"Matthew P Jones" wrote

He advised we were to Terminate at
Watford as all trains were, but we had to wait to get into the station.
I was making my plan to get to Watford Met as the train moved from the
fast to the slow and went into Watford, everyone stood up to get off,
but the driver said he had been given the all clear and we then shot on
at line speed to Euston. Our train was not full, there were two Virgin
trains at Watford and many people on platform 9 which we passed, I bet
they were "please" we did not stop to pick them up, I know I would have
been annoyed, especially as we slowed right down to go through Watford

What you couldn't have known is whether there were full trains behind yours
booked fast to Euston, whose passengers would not have been pleased to have
to stop behind yours while it picked up at Watford, or trains close behind
yours booked to call at Watford which could equally well pick up passengers
off terminated trains.

Peter

"Peter Masson" wrote in message
...

"Matthew P Jones" wrote


What you couldn't have known is whether there were full trains behind
yours
booked fast to Euston, whose passengers would not have been pleased to
have
to stop behind yours while it picked up at Watford, or trains close behind
yours booked to call at Watford which could equally well pick up
passengers
off terminated trains.

Peter

When did the TOCs give any thought to how pleased the passengers would be.
More likely they were thinking about the cost of stopping at the station.

Simon

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 09:29:10 -0700, mikestone
wrote:

And whatever it was it wasn't the 17.24, because that was trapped on
the down slow at Wembley Central.

Thinking about it it was probably the 17:54.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:32:36 +0100, "Peter Masson"
wrote:

Control may have wished to recover the service by running the first train
able to leave fast to, say, Milton Keynes - so it wouldn't be overwhelmed by
hordes for all stations along the line, who could have been directed to a
second train a few minutes later. They wouldn't want there to be passengers
on the train for intermediate stations, who may miss announcements, or who
may wish to try to leave the platform as a full trainload are trying to join
the train.

What actually happened was that the train concerned ended up as the
1936 (I think) all stops to Tring, which is the only one[1] that was
no use to me! That said, it was still no reason why it needed locking
OOU, and I'm fairly sure that sets do remain with doors open at Euston
with no traincrews on board. (The usual approach at EUS for SS
services is not to lock anything out of use - it's advertised and
available for boarding as soon as it comes in).

[1] My season is MKC-EUS but I normally travel from Bletchley. As I'm
not paying for it I kept it as that because it gives me the
flexibility to take a VT or SS fast and double back if that would be
useful, which had the train concerned been fast to MK (or Bletchley,
as I thought more likely) I would have taken regardless.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

simon wrote:

When did the TOCs give any thought to how pleased the passengers would be.
More likely they were thinking about the cost of stopping at the station.

Thanks to Mr Major's vision of the railways, the latter is deemed to be
the method of measuring the former.
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p12198542.html
(66 027 at Winwick, 23 Feb 2005)

Ken Ward wrote:

"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
.. .
Neil Williams wrote:

It seemed like a manifestation of the typical South East "keep them on
the concourse and tell them at the last minute" nonsense.

I guess I don't like that any more than you do, and sadly it isn't a
South-East thing exclusively - indeed, didn't the SE get the idea from
Blackpool ? ;-)

Yes, the excursion platforms at Blackpool Central!

Well, then. there's a lesson from history. It's a coach park now, innit?
--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p14486557.html
(50 030 at Rowsley, 22 Apr 2005)

Neil Williams wrote:

Maybe so. The fact that they normally do not do that on the
Silverlink operation (as its own little island at Euston) makes its
use in the evening peak far more civilised than the other operations
that do do it. I hope London Midland do not change this, and I wish
VT would join them and start advertising platforms as soon as the
train was ready[1] rather than uniformly a few minutes before.

[1] In my view "ready"="inbound passengers are off" for the Euston VT
operation.

Nah, you've got to give them time to do the outbound reservations thing
as well.

On my recent ride from Euston to Crewe, we were able to board 25 minutes
before departure, which was most civilised. I don't know how long the
train had been standing there, though.

--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p10589932.html
(08 269 at Stratford Depot, 11 Jul 1981)

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:14:47 GMT someone who may be "Ken Ward"
wrote this:-

I understand the reason for a complete closure of the station and the
lines through was "Body parts on the platform".

Which platform, there are 6 of them to choose from at Harrow.

I don't have that information but, I would presume all traffic was suspended
until evidence and the clean up were concluded.

Most stations with several platforms, including this one, have
buildings over part of the length of the platforms which will
restrict the spread and will also screen the clear up operation,
provided of course that the person was struck where the buildings
are. Thus it may be possible for trains to initially run through the
station on other lines and later on call at some of the platforms
when suitable arrangements have been made.

Whether this was possible or not we don't know. The fact that it was
not done is not conclusive proof that it was not possible.

It is not normally accepted that BTP, Undertakers or clean up staff are
expected to dodge moving trains in the course of their jobs or have
commuters walking amongst them.

Nobody has suggested this.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 08:33:31 GMT, Chris Tolley
wrote:

Nah, you've got to give them time to do the outbound reservations thing
as well.

They could do that while passengers queue by the locked doors, having
given them chance to spread out along the train. That's how it would
work at most other non-South-East terminals.

On my recent ride from Euston to Crewe, we were able to board 25 minutes
before departure, which was most civilised. I don't know how long the
train had been standing there, though.

That seems quite unusually early.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

In reply to news post, which Peter Masson
wrote on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 -

"Matthew P Jones" wrote


What you couldn't have known is whether there were full trains behind yours
booked fast to Euston, whose passengers would not have been pleased to have
to stop behind yours while it picked up at Watford, or trains close behind
yours booked to call at Watford which could equally well pick up passengers
off terminated trains.

Indeed, I don't, I do know a slow train passed us before we got into
Watford. We were not booked to stop at Watford, but we were lightly
loaded so one wonders if there was an option to use our train to clear
passengers from Watford. No matter, I still reckon the passengers at
Watford would have been annoyed as we slowed almost to a stop before
accelerating away.
--
Matthew P Jones
www.ThisIsAmersham.com www.amersham.org.uk www.metroland.org.uk
Don't reply directly it will not be read. You can reply to knap AT Nildram then dot co then dot uk