This past May I took a week-long business trip in the UK, starting in Aberdeen, Scotland on Monday morning and ending at London Heathrow at the end of the day on Friday. Normally this type of travel is grueling and exhausting, and I would have groaned, except our business partner insisted I travel each evening to the next city by train. By train!! My frown turned to a grin.

So, I traveled by rail from Edinburgh Waverly station along the coast to York, from Hull to Leicester, from Leicester to Welwyn Garden City and finally from Welwyn Garden City to London, Kings Cross on consecutive evenings, all by rail. In the process I had ample opportunities to photograph in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, York, Hull and both London’s Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations in clear, bright weather and take advantage of the longer day’s light.

Scottish and English train stations, especially those I got to see are a special combination of old infrastructure mixed with new and surprisingly nice upgrades in technology and service. The stations were busy, clean and in the case of the London stations, stunning. The staff of the stations, and the rail lines, are pleasant, helpful and plentiful which made negotiating the various changes during the busy commute periods I traveled much less challenging. Likewise, the cars were clean and comfortable.

Aberdeen, Scotland

Aberdeen’s Union Square station on Sunday afternoon was a nice combination of busy shops, a bus hub and the train station pictured here that provides local service as well as a several trains taking off on the longer journey to London’s Kings Cross Station that afternoon. After explaining that I was a railfan and interested in taking pictures, and obviously American, the staff let me in without a ticket and there was a lot to see.

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Edinburgh, Scotland

Monday’s evening journey from Edinburgh Waverly station to York offered a magnificent view of the sea as we headed south along the coast. The meal on the train was nicely done and, with a glass of ale as the scenery passed by, was perfect.

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York, England

The hotel in York was a short walk from the station and is the refurbished former home of the North East Railroad office. The visit to York station was early in the morning during the commute time. There were lots of trains in and out and a crush of commuters going both ways. Like Aberdeen, York has an older station that has been updated and modernized as needed.

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Hull, England

I visited Hull Station late in the afternoon after work to catch a train to Leicester via a change in Sheffield. While less scenic, the service was excellent and the short commuter train to Sheffield was fun. Because it was warm, the windows were opened, and the smell of spring fields and the diesel exhaust let you know you were having a ride as we rumbled along. Great fun.

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Too busy with work to take any pictures in Leicester or Welwyn Garden City but they were still a joy to visit. Leicester was a market city station like York or Aberdeen while Welwyn Garden City was more of a commuter station closer to London. The excitement there was watching the fast trains pass through without stopping on the way in and out of London. The combination of horns, the speed and the buffeting wind of a fast train moving through a station is hard to beat. The livery of the trains from the different rail services serving London was also fun to see. It’s unlike the homogeneity we see from one spot in the United States.

London, England – St.Pancras

To get from Leicester to Welwyn Garden City you take the train to London St. Pancras then walk across the street to Kings Cross to catch a train back to your destination. Transferring between these two busy London stations during evening commute with thousands of commuters was exciting and honestly easy with the help of the staff in each station.

St. Pancras Station is stunning, inside and out. Right across the street from Kings Cross station the front of the station is a hotel and the construction is beautiful brickwork from another time. Along with the rail service there are also nice restaurants and shops to see and enjoy. While serving London commuters it is also the home of the international service and Eurostar upstairs which is incredible. The international element was clear with a combination of business travelers and many tourists. The excitement of a longer journey was evident from the larger backpacks of those who clearly planned to spend the summer in Europe.

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London, England – Kings Cross

Kings Cross Station, across the street, seems even busier with a lot of trains moving in and out and thousands of commuters. For someone who likes to see rail infrastructure, it is amazing. There’s a great street market in front of the station where the cookies from the Scottish Kitchen stall are highly recommended. There are connections to the tube and buses and lots to see and do in the vicinity of the station. The exposed brickwork along with the clocks, passageways and signage of another era contrast with the modern locomotives and travelers going in and out during the late afternoon.

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The great photo opportunities left on Friday, when the weather turned more seasonal, i.e. cold, dark and rainy so the focus was on getting work done and flying back home the next morning.

As a result of getting to travel through and photograph these interesting and “proper” train stations in the UK, what could have been a grueling business trip turned into an adventure. Seeing the developed film a week later really brought home just how lucky I had been. If you get the chance to visit England or Scotland, I encourage you to visit a train station and take a ride.

Phil Stremple – Photographs and text Copyright 2020