On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:25:37 -0800 (PST), Rupert Candy
wrote:

On Dec 10, 10:15 pm, "Jonathan Morton"
wrote:

The 317s were very advanced trains for their time. They were the first
trains to have retention bogs, for the underground section to Moorgate [1].
[1] I believe some genius actually removed these later.

That's the first time I've heard that - is it definitely true?

You are correct about the 313s - they are the only stock cleared for this
line, because the loading gauge is tube-size - or only slightly bigger.

Quite a lot bigger than tube (or Tube) gauge, though you're right that
not all standard EMUs would fit through the tunnel. 313s are at least
as big as LU sub-surface stock though...

They aren't. LU sub-surface stock is out of gauge sideways when
running on NR lines not cleared for their passage; c313 bodies also
have a taper toward the top so that if the air-bag suspension fails
catastrophically on one side the top of the carriage does not lean out
of gauge. You'll notice the difference especially if you change from
one to the other and use the window seats.

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 23:32:41 -0000, "Peter Masson"
wrote:


"Jonathan Morton" wrote in
message ...
"Mr Thant" wrote

Several of them wiped their pantographs off on the tunnel entrance in
the early months of the GN electrification.

I think we established on a uk.t.l thread recently this couldn't have
happened.

I'm sure you're right about it being a myth - but a good story
nonetheless.

AIUI it has happened on Thameslink at Farringdon (as up trains have to be
able to leave pan up if they're going to Moorgate, but must be pan down to
go through the Smithfield Tunnel to City Thameslink and Blackfriars).

Presumably no "train using DC" detection as used at the top of Camden
Bank ?

Jonathan Morton wrote:

[1] Moorgate shudder remains one of those "you remember where you
were" moments.

Well, I remember I wasn't in Moorgate.

In article ,
(Sky Rider) wrote:

[cycle access to and SPILL platforms]
Ugh!

Just out of interest, how did you cope with KXTL?

Took my bike straight up or down the stairs, the one time I used it. But
SILL will be my London terminus from Cambridge from 2015. King's Cross
has level access by bike to and from trains. Liverpool St had that too,
until they managed to all but destroy it in the rebuild.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article
,
(Paul Oter) wrote:

On 9 Dec, 23:49, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:
In article ,
(Sky Rider) wrote:

How will one get a bike between the platforms and street level
then?

If the lifts (let's call them 1 and 2) are big enough then your
options a
Street level - Lift 1 - Southbound platform
Street level - Lift 1 - Mezzanine - Lift 2 - Northbound platform

Ugh!

Alternatively one could carry one's bike up/down two long stairs,
with a mezzanine level in between.

Double-ugh! This is going to be the main railway London gateway of the
UK's premier cycling city from 2015!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article
,
(Mizter T) wrote:

Paul Scott wrote:

wrote:

(snip)

b) I noticed that one train had Southern markings on it. Why

Could be one of the four units transferred from Southern to FCC
yesterday, the other 8 are to transfer over the next year.

Would definitely have been one of them.

There have been Southern-liveried 319s running on FCC Thameslink services
for months. I travelled on one from Brighton to Kings cross Thameslink in
September

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article
,
(Rupert Candy) wrote:

On Dec 10, 10:15 pm, "Jonathan Morton"
wrote:

You are correct about the 313s - they are the only stock cleared
for this line, because the loading gauge is tube-size - or only
slightly bigger.

Quite a lot bigger than tube (or Tube) gauge, though you're right
that not all standard EMUs would fit through the tunnel. 313s are at
least as big as LU sub-surface stock though...

The GNCR tunnels were built to 17' diameter. Probably not enough for OHLE
but still allowing full size trains. The 313s have essentially the same
body size as the DC-only 507 and 508 stocks, as well as the Southern
Region PEP prototypes.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In article , (Roland
Perry) wrote:

a) What is that tunnel to that veers left, just north of the
platform?

The northbound line to the ECML, for the Peterborough/Cambridge
trains that may one day run through Thameslink 2030 rather then
terminate at KX.

2015, Roland. Do keep up at the back!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 10 Dec, 23:39, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:25:37 -0800 (PST), Rupert Candy



wrote:
On Dec 10, 10:15 pm, "Jonathan Morton"
wrote:

The 317s were very advanced trains for their time. They were the first
trains to have retention bogs, for the underground section to Moorgate [1].
[1] I believe some genius actually removed these later.

That's the first time I've heard that - is it definitely true?

You are correct about the 313s - they are the only stock cleared for this
line, because the loading gauge is tube-size - or only slightly bigger.

Quite a lot bigger than tube (or Tube) gauge, though you're right that
not all standard EMUs would fit through the tunnel. 313s are at least
as big as LU sub-surface stock though...

They aren't. LU sub-surface stock is out of gauge sideways when
running on NR lines not cleared for their passage; c313 bodies also
have a taper toward the top so that if the air-bag suspension fails
catastrophically on one side the top of the carriage does not lean out
of gauge. You'll notice the difference especially if you change from
one to the other and use the window seats.


Absolutely. Underground sub-surface stock is bigger than all (?)
National Rail stock. I don't think a Met line train would fit down the
tunnels of the GN&CR (i.e. Moorgate line).

On 10 Dec, 23:38, Sky Rider wrote:

(snip)

I've also noticed that the FCC ticket machines at SPILL have blank
circular plates - I presume that they will be converted to Oyster pads
in due course (so far I've yet to discover any Oyster-compatible
machines that were not built by Cubic).

You want non-Cubic ticket machines that do Oyster eh?!

London Overground has both Scheidt & Bachmann Ticket Xpress...
http://therailticketgallery.fotopic.net/p26682964.html

....and Shere Fast Ticket machines...
http://therailticketgallery.fotopic.net/p15267418.html

....which have both been adapted to to include an Oyster reader (can't
find any photos so perhaps I'll take some).

I'm pretty sure all the Shere machines were installed after the
decision had been made to let TfL take over the Silverlink Metro
routes, but whilst Silverlink was still in charge. The Scheidt &
Bachmann machines are as found at ex-Silverlink County stations, so
they were definitely Silverlink's choice of self-service ticket
machine.

The preference of TfL for the Shere machines perhaps makes sense -
they are certainly the more elegant solution when fitted with Oyster
readers, the readers on the S&D machines look a bit like a bit boil
that's just been stuck on.