Greek Easter 24/04 to 03/05 2000 "The Good & the Bad Retsina"
My first trip back to Greece since 1994, this time for Greek Easter, when hordes of Greeks all return to their home towns and villages to celebrate - leading to strengthened & additional trains on the Peloponnese narrow gauge requiring pairs of Alco's. A collection of Crompton & 31 Bashers were all making their way over.
We went over a few days early to do some mainline moves, albeit behind the Adtranz locos that were now the norm - no hellfire MLW's this time!
Monday 24/04/2000
G-EZYC Luton Airport - Athens 1305 Luton Airport - Athens
Me, Betty & Trog (Dave Jackson) had decided a little mainline action was required, another run through the mountains and visiting old haunts in the North of the country.
There is only 1 real place to start - an evening in the Athens Brewery complete with a range of German style beers & a Schweinhaxe for dinner. It's quite a posh place but we've never been turned away (although some of us may have been thrown out occasionally).
Tuesday 25/04/2000
A traditional start to the trip with a run out on the narrow gauge before it got much busier later in the week.
A9101 Athens - Diakopto 0906 Piraeus - Kiparissia 168km
A9103 Diakopto - Piraeus 0906 Kiparissia - Piraeus 177km
Never let it be said I remember all our drinking sessions, but I know we went somewhere new in Piraeus because I remember we all left it a bit late going for the metro & me feeling somewhat queezy rushing through the station and up the platform for the train.
Emu Piraeus (AER) - Victoria (AER)
A492# Athens - Thessaloniki 2317 Athens - Thessaloniki 510km
Wednesday 26/04/2000
A485# Thessaloniki - Drama 0830 Thessaloniki - Ormenio 232km
I'm sure we ate here in a place Trog had used before (might have been the station buffet)
A473# Drama - Thessaloniki 0640 Ormenio - Thessaloniki 232km
A487# Thessaloniki - Larissa 1827 Thessaloniki - Athens 171km
I do remember Larissa, a nice vibrant place, we ate & drank at a place next to a square and watched the students & young couples having a good time - as were we. A good end to a long trip (when you include the overnight)
Thursday 27/04/2000
AA98(unit) Larissa - Platamon 1030 Larissa - Thessaloniki 53km
We had lunch and drinks in Platamon, very pleasant with a nice sea view.
A474# Platamon - Leianokladi 1135 Thessaloniki - Athens 179km
The main aim of today was to have a Caterpillar engined loco on the branch to Stylis
A223# Leianokladi - Stylis 1320 Athens - Stylis 23km
A223 Stylis - Leianokladi 1704 Stylis - Athens 23km
A486# Leianokladi - Athens 1704 Stylis - Athens 212km
We met up with other bashers tonight ready for the start of Easter additionals the following day. I think we went to a traditional "pointy pointy" restaurant (where you are shown into the kitchen & point at the items you desire to eat). I shared a room with Sean Brazel - he's a top man but he didn't really appreciate my drunken snoring! In the morning I asked him if he did sleep and he replied he'd found a couple of dodgy (porn) channels on the hotel TV & watched those until he sparked out - Noise be damned!
Friday 28/04/2000
The big day of the Greek Orthodox church is Easter Sunday, so it's the Friday & Saturday leading up to this that saw all the additional & strengthened trains.
A9102#) Athens (Peloponnese) - Pirghos 0906 Piraeus - Kipparissia 320km
A9107)
Pair on the 0906 Piraeus to Kipparissia at Corinth
A proper Cranks roadshow today, Flossie, Shovel, Howey, Sean Brazel, Betty, Jeff Hawken, Pelham, Mike Tyrer, Trog & a few more - sorry can't remember their monikers!
Monday 01/05/2000
I had one of those hangovers this morning that once you've woke up you just can't get back to sleep, so over to the Fuel Point (just across the road from the hotel) to catch some pre-dawn Alco action.
Dawn is about to break over Kiparissia with 5 or 6 Alcos stabled prior to the days strengthened Easter services - A9105 & A9102 are about to be fuelled & watered.
Three Alco's being fuelled & watered as dawn breaks over Kiparissia whilst a sister loco positions stock ready for the days 1st departure. I was obviously unable to sleep that morning.
A223# Leianokladi - Stylis 1320 Athens - Stylis 23km
A223 Stylis - Leianokladi 1704 Stylis - Athens 23km
A486# Leianokladi - Athens 1704 Stylis - Athens 212km
We met up with other bashers tonight ready for the start of Easter additionals the following day. I think we went to a traditional "pointy pointy" restaurant (where you are shown into the kitchen & point at the items you desire to eat). I shared a room with Sean Brazel - he's a top man but he didn't really appreciate my drunken snoring! In the morning I asked him if he did sleep and he replied he'd found a couple of dodgy (porn) channels on the hotel TV & watched those until he sparked out - Noise be damned!
Friday 28/04/2000
The big day of the Greek Orthodox church is Easter Sunday, so it's the Friday & Saturday leading up to this that saw all the additional & strengthened trains.
A9102#) Athens (Peloponnese) - Pirghos 0906 Piraeus - Kipparissia 320km
A9107)
A proper Cranks roadshow today, Flossie, Shovel, Howey, Sean Brazel, Betty, Jeff Hawken, Pelham, Mike Tyrer, Trog & a few more - sorry can't remember their monikers!
A9102 & A9107 at Patras on the 0906 Piraeus - Kipparisia
The trains always conveyed one luggage van (sometimes 2 but only at Easter) this also incorporated the Guards seating area. Once you got the other side of Patras & friendly traincrew from Patras, Kippy or Kalamata took over you could normal avail yourself of the Bellowing platform, specifically so traincrew or baggage handlers could safely see which stations they were approaching.
Open the doors, roll the safety bar down into place then you could enjoy the thrash full bore from right behind the locos - but be warned, me & Betty once both needed TWO showers after a particularly claggy run as we looked like coal miners by the time we got to Kipparisia!
Pelham exhibits proper use of the bellowing platform at Pirghos behind a pair of Beasts A9107 & A9102 on the 0906 Piraeus - Kiparissia
Trog looks on as A9106 & A9111 in multi pull in to Pirghos on the 1644 Kiparissia - Piraeus
A9106#) Pirghos - Achaia 1644 Kipparissia - Piraeus 78km
A9111)
A9106 Clag - it was in fine form this particular Easter !
Alighted from the train at Achaia with just enough light to record A9106 & A9111 clagging away from the stop. Though most was coming from A9106 alone!
A9112#) Achaia - Pirghos 1454 Piraeus - Kipparissia 78km
A9109#)
I didn't realise we'd stayed in Pirghos until writing up this report, I believe it was the last time we did so as the beer choice was poor & everything closed quite early. Olympia became the overnight location (on non-Easter) trips in future years when the hauled day trains started/terminated at Pirghos.
Saturday 29/04/2000
We turned up for the pair on the morning train only to find that there was an issue with the locos - A9109 & A9112 would not talk to each other!
While the traincrew & Fitter were milling about contemplating what they would do I realised the Mitsibushi loco & stock in the siding (see picture below) was lined up to do the Olympia & Katakolo branches which I'd spectacularly failed to do in 1994, so I bailed off the pair & sat on the Mitsi stock with the locals. However we were trapped in by the failed train so eventually they de-trained all the passengers & sent a unit out on the Olympia - bowled again!
I rejoined the pair of Alcos which were finally turned on the Katakolo triangle then worked forward ok.
All is not well at Pirghos
A9109) Pirghos - Patras 0709 Kiparissia - Pireaus 99km
A9112)
Due to all the time lost in Pirghos we had to leap at Patras today, there's a short two track section up past the depot so too risky to go through to the next shack. We didn't go outside the station, we just got refreshments from the station buffet. I had a crap Heineken some of the others, including Betty, asked some youth's what they were drinking as we hadn't seen this drink before - "Frappe" it turned out. Cold coffee - no thanks. Betty and a couple of others thought "why not" so had one. It's ok said Betty but one of the others didn't like it so Betty had his as well. Then he went Frappe crazy, overdosed on pure caffeine he was in a right old state - he said it was like a hangover but without the enjoyment of drinking the beer beforehand - Never Again!
A9108) Patras - Kiparissia 0906 Pireaus - Kiparissia 162km
A9101)
We turned up for the pair on the morning train only to find that there was an issue with the locos - A9109 & A9112 would not talk to each other!
While the traincrew & Fitter were milling about contemplating what they would do I realised the Mitsibushi loco & stock in the siding (see picture below) was lined up to do the Olympia & Katakolo branches which I'd spectacularly failed to do in 1994, so I bailed off the pair & sat on the Mitsi stock with the locals. However we were trapped in by the failed train so eventually they de-trained all the passengers & sent a unit out on the Olympia - bowled again!
I rejoined the pair of Alcos which were finally turned on the Katakolo triangle then worked forward ok.
A9109) Pirghos - Patras 0709 Kiparissia - Pireaus 99km
A9112)
Due to all the time lost in Pirghos we had to leap at Patras today, there's a short two track section up past the depot so too risky to go through to the next shack. We didn't go outside the station, we just got refreshments from the station buffet. I had a crap Heineken some of the others, including Betty, asked some youth's what they were drinking as we hadn't seen this drink before - "Frappe" it turned out. Cold coffee - no thanks. Betty and a couple of others thought "why not" so had one. It's ok said Betty but one of the others didn't like it so Betty had his as well. Then he went Frappe crazy, overdosed on pure caffeine he was in a right old state - he said it was like a hangover but without the enjoyment of drinking the beer beforehand - Never Again!
A9108) Patras - Kiparissia 0906 Pireaus - Kiparissia 162km
A9101)
Some of the roadshow enjoying the Alco thrash on the Pele during Greek Easter.
From back Left: Betty (seated), Jeff Hawken, Paul Bristow, Pelham, then seated on the right Mike Tyrer & Trog ("Radio" Paul Garvey's checked sleeve far right!)
Of note you can see the vinyl seats, long hours travelling would lead to "Vinyl Crack" in the derriere - so Bellowing was sometimes the better option. There was also a sneezing competition every trip between me & Shovel to see who had the worst hay-fever in the heat, dust & clag.
A9108 & A9101 after arrival at Kiparissia with the 0906 from Piraeus. No weed-killing trains here, our hotel the Ionian can be glimpsed through the trees.
An early finish today so beers & food in a place on the main square in Kiparissia, for the first time German Wheatbeer was available in bottled form so some progress on the beer front at last.
Sunday 30/04/2000
No pairs on the Sunday but the same programme of trains so everything was in place for the strengthenings on Monday.
A9111 Kiparissia - Patras 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus 162km
All is not right apparently with A9111 at Pirghos on the 0709 Kiparissia to Piraeus
Unbelievably another loco problem and on the same train as yesterday morning, however we carried on with the same loco - with the news a Fitter had been arranged to meet the train at Patras.
A9111 at Patras on the 0700 Kippy - Piraeus.
The Fitter arrived to try to batter the loco, Betty helped by passing him tools as required! All to no avail I'm afraid. You all know what's coming next!
With A9111 removed from the train A9201 came off Patras shed to work forward. The AVP made sure it wasn't an Alco !
Yes you've guessed it Alsthomed out, no need to move out of the front coach as no Alsthom bashers piled on - probably because there aren't any! At least it was a winner.....
A9201# Patras - Diakopto 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus 53km
A9201 at Diakopto, this replaced A9111 (failure) at Patras on the 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus
A9102 at Diakopto
A9102 Diakopto - Psathopirghos 0906 Piraeus - Kipparissia 37km
Bored of the same old leaps and photos I bailed early at Psathopirghos, nice breeze and sea view to pass a tranquil 15 minutes or so.
A9101 at snakes & spiders (or Psathopirghos) on the 1014 Kiparissia - Piraeus
A9101 Psathopirghos - Kiato 1014 Kiparissia - Piraeus 93km
I asked what the next leap was, Corinth on about a plus ten. No time for a beer or any other refreshments. I decided I would bail at Kiato, where there was at least a station buffet, it would give me about an hour for beer & a sandwich before the very long run back to Kiparissia.
While I was relaxing with my vitals I realised under the counter there were two Vats full of White & red Retsina! I enquired about it and was shown a large plastic container, with tap fitted, which probably held about 9 litres - too much I thought. Hold on though, if I can contact the roadshow on my mobile (doubtful) they could all chip in. My text got through and the reply was affirmative - Get Some!
A very merry return trip, the container fitted nicely on the luggage rack & a supply of small plastic cups had been included. The Retsina (many of us, myself included, had never tried it due to it's fearsome reputation) was actually bloody nice!
A9109 Kiato - Kiparissia 1454 Piraeus - Kiparissia 272km
A9109 at Patras
The whole supply of Retsina was demolished, the last drops being consumed on the approaches to Kiparissia. In good spirits I announced we would have a Balcony party, I had a bottle of Ouzo stashed in the room - once everyone got cleaned up & had a bite to eat grab a beer or two and head to ours. There goes your quiet evening Mr Tyrer! He was one of three of us sharing a room.
Needless to say we had a great old time, the hotel balconies overlooked the station and Alco stabling point, many toasts were raised over each of the Beasts stabled below. Everyone got a least drunk, some of us were completely bladdered!
Unfortunately an incident occurred deep in the middle of the night, I was on a camp bed right outside our bathroom but in a state of Drunkenness (& Nakedness!) I exited the room in a search for a toilet.
To this end I took the lift down to the foyer - where I appeared naked, going over to the check-in desk for info "where's the loo mate". The young couple canoodling in the foyer area got a shock I can tell you! Although the night receptionist knew no English he'd met me before & swiftly escorted me back to the room (still naked). On re-entering the room Mike said "the bathrooms there right next to your bed you bloody Idiot!". Quite right, so it was!
Monday 01/05/2000
I had one of those hangovers this morning that once you've woke up you just can't get back to sleep, so over to the Fuel Point (just across the road from the hotel) to catch some pre-dawn Alco action.
A9109 Kiparissia - Patras 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus 162km
Unbeknownst to any of us, Flossie had somehow managed to refill the Retsina container!
No-one felt like drinking any as too early (or hungover!) and if we left it until later in the day the Retsina would get far too warm to drink it - better try it before lugging it about all day - Uurrgh! not the nice stuff like yesterday, this was awful - a few people had a taste and all agreed. We gave Flossie some cash to NOT drink it then left it on the luggage rack. There may have been a few drunk carriage cleaners in Athens that evening!
A9109 at Patras looking suitably scabby
A9112 Patras - Andravida 0604 Piraeus - Kiparissia 61km
A9102) Andravida - Patras 1014 Kiparissia - Piraeus 61km
A9105#)
A9103) Patras - Pirghos 0906 Piraeus - Kiparissia 99km
A9101)
A9112 Pirghos - Patras 1644 Kiparissia - Piraeus 99km
An evening eating and drinking in Patras, very cosmopolitan compared with the rest of the Pelly, due to all the ocean liners and ferries coming and going bringing people from far flung places.
A good night was had, Sean decided NOT to come to bed & listen to my snoring, instead he found a young woman to drink the night away with - he got back to the room and went to bed just as I was leaving in the morning!
Tuesday 02/05/2000
Easter was over, no strengthened trains today. We opted for a simple move straight back to Athens.
A9107 Patras - Athens 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus 221km
"Pelvis" as this loco was nicknamed performed well, I was out the window all the way, it's a mega scenic run all the way through to Athens with the thrash as an accompaniment.
This evening saw the start (?) of a Pele tradition - going for an Indian Curry. I think Howey found the address (or it could have been Flossie) anyway we went on-masse a shock for the proprietors!
It wasn't very salubrious and the beer choice was poor but we were here for the food. Unfortunately it took an AGE for each course to produce, I can't really describe how long. Still, a good night was had, there were a few roadshow riots during the course of the night. Goodbye Pele !
Wednesday 03/05/2000
G-EZYB Athens - Luton Airport 0650 Athens - Luton Airport
A classic Easter bash, those Pelly Alco's really were the business. It's a pity the Euro (& Greek greediness) crashed the Greek economy and caused 95% of the route to close. I would return many times before then, including non-Easter trips just to bash the Beasts! Cheers Poodle.
A9112 Patras - Andravida 0604 Piraeus - Kiparissia 61km
A9102) Andravida - Patras 1014 Kiparissia - Piraeus 61km
A9105#)
A9103) Patras - Pirghos 0906 Piraeus - Kiparissia 99km
A9101)
A9112 Pirghos - Patras 1644 Kiparissia - Piraeus 99km
An evening eating and drinking in Patras, very cosmopolitan compared with the rest of the Pelly, due to all the ocean liners and ferries coming and going bringing people from far flung places.
A good night was had, Sean decided NOT to come to bed & listen to my snoring, instead he found a young woman to drink the night away with - he got back to the room and went to bed just as I was leaving in the morning!
Tuesday 02/05/2000
Easter was over, no strengthened trains today. We opted for a simple move straight back to Athens.
A9107 Patras - Athens 0709 Kiparissia - Piraeus 221km
"Pelvis" as this loco was nicknamed performed well, I was out the window all the way, it's a mega scenic run all the way through to Athens with the thrash as an accompaniment.
This evening saw the start (?) of a Pele tradition - going for an Indian Curry. I think Howey found the address (or it could have been Flossie) anyway we went on-masse a shock for the proprietors!
It wasn't very salubrious and the beer choice was poor but we were here for the food. Unfortunately it took an AGE for each course to produce, I can't really describe how long. Still, a good night was had, there were a few roadshow riots during the course of the night. Goodbye Pele !
Wednesday 03/05/2000
G-EZYB Athens - Luton Airport 0650 Athens - Luton Airport
A classic Easter bash, those Pelly Alco's really were the business. It's a pity the Euro (& Greek greediness) crashed the Greek economy and caused 95% of the route to close. I would return many times before then, including non-Easter trips just to bash the Beasts! Cheers Poodle.
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