I had a free day today, so it was off to West London to explore some of the railway routes and places I’d not visited before. I got the train to Waterloo where one of the old Class 455 units has been painted in a new livery:

A bit more elegant than the bright red that these trains normally have. Next stop was Wimbledon Station, looking suitably posh:

Then caught a train to Southfields, looking quite unmodernised:

From there, another train to Earls Court, with its classic indicator boards:

Next stop was Ealing Broadway, with a surprisingly nice park by the station:

Then Greenford, and time to find somewhere nice to have lunch:

I’d spotted a green space on the map nearby, but disappointed that the route seemed to be blocked by metal gates:

As I was now walking on the Capital Ring route (last visited in 2018, see Capital Ring Section 9), I investigated further and found that they could actually be opened. On the other side was an information board that explained why:

This certainly wasn’t here when I last visited. Didn’t see any beavers, but did see a small dam:

After going through another gate, the path crossed the Grand Union Canal:

On the other side was a peaceful sports field, ideal for a lunch break:

Walking back to the station, I spotted the Capital Ring signpost by the shopping centre:

There was a new battery powered Class 230 train at Greenford that will eventually replace the diesel trains on this route:

The other end of this branch is West Ealing; this is one of the charging rails for the new trains:

West Ealing has been smartened up for the Elizabeth Line Trains:

Next stop was Paddington – I do like the “clouds” painted on the ceiling of the Elizabeth Line entrance:

Nearby was a clock that a friend had recommended I look out for:

The “man” inside continually wipes out and redraws the hands!

Next stop was Hammersmith, where I changed lines:

From there, I headed home via Edgware Road, Farringdon and London Bridge. A nice day out in the sunshine.