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Persistent railway myths, misunderstandings etc.

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B&I

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See also: How decisions made by the railway industry are "stupid" or "a mistake" in spite of being made by professionals with years of experience and analysis/evidence at their direct disposal, and without the benefit of hindsight from the future or necessarily the ability to have full knowledge.


Here's another one: a forum consisting solely of people discussing how things are on the railway, and improvement projects sanctioned by the government, is really really really interesting
 
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B&I

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They filmed The Girl With All The Gifts (a post-apocalyptic zombie film) in the centre a couple of years ago. I don't think anyone noticed.


You could re-make 'Threads' in Middlesbrough and no-one would notice.

Note to self: got to stop having a go at Teesside on here
 

Lampshade

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Talking of myths, is the "180s were originally ordered for the FNW services from Rochdale/ Manchester Airport to Euston" story true? Fourteen trains always seemed a bit too much for the service (especially with the Manchester Airport - Euston line obviously being electrified).

(they might have intended some for local routes in the North West but that was surely what the 100mph 175s were planned for, so why so many 125mph diesel trains?)

It’s true, FNW had hoped to take over the Holyhead route as well.
 

Sunset route

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That the TRTS plunger is directly connected to the signal head (for the uninitiated platform staff in my area). :D
 

big all

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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.

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.
single words as such are so open to missinterperation you need a few connected words to give the whole story
new indeed can mean newly manufactured as in brand new unused
new can also mean this train is new to this location
you could also add remanufactured to a new better standard so a new level off service and standard
in the same way "diet" means what you eat no more no less but is assumed by most to mean loosing weight rather than a new reduced callorie and increased exercise routine
 

43096

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It’s true, FNW had hoped to take over the Holyhead route as well.
The original NWT/FNW order was something like 11 x 2-car 100mph, 7 x 3-car 100mph, 9 x 3-car 125mph. Sister company GWT/FGW then ordered an initial 8 x 5-car sets, and presumably at this time there was a swap around of the order with Alstom to effectively swap the 3-car 125mph sets to FGW and add 13 vehicles/re-configure to 8 x 5-car (and ultimately upped to 14 x 5-car 125mph), with 9 x 3-car 100mph added into the FNW order, so giving us the Class 175 and 180 fleets we have now.
 

Bevan Price

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1. A belief that paying a fortune to consultants will instantly solve all your problems.

2. A belief that Mr Corbyn will become prime minister and in a position ever to deprivatise the railways.
 

alxndr

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When something goes wrong someone can be there almost instantaneously to start investigating. In reality sod's law says we'll be 50 miles away at the other end of the district
 

matacaster

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That Christmas and other bank holidays are the best times to close large sections of the railway - because "it's always the quietest time of year". They haven't quite realised that the railway is quiet because large parts are closed!!!!!
 

Spartacus

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That Christmas and other bank holidays are the best times to close large sections of the railway - because "it's always the quietest time of year". They haven't quite realised that the railway is quiet because large parts are closed!!!!!

Statistics actually bear that out, on lines that have a perfectly normal service there is lower demand during bank holidays.

Another commonly held myth is that trees always help stabilise an embankment, when with manmade embankments like usually seen on railways the opposite is almost always the case.
 

Teflon Lettuce

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The myth among railway staff that Rail Replacement drivers are local to the area and know how to get to every station without any form of directions

The myth among the public that Rail Replacement drivers have an intimate detailed knowledge of the rail network.
 

MDB1images

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

If only it was true!

My contributions....
Long Freightliner trains with diesels on the front have the same rate of acceleration as EMUs and should go through major termini in the rush hour as they will in no way clog the system especially if going signal to signal.

And...
Running as many trains as possible on a two track system will in no way result in knock on delays should 1 train have an issue.
 

Emblematic

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Long Freightliner trains with diesels on the front have the same rate of acceleration as EMUs and should go through major termini in the rush hour as they will in no way clog the system especially if going signal to signal.

In fairness, I don't think they go through major termini that often. Or even minor ones. ;)
 

_toommm_

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A ticket entitles you to a seat, a plug, the exact reservation specifications I.e. forward facing table in quiet coach etc.
 

Ih8earlies

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A ticket that says "Route: Any Permitted" can be used to make a journey ANY way a passenger wants to.
 

RLBH

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Oh, that's a huge one. People have one or two nice journeys on a TGV or ICE when they're on holiday, and that's it - all foreign railways are brilliant. SNCF and DB have some very serious problems. Complaining about the railways is a national sport in Germany!
My InterRail trip after graduating from university was most illuminating. Scandinavian rail travel was excellent - until it went wrong, when it was a complete disaster in a way I've not seen the British network manage.
 

mrcheek

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You could re-make 'Threads' in Middlesbrough and no-one would notice.

Note to self: got to stop having a go at Teesside on here

They made a film called "The Tournament" in Middlesbrough. a kind of Battle Royale style thing in which contestants have to kill each other. I often wonder if they bothered shutting down parts of the town to film it, or just went ahead on a normal day and assumed nobody would notice
 

Polarbear

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Common misconception:that every member of rail staff knows which platform your next train leaves from, why it’s 15 minutes late & also knows where you should stand on the platform to get to your seat.

Applies to drivers, guards/conductors, cleaners & anyone remotely looking like rail staff!
 

Mag_seven

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An EU directive dictated that the operation of trains be separated from that of the management of the infrastructure.
 

xotGD

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That the passenger standing by the rear door on the platform waiting to board is actually the guard, so you should say 'Thank you' to them as you get off the train.
 

B&I

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My InterRail trip after graduating from university was most illuminating. Scandinavian rail travel was excellent - until it went wrong, when it was a complete disaster in a way I've not seen the British network manage.


Have you been on Northern recently ?
 

B&I

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They made a film called "The Tournament" in Middlesbrough. a kind of Battle Royale style thing in which contestants have to kill each other. I often wonder if they bothered shutting down parts of the town to film it, or just went ahead on a normal day and assumed nobody would notice


This film was in fact a documentary.

Hell I've done it again....
 

RLBH

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Have you been on Northern recently ?
I think the last time I was on Northern was six years ago. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I've been on a Northern train that wasn't a Pacer.

Which, in a desperate attempt to drag my post back on topic, are not bus bodies grafted on to coal wagon underframes.
 

Andy25

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That in getting contractors to bid and fulfil an ITT, the DfT is then liable for TOCs failure to deliver.
Not liable, but culpable if they failed to put sensible contingencies in to the ITT in case their assumptions didn't come to fruition.

TOC 's are forced to bid the best price which effectively pushes them to ignore risks that they would normally protect themselves with contingencies. DfT seems quite happy to let them continue to do this to increase revenue.
 

Bookd

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They made a film called "The Tournament" in Middlesbrough. a kind of Battle Royale style thing in which contestants have to kill each other. I often wonder if they bothered shutting down parts of the town to film it, or just went ahead on a normal day and assumed nobody would notice
A diversion from the subject of the thread but Middlesbrough these days seems to be very disappointing. As I originally came from that area in the fifties and sixties it was considered 'a cut above' with a fine town hall, splendid parks, the best shops and the smartest (and cheapest) Corporation buses. No comparison to now - I hope it can recover.
 

TheEdge

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Common misconception:that every member of rail staff knows which platform your next train leaves from, why it’s 15 minutes late & also knows where you should stand on the platform to get to your seat.

That the driver who has just brought a unit in knows, the moment they leave the cab, every platform allocation, destination, delay for every train in a station
 

AndrewE

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Which, in a desperate attempt to drag my post back on topic, are not bus bodies grafted on to coal wagon underframes.
Correct: it's a myth that they are not (quite) bus bodies on freight underframes. They obviously use mostley bus components and the suspension was a freight wagon development that was tweaked when they found it could be made good enough for a passenger vehicle.
 
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