Thursday 29th December 2016

When I said to Jools several months ago that I wanted to go on a railtour visiting several freight only lines, I had not thought through the implications. Implications that meant that due to a change in the route that the tour was due to leave at 07:44 from Victoria. And to get to Victoria in time to catch the train, we had to arrive in London by 07:00 to allow us to get across London. And in turn that meant leaving Dover on the 05:53 train. Which, finally, meant getting up at half four.

To ride on a train. Around London. Arriving back at the same place we left from!

Anyway, to visit three freight branches, including the one to Grain port from Gravesend, and to ride on a loco hauled train, around London. Not a bad way to spend the day I suppose.

The alarm went off at oh God its early hours, or 04:30, and I lay in bed listening to Phil Collins sing "Separate Lives". I knew I had heard it before, just trying to think of the other singer on it, but failed. Anyway, after starting with Phil Collins, the day could only get better, right?

We get up, feed the cats and puts of extra down too, as we might be back late. Jools makes coffee, and we check on travel news as fog had been forecasted, but there was just frost. But as the car was in the car port, it was frost free. We pack breakfast, lunch and snacks. With what we had bought yesterday, coupled with four rolls I prepared, we would not starve. And we had a bottle of fizz, as on a previous strip we were on, we saw people on the next table have a Champagne breakfast. And that's what we wanted.

We loaded the car, and drove into town, along the untreated roads to the Duke of York's, then into town, slithering down Castle Hill and round the town square to the station. I found a place to park in Priory Mews, Jools went to buy the tickets. And once we were both in the station, laden with cameras, computers and food, we boarded the Javelin to wait the ten minutes before it left.

It wasn't crowded, even for a rush hour train. Even after Ashford and Ebbsfleet there was plenty of space, showing I guess most people taking an extended break. It was too dark to see anything out of the wondow, except when we went through towns, and so I looked at cars slithering on untreated roads, and towns not yet woken up.

We arrived at St Pancras, with no time to dither we made straight for the Underground, but as ever what seemed so close ended up with us walking down endless tunnels and passageways until we arrived at the Victoria Line station. But with a train every 2 minutes, within a minute we were on board, and 8 minutes later walking up the steps onto the concourse at Victoria station. We had over half an hour to spare.

Men of a certain age were gathering, so sure we were at the right place. It does mean that I too am a man of a certain age, although I did not carry notebooks nor track diagrams to tick off the unusual lines we would be traveling. I am not at level of obsessiveness. Yet. Orchids notwithstanding, obvs.

We get a coffee. I say a coffee. It was a salted caramel latte with cream and sprinkles. I'm not even sure it had coffee in it, but it was damn fine. And so I felt enthused to do some railway photography. After showing our tickets, we were allowed onto the platform, JOols went to find our seats and I went to snap the loco at each end of the train. THe 66s aren't the most handsome of trains, but a loco is a loco, and one at the buffers at a London termini is a rare event these days. At least for us.

I joined the band of photographers at the far end of the platform to snap the front loco, another 66, looking fine as dawn's light brightened the sky.

I joined Jools in carriage E, and opened the fizz, and together we had the strawberry jam roll I had made the night before. Not sure if they are meant to go together, but it worked.

Anyway, right on time the train lurched out, making its way out of the station, winding its way past the EMU sheds to the right and over the river to Battersea. We then took a freight line to the east, under the main lines, doubling back on ourselves until we crossed back over the river, following the London Overground route to Stratford:

London Victoria
Grosvenor Bridge
Stewarts Lane Junc.
Longhedge Lane Junc.
Latchmere Junc.
Kensington Olympia
North Pole Junc.
Mitre Bridge Junc.
Willesden Junc. HL
Kensal Green Junc.
Gospel Oak
Camden Road
Canonbury Junc.
Navarino Junc.
Lea Junc.
Channelsea Junc.
Stratford
Maryland
Forest Gate Junc.
Woodgrange Park
Barking Station Junc.
Barking
Ripple Lane
Dagenham Dock
Rainham
Purfleet
West Thurrock Junc.
Grays
Tilbury Town
Thames Haven Junc.
Gateway Arrivals

In the course of this long lazy trip, the sun rose spreading warm light on the frosty rooftops of old LOndon Town. The city awoke, and as we cruised past commuter station, the rumbles of the diesel engines startled unwary waiting passengers with their eyes glued to their phones. We got waves from of the younger passengers waiting too, of course, because everyone wants to wave at a train.

We drink our fizz, the train picks up more passengers at Stratford, then makes its way to Barking, Dagenham and out int the south Essex marshes, running beside the familiar high speed line until we cross under the M25 and out past Tilbury.

We turn off the Thameside main line, down a new built double line to the container facility, going at walking pace until we were stopped beside two of the massive container cranes that straddled the lines so containers could easily be loaded or unloaded. We stop for 15 minutes, so those who want can lean out of the windows to take shots.

We double back to Grays, then reverse again traveling back east again. I had noticed a spur off the main line leading through a gate; and it was this line that we would take next. The remains of a former passenger line leading to a ferry jetty, but long since disused and now another freight handling facility.

The branch is only a few hundred metres long, just about long enough to take our train, twelve carriages and two locomotives. On either side are ugly new freight storage buildings and containers. We take pictures again before the train reversed out, and then made its way back round London, following the way we had come until it got to Longhedge Junction.

From there we went via Denmark Hill, Nunhead, Bellingham, Buckley Junction, St Mary Cray and to Swanley. And because of a bridge deemed too weak to take our train, we then had to reverse to back down to Chiselhurst Junction, Grove Park, Lee Junction, Sidcup, Crayford, Dartford, Gravesend and then to Hoo Junction where the Grain Branch forked off.

The Isle of Grain, or Hoo Peninsula, is where Dickens set Great Expectations, and it is otherworldly, scattered villages and churches lay among fileds covering low rolling hills, until the branch reaches Grain where it runs beside a creek to the old oil refinery.

By now the sun was very low in the west, making it hard to see from our side of the train. I know the area well, but seeing if from the train is really good, even if thanks to the heating being turned back on in the carriage, made the windows all condensated. As we reversed off the isie, light faded, but thankfully we made good time, and rattled back along the way we had come.

Turned out we could get off at Swanley, and if we were in time there was a train at Dover at ten past six, meaning we could be home before eight. At Swanley, due to regulations, we could not get off until the signalman said it was safe and the train shuffled up the platform, so we had to wait ten minutes. But we had plenty of time before our train.

I made the most basic of mistakes when snapping a train at Swanley. I did not check the platform I was standing at, and a fast train went through at full speed as I stood on the yellow line. A few inches to my left and I could have been an ex-Jelltex. Stupid boy.

We got on our train, with a few tired shoppers or young people on a night out, and so the train with us trying to stay awake went south to the Medway towns of Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham. But a power failure at Rainham meant we went non stop to Sittingbourne, and from Canterbury ran fast into Dover.

Nearly back at last.

We had to clear frost off the windscreen, then take our time in getting back up Jubilee Way and then home. It was ten to eight, and all three cats were waiting.

Meow.

We made drinks after feeding the cats, ate some of the leftover food, and at half nine after 19 hours up, we went to bed.

Not a bad day, mond.