Railway trivia

[Welshman]

If passengers alighting from the Boston direction at Heckington obeyed the sign about not crossing the line, they'd never get off the platform.

 

[Bald Rick]

Bob Holness played the saxophone on Gerry Rafferty's 'Baker Street'. Gerry got the idea of using him when he heard him busking on the said tube station.

Whilst the Baker St thing is well known to be tosh, it is true that Bob Holness was the first British actor to play James Bond.

Although that has nothing to do with the railways.

 

[John55]

On average, Marks Tey is the coldest station in East Anglia. :P

As Marks Tey is in Essex it isn't in East Anglia is it?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

C stock 5585 was the first one in a new "corporate livery" in the 1980's - and as also relegated to the middle of a 6 car train ......

There are now at least 15 units of C Stock which can only be formed in the middle of a rake. Could even be more, but I don't think so.

 

[Tiny Tim]

And the Ns and Os?

Every third Wednesday.

 

[johnnychips]

Is Stalybridge station the only buffet where black peas are on the menu?

And is it true that the Widnes station where S+G were apparently inspired to write 'Homeward Bound' is actually today's station, or was it a now-closed Widnes station, or is the whole thing a legend?

And I do know Bob Holness didn't play the Sax on Baker St. It was actually Johnny Ball.

 

[SprinterMan]

As Marks Tey is in Essex it isn't in East Anglia is it?

East Anglia in the instance where I read this was referring to Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and the parts of Essex outside the M25.

EDIT:East Anglia in the instance where I read this was referring to Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, a very small part of Lincolnshire and the parts of Essex outside the M25.

Adam

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Sorry to go OT, but never in my life have I heard someone call Lincolnshire East Anglia! I think of it as Cambs, Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as Essex usually.

Anyway, back on topic...

 

[pitdiver]

Was New Southgate Colney Hatch the only station named after a Lunatic asylum.

 

[EM2]

Was New Southgate Colney Hatch the only station named after a Lunatic asylum.

Quite possibly, but Liverpool Street is built on one, the site of the first Bethlem hospital, that gave rise to the word 'bedlam'.

 

[LE Greys]

Some station sites have strange histories. Edinburgh Waverley started off as the Nor Loch, which had gradually filled up with sewage as the city grew in size, so in the 19th Century, they decided to drain it. When they did, it naturally had very fertile soil, so they decided to turn it into public gardens rather than building on it. The first railway arrived from the north. It's not the only place where they had to build on the only land available. Berwick station is in the castle.

 

[Michael.Y]

Whilst the Baker St thing is well known to be tosh, it is true that Bob Holness was the first British actor to play James Bond.

Although that has nothing to do with the railways.

Except Bob wasn't British, he was South African; born in Natal. And that performance as Bond was on South African radio.

 

[317666]

Was New Southgate Colney Hatch the only station named after a Lunatic asylum.

In this country, probably, but there is a Berlin U-Bahn station called Karl-Bonhoeffer-Nervenklinik, named after the local asylum.

 

[Michael.Y]

More of a question than a definitive statement, but is Llan- the most common prefix for a station name in Britain? being as it's the Welsh word for St., I imagine St. is its closest competitor, or perhaps New.

 

[SprinterMan]

Sorry to go OT, but never in my life have I heard someone call Lincolnshire East Anglia! I think of it as Cambs, Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as Essex usually.

Anyway, back on topic...

Whoops, missed out important phrase there :P
Sorry
I meant to say a tiny part of Lincolnshire
My dad and step mother live up there and they acknowledge the river Welland as the border between East Anglia and the Midlands. So what I meant was I count East Anglia as Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex outside of the M25 and the small part of Lincolnshire east of the river Welland.
Adam

 

[Gwenllian2001]

More of a question than a definitive statement, but is Llan- the most common prefix for a station name in Britain? being as it's the Welsh word for St., I imagine St. is its closest competitor, or perhaps New.

Llan is not the word for Saint. It originally meant enclosure but developed into being a settlement around a Church. These often, but not always, took the name from the Saint to whom the Church was dedicated e.g. Llanfair (Mary). This is in contrast to somewhere like Llandaf which is simply a settltememt on the river Taff.

 

[Ivo]

Of the two remaining lines that branch out from Exeter, if Beeching had his only the Tarka Line to Barnstaple would still exist (although he also planned to maintain Okehampton). This is considered an error on his part as the Avocet Line to Exmouth is far busier and far less costly to run owing to its much shorter distance. In the end though, both routes survived anyway (just without their respective extensions).

As Marks Tey is in Essex it isn't in East Anglia is it?

According to the English Regions system, East Anglia is one of three areas of the East of England region and covers Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire collectively form a second area, and Essex alone forms the third.)

 

[fireftrm]

According to the English Regions system, East Anglia is one of three areas of the East of England region and covers Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. (Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire collectively form a second area, and Essex alone forms the third.)[/QUOTE]


Some wiki-mischief here I think, as that appears to be a direct lift - remember wikipedia is writtne by any old so and so and is not an academically acceptable reference point. There is no 'English Regions' system, unless you adopt the Government Office regional structure. If you do then all the counties named above are in the same region - East of England. If you don't then there are no 'regions'. East Anglia is a title, derived from original kingdoms, given to the area covered by Essex, in the south, Norfolk, in the north and Cambridgeshire in the east. It doesn' actually exist as a region as there are none. There is no 'North East', 'North West', or such either, they are simply names given to areas, without defined borders.

 

[Michael.Y]

Llan is not the word for Saint. It originally meant enclosure but developed into being a settlement around a Church. These often, but not always, took the name from the Saint to whom the Church was dedicated e.g. Llanfair (Mary). This is in contrast to somewhere like Llandaf which is simply a settltememt on the river Taff.

My apologies, I put two and two together and made forty five.

 

[John55]

More of a question than a definitive statement, but is Llan- the most common prefix for a station name in Britain? being as it's the Welsh word for St., I imagine St. is its closest competitor, or perhaps New.

A quick count in the Timetable gives;

Aber-..........10
North-.........14
East-...........17
Saint-..........27
Llan-...........28
South-.........29
West-..........35
New-...........43

which must prove something if only that I have too much spare time on a Thursday evening!

 

[34D]

Except that he didn't always. His earlier works have no mouse.

Another myth busted.

When 91011 was painted out of this livery the mouse (as applied personally by Mr C himself) was supposed to have been removed somehow, yet in error it was sanded down and destroyed.

With GNER livery the mouse was a vinyl.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

The fair county of Northamptonshire once had ninety two stations, now there are only five.

I count six. Corby, Kettering & Wellingborough on the MML. Long Buckby & Northampton on the WCML and Kings Sutton on the Cherwell Valley/Chiltern Mainline.

 

[Welshman]

Llan is not the word for Saint. It originally meant enclosure but developed into being a settlement around a Church. These often, but not always, took the name from the Saint to whom the Church was dedicated e.g. Llanfair (Mary). This is in contrast to somewhere like Llandaf which is simply a settltememt on the river Taff.

My favourite example of this is Llandudno - the enclosure around the church of St Tudno.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Except Bob wasn't British, he was South African; born in Natal. And that performance as Bond was on South African radio.

You surely aren't saying someone's nationality is only defined on where they are born? Honestly?

 

[johnnychips]

There is no 'North East', 'North West', or such either, they are simply names given to areas, without defined borders.

I don't think that's right. I thought there were economic planning regions, and these are often evident in maps showing things like house price changes.

So Scotland, Wales, NI = themselves
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham, Cleveland = North
Lancashire, Merseyside, Gtr Manchester, Cheshire = North West
West, South, North Yorkshire and Humberside = Yorkshire and Humberside

Then my memory fades as to the exact boundaries, but there are West Midlands, East Midlands, South East excluding London, London, East Anglia and South West.

This has been clouded by the change to unitary authorities, so for example I'm not sure about the bit of Humberside south of the estuary, but these regions are well-known and defined for economic and planning purposes.

I always joke about being proud to be a northerner, but I was born in Glossop and live seven miles from Nottinghamshire, both of which are in the East Midlands.

 

[Michael.Y]

You surely aren't saying someone's nationality is only defined on where they are born? Honestly?

That's usually how it works....:?

He could have played for the Springboks, let's put it that way.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Hmm, so it is never possible to gain citizenship for another country then? If you were born and lived in say Italy until you were 10, emigrated to the UK, lived here and died at 100 you'd still be Italian? What about someone born on holiday? Are their parents and all their siblings one and them another? Really? I can't believe you think you must forever be the nationality that you were born and you are only ever that

 

[Gwenllian2001]

My apologies, I put two and two together and made forty five.

No need to apologise, all of us learn something everyday. To help you remember think of Llantrisant: llan - tri(three) - sant(saint).

 

[Michael.Y]

Hmm, so it is never possible to gain citizenship for another country then? If you were born and lived in say Italy until you were 10, emigrated to the UK, lived here and died at 100 you'd still be Italian? What about someone born on holiday? Are their parents and all their siblings one and them another? Really? I can't believe you think you must forever be the nationality that you were born and you are only ever that

Well hold on, you're putting words in my mouth now; I didn't say forever, nor did I say only. My point was that Bob Holness was described as the first "British" actor to play James Bond; whereas in truth this is only partially accurate, insomuch as he played the part whilst living in South Africa working for South African radio having been born there, and spending the first seven years of his life there. I've never once said it was a hard and shut case. I'm just saying that in the vast majority of cases it is true that the place of birth is a primary sociological factor of nationality and ethnic identity, especially if that national identity has a strong cultural or political underpinning. We see this invariably in Americans wishing to be seen as Scottish or Irish for example, like that odious trump Donald Troll. In your example, that person who spent 90 years in the UK would still be entitled to an Italian passport. Jimmy Carr has an Irish passport. Boris Johnson is well within his rights to run for President of the United States. My point was, that Holness qualified, above and beyond all other nationalities, as a South African first and foremost, before anything else in his life happened.

Incidentally it is very possible for siblings to be born under two nationalities! Twins in fact! (Warning - Daily Mail Article)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ries--son-born-English-daughter-Scottish.html

 

[johnnychips]

Hmm, so it is never possible to gain citizenship for another country then? If you were born and lived in say Italy until you were 10, emigrated to the UK, lived here and died at 100 you'd still be Italian? What about someone born on holiday? Are their parents and all their siblings one and them another? Really? I can't believe you think you must forever be the nationality that you were born and you are only ever that

I don't think you are. Not a cricket fan, but don't some South African-born players play for England after living here a certain time? A kid in my class at school was born in Germany (army family) and apparently he could choose to play for either Germany or England at football. I wonder if Dutch railway enthusiasts consider class 27s (ex-Woodhead line) Dutch or English trains?