Kensington (Olympia) Times

Well...there's this from Working Time Table 145 (link here)


Although as far as the punters are told the line is:
The last of the early morning trips is, I believe, train 73 which is booked to run 06 22 Lillie Bridge depot (east end) - 06 28 Kensington (Olympia), where it enters service and runs 06 33 Kensington (Olympia) - 06 49 Edgware Road (platform 3).

There's train 753 which does 10 02 Lillie Bridge depot (east end) - 10 08 Kensington (Olympia), where it forms the 10 14½ Kensington (Olympia) - 11 03½ Plaistow. Warning: This train is marked RR (Run as Required). TUT believes this is an S stock training run. Though others may know better, as far as I can see, this train may not run and - if it does run - may not stick to the timetable. I would not count on this train, it may very well not run and you could be left disappointed. Cf. the forum rules on unusual train movements (7.1).

Train 753 is then booked (N.B.: it runs as required) to go back and forth before stabling in Lillie Bridge depot (east end) at 16 15. It does then run 18 57 Lillie Bridge depot (east end) to 19 03 Kensington (Olympia) before heading off to Plaistow. It runs back and forth again before stabling in Lillie Bridge depot (east end) at 23 14. (N.B.: this is all run as required).

Apart from that, train 11D is booked to do 19 40½ High Street Kensington (platform 3) - 19 47 Kensington (Olympia); 19 58½ Kensington (Olympia) - 20 05½ High Street Kensington (platform 3).

Train 42 is booked 20 21 High Street Kensington (platform 4) - 20 28 Kensington (Olympia); 20 38½ Kensington (Olympia) - 20 46 High Street Kensington (platform 3).

I assume 11D and 42 are the "two early evening training trips."

Many of the trains stabling in Lillie Bridge depot do run to Olympia after this, but they run empty to Olympia and then to the depot.

Train 753 should not, in my humble opinion, be relied on. I'm happy to be corrected. I only mentioned it for your interest.

The early morning ones are probably much too early for you!

However, to answer your specific question more directly, two trains are booked to run during the evening and it looks like the timings on the old website are pretty much right. Olympia is worth a visit in my humble opinion.

A word of caution, though, I'm not sure how wise it'd be to do a big journey solely in the hope of catching one of these rarities - they could so easily be cancelled, diverted, delayed, etc., etc. - especially if the service is up the wall. I'd really recommend saving the Olympia branch for a weekend (check it is running on the weekend in question, though!! For example, it's not running this weekend.)

Train is scheduled to carry deicing equipment.

The next running of the "special train service for events" will be 16-22 December.

I would hope that an enhancement is planned for those events as I couldn't see a 1 train 30min service coping with the crowds for the Ideal Home Show!

Since the timetable applies from the time it's published to the time it's supplanted, the information about de-icing needs to be there for when it's needed.

As I understand it, only a select number of trains carry de-icing equipment. The numbering of trains, though, is not at all permanent - as in, cars have their own numbers (as you can see in antje's pictures) - but trains don't. Train 41 (for example) is not any specific train, the numbers are assigned to trains when they leave the depot or siding or whatever. The numbers can then be swapped around in service. So, when the service goes up the wall, trains end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. What you can do is renumber (or reform) trains, so you swap the numbers on two trains and, hey presto, as if by magic, one of them is now in the right place at the right time. Someone else will be able to give you a better explanation of this, I'm sure, but I think an example is you might have a train booked to arrive at Upminster at, say, 14 00 and it arrives at 14 55. Well one thing you can do, is just assign this train the number of a train booked to leave at 15 05 and suddenly it's on time. (This doesn't just look good, it helps make sure that trains are in the right place at the right time). What about the other train? You might put it away somewhere, short-trip it, all sorts.

N.B.: The numbering system uses octal.

What matters, though, is that the trains with de-icing equipment are assigned to the numbers with D after them. As implied by the timetable, I don't think this is mandatory, unless there's a threat of icing, in which case train 3 on a Tuesday must have de-icing equipment, for example.

Yeah those evening Olympia trips will be D stock:
I think the runs are probably for road training, or a route refresher or something like that, I don't think it's stock training. Doubtless someone will be able to confirm.

Here you are (from the WTT):


SO = Saturday only
SuO = Sunday only
SSuO = Saturday and Sunday only
SuX = not Sunday
SSuX = not Saturday or Sunday

Why did they reduce services to Olympia?

I had assumed that the idea was that - you start with two trains running (say) half an hour late, and are unable to restore them to time by turning them short (perhaps there's nowhere appropriate). You change their numbers so that you now have one bang on time and one an hour late. The latter one you can now turn very short (say, at Archway on the Northern line) and get that back on time.

Of course you have lost some parts of a journey in doing so, but you leave things in a neater and better state!

I also presume that in doing this account must be taken of any requirements (say, for example, if a train needs to go to a particular depot at the end of the day, or where the driver on it is next due to be relieved). Although might it be the case that the trains are re-numbered during the day in order to get things back on track, and then swapped *back* late at night (or some additional move done) so as to get them back to the correct place? I'm presuming that planning of maintenance etc are linked into where each train should end up at the end of the day.

Also I don't think I explained my Upminster example very well last time, I was picturing, say you have lots of lateness and Train 1 is booked to arrive at 14 00 and arrives at 14 55. Say Train 2, booked to depart at 15 05, is also horribly late and is still at Monument eastbound. Well, make Train 1 into Train 2 and have it depart at 15 05. Then, as you say Tomcakes, make Train 2 into Train 1, short-turn it Tower Hill, Aldgate East, Whitechapel, Barking, wherever you need to really. You'd have to balance getting Train 1 (which used to be Train 2, but is now Train 1) back on time with keeping up a service on the eastbound and, yes, with the depot it needs to end up, when and where the driver is due to get off, how busy the westbound is, where trains are stuck, all sorts! You may just have to leave Train 2 somewhere, stable it in Barking sidings say. It may not come back out till the morning, it may come back out, but not until much later - ideally so that it arrives at Upney eastbound or Barking westbound when it can then leave on time.

Was it in service or one of these test runs?

Forgive me for being confused but I am still learning the correct terms.

Can you clarify if it was a public accessible service or in non passenger service

Little something related to this thread...

Went to London yesterday and wanted to go to Aldgate but got a District and ended up at Aldgate East. After a quick change to the other platform I was waiting when an S stock came trundling in at 1451 with the front, side and interior boards plus the station's own announcement confirming this was a service to Olympia. "Well..." says I "I think I shall partake in this" so in I jump for a jolly run to Olympia. But when we get to Earl's Court, the driver came on and said he was not going to Olympia after all. "Bother" says I and gets off and watches it pull away.

When I got home to Hull around 0343 this morning, my first thing was to make a cup of tea and check the WTT that tut kindly linked in his first reply. However, there was nothing going Olympia way at that time from Aldgate East - but there was one to Richmond (Train 12D - not formed of D stock as suggested by the timetable). Would this have been an incorrect setting on the train? And, if so, would this have affected the platform displays also?

Indeed, the D prefix in the WTT means that the train should ideally be formed of at least 1 de-icing unit. Those prefixed with a C in the rolling stock working part at the top are formed of S7s, but until the district goes fully S stock, I suspect they shall remain prefixed C as a throwback to the good old days, mainly because running a D stock in it's place would be detrimental to the service.

So I made a little little mistake? - whoops Anyway... Was there an issue that made them swap a D stock for a S stock for that run?

For the record:

Train 011D was 7045-17045-8045-8088-17088-7088

Train 042 was 7188-17118-8118-7508-17058-7509 (Incidentally, this 2nd evening Olympia train went HSK to EC as a Richmond train on orders from the controllers - then went to Olympia anyway!) Jolly good runs on both of them - especially the 011 crew as they could not believe I had come all the way from Yorkshire just to ride the evening services.

As an aside, when waiting for the D stock to turn up for the two evening runs an S Stock last night was sat in the Olympia platforms at HSK. Thinking that this might well be off to Ealing Broadway, which was what it said on the front ends and the sideboards, we ignored it. Then, without any warning they both changed to Olympia and closed doors and headed off - noticing the rearmost end said Train 753. I would have made it if not for the fact I was with my wheelchair using mother who, upon being informed said S Stock was both the train we could have got and was the train that normally did not run, promptly dismissed it as "not good looking" and the somewhat "elderly" D Stock as "smashing" and said it looked a proper Underground train.