Match Fourteen – Ipswich 2 – Huddersfield 2
Ipswich carried on here just like they did against Blackburn and Cardiff.
As we did in those two matches, we threw away a good start and were in some ways lucky to get a point.
There were two plus points to the match though. It was played in glorious sunshine for a lot of the time.
Portman Road In The October Sun
And there was two black managers on the benches.
Chris Powell, Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor
I saw Mick McCarthy greet his old friend and member of the hard-done Managers Club, Chris Powell, extremely warmly.
Those who don’t want to give black managers a chance or at least an interview are dinosaurs.
Navigating The Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) or Topsy to her friends is one of London’s transport success stories, although in it’s early days a Glaswegian once called it a Disney railway. Why? “Because it disney work!”
Since its opening in the 1980s, Topsy has grown from a simple system with single-coach trains serving just fifteen stations, into the transport system that was one of the real stars of the Olympics in 2012. According to a Senior Manager at Transport for London, I met on the DLR, ridership during the Olympics on the system, outperformed all their expectations. And the system coped!
Topsy has developed a character of her own and is a friendly transport option in the area of London, East of the City to Stratford, Woolwich and Lewisham. The DLR is on the Tube Map, but it also has its own welcoming map on the platforms.
DLR Map At Shadwell Station
It could be a bit confusing to visitors, as I had to show a Frenchman how to hop to Canary Wharf, but generally it works.
The Cardiff Valley Lines, which although they are heavy rail has a surprisingly similar layout, so perhaps they should create a similar map to help visitors.
But whatever happens, long may Topsy continue to grow!
I doubt that the line will get to Dagenham Dock, although the area could be better connected to Stratford and Crossrail.
But I do think, the system could reach to Euston and St. Pancras or expand southwards from Lewisham.
Whatever happens London’s transport system will get overloaded and just as they have done a few times in the past, they’ll call again on Topsy!
The Night Tube
Transport for London have announced that the Tube will start to run overnight on Fridays and Saturdays from September 2015.
This won’t affect me much directly in Dalston, as my primary method of late night transport at night is either one of the all night buses; 38, 73, 141 and 277, or a taxi.
However, as some of the trains will be running to some of the deeper reaches of the Northern, Piccadilly, Central and Jubilee lines, it could prove useful in the future.
I suspect, it’ll all go pretty well, if my experience of the night bus to Victoria is anything to go by.
My First Shop-Bought Fishcakes In A Dozen Years
I was in Marks and Spencer at Eastfield and looking for a piece of fish for my supper, when I saw some gluten-free fishcakes.
I probably haven’t had any since Waitrose in Newmarket stopped selling their locally-sourced ones in about 2000.
But I do like fishcakes and except for the odd meal in an expensive restaurant, I’ve hardly ever eaten any in the intervening years.
I actually bought one packet of the salmon and one of the cod, so tonight, I ate one of each and put the others in a sealing container for perhaps Sunday.
They didn’t disappoint, after I cooked them in the oven at 220°C for 16-18 minutes.
I think it’s true to say that these and other products in Marks and Spencer’s Made Without Wheat range, taste so good, that even the most fussy of eaters couldn’t tell the difference between these and the standard products.
The only problem with their gluten-free products is finding the new ones in the store.
I found these excellent fishcakes totally by accident.
Pudding Mill Lane Station – 24th October 2014
Crossrail claim, that the Pudding Mill Lane DLR station, is the first one they have delivered.
It is certainly impressive, with a high level of attention to detail.
Note in the pictures the retaining wall for the Crossrail lines disappearing into the ground at the station to go under London. Apparently, the piling rig being used is one of the biggest in the world.
I did like the idea of using wooden rather than steel posts to prevent vehicle entry,! Especially, as they are worthless to scrap metal thieves.
It does look that this DLR station will be the place in Central London, where you will take kids of all ages to see the new Crossrail trains running.
It is also interesting to look at the architect’s drawings and pictures for the station.
De Beauvoir Square In Autumn
I took these pictures today, as I walked past De Beauvoir Square.
Even in autumn, it still has some flowers.
Hackney, which is not the richest of London boroughs, has a few squares like this, including Fassett Square, where if things had turned out differently, might have been where the BBC filmed East Enders. As it was, the set was modelled on that square.
Should The Valley Lines Be Electrified?
I travelled about thirty percent, if that, of the Valley Lines that fan out from Cardiff. But it gave me a feeling of the strengths and weaknesses of the lines.
Stations
A Strength
If I compare the stations I saw on the Valley Lines most would score better than the average of those on the Lea Valley Lines, being taken over by the London Overground. The platforms seemed in good condition and most stations had some form of shelter, which was often new. They certainly didn’t have the same sense of abandonment of some stations on the Lea Valley Lines.
Platforms in some stations might also be big enough for a small kiosk. Obviously, coffee outlets work in London and probably Cardiff, but would they work in the valleys?
On the subject of stations, I hadn’t expected to find a ten million pound project at Pontypridd.
Footbridges
A Possible Weakness
I didn’t see any truly dangerous footbridges, that are very much the norm on the Lea Valley Lines, so hopefully they are not as common.
But some footbridges like Taff’s Well may well have to raised for electrification.
Step Free Access
A Possible Weakness
According to a Network Rail document on the Internet, several stations will have improved access.
On point on step-free access and lifts, is that Network Rail are installing this across the network and I have a feeling that they’re getting better at doing it, as some of the schemes in London, seem to have gone in extremely fast. Perhaps, their project management is getting better.
Road Bridges
A Strength
Network Rail’s documents don’t seem to mention any bridges being reconstructed.
An aside here, is that they are putting in extra tracks in places and this is mentioned.
So perhaps there isn’t work to do with the bridges to accommodate the overhead wires.
Signalling
A Strength
This looks like a separate project to the electrification, as unlike in many places you can do the signalling first and then electrify.
It’s all described in this Network Rail web page.
In one way, the signalling will give more train paths and capacity, before the electrification is complete. But where do you get the required diesel trains?
Interchanges
A Strength
I only did a couple of simple journeys on the Valley Lines, but like the East London Line, you can do same or cross platform changes in a lot of places.
Current Trains
A Weakness
The Class 142 trains that work the lines are clapped and in a few years time, they’ll have to be withdrawn because of the disability regulations.
The Class 150 trains may be possible to be updated, as some Class 153 have been. But would that be throwing good money after bad?
New Trains
A Weakness Or A Strength
New trains are expensive and these Valley Lines could require quiet a few sets.
But there are Class 315 and Class 317 trains available for cascade, as new trains arrive on Thameslink. Crossrail and the Overground in London in the next few years.
The Class 315s are nearly forty years old, but were refurbished between 2204 and 2008. In a section on their future Wikipedia says this.
As most duties of the 315s will be taken over by new Class 345 Aventra trains once Crossrail is built, it has been suggested that the 315s could be cascaded to Wales to be used on Valley Lines services in the Cardiff area following electrification.
I travel regularly on Class 315s and they certainly are a better ride than a Class 142. Their problems are the awful pink décor, dirty windows and lack of a passenger information system. Some might find the lack of toilets a problem too!
Information systems are apparently being fitted, but obviously not on the ones I’ve used and the dirty windows doesn’t seem to be a problem that affects Welsh trains, like it does Greater Anglia. They are all four car sets, which can be paired to make 8 car trains with seats for over 600.
The Class 317s are the electric cousins of the Class 150s operating on the Valley Lines now, are not quite as old as the Class 315s and some of them were refurbished to a high-standard in the 1990s. I used to travel on the latter regularly into London from Suffolk, and they’re certainly better than the 315s. They could also be fitted with better electrical equipment. A demonstrator is currently running round East London and Essex. South West Trains have recently refurbished their Class 455s, which are their version of the 317.
You have to remember that underneath the awful paint jobs and bad interior design of Class 317 and Class 455 trains is a legendary 100 mph Mark 3 carriage, which is struggling to get out. South West Trains have shown what is possible.
I suspect as there are large numbers of both classes, some will end up on the Valley Lines. I’d put my money on Class 317s as their 100 mph capability gives them the ability to run longer-distance stopping services on main lines.
Power Supply
A Strength
One of the high cost parts of railway electrification is getting the electrical feed to the the overhead lines. And our piecemeal policy of the last few decades has made things worse, as you can’t do clever and sensible things to make things simpler and cheaper. For example, the Great Western Main Line electrification, will not have its own power supply at the London end, but will share one with Crossrail.
So as the South Wales Main Line will be electrified all the way to Swansea, it should be possible to feed the Valley Lines off the infrastructure installed on the main line.
Conclusion
As I travelled around the Valley Lines yesterday, several railway staff were sceptical that electrification will go ahead.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me that if after the Great Western Main Line is electrified in 2017, it would actually be more expensive to not do the Valley Lines electrification, as you’d still have the problem of the trains and you’d have a series of lines with good stations, ready to electrify.
It does seem to me, that Network Rail have done their project management superbly well on the updating of the Valley Lines.
I have this feeling, that the scheme when completed will be a big success, as the Valley Lines have so much going for them in terms of location.
The more I look at the Great Western and its branches in Wales and the West Country, I just can’t understand, why these schemes we are doing now, weren’t carried out decades ago.
There are an awful lot of politicians of all parties, who should hang their heads in shame.
The Welsh Count Up From Zero
Like Kings Cross station, Cardiff Central now has a Platform Zero.
The Welsh Count Up From Zero
In the same manner as Kings Cross they needed another platform, so as it was next to Platform 1, from where I took the picture, it was obvious numbering.
This aerial view from Google Earth shows the platform well.
Cardiff Station
Platform Zero is the topmost of the platforms in this view on the left. It would appear that a train is in the platform and it will probably be on its way to Ebbw Vale Parkway.
In the next platform, there would appear to be a London-bound InterCity 125.
The bottom two platforms are 6 and 7 and are used by the other Valley Lines. So unless you are going to Ebbw Vale, and you are needing to use the Valley Lines, you just go up to these two back-to-back platforms to catch your train.
Cardiff Central is in the process of a major upgrade by Network Rail, which looks to be exciting. I remember coming to Cardiff a few years ago to a football match at the Millenium Stadium and geting away was a total nightmare. Hopefully, soon that chaos will be a thing of the past.
On To Barry Island
I went straight through Cardiff Queen Street and Central stations and on to Barry Island.
I then turned round fairly quickly, as I had to catch the 16:55 back to London.
The Helpful Welsh
I sometimes find translations rather amusing.
An Obvious Translation
In this case surely the English translation isn’t needed.
The Anonymous Widower 