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.....

The Demise of the old 'A' stock trains

Source:Metropolitan Line Train Taken Away For Scrapping | Londonist

I decided to write this in response to the above blog post found at the Londonist.

As you read this, London Transport are in the process of integrating their new 'S' stock trains into the Metropolitan line (part of London Underground -- sub_surface section) while the old 'A' stock trains which were around since the 60's are gradually sent to the scrap heap.

Personally, I'm rather saddened by this. I've always loved the 'A' stock train carriages. Among all the underground trains in service at the moment, their unique in one respect. Instead of the seating being positioned opposite each other along the length of the train (where everyone who's seated is sitting facing everyone else), the old 'A' stock has seating arranged like the old Victorian carriages.
I like this arrangement better as I hate sitting opposite everyone (I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to accidentally look at anyone for longer than a second, and so have to read, or, failing that, read the ads above everyone! -- maybe that's the point of the seating arrangement...)

The seats are also large and comfortable.

one obvious fan of the old 'A' stock train has made a tribute video of the old train. Check it out here:



Yea... it's old. It creaks.... Some people hate them....
But, if like me, you're among those who love them, be sure to Visit London (or, hop one one if in London) QUICK! before they depart altogether!

Interested in the new 'S' stock train? ...... check out the video here (they're just entering service):



Personally, I hate these new trains.... Well, to be fair, I never actually rode on one yet. But still, my first impressions on these trains is that they're just too modern for me. I'm a history fanatic, and part of me likes to cling on to the old stuff that little bit more.

How about you?
What are your thoughts on the new trains?
Comments are welcome!


Until next time!...

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.