The Correct Term is a Light Engine
When you have just a railway engine travelling by itself, it is called a light engine!
One has caused chaos on the West Coast Main Line by getting itself derailed at Bletchley, as reported here on the BBC. But few reports have called it a light engine, most have called it a freight train, as it is owned by a company called Freightliner, although it is at present leased to Virgin Trains. So at least they can read, even if they don’t know the correct railway term.
The BBC report says this.
A spokesman for Network Rail said the Freightliner locomotive appeared to have approached a set of points at Bletchley south junction too fast.
This caused the tracks to buckle, damaged wooden sleepers and brought down some overhead cables.
There is as yet “no estimate for the completion of repairs and therefore it is not yet known whether services will continue to be affected on Sunday”, according to the National Rail Enquiries website.
As no-one seems to have been seriously hurt, but many have been seriously delayed and inconvenienced, this will turn out to be one of those stories that will run and run all the way to the Supreme Court. After all the engine wasn’t owned by Virgin Trains, but it was being run on their behalf.
So will Virgin Trains be suing themselves for all the compensation, they’ve paid out to passengers?
Incidentally, I usually go to see Ipswich at Coventry, but won’t be going today. I was going to go and get in by buying a ticket on the gate. But because of this light engine crash, I wouldn’t have been able to get to Coventry.
So should I add my case for compensation to the rest?
No! But, if I’d bought a ticket you could be rest ensured, I wouldn’t be a happy bunny, aif I’d been unable to get to Coventry!
How To Improve A Station
Clapham Junction station is one of the busiest in Europe and on some measures the busiest station in the UK.
I had only been twice before. One was in the 1960s, when I was looking to see some of Bulleid ‘s steam engines, like the Merchant Navy class. The other was a few years ago, when I was going to Southampton from Suffolk.
Since those days, the station has had a makeover. The most impressive feature is the rebuilt bridge with lifts to all the platforms and the new south-eastern or Brighton Yard entrance to the station.
I’ve tried to annotate the pictures correctly, but if you have better captions please let me know.
I should say that in the future Clapham Junction will be important to me, as I will be able to get a direct train to the station from Dalston Junction using the Overground, which will mean, I can get to the south and south west without having to struggle to Waterloo or Victoria. Incidentally, the design of the Overground Platform 2, shows how with a bit of innovation, you can squeeze wide easy-to-navigate platforms into a small space. Once complete passengers arriving on the new East/South London line will just have to walk a few metres to catch the West London line and vice-versa.
Just like with Stratford, it shows how by using good design and a sensible amount of money you can create a good interchange to take the pressure off the main London termini.
I think it is true to say, that the new bridge is the most impressive feature of the redevelopment. If you are changing trains, at the station, it is the ideal place to wait with interesting views, cafes and shops. It is also well-provided with information and has lifts to all platforms.
How many other stations would benefit from a similar makeover?
West Hampstead – This has been proposed and probably will happen. I would certainly benefit, as I could take the North London line to pick up the Jubilee line or Chiltern line to Birmingham.
Hackney Central and Hackney Downs – This could be an important interchange in north-east London, as I indicated here.
Willesden Junction– Connected to both Stratford and Clapham Junction by the London Overground, it should be developed as a link to the north. Selected Virgin expresses should stop at the station.
West Croydon – This needs to be sorted and linked properly to East Croydon. At present it’s easy to go from West to East, but the other way is difficult.
Get these and other interfaces sorted and a lot of pressure could be taken off the main London termini.
92 Clubs – Day 46 – Wolverhampton, Wycombe
I started just after lunchtime by taking the 13:23 Virgin Train to Wolverhampton. From there it wasn’t the longest walk to Molineux, where Wolverhampton Wanderers play.
Outside Molineux Stadium
After visiting the ground, I took the short walk to the city centre and then on to the tram for Birmingham.
The Tram Arrives at Snow Hill
From the tram stop at Snow Hill, I finally found the badly-signposted walking route to Moor Street, where I caught the direct train to High Wycombe.
Adam's Park in the Dark
It was dark by now and this was best picture I could get of Adam’s Park, where Wycombe play.
On the way home the train stopping at Wembley Stadium.
Wembley Stadium at Night
I could have probably gone to the England Sweden match.
92 Clubs – Week 4 – 11 Clubs – 18 Trains
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7
Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25 Day 26 Day 27 Day 28
This was a rather poor performance on my part, but it had got off to rather a bad start on Day 22 and I did take three days off.
Here are the awards.
Heroes of the Week
These have to be Peter, who at 84, guided me across Manchester to Oldham and the unknown driver of the 14:06 out of Paddington to Penzance, that I took to Plymouth.
Most Surprising Stadium of the Week
It has to be Port Vale, as it shows how a small club can create a stadium of whom any supporter can be proud.
Best Stadium of the Week
I’d give this to Port Vale as well, if it wasn’t so difficult to get to. I might give it to Norwich, but then I can’t, can I? Both the Nottingham clubs have good stadia, which are easy to get to, but the others with the exception of Peterborough, are public transport nightmares. So I think I’ll leave the award! in a few years time or on a match day, it will probably go to Port Vale.
Best Signposted Stadium of the Week
Portsmouth virtually has its own station at Fratton and even has separate signs to the ground for Home and Away Supporters, so it wins by a country mile.
Worst Signposted Stadium of the Week
Peterborough virtually lacks signposting and as it is fairly close to the station, some signs would help. But as I said on Day 27, the stadium is very much a work-in-progress, so perhaps it will be very much better in a few years time. I think I’ll give it to Northampton, as with a bit of thought, they could probably make a nice walking route to the ground.
Dump of the Week
After a couple of near misses Manchester finally gets the rewa4rd it deserves. It is a city with bad maps, no information and a completely indecipherable bus system. Perhaps some of the billions, they are spending on the new trams could be used to make sure the buses work or that the maps are correct.
Sign of the Week
It just has to be the one at Port Vale.
Best Train of the Week
The High Speed Train to Plymouth, where I sat on on the floor.
Worst Train of the Week
The two trains to Oxford, where there was no tables in the back of the seats in front. How can I do my Sudoku?
Worst Bus of the Week
The one I took from Boundary Park to Oldham Bus Station. If you were in a wheelchair or had a baby in a buggy, you ewouldn’t have been able to use it.
This was rather a dissappointing week, in that I could have done much more. I could make the excuse of my hay fever! So I will!
92 Clubs – Day 26 – Norwich, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Oldham
It was back on the road on Wednesday. I was actually a five club day, as I passed Ipswich on the way to Norwich and took this picture from the train.
Portman Road From The Train
Not the best, but when I had a very good view, National Express East Anglia decided to put another train in the way. It was only a quick trip to the ground as I wanted to get on my way to Nottingham.
Outside Carrow Road
The Norwich fan, who took the picture wasn’t happy and I think it shows in the quality.
There is a direct train link from Norwich to Nottingham and I was in the city with three major grounds before midday.
Signpost to Forest and County
The picture shows the signage to the grounds. This sign actually solved the problem of whether to to County or Forest first. So it was Forest.
It is not a safe walk to the grounds, as you walk up a main road, with no pedestrian lights where you cross side roads. I couldn’t even hitch a life on a bu, as there were no stops until I got to Trent Bridge and all the buses seem to go another way.
Outside Nottingham Forest
But I made it. The Nottingham Forest must have one of only a couple of grounds on a major river. Fulham being the other obvious example.
It was then back to the station taking in Notts County on the way.
Notts County’s Meadow Lane Stadium
From there it was on to Manchester Piccadilly for Oldham. Strangely on a train that had started in Norwich. It was a walk to Piccadilly Gardens for the bus, but as ever the information was extremely useless. There was even a map of the stops, where a You Are Here sticker had been placed so that it obscured the stop I wanted.
Then I bumped into Peter, an Oldham season ticket holder, who escorted me to Oldham on an 81 bus. Or was it a 181? Certainly, the bus didn’t know, but eventually with some further help at Oldham Bus Station, I walked to Boundary Park.
Boundary Park in the Dark
As you can see it was now getting dark, so I made a hasty retreat, by means of two buses back to Manchester.
After supper in Carluccio’s, it was on the late train home to London. I actually travelled First Class, as it was only seven pounds more than Standard with a coffee and a banana thrown in. On the other hand it was about half an Off Peak Standard Class ticket. I know it’s all to do with demand, but certainly not many seem to want to travel First on Virgin after about 21:00.
The Return Trip on a Train
Often the rerurn trip is the most difficult for anybody to book.
Tomorrow, for instance, I am visiting Norwich, the two Nottingham clubs and then returning from Manchester Piccadilly. Of late, I’ve been booking an off-peak ticket for the return journey, as I know it can be used on most trains in the evening. Usually, in comfort too, except on Virgin’s Glasgow services. So if I’m early, I don’t have to wait until some ungodly hour to get my booked train home.
But tomorrow, the return Off-Peak single from Manchester was over £40, whereas the Advance Standard Class single was just £15. But as the Advance First Class single was only seven pounds more I took that. I’ll get the diffeence back in three cups of coffee.
It seems to pay well, if you don’t follow rules and check all options.
Virgin Trains Glasgow Services
Inevitably in the last couple of weeks, I’ve ended up on some of Virgin Trains services that have started at or are going to Glasgow. If I take Day 21, where I went from London to Milton Keynes and then from Crewe to Lancaster for Morecambe, before going from Lancaster to Carlisle, all on trains going to Glasgow. The early train had plenty of space, although, a lot of people use it to commute to Milton Keynes, but the other two were very overcrowded. I didn’t have a seat reservation on either leg and although I got a seat from Crewe to Preston, it was stand up for the rest of the way.
It almost seems that there is a division, where trains are bearable south of Warrington, Wigan or Preston, but often unbearable to the north. More capacity is urgently needed, both on the Pendolino and Super Voyager services. I think the problem is compounded, by the fact, that the trains get used by locals, travelling just one or two stops. I met one guy commuting from Lancaster to Carlisle.
There are a few TransPennine services from Manchester Airport to Glasgow that use the route, but they are short 100 mph trains, which at best add a few seats to the route and at worst make it more congested. I experienced one going south and detailed it in this post. Perhaps, there is a case for a couple of High Speed Diesel Trains to replace the small Class 185‘s on this route until the line is fully-electrified and electric multiple units arrive.
It has been announced that extra Pendolino trains will be available soon, but some seem to have been put into store, rather than service. Surely, if the sums added up four years ago, and we’ve had an increase in passengers since then, that they are better earning revenue rather than getting rusty.
Remember that my particular expertise is resource scheduling. I just think, that someone’s objective function is not comprehensive enough or there are some dark politics involved. If nothing, adding extra seats to the Glasgow services might encourage people to use them rather than flying, which would reduce our carbon footprint.
Given the overcrowding, something should be done as soon as possible.
At present all I can advise, is make sure you have a seat reservation when you travel anywhere between Warrington and Glasgow.
But the real problems of the West Coast Main Line are historic, as Wikipedia states.
Because of opposition by landowners along the route, in places some railway lines were built so that they avoided large estates and rural towns, and to reduce construction costs the railways followed natural contours, resulting in many curves and bends. The WCML also passes through some hilly areas, such as the Chilterns (Tring cutting), the Watford Gap and Northampton uplands followed by the Trent Valley, the mountains of Cumbria with a summit at Shap, and Beattock Summit in southern Lanarkshire. This legacy of gradients and curves, and the fact that it was not originally conceived as a single trunk route, means the WCML was never ideal as a long-distance main line, with lower maximum speeds than the East Coast Main Line (ECML) route, the other major main line from London to Scotland.
And this still means that for long distances north of Crewe, that only a double track is possible. So this limits the number of paths available, which means that running say a slower connecting service from Warrington to Carlisle, is just not on, even though it would remove the one or two station travellers.
And then you have the freight trains!
So perhaps the problem is not actually about trains, but is more about tracks and paths. The only way then, to get more through, would be to increase the size of the trains from nine to eleven coaches, for which many of the carriages have been built and are in store.
But at some point, the West Coast Main Line will have to have extra tracks, especially if more and more freight trains need to run to and from Scotland from the south. As I believe has been shown around Ipswich, the more freight trains you can run, the less trucks use the roads and you get greater capacity for cars and coaches.
I add the latter, as there is now a London to Glasgow coach service with sleeping berths.
92 Clubs – Day 20 – Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Millwall
Not quite the Magnificent Seven, but I’ll take six after a total of nine trains, four buses, three trams, two taxis, one Underground train and quite a bit of walking, it was a long day well done.
I started very early in the morning by taking the 05:27 direct to Liverpool. I got another friendly taxi-driver, who took me to the ground for a discount and took my picture in front of the Anfield Gates.
Outside the Anfield Gates
I was all very quick and I was on a train to Macclesfield just after nine. I changed at Stockport for Macclesfield and as there was no information at all at the station, it was another taxi.
Macclesfield Town's Ground
I got the impression the driver couldn’t use a camera, so this is the best picture I took of the ground.
To get to Manchester I took one of Virgin’s Pendolinos, which as I had the right ticket was OK. However, it could be possible that you end up with a cheaper and incorrect ticket at Macclesfield, that is not valid on Virgin. So if you do buy a ticket there, check you have the right one for the train you are catching.
Piccadilly station at Manchester, is an information desert, so don’t do what I did and go there without total preparation. You’d think that directions to the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City play would be displayed prominently. But you would be very wrong! Eventually, someone from Virgin, who I suspect was a City fan, suggested I walk to Picadilly Gardens, as any of the buses to Ashton would get me there. But there would be staff there, who I could ask! There was and I got a bus that passed the stadium.
One of the problems of buses in the provinces is that few announce the stops, as all London buses do. So it was try and peer out the dirty window on a typical rainy Manchester morning and see the stadium. In the end, I felt that I might have gone far enough, so I pressed the bell and got off a couple of stops early, so I could get wet in the drizzle.
If Manchester thinks it is an important city, it could spent a few pence on getting more information and maps for the buses and making them more user friendly. But then only the elderly, the unemployed and losers use buses. I suppose, I’m in at least two of those categories.
The stadium is impressive, but there wasn’t anybody to take a picture, which probably shows how unwelcoming and sterile many grounds have become these days.
Manchester City's Etihad Stsdium
At least I had no problem finding the bus to get me back to the city centre, although crossing the road, you were just a target for speeding motorists.
Again though, I found it difficult to find the right tram in Piccadilly Gardens, as they don’t believe in telling the punters what they need to know. There does seem to be this belief up north that public transport is for the locals and they don’t need information, as they know where they are going.
I did pass the other Old Trafford on the way to Manchester United ‘s ground.
Old Trafford on Brian Statham Way
The walk to Manchester United ‘s ground from the tram stop at Old Trafford is easy, but it does pass Trafford Town Hall.
Trafford Town Hall
And this street of healthy eating establishments.
Healthy Eating By Manchester United's Ground
Note one appears to be taking Lou Macari‘s name. But then he comes from the Land of the Deep-Fried Mars Bar. Something that is definitely not gluten-free.
Manchester United's Stadium
I did pass the stadium and took this photograph. Obviously, I didn’t want to be photographed outside, but if I had, there were lots of people about, many who seemed to be from the more eastern parts of Asia. They would probably know how to use a camera better than some I have asked on my journey.
I carried walking past the ground aiming for a Metrolink station called Pomona. However, it wasn’t signposted. I eventually found another station with the aim of getting back to Piccadilly.
Information on the Manchester Metrolink
Note the non-functioning information system, which sums up Manchester well. Eventually, I got back to Piccadilly for a train to Middlesbrough.Finding trains at Piccadilly isn’t the easiest as this board isn’t the best.
Information Board at Manchester Piccadilly
Why can’t they use the system they have at Leeds or London Bridge, which is a list of all the places served by all of the trains? This would appear to be doing something similar, but it doesn’t show all of the stations all of the time and they move about from place to place. Quite frankly, it’s one of the worst and most useless information displays I’ve seen, except for some in places like Egypt, all in Arabic.
Eventually, I arrived at Middlesbrough and walked to the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium
It is another one of those modern stadia, that are surrounded by fast roads, with no crossings for pedestrians. But at least in the only match, I’ve seen there, Ipswich won.
I walked easily to and from the stadium from the station, although I wouldn’t do it in the dark with all the fast traffic about.
I got the late train back to London from Darlington and then it was off to London Bridge to catch a train to South Bermondsey for Millwall. It was dark by now and this is the best of the pictures I took.
The New Den's Behind the Bars
I couldn’t get any closer without climbing the unfriendly fence. But I suppose it is Millwall and there might be lions loose inside.
I was in bed just after midnight, after a friendly and talkable 141 bus from London Bridge.
92 Clubs – The Biggest Problem
This does seem to be the pollen count and my hay fever. Would you believe that the count is High today in Coventry!
But my balance seem to be better. I did complain here about Virgin’s Pendolinos, but now I can walk up and down the moving train with ease.
That’s the Last Time I Travel First On Virgin Trains
My trip down from Blackpool wasn’t a nightmare, but it could have been better.
It was my fault that I booked First Class because I thought I’d be using my laptop and wanted to take advantage of free wi-fi. But I didn’t take the computer and after a good journey up in Second, I’d rather regretted it, as I find the Second Class seats better than First, as I don’t have a very good back.
I was hungry, but I thought I might get something to eat. All I’d had since Blackpool was a smoothie and a banana in the station buffet. Often there is aFirst Class Lounge, where I can get some fruit and coffee. But not Preston!
On the train, as it was Saturday, all the food offered was biscuits or an apple.
So effectively, I paid the extra for First Class for two cups of coffee.
And then the train was 55 minutes late into Euston. I shall be claiming a refund, if Virgin offer one. I can’t find anything about that on their web site.
As it was, the lateness ruined Plan B,which was supper in Carluccio’s in Islington. Luckily, I had some cold Musks sausages in the fridge.
The Anonymous Widower 