|
Post by tubelightonline on Nov 22, 2020 20:02:34 GMT
I've just downloaded it, and it's a definite thumbs-up from me; the attention to detail is incredible - a definite improvement on the unrelated C Stock Simulator from a few years ago. You can pick from a number of scenarios and timetabled runs, or just board a train at a station of your choosing, have a seat with the passengers, or wander around, and if you feel as if you could do a better job in the driving seat, into the cab you go!
I like that trains are able to terminate and then return to service with the other cab being opened up (including when an A.I. T/Op is running the show), the destination blind has to be physically wound, and you can stop doing this at any point. Also, a nice touch is that the car numbers are random - the unit numbers stay together, of course, but it's the luck of the draw as to the train that will turn up.
Of course, there are a few differences between the simulation, and reality - a lot of the virtual cab switches can be operated, but few do anything. Also, any passenger door can be opened or closed individually. The passenger boarding / alighting animation is a bit clunky (I've witnessed passengers boarding, walking through the opposite set of (closed) doors, and carrying on!), but that's only a minor issue with how well rendered everything else is. It's worth a look, anyway!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 20, 2020 5:28:54 GMT
Gosh - was it really nine years ago that the tour occurred; I still had a good head of hair at the time! I remember the strong smell of burning from the brakes as we travelled in ATO towards Finsbury Park, just before swapping to manual driving at the crossover, near the beginning of the tour, and of course, the brief loss of lighting at the northound crossover towards the end of the day! Other memories that remain strong to me were the train only just fitting the platforms at Acton Town or Ealing Broadway, and of course, the friendliness of everyone, particularly those in Car 6! Spookily, I discovered recently that 3161, the DM whose destination blind now lives here, was part of the train that formed the 'Auto Tube Rambler' railtour in 1979, which also called at Ealing Broadway, as proven here. Here's a similar view from the 2011 tour - I'm fairly certain that I'm visible on the extreme-left of this image, with regulation Victoria line-coloured shirt...clearly, it was all meant to be!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Nov 8, 2019 17:58:40 GMT
In something of a postscript move, I have some further information to share, in respect of the '67 Stock blind...namely, that I decided shortly after installing it that the blind material itself was in very poor condition, even after cleaning, and so I decided to drop a line to McKenna Brothers, and ask about the feasibility of having a replacement made, using the original as a guide. They were able to produce this facsimile without any issue (my wallet feels a trifle lighter, mind you!); the results can be seen in this video:
Now, I will admit that I did apply a tiny bit of artistic licence while I was having the new blind produced, just in case anyone spots something unfamiliar..!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 22, 2019 17:44:30 GMT
I also have restored a 1967 TS box and have a reverse blind fitted, with original 'Gold Transfers' and original destination list transfer.
I'd be interested to see pictures of that, if it's in a convenient place! From which DM was it removed, do you know?
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 22, 2019 9:17:49 GMT
Were the destinations on the original (post-Brixton extension, anyway) blinds arranged in the same order that they were on the post-refurb blinds? I only ask as the placement of the destinations seems a little odd, if turnaround time was to be kept to a minimum - why weren't the regular destinations of Walthamstow, Brixton and Seven Sisters all placed together - there's quite a bit of winding required between the northern and southern terminii!
I can appreciate that a south-facing cab could be left displaying Brixton and a north-facing cab, Walthamstow, until such times as these needed to be revised, but wasn't the requirement (as I think was discussed on here in respect of C Stocks) that both ends had to display the terminal point of that service? Whether this happened in practice or not is another matter!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 22, 2019 5:10:14 GMT
That's a good point - even the modern LED destination displays struggle in very strong sunlight!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 21, 2019 21:10:32 GMT
Ah, I see what you mean - why was this idea dropped in favour of the front-printing method?
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 21, 2019 13:12:55 GMT
I'm not familiar with these; how did they compare to the type that I have?
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Sept 21, 2019 10:36:24 GMT
Following on from my bringing the '83 Stock blind back into operational condition earlier in the year, I can now report that its older relative is back in use too. Whilst this one didn't have the same electronic-related issues that were encountered earlier, it was still not completely straightforward, owing to the amount of dirt that had accumulated within the enclosure over the years - it was the sort of dirt that was very difficult to remove, but seemed to be able to transfer to any surface very easily! Pictures taken throughout the restoration, along with a video of the blind in operation, can be seen by clicking here. I hope that the work meets with everyone's approval!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Jun 15, 2019 21:20:13 GMT
Much appreciated, though don't give me ideas like that! **Thinks whether it's too late to retrieve one of the ex-South Harrow carcasses from Booths**
Yes, in theory, the '67 should be easier in that respect, but I'm sure that it'll delight in finding a suitably troublesome spanner to throw into the works at some point!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Jun 15, 2019 10:32:41 GMT
About a month after my last post, and I can report that the blind is installed and looks rather darned good, now that the light is operational too. The full write-up is available by clicking here, and a video of the blind working is shown below. One can only hope that the '67 Stock blind will be a little more friendly to work on! A very large "thank you" goes to everyone on here who offered advice on this project.
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 18, 2019 21:43:14 GMT
Cheers - I did consider the crimp option, but the only types available seemed rather expensive, so I decided to fill my lungs with lead vapour instead, and crack out the soldering iron! I'll give the enclosure a bit of a surface clean, and then I'll wire up the lamp, which (he says) should be a little more straightforward!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 18, 2019 11:18:38 GMT
Well, it's taken a while, but I am (very) pleased to report that the blind motor has just run up and down the original Jubilee line for the first time in about 21 years! Soldering the seven-core cable into the MIL-spec connector was a bit of a fiddle, but this was achieved eventually. I had invested in a cheap 0 - 50 V DC bench power supply, and tried to run the motor circuit at 12 V (nothing), 24 V (nothing), 35 V (movement!!) and finally, the full 50 volts (continued movement, just marginally faster!).
I'm surprised at how slow the movement is, though - you need to press the 'Fast' middle button if you're scrolling for more than a couple of stations - or have more patience than I have - but then again, there are only ten possible things that the blind can show, so you wouldn't be there all day, even if you did need to scroll all the way up or down. The one good thing about the slow 'normal' speed is that it allows you to locate the corresponding number accurately in the inspection window, ensuring that the destination is aligned accurately outside, which may be part of the design.
I shall try to post a video of the mechanism in motion in the next few days...provided that it is still working then and I've not just nuked the internal circuit board!
( Edit - video should be below now: )
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 14, 2018 13:24:54 GMT
Apologies for the double-post, but the pages for both blinds are now online (the pictures linked earlier in the message will no longer work). Click below to see them: 1967 Stock blind
To add to my woes with the newer one, the screws that hold the rollers in place have seized, and you can't remove the motor and its frame without removing the rollers - I'll try again later, once the WD40 has sunk in! Here's where we find that it rots Tyvek...
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 13, 2018 12:48:29 GMT
That's very kind, but don't go to too much trouble when looking for them - I've ordered one from "a well-known auction site" that I hope will fit. I'm going to try removing the motor bracket in the next couple of days and seeing whether any clues as to the operating voltage are provided on the hidden side of the motor.
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 10, 2018 20:25:00 GMT
Most interesting - I'd not heard of 'Litton' connectors previously. This looks to be the sort of thing that would fit. I'll see if I can find one with a pre-wired cable attached. As you say, identifying the individual conductors should be relatively straightforward - it's just a case of matching the coloured ends. I'm just more used to playing with things that run on mains voltage!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 9, 2018 17:10:00 GMT
Just to add that the pictures have now uploaded; they can be seen here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. I will write up a page, and include more images, this week, if time permits.
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 9, 2018 12:01:33 GMT
That's great - cheers! There's an independent hobby shop locally, and what they don't know about electronics isn't worth knowing. Thus, I've dropped them a line, in the hope that they might take a look and sort it out. I had hoped to upload a few images to the website at this point, but the FTP server seems to be having an off-day at present!
One thing that I have established, however, is that the lamp appears to have been made in the first week of September 1997 (or 2002, but this seems unlikely, given that no '83s would have been running by then), but this is reliant on General Electric's Budapest factory employing the same date coding system that their Enfield factory did!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 7, 2018 20:51:34 GMT
Thanks for replying! I've identified that seven wires enter the enclosure - four of these run the lamp, two drive the motor and the seventh is the earth. The problem is that the motor controls are miles more elaborate than they needed to be - there are 'Up', 'Fast' and 'Down' buttons, and there's then a circuit board that seems to be linked to the buttons. All of the wires are colour-co-ordinated at their ends with a unique pattern and number, so it's 'simply' (he says) a case of tracing each termination...I think that I may need to draw it all out, in the style of 'Big Clive' from YouTube!
Fingers crossed that the motor contains the voltage information - from the angle that is visible when the rear panel of the enclosure is lifted, there's nothing, but maybe its running information will be plated on the other side...as the lamp would be running AC through (presumably) an inverter, would the motor be AC too? It's not considered good wiring practice to bunch AC and DC circuits.
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Dec 7, 2018 14:11:39 GMT
Going on the old adage that "a fool and his money are soon parted", I acquired the destination blind and enclosure from a 1983 Tube Stock recently. Now, anyone who has worked on one of these previously may be able to second-guess my questions here, but (preparing for the inevitable long-shot)... - Does anyone have a spare connector plug that will fit into the wiring socket?
- If not, does anyone have a wiring diagram for the socket - the wires leaving it are numbered, so I assume that there would be a diagram that would indicate the designation of each of these wires.
- What voltage did the motor run at?
- Why, oh why couldn't they have stuck with the tried-and-tested crank-based method for moving the blind mechanism when designing the '83s?!
I have acquired a 1967 Stock blind too; again, with its enclosure - that looks a lot more friendly when it is opened! I shall upload pictures of both when I have a spare moment.
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 12, 2017 19:00:51 GMT
Thank you very much for that information - I've added and amended the text as necessary. I was going to ask which, out of the passengers or the heater, would be more needing of the additional air circulation, though I suppose that the heater would only be operating in colder weather anyway, when passengers would welcome the additional heat!
[On a side note, I've just re-watched the 'East London and District' Driver's Eye View, in order to experience the tour again, in a fashion...whilst watching, it occurred to me that all of the train stocks featured on this (along with, sadly, our very own District Dave himself) are no longer seen on LU metals - and that was recorded only 12 years ago...how things change.]
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 12, 2017 13:58:07 GMT
I was pleased to see myself demonstrating the correct procedure of boarding a D Stock, in Chris' picture taken at HSK! I enjoyed looking through the other pictures and video too - it's great to see how things looked from both an external perspective, and from the different cars. My own photographs and video are now online, and can be viewed here. Out of interest, what is the lever located in the ceiling, to the side of the cab light (pictured in the fourth of my cab photographs)? I assume that it's not the light switch, as that is on the pillar to the left of the driving console. Finally, just to echo what others have said - a big "thank-you" to all who had any part to play in the tour - we enthusiasts all just turned up and (hopefully!) enjoyed it, but I appreciate that there must be so much that happens, by so many people, behind the scenes that we never see, but without which, the tour wouldn't have taken place at all - it was certainly worth my being up for 18 hours...I slept well that night!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on May 7, 2017 4:43:59 GMT
I'll be on my way shortly - I look forward to 'C'-ing some of you later today!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Apr 29, 2017 13:44:40 GMT
Interesting to see that the train will be at Northfields Platform 4 for the best part of 50 minutes - isn't the train going to be stabled at Northfields depot (as happened on the C Stock tour) for the majority of the lunchbreak?
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Apr 25, 2017 15:15:43 GMT
Didn't some signal heads require the fitting of lamps with a special three-pin bayonet cap, as a way of ensuring that they could only be installed one way around, in order that the lens focused the lamp filament, and thus the beam itself, correctly? The LED retro-fit examples seen in the earlier post appear to be the standard two-pin bayonet type, though I think that you'd probably realise if you'd installed these the wrong way around when the aspect failed to glow but the interior of the signal head was lit brightly!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Feb 28, 2017 7:27:15 GMT
Is this an example of the gates being operated by a staff pass?
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Jan 25, 2017 15:58:12 GMT
There was a report regarding the Vivarail trains on Midlands Today yesterday (are you following?), with mention of the fire the other week; for UK residents, the programme can be watched here - the piece starts at 3:43, and the clip is available for the next 28 days. I didn't realise that D Stocks were "Tube" trains, though...
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Jul 29, 2016 19:29:14 GMT
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Apr 3, 2016 16:27:14 GMT
Didn't Evelyn appear in the original ITV series from way-back-when? I've a feeling that she (or someone who resembled her, with a similar no-nonsense attitude!) spotted someone begging on a '67 and ordered them off in that series.
Good to put a name to the American CSA at Waterloo (whose platform announcements feature in at least two YouTube videos) as well!
|
|
|
Post by tubelightonline on Mar 12, 2016 8:14:17 GMT
Excellent - thanks for the notification!
I've just looked it up on the Radio Times website; the series is eight-part and commences at 9pm on that date. I was interested to read the accompanying information:
Statistically, is that true about the Picc's unreliability?
|
|