Sleeper Wonders

I recently learned there are two sleeper train services here in Britain; to me this is amazing because the island of Great Britain is less than 250,000 square kilometres in area. Britain is a small island, you can drive across the longest part of the Island in less than 6 hours. The idea is you get a small room on a train and sleep on the train overnight while you travel to your destination, I think the train deliberately goes slowly so you can sleep better. You would do this as a tourist experience or if you needed to be up and about when you arrive there and only wanted to stay one day. If you booked early then you would condense your travel and hotel stay into one and save money, perhaps you were an elite journalist or something like that. 

Scottish Rail owns the Caledonian sleeper train service and Great Western Railways owns the Riviera Sleeper (London in the East to Cornwall in the West). The Caledonian Sleeper goes from Euston Terminal Station in London and Riviera Sleeper Goes From Paddington Station. 

Sleeper trains are fascinating because they're small boxes on trains that are fitted out as hotel rooms. They use lots of clever designs and features to use the limited space effectively. Both the Companies found different ways to solve the space problems. The riviera service has a cover that turns the small sink basin into a table and has a folding bunk bed that comes out of the wall. The Caledonian one has similar features but I think they managed to add a small on suite bathroom toilet bit into the space of a cupboard. 

Let me show you two videos so you can see for yourself. 

Caledonian Sleeper video

Reviera Sleeper Video

It makes me think about my own hospitality. If guests come over to visit me, would they enjoy their stay? Perhaps I should have my mind set on getting fluffy cushy couches with leg rests. Guests could visit and they would have a relaxing experience. I could bring them baked pasties and coffee with sugar free syrup barista style regularly. 

I imagined running a sleeper train service. Perhaps they could board the train long before it leaves the station. The train could use a lay-by platform in a less busy station instead of a grand terminal one in the city centre. It could stay there for 5 hours at a time. I wonder if they have sleeper coaches. 

Be Frank

In the middle of the '90s, John Major the prime minister privatised Britain's railways. The train network for a every region was fragmented into a separate private railway. Margaret Thatcher the previous prime minister thought it was a very bad idea to do that. I agree. 

The railway companies have to be honest but they don't need to be frank. If there is a way for you to save money on your journey, they won't tell you. 

If you're going from High Wycombe to Marylebone, you can get off the train at south Ruislip and tap into the oyster TFL (transport for London) network and only pay about £3.50 off peak, even if you're getting a Chiltern train. They won't tell you that, they'll let you buy a premium priced network ticket for the whole journey.  It's cheaper to buy ticket to south Ruislip and catch another train from the same platform after you have tapped into the TFL network. Private companies are there to make money. 

Odisha India Train Crash

On Friday evening there was a large train crash in Odisha in north east India. A passenger train crashed into a stationary freight train, then one of the derailed carriages caused a third train to crash. They think about 275 people were killed by the accident. It looks like June has got off to a bad start. 

I have never been to India but I consider their railways to be safe because accidents are rare and the railway is 115,000 km across, long enough to circle the Earth nearly 3 times. The accident was caused by a faulty signal; it showed a safe passage when there was a stationary freight train nearby. I don't blame anyone, sometimes faulty equipment can appear to be in working order, it may be functional for some time then begin to stop working. They are improving their railways but it takes time for such a large network. I feel some pity because that is a lot of people. Train journeys are safe but when they do crash, it is a big disaster. 

I think about Death every day because it can't be avoided. Every human being alive now will die in the near future. In the last few days I thought about death a bit more than normal. The one good thing about death is it humbles those that think about it. How could I be proud or racist when the final outcome of my body is to become dry bones with no thought or cares. One day I would not even be aware of the passing of time. I wouldn't know that 50 years has passed by because I'm without thought or care. Only the mercy or a resurrection would allow me to be conscious again. 

Face on a train

I was wondering what it would be like to make a large 1 metre sized plastic Thomas the tank engine face and stick it on the front of a tube train.

Wouldn't it be nice to see a face on the front of a train with a happy smile on it. It would cover the ungrateful train driver's face nicely.

Wait a minute!!

Stick a large face on a bus also just above the driver so he can still see the road.

I wonder what else would look better with a plastic face on the front of it? Hmmm

*******

Today I am so happy and grateful for all my fingers because I use all of them to manipulate objects and would notice straight away if one of them is missing.

Alan Booth, author of "unanswered questions of Alan John Booth" on kindle