Early January London trips
1st Jan
2022 started carrying on where I left of on the Friday, with another trip to London, however today the weather looked decent enough to do a walk (because walking in the rain isn’t much fun!) SWR were running a revised Sunday timetable so it was the first train from Grateley to take me to Basingstoke (with 159101 & 159021 getting the ‘honour’ of being my first train of 2021). A short wait at Basingstoke before a 158+159 rolled in to take me to Reading, where I changed over to a pair of 387s on a semi-fast London train.
These 387s took me to Slough, where I exited the station and headed north to reach the Slough Basin of the Slough Branch of the Grand Union canal. The towpath was mostly quiet with only a few others out and about this time of the morning, got busier the closer I got to London, although the towpath was a bit muddy in places, especially when it narrows to go underneath bridges. I reached the main Grand Union canal near Yiewsley, heading south on the good quality path passing West Drayton station. Eventually I reached Hayes Town, where I left the canal and headed towards Hayes & Harlington station.
Slough Canal in the Langley Area
After my enjoyable walk (although one to do in the spring/summer where there is less in the way of mud), it was time to play with some trains. A pair of GWR 387s was up first which took me to Paddington, where I decided I would head south of the river to South Eastern land for I did need a few Networkers for mileage, plus some 376s. It was down to the Bakerloo for a busy train to Charing Cross where due to engineering works services were only 2tph from this London terminus! A low mileage 465 was in the middle of a 10 coach set which was taken to London Bridge, where I spent some time bouncing between platforms before the next Charing Cross – Dartford train arrives, which had 2 required units for mileage (465162 & 466001).
I took these to Charlton to clear the 466 for ten miles and had a short wait before a low mileage 466 arrived to take me back towards Lewisham, for a short wait for a pair of low mileage 376s to Eltham. I bounced back to Blackheath to fester in the sunshine but nothing else was needed so I headed to Charlton for a low mileage 376 to Woolwich Arsenal. Considering the limited number of trains out today I was happy with my results (3x 376, 2x 465 & 2x 466s), so it was down to the DLR for the run to Shadwell.
466001 at Charlton
It must have been a good couple years since my last decent length trip on the DLR (excluding last May when I used it from Stratford to Stratford International to tick off the lesser used platform). I forgot how bouncy it is at speed, but still good fun. At Shadwell I headed towards the Overground station, going to the northbound platform arriving just as a low mileage 378 was spotted heading north to Highbury so I was going to give chase with the following Highbury train (the Overground was a reduced timetable with no New Cross trains and only 2tph to Clapham Junction).
Lady luck must have been shining on me as the following northbound train was also a low mileage 378 (146), which I took to Highbury & Islington connecting onto 378149 which I took to Surrey Quays, keeping my eyes peeled on the northbound trains just in case 148 was out and about, but alas I didn’t see it, even during my ~ 30 minute fester at Surrey Quays (which has a nice bench seat). Eventually I called it a day and headed to Canada Water for the Jubilee to Waterloo.
Shadwell Station Entrance
The Salisbury stoppers were starting at Basingstoke today, so it was onto a pair of 444s for the fast run to Basingstoke, changing over to a 158+159 combo for the last leg back home. An enjoyable day with a walk in the morning and some 466 motor thrash :)
3rd January
My final day before having to return to work on the Tuesday, and with a good weather forecast it was once more a case of heading to London to walk. Today started with the 07:27 service which took me all the way to Waterloo, this was a 8 coach 159+158+159 combo and was very lightly loaded pretty much all the way (at least in the coach I was sitting in). At Waterloo I headed to the Bakerloo taking a Bakerloo service to Warwick Avenue station to begin my walk.
Today my aim was to walk the Regent’s Canal which ran from the Maida Hill area of London to reach the River Thames at Limehouse. I located the start of the canal in an area called Little Venice and started my walk. Although the first section along the towpath didn’t last for long as it was soon onto a pavement of a road next to the canal (the towpath was closed off to the public as it was used for moorings), then the canal disappeared into a tunnel. The path on the road was easy enough to follow and soon I re-joined the canal at the other end of the tunnel.
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| A Pendo crossing the Regent's Canal in the Camden area |
I continued along the towpath, going underneath the Chiltern main line (with the soundtrack of a 68 hauled set heading towards Birmingham), underneath the Met line and continued on the outer edge of Regent’s Park. Carrying on as I reached Camden area where the path got a bit busier, something which remained for the rest of the walk (walkers, joggers & bikes). In the Islington area, once more the canal disappears into a tunnel meaning the towpath disappears, although this time the signage wasn’t the best in places as I ended up trying to get back on track to join the canal side once more at the other end of the tunnel.
Regent's Canal near the eastern portal of the Islington Tunnel
Once the towpath was reached after Islington tunnel it was straight forward to head towards Limehouse, going underneath various railway lines, passing Victoria Park and Mile End Park. An enjoyable walk as I reached the canal lock giving access to the Limehouse basin, and decided to do a loop around the basin to reach the lock to the River Thames, before heading towards the DLR station, catching a DLR service to Bank.
River Thames near Limehouse Basin.
The path quality was quite good, a couple areas where it was a bit slippery (mainly caused by leaves, in the Regent’s Park area) with a couple of the bridge having puddles underneath, certainly a good path to do all year round, although I would imagine during the summer months the towpath will get very busy in places, especially at the points where it narrows to go under bridges. Anyhow back to the trains as I caught a train from the soon to be disused southbound platform at Bank, only one stop to reach London Bridge where I was due to meet up with my good friend Dan who was down from Scotland on business.
Current Southbound Northern line platform at Bank
Similar to the Saturday I was planning to spend a few hours on South Eastern to see if I could get any of my mileage requirements, thankfully there were more services today. After a trip to Tesco it was to platform 6-7 and the first service featured a low mileage 465 in the middle of a 10 coach formation. This was taken to Lewisham where it was cleared for 10 miles and we had a gentle wait keeping eyes on anything moving when having a good catch-up, eventually jumping forward to Blackheath on a pair of 465s, before a low mileage 376 took us to Bexleyheath, followed by another short wait before another 376 arrived which we took to Abbey Wood.
A short wait at the future terminus of Crossrail and it was onto a very low mileage 376 (sub mile) to Slade Green where we had a short wait for that 376 to return from Dartford to take us all the way back to Charing Cross. After a short break we headed back towards Waterloo East with Dan staying on a Gravesend bound 376 and I crossed the road to board a triple 159 which took me back home to Grateley, the end of an enjoyable day. I got another 4 South Eastern units into my book for ten miles (my list of requirements is coming down now), with a morning enjoyable walk along the Regent’s Canal.
700024 at Abbey Wood
8th January
The weather today was wet, so sadly no walking today (not unless I wanted to end up getting soaked), so it was another trip to London with my little red pen. Due to engineering works (between Woking & Surbiton I believe) the Salisbury stoppers were being diverted to Reading to make a change from the usual terminating at Basingstoke. I took 159015 for the run to Reading, changing over to a pair of 387s on a nonstop service to Paddington.
At Paddington I headed to Ealing Broadway on the next 345, but my luck wasn’t in with anything being spotted which I needed so I decided to head back to Paddington on another 345, changing to a Hammersmith & City line train to Moorgate. I arrived at the Great Northern platforms just as a required 717 was spotted heading towards Welwyn, but first I jumped on the next Stevenage train to Drayton Park to get into the fresh air, returning to Essex Road (complete with NSE signage) before jumping on 717023 for the run to Hadley Wood.
I foolishly decided to do a little walk to the north of the station, the first part was a mixed used path but soon it gave way to a muddy & waterlogged path via some woods coming back towards a sports club. After this walk I returned to the station as winner 717011 was ticked off for the run to Moorgate, I gave it a few minutes before the following 717 from Stevenage arrived but that wasn’t needed so I headed to the sub surface line platform taking a Circle line train one stop to Liverpool Street (had the weather been better I would have walked).
Old NSE signage at Essex Road
When I got to Liverpool Street I noticed the next Southend train featured a required 720 (567) and called at Romford, so I took a seat for the trip to Romford to get another 720 into my book. I exited the station to pop to a Tesco Express close by for lunch, although I walked out without food due to the checkout operator being a d*ck. I picked up a packet of coconut which said “Meal Deal Snack” on the packaging, the shelf edge label said it was part of the meal deal, but for whatever reason the self-service checkout didn’t take off the discount and the member of staff point blank refusing to listen about the coconut being in the meal deal, a “Computer says no” sort of person who probably shouldn’t be working on the shop floor with a customer attitude like that.
Anyhow I returned to Romford, spotting another required 345 heading towards Liverpool Street, but my focus was on the next 720 from Southend, getting lucky with it being winner 720577, quite busy on board but I got a seat, however sadly my plug for my charger must have fallen out of my bag when I was trying to get out my iPod to listen to music (rather than listen to the plans of a group of youngsters at which places they were going to visit and who was sleeping with whom). I spent the time working out a rough plan which would see me taking a 345 to Harold Wood to return on another required 345. Once I was at Liverpool Street, I swung via Tesco for something to eat as I was hungry, and waited to board winner 345025 for the run out to Harold Wood. A few minutes wait at the zone 6 stations and winner 345046 arrived from Shenfield which I took to Stratford. 2 more Crossrail units into my book for 10 miles, taking me down to 5 units needed outright plus 2 for mileage (and I’m not sure if any of those 5 have entered passenger use)
"This is the Northern Service to..."
Time for a change of scenery as I headed towards platform 4 at Stratford, taking a DLR service to Poplar, changing over to a Tower Gateway train to Shadwell for I was going to have a short hunt for my last 378 needed for mileage. I decided to go to the southbound platform, arriving with a couple minutes before a New Cross train, and I couldn’t believe it when low mileage 378148 rolled in! Seriously what were the odds on the first train I saw being the one I wanted, as I took a seat for the run to New Cross, remaining on board the unit for the run back to Wapping which cleared it for mileage needs. No more hanging around the East London Line for the DC only 378s, I was quite pleased as I took the next New Cross train back to New Cross, to transfer to South Eastern.
I decided the best thing to do was to take the next train to Lewisham, that way I would have more options, so it was onto a pair of 465s for the run to Lewisham, spotting a low mileage 376 heading the other way towards Charing Cross. Sadly nothing of interest at Lewisham as I took another pair of 465s towards London Bridge, for a short wait before low mileage 376023 rolled in (along with 376018) which I took to Blackheath. When at London Bridge I noticed a very low mileage 466 on a Charing Cross train, but sadly my plan to intercept it on its return working failed due to a delay to the next London train at Blackheath caused by a late running freight train.
378148 at New Cross.
Thankfully that 466 was only heading to Plumsted so I gave chase with another pair of 465s, giving me a few minutes at Pumsted before 466003 rolled in on the back of a pair of 465s. I took this trio of units to Waterloo East, pushing the 466 over ten miles (it was a sub mile unit, scored back in 2015 on a Hither Green – Lee move when I was scoring stations the first time round). Anyhow I returned to London Bridge on the next service, a pair of 375s, and crossed over to Thameslink, with a leap towards Blackfriars, then finally Farringdon, for it was time to head back towards Paddington then home (as I didn’t want a very late finish tonight)
466003 at Waterloo East
A Metropolitan line train took me to Baker Street, where I transferred to the Bakerloo for the final mile to Paddington, swinging via the Sainsburys store (which has massively changed since my last visit), before jumping onto a 9 coach 800 for the run to Reading. I had a little walk at Reading to waste time (I could have had an extra 15 minutes at London, but that would have been a 5 coach unit which called at Slough). I returned back at the station and waited for the 159 to arrive from Salisbury, before taking a seat on 159014 for the run to Grateley, finishing off with a walk home.
It was a good day in London, a few more units into my book, both outright and for mileage. Couldn’t help with the poor weather, next weekend sees the return of some longer distance trips.
Western Bays at Reading
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