Weird Things You See People Do on the Railway

[Wivenswold]

A couple of years ago my train pulled up at Chelmsford on the UP road adjacent to the rear first class car on a 321 which was in the down platform. A not unattractive young lady was slowly moving up and down and apparently kneeling on the edge of a seat facing the back of that seat. I thought at first she was reaching for luggage but her arms remained downwards. It was only when I saw a rather hairy dude underneath her that the penny dropped and my sense of decency made me look away at speed. I subsequently tried 1st class but there wasn't even a buffet let alone the escort service that was apparently on offer that morning. Tsk.

 

[Stampy]

Travelling back from Birmingham New Street to Stamford on Saturday, I was "joined" in a bay of 4 by a rather "well built" lady and her mother who squashed myself and the chap sitting opposite me into the windows...

Daughter then proceeds to pull out 2 boxes of 12 Krispy Kreme donuts and scoff BOTH boxes (and a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi) between Birmingham and Leicester!!!

 

[Spartacus]

The East Yorks Coast goat appreciator ended up in court!
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/judge-sceptical-of-help-plea-for-goat-sex-man-1-2404595

I seem to recall that he was only identified and caught due to a signal fault and the train coming to a stand somewhere it would normally be passing at speed. A few years ago there were regular reports of a bloke in bondage gear lineside in stockings and suspenders in the Meadowhall/Rotherham area who seemed to enjoy the passage of trains very much!

 

[Spartacus]

Just thought of another one - people that seem unable to flush the toilet after them (whether on the train or in buildings)

This is something I'm increasingly aware of myself doing (obviously depending on how badly I've fouled the loo) on trains which have retention tanks, since each flush adds water to the mix and brings the loo closer to it locking itself out of use or just ceasing to flush due to the tank being full, a common problem on late TPE services, which leads to toilets being filled to, and above the brim, as well as other areas of the train being used on occasion.....

 

[Joseph_Locke]

4. I don't know if this has been standardised now but I can recall on some trains the doors would open if the button was already held down when the light came on while on others the press has to be made after the light comes on.

On Manchester trams the inside door buttons can be pressed at any time and the doors will open immediately next time the driver releases the doors on that side. This doesn't stop people repeatedly mashing an already activated button from about 5s before the tram comes to a stop.

My pet peeve is when other board a vehicle with end vestibules only (e.g 156) they stop at the first free seat and proceed to unpack / remove coats / find book / find ticket / find / phone, blocking the gangway for those boarding behind...

 

[Joseph_Locke]

How about on a sweltering hot day on a train, when the train enters a tunnel, those lunatics who suddenly develop an urgent need to shut all the hopper windows.

I've had to stop myself from shouting "Get a grip, it's only a tunnel".

Perhaps they think our pacer/153 has just entered the Chunnel !

We (me and my fellow commuters on the 0633) have to suffer a young lady who runs (as exercise) to an intermediate station and then ALWAYS opens every window she can reach, because she is hot from running. This happens irrespective of outside air temperature, inside air temperature, windspeed, train speed, train class, humidity, precipitation type and density, and her actual proximity to said windows. She gets off three stops (12 minutes) later - and leaves them all open.

 

[yorksrob]

We (me and my fellow commuters on the 0633) have to suffer a young lady who runs (as exercise) to an intermediate station and then ALWAYS opens every window she can reach, because she is hot from running. This happens irrespective of outside air temperature, inside air temperature, windspeed, train speed, train class, humidity, precipitation type and density, and her actual proximity to said windows. She gets off three stops (12 minutes) later - and leaves them all open.

I can see how that would be equally tiresome !

 

[Joseph_Locke]

I remember 1989 being "underwear year" - just about every day we'd find discarded undergarments in the fourfoot, most densely distributed between Harrow and Euston.

The (dubious) explanations given by the half-informed parents to innocent offspring: "They don't need joints in rails any more because modern rails are made of special stretchy metal" "don't worry, the train can go a bit faster than normal to make the time up" (on a Pendolino)

Pulling the emergency handle whilst a train is stationary in a station with the doors released (one of the few times I have ever reported a fellow passenger for anything)

Being astonished that their dog has no more absolute right to a seat than they do, which is none, even with a reservation.

Not on a train, but:

the wannabee passenger who asked why the next train was so far off - whilst I was working with an excavator removing ballast from where the track used to be, next to the platform.

Objecting at a public inquiry against a scheme that would improve train frequencies at their local station and make their back garden quieter.

 

[amateur]

Travelling back from Birmingham New Street to Stamford on Saturday, I was "joined" in a bay of 4 by a rather "well built" lady and her mother who squashed myself and the chap sitting opposite me into the windows...

Daughter then proceeds to pull out 2 boxes of 12 Krispy Kreme donuts and scoff BOTH boxes (and a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi) between Birmingham and Leicester!!!

Did it gross out the person opposite you aswell. I'd feel sick just eating one donut doughnut

 

[msussams]

VTEC Coach Boards: Watching people walking the length of the platform to the board that says Coach B at Darlington to then see them running back down when it turns out they are travelling on a Cross Country train. I don't know how big the "Travelling on Virgin Trains?" and "on Virgin Trains services only" message needs to be for people to notice it.

I find this is a historic habit with is based when Cross Country was Virgin. I still get people saying we get virgin trains in Bristol. Mmmm not anymore.

 

[Ianno87]

I find this is a historic habit with is based when Cross Country was Virgin. I still get people saying we get virgin trains in Bristol. Mmmm not anymore.

I saw some travellers at Peterborough find out the hard way that it's quite a long way between the Coach B VTEC sign on the platform and where Coach B of a 158 bound for Norwich stops...

 

[High Dyke]

On Manchester trams the inside door buttons can be pressed at any time and the doors will open immediately next time the driver releases the doors on that side. This doesn't stop people repeatedly mashing an already activated button from about 5s before the tram comes to a stop.

My pet peeve is when other board a vehicle with end vestibules only (e.g 156) they stop at the first free seat and proceed to unpack / remove coats / find book / find ticket / find / phone, blocking the gangway for those boarding behind...

A good reason to remove seats and some stock and treat passengers like livestock! Oh sorry...some services already operate like that.

 

[transmanche]

I saw some travellers at Peterborough find out the hard way that it's quite a long way between the Coach B VTEC sign on the platform and where Coach B of a 158 bound for Norwich stops...

At some VTEC stations, it can be quite a way between the Coach B VTEC sign and where Coach B of a VTEC train stops...

 

[Tracked]

Was in the vestibule of a Voyager this afternoon, the only person stood there cause I wasn't on for long, stood right by the door. A guy came in from the carriage behind, pressed the door open button by the door I was at, then went to the other side of the carriage and pressed the door open button there.

Neither doors opened, he then walked right past the Door Open button for the toilet and was heading further into the carriage.

I asked him if he was looking for the toilet. He was, and the only Door Open button he hadn't pressed was the one for the toilet (and no, I wasn't stood in front of it).

 

[B&I]

I seem to recall that he was only identified and caught due to a signal fault and the train coming to a stand somewhere it would normally be passing at speed. A few years ago there were regular reports of a bloke in bondage gear lineside in stockings and suspenders in the Meadowhall/Rotherham area who seemed to enjoy the passage of trains very much!

These stories always remind me of a round on 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue' where the panel had to.complete local newspaper headlines. Graham Garden completed 'Riverside Path Indecent Exposure Man' with 'Is Voted Least Popular Superhero'

 

[anti-pacer]

People who ask when the next train is to a certain destination, they're told when the next service is and they reply "Is there not one sooner?". It's like they think there's a service that they're not allowed to know about!

I had that every day at National Express. It drove me crazy!

 

[Iskra]

Saw a bloke tonight following a group of 6 pretty women on Leeds station over bridge about 10m behind filming them on his phone. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary and they were fully clothed by modern standards. I politely informed him that their were probably laws against that behaviour, as I was rushing to catch a train.

 

[Highlandspring]

What this thread highlights is that there are a lot of perverts out there.

 

[mde]

What this thread highlights is that there are a lot of perverts out there.

And some people wonder why stations (and many trains) have CCTV and that very obvious BTP message everywhere… it's not just for the 'big' incidents.

 

[trainophile]

Saw a bloke tonight following a group of 6 pretty women on Leeds station over bridge about 10m behind filming them on his phone. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary and they were fully clothed by modern standards. I politely informed him that their were probably laws against that behaviour, as I was rushing to catch a train.

Perhaps he was with them! Doesn't have to have been pervy.

 

[Iskra]

Perhaps he was with them! Doesn't have to have been pervy.

Perhaps, although in that case he would probably have been filming from the front of them, not aiming at their arses from behind. And he might have explained he was with them when I challenged him, not try and laugh it off as normal bloke-ish behaviour, which it isn't.

Anyway, I left it with BTP to look into- they can make the decision on whether it's normal or not.

From my experience, the police normally take this sort of thing seriously and there's been a previous occasion that I've spotted low-level weird behaviour that unravelled something much more major leading to a prison sentence. I'd much rather report it than let it go, then my conscience is clear.

(I think I've said everything I need to say, so I won't be discussing it further)

 

[trainophile]

Okay Iskra, thanks for clarifying.

 

[krus_aragon]

I remember 1989 being "underwear year" - just about every day we'd find discarded undergarments in the fourfoot, most densely distributed between Harrow and Euston.

Given your profile picture:

I prefer to read the above quote as 1899. Far more shocking!

 

[island]

Saw a bloke tonight following a group of 6 pretty women on Leeds station over bridge about 10m behind filming them on his phone. They weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary and they were fully clothed by modern standards. I politely informed him that their were probably laws against that behaviour, as I was rushing to catch a train.

This may be unpleasant, distasteful, or even pervy, but isn’t illegal.

 

[AndrewE]

I saw some travellers at Peterborough find out the hard way that it's quite a long way between the Coach B VTEC sign on the platform and where Coach B of a 158 bound for Norwich stops...

You are forgetting that Peterborough is very close to the Fens... so maybe not so surprising!

 

[TheSeeker]

I was once on a Tolworth-Waterloo train and we stopped just outside Raynes Park where there are some light industrial units next to the line. A woman in my carriage said "My god look at that". A couple were having sex on the step of a fire exit at the back of one of the units. The whole carriage was watching but they carried on oblivious to us and finally the train moved on. One of those moments when you can't quite believe what you are seeing.

 

[duffield]

This may be unpleasant, distasteful, or even pervy, but isn’t illegal.

I am not a lawyer, but the offences of 'Public Nuisance' and/or 'outraging public decency' might apply, particularly when persisting in filming peoples bums. The important part of the 'outraging' offence is "an act which is lewd, obscene or of disgusting character, which outrages minimum standards of public decency as assessed by the jury". While this act probably couldn't be classed as obscene, it might be seen as lewd or disgusting...

 

[Highlandspring]

It’d be straightforward Breach of the Peace in Scots Law, since it is conduct “liable to cause fear, alarm or disturbance to others”. It’s also likely to be prosecutable under one or more from section 38 (threatening or abusive behaviour), section 39 (stalking) or section 43 (voyeurism) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

 

[221129]

It’d be straightforward Breach of the Peace in Scots Law, since it is conduct “liable to cause fear, alarm or disturbance to others”. It’s also likely to be prosecutable under one or more from section 38 (threatening or abusive behaviour), section 39 (stalking) or section 43 (voyeurism) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.

Although unhelpful as Leeds isn't in Scotland...

 

[whhistle]

People who ask when the next train is to a certain destination, they're told when the next service is and they reply "Is there not one sooner?".

I had that every day at National Express. It drove me crazy!

But when I've told people "well, you asked for the next one, so that's what I told you", I get accused of being rude!
No, I am just answering your second (and rather silly) question and you didn't like the answer.