Spotting near Eastbourne

[ricar1969]

Hi there all, am off to Eastbourne for next weekend so looks like Ashford Int for Saturday but for Sunday should it be Clapham Junction or East Croydon or any alternatives would be appreciated. Regards Richard

 

[swt class 450]

Hi there all, am off to Eastbourne for next weekend so looks like Ashford Int for Saturday but for Sunday should it be Clapham Junction or East Croydon or any alternatives would be appreciated. Regards Richard

It really depends what type of stations you like and what trains you are interested in seeing. I personally find that Balcombe and Salfords are both nice stations to do train spotting with a wide variety of frequent trains passing through. I also personally find Cooksbridge and Plumpton are also both nice stations to do train spotting but the trains are a bit less frequent than the others.

 

[ricar1969]

Thanks for the info, I live in Yorkshire and although almost 70 years young have not been spotting all that long, have never spotted in the London area so am thinking not much freight on Sunday so try to get the maximum variety of units. Richard

 

[swt class 450]

Thanks for the info, I live in Yorkshire and although almost 70 years young have not been spotting all that long, have never spotted in the London area so am thinking not much freight on Sunday so try to get the maximum variety of units. Richard

Clapham Junction will definitely still have a good variety of units on a Sunday. You should be able to see class 158 / 159 / 377 / 378 / 387 / 444 / 450 / 455 / 456 / 458 units. You should also be able to see some of the brand new class 707 trains in the yard visible from the station.

If you are interested in freight trains then there are still some freight trains going through Clapham Junction and the surrounding area next Sunday.

East Croydon will definitely have a good variety of units on a Sunday as well. You should be able to see class 171 / 375 / 377 / 387 / 455 units. Southeastern are also diverting through East Croydon next Sunday which should also make it more interesting.

You could always always spend time at a few different stations around the London area to get the most variety possible.

If you are not already aware of these websites you may find these websites useful:

RTT - http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/advanced - Click on "extra search options" then for "what time" select "00:00 to 23:59" and then you can select the date and the name of the station you are going to be at. This will then show you all trains calling at and passing through that station on the day (both passenger and freight trains).

OTT - http://www.opentraintimes.com/maps - Click on the map for the station or area which you are going to be at. This will then give you a live map showing the locations of all of the trains in the area (both passenger and freight trains).

Hope you enjoy your visit.

 

[ricar1969]

Never thought of station hopping but yes I will take your advise and many thanks for your input and help my friend... What a great forum. Cheers Richard

 

[Dhassell]

You should be able to see class 158

Very unlikely on a sunday at least!

 

[Kite159]

Very unlikely on a sunday at least!

Quite likely on Sundays where the fast Salisbury extras (XX:45) run as they are diagrammed as 159+158

However the coming weekend, Waterloo will be a DMU free zone due to a block between Basingstoke & Woking.

Sundays the 171s tend to stick to Oxted - Uckfield shuttles with the first (and probably last) couple services starting from East Croydon as positioning moves