Following Wingate & Finchley this season has seen a number of trips onto the old Southern Region of British Railways for evening games. Travel to these matches coincides with the evening rush when the trains are packed with commuters making their way home after a long day in the offices, shops and businesses of central London. The journeys often entail travelling through Clapham Junction – a seething mass of people rushing between platforms as they change trains. During the peak around 180 trains every hour will pass through this station making it one of the busiest in Europe. At every station throughout the Southern Network trains disgorge footweary passengers onto the platforms for them to make the final part of their journey home, be it on foot or by connecting bus service. Later in the evening though, the stations are quiet with few passengers to disturb the mice or trouble the staff…
A late bus makes its way along Station Road in Hampton
Hampton Station on the Shepperton Branch – Largely deserted in the late evening
A Waterloo to Shepperton Service at Hampton made up of a Class 455 EMU – the same train will return to collect London bound passengers. The service is operated by South West Trains.
A late evening Victoria to Dorking service calls at Carshalton. Operated by Southern, the train is made up of two class 456 units with 456002 leading.
Carshalton Station – a handful of passengers waiting for the next London train.
Buses on the High Street outside Bromley South Station at the end of the rush hour.
Bromley South – some very late commuters head for the exit having just got off a Chatham bound train.
St.John’s Hill Battersea, outside Clapham Junction Station – still busy in the late evening.
Clapham Junction Station at night – just a small group of ladies on a girls night out, a couple of other solitary passengers and, of course, me with my camera. These are the London Overground platforms.
Journey’s end – London Victoria Station. The Class 465 (465909) in the centre has just arrived from Ashford. To the right, passengers board a Chatham service on platform 1.
Some brilliant photo’s here love the night shots…;)
Thanks Gerry – I enjoy taking photos at night
We’re not too far from you 2moro – playing away at Bognor Regis.
I await your report and hope you win…
That’s very kind of you Gerry
I’m being careful about writing reports – we had a game abandoned due to 5 sending’s off last Saturday and the fallout is ongoing, so I probably won’t be saying a lot. Pop over to the club website and read the statement on the subject.
Excellent pictures!! Great stuff!!
Thank you Arindam
Stunning and beautiful images . The subway and street at night comes to life. Amazing colors and visuals.
Thank you – Night certainly has of colors its own
You’ve really captured some beauties! I haven’t had such good success with night shots! I love the green and yellow train.
Thanks Debra
I like the Southern livery too – always had a liking for green! As for success at night; Don’t forget that I’m using a very good camera with a fast lens. That’s part of the secret. The other part is that you don’t get to see the shots that fail 
I like those pictures, the way you still get colour and detail jumping out from dark surroundings. The ones taken at Victoria and Bromley South are both very familiar views to me!
Hi Danny – Great to hear from you! Hope you are keeping well
Yes, I’m sure those views are very well known to you 
The atmosphere found in low-light is… well… a bit mesmerizing! Of course without lugging a tripod around I turn scenes like this into an ‘abstract’, but something tells me you were able to shoot many of these by maybe just leaning up against a wall, resting your camera on bench etc.?! Anyway, whatever method you are using it sure is working, Martin.
Hi Bob – I can’t afford the encumberance of a tripod. In fact, using a tripod on a station or a pavement can bring you into issues with the law for obstruction. Some of these are leant against a wall or pillar, some totally hand held – none rested on a bench. The Camera is part of the answer. ISO 1600 or 3200 and f5.6 on an f2.8 Lens can give shutter speeds of around 1/10th second in this sort of lighting – I’d expect to successfully hand hold quite a few of those despite not having image stabillisation on the lens I’m using
Not every shot will be successful but quite a few will 
That’s very, very impressive, Martin! My photo teacher used to tell use we should be able to hand hold down to at least 1/60th… but I’m just SO shaky… it’s ridiculous, really.
The rule of thumb is that you take the focal length of the lens, say 50mm and from that you say that you minimum shutter speed should be 1/50th of a sec. It’s a good starting guideline. A 200mm lens would require a minimum sutterspeed of 1/200th. But, like all rules, we should always try bending them
It’s partly the night, and partly the photographer’s eye —
But these are incredibly glamorous shots! If the trains were persons, they would be thrilled with their portraits.
Thanks Judith. I always like to give the camera some of the credit too – after all, it provides the possibility to take images like this. And, of course, you have to be prepared to be out in the dark in the first place