Two Solutions To Make Crossing A Railway Safe
On the way to football tonight in Ipswich, I went to have a drink with a friend, who lives near Thurston station on the Ipswich to Ely Line, where there is a good real ale and cyder pub. Crossing the tracks at Thurston is via a simple walk across controlled by traffic lights between the two platforms.
Of all the stations I use regularly, this is the only place where such a system is in use. Unless of course you count the trams at Ampere Road by the Croydon Ikea. A few hundred metres to the west of the station a bridle way and cycle path crosses the railway and Network Rail have built this bridge.
There have been reports like this one in the East Anglian Daily Times, which has a headline of Poll: £1.5m ‘monster’ railway bridge at Thurston is dubbed a ‘total waste of money’
This bridge is an interesting case of what to do where there are gated crossings of railway lines.
I think before being too critical of Network Rail we should bare these points in mind.
1. Suicide
This article on the BBC web site talks of a death at a crossing in the Thurston area. Network Rail get far too many deaths on the railway and it is a sad fact, that stepping in front of a train, is a common method of suicide.
2. The East-West Rail Link
The East-West Rail Link will use this line to get from Ipswich and Felixstowe to Cambridge and Ely. This link will be an electrified 100 mph railway that will run trains between East Anglia and the Midlands and the West. So although the line carries perhaps a couple of trains every hour each way, in perhaps ten years time, this will probably be a few times more. And as the line is pretty straight as the pictures show, the operating speed could be a lot higher.
3, Horses
If you read all the comments about the bridge no-one mentions taking a horse over the railway.
Horses are flight animals and if spooked will run fast away from the perceived danger.
Many horses too, don’t like going under high-voltage cables. Whether it is because they can sense the magnetic field generated by the electricity or they don’t like the whistling sound,I don’t know. But if the crossing is going to be used by horses, it will have to be of the size it has been built.
I’m not sure, but I think this is the only way to get a horse from one side of the railway to the other, unless you go all the way and go under the bridge by Thurston station.
4. Getting The Design Right
This bridge illustrates that getting the design right and satisfying all users and critics who never use the bridge is an almost impossible task.
Aesthetically, I don’t like the bridge, but unless they dig a subway under the railway, there is nothing else that can be done to satisfy all users and critics of the design.
Note that when the railway is upgraded to be part of the East-West Rail Link, Thurston station will have to be rebuilt and I suspect it will have a bridge over the railway, probably with lifts and a price tag well upwards of £2million.
There will be some serious discussions.
Our New Police Patrol
I heard the unmistakable clip-clop and by the time I’d got my camera, they were walking sedately into the distance.
Our New Police Patrol
I’ve not seen them patrolling here before, but an ex-policeman I used to know years ago, said that horses are not a bad way to show yourself and have a look into residential areas. I know myself, that the view from a horse as you walk around, is times better than the one you get from a car.
I suspect though today, as it was a Sunday morning, it was more about giving the horses a stretch and some exercise.
As I didn’t take a good look, I got to wondering where the horses came from. I found this article from Spitalfields Life, describing the stables of the City of London Police at Wood Street, just South of the Barbican. I would suspect, that they could have come from there, as the distance would be a very suitable walk for a working horse.
Would I Go Back To Iceland?
I think I will go again, as Iceland is a country that appeals to my mind.
But if I do go again, it will be with someone else, as my trip would have been so much better with a companion!
I still want to go over a geothermal power station!
And it would be wonderful to ride one of the sturdy Icelandic horses in some of the amazing countryside.
There Are Icelandic Horses Everywhere
It surprised me how many horses were to be seen on Iceland.
There Are Icelandic Horses Everywhere
Icelandic horses are always horses, no matter what size they are. One reason could be that in Icelandic, there is no word for pony.
In one town we passed through, the guide said that horses outnumbered people by three to one.
Bannockburn Riding for the Disabled
I was alerted to the plight of this organisation by Melanie Reid in her Saturday column in The Times.
Riding for the Disabled was one of the charities C and myself supported, so she would be totally behind my donation to help the Bannockburn RDA in their fight against a difficult landlord.
If you would like to donate, you can use Just Giving.
Cats For Protection
The BBC is showing a video of a cat saving a young boy from a dog. It’s here on the Daily Mail.
But cats are strange animals and often behave in ways to get what they want.
Years ago, I often used to walk round the stables by the house to check the horses. One night, I shone a torch into the stable and saw that the horse was sitting curled up by the back wall. But the torch picked out two eyes just under his shoulder and I could see one of our ginger cats snuggled in the warmth. It wasn’t the only time I saw this and one day mentioned it to an old horse-coper, who explained it like this.
Horses don’t like mice and rats scrambling through the straw, as being flight animals small noises may make them want to flee and of course they can’t. So the horse had encouraged the cat in, to protect him from the savage rodents. He said that over the years, he’d seen several strong friendships between horses or ponies and cats.
Let Them Eat Horse
Princess Anne has stirred everybody up, with her statement on why we should eat horsemeat. It’s reported in her mother’s Daily Telegraph. Here’s the first paragraph.
The Princess Royal, who is President of World Horse Welfare, says that Britain should consider eating horsemeat because it would improve standards of care for the animals.
As someone, who has been around horses for a lot of his life, I totally agree with what she said.
One point is that in France, their heavy horses are in much better state than ours! Ours, include the Suffolk horse, which is becoming one of the rarest animals on the planet. The reason the French horses are in better state, is that they are kept for the production of meat.
Lea Bridge Station
Lea Bridge Station is going to be reopened at the end of next year. As I was passing, I took a few pictures of the station as it is today.
It would appear that a certain amount of clearing up has been done.
What surprised me was the landscaping around the line at this point.
It is also close to a couple of attractions in the Lea Valley Park, is well seved by buses and there were quite a few pedestrians and cyclists about. I had actually been to the nearby Lea Valley Riding Centre, to see about getting back on a horse.
So I am not be surprised that the figures showed the station is a good one to reopen. Although this article says that it might close.
I have a feeling that the figures will be nowhere like they are predicted. But whether they are higher or lower, I will not guess.
A lot depends on the service levels through the station, which currently sees two trains every hour in each direction. If that were to be doubled, it would make a lot of difference.
There is a good article and discussion on Lea Bridge station here on London Reconnections.
On a personal basis, I might use the station to go north, as it is one 56 bus to the station. So if I was going to Broxbourne or one of the other stations up the Lea Valley line, it would be a simple alternative. Especially, if the trains were four an hour.
Carriages In Palermo
Palermo has lots of horse-drawn carriages for the tourists.
Not for me though a ride! I’ve only ever been in a horse-drawn carriage once and that was in Seville.
But unlike many places nearly all of the horses, looked to be in good condition.
A Horse In Heathrow Terminal Five
This horse is one of the silliest piece of art I’ve ever seen.
A Horse In Heathrow Terminal Five
It was outside British Airways Executive Club.
