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Post by johnb2 on Aug 17, 2015 22:07:20 GMT
Ermm, someone mentioned electrification to Amersham and Chesham. Does this mean the A stock was steam-hauled for all those years then? There was a mock-up of the A stock done by converting a loco-hauled coach back in the 1950's. the A stock was the widest bodied stock to run in the UK despite being used in underground tunnels. I haven't been on one of the new horribly uncomfortable trains yet and don't really relish the thought. The mock ups were built on two withdrawn T stock motor cars and lasted in service till 1953. Both had fluorescent lighting and were train red. They must have looked strange in a brown set of T stock! They did look very odd to a 7 year old kid. As I recall they ran in the middle of a 6 car set and had an extra guard to operate the doors. Not sure how the two guards communicated but certainly the rearmost guard in the T stock DM waved the green flag and touched the brass ferrule of his flag the wires running along the platform which sounded a bell at the other end of the platform. |
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North End
Beneath Newington Causeway
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Post by North End on Aug 17, 2015 23:10:59 GMT
A stock in original condition gave a poor ride with rattling windows. S stock is a big improvement. Once the signalling is sorted there will be more trains and more seats as a result. Personally I much preferred A stock, and I find S stock generally an inferior train. The track ride is marginally better (although bear in mind the track condition is much better now than it was 10 years ago), but the motoring/braking on S stock is very jerky. By comparison A stock was much more refined in this respect. I find the seating layout unhelpful, and I hate the way when sitting in transverse seats you have people sitting to your side - it just doesn't feel right for some reason. I also find the trains noisy. The motors are louder than A stock in an annoying way, along with other annoyances like the sound of air cooling, and the walk-through design means any annoying passenger noises carry further through the train. I'm not keen on the way the trains have a strange platform/train interface at some platforms, sitting low relative to platforms. And they have a minor but annoying feature that there is a time lag between the door open sounder sounding and the door actually opening, so one instinctively prepares to alight only to have to stop and pause for a second. And the ridiculous design feature of the doorway nearest the cabs being narrower than all the others. I can only think of one positive feature of these trains, and that is that they are longer than C and D stock. But even this was a missed opportunity to go to 8 cars. C stock was originally envisaged as running in 8-car formations once platform extensions were done, and the District has run 8 cars in the past. |
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Post by crusty54 on Aug 18, 2015 4:08:45 GMT
Prior to D stock the District line cars were shorter which made it possible to run 8 car trains at certain times.
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Post by orienteer on Aug 23, 2015 15:19:00 GMT
On my new smartphone I have a speedometer app (uses GPS), interesting to use on (open sections of) the Met.
Have been monitoring S8s between Finchley Road and Wembley Park, and usually get up to 55-60 mph. The other day I read 67mph northbound through Willesden Green, I understood that 62mph (100kph) was the maximum speed of S stock. Maybe it's a downward gradient there?
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Post by domh245 on Aug 23, 2015 15:47:40 GMT
To be honest, I would always be dubious of speeds measured using a mobile phone, as the GPS can sometimes get it wrong. I would be absolutely amazed if a driver were exceeding a speed limit by 7mph or so!
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castlebar
Planners use hindsight, not foresight
Posts: 1,316
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Post by castlebar on Aug 23, 2015 16:18:24 GMT
@ domh245 Totally agree. GPS is not always accurate with speeds, and such excessive speed would be spotted in the Tardis, and the T/Op would also know that too.
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Post by superteacher on Aug 23, 2015 17:03:47 GMT
To be honest, I would always be dubious of speeds measured using a mobile phone, as the GPS can sometimes get it wrong. I would be absolutely amazed if a driver were exceeding a speed limit by 7mph or so! It wasn't that uncommon a few years back though. Speeding was almost encouraged as a way of making up lost time! |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2015 17:28:21 GMT
Wasn't that section unlimited years ago, though?
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Post by peterc on Aug 23, 2015 17:57:55 GMT
On the Met there are points where my phone seems ignore the GPs and tell me that I am at the site of a phone mast several miles away from the line
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Post by spsmiler on Aug 24, 2015 21:07:55 GMT
BTW, in an article about historical Metropolitan Railway trains the September 2015 issue of Backtrack Magazine talks about a previous S Stock train. There is even a photograph of it!
Part of the reason for the article was because of the present-day S Stock trains and to compare with trains which operated the services it provides today.
(that is 'where possible' - which means no longer north of Amersham, no longer non-stops Finchley Road - Rayners Lane via platform 1 at Harrow-OT-Hill, etc).
Simon
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metman
Global Moderator
5056 05/12/1961-23/04/2012 RIP
Posts: 7,399
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Post by metman on Aug 25, 2015 6:30:46 GMT
Sounds interesting thanks.
The previous S train was probably as revolutionary as our current S stock and less popular!
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Post by drpete on Oct 17, 2015 12:34:39 GMT
I don't really mind the S stocks to be honest; overall I preferred the A stock because they were reassuringly solid. The S stocks seem to be very poorly made, with the interior fittings already rattling and vibrating on many cars. I also noticed the external grey plastics around the door buttons is starting to look tired, and they're only a couple of years old! If that was my car I'd be very put out. The thing that really gets my goat about them though is they just don't shut up, with the beeping to close the doors, beeping to open the doors, and incessant PA announcements. That said, my wife bought me some S Stock cancelling headphones for my birthday which has made the commute much nicer...  ) |
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Post by domh245 on Oct 17, 2015 12:40:59 GMT
That's Derby for you. That factory doesn't have a reputation for outstanding build quality, let's put it like that! Don't forget that the outside button surrounds don't have an easy life, and are mainly stored outside, so will get a lot of weathering! So long as they are still there doing their job, there isn't a need to replace them, but I'm sure that LU will replace them when they are too badly weathered.
And as for the near constant noise, that is (un)fortunately a legal requirement now, that train must have comply with. They need to have Audiovisual information systems, as well as AV systems that let people know when the doors are opening and closing. Sure it is annoying for those who are able bodied and who travel the route frequently, but for those who travel less frequently and who have sight or hearing impairments, the S stock are a welcome change
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Post by A60stock on Oct 17, 2015 14:45:54 GMT
With regard to trains having to let people know when the doors are opening, the 1972 and 73 stock still do not do this, will this change or is it not a mandatory requirement just yet?
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Post by domh245 on Oct 17, 2015 15:02:23 GMT
It is mandatory for all new trains introduced since 1999, and for any refurbishments since 2010 (barring like for like replacements) and it should be done by 2020. Presumably, TfL will be able to get away with just the audio part of the warning for their old stock, and this should be easy enough to fit in line with the door opening controls (he said).
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