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Post by littlejohn on Oct 23, 2018 18:16:32 GMT
'Notably, no RATs run into Uxbridge sidings this year (because direct entry from Hillingdon no longer exists!)' - More to Jack Oct 8, 2018 at 8:29pm. With apologies for both the delay in commenting (I've been away) and for my ignorance; what has happened? It is 15 years or more since I lived in Uxbridge but I remember sometimes being turfed off a Met train with UXBRIDGE written on the front at Hillingdon when it was going into the sidings. I have an idea entry to the sidings was possible from the Up line (from the Uxbridge direction) but involved a lot of shunting about.
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Post by littlejohn on Sept 27, 2018 15:40:36 GMT
So is the RMT on both sides of the negotiating table?
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Post by littlejohn on Aug 13, 2018 12:08:28 GMT
According to 'The Spread of London's Underground' (Capital Transport, 2004) Ickenham Halte was opened on 25 Sept 1905. Eastcote Halt (why the change of spelling?) was opened on 26 May 1906. The date of dropping of Halt/e in either case is not recorded but the map of the Underground System on 31 December 1910 shows Ickenham without the suffix but Eastcote still with it. Mr Wiki is similarly silent on when the Halt/e was dropped but regarding Ickenham, it says: 'The parish council later requested shelters for passengers on the platforms, which were built in December 1905'. So it seems that Ickenham PC didn't lobby for the Halte itself, just for the basic facilities. The platforms weren't extended until 1922.
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Post by littlejohn on Jun 19, 2018 20:16:09 GMT
t697 - thanks!
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Post by littlejohn on Jun 18, 2018 17:45:42 GMT
I recall in the 1950s that there was a number of coal merchants (one was called Cades Coals) scattered along the the line between Rayners Lane and Ruislip, with coal staves fronting onto the running line. These later became station car parks. The non-electrified siding at Rayners Lane was certainly in situ between the down line and the car park a few years ago - is it still there? I always imagined that the coal was delivered by rail; does anyone have any definitive information?
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Post by littlejohn on May 31, 2018 15:46:58 GMT
tut - thank you. I suspected somewhere at the eastern end of the Central Line but it is not an area with which I am familiar.
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Post by littlejohn on May 31, 2018 12:19:01 GMT
The opening shot is clearly of 1960 stock. Did it ever run on the Bakerloo? If not, where was the footage recorded?
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Post by littlejohn on May 2, 2018 16:23:43 GMT
It is worth noting that the original LNER Edgware station was (naturally) separate to the LT one. Forty or more years ago there was a pub in Edgware called the Railway Arms (or something like that, it was a long time ago now) which was some distance from the Underground station and was presumably near the site of the LNER one. A chord would have been constructed to join the two lines where they crossed. There used to be the remains of the LNER overbridge crossing the Underground line just outside Edgware station - is it still there? The two stations are clear on the map at about 4:48 on the video. For a really comprehensive history of the Elstree Extension, see 'By Tube Beyond Edgware' by Tony Beard (Capital Transport, 2002).
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Post by littlejohn on Apr 16, 2018 8:32:55 GMT
'ASLEF are re-balloting and hoping that more members will vote next time' - does this mean that one party to a dispute can just keep balloting until they get the result they want or is there a limit to how often a ballot can be called? (A genuine question based on my ignorance as I have never been directly involved in Union matters, as either a worker or as a manager). We have the most draconian union legislation in western Europe, they're just playing by the rules that Maggie created and then Cameron tinkered with. Ever five years we get to keep re-balloting for the government we want. Its called democracy I am sure that we all understand the meaning of democracy and I am equally sure that we are all in favour of it. Please don't patronise. Your answer doesn't, in any case, make any sense. It would only do so if a losing party in a General Election could continually ask for further elections in the hope of being successful and not have to wait for a specified period of time. Chris M - thank you for a reasoned and cogent response.
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Post by littlejohn on Apr 15, 2018 17:18:26 GMT
Earl's Court drivers were balloted, 125 were eligible but only 63 voted (50.4%), 49 Yes (77.8%), 14 No (22.2%). Unfortunately 49 votes is only 39.2% of 125 and the Trade Union Act 2016 requires 40% support for industrial action "in important public services". ASLEF are re-balloting and hoping that more members will vote next time www.aslefdistrict8.org/single-post/2018/04/12/Earls-Court-drivers-vote-to-strike-But-the-law-says-they-cant-Hopefully management start talking or the next strikes could be a lot worse for the west end of the line, the whole District Line and finally the whole network Don't mess with ASLEF! 'ASLEF are re-balloting and hoping that more members will vote next time' - does this mean that one party to a dispute can just keep balloting until they get the result they want or is there a limit to how often a ballot can be called? (A genuine question based on my ignorance as I have never been directly involved in Union matters, as either a worker or as a manager).
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Post by littlejohn on Apr 14, 2018 15:32:00 GMT
They are still working the Bedwyn - Paddington services, and will still be after the electrification to Newbury goes live end of this year?)until, presumably,they are replaced by bi-modes.
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Post by littlejohn on Feb 21, 2018 9:53:09 GMT
Ted672 - absolutely. Similarly I have, over the years, owned a number of preserved coaches. When I sold them on I tried to make sure that they stayed within the preservation movement but it is entirely up to the person who stumped up the cash to decide what to do with them.
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Post by littlejohn on Feb 1, 2018 16:42:58 GMT
I recall my friends and I always used it get our Red Rovers at a Tube station - usually Ruislip Manor and sometimes South Ruislip. We would normally get them on a Friday evening on the way home from school, dated for the next day (Saturday). Green Rovers were always bought from the conductor of the first Country Area bus we travelled on. Usually a 347.
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Post by littlejohn on Dec 20, 2017 19:13:05 GMT
Not Elizabeth Line I know, but relevant in respect of travelling to Reading. I had my first ride on a class 800 on Saturday (Paddington - Reading). Great except for those awful hard seats; I would hate to endure them on a long journey. The Networker Turbos (class 165) from Newbury to London are far more comfortable.
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Post by littlejohn on Nov 29, 2017 14:50:20 GMT
A good source of info is 'Underground Heritage' by Antony Badsey-Ellis (Capital Transport, 2012). It seems that the Bullseye/Bar and Circle was originally a solid red disc until redrawn as a ring by Edward Johnston in 1917. There is one at Caledonian Road that is original, those at Ealing Broadway are replicas dating from 1992. Underground Heritage is strongly recommended - there is a whole host of information about the stuff we see every day (or in my case, when I can get to London) but never notice.
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Post by littlejohn on Oct 12, 2017 9:48:31 GMT
Yes, things have changed - in my day there was no Hurricane over my garden wall (seeing my old home brought back a flood of memories, most of them pleasant). As I recall the Gate Guardians at Northolt and Uxbridge were both Spitfires although a Hurricane is much more appropriate for the Battle of Britain, in which the Spitfire played a relatively minor role. I think all Gate Guardians are replicas now and the real ones sold off to aircraft restoration companies. Apologies for the digression.
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Post by littlejohn on Oct 11, 2017 15:42:27 GMT
I spent most of my last 10 years in the RAF at Uxbridge and Northolt so I should know but embarrassingly I don't - either because things have changed in the last 20 or so years or because old age has caught up with me. It is certainly a Polish Hurricane but the MQs in the background look suspiciously like the one I had at Uxbridge and the wall looks like the one at the end of my garden. On the other side was the entrance to the Battle of Britain Bunker - does this now have a 'Gate Guardian'?
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Post by littlejohn on Aug 14, 2017 12:32:50 GMT
Roythebus. '...it's entirely possible that people went sightseeing at airports'. One of my earliest memories is of being taken (on my father's shoulders) to Northolt to spend the afternoon watching the aircraft. At that time there was an entrance at the end of Wingfield Way and a short distance away a large concrete square on which were a collection of metal chairs where the spectators sat. It was quite near the taxiway and without any form of fencing. When I served at Northolt as a Sqn Ldr up to 2000 I was delighted to see that the concrete square was still there. As a teenaged plane spotter (when taking a break from bus spotting) I often cycled to London Airport (LAP) as it was then called. The Roof Gardens on top of Queen's Building were the favoured vantage point. Does anyone remember the 2 Bedford OWBs that operated a round the airport sightseeing route? It started in the Central area, near to where the LT Tours parked up (John Tuthill - as I recall they were quite extensive and from a number of garages) and included both the North side apron and the engineering areas - places not normally accessible.
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Post by littlejohn on Aug 9, 2017 13:11:15 GMT
..... 'A common factor at many stops towards Barking is that the platform areas are lacking vertical masts and cross spans'. This is not just on the Goblin. While masts and cross spans are springing up quite quickly between Reading and Newbury their absence from platforms is noticeable. Is there a particular reason? Are they more prone to vandalism/high jinks/climbing until the knitting goes up and they start to look dangerous?
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Post by littlejohn on May 19, 2017 18:30:10 GMT
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Post by littlejohn on May 19, 2017 18:15:36 GMT
Yes, I remember it well, it was a Pan Am 707. The Northolt and Heathrow runways are almost parallel and each had at the time a gasholder on the approach (I think one has since been demolished). After the incident they were clearly marked (LH and NH probably) to show which runway they led to. I don't recall trees being cut down but certainly the 707 was stripped down to essentials with seats removed and minimal fuel. My friends and I took an unofficial day off school to watch it take off. As I recall when the 707 returned to the US its Captain travelled in it as a passenger. It was his last flight with Pan Am. If the Mods will allow a slight digression, I was born in Ruislip Gardens and after a career travelling the globe I ended up less than a mile from where I started. Sadly the house where I was born still lacks a blue plaque.
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Post by littlejohn on May 19, 2017 15:44:24 GMT
My last posting before I retired from the RAF after 39 years was to Northolt. There is a set of traffic lights on West End Road which, if I recall correctly, were activated by Air Traffic Control. Certainly an unusual occurrence although not unique (I think also at RAF Gibraltar). I also recall back in the 50s that the A30 was regularly closed at Blackbushe so that planes could be towed from one side of the airport to the other.
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Post by littlejohn on May 18, 2017 14:15:06 GMT
Wasn't this to do with the sprayed concrete tunnel lining going wrong?
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Post by littlejohn on Apr 17, 2017 18:07:44 GMT
A long time ago (50 or 60 years) my parents lived in a village near Aylesbury. I have a strong memory that they had Met timetables (I think delivered to the door) that also included all BR services to Marylebone. Possibly they also had some indication of BR services north of Aylesbury as well. Or is memory playing tricks with me?
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Post by littlejohn on Mar 30, 2017 15:55:30 GMT
Why would Chiltern sell First Class seasons if they did not operate first class? ? If a service provider/product seller knowingly sells you something that you are unable to enjoy, is that not fraud.... which is a criminal offence ? I recently asked the staff at Newbury if it was worth buying First Class since so many Class 165s have had First Class removed. The reply was that if no First Class is physically present on the train (as opposed to being full etc) then a refund of the price difference will be made. Is it worth the hassle to buy First Class for a journey (to Paddington) of around an hour and take a chance on being able to use it? I suppose it depends on how crammed the train is likely to be and how likely it is that there will be First Class in it.
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Post by littlejohn on Feb 28, 2017 14:27:00 GMT
Money?
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Post by littlejohn on Feb 3, 2017 16:48:08 GMT
Four stations in Watford is nothing special. I grew up with Ruislip, Ruislip Manor, South Ruislip, Ruislip Gardens and West Ruislip. If you count the BR stations separately that's seven.
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Post by littlejohn on Jan 24, 2017 19:42:13 GMT
I just accidentally caught a snippet of EastEnders. Good to see that they are still riding around in D Stock.
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Post by littlejohn on Jan 23, 2017 19:04:06 GMT
innercircle - I have always turned left, irrespective of the station. Turning right seems alien somehow.
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Post by littlejohn on Jan 19, 2017 12:54:35 GMT
Regarding lack of advertising/display space, I recently watched a TV programme about Atlanta Airport (dubbed as the world's busiest in terms of passenger numbers). They have made a policy decision to reduce displays of all kinds to the minimum; research has shown that the more there is for people to look at the more it disrupts passenger flow. The December 2015 Underground News quotes a letter to The Times in September 2015 complaining that LU had (allegedly) decided to remove map displays from inside the gateline at Victoria as 'they cause passenger congestion'. Maybe the cost of congestion outweighs any advertising revenue lost?
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