455s are getting old and less reliable which has little to do with mostly interior refreshes.
(Not to be confused with the SWR ones which have had traction equipment upgrades)
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Class 376 looking rather tired
- Thread starter Terry Tait
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(Not to be confused with the SWR ones which have had traction equipment upgrades)
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MatthewRead
On Moderation
The 455's look run down and tired inside.
No reason to convert the doors as the plug doors operate quickly enough and are highly reliable. the only chagne you might make would be to remove 4 seats around the aisle near the vestibule and remove the glass panels to match a 376.
Uckfield needs to be 230-240m, ie 12 20 metre vehicles, or 10 23 metre vehicles like it currently is.
Fincra5
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I'm sure I've mentioned with in another thread about 376's. You can't add them to SN 10 Car Metro as they DO NOT have DOO Equipment. At most locations, where the platfroms have been extended to 10car, there aren't Mirror's/ Monitors. The 377's use On-Board DOO Equipment. 455s use the mirrors/ Monitors.
Adding DOO to 376s is probably a huge undertaking. Slightly differen't to adding it to 2 Car 172s...
Utilisation was down in the low 30s of units for quite a while...
Exactly - any new home for 376s is going to need expensive and complex modifications.
The awkward bit of the DOO system installation is virtually identical to the WiFi installation that occurred on the 3771-5 (the additional data looms running through the coaches). I imagine it could be installed in the same time frame as was allowed for the WiFi mods (1 unit per week IIRC)
Prestige15
On Moderation
Im referring the interior layout, Similar to C2C 357 when a number of them were converted to metro layout
I don't share the view that the 376s look really tired. Whilst they will never be my favourite train, they have worn well in comparison to the Networkers, although admittedly they are a decade younger. One of the first of the Rock Hard Seat Brigade, the interiors seem much more robust than the 465/466 stock and, for peak hour commuting you can at least stand in relative comfort, unlike the Networkers' sardine can claustrophobia.
Although modifying them to 12 cars is apparently fraught with difficulties, at least in peak traffic (and frequently off peak), they enable ten carriage stock to be used. A significant chunk of Networkers still run as 8 cars in the peaks. 376s also have 2 + 2 seating only, the Networkers seem stuck with 3 + 2 which is completely unsuited to Southeastern's metro routes in the peaks.
I think the livery is the main thing that looks dated. Mostly because it is. As for the seats, the fact that they don't really look bad or in need of 'cushion' replacement shows that hard seats wear better. Their generous spacing makes them perfectly adequate for journeys I'd say up to an hour and a bit. I do find it funny how people in general do like to complain about worn out seats but when you give them a seat that won't wear out anywhere near as quickly (which naturally ends up being harder) they complain about that too.
I don't really see the 376s transferring anywhere easily, as said their lack of DOO cameras and air con don't make them attractive units compared to say the least. Especially with 707s coming about soon too which aren't a much smaller fleet. Does anyone know if it will be as easy to retrofit a toilet in the 376s as Siemens said it would be for the 707s?
The 377/6 interior layout was more metro "as built" than the 357/3 are after refitting.
The 377/6s pioneered 2+2 with narrow Fainsa Sophia seats (aka ironing boards), multi-hand grab handles on the back with decent wide aisles.
376 is a rather basic application of the Electrostar platform with:
* no through gangway at the cab ends
* opening windows rather than air conditioning
* a standee layout with a large standing space around the doors
* sliding doors into a pocket rather than plug doors
* floor to ceiling poles for standees
* gearing for lower maximum speed
* no bodyside CCTV for DOO (as the routes that they use have monitors / mirrors)
* no toilet
Fincra5
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Not sure. I know there was a load of issues upgrading the camera equipment on 377s. They did it but it wasn't a quick fix.
Most issues were due to keeping backwards compatibility, with upgrades having to be made over multiple phases rather than just going straight to the latest hardware. If the fleet could have been segregated the upgrade would have been easier but thats simply wasn't a viable option for the utilisation of the 377 fleet. A new installation (as would be the case on the 376's) would not have any of these issues.
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