Trips in December 2022
December was a busy month,
enforced leave from work at the end of it mixed up with a reduced timetable on
SWR forcing some day trips to be cut short to avoid missing the last trains, thankfully I didn't loss out on any money by booking anything requiring a last minute hotel booking.
3rd December – West Midlands Canal Walk
My first trip of December was a trip to the West Midlands to walk along the Birmingham Canal towards Wolverhampton from the Smethwick area, meeting up with a good friend whom I hadn’t seen since last year.
The day began with the 05:56 service from Grateley to Basingstoke (a 158+159 combo) (where it terminated due to engineering works at the London end), a short wait at Basingstoke before a pair of 220s rolled in to take me towards Banbury with a reversal at Reading where due to my gold card not being valid on XC north of Banbury I changed for a busy pair of 168s for the run into Moor Street changing one last time onto a pair of 172s to Smethwick Galton Bridge to begin my walk.
172344 at Birmingham Moor Street in the sunshine
I met up with my good friend from Wolverhampton and made our way to the canal via the Galton Bridge itself, heading towards Birmingham (climbing up to the “old main line” at the pumping station) then walking part of the “Engine Arm”. One small detour at Bridge Street due to the towpath being blocked off by a security gate for moorings, but we soon re-joined the canal on the old main line walking to Smethwick junction to double back on the new canal, underneath the platforms at Smethwick Galton Bridge before hitting a closed section of towpath due to a dangerous building.
The detour was along a road to join the towpath of the Old Main line underneath the M5, towards the Stewart Aqueduct, where we continued along the older canal towards Oldbury where the Tifford canal joined (a short canal leading towards Langley Green). We carried along the old canal coming away around Sainsburys where we visited for some lunch supplies, before heading towards the railway at Sandwell & Dudley to join the main canal, and onto a more solid path (the towpath on the old canal was more grassy/muddy).
A 196 crossing the Birmingham Canal (Old Main Line) at Stewart Aqueduct.
We carried along the Birmingham canal, passing the junction with the Walsall Canal where some people were trying to stop some pollution from spreading (red diesel), carrying on underneath the railway line and passing the short Gower Branch canal (where I noticed the towpath was closed for construction works), spotting the train passing, as we came along the Netherton Tunnel branch of the Dudley Canal, an ideal place to stop for some food as it was peaceful (other than the odd voyager).
After lunch we continued along further, passing Dudley Port station and over the track-bed of the former South Staffordshire line (future tram route), carrying on passing Tipton area where we had some locks to climb before the old line came in at factory junction. We continued towards Coseley going via a short tunnel (which was a bit wet), passing the Wednesbury Oak Loop canal branching off. We continued along the main canal as the scenery changed into more industrial mixed with some residential (with new houses), going underneath the railway a couple more times.
The odd voyager
We passed some old buildings with a high fence protected by some razor wire, which a few days afterwards burned down (wasn’t us, honest). The last canal we passed was the Walsall canal, another canal on my list to walk in the future. Anyhow we continued, going underneath the Wolverhampton station car park and leaving the canal near a lock to do a little loop towards the area where the old tunnel for the low-level line was just about visible. I said my farewell to my friend as he headed home, and I headed towards the station as I noticed a 196 was due from Shrewsbury. It was a few minutes late due to overcrowding but I managed to get a seat in the front coach for the run towards Birmingham. Not really long enough to make a judgement, but the position of the plug sockets was in front (rather than being below the seats).
At Birmingham New Street it was just chaotic with the volume of passengers waiting to board that train, even the security staff were finding it hard to keep everybody back long enough for people to leave the train. With that chaos I decided to go straight to Moor Street, queuing to enter the station and onto the hourly Chiltern train, deciding to go to the front unit (it was a 2 coach 168/3 attached with a 4 coach 168/0) to get a seat in the former 1st class area. The crowding as it departed Birmingham made that Sevenoaks bound 700, I took a couple weeks previously looked quiet (don’t think you could have fitted any more passengers on).
The Sandwell Massive squeezing onto a fast train
Thankfully the 168s did empty out along the way, but even at Banbury it was still overcrowded (especially in the rear coaches). When will Chiltern go back to 2 trains per hour between Birmingham & London? I had a short wait before a pair of voyagers rocked up, thankfully not as busy as the previous train and I found a pair of seats with no issues. This train took me to Reading where it terminated, giving me around 25 minutes to waste before the next Basingstoke train (so I popped out of the station to a nearby Sainsburys to give me something to do).
I returned to the station to board the 2 coach 165 on the Basingstoke stopper, which was a bit like the Chiltern service in being overcrowded, even at the front. This took me to Basingstoke where I made my slow way across to platform 2 where the next Salisbury stopper was due to depart from. Departure time came and went, eventually there was an announcement that the train was getting delayed. Eventually the train rolled in onto platform 4, but another delay as the guard had gone missing, before reappearing and the train got on the way around 40-odd minutes late.
I got back to Grateley, and walked home, relaxing for the remainder of the evening. An enjoyable day with a friend with a nice canal side walk with changeable scenery.
4th December – Ramgsate
I was treating my mum for a little day out, something we had hoped to do the previous weekend, but we were looking after the dog. A simple trip towards Kent, with a short walk from Ramsgate towards Broadstairs, which started with a drive to Andover due to early morning engineering works and onto a busy 3 coach 159 on the London train. Nothing much happened until Basingstoke where we were delayed with reports of the previous train from Andover striking an object and breaking down between Hook & Winchfield.
We departed Basingstoke, going slowly passed the sprinter coming to a stop at Winchfield where everybody was made to exit the train so it could reverse to rescue the passengers from the broken-down train. So, a little novelty of a 159 calling at Winchfield, as we waited as it departed back towards Hook and a pair of 450s rolled in on a Woking stopper. I looked at RTT & the departure boards deciding to bail at Farnborough as the London train behind the stopper was also calling there, and it would avoid changing the platforms at Woking.
159104 at Winchfield
The 450s came to a stop between Fleet & Farnborough, eventually crawling forward into a busy Farnborough station, we bailed and the 450s departed towards Woking and a pair of 444s rolled in as we grabbed a seat in the rearmost coach. The 444s overtook the 450s on the outskirts of Woking so this move turned out to be good (I guess any passengers on that 450 would have been on the London train behind). Thankfully no future issues came up as the 444s went on a tour via Staines, crawling along passed some stations but only catching up with a stopper near Richmond. Unusually this train skipped Clapham Junction (it was planned to) which was very unusual for a Sunday.
Eventually the 444s reached Waterloo, and we joined the crowd trying to exit the platform where the crowd waiting the return leg were waiting to board. We had a gentle walk from Waterloo, across the Golden Jubilee bridge to reach Charing Cross, swinging via the Co-Op outside the station before boarding 375820 & 375630 on the Ramsgate train which went the long way round, via Dover. A nice trip of looking out of the window at the scenery, my phone even randomly picked up a French network in the Dover area (had a text welcoming me to France).
*
375820 at Ramsgate
Sadly, due to being 2 hours late, the walk idea was ditched as we took a pair of 395s to Broadstairs for a short walk to the beach before returning to the station with 375618 & 375710 on the next Cannon Street service, this would have been a Victoria train but there was engineering works on closing Victoria for South Eastern services, which made our lives a bit easier as it meant we could take this train to London Bridge. Darkness fell around Medway as the train got quite busy, emptying out at Swanley.
At London Bridge, we switched to the Charing Cross platforms, boarding a pair of 465s for the short journey to Waterloo East. At Waterloo I made use of the booking office to buy a network railcard for the year ahead (as my gold card expired a few days afterwards so didn’t want risking buying a new gold card only to find out the emergency timetable due to the overtime ban meant no trains from Grateley). The next Exeter train was very busy as we boarded in the front coach of a 159+159+158 combo, but thankfully no real delays getting back to Andover.
After getting back at Andover, we went to Burger King for a little meal before driving home. Other than the big delay from the morning it was a good day, even if the wind was very cold at times.
Viking Bay, Broadstairs
9th December – Onwards to Crewe
I had booked 2 nights in my usual accommodation in Crewe for a little pre-Christmas getaway, so the Friday was spent reaching Crewe. Originally, I was going to catch the 17:59 from Grateley, but when I saw the 17:37 from Andover was delayed by around 20 minutes I got a lift to Andover to catch a 158+159+159 combo to Basingstoke where it terminated due to a broken rail at Clapham. I decided the best way would be to avoid Clapham, so it was a tight connection onto a 3 coach 165 on the Reading stopper (first time I’ve had a refurbished 3 coach 165, with the lack of 1st class signage in the posh seated area).
A short walk at Reading saw me boarding a slightly late running 9 coach IET from Swansea on the fast run to Paddington where it went into platform 1 and a better chance at making the 19:46 Crewe train from Euston. I headed to the Elizabeth line part of the station jumping on a 345 which was already on the platform to take me to Tottenham Court Road, followed by a Northern line service to Euston arriving around 19:38. I exited the underground and headed straight towards the 350s on the Crewe service a /3 leading a /1, walking towards the front where I managed to get a table seat in the 2nd coach for the long run to Crewe. I was glad to have made the connection as it got me to the accommodation an hour earlier.
350372 at Crewe
A couple hours later, the 350s terminated at Crewe and I had to enable penguin mode to avoid slipping over on the icy pavements as the temperature had dropped, making it to the shared house, where I picked up the key to my room for the couple nights, making myself comfy ready for an early start on the Saturday.
10th December – Wirral Way (in the snow)
The idea for today was to walk the disused railway route from Hooton towards West Kirby, known as the Wirral Way. Although the snow wasn’t forecasted when I checked the weather the day before arranging to meet up with my good friend from Wolverhampton for another walk, it only making an appearance on the actual day.
Anyhow I slowly walked to Crewe station to catch the 06:58-odd 350 to Liverpool, joining up with my friend on this lightly loaded 350/1 (although I dread to think how bad it would be closer to Birmingham on the return leg). The snow starting around Acton Bridge, coming down thick at Liverpool. Arrival into Lime Street was roughly on time, and we had a short wait before boarding a 508 on a Chester train to take us towards Hooton where we started the walk.
Snow at Liverpool South Parkway
Due to the cold weather the ground conditions weren’t the best, but we picked up the start of the Wirral Way to head along a nice path, passing the remains of Hadlow Road station and mostly all off-road until Neston where the mixed used path goes along the road due to the original trackbed being lost. After the short section of walking along the road, we carried towards Heswall where the snow started once more, coming down quite thick in places.
Remains of Hadlow Road Station
We carried along the path as it went quite rural (beautiful scenery with fields covered in white with the odd spotting of Wales across the River Dee. We passed the remains of Thurstaston station dodging some bad flooding along the way. The snow had stopped, and the path got busier the closer to West Kirby we got. At the end of the path, we swung via Morrisons for some lunch (and a much-needed visit to the toilets) before heading to the station to take a 507 to Liverpool Lime Street. This is where I said farewell to my friend and I boarded a pair of 156s on the Oxford Road stopper as the next train towards Manchester (the TPE had been cancelled, and the 156s had USB sockets, but sadly heating was rubbish.
Eventually the 156s arrived in Manchester and I bailed at Deansgate to head across to the tram station buying a weekend travelcard and jumping on a Trafford Centre tram to take me to Cornbrook where I had a short tram hunt. However, I decided to give it up after 25 minutes due to the cold wind and how busy the trams were (I know, who would have predicted the trams would be busy on a December Saturday!).
Snow on the Wirral Trail
I took a tram to Piccadilly, where I headed towards a very busy platform 13 to take a 769 to Alderley Edge (for the final time as after this Saturday they would work no further than Oxford Road). A short wait before a busy 319 rolled in on the Crewe train, which I took to Crewe changing over to a 350/2 on a Birmingham via Stoke service. It was nice to be on a train with decent heating allowing me to dry out a bit more for the short run to Stoke on Trent (where I was surprised that the barriers were still in operation). A short wait in the waiting room before 170530 rolled in from Derby, a 170 I needed for renumbering (and gave me something to do). Back at Crewe I was originally going to have a spin to Warrington to see what a refurbished Pendo was like, but Avanti being Avanti had cancelled it so I took a 153+150 combo to Nantwich for lack of a better idea.
150251 departs Nantwich
A short wait at Nantwich for a late running Manchester bound 150 (wouldn’t like to have been on that train when it returned from Manchester!) for the short distance to Crewe where I made my way back to the shared house via Tiger Bite for a yummy pizza (and potato wedges). After the pizza I decided to head to the large Tesco to get some supplies for the Sunday, just in case the temperature dropped overnight again.
A nice little day, an enjoyable walk in the snow with my friend, a nice old railway route giving views of areas I had never visited before.
11th December – Manchester
I checked out of the shared house, making my way to Crewe station for the first Northern service towards Manchester. Due to train crew shortages, TfW had basically cancelled everything from Crewe to Manchester so the 323 was quite busy (when it eventually arrived, getting caught up with some engineering works not being completed on time north of Crewe). My first Northern 323 which featured USB sockets, which was a surprise as I headed towards Manchester Piccadilly.
At Piccadilly I headed to the tram station, getting lucky with a pair of trams for Eccles rolling in a minute after I had arrived. I took this pair of trams to the Anchorage stop near of the quays at Salford. I started my little walk passing the Erie Basin & North Bay at Media City UK. I did a small loop before crossing the Media City footbridge near the war museum. I followed the Manchester Ship Canal on a path towards Wharfside, carrying on as the tarmac went away for a short distance to reach Pomona.
Tram alongside the canal
I took a tram the one stop to Cornbrook, and lasted 15 minutes before calling it a day, it was extremely busy with trams rolling in not making much of an impact of the crowds, so decided to call my tram hunt a day and headed on another Eccles tram to take me to Exchange Quay, where eventually I found the path, I wanted to walk alongside the Manchester Ship Canal. This path took me towards the railway bridges near the Ordsall Chord where it came suddenly to an end (which is what I was expecting looking at the map).
I joined the roads, walking over the River Irwell and towards the old Manchester Liverpool Road station before heading towards Deansgate Castlefield tram stop with a calculated risk. Thankfully the mass overcrowding from earlier had gone away with an Ashton bound tram (ironically the same pair I had to Exchange Quay an hour or so earlier) which took me to Piccadilly, giving me time to grab lunch before boarding a busy 323 for the run to Crewe.
Ordall Chord Bridge over River Irwell
This 323 got held up along the way in the loop after Chelford to allow a late running London Pendo to overtake (even though I reckon the 323 could have easily gotten to Sandbach to allow that Pendo to overtake as by the time it went into the loop the Pendo was still at Wilmslow). Anyhow it eventually reached Crewe and I made my way across to platform 7 with my fingers crossed to avoid a pair of 350/2s.
I was lucky with a 350/4 leading a 350/3, so I took a seat in the leading coach of 403 for the run towards London, looking out of the window at the snow-covered fields before the fog rolled in. At London Euston I decided as I had an hour before the next Salisbury train to take a walk along the road to reach Waterloo (going via Holborn & Somerset House), pausing a few times on Waterloo Bridge for photos of the Thames at night. At Waterloo I headed towards the sprinters which had just arrived, which were getting split with the front 6 forming the 17:20 Salisbury stopper and rear 3 forming the 17:45 Exeter train. I dread to think what the Exeter train would have been like (considering it was only 2 hourly due to going via Westbury), as the Salisbury stopper was quite busy.
Hungerford Bridge & London Eye overlooking River Thames
The 159s eventually departed, losing around 20 minutes due to congestion at Clapham & Woking, but was a nice ride to Grateley, where I walked home in the cold, ready for another week of work ahead. A nice day in Manchester with a couple walks done in Salford and a nice weekend getaway.
18th December – London
My trip today started with the 07:27 service from Grateley, which arrived around 10 minutes late due to a late running ECS to Basingstoke, a lightly loaded triple 159 which took me into London, where I headed to the Jubilee line to take a jubilee line service to Canning Town, followed by a DLR service one stop to Star Lane to start a little walk. My original walk had me starting from Canning Town but with rain expected around midday I did a little bit of cutting due to a reduced time scale.
It must have snowed overnight in London judging by the volume of snow on the pavement as I made my way towards Cody Dock alongside the river Lea where I headed along the towpath passing Bromley by Bow, going underneath the Great Eastern Main Line as well as the freight line for the Bow aggregate branch. The path quality ranged from snow, ice & clear sections so I had to be careful, especially when going up ramps as there was a couple which were quite slippery.
River Lea near Aberfeldy Village, Bow
I carried on walking along the river Lea (the Hackney Cut of the navigation), passing Hackney Wick and towards Clapton. It reminded me very much of the Grand Union canal in Uxbridge in having a lot of boats moored up (I guess with the price of housing in London being stupid, a narrowboat can save money). My walk continued as I arrived at the Walthamstow Marshes, which were just white due to the snow, going underneath the railway viaduct (a viaduct I must have travelled over hundreds of times over the years), with the Capital Ring path heading away from the river around Springfield Park (that is a job for next year).
An Overground 710 crossing the River Lea
The walk continued along the river Lea, going underneath the railway a couple more times (once the main West Anglia line and then the Goblin) coming away from the towpath around Tottenham lock, just as the rain started. A gentle walk to Tottenham Hale before taking 720570 to Stratford to head to the nearby Sainsburys for some lunch. An enjoyable riverside walk, I know the path could have been better in terms of ice/snow, but it was solid underfoot, seeing parts of London I haven’t seen before.
720570 at Stratford
After grabbing lunch, I headed to the Overground platforms for a short fester, eventually giving up landing anything low mileage so I headed to Hackney Central, doing the walk to Hackney Downs getting lucky with some low mileage 710/1s (although in hindsight, it might have been better waiting for when they were out in pairs). Managed to push 5 of the units over ten miles pinging back & forth between stations on the Seven Sisters line before calling it a day and went back towards Hackney Central via the walkway, jumping onto an unknown 378. Sadly, it was the same 378 I had earlier, so I bailed at Canonbury which gave the option of the East London Line services.
Near enough straight away a Crystal Palace 378 rolled in (148) which I took to Surrey Quays to push it over ten miles, returning to Shoreditch High Street on 145, changing platforms turning down the first couple southbound trains before 206 rolled in on a Battersea Park service (engineering works at Clapham). I took this to a very icy Queens Road Peckham to push it over ten miles, turning down the next Dalston service for a Southern 377 a few minutes later (solely because I needed to visit the bog).
This 377/6 took me to London Bridge, where I headed over to platform 8/9, getting shocked to see a late running Thameslink 700 passing platform 8 (was meant to be going via Herne Hill today from the looks of things, but was so late it got sent via London Bridge to try and make up some lost time). A pair of 375s was the first available train to Waterloo East and I sat in the former 1st class areas (not like it’s anything special) for the short run. I crossed over the bridge and to the 17:25 Salisbury service, one of 2 direct trains to Salisbury from London due to the reduced timetable (all the other Salisbury trains were starting at Basingstoke).
377602 at London Bridge
This triple 159 was lightly loaded in coach 3 of 9, think even after Clapham there was 3 other passengers. Nonstop to Basingstoke from Clapham before the usual stops, and a gentle walk home in the drizzle, relaxing for the remainder of the evening. An enjoyable little trip to London, the walk was needed to work off my Chinese from the Saturday night lol.
23rd December – 720 bashing in the rain
I finished work for the year (woohoo) and after the Thursday being spent doing various bit & pieces around the home, I headed out for the rails on a pre-Christmas spin. Although the bad weather forecast & more limited hours due to SWR closing up early (last train from Waterloo was the 19:30 to Southampton, changing at Basingstoke) I paid extra to use the 08:59 service to Basingstoke on a lightly loaded triple 159.
At a busy Basingstoke I stuck around the far end of platform 3 for a pair of 444s, the front looked busy when it rolled in (and had a good crowd waiting for it) but the 2nd to last coach was nearly empty. I stayed on to Clapham stepping back for 450051 for renumbering on a stopper from Woking, for the nonstop run to Waterloo where I headed towards the Jubilee line to take me to Stratford for my 720 hunt to begin. However, before the first 720 rolled up, 37884 came through hauling 315856 towards Lydney for preservation, a bit of a lucky catch.
315856 heading for a new life in Wales
I spent the next few hours pinging back and forth between Stratford & Shenfield, using oyster and being careful about hitting max journey times, ticking off 720531; 586; 110; 524; 513; 523 & 107 before calling it a day, and heading over to the Overground with 378201 taken to Caledonian Road & Barnsbury where I messed up using RTT with one of my targets departing when I arrived (some reason I had it on the service from Richmond), I had a 20-odd minute wait before 378216 rolled in running late (at one point it disappeared from the info boards and I was expecting to skip the station to get it back on time). I was going to take this to Hackney Wick to step back to another 378 but that 378 was running late and would miss the connection to the Meridian Water train at Stratford. This Meridian Water service was formed of 720514 which I took to Meridian Water & back to Stratford to push it over ten miles.
378210 at Stratford
I headed into Liverpool Street on the first available service (a pair of 720s) and was going to head towards the Overground side to see if I could pick up any sub ten-mile 710s on a run to the Victoria line but popped towards Tesco as I had a 15-minute wait (and was hungry). I returned to Liverpool Street but my eyes picked up required 720537 (and required 114) on a Clacton service so what the heck, I had already capped out so it didn’t cost me anything.
At Shenfield I jumped on the first available train back to Stratford, where in hindsight I should have stayed on due to delays on the jubilee line (a 8 minute wait for the next service). Sadly, that delay meant I got to Waterloo just as the last direct Salisbury train was pulling out so it was over to the Southampton service where like this morning the coaches nearest the barriers at Waterloo were full & standing, but the 2nd coach from the front was empty. I can’t remember the last time I skipped Clapham Junction heading away from London it had been that long ago.
I alighted from the 444s at Basingstoke for a 25-minute wait before the 159s arrived from Salisbury, same trio from earlier in the day for the trip back to Grateley, reflecting on a good red pen day, sadly no walking due to the wet weather which was on & off most of the day. The station car park was empty when I arrived which was quite spooky, bit like 2020 time.
Empty car park at Grateley station
24th December – Reading
A little spin to Reading with mum to pick up a couple late notice Christmas gifts (due to the failure of Royal Mail), also as she wanted to visit Wendys for breakfast. Due to the early finish on Christmas Eve, it meant an early start with the 07:57 service taken to Basingstoke (a very quiet triple 159, where I counted around 10 passengers on it as it departed Basingstoke for London, similar loadings for a triple 450 from Portsmouth & a pair of 444s from Southampton).
We took a seat on the 2 coach 165 sitting on platform 5 rather than risking the voyagers and took this lightly loaded train to Reading where we headed out to grab breakfast and the gifts before doing a gentle walk along the River Kennet towards its mouth with the Thames, walking along the Thames to Caversham Lock, where we crossed the weir to View Island & the north bank (something I wanted to do last year but the path across the weir was closed).
After visiting Sainsburys for lunch we returned to the station with the same 165 to take us to Basingstoke (it was a bit busier this time, but still quiet), where we had a short wait for the final Salisbury train to roll in. This was the busiest train of the day with a lot of passengers with suitcases, but we got a seat for the run back to Grateley for a short walk home to relax for the remainder of the day.
A GWR 165 crossing the River Kennet in Reading
28th December – London (in the rain)
My original plan for the Wednesday was to do a walk along the Kennet & Avon canal, but the wet weather forced me to change my mind to head to London. The day began with the 08:59 service which was busy (first train from Yeovil direction in the reduced timetable), I took this to Basingstoke, changing over to a pair of 444s for the run to London. Once more I boarded near the rear of the train where there was plenty of seats (the front was standing room only).
At Waterloo, I took the Jubilee line to Swiss Cottage to walk to South Hampstead where I started with a hunt on the Overground. It was unusual being on the WCML and seeing no 350s floating around (due to a LNR strike) and for some reason the Overground was 3tph instead of the usual 4tph (and yes, the first train after the half hour gap was very busy). There were some signalling issues at the northern end of the line causing some delays, but I managed to push the trio of 5 coach units over ten miles (376, 377 & 378), sadly none of my required 710/2s were out.
Swiss Cottage station
I changed to the AC lines at Willesden Junction with 378202 taken to Richmond to push that unit over ten miles, returning to Acton Central to double back to South Acton before I decided to head on a little walk to Acton Town underground station for a Piccadilly line service to Caledonian Road (my first Piccadilly line service since May 2021). Solely to make a little change from the Overground. At Caledonian Road I set out on foot towards Caledonian Road & Barnsbury on the Overground, going via Caledonian Park to look at the clock tower.
Caledonian Park Clock Tower
I arrived at Caledonian Road & Barnsbury with some time to spare before 378214 rolled in from Willesden Junction, a unit which was previously on 9.5 miles so the run to Canonbury was more than enough. Originally, I was going to take it to Dalston Kingsland to walk to Dalston Junction, but I couldn’t get an ID on the next 378 on a Crystal Palace service from Highbury (that new colour scheme on the 378s is a nightmare to try and read from a distance due to the location of the carriage numbers).
This turned out to be a wise move as that 378 I couldn’t ID was 378147 which needed a run to Surrey Quays to push over ten miles. I turned down a couple northbound departures to get rewarded with 378137 which I took to Dalston Junction to push over ten miles. A short wait before 378151 rolled in which I took to Highbury, remaining on board for the run back south to Shadwell for a short wait before 378215 followed from Highbury to take me to Canada Water, where I switched to the Jubilee line to Waterloo and onto the 18:25 service to Salisbury, to take me back to Grateley.
378151 at Highbury & Islington
A productive little day in London, dodging most of the rain, with a couple little walks thrown in to explore.
29th December – Exploring the Grand Union & Rickmansworth Lakes
I was booked onto the last UK Railtour tour of the year on the Friday, staying overnight in Welwyn Garden City for two nights (cheapest place I could find which had easy access to one of the pick-up locations), so I decided to do a zone 1-9 travelcard to walk some more of the Grand Union canal from where I left it earlier in the year to walk the Ebury Way in Rickmansworth. The day began with the 09:59 service which was a very busy pair of 159s from Salisbury, changing onto a busy pair of 444s at Basingstoke (not many empty seats after Basingstoke, in the rearmost coach).
At Waterloo, after swinging via Tesco for some lunch supplies, I took the Jubilee Line to Baker Street, changing to a Met service to take me to Rickmansworth (sadly there was no Chiltern services running over the Met today due to a reduced timetable). I exited the station and started my walk towards the Rickmansworth Aquadrome with the lakes, the first section of the walk was quite unplanned as I did a large loop via Batchworth, Bury, Stockers & Springwell Lake (with a small detour onto the canal towpath). A very enjoyable scenic walk, bit muddy in places (with one small, flooded section around the Springwell Lake) but quite peaceful.
I joined the canal towpath near Batchworth lock and carried along the canal towards the Croxley Green area, quite a few boats moored up. I carried on underneath the disused railway viaduct from the former Watford – Croxley Green route (the one which I presume would have been re-used had the Croxley Rail Link not been cancelled). I went underneath the Met Line bridge and carried on the towpath reaching Iron Bridge lock in Cassiobury Park which seemed a good place to finish.
A Met train crossing the Grand Union Canal
After leaving the canal I followed a path within the park, coming across the Watford Miniature Railway, which was in operation, so decided to give it a little spin. The loco in charge was a little diesel called “Densil” and the trip I was on the loading was quite low (it was half 3 and getting chilly). Quite a nice little railway set-up and gave my legs a little break. After I alighted from the train I carried on my walk, reaching Watford underground station with 10 minutes to spare before the next departure, originally, I was going to continue to Watford High Street, but decided to use the underground for a photo of the station (which is going to be my next challenge, to photograph all the LU stations).
Densil!
Anyhow I took this Met line service to Northwick Park, to have a little walk not to Kenton (which is an OSI) but to South Kenton going via Northwick Park itself (picking up the Capital Ring at the end). A wise decision because there were issues on the northern section of the DC line with no trains between Harrow & Watford, had I gone to High Street it would have been a head scratching moment (because we all know when the going gets tough, some TfL staff do a good disappearing act). I had good timing as I was there for a couple minutes before a 710 rolled in from Harrow & Wealdstone which I took to Willesden Junction changing over to a 378 in the bay platform on a Stratford via Primrose Hill service.
However, where I got lucky with no delay on the DC line, this 378 lost around half an hour due to a points failure around the former Primrose Hill station itself (where the DC line joins the AC line), and hence the train got terminated at Camden Road. I waited for the following service (which was also delayed) to take me to Dalston Kingsland to do a small walk to Dalston Junction for a short wait, before a 378 took me to Highbury & Islington before a 717 took me to Welwyn Garden City (I had a seat, and the train was lightly loaded after Alexander Palace).
717025 at Welwyn Garden City
I exited the station at Welwyn, into the shopping centre, getting lost trying to find the exit (it isn’t that well signposted!), swinging via a large Sainsburys for a supply raid for the tour before checking into the Travelodge. I had a decent room (in terms of outdoor noise, plumbing was a bit loud in the bathroom if I had that door open), but it felt tired (with the carpet). With an early start on the Friday, I was asleep by 10pm.
30th December – Awkward Week Adventurer
I was out of the hotel by 05:30 to catch a Moorgate train (sadly it went from platform 4 rather than the booked platform 3 for a random crossover), this 717 took me to Potters Bar where I exited the station and walked to a nearby Tesco (around 10 minutes away by foot) to get breakfast and some chilled items for the day ahead. I returned to the station and waited for 67013 to arrive with the Mk2 coaches and looked for my seat. I was alone on the table until Peterborough where a good few passengers were waiting, being joined by a retired gentleman who had driven to Peterborough from Tamworth (or was it Nuneaton) that morning.
67013 arriving at Potters Bar
After Peterborough the train did some loops before a final pick-up at Retford where the other two seats at my table were taken, one by a rail worker based in Sheffield, the other by someone who said very few words. After Retford the train went towards the former royal mail terminal area in Doncaster for the first reversal after 66019 had attached to the rear, the first reversal took the tour into the loop at the former Rossington Colliery before returning to the Royal Mail area and reversing towards the South Yorkshire Joint Line.
Thankfully the train wasn’t doing the long slow crawl of the South Yorkshire Joint Line but reversed once more to head towards Hatfield & Stainforth, where it once more reversed. Once a lesser spotted TPE service had passed the tour headed back towards the Doncaster area, taking the freight avoiding flyover line to re-join the passenger network to continue towards Sheffield. After Meadowhall and the former station at Brightside the tour went into the Attercliffe Siding, running to the network rail limit (another “on the day” bonus as it was only advertised as running to the Brightside sidings).
Another reversal (all the reversals on this tour!) took the tour back via Meadowhall and Rotherham Central to go towards the exchange sidings at Aldwarke steel works. After the short visit to the steel works it was back out towards Meadowhall where we were due a 90-minute break. I don’t think I was alone in heading to Sheffield on the first available train (a 158) as I headed towards a little Tesco up a hill to grab both items for a late lunch and items for dinner. I returned to the station and jumped on another 158 back to Meadowhall to wait the return of the charter train (which had gone back to the sidings near Brightside to get serviced and toilet tanks topped up with water).
158906 at Sheffield
With short platforms at Meadowhall, it took a good 5 minutes to load up the passengers when the charter did eventually return, causing a delay to a diverted Leeds train (this was when the track between Darton & Wakefield was broken). The tour set off towards Swinton and going into a loop south of Moorthorpe (allowing the 195 to pass). After Moorthorpe the train continued north passing Pontefract Baghill and going into the sidings in the Milford area. Freightliner 66623 joined onto the train which hauled the train (lots of red pens coming out on board) towards Castleford and towards Leeds.
Originally the train was due to reverse and detach the Freightliner 66 in some sidings near the Midland Road freight terminal, but there was a freight train already in the loop, so the train got sent towards Whitehall Curve on the outskirts of Leeds station (allowing another 195 to pass after getting delayed by the charter!). The freightliner 66 was removed from the train and the 67 was in charge for the final time, back towards Normanton, taking the curve to avoid Wakefield Kirkgate before joining onto the Doncaster – Leeds line in the Fitzwilliam area (the route taken by Grand Central services). The train was around 25 minutes late, some time was made up by not going via a loop for a pathing stop (earlier in the day a freight train had failed on the ECML between Peterborough & Grantham on a 2-track section which pretty much messed up the ECML with long delays).
Anyhow outside Doncaster, a short wait as the train went via the goods lines and the yard area in the south of the station, dropping off 66019 allowing the 67 to gain some speed once it joined the ECML after the Lincoln flyover. The train emptied out at Retford, allowing the remaining passengers to spread out with no stopping along the way (went from 20 minutes late to running 20 minutes early due to not needing some pathing stops in loops). At Peterborough the train departed 20-odd minutes early emptying out some more, keeping the early running as it arrived at Stevenage, and going via platform 1 at Welwyn Garden City (it also went via platform 4 earlier in the day for some unusual track). Arrival into Potters Bar was something like 25 minutes early (helped with a Moorgate train getting cancelled), as I exited the train and headed out of the station for some fresh air.
Potters Bar, and a London Bus
I returned to the station to take 717018 to Welwyn Garden City, arriving a good 30 minutes ahead of schedule, which after my early start was a nice bonus as I relaxed in the hotel room. An enjoyable tour, some new freight track covered and a good day out.
31st December – Walking between London stations in the rain
My original idea for this Saturday was to walk the old railway line towards Hertford, but the weather forecast wasn’t the greatest, so I put that plan on the backburner for another trip. Instead, I headed to the station at Welwyn (going via Sainsburys for breakfast) taking 717018 to New Southgate to walk to Arnos Grove to take the Piccadilly line one stop to Bounds Green, exiting the station to walk towards Bowes Park (ticking off another Out of Station Interchange). I decided to continue my walk to pick up the New River (basically an artificial waterway for bringing water to London from Hertford).
The dry weather didn’t last for long, but I was foolish and decided to carry on walking in the rain, the route I took went via Nightingale Gardens near Alexandra Palace (at one point I was considering walking the old railway route instead of the river path). I continued underneath the ECML following the waterway as it headed towards Hornsey, going via the roads for a short section before another short section of the waterway to the Harringay area where it was another road section (there is no path alongside the waterway in this area).
New River near Hornsey
I joined back up with the waterway as I entered Finsbury Park, making a wrong turn and having to double back to find a gate, picking up the Capital Ring as the waterway did a muddy loop in the Woodberry area (near Manor House/Stamford Hill stations). I did slip over at one point due to an area where it was very muddy (ouchie!) but continued as thankfully the mud did get replaced by solid ground as it went past the Woodberry Wetlands (an area on my list to return to when the weather is nicer). I carried on the New River Path as it joined the road network once more, near a Castle (south of Manor House underground).
A Muddy path alongside the New River, Woodberry Down area
Along the road I went going via Clissold Park as the Capital Ring headed east and I continued south following the River path (although in this area it is all underground). I went via Petherton Green to reach Canonbury overground station, and onto a very scenic section (where the water has been put back above ground). This section led me towards Essex Road where I decided to call an end to my little walk (the path continued towards Angel underground but seems to be all on the road with no sign of the waterway).
Essex Road Totem (NSE lives!)
I entered Essex Road station, going down the lift, along a passageway before climbing some steps to reach the platforms, for a short wait before a 717 took me to Drayton Park, where I headed out on foot again, towards Arsenal underground station and Gillespie Park to reach Finsbury Park station (something which had been on my list for a while). I made use of the toilets at Finsbury Park to try and wash away some of the mud from my hands (which had mostly dried out), before heading to the underground.
Originally, I was going to take the Victoria line to Blackhorse Road but decided to take the Piccadilly line to Manor House for a short walk to Harringay Green Lanes, going via the busy Sainsburys as I had time to waste. I decided to do some random short walks between stations (more out of station interchanges as shown on the tube map, plus a few where stations are close together) as I was already wet (and muddy). I took a 710 a couple stops to Upper Holloway, walking up the hill to Archway underground for a Northern line service to Camden Town.
A Northern Line service (51589) departs Camden Town
I exited Camden Town station and walked along the road to reach Camden Road overground station. My first plan was to take the next 378 to Finchley Road & Frognal for the short walk to Finchley Road underground for the jubilee line to Kilburn, but when I saw a low mileage 710 roll in on the bay platform at Gospel Oak, I jumped off at Hampstead Heath to head back to Gospel Oak to get 710267 over ten miles. I decided to take it to Leyton Midland Road for another walk, this time the mile to Leyton underground station (I had noticed I was close to clearing 100 miles for the month, so I wanted to give it a final push).
At Leyton I took a Central line service to Lancaster Gate (I always enjoy the fast sections between Liverpool Street & Leyton). At Lancaster Gate I said farewell to the underground for the year and headed towards Paddington, jumping on a pair of 387s on a Newbury service. This service took me nonstop to Reading where I had a short wait for a pair of voyagers (turning down a busy looking 2 coach 165 on the Basingstoke stopper) for one final voyage of 2022, just the short run to Basingstoke.
221144 at Reading
I had a short wait at Basingstoke for my final train of 2022 to roll in from Salisbury, a pair of 159s to head back out towards Salisbury, and one final walk home where I managed to get changed out of my muddy clothes (although most of the mud had washed off my coat) and after a nice hot shower, set up my new second hand Pixel (the USB socket on my older model had issues thinking there was liquid inside so would only charge when switched off. It was an enjoyable random day in London, yes, the weather could have been better, but I managed to tick off part of the New River Path (which like many things is a job for 2023, but I suspect I will wait until Spring time due to the potential of mud).
Overall, in 2022, I covered 33,223
miles by train, 1260 miles by foot, I know previous years (before Covid hit)
that figure would have been closer to 50,000, but a mix of hotels wanting silly
money at certain times and uncertainly over strikes meant less long-distance
trips. When I was younger I could easily
do long day trips from home, starting at 05:25, heading to the
Manchester/Yorkshire area, and return home around 01:00 but those days are long
behind me, as I’m just getting older. Anyhow more photos are available here: Flickr Album
159103 at Grateley, last train of 2022
