Disruption to services - Storm Dudley & Storm Eunice

[infobleep]

There are currently no trains running between Victoria and East Croydon. What are my alternatives as I want to get home?

Where you trying to get to? Busses might work or within greater London of the TfL served area.

 

[GodAtum]

May not be the quickest but the easiest way is possibly Victoria line to Brixton and 109 bus to Croydon

Thanks that's a good shout. I was going to take 2 buses otherwise. Very annoyed there's no ticket acceptance though

 

[GodAtum]

Where you trying to get to? Busses might work or within greater London of the TfL served area.

The Croydon area. Very annoyed there's no ticket acceptance !

 

[yorksrob]

It’s the tiles surrounding the clock face outside which are precarious with some missing. Obviously inside is out of bounds but I don’t think the current wafer thin roofing would have survived the storm. It’s constantly leaking when it rains so god knows what 70mph winds would do to it.

At least with those old Victorian roofs, you can just reskin as needs be.

 

[Essan]

Just viewed that infamous forecast on youtube. The full version (2 mins34 seconds) can be found by typing michael fish forecast 1987 into either Bing or Google. In it he reassures viewers that there isn't going to be a hurricane, which was technically correct as the sustained wind speeds didn't reach force 12. However, when referring to the "vicious" low pressure system that became the storm he said that the strongest winds would pass over France and/or Spain rather than southeast England. I think words he uses to describe the weather in England is "quite windy" which is hardly as bad as what the storm turned out to be

BBC Michael Fish 15th October 1987 hurricane forecast full version!

Hard to find footage of the famous forecast. Thanks to BBC for showing it recently.

www.bing.com

The problem in 87 was that the storm developed a "sting jet" - basically dragging higher atmosphere winds down to the surface. This was a phenomenum which at the time was not properly understood and thus not predicted.

Ironically, today, winds in some areas - especially across the Mdlands - have been less strong than some feared because a sting jet had been predicted, but did not in fact form.

 

[M&NEJ]

1C56 Barrow-Manchester Airport turned back to Lancaster.

Are you sure? I'm seeing 1C56 as a Manchester - Barrow service proceeding in the normal direction on RTT; passed through Preston.

 

[43096]

The problem in 87 was that the storm developed a "sting jet" - basically dragging higher atmosphere winds down to the surface. This was a phenomenum which at the time was not properly understood and thus not predicted.

And here was I thinking a "sting jet" was a private plane used by the former singer from The Police.

 

[55002]

Looks like trains at a stand and not moving on ECML between welwyn and potters bar

 

[RJ]

There are currently no trains running between Victoria and East Croydon. What are my alternatives as I want to get home?

Tube to Blackfriars or London Bridge then train to East Croydon.

 

[Andy Pacer]

An interesting diversion was this Birmingham to Derby running via Leicester this afternoon

Realtime Trains | 1T47 1403 Birmingham New Street to Derby | 18/02/2022

Real-time train running information for 1T47 1403 departure from Birmingham New Street to Derby on 18/02/2022. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[deltic]

Tube to Blackfriars or London Bridge then train to East Croydon.

There is presently no service from these stations either

 

[MadCommuter]

Strange how that clip about “no hurricane” always tends to be cut short just before the “ but it will be extremely windy though”…

I'm glad it's not just me that remembers the full broadcast.

 

[MikeWM]

No trains appear to have moved from Cambridge or Ely since about 1130, at least according to RTT.

Good job I worked from home today!

 

[CHAPS2034]

Looks like the down lines block near Heaton Norris has been lifted - LB now not being shown in the berths.

However 2N68 1402 Hazel Grove to BPN still in P3 at Stockport and 2H48 1348 Crewe Piccadilly is still at Cheadle Hume where it arrived RT at 1424.

I presume one of the issues with these are that the crew will now be out of hours and replacements will have to sent out to get them moving again?

Winds picked up in the area about 1300 and peak was around 1500. Highest gust at my local weather station was 53mph at 1507, so about 8mph higher than the highest gust from Dudley on Weds night / Thursday morning.

 

[bramling]

The problem in 87 was that the storm developed a "sting jet" - basically dragging higher atmosphere winds down to the surface. This was a phenomenum which at the time was not properly understood and thus not predicted.

Ironically, today, winds in some areas - especially across the Mdlands - have been less strong than some feared because a sting jet had been predicted, but did not in fact form.

As someone who (just about) remembers 87, and what was left afterwards, all that can be said is thank goodness we didn't get one today. That would for sure have made it catastrophic in places.

 

[jfollows]

Winds picked up in the area about 1300 and peak was around 1500. Highest gust at my local weather station was 53mph at 1507, so about 8mph higher than the highest gust from Dudley on Weds night / Thursday morning.

Yes, here in Wilmslow the name "Storm Teacup" coined by someone else earlier in this thread is appropriate. The BBC, anyway, forecast 70mph gusts at 7am whereas - as you say - we had a couple of hours of windy weather from about 1pm.
It's still a little gusty but not very much, I think we had more prolonged strong winds two days ago here.
However this particular storm was always forecast to be worst "south of Manchester", so I guess it's not too far wrong.
I think I can put my green bin back outside again now.

 

[CHAPS2034]

And here's the current state of play on Northern from NRE

Current weather related disruption:

Newcastle - Middlesbrough via Hatlepool

This route is being severely disrupted by severe weather.

Barrow to Carlisle

Trains are unable to run between Barrow and Carlisle die to an obstruction on the track at Drigg.

Stockport to Manchester Piccadilly

Trains are unable to run between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly due to a tree blocking the line.

Stockport to Chester

Trains are unable to run between Stockport and Chester in both directions due to a tree blocking the line at Mobberley.

Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield

Train are unable to run from Chinley towards Sheffield due to a tree blocking the line.

Preston

All lines are blocked at due to damage to the station roof at this station. Trains may be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes.

Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent

Trains are unable to run between Macclesfield and Stoke-On -Trent due to an overhead line issue. Trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

Wigan Wallgate and Southport

Trains are unable to run between Wigan Wallgate and Southport in both directions due to a tree blocking the line at Parbold.

Leeds - Manchester Victoria / Blackpool North

This route is being severely disrupted due to a tree blocking the railway at Hebden Bridge. The line towards Leeds is currently blocked and staff are en-route to the location to work to rectify the problem.

Sheffield - Nottingham

This route is being severely disrupted due to a tree blocking the lines between Ilkeston and Nottingham. Network Rail are making arrangements for staff to attend the affected area.

 

[jfollows]

As someone who (just about) remembers 87, and what was left afterwards, all that can be said is thank goodness we didn't get one today. That would for sure have made it catastrophic in places.

I lived between Portchester and Fareham in 1987 and drove to work the morning after, driving around obstacles on the M275 into Portsmouth, having been woken up by the noise and the need to retrieve my bin from down the road. There were houses behind my office building (Baltic House at the then-end of the M275 which is also the junction for the ferry port) which had suffered badly from the wind wrapping round the taller building. It was a mess for sure, not to be repeated I hope!

 

[Falcon1200]

Completely agree, it's just a good job we don't live in Scotland as there'd likely be no service (or chance of getting to work) at all!

Before retiring in 2016 I dealt with, in an operational role, more severe weather days in Scotland than I care to remember. Therefore it is my considered opinion that the decision to withdraw Scotrail services by 1600 on Wednesday, while a drastic measure, actually resulted in far less overall disruption than would otherwise have been the case; Because where damage to and obstructions on the railway occurred, staff were able to attend and make repairs without the huge complication of stranded trains and passengers, which in the past have diverted much effort. The measure was so effective that practically every line had a normal service the next day, with lines being examined and passed clear, and even damage such as the collapsed OLE structure near Kilwinning being fixed overnight, all told a tremendous effort.

 

[yorksrob]

As someone who (just about) remembers 87, and what was left afterwards, all that can be said is thank goodness we didn't get one today. That would for sure have made it catastrophic in places.

It was fascinating watching dustbins and other debris flying up the road from my window that night.

I was too young to have to worry about the roof tiles though !

 

[Tomp94]

What's the deal on the West Coastway from Brighton. I know there's no service, but I'm curious as to which out of a tree/bin/roof/trampoline is blocking the lines and where.

 

[Nova1]

Does anyone know if there's any speed restrictions on the snow hill lines? almost every train through snow hill running close to 20 minutes late, and my train from Stratford-Upon-Avon didn't seem to be going at usual linespeed, plus passing a lot of signals at caution

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Manchester Piccadilly to Stoke-on-Trent

Trains are unable to run between Macclesfield and Stoke-On -Trent due to an overhead line issue. Trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

This is due to 2k18 being trapped inside Harecastle Tunnel by fallen oak tree, blocking SOT-CRE and SOT-MAN routes. All being diverted WCML to Crewe.

Believe all passengers are being evacuated currently and no damage to train thankfully.

 

[bramling]

It was fascinating watching dustbins and other debris flying up the road from my window that night.

I was too young to have to worry about the roof tiles though !

I remember the Burns Day Storm more, the aftermath of that one was pretty bad in places - I remember (as a youngster) being driven around and seeing lorries on their sides all over the place.

Reading between the lines, today's seems to have hit southern counties particularly hard, looking at what actually happened the area of red warning does seem to have been fairly spot on. It seems to have taken the more southerly of the various tracks. Even so, my town (just on the northern fringe of the red area) has seen some quite significant damage in terms of trees down, fences damaged, etc.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

Does anyone know if there's any speed restrictions on the snow hill lines? almost every train through snow hill running close to 20 minutes late, and my train from Stratford-Upon-Avon didn't seem to be going at usual linespeed, plus passing a lot of signals at caution

Internal Comms for WMT did state speed restrictions on entire network so quite likely, especially with so many lines blocked elsewhere.
Either that or congestion, but seeing as no Chiltern and next to no XC that seems unlikely

 

[MontyP]

Bright sunny and blustery up here in Sheffield and this just popped up on my WhatsApp which kind of sums up the situation nicely

That's a bit of a ridiculous post. I've lived in both the North and South of the country, and the winds here in S London are far in excess of anything I have personally experienced anywhere. You could put your big coat on and head out if you wanted but you'd still be likely to be hit by flying debris, falling masonry, etc.

 

[yorksrob]

I remember the Burns Day Storm more, the aftermath of that one was pretty bad in places - I remember (as a youngster) being driven around and seeing lorries on their sides all over the place.

Reading between the lines, today's seems to have hit southern counties particularly hard, looking at what actually happened the area of red warning does seem to have been fairly spot on. It seems to have taken the more southerly of the various tracks. Even so, my town (just on the northern fringe of the red area) has seen some quite significant damage in terms of trees down, fences damaged, etc.

I've been sat here in the pub not seeing much noticeably different, other than it being a bit blowy coming in, but then again I'm quite a bit North of the centre of the storm

 

[Sleepy]

Large amounts of people at London Liverpool Street despite no services running since 1200. Cambridge & Stansted Airport services won't run today due to substantial OHL damage. Unlikely to be any Great Eastern services until after 2200 (if at all) due to multiple incidents all the way up to Norwich. People really need to arrange lifts/taxis or hotels now to avoid overnight stay on station given freezing temperatures forecast.

 

[Gareth]

Was quite underwhelming in Liverpool; although we were only forecast max ~50mph winds anyway, which is not an unusual occurrence.

 

[dk1]

Although wind speeds where supposed to drop here in Norwich by 15:00 this was later put back to 17:00 yet it’s now 18:15 & there are still some seriously strong gusts. I doubt they’ll be any train movements until the morning this way & then they’ll be ECS proving runs but not until first light. I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I had plans tomorrow which thankfully I haven’t.