A Look At Stockley Junction
Stockley Junction, is where trains leave and join the Great Western Main Line to go to and from Heathrow Airport.
This map from carto.metro.free.fr shows the lines at the junction and to the nearby Hayes and Harlington station.
Stockley Junction And Hayes & Harlington Station
Note that in some places there are eight tracks across, with lots of crossings and points everywhere.
If you look at the lines through the station, starting from the South they are, with their platform numbers.
- Reading-bound Fast Line (Down Main) GWR – Heathrow Express
- London-bound Fast Line (Up Main) – GWR – Heathrow Express
- Reading-bound Slow Line (Down Relief) – Crossrail- GWR – Heathrow Connect
- London-bound Slow Line (Up Relief) – Crossrail – GWR – Heathrow Connect
- Bay Platform – Crossrail – GWR
Look at the map and note the following.
- The two Slow (Relief) lines go straight through the station and the junction.
- The two Fast (Main) lines go straight through the station and the junction.
- Trains on the Down Main like Heathrow Express to the Airport, take the Southernmost line and just turn left for the Airport.
- There are several new crossing and short lines, which in the map are shown dotted.
This set of pictures, were taken on a train going along the Down Slow line.
Note how as you get nearer to the junction, the number of tracks increases.
These pictures were taken from a Heathrow Connect train going through Stockley Junction towards the Airport.
From the path the train took, I suspect that the track layout shown in the map has been largely created.
Note the line shown in these pictures, is the one used by trains running from the Airport to Paddington.
The final set of pictures, were taken as I returned from Heathrow on another Heathrow Connect train.
The train crossed over all the lines and descended into Hayes and Harlington station on the Northernmost line.
Stockley Flyover – 27th April 2015
The Stockley Flyover is now being fitted out with rails and overhead lines. This image from Ceequal shows a visualisation of how the flyover will look.
Stockley Flyover Visualisation
And this is a Google Earth image of the junction.
Stockley Flyover
And these are some photographs I took from trains going to and from West Drayton.
It’s certainly starting to look like a real railway from below.
The Viaduct At Stockley Coming From Heathrow
I took these pictures coming back.
Such an impressive structure, is one of those that can’t be photographed too many times.
Note that coming back around midday the Heathrow Connect train was almost empty until it pickedup passengers in the Ealing area.
The Viaduct At Stockley Going To Heathrow
I mentioned in this post, that one of my reasons for using Heathrow Connect was to get pictures of the new viaduct at Stockley that carries the Heathrow branch of Crossrail over the Great Western Main Line.
The pictures were taken going to Heathrow.
It looks to be a very substantial viaduct. But then news reports are saving it is one of the largest bridges in the area since Brunel built the Great Western.
A Misunderstanding With Heathrow Connect
I was talking to an e-friend last night in California, who shares my interests of trains and large projects. He is getting on a bit and asked me to find an easy route from Heathrow to Barking, from where he can get a mini-cab to his sister’s. He’s coming in to Heathrow and asked me, if I knew of a step-free route.
Last time he took the Piccadilly line to Kings Cross from where he took the lifts up to the Metropolitan line for Barking. He managed it with ease, but wondered if Heathrow Express or Connect would be easier.
As I wanted to go to see the new Crossrail flyover at Stockley and I thought that Heathrow Connect would be a good camera platform to get a photo, as the train turned towards Heathrow, I told my e-friend, that I’d find out.
I checked last night and a web site told me, that my Freedom Pass could be used after 09:30 this morning.
Before I boarded the train, I asked the First Great Western man on the gate and said I’d be alright after 09:30. As it was 11:00, I boarded the train.
But I had to get off at Hayes and Harlington, as the rules seem to have changed.
I was not pleased, to say the least.
There’ll be an unholy row, if when Crossrail opens in a few years time, Freedom Passes can’t be used to the airport.
Update – I spoke to my friend late last night and he’ll be using the Piccadilly line with the Oyster card, he uses when he’s in London. He was also pleased to know, that probably from the end of this year, he’ll be able to use a contactless card as a ticket.
The Anonymous Widower 