AGA unusual 12-car formation

[samuelmorris]

Among the long queue of units in this afternoon's disruption (losing count now!) I saw something rather odd - a 315 at the front coupled to two 317/7 units behind it.
Can anyone explain what this is in aid of?
Seen at Romford.

 

[jon0844]

I hope one of the 317s was the demonstrator so as you went through you'd go from bright, modern and clean to 'oh-my-god haven't they cleaned these since they were first refurbished?' and then finally 'my eyes, my eyes'.

 

[Shunter_69]

It's the AM trials. Runs to Witham and back so the fitters can monitor/recreate faults.

 

[asylumxl]

I hope one of the 317s was the demonstrator so as you went through you'd go from bright, modern and clean to 'oh-my-god haven't they cleaned these since they were first refurbished?' and then finally 'my eyes, my eyes'.

No, no, no. It's 'oh-my-god haven't they cleaned these since they were first introduced'.

 

[SPADTrap]

Among the long queue of units in this afternoon's disruption (losing count now!) I saw something rather odd - a 315 at the front coupled to two 317/7 units behind it.
Can anyone explain what this is in aid of?
Seen at Romford.

As Shunter_69 says its a 'trails' trip that runs in the morning to Witham and back for maintenance purposes. I've seen all manner of 317/321/315 formations on this run! I'd guess that as the 317/7s will soon be coming back into traffic for LOROL they've had some work done as the last pair I had had been sat in Ilford for a good few weeks and were carrying a number of major faults such as WSP that was by-passed, TIS operated and no horns/wipers, not to mention motors and electronics cut out.

 

[TheNewNo2]

No, no, no. It's 'oh-my-god haven't they cleaned these since they were first introduced'.

I'll be travelling on an AGA 317 tomorrow from Stratford. Luckily I can change at Tottenham Hale and hopefully get on a 379.

 

[jon0844]

Or wait until Sunday and then it's likely a 379 from Stratford!

 

[SprinterMan]

I am guessing that because a franchise has to "hand back rolling stock in working condition" (hence NXEA's panic to rebuild the Ilford Christmas trees) that the stock going to LOROL and TfL are being thoroughly checked for faults, hence the presence of 315s and 317/7s on this train. I doubt it included the demonstrator as it is staying with AGA.

Adam

 

[MCR247]

Or wait until Sunday and then it's likely a 379 from Stratford!

Sorry to take it OT but I'm planning a trip to London soon, do 379s regularly turn up on Stratford runs?

 

[jon0844]

In my personal experience, on a Sunday they do. I have no idea about in the week, or if it's all day Sunday. But, as a guide, I've gone to Westfield from Cheshunt at around 11am and back at 5-6pm and it's been a 379.

Also, I've not been to Stratford on a Sunday since the latest timetable change. I am not sure if there might be a couple of additional stops or not too.

 

[Tottenham Flyer]

I hope one of the 317s was the demonstrator so as you went through you'd go from bright, modern and clean to 'oh-my-god haven't they cleaned these since they were first refurbished?' and then finally 'my eyes, my eyes'.

The demonstrator is broken. It's waiting for new wheelsets. It's been out of traffic for a while now.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

In my personal experience, on a Sunday they do. I have no idea about in the week, or if it's all day Sunday. But, as a guide, I've gone to Westfield from Cheshunt at around 11am and back at 5-6pm and it's been a 379.

Also, I've not been to Stratford on a Sunday since the latest timetable change. I am not sure if there might be a couple of additional stops or not too.

The Sunday timetable from Stratford is now a 30 minute Stratford-Hertford East with 317's. I don't think the Cambridge service goes into Stratford anymore.

 

[jopsuk]

Yup, they seem to have changed the Sunday considerably so that Cambridge service is essentially the same as the Monday-Friday off peaks, so the slower service doesn't stop at stations between Cheshunt and Tottenham Hale any more and goes to Liverpool Street. The weekday Stratford-Stortford I though used to stop at the Lea Valley stations? Doesn't now.

 

[SPADTrap]

I don't think the Cambridge service goes into Stratford anymore.

Woohoo!!

 

[samuelmorris]

Interesting, thanks for the info - this was seen in the afternoon though, not the morning. Around 13:45
(Country bound)

 

[Shunter_69]

Sorry, my mistake. It was the PM trials. It returned to Ilford around 14:45 and I believe the 317's were given the green light to return to service.

 

[TheNewNo2]

Or wait until Sunday and then it's likely a 379 from Stratford!

I got on a 4-car 317 at Stratford, changed at Tottenham Hale, and ended up on a jam-packed 317 to Cambridge.

I did at least see a member of the cleaning crew at Stratford, so at least they have picked up (some of) the litter since the 317s were introduced!

 

[jon0844]

There are a couple of people that clean the trains that come into Stratford (I refer solely to the trains on platform 11), so they should always leave without the mess they can sometimes arrive with.

As you can probably imagine, a lot of people using these trains aren't particularly bothered about how they dispose of their litter or food.