New DLR trains
 

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

B2003

New DLR trains
 

On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:
Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?


Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

All in all it felt like it was a decent train. Perhaps I need some
more experience before I can pass proper judgement on whether the
wobble has been suitably abated.

New DLR trains
 

"Boltar" wrote in message
...
Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yep - was on one last week from Devon's Rd to Cannery Wharf. They still hunt
when going at any sort of speed, more or less than the old train stock - not
sure yet.

The all glass doors are nice, the insides about the same. Can't say anything
wrong about them. The only problem we had was our 'Captain' kept knocking
the key into 'Inhibit' every time they got close to it.

I think the RTD 'bings' are louder too on the new ones.

New DLR trains
 

On Sep 23, 5:20*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

All in all it felt like it was a decent train. Perhaps I need some
more experience before I can pass proper judgement on whether the
wobble has been suitably abated.

Much of it seems to have been reduced by speed restrictions at certain
places anyway.

I have managed never to even glimpse one, despite spending a lot of
time around the DLR.

Is there enough depot space for them? I was wondering if a new depot
will be built along with the latest extension.

New DLR trains
 

On 23 Sep, 22:19, MIG wrote:
On Sep 23, 5:20*pm, Mizter T wrote:



On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

All in all it felt like it was a decent train. Perhaps I need some
more experience before I can pass proper judgement on whether the
wobble has been suitably abated.

Much of it seems to have been reduced by speed restrictions at certain
places anyway.

I didn't know that. Are they temporary or permanent? (i.e. Is this
wobbling partially symptomatic of the condition of the track?)


I have managed never to even glimpse one, despite spending a lot of
time around the DLR.

Is there enough depot space for them? *I was wondering if a new depot
will be built along with the latest extension.


The Beckton Depot has been extended to provide space to stable these
trains - this has taken the form of new outdoor sidings. I dunno if
the DLR bought lots of land when the Beckton depot was constructed or
acquired more at a later stage, but it was all wasteland around there
(and some of still is) - of course in pre-natural gas days it was all
a massive gasworks (which later, in a dilapidated state, provided a
backdrop for one of Mr Kubrick's moving pictures).

New DLR trains
 

On Tue, 23 Sep 2008, Mizter T wrote:

On 23 Sep, 22:19, MIG wrote:

Is there enough depot space for them? *I was wondering if a new depot
will be built along with the latest extension.

The Beckton Depot has been extended to provide space to stable these
trains - this has taken the form of new outdoor sidings. I dunno if the
DLR bought lots of land when the Beckton depot was constructed or
acquired more at a later stage, but it was all wasteland around there
(and some of still is) - of course in pre-natural gas days it was all a
massive gasworks

Which, funnily enough, had an awful lot of railway sidings - the coking
halls, or sheds, or whatever you call them, were built right on top of
railway tracks.

tom

--
Know who said that? ****ing Terrorvision, that's who. -- D

New DLR trains
 

"Mizter T" wrote in message
...

The Beckton Depot has been extended to provide space to stable these
trains - this has taken the form of new outdoor sidings. I dunno if
the DLR bought lots of land when the Beckton depot was constructed or
acquired more at a later stage, but it was all wasteland around there
(and some of still is) - of course in pre-natural gas days it was all
a massive gasworks (which later, in a dilapidated state, provided a
backdrop for one of Mr Kubrick's moving pictures).

Which Kubrick film?

New DLR trains
 

On 24 Sep, 08:50, wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote:

The Beckton Depot has been extended to provide space to stable these
trains - this has taken the form of new outdoor sidings. I dunno if
the DLR bought lots of land when the Beckton depot was constructed or
acquired more at a later stage, but it was all wasteland around there
(and some of still is) - of course in pre-natural gas days it was all
a massive gasworks (which later, in a dilapidated state, provided a
backdrop for one of Mr Kubrick's moving pictures).

-----

Which Kubrick film?


Full Metal Jacket, the one about the Vietnam war.

This webpage has more info, though a note for the squeamish it also
has a still photo of bloodied people though of course unlike the real
horrors of that and other wars this is entirely simulated:
http://pages.prodigy.com/kubrick/kubfmj.htm

Here's an excerpt of the most relevant bits:

---quote---
Becton, an abandoned 1930s gasworks town by the Thames was used as the
Vietnam city of Hue. Of creating this "set" where the film's climax
takes place, Kubrick has said:

"We worked from still photographs of Hue in 1968. And we found an area
that had the same 1930's functionalist architecture. Now, not every
bit of it was right, but some of the buildings were absolute carbon
copies of the outer industrial areas of Hue...We had demolition guys
in there for a week, laying charges...Then we had a wrecking ball
there for two months, with the art director telling the operator which
hole to knock in which building... I don't think anybody's ever had a
set like that...To make that kind of three-dimensional rubble, you'd
have to have everything done by plasterers, modeled, and you couldn't
build that if you spent $80 million and had five years to do it. You
couldn't duplicate, oh, all those twisted bits of reinforcement. And
to make rubble, you'd have to go find some real rubble and copy
it...no one can make up a rock. I found that out in Paths of Glory. We
had to copy rocks, but every rock also has an inherent logic you're
not aware of until you see a fake rock. Every detail looks right, but
something's wrong. So we had real rubble. We brought in palm trees
from Spain and a hundred thousand plastic tropical plants from Hong
Kong...All in all, a tremendous set dressing and rubble job."
---/quote---


AFAICS all of this 'set' is now gone. There are still several gas
holders (aka gasometers) at Beckton, so it's still an important part
of the gas supply network - but none of these gas holders appeared in
the film courtesy of some carefully chosen angles during shooting. In
the film I think you can see some of the still standing national grid
pylons in the distant background, as well as a few glimpses of the
hilly banks of the far side of the river. I'm told that the light in
the film isn't really right for Vietnam.

The aforementioned webpage has a YouTube video clip embedded within it
- it is of the American trailer to the film, which features several
clips of the scenes filmed at Beckton.

New DLR trains
 

On 23 Sep, 23:13, Mizter T wrote:
On 23 Sep, 22:19, MIG wrote:





On Sep 23, 5:20*pm, Mizter T wrote:

On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

All in all it felt like it was a decent train. Perhaps I need some
more experience before I can pass proper judgement on whether the
wobble has been suitably abated.

Much of it seems to have been reduced by speed restrictions at certain
places anyway.

I didn't know that. Are they temporary or permanent? (i.e. Is this
wobbling partially symptomatic of the condition of the track?)


Well, in particular I was thinking of the formerly terrifying stretch
from Mudchute to Crossharbour, which has been slower and far less
wobbly on the old trains recently, but this may be related to the
building of the new platform requiring a speed restriction.

My impression is that there are other places where the speed has been
reduced, but it's hard to be sure if there's actually a speed
restriction or what kind. Given that there's track work around West
India Quay, and platform extensions at Shadwell etc, it could be that
speed restrictions related to works happen to have reduced wobbling on
some stretches where it used to occur.

New DLR trains
 

I've only travelled on one from Mudchute to Greenwich so there was
never much 'wobble' on the stretch anyway. What I can say though is
that the ride quality is very different. Feels and sounds like you're
on a completely different transport system!

New DLR trains
 

On Sep 28, 7:56*pm, wrote:
I've only travelled on one from Mudchute to Greenwich so there was
never much 'wobble' on the stretch anyway. What I can say though is
that the ride quality is very different. Feels and sounds like you're
on a completely different transport system!

I've now managed to glimpse a new train, but that's all.

I've noticed how, on the wobblier sections, the shiny surface of the
tracks has a very zigzaggy pattern, and I wonder if the wobbling has
worn a groove in the tracks that the new trains can't help but follow.

And at a tangent, I see that the fork between the North Curve and the
West Curve is now a normal flat junction which is in use, and the
rollercoaster no longer has any track. It has also been severed where
it crosses the tracks towards Poplar.

I still can't quite see where the new track will go. Maybe on lowered
pillars in exactly the same alignment as the rollercoaster, because
there isn't a lot of space.

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 8, 1:53 am, MIG wrote:
I still can't quite see where the new track will go. Maybe on lowered
pillars in exactly the same alignment as the rollercoaster, because
there isn't a lot of space.

They seem to forever be changing the layout of that piece of the line.
Is this a string of poor decisions being made in the past or is it
just a new director wanting to make his mark?

B2003

New DLR trains
 

Boltar wrote:
On Oct 8, 1:53 am, MIG wrote:
I still can't quite see where the new track will go. Maybe on lowered
pillars in exactly the same alignment as the rollercoaster, because
there isn't a lot of space.

They seem to forever be changing the layout of that piece of the line.
Is this a string of poor decisions being made in the past or is it
just a new director wanting to make his mark?

B2003


Heaven forbid that it might be investment in an improved service to meet
customer demand for more frequent services and longer trains, eh?

Tom

New DLR trains
 

On 8 Oct, 10:54, Boltar wrote:
They seem to forever be changing the layout of that piece of the line.
Is this a string of poor decisions being made in the past or is it
just a new director wanting to make his mark?

No, it's a staged construction process. When the DLR first opened, it
was a simple two-way double track viaduct. when the junction was
rebuilt for the Beckton branch, the original tracks became two
westbound tracks merging at the west end, with the eastbound carried
on the flyover.

During the recent set of works, the first thing they did was move the
merger of the two westbound tracks to very near West India Quay,
taking the northern track along the viaduct out of use. That's since
been connected up at both ends to become an eastbound track again,
allowing the flyover to be partly demolished.

The flyover will be lowered significantly at its east end to pass
under the West India Quay-Poplar viaduct and reconnect on the east
side of the viaduct into Canary Wharf.

U

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 8, 12:03 pm, Tom Barry wrote:
Heaven forbid that it might be investment in an improved service to meet
customer demand for more frequent services and longer trains, eh?

So poor decisions made in the past then.

B2003

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 8, 1:35 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:
The flyover will be lowered significantly at its east end to pass
under the West India Quay-Poplar viaduct and reconnect on the east
side of the viaduct into Canary Wharf.

God almighty , just how hard would it have been to build a working
triangular junction in the first place??

B2003

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 8, 2:10*pm, Boltar wrote:
On Oct 8, 1:35 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:

The flyover will be lowered significantly at its east end to pass
under the West India Quay-Poplar viaduct and reconnect on the east
side of the viaduct into Canary Wharf.

God almighty , just how hard would it have been to build a working
triangular junction in the first place??

B2003

When the original network was built in the mid 1980s, the plans for
the Canary Wharf development were much smaller (much like the
surrounding developments, less than ten stories etc.) and so a small
railway was all that was thought to be need. Remember that the
original network was built for only £77million (from memory) and this
included the 11 trains; it was a simple three legged network, with the
delta junction (which is the location in question) at the heart
allowing services from one leg to any other and this junction had no
problems coping with the early service levels. This design was used to
minimise the cost of getting the network opened. Yes, this early penny
pinching has led to all the redesigns/rebuilding as the network has
expanded, but, without it, the DLR would probably never have opened in
the first place.

New DLR trains
 

On 8 Oct, 14:10, Boltar wrote:

On Oct 8, 1:35 pm, Mr Thant
wrote:

The flyover will be lowered significantly at its east end to pass
under the West India Quay-Poplar viaduct and reconnect on the east
side of the viaduct into Canary Wharf.

God almighty , just how hard would it have been to build a working
triangular junction in the first place??


Considering that you can predict the future, why don't you go and do
the job yourself Boltar?

Actually why don't you just go the whole hog, take over everything and
become a benign dictator?

New DLR trains
 

On Sep 23, 4:20*pm, Mizter T wrote:
On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

I glimpsed another one. The external displays are orange (as are the
internal and external ones on the old trains).



All in all it felt like it was a decent train. Perhaps I need some
more experience before I can pass proper judgement on whether the
wobble has been suitably abated.

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 23, 10:19 am, Mizter T wrote:
God almighty , just how hard would it have been to build a working
triangular junction in the first place??

Considering that you can predict the future, why don't you go and do
the job yourself Boltar?

One rebuild you can understand , but what is this one , the 2nd or
3rd?


Actually why don't you just go the whole hog, take over everything and
become a benign dictator?

Don't worry, its on my todo list. Except for the benign part , I think
we can dispense with that bit.

B2003

New DLR trains
 

On Oct 26, 6:24*pm, MIG wrote:
On Sep 23, 4:20*pm, Mizter T wrote:





On 23 Sep, 16:25, Boltar wrote:

Anyone been on them yet? Have they managed to solve the side to side
wobbling?

Yes, and I've been intending to but not yet got round to posting about
it (a bit like a million and one other subjects of transportational
interest in the Metropolis!).

I had one trip on a new DLR train a couple of weeks ago (during its
first week of operation) from Lewisham up to Shadwell. My impression
was certainly that it had a smoother ride, though the Train Captain -
sorry, PSA - I spoke to said he didn't think it was any better than
the older trains! I was specifically looking out for the side to side
wobble, and in my subjective judgement whilst it had not been
eliminated completely, where it was apparent it was much reduced in
comparison to the sometimes quite sharp jerking from side to side of
the older trains. Other aspects of the ride quality did feel a bit
smoother than the older trains, but not radically so.

The internal design of the new trains didn't appear to be particularly
revolutionary - the layout seemed to be pretty similar to the older
trains (if it ain't broke etc). The all glazed doors is a new look,
though there is actually part of the frame that spans the width of
each door internally which isn't particularly apparent from their
external appearance. And the internal LED signs were all green, can't
remember what colour they were externally.

I glimpsed another one. *The external displays are orange (as are the
internal and external ones on the old trains).


I've finally been on one. Only one stop, so I can't comment much on
the ride. It seemed to accelerate with more oomph than the old ones
currently do, but probably no more than they used to before being
reduced to a crawl (so what's that all about? do the new ones keep
catching up?).

I noticed a slight difference in the layout.

Originally, there used to be three very cramped longitudinal seats
between the doors and the transverse seats.

With the refurbishment, this was reduced to two seats, partly taken up
by the standback areas, and partly taken up by a bit more shoulder
room.

In the new ones, the two longitudinal seats are more cramped again,
and there is more legroom between the transverse seats. I don't know
what the idea of that is; maybe people will stand between them.