Grand Central Up And East Coast Down
I went up to York on Grand Central in First and came back down in Second on East Coast.
As you can see, both trains were forty-year-old InterCity 125s.
First Class on Grand Central might have been affordable at £49.50 and it was a convenient train in that it got there just before the museum opened, but it was a very poor offering. I got an uncomfortable seat with a narrow table in a group of four and the only refreshment I had was two cups of tea.
Coming back I’d booked an open Off Peak ticket at £32.00, so I could come back at a convenient time.
I managed to get a more comfortable window seat in a group of four, with a bigger table than I had on the way up. The train seemed to be fairly newly refurbished and was probably in better condition, than it had been in all of its long life. The trolley came through twice and I bought just a bottle of water.
Both trains were on time.
It is interesting to compare these two journeys with the Copenhagen to Hamburg trip I did recently in a diesel German ICE TD.
I was in First on the German train and the seat was marginally more comfortable, than that of the seat in Second on my journey home yesterday. I also had a bigger table. But the ride was no better on the newer German train, which incidentally tilts, and there was nothing to choose between the views through the wide windows on both trains.
But the real problem on the German train, was the total lack of a decent drinks service. The trolley on East Coast was much better. But I have feeling that the layout of German ICE trains effectively rules out a trolley. food on all three journeys didn’t include anything that was gluten-free, but that is coming if my taste of Virgin is anything to go by.
I doubt I’ll be travelling on Grand Central again, and certainly never in First. Unless I have no choice!
Multi-Lingual Signs At The NRM
The Keep Off signs were in three languages.
Multi-Lingual Signs At The NRM
But then there seemed to be a lot of foreign visitors. I was talking to a couple of Germans by the two paintings in this post.
A guide told me, that some visitors had come all the way from New Zealand
Going North And Going South
These two paintings were on display in the Nation Railway Museum at York.
The artist was George Earl and the paintings are mentioned in his Wikipedia entry.
I found the paintings notable, as there were certainly Red Irish, English and Gordon Setters in the paintings. There could also have been Red and White Irish Setters too!
Green Arrow At York
I didn’t know any of the Class V2 were still in existence.
Green Arrow At York
But Green Arrow seemed to be in pretty good condition. I can remember them working out of Kings Cross in the early 1950s to places like Hull and Lincoln.
According to Wikipedia it might be scheduled to be returned to working condition. Although not as glamorous as the A4 Pacifics, it is the sole survivor of a class of locomotive, that proved influential in keeping the railways running during the Second World War.
In The Workshop
These are photos, I took in the workshop.
Flying Scotsman cuts a very sorry state in the back row.
There Were Crowds At York
To say the crowds at York were big would be an understatement,as you can see from the previous post.
These pictures were taken outside. Bear in mind that I timed my trip to get there as the museum opened.
But at least my only cost was getting to York, as the entry to the National Railway Museum was free.
Engineering Pornography At York
I went to the National Railway Museum today to see the Mallard 75 event or the Great Gathering as it is named by some.
Here are some pictures.
Sadly only three of the six iconic A4 Pacifics designed by Sir Nigel Gresley are still capable of steaming.
It Wasn’t A Good Trip!
The objective was simple, which was to get to Felixstowe from Liverpool Street in time for a dental appointment at 14:10. I worked out I’d leave on the 11:30 from London and then I had fifteen minutes at Ipswich to change onto the 12:58 to Felixstowe. I would arrive at 13:24, which gave me plenty of time. Coming back, I had plenty of time to catch the 15:28 after my appointment and after a change at Ipswich I’d be back in London for 17:19
But things didn’t work out as expected! The train crawled out of London and we were thirteen minutes late at Colchester, so I felt I’d miss my connection. But that was late too, so I caught it easily!
But I don’t like being late.
After my appointment, I walked back to the station and as the train appeared to be on time and it was only15:00, I walked back to the bar in Felixstowe station to see if they had a nice glass of cider.
But they didn’t so after fiddling about, I walked back to the platform and sat and read my paper for a bit.
There was then a bit of commotion and on checking the display I found that my train to Ipswich had been cancelled just a few minutes before it was due to arrive.
I thought about taking the bus into Ipswich, but then I realised I’d have to get from wherever the bus dropped me to the station.
I did think about waiting for the 16:28, but who was there any guarantee that wouldn’t be cancelled as well. After all, as I went to Felixstowe, a driver had told me one train had already been cancelled in the morning.
So I walked back to the taxi rank opposite Tesco and took one to Ipswich station for £25.
I eventually got back into London at about 17:30 and was dropped right in the middle of the rush hour.
Not one of those inconvenienced by this cancellation heard any advice from Greater Anglia.
Discussing it all with the taxi driver, who took me to Ipswich, he said it happens all the time, because they give the freight trains priority. Let’s hope that when the Bacon Factory Curve is completed, things get a bit better. However, it would help if more of the line from Ipswich to Felixstowe was double-tracked, as the Docks said they would be.
This line sets a bad precedent for the row that will happen between London Overground and the freight operators, who want to use the North London and Gospel Oak to Barking Lines to and from London Gateway. I think we’ll see one hell of a row over that conflict, especially when Class 66s thunder through all night keeping the residents awake.
Abbey Wood To Get a Striking Station
Abbey Wood station in South East London is one of the termini of Crossrail. The drawings and concept have now been released and don’t look boring.
The best place to see the concept is here on the Fereday Pollard web site.
The Hitchin Flyover Opens
It was only in May, that I took a couple of pictures of the construction of the Hitchin Flyover. It is now open for test purposes and a few passenger trains according to this story from Network Rail. There is a good time-lapse video of the construction in the Network Rail article.
The Anonymous Widower 