Categories: just-life
Date: 14 November 2007 23:08:12
My main London station is that of Waterloo. It is a lovely station which if I had one complaint it would be the fact that as I usually come in during the morning rush-hour my train is packed. That's not really Waterloo's fault. However, if I do manage to get a seat I always try to sit on the north side of the train, for one very simple reason.
It gave me the best chance of seeing Eurostar as we arrived.
Living out in the suburbs the only trains we get are the blue four car or the white five car EMUs (electrical multiple units). However, after Clapham Junction (Britain's Busiest Station) there was the chance of passing a sleek, high-speed, 1/4 mile long, international train. It was a rose.
I'm will to bet that not many people realise that every junction, not matter how small, is named. When you passed the point in Waterloo's throat where the tracks that feed into the international platforms there was a sign beside the tracks reading;
INTERNATIONAL JUNCTION
Now that the service no longer runs into Waterloo I suspect that the sign will have to come down. Knowing National Rail that'll be either last night or sometime in the next five, six, twelve years....
But now the future is in St Pancras, which is a lovely station and when I was there a year ago I was mightly impressed. I've not seen it in it's new glory but I'm sure it's amazing. Especially with a three hundred foot long champagne bar!!!
Actually, on BBC2 this week there is a six part series on the building work that went on at St Pancras and I've greatly enjoyed it (parts three and four are next Tue/Wed 10pm). Though my favourite part by far was this evening where after chief engineer Claire Clarr had had to give a serious telling off of the guy who's in charge of putting up the ceiling tiles (because he's really crap) she was on the phone home and it went a bit like this;
I just really wound up, I've already had two blazing rows this morning... Of course I won.
It was that last bit I loved, "Of course I won." Put a smile on my face and made me laugh. Especially as the recent news seems that she got her way in the end. Well, least the station is open so I'm making a fairly good assumption!!!