train travel

Lockdown Travel – the armchair version

May 5, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt about it – travel is, for now, off the agenda. Everyone is staying at home. International borders are closed. Aircraft are grounded. The travel industry as a whole will probably never look quite the same again. Something no one was really expecting to happen quite so fast.

Having been somewhat grounded to the UK already by the reality of being a parent, the current lockdown is even harder because I can’t even go to my go to places here in the UK. My local National Trust site is closed. The London Underground is for essential journeys only. We can’t even jump in the car to escape to the coast for a day. I totally understand and respect why, but at the same time it is frustrating for a family who like to be moving around a lot.

Instead I’m trying to get my travel kicks remotely via a screen instead.

At the weekend I saw the end of the second series of what has to be the most exciting travel programme I’ve ever seen – Race Around the World. Last year I wrote about how much I enjoyed the first series, but the second one has been even better. Not only did the winning team win by only 20 seconds (honestly!) but I think it was a longer series, and one which shows off a part of the world that I know very little about – South America. If you haven’t seen it yet then please do, it really is wonderful television. South America, especially the Southern part, is now firmly on my bucket list. It looks absolutely gorgeous and the terrain there isn’t really what I was expecting. I think most of my South American knowledge was about the more northern countries. That needs rectifying now.

The rest of my travel viewing has been closer to home focussing on the London Underground. I accidentally stumbled across the Hidden London Hangouts that the London Transport Museum is putting out weekly on their YouTube channel. The experts from the museum’s Hidden London series of talks and tours sharing their knowledge about the London Underground. What isn’t to love? It’s certainly satisfying my current Tube withdrawal symptoms. It’s also making me keener than ever to finish our Tube Stop Baby challenge when we can.

Continuing the theme, someone on Twitter recommended the Heart of the Angel documentary on BBC iPlayer. Recorded back in 1989 before Angel station was redeveloped it is a fascinating look at 48 hours in the station and some of the people who work there. In a way it is hard to believe how much has changed in just 30 years.

One thing I miss loads under lockdown is being able to either travel by train, or see a train anywhere. We don’t live near a railway line and have no essential journey that requires one. I’ve managed to scratch that railway itch a bit though by watching the first episode of Tim Dunn’s new series on Yesterday – The Architecture the Railways Built. Not only does episode 1 let you have a nosey around the closed Down Street Underground Station, but he also visits the gorgeous Central Station in Rotterdam that Bonn and I were lucky enough to see for ourselves a couple of years ago.

Television Travel Rotterdam Central Station

Travel might change forever after all this, but we’re still determined to get out there as much as we can (rules permitting etc) and hope to still be able to share our adventures on here with you. Until then they might have to stay confined to our back garden!

Riding an upcycled D-stock from Ridgmont to Bletchley – the Martson Vale Line

May 27, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

The idea of needing to recycle and upcycle is everywhere at the moment. And understandably so. What not everyone realises though is that it’s not just things at home that can be recycled. Have you ever thought about recycling a train? Those people at Vivarail have. That’s exactly what they’ve done with their new Class 230s. They’re upcycled D-stock trains that previously used to run on the London Underground.

Upcycled trains

It’s really a fascinating bit of engineering where they have been converted from electric trains that take power from a third rail into diesel two car units.

The Marston Vale line, a community rail partnership run by London Northwestern that goes between Bedford and Bletchley, has three of these two car units (one to go in each direction, and a spare). I’m pretty sure any London Underground fan wants to go and ride them, just as much as they do the Island Line vintage trains down on the Isle of Wight.

We decided to take a trip along part of the Marston Vale line with the kids, partly as as way of making a trip to Bletchley Park more attractive to my six year old, London Underground and train loving son. It did the trick. The idea of an upcycled D-stock, or as he put it a “recycled underground train” made it a very attractive option. We decided to start our journey at Ridgmont Station, which is conveniently located extremely close to the M1 at junction 13.

Ridgmont Station

I’d heard of Ridgmont before and wanted to go and suss the place out before a return trip with less children. It is an unstaffed station, but one with a small heritage centre and shop, as well as a well respected tea rooms. We will be back to do the place justice in the future.

The other thing that made me choose it as a place to start our journey was the convenient car park just across the tracks. It may not be large, but by the time we returned to our car we were the only ones parked there. And it was free too!

At the moment you can’t buy tickets at the station (the Heritage Centre don’t sell them, but the staff there are incredibly useful at answering any train related questions you might have) but we spotted a ticket machine under wraps on one of the platforms, so I’m guessing it’s coming soon. For now though you buy tickets on the train itself from the onboard staff. They can accept credit cards and railcards on board much as you can at any ticket office.

What’s a class 230 like?

The trains themselves look incredibly smart, and although their basic structure is recognisable from the District Line, the differences are remarkable.

Firstly, the ability to squeeze in a Diesel engine. I guess it makes you realise just how big all the electric motors originally were. The new livery looks incredibly smart though, and to those not in the know I don’t think you’d guess that you were on something up cycled.

Inside the train there are a few hints to what went before. The doors between the two units are obviously to anyone that has travelled on older underground trains. The sideways seating that is used in part of the train is also a bit of a giveaway. Elsewhere in the train though they’ve put in usual “airline” seating and even a few tables too. A far cry from what people used to put up with on the District Line.

Another nice addition is charging points. The tables and airline seats have proper three pin plugs, but the sideways seating has USB ports at the base of the arm rests. Perfect for commuters who needy to give their phone a quick burst of charge.

The other thing they’ve squeezed in is an on-train toilet. Even though I have to admit that it did seem to smell a bit on the train we were on!

The outside of them all has been very artistically decorated with images of Bletchley Park, not just the Manor House, but also the Bombe computer too. How they’ve managed it though is quite impressive. The D-stock feels a whole lot more spacious than it ever used to and you really do feel like you are travelling on more than just a two car unit.

Bletchley Park

The real purpose behind our trip was to get to Bletchley so that we could do a family trip to Bletchley Park. This amazing slice of WW2 history is located just a short walk away from Bletchley Station and is well worth a visit. Bletchley played a pivotal, very secret, role in the war and it’s only over the last 20 or so years that the full truth has come out as to what went on there. The museum itself is incredible. Full of fascinating information and making full use of modern day technology to tell the story of Bletchley Park. We feel like we only scratched the surface after a couple of hours there and we will definitely be back for a return visit. Especially since your ticket is valid for a whole 12 months. If you’re an English Heritage member you can even get 20% off the admission price. Once we’ve been back expect to see a much more detailed account of our visit here on Penny Travels.

Once our visit was over though it was back on the train to Ridgmont. It seems the Marston Vale line is actually far busier than I expected it to be, with many people using it as part of their regular commute to and from work. As a visitor though it felt well worth the trip to see just how it is possible to upcycle a train and surely it’s somewhere you just have to visit if you’re a proper London Underground fan.

Tube Stop Baby: Kensington (Olympia)

March 17, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

Did you know that if you want to do the challenge of visiting all 270 London Underground stations in the shortest time possible, there are only certain days of the year that it is technically possible? This is all due to the slight anomaly that is Kensington (Olympia).

Situated at the end of a tiny little branch on the District line that goes up from Earls Court, Kensington (Olympia) station is situated right next to the Olympia exhibition centre. This is in fact the reason that Tube Stop Baby got to visit the station so early on in the challenge – I was going to Olympia for the Toy Fair as part of my work over on Penny Plays.

These days Kensington (Olympia) is only served by District line trains at the weekend, or when there are certain events on at neighbouring Olympia – the Great British Beer Festival being one of the most noteworthy reasons! This makes it the least served station on the whole of the London Underground. I could probably waffle on here about exactly when it is served, and why, but there’s a tube expert (and former world record holder) who can do that far better than I can!

It does pose a whole tonne of questions about just how long London Underground might keep serving Kensington (Olympia) or whether they might just leave it to the National Rail services that run to the other platforms there.

It’s a bit of a sad decline really for a station that in the early 1970s was planned to be the main London terminus for Channel Tunnel trains! Over the years services have run from there to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The station was served by milk trains and was also part of the Government’s Cold War plans in case of a need to relocate Government away from London. When Eurostar used to run into Waterloo, their trains used to pass through Kensington (Olympia) on their way to the North Pole depot and the station even had basic back up immigration facilities in case of an incoming train having to be diverted away from Waterloo for some reason. Up until 1981 the station was even a terminal for Motorail trains. These moved to Paddington, Euston and Kings Cross before being finally being withdrawn in Summer 2005. There’s still a small reminder of Kensington (Olympia)’s role in this part of British Rail history though as what was the terminal is now a car park and named “Olympia Motorail Car Park P4”.

For the sake of completeness I should note that we arrived and departed Kensington (Olympia) on London Overground seeing as the District line wasn’t running that day!

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Kensington (Olympia)

Date of visit: 22 January 2019

Underground Line(s) – District

Zone: 2

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.

Tube Stop Baby – Bermondsey

January 23, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

So, Bermondsey. Stop number 4 on our trip around the underground, but not the most thrilling of the ones we’ve been to so far (at the time of writing we’re up to 14 stations).

Despite Bermondsey offering step free access we didn’t actually venture any further than the eastbound platform when we visited the station as part of our trip along the Jubilee Line extension. The simple reason being that we didn’t really have any idea what we might find above ground if we had decided to venture outside the station. A pathetic excuse really, but the truth all the same. One day we may return and see just what there is on the other side of the ticket barriers.

Bermondsey will be celebrating its 20th birthday this year (2019) as the station was opened as part of the extension to North Greenwich (and beyond) for the Millennium Dome. More on that when we visit North Greenwich itself.

I read that the rest of the station is quite impressive due to the futuristic design that was used on much of this part of the Jubilee line. Certainly the grey and metallic look on the platforms, combined with the platform edge doors, give it a feel a million miles away from some of the older tube stations that I am more familiar with.

I remember when the extension was opened and there was lots of talk about ow platform edge doors were the future and that one day they would be installed across the whole tube network. I have to admit that I’ve not read up on the subject recently, but it certainly seems that 20 years on they’ve not retro-fitted any to any other station on the underground network.

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Bermondsey

Date of visit: 3 January 2019

Underground Line(s): Jubilee

Zone: 2

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.

The Island Line – The Isle of Wight’s railway

October 31, 2018 by Penny Leave a Comment

Where can you ride a tube train along a pier? On the Isle of Wight’s Island Line – that’s where!

Not everyone realises that the Isle of Wight has its own railway. Fewer people realise the historical significance of it, especially for lovers of the London Underground.

The Island Line – basic facts

Let’s start with the basic facts. The Island Line runs between Ryde on the north of the Isle of Wight and Shanklin, which is eight and a half miles south along the Eastern coast of the island. It is actually part of the main National Rail infrastructure and is currently under the South Western Railway franchise. You can plan journeys via the main online National Rail planners and can use all regular railcards and through tickets on the service.

The northerly most station is Ryde Pier Head, where the service connects with the passenger ferry to Portsmouth Harbour. It then continues south through Smallbrook Junction, which is an unusual station in that it exists purely to serve the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. There is no separate public access and was actually opened by British Rail in 1991 when the Steam Railway was extended to reach the Island Line. It is therefore only served by Island Line services on the days that the Steam Railway is running.

The southern terminus is Shanklin, yet originally the route extended on to Ventnor but services on this section ceased in 1966.

So, what makes it so special you may be wondering? I fully admit that all the above just makes it sound like a regular train service?

Rolling Stock

The answer lies in the rolling stock.

The Island Line is served by 1938 London Underground tube stock and when you’re travelling on board you can expect to be somewhat confused about where you are and where you’re going, simply because it still just feels like you’re in London as soon as you step aboard.

The reason for this slightly strange old rolling stock is because the ceiling of the Ryde tunnel is 10 inches too low for “standard” National Rail rolling stock. This means that the 1938 tube stock has the honour of being the oldest passenger rolling stock operating timetabled services on the National Rail network.

A trip back in time

As well as feeling like you’re in London, a trip on the Island Line is also a bit like a trip back in time. All the stations have a vintage feel to them, with lots of cream and green paint and old fashioned signs and station canopies.

I also wouldn’t be a proper train geek if I didn’t mention the moquette.

The particular train we travelled on featured what I remember as Metropolitan Line moquette on the main seats, but there was also a treat inshore if you pulled down the guard’s seat (remember these 1938 London Underground trains had guards – something that the Island Line has too!)

There you reveal a different moquette design – one that I think was a Network Southeast National Rail design. Although I’m trying to double check that fact!

Feel the bounce!

What you do notice as you travel on the Island Line is just how the rolling stock wasn’t really designed for this kind of journey. You really feel yourself being bounced along as you travel and as much as I love the Island Line I just couldn’t ever call it a “comfortable” ride in that sense.

If you’ve ever lived or commuted in London though you’ll find it a slightly strange travel experience. It feels, and sounds, just like the London Underground, yet the view out of the window is a million miles away. As you go along Ryde Pier you’ve got the Solent on either side of you and you can watch the Hovercrafts. You don’t get that in Zone 1!

Listen to our trip

Why not join Bonn and I as we travel along the Island Line? We’re delighted to say that episode 2 of our new Hobbies and Interests podcast was recorded as we travelled along the Island Line earlier in the year. Why not plug in your headphones and travel with us?