside of the train seems to be fairly modern and very clean. Thanks for the ride.
Really good video. Very interesting facts aswell 👏
I love the voice-over! Well done Dylan 🙌🔥
Great route. I would definitely recommend doing the Birmingham to Pwllheli line. It is scenic at Barmouth especially
Hello Dylan. Another great video, well done. Love the narration with the history, information and little humour thrown in to make it more entertaining. Keep up the great work! Thank you.
Thanks!
Great that we can see a vid from you without having to read the text. Fantastic video. Thanks.
Excellent trip report. My boyfriend is Welsh and your pronnounciations made me chuckle. When I lived in Wales I couldn't pronnounce much either.
This is sooo cool!
The addition of a VM has really improved your videos especially as the commentary sounds very natural, mixing fact with humour. Great work. We use to go to Llandrindod Well each year for a Dog Show but always went by car as we always took our caravan with us.
Very enjoyable, very interesting, glad I subscribed. Thanks.
Great video looks like a nice journey
Thanks for this.
I have visited my grandmother home, and it was delightful. I hope you will be able to travel all through the North, it’s really beautiful country! I love your videos!
Great film!
Just retired, free time, HoW Line now added to my To-Do list - thank you for the idea!
I don’t watch every video, just pop by every now and then; but I gotta say I really enjoy your voice overs to previous silent ones.
Thanks 😁
Love to do Heart of Wales one day, but I also would recommend trying out the Newcastle-Carlisle route, i went on it a few weeks ago (to see Braunton in Carlisle via from my hometown of Horden... which finally got it's own station only last year after 56 years) and I will say it's a very nice line, in my opinion, again it's a Sprinter line and that been with Northern Rail, but honestly some of the stations thought the heart of Northumberland towards Carlisle it's defo worth a look.
Indeed, the Newcastle-Carlisle route is rather wonderful - I’ve been over it a few times during Sunday engineering works when they’ve closed the ECML between Newcastle and Edinburgh and the trains get diverted over it and through Carlisle instead!
After first seeing this line on a certain video produced by a certain couple, your video is amazing. One on my bucket list
Nicely done, especially the part of adding the rain...makes it seem really British.
Hey i like the new style narration , keep it up .
very nice. thank you
Good attempts at the pronunciation... You should have said - I'd have come to say hello at llandrindod, builth road or sugar loaf...
Enjoyed the video. Cheers
Thanks! I tried my best 😅
True. When I was in Ireland I found Gaelic to be a little confusing as well; while both Welsh and Gaelic use the Latin alphabet, I found that both don't seem to apply the same phonetics as found in English, or the other European languages.
@@davidwilliams8405 I am Welsh, so the phonetics of Welsh are natural to me. That said, I do struggle with some versions of Gaelic - which seem to have very different roots.
Great video as always. The voiceover pan out really well. Keep up your good work !
Great video! Chock full of informative information, and lovely views, even with the rain.☔
Thanks!
Nice vedio . Thanks
I think it’s a pretty cool ride, cause of the views.
My home town Llanelli made it!
So crazy that I watch this channel week in week out and Llanelli is on here!
Kudos for doing your research on the rugby team, too.
Glad you enjoyed 😁
Class 153 were built by Leyland Bus using some bus parts so are related to Pacers. This is one reason they are so narrow. The route is lovely but the service is not frequent as a lot of it is single track.
Wow !! You did a real good job with your narration.!! 👍👍💜🥁🐉🎤🎵🎶💕💞
Great video Dylan, enjoyed the quirky facts immensely 👍👍, just couldn't believe you didn't mention Sugar Loaf station. My favourite on the route
The signal box in Shrewsbury and all those semaphore signals, brings back memories!
Thankyou for the commentary and not the subtitles. You have an excellent speaking voice and hope this will continue in the future so that we can concentrate on the magnificent scenery that you shoot on your journeys.
Yes, sure will!
Great video as always. I must do it myself one day.
I love your videos I might start my own
Thanks! Yes, you definitely should 😁
Being born in Shrewsbury and travelled in and out of the station many times I did not know it was the largest mechanically operated signal box still in operation the world, thanks for that little bit of trivia.
I really enjoyed this video. Although I was wondering that as the channel grows it also gets better and it means more work to do on scripting, filming, editing, and now narrating! Keep up the good work, @Dylan, I hope your latest goal will be achieved sooner than ever!
Thanks 😁
@@DylansTravelReports What was it like on a four hour journey
I enjoyed your 4 hour tour of Wales into Shrewsbury. I would totally take that train ride. I go for the scenic journeys. It was a shame it rained. I imagine the area is quite scenic when sunny. Keep on travelling Dylan. It is surprising that they keep that train for so few passengers. I hope it survives.
Congrats on reaching over 90 k subscribers ! That number will grow, I’m sure.
Thanks!
Goodness. Rivers in torrent and many flooded fields. That's Welsh Rain for you - wetter than English Rain! LMAO!
So much nicer to hear your soft Yorkshire accent. x
I did part of that journey with my mountain bike probably some 15 year ago now (when it was DRY!).
It basically rained nonstop when I was in Wales 😅
You’re doing ok with the Welsh names, I wouldn’t worry too much 🙌 thanks for the train ride.
I really enjoyed this video. I took this same trip (though earlier in the morning) in late February of 2020, and I, too, had a very rainy day of travel to Shrewsbury. Your train appears to be a bit upgraded compared to the one I was on. My train was much older and rattled quite a bit along the track. But even with that and the weather, it was still a wonderful day enjoying the Welsh countryside. Thanks for bringing it back to life for me.
You might have travelled on a pacer then, which I think were still in service back then. Did the train have bus style doors?
Good video.
Never mind the welsh place names, great to hear you pronouncing Shrewsbury properly! Great video 👍
Ah, now that's an easier one 😅 Just wish I had a bit more time there before continuing on to Holyhead! Thanks Mark!
@@DylansTravelReportsbe sure to let me know if you’re stopping by next time. Always welcome 😊
@@LetsMakeaTrip Absolutely will 🍻
Great video and it's great your talking on videos now. Also, as an older person, great to see young people interested in railways. One day I'll get to Wales. Jointed rails as well giving the clickety clack. The only line I've been on recently that had that was the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh. A beautiful line BTW
Love it