Monday’s Friday Reads – 24 August 2020

1. The dates given in the article about Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn are a little misleading as the concept has been around since 1982, twice as long as suggested – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa_Airport_Express

   I remember from my time in business travel a day trip flying out to Stuttgart as a guest of Lufthansa in the late 1980s and travelling by Lufthansa Airport Express to Frankfurt before flying back to Heathrow. From memory there were one or two carriages painted in Lufthansa livery attached to the back of an existing train, staffed by Lufthansa crew and with tray meals served.

   I recall it set me wondering whether British Airways and Air France should be offering a Eurostar servce from Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle instead of flying.

2. In the Secret History of Thameslink’s Core, he asserts that the old Snow Hill tunnel tracks were lifted in 1971. I started using the proper old Blackfriars station (not the rebuilt old one) aged 8 in September 1971 and remember seeing the freight trains running through the westernmost platforms regularly.

3. @RichardB Scheduled freight through Snow Hill ceased in 1969. Several sources cite 1971 as the last through freight and railtours. I wonder if the increase in late 1971 was actually BR wagons salvaging the rails from the tunnels.

   re STREET (not CAR) design safety they say ” This comes as pedestrian fatalities continue to climb in the United States, painting a gloomy picture about the safety of roadways nationwide. Many traffic safety advocates blame a lack of secure road crossings, poor lighting at night and unsafe driving behaviors like speeding and distracted driving for the continued rise in fatalities.”

4. @Richard R freight trains running through the westernmost platforms

   Holborn Viaduct had Parcels Vans until 1973 and Newspapers went out from Fleet Street until the 1980s.

5. “Boring” – I think that Musk simply “does not get” public transport – European-style.
   A complete blank in his understanding, because he’s never been exposed to non-US living.

   Either that or it’s a gigantic con-trick – you choose?

   The article on Speed Limits, referring to “NACTO” also shows the very closed nature of US “thinking” on the subject …
   Coincidence?

   Richard R
   I think the Snow Hill closure was 1977 – 91
   Obligatory Map

6. Historical Addendum:
   What the old “RCH” map does not show – but which does appear in the original book of diagrams & workings, is the list of Running Powers that companies had over each other’s lines. This certainly applied to both the “Met” WIdened lines & the LCDR/SECR/SR lines from Faringdon southwards, & to passenger workings by the “southern” companies northwards until 1916.
   The SECR ran passenger services quite some way up the GNR main line ( Seel aso the “Connor & Butler” booklets on this subject – “Steam on the Widened Lines” ) & the northern companies ran freight, principally coal, & a few passenger workings, southwards.
   The GN could run to …
   Brockley Lane / Crystal Place ( pAss ) / Herne Hill ? Lavebder Hill & Stewarts Lane / Victoria
   The Midland could run to … apparently the same list.

7. It may be interesting to see that Musk has a restless and enquiring mind, dreaming up unconventional solutions, and tunnels and electric vehicles are a logical combination, but I can’t see the manual driving being allowed. This leaves the prospect of a closed ecosystem of vehicle compatibility with the road, which is a slippery slope.

   The Vegas convention centre installation is not really a viable prototype for city or regional applications. It just adds to the mishmash of short unconnected monorails, doing nothing more than providing a rather fast, elongated garage ramp. If the tunnel were to extend to Downtown and the airport, it would be of more use to prove the system. The trouble is that it could be so useful that, unless he could be bothered to sort out the ‘complicated’ guidance systems, the capacity would best be handled by “Transit”. Doh! (Not going to happen).

8. @GregT Musk blank in his understanding, because he’s never been exposed to non-US living.

   Elon Musk is amongst the most global citizens
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

   I worked next to the Snow Hill tunnel portal from 1981 to 1990. Ludgate Hill station and the through lines had long been forgotten and overgrown. Snow Hill station and sidings were car parks. Midland City Electrics on the widened lines opened in 1982 and a couple of years later proposals progressed to replace them with Thameslink. The Ludgate Hill (bomb) site had been safeguarded for a possible through Eurostar station. Work was underway on reopening the tunnels in 1986 with services commencing in 1988.

   The 1991 date you cite was the renaming of St Paul’s Thameslink station opened in 1990 to City Thameslink.

9. Aleks
   The 1977 date for complete, final closure of the Snow Hill line was takne from “Cobb” – which is usually accurate – though there are some errors.
   That, however, may be the official date, with all traffic actually ceasing earlier, a not unknown occurrence.

10. James: there were multiple different, but related Lufhansa and DB cooperation schemes.

    First the Lufthansa Airport express that you linked existed. This consisted of trains (EMUs first, later loco hauled trains of two types) that were pained in a LH-ish paint scheme and were only bookable as LH flights.

    This was replaced with AIRail, where initially coaches were reserved for the customers on LH flight. These were also staffed with LH personal in addition to the DB guards and allowed a check in at the train station, including luggage checked through to the final destination from and to the trains station. That seems to be what you rode on.

    Eventually the entirely reserved coaches, LH personal and luggage check options were dropped while AIRail greatly expanded the number of destinations. The same concept is now also available in Austria for Austrian (LH group) “flights” on OEBB Railjet trains.

    In additions to that various airlines including Lufthansa offer the Rail and Fly option where you can book a ticket for a small fixed fee that can be used from any train station in Germany to the airport and back. But there is no real ticketing integration in this case.

11. I think the date I gave for the Snow Hill closure is a misprint.
    N Welbourne’s book “Lost Lines – London” gives a 1969/71 closure date – & the “!977” I mentioned earlier is a misprint/misread for “1971”
    Closure was, apparently in ’69, with track removal taking place in the later year.

12. @Aleks @Greg
    Re: Musk
    He’s never lived in Europe.
    I get the impression that Musk is more ego and salesman than technical ability. He’s the kind of guy that has enough technical and business know-how to direct other, more capable engineers to get useful things done so he can take credit for them. He is certainly brimming with hubris and self-importance, which probably blinds him to his own cultural and egocentric biases.
    Personally, I’ve worked with enough people of that sort of ilk that I’m really not a fan. I reckon his downfall will eventually come (think Clive Sinclair or John DeLorean, who were similar characters).

13. Aleks: “Elon Musk is amongst the most global citizens”, but living in just South Africa and North America hardly qualifies him for that description.

14. However you look at it, Tesla is changing the world for the better, and I wonder how it would have fared without Elon Musk? He might not be capable of carrying out every scientific and technical job in the firm, but it is very satisfying that he is a science-based guy. [Slanderous comments snipped. LBM]

15. Elon Musk as a person is not relevant to the transport discussion, and any further mention of him will be removed. LBM

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