Have I Regressed To My Childhood?
Growing up in the early 1950s in London, I wasn’t the healthiest of children.
- At some time most winters, I would have several weeks off school with a severe cold with extras.
- I can remember my mother cutting up old sheets for hankerchiefs.
- These would be boiled after use in a large saucepan on the gas cooker.
- I would cough all night and a good part of the day.
- I would inhale steam from a large jug of hot water and Friar’s Balsam.
Dr. Egerton White was always round our house.
Things improved towards the end of the 1950s.
- The passing of the Clean Air Act in 1956.
- I would be given penicillin which seemed to help. Naughty! Naughty!
- At weekends we’d go to Felixstowe.
What finally improved my health was going to Liverpool University.
Now over fifty years later, I’ve got a cold like I had in the 1950s.
- I can’t stop coughing for more than ten or twenty minutes.
- Nothing seems to work to stop the cough!
- It’s gone on for eight days now!
- I’m not getting much sleep.
Could the pollution from all the diesel vehicles be the key?
The Original Walk-Through Train In The UK
It’s not often, you are more or less alone in one of London Underground’s S8 Stock trains, that is stationary.
But this train was stuck as a red signal outside Farringtdon station on a quiet day over the Christmas period, so I took advantage.
You can understand, why these eight car and 134 metre long trains can handle a couple over a thousand passengers for big matches at Wembley and also make journeys acceptable for long-distance commuters from Amersham, Chesham, Uxbridge and Watford.
Note the following features.
- Walk-through design.
- Better seats than Thameslink’s Call 700 trains.
- Wide all-double doors and lobbies.
- Wheelchair spaces with tip-up seats.
- Big, wide windows.
- Space under the seats.
Air-conditioning, step free access to platform and selective door opening are not shown.
The trains started to enter service in 2010 and they will probably have an interior refresh in around five years time, with the probably addition of wi-fi and USB power sockets.
Transport for London have used similar designs for three trains since.
- The Overground’s Class 378 trains
- Crossrail’s Class 345 trains
- The Overground’s Class 710 trains
The refurbishment of Docklands Light Railway trains has also been following similar principles.
Tottenham Hale Station – 2nd January 2019
I took these pictures yesterday pf the rebuilding of Tottenham Hale station.
Note.
- The basic concrete structure of the station box appears complete.
- The footbridge is coming on.
- The lift tower on the Stansted-bound platform appears far back on the platform.
- Network Rail seem to be seriously pruning trees.
- The third track isn’t complete yet.
There must be a chance that the station will open as planned in May 2019.
Poetic Return For The Night Train In The Era Of ECommerce
The title of this post is the same as that of a half-page article on Page 34 of the Business Section of today’s copy pf The Times.
As you can see The Times gave it the full treatment with stills from the classic documentary film; The Night Mail, which has a verse commentary written by W. H. Auden.
It’s an idea from the seemingly irrepressible Karl Watts, who is Chief Executive of Rail Operations (UK) Limited.
He plans to start test operations with two Class 769 trains leased from Porterbrook.
I wrote about this concept two years ago, in The Go-Anywhere Express Parcel And Pallet Carrier (HSPT).
Climate Change: The Massive CO2 Emitter You May Not Know About
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first three paragraphs..
Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet.
But, while cement – the key ingredient in concrete – has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint.
Cement is the source of about 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to think tank Chatham House.
Read the whole article.
Huge Increase In Capacity On GWR As Final Class 800 Enters Traffic
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Madazine.
This is the first two paragraphs.
More than 10,000 extra seats will be available to Great Western Railway passengers on January 2, compared with the same number last year.
This follows the delivery of the final Class 800 Intercity Express Train.
This means that Great Western Railway (GWR) ‘s fleet is now
- 21 x nine-car Class 800 trains
- 36 x five-car Class 800 trains.
- 21 x Class 802 trains
With still another 15 Class 802 trains to come of the 32 x five-car and 14 x nine-car order.
They are certainly ready to increase services in 2019.
Introduction Of New Trains To East Anglia Will Be Like Moving ‘From Mid-Table To Champions League’ Says Greater Anglia Boss
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the East Anglian Daily Times.
It is a rare detailed article on how new trains are introduced to a network.
This is a quote from Jamie Burles of Greater Anglia in the article.
On some lines there will be a huge quality uplift – going from a 40-year old single carriage diesel train to a minimum three-carriage state-of-the-art bi-mode train with air conditioning, plug sockets and broadband wi-fi.
East Anglia is being subjected to one of most radical rail upgrades in the history of railways in the UK.
Keep Your Fingers Crossed And Don’t Anticipate Disaster
This is June Whitfield’s own words at the end of her obituary in The Times today, after she had been asked for tips on how to remain positive in old age.
I’ll drink to that!
This Must Be The Football Story Of 2018
This article on SpireFM is entitled Never Mind The FA Cup Final – One Local Village School Has Scooped Gold At A Huge Football Festival For Children Aged 10-12!
This is the first threeof paragraphs.
From football on a village green in the New Forest and dodging ponies to playing at the home of Coventry City.
It’s fair to say it’s been an exciting weekend for Hale Primary!
The team progressed through the county and regional finals to earn a place at the national finals of the Danone Nations Cup, the English leg of the world’s biggest football festival for children aged 10-12.
And they won in a penalty shootout.
Where Do All The Teaspoons Go?
When I moved to London I had about a dozen teaspoons. I know I tend to use a lot in cooking, but I am now down to around six.
So where do all the teaspoons go?
I always remember seeing a spokesman for the cutlers in Sheffield on television, saying that the number of teaspoons sold far exceeds all other utensils.
The Anonymous Widower 