GOING LOCO Going Loco is a hunt for your bizarre tales from the railways Send your story at the bottom of this page

As I write this week's Going Loco, the rail network has been crippled, not by leaves, snow or rain, but by that British rarity, too much sunshine.

So I thought it might be appropriate to include a few entries from those of you who have suffered by some aspect of the weather when commuting.

But I'd like to kick off with some wonderful stuff which I'm considering creating a whole section for - Great Excuses of Our Time. So, without further delay (to coin a phrase rarely heard on my line)...

I used to commute through Wembley. Standing in a packed carriage on Cup Final day (no extra trains obviously) we were informed that the train we were on was delayed 'due to the weight of the passengers'. Now, I know, as a nation there is more obesity, but please!
Charlotte

I'm indebted to this correspondent, not least because he's talking about the station I use every day:

I have footage shot from my flat window of a BR signalman playing football on the roof of the signalman's building at Witham Station, Essex. He is playing "keepie-uppie" and then fires the ball directly in to the signal box (!) only to have it chucked out again. He then stands motionless on the roof as a train passes with his hands in his pockets.
Winston Nugara

Send it in Winston, we'll pass it on to Sven! Nigel Pettifer has written with this wonderful bit of double speak:

Standing one day at King's Cross Thameslink, the delay in the train service was announced as 'Due to technical technicalities'. Sounds like George Bush has a secret job.
Nigel Pettifer

Now, we've all been victims of various objects left on the line, but this one sounds like a living hull:

Travelling from Salisbury to London a few years ago it was announced the train was late '...due to a boat on the line'.
Liz Rodger

And this one, a complete cock up...

After the hurricanes of 1987, an announcement informed passengers that the delay was caused by "a cockle shed on the line at Leigh-on-Sea." Really, you couldn't make it up.
Ross

Now, anyone who has been sweltering on a train recently might like to know what the deal is with air conditioning. I bring you this exclusive:

On a blisteringly hot day in July, I was travelling from Stafford to London Euston. Unsurprisingly, the "air con" packed in. A voice came over the speaker apologising and pointing out that in these older trains "the air conditioning does tend to stop working when it gets hot outside!"
Kevin Turner

Never mind the heat, how about the oxygen?

A couple of months ago I was delayed on a journey from St Pancras to Sheffield due to "lack of air" - I knew the environment was bad but I didn't realise it had got to that point!
Mel

Talking of lack of air, fowl play must have been at work in the Telford area when Kim Le Patourel tried to get to Birmingham one day.

Commuting from Telford one morning, our train inexplicably stopped dead on the tracks. After half-an-hour of confusion, the driver informed us that we could not continue because wild ducks were blocking the air vents.
Kim Le Patourel

So far though, this is my favourite:

I remember a report in a local paper explaining why all services in and out of Liverpool Lime Street had been cancelled one morning. Apparently it was due to, and I quote, "the staff tea urn exploding'. According to the report, this had caused water to find its way into the main signal box and fuse all the signals." It just had to be a tea urn didn't it?
Phil

Finally, proof that the permissive society has at last caught up with the railways:

Station announcement one morning at Leighton Buzzard: "The next train from platform two will be the 7.28am to London Euston only. We apologise for the late running of this service this morning - this is due to a failed virgin at Milton Keynes."
Paul Hopper

Thanks for all your e-mails. Do please keep them coming. I'm sure the current hot spell will give you plenty to write about!

Send your entries using the form below, and we will feature the best. Please include a phone number where we can contact you.

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published.