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Post by jamesb on Aug 30, 2007 11:54:22 GMT
And... Maybe we'll all have stronger bones???
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Post by jamesb on Aug 30, 2007 11:36:48 GMT
I felt like one of my late leopard geckos standing at Belsize Park the other day - it's ideal for reptiles in the hot summer weather... It would be modern platform art to have lizards running up the walls, and give the mice some competition...[back to work now, James...]
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Post by jamesb on Jul 25, 2007 16:33:43 GMT
I read in the Metro that they are considering 2) or maybe it is even planned to happen?
I guess one problem would be congestion at Camden Town, and whether or not Camden Town could cope with herds of passengers moving between platforms in the rush hour... If this lead to Camden getting frequently closed because of overcrowding, it might become very frustrating for passengers. But I guess you could change at Euston as an alternative, although it would be a bit of walk.
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Post by jamesb on Jun 14, 2007 16:40:43 GMT
I tend to agree with tubeprune. We are all human, and we can all make mistakes. It is for that reason that safety systems are built in at every level. But nothing is perfect. Nothing is 100% risk free.
Rather then focus the attention on criticising the driver I think it is more important to examine the situation and the safety systems which did or didn't work, and how it was sorted out.
I feel deeply sorry for the driver. We assume he made a mistake and it is very embarrassing. But thankfully nobody was hurt.
From my own limited experience very obvious and embarrassing things, which could have serious implications are easy to do - like getting your left and right mixed up when looking at an X-ray! But 99.9% of the time, somebody notices the mistake. I believe this was a 0.1% occurrence which is important and could be learned from, but not a personal attack on the driver.
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Post by jamesb on Jan 27, 2007 11:33:58 GMT
The advertisements at the top of the thread advertise locksmiths - that's very clever ;D ;D although probably a bit impractical for the situation described...
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Post by jamesb on Jan 23, 2007 23:40:46 GMT
I completely agree about the media generally. But I think it is difficult to make a scare story out of something that was, from whatever way you look at it, very scary.
Somebody trying to detonate a bomb (that didn't explode) in a tube carriage in a tunnel would frighten me regardless of whether or not the word "locked" was used...
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Post by jamesb on Dec 14, 2006 18:47:29 GMT
Slightly off-topic, a few months ago at Euston I saw a group of tourists who couldn't speak any English get very confused by the message "... upon arrival, the last set of doors will not open. Customers in the last carriage please move towards the front doors to leave the train" on approach to the station. They opened an inter-connecting door from the last carriage and started to walk through until somebody stopped them.
It just shows how daft people can be... Despite a warning sticker on the door!
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Post by jamesb on Nov 15, 2006 16:34:04 GMT
Does anyone know why the passenger emergency alarm handles on the Northern Line are in the process of been modified?
I know that this has already happened on the Jubilee Line.
On their website, Pickersgill-Kaye (http://www.pkaye.co.uk/peahlul.htm) say that "an optional panel to prevent inadvertent or accidental handle operation can now be supplied." Is that what this modification is?
I noticed a subtle difference in the carriage of the train I was traveling in this morning!
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Post by jamesb on Jan 5, 2008 11:18:20 GMT
Indeed And additionally did ye knor that Roding Valley tube station has the lowest number of passengers per annum on the entire London Underground letalone the Central Line. My guess is that a lot of people in the area travel to stations such as Woodford that have a much better service. Were platforms built for this station on the Epping branch (its only a couple of hundred metres from the junction) then I would expect the patronage to increase significantly. That's true, but would probably mean knocking down my house! Although it is still hardly used during the day, I have noticed that Roding Valley is more busy in the rush hours since it was put in zone 4; people catch specific through trains (am) or change at Woodford (pm). The number of cars parked around the station has increased to the frustration of local residents and the shops (since there are few restrictions and it's free). I would be interested to know if the most recent figures on passenger numbers reflect an increase in RV's use. Data collected about the use of RV might be outdated and not everybody touches out (or touches in). There isn't much stopping people from having a free ride from Roding Valley to Stratford and then touching in at Stratford when entering the Jubilee/DLR... Twice in my life I have been stopped by ticket inspectors at the station, and once on a train. People fare-dodging frustrates me greatly, since I always buy my ticket.
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Post by jamesb on Sept 8, 2007 22:31:13 GMT
I wandered through last saturday. I like the way that supervisors have stuck Service Information boards in front of the glass windows so they can carry on taking their naps in peace. Well, they did this at Tufnell Park, too. I enquired about it and was told it was a data protection issue. The CCTV screens were directly visible through the glass window - and this broke data protection (apparently) because anbody could see all CCTV views at one glance throughout the entire station.
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Post by jamesb on Jun 12, 2007 11:39:15 GMT
Does it get more difficult when windows are scratched with offensive graffiti? There wouldn't be many trains in service if they were withdrawn for that reason???
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Post by jamesb on Jun 4, 2007 19:35:43 GMT
I can't quite see why its an 'interesting defacement' nor why it is of relevance to anything. There are items of defacement in nearly every tube carriage, so why is this particular one so interesting?
There are other words, for example those which make reference to people of different races, which I've seen scribbled on tube carriages but which I'm sure people wouldn't feel happy discussing the implied meanings of, so I am not sure why people feel so comfortable talking about this one?
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Post by jamesb on Jun 4, 2007 19:16:23 GMT
I personally feel very uncomfortable using or going along with (or advertising) that meaning of 'gay' in any way shape or form. I find it quite offensive.
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Post by jamesb on Apr 4, 2007 20:16:38 GMT
Might have been the driver pushing down on the handle to release the air from the brakes, that can make different sounds. I think the driver was, but he was doing it to play tunes!
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Post by jamesb on Apr 4, 2007 13:44:47 GMT
I was on the Piccadilly Line today traveling from Caledonian Road to Finsbury Park... At some of the stations the brakes seemed to play things before the doors closed, like 'ch-ch' + 'ch-ch-ch' + 'ch-ch-ch-ch' + 'ch-ch'. It was quite amusing at the time... Although the diver could have varied the patterns slightly!
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Post by jamesb on Sept 28, 2007 13:36:49 GMT
No. By pushing the brakes to emergency both brakes (EP and Westinghouse) are deployed and if the train is going at certain speeds then also the Rheo brake. By letting go of the handle only the deadman is going off. Oddly enough, some peeps were discussing this the other day and they reckon after some experimenting with empty trains that the difference in braking ability might be as much as a full car. In an emergency that might be a significant difference. Possibly a driver might push the handle the wrong way if they were stressed but to be honest, braking becomes instinctive after a while. Rounding a corner to see an unexpected red somewhat hones instinctive braking in the right direction. People might make a mistake in the same way that the driver of a car might press down on the accelerator in error but I think the frequency of that happening must be quite small in either case. Thank's for the explanation! What I meant was, when the TBC was designed, why was it not designed so that when you release it, you get all the full emergency brakes... So that, to save every second, all the driver has to do, if he is stunned by a sudden obstruction, is release the handle to apply the emergency brakes. Maybe this isn't relevant, because it would make no difference anyway... I just wondered...
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Post by jamesb on Sept 28, 2007 10:51:55 GMT
In my very simplistic mind (having never been anywhere near the driving cab of a train), in an emergency situation, e.g. somebody is jumping in front of the train, every second counts.
Rather then having to move the TBC to the emergency brakes position, doesn't it make more sense if simply releasing it applies the full emergency brakes?
If you were frazzled and panicked, isn't it possible you could rotate the TBC in the wrong direction, i.e. away from the emergency brake? Looking at the photo of one, what happens if you slam it round the the emergency position, but go past it, to the shutdown position?
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Post by jamesb on Sept 27, 2007 12:39:49 GMT
I can't quite understand the difference between this issue, and the situation where a driver slumped over the handle without ever letting go of it, or holding onto it as he was passing out to steady himself and ending up on top of it.
Surely the most critically important thing's are that the train stops when the handle is released suddenly (which it would) and that the train would be tripped if it went through a red signal (which it would)?
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Post by jamesb on Sept 27, 2007 8:54:20 GMT
From reading the speculations about the nature of the problem, could a partial service be safely restored theoretically on at least one of the lines if there were two drivers in every cab? The second one could remove the first one should s/he become incapacitated in an inconvenient position...
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Post by jamesb on Sept 26, 2007 20:49:15 GMT
It's a bit of a disaster... How do these problems suddenly spring up and cause the entire line to shut...? The trains have been running for years without 'whatever this is', and suddenly many become defective at once??
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Post by jamesb on Sept 26, 2007 20:33:46 GMT
Two entire lines suspended for health and safety reasons, according to the shouty man at King's Cross... This seems to happen more frequently these days...
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Post by jamesb on Aug 24, 2007 19:16:41 GMT
Yes, I've seen them too. Did it have a green plastic ring around it towards the end? And was it at an upgraded station, with the white speakers? Maybe its part of the PA system? If it is what I think, you can just about see one in this photo at Loughton taken from a previous quiz (attached to the pole with 4 speakers); although it is quite box-shaped, i've seen smaller ones with just a probe too. www.sucs.org/~cmckenna/photos/quizes/tq2/August/Aug07.jpg
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Post by jamesb on Aug 7, 2007 17:02:24 GMT
Thanks, I read it...
When it bangs constantly on a journey, it gives you a headache! The creeking is ok, but when it bangs it does make a thud. (Of course, I could always change trains but I don't haha)
Is it something which is recognised that has to be fixed, or is it just taken as part of the character of the A stock...
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Post by jamesb on Aug 7, 2007 13:16:57 GMT
I don't think it was a wheel flat.
It wasn't continuous, it seemed intermittent and random, and if felt like something was physically hitting the underside of the train, as if something rubber had warn out and two metal parts were hitting each other.
I heard it on a few trains before, but more in the past.
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Post by jamesb on Aug 7, 2007 13:08:16 GMT
I was on a Metropolitan Line train recently, and there was a horrible thudding/banging sound coming intermittently from underneath the train only when it was moving.
Can it damage the underneath of the train? I remember the thudding used to be more common and then disappeared, but recently I've heard it coming back again.
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Post by jamesb on Jun 4, 2007 18:03:23 GMT
A few years ago I was at Roding Valley on a windy day, and a very bushy tree 'branch' fell on the track just on the approach to the Woodford-bound platform. When the train finally came, it stopped short of the branch for a few minutes, the driver opened his door and studied it before proceeding.
It looked like a gamble and there was the sound of cracking wood and bits of folliage got dragged along towards Woodford.
What happens if a driver comes across a tree branch? As in this case, can they use their judgement as to whether to ride over it? Or, by the book, should any obstruction always be removed? Assuming the driver has a view of the tree branch and can stop in time, which obviously wasn't the case this morning.
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Post by jamesb on Feb 1, 2008 20:42:47 GMT
I remember loving Beadles About. I was just watching all the clips on youtube - they were so funny... It's amazing how the memories of that period of life came back when I watched them.
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Post by jamesb on Sept 16, 2007 13:02:29 GMT
Is it anything to do with avoiding 'late finish of engineering work' in the rush hour on a Monday morning?
At least if it's a Sunday morning it isn't as bad as a Monday - and the financial implications of overrunning engineering work might be less on a Sunday?
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tv ad
Sept 9, 2007 10:23:45 GMT
Post by jamesb on Sept 9, 2007 10:23:45 GMT
I can remember at Roding Valley with my dad seeing the new indicator boards appearing and thinking how amazing they were... Now on the rare occasion when they aren't working I feel totally lost.
It's strange how you clearly remember certain thing's only. I can always remember coming back from the London Marathon stopping just before Leyton in the 1962 stock. But that's my only memory of them.
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Post by jamesb on Sept 5, 2007 15:12:47 GMT
I don't think trainspotters are hated, but liking trains does seem to have an element of 'okkkkkkk you're weird' attached to it. I've used this forum in the computer room at uni and had people laugh at me (who I have never even met before!) as they looked over my shoulder. But I don't care, too much...! BUT I think they are secretly interested too, just in the closet!
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