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I was in the UK for a week over the last weekend and did quite a bit of "training". As a matter of fact I was on trains each day I was there.
The day I arrived I took the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Paddington and retired in the Mercure Hotel by the station for the day. Noted the convenience of paying for the trip using a tap of the Apple Watch at the entry and exit gates again.
The next day I tumbled out of bed around 8am and decided to go down to the Concourse of Paddington and see where to go. I was equipped with a Global First Class m-Eurailpass fleixble 7 days in a month. Oddly this was cheper than the corresponding Britrail Pass when I purchased it. I decided to go to Newton Abbot to check out the rebuilt Dawlish Seawall (photo posted elsewhere). So off I went on the 10:05 to Penzance. GWR in my opinion runs one of the better regional services and they did not disappoint. It was a Hitachi Class 8xx and the run from Paddington to Reading (the first stop) is always impressive. Noticed that electrification has reached Newbury, and the train smoothly transitioned to diesel and carried on without stopping. Next stop was Taunton, followed by Tiverton Pkwy and Exeter. Then it was down the west bank of Exe River and along the Dawlish Seawall and up the Teign River to Newton Abbot, where I hopped off and waited for the return trip on a Plymouth - Paddington. Another 8xx, same stopping pattern. But I dropped off at Reading.
Back in my work life I spent many week in England staying at a hotel in London and commuting out to Bracknell or Winnersh Triangle to work at various HP locations in Berks. I wanted to see what the Reading to Waterloo line looks like these days. Back in the days it was Slam Door C1 stock. That is of course all gone now replaced by modern Siemens EMUs. But it was still nice to trundle along stopping everywhere through familiar places all the way to Waterloo. Then a quick ride on the Bakerloo Line to Paddington. That was it for the day.
For the next day I had planned a trip to Edinburgh by LNER from Kings Cross on the ECML. This was on a Reservation Obligatory train. I had already obtained reservations attached to my Global Eurailpass, all on my phone, so I was all set to go.
I had a choice to either walk half a mile to the Hammersmith and City Line Paddington Station and have a single seat ride to Kings Cross, or take a few steps to the Circle Line Paddington Station and change at Edgeware Road to get to Kings Cross. being lazy, I chose the latter and it worked out fine. As originally built the Hammersmith and City Line station was called Bishops Road, and the Circle Line Station was called Praed Street. Only the Bakerloo Line station was called Paddington. Later the three were interconnected for fare free interchange and all three were then named Paddington. They are actually quite far apart. and now of course there is a fourth Paddington - the Elizabeth Line one, which is in yet another corner of the Paddington main Line station entered at the Westbourne Terrace end.
Anyhow, the trip to Edinburgh went uneventfully arriving there right on schedule. The weather was lovely so the views of North Sea were quite spectacular. At Edinburgh I got a round trip Tram ticket on my phone and rode the entire line end to end. The Tram Line is very nice and convenient for traveling between St. Andrews Square and the Airport, stopping at important en route places like Princes Street, Haymarket and Edinburgh Park. Upon return to St. Anrews Square I just walked around Princes Street and Waverley Bridge until train time for return to London. I have spent weeks in Edinburgh in the past so there is no tourist things and a few non-tourist things that I have not already done there.
The trip back to London was again quite uneventful, but that was the last uneventful day of travel.
Next day (Saturday) I had a meetup with family and friends in Oxford at St. Hilda's College, for an event. Normally, one would catch an Express train to Oxford from Paddington and be in Oxford under an hour with two stops (Reading and Didcot Parkway). But that was not to be. The track was out between Didcot and Oxford because the old bridge across the Thames was trying to fall down, and was being repaired. Fortunately there is a second way to get to Oxford avoiding the alleged bus substitution that was running. Chiltern Railway has a service running from Marylebone to Oxford via Bicester every hour. So off I went to Marylebone by the Bakerloo Line (Circle and Hammersmith and City pass to the south and do not go there). The journey to Oxford went smoothly once the route was figured out. It was remarkably peaceful and nice on campus of St. Hilda's College by the river. There were students punting around on the river and a Cricket match was in progress across the river with everyone in proper white attire and all that, as we met over finger sandwiches and wine and tea in the Pavilion on the river. It was neat. The trip back was uneventful, back to Marylebone and then Bakerloo to Paddington.
Next morning (Sunday), it was off to Milton Keynes to spend the day with a cousin. Milton Keynes is on the WCML and trains depart from Euston. I usually take what is now the Avanti service (in the past it was Virgin West Coast) which flashes by at 125mph and takes just 34 mins non stop. But since I had lots of time on hand I decided to take a Northwestern Railway local which takes almost an hour stopping everywhere beyond Watford. But first one has to get to Euston. Again the Circle line is south of Euston and drops you off at Euston Square for a short walk to Euston. Since I was feeling lazy I took the Circle Line to Kings Cross and changed to Northern Line to get to Euston right under the station. The journey to and from Milton Keynes Central was uneventful. Basically it was just take the first train that came by, other than Avanti West Coast. Of course my pass would have worked equally well on Avanti, even if I got on one by mistake.
Upon return from MKC I decided to go and check out the little Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station. TfL definitely builds their extensions in a more aesthetically pleasing way than MTA does in New York. After checking out the new station took Northern Line back to Embankment and changed to Circle Line to get back to Paddington. Circle Line is truly a sub surface line rather than a wholly underground line in this segment. many stations are just in cuts and not in tunnel, including the Paddington Station.
Monday I was headed to Cambridge to spend the day with a friend. The fastest Cambridge trains run by Great Northern depart from Kings Cross, so following the usual Circle Line rigmarole I showed up at Kings Cross, to find an uttter mob scene there. Due to unspecified signal issues all departures were held until further notice. So first I thought maybe it is a Kings Cross problem and maybe the slower Thameslink service is running from St. Pancras next door. But that was not to be Those trains were being turned at Finsbury Park. Upon inquiry I discovered the outage was in Stevenage, so it was time to put Plan C in action, Another Circle Line ride to Liverpool Street to catch the slower Greater Anglia service to Cambridge, since that does not go anywhere near Stevenage. The plan worked and I made it to Cambridge, well actually Cambridge North, which is closer to my friend's place, albeit an hour later than planned.
I had spent many weeks in Cambridge at one time working with the ANSAware Group in the University. The friend I was visiting was from way back then. Then later we were both on the Architecture Board at the Object Management Group, a standards body known for standards like CORBA (used on every plane you fly in) and UML. In those days we had another friend who lived outside Cambridge who was into Lawn Railways. He had one in his huge estate in the back yard that one could fire up and ride around. The model Steam Engine was exquisitely detailed. Unfortunately he has passed away and I have no idea what happened to his hobby railway.
We had a great time catching up over a Lamb Skewer lunch at a Pub and then lazily walking along the lazily flowing Cam River. The trip back was uneventful as the problems at Stevenage had cleared and the Great Northern Cambridge Expresses were running with minor residual delays. These EMU trains run hourly nonstop from Cambridge to Kings Cross including 125mph running on the ECML between Hitchins and Finsbury Park. Quite impressive service, in many ways better than Amtrak's NEC (e.g. no reservations required... just have a ticket and hop on). Any way, upon return to London I decided to knock off the two Eastern branches of the Elizabeth Line (Abbey Wood and Shenfield), before returning to Paddington and my hotel to pack up to depart the next morning.
The next morning I decided to splurge and take the Heathrow Express to the airport. Got me a ticket on my phone and off I went heading back home to the US in style, after an on the whole successful, occasionally eventful week of train riding and meeting up with friends and relatives around London and UK.
The day I arrived I took the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Paddington and retired in the Mercure Hotel by the station for the day. Noted the convenience of paying for the trip using a tap of the Apple Watch at the entry and exit gates again.
The next day I tumbled out of bed around 8am and decided to go down to the Concourse of Paddington and see where to go. I was equipped with a Global First Class m-Eurailpass fleixble 7 days in a month. Oddly this was cheper than the corresponding Britrail Pass when I purchased it. I decided to go to Newton Abbot to check out the rebuilt Dawlish Seawall (photo posted elsewhere). So off I went on the 10:05 to Penzance. GWR in my opinion runs one of the better regional services and they did not disappoint. It was a Hitachi Class 8xx and the run from Paddington to Reading (the first stop) is always impressive. Noticed that electrification has reached Newbury, and the train smoothly transitioned to diesel and carried on without stopping. Next stop was Taunton, followed by Tiverton Pkwy and Exeter. Then it was down the west bank of Exe River and along the Dawlish Seawall and up the Teign River to Newton Abbot, where I hopped off and waited for the return trip on a Plymouth - Paddington. Another 8xx, same stopping pattern. But I dropped off at Reading.
Back in my work life I spent many week in England staying at a hotel in London and commuting out to Bracknell or Winnersh Triangle to work at various HP locations in Berks. I wanted to see what the Reading to Waterloo line looks like these days. Back in the days it was Slam Door C1 stock. That is of course all gone now replaced by modern Siemens EMUs. But it was still nice to trundle along stopping everywhere through familiar places all the way to Waterloo. Then a quick ride on the Bakerloo Line to Paddington. That was it for the day.
For the next day I had planned a trip to Edinburgh by LNER from Kings Cross on the ECML. This was on a Reservation Obligatory train. I had already obtained reservations attached to my Global Eurailpass, all on my phone, so I was all set to go.
I had a choice to either walk half a mile to the Hammersmith and City Line Paddington Station and have a single seat ride to Kings Cross, or take a few steps to the Circle Line Paddington Station and change at Edgeware Road to get to Kings Cross. being lazy, I chose the latter and it worked out fine. As originally built the Hammersmith and City Line station was called Bishops Road, and the Circle Line Station was called Praed Street. Only the Bakerloo Line station was called Paddington. Later the three were interconnected for fare free interchange and all three were then named Paddington. They are actually quite far apart. and now of course there is a fourth Paddington - the Elizabeth Line one, which is in yet another corner of the Paddington main Line station entered at the Westbourne Terrace end.
Anyhow, the trip to Edinburgh went uneventfully arriving there right on schedule. The weather was lovely so the views of North Sea were quite spectacular. At Edinburgh I got a round trip Tram ticket on my phone and rode the entire line end to end. The Tram Line is very nice and convenient for traveling between St. Andrews Square and the Airport, stopping at important en route places like Princes Street, Haymarket and Edinburgh Park. Upon return to St. Anrews Square I just walked around Princes Street and Waverley Bridge until train time for return to London. I have spent weeks in Edinburgh in the past so there is no tourist things and a few non-tourist things that I have not already done there.
The trip back to London was again quite uneventful, but that was the last uneventful day of travel.
Next day (Saturday) I had a meetup with family and friends in Oxford at St. Hilda's College, for an event. Normally, one would catch an Express train to Oxford from Paddington and be in Oxford under an hour with two stops (Reading and Didcot Parkway). But that was not to be. The track was out between Didcot and Oxford because the old bridge across the Thames was trying to fall down, and was being repaired. Fortunately there is a second way to get to Oxford avoiding the alleged bus substitution that was running. Chiltern Railway has a service running from Marylebone to Oxford via Bicester every hour. So off I went to Marylebone by the Bakerloo Line (Circle and Hammersmith and City pass to the south and do not go there). The journey to Oxford went smoothly once the route was figured out. It was remarkably peaceful and nice on campus of St. Hilda's College by the river. There were students punting around on the river and a Cricket match was in progress across the river with everyone in proper white attire and all that, as we met over finger sandwiches and wine and tea in the Pavilion on the river. It was neat. The trip back was uneventful, back to Marylebone and then Bakerloo to Paddington.
Next morning (Sunday), it was off to Milton Keynes to spend the day with a cousin. Milton Keynes is on the WCML and trains depart from Euston. I usually take what is now the Avanti service (in the past it was Virgin West Coast) which flashes by at 125mph and takes just 34 mins non stop. But since I had lots of time on hand I decided to take a Northwestern Railway local which takes almost an hour stopping everywhere beyond Watford. But first one has to get to Euston. Again the Circle line is south of Euston and drops you off at Euston Square for a short walk to Euston. Since I was feeling lazy I took the Circle Line to Kings Cross and changed to Northern Line to get to Euston right under the station. The journey to and from Milton Keynes Central was uneventful. Basically it was just take the first train that came by, other than Avanti West Coast. Of course my pass would have worked equally well on Avanti, even if I got on one by mistake.
Upon return from MKC I decided to go and check out the little Northern Line extension to Battersea Power Station. TfL definitely builds their extensions in a more aesthetically pleasing way than MTA does in New York. After checking out the new station took Northern Line back to Embankment and changed to Circle Line to get back to Paddington. Circle Line is truly a sub surface line rather than a wholly underground line in this segment. many stations are just in cuts and not in tunnel, including the Paddington Station.
Monday I was headed to Cambridge to spend the day with a friend. The fastest Cambridge trains run by Great Northern depart from Kings Cross, so following the usual Circle Line rigmarole I showed up at Kings Cross, to find an uttter mob scene there. Due to unspecified signal issues all departures were held until further notice. So first I thought maybe it is a Kings Cross problem and maybe the slower Thameslink service is running from St. Pancras next door. But that was not to be Those trains were being turned at Finsbury Park. Upon inquiry I discovered the outage was in Stevenage, so it was time to put Plan C in action, Another Circle Line ride to Liverpool Street to catch the slower Greater Anglia service to Cambridge, since that does not go anywhere near Stevenage. The plan worked and I made it to Cambridge, well actually Cambridge North, which is closer to my friend's place, albeit an hour later than planned.
I had spent many weeks in Cambridge at one time working with the ANSAware Group in the University. The friend I was visiting was from way back then. Then later we were both on the Architecture Board at the Object Management Group, a standards body known for standards like CORBA (used on every plane you fly in) and UML. In those days we had another friend who lived outside Cambridge who was into Lawn Railways. He had one in his huge estate in the back yard that one could fire up and ride around. The model Steam Engine was exquisitely detailed. Unfortunately he has passed away and I have no idea what happened to his hobby railway.
We had a great time catching up over a Lamb Skewer lunch at a Pub and then lazily walking along the lazily flowing Cam River. The trip back was uneventful as the problems at Stevenage had cleared and the Great Northern Cambridge Expresses were running with minor residual delays. These EMU trains run hourly nonstop from Cambridge to Kings Cross including 125mph running on the ECML between Hitchins and Finsbury Park. Quite impressive service, in many ways better than Amtrak's NEC (e.g. no reservations required... just have a ticket and hop on). Any way, upon return to London I decided to knock off the two Eastern branches of the Elizabeth Line (Abbey Wood and Shenfield), before returning to Paddington and my hotel to pack up to depart the next morning.
The next morning I decided to splurge and take the Heathrow Express to the airport. Got me a ticket on my phone and off I went heading back home to the US in style, after an on the whole successful, occasionally eventful week of train riding and meeting up with friends and relatives around London and UK.
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. In retrospect I could have taken the Bakerloo to the Central line. But I really wanted to ride the original 1863 portion the world's first metro which I had never been on at that point.
