Spotting 2024 – Week 52

With a little thing called Christmas in the middle, it was unlikely to be a very good week for trainspotting. Indeed, a number of lines and main stations were closed over the period to allow essential maintenance and upgrades to take place. A good example of this was the St Pancras line which would not see any trains from the 21st until the 29th while the deck of the Agar Grove Road Bridge, located just north of St Pancras station, was replaced…

Additionally work was being carried out to allow the Radlett Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) project to proceed. All of which meant no East Midlands Railway trains south of Bedford. So, when Alasdair travelled home from visiting his girlfriend in Leicester on the Monday evening, he decided to use the coach to Marble Arch. The work also meant no Thameslink services north of the Thames, bringing a moment of extreme irony when Kentish Town station on the Northern Line finally reopened after refurbishment works that had overrun by 6 months – There were no national rail services to interchange with! 🙄

I did get to do some trainspotting on Tuesday 24th. I had some last minute Christmas shopping to do. Rather than battle the crowds at Brent Cross or Oxford Street. I made my way down to St Pancras station which was open as usual because of the International services and the Kent line. The shops were open and I was able to get something small for Epi. Then I made my way across to Paddington where I picked up some chocolates for everyone to go under the tree. I also took the opportunity to photo one of Great Western’s units, 387142, sitting in platform 1…

…Paddington would also close to passengers from the 25th to 29th as HS2 work continued at Old Oak Common – More on this shortly. Not strictly a spotting day but I did log 48 of which I needed 2 and I also picked up 2 for haulage.

On Boxing Day we had a traditional local derby football match with Cheshunt coming to visit. We huffed and puffed creating lots of opportunities that came to nothing. I think Cain stepping on the ball in the penalty box sums it up nicely…

…If you don’t take your chances, you pay the price – Cheshunt nicked a goal against the run of play with 10 minutes to go. Another defeat and it looks like our season is going to pot. We lost again on Saturday away at Folkestone – I wasn’t at that one as we were having a family weekend.

On the 27th I chaperoned Epi down to the Everyman Cinema in Broadgate where she was meeting her sister. Liverpool Street station was another of those closed over Christmas and through to New Year – mainly for track maintenance and upgrades. In the circumstances I decided to hit the Underground but I also planned to visit the tourist info place at St Pauls to check on events happening in the City. So Central Line from Liverpool Street to St Pauls…

Once above ground I visited the tourist info and also got a shot of a couple of the Routemaster’s operating tour routes. Here’s RML887 passing along St Pauls Churchyard…

…RML887 was 7th of extended 30ft Routemaster’s to enter service but, due to the maintenance routine that separated bodies & chassis, it now has the original body (B880) from the first. RML887 entered service on the 104 route in 1961 and as a child I travelled on that route a lot and almost certainly rode this bus back then. Nowadays it has an Iveco engine, so it doesn’t sound the same.

After a walk down to Ludgate Circus, I proceeded along New Bridge Street before going back below ground at Blackfriars. A trip across to Victoria station allowed me to visit the conveniences before returning north to Euston. At Euston I saw one of Great Western’s 802 units on divert from Paddington due to the closure mentioned earlier. I also saw my first Avanti West Coast class 807. Of course, both were parked where getting a photo was out of the question due to obstructions🤣 However, it wasn’t a bad day’s spotting. I logged 75 of which I needed 4 and I picked up no fewer than 8 new for haulage!

The fruits of my trip to the tourist info office played out on Sunday when Epi and I went Penguin Hunting around the Fleet Street Quarter of the City – A good walk to help deal with the Christmas indulgences. That completed week 52. It seems a little odd that I’m writing this in what is already week 1 of 2025 before the bells have tolled in the New Year although, as I hit the publish button, the New Year is already here for some of my readers! I hope everyone has a great year ahead of them 👍