Ask the Tubeman

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by spsmiler

Hi Tubeman.

Nope, no idea - although possibly linked in with TV, Eastenders?

It wasnt Quatermass was it - I thought that used something like "Hobbs Cross"?

Simon

Nah, its not a trick question

The 7 Shepherd's Bush stations are / were:

#1) 1844-1844 - West London railway, on site of projected Shepherd's Bush station (2006)
#2) 1864-1914 - Metropolitan / GWR (between present-day Goldhawk Rd and Shepherd's Bush)
#3) 1864-1869 - Metropolitan / GWR, on dismantled curve between latimer Rd and West London railway
#4) 1869-1916 - L&SWR, south of the common
#5) 1900 - Central Line
#6) 1914 - Metropolitan Railway (replaced #2)
#7) 2006 - Network Rail, on site of former Uxbridge Road on West London Line

[spsmiler]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Not that I'm aware of. They'll just be Electrostars with more doorways.

The reason being (I presume) because it will be a universal stock running in 8 (Metropolitan), 7 (District) and 6 (Circle / H&C) Car formations. I suppose then there could be 3 and 4 car units (i.e. either 4+4, 3+4 or 3+3) which could be permanently coupled and therefore articulated, but the entire train couldn't be.

I thought the trains will be fully walk-through.

But, if they are going to be Electrostarts then they could build a few with ac traction capability (if they wont all have anyway) and reintroduce the Southend Corridor Express!

Only this time there wont be a need to swtich between electric and steam locomotive at either Barking or East Ham...

I know, dream on - but why cant the privatised railway bring back some of the glamour of "ye olde days".

Simon

[CharlieP]

Which episode of The Tube do you appear in? Just noticed Sky Three are showing it at the moment

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Which episode of The Tube do you appear in? Just noticed Sky Three are showing it at the moment

Episodes 4 & 5 of the first series, I'm on Sky Travel on constant repeat!

Episode 4 = Defective Train at High Street Kensington, I'm trying to fix it with a retarded dwarf

Episode 5 = A fat bint goes through a Red Signal and I have to interview her

Episode 5 is one of the finest bits of TV of recent years

[CharlieP]

Episode 5 is on right now - I've just seen the fat bint interview!

[Zim Flyer]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Episode 5 = A fat bint goes through a Red Signal and I have to interview her

I take it she isn't a member of the scc. You come over all caring and professional on the TV as well, if only they knew the truth Tubeman

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by CharlieP

Episode 5 is on right now - I've just seen the fat bint interview!

I loved the way she slipped the word 'twat' onto pre-watershed TV; "Sorry Joe I've been a bit of a twat today". Other choice quotes: "When I was a bus driver its was part of the job to hit cars", "Its not like I killed anyone" and "I was on Planet Miranda"

[Gareth]

Tubey, does the underground have any interchange stations where two lines share platforms for easy passenger transfer? I've only ever travelled on the system a little when I was in London last year (mainly using the Central line), but the few changes I made, I had to move to a different level. I ask this becusae there are plenty of lines which run parallel for fairly long distances. So say if you're going from Baker Street to Liverpool Street, you have three lines going exactly the same way. Do you just pick a line you fancy?

[JDRS]

Gareth I know that at Finchley Road before and Wembley I think I've got off and just moved over to another line on the same platform.

[wjfox]

Originally Posted by Gareth

Tubey, does the underground have any interchange stations where two lines share platforms for easy passenger transfer?

There are lots of stations on the Circle and District lines that share platforms.

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by Gareth

Tubey, does the underground have any interchange stations where two lines share platforms for easy passenger transfer? I've only ever travelled on the system a little when I was in London last year (mainly using the Central line), but the few changes I made, I had to move to a different level. I ask this becusae there are plenty of lines which run parallel for fairly long distances. So say if you're going from Baker Street to Liverpool Street, you have three lines going exactly the same way. Do you just pick a line you fancy?

Excluding stations where trains of different lines share the same platforms (e.g. every Circle Line station) there are a fair few 'Cross-Platform Interchanges' as they're known.

Off the top of my head:

Acton Town, Hammersmith, Barons Court (District & Piccadilly)
Mile End (District / Hammermsith and City & Central)
Finchley Road, Wembley Park (Metropolitan & Jubilee)
Stockwell (Victoria & Northern)
Oxford Circus (Victoria & Bakerloo)
Euston (Victoria & Northern Bank Branch)
Finsbury Park (Victoria & Piccadilly)
Stratford (Central & Main Line)
Barking (District & Main Line)

There may be some more...

Obviously there are a fair few stations with different lines on the same level (e.g. Ealing Broadway) but the examples I mentioned above are all aligned such that two lines going in the same direction call at opposite platforms.

[Gareth]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Excluding stations where trains of different lines share the same platforms (e.g. every Circle Line station)

Ahh, so is the Circle Line in reality just a representaion of a service which uses several lines as opposed to having it's own track?

[mr_storms]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Excluding stations where trains of different lines share the same platforms (e.g. every Circle Line station) there are a fair few 'Cross-Platform Interchanges' as they're known.

Off the top of my head:

Acton Town, Hammersmith, Barons Court (District & Piccadilly)
Mile End (District / Hammermsith and City & Central)
Finchley Road, Wembley Park (Metropolitan & Jubilee)
Stockwell (Victoria & Northern)
Oxford Circus (Victoria & Bakerloo)
Euston (Victoria & Northern Bank Branch)
Finsbury Park (Victoria & Piccadilly)
Stratford (Central & Main Line)
Barking (District & Main Line)

There may be some more...

Obviously there are a fair few stations with different lines on the same level (e.g. Ealing Broadway) but the examples I mentioned above are all aligned such that two lines going in the same direction call at opposite platforms.

Baker Street is crsos platform between jubilee and bakerloo
And the circle does actually get its own platforms at aldagte

[samsonyuen]

West Brompton also has cross platform between its mainline service and the District line, as does the Greenwich mainline/DLR station.

[mr_storms]

northern (oval, camden town), District(Earls Court) and Dlr (poplar) are also cross-platform with themselves

[micro]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

The main gripe is the heat in the Summer, but there was no such thing as air con 142 years ago, and there's no room for it on the deep level "Tubes". I see no reason why the "Sub Surface" lines can't be equipped with air con though; they used to be steam operated so there are plenty of gaps in the tunnels through which heat could escape.

Actually it's not too bad because it adds a tropical element to London

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by samsonyuen

West Brompton also has cross platform between its mainline service and the District line, as does the Greenwich mainline/DLR station.

I don't know the layout of Greenwich, but West Brompton doesn't fit the mould of the others I mentioned because the Eastbound District Line is adjacent to the Southbound Main Line. Its no different to, say, Upminster or Ealing Broadway in that respect. All of the examples I mentioned have lines heading in the same direction calling at a single island platform.

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by mr_storms

Baker Street is crsos platform between jubilee and bakerloo
And the circle does actually get its own platforms at aldagte

Indeed, although I could be a pedantic b*stard and tell you that Metropolitan Line trains can also reverse via platforms 1 and 4 at Aldgate if need be (instead of the usual middle platforms 2 and 3).

Gloucester Road platform 2 is also exclusively Circle Line per timetable, but it can be used by District Line trains if need be.

[mr_storms]

Originally Posted by Tubeman

Indeed, although I could be a pedantic b*stard and tell you that Metropolitan Line trains can also reverse via platforms 1 and 4 at Aldgate if need be (instead of the usual middle platforms 2 and 3).

Gloucester Road platform 2 is also exclusively Circle Line per timetable, but it can be used by District Line trains if need be.

Fine but thats like saying that a northbound picadilly train at Kings Cross can reverse and become a northbound northern train to euston. They can, but really never do.

[Tubeman]

Originally Posted by Gareth

Ahh, so is the Circle Line in reality just a representaion of a service which uses several lines as opposed to having it's own track?

Yes, the entire sub-surface network (Metropolitan + District + Circle + Hammermsith & City + East London Lines) is basically one big interlinked railway, the 'lines' are nominal really, they just denote service patterns.

For example between Baker Street and Liverpool Street the Tube Map shows three separate lines whereas in fact there's only one double-track tunnel (and not the 6 tracks you might be led to believe).

All of the Sub-surface lines are the result of two railway companies, the Metropolitan and Metropolitan District. This was reflected on the Tube Map until the 'Inner Circle' service was denoted as the 'Circle Line' and its colour changed to yellow. The East London Line was always marked as being part of the Metropolitan Line until the 1980's when it started to receive its own identity, at first it became a purple outline as opposed to the Met's solid purple before then 'going orange' in the 1990's (?). Finally, the Hammersmith & City Line was 'created' in 1990... Up until then it was just part of the Metropolitan Line. Its all essentially one railway and remained quite complex for many years (e.g. the District Line used to run the Circle Line trains on Sundays until the 1980's, whilst the Metropolitan Line provided them Monday to Saturday) before being 'boiled down' to a more simplified version today with separate line identities.

The only part of the Inner London Sub-surface network that was ever quadruple was between High Street Kensington and South Kensington where the District and Metropolitan had separate routes. The District's own route between High St ken and Gloucester Rd disappeared in the 1950's, and today the former met Line tunnel between Gloucester Rd and South Ken carries a single eastbound road, and the former District line tunnel carries two westbound roads (one District, one Circle).