What To Do With Old Oyster Cards
If you have finished using your Oyster card, like I did, when I got to an age that entitled me to a Freedom Pass or perhaps you are sadly leaving London for good, there are two things you can do with it.
You can donate it to charity by dumping it in a box like this one at Liverpool Street station.
Oyster Charity Box
Railway Children is an international charity that fights for children who live on the streets.
Or you could ride several times on the Emirates Air-Line.
Has Greater Anglia Improved Their Mk. 3 Coaches?
I went to Ipswich today, with the aim of seeing the Olympic Torch Relay in either Woodbridge or Felixstowe, so I travelled out of Liverpool Street in a rake of forty-year-old Mk 3 coaches, pushed by a thirty-year old Class 90.
I haven’t been on one of these trains for a couple of months and the ride quality seemed to have improved. At one point, I walked a couple of coaches to get a coffee and it was easier than last time. I also talked to a mother sitting on the floor with her young child and she said it was very comfortable. Why she was sitting on the floor, I do not know, the train wasn’t very full.
They have been improving the track through to Norwich, so it was probably that or something to do with new balls in the wheel-bearings of the coaches.
On the other hand my balance could have been better?
On the other hand, Greater Anglia certainly haven’t improved their Ipswich to Felixstowe services, as the train I wanted to catch had gone AWOL. So I missed the Olympic Torch Relay.
So I came home in another excellent Mk. 3 coach. Is there rail vehicle in service as good as the Mk. 3?
England Give Australia A Good Polishing
As if Friday’s pasting with a lot of help from an Irish dwarf wasn’t enough, they got supremely polished by England on Sunday. Sadly, England will have to shuffle the pack as two of their team, have got to go to a funeral.
Apparently, Australia are doing special deals on the trains to Edgbaston. If the match finishes early, you can take any train home.
The Canadian Family in Penang
Years ago, C & myself were waiting for the Penang Hill Railway to get on top of Penang Hill. I can’t remember exactly how we got talking, but it could have been a can of Coke in the hot weather and this Canadian family with three children helped clear up the mess. It turned out they were two teachers and had sold up all of their possessions and were going round the world. They were obviously educating their children as they travelled.
They had started in the UK and then crossed Europe by train to take a ferry to North Africa, where they crossed the Sahara in a truck. Gradually, they progressed through Africa to Dar Es Salaam, from where they took a dhow to India. When we met them, they were living in a two dollars a day flophouse in Penang. In a few days, they woukd be off and hoped to get to Darwin.
I asked if they had had any trouble. They said, only really the baboons. But then babons are the hooligans of Africa. Although, their son had broken his humerus, somewhere in Northern Nigeria. The local head man introduced them to the local bonesetter, who felt it all back into place. Later in Lagos, the Canadian High Commission, got them an appointment with the best orthopaedic surgeon in Nigeria. When he looked at the arm, he just gave a knowing look and said that the bonesetter was better than he was at puting broken bones back together. He’d not had any trouble since. I wish that bonesetter had put my gammy arm back together.
I always wonder what happened to that family. I assume all was well, but it would have made the travel book of the decade. I suspect, the authorities would have something to say, if a family tried it now.
The City At Sunset From Hoxton Station
Coming back from the Emirates Air-Line, I stopped off at Hoxton Station to take these pictures from the Northbound platform.
These are not the first photographs I’ve taken from the station, but the photograph on this post, was taken from the Southbound platform
There’s An Article Here
The Britain From Above web site has some good photographs of stations. This link shows a good one of Marylebone and the Great Central Hotel in front.
I actually think, that a shot of Marylebone from the same place would look very much the same today, except for diesel instead of steam trains.
Someone will write the article.
On a more serious note, railway and other historians will use the database of pictures to sort out, what was there in the 1920s and 30s and how something should be restored. And also to enliven dull articles.
Virgin’s Fairtrade Coffee
Coffee on trains can be rather variable to say the least. But this one was better than most.
It’s Fairtrade too!
Bus and Tube Information at Euston Station
When you arrive at the station in a city or town, you often need information to complete your journey to your final destination.
Bus and Tube Information at Euston Station
Most London stations have information booths like this provided by Transport for London at Euston station. I’ve never found such a booth in Manchester Piccadilly and I meant to check Liverpool Lime Street today, but forgot.
They say this about buses at Liverpool Lime Street on the National Rail website.
‘Arriva’ and ‘Stagecoach’ operate a network of daily, frequent bus routes around the city and also to nearby towns. For route maps and timetables: http://www.arrivabus.co.uk and http://www.stagecoachbus.com/merseyside
Liverpools main bus station (on Roe Street) is about 4 minutes walk from Lime Street station.
So should I assume there is no booth. How do you find out what bus company you need?
The same web site gives this for Euston.
Bus route maps are available from Transport for London’s website.
There is no mention of the excellent booth, although the link does point to bus maps for Camden.
There is also no way to contact the National Rail web site, to kick them into line. So we are just Self Loading Cargo left to our own devices.
Off to Liverpool Today
I’m going to watch the Olympic Torch Relay in Liverpool today. It’s going straight through the University, where C and I met. I will just walk up the hill to the Victoria Building.
The weather looks to be reasonably good.
If you are watching the relay on the Internet, today promises to be one of the most architecturally spectacular days so far. The flame is going past the two cathedrals, through the City Centre, past St. George’s Hall, under and over the Mersey and then the evening celebration will be in front of The Three Graces at the Pier Head. Remember that a lot of the centre of Liverpool is a World Heritage Site called the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City.
The Olympic Torch will feel at home as it passes St. George’s Hall, which has been described by Nicholas Pevsner as one of the finest neo-Grecian buildings in the world. In 1967 or 1968, during Panto Week, the students organised a hog roast in front of the hall. I doubt anybody would be allowed to do that now!
Robert Comes Home
I like to see old engines and other pieces of industrial history displayed at places like stations.
Robert has now been put back at Stratford station and as you casn see from the picture, it has a proper information board.
Some might have commissioned an expensive sculpture, but surely old engines like this are cheaper and just as interesting.
The Anonymous Widower 