London arrivals and departures

I've added a new gallery to my Fotopic site today, mainly of photos I took yesterday whilst in London. There has been so much change on the railways over the last few months that I wanted to capture some of it with my camera.

I started off heading to Victoria to see Battle of Britian class 34067 Tangmere, which was working 1Z82 Victoria to Norwich 'The Cathedrals Express.' I did debate whether to 'chase' the train to Stratford but that would have meant missing out on seeing the Grand Central HST set at Kings Cross. As it happens, I ended up at Stratford later in the day on a rather circuitous route back to Waterloo.

A brief stop off at Kings Cross Thameslink followed after seeing 34067 depart Victoria. During my time working in London I used this station twice, when strikes were afflicting Silverlink. The station entrance looks forlorn, all references to its Thameslink status removed and signs directing intending passengers to the new station at St Pancras International. The entrance is being retained however as it will provide access to the Underground.

Yesterday was an opportunity to take some photographs of the new Grand Central operation - Power Cars 43067 and 43080 were present at Kings Cross, arriving from Sunderland just ahead of their 1045 scheduled time. In the adjacent platform was a National Express East Coast liveried set - 43300 and 43328. It was interesting to see the liveries of these two operators side by side and the contrast between the front ends of the power cars (see above).


After Kings Cross I 'popped next door' to have a look around St Pancras International. Breathtaking is the one word to describe my initial impressions. The station looks magnificent, a greater contrast with the dark and rather gloomy environs of Kings Cross is difficult to imagine. The disappointment is that the domestic services of East Midlands Trains are situated in the train shed extension, apparently shunned from entering the magnificently restored Barlow train shed. The extension itself I think looks ugly and not at all in keeping with the rest of the station - it feels like a cheap add on.

Finally I took the aforementioned circuitous route from here back to Waterloo via the Victoria line, North London Line, Docklands Light Railway and a brief sprint on the East London Line before taking the Jubilee Line to Waterloo. The East London Line has now closed and is not due to reopen until Summer 2010 when it will become part of the London Overground network and will be extended to Croydon.

57301 at Bletchley

A trip down to Bletchley this morning and a Thunderbird in the carriage sidings again. This time I had my binoculars with me and despite the foliage I did manage to identify today's visitor as 57301 Scott Tracy. Unfortunately the views were not good enough to get a decent picture. 57301 is seen here on an altogether brighter day on 14 November 2004 when it was the Thunderbird at Milton Keynes Central.

In all there are 16 57/3s operated by Virgin Trains and all are appropriately named after Thunderbird characters. 57307 is particularly distinctive - named Lady Penelope - and with pink nameplates. Some suggestions have been made that the red part of the livery should also have been pink!

Also noted while I was in Bletchley was EWS 66155 using the Bletchley Flyover. Until a couple of years ago this was an extremely rare occurrence, the line having been out of use for some time. Currently the line here extends to Swanbourne Sidings and is used as a run round and reversing point for freight coming off the Bedford to Bletchley line.

Yesterday Grand Central began its operation between Sunderland and London King's Cross. Initially, using just one refurbished HST set, the company will have three when full services begin during the second half of January. One HST will be a spare at Heaton CS but the other two will be required to cover the daily diagrams of three return journeys between Sunderland and the capital. They have a rather good web site here, which includes a gallery showing the HSTs undergoing their refurbishment and repaint into the attractive Grand Central livery.

This coming weekend I am hoping to take a visit to the new St Pancras International and Thameslink stations as I have not had the opportunity as yet. This will also be an opportunity to visit Kings Cross to see the Grand Central and National Express East Coast operations, the latter having recently taken over from GNER.

57 & 47s at Bletchley

It is typical and just my luck that today, when I don't have my camera or binoculars with me that there should be another Thunderbird at Bletchley this afternoon. Plus, a northbound convoy of West Coast Railway Company 47s and a 33 plus support coach!

Yesterday, I had every intention of doing some photography locally. Unfortunately my primary choice of location was unviable as I would be shooting directly into the sun. My second choice, wasn't much better, with any decent views spoilt by the overhead catenary and ridiculously high fencing, not mention some very long and obvious shadows. A bit of planning and research beforehand would of course have revealed these problems and would have saved me an hour wasted.

Anyway today there was a Virgin 57/3 at Bletchley in the same location as observed as on Monday. Could have been the same loco, which maybe has been dumped there for some reason? Didn't have my binoculars so couldn't confirm identity. Will maybe have a chance to have a look tomorrow.

Also about 1430 heading north was a pair of West Coast Class 47s leading a 33, a support coach and a further 47. It appeared that only the leading 47 was drawing power. Made quite a sight!

Thunderbird at Bletchley

An unusual sight noted at Bletchley this morning was a Virgin Thunderbird seen at 1020 in the carriage sidings. Normally, the nearest based Class 57 is at Rugby although until a couple of years ago they were regularly seen in the Parcels Dock at Bletchley station. They were also sometime regulars at Milton Keynes Central, normally on weekends, being stationed in Platform 1.

Identity of this morning's visitor is unknown and its reason for being there is unclear. I am hoping to get out to do some photography locally as the weather should be fine so it will be interesting to see whether a 57 puts in an appearance at Bletchley again tomorrow.

Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Railway

I am sure if you asked most people to name the first thing to come to mind when they think of Milton Keynes they would probably mention either concrete cows or roundabouts. I doubt anyone would refer to the city's railway heritage but there is plenty of the latter and the railways were important in the development of the original towns of Wolverton and Bletchley, which would become part of the new city of Milton Keynes. Last Wednesday I went for a walk along the route of a long-closed railway route from Newport Pagnell to Wolverton.

The line was open for almost a hundred years. The line was opened in 1867 and its main purpose was to bring workers to the newly established railway works at Wolverton. Closure to passengers came in September 1964 with full closure in 1967. Today the route has become part of the Milton Keynes redway network - pedestrian/cycleway paths, which criss-cross the new city. Appropriately named Railway Walk, it runs from the site of Newport Pagnell station to Blue Bridge, to the south of Wolverton where it then joins other redway routes.

In Newport Pagnell itself there is little to remember that this was once served by a railway. There is a Station Road but it appears that more modern road developments have truncated its original purpose to serve the station site. The site of the old station itself is now a modern housing development and the only railway reminder is the post for the starting signal. It still stands proudly, although sadly looking a bit weather-beaten and marked with graffiti. On one side are houses, the other is now allotments. Near here was the site of the single road engine shed and I believe that there was also a small goods yard provided at Newport. Traces of all this have now sadly been swept away under new town development.

One of the most striking features of the line is that it is remarkably straight and with very little in terms of gradient, although the route of the line does rise from Great Linford to the crossing of the Grand Union Canal.

The line was provided with two intermediate stations, the aforementioned Great Linford and New Bradwell. Remains of the platforms for both stations are still extant but little else exists to provide evidence of the previous railway use. Before Great Linford station, the line passed under the M1 motorway, which opened in 1959. Shortly to the north of here is the Newport Pagnell services. On the Wolverton side of the M1 is the industrial area of Blakelands before the redway passes under the V10 Brickhill Street into Giffard Park.

Great Linford station is situated in this modern housing development, although as you can see from this photo taken looking towards Wolverton, you would not know that - it all looks quiet and tranquil! The lamppost on the platform rather spoils the view and the attractive bridge in the distance has sadly been defaced by the modern scourge of graffiti. It was pleasing to see though that this route is still well used, mainly by pedestrians.

From here, as mentioned above, the route starts to climb slightly passing through Manor Park to the crossing of the Grand Union Canal, which is carried on this rather attractive bridge. I had the pleasure of a canal boat holiday in May this year and our journey took us through Milton Keynes and under this bridge, which as can be seen is situated on a rather tight turn, all the more precarious when meeting a narrow boat coming the other way! This part of the Railway Walk is the most attractive. Although still within the boundaries of the new city, the housing has slipped away into the distance and parks and woods line the route.

Next the line passes under V7 Saxon Street and enters Bradville. Shortly beyond here is New Bradwell, a railway village, built to house the railway workers from the nearby Wolverton Works. New Bradwell station like Great Linford, was a simple one platform affair with a modest station building at the Newport end. Bradwell Road crosses the line here and a ramp runs down to the platform. The Grand Union canal runs close by to the north of the station. From here I understand that the line ran to a junction with what is now the West Coast Main Line to the south of Wolverton station. I have seen this represented as twin spurs - one to join the northbound running lines and one to the southbound lines, thus creating a railway triangle. As far as I am aware all trains from the branch terminated at Wolverton.

This final view shows the view from the former trackbed looking down the platform at New Bradwell towards the Bradwell Road bridge. The separated pedestrian bridge to the front is a more recent addition. Again, nothing here to describe the original railway purpose of the redway, only a sorry looking sign to say that this is 'Railway Walk.'

No anorak required

Tomorrow I will be updating some pictures and a piece on the Wolverton to Newport Pagnell branch, which closed completely in 1967. I love exploring old railways and find the history attaching to these old and often sadly forgotten lines to be one of the pleasures of being interested in the railways. An anorak is not always required! Indeed, I've never really understood why railway enthusiasts (I prefer that term) are so widely derided and dismissed as cranks and weirdos. Of course, there are some that fit well in those categories but that is just proving the stereotype and not the reality which is that by far the majority of railway enthusiasts I have met are just ordinary people, articulate, informed and passionate about their interest. I hope that I certainly fit into these latter categories!

Yesterday I bought two new railway books as I was in London for an interview and decided to visit the Ian Allan bookshop at Waterloo. I love this shop and could and do spend a lot of time in there whenever I get the chance if I am in London. The two books I bought are Blue Diesel Days and Class 47 Retrospective. I am something of a fan of the Rail blue era and the first book confirms why. It was a period of enormous change on the railways as the last remains of the steam era were lost and the railways moved forward into the modern age. It was also a time when loco-haulage of passenger trains was still very common. Many might argue that Rail blue was a drab colour and true it didn't look attractive on all classes but it was a look that endured and I guess recollects the heyday of the modern railway.

The Class 47 has long been my favourite of the diesel locos and it is pleasing to see a book like Class 47 Retrospective which captures some of the 512 members of this class through their working lives all across the UK. They were versatile locos, regularly seeing employment on both freight and passenger trains and were a familiar sight across most of the UK. One of the most attractive liveries they ever wore was that applied to the 32 examples used by Virgin Trains. I do very much miss the days of loco haulage on cross-country and while the Voyager's maybe modern and sleek, give me a Class 47 anyday! Plus a Voyager cannot beat that terrific noise and clag of a 47!

Eventful trip to Watford

I had a job interview this afternoon in Watford and while the interview went okay, the train journey there and back was more eventful. On the way there I noted 150132, a somewhat incongruous sight in Network West Midlands livery working the Bletchley - Bedford branch. The Royal Train, which was heading northbound, was passed between Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead. Not sure if it was an outward trip or returning to Wolverton.

The return journey proved much more eventful. My original intention had been to get the 1811 from Watford Junction (WJ) to Bletchley but as I was back a little earlier, I got the late running 1751 from WJ. As seems to be a custom, particularly since London Midland took over, late running services tend to miss stops en route. So Ting was omitted and Bletchley was also going to be missed. With hindsight I should have stayed on to Milton Keynes Central and then got the next service back but instead decided to alight at Leighton Buzzard.

The next northbound service from here to Bletchley was the 1828, which was being delayed due to a train fault. About 1845 it was apparent that there were problems further up the line particularly in the London-bound direction as the signals at that end of the platform had not cleared. Within a few minutes there was an announcement that there were major signalling problems, although location was unspecified it later appears that this was in the Tring area. Subsequently the 1828 was becoming later and later.

By 1905 trains were on the move again but I never did see the much delayed 1828 as I got a later but still late running (!) service at 1907 back to Milton Keynes.

I noted at Milton Keynes that the bay platform 1 has been somewhat foreshortened in connection with the works currently on-going. A new down fast line and platform is being installed and a new bay, which I believe will be between the current Platform 1 and Platform 2 The work is scheduled for completion before the timetable change in December 2008.

The best and worst liveries

Prior to privatisation in 1994 the railways were getting more colourful (in terms of liveries at least) although of course not as colourful and varied as they would become and are under the privatised area. One of my favourite liveries of old was the Network South East (NSE) blue, white and red, which was introduced from 1986 onwards, mainly for multiple units although some locos and coaching stock also received this attractive and striking colour scheme. I do admit some bias in my choice as I lived in the heart of the NSE operating area - Portsmouth - at the time so the colours were a very familiar sight. However, I am sure that no one envisaged NSE colours being a sight on Bulgarian railways! However, with the export of 87012 (formerly The Olympian) to Bulgaria along with other Class 87s, NSE livery has made it into Eastern Europe.

Back home, liveries have come and gone almost as quickly as the seasons - how many different schemes has FGW had now? I am partial to the current 'dynamic lines' scheme although I have to admit that almost anything looks good on an HST. Sadly though the rather pleasant GNER livery (dark blue with a red stripe and red doors) is going soon to be replaced on the HST fleet by an altogether more bland and rather colourless grey and white with blue/red National Express fleet names. A similar scheme has been unveiled for the Anglia operation currently running as the insipid 'one.' Whilst the name may be a bit daft, the current 'one' livery I like - its colourful and eye-catching and looks good on the 90s and MK3 stock.

The rebranding of Anglia and East Coast is the first time that National Express has introduced its own name and a corporate livery on its rail franchise operations. Apparently a similar rebrand is in the pipeline for c2c but nothing has been decided as yet. The main objection I have to the new scheme apart from its obvious blandness is that it isn't very practical. How long will it be before the white is covered in a thick film of grime and dirt and combined with grey will make the whole operation look rather less than sparkling. The visual appearance of trains is a key point; they need to look smart and be dressed in appropriately eye-catching and practical liveries if the railways are to have any chance of luring more people from their beloved cars.

London Midland (LM), the new local operator for where I live, has unveiled its new livery on three 350 Desiros and a couple of DMU's of its West Midlands operation. I have only seen one of the 350s albeit briefly in the new corporate scheme and it looks ghastly. Okay, so Silverlink's 'chocolate buttons' livery wasn't one of the best but it wasn't as off-putting as LM' curious mix of green, black and grey. It looks dreadful and not at all attractive on a Desiro. But at least with all the franchise changes and the seemingly endless rebrands and repaints, there is never a dull moment on our railways, at least where liveries are concerned.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new railway blog.

I decided to set this up to share my passion for railways in the UK and because often these things are not of interest to the more general audience of my main blog. The aim of this blog is quite simple: its all about railways in the UK both past and present although mainly it will be about the current railway scene with the occasional look at preserved railways.

What this blog is and isn't. Okay, firstly this is not going to be an in-depth or technical analysis/appraisal of the UK railway system. It is more an enthusiasts point of view so yes it will have a fair amount of jargon and references to railway terms but in the main I want it to be an easy read to anyone, whether they are knowledgeable about railways or a complete novice. I don't claim to be an expert and I welcome comments and corrections to any of the posts. Mostly it will be about my following of the railways in the UK, days out exploring the network, notes and observations, bits and pieces about what is happening generally. Inevitably because I live in Milton Keynes you may find it has a bias towards the local area but I do hope this blog will include something of interest for everyone who has a keen eye on today's railways.

I hope to post photos here from time to time although the main archive of my railway photos from the last few months can be found here.

Everyone's comments are welcome and although all comments are moderated I certainly don't intend to censor anyone's opinion.

I will be adding to the links section additional web sites I find of interest and think may appeal to a wider audience.

Finally, I hope that this blog will prove an interesting and enjoyable a record of this enthusiast's view of the UK rail scene today.