F*cking nightmare of a bastard commute

[golightly]

Yes the staff mysteriously evaporated. Then I saw one and was very polite so he suggested I get on a local train which is now crawling towards Winchester with lots of breaks for a little rest. "Stay on til Basingstoke when we might know more" says the guard. tbf this is only the second time I've had this in two years of quite smooth commuting but I probably won't get home til midnight rather than 9ish.

 

[kabbes]

Death at Raynes Park. Any train going anywhere near Raynes Park utterly fucked. Great start to the day.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Death at Raynes Park. Any train going anywhere near Raynes Park utterly fucked. Great start to the day.

Crowd control at stations between Basingstoke & Woking due to overcrowding.

Trains gonna be fucked all day.

Working at home today

/smugfuck.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Bloke on the phone to what I guess is his wife:

'was the car park absolutely rammed this morning?'
'no'
'then why have you rammed the car into a concrete post?'
'I haven't'
'you must have done - it's buried in a concrete post'
'I can't have done'
'it's less than 24 hours since you've had my car - I'm never going to let you drive it again.'

And so on - and after protracted toing and froing he ended the call with 'have a lovely day'. It's quite amusing to listen to.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Another weird experience. A random middle aged bloke with headphones in shouting and 'singing' at the top of his voice. Totally oblivious to his surroundings, and didn't seem to be doing it in English - although he interspersed the word 'sexy' into his performance. I think I've seen him before doing this, but recorded it out of curiosity (as did a few others it seems). Very odd.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Now been held at Stoke of all places, waiting for the police because 'an incident' has happened on the train. Not telling us what though...

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Rozzers have just run down the platform. Hauled some bloke off in cuffs. Wonder what he's been up to.

 

[davesgcr]

Another weird experience. A random middle aged bloke with headphones in shouting and 'singing' at the top of his voice. Totally oblivious to his surroundings, and didn't seem to be doing it in English - although he interspersed the word 'sexy' into his performance. I think I've seen him before doing this, but recorded it out of curiosity (as did a few others it seems). Very odd.

As a random (soon to be retired middle aged bloke) - I thought I had the 1st class to myself on a Thameslink train one very early morning - so knocked the IPOD on and was happily singing along to the Best of Bowie - when this head popped up around Elstree - and said nicely "I can see you are enjoying yourself" ....took the cue and apologised.

Loads of incidents at moment - both on trains and off - must be the weather ......trespass , incidents , cords pulled randomly.....

 

[farmerbarleymow]

As a random (soon to be retired middle aged bloke) - I thought I had the 1st class to myself on a Thameslink train one very early morning - so knocked the IPOD on and was happily singing along to the Best of Bowie - when this head popped up around Elstree - and said nicely "I can see you are enjoying yourself" ....took the cue and apologised.

Loads of incidents at moment - both on trains and off - must be the weather ......trespass , incidents , cords pulled randomly.....

I would never, under any circumstances, sing in public and certainly not on a train. That would constitute torture for the poor buggers trapped in there with me...

 

[davesgcr]

I would never, under any circumstances, sing in public and certainly not on a train. That would constitute torture for the poor buggers trapped in there with me...

But I thought - I had the coach section to myself. Do not mind a bit of "enjoyment" compared to a**holes on mobile phones , or obsese individuals eating with open mouths , breathing heavily and grunting.

After 25+ years commuting on Thameslink , my only transgression. (and never had an issue with anyone else really "enjoying" themselves - drunk or sober...in fact , quite enjoyed the social commentary which is what train travel - even commuting is all about)

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Genuine question - why do train companies still operate slam door trains? They're so confusing to open.

Maybe davesgcr will have some background knowledge on this strange anachronism. It's like a timewarp back to a Pathé news reel travelling on one of them - I half expect a clipped BBC English voiceover as I alight.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Genuine question - why do train companies still operate slam door trains? They're so confusing to open.

tbh, i don't find them confusing (although the new fangled central locking adds a further dimension of complication in that you can't see the light come on if you're already leaning out the door to open it - you have to listen for the click...)

although suppose people who didn't grow up with them / don't have any in their part of the world would find them unusual when they do encounter them.

but arguably, the variety of automated train doors - some that bleep / have buttons that light up when the doors are released, some that will close automatically after x time but will re-open if you press the button (assuming the doors haven't been locked), some that will only close when the driver / guard closes them so they won't, and so on - is similarly confusing if you're not used to whatever runs locally (or on the line here where there are two types of train with doors that behave in different ways - has as much potential to confuse.

in answer to the basic question - boils down to cost of either replacing or doing what I suspect would be a substantial rebuild of 1970s designed / built kit.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Some UK railways went in for powered sliding doors (the London Underground did them first - mainly so that a train could be run with a driver and guard without the need for 'gate-men' between each pair of carriages)

These units -

were designed in the late 30s for the LNER's suburban lines out of Liverpool Street but not built until after the war.

BR didn't adopt the idea until the mid 70s for suburban units.

 

[davesgcr]

Genuine question - why do train companies still operate slam door trains? They're so confusing to open.

Maybe davesgcr will have some background knowledge on this strange anachronism. It's like a timewarp back to a Pathé news reel travelling on one of them - I half expect a clipped BBC English voiceover as I alight.

Simple reason that there is nothing else around to replace them immediately , but they will be gone in around 5 years bar the ex GW HST sets having a new life in Scotland. The one bad mistake BR did on the HST's was perpetuating the daft slam doors - drop window , lean out at an angle of 45 degrees , lean down to open door via handle. Back in the days orf your - almost everyone knew how to handle a slam door - now it is really quite exceptional and people get phased with this quaint railway custom. Similar coaches built for Ireland had customer friendly "plug doors" -(with buttons) - I blame the Derby design crews who were excellent boffins but not really train users ..

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Simple reason that there is nothing else around to replace them immediately , but they will be gone in around 5 years bar the ex GW HST sets having a new life in Scotland. The one bad mistake BR did on the HST's was perpetuating the daft slam doors - drop window , lean out at an angle of 45 degrees , lean down to open door via handle. Back in the days orf your - almost everyone knew how to handle a slam door - now it is really quite exceptional and people get phased with this quaint railway custom. Similar coaches built for Ireland had customer friendly "plug doors" -(with buttons) - I blame the Derby design crews who were excellent boffins but not really train users ..

Indeed - I think 'no fucking way am I sticking my head out of a moving train!'

Thanks to your and Puddy_Tat's response above - both useful.

But it is a weird mish mash when on the WCML you have lovely modern electric buttons, but in the Midlands you have this anachronistic weirdness of manual handles.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I assume the poor Midlands have not discovered electric buttons.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Indeed - I think 'no fucking way am I sticking my head out of a moving train!'

wuss

before this namby pamby central locking thing came in, you'd normally expect to get two or so people off from each door before the train came to a complete stop and you'd get tutted at if you waited until the train had stopped before you started opening the door.



on the southern region's suburban trains with a door for every row of seats, this could mean 100 passengers or more. I'm fairly sure (although it's not been admitted, since getting off before the train stopped was officially frowned upon) that's why south west trains pretty much had to sit down and re-write their entire timetable in the early 2000s after they had gone over to sliding door trains, to allow longer 'dwell times' (the amount of time a train has in the platform at a station) at busier stations.

I assume the poor Midlands have not discovered electric buttons.

it's (broadly) wherever the mark 3 coaches / high speed train sets are still running - so that's the Great Western main line, the Midland main line, and some trains that continue to places the electric string in the sky doesn't go on East Coast. Not sure if Cross Country still have a few.

I faintly remember the HST / Inter City 125s being very very new - they did a kind of public trial service with them, and we did a cheap day trip to Bristol on one of them - c. 1975/6

I think I've still got the badge they were dishing out somewhere...

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Anyways, shitty commutes; nope. In the south of Spain, the villa is 6km down a single track road, then 2km along a dirt track (makes me feel Colin MacRae bowling along that, it even has a whoops like a BMX track), so getting to the shops takes time, other than that no hassle to report

 

[existentialist]

Simple reason that there is nothing else around to replace them immediately , but they will be gone in around 5 years bar the ex GW HST sets having a new life in Scotland. The one bad mistake BR did on the HST's was perpetuating the daft slam doors - drop window , lean out at an angle of 45 degrees , lean down to open door via handle. Back in the days orf your - almost everyone knew how to handle a slam door - now it is really quite exceptional and people get phased with this quaint railway custom. Similar coaches built for Ireland had customer friendly "plug doors" -(with buttons) - I blame the Derby design crews who were excellent boffins but not really train users ..

I learned very early on that it was a Bad Move to shut one of those doors while grasping the handle (your wrist gets a violent tweak), but I imagine that, as slam door stock got rarer, less people will have known about that.

I don't think it's a problem on HST stock, as the handle is different.

 

[marty21]

currently we have major bastard commute issues - due to work on the Victoria line - the trains from Chingford to Liverpool St are not stopping at several stations to allow the Walthamstow Victoria line commuters to fill the train up - so we get no trains before 9.30 at Clapton - this will be going on until the end of August. In the evening, the trains are super packed so I'm avoiding them as well - using buses to Manor House instead and tubing it from there.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Stupid broken down bloody trains.

 

[marty21]

Stupid broken down bloody trains.

you should have caught one that works

 

[Dogsauce]

In days of yore, broken down train = potential drag by interesting traction, something to get excited about. Today's fragmented railway means they're unlikely to grab a nearby freight loco to stick on the front.

 

[davesgcr]

In days of yore, broken down train = potential drag by interesting traction, something to get excited about. Today's fragmented railway means they're unlikely to grab a nearby freight loco to stick on the front.

Said freight engine would not (a) couple (b) get brakes and minor things like that working on today' "oh so complex" electric and diesel stock.

When I were a lad we had the straight air brake in most places .......not so now !

 

[Dan U]

I commuted from dorking to Northampton without a hitch today.

I have to go to new Street tomorrow from Northampton and back

And then Northampton - Milton Keynes - Manchester piccadilly - Euston - dorking on weds and Thurs so I doubt I will emerge unscathed this week.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

you should have caught one that works

It was one broken in the godforsaken south somewhere that fucked it up for everyone else. Always the bloody south making things go wrong.

 

[Dan U]

On a train from Northampton to Birmingham New Street.

It just sat at Coventry for ages for some kind of timetabled break. Pretty irritating.

 

[Dan U]

So Dorking to Northampton, Northampton to New Street and back, Northampton to Manchester piccadilly via Milton Keynes and Manchester piccadilly back to Redhill went without a hitch this week

Until some twat went on the line at redhill just now and I've been ditched off two trains and currently given up at Purley and waiting for the Mrs to get me.

Ffs so near yet so far

 

[davesgcr]

So Dorking to Northampton, Northampton to New Street and back, Northampton to Manchester piccadilly via Milton Keynes and Manchester piccadilly back to Redhill went without a hitch this week

Until some twat went on the line at redhill just now and I've been ditched off two trains and currently given up at Purley and waiting for the Mrs to get me.

Ffs so near yet so far

4 Nutters in 4 places went walkabout south of Clapham today , causing untold grief - what the hell is wrong with people....wrong moon cycle or what? .

Pissed idiot at Fleet at 0930 this am stuffed everything south of Woking.for hours.....

 

[Dan U]

According to the announcement I heard leaving Purley it was 2 kids.. Dangerous playground