when the proverbial hits the fan
This is what a 7-station overview looks like after a very tasty problem caused by power supply problems and after a service suspension between Stratford and London Bridge...
I'll give Tube Lines their dues – the Technical Officer* turned up pretty quick and to begin with he turned around and said it was probably a track circuit failure. I won't go into too many details, but then it got messy, and it soon required me to clad myself in orange to assist the supervisor and DMT in securing points in our area, thus requiring a track walk. So we're standing around waiting for the gods on high to tell us they've switched the juice off (because I don't particularly want to get electrocuted by clamping a bit of metal onto rails), and miraculously the problem fixes itself (or it's more a case of a dozen T.Os suddenly turning up and fiddling with things in the Signalling Equipment Room) and we get told that we wont have to go down onto the track if they can run a train through our middle platform to test the points out. What a big hoo-hah.
Anyway, fast forward about 45 minutes and me and the DMT are standing in the cramped SER (which is basically a room full of relays, buzzing things, fuses and a signalling computer shoved away in the corner), with about 10-or-so burly blokes (T.Os and assorted signalling staff, half of which are supposed to be going home and the other half supposed to be starting work). They're all talking jargon – this "buzzbar" word keeps popping up. Eventually I sort of understand a bit of it (when the T.O was talking about how he was trying to find the fault, it sounded like being back at school in physics sitting with bits of wire, a multimeter and having to work out all sorts like differences in voltage and all that crap), but he's saying that it could be one of two problems and they have to wait until tonight to fix it. At the time we were all standing there, the signalling stuff was basically running on an emergency power supply or something.
Well, the aftermath of being suspended soon caught up with us – when there were virtually no trains in the area. Nothing we could do but twiddle thumbs, but thankfully it wasn't busy tonight. I'm just glad this all happened towards the end of the evening and not during the peak.
*T.Os are basically dudes that go around fixing signals and maintining all the associated equipment, like the actual aspects (the red/green/funky lights), trainstops, the points, relay rooms, etc. etc. They know a fair deal of stuff and they're sort of electricians and mechanics mashed into one. Back in the day, they used to be known as the AET. Funny how the London Transport Museum doesn't tell you much about all this, even though these old boys, the signalling and the automation of it all is an integral part of London Underground's history.
when the proverbial hits the fan
This is what a 7-station overview looks like after a very tasty problem caused by power supply problems and after a service suspension between Stratford and London Bridge...
I'll give Tube Lines their dues – the Technical Officer* turned up pretty quick and to begin with he turned around and said it was probably a track circuit failure. I won't go into too many details, but then it got messy, and it soon required me to clad myself in orange to assist the supervisor and DMT in securing points in our area, thus requiring a track walk. So we're standing around waiting for the gods on high to tell us they've switched the juice off (because I don't particularly want to get electrocuted by clamping a bit of metal onto rails), and miraculously the problem fixes itself (or it's more a case of a dozen T.Os suddenly turning up and fiddling with things in the Signalling Equipment Room) and we get told that we wont have to go down onto the track if they can run a train through our middle platform to test the points out. What a big hoo-hah.
Anyway, fast forward about 45 minutes and me and the DMT are standing in the cramped SER (which is basically a room full of relays, buzzing things, fuses and a signalling computer shoved away in the corner), with about 10-or-so burly blokes (T.Os and assorted signalling staff, half of which are supposed to be going home and the other half supposed to be starting work). They're all talking jargon – this "buzzbar" word keeps popping up. Eventually I sort of understand a bit of it (when the T.O was talking about how he was trying to find the fault, it sounded like being back at school in physics sitting with bits of wire, a multimeter and having to work out all sorts like differences in voltage and all that crap), but he's saying that it could be one of two problems and they have to wait until tonight to fix it. At the time we were all standing there, the signalling stuff was basically running on an emergency power supply or something.
Well, the aftermath of being suspended soon caught up with us – when there were virtually no trains in the area. Nothing we could do but twiddle thumbs, but thankfully it wasn't busy tonight. I'm just glad this all happened towards the end of the evening and not during the peak.
*T.Os are basically dudes that go around fixing signals and maintining all the associated equipment, like the actual aspects (the red/green/funky lights), trainstops, the points, relay rooms, etc. etc. They know a fair deal of stuff and they're sort of electricians and mechanics mashed into one. Back in the day, they used to be known as the AET. Funny how the London Transport Museum doesn't tell you much about all this, even though these old boys, the signalling and the automation of it all is an integral part of London Underground's history.