I was on an FCC 313 today, heading south on the Hertford loop. The train
had been on time, but there was a delay at Bowes Park, for which the driver
apologised, and then said that because of an unspecified problem, he
wouldn't be able to go faster than about 20mph until Finsbury Park
(confirmed with my GPS), so we would lose more time. It stopped as normal
at each station, but didn't get much beyond 20mph. I assumed it was a train
problem, and that it might be withdrawn from service at Finsbury Park.

Instead, normal speeds were resumed as we headed for Drayton Park. I
presumed it must have been a power supply problem, though we were overtaken
by other trains running at normal speed on the fast line. Could we have
been stuck behind a very slow stopping train or a crawling freight train?
It obviously wasn't normal.

What's that song? [sings]
I'd like to get you on a slow train from Bowes Park to Finsbury Park...

On 2013\10\07 15:23, Recliner wrote:
I was on an FCC 313 today, heading south on the Hertford loop. The train
had been on time, but there was a delay at Bowes Park, for which the driver
apologised, and then said that because of an unspecified problem, he
wouldn't be able to go faster than about 20mph until Finsbury Park
(confirmed with my GPS), so we would lose more time. It stopped as normal
at each station, but didn't get much beyond 20mph. I assumed it was a train
problem, and that it might be withdrawn from service at Finsbury Park.

Instead, normal speeds were resumed as we headed for Drayton Park. I
presumed it must have been a power supply problem, though we were overtaken
by other trains running at normal speed on the fast line. Could we have
been stuck behind a very slow stopping train or a crawling freight train?
It obviously wasn't normal.

Sounds reasonable. If it was a pantograph problem you would not have
resumed normal speed until after Drayton Park.

I have to say, I thought any slower than a normal 313 was stationary!

Basil Jet wrote:
On 2013\10\07 15:23, Recliner wrote:
I was on an FCC 313 today, heading south on the Hertford loop. The train
had been on time, but there was a delay at Bowes Park, for which the driver
apologised, and then said that because of an unspecified problem, he
wouldn't be able to go faster than about 20mph until Finsbury Park
(confirmed with my GPS), so we would lose more time. It stopped as normal
at each station, but didn't get much beyond 20mph. I assumed it was a train
problem, and that it might be withdrawn from service at Finsbury Park.

Instead, normal speeds were resumed as we headed for Drayton Park. I
presumed it must have been a power supply problem, though we were overtaken
by other trains running at normal speed on the fast line. Could we have
been stuck behind a very slow stopping train or a crawling freight train?
It obviously wasn't normal.

Sounds reasonable. If it was a pantograph problem you would not have
resumed normal speed until after Drayton Park.

No, it speeded up as soon as we turned off for Drayton Park, while still on
AC power, so it wasn't that.