There was no hint of anything wrong when I started my homeward journey last night from Waterloo but on arrival at Baker Street I encountered a flood of fellow commuters making their way down from the Metropolitan platforms to the depths below and knew something was awry. It turned out to be a defective train and all services to Wembley Park were suspended. LU’s helpful advice was to take the Jubilee but the announcer then added, blithely and with a hint of great joy, that there were severe delays on that line.
Disdaining the doubtful pleasures of a grossly overcrowded Jubbly, I chose a different route and made my weary way back to Oxford Circus, thence to go Central-linewards to Ruislip Gardens, where I daintily alighted* after a trouble free and fully seated journey.
Normally a defective train is fixed within an hour but last night was a total bodge. Mrs. Commuter, travelling home after a concert, found herself in a queue of barely moving trains outside Harrow at 11:30pm. I collected her there and was almost unable to reach the back entrance of the station, so many were the vehicles parked there on identical errands.
This morning the web site reported no service between Harrow and Uxbridge due to signal failure but the departure boards showed train movements so I left anyway for the station. On arrival a Met came in and I raced through the booking hall and up 45 steps to catch it. The doors closed as I reached the top and I resigned myself to a long wait but then they opened just long enough for me to sprint across the platform and, gasping but mildly elated, take a welcoming seat. The signal problem was obviously fixed but now there was a new problem at Wembley Park so we moved slowly and another precious fifteen minutes of my life was wasted. Well, not entirely. I played Another Case of Milton Jones** on my obsolescent but still functioning mp3 player and the journey passed in pleasure
*with thanks to John Betjeman
** A BBC Radio 4 comedy and it’s about time he had a new series
Friday, February 04, 2011
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Of Time and Tramways
I have previously written about the Brill Tramway, a route that the Metropolitan Railway inherited in 1890 and which it tried to incorporate into its commuter network, only for the newly formed London Underground to close it in 1935. A few photos of the line survive, and some of the rolling stock is on show at the excellent Buckingham Railway Centre. But until today I did not know there was a movie showing the aptly-described "quaint" railway in operation. View it here and marvel* It took 40 minutes (or longer) to travel about 7 miles from Brill to the junction at Quainton Road, where passengers could change for trains to London (or Verney Junction if they really wanted to end up in the middle of nowhere). And there are still days when the Met runs slower than that [a bit unfair, surely?: Ed]
*That link no longer works but the film is still on the British Pathe site. Rather than putting up another link which may fail in a while, just search for British Pathe and Brill and you will surely find it.
*That link no longer works but the film is still on the British Pathe site. Rather than putting up another link which may fail in a while, just search for British Pathe and Brill and you will surely find it.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
When to ignore
My morning train today was one of the shiny new "S" stock but our driver wasn't happy. Coming into Harrow he warned us that there was trouble ahead and advised everyone to take the fast train that was coming in alongside us. I thought about it and stayed put. I don't know why, other than that I had a comfortable window seat and didn't fancy the crowded, standing, alternative. And they would save little more than a couple of minutes anyway.
We left and the fast train remained. We went more or less normally down to Wembley Park, where it was rumoured there might have been a defective train, but all I noticed was that we overtook another train on the fast track, empty and forlornly waiting outside Preston Road. And at Wembley Park we continued normally. So anyone who had left my train at Harrow was still stuck way behind, going nowhere. Possibly the train we had passed was the defective one. Or maybe it had decided to join in the fun and become defective as well.
As if that wasn't enough raw excitement for one day, at Baker Street on the homeward leg they were dispensing with trains for Watford and telling passengers inclined to go in that general direction to take the first train to Harrow. And as if to compensate there were plenty of Uxbridges. Mine pulled in to Harrow and then onward, with quite a fair sized crowd on the Watford platforms left behind to wait. Ah me. Plenty of times I've stood awaiting an Uxbridge whilst the other lot sailed through. But the stumper is this - the explanation for the problem was a defective train at Farringdon. And it is mostly Uxbridges that come up from that neck of the woods. So where did all the Watfords go? And was this defective train any relation of this morning's casualties?
We left and the fast train remained. We went more or less normally down to Wembley Park, where it was rumoured there might have been a defective train, but all I noticed was that we overtook another train on the fast track, empty and forlornly waiting outside Preston Road. And at Wembley Park we continued normally. So anyone who had left my train at Harrow was still stuck way behind, going nowhere. Possibly the train we had passed was the defective one. Or maybe it had decided to join in the fun and become defective as well.
As if that wasn't enough raw excitement for one day, at Baker Street on the homeward leg they were dispensing with trains for Watford and telling passengers inclined to go in that general direction to take the first train to Harrow. And as if to compensate there were plenty of Uxbridges. Mine pulled in to Harrow and then onward, with quite a fair sized crowd on the Watford platforms left behind to wait. Ah me. Plenty of times I've stood awaiting an Uxbridge whilst the other lot sailed through. But the stumper is this - the explanation for the problem was a defective train at Farringdon. And it is mostly Uxbridges that come up from that neck of the woods. So where did all the Watfords go? And was this defective train any relation of this morning's casualties?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Driver in the Dark
It was strange that our all-stations London bound Met came into Harrow this morning on platform 6 (the "fast" platform) and my fears were confirmed by the station announcer telling us that the train was terminating there. As we all sighed and tutted, though pleased that there was a train on platform 5 waiting for us, we were informed by the driver that he had not known until that moment that his own journey into town had ended. He told us, rather plaintively, that the "Line Controller had not told him".
The waiting train proved to be a false hope. Due to signal failure (the reason that the first train was terminated) we crawled down the track to Wembley and I was over 20 minutes later arriving at work. However I made one good decision. As we arrived at Wembley Park there was a Jubbly coming in. I opted to stay put and you may imagine my relief when, though it pulled out well ahead of us, we overtook it at Neasden and then another immediately ahead, signifying a problem on that line as well.
Oh well, at least the weather is back to seasonal normal and the amazing cold spell that froze the country throughout December is just a chilling memory [is this some sort of pun?: Ed]
The waiting train proved to be a false hope. Due to signal failure (the reason that the first train was terminated) we crawled down the track to Wembley and I was over 20 minutes later arriving at work. However I made one good decision. As we arrived at Wembley Park there was a Jubbly coming in. I opted to stay put and you may imagine my relief when, though it pulled out well ahead of us, we overtook it at Neasden and then another immediately ahead, signifying a problem on that line as well.
Oh well, at least the weather is back to seasonal normal and the amazing cold spell that froze the country throughout December is just a chilling memory [is this some sort of pun?: Ed]
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
The year begins in familiar style
So, 2011, what may be in store for us? Travelling-wise, the mixture as before, I fear. This morning I thought I might get in to my office a little earlier and aimed to catch the 8:26 from Ruislip Manor. But no. A nicely printed poster at the station entrance explained that two trains had been removed temporarily from the timetable. And, yes, the 8:26 was one of them.
A train then arrived pretty soon after but terminated at platform 5, Harrow. With a sense of timing bordering on the exquisite, a fast train on platform 6 closed its doors and left the very second that ours opened. No matter, it's fun to mill about waiting for the next train with about 1000 others. And one did come in and we all packed on and heard the following announcement "There will be a short delay while we wait for a driver". Followed by "Apparently a driver is on his way". Which, fortunately, was indeed the case. But I savoured the unspoken assumption that in some way LU was doing all us a huge favour by providing a driver and that in future we should all watch our step or they might withdraw the privilege.
A train then arrived pretty soon after but terminated at platform 5, Harrow. With a sense of timing bordering on the exquisite, a fast train on platform 6 closed its doors and left the very second that ours opened. No matter, it's fun to mill about waiting for the next train with about 1000 others. And one did come in and we all packed on and heard the following announcement "There will be a short delay while we wait for a driver". Followed by "Apparently a driver is on his way". Which, fortunately, was indeed the case. But I savoured the unspoken assumption that in some way LU was doing all us a huge favour by providing a driver and that in future we should all watch our step or they might withdraw the privilege.
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