hunck
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 9,524
- Location
- Hobbs End
This happened a couple of months ago. I was attending a course which involved travelling from Archway station to High Barnet on the Northern Line.
I entered Archway station in the morning. A High Barnet train came along. I got on it. All fine and dandy and perfectly normal. Started reading my book, looking up occasionally. Highgate, East Finchley stations pass en route. The train definitely got to Finchley Central as I checked to see where I was at this point.
Continued reading my book. The carriage started filling up which is unusual as normally it tends to empty out when heading for High Barnet which is the end of the line. This vaguely registered as unusual with me but nothing more than that and I continued reading without checking progress, expecting to reach High Barnet in another 10 -15 minutes.
Next time I look to check where I am as the train comes into a station. It's Tufnell Park. One stop in the other direction from Archway where I'd got on!
It threw me into a state of total confusion. I was completely at a loss to understand what had happened. Got off the train, switched platforms, got another High Barnet train. Got there in about 30 mins. Missed the first 45 minutes of the course that day.
It had probably taken about 40 mins since I first boarded the original High Barnet train to arrive back at Tufnell Park. So I was either beamed Star Trek stylee onto another train heading in the opposite direction somewhere around or beyond Finchley Central, or the train scheduled to go to High Barnet didn't in fact go there and came back at some point. I think there would surely have been some sort of announcement if this was the case, maybe there was but I was too engrossed in my book to notice, and I also didn't notice re-entering a tunnel, which happens between East Finchley and Highgate . After Highgate it goes overground 'til High Barnet.
As far as I know, on this branch of the Northern Line, trains either go to High Barnet or Mill Hill East, in which case the train branches off after Finchley Central. It's quite a long stretch to Mill Hill East so it didn't go that way. It certainly said High Barnet on the front of the train and the sign on the platform.
It was one of those 'wtf' occurrences.
I entered Archway station in the morning. A High Barnet train came along. I got on it. All fine and dandy and perfectly normal. Started reading my book, looking up occasionally. Highgate, East Finchley stations pass en route. The train definitely got to Finchley Central as I checked to see where I was at this point.
Continued reading my book. The carriage started filling up which is unusual as normally it tends to empty out when heading for High Barnet which is the end of the line. This vaguely registered as unusual with me but nothing more than that and I continued reading without checking progress, expecting to reach High Barnet in another 10 -15 minutes.
Next time I look to check where I am as the train comes into a station. It's Tufnell Park. One stop in the other direction from Archway where I'd got on!
It threw me into a state of total confusion. I was completely at a loss to understand what had happened. Got off the train, switched platforms, got another High Barnet train. Got there in about 30 mins. Missed the first 45 minutes of the course that day.
It had probably taken about 40 mins since I first boarded the original High Barnet train to arrive back at Tufnell Park. So I was either beamed Star Trek stylee onto another train heading in the opposite direction somewhere around or beyond Finchley Central, or the train scheduled to go to High Barnet didn't in fact go there and came back at some point. I think there would surely have been some sort of announcement if this was the case, maybe there was but I was too engrossed in my book to notice, and I also didn't notice re-entering a tunnel, which happens between East Finchley and Highgate . After Highgate it goes overground 'til High Barnet.
As far as I know, on this branch of the Northern Line, trains either go to High Barnet or Mill Hill East, in which case the train branches off after Finchley Central. It's quite a long stretch to Mill Hill East so it didn't go that way. It certainly said High Barnet on the front of the train and the sign on the platform.
It was one of those 'wtf' occurrences.
Trains & stations are odd places, I've had a few WTF moments myself with them!