please empty your brain below
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Wandsworth Road station is a haven for train spotters.
I was visiting a friend nearby and decided to make the trip more interesting by going Overground. Could not believe how many spotters there were. It seemed they worked in unison. Some on the footbridge, others with tripods for video, picture and sound recording. When there were no interesting trains passing they pointed their lens skywards to the planes overhead coming into land at Heathrow. Decided to wait and see the object of their desire. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Royal Train majestically came past. Minutes later the platforms were empty...
Bernie | 06.12.12 - 7:01 a.m. | #
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If you were the gentleman taking pics on Larkhall Rise bridge, please make yourself known. You may have inadvertently got a photo of the Lesser Spotted DG...
Scott | Homepage | 06.12.12 - 8:13 a.m. | #
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The fact that the trains go to Battersea Park daily is not because they are needed to provide a ghost train. That is just a fortuitous side-effect. The statutory requirement is for one train a week in one direction.
Undoubtedly the train runs daily to ensure that the drivers have the necessary route knowledge so that it if Chapham Junction is not available for any reason they can divert to Battersea Park and the trains do not need to be cancelled.
Pedantic of Purley | 06.12.12 - 9:16 a.m. | #
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Just looking at the new Overground timetables. Why do trains between Stratford and Highbury & Islington start so late on Sundays?
langdon | 06.12.12 - 9:52 a.m. | #
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@ Langdon - I understand the late start is to give Network Rail a suitable "time window" to do track maintenance and checks.
PC | 06.12.12 - 10:05 a.m. | #
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re:Stratford - H&I, I understand that from next May the last departure from Stratford will be an hour later that the current 2200 on Sundays (on 7 Sundays out of 8).
Paul | 06.12.12 - 10:16 a.m. | #
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Probaby a good moment to say that I updated my 2009 Wikipaedia "circle" diagram of the overground:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Overground_as_a_circle.svg
It's even more accurate now, with the breaks in the circle shown.
Briantist | Homepage | 06.12.12 - 10:30 a.m. | #
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Brian - Yes more accurate, but i note that you are still sticking with Surrey Canal Road...?
Rich | 06.12.12 - 10:55 a.m. | #
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A fascinating series, thank you.
Isn't the official video (linked right at the end of this post) appalling? It looks like it's been shot by someone who's never used a video camera before. All the odd shot angles, fast movements, fast pans in and out. I suppose it's meant to be arty, but it just made me feel queasy.
Blue Witch | Homepage | 06.12.12 - 11:08 a.m. | #
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@Rich - Thanks :-) I have now removed Surrey Canal Road...
Briantist | Homepage | 06.12.12 - 12:19 p.m. | #
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I once caught a train at Clapham High Street.
I tried to buy a ticket. The machine was not accepting either cash or cards.
A bystander said 'It's always like this. Tell them you got on at Clapham High Street, and they'll let you through'.
I was a bit dubious, but decided to risk it.
At the terminus, I said to the attendant on the gate 'Er, I got on at Clapham High Street, and...'. He let me through. I said 'Don't you want me to pay?' He said 'No, it's all right'.
I'm sure this proves something, but I don't know what.
Andrew | 06.12.12 - 1:15 p.m. | #
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Blue Witch - THANK YOU!
As someone who is desperately trying to get a full time video production job, it is utterly depressing to see the official video for this look so amateur, when I know I could easily do a better job.
Makes me quite depressed when you see idiots having jobs, and talented people not.
geofftech | Homepage | 06.12.12 - 3:03 p.m. | #
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Great series, very interesting and some good photos.
Joe | 06.12.12 - 6:14 p.m. | #
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Thanks for the trip. I wondered (having followed you on GE and SV) whether you had considered striking north at Latchmere Road and taken the interesting cycle path through to Falcon Park on the north side of the line and thus keeping north. You would then have avoided the Asda experience.
You will tell me now you already did this in episode....
Howard | 06.12.12 - 6:47 p.m. | #
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One of the other strange things about Clapham High Street station is that it spent a while called Clapham & North Stockwell.
Because anyone who know the area will will know that station is actually much more like South Stockwell or West Stockwell - SouthWest Stockwell probably being the most accurate.
North Stockwell is basically where the current Stockwell tube is.
Anyone know how they ever gave it such an inappropriate name?
Geoff | 06.12.12 - 11:47 p.m. | #
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I like the way the official video clearly struggled to find anything even remotely interesting to show as a feature when they got to lonely Wandsworth Road station - "quick, take a photo of the station sign and let's get out of here"...
Swissdave | Homepage | 07.12.12 - 12:21 a.m. | #
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The Wandsworth Road - Kensington Olympia parliamentary ("ghost train") service is still showing in the timetables for next week. I think that as the Overground veers off to Clapham Junction rather than continuing north to Imperial Wharf, the current one train a day is still needed.
The one service a day to Battersea Park looks to me (being as it is at the beginning and end of the day) to be for stock/staff moves rather than parliamentary purposes (although I'm willing to be corrected!)
Adrian | 07.12.12 - 10:46 a.m. | #
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@Adrian - the authorities applied to close the stretch of line between Wandsworth Road and Imperial Wharf and I assume were successful.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11716/summary-responses.pdf
http://www.londonreconnections.com/2012/dft-looks-to-end-wandsworth-olympia-parliamentary-train/
Whiff | 08.12.12 - 10:59 p.m. | #
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The WLL parly withdrawal has still to be ratified by ORR. Dft only just confirmed the withdrawal mid last month, so I'd assume it will carry on a few weeks yet.
Paul | 09.12.12 - 12:17 a.m. | #
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Really enjoyed reading your blog on walking along the east london line extension. Fascinating stuff
Yuen | 09.12.12 - 2:51 p.m. | #
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Wandsworth Road station used to have som lovely murals on the rise up to the Victoria bound platform. All gone now
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/3769237020/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/3769237410/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarflondondunc/3769237624/in/photostream/
sarflondondunc | 30.12.12 - 7:35 p.m. | #
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