Today is the last day of Eurostar trains traversing the tracks of
south London heading for Waterloo, as tomorrow they'll switch to using
the new, boring route through the new CTRL tunnels underneath east
London (apols for rolling that pun out for the hundredth time). I felt
a little ode to their passing - or indeed imminent lack of passing -
was in order.

The new route will no longer afford arriving passengers a window,
however brief and partial it may be, across London. So Eurostar
passengers will be denied any glimpse of the metropolis into which
they are arriving until they emerge just before St. Pancras station
(where they'll get a good vie of a cement works!).


-----
Let's start in Bromley for our Waterloo-bound E* journey, not least
because so far the curios have been thwarted in their attempts to
window gaze into back gardens by the large wooden fencing, erected to
provide a sound barrier. Bromley South will be the first really busy
London station the window gazers will see - thronging with commuters,
or perhaps pre-Christmas shoppers, or even those holding a bucket-and-
spade heading for the seaside. Onwards we go, passing Beckenham
Junction - with perhaps a snatched view of a tram disappearing into
the suburbs to the left, glimpsed over greenfingered folk dutifully
tending to their allotments.

Passing through Penge the observant will be able to see the Victorian
terraces of this suburb before... darkness, as the train disappears
into the long tunnel under Upper Sydenham, before emerging by Sydenham
Hill station. Despite entering the edge of inner London observers
can't fail to note the green and leafy nature of the surrounds. Those
with eyes to the right may see schoolboys at Dulwich College
practising in the nets or perfecting their drop-kicks on the sports
field in front of the Cathedralesque school buildings.

Then, as the line rises on to an embankment, perhaps a quick view of
the spacious gardens and swimming pools of large houses before
crossing the busy and probably congested South Circular road,
whereupon a glance to the right through the trees might reveal Belair
Park - perhaps inhabited by people enjoying the steam-engine powered
fair ground rides of the visiting Carter's Steam Fair.

On high ground now, as we will be for almost all of the rest of the
journey, we pass more sports grounds with clubhouses to the right.
Then we pass underneath an even higher railway line supported by tall
arches before coming to Herne Hill. A glance to the left will reveal
Brockwell Park, possibly packed with people enjoying the Lambeth
Country Show, which features more conventionally powered fair ground
rides - but steam is there too, in the form of traction engines and a
steam driven wood cutter, as well as Falcons and jousting Knights. The
first high-rise flats are also starting to appear now too.

The train progresses on into Brixton - a glance to the right might
expose the affront to humanity that is the so-called Brixton Barrier
Block, built with tiny windows on one side to shield it from an urban
motorway that never materialised. But eyes turned left will briefly be
able to make out the bustling street markets along Electric Avenue and
and Atlantic Road before the train crosses Brixton Road, likely to be
a sea of red buses, where the first Underground roundel belonging to
Brixton tube station can be seen. And that bronzed commuter stood on
the platform at Brixton looks like he's been waiting a while.

A few stolen glimpses of the distant central London skyline are
possible for those with eyes right, whilst those staring out to the
left might catch pub-goers enjoying a pint or three in the small beer
garden to the rear of the Duke Of Edinburgh pub. However from now on
the line is no longer just double track, it's four or five track, and
hence views are more likely to be obscured by passing trains, such as
the two-car class 456 performing its parochial South London Line
duties, or other longer trains heading further out.

Coming into Clapham we can see another Underground roundel, this time
that of Clapham North station, before passing over the busy Clapham
High Street. Perhaps there are some wistful passengers observing the
Eurostar just the other side of the wall at the station of the same
name, waiting for a train so as to travel on a somewhat less epic
journey.

Onwards past Wandsworth Road station with its old overbridge, which if
its a nice day (and perhaps even if not) may well be inhabited by some
men with notebooks. Is that guy taking a picture of us?! On past
Factory Junction signalbox, and whilst there isn't a factory in sight
there is a car breakers yard, and something called Bishops Move - have
these protestant Bishops so embraced the work-ethic that they've gone
into the furniture removal business themselves?

The train starts to veer off to the right, whilst to the left there is
the enormous, disused Battersea Power station. We're now alongside
another different mainline, where the trains now carry different
colours (but some of your fellow passengers recall that they didn't
back in '94). Above the low-rise business parks surrounding the line
we get a better view of central London to our left, whilst the sprawl
of south London continues across the vista to the right, and dotted
all around there are clumps of tower blocks reaching up to the sky.

Onwards we cross Wandsworth Road again, perhaps once again seeing the
speeding motorcyclist we saw just a minute or so earlier, and then as
we come through Vauxhall station, to our left there is something that
looks as if it could be a ski-slope, but is in fact a bus station. And
then there is the Gotham City-esque headquarters of James Bond's
secret service, then a glance of the famous River Thames, and perhaps,
if you're quick, the Tate Modern on the other side.

The train is slowing down now, and the big ferris wheel that they call
the London Eye can see seen, whilst and the observant might catch a
glimpse of of the tower of Lambeth Palace to the left. Accompanied by
the sound of nashing Gallic teeth (including, perhaps, our own?) we
come to a halt at Waterloo station underneath Grimshaw's curved glass
roof, and, since the brutalist County Hall Island block that used to
get in the way has recently been razed, we can enjoy a distant view of
Big Ben and Parliament, though in the background we can hear a pedant
murmuring something about St Stephen's tower, but they'd be wrong as
it is in fact the Clock Tower.

Then down the ramp and out of the controlled area, and into the chaos
of London town. A very short walk away is the riverside, and whilst
most scurry for Taxis or the Underground, or head up in to the
mainline station - perhaps thronging with demob happy friday evening
commuters - a few stroll out across the road to walk by the river.
-----


And so endeth what I now fully realise is a pretty naff story! I'll
spare giving you an alternative version which follows the Eurostar
along its alternate route via the Catford loop line, though I will say
that the skyline views that way are arguably better - the stretch of
line between Nunhead and Peckham Rye offers the sight of the towers of
Canary Wharf in the distance, before one has a glimpse of another side
of London life as the train crosses over busy Rye Lane in Peckham, and
further along the line from around Loughborough Junction to Brixton
the skyline of central London can be seen in between the tower
blocks.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have been cheered seeing the Eurostar
making it's way across south London from the other side of the glass,
its passing presence being signalled by sound before sight as the
distinctive noise of the purring electric motors approaches - a noise
I once heard memorably described by an old lady as sounding like a
1,000 hairdriers all blowing at once! It has provided a bit of
romantic wonder to onlookers, whether they be on adjacent trains,
stations or just near the railway line - where are the people in the
sleek never-ending white and yellow train going to, or coming from...
a romantic Parisian liason, a far-away land, a first visit to London,
or an escape away from it...

I distinctly remember an acquaintance telling me of how, en route to a
professional exam, he saw a passing Eurostar and yearned to be on it,
rather than waiting for his everyday train to take him to his exam
room. Yet of course the Eurostar has been an everyday train, passing
every day through the south of the capital - and indeed, empty,
through the west, along the West London Line en-route to and from the
fabulously named North Pole. But from tomorrow no longer - instead it
will be speeding through the deep, and arriving at the magnificent St.
Pancras.

But for south London, it is time to say - au revoir, Eurostar.

"Mizter T" wrote in message
ups.com...
Today is the last day of Eurostar trains traversing the tracks of
south London heading for Waterloo, as tomorrow they'll switch to using
the new, boring route through the new CTRL tunnels underneath east
London (apols for rolling that pun out for the hundredth time). I felt
a little ode to their passing - or indeed imminent lack of passing -
was in order.

The new route will no longer afford arriving passengers a window,
however brief and partial it may be, across London. So Eurostar
passengers will be denied any glimpse of the metropolis into which
they are arriving until they emerge just before St. Pancras station
(where they'll get a good vie of a cement works!).

At least they'll have the spectacular view of the Barlow trainshed, the
infamous champagne bar and the iconic £1m Meeting Place statue. Outside,
there is a great view of Euston Road notwithstanding the wonderful array of
fast food outlets!

When will the internal route from the LUL Western ticket hall to St Pancras
(Eurostar and Domestic) open?

That was really good; it deserves to be in something like the South
London Press.

On 13 Nov, 17:00, Ar wrote:
At least Eurostar will get less people using the service. No matter
what you say, for day trippers from the continent, St.Pancras may as
well be on the backside of the moon.

I bet you ten thousand pounds that you're talking complete and utter
rubbish, and that E* visitor numbers will be higher in the year from
November 14 2007 to November 13 2008 than in the year November 14 2006
to November 13 2007.

My contact details are below, if you're shy about accepting the bet
online.

--
John Band
john at johnband dot org
www.johnband.org

"Mizter T" wrote

Let's start in Bromley for our Waterloo-bound E* journey,

Excellent, though you might have started at Southfleet Junction, not least
because Southfleet Junction to Fawkham Junction and the Linford Street curve
are the two sections where it will no longer be possible to travel by train
at all. Among the highlights of the journey between Southfleet and Bromley
are the viaducts at Horton Kirby and St Mary Cray, and the tangle of the
Chislehurst junctions.

Peter
(old enough to have watched the Golden Arrow and Night Ferry pass through
Blackbrook Lane bridge at Bickley)

In article , Ar
writes

At least Eurostar will get less people using the service. No matter
what you say, for day trippers from the continent, St.Pancras may as
well be on the backside of the moon.

But look what happened the South Bank in the years since Eurostar
arrived - the wheel, the aquarium, er, McDonalds, etc. Oh, yeah, the
Tate, City Hall and the wobbly bridge, too. Just imagine how the St
Pancras area might be transformed in years to come.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

The people of north London were ****ed that south London at last had
one decent transport link, but no, north London HAD to have that too,
leaving south London with no decent transport links again.

At least Eurostar will get less people using the service. No matter
what you say, for day trippers from the continent, St.Pancras may as
well be on the backside of the moon.

The original plans were to build a tunnel to Waterloo and keep that as
the terminal, but I think it was the borough of Lewisham that didn't
want that, which resulted in the current north London route.

"Ar" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:00:55 +0000, Ar scribed:

I'd rather see the city as you ride through it, then tunnels. The new
Eurostar route is about as interesting as catching some overground
trains from Brussels Zuid, southbound.

I meant northbound of course! The Eurostar comes from the south into
Brussels.

Anyway, for visually unintersting bordom, I think this persons video
just about sums up the new Eurostar route.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A0GRF6d8EAg

Yep that's about as good as it gets... But its even worse when you have to
*walk* that route - Well the tunnelled sections anyway...

"Toby" wrote in message ...

When will the internal route from the LUL Western ticket hall to St
Pancras (Eurostar and Domestic) open?

Hopefully overnight tonight - I'm hoping to use that route tomorrow...

Paul S

In uk.railway Paul Scott wrote:
Hopefully overnight tonight - I'm hoping to use that route tomorrow...

There are no obstructions the other side of the doors, so there's no reason
it shouldn't be open tomorrow assuming all the shop fitting out inside has
finished.

Theo