An Aerial Look At West Drayton Station
In my visit to West Drayton station, I also noted a railway line going away from the main line towards the North West.
West Drayton Station
In this aerial view you can clearly see it branching away at the station, which is marked by the red arrow. It then curves round to go under the Great Western Main Line in a Southerly direction, at the far left of the picture.
This is the Staines and West Drayton Railway and the northern section from West Drayton to Colnbrook is still used by freight trains. Some take fuel to a depot near Heathrow.
It seems to me over the last few years, there have been several proposals to improve the links from places like Reading and the West and Waterloo and South London, some of which pass through this area. But none seem to build on and improve this line.
We know that trains will be able to get from Reading and the West to Heathrow, but all projects to Waterloo and South London like Airtrack, seem to have foundered until now.
On the other hand, when Crossrail and Thameslink are fully operational in 2019, it looks like the journey time between East Croydon and Heathrow, changing at Farringdon will be around an hour. Currently, it looks like it’s a couple of minutes over an hour and a half, with two changes. Fast times need a trip on the expensive Heathrow Express.
I think that the only certainty is that in the next ten years or so, Heathrow and Crossrail/Thameslink will have a tremendous influence on railways in the vicinity of West London.
The Clapham Kiss – Where East Meets West
I took these two pictures, as I went from Shepherds Bush to Dalston Junction stations this afternoon on the London Overground.
Normally, I’d take a northbound train at Shepherds Bush direct to Highbury and Islington or Canonbury, where I would use the footbridge to crossover to get on a train for Dalston Junction. The reason I like to end up in Dalston Junction station, is that there are lots of buses down the Balls Pond Road to my house and they mean, I don’t have to cross any roads.
But at Shepherds Bush, this would have meant waiting nearly ten minutes for a northbound train, so I took the first train to Clapham Junction. A factor that influenced my choice was that to change between the two trains, is just a short walk up the platform.
I spoke to the driver, who was very pleased, as they don’t always meet as precisely as this, although that is what’s intended.
But the whole layout at Clapham Junction shows that a little bit of innovative thinking can often make things better for all concerned.
Buses In West London
I have taken quite a few buses in West London in recent days.
A Rather Tired West London Bus
But I can’t help feeling that the quality of some is not what we would put up with in the East.
The single-decker shown seemed rather tired with only an intermittently working information system and it seemed to struggle its way around. Luckily, I knew I wanted to get off at Ealing Hospital, which although it wasn’t announced by the bus, the hospital was obvious, as there wasn’t another large building with numerous ambulances in front.
Before Crossrail – The Wharncliffe Viaduct
Crossrail is a new railway from Reading in the West to Shenfield in the East.
But not everything is going to be brand new!
For example, the Grade 1 listed, Wharncliffe Viaduct, will be used to take the line over the River Brent, just as it has taken the Great Western Main Line since 1837.
Modifications are probably quite small as the current four lines are already electrified. Two of these will be used by Crossrail.
The viaduct ticks all the boxes on everybody’s lists.
- It was designed by IK Brunel
- It is Grade 1 Listed and is part of the submission to get the Great Western Railway declared a World Heritage Site.
- Pevsner said “Few viaducts have such architectural panache” about this viaduct.
- It is inhabited by a colony of bats.
- The electrification of the bridge was carried out in a sympathetic manner.
But above all, it would appear it is up to the job for which it is to be used.
You have to admit, that the Victorians knew how to build with brick!
Is Crossrail Going To Be The Shopping Line?
Crossrail seems to be a rail line that connects most of London’s Main shopping centres together. Starting from the East at Shenfield and going West, you get Romford, Ilford, Stratford/Eastfield, Moorgate, Oxford Street, Bond Street, Ealing, Slough and Reading.
You probably have to include Woolwich and Canary Wharf on the Abbey Wood branch, although Canary Wharf could be described as an important station in the basement of a shopping centre.
Even Westfield at Shepherds Bush is just a detour away from Crossrail on the Central line.
So will one of the slogans for the new line be something like.
Going shopping? Then go Crossrail!
I searched for “Shopping Crossrail and found this article in Retail Week. This is an extract.
As John Platt, managing consultant at location analyst CACI explains: “Currently no major high speed rail routes offer direct access to the heart of central London’s retail offer from the suburbs. All the major stations are on the edge of central London’s retail, meaning shoppers travelling from outside central London have to make a second trip on some form of transport.
“With stations at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street this will not be the case with Crossrail.
So the article is optimistic that Crossrail will increase business in the retail sector.
Before Crossrail – Issues On The Reading Branch
The issues on the Western branch to Reading are broadly similar to those on the Shenfield Metro.
1. Disabled And Step Free Access
There are some good stations like Reading and Slough and some terrible ones like Hanwell.
One advantage in the West is that a lot of stations have plenty of space and are not cramped like say Manor Park.
2. Train Access
The platforms in the West are probably worse matches to the trains than those in the East.
But like the East, they seem to fairly straight.
3. Long Distance Trains
The Western branch has the same problem as the Shenfield Metro in that how does it interface in the best manner with the long distance trains.
But it does have the opportunity of connecting Heathrow to Wales and the West through Reading.
4. Buses And Onward Travel
These are probably worse than the East and might be more difficult to saolve as you’re often not talking to London or its boroughs.
I have a feeling that Transport for London may get all of the stations to use London’s very much proven system.
5. Freight
As in the East, there appeared to be a lot of freight on the line.
Before Crossrail – Langley
Not Much To Do Here! – Rating 6/10
Langley station is almost Crossrail-ready now and probably just needs lifts on the bridge and the usual cosmetics.
The bridge obviously needs reconstructing, but there is also a lot of potential in doing something positive with the station building and perhaps the small cafe.
The Footbridge At Westbourne Park
I mentioned in this post, that I’d seen a footbridge, that spanned the lines as you approached Paddington.
This is referred to locally as the Hampden Street bridge or as the Westbourne Park footbridge. Take your pick!
So this morning, I went to have a look.
The bridge does mean you can see the workings well, but photographing them is difficult, as you have to look through a wire mesh.
It will be fascinating to go back here, to see the area, as the railway and its infrastructure progresses.
If you want to see it, just go to Royal Oak station, walk along Westbourne Park Villas and the footbridge is on the railway side of this road on the right.
After crossing the bridge, you can either complete the circle back to Royal Oak or take a bus.
St. Erth Station And The St. Ives Branch
St. Erth station is the station, where you change for the St. Ives branch.
I think this station is a good example of how we should treat our rural stations.
It was scrupulously clean and has an excellent shop and cafe. I think too, that the bridge is going to be given lifts to improve changes at the station.
The branch itself is one of the most spectacular in the UK, and my train was an immaculate Class 150. I hope that unit is in the queue for the upgrade some of its sisters have received in East Anglia.
The Cornish will certainly look after it.
The Best Meal I’ve Ever Had On A Scheduled Train
I’ve eaten on many trains and used to regularly enjoy breakfast on Ipswich to London in the past, when they had a dining car. In some ways the most memorable was a return from Teeside to London behind a Class 55, where the driver showed what a Deltic could do.
I’ve also travelled with C on the Eastern and Oriental Express.
But no meal on a train could compare with the one I ate going from Paddington to St. Ives in one of First Great Western’s InterCity 125s. They call it Pullman Fine Dining.
I had found out that they were serving lunch on the 11:30 from Paddington, so I booked myself on that train. There was a bit of a mix-up between the train times and the web site, but as you can see, I got my high-class lunch.
As a coeliac, what really impressed me was the professional way they dealt with allergies. In fact, if anybody wants to open a restaurant, they could do no better than copy the openness.
The two courses I ate were excellent, as was the service.
I do hope that this form of catering leads to similar offerings on other lines.
There was only two things wrong with the meal.
I had to eat it by myself and it would have been so much better with a travelling companion.
The other was that First Great Western don’t have a card, which says when this service is offered. I’m off to Cardiff on Tuesday, so could I get lunch on the way down?
The Anonymous Widower 