European Railroad Discussion > Electric trains around London

Some of the wide variety of electrically powered trains which you can find around London.

Last Saturday morning a pair of class 365s hurry towards King's Cross down the East Coast Mainline at Alexandra Palace

This morning's empty Highland Sleeper behind 87002 en route from its temporary terminus at King's Cross back to Wembley for servicing.

Later in the day a pair of 176 kph Bombardier class 387s on a Bedford to Brighton service passing Salfords in Surrey

---

---

---

Thanks for posting.  Especially like Photo 2.
ALLEN

Probably not running this time of year, but in Springtime, Volk's Electric Railway along the Brighton seacoast is a wonderful relic of the Victorian era.  It's short, slow, but it's the oldest operating electric railway in the world, having opened in 1883, when DC electricity was the "high tech" of those days.

To get from the southern suburb of London where we were staying, we took a modern version of the Southern Electric.  The local passenger service south of the Thames is mostly EMUs (electric multiple unit trains) powered by a 650 volt third rail system.  The second photo shows one of the new trains; some of the older units sound just like American interurbans, with lots of gear noise and air-brake compressor sounds.

We were looking in the driver's compartment, and the driver offered me a closer look and a photo opportunity.  He did take the controller key first.

---

---

---