What was happening in the Earlsfield/Clapham Junction today? I was on a
Hampton Court - Waterloo service the afternoon. When we got to
Earlsfield there was a 450 unit with the front two carriages stopped at
the down fast platform detraining its passengers. They seemed to be
heading for another 450 stopped in the down slow platform. Then we
stopped outside Clapham Junction for about five minutes. In that time
another 450 passed slowly on the up fast, crept up to the signal, which
was a red, and then passed it very slowly.
We then started off for CJ and stopped there as per usual. There was
another unit in the adjacent platform with the indicators showing "Out
of Service". All the way to Waterloo there were trains stopped on the
down fast, presumably due to the stopped unit at Earlsfield. Strangely
there was no information up at Waterloo about anything untoward.

Neill

In message .com,
Neillw001 writes

What was happening in the Earlsfield/Clapham Junction today?

Something to do with lines in the Motspur Park area being closed all day
for engineering work? None of the Guildford via Epsom, Dorking or
Chessington services were running - I can't quite see why Earlsfield
should be affected, though, unless some trains were being turned at
Wimbledon and were causing a tailback.

--
Paul Terry

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 07:17:42 +0000, Paul Terry
wrote:

What was happening in the Earlsfield/Clapham Junction today?

Something to do with lines in the Motspur Park area being closed all day
for engineering work?

Possibly - see below, from the SWT website. I didn't experience any
problems, but then my trains run on the fast.

MOTSPUR PARK AREA - ALL DAY

All lines will be closed all day in the Motspur Park area.

The service between London Waterloo and Guildford via Epsom will only
run between Epsom and Guildford. A bus service will run between
Wimbledon and Epsom.
The train service between London Waterloo and Dorking will be
withdrawn. A bus service will run between Wimbledon and Epsom.
Passengers use Southern train services between Epsom and Dorking.
The train service between London Waterloo and Chessington will be
withdrawn. A bus service will run between Wimbledon and Chessington
South.
Passengers should use alternative train services between London
Waterloo and Wimbledon to connect with the bus services.

You don't get 450's running down to Epsom as far as I know. There just
weren't any trains running through Motspur Park, hence spare capacity
on the mainline until Raynes Park. I think the unit at Earlsfield had
failed. Why would you stop a train with just two carriages in the
platform and detrain all the passengers otherwise? Was all cleared up
by the time I came home as I caught an Alton service as far as
Surbiton.

Neill

In message . com,
Neillw001 writes

You don't get 450's running down to Epsom as far as I know.

No, but couldn't they have been held up by reversals at Wimbledon?

There just weren't any trains running through Motspur Park, hence
spare capacity on the mainline until Raynes Park.

But how were the slow and fast lines being used, given the very unusual
service pattern involved?

I think the unit at Earlsfield had
failed. Why would you stop a train with just two carriages in the
platform and detrain all the passengers otherwise?

Possibly so. Possibly the driver had been advised that the queue on the
down fast was so long that it would be better to detrain passengers from
the rear onto the waiting down slow train, rather than waiting to pull
in fully.

I have no idea, but the extensive disruption due to the Motspur Park
works seems the most likely cause - perhaps exacerbated by a breakdown,
as you suggest.

--
Paul Terry