The View From the North Bank of the Thames
After an excellent gluten-free sandwich and a coffee in the Starbucks by the Cutty Sark, I got onto the DLR again and travelled back to Island Gardens, where I walked along the North Bank of the Thames taking pictures.
Note you can just see the three masts of Cutty Sark in some of these pictures in front of HMS Ocean.
Pudding Mill Lane Station – 4th May 2012
Pudding Mill Lane station on the DLR is unique in that the platforms can’t take full length trains and the track is only single on the Canary Wharf side of the station. This picture shows the new station being constructed.
The New Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station
Completion date is given as 2013. Towards Stratford, the viaduct that will carry the track is now visible.
The New Viaduct at Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station
The station will be a great improvement on the one it replaces.
City of Lost Tourists
I’ve said before that tourists seem to get lost in London.
Today it was a Dutch couple, I encountered at Shadwell in the mezzanine level above the Overground, who were trying to get to the British Museum. I was pretty sure, they’d seen the tube map and thought they could get to Bank on the DLR to get a train nearer their destination. So I led them through the gates to the nearby DLR station and up in the lift to the platforms for Bank. Some of these interchanges to and from the DLR are tricky, to say the least. But that is more to the nature of the DLR, which has grown like the proverbial Topsy.
My nominations for bad interchanges to and from the DLR include.
- Canary Wharf, where the DLR and the Jubilee line are two separate stations.
- Canning Town, where there are two DLR lines and the Jubilee line on various levels.
- Poplar, which is a major DLR interchange and a good place to get lost.
- Shadwell, where the DLR and the Overground are two separate stations.
- West Ham, where the DLR and the Underground meet haphazardly, nowhere near West Ham United Football Club.
Note that three involve my least-favourite Underground line; the Jubilee line.
I suppose one of the DLR’s problems is that most of the stations are unmanned and most of the maps only show the DLR and its interfaces. So the system assumes a certain amount of knowledge amongst the passengers. On the other hand, every train has an excellent Train Captain, who can usually give you the information you require.
Perhaps what is needed is a Route Finder at each station, similar to those on the bus spider maps. It would give a list of major attractions and the route to take.
Wot No Bins
I bought a drink in Marks and Spencer at Brixton and it wasn’t until I got back to Waterloo on a train from Clapham Junction did I find anywhere tro put it, as South West Trains, don’t seem tom believe in rubbish bins either on the stations or the trains.
In the end, I put it in a cart, which was being used by a cleaner.
I hope that when they finish Waterloo, they at least put in somewhere to discard your rubbish.
The New London Overground Platform at Clapham Junction
The new platform 1 at Clapham Junction station to accomodate both ends of the main circular London Overground route is nearing completion, as these pictures show.
The train in the picture will use the West London Line to get to Stratford.
It would also appear, that when the extension to the East London Line opens in December this year, that there will be a new station entrance.
Could the London Overground Call at Brixton?
The London Overground extension of the East London Line to Clapham Junction station goes on a viaduct across a lot of South London and before flying right over the top of Brixton tube station to reach its destination by way of Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road stations. This picture show the two bridges that cross Brixton Road to the north of the tube station.
The Two Rail Bridges Over Brixton Road
The high bridge in the foreground will carry the London Overground, whereas the one just visible behind takes the main line trains to and from Victoria. The picture was actually taken from the entrance tro the tube station and you can see how difficult it would be to get passengers between the two levels.
Turn the corner into Atlantic Road and you see how difficult the problem is.
The Overground Flies Over Brixton Station
The track that will take the Overground extension, now flies over Brixton railway station. It is almost as if, the designer of the rail lines in the area, went out of his way to make connecting them difficult, To further complicate matters, there used to be an East Brixton railway station on the line that the Overground will use. This was closed in 1976 and demolished soon afterwards.
If the East Brixton station was to be rebuilt, it does give some interesting connection options, albeit with a bit of a walk.
I tend to think that the only solution would be to spend millions to create a proper interchange station, that connects all of the three lines; Victoria, East London and main line together. But in the present financial climate that is impossible.
One point is that today, after seeing Brixton, I took a 35 bus to Clapham Junction station. It is obvious, that one of the UK’s busiest stations needs a proper connection to the Underground network. It is possible the Northern Line extension will eventually deliver this. At present the best you can do is to take a train to either Waterloo or Vauxhall stations and get the Underground from there.
It’s Swimwear Buying Time Again
Judging by this picture of a London bus, it’s time to buy swimwear again.
H&M Swimwear Advert on a London Bus
Not me, as I don’t swim. And the advert wouldn’t apply to me personally, as I’m a man.
My late wife, C, was a manic and enthusiastic swimmer to say the least and every day before work, she’d swim umpteen lengths in the pool at Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket. She used to wear out Speedo Endurance swimsuits regularly, and I used to watch eBay for when last year’s models were sold off for here. Do professional swimmers have suits and trunks made out of something more long-lasting, or does the sponsor just pay?
I remember in 2007, which was the year she died, that C decided she needed some summer clothes and that of course meant swimwear. Since her breast cancer a few years before, she always felt that she must look the best fifty-year-old on the beach, not out of vanity, but more to stick two fingers up to the cancer. Although, she was probably two polite to do that other than metaphorically.
So she bought tickets on easyJet and one Friday in April we took the plane to Nice and checked in at the Hotel Windsor, which is much recommended. We had a marvellous weekend in the sun.
It was the first of seven holidays that we took in that fateful year before she died in December of a cancer totally unrelated to that in her breast.
My biggest memory of that holiday, is that C decided to buy a couple of bikinis for the summer. So we headed to Gallerie Lafayette and for a couple of hours, she tried on most that were suitable in the shop, whilst I passed what I thought might be suitable or a different size over the door of the changing room. It was a difficult job, but someone had to do it. They got hard work that last summer she was alive.
The picture shows C on the beach on the island of Panarea. I think you can just see that she was wearing nail polish, something she rarely did except on holiday.
There Are Now Guard Whippets On London Buses
Because of the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, specially trained whippets like this one, are now being carried on London’s buses.
A Guard Whippet on a London Bus
I spotted this rather smart grey one on a 141 bus this afternoon.
I had a brief chat with the handler and they said, they were a bit short of whippets, so they’re going to have to use beagles and coney dogs as well!
The Missing Escalator at St.Paul’s Station
For the last few weeks, there has been no down escalator at St. Paul’s Station on the Central line, as one is being replaced.
So you have to walk down 99 steps.
However, there is space by the steps to put in a slide, which would be much more interesting. But would Health and Safety like it?
The Felixstowe Ipswich Rail Route
It is reported in the latest Modern Railways, that work has started on a new rail terminal at Felixstowe. It will be able to handle trains of 30 wagons carrying 90 x 20 ft. containers.
It also appears that the port would like some passenger trains on the branch replaced by buses. As the port had agreed to double-track the branch to increase the capacity, this is a bit of a cheek.
I used to live in Felixstowe and as a teenager, getting back from Ipswich after about five was impossible, due to the appalling bus and train services, which stopped around six or seven.
So do Hutchison Ports want the people of Felixstowe to return to those dreary times I had to suffer. At least, now the last midweek trains leave Ipswich at around 22:30.
There is a petition on the Government’s e-Petition site to get the line dualled.
The Anonymous Widower 