South West Trains Day Out - 27/09/12
Despite various trips down south over the past couple of years, I've never managed to cover any of the South West Trains network. In fact, I'd only ever scratched off the Hampton Court branch and that was after a river trip up the Thames from Central London. I decided it was high time I did a bit of exploring on the SWT network, and as I'm now working for South West Trains' sister company up north I had the means to do so.
Instead of the more usual 0720 from Lincoln to King's Cross, I was starting my day on 1B21, the 0704 East Midlands Trains service from Lincoln to St Pancras. Not many people use this as a through train, due to it taking three hours, but it's a useful way of getting to London for staff (even if the journey does drag). Unusually, instead of the usual 5-car Meridian the train was formed of ex-Hull Trains 222103 and at Nottingham, we joined another 4-car unit meaning we were running as an 8-car formation instead of the usual 9-car. Not much of note happened on the journey, I'd treated myself to a First Class upgrade (we get two per year) and was enjoying the space to spread myself out and relax before getting into the days bashing.
At St Pancras I headed through to the Underground and jumped on the Piccadilly to Leicester Square, then the Northern through to Waterloo. I'd formulated a basic plan for the day, but had decided to adopt a 'take it as it comes' approach, and almost immediately changed plans and decided to take a Portsmouth stopper as far as Woking, departing at 1045. This produced 444022, a guaranteed win as I'd never ticked off any South West Trains Desiros of either ilk. Unusually for a London commuter train, the 444 was very clean and whisked me smoothly to Woking in what seemed like no time at all. A chat with the guard revealed I could have also changed at Haslemere and ticket that station off in the Baker, but in the end I went for the 'safe' option at Woking.
It wasn't a long wait at Woking, but it did become apparent that there was disruption in the Salisbury area due to signalling issues and so a decision was made to avoid trains heading from that area. My second ever 444, 444011 (so only half as good!) soon appeared on the horizon forming at Portsmouth Harbour service - and I was joining it as far as Fratton. The journey flew by through the pleasant countryside and too soon I was back on the familiar track of the West Coastway that I'd been introduced to by a Southern DaySave earlier this year. Arrival into Fratton was at 1226, allowing a leisurely walk over the bridge to wait for the 1242 to Southampton Central. I could have made this connection at Portsmouth & Southsea, but Fratton struck me as the more interesting option.
This proved a good choice, as I was able to observe a Southern 377 and 313 heading for Brighton and the Harbour respectively, along with a First Great Western 158 bound for Cardiff Central. After these had depared, and I'd been mobbed by a group of pigeons keen to eat some pastry discarded on the platform by another passenger - 450087 rolled in with the 1242 to Southampton Central. My first 450 was also pleasantly surprising, though it was noticeable how narrow the 3+2 seating is on these trains (like the 350/2s) - especially once we were joined by a group of school kids who for some reason the school had decided to let out at lunchtime. Some of these kids were actively fare evading and boasting about it, but by the time the guard appeared they'd already left the train.
We arrived into Southampton Central at 1338 with the first 450 and the final stretch of the West Coastway completed. My next train departed from the opposite platforms, but the bizarre CIS system made it difficult to work this out - I can't really explain now why I got so confused but it had a surprisingly limited range of trains displayed. The next service was a Waterloo stopper, formed of 450007 which I was taking as far as Baskingstoke - there was also a plain clothed revenue protection team onboard who managed to catch out a few ticketless travellers. I'm not sure of the exact situation on SWT, but these people were sent to the guard to purchase tickets rather than being penalty fared (is it only suburban services where PFs are given out?).
At Baskingstoke it was only a quick change onto another Desiro, this time 450097 on the 1454 to Waterloo, which I was joining as far as Woking. Another quiet journey was again interrupted by some school kids - though luckily they were mostly of sixth form age in my carriage and had tickets. At least this time they were around at a more usual time. As we rolled into Woking an Alton service was just being announced so I made a quick dash across the footbridge onto 450100 forming a 12-car service. Due to the number of short platforms on the Alton branch the capacity must really be needed for the headache the 12-car running causes - after a crew change I got chatting with the new guard who shared similar sentiments and advised me to move down the train a little more. This mean't I finished the journey travelling in 450116 - I didn't manage to log the number of the leading unit.
Alton seems a very pleasant station and some volunteers from the Mid Hants had a steam crane fired up in the sidings putting a wonderful smell of steam into the air. I couldn't spend too long though, as I was joining 450026+450086 for the short hop back to Aldershot on the 16:15. This journey passed quickly, and this is the first time I've walked into the carriage on a train and found someone playing a guitar and singing to themselves. At Aldershot, it was through the underpass and onto the 1638 Guildford service formed of 450127 - my final Desiro of the day. This journey was uneventful and passed quickly and I was soon presented with a huge choice of services at Guildford.
In the end, I decided to join 455732+911 on the 1708 to Waterloo via Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon (I was sold on the name!). It had been a long time since I'd last been on a 455, but like the 313 and similar, I love the sound of these units and the clunky way they drag themselves along. One thing that shocked me on this line was the sheer gradient on leaving London Road (Guildford) - you could see the climb, and that is something I see as quite unusual being from somewhere so flat! The double 455 wasn't particularly busy and all too quickly we were approaching Surbiton - where I had decided to leave the train. I decided to pause here for a bit of a break and to watch some of the evening commuter traffic heading through on the fast lines. The station certainly gets busy and when I headed off on the 1827 to Waterloo the platforms were still busy. My final SWT service was handled by 455738 coming from Hampton Court for the 1827 into London Waterloo.
After arriving back into London, I headed down to the Waterloo & City line (forgetting it was unbarried, so having to back track to touch in) for a service through to Bank. It's been quite sometime since I've used the 'Drain' and it was nice to do so again, even with the long walk to the Northern line at Bank. Back at St Pancras I jumped straight onto the 1930 Leeds via Nottingham service formed of 43049+43075 and took advantage of my earlier decision to upgrade to First Class to have a comfy journey back up north and a brief doze. My final changeover involved an hours wait at Nottingham but the 2225 to Lincoln was already in the station and opened up so after checking with platform staff I made myself comfortable onboard 158774 around 30 minutes before departure. This journey passed quickly, and I was soon home and in bed after another interesting day.
Total Mileage: 553mi 59ch
Despite various trips down south over the past couple of years, I've never managed to cover any of the South West Trains network. In fact, I'd only ever scratched off the Hampton Court branch and that was after a river trip up the Thames from Central London. I decided it was high time I did a bit of exploring on the SWT network, and as I'm now working for South West Trains' sister company up north I had the means to do so.
Instead of the more usual 0720 from Lincoln to King's Cross, I was starting my day on 1B21, the 0704 East Midlands Trains service from Lincoln to St Pancras. Not many people use this as a through train, due to it taking three hours, but it's a useful way of getting to London for staff (even if the journey does drag). Unusually, instead of the usual 5-car Meridian the train was formed of ex-Hull Trains 222103 and at Nottingham, we joined another 4-car unit meaning we were running as an 8-car formation instead of the usual 9-car. Not much of note happened on the journey, I'd treated myself to a First Class upgrade (we get two per year) and was enjoying the space to spread myself out and relax before getting into the days bashing.
At St Pancras I headed through to the Underground and jumped on the Piccadilly to Leicester Square, then the Northern through to Waterloo. I'd formulated a basic plan for the day, but had decided to adopt a 'take it as it comes' approach, and almost immediately changed plans and decided to take a Portsmouth stopper as far as Woking, departing at 1045. This produced 444022, a guaranteed win as I'd never ticked off any South West Trains Desiros of either ilk. Unusually for a London commuter train, the 444 was very clean and whisked me smoothly to Woking in what seemed like no time at all. A chat with the guard revealed I could have also changed at Haslemere and ticket that station off in the Baker, but in the end I went for the 'safe' option at Woking.
It wasn't a long wait at Woking, but it did become apparent that there was disruption in the Salisbury area due to signalling issues and so a decision was made to avoid trains heading from that area. My second ever 444, 444011 (so only half as good!) soon appeared on the horizon forming at Portsmouth Harbour service - and I was joining it as far as Fratton. The journey flew by through the pleasant countryside and too soon I was back on the familiar track of the West Coastway that I'd been introduced to by a Southern DaySave earlier this year. Arrival into Fratton was at 1226, allowing a leisurely walk over the bridge to wait for the 1242 to Southampton Central. I could have made this connection at Portsmouth & Southsea, but Fratton struck me as the more interesting option.
This proved a good choice, as I was able to observe a Southern 377 and 313 heading for Brighton and the Harbour respectively, along with a First Great Western 158 bound for Cardiff Central. After these had depared, and I'd been mobbed by a group of pigeons keen to eat some pastry discarded on the platform by another passenger - 450087 rolled in with the 1242 to Southampton Central. My first 450 was also pleasantly surprising, though it was noticeable how narrow the 3+2 seating is on these trains (like the 350/2s) - especially once we were joined by a group of school kids who for some reason the school had decided to let out at lunchtime. Some of these kids were actively fare evading and boasting about it, but by the time the guard appeared they'd already left the train.
We arrived into Southampton Central at 1338 with the first 450 and the final stretch of the West Coastway completed. My next train departed from the opposite platforms, but the bizarre CIS system made it difficult to work this out - I can't really explain now why I got so confused but it had a surprisingly limited range of trains displayed. The next service was a Waterloo stopper, formed of 450007 which I was taking as far as Baskingstoke - there was also a plain clothed revenue protection team onboard who managed to catch out a few ticketless travellers. I'm not sure of the exact situation on SWT, but these people were sent to the guard to purchase tickets rather than being penalty fared (is it only suburban services where PFs are given out?).
At Baskingstoke it was only a quick change onto another Desiro, this time 450097 on the 1454 to Waterloo, which I was joining as far as Woking. Another quiet journey was again interrupted by some school kids - though luckily they were mostly of sixth form age in my carriage and had tickets. At least this time they were around at a more usual time. As we rolled into Woking an Alton service was just being announced so I made a quick dash across the footbridge onto 450100 forming a 12-car service. Due to the number of short platforms on the Alton branch the capacity must really be needed for the headache the 12-car running causes - after a crew change I got chatting with the new guard who shared similar sentiments and advised me to move down the train a little more. This mean't I finished the journey travelling in 450116 - I didn't manage to log the number of the leading unit.
Alton seems a very pleasant station and some volunteers from the Mid Hants had a steam crane fired up in the sidings putting a wonderful smell of steam into the air. I couldn't spend too long though, as I was joining 450026+450086 for the short hop back to Aldershot on the 16:15. This journey passed quickly, and this is the first time I've walked into the carriage on a train and found someone playing a guitar and singing to themselves. At Aldershot, it was through the underpass and onto the 1638 Guildford service formed of 450127 - my final Desiro of the day. This journey was uneventful and passed quickly and I was soon presented with a huge choice of services at Guildford.
In the end, I decided to join 455732+911 on the 1708 to Waterloo via Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon (I was sold on the name!). It had been a long time since I'd last been on a 455, but like the 313 and similar, I love the sound of these units and the clunky way they drag themselves along. One thing that shocked me on this line was the sheer gradient on leaving London Road (Guildford) - you could see the climb, and that is something I see as quite unusual being from somewhere so flat! The double 455 wasn't particularly busy and all too quickly we were approaching Surbiton - where I had decided to leave the train. I decided to pause here for a bit of a break and to watch some of the evening commuter traffic heading through on the fast lines. The station certainly gets busy and when I headed off on the 1827 to Waterloo the platforms were still busy. My final SWT service was handled by 455738 coming from Hampton Court for the 1827 into London Waterloo.
After arriving back into London, I headed down to the Waterloo & City line (forgetting it was unbarried, so having to back track to touch in) for a service through to Bank. It's been quite sometime since I've used the 'Drain' and it was nice to do so again, even with the long walk to the Northern line at Bank. Back at St Pancras I jumped straight onto the 1930 Leeds via Nottingham service formed of 43049+43075 and took advantage of my earlier decision to upgrade to First Class to have a comfy journey back up north and a brief doze. My final changeover involved an hours wait at Nottingham but the 2225 to Lincoln was already in the station and opened up so after checking with platform staff I made myself comfortable onboard 158774 around 30 minutes before departure. This journey passed quickly, and I was soon home and in bed after another interesting day.
Total Mileage: 553mi 59ch