28th – 31st May Trips (Suffolk, London, Kent)

28^th – 31^st May Trips

I was meeting up with a good friend for a couple days playing with various trains in both Greater Anglia land and in Kent over the bank holiday weekend, staying in Stratford, Ipswich & Southwark over the course of the trip.

Friday

I finished work at 5pm (still miss the old days where I finished at 2:30pm :() and I headed home to get ready and out of the door to board the 17:59 service towards Basingstoke, the station car park at Grateley being the busiest I’ve seen for a while (30 vehicles parked up) with a dozen passengers waiting for the single 159 to Basingstoke (where it terminated).  I transferred to a busy pair of 444s for the speedy run to Clapham Junction, trying to understand the idea of making the shopping centre exit to the station “entry-only” forcing anybody to exit to go via the narrower exit nearer the toilets (which were 2-way and a lot busier).  It looked like if anybody entered via the shopping centre entrance they either had to go up the narrow stairs to the overbridge via platform 17 or walk all the way to the other end to go up to the overbridge via platform 1, as everything else was “no entry” from the subway with bouncers shouting if anybody dared to go the wrong way or step over a line.

 

Anyhow after grabbing something from the Sainsburys I was onto the Overground service to Canada Water, changing onto the Jubilee Line to West Ham where I exited the station and had a little walk towards the hotel near Stratford High Street DLR station, going via part of the “Greenway” (a shared used path which is on top of a large sewer) before going on a path alongside the Abbey Creek & Channelsea Island to reach the modern Three Mills Lock.

 

Channelsea River near Three Mills Island (Bromley-by-Bow area)

 

I carried on with my walk through the Three Mills Island green area, before walking alongside a waterway (busy with various boats moored up), before I reached the road.  I headed right and walked along the road to reach the hotel and relaxing for the remainder of the evening, meeting up with my friend in the hotel room when he returned from meeting others.

 

Danes Yard Tower (goes colourful at night)

 

Saturday

The day began with breakfast from the hotel, before we headed to Stratford station and headed up to platform 10.  I was surprised when an Overground 378 rolled into platform 10A, a booked move I believe (driver route knowledge, just a bit unusual to see a 378 on the mainline side of Stratford.  Anyhow a required 745 rolled in to take us to Ipswich (where it terminated due to engineering works further along the line), and we had a short wait in the sunshine before the next Lowestoft train would depart.

 

"I want to break free from the North London Line" says the 378 on platform 10A at Stratford

 

A 3 coach 755 took us along the Lowestoft line towards Halesworth, before returning one stop to Darsham for a short connection before another 755 took us to Beccles where we had a planned hour wait (the trains pass each other at this station).  I made use of the time by walking to a nearby Morrisons for lunch & a couple other items before returning to the station to sit in the sunshine eating said lunch.  The next northbound was delayed by a few minutes due to track issues around Halesworth, but thankfully was quiet enough.

 

Trains at Beccles

 

We took this 755 to Lowestoft, where it had a tight turnaround to form the next Norwich train (as some of the units interwork at Lowestoft).  The driver did manage to make up some of the delay along the way with short dwells at some of the stations, but lost some more time on the way towards Norwich (where the unit had another tight turnaround before it needed to go to Great Yarmouth, which looked like it was going to be busy).

 

But for us it was time for a replacement bus to Wymondham, which got busy on a former National Express coach for the run out of Norwich to reach Wymondham, where train services were due to resume.  A busy 755 took us from Wymondham towards Ely, calling at both Eccles & Harling Road and also the famous Shippea Hill; however I didn’t see anybody alighting from the train at any of these stations or anybody boarding the rear coach.  Certainly would be an ideal day for anybody walking there from Lakenheath via the Nature Reserve with the beautiful sunny weather.

 

At Ely we had a short wait before an Ipswich service rolled in, quite busy it was, but once it reached Stowmarket the 3 coach unit went over to electric and absolutely flew towards Ipswich.  We exited the station and headed over to a bus stop to catch a First bus towards the Easy Hotel, getting checked in and heading out for an enjoyable pizza from a nearby takeaway, before I headed back out, going on a longer walk loop via the Alderman Canal nature reserve and a path alongside the River Orwell to reach the station.  Along this walk I went underneath an old railway bridge for the old line towards Ipswich docks which was a bit on the low side.

 

River Orwell in Ipswich

 

I finished my little walk and arrived back at Ipswich station before taking a pair of required 720s for the spin to Marks Tey, arriving a bit earlier than expected so I sat on a bench and relaxed for the 4^th attempt at doing the connection from platform 3 towards the mainline, used by the first & last Sudbury trains.  First time I got bowled by a fatality at Chelmsford, then by Covid restrictions meaning I couldn’t stay overnight in Ipswich.  The connection itself isn’t very long but it shows on the map (as the dashed line).

 

The connection at Marks Tey

 

 

The 755 arrived from Sudbury and I took a seat in the front area for the run to Sudbury, before it turned around and headed back to Colchester.  Mission was completed, and I had a short wait at Colchester before a required 745/1 arrived to take me back to Ipswich with a walk back to the hotel collapsing into the bed after a long day.

 

Last train to Marks Tey at Sudbury, onwards to Colchester!

Sunday (30/5)

 

A later start than we had planned (I went back to sleep!), but we were soon back out with an Ipswich Bus service from the bus station to the railway station to board a pair of 321s for the fast run to Colchester, stepping back to board the same 745/1 I had the previous night for the non-stop run to Stratford, before we headed to Southwark on the Jubilee line to get checked into a Premier Inn before we headed back out with another Jubilee line service, this time to Canning Town, where we changed over to a DLR service to Stratford International.

 

My friend was heading towards Kent to meet up with some others and I remained in London, and returned to the DLR station because I noticed that both platforms were in use, something I’ve not seen before.  Might be a Covid timetable related thing with the services sitting at Stratford International for 12-13 minutes before heading back out towards Woolwich, but it was a chance to tick-off platform 1 on a run to Stratford.

 

DLRs at Stratford International

 

I headed up to the TfL Rail platforms to see what was floating around, as I needed a couple of the 7 coach 345s which were out east.  First few services weren’t of interest but the next C2C service towards Shoeburyness had one of my last 357s I needed for mileage, so it was a trip to Upminster, returning to Barking on another pair of units.  Keeping one eye on the Overground 710s in case a required unit popped up, when I noticed something slightly unusual with a Fenchurch Street – Shoeburyness service going from platform 7 at Barking, looking into more details saw that C2C were running an hourly service from Fenchurch Street to/from Stratford the usual route via Forest Gate/Woodgrange Park.  First time I’ve seen that single track chord getting a regular passenger service other than a few oddities for engineering works.  Maybe reduced capacity at Liverpool Street meaning C2C can only run an hourly service into that station?

 

Anyhow just for the novelty of a passenger service going along that chord, I took the next Fenchurch Street via Stratford service, going via Stratford before that slow connection to skip Limehouse and reach Fenchurch Street.  Due to the sub surface lines being closed this weekend, I remained on the same pair of units to head back to Stratford, noticing a required 720 heading towards Southend giving me a rough plan to intercept it coming back a couple hours later at Romford.

 

720547 at Stratford

 

A required 9 coach 345 arrived from Gidea Park, which I took to Liverpool Street (bit of a tight squeeze on the extended platform 16), remaining on the same unit to Manor Park (a station which has certainly changed since I was last here with the new entrance).  Another required 345 was following which I took to Romford, stepping back until the following Shenfield service which I took to Harold Wood, returning on the 7 coach unit, clearing it for 10 miles by Goodmayes.  Back to Romford on the next Gidea Park terminator (seems to be 4tph to Shenfield with an extra 4tph to Gidea Park these days on Sundays).  I crossed over to platform 2 to await the return of the 720s from Southend, getting another pair of required units for the run back to Liverpool Street.

 

At Liverpool Street I had a walk over the Overground platforms, but noticed that once more London Overground were running single units, and both weren’t needed so I headed to the Central Line, taking a reasonably busy Central Line service to Lancaster Gate and walking to Paddington (saved changing at Oxford Circus, plus gave me some time without needing to wear my mask).  At Paddington, I headed towards the TfL Rail services, noting that both the Heathrow & Reading weren’t needed, so I decided to take the Heathrow service to Heathrow Central, deciding to cross the platform to board the next Paddington bound service.  Originally my idea was to step back to sample a 387 for the short run to Terminal 5 but Heathrow Express were only half hourly today and they didn’t connect with the TfL Rail services.

 

A Central Line service departs Lancaster Gate

 

 I took this 345 from Heathrow to Southall, changing platforms at another station which is having a brand new station building built.  The 3^rd unit on Heathrow services was also not required so I turned that down to take the next Reading service to Hayes to catch the next Paddington service from Reading. Sadly both weren’t needed so I stepped back a couple minutes to board a pair of 387s from Didcot Parkway for the run to Paddington where I made a fast connection to reach Victoria in around 22 minutes (Bakerloo & Victoria).

 

At Victoria I took a pair of 377s to Bromley South (which even had a ticket check along the way), waiting a few minutes for a 375 back towards Victoria, this time going via Denmark Hill, meeting up with my friend as we alighted at Denmark Hill for a cross platform change onto an Overground 378 to take us to Canada Water for a Jubilee line service to Southwark.  Far easier than the long walk to reach the Victoria line platforms at Victoria, and also the change at Green Park.  We reached the hotel and turned in for the night, quite a decent location for a Premier Inn as there was hardly any road noise.

 

Platform 3 for the Shoeburyness via Stratford train

 

Monday (31/5)

Today was a more relaxing day, when looking on RTT I noticed that trains were starting from Minster in Kent and going around the curve to head towards Ashford via Dover.  When I was looking for ideas at Ramsgate I also noticed there was a couple additional Cannon Street – Ramsgate services in the morning which were timed for 90mph, suggesting Networkers.  So I put together a rough plan, mainly for the novelty of a 465 Networker on an unusual route, besides it has been a few years since I was in that part of Kent so would be nice to revisit the lines to look out of the windows.

 

The day began with us checking out of the hotel and heading to Southwark underground for the short trip to London Bridge, heading up towards platform 2 (I noticed that platform 1 was again closed), and boarded a pair of 465/9s on the Ramsgate service, taking a seat in the motor coach with the windows open (as it was getting warm).  The first section wasn’t the fastest as it was crawling behind a Gravesend stopper going via Sidcup, but as soon as the train cleared Gravesend the power came out for the speedy run towards Medway.  Extra fast as it ran non-stop from Gillingham to Faversham (skipping Rainham & Sittingbourne) and then skipping a couple stops along the way.

 

A pair of 465s on a day trip to the seaside, at Ramsgate

 

The train reached Ramsgate, where it would go empty to sit in the sidings most of the day.  I for one wouldn’t have wanted to be travelling back on those units, not from Ramsgate at least (hot!).  A replacement bus took us to Minster where we crossed the footbridge for a pair of 375s for the trip around the coast towards Ashford, changing platforms to board a busy High Speed service for some speed to Stratford International.  Been a while since I last had a 395 on the High Speed line, I had forgotten how much fun it is.

 

Once we returned to Stratford International, it was a case of taking the DLR one stop to Stratford itself, exiting the station to grab some lunch, before returning to take a Jubilee line service back to Southwark where we picked up my friends luggage before carrying on to Green Park then finally the Piccadilly Line (where I noticed the soft seats have been replaced with harder ones) to Kings Cross St Pancras.

 

I said farewell to my friend as he was heading back towards Edinburgh on an Azuma (in First Class as well).  When at Kings Cross I noticed the next Cambridge stopper was departing from platform 0 which gave me an excuse to cover the new layout outside the low numbered platforms at Kings Cross (via the 3^rd tunnel).  I took the 700 to Finsbury Park, crossing over to the opposite side to see what was floating around; the first Great Northern 717 towards Moorgate wasn’t needed, but the next Thameslink service towards Horsham was a low mileage 700 which I took to East Croydon.

 

 

A Hull Trains 802 at Kings Cross

 

30 minutes of keeping my eyes peeled on anything heading back towards London, before I called it a day jumping on another 700 for the run back towards London Bridge, changing over to a pair of 465s for the run to Waterloo East, crossing over to board a pair of sprinters on the 17:50 service back home.  Unusually for a bank holiday Monday, these were due to run non-stop to Basingstoke (although it was a bit of a crawl around Surbiton due to congestion).  I had a nice empty coach for the run back home, the end of a good day in London & a nice weekend.

 

158887 at Waterloo

21st – 23rd May (Manchester & Birmingham)

21^st – 23^rd May

21^st May – The road to Birmingham (via Banbury)

 

The post lockdown relaxation of restrictions had reached the 3^rd stage meaning that hotels were open again in England for leisure stays, so after nearly 5 months at sleeping in my own bed I was a bit happy that I got to stay in a hotel again.  My first stay would be in the Easy Hotel in Birmingham, a place I’ve stayed at a couple years ago and is in a handy location for the Birmingham stations.

 

The original idea for this weekend was to head towards the Cambrian coast, to visit a certain recently opened station, but engineering works put a stop to that plan, so my revised idea for this weekend trip was to head into North Wales on the Saturday, although that plan got put on the risky side when I looked at National Rail Enquires to find that the Conwy Valley line was closed at the southern end (North Llanrwst - Blaenau Ffestiniog) due to flooding.  With the forecast on Friday in that area being very wet I had to come up with an alternative idea, ending up with Manchester and an old style unit hunting day.

 

I made up my decision late on Friday night when I saw the first Blaenau train had been cut back to North Llanrwst so decided to head to Manchester instead, pushing my rough plan for North Wales back until September time (date pencilled in my diary).  In the end it might have been the wrong decision as the Conwy Valley line did reopen for the 2^nd train (the one I would have caught) but hey-ho.

 

Anyhow back to the Friday, unusually for me I got a lift to Banbury station from some family members who were heading out for a weekend getaway of their own (Braunston area).  This saved me some money as it meant I only had to get an off-peak return from Banbury to Birmingham plus singles on Sunday.  A303, A34 then M40 to reach Banbury, no real traffic hold-ups other than some slow moving traffic on the outskirts of Oxford, and it was good timing as I got dropped off outside Banbury station as a pair of voyagers were departing, meaning I had around 10 minutes before the next Kidderminster bound Chiltern service would arrive.

 

Normally a Kidderminster Chiltern service would mean loco haulage from a 68, but on the reduced timetable this one is booked to be a 168.  No idea if was actually booked to be a 3 coach 168 (considering it’s the 18:15 from Marylebone), but with the WCML issues it was slightly overcrowded when it rolled in.  I was lucky to get a seat behind the cab for the run towards Birmingham, where I decided to stay on to Smethwick Galton Bridge, heading to the low level platforms for a Welsh 158 into New Street.

 

A Chiltern 168 departs Smethwick Galton Bridge heading towards Kidderminster

 

At Birmingham New Street, I exited the station, swung via Tesco Metro (getting a shock as the layout in that store has changed since I was there last) before heading to the Easy Hotel, getting checked in, putting the AC on and relaxing.  It was nice to be back in a hotel bed again (even if there were some noisy neighbours, but you will get that at any hotels).

 

22^nd May- Manchester area

As I mentioned earlier, I decided that with the poor weather it wasn’t worth the risk of heading to North Wales to find that the Conwy Valley line would remain closed, so decided on heading to Manchester instead, with my little red pen in hand.

 

The day began with the 06:57 XC service towards Stockport; this one goes via Crewe but under the current timetable doesn’t actually call at Crewe (or Wilmslow), so arrived at Stockport around 10 minutes ahead of schedule!  I headed out of the station to buy my GM Rail Ranger from one of the TVMs (noticing that the little Sainsburys located opposite the station still hadn’t reopened, I would imagine that one will never reopen).  Anyhow back on the platforms my first move was a single EMR 156 to Manchester Piccadilly, making use of the function on RTT which gives allocations for Northern units which allowed me to make a rough idea as the next train towards Windermere was a required 195.

 

I took this busy unit along the Chat Moss line to reach Wigan North Western, alighting to cross the road to Wigan Wallgate and taking a pair of 150s to Appley Bridge, originally I was going to take them only to Gathurst, but the next train from Southport was running 10 minutes late giving me a 10 connection into my first taste of a 769 bi-mode (an old Thameslink 319 with a couple diesel engines bolted underneath the driving coaches to generate electricity for the motor).

 

A 769 arrives into Appley Bridge

 

It was a bit on the strange side sitting in the motor coach, hearing the usual 319 motor noise, but not being underneath wires (or over 3^rd rail), but soon the unit had reached Bolton (where the diesel engines gave way to running on the overhead wires).  My original idea was to catch the next Southport service back towards Gathurst (clearing units for 10 miles can be annoying at times, especially when Bolton to Wigan Wallgate is 9.8 miles), but due to the late arrival that connection was missed.  A quick look at RTT saw the next Hazel Grove service was formed of a required 331 (attached with something not needed) which I took to Oxford Road before taking a required 195 to Manchester Airport (it was quite busy when it arrived at Oxford Road, I shall note in future to try and board these at Piccadilly where the train did empty out).

 

At the Airport I looked at potential options for my next move, seeing that the next service from Barrow toward the Airport was also a required 195, decided to head back to Piccadilly on a Chester bound 175, hanging back before a 2 coach 195 rolled in from Barrow.  Needless to say it looked rather full, but emptied out allowing me to head back to the airport, returning once more to Piccadilly on a 175 to return to the airport an hour later with another required 195.  This time I remained on the 195 to take me back towards Heald Green where I popped to a nearby Tesco Express to grab lunch before heading once more to the airport, this time on the 323 working the Crewe stopper.

 

A pair of 185s pass Heald Green

 

The reason for returning to the airport was to chance my luck with the Carlisle bound 397 which had rolled in, getting lucky with it being required so I took a (dreadful) seat for the run to Piccadilly.  Next up was a low mileage single 331 which I took to Bolton (slightly busy), where I witnessed a couple idiotic youths on bikes deciding they didn’t want to push their bikes towards the lift, instead jumping on to ride towards the lift, weaving through the crowd, including an idiot who decided to press the button to close the door as she was leaving the train.

 

I was sensible and hung back until the crowds to climb the stairs before I went up them to cross over to platform 1 for a recently reformed 3 coach 150 (a 150/1 with a coach from a 150/2 inserted in the middle to create a  hybrid unit).  This 150 took me to Hall I’ th’ Wood station (a station I last visited a couple years ago around 23:40!).  I had a short connection before another 150/0 rolled in to take me to Manchester Victoria, where you can taste the exhaust gases when you leave the train.  Heading over to platform 1 to take a seat on a pair of 195s working the next Leeds service, as both were required, and both cleared for mileage by the time I reached Rochdale.

 

However this is when things started to go wrong as the next pair of units from Leeds was running late due to an issue around Halifax, but I hung back as it was another required unit, although it meant my rough plan changed (as I was going to head back to Rochdale on another 150/0), instead I boarded a pair of 331s on the Preston stopper to Salford Crescent, before boarding a 769 for the run to Cheadle Hulme, before returning to Salford on another 769.

 

A pair of 331s at Manchester Victoria

 

My next move was with a required 331 working a Hazel Grove – Blackpool service (along with another 331), which I took to Horwich Parkway, for a short wait before the next Hazel Grove service arrived, another pair of 331s (this time neither required), these took me back to Piccadilly where I called an end of the day, visiting a nearby KFC for dinner before heading back to Piccadilly to catch the 20:27 XC service to Birmingham (as RTT was showing this as a pair of voyagers, whereas the 21:27 was only a single voyager).  However where it was a pair of voyagers, the rear one was locked out of use due to staff shortage.

 

I got an unreserved seat in the leading coach to have my dinner, before it got slightly busy with people for Stoke (as the timetable has 3tph from Manchester to Stoke, all 3 within 15 minutes of each other).  After Stoke it had emptied out in the leading coach for the trip back to Birmingham New Street, spent relaxing after a busy day.  At Birmingham I headed straight back to the hotel, to relax and unwind.  15 required units scored today which was a good result (even with 1 of the 15 still being needed for mileage).

 

A 397 passes Salford Crescent

23^rd May

 

A quieter day pottering around the West Midlands area was my rough idea for today, so after checking out of the hotel, swinging via Sainsburys (noticing that both the sandwich packet designs had changed, as well as the cost going up to £3.50 for a meal deal [but now includes more options]), before heading to Birmingham Snow Hill for a bit of a novelty service.

 

The first Stratford upon Avon train on a Sunday departs Snow Hill and runs non-stop to Stratford Parkway (via Whitlocks End), doesn’t even call at Birmingham Moor Street.  Looked like there was 3 passengers on the service as it departed Snow Hill for the gentle run towards Stratford Upon Avon, where I had a brief break (at one stage my plan for today was to walk from Stratford towards Honeybourne via the old railway line, but the weather forecast wasn’t the best so I decided to ditch the plan for a later date).

 

A 172 at Stratford Upon Avon

 

Anyhow, it was a short break before a Chiltern 168 arrived into the “bay” platform (I believe platform 1 is currently out of use due to a track fault), this took me to Warwick, where I stepped back for a pair of 168s for the short trip to Leamington Spa, returning 10 minutes later on another 168 for the run into Moor Street.  I said my farewell to Chiltern and headed to New Street, where I took a single 323 (quite busy) for the run to Blake Street (lack of a better idea).  I crossed over to the opposite platform for a pair of 323s for the long run to Longbridge.

 

I guess the full length of the Barnt Green platform used to get used in the day of DMUs with some stairs to exit, but since it got wired many years ago the trains stop further along the platform due to the track layout, with the former stairs gated off (replaced with a long ramp)?  Anyhow it does has a nice station building, which I had a quick look at before heading to the northbound platform to take another single 323 (why on earth are West Midlands Railways running single units on a Sunday where it’s half hourly, with football on at Villa Park?)  It got quite busy by the time I exited at University to have a look at the construction site for the new station building.

 

It will be interesting to see University station when the new station building is built

 

Next train was a single 2 coach 170 from Worcester, which again was busy, but thankfully I was only on to New Street, where I took a pair of 350s to Birmingham International (originally I was going to take a Pendo to Coventry, but as the inbound was running so late it got spun at Birmingham International.  Whilst I was at International I noticed a pair of Welsh 158s using platform 3, which looked odd (as I’ve only seen them using either platform 1 or 5), before a pair of voyagers arrived (which were delayed due to the Pendo departing in front).  I managed to get a table seat in the 2^nd coach from the rear for the speedy trip towards Hampshire, nothing unusual happening along the way; until I reached Basingstoke where it went via platform 3 [normally uses either platform 1 or 2].

 

 

A short wait at Basingstoke (in the rain) before a busy single 159 rolled in on the Andover terminator (engineering works beyond Andover), a case of people being lazy and not walking down the aisle as I managed to get a seat at the front).  At Andover it was onto replacement coaches, with 3 coaches running.  The first was direct to Gillingham, the 2^nd was direct to Salisbury (then I assume Gillingham), the 3^rd was a stopper.  I boarded the stopper coach, and there was only one other passenger for the run back to Grateley.  I was the only person alighting but it looked like someone else boarded (I saw a car rushing down towards the car park when walking back to the main road, for the same car to return a couple minutes later).

 

First Rail Replacement Coach of the year

 

I got home, and relaxed after a little day, for it was nice to be able to stay in a hotel once again, just for the feeling of a different bed and to look at something different when you wake up.

 

15th May & 16th May Trips

 15^th May & 16^th May Trips

15^th  – A trip to the Sunshine Coast, Essex

 

Originally my idea for today was to walk from Walton on the Naze to Clacton on Sea via the seafront, oh! I do like to be beside the seaside.  But due to the weather forecast this idea got pushed back until a future date.  Instead I threw together a plan B which involved a potential walk later in the day if the weather improved.

 

My day began on the 06:30 service which took me straight to Waterloo, where I made my way towards Stratford via the Jubilee line.  To waste some time I took a pair of required 720s to Shenfield, followed by a pair of 321s to Chelmsford before a required 745 took me to Manningtree where I had around 25 minutes to kill before the next Harwich Town service so I popped outside the station for a fresh air break (away from the mask).

 

745 at Manningtree

 

The 321 on the Harwich train rolled in as I took a seat in the motor coach for the ride along the Mayflower line (which I always forget how scenic it is when it runs alongside the River Stour, passing the stored 317s in the sidings (both before International and on the “long siding” beyond International station, first time seeing that long siding being in use).  I alighted from the train at Dovercourt as I needed a photo, waiting the short time for the train to return from Harwich Town to take me back to Manningtree.

 

A short break for a passing freight train before a pair of 321s (including one of the former Northern units) rolled in to take me to Marks Tey, where I returned to Colchester on the following Ipswich service (which I suspect would have gone towards Colchester Town in a normal timetable).  I took another 321 for the short run into Colchester Town itself, taking a seat in the declassified first class area.

 

"This is the Northern service to..."

 

Another short break at the station before the following Walton train rolled in to reverse which took me to Wivenhoe before the following Clacton train arrived to take me to Thorpe-Le-Soken allowing me to change back to the Walton 321 (as it’s timetabled to wait at Thorpe to allow for connections to be made).  I took this unit to Frinton on Sea before heading back towards Weeley, taking the following Walton train back towards Kirby Cross where I had a short walk during a break in the rain.

 

After my little walk, it was back onto the 321 (today is full of dusty bins!) to Great Bentley where I had an hour wait, which I made the most of the time to visit a near Tesco for some lunch and did a little loop via a little used footpath which crossed the railway close to the station, before going up the side of a field to connect with a bridleway near a building site.  Just something to waste some time as this is an area I plan to return to one day to walk part of the old Brightlingsea branch line.

 

A pair of 720s passing Great Bentley on a Clacton - Liverpool Street service

 

The sun was trying to come out when I was at Great Bentley so I decided to do my walk from Wivenhoe so I took the 321 to Wivenhoe and headed towards the start of the “Wivenhoe Trail” which is a shared use path running between the railway line & the River Colne, giving some good views of the river, passing an university campus with a bridge over the railway which has a 3 storey ramp (going round and round).  I continued along the roads to reach Hythe (Colchester) station for some photos before carrying on another shared use path underneath the railway line, following the river into Colchester itself, before I turned off to follow a route towards Asda for some dinner items before reaching Colchester station itself.

 

I had good timing with that walk because 5 minutes after I arrived, the rain returned!  I turned down the first couple options of 321s on stoppers (one from Clacton, another from Ipswich) to chance my luck with the 745 (again from Ipswich as the line was closed beyond), getting lucky with a required 745001 for the run back towards Stratford, where it was onto a busy Jubilee line service to Waterloo, followed before joining the sprinters on the 19:20 service back towards Grateley.

 

Overall a productive day in Greater Anglia for station revisiting for photographs, some stations I will revisit, and others I will need to get back to.  Walton to Clacton can easily be done on a Sunday (engineering works dependent) so that is something to fit into my rough calendar.

 

River Colne near Wivenhoe

 

16^th -1066 Line, East Sussex

 

Another idea where I was going to do a walk between a couple of the stations on the 1066/Hastings Line, but got binned due to the frankly rubbish weather (which couldn’t make up its mind), however the chance of getting some of the stations on the line which normally are only hourly but were half hourly today was too good to turn down.

 

The day began with the 07:37-odd service to Waterloo, where I noticed a 07:33 service towards Salisbury departing, something which in a normal timetable doesn’t run, the first westbound normally being the 08:33 towards Exeter.  It would be nice if that service remained in the timetable as it gives me an extra hour to play with if I headed towards Exeter.  Anyhow the London service was a single unit and got busy after Woking, with the usual Sunday morning dwell at Clapham Junction (timetabled for a 2 track railway).

 

Soon enough I was at Waterloo and crossed over to Waterloo East, I had a couple options before the next Robertsbridge train arrived, but they didn’t match my mileage requirements list so it was onto a pair of 375s for the run into Kent then into East Sussex as I alighted at Frant, in the pouring rain.

 

Rainy Frant

 

A few minutes at Frant before I headed back up the line towards High Brooms on a pair of 377s (former Thameslink units, I was a bit surprised that they worked this line).  Anyhow at High Brooms I made the connection to the next southbound which I took to Wadhurst for a 30 minute fester, time I spent having a little walk along the road then to a footpath towards a foot crossing on the “Sussex Border Path”, returning to the station just as the rain returned.

 

Another pair of 377s took me down the line towards Etchingham, where I had a short wait before doubling back to Stonegate and another short wait before the following Robertsbridge train (due to engineering works the line beyond Robertsbridge was closed for engineering works).  A 3^rd set of 377s arrived which took me to Robertsbridge where I had around 25 minutes before they would head back to London.

 

377/5 at Robertsbridge.

 

I looked at the engineering works poster, noticing that the “North Kent” line was closed (the one which goes via Woolwich), as well as the line between Swanley & Rochester, giving me an idea to look at RTT for the chance of some EMUs on unusual lines (i.e. Thameslink 700s via Lewisham as well as South Eastern 375s along the same route), also a chance to revisit a couple stations in Medway which I needed for photos.  With a rough plan in my mind I took a seat on the 377s in the declassified first class area for the enjoyable run back towards Kent (ticking off the crossover to the north of Robertsbridge station as it departed from platform 2) carrying on to London Bridge before heading over to platform 4.

 

A low mileage 700 rolled in for Rainham, so taking up my usual seat in the rear first class area (got to have a little luxury on the slow trip), with the train going via Lewisham, then the Bexleyheath line, skipping a couple of the stations along the way but not the fastest runs due to being sandwiched between Dartford stoppers.  Anyhow once the train reached Dartford it picked up a bit of speed calling at the usual stations towards Strood, where I stepped back for a pair of 465s from Victoria on a Dover service (non-stop Victoria – Strood).  I took these 465s towards Gillingham to allow me to grab a photo, and a short wait before the next Victoria train arrived.

 

I will admit when the first unit arrived being a high density 375/9 I was hoping it wasn’t going to be a pair of the 3+2 seated examples, thankfully the rear unit wasn’t a /9 so all was good as I took a seat in the 2+2 unit.  I had a couple others in the coach from Strood before it went non-stop towards London, although after Dartford it was following a stopper (it went around 7 minutes ahead of a Dartford – Victoria stopper, the same stopper arrived 10 minutes afterwards at Victoria, to say how slow the route was).  Although I did get lucky at Lewisham with a photo of a 700 for an “2 unusual visitors passing at Lewisham*.

 

Two unusual EMUs visiting Lewisham

Anyhow at Victoria, I noticed a Ramsgate via Maidstone service was quite busy (although how much of that was due to Bromley passengers), as I had a couple options, deciding on a pair of 465s to Denmark Hill, before a low mileage 700 getting a small top-up of mileage to Blackfriars, before heading towards Waterloo East via London Bridge, taking a seat on the 18:45 service towards Salisbury, taking me back home after a busy (if not wet) day.

8th May – A damp day in Hertfordshire & 9th May - Thames Path Cookham Loop

8^th May – A damp day in Hertfordshire

The weather forecast for the day was a bit mixed, and kept on changing when I looked during the week, but on the day it looked like the rain would go away after half eleven or so which allowed me to dust off a plan to walk the “Alban Way” path between St Albans and Hatfield which follows the old railway line.  Also would allow me to revisit a couple stations on the Abbey line I needed for photographs.

 

The day began with the 07:30 service towards London (retimed due to engineering works west of Salisbury meaning it was only hourly between Salisbury & London), which I alighted at Clapham Junction for some time wasting (connections at Watford Junction from ‘fast’ Euston trains to the Abbey Line are a tad poor) with a 378 taken to Willesden Junction before a 710 took me all the way to Watford Junction (been years since I went via the Watford High Street loop).  At Watford Junction it was a short walk over to platform 11 (which looked like it has been resurfaced since my last visit) as the 319 rolled in.

 

The new and the slightly less new Overground stock at Watford Junction

 

I took the 319 to Bricket Wood, before returning to Watford North before finally heading to St Albans Abbey where the rain has indeed ended, so I fired up my OS Map app & Strava to start recording my walk, but before I reached the start of the railway path I swung via Sainsburys for some food items & one last visit to the toilets.  In a way I was lucky I went via Sainsburys as if I went the direct route it would have been a divert due to a path closure.  Anyhow after crossing the railway line I joined the tarmac path which led towards Hatfield

 

It was a nice enough path, tree lined in places, all tarmac and other than a couple points mostly all off-road, the former stations still have platforms in situ with information boards detailing the history of the station and at other parts along the line.  At the Hatfield end there was a bit of road walking to cross over the A1(M) road but soon the path picked up the former railway alignment, but with some ups and downs as parts of it has been built over.  Soon enough I reached the point where the railway would have headed towards the right to join up with the main ECML but the footpath curves to the left, crossing the ECML before heading along the road to reach Hatfield station where my first walk of the day came to an end.

 

Nast Hyde Halt

 

After purchasing my single to Crews Hill (via Stevenage), I jumped on a 717 to Welwyn Garden City before a 700 took me to Welwyn North where I exited the station and headed down the hill to try and get some photos of the viaduct.  Sadly the grey sky meant the trains blended into the sky, but a worthwhile walk down.  After heading back up the hill towards Welwyn North I continued heading north (and uphill some more) to reach a footpath which comes out on top of the tunnel and follows the route of the tunnel.

 

An Azuma on the Welwyn Viaduct

 

A very scenic wooded area, before I came out into an area of open ground with good views of the section of railway between the two tunnels, although somewhere to take a camera with a decent zoom for better photos.   Anyhow the footpath continued north, giving views of the southern portal of the Northern tunnel before the railway disappeared under the hill and the footpath goes over the hill, through some more lovely woods (lots of bluebells). 

 

Soon I reached the village of Oaklands before carrying in a northern direction into Mardley Heath, another scenic wooded area (connecting with nature), certainly a pretty area to live as I crossed the woods to come out on the other side for a footpath which ran alongside an edge of a field to reach the ECML (which was on an embankment) before walking towards Knebworth, reaching the village and I headed towards the station.  Although for my semi-fast walk was for nothing as the next northbound train had been cancelled!  (My first delay repay claim for the year!)

 

Although the extra 30 minutes at Knebworth was spent relaxing on a bench at the northern end of the station, with the odd photograph of passing trains before a 700 arrived to take me to Stevenage, where for my 20 minute fester I popped out to the nearby Tesco Extra for dinner items, returning to the station, but heading to the new platform 5 area, for I wanted to tick off the bay platform and also the new track used by the Moorgate trains.  I boarded the 717 for the trip to Alexandra Palace, stepping back to a train from Welwyn to Highbury & Islington giving me around 40 minutes to reach Waterloo.

 

This is where things went wrong as the Victoria line had fallen over due to a broken down train at Finsbury Park, so to make my escape I headed to the “East London Line” platforms with a low mileage 378 taken to Dalston Junction for a short fester before another low mileage 378 arrived into the bays on a New Cross service.  The run to Canada Water wasn’t enough to clear it, but I had one eye on the time as I headed to Waterloo on the Jubilee Line, before heading towards the sprinters working the 20:20 service.  I was an hour later than I had hoped but never mind.

 

After the sprinter based noise, I walked home, the end of an enjoyable day with two walks carried out.  I would recommend the walk between Welwyn North & Knebworth, also for the walk between St Albans & Hatfield.

 

*

A 378 in one of the bays at Dalston Junction

 

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9^th May – Back to the Thames Path

 

It was another Sunday trip towards the River Thames, this week I was going to walk the section between Cookham & Marlow, but instead of doing it linearly I had plans to do a circular walk going into the hilly area around Winter Hill.  Also I had planned to walk part of the old railway line between Bourne End & High Wycombe, which had been turned into a footpath.

 

Similar to a couple weeks ago, the 08:56 took me straight to Reading, where I changed onto a 345 for the run to Maidenhead, popping out to the nearby Sainsburys for lunch items, before the 165 took me to Cookham.  I set off on my walk heading along a couple footpaths to reach the “Chiltern Way” long distance path, following that across the Winter Hill Golf Course, heading uphill but the views were worth it when the trees gave way.

 

View from top of a hill near Bourne End

 

I followed the path joining the road for a short section to reach the top of “Winter Hill”, although this one was a bit more disappointing as there wasn’t that many views due to the trees (reminded me of last year when I walked up to Bury Hillfort near Andover).  I carried on, heading downhill, quite steep in places but quite scenic for woods.  I reached the busy “Quarry Wood Road”, crossing over into Bisham Woods for a short section before heading across a field to reach a storm drain underneath the Marlow Bypass, before another field before I reached the road, the end of the first section, as I headed towards the River Thames at Marlow Bridge.

 

River Thames from Marlow Bridge

 

Going via the side streets following the signs of the Thames Path, I swung via Marlow lock for a photo, before having lunch on a bench.  After lunch I carried along following the Thames Path, which mostly was between a line of trees (on the river side) grass on the left with the railway line in the distance, only slight issue was with mud around the many “Kissing Gates” along the way.  The path was quite busy in places as it reached Bourne End going via some boat clubs before I came away from the Thames Path at the Bourne End Railway bridge, swinging towards the station to walk part of the old railway line.

 

Not much evidence that it was a former railway line, other some railway style concrete fence posts, but a scenic walk through the trees coming to an end near Wooburn, the old railway line continued but over private land, so after a couple photos I did a U-turn and headed back towards Bourne End, coming off the railway line to walk along the road at one point for a short-cut.  I re-joined the Thames Path, with some congestion around the steps to climb up to the footbridge (which is attached to the railway viaduct), but eventually the crowds moved away from the Thames Path (I would guess a few were heading towards “Cock Marsh”.

 

I continued my way along the Thames Path, this section being better for views of the river (less trees in the way), and soon Cookham was in sight as I followed the path away from the river to the roads through the village of Cookham and out of the other side to walk back towards the station, via Cookham Moor (which car park looked pretty much full).  I arrived at the station with around 10 minutes to spare before heading back to Maidenhead (running into an impatient person who tried to board the 165 at Maidenhead with his bike (held sideways) before I even had a chance to alight [and I was standing by the doors]).

 

A required 345 took me to Reading, where I changed onto a pair of voyagers to Basingstoke to pick up a KFC dinner, before the sprinters arrived from Reading to take me home.  Arriving home as the rain started, but good timing as it only got heavier as the evening went on, another section of the Thames Path walked on a variable day of walking surfaces.  No idea when I will get round to walking the next section as the next few weeks I’m busy (hotels reopen and I’m using up some Travelodge vouchers just to get rid of them).

A Purple Train at a quiet Reading