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I went for a ride on the Parliamentary train


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So. having a day available to doss around in London I plumped for a ride on this train, the 11.36 Paddington - West Ruislip.

After nearly getting lost trying to find Platform 14 it came in and sat for 20 minutes. I think the guard just came round for something to do as he did the whole train (all 3 passengers) while at Paddington. Off we went and on passing Old Oak Common the line branches off to follow the Ruislip branch of the Central line. Single track with a lengthy passing loop in the middle. Some of it appears to have been relaid with that steel sleepered track. Looks too flimsy for my liking. I'm sure it's not though. Seemed smooth enough ride quality-wise. The former Up line lays rusty and unused in the undergrowth and this section is signalled with GWR style lower Quadrant semaphores, no less. Not something you usually see in London. I hope if they ever resignal this then a preservation group gets them. A lengthy stop at South Ruislip while a few fast trains went though and then on to West Ruislip where it sits for another 20 minutes. I plumped for the tube back. All in all a nice pleasant ride through north west London.

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just as well you plumped for the tube back or you would be waiting til monday for the return service! (the unit does ruislip-paddington-ruislip)!!

 

the "passing loop" you mention is from greenford to park royal and is 3 miles long and yes its been relayed with steel sleepers and CWR but is still only 20mph in the up (towards paddington) direction but is 50mph in the down direction, the lines are called the "up and down wycombe"

 

some pics here......

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42517-lets-go-to-birmingham-2011-marylebone-to-moor-st/?p=727951

 

i've actually got to officially learn ruislip to greenford for a job we have on over easter in southall and our trains will have to come from hinksey via the chilterns and round the greenford loop to get there

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If the Bill ever goes through Parliament for the HS2, closure of this route is buried in the detail.  (At least OOC-Greenford and possibly OOC-South Ruislip - I guess others know the detail better)

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Ah, the memories.

 

In the dim and distant past when there were through lines at Gerrards Cross and (I think) Beaconsfield, the fast trains from High Wycombe used to go that way, and occasionally on a Saturday morning would be diverted via Greenford. Often they were hauled by a Hymek which used to get up to 90mph on the straighter stretches, (approx according to the quarter mile posts), and we loved it. There was also the "lurch" at high speed when the fluid drive changed gear at whatever speed it was programmed to.

 

This was far superior than getting the Marylebone dmu, which stopped at every golf club and rattled its way through innumerable stations in Sudbury and Harrow.

 

Happy days.

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just as well you plumped for the tube back or you would be waiting til monday for the return service! (the unit does ruislip-paddington-ruislip)!!

 

the "passing loop" you mention is from greenford to park royal and is 3 miles long and yes its been relayed with steel sleepers and CWR but is still only 20mph in the up (towards paddington) direction but is 50mph in the down direction, the lines are called the "up and down wycombe"

 

some pics here......

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42517-lets-go-to-birmingham-2011-marylebone-to-moor-st/?p=727951

 

i've actually got to officially learn ruislip to greenford for a job we have on over easter in southall and our trains will have to come from hinksey via the chilterns and round the greenford loop to get there

Cheers Jim those pics are excellent!

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One place to start is PSUL (passenger services over unusual lines) at http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/intro.htm

 

Wow. Thanks for that link. The 1553 Br Parkway to Bath uses the Dr Days Jct to Feeder Bridge Jct link? I think I always needed that in my dim and distant route travel days. I might have to 'revive' my interest and take a trip on that service.

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Wow. Thanks for that link. The 1553 Br Parkway to Bath uses the Dr Days Jct to Feeder Bridge Jct link? I think I always needed that in my dim and distant route travel days. I might have to 'revive' my interest and take a trip on that service.

Did that service original start running when the MOD/Royal Navy procurement offices relocated from Bath to Filton Abbey Wood?

I think there may have been a matching morning service in the other direction back at that time,

 

cheers

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Nice to see, pictures of the Greenford semaphores, all this on my local branch line, shame that us normals cannot get anywhere near to them to get pictures as the only way to get anywhere near them, is Rockware avenue, of which has security gates

 

NL

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If the Bill ever goes through Parliament for the HS2, closure of this route is buried in the detail.  (At least OOC-Greenford and possibly OOC-South Ruislip - I guess others know the detail better)

 

HS2 is now supposed to be in tunnel as far as Ruislip, so that may no longer be the case...

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Stockport - Stalybridge

Several decades ago, I used to live in Reddish, Stockport. 

 

North Reddish station for trains to Manchester seemed to get a reasonable number of passengers, and, if I recall, had a reasonable timetable at that time.  There was reasonable information about train times, and facilities to buy tickets.

 

There was also a South Reddish station (very close to the centre of Reddish) that had trains to Stockport, and, I am fairly sure, Stalybridge.  There seemed to be very few passenger trains, which were mainly at funny times.  I could never work out how to buy tickets for it.  There never seemed to be any information about services.  I tended to do the weekend shopping in Stockport and I would have preferred to travel by train rather than bus.  I did wonder if there was some kind of legal reason for them to run trains, but they didn't seem to want passengers.  Unfortunately, I never did travel on that line.

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I'm not sure tnat this is a 'parliamentary',  When my mate and \I rode it the crew said that it was to do with retaining route knowledge for diversions.  I thin there is one on a Sunday evening from Waterloo that goes round via Staines and Weybridge then hooks west towards basingstoke for the same reason.   However I'm happy to be corrected and we also enjoyed the ride.

 

Jamie

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