Hounslow

[nj_mills]

Just wondering if the current services on the Hounslow Loop and the service to Weybridge are the only services to have been run through the station? Or if theres ever been any other possible destinations direct from there over the years? thanks for any help

 

[phil281]

There was up until a few years ago, a half hourly service to Reading which called there and at Brentford. God knows why they got rid of it as there was a train to Reading every 15 mins from Waterloo half through Twickenham and half through Hounslow. Now its a rubbish half hourly service thats always full.

Also there used to be the Basingstoke to Ipswich service in the early 00's which called I think at Hounslow. Used to go round the back end of Kew and join the NLL at South Acton.

Hounslow used to have a much better service thinking about it, fast trains to lots of destinations.

 

[nj_mills]

Yea one thing that annoys me about hounslow is the lack of a 'fast' service to waterloo. Don't know if someone could correct me but I seem to have in the back of my head somewhere a memory of a service to Shepperton but I might be imagining things!

Also that service to Ipswich called at Brentford not Hounslow as shown here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Crosslink

 

[Lampshade]

There was up until a few years ago, a half hourly service to Reading which called there and at Brentford. God knows why they got rid of it as there was a train to Reading every 15 mins from Waterloo half through Twickenham and half through Hounslow. Now its a rubbish half hourly service thats always full.

It's not rubbish, it's run by 458s

Also there used to be the Basingstoke to Ipswich service in the early 00's which called I think at Hounslow. Used to go round the back end of Kew and join the NLL at South Acton.

Nope, that ran non stop from Feltham to Brentford.

Hounslow used to have a much better service thinking about it, fast trains to lots of destinations.

Except Weybridge, funnily enough

 

[phil281]

It's not rubbish, it's run by 458s



Nope, that ran non stop from Feltham to Brentford.



Except Weybridge, funnily enough

Its not the trains that are rubbish, its the service! Anyway the Hounslow loop Reading trains used to be 458's. Now you have this mickey mouse service to Weybridge that takes forever sitting at Hounslow and Virginia Water. Why does Syon Lane and Kew Bridge need a 15 minute service?

Windsor lines services are not as good as they used to be. Going further back I remember the Guildford-Ascots went through to Waterloo as well.

I'm sure crosslink stopped at Hounslow? Wikipedia isn't always right!

 

[Oliver]

I'm sure crosslink stopped at Hounslow? Wikipedia isn't always right!

Here's a log of a Crosslink service from 2002. No stop at Hounslow.

1*170 06-Apr-02

Woking dep 16.55 16:55:58
Byfleet & New Haw pass 17:00:25
Chertsey pass 17:05:25
Virginia Water pass
Egham pass 17:15:26
Staines arr 17:19:24
dep 17:14 17:19:56
Feltham arr 17:24:48
dep 17:21 17:25:32
Hounslow pass 17:29:27
Brentford pass 17:32:22
South Acton pass 17:36:15
Acton Central pass 17:37:43
Willesden JHL pass 17:41:29
Brondesbury pass 17:45:13
West Hampstead arr 17:46:27
dep 17:46 17:47:00
Gospel Oak pass 17:50:32
Camden Road arr 17:53:11
dep 17:56 17:56:57
Highbury & Islington arr 18:00:00
dep 17:59 18:01:10

Stratford arr 18:14 18:14:58

 

[nj_mills]

or does anyone know where i can get old timetables for the station?

 

[thefab444]

Wikipedia's article on Crosslink should be right, as I was the one who provided that timetable and calling pattern information. They may have added Hounslow stops during one of the other timetable periods it ran for (there weren't many), but I'm fairly sure it was only Brentford.

The half hourly Waterloo - Reading via Hounslow semi-fast service was diverted to Weybridge in September 2003 and from the December 2004 timetable called at all stations between Vauxhall and Feltham, where previously it called only at Clapham Junction, Putney, Brentford and Hounslow. This was to afford a decent level of service for stations like Chiswick and Kew Bridge as half hourly is not really good enough. Also bear in mind that although there were four trains per hour between Waterloo and Reading, many of these in the off-peak were formed of only four coaches, whereas now all services are booked for eight coaches.

That said, I'm there's demand for re-introducing a half hourly Waterloo - Reading via Hounslow service throughout the day, calling at principal stations only between Waterloo and Staines, but whether this could actually be pathed is another matter entirely.

 

[Rational Plan]

The RUS identifies this as an option, because it avoids level crossing issues east of Richmond. The problem is that the fast and semi fast trains are crush load at Twickenham and Richmond.

 

[Lampshade]

When was the Reading via Hounslow service introduced? I've been told that around 1980 there was no direct service between Staines and Hounslow.

 

[Oracle]

I've been told that around 1980 there was no direct service between Staines and Hounslow.

In the 1960s there were I think Reading - Waterloos that non-stopped Feltham and ran via Hounslow, fast to Clapham Junction. I remember getting on a 2-BIL in an 8-car formation at Feltham that stopped because of a signal. In the early 1980s there were certainly staff trains that ran that way first thing in the morning, stopping at Feltham and then Hounslow where it entered service. Possibly ex-Staines sidings?

In addition there are the SuO Waterloo-Woking trains that apparently still stop at Hounslow.

 

[nj_mills]

Yea having a look there is a train at 56 past the hour on a Sunday to Woking via Hounslow, again stopping at all stations in between.

 

[SWT_USER]

There are still a couple of trains a day Monday to Friday afternoon/ evening from Reading to Waterloo stopping only at Hounslow and Brentford on that section. Presumably more to help get stock in tothe right place for the evening peak than anything else though.

 

[Bedpan]

Wasn't there once a Waterloo - Waterloo service running round the Hounslow loop and back to Waterloo via Richmond? I have in mind, back in the 1970s, going through Hounslow and on to Staines on a charter and thinking that the north to west chord of the triangle at Whitton was a relatively rare piece of track, but then that that may have just been a mistake on my part.

 

[thefab444]

That service still runs, half hourly in both directions.

2C90 17:22 Reading - London Waterloo and 2C92 17:53 Reading - London Waterloo are the two Reading - Waterloo via Hounslow additional services.

 

[SWT_USER]

The loop services still run half hourly for most of the day Monday to Saturday.

 

[Drsatan]

Although what the Hounslow loop needs is a half-hourly service on Sundays since the current hourly service on Sundays isn't good enough.

 

[thefab444]

Although what the Hounslow loop needs is a half-hourly service on Sundays since the current hourly service on Sundays isn't good enough.

Indeed, especially as the trains are formed of only a single 455. The same goes for the Kingston loop/Shepperton branch which is equally poorly served on Sundays, although there are additional Waterloo - Kingston via Richmond services on Sunday afternoons/evenings. I've never understood why Chessington and Hampton Court warrant a half hourly Sunday service, but Shepperton/Hounslow don't.

 

[SWT_USER]

Half hourly services on Sunday would be a good improvement, maybe leave the Woking service as it is and add a loop service. Less than a quarter of the weekday capacity is appalling.

Wouldn't kill them to run a couple of 8 coach trains before/after the game when Brentford are at home either.

 

[Matt Taylor]

The difficulty with that is that the Hounslow loop services share units with the Weybridge service so over a six hour period a unit will do a Weybridge and two loops, making them eight car 455s on a Saturday is not currently possible because of short platforms at Chertsey and Virginia Water and a lack of SDO on the 455s. There are insufficient 450s to use Desiros on those services at weekends as the 450s are required to operate on the Portsmouth line in lieu of 444s which run on strengthened Weymouths.

 

[SWT_USER]

Thanks - didn't know that. Presumably that is why the 455's run Windsor ER services on rugby days and Desiro's do everything via Hounslow.

 

[Matt Taylor]

That is correct, Sunnymeads being the problem.

 

[thefab444]

The difficulty with that is that the Hounslow loop services share units with the Weybridge service so over a six hour period a unit will do a Weybridge and two loops, making them eight car 455s on a Saturday is not currently possible because of short platforms at Chertsey and Virginia Water and a lack of SDO on the 455s. There are insufficient 450s to use Desiros on those services at weekends as the 450s are required to operate on the Portsmouth line in lieu of 444s which run on strengthened Weymouths.

Most services to Portsmouth are booked for 444s on Sundays though. :?

Not sure about Virginia Water, but there is also a short platform at Isleworth.

 

[SWT_USER]

Isleworth can take an 8 coach 455 but not a 450. There can't be much of the train off the platform!

 

[rmt-driver]

I am very sure once when I was taking a 8 carriage 455 west from Chiswick (that's the red old SWT units right?) the guard was announcing that only the front unit doors would open at a certain station. Can't remember the station, at the time remember thinking how very strange as I am sure passengers can not walk through the units.

Even on the platform at Chiswick when the auto tanny announced the train was formed of 8 coaches I remember thinking agh, must be a desiro? (the blue train).. Anyway I got a shock when a 8 carriage red train rolled in So I am certainly not mistaken about this...

 

[SWT_USER]

The screens and auto announcements on platforms announce that you have to be in the fron 4 coaches for Isleworth regardless of the type of train. In reality you only have to bs in the front 4 on a Desiro.

 

[rmt-driver]

The screens and auto announcements on platforms announce that you have to be in the fron 4 coaches for Isleworth regardless of the type of train. In reality you only have to bs in the front 4 on a Desiro.

I see..but m very sure the guard announced this onboard too

 

[Matt Taylor]

Most services to Portsmouth are booked for 444s on Sundays though. :?

Not sure about Virginia Water, but there is also a short platform at Isleworth.

I was only talking about Saturdays.

Isleworth can accommodate an eight car 455 but the rear cab door is off the platform, same at New Malden, Norbiton and Hampton Wick. Platform lengths at these stations are literally so tight that you fit 8 455 but not 8 450.

 

[nj_mills]

I know Hounslow council wanted crossrail to run to Hounslow but I'm guessing this idea never took off?

 

[thefab444]

The screens and auto announcements on platforms announce that you have to be in the fron 4 coaches for Isleworth regardless of the type of train. In reality you only have to bs in the front 4 on a Desiro.

The station CIS system works only off of the number of coaches, rather than the class of stock i.e. it will have a rule "If train stopping at Isleworth and length = 8 then pax must be in = 4".

This is particularly noticeable when you get a 444 + 450 service calling at Clapham Junction; because the 9 coach rule is set up for 159s it will tell you to join the front 6 coaches (should be either front 4 or 5).

I was only talking about Saturdays.

Fair enough, although you did say that there are insufficient 450s at "weekends".