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Post by croxleyn on Mar 17, 2019 10:57:17 GMT
Or use Great Portland Street, which doesn't have the slow lift from the platforms, and is equidistant to the Euston Rd pedestrian crossing to (Regents) Park Square.
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Post by croxleyn on Jan 6, 2019 9:32:37 GMT
I'm guessing it's not just "water". How about alcohol getting spilt accidently or purposely? And for equipment near a street, the amount of salt-spray, which is horribly corrosive, can be substantial.
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Post by croxleyn on Dec 1, 2018 21:36:07 GMT
Isn't Watford Junction pick up / set down only for West Coast services. In years past, since tickets had been checked on southbound services (and there wasn't time to do this for the whole train after Watford), there was no need for any barriers at Euston, and platforms well away from the suburban group were used. I don't know about the current setup.
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Post by croxleyn on Oct 28, 2018 20:10:57 GMT
"This is the night when two become(s) one". Courtesy of Spice Girls.
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Post by croxleyn on Oct 28, 2018 20:03:59 GMT
btw, it was explained that when making refunds they have to create an account on the system, but this is not possible with a Visitor card. It is OK however with an unregistered anonymous card - I have these too, as they can be shared with other people, whereas registered personalised cards are strictly restricted to the named person. Quote should say: btw, it was explained that when making refunds they have to create an account on the system, but this is not possible with a Visitor card. It is OK however with an unregistered anonymous card - I have these too, as they can be shared with other people, whereas registered personalised cards are strictly restricted to the named person.
I'm puzzled at various entries in this thread - I've had two "legacy" Oyster cards almost since introduction, one with my Senior discount, and they still work with my online account. I'm not interested in App access which need the "Digital" card. But, to get back to the quoted comment, when I got them I understood anyone could use someone else's account-linked card, but only if Adult class: those with discounts were strictly for the registered holder. I keep the second for visitors.
«rincew1nd: Quote fixed and authors compensating text struck out.»
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Post by croxleyn on Oct 19, 2018 9:42:17 GMT
So, the whine is produced by the switching frequency of the transistors, being in the audio range. This is not surprising, as its a limitation of IGBTs. So the question has to be asked, is it the Electro-Magnetic filtering chokes themselves producing the whine, which should easily be cured, or (most likely) the motors themselves as they have the same elements of a loudspeaker, although careful design can minimise magnetostriction?
However, I believe the S-class uses the same principle of AC generation.
How did Bombardier get theirs so quiet?
It may be a compromise between the size of the E-M filtering components versus weight - the lower the operating frequency of a filter the heavier and bulkier it gets.
IGBT = Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor.
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Post by croxleyn on Oct 3, 2018 17:42:51 GMT
What LR Towers is probably trying to say, in not so many words, is that "We can't guarantee there'll be anyone around, so we won't put them in the most obvious place". Finchley Road & Frognal, on the closure list, has the best possible ticket/control office with wide glass window, easily visible to all passing, so the argument really doesn't stand up. When I've needed to find the Croxley "human", they're invariably in the old ticket office, which can only be seen into by craning across the barrier, then shouting to attract attention... Or the gates are locked open with nobody to be seen.
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Post by croxleyn on Sept 14, 2018 17:12:33 GMT
For many years the community has been campaigning to get lifts installed, as the stairs are steep. However, it's obvious that lifts don't come cheap, and have continuing costs. We were promised that the new Cassiobridge station, as part of the Met Line Extension would be fully accessible, but of course that's all abandoned.
However, there is a compromise: the up platform is adjacent to the carpark, with a full height fence splitting the stairs, ticket and non-ticket side - there used to be flat access here. How much would it cost to put an Oyster gate into this fence, and magnetic locked side gate with intercom to the "control room" for wheelchair use? Mind you, from the frequency of seeing the top gates on free flow, we could have just a card validator.
For travellers in the opposite direction, they could easily stay on the train for its turn-around at Watford (or swap to the next out), then exit on the Up platform. Now, how would this be depicted on a map?
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Post by croxleyn on Sept 9, 2018 17:37:55 GMT
One of the reasons the NLL and GOBlin runs are popular is the significantly cheaper tickets, staying out of Zone 1. If users want the interchange stations, then some passenger load could be taken off the current overcrowded trains by reducing the price of the longer journey via Zone 1.
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Post by croxleyn on Aug 27, 2018 10:55:35 GMT
Along the same lines of thought as North End, do you check your mirror to notice whether a driver behind is indicating to use a filter lane, and your action is actually slowing them down when they could keep going?
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Post by croxleyn on Aug 20, 2018 17:29:03 GMT
Definition of a sale: The action or an act of selling; the exchange of a commodity for money or other valuable consideration (my Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, second volume).
So all this nonsense imagined by punters that they're getting a bargain is usually not true. But the word can mean a price reduction to get rid of unwanted stock.
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 24, 2018 17:40:58 GMT
I've never been to Kennington, but if the train's for the loop, are any announcements made after departure, i.e. "The next station is Kennington (northbound), this train is for Charing Cross" etc. It would reassure passengers they weren't going to get stuck. You wouldn't want the ultimate destination as that could confuse a foreigner or drunkard.
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 22, 2018 19:49:09 GMT
Includes Heathrow Rail, at over £10 a trip so could be good value, especially a return...
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 16, 2018 18:34:09 GMT
Does the term "Signal Failure" include point/switch failure as well? I never hear the latter, so wonder whether the Signal Failure "euphemism" is always used as it doesn't sound so scary...
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 14, 2018 21:13:47 GMT
Are there any maps showing where cross-overs are on the Underground? Google Satellite view is just about useable to see point-work for the above-ground sections... I have an anorak's rail atlas showing such features, but it's only for "British Rail" lines.
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 14, 2018 19:58:53 GMT
Some years ago, chatting to my father's carer, a South African lady, we got to talking about remembering things one had heard as a child. I commented "its like believing spagetti grows on trees". I got an odd quavery look, and was told that she had said just that to her daughter, with the response "Don't be silly, mum, of course it doesn't!". Ho hum, what have we here. I then called up the 1957 broadcast on youtube. "Oh thank you, thank you". She genuinely hadn't realised it was an April Fools, I guess the media being far more limited in her homeland at the time!
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 5, 2018 18:49:55 GMT
"Faffing around" could be made far slicker - upon the announcement "The next station is...", if the doors are not opening automatically, add "Press Door [Open] button for Exit", or some such, then LATCH (remember) any button press in the way pedestrian crossings do. Button surrounds that light when enabled would flash, indicating that the door will open as soon as enabled. Simples.
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 2, 2018 21:21:45 GMT
A year ago, the IET gave a fascinating talk about Cooling the Tube by Sharon Duffy, Head of Station Systems Engineering, LU Crossrail and Stations. If I remember correctly, we were told how cooled air is blown into some tunnels by "chimney" ducts along the lines. Asked about whether groundwater or The Thames (my question!) could act as a heat sink, the rules about what can be done are incredibly strict, so severely limiting these options. In essence, since the tunnels were dug, we've been feeding heat into the surrounding ground by all the traction/braking, escalators and lighting, not forgetting that an average human dissipates something like 100Watts, so there's a massive source of energy to fight against.
There are phase change materials that can absorb a large amount of heat, somewhat like ice melting to water, but the volume of material required in a train's aircon system would not be small: the heat would then be pumped out when the train was out of the tunnel. No use for the Victoria line!
It's not easy to cool within a tunnel: when chilling, the warm air will release significant amounts of condensate water, which has to be disposed of.
When Platform Edge Doors are used, I don't know if the new ones for The Elizabeth Line go right to the ceiling? In this way, the trains are more effective pistons carrying outside air along the tunnels in the direction they're travelling. Otherwise, the cross-tunnels of the stations allow air just to circulate from the previous station. But I guess PEDs would cause a different set of pneumatic problems.
Hyperlink: www.theiet.org/events/2017/244447.cfm
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Post by croxleyn on Jul 2, 2018 18:38:45 GMT
Why should the doors lock closed at a set time before departure - this irritates me on the GWR? Surely, as far as passengers are concerned, the timetabled departure should be at the instant passengers can no longer board a train. So a "working" timetable should absorb this enforced delay.
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Post by croxleyn on May 21, 2018 20:46:59 GMT
Even further off original topic, what's the value of "cultural heritage", compared with irreplaceable Ancient Woodland, teaming with wildlife, that the planners want to desecrate with a new HS2 railway???
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Post by croxleyn on May 18, 2018 14:03:40 GMT
Welcome.
You mention Zone 8, which probably means Watford High St or Bushey. If you can reach Watford Metropolitan station (Cassiobury) Zone 7, the service is good and goes to Baker St, more convenient than Euston, for the West End.
For ticket details, see the TFL children's ticket website.
If either adult has a railcard, you could consider buying linked Oyster cards, which give discounts for non-peak hours travel. They can be set up at the Underground station (but I'm not sure about Watford HS or Bushey). Otherwise you could use Contactless bank cards.
Have fun!
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Post by croxleyn on May 17, 2018 16:59:42 GMT
In reality, any Out-of-Station Interchange * could be shown, but this will get very busy... For those not familiar: TFL OSI Web Page<<rincew1nd: *Out of station Interchange - OSI>>
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Post by croxleyn on May 16, 2018 17:36:40 GMT
So is B on the North Side of the Thames? Not a clue where it is, though...
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 15, 2018 19:29:57 GMT
How many amps are on LU I've heard in the past from one of the Tube documentaries that its 3000?. The current drawn by a train depends on what it is doing - it will draw the most current when on full power, for example on starting. I can't find any figures for installed power on Tube trains, but assuming the figure is the current drawn when on full power, 3000amps on a 750 Volt supply equates to only 2250kW or about 3000hp. Unless we are talking about the 4-car trains on the Waterloo & City Line, that seems a bit on the low side - an 8-car class 700 unit has 3300 kW installed. Does anyone know if there are restrictions applied with regard to trains pulling away?
When people say "Electrify our (diesel) trains", they don't realise that with each train taking several MegaWatts, the generating capacity into the UK Grid is finite, at typically 40,000 MegaWatts for every possible electric load in the country, so gets ever closer to being overloaded = blackouts. At the end of major sporting or concert events, like The Last Night of the Proms, Grid Control have to turn up the Power Stations + Dinorwig Hydro (North Wales) to compensate for all the kettles being turned on, but they can see when this will happen with a bank of TV screens.
If chance happened that every underground train was to pull off at the same instant, that could cause major problems.
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 15, 2018 10:58:54 GMT
For a system using regenerative braking, the voltage can rise significantly, depending on the balance of trains slowing versus those accelerating. There will be a "feed" working voltage, defined by the substation, say 630V. At the train, this can of course drop due to a heavy load versus the conductor rail resistance.
There will also a "maximum" voltage, to which the system can rise when trains are braking, say 750V. I presume that the train will have a limit detection circuit, causing the mechanical brakes to operate (and therefore waste the kinetic energy) if the voltage rises too high.
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 10, 2018 18:03:00 GMT
Good idea, but you would need some announcement just before the train's stationary - "Press Button to open door" or some such. I remember feeling a right ... when waiting for a (non-automatic) door to open, don't recall which class. Fortunately didn't miss the station though.
However, if the button is on the side of the door framework, when really busy, one cannot reach it so even if the station is minor, it should still be an Auto-open. Therefore the driver would need to know the crush factor at every door.
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 8, 2018 17:29:35 GMT
Why has it got a ticket office (or whatever they might wish to call it)? The "Public-side" window at Croxley was bricked up some years ago: if you want to speak to the human presence, they're invariably in the office, which is a reasonable place to be, but you have to crane yourself across the gate line to shout and try to attract their attention via the excess fares window...
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 7, 2018 18:59:42 GMT
The saying goes "It's the volts that jolts, but the mils (milliamps) that kills".
So if you charge yourself up, possibly to 10,000V, with static by scuffing shoes on a nylon carpet or scrumming trousers on a car seat, you'll feel the bite when touching metal but it won't injure you. But I certainly felt the jolt from a 4000volt oscilloscope power supply I was making, or burn marks on my fingers from a 1200V valve audio amplifier...
I believe the centre, "negative" rail is now nominally 0V: it was originally the 200-odd volts to provide the lighting supply but now all power use is via switch-mode converters from the positive rail. But that's not to say that a train drawing significant current from the conductor rails won't cause a "phantom" voltage on the negative rail - the amplitude depends on how far away the sub-station feeder is.
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Post by croxleyn on Apr 1, 2018 12:29:15 GMT
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Post by croxleyn on Mar 26, 2018 18:55:01 GMT
Is that Crystal Palace TV mast behind a railway embankment of A?
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