Class 378 general questions

There is the tunnel telephone system from Surrey Quays to Whitechapel. It is no longer used for communication (although there still are handsets in each cab), however it is used as a last resort for DC isolation and turning on the tunnel lighting.

The dual voltage units are tripcock fitted, the DC only units are not. When a dual voltage unit is used on the East London Line they have to have their tripcocks isolated and tucked up out of the way.

They could work down there but they'd have to have a lowered roof like the Class 313's have

A 378 could and has been used Drayton Park-Moorgate. The branch is not gauge restricted, however OHLE equipment cannot be fitted without major civil engineering works, which may be what you're thinking.

The issue is largely moot on two counts though; the 378s could use the existing third rail equipment, however a new fleet of class 717 EMUs of a similar style to the class 700 Thameslink/class 710 SWT units.

The current PEP stock (class 313) do have slightly lower roofs than the Mk. 3 stock (see SWT's 455/7s as a nice comparison); this allowed room for the pantograph in the lowered position.

Incorrect I'm afraid.

Firstly 25KV OHLE units like the 317s have the same roof profile as the 455s so the presence of a pantograph has nothing to do with it.

Secondly the Drayton Park to Moorgate branch IS guage restricted and the 313s were specifically designed to fit this route. While other classes of unit such as the 507, 315, etc share the same bodyshell - the 313s were the first of this family of units to roll off the production line.

Thirdly, the use of 313s away from the GN -Drayton Park - Moorgate line only occurred due to improved fleet utilisation plus a downturn in passenger traffic on the early - mid 80s. When built there was never any intention to use the 313s on other routes.

yes it does, but unlike the Mk 3 designs, the pantograph projects above it in the lowered position




The different roof profile may be related to gauging issues in the tunnel, or to the different method of construction - the PEP family are aluminium, the mark 3 family are steel.

Interesting.

Is there any pictorial evidence of the NCL in transition or at the start if BR services?

I'm very interested into the line and I would like to know when the guards were removed on the NCL?

People have told me that the ECML was DOO/OPO equipped for a while and only the Moorgate-Finsbury PK section carried a guard.

Is there any news article on this?

Right, the answers from the 34A Group on Facebook is that DOO was not agreed until well into the 1980s after the flexible rostering dispute. After that date guards still had to be provided for the tunnel section. I couldn't find out when guards were no longer required in the tunnel section.