European Railroad Discussion > UK/France trip report, September, 2013

I went to England in September. The main purpose was to see the Roger Waters production of "The Wall" at Wembley stadium, but i managed some rail fanning and riding there, as well! I went to the NRM in York, but i don't have those pictures on hand! You guys have probably seen a lot of that,anyways! The trip started, when the United 767 aircraft landed at London Heathrow airport, on a cloudy morning. From heather, we took the Piccadilly Line to Waterloo. At Waterloo station, we boarded the Southwest Trains Service to Bournemouth. Spent a day there, and it was off to the Swanage Railway for a day! Those pictures, i will post at a later date. The next morning, we, and our friends from Bournemouth, boarded another SouthWestTrains Service to London. We stayed at a nice B&B near Euston station. I was able to do some train watching here. We visited some friends in London, and on September 14, 2013, we saw "The Wall" at Wembley Stadium! Waters did a fantastic production of the show! After London, we took a Virgin Railways train from Euston to Crewe. I wish i couldve spend More time in Crewe, but it was strait to a London Midland train to Liverpool Lime Street, where we spend a few days, at a very nice, hotel. In Liverpool, we took a Private Beatles tour, where we visited The Casbah Coffee Club (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Casbah_Coffee_Club), The Cavern Club, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, Paul Mccartney's childhood home, John Lennon's childhood home, and many other Beatle landmarks. Railway wise, it was off to York on a Transpennine express. No rail fan can visit York without visiting the National Railway Museum! The highlights included three of the six surfing Class A4 locos, #4464 (Bittern), #4489 (Dominion of Canada), and #60010 (Dwight D. Eisenhower). The Flying Scotsman was in for work, and Mallard was in Doncaster. We then took a Grand Central train south to London. It was smooth and quick. In London it was strait from Kings Cross, to St. Pancras, where we boarded a Eurostar to Paris. Man, that was FAST, for a US traveller, at least! In Paris, we were there to visit some friends, and i didn't get any rail fanning in, but I like the look of the older subway cars!!!! After that, it was another United airlines 767, to Newark, NJ. After newark, it was a shuttle craft, back to Austin, where the journey ended. Overall, it was a great trip!


1) Virgin Class 390, in Crewe
2) ECML HST, in London, next to the Grand Central Train i was on.
3) The Paris Metro line #12, in Serves-Babylone station.

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Beatles fans here? Welcome to the club! I would love to go to Liverpool if only to go to Liverpool: you can't get away from Beatles references and Beatles-related landmarks in Liverpool, however much you try.

Ah, the Paris Metro! That brings back great memories of the year I spent in France on sabbatical a couple of years ago. I did take the Eurostar to London while I was there, but did not go further into Britain.

Happy rails to you,
Tor in Eugene

Cranberry sauce.

Mrs. Gibson and I (wag216) have been to Liverpool several times and have never had any problem. We always travel via Lime Street Station and stay at the Holiday Inn Ex., just a little to the west. So, all railfans will find Liverpool a nice place and great people!! wag216

My dad and I visited Liverpool and rode the buses to part of the Beatles sites, Paul and John's houses and Penny Lane where the two bus routes meet. If you go to Liverpool definetly take time to ride Merseyrail. It is somewhat like the Cleveland Rapid Red Line in the size of the cars and although the picture I provide is in the tunnel it does operate above ground for much of the trip. One of the most pleasant transit rides I've had really.

Jim

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