After the induced panic of yesterday morning today was expected to be a relative oasis of calm – and in hindsight in most respects it was. However I had forgotten that SNCF have a devilish trick up their sleeves. They might call it a through train with a single reporting number and no connections but (and we have experienced this before in Corsica) it means nothing of the sort.
However before we get into that I have a continental breakfast and then have about three hours to kill so I go and sit on Voie H of Clermont-Ferrand station. I swear that at a station which has 9 platforms not a single train moved for at least 45 minutes at one stage during my wait – proving that there is huge capacity which simply does not exist on our railways. I cannot think of a 9 platform station in the UK which would see no movement for nearly an hour. I eat some lunch before my train is announced.
I know the line over the Central Massif (la ligne de l’Aubrac) is electrified so I am a little bemused when a diesel is the nominated train this morning at Clermont-Ferrand. It is heavily loaded (more or less full – partly due to it being the holiday season I suppose) and we proceed to Neussargues. Where we are all dumped out of the train onto the platform to await a train. Our train changes its destination from Beziers to Aurillac (another line which deserves a visit). Then a diesel pootles in from Aurillac, presumably heading for Clermont-Ferrand.
27895 Neussargues 2.8.25
Finally just in time our electric train trundles up the platform and there is a mad rush to the few doors. We scramble onboard, after just about everyone else gets off (because they do not want to make a return journey). Our nice electric surges off up-hill and I assume that the two diesel trains then head off to their destinations. Oddly the guard we had from Clermont-Ferrand remains with us for a large part of the journey. After checking my ticket earlier she and another passenger ensured I understood the need to change train at Neussargues – although of course it is theoretically a “through” train.
This line is known as either La Ligne d’Aubrac or La Ligne des Causses and the point of this trip is the scenic outlook. From Clermont-Ferrand to Neussargues it is mainly heavily wooded with river crossings passed far too rapidly to capture. Climbing to Neussargues my ears might have popped once but leaving the latter I think they then popped twice in rapid succession. The only seat I could find is facing backwards on the right side of the train and certainly for the hour after the change of train the wonderful landscapes are on the other side of the train. So I might have to go this way again. There are a couple of branch lines which deserve a visit in my view.
There are a number of highlights on the trip. Viaduc de Garabit was designed by Eiffel – but is not really visible from the train and not from the seat I had. A little later we pass close to Roquefort but bringing cheese back from France is not allowed at present. Finally we pass under the Millau viaduct which is an architectural wonder. Millau is also notable as a point where many of my fellow travellers leave the train – including the guard. Thereafter the train is largely empty. I suspect that the subsequent stations can be reached more speedily by the less direct routes. I am not sure anyone manages the entire trip with me.
Scenic route 2.8.25
By road it is 165 miles and I assume similar by rail. However it is 6 and a half hours – which is about 24 miles per hour. So it is a long slog. Of course there are numerous stops – but speeds are limited by curvature and gradients. However given that at least 2/3 of it from Clermont-Ferrand to Millau was largely full I am surprised that it is felt one train a day is adequate.
Viaduc de Millau 2.8.25
Some years ago we stayed in Carcassone and drove over the Viaduc de Millau as well as going across countryside to look at it. Today I managed to travel underneath it – the railway was here first. The service then passes through Roquefort although with only a single train a day it is not possible to leave the train and buy some.
Beziers is the end of the line for me and I had already decided that as the hotel is not immediately adjacent to the station that a taxi would be a good idea. As it turns out the town has something of a very large hill. No comments on the hotel as that was clearly a mistake.
Sunset Beziers 2.8.25
I did however get some lovely shots of the sunset after dinner.
Having spent a week on a Seine cruise (covered on the main holiday blog) this is an add-on excursion which is intended to visit some of the scenic French lines. I have about a 20 minute walk first – because the adjacent Ligne C station is closed for summer engineering works. On my walk I note a small siding where a freight is loading or unloading by crane – almost in the centre of Paris – it is a different world!
First panic of the day comes when I have to grapple with Navigo (the ticket system) at Balard, the next nearest Metro station, which is at one end of Ligne 8. With a case in front of me to push through I miss the green go signal and cannot then get through the gates as it believes I am already the other side of the gate at this station. I eventually cheat by following a family through a wider gate I should have used in the first place. At La Motte Picquet Grenelle station I change trains and lignes and at this point I do wonder if I am trying to do too much. If they have lifts or escalators in France they cannot be bothered to tell travellers and getting up to Ligne 6 proves a challenge with a heavy case. Once there I deliberately choose to travel in the wrong direction as this line crosses the Seine adjacent to the Eiffel Tower. Much of Ligne 6 is above ground allowing views of parts of Paris from above.
26034 Paris Bercy 1.8.25
Changing platforms and reversing direction at Trocadero proves to be another weightlifting challenge. I had dressed for the initial damp weather seen outside the boat earlier. However the sun is now out and the temperature is rising, particularly under a lightweight rain proof coat! In this direction Ligne 6 crosses the Seine twice before I alight at Bercy. Emerging from the Metro the main station is invisible – although it should be in front of me – pavement works completely block my view of the station entrance. Once in the station I have an hour to wait and I eventually find a seat and buy lunch before the train is announced. Judging by the descending horde it will run full.
Loco hauled we wind through the Paris suburbs initially alongside the TGV lines from Gare de Lyon and soon we are progressing at a decent speed. I get the iPad and phone connected to the on board wifi. Accepting the defaults on the iPad gives me a map of our route and when updated shows the current train location. Our train runs quite a bit of the journey at 120mph according to the speedometer on my phone.
A ticket check is satisfied by my seat reservation as at this point I have not worked out how to get the barcode of the ticket to appear on the phone within the Interrail app. Later I do find out how to do it and I am a little surprised it was not requested. However it should be a single tap (current journey or similar) and should be stored on the phone (see Sunday).
It is around 215 miles to Clermont-Ferrand taking 3.5 hours implying an average of just over 60mph. We pass towns and farms – primarily a lot of dairy farming country – plus the odd sunflower field. There is not that much wine growing along this route – nor that much grain – there has been some but it does appear that most of the local harvest has been completed.
I keep an eye on Jackie’s progress homeward and she is about 30 minutes late into St Pancras. Apparently she had some helpful guidance to platform A where her Thameslink arrived late coinciding with her arrival on the platform. I could see the train recovering time as it heads towards Redhill where she finds the lift doors open in front of her. It is a tight connection and as the lift arrives at the departure platform so does the train and she gets home as planned.
We run slightly late at one point (about 5 minutes) but we are marginally early when we reach Clermont-Ferrand. A lift down to the station subway is welcome – although there is a huge queue and it takes at most three people and cases at once! That takes me down to the underpass and there is an escalator up to road level (I later find that there is also a lift).
Steak frites 1.8.25
My hotel is across the road. Soon booked in and in my room with dinner booked for 7:30 downstairs – a nice steak and chips and a carafe of wine which goes down very well after the busy day.
Notes:
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.
Operations on the Day
After the usual shuffle from Sandhurst into Reading I now know that I have time to buy a ticket at the Excess window and make the connection into the Paddington train. Equally there is time at Liverpool Street to acquire some lunch before settling into the Aventra for trip to Marks Tey.
I have never previously used the Sudbury branch and nor have I previously encountered a class 755 Flirt bi-mode which is operating in diesel mode today. The lines heads largely northwards from Marks Tey to Sudbury mainly along the Stour valley. There has long been a preservation site at Chappel and Wakes Colne with one platform available to Anglia trains and the other used by the heritage railway. It is a pleasant run through the countryside. Sitting in the rear coach leaving either terminus however the short platforms require the passenger to walk forward before being able to disembark at the other terminal.
The power packs are in their own vehicle – but there is a corridor through to enable the other coaches to be accessed (or the exit as I discovered). Having the diesel engines located above the frames means that the adjacent vehicles are noisier – however the benefit is that the units sit lower and boarding is largely flat. They shake and rattle – about the same as a good condition Hampshire unit I would suggest – and other new units (class 196) are no different.
The line is supposedly marketed as the “Gainsborough” line although I do not see much evidence of this on my journey. Historically known as the Stour Valley line it used to run beyond Sudbury to Shelford via Haverhill with the line beyond Sudbury closing in 1967. Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury. Historically for some years the marketing name was “Lovejoy” after the similarly entitled television programme which was filmed around Sudbury.
Once back at Marks Tey it is time to head back – first to Witham and the line to Braintree. As I progress I note that there has been significant new housing just about everywhere expanding the villages and small towns – and the new station of Braintree Freeport for the adjacent shopping village. A second branch covered for the first time. At Witham there is a longer connection and so I have time to find the ticket office (on the bridge) and acquire a ticket for my trip along the branch.
720135 Braintree 30.5.25
The historic route ran from Maldon via Witham and Braintree to Bishops Stortford and I do wonder if these days serving those destinations would be useful – particularly the connection into the West Anglia Main Line. I can see the point of an extension here – although I suspect some of the route has been built over quite a bit remains as pedestrian route.
The services here are not an isolated branch line workings but are to and from London Liverpool Street using class 720 units. The line was converted to electric on 31 October 1977. Braintree Freeport station was opened in 1999 although the adjacent shopping location is no longer known by that name (now Braintree Shopping Village).
That means that I can stay on the train on return to Shenfield for the last trip today. I travelled to Southend Victoria some time in the late 1970’s but never took the route from Wickford to Southminster along the Crouch Valley which is what I do today. This was also the riskiest change as the timed connection at Shenfield is a minute. My train arrives slightly early and I had positioned myself in the hope of being close to the stairs to the subway – not quite perfect but close enough and I am at the platform as the train rolls in.
The Wickford – Southminster line was electrified in 1986 so once again is currently operated with Class 720 Aventras. As with the other branches visited today it is largely single track with a passing loop at North Fambridge.
Noticeable from the train today is that a lot of land has been given over to the growing of vines with significant wine production now being derived in the area. This development has been relatively recent I believe.
Historically the line was retained to permit the operation of trains to carry nuclear fuel to and from the transhipment station at Southminster but the traffic has ceased and it looks as if all of the track is completely out of use.
The return journey is via Wickford, Stratford where I join the Elizabeth line where they announce that I should change trains at Whitechapel for Reading – so I leave my train but there are no Reading trains listed so I take the next one to London Paddington just in case there is a problem with services – but about 4 trains later a Reading service turns up and permits a connection into my train home.
Costs / Ticket Checks
After the bargains achieved on some of my earlier expeditions through Advance tickets, rangers and the like everything today was on either Off Peak or Super Off Peak tickets.
Sandhust – Sudbury off peak return: £40.60
Witham – Braintree Super Off Peak Return: £4.95
Shenfield – Southminster Super Off Peak Return: £10.70
A total of £56.25 and 284 miles which is 19.8p per mile – which is one of the highest costs per mile on these trips. Not the best bargain but there was a lot of trundling along the slower branches – I was a little surprised that the mileage total was actually that high.
Ticket checks on Greater Anglia were good – out of Liverpool St and along the Sudbury and Braintree branches. I was unable to buy a ticket before travelling from Shenfield to Southminster and on the return trip to Wickford I thought for a while I was going to get away with free travel – but a ticket check (and an immediate explanation and purchase) from the guard (plus a friendly chat) shortly before arrival at Wickford ensured that there was no free travel today.
Rolling Stock
All the stock on Greater Anglia has been introduced in the last few years and the bi-mode Flirts being used on the branch lines have had a few problems but have displaced older stock which is welcome in itself. This was my first (and quite short) introduction to the bi-mode units – however they are unlikely to be worked that hard. I plan to revisit the Suffolk lines at some point and a longer journey may give a better chance to evaluate them.
Otherwise it was Aventra class 720s which appear to have settled down as workmanlike commuter stock. Obviously they are blessed with 3+2 seating which off peak is not needed but no doubt there are peak services where they are heavily occupied. They also appear to be pretty nippy and able to maintain some timings – quite a few services were able to snip time off the schedule without appearing to be working too hard – so a general timetable improvement may be possible
Summary
One thing which stood out again today was the generally excellent timekeeping – odd minutes here and there but generally things were running and observing the planned times. This is on a pretty busy railway which even off peak has quite a few trains. new stock helps as it should be reliable and on a warm sunny afternoon the weather is not likely to be a contributing problem. However whilst I noted one train not on time whilst at Witham the overall service appeared to be running well.
A good day out even if it was slightly more costly than some of my expeditions.
The Helston Railway is the heritage line sited furthest west in the country. They have now preserved a section of line about 1 1/4 mile long between Prospidnick and Truthall Halt. Services commence at Prospidnick which is a couple of miles from Helston and the line runs towards Helston. The line used to run from the GWR main line Gwinear Road – the station closing with the branch on 5 October 1964. So the line was dormant for a long time.
Prospidnick Halt was bult part of the preservation effort and there is some hope of a small extension a short distance further north at some point in the future. Access to Prospidnick is via Trevarno Farm passing through the farmyard before it opens into a slightly untidy space. The track here has a coach with a booking office and a buffet and the intention is to build a station here adjacent to the parking. At the moment having bought tickets we walk across the viaduct over the road below to Prospidnick platform from where the service train departs.
There is an intermediate station at Trevarno which was the original starting point of the heritage services but now is only a request stop and we did not stop here in either direction, I suspect there is next to no parking but some items of stock are stored here with other items needed for the railway.
Our destination is the aforementioned Truthall Halt which is an exact replica of the original GWR Halt and is 1 3/4 mile from Helston. It originally reopened in 1905 and was reopened in 2017. There have been plans for further extension but these seem unlikely at present – planned to a new terminus closer to Helston but this requires a large viaduct to be restored – some clearance of the track bed has been undertaken.
Andrew Barclay loco 446 Kingswood
Our transport has a diesel engine at the Prospidnick end of two coaches with a driver position at the front of a former DMU vehicle at the Truthall Halt end of the train. It is a very gentle journey through the countryside between the two. There have been a couple of seasons of steam haulage in recent years but for the moment trains are being handled by “Kingswood” an Andrew Barclay locomotive from 1959, works no 446, although I am not sure if it is owned by the railway or not. A suburban coach and the dmu driving trailer make up the consist.
The journey takes about 10 minutes, then 15 minutes to change ends (and we change coach) and then ten minutes or so back. All of the volunteers around are very friendly and there are a few other passengers this morning – although not a large number. Operations are on a limited number of days in the year so we are lucky to have included a bank holiday Monday in our week away to permit travel.
It provides a vision of how preservation worked for a long time – just a short line and a quick hop there and back – even shorter than the early Bluebell I suspect. Modern preservation is hugely business driven simply through size whereas here it feels mainly down to volunteers, although I suspect that it has needed a decent source of money to achieve what is here. It will be interesting to see if the extensions can be achieved and if the steam locomotive overhaul can be completed and returned to service – big challenges for a small railway.
Instead of a railway day out this month I decided to go to the biggest model railway exhibition. This post is going to come across as a complete moan – unfairly I suspect – most of the faults are mine.
It is about 40 years since I went to this main London show. My memory suggested it was held at Alexandra Palace but reading the history I find that it must have been at Wembley where it was held a few times in the 1980s. From where I live Alexandra Palace is hard to access, which is the main reason I have not been. It is about 35 miles – but a two hour car drive or four or five trains to get there – and in the latter case there is still the hill to ascend. So I drive – only to find that the satnav on the car will not fire up when I need it as I progress along the North Circular, not having been this way ever. At about the fourth attempt the satnav finally boots up correctly and I manage to get the destination input. Parts of the North Circular are now restricted to 40mph and once I come off we are only supposed to go at 20mph – has anyone worked out that this increases pollution and causes stress through delays?
And then at one point I realise I have been there before – Muswell Hill where ENOC operated one of the first London franchised bus services whilst I was with them and I visited the Muswell Hill terminus and travelled on the bus. That was also a long time ago!
There are two car parks on the top of the hill on which the Palace sits and one lower down in the park grounds. Inevitably the top car parks full and there are no helpful signs telling those of us arriving to use the car park which you pass on the way up. I wonder what would it take to ensure that people did not have to drive around making the congestion worse through some proper signs and traffic management?
Thankfully there is a shuttle bus from the car park to the steps outside the hall – I am surprised someone has not managed to get it to the door. There are queueing lines not being used – but those arriving have to walk all the way around them – once the queue has gone open them up!
It is clearly busy (mid Saturday morning) and in retrospect the wrong time to arrive – I do not know if it is quieter in the middle of Sunday afternoon but I know this was not the right time.
Once inside the banks of viewers in front of the main layouts mean that getting the opportunity to see (particularly) Bournemouth West and Copenhagen Fields is not possible for me. Other layouts are not so bad and I get a chance to see most of them. Some excellent models, although in one or two cases I am disappointed that there is a lack of movement on the layout – it is something I feel that with an exhibition layout something should be moving. Fawley was notable for some ongoing shunting (Southampton Model Railway Society). Braughing and Standon was a nice looking layout too – only a single line but things were kept moving. In O gauge Hazlecombe had a lot of diesels ticking over – which also adds to the ambient noise.
I commence feeling a little odd and start worrying about food. The deli seems to have no sandwiches available and the queues at all food stands are long and they simply cannot cope with the numbers presenting. By this time I am getting depressed and whilst I manage to acquire a couple of books the crowds do not appear to be thinning.
So if I am going to go again – I need to consider the best time to visit and also be prepared with my own food. I rather think that arriving around 13:30, eating something and then going around the exhibition would mean I was not hindered by my diabetes. Also my left knee was complaining by the time I left – I cannot stand and walk for that length of time.
The final surprise is not that they charge for parking but that the first question asked by the machine is for you to input the time of arrival. I did so honestly but I wonder how many people put in something like 55 minutes earlier so they only pay for an hour (rather than the more typical three or four)?
The plan for today is a relatively simple out and back trip to visit the end of the line (in passenger terms) at Paignton and the physical end of the line at Exmouth as I do not believe I have been to either on a passenger service.
Notes:
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.
Operations on the Day
Today should be straightforward, local train to Reading, fast train to Paignton, local train to Exmouth, reverse back to Exeter St Davids and then a reverse of the outward journey. The aim is to visit Paignton as I am not sure I have been there by train previously, although I have left the station by the Dart Valley Railway a few times, and Exmouth for a definitive first visit.
Sandhurst to Reading runs smoothly and the train is slightly early, having noted that at least temporarily the Happy Christmas bridge has lost the graffiti which has adorned it for many a year. It will be interesting to see what it says tonight.
At Reading we depart on time but then Mr Pete Tong arrives. For reasons not made clear we are making extra stops a Kintbury, Hungerford, Bedway and Pewsey. At Kintbury at least one passenger is not in the right coach to emerge, despite the announcements and we are stuck for five minutes or so. The other additional stops, all of which are of course places which should be passed at speed makes the delay greater. On board the announcements do NOT say why the additional calls are made – apparently a previous service was cancelled – but the last time I sought extra stops on a service it was refused due to “pathing problems”, which of course this service will now be causing – however staff did know at Paddington that the extra stops were being made.
On board the information panels are confusing and conflict with the passenger announcements as it is reporting that the next station will be Westbury as the onboard system does not seem to know about the change in train plan and yet it is also saying that at the next stop there will be limited egress from certain coaches – which at least one person thinks is Westbury because the announcements are simply not good enough. The information panels never show the right next station and yet can advise that the next station has short platforms – this is simply poor. If making extra stops the panels need to be turned off and an announcements saying why they are off – if they cannot show the right information.
Last time I came this way earlier this year the service used the Westbury avoiding line but today we serve the station. The mileages in the Sectional Appendix are odd around here and are worth noting (all still recorded in miles and chains and not metricated):
From Line of Route GW560:
Heywood Jn is 94m 45ch
Westbury North Jn is 95mi 33ch / 109mi 49ch
From Line of Route GW500:
Fairwood Jn 97mi 02ch / 111mi 18ch
In consequence and using the back of envelope (literally) the avoiding line is 2mi 37ch. Using the line through Westbury totals – 2mi 37ch. So the avoiding line is as long as line through the station!
The connecting Weymouth service is then held at Castle Cary (the connection is normally at Westbury) – but again a short platform so people are running through the train to leave – and the slower train in front impedes our recovery time.
We are 15 late into Taunton and there is a delay repayment announcement – so that is positive I suppose. Can we now recover more time as we head westwards? Slight improvement arriving at Exeter St David’s about 14 late but I have only a 16 minute connection at Paignton. If it were not a grey day I would be able to enjoy this picturesque part of the journey alongside the Exe estuary; it is always great to see those on the beach, mainly dog walking as rumble along.
However at Dawlish Warren it gets worse. We are looped to allow another (Penzance) train to pass on the through line and then we pull forward to our stop at Dawlish. Now considerably later we end up in Paignton some 18 late and as we approach the station my planned next train heads out of the station.
Departures from Paignton are half hourly so I wander over the footbridge to take a picture of the incoming train which heads into platform 2 and I join it to await departure back towards Exeter, retracing my earlier steps. Ticket is checked just before we reach Marsh Barton.
At Exeter St Davids the service reverses leaving the former GWR line and taking up the L&SWR line which climbs up to Exeter Central at which point quite a few other passengers leave to access the City Centre. We then swing on to the Avocet line which runs along the other side of the River Exe from the GW main line to the terminus of Exmouth. The view of the Exe estuary is perhaps not quite as good from this side and now getting a little boring as this is my third viewing today! The line is mainly single track with a crossing point at Topsham but enjoys a decent service frequency. We wait slightly at Topsham as the other unit is slightly late.
Exmouth Buffer stops
A ticket check including amazingly a railcard request – perhaps I do not look my age – on the return to Exeter!
The London train is waiting patiently and I had allowed some spare time so am making a connection into my booked train. A late departure due to an engine problem is announced – this line should be electrified – but reportedly resolved by the time we leave. Slightly to my surprise there are refreshments on this service, so getting a coffee prior to departure was unnecessary. Some other operators could learn a lesson – after all this journey is only a couple of hours long!
We seem unable to recover any of the lost time whilst running on diesel and there is no explicit pathing time until just before Westbury – which is only a minute. It will be very tight at Reading – especially as we are over long in the station at Castle Cary where we lose another two minutes. I note that generally approach to stations is often gentle and I suspect the leaf fall season is partially to blame to ensure that stops are made safely.
An annoyance throughout the day is that getting the iPad to connect to the train Wi-Fi reliably seems difficult. The phone (which is much newer) seems to work reasonably well but perhaps the older chips in the iPad are simply not connecting smoothly. I try to upload files from the iPad to Dropbox – but that does not seem to work at all – Google Drive works but uploads the files with the same name which is not overly helpful.
As we head into Reading the guard usefully confirms that my connection home will be departing from Platform 5 – after all it is a legal connection for Reading and in normal circumstances I could make it. However at Reading (reminder brand new station) the relevant up escalator is blocked off and cannot even be used as a stairway – why not? – so it is a long trek and the lift is filling and I just make it. I pound along the bridge and down the escalator then much of the length of platform 7 and I can see the tail lights of my connecting train at the far end of the platform. So much for that connection.
So that will be about 30 minutes late. Except that when the train comes to leave we have no guard as they have not arrived on an incoming service (I know just how they feel) and we depart a couple of minutes late meaning we are around 3 late into Sandhurst so it will be a 30 minutes plus delay repay claim.
Happy Christmas Bridge Sandhurst
Looks like the repainting is making progress.
Costs / Ticket Checks
Today cost more than I would have liked. I did not book the outward Advance ticket early enough to get the cheap prices so the costs added up a bit:
Sandhurst – Reading day return: £4.90
Reading – Exeter St David’s: £35.95
Exeter – Paignton return: £6.75
Exeter – Exmouth return: £4.25
Exeter – Reading: £24.95
Total: £76.80
So this trip is just over 20p / mile which was part subsidised by my birthday present (thank you Katie) and will reduce further once my delay repay claims are authorised. It will depend on how they treat the split tickets as at the point that the two main line tickets ended both were under 15 minutes late (14 late at Exeter, 7 at Reading) but it is the knock on impact of taking a later service which is relevant. I have not claimed for the delays on the trains to and from Exmouth as it is simply too difficult to explain.
Update One of the delay repay claims has been approved with a refund of £13.71 for the delay on the return journey so reducing the cost to £63.09 and the mileage cost to 16.7p per mile.
Rolling Stock
Little variety today with modern 800 units on the main line and class 165/6 units on the branches at both ends. The former are the subject of some comment over ride and they are certainly noisier as they operate on diesel west of Newbury – so the cabin noise is inevitably higher than an HST. Operationally losing time on the outward journey was a fact of life and with speed limits needing to be strictly observed the potential for recovery is close to zero. The lost time generally had little impact on me – apart from getting home later than planned. The microwave saved the day.
Summary
Disappointed by the time keeping. Pleased to find some refreshments available on the return working – not needed but nice to know they are there. Train loadings on the branch lines generally good and providing a solid reliable service for the local residents.
I have previously been advised that T3 563 will be in service today on the Swanage Railway. I first saw this locomotive in (I think) the very early 70’s at Clapham Transport Museum – certainly before I went to University in 1972. A stylish Victorian product by William Adams (built in the long closed Nine Elms locomotive works) most of the class had been withdrawn by 1933 but three survivors soldiered on with 563 being refettled for light steaming duties at the 100th anniversary celebrations at Waterloo Station in 1948.
Then as part of the National Collection the locomotive was loaned for stage productions of “The Railway Children” making it to Canada before return to the UK and a decision by the Science Museum that it could be transferred to the ownership of the Swanage Railway Trust in 2017 after three years of negotiation. Subsequently the locomotive underwent a very full overhaul and rebuilding at the Flour Mill in South Wales and I have made very modest contributions to the work undertaken leading to the locomotive returning to active service in October 2023. I was unable to participate in the launch then and I have been waiting for a date when I am able to travel behind the locomotive.
Use in recent months has allegedly been limited as 563 was unable to leave the Swanage loco shed as the turntable immediately outside the shed had been damaged when being used by a Bulleid Pacific and the turntable needed repairs before it could be crossed. However given the age of the locomotive it cannot be expected to be in regular service compared to more modern locos – and at the moment the Swanage Railway works on a one engine in steam service with the second service being provided by either a DMU or class 33 on a rake of coaches. No doubt the economics limit the use of steam.
Factually I do know that in early 2024 563 caused some lineside fires and a spark arrestor was to be added before it could return to active service – so it may be a combination of reasons has been responsible for it being a rare sight in recent months. Today it is so wet that the chance of a lineside fire even without a spark arrestor must be close to nil!
Operations on the Day
563 at Norden
I join the 10:40 train at Norden (the station closest to Wareham and where there is extensive parking as there is no longer a service to and from Wareham unlike my last [undocumented] visit, aided by the service being 5 minutes or so late as the timing was a bit close!
Swanage Timetable for the day
South of Corfe Castle there is a rising gradient of 1 in 80 heading towards Swanage and the loco briefly loses her footing on the damp rails and slips but it is soon brought under control. The steam service operates between 5 and 10 minutes late for the rest of the day whilst I am travelling and this imposes a similar delay on the diesel service as they cross at Harmans Cross.
At Swanage there is a rapid run around and we head back along the line and with a load of five well occupied coaches the locomotive certainly seems to be able to cope well. We do not get any later – although it is steadily getting wetter. I hop off at Corfe Castle to take some photos and then take the return trip to Swanage where this time I leave the station to go to the nearby overbridge to be able to take some photos as it departs on the 12:40 service. As 563 departs a brake van trip also leaves the other platform which to my mind does not enhance the photographs – but in reality a sunny day is needed for that.
563 leaving Norden
I take the next diesel service to Corfe and await 563 arriving from Swanage for some final photos then take the service to Norden where I leave the train and after some final photos head for home.
Costs / Ticket Checks
£27.50 for the line rover plus £4 for parking – with a need to return to the car to put the ticket in the window. Ticket checked on the first train but no further inspections thereafter.
Rolling Stock
Mark 1s throughout. A number of toilets were out of use – that may have just been my bad luck – the stock on this line has a problem in that they do not have any significant under cover storage. A few years ago there was a plan to provide a facility at the Wytch Farm oil facility at Furzebrook which had closed for rail extraction being replaced by pipelines. However the site is protected by various conservation laws and the planning permission for the site required the removal of the rail facilities when no longer needed and no new permission could be granted to the railway for much needed coach storage (and potentially locomotive works which are currently “off-railway”. So stock maintenance is very difficult for the line.
The last documented trip I made to the Bluebell Railway was some ten years ago at the very start of this record. This time around I was accompanied by my grandson, Max, who has been with me on some other undocumented outings to railways down the years. I did make a brief visit in 2015 but only travelled over part of the line and for once did not feel welcomed as they were unable to easily sell me the right tickets.
The initial plan was to do the entire trip by rail as I did last time – after all if the line runs to East Grinstead then making use of the National Rail connection means no driving. However someone, somewhere has not realised that to do so a decent service is needed. An unlikely two minute connection at Redhill (given the GWR operation to that point) and a rather stupid hourly only service to East Grinstead off-peak giving a very poor connections at both East Croydon and at East Grinstead mean that driving is vastly more attractive – when are the TOCs going to realise that leisure travel means having proper off peak timetables again – after all it now dominates. So we arrive by car at Sheffield Park – just like the vast majority of my other visits over the years
In steam are Sir Archibald Sinclair and Camelot. The first is hauling our 10:30 departure from Sheffield Park which is the Mark I rake. We travel up to East Grinstead and then return to Horsted Keynes. With Max being older (and costing me full fare!!) I can point out the meaning of the gradient posts and the different styles of the stations from the eras they represent as well as the replacement brickwork on platform 5 at Horsted Keynes and the branch to Haywards Heath.
LCDR 114
At Horsted Keynes we cross the platform to where the second rake of much older vehicles is waiting behind Camelot and I choose to travel in LC&DR 114 which is the oldest vehicle running today.
The coach was originally on a six wheel chassis but at present is running on a new four wheel chassis built for its return to operation from a previous life as a cottage in Devon.
73082 Camelot
Sir Archibald Sinclair has only recently returned to the railway’s available roster and makes light work of the trip. Camelot on the lighter set does sound like it is being worked slightly harder and certainly the ride on four wheels is at points rougher than in a bogie carriage.
Being the school holidays the railway has a decent number of travellers but I would say that it could be busier. Max now travels on an adult ticket whilst at least my fare is a member’s fare and we are on rovers which seems to be the norm these days.
Downton
A reminder that the Bluebell is often used for filming – this resides at Horsted Keynes.
32424 Beachy Head
After lunch we go into Steam Works and I can introduce Max to Stepney – closing on 150 years old – and amongst others Birch Grove – a loco I would dearly love to see return to service but accept that it is unlikely in my lifetime now. Outside the shed is new build “Beachy Head” – the Atlantic built around an ex-GN boiler which has taken nearly 40 years to go from a bright idea to a locomotive in service. She formally returned to service a few days after we visited the railway – at this time there was the odd wisp of steam so she was being readied for the big day.
Every so often I go to London – in recent years there seems to have been new infrastructure to visit with trips along the Elizabeth Line, the overground extension to Barking Riverside, underground extension to Nine Elms and the new route through Bank where the narrow platform has been abandoned to enable greater capacity (although with Working From Home it may be many years before it is needed).
Today is a little different and my main aim is to travel on Mail Rail – the remnant of the railway that used to run from Paddington in the West to Whitechapel in the East to enable mail to be moved around without adding to London’s traffic.
Pneumatic Car
Among the exhibits is a remnant of a much earlier pneumatic railway with a car from that line which ran between 1863 and 1874 – although with limited success – which has been found in recent times. A lost railway and one of which I was unaware.
The Mail Rail train completes a loop around the remaining network of lines under Mount Pleasant which was a major sorting office with traffic coming from the connected main line rail companies and then rerouted back to the termini for despatch to their destination. Before my trip I had not found a map of the route (so with thanks to Dave Cross) his blog has a map and I would concur that the trip operated around something that felt like that layout.
Being a single traveller I was given a “compartment” to myself at the very rear of the train so could not see along the line – although being underground there is not a lot to see – but then originally passengers were not carried. The train stops at various platforms to enable videos to be played telling the story of the line and how the postal workers moved the mail around between the trains and conveyor belts to platforms or sorting offices and it was pretty continuous with mail volumes so much higher than current levels.
Obligatory view from Blackfriars over the Thames
Having travelled around the line I walked back to Farringdon and caught a Thameslink to Blackfriars and travelled one stop to Monument. Many, many years ago I walked the warren of passages which link Bank and Monument. However since then the Docklands Light Railway has opened and today I wanted to travel on the latter. It is further than I remember – but that could just be my memory!
The DLR has one entry in PSUL and so although I think I have been that way before I travel to Lewisham from Bank to ensure that I cover the curve concerned.
465008 Lewisham
At Lewisham I walk over the the National Rail station and take up residence at the end of platform 1 so that I can photograph the trains as they pass over the crossovers at that end of the station. This enables me to get a decent selection of side shots of the various types operating on SouthEastern. I am highly conscious that I do not have decent side shots of earlier rolling stock showing the underframes – so although there is far less visible detail these days I now should be able to find an example of just about all classes in the photos – one advantage of digital is that there is minimal cost whilst historically every shutter press had a significant cost.
Finally having upset the station staff by my presence (I was ordered away from the end of the platform) I catch a train into Waterloo East. I believe we run to time but it strikes me as very slow as we trundle into London Bridge. Then the peak timetable only offers a half hourly service to Farnborough – which feels frankly like not enough given the way the car park is filling up these days – it is more occupied than it was before the additional deck was put in place and we had a better service then.
Most of my trips are designed around visiting rail routes not previously covered – which in some ways is true of today. However the main attraction today is that at the end of the week the Tilbury – Gravesend ferry is to be withdrawn – and so a day has been devised around that journey.
Back in the latter half of the seventies I had a week commuting to Southend and thought that I had planned the week to cover all possible routes to and from London to what was then the town of Southend and which now has City status. My records (created years later) show that this may not be the case or that my memory is faulty – so the plan ensures the track is covered.
Notes:
Railmiles excludes bus, water and Pier Railway miles
NRT excludes Jubilee line, water, bus and Pier Railway
As before my thanks to Real Time Trains for the material in the links.
Operations on the Day
Sandhurst – Waterloo
I attempt to buy a ticket from the Guard on the GWR service to Guildford. Their ticket machines only issue floppy paper tickets which do not work on TfL gates so as ever a polite refusal. Luckily because of the appalling GWR timetable I have time to go to the ticket office at Guildford. The continuing problem where by a ticket issued at Guildford station (commencing at Sandhurst) does NOT open the ticket gates at Guildford continues. I am sure this is capable of being fixed but obviously we are on NGAD railway once again. Having re-entered the station we have an on time run to Waterloo.
Jubilee Line
Down into the depths of Waterloo and take the Jubilee line to West Ham where I am regularly advised that the lifts are not functioning. There is time to take some photographs of the stock operating through the station. Not much to say about the Jubilee line apart from it being hard to believe that it simply did not exist when I first came to London. Only the National Rail platforms actually appear to have numbers. Entrance to these platforms is at one end – but c2c prefers to park its outbound shorter trains at the far end of the platforms rather than having a shorter car length stop mid-platform.
West Ham to Grays and thence to Tilbury Town
This route is one of those not shown as having been previously traversed on my records and travelling on it today I admit I have no recollection of it. Along much of the route it is closely tracked by the main line to the Continent – and to show how much it is used only one Javelin set passes by! All that infrastructure and not that many obvious trains! My first train terminates in the bay platform at Grays and there is then a wait for the onward service. This line used to carry a more regular service but that now runs via the line through Ockenden.
This wait is marred by a bunch of young men considering it is their right to abuse the security guard adjacent to the ticket gate stating that one (and maybe more) would be travelling without a ticket and the obviously outnumbered security guard having little choice but to give way. They missed the departure of the train from the bay platform so had to cross over to the far side but the shouting and unpleasant behaviour continued. I journey onward to Grays on a train which has arrived from Chafford Hundreds which I shall visit later.
My ticket says “Tilbury Town or Riverside” – the latter station having closed and vanished in the nineties, with no obvious evidence now remaining that it existed. The line has been replaced by a bus service and there is a group of passengers waiting for the bus – some with cases are obviously going to the International Port adjacent to the ferry terminal from where cruise ships depart. The pier for the ferry to Gravesend is pretty basic in comparison. Whilst Real Time Trains shows departure times for the bus to Riverside and the PA announces where to catch the bus the staff at the station seem unaware of the timetable when asked (by another passenger) and I cannot find a timetable at the bus stop. Not helpful. I do not test my ticket being accepted and instead proffer my bus pass which is accepted without question – or any obvious record.
Tilbury Ferry
Tilbury – Gravesend Ferry
Jetstream Tours are the current ferry operator using “Jacob Marley” a 98 person capacity Class IV vessel of catamaran design and smartly transfers the assembled passengers to Gravesend. This moves us smartly across to Gravesend where I remain on board. The passengers are clearly a mix of locals and those travelling for the last time before the service ends and before long we are on the return journey. Uneventful is the best description. I later find that my bus pass would have been valid so someone has made money as I paid £5.50! Once back on the pier head I take some photographs before heading back to the bus – and despite my extended stay I just make it before it sets off on a grand circular tour of the Tilbury area. Not exactly the most desirable area I have visited recently. I have a long wait at Tilbury Town station once reached so it must be lunchtime.
Tilbury Town – Southend Central
A lightly loaded 357 appears for this service and it is largely a pleasant run, much of it Thameside, as we head east to the second destination of the day. It steadily becomes more prosperous as we head through South Essex. Emerging from the station (gates open – no staff visible) there are signs for the seafront and pier and I avoid the new lifts from 2016 on the downward journey – walking down steps is not difficult. Across the road is my planned destination – the Pier and the railway.
The Southend Pier Railway
The track gauge is 3ft and the pier is 1.25 miles long. Those I can see on the pier itself are well wrapped up – so I am taking a return journey (£4). One of the new battery electric units is in use today, the other one is standing spare. These date from 2021 with one of the 1986 diesel trains stored at the pier end allegedly as a “spare” although it cannot see much use. The 1986 and 2021 sets were all built by Severn Lamb. From 1889 to 1978 it operated as a 3′ 6″ gauge electric railway and was then closed until 1986 when it re-opened with the diesel sets following rebuilding.
There are two platforms at the land end (one housing the spare battery electric unit) and a passing place half way along the pier with two platforms at the sea end (one housing the spare diesel set).
A half hourly service was running on the day of my visit and this seems to apply apart from the busiest days. The journey takes about 8 – 10 minutes and so there is only about 5 minutes before the service returns on the quarter hour.
Southend Central – West Ham
I take the new lifts to the town level before wandering back to the station. It is many years since I last visited Southend and like many seaside towns I do not get the feeling it has improved in the interim. Southend Central station platform roofs look like they need attention and the (now) City looks generally depressed. On my return I need to find my ticket as the gateline is now staffed.
My return train is waiting in the bay platform and it retraces my earlier journey as far as Tilbury Town before taking the line through Chafford Hundreds – opened in May 1995 to serve the extensive local housing and Lakeside shopping centre. It is single track on this section and it is my belief that this is likely to have been my first coverage of the line as it was for a while an Upminster – Grays shuttle, calling at the only station, Ockenden and I do not think it featured in my travels. So new track I believe. In 2022/2023, Chafford Hundred Lakeside had 2,127,970 entries and exits, making it the 222nd most used station in Great Britain. This makes it the busiest single platform station in the UK beating Windsor and Eton Central (1,580,166). With thanks to Railway Data Centre for providing easy access to these numbers.
At West Ham I do not hang around – straight to the Jubilee and onto Waterloo station.
Waterloo – Sandhurst
I just miss the 16:45 departure – I am at the gateline as the train gets the route. So I can snaffle a coffee with the 17:00 is at the adjacent platform and get on board and get comfortable thinking that this last part of the journey will be straightforward and with no worries. Departure time comes and we don’t. The guard comes on the PA. Apparently a member of train crew – namely himself – was on the wrong platform. So a minor mistake is likely to ruin today’s excellent timekeeping.
When we do get underway it is far from the usual whoosh out of Waterloo and running is sedate for some minutes with further time lost. Once we get out of the canyon of buildings along the line it is possible to get a data signal and so I can check train running – and eventually identify that for some reason the service from Redhill is running late, so unless we lose a lot of time the connection will hold. We recover a little of the time lost and once at Guildford the late running train to Reading is confirmed.
Home is reached ten minutes or so late – but much better than my excursion a couple of months ago.
Costs / Ticket Checks
I was uncertain as to running times for the bus/ferry combination so bought a return ticket to Tilbury (£26.75) and from Tilbury to Southend (£7.65) which would have been cheaper as a single ticket. I could have saved £5.50 on the ferry and the only other item was £4 (concession) on the Pier Railway. The rail expenditure was therefore 18.9p per mile – not quite as cheap as other trips.
The only attempt at a ticket check was on the first train where I stopped the guard to try and buy a ticket – he was not seriously checking tickets. Gates at Southend were open on arrival. At Tilbury Town the gateline was working as it was at Waterloo. Only Guildford station gates refused to work for the ticket and this is a long standing nuisance.
Rolling Stock
165 on GWR service, 444 on Portsmouth line, 357 on the c2c services. 720s were seen on the c2c lines but none presented for travel on the designated services. The 357 fleet started entering service between 1999 and 2002 so most of them are in good condition. The 357 are part of the Electrostar fleet and so comparable to similar units elsewhere on the network. Nothing unusual.
Summary
The day worked well – all objectives achieved and return home almost on time without serious concerns.
