14th – 16th January: A Trip to Scotland

 14^th – 16^th January: A Trip to Scotland

 

This trip was more to treat my mum with a late Christmas present (where I had some surprises in store for her); she had always wanted to go on the sleeper so I decided a weekend away in Edinburgh would be good as a treat.  Thankfully the weather was kind to us over the weekend, which is always a bonus to making a better trip.

 

Friday

 

The trip began with driving to Andover for the 16:38 service, taken one stop to Basingstoke where we broke our journey to pop to Sainsburys & KFC for some supplies (and dinner).  We returned back to the station with a XC service taken to Reading before a pair of 387s for the run to Paddington.  Down to the underground with the Bakerloo taken to Baker Street followed by the Jubilee line to North Greenwich, where we walked to the Emirates Air Line building to take a pod across the water to the Royal Docks.

 

This is something on my wishlist for a while, as where I’ve done the dangleway heading southbound during the day back in 2014, I’ve never done it at night when the speed is reduced and the views are the various lights of East London.  I would recommend it, although it is quite expensive for the journey, but it’s a tourist attraction so that sort of price is to be expected.

 

Views from Emirates Air Line

 

We walked to the Royal Victoria DLR station for a short wait for a service towards Tower Gateway where we bailed at Limehouse, before a Bank bound train took us to Bank.  A busy Northern line service took us north from Bank towards Euston where we exited the underground and had a short walk in the local area before heading into the First Class Lounge to relax before the sleeper began to board.

 

Old Euston Underground station building

 

Dud 92018 was at the front of the train as we located the coach we were in, after being moved from one coach to another, thankfully into the same room number (rather than being dumped into a room over the wheels).  The breakfast options were limited, having to select it when we checked in before boarding, and it was served to the room (no option of having it sat in the lounge car, nor the little menu card which you hang on the door allowing time to consider the options available).  Anyhow departure was on time, and the journey to Carstairs was uneventful.

 

92018 at London Euston.

 

Saturday

 

The trip to Edinburgh behind 92010 was also uneventful and after having my bacon roll, we exited the train at Edinburgh and decided to do a short walk to waste some time before catching a pair of 385s to Glasgow Queen Street.  A trip on the Subway followed before a little walk around Glasgow, including the wonderful Glasgow Central.  We made the mistake of popping into the St Enoch shopping centre to visit the toilet, for they had a long one-way system to reach said toilets (going via the car parking area!  I wonder how many visitors simply ignore the no-entry sign to go up to the toilets via the “Exit” stairs).

 

We returned back to Glasgow Queen Street, and onto a pair of 334s for the slightly longer but more scenic (in my eyes) route back to Edinburgh, going via Bathgate.  As suspected for a service reduced to 2tph instead of the pre Covid 4tph, it got very busy after Bathgate itself (in my eyes I would run extra trains from Bathgate to Edinburgh).  We arrived back at Edinburgh and headed to Boots for some lunch before deciding what to do, either more tourist stuff or a spin on the Fife Circle for some more scenery for mum to look at.  We headed for a 170 which was on a Fife Circle service, taking a seat in the first class area for the extra comfort for the trip towards Kirkcaldy then remaining on board round the “inner circle” alighting at North Queensferry.

 

A lovely 170 heading north at North Queensferry

 

 

I fired up the maps and we headed for a gentle walk up the hill towards a community centre, carrying on reaching some steps down to the Forth Road Bridge to walk across the water to reach South Queensferry.  Since the newer bridge opened a couple years ago the old bridge is effectively a bus lane with a mixed use path on both sides.  Lucky for us the eastern side was open, which gives views of the Forth Rail Bridge.  As expected the path was quite busy with both walkers & cyclists, although I was surprised at how low the fence was, especially compared to other big bridges I’ve walked across where the fence was higher due to the suicide risk.

 

Forth Rail Bridge.

 

I would recommend the walk across the Forth Road Bridge, as it’s a nice linear walk between two stations which do have a frequent service (4tph), just don’t do it if it be windy!  Anyhow we reached South Queensferry, and headed on a path towards Dalmeny station.  This is an area on my list to have another explore for a couple old railway lines, but that can wait for another day.  We caught a 170 for a single stop to Edinburgh Gateway, transferring to the trams meeting up with Dan.  An Edinburgh tram took us a couple stops to Ingliston Park & Ride, where we had a short wait for a Skyline 200 bus to take us to a bus stop in the Clermiston area of the city, where we checked into the hotel for the night.

 

After checking in, we headed on a route 26 bus to the Glebe Road bus stop to visit a Toby for dinner and a good social catch up.  Afterwards we returned to the hotel on another route 26 bus and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

 

Sunday

 

A glance of RTT in the morning found that my last 385 was out today, and with a bonus of working Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Street services (rather than a Glasgow Central via Shotts stopper), so that was on my list to try and get done this morning.  Before that we took a route 21 bus to Duke Street in Leith to visit Spoons for breakfast.  After a nice breakfast it was to the Foot of the Walk bus stop to await a route 22 bus to take us towards Edinburgh Waverley station itself.  It’s good to see the tram works in process for the extension to Newhaven, and for me good to be back in an area I’ve been in a few times over the years due to staying in a hotel in this area.

 

Anyways, the bus took us to Edinburgh Waverley and after a short wait we went down to the platform to await the arrival of the pair of 385s from Glasgow.  I was happy when winner 385101 was on the Glasgow end of the train, which allowed me to tick off the class (also my last Scotrail unit needed).  We took this 385 to Linlithgow, where I & mum headed up a hill to visit the canal as a time wasting move (also time away from having to wear a mask).

 

385101 at Edinburgh, my last of the class to tick off for rideage

 

We returned to the station to catch a 3 coach 385 to Edinburgh Park (and coming to think about it, my last “Abellio Scotrail” operated service as the next time I’m in Scotland, whenever that may be, will be the new government run operated).  Next up was a tram to St Andrews Square, where after popping via Sainsburys we said farewell to Dan and headed towards the First Class lounge at Edinburgh, for this was the second of my surprises for mum, for we would be heading back to London on the posh seats.

 

The First Class Lounge was a nice area to relax when waiting for the train from Inverness, which for me was an extra bonus of winner 800109, my last of the 9 coach 800s.  We took a seat in First Class, on one of the very few tables for 2 (most of the other seats were single airline style seats or tables of 4), this also gave the bonus of being on the coastal side of the ECML for the scenic section when it runs alongside the water.  First Class was quite busy from Edinburgh, but we got fed (Chicken Sandwich) and watered soon after departure.

 

800109 arrives at Edinburgh

 

I noticed this train was running on diesel from Berwick upon Tweed, I suspect something to do with the wires in this area not having enough power to support more electric trains.  At Newcastle there was a reasonable turnover of passengers for the run towards London, darkness falling around Doncaster (but the line south of Doncaster is quite boring in my eyes).  Due to engineering works this train was diverting via Cambridge after Peterborough, so I had the novelty of a 800 on the line towards Ely, before heading towards Cambridge North where we sat for 6 minutes to allow a stopper go in front (also a Thameslink stopper from Cambridge).

 

The section between Cambridge & Stevenage was slow due to being stuck behind the stopper, but thankfully once back on the ECML proper it was speed towards London, arriving a couple minutes ahead of schedule.  Certainly going first class was nicer than standard class, but first class on an Azuma is nothing compared to what it used to be like on the HSTs or an Mk4.  We headed straight to the underground onto a Victoria Line service which sat at Kings Cross for a few minutes due to some sort of issue (the driver did say something, but the speakers were crap).

 

Thankfully this train got going for the run to Oxford Circus and a 7 minute wait for a Bakerloo train, which was taken to Waterloo.  We made it in good time to catch the first train I was hoping for, the 20:05 Weymouth, which due to engineering works was going on the magical mystery tour of Staines.  Thankfully we didn’t get caught up in issues which happened a couple hours previously and only lost a few minutes on the slow crawl before reaching Woking.

 

After Woking, it was a speedy run to Basingstoke, where we had a short wait on the platform before a 159 rolled in from the sidings to form a Salisbury stopper.  We took this 159 to Andover for a short walk to the car with a drive home, I was glad the slow diverts were over for the day, but the end of a nice little weekend getaway to Scotland.  Mum was happy with the trip and for me that is all that mattered.  I think the next time we go to Edinburgh/Glasgow we will stay for a couple days, solely for a day without carrying around luggage.

 

View of Durham from ECML

Early January London Trips

 Early January London trips

1^st Jan

2022 started carrying on where I left of on the Friday, with another trip to London, however today the weather looked decent enough to do a walk (because walking in the rain isn’t much fun!)  SWR were running a revised Sunday timetable so it was the first train from Grateley to take me to Basingstoke (with 159101 & 159021 getting the ‘honour’ of being my first train of 2021).  A short wait at Basingstoke before a 158+159 rolled in to take me to Reading, where I changed over to a pair of 387s on a semi-fast London train.

 

These 387s took me to Slough, where I exited the station and headed north to reach the Slough Basin of the Slough Branch of the Grand Union canal.  The towpath was mostly quiet with only a few others out and about this time of the morning, got busier the closer I got to London, although the towpath was a bit muddy in places, especially when it narrows to go underneath bridges.  I reached the main Grand Union canal near Yiewsley, heading south on the good quality path passing West Drayton station.  Eventually I reached Hayes Town, where I left the canal and headed towards Hayes & Harlington station.

 

Slough Canal in the Langley Area

 

After my enjoyable walk (although one to do in the spring/summer where there is less in the way of mud), it was time to play with some trains.  A pair of GWR 387s was up first which took me to Paddington, where I decided I would head south of the river to South Eastern land for I did need a few Networkers for mileage, plus some 376s.  It was down to the Bakerloo for a busy train to Charing Cross where due to engineering works services were only 2tph from this London terminus!  A low mileage 465 was in the middle of a 10 coach set which was taken to London Bridge, where I spent some time bouncing between platforms before the next Charing Cross – Dartford train arrives, which had 2 required units for mileage (465162 & 466001).

 

I took these to Charlton to clear the 466 for ten miles and had a short wait before a low mileage 466 arrived to take me back towards Lewisham, for a short wait for a pair of low mileage 376s to Eltham.  I bounced back to Blackheath to fester in the sunshine but nothing else was needed so I headed to Charlton for a low mileage 376 to Woolwich Arsenal.  Considering the limited number of trains out today I was happy with my results (3x 376, 2x 465 & 2x 466s), so it was down to the DLR for the run to Shadwell.

 

466001 at Charlton

 

It must have been a good couple years since my last decent length trip on the DLR (excluding last May when I used it from Stratford to Stratford International to tick off the lesser used platform).  I forgot how bouncy it is at speed, but still good fun.  At Shadwell I headed towards the Overground station, going to the northbound platform arriving just as a low mileage 378 was spotted heading north to Highbury so I was going to give chase with the following Highbury train (the Overground was a reduced timetable with no New Cross trains and only 2tph to Clapham Junction).

 

Lady luck must have been shining on me as the following northbound train was also a low mileage 378 (146), which I took to Highbury & Islington connecting onto 378149 which I took to Surrey Quays, keeping my eyes peeled on the northbound trains just in case 148 was out and about, but alas I didn’t see it, even during my ~ 30 minute fester at Surrey Quays (which has a nice bench seat).  Eventually I called it a day and headed to Canada Water for the Jubilee to Waterloo.

 

Shadwell Station Entrance

 

 The Salisbury stoppers were starting at Basingstoke today, so it was onto a pair of 444s for the fast run to Basingstoke, changing over to a 158+159 combo for the last leg back home.  An enjoyable day with a walk in the morning and some 466 motor thrash :)

 

3^rd January

My final day before having to return to work on the Tuesday, and with a good weather forecast it was once more a case of heading to London to walk.  Today started with the 07:27 service which took me all the way to Waterloo, this was a 8 coach 159+158+159 combo and was very lightly loaded pretty much all the way (at least in the coach I was sitting in).  At Waterloo I headed to the Bakerloo taking a Bakerloo service to Warwick Avenue station to begin my walk.

 

Today my aim was to walk the Regent’s Canal which ran from the Maida Hill area of London to reach the River Thames at Limehouse.  I located the start of the canal in an area called Little Venice and started my walk.  Although the first section along the towpath didn’t last for long as it was soon onto a pavement of a road next to the canal (the towpath was closed off to the public as it was used for moorings), then the canal disappeared into a tunnel.  The path on the road was easy enough to follow and soon I re-joined the canal at the other end of the tunnel.

 

A Pendo crossing the Regent's Canal in the Camden area

 

I continued along the towpath, going underneath the Chiltern main line (with the soundtrack of a 68 hauled set heading towards Birmingham), underneath the Met line and continued on the outer edge of Regent’s Park.  Carrying on as I reached Camden area where the path got a bit busier, something which remained for the rest of the walk (walkers, joggers & bikes). In the Islington area, once more the canal disappears into a tunnel meaning the towpath disappears, although this time the signage wasn’t the best in places as I ended up trying to get back on track to join the canal side once more at the other end of the tunnel.

Regent's Canal near the eastern portal of the Islington Tunnel

 

 

Once the towpath was reached after Islington tunnel it was straight forward to head towards Limehouse, going underneath various railway lines, passing Victoria Park and Mile End Park.  An enjoyable walk as I reached the canal lock giving access to the Limehouse basin, and decided to do a loop around the basin to reach the lock to the River Thames, before heading towards the DLR station, catching a DLR service to Bank.

 

River Thames near Limehouse Basin.

 

The path quality was quite good, a couple areas where it was a bit slippery (mainly caused by leaves, in the Regent’s Park area) with a couple of the bridge having puddles underneath, certainly a good path to do all year round, although I would imagine during the summer months the towpath will get very busy in places, especially at the points where it narrows to go under bridges.  Anyhow back to the trains as I caught a train from the soon to be disused southbound platform at Bank, only one stop to reach London Bridge where I was due to meet up with my good friend Dan who was down from Scotland on business.

 

Current Southbound Northern line platform at Bank

 

Similar to the Saturday I was planning to spend a few hours on South Eastern to see if I could get any of my mileage requirements, thankfully there were more services today.  After a trip to Tesco it was to platform 6-7 and the first service featured a low mileage 465 in the middle of a 10 coach formation.  This was taken to Lewisham where it was cleared for 10 miles and we had a gentle wait keeping eyes on anything moving when having a good catch-up, eventually jumping forward to Blackheath on a pair of 465s, before a low mileage 376 took us to Bexleyheath, followed by another short wait before another 376 arrived which we took to Abbey Wood.

 

A short wait at the future terminus of Crossrail and it was onto a very low mileage 376 (sub mile) to Slade Green where we had a short wait for that 376 to return from Dartford to take us all the way back to Charing Cross.  After a short break we headed back towards Waterloo East with Dan staying on a Gravesend bound 376 and I crossed the road to board a triple 159 which took me back home to Grateley, the end of an enjoyable day.  I got another 4 South Eastern units into my book for ten miles (my list of requirements is coming down now), with a morning enjoyable walk along the Regent’s Canal.

 

700024 at Abbey Wood

 

8^th January

 

The weather today was wet, so sadly no walking today (not unless I wanted to end up getting soaked), so it was another trip to London with my little red pen.  Due to engineering works (between Woking & Surbiton I believe) the Salisbury stoppers were being diverted to Reading to make a change from the usual terminating at Basingstoke.  I took 159015 for the run to Reading, changing over to a pair of 387s on a nonstop service to Paddington.

 

At Paddington I headed to Ealing Broadway on the next 345, but my luck wasn’t in with anything being spotted which I needed so I decided to head back to Paddington on another 345, changing to a Hammersmith & City line train to Moorgate.  I arrived at the Great Northern platforms just as a required 717 was spotted heading towards Welwyn, but first I jumped on the next Stevenage train to Drayton Park to get into the fresh air, returning to Essex Road (complete with NSE signage) before jumping on 717023 for the run to Hadley Wood.

 

I foolishly decided to do a little walk to the north of the station, the first part was a mixed used path but soon it gave way to a muddy & waterlogged path via some woods coming back towards a sports club.  After this walk I returned to the station as winner 717011 was ticked off for the run to Moorgate, I gave it a few minutes before the following 717 from Stevenage arrived but that wasn’t needed so I headed to the sub surface line platform taking a Circle line train one stop to Liverpool Street (had the weather been better I would have walked).

 

Old NSE signage at Essex Road

 

When I got to Liverpool Street I noticed the next Southend train featured a required 720 (567) and called at Romford, so I took a seat for the trip to Romford to get another 720 into my book.  I exited the station to pop to a Tesco Express close by for lunch, although I walked out without food due to the checkout operator being a d*ck.  I picked up a packet of coconut which said “Meal Deal Snack” on the packaging, the shelf edge label said it was part of the meal deal, but for whatever reason the self-service checkout didn’t take off the discount and the member of staff point blank refusing to listen about the coconut being in the meal deal, a “Computer says no” sort of person who probably shouldn’t be working on the shop floor with a customer attitude like that.

 

Anyhow I returned to Romford, spotting another required 345 heading towards Liverpool Street, but my focus was on the next 720 from Southend, getting lucky with it being winner 720577, quite busy on board but I got a seat, however sadly my plug for my charger must have fallen out of my bag when I was trying to get out my iPod to listen to music (rather than listen to the plans of a group of youngsters at which places they were going to visit and who was sleeping with whom).  I spent the time working out a rough plan which would see me taking a 345 to Harold Wood to return on another required 345.  Once I was at Liverpool Street, I swung via Tesco for something to eat as I was hungry, and waited to board winner 345025 for the run out to Harold Wood.  A few minutes wait at the zone 6 stations and winner 345046 arrived from Shenfield which I took to Stratford.  2 more Crossrail units into my book for 10 miles, taking me down to 5 units needed outright plus 2 for mileage (and I’m not sure if any of those 5 have entered passenger use)

 

"This is the Northern Service to..."

 

Time for a change of scenery as I headed towards platform 4 at Stratford, taking a DLR service to Poplar, changing over to a Tower Gateway train to Shadwell for I was going to have a short hunt for my last 378 needed for mileage.  I decided to go to the southbound platform, arriving with a couple minutes before a New Cross train, and I couldn’t believe it when low mileage 378148 rolled in!  Seriously what were the odds on the first train I saw being the one I wanted, as I took a seat for the run to New Cross, remaining on board the unit for the run back to Wapping which cleared it for mileage needs.  No more hanging around the East London Line for the DC only 378s, I was quite pleased as I took the next New Cross train back to New Cross, to transfer to South Eastern.

 

I decided the best thing to do was to take the next train to Lewisham, that way I would have more options, so it was onto a pair of 465s for the run to Lewisham, spotting a low mileage 376 heading the other way towards Charing Cross.  Sadly nothing of interest at Lewisham as I took another pair of 465s towards London Bridge, for a short wait before low mileage 376023 rolled in (along with 376018) which I took to Blackheath.  When at London Bridge I noticed a very low mileage 466 on a Charing Cross train, but sadly my plan to intercept it on its return working failed due to a delay to the next London train at Blackheath caused by a late running freight train.

 

378148 at New Cross.

 

 

Thankfully that 466 was only heading to Plumsted so I gave chase with another pair of 465s, giving me a few minutes at Pumsted before 466003 rolled in on the back of a pair of 465s.  I took this trio of units to Waterloo East, pushing the 466 over ten miles (it was a sub mile unit, scored back in 2015 on a Hither Green – Lee move when I was scoring stations the first time round).  Anyhow I returned to London Bridge on the next service, a pair of 375s, and crossed over to Thameslink, with a leap towards Blackfriars, then finally Farringdon, for it was time to head back towards Paddington then home (as I didn’t want a very late finish tonight)

 

466003 at Waterloo East

 

A Metropolitan line train took me to Baker Street, where I transferred to the Bakerloo for the final mile to Paddington, swinging via the Sainsburys store (which has massively changed since my last visit), before jumping onto a 9 coach 800 for the run to Reading.  I had a little walk at Reading to waste time (I could have had an extra 15 minutes at London, but that would have been a 5 coach unit which called at Slough).  I returned back at the station and waited for the 159 to arrive from Salisbury, before taking a seat on 159014 for the run to Grateley, finishing off with a walk home.

 

It was a good day in London, a few more units into my book, both outright and for mileage.  Couldn’t help with the poor weather, next weekend sees the return of some longer distance trips.

 

Western Bays at Reading

 

Christmas Holiday trips (Part 1, Dec 2021)

 Christmas Holiday trips

 

I was off work between the 22^nd December & 3^rd January when both my sites closed up for Christmas, so I decided to have a few day trips to London, mix between walking, new units hunting & mileage building on other units,  depending on the weather (as some days were a bit on the wet side).

 

22^nd December

 

The temperature had dropped, with frost on the ground/car, I walked to the station, starting with the 08:59 service, which I took to Basingstoke changing over to a pair of 444s for the run into Waterloo.  At Waterloo I headed to the Bakerloo Line towards Edgware Road, exiting the station to start my walk along the Paddington branch of the Grand Union canal, finishing off the area I left in November time.

 

The path quality was good as it changed from commercial buildings around Paddington basin, to residential, a bit of rural before industrial use around the Willesden area, a couple decent views of the Great Western Main Line, plus of the Crossrail depot.  An enjoyable walk along the canal, seeing parts of London you wouldn’t otherwise see by train (or even bus).

 

Edgware Road Station, edgy

 

At Harlesden I left the canal, passing the station and walked along the side streets towards Stonebridge Park, crossing over the busy North Circular and entering the “Brent River Park”.  A mixed used path which follows the River Brent in a northerly direction towards an industrial area of Wembley, I joined onto the road network to head towards Wembley Stadium station carrying on to join a footpath which ran near a school before reaching a footbridge over the WCML.

 

Overground over the Canal

 

 This bridge has been on my radar for a while as I wasn’t sure what it would be like, would it give good views of the WCML or will it be encased in a cage with high walls to prevent idiots throwing things onto the tracks below.  Thankfully (for photo wise) it was open to allow for some decent photos, the best location being near the Watford DC line bridge where the DC line dived underneath the WCML tracks.  I carried on reaching Wembley Central station, and after a visit to Tesco & the toilet I headed down to play with some trains.

 

A Pendo passing a 350 going over the Overground

 

I jumped on the first southbound train to Stonebridge Park (because Wembley Central is horrible to hang around at), jumping on the next Bakerloo service to Willesden (after IDing a northbound service).  The next 30 minutes was spent bouncing between the platforms on the hunt for my last couple active 710/2s, after seeing all the 8 units out, I jumped onto a 378 for the run to Gospel Oak, jumping to Upper Holloway on the first train so I could visit a nearby Tesco to get some more to drink.

 

Winner 710273 was up next which I took to Leyton Midland Road, returning to South Tottenham on the next train.  I spent 20-odd minutes at South Tottenham to ID the remaining units out, but neither were needed, so I exited the station and had a short walk to Seven Sisters station, jumping on a pair of 710s to Hackney Downs (this trip was done when I was still under the impression that 710131 existed, but wasn’t all wasted because I was also keeping an eye out for 710272 as the dual voltage units do work out of Liverpool Street as well).

 

Mind The Step at Willesden

 

After a short wait at Hackney Downs I took a service to Bethnal Green which had a nice bench seat allowing me to keep an eye out for anything returning towards London, also for any required 345s on the Shenfield services.  Sadly my luck wasn’t in so I took another pair of 710s to Liverpool Street, jumping on a 345 for the long run to Romford, solely to ID the unit on the Upminster shuttle, but that was 710112.  I decided to take it anyway to take me to Upminster, changing over to a pair of 357s for the run to West Ham, solely for a change of scenery (not like I could see anything from the window!).

 

At West Ham it was a short trip on the Jubilee to Canada Water, where I decided to jump on a New Cross bound 378 and onto a trio of networkers to London Bridge, changing over to board another trio of networkers to Waterloo East, giving a small mileage boost to a 465 along the way (every little helps).  My final train of this trip was a pair of 159s on the 20:20 Exeter service, taking me back to Grateley with a short walk home.  Not the best of days for my red pen with only a 710 falling, but the morning walk made up for it.

 

27^th December

 

After a few days with my family, it was back onto the rails starting with the 07:27-odd service to Basingstoke (engineering works between Basingstoke & London).  The GWR Reading train I was going to catch was cancelled giving me an extra 20 minutes to play with in Basingstoke so I went to get some breakfast from Sainsburys before the next 165 to Reading.  A pair of delayed 802s took me to Paddington where I decided against looking out for 345s at Paddington instead headed towards Kings Cross.

 

Engineering works meant the Moorgate services were starting at Kings Cross and my luck was in with the first Welwyn train being required 717010 which I took to Hadley Wood pushing it over ten miles, getting lucky with a low mileage 717007 (Bond, Moorgate Bond) back to Kings Cross.  During my fester at Hadley Wood I picked up some extra tickets, I got lucky with the first LNER service being a pair of winners, 800203 & 801108 for the run to Stevenage (last minute set swap from a dud 9 coach 801).  The next southbound was also showing as a pair of required units so I did a time wasting leap to Hitchin, scoring a low mileage 8 coach 700 in the process pushing it over ten miles.

                                                                                                                                        

717010 heading out of the zones at Hadley Wood

 

Back to Stevenage before getting a pair of required 800/2s for the run back to Kings Cross, where I had a short break for lunch, before returning to Stevenage on a required 9 coach 801.  Another low mileage 700 was following so I took that to Letchworth Garden City which pushed it over ten miles.  After a short walk around Letchworth I returned towards Stevenage for another required 9 coach 801 back to Kings Cross, where I gave a small mileage boost to 717009 with the run to Palmers Green.  Sadly the next unit back wasn’t needed (it wasn’t the one I was thinking it was).  I ended the day with a required 717 which I took to Kings Cross, just under 5 miles so not cleared for ten miles but it’s better than nothing.

 

Nobody expected a photo of a 180 ;)

 

 

As the Sub surface line was in a state of delays, I headed onto the Victoria line to Oxford Circus, followed by a long 8 minute wait for a Bakerloo service to Paddington.  A 9 coach 800 took me to Reading (where I was glad to have caught an earlier train as everything was getting delayed due to going on the relief lines between Southall & Slough).  A short wait at Reading before a 165 took me to Basingstoke, where I changed onto a pair of 159s for the service back to Grateley.

 

An enjoyable day, nice bit of walking around Letchworth with some more LNER azumas ticked off, Stevenage to London is more fun than Wakefield to Leeds!

 

"Welcome onboard this C2C service to Newbury"

 

31^st December

 

My final trip of the year started earlier than expected when I managed to get some dirt cheap advance tickets, starting with the 07:27 London train, a triple 159 which was empty in the coach I sat in (in the middle of the train).  This train arrived into London around 08:45 so to waste some time before off-peak started, I headed out for a little walk along the River Thames.  After reaching the Thames, I started from the Hungerford Railway Bridge heading towards Vauxhall, going underneath Westminster Bridge, carrying on to reach the Vauxhall area.

 

The riverside path is diverted away from the river front due to works for the new sewer so it was onto the road, returning towards  the river at Vauxhall Bridge where I continued to Pimlico underground station, arriving just as the clock hit half 9.

 

Nice clock tower next to somewhere which generates a lot of hot gas

 I took the Victoria line to Oxford Circus changing onto a Central line service to Liverpool Street where I decided to have a little hunt for some 345s, but first a required 720 was on a Southend service which called at Romford.  I spent the next few hours going up and down the line between Liverpool Street & Brentwood, with a little detour to Barking to rope in a low mileage 357.  I got very lucky with my requirements as I managed to score 7 of the Purple Trains [plus 4x 720s and a 720 for mileage] so quite a good day on the Great Eastern.

 

357006 at Barking... Woof

 

After I got into Liverpool Street for the last time, I decided to have a little walk to Moorgate (mainly for a mask break) and the streets were quiet and I headed down the Northern City Line platforms.  The first 717 wasn’t needed but the 2^nd service was a low mileage unit (717024) which I took to Bowes Park, returning to Highbury & Islington on another 717.  I swapped to the East London line, jumping on a 378 to take me round the corner to Dalston Junction.

 

Once more my luck was in, as sitting in one of the bays on the next departure was a low mileage 378 (154), which was cleared for mileage by Wapping (with the bonus novelty of going nonstop through Shadwell.  I gave it another 20 or so minutes keeping my eye on both northbound & southbound trains before taking another 378 to New Cross on a time wasting large loop to get back to Waterloo East.

 

Platforms at New Cross Station

 

As an extra bonus the first Cannon Street train was a low mileage 465 which would be cleared for ten miles by London Bridge, where I had a short wait before joining a pair of 375s for the leap to Waterloo East, before making my way to Waterloo for my final train of 2021, 159004 leading 159011 on the 21:20 service to take me back to Grateley.  Farewell 2021, my red pen has been busy today and the year ended a lot better than 2020 did!

17th & 18th December – Visiting Soham

 17^th & 18^th December – Visiting Soham

 

The idea for this trip was to visit the recently opened station at Soham on the Saturday with a little evening in London on the Friday (having secured a reasonably priced hotel in Croydon on the Friday night).  My Friday evening would also feature the recently introduced random direct train from London Euston to St Albans Abbey, solely to tick off the little bit of track which leads into platform 11 at Watford Junction from the south (BLS hat was on!)

 

Friday

 

I managed to finish a bit earlier than usual to allow me to catch the 16:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke for the usual change to a pair of 444s for the run to Waterloo (at least the 444s allowed me to give my phone a quick boost of electricity!).   At London I decided to head towards Liverpool Street at the last moment (my original idea was to head towards Stratford for some 345 hunting).  I went via the peak time subway which was completely empty (which felt very strange), and onto a W&C Line service to Bank, having a private coach.

 

An empty Waterloo & City Line carriage

 

Next up was a busy Central line train to Liverpool Street, where my luck must have been in as one of my last 3 required 710/1s was on the back of a train towards Enfield (although I will admit at the time I had 4 required units, as my list failed to take into account that 710131 didn’t exist and was a dual voltage unit instead!)  Anyhow winner 710110 took me to Seven Sisters, where I took a seat with the next couple southbound trains not being needed; thankfully my wait was worth it as winner 710112 soon rolled in (attached to another 710/1).

 

This took me back to Liverpool Street, where I managed to ID what was heading back towards Enfield [as the Overground units interwork at Liverpool Street] and was surprised to see it was winner 710106 which I took to Seven Sisters, clearing the AC only 710s (although at the time I was still under the impression that 131 existed so didn’t celebrate so to speak).  With one eye on the time I decided to head down to the Victoria Line, taking the train to Warren Street.

 

AC only 710s, Tick

 

The reason to take it to Warren Street (other than to waste some time) is because I knew there was a Tesco Express located outside the station, but alas that Tesco Express was pretty much bare bones for meal deal items (only things left were some spicy chicken pasta pots), so I decided to head towards Euston, discovering a little Sainsburys Local which had some bits for dinner.  After my supply raid I headed towards Euston via the back streets, entering the station via the back entrance near to platform 18.

 

After I confirmed the St Albans Flyer was actually running (i.e. it was being advertised) I purchased my boundary zone ticket to Watford North (which is cheaper than buying to Watford Junction), I know not the cheapest of ways to do the flyer (but at least I made use of my new Gold Card to reduce the cost by a third!).  350114 was on the flyer this evening which had (at a guess) around 20 passengers on, most like me alighted at Watford Junction (replaced by another 20 or so passengers heading towards the stations on the Abbey Line).  I made my way across to platform 7 to board the first train back to London, this being a pair of units from Crewe.

 

"This train is for St Albans Abbey"

 

This train went in on top of another 350 so when I was walking towards the gateline to exit, required 710256 rolled in alongside me, as it only entered passenger service a couple days ago I couldn’t quite bring myself to saying no, so I took it to Willesden Junction to clear for 5 miles.  The next London train wasn’t needed, so I decided to head to Clapham Junction on a 378, changing over to board a pair of 377s for the run to East Croydon.  I headed to the hotel to find that the lifts were broken (again!), and it was a long climb to the 7^th floor!

 

A productive evening in London, lucky I did that London – St Albans service when I did as due to staff issues the branch has gone back to being buses.

 

Saturday

 

An early start for me this morning with the 05:40-odd Thameslink service to St Pancras, where after going via the nearby Tesco at Kings Cross, I jumped on a pair of 387s for the non-stop run to Cambridge, carrying on to Ely, where I had around 35 minutes before the next Ipswich train was due to depart.  It was starting short at Ely this morning due to the previous service running late so it was a short wait before required 755408 rolled into platform 1 from a little siding to the south of the station.

 

Departure was on time and little under ten minutes later I had alighted at the country’s newest station of Soham.  Not really a lot around the station itself, bit like Bow Street in Wales in being quite basic.  Anyhow I soon began my walk, departing the station via the footbridge to reach a footpath (which previous crossed the railway, a crossing which has been replaced by the footbridge).  This footpath (which was muddy in places) took me along the Soham Lode, a water channel which lead towards the River Great Ouse.

 

755402 at Soham Station

 

I continued my walk, heading along the banks of the River Great Ouse, reaching the Kingfishers Bridge Nature Reserve (which was quite pretty and quiet).  I continued reaching a very muddy farm track, which I will admit was tough work safely navigating the path, avoiding slipping in the mud, thankfully the mud did give way after a while and soon I was near the Wicken Fen Nature Reserve, another pretty area.  Reaching the small village of Wicken and it was another path leading towards the southern part of Soham, where it was a short walk through the town to reach the station approach road, arriving with time to spare to see the next Ipswich service before the next Peterborough train rolled in, allowing me to tick the station of for boarding & alighting.

 

A pair of 387s heading towards Ely near to the Great Ouse

 

This 755 took me all the way to Peterborough, as it had been a few years since I covered the line between Ely & Peterborough in the daylight.  Also I wanted to cover the track between Whittlesea & Peterborough on a Greater Anglia service.  At Peterborough the next EMR service towards Norwich was running very late, and it eventually rolled in very busy on board.  What didn’t help things was the EMR 158s not having much in the way of luggage space for larger bags so people were putting their suitcases on the seat next to them.  Anyway this 158 took me back to Ely, where I changed to score a required 755 for the run to Cambridge North, changing over to a required 720 for the run to Audley End.

 

755402 at Peterborough

 

A short break at Audley End and another required 755 took me to Stansted Airport, where sadly my luck with the airport 745s struck again and I landed a dud unit for the run to Liverpool Street.  I took a Met line service to Farringdon for a 700 to London Bridge, changing over to a pair of 465s for the run to Waterloo East.  It was onto the 20:50 Salisbury service (nice to get a direct train, without needing a 30 minute fester at Basingstoke!) to Grateley, the end of a good day.  Just over 12 miles walked on a little loop starting/ending at Soham station, some of the paths were hard work with the mud but it was worth it, for my last “long distance” trip of the year (and also my last hotel stay of the year).

 

Cambridge North Station Building