On Jul 31, 6:36*am, Tom Anderson wrote:
On Sat, 31 Jul 2010, Bruce wrote:
On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:51:25 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:
For me the North London Line is always interesting. *It passes thru
varied territory, passing numerous other lines.

Seconded. I always find it particularly interesting to see the freight
trains, knowing they've come from Felixstowe and are on their way to the
remote north.

The *remote north*?

Willesden Junction, where i assume the trains fall off the edge of the
world.

You mean places like Birmingham?

Or perhaps Cricklewood? *;-)

Never heard of 'em!

Nah, remote north s'boynd the 'ome coun'ies innit.

The only problem is the long trip over "the rest of the UndergrounD"
to get there. *


The Underground does run fast trains though, always fascinating to
catch one that starts back from Aldgate.

The Met main line is full of interest to those of us well north of
Watford that have not found our way into contempt through familiarity
and are able to appreciate the truly wonderful (by comparison with the
truly appalling bus only land up here in the West Midlands)
transportation system that London enjoys.

On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 10:26:45 -0700 (PDT), allantracy
wrote:


The only problem is the long trip over "the rest of the UndergrounD"
to get there. *


The Underground does run fast trains though, always fascinating to
catch one that starts back from Aldgate.

The Met main line is full of interest to those of us well north of
Watford that have not found our way into contempt through familiarity
and are able to appreciate the truly wonderful (by comparison with the
truly appalling bus only land up here in the West Midlands)
transportation system that London enjoys.


I think you are wilfully overestimating the attractiveness of the
Chesham branch and underestimating the sheer boredom induced by the
comparatively long journey to get there - especially on the old
Underground sub-surface trains whose ride quality is absolutely
atrocious.

My view of the line is not conditioned by "contempt through
familiarity" because almost all my journeys to and from London are
accomplished on London Midland services to and from Tring. Almost
regardless of the time of day, the LM trains are uncrowded,
comfortable and clean, and the new multi-story car park at Tring means
that there are always spaces to park my car.

So a trip on the Met main line is now a rare "treat". Only problem
is, it isn't much of a treat, as stated above and previously.

If you want a scenic trip on LUL, the DLR and ELL are far more
interesting, and there is no need of a long and boring journey to get
there. If you want a variety of scenery, including some rural (green
belt) scenery, I think the east end of the Central Line takes some
beating. But Chesham? IMHO - forget it.

On 02/08/2010 21:58, Ian Jelf wrote:
Years later when I discovered the collection of suburban semis that was
World's end, it was a bit of a disappointment!

In that case you need to visit World's End near Llangollen. The cliffs
are there, but the road is at the bottom of them - and a Midland Red bus
would have some difficulty...

--
Dave,
Frodsham
http://dave-jackson.fotopic.net

"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
In message . li, Tom
Anderson writes
On Sat, 31 Jul 2010, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:51:25 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:
For me the North London Line is always interesting. It passes thru
varied territory, passing numerous other lines.

Seconded. I always find it particularly interesting to see the freight
trains, knowing they've come from Felixstowe and are on their way to
the
remote north.

The *remote north*?

Willesden Junction, where i assume the trains fall off the edge of the
world.

As a child, the Midland Red bus service that passed the end of our road
went to "World's End". It was one of the first things I learned to read.
I had this vision of the buses going to a cloud-filled cliff-edge and then
turning around and coming back to Smethwick.

Years later when I discovered the collection of suburban semis that was
World's end, it was a bit of a disappointment!

There are London buses that go to World's End as well.

tim

On Tue, 3 Aug 2010 21:42:45 +0100, tim.... wrote

"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
In message . li, Tom
Anderson writes
On Sat, 31 Jul 2010, Bruce wrote:

On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:51:25 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:
For me the North London Line is always interesting. It passes thru
varied territory, passing numerous other lines.

Seconded. I always find it particularly interesting to see the freight
trains, knowing they've come from Felixstowe and are on their way to
the
remote north.

The *remote north*?

Willesden Junction, where i assume the trains fall off the edge of the
world.

As a child, the Midland Red bus service that passed the end of our road
went to "World's End". It was one of the first things I learned to read.
I had this vision of the buses going to a cloud-filled cliff-edge and then
turning around and coming back to Smethwick.

Years later when I discovered the collection of suburban semis that was
World's end, it was a bit of a disappointment!

There are London buses that go to World's End as well.

There was even a TV series set there in the 1970s

On 30 July, 21:08, 1506 wrote:
On Jul 30, 12:41 wrote:

I have a day out in London and surrounding environs lined up in the
next couple of weeks. I would like to spend the day exploring the
quirky, out of the way or interesting railways in greater London. Does
anyone have any suggestions?

Well that is a subjective question; one man’s eclectic is another's
every day sight.

For me the North London Line is always interesting. *It passes thru
varied territory, passing numerous other lines. *Now that is has
undergone a rebuild, I think it would be especially worth exploring.
I always think the Camden Town, Chalk Farm/Primrose Hill area is fun
to explore on foot. *There is the hill itself which gives a god view
over London. *There are some good pubs in the area that are useful for
refreshment breaks.

The new ELL has to be worth a look, even if you only explore it in
part. *Also, I always found the extremities of some of the tube lines
to be interesting. *The Northern Line serves some old Great Northern
stations. *In my day they were well preserved, more so than their BR/
National Rail cousins. *I don't know if that is still the case. *The
ends of the Central Line are/were picturesquely rustic. *The Western
end runs next to the little used GW line to Northolt and onwards.

This is a thread, which I am sure, will draw variety of opinions.

Phew - a lot of posts while I was away! Loads of good suggestions
there, I think NLL, ELL, Braking - Gospel Oak and at least one LUL
branch are on the cards.

"GazK" wrote in message

On 30 July, 21:08, 1506 wrote:
On Jul 30, 12:41 wrote:

I have a day out in London and surrounding environs lined up in the
next couple of weeks. I would like to spend the day exploring the
quirky, out of the way or interesting railways in greater London.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Well that is a subjective question; one man’s eclectic is another's
every day sight.

For me the North London Line is always interesting. It passes thru
varied territory, passing numerous other lines. Now that is has
undergone a rebuild, I think it would be especially worth exploring.
I always think the Camden Town, Chalk Farm/Primrose Hill area is fun
to explore on foot. There is the hill itself which gives a god view
over London. There are some good pubs in the area that are useful for
refreshment breaks.

The new ELL has to be worth a look, even if you only explore it in
part. Also, I always found the extremities of some of the tube lines
to be interesting. The Northern Line serves some old Great Northern
stations. In my day they were well preserved, more so than their BR/
National Rail cousins. I don't know if that is still the case. The
ends of the Central Line are/were picturesquely rustic. The Western
end runs next to the little used GW line to Northolt and onwards.

This is a thread, which I am sure, will draw variety of opinions.

Phew - a lot of posts while I was away! Loads of good suggestions
there, I think NLL, ELL, Braking - Gospel Oak and at least one LUL
branch are on the cards.

Don't forget the DLR -- even if you've been on it before, there are
probably new bits (like the route past the airport to Woolwich Arsenal)
that you might have missed. The route through Greenwich is probably the
most scenic, and there's always giant new buildings popping up. The NLL
route from Stratford has great views of the Olympic site (the aquatics
centre roof is amazing).

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:55:48 +0100, "Recliner"
wrote:

The NLL
route from Stratford has great views of the Olympic site (the aquatics
centre roof is amazing).

I went that way last week. I didn't realise that the NLL cuts through
the park itself. Better views of the construction from there than
from the official viewing platform on the Greenway.

On Aug 10, 3:18*pm, Ivor The Engine
wrote:

On Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:55:48 +0100, "Recliner"
wrote:
The NLL
route from Stratford has great views of the Olympic site
(the aquatics centre roof is amazing).

I went that way last week. *I didn't realise that the NLL cuts through
the park itself. *Better views of the construction from there than
from the official viewing platform on the Greenway.

Yes, I'd defo recommend a jaunt out to to Stratford and a trip on the
NLL even if one only goes as far as Hackney Wick then turns back just
to see for yourself what's happening (and has happened) at the Olympic
Park. You can also get some decent views from the GEML twixt Liverpool
Street and Stratford (though that's not right in the midst of it
unlike the NLL).