Yes; I just need to try to find the approximate date of it first - I have a rough idea where my notes are.
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Yay! Found it! Copied from the photostat notes I have:
For the purposes of this story, we will ignore the evident lack of logic and realisation of what was happening at surbiton and wimbledon once the signal failure happened. I have no idea why nobody seemed to put two and two together, but after 23 years that hardly matters. What does matter is that the notes I am copying from were written down within a day or so of the event.
Saturday November 7th 1987: How to foul up the BR timetable on the S.W. Division of the SR
A passenger was waiting for the 18.09 from Farnham to Surbiton, where there is a cross platform connection for Raynes Park for a 30 second (!) connection to Stoneleigh over the footbridge from the other platform.
In those days, it should be added, BR regulations stipulated that a connection ( whether theoretical or booked ) may be held for up to 5 minutes beyond the advertised time. That is germane to this story, and it may not be a coincidence that shortly afterwards that particular rule was tightened up considerably...
In any case, the passenger was in a hurry and in those days services were not as frequent as they are today. So he asked Farnham whether the rule could be invoked. Farnham telephoned Raynes Park, and the answer was "Yes we will hold the connection."
At this point another reminder is needed: Back in those days, the SW Division timetable was absolutely riddled with portion working; The Farnham / Alton services, for example, would split and join at Woking with Basingstoke / Southampton ( stopper ) portions. The differing lengths of the journey for each portion meant that it was critical that these ran to time.
Then, as you might have been expecting, the 18.09 - which started from Alton - was running 10 minutes late. Farnham make another phone call, this time to Surbiton. "Yes, we will hold the connection."
So far, all was well. The passenger would find his connection at Surbiton waiting in the opposite platform so all he had to do was dash across from one train to the other and indicate to the guard that it was him they were waiting for; this would take a matter of seconds, followed by a similar - if longer - dash at Raynes Park.
But the seeds had been sown...
While the 18.09 was en route to Surbiton, a signal failed at New Malden which meant that the up fast line was out of action through Surbiton. The slow train, of course, was in Surbiton ahead of the 18.09 since the latter was running late - but now on the same track instead of the adjacent track! Naturally this meant that the 18.09 was held short of Surbiton by a red signal, within sight of the slow train which could be seen occupying the platform.
Oh dear!
The passenger in question looks out of the window to see what the further delay is and, upon seeing the slow train just sitting, sitting, sitting in the platform, quickly realises with a sinking feeling what was going on! So the passenger finds the guard and explains. The guard runs forwards and explains to the driver. The driver gets on the phone to Control. It takes another five minutes to sort it all out before the slow train is told to move off and the fast train occupies the platform, detraining the passenger to await the following slow train ( itself now held at the same signal just outside the platform ).
Eventually the passenger reaches Raynes Park, by now 15 minutes late, so he does not bother to dash across the footbridge, expecting to find that the connection will have long since gone.
Errr... no!
What he actually found was that BR had indeed held the Stoneleigh train - not in the side platform at Raynes Park but at Wimbledon, thereby causing delays to at least three other local trains that were now block to block behind it!
The total of delays, excluding any additional effects from the signal failure, were:
*Three local trains ( 2 up, 1 down ) 15 minutes late.
*Two local trains ( 1 up, 1 down ) 10 minutes late.
*One local train ( down ) 5 minutes late.
*One up Alton / Southampton 15 minutes late.
The knock on effect from that for the rest of the evening was quite severe:
*All local services in and out of Waterloo would have been affected to varying degrees.
*The next working of the Alton / Southampton rake off Waterloo, also affecting their return workings. And late running off Alton affects the next down Alton due to the single track below Bentley...
*The connections at Aldershot for Guildford and Staines, which share the track and a flat junction from Aldershot to Ash Vale.
*Further effects at Guildford on the Portsmouth line and at Staines on the Reading line from that.
*Delays to fast services on the Bournemouth / Weymouth line ( themselves involving portion working! ) caused by a late running stopper below Micheldever...
*Connecting services and other tightly scheduled areas using the above lines.
I think you get the picture?
From that day on, the passenger in question suddenly found himself being avoided by the Waterloo Traction Inspector; can't say that is a great surprise...!!
