Reading a couple of other threads about delayed trains out of London missing stops made me think back to when we used to come home from school in Sheffield to Dronfield. This wasn't long after Dronfield re-opened so I'm guessing from my school years about late 1982 / early 1983.
The timetable wasn't clock-face and was bunched for commuters around 16:00 - 18:00 at irregular intervals (think something daft like 8 of the 11 Sheffield - Dronny trains in this evening peak). Most of the trains were two car DMUs doing Sheffield - Derby / Chesterfield stoppers.
There was a loco hauled train that came from the Hope Valley Line in the midst and that was often the Sheffield - Dronfield departure I'd catch.
On numerous times (50-75 in two years sixth form) it would decide to skip Dronfield if running late - also apparently used to skip Sheffield if really late and just go round the Dore curve, Sheffield passengers having to back track from Chesterfield and those of us wanting Dronfield from Sheffield would be crammed in a Derby DMU bog van 2 car when a six car express should have run.
Of course after this happened a few times us school kids (they were 30-40 of us wanting Dronfield as a stop) decided to work out the optimum point to pull the emergency cord (47 hauled was 20 seconds after leaving Bradway Tunnel) so the train stopped with some carriages in Dronfield station and being manual doors we could get out at our "scheduled" station that BR were trying to miss.
When the loco hauled train was replaced by 150s/156s this still went on and we had to be by the door the guard would exit from to check why we'd stopped, getting clips round the ears. But we'd worked out that the extra time and return fare from Chezzy (we'd get charged that by Chesterfield guards as they though 'my train didn't stop at Dronfield' was classic schoolies trying to blag a free ride back to Dronfield) was worth the threat of the penalty fare.
Q is - if a train were station skipping today - could you pull the cord at the right point if it got announced it wasn't stopping after you got on and get off or are you stuck inside?
The timetable wasn't clock-face and was bunched for commuters around 16:00 - 18:00 at irregular intervals (think something daft like 8 of the 11 Sheffield - Dronny trains in this evening peak). Most of the trains were two car DMUs doing Sheffield - Derby / Chesterfield stoppers.
There was a loco hauled train that came from the Hope Valley Line in the midst and that was often the Sheffield - Dronfield departure I'd catch.
On numerous times (50-75 in two years sixth form) it would decide to skip Dronfield if running late - also apparently used to skip Sheffield if really late and just go round the Dore curve, Sheffield passengers having to back track from Chesterfield and those of us wanting Dronfield from Sheffield would be crammed in a Derby DMU bog van 2 car when a six car express should have run.
Of course after this happened a few times us school kids (they were 30-40 of us wanting Dronfield as a stop) decided to work out the optimum point to pull the emergency cord (47 hauled was 20 seconds after leaving Bradway Tunnel) so the train stopped with some carriages in Dronfield station and being manual doors we could get out at our "scheduled" station that BR were trying to miss.
When the loco hauled train was replaced by 150s/156s this still went on and we had to be by the door the guard would exit from to check why we'd stopped, getting clips round the ears. But we'd worked out that the extra time and return fare from Chezzy (we'd get charged that by Chesterfield guards as they though 'my train didn't stop at Dronfield' was classic schoolies trying to blag a free ride back to Dronfield) was worth the threat of the penalty fare.
Q is - if a train were station skipping today - could you pull the cord at the right point if it got announced it wasn't stopping after you got on and get off or are you stuck inside?
