To Romford and Back again

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To Romford and back (Tuesday 28th January 2020))

The story starts with Angela making a trip to Romford, to stay with her daughter Miranda on a weekend when there were no trains from Stratford station, and also no trains between Upminster and Romford. Angela's journey was long and convoluted, and I wonder how quickly I could do it on a weekday when all train, at least all the trains I needed were running normally.

I started from home, and while there were other options, I thought the easiest way, particularly if I was going to explain this to Angela, was to get the bus to Lewisham, and take the Docklands Light Railway from there.

My starting time from home. It was 09:14 and the temperature was a damn chilly 2.2° C !	I arrived at Lewisham DLR at 09:36, and the first train was a Beckton service. I jumped on it anyway, and changed to a bank service following it 5 minutes later when we got to Deptford Bridge station.	It was 10:00 when I arrived at Limehouse DLR station.
It takes three minutes to go down to street level, and then back up to the C2C National Rail platform for a service calling at Upminster. I had just a 5 minute wait for the train here.	It took 22 minutes to get to Upminster station (including the walk from platform 2 to platform 6). This is where I lost the race - a 24 minute wait for the train to Romford.	There is one intermediate station on the short, single track railway to Romford from Upminster. Hardly anyone gets on or off at Emerson Park, and it's like a little country station from years ago.
Arrival at Romford station, but there is no comvenient display showing the current time.	On platform 2 the time is displayed. It is 11:06, and it has taken my one hour and about 54 minutes to get there from home. Just one of Angela's bus rides was 1 hour and 17 minutes! I had about 2 minutes to get to platform 4 for a train to Stratford.	My arrival time at Stratford station was 11:30. It was an incredibly tedious slow ride on one of the new "Elizabeth Line" trains. It stopped at every sing station on the way.
It is a bit of walk, down to the subway, and then back to the same level, and then around the corner to get to the entrance to the DLR station at Stratford.	The need to change DLR train at Lewisham provided the next timing point. It was 11:48, and there was just a one minute wait for the train to Lewisham.	I was finally back home at 12:24 - One hour and 16 minutes after boarding the train at Romford. That has to be the fastest route. Note that at gone midday the temperature is still only 4.8° C despite it being very sunny.

Along the way I took more pictures. The picture above were all taken on my mobile phone, but I took others on my little pocket sized Canon iXus 285HS camera.

I hope this C2C train is not showing the Union Flag for any Brexit related reason. I spotted this train at Limehouse station. It must have arrived on platform one a few minutes before my train on platform 2.

dry drinking
fountain on Limehouse platform 2

On Limehouse platform 2 is this historic fountain. No one appears to know exactly why it is there, but there is a faint inscription on it that reads "Gift of St. George's Tufnell Park - Band of Mercy". It was installed in 1858. I have no idea when it last worked.

Platform 6 at Upminster, and it is shown as a London Overground service, and yet I thought until recently it was a "TFL Rail" service. Either it has changed, is wrong, or I am wrong.

Using full zoom on the camera, my train to Romford approaching the platform.

315809 - my train to Romford. These trains are the 25Kv, overhead power, version of the class 455 trains used on South west trains, but have not had the makeover that made them look like new trains on the lines out of Waterloo.

This class 315 train, and quite possibly all of the others of the class still retain the uncomfortable low backed seats that don't line up with the windows. As if that wasn't bad enough I suspect the seat covering moquette may well be called 50 shades of faeces. The last time I travelled on the Upminster to Romford line they were using very plush, ex-Stanstead express, class 317 trains.

Final picture - 315809 after arrival at Romford. I will say one thing in favour of this train - it was nice and warm inside.