Norwich to Basingstoke service

[JonathanH]

Didn't they initially plan on running some other services as well, to Reading perhaps or maybe Watford/MK? Or was that some other daft proposal?

Yes, Southampton to Waterloo using Gatwick Express 73+Mk2 and then routes from both Ipswich and Southampton and Milton Keynes.
https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...-privatisation-era.212179/page-7#post-4907009

 

[superalbs]

Oh, I wonder why they did that? Presumably it’s just the headrest part that was swapped?

Entire frame and cushions are different. Presumably they reused some seats from elsewhere for standardisation, possibly the old FGW HST ones, but the refurb would have been started by SWT.

159103 is an outlier, it was the first one done which might explain it.

 

[Falcon1200]

On Thursday 19th September 2002 (so must have been near the end of the service) I took 170202 on the 1342 Basingstoke-Stratford from Staines to West Hampstead, to do some rare track. Curtailing the service at both ends cannot have helped its usefulness or patronage.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Didn't they initially plan on running some other services as well, to Reading perhaps or maybe Watford/MK? Or was that some other daft proposal?

Not sure about that, but Connex did have service from Rubgy, via the West London Line & Clapham Junction to Gatwick Airport I think, it was semi fast and quite useful. It still runs but as a slower service from, Croydon to MK.

 

[Jimini]

Not sure about that, but Connex did have service from Rubgy, via the West London Line & Clapham Junction to Gatwick Airport I think, it was semi fast and quite useful. It still runs but as a slower service from, Croydon to MK.

Yep that's correct, used that quite a bit back in the day. Used to cross from the slows to the fasts south of Clapham (at Balham I think), then called at East Croydon and Gatwick Airport only after that. On the northern side of town it was Rugby / Northampton / MK / Watford Jcn. only, before heading off west at Willesden down towards Clapham.

 

[jfollows]

Yep that's correct, used that quite a bit back in the day. Used to cross from the slows to the fasts south of Clapham (at Balham I think), then called at East Croydon and Gatwick Airport only after that. On the northern side of town it was Rugby / Northampton / MK / Watford Jcn. only, before heading off west at Willesden down towards Clapham.

Not only that, but they crossed on the flat at Willesden West London Junction and used the fast lines to the other side of Watford Junction (after calling there) eg crossing to the slow lines at Ledburn Junction. The up/down low level goods lines weren't available for passenger trains at the time, although they have since been upgraded (by January 2021 2001) to allow today's trains to go underneath the main lines before joining the slow lines later.
For example, 1M40 13:56 Brighton to Rugby (September 2000 timetable) which didn't use the slow lines at all until it crossed at Hanslope Junction (this one had to wait to slot in behind 1B03 15:20 Euston-Northampton at Willesden West London Junction):

 

[Sad Sprinter]

I remember seeing the Crosslink train race through Hampstead Heath in 2003, just before a GNER Eurostar on its way back from North Pole made an appearence. I can remember the defeaning roar it made to this day!

 

[Bald Rick]

Not only that, but they crossed on the flat at Willesden West London Junction and used the fast lines to the other side of Watford Junction (after calling there) eg crossing to the slow lines at Ledburn Junction. The up/down low level goods lines weren't available for passenger trains at the time, although they have since been upgraded (by January 2021) to allow today's trains to go underneath the main lines before joining the slow lines later.

The Low Level Goods lines (now the Willesden Relief Lines, the bloke who renamed them had misplaced Western sympathies) were upgraded to passenger standards specifically for this service. Done as part of Willesden Resignalling, Christmas 2000. The work Overran by several days, partly due to very cold weather.

 

[stuu]

The Low Level Goods lines (now the Willesden Relief Lines, the bloke who renamed them had misplaced Western sympathies) were upgraded to passenger standards specifically for this service. Done as part of Willesden Resignalling, Christmas 2020. The work Overran by several days, partly due to very cold weather.

2020 can't be right, the Southern service used the diveunder by the Royal Mail terminal when I lived in Harrow, so before 2008

 

[Bald Rick]

2020 can't be right, the Southern service used the diveunder by the Royal Mail terminal when I lived in Harrow, so before 2008

Massive typo, for which I blame autocorrect!

Christmas 2000.

 

[jfollows]

2020 can't be right, the Southern service used the diveunder by the Royal Mail terminal when I lived in Harrow, so before 2008

Thank you, I've fixed my original post also. Work completed in January 2001.

 

[stuu]

Massive typo, for which I blame autocorrect!

Christmas 2000.

Phew, had me questioning my memory!

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Didn't they initially plan on running some other services as well, to Reading perhaps or maybe Watford/MK? Or was that some other daft proposal?

Yes - the Ipswich–Basingstoke service was going to be joined by Ipswich–WCML (Watford, MK, terminate Northampton) and WCML–Basingstoke.