Should We Be Given More Discretion Over Mask Wearing?
I am a bad breather and have been so for most of my life.
I suspect, it’s because I grew up in London smogs and that ruined my breathing.
But my father and his father were also bad breathers and my grandfather died before he was forty of pneumonia.
So when I go on public transport, I find the following.
- I have difficulty climbing stairs with my mask on.
- I can’t wait to get out of the station or bus to take off my mask and put it in my pocket.
- Often in London during the day, there is only a few people on the bus or train and we are all sitting there quietly at least three or four metres apart.
- If I explain my breathing to staff, they will let me remove my mask. I have done this a coule of times, when I have to climb stairs to get out of a station.
Sometimes too, I’ll be on a crowded Underground train for part of my journey, but at other times, I’ll be one of perhaps three in an air-conditioned bus.
As of Thursday rules will say, that we don’t need masks in England, but the Mayor has said we must wear them on public transport in London.
I would like to see some personal discretion, so that some like me would feel more comfortable on public transport, when it is less busy.
London’s Newest Property Hotspot Has Been Revealed — And It’s On The NLE Tube Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Metro.
This doesn’t surprise me one bit.
Any new train or tram line, whether it is under or over the ground always creates a property hot spot.
That’s why London needs to develop the West London Orbital Railway, Crossrail to Ebbsfleet and New Bermondsey station as soon as possible, as the areas they serve need a lift.
On a wider view, it is also why reopening rail lines is such a good policy. Some might object to property hot-spots, but most residents of the UK, like it when property prices rise!
London To Edinburgh On Lumo
Yesterday, I took the 10:45 Lumo service from King’s Cross to Edinburgh.
I took some pictures on the way.
I have split them into sepate topics.
Lumo’s Class 803 Train Arrives
Note.
- The train is in Platform 10 in the old suburban station.
- This has now been reduced to just two platforms.
- In the other platform is a Grand Central service to Bradford Interchange station.
At least it appears, that there could be space to reinstate a third platform, if it should prove necessary.
Seating On Lumo
Note.
- I didn’t get a seat with a proper window.
- The seat-back table is generously-sized.
- There is a light over the table.
- The luggage racks were well used.
- There is more than normal leg-room. My neighbour, who was taller than my 1.70 metres, also liked the leg-room.
Both of us, thought the seats were more comfortable than LNER.
I have a spine that curves outwards at the bottom and it often objects to train and car seats. But after four-and-a-half hours on Lumo, it wasn’t protesting.
York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
When the York To Church Fenton Improvement Scheme and the closely related Huddersfield To Westtown (Dewsbury) Upgrade are completed, the TransPennine route between Huddersfield and York will be fully-electrified.
These pictures show the electrification is underway.
York to Huddersfield will be over forty miles of electrified line, with a remaining gap of just eighteen miles to the electrification being installed between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria.
Work At Reston Station
Reston station is being built North of Berwick-on-Tweed. I took these pictures as we passed through.
I describe the station in a post called A New Reston Station.
Arrival In Edinburgh
I took these pictures when we arrived in Edinburgh.
Note Edinburgh is not short of platforms that can take five- and ten-car trains.
These are a few other thoughts about the journey.
Non-Stop Between King’s Cross And Newcastle
It seemed to me, that a lot of passengers left the train at Newcastle.
- Times between King’s Cross And Newcastle are comparable betyween LNER and Lumo.
- Lumo is non-stop until Newcastle.
- Lumo is probably more affordable.
I can see Lumo picking up a lot of business on this leg.
Football At Newcastle
I have come across several Newcastle United season ticket holders in London.
Looking at Lumo’s full timetable, there are these two trains on a Saturday.
- A train leaves King’s Cross at 10:25 and arrives in Newcastle at 13:25.
- A train leaves Newcastle at 19:35 and arrives in King’s Cross at 22:29.
These could be ideal to see the match and get back to London.
Food
The full food service isn’t in operation yet, but we the trolley did come through twice.
Passenger Loading
Most seats were taken, as we left King’s Cross, but due to high number, who left at Newcastle, there were a few gaps as we ran between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
But then this is a shorter leg and perhaps travellers are more likely to drive.
I suspect that Lumo can’t wait to build up their service to the full five trains per day, as it does look like the demand is there.
Morpeth Station
There wasn’t many boarders and leavers at Morpeth station, but as services build up and travellers realise the system is there, will business increase?
Conclusion
I shall take another trip in the New Year, when the full service is implemented.
Calcutta Cup By Lumo
According to Scottish Rugby, the Culcutta Cup between Scotland and England next year is at Murrayfield on the 5th of February 2022.
I have just looked up services that day on Lumo’s web site.
- It would be possible to travel North on the 05:45 train, which arrives in Edinburgh at 10:06.
- After the match, there is a train South at 17:56, which arrives back in London at 22:29.
- Tickets are available at £45.50 both ways.
As Lumo could probably run both services with ten-car trains, that hold eight hundred passengers, this could earn ticket revenue for Lumo of £72,800.
An American Take On Lumo
One of my Google Alerts picked up this article on an American site called Travel + Leisure, which is entitled A Brand-New Train Launched In The UK Today — Linking Cities Like Edinburgh And London For As Little As $20.
As I have sat next to American and Canadian couples and families on Anglo-Scottish trains, I hope that Lumo’s website is friendly to those living outside the UK.
Will The Lumo Concept Take Off In The United States?
I’m no expert, but on the right route, I don’t see why not!
After all, easyJet, Go and Ryanair took on the concept of the low-cost airline, which was pioneered by Pacific Southwest Airlines in California.
The Swimming Pool In The Sky
This must be the most unusual swimming pool in London.
Not for me though, as I can’t swim!
It is just to the South of the United States Embassy.
Tideway – Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore – 4th September 2021
I passed Tideway’s Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore site on the way home and took these pictures.
This page on the Tideway web site, gives a visualisation of the project.
Building Council Flats In London
I was told this tale by the Head of the Construction Branch of the Greater London Council, who was a big user of the first Project Management System;PERT7, that I wrote in the 1970s.
The GLC were building some council flats alongside the railway.
There were four parallel blocks with five floors and I’ll number them 1 to 4, with 4 alongside the railway and 1 furthest away.
The plan to build them involved the following.
- Deliveries were planned, so that the many residents around the site and British Rail were not inconvenienced.
- Site access was arranged with British Rail along the railway on a track to and from a major road a few hundred yards away.
- The site would be cleared with all the rubble going out in the reverse direction.
- The plan then was to build the blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 towards the railway.
- This was logical, as when each block was completed it could be occupied and the new tenants wouldn’t be living in a building site, as what needed to be done was towards the railway.
But he was overruled by a vociferous local lobby and some local politicians, who had convinced themselves that building away from the railway in a 4, 3, 2, 1 order would be better.
In the end they were built in the 4, 3, 2, 1 order with budget and time overruns and endless complaints from residents.
If there is a lesson from this fairly insignificant project, it is that in a construction project, there is often one way to build it, that minimises construction time and disturbance to neighbours and maximises the cash flow from the development.
Could London’s New Routemaster Buses Be Converted To Hydrogen Power?
There are a thousand New Routemaster buses on the roads of London.
This paragraph from Wikipedia describes the transmission.
The bus is a hybrid diesel-electric driven by a battery-powered electric motor, charged by a diesel fuelled generator and recovering energy during braking by regenerative braking.
Note.
- The Cummins diesel engine is under the back stairs and is mounted high up. You can sometimes hear it start and stop if you sit or stand at the back of the bus.
- The diesel engine is part of the Cummins B Series Engine family, which is used very widely, included in vehicles like the Dodge Ram pick-up.
- The battery is mounted under the front stairs.
Cummins are embracing hydrogen in a big way and bought hydrogen company; Hydrogenics in 2019.
This press release from Cummins is entitled Cummins Begins Testing Of Hydrogen Fueled Internal Combustion Engine.
This is the first paragraph.
Cummins has taken another step forward in advancing zero carbon technology as the company began testing a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine. The proof-of-concept test is building on Cummins’ existing technology leadership in gaseous-fuel applications and powertrain leadership to create new power solutions that help customers meet the energy and environmental needs of the future.
Only today in Deutz Hydrogen Engine Ready For Market, I reported on how Deutz were going down a similar route.
I have done consultancy work for Cummins in Darlington, where I suspect the New Routemaster engines were built and the company prides itself in being able to provide a specially-laid out diesel engine for a niche-market application.
If they develop a hydrogen replacement for the B Series engine, I suspect that they will adopt the same sales philosophy.
For a start, it would enable all their many existing customers to convert their products from diesel to hydrogen power.
A hydrogen engine would be a direct way to enable conversion of a New Routemaster to hydrogen.
- The new hydrogen engine and generator would just replace the current diesel engine and generator.
- The chassis, body, battery and traction motor could be retained.
- I am also sure, that Wrightbus have the expertise to squeeze a hydrogen tank in somewhere.
.I believe that in a few years Cummins will be able to replace the diesel engine with a hydrogen engine of equivalent size and power.
After Ricardo announced their fuel cell approach to convert modern diesel buses to hydrogen, which I wrote about in Ricardo To Engineer Zero Emission Buses For UK’s First Hydrogen Transport Hub, I am sure we’re going to see thousands of modern buses converted to hydrogen power.
Conclusion
I believe from my knowledge of Cummins and the way they work, that they will come up with a hydrogen-based solution, that will replace the Cummins diesel in these buses with a zero-carbon engine.
If Cummins don’t then someone else will.
Whoever solves the problem of converting London’s new Routemasters to hydrogen will have one of the best adverts for their product, there has ever been.
After converting London’s thousand Routemasters, the engineers could move on to anything powered by a Cummins engine.
The Anonymous Widower 