David of Broadway wrote:
Harry G wrote:

I'm a Londoner and have no problem using buses here - but if I'm in a
strange city I'll take the metro or a tram by preference. Something
psychlogical to do with the fact that metro or tram services can't
deviate from their tracks and (usually!) come back exactly the same way
they went, point (b) in Dave's post.

Guess you've never been to New York!

Nope!

Just yesterday we had:

Southbound 1 trains operated express from 137th Street to 96th Street
and again express from 34th Street to 14th Street, where they terminated
(running back north from the southbound express track). But 2 and 3
trains, which normally run express between 96th Street and Chambers
Street, ran local instead. Shuttle buses ran between Chambers Street
and South Ferry on the 1.

I saw an interesting programme about the South Ferry 1 line terminal
reconstruction on a cable channel here the other night - amazed that
such a cramped and awkward operating layout has survived until now.

The 5 ran local in both directions in Manhattan, terminating at Brooklyn
Bridge instead of Bowling Green.

[snip various other mind-boggling subway re-routings]

From this I guess that the track layouts, connections and switches on
the NY Subway are more like a tramway (with many connections not used
for normal service) rather than the London Underground (with relative
rare non-service connections between lines) - I can't imagine LU being
able to operate anywhere near this sort of revised service.

The most unusual diversion I can think of is when Bakerloo line
(Stanmore branch) services were diverted over the Metropolitan line
south of Finchley Road into the terminal platforms at Baker Street -
this would have been around 1975/6, when the junctions for the future
Jubilee line were being constructed.

L trains ran in two segments, split at Broadway Junction. Also, the
brand new PA/CIS system on the L (essentially equivalent to the
next-train indicators that you've had for, oh, a century or so) was
undergoing testing, with sometimes humorous results.

Sounds something like the 06.66 to Hampton Court via Guildford with
Restaurant/Buffet that was reported on the London Waterloo indicator
board many years ago :-)

Incidentally, take a look at the TfL tube ETA online site for
interesting information - it's essentially giving signallers'
destinations (e.g. Northumberland Park Staff, Victoria Sidings etc for
the Victoria line) rather than what would be displayed to the public on
the platform:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/travelinf...tationCode=EUS

One that I just noticed for the Northern line, King's Cross southbound:
"Euston (To Picc.) Bank Branch" (which I am sure is not in public
service, and probably would just be described as 'Not in Service' on
the platform!)