Within Living Memory

I'm sure I've heard mention of something along the lines of a minute, if not less.

What everyone now calls the 38TS was just "38" stock. A 7 car was a 3 and a 4. Uncoupling on the Northern at Morden but only if the train was right way round. A end 4 car to the north. The reason you never ran a 3 car in service was compressors. 2 On a 4 car so there was always one left if you had a failure. Only one on a 3 car.

Anyone remember the industrial action at Acton Works? A lot of the Northern stock got reduced to 6 cars, one pump on each unit. It was almost guaranteed that if you had a 6 there was a huge gap in front.

Yes Roy, I remember drinking at the new Tower Hill. It was miles from the pub. 18-1/2 minutes turn round, a run to the pub, a quick pint, if the darts board was empty a game of 301 then a mad dash back to TH. Les Scarborough was the DI, now sadly diseased.

Uncoupling Q stock in PG platform. All 630v and the track live. We were all taught to work on live track. That way you took care of yourself.

 What about when every other DR train you looked at had chalk marks on the wheels to indicate that they might be broken. I remember on train that had the entire wheel rim and tyre fall off just as it stopped at PG EB.

I also remember doing nights at PG one Christmas. I had the job of telling the early turn SM that all three trains went into service okay Christmas morning, but in case anyone asked, the one from the sidings to the platform was prepared and bought out by a ROA, the ety to High St then EC was by two guards and the only one that ran in service was worked by a proper crew, just not the right one. We thought that he ought to know, so he knew just how much he had to cover up. His night colleague was still asleep upstairs in the messroom. He had started the night in the Alma where there was talk of fitting an extension auto phone.

Referring long bus routes, didn't the 630 trolleybus, predecessor to the 220 RMs also run from Park Royal to West Croydon?

Still a fair old ride even if not a record breaker. The trolleys always gave such a comfortable ride. They also had quite a distinctive sound which always, well, to me at least, sounded that a wheel trim on one of the four back wheels was loose. It wasn't of course bit that is the best I could describe it. Whatever the sound, it was not unpleasant and certainly they were infinitely more comfortable and much, much quieter than the trams that I can remember riding on.

In Hugh Taylors excellent book "London Trolleybus Routes" he says this location " was named differently over the years" (Page 175 showing blind sets)
i.e. 'HARROW EOAD SCRUBS LANE' 'NR WILLESDEN JUNCTION VIA PUTNEY' 'SCRUBS LANE' and 'HARLESDEN COLLEGE PARK'
Looking on Google Map the location reminds me of how many termini were using locations of PHs, lots of them sadly shut and demolished.
This location still has the pub name embellished on the upper brickwork, as does the 'Seven Stars' at the Askew Road/Goldhawk Road junction, although this building is still in use as a wine bar.
Maybe someone can confirm this, something I was told years ago, the 'College Park' was the model for the 'Queen Vic' in a soap opera?

Ah yes, the PG Christmas Party, 1971 IIRC! when we had a whip-round and filled one of the mess room tables with drinks, we bought in food, and had a jolly good time after the last trains ran in. There was one of the night motormen who went "missing". When his mrs came to PG mid-morning to see where he was, he was found in "trap 3" sleeping off the night's food and drink!

I brought along my Sony tape recorder to provide the music, with an extension lead run up from Bill Drake's office downstairs. We had another night shift Christmas Day night and finished off what was left of the drinks! No alcohol-on-duty fanaticism in those days, providing everything ran nobody really bothered.

Ah, the pub at Tower Hill.. wasn't there one outside Mansion House as well that we used to use? It was about the only pub in the Square Mile that opened on Sunday.

just trying to remember the names of some of those who were on duty that Christmas, but it wouldn't be wise to fully name them here! Me, Bigal, Charlie B the ROA, Silvera T (sleeping beauty), Arthur the night SM, an Acton Town crew and a few more! Maybe 5 crews all together.

I was actually at PG when the wheels fell off the train, 1600 spare! That was the evening we put an R stock in Wimbledon Park, I think I put that on another thread earlier.

Looking back it seems horrendous. One PG driver would not go past Sloane Square without having a pint in the buffet if it was open. It made no difference if he was going EB or WB, in the peak or not. Paul had his pint.

There used to be a pub just over the road from Wimbledon but I seem to recall that it got closed down. In any case I don't remember drinking there much. Richmond was bit of a dry place though. I was going down there one hot summer afternoon when in the distance the track seemed to move. My first thought was a mirage. Then I realised that the South Circular bridge had moved about a foot to the right. A lorry had hit it. I did manage to stop, but only just. Never a pub when you need one and Oh boy, did I need one then.

The job was certainly more relaxed then. No noisy radios in the cab, nowhere near as much pressure as there apparently is nowadays. Was it was safer for the great travelling public? I don't know. Training was extremely thorough, and with a line of promotion initially based on seniority, from station staff to guard then to driver, once you were at the front you had several years experience under you belt. On the other hand the trains were relatively simple then. Today’s vehicles are so much more complicated necessitating a much steeper learning curve. I left in '94. Early retirement after 29 years. I don't think I could do the job nowadays.

Sadly, franfurter abuse still persists out in the suburbs.

ISTR there was a pleasant Welsh girl who worked nights in the Earl Court Wimpy; she was rather well endowed and we used to put the dirty plates on the far side of the table next to the wall so she had to lean well over the table...

Another night we'd been to Piccadilly on the n97; on the way back Charlie B asked the clippie to tell us when we got to Green Park Station. We got to Green Park, the bus stopped...and stopped...eventually the clippie called up "this is Green Park, you gettin' off?" "No" says Charlie "I just wanted to know what it looked like from the outside". He got a clip round the ear from the clippie. Ding ding.