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:

Just a heads up that the A1 Tornado, the first steam train to be built in the UK for nearly 50 years will be making its first commercial passenger trip tomorrow (Sat 7th Feb), and will be expected at Kings Cross station at around 1:45pm.

Even better, according to a local news report, the platform will be open to the public to view the train for about an hour after its arrival.

Where to see Tornado on Saturday

Passes Doncaster: 09.38
Waters Retford: 10.04–10.19
Passes Newark: 10.41
Passes Grantham: 10.55
Waters Peterborough Yard: 11.31–11.56
Passes Peterborough: 12.00
Passes Huntingdon: 12.21
Passes Sandy: 12.29
Passes Biggleswade: 12.34
Passes Hitchin: 12.46
Passes Stevenage: 12.53
Passes Welwyn Garden City: 13.05
Passes Potters Bar: 13.17
Passes Alexandra Palace: 13.30
Passes Finsbury Park: 13.38
Arrives London King’s Cross: 13.47

(evidently, the weather may play a foul hand overnight and ruin the event)

A press release from Network Rail the other day made me do a bit of a double-take and a bit of research.

The press release itself was nothing special, being a warning that a moribund, but never technically closed (echos of the Ghost Bus of West London Towne?) railway will start carrying freight trains again. It seems that as trains haven’t used the railway for years, that it has become a popular spot for walking the dog.

Anyhow, the attached to the press release were a couple of photos – including this one of the railway crossing.

Blimy, I thought, is that a very old sign, or do we still use the image of a steam train to warn of a railway crossing?

A quick dig on the Highway Code website, and yes – we do still use the image of a steam train to warn people that they are approaching a railway, which is a bit quaint, but also quite anachronistic I feel. Shouldn’t the sign have been updated by now to reflect what trains look like today – or is the image of a steam train still holding onto its relevence thanks to the Harry Potter novels reminding the modern youth what trains used to look like?

Anyhow – while on the topic of steam trains, a sort of historic event will occur on Feb 7th (conveniently, a Saturday) – when the Tornado steam train makes its first visit to London. Specifically (and at the moment, provisionally) it will arrive at Kings Cross station at 2pm.

The Tornado, as you might have seen on the news, is the first steam train to be built in the UK for nearly 50 years, so expect a fair bit of excitement on the day.

I’ll be there, with camera – and probably triggering a hundred terrorist threat alerts for daring to want to take photos in a train station (ianvisits passim).

I wandered up to Greenford in North East London this morning to have a look at one of London Underground’s little novelties. Greenford Station, on the Central Line is notable for a couple of reasons – it has the only (working) escalator on the tube network which takes passengers directly from the street level to the platform, which is novel but hardly exciting.

What is interesting though is that particular escalator is also the last one remaining on the tube network with wooden slats on the steps.

Following the Kings Cross fire, all the old and rather nice wooden escalators were removed as a fire hazard – except the one at Greenford. I presume that as it is not only above ground but also has two static stairs next to it that the requirement to remove it is not a priority.

So, today I wandered up to have a look at this last relic, and while it lacks any of the charm of the old 1930s underground stations, there is still enough of the original structure to remind us of the old escalators. There is still the bronzed end plates and the old signs at the top indicating that Otis were the manufacturers.

The station itself is also notable for having a split running down the centre of the tube line platforms where an overland train terminates and then returns back down to Paddington Station.

A few more photos on my Flickr account.