Cab ride (short!) - St Mary Cray Junction to Chislehurst
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- A rare opportunity to see St Mary Cray Junction to Chislehurst via the Up Chatham Loop (most trains use the Reversible Chatham Loop on the down side)
The service runs from St Mary Cray Junction to Hawkwood Junction (effectively running wrong direction on the Down Slow Tonbridge Loop) then turns right towards Chislehurst and the Up Kent Fast
Apologies for the portrait camera - it was a spur of the moment recording
By playing cat and mouse with the timetable I managed to do this when there were still a few slam-door trains about; thus taking it all in before we were sealed up like aircraft. Thanks for a brilliant reminder.
When I was a signalman at Chislehurst, we only ever used that loop a couple of times a day. We’d even sit a empty unit there for around an hour in the afternoons before it would go up to form an evening rush train
Fascinating! I love anecdotes like this!
Thank you great video also I live not far from the video you took so it’s great to see this from the cab. Paul
Thanks, Paul. I know it’s rare track, so when routed over it I had to get the camera out quick
@@emmo999 this route is sometimes used when they divert trains to Cannon Street when they are doing works at Bromley south
Yes indeed. And there are a couple of very early morning trains booked to use it, I think, for route retention purposes. But it’s definitely less common than the reversible line on the down side
A nice video. Thank you! 😊
Thanks for the appreciation
Very atmospheric weather conditions.
Early morning mist!
Nice short journey there
Wonderful !! That's the first time that I rode that junction ramp. It's good to see it outside of a track map in the real world. Aarre Peltomaa
p.s. PLEASE DO MORE CLIPS OF ODD JUNCTIONS AND LOCALES THAT MOST RAIL VIDEOGRAPHERS BYPASS !!! eg. I've never seen a video from Sutton to Epsom Downs; It's just a branch line, and I guess it's not sexy enough like the Brighton Main Line. I like to look at nooks and crannies.
Epsom Downs is definitely on my radar!
For long enough there, that first signal didn't seem to get any closer.😁
I always think it' a wee bit odd: for a junction to have flying/burrowing loops, it's really got to be a very busy location, probably used by lots of fast trains. Yet, because the loops are nearly always single-track, they take on the appearance of little-used, rustic backwaters.😁
This particular loop is only used very early morning, due to the fact it blocks the Down Tonbridge Slow loop, which is in use all day every day by the Victoria-Orpington trains
Oooooh, I liked that one, my local station is St. Mary Cray. I've walked over the footbridge at 0:53 lots of times, never seen a train underneath though!
What were you driving this time Emmo? Not your usual steed?
One of the usual steeds. We weren’t booked that way, so it caught me off guard, so couldn’t have my normal camera set up!
They sometimes send a train down that little bit when they do Ramsgate - Charing Cross services. I was standing on the footbridge one time and saw a 375 going down there
There are a few early morning trains booked that way for route retention purposes. If you Google PSUL, it shows you the trains at the bottom of page 9
Using my browser and satellite view maps I was able to locate this short journey, even though I'm sitting here in NE Wisconsin. Isn't the internet amazing? But I still have to mentally translate "loop" and "up/down" myself as I don't think Google Translations will do the job. 🙂 As usual, thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
Up - towards London
Down - away from London
Loop/spur/curve/chord - all names that short link lines tend to have
@@emmo999 Thanks! I figured most of them out a while back because I've watched so many UK train videos. The term "loop" was the hardest because over here it means "balloon track" rather than double-ended passing siding.
Excellent video!
Thanks for changing the caption.
I wonder if Thameslink will ever actually start running the proposed Maidstone to Cambridge (via London Bridge) service?
If they do, the Up Chatham Loop might see a regular passenger service, unfortunately I'm not convinced that they actually have enough Class 700s to run the service, at least not reliably.
Keep up the good work - it is very much appreciated!
Yes, you’re quite right! I’ll change the caption now, thanks for noticing - I was somewhat tired when I uploaded this!
@@emmo999
Back in the day, there used to be morning peak services, from Ramsgate/Dover to Cannon Street, that ran fast from Chatham to London Bridge, that used the Up Chatham Loop.
This was before the down loop was re-signalled to become reversible; which I think was done at the same time as the Tonbridge Loops were doubled in preparation for Chunnel services to Waterloo.
Do you know if these, or similar, services are still running?
I used to have a link to download a PDF copy of the WTT but, much to my personal annoyance, managed to lose it somehow.
I hope that you like being a tamper driver; I certainly do, because it means that we get to see some uniquely interesting videos.
Thanks again.
@@ten-bob-note I think the webpage you are thinking of this one, which shows passenger services over unusual lines. Useful for red penning various bits of track not normally covered!
www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/2022.pdf
(Check bottom of page 9!)
when next video
Today!
@@emmo999 thanks!
AARGH - slit-view - hate it.
Sorry, spur of the moment recording due to the unexpected routing
This loop is only ever used for a few select cannon Street services from the Chatham line in the mornings and daily Charing cross services from Maidstone east