# My British Train Experience



## Royal Blue (Oct 4, 2015)

So, I have been in the UK on a business trip, which has required some train riding, since the office where I needed to work was in Suffolk, and the best way to get there was by train. Here’s a few observations and photos.

After landing at Heathrow, I passed up the oh-so-sexy Heathrow Express train to London for the London Underground. Why? Because I’m cheap, even with my employer’s money. So I loaded up my Oyster card, swiped it across the turnstile, and off I rattled, all the way into London. The Underground tracks form Heathrow aren’t the best, so it is a long trip, and not the most comfortable. I stopped in central London long enough to get a UK SIM card for my iPhone and polish off some coffee and Eggs Benedict, then back on the Tube to Liverpool Street Station.

The Victorians really knew how to build train stations. I made my way out of the Underground tunnel to find myself within brick walls that soar into a cast iron and glass roof.







After gaping for a while and using the ladies’ room (30 pence, please), I bought my train ticket from the vending machine. This was a simple procedure. You get a vastly better price ordering your tickets in advance online, but I was too worried the trip would get cancelled and I would get stuck with the cost. So this wasn’t too economical for my employer, but that’s how it goes.

So I’m walking around admiring the main train station, when I see the train shed itself, stretching out from the central area. This thing is something else – also glass and cast iron, held up by fancy decorated pillars and arches. The trains were lined up on the tracks – the train I was to take was operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. The trains are all electric, and it seems like they sit quite a bit lower than U.S. commuter trains.







So, maybe 20 minutes before departure, our train was called, and we passengers proceeded to the track. We swiped our tickets through the turnstiles, and made our way down the platform to board our train. We rolled out of the station and off through London and its suburbs, going through industrial areas and into the beautiful rural countryside. The conductor punched our tickets.

I wondered why the conductor didn’t punch our tickets on the way back a week later. As it turns out, the train was going back to London Liverpool Station, and we had to run them through the turnstile to get off the train platform at Liverpool. So, I understood. There were no turnstiles at the rural station where I stopped, hence the ticket punching on the outbound trip.

Back at Liverpool, I got back on the Tube and headed for Victoria Station. Victoria is not as elaborate as Liverpool Station, but still quite attractive. Here’s Victoria Station.




I splurged for the Gatwick Express train from Victoria to Gatwick Airport to catch my next flight, since I hadn't done enough research to find a more economical way to get to Gatwick. I was expecting a high-speed train, but it was pretty much the same thing as what I had ridden to the rural area. The scenery to Gatwick was more industrial and low-income housing, though.

One thing that really struck me about English trains is how well they are isolated from roads. I don’t remember a single grade crossing on any of the routes I took. But considering how often these trains run (every half hour, even out to the boonies), if there were a lot of grade crossings, it would be a problem for car traffic.

Overall, a new experience in train riding. I have now ridden trains in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. So many left to ride!


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## oregon pioneer (Oct 4, 2015)

Yes, so many left to ride!

Beautiful photos, and great observations, thank you.


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## Bob Dylan (Oct 4, 2015)

Most enjoyable, thanks for sharing!


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## SubwayNut (Oct 4, 2015)

The way to save on the Gatwick Express is to take a Gatwick "Local train", the regular train from Victoria (I know it was operated by Connex South Central back in 1999, I think it's now just called Southern in the british privatization scheme). You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.

The cheapest option would have probably been to buy a 'through via London' ticket straight from your origin point to Gatwick Airport, the Underground ride to change stations would have even been included and embedded on your ticket! A British Isles ticketing feature I find really neat.


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## gaspeamtrak (Oct 5, 2015)

Thank you for sharing! Great pictures! I hope to get back someday....


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## railbuck (Oct 5, 2015)

SubwayNut said:


> You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.


I always call it St. Pancreas too, but in the interest of ecclesial (and anatomical) accuracy, it's officially St. Pancras.


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## alan_s (Oct 5, 2015)

SubwayNut said:


> The way to save on the Gatwick Express is to take a Gatwick "Local train", the regular train from Victoria (I know it was operated by Connex South Central back in 1999, I think it's now just called Southern in the british privatization scheme). You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.
> 
> The cheapest option would have probably been to buy a 'through via London' ticket straight from your origin point to Gatwick Airport, the Underground ride to change stations would have even been included and embedded on your ticket! A British Isles ticketing feature I find really neat.


Thanks - bookmarked as I'm flying in and out of Gatwick next year.


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## alan_s (Oct 5, 2015)

railbuck said:


> SubwayNut said:
> 
> 
> > You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.
> ...


Glad you commented - as a diabetic I was about to 

It's also the terminus for the Eurostar.


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## Royal Blue (Oct 6, 2015)

SubwayNut said:


> You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.


I thought my only sensible option was to take the bus from Gatwick to Heathrow. But I have a long layover, so I like the idea of taking Thameslink to St. Pancras, take some pictures, have some lunch at or near St. Pancras Station, and then rattle back out to Heathrow on the Tube. It's only a bit less expensive than the bus, but it gets me another train ride and another fine old Victorian railway station to admire, and I get to avoid the zillions of people at Heathrow for a bit longer.

Thanks for the info!


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## cirdan (Oct 6, 2015)

Royal Blue said:


> SubwayNut said:
> 
> 
> > You could have also taken Thameslink from St. Pancreas, closer to Liverpool Street.
> ...


The Piccadilly line is also an attraction in itself if you like quaint railroad history.

Along a considerable section it runs parallel to the District Line on a 4 track alignment with the fast trains (being the Piccadilly ones) using the middle tracks and the all stops trains (the District) on the outside. Some of the more experienced commuters make a game of hopping betzween the two to get one train ahead. It is also interesting when you see the two train types here running side by side as you realize how much smaller the Piccadilly trains are. The District line trains use sub-surface tunnels which were initially built for steam and hence are pretty spacious and also not very deep. The Piccadilly line is a true tube line buried very deep to take advantage of the better clay down there which was easier to tunnel, and was electrically operated from the beginning.

The four track alignment actually continues beyond the point where the District peels off. The extra tracks as far as Northfields are used purely as access to the carbarns and workshops there plus for a handful of morning peak movements. Many of the stations are art deco beaties from the 1920s or theraabouts, but you don't really get to appreciate them without leaving the train.

Beyond Northfields the line narrows down to two tracks. It is advisable to check in advance which Heathrow terminal you are flying from as not all trains do all terminals. Also note that the trains that stop at Heathrow Terminal 4 normally stop there for up to about 8 minutes, so if you're headed for Terminal 1-3, it may be faster to wait for a train that goes to Terminal 5.


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## cirdan (Oct 6, 2015)

Some pictures illustarting the above (not mine)

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/stephenk1977/tags/piccadillyline/


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## seat38a (Oct 7, 2015)

cirdan said:


> Royal Blue said:
> 
> 
> > SubwayNut said:
> ...


I did see this couple weeks ago when the family took Piccadilly from Terminal 2 at Heathrow to Leicester Square. Bunch of people got off and walked right over to get onto the district line.


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## caravanman (Oct 8, 2015)

Hi,

I was pleased to see Liverpool Street station mentioned... This was where I was based back in the 1970's as a trainee engineer...

It looked a lot less glamourous in those days !







All 3 of the Loco types above were ones I drove in my work... Happy days !

I believe that the far train is the "Boat Train" to Harwich for the sea crossing to Holland.

Cheers,

Ed.


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## oregon pioneer (Oct 8, 2015)

Oooh, lovely classic pictures, Ed!

I was in England and Scotland in 1971, '79, and '83. Any chance you drove one of the trains I took?


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## Royal Blue (Oct 8, 2015)

Loved the historical pictures of Liverpool Street Station!


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## caravanman (Oct 8, 2015)

Hi Jennifer,

I only drove passenger trains on the line from Liverpool Street to East Anglia... so if you rode those lines, it could be a possibility. I resigned in 1983 in order to visit India for the first time. '79 would be the best bet, I can't honestly remember when I started work with B.R.

Cheers,

Ed


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## oregon pioneer (Oct 8, 2015)

> ...Liverpool Street to East Anglia... '79 would be the best bet...





Hi Ed,

I did, in fact, ride form London to Cambridge in January '79. I was on my way to do a winter trip around Europe, with cross-country skis in hand.The first night I was there, we had a very rare snowstorm, and I was able to ski across the campus at Cambridge University, where my friends were on sabbatical. As you might imagine, this occasioned a lot of comment from onlookers.

I know that in London, I had to take the tube to a different station in order to get the train to Cambridge. Would that have been the Liverpool Street Station? I do recall it was very Victorian.


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## Royal Blue (Oct 15, 2015)

Based on the advice I got on this thread, I skipped the bus between Gatwick and Heathrow Airports and took the Thameslink train to London St. Pancras Station. The trains from Gatwick were running about 20 minutes late; there had been emergency track work earlier in the day. I bought a ticket at the vending machine -- I felt a little stupid when I couldn't find St. Pancras as a destination, until the attendant showed me that it was under _London_ St. Pancras. After a bit of a wait, I boarded my train, only to find that it was standing room only and jammed like the DC Metro during rush hour. Fortunately about half of the crowd cleared out at the first stop, which was a long fifteen minutes into the ride, and I dropped into a seat next to a disgruntled-looking teenage girl. The scenery was mostly suburban industrial into London, but the train does cross a bridge over the Thames that provides a nice view of Tower Bridge. London is one of my favorite cities -- I was very glad to be back.

After a few stops, we pulled into St. Pancras Station and I disembarked. The platforms for the Thameslink train are underground and very modern, very airport-like. The next level up in the St. Pancras Station building itself is an upscale shopping mall, and the higher level contains the platform for the Eurostar trains. I went straight up to take a look. Like the other train stations, St. Pancras has a cast iron and glass roof. It's obvious that the station has been modernized as much as possible while still retaining the Victorian bones of the original station.




A close-up view of one of the iron girders that hold up the roof.




Eurostar trains! I had lunch at the Italian restaurant just at the end of the Eurostar platform. Sicilian wine, bruschetta, a lightly breaded chicken breast, and tiramisu for dessert, as I enjoyed the view of the beautiful trains. Two pulled out while I was having my lunch -- the first was so quiet that I didn't even hear it leave. I heard the second train begin to hum, then I watched as it backed out, also.




After lunch, I went outside to have a look at the outside of the station. Pictures attached, but they don't even begin to do the place justice. The station goes the length of the block and is heavily ornamented from end to end. A hotel takes up part of the station.







After my time at St. Pancras Station, I boarded the Tube for the trip out to Heathrow. I'm definitely adding the Eurostar to my wish list for a future trip.


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## Bob Dylan (Oct 15, 2015)

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Nice to meet you and your hubby in WAS,Tysons Corner Mall Metro Stop sure doesn't compare eh? LOL


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## BAV (Oct 15, 2015)

As A Brit it is nice to see our trains and stations being enjoyed by others.

Yes almost every mile of track over here is totally segregated from it's surroundings.

One little correction however.



> I heard the second train begin to hum, then I watched as it backed out, also.



All our passenger services have power cars at both ends and the Eurostar is no different, so in fact it went out er...forwards  

They are known as Class 373

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_373


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