[Trivia] Unused Features in rolling stock?

[Cowley]

Yes I agree with that, the calling costs were eye watering though! Seem to remember phonecards were sold over the buffet bar counter as you couldn't use cash?

I remember making a call on one. Like you say you bought the phone card from the buffet, it all felt very modern.

 

[Marklund]

Yet they put the phone, on the 125s, in the noisiest place ever at the buffet car!
And did the early 125 buffet cars not have draught beer fonts?

 

[Ash Bridge]

Yet they put the phone, on the 125s, in the noisiest place ever at the buffet car!
And did the early 125 buffet cars not have draught beer fonts?

I think you're right there, they also originally had a deep fat fryer fitted in the kitchen to make proper chips etc. and I'm pretty certain they were the first trains to have microwave ovens fitted from new, they were still very rare in domestic kitchens at that time.

 

[Bill EWS]

When I joined the railway in Aberdeen in 1963 tail lamps were used on DMU's. I was surprised about this but was told that DMU batteries couldn't be trusted when the unit was shut down and parked for long periods. It was may years before praffin tail lamps were dropped, no doubt when MAS type signalling more widely used making the using and storing of paraffin became uneconomical.

Apologies, I forgot to mention that light engines also used parafin tail lamps for the same reasons.

 

[J-2739]

The hand dryers on 700s are tripped out of use due to a revision of the safety precautions taken after the fire on 377442 at Eastbourne, which may have been caused by faulty/degraded hand drier wiring. Whether they will be replaced with another variant remains to be seen...

Ok, thanks for explaining!

 

[Taunton]

When I joined the railway in Aberdeen in 1963 tail lamps were used on DMU's. I was surprised about this but was told that DMU batteries couldn't be trusted when the unit was shut down and parked for long periods.

I think the Southern 4-SUB emus, built into the early 1950s, still had oil tail lamps until withdrawn in the 1980s, which also seemed bizarre; they had no low voltage electrics either, so no starting bells, it was guard out on the platform with a green flag, and driver looking back, at each station. I believe the 4-EPB were the first to overcome these points.

 

[edwin_m]

I think the Southern 4-SUB emus, built into the early 1950s, still had oil tail lamps until withdrawn in the 1980s, which also seemed bizarre; they had no low voltage electrics either, so no starting bells, it was guard out on the platform with a green flag, and driver looking back, at each station. I believe the 4-EPB were the first to overcome these points.

It was difficult to obtain low-voltage DC from higher-voltage DC until the advent of affordable power electronics, as transformers only work on AC. The traditional way of lighting trams was to connect light bulbs in series so their total voltage rating was the same as the line voltage. I expect the same was done for older third rail EMUs.

 

[pemma]

Auto announcer system for the City Line services on the ex-Merseytravel Pacers.

CCTV on the ex-LM 150s with Northern.

The PIS on the Northern 150s (where they have been fitted but the routes haven't been programmed in.)

 

[Bungle965]

Auto announcer system for the City Line services on the ex-Merseytravel Pacers.

CCTV on the ex-LM 150s with Northern.

The PIS on the Northern 150s (where they have been fitted but the routes haven't been programmed in.)

Did the auto announcer system ever work on the ex-Merseytravel Pacers?
Sam

 

[Bletchleyite]

Antimacassars - does anyone use macassar oil these days?

I doubt it, but they do give an impression of quality for some reason.
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The counter is used all the time. As a rule seated passengers are bounced from the lounge unless they manage to sneak by, which is very rare, so the counter is the only way they can get served.

Last time I used the seated Sleeper (actually both times) it wasn't in use, and you just walked round to the door between the kitchen and the lounge to get served. One time that was because the lounge car was backwards so it was facing the sleepers rather than the seated car, but the other time it just wasn't being used.
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Did the auto announcer system ever work on the ex-Merseytravel Pacers?
Sam

Didn't know they even had one! The displays have only ever shown the end destination.
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Some of the original Adtranz/Bombardier Electrostar family were fitted with FM radios in the cab. That's right - just like you'd have in your car. Unsurprisingly there was never an agreement reached about their use and they may well have since been removed.

That doesn't sound a terrible idea - removing boredom could increase safety. But no fiddling with it on the move!

 

[317666]

Did the auto announcer system ever work on the ex-Merseytravel Pacers?
Sam

I think it did, but it worked according to number of wheel rotations like on the 365s, rather than using GPS. Whether it was actually used or not is a different matter!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Guard's office on LM 350/1s; LM practice is to use the back cab, and the /2 and /3s were delivered without.

 

[bastien]

The 158s had a parking space for the trolley, next to the accessible loo and the payphone. It had a power socket that I'm not sure ever got used.

 

[physics34]

foot heater button in 171 cabs that doesnt work lol

 

[Taunton]

It was difficult to obtain low-voltage DC from higher-voltage DC until the advent of affordable power electronics, as transformers only work on AC. The traditional way of lighting trams was to connect light bulbs in series so their total voltage rating was the same as the line voltage. I expect the same was done for older third rail EMUs.

Yes it was, but the low voltage was cracked much earlier on, from 24-volt batteries which were charged by a mechanical reciprocating charger driven off the power supply. The 1939 Wirral units, and earlier Underground units, introduced long before the Bulleid SUB units, had this from the start, along with battery emergency lighting (2 bulbs per car, I think, over the doorways) that came on automatically if the power was lost.

The IRT Subway in New York had perfected their Low-V (for low voltage control currents) as far back as 1915, using this for mainstream multiple unit operation and also electro-pneumatic brakes. It took the Southern nearly 40 years to catch up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flivver_Lo-V_(New_York_City_Subway_car)

 

[tsr]

foot heater button in 171 cabs that doesnt work lol

Get your conductor to drop an email to fleet. They should still be operable, and they can be a lifesaver if they still work but the rest of the cab heating has died!

For that matter, I wonder how many people bother using the cab footwell vent adjusters on the 171s now - they don't even block the rush of cold air if the HVAC goes wrong, anyway!

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The 171/4s (ie. the four-car variant of the ex-170s) have random equipment cupboards at the end of each MOS coach which don't see much use, partly because you have to bend double to unlock them. There's also a much smaller cupboard at head height which nobody really uses at all.

 

[craigybagel]

There were plans for a "Teddy Bear" cupboard on what are now 390's - apparently.

... which is...?

And they were indeed built with the Teddy Bear cupboards, which I assume are still used today. They certainly were when I worked on 390s a few years ago.....

As to what they're for, well let's just say they don't actually contain teddy bears!

 

[physics34]

Get your conductor to drop an email to fleet. They should still be operable, and they can be a lifesaver if they still work but the rest of the cab heating has died!

For that matter, I wonder how many people bother using the cab footwell vent adjusters on the 171s now - they don't even block the rush of cold air if the HVAC goes wrong, anyway!

---

The 171/4s (ie. the four-car variant of the ex-170s) have random equipment cupboards at the end of each MOS coach which don't see much use, partly because you have to bend double to unlock them. There's also a much smaller cupboard at head height which nobody really uses at all.

theyve never worked as far as i know!!! Will look out for those cupboards lol

 

[AndyW33]

The Parcel compartments on BR Mk3 EMUs.

Routinely used on WCML 321s for mailbags when first delivered, obviously not all trains carried mail, but they were certainly used for this for several years until mail handling procedures changed.

 

[tsr]

theyve never worked as far as i know!!! Will look out for those cupboards lol

You've just been really unlucky then - some of them definitely do still work.

The cupboards really aren't that interesting, but I guess you may as well...

 

[Galvanize]

Mark 4 Coaches...two more unusued features spring to mind:
*The Crew Doors in the SV (Service Vehicle which contains the Cafe Bar and some Standard Class seats).
My understanding with these, after one came open while the train was in motion, in the early days of Intercity 225s, they became isolated from the door circuits. They almost re-instated them during the Project Mallard refurbishment at the turn of the 21st century.

*Automated announcements:
Well...I say "unused", but they do occasionally get used by Train Guards to remind passengers that ticket examinations are taking place. It uses the same voice that alerts the crew to the "Disabled Passenger Alarm Operated!".
Although there are recorded messages for station arrivals in the system, it's not automated as such, because they had to be manually activated each time, as opposed to GPS or wheel rotation! Unsurprisingly, I suppose most guards didn't bother using them in the Intercity days, and just did announcements manually, like they continue to do today.
Apparently it's known to say "Welcome to Intercity!" or "Thank you for travelling with Intercity!"

 

[MikePJ]

Going back a way now: some of the slam-door electric units on the Portsmouth Direct line (4CIGs?) in the 80s and 90s had a little shelf table in each bay of seating, just big enough for two cups of coffee. But either side of it were clip fittings for a full size table, and a fitting in the floor for the table leg. I never saw these mythical tables, does anyone know if they ever were used? Might have appeared on other Mark 1 stock too?


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[30907]

Going back a way now: some of the slam-door electric units on the Portsmouth Direct line (4CIGs?) in the 80s and 90s had a little shelf table in each bay of seating, just big enough for two cups of coffee. But either side of it were clip fittings for a full size table, and a fitting in the floor for the table leg. I never saw these mythical tables, does anyone know if they ever were used? Might have appeared on other Mark 1 stock too?


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I have seen odd tables of that type stored in the van space of a Mk1, but not sure about EMUs specifically. Were they intended for use on excursion-type duties? And could they be fitted in compartments as well as opens?
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I think you're right there, they also originally had a deep fat fryer fitted in the kitchen to make proper chips etc. and I'm pretty certain they were the first trains to have microwave ovens fitted from new, they were still very rare in domestic kitchens at that time.

Certainly the microwave - which cremated a steak pie for me between Swindon and Didcot when first introduced (I think the prototype unit?)

 

[43096]

Class 458 fleet. The traction electronics (converter etc) on the ex-Class 460 vehicles inserted into 458501-530 are still fitted but not used.

 

[Mikey C]

The door buttons on the 1995 Tube Stock (and others no doubt)

They also have a space for a fire extinguisher, I'm not sure if one has ever been fitted

 

[Bletchleyite]

They were and in common with other stock were removed.


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[AndyW33]

I have seen odd tables of that type stored in the van space of a Mk1, but not sure about EMUs specifically. Were they intended for use on excursion-type duties? And could they be fitted in compartments as well as opens?

Oh yes, they were originally designed for use on Mk1 compartment corridor stock. Loco hauled open stock had tables fitted as standard anyway, and it was only part way through the construction life of Mk1s that express electric stock appeared. As far as I know they could be used on BEP/CEP, BIG/CIG, REP/TC, and 309 units. I'd have thought that you were right about use on electric units being confined to excursion and charter duties. On some loco hauled services there was a service of morning coffee throughout the train by the dining car stewards, and if several people in a compartment wanted coffee (which of course was served in proper cups with saucers) a table would be unstrapped from its position in the end vestibule and set up in the compartment. I've seen photos of meals being eaten off one of these tables, but I'd be very surprised if this was on a scheduled service.

Now on the subject of Mk1s, how often was the hinged/removable window in one compartment of the CKs actually used for its intended purpose of loading passengers on stretchers?

 

[bramling]

The door buttons on the 1995 Tube Stock (and others no doubt)

They also have a space for a fire extinguisher, I'm not sure if one has ever been fitted

They did have fire extinguishers when they first entered service, however within a few years a decision was taken to remove them system-wide.

I don't think the door buttons on the 95 stock were ever used - and indeed they have been removed or plated over at the recent refurbishment. I think the 96 stock did occasionally use them when the trains first entered service on the Jubilee - perhaps influenced by the fact that they replaced the 83 stock which always used passenger open, so it was logical for this to continue on the new trains. Didn't take long before they fell into disuse though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Ah, I thought as such. It's now a noticeable feature on the 159s. I'm surprised in a way that successive refurbishments haven't seen these removed and the space made more useful really!

Only on the /1s- the original 159s either weren't built with them or they were removed at Rosyth(?). I'm surprised they didn't take them out on the /1s rather than just plate over them, but if they had no practical use for the space I guess it was easier to just box it in.
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They did have fire extinguishers when they first entered service, however within a few years a decision was taken to remove them system-wide.

I don't think the door buttons on the 95 stock were ever used - and indeed they have been removed or plated over at the recent refurbishment. I think the 96 stock did occasionally use them when the trains first entered service on the Jubilee - perhaps influenced by the fact that they replaced the 83 stock which always used passenger open, so it was logical for this to continue on the new trains. Didn't take long before they fell into disuse though.

All the more reason that the 83 stock ought to have been sent to the IOW.

 

[Ash Bridge]

I have seen odd tables of that type stored in the van space of a Mk1, but not sure about EMUs specifically. Were they intended for use on excursion-type duties? And could they be fitted in compartments as well as opens?
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I have recollections of seeing one of these fitted in a mk1 compartment, trouble is it's so long ago I just can't recall if it was a mainline service or perhaps on a heritage line somewhere.
Certainly the microwave - which cremated a steak pie for me between Swindon and Didcot when first introduced (I think the prototype unit?)

I knew they were installed to the production units but didn't realise the prototype also had them, if so that's quite 'state of the art' for 1972 wouldn't you say?