100 Journeys: No 6

ImageAndy Carter 2 Comments

It’s foggy, haven’t you noticed?

Naturally I’m not one to shy away from the bandwagon so here’s my moody fog related picture.

I do love this time of year. The weather is so much more dramatic than the summer. Fog, rain, snow, wind – they seem to bring London alive. Whereas heat just makes it smell bad.

These days a good portion of the Underground network features (or is being converted to) a form of automated in-cab signalling. This removes or at least reduces the number of conventional ground located colour-light signals needed. Information of line speed and availability is instead fed to the driver inside the train. Whether or not the train is being driven manually or by the automated system, it means the driver can virtually ‘see’ further than they otherwise would have in these poor weather conditions. It ultimately makes the system safer and more reliable.

Whilst commutes up and down the country are being badly affected by the weather, this part of The Underground is working well.

For once…

Moody South Woodford

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CAS Weekly 28/10/15

Andy Carter 2 Comments

Image from Press Association

Modelling

UK Rail

World Rail

From The CAS Team

Compiled by Andy Carter & Edward Kendall

100 Journeys: No 5

Andy Carter 2 Comments

This isn’t a train.

I only made it to Journey 5 and 3 Days into this experiment before there was problems on the Central Line.

The W12 to Walthamstow is a scrappy service at best, and one definitely not designed for crowds of displaced tube travellers. The poor thing is only a hopper after all, which is more than ample to ferry the biddies to and from Whipps Cross Hospital on any normal day.

I got lucky this time. I have a choice of two bus stops, George Lane and Bedford Road. George Lane is closer but it means I have to back track on my journey – once I’m on the bus I travel back in the direction I’ve just walked – and this plays havock with my OCD. I’d rather walk in the direction I’m ultimately traveling and go to Bedford Road but on this occasion the bus was only 2 minutes away so I bit the bullet and went to George Lane. Good job I did, I was the last person to get on the bus before it started to miss out stops due to it being full up with Central Line passengers.

The next bus is in 20 minutes. The people at Bedford Road didn’t look happy as we sped past…

But wait… If I’d have let my OCD get the better of me and walked to Bedford Road instead, the bus then wouldn’t have been full. Which means it would have stopped. Would the driver have still skipped it or tried to fit in me plus the 3 others? We could have all shuffled down a bit.. Maybe he would have only let 1 on but that may have started a riot. Did I screw over the folk at Bedford Road or save them from argument?

It doesn’t matter. I’m still late.

W12

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100 Journeys: No 4

Andy Carter 3 Comments

What are these for? I see these markers in various different guises at most stations. Sometimes the shape or colour varies.

In this instance the markers manifested themselves in large white boxes at regular intervals along the platform at King’s Cross on the Eastbound Circle Line. Near the front of the train one particular white box was also accompanied by a yellow diamond (as seen bellow).

Answers in the box bellow…

Platform Marker

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100 Journeys: No 3

Andy Carter 3 Comments

The calm before the storm.

Or after the storm. Yes it’s after the storm isn’t it… It’s 10:30am on a Tuesday. With the ordeal of yesterday’s peak-hour commuting now behind me, it’s time to embark on Journey 3. It’s remarkable how much the city changes in a matter of hours isn’t it?

I hate doing 9am starts on a weekday. It’s not the getting up early thing that bothers me… In fact I’d rather get up earlier and do an 8am start just because we haven’t reach maximum pushing and shoving, crowding and cramming, tutting and glaring yet. In some ways I’ve become far too accustomed to the luxury of not having to start every working day at 9am, not having to stand face to face with someone else’s elbow every day. I don’t envy those of you who do, and should I ever find myself in that position I’m not entirely sure my sanity would cope.

Yesterday was a fitting way to start this little project, a baptism of fire if you will. Launching straight in with little to no explanation of what these posts were about however was always how I wanted it to start. I think most of you get what it’s about even without an explanation… Heck a friend even commented on Twitter just after the Journey 1 post saying “I’ve always wanted to do that but with buses…” She got it.

100 Journeys, 100 pictures, 100 things noticed and 100 thoughts catalogued. This is going to be a trip into my inner monologue that rides with me on my travels on the Underground, logged through my smartphone collating places, people, buildings, objects and ideas that catch my eye.

Join me on this hopefully informative, slightly odd and definitely random ride.

IMG_5545

Sedate South Woodford

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– Andy Carter