In message , at 05:21:40 on Sat, 8 Aug 2015,
Basil Jet remarked:
On 2015\08\08 00:49, Charles Ellson wrote:

North of the Thames,
trains leave Highbury and Islington (also Canonbury) for Clapham
Junction in opposite directions; some are at identical departure times
(so you can choose the wrong platform rather than the wrong station).

But most are 2 minutes apart. In any case with a turn-up-and-go service
like that you won't normally be aiming for a particularly timed train.

Also a rather big clue that the clockwise trains have a set of buffers
just to the west of the platform (which means the platforms either
service uses is completely predictable - in theory 7 for anticlockwaise
and either 1 or 2 for clockwise, although looking at today's running
they are always platform 2).

And that the clockwise trains set off having berthed there about five
minutes, whereas the anticlockwise ones arrive from the previous
station, running through.

And finally, only the anticlockwise ones use the OHL.

I was going to say it doesn't matter much, because journey times are
similar, but the Shoreditch route cuts through zone 1 and the Willesden
route stays in zone 2.

I was there yesterday, and the way they describe the trains doesn't lead
to ambiguity - in other words they emphasive the "via's".

They could fix the problem by usually terminating the via Peckham
trains

iirc they call them "via Canada Water" (And Willesden Junction the other
way)

at Dalston Junction... they appear to run ever single one to or from
Highbury, giving Croydon and New Cross the Dalston terminators.

And the Highbury terminators alternate between Clapham Junction and
Crystal Palace. That leaves CJ with only one train via Canada Water
every 15 minutes.
--
Roland Perry