Regular readers may be aware that steam trains are semi-regular visitors to London, and if at a weekend, I quite enjoy going to watch them.

Today was a special occasion as while the train itself is a regular visitor to the Capital, to catch it in a snowy landscape is a rarity.

The 35028 Clan Line train is running out of London via Richmond, and back in again this evening via Streatham, and a trawl through Google Maps suggested that the quiet North Sheen train station might offer a good vantage point to get steam and snow in the same photo.

There are a few other locations which might have offered a better (aka, more distant) view, but you then run the risk of a modern train getting in the way just as the steamer passes by. I’ve been in a few places before where that happens and the curses uttered by the other bystander are quite ripe!

More details about the Orient Express train company who were running today’s train trip.

A few photos – click for larger versions:

I wasn’t the only one out for the romantic chance to see a steam train in the snow, as a comment by LDN on Twitter got forwarded around that website quite a bit.  I couldn’t help but notice a few empty tables on the train as it went past – I wonder if people can beg one on the cheap as a last minute deal

Steam trains have been in the news recently, as the modern electric engines couldn’t cope with the weather, but steam trains carried on regardless.

I tend to add steam train trips to the events guide when I am able to confirm the details and they are running at weekends, as they do make for quite a pleasant sight to go and watch.

Two separate organisations put out two different press releases this morning.

They appeared one after the other in my RSS reader – and it was the coincidental juxtaposition of the two headlines that raised a wry smile.

I am not going to argue which is correct, and I am sure that in their own way, both are correct.

New Year heralds lower fares for many rail passengers

Rail fares to rise by an average of 1.1% in January

This lunchtime, a visually distinctive steam train charged through North London on a trip down to Kings Cross. The Sir Nigel Gresley is not only visually noticeable, but it also holds the speed record for a post-war steam train. Unlike the older “boilers on wheels”, this train is beautifully streamlined and sleek in appearance.

Hence, worth watching out for!

I wandered up to Alexandria Palace station to watch the train pass through, but not only did my camera jam at a most infuriating time, but also the train charged through the platform at a speed that would put an intercity train to shame.

Taking photos at intermediate stations has the advantage of few crowds, even if you only get to see the train for a few seconds.

Following down to Kings Cross on a vastly slower, modern commuter train I was able to get down to Kings Cross and took some photos there.

Here the platforms were packed full of trainspotters who expected the train to arrive – and normal train passengers gasping in delight at the sight of the magnificent beast in the station.

From Wikipedia:

The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognizable, and one of the class, The Mallard, still holds the record as the fastest steam locomotive in the world. They remained in service until the early 1960s when they were replaced by diesel locomotives.

A few photos:

As I am betting you are probably aware, the Circle Line is shortly to be uncoiled and turned into something that is still called a circle, but is most certainly not.

As with most changes on the train networks, there is inevitably a moment of handover from old to new.

I’ve been having a thought, and decided that it would be quite fun to catch the very last ever fully circular circle line train (yes, I am that sad).

By my calculations – that is the 23:37 train from Tower Hill on Sat 12th Dec, running anti-clockwise round the network and finishing back at Tower Hill about an hour later. An earlier train at 23:07 is the last clockwise train.

At this moment, there are no plans for engineering works on the line that weekend.

If thinking of getting up early to catch the first less-than-circle circle line train, then be warned that they have already run the trains in that format with passengers, for a trial weekend (diamond geezer passim).

I’ve been on a few last train trip events, and while unofficial so far, I think it might be a laugh to do the same for the Circle Line.

A few more thoughts elsewhere:

Annie Mole worries about what the new line will be called

Dave Hill gets all existentialist about the meaning of circles.

Diamond Geezer fisks the new posters advertising the line.

The Londonist dons its waterproofs and hooks an angler fish – probably by the Westbourne River.

A heads up that the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square is showing archive films of London in the 1950s as part of a free event later this month.

The official fluff reads:

Take a trip back in time to see 1950s London through rare and original archive film. Reminisce about life as used to be in the capital and remember the events that shaped the 1950s; from the lights returning to the post-war Piccadilly Circus and the Festival of Britain; to the last presentation of debutantes and the coming of motorways.

Anyone who went to see the B&W films in Trafalgar square recently, or with a general interest in London history will probably find this of interest.

You can reserve up to 4 free tickets at the Archive Film Shop website.

Pathé News has also been making its archive easier to view – and some of my personal selection is here.