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Post by spsmiler on Jun 20, 2021 10:57:15 GMT
The present-day trains are not designed for route codes, such as B2 (Broad Street - Watford via Primrose Hill) so line names would be the easiest to implement.
The use of compass points (north south east west) would be best excluded from route names - not just to avoid complications (eg: where southbound East London line and eastbound North London line trains serve the same station) but to mask the reality that the South London line as a route name has been euthanised and West London line subsumed in to the North London line.
Brunel line and Hampstead line are perhaps suitable (confusion free) alternatives? As with the Underground it is possible to have a line which has several branches that serve different destinations. (Confusion is unlikely because very few people will know that there was once a different Hampstead line).
Goblin is already well known.
Euston Watford is already often called 'Watford line' so for simplicity this should be used.
Romford Upminster is so short and so far removed (physically) that it does not require renaming, but if one wants to treat all lines equally than it could be named Emerson line!
West Anglia services could perhaps either be named something like Hackney line (all trains serve Hackney Downs station and it would perhaps delight local people to have their area recognised in this way) or named after their remote destinations (Enfield, Chingford, etc). The downside of this latter option is that it would then require differentiation on already crowded maps, although it would make it easier to show that Chingford trains do not serve all stations. That said, Underground maps have never normally shown that Metropolitan line trains often skip certain stations.
Pre-empting future likelihoods, and to avoid confusion with the Northern line, the Northern City service that is likely to become part of the Overground could be named after one of the stations it serves. Palace line (all trains serve Alexandra Palace station) would be a simple, easy to remember name. Ideally that name would have been used by the Stratford - Palace Gates service but as that is now in memorandum it remains 'available'.
ps: DLR needs line names too - a topic for elsewhere.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 14, 2021 20:32:37 GMT
Maybe before being unleashed on the main part of the Central line the test train should first work on the Woodford - Hainault service?
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 14, 2021 20:29:28 GMT
I've often wondered why this was not being done - for many reasons it makes such sense.
Thoughts turn to using a similar solution to reopen the GWR Brentford branch.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 14, 2021 20:21:05 GMT
The Wuppertal Schwebebahn always has its service suspended.. Dresden version too! Coming back to London, I wonder whether the very impressive works to lower the SSR during the rebuilding of Westminster station without actually closing the line for months on end saw the tracks being suspended 'very frequently' whilst workmen dug down inch by inch?
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 12, 2021 20:49:46 GMT
I was on a 9 car east side train yesterday - I was actually at Stratford waiting for a Hainault via Newbury Park Central line train when the 'next train' announcement said that a 9 car train was approaching. I made my way to the back of the train and noted how it remained outside the stations when the train stopped. I knew that Maryland was a really difficult (space constrained) location but was surprised that the platforms at Forest Gate and Manor Park stations have also not been extended. Ditto Seven Kings, although as I alighted at Ilford I did not get to see this station on this journey. Having looked at the track layout from the new part of the platform I still remain convinced that the bay platform track (for platform 5) could have been retained if there had been a desire to do it. I used to work for a maintenance company at Ilford and the other stations out to Brentwood. The platform 4 extension crossed the points for platform 5 which could only accommodate a 4 car train. thats not how I recall things - yes the points would have needed relocating (and the crossover to enable trains from the bay platform to reach the London-bound track) but the bay platform was plenty long enough to easily accommodate 8 car class 315 and 9 car class 306 trains - I know this from direct experience using this station since the 1980s. Ilford-Class306EMU-plt4-DMU-plt5The diesel train at platform 5 has 5 carriages! 315x2-306081-Ilford9 car class 306 train at platform 3 plus 8 car class 315 trains at platforms 4 and 5 btw, the timetable changes during a recession which saw the number of trains in the rush hours being reduced is also the cause of significant overcrowding on the route (once passenger numbers increased again) which only ceased because of the covid situation
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 10, 2021 23:35:24 GMT
Yes but HMRC benefit via a so-called back door when railways are closed - people switch to driving and therefore motor fuel taxes increase. Electric cars will end that...
On the topic of matters financial, as we know TfL desperately need people travelling and paying fares, but what is nowadays known as the Delta variant is spreading and I wonder if we will soon see people thinking twice again about how they travel - I have already been told that I should cancel all my public transport travel plans and either stay at home or only use a car for travelling to locations that cannot be reached by walking.
This will be very bad news for all public transport operators, not just those here in London.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 10, 2021 23:15:30 GMT
I was on a 9 car east side train yesterday - I was actually at Stratford waiting for a Hainault via Newbury Park Central line train when the 'next train' announcement said that a 9 car train was approaching.
I made my way to the back of the train and noted how it remained outside the stations when the train stopped. I knew that Maryland was a really difficult (space constrained) location but was surprised that the platforms at Forest Gate and Manor Park stations have also not been extended. Ditto Seven Kings, although as I alighted at Ilford I did not get to see this station on this journey.
Having looked at the track layout from the new part of the platform I still remain convinced that the bay platform track (for platform 5) could have been retained if there had been a desire to do it.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 10, 2021 22:57:15 GMT
Glad to say that Ilford station entrance has now reopened Which entrance? It cannot be the main one on Cranbrook Road as that one is nowhere near ready to open.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 10, 2021 22:52:35 GMT
Maybe the line speed could be increased from the current 30mph? Excellent idea, although for historic reasons there are many good reasons for southbound trains from Old Street to Moorgate to be restricted to slowish speeds.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 5, 2021 8:51:41 GMT
Alas, I doubt it will be possible for anyone here in the UK to visit Berlin in September this year 2021 but am more hopeful for next year 2022
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 5, 2021 0:03:54 GMT
Rush hours only, I assume?
Has TfL or LU said anything to the public (Twitter?) about this?
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 4, 2021 23:08:37 GMT
Thats the impression gained from this Twitter photograph!!
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Post by spsmiler on May 30, 2021 23:21:46 GMT
Its my understanding that whilst they are indeed running in Essen (even as 'ye olde traditional' street trams, for part of route U17) No.11, which was first used in Manchester and later carried HM The Queen as part of the official opening ceremony, has been scrapped. I am not sure why, it might be related to damage after a fire but I am not 100% sure.
As with the London B90 and B92's, the P86 / P89 units are scheduled for replacement. I do not know whether Essen intends to preserve any of them.
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Post by spsmiler on May 28, 2021 20:29:36 GMT
Ealing Broadway has become the 3rd of the original TFL Rail West station rebuilds to be completed coming into use this morning. Southall, West Drayton and Hayes & Harlington stations are all projected to be complete by September 2021. Click here if Tweet fails to appear Here is a photo showing a FGW DMU at platform 4 plus some Central line trains at platforms 5 & 6) that I took several years ago. Note the planters with flowers (on the right) and the hanging baskets with flowers in front of platform 5. Now that building works have been completed it would be great if whoever it is that runs the station nowadays reinstated these features!
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Post by spsmiler on May 28, 2021 20:03:01 GMT
But why run it through tube tunnels?
I favour a 'do nothing' policy for a while yet, as maybe it could be converted to battery operation and used on a living museum railway / not on LU metals.
Right now the pandemic is affecting everything, including finances, but maybe in a few years time the financial outlook will have improved.
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Post by spsmiler on May 25, 2021 9:20:14 GMT
Is the other entrance still there? The temporary entrance had better still be there as the brand new station building on Cranbrook Road is not yet ready for use. I'll be in Ilford town centre this afternoon so will take a look
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Post by spsmiler on May 25, 2021 8:57:06 GMT
in what is sometimes the hottest time of the summer, just when air-conditioned trains would have been most welcome. Instead many passengers will need to divert to the non-airconditioned Central and Piccadilly lines (unless they want the museums at South Kensington - in which case they will have to walk.)
oh and without Crossrail to soak up the load
part of the route could have been replaced with buses but recent speed limit reductions extending journey times mean that roads like the Embankment are no longer 'fit for purpose' for this task
Would a shuttle service be possible between Edgware Road and High St Kensington via Notting Hill Gate? Or is it that trains will still be able to run through Earls Court (Wimbledon / Richmond / Ealing Broadway / Olympia to Edgware Road)?
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Post by spsmiler on May 16, 2021 9:56:16 GMT
It seems that the new timetable also marks the start of the fully Class 345 service - the last few Class 315 trains have now been withdrawn and are being replaced with the first 9-car Class 345 trains to operate in the east of London - sort of a 'back to the future' as the LNER Class 306 trains which served the Great Eastern Main Line also comprised 9 cars, albeit as three 3-car sets in multiple. As I said in an earlier message I went to film trial running of Class 345 trains at Custom House station. Alas, I drew a 'short straw' and found myself there on a day when different tests were being conducted. Nevertheless, as I had my camcorder with me I made good use of it (see below).... also included in this film is some April 2018 footage showing part of the Crossrail line whilst still under construction in the Abbey Wood area of south-east London. Enjoy!
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Post by spsmiler on May 15, 2021 18:29:15 GMT
Alas, these non-passenger journeys are not showing on Real Time Trains Strange, I can see them. However, nothing showing for today apart from 5U91. Maybe you need to change a setting?. In view of there not having been any testing on the day I was searching on I now realise that this is the reason why I did not see anything! What it also suggests is that whilst the information (press release?) about testing having commenced may be accurate the devil was in the detail - it did not say that testing was underway every day! I arrived a little before 3pm and stayed for about 45 minutes, during which time I saw just two trains - one running 'wrong line' and one stationary at the station. The latter however was actually quite useful, especially when a DLR train arrived on the scene, see tweet below! btw, I have no idea what happened to the railroad hashtag.
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Post by spsmiler on May 14, 2021 10:39:03 GMT
Alas, even the Gidea Park trains are 'all stations', its just that they miss out stations east of Gidea Park! No trains terminate at Chadwell Heath to use the new reversing siding Especially in the AM peaks some trains should enter service from Ilford depot so as to give passengers between Ilford and Maryland a fairer chance to board a train. Doing this will replicate another of the benefits (in days past) of the tragically removed bay platform at Ilford.
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Post by spsmiler on May 14, 2021 10:27:57 GMT
Sorry, is that test running through the middle, or just the extremities? It’s the core between Westbourne Park Sidings and Abbey Wood. Alas, these non-passenger journeys are not showing on Real Time Trains
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Post by spsmiler on May 12, 2021 23:15:53 GMT
btw, I know that this was filmed in the year 2000 because to get this view I was standing on the front of Met No.1, which was in the track for the bay platform *On* Met No.1? Damn, thats awesome! yes, at the front / with my back to the smokebox door, along with other people. Jack, I was under the impression that since the bay was hardly ever used it was not going to be made compatible with CBTC signalling therefore the track was not renewed when the bridge was replaced. Even if the bridge had not been replaced the track to the bay platform was doomed / expected to be disconnected from the rest of the system.
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Post by spsmiler on May 12, 2021 22:47:01 GMT
Maybe when the timetable is fully restored (next week) these new train will be needed and hence enter passenger service.
Or is it that the trains need testing on the NLL / WLL and the drivers need training?
Or even could it be that the 710's will not be needed until the 378 refurbishment and painting to the new livery restarts?
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Post by spsmiler on May 8, 2021 11:21:57 GMT
I think back then there were five ticket offices at Liverpool St, more than elsewhere. Both ends of the sub-surface and Central lines and a direct route from the Southend lines. Are you referring to the LU station or the BR station? I can recall suggesting meeting some cousins at 'the ticket hall' at this station but the idea fell through because they could not get around the idea that there were more than one here and my telling them that I would be at the British Railways ticket hall that was upstairs / opposite the high number platforms was beyond their understanding! There are still several mainline ticket sales areas here today - but nowadays I would suggest the designated meeting place! re: London Transport ticket sales areas, the one accessed via the steps at the eastern end of the subsurface platforms was notable because it continued to sell Edmundson card sized tickets long after other ticket sales areas had switched to credit card sized paper tickets. Also, these were lime green in colour! I have one in front of me, dated 26 OC 83 (ie: October). Whenever I wanted to buy a ticket here I would aim for this ticket sales window and vaguely recall an encounter with a roving ticket inspector who was curious to know where and how I had obtained what I suspect was a very rare type of ticket. Of course my explanation satisfied him. I also vaguely recall exploring Broad Street station and noting things like disused lifts, alas I did not take photos.
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Post by spsmiler on May 8, 2021 10:57:34 GMT
I wonder if that is what is next to the JP2 signal name in this view (if viewed at Flickr the image can be enlarged by clicking on it) Various-Rickmansworth-SteamOnMet2000btw, I know that this was filmed in the year 2000 because to get this view I was standing on the front of Met No.1, which was in the track for the bay platform
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Post by spsmiler on May 8, 2021 10:42:14 GMT
Its a curious example of pastiche nostalgia creating something that has become real and worthy of nostalgia in its own right! As we know, the Class 20's were not built by or for either the Metropolitan Railway or London Transport, although (conjecture alert) they may have travelled over LT metals if any were ever used on services that included this part of the former Great Central Railway. Here is Sir John Betjeman at Harrow On The Hill. 20142-HarrowOTHill-P1410932
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Post by spsmiler on May 4, 2021 10:29:25 GMT
next perhaps Wanstead - Leytonstone?
perchance to dream?
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Post by spsmiler on May 3, 2021 23:37:56 GMT
Access was right at the west end of the Central Line platforms - now behind closed doors. Nothing to do with the present Central Line (west end) escalators. what a pity ... not used, not accessible to the public (maybe a future destination for a LTM hidden tour?)
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Post by spsmiler on May 1, 2021 14:21:04 GMT
Snip it with wire cutters job done yes but use electrically insulated wire cutters plus wear 'electric safe' gloves ... 'just in case' (voice of experience from when doing electrical work at home, although in my case I made a last second decision to turn the power off in advance of cutting the wire; afterwards when I restored the power and tested the wire where I had cut it I found it to be live)
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Post by spsmiler on May 1, 2021 13:32:16 GMT
so ... both will enter passenger service at the same time?
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