A Good Safety Slogan
I took this picture on the site of the Royal Docks terminal of the new Emirates Air-Line.
A Good Safety Slogan
It’s so obvious, I’m surprised I’ve not seen it before.
My Dalliance With Joan Collins
Joan Collins was on BBC Breakfast this morning plugging a book.
I actually met her once in the queue for Immigration at Heathrow, after we’d both flown in from the United States. All I can say, is that she looked a lot better this morning, as I suspect she’d had time to do her make-up properly.
She did ask me a favour in the queue at Heathrow, which I declined. but then I never light anybody else’s ciggie. Or even one for myself, for that matter! Even if it belongs to Joan Collins!
High Speed Diesel Trains to the Rescue
The trains out of Paddington are some of the most overcrowded in the UK. So First Great Western are doing the sensible thing and adding an extra coach to their High Speed Diesel Trains. Currently, their trains have a two power car plus eight coach formation, whereas those on the East Coast are two plus nine.
So they have found a source of redundant buffet cars and these are being re-manufactured and fitted with seats, as reported here on the BBC.
Some reports are a bit sniffy about this approach and have called it rather stopgap.
But I would say it is a tribute to the design of the High Speed Diesel Train, that has always been capable of sandwiching any number of coaches up to nine between the two diesel power cars.
What puzzles me, is why wasn’t this simple idea, carried out sooner. But then those in the Department for Transport didn’t want anything to get in their way of their trips to Japan to clear the way for Hitachi.
Long after those civil servants have retired, High Speed Diesel Trains and their Mk III coaches will still be running.
Crossrail’s Tunnelling Site on the Limmo Peninsular
If you take the Docklands Light Railway from Poplar to Canning Town, the train takes a wide loop just after East India station. The enclosed area is the Limmo Peninsular and it sits in a loop of the River Lea as it travels towards the River Thames. In the distance there is an enclosure with several large cranes surrounded by blue fencing.
The Crossrail Site on the Limmo Peninsular
I would assume that this is tunnelling site for Crossrail. The picture was taken from the platform at Canning Town station.
A couple of days after I took the picture, I went back again and took a picture of the site from a train on the Docklands Light Railway going to Beckton.
The Crossrail Site at Limmo from the DLR
I also took another showing an impressive set of Portacabins.
Portakabins Galore!
You can just see the Crossrail logo on the buildings.
The Stepney City Farm and Crossrail
At Stepney Green, there is going to be an underground junction for Crossrail. The main line will come from the east on the Limmo Peninsular and then past westwards to Canary Wharf and Central London. It will be joined here by the more northern of the eastern branches to Pudding Mill Lane and Stratford.
Surprisingly, over the top is the Stepney City Farm.
But they both have their objectives and I think with a little bit of give and take on both sides, they have come to a compromise that suits both. The farm has lost a field for some period of time, but Crossrail have put in new fences and were starting to put up a new barn.
It is a bit of a mess in places now, as these pictures show.
But then time is a great healer and I suspect that when Crossrail opens, the farm will be as it should be. I was shown round by Richard and was impressed at the quality of the livestock, the fences and buildings. You can’t have a good farm without the latter, as why should animals not be warm and secure.
By the way, the farm sells eggs, so if you want hens or duck eggs laid in East London, is there a better place to go?
St. Dunstan’s, Stepney
This church is mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.
St. Dunstan’s is the sort of English parish church, that you expect to see more in the country, than tucked away in the East End of London.
St. Dunstan's Church, Stepney
It now sits and watches over the important Crossrail site at Stepney Green.
Walking To Stepney Green
Today I went searching for the Crossrail site at Stepney Green. It was a pleasant walk from the area of Stepney Green station, although for convenience I’d taken a 25 bus to get to there in the first place.
As you can see there were a lot of flowers in bloom.
The New Kings Cross Station Opens on the 19th
On of the largest building projects in London hits a big milestone on Monday, the 19th with the opening of the new reception area at Kings Cross station. Before that though drinkers will get a new pub called the Parcel Yard, next Wednesday.
They do seem to be going to hit their target. In one of the pictures, you might just see the working destination board.
A Better Picture
In this post, I said I might be able to get a better picture of the TBMs from a main line train. So today, I tried again.
I took a train to Ealing Broadway station and back again. I actually think if you want to take pictures it might be best to actually go to Acton Main Line, as the Oxford train, I got on return, went past the tunnelling site rather fast.
Note that each of the two tunnel boring machines consist of a large cutting head, with all sorts of ancillaries trailing on behind, like some giant tadpole.
I think that the gantries will be used to lift the machines to the portal at Royal Oak and support the conveyors taking out all of the spoil.
Exploring Hackney Central
Many will think that Hackney Central is some run-down area, that was partially destroyed by the riots last August. But look at these pictures.
The church tower wasn’t even all that was left after it was knocked about by the Luftwaffe, but the remains left after an 18th Century moving of the parish church. More details are here on Wikipedia. I do wonder what would happen, if a parish wanted to rebuild their 16th Century church on a different site now!
The reason for the coffee, was that I had a very good one, in the excellent cafe in the Hackney Empire. The lady in the pleasant museum said that the coffee was also good in the cinema on the other side of the road. Note that the cinema is part of the nationwide and independent Picture Houses group.
After my quick visit to Hackney Central, I took the Overground to Stratford, from where I took the Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf for lunch. I could have taken one of any number of buses back home, to the City or the West End.
The Anonymous Widower 