Abbreviations where they aren’t required

[Buzby]

Are you sure you’re not thinking about Penrith?

I was - at least it was in the right country!

 

[MattSGB]

I am on a Snoh Hill train now, facing one of those screens. Love that they abbreviate Birmingham as "B'ham" but Pawkway as "Pway". Also, the apostrophes cause mayhem with the displays when they show you connections from the next station. I don't know what kind of developers they have hired but it is scary that they can't handle an apostrophe.

 

[Towers]

One of the worst examples of this that I’ve ever come across was on First buses in Portsmouth years back - top marks for anyone who can guess at what “Southsea SPP” meant!

 

[cav1975]

One of the worst examples of this that I’ve ever come across was on First buses in Portsmouth years back - top marks for anyone who can guess at what “Southsea SPP” meant!

Most locals will have known about South Parade Pier.

 

[Towers]

Most locals will have known about South Parade Pier.

But potentially not the tourist traffic that’s reasonably heavy in the area! Thankfully it hasn’t been seen for years, but it was a particularly poor effort IMHO.

 

[Via Bank]

Inexplicably when the new Worldline CIS was rolled out on London Overground, it was incapable of displaying station names at full length. It’s 2024, there’s no excuse for a scrolling list to display “Dalston Kngslnd” or “Highbury & I”.

 

[Dr_Paul]

At the opposite end of the discussion, I've never understood why the Windsor service from Waterloo insists on having 'and Eton Riverside' appended to 'Windsor' on many displays, as it's most unlikely that anyone at Waterloo or along the route would think that the train would be going to the other Windsor station. The destination blind on 455s had the name in full, rendered in such tiny letters that it was almost impossible to read it; just 'Windsor' would have sufficed.

 

[Purple Train]

At the opposite end of the discussion, I've never understood why the Windsor service from Waterloo insists on having 'and Eton Riverside' appended to 'Windsor' on many displays, as it's most unlikely that anyone at Waterloo or along the route would think that the train would be going to the other Windsor station. The destination blind on 455s had the name in full, rendered in such tiny letters that it was almost impossible to read it; just 'Windsor' would have sufficed.

It's "Windsor & ER" on the side of the 450s: particularly appropriate during the reign of the late Queen, though I'm sure just "Windsor" would suffice! Maybe the Etonians aren't of that opinion...

 

[PGAT]

The new dot matrix displays at West Croydon and Norwood Junction have some very silly abbreviations. For instance Wandsworth Common is abbreviated to “Wandsworth Commn” and Carshalton Beeches is “Carshalton Beech”

 

[Ianigsy]

I suppose you could have Ashton\Lyne and Newcastle\Lyme.

Or Ashton ?

I can remember when some DMUs in the North West used to show Man Vic or Man Picc.

 

[birchesgreen]

Another WMR shortening is Lichfield T Valley.

 

[Gloster]

Inexplicably when the new Worldline CIS was rolled out on London Overground, it was incapable of displaying station names at full length. It’s 2024, there’s no excuse for a scrolling list to display “Dalston Kngslnd” or “Highbury & I”.

Wasn’t ‘Highbury & I‘ a film about two unemployed actors from near Penrith who borrow a flat in London for a holiday?

 

[Sunil_P]

It's "Windsor & ER" on the side of the 450s: particularly appropriate during the reign of the late Queen, though I'm sure just "Windsor" would suffice! Maybe the Etonians aren't of that opinion...

Windsor & Eton Riverside branch is the one true Lizzie Line!

 

[jammmmmsssssss]

The internal screens on the Greater Anglia 720s say "London Liv Street" when there is absolutely room for the full name, or even if not, London Liverpool St. would be better

The FLIRTs say the full name

 

[boiledbeans2]

[...]SWR has 'Basingstke' on its 444/450s, etc, etc. [...]

Not forgetting Portsm Hbr! In the case of the SWR Desiros, they use a rather dated dot matrix ‘flip dot’ system for the external screens rather than LEDs. When these screens were common on buses, before LEDs took over, it was usual for them to alternate between one display and another, for example to list ‘via’ points and such, but I’ve never seen this on the SWR fleet. Even if it was possible it’d be a clunky solution, as they’d have to switch between the two halves of the required word, rather than actually scrolling as per LEDs.

I believe there are two versions of the same destination on SWR. The usual is Portsm Hbr (or S'Sea) as you mentioned in single line bold font. There's also the full version displayed in smaller normal font, over two lines.

They also display "London Waterloo" over two lines now. But I believe I've seen just simply "Waterloo" in one line in bold. It's difficult to find photos of the side display online, but I can find 2 pictures of the front display - one with "Lon W'loo", and another with "Waterloo"

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/G996JR/train-a-south-west-trains-class-450-desiro-electric-train-at-staines-G996JR.jpg

https://c7.alamy.com/comp/HDE410/a-south-west-trains-class-450-train-passes-through-clapham-junction-HDE410.jpg

Also - London Livrpool St - photo which I first posted in https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...re-screens-or-cis-systems.231222/post-5644753

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Wasn’t ‘Highbury & I‘ a film about two unemployed actors from near Penrith who borrow a flat in London for a holiday?

That was always my joke with myself-the upcoming sequel to Whitnail and I

Wasn’t ‘Highbury & I‘ a film about two unemployed actors from near Penrith who borrow a flat in London for a holiday?

 

[BlueLeanie]

Abbreviations serve a second purpose.

On a left-right scrolling display, it means it takes less time to show the full route of the train - or the station of interest to the individual.

 

[godfreycomplex]

Wasn’t ‘Highbury & I‘ a film about two unemployed actors from near Penrith who borrow a flat in London for a holiday?

“We’ve gone to Kensal Rise turnback siding by mistake!!”

 

[Sunil_P]

Wasn’t ‘Highbury & I‘ a film about two unemployed actors from near Penrith who borrow a flat in London for a holiday?

Bad sequel to "The King and I".

 

[southern442]

The new dot matrix displays at West Croydon and Norwood Junction have some very silly abbreviations. For instance Wandsworth Common is abbreviated to “Wandsworth Commn” and Carshalton Beeches is “Carshalton Beech”

And yet they now say 'Sutton London'!

 

[3141]

Was it tube trains or buses that used to use EALING BDY?

I'm pretty sure that used to appear on some buses.

 

[OscarH]

British Rail - and subsequently ATOC - maintained a list of three shortened versions of each station name for systems that couldn't display the full thing.

Sadly I can't find a recent version, but it'd reduce the chances of seeing things like "London Liverpoo" instead of "London Liverpool Street" if it was resurrected and made mandatory for Customer Information Systems.

There is a dataset of display names with shorter versions to print on tickets where space is limited. Only has the 1 shorter length, and is aimed more at the ticketing rather than the display side (though I see no reason it can't be used there when the length is super super short)

Not that it should be needed on anything vaguely modern...

 

[12LDA28C]

I suppose you could have Ashton\Lyne and Newcastle\Lyme.

You'll be doing well to get a train to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

You'll be doing well to get a train to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Closed March 1964? Back to the future!

 

[stut]

The internal screens on the Greater Anglia 720s say "London Liv Street" when there is absolutely room for the full name, or even if not, London Liverpool St. would be better

I've a vague memory that they show "London Liv Street" and "Lime St Liverpool" in GA-land to avoid confusion at stations like Ely, which has services to both.

 

[jammmmmsssssss]

I've a vague memory that they show "London Liv Street" and "Lime St Liverpool" in GA-land to avoid confusion at stations like Ely, which has services to both.

At Norwich it says London Liverpool Street and Liverpool Lime Street and I think Ely will be the same

 

[hvordan]

The old dot matrix screens at Tring used to say 'Harrow & Wealdstn', which I always found a bit weird. The new screens just don't seem to work at all the past 3-4 times I've been so no clue whether they still abbreviate Harrow and Wealdstone .

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

Slightly different angle but what really annoys me is when a very short destination (“Frome” for example) which fits on the dot matrix destination blind twice over will still be scrolling, sometimes at such speed that it can barely be read.

 

[Sunil_P]

I've a vague memory that they show "London Liv Street" and "Lime St Liverpool" in GA-land to avoid confusion at stations like Ely, which has services to both.

A switch to the original "London Bishopsgate" would solve the confusion. #justsaying

 

[Bedpan]

And yet they now say 'Sutton London'!

Only a few years ago it was "Sutton Surrey".

I'm pretty sure that used to appear on some buses.

I remember back in the 50s the LT 93 bus, which ran through North Cheam where my Grandparents lived, had "PUTNEY BDG" on the blind which as a primary school kid i read as Putney Bog. I remember telling my parents that I wanted to go there as I'd read about bogs in story books but had never seen a real one. (At least natural ones rather than ceramic).