Out and about in London

I chose the above image of a Metropolitan Line tube train at Amersham to illustrate just how far it is possible to travel on the London Underground system. Amersham, is the furthest point west on the Underground although branches also run to Chesham and Watford. Beyond Amersham, Chiltern Railway run to Aylesbury, whereas the Underground runs just a short distance to the turnback sidings, before heading back into Central London.

The day of my London trip was 21 June - the longest day - although any hopes of fine weather were immediately dashed as a drizzle had set in before I left home to catch the 0757 London Midland service from Bletchley to London Euston. Despite the attempts of leaden grey skys which hardly lifted all day and an 'incident' with an officious member of Underground staff at Amersham, I had an enenjoyable day out. What follows is a brief piece on my travels during the day, which took me on an idiosyncratic and varied journey across London using train, tube, tram, DLR and bus.

At Bletchely I noted that Virgin's Pendolino's were using Bletchley Junction just to the south of the station to cross from the down fast to the down slow and conversely from the up slow to the up fast. 390046 Virgin Soldiers and 390014 were both observed snaking their way acros the junction. This is unusual as far as I know as most passenger services using Ledburn Junction further south. Passing through the station ahead of my service was 92001 in its striking EWS livery on southbound containers.

Passing Wembley Central I noted 66207 (light engine) and 92001 (again!), which my train overtook having been routed onto the up fast from Watford Junction. In Wembley Yard noted werre 66140, 90026 and 66051. Others were present but these were the only ones that I can definitely confirm.

Arrival in London was slightly ahead of schedule and seeing as the Caledonian Sleeper was still in Platform 1, I took myself over there to grab a couple of shots of EWS 90018 at the buffers; 90039 was at the ‘country’ end to take the empty stock to Wembley. An 'old friend' 57306 Jeff Tracy was present at Euston, stabled between platforms 16 and 17. 57306 I have seen so many times that I have lost count, whenever I see a Virgin Thunderbird it seems to almost invariably be this one!

Euston itself was very quiet, with only a Virgin Pendolino shuttle operating to Northampton due to closure of the WCML for engineering works at Rugby, in addition to the normal London Midland and London Overground services. From 28 June, Virgin is due to start an hourly service between Euston and Birmingham International using Voyagers routed via Willesden and Greenford onto the Chiltern Line and onwards to Coventry and Birmingham International. There was nothing I could see at Euston to advertise this fact and indeed the PA was advising intending passengers of other routes from London including the Marylebone - Birmingham Moor Street route to avoid the replacement buses from Northampton to Birmingham International.

From Euston my first trip of the day in London was on the 68 bus to Waterloo, a route that I came familiar with during my brief time working in London last year. A brief stop at Ian Allan’s before taking the Bakerloo to Embankment from where it was the District Line out to Earl’s Court. I arrived here just in time for the fire alarm test! The service form Earl’s Court to Kensington (Olympia) – the addition of the brackets I had not noticed before – was not running so it was a brisk walk round to West Brompton to see 220013 heading north on the 0915 Brighton to Birmingham New Street.

I took the London Overground from West Brompton to Willesden Junction (High Level) and then back towards Central London on the Bakerloo (again) to Marylebone. Comfort break here and a chance to get photos of Chiltern’s 165 and 168s plus 67023 and 67025 top and tailing WSMR’s 1215 service to Wrexham. Marylebone was a good deal busier than Euston and I had about half-hour before my train to Harrow-on-the-Hill. I alighted here for a brief leg stretch before getting the Metropolitan Line to Amersham. I took some photos around Amersham before I was told by a rather officious although polite member of LU staff that taking photos on the Underground was prohibitied due to the terrorist threat, utter nonsense as it happens but nevertheless I decided to get the next tube back to Central London.

I crossed down to Victoria to catch the 1420 Southern service to Epsom, which I alighted from at Mitcham Eastfields. This station has only recently opened and in a joint-promotion Southern and First Capital Connect were offering free tickets to selected destinations from here. Finding this out was more by chance, as it only appeared to be advertised on the Southern web site and presumably in the local press; there was certainly no publicity at the station and the ticket machine seemed happy to sell full-priced tickets, although free ones were available from the ticket office adjacent! The station was built to a modular design and looks smart and functional. The lifts on the footbridge were not working and crossing between the two staggered platforms over the very busy Eastfields Road is far from ideal. The best opportunity appears to be waiting for a train and then taking your chances while the gates are down!

A round about trip took me back to London Bridge with a stop in East Croydon for a quick tram ride and some more photos. This was a first for me - the first time that I've taken tram pics. What next buses! From London Bridge it was a short hop on the Northern Line to Bank to pick up the DLR, which took me, via a change at Westferry to Beckton. This is the first time that I have travelled the full length of this leg of the DLR, previously only being as far as Custom House and means that I’ve now completed the whole network, although there will of course be the extension to Woolwich Arsenal, due to open in 2009. Beckton though seems an odd terminus and as far as I could make out it is not close to anything other than an Asda supermarket across the road. The station is one of the more spartan on the network. I was particularly struck by the innovative design Beckton Park and Cyprus DLR stations, which are housed in the centre of roundabouts. A trip back on this line is definitely required to photograph these unusual stations.

From Beckton, another change of mode with the bus taking me to Stratford for the Central Line back to Holborn. My final journey for the day was from Holborn on the bus to Euston in time for the 1854 to Northampton. This was formed of 321420 and 321430. The 321s are beginning to look rather shabby especially as they are shorn of any company identification since London Midland has not applied any branding after removing the Silverlink Trains names. Some still retain Silverlink Trains branding on posters inside although most of these have either been blanked out or replaced with London Midland stickers. The 321s are due to be replaced next year by more 350s with some of the 321s expected to go to First Capital Connect, so they could well be still serving London for a good many years yet.

All this was achieved on an ordinary One Day Travelcard with Oyster pay-as-you-go used for the journeys on the Underground outside of Zone 6. If I’d had more time journeys up the Chesham and Watford branches of the Metropolitan Line would have been done but alas these will have to wait till next time!

1968 and all that

I went to the National Railway Museum's '1968 & all that' event on Friday and was to be fair a little disappointed. I was expecting something on the scale of 2004's Railfest but I guess that was being a little unrealistic. Interestingly the weather was almost identical to that day four years ago being an accompaniment of overcast, grey skies and feeling warm nonetheless.

The main feature of the event was the line-up of 7029 Clun Castle, 70013 Oliver Cromwell and 92220 Evening Star, three very fine engines and each with a special place in the last days of steam. Clun Castle was the last steam locomotive to leave Paddington, Oliver Cromwell was one of the engines used to haul the '15 Guinea Special' on 11 August 1968 bringing the curtain down on mainline steam on British Rail, whilst Evening Star was the last steam locomotive to be built for British Rail, being completed at Swindon Works in 1960. Seeing the latter two locomotives together was quite a sight and standing beside Cromwell, which was in light steam, it was easy to imagine the power and majesty of this fine engine at full throttle. Although I am far too young to remember the last days of steam, seeing sights such as these magnificent locos lined up can't not make me wonder what those last days must have been like.

As well as these grand examples of steam, there was a selection of smaller and nonetheless important locos on display, including Trangkil, the last UK commercially built steam locomotive, completed in 1971. Not just steam either as examples of the diesel and electric traction that was introduced to modernise Britain's railways in the 1950s and 60s were also represented with D1023 Western Fusilier, 31018 and electric traction by E3035.

Despite the 1968 and all that event being less than what I expected, the rest of the NRM remains as visually arresting and interesting as ever. Indeed, there seems much more there now than when I last visited, with the new Search Engine facility open and access to more of the National Collection in the Warehouse.

Where else could you see such a fine collection of locomotives, rolling stock and a visual and physical record of the long and proud history of railways? It may be the largest railway collection in the world but I also feel it is a treasure trove, which the whole nation should be proud of and worth a visit at any time.

Who says the current railway scene is boring?

321404 at Wolverton, 9 May 2008

One of the oft-repeated criticisms that I hear from railway enthusiasts is that the modern railway isn't that interesting or lacks the appeal that it once did. I've never been a subscriber to this view and while I doubt that current railway operations can combine with the awesome spectacle of steam and railways in their heyday, there is nevertheless plenty to be seen and enjoyed.

An often complaint is that the railways today are just a dull diet of multiple units with 66s dominating freight. Well, I grew up in Portsmouth, where seeing anything other than a slam-door was a rarity! I do have vague memories of seeing a Class 08 taking empty stock out of Portsmouth Harbour and the occasional sighting of 31s, 47s and 50s but these were only occasional visitors, as I recall and certainly by the late 80s, it was wholly a diet of multiple units of one sort or another, mostly in blue and grey. By contrast, today's railways are far more interesting with a plethora of liveries, different operating companies and seemingly endless reformations of stock and other modifications. There is, I would argue still plenty to see.

To prove the point, I spent just over two hours yesterday evening at Wolverton station and during that time I either noted or photographed, a pair of 90s, two 92s, numerous 321s, 350s and 390s, 325s on the mail, a 221, 56 and just one 66. That is nine different classes of multiple unit/locomotive in 2 hours, not bad I think! For me also the railways are more than just the trains that run on the rails and I think many enthusiasts loose sight of this. I am equally interested in the infrastructure, how the network operates and fits together, the stations, history of lines and the people that operate the railways. There is much more to see and enjoy than just noting train numbers or recording the passing of trains.

West Coast progress?

A Virgin Pendolino at Crewe on Saturday 5 April 2008

The West Coast Main Line through Milton Keynes is in disarray yet again this evening. Hardly a week goes by without some incident or a complete blockade over a weekend. Back in March there was the serious incident of two containers being lost from a freight train near Cheddington. Worryingly the fact that the containers were missing was not discovered until the train had reached Rugby! One can only imagine of the serious consequences if this had happened during the evening peak rather than in the early hours of the morning.

Today's disruption is apparently due to signalling problems in the Bletchley area, which is resulting in a much reduced service - two London Midland all-stations services between Euston and Bletchley with a third train an hour running to Northampton while Virgin West Coast is reduced to running one train an hour between Euston and the North. The National Rail site also says that the Bletchley to Bedford branch has been suspended, although London Midland indicates that trains are terminating at and starting from Fenny Stratford. Alternative routes suggested by National Rail include Paddington to Reading for CrossCountry and stations to Brimingham and the North, St Pancras to Leicester for stations to Birmingham or St Pancras to Sheffield for Transpennine services to Manchester! None of those seems a particularly attractive option.

This disruption comes after the WCML through Milton Keynes was closed over the weekend - only on Saturday was a reduced train service operating as far north from Euston as Bletchley, with no trains at all yesterday or Sunday.

A few weeks ago while on my way back from Birmingham New Street services were again disrupted due to signalling problems at Bletchley and at the beginning of April the wires were down at Rugby, again throwing the West Coast timetable into disarray. The most severe delay I witnessed on this occasion was a Glasgow-bound Pendolino, 4 hours late from New Street!

None of this really is good enough. Of course it is expected that things will go wrong from time to time but the number and scale of disruptions recently seems to be a cause for concern. Interestingly these recent spate of incidents all seem to have occurred in or near where engineering works are taking place.

Already I understand that Virgin has pushed back its proposed Very High Frequency (VHF) timetable from December 2008 to May 2009 due to concerns that engineering work will not be completed at Rugby on time. Whether this timetable will prove robust remains to be seen and one can only wonder at the chaos that would ensue if a similar incident occurred as that today at Bletchley when VHF is running. As I understand it the turnarounds will be cut to as a little as 20 minutes, which seems optimistic even assuming everything is running on time! Also, Virgin are short of one Pendolino set, following the write-off of 390033 City of Glasgow following the crash at Grayrigg last February. I've read in the railway press that Virgin want to keep on standby the Class 90-hauled Mk3 set, presumably to cover for a non-available Pendolino.

Work at Milton Keynes seems to be progressing well. My walk home takes me across the WCML to the south of Milton Keynes Central and I noticed this evening that sleepers and rails were being laid on the alignment of the new fast line, which will form a new down fast while the existing down fast will become a reversible loop. Despite these changes it seems unlikely that Milton Keynes will see any additional Pendolino's stopping as the new loop will allow stopping services to be platformed while fast services can proceed unimpeded through the new Platform 6. On the slow lines side, the bay, which is currently Platform 1 will become a through reversible slow, while the current Platform 2 will become the terminating line with a new bay and Platform 2a. This is being provided for the possible extension of Bedford to Bletchley services to Milton Keynes and the possible restoration of through services to Oxford via Bletchley and Bicester. The works at Milton Keynes are due for completion before the end of 2008, with I believe commissioning of the new track and signalling to take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Further works are envisaged in the Bletchley area but these are not critical to Virgin's VHF service and will not be completed until August 2010.

In summary it seems that it could be at least 2 years before the major engineering phase of the WCML is completed in the Milton Keynes area and only then might we see a return to a normal level of service seven days a week. One thing which I am particularly hopeful for is the restoration of early Sunday morning services as currently the first southbound train is the ex-0930 from Bletchley. I seem to remember when I first moved to Milton Keynes there was a much better Sunday service than currently, although I don't have a timetable from the period to prove it! Of course, that was before the major phase of works on the West Coast got into full swing.

Another public relations disaster

On the day that the Office of Rail Regulation fines Network Rail for engineering possession over-runs at Christmas, the Chief Executive of Network Rail is at Buckingham Palace collecting a knighthood for 'services to transport.' Further irony or worse timing is hard to conceive and of course the media loved making a deal out of this. It unfortunately feeds into this prevalent media-led idea that our railways are mismanaged and unfit for purpose. There is rarely, if ever, any good or positive news about the railways.

At the same time as ORR was slapping its fine on Network Rail it was also warning that the upgrade works to the West Coast Main Line could slip into 2009. Network Rail has admitted that its something like 2 weeks behind schedule and is seeking further possessions over 13 weekends, if I remember correctly, during the summer. This is in addition to the Bank Holiday closures and the major works being undertaken at Easter. It seems that we are still a long way off from that seven days a week railway that Network Rail have recently been promising.

It is not hard to see the amount of work that is going into the WCML upgrade, it can be seen everywhere, especially I note around Milton Keynes Central and Rugby. Both stations and their approaches at the moment resemble building sites and there still seems to be an awful lot of work to be completed before either will be ready for Virgin's Very High Frequency Timetable from January 2009. It is a real concern that the works might not be finished in time as undoubtedly it will make the presumably ever-more weary travelling public wonder when they will see the benefits of these disruptions.

For those living in Milton Keynes the misery is likely to continue a good deal longer. There are suggestions that less rather than more Virgin services will call from the timetable change, although a new through service to Birmingham will be gained on London Midland and also a service via the Trent Valley to Crewe. However, even when the project at Milton Keynes Central is completed, there is still remodelling and signaling works to be undertaken at Bletchley, which are not scheduled for completion until August 2010.

So, it seems like it could be a long drag, to pardon the pun, until we see any real improvements on the WCML and anything like the seven-days a week railway, Network Rail have promised for so long.