Wrong kind of thunderstorm.

Something of a new one. At 18.45 Three Counties Radio Travel News announced that there were delays on the Bedpan Line due to a train at St. Albans being struck by lightning.

 

I've been watching real time lightning map - at one point there were well over 600 strikes per min in the area of UK and Europe.

http://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=...5;t=3;m=sat;r=0;s=0;o=0;b=;n=0;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

currently the area between Belgium and Denmark is getting a pasting. (2245 bst)

 

Flew into Gatwick last night at the peak of the thunderstorm activity. Pilot weaved around most of the storm heads across France and Southern UK, but it was rough and quite a good light show, we didn't get struck tho.

 

I understand that there was a complete loss of signalling operated from West Hampstead PSB yesterday, plus a landslip in the Radlett area, which brought the whole line north of St Pancras to a complete halt for some hours. If a train was struck at St Albans, perhaps that strike fed into the signalling system to cause the problem?

 

What on earth has any of this to do with National PRESERVATION??

Isn't this what the 'General Railway Chat' area is for? Or the likes of www.wnxxforum.co.uk ?

 

Just hit the report button and ask for it to be moved if it annoys you!


Keith

 

Reported that West Hampstead control got hit by lightning

 

Separate incidents. I was on a Thameslink train one or two behind the one which was struck by lightning, we lost all power just as we crossed from Down Fast to Down Slow at Radlett and coasted into the platform there (I guess that was when the lightning strike occurred), power then came back on (probably resets itself automatically I imagine) and we moved up a couple of signals before encountering a red, where we sat, and sat, and sat, for the best part of an hour, while they worked out how to get the struck train moving again. This was between about 6 & 7pm.
A friend was delayed by a signalling failure about an hour or so later, his EMT train got stuck at St. Albans and the speed of progress northwards suggested that trains were being talked past signals (and there were a lot of trains involved, so there was a lot of waiting around between movements.)

 

As an EMU was presumably involved this seemed the most appropriate place to post the information. If you wish to still disagree with this................

 

As this forum is entitled National Preservation and it was not an event happening to either a preserved EMU or on a preserved railway then yes, I do 'disagree with this'. The forum isn't called National Discusswhatshappeningonthethenationalnetwork, is it? I would have thought that was blindingly obvious.

However (he repeated patiently) the owner has handily set up an area called General Railway Chat, which would be the obvious place to post such information - and which other forum users manage to use with no problem. Or on one of the other internet forums that are dedicated to events on the national network.

 

If the Mods feel that this is not the appropriate section for this item I am quite happy for to be moved elsewhere on NP.