The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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7:20pm on Tuesday, 18th June, 2019:
Anecdote
I was in London today, so I thought I'd come in on the train with my wife.
We got to the station early, just as a train was pulling in. "Let's take my usual train", said my wife. "It's less budy."
No sooner had the other train pulled out that the news came through that our train had been delayed by "animals on the line". That's the kind of non-specific railway language used to describe anythiing from hedgehogs to tyrannosaurs.
Five minutes later, it was announced that the train had hit a cow. It was going to be delayed. All trains behind the one that struck the cow on that particular line were also going to be delayed. The next train to Stratford, where my wife disembarks, would be in 21 minutes coming from another line.
I don't know why hitting a cow would cause a delay of such proportions. If it had derailed the train or been hit so hard it was flung into the air and brought down the overhead wires, sure, that would cause a serious delay. I suppose it could have damaged the train if hit hard enough, but enough to stop it?
My wife's suggestion was that Great Eastern had to call the police in to determine whether or not it was suicide.
Given the way the railways in this country operate, I suspect she might be right.
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Copyright © 2019 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).