%^#&*@* Awful Day on the District

A variety of things managed to conspire so far as I could work out!

1) A late surrender of an emergency engineering possession at Barons Court (no idea what that was about)

2) A train leaving Ealing Common depot at the start of traffic got the front car 'gapped' (i.e. off traction current) and the batteries that are supposed to provide current to the cab circuits were flat... This meant that no trains could exit the depot from the west end.

3) A little later (and by which time the day was already destroyed) there was a track circuit failure jest east of Barking (I think).

Personally, I got stuck early morning between Plaistow and Barking (train was booked to reverse at Barking) - it took something like 25 minutes to do this trip), arrived back at Earls Court on the west ten minutes before I should have been arriving back on the east from Ealing for my mealbreak; train was used for a reform so got off a little early

Second half was a farce (remember too that there was supposed to be an engineering possession of Tower Hill bay road, so that was not in use as an engineering timetable was in place).

My second train arrived on the west when it should have been on the east (I should have gone Mansion House -> Ealing Broadway -> Mansion House -> Earls Court west to finish).

I did Ealing Broadway -> Mansion House -> Ealing Broadway, where I arrived at 13:27 - I was due to finish on the west at ECT at 13:45! Phoned Controller; 'Oh brown stuff' he responded when I pointed this out to him. Put the train up as Earls Court and reverse it there for your relief (albeit this would still mean I was late finisihing). All duly done.

Arrived ECTW and - guess what? NO RELIEF!!!!!!!!!!!

Eventually a driver turned up, reformed a train that was now more or less back on time to one which made it an hour late (?) - suppose the booked driver wasn't around, and they needed someone to take it! - and finally got back to acton just in time to fill out an overtime docket for fifteen minutes!

sounded like a normal day then on the district

I left Upminster on time, got to Barking and eventually left Barking 10 late following a H&C. eventually got to Richmond 15 late, left Richmond to time ( long Turnround ) then from Hammersmith to Barking it was stick to stick eventually reaching Upminster an hour late and on overtime

I don't know what happened to my posting but here goes #2!

1. The service is up the swanee and the Controller or whatever he is called today decides to turn a Richmond short at Gunnersbury as happened today. How is this achieved in concert with the NR signalman that controls Gunnersbury (by the way where is the signal cabin now...Wimbledon?)? Does he pick up the dog and bone and contact the NR signaller?

2. What happens if, goodness forbid, a train becomes gapped? When the Met locos became gapped the driver/motorman used to get out a stored cable and then affixed the same to a conductor rail to get on to the juice. I suppose these days in the absence of cables that can be attached, you need a train to rescue and pull back?

Cheers Dave. I remember Richmond 'box as was from when I used to catch the green 4-SUBs from Feltham to Waterloo in the early Sixties, and then into the rail blue era. Last pic I saw was that the brick building was covered in graffiti. Semaphores of course held sway on the Richmond branch though I am not sure if there was a wrong road starter at Gunnersbury? It might have been handsignalled with authority from Gunnersbury 'box. Back in '81 I think it was when BR resignalled the branch with colour lights they added a new starter at Gunnersbury.

David

Nowadays. I believe that only Tubelines' ERU are licensed to use Gap Jumper Leads. There are some LUL staff still in license, but few.

License to use gap leads? We used to get training to use them on stock training. I only ever had to use them helping Sarah's crew at Uxbridge sidings when they got gapped on an special one Sunday afternoon. They are very heavy and awkward.