The fat controller...

So, I'm leaving Bucks County to get to Philly. We leave Alyssa's to go visit some places before getting me to Doylestown to catch the 16:21 train. Not long out when "clunk", something goes in the van. We think it's a burst tyre so stop by the side of the road. All the tires are fine, everything looks fine, so we carry one. The van is driving, but something is definitely not right. It's making a rumbling noise, but we decide to carry on. About 15 minutes later, just as we're slowing toward the red lights, when "pop", something else goes. There's definitely something wrong. We pull up again, have another look, but still no burst tire, still nothing visibly wrong. But we certainly don't feel like carrying on. Alyssa calls her dad, who says he'll come along as soon as he can. We find a nearby pizza place and stop for lunch (luckily we were near shops, we could easily have been in the middle of nowhere). We return to the van waiting for her dad, Jim. He appears, and before he's even got out of the car he shouts "Jeeez, you guys are only driving on 2 lug nuts!" There should be 5, we have 2 on the front right wheel, and they're probably what made the "clunk" and "pop" noise. Jim takes one from the back wheel and puts it on the front, and we're good to go.

We stop in a cute little apple farm place that happens to have just today opened its new winery, so we get a free wine tasting. On we go to Doylestown, go for a stroll, have a coffee and at 16:10 we go to the station. The office is closed but there are about 30 people on the platform. The train is there but with the doors closed, so I ask a girl whether they are waiting for the Philly train. She says yes, but they never open the doors until just before the train leaves, so me and Alyssa take a seat. At 4:21, I notice a guy standing at the door towards the front of the train, so I get up to go that way, as does another guy stood near me, before we've even walked 2 feet, "chugg, chugg, chugg", the train starts moving. There's confusion as everyone was waiting for the train, but the girl says they've probably gone to turn the train around. The train never came back. The next train is at 17:37. Luckily the waiting room/cafe is still open, and they have wireless, so here I am, alongside the other 30 people, waiting for the next train to Philly.

Next time, I'm walking to the front of the train to see if I can get on. All of a sudden a 10 minute delay on the Jubilee line doesn't seem so bad.