Hudson Terminus wrote:Hi forum,
I'm going to be taking a trip to England in a few weeks, and would love to get out and do some UK railfanning. We'll be in London for a few days, but will also visit Yorkshire, Bath, Stratford. I'm mostly interested in the high-speed rail, but any freight that's around would be great to see too.
Can anyone tell me where I can concentrate my efforts and what I can expect to see? We'll be going with a school group, so I'll only have small blocks of time to work with instead of all/half-day railfanning.
Thanks!!
If you take the train from London (Paddington station) to Bath you will be using a HST 125 train, the now 30 years old train that can do a top speed of 125. This is the Great Western mainline. If it's a school party you should look into getting a group discount on the fares. Try First Great Western's website.
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/companies/GW.html
The train from London to Bath is much quicker than a coach (bus).
This of course does not count nowadays as a High Speed line. The only real High Speed Line is that used by Eurostar for part of its journey from Waterloo to the Tunnel. But you have to take it at least as far as Lille. There are day return tickets from London to Lille for about £65.
http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp
For journeys to Yorkshire you would use GNER(Great Northeastern Railway)
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/companies/GR.html
They run trains to Leeds, York and Edinburgh from London Kings Cross station. Again, the journey is much faster than by coach. The line is electrified and hits 125 mph though the trains are capable of going faster, but the track and overhead is not. (It is the same line where the world record for steam was achieved in the 1930s - also 125 mph.)
Of course if you want to see working steam on preserved lines (heritage), mostly run by volunteers, there are some near London and others in Yorkshire.
Ticket booking via Internet - but probably not group discounts
http://www.thetrainline.com/default.asp ... 0632418384
Yorkshire is a big county. Don't forget that at York is the National Rail Museum, worth a whole day.
If you go to the Bronte museum in Haworth, you can take an electric train to Keighley from Leeds and then a steam train to Haworth.
http://www.kwvr.co.uk/
As for freight, there is much less in Britain than you are used to in the US. The railway is predominantly for passengers. Freight has to squeeze in the gaps, and runs mostly at night. There are container trains, some bulk freight, mostly imported coal, some car carriers (automobiles, as you would call them).
If you are in Keighley you would see freight that has come from the Leeds-Carlisle line, now an important freight line with some passenger usage. (It was gong to be closed a few years ago) It is one of the best scenic routes in the country for passengers. Take a train from Leeds to Carlisle.
Almost all freight is hauled by General Motors diesel locomotives, mostly Class 66. They were ordered by the feight company EWSR that was owned by Burkhardt's Wisconsin Central and now mostly by Canadian national (which wants to sell).
Locomotive hauled passenger trains are rather rare now as almost all trains are multiple units of one kind or another, including the latest highish speed trains, Pendolinos and Voyagers.
I forgot Stratford, so here are some words on that.
For Stratford there is a Chiltern Railways train from London Marylebone, usually cheaper than the Virgin West Coast train to Birmingham. You would usually change trains at Hatton, but there is at least one direct train leaving at 08.54, arriving 1104. You can go from Stratford to Bath via Birmingham, but the journey is more complicated. Use
http://www.thetrainline.com/default.asp
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/
You may want to go from York to Bath. That can be done via VirginCross Country, via Birmingham but avoiding London.
http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/default.aspx
The earlier you book the better the chances of cheaper fares, but avoid popular holiday weekends.
