Hi all, my wife and I have been to Brum today and we discussed the Train Information Boards - you know, the ones that list destinations, train times, arrivals etc.
I have not been able to fathom these out since I had my car crash in the 70’s, my wife explained it to me, but I just didn’t ‘get it’ - it was all gobbledegook to me.
Anyone else get this?
Am I glad I’ve got this on the forum - I went upstairs for a wash, thought about writing these notes, got downstairs, forgot what I was going to write, remembered, looked at TV quickly, forgot again, but finally it’s done 
3 Likes
@Bert i hate Birmingham New Street Station & try & avoid it at all costs 
the train boards are very confusing at the best of times.
Well done for going & getting through it.
Yes Bert was bus timetables that flummoxed me outside PO/ village shop then kind soul gave me a time table book, and relevant page enlarged and studied carefully, penny dropped but have to study now and again as can’t retain it
2 Likes
Thanks Loshy - and when I realised I was in the Train Driver’s uniform it was bit of a shock
4 Likes
You mention New Street Station @Mrs5K - the funny thing was, I kept saying to my wife “when we get to New Street we need to go straight up to the Library.”
And my wife said, “this is the Snow Hill train, John - not New Street Station!”
The other thing which was strange was the fact I was going to Brum Library to find a newspaper article on my car crash in 1977 - and we actually found it, so a good result in the end. John 
Birmingham New St was a nightmare years before the stroke. There’s no way I’d try it now. Years ago they kept changing which platform the train was supposed to be coming in with all the passengers having to rush up and down those horrible stairs - including one poor chap who was travelling with a concert harp.
I’m travelling tomorrow and the journey involves two changes. I have the timetables printed and have tried to remember what I’m going to be doing but no doubt I will still have to consult the papers many times. Those TV screens are usually too high and I can’t bend my neck to look at them - probably couldn’t understand them even if I could see them
1 Like
Hi @Pds I think that is one of the hardest things to deal with, the retention - I know it’s probably wrong but I’m getting to the stage where I think, “what’s the point of trying to remember something, if I already known it will vanish from my brain almost immediately?”
I know there is a point, there has to be, we’ve got to try to remember but it’s so difficult sometimes, isn’t it? I have notes all over the place on my MacBook but then I forget where they are. It does get frustrating sometimes, doesn’t it? Take care, John
Hope your journey goes ok tomorrow @FionaB1. I havent travelled on a train since my stroke but I couldn’t cope with New Street before my stroke. I will definitely give it a miss now. Suspect it would send my anxiety sky high. 
Have a good trip xx
Hi @FionaB1 good luck with your journey then tomorrow.
I wonder if anyone who has had a stroke has ever told the train companies what it’s like for people who are stroke survivors? Maybe they would listen and perhaps change the way the screens work?
You’ve got your timetables and you’re going to enjoy it!
Take care, John
There is a website, real time trains which is really useful, it shows the platform you will arrive on or depart on well in advance and you can see also see how far away your intended train is.
New Street is a nightmare as it seems the station is divided into two and you have to go out the station barriers and back in others to move between some platforms. Always best to give plenty of time when changing.
Real time trains is great at the London stations especially paddington. They don’t display the departure platform on the screens round the station until 5/10 mins before departure but real time has it before then so you can be ahead of the stampede. No bad thing when you can’t move as fast.
Now if only they would make the platform heights the same level as the trains as they do in the tube. How hard can it be …
1 Like
Thanks @Nigelglos for that info, I think we all need to find something that works for each one of us.
My wife has found the National Rail Live on the net, and I’ve downloaded one called Trainline, so will give it a go next time we get chance to use the train.
I survived! It was bus rather than train travel and was largely in rural areas although I did go to the city as my destination. The coaches were comfortable and I appreciated their heating although some of my fellow passengers thought one of them was too hot. The steps to get onto the busses were pretty precipitous although I understand that if you are in a wheelchair they can be converted into a lift, and I found finding my way round the city with my little phone a bit of a challenge - I don’t like moving my head up and down and had to do this to see the street names, but otherwise the experience was positive and it’s good to know I can do it. We had every type of weather in the day - rain at home, mist in the first town, thick snow in the mountains and then glorious sunshine in the city but that’s Scotland for you.2
1 Like
Oh, well done @FionaB1 !!!
Glad you enjoyed it - what a boost for your confidence! Great news! Take care, John