S-stock cabs being refitted ??

Pretty much most, if not all, the driving seats have been replaced. It's not so much a case of the seats being "unpopular" – when you're doing 50mph over some rough track, the last thing you want is to actually have the seat rocking around, or readjusting the position itself. We used to have two levers to adjust how far forward or back the seat was and sometimes the catches would weaken causing the seats to just slide forwards and back. The new single lever and seats are a lot more robust. Also much safer – a lot of the rails that the seats sat on were exposed, with the lubrication, and it was a case of greasy hands sometimes or catching your hands on bits – these have now been better housed and covered.

There are plans to fit a rudimentary volume control for our train radio as there is currently no volume control. Also plans to improve the HVAC and the "eyeball" scoop vent (some flaps to allow fresh air into the cab). The workbank trains already have vent mod, and also a whistle mod.

Countless other things I could go on about, but it's nothing major that you would really notice as a refit. They're just mods following feedback.

Sorry – I should've been more clear, but seeing as we're talking about S stock here, I gather you may not have had much experience or had any stock training on them having only just started receiving them on the District.

For starters, though the actual box looks and mostly behaves the same, yes, they are different when it comes to adjusting volume to the speakers in the cab. On S stock, since roll out, there have been no independent volume controls. Hence the need for mods, and there were plans to install a small volume control knob underneath the radio unit, next to the other comms buttons. As and aside; 1973 stock also have something similar (a small volume knob on the Cab Audio Display Unit) as they also do not have independent volume control via the method you describe.

Only about a third of the Earls Court drivers have been S stock trained so far. We're not being done at the east end until next summer (ie, when D stock gets replaced) although there is a rumour that some of us east end I/O's may be trained next month so that we can assist with training trips......

Can't say I'm surprised that they've managed to install the same piece of equipment yet have it working differently; only on LU!

East end district I/O's are being trained on S stock - started my course yesterday - as we were being shown round the train that's stabled in Upminster depot, I asked the question about volume control on the connect unit and we found that it can be altered as I described!

Ah!

I dunno if it actually works or if its just for show - perhaps I'll be able to further check out the situation when I do my driving trip next week......

The cab we checked in Upminster depot was 21303; so rather than being a newish S7 it is actually the second one which dates back to summer 2012

Basically. Not sure how that got past quality control, but never mind! I did have a video I'd filmed in the depot demonstrating the awkwardness, but I can't find it for some reason. Never mind.

As I'd said (as she crosses her fingers), upgrades have promised us a mod, but progress is slow at the moment with getting stuff up to Derby and back, with more and more mods needing to be done, so I don't know what the schedule is looking like at the moment. But the HVAC, TCMS software and other little bits continue to be improved now and again. So we're getting there.

Further update from one of our trainers: "the volume control does work, but as soon as you use it it defaults back to the original setting. Its a pain in the ar*e".