Recent content by the Rat

Interesting, many thanks!

I was wondering whether it is possible to travel from Fenchurch Street to Stratford (and beyond) on a direct service, using the connection between Gas Factory Junction and Bow Junction? I assume the line is only used for freight / ECS, if at all.

55022 + 08414 + 08573 + 1000 = 73009

93001 - 7000 = 86001

Whoops! Changes made, thanks.

What is the impact on services likely to be during this period? I am due to travel Liskeard -Gloucester on Thursday 6th 10.19 Liskeard - Bristol Temple Meads, local train onwards, to return on Saturday 8th 08.04 Gloucester - Bristol Temple Meads, then 09.55 Bristol Temple Meads - Liskeard. Being...

As well as the Sweeney and the Professionals, don't forget that other classic, London'-based programme Minder. Predominantly filmed in the 80s rather than the 70s, there is one episode in particular, series 4 episode 5 called 'Sorry Pal, Wrong Number', which filmed at South Acton station for a...

Actually, when you put it like that, perhaps I was being unreasonable. Maybe we should forget about running a railway and simply focus on health and safety in respect of the weather!!

Time was that one of my great pleasures in life was to arrive at my departing station early, wander to the end of the platform and have a ciggie whilst enjoying the ambience of the station. The ciggies have long gone from both my life and the station, but the ambience remained until a few years...

Whilst we are, quite rightly, defending our wonderful language against the onslaught of 'Americanisation', I would like to point out that 'simplicity' is the word. The irony of someone complaining about the inaccuracy of an announcement whilst, themselves, making up their own words is pure...

Ha, ha, absolutely!! Just think how different the world might be if all those nations we conquered throughout history had simply put down their weapons and 'tutted' their disaopproval...

I think topography is the key point about the Newquay branch. According to the AA it's 16.5 miles from St Austell to Newquay by road, maybe 30 minutes by car, whereas the fastest train takes 50 minutes from Par - that's an average speed of just 20MPH. Very difficult to persuade people not to...

Interesting points and, yes, it has been done quite a lot on here recently. But this was more from the point of view of being able to control numbers on really busy services. It's certainly not a suggestion that all services should be compulsory reservations. Precisely, and that's what I'm...

I recall a time when certain services were timetabled as ‘Reservations Compulsory’ or ‘Reservations Recommended’. I assume that, post-privatisation, all services were ‘de-classified’ as no TOC would want to minimise passenger traffic and therefore profit. I’m wondering whether a...

Excellent post, totally agree. But the fact that there has been a long lead-in time does not give me any confidence that there won't be, as you say, 'disruptions for reasons that could have been well foreseen'. Just look at the TL timetable fiasco...