Saturday 22nd May 2010 was the last day of operation for the two 3-CIG slamdoor EMUs that South West Trains had kept on for operating the Brockenhurst-Lymington branch line.
I went along in the evening and rode the line several times, including the last return trip from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier.
Services were in the hands of blue-grey 3-CIG no 1497 'Freshwater'.
I went with my grandfather to the first day of the GWR 175 celebrations at Didcot Railway Centre.
There were an impressive number of locomotives in steam and the site was very busy.
The Spa Valley Railway held a London Transport themed Steam Gala on 24/25 April, and we took the Little Red Train along to represent the Acton Miniature Railway.
In action were pannier tank L99 (in London Transport livery), Metropolitan Railway T Stock coaches and LT goods stock.
Day 2 of my trip was spent travelling between Taunton and Holyhead via Cardiff, using the FGW Taunton-Cardiff service (using T&T Virgin class 57s) and the ATW Class 57 hauled 'Y Gerallt Gymro' Cardiff-Holyhead service.
During the layover in Cardiff, I took the opportunity to take the ATW 'Bubble Car' down to Cardiff Bay.
I travelled on the 'Cathedrals Express' railtour from London to Bristo via Redhill, Guildfod, Reading and Bath, hauled by LMS Pacific 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' (a late substitution for 34067 'Tangmere', which was unavailable).
Despite some late running (due to dodgy coal) and miserable weather, it was a good day out.
I had the rare opprotunity to walk through the Thames Tunnel build by Marc Brunel and his (more famous) son Isambard. The tunnel runs between Rotherhithe on the south bank and Wapping on the north and is now used as part of the East London Line (currently being converted to London Overground).
The tours were run by the London Transport Museum and Brunel Museum for two days only and will likely be the last time that the public will be able to walk through the tunnel (as it becomes an active railway again in April 2010).
On Sunday 13th September, I visited the Swanage Railway's Steam Gala.
My connection at Woking was conveniently timed to watch 60163 Tornado come through with a special to Exeter.
At Harmans Cross, there was a rally of classic vehicles and stationary engines.
On the way back from Swanage, I took an open-top bus back to Bournemouth via the Sandbanks ferry.
On Saturday 12th September, I visited the Northolt Model Railway Exhibition where two members of the Western Model Railway Society were exhibiting their layouts.
On Saturday 12th September, I attended the open day at the beautifully restored St Albans South signalbox.
The open day featured signalling demonstrations and traction engine rides.
For more information about the signalbox and future open days, see www.sigbox.co.uk
I attended the Upminster Depot Open Weekend with the Little Red Train. Other attractions included Q and R stock from the Museum Depot at Acton, Met Bo-Bo 'Sarah Siddons', 1938 Tube Stock, Battery Loco, ex-LU Pannier Tank and vintage buses.
Tthe FLMJ (Fjällnäs Lövhöjden Månstorp Järnväg) is a garden railway based on Sweden, but occasionally British running sessions are held.
For more about the FLMJ, see www.adnalm.org.uk.
On 5th August, the LT Museum's 1938 stock ran two special trips on the Jubilee Line.
I travelled on the first trip, which ran Stratford - West Hampstead (reverse) -Charing Cross Jubliee platforms (disused) - West Hampstead
In connection with a pageant at the Hendon RAF Museum, the 1938 Stock ran tours from Edgeware to Colindale via Kennington on the Northern Line. Adrian and I travelled on the second trip, along with the trip from Russell Square to Ealing Broadway.
On the way up, we stopped at Woking to watch A1 Pacific 60163 'Tornado' come through with a 'Cathedrals Express' Fathers Day special.
The Hendon Pageant also featured a fly-past by a World War 2 Lancaster bomber, which we saw between trips at Colindale.
In conjunction with the Rickmansworth Canal Festival, LU ran a heritage train between Harrow and Amersham using Met Bo-Bo No 12 'Sarah Siddons', a 4-TC set and Class 20s, 20189 and 20227.
Had an enjoyable day out at the Merstham Model Steam Show on 16th May.
The event included large scale model railways, traction engines, model boats, and the Merstham Valley Miniature Railway.
Despite forecasts for rain, it stayed mostly dry, but with very strong winds threatening the marquees pitched outside.
On the way home, I watched Clan Line pass through Merstham station with a VSOE tour.
The Acton MIniature Railway was open during the London's Transport in MIniaure Open Weekend at the Museum Depot.
As usual, I was rushed off my feet, but managed to get a few photos.
Brand-new A1 Pacific No 60163 'Tornado' was running special trains on the Southern on 14/2/09, so I went down to see it pass through Southwood (near Farnborough)
I had been looking longingly at G-Scale models for a long time and, after seeing an LGB Passenger Starter Set on eBay for significantly less than anywhere else, I decided to take the plunge. The set consists of a Stainz 0-4-0T steam loco, two four wheel coaches, 4ft circle of track and controller.
I also bought an Accucraft Baguley diesel shunter train pack (Loco + 2 wagons). The loco needs a bit of work to improve running quality, probably more weight and extra pictups.
My final purchase (for the moment) was a 'Siding Set' to extend and add a siding to the cicrle of track that comes in the starter set.
For Shauna's birthday, we went on a Birthday Bash from Sheffield to London St Pancras with other Rail UK members.
I got the chance to take some photos at Sheffield while waiting for the HST to London.
As part of the Amersham Heritage Day celebrations, London Underground ran the 1938 Stock and Metro-Vick Bo-Bo No12 'Sarah Siddons' on special trains between Harrow, Amersham and Watford.
There was also a heritage bus service from Amersham station to the 'Old Town', where there was a display of classic cars and various other activities going on.
The Great Cockcrow Railway's 'members' day' is a chance for visitors to bring their own locomotives and drive them around the railway.
Sarah Siddons from the Acton Miniature Railway was also in attendance, and made a few trips round (two of which were double-headed with another visiting Metro-Vick).
On Summer Saturdays, East Midlands Trains ran special services to Skegness, using Top & Tailed Class 47s on Mk2s.
I joined a RailUK meet for the last trip, on 6th September. I started from North Camp at 0457 and met Shauna and the rest of the RailUK members at Nottingham.
On the way back, I photographed the Spitfire Railtours 'Dorset Dumpling' tour after arrival at Waterloo
Mine and Shauna's second summer bash was to South Wales, taking in Cardiff, Swansea, the lines west of Camarthen, the Welsh valleys and the Brecon Mountain Railway.
The Little Red Train and Metro-Vick 'Sarah Siddons' from the Acton Miniature Railway visited the Great Cockcrow Railway for a joint event with Cobham Bus Museum.
Shauna and I spent 4 days in Scotland, travelling there and back on the Caledonian Sleeper.
Our travels took in Fort William, Glasgow, Stranraer, the Strathspey Railway, Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh and Dundee.
I travelled from Ash Vale to Exeter via Salisbury to meet Shauna (and some other RailUK members) on the CrossCountry Manchester-Newquay HST.
Most of the photos are taken at Exeter, as we didn't have very much time at Newquay before we had to get the same train straight back.
Shauna and I took a trip to the Sea Life Centre at Weymouth. As there were replacement buses between Poole and Wareham, we decided to take the bus from Bournemouth to Swanage, Swanage railway to Norden and back to Corfe Castle, then bus to Wareham and on to Weymouth.
Shauna and I took a trip to London on 4/5/08.
We managed to see A4 no 60019 'Bittern' passing through Finsbury Park and leaving Kings Cross with a Cathedrals Express railtour to Norwich, then visited the Science Museum.
With the Severn Valley Railway now repaired after last year's flooding, Shauna and I decided to pay a visit on Easter Monday, travelling to/from Kidderminster by FGW, Virgin, Chiltern and London Midland.
There was a good selection of locos in service and we took a trip from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth and back, stopping off to view the new 'Engine House' at Highley.
The Acton Miniature Railway was in operation for the London's Transport in Miniature open weekend at the Museum Depot in Acton.
The weekend saw the debut of the railway's re-gauged 7.25" Metro-Vick 'Sarah Siddons', the prototype of which was on display outside the depot.
For more on the Acton Miniature Railway, see www.actonminiaturerailway.co.uk
Shauna and I were to travel on this Class 87 farewell railtour from Birmingham International to Glasgow Central. Unfrotunately, due to problems with the stock, the tour was cancelled (after passengers had spent 3 hours in the cold at Wolverhampton).
The train did run through Wolverhampton twice on a test run, so at least there was the opportunity to take a few photos.
To mark the closure of the East London Line on 23/12/07 to turn it into a National Rail line, the London Transport Museum ran a special train using its preserved train of 1938 Stock on 16/12/07.
The tour ran from Ealing Broadway along the District line onto the East London Line (using St Mary's Curve, which has no scheduled passenger trains). It then shuttled back and forth along the line, visiting Whitechapel, New Cross and New Cross Gate, before returning to Ealing Broadway.
Shauna and I set out to cover the lines we failed to do on our 6/10/07 trip.
Our route was Ash Vale-Woking-Weymouth-Westbury-Chippenham (via Melksham)-Bristol-Severn Beach-Bristol-Salisbury-Woking-Ash Vale.
Surprisingly, FGW didn't manage to screw up our intended plan at all!
Shauna and I decided to get some coverage on the bits of the SWT network we hadn't yet done.
The trip was as follows:
North Camp - Reading - Basingstoke - Southampton - Salisbury (via Romsey) - Romsey - Chandlers Ford - Southampton Airport - Woking - Ash Vale.
Our original intention was to go from Salisbury to Bath Spa, then on to Weymouth and return via Bournemouth and Woking, stopping enroute to do the Chandlers Ford Branch. Unfortunately our SWT service from Salisbury to Bath Spa was cancelled, and I couldn't use my free SWT tickets on any of the FGW services on that route.
On Sunday 16/9/07, the London Transport Museum's preserved 4-car 1938 Stock set ran three railtours on parts of the Piccadilly, Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines. These were to raise funds to allow the London Underground Operational Apprentices to travel to Cumbria and carry out restoration work for Outward Bound.
I travelled on trip 1 from Ealing Common to Stanmore via Rayners Lane and the disused Jubilee platforms at Charing Cross. I then followed trip 2 (leap-frogging it using the faster Metropolitan trains) and photographed it at Wembley Park, Finchley Road and Green Park (on the return).
I purchased a full 9-car Hornby class 390 'Pendolino' model from an exhibition on 1/9/07, so took it to the Fjällnäs Lövhöjden Månstorp Järnväg for testing, along with my Bachmann Super-Voyager.
Shauna and I went on a 7-day bash around the UK railway network.
Our trip took in Wales, Devon, Cornwall, the Isle of Wight, Settle and Carlisle and East Anglia.
Shauna and I went on a late afternoon/evening trip to cover the Uckfield and East Grinstead branches.
Our route was:
Ash Vale - Clapham Jn - East Grinstead - Hurst Green - Uckfield - Hurst Green - Clapham Jn - Ash Vale.
On 24th June 2007, the London Transport Museum's 4-car train of 1938 Tube Stock ran a number of special railtours on the Northern Line to commemorate the centenary of the Charing Cross branch.
I travelled on the 1430 departure from Golders Green, which travelled:
Golders Green - Charing Cross (Reverse) - Mill Hill East - Kennington (reverse via the loop) - Golders Green.
Unfortunately the potential for photography was limited given the largely underground nature of the tour, and LU's ban on flash photograpy.
Southern Railway No 850 'Lord Nelson' working the Dorset Coast Express railtour from London Victoria to Weymouth.
Photos taken at Branksome (between Poole and Bournemouth).
Also includes various Desiro pictures. The railtour was running 45mins late and I had to do something to pass the time.
LMS 'Duchess' Class No 6233 'Duchess of Sutherland' working the Cuneo Centennial railtour from Waterloo-Salisbury and return on Saturday 28th April 2007.
I watched the train pass at Southwood (near Farnborough) in the morning, and caught it at Woking and Waterloo on the way back in the evening.
Bulleid Rebuilt 'Merchant Navy' Class 4-6-2 No 35028 'Clan Line' working a VSOE excursion from London Victoria to Southampton.
I photographed the train at Brookwood in the Down direction and videod it at Southwood on the way back (see video)
7 files, last one added on Apr 07, 2007
53 albums on 1 page(s)
Random files - Railway Pictures
Rotherhithe Station44 views
47851 on the back of the train at Nottingham, after arrival from Skegness3 views
BR 4-6-2 No 71000 'Duke of Gloucester' at Bishops Lydeard0 views
St Albans South signalbox seen from the rear.7 views
where two members of the Western Model Railway Society
