Phil
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Post by Phil on Jun 19, 2006 10:53:24 GMT
So it's back once again to the old adage: it doesn't matter how big the holdup/problem is, the punters are quite happy PROVIDED someone tells them what's happening.
As soon as C5 told us what had actually happened, and why, this thread changed tone completely.
Now, if C5 had been in charge of the notice boards at stations, innocentabroad would have not posted in the way he did (and seeing Metronet's performance recently it COULD have been another of their screw-ups) and others would not have had to leap to the defence of LU.
To all the Senior LU staff who we know read this forum: PLEASE get proper information relayed to the public as soon as it's available.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on May 17, 2006 10:23:36 GMT
Dunno, but Q8 told us of a situation where an R stock on the District had to push out a BR train. Since the couplers didn't match they did the job by sandwiching the 'cab plank' between the units and just pushing - VERY carefully!
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Phil
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Post by Phil on May 17, 2006 9:00:50 GMT
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 18, 2005 12:20:48 GMT
That'll do VERY nicely Russ! . Shows the straight and curved bits of the profile brilliantly. Mind you, reproducing that exactly in P4 must be a nightmare!!!! ;D ;D ;D
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 17, 2005 14:04:10 GMT
Sorry to ramble on but I've got a question too. Someone told me that train axles don't have differential speeds like in a car and when going round a curve train wheels are being forced to travel at different speeds. It would be because the inner and outer wheels are covering different distances. Can anyone shed any more light on that? Trains indeed DO have a differential action to allow the outer wheel to travel further. The action is created by the design of the wheel tread. It is not flat (obvious!) but neither is it a single straight angle. If you get close enough (to any train axle) you will see the profile starts at a small angle then becomes steeper as it approaches the wheelflange. This gives a greater radius for a wheel whose flange is close up against the outer rail (of a bend) and hence the differential action.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 6, 2005 10:43:04 GMT
Another input from Q8
"Will you reiterate to them once more that the signal at E & C Bakerloo was NOT there in the 70's. The one they are talking about is the sentry AFTER the scissors xover in the northbound platform."
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 5, 2005 11:35:27 GMT
I am assured by Q8 that it was NOT there in the '70s, i.e.not before the resignalling
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Apr 4, 2008 22:40:30 GMT
A favourite misunderstanding occured on one bus which ran off route 57 to route 205, and changed drivers in the bus station between the two. The number of times the bus rolled out the station showing "57 CANTLEY", hence prompting howls from the passengers when it went the "wrong" way at a junction... Ah yes. we have a 'courtesy' whereby we change the destination for the next driver before we get off. If we forget (we can be human) and if he doesn't notice........yes, well...................
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Apr 4, 2008 21:39:06 GMT
The usual course of action at Doncaster termini is that the bus pulls in, driver re-screens and re-sets the ticket machine, then lets passengers on. If there is time prior to departure, they often get out the cab and smoke in the doorway. It is very unusual for drivers to not let people on prior to departure, especially in the rain! Like us - - - but it's OUR CHOICE, and the pax have no right to expect it. Mind you down here it's only the new drivers that arrive at the bus station without the destination reset AND the ticket machine 'turned round'!!!! (And if changing driver the module is out of the machine, driver has coat on etc., etc., all for a quick turn-round)
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Apr 3, 2008 9:44:02 GMT
Actually it wasn't an authorised break - they are taken in the bus station, it was simply a driver waiting for time at the terminus. Had it been a break, the driver would have parked up away from the stop and changed the screen to SNIS. The bus was in service, and after her little grumble the driver was fine with me sitting in the dry for 5 minutes before she decided to leave. And you too have made assumptions Tom. We've just had an ex-london driver join us and he was amazed we leave the doors open for many minutes before departure (once we are ready/don't need a leak etc.,). Up there it is a disciplinary offence to open the doors earlier than the minimum necessary time to allow on-time departures. If you need a reason (I guess you do.....) it's because up in the smoke the driver cannot be resposible for those on the upper deck once boarded, and there were many instances of young ladies being hassled on buses waiting at termini. For some reason it seems that once the bus starts moving the problem becomes minimal. And yes, even here we get moaned at if we get out for a leak by some grumblers ( usually on free passes), even if the bus is not due out for 20 mins or more........
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Jan 6, 2008 22:28:48 GMT
I've gotta agree with Tom - Adrian posts on one of the other forums that I flirt around with and it's defiantly/definately the 'Great Western Way' of doing things. Having said that he does know an awful lot about the ops of that era, but certainly a Swindon man (or Reading if you take into account the signalling). I've met and driven under Adrian's signalling and he is one of the most self-effacing blokes I've met. Even when signalling he is far less bombastic than most (sorry Harsig, JTD, somerhimpson, MSO, I've never worked with you!). But as with all signalmen he tends to be a control freak and has strong opinions as to what's safe and what isn't. He has great powers of analysis and, unlike Wolmar, has actually worked the system so sees it from the inside. And records do tend to show that GWR methods led to less 'incidents' than the others so he may have a point. But in 1936 (see above) labour was cheap and technology expensive: enough men to do the job properly is a concept that seems to have escaped modern transport bosses due to the insane chase for profit above all else (including safety at times).
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Oct 10, 2007 21:39:02 GMT
Ah - a hornet's nest!!! Should be in another board but never mind. Comments about 'they shouldnot be driving buses' is relevant: the one or two concerned shouldn't be IMHO, but that's another story....... *OTOH when you are pulling out of a busy 'pull forwards' (not 'parallel park') bus station (private property) watching carefully the other stands incase something else starts reversing, and some fool without any hivis steps straight in front of the bus without warning and then just stands there EXPECTING you to stop......I can see why those colleagues do it, even though I would never dream of it. Next, if you read carefully, you will realize the number of fingers I personally raise at them is almost always zero.........( those who know me know how rare is is for me to have anything but a smile and a good mood). Unfortunately there is no smilie for 'tongue-firmly-in-cheek' Not TfL here, and our primitives are a LOT more primitive than in the city - and if such a photo were to be sent to our MD (himself a bus enthusiast) thankfully his first reaction would be to take action to deal with the photographer for being in an unauthorized place. Oh, and as for officials at bus stations, how we wish we could EVER see one, especially when there are problems.......... And I'm totally with Aspect: being photographed from any safe position doesn't bother me in the slightest - they can take as many as they like, as one guy did one Saturday morning. 3 hours in the same spot taking us (and the new Optare Solos) in and out on every round trip (45 mins). But fortunately photography now works both ways. My most recent altercation with a motorist was with one who had driven the wrong way down a bus lane and had parked 'just for a couple of minutes' blocking the main bus route into Gloucester city. When he bad-mouthed me and told me to p*ss off I politely asked him how many points he already had on his licence - THEN pointed out the CCTV camera on the outside of the bus which had recorded him, his position and his vehicle number, not to mention his gesturing at me ( we don't do sound yet). *Oh, and if the company name is 'Stagecoach' is it not entirely reasonable that at least some of the buses should be driven by cowboys.........??
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Oct 10, 2007 16:42:17 GMT
and the more responsible spotters amongst us Key words - nobody has any problem with them
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Oct 10, 2007 14:39:01 GMT
You are lucky on the trains - what we have sometimes when we are driving an 'unusual' bus is photographers who step out into the middle of a bus station turning area (public not allowed obviously) with vehicles backing etc. and not a care as to the consequences. Never mind the flash - this is DANGEROUS!!
BTW I have colleagues who deliberately drive straight at them: since they are forbidden from being there it dosen't matter if they get out of the way in time or not (in their view). As for me, it depends on my mood as to how many fingers I raise to them.......
Which is different from when I'm driving trains - the flash effect is less dangerous since you can look away (or close eyes) momentarily which you dare not do on the road.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Jun 4, 2007 21:44:50 GMT
I think we should start taking back the English language from the bigots (never mind reclaim the streets!) and begin using words such as this in their intended and literal context. That could start a rant: as well as gay, I'm fed up with the golf commentators having to refer to a golfer playing a round with another as his 'playing partner' since 'partner' is (according to the BBC) now confined to a person who is a co-habitee.......
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Jun 2, 2007 22:11:31 GMT
The letters "g*y" were written with an arrow pointing to Arsenal station on the map! On the principle 'it takes one to recognize one', it was probably Spurs fans...
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Apr 13, 2007 13:36:11 GMT
So the two sides are different colours: novel!!
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Feb 23, 2007 9:51:27 GMT
hehe, seriously though, WHL does need better transport connections... Yes, it would be far better if Spurs were moved to the West Highland Line (speaks another Gunner!).
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Feb 18, 2007 23:18:58 GMT
Smartarse!!! I've got the bookmarks now. Why didn't you offer them to me when I needed them the first time, year before last?
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Feb 18, 2007 22:54:42 GMT
Ahh, but looking at the tfl website, is way too easy, isn't it? Finding that page on the TfL website, without knowing where it is, counts as one of the most frustrating internet experiences I have had. Thank the lord for bookmarks...... Mind you I reckon the whole of the TfL site is pretty badly laid out!
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Feb 18, 2007 14:07:31 GMT
The problem with this fixture, is that it has been re-arranged more times than I care to count. Each time, there is something, for example Cup Replays that take priority, so the game gets switched again. This time, they finally worked it all out, then called it off for the station works. Bit of a communication break down me thinks.... So, taken to the extreme, with all the fixtures backlog, Arsenal could this season get to the last day for a (league) match to be played at home and TfL say it can't be due to transport considerations......... How would the Premier League take to being told their season must be extended?? Something's not right here, but I can't spot what it is. By comparison, when Network Rail decided to close the GW main line to Cardiff at the last Cup match (rugby?), long after the match was arranged, they were just allowed to do it and s*d the poor fans.....
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Feb 18, 2007 10:31:07 GMT
That states that the work was planned, yet Arsenal state that it was unforseen. If someone, perhaps a football club (purely for example you'll understand ), fails to ask LU about their engineering arrangements on a particular day and consequently didn't know that a section of line or a station was due to be closed then it is "unforeseen" as far as that person or organisation is concerned. Isn't the telephone a marvellous invention? What a shame more people don't make use of it! But it does raise the question of who should tell who. For example, it's not the police who contact the football clubs, it's the other way round. So perhaps Arsenal were expecting to be told rather than find out: and maybe that's the way it had always been done previously. And since fixtures are generally planned by the FA themselves does anyone seriously expect them to go through every transpor plan for every region before constructing a fixture list? A bit onerous that....
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Jan 24, 2007 9:39:34 GMT
I'll try and work out how to host the pics etc and post them. :-) Free photobucket always wins on here!!
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 27, 2006 8:59:28 GMT
I don't have photos, but I can tell you that the eastbound headshunt siding is bounded by a wall with advert mounts on it, in the Holden style. And indeed, is effectively identical with the wall bounding the w/b track if you have pics of that side. Rough slabbed panelled concrete (probably pre-cast).
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 15, 2006 10:56:40 GMT
I only ask because 7 short cars would have a slightly larger capacity, and more doors per side. 7 short cars = more inter-car gaps so LESS capacity!!!!! And less space for doors!! That's why they went for 6 cars this time, even though the extra car length caused potential problems on the sharp curves which had to be solved first.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 13, 2006 12:28:34 GMT
- I'm not sure if I'm ready for all this yet - Don't say that in public if you're applying for t/op ;D
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Oct 20, 2006 11:17:08 GMT
How much detail do you want?
If it's the last, the 'official' last train was the 'starlight express' unit on 20/11/85.
Except it wasn't! 5 trains re-entered service on the Northern on 15/09/86 due to increased traffic. I haven't got a date for the final withdrawal of these.
EDIT - beaten by AGC!
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Oct 9, 2006 8:41:01 GMT
The station is maintained by Metronet - but the Picc platforms are technically a Tubelines asset. I thought you were joking at first - NO WONDER there is so much confusion re PPP.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Sept 19, 2006 7:20:41 GMT
And to back Colin up, I support his stance entirely. Apart from what's said above, the guy has no right of reply on this forum and that just ain't justice. We all like to name and shame but in this case it isn't fair on the guy however poor a manager he is.
So the policy may be irritating but in our 'sue,sue, sue' age it has to be.
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Aug 2, 2006 11:41:07 GMT
The loop reopens on Sunday September 17th .We have been issued with a training DVD outlining the various signalling alterations in the area . The DVD lasts 12 minutes , it was the longest 12 minutes of my life. The person providing the commentary has one of the most boring voices I have ever heard . Always a problem when a technical guy is asked to do a presentation. Which is why, love'em or hate'em, on TV the technical commentaries are always done by professional presenters.
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