Brainless idiots cause train disruption today.

charltonbob

On a train from Lewisham to Bexleyheath this afternoon, just approaching Blackheath & all of a sudden screeching of breaks, train comes to a juddering halt & all the lights go out. Female train driver announced that due to obstruction on the tracks there would be a delay, eventually she walked through the train explaining that as she approached a bridge outside Blackheath some “youngsters” hung over the bridge & dropped a bicycle onto the tracks. She had no time to stop & the bike ended up about 5 or 6 carriages back under the train & the electrified rail. We were trapped on the train for just over an hour & a half, a woman close by me started crying & I went to ask if she was OK but she told me she was having a panic attack & she went downhill from there, getting hysterical screaming that she had to get off etc etc I tried to calm her telling her that everything would be ok but really had no idea what to say & she got progressively worse saying she didn’t believe me help wasn’t coming etc. Luckily (for me) somebody else came over & “took over” but had no more luck than I did. The poor woman was completely out of control, more than an hour later the police arrived & one did a great job & managed to calm her down a bit but she was still extremely distressed until eventually they removed the mangled bike & the train slowly moved into the station where it sat for the foreseeable while checks were made to the train & track causing delays for hours on the up & down line & great distress for the panic stricken woman.

Exactly what fucking pleasure does anyone get out of throwing a bike at a train ?

Siv_in_Norfolk

Sorry you had to go through that. Poor lady, too.

AFKABartram

My family were impacted behind that, ended up rerouting and getting tube to Abbey Wood then buses. 

Understand once that was cleared a bin was also later thrown on. 

Pure stupidity 

charltonbob

Siv_in_Norfolk said:

Sorry you had to go through that. Poor lady, too.

Thanks but I was fine other than being delayed & having to get a bus to complete my journey, an inconvenience but not the end of the world. Sadly for the poor lady it was the end of the world until she was eventually able to get off, she was in a terrible state & I've never experienced that before, you just feel so helpless because you want to help but you can't because whatever was going on in her mind she couldn't believe that help was coming & that things would be ok.

bolloxbolder

Hmm. I got to Bexleyheath to get the 5.06 to London Bridge. Had to reroute to Abbey Wood by bus.

At London Bridge now and would have to wait 50 minutes for a Bexleyheath train. Not sure if still causing problems so jumping on a Woolwich train and will get a bus from there. Bastards. 

charltonbob

AFKABartram said:

My family were impacted behind that, ended up rerouting and getting tube to Abbey Wood then buses. 

Understand once that was cleared a bin was also later thrown on. 

Pure stupidity 

Oh really ? when I was on my return journey guy at the station said over the tannoy, trains are being delayed & cancelled owing to a wheelie bin being thrown on the track earlier today & I thought to myself, idiot it was a bike. Jesus what is it with people !!!

Valiantphil

Half term will soon be over. 

JamesSeed

I was on a train to a Charlton match up at Rotherham or Oldham a few years back when a rock was thrown through a window from a grassy embankment. The train stopped and the police arrived 15 minutes later. They took statements and told us that this had been a regular occurrence over the last year or so, and that a driver had been injured on one occasion. They said it was kids. 

Why you’d want to do that I have no idea. Kids egging each other on? Attention seeking?
Either way, I never got to the match. 

oohaahmortimer

Like the woman above (although I’ve been lucky and avoided what she had to go through ) I get a bit wonky if the train stops, outside a station  , I think it’s more an underground thing and I feel a bit claustrophobic and just want to get off the train .
I’m fine as long as the train keeps moving but if it’s stuck in a tunnel I start warbling to strangers if on my own, it’s only happened once so far .
I’ve been to a hypnotist and all sorts to try and sort it out but nothing works .
mrs is good and talks to me but plenty of times I’ve just avoided busy tubes or jumped in a taxi to avoid potential trouble if the tubes are a bit stop start but if I had to go through what she’d go through I don’t think my coping mechanisms would survive .
completely irrational but something I struggle with , I don’t like lifts for fear of it breaking down etc 
maybe it’s just being stuck somewhere with people !!

Baldybonce

oohaahmortimer said:

Like the woman above (although I’ve been lucky and avoided what she had to go through ) I get a bit wonky if the train stops, outside a station  , I think it’s more an underground thing and I feel a bit claustrophobic and just want to get off the train .
I’m fine as long as the train keeps moving but if it’s stuck in a tunnel I start warbling to strangers if on my own, it’s only happened once so far .
I’ve been to a hypnotist and all sorts to try and sort it out but nothing works .
mrs is good and talks to me but plenty of times I’ve just avoided busy tubes or jumped in a taxi to avoid potential trouble if the tubes are a bit stop start but if I had to go through what she’d go through I don’t think my coping mechanisms would survive .
completely irrational but something I struggle with , I don’t like lifts for fear of it breaking down etc 
maybe it’s just being stuck somewhere with people !!

Exactly the same for me. Ibs and claustrophobia are not a good mix.

AFKABartram

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

SuedeAdidas

I could only think of this when reading the OP….

https://youtu.be/FNkpIDBtC2c

oohaahmortimer

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

I feel a bit more comfortable with stoppages when outside of a tunnel 
if I get on a tube knowing it’s going to be busy I like to get to the end of the carriage and pull the window down on emergency exit door and leave my head near it .
i was fine till late twenties and then it has sort of grown on me, just can’t work it out even knowing it’s completely irrational ..I get a bit funny when on a plane and doors are closed and it’s not moving as well , so bizarre , once it’s off and rolling fine but this newish (prolly last ten years) thing of getting you all on the plane so when there’s a gap or whatever you’re good to go , leaves me a bit wibble on occasion 

my kids like to wind me up if we’re in a lift ffs ….ooooh it’s a bit tight in here dad , fuckers 

RickAddick

When I saw the title of this thread, I assumed AFKA was meaning Southeastern...

Todds_right_hook

I can think of a solution, probably an unpopular one. Some sort of mandatory after school cadet training and then national service. That should instal some discipline

twiggyaddick

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

Same, i remember once being stuck about 200 yards from Abbey Wood station due to an electrical fault caused by some kids damaging a box.

Was there for 2 hours and although there was only a handful of people on my carriage I felt very stressed about being stuck, stressed about being late for meeting up with friends. Its that feeling of not being able to control the situation

PragueAddick

Todds_right_hook said:

I can think of a solution, probably an unpopular one. Some sort of mandatory after school cadet training and then national service. That should instal some discipline

The only thing I have to add is that this has always been with us. I can remember as a train-spotting kid at Taunton station being traumatised watching an express limp in with one of the loco’s windows smashed by a brick and the driver with a facial injury. That would be mid 60s. Then there was the  footie special train out of Barnsley in Sir Lennie’s first season when we found it equipped with bed sheets over the windows, because according to police a brick through the window was a regular occurence. 

The only solution I can think of is CCTV on all bridges. Well they are everywhere else.:.

Solidgone

twiggyaddick said:

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

Same, i remember once being stuck about 200 yards from Abbey Wood station due to an electrical fault caused by some kids damaging a box.

Was there for 2 hours and although there was only a handful of people on my carriage I felt very stressed about being stuck, stressed about being late for meeting up with friends. Its that feeling of not being able to control the situation

It’s that feeling that there’s less drinking time down the pub 🥸

mendonca

Maybe better cctv in locations you can throw something so sizeable onto a train track wouldn't go amiss.

shine166

I thought this was about the strikes again. 

cfgs

Today down in leafy Kent right by my local train station somebody threw themselves off a bridge in front of a train.  Luckily I am on leave or I would have had to go and deal with it.  Feel so sad for the poor soul that found themself in such a dark space, their loved ones and everyone that was involved today, especially the poor driver and the emergency responders.

Smithy

cfgs said:

Today down in leafy Kent right by my local train station somebody threw themselves off a bridge in front of a train.  Luckily I am on leave or I would have had to go and deal with it.  Feel so sad for the poor soul that found themself in such a dark space, their loved ones and everyone that was involved today, especially the poor driver and the emergency responders.

Horrible. One of the biggest arguments for train drivers getting pay rises is the fact that they so often experience this. 

Lincsaddick

If the bridge in question is the one accessed by the narrow alley that runs from Belmont Hill/Lee Terrace (opposite St Margarets' Church) to the very southern edge of Blackheath, this has been a potential 'danger spot' for a long time
Many years ago, going back the 1950s/60s this was a playground area for me and my little mates. I can remember moves to put up netting either below the bridge parapet or a high net or fence to shut off the view of the trains coming into or from Blackheath, I don't think any plan was ever implemented. In my day we used to lean over the bridge edge and pull faces at the train drivers, naughty but a far cry from chucking bikes onto the track. Last word, I doubt there are any cameras covering the area which is quite dark and isolated  

Athletico Charlton

cfgs said:

Today down in leafy Kent right by my local train station somebody threw themselves off a bridge in front of a train.  Luckily I am on leave or I would have had to go and deal with it.  Feel so sad for the poor soul that found themself in such a dark space, their loved ones and everyone that was involved today, especially the poor driver and the emergency responders.

Happened at Eden Park a few months back. We had a helicopter, 3 ambulances, 3-4 first responder vehicles, 2 fire wagons, 2 police vans and a number of police cars turn up.  Thankfully the person not only survived but did not suffer life altering injuries.

Athletico Charlton

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

Interesting it affects so many (3-4 on this thread alone). I am similar and always thought it was just me. Definitely a claustrophobia thing for me which happens at places where I feel trapped.

I went to the last Fury fight at Wembley and the tube on the way back was busier than I have ever known before. So much so I was. (at 6ft2) wedged up against the door where I could not stand straight.  The weirdo driver kept stopping the train mid tunnel and moaning people were leaning on the door (I mean it was impossible not to).   At one station she even pulled in and then sat there for fully 5mins refusing to open doors.  I was getting quite stressed (and it was extremely hot) but was, thankfully ok.  A number of people got off in tears though due to the heat, crush and fear of being stuck. It was horrible.

oohaahmortimer

Athletico Charlton said:

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

Interesting it affects so many (3-4 on this thread alone). I am similar and always thought it was just me. Definitely a claustrophobia thing for me which happens at places where I feel trapped.

I went to the last Fury fight at Wembley and the tube on the way back was busier than I have ever known before. So much so I was. (at 6ft2) wedged up against the door where I could not stand straight.  The weirdo driver kept stopping the train mid tunnel and moaning people were leaning on the door (I mean it was impossible not to).   At one station she even pulled in and then sat there for fully 5mins refusing to open doors.  I was getting quite stressed (and it was extremely hot) but was, thankfully ok.  A number of people got off in tears though due to the heat, crush and fear of being stuck. It was horrible.

That is complete hell to me , I think I’d have lost the plot with her not opening the doors,  I’d have got out the door in between carriages if that was possible at the station , although if it’s a modern train that’s not possible .
we went to Wembley as a family for Argentina v Italy , left an hour after final whistle and still queues .
i stayed at the back and got on the last tube 
mrs was pissed up and took the kids off in front in the scrums 🥴
fuck that I stayed back with a couple of nephews who didn’t fancy the carnage .

mendonca

oohaahmortimer said:

AFKABartram said:

This is something @oohaahmortimer that has blighted me through my life. Have got better with trains with age though. 

I feel a bit more comfortable with stoppages when outside of a tunnel 
if I get on a tube knowing it’s going to be busy I like to get to the end of the carriage and pull the window down on emergency exit door and leave my head near it .
i was fine till late twenties and then it has sort of grown on me, just can’t work it out even knowing it’s completely irrational ..I get a bit funny when on a plane and doors are closed and it’s not moving as well , so bizarre , once it’s off and rolling fine but this newish (prolly last ten years) thing of getting you all on the plane so when there’s a gap or whatever you’re good to go , leaves me a bit wibble on occasion 

my kids like to wind me up if we’re in a lift ffs ….ooooh it’s a bit tight in here dad , fuckers 

Man up ffs (as you would say )

R0TW

Can remember quite a few bicycle wheels & frames being thrown onto the tracks by the arches at Charlton.
They certainly did go with a bang.
It was a regular thing for kids to play on the tracks.
Quite a few times retrieving footballs.
Mates sister died on them (above arches - Ransom Walk). RIP.

Chippycafc

What a shame you cant dangle those idiots over the bridge and drop them as the train comes along.

No doubt when/if they get caught there will be a nice get out of jail free card played with umpteen lawyers representing them. Who knows the consequences of their actions.

Twice i have been affected by similar, once when going to Charlton through Blackheath station some idiot threw a mattress on the line, but wasnt held up for toolong, the power had to be cut off whilst damage was imnspected under the train and the item removed.

Also just before Erith station a couple of years ago some bright spark threw a trolley on the line just as it was passing, again luckily about a 15 minute delay and no damage.

Chippycafc

PragueAddick said:

Todds_right_hook said:

I can think of a solution, probably an unpopular one. Some sort of mandatory after school cadet training and then national service. That should instal some discipline

The only thing I have to add is that this has always been with us. I can remember as a train-spotting kid at Taunton station being traumatised watching an express limp in with one of the loco’s windows smashed by a brick and the driver with a facial industry. That would be mid 60s. Then there was the  footie special train out of Barnsley in Sir Lennie’s first season when we found it equipped with bed sheets over the windows, because according to police a brick through the window was a regular occurence. 

The only solution I can think of is CCTV on all bridges. Well they are everywhere else.:.

Remember going to sunderland in the late 70;s and similar happened.

The police heralded us into the last two carriages and the local heroes used to lob bricks at those carriages once they got off, the train at the stations between Sunderland and Newcastle. The police used to get off at each station and try to marshall them away but they still did it.

se9addick

How did “Football Specials” work? Would they run direct from Charlton to, say, Sunderland if we were playing them? Did each away team with a decent following have their own train?