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Railfanning London‘s Railways

Visitors to London who are also transport enthusiasts (‘railfans’) sometimes ask for advice as to the ‘best’ things to see on London’s railway network. This page is part of a guide which aims to answer that question.

If this is the first time you have reached these pages then it is best to go to the Opening Page which sets the scene, explains the difference between the small and the large profile trains, offers advice on the best type of ticket to buy and photography tips.

Alternatively, it is possible to view everything on one page

London Overground

The initial London Overground network comprised seven* urban railway routes which for reasons that included a lack of investment and lack of passenger awareness were (mostly) seen as transport backwaters. They were joined under one high-profile name and after much investment (and new trains) achieved a level of public awareness - and patronage - similar to that of the Underground system.
(* Although there were seven routes one of them was shortened and merged with another route, losing its separate identity at the same time).

Part of the Overground ethos has been to provide a turn up and go service so that passengers do not need to consult the timetable - they will know that (on most routes) the trains come at least every 15 minutes. Such has been the success of the Overground Network that to cope with passenger numbers most of the original routes needed to have their trains extended from four to five carriages in length.

In May 2015 some more routes were added to the London Overground network. Some of these are busy urban services whilst one is a short rural branch line.

Information for people who are happy to travel on trains which are above ground but experience claustrophobia when in tunnels.

A few locations on the Overground Network have single track tunnels:

* Where trains use the historic Brunel tunnels to pass below the River Thames on the East London Line section between Wapping and Rotherhithe stations. Note that this route also includes many twin track tunnels.

* On the Euston - Watford service between Euston and South Hampstead stations plus between Kensal Green and Willesden Junction stations. On days when this service is diverted to Stratford (instead of Euston) then the trains pass through single track tunnels when travelling between South Hampstead and Camden Road stations.

Click maps to see larger versions in new windows!

The 2015 map includes information on the routes which joined the London Overground network in May 2015 and lists the services as route A - route G, as per the information below.

• A: Euston - Watford Junction.
• B: Richmond - Stratford (via the North London Line).
• C: Clapham Junction - Willesden Junction (via the West London Line) - most of these services are extended to Stratford via the North London Line.
• D: Gospel Oak - Barking (this route is nicknamed Goblin).
• E: A group of four interworked services which travel via the East London Line and the historic Brunel Thames Tunnel. The core part of the route is: (Highbury & Islington - some trains only) - Dalston Junction - Surrey Quays. From here trains fan out to reach New Cross / West Croydon / Crystal Palace / Clapham Junction.
• F: A group of three north London services which radiate from London's Liverpool Street station to Cheshunt (via Seven Sisters) / Enfield / Chingford (This group of lines is also known as West Anglia).
• G: A short branch line shuttle service between Romford and Upminster at the eastern edge of London.

Although not marketed as such the combination of several London Overground services forms a Circle line around London.

However, this operates in several segments, so for some journeys passengers will need to change trains at Clapham Junction [in south London] or Canonbury / Highbury & Islington plus any station between Dalston Junction and Surrey Quays [in north and east London].

Passengers paying fares using electronic smart card ticketing in PAYG (pay as you go) mode (Oyster, contactless, etc.,) are advised NOT to try and travel around the entire circle in one journey. The PAYG system is not designed for such journeys and passengers who try to do this will find themselves being charged an expensive maximum fare. NB: this advice also applies to passengers who have reached the fares cap for that day and passengers with Oyster Travelcard Season Tickets which do not include both Zones 1 and 2.

However passengers with paper One Day Travelcards which are valid in zones 1 and 2, All Line Rover, BritRail and Eurail passes (etc.,) can make such journeys without ticketing complications.

London Overground Class 378 Capitalstar trains are used on routes A, B, C and E. These trains are air-conditioned.

These are powerful trains which were designed for 75mph (121 km/h) operation, although because much of the Overground network has a top speed of just 45mph (72 km/h) they rarely demonstrate their true capabilities. Indeed, it is a characteristic of the Overground that its trains travel calmly and sedately, with slow station approaches and gentle braking of the type which makes for very smooth journeys - and longer overall journey times.

A short film showing Overground and other trains taken a New Cross Gate in May 2013 can be seen on 'youtube' at this link: http://youtu.be/9EpfgK8Z34g

London Overground Class 710 Aventra trains in four carriage format are used on routes A, D, F and G. These trains are air-conditioned.

In the future there will also be some five carriage Class 710 trains, these will be used on routes B and C.

These trains include a few USB power sockets .... but they are only located at the cariage ends (as seen above) and next to the wheelchair spaces!

• The Euston - Watford Junction (all stations) service (route A).is powered at 750V dc via a third rail.
  The tracks between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone are shared with Bakerloo Line Underground trains.
  
  Very occasionally the Euston - Watford trains are diverted away from Euston station and instead travel to Stratford via the former (ie: now closed) Primrose Hill station.

• The North London Line (route B) links Stratford in the east of London with Richmond in south-west London.
  Between Stratford and Acton Central the trains are powered at 25kV AC from overhead wires, whilst between Acton Central and Richmond they are powered at 750V DC via an electrified third rail.
  The tracks between Gunnersbury and Richmond are shared with District Line Underground trains.
  Note that for 'end to end' journeys between east and west London it might be quicker to travel via Central London.
  
  The North London Line is also a very busy freight route, especially the sections between Stratford and Camden Road plus Gospel Oak and Willesden Junction.
  

The North London Line is almost entirely above ground and represents a good way for those who do not feel adventurous to see suburban parts of London without wandering the streets and risking becoming lost. At Stratford there are good views of the Olympic Park where the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games were held. In the Hackney area the line is on a brick arch viaduct which offers many views of East London. Dating from the 1980's, when passenger services through east London were reintroduced after WW2, the stations Hackney Wick - Dalston Kingsland are all simple and low cost in design (except Hackney Central, which was rebuilt in 2018.) This is an area which some people may prefer to avoid, although it should be perfectly safe to view from passing trains. The Dalston - Camden Road section is mostly multi-tracked with part of the route shared with East London Line trains and part where there are extra tracks for freight trains. Between Camden Road and Kentish Town West the line passes near to the famous Camden Market. Near to Gospel Oak look out for the childrens' play ground and the allotments (an area of urban ground split up into small patches so that people who do not have gardens attached to their houses can grow fresh vegetables and flowers). There is a twin track tunnel near to Hampstead Heath station. The line crosses the River Thames on a bridge between Gunnersbury and Kew Gardens stations.

• The West London Line (route C) links Clapham Junction with Willesden Junction, changing between 25kV AC overhead wires and 750V DC third rail part way between Shepherds Bush and Willesden Junction stations.
  Most trains travel all the way from Clapham Junction to Stratford, enhancing the North London Line service frequency.

• The East London Line (route E) is a group of four services. They are all powered at 750V DC via a third rail. Note that one of the intermediate stations (Shoreditch High Street) is in Zone 1, which makes journeys through this station more expensive to travel on (higher fares).
  ‣ Highbury & Islington - West Croydon
  ‣ Dalston Junction - New Cross
  ‣ Highbury & Islington - Crystal Palace
  ‣ Dalston Junction - Clapham Junction via the part of the route of the former South London Line (SLL).
  
  Extending London Overground trains from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction resulted in the closure of the former SLL service between London Bridge and Victoria mainline stations. This ending of through SLL trains caused severe inconvenience to some former SLL passengers who must now travel longer, slower routes and change trains (at least once) and / or catch buses to complete journeys which could previously be accomplished on just the one train. To maintain the legal status (as still being a functioning railway) of the part of the SLL route which is not used by any other trains a few London Overground trains travel to Battersea Park instead of Clapham Junction - but at times of day when few passengers wish to travel!

The section of East London Line between Highbury & Islington and 'near to' Shoreditch High Street was originally part of the North London Line, but for many years it had been closed. Between Dalston Junction and near to Whitechapel this line is on a viaduct which gives interesting views of the local buildings and the stations are all brand new.

The present-day Shoreditch High Street station is also new; it replaces the older Shoreditch station which was closed to allow for the extension of the route.

The section of East London Line between the old Shoreditch station and New Cross / New Cross Gate was operated by Metropolitan Railway / Line trains for over 100 years! This route includes the first tunnel ever to be built under the River Thames. The text below is copied from one of the Nostalgia, Heritage & Leisure pages on the citytransport.info website .

35ft [11m] wide, 20ft [6m] high and 1,300ft (¼ mile / 396m) long, this tunnel runs between Rotherhithe and Wapping at a depth of 75ft [23m] below London's River Thames. It was built between 1825 and 1843 using Marc Isambard Brunel's newly invented tunnelling shield technology, by him and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This long time period included a seven year abandonment which was caused by financial problems. Originally the intention was that the tunnel should be used by horse-drawn carriages but ongoing financial problems meant that the access ramps could not be afforded and it remained for pedestrians only. In 1865 the tunnel was purchased by the East London Railway Company, this being a consortium of six railway companies who wanted to use the tunnel to provide a rail link for goods and passengers between Wapping (and later, Liverpool Street) and the South London Line. The tunnel opened for trains in 1869 and in 1884 the disused entrance shafts in Wapping and Rotherhithe were converted into Wapping and Rotherhithe stations respectively.

The six railway companies which owned the East London Railway Company included the Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway which eventually became part of London Transport and the Metropolitan Line / District Line. The other four railway companies eventually became part of British Railways. The Metropolitan Railway electrified the line in 1913 and ended up providing the 'local' passenger services - which included many through trains over the northern part of the Circle line to destinations such as Uxbridge and Hammersmith (both via Baker Street). The steam railways operated longer distance services (eg: to the south coast) and freight trains. Nowadays only Overground trains use this line, especially as the new link past the former Shoreditch station which joins the subterranean and elevated sections of line is quite steep and restricts access to only trains which are powerful enough to negotiate this incline.

Platform murals at Wapping station depicting how it would have been shortly after opening and what would have been a typical early 1960's scene when it was used by London Transport electric passenger trains as well as British Railways steam (later diesel) powered freight trains.

Left: Rotherhithe station and Railway Avenue.
Centre: A plaque on the brickwork above the stairs to the platforms at Rotherhithe station .
Right: The Brunel Museum, as seen from Railway Avenue.

A short walk along Railway Avenue from Rotherhithe station is the Brunel Museum. This includes the Brunel Engine House which was designed by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel as part of the infrastructure of the Thames Tunnel. The museum has a website at this link:
http://www.brunel-museum.org.uk/ .

To the south of Surrey Quays trains travelling to / from Clapham Junction travel on a section of railway which had been closed for many years but was re-opened for this service. At some stage in the future a new station will be built here.

Queens Road Peckham - Wandsworth Road is part of the former South London Line. Much of this route is elevated on brick arch viaducts.

The view from the train window between Denmark Hill and Clapham High Street will interest people who wish to see 'real' London away from the tourist areas but at the same time feel safer not walking the streets. Especially not with cameras visible for everyone to see.

Local people will perhaps disagree, but Peckham and Wandsworth are two more of the 'inner city South London' areas which some people may prefer to avoid.

At New Cross Gate trains travelling to / from West Croydon and Crystal Palace merge with an existing four track section of railway which extends all the way to Norwood Junction.

This part of south London is also served by many trains from terminus stations such as London Bridge and Victoria; passengers paying their fares in PAYG mode should note that these other trains charge higher fares.

• The Gospel Oak - Barking 'Goblin' Service (route D) links the busy Barking station in east London with Gospel Oak station in north London.

For many years this was a neglected branch line which had an infrequent train service but since the formation of the London Overground network it has been completely transformed. Nowadays it is served by Class 710 electric trains on a 15 minute / quarter hourly frequency. Although the line is electrified using the 25Kv AC overhead wire system it uses twin-system trains which can also operate via a 750v DC third rail. This is because the same fleet of trains is also used by the Euston - Watford Junction service (route A) which is powered via electric rails.

The Goblin Line is also a very busy freight route

There is a plan to extend this line from Barking to a new residential area near to the River Thames.

At Barking station the trains will use different platforms (probably Nos. 7 & 8) and the existing platform will be closed.

The new terminus station will be a station named Barking Riverside.

• The West Anglia (route F) services comprise a group of three services. They are all powered at 25kV AC via overhead wires. All services are operated by brand new Class 710 trains.
  ‣ Liverpool Street station - Enfield Town
  ‣ Liverpool Street station - Chingford
  ‣ Liverpool Street station - Cheshunt via Seven Sisters (NOT the service via Tottenham Hale)

The desire is that all services from Liverpool Street will operate at least every 15 minutes but because these are busy routes which are also used by other trains and there is not always enough track capacity so sometimes trains are less frequent.

The core section of the West Anglia services is between London Liverpool Street and Hackney Downs stations, and in addition to trains operated by London Overground this route is also used by trains operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. The types of train typically seen here includes Classes 317 and 745 - the latter on the Stansted Express airport service.

• The Romford - Upminster via Emerson Park service (route G) is a single track quiet country branch line which uses just one train that provides a 30 minute service. There is no service in the evening after 8pm (20:00) or on Sundays.

This service uses a Class 710 train.

In January 2016 it was announced that when the franchises for all other mainline railway routes in London are renewed control of the urban / suburban services will be transferred to Transport For London, (TfL) who it is expected will add them to the London Overground network.

It remains to be seen of this comes to pass, as not all passengers will welcome this - especially as experience with the London Underground Metropolitan Line suggests that TfL will change service patterns in ways which disadvantage passengers travelling from outside of London's political boundaries. (ie: make the trains call at more stations so that journeys from outside of London become slower and take longer). The issue is that many of these services are integrated into the mainline / national railway network whilst TfL's primary interest is serving people who live inside its political boundaries. In many areas there are towns which whilst just outside of London's political boundaries are still part of its socio-economic zone.