Northern Rail

"Ekul Namsob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car
when sorting out my motorway puncture yesterday, I need to travel by
train and bicycle to work tomorrow.

The Northern Rail website tells me that I might be able to take my bike
on the train (from Preston to Horwich). Does anyone know how likely I am
to be successful?

Have you tried ringing Northern rail?

In article <1i7mttu.475bap15ralk7N%
[email hidden]>, Ekul Namsob
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car

How did they manage to do that?

Rob Morley said:

In article <1i7mttu.475bap15ralk7N%
[email hidden]>, Ekul Namsob
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car

How did they manage to do that?

The spare wheel uses shorter bolts than the normal wheels. There is a
warning notice to that effect covering the spare wheel but the agent
didn't read it.

Fitting overly long bolts to the wheel not only destroys the thread on
the bolts but also the hub. Apparently the wheel itself is fine.

It's an honest mistake.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

vernon said:

"Ekul Namsob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car
when sorting out my motorway puncture yesterday, I need to travel by
train and bicycle to work tomorrow.

The Northern Rail website tells me that I might be able to take my bike
on the train (from Preston to Horwich). Does anyone know how likely I am
to be successful?

Have you tried ringing Northern rail?

Well, the website says I can only reserve on certain services and at
least 48 hours in advance so I thought actual experience might be more
useful.

I'm planning to catch a sufficiently early train that, in the event of
difficulty, I can catch the next one and still arrive in time to teach
my first lesson.

cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:30:12 GMT,

(Ekul Namsob) said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car
when sorting out my motorway puncture yesterday, I need to travel by
train and bicycle to work tomorrow.

The Northern Rail website tells me that I might be able to take my bike
on the train (from Preston to Horwich). Does anyone know how likely I am
to be successful?

Cheers,
Luke

Northern don't do reservations for bikes - it's a strictly first come,
first served policy. They carry two bikes per train as a rule although
guards are encouraged to let more on if they can be carried safely
although, as usual, it's at their discretion.

Those trains can be very busy in the morning into Manchester but you
might be alright only travelling as far as Horwich (which is a park
and ride station just off the M61). It's further south at Lostock and
Bolton that they tend to get really wedged (loadings of 135% of seated
capacity are not uncommon).

Northern services on that line are either 156s or 150s. Both have
ample stowage for bikes although the entrances on 156s are a bit
narrow.

FWIW I travel all over Greater Manchester and often to Leeds in peak
hours and have never not been able to get my bike on a train.

No doubt just cursed myself saying that!

On 15 Nov, 20:11, [email hidden] (Ekul

Namsob) said:

Rob Morley said:

In article <1i7mttu.475bap15ralk7N%
[email hidden]>, Ekul Namsob
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car

Quoted message said:

How did they manage to do that?

The spare wheel uses shorter bolts than the normal wheels. There is a
warning notice to that effect covering the spare wheel but the agent
didn't read it.

Fitting overly long bolts to the wheel not only destroys the thread on
the bolts but also the hub. Apparently the wheel itself is fine.

It's an honest mistake.

Obviously Green Flag's agents employ REAL men - those who don't read
instruction manuals or ask for directions. :-)

David Lloyd

In article <1i7mydy.grkf21goe9nmN%
[email hidden]>, Ekul Namsob
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

The spare wheel uses shorter bolts than the normal wheels. There is a
warning notice to that effect covering the spare wheel but the agent
didn't read it.

Fitting overly long bolts to the wheel not only destroys the thread on
the bolts but also the hub.

Only if you keep tightening the bolts when they've bottomed out in the
hub.

Quoted message said:

Apparently the wheel itself is fine.

It's an honest mistake.

I've never had a car with alloys and wheel bolts rather than nuts, so
I'd never thought about it before, but it seems pretty obvious - I'd
have thought that a pro mechanic would be well aware of the potential
for problems. It would make be sensible for the manufacturer to fit
spacers to the spare wheel, thus avoiding the problem in the first
place.

Ekul Namsob said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car
when sorting out my motorway puncture yesterday, I need to travel by
train and bicycle to work tomorrow.

The Northern Rail website tells me that I might be able to take my bike
on the train (from Preston to Horwich). Does anyone know how likely I am
to be successful?

Cheers,
Luke

Hope you have a better experience than I had yesterday. Got my bike on a
train going to Piccadilly, no problem. Then realised that the right hand
side doors, through which I would need to go when arriving at Picc, were
out of order! SO, I thought, I will get off at Oxford Road instead and
either cycle to Picc or get the next train, but they route it through
platform 3, which is on the side of the broken doors.

So on arrival at Picc I have to up end the bike on its back wheel and
'walk' it through the train like a dog trying to stand on it's hind
legs. Had the train been packed - it was during rush hour - I would have
probably been stuck with a trip to East Didsbury.

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but what
a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my bike into
Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

Brian.

In article <[email hidden]>, brian@
[nospam].com says...

Quoted message said:

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but what
a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my bike into
Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

Swiss buses have them on the back but the front racks are widespread in
the US and a better position because the driver can see them, see when
someone is loading and unloading and keep an eye on them when the bus
stops against someone lifting them.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Brian Robertson said:

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but what
a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my bike into
Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

I've seen horizontal racks behind some of the local buses around Ripon
(the small white moors ones IIRC).

--
Stephen Patterson :: [email hidden] :: http://patter.mine.nu/
GPG: B416F0DE :: Jabber: [email hidden]
"Don't be silly, Minnie. Who'd be walking round these cliffs with a gas oven?"

Tony Raven said:

In article <[email hidden]>, brian@
[nospam].com says...

Quoted message said:

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but
what a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my
bike into Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

Swiss buses have them on the back

Because they are used for skis in the winter. The bike use is secondary.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Cheeky said:

On Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:30:12 GMT,

(Ekul Namsob) said:

As Green Flag's agents accidentally broke the hub and wheel on my car
when sorting out my motorway puncture yesterday, I need to travel by
train and bicycle to work tomorrow.

The Northern Rail website tells me that I might be able to take my bike
on the train (from Preston to Horwich). Does anyone know how likely I am
to be successful?

Quoted message said:

Northern don't do reservations for bikes - it's a strictly first come,
first served policy. They carry two bikes per train as a rule although
guards are encouraged to let more on if they can be carried safely
although, as usual, it's at their discretion.

Those trains can be very busy in the morning into Manchester but you
might be alright only travelling as far as Horwich (which is a park
and ride station just off the M61). It's further south at Lostock and
Bolton that they tend to get really wedged (loadings of 135% of seated
capacity are not uncommon).

Thanks for that. The only problem I had this morning was the
non-existence of the 0720 which I had intended to catch so as to have
plenty of time for a cuppa before school. As it happened, I sat for half
an hour in the 0750, waiting for it to leave, and found there was still
space for another bike when I alighted at Horwich Parkway. The train
arrived ten minutes late, meaning I had to sprint the four miles from
the station to school and arrived rather sweatier than intended.

The positive side of things is that I managed to persuade various
colleagues to sponsor me to cycle the 20 miles home in aid of Children
in Need, who will be at least £110 better off as a result. Anyone else
who would like to donate is welcome to visit
<http://www.justgiving.com/lukebosman>

Cheers,
Luke

--
Red Rose Ramblings, the diary of an Essex boy in
exile in Lancashire <http://www.shrimper.org.uk>

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:33:03 GMT, Brian Robertson <brian@[nospam].com>

Quoted message said:

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but what
a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my bike into
Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

Bicycles are permitted *in* buses in the Dallas, TX area. Same in
Hamburg.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Bicycles are permitted *in* buses in the Dallas, TX area. Same in
Hamburg.

Amd in Southampton on the Unilink buses.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Tony Raven said:

Amd in Southampton on the Unilink buses.

Really? Is there a means of securing them, as the UK rule has tended
to be "no" in case they fly around in an accident.

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

Amd in Southampton on the Unilink buses.

Really? Is there a means of securing them, as the UK rule has tended
to be "no" in case they fly around in an accident.

No, just climb on with it and hold it.

--
Tony

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has
taken place"
George Bernard Shaw

Ekul Namsob said:

Thanks for that. The only problem I had this morning was the
non-existence of the 0720 which I had intended to catch so as to have
plenty of time for a cuppa before school.

Oh so common, and surprisingly so considering the stats they bandy
about. Not sure how they manage it without faking the results...

Recent communication with a rail company had the company customer
services person telling me that the running costs per passenger mile are
approximately 4 times the running cost per mile of my (particularly
inefficient) sports car. Not sure how they will ever get close to being
comparable price-wise if that is the case. Whats more he claimed 75%
government subsidy, 25% customer revenue. Cant really see the point
myself, but that was from the horses mouth. Cant divulge details as the
email was covered by a "contents not to be divulged to other parties"
statement.

J

Tony Raven said:

In article <[email hidden]>, brian@
[nospam].com says...

Quoted message said:

Talking of provision for bikes on public transport, a friend has just
returned from America where he said some of the buses had like a pull
out rack on the front of the bus which could be used to hold bikes.
Might not be such a good idea on the front of a bus over here, but what
a good idea on the back! I would love to be able to take my bike into
Derbyshire, etc, by bus.

Swiss buses have them on the back but the front racks are widespread in
the US and a better position because the driver can see them, see when
someone is loading and unloading and keep an eye on them when the bus
stops against someone lifting them.

Nothing on earth would have me putting a bike on such a rack. And I've
heard of pedestrian impacts with such racks being somewhat unpleasant.

Neil Williams said:

Tony Raven said:

Amd in Southampton on the Unilink buses.

Really? Is there a means of securing them, as the UK rule has tended
to be "no" in case they fly around in an accident.

Neil

Public transport seems to be exampt from accident safety regs. I
questioned the rail companies on this and they claimed that accidents
involving public transport (trains specifically) were so rare that the
contents of the vehicle were no considered, neither the brake
overloading due to overcrowding.