Best trainspotting station on the Southeastern network

[LoverOfTrains]

Hi guys! I live in Kemsley and I'm a regular trainspotter at Sittingbourne station and I was just wondering if there are any great stations to go trainspotting on the Southeastern network away from the Chatham Mainline (I've done the whole of the Chatham Mainline)?
The way I say it suggests that I don't go trainspotting that much but don't be fooled I regularly go trainspotting but I don't always go that far.

Thanks guys!

 

[tadhatter]

I don't know the SE very much at all and certainly don't know where the Chatham main line is. However, I spent a couple of years in Leyton in East London and often used to do this round trip:
Leyton to Stratford (tube), Stratford to Liverpool Street, Liverpool Street to Kings X (tube), Kings X to London Bridge (tube), London Bridge to Waterloo East, Waterloo East to Waterloo (walk), Waterloo to Clapham Junction, Clapham Junction to Harrow & Wealdstone, then depending on time H&W to Euston with tube back to Leyton via LLSor from H&W to Willesden Jnct to Gospel Oak to Leyton Midland Road.

It always made for an interesting and varied day's photography and spotting and occasionally made some slight detours such as London Bridge to Victoria stopping off at Wandsworth Road or stopping off at Willesden junction and walk down the Paddington canal past Old Oak Common.

Hope that helps!

 

[steamybrian]

I recommend Wandsworth Road...
Fine views over Factory Junction from the footbridge of approaching trains.

Lewisham is also good.

 

[LewFinnis]

Ashford International will give you HS1 Javelins, Eurostar, whatever South Eastern put out, Southern on the Rye line and assorted freights. Most Eurostars do go past rather quickly (and noisily) on the flyover, though!

 

[LoverOfTrains]

Thanks for all your help!


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Ashford International will give you HS1 Javelins, Eurostar, whatever South Eastern put out, Southern on the Rye line and assorted freights. Most Eurostars do go past rather quickly (and noisily) on the flyover, though!

i regularly go to Ashford International. Great station! Thanks anyway.


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I recommend Wandsworth Road...
Fine views over Factory Junction from the footbridge of approaching trains.

Lewisham is also good.

thanks I'll try it out.

 

[FQ]

London Bridge is a really good station for the SouthEastern stuff and Southern stuff.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Tonbridge is a good place with southeastern trains to Ramsgate/Dover and Hastings. You also have Southern trains to Redhill plus you have Tonbridge West Yard where a variety of locos can be stabled along with a couple of former 2Hap GLV's (if they're still there...)

You obviously know London Bridge, Ramsgate and Ashford.

All depends what you want to spot....

 

[LoverOfTrains]

London Bridge is a really good station for the SouthEastern stuff and Southern stuff.

I regularly go to London Bridge. You get trains there around every 2 mins.


--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Tonbridge is a good place with southeastern trains to Ramsgate/Dover and Hastings. You also have Southern trains to Redhill plus you have Tonbridge West Yard where a variety of locos can be stabled along with a couple of former 2Hap GLV's (if they're still there...)

You obviously know London Bridge, Ramsgate and Ashford.

All depends what you want to spot....

I'm going to Tonbridge on 24th May. Thanks anyways.

 

[455driver]

I regularly go to London Bridge. You get trains there around every 2 mins.

Quiet day was it?

 

[TheJRB]

I'd add the following:

Sevenoaks which is good for seeing the mixture of longer distance coast bound trains with the "metro" services to Charing Cross and Thameslink services to Kentish Town. Plus there's the occasional freight including those to and from Mountfield on the Hastings line.

Orpington is great for similar reasons, but you've got more metro traffic plus sidings which are usually pretty busy off-peak. Just remember to sign in here (which to save any hassle is best at all stations anyway really) as one time I was there, I was told off and informed that "Olympic rules" were still in place (November 2012 that was). :roll:

Lewisham is a safe bet. Always plenty going on and regular freight traffic. Nice vantage point for photos of trains crossing over the many lines!

Beckenham Junction offers a bit of variety. Whilst you don't get all the trains that go through Shortlands and Bromley South (i.e. stuff that goes via Catford), you get the half-hourly Southern service to London Bridge plus Tramlink.

 

[Techniquest]

Quiet day was it?

Must have been! What is it in the peaks, literally every few seconds you're spinning round from one viewpoint to another? Apologies to anyone who has that song in their head, you know the one that goes "You spin me right round baby right round"

London Bridge is THE best place for spotting, just you need to move very fast with the pen and be prepared to stare at the notes afterwards and go "Eh?! What was that?!" for ages on the way home if you're there in the evening peak

St Johns looks good to me, although not tried it. Petts Wood is pretty decent, better than Orpington in my mind as you've not got quite so many platforms to move around to find everything. Quite, camping out at the end of the slow lines platforms should get you everything easily. And it's usually pretty busy, even off-peak.

For someone slightly outside the box, you could try Rainham on the c2c network. There's some great views of the HS1 stuff from the footbridge next to the station, the best view I can find right now on Flickr is this one (I'd embed it but it won't let me) and it's a view that makes me want to visit right now for some awesome 373 action:

https://flic.kr/p/793QE7

Oakleigh Park on the ECML is great from the footbridge just north of the platforms there, some decent views can be got there. I'd link to one of my own photos but I can't find it right now. However take it from me it's well worth a visit.

Back on the SET network (why specifically the SET network out of curiosity?), I think you've got the most superior places already listed by everyone now. As for other good places around the London Travelcard zones, may I present you with the places I spent a LOT of time at in the heyday of my spotting career:

Clapham Junction
London Bridge
Stratford
Willesden Junction
Harrow and Wealdstone
Ealing Broadway
Acton Main Line
Finsbury Park
Bethnal Green
East Croydon
Wimbledon

All worth spending some time at and I got so very much by spotting at these stations. Willesden Junction in particular has sent me on a nostalgia trip, same for Acton Main Line for spotting 59s, 60s and 66s on Acton Yard as well as part of moves to see what was on Old Oak Common way back when the EWS depot was still there. Ahh, memories...