Things you like most about train travel?

[Intermodal]

Hi all,

I was wondering what actually "draws" people on this forum to train travel (or spotting or driving or whatever), be it the scenery, the feel of actually going somewhere, the mechanical excellence of trains (debatable I know), the fact they are big machines that you can sit on?

I particularly like the feeling of actually getting away from my house/college/general area and going somewhere new using a very relaxed method of transport (when it isn't standing room only!) and being able to sit and enjoy the scenery, or work on my laptop and go on the internet, or if I'm travelling 1st: enjoy a meal.

I also like the machines themselves - I think it's marvellous and wonderful how a machine weighing 100+ tonnes can propel itself at speeds of up to 140mph with minimal noise and what seems like no effort at all (although I know there's a lot of kinetic energy going around!).

What about you?

 

[Crossover]

Various things I guess

I enjoy it as a method of travel and on long journeys much preferred this over driving (especially when travelling home from placement in MK some weekends) as it is less tiring and could generally do things such as read etc, though I do still like car driving
With the above example, my workmates couldn't understand why I didn't drive home, instead choosing the "expensive and slow" train - working it out, including a stop I usually took driving, the train took about the same amount of time, didn;t take in the Friday M1 traffic (just observed from a Pendo :P) and cost little more than the fuel I would have used to drive.

I am also interested in how they work (both the trains and the infrastructure in general) and keep learning more the more I travel.

I prefer travelling during the day though as you can see more from the train. Especially since on quite a few trains by night, you just see yourself

 

[Intermodal]

I actually quite like travelling at night. I went on the 2007 Euston to Liverpool Lime St yesterday and I liked just sitting there on my laptop, looking at the few lights you can see out the window, and then later on having a sleep. It seems like such a relaxed thing to do with your evening.

I loved sleeping on the sleeper - it was just magical going to sleep in Scotland then waking up, looking out the window and seeing a tube train.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I think that for longer distances, it most definitely is the lack of pressure that having to face motorway driving brings and a relaxing method of travelling to your destination. There is nothing as comfortable as travelling first-class to either York or Durham, with the complimentary coffee and cake, on the Class 185 First TPE (with seat reservations) from Manchester Airport.

It is a pity that Arriva Trains Wales do not have first-class accomodation in their Class 175 units that run the Manchester to South Wales services, but nonetheless, we have recently made journeys from Wilmslow station to Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Hereford, which were far preferable to driving to these places.

 

[Schnellzug]

Well, like as happened yesterday, I was coming down the hill in a class 444 and it goes past the new Relief Road that had just been opened recently. And that was chokka with traffic, and loads of Police cars diverting traffic off it, because (probably) someone had been not paying attention and had gone into the back of someone else. That's one of the main things; avoiding the Traffic. And not having to worry about not looking at the scenery and concentrating on the road ahead. I'm afraid I find driving rather boring, or did when I had a Car.

 

[HST Power]

What do I like about train travel? That's an essay question!

For starters, I love shooting along at 100mph thinking of all the drivers stuck on the motorway, waiting for some idiot who thinks that it's acceptable to cruise in the fast lane at 60mph. When I go on a HST, I'm a First Class man, and call me evil but I love indulging in the free offers and free Wi-Fi whilst thinking of all the others crushed up in cattle class. First is empty half the time anyway, so you have the run of the place and plenty of tea to keep you hydrated!
First Class is well worth the money if you get decent food and the promised offers are delivered.

 

[Heinz57]

For me its just that I can sit back and relax, same reason I catch the bus too. I don't have to think about driving, traffic, parking etc. I can just sit back in comfort.

Also, whenever I've been on a train they've always been quite quiet (Accept for that one time I was on a train from London and there was a group of girls who had clearly been on the rassel. Saying that though after about 45 mins they were moved to another part of the train)

Also, the HSTs, Turbostars and Voyagers nice looking peices of kit

 

[Rugd1022]

On the rare occasions I actually travel as a passenger, it doesn't take long for the old nostalgia pangs to kick in, particularly if I'm on former Western Region routes. When I'm at work driving on these same routes I often get a similar feeling of going back in time to my early spotting days in the '70s, especially on our Oxford and Worcester jobs. At certain times of year the scenery on these routes can be quite beautiful, early mornings and evenings are usually best in the Autumn or Winter months, the stretch between Banbury and Oxford looks great with snow on the ground or low lying mist hovering just above above it. I also enjoy driving at night on all of my routes, the glow of green signals in the distance giving a sense of well being which is difficult to describe really. It's a pity that most people don't get to experience these things, as there's something very satisfying about it..... it feels 'just right' if that makes any sense

 

[b0b]

I love just looking out the window and watching things go by and being able to completely relax.

 

[Temple Meads]

For me it's the feeling of getting away from my home county, just sitting back and enjoying the view, plus there's usually some decent eye candy

 

[T163R]

Everything

 

[JamesHorrell]

Well What makes me travel on trains is that they are fats and don't take for ever to get some where as it i go to york with my mum we'll go by train as it is a shorter time to get there then by road.

And what makes me Film/Spot trains is that it is fun and also like the speeds they go at if they are flying though a station.

 

[exile]

What do I like about train travel? That's an essay question!

For starters, I love shooting along at 100mph thinking of all the drivers stuck on the motorway, waiting for some idiot who thinks that it's acceptable to cruise in the fast lane at 60mph. When I go on a HST, I'm a First Class man, and call me evil but I love indulging in the free offers and free Wi-Fi whilst thinking of all the others crushed up in cattle class. First is empty half the time anyway, so you have the run of the place and plenty of tea to keep you hydrated!
First Class is well worth the money if you get decent food and the promised offers are delivered.

There's no such thing as the fast lane. There are one or two overtaking lanes. It's not correct to go at 70 in the outside lane if the inside lane is empty - on the other hand it's ok to go at 60 if the inside lanes are full of traffic going at 50.

 

[Crossover]

I actually quite like travelling at night. I went on the 2007 Euston to Liverpool Lime St yesterday and I liked just sitting there on my laptop, looking at the few lights you can see out the window, and then later on having a sleep. It seems like such a relaxed thing to do with your evening.

I loved sleeping on the sleeper - it was just magical going to sleep in Scotland then waking up, looking out the window and seeing a tube train.

I don't tend to use my laptop on journeys so it is either looking out of the window or reading a book.

I guess I prefer to do new routes in the light so you can see what is around (though in some cases, that isn't necessarily a good thing :P) but there are times where travelling in the dark is inevitable so it can be nice but there is usually less to see (plus you can't tell if you are actually in a tunnel!)

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I'm another one who likes zooming around the country; I like the sensations and motions, especially at high speed ( or even on a Pacer on jointed track... ). A big attraction, as others have mentioned, is the ability to enjoy the landscapes and views instead of having to concentrate on where one is going and where everyone else is at all times.

 

[Zoe]

So people have said reasons they like travelling by train as opposed to car but what would make you choose train over other forms of public transport?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

So people have said reasons they like travelling by train as opposed to car but what would make you choose train over other forms of public transport?

Speed.

Comfort.

Not crawling along in traffic jams!

 

[newbie babs]

I can`t drive

cars don`t float my boat and buses take me to work

 

[Eng274]

So many things. The speed is part of it, not necessarily 125mph, anything above 90 is usually fast enough to convince me I'm progressing faster than road users. The fact that you can be doing these speeds with little sensation of doing so is favourable to being bumped to and fro on a neglected road on a bus doing 52mph.

The machinery is a big part of it. A 158 or 170 (as is common where I'm from) despite their critics are much more attractive to travel on than any bus. The vocals from under the floor are a draw for me too - not so keen on LHCS in this respect. 334s are peculiar beasts for the wide range of bangs, whirrs and whines they make.

I also recently learnt a fantastic amount about operations/infrastructure, e.g. structure plates and what their letters/numbers mean, in a TOC induction which the trainer describes as "something which will forever deprive you of the naive innocence you once had when travelling by train" and he was damn right. Looking at things like platform/path indicators to tell you which way a train will set off through, for instance, took me by surprise at just how deeply-immersed I'd become in observing the railway.

The views are a small part of it really. I'm not much of a scenery appreciating person to be honest, but I like to watch the world pass from the window (or pillar as the case may be).

Hard to sum it up any shorter than that really!

 

[Grantham]

To anyone who loves railways, no explanation is necessary.

To anyone who doesn't, no explanation is possible.

(I forget who originally said that)

 

[AlterEgo]

For me it is comfort and being able to relax.

Train travel is by far the most civilised way to travel. If you have a few pounds spare, upgrade to First! My best memories of travelling by train usually involve food or drink and watching the world fly by. I do miss WSMR, the "slow train" which harked back to a more innocent time.

Even taking a Pacer or a 508 through urban sprawl does it for me. You can view the world without sound from the safety of a train, and it doesn't matter if you stare!

Our country really has so much variety in terms of railways that it's difficult to get bored - from racing other units through the grime at Clapham Junction, to Berney Arms, to the West Highland Line, to the Tyne and Wear Metro....i wax lyrical....

I'd say I wasn't a trainspotter - I've never spotted a single one - I'm more a travel snob and enthusiast.

 

[HST Power]

There's no such thing as the fast lane. There are one or two overtaking lanes. It's not correct to go at 70 in the outside lane if the inside lane is empty - on the other hand it's ok to go at 60 if the inside lanes are full of traffic going at 50.

Yes, yes, yes, though traffic generally moves a lot quicker in the outside lane with trucks and the like on the inside, thus I refer to it as the faster of the two.

Though now you mention it, there should be a fast lane for serious people like me!

 

[Schnellzug]

Speed.

Comfort.

Not crawling along in traffic jams!

Comfort can be subjective, of course, and perhaps a Volvo B7RLE or Mercedes Citaro would be more comfortable than a 2+3 seated Sprinter, but the basic advantage of a train, when it comes down to it, is that it doesn't get held up in the traffic... road traffic, at any rate.

 

[Greenback]

I enjoy any form of travel, except, perhaps, hanging about in airports!

I prefer train travel as I find it more comfortable than coaches (though the margin is narrowing with soem modern stock!), less hassle than driving, and more relaxong than flying.

Ther eis something about arriving at a busy station and seing the trains and the places they are going to on the platform indicators. My wife got a feeling of this on her first visit to Gare du Nord in Paris. She gazed in wonder at the different types of trains at the platforms and the exotic sounding destinations, and she is not great rail enthusiast!

 

[142094]

Even taking a Pacer or a 508 through urban sprawl does it for me. You can view the world without sound from the safety of a train

Quite surpised that no-one has picked up on the use of "Pacer" and "safety" in the same sentence!

 

[ACE1888]

Great thread
Rail travel is just so relaxing compared to the car:-x Even in more or less 'loco hauled' free days, taking the train is always the best option for me, such a travesty the network was so reduced, especially down in Cornwall, must have been amazing to travel on all our now closed lines back then.
You can also 'have a few' and not worry
Love 'talking trains' when 'on the train'

 

[WestCoast]

Ther eis something about arriving at a busy station and seing the trains and the places they are going to on the platform indicators. My wife got a feeling of this on her first visit to Gare du Nord in Paris. She gazed in wonder at the different types of trains at the platforms and the exotic sounding destinations, and she is not great rail enthusiast!

I love that feeling, arriving or passing through on a long-distance/international train and gazing at all the different local/regional trains and where they are going/coming from.

I like most forms of 'public' transport, especially trains, urban transit and aircraft.

 

[aspierail]

Looking out of the window

Scenery

Relax

 

[ACE1888]

After 26 years since i passed my test, today I've given my car to my Eldest son, leaving me 'car less' for the first time ever, and not because I'm a Rail fan, but I don't really need a car, I walk to work (2mins from my front door to 'clocking in'), basically I live across the road from work, and my eldest (who's 19 and passed his test) can drive himself and my Daughter here, and my youngest boy (he's 10) lives across the way on my estate, basically I won't miss it, and don't have plans to get another one...also my Girlfriend has a car, which helps for a day out for us...Quids in I'd say
Forgot to mention, the Road Tax/MOT were due up at the end of the month!!! More 'cash' saved...deep joy