corneliuslundie

Or replace all bridges by level crossings. Only OHLE strikes then. Much safer, of course . . . . . Hat, coat . . . J

Yes, 319s didn't like the Hertfordshire snow. Jonathan

I assume that the intention is that if the staff wear high viz the trains will know not to run into them, Seriously, great photos. Many thanks for all your efforts in posting. A daily treat. Jonathan

I had noticed that it is getting a bit overgrown again. Jonathan

If you have two or three prams then the obvious scenario is the three nannies having a chat outside one of the shops. Jonathan

The problem is that CX provides a service which is needed, it is just that it is done badly. The other aspect I don't like is that even if you get a seat you can find that at the next station it has been reserved since you sat down. I used to use it to get from Birmingham NS to Derby for HMRS meetings on Saturday mornings, Usually full of already drunk football supporters (now we meet on Zoom). Fortunately later the timetable changed and there was an EMR class 170 at the right time. One small mitigating feature used to be that many trains were HSTs, so at least comfortable if you did get a seat. Jonathan

Careful adb. If the DfT reads your post they may decide HS2 doesn't need seats either. Hat, coat . . J

A surprise for the residents of Dronfield etc when you pulled up there. Jonathan

Or are they expecting a great deal of travel to and from Wormwood Scrubs? J

Is it perhaps train cleaning at Euston that causes the delays in boarding? I am afraid that we British are very good at leaving our litter everywhere. Jonathan

Sorry, I have been misunderstood. I was saying that most journeys are from the suburbs to one of the central stations. Often not the first one - so St Albans to Farringdon, Brighton to Kings Cross, Luton to City Thameslink etc. What is a small fraction is the Brighton to Bedford trips (and shorter equivalents). Yes, Thameslink was very busy. One reason I got the train home at London Bridge (I was working at Balham, so bus or Underground for the first leg) was so I could get a seat, which I would certainly not get at KX. On a more amusing note, I had to avoid laughing out loud on the hundreds of occasions when commuters would board at KX, take out their phones to phone home and then be surprised when they lost signal when the train entered the tunnel. Jonathan

Thanks for the correction. In retrospect, the bubble car I remember which didn't have a reverse gear looked different. Fortunately, trains do usually go both ways. Jonathan

Basically, the idea of services through London was scuppered by the insistence that the railways could not enter the central area - only eventually breached properly by the tunnel from KX to Farringdon. So you can blame the citizens of the city at that time. They weren't interested in through journeys so why should anyone else want them?! As has been said, there were various efforts to provide services linking the main stations, But presumably their demise was because of lack of use. As one who used Thameslink for some years, I can assure you that there were few through passengers. The main advantage was serving several stations in central London so that you could travel from the north to London Bridge (as I often did) etc. But the northbound rush-hour trains only really filled up at KX. Jonathan

Unfortunately I don't think much is happening these days at the Tanat Valley. The last newsletter on the website is dated last summer and the Events tab doesn't work. I hope I am wrong. Jonathan

Looks like a BMW Isetta, with the door at the front? If I remember correctly they had no reverse gear so don't drive it too close to the bufferstop. A fascinating selection of photos. A pity it closed, though perhaps rather specialised interest. Jonathan