Watford Junction
Watford Junction
The railway station is about 10-15 minutes away from the M1, the car park is located right next to the station. At the front of the station there is a side road off Station Street to the left of the station frontage, under the bridge which the lines cross and into the car park. It was empty when I arrived, again maybe due to Covid. Considering the location it was not that expensive, £5 for the 2 hours or so I was there.
Watford Junction is a closed station so I purchased a ticket to the closest location which was Bushey, £6.60 later I was on the platform. It is always good to mention to the barrier staff that you will be on the platform, yes they can see you on the CCTV, but its just manners.
Usually underground stock can also be seen from the station, however this day there was a breakdown, so no trains. It is also one of the locations where you can stand in the same spot and see everything that comes in. The South end of the middle platforms. Although you have to bear in mind, most of the 390's that go through will not be stopping and travel quite quickly through the station. It was not really a problem for me as tracking the numbers is not hard. There are also plenty of units that come into the station, although after 2 hours they start to repeat themselves.
The majority of the staff were friendly and nice, they do have security on the platforms too, most were nice, just the one who was obviously not happy about being at work, however he must have been comfy in his flip flops.
The date of my visit was 21/05/2020, So what did I see, well the list is below
66 - 66504 66563 66783
86 - 86613 86628
350 - 350101 350112 350116 350118 350119 350123 350127 350128 350235 350241 352242 350244 350248 350266 350370 350373 350374 350403 350410
377 - 377201 377206 377212 377215 390 - 390002 390013 390016 390040 390042 390045 390050 390111 390117 390124 390127 390134 390136 390138 390148 390152 390154
OTM's - DR73930 DR73936
Located at the base on the WCML, it is a good place to see fast moving Pendolino's and units. Lots of infrastructure to get in your way when taking photos, especially at the end of the platforms, now there is an obsession of putting up end of platform barriers. That said, still it is possible to get plenty of good photos of units and locos passing through the station. Lots to see with 4 freight trains passing in the time I was there, plus a parcels unit which I missed due to a 12 car 350 in the way. So if your looking for a place to catch most of the 350 units and Pendolino's then it is worth going.
