Escape

*Noise* *noise* *noise*

So I was up at about 11:00, which probably doesn't seem too bad, but I didn't really have a very good night's sleep and that's still earlier than I would have liked. But I did get up at 11:00 and had been intending to go out fairly early and get some reading done, but in the end I actually took the chance to chat to a friend before heading out. After she went off to make lunch, I continued mucking around on the computer before finally getting myself out the door.

I decided it would be good fun to play a game - I had two chapters left of a book I wanted to read and I thought it'd be a clever game to sit on the tube and read one chapter. I decided I would then go out and explore the area around the next station - whichever it happened to be. As it happened, it took me too long to read the chapter, but this was partly because my attention was diverted.

But anyway, this was the game I had in mind. I hadn't had any breakfast or anything, so I went into a shop on my way to the station and bought a drink and a snack (I know, I'm very unhealthy, I don't recommend this :P). I then ambled over to ROV, not worrying too much about getting there quickly, as I was happy to sit on the platform and read the book, but as I approached I saw that the WOO train was in the platform. I didn't think I'd make it and didn't mind so I didn't really hurry, but it was still there when I touched in and I was able to hop onto it just as it was ready to leave. Not bad. Didn't even have to jog :P

When I arrived at WOO, I noticed a train in WOO sidings and I also noticed that the WER train that pulled in next was in Coded. Keen to investigate, I headed up to the first carriage and decided to sit just behind the cab - it's amazing how much you can hear and feel, all these little clicks. I'm not actually sure exactly what they are, but they seem to correspond to adjustments in power and braking, to my mind. You can hear it as the brakes go on and then you'll hear a few clicks just as its about to stop as the brakes ease off, so that it doesn't come to a stop with a heavy jolt, like the 09's do on the Vic. I was hoping I'd be able to overhear the sound of the ATP chimes through the door, but sadly not. You can catch snatches of radio calls and stuff though, it is rather cool.

Now, of course, I couldn't be sure whether we went through the pipe in Coded, because I couldn't see into the cab, but much of my attention was focused on the driving style and trying to figure out who/what was driving. As I say, I didn't finish the chapter before the end of the line - in part because of this - and ended up at WER. Here, I asked the T/Op whether he'd taken us through the pipe (there could've been a driver change at WHC and he didn't look like the same guy who'd been on the front at WOO) - he had (I'm guessing he may've taken over at LES, or maybe my memory's just not great) - and whether we'd been in Coded. Turns out we were in coded west of NOA. I knew we'd definitely done the last part of the journey in Coded 'cause the cab door was open. He seemed nice, asked me how I knew what the TBC was. I told him I reckoned it'd all be quite good fun, driving a Central line train. Apparently he enjoyed it to begin with, but these days, well, it's a job :P

On the way up to WER, not much happened, although I did notice a train in the siding at WHC. I'm pretty sure I also saw a train pulling into that siding yesterday, on the way back from EAB, but I forgot to mention it. It's not terribly exciting, but I can't remember ever seeing one in there. Not that I go by there very often. We were also held at the signal outside LES again and again pulled into platform 1 from the EPP branch.

I did get out for a bit of a wander around WER. It's quite nice, there were some rather pleasant little residential areas - I imagine it's not a bad little place to live. Not much excitement though where I went. Maybe I should've turned right out of the station...Before I left the station, though, a gentlemen who was new to the network asked for some help with the ticketing, which had him completely confused. This was something I never expected to happen because, as I now know, nobody uses ticket offices and nobody needs to...(Alright, that is a little bit of a cheap shot, but you catch my drift - he was looking hopelessly forlorn and lost and was not impressed by the fact that the ticket office was obviously closed.)

With my good dead done and having had a wander, I touched back in and boarded the next one out, which was going to EPP. We had a platforms and hold call at NHG for a faulty train at BAN, but we were very quickly on our way and there wasn't much else to report. I eventually finished my chapter around LES. I then changed at WOO and the HAI train was just 3 minutes away when arrived. It left 21 road pretty quickly actually and that got me back home to ROV in no time :)