Where are you on the transport network?

[teuchter]

Yes, they’ve refurbished about eight of these to work the Douro line for a few years until newer stock is delivered. A couple of years ago there was maybe one train a day loco hauled but that was often swapped for a unit, but now about three trains in each direction are booked for class 1400s. Plenty of others still doing freight and infrastructure work for other companies. Worth a trip IMO.

The flooded line will be the Tua line which was one of the metre gauge lines running north of the Douro, that was worked by small Alsthom diesels which have mostly been exported when all the Douro narrow gauge was closed around 2008. They built a hydroelectric station and flooded the valley at the bottom, reportedly some corrupt deal led to it being constructed. This bit of the line is now lost.

There was a small section further up supposedly opening as a tourist line but that seems to be never happening, stuff was going on before the pandemic when the proposed operator had some fake Wild West style locomotive built, looks like a cartoon steam train but actually diesel powered. Absurd in a country where most of the narrow gauge steam locomotives still exist, rusting away in various locations.

Some of these narrow gauge lines would make very good tourist railways, but the country in the past hasn’t had a system to allow anyone other that the state to operate railways - presumably something has changed with the Tua proposal, and there were a few tourist beach railways a while ago so it must be possible. Lots of small museums dotted about in old stations so there is some interest, and the tourist steam trains operated by the government (Douro and Vouga lines) are well patronised, mostly by native tourists.

Had a look back at my photos and it was more than 20 years ago, 2001!

This was on the standard gauge bit, same loco type I think



This was the Tua line



And a very nice run back to Porto in the evening




I need to find a excuse to go back there. Had just assumed all this would be gone now and replaced by boring modern things.

 

[Dogsauce]

Had a look back at my photos and it was more than 20 years ago, 2001!



I need to find a excuse to go back there. Had just assumed all this would be gone now and replaced by boring modern things.

That Tua line shot is a classic location near the southern end with the line cut into the gorge, beautiful scenery now sadly flooded.

The Douro line is pretty much the same except now electrified over the first bit (before it gets to the river). Should be electrified as far as Regua at some point in the near future. There is good news in that they’re planning to reopen the line all the way up to the Spanish border, though not sure exactly why as there’s fuck all there and Spain has no intent to reopen their section (which is mountainous with numerous tunnels and viaducts to maintain). But it‘ll be a pretty ride up there.

You can actually travel along the line on Google Street View, here’s a familiar location screen grabbed:

 

[A380]

 

[Dogsauce]

Ashton Park Station

 

[brogdale]

 

[brogdale]

 

[brogdale]

 

[T & P]

View attachment 389398View attachment 389399

When I lived in Clapham Junction back in my bachelor days (well before the advent of mobile phones, or at least before I bought my first one), I would often jump on a train home after an evening out on the lash around the Waterloo or South Bank areas. Needless to say, I was usually pissed as a skunk, and several times I fell asleep and overshot my stop. By far the worst instance of that was when I woke up at Ewell East (or was it Ewell West?), and instinctively jumped off the train. There were no more services running back to London (or even towards Sutton, which at least would have been guaranteed to have plenty of minicab offices). So I found myself in the middle of nofuckingwhere, and I had to walk what felt like a couple of miles before I encountered a row of shops that thankfully included a minicab office.

I'm pretty sure I remember asking someone sitting next to me on the train at Waterloo, whilst we were waiting for the train to depart, to please wake me up if I was sleeping when we got to Clapham Junction. The bastards

 

[brogdale]

When I lived in Clapham Junction back in my bachelor days (well before the advent of mobile phones, or at least before I bought my first one), I would often jump on a train home after an evening out on the lash around the Waterloo or South Bank areas. Needless to say, I was usually pissed as a skunk, and several times I fell asleep and overshot my stop. By far the worst instance of that was when I woke up at Ewell East (or was it Ewell West?), and instinctively jumped off the train. There were no more services running back to London (or even towards Sutton, which at least would have been guaranteed to have plenty of minicab offices). So I found myself in the middle of nofuckingwhere, and I had to walk what felt like a couple of miles before I encountered a row of shops that thankfully included a minicab office.

I'm pretty sure I remember asking someone sitting next to me on the train at Waterloo, whilst we were waiting for the train to depart, to please wake me up if I was sleeping when we got to Clapham Junction. The bastards

Happened to me a few times when we lived at Sydenham...off to the wilds of Surrey as I then thought of it!

 

[hash tag]

When I lived in Clapham Junction back in my bachelor days (well before the advent of mobile phones, or at least before I bought my first one), I would often jump on a train home after an evening out on the lash around the Waterloo or South Bank areas. Needless to say, I was usually pissed as a skunk, and several times I fell asleep and overshot my stop. By far the worst instance of that was when I woke up at Ewell East (or was it Ewell West?), and instinctively jumped off the train. There were no more services running back to London (or even towards Sutton, which at least would have been guaranteed to have plenty of minicab offices). So I found myself in the middle of nofuckingwhere, and I had to walk what felt like a couple of miles before I encountered a row of shops that thankfully included a minicab office.

I'm pretty sure I remember asking someone sitting next to me on the train at Waterloo, whilst we were waiting for the train to depart, to please wake me up if I was sleeping when we got to Clapham Junction. The bastards

Time for a new thread?
At London Bridge, pissed one night I ended up at somewhere like Sevenoaks or Orpington because I somehow managed to get the wrong train.
Coming back from Amsterdam with bike via the ferry. I managed to ride from Liverpool Street to Victoria by following someone else. Got a train at Victoria and ended
up in Worthing, or at least thats where I was when I woke up. From there I had to go straight to work that same morning, wrecked from a week or so away cycling, camping etc.

 

[a_chap]

That's like me when was at Uni.

I caught a train from Newcastle Upon Tyne to Leicester but ended up in Bristol...

 

[T & P]

That's like me when was at Uni.

I caught a train from Newcastle Upon Tyne to Leicester but ended up in Bristol...

That probably wins it

hash tag , as you've already suggested this subject probably deserves a new thread, you should go ahead and create one

 

[hash tag]

transport failures

Lets have your transport failures. Have you ever meant to be going to Twickenham and ended up in Timbuktu? Pissed after a night out at London Bridge, I somehow managed to get on the wrong train ( with bicycle ) and ended up somewhere like Sevenoaks or Orpington when I was trying to get to East...

www.urban75.net

 

[Plumdaff]

 

[Plumdaff]

.

 

[teuchter]

 

[teuchter]

 

[Spymaster]

I thought these guys folded years ago.

 

[blossie33]

View attachment 389713

I thought these guys folded years ago.

I went over to Germany to see my sister and family last August - booked Ryanair.
Was surprised to see that the plane going out was a Lauda!
Apparently Ryanair use their old planes sometimes.

 

[Spymaster]

I went over to Germany to see my sister and family last August - booked Ryanair.
Was surprised to see that the plane going out was a Lauda!
Apparently Ryanair use their old planes sometimes.

Ah, that makes sense. All the other planes in that row are Ryanair.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Yeah, they supply aircraft for Ryanair.

"What airline's that?"

"Lauda."

"WHAT AIRLINE'S THAT???"

Oh how we all laughed...

 

[blossie33]

The name rang a bell with me - I'm of an age to remember Nicky Lauda the racing driver! I didn't know it was his family's airline though.

 

[T & P]

Ryanair operating Airbus aircraft… now I’ve seen it all.

 

[a_chap]

The name rang a bell with me - I'm of an age to remember Nicky Lauda the racing driver! I didn't know it was his family's airline though.

I don't think it was his family's airline. If I recall correctly he started the airline himself after he stopped being an F1 driver.

 

[A380]

 

[hash tag]

The only way to travel, feet up, beer.....probably not very green though

 

[skyscraper101]

There’s a song in this somewhere

 

[Plumdaff]

Proper Urban for the evening

 

[story]

I am somewhere on the SouthWestern route between Wool and Waterloo.

Train has been all over the shop, picking up extra carriages and strike-fucked stragglers, dropping carriages, de-and re- coupling carriages…

Everyone is a bit fucked off, being irritable with each other. The intercom volume is really loud and squawky.
There are a couple of children on board. One is being entertained by her weary dad who is reading the same fucking book over and over again. The other is apparently inhabited by a demon. She is S C R E A M I N G , sometimes with laughter and sometimes with distress. Her poor mum looks utterly exhausted, her dad is working to keep her entertained.

I need to decide whether to get off at Clapham Junction and do two buses home, or go to Waterloo and end up only getting one bus.

By the time I eventually get home all the good work done by resting and walking and swimming will have been undone.


Nice sunset though, and ponies and deer when we went through the New Forest.


eta
Also, the woman sat opposite has an open packet of posh biscuits and I’m sorely tempted to ask her for one. Except that I know one wouldn’t be sufficient. I’m going to buy a pack of posh biscuits on the way home and then eat them all for late supper amn’t I

 

[story]

I’ve had a lot of G&T and Guinness today and I’m starting to land with a bump.