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Location notes
A footbridge next to a level crossing in the suburbs of Southampton. On the LSWR mainline from Waterloo to Weymouth. Between Eastleigh and Southampton and next to the Siemens SWT Desiro depot.
Railway type and traffic
Passenger services are worked by Southwest Trains 400 series, 442, 444, 450, 159 and 170; Southern 377 Electrostars
Freight is powered by DB Schenker 60 and 66; Freightliner 66 hauled 'Liners and the daily Ford Car train.
Freight is powered by DB Schenker 60 and 66; Freightliner 66 hauled 'Liners and the daily Ford Car train.
Environment
The area is predominately Sikh on one side of the railway and a bit rough on the other side. During the day you will be safe and there is a large amount of passing traffic on the level crossing. I would not advise any night time shooting due to the activities that take place near the location. Avoid football shirts due to the close proximity of St Mary's Stadium.
Road directions
Head for Junction 5 on the M27 and then take the A335 towards Southampton. Turn left at the 2nd traffic lights and stay on the A335 heading down past Swaythling, and St Denys passing 4 further sets of lights. At the 5th lights, bear left still on the A335. Follow this road past 2 more sets of lights, before bearing left at the 8th set of lights into Mount Pleasant Road - they are next to a used car dealership.
Follow Mount Pleasant Road and you will get to the crossing.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing map co-ordinates
Follow Mount Pleasant Road and you will get to the crossing.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing map co-ordinates
Parking
Park across the crossing where (on your left) there is a wide pavement with a dirt area behind it. You can see the car from the footbridge if you want to keep an eye on it.
Public transport
The nearest station is St Denys which is about 10 minutes walk. Various buses run from both St Denys and Southampton along the A335 past the end of Mount Pleasant Road.
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Click here to set up your location for directions to this location
Amenities
There are shops back on the A335 and various pubs nearby.
Sun Compass
Sun Compass using Suncalc by brought to you by Vladimir Agafonkin:
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing
Streetmap links
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing general view map
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing
It might be necessary to adjust the time to suit your visit, this link should open with the current day.
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing
Googly map
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing general view map
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing close up map
Windows Local Live Link - image quality may vary
Northam, Mount Pleasant Crossing
Who likes this location on facebook
Railway Gen Group
Photographic notes
The primary shot is a north facing one so the light is best off from late morning as it will have brought the side of the train into sunlight by then. Shots facing south will suffer heavily from backlighting, particularly in the winter when the sun is low.
The barriers have a bell warning system that rings when they are lowering, once they are down the crossing is silent, cars often switch off their engines as the barriers are often down for a while.
The barriers have a bell warning system that rings when they are lowering, once they are down the crossing is silent, cars often switch off their engines as the barriers are often down for a while.
Links to photographs at this location
UKrailpics - Tangmere and Maritime
General views - All photographs © James Mayl unless otherwise stated
Fig 1 - Looking north
Fig 2 - Looking south
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Fig 3 - Looking south
A telphoto shot from the bridge looking in the Southamption direction
Fig 4 - Looking south
A Desiro unit moves on to Northam depot
Disclaimer
All information contained within this is site is © Trainspots. The images used on this site remain the property of the original photographer, as credited at the top of the page, and are used with their kind permission.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
The information on these pages is supplied for the benefit of railway enthusiasts who carry out a harmless hobby, and through the medium of photography and video, actually promote the railway industry. Railway enthusiasts can also act as eyes and ears against railway vandalism, and as such should surely be encouraged to do so by the supply of adequate information such as is found on this website.
This site has been created to assist railway photographers in their travels around the country. It is based on the personal knowledge and experience. No liability can be held against the web site or its contributions for incorrect information. Trainspots will endeavour to check all information and corrections will be accepted and posted accordingly.
Advice as to the locations general environment is given as a guide on each page. This information is a GUIDE only. ALWAYS be careful with your equipment, Trainspots can not be held responsible for your personal security. Avoid leaving your property on display for all to see, be aware of your surroundings at all times. There are, sadly, people who will not think twice about trying to steal your equipment.
Trainspots DOES NOT condone trespass and none of the information on this site should be taken as a right to trespass on either railway or private land. To the best of our knowledge all locations are publicly accessible areas, where they are not contact information will be given to the appropriate authority for permission to be obtained.
The content of this site is created and intended for all age ranges but the content of sites linked from this site are not subject to the same intentions. Trainspots will attempt to check links for validity but as time passes and the site grows this will not always be possible. Broken, or indeed updates to, links should be submitted to the editor for inclusion in the updates. All links external to the Trainspots site are opened in a new browser window. Trainspots has been running now for over 10 years and there are imitation sites and guides to railfotspots. But we are a free site and we continue on the path we started out on over a decade ago to provide a useful guide to UK Railway Photographic Locations.
