The Anonymous Widower

A Redbrick Station For A Redbrick University

My late wife; C and myself, met at Liverpool University in the 1960s.

Liverpool considers itself as the Original Redbrick on its web site.

This Google 3D visualisation shows why.

Note.

  1. This 3D picture was taken from the East.
  2. The white building in the bottom-right corner is the Electrical Engineering and Electronics, where I did most of my studying.
  3. The building above it is the Harold Cohen Library.
  4. The clock tower in front is part of the Victoria Building.

There’s a lot of redbrick on the University site.

These pictures show University (Birmingham) station.

Note.

The Architects didn’t spare the red bricks.

  1. The station has an NHS Clinic
  2. The bridge has lifts and steps.
  3. There is a lot of glass.

There are a pair of bi-sexual toilets, which seems to the standard for new stations these days.

Will Other Universities Want A Station?

Here are a few thoughts.

Liverpool University

I wrote about the possibility in A Railway Station At Liverpool University.

This is an extract.

In Liverpool’s Forgotten Tunnel, I showed this map, which shows a proposed reopening of the Wapping Tunnel as a passenger route between Liverpool Central and Edge Hill stations.

Note.

  1. The map shows a station at University
  2. The Wapping Tunnel is shown as a dotted blue line.
  3. Between four and eight trains per hour (tph) would be running through University station.

Liverpool has other projects on its mind at present, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the future.

Manchester University

This Google Map shows the location of Manchester University.

Note.

  1. The red arrow picks out a notable building in the University.
  2. Manchester Piccadilly station is in the North-East corner of the map.
  3. Manchester Oxford Road station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  4. In recent years I’ve walked between the two stations.
  5. The Castlefield Corridor passes through the University.

A station on the Castlefield Corridor could be a possibility.

 

April 17, 2024 Posted by | Health | , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Trip To Highams Park Station

I went to Highams Park station, as the Internet rumoured, that there could be gluten-free jam doughnuts near the station, at a shop called the Community Larder.

I took these pictures.

Note.

  1. The restored signal box, that I talked about in An Unusual Office Property has been used as a creperie. Unfortunately, it appears to have gone out of business.
  2. The Community Larder had a good selection of cakes, including some that were gluten-free, but no gluten-free jam doughnuts, as they are delivered on Saturdays.
  3. Crossing the roads by the level crossing is a nightmare.
  4. The station needs a step-free bridge.

The 3D Google Map shows the level crossing looking from the East.

Note.

  1. The railway runs North-South through the station, with South to the left.
  2. The signal box is on the South-East corner of the level crossing.
  3. Hale End Road runs East from the level crossing.
  4. The Community Larder is on the South side of Hale End Road.

Sorting the road traffic out will be difficult.

March 29, 2024 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Par Station – 10th February 2024

Par station will see changes because of the Mid-Cornwall Metro.

I took these pictures as I passed through.

Note.

  1. The level crossing was busy with cars every time I crossed it.
  2. The semaphore signalling.
  3. The arriving GWR Castle in the last picture.

This Google Map shows Par station.

Note.

  1. There three platforms. Platform 1 is in the East, with Platforms 2 and 3 forming an island platform.
  2. There is a footbridge connect the platforms together.
  3. The Atlantic Coast Line leaves the map in the South West Corner.

As one of the modifications for the Mid-Cornwall Metro, the footbridge will be replaced with one that is step-free.

I have a few thoughts.

Will The Mid-Cornwall Metro Reverse At Par Station?

This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at Par station.

Note.

  1. The tracks shown in orange form the Cornish Main Line.
  2. The tracks shown in yellow that curve away to the West are the Atlantic Coast Line.
  3. The busy level crossing is shown in the South-West corner of the map.
  4. The Atlantic Coast Line connects to Platform 3 on the West side of the station.
  5. The track layout allows trains to access Platform 3 from both directions on the Cornish Main Line.

It does look like, Mid-Cornwall Metro trains will have to reverse every time, they call at Par station.

Could The Cornish Main Line Be Electrified At Par Station?

At some point in time, it will be desirable to run zero-carbon trains both on the Mid-Cornwall Metro and the Cornish Main Line.

  • Plymouth and Par is a distance of 34.7 miles.
  • Truro and Par is a distance of 19 miles.
  • Newquay and Par is a distance of 20.8 miles.
  • All of these distances would be in range of a typical battery-electric train.
  • In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I said that a Hitachi express train with a battery range of 43.5 miles.

To my untrained eye, it looks like Par station wouldn’t be the most difficult place to electrify.

I believe there are possibilities to put an island of electrification at Par to give the trains a quick Splash-and-Dash before continuing.

February 11, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brent Cross West Station – 10th December 2023

The new Brent Cross West station opened today, so I went to have a look.

Note.

  1. There are two island platforms.
  2. The platforms can handl2 12-car Class 700 trains.
  3. The Eastern island, which is Platforms 1 and 2, is for Thameslink and has two escalators, two lifts, two sets of stairs and two toilets.
  4. The toilets on the Eastern platforms are an identical pair to cater for everyone.
  5. The Western island, which is Platforms 3 and 4, is for the main lines and has one lift and two sets of stairs.
  6. The arriving Thameslink Class 700 train is stopping in Platform 1 on the way to London.
  7. Signs indicate a cafe, but I couldn’t find it, so I assume that is for the future.
  8. The shelters on the platforms are heated.
  9. Both entrances have two lifts, at least one or two escalators and stairs.

The outside photos were taken two days later.

I have some other thoughts.

The Station Layout

The station has a slightly unusual and very practical layout.

  • There is a longish and high bridge over the multiple tracks through the station.
  • It is step-free with lifts and escalators at each end to give step-free access across the railway.
  • The bridge is wide and is built for cycles.
  • The trains are accessed from a spacious lobby, which is separated from the bridge by a long gate-line.
  • The lifts, stairs and escalators all lead down from the spacious lobby.

The station must have a very high passenger capacity.

The Track Layout

This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at the station.

Note.

  1. The Eastern island platform between the 90 mph Thameslink tracks.
  2. The Western island platform between the 100-105 mph main line tracks.
  3. The two most-Easterly tracks give access to the Cricklewood Depot.
  4. The two black tracks
  5. The blue tracks connect to the Dudding Hill Line.
  6. The two black tracks between the blue tracks and the main line tracks are the Up and Down Hendon tracks, which run between Hendon and West Hampstead Thameslink stations, which seem to allow trains to cross over from one side of the tracks to the other.

The large number of tracks must make operation easier.

The West London Orbital Railway

The Hendon and Kew Bridge route of the West London Orbital Railway is planned to call at Brent Cross West station.

It looks like it will use the two Hendon tracks through Brent Cross West and Hendon stations and trains will take the Dudding Hill Line to Neasden to the South of Brent Cross West station.

The West London Orbital Railway will connect Hendon and Brent Cross West station to High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line, so it will be a very important connection for the residents of the area.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout between the Dudding Hill Line and Hendon.

Note.

  1. Hendon station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. The orange tracks are the Midland Main Line
  3. Brent Cross West station is marked by the blue arrow.
  4. The yellow tracks going towards the South-West are the Dudding Hill Line.

The Hendon route will need new platforms at Hendon and Brent Cross West station.

Conclusion

I like the station and I think others will be built on similar principles.

 

 

 

December 11, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hertford North Station – 6th December 2023

I went to Hertford North station this morning and took these pictures.

Note.

  1. Getting to Platform 1 is not easy.
  2. There would appear to be no obvious place for a lift.
  3. The traditional signals are still working.
  4. There is a cafe/shop in the station.

With some sympathetic refurbishment, it could be an excellent station.

I have some thoughts.

Digital Signalling

The digital signalling is currently being rolled out on the Northern City Line.

  • The Class 717 train seemed to be running faster than I can remember.
  • Had Network Rail been weeding the signals, as there only seemed to be one between each pair of stations?
  • Currently, Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City takes around 50-53 minutes.
  • Currently, Moorgate and Stevenage takes around 66-67 minutes.
  • The average speed between Moorgate and Stevenage is only about 32 mph, which is slow for an 85 mph train.

Could the digital signalling find more time between Hertford North and Stevenage reduce the journey time to something less than an hour?

Trains For Current Schedule

I estimate that the current off-peak schedule of two trains per hour (tph) needs nine trains.

So as there are extra trains in the peak, the fleet of twenty-five Class 717 trains should be enough to be able to run the extra peak trains.

Could Four Trains Per Hour Be Run On Both Routes?

Four tph on both routes, would need something like eighteen trains, which leaves seven spare trains.

December 6, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TfL Announces The Next Tube Stations To Be Prioritised For Step-Free Access To Meet The Mayor’s Bold Accessibility Targets

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Transport for London.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Transport for London (TfL) has outlined the ten London Underground stations it will be reviewing for potential step-free access, as it progresses plans to further improve public transport accessibility in London.

These ten stations, spread across London, have been identified using an approach focused on the benefits to customers, such as reducing journey times for those needing to use step-free access and reflecting issues that impact the delivery of step-free access such as the feasibility of new lifts, sufficient space for work to be carried out and the depth of each Tube station.

The ten stations listed are.

  • Alperton
  • Arnos Grove
  • Burnt Oak – Some work has been started, but paused because of the pandemic
  • Eastcote
  • Finchley Road
  • Northolt – Some work has been started, but paused because of the pandemic
  • North Acton
  • Rayners Lane
  • West Hampstead
  • White City

The linked posts will show the latest status at the stations.

Other stations are named in the press release, where work will be done, if funds are available.

  • Boston Manor
  • Brondesbury
  • Colindale
  • East Putney
  • Hackney Downs
  • Hatton Cross
  • Leyton
  • North Ealing
  • Park Royal
  • Peckham Rye
  • Queen’s Park
  • Rickmansworth
  • Ruislip
  • Snaresbrook
  • Surrey Quays

in addition, TfL will be looking at the Northern Line between Elephant and Castle and Morden, where there is a gap in step-free access.

These are a few thoughts.

The London Mayor Election In 2024

How many of these stations are in areas, where Sadiq Khan is short of votes for the 2024 election?

Arnos Grove Station

Work has already started at Arnos Grove station, as I showed in Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?.

The BBC Jumped The Gun

The press release now explains the BBC story from Mpnday, that I wrote about in Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?.

July 12, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Are Arnos Grove And Northolt Tube Stations Going Step Free?

BBC London local news announced this morning some Underground stations would be made step-free.

  • It could have been two or ten stations, that would be made step-free.
  • Arnos Grove and Northolt were definitely mentioned.
  • A timescale of eighteen months was given.

The news story seems to have vanished without trace.

Arnos Grove Station

This Google Map shows Arnos Grove station.

Note.

  1. The cylindrical shape of Arnos Grove station.
  2. The bridge over the tracks, which gives access to the trains to the East of the cylinder.
  3. Car parks to the East and West of the station.
  4. In Go-Ahead For West London 460-Home Build To Rent Scheme, I described how houses were to be built in the two car parks.
  5. According to this article on Ian Visits, which is entitled Plans To Build Flats On Arnos Grove Tube Station Car Park, there will be 162 flats in four blocks.

These pictures show Arnos Grove station.

Note.

  1. Work on the flats on either side seems to have started.
  2. There are lots of period features.
  3. There will be a lot of work needed on the rather steep stairs.
  4. There will be a need for at least three lifts.

This page on Connected Living London, has a plan of the development.

  • Gardens are shown each side of the iconic station.
  • The gardens can be accessed from the pavement in front of the station.
  • Southbound buses draw up in front of the station.
  • A zebra crossing gives access to the Northbound buses on the other side of the road.

I suspect that there will be step-free access to the station bridge over the tracks from both gardens.

Northolt Station

This Google Map shows Northolt station.

Note.

  1. The station entrance in the South-East corner of the map on Mandeville Road.
  2. The long island platform stretching North-West from the station building.
  3. An eight-car 1992 Stock train is in the Southern platform going West.
  4. The land on the Northern side of the railway appears to be low-grade woodland, which is quite similar to that at Arnos Grove station.

This map from cartometro.com shows the lines through Northolt station.

Note.

  1. The Central Line is shown in red.
  2. The Central Line is laid out so that there are two ways of turning a train back to London.
  3. The single-track Acton-Northolt line is shown in black.
  4. The former second track if the Acton-Northolt line is shown dotted, as are the two former platforms.

These pictures show Northolt station.

Note.

  1. The station is showing signs of a sympathetic refurbishment.
  2. The steps down to the platform is a double set of steps separated by a handrail.
  3. There is a stylish glass shelter.
  4. There doesn’t seem much space for a lift to the station entrance.

It should also be noted that for eleven in the morning, the station seemed busy.

These are Underground passenger figures for 2021 in million for stations between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip.

  • Hanger Lane – 1.47
  • Perivale – 1.08
  • Greenford – 2.05
  • Northolt – 2.47
  • South Ruislip – 0.89
  • Ruislip Gardens – 0.48
  • West Ruislip – 0.71

Note.

  1. Greenford, South Ruislip and West Ruislip have some extra National Rail passengers.
  2. Greenford is the only station between Hanger Lane and West Ruislip, with full step-free access.
  3. Greenford station uses an inclined lift and I wrote about it in The Inclined Lift In An Improved Greenford Station.

As Northolt is the busiest station without step-free access, this is probably sufficient reason for step-free access to be installed.

Could Step-Free Access At Northolt Be Linked To Property Development?

This Google Map shows a close-up of the station building and Mandeville Road.

Note.

  1. The station building is marked by the London Transport roundel.
  2. To the North of the station, is Northolt Leisure Centre, which was opened in 2010.
  3. Mandeville Road runs across the map to the East of the station and the Leisure Centre.
  4. In the South-East corner of the map, thee looks what could be a High Speed Two site, marked out with red and white barriers.
  5. Between the station and the Leisure Centre, there appears to be a site used for parking trucks.

Could it be possible to develop step-free access from the site to the North of the station?

This second set of pictures show that site.

Note.

  1. The site is rather a dump.
  2. There is even a subway.

This third set of pictures, show the land on the other side of the Acton-Northolt line from the platform at Northolt station.

There are certainly possibilities! Especially if, housing were to be developed alongside the Northern side of the railway.

I suspect, that there could be a bridge across the railway, at this position in the station.

Certainly something would be possible.

Conclusion

Property development at both Arnos Grove and Northolt station would probably need step-free access at both stations.

If the BBC report was right, then to build the step-free access as the first part of the projects, is probably a good idea, as passengers get some early benefits.

I suspect though, that we’ll get a press release that says what is actually happening in a few days.

 

July 10, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Marsh Barton Station – 4th July 2023

The main purpose of my trip to Devon was to visit the new Marsh Barton station, on the Riviera Line.

These are my thoughts about the station.

The Overall Design

This Google map shows Marsh Barton station under construction.

The station is built on a narrow lane by an industrial estate, which features a large waste-to-energy facility, which is in the South-West corner of the map.

The station is a basic two platform design with everything you need on the platforms and a gently sloping bridge over the top to give full step-free access.

I’ve never been to a station, which uses this form of step-free access, either in the UK or Europe.

I think it works because of the unusual site.

Car Parking

The station’s page on the GWR web site, says this about parking.

The station only has disabled parking bays for blue badge holders in order to encourage more sustainable transport use to and from the station.

Staff

The station is unstaffed.

Refreshments

When I arrived, I was hungry and needed a drink, so I asked a guy with a dog, if there was a cafe or pub nearby.

He said, the cafe shut the day before, but there was a pub called Double Locks about three or four minutes away on the canal.

These pictures show the walk.

And this map shows the location of the pub and the station.

Are country minutes like country miles and a lot longer than those everybody else uses?

In the end, as I was getting soaked, I made a retreat back to the station.

Service Frequency

Currently, the trains are only hourly. Is that enough?

 

 

July 5, 2023 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dawlish Station And The New Sea Wall – 4th July 2023

These pictures show Dawlish station and the new sea wall.

Note.

  1. It is a high quality sea wall.
  2. I particularly liked the hand-rails which seemed to be made from an expensive sea-proof metal.
  3. There was a busy fish and chip shop, by the station, but I don’t think they did gluten-free fish and chips.

You can still walk all the way to Dawlish Warren, as I did in Walking Between Dawlish And Dawlish Warren Stations. A guy in the station said it would take me about thirty minutes.

July 4, 2023 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Worcester – 11th June 2023

On Sunday, I took a train to Worcester Foregate Street station and then walked across the City Centre to the other station; Worcester Shrub Hill station.

I took these pictures of Worcester Foregate Street station.

Note.

  1. There are no lifts.
  2. It had one of the worst set of stairs, I’d seen in a station.
  3. Wikipedia doesn’t list any improvements to the station in the future.

The station is an utter disgrace.

I took these pictures, as I walked between the two stations.

 

Note.

  1. It was not a particularly long walk.
  2. The last section was up a steep hill.
  3. There was virtually no signage.
  4. The roads were dominated by private cars.
  5. I didn’t see a sign to the cathedral or the bus station.
  6. There was even a crude handrail on the pavement to help people up the hill.
  7. The only good thing I saw was a defibrillator half-way up the hill, which was where you might need it.

No-one in their right mind would spend a few days in Worcester, unless they drove a car. In which case, it would probably be better to stay in a friendlier nearby town.

I took these pictures of Worcester Shrub Hill station.

Note.

  1. There is no sign outside to indicate it’s a station.
  2. There are no lifts to get across the tracks.
  3. Both clocks are showing the wrong time.
  4. The station needs a deep clean.
  5. Wikipedia doesn’t list any improvements to the station in the future.

The only thing in good condition was the Victorian waiting room. But it was locked.

Conclusion

Worcester is not a town, I could recommend for anything.

It has two dreadful, disabled-unfriendly stations, no working signage or maps and is dominated by private cars.

I also would have liked some refreshment, as I walked across the City. I didn’t see anything I fancied, but that often happens when you’re coeliac.

June 13, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 2 Comments

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