Plumb Loco

Hi David,

Thanks for your message above - it sounds like you enjoyed this picture, but unfortunately you didn't say which one!

If you let me know which one, I'll see what I can do print-wise!

Regards,
Geoff

Hi Christopher,

There'll be steam coming out of your ears yet! Thanks for the kind remarks - much appreciated.

If anyone visits my site looking for the "London Transport" collection, now that it no longer counts as "New" it has moved slightly on the home page as the collections are in alphabetical order, so you will need to scroll down the page a little further...

New pictures are added in "New Additions!", strangely, for a few days before being transferred to their relevant collections. I hope that makes sense!

Regards,
Geoff

All looks fine to me.

The 83's were delivered certainly through West Ruislip - I well remember them sitting lined up on the outside roads.

The car bodies were built in Spain and delivered on the Bilbao-Portsmouth ferry on trailers. There was always one in the customs bonded compound waiting for onward delivery visible from the M275.

Just dug out a few more old shots that some may like to peruse, on the District Line and Piccadilly Line - click on the pictures to go to larger images on my site if you would like to. I have already been helped with the captions, but if anyone can add further information, confirm or correct what is there, once again I would be grateful ;D .







There are also another couple of Pannier Tank shots Click Here and Here

Thanks once again in anticipation!
Regards,
Geoff

Geoff - your photos are superb. *bows low in respect and admiration*. I particularly like the one of the loco driver backing his train out of the tip sidings.

Seeing the Q Stock photo reminds me that I have a vague notion that some Q Stock motor cars had the accelerating relay in the cab. Does anyone remeber this? I rode in them often enough but I was usually chatting with the driver and didn't take much notice. I do remember changing the destination and marker lights for the driver as we stopped at Ealing Broadway. You had to be careful in the wet as you could get a 125 volt belt from the lamp holders. I also remember they had A type ep brakes like the standard stock.

I still worked officially on the Picc when the S Ealing photo was taken but I was at the RTC in training. The 1960TS at S Ealing could have been on routine 6 monthly brake testing as all stocks did that (still do - anyone confirm?) or ATO testing as some mods to the original system were done from time to time. The train is on the test track which had the original ATO experiments on it in 1961-2 with an R Stock.

ISTR that the development engineer had a train of 1960 stock permanently allocated to him at this time. It was often stabled at Northfields.

The R Stock in the Ravenscourt Pk photo is R38 - converted from the Q38 trailers.

I am sure that the 1960 Stock (with the pre-1938 or Standard Stock trailers Geoff) was doing ATO testing. I remember it plonked at Northfields on the siding by the road entrance, where SARAH SIDDONS the brake block test loco, the ESL [electric sleet locomtice] and stock used in sand drag tests were parked. Oh! The 1973 Stock thyristor trains as well!

I loved the 1956 Stock! I used to be able to tell between the Metro-Cammell, BRCW and Gloucester sets but have no idea which one that is! Tubeprune will know! What I liked about them was the extra wood inside the cars, as a half-way house between the 1938-49 Stock and the 1959 Stock.

Pickering unit? Sorry but that one is lost on me.

Looks like the Gloucester unit to me.

You mean R Y Pickering & Co Ltd, Wishaw, Glasgow? Sub-contracting for the Birmingham Railway Carriage And Wagon Co Ltd of Smethick? That is a new one on me!

I am fascinated by this new information or potential new information!

Another memorable train parked up at Northfields I recall was the 1938 Stock unit from the Northern that included 10306, the "Sunshine Car" plus another unit coupled to it.

DavidH the Elder

TP may not be online Geoff so pending, the R Stock was re-painted from red to silver to match the unpainted aluminium R49 and R59 Stock cars, between 1963 and 1968. TP was thus referring to the silver-painted R38 DM car adjacent to the 1956 Stock. Q Stock were finally withdrawn in 1971.

The 1956 Stock train was built by Gloucester. The only vehicles I know of attributed to Pickerings were battery locos L55 to L61 built 1951-2.

None of the 56 stock had the red stripe. One R Stock train had it for a time.

The Gloucester and Birmingham trains had the same roof profile but only the Gloucester cars had a waist band.

Right
However the difference was with the vents above the front windows. The Gloucester units had a band around them, the Birmingham units did not.