Lew 1 wrote:

Am I right in thinking that whilst all the FCC machines allow pick-up from
their own website bookings, only Luton Airport Parkway allows it from other
parties, say, The Train Line?

Basically if a machine can issue pre-paid tickets then it doesn't matter
who handled your online booking. Here's a more detailed explanation I
posted in another thread (I should add that FCC have managed a
'workaround' of some sort with regard to the last paragraph):
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.ra...24ec1e7f216c61

Now, I have bought tickets from Harpenden before but I can't remember
whether I used Blackfriars on that occasion - I will make it my business to
find out next time, for purely nosey reasons.

Ironically certain tickets (e.g. Cheap Day Return) issued to London
Thameslink are the same price regardless of whether your ticket is valid
from Harpenden or Luton Airport Parkway...

I should add that it doesn't bother me that I have to go through the manual
gate, in fact strangely I quite like the fact that my Railcard is actually
checked once in a while.

Personally I always show my railcard and tickets together (unless I use
an automatic gate) but hey, each to their own.

The problem with an entirely gated network is that
it may check that the desintations, dates and time are correct, but there is
nothing to check whether you are entitled to any particular discount or not.

That is a very good point. It might not be a problem if on-train
gripping was actually done frequently (I have been gripped on FCC trains
twice in the last 3 months, in spite of their fabled reputation), but
the gatelines at London Blackfriars may have been programmed differently
as an alternative measure.