1. King's Cross for railtours-AM

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2016 > 58. Trip to London-02-04.12.16 > 2. King's Cross for railtours & Paddington-03.12.16 > 1. King's Cross for railtours-AM

After taking the tube from High Street Kensington to King's Cross early in the morning I took a short run to Potters Bar in a couple of the doomed Great Eastern electrics. I observed the railtours from Potters Bar station.

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Images 1-22 of 22 displayed.

43468, GC 08.11 London King`s Cross-Sunderland (1N90) & 82211, GR 08.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh (1S07), London-King`s Cross station
Grand Central's 43468 waits at King's Cross to work the 08.11 to Sunderland. Next to it, 82211 will be at the rear of the 1S07 to Edinburgh. 43468 was originally numbered 43068, an Eastern Region power car that was part of set 254007. Along with a small number of other power cars It was fitted with buffer beams as an interim measure in the late 1980s when the plan was to use them as DVTs prior to the late delivery of the class 91s and class 82 DVTs as per its neighbour in this picture!
Keywords: 43468 08.11 London King`s Cross-Sunderland 1N90 82211, GR 08.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh 1S07 London-King`s Cross station

82218, GR 08.03 London King`s Cross-Leeds (1D05) & 68016, 03.44 Crewe-London King`s Cross ECS, London King`s Cross station
It's 07.44 at King's Cross and 82218 will soon leave at the rear of the 08.03 to Leeds. Next to it, 68016 'Fearless' has just arrived with the 03.44 ECS working from Crewe. This stock will soon form the The Grassington Dickensian railtour to Skipton. When looking at the design of these two front ends, the DVT looks clean, simple and uncluttered compared with the messy look of the new class 68.
Keywords: 82218 08.03 London King`s Cross-Leeds 1D05 68016 03.44 Crewe-London King`s Cross ECS, London King`s Cross station

91126, GR 08.30 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh (1S08), London King`s Cross station
91126 is still displaying its tail lights in platform zero at London King's Cross. Early passengers will already be boarding the train that will work the 1S08 08.30 to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the class 91 has been in collision with an item of wildlife as what looks to be a pheasant hangs forlornly on the right hand buffer beam, more rail-kill than road-kill!
Keywords: 91126 08.30 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh 1S08 London King`s Cross station

68023, outward leg of The Grassington Dickensian, 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton (1Z92), London King`s Cross station
It's still half light at London King's Cross with the new lighting inside the station shining brightly. At platform one 68023 'Achilles' waits to leave at the head of The Grassington Dickensian railtour. This is the 1Z92 08.18 to Skipton for the passengers to visit its Christmas market.
Keywords: 68023 The Grassington Dickensian 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton 1Z92 London King`s Cross station

91118, GR 09.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh (1S09) & 91120, GR 08.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh (1S07), London King`s Cross station
Two northbound Virgin East Coast trains wait at London King's Cross. Nearest the camera is 91118 that will work the 09.00 to Edinburgh whilst behind it is 91120 that will leave first with the 08.00 to Edinburgh. Note the large tent like structure in the background. This is the King's Cross pop-up theatre that I went to a month ago to see the late David Bowie's Lazarus play.
Keywords: 91118 09.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh 1S09 91120 08.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh 1S07 London King`s Cross station

317346, GN 08.05 London King`s Cross-Cambridge (2C06), London King`s Cross station
317346 stands at King's Cross platform ten with the 08.05 to Cambridge. This part of the King's Cross, tucked away to the western side, is not quite so elegant and grand as the rest of the station. It handles most of the suburban trains. I took this train as far as Potters Bar and is one of the few journeys that I have made on these fated class 317s.
Keywords: 317346 08.05 London King`s Cross-Cambridge 2C06 London King`s Cross station

68023, outward leg of The Grassington Dickensian, 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton (1Z92), Potters Bar station
Having taken a local train from King's Cross to Potters Bar, I managed to beat The Grassington Dickensian railtour. Here, it stands at the station pausing to pick up passengers near to the start of its journey to Skipton running as 1Z92 with 68023 'Achilles' leading.
Keywords: 68023 The Grassington Dickensian 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton 1Z92 Potters Bar station

68016, outward leg of The Grassington Dickensian, 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton (1Z92), Potters Bar station
The Grassington Dickensian railtour leaves Potters Bar station near to the start of its journey from King's Cross to Skipton. Leading the train, out of sight at the front, is 68023 'Achilles' with 68016 'Fearless' swinging about on the rear! People travelling on this railtour will enjoy a fine dining experience during their journey north and than have some hours free wandering around the Skipton Christmas market.
Keywords: 68016 The Grassington Dickensian 08.18 London King`s Cross-Skipton 1Z92 Potters Bar station

365527 & 365534, GN 07.46 Peterborough-London King`s Cross (1P49), Potters Bar station
365527 and 365534 arrive at Potters Bar station with the 07.46 Peterborough to King's Cross service. The future for these Newtworkers is not at all clear as the plans for them to move the GWML have been shelved. Therefore, there is no obvious new use for them when new stock is introduced on these services. They are reliable and relatively new units that have recently undergone an overhaul so storage (or even worse, scraping) would be an utter waste.
Keywords: 365527 365534 07.46 Peterborough-London King`s Cross 1P49 Potters Bar station

43295, GR 05.59 Newcastle-London King`s Cross (1Y08), Potters Bar station
43295 leads the 05.59 Newcastle to King's Cross through Potters Bar station. As 43095, this power car was part of Eastern Region set 254020 that played its part to oust the Deltics on this route. Now, it is the HSTs turn to be replaced as new Azumas will be arriving over the coming few years.
Keywords: 43295 05.59 Newcastle-London King`s Cross 1Y08 Potters Bar station

387119, 08.10 Peterborough-London King`s Cross (1P09), Potters Bar station
387117 arrives at Potters Bar with the Great Northern 08.10 Peterborough to King's Cross service. Winter has come late during this year with the trees in the background still hanging on to their brown leaves even by the start of December.
Keywords: 387119 08.10 Peterborough-London King`s Cross 1P09 Potters Bar station

57313, outward leg of The Canterbury Christmas Special, 05.28 Leeds-Canterbury (1Z66), Potters Bar station
57313 leads the outward leg of The Canterbury Christmas Special that left Leeds at the unhealthy hour of 05.28! The excursion was organised and promoted by the Spirit of the Lakes with the stock and locomotives provided by West Coast Railways. I am not sure as to what route this special took crossing London, if anybody can advise I would be grateful.
Keywords: 57313 The Canterbury Christmas Special 05.28 Leeds-Canterbury 1Z66 Potters Bar station

57316, outward leg of The Canterbury Christmas Special, 05.28 Leeds-Canterbury (1Z66), Potters Bar station
It is unfortunate that The Canterbury Christmas Special tour from Leeds was powered by a pair of West Coast Railway's class 57s. Their livery is pretty drab at the best of times but in dull December weather such as this at Potters Bar it looks even worse! 57316 is a former Virgin Thunderbird that carried the name ' FAB1'. Then, it wore Virgin's bright red livery and branding, quite a contrast to how it looks now!
Keywords: 57316 The Canterbury Christmas Special 05.28 Leeds-Canterbury 1Z66 Potters Bar station

Commemorative plaque, Potters Bar station
A reminder of the tragedy that took place at Potters Bar station in May 2002. The image of the class 365 on the platform under the canopy is one that is fixed in our memories and one that precipitated the end of Railtrack due to their cavalier approach to managing the infrastructure.
Keywords: Commemorative plaque Potters Bar station

91118, GR 09.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh (1S09), Potters Bar station
91118 is just twelve miles into its journey with three hundred and eighty to go as it passes Potters Bar leading the 09.00 King's Cross to Edinburgh.
Keywords: 91118 09.00 London King`s Cross-Edinburgh 1S09 Potters Bar station

82110, GR 07.05 Leeds-London King`s Cross (1A09), Potters Bar station
DVT 82110 leads the 07.05 Leeds to London King's Cross at speed through Potters Bar station. It is testament to modern camera technology that on such a dull morning in December a passable picture can be taken at 1/1600 sec. Yes, the image has been 'breathed on' a little in the editing phase but nonetheless, technology is an amazing thing!
Keywords: 82110 07.05 Leeds-London King`s Cross 1A09 Potters Bar station

313134, GN 09.03 Welwyn Garden City-Moorgate (2K18), Alexandra Palace station
The rear of the 09.03 Welwyn Garden City to Moorgate Great Northern service leaves Alexandra station with 313134 on the rear. I had taken this train from Potters Bar but needed a change a Alexandra Palace in order to get back into King's Cross.
Keywords: 313134 09.03 Welwyn Garden City-Moorgate 2K18 Alexandra Palace station

Class 43 (EMT power cars), 06.55 Skipton-London King`s Cross (1A13), Alexandra Palace station
Virgin East Coast was experiencing a persistent shortage of stock so it has had to hire in and HST from, in this case, East Midlands Trains. Here, the unidentified set in question heads south past Alexandra Place station with the 06.55 Skipton to London King's Cross. I know that taking into the sun is frowned upon by the purists, but, I like the atmosphere evoked in this particular image.
Keywords: Class 43 06.55 Skipton-London King`s Cross 1A13 Alexandra Palace station

317345, GN 08.18 Peterborough-London King`s-Cross (2P37), Alexandra Palace station
In a brief burst of sunshine in an otherwise pretty dull morning, 317345 pauses at Alexandra Palace station forming the 08.18 Peterborough to London King's Cross. These four-car units were built by BREL at York between 1981 and 1987. They have operated on all the lines north of London at various times in their career reaching as far as Northampton, Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge. Some have also worked out into Essex.
Keywords: 317345 08.18 Peterborough-London King`s-Cross 2P37 Alexandra Palace station

313057, GN 09.06 Stevenage-Moorgate (2J19), Alexandra Palace station
313057 arrives at Alexandra Palace with the 09.06 Stevenage to Moorgate. I took this train to the end of its journey at Moorgate then the tube back to High Street Kensington for breakfast with my wife and son. This unit is one of the oldest on the network still in operational use being constructed in 1976. However, their time is very limited now with new stock on order and due to arrive in the coming two years. There is only one final destination for these class 313s and that is the scrapman!
Keywords: 313057 09.06 Stevenage-Moorgate 2J19 Alexandra Palace station

Tickets, London King`s Cross-Potters Bar-Moorgate
My super off-peak tickets bought from a machine in the concourse at King's Cross. This journey involved a break in the return journey to Moorgate at Alexandra Palace.
Keywords: Tickets, London King`s Cross-Potters Bar-Moorgate

Images 1-22 of 22 displayed.