Rapido RailEx - Friday 27th and Saturday 28th September 2024

[Wickham Green too]

Sometimes you've got to be dedicated to this hobby, enjoy the travelling and make a day of it ..... probably the longest journey I've made to a show was to Weymouth ( a number of years ago ) : the leg from Bournemouth was slowest but most fun - on board P.S.Waverley !

[tetsudofan]

Train and Show tickets just ordered and paid for, looking forward to the 27th.

 

Keith

[The Stationmaster]

23 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

Sometimes you've got to be dedicated to this hobby, enjoy the travelling and make a day of it ..... probably the longest journey I've made to a show was to Weymouth ( a number of years ago ) : the leg from Bournemouth was slowest but most fun - on board P.S.Waverley !

Quite agree but getting on for 8 hours travelling including crossing London twice is a bit of a bind in an already filling up month of trips to exhibitions and other events such as the one in Kernow land the Friday before this one (which requires overnight stays plus a spot of local train travel).  Simply can't do it all so something has to give.

[MidlandRed]

On 09/09/2024 at 11:10, The Stationmaster said:

Quite agree but getting on for 8 hours travelling including crossing London twice is a bit of a bind in an already filling up month of trips to exhibitions and other events such as the one in Kernow land the Friday before this one (which requires overnight stays plus a spot of local train travel).  Simply can't do it all so something has to give.

If travelling via Paddington it’s probably quicker to Maidstone East (via Victoria) and a swift 15 mins walk across the town centre to Lockmeadow. Via St Pancras to Strood via high speed and then Maidstone Valley to Maidstone West. 
 

I guess the Liz Line makes everywhere a bit more accessible from the west these days as well. 

[Wickham Green too]

Trouble is, getting from anywhere on Crossrail to the Southern isn't simple or isn't quick : Abbey Wood might be the obvious interchange but you'd stop at an awful lot of lampposts  before and after - as you would switching to Thameslink at Farringdon .... otherwise it's two changes to Victoria ( don't forget the bustitution on the Saturday ) or two changes to St.Pancreas for the high-cost to Northfleet.

[MidlandRed]

Tottenham Court Road is two stops from Victoria, and three stops from St Pancras via the Victoria Line but the interchange may not be the quickest. If so Paddington to Victoria (or St Pancras) via the Circle Line is relatively convenient if a little slow. 
 

It appears a direct service isn’t available Victoria to Maidstone East (engineering works?) but St Pancras to Strood via SE High Speed and change for Maidstone West is. 

Edited September 12 by MidlandRed

[The Stationmaster]

2 hours ago, MidlandRed said:

Tottenham Court Road is two stops from Victoria, and three stops from St Pancras via the Victoria Line but the interchange may not be the quickest. If so Paddington to Victoria (or St Pancras) via the Circle Line is relatively convenient if a little slow. 
 

It appears a direct service isn’t available Victoria to Maidstone East (engineering works?) but St Pancras to Strood via SE High Speed and change for Maidstone West is. 

St Pancras to Strood and change there is by far the fastest route out of London for Maidstone West according to National Rail offerings.  For me it would be a bit quicker overall than NR's ideas as they give slack timings for LUL 'connections' in London.  But from home on a Thames Valley branchline it would still require me to change trains four times (or five times if I use a Circle/District train from Paddington) and that spins out the overall journey time.

 

Going via St Pancras takes c,5-10 minutes under 3 hours, catching the same train from here and going via Abbey Wood takes c.3hrs 20 mins - 3hrs 30 mins without a change of trains at Paddington (but it might be quicker by changing at Paddington - if the connections work out).  The Liz Line can make a big massive difference to some journey times in London but it is usually quicker, and far more comfortable, to avoid using it from the Thames Valley into London on the GWML.  It would be far better, and that bit quicker, if TfL hadn't gone mad with Liz Line service frequencies and you could still change to it from a GWR Thames Valley train at Ealing Broadway - without the need to even go to a different platform.

[MidlandRed]

On 12/09/2024 at 11:43, The Stationmaster said:

St Pancras to Strood and change there is by far the fastest route out of London for Maidstone West according to National Rail offerings.  For me it would be a bit quicker overall than NR's ideas as they give slack timings for LUL 'connections' in London.  But from home on a Thames Valley branchline it would still require me to change trains four times (or five times if I use a Circle/District train from Paddington) and that spins out the overall journey time.

 

Going via St Pancras takes c,5-10 minutes under 3 hours, catching the same train from here and going via Abbey Wood takes c.3hrs 20 mins - 3hrs 30 mins without a change of trains at Paddington (but it might be quicker by changing at Paddington - if the connections work out).  The Liz Line can make a big massive difference to some journey times in London but it is usually quicker, and far more comfortable, to avoid using it from the Thames Valley into London on the GWML.  It would be far better, and that bit quicker, if TfL hadn't gone mad with Liz Line service frequencies and you could still change to it from a GWR Thames Valley train at Ealing Broadway - without the need to even go to a different platform.

Agreed - strangely National Rail didn’t offer the St Pancras/Strood/Maidstone West Route - I had to select it manually - in fact one version offered (to Maidstone East) was St Pancras to Ashford (37 mins), then Ashford to Maidstone East (train only runs as far as Borough Green owing to the dreaded weekend engineering works beyond!). Nearly as quick as the Strood route but far more expensive I’d wager - and no 375/3 to experience the Medway Valley on 😀😉 the most scenic bit is south of Maidstone W though! 

[The Stationmaster]

Anyway I definitely make this one as I've got Camborne on the 20th and then at the beginning of October I'm off to South Wales for a couple of days to research certain long closed colliery branches.  So my 'long day/overnight' release credits are more or less expended for this year!

[Oldddudders]

15 hours ago, MidlandRed said:

Agreed - strangely National Rail didn’t offer the St Pancras/Strood/Maidstone West Route 

Having never travelled on a Javelin, the implausibility of such a service remains. 50 years ago I was about to be appointed ASM at Strood, and even the fastest services to London were less than express. But I found the same when my Eurostar, 20 years ago and before HS1 was completed, brought me through Southfleet, where I had audited wagon weights once a fortnight, and Farningham Road, another of our stations. Maidstone, despite being the County Town, never quite hit the heights for fast trains to London, either. 

 

I would love to be at this show, enjoy Rapido products, but will instead be at the Stafford event that weekend. 

[MidlandRed]

5 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Having never travelled on a Javelin, the implausibility of such a service remains. 50 years ago I was about to be appointed ASM at Strood, and even the fastest services to London were less than express. But I found the same when my Eurostar, 20 years ago and before HS1 was completed, brought me through Southfleet, where I had audited wagon weights once a fortnight, and Farningham Road, another of our stations. Maidstone, despite being the County Town, never quite hit the heights for fast trains to London, either. 

 

I would love to be at this show, enjoy Rapido products, but will instead be at the Stafford event that weekend. 

Maidstone East used to have trains running to/from Victoria from the down bay platform - discontinued in one of the cost saving exercises (or unit saving) and now there is just the service to/from Ashford Int and Victoria via Maidstone - it feels a bit like a branch line (as does Faversham to Dover P via Canterbury East these days) although if you like a green interior, the ex Southern class 375/5 are used - easily noticeable by their grey roofs and slightly purple version of SE trains livery - HOWEVER Maidstone West does have a weekday peak periods Javelin service (replaced the Maidstone East extras) direct to St Pancras Int via Strood. The Javelin services are not only good to get to St Panc, the usage to Stratford Int for E London, Docklands, DLR routes, Jubilee and Central lines, Overground and Greater Anglia is high. The huge Ebbsfleet car parks also act as a P and R for these destinations - it is 18 mins from St Pancras and just outside Gravesend and 5 mins from the A2.  
 

As you say, all implausible over 15 or so years ago - as was crossing the road directly to Kings X or changing directly to East Midlands Trains (let alone Eurostar!!)

Edited Saturday at 14:01 by MidlandRed

[Wickham Green too]

377/5 rather than 375/5 .......... though why they've not been converted ( whatever the difference is ) escapes me.