The Docklands light railway

I was in London, at the end of July, when I got the impulse to go for a ride on the DLR. I'd met a friend for lunch in central London, so headed back to London Bridge via a very circuitous route -  the central Line to Bank (where there's one of the biggest gaps I've ever had to mind), then the DLR down to Greenwich, where I got onto a Southeastern service, calling at Deptford en route, back to London Bridge to get a train home. And I was on the train home when I had an idea. I recalled Geoff Marshall's video from the start of this year, where he attempted to break the record for visiting all of the DLR stations, and where he mentioned the explorerticket.co.uk website, where all of these unofficial challenges can be found. 

When I got home, I logged on to the website and, having read the rules, decided to attempt the challenge. Whilst I was in no way aiming for the record (indeed, I didn't run AT all, and I did this during the COVID-19 reduced timetables), I decided to time my journey for the fun of it. Unfortunately constraints on when I was able to be in London also meant that I was travelling off-peak (between approximately 12 noon and 2pm) so had to change at Canary Wharf rather than being able to get a direct train from Stratford to Lewisham. 

My route involved starting at Shadwell, where I boarded a train to Bank. Having made my way through the one-way system to Monument, I used the tube to Tower Hill, from where I walked to Tower Gateway DLR station. And this is where I had my first delay. I missed the train by less than 20 seconds. I would say the driver could see me when they left, but I know the DLR is automatic! If I'd have ran the distance, I'd have crossed the road earlier (the pedestrian green man disappeared just before I got there) so would have easily made the train.

But as I was doing this for fun rather than to break the record, I kept going, boarding a train at Tower Hill 10 minutes later and heading for Beckton. From here, I caught the bus to near King George V station, although I had a 13 minute wait at the bus stop. It was an extremely hot day when I did this trip so I debated running into ASDA in Beckton to get a cold drink, but wasn't convinced I'd get back in time for my bus. Instead, I found a local shop on the short walk between the bus stop and King George V station, so nipped into there to grab a drink, which was possibly the highlight of this very warm day. 

From here, I made the return journey to Woolwich (with a not inconsiderable wait at Woolwich for a train heading north), before heading up to Stratford International, where after another wait I headed back to Stratford to head down towards Canary Wharf. Again, I seemed to have a long wait here before the train left (I think it may have even been a bit late), however had a good change at Canary Wharf for a Lewisham train, finishing in around 2 hours and 45 minutes.

From there, I headed back into London Victoria, from where I headed home, feeling very warm indeed!  

Stations visited: Greenwich, Deptford, Lewisham, Nunhead, Denmark Hill and Peckham Rye.

The trains I've been on (part 3)

 Hello again, and welcome back. Apologies for not posting in a couple of weeks, whilst I've been dealing with a few family issues. I was planning on posting this a couple of weeks ago but, given the tragic events in Scotland, I felt it was appropriate to wait until today to post again. 

Today's post is the 3rd part of the "Trains I've been on" series.

We start today with the Class 313, currently in operation along the East and West Coastway routes operated by Southern. I've been on one of these trains on two occasions, both of which were back in the summer of 2016 when I was looking at universities. I used one from Brighton to Falmer (to go and look at Sussex University) and one from Chichester to Portsmouth and Southsea to go and look at Portsmouth University, and I must admit I was quite fond of them, particularly as they didn't seem to feature any of the 3+2 style seating which is common on Southern services.

The Class 315 is today's second train to be mentioned, which I rode on the TFL rail network, between London Liverpool Street and Romford in January this year. I had planned to go to Shenfield, however my main aim for the day was to do the Romford-Upminster branch line, which was operated by the same class of train I believe. I needed to get back into central London as I was meeting a friend to check into a hotel and have dinner before we went to see a show in the West End.

And now on to a train that I haven't traveled on for many years. The Class 317 trains are confined to areas of the Greater Anglia network and are in the process of being replaced, but my experience on one of these trains dates back several years, to when they operated on the Great Northern network, when I traveled on one between King's Cross and Cambridge.

Another type of train formerly operated by First Capital Connect, I've ridden on a fair few Class 319 units, and I must admit I wasn't hugely fond of either these or the 317s. I particularly dislike the 3+2 configuration which is often found on these units, as the aisle is then really not very wide. I am looking forward to seeing what they look like after conversion into the class 769 units, which will be going onto a few different routes in Wales and England.

The Class 357 is today's final train to get a mention, and I've only been on one of these, and it was for the short journey from Upminster to Fenchurch Street back in January, when I'd been on the Romford to Upminster line. I quite like these trains, but I don't feel I can comment too much on them seeing as I've been onboard for only a short journey. My memories of that day are also slightly clouded by the fact that I managed to get lost trying to get from Fenchurch Street to my hotel for the night!

I'm going to leave this here for today, but Saturday's post is going to be the story of how I did all the DLR stops, so that's going to be a long one.

Another post-lockdown trip (or 2)

I've made a couple of trips since lockdown now. After my short hop up to Croydon for a job interview, I made my way down to the South Coast, for another interview (which I also didn't get). This involved travelling on 2 trains, changing at Haywards Heath in the middle for a train heading for Littlehampton, to take me to my destination in Shoreham-by-Sea. I didn't tick off any new stations on this trip, however I was shocked at some of the face mask positions, including as covers for the chin, rather than the nose and the mouth. I was also slightly put off by an individual who felt the need to eat a hard-boiled egg on a train. I even saw the "Thank you Key Workers" Class 700.

But my next trip took me back into London for the first time since lockdown. To be brutally honest, I was a bit wary. but I wanted to meet up (socially distanced of course) with a friend from uni. So I got the train to Croydon, before picking up tramlink to Wimbledon, where I met my friend, before getting a train to Waterloo. Here we changed for Waterloo East to cross the river to Charing Cross, leaving us with a short walk to Covent Garden, where we got food and sat and caught up. This trip meant I actually got the chance to tick off a few new stations: Wimbledon, Waterloo and Vauxhall. I didn't stop at any new stations on the way home. 

I've been to London on two more occasions since that day, and I'm actually going to skip over the first of these two trips, as it was the inspiration for something that I'm planning on doing tomorrow (check my social media for updates on the day), and I'll therefore mention it in next week's post. But on my last trip to London, I got the tube to Westfield London, which is near the old BBC television centre. I did this via Hammersmith, changing between the two stations. At the Piccadilly and District Line Station, I even saw a floral display reflecting the rolling stock used on the subsurface lines.

 I took the opportunity to go in the large Lush store at the centre, which was fantastic because my local Lush is tiny, and with really sensitive skin I've found I get on with their products really quite well. My local store is so tiny that, given the current social distancing guidelines, they've just put a table with a till at the door and you have to request what you want, whereas the Westfield one gave me the chance to browse. I picked up a couple of new products to try and I'm really enjoying using them.

  

On my return to Victoria, I had a bit of spare time before I needed to be home, so took the opportunity to get on a train to West Croydon via Crystal Palace, ticking off a few new stations on the way. From there, I simply took the tram back to East Croydon, from where I got a train home.

Stations ticked off: Battersea Park, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Common, Balham, Streatham Hill, West Norwood, Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace, Norwood Junction, West Croydon.

Having re-checked my spreadsheet, I've also made a mistake with a calculation, due to how my spreadsheet is set up, so there's a few extra stations added in to my total today.

I think I'll leave this here for today.

Station Count: 237

I'm Back!!

Well hello there everyone, and welcome back to my blog! 

It's been a while now since I last posted - I have been having a few technical issues which made it really difficult for me to be able to upload, but I'm back now and I think those issues have been dealt with for good. Or at least for the foreseeable future, anyway.

So, I'm going to continue my "Trains I've been on" series in the next few weeks, but I'm going to use today's post for a proper "get to know me" post. Those of who who follow me on twitter will know that a few weeks ago, I asked for numbers between 1 and 100 for an upcoming blog post. This is that post! I found a website online with 100 questions for a get to know me post, but I felt that 100 questions was probably overkill, so I'm going to do 20 of those, as well as adding the basic things like who I am!

I got some suggestions off twitter, and have used a random number generator to select the rest of the questions.

Name: Charlotte

Age: 21

Job: Currently unemployed, having finished studying Biochemistry and Biological Chemistry at the 

University of Nottingham this year.

Where I'm based: Sussex, in the South East

Am I left or right handed? I am right handed.

What's the thing I can't leave the house without? My purse and my phone. I don't use contactless payments on my phone, hence why I need my purse!

Am I a morning or night person? I'm more of a night person, but I'm not hugely either. 

Am I on time or always late? I'm always really early getting to places, unless it's a 9am lecture at uni, in which case I mastered the art of walking in at 8:59 am.

Have I ever gone camping! Yes! I'm actually a volunteer Guide leader with Girlguiding, and I was in the Scout and Guide society at University, so I tend to camping at least once a year. Except this year, obviously.

If money were no object, what would you get for your next birthday? Theatre tickets to see something in the West End. I'm looking forward to seeing Six, & Juliet and Come From Away when the West End reopens, and I want to see Frozen and Andrew Lloyd Webber's new version of Cinderella once they open (in theory next year).  I like theatre almost as much as I like trains, but theatre costs a lot more!

Was I ever a Scout or Brownie? I was a Brownie... I was also a Guide, which is the section of Girlguiding equivalent to Scouts. I then became a Young Leader and then an adult leader, and have never left!

How tall am I? I'm about 5 foot 1, maybe 5 foot 2.

Do I have children? I don't, but I'm only 21 at the moment, so I'm still young. I'd quite like to have kids one day, although it won't be for several years yet!

Do I/Have I played any sports? I used to swim when I was younger, in fact I swam for my school at local events on a couple of occasions when I was at primary school. I was also a member of the University of Nottingham Salsa dance team during my time at uni, which involved several competitions a year against other university teams. I missed a lot of the 2019-20 season due to injury though, which was a shame.

What is my favourite foreign food? I'm going to be really boring here, and say pizza. I'm not all that into spicy food, or that adventurous generally with food. I'm quite fond of tacos and fajitas too, and I make a pretty good pasta carbonara. 

What's my favourite snack? To be honest, it changes every so often, and often between sweet and savoury things. I'm quite fond of anything chocolate based, or party rings biscuits, or if I want something savoury I'd probably be tempted by a sausage roll. 

What is my shoe size? I'm a 4/5. It depends on the shoe and on what socks I'd wear with it. Annoyingly I have really wide feet though, so it can be difficult to find shoes that fit.

What phone do I have? I have a samsung galaxy A5 (2017). It's the first smartphone I've ever had, and I'm definitely an android fan. I'm not fussed about something being the most up to date phone and the A range is really reasonable in price.

What's my favourite colour? Pink! I've always been a fan of pink. It varies what shade, sometimes I'm more into brighter pinks, then other times I like a more pale pink and other times I'm a fond of an almost coral colour, that's more orange-based.

Do I have any piercings or tattoos? No, and I can't see that changing, although I'm quite a fan of temporary tattoos!

What's my favourite restaurant? For the variety of food and really student-friendly prices, I'm going to to go with wetherspoons.

Mac or Windows? Windows. We had macs in the music technology room at school, which I used for my GCSE music composition. I used them a couple of times a week for most of a year and I still had no idea what I was doing with them.

Am I more of a tidy person, or a messy one? I'm definitely a messy person. I can make a mess really quickly.  

What is one item on my bucket list? I'd like to stay at Corrour in Scotland at some point in the future.

And that's it for today's post. Check back here on Wednesday at 10am for a new post, about some of my post-lockdown train journeys, before the continuation of my series about rolling stock I've travelled on next Saturday at 10am.

The trains I've been on (part 2)

Hello, and welcome back to part 2 of my review of the trains I've been on. Today I'll talk about another 5 types of train I've been on and give my feedback. Some of these trains were quite a while ago, so I'll do my best to remember!

If you haven't already, check out part 1 of this series of posts, which went live on Wednesday.

So, up first today.... the class 170 turbostar.

This type of train can be found on many routes across the country, but I've used them for various journeys between Nottingham and Birmingham New Street or stations in between the two, such as Derby and Tamworth. The main memory I have of these is how busy they were when I went to Birmingham; whilst the online booking system gave us seat reservations apparently these weren't valid, and I was very lucky to get a seat both ways. The trains were packed full of people, on both a Sunday afternoon and a Monday afternoon, and I had a small suitcase with me as well, which didn't help matters. These trains could really use being doubled up to increase capacity and prevent people from packing all the way down the aisle of the train, as happened on most of my journeys on them.

And next up, the class 185.

This was a few years ago now, when I travelled between Manchester Piccadilly and York with family as part of a holiday in the north of the UK. And when I say a few years ago, I mean 3 years ago, a full 2 years before I even started thinking of doing GirlOnRails. And we booked first class tickets for a Sunday lunchtime, more than anything because between the 3 of us, we had 2 relatively big suitcases (we were away for a week and a half). It was quite nice to be fair, the train wasn't too busy and there was more than enough space to store our belongings on board. The train was right in the middle of the day, with us leaving a hotel in Manchester just before check out at 12 noon, and arriving in York to check in just after 2pm (although I think we got a drink/lunch at York station after arriving) and I had worried that it would be busy, but certainly first class was fine, although there may have been a few people standing in standard. We'd managed to use our railcards to get a discount on the tickets, which made them very affordable.

Next up, is one of my favourite trains in the country, the class 230 D-train, produced by vivarail from old District line D stock, which operates on the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley. This was one of the first official trips I did after starting GirlOnRails, albeit before the blog started, back in the summer of 2019. I'd just finished my exams for the end of my second year at uni and had a couple of weeks in Nottingham before I went home for the summer, with various events dotted around it such as end of year awards/parties for various activities that I'd been part of during the year.  I decided to make the most of the time I had in Nottingham and got myself a 3 out of 7 days East Midlands ranger ticket. The first day featured a trip down to Bedford (the southernmost limit of the ticket on the Midland Main Line) and across to Bletchley before heading North. I remembered these trains from their days on the tube (just about) and was amazed by the transformation - they were really nice to ride on. I also believe a few D-trains, albeit with a different class number, will be heading over to the Isle of Wight in the next couple of years, and I'm looking forward to heading back over there when they are in service to give them ago. It's a great idea to re-use the bodyshells of trains which have been withdrawn before the end of their lives to make a new unit to continue serving the rails. 

The fourth train for today is, unfortunately, one that I'm not all that fond of - the class 222 Meridians operated by EMR. I've only been on one twice, and the first time was 2 weeks after moving in to uni, when I'd come home for the night after an event in London (leaving home at 6.30am and getting home at 10pm wasn't really my idea of fun). I'd also been quite poorly with the so-called freshers' flu, which in my case turned into a bout of bronchitis which, despite my GP saying I'd likely cleared the infection by the point of this trip, left me with a cough for almost 2 months. I'd barely slept and felt grim and really quite wanted to not go back to uni so wasn't in the best mood seeing as I'd just left my mum behind at St Pancras. The second time was at the end of a university holiday period and I'd got my luggage with me (a medium sized suitcase, laptop case and handbag) We'd plumped for a first class ticket so I could get the free refreshments and more space (we'd established by now how to get a cheap advance first class ticket - middle of the day - and with my railcard we paid less than £20). I was pretty disappointed to discover that there was no luggage rack in my first class carriage (the one with the cab on the end of it) - I had to leave my suitcase in the next carriage's rack and spent most of the journey worrying it would go astray, which it thankfully didn't. The best suggestion of the staff on this service when I queried it was to put my case in the wheelchair space, which of course I didn't. There weren't any valuables in my case but it was still annoying and I hope all new train designers ensure that there are racks, particularly in first class intercity carriages. Since this trip I've stuck to HSTs, although now those are on their way out I'm not sure what I'll do (and if the pandemic means I never get to ride a HST again I'll be very displeased). 

And talking of the HST, that is my final train for today. I love these. That's all there is to say. I'm not a fan of opening the door, particularly not with my hiking rucksack on my back (I'm a guide leader, I use it when I go camping for all of my kit). I did nearly fall out of the train on one occasion whilst trying to open the door, which wouldn't have been a pretty sight. I've been lucky enough to travel in first class both on Virgin East Coast (as it was at the time, now LNER) and on EMT/EMR. The catering is better on the East coast (although there's no beating the franchise now held by Avanti West Coast), but I've loved travelling on the MML. I have used the MML in standard class on a couple of occasions, most recently heading to London in January to watch a theatre show in the West end , and it's just as nice. But when it's around £10 in standard or £18 in first with my railcard, I'm always going to take first. The journey from my accommodation at uni to the station could be very varied in length so I always allowed plenty of time, and therefore use of the lounge at Nottingham was always well appreciated, as was the drink on the train (although I always got a sandwich at the co-op at the station for lunch rather than buying a meal on the train). I'll miss them when they go.

That's all for today, but on Wednesday we will be visiting some units found more locally to home in the South East.

The trains I've been on (Part 1)

I've decided to split this into four parts, for two reasons: 

1. There's been many types of trains

2. Covid is severely limiting how much I can go out, although with the reopening of some leisure facilities from next month, maybe the future is looking a bit brighter.

But today, I'll focus on a selection of those trains I've travelled on, starting with one of my favourites: the class 139 Parry People Mover. Running from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge town again, this unit provides a service every 10 minutes in each direction. It's the cutest train I've ever seen. 

There's not that much I can say about this unit to be honest, although I really liked the use of a smaller, more environmentally friendly, unit on a small branch line, such as Stourbridge, where passenger numbers are relatively low.  The frequency of the service is fab for those using it to connect with trains to or from Birmingham, with a service every 10 minutes, dropping to every 15 minutes on a Sunday. I like this train! Unfortunately I don't tend to have a reason for a trip to Stourbridge, but I'll be trying to get back at some point. 

Class 142 Pacer

I love pacers and will be sad to see them go in full, although I'm glad they've had some of their ranks preserved. 

I like the bumpiness, although I can see that that would be annoying on a long journey, I've only ever been on one for less than an hour at a time. There aren't many trains in this country that are unique, but the fact that the pacer is made from a bus body would in my eyes put it in that group. I'll miss them, and am glad I made the trip up to go and see a couple in Sheffield before they go. 

Class 153 Super Sprinter

I've only been on these a couple of times, and I don't have any pictures, but they seemed nice enough. They worked quite well in rural areas, such as in the East Midlands where I travelled on a few, and they were sufficient to cope with demand however on a number of occasions I have seen a couple of cars coupled together. It would be quite nice if we didn't have anywhere in this country which had single car trains running, however given the lower passenger numbers on some rural services I can definitely see the need for them. 

Class 158 Express Sprinter

I've been on one of these, from Manchester to Nottingham in January, and it was actually the last train I travelled on pre-pandemic. They were nice. If I'm honest I was too tired to pay much notice, but similar to a 153 if I remember correctly. They do the job well.

I'm going to leave it here now, to save enough trains to do another post in a few days. 

The first post-COVID trip

It had been too long. It was January 25th when I last boarded a train and travelled on it. 2 hours back from Manchester to Nottingham, a trip which I didn't realise would be my last trip for almost 6 months.

Thankfully, I'd had some decent train action in the couple of weeks immediately before this date - I'd travelled on an EMR HST from London St Pancras to Nottingham to go and sit my university exams, before travelling back to London to see a show and then up to Manchester for a Careers event immediately before that final trip. 

So to say I've missed being on a train is an understatement. But I understand the reasons why I must stay away for now. Unfortunately there's no easy place for me to even go and spot - I'd be looking at around an hour's walk and it would only be class 377's and 700's (Southern and Thameslink). Not that I don't like those trains, I do, but if I'm going to go and stand and spot I'd kind of like a bit more variety. Or more than 8 trains an hour (4 each way). 

But then, the opportunity arose for me to go on a train. 

I had an interview for a job (which I didn't get), which required me to get a train to Croydon and then a tram. It was a key worker role, hence why my journey was definitely essential for the interview. It was possible for me to be dropped at the local station, so I didn't need to get a bus there or anything, but my Mum was definitely not prepared to make the 45 minute journey each way (particularly when I was only meant to be at the job an hour, so she'd have to sit and wait for me) as she is working from home at the moment. So I had to go on the train and tram.

I planned on being at the station 40 minutes before the train I wanted to get, and that itself got me into Croydon just over an hour before the interview, which considering I wouldn't need to wait more than 10 minutes at the most for a tram ride lasting 10 minutes, was plenty. It was even only a 30 minute walk to my destination from the railway station, so I had ample time to get there. I wanted to have time to queue, what with it being the first day of shops opening, in case there were queues to get onto trains and trams to maintain social distancing.

But I walked straight onto a train 25 minutes before I was planning on, arriving in Croydon 90 minutes before my interview. I then walked to the Sainsburys local next to the station to get a drink before getting on the tram. I ended up sitting at the tram stop for almost 40 minutes before walking to my interview. On the way home, I arrived at the tram stop at the same time as the tram and my only hiccup was the slight wait for a train home.

It was the first day where face coverings were mandatory on public transport in England and I was pleased to see that most people were wearing them. There are a limited number of exceptions and therefore I couldn't really challenge the few people I saw who weren't wearing them. And the trains were empty enough that people were easily able to socially distance. And I felt perfectly safe.

So, while it's important that we stay at home as enthusiasts until it's safe to do so (unless of course we have the occasional essential trip in the meantime), I felt perfectly safe travelling on Monday. And, if it's safe for me to travel for the trips I have planned in the autumn (although who knows if the theatres will have reopened), I will be doing so, knowing how to keep myself and others as safe as possible in this strange time.