"Mizter T" wrote

Interesting stuff. I presume the trains that terminated at Kensington
Olympia ran down from the GWML, using the now gone West London curve
that linked the GWML and NLL? Curious readers might like to know that
the West London curve got swallowed up by the now disused Eurostar
North Pole depot - however one thing I am unclear of is whether there
was just a link from the NLL to the GWML heading west, or whether
there was ever also a link that headed east towards Paddington?

Yes - the spur from North Pole Junction to Old Oak Common East Junction
diverged to the right (travelling north on the WLL) using what is now the
exit from the E* depot, running under the WLL (using more or less what is
now used as the link between the two halves of the E* depot) to join the
GWML facing towards Bristol.

There were three routes from Paddington to the WLL. In 1906-07 there was a
through train from Paddington to Brighton which took the Hammersmith branch
at Westbourne Park and used the spur which used to exist from Latimer Road
to the WLL. This was used by the 'Middle Circle' service (Edgware Road H&C
or beyond to Earls Court or beyond) until 1940. There was a spur from West
London Yard (where the eastern part of the E* depot is) to the WLL, used in
1967 by the 1000 SX and 1403 SX Paddington to Kensington Parcels. However,
on Saturdays these trains took a different route, via Park Royal, the
Greenford spur, and Drayton Green, to reach the WLL via Old Oak Common East
and North Pole.

Also, I'm just pondering summer specials in the south east.
Southeastern run a morning special from Victoria to Ramsgate via
Catford, Bromley South and Margate (and presumably a few other places
along the way!), though there's no special return working. I can't
think of any others that still run.

You're out of date. Last Summer this train ran from Victoria to Ramsgate via
Lewisham, Eltham and Dartford. It only runs from late July to the end of
August; the rest of the year there's a Victoria to Ramsgate ecs working. The
return has to be back at Victoria for the evening peak, so is too early for
day truippers, who return on the ordinary trains. Most years there's also
been a Hastings train, but last Summer this couldn't run because of the
tunnel blockade at Tunbridge Wells. As in my previous post, in some years
these trains have come into passenger service at such stations as Elephant &
Castle or New Cross.

Peter