EMD E8A
Member
- Joined
- 24 Apr 2015
- Messages
- 13
Its been a two weeks since Ive returned home from London, and I sometimes wonder if I was really there. I had a great time over there and I hope to visit again, and see other parts of the UK. It was a challenging juggle to do the normal tourist activity of sightseeing and trainspotting, but I think I was able to do it to the best of my ability.
Because I was staying in London, most of my trainspotting took place there. However, I did make day trips to Kidderminster for the Severn Valley Railways Diesel Gala, Birmingham for the Cross City lines Class 323s, and the Isle of Wight. I landed at Gatwick and was treated to the sight of a Class 319 in FCC livery with Thameslink branding. Earlier in the year I didnt think I would see the 319s because I learned they would be transferred to Northern Rail. However, I did learn during my stay that London Midland will receive some of these units. I was really happy to see the 319, and I believe these were the trains I rode on the most (apart from the LU Jubilee lines 1996 Tube stock).
On my first week, I visited the Isle of Wight and went on my only ride on an HST 125. I didnt take many photos of the Class 483/1938 Tube stock. My time on the island was limited and I also wanted to see some of it before I went back to London. I stopped at Brading station and went on a tour of the signal box, which I was disappointed to learn that its future is in doubt. I enjoyed riding on the old LU trains and how bumpy the ride was. Later during the week, I went on an East Midlands Trains 125 to Nottingham and back. I filmed some of my ride (both directions) with the camcorder out the window. It was quite an experience! I have never stuck my hand outside of a train going 100-110 mph. During my brief stay at Nottingham (I returned to London on the same train), I took some photos of the trains that were at the station. I chose East Midlands Trains because their HSTs have the VP185 engine, which is the closest Ill get to the Paxman Valenta engines that were originally installed. However, who knows; maybe one day Ill get to see the Project Miller HST scream by with its Valenta.
I visited London Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, Paddington, Cannon Street, and Waterloo to take pictures. I would say that Liverpool Street and Waterloo were my favourite stations. I found Paddington too restrictive as I was advised I could only take pictures from one of three platforms. I did think of taking pictures at Clapham Junction, but its such a busy station with many tracks that I would end up exhausting myself running from platform to platform, trying to photograph a variety of rolling stock. I shelved Clapham Junction.
The big trip was to Kidderminster for the Severn Valley Railways Diesel Gala. I went there on Saturday and was delighted to see some of the locomotives that I only had close contact with in Train Simulator 2016. Deltic 55 019 Royal Highland Fusilier was at the platform for the next trip out of Kidderminster, but I waited to get a Class 50, as that was the locomotive type I really wanted to see there. During my wait, I had a tour of 50 049 Defiance courtesy of the Fifty Funds volunteer Bob Dunn (spelling?). He was kind enough to make sure I had explored and learned about the Hoovers, however since he has operated many types of locomotives over his railway career, we also talked about the Class 87s (another locomotive type that interests me). The 50 035 Ark Royal showed up and I boarded several minutes before its departure. I really enjoyed listening to Ark Royal thrashing in the West Midland countryside, even though I inhaled some of its diesel fumes. It was a great day with my only regret of not having arrived earlier to go on a train pulled by Royal Highland Fusilier, one of the Class 52 Westerns, and the Class 20.
The following week I spent a day in Birmingham to ride and photograph the Class 323s on the Cross City line. For the rest of my time in London, I managed to get a ride on classes 317 and 321. As I mentioned earlier, the 319s were probably the trains I rode the most. This is because I could take them back to my hotel. It may have been quicker to just use the Jubilee line, but I was in London to have a good time and I wanted to get the most of my time there.
Ive attached some of my photos taken during my trip. I wish I had taken more, but as I said above, I was trying to juggle trainspotting with sightseeing. As with everything in life, you just cant have everything you want. I hope to return next year to the UK and visit other parts and see the trains used in whichever regions I visit.
Note: I had more photos to share, but it looks like I can only upload ten.
Because I was staying in London, most of my trainspotting took place there. However, I did make day trips to Kidderminster for the Severn Valley Railways Diesel Gala, Birmingham for the Cross City lines Class 323s, and the Isle of Wight. I landed at Gatwick and was treated to the sight of a Class 319 in FCC livery with Thameslink branding. Earlier in the year I didnt think I would see the 319s because I learned they would be transferred to Northern Rail. However, I did learn during my stay that London Midland will receive some of these units. I was really happy to see the 319, and I believe these were the trains I rode on the most (apart from the LU Jubilee lines 1996 Tube stock).
On my first week, I visited the Isle of Wight and went on my only ride on an HST 125. I didnt take many photos of the Class 483/1938 Tube stock. My time on the island was limited and I also wanted to see some of it before I went back to London. I stopped at Brading station and went on a tour of the signal box, which I was disappointed to learn that its future is in doubt. I enjoyed riding on the old LU trains and how bumpy the ride was. Later during the week, I went on an East Midlands Trains 125 to Nottingham and back. I filmed some of my ride (both directions) with the camcorder out the window. It was quite an experience! I have never stuck my hand outside of a train going 100-110 mph. During my brief stay at Nottingham (I returned to London on the same train), I took some photos of the trains that were at the station. I chose East Midlands Trains because their HSTs have the VP185 engine, which is the closest Ill get to the Paxman Valenta engines that were originally installed. However, who knows; maybe one day Ill get to see the Project Miller HST scream by with its Valenta.
I visited London Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, Paddington, Cannon Street, and Waterloo to take pictures. I would say that Liverpool Street and Waterloo were my favourite stations. I found Paddington too restrictive as I was advised I could only take pictures from one of three platforms. I did think of taking pictures at Clapham Junction, but its such a busy station with many tracks that I would end up exhausting myself running from platform to platform, trying to photograph a variety of rolling stock. I shelved Clapham Junction.
The big trip was to Kidderminster for the Severn Valley Railways Diesel Gala. I went there on Saturday and was delighted to see some of the locomotives that I only had close contact with in Train Simulator 2016. Deltic 55 019 Royal Highland Fusilier was at the platform for the next trip out of Kidderminster, but I waited to get a Class 50, as that was the locomotive type I really wanted to see there. During my wait, I had a tour of 50 049 Defiance courtesy of the Fifty Funds volunteer Bob Dunn (spelling?). He was kind enough to make sure I had explored and learned about the Hoovers, however since he has operated many types of locomotives over his railway career, we also talked about the Class 87s (another locomotive type that interests me). The 50 035 Ark Royal showed up and I boarded several minutes before its departure. I really enjoyed listening to Ark Royal thrashing in the West Midland countryside, even though I inhaled some of its diesel fumes. It was a great day with my only regret of not having arrived earlier to go on a train pulled by Royal Highland Fusilier, one of the Class 52 Westerns, and the Class 20.
The following week I spent a day in Birmingham to ride and photograph the Class 323s on the Cross City line. For the rest of my time in London, I managed to get a ride on classes 317 and 321. As I mentioned earlier, the 319s were probably the trains I rode the most. This is because I could take them back to my hotel. It may have been quicker to just use the Jubilee line, but I was in London to have a good time and I wanted to get the most of my time there.
Ive attached some of my photos taken during my trip. I wish I had taken more, but as I said above, I was trying to juggle trainspotting with sightseeing. As with everything in life, you just cant have everything you want. I hope to return next year to the UK and visit other parts and see the trains used in whichever regions I visit.
Note: I had more photos to share, but it looks like I can only upload ten.
