Tripods on stations

[alexdodds]

Part of the guidelines does say on certian stations you may not be allowed to use one. I can give a list of stations from North to South I have been to that do not allow tripods to be used.

Glasgow Central
Edinburgh Waverley
Newcastle
Sunderland
Leeds (Not sure about this one, one staff member said they are not allowed)
Manchester Victoria
Liverpool (Merseyrail underground stations)
All London terminals

I have been to other places and sometimes not took one based on judgement.

 

[andylloyd]

Part of the guidelines does say on certian stations you may not be allowed to use one. I can give a list of stations from North to South I have been to that do not allow tripods to be used.

Glasgow Central
Edinburgh Waverley
Newcastle
Sunderland
Leeds (Not sure about this one, one staff member said they are not allowed)
Manchester Victoria
Liverpool (Merseyrail underground stations)
All London terminals

I have been to other places and sometimes not took one based on judgement.

Alex,
i've seen folks at Newcastle with their tripods complete with a NXEC visitors pass. This chap was at the Northern end of 2 and 3 during my visit and didnt get harrased. However ive seen others that have signed in get harrased...... So in my eye's it catch 22 situation. I would hope however now that EC have taken the franchise over that they are more 'Enthusiast Friendly'

 

[Ferret]

I was once told that tripods were banned at all NXEC stations - this was clearly bollocks and was duly challenged. They aren't banned at any railway station at all, but common sense demands that you don't use them in areas where they could cause a trip hazard...

 

[alexdodds]

i was only trying to help and i fail again.

With London there is a clear understanding as to why they are not allowed St Pancras especialy. Its sometimes not just because its a busy station but also because some stations have loads of electricfication.

St Pancras e.g. not only has the overhead cables but also the electric fence sealing in the eurostar platforms so therefore the electric can arc and strike the tripod causing a serious accident.
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Alex,
i've seen folks at Newcastle with their tripods complete with a NXEC visitors pass. This chap was at the Northern end of 2 and 3 during my visit and didnt get harrased. However ive seen others that have signed in get harrased...... So in my eye's it catch 22 situation. I would hope however now that EC have taken the franchise over that they are more 'Enthusiast Friendly'

Those visitors passes were introduced I think because of the ticket barriers. The platform tickets at that station only give you 45 mins whereas the pass gives you unlimited time. The barriers are now switched on to a test period as of the last time i went which was xmas eve.

 

[Lampshade]

They certainly are allowed at Manchester Victoria, might just be off peak but I saw many people using them on platforms 3/4 when a steam train rolled in on 3rd October. At the end of the day it's down to the discretion of the station staff, if it's particularly busy (as Victoria can be) then they may say no on that occasion.

 

[Teaboy1]

Easy answer is to use a mono-pod..........100% better than hand-held and about 75% as effective as a tripod!
Would need to read the fine print but I doubt if the rules mention a mono!!

 

[mumrar]

Easy answer is to use a mono-pod..........100% better than hand-held and about 75% as effective as a tripod!
Would need to read the fine print but I doubt if the rules mention a mono!!

I'm loving the random percentages used there. I'd have just said I prefer using a monopod for stabilty and taking less space/weigh than a tripod in your shoes. Monopods are probably (note probably, no first hand experience) useful down to a half second exposure with a light camera/lens, with a tripod you can get exposures for as long as you need so very good if you want the light twinkles.

 

[GB]

St Pancras e.g. not only has the overhead cables but also the electric fence sealing in the eurostar platforms so therefore the electric can arc and strike the tripod causing a serious accident.

If you get an arc from OHL cables simply by having a tri pod on a platform then there is something seriously wrong (and yes I know that the OHL is lower in most London terminals).

I dont know the specifics of this electric fence but I suspect the voltage is relativly low and thus any kind of arc (unless you are mm's away) is very unlikly.

 

[mumrar]

I did see this comment and gloss over it. GB is right, if a tripod is at risk of arcing electricity, so are people. So unless your tripod somehow exceeds the boundaries of the cant lines there's no additional risk.

 

[142094]

Before the barriers at Newcastle you could always use a tripod, never heard of anyone getting stopped from doing it. Plus the only time NatEx would have stoped people is when they ha dthe manual barriers on, AFAIK the automatic ones were not working before they handed back the franchise.

I'll check tomorrow as I'll be down. Hopefully get a platform ticket too.

 

[Ferret]

Before the barriers at Newcastle you could always use a tripod, never heard of anyone getting stopped from doing it.

I'll check tomorrow as I'll be down. Hopefully get a platform ticket too.

Unbelievably, a certain member of NatEx staff tried to stop me from using a tripod whilst I was on duty and in full uniform at Newcastle!!!!:roll: Aside from the fact that it wasn't my tripod and I wasn't actually using it at that point - merely talking to the owner, you can safely assume said platform staff was advised to reconsider his actions...

 

[andylloyd]

Unbelievably, a certain member of NatEx staff tried to stop me from using a tripod whilst I was on duty and in full uniform at Newcastle!!!!:roll: Aside from the fact that it wasn't my tripod and I wasn't actually using it at that point - merely talking to the owner, you can safely assume said platform staff was advised to reconsider his actions...

I wonder if it is the same person that has a attitude problem towards enthusiasts

 

[Ferret]

Who knows! At the time, his ultimate boss was a chap called Richard Bowker - he's a NED! Wonder if he had the same attitude with him when he visited the station!

 

[142094]

Never encountered this person at Newcastle, which is strange seeing how many times I go there. If I was in that situation I'd ask him to explain what the problem is and point out that under the "rules" it says they can be used when not blocking passengers and in the way of things such as signals.

When using the tripod it is nearly always at night (never usually use one in the day unless the weather is crap), so there is therefore usually less people around, so don't think they could have a problem with that. Plus when you're at the High Level Bridge End of platform 2 there are no passengers around anyway!

 

[317666]

I know that tripods are allowed at Waterbeach and Great Chesterford, but does anyone know if they're allowed at Knebworth?

 

[142094]

Unfortunately the barriers weren't on when I was at Central yesterday so don't know what the situation is just yet.