Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge? | District Dave's London Underground Site

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Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge? Sept 14, 2013 9:42:20 GMT

Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 9:42:20 GMT

Here is an unusual challenge for anyone with knowledge of London Transport history. I really would appreciate your help.

I'm trying to discover the history of a rare Land Rover I'm restoring - I know when it was made and where it went from the Land Rover factory in 1972. Thereafter up to around 2006 I haven't a clue - mainly because the vehicle has lost its identity - we don't know its registration number.

The whole story about the vehicle is here if you are interested: oneton42a.blogspot.co.uk/ Anyway - inside the vehicle I found a couple of red plastic London Transport tokens.

I have donated these tokens to the London Transport Museum as they said they hadn't got any of these. The Museum thought they were car park tokens.

My question then is this - has anyone any idea at all where and when these tokens might have been in use within the London Transport network - always assuming that the museum is right and that these are car park tokens. I'm hoping that the answer to this question might help me to pinpoint an area where the vehicle was at some time between 1972 and 2006. At some time in its life the vehicle was used as a breakdown recovery truck. One theory about these tokens is that it's possible that these tokens were in the truck because from time to time it had to recover a vehicle from a station car park.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks for reading this.

Les Waters

railtechnician
In memoriam

one of a kind

Posts: 2,973

Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge? Sept 14, 2013 11:38:28 GMT

Post by railtechnician on Sept 14, 2013 11:38:28 GMT

Les,

They are indeed LT Car Park tokens. They were in use when I began my LT career in the 1970s and certainly still in use until the end of the 1980s. Inside a token is a magnet and a staff trick was to remove the magnet from the red plastic cover and sellotape it to a strip of stiff card about 6" long or a lever frame contact cleaner strip. This would be 'dipped' into the token slot in the barrier pillar to lower the exit ramp and then retrieved.
Authorised staff were able to unlock the barrier pillar and turn off the compressed air to drop the ramp while passengers had to buy the tokens from the station booking office.
As an aside another way to lower a ramp was to find a dustbin lid or other suitable metallic object nearby and place it close to the car detector on the approach side of the entry ramp, this would drop the entry ramp allowing one to drive out over it.

There were plenty of LT car parks with the barrier ramps, e.g. Oakwood, Queensbury, Stanmore, Finchley Central etc mostly at or nearer the ends of the lines across the system. AFAIR passenger car parking revenue collection was outsourced in the run up to devolution of the network into lines circa 1990/1 and so that's when the LT ramps were replaced with other types of barrier.

I read the blog, an interesting history, I wish you luck in your quest.

Always a company man, very much a lurker now as I slowly fade away.

phillw48 Posts: 2,043	Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge? Sept 14, 2013 22:51:49 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by phillw48 on Sept 14, 2013 22:51:49 GMT There is a recovery vehicle group on Facebook 'uk recovery trucks' where they might be able to help.

roythebus Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721 Posts: 1,275	Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge? Sept 19, 2013 21:06:57 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by roythebus on Sept 19, 2013 21:06:57 GMT A metal tool box was quite useful for raising exit barriers at cars parks to allow entry...
	Keeping Europe's Routemasters on the road.

Unusual Red Plastic Tokens - any knowledge?

Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2013 9:42:20 GMT

Post by railtechnician on Sept 14, 2013 11:38:28 GMT

Post by phillw48 on Sept 14, 2013 22:51:49 GMT

Post by roythebus on Sept 19, 2013 21:06:57 GMT