London Banter - View Single Post - why are the new Victoria and trains so slow?

[email protected] · August 10th 11, 06:27 PM posted to uk.transport.london

In article , (Peter
Campbell Smith) wrote:

"Richard J." wrote in
:

Yes, I well remember in the 1950s waiting on the Catford down platform
for the 16:12 home from school and watching the porter walking up the
platform lighting each gas lamp. This was at least 25 years after the
line had been electrified, but such mod cons hadn't reached the
stations.

When I moved to Surrey in 1980 some of the trains (4-SUBs?) still had
paraffin tail lights, despite being electric trains running on a line
that had been electrified some 50 years earlier.

I guessed at the time it might have been because they shared track
with diesel (and earlier, steam) trains, and if the power failed the
oil lamps kept burning to warn non-electric trains they were there.
Or was there another reason?

The whole of BR and LT had oil tail lamps until very recently. It was only
when battery technology improved to near to current standards that they went.

--
Colin Rosenstiel