Kristofferson
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- 23 Nov 2012
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Kristofferson in “actually goes bashing” shocker!
“This Little Piggy Went To Gatwick”
With a social event in London this evening and a free schedule for most of the afternoon, I decide to head out on the rails early to see what all this 442 fuss is about. An iconic British EMU that broke the third-rail speed record must be worth a go, after all!
Some quick bag prep is done [does crisps, chocolate and squash count as a “packed lunch”?] and I grab an old-but-valid RTV [anyone remember the “Watford resignalling” mess?] off the side, before taking a rainy walk down to my local station. The booking office at Kings Langley is excellent – although only open sporadically - and there's no fuss getting hold of the necessary 16-25 Off-Peak Travelcard, 16-25 Off-Peak BZ6-Gatwick return and handing over the RTV.
I rock up at the platform and take some cover from the weather [Techniquest reports at the time that it's gorgeous sunshine up north...], taking a moment to ask Virgin Trains whether my last two required 390s for sight are out. The good news is that they are and, even better, should both pass my train in opposite directions just a few minutes after departure!
A dud 350 for sight rolls up [seen 'em all and I'm not really “into” haulage] and I grab an airline seat with the best view of the fast lines I can find! We pull away from the platform and, as we approach the Watford tunnels, I'm nervous that the 390s might pass us while we're in the tunnels or separated from the fasts by cuttings... Luckily, the fast lines soon emerge from behind the trees and we're soon overtaken by target #1 - 390 119 - on its way from Preston to Euston. One tick in the book, now where's 390 130?
I check RTT while we're in the platform and see that it's apparently still crawling its way out of Euston. Imagine my surprise when, just after leaving Watford, what seems to be 390 130 flies past us on its way up to Liverpool Lime Street! I take another look at RTT and sure enough, that was it.
Even if I don't board a 442 on this trip, clearing the 390s for sight is a huge success! As I currently only spot “local” trains and the other classes in my list - LM 350s, LM 321s & LM 319s - have already fallen, that just leaves me with 5 Virgin Super Voyagers to see before my “wants list” is clear... Maybe I'll move onto bashing after that's done
I relax for the rest of the journey into Euston and soon spill out onto the platform with a mix of late commuters and daytrippers. Heading for the tube, I take a swift walk to the Victoria line and board a pretty much empty 2009 stock train headed for Brixton. I bail at Victoria and it's time to hunt down a “plastic pig”! Having just missed one, I wander to platform 14 [home to a “retro” platform indicator that wouldn't look out of place in Thunderbirds] and await the next service.
Wessex Electric 442 413 soon growls into the station and I get my first up-close look at this train. It's a properly industrial-looking machine with exposed cables and retro-futuristic wraparound class cab front, in a “1970s sci-fi” livery. Gerry Anderson would be proud!
Positioning myself at the motor coach, I board the standard class half of the carriage and I'm surprised by the interior – although it's unmistakably based on a mk3, this coach has a compartmentalised design which wouldn't look out of place on a bullet train. Very “international” indeed! The seats are incredibly comfortable [even more so when I take my backpack off!] and the “Priority Seat” I'm in has leg room that would put business class on a 747 to shame.
Now for the interesting part [or so I hope] – the noise. As we lurch out of the station [we nudge the coach in front, and the one behind gives us a shunt as it's yanked towards us], I hear the deep roar of the 442's DC motors - which is slightly disappointing compared to the racket a 323 or Electrostar makes, but very much suits the train. A grey sky greets us as the sun begins to set across south west London, and surprisingly good progress is made along the Brighton Main Line - compared to the stopper 377s I usually take to this part of town anyway! I'm also impressed by the ride quality on these bumpy and curvy lines, which feels more like a HST than a commuter EMU.
We slow up for a cruise through dull, Waitrose-laden, Surrey suburbia [if anyone can think of a more boring place to live, answers on a postcard please] before arrival at Gatwick Airport, where the auto-announcer shows off its impressive linguistic skills! I hop off the train here, dodge the airport travellers heading in the opposite direction, and grab a few photos of this legendary beast at the platform end...
Departure is in 15 minutes so, after a quick friendly exchange with the dispatcher [his knowing smile as he saw me taking photos suggests bashers are not uncommon on these trains!], I board the driving coach for a “push” journey back to Victoria. For a moment I feel like I've stepped onto a 444 – the interior of this carriage is so similar, one can tell these trains are the Desiro's spiritual predecessors! This time, I manage to get a table of 4 to myself as we're shunted away from the station.
Check out the comparison photos below – quite an interesting contrast between the motor and driving/trailer coaches.
As darkness falls, I enjoy the smooth & quiet ride back through suburbia [Redhill looks inviting, to be fair] and we briefly pause at Battersea Park, where I notice the *******isation of the power station is well underway. Arrival at Victoria is quick and easy, and I take one last brief glance at the 442 before heading for the concourse. A very happy basher after a successful trip, I think a McDonald's is well deserved!
A quick stop at the takeout counter is had and, tucking in to my dinner on the Wetherspoon terrace, I take a moment to think about the 442s and its legacy. It will be a shame to see them replaced by generic commuter-style Electrostars with uncomfortable seats and 1/3 doors, but I admit I am looking forward to seeing the preserved driving car at the NRM in a couple of years. Unlike most of the heritage stock there, I'll be able to sit in this one and reminisce about that time I took a trip on one on the mainline. Who knows, it may even be 442 413..!
Misty-eyed nostalgia and food dealt with, I have a couple of hours to kill until the social event near Charing Cross. As it's peak, my Travelcard isn't valid out of terminals - so trying out the 458/5s as a “thriller filler” is out of the question, and I don't fancy cramming onto the deep level tubes in the name of arriving at the pub early or going 221 hunting at Euston. The only sensible thing to do is take the slow, quiet, comfortable route to the pub via the Circle Line.
I take a seat on an S7 stock tube and switch off until Farringdon, where there's a 5 minute walk [good to get some fresh air!] to the venue and a pint or two with my name on it!
Thanks for reading all, I hope you enjoyed it
PS... If anyone's wondering, the total cost [excluding the social event pints of course] was £8.99. Considering an Oyster to Gatwick is £20 each way, this felt like a bargain bash
“This Little Piggy Went To Gatwick”
With a social event in London this evening and a free schedule for most of the afternoon, I decide to head out on the rails early to see what all this 442 fuss is about. An iconic British EMU that broke the third-rail speed record must be worth a go, after all!
Some quick bag prep is done [does crisps, chocolate and squash count as a “packed lunch”?] and I grab an old-but-valid RTV [anyone remember the “Watford resignalling” mess?] off the side, before taking a rainy walk down to my local station. The booking office at Kings Langley is excellent – although only open sporadically - and there's no fuss getting hold of the necessary 16-25 Off-Peak Travelcard, 16-25 Off-Peak BZ6-Gatwick return and handing over the RTV.
I rock up at the platform and take some cover from the weather [Techniquest reports at the time that it's gorgeous sunshine up north...], taking a moment to ask Virgin Trains whether my last two required 390s for sight are out. The good news is that they are and, even better, should both pass my train in opposite directions just a few minutes after departure!
A dud 350 for sight rolls up [seen 'em all and I'm not really “into” haulage] and I grab an airline seat with the best view of the fast lines I can find! We pull away from the platform and, as we approach the Watford tunnels, I'm nervous that the 390s might pass us while we're in the tunnels or separated from the fasts by cuttings... Luckily, the fast lines soon emerge from behind the trees and we're soon overtaken by target #1 - 390 119 - on its way from Preston to Euston. One tick in the book, now where's 390 130?
I check RTT while we're in the platform and see that it's apparently still crawling its way out of Euston. Imagine my surprise when, just after leaving Watford, what seems to be 390 130 flies past us on its way up to Liverpool Lime Street! I take another look at RTT and sure enough, that was it.
Even if I don't board a 442 on this trip, clearing the 390s for sight is a huge success! As I currently only spot “local” trains and the other classes in my list - LM 350s, LM 321s & LM 319s - have already fallen, that just leaves me with 5 Virgin Super Voyagers to see before my “wants list” is clear... Maybe I'll move onto bashing after that's done
I relax for the rest of the journey into Euston and soon spill out onto the platform with a mix of late commuters and daytrippers. Heading for the tube, I take a swift walk to the Victoria line and board a pretty much empty 2009 stock train headed for Brixton. I bail at Victoria and it's time to hunt down a “plastic pig”! Having just missed one, I wander to platform 14 [home to a “retro” platform indicator that wouldn't look out of place in Thunderbirds] and await the next service.
Wessex Electric 442 413 soon growls into the station and I get my first up-close look at this train. It's a properly industrial-looking machine with exposed cables and retro-futuristic wraparound class cab front, in a “1970s sci-fi” livery. Gerry Anderson would be proud!
Positioning myself at the motor coach, I board the standard class half of the carriage and I'm surprised by the interior – although it's unmistakably based on a mk3, this coach has a compartmentalised design which wouldn't look out of place on a bullet train. Very “international” indeed! The seats are incredibly comfortable [even more so when I take my backpack off!] and the “Priority Seat” I'm in has leg room that would put business class on a 747 to shame.
Now for the interesting part [or so I hope] – the noise. As we lurch out of the station [we nudge the coach in front, and the one behind gives us a shunt as it's yanked towards us], I hear the deep roar of the 442's DC motors - which is slightly disappointing compared to the racket a 323 or Electrostar makes, but very much suits the train. A grey sky greets us as the sun begins to set across south west London, and surprisingly good progress is made along the Brighton Main Line - compared to the stopper 377s I usually take to this part of town anyway! I'm also impressed by the ride quality on these bumpy and curvy lines, which feels more like a HST than a commuter EMU.
We slow up for a cruise through dull, Waitrose-laden, Surrey suburbia [if anyone can think of a more boring place to live, answers on a postcard please] before arrival at Gatwick Airport, where the auto-announcer shows off its impressive linguistic skills! I hop off the train here, dodge the airport travellers heading in the opposite direction, and grab a few photos of this legendary beast at the platform end...
Departure is in 15 minutes so, after a quick friendly exchange with the dispatcher [his knowing smile as he saw me taking photos suggests bashers are not uncommon on these trains!], I board the driving coach for a “push” journey back to Victoria. For a moment I feel like I've stepped onto a 444 – the interior of this carriage is so similar, one can tell these trains are the Desiro's spiritual predecessors! This time, I manage to get a table of 4 to myself as we're shunted away from the station.
Check out the comparison photos below – quite an interesting contrast between the motor and driving/trailer coaches.
As darkness falls, I enjoy the smooth & quiet ride back through suburbia [Redhill looks inviting, to be fair] and we briefly pause at Battersea Park, where I notice the *******isation of the power station is well underway. Arrival at Victoria is quick and easy, and I take one last brief glance at the 442 before heading for the concourse. A very happy basher after a successful trip, I think a McDonald's is well deserved!
A quick stop at the takeout counter is had and, tucking in to my dinner on the Wetherspoon terrace, I take a moment to think about the 442s and its legacy. It will be a shame to see them replaced by generic commuter-style Electrostars with uncomfortable seats and 1/3 doors, but I admit I am looking forward to seeing the preserved driving car at the NRM in a couple of years. Unlike most of the heritage stock there, I'll be able to sit in this one and reminisce about that time I took a trip on one on the mainline. Who knows, it may even be 442 413..!
Misty-eyed nostalgia and food dealt with, I have a couple of hours to kill until the social event near Charing Cross. As it's peak, my Travelcard isn't valid out of terminals - so trying out the 458/5s as a “thriller filler” is out of the question, and I don't fancy cramming onto the deep level tubes in the name of arriving at the pub early or going 221 hunting at Euston. The only sensible thing to do is take the slow, quiet, comfortable route to the pub via the Circle Line.
I take a seat on an S7 stock tube and switch off until Farringdon, where there's a 5 minute walk [good to get some fresh air!] to the venue and a pint or two with my name on it!
Thanks for reading all, I hope you enjoyed it
PS... If anyone's wondering, the total cost [excluding the social event pints of course] was £8.99. Considering an Oyster to Gatwick is £20 each way, this felt like a bargain bash
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They too sound different to the motors on the 321, and they are not as loud, and like the 442s they are very jerky when accelerating from stand (or when you stop accelerating) as the camshaft is not smooth at all.
