Author Archives: machorne

About machorne

I have always lived in London and taken a great interest in its history and ongoing development. This extended into the history of its transport services, about which I have written a number of books - I have spent most of my working life working in the industry and observing changes from within, mostly to the good, but not always so. I continue to write, and have a website with half finished stuff in it so that it is at least available, if not complete. Several new books are in hand. I have many 'works in progress' and some of these can be found on my website; the we address is http://www.metadyne.co.uk

Trafalgar Square Post Office—gone but not forgotten.

Posted on February 24, 2020

24th December 2018 was a dark day, even for those used to the seemingly endless stream of announcements about post office closures. It was on this day that Trafalgar Square Post Office last closed its doors to the public. Once … Continue reading →

Posted in London general interest | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The London Passenger Transport Area – An Explanation

Posted on December 22, 2019

Introduction If I said that London Transport’s original operating area was a consequence of an expected shortage of electricity in London, you might be rather surprised. However, that is what I am saying, so I had better explain why. Where … Continue reading →

Posted in British Transport, London Buses, London general interest, London Rail, London Underground, Main Line Rail, Our Government, Road Transport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thomas Cook & Son – part of British Transport

Posted on September 27, 2019

Thomas Cook first showed enterprise in the travel business in 1841. Since the company’s recent demise, quite a few bits and pieces have appeared in print concerning its long history. These have omitted a certain amount of detail that I … Continue reading →

Posted in British Transport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Excitement of Luminous Trains

Posted on August 6, 2019

In the fascinating world of railways there has never been a shortage of ideas. Many come from outside the industry and some of them even have practical applications, for which I am sure we are immensely grateful. Most, though, are … Continue reading →

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Prisons and the Metropolitan Railway

Posted on May 1, 2019

Whitecross Street Prison My attention was recently drawn to the plaque in the accompanying photograph. Cunningly designed in the style of official commemorative blue plaques, I noted the building so commemorated before realizing the plaque was not official and that … Continue reading →

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McFarlan Moore Lighting and the Central London Railway

Posted on April 28, 2019

The name Daniel McFarlan Moore may not be familiar to many people, a shortcoming I shall try to redress. He was a distinguished American electrical engineer and inventor who died in 1936; the circumstances were very unfortunate because he was … Continue reading →

Posted in London general interest, London Underground, Power Supply System | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Automatic Trains on the Hammersmith & City Line (at last)

Posted on March 20, 2019

New Signalling as part of the sub-surface lines modernization (updated) On Monday 28 March, I spent a little while at the western end of London’s Hammersmith & City Line watching the new automatic trains doing their business: this was the … Continue reading →

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