BBC1 Drama Nightsleeper

[Ghostbus]

The last episode was more of the same, to no great surprise.

The fact the big reveal was a massive cliche for this genre, was no real surprise, and telegraphed pretty heavily from episode 3?, right down to the hammy facial expressions of the heroine.

Silver linings? The most irritating clichéd characters were killed off in the order I was hoping and praying they would be removed from my screen.

Even the (not exactly innovative) real time feature wasn't really utilized properly. One suspects it was deployed solely to give the necessary dead time to deliver the required political points.

 

[65477]

Even the (not exactly innovative) real time feature wasn't really utilized properly.

Without spoilers, has anyone worked out the speed this train would have been doing at times? There are a number "we will be at xxx soon" where the time taken in the drama from the current position to xxx seemed extremely fast.

Going back to to a previously mentioned link the Guardian has a 10 Ten Sophia Loren films write up today

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...rthday-sophia-loren-her-greatest-films-ranked

The Cassandra Crossing comes in at number 9.

 

[johnny_t]

My brain can't work it out, but what happens if you jump directly out the back of a moving train. What speeds are you moving at (and in which direction) when you hit the ground ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

My brain can't work it out, but what happens if you jump directly out the back of a moving train. What speeds are you moving at (and in which direction) when you hit the ground ?

You would start off moving at the train's speed minus the speed you jumped at if you didn't just jump straight up, then air resistance would slow you down a bit, but you'd still be going pretty quick (in the same direction as the train) when you landed.

 

[Tester]

You would start off moving at the train's speed minus the speed you jumped at if you didn't just jump straight up, then air resistance would slow you down a bit, but you'd still be going pretty quick (in the same direction as the train) when you landed.

Tl;dr - it would hurt

 

[65477]

My brain can't work it out, but what happens if you jump directly out the back of a moving train. What speeds are you moving at (and in which direction) when you hit the ground ?

Is this not where Einstein's theory of general relativity comes into play? No wonder you can't work it out. However if we ignore air resistance, and any decrease in speed associated with the jumping you will hit the ground in the train's direction and at the same speed of the train. Like many commuters on slam door stock I have experienced this when exiting a slowly moving train entering a station in the 1970's. You step onto the platform running forward. There are a number of videos online of such trains arriving at London termini where a high proportion of the passengers are out of the train before it stops.

 

[johnny_t]

Is this not where Einstein's theory of general relativity comes into play? No wonder you can't work it out. However if we ignore air resistance, and any decrease in speed associated with the jumping you will hit the ground in the train's direction and at the same speed of the train. Like many commuters on slam door stock I have experienced this when exiting a slowly moving train entering a station in the 1970's. You step onto the platform running forward. There are a number of videos online of such trains arriving at London termini where a high proportion of the passengers are out of the train before it stops.

I remember that from my school days, and a couple of classmates getting taken out by swinging doors.

Just working through the last episode now. I am expecting the train to stop whilst gently kissing the buffers..

 

[Sun Chariot]

Like many commuters on slam door stock I have experienced this when exiting a slowly moving train entering a station in the 1970's. You step onto the platform running forward.

My 1980s teen self, regularly used to see how quickly I dared exit a Mk1/2 derived vehicle - LHCS or DMU or EMU.
Being 6' 6", I could use those long legs to my advantage...

 

[65477]

Jumping onto a platform, unless you, fell, hit a door or fellow passenger, was not usually that dangerous. Leaving a train as in the question is a different issue. When you ae in the air all parts of your body are travelling at a constant speed. As soon as you hit the ground your skin/skeleton may stop but your internal vital organs will want to continue moving. There are plenty of explanations of the result of this on the Internet.

 

[garethep]

I've only seen the first episode but I don't even warm to the lead role, Abby. She appears to be completely out of her depth as Technical director, not knowing what to do and struggling to stay calm. What I find annoying is when she's on the train struggling to hear/think due to the loud partying girls, why she doesn't just move to the next coach that appears to be completely empty!

Probably because they couldn't fit more than one coach on the set

 

[Ashley Hill]

Had any of the characters thought of opening a manual air cock to drop the brake? I gave up watching this nonsense halfway through the first episode.

 

[aar0]

I did end up laughing at my mild irritation of exterior red 'tail lights' being on between the coaches as well!

Planned for en-route splitting. I think MkIVs have this for operating without a DVT?

I’ve not seen the final episode but I’ve enjoyed. Obviously it’s not going to be 100% factual. It’s a drama. I imagine farming forums are endlessly up in arms about the Archers…

 

[Cowley]

Right. I’ve put this off long enough and Mrs C wants to watch it.

I’m going in…

 

[Sun Chariot]

Right. I’ve put this off long enough and Mrs C wants to watch it.

I’m going in…

Save your sanity. Make O gauge trees instead.

 

[Cowley]

Save your sanity. Make O gauge trees instead.

I’ve had to leave them to dry!

Ok, well we watched about one and a half episodes and I thought it was quite good fun, predictably silly at times but exciting enough to be entertaining. The sort of thing that a couple of beers would have improved but we’re not drinking at the moment.

 

[Falcon1200]

I gave up on this programme 15 minutes into Episode 3 last night (Sunday 22nd September), when a character explained the (somewhat over-the-top) reason why they had to use the satellite phone. I'm just surprised that (so far) the runaway train has not encountered a bus load of disabled children and/or nuns. Perhaps that's still to come, but I will not be watching to find out.

 

[SuspectUsual]

My brain can't work it out, but what happens if you jump directly out the back of a moving train. What speeds are you moving at (and in which direction) when you hit the ground ?

A bit like walking off the end of a really, really fast travelator

 

[Tester]

A bit like walking off the end of a really, really fast travelator

Which was really a thing in the past at Paris Montparnasse.

Quite an experience!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

My brain can't work it out, but what happens if you jump directly out the back of a moving train. What speeds are you moving at (and in which direction) when you hit the ground ?

If the train's moving forward at, say, 50 m.p.h. and you then jump out of the back of the train at, say, 5 m.p.h. (the speed of your jump being relative to the train) then you'll likely hit the track, at 45 m.p.h. That's going to hurt!

 

[45669]

I was surprised to hear the term 'goods train'. I'm old enough to remember when they were called goods trains, but I though that nowadays they were referred to as 'freight trains'.

Also, having hit the so called goods train, how come the Sleeper train didn't at least derail?

 

[Russel]

Yeah, there's plenty of issues regarding accuracy, but it's all stuff that the average viewer won't know or care about...

I'm half way through episode 2 and I'm actually enjoying it!

 

[Rab Smith]

So, turns out I'm now banned watching rail based dramas with my partner.
She got fed up telling me to shush every time I pointed out a glaring error

She was interested though when I told her Motherwell was in fact, Dalmuir!

 

[contrex]

My 1980s teen self, regularly used to see how quickly I dared exit a Mk1/2 derived vehicle - LHCS or DMU or EMU.
Being 6' 6", I could use those long legs to my advantage...

There was a brief period when I was either an old 13 or just 14, (so 1965/66) when some of my pals thought it was 'hard' to jump off the open platform of a moving London bus while the conductor was upstairs. The type would have been RT, RTL, or RM. The faster the bus was going, the harder you were. The trick was to 'hit the ground running' as we say now. I wasn't brave or stupid enough to join in. One lad launched himself off a route 12 going north along Denmark Hill at what seemed like at least 15-20 mph, maybe more, landed nicely, started running along then pavement in good style, SMACK into a lamp post. Broken nose. Blood all over his front, but not an awful lot of damage done. The next stop was Kings College Hospital, handily, so a bunch of us trooped off and walked back to take him in to be patched up. The game sort of petered out after that.

 

[Horizon22]

I've finished it. The plot overall isn't actually dire, and they've clearly done some research into some aspects of the railway industry (TOC/ROCs, signalling, some on train components, railway staff bluntness (!)). Some parts were quite cliche and the ending was somewhat obvious but it was certainly full of action and 'cliffhangers'. Of course there were accuracy issues and there was artistic licence taken as you might expect for a prime BBC drama.

The acting though was however rather bad and the characterisation was for the most type, really simple stereotpes - especially for the people on board - and it kept seeming to linger on them as if to try and reinforce the point. This let the show down I feel.

So yeah overall, somewhat average I think.

 

[32475]

I persevered watching all 6 episodes.
Best categorised as Comedy/Drama.

 

[Peter Sarf]

I've finished it. The plot overall isn't actually dire, and they've clearly done some research into some aspects of the railway industry (TOC/ROCs, signalling, some on train components, railway staff bluntness (!)). Some parts were quite cliche and the ending was somewhat obvious but it was certainly full of action and 'cliffhangers'. Of course there were accuracy issues and there was artistic licence taken as you might expect for a prime BBC drama.

The acting though was however rather bad and the characterisation was for the most type, really simple stereotpes - especially for the people on board - and it kept seeming to linger on them as if to try and reinforce the point. This let the show down I feel.

So yeah overall, somewhat average I think.

This got me thinking. Unlike similar dramas (people trapped on an out of control/hijacked bus/plane/train) - there was more of a story going on with the people on the ground (control centre etc) so to speak. In fact I can agree the acting was better off the train than on it !.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The policeman on the train is currently in an advert for Pom Bear crisps.

 

[D6130]

The policeman on the train is currently in an advert for Pom Bear crisps.

'Nightsleeper' obviously didn't pay enough then!

 

[65477]

As this is not crucial to the plot, which station or stations were shown in the drone shot and immediately following where the train went through the station with a pantograph up and no wires. Supposedly just outside Leeds. My limited knowledge of the area says it was Leicester.

 

[GatwickDepress]

As this is not crucial to the plot, which station or stations were shown in the drone shot and immediately following where the train went through the station with a pantograph up and no wires. Supposedly just outside Leeds. My limited knowledge of the area says it was Leicester.

I think it's in the same episode. There's a few shots of the train passing a yard full of EMR 170s and tampers (?), which I thought looked very similar to Leicester carriage sidings at the time, so you might be right there.