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Post by londonstuff on Nov 2, 2021 20:46:34 GMT
Hmm - Does my name in brackets after the pic of Barnard castle mean that it was a picture I submitted for the quiz [and then subsequently forgot that I had]? I think I’m the Forum Champion at doing that. I even get guesses of my own pics wrong. 🙈🤷🏻♂️
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Post by londonstuff on Oct 27, 2021 19:44:56 GMT
I'm certainly interested in attending. In true DD quiz tradition… +1 In true tradition also, I’ll def attend the meet, meat, social. See you there. 😛
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Post by londonstuff on Oct 10, 2020 20:59:11 GMT
Right now the pointwork at Camden Town Junction could already be set to completely separate the routes into the Mordware and Batternet branches. Folks, can we try to avoid using unofficial portmanteau names, and instead stick to full names or descriptions (e.g. Battersea - Barnet and Morden - Edgware). A number of portmanteau names for Morden-Edgware were proposed in the 1930s and none of them caught on then either!We love a bit of Wimbleware on this forum. 😂
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Post by londonstuff on Aug 8, 2020 19:01:15 GMT
I was lucky enough to go on a small section of the Darjeeling railway about three years ago, from Ghum to Darjeeling and it was fascinating (with a thread on the forum somewhere or other). I got an email today saying there’s now a Driver’s Eye DVD filmed just before lockdown. It looks great: www.video125.com/products/darjeeling-himalayan-railway-tindharia-to-darjeeling(This isn’t an advert and nor is it posted in my role as a member of forum staff, but it’s an amazing bit of railway that it’s almost difficult to believe exists).
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Post by londonstuff on Jul 26, 2020 21:20:16 GMT
Interesting stat from Heidi Alexander on Twitter, TfL's revenue is 72% fares compared to 38% in New York, 21% in Singapore, 37% in Hong Kong, 38% in Paris and 47% in Madrid. Easy to see why two months of lockdown with a 90% reduction in passengers was so disastrous to TfL's finances <<off topic>> Though Hong Kong, with the close links to the Government, the fact that basically everyone has to use it and the use of the building itself as a commercial enterprise, makes a massive profit. In April they reduced prices to incentivise people into using it again. This is an interesting article (though a few years old).
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Post by londonstuff on Jul 23, 2020 10:59:49 GMT
I once ran from Roding Valley to Buckhurst Hill in about 5 minutes and 15 seconds. My lungs almost exploded.
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Post by londonstuff on Jul 19, 2020 11:52:31 GMT
If the train stops, the doors don't open and then the train moves off then clearly the driver isn't incapacitated as they are able to start the train. And if they can't open the doors because of an overrun then stopping the train with the passenger emergency alarm isn't going to help as the only way to reset it is for the driver to walk back through the train. All that does is delay the train getting to the next station Well, you know that and a lot of LU staff know that, but those trains are full of people who have no interest in such technicalities. As far as they are concerned, once the train stops, the driver has one very simple job to do - open the doors - before the much more demanding task of driving the train. If he can't even manage a simple task like that, why should they believe he's capable of correctly driving the train - he could have become ill and disoriented? Better, surely, to ensure the train does not move but stays in the station where help can more easily be given. There's quite a few things to unpick here that I'm not entirely comfortable with. Firstly it wallows in speculation - if the doors don't open it must be the driver's fault or they must be ill or disorientated. I think we need to take it away from the hypothetical and say that if a station was being skipped we would all hope that 99.9% of the time an announcement was made, thereby reassuring passengers. There are occasional stories where a driver has become incapacitated where, if for example, the train rolled a certain distance (something on the northern line where a driver died is at the back of my mind somewhere). I don't think it's helpful to speculate 'what if this, what if that' and again, I emphasise that they are emergency not inconvenience handles. This just strikes me as being interfering and wanting to be a member of staff. It's not Joe Public's job to speculate on what may or may not have happened and delay an entire line because they think they know more than anyone else on what is supposition at best. Finally, and I'm sure it's unintentional, drivers are female as well as male (and may be non-binary as well, for example). As a forum we encourage the use of gender-neutral pronouns so not to assume a driver is male. In your post above, the pronoun 'they' would be more appropriate. We were very pleased to add this as Forum Rule 5g a couple of years ago.
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Post by londonstuff on Jul 18, 2020 17:50:38 GMT
I am surprised when these sort of incidents happen that no-one operates the emergency handle. Even as en employee, when travelling to work at Leicester Square Train Technician Call Point via Metropolitan and Piccadilly Line on the occasion when the doors failed to open at Kings Cross I operated the emergency handle and stayed to explain why. If you are a passenger and you want to get off the train and the doors don't open when they should then this is an emergency as far as you are concerned - don't let the penalty notices scare you off if your complaint is genuine. Odd coincidence this but on the occasion this happened was a few weeks before I transferred to Rayners Lane call Point and within a few weeks I had a call to an A60 with doors failing to open on one side of one car and sure enough the valve could be heard blowing when the open buttons were pressed but not lifting to open the doors. A quick change of the pair of vales soon rectified the problem. I would like to round off the story saying "yes reader it was the very same carriage that I had been on at Kings Cross" but honestly I have no idea if it was, as door valves in those days did fail not often but more often than you would imagine. This was in the days when trains had drivers and guards and no ATO signalling to mess up. Happier days. As a Forum Admin I don’t want to encourage people to pull the emergency handle, especially if, as goldenarrow has suggested, a PA is made following a technical issue. Emergency implies some sort of danger not just an inconvenience to an individual - that mindset is why we have idiots phoning 999 to say their pizza delivery was cold or that their hamster has escaped.
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Post by londonstuff on Jun 11, 2020 18:47:59 GMT
Admin comment
Thanks all. The Forum Rules state:
I think everyone agrees that there is a lot of work to do: I regularly talk to pupils I teach about discrimination: from homophobia and sexism to racism which is actively being talked about at the moment like nothing I’ve ever seen. Personally I abhor discrimination of any kind: you can’t be against discrimation with one minority group and ignore another. However at times, even given my strong views, I make mistakes with using phrases like ‘he’ rather than ‘they’ though I pretty quickly realise and correct myself.
People won’t get it right all the time and many people are at different stages of their understanding of the careful use of language and how important it is especially with some issues which are relatively new to people's awareness. I dare say this is even more the case when English isn’t your first language. While I absolutely encourage people to point things out when posters get it wrong, the tone of how things are pointed out is just as important. The best results will be when you take people with you rather than alienate them, so, let’s all be as constructive as we can.
I doubt there’s a lot more to discuss in this thread so I’ll lock it here. Cheers all.
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Post by londonstuff on May 10, 2020 19:38:26 GMT
I would like to gently suggest that the hyphen used here in "Station-Related Matters" is added to that board's actual title. Thanks Chris - I totally agree with you and thought about it before making the changes. I opted against it just at the time in case it broke any existing links but now I realise that they'd break as the board has been renamed anyway. Ta!
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Post by londonstuff on May 10, 2020 13:43:58 GMT
Given my trip to the USA looks increasingly unlikely unless I ingest bleach, I might find myself doing something similar. I wonder if restrictions allow we could have a forum day just going to various extremities. Have a pint then go somewhere else. The pic in that article though - Woodside Park Maybe it was meant to be...
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Post by londonstuff on May 2, 2020 18:46:45 GMT
I suspect that is is Gants Hill as well. How embarrassing if you were wrong. 😂
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 18, 2020 18:48:46 GMT
Thanks to class411 for checking by PM that it's okay to post the answers people have - I'm good with that so do go ahead. Apologetic door openers anyone? (I'll see if the person who sent it to me has the answers - I hope so!)
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 16, 2020 23:00:59 GMT
Do you want answers in the thread or by PM? Maybe let's give it until Friday at 4pm before anyone puts any answers in the thread and that'll get rid of the easy ones. The harder ones might be more fun - perhaps with people giving alternative clues to allow members to try to solve as many as possible themselves?
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 16, 2020 18:52:11 GMT
I was sent this by a colleague: I've had a quick look around and asked some of the other staff and it doesn't seem to be a repetition of anything we've done (at least recently) so with the caveat that I don't have the answers and some of them might be versions of other more well known clues, here's a lockdown Tube quiz which I hope some folk might enjoy
75 clues, each of which is a station on the London Underground and DLR. For clarification, these are all stations appearing on the London Underground map, including the Docklands Light Railway, but NOT including the Overground or other lines not operated by London Underground. 1 An angry monarch 2 A wet lavatory 3 A female monarch may be laid to rest here 4 Nelly with a fortress 5 University big top 6 Tall entrance 7 Do rabbits live here? 8 Stretched circle 9 Where dogs make a noise 10 A very tall hairdo 11 Scouse road 12 Not amused 13 Store up effectively 14 The station with wings and a halo 15 Honking house of prayer 16 Stop your car like a king 17 The street where Spurs fans are on trial 18 An enormous home with a regular home 19 The monarch’s acorns grow here 20 Where tulips grow and children play whilst wearing clogs 21 Pure coloured prayer hall 22 Sounds like a grand place for a tea party 23 A gallant man on horseback owns a watery crossing 24 The top of that entrance looks both rounded and expensive 25 Susan, Margaret, Vanessa, Rachel, Abigail, Melanie and Gabriella have the same parents 26 Where blackboard writing implements grow 27 The station that will keep you warm if you are opposite west 28 Roger Bannister got there in under four minutes 29 If London is completely covered in snow 30 An East Midlands place with four corners 31 If you arrived on the rock five minutes after you were supposed to get there 32 Conceal the swings and roundabouts right at the edge 33 Perimeter clothing 34 Do British Airways aeroplanes park on this street? 35 The final resting place for Arsenal supporters 36 Beeping street 37 A playing area next to an area of trees 38 A large amount of building blocks 39 Sheep farmers shrubbery 40 Applaud a pig upwards 41 The green area where the Tower’s birds stand trial 42 The crossing where the Duke of Cambridge has his own space 43 The person who prepares trouser legs for shortening 44 How the wedding dress maker created the bride’s head dress 45 Oh no, the bonfire is too close to that tree and the acorns are on fire! 46 Is Israel’s first female Prime-Minister covered in limes? 47 A playing area taking up the same amount of space as Big Ben! 48 By the edge of the sea there’s a hole in the ground 49 A tin with a doll in 50 What the witch does to people as she makes them into frogs 51 Apologetic door openers 52 The fish egg bell sounds between the mountains 53 Just how much money does a Die Hard actor have? 54 Marital head covering for a ‘Friend’ 55 Don’t put your cap here in church 56 Camouflaged fence material 57 Blonde cut-off branch 58 Drinkable maple leaf 59 How Elizabeth does things 60 Clucking professor in the middle 61 Comfortable shoes sheltering from the wind 62 Unsteadily moving narrow hilltop joins with a soaking rock 63 A card game for golfers proposing? 64 Superman’s alter ego powered 65 Applaud a frequently seen pig 66 A poorly behaved and heavy youth 67 A hole dug by the edge of the sea 68 Calcutta perhaps? 69 Fill a rifle with wet soil 70 Note that Plymouth, Totnes and Paignton are in a line 71 George IV perhaps? 72 Line up if you want to see the flowers! 73 If the crossing had been afflicted by the first plague 74 ‘Me and My Girl’s’ 1937 trek up the compass 75 Lose your footing in a paddy field
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 15, 2020 14:02:51 GMT
Pass. I’m as surprised as you are! Putting them at Olympia is blatantly trolling the general public. 😂
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 15, 2020 14:01:47 GMT
Is B Tower Hill?
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Post by londonstuff on Apr 8, 2020 11:49:06 GMT
I liked that Paternoster lift film, especially because the camera was left in at the top. I've never travelled in one, but I have been inside a lift that did not have an internal door in the lift cage - which meant that it was possible to touch the lift shaft whilst travelling. Not that I was ever tempted - since it would be a really stupid and potentially dangerous thing to do. But I have filmed and been on curved escalators - this was in San Francisco in 1999. This film includes rides down (near the start) and up (near the end). Ah I recognise that, it’s near where Nordstrom now is in Westfield on Market Street. I didn’t take a vid when I was there (this is someone else’s).
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Post by londonstuff on Mar 26, 2020 8:41:58 GMT
Kennington’s remaining 1890 tiling is more easily in public view, but I won’t spoil anyone’s fun by posting its exact location. As a clue, consider how the station layout was changed in the 1920s and which parts of the original layout went out of use, and where one might catch a glimpse of such areas today! Ooh! A quiz within a quiz. That’s not a quiz within a quiz, that’s just being a tease. 😂
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Post by londonstuff on Mar 23, 2020 1:19:42 GMT
Question: (click image for a larger version) That could in theory be one of at least four places, however I’m guessing it’s Elephant & Castle as that’s the most accessible. There’s some CSLR tiling left just about in view at Kennington, but that at Stockwell and King William Street is rather more off the beaten track. Sorry to be late on this but where is the tiling in Stockwell? That’s really surprised me!
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Post by londonstuff on Dec 25, 2019 11:44:49 GMT
Admin comment
greggygreggygreg, I’ve disabled your account until the New Year so the Forum staff don’t need to worry about your posting until then. Please come back as a more agreeable poster.
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Post by londonstuff on Dec 25, 2019 11:36:11 GMT
<Admin comment> Exactly what sort of dodginess do you think could be going on? A company now administers our domains for us, a member of their staff (who is a forum member) is doing all the various transfer work involved for free. All the Admin Team (overseen by our Advisors) know who the person is, they wish to remain anonymous. We're happy to explain further if you want, but frankly there's not really anything more to say! </admin comment>Oh, and a Happy Christmas to you too. Fair enough. Just when there are secrets and people are kept in the dark and explicitly told they will not be told anything, it arouses my suspicions. I hope you understand? Perhaps its just me being paranoid from working for several years underneath management who work in the same manner. Merry Christmas! No, I’m sorry - if you have suspicions or paranoia, take them to a different forum elsewhere: we don’t owe you anything. Well done on seriously annoying the whole Forum team on Christmas morning.
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Post by londonstuff on Dec 25, 2019 11:31:02 GMT
The DD Administration Team have agreed and appointed a trusted external company to handle the hosting going forward. As it's of little or no consequence to the forum operation and membership, and while we thank you for your interest, we see no reason to elaborate further. Lack of transparency would imply there's something dodgy going on My first thought on reading this was that you’d had a bad day and that you didn’t mean what you’d written. With a comment like that you’re likely to wind up the whole staff team, several of whom have put in a lot of time behind the scenes to ensure the change goes seamlessly. There is nothing dodgy going on and if you had given it a second thought at all you’d know the staff would do nothing at all that would harm the forum. Some things you don’t need to know and the finer details of this is one of them, just like us not needing to know your bank balance, your mortgage or your inside leg measurement. Admin comment: Think carefully before you post in future.
Merry Christmas.
Note: Edited lightly for clarity
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Post by londonstuff on Oct 26, 2019 9:46:42 GMT
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Post by londonstuff on Oct 7, 2019 23:03:36 GMT
What trousers should I wear? Even though I won’t be there, I’m still happy to co-ordinate. I was thinking the motorbike leathers this year if that’s okay with you?
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Post by londonstuff on Sept 27, 2019 19:51:50 GMT
All The girls and boys are back to school which means that you’re going to see adverts for pub lunches soon and advent calendars are going to start appearing in the shops. rincew1nd has already eaten several trays of mince pies. As we said earlier in the summer before the mid-year meet social, this year’s date will be on Saturday 14th December so those of you who like to plan ahead really have no excuse. Sadly I won’t be there so for those of you who are admin averse, there may well only be three of us there. 😂 It’ll almost certainly be at Penderel’s Oak near Holborn and staff are currently discussing whether we can incorporate any interesting added extras on the day. (No that doesn’t mean doing a group oil change on Dstock7080’s birthdaymobile. More logistical information nearer the time.
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Post by londonstuff on Sept 15, 2019 21:30:24 GMT
Which is a bit different to what they were saying at KX earlier today which was laying the blame squarely at the system:
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Post by londonstuff on Sept 7, 2019 11:30:19 GMT
Equipment is installed upto SMA5 and powered up just not running the railway. Equipment is installed also upto SMA6 but it’s not powered up They’re are currently installing equipment in SMA7 I don’t think it’s running passively across the existing signalling like the Vic did but in SMAs 3-5 where it’s powered up, is there any way of monitoring that it’s running correctly so that any parts or other equipment that haven’t been set up properly or fail shortly after installation can be fixed before that area goes live?
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Post by londonstuff on Sept 6, 2019 9:36:12 GMT
Can I gently point out that in general we try to be very careful with information about the locations of signalling centres and other critical equipment, for obvious reasons.
I'm not suggesting anyone has said anything untoward but I don't think we should add any more specific information in this board.
Thanks all.
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Post by londonstuff on Sept 3, 2019 18:41:44 GMT
Unistar points are being installed at South Harrow and they have no stretchers but as of today have yet to get approval from LU assurance department And for those that have not heard of unistar this should help. Click hereThat was absolutely fascinating - thank you. Is this the fist place they’ll be installed on a passenger line as opposed to within a depot-type training facility?
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