Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
today:
At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.

Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
through the ventilation tunnels.

Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
Transport museum shop).

Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
1630 out of StP.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
> today:
> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>
> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
> through the ventilation tunnels.
>
> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
> Transport museum shop).
>
> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
> 1630 out of StP.
>
>
>
>

Oh I forgot, in non public tunnels of Charing Cross there were various new
looking cabinets with labels proclaiming them to be TCP/ESN. I guess the
latter is Emergency Services Network, but I’m not sure TCP means the normal
tcp/ip.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
> today:
> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>
> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
> through the ventilation tunnels.
>
> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
> Transport museum shop).
>
> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
> 1630 out of StP.
>

What time was your up train and from where?

The only train to St Pancras which calls at Corby and isn't formed of class
360 is a mid-afternoon service which starts at Melton Mowbray
<https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:COR/to/gb-nr:STP/2022-06-17/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=EM>

Anna Noyd-Dryver

Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>> today:
>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
>> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>>
>> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>> through the ventilation tunnels.
>>
>> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>> Transport museum shop).
>>
>> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
>> 1630 out of StP.
>>
>
> What time was your up train and from where?
>
> The only train to St Pancras which calls at Corby and isn't formed of class
> 360 is a mid-afternoon service which starts at Melton Mowbray
> <https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:COR/to/gb-nr:STP/2022-06-17/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=EM>
>
>
> Anna Noyd-Dryver
>
>

It was the 1005 arrival at StP that had come via Leicester. We were warned
at Kettering that we would have an extended dwell time and the doors would
be closed prior to the joining up. Our 5 car unit ended up being the rear
set. I don’t know where the front set came from. The downside of all of
this is the audio from the front set driver barely makes it to the rear
set. It was impossible to hear his announcements.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
> today:
> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.

Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
down from southern end of the platform.

> Took the EL to Tottenham
> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.

I think it's the most curved EL platform. One curiosity that I noticed was
that the main station entrance only shows LU roundels (despite having
excellent access to the EL), and the Dean Street entrance only shows purple
EL roundels.

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>> today:
>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>
> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
> down from southern end of the platform.
>
>
Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
walking.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>> today:
>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>>
>> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
>> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
>> down from southern end of the platform.
>>
>>
> Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
> a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
> but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
> downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
> walking.

Yes, that's via the direct connection between the northbound TL line and
the EL at subsurface level (it's an escalator ride down from ticket office
level). It's the route that notoriously omits any Oyster pads, but now has
reminder posters to touch in/out if needed. Was that route signposted?

<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>>> today:
>>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>>>
>>> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
>>> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
>>> down from southern end of the platform.
>>>
>>>
>> Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
>> a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
>> but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
>> downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
>> walking.
>
> Yes, that's via the direct connection between the northbound TL line and
> the EL at subsurface level (it's an escalator ride down from ticket office
> level). It's the route that notoriously omits any Oyster pads, but now has
> reminder posters to touch in/out if needed. Was that route signposted?
>
> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>
>

I’m pretty sure we were southbound on TL. Yes there were posters about
Oyster pads. The route was signposted, without them we’d have been totally
lost. Yes, I can see that if you’d arrived at Farringdon on a standard
heavy rail ticket and then transferred to EL you’d be in a mess when
exiting the EL (or the tube)

Looking down the length of the train, I was surprised how twisty the route
was between Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>>>> today:
>>>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>>>>
>>>> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
>>>> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
>>>> down from southern end of the platform.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
>>> a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
>>> but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
>>> downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
>>> walking.
>>
>> Yes, that's via the direct connection between the northbound TL line and
>> the EL at subsurface level (it's an escalator ride down from ticket office
>> level). It's the route that notoriously omits any Oyster pads, but now has
>> reminder posters to touch in/out if needed. Was that route signposted?
>>
>> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>
>>
>
> I’m pretty sure we were southbound on TL.

Yes, you would have arrived on the southbound line, which doesn't ave a
direct escalator connection to the EL (but does have lifts). The northbound
TL has the easy, direct connection:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279843/in/album-72177720299244348/>

You would have taken the footbridge (in the older part of the station) to
get from the southbound to the northbound TL platform, then walked south
into the newer part of the station, where you'd have passed the new
toilets, then walked into the wide EL link to the escalators down to the
EL.

> Yes there were posters about
> Oyster pads. The route was signposted, without them we’d have been totally
> lost. Yes, I can see that if you’d arrived at Farringdon on a standard
> heavy rail ticket and then transferred to EL you’d be in a mess when
> exiting the EL (or the tube)

Or vice versa, of course.

>
> Looking down the length of the train, I was surprised how twisty the route
> was between Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road.

I think that was the section where the tunnelers had to 'thread the
needle'.

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>> today:
>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>>> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
>>> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>>>
>>> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>>> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>>> through the ventilation tunnels.
>>>
>>> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>>> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>>> Transport museum shop).
>>>
>>> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>>> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>>> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
>>> 1630 out of StP.
>>>
>>
>> What time was your up train and from where?
>>
>> The only train to St Pancras which calls at Corby and isn't formed of class
>> 360 is a mid-afternoon service which starts at Melton Mowbray
>> <https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:COR/to/gb-nr:STP/2022-06-17/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=EM>
>>
>>
>> Anna Noyd-Dryver
>>
>>
>
> It was the 1005 arrival at StP that had come via Leicester.

Aha, one for Nottingham and one from Melton Mowbray (so through, but not
calling at, Corby)

<https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:P53079/2022-06-17/detailed#allox_id=1>

Coupling to
<https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:P53253/2022-06-17/detailed>

> We were warned
> at Kettering that we would have an extended dwell time and the doors would
> be closed prior to the joining up. Our 5 car unit ended up being the rear
> set.

Interesting; gWr's coupling procedure is now to couple before opening the
doors on the second part of the train to arrive. It saves a lot of time in
re-closing the doors and getting a dispatch to move along the platform.

> I don’t know where the front set came from. The downside of all of
> this is the audio from the front set driver barely makes it to the rear
> set. It was impossible to hear his announcements.

Drivers don't usually make announcements, that'll be the guard, who will
usually (but not necessarily) be in the rear set. It may be something in
the coupler electrical boxes didn't connect cleanly, but it may be
something as simple as that the guard was using a different handset to make
announcements after the two trains coupled.

Anna Noyd-Dryver

Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Anna Noyd-Dryver <anna@noyd-dryver.com> wrote:
>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>>> today:
>>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>>>> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
>>>> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>>>>
>>>> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>>>> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>>>> through the ventilation tunnels.
>>>>
>>>> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>>>> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>>>> Transport museum shop).
>>>>
>>>> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>>>> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>>>> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well. This at
>>>> 1630 out of StP.
>>>>
>>>
>>> What time was your up train and from where?
>>>
>>> The only train to St Pancras which calls at Corby and isn't formed of class
>>> 360 is a mid-afternoon service which starts at Melton Mowbray
>>> <https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:COR/to/gb-nr:STP/2022-06-17/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=EM>
>>>
>>>
>>> Anna Noyd-Dryver
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It was the 1005 arrival at StP that had come via Leicester.
>
> Aha, one for Nottingham and one from Melton Mowbray (so through, but not
> calling at, Corby)
>
> <https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:P53079/2022-06-17/detailed#allox_id=1>
>
> Coupling to
> <https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:P53253/2022-06-17/detailed>
>
>> We were warned
>> at Kettering that we would have an extended dwell time and the doors would
>> be closed prior to the joining up. Our 5 car unit ended up being the rear
>> set.
>
> Interesting; gWr's coupling procedure is now to couple before opening the
> doors on the second part of the train to arrive. It saves a lot of time in
> re-closing the doors and getting a dispatch to move along the platform.
>
>> I don’t know where the front set came from. The downside of all of
>> this is the audio from the front set driver barely makes it to the rear
>> set. It was impossible to hear his announcements.
>
> Drivers don't usually make announcements, that'll be the guard, who will
> usually (but not necessarily) be in the rear set. It may be something in
> the coupler electrical boxes didn't connect cleanly, but it may be
> something as simple as that the guard was using a different handset to make
> announcements after the two trains coupled.
>
>
> Anna Noyd-Dryver
>

I think it was the driver as he was reporting why we were limping along.
From what I did make out, it was something to do with a fault to the line
side equipment. Trains in both directions were coming to a stand and then
running at walking pace for about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the information about the Melton Mowbray set. I presume they
open the doors first to let the standing passengers off before the jolt.
It’s much more likely that there will be people wanting to get off
(Kettering is now the interchange to get the southbound stoppers). People
wanting to get on will have presumably already got on the waiting Melton
Mowbray set.

In message <t8if0p$r38$1@dont-email.me>, at 17:52:25 on Fri, 17 Jun
2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>today:

>At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.

>Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
>very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>
>Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>through the ventilation tunnels.
>
>Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>Transport museum shop).
>
>Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well.

Yield management is a complex thing, you don't want to displace Standard
Class walk up passengers onto cheaper First Class AP tickets; although I
did do that several times myself on the route. Even to the extent that
buying two AP fares (to account for late-running meetings) and throwing
one away was still cheaper.

>This at 1630 out of StP.

--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
> In message <t8if0p$r38$1@dont-email.me>, at 17:52:25 on Fri, 17 Jun
> 2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>> today:
>
>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>
>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and airy and
>> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>>
>> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>> through the ventilation tunnels.
>>
>> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>> Transport museum shop).
>>
>> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well.
>
> Yield management is a complex thing, you don't want to displace Standard
> Class walk up passengers onto cheaper First Class AP tickets; although I
> did do that several times myself on the route. Even to the extent that
> buying two AP fares (to account for late-running meetings) and throwing
> one away was still cheaper.
>
>> This at 1630 out of StP.
>

Demand management out of StP is a mess. The packed trains are immediately
after the 1900 boundary for off peak fares. There’s a packed concourse
waiting for that time as less well loaded trains leave beforehand. It might
possibly maximise revenue but it sure does inconvenience the travelling
public.

Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>>>>> today:
>>>>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>>>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>>>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>>>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>>>>>
>>>>> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
>>>>> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
>>>>> down from southern end of the platform.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
>>>> a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
>>>> but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
>>>> downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
>>>> walking.
>>>
>>> Yes, that's via the direct connection between the northbound TL line and
>>> the EL at subsurface level (it's an escalator ride down from ticket office
>>> level). It's the route that notoriously omits any Oyster pads, but now has
>>> reminder posters to touch in/out if needed. Was that route signposted?
>>>
>>> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>
>>>
>>
>> I’m pretty sure we were southbound on TL.
>
> Yes, you would have arrived on the southbound line, which doesn't ave a
> direct escalator connection to the EL (but does have lifts). The northbound
> TL has the easy, direct connection:
> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279843/in/album-72177720299244348/>
>
> You would have taken the footbridge (in the older part of the station) to
> get from the southbound to the northbound TL platform, then walked south
> into the newer part of the station, where you'd have passed the new
> toilets, then walked into the wide EL link to the escalators down to the
> EL.
>
>
>> Yes there were posters about
>> Oyster pads. The route was signposted, without them we’d have been totally
>> lost. Yes, I can see that if you’d arrived at Farringdon on a standard
>> heavy rail ticket and then transferred to EL you’d be in a mess when
>> exiting the EL (or the tube)
>
> Or vice versa, of course.
>
>>
>> Looking down the length of the train, I was surprised how twisty the route
>> was between Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road.
>
> I think that was the section where the tunnelers had to 'thread the
> needle'.
>
Another interesting (to me at least) factoid that I picked up. The disused
Jubilee terminus at Charing Cross is kept fully powered up and operational.
Between the two platforms it can house 6 full length trains. This is
because the over run tunnels are long enough for two trains, this being
because they started the dig for the old Fleet line route before the route
got changed. The lines are kept operational because they can be used to
provide stabling for strengthening services for major events (eg Jubilee
concert) or for line disruptions. Even the PA system carries on working
although nobody is there. The platform walls have fake adverts left over
from various uses in film productions. There’s a poster advertising a film,
where one of the stars is listed as Hugh Janus.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 20:34:53 -0000 (UTC), Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:

>Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Recliner <recliner.usenet@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>>>> today:
>>>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous.
>>>>
>>>> Presumably out of the old Met station, across the road, and enter the new
>>>> TL/EL entrance? Or over the footbridge? Or you could have taken a lift
>>>> down from southern end of the platform.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Along the TL platform to some stairs that I think were an over bridge. Then
>>> a bit of a walk within the station into a large open area at surface level
>>> but still within the station and still within the gate line. Then a
>>> downwards trip on an an escalator to the EL, followed by a bit of tunnel
>>> walking.
>>
>> Yes, that's via the direct connection between the northbound TL line and
>> the EL at subsurface level (it's an escalator ride down from ticket office
>> level). It's the route that notoriously omits any Oyster pads, but now has
>> reminder posters to touch in/out if needed. Was that route signposted?
>>
>> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>
>>
>
>I’m pretty sure we were southbound on TL. Yes there were posters about
>Oyster pads. The route was signposted, without them we’d have been totally
>lost. Yes, I can see that if you’d arrived at Farringdon on a standard
>heavy rail ticket and then transferred to EL you’d be in a mess when
>exiting the EL (or the tube)
>
>Looking down the length of the train, I was surprised how twisty the route
>was between Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road.

I've uploaded a few extra pics:

The lift that connects the Farringdon ticket office, southbound TL and EL platforms (much easier than two staircases and
an escalator):
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52154966938/in/album-72177720299244348/>

The new toilets at Farringdon, on the northbound TL platform, adjacent to the Elizabeth line link corridor:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52155171974/in/album-72177720299244348/>
But, be warned they close between 10 and 11am.

The initial, poster-free link between the EL and TL northbound:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098279803/in/album-72177720299244348/>

And, a few days later, touch-in/out posters had been put up, and even amended:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52155171979/in/album-72177720299244348/>

The rather impressive southbound TL route map displayed in the Farringdon ticket office:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52154938418/in/album-72177720299244348/>

The slightly curved TCR platform:
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/recliner/52098250611/in/album-72177720299244348/>
Most EL platforms are ramrod straight, so this one slightly curved one is unusual, but it's straighter than most Tube
platforms.

In message <t8k9ns$7j7$1@dont-email.me>, at 10:34:36 on Sat, 18 Jun
2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.co.uk> wrote:
>> In message <t8if0p$r38$1@dont-email.me>, at 17:52:25 on Fri, 17 Jun
>> 2022, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>>> Just returned from a railway oriented day in London. New things I’ve done
>>> today:
>>
>>> At Kettering our Meridian joined up with another one (presumably from
>>> Corby). Didn’t know that was a thing.
>>
>>> Went for a a diversion to Farringdon to get the Elizabeth Line. Bit of a
>>> hike from Thameslink to EL, but not too onerous. Took the EL to Tottenham
>>> Court Road. The latter’s platform is quite a thing. Very large and
>>>airy and
>>> very long. Makes the tube look a bit toy like. Very well air conditioned.
>>>
>>> Took the Hidden London tour of Charing Cross. Saw the disused Jubilee
>>> platforms, went along the tunnel under Trafalgar Square and had a trip
>>> through the ventilation tunnels.
>>>
>>> Now the proud owner of a cushion made of EL moquette fabric and socks in
>>> the pattern of Piccadilly moquette. (Spending splurge in the London
>>> Transport museum shop).
>>>
>>> Trip home had a Nottingham service cancelled due to crew shortage but they
>>> let us use the earlier service which actually did us a favour. First Class
>>> 20% full, so their pricing of Advances isn’t working very well.
>>
>> Yield management is a complex thing, you don't want to displace Standard
>> Class walk up passengers onto cheaper First Class AP tickets; although I
>> did do that several times myself on the route. Even to the extent that
>> buying two AP fares (to account for late-running meetings) and throwing
>> one away was still cheaper.
>>
>>> This at 1630 out of StP.
>
>Demand management out of StP is a mess. The packed trains are immediately
>after the 1900 boundary for off peak fares. There’s a packed concourse
>waiting for that time as less well loaded trains leave beforehand. It might
>possibly maximise revenue but it sure does inconvenience the travelling
>public.

Unusually for an InterCity TOC, they used to have a dispensation for
Friday evenings, but I see it's no longer available.

I had a really complicated crib-sheet which told me which tickets were
available at which times back to Nottingham either direct, or via
Grantham. Because the blackout times combined with the service
granularity meant it wasn't an easy off-the-cuff decision.
--
Roland Perry