Ricster Diaries Episode - 40 Christmas Special To Manchester | 17/12/2019

Filmed on 17/12/2019. As 2019 draws to a close, it is time for the Christmas Special outing to Manchester for the day. Starting at Scarborough as we join a very special 09:35 Transpennine Express service to Manchester Victoria. This was a Nova 3 and what an amazing train it is to ride on which is the replacement for the class 185's. At York, we were joined by a special guest who moved to Yorkshire 6 months ago from Shropshire. Yep, for those who watches Travel Jacks Journeys and On The Buses, its Jack Newell. A few miles outside York, sadly our Nova 3 set had developed an issue as a safety system was activated which activated the emergency brakes. Luckily, the set was still in good working order to continue its journey to Liverpool Lime Street. At Manchester Victoria, we head to Piccadilly Gardens for a spot of lunch, a few trams and a brief look at the Christmas Market. Our first area to visit is to Media City UK. Amazingly, the Manchester Metrolink trams runs frequently to there. It is home to ITV, BBC and Coronation Street studios and Blue Peter gardens. After a look at some of the sights of Media City UK, the next stop was to ride the tram to Manchester Airport. We ride the tram to Cornbrook where we change trams for Manchester Airport. In the meantime, we did a bit of a spotting session where we seee a Freightliner class 66 on freight working as well as the new Northern class 195 CAF on Manchester Airport to Liverpool Lime Street working. At Manchester Airport, we did a mini trainspotting session before we catch the 15:48 Northern class 195 service to Manchester Piccadilly. The amazing speedds of the class 195's does certinatly reduce the journey times between Manchester and Liverpool. The second of the new trains is built by CAF and introduced into service in 2019 after undergoing testing in 2018/ early 2019. Next, we did an hours trainspotting session in the dark and Manchester Piccadilly. I couldn't get the unit numbers in so just a normal spotting session. A few surprises includes a DB Schenker class 67 with a WAG set and a Freightliner class 66 on freight. As well as brand new trains. Now, a look at the Manchester Christmas Market where a giant santa was on display with a colourful water fountain. A sample of the food of a spicy curry which was hot to say the least. Manchester Victoria is the next filming point for again a short spotting session of mixed variety. However, the day had to be cut short as a look on real time trains did show that the 20:30 & 21:24 Transpennine Express services to Scarborough had been cancelled. Which was unfortunate because these diagrams was supposed to be Nova 3 sets. Nevertheless, the 19:30 Transpennine Express was a 'Nova 0' in other words a class 185 to Scarborough. At York, Jack Newell leaves the train to head for home as we continue for Scarborough. Well, what a brilliant year 2019 has been. Let's hope 2020 will prove to be just as good or even better. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. ******************************************************************** Thank You For Watching You Can Follow Me On Twitter: @NowisRicky Flickr: ricnowis Instagram: RCN Photography Facebook: Ricky Rail Sharing Community ©RickyNowisTrainspotting #ricsterdiaries #christmasspecial #travelvloguk #manchestervictoria #manchesterairport #manchesterpiccadilly #trainspottinguk #rickynowismanchester #transportforwales #wag #class67 #class175 #avantiwestcoast #class390pendolino #eastmidlandsrailway #class156 #class158 #cummins #northernrailway #class142 #pacer #class150 #sprinter #class323 #class319 #class331 #videodiary #class195 #caf #dbschenker #class66