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Post by goldenarrow on May 27, 2023 0:06:29 GMT
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 11, 2023 18:07:21 GMT
I went to see this LU160 tour train on Saturday afternoon (from Gants Hill). As is normal nowadays I changed trains at Stratford for the faster journey to Central London and just by chance a Heathrow-bound Elizabeth line Class 345 train arrived at platform 5. I noted that many passengers had luggage - obviously a through train to the airport is seen in a favourable light.
I was tempted to stay on the 345 all the way to Heathrow (simply because I could!) but in the end I decided to alight at Bond Street and go to Northfields, arriving there just in time to see the tour train depart after its lunch break.
Whilst waiting for a westbound Piccadilly train to my next photo opportunity (Boston Manor) I was baffled to see the dot matrix display show a train to Hyde Park Corner from a westbound platform.
Later in the day I saw the train pass through Hatton Cross traveling westbound and then intended to go to Heathrow Central for its last eastbound journey. Alas, this proved to be impossible - the next service train was heading for Terminal 4, where it would wait for 7 minutes before returning towards London. The train after that actually reversed at Hatton Cross and the one after was too late - I would have passed the tour train whilst travelling between Hatton Cross and Heathrow Central.
My reason for wanting to end up at Heathrow Central was so that I could catch an Elizabeth line train to Stratford. I still ended up doing this, although as the first Elizabeth line train was heading to Abbey Wood I had to change trains en route. I noted that the train filled up very considerably at Tottenham Court Road, and it became quite noisy - as there was no wi-fi signal many people were actually talking to each other!
btw, for simplicity I eschewed PAYG with fares capping and bought a paper One-Day Travelcard ticket.
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Post by marri260 on Jun 11, 2023 20:40:13 GMT
Yes, the dot matrix at Northfields WB local seems to like displaying Hyde Park Corner at the moment. Goodness knows why given it isn't possible to go anywhere from that platform other than onto No.5 RD into the depot or the WB to Boston Manor. Still, it disappears after a few minutes so who knows. We have a seemingly never ending signal failure at Northfields on 21 crossover (the crossover immediately after the WB Fast platform) handicapping the Pic constantly for months on end now. Perhaps it has something to do with the signalling data for every Heathrow train (95% of the service is booked down the WB Fast from Acton - Northfields) needing to be edited before they reach Acton to route them into the WB local.
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Post by njr001 on Jun 11, 2023 21:44:04 GMT
38 Stock returning to the Depot:
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Post by humbug on Jun 12, 2023 10:07:36 GMT
That's great, thank you! Didn't realise which depot until it went through the doors :-)
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 12, 2023 13:20:27 GMT
Nice to see the train returning back home - at some of the open days I've walked over those tracks just outside the depot building
I suppose it could be inconvenient if the train is not travelling fast enough before leaving the juice rails and comes to a rest 'too soon'.
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Post by humbug on Jun 12, 2023 13:42:06 GMT
How do they get it out of the museum? Battery loco?
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Post by burkitt on Jun 12, 2023 15:18:06 GMT
Human power I think - several people pushing hard will get a tube train going. Certainly that's what I've seen done within Acton works.
Other options are the museum's Unimog (unreliable) or a forklift truck (not the safest, but not unheard of).
Battery locos are prohibitively expensive to pay the internal costs for - multiple thousand pounds I think.
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Post by njr001 on Jun 12, 2023 15:22:04 GMT
It's my understanding a fork lift is used to push it.
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Post by trainopd78 on Jun 12, 2023 19:13:29 GMT
Everytime I have been involved in railing the '38, a forklift has pushed it until the 1st car is on juice. There is an air line under the platform in the museum depot to pump the train up, so we have an emergency brake whilst being railed. I allude to the air line as we were entering the shed ensuring it was well under the platform before entering.
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Post by spsmiler on Jun 13, 2023 13:29:21 GMT
There is an air line under the platform in the museum depot to pump the train up, so we have an emergency brake whilst being railed I never thought about that - it makes a lot of sense to be able to stop the train (in the unlikely event that an urgent need arises), even when travelling at low speed away from the juice rails. |
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jimbo
Posts: 1,671
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Post by jimbo on Jul 28, 2023 8:11:46 GMT
A leaflet given to ticket holders as part of this event is shown in FOI-0773-2324 published: 06 July 2023 about “Heritage Train Journeys: Tube 160 Birthday Special on 10th and 11th June 2023”. linkIn its potted history of the 'Tube' the leaflet mentions “The Piccadilly line extension opens to Heathrow Central (now Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3)” Should this be updated to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, as shown on the current system map? I am more concerned with the paragraph “The Victoria line opens between Walthamstow Central and Victoria, the first computer controlled underground railway in the world, with automatic trains and ticket gates.” Were the trains and ticket gates really computer controlled upon opening? I don't recall that word being used at the time, but perhaps the equipment would today be considered to be 'a computer'? |
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Post by spsmiler on Jul 28, 2023 12:12:25 GMT
LOL, the Victoria line was 'sort of' computerised, albeit with clockwork-era technology. But it did work. Essentially it used traditional fixed block signalling with coded electrical pulses fed through the tracks to tell the train when to accelerate, brake, etc.
The technology also allowed human driven trains to also ply the same route - as happened during the trials between Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park (one train, in 1963) and then from 1964 onwards between Woodford and Hainault involving Central line tube trains as well as the last remaining British Railways passenger and goods trains ... the latter especially between Woodford and the junction near Roding Valley.
When the Victoria line opened the automated ticket gates used yellow magnetically coated tickets. So, these too were electronic, if not actually computerised. I have some, somewhere!
btw, London's first driverless railway opened in 1927 (mail rail, but not computerised) whilst what is believed to have been the first ever (in this era) passenger-carrying automated urban railway was the IRT Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle on the New York City, USA, Subway. Passenger services began in January 1962.
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