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Established Member
Last Saturday I thought I'd make use of the startlingly hot weather, so I got a Travelcard and decided to mark off some of the lines that I needed to get done in London, as part of my plan to do all of them in Zones 1-6. The pictures here aren't really as good as my previous ones, I was just taking pictures as I jumped on and off of trains
It started at about 09:00 on Saturday morning. With a travelcard already in hand, I tried to get a Hertford Stations - Boundary Zone 6 ticket, only to be refused again by the ticket office. Seems like my email of complaint still hasn't got through yet.
I boarded the 09:13 to Moorgate, ran by 313062. A 3 coach train on a Saturday morning always gets cramped, so I'm glad I left at Enfield Chase (in Zone 5) at 09:30. Wandered out of the station and out to the front to wait for a bus over to Oakwood tube station, the first time I've been on a London Bus! After fumbling around to find my ticket, turns out the bus driver didn't even glance at it. A few stops over to Oakwood on the bus, before I jumped off and went down to the platforms.
Oakwood by Mikez2605, on Flickr
The first train I got on got cancelled at Oakwood and sent straight to the depot, so I grabbed the next one, one stop north to Cockfosters (giggle). I hung around there, and my original plan was to get a train all the way through the line to Heathrow Terminals 4, 1,2&3. There was a train to Terminals 1,2&3 and 5, so I missed in in the hope that the next one would be to 4, 1,2&3, but unfortunately it was to Uxbridge, and the next one was to 1,2&3 and 5, so I jumped on that one anyway. This was the main part of my journey, and was meant to take from 10:10 to 11:37, a total of 87 minutes.
There were two other people in the front carriage as we left Cockfosters, and it was pretty much empty up until Arnos Grove, where we started to pick up more passengers, and then it was pretty busy as we got into Zone 2 at Turnpike lane. A lot of Passengers changed at Finsbury Park for the faster Victoria line (as I would usually do), but we carried on via the slow route to King's Cross. Lots of passengers changed at Covent Garden and Leicester Square, before more at Green Park (changing for the Jubilee Line to Westminster maybe?). We resurfaced at Hammersmith, with the train starting to empty back out. Very satisfying speeding through all the small District Line stops, before we had a very slow entry to Acton Town (think people were working on the track). It was reasonably well loaded for the run from Acton Town into Heathrow, and back underground at Hatton Cross. I exited at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 11:42, a journey time of 92 minutes overall.
It was quite odd being at Heathrow and not going on holiday, was tempting to try and catch a flight anyway
I walked through the terminal and then back out to the Heathrow Express platforms, before catching the shuttle to Heathrow Central, before popping over to the other platform (2 to 1 I think), before catching the Shuttle to Terminal 4. I thought this was run by Heathrow Connect, but it turns out it's now run by Heathrow Express, just with Connect stock, which has changed since I last used it. I went back to Central on the shuttle, before then walking over to Terminals 1,2&3 tube station, and getting a Piccadilly Line train back out in the sweltering heat to Acton Town, where I changed for a District Line train to Turnham Green, and then down to Richmond on the District Line again. Again they were all so hot, I'm looking forward to the new S7 Stock being put out on all of the Sub Surface Lines, as they desperately need decent air conditioning! x_x
Acton Town by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I got off at Richmond in desperate need of a drink and a snack, already having a sandwich to eat (good old mum buying me a sandwich the day before). I popped into the M&S in Richmond station, fortunately I went through quickly as the queue extended right behind me and I certainly would have missed my next train if I got in a minute later!
Armed with some Nik Naks and a bottle of Coke, I boarded the 13:29 circular service from Waterloo to Waterloo via Strawberry Hill, which was run by 455873 + 455833, and again was ridiculously hot. I was also disappointed to see that these didn't have any toilets, but oh well. The route was quite interesting for the suburbs of London, and I alighted at Wimbledon at 14:02.
I popped out of the station to go to the Natwest across the street (needed to put some more cash into my account so I can buy more games!), but unfortunately I forgot that the banks close early on Saturdays, and I had missed the Natwest by literally 5 minutes, which was really gutting. I proceeded to walk back into the station and was trying to decide what I should do next. I had originally planned to go to Birkbeck Junction on the Southern service, and then back on the Tramlink, but I decided instead to go down to Gatwick on the express, as I hadn't been on GX this year, and I wanted another run on the 442's. I quickly bought a Boundary Zone 6 - Gatwick stations off peak return (a very impressive £3.90 with Young Person's), before jumping on the 14:28 to Luton (run by a lone 319, 319373), via the north Sutton Loop (I had only done the southern part before), and I alighted at Herne Hill, which seems to be quickly becoming a personal favourite station, I always seem to alight there while passing through!
Herne Hill by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I was watching the 14:53 on OTT, and it hadn't been updated since Beckenham Junction, which made me concerned that it still hadn't left, 15 minutes after it was due to! Fortunately 465248 rolled in only three minutes late, so I suppose OTT had momentarily broken or it had skipped a large number of stops between. A short run into Victoria took 9 minutes, before I walked over to the other side of the concourse (and toyed with the idea of millies cookies, eventually decided it wasn't worth it), to catch the 15:15 Gatwick Express service to Gatwick Airport (no prizes for guessing that one). 442420, and I went to the completely empty front carriage, which always seems to be empty. It was a pleasant run down to Gatwick, not as fast as I thought it would be though. Reminded me of the times when I came back from Atlanta as a child (I've been three times to see cousins out there), and I always remember the excitement of getting the Gatwick Express (I suppose it was still being run by the Class 460 back then), before immediately falling asleep on them (I could never sleep on night flights). I took some pictures at Gatwick Airport, deciding to stay there for 35 minutes instead of 20, so I could get a different unit back. I'm glad I did, because the two express Southern services between Victoria and Brighton bombed through the station without any prior warning which was quite fun. The Southbound one was run by two Class 442s instead of the usual 377s.
Gatwick Airport by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I boarded 442402 for the Express run back into Victoria (not falling asleep!), before pushing my way through the crowds of confused tourists and down to the Victoria Line, back up to Finsbury Park. I find it quite useful that they mention that National Rail services from Tottenham Hale are suspended when there's engineering works on, never seen this before on the Underground. I would quite liked to have got the Jubilee line up to West Hampstead, before getting the GOBLIN round to Harringay Green Lanes (I've only done East of HRY) and then picking up an FCC train home from Harringay, but I needed to get home quickly as I was going out in the evening. 313053 + 313042 picked me up at Finsbury Park for the run back to Hertford, accompanied by a screaming baby for nearly all of the way back x_x. I arrived back home at 18:09, one minute late, before walking back home and taking a long cold shower!
Thanks for reading! I'm visiting Weymouth with my girlfriend on Saturday, so if I take a decent amount of pictures of the town/beach then I might write a short trip report up for that too
It started at about 09:00 on Saturday morning. With a travelcard already in hand, I tried to get a Hertford Stations - Boundary Zone 6 ticket, only to be refused again by the ticket office. Seems like my email of complaint still hasn't got through yet.
I boarded the 09:13 to Moorgate, ran by 313062. A 3 coach train on a Saturday morning always gets cramped, so I'm glad I left at Enfield Chase (in Zone 5) at 09:30. Wandered out of the station and out to the front to wait for a bus over to Oakwood tube station, the first time I've been on a London Bus! After fumbling around to find my ticket, turns out the bus driver didn't even glance at it. A few stops over to Oakwood on the bus, before I jumped off and went down to the platforms.
Oakwood by Mikez2605, on Flickr
The first train I got on got cancelled at Oakwood and sent straight to the depot, so I grabbed the next one, one stop north to Cockfosters (giggle). I hung around there, and my original plan was to get a train all the way through the line to Heathrow Terminals 4, 1,2&3. There was a train to Terminals 1,2&3 and 5, so I missed in in the hope that the next one would be to 4, 1,2&3, but unfortunately it was to Uxbridge, and the next one was to 1,2&3 and 5, so I jumped on that one anyway. This was the main part of my journey, and was meant to take from 10:10 to 11:37, a total of 87 minutes.
There were two other people in the front carriage as we left Cockfosters, and it was pretty much empty up until Arnos Grove, where we started to pick up more passengers, and then it was pretty busy as we got into Zone 2 at Turnpike lane. A lot of Passengers changed at Finsbury Park for the faster Victoria line (as I would usually do), but we carried on via the slow route to King's Cross. Lots of passengers changed at Covent Garden and Leicester Square, before more at Green Park (changing for the Jubilee Line to Westminster maybe?). We resurfaced at Hammersmith, with the train starting to empty back out. Very satisfying speeding through all the small District Line stops, before we had a very slow entry to Acton Town (think people were working on the track). It was reasonably well loaded for the run from Acton Town into Heathrow, and back underground at Hatton Cross. I exited at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 11:42, a journey time of 92 minutes overall.
It was quite odd being at Heathrow and not going on holiday, was tempting to try and catch a flight anyway
I walked through the terminal and then back out to the Heathrow Express platforms, before catching the shuttle to Heathrow Central, before popping over to the other platform (2 to 1 I think), before catching the Shuttle to Terminal 4. I thought this was run by Heathrow Connect, but it turns out it's now run by Heathrow Express, just with Connect stock, which has changed since I last used it. I went back to Central on the shuttle, before then walking over to Terminals 1,2&3 tube station, and getting a Piccadilly Line train back out in the sweltering heat to Acton Town, where I changed for a District Line train to Turnham Green, and then down to Richmond on the District Line again. Again they were all so hot, I'm looking forward to the new S7 Stock being put out on all of the Sub Surface Lines, as they desperately need decent air conditioning! x_x
Acton Town by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I got off at Richmond in desperate need of a drink and a snack, already having a sandwich to eat (good old mum buying me a sandwich the day before
). I popped into the M&S in Richmond station, fortunately I went through quickly as the queue extended right behind me and I certainly would have missed my next train if I got in a minute later!Armed with some Nik Naks and a bottle of Coke, I boarded the 13:29 circular service from Waterloo to Waterloo via Strawberry Hill, which was run by 455873 + 455833, and again was ridiculously hot. I was also disappointed to see that these didn't have any toilets, but oh well. The route was quite interesting for the suburbs of London, and I alighted at Wimbledon at 14:02.
I popped out of the station to go to the Natwest across the street (needed to put some more cash into my account so I can buy more games!), but unfortunately I forgot that the banks close early on Saturdays, and I had missed the Natwest by literally 5 minutes, which was really gutting. I proceeded to walk back into the station and was trying to decide what I should do next. I had originally planned to go to Birkbeck Junction on the Southern service, and then back on the Tramlink, but I decided instead to go down to Gatwick on the express, as I hadn't been on GX this year, and I wanted another run on the 442's. I quickly bought a Boundary Zone 6 - Gatwick stations off peak return (a very impressive £3.90 with Young Person's), before jumping on the 14:28 to Luton (run by a lone 319, 319373), via the north Sutton Loop (I had only done the southern part before), and I alighted at Herne Hill, which seems to be quickly becoming a personal favourite station, I always seem to alight there while passing through!
Herne Hill by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I was watching the 14:53 on OTT, and it hadn't been updated since Beckenham Junction, which made me concerned that it still hadn't left, 15 minutes after it was due to! Fortunately 465248 rolled in only three minutes late, so I suppose OTT had momentarily broken or it had skipped a large number of stops between. A short run into Victoria took 9 minutes, before I walked over to the other side of the concourse (and toyed with the idea of millies cookies, eventually decided it wasn't worth it), to catch the 15:15 Gatwick Express service to Gatwick Airport (no prizes for guessing that one). 442420, and I went to the completely empty front carriage, which always seems to be empty. It was a pleasant run down to Gatwick, not as fast as I thought it would be though. Reminded me of the times when I came back from Atlanta as a child (I've been three times to see cousins out there), and I always remember the excitement of getting the Gatwick Express (I suppose it was still being run by the Class 460 back then), before immediately falling asleep on them (I could never sleep on night flights). I took some pictures at Gatwick Airport, deciding to stay there for 35 minutes instead of 20, so I could get a different unit back. I'm glad I did, because the two express Southern services between Victoria and Brighton bombed through the station without any prior warning which was quite fun. The Southbound one was run by two Class 442s instead of the usual 377s.
Gatwick Airport by Mikez2605, on Flickr
I boarded 442402 for the Express run back into Victoria (not falling asleep!), before pushing my way through the crowds of confused tourists and down to the Victoria Line, back up to Finsbury Park. I find it quite useful that they mention that National Rail services from Tottenham Hale are suspended when there's engineering works on, never seen this before on the Underground. I would quite liked to have got the Jubilee line up to West Hampstead, before getting the GOBLIN round to Harringay Green Lanes (I've only done East of HRY) and then picking up an FCC train home from Harringay, but I needed to get home quickly as I was going out in the evening. 313053 + 313042 picked me up at Finsbury Park for the run back to Hertford, accompanied by a screaming baby for nearly all of the way back x_x. I arrived back home at 18:09, one minute late, before walking back home and taking a long cold shower!
Thanks for reading! I'm visiting Weymouth with my girlfriend on Saturday, so if I take a decent amount of pictures of the town/beach then I might write a short trip report up for that too
