Recent content by Recessio

Could you smoke on mainline trains back then? I remember when I was very young and people still smoked on coaches, and the seat plums of dust smoke and ash was disgusting. I think smoking on the tube was banned quite early though?

He claims that if Andy Mcdonald had made those claims outside of Parliamentary Privilege he would be sued for defamation... And yet has made no moves against Private Eye who've published this in the open. Speaks volumes. Even assuming everything is above board, the airport station still seems a...

Do 378s go up to Watford on Lioness line? That section shared with the Bakerloo is known to be a hot-spot for vandalism and graffiti

Definitely noticing more trains that have graffiti cleaned off now, I wonder if the tide is turning

I was wondering this, especially as Loughborough Junction is deep into third-rail territory (so it didn't lose them under wires and fail immediately on switchover in the Core)

Could be something as simple as a hose clip wasn't tightened. Some people are making this out as if it's like a shuttle exploded on the launchpad...

Worth noting Waterloo is also managed by Network Rail, not SWR.

I noticed this a while back (pre nationalisation I think). I think this is because Waterloo services are only operated by SWR and no other TOCs. Interestingly on manual announcements e.g. Delays or Alterations, the announcer still tends to say "Southwestern Railway Service to"

There is a long standing problem with station clocks being wrong as not all of them are synced to a remote time source. They should get corrected manually eventually. See a previous thread https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/lu-platform-clocks.257257/

If these trains are delayed into service, does this extend the time TfL (well, the government) has to formally use the contract option to construct Bakerloo line trains too?

Exactly. The technology underlying tube trains is now more complex and can be radically different between generations. Compare this to the stock we saw between WW2 and the late 80s which was often just "more of the same". No surprise that introductions are more challenging and take longer than...

Parts of Farringdon Thameslink platform are surprisingly narrow for such a busy station.

Was central door locking a concern, or had that been fitted to the slam-doors?

I was on a train today and noticed the PIS still says that if I'm interested in a career at SWR that I should visit careers.firstgroup.co.uk .

There can be some oddities in the boundaries. I believe that at Essex Road and other Northern City line stations, the TOC is responsible for the tiling and floors on platforms, but the far tunnel walls (including the big surviving NSE era route map) are NR maintained.