How difficult is it to arrive or leave at all timetabled platforms. 5 year project to achieve this.

[All platforms]

I am keeping it very simple - arrive or depart from each station. What I try to do (within limits) is walk between stations so that I get to explore some of the surrounding area. Works well in London, perhaps not so feasible in the Highlands.

First 2 weeks in January are looking good for some PSUl ticking off - Landor St avoider, Perry Bar east curve, Hull trains via the MML amongst others.

That is how i started out - at the planning stage anyway. I scoped out a few of the really awkward lines like the Heart of Wales and the Esk Valley line into Whitby very early on, as these need a fair bit of planning to do even vaguely effficiently. I quickly decided that a 2 hour walk plus between some stations wasn't what i wanted to do however and changed my mind.

I remember doing a Doctor Days Junction (Bristol avoider) combined with a Westbury avoider early January 2 years ago on an out and back from Patchway to Reading, and i am always on the look out for something similar to do in the cold months of Jan/Feb. Good luck with your PSUL hunting - i particularly enjoyed the Hull Trains diversions which for me included the High Level Goods line at Toton. There is enough near Toton to keep you going for sure.

Good luck in your quest - it takes a bit longer than you might imagine for sure.

 

[All platforms]

Day 312: Sunday 17/12/2023 - Cheshunt - London Day Travelcard - £10.65 - Off-peak. CP Cheshunt £5.00
Total time today 556 mins - time on trains 241 mins and time waiting 315 mins. Stations completed today 4. Total completed 1614. Platforms completed at completed stations 3716.

"Just how much line spaghetti is there at Liverpool Street?"

With the weather in a slightly benevolent mood for the time of year and with yet more unusual track opportunities on offer today, it was no surprise to find myself at Cheshunt once more for a 7am start. I only got on one wrong train today so that's an improvement from before, and it didn't really cost me anything important so i will take that. First off, and the reason i arrived a bit earlier than i really wanted to was i needed to be at Hackney Downs before 7.40am as i wanted to take the only service using Chingford P1 today (other than a start of the day one) as it can be a bit awkward to get some days. All went to plan so my first look at Hackney Downs before arriving on schedule at Chingford P1 and a successful start was achieved. A quick shimmy to Clapton and then St James Street saw me with 3 stations in the bag before 9am. Yay.

Despite quite a few previous visits there was track to tick off too and this also went well, as did the first foray of many today into Liverpool Street, as it was about time i had a serious look at the spaghetti of lines there. Pretty much every visit today saw new platforms or new track in/out of said platforms. With the Suburban lines West of Bethnal Green under an embargo everything was for the most part using the pathing to the platforms to/from the Main Line which offered many variants not routinely seen, though very little appears to be super rare. Also the routing was exclusively via points 2008/2009 where possible and not taking the 2014/2015 points alternative. This is for platforms 5-9 by the way.

Throughout the day i completed the routings i needed for P5 P6 P7 P9 P10 and a bonus P16. P8 saw very little use yesterday and so may be a tricky one for the future - but i haven't looked at this yet. I also have some easy stuff to do from the Electric lines, and some unfinished Suburban line platforms as well. P1 arrivals is maybe the trickiest there, but i haven't investigated this either. Mostly it was a bounce between Liverpool St and Tottenham Hale, which is a surprisingly busy station, and the only real waits were here as i waited for a service for a needed platform at Liverpool St.

The new Overground trains were in service yesterday and very nice they were too compared with the outgoing ones. Should have mentioned this earlier..

I also got the curve between Tottenham Hals and Clapton both ways as well as the link line East towards Chingford from Hackney Downs P4. Quite a few bonus crossovers too some of which were not even on my radar today so all in all a fantastic day in East London. The whole reason for going today was that both the Bethnal Green avoiding curves were in use all day and were covered multiple times in daylight. I will still have to return to this part of London at least twice as i am still missing 6 or 7 stations here as well as catching the remaining lines at Liverpool Street. Probably 3 visits thinking about it.

It is doubtful i will be playing away again before Christmas but i do have a few tasty morsels to consider before the New Year - something about more fast platforms South of the river in daylight....

Cheshunt	Depart	7.04​	*****	GE			stations	platforms
Hackney Downs	Arrive	7.25​	P1	GE	wait 15m		completed	completed
Hackney Downs	Depart	7.40​	P2	LO
Chingford	Arrive	7.58​	P1	LO	wait 11m
Chingford	Depart	8.09​	P1	LO			1​	3​
Clapton	Arrive	8.24​	P1	LO	wait 4m
Clapton	Depart	8.28​	P2	LO			1​	2​
St James Street (Walthamstow)	Arrive	8.31​	P2	LO	wait 20m
St James Street (Walthamstow)	Depart	8.51​	P1	LO			1​	2​
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	9.08​	P5	LO	wait 5m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	9.13​	P5	LO
Hackney Downs	Arrive	9.23​	P4	LO	wait 5m
Hackney Downs	Depart	9.28​	P4	LO
Clapton	Arrive	9.30​	P2	LO	wait 10m
Clapton	Depart	9.40​	P1	LO
Hackney Downs	Arrive	9.42​	P1	LO	wait 22m
Hackney Downs	Depart	10.04​	P2	GE
Tottenham Hale	Arrive	10.10​	P4	GE	wait 5m
Tottenham Hale	Depart	10.15​	P3	GE
Stratford	Arrive	10.23​	P11	GE	wait 5m
Stratford	Depart	10.28​	P9	GE
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	10.35​	P15	GE	wait 31m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	11.06​	P15	GE
Stratford	Arrive	11.14​	P10	GE	wait 13m
Stratford	Depart	11.27​	P5	CC
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	11.34​	P16	CC	wait 14m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	11.48​	P10	LO
Hackney Downs	Arrive	11.54​	P2	LO	wait 6m
Hackney Downs	Depart	12.00​	P3	LO			1​	4​
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	12.10​	P10	LO	wait 30m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	12.40​	P6	GE
Tottenham Hale	Arrive	12.53​	P4	GE	wait 14m
Tottenham Hale	Depart	13.07​	P3	GE
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	13.20​	P6	GE	wait 20m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	13.40​	P6	GE
Tottenham Hale	Arrive	13.52​	P4	GE	wait 25m
Tottenham Hale	Depart	14.17​	P3	GE
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	14.30​	P9	GE	wait 25m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	14.55​	P9	GE
Tottenham Hale	Arrive	15.06​	P4	GE	wait 21m
Tottenham Hale	Depart	15.27​	P3	GE
London Liverpool Street	Arrive	15.43​	P7	GE	wait 14m
London Liverpool Street	Depart	15.57​	P7	GE
Cheshunt	Arrive	16.20​	*****	GE

 

[All platforms]

Day 313: Monday 18/12/2023 - Newton-le-Willows to Huddersfield - £25.90 - Anytime Return. CP Newton-le-Willows free.
Total time today 152 mins - time on trains 112 mins and time waiting 40 mins. No new platforms or stations were added today but a bit of track at the ends of patforms at Huddersfield was a bonus

"A most unexpected result"

I have been reviewing the unicorn platforms required on and off and spotted the use of Marsden P3 by a TP service today, although i think it was scheduled to use the loop rather than an official call. RTT was vague on the subject - it didn't show when searching Passenger calls, but showed as a call using an all services search. No matter i would try for the loop as this may be just as rare as the use of P3. It did rely on two TP services actually running, and on time neither of which fills one with confidence. Lets see what happens.

The outward journey was a blur time wise if not speed wise as we just bimbled along arriving 20 mins late and i was pretty much asleep during this anyway. It transpires we were following a slow moving (freight?) train.

However, on arrival at Huddersfield it was clear the service i wanted was also about 20 mins late, this time due to late running engineering works we were advised once actually on the service. No way Jose was it going to use the loop now so i sought some more slumber when we eventually set off. I woke up as we slowed to a crawl and then a stop. I was positioned on the left hand side towards the front and i could see the signal feather was indicating a deviation. Blimey wimey - could we be using the loop in any event. Well, yes it turns out though not to allow another service to pass as originally intended, we just trundled through the loop and out the other side. A most unexpected win. I have absolutely no idea why this heppened. I can speculate of course, but it doesn't matter......

A very last minute decision this one hence the full price ticket, but it was worth it not to fight the M62 rush hour traffic and i was back home by 8.40am. More like this please!

Newton-le-Willows	Depart	5.42​	*****	TP
Huddersfield	Arrive	6.44​	P8	TP	wait 40m
Huddersfield	Depart	7.24​	P1	TP
Newton-le-Willows	Arrive	8.14​	*****	TP

 

[Kite159]

Happy days with getting the loop at Marsden, from my memory banks I've only ever gone into that loop from the Huddersfield end to use P3 (back when the stoppers were Northern and used P3) never carried on westward.

A successful day in London out of Liverpool Street with all the spaghetti of lines

 

[gazr]

There is a day next year when services are booked to use P3, although you need to search for "UPL":

OpenTrainTimes

www.opentraintimes.com

Whether or not this actually happens is anyone's guess. Tempted to try on the day myself.

 

[Turbo004]

Well done on completing all this unusual track recently. You certainly seem to have been busy. I missed you by two hours on Sunday. I was doing Gas Factory Junction to Bow Junction and was at Stratford at about 1pm.

One for the future is Lifford East Junction - Lifford West Junction near Birmingham on New Year's Day. The last time I saw this come up was at least 5 years ago and possibly 10 at least during daylight hours. According to some sources it is showing as in use on 7th January as well but Real Time Trains does not show it in use on this date.

 

[All platforms]

Happy days with getting the loop at Marsden, from my memory banks I've only ever gone into that loop from the Huddersfield end to use P3 (back when the stoppers were Northern and used P3) never carried on westward.

A successful day in London out of Liverpool Street with all the spaghetti of lines

I have gone West before from P3 Marsden back when the Transpennine Ale trail was just getting infamous. The number of revellers queueing for the platform was quite unreal and there were marshalls there to limit numbers getting onto P3. Hmmm this must be the best part of 20 years ago i guess. Never again though. Worst crowding on trains i have ever seen and late in the afternoon it got very rowdy.

There is a day next year when services are booked to use P3, although you need to search for "UPL":

Whether or not this actually happens is anyone's guess. Tempted to try on the day myself.

I will certainly have a look at that tomorrow. There is a signal part way along the platform that has me thinking of how they can use it unless stop and continue Edit: West east so to speak rather than return back towards Huddersfield. Numerous previous scheduling have not yet produced an actual result in the 3 years i have been looking at this. The beauty of this hobby is that the unexpected turns up when least err expected so who knows.

Well done on completing all this unusual track recently. You certainly seem to have been busy. I missed you by two hours on Sunday. I was doing Gas Factory Junction to Bow Junction and was at Stratford at about 1pm.

One for the future is Lifford East Junction - Lifford West Junction near Birmingham on New Year's Day. The last time I saw this come up was at least 5 years ago and possibly 10 at least during daylight hours. According to some sources it is showing as in use on 7th January as well but Real Time Trains does not show it in use on this date.

With all that has been happening during the last 15 months or so the fact i can get out at all is a mystery to me sometimes. If i had a bit more time to plan and think i would put my head above the parapet now and again and try and engage more with all you fine folk, and not just trying to find space to chase the next big thing at (very) short notice.

The Lifford Junctions interest me very much - its a good job its an all day thing and what an interesting route Cross Country are taking. I may consider an extended out and back for this one.

Realtime Trains | 1G03 0955 Nottingham to Birmingham New Street | 07/01/2024

Real-time train running information for 1G03 0955 departure from Nottingham to Birmingham New Street on 07/01/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

I did find this for 7 Jan on a quick search but its the only one i can see on an initial look.

The Jan 1st through Birmingham diversions also appear to be using the track between Landor St Junction and Bordesley Junction which is another stretch i have yet to see on any timetable in my 3 years of doing this. I think this is a must do for me. I better open negotiations now.......

 

[Kite159]

Would imagine you don't need the route taken by the XC services from Reading towards Manchester that day (
Stechford - Aston - Perry Barr - Birmingham New Street)

 

[All platforms]

Would imagine you don't need the route taken by the XC services from Reading towards Manchester that day (
Stechford - Aston - Perry Barr - Birmingham New Street)

Yup, i have done this very route at least once and parts of it multiple times now. I spent a lot of time in Birmingham hoovering up the oddball stuff there so there's only the unicorn stuff left now (apart from a small stretch that will be back in the running once those new stations finally open - Pleck Junction i think?). I often wonder just how much track could get used if there was a will to use it - I am still plowing through the lesser used stuff, so much so that i am sure i sometimes miss some truly oddball opportunities in passenger service.

 

[All platforms]

Day 314: Wednesday 27/12/2023 - Swanley to Farningham Road - £6.40 - Anytime. Swanley London Day Travlecard Zones 1-6 - £10.65 - Off-peak. CP Swanley £7.60
Total time today 439 mins - time on trains 173 mins and time waiting 266 mins. Stations completed today 6. Total completed 1620. Platforms completed at completed stations 3728.

"Overrunning engineering works cause 3 fast platforms to be a bust - or overrunning engineering works cause 3 different fast platforms to pop up out of nowhere"

Its a funny old game this platform and track hunting... You often have to rely on engineering works to throw up some oddball morsel you have been looking for, but by the same token things not going quite to plan can also cause the whole thing to come crashing down around your ears, as was the case today. A ridiculously early start saw me aquaplaning down the M6 courtesy of the latest named storm, all the way through Birminingham before i could see 60mph safely. The fact that i am sourcing new tyres today is pure coincidence. Cough....

I arrived at Swanley in good time however, only to be faced with a blank departure screen and info to the effect that no trains were expected before 11am due to engineering works in the area having overrun. Having paid for the Car Park and with no alternate strategy for the day i reluctantly waited it out and earned myself some sleep in the car as consolation. A rogue London bound train did turn up at 9.05am, but with no London Bridge plan with me i declined. I did use one of my pre-bought tickets to take the first available service to Farningham Road for a quick out and back before the Thameslink services got going. I will be seeking a refund on a couple more tickets i was unable to use however, which were bought in a bid to position myself for a London bound service using the fasts at Bickley and Shortlands, but alas these didn't make it out the gate today. Time for a reordering of the days activities.

I abandoned the middle of the day altogether and decided to concentrate on the one remaining fast platform in use today - namely P2 at Petts Wood so a trip to Bromley South was in order to get an Orpington service there. Services were late and i thought this was the reason the first few had a platform alteration. hmm... i decided to wait for one more before abandoning this idea when i got my lucky break. Due to timings being up the pole, a service got diverted into P1, something i gratefully accepted, and had a trip to Bickley before returning. Imagine my surprise to see P4 there in use for the Orpington services and in quick order i was back at Petts Wood with 2 fasts ticked off. This got me thinking that Shortlands should also be in use which i confirmed on RTT and this was the reason for Petts Wood P2 not being in use. Basically the fasts were a mirror opposite of what i had hoped to do, and a complete bonus. After abandoning Petts Wood for a second time via a bonus crossover into P4 at Orpington it was up to Shortlands to bag that third fast of the day.

This means i have one fast remaining at each of Shortlands, Bickley, Petts Wood, Elmstead Woods and Chislehurst. As i have a habit of saying, these are are hardest to plan for..... Oh and Wandsworth Common is also needed (x2) which is is in the same category. I am starting to think i have broken the back of London now with 100 of 350 stations left to complete and whilst these include most of the terminii, the vast majority are in the very possible to do category. Lets see however - there are still many many visits needed, the first of which will hopefully be a week on Sunday, in a bid to start my 2024 journey from here.

With my focus being on the pesky fasts my original plan was all but abandoned, but i did work out i could still do the Catford line and get back up the road an hour earlier than planned, and with nothing abandoned i couldn't return for i decided to go for this. I have travelled this line before without stopping so the fact i would be doing the last few stations in the dark didn't disappoint too much, although i shall probably include another trip along it at some future time.

The Ravensbourne Chord was used to gain this line so i still have to do the connecting line from the fasts to/from Shortlands, but its not that unusual so no big deal i reckon. Beckenham Hill, Ravensbourne and Catford were all explored in the light with extra supplies gathered at the Sainsburys in Catford before arriving at Bellingham in the gloom. The weather turned against me at Peckham Rye (a convenient turning point) after being more than acceptable given this storm business, and i hunkered down before boarding for my last new station of the day which would be Crofton Park. After a few chunky waits due to delayed services i did my best not to do the same at Crofton Park by scooting over the bridge there from the last carriage before boarding the front carriage on the other platform just as the doors were closing. No idea what the station had to offer therefore (if anything)...

Another turn at Peckham Rye in the squally rain before heading back to Swanley and the long journey home. Thankfully no queues on the M25 and i got back in one go which is not my usual style. This is my last foray in 2023 but i hope to be back out on New Years Day for the Cross Country round the houses affair with the East side of Birmingham New Street still closed. Looking forward to that one.

Swanley	Depart	10.46​	*****	SE			stations	platforms
Farningham Road	Arrive	10.50​	P2	SE	wait 11m		completed	completed
Farningham Road	Depart	11.01​	P1	SE			1​	2​
Swanley	Arrive	11.06​	P3	SE	wait 12m
Swanley	Depart	11.18​	P1	TL
Bromley South	Arrive	11.31​	P1	TL	wait 9m
Bromley South	Depart	11.40​	P2	SE
Petts Wood	Arrive	11.48​	P4	SE	wait 50m
Petts Wood	Depart	12.38​	P1	SE
Bickley	Arrive	12.41​	P1	SE	wait 8m
Bickley	Depart	12.49​	P4	SE
Petts Wood	Arrive	12.54​	P4	SE	wait 9m
Petts Wood	Depart	13.45​	P4	SE
Orpington	Arrive	13.48​	P4	SE	wait 6m
Orpington	Depart	13.54​	P4	SE
Shortlands	Arrive	14.10​	P1	SE	wait 32m
Shortlands	Depart	14.42​	P4	SE
Bromley South	Arrive	14.44​	P4	SE	wait 12m
Bromley South	Depart	14.56​	P1	TL
Beckenham Hill	Arrive	15.03​	P1	TL	wait 12m
Beckenham Hill	Depart	15.15​	P2	TL			1​	2​
Ravensbourne	Arrive	15.17​	P2	TL	wait 16m
Ravensbourne	Depart	15.33​	P1	TL			1​	2​
Catford	Arrive	15.39​	P1	TL	wait 31m
Catford	Depart	16.10​	P2	TL			1​	2​
Bellingham	Arrive	16.11​	P2	TL	wait 20m
Bellingham	Depart	16.31​	P1	TL			1​	2​
Peckham Rye	Arrive	16.42​	P3	TL	wait 19m
Peckham Rye	Depart	17.01​	P4	TL
Crofton Park	Arrive	17.06​	P2	TL	wait 1m
Crofton Park	Depart	17.07​	P1	TL			1​	2​
Peckham Rye	Arrive	17.12​	P3	TL	wait 18m
Peckham Rye	Depart	17.30​	P4	TL
Swanley	Arrive	18.05​	*****	TL

 

[Kite159]

After a bad start sounds like a productive day in South East London

 

[All platforms]

Monday 01/01/2024 - Nottingham to Birmingham New Street - £15.60 - Off-peak Return. CP Nottingham £5.00
Total time today 248 mins - time on trains 188 mins and time waiting 60 mins. No platforms or stations completed today but 2 rarer than PSUL bits of track received attention

"A Happy New Year"

I hope and trust all goes as well this year as this starter for ten outing went. It won't of course, but its a good start. I might have missed it otherwise but Turbo004 kindly pointed out that the Lifford Junctions were being used today (rather extensively it turns out) as the tunnel to the East end of New Street was out of use due to engineering works. There are a few more next Sunday morning too (7th) and i think just a handful on the 14th early morning which includes just the one opportunity for the down curve at 10.09.

This is more like it. Alarm post 6am, a mere 90 minute journey and it was light by the time i arrived in Nottingham. I had decided on here for a number of reasons, but mainly revolving round the notoriously busy XC services and i had a far better chance of a window seat if starting at the start point as it were. Yes i had booked a seat too but of course it was a free for all (both ways) with no tickets on the backs of seats. I also didn't want to do any hanging around today - there will be enough of that in a few weeks time.. So the set to Cardiff rocked up as a 2 car version and would be stopping at a good few points before here and New Street - i think only Attenborough, Peartree and Water Orton were omitted, not that Peartree would ever get a XC stopping there anyway.

My carriage filled up to the point of no windows seats i think prior to reaching New Street so vindicating my decision to start where i did. I was surprised we stopped at Spondon. I remember this being a royal pain to do a couple of years ago with only one very early out and back available as a return option with EM being the TOC doing so. The second bit of rare as hens teeth track today was the link line between St Andrews Junction and Bordesley Junction. Its just a short section but it did get a few heads turning as we didn't turn towards New Street, and completely flummoxed one individual who had already stood up and was gathering belongings in a bid to be the first off, but the detour would take another 30 minutes. It took him half that time before regaining his seat. No such interest as to where the train was going on the return, at least in my section.

Lifford Junctions are a 10mph affair with approx 120 degrees of curve to negotiate ( i haven't looked to see if this right...) and it was good to get something under the belt which is so rarely done. I did see some preparatory groundwork for the new stations on the stretch up to the curve as well but there is a long way to go before we will see them opened given timescales seen elsewhere. As usual the train almost emptied at New Street and it was just a case of waiting for the return.

However, it was late arriving and with the front 2 carriages locked out and everyons crammed into the back one, almost to crush level. Apparently the train had struck something earlier and was the cause of the lateness. It was taken out of service upon arrival and we had to wait for another set to be found and delivered. I didn't see anything too obvious as it rolled past....

One hour later we set off in the new set, happily a 3 Car version and which had room for all. No incidents on the way back and after taking my fill of the new bits of track i promptly fell asleep for the remainder. Not too surprising seeing as i didn't get to my bed till gone 3am given New Years Eve commitments. Not to worry, all is well and thoughts turn to next weekend where i hope to be back in London for a 2 day visit, this time concentrating on rare track such as the Streatham Reversible Fast Spur as well as completing some more Overground stations and revisiting the Caterham line. Monday will be North of the river for a change and a first visit to Marylebone and points up to High Wycombe. This might be a pricy day out - but it has to be done.

One last point i guess. If i had more time today i probably would have spent more time getting more unusual bits of track at the West end of New Street whilst i was in the area but other commitments are just that, other commitments so i will return at some future time to try and tick off the orphaned bits of track that remain in these parts.

Nottingham	Depart	8.39​	*****	XC			stations	platforms
Birmingham New Street	Arrive	10.22​	P12b	XC	wait 60m		completed	completed
Birmingham New Street	Depart	11.22​	P11b	XC
Nottingham	Arrive	12.47​	*****	XC

 

[Kite159]

Well done on getting those rare bits of track into your book

 

[All platforms]

Day 316: Sunday 07/01/2024 - London Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 - £10.00 - Off-peak. Car park Surbiton £6.40
Total time today 770 mins - time on trains 279 mins and time waiting 491 mins. Stations completed today 9. Total completed 1629. Platforms completed at completed stations 3750.

"A little bit of everything - in the cold"

I don't normally do much in January because.. well its a bit cold normally, but with the next 2 weekends possibly not available to me i wanted to push on regardless. The main thrust today was the one off daytime use of the Reversible Spur between the Streatham North/South Junctions in the Down direction. The Up direction gets way more use apparently including today, but for some reason i haven't included this in my itinerary - a rookie mistake i fear.

A customary early start then and an event free trip all the way to Surbiton, chosen so i could make an easy trip to Clapham Junction to connect with the 8.17 Epsom train which was the only use of the Down Spur, apart from a very late example. The normal lines were embargoed at this junction and whilst its always satisfying to do the unusual it was a fleeting distraction in an otherwise packed day. I really wanted to fill in as many track gaps as i could today whilst still making progress in my primary goal of platform visiting, and i think i was pretty successful albeit looking at the waiting time today, what was i thinking by doing this today?

Next up was a promised trip on the Sutton loop in daylight as most stations between there and Wimbledon were done in the dark a few months ago, and i really wanted to have a better overview, and i could then take advantage of one of the few timetabled uses of P7 (Down fast) at Wimbledon, returning to Surbiton via a few bonus crossovers at New Malden and Surbiton itself. Interestingly the fast and slow lines to Surbiton had a 10.12 departure with my initial train crossing to the slows at new Malden ahead of the existing slow line offering. My train landed in P4 and then had some crazy dwell time whilst the slow rolled in on P3 and then left ahead of my original service on its way to Hampton Court via another new crossover which i was pleased to achieve. Hampton Court P2 was my goal and very pleased i was too, to get another terminus station in the completed column. No platform signage at Hampton Court although its probable they were obscured by some dense scaffolding around the station buildings, but i have no way to be sure. I hadn't realised the actual Hampton Court Palace was so near but in reality i only had time to source some victuals from a local garage (M+S branded shop) before the raw wind drove me back on the train to wait it out.

A return to Wimbledon awaited and then a trip to Streatham for the inevitable reverse as i needed Haydons Road for my book and this was the best way to get it along with a bit of track still required. This time i was turning at Tulse Hill where i note i still have quite a bit of trackwork needed there despite quite a few visits to and through the station. My next goal was Norwood Junction and my first use of the Crystal Palace Spur into P6 where i alighted in anticipation of a trip along the slow line to East Croydon, something which i was foiled with for a third time due to the service being 20 mins down and a platform change to P4. Norwood Junction has signage for 7 platforms but the state of track in P7 means that this will need extensive work before it could ever be brough back into use so i have discounted this in my plans. I thought i did read about some possible reinstatement but now can't find the article so perhaps i dreamt it up. P2 is one of those where the line bisects it and P1 and because of the third rail beiong located there it is very unlikely P2 will ever be used/timetabled. I call that a completed station then with other platforms highly likely not to see further use. Tick.

I also see that the track at and adjacent to East Croydon is a mess of spaghetti and i am still missing chunks of track along with a host of crossovers. I do have the majority of them but i feel it would be foolish to expect a completion! That said i did score an unexpected bonus crossover on the delayed Caterham service as it diverted via the South Croydon P5 line. I had a dilemma to unravel. Despite being timetabled as P1 all day, i saw that everything was being put into P2 at Caterham, which i already have. With the 20 minute delay would the service i was on use P1 or P2 with the following service more than likely to use the other. I took a gamble and alighted at Whyteleafe only to see it did use P1. Curses, i will have to return for a third time.... I did however do a linear hop to Whyteleafe South on the fo9llowing service and manage to switch platforms before the original service returned, so i was able to do another short linear hop back to Whyteleafe to pick up my itinerary again. A phew and a curse then....

I had chosen to do this line at this time as i had noted the return up the line was doing another very unusual set of crossovers to gain the P3 line into East Croydon, and thence the Reversible fast up to Norwood Junction again, all of which i needed. Great it worked, and i alighted at Norwood for a tight connection for the Overground service to complete 3 of the 5 remaining overground bits of track/stations. So just as the light was starting to fade it was on to Penge West and then Anerley for the win before heading to Streatham in order to gain an orphaned stretch before heading for West Croydon P1 and my penultimate completed station. Boy it was cold at West Croydon with nowhere to shelter from the raw wind which had been a feature of most of the day, and i was glad i could remain on the train before yet another visit to Norwood Junction for another rare crossover from P6 back to West Croydon. Back ion the cold there i was mulling whether i should just cut and run, but thankfully i decided to tough it out and i was back at Tulse Hill after negotiating the other Crystal Palace Spur.

A final trip to Norwood Junction was my reward and onto one of the very few East Grinstead services that go via P4 at South Croydon with P5 the much preferred option - no idea why.... but i was glad of yet another bit of rare track and a first trip down the line alighting at Riddlesdown which had the feel of a small old fashioned country station despite its location. Quite the ramp down to the main road and under the bridge before the long haul back up and therefore not much waiting on the exposed platform.

It was late and may have missed its slot because it just ambled along all the way to Clapham Junction stopping frequently which meant i missed my intended connection. Hot food was now badly needed and so i forked out a small fortune on a toastie from the Costa outlet on P9/10 to stave off impending frostbite, not that i was exaggerating of course. oh no.....

The final bonus was the first use of P9 and then the fasts all the way to Surbiton with the final final one being the crossover into P3 from the Down Fast.

I was very happy about all the ticks today and whilst i am making great progress with my primary goals i just have to be realistic about the over abundant crossovers that infest London. Still lots of work to do of course but i will still be concentrating my efforts here for a good few weeks yet i guess.

Surbiton	Depart	7.30​	*****	SW			stations	platforms
Clapham Junction	Arrive	7.44​	P10	SW	wait 33m		completed	completed
Clapham Junction	Depart	8.17​	P15	SN
Sutton (Surrey)	Arrive	8.43​	P2	SN	wait 25m
Sutton (Surrey)	Depart	9.08​	P2	TL
Wimbledon	Arrive	9.26​	P9	TL	wait 46m
Wimbledon	Depart	10.12​	P7	SW
Surbiton	Arrive	10.21​	P4	SW	wait 5m
Surbiton	Depart	10.26​	P3	SW
Hampton Court	Arrive	10.34​		SW	wait 32m
Hampton Court	Depart	11.06​		SW			1​	2​
Wimbledon	Arrive	11.25​	P5	SW	wait 16m
Wimbledon	Depart	11.41​	P9	TL
Streatham	Arrive	11.49​	P2	TL	wait 22m
Streatham	Depart	12.11​	P1	TL
Haydons Road	Arrive	12.21​	P2	TL	wait 18m
Haydons Road	Depart	12.39​	P1	TL			1​	2​
Tulse Hill	Arrive	12.51​	P1	TL	wait 24m
Tulse Hill	Depart	13.15​	P4	SN
Norwood Junction	Arrive	13.25​	P6	SN	wait 50m		1​	5​
Norwood Junction	Depart	14.15​	P4	SN
Whyteleafe	Arrive	14.37​	P2	SN	wait 10m
Whyteleafe	Depart	14.47​	P2	SN			1​	2​
Whyteleafe South	Arrive	14.49​	P2	SN	wait 5m
Whyteleafe South	Depart	14.54​	P1	SN			1​	2​
Whyteleafe	Arrive	14.55​	P1	SN	wait 15m
Whyteleafe	Depart	15.10​	P1	SN
Norwood Junction	Arrive	15.32​	P3	SN	wait 6m
Norwood Junction	Depart	15.38​	P1	LO
Penge West	Arrive	15.43​	P1	LO	wait 17m
Penge West	Depart	16.00​	P2	LO			1​	2​
Anerley	Arrive	16.01​	P2	LO	wait 11m
Anerley	Depart	16.12​	P1	LO			1​	2​
Sydenham	Arrive	16.15​	P1	LO	wait 14m
Sydenham	Depart	16.29​	P2	LO
West Croydon	Arrive	16.41​	P1	LO	wait 7m
West Croydon	Depart	16.48​	P1	LO			1​	3​
Norwood Junction	Arrive	16.53​	P1	LO	wait 7m
Norwood Junction	Depart	17.00​	P6	SN
West Croydon	Arrive	17.05​	P4	SN	wait 32m
West Croydon	Depart	17.37​	P3	SN
Tulse Hill	Arrive	17.51​	P3	SN	wait 25m
Tulse Hill	Depart	18.16​	P4	SN
Norwood Junction	Arrive	18.26​	P6	SN	wait 13m
Norwood Junction	Depart	18.39​	P4	TL
East Croydon	Arrive	18.43​	P6	TL	wait 9m
East Croydon	Depart	18.52​	P5	SN
Riddlesdown	Arrive	18.59​	P2	SN	wait 11m
Riddlesdown	Depart	19.10​	P1	SN			1​	2​
Clapham Junction	Arrive	19.34​	P12	SN	wait 38m
Clapham Junction	Depart	20.12​	P9	SN
Surbiton	Arrive	20.20​	*****	SN

 

[Cricketer8for9]

Well done! I was also on the 08:17 from Clapham Jct as I needed the fast spur. Pretty sure I’ve covered most or even all the East Croydon crossovers thanks to 30+ years of travel from South Croydon, Sanderstead and Purley Oaks.

 

[Kite159]

A productive day in London. Although I'm surprised you didn't head out towards Didcot to do the West curve/Foxhall junction reversals as it's quite rare these days (used to be a booked late night XC service which did it (want to say the 21;15 to New Street, which also went via Aston)

Agreed about that cold wind on Sunday, it was a bit chilly

 

[All platforms]

Well done! I was also on the 08:17 from Clapham Jct as I needed the fast spur. Pretty sure I’ve covered most or even all the East Croydon crossovers thanks to 30+ years of travel from South Croydon, Sanderstead and Purley Oaks.

I count around 21 crossovers in the East Croydon vicinity and all but one of them has some sort of timetabling in the next few weeks - so i may be returning before too long as i still have some unfinished basic track and often used crossovers still to get ticked as well. (7 remaining crossovers in total actually). I have no doubt that you must have done pretty much all of them given how these can come in and go out of favour over the years. I am fairly convinced i have done all the Manchester station stuff over the years too, but without having kept a record i have no way of knowing for sure. What a strange hobby this is at times....

 

[All platforms]

A productive day in London. Although I'm surprised you didn't head out towards Didcot to do the West curve/Foxhall junction reversals as it's quite rare these days (used to be a booked late night XC service which did it (want to say the 21;15 to New Street, which also went via Aston)

Agreed about that cold wind on Sunday, it was a bit chilly

I did see it was in use but i have to admit i wasn't aware it was that rare or i may have been tempted. I feel i am still at the "far too much stuff to do" stage and an awful lot of stuff is missed week after week. Darn it!! Oh and it was even colder on the Monday - watch this space....

 

[Kite159]

I did see it was in use but i have to admit i wasn't aware it was that rare or i may have been tempted. I feel i am still at the "far too much stuff to do" stage and an awful lot of stuff is missed week after week. Darn it!! Oh and it was even colder on the Monday - watch this space....

First time I've seen it happen for a while, I last did it on a diverted HST for the Reading remodelling works [I think] when the HST went towards Banbury, reversing there and running into Paddington via the West Ruislip - Greenford line. At least it might be gettable as a PSUL in September if the trial of Bristol - Oxford services gets the go ahead (although you will need to avoid the one which calls at Didcot)

 

[All platforms]

Day 317 - Monday 08/01/2024 - High Wycombe to Denham Golf Club - £5.10 - Anytime Single. Denham Golf Club to Seer Green & Jordans - £3.45 - Anytime Single. Seer Green & Jordans to Sudbury & Harrow Road - £6.25 - Anytime Single. London Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 - £10.00 - off-peak. West Ruislip to High Wycombe - £9.20 - Off-peak Return. High Wycombe to Beaconsfield - £4.85 - Off-peak Return. West Rusilip to High Wycombe - 6.90 - Off-peak Single. CP High Wycombe - £9.50
Total time today 778 mins - time on trains 258 mins and time waiting 520 mins. Stations completed today 8. Total completed 1637. Platforms completed at completed stations 3767.

"Why on earth did i choose to do this today?"

After wintering overnight at High Wycombe after the previous day exertions, it was another early start in freezing conditions as i made a much delayed start on the lower part of the Chilterns Network - I really have been putting this off for months. Essentially this is down to the sheer cost of everything North of West Ruislip and opportunities to do linear hops are confined mainly to the peaks with hourly waits or more between certain stations with skip jumps a feature of the line. That said, i did decide to keep my early morning waits to a minimum - but at the cost of deferring the longer waits to a bit later on.

With the cost of Car Parking and Tickets North of £55 i was determined to see today out despite some challenges with the weather once more - Is this the only thing i talk about some days?

Some wonderfully named stations hereabouts with the win going to Seer Green & Jordans which was my first station stop even before the ticket office was up and running. It was Baltic and with no shelter this was challenge number one and in the dark too. Next up was Gerrards Cross for a very short layover before landing at Denham Golf Club which was deserted. I wonder if the term shack originated here as there is a largish corrugated shack like structure on each platform masquerading as a shelter. I even cut my head open entering one due to the low headroom. Those corrugated bits are sharp! It was little consolation that each shelter had lighting but no actual doorway as such. Both platforms were utilised and a bit of a trek in the dark it was too with me having to go under the road bridge to gain P2.

Back to Gerrards Cross on the first service North and then a longish wait, but at least there was a cafe cum waiting room where i could source another toastie - at least it was warming and at times like these money is no object. There was quite the queue on the London bound platform as i eventually continued North once more and alighted at Seer Green & Jordans, where i was glad to note the ticket office and waiting rooms were both open and a welcome respite.

No such luck at Denham where i was headed next with no waiting room open, but i did wander off the premises as i had spotted a Wenzels (local bakery chain) where i could take my time choosing something warming (again). Too much food consumed today in retrospect, but anything to reward myself for hanging about on windswept stations. Still in linear hop mode i waited it out for the last of the peak interim stoppers and one stopped to West Ruislip where i only had a 24 minute wait for one of the four London bound trains a day calling at Sudbury & Harrow Road, surely the least served station in all of the Metropolis, though i was slightly surprised on alighting there to find two security chaps on the platform, though they quickly disappeared. I would encounter them again in an hours time in the last few minutes before boarding for Marylebone. Meantime i had a good old wander and did find a Tesco Express to keep warm in for 20 minutes (more food also).

I enjoyed the run down to Marylebone, and i will have to return there another time for one last platform and various bits of track as well as the 3 interim stations i wasn't able to manage today. I also have the track to do up to Harrow-on-the-Hill and Rickmansworth station on the Amersham line but with the Underground strike due today which was only called off at the last minute the replacement timetable was still in operation (for the morning at least). This meant that the Underground run stations were not receiving train services either so Amersham and points south as well as South Ruislip on the line i was doing. This was a benefit in retrospect as i got to do both the Ruislip through lines, and with some fine tuning of my Marylebone schedule i was still able to do the platforms i was aiming for.

Once again i am racing ahead of myself... I had a good old explore of Marylebone which has its fair share of outlets (mainly food of course) anbd i even ventured outside for 5 whole minutes on my subsequent visit before the wind changed my mind. I was togged out for all but actual Arctic weather by the way so hat, scarf, thick shirt, hoodie and a waterproof rain jacket (with extra extra hood if required). P3 in, P6 out and a quick trip to see the twin towers err arch at Wembley Stadium, purely for platform stuff at Marylebone so P2 in and P5 out for the second visit. This is where i had an hours wait due to the replacement timetable in force still before returning to Denham before a linear hop to High Wycombe P1 for the win. A second consecutive hours wait then and with no shelter (see above) i decided to go have a look to rate the quaintness factor in the old village. Well, it was edging towards a 10. Take the cars and satellite dishes away and this could be a scene from 100 or even 150 years ago. Lovely stuff and i even resisted the temptation to have a warming err pint in one of the two local hostelries. Not often you see a faded sign proclaiming expertise in Cherry Wood carpentry either...

Wander over, i returned to the station amongst wisps of snow slowly falling, which would persist for pretty much the rest of the day. Thankfully it wouldn't develop and nothing was sticking to the ground. Once at High Wycombe it was a series of shortish waits as i went one stop to Beaconsfield and back before returning to Marylebone (P1 in and out) and another hop to Wembley Stadium before back again at Marylebone (P5 in and out). It was a 4 car on arrival but a 2 car on departure for the kicker of the day - Sudbury & Harrow Road again, but this time in the dark and the snow would be as bad as it would get with the Southbound platform actually being carpeted with the stuff. The Ruislip bound platform must have been in a different time zone or something as that one was barely wet. Weird or what! This wait was the grind of the day, but i did find out why the security guards were there - and would be there until 8pm by the way when the last service of the day would have been. Apparently the "shelter" on the island platform at the head of the stairs down was being used as an impromptu hangout by the local homeless and were scaring some of the passengers - not that there would have been many to scare, and TFL were employing there own scarers err guards as a deterrent. Long shift as they were there all day for 8 services though i did note they had a car to retreat to between calls.

What of the classes that Chilterns run as i must have sampled the majority of them today. Just about the only thing i don't record on my trips is what am i travelling on/in. My book just hasn't the space for the number etc so i never studied this. Accordingly my knowledge of classes is in the poor category but lets have a go. Haha, well Chiltern railways only run 2 of them these days if you exclude the few class 68's in service for the run to Birmingham. So, the majority of the time the Class 165 is the staple you will see and it s all fine and dandy, but i really like the class 168 of which i travelled in 3 or 4 times today and i have to say it may be one of my favourites. Those seats are very comfy for my frame and with some decent legroom for the most part. The 168 for the win basically. What's not to like. None of the services today was full, not even the commute ones, which still kinda surprises me. However, stepping onto the West Ruislip bound train from Sudbury & Harrow Road i entered old school commuter world, albeit just for a couple of stations.

Actually this was a real bonus service for me as South Ruislip was back open again by now and so we did the loop into and out of the station albeit in the dark after using the through line the rest of the day. The final bonus was an unadvertised arrival into P4 at West Ruislip and the crossover to get there of course. Just enough time to walk over the bridge onto P3 for my final station completion of the day and then the final trip, back to High Wycombe. A tough day, but a very satisfying one. The London journey will still continue in the short term, but it is doubtful i can make it out next weekend, which is a shame as i was going to have a crack at the Willesden Junction New Line which is in constant use the whole weekend. Real life of course intervenes at times..... The following Friday there is a one off return service from Wolverhampton to Walsall via Pleck (10.30 out and 10.53 return) which has always eluded me - and in the daylight too. The return interests me the most as i have never seen Pleck used North to South. Yes, i know it will be a common thing once Darlaston etc opens in a year or so, but always more satisfying as a bone fide one off. The Reversible Fast Spur at Streatham is back in use (Up version only) over that weekend so i may include that as part of an itinerary, and then there is the one off use during the week of the Leigham Up Spur, albeit in a post midnight slot (the Down Spur is attainable c 7.50 +8.20 most weekdays too).

There may well be other stuff too but i haven't had opportunity to scope any of these yet, so lets see what happens. Peace..

High Wycombe	Depart	5.31​	*****	CH			stations	platforms
Seer Green & Jordans	Arrive	5.40​	P2	CH	wait 27m		completed	completed
Seer Green & Jordans	Depart	6.07​	P2	CH
Gerrards Cross	Arrive	6.11​	P2	CH	wait 7m
Gerrards Cross	Depart	6.18​	P2	CH
Denham Golf Club	Arrive	6.20​	P1	CH	wait 15m
Denham Golf Club	Depart	6.35​	P2	CH			1​	2​
Gerrards Cross	Arrive	6.38​	P1	CH	wait 50m
Gerrards Cross	Depart	7.28​	P1	CH			1​	2​
Seer Green & Jordans	Arrive	7.33​	P1	CH	wait 26m
Seer Green & Jordans	Depart	7.59​	P2	CH			1​	2​
Denham	Arrive	8.11​	P2	CH	wait 20m
Denham	Depart	8.31​	P2	CH
West Ruislip	Arrive	8.35​	P4	CH	wait 24m
West Ruislip	Depart	8.59​	P4	CH
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Arrive	9.11​	P1	CH	wait 68m
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Depart	10.19​	P1	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	10.34​	P3	CH	wait 6m
London Marylebone	Depart	10.40​	P6	CH
Wembley Stadium	Arrive	10.48​	P2	CH	wait 10m
Wembley Stadium	Depart	10.58​	P1	CH			1​	2​
London Marylebone	Arrive	11.09​	P2	CH	wait 61m
London Marylebone	Depart	12.10​	P5	CH
Denham	Arrive	12.39​	P1	CH	wait 57m
Denham	Depart	13.36​	P1	CH			1​	2​
High Wycombe	Arrive	13.59​	P1	CH	wait 19m
High Wycombe	Depart	14.18​	P1	CH			1​	3​
Beaconsfield	Arrive	14.24​	P1	CH	wait 8m
Beaconsfield	Depart	14.32​	P2	CH			1​	2​
High Wycombe	Arrive	14.37​	P2	CH	wait 7m
High Wycombe	Depart	14.44​	P3	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	15.17​	P1	CH	wait 27m
London Marylebone	Depart	15.44​	P1	CH
Wembley Stadium	Arrive	15.53​	P2	CH	wait 7m
Wembley Stadium	Depart	16.00​	P1	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	16.10​	P5	CH	wait 12m
London Marylebone	Depart	16.22​	P5	CH
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Arrive	16.36​	P2	CH	wait 61m
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Depart	17.37​	P2	CH			1​	2​
West Ruislip	Arrive	17.56​	P4	CH	wait 8m
West Ruislip	Depart	18.04​	P3	CH
High Wycombe	Arrive	18.29​	*****	CH

 

[The exile]

Day 317 - Monday 08/01/2024 - High Wycombe to Denham Golf Club - £5.10 - Anytime Single. Denham Golf Club to Seer Green & Jordans - £3.45 - Anytime Single. Seer Green & Jordans to Sudbury & Harrow Road - £6.25 - Anytime Single. London Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 - £10.00 - off-peak. West Ruislip to High Wycombe - £9.20 - Off-peak Return. High Wycombe to Beaconsfield - £4.85 - Off-peak Return. West Rusilip to High Wycombe - 6.90 - Off-peak Single. CP High Wycombe - £9.50
Total time today 778 mins - time on trains 258 mins and time waiting 520 mins. Stations completed today 8. Total completed 1637. Platforms completed at completed stations 3767.

"Why on earth did i choose to do this today?"

After wintering overnight at High Wycombe after the previous day exertions, it was another early start in freezing conditions as i made a much delayed start on the lower part of the Chilterns Network - I really have been putting this off for months. Essentially this is down to the sheer cost of everything North of West Ruislip and opportunities to do linear hops are confined mainly to the peaks with hourly waits or more between certain stations with skip jumps a feature of the line. That said, i did decide to keep my early morning waits to a minimum - but at the cost of deferring the longer waits to a bit later on.

With the cost of Car Parking and Tickets North of £55 i was determined to see today out despite some challenges with the weather once more - Is this the only thing i talk about some days?

Some wonderfully named stations hereabouts with the win going to Seer Green & Jordans which was my first station stop even before the ticket office was up and running. It was Baltic and with no shelter this was challenge number one and in the dark too. Next up was Gerrards Cross for a very short layover before landing at Denham Golf Club which was deserted. I wonder if the term shack originated here as there is a largish corrugated shack like structure on each platform masquerading as a shelter. I even cut my head open entering one due to the low headroom. Those corrugated bits are sharp! It was little consolation that each shelter had lighting but no actual doorway as such. Both platforms were utilised and a bit of a trek in the dark it was too with me having to go under the road bridge to gain P2.

Back to Gerrards Cross on the first service North and then a longish wait, but at least there was a cafe cum waiting room where i could source another toastie - at least it was warming and at times like these money is no object. There was quite the queue on the London bound platform as i eventually continued North once more and alighted at Seer Green & Jordans, where i was glad to note the ticket office and waiting rooms were both open and a welcome respite.

No such luck at Denham where i was headed next with no waiting room open, but i did wander off the premises as i had spotted a Wenzels (local bakery chain) where i could take my time choosing something warming (again). Too much food consumed today in retrospect, but anything to reward myself for hanging about on windswept stations. Still in linear hop mode i waited it out for the last of the peak interim stoppers and one stopped to West Ruislip where i only had a 24 minute wait for one of the four London bound trains a day calling at Sudbury & Harrow Road, surely the least served station in all of the Metropolis, though i was slightly surprised on alighting there to find two security chaps on the platform, though they quickly disappeared. I would encounter them again in an hours time in the last few minutes before boarding for Marylebone. Meantime i had a good old wander and did find a Tesco Express to keep warm in for 20 minutes (more food also).

I enjoyed the run down to Marylebone, and i will have to return there another time for one last platform and various bits of track as well as the 3 interim stations i wasn't able to manage today. I also have the track to do up to Harrow-on-the-Hill and Rickmansworth station on the Amersham line but with the Underground strike due today which was only called off at the last minute the replacement timetable was still in operation (for the morning at least). This meant that the Underground run stations were not receiving train services either so Amersham and points south as well as South Ruislip on the line i was doing. This was a benefit in retrospect as i got to do both the Ruislip through lines, and with some fine tuning of my Marylebone schedule i was still able to do the platforms i was aiming for.

Once again i am racing ahead of myself... I had a good old explore of Marylebone which has its fair share of outlets (mainly food of course) anbd i even ventured outside for 5 whole minutes on my subsequent visit before the wind changed my mind. I was togged out for all but actual Arctic weather by the way so hat, scarf, thick shirt, hoodie and a waterproof rain jacket (with extra extra hood if required). P3 in, P6 out and a quick trip to see the twin towers err arch at Wembley Stadium, purely for platform stuff at Marylebone so P2 in and P5 out for the second visit. This is where i had an hours wait due to the replacement timetable in force still before returning to Denham before a linear hop to High Wycombe P1 for the win. A second consecutive hours wait then and with no shelter (see above) i decided to go have a look to rate the quaintness factor in the old village. Well, it was edging towards a 10. Take the cars and satellite dishes away and this could be a scene from 100 or even 150 years ago. Lovely stuff and i even resisted the temptation to have a warming err pint in one of the two local hostelries. Not often you see a faded sign proclaiming expertise in Cherry Wood carpentry either...

Wander over, i returned to the station amongst wisps of snow slowly falling, which would persist for pretty much the rest of the day. Thankfully it wouldn't develop and nothing was sticking to the ground. Once at High Wycombe it was a series of shortish waits as i went one stop to Beaconsfield and back before returning to Marylebone (P1 in and out) and another hop to Wembley Stadium before back again at Marylebone (P5 in and out). It was a 4 car on arrival but a 2 car on departure for the kicker of the day - Sudbury & Harrow Road again, but this time in the dark and the snow would be as bad as it would get with the Southbound platform actually being carpeted with the stuff. The Ruislip bound platform must have been in a different time zone or something as that one was barely wet. Weird or what! This wait was the grind of the day, but i did find out why the security guards were there - and would be there until 8pm by the way when the last service of the day would have been. Apparently the "shelter" on the island platform at the head of the stairs down was being used as an impromptu hangout by the local homeless and were scaring some of the passengers - not that there would have been many to scare, and TFL were employing there own scarers err guards as a deterrent. Long shift as they were there all day for 8 services though i did note they had a car to retreat to between calls.

What of the classes that Chilterns run as i must have sampled the majority of them today. Just about the only thing i don't record on my trips is what am i travelling on/in. My book just hasn't the space for the number etc so i never studied this. Accordingly my knowledge of classes is in the poor category but lets have a go. Haha, well Chiltern railways only run 2 of them these days if you exclude the few class 68's in service for the run to Birmingham. So, the majority of the time the Class 165 is the staple you will see and it s all fine and dandy, but i really like the class 168 of which i travelled in 3 or 4 times today and i have to say it may be one of my favourites. Those seats are very comfy for my frame and with some decent legroom for the most part. The 168 for the win basically. What's not to like. None of the services today was full, not even the commute ones, which still kinda surprises me. However, stepping onto the West Ruislip bound train from Sudbury & Harrow Road i entered old school commuter world, albeit just for a couple of stations.

Actually this was a real bonus service for me as South Ruislip was back open again by now and so we did the loop into and out of the station albeit in the dark after using the through line the rest of the day. The final bonus was an unadvertised arrival into P4 at West Ruislip and the crossover to get there of course. Just enough time to walk over the bridge onto P3 for my final station completion of the day and then the final trip, back to High Wycombe. A tough day, but a very satisfying one. The London journey will still continue in the short term, but it is doubtful i can make it out next weekend, which is a shame as i was going to have a crack at the Willesden Junction New Line which is in constant use the whole weekend. Real life of course intervenes at times..... The following Friday there is a one off return service from Wolverhampton to Walsall via Pleck (10.30 out and 10.53 return) which has always eluded me - and in the daylight too. The return interests me the most as i have never seen Pleck used North to South. Yes, i know it will be a common thing once Darlaston etc opens in a year or so, but always more satisfying as a bone fide one off. The Reversible Fast Spur at Streatham is back in use (Up version only) over that weekend so i may include that as part of an itinerary, and then there is the one off use during the week of the Leigham Up Spur, albeit in a post midnight slot (the Down Spur is attainable c 7.50 +8.20 most weekdays too).

There may well be other stuff too but i haven't had opportunity to scope any of these yet, so lets see what happens. Peace..

High Wycombe	Depart	5.31​	*****	CH			stations	platforms
Seer Green & Jordans	Arrive	5.40​	P2	CH	wait 27m		completed	completed
Seer Green & Jordans	Depart	6.07​	P2	CH
Gerrards Cross	Arrive	6.11​	P2	CH	wait 7m
Gerrards Cross	Depart	6.18​	P2	CH
Denham Golf Club	Arrive	6.20​	P1	CH	wait 15m
Denham Golf Club	Depart	6.35​	P2	CH			1​	2​
Gerrards Cross	Arrive	6.38​	P1	CH	wait 50m
Gerrards Cross	Depart	7.28​	P1	CH			1​	2​
Seer Green & Jordans	Arrive	7.33​	P1	CH	wait 26m
Seer Green & Jordans	Depart	7.59​	P2	CH			1​	2​
Denham	Arrive	8.11​	P2	CH	wait 20m
Denham	Depart	8.31​	P2	CH
West Ruislip	Arrive	8.35​	P4	CH	wait 24m
West Ruislip	Depart	8.59​	P4	CH
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Arrive	9.11​	P1	CH	wait 68m
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Depart	10.19​	P1	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	10.34​	P3	CH	wait 6m
London Marylebone	Depart	10.40​	P6	CH
Wembley Stadium	Arrive	10.48​	P2	CH	wait 10m
Wembley Stadium	Depart	10.58​	P1	CH			1​	2​
London Marylebone	Arrive	11.09​	P2	CH	wait 61m
London Marylebone	Depart	12.10​	P5	CH
Denham	Arrive	12.39​	P1	CH	wait 57m
Denham	Depart	13.36​	P1	CH			1​	2​
High Wycombe	Arrive	13.59​	P1	CH	wait 19m
High Wycombe	Depart	14.18​	P1	CH			1​	3​
Beaconsfield	Arrive	14.24​	P1	CH	wait 8m
Beaconsfield	Depart	14.32​	P2	CH			1​	2​
High Wycombe	Arrive	14.37​	P2	CH	wait 7m
High Wycombe	Depart	14.44​	P3	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	15.17​	P1	CH	wait 27m
London Marylebone	Depart	15.44​	P1	CH
Wembley Stadium	Arrive	15.53​	P2	CH	wait 7m
Wembley Stadium	Depart	16.00​	P1	CH
London Marylebone	Arrive	16.10​	P5	CH	wait 12m
London Marylebone	Depart	16.22​	P5	CH
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Arrive	16.36​	P2	CH	wait 61m
Sudbury & Harrow Road	Depart	17.37​	P2	CH			1​	2​
West Ruislip	Arrive	17.56​	P4	CH	wait 8m
West Ruislip	Depart	18.04​	P3	CH
High Wycombe	Arrive	18.29​	*****	CH

The “shacks” at Denham GC are (some of?) the last mainline survivors of the GWR “pagodas”.

 

[Kite159]

A productive day on the southern section of the Chiltern line.

That one off journey from Wolverhampton to Walsall direct seems strange, I wonder if it's something to do with the new trains.

 

[All platforms]

A productive day on the southern section of the Chiltern line.

That one off journey from Wolverhampton to Walsall direct seems strange, I wonder if it's something to do with the new trains.

Its certainly an oddball! These one offs are usually start/end of day affairs too so its so unusual to see a mid morning offering like this. Its uncertain if i can do this due to another short term commitment that day (time unknown so it may be possible still). I am not too worried however as i can just wait until it becomes a normal routing.

The “shacks” at Denham GC are (some of?) the last mainline survivors of the GWR “pagodas”.

I haven't come across these before so i looked them up. Apparently Denham GC have the last three remaining examples - though i only saw the main waiting ones, which are nowhere identical either. The other one is used as a winter store apparently.

 

[All platforms]

First time I've seen it happen for a while, I last did it on a diverted HST for the Reading remodelling works [I think] when the HST went towards Banbury, reversing there and running into Paddington via the West Ruislip - Greenford line. At least it might be gettable as a PSUL in September if the trial of Bristol - Oxford services gets the go ahead (although you will need to avoid the one which calls at Didcot)

Even more annoying is that the reversal/curve is in use this Sunday too, but as i write this its only a 1 in 5 chance i can get out for the day.

 

[The exile]

I haven't come across these before so i looked them up. Apparently Denham GC have the last three remaining examples - though i only saw the main waiting ones, which are nowhere identical either. The other one is used as a winter store apparently.

I imagine that means that when rust finally wins the battle, it'll have to get brand new ones...

 

[Turbo004]

Sunnyside Junction - Whifflet South Junction is in use by the Fort William sleeper in both directions from January 29th to February 1st. I can't say I remember this line in use by a scheduled passenger train before. If you can combine it with some business in Glasgow might be a good one to go for! Unfortunately it's too short notice for me and I have work and other things on.

 

[Kite159]

Sunnyside Junction - Whifflet South Junction is in use by the Fort William sleeper in both directions from January 29th to February 1st. I can't say I remember this line in use by a scheduled passenger train before. If you can combine it with some business in Glasgow might be a good one to go for! Unfortunately it's too short notice for me and I have work and other things on.

And also the link line from Holytown towards the Whifflet direction (which normally sees a couple of TPE services using it)

 

[All platforms]

Sunnyside Junction - Whifflet South Junction is in use by the Fort William sleeper in both directions from January 29th to February 1st. I can't say I remember this line in use by a scheduled passenger train before. If you can combine it with some business in Glasgow might be a good one to go for! Unfortunately it's too short notice for me and I have work and other things on.

And also the link line from Holytown towards the Whifflet direction (which normally sees a couple of TPE services using it)

I was very close to pulling the trigger on another London adjacent Premier Inn when i read about Sunnyside. Elsewhere on the forums comes the suggestion it was last used in 1999 so it becomes a must have target i fear. Unfortunately all the cheap seats have been taken already but as i have always said i would do the sleeper properly i swivelled from London to Glasgow pretty sharpish and took the plunge. It also give a very full day in Glasgow to undertake some Roundabout based stations. If this works i may consider Crewe/Glasgow on the seats as it looks as cheap as Avanti/TPE and a full day into the bargain. Hurrah.

Yes the bonus track at Mossend is a small cherry on top, but i will see if this is also doable in the day at some stage. You never know.

 

[All platforms]

Day 318: Saturday 20/01/2024 - Egham to Feltham - £4.20 - off-peak return. London Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 - £10.00 - Off-peak. CP Egham £4.20.
Total time today 571 mins - time on trains 222 mins and time waiting 349 mins. Stations completed today 11. Total completed 1649. Platforms completed at completed stations 3792.

"a STP visit to SouthWesternRailways land"

With the news i wasn't required on Saturday received late Friday i quickly threw something together for my own STP visit to SW London and came up with this itinerary which i did pretty much follow even though i could have tweaked it here and there i realised whilst out and about. I couldn't risk going off piste as it were with no backup plan even hinted at. Even so i am very pleased with 11 more stations converted to completed status, a first (if fleeting) visit to Waterloo and a few interesting bits of track not often in use.

I also wanted to nibble away at the stations just outside the London boundary and so ended up with a pre 6am start in Egham and a weekend CP price of £4.20 which i though was fairly reasonable for these parts. It wasn't freezing - tick, it wasn't windy - tick, and it wasn't raining - another tick, but even so the linear hops to Feltham via Staines and Ashford (Surrey) were not the funnest start to a trip with no shelter to speak of at any of these places on all the platform 1's i would be inhabiting for the first hour. Suitably togged until i boarded the Waterloo service at Feltham, and i quickly warmed up and onto new territiry for me once we were past Clapham Junction. Meantime we reversed at Twickenham P4 and used the crossover to gain the Kingston line as diversions were in place all over the place today with the lines east of Barnes embargoed as were the higher numbered lines into/out of Waterloo. A shuttle service between Barnes and Kingston provided entertainment for the locals who were en masse puzzled as to how and why they ended up in the bay at Kingston. I digress.

Wishing to tick every blade of grass i travel on so to speak i was reasonably vigilant and so didn't miss the crossover after Wimbledon from the US to the UF where we stayed all the way to the last minute as we approached Waterloo and made our way into P5. the P17 (edit: i meant the P7) line at Clapham junction was also a tick for me... My return had originally also been slated for P5 but a leisurely walk round to P3 did the trick for this amendment and we were off back again with very little delay. The DS was in play all the way to New Malden where i noted that the jungle on the disused platforms had been scythed away since my last visit and i could actually see the other main platform now.

Use of the diveunder to gain the Kingston line but i would be alighting at Fulwell as this was the Shepperton train, as i needed both Fulwell and Hampton here, which i did linearly. With a half hour service this took up a good 90 minutes and my longest waits of the day. Rather later than usual for me i took advantage to go seek some sustenance at Fulwell which nicely ate up (see what i did there) most of the wait time and kept me occupied at Hampton as i tucked in.

After completing the Shepperton line i returned back to Hampton Wick for a brief wait for the Kingston shuttle and a trip into the bay at Kingston which only normally sees use on a Sunday. Back to Hampton Wick to complete the station before heading for Norbiton which always sounds made up to me (i guess Surbiton is too but you never hear about Norbiton).

I am certainly not a fan of the Class 455's of which i rode on far too many today. A back to basics Metro service with no facilities essentially. I will take the Class 450 any day over the 455 and i am sure most folk would be of the same opinion. Not a fan of the 3+2 seating arrnagement however - would rather stick my head in an oven than squeeze onto that middle unoccupied seat.

Whinge over, it was time to return to a station i have started from previously so still needed to complete under my rules. Whitton was that station and i spent the half hour there trawling the high street and gawping at the cost of property. What a country bumpkin i felt wondering how anyone could contemplate spending a cool half million on the most boring small property imaginable. I do feel for anyone approaching the property ladder there, and its probably much worse elsewhere in the Capital.

Time for a return to Twickenham before swapping platforms for the shuittle to Barnes going from P3. I did entertain some hope that P2 at St Margarets would be in play today but that fanciful notion was dashed as we used P3. P2 at Barnes was our destination which i have previously obtained, but what i had not obtained was the crossover from P2 on the return to gain the Down Fast/Main. Nice one. With St Margarets not co-operating i decided to take out the 2 interim stations, so North Sheen and Mortlake as for some reason these were still outstanding. Not in the slightest way are they difficult or awkward so it must just have been a time thing on my last 2 visits through here. My last bonus for the day was the extra crossover from P3 at Twickenham as i made my back to Egham but stopping off at P2 Feltham, Ashford (Surrey) and Staines to bag my last 3 stations of the day.

Very happy with today and the just about tolerable weather given the time of year. Lots of waits were inevitable hence my decision to break ranks and make the journey into Waterloo for the first time. It is a certainty i will have a full day getting dizzy between Clapham and Waterloo at some future stage. I may cast my net a bit wider looking ahead given the news that the Travelcard is safe for now, a fact that has only recently come to my attention. I must have been sleeping under a rock somewhere when that news broke in November. Lets be honest though, i habitually choose the unusual and try and craft something around that so i am sure i will be back in the Capital very shortly - just not every week.... probably. I do have targets still but planning more than a day or two in advance is still tricky, but with a little luck this may ease before long. I have taken a calculated risk that the use of the sleeper both ways to do the Sunnyside Line 29th and 30th Jan can be done, and so have booked passage with a bonus full day in Glasgow between times. This would be a real kicker if i had to cancel. Ok that's enough for now - i am not planning to do anything else before then as my pennies are being squeezed by that trip.

Egham	Depart	6.53​	*****	SW			stations	platforms
Staines	Arrive	6.58​	P1	SW	wait 16m		completed	completed
Staines	Depart	7.14​	P1	SW
Ashford (Surrey)	Arrive	7.17​	P1	SW	wait 21m
Ashford (Surrey)	Depart	7.38​	P1	SW
Feltham	Arrive	7.48​	P1	SW	wait 17m
Feltham	Depart	8.05​	P1	SW
London Waterloo	Arrive	9.00​	P5	SW	wait 11m
London Waterloo	Depart	9.11​	P3	SW
Fulwell	Arrive	9.51​	P2	SW	wait 31m
Fulwell	Depart	10.22​	P2	SW
Hampton	Arrive	10.25​		SW	wait 28m
Hampton	Depart	10.53​		SW			1​	2​
Fulwell	Arrive	10.56​	P1	SW	wait 28m
Fulwell	Depart	11.24​	P1	SW			1​	2​
Hampton Wick	Arrive	11.31​	P1	SW	wait 10m
Hampton Wick	Depart	11.41​	P1	SW
Kingston	Arrive	11.43​	P1	SW	wait 18m
Kingston	Depart	12.01​	P1	SW			1​	3​
Hampton Wick	Arrive	12.03​	P2	SW	wait 17m
Hampton Wick	Depart	12.20​	P1	SW			1​	2​
Norbiton	Arrive	12.24​	P1	SW	wait 31m
Norbiton	Depart	12.55​	P2	SW			1​	2​
Whitton	Arrive	13.25​		SW	wait 32m
Whitton	Depart	13.57​		SW			1​	2​
Twickenham	Arrive	14.00​	P4	SW	wait 13m
Twickenham	Depart	14.13​	P3	SW
Barnes	Arrive	14.37​	P2	SW	wait 6m
Barnes	Depart	14.43​	P2	SW
North Sheen	Arrive	14.49​	P2	SW	wait 3m
North Sheen	Depart	14.52​	P1	SW			1​	2​
Mortlake	Arrive	14.53​	P1	SW	wait 24m
Mortlake	Depart	15.17​	P2	SW			1​	2​
Twickenham	Arrive	15.26​	P5	SW	wait 9m
Twickenham	Depart	15.35​	P3	SW
Feltham	Arrive	15.40​	P2	SW	wait 21m
Feltham	Depart	16.01​	P2	SW			1​	2​
Ashford (Surrey)	Arrive	16.05​	P2	SW	wait 6m
Ashford (Surrey)	Depart	16.11​	P2	SW			1​	2​
Staines	Arrive	16.13​	P2	SW	wait 7m
Staines	Depart	16.20​	P2	SW			1​	2​
Egham	Arrive	16.24​	*****	SW

 

[Kite159]

Sounds like a productive day in SWR land. Good luck with the sleeper detours as well