Persistent railway myths, misunderstandings etc.

[Journeyman]

There's quite a few ideas that people hold that seem accepted as "fact", that are actually wrong, but are rarely challenged. How about getting a list of them together, and working out where they came from, and why they've persisted?

Let's start with the ever-popular "Great Central was built to continental loading gauge" idea. No idea where it came from - I think it got mentioned in a book once - but it's demonstrably false. It still gets wheeled out as an argument as to why the line should never have closed, should be reopened instead of HS2 etc.

 

[Bertie the bus]

The Class 230 is a new train. Tarted up 40 year old trains aren't new trains.

It's like if a company puts something out in a press release it must be true.

 

[TheEdge]

Leaves on the line is a made up excuse.

Rail staff actively go out of their way at every opportunity to irritate passengers.

There are extra coaches lying about everywhere that we refuse to use in service.

 

[Journeyman]

The Class 230 is a new train. Tarted up 40 year old trains aren't new trains.

It's like if a company puts something out in a press release it must be true.

That's totally not what I meant, and no-one is claiming it's a new train.

 

[Journeyman]

Leaves on the line is a made up excuse.

Rail staff actively go out of their way at every opportunity to irritate passengers.

There are extra coaches lying about everywhere that we refuse to use in service.

Agree completely on all of those.

 

[swt_passenger]

Let's start with the ever-popular "Great Central was built to continental loading gauge" idea. No idea where it came from - I think it got mentioned in a book once - but it's demonstrably false. It still gets wheeled out as an argument as to why the line should never have closed, should be reopened instead of HS2 etc.

This was discussed in the infrastructure forum only a few months back:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gcr-loading-gauge.167557/#post-3563557
Agree completely it's one of the most regularly trotted out parts of railway mythology.
(In fact I see you were in on that discussion, so obviously this is preaching to the converted... )

 

[Gareth Marston]

That a "profitable core" existed and could be found by a closure programme.

 

[JN114]

The first digit of a trains headcode is indicative some kind of priority system.

 

[PeterY]

London North Western Trains had a banner up at Hemel Hempstead station yesterday with various improvements and one was "new trains" for the Marston Vale line (Bletchley to Bedford).

It also mentioned longer trains on their services (that's for another thread) but I can't see that happening.

I wish I'd taken a photo now.

 

[Darandio]

That's totally not what I meant, and no-one is claiming it's a new train.

That depends if you just read the headline of a Vivarail press release, a quick internet search without taking a real interest in an article itself certainly suggests they are claiming it's a new train.

New Marston Vale livery revealed as contract for new trains is signed

http://vivarail.co.uk/new-marston-vale-livery-revealed-as-contract-for-new-trains-is-signed/

Vivarail to supply new trains for the Marston Vale Line

http://vivarail.co.uk/vivarail-supply-new-trains-marston-vale-line/

 

[Mutant Lemming]

There are secret deep level tube lines especially built to speed government/royalty etc from parliament/buck palace out to GCHQ/Windsor in the event of attack

A vertical lift shaft going down 2000 ft to a trogladyte city would be the only thing of use as nowhere would be left habitable on this island post nuclear.

 

[swt_passenger]

Nothing to do with the 230s meets the OP's request for 'persistent mythology'. The 230 press releases are just bog standard exaggerated PR, or spin. I doubt anyones going to be mentioning them in a few decades...

 

[Bertie the bus]

4 1/2 years and counting is persistent. Not agreeing with something doesn't make it irrelevant or wrong.

 

[InOban]

Unfortunately the English language kacks the French distinction between neuf - brand new - and nouveau/nouvelle which means new to you or the situation, and so can be 'pre-owned'.

 

[Mag_seven]

That the increase in rail passenger numbers is because of privatisation. I would argue there would have been an increase regardless of how the railways are structured due to an increase in population and more mobility generally.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

That the increase in rail passenger numbers is because of privatisation. I would argue there would have been an increase regardless of how the railways are structured due to an increase in population and more mobility generally.

...and also the demographic shift in home and workplace whereby people now often commute much greater distances

 

[70014IronDuke]

There are some who spread the rumour that Thomas is not a real tank engine.

 

[Ianno87]

That Richard Branson personally runs Virgin Trains.

 

[tsr]

The Strategic Steam Reserve exists does not exist exists does n...

 

[Ianno87]

That during a franchise competition, the fact that the incumbent has run the existing franchise 'pretty well' makes it more likely they'll win the next one.

 

[Train wasp]

There are still people out there that think the 3rd rail only becomes electrified when a train goes over it.

 

[jamesst]

Late running trains skip stations just to fool the ppm and could actually easily get back on time by the driver going faster...

 

[3141]

That it's not safe to run a train with only a driver.

But that probably doesn't count, because one of the qualifying factors for the thread listed by the OP was "rarely challenged".

 

[KeithP]

A vertical lift shaft going down 2000 ft to a trogladyte city would be the only thing of use as nowhere would be left habitable on this island post nuclear.

I've heard about this. Where is this lift shaft please?

 

[Dr Hoo]

That it's not safe to run a train with only a driver.

But that probably doesn't count, because one of the qualifying factors for the thread listed by the OP was "rarely challenged".

Quite! I struggle with the idea that anything expressed on this Forum doesn’t end up getting challenged to death regardless of whether it is a myth or not.

 

[Master29]

Privatisation full stop. Taxpayer still foots the bill.

 

[Pigeon]

That the atmospheric installation on the South Devon railway failed because of rats eating the leather flap. (No doubt the odd rat did have a cheeky nibble, but the main problem with the flap was that it couldn't handle the weather, changes in temperature, repeated sousings in salt water, etc, and cracked and tore along the flex line where it was bolted to the pipe. The development of vulcanised rubber as a practically usable material came just too late for that scheme.)

That the gradients of the South Devon banks are a consequence of the line having been planned for atmospheric traction which "makes light of gradients". (It's the other way round. The proposal for atmospheric traction was made a few months after the route had been decided on, as a suggestion for how to cope with the gradients.)

That atmospheric traction does "make light of gradients". (It may be immune to wheel slip, but there is a hard limit on maximum tractive force and you can't get over that by adding more piston carriages in the way that you can add more locomotives. If they had persisted with the system and got as far as installing it on the banks, within a few years its inability to cope with gradients would have become an insuperable bottleneck on the route, as train weights increased to the point where they could only be got over the banks by splitting them and then waiting for the pipe to be re-evacuated between each portion.)

 

[alangla]

No-one wants to travel on a Sunday - this one seems to exist at both NR and various TOCs

 

[B&I]

There are still people out there that think the 3rd rail only becomes electrified when a train goes over it.

That would be a great safety feature if it was possible

 

[B&I]

There are secret deep level tube lines especially built to speed government/royalty etc from parliament/buck palace out to GCHQ/Windsor in the event of attack

A vertical lift shaft going down 2000 ft to a trogladyte city would be the only thing of use as nowhere would be left habitable on this island post nuclear.

Insert own joke about trogolodyte city at surface level