Steam travel in London

Not too long ago, I spoke about Steam trains out of London. Today, I want to follow-up from that post.

Steam trains fascinate me.
They've always had.
The only time i've ever been on a steam train was on one of UK's many heritage lines; preserved and maintained voluntarily by avid lovers of these old relics.
The only problem i've ever had with these lines (and it's only one problem) is that it's just too short.
I mean, when you read the old Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot novels (or watch the films on TV), you see the bygone age of steam with passengers travelling many miles between two major cities or more. You can't get that experience on a heritage line.

This leads me on to the reason for this blog post. I spoke briefly last time about a steam train that travelled on britain's mainline (in the modern era --- i.e, last year) from Paddington to Plymouth and back!
Until last year, despite my interest in these steam trains, I never knew you could get a steam train from a busy London terminal to another major city in the UK.

But, you can! In fact, anyone can.... just book one of the many chartered special trains that operate throughout the year.

See my previous post on the subject for booking information.

Tornado on tour in South-East London

Unfortunately, I don't own a camcorder at present, and so I couldn't share with you film clips of these old trains. And so, I did a little digging and came across the following film from YouTube of a modern chartered steam train service flying through South-East London from Victoria bound for Kent.



After doing some research on the actual steam engine used on this train, I came up with an amazing fact!

The actual steam engine wasn't refurbished ------ it was a modern build! (when this film was taken, it couldn't have been that much over a year old!)

Who says mainline steam travel was dead!?

According to Wikipedia:

60163 Tornado is a main-line steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, in 1960. Designed to meet modern safety and certification standards, Tornado runs on the UK rail network and on mainline-connected heritage railways. The locomotive is named after the Panavia Tornado military jet.

Learn more about the 60163 Tornado via the Wikipedia article.


Until next time.....

Visiting.... Living in London?.............Want to win an Ipad?

Don't take my word for it...
I'm not giving you the chance to win an Ipad.... I can hardly afford one myself!
                                                     But the Metro paper is!........ read on to find out more.

At this point, let me categorically stress that I'm in no way affiliated with the Metro paper at the present time and so I don't gain from this blog post.
I'm just as interested in this as you. No, not really for the Ipad (but it would be nice), but for the exhibition itself.

The Exhibition

According to the Metro paper on Monday, "Metro has joined forces with the Museum of London," "to give readers the chance to have their pictures (photographs -- italics ours) on display in front of thousands of visitors."

Are you an enthusiastic photographer (I know I am, just check out my Digital Art blog if you don't agree!) ?
Then you would be interested in this exhibition for the chance to submit your work.

Submit your work by February 18th

The exhibition runs from February 18th to September 4th (admisision free). So you have the 18th as the final deadline.

You will need a Flickr account, and you submit your work to the "London Street Photography Metro" group.
Check out the group rules at the group's home page.

Until next time.....

The Last Gate

Temple Bar Gate --- Paternoster Square in background

At one time, London was surrounded by high walls, a testament to it's stature of a historic prized city worthy of protection and defence. London was a City of monarchs, a seat of Government. From the Romans to the Georgians, London was fortified, intersected by impressive city Gates.

Today, all we can see are remnants of the old walls (in fact, you can even see Roman wall ruins), and no city gates except one, survive.

Temple Bar --- inside Gate, towards St. Paul's Cathedral

Today, I want to talk about the last gate, Temple Bar. Today, Temple Bar survives in a new location in London, in paternoster Square. Paternoster square underwent a major refurbishment in 2003 and now Temple Bar, the last surviving gate in London serves as the entranceway to this square from St. Paul's Cathedral.

If you are visiting London, be sure to check this gate out. I will be adding more information about this gate and the square in due course, including it's history and more pictures.

Until then..... stay tuned!

Until next time.......

Links to more information:-

>Temple Bar --- Wikepedia

Queensway

Queensway
Originally uploaded by RichardBlogger2010

This is one of my favourite station interiors on the tube. Recently refurbished. The light, subtle shades, reflections and dark paint really do work well together.

I always use this station to frequent the local queensway computer fair (open all week) and so have noticed the improvement that came with this refurbishment.

Visitors to London will certainly appreciate nearby Kensington Gardens; which is directly across the road from this station.


If you like this picture, prints are available via Redbubble (available for sale as Greeting cards, Matted prints, Laminated prints, Mounted prints, Canvas prints and Framed prints).

The Gherkin

The Gherkin
Originally uploaded by RichardBlogger2010

Taken last Thursday as I passed through Devonshire Square, EC1.

I enthusiastically reccomend anyone visiting London to explore this area (immediatly to the east of Liverpool Street and Bishopsgate) as it has a lot of modern and Victorian / Georgian architecture. Some buildings are Victorian or Georgian in origin but have been refurbished.

Well worth a visit.

If you're interested, You may purchase this picture via Redbubble.

Sunrise over Victoria Park

Sunrise over Victoria Park
Originally uploaded by RichardBlogger2010

I thought that you would like a shot of Victoria Park in the early morning light. Not only was it a nice view to be had, but the fresh early morning air was a close second.

For those who are visiting London, Victoria Park is one of the places to go. I will talk more on the reasons why at a later date. Stay tuned.


You may purchase this picture via Redbubble

Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound
Originally uploaded by RichardBlogger2010

Back in May 2006, I was doing my regular commuting stint from Croydon into Central London and decided to capture this shot from out of my window.

I quite like how it turned out as it captures the atmosphere and tension of the rush hour period.