Balloons On The Overhead Line

[Intermodal]

Ok, ok, ok enough of the onslought. I don't really know what I'm on about, can we just ignore my ill-advised comments and move on!? I never claimed to be an expert, they were questions and they have already been answered.

No offense intended. I think your view may in fact be the most commonly held view on this topic - and it is understandable that 'balloons on the line' may seem incredibly trivial to the general public. After all, most people never work with this sort of stuff and have no appreciation of it. But - that is why it is important to challenge this view and explain it.

 

[DanTrain]

No offense intended. I think your view may in fact be the most commonly held view on this topic - and it is understandable that 'balloons on the line' may seem incredibly trivial to the general public. After all, most people never work with this sort of stuff and have no appreciation of it. But - that is why it is important to challenge this view and explain it.

Indeed, and that's why they don't let people like me anywhere near the 25 kV

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Ok, ok, ok enough of the onslought. I don't really know what I'm on about, can we just ignore my ill-advised comments and move on!? I never claimed to be an expert, they were questions and they have already been answered.

LOL! I am glad you see the error of your ways......Seriously though don't worry about people having a go, not everyone knows the seriousness of how and why things work on the railway so its good to ask.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There is this on YouTube showing a single balloon caught in an urban distribution wire... Doesn't look UK, but those wires are probably carrying a lot less than 25kV.

 

[Z12XE]

I notice the usual crew of professional twitter complainers (who usually like to put what high powered office jobs they have in their bio’s...) were out in force.

Extra points for those who find examples of this with and MP copied in for dramatic effect

 

[dk1]

Not my job to remove anything on or near the OHL. I value my life a tad more than that. My train can sit there as long as it takes. End of.

 

[dk1]

Extra points for those who find examples of this with and MP copied in for dramatic effect

Yeah what's that all about? Like those that copy Branson in to their gripes with Virgin Trains. Pathetic

 

[Dr_Paul]

Balloons are dangerous to aircraft as well... a few years back I was at the perimeter of Blackpool airport and watched as the takeoff of a Ryanair jet was delayed as a six foot tall Barney the Dinosaur floated across the runway...

Did Ryanair whack a few quid on each passenger's bill for 'additional in-flight entertainment'?

 

[tomatwark]

I notice the usual crew of professional twitter complainers (who usually like to put what high powered office jobs they have in their bio’s...) were out in force.

If these people have high powered jobs, why not let them remove the balloons, as long as the current is left on.

This would solve the problem of these folks with their heads stuck up their backside, wasting time complaining on Twitter.

 

[Z12XE]

Yeah what's that all about? Like those that copy Branson in to their gripes with Virgin Trains. Pathetic

Lee147 is my favourite at the moment, he is the new Stowtom, comments on every delay and shortform and copies in Will Quince. Given that Mr Quince has started to reduce the amount of ways he can be contacted on social media I find it amazing that he entertains him and replies to almost every tweet.

 

[dk1]

Lee147 is my favourite at the moment, he is the new Stowtom, comments on every delay and shortform and copies in Will Quince. Given that Mr Quince has started to reduce the amount of ways he can be contacted on social media I find it amazing that he entertains him and replies to almost every tweet.

If it's the Lee I'm thinking about, he doesn't come across as very bright does he? Never sure why they entertain them like they do.

 

[Z12XE]

I liked his response to the points failure on Friday afternoon

"NO, NOT ON A FRIDAY EVENING...[..] @willquince"

As if a piece of mechanical equipment cares what day of the week or time it is when choosing to break.....

I couldn't work on these Twitter desks. I'd be telling people to foxtrot oscar

 

[bengley]

When I used to work on stations I once saw a driver manager remove a piece of ribbon from the OLE with his bare hands without getting a switch off. It was hanging down below the cant rail level and he just grabbed it and pulled it off!

 

[Raul_Duke]

When I used to work on stations I once saw a driver manager remove a piece of ribbon from the OLE with his bare hands without getting a switch off. It was hanging down below the cant rail level and he just grabbed it and pulled it off!

Even the elemental force of electricity fears a DM.

 

[Bromley boy]

I liked his response to the points failure on Friday afternoon

"NO, NOT ON A FRIDAY EVENING...[..] @willquince"

As if a piece of mechanical equipment cares what day of the week or time it is when choosing to break.....

I couldn't work on these Twitter desks. I'd be telling people to foxtrot oscar

I do slightly question the point of these twitter feeds from the TOCs’ perspectives.

I know TOCs need to be seen to responding to passengers etc but the twitter feeds tend to just be ranty soundbites, much of it pretty abusive.

There’s very little in the way of constructive discussion, and most service information - even about delays due to balloons - can be found on the website anyway.

 

[DarloRich]

I couldn't work on these Twitter desks. I'd be telling people to foxtrot oscar

I would love to be put in charge of the direct social media rebuttal unit. The use of industrial language has been authorised. Repeat. The use of industrial language has been authorised

 

[rebmcr]

I do slightly question the point of these twitter feeds from the TOCs’ perspectives.

I know TOCs need to be seen to responding to passengers etc but the twitter feeds tend to just be ranty soundbites, much of it pretty abusive.

There’s very little in the way of constructive discussion, and most service information - even about delays due to balloons - can be found on the website anyway.

I reckon they're still very useful to the "ask something once and get an answer once" kind of users. They might not be comfortable navigating a website, or unable to do so easily on mobile, or trust the info from the twitter operators to be more likely up-to-date.