David Cantrell wrote:
On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 06:34:42PM +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:
I think the question on the WLL is to what length platforms will be
extended to. It would make sense to go to 8 car lengths to allow for
longer Southern trains.
12, IMO. It'll only get busier, even more so if the SN service goes to
2tph.

On which subject, I see that Southern are extending the platforms at
places like Balham, Thornton Heath etc to allow for 10 carriage trains.

This would make a lot of sense, except that all those platforms (except
Battersea Park as previously noted) are already long enough for 8
carriages, and yet even at the busiest times of day they still run
plenty of 4 carriage trains. Longer platforms are no damned good unless
you've also got the carriages to put next to them, and the space in
sidings to service and store them overnight, and Southern are obviously
missing at least one of these.

Did I miss some announcement about Southern buying loads of carriages?

They are ordering lots of new trains, but many are on behalf of DfT and
won't be used on Southern.

Recliner wrote:

They are ordering lots of new trains, but many are on behalf of DfT and
won't be used on Southern.

You could argue that they (and a small subset of their passengers) don't
deserve them. The state of some of their Electrostars is disgusting
compared with LM's not all that much newer 350/1s which are always spotless
and without bits of panel hanging off, blown bulbs and graffiti in the
bogs.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

In article

, (Neil Williams) wrote:

Recliner wrote:

They are ordering lots of new trains, but many are on behalf of DfT and
won't be used on Southern.

You could argue that they (and a small subset of their passengers) don't
deserve them. The state of some of their Electrostars is disgusting
compared with LM's not all that much newer 350/1s which are always
spotless and without bits of panel hanging off, blown bulbs and graffiti
in the bogs.

I can't say I agree with you on that from my own recent observations.

Southern have 170 Electrostar carriages in 5-car trains on order for their
own use, plus 116 for DfT.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

wrote:

I can't say I agree with you on that from my own recent observations.

Maybe we get the dross on the MK-Clapham runs, then. Most times I use one
I am disappointed by the condition (and dull, dour atmosphere) of the unit,
and more than once also with the poor quality of the staff, who not
infrequently seem to have the London bus driver approach to customer
relations (i.e. communicate only in grunts, if they bother doing tickets at
all).

The Wessies on GatEx, for all I like them as what the Mk3 hauled coach
should have been, are also filthy. They shouldn't have done a refurb
without cleaning the muck off the lighting/ventilation conduit, it just
looks bad.

Southern have 170 Electrostar carriages in 5-car trains on order for their
own use, plus 116 for DfT.

5x20m is an unusual length, wonder why they don't go to a more standard
4/8/12?

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

Neil Williams wrote:

The Wessies on GatEx, for all I like them as what the Mk3 hauled coach
should have been, are also filthy. They shouldn't have done a refurb
without cleaning the muck off the lighting/ventilation conduit, it just
looks bad.

Ignoring the debate about the seats (which I like, but I know many don't),
and the daylight lighting (which I don't like), the fGW Mk3 refurbs are the
kind of standard they should have been done to.

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

In article

, (Neil Williams) wrote:

wrote:

Southern have 170 Electrostar carriages in 5-car trains on order
for their own use, plus 116 for DfT.

5x20m is an unusual length, wonder why they don't go to a more standard
4/8/12?

Because Southern don't stick to a standard 4/8/12? They have 3 car units
which are run in all sorts of combinations, including 3 + 4 at least once
recently, I gather. The fact that Selhurst will have 3, 4 and 5 car units in
future is being catered for, I gather.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 08:59:19PM +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
wrote:
Southern have 170 Electrostar carriages in 5-car trains on order for their
own use, plus 116 for DfT.
5x20m is an unusual length, wonder why they don't go to a more standard
4/8/12?

Because the platforms are being lengthened for *10* carriage trains,
which isn't a multiple of 4. And they're being lengthened to fit 10
carriage trains because they can't squeeze any more in without *very*
expensive work with things like acquiring land, moving roads and bridges,
and demolishing houses.

--
David Cantrell | Reality Engineer, Ministry of Information

I hate baby seals. They get asked to all the best clubs.

David Cantrell wrote:

Because the platforms are being lengthened for *10* carriage trains,
which isn't a multiple of 4. And they're being lengthened to fit 10
carriage trains because they can't squeeze any more in without *very*
expensive work with things like acquiring land, moving roads and bridges,
and demolishing houses.

SDO?

Neil
--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK. Put first name before the at to reply.

On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 07:22:13PM +0000, Neil Williams wrote:
David Cantrell wrote:
Because the platforms are being lengthened for *10* carriage trains,
which isn't a multiple of 4. And they're being lengthened to fit 10
carriage trains because they can't squeeze any more in without *very*
expensive work with things like acquiring land, moving roads and bridges,
and demolishing houses.
SDO?

It appears that train companies are allergic to SDO, for no good reason.

Incidentally, I'm not even convinced that they need to lengthen the
platforms at Thornton Heath. There is a long section of unused platform
under the main station building and Brigstock Road that hasn't been used
for decades. It's dark, dingy, covered in umpty years of debris, but I
can't help but feel that restoring that to use would be cheaper. I also
don't see the point of installing shelters on platform four (only ever
used for five or six days a year, and would question whether it's worth
putting in a lift there - it's used so seldom that they would save money
by just putting old crumblies and their ilk in taxis on those handful of
days). Those shelters and the lift only become good value for money if
they're going to have a lot more trains stopping at the station, and so
use all four platforms regularly.

But the best money-wasting of all on this project is that a few weeks
before it started, there was a large gang of construction chappies
installing metal fencing down the middle of the island platform, between
the faces numbered 2 and 3, presumably to stop the inconsiderate from
leaping in front of trains running past platform 3 - not that I ever
recall anyone actually *doing* that at Thornton Heath. So anyway, they
installed this fencing, went away, then the next construction crew
arrived to extend the platforms, install a lift and a new footbridge -
and the first thing they did was rip out the fencing because it was in
the way. Brilliant!

--
David Cantrell | Cake Smuggler Extraordinaire

People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to
compete with children from privileged homes like ... Tony Benn
-- Margaret Thatcher

In message
.
net, Neil Williams wrote:
Because the platforms are being lengthened for *10* carriage trains,
which isn't a multiple of 4. And they're being lengthened to fit 10
carriage trains because they can't squeeze any more in without *very*
expensive work with things like acquiring land, moving roads and bridges,
and demolishing houses.

SDO?

SDO is normally used to allow one set of doors to be off the platform,
not an entire coach at each end.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Mobile: +44 7973 377646 | Web: http://www.davros.org
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is: