London Banter - Metropilitan Watford Curve

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 1.4...
TheOneKEA ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they
were saying :

Does this put the a stock back to front?

Erm, they're double-ended, aren't they?

They certainly don't turn 'em round at any of the terminus
stations...

At one time, all A60 and A62 units were double ended - IOW, both
cabs
could be used in passenger service. The conversion to OPO and the
robbing of some cabs for spares has led to all but approx. 25-30
units
becoming single ended, meaning they have only one cab that can be
used
in passenger service. Of the remaining double ended units, OPO
circuitry has meant that the couplers are no longer fully
reversible,
preventing double ended units from coupling wrong-ended (i.e. A to
A or
D to D). Other than that, they retain the flexibility of any double
ended unit and can be turned end-for-end on the Watford Triangle
and
still be driven in the correct way.

You've lost me.

Both ends of a "Met train" *must* work - because they drive 'em from
one
end heading into Baker St from the sticks, and the other end heading
back
to civilisation from town.

So what's the difference between the driver's end heading North and
the
driver's end heading South that would mean that there's a "right"
and a
"wrong" way round?

What he's trying to explain is that each 8 car Met line train, is
actually 2x 4 car units connected together. On the majority, the
"centre" cabs are restricted use, and as such aren't painted with red
ends. (ie can only really be used for depot shunting).
There are a few units, specifically for the Chesham branch and East
London Line, which have both ends of the 4 cabs suitable for passenger
usage. As there are more than are required for the Chesham and East
London lines, you can often see the 8 car units running around with 1
red cab in the middle, opposite an unpainted one.