Leg 6, Stoke-on-Trent-Derby (36mi)

This was the leg of the journey where it all started to go wrong! We were planning to get to Derby in time to catch a connecting service to Tamworth. However, this incoming service was heavily delayed stemming from its previous inbound journey to Crewe. We did think as both our train and the connecting service were operated by CrossCountry that there might have been a little discussion and joined-up thinking meaning that the two could still connect. However, on entering Derby our planned train to Tamworth passed us in the other direction. Would this have happened in BR days; I'm not so sure that it would have?