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Class 303

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Jeremy B

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Just been watching those very old re-runs of Taggart on the Yesterday channel. They had this scene where a class 303 emu was arriving in the platform at Balloch with what appeared to be the guard hanging out waiting to open the passenger doors. I remember having a trip on one of these emu's to Balloch Pier around 1969/70. When did these trains last run & do the replacements still have guards on them.
 
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theblackwatch

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The final units were withdrawn from traffic at the end of 2002.

Wish I'd done a trip to Balloch Pier before it shut!
 

Jock

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Yes, some of the younger ones on here wont be able to remember when the Strathclyde Electrics had guards on them. I do recall an old friend of mine who worked these units (as i was a dumfries man in days gone by) telling me that when these trains went over to DOO that was the end of the guard as a whole, that people in the future would come along and degrade his role and the rulebook he worked by so far back it would be unrecognisable.

When i look at the job now compared to what it was back then, it makes me realise how true what he told me was.
 

Jeremy B

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My job at this time saw me living in the Carntyne area of Glasgow in 1969/70 so I had frequent trips on the services from there into Glasgow Q.St low level. I well remember the noise they made when changing over from the 25kv to 6.25kv before Bellgrove & how the coaches had no gangway connections. The ticket office at Carntyne was part of the entrance & you couldn't walk up to the Glasgow bound platform without the ticket man seeing you -daft the irrelevant things you remember.
 

rail-britain

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I remember the level crossing at Balloch, but services never went to Balloch Pier
The level crossing made it really easy to know if a train was arriving and preparing to depart

I've only made one trip since to the resited Balloch station
 

SC318250

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I can only ever remember seeing a Class 314 at Balloch pier, and that was usually a Saturday afternoon in the summer months
 

rail-britain

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You might just get another chance.
You're really hopeful there, not seen anything for its reinstatement
There is a car park in the way now (easily removed)
The level crossing is gone, and a new one won't be cheap!
 

SC318250

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You're really hopeful there, not seen anything for its reinstatement
There is a car park in the way now (easily removed)
The level crossing is gone, and a new one won't be cheap!

Is the Isle of Mull Railway not moving down there?
 

Moog_1984

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Yes, some of the younger ones on here wont be able to remember when the Strathclyde Electrics had guards on them. I do recall an old friend of mine who worked these units (as i was a dumfries man in days gone by) telling me that when these trains went over to DOO that was the end of the guard as a whole, that people in the future would come along and degrade his role and the rulebook he worked by so far back it would be unrecognisable.

When i look at the job now compared to what it was back then, it makes me realise how true what he told me was.

They did indeed have a gaurds "office" and the 25Kv line went through it, with an arc window and all. Quite exciting when you are 6 to see 25kv arc in I guess a vacuum chamber.

It may have been that or some other fault that killed a guard at Balloch actually soon after the "blue trains" were introduced. All were duly modified!

Originallly they had nice wrap round windows on the cab sides. Also a nice archaic " woo woo woo" sound from a compressor or something under one of the end cars.

I think glasgow and crewe works did the modernisation to DOO and gangways. It was considered so expensive that they should have ordered new 318s apparently.

320s will probably be scrapped long before the life span of the good ol' 303s/11s!
 

Bittern

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You're really hopeful there, not seen anything for its reinstatement
There is a car park in the way now (easily removed)
The level crossing is gone, and a new one won't be cheap!

The Isle of Mull Railway is being relocated to the old trackbed of the Balloch Pier line, running from the old Central station to the Maid.
 

matchmaker

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They did indeed have a gaurds "office" and the 25Kv line went through it, with an arc window and all. Quite exciting when you are 6 to see 25kv arc in I guess a vacuum chamber.

It may have been that or some other fault that killed a guard at Balloch actually soon after the "blue trains" were introduced. All were duly modified!

The fault was in the transformers - causing an explosion. They were out of service for a year whilst modifications were made.

I travelled to school on them in the late 1970's. Sometimes if the train was busy you were allowed into the guards compartment. You really noticed the circuit breaker opening at the neutral sections!
 

Moog_1984

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The fault was in the transformers - causing an explosion. They were out of service for a year whilst modifications were made.

I travelled to school on them in the late 1970's. Sometimes if the train was busy you were allowed into the guards compartment. You really noticed the circuit breaker opening at the neutral sections!

The isolated section at dalmuir west bridge could be quite hefty on the 314 express which did not stop at dalmuir!

311s had higher gearing right?

What is this 'arc window' & 'vacuum chamber' that Moog 1984 describes. Trying to picture it here.

I think the 81-5s had this too, the current was arc'ed in a chamber with a small sight glass so you could confirm there was power and it was flowing constantly.

25kv will arc to an earthed object or person, good couple feet of course!
 
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