90sWereBetter
Member
So yeah, it's another one of my mad London trips, and sadly the only one I've managed to do this year. Personally, I didn't think this one was as good as my August 2012 trip [shamelessplug]which can be found here.[/shamelessplug]), primarily as I had to return to Lowestoft the same day. But here goes.
Caught the half seven intercity from Norwich to Liverpool Street as my first train, having been dropped off at the station earlier. First time I've ever sat in First Class, and it really was lovely. Shame the same couldn't be said of the weather though. My gosh, it was bitter. Considering I planned to spend some time in Camden Market, this wasn't good. Arrived in London about 5 minutes ahead of schedule, and after the customary wait to put money on my Oyster, here we go.
I decided instead of doing the sane thing and catching two tubes to Camden, I would get a bus and then a tube. My choice was the 23, primarily as it had been some six years since I last did the route. My luck was very much in, as one of the hybrids on the route turned up almost straight away, and as a number 11 had gone before it, it was also very empty. London was incredibly quiet for a Saturday morning, and it took barely 10 minutes until we reached Charing Cross, where I dived off in search of the Northern line. Had the incredible good luck to have an entire carriage to myself between Euston and Camden Town, although it was slightly unnerving to be by myself whilst the train was stuck in a tunnel at Camden junction for what seemed an eternity.
I planned to spend about an hour in Camden itself. Go through the markets, buy some t-shirts, some music, some other stuff, perhaps even see if I could find the late Amy Winehouse's home. But when I reached the streets itself, it was snowing. Brilliant. I therefore decided to leave straight away, after buying a few albums in the first music stall I found. I saw a brand new Metroline B9TL on the 24 sweep around heading southbound, and I engaged in a fruitless chase. Having admitted defeat, I stumbled across the stand where the 88 terminates. And I was in luck. There was an X-reg Volvo ready to go. And despite it being 12 years old, it was really quite nice, and I caught it down to Oxford Circus.
From there, I decided to head to St Pauls, so Central line it was. Got there, and I just missed a number 4. I wanted to head down to Waterloo, so this was a setback. But no bother, a 172 quickly turned up, and I sat downstairs for this one. It was a short, but memorable journey for all the wrong reasons. Coming on to the Aldwych, we followed another bus into a stop. No-one wanted to get on the 172, so my driver attempted to pull out. And in the process, nearly crashed into an FX4! And my word, the taxi driver wasn't happy. When we reached a set of lights, he actually got out of his taxi in the MIDDLE of the bleedin' Aldwych, and started shouting at the driver. Fun times. I noted my 172 was being driven a lot harsher after that, so I guess my driver had seen the red mist. Luckily, I only wanted to go to Waterloo.
From there, having taken some time out to try and find the Drain's depot (which I did with ease), I decided I wanted to catch a Networker. So, Jubilee line to London Bridge it was. Having stood right next to the Shard (!), I headed to the station itself. I didn't want to go too far on one, on the basis that these trains serve areas of London which I consider, erm, less salubrious. Spotted a 465 heading to Bexleyheath via Lewisham, and caught that, so I could connect with the DLR and spend the least time possible there. Lovely trains, Networkers are. Having got off, and quickly located the DLR platforms, I got a B09 stock to Crossharbour. I have no idea why I got off there, other than "I fancied it". Weather was still horrible, and I dived on the first bus I saw, which turned out to be a D6. Caught this to Blackwall, so I connected up with the DLR again. Just missed a Tower Gateway-bound train, which meant I had to wait what felt like a geological time period for the next one. That was definitely the low point of the day, being buffeted by rain and wind.
Having made it to Tower Gateway, I then decided I wanted to go to City Thameslink, so I could at least say I've done the core part of the route. A jam-packed hybrid on the 15 deposited me there, and I didn't have to wait long for a 319 to turn up in the gloom that is City Thameslink. A very quiet ride to St Pancras was my reward. From here, I was Piccadilly line bound, all the way to it's namesake station. Yes, I wanted to have yet another look at the strange Bakerloo line platforms. And this time, I actually made it to the end of the northbound platform. It was surreal, standing in a running tunnel more or less. Bakerloo line deposited me at Baker Street. It was only 1:45, but with the horrible weather, it felt much later. And I still had another three hours to kill.
The C stock that took me to Westbourne Park has to rank as probably the shabbiest tube I've ever been on. There was large amounts of missing paint on the doors, and the less said about the interior, the better. I often wonder what these trains must have been like when they'd been lovingly refurbished almost 20 years go now. From Westbourne Park, it was second time lucky with the 52, a brand new diesel B9 taking me to Kensington. A much, much nicer D stock took me to West Brompton, where I saw an opportunity to clear more of the Overground network. I therefore headed down to Clapham Junction, where with the multitude of different bus routes, surely there'd be a nice prize to be had. And there was. I spotted a V-reg on a 49 about to leave, the same type of bus that I'd tried (and failed) to catch on the 220 back in August. I couldn't believe my luck. I caught this back to South Kensington, and with the light fading and the rain lashing down, I called it a day, and started to make my way back slowly to Liverpool Street in good time for the 5PM back to Norwich.
Ah well, if it had been cold, but sunny, I think this would have been a much more enjoyable day. My next London trip currently has the barmy idea of me trying to either catch a train to or from every major London terminal.
Caught the half seven intercity from Norwich to Liverpool Street as my first train, having been dropped off at the station earlier. First time I've ever sat in First Class, and it really was lovely. Shame the same couldn't be said of the weather though. My gosh, it was bitter. Considering I planned to spend some time in Camden Market, this wasn't good. Arrived in London about 5 minutes ahead of schedule, and after the customary wait to put money on my Oyster, here we go.
I decided instead of doing the sane thing and catching two tubes to Camden, I would get a bus and then a tube. My choice was the 23, primarily as it had been some six years since I last did the route. My luck was very much in, as one of the hybrids on the route turned up almost straight away, and as a number 11 had gone before it, it was also very empty. London was incredibly quiet for a Saturday morning, and it took barely 10 minutes until we reached Charing Cross, where I dived off in search of the Northern line. Had the incredible good luck to have an entire carriage to myself between Euston and Camden Town, although it was slightly unnerving to be by myself whilst the train was stuck in a tunnel at Camden junction for what seemed an eternity.
I planned to spend about an hour in Camden itself. Go through the markets, buy some t-shirts, some music, some other stuff, perhaps even see if I could find the late Amy Winehouse's home. But when I reached the streets itself, it was snowing. Brilliant. I therefore decided to leave straight away, after buying a few albums in the first music stall I found. I saw a brand new Metroline B9TL on the 24 sweep around heading southbound, and I engaged in a fruitless chase. Having admitted defeat, I stumbled across the stand where the 88 terminates. And I was in luck. There was an X-reg Volvo ready to go. And despite it being 12 years old, it was really quite nice, and I caught it down to Oxford Circus.
From there, I decided to head to St Pauls, so Central line it was. Got there, and I just missed a number 4. I wanted to head down to Waterloo, so this was a setback. But no bother, a 172 quickly turned up, and I sat downstairs for this one. It was a short, but memorable journey for all the wrong reasons. Coming on to the Aldwych, we followed another bus into a stop. No-one wanted to get on the 172, so my driver attempted to pull out. And in the process, nearly crashed into an FX4! And my word, the taxi driver wasn't happy. When we reached a set of lights, he actually got out of his taxi in the MIDDLE of the bleedin' Aldwych, and started shouting at the driver. Fun times. I noted my 172 was being driven a lot harsher after that, so I guess my driver had seen the red mist. Luckily, I only wanted to go to Waterloo.
From there, having taken some time out to try and find the Drain's depot (which I did with ease), I decided I wanted to catch a Networker. So, Jubilee line to London Bridge it was. Having stood right next to the Shard (!), I headed to the station itself. I didn't want to go too far on one, on the basis that these trains serve areas of London which I consider, erm, less salubrious. Spotted a 465 heading to Bexleyheath via Lewisham, and caught that, so I could connect with the DLR and spend the least time possible there. Lovely trains, Networkers are. Having got off, and quickly located the DLR platforms, I got a B09 stock to Crossharbour. I have no idea why I got off there, other than "I fancied it". Weather was still horrible, and I dived on the first bus I saw, which turned out to be a D6. Caught this to Blackwall, so I connected up with the DLR again. Just missed a Tower Gateway-bound train, which meant I had to wait what felt like a geological time period for the next one. That was definitely the low point of the day, being buffeted by rain and wind.
Having made it to Tower Gateway, I then decided I wanted to go to City Thameslink, so I could at least say I've done the core part of the route. A jam-packed hybrid on the 15 deposited me there, and I didn't have to wait long for a 319 to turn up in the gloom that is City Thameslink. A very quiet ride to St Pancras was my reward. From here, I was Piccadilly line bound, all the way to it's namesake station. Yes, I wanted to have yet another look at the strange Bakerloo line platforms. And this time, I actually made it to the end of the northbound platform. It was surreal, standing in a running tunnel more or less. Bakerloo line deposited me at Baker Street. It was only 1:45, but with the horrible weather, it felt much later. And I still had another three hours to kill.
The C stock that took me to Westbourne Park has to rank as probably the shabbiest tube I've ever been on. There was large amounts of missing paint on the doors, and the less said about the interior, the better. I often wonder what these trains must have been like when they'd been lovingly refurbished almost 20 years go now. From Westbourne Park, it was second time lucky with the 52, a brand new diesel B9 taking me to Kensington. A much, much nicer D stock took me to West Brompton, where I saw an opportunity to clear more of the Overground network. I therefore headed down to Clapham Junction, where with the multitude of different bus routes, surely there'd be a nice prize to be had. And there was. I spotted a V-reg on a 49 about to leave, the same type of bus that I'd tried (and failed) to catch on the 220 back in August. I couldn't believe my luck. I caught this back to South Kensington, and with the light fading and the rain lashing down, I called it a day, and started to make my way back slowly to Liverpool Street in good time for the 5PM back to Norwich.
Ah well, if it had been cold, but sunny, I think this would have been a much more enjoyable day. My next London trip currently has the barmy idea of me trying to either catch a train to or from every major London terminal.
