Disabled Non-Friendly Train Doors
I don’t travel south of the river that often. But it was only today, that I noticed how bad the doors are on some of the trains. Here’s a selection of some of the doors I found.
I would suspect, that it’s not just in this area of the country, that they are bad. Obviously, to get all doors to accept a wheel-chair user on their own without assistance would be a difficult objective to achieve. But these are difficult for a mother with a buggy and are vastly inferior to 99 % of London’s red buses, which most wheel-chair users are able to enter and leave easily.
London Bridge Bus Station Opens on Monday
Over the last few months, getting a bus at London Bridge and especially the 141 that gets me home, has been difficult to say the least. But not as of Monday, when the new bus station on the forecourt opens.
As you can see from the pictures, it will be a great improvement on what is there now and what was there before the Shard put its enormous feet all over the place.
This is the bus spider map that shows the routes from London Bridge. It is a bit out of date at the moment and let’s hope that it links to the new map on Monday. I hope to that the temporary stop shown in the picture has been replaced by a permanent one.
By the way, there is no sign up to say that the new bus station opens on Monday, but a member of staff with the right helpful, intelligent and cheery attitude, who gave me the information. People like him, are one of Transport for London’s big strengths and they’re always there to help. The same can’t always be said for most bus and metro companies outside of the capital.
C Wouldn’t Have Gone In These!
The cars are now up on the Emirates Air-Line
Although they weren’t running this morning.
C only went on a cable car once. It was in Singapore. And that was only after a lot of protests! I don’t think she’d heard about the tragedy that happened with that cable car.
Trying To Get To Loughborough Junction
Yesterday, I had rather a wasted journey, as I was trying to get to Loughborough Junction station, so that I could see the bridges there for the London Overground. I started by going to St. Pancras station, but Thameslink wasn’t running, so I was advised by staff there to go to London Bridge station. But there were no trains there either, so I just came home and watched the football on the television.
In the evening, I had dinner with my son near Liverpool Street and he had difficulty getting in from Walthamstowe, as the Victoria line wasn’t running. I know engineering work needs to be done, but why is it always on the same day?
Today will be just as bad, so maybe I’ll try on Tuesday!
Searching For The Bermondsey Project Space
I was actually going South of the Border to visit the Bermondsey Project Space, which is one of the more unusual exhibition spaces in London, buried in deepest Bermondsey. These pictures might help you find it, as they document my walk from the 21 bus stop at Bricklayers Arms.
In the end I found it quite easily. But it would’ve helped, if some of the street signs hadn’t been nicked.
I just went down Pages Walk and then turned right into Willow Way, where the Project Space is at number 46, which is clearly marked.
Pictures From a Bus on Southwark Bridge
The tourists boats on the Thames, always used to claim that Southwark Bridge was the one over the river that had the least traffic. Today, because of diversions, I was on a 21 bus, that took a detour on its way to the Deep South. So I took some pictures, which are probably the some of few taken on a bus on that bridge. Only one route crosses the bridge in normal service, the 344.
I could of course be wrong, but as you can see they were taken from the lower deck, so there is more of a chance they’re the only ones taken from the lower deck of a bus on Southwark Bridge.
A Return to Brixton Station
When I went to Brixton in the week, I felt that a return visit might be in order to see Brixton station. So yesterday I went and took these pictures.
Note the picture I took of the underneath of the bridge that will carry the Overground to Clapham Junction over the station. It all goes to emphasise what a complete mess the railways in the area are.
In the next few days, if not today, I shall visit Loughborough Junction station, to see the mess the Victorians created there.
At least the artworks improve the station, which is not one of the UK’s finest. But integrate the three lines at Brixton properly, with perhaps a shopping centre and you might be able to create an interchange of which everybody could be proud.
Anthony Caro At Canary Wharf
Jubilee Park in Canary Wharf is being used this summer for a series of sculpture exhibitions. The first is of Anthony Caro’s work.
I wonder how many sculpture exhibitions are held on the roof of a station.
Where The Great Eastern Was Built and Launched
Brunel’s most famous ship, the Great Eastern, wasn’t built in Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow or on the Tyne or Tees, but on the Thames at Millwall. If you take the DLR to Island Gardens station and then walk along the Thames Path towards the City, you’ll see a sign pointing you to the Great Eastern Launch Site. It’s shown in these pictures of the Launch Site itself.
The Great Eastern was so large it was actually launched sideways, as the river wasn’t wide enough for a traditional launch. It was also pushed in by scores of hydraulic rams, as it was reluctant to move. It is said that these rams, built by Tangye, launched that company as well.
An Amazing Coincidence
Yesterday, whilst descending to the DLR on the escalator at Bank station, I held a lady up because I rather slowed the queue. I apologised and then we found we were both going to Cutty Sark. I was going to see HMS Ocean and she was meeting a group of people to explore Maritime Greenwich.
We sat together on the DLR and then found that she had been brought up in Westpole Avenue in Cockfosters, which was a parallel road to where I lived at the time in Sussex Way. We were also very much in agreement, that the area was the coldest place in London.
We exchanged memories all the way to Cutty Sark.
The Anonymous Widower 