I’ll Go Along With This Quote
With a memorial service for Sir Nicholas Winton today, I make no apologies for publishing one of his quotes.
I believe in ethics, and if everybody believed in ethics we’d have no problems at all. That’s the only way out; forget the religious side.
I doubt I can live long enough to see religion, become something you read about in history books.
But the world would be a better place, if everyone followed Sir Nicholas’s advice.
The London Overground Grows Without Fuss
I use the East london Line of the london Overground several times a week.
But this article in Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Extra evening services added on London Overground and I didn’t notice anything announcing the increase in services. This is said.
The East London line has been increased from two trains to four an hour between 10.00 and 11.30pm on the routes from Dalston Junction to New Cross and Clapham Junction and from Highbury & Islington to West Croydon and Crystal Palace.
It’s almost as if a Night Overground is being introduced in a Softly Softly way!
What’s gone wrong with the Unions?
They usually see an increase in levels of customer service, as a perceived threat to their jobs and working conditions and vote about whether to go on strike.
Is Sadiq Khan Frightened Of Saint Joanna?
This report on the BBC is entitled London Mayor Sadiq Khan backs ‘more accessible’ Garden Bridge plans.
I think the Garden Bridge should be quietly forgotten and the money used to connect Barking Riverside to Thamesmead.
I would have also thought, that the bridge would be the sort of project that few would mourn its passing.
So is Sadiq Khan frightened of Saint Joanna?
Especially, as last year, he didn’t think it was value for money!
A First Glimpse Of A Great Western Railway Class 387 Train
This article on the Rail Journal web site is entitled Bombardier Opens Derby Train Testing Facility.
There is a picture of a Great Western Railway Class 387 train in the new dark green livery.
Intriguingly, the train does not have a number, so is it one of those that have served on Thameslink or a new build after the Gatwick Express order has been completed?
Mutual Blogging
A reader of this blog, who used to be an old Artemis professional, is currently working on a large project, where there are a large number of sub-contractors and a difficult public relations problem with those, who live locally to the project.
They asked me, if a blog could solve some of his problems.
So here goes!
I would suggest, he starts a simple blog, probably using WordPress, as it is generally easily managed by an individual with average computer skills.
- Only a tight group of individuals would be allowed to add posts to the blog.
- Posts would be limited to so many a week.
- Anybody would be allowed to comment, but under a set of behavioural rules and moderation, If the project is controversial, you don’t want the blog to become the focus of discontent.
- I believe that with a difficult project, it could be a place for constructive discussion.
- Hopefully, each post would generate comments and discussion, that improved the original post.
- The blog would also point on its home page to useful sites concerned with the subject of the blog.
- There would be a contact form.
If you were having a blog like this for say a public infrastructure project like Crossrail, it could be public, but a project like perhaps trialling a new treatment for a controversial-to-some illness like HIV-Aids, might be password-protected.
I think on balance most project blogs would be public.
If a system like WordPress is used, all of what I said is possible. And a lot more too!
North of me, they are electrifying the Gospel Oak to Barking Line and there has been a bit of controversy over noisy piling in the middle of the night.
A simple post apologising for the noise and giving locations may have eased the problems. You might even get comments to the blog from those overlooking the piling, which show the details of the engineering and the generated noise.
You can never be sure, the way that such a blog will develop.
But I’m sure it will work, to improve the smooth running of a project.
Mainland Birmingham
Just listening to Adrian Chiles doing a live broadcast on the Brexit debate from the Bull Ring in Birmingham.
He has just interviewed a third-generation Indian sub-continent stall-holder, who described himself on-air as born in Mainland Birmingham.
Even Adrian, who is a Brummie, was caught out by the phrase.
The wonders of the English language.
Rumours Of Curves In Walthamstow
Last night, Lea Bridge station opened without ceremony, as I wrote in The People Of London Welcome Lea Bridge Station.
I got talking to someone, who knows a lot more about what will be happening to the railways in East London, than I do and when I asked about the Hall Farm Curve, they indicated it could be reinstated soon.
This map from carto.metro.Free.fr shows the lines North from Lea Bridge station.
Lines North Of Lea Bridge Station
The Hall Farm Curve connects Lea Bridge and St. James Street stations.
My informant said the curve would probably be only single-track and signalled to allow trains to go both ways.
With my scheduling hat on, I do wonder if the curve would effectively connect spare capacity on the Northern end of the Chingford Branch to some spare capacity between Lea Bridge and Stratford stations. I think it is probably true to say, that North of Coppermill Junction, the West Anglia Main Line needs more capacity, so this sneaky way to Chingford doesn’t impact.
The limiting factor on the number of trains per hour between Chingford and Stratford would probably be platform capacity at the two ends of the route.
My informant also indicated that the Coppermill Curve could be rebuilt to allow trains to go between the West Anglia Main Line and the Chingford Branch Line.
This Google Map shows the area around Chingford station.
Chingford Station
Note the extensive sidings by the station.
My informant said the main purpose of reinstating a double-track Coppermill Curve, would be to move empty trains to and from Chingford, rather than new passenger services.
But with the design stage of Crossrail 2 well underway, I do wonder, if connecting Chingford station and the related sidings to the West Anglia Main Line, might give Crossrail 2 better options to build the line or provide alternative services, whilst the West Anglia Main Line is rebuilt through the area.
It strikes me that the cost of doing both curves together would be less than only building the Hall Farm Curve and then finding that construction of Crossrail 2 needs the Coppermill Curve.
Related Posts
Improving The Chingford Branch Line
Could Electrification Be Removed From The Chingford Branch Line?
Could Reversing Sidings Be Used On The Chingford Branch Line?
Could The Hall Farm Curve Be Built Without Electrification?
Crossrail 2 And The Chingford Branch Line
New Stations On The Chingford Branch Line
Will Walthamstow Central Station On The Victoria Line Be Expanded?
The People Of London Welcome Lea Bridge Station
In the absence of any visible presence of the great and good, this evening about a hundred of the people of London welcomed the first train into Lea Bridge station since 1985.
In fact two trains turned up together and the pictures show the greetings and my trip to Stratford and back again.
All the station needs now is the reopening of the Hall Farm Curve, so that services can be run between Chingford and Stratford via the stations between St. James Street and Highams Park.
I can see this becoming a very busy station in a developing part of London.
- The Stratford to Angel Road station service is down to be improved as the big housing site at Meridian Water is developed.
- A Chingford/Walthamstow to Stratford service must certainly happen if the Hall Farm Curve is built.
- A Chingford/Walthamstow to Stratford service must surely take the pressure off the overcrowded Victoria Line and provide alternative routes to the Central Line and the current Chingford Branch.
- Crossrail will push services to get more passengers to its station at Stratford.
For myself, I’d like to see a Stansted service at the station, as I’d just get a 56 bus to the station. But will the Airport want a service to Stratford, rather than an improved and faster service to Liverpool Street.
I might even use this station to get to Stratford, if a higher frequency of trains ran through the station to Stratford.
But who knows, where the good burghers of Waltham Forest and their politicians will push Transport for London after getting the most important and expensive improvement completed?
I think congratulations are very much in order for the successful completion of this station.
Would I Go Back To Croatia?
The answer has to be Yes!
If I went back for a few days, I think, I’d fly to one city before spending a few days there. I would then travel to another city, spend a few days there before flying home.
As airlines fly to Dubrovnik, Pula, Split, Zagreb and a few other places, there are a lot of choices of route.
My preferred route, might be.
- Fly to Duibrovnik and spend 2-3 days.
- Take the ferry to Split and spend 2-3 days.
- Take the train to Zagreb and spend a day before flying home.
There are certainly lots of possibilities.
My other recommendations would be.
- Plan your trips in Dubrovnik the day before.
- Stay in a hotel with a lift in Dubrovnik.
- Stay in a hotel in Diocletian’s Palace in Split.
- Take the train between Split and Zagreb in First Class in good weather.
- If you’re coeliac like me, take plenty of snacks or eat fruit.
Plan the journey well and you’ll enjoy it.
Gluten Free Food In Croatia
Croatia is not as easy as Poland, as that country and some others in Eastern Europe, who were under Soviet domination, developed skills to cook without flour, as it was expensive.
Croatian cooking seems to use a lot of flour and breadcrumbs, but then Serbia was and probably still is a massive produce of wheat.
But I found no problems in either Split or Dubrovnik, armed as I was with a gluten free restaurant card in Croatian. These are some pictures of the food I ate.
I even found some gluten-free beer from Aberdeen in a vegetarian restaurant called Nishta.
The Anonymous Widower 