The Sir Nigel Gresley - 06 June 2009

Somewhat against my better judgement, I have been chasing a steam train today.

This is the Sir Nigel Gresley leaving Beaconsfield at 21.36 this evening, having picked up water on its way back from Chester to London Paddington. Maybe more to follow...

Here's a question for you

Ok... on my travels.

I took a picture of this sign today.

Where was I and what does it say? (I do know where it is and can guess what it says from the context.) I am just interested to know if anyone else has spotted the sign as I have never noticed it before.

Clue: My passport is at home, as is the car.

Pip pip!

Some weeks later: The answer (sort of) is here.

Not something you see very often

Chiltern Railways are generally able to offer a pretty reliable service.

That has all gone to pot this evening. There has been a signal failure somewhere in North West London affecting all trains out of Marylebone.

This screen grab is of the departure board at Princes Risborough a few minutes ago. It is completely un-typical of the usual reliability seen by passengers in the Chilterns.

It looks as though I got home just in time tonight.

An absence of trains

I spent all three days of last (bank holiday) weekend at work.

The weather was great.

I could think of a thousand things that I could have done that would have been more enjoyable than being stuck in a Soho office, while everyone else was off enjoying themselves.

Anyhow, the consequences are that I haven't been to work since Wednesday.

The Sun Gods have been good. My garden is looking all the better for a little attention. I am now enjoying the weekend in deepest Hampshire, living life in the fast lane with family while enjoying the company of a new spotted member of the family.

The rat race resumes tomorrow.

Beldlow Village Hall

During the weekday peak services, Chiltern Railways' train services are served by an occasional Buslink service between Chinnor and Princes Risborough.

Bledlow is a small and picturesque village along the route.

The only thing is that the automated departure announcements at Princes Risborough station clearly announce one of the bus stops as "Beldlow Village Hall".

More than a little careless?

Live blogging on the Underground doesn't work

First of all, you have to follow up disruption news - for a sporadic blogger this is a pain.

Secondly, most of the stuff that matters to people happens, by definition, underground. This means that Live Blogging isn't live at all as only a tiny proportion of the stations with platforms below street level have effective mobile coverage.

Thirdly, the tfl website is far better at it than me.

Lastly, it is really boring to read!

BTW The Jubilee Line wasn't too bad just now. Two minutes and eight minutes till the next Westbound trains from Canary Wharf does indeed count as 'minor' delays at this time of day.

Jubilee Update 18 May 2009

Following the earlier suspension of service between North Greenwich & Stratford, the Jubilee Line is up and running again. Allegedly with 'minor' delays - I wouldn't bet my house on 'Minor'.

Retarded

Every Monday I have to be in Canary Wharf for an eleven o'clock meeting.

This morning my Jubilee Line ground to a halt at Bermondsey at 10.45.

Have just arrived into daylight at Canary Wharf. See time stamp.

Grrr.

Makes me look like a fool.....

The weekend begins

If I were to obtain some kind of report on my current sleep patterns, it would probably say something along the lines of "Must try harder".

This morning my alarm went off at it's usual time. It really shouldn't have done that because today is Saturday, but my alarm clock didn't know that.

When my alarm goes of, I usually leap up out of bed like a gazelle, rush around the house for 35 minutes like a lunatic, and then leave to catch a train to Marylebone shortly after 6 o'clock.

Today, the alarm went off as usual. Fortunately (despite being too stupid to switch off the alarm last night), my razor sharp mind immediately swung into action... Hand out... Hit switch... "Oh, it's Saturday"... Roll over... zzzzzzzz

Three hours later I wake up to a windy rainy day in rural Buckinghamshire, feeling as though I have jet lag.

I have to hope that my mind works differently in seven days, as next Saturday I do have to catch a stupid o'clock train to work.

Now that I am awake, I had better leap into action and start the household 'To Do' list. Oh, and now that I can blog from my phone, I haven't even switched on my computer, so no unnecessary distractions there.

Tea cool enough to drink. Slurp. Slurp. Think like a gazelle. Whoosh.

Hmmm... What should I have done?

Walking down Sherwood Street just now (16.45), to catch a Bakerloo Line train from Piccadilly Circus.

Saw a bike locked to a lamp post with one of those 'U' / 'D' shaped locks.

Pasty faced thin man walks up, lifts lock up over saddle, gets on bike and rides away leaving lock in situ.

Have I just see a bike being nicked?

Other than making 'firm' eye contact, I did nothing. No time to take picture with phone before there was but a red sweatshirt cycling away in the distance.

What should I have done?

Too much noise?

I was on the Southbound Northern Line platform at Leicester Square, this morning, for about 2 minutes.

During that time there were seven announcements over the PA system. All a bit much really.

PR Fluff

Transport for London put out a Press Release yesterday titled "Customers benefit from new Piccadilly line timetable". What a load of Public Relations rubbish.

"The Piccadilly line is unique because it serves the heart of the West End's tourist and entertainment districts as well as Heathrow Airport."

• Yes..... and??? The Central Line is unique because it serves Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road. The Circle Line is unique because it goes round in a circle (for now). The Victoria Line is unique because.........
  

"Changes were made to the timetable in 2008"

• So why put a press release out in the middle of 2009?
  

"In recent years, rising passenger numbers have meant that trains have to stop at stations for longer while extra customers get on and off trains, leading to an increasing level of late running and delay."

• Doesn't this happen on every line?

Talk about useless piffle. I could go on, but I won't.

Busy Weekend

Well, I sort of went back to work for a rest today...

• Friday. A day off. First of all some domestic chores. Then drove to Bicester to catch a Chiltern Railways train to Birmingham. Back to BCS then up the A43 to Northampton for the Saracens -v- Northampton rugby match. Saracens lost 16 - 13, that's the way it goes. Then a late drive home and straight to bed.
• Saturday. Domestics. BBQ at friends then to the cinema.
• Sunday. To Vicarage Road for the Watford v Derby County match The home side won 3 - 1. Free lunch in a box with friends, then home to do an hour or so of gardening.
• Monday. Early start down to spend the day with my family in Hampshire. Back after 10.... Ready for the usual 5.45 alarm this morning.

+Posted from my mobile. Please excuse any typos+

The devil is in the detail

There is detail and there can be too much detail.

Charter trains seem to fit into these categories as well - detail means an excursion train trip with friends and family to somewhere different. Too much detail, for me, means a rail enthusiasts tour to somewhere really obscure with strange engines and annotated notebooks along the way.

Yesterday was a pleasant fudge between the two. Our souvenir brochure included a detailed itinerary with waypoint markings and a map. I saw only a couple of notebooks and I got the distinct impression that more people visited Carlisle Castle during the afternoon than didn't.

I have spent many years traveling up and down London's Central Line, which has as its Western most terminus the station of West Ruislip. A small number of Chiltern Railways trains (typically one an hour in each direction) also stop there. It struck me as rather a strange sight to see the platform indicator at Carlisle with the ultimate destination of our train accurately described as West Ruislip, albeit that it was not the only stop.

The train was, I think thirteen carriages long. Very few stations can take trains that have thirteen carriages. So at all stations south of Banbury (most of which have platforms that will take trains with a maximum length of six or seven carriages), a member of the train staff had to sweep along the train from the back to make sure that everyone who wanted to get off had indeed moved far enough forward to find the platform. Not a procedure that would work well during a peaktime weekday service.

I originally come from the Yorkshire Dales. While I moved down south a number of years ago, I do still love the countryside of the dales. The Settle to Carlisle railway passes less than 25 miles from where I still have family.

This picture shows just how bleak and remote the line is (imagine it in bad weather). The hill directly in front of the train is the edge of Whernside (one of the 'Three Peaks'). It is about 25 years since I walked up that particular mountain.

For me travel is about understanding contrasts and appreciating differences. I am lucky enough to live in rural Buckinghamshire, a lovely part of the South East of England. But to be able to get on a train at a local station and to travel to the other end of the country, through some of the most fantastic scenery that it has to offer, was really very enjoyable and a good day out.

Day Trip

Today was a rather long day.

At not long after 6am I boarded a train, with some friends, at a local station in Buckinghamshire. After a change of engine and a carefully planned diversion up the scenic Settle to Carlisle railway line, we arrived in Carlisle shortly after 2pm.

We then spent the afternoon visiting Carlisle Castle and the Cathedral, before having 30 minutes to spare to find something to eat, before boarding the train back home. So, almost 600 miles and 17 hours later, here I am.

The picture is of the engine that pulled us to and from Carlisle - it is black and shiny because it usually pulls the Royal train. The crowd are passengers watching it being swapped over for another engine.

The train was a charter train trip organised by Pathfinder Tours.

More to follow. Sleep beckons.

Oystercard Deposits

Transport for London announced today that, with effect from 17th May, a £3 deposit would be charged on all Oystercards. Currently deposits are charged on only a few cards.

The press release contains some startling facts;

• a third of all new Oyster cards issued with a 7 Day Travelcard or bus & tram pass on them are discarded after a week
• seven million Oyster cards have been issued to 700,000 Travelcard and 300,000 bus & tram pass season ticket holders. If I'm understanding this correctly, that means each season ticket holder has gone through an average of seven Oystercards.

I am on my second Oystercard - the first one developed a fault and I use the second one only for some journeys at the outer extremities of the Metropolitan Line. This is because I now have a cardboard Travelcard issued by Chiltern Railways (living as I do in rural Buckinghamshire).

I had always thought that the £3 deposit on pre-pay cards was to stop people exiting through gates (putting their cards overdrawn, which I think can happen up to £3), and then throwing the card away.

Given the facts as outlined by tfl, I think that the £3 deposit has to be a good idea. There is some shocking waste going on.

Don't Shout at Me!

Yesterday afternoon I was walking along the side of Dorset Square, between Baker Street and Marylebone Station.

A squirrel was sat in a tree, just above my head, who got extremely upset when I stopped to look at it. Growling and snarling would be an understatement.

I am not sure what would cause an urban squirrel to get so upset at this time of year. Unfortunately the photograph I took with my mobile phone (increasing volume from said mammal) was totally rubbish, so I am unable to share with you an image of bared teeth aimed at me.

Ooh-errr.

For no particular reason

Should it be holiday time for you, I hope that you had a good time and a very Happy Easter. Here in the UK we have had a four day weekend, so it is, thankfully, only a four day week at work for me before another weekend begins.

It has been quite busy - I spent a couple of days with family, had a good result at the rugby yesterday and have been just pottering today.

While looking for a particular picture, I found this image that I took last August. I didn't even walk out of my fromt door to take it. I like it and hope you do to.

The weather in rural Buckinghamshire has been a bit changeable over the last few days, but it has got out quite nice this afternoon.

There really isn't much going on, though trouble may be brewing a couple of miles up the road. Maybe more on that to follow....

The long weekend draws to a close.

Get off this train!

A couple of weeks ago a woman got on the train at High Wycombe. She turned round to the two youths who were making their way to follow her on.

"Get off this train!" She said, with some authority in her voice.

They made as if to argue... She repeated herself and said "... and you can get on when you have bought tickets." She pointed in the direction of the ticket office.

The youths slunk away. The woman had seen them jump over the fence onto the platform.

Good to see.

+The first post from my mobile+

Classic View

It is usually a complete waste of time to even attempt to take a photograph from a moving train, particularly through a window. The image is usually spoilt by dirt on the window, by unwanted reflections, by outside obstructions and a general inability to control most of the factors that contribute to framing a half decent image.

Friday evening saw me traveling on SouthWest Trains from London Waterloo to the Twickenham area using South West Trains.

As I'd had a bit of time to spare I was on a slow train, the one that leaves Waterloo and travels round the Hounslow Loop eventually arriving back at Waterloo. The automated train announcer started off by saying it was the train to Whitton. By the time I got off it was announced as going to Barnes Bridge - I suspect by the time the train had left the next station, it would have been announced as going back to Waterloo. I like the Hounslow Loop, it has a strange quirkiness to it!

Anyway, I digress. Because there weren't many people on the train by the time we were approaching the River Thames, I didn't feel too self conscious in whipping my camera out and snapping this picture. Given all of the aforementioned constraints to taking pictures from trains, I don't think it's come out too bad.

I also ought to mention that South West Trains' timekeeping, at both ends of the day, was impeccable. The trains were clean and the seats comfortable although I imagine that commuters closer in to town than Twickenham must get a bit fed up with never getting a seat.