Recent content by Dr_Paul

Rather than try to wedge a general station into London as it exists today, why not just build a new capital city somewhere central in Britain, with the general station at its centre, and the main, suburban and inner-city mass transit lines properly planned from the start? Problem solved!

Something that has intrigued me for a while is how the BR Standards locomotives were received by the workforce, in particular drivers and firemen. Prior to nationalisation the main companies had designed their own locos; were the Standard classes popular or otherwise with the workforce, in...

Does this explain the various classes of 0-8-0 freight locos with a large overhang at the front, which made them look as though they were 2-8-0s missing their pony truck?

The connection between the Dudding Hill line and the former LNWR line at Harlesden was an afterthought. What is now the bridge over the canal that carries the link was originally the way to a wharf on the canal, going round an impossibly sharp curve on the canal's north bank. The wharf was...

Suburban services to Waterloo services in the 1960s and 1970s were nearly always 4 SUBs, in pairs during the rush hours, and singles off-peak. There would be quite a bit of coupling and uncoupling at Waterloo at transition times. It's very rare to see a single 455 running into Waterloo these...

Does Clockhouse, on the line to Hayes, still get flooded? I think it was the station most prone to flooding in the London area. The Chaffinch Brook, a little tributary of the Ravensbourne, is the culprit.

The advice from National Rail Delays is most confusing. Is the problem on the North London Line or on the Tottenham Hale to Stratford line, or are there two separate incidents of a similar nature, one on each line? Why would problems on the NLL affect the other line, and vice versa? .

When I worked in Shepherds Bush in the mid-1980s, I'd sometimes travel via Olympia on the 'Kennybelle' service. This usually started from Platform 2 at Clapham Junction, but if it was running late from Streatham depot, it would go straight to platform 16, on the other side of the station, which...

There are a couple of speed-traps near me at the bottom of quite steep hills; these were bad enough when the roads were 30mph, one really needs to watch the speedometer now they're 20mph. Some years back I was caught by a trap in Catford; it was sited just after a narrow road in the town centre...

Surely today's technology enable differing vehicle tax to be easily calculated for different types of motor; all that's needed is for each model's data (weight, etc, etc) to be input, along with other relevant criteria (electric or internal combustion, etc, etc) at the DVLC, and a suitable...

It's bad enough having all the main roads reduced to 20mph around here without one's being stuck behind someone who insists upon going at 15mph. And the only suitable stretch to overtake has two speed-traps, and very sensitive ones at that, along it. 1742591586 That's weird. When going straight...

North Ealing is more like a countryside station than a stop on the London Underground. 1741714546 Stamford Brook has only three platforms, the up Piccadilly Line doesn't have one. This is because the station was originally built for double track with a platform for each track (it was a joint...

The two sidings are very much overgrown these days, with saplings growing up in the four foot. This suggests that they've not been used in a long time. They do look as though they're still connected, would the conductor rails still be live?

It's been sorted out now with some trimming, but the up Windsor line from North Sheen to Mortlake had until recently bushes that scratched noisily along the side of the carriages. I was once on a Waterloo service that went on the relief line around the back of the flyover near Queenstown Road...

I once saw a large blast of smoke emerge from behind the old repository building when I was on a train from Waterloo; a look on the Internet when I arrived home showed that it was from a steam special from Victoria which went on to the Windsor lines at Clapham Junction. There's also the...