Desiro360
Member
Hello everyone,
Ive decided to do a write up of my most recent visit to London by train with my Dad. As I was attending a Gaming Convention at the Excel Exhibition Centre I'll describe all things railway related.
We set off for Manningtree Station from Felixstowe in our Mercedes Benz car at around 07:30 in the morning in glorious sunshine without a cloud in the sky. At Levington where the A14 Duel Carriageway runs parallel with the Felixstowe branch I saw the 1st train of the day which was a Class 153 unit working the 07:28 Felixstowe to Ipswich service.
Upon arrival at Manningtree we saw a Class 321 in platform 1 forming the 08:00 service to Harwich Town along with loco 90 008 (East Anglian) which was hauling the 07:00 Norwich to London Liverpool St Intercity service. Then the 07:00 Intercity from London to Norwich came and went. After we purchased our travelcard tickets which enabled us to use the Underground and the Docklands Light Railway we walked onto the London bound platform just 4 minutes before our train to Stratford was due. This was the 07:52 Ipswich to London Liverpool St stopping service which departs from Manningtree at 08:02.
Luckily, a Freightliner had been dispatched ahead of it and when it thundered through Manningtree it had two Freightliner Class 66 locomotives on the front. 3 minutes after that had passed through Desiro unit 360 121 arrived forming our train to Stratford. There was hardly anyone on board as it was early on a Saturday morning but as we proceeded along the Great Eastern Main Line more passengers boarded as we stopped at all stations to Chelmsford. By the time we departed from Shenfield most of the seats were occupied.
After arriving at Stratford we headed to the newer DLR platforms to catch a train to Beckon as far as Custom House which serves the Excel's western entrance. After helping another passenger with directions plus bumping into a mate of ours who was also heading to the Gaming Convention a trio of DLR B07 units arrived from Stratford International to take us to Custom House.
Once at the Excel I spent most of the day at the Convention but I did watch some DLR units pass through Prince Regent station (on the Eastern side of the Excel) whilst having a couple of home made Ham Rolls. I would also return to see more DLR trains later on in the evening to get out of the heat from inside the Excel. I had consumed 3 bottles of water that I had brought with me in addition to a Diet Coke purchased from a drinks machine to keep cool.
All too soon it was time to head back home so after having a Ham and Cheese Subway sandwich we headed back to Custom House station to get a DLR train back to Stratford. We didn't have to wait long till another trio of B07 units bound for Stratford International arrived. En route we ran alongside a 1996 Stock unit on the Jubilee line which overtook us whilst we were stopped at Abbey Road. At Stratford High St you can see Stratford Market Jubilee line depot which had a few 1996 stock units stabled for the weekend.
Once back at Stratford we bid our mate farewell as he was heading back to Gants Hill on the Central Line where he had parked his car. We on the other hand headed to platform 10 to catch a train back to Manningtree. I looked at the departures board to find an Ipswich bound train that would depart at 18:09. This was the 18:02 from London Liverpool St.
A Class 321 unit was in platform 10 heading to Southend Victoria. Just after that had gone the 18:00 Intercity service from Liverpool St to Norwich passed through. As it was mid evening I was expecting our train back to be at least 8 coaches long. This was indeed the case when Desiro units 360 117 and 360 120 arrived to take us back to Manningtree.
Our return run was faultless and we arrived at Manningtree just after 19:10. As we were preparing to drive back home the 18:30 Norwich to London Intercity came and went with loco 90 015 (Colchester Castle) in charge. Finally we drove back home to Felixstowe where we arrived just after 8pm.
It has been an awesome day out helped by the nice sunny weather and I'm looking forward to my next trip by train. Hope you enjoy reading this trip report.
Ive decided to do a write up of my most recent visit to London by train with my Dad. As I was attending a Gaming Convention at the Excel Exhibition Centre I'll describe all things railway related.
We set off for Manningtree Station from Felixstowe in our Mercedes Benz car at around 07:30 in the morning in glorious sunshine without a cloud in the sky. At Levington where the A14 Duel Carriageway runs parallel with the Felixstowe branch I saw the 1st train of the day which was a Class 153 unit working the 07:28 Felixstowe to Ipswich service.
Upon arrival at Manningtree we saw a Class 321 in platform 1 forming the 08:00 service to Harwich Town along with loco 90 008 (East Anglian) which was hauling the 07:00 Norwich to London Liverpool St Intercity service. Then the 07:00 Intercity from London to Norwich came and went. After we purchased our travelcard tickets which enabled us to use the Underground and the Docklands Light Railway we walked onto the London bound platform just 4 minutes before our train to Stratford was due. This was the 07:52 Ipswich to London Liverpool St stopping service which departs from Manningtree at 08:02.
Luckily, a Freightliner had been dispatched ahead of it and when it thundered through Manningtree it had two Freightliner Class 66 locomotives on the front. 3 minutes after that had passed through Desiro unit 360 121 arrived forming our train to Stratford. There was hardly anyone on board as it was early on a Saturday morning but as we proceeded along the Great Eastern Main Line more passengers boarded as we stopped at all stations to Chelmsford. By the time we departed from Shenfield most of the seats were occupied.
After arriving at Stratford we headed to the newer DLR platforms to catch a train to Beckon as far as Custom House which serves the Excel's western entrance. After helping another passenger with directions plus bumping into a mate of ours who was also heading to the Gaming Convention a trio of DLR B07 units arrived from Stratford International to take us to Custom House.
Once at the Excel I spent most of the day at the Convention but I did watch some DLR units pass through Prince Regent station (on the Eastern side of the Excel) whilst having a couple of home made Ham Rolls. I would also return to see more DLR trains later on in the evening to get out of the heat from inside the Excel. I had consumed 3 bottles of water that I had brought with me in addition to a Diet Coke purchased from a drinks machine to keep cool.
All too soon it was time to head back home so after having a Ham and Cheese Subway sandwich we headed back to Custom House station to get a DLR train back to Stratford. We didn't have to wait long till another trio of B07 units bound for Stratford International arrived. En route we ran alongside a 1996 Stock unit on the Jubilee line which overtook us whilst we were stopped at Abbey Road. At Stratford High St you can see Stratford Market Jubilee line depot which had a few 1996 stock units stabled for the weekend.
Once back at Stratford we bid our mate farewell as he was heading back to Gants Hill on the Central Line where he had parked his car. We on the other hand headed to platform 10 to catch a train back to Manningtree. I looked at the departures board to find an Ipswich bound train that would depart at 18:09. This was the 18:02 from London Liverpool St.
A Class 321 unit was in platform 10 heading to Southend Victoria. Just after that had gone the 18:00 Intercity service from Liverpool St to Norwich passed through. As it was mid evening I was expecting our train back to be at least 8 coaches long. This was indeed the case when Desiro units 360 117 and 360 120 arrived to take us back to Manningtree.
Our return run was faultless and we arrived at Manningtree just after 19:10. As we were preparing to drive back home the 18:30 Norwich to London Intercity came and went with loco 90 015 (Colchester Castle) in charge. Finally we drove back home to Felixstowe where we arrived just after 8pm.
It has been an awesome day out helped by the nice sunny weather and I'm looking forward to my next trip by train. Hope you enjoy reading this trip report.