TRIVIA: Things you saw travelling on the LU that you don't see today

[bluegoblin7]

... but so are ticket offices - they have disappeared from almost every station in the last few years. The move away from paper tickets to Oyster and contactless cards means that nowadays very few Tube journeys start with a visit to a ticket office.

There have been no LU-only ticket offices since December 2015. Those at the ex-Silverlink stations followed in 2017, bar Harlesden which finally completely closed last year.

Precisely zero Tube journeys start with a visit to a ticket office.

 

[AY1975]

Precisely zero Tube journeys start with a visit to a ticket office.

Not quite true - there are still ticket offices at stations managed by National Rail operators but served by LU, such as Richmond and Wimbledon - you might still buy a paper One Day Travelcard at one of those stations and then get on the Tube.

 

[bluegoblin7]

If we go back to your original post...

...not only are paper tickets now almost a thing of the past on the Tube...but so are ticket offices

On the Tube means exactly that, and that is to which I responded. Evidently Tube journeys can easily begin with a visit to a ticket office, but it absolutely 100% will not be a Tube one. Which is what you said.

 

[sharpley]

If we go back to your original post...



On the Tube means exactly that, and that is to which I responded. Evidently Tube journeys can easily begin with a visit to a ticket office, but it absolutely 100% will not be a Tube one. Which is what you said.

Stanmore had its ticket office after TfL 'fit for the future' closed all the rest. Only open when events were happening at Wembley Stadium but it was the only LU managed station with a ticket office for a while. May have been removed now as the TOM (Ticket Office Machine) / SAF (Station Accounting Facility) equipment in all LU stations has been upgraded over the last year

 

[Mag_seven]

Trains terminating at Liverpool St/Marble Arch on the Central line and Kings Cross/Victoria on the Victoria line.

 

[Mikey C]

Trains terminating at Liverpool St/Marble Arch on the Central line and Kings Cross/Victoria on the Victoria line.

Plus Metropolitan trains terminating at Liverpool Street at the bay platform!

 

[PeterC]

Plus Metropolitan trains terminating at Liverpool Street at the bay platform!

My earliest memory of the Underground is seeing a slam door set and loco in the Liverpool Street bay. I have no idea how old I was at the time. but we caught an "ordinary" train from the adjacent platform.

 

[jopsuk]

My earliest memory of the Underground is seeing a slam door set and loco in the Liverpool Street bay. I have no idea how old I was at the time. but we caught an "ordinary" train from the adjacent platform.

If it helps, it was 1961 or earlier...

 

[bicbasher]

Pretty sure there used to be short formation units on the deep level lines in Zone 1. Unthinkable now.

 

[Ianno87]

Trains terminating at Liverpool St/Marble Arch on the Central line and Kings Cross/Victoria on the Victoria line.

Even only 5 years ago, it was commonplace to see Victoria terminators during disruption. Now far more trouble than its worth with 36tph!

 

[Peter C]

If we go back to your original post...



On the Tube means exactly that, and that is to which I responded. Evidently Tube journeys can easily begin with a visit to a ticket office, but it absolutely 100% will not be a Tube one. Which is what you said.

I know that paper tickets are definitely still a thing - every time I go to London I use a day Travelcard. They allow you to travel into and around London on all Tfl services, bar the Riverboat (I think), even buses, for free! They must be the best value for money tickets that you can buy, surely!

 

[Dstock7080]

They must be the best value for money tickets that you can buy, surely!

From 2 January one Day (anytime) Travelcards zones 1-6 are £18.60, the Oyster PAYG daily (all-day) cap zones 1-6 is £12.80.

 

[Peter C]

From 2 January one Day (anytime) Travelcards zones 1-6 are £18.60, the Oyster PAYG daily (all-day) cap zones 1-6 is £12.80.

I bought a ticket from Chalrbury (CBY) to PAD and it was around £30*. According to gwr.com , it should be closer to £70 (or £100 when I booked). The ticket office said it was only £30, including the Travel card, which the website didn't offer!
*(1 adult 2 children)

 

[rebmcr]

I bought a ticket from Chalrbury (CBY) to PAD and it was around £30*. According to gwr.com , it should be closer to £70 (or £100 when I booked). The ticket office said it was only £30, including the Travel card, which the website didn't offer!
*(1 adult 2 children)

You're trying to compare Off Peak with Anytime.

 

[Peter C]

You're trying to compare Off Peak with Anytime.

Oh ok. I seem to remember that when I looked before the day of travel, it said that it was closer to £100. And I definitely made sure that I set the time of travel and return correctly.

 

[Hadders]

I know that paper tickets are definitely still a thing - every time I go to London I use a day Travelcard. They allow you to travel into and around London on all Tfl services, bar the Riverboat (I think), even buses, for free! They must be the best value for money tickets that you can buy, surely!

Travelcards sometimes are poor value. Take Stevenage, for example.

An Off Peak Day Travelcard is £26.20
An Off Peak Return to London Terminals is £17.90
The travelcard 'differential' is £8.30 so it depends on how much travel and in which zones you're travelling in becomes relevant
The daily cap for Zones 1-2 is £7.00
Zones 1-3 is £8.20
So a travelcard is only better value of travelling into Zone 4.

At weekends the opposite applies as there's a Super Off Peak Day Travelcard at £18.00, a £6.00 'differential' compared to the London Terminals ticket costing £12.00

This is only an example and isn't always the case. The travelcard 'differential' in some cases is literally pennies.

 

[bramling]

Travelcards sometimes are poor value. Take Stevenage, for example.

An Off Peak Day Travelcard is £26.20
An Off Peak Return to London Terminals is £17.90
The travelcard 'differential' is £8.30 so it depends on how much travel and in which zones you're travelling in becomes relevant
The daily cap for Zones 1-2 is £7.00
Zones 1-3 is £8.20
So a travelcard is only better value of travelling into Zone 4.

At weekends the opposite applies as there's a Super Off Peak Day Travelcard at £18.00, a £6.00 'differential' compared to the London Terminals ticket costing £12.00

This is only an example and isn't always the case. The travelcard 'differential' in some cases is literally pennies.

That’s a bit of an eye-opener as I didn’t realise quite so much differentiation had crept in over the years. Not touched a daily London ticket for very many years.

And I remember when an off-peak ODTC from Stevenage, Hitchin or Letchworth wasn’t even approaching double-figure ££s. Even £18 (albeit presumably £12 with a railcard?) is still a lot of money for someone doing something minimal like train up to London and back combined with a basic Underground journey to somewhere like Oxford Circus and back, which I’d imagine is typical for a good proportion of weekend journeys.

 

[rebmcr]

Even £18 (albeit presumably £12 with a railcard?) is still a lot of money for someone doing something minimal like train up to London and back combined with a basic Underground journey to somewhere like Oxford Circus and back, which I’d imagine is typical for a good proportion of weekend journeys.

In today's system, such a passenger would use Oyster PAYG or Contactless PAYG for the Kings Cross-Oxford Circus return journey.

 

[Hadders]

In today's system, such a passenger would use Oyster PAYG or Contactless PAYG for the Kings Cross-Oxford Circus return journey.

Not necessarily. You’d be amazed at the number of colleagues I work with who’ll default to purchasing a Travelcard, even for a couple of single Zone 1 journeys, even though it’s far more expensive that a couple of PAYG fares.

 

[rebmcr]

Not necessarily. You’d be amazed at the number of colleagues I work with who’ll default to purchasing a Travelcard, even for a couple of single Zone 1 journeys, even though it’s far more expensive that a couple of PAYG fares.

Ah well, every little helps when you need to fund a new fleet of Piccadilly line trains!

 

[cjp]

When I was a lad Piccadilly line trains had a guard in the section near the end which they "blocked off" with a simple rod which swung out from from behind one of the uprights by the guard's door. This was in the days when when engines were not below the the floor but they had scary (to me as a kid in short trousers) engines sited in a huge chunk of the carriage with the noisy engine (compressors?) throbbing and growling away.
On one occasion a kind guard I was talking do showed me he could open his door in a tunnel whilst the train was rushing along in the dark. Thrilling. Obviously before they had power interlocks etc and no doubt quite against some rule but I have never forgotten it.
He also had to press two button to open the passenger doors once he had looked out at a station. I remember the two buttons being separated by one button with a raised shroud which I think was the button to signal go! And they kept looking out until the guards door was nearly in the in tunnel. Exciting stuff.

 

[bramling]

When I was a lad Piccadilly line trains had a guard in the section near the end which they "blocked off" with a simple rod which swung out from from behind one of the uprights by the guard's door. This was in the days when when engines were not below the the floor but they had scary (to me as a kid in short trousers) engines sited in a huge chunk of the carriage with the noisy engine (compressors?) throbbing and growling away.
On one occasion a kind guard I was talking do showed me he could open his door in a tunnel whilst the train was rushing along in the dark. Thrilling. Obviously before they had power interlocks etc and no doubt quite against some rule but I have never forgotten it.
He also had to press two button to open the passenger doors once he had looked out at a station. I remember the two buttons being separated by one button with a raised shroud which I think was the button to signal go! And they kept looking out until the guards door was nearly in the in tunnel. Exciting stuff.

The guard’s doors weren’t interlocked providing the key was on the panel, so could be opened and closed at any time the train was moving. This applied right up until the end of guard operation in 2000.

Even as recently as the 1990s it was very common to see guards running around with the guards door wide open in hot weather.

Watching old footage of crew-operated trains it’s noticeable how much slicker everything was. Doors opening just as the train stops, open for the minimum time possible, train moves off the instant the pilot light illuminates. Progress?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

This was in the days when when engines were not below the the floor but they had scary (to me as a kid in short trousers) engines sited in a huge chunk of the carriage with the noisy engine (compressors?) throbbing and growling away.

That sounds like the 1923 Standard Stock? Seen here in a later incarnation...

 

[cjp]

That sounds like the 1923 Standard Stock? Seen here in a later incarnation...

View attachment 58896 View attachment 58897

noting the BR logo would those pictures be taken on the Isle of Wight?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

noting the BR logo would those pictures be taken on the Isle of Wight?

That's right... Ryde Pierhead.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

The excitement of seeing a line “Under Construction” on the map. As I understand TfL has now banned that otherwise harmless and cheerful practice.

 

[TFN]

The excitement of seeing a line “Under Construction” on the map. As I understand TfL has now banned that otherwise harmless and cheerful practice.

Good thing too, it would have been even more embarrassing to see "Elizabeth Line opening December 2018" on 2018 maps only for the delay to be announced and thousands to have a version that says it'll open at a wrong date.

The guys at GTR seemed to not realise this mistake as all their Thameslink trains shows it opening in December 2018... Which always bring a chuckle out of me

 

[yorksrob]

Good thing too, it would have been even more embarrassing to see "Elizabeth Line opening December 2018" on 2018 maps only for the delay to be announced and thousands to have a version that says it'll open at a wrong date.

The guys at GTR seemed to not realise this mistake as all their Thameslink trains shows it opening in December 2018... Which always bring a chuckle out of me

They could still have said "line under construction" but not given a date. Anyhow, at least they'll be more on tome than "Thameslink 2000"!

 

[Hadders]

The excitement of seeing a line “Under Construction” on the map. As I understand TfL has now banned that otherwise harmless and cheerful practice.

The Jubilee Line Extension was shown as under construction on tobe maps in the 1990s. It opened 3 years late and hideously over budget.

 

[Ken H]

That sounds like the 1923 Standard Stock? Seen here in a later incarnation...

View attachment 58896 View attachment 58897

is that the standard stock that came in so many flavours is wasn't really standard </sarc>

Mostly built at Feltham by the Union Construction Company, a subsidiary of Undergound Electric Railways of London (UERL) who owned the underground except the Metropolitan. Yerkes company. The private train builders kicked up a stink so when the LPTB was formed by merging all UERL, the metropolitan railway and bus and in 1933 (I think) the act of parliament banned the new undertaking building their own stock (train and tram) any more.