European Railroad Discussion > Earls Court

Earls Court is a station on the District Line of London Underground. in West London. It is a junction between the District's 'mainline' to Victoria and points east, the Edgware Road branch, the Wimbledon branch and the line to Ealing Broadway and Richmond and the short branch to Kensington Olympia, hence the need for four platform faces. The overall roof dates from the 1870s and is testamount to the District's steam origins, it is one of the most imposing stations at platform level on the system. To heighten the effect the original District Railway destination boards are still in use, no scrolling LED signs here! I took these pictures this afternoon whilst on my way home from a stakeout on the West London Line for the empty and loaded Land Rover trains. The trains are examples of the two types to be seen on the District today, the slab sided D78 stock and the new S7 trains which will take over all sub surface lines once the D78 stock is withdrawn (next year?)

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Great memories of that station from my first summer in London in 1995

Posted from iPhone

Ah yes, Earls Court. The setting of a story I heard from a friend, which I like to tell at parties:

According to my friend, sometimes, especially during rush hour when the headways are very quick, the operators don't decide which branch the train is taking until they arrive at Earls Court. So, one day, someone was waiting for a train to Ealing Broadway during rush hour, and all the trains were being sent to Parsons Green. About ten trains pass going to Parsons Green, and everyone is getting annoyed. Finally, when two trains arrive with the displayed destination as Parsons Green, the station announcer tries to intervene: "The train at platform two is not going to Parsons Green but to Richmond. The train approaching platform three is also not going to Parsons Green but to Ealing Broadway. These trains are not going to Parsons Green despite what the signalmen think." So, this fellow gets on the train to Ealing Broadway, the doors close, and then the announcer says "Sorry folks, the signalmen are telling me I need to send this train to Parsons Green. I don't know what's so great about Parsons Green, but it must be fun. Have a nice adventure!" The train rolls off into the tunnel towards Parsons Green, and the person in question tries to tell the people on the train "Are you sure you all want to go to Parsons Green?", but the train is entirely made up of immigrants who barely speak English. I heard this story thirdhand, but it is allegedly true.

Tor in Eugene

Whilst 10 trains is probably an exaggeration - the sidings at Parsons Green don't hold 10 trains - it is entirely possible that a flight of trains heads down the Wimbledon branch whilst there's nothing signalled along the Richmond and Ealing Broadway lines. Such is the complexity of the District Line. London is full of people whose first language isn't English, in some boroughs in excess of 50%, but those that live and work here don't seem to find the Underground that confusing, it's out of towners from the Shires who seems to have the biggest difficulty.