Railway Myths

[deltic1989]

Myth no oh I don't know abot 250 by now? Pacers are perfectly fit for purpose and are in no way out dated or pointless.

 

[MCR247]

What else do suggest the TOCs do?

 

[sprinterguy]

Myth no oh I don't know abot 250 by now? Pacers are perfectly fit for purpose and are in no way out dated or pointless.

They're in no way pointless: They're operating services that woud otherwise be unable to run as there would be insufficient trains avaialable: Quite a high proportion of the services on the Northern network in fact.

 

[142094]

Myth no oh I don't know abot 250 by now? Pacers are perfectly fit for purpose and are in no way out dated or pointless.

Again what would you have done at the time? I'm sure a lot of people on here that moan about Pacers either:

1) Think BR had pots of gold

2) Have never ridden on one in their life

3) Think new rolling stock can appear at the click of a finger.

Pacers do their job well, and there are other things that are older and still working on the railway.

 

[Flamingo]

Again what would you have done at the time? I'm sure a lot of people on here that moan about Pacers either:

1) Think BR had pots of gold

2) Have never ridden on one in their life

3) Think new rolling stock can appear at the click of a finger.

Pacers do their job well, and there are other things that are older and still working on the railway.

Semaphore signalling for one!

 

[EM2]

HSTs for another!

 

[Flamingo]

Some of my colleagues, for a third

 

[chuckles1066]

Myth xxxx - the rapid beeping does not mean the doors are about to close, it's a signal for you to lean out of the carriage and peer menacingly up and down the (now empty) platform.

(Must be a January thing, last night and tonight I witnessed the same thing, two different individuals).

Here's a thought; have a guillotine-type razor edge to the doors and make them close very, very, very quickly......might provide some entertainment?

 

[MCR247]

Myth xxxx - the rapid beeping does not mean the doors are about to close, it's a signal for you to lean out of the carriage and peer menacingly up and down the (now empty) platform.

(Must be a January thing, last night and tonight I witnessed the same thing, two different individuals).

Here's a thought; have a guillotine-type razor edge to the doors and make them close very, very, very quickly......might provide some entertainment?

Reminds me when on a 96ts at Wembley Park, the guy jumped on when the doors were beeping, assuming that they'd open again, like lift doors, it was a bit of a shock when they just kept pushing. Made a few commuters giggle

 

[tbtc]

Myth 300. Voyagers are unreliable

 

[mindfeeder]

Myth no: 43532 - Everytime a car is involved in an incident at a Level Crossing, it's the driver's fault.

 

[Flamingo]

Myth no whatever: If you are in a railway uniform, what you really want to spend your day doing is talking to rail enthusiasts about the minutiae of routes / stock / history of the railway.

 

[Striker]

Myth no oh I don't know abot 250 by now? Pacers are perfectly fit for purpose and are in no way out dated or pointless.

I think it's about myth no. 3. Everything else is just people having a moan.

 

[sprinterguy]

I think it's about myth no. 3. Everything else is just people having a moan.

And deltic1989s' post isn't an unfounded moan about Pacers??

 

[Striker]

And deltic1989s' post isn't an unfounded moan about Pacers??

Of course it is. But where did I say it isn't?

 

[sprinterguy]

Of course it is. But where did I say it isn't?

You stated that it could be myth number 3 and that "everything else is just people having a moan", which suggested to me that you validated that one as an actual myth, and not just another moan. Just a misunderstanding then if that isn’t the case!

 

[Striker]

You stated that it could be myth number 3 and that "everything else is just people having a moan", which suggested to me that you validated that one as an actual myth, and not just another moan. Just a misunderstanding then if that isn’t the case!

I was merely commenting on the fact that there are about 3 genuine myths in this thread. However, on re-reading it, you are correct and it does appear I was validating the myth about Pacers. I would be harsh on anybody else so it's only fair that I am equally harsh on myself.

 

[Butts]

You can smoke in the vestibules of Voyager Trains - according to Charles Kennedy MP

 

[scotsman]

Myth { (2SinX-1)^2 when x=3} There is little skill required to drive a train

 

[Hydro]

Myth: Mileposts are always on the down side

 

[tbtc]

I think one Myth that has to be repeated is:

The majority of passengers prefer my favourite type of coach/ engine/ haulage (or agree with my views on other things)

Its funny how often you hear phrases like "most passengers prefer Mk III coaches to Pendolinos" or "most passengers prefer trollies to buffets" or "most passengers think that the 158s were better than the 170s"...

TBH I rarely hear passengers actually talk about the trains they are on, but its funny how often other people overhear conversations which happen to agree with the prejudice of the listener...

 

[DarloRich]

I often ask passengers actually! I instiagte a conversation. You get lots of intresting info if you actually talk to people rather than just hand out a questionairre.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Myth: ATP would have prevented many accidents that TPWS could not have.

 

[jon0844]

Its funny how often you hear phrases like "most passengers prefer Mk III coaches to Pendolinos" or "most passengers prefer trollies to buffets" or "most passengers think that the 158s were better than the 170s"...

TBH I rarely hear passengers actually talk about the trains they are on, but its funny how often other people overhear conversations which happen to agree with the prejudice of the listener...

Yes, I can't recall overhearing anyone talking about one train over another. That is unless I'm in someway involved with the conversation, and that's rare as nobody else would have a clue what I was talking about if I started talking about trains by their class.

My wife had to go to Manchester yesterday, and I asked her what her journey was like and she said it was fine except she had no window! She didn't seem that bothered mind, and certainly didn't compare it to any other type of train.

In her mind, it was a train that went along tracks and got her from A to B. I am sure most people think like that.

 

[Broken Viking]

Myth 66601: The maximum safe speed for trains on the ECML, WCML and WoE lines is (A pitiful) 125mph.
Myth 66602: Eurostars are still capable of calling at Waterloo Intl. in times of need without additional traction.
Myth 66603: The Advanced Passenger Train wasn't the greatest piece of engineering in BR's history,
Myth 66604: No train may pass through Rugby, Gjorvik, Manchester Picadilly, Birmingham New St, or Ash at any speed greater than 90mph.
Myth 66605: HSTs will be fitted with powered sliding doors.
Myth 66606: Pacers are incapable of speeds over 45mph.
Myth 66607: Pacers would be unsafe at speeds above 90mph.
Myth 66608: Pacers can't be upgraded for 175mph operation along the WCML...

I'll come up with some more after dinner...

 

[Kingfisher200262]

Myth 12: DVTs are too light to stay on the track in the event of a crash

(DBSOs are a different story....)

It might be a myth now, but it didn't used to be. There was a serious accident some years ago involving some cows that strayed onto the operational railway (more info here) after which, as I understand it, several tonnes of ballast in the form of a concrete slab, were added to the floor area of DVTs.

 

[Eng274]

It might be a myth now, but it didn't used to be. There was a serious accident some years ago involving some cows that strayed onto the operational railway (more info here) after which, as I understand it, several tonnes of ballast in the form of a concrete slab, were added to the floor area of DVTs.

Even when the 225 sets were entering service, i believe it was reiterated that the DVT was weighted down enough to cope with such a scenario, to reassure the public if anything else.

A DVT weighs something in the region of 45 tonnes unladen. When you consider its still a short, empty, unpowered van with a cab, it makes you think how much added concrete there must be to bring it up to ~45t.

 

[tbtc]

Yes, I can't recall overhearing anyone talking about one train over another. That is unless I'm in someway involved with the conversation, and that's rare as nobody else would have a clue what I was talking about if I started talking about trains by their class.

My wife had to go to Manchester yesterday, and I asked her what her journey was like and she said it was fine except she had no window! She didn't seem that bothered mind, and certainly didn't compare it to any other type of train.

In her mind, it was a train that went along tracks and got her from A to B. I am sure most people think like that.

I know we obsess about these things, but I've had conversations with people after journeys where they couldn't remember the colour of the train, whether it had "manual" doors, whether it was a double decker (in the case of bus journeys)... people don't pay the attention that we do

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I know we obsess about these things, but I've had conversations with people after journeys where they couldn't remember the colour of the train, whether it had "manual" doors, whether it was a double decker (in the case of bus journeys)... people don't pay the attention that we do

Hence why the people who make Great British Railway Journey's probably don't care about whether they reverse footage or not!

 

[Broken Viking]

Even when the 225 sets were entering service, i believe it was reiterated that the DVT was weighted down enough to cope with such a scenario, to reassure the public if anything else.

A DVT weighs something in the region of 45 tonnes unladen. When you consider its still a short, empty, unpowered van with a cab, it makes you think how much added concrete there must be to bring it up to ~45t.

I've never really seen the point of DVTs...Wouldn't it have made more sense just to stick another 91 on the south end? It'd give the train a lot more power and speed for only a little extra weight!

Myth 3xx+0: Railcard discounts are available on all tickets types at all times.
Myth 3xx+1: Toilets still should not be flushed in stations. (Only applies to HSTs and railtours now.)
Myth 3xx+2: AToC know what they're doing.