Shades of Greyness

Cricklewood… I was left wondering why I got off the train at this desolate spot. Not that Cricklewood is in itself desolate – it’s a thriving North London suburb. The station on the other hand is un-exciting in the extreme. Any charm it once had was removed along with the platform awnings when the line was electrified. There are a couple of bus shelters on the slow line platforms to give passengers some shelter from the elements. The weather, being cloudy grey, did nothing to enhance the scene…

On Tuesday this week I decided to have a trip out to the Midland mainline to photograph some of its resident East Midland Railway trains. I’m not sure what my original intended destination was – West Hampstead possibly or maybe another run out to Elstree & Borehamwood. Clearly I must have been in a dithering mood😅 It was when I got to West Hampstead that the decision was made – as I walked down onto the platform the all stations to St. Albans service was pulling in and I chose to board that and go 1 stop up the line to Cricklewood.

The issue with Cricklewood is a lack of character to enhance your photographs of the trains. Here’s Thameslink’s 700036 arriving with a St. Albans to Sutton service…

There was a welcome splash of colour with a passing aggregates train…

…bringing sand from Angerstein Wharf to Churchyard Siding near St. Pancras.

When faced with a lack of obvious photographical interest in the station area, it’s time to create our own by using a long lens😅The line curves at the southern end of the station and we can emphasise that to good effect…

…East Midland Railway’s 222013 hurries through with a service bound for Nottingham.

Looking to the north, here comes EMR’s 360116…

…bound for St. Pancras from Corby. Cricklewood depot is located on the east side of the line to the north of the station, providing a mass of infrastructure to add interest to photos…

…700050 approaching with another Sutton service. In the distance, on the left behind the green signal, you can see another station. That is Brent Cross West and it is currently being built with opening planned for this Autumn. Expect me to visit it soon after as it’s an easy ride from home on the 232 bus!

Back to the EMR trains and 180111 approaches at speed…

…With a service from Nottingham. East Midland have only got 3 of these Class 180 units and it is rumoured that they will be going off hire with the summer timetable comes into effect later this month. Like all rumours, there’s a counter rumour that they will be staying😅

Sometimes I take a shot that would not be appreciated by a ‘purist’ railway photographer😂…

…A passenger chatting on their phone is oblivious to 700151 rushing through.

This was not a trip for my Freedom Pass Project – But I was out on one of those yesterday, so you can expect an update soon😅👍